Monster Girl Islands

by Logan Jacobs

  Where the hell did that come from?

  Oh yeah, I was part dragon now, and my more primal instincts were ready to be set loose.

  I reined back on my inner beast, though, and promised him he would get his time soon. I wanted to watch and see if these three raiders were the only company we were going to have or if they had brought more friends.

  A few moments later, two, five, twelve figures joined the first three, for a total of fifteen invaders. Bingo.

  The raiders looked much the same as the others we’d encountered. They were hulking brutes, with dark, tough, leathery hides, and beady yellow eyes. Thanks to my newly improved eyesight, I could even count the warts and scars on their faces, and I spotted some bones and other unsavory things knotted in their black, matted hair.

  “Looks like another scouting party,” I whispered to my friends, “plus some extra infantry. It looks like they didn’t like losing the last battle. These bastards are pretty predictable.”

  And they had no idea what was in store for them.

  Thankfully, there was likely no way they could have spotted us from our hiding spot, so we definitely had the advantage, even if they outnumbered us.

  I nodded at Mira, and she picked up her bow from where it rested against the wall. She also had a quiver that held fifty or so arrows at her feet.

  George and I left the platform, slipped outside the gate, and got into position, and we waited for her to light the beacon with the small candle that was burning under the table. A moment later, the alarm system flared up with a whoosh as Mira touched the flame to the dry sea grass that was soaked in fish oil.

  “What the bloody fuck is that?” yelled one of the mongrels.

  Once the raiders were distracted by the sudden fire that burst alive in front of them, the dragon and I slipped through the hidden gate underneath the platform.

  “Looks like the whores have built some defenses,” laughed the one closest to me. He was missing an eye, and a scar bisected his lips, and the scar tissue made his gap-toothed grin grotesque.

  “Well damn, that totally ruins our surprise,” mocked another beast. This one was smaller than the others, but he hefted two crude swords made of dark metal.

  “Let’s not keep them waiting! Time to show them their pathetic barricade won’t be able to stop us! Tear the whole thing down!”

  The raiders all let out a wicked laugh as they made their way toward the wall, and the pompous mother fuckers didn’t even bother to watch where they ran.

  They made it about halfway across the field before the first one fell victim to the traps we had set.

  I watched with delight as the seagrass thrushings we had placed over the holes gave away underneath the large beast, and my vision was kick-ass enough to see the startled look on his face as he realized he was about to fall to his doom. I heard his gravelly voice cry out in surprise, and then I smiled to myself when I heard it turn into painful and bubbling death throes.

  Several more raiders met the same fate and their screams pierced the air and quickly turned into gurgling and then just faded away. The remaining savages stopped dead and looked into the pits with anger on their ugly faces. Their buddies had just died right before their eyes, and they hadn’t even seen it coming.

  After a moment of shock, the remaining raiders let out these huge bestial roars and started their march forward again, and this time rage propelled them. They beat their chests with their meaty fists and weapons, and the sound echoed out across the night.

  I did a quick tally, and it looked like the traps had helped five of the bastards meet bloody and slow deaths, which left ten more for George and me.

  Good.

  The raiders did pay more attention to where they stepped now, and that slowed them down. They still didn’t realize they weren’t alone, though, and that was exactly what I wanted.

  I waited in the shadows next to George for the moment of truth. As soon as the raiders had stepped into the light of the beacon, I heard the familiar strum of a bowstring and watched as an arrow flew and struck its target right between the eyes.

  The raider died instantly with a wet gurgle, and his yellow eyes rolled back into his head as he slumped to the ground. Nine more to go.

  Then I heard another arrow be set loose, but so did the raiders, and they all threw their arms up to protect their heads. One got an arrow driven into his tricep and then another arrow found its way into his armpit. He screamed out in his native language and dropped to his knees. He attempted to pull the arrow from his armpit but then passed out at the effort. The remaining eight raiders screamed like a bunch of drunken frat boys who just broke their keg, and they ran to the fence and out of the line of sight for the arrows.

