by Cebelius
"Thank you," he added, looking at Mila with genuine gratitude.
"Ask, and ye shall receive," Prada quipped. "I would have notified Mila myself if you hadn't kept me out all day."
"I'm tired of arguing with you."
"Then stop."
Terry glared at her, but Prada gazed easily back at him, not at all intimidated. "She's mine. I won her fair and square."
"Yeah? Then you can feed her."
"Euryale will do that from now on."
Terry scowled. "Not if she isn't into it. I agreed to bond a woman of your choice."
Prada cut him off with a waggling finger before he could continue as she said, "Ah ah! You agreed to add a member to your harem of my choice. Don't even think about telling me you can just get rid of her now."
Terry shut his eyes, tipped his head back, and counted backward from ten. As he did so, he heard Shy say, "Perhaps you shouldn't press him quite so hard on this, Prada."
"You're one to talk. You want him to increase his bonds just as much as I do."
Shy scowled at Prada, who scowled right back, even going so far as to shift her face to match Shy's as she did so.
Mila glanced from them over to Terry and said, "You know that I have been learning from her, but I believe I have thought of something that will, perhaps, change your mind about Najaha."
"I'm all ears," Terry said, though in truth he had no hope of hearing anything that would change his mind.
"Another lie, but no matter. Even if the zone beasts cannot feel love, their Locutors almost certainly can. With Najaha, we do not need an army to attack the Dust Lord. We can use his own army against him."
Terry blinked as he stopped, and slowly turned to look at her with a dazzled expression on his face.
"Mila?"
"Yes?"
"You ... are a god damn genius."
Mila chuffed, then tipped her head back as though basking. She chuckled richly as she said, "Not a lie!"
27
Glory of Love
Najaha's drain on Euryale eventually put the gorgon to sleep, but otherwise had no apparent lingering effects. Not only that, but the two got along well, and Euryale agreed to feed Najaha in Terry's place going forward.
Najaha wasn't entirely happy, and asked if Terry would ever come to her again. He had been honest with her, and told her that it would take him time to work through how he felt. He asked if she would be willing to help him assault the Twilight Zone and she readily agreed.
It still bothered him that her behavior was entirely governed by enchantment, but given Prada's insistence, Najaha's explicit preference, and his own needs, he allowed the magical compulsion to stand.
Najaha's presence meant he now had all the pieces in place to go after the Dust Lord directly, and he was resolved to doing whatever it took to ending Thomas.
The sooner I get rid of him, the sooner I can get rid of ME.
He spent most of his time separated from Prada now, and the two of them didn't speak much. He had no problems with her in casual conversation, but every time Najaha or his bonds came up, a fight followed. They had never exactly seen eye to eye on Terry's ethical and moral standards, but now there was a hard break between them, and neither knew how to resolve it.
The distance between them also drove a wedge into all his other interactions, and so he spent much of his time alone, or as alone as he could get. His harem never let him entirely out of their sight. Halla or Euryale usually wound up with the task of keeping him company, as neither of them cared much for anything outside Terry himself.
Halla would never dare argue with him about anything, and Euryale didn't have any problems with anything that he was doing at the moment, so they got along.
She showed him Tyrfing, but he asked her to keep it for him. Until they were in the zone, the sword was more dangerous to him than to anything or anyone else. With the sword in Euryale's possession, he was as safe from it as he could be.
He spent most of his idle time working on a book for Shy, writing down spells in English as they occurred to him. He knew her only affinity was Nature, so he kept most of his spells in that vein, though a few other useful tricks were included as well. He kept it a secret from her though, wanting to surprise her.
Two more days passed before the tiger kin packed up and began the journey back down onto the Steppe. Terry had expected them to move at a snail's pace, but was pleasantly surprised to see that they jogged pretty much the whole day. Those males still too weak to keep the pace were passed around on stretchers. Terry jogged with them until they reached the plains, after which he took turns either striding along next to Halla as a giant or riding Isthil.
Najaha couldn't maintain her time distortion on the move, and had consented to parallel their course rather than travel with them, due to the very real risk of attack from the tiger kin. It was not for her sake, but theirs. When she chose, Najaha could move with frightening speed, and given she hid in her distortion each night, had no trouble.
The trip across the Steppe was blissfully uneventful, and they reached the village to find a herd encamped there already.
Terry dismounted, thanked Isthil, and went straight toward the massive bulk of Asturial, who provided background for a by now rather battered but still intact Conestoga-style wagon.
The tent extension had been mounted to the back, but as he approached Laina pulled the flap aside and — spotting him — met him at a run, hauling him up into a crushing embrace.
"I was startin' to wonder," she said as she pulled him to arm's length, then set him down. "I mean, Euryale came back and told us you were fine, but ... I missed you."
"I missed you too, hon. It's good to see you again."
He turned his smile from Laina to the looming dragon's head now hovering over the back of the wagon as he said, "Hey Astur. No trouble?"
Euryale had given him the Cliff's Notes version, and he knew damn well there had been trouble, but everyone had made it home, so there was no sense in not treating it lightly.
"Nothing we could not handle," the dragon rumbled, her voice recognizable, just very loud. "I am pleased to see you returned to me."
