by Erik Weir
Chill’s eyes narrowed. “Did it ever occur to you that she is in love with you?”
Victor looked over and blinked.
Chill’s eyes glowed, “You can’t see it, but I saw it. You’re performing some holy crusade for a dead goddess, but I’ve seen how she acts toward you. She loves you.”
“I just thought she loved everyone…”
Chill shook his head. “I don’t think you understand how this works. I have been a witness to your life and your dense skull doesn’t pick up on anyone who is in love with you. So many have wanted to be yours and you walk away without a second thought. I know you have commitment issues because of your parents and your old life, but that is long behind you. You’re a fucking Blade to Vala and they all want to love you.”
Victor tapped his stomach with his fingers and said nothing.
Chill continued, “Your aloofness is like a fucking magnet. I noticed your letting your true self out, but what happened with Draygon is casting doubt on yourself. You think if you separate yourself from Lily, Cassandra, or Dawn things will get better, it won’t. As your leader, you better get with the program or we all fail.”
Victor looked over to Chill again, “You may have to talk to Lily. She says she is the leader.”
The shadow blinked a few times before giving a low chuckle. “Lily can have you at this point.”
Victor smiled. “Thanks for listening.”
The shadow gave a small nod. “We all need a swift kick from time to time. You have enough people backing you and we won’t let you fail, so suck it up.”
Victor nodded silently. Chill lay back down beside the Blade. Long moments ticked by as Victor’s mind drifted away on clouds of thought. The crescent moon glowed and Victor could have sworn he could reach out and touch it. Chill’s words slipped into his dreamy thoughts and he could not deny their power. Vala loved him as did many others, where once he exiled himself from any intimate relationship, now he was in many at varying degrees. Mentally seeing Lily’s face, the doubt grew weaker and far away. The boiling of love caressed his heart and for once, he couldn’t blame the shadow for the odd feelings since Chill was next to him. Destiny had reared its head and the Blade smiled at it.
Chill sat up with a start, “Several people are approaching.”
Victor sat up just as the shadow at his side began to stream into his eyes, mouth, and chest. Victor coughed as the darkness crawled into him and nestled around his heart. Struggling to his knees, the coughing fit passed as Victor looked up to four dark figures. Moonlight cascaded down as they all emerged from the shadows, eyes looking to Victor and smiles forming.
Nerin, Ida, Halisa, and Lix walked up the stone steps and into the destroyed temple. The four women looked down to Victor as he pushed off the floor and stood at his full height. The strong women made their way closer, Nerin leading the small group.
“It’s good to have you all to ourselves,” Nerin said with a warm smile.
Victor gave a warm smirk as the four women surrounded him. “I heard you all wanted to be called War Maidens.”
Nerin nodded, “We don’t have our clan anymore so we decided to have our own clan under Vala’s power.”
“It was Lix’s idea,” Ida said.
The thin Lix nodded and licked her lips.
Nerin’s expression melted into a semi-serious demeanor. “As much as we want to play with you again, we are actually here to give you something.”
Victor stood with relaxed shoulders. “You don’t have to give me anything. We are in this together.”
“That is precisely why we must give you this gift,” Nerin said with a strong edge. “We weren’t just chosen to be locked up for following Vala’s ways.”
“We were chosen to create weapons for the clan,” Halisa added.
“What kind of weapons?”
“The kind that can bestow great power on those who wield them,” Nerin said as she stepped closer and stood before Victor.
Hand out, the War Maiden caressed Victor’s chest in a loving manner. “Vala has shown us our place in the web of destiny. We are not only to fight at your side, but provide you a gift to aid in Vala’s crusade.”
Nerin looked into Victor’s eyes. “Please, allow us to perform the ritual and we can carry out Vala’s will.”
Victor nodded even though he was a little confused on what they meant.
