by Eric Vall
“Yeah,” she purred. “You know. You do something nice with your mouth. Maybe it could be praise, but maybe it could be something else…” The red-headed woman cleared her throat. As she stared up at me, her sapphire eyes shone in the moonlight, and the icy wind tousled her hair. The unexpected aroma of sweet cream and exotic spice reached my nose as her untamable curls quivered in the frigid breeze.
As I gazed down at her, I slowly raised one of my hands to cup her chin. I gently stroked her and slid my other hand down to her narrow waist. No sooner had my hand reached her waist did I draw her closer to me so that there was hardly any space between our bodies.
Rana’s face began to flush again, but she didn’t pull away from me. The fox-tailed woman bit her lip softly as she looked up at me and gave me a twisted grin. I felt her hips sway a bit as her tail wagged furiously behind her.
I returned Rana’s smile and bent down to kiss her, and she stood on her tippy toes as I did so. She closed her eyes just as our lips met, and she breathed a sigh of pleasure. Her lips were so warm and inviting, and now that I was even closer to her, the scent of her intoxicating perfume mesmerized me.
Rana moaned softly as we kissed each other passionately. I lowered my other hand to wrap around her waist, and I pulled her to me so that her body pressed against mine.
We pulled apart for a moment and as we separated, Rana released a soft sigh. We held each other’s gaze, our faces only mere inches apart. The curly-haired thief glanced down at the ground awkwardly, her face still a distinct shade of crimson. A cold gust of wind sailed across the desert terrain picking up sand along the way and tossed it into the air. The fox’s red hair whipped around her and blew into her face, andshe tucked the stray curls behind her ear as she looked back up at me.
She gave me a small smile and opened her mouth to say something but before the fox woman could speak, the sandy ground us beneath started to quake. A deep rumbling sound struck the silent evening air, and the terrain on which we stood tremored so intensely that we nearly lost our footing. We held onto each other and whipped our heads around to see what was causing it.
“What in the world is that?” Rana shouted as she raised a paw to her eyes and squinted at the surrounding area.
“I’m not sure,” I yelled back. “It feels like some sort of earthquake.”
Rana furrowed her brow and slowly lowered her gaze to the sand beneath our feet. “This doesn’t make any sense. There’s no way…” the fox mumbled as her voice trailed off.
“What did you say?” I asked the fox woman, but she was so occupied by her own thoughts that she didn’t seem to hear me. Suddenly, her eyes grew wide with realization, and she gripped my arm tightly.
“There’s something--” Rana paused and whirled her head to look at the area of sand several yards to our left.
Without warning, a huge geyser of sand burst into the air sending a spray of golden granules everywhere. I raised a hand to shield my eyes from the flying grains and focused my gaze on the fountain of sand. Suddenly an enormous worm creature erupted from within the geyser. The eyeless beast reared back its head and released an eerie high-pitched cry that sent vibrations through my entire body. The humongous worm turned to face us and spread apart its gaping mouth to reveal several rows of large jagged teeth.
“It’s a Valasarian sandworm,” I yelled to the fox woman as the beast’s mud-colored body wriggled to and fro.
“Yeah, I kinda guessed that,” Rana glanced at me with fear in her eyes and then looked back at the terrible monster before us.
I had no idea the full length of the giant worm as part of its body was still beneath the sand, but the length of the worm that we could see spanned that of a two-story building. Though they were worms, the fearsome things did not at all appear vulnerable like their smaller counterparts. Their slick brown hides seemed quite thick and impervious to common attacks.
Just then two more geysers of sand erupted from the terrain, one to our right and another behind us. Within seconds, two more immense sand worms burst forth and gnashed their teeth as they met with open air.
We were surrounded.
All three of the monstrosities released a series of resounding high-pitched cries and gnashed their deadly teeth at the air. I quickly reached into my void pocket and drew out the God Slayer. With a tap of the pole into the sand, the weapon’s deadly blades immediately sprouted. Beside me, Rana quickly regained her composure and pulled out two of her daggers.
