Realm Walker Omnibus

by Erik Weir

  “I doubt that. You have brokered deals so I assume you are more than just a farmer. If I may ask, who would you have lead the six realms?”

  Dreg’s eyes shined in the dining room light, “The citizens of Valis are a kind and powerful people. They would be most adept on bringing order to the chaos…if they survive much longer.”

  Dreg finished his glass of wine before he continued. “But if they cannot, our leaders will be up to the task.”

  “I guess the people will have their hands full on deciding who will rule them,” Victor said as he looked away.

  The mood turned to undercurrents of jagged gloom. Victor could feel Dreg’s attempts at goading him on and they were not subtle. The demon took no opportunity to hide his expressions or his opinions as he spoke like a monster that feared nothing. Victor’s mind drifted to his promise to Lily and now knew why she had him do it. She knew he would test boundaries and Victor misjudged just how brazen Lily’s father could be.

  Dreg picked at his food absently as he turned his chin toward Lily, “Tell me daughter, are you still worshipping that dead goddess or have you moved on?”

  Lily gave her father a tired expression, “What do you care?”

  “How can a father not care about what his child reads? I have spent some time reading your little library. I wanted to understand you more. When I came across the myths and legends of gods and saw the folded corner of a page, it began to make sense on what you are.”

  Lily eyed her father with shadows under her eyes, “And what am I?”

  Dreg leered before smoothing it away, “Why an abomination. Do you still heal the wounded like that imp caught in a trap so long ago? They are animals and it still bit you after you freed and healed it. How my intelligent daughter could follow a dead goddess is beyond me.”

  “How could you not understand after reading my books? As for the imp, it was a chance I was willing to take. I would heal a thousand imps even if each one bit me afterwards. You have called me an abomination for so long, the word has lost all meaning.”

  Lily stabbed her fork into a slab of meat, “You will never open your eyes to anything more than what you are! There is love…real love in the universe and you sit content to push the old ways to the breaking point. Your corner of the realms means nothing and you can’t admit in the universe that you are less than nothing.”

  Lily heaved as she stared daggers into her father. Victor’s body tensed as the succubus trembled slightly from her outburst. Nyla bowed her head in sad defeat as Dreg simply looked to his daughter. A long moment passed before Dreg stood up and bowed his head.

  “Lilith, I am truly sorry for how I treated you. I had to see for myself if you still held that fire in your spirit. I was cruel because I wanted to make you stronger. I knew if others found out about your abilities, they would hunt you down and kill you before killing us for having you. You may not understand, but I wanted to protect you by teaching you to be strong and I see that you are very strong. Forgive this old demon.”

  Lily’s eyes widened in shock as she looked up to her father in disbelief. Victor couldn’t keep his jaw from dropping as he looked on from across the table. Nyla gave a shy smile, but kept her head bowed.

  “You can’t mean that,” Lily said in a low voice.

  Dreg lifted his horned head and smiled. “I have had a long time to think about you. I always admired your spirit. Compared to your siblings, you are the strongest among them. I was filled with sadness and regret when you left. Seeing you at the dinner table when I came in caused my heart to soar.”

  Dreg turned his attention to Victor, “And I must apologize to you Victor. I hope you can understand my protective feelings for my daughter. To see her with such a strong, young man tells me you will treat her like the beautiful creature she is.”

  Lily’s fingers curled into tight fists, “This…is not real.”

  Nyla lifted her head, “Your father often told me he missed you. We didn’t know where you were so we could not call you back home. Your father made deals in the realms to see if he could hear anything about you.”

  The succubus eyed her father, a tenderness touching her demeanor. Victor sat, unsure what to say. It all sounded so genuine and sincere, he could hardly believe it. He only knew Lily’s side, but to see them talk to her like family, it tugged at his own heart, a deep part of him missing his mother and father.

  Dreg turned his attention to Nyla, “Bring out some cake. I want to talk with Victor outside. Lily, will you assist your mother?”

  Lily hesitated.

  “I just want to know him a little better. He is your best friend and I should know what kind of man he is to be seeing my daughter.”

