Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Exhulm

 Celestial Chronicles

Book 1

Xander Jade

Copyright © 2021 Xander Jade

All rights reserved

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Prologue

King Leonidas stood at the window, looking down at the residents of Caprae, the capital city of Noreia. Everyone was running around, packing up their belongings. The emergency beacon went off a few hours ago, signaling their enemy was coming.

“Sire?”

Leonidas turned and saw his oldest friend, Mikhail. Which happened to be his court mage. “They will be here any minute.”

Leonida nodded, “Is everything set up for us to fall back within the tunnels?”

“Yes, Sire. Everyone is ready to move.”

“I just hope our people have a chance to get out.”

After he said that, a loud boom came from above. Leonidas turned to the window and looked up to see a fleet of airships in the sky.

“They are here.” Leonidas looked down and saw his people panicking and running in fear.

“Let’s go, my king. There is nothing that we can do for them now.”

He nodded and they ran towards the Great Hall to meet up with his family. The Royal Family saw them come in and knew that it was time.

“They are here. Get to the tunnels!”

The Royal Family went through the hidden tunnels under the castle, their guards wary and watched all sides to make sure no danger was near. When they stopped for a breather, the Princess realized that one of her children were missing.

“Where is Kristjàn!?”

King Leonidas turned to his daughter who asked the question with concern. He glanced at everyone, but no one seemed to know.

“Someone must know something!”

“Mother, I believe he was in the library with Jonathan when we gathered everyone,” Prince Aron answered.

“Father, we need to get to him!”

The king took a few breaths to calm himself, his queen rubbed his back and comforted him for a few moments so that he could respond. Leonidas turned to his friend.

“I know this is dangerous, Mikhail, but I need to know if the lad is okay. Can you contact Jonathan?”

“It might give away our position, Sire.”

“I am aware of that. Do it.”

“Yes, Sire.”

The old mage said some arcane words and a few moments later, a mirror came into being and a man with blond hair, blue eyes, and a goatee appeared. He was crouched down; explosions were heard in the background.

“Jonathan, are you and your charge okay?”

“At the moment, we are moving through the market.”

Everyone was relieved. King Leonidas spoke, “Jonathan, can you get to the tunnels?”

“No, Your Majesty. Everything that way is blocked.”

“This might be a good thing. If we are caught, we still have royal blood that can reclaim the throne if need be.”

“Father! I want him near us. He’s only eight!”

“Rebeca, we need to separate for a bit,” Queen Melindra responded with a sad smile. “We will be together once again, but it is too dangerous for him to make their way to us.”

“Agreed,” Leonidas said. “Jonathan, take him somewhere and hide. Change his appearance if need be. And Jonathan, he needs to be protected at all times. I want my grandson safe.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will do as commanded.”

The spell dissipated. “My King, we need to move. No telling if anyone picked up our signal,” Nicholas advised.

“Very well.”

They moved quickly through the tunnels, worried.

++++

Jonathan looked around, making sure the coast was clear before turning back to his charge.

He whispered, “Hey, buddy.” Kristjàn looked up at him. The little tyke was always calm, even now during this invasion. “We need to move fast but as silently as possible.”

The boy nodded and then surveyed the surrounding area. Jonathan was amazed at his intelligence. The Royal family and Mikhail, his mentor, told him that he would become powerful when he was of age. How powerful, they didn’t really know. But Mikhail whispered to him that he could become more powerful than the king.

Jonathan looked into the eyes of his mentor to make sure he was telling the truth. Mikhail nodded, “Yes, Jonathan. If the law continues the way it is, then Kristjàn would leapfrog his older brothers and become king.”

The mage shook himself out of those thoughts and moved about the area, going in and out of the alleys quickly. It was minutes later that they made it outside of the castle walls.

“Let’s walk to make sure we don’t attract attention. I would open a portal now, but they may be tracking us.”

The duo strolled down the road towards the outskirts of the city, almost making it, but a voice shouted out, “There!”

Jonathan turned and saw four people running their way, he picked up his charge and ran the opposite way. Not knowing where to go, he slipped into the forest and ran as fast as he could.  When tiring, he slowed down and looked behind him.

Jonathan cursed, “They’re still there.” The mage immediately started chanting and a few moments later, a portal appeared.

“He opened a portal, stop them!”

Jonathan looked down, “Okay, champ. Let’s get you gone from here.”

“What about you?”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be right behind you.”

Jonathan wasn’t prepared and didn’t realize he was facing mages that were dressed in armor. As Kristjàn entered the portal, a mana bomb went off, hindering his concentration. The explosion sent the little guy flying through the portal and injuring Jonathan. He screamed out in fear and pain, knowing that he failed his king and queen. The portal closed as the mage blacked out.

Chapter 1

Alistair hovered in the air, observing the land down below. A third of the horizon was inhospitable to most. It was made up of volcanoes, lava tubes, and lakes of fire. Oh, it also contained hard, rocky ground and mountains. It seemed desolate, but if you looked hard enough, your eyes would see different species living there. The other two thirds of the world contained oceans and seas, and fertile lands with forests.

The lush grass, verdant valleys, and clear blue water was something to see; if you were lucky enough to set your eyes on them. He shook his head, knowing that the Firebirds are who keep the sanity of those who live on this world.

The world of Exulm was full of different races. Such as Humans, Gargoyles, Mermaids, Sirens, Fire Giants, Kapre, Fire Salamanders, Djinn, Dragons, and Demons; to name the most known. Every race had caused strife and mischief at some time. With the Kapre, Fire Giants, and Demons being the biggest culprits.

Alistair knew that every so often, the three mentioned would raid and try to take the lands from the others. They get close, but not in a thousand years has a race been beaten, resulting in the other to surrender their resources and lands. He chuckled, thinking the last time the Kapre tried. The Demons beat them back easily. It was hard to watch and not cackle at the idiots.

All races are usually in their true forms when they are with their own people, but when around others or in cities, they are in a Human form. That way, they can blend in and not be recognized. A neutral ground, so to speak.