“Rana, I want you to run back to camp and warn the others,” I whispered to the fox woman. While Rana was skilled, I knew that she wouldn’t be able to defend herself against these gigantic worms adequately, even with her daggers.
“No way, I’m staying right here,” the red-headed woman hissed. “There’s no way I’m leaving you with these… these things.”
“I’m perfectly capable of handling these creatures on my own,” I said as I eyed the massive beasts that encircled us. “Do as you’re told. I’ll provide you with cover, then I want you to run.”
“Fine, have it your way.” the fox-tailed woman bit her lip in frustration. Suddenly one of the towering monstrosities let out a ferocious hiss and stretched down toward us with alarming speed. It bared its horrible jagged teeth and widened its mouth as though it intended to swallow us whole.
I held up a hand in front of me and slowly curled my fingers upward. As I did so, the lava I had summoned forth appeared around me in the form of three large, bubbling columns. The worm halted its attack and reared back with a screech of protest as did the others.
“Run,” I whispered to Rana. The fox immediately turned and sprinted in the direction of the camp. The worms moved their huge heads in the direction that she had run, and that was their mistake. In the split second that they were distracted, I tightened my grip in the air and sent the boiling pillars of lava toward each of the beasts’ heads. The worms released angry hisses as the streams of flaming orange twisted toward them and drops of lava broke loose to scorch the sand.
Just as the columns of fiery liquid were about to strike my enemies, brilliant orbs of violet light surrounded each of the worms. The torrents of lava crashed into those purple spheres and sent globs of lava raining down everywhere. I narrowed my eyes as the orbs flickered and disappeared.
The giant brown worms swayed back and forth and snarled at me, completely unscathed. This was the work of dark magic, I could sense it in the pit of my gut. The worms bellowed and curled their brown bodies in the air, ready to strike, when a shout caused them to stop their wriggling and lower their heads toward me.
As the massive creatures bent downward, I noticed that one of the worms had a person harnessed to the back of its head, the source of the shout no doubt. In fact, they all did. Once their heads were close to me, the humongous eyeless beasts angled their bodies so that they appeared to be looking down at me. Now I could more clearly see the men that sat atop the Valasarian sandworms.
The men were shrouded in dark robes and wore head coverings that were wrapped in such a way that only their eyes were visible. They each carried a spear in their hand and pointed the weapons straight at me.
“Foolish man, your magic tricks won’t work on us,” one of the men shouted as he glared down at me.
“You’ve only seen an ounce of what I’m capable of.” I sneered back.
“Many men have made such bold claims, and all have perished, you’ll be no different,” the man snarled in a thick Valasarian accent. He shouted something in his native tongue, and the worms immediately plunged their heads toward me with open jaws.
I gripped the God Slayer in both hands and spun it over my head. As the weapon twirled, I pumped my dark energy into it and a disc of crimson light formed around the spinning halberd. The circle of light began to stretch downward and around me to form a dome. It glowed intensely and hummed loudly as my sinister energy pulsed through it.
The Valasarian sandworms roared and one by one smashed their heads into the radiant dome.
It shook from the sudden impacts but remained intact. One of the men shouted a new command, andthe worms moved to attack once more. They bashed their bodies against my magical barrier repeatedly, but to no avail.
As I laughed at their foolish impudence, the gigantic monstrosities screeched, their enormous fangs dripping with drool. Their shrouded masters glowered at me from atop their monstrous mounts, and I recalled that the only Valasarian sandworms left in existence were kept by the king. These men had to be Alistair’s mercenaries.
They had no idea with whom they were messing with.
I spun the God Slayer once more, faster and faster over my head. I grunted as I channeled more of my dark power into the weapon. The men atop the worms were forced to shield their eyes as my magical barrier glowed brighter and brighter until it radiated with a blinding blood-hued light.