Nerin looked to her War Maiden sisters and gave them each a nod. Words began to spill from their lips, chants and incantations filling the destroyed temple. Victor stood his ground as a dark purple aura began to glow around each War Maiden, their voices becoming one. The tempo grew as did their voices. Uncertainty painted the Blade’s brow, but he remained where he stood, trust filling his heart. The glow brightened as purple energy flared from their eyes. The purple energy dripped as their voices went silent. It snaked down from their eyes and Victor watched Nerin as it coiled around her toned body and wrapped around her leg. Turning his head, he looked to Ida who had energy circling her thigh. Energy curled around Halisa and Lix’s forearms. The aura turned spiky before smoothing into rippling pulses.
Nerin reached down with her open hand. When she touched her thigh, fingers sank into her flesh. The war maiden didn’t blink as wide purple glowing eyes looked to nowhere. Victor grimaced as her hand seemed to disappear into her leg. Looking to the others, their hands also disappeared into forearms and a thigh. Wrists moved but the Blade couldn’t see what they were doing. It didn’t look painful, but a part of him wanted to know if they were hurting themselves.
Nerin let out a gasp as her hand pulled back, a femur bone in her hand. Victor’s eyes widened as he saw a small rift in her leg, energy replacing the place where her bone was as the rift began to seal. Ida, Halisa, and Lix also grunted and gasped as they pulled bones from their bodies. Before Victor could even react from the shock, the woman pulled away from him and stood facing each other. Halisa and Lix held up their bones, connecting them into what looked like a handle and a hilt. Ida placed her femur on the hilt while Nerin placed her thigh bone against Ida’s. Energy flared again, fusing the bones. The top part of the bone weapon sharpened on both sides.
Victor stared in curious concern as Nerin took hold of the Bone Sword, turned and presented it to him. Bowing their heads, the energy around their bodies faded away. Without thinking, Victor reached up and took hold of the sword handle and energy flared again. A connection stabbed into his arm as he looked at the tattoo swords along his forearm. The bone sword flashed again before it sank into his wrist and took its place among his other swords.
Nerin looked up, eyes returning to normal. “We were taunted in captivity that we would be used to make weapons to destroy Vala’s Blade. We are thankful we could create one for you so you can defend yourself and others.”
Victor eyed them in concern, “But your…”
Nerin smiled. “Our bodies will heal and replace the missing bone. For now, the ritual will keep our bodies functioning.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Victor said in disbelief.
“You don’t have to say anything,” Nerin smiled, “just show us your appreciation as Vala’s Champion.”
The Blade let a small wicked smirk slip as the War Maidens moved in closer, a new hunger in their eyes.
“Praise Vala,” Victor whispered before hands took hold and began undressing him with loving grace and a heated wanting.
Eleven
The air was warm as Victor stood in a small room. Looking around, confused thoughts clashed with logic. Memories came off as clouds of fog as he took a step further into the room. A small bed took up a wall and a corner while a tiny bookshelf took up the other wall. A staff leaned against the bookshelf while a single painting of a blood red sunrise hung from a nail. A window looked out to a red and black forest beyond and Victor squinted to see if there was anything out there beyond the jagged red leaves and black bark.
A door swung open and Victor spun around. A little demon girl rushed in
, tears in her eyes. Heart thudding harder in his chest, he rushed forward to see what was wrong until the girl passed through him and flung herself onto the small bed. A chill filled the air, hot breath steaming from Victor’s mouth. The little purple skinned girl sobbed into her pillow, tail swinging back and forth like it was on fire.
“Lily,” a voice said and Victor immediately knew it wasn’t his own.
Victor turned from the sobbing girl to see a purple skinned man walk in. The man’s face twisted and warped as horns curled and unfurled. Mouth changing shape, he stepped in and closed the door behind him.
“Pain will make you stronger,” the man said as he moved closer, passing through Victor like he wasn’t there.
The girl’s sobbing stopped, but she didn’t lift her head up. Victor watched as the man stepped to the edge of the bed. Lily looked like she was ten years old. Victor took a step closer as the man lifted an open hand.
“Let the lesson continue,” the twisting face man said with no emotion before he brought his hand down.
Eyes flashing open, Victor sat up. Breathing heavy, the young man looked around, caught in a tangle of bodies. The War Maidens lay against him, bodies covered in sweat and lost to blissful sleep. The body heat kept away the chill, but sleeping on the temple floor caused soreness to run through his body.
