by Skyler Grant
There was a knock on his door and it slid open a moment later, Jia passing through and closing it behind her. His apprentice was again in her robe. She flashed him a bright smile.
“I thought you might need to talk,” Jia said.
There wasn’t much room for visitors. There was barely space to stand in the tiny quarters. Still, Banok didn’t much feel like he was crowded.
“You’re worried about what I did back there,” Banok said.
Jia leaned against the door, her arms folded. “Lately. We haven’t really talked, about … everybody. What happened. People dying, what those who didn’t die, did.”
Of the surviving druids, Jia was the only one who hadn’t participated in the vampirism, for all that it had been done to save her life. If it was as corrupting as the druids had always said, then she was the last uncorrupted druid left.
“You don’t approve,” Banok said.
Jia lowered her eyes. “I’d be dead without what you did, Master. I know that. I know that everything you are doing right now is to save Delilah and to avenge those that fell.”
“There is a serious ‘but’ you want to attach to that,” Banok said.
Jia shook her head. “There isn’t. It isn’t my place to judge you, but it is my place to worry about you. I do. You went in there today intending to play nice, but you never even offered a payday. When they pushed back a little you threatened to burn them out.”
“It worked,” Banok said.
“And it made you an enemy. It made the druids an enemy when you could have maybe made a friend instead. When you went in there intending something else. I worry you’re ... sliding?” Jia bit her lower lip, and she met Banok’s gaze.
Was he? Banok didn’t really know, but it wouldn’t be a surprise. Ever since bonding himself to Astra he’d been increasingly less in control of himself. It had started out relatively fun with days of sex, but it was spreading into other areas. The druids had been hit and hit hard, and the anger for that burned in him so brightly.
“I understand, but they weren’t going to bend. I could see that, sense that. They might be an enemy for the future, but we’ve one right now that tried to wipe us out. I won’t let them,” Banok said.
Jia considered him awhile before she moved her hands to her robes, lifting them up and pulling them off in a smooth motion. His apprentice wore nothing beneath them. She was an attractive woman, full breasts with dark brown nipples and an athletic build.
It wasn’t the way he should be thinking about his apprentice. Banok knew that, but couldn’t quite seem to pull his eyes away, or stop from running his gaze along her form. Couldn’t stop the arousal that came, the desire.
“Apprentice, whatever you think you are doing, you don’t have to,” Banok said.
That took about all the willpower he had.
“You are sliding, I can see it. I also know that none of the others are going to stop you. They’re sliding too. This might seem … I know this doesn’t seem like me, Master. But it is, and you need someone who isn’t sliding this close to you.” Jia took a step forward and pressed her body against his.
Well, that was it for Banok’s resolve. Banok tilted his lips down to capture hers in a kiss. It was a bit of a mess, all eagerness and with Jia having little actual idea what she was doing.
Jia pulled back looking sheepish, and Banok moved a hand up to her cheek, leaning in again to push the kiss but this time taking it a little slower. Giving her more time to figure out his movements, copy them.
Not that Jia really seemed that interested in taking it slow, one hand playing along his chest while the other slid down to press against where his length was already straining.
Some part of Banok knew that this wasn’t a good idea, but the parts of him that were bound to Astra simply didn’t care. His robe and the armor beneath it were slipped off and cast aside.
They each hit their shins hard trying to maneuver onto the tiny cot in the cramped corners. Still Banok soon found himself between Jia’s legs. At least all of that combat training had done a lot to develop her muscles, and they clenched around him with enough force to make certain he wouldn’t be falling off the bed no matter how vigorous their motions got.
It took almost no time at all for them to get very vigorous indeed. What Jia lacked for skill she more than made up for in enthusiasm.
23
The Rum and Spice cut through the atmosphere of Ondesh at high speeds. It was an ugly world. At some point an effort had been made to terraform it, but had only half succeeded. Half was heavily volcanic, the other half given to a modified forest capable of surviving even in the constant night created by thick cloud cover.
Whatever settlers had once made this place their home were long gone, but ship’s sensors picked up what appeared to be surviving structures.
Surprise was only to their advantage. The more time they gave the Spellweavers to prepare for them, the worse the situation was likely to be. Hopefully they thought they’d killed Banok, but he didn’t think it likely they still believed that. Now, the Spellweaver’s location might have been betrayed, but Banok fully expected they’d also been warned.
The ship landed at a dock barren of any other vessels and they disembarked. Everyone was in their full combat gear. There was little doubt this could get bloody.
Still, there was nothing. No defense mounted, no sign of anyone here at all. The colony was in pitch darkness. Elves had no problem with darkness, and Banok was utilizing magic, but both Nyx and Jia needed night goggles.
“They ran away? Or were they never here?” Banok asked.
“The condition of this place is too good, not as if the port weren’t being used,” Vanwyn said.
Nyx flew around the dock, inspecting equipment. “She’s right. There are fresh fuel stocks here, and recent marks on some of the tools.”
“Are they hiding from us?” Jia asked.
