by Jack Porter
My first dagger had fallen out of my hands, so I pulled the silver dagger I had taken from the wereserpent.
The orc had grabbed the woman by the neck, and since I was close, I grabbed the back of its belt and buried the silver dagger deep in its ribcage, twisting as I drove it upwards. The orc hollered in a horrible screeching voice, and the wound began to hiss. The orc dropped the woman and tried to swing around to get me. Instead, I held onto its belt and swung the orc into the plinth as hard as I could.
The statue cracked.
Despite its terrible injury, the orc tried to rise. Picking up my sword, I ran the orc through and then turned to see what was next.
But there were no more foes in the square. We had won this section of the city. Already, Nya was sending elves toward the fires, to hunt down anything that had been missed.
I focused on calming myself, looking for something to latch onto that wouldn’t incite more violence. It helped that I hadn’t used magic this time, and I thought that in future I would have to be very careful with it until I completely mastered my power.
There, at the edge of the square, I caught a glimpse of Sarina. She had shifted back into a woman and clothed herself in a brown robe. Her red hair waved in the breeze blowing from the north.
Seeing her alive and uninjured helped to ease the battle lust, and I raised my sword to her in salute. She raised a hand to me.
Then, I looked for and found Ilana and Syn, who were already tending injured slaves and elves.
The slaves who were rioting brought three people into the square then. They were chanting and yelling, dragging a woman, a man, and an orc up to the auction block. The three were badly beaten. Even the orc was barely conscious. On the platform, in front of everybody, the former slaves gutted all three of the prisoners while others cheered. The woman, the man, and the orc slowly died, bleeding out while their victors continued to mutilate their bodies.
I worked my way over to Nya. Everywhere I walked, freed slaves parted for me, nodded to me. Some of them touched my clothes.
“Those three ran the city for the Wraith King,” Nya said when I finally reached her. She nodded to the auction block, which was now on fire.
“What happens now?” I asked.
“We’ll need to set up leadership here, but we also need to see that the Wraith King doesn’t try to wrest control from us. And, once that is done, we’ll need to return to Crowmore and secure it once again. We can’t afford to leave it in the hands of the Wraith King.”
I looked around the square, which had an air of relief and finality. “This is a big blow to him, isn’t it?” I asked.
“Yes, Jon, it is,” Nya said. “With Blackwharf no longer in his control, he has also lost control of the Slavers’ Bowl, and the slave market in the region.”
“One of many victories, I hope,” I said, watching a child help an old man take a sip of water. The old man had been gravely injured and would soon die, but the look on his face said it all.
He would rather die free than live as a slave.
60
We stayed several days at Blackwharf while Nya helped to set up a temporary government and make plans for building a wall around the city. Most of the dirt hovels had been destroyed in the fires that the wraiths had started when the elves attacked, but it didn’t take long for the former slaves to move into the barracks and take over the keep.
For days, we rooted out the humans, orcs, wraiths, and Hellhounds that had attempted to hide within the city. I took this responsibility on myself, mainly because I was no good at helping Nya. Ilana and Sarina joined me, and we made a pretty good team. Sarina shifted into a Hellhound during these hunts and would sniff out any remaining enemy. Once found, the three of us would attack.
Sarina’s presence was a living wonder, and at first, the people were terrified of her as she roamed the town looking for enemies and for signs of her High Priestess. But then the people saw that Sarina could shift at will, and that she followed me.
I had become something of a celebrity and couldn’t walk anywhere without people following me. I finally began camping outside Blackwharf just to get away from the freed slaves. They all wanted to thank me, and when they confronted me, I spent half my time explaining that they needed to thank Nya.
Unfortunately, the distrust for the elves still ran deep even though it was the elven warriors who had made their freedom possible. But I was a human, the human who had opened those first cages. And I didn’t think they would forget anytime soon.
On the fifth day after the battle, Sarina found me as I was hiding in the shade of the keep, beneath an old market stall that wasn’t being used. I had been waiting for Nya and Syn to exit the keep, and we were finally going to talk about what came next. In my hands, I held the silver dagger and was looking at it in the red light. It was still sharp, and I had a hunch it was poisoned, so I’d had a special sheath made for it. To keep it as a reminder of what could happen to me if I lost control.
