by Eric Vall
“Now, I know what you’re thinking,” I told Stan. “You want to ride the metal dragon because he’ll be an automaton, and I always let you ride around on my machines.”
Stan nodded vigorously.
“Well, you’re not going to,” I informed him, and he deflated little, “because …”
I pulled the mini dragon out from behind my back, and when I grinned and held the little guy out for Stan to see, his hands slapped to his cheeks in a way that reminded me a lot of Aurora.
Stan clutched his heart, did a little happy dance, and then carefully approached the metal dragon with a tentative nod, and when the dragon wiggled his haunches and came closer, I knew the two of them were already hitting it off.
“Aww, look at the little tyke,” Haragh chuckled. “He’s so happy.”
“Yeah, so far, he seems like a cheerful dragon,” I agreed, “and I know he’s a bit bony, but that works well in our case because the best part about him is that he can actually fly.”
Stan’s gaze darted to me.
“Go on,” I laughed. “Give it a try. Aurora’s been training him for you.”
I could tell Stan needed a moment, and I waited as he held his head and dabbed at where his eyes would have been. Then he rallied himself and gave a decisive nod before he cautiously hopped onto my hand and came around to the side of the dragon.
Alfred watched intently as Stan climbed up and got a steady hold, and the dragon’s tail flicked back and forth in anticipation.
“Okay, let’s take it nice and slow,” I instructed. “Stan’s never flown before, and you’ve never had a rider, so--”
Stan slapped the dragon’s haunches before I could even finish, and the pair of them launched into the air as he threw one arm up like a bull rider. The little dragon soared straight up toward the sky before he spiraled off to circle the atrium, and Stan egged him on by nudging his heels against the dragon’s sides. They did loop-de-loops and barrel rolls all over the place while we laughed and turned full circle to watch, and I noticed the faintest glimmer of awe on Alfred’s usually dour face.
“Remarkable,” the butler muttered. “You’ve done it, sir.”
“I have,” I said with a grin. “Still think I can’t build you a flying machine?”
“Yes,” Alfred said, “but I commend you all the same.”
I chuckled as Stan circled around my head and waved on his way to the worktable, and once they made a smooth landing, he quickly dismounted and gave the dragon a good scruff on the chin.
“What are you gonna name him?” I asked the metal man, but he shook his head and turned to me.
Then he hopped onto his tippy toes, and he strutted along the table in a way I immediately recognized. I furrowed my brow as I looked at the dragon again, and when I saw the way its haunches shifted from side to side, I knew I’d seen that wiggle before.
“Oh.” I nodded. “It’s a girl.”
Stan nodded, but then he broke into a mime tirade I couldn’t even begin to interpret, and I stared in confusion as he apparently killed some things and threw his hands up a lot. A couple times, he did some fancy flips that sent his leg flying up behind him, and that’s when Haragh chuckled and nudged me in the side.
“He’s doin’ Aurora,” the half-ogre informed me, and when Stan clapped for Haragh, I cocked a brow.
“You want to name your dragon Aurora?” I clarified.
“Nah, Solana,” Haragh guessed.
Stan did a fist pump before he jogged over for a high-five, and the little dragon pranced in a circle to celebrate as well.
“Stan and Solana,” I chuckled. “I like it, and Aurora’s going to be so honored. You should go show the ladies how you do on a dragon. Haragh and I are going out for the night, but while we’re gone, you and your dragon are in charge of holding down the fort. Deal?”
Stan was already mounting up, and as Solana launched into the air, he gave a salute before they soared across the atrium and out the door.
“I assume you would prefer I keep an eye on things as well, sir?” Alfred asked once Stan was out of ear shot.
“Yeah, that’d be good,” I muttered. “I’m sealing off all the windows in case of an attack, though, so have Aurora light the chandeliers for you before the women head out. If they come back early from their party, cook them up anything they want, and if they bring an ogre named Taru with them, treat her like the guest of honor, alright?”
“Certainly, sir,” the butler replied.