  This meant it was the guys’ turn.

  George let out a ferocious growl, took a running start, and pounced on the raider closest to him. I took a moment to watch my dragon, who was now the size of a grizzly bear, sink his teeth into the side of the closest raider, and his fangs tore through the boiled leather vest like it was paper. Then George picked the ugly fucker up like he weighed nothing and shook him profusely until two separate halves of the orc-beast went flying in different directions, and the dragon immediately moved onto the next target.

  As that bastard screamed, I drew my sea glass sword and threw myself at the other raiders with a fierce war cry.

  “Ahh!”

  The first blow with my sea-glass sword landed right below the filthy monster’s navel, and it pierced his bloated stomach like a hot needle through warm butter. The orc’s yellow eyes bulged out of his head as he gaped at me, and his rancid breath rushed out of his lungs in a putrid cloud as he tried to grab the sword in his gut, but he didn’t have the strength as I dug the blade nearly to his spine.

  Fuck yeah.

  The ugly bastard fell to his knees with a dying choke, and I easily tore my sword all the way up to his throat, and with a squelching wet sound, I gutted the mother fucker right then and there. I gladly watched as his blood and intestines gave off steam when they hit the cool ground before his body even registered it was dead. Then I casually used the bottom of my foot to tip the dead beast over as I pulled my sword clean from his body.

  Warm blood dripped down my face as I twirled my sea glass sword and stepped over the raider I’d just killed. Then I faced the half-dozen remaining invaders, and with my newly enhanced eyesight, I could see the glint of fear in their yellow eyes. Even with their last failed raid, I was sure they never expected to be met with such defiance and force, since the women of this island had been easy pickings for a long time.

  But now, I was here. And these bastards had another thing coming.

  “Who’s next?” I asked with a bloody grin.

  Several of the raiders stumbled back, but one particularly stupid looking brute with a bald head and a bulging belly hefted his sword over his head and lumbered forward with a wordless scream.

  My heart raced in my ears, and the hilt of my blade felt warm in my hand. I watch as my opponent drew closer, but it was like he was moving in slow motion. It took no effort at all to dodge his clumsy blow, and when he over extended, and his momentum carried him past me, I pivoted on my heel and buried my sea glass blade between his shoulder blades.

  The raider died with a wet gurgle before he slid off my sword, and I grinned as I realized I hadn’t even broken a sweat yet.

  It looked like my transformation into dragon-kin had given me more than just a few scales.

  “Oh yeah,” I chuckled as I turned back to my remaining enemies, “you ugly shits are all fucked now.”

  George let out a bellow beside me, and then we charged forward together as the raiders screamed in terror.

  Within minutes, my dragon and I had made quick work of our would-be invaders. Four more had fallen to my blade, and one had been ripped limb from limb by an irate dragon.

  The final raider turned at just the right moment to deflect my blow with his thick armored shoulder, but I felt the sea glass sli
ce right through his arm and nearly sever it.

  The raider’s dark blood sprayed everywhere, but this didn’t slow him down too much. He just brought his own weapon up to slash at me, but I easily dodged it and went for his head again. He tried to block my blade with his weapon, but when the two swords collided, his shattered into a thousand pieces right in his hand. The look of shock on his face was priceless, and I took that moment to remove his head from his shoulders and end his life right there. His decapitated head bounced across the ground at my feet, and it finally came to a stop with his blank eyes staring up at me, and his fat tongue lolling out of his mouth.

  The raiders were dead. Our defenses had worked like a charm and had totally caught the invaders off guard. The women would no longer be defenseless prey for these mother fuckers. I had seen to that.

  George came to stand by my side and take in the scene before us. Then he wiped his snout on the dry grass to remove the blood from his face.

  “They are not good for eating,” he told me.

  I laughed at the total look of disgust on his face. His late-night snack had indeed been very unsatisfying.

