Emperor

by Isaac Hooke

  “It will be done,” Jaggon said.

  “I am releasing you from the Breaking,” Malem said. “But know that since I have Broken you once, I can Break you again at any time, no matter where you are in the world. So, if I sense you steering away from the forest, I will make you mine again. Permanently.”

  “I understand,” Jaggon said.

  None of what he had said was true, of course. He wouldn’t be able to sense them once they passed out of range, nor would he be able to Break them beyond that range, especially after they recovered some of their strength. But the Blacks wouldn’t know that: his Breaking skills weren’t widely understood among any of the monsters.

  With that, the two Blacks departed.

  Goldenthall was giggling. The former king had dived into one of the gold piles, and he was throwing the coins up into the air.

  “I’m rich, I’m rich!” Goldenthall said.

  “Can I eat this fool?” Nemertes asked. “And put him out of his misery?”

  “We need him,” Malem replied.

  “I guess that’s a no,” Nemertes said.

  “So we’re going to make camp here, I assume?” Gwen asked.

  “That’s right,” Malem said. “You all get a few hours to recover from tonight’s fight. At first light tomorrow, we’re going to pack up this sword”—he glanced at the blade that towered over them in the night—“and then fly east, back to the center of the Midweald. From there, we will gather my army, and head northeast, past the Harken mountains and beyond the kingdom of Dothloron, to search for Denfidal.”

  “Assuming he chooses to strike at the Balor Manu next,” Grendel said. “As this one says.” She nodded at Goldenthall.

  “He will,” the former king said.

  “The logistics of moving an army as large as yours are going to be challenging,” Wendolin said. “Especially if you hope to arrive before Denfidal returns to the Black Realm.”

  “The soldiers can ride the dragons,” Gwen said.

  “Yes,” Wendolin said. “But there are only so many dragons to go around. Certainly not enough to carry any entire army of regular troops…”

  “I’ve come up with a way to speed things up,” Malem said.

  31

  Malem went to Ziatrice’s tent that night. She was very happy to see him, to say the least. She slid off that skirt of black blades, and opened the form-shaping green and purple corset so that her pretty blue breasts tumbled out.

  Though there was no light in the tent, the canopy was partially translucent and allowed some of the glow from the half-moon to pass through. With his night vision, that dim illumination was equivalent to candlelight for him, and he could see her fully.

  Malem stripped off his own armor, rapidly, hungrily, and when he got stuck with the breast plate, she helped him. In moments he stood only in his undergarments before her, and he pulled her close to him and kissed her ravenously.

  “It’s been too long,” Ziatrice said, coming up for air. “I’ve felt you inside of me at a distance. But I want you for real.”

  “And you will get me,” he said, pressing his lips against hers. He slid his tongue into her mouth, between those sharp teeth. He reached between her legs—

  She moaned, and bit down slightly, drawing blood.

  He pulled away angrily. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth, along with the throbbing pain of the wound. “We talked about this. No biting!”

  “Sorry,” she said, smiling sheepishly. “I couldn’t help it, when you touched me… no tongue maybe next time, if you plan to do that. Besides, I didn’t bite hard. I can’t help it if my teeth are sharp. I am half monster, you know.” She held her hands behind her back, and made a sweet face.

  The pain was subsiding, as was the taste. He sighed. “I can’t stay angry at you for long, not when you blink those innocent little eyes at me. Even though I know it’s a trick.”

  She grinned mischievously, but then paused. “One thing I’ve always wondered. We share pleasure, but why not pain, too?”

  “What, are you a sadomasochist?” he asked.

  “Maybe I am,” she answered. Then chuckled. “Not really. But for example, I just bit you, and I feel nothing.”

  “That’s because I keep the pain muted,” he said. “I can share it, if you like.”

  “No,” she said. “Pleasure is fine.”