Alistair was brought out of his thoughts by a loud boom to the east. It was at that time he felt unadulterated power in the same place. He shot off in that direction and made it to the site in less than ten seconds. It was within a mountain range near a lake of fire, and the side of the mountain had a big hole in it. Rocks were still falling, and a dust cloud covered the area.

When near, Alistair searched to find what had caused this. After a few minutes, the cloud of dust settled. He floated over to the hole and gazed upon an unusual sight. A body was lying on the rock floor. It was Human looking. Moving closer, he saw that his first instinct was correct.

Alistair went down and crouched beside the Human. He knew right then that this was a youngster. A child. He sighed and made sure that he didn’t have any injuries. As he checked him over, Alistair gasped as he felt the power radiating from him.

He’s the one that I felt. How does a child have that kind of power?

Alistair put his hands on the boy’s head and closed his eyes before concentrating. He found that the boy wasn’t Human, the child was something different. Someone that the Guardian hasn’t seen before. At least, not one of the races that habitats this world.

This was troubling. As a Guardian of Exhulm, he oversaw finding out why this happened. Since the side of the mountain was destroyed, he couldn’t tell right off what had happened. Alistair sent out his magic to search the area for any spells that were activated recently. He didn’t find any. The next thing he did was to remember if there were any portals in this area. Racking his brain, he didn’t recall any of those either.

Shit. What the hell happened here?

Instinctively, Alistair knew that all nearby races would feel the magic as well and come over to investigate. Since he was once a Dragon mage, he felt that they would send someone, or a squad to check out the anomaly. Alistair had an idea to try and keep the boy hidden and knew that he didn’t have much time to decide. Not knowing how to handle this properly, he decided to go ahead with his plan. Hoping that it would work.

Chanting the words to the spell, he laid his hands on the child. The boy’s natural defense mechanism kicked in and deflected his spell, but Alistair wasn’t giving up that easy. He made a change and disguised his next attempt to look as if it were a healing spell. Minutes went by before the guardian stepped back and took a few breaths. The next step was to try and make it seem like the child was a half-breed, and it was a difficult thing to do since Alistair wasn’t technically a Dragon anymore.

Alistair knew that this was dangerous and forbidden, but the guardian wanted to give the boy a chance to live and not be killed onsite. He needed time to think and investigate how the boy appeared here. After a few moments of hesitation, he nicked his finger and a few drops of blood dripped into the child’s mouth. A light became visible within and a hissing sound came moments later. It caught him off guard. Alistair tried again and again to trick the youngster’s body into thinking it needs this. Finally, it took. 

Damn, his defenses are extraordinary.

The child was groaning and moving, barely. Alistair conjured up a cup of water and started helping the boy drink it down with another spell, he hoped this would help the boy survive for now. The Guardian looked again at the physiology of the boy and found it hasn’t taken completely. He needed more blood.

The Guardian tried again to give the boy at least a dozen or more drops of his blood, but this time, it was deflected. Taking a breath or three, Alistair tried to think of a way to get blood into his body. Finally, he came up with a plan. Placing a sleep spell on the child, he took out a dagger, and sliced the boy’s arm an inch long. But before he could get any blood into the wound, it closed. Caught off guard, Alistair did it again but made it larger. Three inches. It took a few seconds, but the child’s body started healing itself again.

His regeneration rate is astounding as well. What the fuck is he?

Alistair cut the boy open numerous times and dropped his blood into the wound. His thoughts were to go straight into the bloodstream. After the fifth time, the child started gasping, his body going into seizures. It lasted for minutes before the body calmed down. The Guardian checked the boy, his skin tone changed somewhat. He was pale to begin with but was now a shade of tan. Alistair exhaled in relief, not knowing that he was holding his breath. It’s done. Hopefully, it will make the others believe that he is a half-breed. He smiled, knowing that one day his true nature would come out, but would also have traits of a Dragon as well. His power will be phenomenal.

His ears picked up sounds of approaching footsteps down below, and portals were opening all around. He could sense them at least a mile away.

Guess it’s time. I wonder who showed?

Alistair turned and used his sight to zoom in on the areas that he knew where the inhabitants were coming from. Six different races were approaching. Squads from the Fire Giants, Demons, Djinn, Kapre, Dragons, and the last one caught him by surprise.

The Phoenix? Damn, must’ve been the power they felt.              

They weren’t flying, but he knew immediately who they were from the flames coming off of their hair and bodies. It was a natural defense for them. The powerful race was marching with purpose. The Phoenix wasn’t a race to mess with.

This just got complicated. I was hoping that only two at the most would be investigating.

Alistair made a quick decision and made both he and the unconscious boy invisible. He then picked up the child with his magic and both floated up into the air out of the way of the squads that were making their way to the mountain. After a bit, the different races stopped near the mountain in formations, waiting. Their leaders walked to a neutral position to meet.

Wanting to know what was said, Alistair moved quietly towards the conference. He got close enough to hear them and stopped.

++++

Serge, the Phoenix captain, marched with his squad of Flame Warriors. Their queen and council felt the surge of power coming from the east and immediately commanded him and his squad to find out what was going on. Queen Talia wanted to know if one of the violent races that inhabited Exhulm had a new weapon in their hands. Serge and his troops opened a portal and marched towards the location, watching for any sign of trouble.

When they arrived, the squad could sense others around. It was surprising and confusing to see five other races approaching the same location, though with that powerful incident, Serge knew they were here for the same reason.

“Looks like we’re all in the dark over this,” Dawn, his second spoke out in their language.

Serge responded with the same dialect, “Yeah, it brings up many questions.”

She grunted as her commanding officer wasn’t going into detail of what questions that he had.

“From what the council advised, the mountain straight ahead is the spot where the source of the power originated,” Crux iterated.

Serge grunted and led them towards the mountain. As they approached, Dawn hissed.

“Looks like the others sent their enforcers. Gatr is leading the Fire Giants, and Gol’gath is here for the Demons.”

“Squad! Activate your fire armor,” Serge commanded. “Be ready for anything.”

All fifty did as ordered. The flaming armor covered their entire body. As it looked to be regular fire to the eye, it wasn’t. It was Phoenix fire. Their armor would block any magic and metal thrown at them, except for one. The only thing it wouldn’t block is mithril. Each soldier held an enchanted sword made of cold iron which would penetrate any skin of the malevolent races on their world.

