by David Burke
“I don’t know how that can be. We are both slaves. Our lives are not our own, but know that as much as I can, I will give of my life to you,” Nyda said.
“No, you may not believe me, but I am no slave. I am here because I chose to be, and when I leave, I will take you with me. For now, perhaps we should take things slowly,” Kyle chuckled to himself, never having expected to hear those words come out of his mouth.
“I may not have much experience, but I know that men find me desirable.” Then she slipped the top of her slave gown off her shoulders and bared her breasts before him.
They were so perfect that Kyle ached to touch them, but he had made a decision, and this wasn’t the way that he wanted Nyda. He wanted it to be a true exchange between lovers not one of debt. Still, he pulled her to him and sat upon the narrow bed with her on his lap.
“You are so lovely, and I’ve wanted to do something since I first saw you,” Kyle said as he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Her back arched and he could feel both the desire and uncertainty in her. Her full rosy lips tasted sweet to him as he pushed his tongue into her mouth. A fumbling first kiss of passion followed. Her mouth tasted like raspberries. It was uncanny.
Over the next hour they made out like two high schoolers. It was clumsy but full of desire. A rushed urgency threatened to sweep through Kyle, but he pushed it back. He was enjoying this and didn’t want to push it. He gave himself one concession though. He couldn’t help but cup her breasts. He would guess that she was a very full C-cup, but with her petite frame they seemed even more pronounced.
When control threatened to slip away from him, Kyle pulled away and said, “Back when I won the pole contest, I got a bottle of any alcohol that I wanted. I asked Gilthan what elves like, and he told me moon berry wine. It took a while, but Saber finally got me a bottle of it, and I’ve been saving it to share with you.”
As he spoke, Kyle pulled her top back up. “Would you like to just sit and talk with me? I want to know more about you and, truthfully, I need to share more about myself.”
She blushed. “You are too kind to me. My life is still owed to you, but I would like to get to know you too. Tell me about where you come from.”
“I will, but what I tell you tonight must be a secret. Only one other knows about this, and she won’t approve of me telling you, but she does approve of me getting to know you.”
After that Kyle told her about his death and rebirth. He left out anything about the supposed reincarnation of Krig and instead focused solely on telling his story as though he were simply a traveler from another world.
When they hit a moment of awkward silence, Kyle could feel her appraising him. He knew there was something that she wanted to say or ask but he also knew that if he pushed the moment might fade away.
“Do you know anything about elven sorcerers?” She abruptly asked.
“Only a little. They have some kind of bloodline, normally related to a dragon. It doesn’t activate in all of them, but it does in some. When it does it grants them great powers like Gilthan. They are to be the servants of their people. Or maybe I should say you are to be the servant of your people,” Kyle replied
Nyda gasped and drew her hands back to tent them just below her lips. “You know?”
“I do, but you can tell me as much or as little as you want,” Kyle said.
“Maybe it is because of this connection I feel between us. I didn’t know if it was just my imagination but I could have sworn that essence from you passed into me. I was never able to access my bloodline before, but now it keeps surging and I have trouble controlling it, even though I don’t know how it is supposed to work,” Nyda said.
“For now, let’s just assume that something about me being a traveler here allows me to impart a fragment of my power, a sliver if you will, to others and that may have awakened your power. I have felt drawn to you and I think that emotional connection may have caused me to pass on some power to you involuntarily. But, I don’t think the connection is complete.”
“I suppose that makes as much sense as anything. I dreaded my power for so long. I don’t want to hurt people, but then after that burning sensation passed from you to me, I can see possibilities with my power that I never imagined. It could be used to heal, not just fight,” Nyda said.
“Healing is a fight of its own against the wound, with the patient’s body as the battlefield. There is not dishonorable about wanting to use power to strengthen others,” Kyle replied.
“For now, let’s just assume that something about me being a traveler here allows me to impart a fragment of my power, a sliver if you will, to others and that may have awakened your power. I have felt drawn to you and I think that emotional connection may have caused me to pass on some power to you involuntarily. But, I don’t think the connection is complete.”
“I suppose that makes as much sense as anything. I dreaded my power for so long. I don’t want to hurt people, but then after that burning sensation passed from you to me, I can see possibilities with my power that I never imagined. It could be used to heal, not just fight,” Nyda said.
“Healing is a fight of its own against the wound, with the patient’s body as the battlefield. There is not dishonorable about wanting to use power to strengthen others,” Kyle replied.
They talked for hours and Kyle felt for the first time since arriving in Verden that he was actually getting to know a person. Hilde, yes, to some extent, but she had kept a wall between them. With Nyda, he hoped for that closeness that he had struggled with in his prior life. He eventually fell asleep on the bed with Nyda resting against his chest. This was what he had been missing and as the floodgates of emotion had broken, he felt more at home here than ever before.
Chapter 32 - A Plush Prison
The next morning Kyle was awoken by guards he had never seen before. He first noticed that Nyda was gone, but then again, she was only supposed to stay with him until sunrise. He only hoped she had enjoyed their conversation and other things half as much as he had. A second glance at the new guards revealed that they were wearing the insignia of House Avarda.
