Enthralled: Book 1: The Crystal Heart

by Prax Venter

  They stood in silence contemplating what they just heard.

  "That sounds horrible," Vale said, staring at the silver chest.

  "It sounds like a quest!" Mark said tossing the paper onto the table. He turned to get Ahnix's opinion, and she was sitting on the couch with her toned, furry legs crossed. She was also staring at the chest with her beautiful eyes narrowed.

  "The Moondusk worship the darkness and are very dangerous," Ahnix said, quietly. "This 'Blackfoot' was not only a coward but a fool."

  Mark felt a spike of anger radiate out from the cat-girl and sat on the couch next to her. It was home to many, large, colorful pillows and he tossed one on the floor to make room.

  "Are you saying we wouldn't go look for this key?” he asked.

  Ahnix pulled her eyes off the chest and looked at him, "No, of course we are going for the key. I can see you drooling over it. And besides..." She stood up and stretched out her sleek, fit body in front of him. "We haven't fought anything in a long time."

  Vale weaved her way over to the door, readied her shield and said, "Let's go pop some undead sailors!"

  Ahnix looked at Vale calmly. "Let's be careful. I have some experience with undead curses. Just watch your back."

  Mark and Vale nodded, and the three of them exited the abandoned living quarters attached to the lighthouse. The mist outside was still thick and significantly reduced their visibility. They quietly followed the path for a little while before Ahnix spotted something moving in the fog ahead of them.

  Mark could just make out the shadow of a person shambling around in the gray void.

  "Hey!" he called out, not wanting to make the same mistake Fayit did and shoot at a potential ally. He quickly learned that it was not a ordinary villager moving out there.

  The creature turned to face the origin of Mark's shout, and two balls of piercing blue light shown through the mist right where its eyes would be. The thing let out an otherworldly hiss and started lurching toward them. It wasn't running, but it moved quickly enough.

  Ahnix tensed, and Vale let her whip uncoil to the ground.

  "Wait, you two!" Mark shouted. "I want to see if I can nail this thing with my magic crossbow."

  They both relaxed a little but remained at the ready, letting him try out his new toy.

  Mark brought up the small, ranged weapon and tried his best to line it up with the shadowy target approaching from within the still fog.

  He squeezed the trigger, and a colorful line of sparks buzzed right over its shoulder. The figure in the mist didn't seem to notice and continued its hurried shamble towards them.

  "Try again, Master,” Vale said from his side. “I believe in you."

  He looked over at the giant naga and gave her an embarrassed smile. Mark thought he could probably get two more shots off before it reached them and calmly waited for the weapon to recharge.

  As the creature shuffled closer, he could start to make out its true nature.

  It was essentially a skeleton holding a long curved sword. There were bits of fabric hanging from its bones that might have been clothes once. Or maybe that was skin.

  Mark squeezed off another shot, and it soared right between its pelvic bone and rib cage. The dazzling trail made a large volume of mist light up with colorful, shifting hues as the bolt traveled.

  "Okay come on! If that thing was a full person that would have been a hit."

  Ahnix let out a tiny snort. "A groin hit. Were you aiming for its crotch?"

  "One more," Mark said, taking a step back. "Third time's the charm."

  He raised the ranged weapon and leveled it with the advancing undead monster. It was nothing but bones and glowing eyes that were too bright to look at. It dragged the scimitar on the wet grass as it put one bone foot in front of the other.

  Mark took another step back to give his weapon time to cool down. When it was ready again, he aimed for its skull and fired.

  The magic bolt passed right under its jaw. Mark let his hand holding up the crossbow drop and cursed under his breath.

  Vale waited just long enough to be sure that it was a miss before she approached the undead sailor. She didn't have to go very far. When she was close enough, she quickly bashed it to pieces with her shield. The naga stood over the scattered bones, her eyes wide in surprise. Mark walked up behind her and felt a slight rush of essence enter him from the kill.

  "I didn't think it would be that easy. I used Shield Bash right away, thinking you could get in another shot if it..." Vale trailed off.