The Flaming Warriors came to a stop near the base of the mountain, watching the others that were gathered. Two of each race walked towards the middle.

“Crux, watch our backs. Dawn, let’s go.”

“Yes, sir!”

Dawn and Serge sauntered their way to the meeting. When they came upon the gathered, a 9’ Demon sneered, “Well, looky what we have here. It’s the Flamers!”

His cronies behind him in their formation chuckled, hoping that a fight would break out.

“Gol’gath, I guess Luci let you off your chain to come and make an appearance?”

“Shut up, Bitch!” He growled. “Or I’ll come over and rip you apart piece by piece.”

Dawn laughed, “If you think you are Demon enough, then by all means. Try. You’ll find out quickly what happens when your skin encounters my sword. Just like your brother, Sig. How’s he doing by the way? What with one arm and all.”

The Demon snarled and started making his way over until his kin stopped him.

“You better watch your back, skank. I’ll be waiting for the opportunity to cut your body into pieces and feed it to my offspring.”

She scoffed but didn’t reply. Serge gave her a look that told her to cool it. A male Dragon spoke at that time.

“As much fun as I’m having, let’s cut the shit and get this over with. The anomaly was on Dragon soil.”

“Calm your tits, Rasir,” Gatr, the Fire Giant said as he rolled his eyes. “We know where it’s at.”

“Then you know that you’re trespassing, Gatr.”

Gatr looked over and responded, “Ah, Yndra. So lovely to see you again. Have you gained weight?”

Yndra’s face went red with anger and stepped towards the Fire Giant but was held back by Rasir.

The male drake sighed, knowing that this was going nowhere. “Okay, how are we going to handle this? I’m assuming that no one is going to agree for me to just go up to that big ass hole in the mountain and investigate on my own.”

“Hell, no,” Gol’gath responded quickly. “We will go together.” He didn’t want anyone getting their hands on a weapon, if that’s what it turns out to be, unless it was him or one of his kin.

Rasir muttered something in his language but walked away from the arguing and towards the mountain. The others followed. Since only certain ones could fly, Rasir didn’t want to mess up the delicate balance of the situation, so they walked into the mountains to look for tunnels up to the spot in question. It took some time for them to make it up through the shafts to anywhere close to the collapsed side of the mountain. Rasir had earth magic, he and Kroph, a Kapre, made a way for them to get closer. Finally, the group arrived at the spot where the explosion happened. Everyone looked around but couldn’t locate anything that would cause the blast.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Dawn said, while looking around the epicenter. “No useable world portals are anywhere near here, so we can rule that out. And someone would have to be insane to portal into the mountain, but the evidence points to that. What the hell happened?”

Yndra replied, “Agreed. But if they did portal here, that doesn’t explain the explosion.”

Rasir sniffed around and knelt on the ground. He lifted some soil and rocks to his nose. “Portal magic. Very powerful and a scent that I haven’t come across which is very unusual.”

Gol’gath and Gatr did the same. Both came to the same conclusion.

“Also, I smell another about,” Gol’gath took another sniff. “Different magic. Someone else was here, two people.”

The others glanced at each other, not saying anything. Rasir broke the silence after almost a minute, “So, someone beat us here. They must’ve grabbed whatever came through that portal.”

Everyone groaned. Gatr questioned the group, “How could they beat us here?”

“Had to be nearby,” Serge answered. He took a deep breath and continued, “It seems we’re too late. Someone beat us to the punch.”

Not seeing anything else to investigate, they started their way back down. All of them trading barbs against the other. It wasn’t long before the leaders reached their squads, then marched away as they watched their backs.

++++

Alistair watched them make it out of sight before sighing. He knew that letting them have the boy wouldn’t have been a good idea.

Shit, what am I going to do now?

After thinking it was over, he knew what needed to be done. Alistair flew off with the boy right beside him, still unconscious. It took a bit to make it to the destination in his mind, since it was on the other side of the world.

Alistair saw the town in the distance. Redwater. It was quaint and without prejudice. It was mostly Human, but as with most of the Human cities, other races took a Human form to live within. Of course, most were outcasts. That and their children going to the schools and academies. That was a requirement, they had to stay in Human form. People knew they weren’t Human though; the tallest Human was seven feet tall. Most of the other races were that and above. The races could make their Human forms to whatever height they wanted, but since most were arrogant, they showed up at over seven feet tall. Although most everyone could only transform into the same disguise, only a few could change forms when needed. Or if the illusion mages gave you a talisman or jewelry to change on command, but those were rare and forbidden to use. These cities had rules about asking what race anyone was. It was the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” rule.

Alistair maneuvered his way towards the lone cabin within the forest, east of town. It was later in the day, so he had hoped the resident was home. A few minutes later, after doing recon of the area to make sure no one was lurking, Alistair flew down and landed a little way out from the front door. He changed his appearance, knowing no one could see his true self, and let go of the invisibility spell on himself but kept it on the boy.

Walking up to the cabin, Alistair called out, “Hello, the house!”

Almost a minute later, a woman that looked to be in her thirties, pushed open the door and walked out. The door closed behind her as she stopped at the edge of the wraparound porch. She was about 5’9” with dark brown hair and brown eyes, wearing khaki shorts and a blue halter top. The woman sported a lithe body with a small waist and long legs.

“Whaddya want?”

“Good afternoon. My name is Edgar and am asking for a few minutes of your time.”

“I don’t care who you are and don’t have time to dilly dally. Spit out what you’re here for.”

Alistair stared at the woman, who was quite grumpy it seemed. He knew this was the right thing to do, and just needed to persuade the woman.

“All right, then let us do without all the charades then. If that is how you want to play. I know who, and more importantly what you are… Serena.”

That took the woman by surprise, though she tried to hide it.

“I don’t know what you are speaking of.”

Alistair chuckled at her denial, “Oh? Going for denial, huh?”

“No denial to it.”

He sighed, “Shall I bring forth your true form then?”

The woman grinned at him, thinking that this guy was bluffing, “This is my true form.”

