Fighter

by Isaac Hooke

  They spent the rest of that day following Jack’s Scent ability, and traveled across the endless savannah. They encountered more herds of the peaceful plains animals, which scattered without fail when the dragons and Paragon approached. No further attacks from alligaboars or spider monsters came.

  Sylfi spent some time flying close to the Paragon, and they had a discussion that Malem couldn’t hear above the wind from his current location. When finally Sylfi pulled ahead, he asked her: So what did you guys just talk about?

  I was asking her why no more monsters were attacking, Sylfi said. And she explained that we were moving farther and farther away from where most of the monsters in this realm reside. Apparently, out here, this is a dead zone. You can see that the grass is becoming thinner the further we march. Less grass, means less insects for the animals to eat. Less animals, means less monsters.

  Malem gazed at the plains, and true enough, she was right. There were entire swaths completely devoid of grass, with only bare rock or soil showing. You’re saying the insects feed on the grass? I don’t remember seeing any insects eating it.

  Apparently, they do, Sylfi said. At least in larval form. And the insects also return to the grass to mate and lay their eggs.

  Ah, Malem said. I suppose I need to pay more attention. In our realm, apparently a square yard of grass contains hundreds of insects, but most of us never notice.

  There you go, Sylfi said.

  The grassland below eventually ceded entirely to bare rock.

  Evening came, and the party camped near a small lake set amid a basin on that rocky plain. The three Metals deposited their passengers and then turned north to hunt a herd of long-necked animals they had spotted along the way.

  Malem landed Lantos as well, and pitched his tent, as did the others. Then he retrieved some salted meat from his backpack and shared it with those who didn’t have any. Meanwhile Jack scoured among the grass, looking for insects to eat. Malem offered him the salted meat.

  “I can’t eat that,” Jack said. “Insects are my main diet.”

  “All right,” Malem said. “By the way, do you need a tent?”

  “No,” Jack said. “I usually sleep under the stars when I’m on the road anyway. But thank you.”

  “Let me know if you need anything,” Malem said. “By the way, how much farther is it to the Balor?”

  “Not far, actually,” Jack said. “Maybe another day’s journey. The demon is far closer than I would have anticipated. Which makes tracking it all the easier.”

  Malem finished his meal and hiked out to the lake as darkness fell. The water was glowing; he had seen Iridaceae in the area, so guessed at the source. As he approached, a moment later the Paragon’s head emerged from the depths. As she approached the edge, more and more of her body emerged, until she was standing on the shore.

  She seemed to be glowing extremely bright, now that the sun had set. She was providing the only illumination for miles around.

  She walked past Malem. Behind her, the waves produced by her exit from the lake lapped softly against shore.

  “Went for a food run?” he called.

  She paused, glancing down. Then chuckled. “No.”

  “What do you eat, by the way?” he asked.

  “I’m a creature of pure light,” she said. “I don’t eat. My energy comes from the sun. I entered the water merely to recycle my energy.”

  “Oh,” he said. “Interesting. Incidentally, is it safe for the rest of us, to have you glowing like that?”

  “As I mentioned, there are less monsters here, probably none,” the Paragon said. “Even so, I will begin my recuperations well away from the rest of you.”

  “Recuperations,” Malem said. “That sounds like what Balor’s do after battle. They flee to their nether realms, or the Black Realm, to recover their strength before they return to fight again.”

  “It is similar, but not the same,” Iridaceae said. “I decline every night, regardless of whether I have seen battle or not. As I mentioned, my energy comes from the sun. You will see my glow steadily decreasing throughout the night, until I become dimmer than the weakest of candle flames. When morning comes, I will begin to recharge once more.”

  “I suppose only the sun of the Light Realm charges you…” he said.

  She glanced his way, seeming curious. “How did you know?”

  “I remember Corinne fading while she fought Denfidal,” he said. “She battled under the sun, but it didn’t help her.”

  “Ah,” the Paragon said. “Yes. It takes much energy for us to stay in your realm, let alone fight.”

  He glanced at the now still waters. “Is the lake safe, by the way?”

  “For swimming?”

  “Bathing,” Malem explained.

  “Yes, of course,” she said. “I didn’t spot anything foul in its depths. The water is quite empty.”

  He walked toward the shore. “Thank you.” He paused to look over his shoulder at her. “By the way, does time pass differently here, versus my own realm?”

  “Yes, somewhat faster,” the Paragon said.

  “Ah,” Malem said. “Then that might be another partial reason why Banvil came here. To spite me.”

  She gazed at him, seeming intrigued. “How?”

  “By giving me less time to be free of the demon,” he told her.

  “Could be,” Iridaceae said, before departing. He watched her retreat for some time, until she settled well away from the lake, and the camp made by his companions. Already her glow seemed to have diminished somewhat.

  Malem stripped off his armor, and went naked into the lake. It was frigid.

  With her glow providing light in the distance like that, his night vision allowed his eyes to see around him as if it were still twilight. But that said, the water below was still a black pool to him, and despite her reassuring words, he was worried there might be some creature in there, waiting to wrap a tentacle around him and pull him down. For that reason, he didn’t venture very far into its depths.