Nerin cooed as she ran her hand along Victor’s arm before passing out again. Victor recalled the hours spent showing their appreciation for each other. An image of Lily surfaced in his mind’s eye and Victor gently untangled himself and stood up. Grabbing his clothes, he dressed himself before looking down at the four women huddled for warmth on the temple floor.
Feeling guilty if he left them like that, the Blade moved to several large stones. Picking one up the side of a large potato, he called on his Transmutation ability and spent a point of Wisdom. The stone warped in his hand and flowed out until it turned into a thick blanket. Placing the blanket on Nerin and Ida, the Blade looked around and picked up a few more stones. Spending the influence, thick quilts rolled out and Victor quickly covered the naked women.
Giving all four of them a kiss on the head, Victor turned and made his way to the stairs. The climb down was easy enough as he glanced to the moon above. With no way to tell the cycles, Victor had no idea how long he had been sleeping. Shrugging it off, he reached the village halfway down the mountain and made his way to Lily’s home.
The village was silent except for the dull roar of small waterfalls to the steamy pools. Reaching Lily’s door, Victor opened it and stepped inside. Darkness and silence greeted him as he closed the door behind him. Walking through the home, he made his way to the bedroom and opened the door. A lone lantern burned low in the corner as two bodies lay on the wide bed. Lily was on her side, facing the bedroom door, eyes closed and a blanket covering part of her nude body. Another person lay on their back just beyond the succubus’s shoulder.
Victor stepped closer, eyes adjusting to the dim light. Dawn lay on her back, lips parted and eyes closed. Her chest was exposed and she snored slightly. The elf had a serene expression disrupted by small snores. Victor’s eyes turned from the sleeping elf to Lily.
The succubus lay with her hands close to her face. If Victor didn’t know any better, it looked like she was trying to hide. Tears streaked down from closed eyes and her throat made a sound, like contained sobbing. Victor closed the distance and kneeled down beside the bed. Lily’s eyes opened; her face unchanged as she looked to Victor. The two gazed on one another as Victor reached up and ran his fingers through her lustrous black hair. Remembering what she told him about sharing dreams because they were Blade and Shield, Victor simply sat down by her, comforting the demoness with his touch.
Lily reached up and took hold of Victor’s hand, drawing it close and pressing the back of his fingers to her neck. Slowly blinking, tears fell but her face was a mask of indifference. Victor smiled, enjoying her warmth. The connection between them grew warmer. Victor wanted to say something but he knew the words meant little when her touch had become all. Lily scooted back in the bed, gently tugging at Victor’s arm.
The Blade pulled off his boots and slipped into bed. When he was under the blanket, Lily clamped her hands and legs on him, holding on for dear life. Snuggling close, she gave a relieved sigh, her tail snaking under the blanket and curling around one of Victor’s arms. Tired soreness whispered in Victor’s mind as his eyes grew heavy. Slumber sang its comforting song as the Blade quickly fell to sleep.
Dreams bloomed like trees against an ever-changing landscape. In the dreamscape, Victor held Lily in his arms; her head snuggled to his chest. Looking up, a female fox sauntered toward him, eyes with a sultry edge.
“Victor…we need you…,” Wynn’s voice carried on dreamy air.
***
Cassandra walked along the stone street, taking in a deep inhale as she savored the air. The glow of Vala’s moon shined down on all and it caused a peaceful exhale from the Keeper. Eyes shifting to Lily’s home, Cassandra quickened her step. The dark cries from the dream world spoke of suffering and carnage the realms had not seen before and she knew she had to set Victor and Lily to task. Vala had spoken and as her Keeper of the goddess’ realm, she would carry out her directives without question.
Lily’s front door opened and the Keeper stopped but ten feet away. Victor, Lily and Dawn stepped out, fully dressed and eyes containing a deep strength. Victor wore his new shirt with buttons along the side, armored trench coat and wide-brimmed hat. Lily was next, wearing a tight black top, leather pants and a light, body hugging black jacket. Dawn was last, wearing thigh high travelling boots, green pants, a white and green shirt with a brown jacket. The trio caught sight of Cassandra’s tall form and closed the distance between them.
