by Eric Vall
“What is it?” I demanded.
“The ogres,” she said quietly.
Anger welled in my chest as I realized what her words meant, and without even looking, I had a bad feeling they were all dead. They’d been locked unconscious in the ground before the fighting began, and there wasn’t an inch of the manmade valley that wasn’t destroyed by now.
“Walk the other way,” Cayla instructed as her throat clenched. “I’ll check to see if any of them survived.”
We steered Aurora in another direction as we all fell silent, and after a few minutes, I could hear my half-elf’s heart rate was finally regulated.
“Her pulse is evening out,” I mumbled.
“Good,” Hulsan said, “get her over here and have her sit up on this boulder. Help her move her arms around, and I’ll go see how Haragh’s doing.”
“Thank you, Hulsan,” Cayla said earnestly from where she attempting to assess the state of the ogres, but the man didn’t respond before he headed back up the hill.
“I can see shadowy shapes now at least,” Aurora said with relief, and I let my nerves unwind a little.
“We can’t take these mages on like this again,” I decided. “Magery alone isn’t enough, I need to get those pistols ready as soon as possible.”
“I agree,” Aurora said. “That Ignis Mage channeled his powers through the same flames as me, and the longer I tried to push against his magic, the faster I was drained of my own.”
I nodded. “The same thing happened to me in that pit. They’ll push us all right to our limit if we try to combat their attacks directly through our powers. They’re just too unrestrained.”
I could see more clearly now, and the strength in my limbs was almost fully restored. My head didn’t feel so disconnected either, and my rune was quieting down again, so I knew I was almost healed. Aurora was incredibly pale, but she could hold herself upright again, and I was grateful she had some elf blood in her to help quicken her recovery. Still, I hated to see her so battered from the fight, but even her cuts were slowly healing themselves now as she slowly stretched her arms around.
“As soon as Haragh and Hulsan are back, we’ll get Shoshanne’s bag from the Mustang,” I told the women. “Maybe there’s something in there that can help you recover. Hopefully, Deya is still there waiting and not trying to find us.”
“This is the second time she’s had to kill a mage for us,” Aurora snorted.
“I’m grateful to her for it,” Cayla admitted, “but what was she doing this far west? Wasn’t she supposed to be searching for Dorinick?”
I shrugged. “I should probably be irritated she didn’t follow my orders, but I’m honestly not. We wouldn’t have made it without her.”
Cayla’s blue eyes snapped to mine at the words, and Aurora slid her arms around herself as she looked down.
A few minutes later, the sound of heavy feet shuffling across the forest floor registered in my ears, and shortly after, Haragh and Hulsan crested the hill.
Haragh was pretty beat up, but he wasn’t in as bad of a state as I expected, and I guessed he’d been knocked out before he could overuse his magery.
“How is she?” the half-ogre demanded, and he hurried to Aurora’s side with his eyes wide.
“I’ll be fine,” Aurora chuckled. “You guys sure know how to dote on a girl, but need I remind you I am a trained Defender of the Order? I know how to take a hit or two.”
I bit my tongue to keep from pointing out how close of a call we’d had, but I could admire the half-elf’s resilience. She’d seen enough combat to brush off a lot of close calls by now, and I took it as a good sign that her sense of humor was still intact.
Haragh let out a heavy sigh as he glanced my way, and I could tell he was thinking along the same lines as me.
“We made it, though,” I said with a shrug, and the half-ogre nodded.
“Hulsan got that damned Ignis Mage for us,” Haragh told me as he jutted his thumb at the old man, who was inspecting an injury on his knee. “I took a boulder to the head, but when I came around, that bastard was already dead. Crushed him pretty damn good, too.”
“Deya burnt Dahko to a crisp,” I said with half a smirk.
“You have excellent taste in women,” Haragh chuckled. “Apparently, there’s not one of ‘em who can’t kill a guy for ye’.”
I grinned appreciatively as I glanced between Aurora and Cayla, and the half-elf sent me a devilish wink that assured me she was well on her way to a full recovery.