It was a reasonable question and Banok feared an ambush. He extended his senses as far as he could. The trees here resisted his energy, they didn’t like him.
The Dark Wood. Delilah had mentioned it before, it was well-named. There was a malignant feel to the place. He was the intruder here and the woods knew it, but unlike the Grove it had no actual power to fight back.
Banok led the way farther into the settlement, scanning with his magic every step of the way in search of traps.
The buildings were all pre-fabricated, the sort of structures that would have been utilized in the original colonization effort. They were in excellent shape, and Banok could faintly sense the spell structures surrounding them.
They were in the right place.
“At least there aren’t any spiders,” Nyx said.
The Spellweavers fortunately hadn’t adopted that bit.
There, a human life force. It was faint, and it was the only one Banok sensed. It wasn’t coming from the settlement.
“There is somebody in the woods,” Banok said, shifting direction.
A small path wound into the darkness, foliage thick on either side. Apart from the trees and plants these woods were devoid of life. The terraforming must have never gotten any further than the vegetation.
The path broke through. A wide space was open around a single massive tree, the edges of the clearing lined with obelisks that were covered from top to bottom with intricate runes. They were the only light in this darkness, the runes alight with a faint purplish glow.
Delilah was on the tree. Naked and spread-eagled, with her limbs held by shackles that had been in place so long they’d been half consumed by the growth of the tree. Blood was everywhere, numerous shallow cuts covering almost every inch of her body. None deep, all shallow. They hadn’t healed or even closed, a steady trace of blood oozing from every single one.
The magic of this place must be keeping those wounds open, holding her in place. A punishment, obviously, and perhaps more.
Jia stumbled back, looking horrified.
Banok was wary of interferi
ng with magic he didn’t understand. Delilah was unconscious, but he thought he could at least wake her up. Whatever this place was doing to her, feeding a bit more lifeforce into her system shouldn’t interfere.
When the power began to flow into her, Delilah whimpered in pain, writhing in agony on the tree before her eyes flickered open.
“Banok, what do you think you’re doing here?” Delilah asked, her throat raw and the words faint.
“Playing rescuer, what do you think? Anything I need to know to break you free?” Banok asked.
“Rescuer,” Delilah asked with a pained laugh that turned into a scream of agony as it forced her body to move. “The stones. You don’t have the skill to unweave the magic. Turn them to rubble.”
Banok could do brute force. Amplifying his strength and empowering his blows with the power of earth he walked around the clearing, striking each stone in turn. However powerful the magic of the runes, they didn’t strengthen the stone they were housed in. The rocks crumbled beneath his assault, soon plunging the clearing into darkness.
“The bonds,” Delilah said weakly.
Banok tore them out of the tree.
Jia offered Delilah a robe as soon as she was down, leaving Jia still dressed in her body armor beneath. Delilah took it once Banok had sent lifeforce into her enough to close the thousands of cuts.
At that moment, from the direction of the ship, the sky lit up through the trees briefly with a flare of light, and a concussive boom followed.
Banok suddenly felt new magic alive and at work in the woods.
24
“Are they attacking us?” Banok asked.
“You shouldn’t have come for me. They weren’t expecting you, but there are always defenses ready. Portals to bring in dangerous beasts from around the galaxy,” Delilah said.
“Well, then portal us away before they find us,” Nyx said.
Delilah shook her head. “They drained me, not just of blood but of power along with it. I might live, but I couldn’t perform the simplest of workings right now.”
Banok had shared power with others before, but he wasn’t sure it was possible with Delilah. Sharing with another magic-user was two likewise things coming together, but right now there wasn’t a trace of magical potential inside of her to join. Most humans had some trace of magic ability, but she registered nothing at all.
Banok led the way back towards the settlement as howls filled the dark wood. There were lifesigns out there. None came from the settlement so far.
There was bloodshed already, and fury. Fortunately whatever the Spellweavers had summoned wasn’t specifically interested in hunting them. They were predators, and like most predators they were out to establish themselves as the most dangerous thing out there.
It wouldn’t last. Banok had an aura that the creatures of nature could read. He was a predator himself and eventually things would come to test their might.
Hopefully they’d be gone by then. Unfortunately, making it back to the ship, it was clear that wasn’t going to happen. They discovered nothing but scattered shards of smoldering metal that wouldn’t be of use to anybody. It had been torn to shreds.
“Why didn’t they just use that magic on us when we landed?” Jia asked.
Delilah said, “Believe it or not I am fairly sure they are playing nice. You are still an unknown force to them and while they’ve taken sides, they aren’t sure of the one they have chosen. I’ve been hanging in that tree for over a week and the last of my power was gone days ago. They should have killed me.”
They had a funny definition of playing nice, if this was it.
“Nyx?” Banok asked.
“Are you seriously asking me if I can put this back together? Do you know how big that ship was? Do you see me?” Nyx said, flying up to Banok on a jet of flame and giving him a kick to the ear. The power armor delivered the blow with enough force that it left his head ringing.
“Maybe don’t use your servo-muscles when you do that?” Banok asked.