"To us," Laina said pointedly as she twisted to look back and up at the dragon, who blinked languidly and amended, "To us."
"Where's Yuri?" Terry asked, turning his attention back to Laina, whose smile broadened as she said, "Probably off somewhere making time with Twisted. Those two are thick as thieves these days."
Terry couldn't help but jack his fist back in victory as he grinned. "Aw yeah. I was hoping those two would hit it off. That's mah boy."
"A curious claim to make, considering he is ... actually, how old are you, Terrence?" Asturial said, her volume much diminished as her voice came now from an approaching proxy.
Terry tilted his head, ignoring her question as he looked her up and down. She was, of course, naked.
She wasn't the least bit embarrassed, and spread her hands as she strode into an embrace with him. He noted that she didn't have the heavy feel he was used to, and he reached up and squeezed one of her breasts experimentally as he said, "You're light."
Asturial, unmindful of the intimate contact as anything other than a confirmation of her density, said, "There was no need for me to make my proxy particularly difficult to kill, considering I'm not here to fight. You did not answer my question."
"How old are you?" Terry asked.
"I turned one hundred earlier this year. I was in my mother's forth clutch by my sire," she said, answering without any hesitation, then eyeing him expectantly.
He blinked, then looked around her proxy to examine her war body as he said, "You got that big in only a hundred years?"
"You are dodging my question."
"Yes, I am."
"Why?"
Terry glanced from her war body back to her proxy as he said, "Because I am waaay younger than you are."
"I do not see the relevance. How long do templates live?"
He thought a
bout that, lips twisting, then shrugged as he said, "I suppose most of us make it to seventy at least, if we're healthy. A few humans make it to a hundred years, but I couldn't tell you what the world record is. Not more than a hundred twenty, if that. If I were your age, I'd probably need help wiping my own ass."
Asturial frowned, then looked away.
"What's wrong?" Terry asked.
"I have so little time with you, Terrence. My sire was fifty-seven when I was hatched. He was dying when I left, only ten years later."
Terry hid his amazement. "You knew your dad?"
Asturial straightened and her chin lifted proudly as she said, "Yes. His name was Ahijah, though ma ... my mother, usually called him Caige. He was a good man."
Terry reached out and set his palm on her cheek, turning her face to his as he said gently, "It shows."
Blinking rapidly, Asturial took a short, sharp breath and said, "You are embarrassing me, Terrence."
"Not on purpose. I mean it. He raised a good kid. It took a while for me to see it, but it's there. Sometime we can sit down and you can tell me about him, okay?"
Asturial's lips twisted, then she nodded. It was a tiny, hesitant gesture, and her words were soft. "I'd like that."
She glanced up, and her misty eyes clarified as she saw Mila, Shy, Isthil, Prada and Halla gathered nearby, all watching quietly.
"Euryale said you had a new bond," the dragon said, her voice regaining its customary strength. "Where is she?"
"She's around. She couldn't travel with us because she's an evil b-"
"Because she killed several tiger kin," Prada smoothly cut in. "I swear, Husband. Must you?"
Asturial glanced from Prada to Terry, noting his annoyed look, and ventured, "A long story, I take it?"
"Long and sordid."
"Hah! That, at least, suits you. You can tell me later."
Terry nodded, turning away, then blinked and looked suspiciously back at Asturial as he asked, "Did you just make a joke?"
"I'm sure I have no idea what you mean," the dragon said, her poker face once more firmly in place.
Terry turned to look at his women as he showed his hand and said, "Hands up who thinks she made a joke."
Shy, Prada, Isthil, and even Laina all raised their hands. Halla blinked at him and shrugged. Mila just looked annoyed.
Terry turned back and gave Asturial the side-eye, then waggled a finger at her as he said, "I'm watching you."
"I have come to enjoy having your eyes on me," she said. "And more. Later. For now, you have visitors."
Turning, Terry saw Euryale walking toward them with Yuri and Twisted in tow. The werewolf was gray-furred with several black streaks in her ruff. As he thought about that, Terry took it for a good sign. He was also pleased to see that her expression as she looked at him was cautious rather than eager, and she was walking a half-step and half-hidden behind Yuri.
Terry blinked as he noted that both Yuri and Twisted were missing the fur on their arms, and legs, if Twisted's were an indication. It was growing back, but very, very short. Yuri's stripes still showed, but it looked really weird.
Best not say anything. Twisted looks more than a little self-conscious.
The tiger-man strode forward and clasped Terry's hand, then drew him into a hug as he said, "It is good to see you again, Boss. I heard there was some trouble, but that you resolved it?"
"As best I could," Terry said. "Thank you, Yuri. You brought them all home safe and you got the sword. I owe you."
"Make my sister happy and I am more than repaid," Yuri said as he disengaged and turned to Mila.
The two looked at each other for a long, uncomfortable moment, and then Mila strode forward and the two embraced. Terry couldn't see Yuri's expression, but Mila had closed her eyes and buried her head against her brother's neck.
Neither said anything.
Terry watched as Shy moved to Laina and the two embraced. Euryale joined them a moment later.
