by D. R. Rosier
Cat looked torn, and I understood why. The enemy seemed to be focused on breaking through at the forts, to take out the entire defending force. They were completely ignoring the rest of the fortifications. Several of the enemy’s air, fire, and earth mages were bashing the protection enchantments with blunt power to try and break them. I could tell she wanted to take most of the mobile troops and reinforce, they weren’t doing much good out here except the few of us that could cast a goodly distance away. She had a few mages in addition to the four of us. Not to mention Carlton had finally joined us with a young woman at his side, which added another two light clerics.
“If you decide to go, take half, including Mina and the clerics. Lila and I will ensure if any do break toward the sides and try to get through there, that they will die quickly.”
Cat stared at me for a long moment, and then nodded, “Mina, Carlton…”
Liren said, “Liren,” and smiled as she touched Carlton’s arm, obviously making a claim in the middle of a damned battle. Women were so damned strange sometimes.
The princess smirked and nodded, “Let’s go reinforce the forts, I want half the mages following me in the roving group.”
She turned and left, the group leaders quickly assigned half their mages to follow. There weren’t that many, but every little bit would help.
The death toll was rising, and as my atronachs killed more, I felt my crystal creating a third elemental stone, one foot in diameter, as the second one was almost full. At this point I hardly needed the energy, I was powerful enough to add a thousand levels, and my crystal could not only feel the large market place beyond the tavern, but even further than that. Still, it would be a crime to waste the potential magic. I’d never really expand that far, for other reasons, but I figured having too much power couldn’t be a bad thing.
I noticed Lila had hardly looked at me since the battle started.
“Everything okay?” I asked through the mind link.
Lila sent back, “Fine, but I want to jump you and fuck your brains out so bad. I’ve waited so long for your avatar to join me. It’s all I could do to ignore you and concentrate on the battle.”
Damn, I had a hard on for my next spell, now I couldn’t wait either, and I swear I heard sultry laughter in the back of my mind.
I muttered nonsense under my breath in a voice too low for others to hear, as I simply brought up a spell form in my mind and filled it with earth and fire magic. Several spears of stone shot out of the ground by my feet, and went over the forts and down into a concentrated group of enemy soldiers.
The fire part of the spell activated as they hit the ground, and there were several large explosions, which sent both rolling flames in all directions, and turned the stone spears into several small and sharp stones that exploded outward taking out a couple of hundred soldiers due to both effects.
I took a moment to absorb and channel the life forces, and then I did it again…
As she watched another set of those insane exploding stone spears go over her head, Catalina had the strangest feeling that Nurien was holding back, a lot.
She laughed a little at herself, as she’d thought Liren was way too young for Carlton, but the young woman was at least five years older than she was. She put that thought out of her mind as they rushed into the fort on the left. She directed the other mages to help defend the one on the right. It wasn’t much, eight more casters in a sea of thousands of troops, but two clerics would make a difference.
She barely noticed as Carlton and Liren started healing soldiers, warriors, and mages close to death, while also casting protective spells. She knew more clerics and paladins were coming and would be there soon to lend a hand.
She had work to do as well.
She concentrated and casted more whirlwinds of air blades, and smiled as Mina cast into her whirlwinds, and while water went in, ice spikes came out at great velocity from her whirlwind, whipped out by air magic. The spikes impaled several soldiers at a distance, while her whirlwind made mincemeat of anyone too close.
A large explosion of fire took out several archers twenty feet away from them. The fire billowed out and surrounded her and Mina, but her air protections routed most of the fire around them harmlessly, the little bit of fire and heat that made it through was quickly extinguished by Mina’s water shields.
This battle was crazy, and war was an insane endeavor, but all she could do is keep fighting.
She was tempted to try the tornado spell, she knew she had the power for it as it was a mid-level adept spell. She wasn’t sure about the control though, if she lost control of the tornado, it could wind up rolling back on her and her people. She stuck with whirlwinds, overpowering them as much as she safely could, and cutting the enemy apart in alarming numbers.
Mina said, “What the fuck is that?”
Mina was looking up, so she did too. The sky seemed to open up, and a ray of golden light slammed into the enemy army. Perhaps a good two thirds of the remaining ten thousand soldiers were hit by it, but it didn’t seem to do anything.
“What the hell did it do?”
The answer to the princess’s question came a moment later, when twenty of the stone spears came down and impaled the warriors and mages without effort, as if their protections were destroyed by the golden light, or perhaps merely negated for a time. She turned and looked back at Nurien with awe, or she would have if she could see him. He was outside the fort. Still, holy shit!
Note to self, she thought, don’t fuck with Lila or Nurien, ever.
She shook her head, she must be stressed, because she kept dropping mental f-bombs.
There were over eight thousand enemy soldiers left, but because there were no more mages or warriors thanks to Nurien’s insanely powerful attack, the battle quickly turned into a slaughter. The enemy had zero chances of breaching the fortifications without magic, nor of blocking their spell craft. Air, fire, water, earth, darkness, and light decimated the remaining forces every few seconds, quickly whittling them down several hundred at a time in a matter of minutes.
