by Sean Davies
“I wish I’d never given you that damn book,” the Vampire sighed. “Spoiler alert: she wins and freezes the sexy nooby Nightclaw solid,” Genevieve lied badly. “Now, come spend some time with me.”
“Nah, I’m good thanks,” Connie said stubbornly.
“Constance Lee, enjoy the gorgeous beach with me before we have to go back to Sergeant Alice-mark-two,” the blue-haired Vampire pleaded.
Connie rolled her eyes. “The gorgeous lobster-coated beach…”
“There’s plenty more beach, like, miles and miles of it,” Genie replied with her hands on her hips.
The Book Wielder pursed her lips and put down Genie’s book. “I will—if we get changed first.”
“Fine, have it your way,” Genevieve said slyly, with a mischievous smile on her pretty face.
The Vampire pulled on the ties of her bikini, sling the tiny amount of material away and standing directly over her awestruck girlfriend’s head.
Constance reached down between her legs and began masturbating as she looked up at Genevieve’s amazing body. “I hate what you do to me, Genevieve Jameson.”
Genie got down on her knees and sighed when Connie leaned in to kiss her groin. “You bring out the worst in me—in a good way.”
Connie stopped licking for a moment. “I really don’t want to get sand in my pussy…”
“That’s why we’re going to have a thorough wash together in the ocean when we’re done here,” Genie purred as she reached between them and down into her girlfriend’s bikini, replacing Connie’s frantically moving fingers with her own.
After an hour or so of carnal fun on the perfect picturesque beach, the two girlfriends reluctantly dried themselves off and changed into some decent clothes, before driving back into town to find their entourage.
Genevieve took her time with the drive along the coastal road, turning the radio up as she savoured every minute of post-coital bliss.
The two young Supernaturals nodded their heads to the beat as they passed by Beachhead Two’s small white and beige buildings and into the heart of town, where they saw the troop truck parked outside a tobacconist and smoking lounge. The Sergeant was waiting anxiously by the big vehicle, along with Az and two female humans in their mid-twenties who were wearing casual clothing, covered in guns and ammo.
One of the women was short with dark brown hair in two plaited pigtails beneath a reversed black cap, while the other was taller with brown and red chin-length hair that was shaved on one side.
Genevieve studied the look on the Sergeant’s face and frowned. “Something’s up,” she said to Connie as she parked on the side of the cobblestone road.
Constance nodded as she climbed out of the sports car; she had come to the same assumption.
“Ah, good, you’re back,” Matthias Winters said, looking relieved.
“New recruits?” Genevieve asked, tilting her head in the direction of the two gun-clad women.
“Yes, they’re the only two we’ve managed to find—”
“And the only two we will find,” Az interrupted bitterly. “This is Leanne Defreitas and Charlotte Wilkinson. They’re both proficient with numerous firearms—”
“And anything that goes bang,” the woman with the brown and red hair cut in cheerfully. “I’m Charlotte, and this little firecracker is Leanne.”
“Hey,” Leanne said merrily. “Can you believe the good news?”
“I’m Genevieve Jameson, or just Genie, and this is my Book Wielder-babe of a girlfriend Constance Lee, or Connie for short,” Genevieve said, shaking their hands
“Thanks for coming along,” Constance added gratefully.
“Sorry, but what news were you talking about?” Genie asked, noticing that everyone in Beachhead Two seemed ready to start a parade or street party. “We had the CD player on instead of the radio.”
“The Lord Imperator finally got Corriztis!” Charlotte beamed.
“Her favourite Book Wielder, Chloe O’Kelly, froze him in some sort of stasis spell,” Leanne elaborated. “They’re taking him to Aldacium to burn him out of that Theodore Justiciar guy.”
“Nice one, Ali and Chloe!” Genevieve cheered and whooped.
Connie was over the twin moons that the corruption Demon was contained, but also worried about her mother, Angitia, who worked at the facility. “I hope Chloe is as good as she thinks she is.”
“She is,” Genevieve replied with a little smirk.
