Damsels of Jormia 2: A Light Novel (An Isekai Fantasy Series)

by Marcus Sloss

Aquina and Cera came with them, sliding along the ground with the unstoppable motion of the tail. Illia moved to join us, recognizing the intent of the beast. All four of us stood our ground, back-to-back, the head and the tails of the snake seeming like separate enemies.

  “I’ll handle the tails. You three go for the head,” Illia shouted, utilizing the moment we had to think.

  At her word, Aquina and Cera shifted their focus to the head, all three of us attacking at once. The snake recognized our intent, sending its sharped tail in our direction, but Illia moved quicker. A giant hand of hardened dirt grabbed the tail, pinning it to the forest floor.

  While the strength of the tail was enough to completely shatter the obstruction Illia created, she remained vigilant, preparing another just as the first crumbled into debris. This constant cycle allowed us to focus solely on the head, the tails restrained enough to no longer be a threat.

  Wanting to make use of Illia’s plan, all three of us ran toward the head of the snake, splitting up to confuse the beast. It went for Cera first, her battle hammer striking the side of its face, deflecting the attempt to swallow her whole. While a bit rocked by the attack, the snake recovered quickly, readjusting itself to attack again, its fangs exposed to appear more threatening.

  While a worthy opponent, I knew it no longer stood a chance as I looked up at it from my position under its throat, my sword beside me, pulsing in my hand. Aquina sensed it too, pulling out a crystal and aiming it in my direction.

  “Now, Nolan!” she shouted after mumbling her mysterious words.

  I jumped with the extra force her spell afforded me, my body easily lifting higher than humanly possible. When I reached a high enough point, I dug my blade into the throat of the beast, letting the momentum of the fall aid me in gutting the snake.

  The blade sliced through the beast's flesh, my weight like an anchor pulling me slowly back to the ground. As my feet touched the dirt, the blade still embedded in the snake’s throat, I released a lightning spell, making sure to finish the job.

  A bright light encompassed the front of the snake, frying any chance it would have of surviving the initial wound. I pulled my sword from its hide, the head already beginning to teeter in the air.

  The beast fell, hitting the ground with a solid thump, letting us know we were victorious. The rock barrier that surrounded the egg was removed, the egg still in perfect condition.

  “Why did that thing attack?” I wondered aloud, confused by the giant creature's appearance.

  “My spell must be wearing off,” Aquina said after thinking for a moment.

  “While it still seems to be blocking the connection between the parent and offspring, it's possible its scent is seeping out of the barrier. I’ll strengthen it, just to be safe.”

  Aquina, having decided on the reasoning of the snake's attack, pulled a crystal from her bag, heading over to the egg to apply an additional concealment spell. The danger having passed, I felt the pull of exhaustion once more, the dark surroundings reminding me that we were in the middle of resting.

  I crawled back into the stone tent, the girls following my lead, and we tried to squeeze in a few more hours of sleep before resuming our mission in the morning. Aquina had been sure to reapply the protection barrier as well. That way, if any more enemies tried to ambush us, we would know.

  Luckily, the rest of the night passed by peacefully, and we didn’t wake again until the suns began to rise. While I was the first to wake up, the tent being cramped as it was didn’t allow me to get up without alerting the others.

  Soon, we were all out and ready for the day that laid ahead. After eating some of the food we brought along, I pulled the egg onto my back and we restarted our journey, heading for the clearing.

  I figured we would make it there in a few hours and looked forward to getting rid of the extra weight. By early afternoon, the clearing came within sight, the vast expanse of rolling pink grasses a welcomed view from the mass of forest trees.

  While happy we had made it, I realized it wouldn’t make sense to alert the dragon as soon as we entered the field if we wanted to be able to run and take cover amongst the trees once the spell had been released. So, instead we continued walking, the egg still on my back, heading in the direction of the Silverwolf clan’s village.

  By early evening, the suns still high in the sky, we made it to the new stretch of forest directly after the length of open fields.

  “I think we should do it now,” I looked to Aquina, waiting for her input.

  “I agree. We can leave the egg here and take cover in the trees. Since it will be dark soon, that will help aid in our escape.”

  Illia and Cera agreed, and we began our preparations to abandon the egg. Taking the holding contraption off my back, I set it down a bit far from the entrance of the forest. Illia prepared a nest of dirt in the spot, waiting to cradle the egg as it waited for its mother to retrieve it.

  I pulled open the metal bars, rolling the egg onto the soft dirt of the man-made nest before joining Illia who waited closest to the tree line. Cera remained beside Aquina, talking softly to the egg as if it could hear her.

  “Don’t worry little one, you will be back with your mommy in no time,” she whispered, stroking the glistening shell of the egg.

  “Are you ready?” Aquina looked at Cera and then over to us.

  Illia and I were the most ready, just steps from entering the forest, but I knew we weren’t going to move until the others were safely beside us. I nodded regardless, eyeing the surroundings for any threats.

  “Okay—here we go.” Aquina grabbed the crystal, branch and rabbit horn that had been placed inside the carrier, rubbing them in her palms as she mumbled what I could only assume was the reversal spell. The materials crumbled into dust as she chanted, the pieces scattering onto the egg.

  I assumed the dragon would be upon us in a matter of seconds, but when she looked toward us, nodding to let us know the spell had been retracted and nothing immediately happened, I felt a little bit of relief that we would be okay.

  Aquina crossed the lip of the nest before turning back to signal to Cera who had remained near the egg, still patting it softly.

  “Let’s go,” she told Cera, waving her over.