“Haragh, we’ve got some arrangements to make, but first we need to get a fresh barrel of Rosh from the pub and load her up in the Mustang.”
“Thank the gods,” the half-ogre sighed. “I was hopin’ Rosh had something to do with your plans. What else are we doin’?”
“You’ll see,” I assured him as we headed for the door. Then I cupped my hands around my lips to holler to my women down the hall. “Have fun killing shit!”
The women burst out of the training hall with Stan and his dragon at the lead, and I raised my brows at the flails, swords, guns, and bows they had strapped all over their scantily clad frames.
Then they covered me in kisses and giggles while they congratulated Haragh again, and as they wished us a fun evening, they casually threw in a few things they absolutely did not want me to do. I smirked when Cayla added brothels to the list, and Haragh winced when Aurora held her mace under his nose and threatened to bludgeon him if he let me get killed tonight.
“You ladies enjoy yourselves,” I chuckled while Shoshanne stole a couple more kisses, but then the women booted us out the door.
I shook my head as they started catcalling me loud enough to draw the stares of a few mages in the lane, and when Deya suggested I bring a new whip home with me, I offered an awkward nod to a passing mage.
“The way they act, ye’d think you were the one celebrating,” Haragh snorted.
“When I finally get all those women pregnant,” I muttered out of the side of my mouth, “I’m lighting the whole fucking town on fire, running around naked, and getting my automatons to stage an epic battle to the death. Winner will guard my women every second of the day until they give birth, and then, I’ll stage another battle to decide which of my machines are assigned to which kid. I’ll probably go kill shit with Taru, too, just because I really want to see how that goes down.”
Haragh nodded. “That’s not what we’re doing tonight, though, right?”
I shrugged in response just to keep the man in suspense, and we wove our way through the lanes until we got to the marketplace. The town was bustling despite the fading light, and Terra Mages walked around mounting stone basins along the walls of the new buildings while Ignis Mages filled them with flames. Mages were carting ammunition and weapons to various posts while others carried provisions from the pub to the barbican, and I could hear a training session currently underway in the training fields.
Despite the recent attacks, laughter and conversation filled the clearing as mages swapped stories and advice about their studies, and I could see a crew of Defenders milling around outside the pub with pints in hand. Kurna turned away from the group now and then to help the mages with organization, and Urn was deep in conversation with Raynor beside the fountain.
I could hear the burly Terra Mage explaining that the barkeep should dismiss any applications for a spice merchant in Falmount, and I smirked as he assured the man the position had already been filled.
“I’m gonna need Defender Flynt to sign off on that,” Raynor rasped as Urn rolled his eyes. “It’s not that I don’t take you for your word, mind, but he’s the baron now, and that’s the kind of decision he’s gotta give the okay on directly.”
“Where do I sign?” I chuckled as I strolled up, and Urn looked relieved to see me.
“Mason, would you clarify for Raynor that you did in fact agree Lili--Miss Clearidge may move her shop from Serin to Falmount?” Urn asked.
“I did approve that, yes,” I assured the barkeep, “and thank yo
u for making sure everything’s up to specification around here.”
“No trouble at all,” Raynor said with a toothy grin. “Town’s movin’ up, and protocol’s gotta be kept with an expansion like this.”
“I agree,” I said with a nod. “How’s the provisions for the shelter going?”
“Finishing up right now,” the barkeep said as he nodded toward the line of mages carrying baskets into the barbican. “Miss Shoshanne had a few healers come by not long ago, too, and Toby Keen says things are shaping up real nice down there with fresh air coming in with no problems.”
“Excellent,” I replied. “Haragh and I are going to be out of town for the evening, and my women are off with Taru, so I need you guys on your toes tonight. Urn, you and Kurna are in charge of leading any defensive measures, and Raynor, if you could just oversee the healers if necessary, Shoshanne would appreciate it. You’ve all seen the new automaton around, right?”
Urn nodded, but he looked uneasy as he shifted on his boots. “Yeah, we saw him. He’s … big. You think he might be too big?”
