by Reed James
I would kill him.
People screamed as I followed him outside. My sword hacked and slashed as I tried to reach him. A blur of gray streaked before me, sweeping death. If only I could reach him. He kept moving, the inky darkness crawling up his legs. It surged around him.
A man screamed as my sword hacked through his arm. A woman gasped as my blade severed her leg. I didn't care how many of my citizens I butchered to get to him. Sven's face twisted as he looked around at the people fleeing through the street from me.
Distracted by the carnage.
I lunged out at him, throwing my iron body forward with all my strength. I thrust my sword before me, becoming a lance aimed right at his heart. He cursed and flowed out of the way. I hurtled past him, crashing into a wagon. Wood burst around me. Sacks of grain tore, filling the air with white dust. I didn't care. I whirled around in a spray of millet, searching for Sven.
He stood alone, the people fleeing from him.
This wasn't working. He was too fast. I had to use that against him. I had to feint him into a move that would get him killed. I had to think. I needed my cold passion back. He was goading me. Taunting me with that smirk, claiming my daughter was pregnant with his son.
She was pregnant with mine! I fucked her! I bred her. I pumped my seed into her before he tricked her into fleeing. He enchanted her. I would save her. But not if I let him keep me angry. I faced him, studying the terrain. I needed some place narrow. I had to drive him into an alley where he couldn't escape my attacks.
I needed to swing with precision and care.
I advanced.
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Harem's Battle
Kora Falk
I couldn't flee. I had to stand my ground and fight. But... the slime surging at me gave me hope. It could see. It glimpsed the ruby I clutched in my hand. It knew its creator's soul quivered in my grip, and it wanted it.
So, I needed to give it what it wanted. “Rithi, bless my sexual juices and let them paint new beauty in the world.”
“No, Kora, run!” Ealaín shouted as my pussy clenched about my fingers probing into my depths.
My pussy juices would be my paint. I ripped my hand free, fingers spread wide. Ealaín had taught me so much about illusions. She showed me that I could fool even faeries. I could definitely trick this monstrosity.
At the same moment I wrapped myself up in an illusion of invisibility, blending myself in with the surrounding terrain, I sent a doppelganger of myself darting to the right, racing around the formless ooze towards the door, my hand squeezing tight about the amulet.
“Track it,” I muttered beneath my breath. “Rithi, please.”
I couldn't quite describe how I knew the thing followed my illusion. It didn't have a head or eyes. It didn't turn its bulbous body to follow my illusion's sprint. But somehow I could tell it shifted its awareness. I stopped the illusion to its left, I puppeteered it, painting its actions as my fingers wiggled.
My illusion shook the amulet.
“Come on, go for it,” I muttered, the magic of my spell flowing out of me. “Leave yourself open.”
The appendages drew back into its body for a moment then erupted from the other side. Ealaín was clear to attack it as the thick, goopy limbs surged at my illusion. I jolted my form into action to dodge away from the attack.
But not fast enough.
As Ealaín slammed her ax as hard as she could into the monster, its limb smacked my illusion. It broke apart into a scintillating web of rainbowed light, the appendage passing through it harmlessly. The amulet twinged in my left hand as my right wiggled my fingers, trying to maintain the spell.
It vanished, disrupted too much by the limb's touch.
Ealaín's ax embedded into the monster's body. It was a good blow, the best she'd landed, and her ax hardly penetrated. At the same moment, it rippled, drawing in the limbs that struck my illusion. A great gurgle burst out of it, almost sounding like bubbles rising out of tar.
“TRICK!” it burbled. “TRICK! TRICK!”
“Las's putrid cum!” snarled Ealaín. “I can't hurt it at all!”
“AMULET!” the thing called in its disgusting voice. Its entire body writhed.
Beyond, fires exploded from Nathalie. The girl shrieked in panic as something writhing leapt burning out of her flames. I wanted to help her, too. I didn't know what to do. It didn't matter if I could distract the thing with illusions if Ealaín couldn't harm it.
