by Nhys Glover
The lads had successfully engaged the other riders with more enthusiasm than skill. But one man had broken away from the rest and was heading my way. His ugly face was made uglier by a sneer.
"Whore! You think you can beat us with a bunch of boys barely old enough to have left their mothers' teets? Is that the best the rebels and the Goddess can do?" he jeered at me.
He didn't know my skills. If he'd seen me take down my last opponent he'd be coming at me more cautiously. The lads had clearly kept him busy for me.
With a wild war whoop, he rushed at me. His sword was held out in front of him in two hands, the point aimed directly at my heart. This technique was used to frighten a smaller opponent, I remembered that from my training. But it didn't frighten me.
I waited until the very last moment to step out of the way. His forward motion brought his hands within range and I grabbed them with my right, while hitting the closest arm with the full force of my left elbow. He fell to his knees as I twisted one arm up to breaking point, making him scream in agony. The sword released from the other hand, and I let him fall forward onto his face. But he wasn't out. Swearing foully, he started to rise again. Before he could fully regain his feet, I spun and kicked out, connecting with the side of his temple. He hit the ground and didn't move again.
I looked around for my next target. Two of the lads had one rider pinned down. The lads from the coop had poured out and joined the fight. I saw Zem take down a man nearly twice his size using one of the moves I'd taught him.
So focused was I on my lads that I almost missed the sword descending on me. Only my quick reflexes and what was left of my Knowing had me stepping back out of the way in time. I felt the breeze as the blade passed within a finger's width of my face.
The sword continued its trajectory and, when it hit the ground, I rolled across my new opponent's back, knocking him even further off balance. My weight wasn't a lot, but this man was smaller than the others and the move worked. By the time I had rolled back onto my feet, the swordsman was face-first in the dirt. I drove the heel of my foot into his temple, and he slumped.
When I looked up, I saw movement further away. My heart dropped like a stone at the sight of a fearsome fighter lifting the trapdoor that led to the root cellar.
My babes! The bastard had found my babes! And I was too far away to reach him in time. Fear and fury rose up inside me like a tide. My magic, blocked and impotent only moments before, surged to life inside me. I drew on the icy wind and snow of the blizzard. The memory of it was fresh and terrible in my mind as I jerked my hand from right to left in a sweeping motion.
The man flew through the air as if a giant hand had thrown him. When he came to rest he was covered with ice and perfectly still. I had frozen him to death in an instant. Gods, where had this new power come from? But of course I knew. From the same place as the rest of them.
I turned my furious gaze on what was left of the riders. Just one remained, and he was running toward his mount. I summoned the blizzard inside me yet again and sent it after him. He crashed to the ground in the next instant, frozen just like the first man.
The lads who had witnessed this last frozen attack turned to me with fear and awe written on their faces. As one they kneeled and bowed their heads to me.
It felt too much like that long ago day when my husbands had given me this kind of obeisance. It made me uncomfortable, and yet it seemed to be the Goddess' due. I had condemned her for being weak when her magic couldn't withstand the dampening spell, and she had proven her strength and power when it really counted. When my childlings were being threatened. For that I gave her her due.
Micca appeared from the side of the homestead, a Godslunder at sword point in front of him. He looked to the sky and I followed his gaze. Relieved, I saw five airlings with riders heading in fast.
"What do we do with them, Goddess?" Zem asked, regaining his feet from the bow. If he was a little stiff and bloody from his battle, it only made him more of a warrior in my eyes. I beamed at him in pride.
"Tie them up and leave them for the coming army. If they survive their wounds they'll have to become part of the ground army because we'll be taking their airlings with us."
I left the lad and Micca to their tasks and hurried to the root cellar. When I lifted the doors, I saw Bertil brandishing one of the wooden stakes she used for climbing plants. Her eyes were fierce and I couldn't help smiling at her. Had I not removed the enemy from her door she might well have taken him down herself. Any doubts I'd had about leaving my babes in this old woman's care were gone the moment I saw her.