  “Good,” he said, wrapping his arms around her once more. But this time he didn’t kiss her on the lips. Instead, he went for her jaw line, and nibbled at her ear. Then he went down, kissed her on the neck, and bit it, while pulling at her hair with one hand.

  He slid his free hand between her legs, and reached inside her. Her back arched and she pressed her hips against him. She began thrusting ever so slightly as he continued to bite at her neck, and she moaned softly. He felt the pleasure he instilled in her, as it echoed back and forth between their connection. It also reverberated through the others who were bound to him, magnifying each time. He might as well have been stroking himself.

  He pulled away from her neck and looked her in the eyes.

  “Break me,” she said.

  “Oh, I will.” He ripped off his undergarments and threw her down on her sleeping bag. Then he mounted her, and entered. He started off slowly, rhythmically, but then increased his pace until he was pounding her.

  He mashed his lips against hers, letting their teeth click together. He kissed her so hard, so hungrily… with the desperation that came after battle. He couldn’t hold back tonight: he wanted—no, needed—release, as badly as she did. He let the pleasure amplify among himself and the others, let it build exponentially, and then he erupted inside of her.

  He slid off of her to lie at her side, and sighed in ecstasy.

  She cuddled against him, squeezing her breasts into his biceps. “Such big arms,” she said softly.

  He smiled. “Thanks.”

  She spider-walked the fingers of her other hand toward his crotch. “And such big equipment,” she said, grabbing him. Then she frowned. “Or at least, it used to be.” She worked him a bit, but his gear wasn’t complying tonight. “Come on, steal some stamina from Gwen or something so we can go again.”

  He shook his head. “Not tonight. That was all I needed. I just want to sleep now. We have to get ready for tomorrow. It’s going to be a big day.”

  She pouted one more time, but when she realized it wasn’t working, and that she wasn’t going to budge him, she lay back side him.

  He closed his eyes, and he was close to drifting off when Ziatrice spoke.

  “I’m a better person now, because of you,” she said.

  He almost gave a sigh of annoyance, but something about her voice stopped him. It was the sincerity, he thought. She was telling him something important here. Something that he better damn well not brush off.

  He waited for her to say more.

  Finally:

  “You know what changed me?” she said. “I’ll tell you. It was the moment you spared me, after I had betrayed you and nearly killed you. When I had run at you with my halberd, and tried to cut off your head. And yet you forgave me.”

  “You mean after I returned from defeating Vorgon?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she replied. “Exactly that. I wanted you to rule the world. And yet you told me you already did rule the world, because I and the other women, were your world.”

  “Yes,” he told her, smiling. “I said something like that, didn’t I?”

  “That changed me,” she said. “That, and the fact you still loved me, despite what I’d done.”

  “For the better, I hope?” he said.

  She smiled, and looked at him. She pressed against him even more tightly. “Of course. I know that power isn’t everything now. I know that I don’t need to rule the entire world to be happy. All I need is you. And a few thousand night elves at my beck and call.”

  “Ah,” he said. “You had to add the few thousand night elves, didn’t you?”

  She shrugge
d. “I am a queen. And not just because you assigned me to be one of your Black Swords. I would have taken my army back if you hadn’t!”

  “Oh, I know,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons I entrusted them to you. Another is, well, I don’t want to have to deal with them directly.”

  She nodded. “Good.” She gently nibbled his bicep with her sharp teeth, not hard enough to draw blood. “And I’m actually willing to overlook the other women you bed, since, well, they do give me pleasure when you take them. Which is a fair trade off, I suppose. If I didn’t feel everything you were doing to them, I’d probably have to kill them, one by one. Since I hate not knowing.”

  “Then how come you haven’t killed Xaxia?” he asked, turning toward her. “You can’t feel it when I take her…”

  “I’ll get around to it, eventually,” she said. When she sensed the unease from him, she said: “Just kidding!”