With not even a word, Alistair made hand gestures, though he didn’t have to. It was all theatrics now and took only a few moments before the woman’s true form came into being. A Succubus. She was around 8’ tall with black hair and black eyes. Her red skin went with the black two-piece bikini that barely covered anything, and her long legs ended in hooves. A tail, and the two horns that were sticking out of the top of her head, were also black.

She gasped and panicked, not knowing how this happened. Taking a few moments to get herself together, she took off and then threw spell after spell at the strange man, trying to get away from him. Serena didn’t know who this was but wanted no part of whatever he wanted.

Alistair shook his head and waved his hand, catching Serena in his spell. He moved her back towards him with telekinesis, though the succubus strained to get out of his grip. The spell dropped the succubus on her ass about ten feet away.

“Now, shall we begin again? And this time, though it’s in your nature, without the lying.”

Serena didn’t move or respond in any way.

“Fine. I’ll begin. You have no reason to fear me. I just want to talk.”

The Demoness huffed and gestured to not being able to move. Alistair let her out of the spell.

She cleared her throat, “Who the fuck are you? No one should be able to reveal my true form unless I will it for them to see.”

“Think of me as a friend, for now.”

She laughed without humor, “You are no friend. Especially to my kind. No one is.”

He shrugged, “Right now, I need for you to do me a favor.”

“And why the hell would I do that?” Serena scoffed.

“Because I know who you really are… General Xennara.”

Serena or actually, Xennara, slumped down and didn’t respond at first. She finally took a deep breath and said, “What do you want from me?”

“Oh, nothing big.”

Alistair dropped the spell over the boy and lowered him to the ground. Xennara gasped and looked at him, wide-eyed. He walked over and looked him over. Good, it seems that his physiology is allowing the blood to work.

Turning to the Demoness, “This boy came through a portal and has been unconscious ever since. I need him to be safe until I can figure out who he is and where he came from.”

“Why would I give a fuck about this?”

“Because, you are going to take care of him.”

Xennara stared at the man in disbelief, “You know what I am. Why would you even bring him here? I am an outcast, as are the others around this city.”

Alistair chuckled, “I know. What better way to hide him? You are a survivor, Xennara, and an accomplished fighter. Teach him how to survive and how to fight.”

“Wait, wait. How long is he going to be here?”

“For as long as it takes to make sure he is safe. I also need to make sure this isn’t a trap of some kind. I’m not even sure if the kid will even know where he is or even, who he is.”

Xennara’s heated stare turned into a confused one. “How do you know that? You said he’s been unconscious since you found him.”

He sighed, “There was an explosion when he came through the portal.”

“This is insane. You want me to take care of this kid for who knows how long, and he may or may not even know who he is? Is that what you’re telling me?”

“Yeah.” Alistair didn’t want to reveal anything else.

Xennara muttered something in her language, but it was so low he didn’t understand what it meant.

“On the bright side, he’s powerful. I felt his power and put a block on it until he is found trustworthy.”

“Whatever. How will I contact you to know what information that you find out, if any?”

“I’ll be dropping by every so often.”

Xennara groaned, “Can you at least tell me what he is?”

Not really, because I don’t even know. “He’s a half-breed, Dragon and Human.”

“O-Okay.” Shocked over that discovery.

“Keep him out of the spotlight but teach him anything and everything you can to help him survive. You never know, one day, he may return the favor and save your life. …My time is up, take care of him.”

As Alistair was about to leave, Xennara asked, “What is your name?”

He chuckled and answered, “Bystander.” Then the man vanished without any noise given.

Xennara took some calming breaths and changed back into her Human form before moving over to the boy. She looked him over and found him to be handsome. Sighing, she picked him up and went into her cabin to lay him down on the guest bed. Xennara stood there, watching for a long time and wondering how the hell this is going to work out.

Outside, observing was Alistair, he knew that the council and others will want to know what transpired. The guardian will one day atone for what he did today.

Chapter 2

My eyes adjusted to the bright light coming from outside. The sun was shining bright and some birds were singing. I tried to move but my body was hurting all over.

What happened to me? Huh. I don’t remember.

I tried to think of anything that would refresh my memory. Nothing. That thought brought up another. Where am I? I looked around to see that I was in a room with a small bed and a dresser with a mirror on the other side of the room. The walls were wood, and a few art pieces decorated the room. I don’t remember anything about this room. Taking a few moments to calm down, I try to recall anything of the past.  Nothing.

It took almost a minute to make myself move, but I finally got up and walked to a mirror. A face that I did not recognize looked back at me. I had brown hair with green eyes. At that moment, I tried to remember my name and after almost a minute, I gave up and had tears in my eyes. Footsteps were coming my way, so I wiped my eyes and watched as the door opened. A lady came in and looked at the bed and her eyes went wide when she noticed me off to the side.

“H-Hello.” I said tentatively.

“Hello. How are you feeling?”

I shrugged, “I woke up to my body hurting and tried to remember where I am, but nothing. No memory of how I got here, where we are, who you are, or even who I am.”

“Oh, honey.”

She walked over and hugged me, I clung to her and let the tears flow. The woman brought me over to the bed I woke in and gently placed me down before hugging me again. We stayed that way for some time, letting me get it all out.

She rubbed my shoulders and said, “I know this is hard but before anything else, are you hungry?”

At that moment, my stomach growled. She laughed softly and got up, “Come on, I will fix us something to eat.”

I followed her out of the room and into the kitchen, she gestured for me to sit at the table. I did and while waiting, I took the opportunity to look around and take in my surroundings. A couch and chair were over to the side by a fireplace. Three rooms down a hallway caught my eye but nothing else stood out. It was a small house but felt comfortable. I didn’t see anyone else here and wondered if she lives alone. I was in my own world, thinking of all kinds of thoughts when the woman spoke.

“You okay over there?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“My name is Serena, Kristjàn.”

“Kristjàn? That’s my name?”

“Yes, it is.” That name was as good as any that I came up with. Sounds like a strong name. She went on, “You are my nephew.”

Nephew? “You know my parents?” I was excited now.