"Be easy Bertil. We have won. You can come out now."
I spoke loudly, but I thought it was likely just the sight of me, smiling, that made her do my bidding. She dropped the stake and reached for two crying bundles on a fur blanket on the floor. With more slowness than I would have liked, she climbed the few stairs up and presented me with my childlings.
So angry. My babes were crying from fury, not fear of the noise and chaos of battle. I would have laughed out loud had I not been so desperate to hold them. Bertil handed them over, and I wrapped them both in the crooks of my arms. They settled immediately, and I gave thanks to the Goddess for their lives and the lives of all those I loved.
I looked around at the devastated garden. I saw a few lads limping and bloody, but there were no young bodies littering the ground.
"I think the henlings having their way with your garden is the least of your problems," I said to Bertil, taking in the fallen vine trellises, trodden down plants and patches of frozen earth. "Good thing we are leaving."
Bertil just tutted and hobbled over to her husband. It was like seeing a maiden bestowing a kiss on the cheek of her champion. Micca looked as proud as if he'd taken the enemy down single-handedly. I wondered if this was the fourteenth rider and Micca had got the jump on him because he'd thought all his enemies were in the garden. Or was it someone trying to escape? Did it matter now?
I looked skywards and smiled. My men were home and swooping in to save the day. A little late, but still a welcome sight, especially as we would now have to pack up and be gone from here in a few turns.
I handed the babes to Bertil again as I took to my heels to meet my husbands. Tears of joy and relief were pouring down my face before I was half way there.
When I was scooped up in a huge hug by the first brother to reach me, Rama, I laughed and cried some more.
"The babes?" he said as he hugged me close.
"Well. Furious they missed out on the fight, though. I think we can safely say they'll handle army life quite well." He kissed me hard then, before handing me off to the others. One by one, they kissed and held me close. All the while Calun and I shared our experiences directly from our minds.
'Ice? You froze the bastards?' he said as he shook his head at me in wonder while he held me in his arms.
I shrugged. "I was furious and somehow that overcame the dampening spell one of the riders was carrying. Or more than one of them. And I remembered the fury of that blizzard and I just became the blizzard. I didn't think about it. I just wanted to stop the bastard getting to the babes."
'You're a wonder, My Heart. A wonder!'
I shrugged and let him hug me close yet again. I had been so scared. For myself, for my babes, for the lads and for my husbands and Flea.
Flea!
I looked over to find her helping Zem tie up one of the riders. She was chattering excitedly, sharing her adventures while likely picking his mind for what had happened here. Knowing Zem, I doubt he would tell her much aloud, especially his part in it. He had been quite the hero. It proved to me yet again that the size of a body had little to do with a person's ability to fight. It was the size of their heart that won or lost a battle.
"We need to leave, now!" Darkin said. "Flea got the Godling's plans from Airshin. The army isn't far away."
"I know. They were using the airlings to take me before making their full-on assault."
; "Your brother is dead," Darkin added, just in case I hadn't picked that up from Calun.
I nodded mutely and gave him a sad smile. "He was dead to me as soon as I realised what he'd done here. The betrayal. And, of course, what he did to Flea. I wonder if I ever really knew him."
"I wish we'd arrived sooner. Though it looks like you did well enough without us," Rama grumbled, going over to Bertil to claim his childlings.
"You couldn't have known. And it all worked out. Let's just get moving. We have a lot to do before leaving this place."
Chapter Twenty-Six
AIRSHA
The next few turns passed in a blur. The raw airlings with their riders, including Zem and Flea, flew off first, heading for the rebel stronghold. They took with them the rest of the new airlings, including the mounts belonging to the Godslunders. It would take a little time to win those beastlings over, but they would follow the Will of the Goddess, given the choice. Though choice was something they'd forgotten they ever had.
Bertil and Micca packed up the wagon we used for supplies and headed off for town. No one would think them rebels escaping the clutches of the Godling. They would await news of our new location and head there as soon as they got word.
