by Sean Davies
“Yup. She says loads of the pillar team are back, alive and well at the Stitches and Britches, and even the little planet-saving Connie-Lee has returned from the other side—she pulled some crazy stunt in the core that revived ‘em all! Apparently, they’re planning a right little shindig, and they need you and Alice over there ASAP… you know, as representatives of both the Trinity and the Justiciars,” he chuckled.
Jonathan and Alice shared incredulous looks with each other, before Johnathan replied, “Does that mean you’re not attending?”
Kaine roared with laughter. “Course I’m going. I’m already three portals away from Rura, and I’ve got the burly Kavarne, the luscious Lynette, and the heroic Highway One Hellions in tow!”
“Hey Jonny! Hey Alice!” Lynette’s voice called excitedly.
Jonathan almost wet himself with laughter imagining the sight of a motorcycle gang striding through the Catacombs. “Hey wolfie, we’ll be over as soon as we can!”
“A party?” Alice grimaced.
“Come on, it’s not every day a bunch of heroes return from the dead. Besides, I hear the Stitches and Britches actually has some pretty fancy VIP hotel rooms, made especially for lovers…”
“Sold,” Alice agreed quickly, an uncharacteristically mischievous look on her face. “What will Cherriesa say, though?”
“Fuck Cherriesa,” Jonathan sniggered.
The Lord Imperator stopped to kiss her husband passionately. “I love you, Jonathan Knight.”
“I love you too, kick-ass Alice Eve,” Jonathan replied merrily.
✽ ✽ ✽
There was a knock on the Primary Regulator’s office door, and Winston Reynolds looked up from his desk with a sigh, shuffling the secret plans for his and Veronica’s promise-renewal ceremony underneath a stack of reports from around the world (most of which were loaded with personal requests and crafty deals from the global delegates who’d been unknowingly associating with Winston’s Archmage alter-ego). The Primary Regulator couldn’t help but smile at the web of influence his tenacious other side had created, and knew that he wouldn’t be able to resist keeping a few of the minor deals going, just to keep the job interesting and his relationships with the world leaders ticking over nicely.
Veronica Reynolds sauntered into his office, dressed in a tight, low-cut red dress suit that showed off her incredible legs and breasts, deliberately swaying her hips from side to side as she approached Winston’s desk. She had even put on a pair of black-rimmed spectacles, just to complete the look that she knew Winston went wild over.
“Hey sweetie, I’ve dispatched more Book Wielders to Desem and Rura,” Veronica purred. “A few towns and villages are still reporting trouble from opportunistic Supernaturals who are trying to loot what they can before the dust settles, so I’d rather be safe than sorry and back as many places up as possible.”
Winston forced his mouth into action, even though all he wanted to do was drool over his gorgeous wife’s appearance. “G-good… yeah, that’s good thinking,” he stuttered, clearing his throat before putting more incident reports over his plans to remarry the love of his life in the Cathedral of the Twin Goddesses. “The last thing we need is another nut-job gang like the Anarchist’s Ascendants forming while we get the world back in order. Deep Vein Oil’s already on the up,” he added, trying to keep casual under Veronica’s seductive gaze.
“Is that the only thing that’s on the up?” Veronica asked with a raised eyebrow, planting her shapely backside upon Winston’s desk and swing her legs around so that he could get a good view of her exposed groin.
Winston pursed his lips as he stared up Veronica’s devilishly short skirt, before feigning disinterest and pretending to look at some paperwork. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to resist her for long, but he loved playing the game and seeing how outrageous his wife could get. “How did Stitches like his new Conclave uniform?”
“He loved it, of course—he’s still grieving though, bless him,” Veronica replied. “I let him go over to Rura to see his Needle Maiden sweetheart Spensa until he’s ready to come back.”
“I’m glad he’s got someone. Overall, it was a pretty shit conclusion,” Winston sighed. “I hope Genie’s doing okay.”
“I know, the poor girl… we’ll go and visit her when you’re done here,” Veronica said, carelessly playing with her thick trimmed triangle of pubic hair.