What to do? Nathalie and Greta were in trouble. Sven darted out of the temple leading Prince Meinard. A horde of buzzing insects chased Zanyia. This was all a mess. I needed to think, to form a plan and—
“Master!” a new voice shouted.
Carsina charged past me, her red hair streaming behind her. She held Ava's diamond hammer in her hand, raising it to attack. She rushed right at the formless ooze as it contorted and gurgled. Light glinted off her hammer, reflecting the fires burning around Nathalie.
The ooze's body bulged, about to slam its appendages at the unarmored Carsina.
“No!” I shouted.
~ * ~
Zanyia
The buzzing insects surged down at me. My ears twitched. Master had a good plan. I couldn't keep dodging the thing in the temple's grand hall. I had to escape. I had to get outside and away from the buzzing swarm before it engulfed me.
“Morsel, don't flee!” the swarm hummed, speaking as one.
My skin crawled.
I leaped, not making a sound, my leather straps absorbing everything. They were amazing, the perfect thing for a hunter to wear and utterly useless against the insects chasing after me. The straps didn't even cover my flesh. Most of me was exposed. If that thing got to me...
I didn't want to be stung to death by a horde of flies.
I burst out the ruined doors into the screaming outside. Citizens fled, some lying hacked and dying. Prince Meinard crashed into a wagon as I landed. I didn't have time to worry about him. Master could handle him. I had to survive.
I couldn't serve my Master, my husband, if I were dead.
With a mighty leap, I soared across the street. The air hissed past me. I almost felt like a hawk soaring through the sky. My arc carried me up over the top of a three story building, landing upon its peaked roof. I hit the slate tiles and landed with a soundless impact. I darted for the chimney, pressing my body behind it.
A moment later, I heard the buzz of the insects burst out of the temple. I held myself still. I didn't have to worry about noise. I just had to stay still and think. What could I do to deal with an entire horde of insects?
The sound of the buzzing swarm grew diffused. Not quiet like it moved away, but more that the noise spread out in every direction as... as it split apart. I let out a silent groan, the noise swallowed by my armor.
It didn't have to stay together.
I wanted to peak out. To see what it was doing, but I couldn't. I needed to stay here and think. What did insects hate? The rain. They didn't fly when it was raining. How could I make it rain? I didn't control the weather. I needed to channel water.
Greta's armor? Could I—
A fly buzzed before my face. It hovered there for a moment and I heard a tiny, humming laugh coming from it.
I hissed and swatted it with the side of my katar. Its broken body slammed into the slate tiles at my feet.
Behind me, a mighty buzz grew in volume. In anger.
“Las's putrid cum!” I screamed and not a sound came from my mouth.
I leaped from my hiding spot as the swarm rose behind.
~ * ~
Princess Ava
I ran so fast, blurring down the street. The crowd of fleeing people suddenly thinned before me. Aingeal didn't need to clear us a route any longer. Before the Temple of Krab, Sven and my father fought while Zanyia leaped down from the roof, a growing swarm of insects hurtling in her wake. The swarm became a dense cloud, almost solid.
It buzzed with hunger for her. The droning sound vibrating the air
. The lamia raced on all fours down the street, moving on silent steps. Her tail swished behind her as the insects boiled after her, the dark cloud of death coming closer.
“I bet they're poisonous,” Aingeal said.
“Does it matter?” I asked, shocked that a swarm of insects was one of our enemies. The Biomancer created such disgusting things.
“No,” Aingeal said. I felt her concentrating as I raced to help.
A beam of purple energy fired from my mouth. It was almost like I breathed it, only it was Aingeal's magic. The lance slammed into the swarm. The insects burst away from it, opening a hole in their center to let it pass through.
Another beam fired, and a third. The swarm's insects dispersed before it, darting to the right and left, up and down. They spilled and tumbled, moving together in a mass like smoke curling around invisible walls as they reformed higher up in the air.
Annoyance quivered through Aingeal's soul. “Cernere's black fingers! I didn't kill a single one of them!”