  So he tread water close to shore; his feet occasionally brushed the bottom when he got too close, and he forced himself farther back each time. He had learned his lesson while swimming in other lakes: prickly creatures often resided on the rocks in the deeper sections, and they were best not touched. He would have to step upon the rocks when he returned of course, but he would do so slowly, and carefully, until he left behind the deeper sections.

  A robed figure approached the lake. He thought at first it must be Grendel, but as she got closer, he realized that robe, and that hair, were too dark. Plus, there was a certain sword clasped to her hips.

  Aurora waded into the water a short distance, and then unclasped the sword from her belt, and lowered it to the shore. She moved deeper, still wearing the robe, and began to rub the wet sections of the hem, as if trying to work out the mud.

  He realized she didn’t see him. Or at least, was acting like she didn’t. From her energy bundle, he detected no deception however. If she concentrated on her connection to him, she would have realized how close he was. Maybe she hadn’t learned how to do that yet, as he had never taught her.

  She moved deeper, letting her robe soak, until she was up to her shoulders. Then she removed the robe entirely, sliding it over her head.

  Malem felt his heart rate spike, as did the growing warmth between his legs.

  He edged toward her.

  She moved back toward shore, so that she could stand up out of the water, and then knelt to scrub the robe. In the dim light from the distant Paragon, he could see her breasts clearly silhouetted, hanging down. They were smallish compared to some of the other companions, but he didn’t mind. He actually liked it when he could wrap his hands around an entire breast, rather than only partially burying it in a big balloon.

  He was close enough to shore that he felt safe putting his feet down. He did so, but kept his knees bent so that the majority of his body remained underwater as he continued to approach.

 
; “Well hello,” he finally said, hoping he wouldn’t frighten her too badly.

  But she leaped up nonetheless, causing ripples of water to spread toward him. “You scared me.”

  “Sorry,” he said.

  She immediately sat down, hiding her nakedness.

  “How long have you been here, watching me?” she asked.

  “Since you arrived,” he said. “Don’t worry, I didn’t see anything.”

  “Yeah sure, liar,” she said. “You and your night vision.”

  “I can actually lend you this night vision of mine,” he said. “Thanks to our link.” He did so.

  Her eyes widened. “It’s like twilight again!”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “Sometimes, being joined with you isn’t so bad,” she told him.

  “There are other benefits, too…” he said, allowing his tone to take on a suggestive allure.

  “Oh yes, the much vaunted sex the others are always bragging about,” she said. “You know, I’m kind of glad you’ve kept me muted all this time. That way, I’ll get to experience it firsthand. I mean, uh, if I were interested.”

  “Yes, of course that’s what you meant,” Malem said. “If you were interested. Which you’re not.”

  “No,” she agreed.

  “Neither am I,” Malem said.

  “Oh?” she said. “Then why is it when I concentrate on your energy bundle, I can feel arousal?”

  “Because I haven’t muted you,” he said.

  “Maybe you should,” she told him, her voice becoming raspy. She lifted her robe, dripping, out of the water, rolled it into a ball, and tossed it onto the shore beside her. Her breasts jiggled seductively as she did so, before she squatted back into the water to hide them.

  “I’m surprised you’ve learned how to concentrate on my energy bundle, given how much I’ve muted you in the past,” he said. “Which leads me to wonder… if you’re so good at sensing me, how come you didn’t detect my presence in the water? Unless you were pretending not to…”

  “Why would I pretend?” she asked.

  “So you had an excuse to approach me,” he said. “That way you wouldn’t come off as slutty.”

  “I’m not a slut!” she said.

  He nodded to himself. That was important to her. As it was for most women.

  “But you’ve slept with many men under Denfidal, am I right?” he said. “You claimed you were a virgin earlier, only so you could distract me and take the sword.”

  She lowered her eyes. “Yes, I’m no virgin.”

  He nodded. “It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

  When she met his gaze once more, hope shone brightly in her eyes. “And how do you feel about me?”

  “When someone new joins my companions, their slate is always wiped clean,” Malem said. “It’s appropriate, in a way, that you don’t remember your past before Denfidal, because none of it matters anyway. The only thing that matters is how you comport yourself here and now, going forward. How you behave in this moment. I reward good behavior, and punish bad behavior.”

  “Have I been good?” she asked.

  “No,” he said. “You’ve been bad. Very bad.”

  “Then punish me,” she said, drifting closer to him in the water.

  He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. He stood up, drawing her with him, and his upper body emerged from the water. He hardly felt the cold that came from exposing his wet skin to the air, his mind intent on the bliss that would soon come.

  She wasn’t muted, so when he thrust his member inside of her, he felt the thrill echo from her energy bundle to his own, enhancing the pleasure he felt. He kissed her passionately, and her lips returned his motions in frantic, hungry gasps. He began thrusting into her while they kissed, fast, hard, pounding and grinding. The pleasure came exponentially as it spread to the other companions bound to him, and he had to withdraw, lest he spill his seed prematurely.

  “Don’t stop!” she said, panting. She grabbed onto his pulsing member, and tried to guide it back inside; her touch nearly caused him to explode right there.

