by Erik Weir
Night gave a gloomy head nod. “Thank you, Victor. I’m sure you’re right and she is okay. When you do search for her, please tell her to come home. I miss her.”
Victor squeezed Night’s shoulders, “You bet.”
The moment Victor let go, the elf rushed him and hugged him under his arms. Victor looked down to Night with wide eyes as she pressed the side of her face to his chest. Instinct took over and he hugged her back. The two stood in the moon’s ethereal light for long moments before Night pulled away. Without a word, she turned and walked along the western path of the mountain to her new home.
Victor scratched his head, trying to keep gloomy thoughts at bay. An image of Cassandra appeared in his mind’s eye and the Blade soon found himself walking west. Lights were on in the village, the slyths and new acolytes talking and laughing like old friends. They had splintered off, taking ownership of empty homes and talking about the hot springs.
Victor continued his walk, making his way to the last home of the small mountain village. A lodge-like home stood, built into the mountainside. Lanterns glowed from the windows as moonlight touched everywhere else. Victor walked to the small set of stairs and climbed them, a deep sadness taking root.
Stepping into the home, the familiar scents touched his senses. Waves of memories washed on the stony shores of Victor’s mind, seeing events as they once played out. Cassandra had fought bravely during the battle of the mountain, tipping the scales in their favor with her power, but Victor remembered that she had used too much of her power. The Keeper fell after her last arrow was set loose, falling into a coma. In the last two weeks, she didn’t stir from her forced slumber, and it weighed heavy on all who dwelled in Vala’s realm.
Victor moved through the warm home to the bedroom door. Opening it, he stepped inside. A large bed greeted him, Cassandra on her back and covered in blankets. Lily was under the covers next to her, hugging the sleeping Keeper close. Victor stepped closer, looking at the succubus as she ran fingers through Cassandra’s red and white hair. Lily barely glanced to Victor before snuggling closer to the Keeper.
Victor looked to the elderly woman, eyes drinking in the change she had undergone since he first met her. She appeared like a spry ninety-year-old when they first met, but with time and freeing of acolytes, she had grown younger every time he saw her. Chest rising and falling, she looked like a young fifty-year-old. Her once white hair now had shocks of red and she seemed taller than her original hutched body. Victor wondered how such a small woman could sleep in such a large bed, but judging from her youth returning, it seemed to make sense she was taller and stronger in her younger days.
Lily snuggled close, giving the Keeper a kiss on the cheek. Faint whispers fell from her lips to Cassandra’s ear. Victor stood by the edge of the bed, unable to hear what the succubus was saying. Lily gave one final squeeze before pulling away and slipping from the bed. On her feet, she stood by Victor as they both looked down on Cassandra’s peaceful face.
“She’s still the same,” Victor said in a defeated tone.
Lily nodded. “But I think staying at her side is helping. I talk to her, telling her what we talk about and to expect new friends when she wakes.”
Lily looked to Victor, “You should do the same. It will help bring her back.”
Victor looked to the demoness, “You think so?”
“I believe so. Despite being in a coma, she seems younger than she was two weeks ago. I think freeing acolytes might be helping her grow stronger as well.”
Lily gave Victor a slap on the ass, “I think it’s your turn to help her. When you’re done, come to my place. I need a little more play time.”
Victor raised an eyebrow, “Again? You’re insatiable.”
“Yes,” Lily said simply before turning and leaving out the bedroom door.
Victor’s small smile stayed for a few seconds before he looked to the sleeping Cassandra. Heart heavy, he remembered how the doctors and nurses told him to physically touch his mother and speak to her as she suffered through her Alzheimer’s. It was a simple, but needed thing to do to help calm her and bring some semblance of normality. Victor remembered how he always hugged and talked to her, even when she didn’t seem to know who he was. It wasn’t a magic bullet, but there were times she looked at him, remembering who he was and smiling at the glimmer of faint memories. It was enough for Victor to know she was still in there, somewhere.