“We have to talk,” Victor began.
“Wynn has reached out to you, I know,” Cassandra smiled.
Victor nodded. “She was in our dreams, asking for us to come to her.”
Cassandra returned the nod, “She and many others have touched upon my dreams. There is something brewing and Vala is concerned. I was just coming to you with your tasks, but it seems you have the first one.”
“First one?” Lily said.
“Vala has directed me to task you to go to Xull, Night Sun and finally Valis. Each realm has become disturbed by recent events and they all mention Draygon. His presence has touched upon dreams and turned them to nightmares.”
“This guy is like some virus, infecting each of the realms,” Victor added.
Lily looked to Cassandra with concern etched into her brow, “Did Vala really mean for us to go to Night Sun?”
The Keeper nodded. “She did, but gave me nothing beyond that.”
Victor turned to Lily, “Wynn is our priority right now. She mentioned she needed us in a hurry. Night Sun can wait if you’re okay with that?”
The succubus nodded silently.
Cassandra gave the succubus a warm glance before looking to all three. “My abilities have grown since I have regained my youth. Instead of waiting for sleep to return here, I can pull you back in an emergency should the need arise. It taxes me so only call to me in dire circumstances.”
“Hopefully we won’t need to do that,” Victor smiled.
“I can also open portals to any of the realms. Are you ready?” Cassandra asked.
Victor raised an eyebrow, “Ready? We should come up with a plan first before…” the Blade never finished.
Cassandra waved her hand, a black and purple rift opening beside Victor. The Blade, Shield and Lover turned their heads sideways to the black rift before it slid across and engulfed them, one at a time before it collapsed on itself and was gone.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” Cassandra smiled as she began walking toward the steamy pools in the short distance.
Victor tried to talk, but the words were stuck in his throat, eyes growing wider. Massive dark pillars stretched out in all directions as neon lights glowed from each one
. Lily and Dawn looked around confused before Victor turned around. A thick wall from the floor to the ceiling took up one side of the constructed underworld of Xull. Neon lights shifted colors above as a thick metal door stood closed.
“So, this is Xull. Not as technology advanced as I thought,” Dawn said as she spun around, taking it all in.
“The city is above us. This is the sub level where animals can roam from area to area without interacting with the populace up there,” Lily said.
Victor eyed the door before looking to the elf and succubus. “It looks like we are the new team.”
Lily and Dawn looked to each other, small smiles forming.
“Dawn was a quick learner from how the training session went,” The succubus gave the elf a wicked smirk.
“I didn’t know it would be that…intense,” Dawn smiled back.
“The two of you will have to…show me your training techniques,” Victor said slyly.
“Maybe,” Lily and Dawn said it at the same time and laughed.
The door behind them slid open and several figures emerged from the light behind them. Pointed ears turned in their direction as Victor, Lily and Dawn turned to the figures. Wynn, May, and Helen moved to meet the trio with smiles forming. Victor was caught in Wynn’s sensual curves as her eyes drank him in. The two cat-women, May and Helen stayed behind the fox woman, eyes glowing with kind light.
“It took you long enough,” Wynn said with a snarky edge.
“Good to see all of you again,” Victor grinned.
“Let’s step inside so we can discuss in a comfortable setting,” the fox woman said as she turned and walked back through the opening.
Victor’s eyes fell to Wynn’s fluffy tail and round ass. The jumpsuit didn’t do anything to diminish her figure and the Blade was happy to follow. Lily and Dawn smiled as they watched the Blade happily follow along, his eyes enjoying the view. When the entire group passed through the threshold, the massive doors slid closed and locked into place.
The hallway was bright and clean as they walked along. Victor tore his eyes away from Wynn, taking in the familiar corridor before they reached another set of doors. Wynn stepped up to one and they slid open. With a playful glance back to Victor, she licked her lips before stepping in. The massive room was the same from what Victor remembered. Tables, chairs, terminals, and equipment dotted the massive room. From two couches, two more cat women rose up and purred their delight when they spotted Victor.