  At that moment, Mira, Sela, the twins, and half a dozen more warriors made their way through the gate and out to the field.

  I held my hand up to Mira, and she looked at me like I was crazy.

  “High five!” I cheered as I picked up her hand and smacked it to mine.

  She rolled her eyes at my antics, but then gave me a high five on her own.

  That when I heard coughing and sputtering coming from the beast with the arrows in his side, so I walked over to where he laid with blood running out of his nose and mouth. Mira had hit something vital, and I didn’t know what it was exactly, but he was suffocating on his own blood.

  George moved to put him out of his misery, but I held him back. Then I moved closer so I was standing over him as he died, and I just stared down at him while he coughed his life force out. Blood had stained his skin and leather vest nearly black, and pools of the liquid spread out beneath him like an encroaching oil spill.

  “Enjoy your victory,” he groaned with hate in his beady yellow eyes, “it will be short lived. My brothers will avenge us. They are coming. Within a fortnight, you will all be dead.”

  With those words, he sputtered, choked, and then died right there in front of us.

  My heart started to pound in my chest as I processed the bastard’s dying declaration.

  “Fuck,” I muttered.

  If what he said was true … the rest of the raiders would be arriving right when my babies were due.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I’ve got to go tell the queen about all of this,” I told the warrior women after we’d gathered up the raiders’ bodies to burn. It hadn’t taken long at all with George’s help, though he fussed about how they tasted the whole time.

  “So bitter and greasy, very disappointing,” he grumbled. “Not even Hali could make them taste good.”

  I laughed when I saw him wiping his tongue on the grass to get the taste of the invaders out of his mouth.

  “Sorry, buddy,” I snickered, “maybe we can find you a better snack at the palace. Let’s get going, we’ve got a lot to tell the queen.”

  Before I left for the palace, I appointed two of the warriors to stay at the border. I highly doubted there would be any more attacks tonight, but I wasn’t going to risk the chance. The women also had enough foresight to bring a new oil soaked torch with them to replace the burned alarm beacon, since that needed to be done as soon as possible. The beacon had served its purpose well, and I didn’t want to go one minute without a replacement.

  “Darya,” I said as we walked to the palace, “you were on alarm watch duty at the palace, right? How did things go when everyone saw the beacon was lit?”

  “Just like we practiced,” she replied with a smile. “Everyone moved into their positions, got the windows shuttered, and locked the doors down within just a few minutes.”

  “Excellent,” I said, and then I pursed my lips as I asked my next question. “Did Nerissa go to the safe room?”

  Darya let and a noise that was half laugh and half sigh, Sela groaned loudly, and Zarya just shook her head.

  This wasn’t going to be good.

  “She went,” Sela answered with half a scowl, “but she was far from happy about it. I practically had to carry her in there.”

  “At least you got her in there,” I sighed. “Thank you for that.”

  “Talise was a big help in persuading her,” Zarya added. “We probably would have had a much bigger fight on our hands if our healer hadn’t been there.”

  “I will make sure to thank her,” I laughed. “Talise wasn’t crazy about the idea, either, but at least she isn’t fighting me tooth and nail about it. I am probably going to regret saying this, but I miss the sobbing queen.”

  The women chuckled and shared amused looks.

  “Be careful what you wish for, Ben,” Mira teased with a grin.

  Ten minutes later, I was relieved to see the palace was still on lockdown when we arrived. The women were all following orders perfectly, and it made me relax a good bit to know they’d been as safe as they could be during the attack.

  I walked up to the eastern most door and pounded out the secret knock we’d come up with.

  “State your purpose!” Hali called through the door.

  “It’s Ben,” I declared, “along with George, Mira, Sela, Zarya, and Darya.”

  “Who is Dark Vader’s son?” the cook asked without opening the door.

  I laughed to myself since she said “dark” instead of “darth,” but at least she had remembered the security question. We’d come up with a few of them for anyone who would possibly be outside the palace during an attack and needed to regain entry.