Shedding his hat, coat and boots, Victor lifted up the blanket and slipped into bed. Crawling closer to Cassandra, he hugged her, pressing his forehead to the side of her head. A warm, creamy vanilla scent touched his senses and the Blade let it wash over him. Heat bloomed between them and Victor closed his eyes.
“We are all thinking of you,” Victor whispered. “Lily has taken over your duties of smacking my butt. It’s nice, but not the same.”
Cassandra remained still, chest rising and falling to her gentle breathing.
Victor continued, “Hox is turning into a real leader. She has Yex and Rhass helping with restoring some of the village at the base of the mountain. They have been moving stones and trying to repair some of the buildings. I’ve been helping, but they sometimes don’t tell me when they are working. I think they are working out their grief next to Hisk’s grave.
“We have four new acolytes here. They are from the Tempest realm and very happy to no longer be part of Luka’s tribe. I can’t wait till you meet them. I’m sure Hox will put them to work once everyone is settled in.”
Victor let out a warm sigh, “Lily has been in good spirits lately even though she is worried about you and Vala. The attack on the mountain rattled her. This place is a sanctuary, but now I think Lily can’t relax. I’m doing my best to help give her some comfort. It would be a great help if you would wake up and back me up.”
The Blade smiled. “I know you’re in there, hearing me. Take as much time as you need to heal. The others will hold the fort while Lily and I continue the crusade. Maybe when Vala is strong enough, she will wake you from your coma. I have faith, but a little nudge would help a lot.”
Victor held Cassandra, eyes opening halfway. “We miss you. Don’t sleep too long.”
The Blade closed his eyes again, basking in Cassandra’s warm scent. Muscles relaxed and Victor found himself sleepy again. Walking between realms seemed to energize him a little, but a true night’s sleep would do wonders. A nagging thought to return to Lily’s bed called from the hazy darkness of his mind. Despite its siren call, Victor found himself comfortable. Maybe a small nap before the succubus abused him into a coma.
Victor sighed again when something pressed against his crotch. Eyes opening, Cassandra lay on her back, eyes closed but a small smile on her lips. Fingers rubbed against the firm outline of his covered manhood. The touch sent a stirring warmth through the Blade as his eyes grew wider. A small laugh rose up Cassandra’s throat as she opened her eyes and turned, facing Victor. Her fingers never stopped touching him, slowly moving over tight pants.
“Well well, what do we have here? A gentleman caller and it’s not even my birthday,” Cassandra smiled wide.
Victor’s mouth curled into a grin as he hugged the older woman close. Cassandra pulled her hand back and touched Victor’s waist, bodies pressed together. The Blade held her fiercely, heart pounding in his chest. When he pulled back, Cassandra was staring at his green eyes.
“I heard every word from you, Lily, Hox, Yex and Rhass. Vala smiles on us.”
Cassandra squeezed Victor’s butt, “And I’m ready to resume my duties as Keeper and butt slapper.”
Victor wanted to jump up, run out into the street and call everyone to the Keeper’s home. Bliss curled along nerves, but the Keeper held onto him, not wanting to let go.
“I’m young enough for you to…,” Cassandra stopped talking, her eyes widening.
Victor’s face wrinkled from joy, to confusion and then pain. The Blade yelled out as pain stabbed at his heart, drilling into his core. Thrashing,
Victor grunted and yelled as his body was wracked in torment. It came out of nowhere and he couldn’t brace himself. An image of Caasa floated into his mind. She reached out to him before darkness consumed her.
Cassandra couldn’t hold on as Victor pulled away, fell off the bed and crashed onto the floor. Huffing, he tried to push away the flaring pain. A long moment circled the fallen Blade until the pain ebbed and eventually subsided. Cassandra was up, stepping around the large bed and kneeling to Victor’s side.
The Blade controlled his breathing, looking to the Keeper with stark eyes. “I…I have to go to Dark Spire. Caasa is dead.”
Four
A low moan filled Lily’s throat as her fingers played between parted thighs. The succubus’s tail curled as did her toes, strumming her clit like a violin. Gasps rose up as moans vibrated. Heat poured out of her body until she reached a flashpoint. Chest rising up, she let out a low moan as bliss spilled along bright nerves.