Sarina’s expression was grim, and I put the dagger down and rose to meet her.
Before I could ask anything, she leaned into me, wrapping her arms around my waist in a hug. She buried her face in my chest.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, putting my hands on her waist.
She looked up at me, and her eyes were red. “I found her.”
“And?” I asked quietly.
“The High Priestess was killed weeks ago. Oh, Jon,” Sarina buried her face in my chest, and her shoulders shook as she sobbed. I held her close, letting her cry it out.
When she finally stepped away, though, her tears were gone, replaced by grim determination. “I want to kill the bastards. Every last one of them.”
“The slavers?” I asked. “Me too.”
Sarina met my eyes, and hers were fierce. “Let me go with you.”
We were interrupted then by Nya, Syn, and Ilana. They didn’t question Sarina’s red eyes, but I assumed they either knew about the High Priestess or would shortly. In any case, we had much to discuss.
Syn came to sit beside me, and I put an arm around her. There hadn’t been time for anything the last few days. Ilana had stayed with me every night, and we’d enjoyed each other. But the others had too many other duties to spend any real time with us. In truth, I felt a bit useless now that the last of the Wraith King’s minions had been rooted out.
“What’s been decided?” I asked.
61
“We’ll be leaving for Blackhold within a few days. On a different northern road through the Wilds. Some of the former slaves are already leaving, trying to go home to their families. I worry for them, but I cannot provide protection for everyone. We”—Nya nodded to Syn— “need to gather more forces to retake Crowmore. Our party has suffered many losses, and we are at half of the numbers we began with only a few days ago.”
“What can I do to help?” I asked.
Syn stirred beside me and took my hand. “Jon,” she said, “we need you to find out more about the Prophecy. You need to discover all you can.”
I looked at Nya. “Do you know more than you’ve already told me?”
She sighed. “If you are implying that I knew you were the son of the Wraith King, then no, I did not know.”
A chill ran down my spine. I had tried to put those words out of my head, but they wouldn’t let go of me. “It can’t be true,” I said. I was unwilling to believe everything about my life had been a lie.
Nya looked at me sadly. “I believe it is true. It makes more sense now than ever before. How you are able to absorb the power of your enemies, how you came to us with an affinity for magic that I have never seen demonstrated before. The legends say that the one who comes to change Hell will share his enemy’s blood. And that because of this, he would endure great trial. His destiny is forever intertwined with the Wraith King’s.”
“You knew this all along?”
“I did, but it could have meant any number of things. Considering what the sorceress Maera told you—
for all of us to hear, I might add—I believe it is true.”
I held Nya’s gaze. “I’m sure she told you that so that you wouldn’t trust me.”
Nya nodded. “As am I. But she underestimates our feelings for you.”
I looked from her to Syn, and then to Ilana and Sarina. All of them nodded in agreement.
“We’re with you, Jon,” Ilana said.
“But I thought the Wraith King began as a man,” I said, still not ready to believe he could be my father.
“He did,” Ilana said. “But we don’t know who your mother was. An elf? A sorceress? A witch? We do not know.”
“I’m not like him,” I said firmly, looking each of them in the eye, “but I can’t deny that sometimes my power scares me. I’m afraid I will hurt someone before I know what I am doing.”
Nya nodded. “That is why you must find out more about the Prophecy and your role in it. And you must learn to control your magic. If you do that, you will be the greatest spellcaster Hell has ever seen.”
“What if I fuck it up?” I asked.
“I believe you will find the right path,” Nya said.
Ilana nodded. So did Sarina and Syn. It made me feel good that they all had faith in me, but I still had doubts about it all.
“I’m guessing I can’t find out more about the prophecy at Blackhold,” I said.
Nya shook her head. “If there was more to it there, I would have told you.”
I stood. “In any case, I don’t feel comfortable taking myself back to Blackhold. I don’t want to lose control and hurt anyone… So, as much as I hate to say it, this must be so long for now, I think.”
A flicker of sadness crossed Nya’s face. “It is time. You are correct. But Jon, it won’t be forever.”
“I know. I can meet you at Crowmore to help you take it back.”
Nya shook her head. “You must seek out the rest of the Elfstone and the Prophecy.”
I laughed. “I have no idea where to start.”
