Enthralled: Book 2: Picking Up the Pieces

by Prax Venter

  Looking around, he noticed it was a small chamber with a ring of jagged rocks strewn around the outside.

  He tried to think of a strategy, but all he could come up with was one similar to the one they used to get the first piece. Have Ahnix suffer terrible burns as she teleported up, grabbed the piece, and then Retracted back for Mark to heal.

  Roo tapped him on the shoulder and pointed back down the way they had come. She seemed to have an idea herself.

  When they retreated far enough down the tunnel, Roo spelled out her plan.

  “Air.” She began. “Fire needs air to breathe. We just need to cut off her supply of oxygen. Here's my plan- tell me if I'm crazy.” Her black eyes looked around the group, and they all waited to hear her plan.

  “Mark and I go into the chamber and confront her. I'll be fine, and we'll alternate using our shields to make sure he doesn't get cooked. I'll eventually need you to enhance my main attack so I can shoot large iron balls into the big vents in the ceiling. Ahnix, you watch for me to wave my hands like this-”

  The velvet-girl lifted her heels off the floor, and frantically waved her soft hands back and forth over her head. Mark thought her enthusiasm was the cutest thing he'd seen in a while.

  After the demonstration, she continued.

  “When you see the sign, use your Doom Kick to seal off the narrow opening into her chamber. Vale, if you need to, add in a Shield Bash to create more blockage.

  “Mark and I don't need air, so we'll be okay. I'll just grab the piece when she expires and take a door out of there. Once we're back home, I can make another door- or maybe Mark could even Recall the two of you. That part is easy.”

  She looked around at everyone, her eyes wide behind her mask.

  Vale nodded her head slowly. “Sounds like a good plan, Roo.” The giant naga smiled. “A really good plan. We snuff her out.”

  “Right!” Roo was positively beaming at the praise.

  Their plan set, they moved back towards the masturbating fire djinn. Ahnix and Vale waited at the bend while Mark followed Roo as she confidently strode out into the chamber.

  The woman made of fire noticed the fabric-girl right away, her mask snapping to focus on her.

  “How dare you interrupt my eternal reward! Burn!” The djinn's voice came from far away and tickled Mark's mind with a reverse echo, the words building on themselves. The living flame held out the hand that was not clutching the heart piece and attempted to blast Roo with a stream of magical fire.

  The velvet-girl didn't even look up at her, instead walked around the edge of the lava, heading for a good angle on her intended targets. The flame attack enveloped her but had no effect.

  Mark held back and watched as the glowing, almond shaped eyes of the djinn's mask morphed into angled slits of hatred. The blast intensified as the creature willed the insolent cloth-construct before her to turn to ash. Between the lava and the waves of incineration emanating from the living flame floating above it, Mark was sweating profusely.

  Roo stopped, made a half-turn and held her hand out, shooting a cannonball right through the fire djinn. It lodged itself into one of the smaller holes in the cavern behind her.

  The creature stopped her attack and seemed to make a gurgling noise Mark identified as laughter.

  “I can't hurt you, and you can't hurt me.” The djinn's black ember mask snapped to focus on Mark. “Perhaps your fleshy friend here will melt for me.”

  Roo quickly made the motion that activated her fire barrier, and Mark sprinted forward to make sure he was within its area-of-effect. As soon as he was under the influence of the shimmering bubble, he instantly felt relief from the sweltering heat surrounding him. The woman made from living fire shot out another blast centered on Mark, but he only felt a slight breeze as the air baked around him.

  Roo held out her hand and fired another cannonball into the second and last of the smaller vents in the chamber.

  “Now!” the velvet-girl said, looking at Mark.

  He took her hands in his and looked deep into her pure-black eyes. She had grown so much, so quickly, and he wanted nothing more than to help her become everything she was meant to be. He looked past her eyes and into her pocket of Metalmancy potential. He had enhanced her main attack many times before and focused on it easily. He closed his eyes, and willed time to slow down while he wove a potent enhancement into her ability. He pictured a metal girl in the shape of Roo and held hands with her. In his mind's eye, her reflective surface was glowing orange from the lava off to their side. He leaned in and kissed the metal Roo on her cool lips and channeled all of his love for her through that contact.