  "Thanks, but I'm starting to think this thing's a ripoff. No wonder that idiot kid couldn't hit anything."

  "Let's keep moving and find this key," Ahnix said, searching for other dangers in the mist.

  They stepped over the ancient bones and continued to follow the dirt path. It wasn't long before they arrived at the town mentioned in the note. The thick fog made the buildings look unsettling, their dark forms disappearing into the mists and their true size obscured.

  The first building they came across was an inn called The Plucked Hen. They went inside, but only found dust and broken furniture. Based on the deterioration it seemed like this town had been abandoned a long time ago. Mark wondered how long that chest with the note had been waiting there for someone to come along and clean up this mess.

  The next building over was some kind of general store. The shelves were empty, but there was a restless skeleton shambling between the rows like an old woman carefully searching for the best deal.

  Ahnix walked up to this one, easily dodging its awkward attack as the wooden shelves put the undead's long, curved weapon at a disadvantage. She kicked it once in the ribs, dodged another attack and then took its head off with a quick swipe of her claws.

  Another small rush of essence entered Mark, and they moved on.

  The road split and they could continue straight or turn right. They checked out the path straight ahead but only saw a few small houses and a broken fence bordering a dead and rotten field that stretched out into the mists.

  Turning back, they took the other path and found two more undead just off the road. Mark fired another shot and watched the miserably cheerful bolt go wide and disappear into the mist behind the risen sailors.

  Ahnix and Vale got into position and engaged the creatures as they closed the distance. Ahnix was having a little more trouble this time. The skeleton she was fighting had more room to maneuver and was able to use some of the momentum from the previous attack to put more force into its next deadly swing. They needed to finish these things quickly, or they might be able to do some serious damage.

  While the girls were picking the two creatures apart, Mark caught the moving shadow of a third advancing on them. His intention was to show them where the next threat was coming from with his pretty-rainbow-maker of a crossbow, but he was pleasantly shocked when the bolt struck it right between the bright glowing spots and took its head clean off. He ran over to check his handiwork as Ahnix and Vale each reduced their foes into a pile of bones. A triple rush of essence sweetened the taste of victory.

  "I got one! I killed it all by my self!" Mark immediately regretted what he said, sounding like a toddler, pointing into the bowl at the first shit he didn't take in his pants.

  Vale rushed over to Mark and engulfed him in an embrace, his face wedged between her enormous, soft mounds. He let her hold him for a while and then tapped out, gasping for air.

  Ahnix had walked up and slapped him on the back. "Nice shot, Lover. But don't get too used to it. You're just not built for direct combat."

  From deeper into the mists they heard the echoing groans of many undead. Mark and his Enthralled turned their focus towards the sounds and took a few steps forward, weapons ready. They quickly came to see row after row of tombstones stretching back into the swirling mists. They had made it to the Graveyard.

  Ahnix pointed one of her furry fingers, and Mark started to see bright pinpoints of light emerging from deep in the fog.

&nbs
p; There must have been nine or ten undead sailors spreading out and moving towards them.

  Vale and Ahnix spread out too, preparing to meet this battle head-on. One of the skeletons near the back raised a bony arm to the sky, and a blue glow surrounded its fist. Mark didn’t like the looks of that and wondered what it was doing.

  Ahnix watched too. She turned her head to look back at Mark standing a few feet away, and her eyes opened wide. Then she was gone.

  He heard her let out an angry hiss behind him and spun around to see that the skeleton he had taken out with his crossbow had reformed. It tried to slice into him from behind, but Ahnix had teleported in the way. His beautiful cat-girl was down on one knee, her hand on her shoulder, blood leaking between her fingers. The undead sailor standing over her pulled his arm back, aiming to take off her head.

  Mark lost it. He brought the crossbow up into its face at point-blank range and re-blew its skull off with a colorful blast. Without stopping, he brought his ring up and poured a strong heal into Ahnix.