Then Cayla gasped quietly. “Mason, I think this ogre is still alive.”
Haragh and I clamored over the rubble to get to the princess, and she’d managed to pry one eyelid open of a mostly buried ogre. His deep red eyes were rolling side to side, and as I laid my ear against the boulders covering him, I picked up the slightest flutter of a heartbeat.
“We need to get him out from under this rubble,” I said at once, but when I sparked my Terra magic, the world around me began to spin, and Haragh had to catch me by the arm before I toppled backward.
“Sit your ass down,” the half-ogre growled. “I’ll get him out, ye’ve done enough.”
Haragh handed my elbow off to Hulsan so the old man could steady me, and he brought me back to Aurora’s side before joining Haragh in the effort of unburying the ogre.
The fact that it took both of them to move just a pile of boulders made me even more uneasy about the state we were all in, but they did manage to get at the ogre after a while, and Haragh administered CPR until the ogre came to with a deep, gurgling growl.
“On your feet, ye’ brute,” Haragh grunted as he pushed with all his might to get the ogre sitting. “Come on, no use dyin’ in the forest, eh?”
The ogre’s growls grew louder after Haragh’s persistent prodding, and eventually, his eyes opened as he swayed and managed to stay sitting. Then he noticed the half-ogre struggling to pull him up, and he finally got his legs moving. He was black and blue all over, and his head was still bleeding from Dahko’s treatment, but he stood with a fierce roar of effort, and once Haragh was sure he wouldn’t come crashing down, he let go and stepped away.
“Ye’ alright?” Haragh asked, and the bludgeoned ogre nodded exhaustively. “Better get some food in ye’. I’ll kill a few lizards for ye’ and--”
The ogre snarled angrily at the offer, though, and Haragh rolled his eyes as the giant turned his back and slowly began lumbering his way up the hill.
“See that?” Haragh snorted. “Even half dead they won’t let ye’ kill a damn thing for ‘em.”
“It’s kind of impressive,” I allowed as I shook my head in disbelief.
The rest of the ogres weren’t as lucky, but Hulsan used the last of his energy to give them a proper burial while Haragh glowered at the ground with his hands respectfully folded. Then he decided to say a few words, but they weren’t exactly what I expected.
“It’s better you’re all dead,” Haragh grunted. “Ye’d be a fuckin’ scary lot if they branded ye’.”
I raised my brows as the half-ogre shrugged and turned his back on the graves, and then he stooped to hoist Aurora onto his shoulders so we could get to the healer’s bag faster.
The smoke from the battle was dense in the forest for a good mile and a half as we made our way back to the Mustang, and Hulsan was limping badly now. Haragh’s head kept bleeding steadily from the gouge to the back of his head, but overall, I decided we were lucky today.
I still couldn’t shake the eerie look in Dahko’s eyes, though, and the fact I’d been forced to the absolute limit of my magical abilities weighed heavy on my mind all the way back to the car. I was itching to get the pistols finished now, and I kept reminding myself this was the solution I needed rather than focusing on how fucking powerful those mages were. Granted there were only four of us, but I’d never come up against a guy like Dahko before.
Without Haragh and Hulsan there, he would’ve had me, but I wouldn’t give any of these possessed Defenders
a chance like that again. The minute we were back in Falmount, I was getting to work engraving the magazine cases, and the next time someone from my list showed up, we’d be more than ready.
“There she is,” Aurora said, and I refocused to see Deya bouncing nervously on her toes beside the Mustang.
“Finally,” she sighed as she came running over. “I stayed here just like you told me to, but it was agony. If I didn’t hear your voice in the distance I would have come right away. I saw you on the ground as I flew over, and I feared the worst.”
“Don’t worry, you know I’m a fast healer,” I chuckled.
The elf slid her arms around me as she let out a shaky sigh, and then she reached up to squeeze Aurora’s hand where the half-elf was still propped up on Haragh’s shoulders.
“You don’t look well,” the beautiful elf said, “let me take a look at you.”
Haragh set Aurora down on the hood of the car while I unsealed the trunk and got Shoshanne’s healing bag, and the first thing I found when I opened it up was a giant vial filled with Triolin berries.