Prada began setting the silken orbs she had been carrying aside as Twisted stalked up to Terry and said without preamble, "I'm Yuri's bitch now."
Grinning, he said, "I gathered that from the matching hairstyles. He's a good catch. You're a lucky girl."
Twisted's tail started to wag, then stopped as she said, "You set this up, didn't you."
Feeling just a touch of pride, Terry folded his arms across his chest. "And if I did?"
Twisted glanced back to where Yuri and Mila were now conversing in low tones, then looked back at him and said, "He's good to me. Thank you for letting me stay in your pack."
"You're welcome, Twisted. I'm happy for you. I'm glad you found a home here."
Her jaws parted and she panted happily as her tail started to wag again, and just before she turned away, she said, "Yuri will talk to you later about pups."
His brow furrowed at that, and he tilted his head as he looked after her. His eyes flickered to Yuri, then back to Twisted as he mouthed, Pups? How does THAT work?
Prada stepped up to him, caught his attention, and asked in a low voice that stopped just short of pleading, "Please, Husband. Let me in? We disagree, but that should not come between us like it has. I ... miss you."
"I'm not mad at you."
"Yes you are."
"Okay, but I'm not trying to be mad at you. If Mila's idea works, you'll have been right all along, again."
Prada frowned as she said, "It galls you."
"Yeah, kinda. What do you want me to do? I don't like feeling like I have no control over my own life."
"Husband, you never had any control over your life. No one does. Control is an illusion."
He quirked a meaningful eyebrow at her as he said, "You certainly don't seem to think so."
She rolled her eyes as her head dipped in exasperation, "I don't want to fight anymore. I did this ... I did everything, for us. I want a future together. Tell me that you will abandon this quest and I will go and kill Najaha myself, right now. Her love for you will make it easy. But as long as you walk this path, I will do whatever I feel I must to ensure your success. Even if it goes against your wishes."
"You swore to obey me."
"And you swore to honor me. Am I not worthy of what you promised? I have helped to make you mighty enough to do as you wish. Now, and only now, you have the power to attack, to win. Without me, where would you be?"
Terry's fists tightened until his knuckles popped, and Prada flinched at the sound.
"Where would I be?" he echoed through gritted teeth. "I was a good man. If you want credit, you take the blame along with it. Everyone I shelter, I'm responsible for. That means I'm responsible for her ... along with everything she's done."
"Sacrifices must be made, Husband, if you want to see the greater evil vanquished," Prada said. "Euryale has killed far more than Najaha. That is a certainty. Just because you saw her in her evil does not make her any more or less a monster than the gorgon. You took pity on Euryale, and now, enchantment or no, you have the chance to turn Najaha. You might be the methadone that allows her to find a new way to live. Who is to say what can happen? Are you telling me a monster like Euryale can seek redemption, but Najaha cannot?"
Terry squeezed his eyes shut as he ground out, "I hate it when you do this to me."
"I love you. By your definition I love you. I want the very best for you. Open your eyes, and look at me."
He did, and she reached out, cupping his face as her body lost its pallor and turned ruby red. Her body flowed and settled until she stood before him with an only vaguely humanoid shape. Only her head and face remained firm and fully featured as she said, "I will be whoever, whatever, you need. I serve you. I am a part of you. We go together, you and I. We are two sides of one coin, Husband. Do not forsake me."
"I can't. I truly don't want to," he admitted, forcing himself to face what his emotion tried to hide from him. "I do love you, and I couldn't do this without you. I accepted you. I trusted you even when I didn't love you because I knew deep d
own that your word was your bond. That one thing, we have in common. I believe in you, Prada."
She waited, silently watching him watch her. At length he nodded and said simply, "Come in."
She flowed into him, and he felt her love, her want of him, and he surrendered to that feeling. He opened himself completely to her. He let her see all his doubt, his fear for himself, for what he'd become, but along with that he let her feel his gratitude, and his commitment. Not to the quest, but to her.
In turn he knew her, knew every part of her. She was ruthless, but she had dedicated herself completely to him, and with her inside him that fact stood as immutable truth, and the light of it banished his resentment.
He forgave her without reservation, and both were content.
After a long moment, he thought, I've got a job for you.
'Oh?'
Prada examined his thoughts, then began, 'I do not think-'
I'm not asking Prada. I'm telling. This is not a negotiation, it's an order.
She wasn't happy, but he felt her resolution after a moment as she thought, 'As you wish, Husband.'
Later that night, all of them sat around a fire next to the wagon. Terry looked over his motley collection of monsters as they chatted amongst themselves and wondered at the strange turns life took.
Laina, Shy, and Euryale all sat close together and were talking and laughing as they caught up. Halla sat behind Shy, and Terry was heartened to see that every so often Laina looked up and drew the oni into the conversation, including her, making it clear to her that she belonged.
Twisted was in her wolf form and laying with her head in Yuri's lap as he sat cross-legged next to his sister. The two of them were speaking earnestly, and it seemed that the worst of the bad blood between them was past.
Isthil and Asturial were talking together, and he caught both glancing away from him when he looked their way, pretty much giving away the fact that the two were talking about him.