“It is said that the original stone was carved in the mountains south of Crowmore. We will help you plan your journey.”
Ilana and Sarina stood.
“We are coming with you,” Ilana said. “The elves have been gracious, but they will not welcome a succubus in their midst. Anyway, I belong with you, Jon.”
Sarina nodded, raising her chin as if daring me to disagree. “And no one will want a Hellhound shifter living among them. Especially since I’m not completely certain I can control it if you aren’t around.”
“I would welcome your company,” I said. Then I turned to Nya. “I will help as many freed people get back to their homes as I can. And if we encounter any bands of slavers on the way, we shall deal with them. What do you say?” I looked at Ilana and Sarina for confirmation.
They both smiled and nodded.
Nya stood. “It is settled, then.”
62
Two days later, I woke next to Nya and Syn in the keep. We had fallen asleep together, exhausted from our day’s work. But I hadn’t wanted to leave them without a proper goodbye, even if I knew it was only for a time. It was the day I was to leave, and as I moved from dreaming to waking, I pulled Nya close to me.
She opened her beautiful, clear eyes, and we just looked at each other for a while. Until other things began to stir. I kissed her then and pulled her as tightly to me as I could. We were already naked, and in a few moments, I was inside her, on top, moving in and out of her while I watched her face. We didn’t need to say anything. Our bodies said it for us.
I held on, waiting for her climax to wash over her. She closed her eyes and buried her head in my shoulder, her nails digging into my back. It was perfect. She was perfect, and I was going to miss her. My only consolation was that when I returned to her, I would be better able to help in the fight against the Wraith King.
At least, that’s what I hoped.
Syn woke then, pulled from sleep by our movement on the straw bed. She smiled and looked over at me, touching my back. I was breathing hard, almost ready to come. Nya laid back down and smiled, spent. So I pulled out of her and moved to Syn. I had missed the dark elf and told her so. In true Syn fashion, she flipped me over onto my back and without needing any preparation, sat down on me to ride.
Nya watched as Syn rode my cock, and I reveled in feeling her wetness around me and seeing her beautiful body bouncing over me. Her white braids hung down over her breasts, and I reached up to teasingly pull one of them. Then I sat up and kissed her.
Syn rolled her hips and gasped as she came. And I let loose, too. My climax was intense, and I held onto Syn for several moments as it rocked my body.
When finished, I pulled Syn down on top of me and Nya under my arm, kissing them both. “Don’t forget me,” I said.
Nya smiled. “As if we ever could.”
63
Later that morning, I prepared to leave. Ilana, Sarina, and I were leading a band of about twenty freed slaves toward their old homes, somewhere to the east I had never been.
Nya and Syn were there to see us off.
Ilana and Sarina had their own horses, Ilana on the same feisty mare she’d been riding, and Sarina on a roan stallion that danced around as she saddled it. Two other packhorses were there with us, as we planned to be gone a while and didn’t want or rely on inns and farms for supper.
“Don’t forget,” Nya said. “You are welcome at Blackhold anytime. Do not be a stranger, for it is your home as long as you claim it, and there are those there who love you.”
I smiled at her. “I won’t forget.” Patting my mare’s neck, I threw the reins over her head. “Oh, one more thing.” I turned to Nya and Syn. “Does anyone know this horse’s name?”
Syn looked at the horse and shook her head. “The name she used to have died with her former rider. It is your job to name her now, Jon.”
The mare nuzzled my shirt. “Figured it was something like that,” I said. “What about Bandit?”
The horse snorted again and looked at Syn. Everyone laughed.
“Beauty?” I asked. At this, my mare turned her head away from me completely. As I put my foot into the stirrup and stepped into the saddle, I said, “Courage? That’s a noble name.”
The horse whinnied and shook her head.
“I can see you’re going to be a hard female to please.”
The horse tossed her head as if agreeing with me. With a final wave goodbye, our new party set off to the east with our burdens.
Into the unknown.
End Wraith King 2
Look for Wraith King 3, early 2020 (if not sooner)!
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About the Author
Jack Porter grew up reading fantasy. His current likes include Game of Thrones and The Witcher, but he’ll check out any fantasy or science fiction, especially if it involves cool armor or swordplay.
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