I was chuckling to myself when I showed the vial to Aurora, and a huge grin came to the half-elf’s face.
“Aww, she never lets us have her whole stash,” Aurora said as Deya dabbed at a cut on her temple. “She’s such an angel. I’ll take all of them.”
“No way,” I laughed. “Three’s the limit. At least that’s as many as Shoshanne ever lets me get away with.”
I tipped three silver berries into Aurora’s palm, and she chucked them all into her mouth with a happy moan. Within minutes, she was back on her feet with her tongue stained a deep purple from the berries, and I pretended I didn’t notice Haragh sneaking five for himself when he thought we weren’t looking.
Hulsan knew his way around an injury, though, and he waved me away as he finished tying gauze around the gash in his knee. Then he sat back with a tired sigh and pulled out his tin of pollen like it was just a regular day.
“So … ” I said as I leaned against the Mustang, and I cocked a brow at Deya. “You’ll stay here at the car, but flying across Illaria rather than checking in on Dorinick is completely okay?”
Cayla chuckled at my teasing tone, and Deya blushed fiercely as she looked down.
“I checked in on the dwarves, too,” the beautiful elf mumbled sheepishly. “They’re at the mine already and preparing to move out.”
“Then what were doing way out here?” Aurora asked. “Not that I’m complaining, you burnt the hell out of that mage, and I can definitely admire that. But you must have had to fly your ass off to get out here in just a couple hours.”
Deya blushed a little deeper. “I was showing off.”
“What?” I laughed, and her violet eyes managed to meet mine.
“Well, Aurora loves to see dragons up close, and I thought … I thought if you saw how fierce I was, you might let me help more.”
I raised my brows as Aurora tried to stifle her giggles, but there was something incredibly sweet about the elf’s honesty.
“You flew across Illaria to show me how dragony you can be?” I asked as a grin came to my face.
“I know it’s silly,” Deya sighed.
“It’s adorable,” I corrected, and the beautiful elf sent me a small smile.
“You don’t have to worry so much about me, Mason,” she muttered. “I really can do so much to help, and I like being useful. I’ve been practicing with your weaponry too, and Cayla says I’ve gotten quite good.”
“It’s true,” Cayla told me. “She’s perfectly adequate with a bow, sword, and dagger, and she’s making admirable progress with the firearms.”
“She’s a pretty cute dragon, too,” Aurora added happily, and I nodded as I considered the hopeful glint in Deya’s violet eyes.
“So, you wanna be my battle dragon woman.” I sing-songed the last part like the Jimmy Hendrix tune. .
Deya nodded fervently.
“Alright …” I replied, “but that means you need to practice, same as any weapon. I want you transmuting more regularly and working on maneuverability and stealth while you’re in your dragon form. And whatever it takes to break the connection, get it down to a science, because if anything goes wrong, you need to be out of that dragon’s consciousness before anything can happen to you. Understood?”
Deya gave a diligent nod. “Absolutely.”
“And this doesn’t mean you’re scouting the fortress all the time, that’s already been agreed on,” I reminded her sternly.
“Understood.”
“Okay then,” I muttered, and I couldn’t resist chuckling at the sweet blush on the elf’s cheeks as her eyes lit up. “You’re gonna have to show off for me again sometime so I can see those scales. I didn’t get a good look.”
“They were purple,” Cayla informed me with a grin. “Very impressive, too. Also sexy.”
Deya let out a silvery giggle as she pranced over to throw her arms around my neck, and I let her kiss me all over as Aurora chuckled from the sidelines.
“Ye’ve really got all the luck,” Haragh sighed.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Aurora said as she exchanged a look with Cayla. “You are about to waltz back into that lair after destroying the threat against your entire race. Cayla, do you think an ogre woman might find that impressive?”
“I think an ogre woman might,” Cayla replied coolly, and she cocked a brow in Haragh’s direction.
“Wh-What?” he stammered, and the man couldn’t have possibly looked any more terrified at the prospect.