She winced and looked over, “Yes, but we weren’t close.” Serena put something down on the counter and moved over towards the table and sat in the chair beside me. “Kris, I-I don’t really know how to tell you this. But…”

Serena was hesitant, this must be bad. I started to feel anxious.

“I will just come out and say it. …You and your parents were in an accident. They… Kristjàn, an explosion happened in the building that your family was in. You were hurt but not too bad, but your parents didn’t make it out.”

My eyes started tearing up again and I felt them flow down my cheeks. Serena took my hands in hers and gently rubbed them. After a few moments of sniffling, I asked, “What happens to me now? I-I don’t even remember them or anyone.”

She had tears in her eyes as well, “You will live with me. I’ve lived alone for a while now and would like some company. Would that be okay?”

Not knowing what else I would do, I nodded, and she moved over to kiss my forehead.

“Evidently, the accident did more damage than what we thought. You have lost your memory. We will have to be patient and see if it comes back. I know that you don’t recognize me right now but know that I will be here for you from now on.”

“Thank you.”

She winked and patted my hand before going back to the stove. I just closed my eyes and took deep breaths to calm myself. Not having parents was going to be tough, but not even remembering them was even harder on me. I tried not to think about it for now.

Sometime later while I was staring at the table, Serena brought over a plate of food and placed it in front of me. “Eat up, then I will show you what my daily routine is. I know that you’re sad, but starting tomorrow, your training will commence.”

I looked at her in disbelief, “Training? For what?”

She smiled, “Survival. And to defend yourself and others.”

“And why would I need that right now?”

Serena chuckled, “You are young and it’s easier now to get you into a routine than later when you’re lazy.”

I ate the delicious eggs and ham in front of me, letting Serena know that she did a great job on the food with a sound of pleasure from the full mouth that I had. She smiled and ate hers.

The remainder of the day went by uneventful and soon it was time for rest. I brushed my teeth and went to bed.

++++

Alistair had been summoned to see the Guardian Council and was waiting outside in the hall. He knew what they were going to say when he told them of his deed.

“Alistair, they are ready for you.”

He nodded and went inside the room to see that all six were sitting in their assigned spots. One of each race represented the council.

“Esteemed council.”

A Phoenix male, who is the chairman, said, “We summoned you here because of an outlandish rumor that you have given a child from another world your blood. Something that is forbidden since you are a Guardian of Exhulm. That itself is grounds for punishment, but you took it upon yourself to leave him with a Succubus. She is a dangerous individual whom we keep track of. Tell us why you did this.”

Damn, news travels fast.

Alistair gave his story and at the end, the six sat there, going over his words carefully. They discussed this amongst themselves for a few minutes while he was led outside into the hall.

After ten minutes, they called him back in. The chairman spoke as he stopped in front of them, “You may have done it to help the child, but we won’t know what the ramifications will be until he is older. And even though you blocked his magic, it isn’t permanent. Actions have consequences, Alistair. …For this, we are taking away your privileges of Guardian Supervisor and you will reside in the wastelands for five years, patrolling that area to keep the peace. You will remain a Guardian, but under probation. If you can show us that you can take this seriously, then we will reconvene in five years to discuss your future as a Guardian.”

“Thank you, esteemed council.”

They nodded and Alistair left. As he got outside, he sighed, “The damn wastelands? Gonna be a long five years.”

++++

The next morning, Serena was true to her word and we were up early. I groaned and complained, at first. But she made me run till I couldn’t anymore. The woman was adamant about me being able to handle conflict with a sharp and calm mind. We started with stretching the right way and then to exercising. When that was complete, she started on what she called combat forms and techniques that she had been trained in. I learned that Serena had been in the military and my mind groaned at that. She began teaching me the basics. And then it went to survival tactics and living off the land.

Of course, Serena wanted to know if I could read and write, which I could. I then wrote my name and started writing sentences that she spoke to me. It was like a muscle memory thing she said. It was fun, but of course, Serena had a job to go to and I was hoping to not have to go to school after she brought it up. Good thing we were on Summer break, that way I could get used to everything again. When she went to work, I had chores to do and was punished with no sweets for a week if I didn’t do them. Serena was strict but fair on most things.

When the school year started, I found myself feeling anxious and not wanting to go. Not knowing anybody was hard in a new environment for an eight-year-old. That’s right, I forgot to mention that Serena had told me that was my age. Anyway, going through the term, I didn’t make any friends. Most were nice to me but weren’t caring for the new guy. They had their own groups to play with. Even the teachers kept me at arm’s length for some reason. It was tough for me, but I endured.

The training Serena had for me kept me going. It helped as my mind and thoughts were on what was next on the agenda rather than getting picked on by a bully. I did get into fights a few times during the year and was reprimanded, but Serena smiled as she had always encouraged me to stick up for myself. She was a good aunt. Though for some reason, she didn’t want to be called that.

We got into a routine of sorts, school and job during the day, and training at night. It involved staying in shape, building endurance, and strengthening my body. We also started blade training; knives to start with. Of course, I didn’t have a real one at that age, we fought with wooden replicas. It still hurt when I got hit though. ‘Having bruises and injuries makes one learn from their mistakes,’ that’s what my aunt advised. I rolled my eyes at that; she could be belligerent when her training took over. Serena would always apologize afterward when she took it overboard.

Our weekends ended up in the woods at some point, living and exploring the outdoors. We didn’t live in a city, just a little town named Redwater that was most of the time, peaceful. I asked about getting a shuttle for us to travel in because I saw others using them, but she stated it was expensive and ran on mana crystals.

These crystals were charged with mana from all the elements which come from the surrounding area. They are expensive to buy and maintain so it was cheaper for us to walk, unless it was a long way then we would pay a silver for shuttle fare to take us to our destination.

The big airships that roam the skies, I asked about them too. She told me that they each have dual crews to run them. A group of four that have elemental powers. Earth, fire, air, and water.

The first crew starts out by recharging the huge mana stone that powers it when needed. When they are relieved, another crew comes and takes their place. The military has many that sign up to be part of the crew that powers these stones because of the nice pay they receive.