“You’re coming with us.”
Kyle didn’t move other than to slowly sit up over the side of his bed. He looked up at them and then started to stretch. It was times like this that he was glad this body didn’t have to follow normal bodily functions. Not needing to use the chamber pot meant that he had more freedom to just piss these guys off.
It wasn’t so much that he wanted to get off on the wrong foot, but rather that he was not going to let them think he would be easy to push around. The ladder was lowered down. He heard it hit the stone floor of his cell but didn’t even look over at it.
“Are you deaf or something? Climb up the ladder,” the guard said.
He just yawned into his hand. Finally, one of the guards grew impatient and started climbing down the ladder. A grin crossed Kyle’s face. Once the man was standing in front of him, Kyle was charged up and ready for whatever might happen.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” the guard said.
Kyle’s eyes rolled so hard that he wondered if they made a rattling sound.
A moment later, apparently in an attempt to make his point, the guard started to draw his gladius. That was the moment that Kyle had been waiting for. His speed wasn’t superhuman, but it was peak human, and his strength was far beyond that. In an instant he was up. One hand clamped down on the guard’s sword arm, pushing the blade back into its sheath and locking his hand in place. Kyle’s other hand came up under the man’s chin, cupping his entire face in an oversized palm as he lifted him up against the wall.
He heard the other guard up above shout something and then start coming down the ladder, but he didn’t pay him any heed. Instead, he shifted his hand enough so that he could make eye contact with the guard, now far enough off the ground to look straight into his eyes. “You were dead right about one thing. There is an easy way and a hard
way. I will make your life easy, so long as you give me the respect I’m due. But if you ever draw a weapon to threaten me, know that I will end the fight.” Kyle’s voice was deadly calm as he spoke.
Wide-eyed fear was obvious in the man’s face, as was the perspiration beading up on his brow, but to his credit he didn’t struggle after it became apparent he couldn’t escape, any more than a child could from a full-grown man. The guard behind him said, “Liam, what do I do?”
Without looking back, Kyle answered for the trapped guard, “Liam here is just having a polite conversation. If I am going to come to be a fighter for House Avarda, then we need to make sure we start off things correctly. If you treat me with respect, then I will be compliant and do everything I can to make things as easy for you as possible. But if you disrespect me, then you will get resistance. And… if you threaten me, you will get death. Are we clear?”
The guard named Liam nodded his head as best he could with Kyle holding it against the wall. Then Kyle relaxed his grip and gently lowered the man to the ground. The two guards looked at each other and Liam yelled up to answer one of the guards above, “No, we’re fine. Just had to sort something out.”
Kyle looked at him again. “I am no slave. I am where I want to be because I chose to be here. But I think you and I are going to get along great. Before you know it, Liam, I bet you will have a promotion and pay increase. Just spread the word to the rest of the guards to work with me, not against me.”
Liam nodded again and then climbed up the ladder. Once both the guards were up, Kyle followed them and then began the walk to a large wagon that was going to carry them all to their new home. Even with just four of them in the wagon, it was full, given his size and that of Skrug.
Kyle used the trip to take stock of his surrounding area. When he had been outside the coliseum before, he had still been too new to Verden, too confused. Now he wanted to make sure he understood the lay of the land. Just as he remembered, it took about an hour to get down from the coliseum, but instead of entering the city proper, they took one of the stone roads and travelled for three more hours until they reached a large estate.
It was entirely surrounded by a fifteen-foot stone wall. Though that wasn’t even close to as high as the city wall. Kyle saw vineyards, barns, livestock, and an assortment of outbuildings. In the middle of it all was a palatial manor with at least three stories, fountains, and ornate columns.
Once the wagon was driven through the gates, it drove up to a rectangular building. Lash was waiting for them as the wagon came to a stop. She said, “Welcome to your new home. We will show you to your rooms. You are allowed to go anywhere in the training building, although each of you have your own private room.
“Outside, there are green columns. You are allowed to walk on any path that has the green columns on it. As long as you stay in the designated area, everything will go well. Go outside of that area, and we will have a problem.”
Kyle looked around and saw two women looking at them from a third-story balcony of the mansion. He was pretty sure that it was Lady Meeka. The woman next to her was wearing pink and silver robes. They didn’t quite look like the robes most of the magi he had seen wore. It was clear, though, that they were both very intently watching the newly arrived gladiators.
Once Lash brought them inside, Kyle saw that the core of the building was a gym. There was an area for sparring, as well as assorted weights, and gymnastic equipment. Around the side, the main floor had a medical clinic and various other rooms with supplies.
Upstairs, there were six rooms. Suites, actually.
Lash first showed them where her suite was. “Under no circumstances are you to come into my suite, but if you need me, you can knock on the door. We will be a team and it is our goal to win the Con for House Avarda.”
Then she took them around one at a time and deposited them in their rooms. First Skrug, then Gilthan, Kierra, and finally Kyle.
