by D. R. Rosier
As a result, Justin’s play time was severely curtailed as they all went to sleep early and he actually got a well deserved rest. They were all nervous as they got up and prepared to cross over into Egeria. No one really knew what to expect, going by how their soldiers acted wasn’t a good measure, but they were very aware their invasion force was only five people strong.
Chapter 19
Kat prowled ahead of the others while Sally flew above. Just Nicci and Nora were back with Justin as they crossed the border. It felt strange not standing by him, but she understood the necessity of having scouts for this first part of their plan.
While Sally could easily spot the patrols on her own, Kat’s heightened senses will be able to pick up anyone dug in or stationary below cover.
She wasn’t that worried, the border was many miles long, she just needed to make sure they didn’t stumble into any of the few patrols the enemy had, not to mention their own patrols. Not that their soldiers would do much, but they would be challenged, increasing the chance of the other side noticing.
She took in the scent first, and then turned toward it. Her eyes cut through the darkness. There was an enemy soldier well hidden in the tree a couple of hundred feet away. She had the instinct to remove the threat but shrugged it off, they needed to leave no evidence of their crossing. She could also tell he was sleeping.
Nevertheless she did not want to risk it, and quietly led the group to the side for a while before moving forward again. She did not detect anything else on their way through. After they had shadowed the road for a mile or so, she changed forms and started to change her clothes, hopefully the second stage would work as well.
None of them noticed the raven take to the sky from the trees, they were simply too far away at that point.
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Nora felt really strange outside of armor after wearing hers constantly for over two years. She felt like she was naked without it. She was also used to moving much faster, they plodded along the road at a slow walk that set her teeth on edge. Yet, she knew it was necessary, moving at speed would be like screaming they were there.
They had already been passed by a couple of merchant wagons in each direction, as well as a small squad of soldiers. Going faster simply wouldn’t have been worth it…
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Nicci had to force herself to relax as the second small group of soldiers passed them that day. Luckily Nora had forced her to buy this shapeless fabric, she was still drawing looks despite the unflattering garment, and it was nerve racking.
She was also grounded. Her phoenix form was easily seen and recognized from miles away. If there was any trouble, she would have to stick to her human fire wielding and only change as a last resort. She realized it wasn’t what they were doing, but she thought there was a good chance they had to remove the king of Egeria. Politically speaking it would be a nightmare if it got out that a princess from the neighboring kingdom took part in the assassination.
That might not be what it was, but she knew it would be viewed that way by some.
She also couldn’t shake off the confrontation between her and her father a few days ago. She had expected him to be horribly angry, followed by a shouting match. But when she told him her choice, he simply looked heartbroken. She had been ordered to leave the castle, not in a roar, but a whisper. She knew it wasn’t her fault, but it still hurt…
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Sally was tired after being in the air all day. She had been watching over them and had gotten nervous a couple of times, but so far nothing had happened. She felt relief as they made their way off the road in the early evening, and set up camp. She circled a few times, and not seeing anything, landed and changed.
She immediately felt her soreness leave when Justin touched her. It was a relief. They were watchful as they ate, and went to sleep under the stars. They had decided building stone shelters would be a mistake. She also wanted to drag him away, but it was too dangerous right now. She slowly fell into a deep restful sleep, content and warm in Justin’s arms as he spooned into her.
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Sara worked to get a fire started. She hadn’t eaten anything once the bread scraps ran out, though she had found a stream to refill her water skin. In her desperation to eat when she had seen a rabbit, she stunned it with her mind’s emotions. It was a simple matter to pick it up and snap its neck, but she couldn’t get the damn fire started.
Tears of relief started to run down her face as the grass caught, she held her breath until the sticks caught fire. She skewered the rabbit and hung it over the fire, her mouth watering. When it was finally cooked, or at least not raw in the middle, it tasted better than anything she had eaten before.
She was not suited for outdoor life, she was hardly surviving and she couldn’t wait to find somewhere she could settle down, somewhere far away and out of reach of her old king…
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Justin brooded as he, Kat, Nicci and Sally waited a couple of miles from the village. They had decided when they started out to avoid villages if possible, and had brought enough food with them for six days. With Kat or Nicci being able to hunt for fresh meat it was more than doable. But as the morning had gone on they were running into more and more small squads of soldiers.
Since they had been ignored, they figured the soldiers weren’t after them, but they had been a little nervous about it. So against his better judgment Nora went into the town to try and pick up rumors about what was going on. At first he argued he should be there, but he was eventually convinced spy work was best done by one individual who knew what they were about.
He smiled wryly, outside of Bond films he had no idea how spying worked. Somehow he doubted the realism of the films…
Plus, with Nora’s talent she could listen to conversations from a hundred yards away. Knowing spy craft or not, he was sure that would be a boon for it. He was getting nervous after an hour passed, and sighed in relief when he saw her coming back.