  When he opened his eyes, Roo's whole body was glowing and slightly lifted off the ground. She hovered in mid-air, slowly spinning, her head tilted back as power pulsated within her.

  She landed on the ground, tilted her head forward and opened her eyes. White light radiated out of her normally black eyes, and he saw her large round pupils for the first time as silver disks of light. She was breathtaking. Her eyes shifted from him to the frustrated fire woman bathing them in fire.

  She calmly lifted her hand up, and a massive iron ball grew out of her palm. When it swelled to the right size, she launched it with a concussive force that knocked Mark back onto his ass.

  The iron ball sailed through the air and jammed into one of the bigger vents in the ceiling. The simmering sphere of fire protection began to flicker, and he knew it was about to expire. Mark backed away from Roo to give her some room to work as she launched another massive ball into another vent, jamming it completely.

  The fire djinn was extremely frustrated and started to understand what was happening. She slapped at the lava pool below her with one of her ethereal arms and sent globs of molten rock splattering across the chamber.

  Mark held up his ring and surrounded himself with his own magic shield just in time. The bubble of protection sizzled with feedback as drips of lava slowly dribbled down the side. He looked over and saw the magma hit Roo and run down her body like it was simply butterscotch pudding.

  She fired another giant ball into another vent and Mark could see that there was only one left.

  “What are you!” the living flame screeched as she looked around for a way out. She noticed the cave exit and started moving for it.

  Roo got on the tips of her shoes and started waving her hands over her head, giving Ahnix the signal.

  Mark barely heard the cat-girl yell out her ability through the sparking chaos surrounding him as he tried to keep the globs of lava away with his shield. The floor rumbled as the narrow cave collapsed before the djinn could escape. She screeched again, and it echoed desperately in his mind like the trapped creature she was.

  The flame woman rose into the air as Roo launched the final ball into the last open vent. The creature got one fiery hand into the opening before the iron sphere slammed into the hole, sealing it shut.

  The djinn screeched in rage, sinking down into the pool of lava. In her furry, she began splashing the glowing, liquid rock everywhere and Mark's shield was about to give way.

  Before it could collapse, he saw Roo walk up next to him and hold both hands together. A wide slab of metal grew out of her palms and a dark shadow formed between Mark and the pool of lava. His shield dropped and he watched in awe is Roo wove a crude metal shield for him.

  He could feel the rage boiling within the fire djinn as she flitted around the chamber looking for a way out. Her uncontrollable fury caused her flame to burn brightly, and the remaining oxygen quickly became exhausted. The light reaching him from around the metal-half shell he ducked behind began to dim slightly, and he risked a peek around its edge.

  Roo was standing right at the edge of the glowing orange pool, watching the mighty elemental creature grow smaller.

  “I found it,” the djinn whispered in her eerie, echoing voice. “It's mine. You cannot have my treasure.”

  Her voice faded as her body disappeared and Roo waded out into
the searing, molten rock.

  “No...” The fire djinn gasped, her final flare of existence pulling back away from the velvet-girl calmly walking through waist-high magma.

  The flame died out, and both her black ember mask and the Crystal Heart shard dropped into the lava. A blast of essence shot into him, and Roo reached out, plucking the throbbing red crystal from sinking into the lava. She turned back to join Mark on solid ground, and he watched as runnels of liquid rock ran from her skin and clothes, her features glowing a dim orange.

  She clutched the second heart piece in her soft velvet hand and smiled at him with her perfect, puffy lips.

  “Let's go home.”

  He nodded, and she held out her free hand to summon the door. Once they were on the other side and back in the relatively cool air of home, Mark closed his eyes and tried to Recall both Ahnix and Vale back home.