Winston turned back to his paperwork and pretended to ignore Veronica. “I do have a lot of paperwork to do, but I’ll try and be quick.”
“Oh, you’d rather work than lick my slick pussy lips?” Veronica asked in an entirely innocent tone, as if she were a sweet untouched maiden. “Or my tight little asshole…?”
Winston groaned with pleasure and gave in, vowing that one day he’d win the erotic tug-of-war with his wife as he began kissing all the way up Veronica’s cold leg, slowly but surely making his way higher before burying his face between her thighs.
“Oh… I missed the real you,” Veronica giggled breathily as Winston worked sensual magic with his tongue and fingers.
Both Winston and Veronica moaned in aggravation as their phones simultaneously began to chime.
“Ignore it,” Veronica sighed pleasurably, as she clutched Winston’s dark brown hair and held his head in place between her legs.
Their phones continued to chime, and Veronica growled and gave up. “Fucking shit, wank, bollocks…” the Vampire Bloodmage cursed continuously as she fumbled for her phone.
“What’s it going to be this time?” Winston pondered, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “Demon trouble, Supernatural trouble, human trouble, Alt trouble?”
“It’s Genevieve,” Veronica gasped, hoping that her friend was okay and feeling a pang of guilt for putting her catch-up with Winston first.
“She’s back, she’s back, she’s back…” Winston said, reading aloud the oldest message first.
“She’s back, she’s back, she’s back!” Veronica said, reading the next.
Stitches, looking dapper in his black Conclave greatcoat, popped into the office. “She’s back! Connie’s back! And so is Quoronastra, and the others too—they’re all at the Stitches and Britches!” he cheered, before bounding away down the hallways, loudly announcing the good news to anyone who’d listen.
“I wonder how?” Winston pondered.
Veronica grabbed her husband’s head and shoved it back between her pale thighs. “As long as Demons, psychic terrorists, or higher beings aren’t trying to kill us, I don’t really give a fuck,” she joked, getting comfortable on the desk.
Winston gave his stunning wife a thumbs-up with one hand, while reaching up and fondling her massive breasts with the other.
Veronica bit her lip as the pleasure intensified, but then Winston’s phone let out a loud, shrill shriek.
The busty Vampire Bloodmage thumped the desk in frustration. “Can we please move to another planet? Preferably one where couples can get down and dirty without mad shit going on all the time?”
“It’s probably the Mayor, he always messes with my phones and computers so we can chat whenever…” Winston chuckled, but stopped when he saw he’d received a message from a cryptic, nonsensical string of numbers and characters that his phone couldn’t display properly.
As soon as he was finished speaking, Veronica’s phone also screeched and buzzed, displaying the same strange message that Winston had been sent.
“Stay dressed. An old friend will be dropping by soon,” Veronica read with a puzzled expression, before slinging her phone across the room, smashing it to smithereens with an evil smile on her face. “Fuck off, phone. Let’s continue, hubby,” she said to Winston with a wink.
Less eager to break his phone, Winston took off his trench coat and bundled it within the material, dumping in on the floor before climbing on his desk to kiss Veronica wildly.
A flash of blinding light erupted in the centre of the room and quickly abated, leaving a pale scrawny man w
ith blond hair and white eyes standing in its place, holding a large old tome over his privates.
“Lewis?!” Winston gasped, almost falling off Veronica and the desk.
“Hey guys,” Lewis replied awkwardly. “Sorry to interrupt—and sorry for all that shit with Omniosis. That prick had me dancing on his puppet strings.”
Winston went to approach his old friend, but Veronica held him back.
“What if he’s still trouble?” Veronica asked warily.
“Thanks, V,” Lewis sighed sarcastically.
“He has white eyes now. When the Archmage controlled him, he had black eyes,” Winston observed, studying his old friend.
“I’m right here, you know,” Lewis said in a stroppy tone. “Some hot glowing chick called Connie came to get me from the other side. She told me to tell you that you should trust me, and that all the business with the Creator went a-okay, whatever that means.”
“See?” Winston said to Veronica.
“That doesn’t prove anything,” the Vampire Bloodmage said, still on guard. “Drop your defences as much as you can and let me read your mind.”