“Maybe don’t ask dumb questions even for a dummy. No, we’re basically fucked if you want me to put that back together,” Nyx said.
“If I’d trained you, then you could open a portal away from here yourself,” Delilah said.
“Not to be uncomfortably weird, but I know sex with me carries a magical charge. Would it be enough?” Banok asked.
“To restart me? It isn’t that simple. Yes, eventually it could help, and you can be certain I’m not leaving your side for some time because you’re my best hope to regain what was lost, but it won’t be instant,” Delilah said. “It can’t happen now.”
“Weak and useless hussy,” Nyx humphed.
“You’re not doing any better. Least I’m full-sized,” Delilah snapped back.
“Plus-sized. Maybe. Nobody likes ginormous breasts like that. Tell her, Banok,” Nyx said.
“Are you insane? She’s insane. Tell her, Banok,” Delilah said.
A rumbling beneath their feet cut off all arguing for a moment.
Something large was approaching. No, that wasn’t quite right. Banok’s expanded life-sense let him see what the naked eye couldn’t. A lot more than one large thing was approaching.
“The predators are closing on the settlement. There must be some kind of beacon to lure them here,” Banok said.
“Central building should be the town hall. It would have been the emergency shelter,” Nyx said.
That was a destination then.
Rather than an empty town hall, the building was filled with ornate furnishings that surely weren’t original, nor was the massive table of wood engraved with magical runes that was a centerpiece of the room.
As soon as they had entered Banok started using his enhanced strength to barricade the door. Maybe he had enough power to fight off the greatest monsters in the galaxy, but he feared he was already learning how Spellweavers thought. It wasn’t the single stab that killed you, it was the thousand little cuts over a very long period.
Perhaps they were still playing nice. However, there was plenty of reason to think otherwise. Banok had threatened their friends, invaded their home. They might not be throwing everything at him in a face-to-face struggle. That didn’t mean they weren’t trying to win.
They would let their defenses do their job, let these creatures take what they could out of Banok and then whatever other defenses were after. When he was at his weakest? Then they would make their move, but not before.
It was a game that if Banok played, he lost.
25
Banok finished securing the door, flipping over the great conference table and levering it into place.
“Do you have a transmitter? If this is your headquarters, you must have one?” Nyx asked.
“In the back. Room on the left,” Delilah said, moving to collapse in one of the chairs. She looked exhausted, haggard.
Banok could sympathize. Being unconscious was not the same as being asleep, and so long up on that tree must have been exhausting. Even feeding a trickle of lifeforce into her, she could only take so much. It was the same as if with magic, to a degree. Whatever they’d done to Delilah had lessened her, weakened her on the physical level as well as the magical.
Nyx flew off to find the transmitter. Banok didn’t know who she could call. They seemed well short of friends at the moment. A shameful place to be, given the piles of money at their disposal. What did it say when you couldn’t even buy yourself a proper set of allies?
The sounds had moved inside the city now. Growls, roars, the thud of flesh hitting buildings. The sound of combat. Yet, still, the lifesigns outside got stronger and not weaker. Maybe some were dying, but more were being portaled in all the time.
If Banok had decided to stay outside and fight, it would have been to face an unending horde and defeat. Hiding didn’t seem likely to accomplish much more at the moment.
“You’ll figure something out, Master,” Jia said.
Well, of course she’d believe that. There were
virtues to being young and naive.
“If we have to, we could try to get to the other side of the planet. Your magic would work well against volcanoes and at least the beasts might not bother us there,” Vanwyn said.
“If it were just the beasts I’d agree, but this is an attack. Delilah, would your people have truly abandoned your home?” Banok asked.
“I once faced you in direct combat, but I’m rare and ... straightforward for one of us. No, they won’t confront you openly, although if we last long enough they might offer terms,” Delilah said.
“Screw that,” Banok said.
It was all about strength and position. Banok might be stronger, but the leverage was all the Spellweavers. Coming here in a single ship with a small crew was a mistake, but then if they hadn’t Delilah might be dead now. His decision had consequences that were still playing out, but the Spellweavers choosing to keep her alive even after they arrived was possibly one of them.
“I’m going to go out there,” Banok said.
“You are strong, but this whole place is against you,” Vanwyn said.
“Like we aren’t going to back him up,” Jia said.
“You aren’t. You all don’t stand a chance out there. They want to push me. I hate it, I do, but I don’t see a choice but to be pushed,” Banok said.
It wasn’t hopeless. They thought they could weaken him, but that was only true if he let it be. Instead of clearing the main doors Delilah pointed him towards a ladder leading to the roof.
From there he made his way into the streets.
It was already a killing ground.
Armored monstrosities with massive fangs and spines dripping with venom charged him, and Banok went to work. What he’d told the others hadn’t been totally true—he’d figured out a new way to look at the situation.
If the Spellweavers weren’t really trying to kill them all, then perhaps this was a test. Vampirism, they all practiced it to a degree. That was what had been done to Delilah, they’d sucked her essence dry.