When she led him into the suite, he looked around. It was many times larger than the cell back at the coliseum. There was a bedroom with a large plush-looking bed, sitting area, a private bath with a tiled floor, and carpet throughout the rest of the suite. He looked at her and asked, “Does Meeka think that this comfortable cell will make me let my guard down?”
“She didn’t have this built for you, you just happened to be the one to fill it. But then again, you should be used to that.” Without another word she turned and walked out of the room.
Kyle had some thinking to do now.
Epilogue - All Eyes Upon Him
Several miles outside of Thena, a woman waited inside a carriage, parked beside a small grove of trees off the road. She wore a mask across her face. It wasn’t that she was afraid of being recognized, but rather that it would be inconvenient. She had worked to create this identity and didn’t want it spoiled now. Not when such a grand prize was on the line.
Of course, a piece of cloth across her face would do extraordinarily little to hide anything from the one she was meeting with. From her various encounters with him over the centuries, he was wild and reckless. Even the attack at the coliseum proved that. But it was also equally true that he was powerful.
So, precautions had to be taken. Her mask was a magical item, one given to her by her father long ago and imbued with a portion of his specific essence. As long as she kept a small strand flowing into it, it would make her face appear blurred to any visual inspection. The same power would prevent any attempt to scry her identity while she had the mask on her person.
For that reason, it had become her habit to keep it next to her skin at all times, even when she wasn’t wearing it as it was intended. It was almost a game to find creative ways to keep it on her person at all times. Some memories brought a smile to her face, for she was nothing if not decadent.
Outside, the dust stirred up and a small cloud formed as a large pair of wings beat the air to slow the descent of a gargantuan scaled body. If one didn’t know what to look for, this might have appeared to be an elder dragon landing in the small clearing. Of course, she did know what to look for and so she knew that in actuality, this being was far more dangerous than any elder dragon, at least when it came to outright fighting.
She sat in the carriage, sipping on a fruited water that one of her slave girls had prepared for her. There was no reason to go out into that dust storm. She would wait for it to settle rather than let it mess up her hair. She already had to go to a great deal of fuss and muss to keep up with the latest trends in the capital. Being in this form was definitely work, but she liked it all the same.
When the air finally cleared, she climbed out of the carriage, waiting for a footman to place stairs for her to descend. It paid to keep up appearances, after all. She walked down and looked out at the dragon staring back at her. Its head was as big as a wagon, and its tail nearly as long as its body, with massive leathery wings folded up against the scaled back.
“Really, Barak, is it necessary for you to come in that form? You couldn’t pick something a little less ostentatious?” she asked.
“What? This is my natural form. I can’t help it if you are ashamed of your form, Raina. I know that I’ve never even seen it. For all I know, you could be some kinda slime. With your dad, who knows where he might have dipped his wick?” Barak said.
“I didn’t mean it as an insult. Your father knows how to be quiet. You’d think he would have passed some of that on to you. Remember, we are trying to keep our plan here a secret. We don’t want to have to share with any of the others,” Raina replied.
Then she waved her hand and an ornate divan appeared, which she promptly went and laid down on, only to have servants bringing her freshly peeled fruit. There was something about fresh fruit. Maybe it was because nothing grew on the infernal plane which had been her home for the first couple hundred years of her existence.
“Bah, the mortals can’t do anything to us. We have no reason to hide our might. For that matter, I sti
ll don’t know why you didn’t just take him as soon as you discovered him. I would have,” Barak said while stretching his wings upward enough to cast a shadow over the spot Raina was lying on.
She laughed to herself; mortals presented a greater risk than the other demigods understood, but also provided numerous opportunities for amusement. It was probably why she always chose to live amongst them. But she needed Barak for her plan to succeed, so she would appease him. “It isn’t the mortals we have to worry about. It is our cousins, as you well know. Any of them would kill just as we would for a chance to recover whatever shard of divinity this Kyle Warborn carries.”
“Yes, I—” Barak began.
Raina cut him off. “And that is to say nothing of our parents. All the gods have been anxious to capture whatever remnants of power are left after Uncle Krig’s demise. The shard hasn’t fully manifested yet. My scrying tells me that he has a much greater potential than any that we have ever found. We don’t want a snack; we want a full meal. Enough to allow us to ascend to the chief place amongst all the demis. And I promise you that, even split between us, he has that much essence if only we wait to harvest him.”
“Fine, I shall bide my time for now. Besides, siccing that Aekor on him was quite funny. I was almost surprised that he was able to defeat even such an emaciated one, but that proved his potential. I’m just surprised that you haven’t snared him between your legs. You use that tactic enough that many of the demis question if Begaer isn’t your divine parent rather than Bedrag.”
“He has proven somewhat resistant in that area, but it is a challenge that I look forward to. Cracking that nut, so to speak. But I didn’t call you here to discuss our diversions. I am arranging things for him to be able to develop further. So, listen up as I explain what part you need to play,” Raina said with a smile on her face as she tossed her head to clear the golden locks from her face.