“Can I at least get dressed first?” Lewis groaned.
“If you’re the real Lewis then you already know what my answer is gonna be,” Veronica replied.
“Fine, check away,” Lewis groaned again. “I come back from the dead and get treated like a bloody criminal…” he mumbled to himself.
Veronica slowly approached the middle of the office and reached tentatively to place her hands on his blond head, waiting to see if the man claiming to be Lewis tried anything untoward before touching his temples and penetrating his natural white-eyed Book Wielder defences.
“It’s… it’s him! Winston, it is Lewis!” Veronica shouted excitedly to her husband.
“Yeah, like I said—” Lewis began, before being crushed by a chesty hug from Veronica. “Winston, help, your wife is crushing me with her killer tits!”
Instead of helping, Winston ran across the room and hugged the poor blond Book Wielder too, despite Lewis’ protests.
“Fuck, I missed you, mate!” Winston cheered. “I can’t believe you’re back! There’s so much we’ve got to catch up on!”
Lewis grunted as he tried desperately to escape. “Yeah… I knew some bits and pieces, but they’re like a dream that’s difficult to remember now.”
“We should throw a massive welcome back party!” Veronica suggested to her husband.
“Clothes?” Lewis insisted, still clutching his book awkwardly.
“Drinks and Dreamleaf!” Winston cheered in agreement.
“Clothes and, um… clothes?!” Lewis said impatiently.
Chloe O’Kelly walked unconcernedly into the room, preoccupied with her handheld computer device. “Boss-man, boss-woman—Prime Minister Tiberius reckons there’s some stupid Supernaturals stirring up shit in the less populated areas of Rura.”
“Called it,” Veronica said to Winston, finally letting Lewis go and turning to Chloe. “Thanks, honey, but we’ve already got it covered.”
“Cool, cool,” the pretty redhead nodded distractedly as she swiped at her HCD’s touch screen. “Oh—apparently that Constance Lee is back, and not dead, along with a bunch of the pillar-investigation-team. They’re throwing a massive party at the Stitches and Britches Bawdy House over in Gloomingdale City. I’m gonna head over with Alexander and Brooke, and we’re meeting Jonathan and Alice in the Catacombs…” Chloe trailed off, finally noticing that there was another person in the room and that said person was naked, and she chuckled. “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt your fun time… wait, Lewis Thorne?!”
“Yep, Constance brought him back too!” Winston beamed.
“Maybe she ain’t all that bad…” Chloe mumbled to herself, before nodding a greeting in Lewis’ direction, staring at his book that was still hiding his privates. “Hey. I like your book.”
“Hey… thanks,” Lewis replied, trying to sound nonchalant despite his clear embarrassment. “You’re that Chloe O’Kelly chick from the Trinity, right? The one who’s a kick-ass artist?”
“You remember me?” Chloe gasped, before trying to act indifferent by fiddling with her curls and looking distant.
“Uh huh, you were one of the only good things about the Catacombs,” Lewis said flatteringly. “You wouldn’t be able to get me some clothes, would you? These two keep pretending to ignore me.”
Winston and Veronica sniggered, feeling as though their old friend had never left their side.
“I’m glad I made an impression,” Chloe O’Kelly said coolly as she batted her eyelashes, taking off her greatcoat and draping it around Lewis. “That will do, for now.”
“For now?” Lewis asked.
The ginger Book Wielder licked her lips and gave her old love interest a suggestive look, while tilting her head repeatedly towards the door.
“Oh, yeah, right!” he said cheerfully, catching on. “Well, we’ll catch up later at that party, guys—do try not to get all your paperwork too damp, I know what you two are like when it comes to cum…”
“Thanks, mate. Hope your dick still works after being dead for so long,” Winston joked.
Lewis gave him the finger with a merry grin, before Chloe yanked him out of the room.
“Make sure you let your parents know your back,” Winston shouted after Lewis as he hurried off with Chloe. “Your dad is the Deputy Prime Minister of Imperia now!”