When they had two thousand, the enemy started to run away. She could have, perhaps even should have, called a cease fire. The last two thousand didn’t get far before they were killed to the last man. She felt no guilt, they wouldn’t have shown her or her people any mercy either. Jennesar was a danger, and they oppressed their population.
She shook her head, and started to give orders for a cleanup, and she waited patiently, along with a little dread, on the numbers of their own losses.
Then it really hit her for the first time. She was no longer the heir, she would never see her father’s smile again, she was duchess, she was lost in the swirling of grief’s hold. She didn’t even think twice, as Mina held her, as her tears of anger, relief, rage, and sorrow ran down her cheeks.
She heard a scream and strange keening sound of grief, and it took her a moment to realize it was her own voice making that noise.
She heard Nurien say firmly, “Lila, do it.”
She gasped as a cold covered her body, and an unnatural calmness struck her. She wanted to be angry at this violation but the anger slipped from her grasp, just as the grief had.
Nurien said, “I’ll apologize later, but your people need you in charge right now, your grace.”
The last two words were like a slap in the face, though she wasn’t truly the duchess until she’d been confirmed by the king, she did have the authority to assume command by right of birth, until that decision was made.
She felt determination set in, “What did you do?”
Lila said, “Nothing permanent, it’s a numbing spell for both pain and emotions. It will last a few hours, time to straighten things up a bit before you fall apart. It’s actually one of the few truly beneficial dark magic spells, but I’d have preferred not to use it without permission.”
She felt a tiny bit of amusement as Lila glared at Nurien, but even that was mostly drowned out.
She shook her head, �
��Thank you, I think. Losses?”
One of the military men answered, “We lost approximately four thousand, though that isn’t exact. It will take time for solid numbers, but we estimate at least twenty percent, at most twenty five percent losses.”
Her stomach turned, but the spell kept her from fully absorbing the horror of it. Of course, the enemy had lost twenty thousand, plus about four hundred mages, clerics, paladins, and warriors. They won, they won in a big way, but the losses added a lot of sting to that victory. She also swore, she wasn’t done making Jennesar pay. She didn’t know how yet, but she’d keep the promise she’d made that arrogant asshole out on the field of parley. She smiled grimly, that dead arrogant asshole.
Nurien shook his head, “Excuse me, I’m going to help the clerics heal, there’re only eight of them. Healing will be a new experience for me,” he muttered as he walked off.
“What did he mean by that?”
Lila rolled her eyes, “He has a strange sense of humor. You get used to it, although I could be biased.”
She looked around slowly, they had a whole lot to get done, and she was fairly sure they weren’t done yet…
Epilogue
I bowed my head slightly as he entered the room, “Your majesty.”
I knew it was blunt, but the sooner he accepted it the better. Everyone else in the room was looking at me in shock. It was fairly packed as well. Lila and I, along with Jerrold, Catalina, Suzy, Mina, Carlton, Liren, Selwyn, Diana, and Cory. There were also several of the king’s old mage guards and advisors, but none of them had been in my dungeon, and I didn’t know their names. It was several hours after the battle, and the final numbers were very close to four thousand.
I felt almost guilty about that, twenty-four thousand life forces. I now had almost five full elemental stones in vaults, and the only reason it wasn’t more is many died outside of a hundred yards from me, which put them out of my magical reach. There was also the matter of my avatar being much less efficient at handling and funneling life force to my crystal. It could have been ten times that number easily, if it happened inside my dungeon. Still, I had very little to complain about as it was all free magic, and far more than I could imagine using.
Jerrold frowned, “I am not…”
I held up my hand, “I’m sorry… Jerrold. I have an informant at the crown city right now. Your older brother was killed by Verin, and Verin now sits on the throne. The city and royal guard have all been executed, and the replacement paladins are already oppressing the populace. His position is precarious, and we will take him down, I’ll even help myself, but the damage is done. The only allies you have right now in the city is the mage college, and the few mages strong enough locked it down to save their students. Of course, most of your father’s guards survived the betrayal at the valley, so we’re in good shape for you to take back your family’s rightful place, and kill the usurper.”
My informant of course was Ebony, I asked her to pop in and watch things unfold during the battle down here.
Jerrold scowled, “Who the hell are you?”
I sighed, “I am first and foremost the enemy of Jennesar, and their church and gods. I willingly helped at the battle, and would like to be friends and even an ally of Nysten, but if you would like I can leave now.”
Cat shook her head, “Peace Jerrold, we would have been slaughtered without his help, and I trust Lila here who is his agent. Nurien is the mysterious benefactor we teased Lila about.”
Carlton said, “I’d like to kill the bastard myself, Verin that is.”
Jerrold said, “Cat is right, I just really didn’t know who you were. I was in the other fort the whole battle, and hadn’t set eyes on you before a few moments ago.”
Well, that was true enough.
I bowed my head in respect, but not obeisance.