  Nyla stood up with a fanged smile. Lily moved on automatic, helping to clear the table. Victor watched her, seeing her heart cracking as the moment overtook her. The anger he felt before drained away as the warmth of home seemed to sink into his spirit. Was this why Vala meant to bring them here? Did she know that they would welcome her back with open arms?

  Victor, don’t fall for it. Isn’t it a little odd he would test you and Lily and then change his tune?

  Victor let Chill’s words swirl in his mind, but he didn’t answer. Dreg moved to the main room while beckoning Victor with a finger. The young man stood up as Nyla smiled to her daughter. Lily gave her mother a smile before turning that smile to Victor. In that moment, she danced with a happy heart. He could tell just by the childlike gaze; a weight was pulled from her shoulders as she considered her father was telling the truth.

  Dreg stepped outside and left the door opened. Victor followed with cautious eyes. Stepping outside, the young man turned to see Dreg walking along. Picking up the pace, he soon reached Dreg’s side as they walked along. The barn stood in the small distance between the house and the fields. Red gourds glowed against the inky darkness of night. Dim stars twinkled as comets crossed the heavens in an endless stream.

  Dreg reached into his jacket and pulled out two things that strangely looked like cigars. “Do you smoke?”

  “Not really,” Victor said honestly.

  “Tonight, you do,” Dreg said as he handed a cigar to Victor. “We are celebrating the return of my daughter and meeting her best friend.”

  Dreg put the cigar between his lips and the end flared into a small flame. Victor put the cigar to his lips and the end of his burned into flaking embers. He took a small inhale, the taste smooth on his senses before he coughed. Dreg looked to the young man with a knowing smile as he puffed away.

  The air took on scent of heavy aroma as wisps of smoke curled upwards. Muscles relaxed as the cigar seemed to the take the edge off. Victor started to enjoy it, moving it around like those military leaders in World War 2 movies. Glancing to the side, Victor could see in through the kitchen window, Lily and Nyla setting a cake and utensils down on the table.

  “They are beautiful,” Dreg said with the cigar in his mouth.

  Victor puffed but said nothing.

  “Lily is very much like me and her mother, strong and insatiable. If you like, you can have my bed and sleep with my wife if you desire.”

  Victor’s brow shot up as he didn’t believe what he just heard.

  “I understand it might not be like the other realms but here, we share our bodies with visitors. It cements new and old bonds. I know my wife will not complain.”

  “Thank you, but I must decline. Lily and I won’t be staying long.”

  Dreg raised a bony eyebrow, “You must stay. It would be rude if you left before the sunrise. The fields and roads out here are still dangerous to travelers.”

  “Thank you, but I think we only came for a short visit.”

  Dreg looked up to the stream of comets and sighed. “My daughter can be a handful. I hope you are up to the task of being with her.”

  “Like everything in life, we will manage,” Victor said and coughed.

  Dreg looked to Victor and gave him a wide smile. “Tell me, do you follow Vala as well?”


  The Blade simply nodded. They already knew Lily followed the goddess so he didn’t see why he would have to hide it from them.

  Dreg’s eyes glowed before a puff of smoke clouded his face. “My contacts in the other realms have spoken of her returning. The realms will never be the same if she truly comes back. Wars will diminish and love will bloom again. That is a commodity sorely missed here in Night Sun.”

  The cigar smoke floated away and Dreg faced Victor, “You seem like a nice guy. I hope you remain nice when I claim my daughter.”

  Victor raised an eyebrow, slightly lost.

  Dreg gave the young man a hard stare, “It is custom for the leader of the family to subject the family to their will. The best way is to ensure they understand who the leader of the family is by making them moan in submission. Lily’s mother, brothers, and sister understand their place. Lily has not been trained because I would not stick my cock in her as long as she had her holy power.

  “Times are changing and if Vala is going to return, my daughter must know her place.”

  Victor took the cigar from his mouth with his left hand as his right hand curled into a tight fist.

  Dreg looked down at the tight fist and gave a sly smirk, “It’s so easy to manipulate women. I told Nyla how I missed my daughter just so she held some hope. In truth, my daughter is still an abomination to our kind, but maybe I can fuck it out of her. We can take turns, fucking Nyla and Lily until their moans are songs in our hearts. They will thank us even after we cover their bodies in our seed.”