~ * ~
Sven Falk
I spotted what I needed: a well.
The city of Az, like many cities, had community wells, places for the residents of their neighborhoods to draw water. And one lay a block away. A deep shaft that led to water far below. The perfect place to trap the murdering bastard.
I backed down the street as I said, “Did Ava ever suck your dick clean after you fucked her asshole? She loves doing that for me.”
Prince Meinard didn't growl or bellow. He slashed his sword at me from the left, forcing me to dart to the right. He followed up with another swing and a third, driving me away from my retreat and towards the side of the street.
I frowned at his actions. What was he doing? Where was his anger? His swings held purpose. The recklessness was gone. My brow furrowed as his next attack made me roll towards the side of the street again.
Towards the mouth of an alley.
Clever.
“She cleans my dick like a champ,” I said, tensing for the next swing of his sword to hurtle at me. “Just cleans off every bit of her asshole before begging me to cum on her face.”
He swung a smidge too hard, his metal teeth grinding together.
I flowed like shadows beneath it, rolling back out towards the center of the street. As I came up, I sent out the darkness around my feet racing towards the well. It merged into the long shadows cast by the buildings on the left side of the street, the sun setting behind them. I reached the well, covering it, hiding it.
It vanished into inky darkness.
“Did she ever wake you up by sucking your dick?” I asked as I retreated backward.
He glared at me.
“What, did you think I'd fall for your obvious feint towards the alley?” I moved behind the well as he turned to face me, my shadows obscuring it. I let myself blend in, too, fading most of my body away, leaving only my skin and blond hair exposed. “Do you think I am an idiot?”
“You're a thief!” he snarled. “And a coward. You hid in the shadows that night, too, didn't you?” He marched towards me, a rusting laugh echoing from his body. “It's been a year, hasn't it? Since I was last in Az. Since I burned your family. Such a tragic accident. Your parents, that sister of yours.”
I grit my teeth against the anger. The rage beat in my heart. A part of me wanted to burst around the well and fight him.
“I heard them screaming for help,” he continued, advancing. “Your sister was in the window, shouting at my soldiers to save her. They fired arrows at her, not to hit her, but to drive her back into the inferno.”
My body shook.
“She screamed and screamed as she burned.”
“So will you!” I bellowed.
His iron lips twisted in a grin. He drew back his sword and then charged at me.
He ran into the hidden well. He grunted in shock as he struck the barrier. His iron torso pitched forward. His weight carried him down into the well. His body rang as he banged against the side. A great splash echoed.
The shadows melted away, revealing the stone lip of the well. I leaned over, peering down at him. A part of me wanted to leap down after him. To cut him apart. Katriana screamed in my mind, begging me to act.
“I will burn you alive,” I growled. “You will scream like my sister did!”
He roared his rage as I looked away. My other women were still fighting. I needed to help them. Prince Meinard would have to wait. Next time, he wouldn't have his proxy to hide behind. I would meet him in the flesh.
Insects buzzed as purple energy lanced through the swarm. I frowned. What was going on there?
~ * ~
Aingeal
“No!” I hissed as another blast of evocation spirits howled through the swarm of insects without hitting anything. That was so annoying of them.
“Thanks!” Zanyia yowled as she ran towards us.
“Watch out!” Ava shouted through feyhound muzzle. “Aingeal!”
The insect swarm, which I thought I had at least distracted from swarming at Zanyia, recoiled then hurtled down at her. A darkness fell over the lamia. A great, hungry maw seeking to devour her. She ran faster, but it wasn't enough.
The cloud of buzzing death engulfed her.
~ * ~
Prince Meinard
Water sloshed around me as I gained my feet. I flexed fingers. Everything still moved. My heavy body survived the twenty foot plunge down the well. I stared up at the circle, seeing Sven looking over me. He cursed and moved out of sight.
He thought this would stop me. I stared at the stone walls. I grinned at the uneven texture. The footholds and hand grips. My body had strength. It had endurance. It didn't grow tired. My muscles didn't fatigue.