“Not at all,” I chuckled. “He’s perfect, and he knows what to do to help out in case of an attack, so don’t worry about that. I’ll be back by morning, but I’m grabbing a barrel of Rosh before we head out to celebrate.”
“Celebrate, huh?” Urn said with a grin, and he punched Haragh on the arm. “S’pose you never thought you’d be a general so soon.”
“A what?” the half-ogre asked with a confused look.
“Oh, yeah,” I snorted. “I forgot to tell you, you’re a general now, but we’re actually celebrating because Haragh has a baby on the way.”
“No shit?” Urn laughed, and he throttled the half-ogre a bit while Haragh chuckled merrily.
“Congratulations,” Raynor said in earnest. “That is somethin’ to celebrate, especially in times like these.”
“You sure get right to it, Haragh,” Urn snorted, and he grinned at me. “I thought you’d be the one who would be bringing in a whole slew of babies before anyone else.”
Haragh laughed heartily at the look on my face, and I sighed as I waved the men off and headed for the pub.
“Working on it,” I mumbled under my breath, and as I nodded a greeting to the Defenders outside the pub, I couldn’t help thinking back to the way Shoshanne had kissed me goodbye before we left.
Her cheeks were pinker than usual lately, and her brown eyes had glittered with adoration when she dragged me over for another few kisses. She was warm all over in a way that stoked a burning need in me to hold her close, and after she and Deya had gotten all cuddly the other night, I started to wonder. Or rather, I started to hope, because just the thought of a woman like Shoshanne carrying a baby of mine made my pulse quicken and my blood heat up a few degrees.
I imagined the caramel beauty lounging in the fountain of my shop with a sweet smile on her face, and she’d probably sigh while she lovingly trailed her fingers over her rounded belly. I’d end up getting no work done, of course, but I wouldn’t care. Stripping down and joining her in the fountain would be--
“Shit,” I cursed as I tripped over a table, and I knocked my shin against a stone step before I stumbled and crashed to the floor of the pub.
“Are you alright, Baron Flynt?” a mage asked as he hurried over, and several nearby patrons were on their feet, too.
“Fine,” I wheezed. “Just fine.”
I dragged myself up as I waved a few mages away, and after I fixed the tuck of my shirt and straightened my vest, I nodded like that hadn’t just happened.
Damn. I had baby fever.
“Pardon me,” I muttered, and I quickly ducked around the bar on my way to the cellar.
I cursed a few more times while I used every ounce of strength I had to haul a barrel of Rosh up the back steps, but my mind was determined to offer up one image after another of Shoshanne looking pink cheeked and full of love as she pulled my hand over to feel her belly.
I gritted my teeth while she giggled and whispered unspeakably cute things in my ear about the names she’d been thinking about, and by the time I made it back out into the cool evening air, I was sweating bullets.
“Fucking minutes,” I growled while I worked to catch my breath. “I’ve been gone for minutes, and there’s no way I’m spending the entire night thinking about--”
“Who you talkin’ to?” Haragh grunted as he came around the pub.
“No one,” I quickly replied. “Do me a favor, though. If you catch me staring off into space tonight and looking all loopy or sappy … just punch me, alright?”
“Sure,” the half-ogre agreed with a shrug. “I can do that. Ye’ want a hand with that Rosh?”
“Yes, please,” I sighed as I rifled my hair. “I think it weighs twice as much as me.”
This didn’t stop Haragh from hoisting the barrel up onto his shoulder like it was a sack of flour, though, and I chuckled as he shrugged again for good measure.
“So, where we goin’?”
“The Mustang,” I laughed. “That’s all you need to know.”
Chapter 14
“Ye’ can’t just show up at a castle,” Haragh growled as I headed up the palace steps, and he propped the barrel on his shoulder before he hurried after me.
“Sure, you can,” I chuckled. “I do it all the time, and tonight, we’re drinking like fucking royals. Best for the best, my friend.”