  He smiled, shaking his head, and lay on his back. Then he pursed his lips. “You know, I’m actually happy to hear that. About how you understand now that power isn’t everything. Because, I’ve been thinking…”

  “Yes?” she pressed.

  He hesitated, then: “Well, when this is done, and we have our kingdom built in the Midweald, what would you say about sitting on the throne for a few months? While I went away?”

  “Away?” Ziatrice spun on him. “Where would you go? And why? What’s the point of building a kingdom if you only plan to leave it?”

  “Ah, never mind, it was a random thought,” he said.

  “No, tell me,” she said. “Why?”

  He sighed. “I’m not sure I want to be king. Or emperor. Or whatever it is the soldiers are calling me these days. I just want to be… me. You know? I never wanted to rule anything. I just wanted to go back to my old life…the life of a nomad, wandering and exploring. I mean, sure, I can be emperor if I really have to—especially if it means giving the dark host under my command something to do with their spare time other than raping and pillaging all the nearby human settlements. I understand this duty, and I accept it. But I thought it would be nice to take a break now and then, and let someone else handle things for a while. Someone who actually wanted to rule. Someone like… yourself.”

  She paused, and then nodded very carefully. “I’d be happy to assume this burden for you while you were gone.”

  He laughed. “Nice act. This burden! Right. I can feel the excitement in you. This is exactly what you want.”

  “That’s so cheating,” she said. “Reading my emotions like that. But yeah, you’re right. I was just imagining all the things I could do with the entire army under my command, instead of only the night elves. The realms I could conquer. The kingdoms I could take. Oh, the plunder!”

  “And you just told me you understood that power isn’t everything…” Malem commented.

  She shrugged, smiling sweetly.

  “There would be one catch,” Malem continued.

  She pressed her lips together in annoyance. “I figured there was something coming.”

  “If I were to go, and leave you in charge, you wouldn’t be allowed to conquer any other kingdoms or realms while I was gone,” he said. “I’d want you to stay here, and keep the peace. Make sure the army stays in line.”

  She pouted. “Come on, what’s the point of having this huge army then? We have to pay the men and monsters somehow you know. What are you going to do when the treasury runs out? There are no gold mines in our territory, last I checked. But in some kingdoms to the east there are many for the taking…”

  “Sorry, we’ll just have to figure out other ways to generate revenue to pay the army when the treasury runs out,” he said. “Also, I haven’t decided if it’s going to be you, Mauritania, Wendolin, or Abigail I leave behind.”

  “Oh, so I have to compete with them for the job now, do I?” she said, crossing her arms underneath her breasts.

  “Something like that,” he told her. “Just be on your best behavior, really. That’s all it will take. Keep telling me that you understand power isn’t everything.”

  “That’s easy,” she said with a sly grin.

  “Yes, but actually meaning it isn’t so easy,” he told her. “I can sense your emotions. I know when you’re lying.”

  “Like I said, cheating,” she commented.

  “Anyway,” Malem continued. “This is all just conjecture for now. We haven’t defeated Vorgon or Denfidal yet. And we might not. In fact, tomorrow we could all die. We probably will, actually.”

  “I’m prepared,” Ziatrice said. “If tomorrow is my time, I will face my death with my head held high.”

  “Will you really?” he said. “I’m not prepared, not at all. There’s so much I still want to do.”

  She nodded. “Yeah. I’m kinda lying. No matter how old I ever get, there’s always something else I have left to achieve. If I died tomorrow, before the moment passed, I’d be full of regret for everything I had yet to accomplish in this life.”

  “Like what?” he asked.

  She winked. “The kingdoms left to conquer, the loot left to plunder…”

  “No, come on,” he said. “A serious answer.”

  “Really?” she said. Then hesitated. Finally: “Never mind.” She blushed slightly, looking away.

  “Come on, tell me,” he said. When she shook her head, he said: “Is it that bad?”

  “Kinda,” she replied.

  “Tell me,” he pressed.

