Wild Wastes Omnibus

by Randi Darren

  Pressing his lips to hers, he kissed her roughly.

  At the same time, he pushed down on her sides, pinning her to his bedroll, and started to thrust into her faster and harder.

  Red started to make hiccuping moans each time his tip settled into the back of her. The hilt of his manhood lodged in her lips.

  Shivering as he thrust wildly into her, Red squirmed into him as if to push his length through her entirely.

  Finding his climax rapidly approaching, Vince gave up on any semblance of control and just hammered away at her.

  His hips slammed into her thighs as his need overran his thoughts.

  Then he hit the end, and each time he thrust into her, he paused long enough to pump his seed.

  Vince kissed her the entire time he emptied himself into her. Her squeezing and quivering walls tightened around him.

  With a final thrust and the last of his seed shooting free, Vince sighed and turned his head to the side.

  Then he slumped down into Red, pressing his face into her neck.

  Panting, Red wrapped her arms and legs around him, as if wanting nothing more than to wear him like clothing.

  “Red’s hunger is gone now. Red feels very sated. And very full,” she said, her teeth closing around his earlobe and nibbling at it.

  “Red wants to do this again in a few minutes. Red will try from atop, like what you let Mouth and Meliae do sometimes.

  “Red will clean you up first for a snack, though.”

  Ah… should be a fun night.

  Chapter 22

  It’d taken only an hour to find the trail of the Tri-lliance army. And after that, only several hours to find their camp on the coast of what looked like a bay.

  Except after that, it’d been almost impossible to get anywhere past the perimeter.

  The number of guards and patrols spoke to obscene paranoia.

  In the end, they’d been forced to cross to the other side of the bay just to be able to see what they were doing.

  Vince was now snuggled up with Caroline inside a bush. They were both staring at what the Tri-lliance army was doing on the other side of the bay.

  “Is it just me or does that look like the foundation for a dock, noble husband?” Caroline said after several minutes.

  “That’s what it looks like to me,” Vince said. “Which doesn’t really make sense. I know they landed here in boats and that they’ve been spotted here and there around the coast, but why make a port?”

  “I had a lot of gold,” Taylor said. She was just on the other side of the brush, squatting low in her human form and jacket. She tended to stay nearby to Vince more often than not. “Gold is very heavy for you humans. If they put it in chests, trying to ferry it on a smaller boat might take a while.

  “Could the port be to load the gold directly onto a bigger boat?”

  That could be it, couldn’t it? If I were them, and I needed to load a lot of gold onto a boat, building a dock wouldn’t be that far outside of possible.

  In fact, it might make the most sense, especially if it’d take more than one boat.

  That or one boat with a lot of others running guard duty?

  Actually, that’s still the better question. How did they even manage to get a boat here? I just can’t figure how they managed it.

  Any boat or person in the water is fair game for the creatures of the deep.

  “Do you go in the water, Taylor?” Vince asked.

  “No. Monsters in the water. They will attack anything that isn’t them,” she said immediately. “I am not so foolish as to contest the masters of the water.”

  “Then how did they do it?” Vince muttered, staring out at the dock.

  It looked like it was nearing completion. They were sinking stones down into the bay for what was probably the final section of the pier.

  “I truly don’t know, noble husband, but here comes a boat,” Caroline said, pointing towards where the water flowed out to sea.

  Sure enough, a very large vessel came floating their way.

  Except it had no sails and seemed propelled by what sounded like a very large machine deep inside it.

  Looking like a mishmash of technology from different eras and periods, one couldn’t call it anything other than ugly.

  And it rode very high in the water, as if empty of everything except a crew.

  “That could fit a very large number of people, or a lot of gold,” Vince said. “Care to bet that’s one of the transports they used to get their people here?”

  “Yes, but where are the rest?” Caroline mused. “That’s not enough for the entire army.”

  “I don’t rightly know. But if I had to guess… probably trying to keep an exit strategy available for the army Richard is engaged with, and the second half of the army across the bay.

  “They can afford to send one transport up this way, but more than that would jeopardize their ability to retreat,” Vince mused.

  “Sounds like a sound strategy.” The Elf shook her head in annoyance. “Damn them all. It’s not as if they don’t have enough land of their own. Why must they try to take ours?”

  “Red Dragons,” Taylor said simply.

  “Red Dragons?” Vince asked, glancing back at the woman.

  “Red Dragons want space and land. They’re far more social than the rest of our kind,” Taylor said.

  “And blacks?”

  “Blacks want gold and a mate, much closer to blues. I unfortunately did not find another Dragon who could battle me and win my favor, though,” Taylor said, an unimpressed look to her face. “Though gold came aplenty to me. I chose that building because it had much gold in it.”

  “Your roost, you mean?”

  “Yes. The humans who inhabited it when I came through the portal seemed quite determined to defend it. There were men with those things you call guns all over.

  “They were quite upset at me,” she said with a dark chuckle.

  “It had gold already inside? Wait, you were alive when the portals opened?”

  “Yes. As to the gold, yes, it was in bars to be exact. There were quite a few of them. It was impressive.