Jerrold said, “Alright, Carlton, stay here, take over the church holdings here in Tenemin. I know you won’t like that, but we can’t afford to risk the last forty-seven clerics and paladins of our true faith in Nysten. It’s time to rebuild, and you’ll be welcome in the capitol when you have someone trained and ready to be your second in this city.
“Plus, I think after we kill Verin and the rest of the paladins and clerics in crown city, it might be wise to stay out of sight of those peasants that are currently being abused, to avoid any misunderstandings. Bastards. Cat, you’re confirmed as Duchess, I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have at my back. I’ll take half the troops, and most of the mages with me to retake the city. Lila, Nurien, you’re both welcome to join us for a little rat hunt. Is there anything you want in return?”
I thought about that for a moment, “I want to destroy Jennesar from within, not by invasion. I want their gods starving as we steal their worshippers, so I think I could use a few clerics that are persuasive and can preach, and we need a few soldiers to replace the current lawmen in each village and city we hit. Lila and I will do all the killing of the local councils, and the church people when they come running to stop us, so we won’t need many people, just ones to teach the Jennesar people how to live a life unoppressed, and give them kinder gods to convert too. Protection too. Obviously, there are a lot of details and problems to work out, but I think together we can do it. Plus, that would give you the opportunity to annex them or just steer them towards being a more peaceful neighbor with a non-church ruler. Maybe even break them up further into smaller kingdoms, if you don’t rule them yourself.”
Cat snorted, “Oh, is that all? I’m in.”
Jerrold said, “Let’s get some rest tonight, we head for crown city in the morning. We can discuss the particulars of Jennesar after I have the throne, but I’m definitely interested in making a more peaceful neighbor to the south, and also helping out a friend.”
An hour later…
Lila spoke in a soft sultry voice, “Do you like that master?”
She was riding me slowly, and I’d never felt anything like it before. She tightened herself around me so snugly as she lifted her body up, milking the skin of my sensitive length, and then loosening as she slowly dropped down with delicious moist silken friction. Her hands were on my chest, her nails buried into my skin, and her large breasts swayed rhythmically with her movements as I teased them with soft touches.
I replied a little breathlessly, “Love, definitely love that my sweet angel.”
She smiled down at me with love in her eyes, she’d come a long way from the manipulating hateful sex demoness I’d first met in my crystal prison. She was magnificent, as she slowly moved her body above me, her body ground against me as she once again tightened herself around my invading length.
Sex in the real world, the sensations were absolutely insane, and perfect. She was perfect, and worth the wait. She arched her back and pushed her breasts into my palms as I caressed the sides and bottom with my fingertips, and then pinched her nipples between thumb and forefinger.
That’s when she cried out, and truly tightened and convulsed around me. She was like a goddess as she came undone around me, flooded me with her liquid bliss, and gasped my name in breathy worship.
I couldn’t hold it anymore and was overcome with rapturous ecstasy as I expanded into her tight sex, and filled her with my essence. She rolled into a second orgasm as I filled her, with a sharp cry of ecstasy and I held her trembling body so she wouldn’t fall off, though it was quite an effort to do so as I continued to empty myself inside of her.
She collapsed on my chest, and kissed me softly.
“I love you Lila.”
She said with simplistic honesty and devotion, “I love you too.”
She kissed me again, and then nipped by bottom lip playfully before nuzzling into my neck. I was still softening, but if she kept that up, I’d get hard again fast.
She asked, “What if they discover the truth?”
I kissed the side of her head, “I don’t know love. I haven’t lied to them yet, and I won’t if they figure it out, or even just ask
a question I can’t dodge with only part of the truth. To be honest, they don’t worry me all that much, but if they find out, eventually so will everyone else. That does worry me. Hopefully we can take care of Jennesar before things get critical.”
She said, “I’m surprised you offered to help retake his throne.”
I shrugged, “We can’t do what we need to do in Jennesar without clerics to reeducate and turn the populace from their current gods. We also can’t leave a freed city until they’re protected which will take guards, perhaps mages and warriors as well, a few at least. I figured he’d be more inclined to help if he was secure on his throne, and things were calmed down at home.”
She sighed, “Enough about our mission,” she nibbled my earlobes, which should be illegal, it felt way too damned good, “How is Ebony, I hear your going to work on a grow spell?”
I smiled, “It’s already done, but tonight I’m with you.”
She smiled wider, and a little wickedly as she whispered sexily in my ear, “Why don’t you call her, have her join us? That could be fun master.”
Oh goddess, my angel was trying to kill me… or trick me, because she giggled naughtily, and impaled herself on my now fully recovered cock. So much for my angel not being a manipulative tease anymore, to get what she wants…
Afterword:
I hope you enjoyed the story. This was the second book in the Dark Dungeon series, which is planned for three books. I’ll see where it ends up after book three. I tried to end it without a major cliffhanger, but obviously, there are a lot of threads undone with respects to Jennesar, the guild, and others. I hope the large battle and partial revelations toward the end helped give it enough closure, but this is a trilogy. Either way, you won’t have to wait long for book three.