by Skyler Grant
Banok stepped back out into the main room. Vanwyn had turned off the main lights, the illumination now provided by several candles around the walls. The Elf had changed too. The gauzy silken garment shrouded her figure lightly in varying shades of green, offering tantalizing glimpses of the body beneath when she moved.
"You're helping," Banok said, honestly somewhat surprised.
"Did you expect to manage the seduction all on your own? Immortality, remember. Just how many lovers do you think I must have had?"
The Elves were always kind of cagey about the exact number. However the Druids had thought the Elves had been alive for somewhat more than ten thousand years. If Vanwyn had averaged even one lover a year, something that didn't seem unreasonable, that would be ten thousand.
Banok didn't feel his sexual history was much to be ashamed of, but it did seem insignificant in comparison.
"Don't tell me you've actually kept count," Banok said.
Vanwyn took a seat on the edge of the bed where the covers had already been turned down, patting the mattress beside her. "True immortals never forget, not in the slightest. Humans can have a dozen years of memory become a blur, but to us ... every moment is as clear in our minds as when we lived it. If your memories are not there yet, they will be."
It was a lot to think on, but truly, Banok was having a tough time doing that. The conversation should have been making him melancholy. Instead he was focused on Vanwyn. There was something off-putting about Elven physiology. Their arms and legs were too long, their breasts barely there.
And the uncanny valley, that point where something looked close enough to human, but the brain rebelled against the subtle differences. Yet right now, Banok's brain wasn't rebelling. He wanted Vanwyn, and he found himself aching for her touch, to taste her lips.
That was surely the effect of Astra on his mind. He would become a creature of his passions, she said. Defined by lust and by anger.
The anger hadn't come out much, so far. The other side ... well, he was getting a healthy dose of that side.
Banok took a seat beside the Elf and leaned in to press a kiss against her lips. The Elf hid any surprise at the boldness, meeting him even as her hands slid to his chest.
Wordlessly Banok urged Vanwyn back on the bed. Her body beneath him was chill compared to a humans, Elves ran just a little bit colder. Again, it was one of those tiny details that were just a little off.
Banok had never lain with an Elf, much less one of the ancients. It was almost maddening just how different everything was. Oh certainly it was a better case of ill-fitting dimensions than with Nyx—there, the proportions were preposterous.
Here they almost worked.
When Banok found himself sliding into her she was tight. But the temperature difference was even more noticeable here, and she had a spur of uncomfortable bone that no human woman would have. It required his hips always be kept at the right angle, a constant tiny strain that kept him from fully losing himself in the experience.
Still, not all was negative. Vanwyn's incredibly long legs hooked around him with ease, her thighs especially powerful as they held him in place.
It was clear that while she might be Banok's first Elf, he wasn't her first human. Vanwyn took their differences in stride, shifting her body just right to compensate and using her hands to guide him with tiny encouragement.
There wasn't even a whiff of any true passion from the Elf. Her attitude was as cold as her body. If she really wanted him, there was no sign of that.
Despite that, Banok wanted her. It made things one-sided, Banok knew it, but with his connection to Astra he couldn't stop it. Banok couldn't stop the way his hands stroked her body with increasing hunger, the way his lips sought out her neck. The way his tongue hungered for the taste of her, and his groans made it clear the pleasure she brought him.
They found release at the same time. Hers measured, controlled, his potent and frenzied. It was a process that repeated itself again and again over the next several hours.
By the time Banok finally left the room, it was as awkwardly as he entered.
27
"You just need to hang behind me, dummy, and I'll do everything," Nyx said as she flew along in front of Banok on a pillar of fire.
The fairy was drawing strange looks from the well-dressed crowds that surrounded them. Armor wasn't a common sight on the streets of Nyxa Prime, at least not in the upscale financial district that housed the headquarters of the Caspi Banking Conglomerate.
Cleo had pulled what blueprints she could of the bank, and Nyx and Banok had committed them to memory, but they all thought they weren't likely to be accurate. For security reasons the bank wouldn't have kept things true to the original designs. The only thing they knew for sure was that the vault was somewhere underground.
The plan was just to fight their way through until they found it. The headquarters was across the street from them now. The building occupied an entire block, rising forty stories overhead.
Security in the lobby was armored. Banok also noted the telltale metal plates in the ceiling that hinted at some sort of drop-down turret. The bank's lobby was a death trap for would-be robbers, and that was just those aimed at the public, ground floor vault. The main vault underground where the truly valuable resources were kept didn't need to concern itself with how the defenses might endanger the locals. Collateral damage wasn't a consideration.
Well, there was no time like the present. Cleo and Vanwyn had left hours before. They had their own means of infiltration. Even now they should be in that building, somewhere, just waiting for Banok and Nyx to raise a fuss.
That was going to take no time whatsoever.
Banok and Nyx crossed the street, passing into the lobby. They were no more through the doors than an alarm began to blare, Nyx's armor and weapons setting off sensors that brought guards rushing in their direction.
They didn't have their guns drawn, yet. That was about to change.