  “I’m not having this conversation. I’m going to go inside and get Lily. We are leaving.”

  Dreg’s sly smirk turned into a hard frown, “You dare challenge me to what I can have by right. Lily belongs to me before she will ever belong to you.”

  The edge of Victor’s mouth twitched as he saw the monster Dreg really was. Trying to step past the demon, Dreg lifted his hand and touched Victor’s chest, stopping him from taking another step.

  “You eat my food, drink my wine and now you want to leave, denying me what is mine? How dare you.”

  Victor’s brow formed a hard, bumpy V, “Out of respect, Lily and I will be leaving. Take your hand of me now.”

  Dreg kept his hand on Victor’s chest, “You have fucked my daughter and I can smell her scent all over you. How tight is she? Does she moan and cry like her mother? Do you think she will call my name…or yours?”

  Victor dropped the cigar, fists vibrating at his sides. “Take your hands off of me,” he said with a deep growl.

  Dreg gave a wicked smile, “I will lick her tears as I convert her to Hexnia. She will moan my name until she finally sees Hexnia is the true goddess you piece of low-grade filthy trash!”

  Time stopped as a point of Strength slipped into Victor’s body. When time flowed again, the Blade didn’t feel his arm pull back and shoot forward like a viper. Dreg’s evil smile disappeared as knuckles slammed into his boney face. The Blade felt no regret or remorse as Dreg’s body slammed into the side of the home, his arm smashing the window to the kitchen and sending glass through the air.

  Madness took hold as Victor stalked forward. Eyes burned with hatred, his gaze laser focused on the demon as he wiped away blood from the corner of his mouth, a sinister grin forming. Slowly standing up, the demon chuckled as Victor closed the distance, raising his arm for another punch. Dreg’s eyes flashed before his clawed hand shot up, catching Victor’s fist in the blink of an eye. Arms vibrated from power as Dreg’s pointed tongue licked blood from his own lips.

  “You’re not the only Champion in the realms,” Dreg grinned before driving his fist into Victor’s gut.

  Fourteen

  Air forced out of Victor’s lungs as his body bent and flew backwards. Tumbling to the ground, his legs bent and fingers clawed into dirt to stop his momentum. Head up, fury took hold as he took a deep breath and cautiously stood up. Twenty feet away, Dreg cracked his neck and his knuckles, grinning like a monster in the dark.

  “My goddess has plans for you. She sent me a vision of beating you to a pulp and I won’t lie, I relished the thought of it. Your face has haunted my dreams and now I get to break you,” Dreg said as he stepped forward.

  The front door of the house burst open, Lily darting outside, followed by Nyla. The two demon women turned their wide eyes to Dreg and Victor. Lily held open her hand, staff appearing and extending in it while Nyla took a step back, fear and sadness coloring her eyes.

  “Father,” Lily shouted as she took a stance.

  Dreg stopped his advance and turned his wicked smile to the succubus, “Stay out of this or I’ll beat you like the ungrateful daughter you are!”

  “Hexnia made him a Champion,” Victor said with a hard tone, “She directed him to defeat me and convert you.”

  Dreg turned his attention back to Victor, “Your friend is right. No need to play this deception any longer. You will both know your place and I will be teaching you the narrative.”

  Dreg resumed his advance on the Blade. A foul mist rose up around the demon like a toxic cloud. The yellowish cloud grew thicker and thicker until only a faint image of the demon could be seen. Lily was about to advance when misty tendrils rolled out, stretching toward her.

  Victor lifted his chin in contempt as the bone sword slipped from his wrist and into his hand. Spending another Strength point, the sword was charged as he aimed it at the cloud. With a thought, a roar blasted out, striking the cloud and blowing out all the windows on this side of the house. The yellowish mist was scattered to nothing, but Dreg was nowhere to be seen.

  A chill touched Victor’s neck as the temperature dropped in an instant. Spinning around, he sliced wide with his sword until it clashed with something made of darkness. Dreg grinned as he stepped out of a shadow from behind Victor, a black mace in his hand. Dull sparks flashed as the weapons vibrated against their energies.