“Corriztis revealed some information to the Lord Imperator that further confirmed our theory about the Creator,” Sergeant Winters said seriously, getting right down to business. “His despicable actions were actually centred around stopping the ancient being from destroying the world as we know it—while seating himself on the throne of his new Gloom-corrupted empire.” Sergeant Winters shook his head disgustedly. “We’ve been ordered to depart immediately; the Lord Imperator is certain that Mydia’s troubles lie at the bottom of the ancient pillar. The Aeria Gloris, a long-range airship, is on its way from Tropica City as we speak.”
“Which means we won’t be able to recruit any more of the old team,” Az added moodily.
“Unfortunately that is the case, but we have our orders and we must follow them,” Sergeant Matthias said nobly.
“Our team’s pretty big already though, right?” Constance asked. “No offense to anyone, but it already feels like we need to start putting on name tags.”
“From what we experienced of the opening defences, I’d say our team isn’t nearly big enough,” Az replied gloomily.
“It was crazily dangerous,” Charlotte agreed, “and we only experienced the first few areas…”
“Because Dan ‘the Sabre’ went and blew himself up,” Leanne finished the sentence, rolling her eyes.
“Sorry, but orders are orders,” Matthias said emotionlessly. “We go as we are, and that’s final.”
“Shit, I could’ve left my car behind if this was as far as we’re going,” Genevieve mumbled.
“We’ve got mates in town, you can leave it with them if you want?” Charlotte offered helpfully.
“Yeah, that would be awesome, cheers!” Genie replied. “So, Connie Lee, are you ready for this?”
“I was…” Constance said, remembering how sure of herself she’d felt when she was first given the mission, and how ready she had been to throw everything on the line to do her duty and to showcase her amazing powers. She had to admit though, selfish as it was, that over the past few days her priorities had definitely shifted. “Until I met you, Genevieve. Now all I want is to be with you,” she sighed honestly.
“Aww, that’s so cute,” Charlotte gushed, putting a hand over her heart.
“Yeah, you two seem sweet.” Leanne smiled.
“Who knows—maybe this ancient, dangerous pillar will be a really romantic and unique date?” Genevieve said in jest, in an attempt stop herself from admitting that she was madly in love with her girlfriend too early in their relationship.
Constance chuckled, wishing with all her heart that her girlfriend’s joke was actually true.
Chapter 13
The Trials
The sun had already risen on the other side of Mydia when Constance and Genevieve got their first glimpse of the ancient column sticking out from the centre of the endless ocean.
The waves that spanned from horizon to horizon were calm, stirred only by the enormous sea creatures from natural and magical origins lurking in the depths, and the purple and blue sky was clear except for a few wispy strands of cirrus clouds.
The Aeria Gloris—the long-range airship that had been designed and built upon Queen Azalea’s direct request for the sole purpose of investigating the strange stone column—was a testament to the Nation of Tropica’s beautiful craftsmanship, combining a brilliant fusion of magic and plasma technology to allow the sleek white and gold deltoid-shaped craft to travel further than any other airship in service. However, the Aeria Gloris was only equipped with a light compliment of weaponry, to
accommodate for bigger plasma fuel reserves and the increased size of its circular hover-rota.
During the journey, Ricardo Stern (under Az’s strict command) had given the whole expedition team a recap on the potential threats they might face from the areas that were of Archmage design, before the Dragon Quoronastra forcefully took over, using his first-hand knowledge of the era to give a more thorough explanation of their common defences. Neither the Dragon in human form nor the famous adventurer had any information on what the Creator would put them through, though, so Connie and Genie recounted their experience with the clockwork robots and the energy-draining spire again, hoping that it would be of some use through their descent.
The atmosphere aboard the airship was a mix of anticipation and excitement, bolstered by the good news about the defeat of Corriztis at the heroic hands of Alice, Chloe, and their kill team (and the fact that Winston and Veronica seemed to have been successful and were currently in recovery—although only Constance, Genevieve, Stitches, and the few others who had known about Winston’s plight had been granted the confidential information).
Constance clutched Genevieve’s cold hand as the stone and bronze column on the horizon grew ever larger, and the Vampire gasped at the sheer scale of the structure; she’d been expecting the pillar to be big, but seeing it with her own red eyes was overwhelming.