Nora said without preamble, “The soldiers are chasing after some chamber maid from the castle named Sara. Apparently she is wanted for murdering a noble, and since she fled she has taken to highway robbery. Unofficially, from the gossip I heard, the lord was a raping piece of shit bastard that deserved it.”
Sally said thoughtfully, “It would be a risk, but if we can locate her first, she would have invaluable information on the inside of the castle.”
Nora replied regretfully, “My heart goes out for the girl, but if we start harboring a fugitive we might as well pull out trumpets and have Nicci lead the way in her other form.”
Nicci snickered and said, “It would be too risky to start searching overtly ourselves, but I think we should keep our eyes open.”
He noted Kat didn’t have anything to add, just looked thoughtful. He said, “Let’s go with Nicci’s take, Sally is right, and if we can help her and ourselves at the same time safely enough…”
Nora said, “According to the descriptions I heard she is our age, five foot six, long curly strawberry blonde hair and green eyes.”
He felt a little guilt, normally he wouldn’t hesitate to help, but he had to take into account the mission they were on. What if helping one woman caused a chain of events that led to failure? They needed to remain unnoticed.
He frowned. What good was saving the world from a dark god if he didn’t stay true to his convictions? He didn’t like the idea of sacrificing anyone, or his convictions, for the greater good. It was a cop out in his opinion. On the other hand, this kingdom was often brutal to women; he couldn’t save them all, no matter how much he wanted too.
They continued on, and if anything the soldiers became more numerous, which raised his stress level. It was true he didn’t want to die, but the drive behind his emotions of worry was the safety of his intended mates. He had a tight hold on his magic, keeping it down, so those protective feelings did not give them a way. They stopped on the side of the road for a quick lunch before setting out
again.
It was mid afternoon when they heard the high pitched scream of a woman somewhere in the woods to their right. He froze a moment in indecision, then started a jog into the trees directly toward the scream. When he broke into the clearing he saw six soldiers surrounding a young woman that was filthy. One of the soldiers must have been a telekinetic, because she was hanging four feet off the ground.
He was about to have them intervene, when suddenly the six men screamed and fell to the ground twitching. The girl collapsed to the ground and fell to her knees, he could hear the ripping sobs from fifty feet away. They approached slowly, Sara he assumed, looked terrified when she saw them, but she calmed slightly before they even said anything.
If she was truly raped, he knew that he should stay back. He could never truly understand what a woman felt after something like that, but he knew she would be wary around other men. He also remembered how scary Nora could be before he got to know her, so he gestured Sally forward to talk for them.
Sally said tentatively, “Sara right? We want to help you. You won’t make it if you keep going north right now, there are too many soldiers searching for you. Eventually you will meet one that is smart enough not to want a little fun first, and you will lose.”
Sara looked suspicious, but also very confused, when she said, “Why should I trust you? I’ve had other offers of help, for a price. What is yours?”
He heard a noise from behind, it was another group of soldiers. Before they could call out to any others though, they turned into quickly incinerating pyres as they were struck by small balls of fire.
He looked at Nicci questioningly and she just shrugged and said, “Nora’s air bullets were cool, so I figured out how to make my own. I had to do something with my time while I was kept from you.”
Sara squeaked in alarm, but calmed down again after a moment. She looked terrified to him and he wondered why she hadn’t run for it yet, though he was glad she didn’t.
Sally said patiently, “We just need information, and we hate men who mistreat women so we would probably have helped anyway. We can explain more later, but right now we need to make you disappear.”
Sara nodded in understanding and said, “What must I do.”
He watched as Sally used her magic to clean up Sara, and what emerged amazed him. Her strawberry blonde hair was glowing in the sunshine, and her perfect porcelain face was simply beautiful.
He turned his back however when Sally started undressing and said, “Wear these clothes.”
Nora poked him when it was okay to turn around, and he took in Sara. Her hair was now jet black, her eyes brown, and her skin was chocolate brown. She looked like she could be Sally’s younger sister. They didn’t look that much alike to him, but he realized a casual inspection of their group by the soldiers may not notice the difference.
He was curious to ask how she did it, but that taboo kept his mouth firmly shut. He grinned back when Sally mischievously kissed him in her birthday suit. He caught her blushing smile right before she changed into a falcon.
He watched as Sally took to the air, and they headed back toward the road and started walking south…
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When the fourth band of soldiers passed them on the road, examining their faces, she managed not to flinch like she had the previous times. Sara’s mind was spinning, who were these people and what did they want from her?
If she hadn’t been an empath, she would have run as soon as she saw them. All of her experience told her she couldn’t trust anyone, but she was overwhelmed by the last three days and running on instinct, and her talent was telling her these people meant her no harm.
It was the compassion she had felt from all of them that convinced her tired mind not to run. She almost did anyway at the small surge of lust she felt from the man when she was cleaned, but he did not step forward or leer at her, so she held still. To her surprise he even turned around to give her privacy as she changed clothes.