  “Hexnia told me you had gained great power, but she has gifted me with her sphere of influence. Your end will be sweet and bloody,” Dreg grinned as the yellowish mist floated from his body.

  Victor pulled away, but the mist had already reached him. A mental fog poured over his mind and the world around him began to shift. Dreg’s face lengthened and stretched and Victor tried to shake it off. Time slowed down and seemed to flow sideways as he wasn’t sure what was happening until something hard struck him across the face.

  Head snapping back and body flying, pain roared against the confusion and the Blade couldn’t concentrate as he hit the ground. Struggling to stand up, a black mace flashed, connecting with Victor’s cheek and sent him spinning to the ground. Yellow mist flowed over the fallen Blade, crawling into his nose and mouth, causing him to choke on it. A hand reached from the mist and grabbed Victor by the throat. With one heave, he lifted him up, the Blade struggling in the tight grasp and gasping for air.

  “You never had a…,” Dreg didn’t get to finish as the bone sword shot into Victor’s hand.

  The Blade coughed as he sliced down, only for the black mace to block the incoming swing. With a mental command, the air vibrated as the bone sword roared again at point blank range. Victor and Dreg were thrown from the sonic boom, disbursing the yellow mist. Dreg smacked the side to the home again and Victor landed some distance away.

  Lily watched with wide eyes, seeing how the mist was slowing Victor down. The Blade struggled once again to stand up. Regaining his senses, blood filled his mouth from the blows to the face. Swelling grew as the Blade spit out two teeth. At the very least, his skull was fractured. Spending a point of Will, the pain faded to the background as he eyed the demon running toward him.

  Mist fell from Dreg as he charged with his black mace raised high. A manic gaze cried out to inflict pain as he closed the distance in a blink of an eye. Bone sword sliding back into his wrist, the Blade threw himself to the side as the mace came down and sparked against stones in the dirt. Victor rolled back onto his feet and he kept his distance from Dreg and
the mist. The confusion was suffocating and he knew he had to keep his distance. With a mental command, the Gun Blade slide into his hand and a Constitution point charged it.

  Dreg’s eyes flared as he stalked forward. Victor aimed and pulled the trigger. An energy bolt blasted out and before it could strike the demon, shadows swirled around Dreg and he disappeared right before the bolt of energy reached him. The young man spun around, aiming at anything that moved until another chill filled the air.

  Lily took a step forward as a mace rose up behind her.

  “Lily,” Nyla screamed.

  The succubus spun around and parried the incoming mace. Grunting, she knocked it away and backpedaled as Dreg stepped toward her. Victor aimed his gun blade but Lily was directly in the line of fire. The very air tasted of sulfur as yellowish mist floated down from Dreg.

  “Vala, your mother, nor Victor will save you from me. You are my property, to do as I wish. Kneel and I won’t scar that beautiful skin,” Dreg said with a razor grin.

  “I knew it was too good to be true. I knew you would never change,” Lily spit.

  Dreg stepped closer, “I did change. I became stronger and filled with new purpose. My family will bow to me and soon so will all of Night Sun. Hexnia has chosen me and I will carry out her will!”

  “Lily,” Victor called out with a touch of concern.

  The succubus backed up, holding her staff sideways. “Victor, don’t hold back. He’s not my father anymore.”

  The Blade smirked as that was all he wanted to hear. Spending five points of Wisdom, Victor held out his left hand and curled his fingers into a fist. An unseen force clamped around Dreg, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head and forcing his arms to his sides. Lily moved to the side as Dreg was lifted into the air and pulled toward Vala’s Blade.

  Victor aimed his gun blade at the approaching Dreg. The demon struggled in the iron grip of the invisible force. He cried out just before Victor pulled the trigger. An energy bolt shot from the gun blade, striking Dreg in the chest, followed by another and another. Victor emptied the gun blade of all its charges as Dreg screamed from each strike. With a flick of his wrist, the demon’s body was lifted up and slammed down again and again. Dreg grunted and cried out with each slam.