With a mighty cry, I pushed the crackling sphere of power out toward the worms and their riders. An immense wave of red light shot out from the dome and stretched toward the enormous creatures. One of the mercenaries shouted something to the others in Valasarian, andjust as before, violet orbs surrounded the worms, but this time I anticipated this.
The burst of light collided into their magic-infused shields and pressed against them with great force. The men grunted from the impact, and the gargantuan worms hissed furiously. My power pushed harder and harder against the purple barriers. Just then, a resounding cracking sound came from the spheres. Jagged cracks started to form and stretch across each of the orbs. Their amateur magic had been no match for my unbridled power.
With one more push, my wave of energy slammed into the shields. Suddenly, the violet orbs shattered from the force. Lavender shards scattered into the air, andthe men reeled back in horror.
As the dark energy I beckoned forth flooded past the broken shields, it wrapped around the bodies of the worms as well as the men that rode them. The worms screeched in protest, andthe mercenaries wailed as my power engulfed them. One of the men desperately lifted his hand to the air and shouted something in his native tongue, but his frantic screams were stifled as the sinister red energy squeezed him tightly.
Within seconds the man’s face and features were no longer visible, his body completely consumed by my dark magic, andhe was nothing more than a flailing red silhouette. The other men’s cries became muffled just as their companion’s had as my power crushed them. The behemoths that they sat atop roared and writhed in the air, but their screams too were silenced.
With one last clutch, I squeezed my victims even tighter, andone by one, I felt the life draining from their bodies. The mercenaries stopped floundering, andthe sandworms stopped their thrashing. The men slid from their seats, andtheir bodies plummeted from their perches and thudded to the ground. Only seconds after, the massive monsters started to tilt forward like felled trees. They came crashing down on top of each other and sent torrents of sand into the air.
Having put a stop to my enemies, I released my grip on my attackers and their steeds. The ruby stained magic that had consumed around them started to fade away, andas it dissipated, the stripped carcasses of my adversaries was all that remained. As I looked over the immense skeletons of the Valasarian sand worms that lay before me, and the crushed bones of their masters, I wondered why they had been sent.
Without a doubt these were Alistair’s mercenaries, at least, they had been. I knew that the pompous king undoubtedly despised me after the incident that had taken place in the port city, but even so, it didn’t make sense for Alistair to send killers after me just because of that.
Suddenly, I heard a ferocious roar and a series of shouts coming from the camp. My breath caught in my chest as I turned around to see two more monstrous sand worms near where I knew the tent was, beyond a rise of dunes. As I sprinted toward the camp, I raised my hand to douse the enemies with my necromantic power, but just before I made the gesture to summon my dark abilities, the gigantic creatures curved in the air and dove into the sand. Within seconds, they had disappeared into the sands once more.
Moments later, I arrived at our camp. Morrigan stood silently in front of our tent and gazed at the sand before her while Carmedy was helping Rana off the ground.
“Is anyone hurt?” I asked breathlessly as I looked around at my minions.
“No, no one got hurt,” Rana said bitterly as she rose to her feet, “but they took Annalíse.”
“They what?” I whirled around to look at the general area where the worms had tunneled into the ground. “We’ll follow them. There’s still time.”
“We can’t--” the red-headed woman started to say, but as soon as I turned, I immediately knew what she was going to say. I had expected to see gaping holes in the sand, but there was no trace that the worms had ever been there. With no mounds or any sign of disturbance, there was no way to tell which direction they had gone.
“When the worms tunneled back into the sand, those magic creeps did something to pull the sand down around them,” Rana explained as she joined me at my side. “There’s no telling where they went.”
“Tell me exactly what happened,” I said as I forced myself to keep my anger at bay.
“After I left you, I came here to warn the others just like you said,” Rana said gravely. “Not too long after, two more of those worm monsters popped out of the sand in front of the tent. We tried to fend them off, but nothing we did worked. My daggers and Annalíse’s swords were no match for those worms, our weapons just bounced right off.”