  She sucked in a quick breath as the pleasure hit her and looked up at Mark.

  Once she was fixed, he grabbed her furry hand and pulled her to her feet. Mark caught her eye and made sure she was okay. She nodded, and they ran back over to Vale who was standing her ground against the horde of skeletons that were almost upon her.

  She cracked her whip and took the head off of the closest one with one strike. She was a force to be reckoned with.

  "You guys okay back here?" she asked, concern in her voice.

  "Vale, we can't let that big one bring back any more of his buddies. Can you use your new Hexer ability on him while Ahnix and I take out the rest?"

  "It's the Captain, Mark. He'll be tough," Ahnix said, beside him.

  Vale didn't hesitate. She pointed at the larger skeleton in question with her hand holding the long, leather whip. She sang a few notes of a mesmerizing melody in her beautiful voice and then followed it with sour, discordant notes, almost screeching the last part.

  A red glowing outline appeared on the Captain, and it quickly pushed passed its undead crew, taking a direct route to the giant naga.

  Dread began to grow in Mark's heart as he noticed that all of the skeletons turned their skulls to focus on Vale. Either they were all following the Captain, or she was the biggest threat now.

  Mark fired another shot into the crowd of skeletons and missed hitting any of them while Vale cracked out her whip once more and popped off another head.

  Mark didn't have time to deliberate, but he felt torn between enhancing Vale, to weather the onslaught or Ahnix, to help shatter them all quickly. He went with Ahnix.

  He turned to face her. She was standing by his side looking for a good opportunity to engage without getting surrounded.

  Mark drew on all of his feelings for the elegant, badass cat-girl beside him. She had saved his life many times already, and the latest was only moments ago.

  He owed her. He adored her. And he poured everything he had into enhancing her deadly combat prowess. Thick golden rings appeared around her wrists and ankles. Ahnix tried to look at him but her eyes rolled up into her dark eyelids, and she dropped onto all fours, her muscular back arching as waves of pleasure washed over her.

  When he was finished channeling power into her, she turned her large, dark pupils up at him.

  "Go get em, my love," he said, just as they heard the first clang of metal from heavy, curved swords striking Vale's shield.

  Ahnix sprinted into the growing crowd of undead. She tackled one to the ground and ripped its skull off. Mark wondered if she had made a mistake by rushing into the middle of the undead crew like that, as she was now surrounded by four of them- all raising their swords high.

  She stood up, yelled, "Doom kick!" and spun with a roundhouse kick that connected with all four in an amazing attack. A black rip in reality appeared, briefly, behind her foot and all four of their heads shattered to dust upon contact. They were only down to four more undead, plus the Captain, and all of them were currently beating on Vale.

  Mark shot his crossbow into the mix and actually hit the Captain in the leg. He didn't go down, and he didn't lose his focus on the naga, either.

  Ahnix punched through the skull of another one, but there were too many attacks coming for Vale to block them all. One skeleton sliced his rusty sword into her left side, and another bit into her right arm.

  She cried out, but still held her shield up blocking the blows from the dangerous Captain.

  Mark could tell his heal was still on cooldown from when he used it on Ahnix. He needed to do something though. Vale was going to sustain too much damage, and every slice into her felt like a slice into his own flesh.

  He clenched his fists and instinct took over. He raised his hand and focused all of his will on protecting his enthralled naga.

  The heart shape ring pulsed once, and a shimmering bubble appeared around Vale. She looked around, just as surprised as Mark was, and saw him holding up his ring and channeling a new ability at her. The three remaining skeleton crew and their Caption were all pounding their weapons against the shield, but their weapons were bouncing off like it was bulletproof glass.

  Vale dropped her shield arm and slumped a little. Mark could tell she apprenticed the respite from the multitude of attacks, but she was still hurting pretty badly from her deep cuts.

  Ahnix came from behind and quickly shattered the remaining crew members with furious slashes as they were focused on the shielded naga.