  They had spent a lot of time together, and it wasn't hard locking his mind on both of them. He found the best way to do it was to think of how they smelled. This triggered his memory of their closeness, and he held out his hands like was touching both of them. He felt solid scales and fur under his fingers, and when he opened his eyes, they were both there, safe and sound at home.

  “You did it!” Vale said, looking around and seeing Roo with the pulsating crystal in her hand.

  “Great job, Roo.” Ahnix's small mouth curled into a rare half-smile.

  The velvet-girl walked over to Mark and looped her arm around his, then held the second Crystal Heart piece out into the middle of the four of them.

  “It wasn't just me.” She said. “Like always, we can do anything as long as we do it together.”

  Mark and his girls looked around at each other, and then together stuck their hands over the glowing fragment of crystal.

  A bright red flash enveloped all of them, and Mark spasmed as he felt his essence pool overflow. He also felt a brief sting under his right wrist and turned it over to see that the heart tattoo they all shared was now two-thirds full. The rightmost hump was filled in with black.

  Each of them turned over their wrists upward and saw the same change.

  “Two down, one to go,” Ahnix said.

  “And it's got to be about noon...” Mark dropped his hand to his side. “Maybe we should take the rest of the day off.” The heat of the volcano had really taken the punch out of him. He was sweaty and exhausted.

  “Hey,” he said looking around at his girls. “Why don't we go find a nice shady tree by a pond somewhere and go relax for a few hours? Maybe some skinny dipping?”

  Roo clasped her soft hands together in front of her. “I can pack a picnic! I've never packed a picnic.”

  Ahnix blinked at the velvet girl. “You don't eat.”

  “That doesn't mean I can't put finger-food into a basket.” Roo pouted.

  “Sounds great, Roo.” Mark swatted her firm ass under her leather skirt. “Go do your thing while we look at the map for a nice secluded location.”

  Roo smiled and walked off into the pantry. Vale tapped the gem in her circlet and the black, night sky scales retreated upwards and her humongous, barely cloth-covered breasts hung right in his face. Mark was sitting on a full reservoir of essence, and that always pulled his mind right into the gutter. And it was a short trip as it was.

  He put his hand on her round hip and smiled up at her chiseled, elfish face. Her violet eyes glanced down to meet his, a smile breaking across her lips.

  He looked over at Ahnix and held his arm out for her to snuggle up on the other side. He wanted to be surrounded by his girls right now.

  “If it pleases your grace,” he started, “bring that fine, furry ass over here and let's go find a swimming hole.”

  Ahnix's tail flipped once and then she sauntered over, sliding right up against his side. He wrapped his hand around her firm waist, and as a group, they all moved into the map room.

  After a little while, they decided on a region that showed green, grassy plains, with groups of colorful trees dotting the landscape. A blue blob of color indicated a small lake, and it seemed like a nice secluded place to have a picnic lunch and a dip.

  Mark was going to bring the compass and see if they could kill two birds with one stone. They hadn't been near this section of the map yet, and it would have been a strategic place to get a reading for the next piece anyway.

  As they finalized the location, Roo wandered into the room holding a wooden crate filled with fruits, cheeses and cured meats. There were two bottles of what Mark supposed were wine laying across the top.

  “That looks amazing, Roo,” Vale said, eyeing the delectable assortment the velvet-girl selected. Roo's black eyes twinkled as she handed the crate to Vale.

  Then she looked down at the map. “Where we headed?”

  Ahnix pointed to the spot with one furry finger, and Roo nodded. She held out her hand summoned the door.

  Mark smiled as he pulled it open, but when he saw the horse and wooden carriage racing towards him, his smile was erased.

  The female driver, wearing a brightly colored veil, was frantically trying to turn the horse away from the door, screeching and yanking on the rains, but it was too late, and Mark could only dodge sideways as hundreds of pounds of horse meat slammed into the narrow doorway. The poor creature broke its neck instantly, and the momentum slammed the carriage into the frame of immovable, magic door.