“I wasn’t much help either, I’m afraid,” Carmedy said somberly. “I tried to use my slingshot to hurl some explosives at the riders, but every time, they’d put up these… these purple shield things and deflect my attacks. I didn’t leave a scratch on them.”
“They were utilizing dark magic,” Morrigan said grimly. “I too attempted to thwart their attacks, but I am ashamed to say they were far more experienced than I. My necromantic assaults dealt no damage.”
“I see,” I mumbled. “Did the men say anything to any of you?”
“No, they just kept attacking us,” Carmedy said with sadness brimming in her green eyes. “And one of them trapped Annalíse inside of this big glowing purple ball.” The cat gestured to mimic a spherical shape with her hands.
“Then those goons in black dragged her down with them,” Rana shook her head and ran a paw through her messy red curls. “This is all my fault.”
“No, it isn’t,” I said to the fox woman. “You all did your best to--”
“That’s not what I mean,” Rana pinched her face in frustration. “I knew there was something wrong from the moment that we left the port town. I kept feeling like someone was following us, and I was right, it was them all along. I should have known, I should have trusted my instincts, I should have…” Rana’s voice trailed off as she stared down at the sand. “If only I would have figured it out, Annalíse would still be here.”
“It’s not your fault, Rana.” I placed a hand gently on her shoulder. “You had no way of knowing. We only found out about the sandworms recently, andeven so, we couldn’t have guessed that they were following us.”
“I guess,” the fox-tailed woman grumbled and looked off to the side ashamedly.
“Um, why were they following us?” Carmedy asked quietly.
“You recall that Kifi from the inn told us that the only Valasarian sandworms left in existence are kept by the king?” I said to my minions.
“Yes, Kifi informed us that that pathetic man uses them for sport.” Morrigan nodded.
“And as steeds for his mercenaries,” I added.
“So those were the king’s men?” Carmedy’s eyes widened. “But why would Alistair send mercenaries after us and kidnap Annalíse? Does he really like her that much that he’d take her against her will?”
“I don’t think that’s why he did this.” I frowned. “I think he did it for money.”
“What do you mean by this?” Morrigan raised an eyebrow.
“The king is greedy
and covets gold,” I said to the others. “And remember, there is a large reward out for Annalíse’s return to her kingdom. Alistair must have found out about it. That’s why he had his men take her.”
“Why that little… I can’t believe this,” Rana said and threw her paws in the air furiously.
“Poor Annalíse,” Carmedy said mournfully, and her furry black ears drooped. “I wish there was something we could do.”
“There is,” I said with the utmost confidence. “We’re going to get our warrior back.”
“But how?” the feline asked. “We don’t know which way they went.”
“Yes, we do.” I nodded. “I’m certain that those men took her back to Alistair’s palace.”
“And we know its precise location,” Morrigan said as realization flooded to her face as well as the other women’s.
“Exactly,” I said to the elf.
“Okay,” Rana said slowly as she rubbed at her chin, “so we’re going to go ahead with the plan Annalíse came up with, only now instead of a siege, it’s a rescue mission as well.”
“Yes,” I said. “The plan should still work effectively. We’ll just have to locate Annalíse once we break through the palace’s defenses.
“I think we can handle that,” the fox said with a wry grin. “I already hated the guy, but he made a big mistake coming after one of our own.
“He will pay for his treachery,” Morrigan said with a fierce look in her eye.
“We’ll break camp immediately and set out for the palace,” I said as I walked into the tent. “If we leave soon, we can be there before daybreak.”
“Hey, what if we use the Dragnasí?” Carmedy suggested as she glanced at Xerxes and Scylla who were curled up beside the flickering fire. “We could get there a lot faster if we feed them to Xerxes and Scylla.
“We only have two of them though, remember?” Rana said as she doused the fire with sand to extinguish its flames.
“Yeah but maybe the other lizards could ride on their backs or something,” Carmedy replied.