Haragh grinned from ear to ear as I nodded a greeting to the king’s guard, and they opened the doors without question.
“You guys know where I can find Temin?” I asked.
“King Temin is in the great hall addressing the court,” the guard informed me.
“Perfect,” I said as I turned down the hall. “Then we’re right on time.”
“Are ye’ tryin’ to get me hanged?” Haragh hissed. “We can just go to a pub instead, yeah? I doubt the king wants to be celebratin’ more ogres coming into his kingdom, especially when he’s entertaining nobility and the like. I’m only a half-ogre!”
“No,” I countered, “you’re not only a half-ogre, you’re the half-ogre, so a pub’s just not gonna cut it right now. Second of all, Temin will be grateful for the interruption. Trust me. You just wait here and guard the Rosh. Those guards were sniffing around like they knew damn well what was in that barrel.”
I clapped Haragh on the shoulder as we came to the great hall entrance, and he grunted as he dropped the barrel on the ground and gave me a nervous nod.
When I entered the great hall, there were about fifteen members of the royal court gathered in a small cluster of seats. A surly looking lord was making a speech about something, and Temin sat slumped in his throne while he nodded along.
He was even paler than he’d been when he told me about the attack in Cedis, and judging by the way he held his head propped up against his hand, I could tell he was well overdue for a break.
So, I strolled across the hall, and when the king noticed me, he abruptly sat up and motioned for the lord addressing him to be quiet.
“Defender Flynt,” Temin said in surprise, and the court rose to their feet as they turned to offer me a collective bow.
“Sorry for the delay,” I said in my most serious tone. “Your guards informed me of the urgency, so I got here as fast as I could. Shall we adjourn to the throne room?”
Temin blinked like a deer in the headlights, but then he glanced at the nobles and seemed to recover pretty quickly.
“Yes, of course,” Temin replied, and he straightened his crown as he addressed the court. “Forgive me, but we must postpone this discussion. I have matters of the utmost importance to discuss with Defender Flynt. We will meet here again at nine tomorrow.”
The nobles bowed in agreement before they slowly dispersed, but they mulled around and eyed me as Temin approached.
“A thousand apologies,” Temin muttered hastily. “I must have forgotten I summoned you at all. I’m afraid I’m rather out of sorts lately.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said as I herded him toward the doors, and once we were outside and standing beside Haragh, I grinned. “You didn’t summon me. We came to celebrate.”
“We … what?” Temin asked in confusion.
“Celebrate,” I repeated. “Not only has Haragh been made a general of the Order, but he and his woman are having a baby.”
I’d expected the king to offer a polite congratulations of some sort, but Temin’s brow crinkled as he turned to Haragh, and when his eyes brimmed with tears, the half-ogre looked as confused as I was.
“That is such great news,” Temin croaked. “Such positive and uplifting news. Allow me to extend my warmest wishes and hopes for a long and prosperous life for you and your budding family.”
“Uh, thanks,” Haragh managed. “That’s kind of ye’.”
I cleared my throat. “So, you agree this calls for a celebration?”
“Absolutely,” the king said at once, “although I don’t know that I should join. With the state of things, I fear if I turn my eye for even a moment, I’ll find myself--”
“Temin,” I cut-in, “when was the last time you ate?”
The king thought for a moment, and I eyed his sallow cheeks.
“Must have been yesterday,” Temin decided. “Perhaps the day before.”
“Okay,” I said with a nod. “Then we’re feasting and drinking all this Rosh down. Trust me, you need it.”
“Rosh?” the king asked as he perked up. “You have Rosh?”
“Mason’s always got Rosh,” Haragh informed him.
Temin abruptly summoned a nearby servant, and he informed the woman we would be needing a feast in the great hall at once.
“What fare would you prefer this evening, Your Highness?” the woman asked.
“Everything,” I replied before the king could. “Give us your best feast.”
“Yes, and our finest goblets, if you please,” Temin added.
“We need a spout, too,” Haragh grunted as he gestured to the barrel.