Lewis raised his hand and gave his best friend a thumbs-up without looking back, as Chloe looked for an empty room to get laid in.
“Have a good shag! We’ll see you over in Rura!” Veronica yelled down the Conclave Amphitheatre’s hallway, causing the Book Wielders and Justiciars going about their business to snigger. “Give her one from me, horny Lewis Thorn-ie!”
“He’ll be giving me more than one!” Chloe called back with a sly grin, as she pulled Lewis into a free room.
“I’ve taught her well,” Veronica chuckled fondly as she threw Winston back inside his office and slammed the door shut.
“Don’t we have a party to get to?” Winston joked as he pulled off his clothes.
“Oh, I think we’re going to be very, very late, sweetie.”
The End
Coming Soon
Terra in Bloom
The shouting outside had increased in volume. Though she was just a little girl, Charlotte could sense the rising tension in the air. She tossed and turned in her bed but simply couldn’t sleep, and the muffled sounds of her parents talking in hushed but harsh tones from their room next door certainly didn’t help. A sense of fear and adventure plagued her tired mind, and she finally gave into it, slipping out of bed as quiet as a mouse, and creeping down the hallway and stairs on her tiptoes. It was very dark downstairs, but she didn’t mind; she was six years old now.
‘Fearing the dark is for kids,’ she thought, feeling especially confident.
Charlotte went to the kitchen and switched on the little television in there, reasoning that it would be quieter than the big one in the living room, and immediately turned down the volume to just a whisper. She walked across the tiled floor in her bare feet, still stepping carefully to avoid making noise, and headed to the fridge to get herself a glass of milk. Charlotte could open the door, but she just wasn’t tall enough to get the carton out from the shelf her parents had placed it in, and she sighed deeply, wondering why grownups had to be so awkward sometimes. That was when she noticed the weird sea-plant on the TV again.
She liked the news, even if she didn’t always understand what the clever people were talking about. Her parents often said she was far too intelligent and curious for her age, but she’d heard other parents saying nice things about their children too; she guessed that over-complimenting was just a ‘parent thing’. Her attention once again flicked to the news, which was now showing some close-ups of what Charlotte called the ‘sea-plant’. The grown-ups had a proper name for it, but she couldn’t pronounce it, no matt
er how hard she tried. She could have sworn it had grown since the last time they’d shown it, and now the giant beige and green plant floating in the ocean was sprouting what looked like smoking chimneys, as well as expanding outwards at its base like an artificial island.
The friendly news man was talking over the recorded footage. “...The North Atlantic Alliance is now confirming that an object did fall into the centre of the northern Atlantic Ocean—it was originally thought to be a small meteorite, but they are now verifying what many already believed—the flora is not of this world, I’ll confirm that again; it is not from this world—whether or not the crisis...”
The neglected fridge door slammed shut. Charlotte jumped, her heart sinking as she heard footsteps from above, and knew that her parents would be on the way down. They had caught her again. That’s when she noticed the man standing outside of the glass doors leading to the garden. Illuminated only by the television glow and a bit of cloud-covered moonlight, the man was quite hard to make out, but Charlotte could see that he didn’t look well. Tears streamed from his horribly bloodshot eyes, and mucus ran down his nose. He was breathing heavily, and he stood stiff and strangely like someone pretending to be a statue. They locked eyes for what seemed like a lifetime before he shuffled away.
“What are you doing out of bed, missy?” her mum demanded, turning on the light. It was late but her mother was still fully dressed, and even had her shoes on indoors, something Charlotte usually got shouted at for doing.
The sudden change in lighting stung Charlotte’s eyes, and her heart was racing inside her chest from seeing the stranger outside.
“...infection is spreading rapidly and the death toll across the planet steadily rises...” the news reporter on the TV continued over shots of closed and barricaded schools and shops, crowded hospitals, white body bags, rioting, looting, and other chaotic scenes from across the world.
Charlotte’s dad switched off the news; he was dressed up like a hiker. “You should be in bed, Charlotte, but it might be good that you’re already up…” He resettled his glasses on his nose and turned to look pleadingly his wife. “Sue, honey, we really should go as soon as possible.”