Banok reached out with magic towards the lifeforce of the guards. A simple tiny twist and he should be able to put them to sleep. Yet, it wasn't happening.
As soon as Banok tried, new alarms were blaring, blue lights flashing as overhead speakers began to announce, "Code Blue. Hostile magic detected. Code Blue."
The bank was a major institution with money to throw around. Of course, they also would have mages on site. It made sense that they would have given the guards some sort of defensive charm.
It should have been expected.
"What did you do, dummy?" Nyx asked, as she opened up with her flamethrower, a burst of fire driving the approaching guards back.
Cannons dropped from the ceiling, sleek angular-looking weapons that swiveled towards Banok and Nyx and opened fire.
Banok reached out with the element of earth, catching the bullets midair and dropping them before they could reach their targets. With one hand he conjured fire, flinging a fireball towards one of the cannons. It exploded on impact sending shrapnel flying and screaming customers running from beneath it.
Banok wasn't out to kill any innocents here, but if the bank security kept turning this lobby into a killing field a lot were going to die. They needed a change of venue.
Banok gathered the elemental powers of earth into his fist and knelt down, slamming his fist into the floor. The energy rippled, the polished stone shattering and cracking as an earthquake trembled through the building. A fissure opened and through it could be glimpsed what looked to be some kind of series of office cubicles below.
That would do. Banok jumped, Nyx following him.
Employees scattered. No security guards were here yet, only office drones without any willingness to die for the company.
According to the blueprints this level was all cubicles and break-rooms. Customer service, meaning the sort of employees the bank didn't think warranted a luxury like windows.
A guard followed them down through the fissure, crashing hard into the floor, and Banok slammed a still
earth-charged fist into the man's chest. Whatever anti-magic defenses the guard had, it kept him from petrifying, but it hardly mattered when the blow sent him soaring across the room to crumple into a corner.
Nyx led the way into the hall, clearing workers out of the way with bursts of her flamethrower. Suddenly with a yelp she went flying sideways to slam against a wall, a net of glowing blue energy surrounding her.
A woman was walking in their direction, beautiful with flowing red hair and a black lace dress that clung close to her figure. There was also the palpable aura of magic around her. Not an office drone then.
Banok stepped out to face her, letting a magical shield swell around him.
"I taste power. So much power. A shame there is so little skill behind it or you would almost be interesting," the woman said.
Banok wouldn't be able to directly manipulate her lifeforce. It was probably her that had provided the guards their protection. That wouldn't defend her against raw elemental power. Banok drew a fireball into his palm and threw it at her.
The redhead flicked her fingers. The light of the fire faded, disappearing halfway there.
"She's good. Be careful," Astra's voice whispered in Banok's ear.
"That was surprising," Banok said to the woman.
"It shouldn't have been. Delilah Knox, of the Dark Woods. Where is all that power coming from? There is Druid magic there, but ... so much of it?" Delilah asked, as she kept coming forward.
Blue lines of magical light formed around Banok, grabbing his arms and jerking them behind him, binding them tight. Banok sucked in a deep breath, drawing in both air and power as he channeled fire into those magical bonds. He was faintly aware of the heat that created, hot enough to burn through the flesh of anyone not immune to fire. The bonds snapped and Banok flexed his muscles as he amplified them.
"I'm the Head Druid now. That is part of what you sense," Banok said.
Delilah tilted her head. "Interesting. We'd felt ... well, we'd felt something terrible along the threads. So why does the Head Druid rob a bank?"
Spellweavers. Banok had never met one of their magical heritage, but his respect for their power was growing by the moment. The Druids had never liked them, they could be parasitic. They were reputed to admire and imitate spiders, capturing their prey and draining their power.
"Why does a powerful Spellweaver bother to defend one?" Banok asked.
A trio of guards turned a corner, heavily armored and rifles pointing in Banok's direction. Banok threw a fireball. Delilah didn't stop it, allowing the explosion to incinerate them.
"Girl has her debts," Delilah said with a nonchalant shrug. "And what they have down there ... trust me, getting tied up by me is a lot more fun than going down there."
"Can we take her?" Banok thought to Astra.
"She thinks she has your measure, but she doesn't know about me."
"Might be we'll try that, if we both get out of this alive. I can win this," Banok said.
Delilah smirked and started to reply, but Banok held up his hand.
"I know you don't think so, but I can. This place worth dying for?" Banok asked.
"No, but with what they pay me it's worth killing for," Delilah said.
"Walk away. Ten percent of the haul. You've got things I need to learn. I've got power you like."
"The Druids have never liked me or my kind."
"The Druids went and got themselves nuked because they weren't strong and skilled enough. When I rebuild the Order they'll be different. Maybe there is an opportunity there," Banok said, staring her down.
Delilah considered, her hand still raised as if about to cast a spell.
"Punch her to death, dummy," Nyx said, zooming back in from the hall after she'd finally slipped free of her bonds.
Nyx yelped as more blue bonds snapped into place, crashing her onto the floor.
"Fifteen percent," Delilah said.