  He slid away from her grasp, and turned her around, forcing her down so that she splashed into the water and landed on hands and knees. Then he entered her from behind, and she moaned anew.

  He grabbed her hair into a ponytail, and pulled her neck back as he thrust.

  “Harder,” she said.

  He obliged her. He relaxed his lower body as much as he was able, doing his best to ignore the rising pleasure. He meant to stop before the climax, but he couldn’t control himself, and exploded within her.

  She shuddered, climaxing at the same time, and then splashed into the water face first. She rolled around to lay on her back in the shallow water.

  “That was… paradise,” she said.

  “We’re not done yet,” Malem said. He drained stamina from Gwen and Brita, and directed Aurora’s fingers between his legs.

  She gave him lascivious look. “You really are a sex god.”

  “Spread yourself before me,” he ordered.

  She lay back, and obliged, opening her legs wide.

  Malem pulled her deeper into the water. She moved her arms to keep her upper body afloat, and when he was submerged almost to his hips, he inserted himself inside her once more. He began thrusting rapidly, sending up splashes of water each time, and generating a pleasing squelching noise with each contact. The pleasure inside of him grew in leaps and bounds, and he forced himself to slow down if only to prolong this agony.

  “Faster!” she panted. “Faster!”

  He did his best to ignore her want, but when she wrapped her legs around his thighs, and pulled herself up, mashing her lips against his in a kiss, he couldn’t help but increase his pace. She squeezed her fingers into his butt cheeks and thrust her own hips against his in time to his own pounding.

  “I fucking want you so bad!” she said. “You’re mine. Mine. Mine!”

  She squeezed his butt so hard that he felt intense pain, and he was sure she had drawn blood.

  It only turned him on all the more. He thrust faster and harder than he ever had before.

  The water washed away the lubricating juices that usually aided in lovemaking, and made the sex somehow rawer; he knew it would hurt when this was done. He wondered vaguely why he never felt pain during the actual act; some numbing agent must be at play. But that thought lasted for maybe a half second, because the bliss had just finished its latest round of traveling between companions, and his pleasure leaped exponentially once more. He erupted inside her again, and collapsed.

  He pulled himself ashore beside her, and they lay there, panting.

  “It feels so good,” she said. “And yet it’s over so very fast.”

  “Like life itself, I suppose,” Malem said.

  “We may have created new life tonight, you know,” she said.

  “It’s possible,” he agreed.

  “What would you do, if I were pregnant?” she asked.

  “The same thing I would do if any of the others got pregnant,” he said.

  “And what’s that?” she said.

  “If you’re expecting me to say marry you, you’re sorely mistaken,” he told her.

  She was quiet for a moment, and when she spoke, the disappointment was obvious in her tone. “I guess I was hoping for at least some sort of recognition.”

  “If you got pregnant, I’d help you raise the child,” he said. “But he’d be raised in a family of multiple mothers. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it’s going to be.”

  “Unless I leave you,” she said defiantly. “And find a man who will treat me right.”

  He sighed. “I think I treat you right. At least, I do my best. Listen, as I mentioned in front of the others, if you want to leave when this mission is done, I won’t stop you.”

  “But maybe I’ll leave before then,” she said.

  “I’ll have to stop you,” he said. “Because I need yo
u yet.” He glanced at her. “You won’t be able to get home if you try to leave, anyway.”

  “I’ll find a Paragon,” she said. “Or maybe this one will send me back.”

  “She won’t if I deny you,” he said.

  “Then maybe I’ll fight you,” she said.

  “You make me want to take the sword away from you,” he told her.

  She sighed. “I’m just talking. I won’t fight you. I… I feel like we’ve been through so much together. Like I really know you. And you’re actually not that bad of a person. Definitely not who I thought you were. And yes, you do treat me relatively well. Compared to Denfidal.”

  “I’m sure any man would treat you better than the demon did,” he said. “But thanks.”

  She rose. “Well, it’s getting a bit cold out here.” She slid her dress on. “Maybe we should reconvene in my tent.”

  Malem scooped up his armor, and hurried back to her tent. She giggled the whole way.

  When they were inside, they had sex again, and again, for half the night.

  Finally, exhausted, he fell into a sleep filled with images of those small jiggling breasts, and the smile on her face as he thrusted repeatedly inside of her.

  And yeah, his dick was really, really sore.

  25

  Malem left Aurora’s tent a short while before dawn the next morning, and dressed. His dick felt a little less raw, but he suspected it would be tender for a good day, at least.

  As he donned the dragonscale armor, he glanced at where the Paragon recuperated on the rocky plain. True to her word, her glow had diminished to almost nothingness.

  When he finished dressing, the first rays of dawn appeared on the horizon. A moment later, Xaxia emerged from her tent a short distance away.

  “About time you went to sleep last night,” Xaxia said, rubbing her eyes. “You kept the rest of us awake by your lovemaking you know. That constant moaning coming from all the other tents. Gah!”

  “You’re just jealous,” Aurora said, appearing beside him in her robe.

  “Actually, I am,” Xaxia agreed. “I have half a mind to let the Breaker collar me. But I won’t allow it. I’m too proud for that.”

  “Your loss,” Aurora said.