Falling from the heated climax, Lily sighed as she thought of Victor and prepared to go another round.
“You better show up soon,” Lily said to imaginary Victor as her wet fingers began to play again.
The massaging and playing began to ignite once again until Lily’s eyes shot open. Pain stabbed at her heart and her mouth clamped shut, not wanting to scream. Sitting up, an image of Caasa floated along her mind’s eye. The succubus jumped from the bed to the floor. Hands grabbed clothes and she dressed in a hurry. Boots barely on, the succubus darted out of her home and onto the stone street.
Victor and Cassandra were racing down the street toward her, eyes wide. The succubus felt a pang of joy as Cassandra ran along Victor’s side but it quickly washed away as cold realization touched the demoness. Seeing the look in Victor’s eyes showed that he felt it too, a sudden loss of an acolyte.
The Blade and Shield met on the street, Victor’s hands grabbing Lily by the arms, eyes manic.
“We have to go to Dark Spire! Vonn and Yimer could be in trouble,” Victor said with an edge.
Lily reached up and touched his cheek, “I know I felt it too.”
Cassandra stepped to the Blade and Shield, her eyes containing a sliver of darkness. “Go to them. I’ll commune with Vala and see if she can lend us some aid.”
Lily broke away from Victor and stepped to the younger version of Cassandra, “I…”
The older woman shook her head, “Not now my dear. We will have time to discuss later, but right now, you both must go to Dark Spire.”
The succubus nodded before turning to Victor. Without another word, the pair made their way along the stone path. Lily looked back to Cassandra’s warm smile before turning and looking forward.
Victor’s mind worked, uncertainty painting his brow. He could feel the loss, a small empty part of his heart. It was similar to the others when they died, but for some reason, it was stronger, more defined. The pair stepped along, following the small path to Vala’s cave, mist pouring out of the oval entrance.
Victor stopped right before the cave and turned to Lily, “I don’t understand, it felt like a part of me died.”
Lily looked to Victor with understanding eyes, “The longer you are Vala’s Champion, the deeper the connections will become. The passion of our connections will root into your spirit.”
The Blade looked into Lily’s eyes. “You mean it will get stronger?”
The succubus nodded. “It is one of many changes you will feel over time.”
Victor tried to mentally shake it off, his heart beating with purpose. “I think, no matter what happens, we need to bring all acolytes here to the mountain. It’s the only way we can be sure they will be safe.”
Lily nodded. “I think your right. Now that Cassandra is back, she will know how to defend Vala’s realm from any further attacks.”
Victor nodded. “Let’s start by finding Vonn and Yimer.”
“I’m with you,” Lily said with a kind smirk.
The couple gave a final nod before walking side by side to the mouth of the cave. Mist billowed out as the pair made their way in. Bodies fading into the mist, Victor thought of Dark Spire.
Walking through thick fog, Victor could feel Lily at his side. Hearts glowed along minds, sensing and feeling each other through the quantum fields and strands. The mist changed, parting away with each step. The pair walked on until dim light shined through the fading mists. When the fog spilled away and the night sky emerged, Victor looked up at a beacon of light.
The city of Koth lay before the man and demoness, a long spire reaching up to the black sky and a glowing crystal’s light touching each stone building. The crystal rotated, its light similar to moonlight. Further into the heavens, celestial moons and planets glowed against the inky black sky. Victor’s gaze lowered to the flooded city as strange beings carried on with their existence like nothing else mattered.
“I remember the way. We can…,” Victor began before the very ground shuddered.
The Blade and Shield looked to each other as another shudder rolled across the sandy floor. Being at the edge of the city, Victor gritted his teeth as a large shape emerged from behind a mountain. The dim light touched the giant thing as it stepped, each foot fall shaking the ground and sending ripples of water along the flooded city. Victor wanted to look up but he knew if he did, he would go insane.