"Don't give her any of our money! Stop trying to make floozies happy!" Nyx cried.
"Meet you in the middle?" Banok asked.
Delilah considered and nodded. With a flick of her fingers Nyx was flying again.
Magical strands of energy formed in the air, swirling together, and a tunnel opened leading elsewhere.
"The vault. You won't be bribing your way out there. Still, if you survive to get away, you just might be a worthy partner for us in the days to come. Prove yourself worth our time," Delilah said.
Banok didn't think he had anything to prove, but he wasn't going to protest skipping this fight and getting a fast forward to his objective.
"Come on, Nyx. Leave the nice lady alone," Banok said, as he stepped into the portal.
He ignored Nyx's muttering behind him.
28
It was cold on the other side of the portal. The halls here were ancient compared to the ones above. The stonework was distinctly Dwarven, scrawled runes obscured by a logo of the bank that had been set on top.
They were far underground, deeper than Banok had expected. There were a few traces of lifeforce here, and less workers than he'd have expected—and one sign far different than the others. Far different than any he'd ever seen. Typically to his lifesense a normal person glowed with two colors. The strongly magical might have three. There was something on this level that glowed with seven crystalline shades.
Nyx flew ahead of Banok, looking through doorways. "Servers, servers, servers. Not the ones we need though, none of these are secured enough."
"I think I know what we're looking for. Follow me," Banok said, walking past her and towards the unique lifeforce.
No security tried to stop them. The few bank personnel who saw them had the look of technicians, and they simply ran.
When they finally reached the vault, it was clear that wasn't its original purpose. Banok had seen the occasional Dwarven ruin in his day, but nothing this majestic with stone pillars at least three stories high and incredibly intricate stonework.
There were computers here, massive ones going all the way up several stories to the ceiling. They occupied about half the hall. The other half was home to something that wasn't supposed to exist anymore.
The other half was home to a dragon.
The creature's scales were silver-tipped in white, wings folded in close. It slept on top of a small mountain of ancient gold coins.
The Dwarves had long ago fought the dragons, and it had almost destroyed them. Still, they'd won and the dragons were supposed to be long gone.
Banok didn't know what it was doing here, and didn't know why it was here, but he knew dragons had once burned worlds.
"Whoah," Nyx said, apparently too astonished to call him a dummy in any way.
"These computers should have what you want. Get things hooked up, but don't steal anything, not yet," Banok said.
"Yeah, right," Nyx said, shaking her head. "Big stupidly over-sized things are your specialty."
Astra was silent in Banok's head, which wasn't a good sign. There was another source of information though. They had a channel to communicate on the mission in case of extreme emergencies, and he used it now.
Hitting his comm Banok said, "Vanwyn, need your advice here."
There was no response for about forty-five seconds although Banok could hear the sound of movement through the comm. Then a door closed.
"We're not secure but I've a few moments," Vanwyn said.
"They have the vault in a set of Dwarven ruins. And they've got a dragon," Banok said.
"Take pictures," Cleo said over the comm.
"Describe it," Vanwyn said in clipped tones. It seemed nothing surprised her.
"Silver scales, white tips. Around two stories high at rest, leathery wings," Banok said.
Vanwyn laughed humorlessly. "Then we're on Granokala. The name must have changed at some point, I didn't know. The capital of two dozen worlds was once on this planet, and you must have found the hall of the king. Her name is Astraxia. She'll protect anything in the hall against invaders,
because it is her lair, and she can't help herself even though she is held prisoner there."
"Can I free her?" Banok asked.
Vanwyn was silent for a long moment. "Perhaps. There must be old magic, strong magic there, but it could be weakened after all this time. I don't know if it is the right thing to do. She deserves her freedom, but if she wins it this world will bear the brunt of her rage."
They hadn't come all this way to fail at their mission. Freeing this dragon might kill innocents. Not preventing the rising tide of darkness would do the same. Banok would trade a moderate evil for a greater good.
Stepping out from between the rows of computers Banok walked towards the dragon, his hands held up in the air. The dragon's eyes flickered open, a head on a serpentine neck turning to face him.
Elder Druids had always been able to communicate with just about anything, a part of their connection to nature. Banok would just have to hope that applied to him now.
"Astraxia, I mean you no harm. I know you are compelled to defend this place from invaders. Right now my intent is to free you of whatever bonds hold you, nothing more," Banok said.
That much was true. Until the dragon was freed, until this place was no longer her home, going through with their original plan would be suicide.
Astraxia studied him, and then bobbed her head towards the columns surrounding her.
It wasn't speech, but it wasn't murder. It would do.
Banok stepped towards the columns and examined them. The runes were different than the Dwarven sigils elsewhere. Even more intricate and interlocked, they were charged with magic.
This was powerful work. Of course, it would have to be to hold something like a dragon.
A burst of flame nearby became Astra materializing at the dragon's side, looking up at the columns, a hand on her hip.
The dragon gazed at her for a long moment as well, a tiny puff of flame escaping its nostrils before turning its head back to rest.
"I hope all of this makes some sense to you," Banok called.