Chapter 16
“Flynt! Flynt! Flynt! Flynt!”
The ogres roared my name and beat their clubs against the floor of the cave until my ears were ringing, but Grot just laughed heartily as he dropped his massive hand on my shoulder. Then he shook me so hard my legs stumbled and knotted around themselves, and my women stood obediently in formation as they giggled at my back.
Hulsan had taken it upon himself to tell them all Haragh killed the Ignis Mage, so the half-ogre was now being bludgeoned in what looked like a celebratory way by a group of ogres he said were his extended family.
Then Grot had his women bring out fresh vats of Rosh for everyone, and when I declined the offer, the ogre ruler looked like I’d slapped him across the face.
“I was just joking,” I chuckled uneasily, “I’d love a drink.”
Hulsan cleared his throat as another giant stone mug appeared at my back, and Cayla tried not to smirk too much while she headed over to fill my mug to the brim.
“Looks like we’re staying for the celebration,” the princess muttered as she delivered my drink, and I shrugged.
“Apparently.”
I’d been hoping to head out immediately after informing the ogres we’d handled the threat in the area, but I didn’t mind staying for a little longer. Haragh was clearly enjoying the fanfare, and I hadn’t even told him yet that the scary ogre chick had followed us here from the lair.
I didn’t want to make him too nervous over it, but she was posted near the lava falls now with a mug of Rosh in one fist and her bloody club in the other, and she hadn’t taken her huge red eyes off Haragh since she arrived at the celebration.
So, when Grot had us join him at the fire in the back of the cave, I made sure to relay the battle as loudly as possible while my kill was charred on the fire between us.
“Not bad, tyke,” Grot chuckled after I embellished on Haragh’s contributions.
The half-ogre looked a bit confused, but he accepted the praise with a shrug and a long swig of Rosh.
“My only concern is the Master might send another group out to continue the brandings once he catches on,” I admitted to the ruler. “I have some ideas about how to prevent him being able to cause any damage here, though. It would take me some time to get the defenses built, but I could probably have them here within the week. The only issue would be the need for a channeling gem.”
“Got plenty,” Grot grunted as he scratc
hed his big green belly. “Never had much use for ‘em, so we just chuck ‘em in the back of the cave over there.”
“Seriously?” I asked. “Do you have a lot?”
“Aye,” Grot said, and he gestured behind him for me to take a look. “We get most of ‘em off the dwarves we eat when we feel like terryin’ north a ways. Change of taste, and all that.”
I furrowed my brow. “You guys eat the dwarves?”
“’Course.” Grot shrugged.
“I’ve kind of got an alliance with the dwarves,” I told the leader as I stood to take a look. “They’re helping me with the Master as well.”
Grot let out a long, heavy sigh before he downed the rest of his Rosh, and as one of his women went to refill his mug for him, he eyed me warily.
“S’pose we could hold off eatin’ ‘em,” the ruler finally muttered. “If ye’ need the little assholes alive.”
“That’d be helpful,” I said, and I could hardly believe the ogre offered so readily to change his appetite for me.
“It’s a shame, though,” Grot sighed. “Dwarves are good meat. It’s the ale in ‘em.
“Good meat or not, Mason’s got dealings with them,” Hulsan cut in, and he eyed the leader with a calculating look.
“Aye,” Grot said with a nod. “We’ll back down on the dwarves, but only on his account. If it was anyone else, I’d tell ‘em to fuck off.” Then the leader looked out across the caves, and he raised his voice above the raucous growls and laughter of the other ogres. “Ye’ hear that? We’re done eatin’ the dwarves! Flynt’s got dealings with ‘em, and he needs ‘em alive.”
Several ogres let out low disgruntled growls, but they nodded their agreement all the same as a few of them spat at the ground.
“I appreciate that,” I chuckled and clapped the leader on his giant forearm as I passed.
Grot grunted. “Any other requests?”
“Nope,” I said as I dug through the bones in the back of the cave. “As long as you’re ready to help me take on the Master when the time comes, I couldn’t care less what you do. You’ve got a good thing going on out here.”