Dennis the Conqueror: A Harem Fantasy (Sword and Sorority Book 1)
Page 26
"What's happening?" the Victoria Secret model stand-in said. I turned and shielded her view of what the dragon had done. "Don't worry. You're not in danger from it. It's caged. And Ruja’s dead.”
She looked up at me. She was a blond, maybe natural. I didn't see any dark roots showing. Her outfit was quite sheer. She went bare underneath, top and bottom.
"I'm Den," I said, holding out my hand to her. "Come with me if you want to live."
Chapter 34
Victoria and I—that was actually her name—made our way down the stairwell. We passed the guard I'd plowed into. He wasn't moaning anymore, but he looked like he wasn't ready to get up yet.
I decided not to think about the dragon at the top of the tower. It added a whole new layer to Galderia I hadn't expected and I wasn't sure what I thought about it. What I did know is I didn't want to be anywhere near the damn thing if it got loose. We ran—okay, I limped— to get out of there before any of Ruja's men found us too, but I stopped and held Victoria back with me for a moment. I turned back to the guard at the foot of the stairwell and yelled out to him, telling him the dragon was awake and it seemed to have a thing for flesh. The fact I was bleeding from just about everywhere made my claim believable.
Evidently he had a sensible amount of fear of the creature, because when I said this to him he got up so fast you'd never known he was injured. He glanced up the stairwell and then back at me.
"Clawed the poor bastard to death," I said. "And his cage door is open now too." It wasn't, but the man didn't know that, and I figured that would put the fear of dragon in him, more than it was there already.
He looked terrified just before he ran off, heading down the opposite direction we were going. He kept screaming, "The dragon's loose!"
"Good," I said. "That'll make getting out of here a little easier." It did. We made it to the gate Cormac, Tara, and I had first come in through in no time—though I lost a lot of blood on the way. If Ruja's men hadn't been preoccupied thinking the dragon was loose, they'd have been able to follow the bloody breadcrumbs I'd left for them. Thankfully they had better things to do, like flee for their lives.
Soon I was bringing Victoria into the tavern and introducing her to the others, but the introductions had to wait until I endured the sea of kisses and hugs all of my women gave me. Even Monica came over and planted a kiss on my cheek. Victoria was a little confused as to why the four women were all over me, but it felt great to me and all of them seemed to love it that way too.
Of course, they all freaked out at how much I was bleeding, and they were right to do so. I almost passed out, but Jan had them help me to a place to lie down. She went to work bandaging me and applying some of her magic herbs. My girls gathered around me and fawned over me, which I milked for everything I could. Unfortunately, it would be another day before I could do much else with them.
After the reunion settled down, Monica talked with Victoria a while, some about what each of them had gone through since they were brought to Galderia, some about life back in Austin. I was glad Monica seemed to make Victoria a little more comfortable.
Tara had already shared the sad news about Cormac with the others, but we talked again about what happened and about him in general. It was hard for everyone, but we didn't want to avoid it. A day later, Cormac's body would be found down by the docks. There'd be a proper burial ceremony for him.
Everybody listened intently when I told them how my encounter with Ruja Kurg went, but they got a little sick in their stomachs when I described how he died. His death gave Jan hope. She said she was going to talk to some of the townsfolk to see if they could get together enough people to begin shutting down Ruja's operations in town, or what was his operations.
The dragon was the most unusual thing we had to deal with, though Cormac's death was certainly the worst. Alara apparently knew of the existence of dragons in Galderia, but she was surprised one was down this far south. They were only known to exist in the cold lands of the north, she said.
"The dragon is a great danger," Alara said. "If a small one is here as you say, others may come. They have a way of talking to each other from afar. It must be returned to the north."
"Shouldn't it just be killed?" I asked, regretting that I didn't do it when I had the chance.
"No!" Alara said. "Doing so would draw many more here. They would feel its death and come to mourn…and for revenge."
"What are we supposed to do?" Nithia asked.
Jan stepped into our circle. She'd been standing nearby. "You must go to Yedia, in the north. The people there have a long history of dealing with such things. But you must go soon. If the dragon gets loose…" She looked anxious as she apparently thought about what would happen.
"The woman we went to the north side of town to find out about…That's where they said the other woman went," Alara said. "With some people from there who were far south of Yedia for some reason."
I nodded, to confirm I understood the importance of what we were hearing, but I needed a little time without thinking about another quest, another danger. I looked at Tara, Alara, and Nithia. I needed time with them, to be with them without worrying for their safety.
"I will do what needs to be done," I said. "But for now, I want to be with my women and rest."
Alara and Nithia smiled at me and both walked over to me and put an arm around me.
Tara walked over and stood in front of the three of us. "You know you can't do both at the same time. Right?" She grinned, then winked at me.
"Probably not," I said, before grinning too. "Probably not."
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Acknowledgments
To my friends and fellow writers, the American Inklings, for steadfast support and camaraderie.
To the readers who allow me to share stories with them.
To readers of early drafts who gave me encouragement and feedback to improve the text.
To the welcoming people in the Facebook Harem Lit group who opened my eyes to this genre and whose company I continue to enjoy online. https://www.facebook.com/groups/haremlit
Thank you all.
-Scot
About the Author
I’ve enjoyed stories all my life—some in books, some in movies… some in my head. What can I say? Life is great, but so is imagination.
I’ve worked as a bookseller, a research library assistant, a computer network expert, and in a dozen other jobs over the years—some down the street from my childhood home, others which took me across oceans.
If I’m not reading or writing, I’m probably enjoying time with my family or friends, or hiking or Netflix-ing.
My innards were stitched together with Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, childhood dreams, unbound possibilities, and all of the great 80’s movies.
I've stumbled just enough times to give me some perspective (and character to my stories), but never so badly as to keep me down—for too long.
I believe in being decent to people just because, and going for what you want even when it seems really hard or almost out of reach.
Readers, keep in touch.
ScotCMorgan.com
Books By Scot C Morgan
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(Sword & Sorority Series, Book 1)
SUPERS INCORPORATED (Series, 2019)
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