  Mark could feel the last of this energy slipping away, and he had to drop the shield. It started to sputter and fade, and Vale readied her own shield, ready for the Captain with renewed strength and focus.

  The impenetrable bubble popped, and the Captain’s massive sword sent sparks off of Vale's shield from a vicious impact.

  Ahnix was able to get in a few sneak attacks, but the Captain was much tougher to kill than his crew had been. The red glow started to fade from around his skeletal body as Vale's Hateful Sting wore off.

  The Captain, now free from her spell, instantly put a hand into the air- bestowing undeath to his fallen crew.

  Mark was desperate. All of his abilities were still on cooldown, and he knew if the Captain were successful, they would be completely overrun. He leveled Myriad on the large skeleton and took a shot at his hand. The magic bolt stuck it squarely, and an explosion of color sent the Captain's skeletal hand spinning off into the mists.

  Ahnix's powerful leg struck the Captain from behind, and he staggered onto one knee.

  But he didn't go all the way down, and what was worse, he was now focusing his bright pinpoints of light right at Mark.

  The undead Captain stood and launched his tattered remains straight towards Mark, his brittle jaw hanging open in a silent battle cry, and the fingers of his remaining hand clutching his deadly, curved sword.

  Mark stumbled backward as the angry pile of bones quickly advanced with unholy speed. He knew for sure he was going to be cut in half.

  Then, Vale's whip cracked loudly and wrapped itself around the Captain's neck. He was stopped short, right in front of Mark, and he could see the silver key jostling on a thick chain around his rotting neck bones.

  With a strong tug, Vale yanked back on the whip, pulling the Captain’s skull back right into Ahnix's powerful claw attack going in the opposite direction.

  His brittle skull exploded into a fine powder, and his body fell to the ground as a jumbled pile of bones.

  Mark hurried to Vale's side as a large pool of essence rushed into him. She was badly wounded all over her body, with blood leaking out of numerous cuts on her stomach, her arms, and in a few places between her scales.

  She looked down at him with glassy eyes, and when he got to her side, he could tell she was barely holding herself up.

  "What a neat new trick, Master," she said, weakly. She was going to go down any minute.

  He could feel that his heal ability was almost ready, but he needed a
little bit more time. He hated to see her in pain like this so he decided to take her mind off of it.

  "Vale my heal is on cooldown, but I need to check you for wounds. I think I'll start here."

  Mark lifted her leather smock covering her vagina and got down on his knees, flipping it over his back. He started to gently caress her soft pussy folds with his fingers.

  Ahnix had been removing the silver key from the skeleton and turned around to see Mark under Vale's leather smock like a child hiding behind a curtain.

  "Mark... now?" the cat-girl asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

  "Checking for wounds while my heal cools down, give me a minute," Mark said, muffled by the flap of leather covering him. "I think I found a huge gash under here."

  Vale actually laughed at that, then winced.

  "Ow! Master, don't make me laugh. Mmmm but don't stop," Vale said, her hand covering a cut on her stomach.

  Ahnix crossed her arms. "Fine, you two play doctor. I'm going to get started putting these bones to rest." She tucked the key into her leather top and proceeded to carry armloads of the bones of the undead back into the graveyard.

  As Mark petted his giant naga's pussy, he felt the click behind his eyes that signaled he could heal again. He slowly slipped two fingers inside her, channeled his energy right into her meaty pussy and willed it through her whole body.

  The light "Mmm" noises she was making caught in her throat as her muscles locked up from the waves of intense healing pleasure he was massaging into the walls of her vagina.

  His work done, he pulled his fingers out and emerged from under Vale's leather flap.

  "Feeling better?" He asked, looking over her toned, gray body for wounds.

  "Such magic hands, Master. I've never felt anything... so intense, before!" Her long tongue snaked out and licked around her lips. She had a look in her eye that told him she wasn't at all finished with him. And he wasn't either.

  A few fat drops of water fell from the dark mists above them causing Mark to look up. The daylight was fading, and the gray fog was slowly turning a more worrisome black.