We took our time packing up our own airlings with maps, building and lesson plans and baby supplies. Finally, with Dalma in a sling across my chest and Ramin in a sling across Rama's chest, we were ready to take to the sky.
I dragged my feet, glancing around me one last time. I knew we had to leave but I wasn't ready to face the rebels yet. I needed time to heal and recuperate. So much had happened in the last moons it was almost too much to handle.
'We'll go to the cavern,' Calun told me as I stood faltering beside Bay.
I looked at him in surprise. "Could we? But the others are expecting us. They'll think something has happened if we don't arrive shortly after them."
'I told Flea where we're going and that it'd just be for a few days.'
I stared at his gentle and compassionate face, and tears stung my eyelids. "Can we really do that? Take time for just us?"
"What's going on?" Rama interrupted our seemingly one-sided conversation.
"Calun told Flea we're taking a few days for ourselves. Going to the cavern. Can we really do that?" I looked at him with troubled eyes. Wouldn't that beautiful place bring back bad memories for him? The last thing I wanted was to resurrect pain he seemed to have almost let go.
Rama smiled down at me, placing a comforting hand on Ramin's white, fluff-covered head. The babe was starting to fuss and soon Dalma would follow his lead. We needed to be in the air where the babes would soon settle.
"A chance to swim naked with you, Goddess? We can surely do that!" he finally said, his voice deep and sexy. I felt long dormant arousal stir inside me.
Dark and Jaron were quick to agree, and this time there was no faltering or backward looks. I climbed on Bay with Dark's help and took to the sky. With the promise of what lay ahead, my heart let go of its pain and heaviness. I needed this. I needed time for myself, for my husbands, and for the babes.
The journey to Highlund's mountains was closer than the trip to the rebel stronghold. And the few turns of the sandglass passed quickly and uneventfully. By the time we landed on the cliff edge, though, I was exhausted. And yet the sun was barely past its zenith.
We unpacked the airlings and sent them away. I noticed with surprise that all Calun's packs contained food from Bertil's kitchen. He really had planned this escape well.
I expected the cavern to be cold, having just come out of winter. But inside the mountain the temperature remained fairly stable sun-round. The only difference was that in winter the waterfall would freeze over at roof level. But the snows were all gone, and the weather had been remarkably mild for early spring.
When we walked down the short tunnel in darkness and entered the brightly lit cavern, the sunshine streaming in from above, I breathed out a long, heart-felt sigh of relief. It was just as beautiful as I remembered it. Sometimes, when I'd thought about this place over the last eight or nine moons, I'd wondered if I'd exaggerated its beauty, painting it with unrealistic colours in my mind. But standing here at the mouth to the cavern, watching the rainbow forming in the spray, listening to the steady fall of water into the huge pool, I realised I hadn't added anything to my memory of this place. It was just as glorious and magical as it was the last time I was here with Jaron.
"Looks like we're going to get our wish, Sweetling," Jaron said with a smug grin.
I knew exactly what he meant, and my cheeks burned with a blush. The last time we were here I had come close to losing my virginity. Since then Jaron and I had both voiced the wish that we had made better use of our time here. Now we would get our wish. And more.
While I fed the babes, who had behaved incredibly well during the whole journey, taking to riding airlings as only the childlings of an Air Mistress and an Airlud could do, the men made camp, lighting the fire and preparing a light midday meal.
"Ice magic, Goddess. That's impressive," Rama said as he chewed on a piece of Bertil's superb daubler pie. I would miss that woman's cooking.
"What's even more impressive is that the magic overcame the dampening spell. Either my magic is getting stronger or the threat to the babes made it possible to do more than I would normally be able to do."
"And as soon as those airling riders tell their captain what you did, the Godling and all his army will know what they're up against," Dark said soberly. "Your father underestimated your gifts and your skills, and we let him. Now it's time to put fear into him and his followers. And when news of what you did today gets out, more people will flock to join the rebellion. There can be no doubt you are the Goddess' Chosen One now."