The year progressed with me learning new things at school and that magic exists. That was a cool thing to learn about but was told that not everyone has magic. That was a bummer to hear. The teachers advised at the beginning of fifth grade, we would be tested for the capability of having magic. It would not help trigger the powers in our bodies, that would happen when our core activated when we were older.

I was excited and went home to discuss it with Serena. But she told me to not worry about that until it happens, if it did. That was a downer, but she hugged me and advised that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if my body wasn’t capable of manifesting magic. She was right of course, no need to worry about it.

The next two years went by quickly and was similar in routine to the first. Training was instilled into my brain. Hand to hand, knife and dagger fighting, and forms for each. Serena let me start exploring the forest by myself, letting me learn without her there. It was eye opening, and if a threat were around, I would need to handle it. This also helped in tracking and hunting. It was not often that I came home empty handed, I at least would kill a rabbit or small game to cook. Serena always praised my abilities.

One bad thing did happen, well not bad per say for anyone but me. When they tested us, it showed if we had any mana within us and how big our mana pool will be on a scale of 1-10. Ten being extremely high and a one being very low. There were a few over the halfway mark, but most of my peers ranked 2-4 on that scale.

My body didn’t show any capability for magic and it was a hard pill to swallow since almost everyone in my class showed potential. I was devastated but tried not to show it. Serena picked up on it and our training kept going strong. She wanted me to focus on making my own destiny, not worrying about magic or others around to help. Even at that age, she was still adamant about not relying on anyone.

The chuckles and insults started that year. It went on from there and middle school was just as bad. I saw that my body wasn’t growing as much as the others and soon everyone was a head taller than I was. It was baffling to me as to why I was not growing. Could I have some defect?

The bullies started in on my stature, calling me short stuff, pipsqueak, etc. Then the hazing began but it quickly backed off when I fought back and bloodied some noses. Though then they came at me with two or more wanting to start fights. I had no problem with it and got into trouble a few times, resulting in blood being shed and me getting expelled from school.

Serena wasn’t upset with me at all. She was firm about me defending myself and advised the school administrators that if they would do their jobs of stopping the bullies then I wouldn’t get into trouble. She was awesome, and it felt great that she had my back.

When reaching the age of 15, I was the smallest in my class. The comments didn’t stop, but they stopped harassing me physically. The summer before high school, Serena took me on a trip to the mountains for hiking and to just relax. We hunted as well, living off the land. She had bought me a new bow for my birthday, and we broke it in that week and were pleased with the results. Serena wasn’t an archer, but she got me a trainer to instruct me.

The instructor was very intuitive and patient with me. I practiced hard and was decent on the art of the weapon before the end of Summer. High school was just around the corner, and I wasn’t looking forward to going back. All that razzing would start again, but I know I can tolerate it.

The beginning of Freshman year was anticlimactic. At least for a bit. In homeroom, the popular people would flock to each other, reliving their summers. I rolled my eyes at some of the outlandish vacations that some of them took. Off world to their beaches and resorts. It had to have cost them a ton of money to do that. I didn’t relay any of my adventures, though no one asked.

To get to their destinations, you would need to take a cruise ship and portal there. The airship was huge, and it could carry more than 2000 people at a time. Those travel agencies must be making a killing because the only way off our world is to use a ship like the cruiser or use a portal. Only powerful portal mages can accomplish this, so they get paid well for their jobs.

Oh yeah, back to the school. When my eyes laid upon some of the girls that I recognized, they weren’t just girls anymore. They were young women who had started filling out quite nicely. One of them was Saria Lawrence. A hot brunette, that was almost seven feet tall with pert breasts and long, sexy legs. I found out that she had a dual affinity, illusion and telekinesis.

She was hanging around a few brutes and their girlfriends. I made the mistake of asking her out and was shut down immediately. Saria did it nicely and I shrugged it off before walking away thinking it was over. It wasn’t. Some of the jocks found out and decided from that point on that I was on their radar to harass.

A big bastard by the name of Ajax and his cronies were the frontrunners. The stupid fucker had everything given to him because he was a football player. Me? I was not, and was called a nerd, geek, weakling, and other things.

They found me one day walking outside on the sidewalk, and before I knew it, the bastards stuffed me in the trash can. I was humiliated and pissed off at the same time. So, I made it my mission to fight back any way that I could. Which was when the fucker was near, I punched Ajax in his nether region. When he fell to his knees, I kicked him in the face. Blood went everywhere, and he wailed out in pain. Of course, that was as far as I could go because one of his crew started pounding on me. It was broken up by an administrator and surprise, surprise, I was expelled once again for fighting. But the meathead didn’t. Fuckin politics.

The next time that one of them was alone, I was hiding in the shadows and hit them with a club on the back of the head, knocking them out. I could’ve hurt them badly but walked away. After three of them were taken down that way, word got around and they ended up leaving me alone.

I didn’t make any friends from the popular cliques, they ignored me. However, I did make two friends that year and they became my best friends throughout high school. Luka and Garth. We stayed by each other’s sides for the next three years, watching out for each other and helping when we could. I asked out different ladies during this time but was again politely declined.

I smiled when our senior year began, knowing that it would be the last year I would have to deal with the shit in this school. The only other things that made me smile was when Shelly and Carla came into my life. Boy, did I have a wakeup call coming.

Chapter 3

I woke up and stretched out before looking over to the sun coming through the window. Ugh! Time to get up and head to school. I went and washed up in the bathing room before getting dressed, then walked out of my room with my backpack headed toward the kitchen. Serena was at the stove fixing breakfast, so I went to the fridge and grabbed some juice.

“Morning, Serena. You want some juice?”

“No, Kristjàn. Thank you, though.”

Looking over at her, my 5’6” stature just didn’t measure up to her. Though, she likes my brown hair and hazel green eyes with a smidgen of gold in them, as long as I keep my hair cut. Even though I’m short, I have an athletic body and stay in shape by exercising and eating right. She makes sure that I do.

I sat down at the table when Serena sat a plate full of eggs and bacon in front of me.

I smiled, “Thanks.”