I climbed.
My iron feet slammed into the crevasses, battering into the stones to work deeper. My free hand reached up, clawing at the next grip and pulling my body higher. I ground my teeth, working my way higher and higher. I would gut Sven. I would see his entrails spill out before me.
He would die screaming like that bitch-sister of his.
I worked higher and higher. The lip came closer and closer. I lunged up for it, thrusting up with my powerful legs, gripping my sword in my right hand. My left snagged the rim. Metallic fingers scratched against stone.
I pulled hard.
The momentum hurtled my iron body out of the well. I burst out to see Sven curse and whirl around. I gripped my sword in both hands and fell upon him standing before the well like a meteor. I swung my sword down at him.
I would cut him in twain!
Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Priestess's Lie
Zanyia
The cloud of insects surged down at me, hungry. The world grew darker, an artificial night falling on me. My skin crawled. My stomach tightened. The swarm came at me from every direction. My tail swished. I had to go somewhere. I didn't want to get devoured but—
Purple sprang around me.
A dome of mystical energy manifested a heartbeat before the insects engulfed my body. The bugs slammed into the shield. A great, angry buzz rumbled around me. It rattled my bones. I shuddered, goosebumps raising across my skin as I watched the insects crawling across the energy barrier. They pressed in on it. The dome rippled and bowed beneath the weight.
I grinned at them, big and toothy. “Take that, bugs! Aingeal just saved my cute ass!”
I couldn't help it. I rolled over onto my hands and knees, I just had enough space to do so, and wiggled my rump at the bugs. I smacked my butt, my tail swishing from side to side. The angry buzz swelled, my ears twitching against the sound.
“Yeah, that's right! Aingeal's a sexy faerie, and she's going to kick your ass!”
The insects burst away from the dome as Princess Ava's feyhound body burst through the swarm of buzzing, angry bugs. They scattered around its wooden body. It landed on the other side, the insects boiling up into the air and forming into a new cloud, almost like a fist hovering in the air.
“Yeah, yeah!” I
shouted. “Gods, you have great timing, Mistress Ava and Mistress Aingeal!”
“Aingeal says, 'Your ass is too cute to be eaten,'” Ava said, her voice sounding so weird coming out of the feyhound's wicker mouth. It was so girlish, hardly distorted at all.
“But Mistress Aingeal, you love eating my ass,” I said, grinning.
“This is serious, Zanyia!” Princess Ava shouted.
Before I could answer, a purple ball of energy surged up into the cloud. The insects surged out of the way, scattering before the attack. Some fell broken from the sky, but a few dozen compared to the thousands didn't mean much.
I shivered. They could really, really have killed me. My fingers flexed against the cobblestone. My tail went rigid. I almost died. If those bugs had gotten to me... Who would take care of Master? He needed sex slaves to watch out for him, and he wouldn't claim them on his own. I had to find more submissive girls to love him.
I couldn't do that for my husband if I was eaten by a bunch of dumb bugs.
I curled up on my belly, grateful that I was alive. That Aingeal saved me. I watched the feyhound dart back and forth across the street, firing more balls of purple energy or waves of force, battering and scattering the horde. It split apart, coming at her from every direction. But what could they do to her body? It was made of woven wood. Their bites wouldn't do anything.
I shifted, squirmed. My skin itched again, but not out of fear like before. I wanted to get out of here. I wanted to fight. I yowled and hissed. I needed to be free. I couldn't be caged up. I could do something. I could... could...
“Mistress Aingeal, let me out! Please! I can swat them out of the sky and... and distract them so you can kill them.” Yeah, I could do that. Aingeal's attacks were killing some. It was just... slow process.
“Gods, are you crazy?” Princess Ava demanded before she leaped around. “You almost died. You can't fight this.”
“But... but...” I let out a frustrated yowl.
The purple dome suddenly contracted around me and spread beneath my body. I gasped as it lifted me up from the ground. I shifted around in a ball of purple energy, floating over the street. My head whipped around. What was Aingeal—