  The map room floor was a mess. Blood, and chunks of wooden carriage were everywhere. He looked up and saw a fully armored Vale standing over him, looking over the dead horse partially wedged through the magic door. Checking the others, he saw Ahnix and Roo crouched by the map table. Everyone on this side seemed to be okay.

  An apple rolled to a stop by his knee, and he saw Roo's carefully packed picnic scattered among the wreckage.

  He sighed and picked himself up. “Well, that sucked. Let's go see if anyone needs any help out there.”

  Vale pushed the dead horse out of the way using her ample strength, and they emerged from the wreckage of the carriage just as four men riding horses galloped up to them, their mounts rearing up and whinnying as the men forced them to come to a sudden stop.

  “Just who the hell are you?” One of them asked. “You lot responsible for this mess?” He was a gruff looking man with a strong chin and short, black stubble. All of them were wearing gray pants and vests, with gray bandanas covering their heads.

  Mark looked around for the woman he saw driving the carriage. The gruff man spotted her first, however.

  “Go secure our property, now.” He pointed to something behind the wreckage.

  Mark ignored the man, turned and followed the faint hint of pain resonating from behind him. He knew the woman must have been thrown from the carriage when it suddenly and violently stopped, and his first instinct was to heal her.

  Vale spoke up first, sliding forward and speaking for the group.

  “We're terribly sorry. There seems to have been some sort of accident.”

  “Sorry?” The gruff man acting like the leader said. “You stopped valuable property from getting away. Shit, you made my job easier.”

  Mark watched as the three other men circled the heap of colorful cloth laying on the ground. She was definitely hurt and had several broken bones. As Mark walked over to heal the accused thief, he yelled over his shoulder.

  “What did she steal?”

  “Hey you, stay away from her.” The gruff man ordered.

  “Relax, I'm a healer.” Mark held up his ring but didn't stop or turn around.

  The three other men dismounted and watched Mark carefully as he knelt down by the one they were chasing. He instantly classified her as a unicorn-woman, but the rainbow-colored cloth wrapped around her body made it hard to get an exact read on anything below her white, furry neck.

  She had what he thought of as a watered-down horse face with a pearlescent, spiral horn emerging from the luxurious, platinum hair spilling across her face. Her eyes were clenched tight w
ith pain, but he could tell she had permanent, indigo eyeshadow patterned into her fur, similar to Ahnix's black, Egyptian eyeliner.

  Holding out his ring, he poured his healing power into the thief, and her mesmerizingly large eyes snapped open. Glowing sparks showered down, and the unicorn-woman closed her eyes again as ecstasy replaced agony.

  The still mounted gruff man seemed impressed. “You're a Collector?” He looked around at Mark's Enthralled with new appreciation. “Don't suppose you'd want to sell off one or two of these beauties? Could be a lot of coin in it for you.”

  Mark stiffened, putting some pieces together. The accused thief reached out a delicate hand and touched his arm. Her eyes were the color of the sky just before nightfall, and they pleaded up to him now.

  “Please, don't let them take me back.”

  He patted her hand and stood up. Something inside Mark snapped, and Ahnix, Roo, and Vale immediately got into defensive stances. They were about to have a lovely fucking picnic under a tree, and now he was faced with another situation where the assholes of this world were getting in his way.

  “No,” he said quietly.

  “Your loss.” The mounted man shrugged. “Thanks for the assist. Round her up, boys.”

  “No,” Mark said again, stepping closer to the unicorn-woman, who was now kneeling on the ground.

  “We aren't going to cause a problem now, are we?”

  Mark turned around and faced the gruff, mounted man for the first time, and when he spoke, his voice carried a calm confidence born from someone who's lived through plenty of dangerous situations.

  “Leave now, and none of you have to die.”

  One of the men didn't pick up on the way Mark and his girls carried themselves and chuckled behind him. The mounted man didn't laugh, and Mark could see their leader was also someone who needed to be taken seriously.