As they walked south, which her mind balked at despite understanding the need to throw off the soldiers, she felt herself drowning in feelings she had never felt. She was awed by it. The four women radiated love and protectiveness toward this strange man, and he returned their feelings. She almost cried, she had never known anything like that in her life.
All she knew was if they could help her, they would. She still felt their concern when they glanced her way from time to time and she decided she would tell them anything they wanted to know…
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Sally flew as high as she could, trying to stay out of sight, but she needed to remain within the limits of her magic. She couldn’t actually change Sara’s hair color, or skin pigment, but color was a function of light, and she was able to erect filters to change the color reflected. She needed to stay close enough to maintain it.
The afternoon seemed to drag in the tense atmosphere of so many soldiers, she hoped they would remain undiscovered or it would get very ugly. Eventually the time to stop for the day arrived and it was with relief she landed, changed, and dug into her pack for another set of clothes…
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Once the camp was up and dinner was over the fire, he watched from a distance as Sally and Nicci talked to the girl. He was sure the story she told was glossed over, but it wasn’t hard to read between the lines and he was getting angry about it. He was sure the woman’s life had been filled with abuse. He only managed to tamp it down when he saw the alarmed looks she was throwing his way.
He realized he was scaring her, as she had no idea what he was angry about, and that cooled his ire quickly.
He listened as they gently pumped the girl for information on the castle setup, guard locations, entrances and exits, guard posts inside and all that. Nora got involved then, asking about the smallest things.
Based on the descriptions Sara gave, he was pretty sure they even knew where the altar would be that he had to cleanse, the last door in a side corridor in the Royal wing. But the amount of guards was intimidating. Especially in that wing, he didn’t see how a stealthy advance would work.
When they had gotten all they could, Nora said, “Well listen, I wouldn’t advise trying to go north right now with all the soldiers around. What we are doing is dangerous, but we can try to protect you if you come with us, and we will take you out again when we leave. Make sure you find a good place safe from men like that piece of fucking shit lord.
“If you don’t want to risk that, I would advise you to go deep in the woods, maybe west into the mountains and lay low a couple of weeks before trying again.”
Sara said softly, “Thank you, I… don’t know yet. The idea of returning anywhere near that castle scares me, but I wasn’t doing so well alone, and you’ve all been so kind to me…”
When Sara trailed off Nicci advised, “Sleep on it then, you don’t have to decide until we move in the morning. And… you’re very welcome.”
They talked for a while longer then went to their bedrolls.
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The king of Egeria snapped out, “What is it?” he was tired of dealing with these fools.
The messenger cleared his throat cautiously and said, “Your majesty, the Flame of Cytherea was seen crossing into Egeria two days ago. I verified it myself, he gave the same description of him and his lady companions that the survivors of our invasion force gave.”
The king growled impatiently and ordered, “Well, send out patrols, find them, kill them.”
The messenger said diffidently, “Most of our soldiers are already out patrolling, looking for the maid that murdered your advisor.”
The king rolled his eyes, “So send fast messengers to update them in the field, do I have to tell you everything?”
The messenger bowed low and said, “Yes Majesty, I mean no Majesty,” as he walked backward toward the door.
Chapter 20
Sara started awake, a scream caught in her throat. She felt strong lust and in her world that always meant dang
er. Always meant being callously used and tossed aside. But she slowly calmed when she remembered she wasn’t there anymore. There was also something different to the lust she had always felt before, it was wrapped in love, excitement, and bliss.
The next realization struck her dumb founded, the origin of it was female. In her experience in the castle when she became a woman, it wasn’t something a woman ever liked.
Curiously she looked over and her mouth dropped open. Kat, the confident woman who awed her with a radiating inner strength, was pleasuring Justin with her mouth right out in the open. And most shocking, from the emotions she was getting, Kat was enjoying it immensely. It was only when she felt Justin waking in shock, that she realized it had been completely Kat’s idea.
She then felt Justin’s lust, but also tinged with loving warmth and not just a little bit of awe at his intended mate. She was so taken off guard by his gentle feelings, something she had never felt from a man in the midst of a sexual act, it caused her to wipe tears from her eyes.
She blushed as her body responded to their feelings of rising bliss, and she cut off her magic feeling like an intruder. She buried her face in the bedding, and wished she could have something so wonderful…
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Justin walked along, considering that he had never come across such an obvious case of the difference between knowledge and intelligence.
It was to his surprise that not only was Sara coming with them, but she had approached him and started a conversation. Two things were very obvious, she hadn’t had much of an education, and she was frighteningly intelligent.
He found himself carefully walking as straight as he could. Despite her coming to him and talking as they continued their walk south, anytime he accidentally stepped too close to her she flinched back from him a little bit. He wasn’t insulted, she wasn’t afraid of him, he didn’t think, she had just been through too much at the hands of evil men.
He hadn’t realized until now how much a person automatically gravitated to a set personal distance from the one they walked with. Unfortunately her need for personal space was not even close to most others, she needed much more space from him than he could unconsciously give, so he had to keep it in mind all the time.