Serena grunted. She wasn’t a morning person. At all. Chuckling, I ate the food and thought about the day ahead. Lectures and pricks to deal with. School sucks. Just saying. Shaking my head, Serena had said something.

“What was that?”

She rolled her eyes, knowing that I am in my own world all the time. “What do you want to do for your birthday?”

My birthday is next month. The big one eight. Not much to celebrate though, except I’m about to graduate, and maybe go to college. My mind isn’t made up yet. Just thinking about the college coeds gets my blood flowing. It doesn’t matter though, not like I have the ladies knocking my door down to ask me out.

“Nothing.”

“Stop with that shit,” Serena sighed. “You must have something in mind.”

I shrugged, not worried about it and changed the subject.

“Whatcha up to today?”

“Stop trying to change the subject. Same as usual, work and come home.”

“When are you going to start dating again?”

I haven’t seen Serena on a date in a while. I’m not sure of her age, didn’t ask and never going to. Around 6’2” with blonde hair and blue eyes. Don’t, just don’t, I know that she’s taller than me. I roll my eyes at her every time she hugs me and kisses me on my forehead.

“Don’t start. You know why I don’t.”

Yeah, that was a day to remember. A couple weeks ago, I was out getting some food at the grocer when my vision started to change. It kept flickering when others were around, showing me that some of the people around me were other races. I just shrugged it off and kept with my list to get food. But my eyes continued to see Demons, Dragons, Fire Giants, and even Phoenix. I blinked my eyes rapidly and shook my head numerous times, trying to get my vision back to normal. It didn’t happen right away, but I controlled my breathing and calmed myself. After a couple of minutes, it went back to normal.

Clearing my throat, I went back to shopping and did it as fast as possible. When I left the store, my mind went back to the vision. All those races couldn’t be living in a Human city, right? If so, they were hiding in plain sight.

Moving quickly, I made it back home to discuss this with Serena. She paused in responding to me after I asked about it. She wanted to know if this was the first time. I told her yes and went back to asking if it were true. Could these people be hiding out here in our city? I mean, I know that some are half-breeds, but the majority are Human. You could tell about the half-breeds; they have a certain look to them. Scales, different skin, eyes and hair color. Even height. Hell, some of them are over eight feet tall.

Serena finally, reluctantly answered. “We should have had this conversation long ago. Yes, they can and are. Most have magic. Yes, there are Humans mixed in, but most of the others are full bloods and are using the Human form to hide.”

“Uh, why would they hide from their clans or their own people?”

She closed her eyes and took calming breaths, “Most just want to live in peace and not have to worry about politics. Also, it’s to be on neutral ground as well. When they are away from their clans, everyone is in Human form. It’s easier for business since no one can tell what they are. Some are outcasts too. They are treated worse than the half-breeds. They have either done something to get thrown out of their clans or villages; or have done things that they are ashamed of. Also, their heirs can attend schools and academies if they are in their Human form. Rules state this and we are prohibited in asking what they are.”

Taking that to heart, I tried to get the vision thing to turn on to see if Serena was hiding. I took a few breaths to calm myself before concentrating hard on her form. It took a minute, but it worked. And I took a step back, four actually. My face was pale.

“Honey? What’s wrong?”

I didn’t answer her, I just ran out of the house to my secret spot in the mountains not too far away. When arriving, I fell to my knees and then to my butt. My thoughts were all over the place.

How did I end up with her? Why did I? Where are my real parents? Then my mind turned to dark thoughts. Did she kill them? Did she kidnap me?

I shook my head, my instincts told me that she had nothing to do with me being here or anything to do with my family. It wasn’t a few minutes later that I heard someone coming up behind me. Hesitantly. I guess she found my place.

“Kris? I-I’m sorry.”

Looking up, I saw that she was sad and scared. What did she have to be scared for? 

“Will you let me explain?”

Not caring to respond, she took that as a yes.

“Yes, I am in hiding. Voluntary solitude. Not because of any heinous crimes or traitorous efforts. It is because of a battle injury that caused me to be barren. That’s right. I can’t have children. My mate was dismayed, and I took it upon myself to leave my clan so that he could be with someone else.”

“I didn’t think a Demoness had mates. She had to have sex often depending on her need.”

“That’s somewhat true, but it doesn’t mean that we don’t have mates. They provide the essence that we need to survive. It is also used for battle, the spells that we use. I have to copulate to keep this form because I don’t have a mate.”

Huh. I wasn’t thinking clearly and blurted out a statement that I didn’t mean to. “So that’s why you go out to the bar every couple of weeks.”

She sighed and nodded, “Yes. And I’ve caught you spying on me.”

I blushed but didn’t deny it. When Serena went out for a good time, I followed her, thinking that she didn’t know. It was an accident the first time. That night, she left an hour before me, and I was bored so I walked around town. It was when I passed the clothing store that I heard a familiar laugh. Looking over, my eyes caught Serena walking down the sidewalk with two guys, groping her. Now, keep in mind that I was younger, maybe fourteen. It was strange, so I followed them to their destination which turned out to be a residence. The three went in and closed the door. I tried to find a window that let me spy on them. Finally finding one, I watched as they started kissing and fondling Serena.

My eyes went big as they started undressing her. Holy fuck, they’re going to do it! I continued to observe everything that went on inside. They didn’t waste any time. The two males had her naked, on all fours, and she was taking a cock in her mouth and one in her hairy pussy. Even though she was my aunt, or at least at that time, I thought she was. The woman was beautiful. This was around the time that I started fantasizing about women in general while I masturbated. And I’m ashamed to admit it, but Serena was on the list. As was Shelly, a middle-aged woman who lived not too far from here.

Anyway, this was a live show. I was getting excited listening to the grunts, moans, and mewls that were going on inside. Making sure that I wasn’t seen by anyone, and since it was dark, I unzipped my pants. I pulled junior out, which even though I was small in height, he was long and thick even at that age. He was also wanting attention. I slowly stroked him as my eyes stared at the scene in front of me.

The session lasted over an hour and I nutted three times. From the looks of lust and passion on Serena’s face, she seemed to be satisfied. When they were done, I stayed until she got dressed to make sure nothing untoward happened, then left quickly. Making sure that I beat her home.