  “They were stacked on wooden pallets. It was quite lovely and easy for me to snuggle down into.

  “Then I added quite a bit more to the pile. Mostly in things I could pack up and carry off neatly.

  “I needed only hunt down other Dragons and take their hoards, truly. Most of the time I followed would-be suitors back to their lairs,” Taylor said wistfully.

  “Oh? I didn’t realize you were so defensive over your hoard,” Vince said, watching as the boat pulled up to the dock.

  “It’s part and parcel to a black’s health and needs,” Taylor said simply.

  “Oh? Well then, I promise I’ll put all my gold into a building and have you live there,” Vince said, looking down the river to see if there were any other boats coming this way. Seeing nothing, he turned his attention back to the port. “You can keep custody of it better than anyone else, I imagine.”

  “You would do that?” Taylor asked. She sounded interested and alert. Far more than her dreary and toneless demeanor up to now.

  Vince focused on a man on the pier he recognized.

  Seville. So you really are working for the Tri-lliance. You scummy bastard. I’ll have your head.

  Though now I wonder how deep the other king—

  Vince’s thought was cut off as a grip of iron closed around his ankle and jerked him out of the bush.

  Then he was flipped over on his back and found himself staring up into Taylor’s face from a few inches away.

  “You would have all your gold put in a building for me? For me to roost in?” Taylor asked, her eyes sharp and dangerous.

  “Ah, yes. I see no reason not to. I already have a vault deep underground where I put it all, but I can easily move it.

  “I think having it above ground as your home might be the better option,” Vince said seriously, confused at her sudden shift in mood. “I can’
t think of anyone who would mess with a Dragon in the middle of a very fortified city full of warriors and mages.”

  Taylor tilted her head to one side, her hair tumbling down over Vince’s face.

  “I agree. Few would attempt it, except for the foolish or stupid.

  “Then, will you do it? Build me a nest and fill it with your gold?” she asked in a strange tone. “I will nest there if you do that. Will you swear it on my Dragon’s Word with me?”

  She’d willingly become a personal guard to my gold depository? I can’t really see anything wrong with this deal.

  Building her a roost seems rather simple as well, since the last one was just a crumbled heap of rock.

  Lots to gain, nothing to lose.

  “Yes, I will swear it as I said it. I swear it on your Dragon’s Word that I’ll build you a nest and fill it with my gold.”

  Taylor nodded once. “I swear it on my Dragon’s Word to roost in the nest you build and fill for me.”

  There was a finality to the words. Just like every other time he’d sworn on a Dragon’s Word.

  “I await you building me a nest then,” Taylor said, then gave him one of her rare smiles.

  Grabbing him by his waist band, she lifted him bodily from the ground and slid him back into the bush.

  Taylor’s human form could easily meet Ramona’s level of muscle power.

  Caroline eyed Vince with a raised eyebrow as he reappeared.

  “Welcome back. All done proposing to the Dragon?” she asked.

  “If that’s what you want to call it, yeah,” Vince said sarcastically, then rolled over to look back out at the boat.

  Right at the same moment his eyes fell on it, he saw pulsing stones all along the waterline.

  “I see you noticed them,” said Caroline. “I’m thinking that’s what’s keeping them from becoming fish food.

  “So it seems. You know what this means, right?” Vince asked.

  “I really don’t,” Caroline said. “All the options and possibilities I can think of seem impossible to me right now. We don’t have the numbers to take the army, the port, or the boat when it docks. We just don’t have the manpower.”

  “Agreed, which is why we won’t be doing any of that,” Vince said. “No, we’ll do some testing tonight to see just what those rocks do.

  “Bays like this only hold deep creatures of the fish kind. They’ll take a nasty bite out of you if you stick around, but by and far, it’s not as dangerous as the open ocean.”

  “I take it you’ll be betting your body on that, noble husband?”

  “No. No need,” he said. “I’m going to throw a squirrel or some small critter at the boat.

  “If it survives, then I know the rocks work in an area around the boat. If it doesn’t, we change the plan.”

  “A squirrel,” Caroline said in a flat voice.

  “Yeah. They’re everywhere. Just hurl it and see what happens. Easy peasy.”

  ***

  It took two squirrels and a raccoon to get proper test results.

  The two squirrels actually hit the boat and vanished under the water.

  Only the raccoon landed in the water next to the boat.

  It paddled away with no problem and escaped the bay entirely.

  Which meant the rocks worked exactly as Vince suspected.

  It took three days after that for the dock to be finished and all the gold loaded aboard the boat.

  Vince, Red, and Caroline were hunkered down low on a log raft that looked like a jumble of wood more than anything.

  They were camped out in the shallows of the entrance to the bay, lying in wait for the Tri-lliance.

  Eva, Julia, and Taylor were further away, to be the distraction force. Their goal was to get all eyes on them so the raft team could get in close to the boat and hang on.

  “Red doesn’t like this. The water is at a strange temperature,” said the Beastkin. She was sitting next to Vince on their improvised raft, the water sloshing up through the timbers.

  “I’m changing the temperature to discourage those little biting monsters,” Caroline said. “They don’t like the water as warm as I’m making it.”