I sighed heavily. Although I knew the truth of what he said, I was still too exhausted and traumatised by this day to fully embrace it.
"Enough talk of war and Goddesses. Last one in is a rotten fishling!" Jaron declared, having exchanged looks with Calun.
With a laugh, I watched my two youngest husbands jump to their feet, tear off their clothes, and dive into the pool. I took a moment to appreciate the beauty of their forms before they reached the water. Both were tall, with muscular, sculpted lines only heavy work could create. Jaron's brown curls were down past his broad shoulders now, but he regularly tied it back in a tail, as was the case now. His too handsome face took my breath away.
Calun's auburn hair had grown a little slower and was just grazing his shoulders. He wore it loose, except for thin braids at either side of his face. His cheeks were rosy from day-old scruff. I loved the sensitivity of his features, which always made him seem beautiful to me.
The loud splash drew me from my appreciative thoughts. I shivered to think how cold that water would be. Two heads broke the surface of the water and laughed.
"Come on you old codgers. The water's fine!" Jaron challenged his older brothers. But I had been inside Calun's mind when he hit the water and I knew how painfully cold the first few seconds had been. Though now he seemed more than happy to be playing along with Jaron.
"Are we going to let that go unchallenged?" Rama demanded of his older brother. "Old codgers!"
Dark glanced my way, grinning like a lad. I grinned back, and he jumped to his feet. Before Rama had a chance to do the same, he'd stripped off his clothes and dived into the water. He came up gasping.
"You coming?" Rama asked, slowly rising and beginning to strip his clothes off, never breaking eye contact with me for more than a second as he did so. I could see the promise written in his bright blue eyes and my core wept in response. But for now, all I wanted to do was watch my men playing like boys. They deserved it.
And play they did. Rama tucked himself into a ball and hit the water so hard a good part of the pool splashed up and over me. I cried out in shock as the freezing water hit. Luckily, the babes were sleeping well away from the pool and the fire.
When Rama's head broke the surface, a wolfish
grin on his face, Darkin surged up out of the water and landed on his shoulders, pushing him face-first back under again. I laughed out loud and clapped. Which made Jaron and Calun tackle Darkin and push him under too.
Rama must have come up under his younger brothers, because they had no sooner started congratulating themselves on their victory than their legs went out from under them and they disappeared beneath the dark water.
After that I lost track of who was battling who and winning. There seemed to be way too much water being splashed around for my liking and too many men choking from swallowing too much water. When they tired of their play, they floated lazily on the surface, staring up at the bright blue patch of sky above.
Now I was ready to join them. This was what I'd waited for: the peace after the storm. The tension of their day worn off by play.
I stood and began pulling my tunic over my head. When my head popped out, I looked at the pool and found four sets of eyes on me. Blushing, I turned my back and removed my breeches.
"You do remember what I told you about the back of your neck, don't you, Goddess?" Rama teased, his voice low and gravelly.
I'd forgotten my hair was still up and that the back of my neck was plainly on view. But then, there was plenty more on view to send the message that I was interested.
I glanced over my shoulder and smiled slowly as I reached up to undo my hair. A pained moan came from the pool as my blonde waves flowed over my shoulders and down my back. I used one hand to pull it over my shoulder so my nape was once more visible.
"Goddess..." Rama growled. "Stop teasing and get in here."
I turned to face them and took several prowling steps to the water's edge. "When we were here last, Jaron complained because I swayed my hips at him," I said, letting my own voice drop low and silky. "I don't sway my hips when I walk, do I?" I let my hips roll a little as I stood there.
Jaron and Calun had their mouths open a little. Dark was smiling appreciatively, and Rama had gritted his teeth. Each reaction was gratifying. I ran my hands down my naked body and paid special attention to my large breasts and curved hips. Audible swallows could be heard over the falling water.