  As Cera lifted her gaze toward Aquina, her body already beginning to move in her direction, a bright light formed under her, a bluish mist seeping out from a central position.

  “Cera!” I shouted, fearing the worst as the spot began to grow.

  I had already begun running in her direction, but I was too far from her, my mind already recognizing that I wouldn’t reach her in time. While I—even as I ran full speed—remained too far to help Cera, Aquina wasn’t, her body instinctively moving toward her.

  As the portal widened, Cera’s feet fell from under her, a cry of shock adding to the tension. Aquina grabbed her hand before she could fall into the abyss, and using her weight, she quickly switched their positions.

  Cera fell to the ground, inches from the portal opening, while Aquina’s small hand gripped the hole’s edge tightly, her feet dangling above what appeared to be another world.

  Cera rushed to Aquina, grabbing her wrist as the pull of the portal tried to suck Aquina’s body into the unknown. The egg fell, nothing there to stop it and soon the edges of the portal began to waver, signaling its intent to close.

  I remembered what happened to those caught in a closing portal and my blood ran cold, my feet never stopping as I ran toward Aquina and Cera. Everything happened so fast—even the hand of dirt Illia sent out wasn’t fast enough to stop what happened next.

  Aquina, recognizing the situation, shouted at Cera, “Let me go!”

  “No!” Cera cried, tears streaming down her face, the portal growing smaller by the second.

  The force of the portal was too much for Cera, its strength threatening to pull her inside as well. Not seeing any other choice, Aquina forced Cera’s hand, digging her nails into her skin, the blood pooling in the puncture
wounds.

  Cera flinched from the sudden pain and that gave Aquina the moment she needed to shake free of Cera’s grasp.

  Her body fell, Cera reaching in after her as the portal shrank to an even smaller size.

  Before the portal could close, before Cera could jump in, joining Aquina, Illia’s gift caught hold of Cera, roughly pulling her back from the ledge.

  When her body hit the ground, the portal snapped shut, as if it were never there in the first place. The nest was empty—Aquina, gone. Cera pounded the ground with her fist, the tears still falling. Illia went to check on her, dressing her wounds while trying to comfort her.

  I froze, staring at the place where Aquina had stood only moments before. This wasn’t supposed to happen. The dragon—that was what we expected to show up—we were prepared to run from a dragon. My mind raced, the scene replaying over in a loop.

  I should have been able to stop it—to save her. I should have saved her. Save? Was she dead? I couldn’t answer that question, the uncertainty only adding to the weight I felt in my chest.

  I felt my blood pounding in my ears as I stood in the nest, my eyes fixated at the spot where the portal had materialized. Falling to my knees, I slapped my palms onto the grit, somehow expecting the soil to open back up and release her from its grasp.

  When nothing happened, my desperation grew. I dug at the spot, my nails filling with dirt as I clawed at the ground, knowing it would change nothing, but unable to do anything else.

  My mind felt clouded, blank, my body numb. I could only dig, not realizing when my fingernails cracked, covering my fingers in blood.

  It didn’t matter. None of it mattered anymore if I lost her. Not my pain, not the mission. After all, I was only here because of her. Was it even right to continue without her?

  I heard shouting—the sounds distorted as though I were underwater, the words not making any sense. I gripped at the dirt, burying my fingertips in the soft soil as I stared down at the ground in front of me, seeing nothing but red.

  But she matters. They would pay for this. I would make sure of that.

  As my mind shifted into darkness, I heard a familiar shriek enter my consciousness, breaking through my clouded state. I raised my gaze, settling on a dark form.

  It was Hati, her small eyes unblinking, staring at me in the fading evening light. She began preening her feathers, blissfully unaware of the situation. Her claw hit the ground a few times when I didn’t approach her, drawing my attention to the note she had tied to her foot.

  Still, I didn’t move. I knew what her appearance meant. What the dried blood that coated her feathers, and the hastily tied note meant.

  I knew, and yet I remained frozen in place, feeling as though all my breath, all the life, had been sucked out of me. I wasn’t ready to accept the reality - the changes - that would come from reading that note.

  No - I wasn’t ready to face the fact that Aquina wouldn’t be with us.

  “The invasion… It either is close or it begins,” I muttered.

  I glared at her, ready to unleash a tirade of anger. Instead, I thought of Aquina’s beautiful face and somehow found a steeling resolution in my heart.

  “Where is she?” I asked.

  Cera came to wrap me in a hug. “We will figure it out together. There is no power that can stop us from getting her back. She will be found, no matter the cost.”

  I looked up at Hati who hopped toward me expectantly.

  “Nothing in Jormia can stand in our way," I said. I needed to be strong. "Aquina will be saved."

  Whoever abducted my precious Aquina would burn under my righteous fury.

  Afterword

  Wow, I’m excited to get started on book 3. Book 1 audio just released, book 2 audio is started and here soon book 3 will be out. On a personal level, it’s summer of 2021. Caught some pelagic fish, take my boys to the pool, and write to avoid getting too much sun. Not trying to discourage you from reading, but after all this craziness, I hope you find some fun in the sun. If you enjoyed this book and if you could kindly leave a review, I’d be appreciative.

  Other awesome news. Working on making a visual novel game, and a harem anthology is coming out soon. Stay tuned for more by following me as an author.

  ​Your adventuring partner - Marcus

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/dukesofharem {- I give out free audio codes here and so do other awesome authors. Really chill group.

  If you don’t do facebook, I shitpost on reddit. Also a great group.

  https://www.reddit.com/r/haremfantasynovels/