Lily’s hand reached up and pushed Victor’s chin toward the city, their backs to the thundering monster walking toward them. The Blade complied, heart racing in his chest. He had seen an Elder once and it nearly killed him. The touch of insanity reached into his mind and nearly ripped it to shreds if he didn’t make a last-ditch effort to shut it down with the power of his spheres of influence.
“The light will keep it at bay,” Lily said as she reached down and took Victor’s hand.
The succubus led Victor along, boots stepping into knee deep water as the very city shook. Black eyes of the warp spawn turned, looking past the Blade and Shield as something gigantic loomed toward the city. A chill bit deep into Victor’s body as he fought the urge to look back. The thundering foot falls stopped and something made strange inhuman sounds. Victor walked with Lily, looking up at the glowing crystal above the city spire.
Another strange sound vibrated along the air before Victor heard the Elder behind them shift on its feet and began to walk off. The booming foot falls seemed to grow fainter with each step and small relief washed over the Blade. Victor let out a long exhale, his mind growing sharp once again.
The pair made their way further into the city along the main street. Wide eyes peered down from parted curtains to the man and demoness as they sloshed along. The alien-feel of the realm tried to cloud Victor’s senses as he walked along. It made the trip that much direr if Vonn and Yimer were somewhere, hiding from whatever killed Caasa.
Victor and Lily continued to walk when a cluster of bodies emerged from a side street. The Blade watched as a dozen warp spawn moved through the water on tentacle legs. Their upper bodies were strong and muscular, oversized swords and hammers across their broad backs. Fish and odd humanoid faces stared out beyond the city, not giving Victor and Lily a second glance. Slick black tentacles moved through the water without a sound as the dozen warp spawn continued past the pair, toward the city edge.
Victor slowly turned, eyeing the spawn as they marched from the streets and onto the black desert floor, scarred mountains in the distance.
“Where are they going,” Victor asked out loud.
Lily pulled Victor along, “To some trouble we don’t want a part in.”
Victor gave them one last look as they moved as one unit into the unforgiving Elder lands before turning and walking alongside Lily. The succubus gave his hand a light squeeze before letting go. Water lapped at walls as the pair made their way down a small street and then into a thin alley. Vibrant memories of his first time here filled his mind as he recognized the way. Thinking of the neboos, a small smile crept into his cheek before the dark image of Caasa loomed lik
e a monster in the night. Smile fading, Victor mentally prepared himself for the worst.
Stairs shined from a lone green lantern over a door. Victor and Lily took each step, water painting every step until they reached the top. A gun blade slipped from Victor’s wrist and into his hand. Spending a point of Constitution, the six holes at the top of the blade glowed to life. Lily held out her hand, a metal staff extending into her palm, fingers closing around it. The pair looked to the door handle, a long gash running along the wood and the door partially open.
Victor placed his left hand on the door and gently pushed. The door slowly opened as Victor’s heightened senses cut through the darkness of the stone home. Alerts appeared in his vision as he stepped in. Aiming his gun blade, he moved slowly, each step measured. Lily was behind him, red eyes taking in the gloom and fingers tight around her staff.
The smell of ammonia caused Victor’s nose to wrinkle. It was sharp and stabbed at his senses. Ignoring the smell, he made his way down the small hallway. Black blood streaked across a wall and floor like oil stains. Chunks of tentacles lay still on the ground as Victor continued to step forward. Senses dialed to eleven, aside from the stench, nothing else moved or made a sound.
Victor was first into the main room. Eyes drank in the dead hearth, ripped furniture and something lying in the middle of the room. Vonn’s table was shattered to pieces and among the splintered wood, a decomposing body lay. Victor moved in, eyes cast down and seeing Caasa as she stared up with dead, black eyes. Tentacles were pulled from her body and lay strewn about. Her stomach was open, organs spilling out and from what Victor could guess some were missing. Pale skin glowed in the Blade’s vision, parts of her arms with chunks of flesh gone.
Lily looked down at Caasa, heart heavy in her chest. Victor stepped to the cold body and knelt down by it. Sadness touched him as he examined Caasa’s body. Pointed teeth marks highlighted in his vision as he mentally directed his nano-shell to record what he was seeing.