  She sighed. “Fine. I know this might sound corny, but… okay, it is corny. Never mind.”

  “Tell me,” he said.

  She paused a moment longer, and then she blurted it out: “I want to have little blue babies with you.”

  She was very careful to avoid meeting his eyes.

  He stared at her, unsure if she was joking or not.

  Then she finally looked at him and, apparently not liking what she saw there, she smiled and said: “Just kidding!”

  He slumped in relief.

  The smile left her face. “Sort of.” She looked away once more. He sensed the raw disappointment from her.

  He knew he had to word his response carefully. He didn’t want to hurt her.

  “I don’t think I’m ready to have children,” he said. “I like being free.”

  “Yes, I figured that,” she said. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have made that comment about leaving the Midweald after our kingdom is done.” She looked at him. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll want to go with you when you leave. Maybe I’ll grow bored of the luxuries that come with being the Breaker’s Queen.”

  He smiled patiently. “You’ll only be one queen among many.”

  She nodded. “Yeah. And maybe I’ll grow bored of that, too.”

  “Anything can happen,” he agreed. “If you ever wanted to leave, I wouldn’t stop you. Even if you wanted to go tonight, I wouldn’t say no. Not if anyone left.”

  “I can’t abandon you now, of all times,” she said. “No, I’m going to stick with you to the end.”

  “Thank you,” he said. “That’s all I could ever ask for from anyone.”

  She snuggled against him and he slept easily, the darkness kept at bay thanks to her touch.

  32

  Malem was up with the dawn.

  Solan greeted him when he emerged from the tent. He had been on the last watch. “Good morning, boss. Pretty quiet today.”

  Malem nodded. “Quiet is good.”

  He walked amid the monsters bones that had been picked clean of all flesh, and past the small treasure piles the dragons had accumulated during their short tenure in the area. He felt no temptation whatsoever to grab any of those treasures: he had all the treasures he could want already, in the form of his companions.

  But apparently Xaxia, Timlir and Goldenthall didn’t share his immaterial attitude, because they were already up and sorting through the coins and gems for items they liked.

  Xaxia glanced up when she saw him. “Nothing like having your pick of a drag
on hoard. Some choice pieces here!”

  Malem smiled patiently and continued past her.

  He made his way around the body of a Black that had fallen amid the bones and treasures. Its head had been sheered almost entirely off. Nemertes’ doing, no doubt. It reminded him that she was no dragon to be trifled with.

  He double-checked that his mental hold was tight around her. In theory, he didn’t need to keep the dragon Broken, and he did so only to maintain telepathic communications with the beast, but still, he didn’t think he wanted her running around loose near him, not when she was capable of doing that.

  He finally arrived at the base of the great black sword and stared up at the distant hilt and pommel. He had to crane his neck to a painful degree, so he didn’t look for very long.

  Nemertes came to his side. “You expect me to carry that on my back?”

  “Why not?” he said. “You claim to be the most ancient and powerful dragon in existence…”

  “And so I am,” she said. “But this back wasn’t designed to carry Balor swords! It will slip off!”

  “Then we will secure it,” Malem said.

  When everyone was up, Malem ordered Nemertes to knock down the Balor blade.

  Nemertes glared at him. “You expect me to throw myself at that blade? I’m going to cut myself in half!”

  “Try to hit the flat side of the blade only…” Malem said.

  “And be gentle!” Goldenthall called. “That is my weapon. I will not have it mistreated!”

  Nemertes smirked. “That only makes me want to hit it all the harder, Balor’s Bitch.”

  “That’s not my name!” Goldenthall exclaimed.

  “It is to me.” Nemertes turned toward the towering blade. “All right, you little bastards, clear out!”

  Malem and the others moved far back as Nemertes retreated to take a running leap at the blade.

  She threw herself against the flat edge several times like that, but the sword refused to yield—it was embedded deeper than Malem had originally thought. Finally Nemertes turned toward him.