Connie and Genie were dressed in practical black clothing, fitted with button-hole cameras on the lapels as per Ricardo Stern’s behest. Constance had donned her black Conclave greatcoat, slotting her book and an assortment of potions in its many purposeful pockets, while Genevieve had done away with trousers and gone for a loose black miniskirt, stating that her improved mobility had a better chance of saving her than a layer of thick material on her legs.
“Nervous?” Constance asked her girlfriend.
“Nah. I go up against world-creating super-beings all the time,” Genevieve shrugged sarcastically.
Connie tutted and smiled, glad that the blue-haired Vampire Nightclaw was by her side.
“It’s really something, isn’t it?” the pilot of the airship said. “This is the third time I’ve seen this now, and it still blows me away.”
The top nine-tenths of the gargantuan structure was mostly constructed out of beige stones with thick bronze struts in-between, decorated with carvings of wizened human and Archmage Book Wielders, sets of balanced scales and elegant quills, and the original Conclave’s open book symbol. A series of tall columns were arranged in a circle at the very top, beside a wide overhanging ledge, and spaced far enough apart to leave plenty of room for access into the structure while also giving enough support to the flat circular roof that capped the access shaft. Near the crashing waves, where the pillar disappeared into the ocean’s depths, the areas of stone ended and were fully replaced with neat plates of brass, bronze, and copper, all of which were engraved with pulsing energy rivulets.
All of a sudden, Constance felt as though she was falling. Her vision grew hazy as the airship and ocean vanished, leaving her suspended in the air, staring at the enormous access shaft that stretched all the way down into the machinery and gear-studded surface. The Tropican Book Wielder could feel the Creator’s power coursing through every panel, piston, cog, conduit, and nanite, violently repelling her whilst simultaneously screaming at her for help.
“Hun, are you okay?” Genevieve asked, highly concerned.
Constance snapped out of the strange daydream and regained her bearings. “Yeah… sort of. The power coming off that thing is crazy,” she replied softly.
The Alt Stitches, looking especially dapper in a formal grey suit and long black overcoat, entered onto the bridge alongside the robed Dragon Quoronastra, and rushed to the very front of the cockpit.
“See that, Stitches, my boy? See how the Archmage structures blend so seamlessly into the Creator’s style beneath?” Quoronastra pointed out excitedly.
“Wow, it’s incredible!” Stitches gasped. “The scale of it is mind blowing!”
“Oh, if only my dear Alexander could be here to view this with his own dreamy purple eyes…” the Dragon sighed wistfully.
“Hey, fellas, nice to see you too,” Genevieve smirked.
Both Quoronastra and Stitches mumbled a brief acknowledgement in Genie and Connie’s direction, before carrying on with their awestruck observations.
The expedition team equipped their gear, gathering their bags packed with cases of equipment, spare armaments, extra ammunition, potions, food, and drinks, as the Aeria Gloris landed on the pillar’s ledge. The ledge had looked relatively small from a distance, but could easily fit an armada of airships around its circumference. The team wasted no time, departing down the ramp into the warm sea breeze and onto the ancient structure.
Genevieve stared up at the stone columns and the painted ceiling in-between, clicking her button camera on. “Just wait until Chloe sees this footage…”
“She’ll force you into writing another book,” Connie joked, ignoring the nervous butterflies in her stomach.
“Oh yeah, that’s true—I’ll just tell her I’m too busy with my girlfriend,” Genevieve winked.
“That’s so sweet,” the scruffy Werewolf, Till Vanderborg, said snidely as he drained a bottle of beer.
“No drinking on the mission!” Sergeant Matthias Winters barked.
Till gave Matthias the finger. “Bite me, ass-wipe.”
“Knock it off, Vanderborg,” Az shouted. “Get your head in the game.”
“Yes, sir,” Till replied mockingly, before throwing the empty bottle between the columns where it was immediately disintegrated in a flash of golden light.
“Whoa, what the fuck?!” Genevieve flinched.