  “Oh. Then Red thanks you,” Red said with a feral grin.

  “Of course. You know, your ears are quite lovely. Have you considered trimming the fur around them differently?” Caroline asked her.

  “No. Red isn’t very good with that stuff. Mouth and Meliae help Red sometimes. Will you help Red, too?”

  “I’d be delighted. And yes, the Dryads are very good at primping and things of that nature.

  “Though Yaris seems quite skilled at it as well.”

  “Yaris is ok. Red doesn’t mind her.”

  Vince eased out from behind the rock to look upstream.

  The boat—much, much lower on the waterline now—was coming their way. It was only a minute away, perhaps.

  Float on by, friends. We’ll just hitch a ride. No need to trouble yourselves.

  A deafening roar from behind him and a bright orange light got Vince’s attention.

  Turning to look, he saw Taylor standing at the edge of the shore, a bright breath of flame scorching the sky above her.

  She let loose another trumpeting call and seemed to make herself ready. As if to pounce on the very boat when it came close enough.

  That’ll definitely get their attention. And then some. I imagine not a single person will be looking to the water around them with her acting like that.

  “Alright, let’s get ready. They’ll be on us in a second. Get under the raft and paddle like crazy when we go.”

  “You said that twice already, noble husband. Are you a bit nervous?” Caroline asked, sliding off the raft and into the water.

  “I’d be a fool not to be.” Vince got down into the water and took hold of the wood.

  All around them the water was clear.

  Vince also felt a strange pulsing sensation in his chest as he entered the water.

  “Can you feel that?” Red asked. “It makes Red want to swim away.”

  “Yes. I think we all can,” Caroline said. “Though that does explain a few things, I suppose.”

  The boat began to glide past their hiding place, and Taylor let loose another massive burst of flame that seemed to go on for quite a while.

  Not a soul looked to the side.

  And no one noticed as Vince’s log raft slid up next to their hull.

  Nor did anyone realize they had hitchhikers as Red, Caroline, and Vince worked their way up from the absolute waterline of the boat.

  They kept out of sight and to the rear of the boat, just above the propeller and rudder.

  Caroline went to one side with two ropes and iron anchors while Vince went to the other.

  In the span of three minutes, two guide ropes had been drilled into the boat. They would provide everyone with something to put their feet on, and the other rope to lean into.

  It would be anything but comfortable, but it wouldn’t sap their strength like staying in the water would.

  “The rope is cutting into Red’s ass,” the Beastkin complained.

  Caroline nodded and sighed, settling into the rope in the same way as Red.

  “It’s going to be a long wait for nightfall. And you’re sure you want to do this at night?”

  “Yes,” Vince said, settling into the same position as the other two women. “This is uncomfortable, and it’s going to painful in ways I don’t want to consider, but it’s our best option.”

  “Our best option is just going up there and killing them all,” Red groused. “Red would rather bathe in their blood.”

  Not replying, Vince sank into his thoughts, waiting for the sun to set.

  Hours later, and with the absolute dead of night, they climbed upward.

  Vince was the first one over the top. The rear of the boat had a housing where the pilot steered. Otherwise, the boat was a flat surface devoid of anything other than railings and things Vince couldn’t begin to
identify.

  He was no sailor and never would be.

  “Caroline, take the pilot. Torture him, tell him a bedtime story, do whatever you need to get him to tell you how to steer the boat.

  “Red and I are going to clear the deck and below of enemies,” Vince said.

  “As you like,” Caroline said, and slipped away toward her task.

  “Red, clear the deck. Quietly as you can. Bodies can go over the edge just as easily as someone without a throat,” Vince said.

  “Red will handle it,” said the Cursed One.

  Leaving with a flash of red eyes, she stalked off after her prey.

  Vince entered a stairwell that led down below decks.

  A helpful sign pointed him toward the sleeping compartments and infirmary.

  Vince ghosted through the cramped corridors with his hunting knife in hand.

  His sword would draw attention and felt almost too big here.

  A man in a uniform stumbled out of a side passage. Only to fall back into it as Vince neatly sliced through his throat in a single swipe.

  Following the man in, Vince realized it was a bathroom.

  Pushing the dying man head first into the toilet, Vince smashed him in the back of the head with his pommel.

  Immediately, the man went limp and moved no more.

  Sliding his feet out of the way, Vince closed the door on the dying man and looked back into the hall.

  He’d cleared every room he’d passed up to this point. No one was behind him that he knew of.

  Up ahead was a bulkhead and a closed door with countless enemies behind it.

  Taking a slow, steadying breath, Vince clutched his blade a little tighter.

  If we can get in quietly and quickly, we can start slitting throats before they wake up. And when they do wake up, they won’t know what’s going on.

  Utilize the stealth and surprise to the best of your ability.

  Make them pay.

  Moving up to the door, Vince spun the wheel to one side and unlocked it.

  Stepping past the doorway, he closed it behind himself, plunging the entire compartment back into darkness.

  To Vince, it wasn’t complete dark. It was just light enough to see what he needed.

  So long as the number of Elves or Wasters in here is low, this should… work.