  “Luke Skywalker,” I answered with a smirk.

  The door slowly opened to reveal Hali and several of the other kitchen staff, and they were all holding spears aimed right at the door. The dragonesque women looked ready to slay us all, and I couldn’t be any prouder of them. They weren’t supposed to lower their defenses until they had eyes on whoever was requesting entrance to the palace, and they had followed my instructions exactly as I’d given them.

  “Oh, thank the goddess!” Hali exclaimed as she lowered her spear. The cook had tears in her eyes and a huge look of relief on her face.

  Then she and the other women rushed over to hug all of us and welcome me, George, and the warrior women into the palace.

  I grabbed Talise’s sister to me and held her tightly.

  “Hali,” I said, “you did an amazing job. Just like we practiced. I am so proud of all of you.”

  “Does this mean the attack is over?” she asked with wide eyes.

  “Yes,” I nodded, “at least for now. The party of raiders is dead, but I will let the others give you the details. I must speak to the queen.”

  I gave Hali one last tight hug before I signaled to George that we were moving along. Then I quickly made my way to the safe room where the queen was being held, and I once again pounded out the secret knock on the door to the hidden chamber.

  “State your purpose,” Careen said through the door.

  “It’s Ben and George,” I replied. “We need to see the queen.”

  “Who was the real hero of Lord of the Rings?” she asked.

  “Samwise Gamgee,” I told her, since that was the fucking truth.

  I stepped back and watched as the door slowly opened. Then I saw that Careen, Talise, and Nerissa were all armed and had their weapons pointed at me.

  George didn’t pay any attention to the weapons, though, as he walked right in to check on the three women. Then I watched as he sniffed Nerissa and Talise, including their baby bumps, to make sure everyone was okay.

  “All is well,” the dragon informed me as he returned to my side.

  I gave George a pat on the head and reached out to hug Careen.

  “Thank you for following
protocol and for being here,” I told the pink haired woman.

  “Of course, Ben,” the healer replied as she ducked her head shyly.

  I hugged and kissed Talise after I let Careen go, and then I looked at Nerissa, but I didn’t know what to expect.

  The queen was standing there stoically, but her bottom lip trembled and gave her real feelings away. So, I held my arms out to her, and it didn’t take long for her to run into them and start sobbing.

  Like Mira said, I guess I should be careful what I asked for.

  “It’s okay, Nerissa,” I said to comfort the distraught woman in my arms. “The raiders are gone. We took care of them.”

  “I didn’t see you today,” she cried, “and you could have died tonight, and my last words to you would have been ‘please fill my body with all of your seed’ and that’s just… not very fitting because all I can think about right now is sex and not how much I love you.”

  “I didn’t die,” I whispered into her hair as I tried not to laugh, “and I don’t plan on dying any time soon. I have a lot to tell you, and we are out of immediate danger, so let’s go sit down and relax.”

  We made our way out of the safe room and saw that the shutters on the windows had been opened and everything was getting back to its usual place in the palace. Even though it was the middle of the night, everyone was still too wired from the attack to settle down and rest. So, most of the women were going about their daily chores to keep busy and wear off the adrenaline that was sure to still be pumping through their systems.

  Mira and the other warrior women who had followed me up from the eastern border were deep in discussion with Hali when we found them in the front entrance of the palace.

  Upon seeing her sister, Nerissa ran over, grabbed her in a tight hug, and started sobbing.

  Mira held her sister and rolled her eyes at the same time.

  “It’s okay, Nerissa,” Mira soothed, “I was never in any real danger, not from the archer’s nest. Let’s sit down, and we will tell you exactly what happened.”

  Mira led her sister and Talise over to an alcove near the kitchen that contained a large meeting table and several chairs. We’d used it before when we were outlining our defenses and planning the safe room addition, so there would be plenty of room for all of us in there.