Ricardo Stern tipped his brown cowboy hat as he passed by the blue-haired Vampire Nightclaw. “Yeah, the pillars are rigged, so watch your step, dreamy-Genie.”
“I take it you know a way around?” Matthias asked abruptly.
“Of course. I am the Ricardo Stern, after all,” the adventurer boasted. “There are secret panels all over these Archmage structures, and luckily I remember where they are from last time.”
“Didn’t you turn them off before?” Constance asked.
“Most ruins fix themselves back up, and this place is fully intact again, so any damage we do is sure to be repaired. But don’t worry—I’ve got a few self-taught Arch-tech tinkering trick under my belt, so I’ll have these barriers down again in an hour or two.”
Quoronastra let out an angry sigh, releasing a tiny jet of purple flames in the process. “I will have one shield down, permanently, in a minute or two. Puppet-man, follow on and lend me a hand.”
“Okay, dragon-man,” Stitches replied cheerfully.
“Suit yourselves. Just don’t come crying to me once you’ve been blown to bits!” Ricardo shouted after them.
“How would they do anything after being disintegrated?” Genevieve asked mockingly.
“Breaking my heart, blue, you’re breaking my heart…” the adventurer replied, clutching his chest theatrically.
Quoronastra extended his finger and toe nails into small sharp claws, and scaled the nearest column until he was roughly eight metres off the ground, before gesturing for Stitches to climb the one to his left.
The smartly-dressed Alternative climbed up the stone pillar with ease, thanks to his kind’s casual defiance of gravity, and stopped when he was level with the humanoid Dragon.
“Run your hand across the stone and feel for a small dip, then give it a gentle push,” Quoronastra shouted over.
As Stitches and Quoronastra searched their respective columns for a hidden panel, Till fished out another beer from his supply bag and popped off the cap with his discoloured teeth.
“What did I say about drinking, Vanderborg?” Sergeant Matthias asked, approaching the gruff Werewolf.
“That it’s a great way to chill the fuck out?” Till replied sarcastically.
The blonde-haired Justiciar, Licinia, stopped ta
lking to Joran Ward about the wondrous view of the endless ocean and batted Till on the arm with her bulky rifle, spilling some of his drink. “You heard the Sergeant. Pack it in, or get your ass back in the airship.”
“Not when there’s a shit-ton of riches to be had…” the Werewolf replied casually, eyeing the amount of beer that had splashed onto the ancient stone beneath his feet.
Without warning, Till Vanderborg swung his fist towards the blonde Justiciar, but stopped abruptly as the flat of Az’s silver and gold blade blocked his path. A few seconds later, the brash Werewolf was staring down the barrel of all the troopers’ rifles and Sergeant Winters’ pistol.
“No drinking on the job,” the leader of the Swords of Fortune said in a strong voice, “unless it’s a potion.”
Az plucked the bottle from the Werewolf’s hairy hand and lobbed it through the wide gap between the pillars. It passed through unhindered and smashed on the floor, showing that the barrier had been successfully deactivated, and Quoronastra and Stitches climbed down from the columns.
“Anything you say,” Till replied with a nonchalant shrug. “You’re the boss, Az,” he added, giving Matthias a smug grin.
“So, you’re a dick whatever side of the planet we are on,” the pink-haired Tropican trooper, Olishia Rose, snarled.
“Knock it off, Rose,” Sergeant Winters ordered. “Don’t sink to his level.”
“Listen to your Sergeant, it’ll help ya live longer,” Till Vanderborg advised Olishia. “If he is ‘your Sergeant’, do the TMF still report to the Justiciars, or are they just here to get Stern doing their dirty work? Do ya work directly for the Book Wielder? I just can’t keep up,” he added airily as he walked over to Ricardo Stern, who had been watching the Alt and Dragon work.
“Stop making trouble. You’re making it too obvious,” Stern murmured to the Werewolf, unimpressed with his antics.
“You think? Look behind ya when it ain’t too blatant,” Till smirked evilly.
Ricardo turned slightly so that he could see the rest of the group by the airship, and saw that they were engaged in a civil yet clearly heated debate about the vague command structure of the mission.