I thought that I was sneaky and got away with all the times that I spied on her. It turns out that I wasn’t sneaky at all.

“Don’t be embarrassed, Kris. I actually felt safe knowing that you were there.”

She smiled at me, sadly. I took a breath to calm down. “So, what now?”

Hesitantly, she replied, “It’s up to you. Since you discovered that I’m a Succubus or Demoness, whatever you want to call me. What do you want to happen?”

I could tell that this was hard on her by the way she was talking and her body language. She was scared that I would leave.

“I want to know what you want.”

She was surprised at that statement and spoke in a low voice, “I want you to stay with me. Nothing needs to change, Kris. I love having you live with me. Love having talks that last through the night, our training days, the hunting adventures that we go on, and even homework.” Tears were flowing down her face now. “I don’t want to be alone. You have filled a void in my life for almost ten years.”

I nodded and got up, then went over to her and slowly wrapped my arms around her. She immediately hugged me back, fiercely. Almost crushing me to death. I could feel the tears on my shoulder.

“I am so glad you are giving me this chance. I’ll try not to let you down.”

I walked her out and back to our house, she was clinging to me. I helped her to the bathroom, she shut the door to take a shower. After she was done, I took mine and dressed in a shirt and shorts before sitting down in the living room to read the newspaper. Serena came over in her pajamas, curling up to me with her head on my shoulder.

“Does anyone else know that you’re living here?”

“Yes, the authorities know. Everyone needs register in the town hall, as you know. But we must put our race down as well. I’m not aware if any know of my true form. No one else needs to know.”

“Ah, so there could be more of your kind here as well?” Things could be dangerous for me from now on. I would have to be careful.

She smiled at me, “Yes, Kris. I’m not the only one. A few Incubi are here as well. As long as we abide by the rules, then we don’t get thrown in jail or executed.”

That was surprising, though thinking about it, everyone has to be responsible for their actions. It makes me wonder what race my friends are. Well, all two of them. No one wants to hang around a short Human with no magic in his body. That brought me up short.

“Does this mean that I have magic?”

“I would say so. Let me tell you what happened ten years ago, so that we can have the slate clean between us. Well, at least that. I won’t tell you all of my past, there is no need.”

She must have some bad memories, though do I really want to know? “Okay.”

“First, my real name is Xannara. Only use that name when we are in private. Some people may recognize it. Now, let me tell you what happened. Almost ten years ago, a gentleman came to me and knew who and what I was. I didn’t believe him, but he proved it to me. He found you unconscious somewhere, but knew you came through a portal…”

She told me that I was a half-breed too; part Dragon. That took some minutes to get used to. Serena held onto me, kissing my cheek every so often.

“That is a lot to take in. So, this guy doesn’t know where I came from, or how I got here, except through a portal.” She nodded and I continued, “He said one day that he would come back as well but didn’t say when or even who he was.”

“Yep.”

“If I’m part Dragon, then why haven’t any abilities shown up?”

“I’m not certain about Dragon magic, but since you are half, you might not have magic.”

I pondered, wanting to know about my past life. What has happened to my family? Sighing, I put my arm around Serena and kissed her on the forehead. She shuddered and melted into me. We talked for a bit more before turning in.

++++

My senior year just started, and I was already wanting to get it over with. I ate until done. It was great, and I complimented the cook. She smiled and went back to her own food.

Both of us had to get going, she worked as a high-priced lawyer. Though, where the funds are, I don’t know. We live in the forest outside of town in a humble house. Thinking it over, I know she doesn’t want to bring attention to herself.

I did ask her, why a lawyer? Serena told me that she wanted to help those who were wronged in any way. I can respect that.

We finished our meal and cleaned up before heading out. Serena was due in court, early. She was dressed in a gray pencil skirt with a white sleeveless button-down shirt. The high heels she wore accentuate the look. Serena could stop traffic with anything she wore, but this was classy and sexy in my book.

She kissed me on the cheek as we went to the portal stone in our house. Yes, a portal stone. Her company gave it to her for winning a big case that got her law firm notoriety. It was linked to her and me, so no one else could use it unless we allowed them.

Activating the stone, we were whooshed away to Wizenhelm Law Firm’s portal room. My school was near the law office as well. Arriving at our destination, I waved and left the building, headed to learn.

Outside of the entrance, I saw Luka and Garth, my friends. We were labeled geeks, but none of us would deny it.

“Hey, Kris!”

I waved to them. Luka was tall, over six feet and had brown hair and brown eyes. Lithe in stature and loved math. Garth was six feet three inches, lanky with blonde hair and blue eyes. 

Even though they are tall, we are the runts of the litter. Many who go to our school are at the seven-foot mark and broad with muscles. And again, we get picked on, a lot. Of course, the conversation with Serena makes things easier to understand now.

The three of us walked inside the school, chatting. I watched the student body, trying to use that bit of magic I had to see who and what was around. It worked and I could see lots of hidden races. My buddies were a Kapre and a Dragon. Most of the others in my vicinity were mixed. Fire Giants, Dragons, Demons, and even the Phoenix. Different sizes and shapes of course. My mind wandered, could anyone else tell who was who, besides me? I wasn’t going to chance letting it slip that I could. It would cause me more problems.

Turning it off, I shook my head and listened to Garth go on about the project in his Magic Essentials class. Both of my friends could do magic, I was one of the unlucky ones and ended up in electives. Trade classes. When I graduate, I may need to pick a trade to work since I can’t go to the university that I want. It is Clearwater Magus University.

The university is top of the line on everything. You had to be wealthy, combat trained, and have magic of any kind to be enrolled. Though they only allow a certain number of enrollments join each year. Entrants must pass a three-part exam. Written, combat, and magic. Oh, and it was on a different world. A neutral world. Races of all kinds from different worlds attend.

Elves, Dwarves, Vampires, Beastkin, Amazons, Gnomes, and Barbarians just to name a few. That’s why only a certain amount get selected from Exhulm.

I sighed and shook my head from those thoughts. My ass wouldn’t get in for sure. A fragrance hit my nose at that time, it was jasmine and some other flowery scent. I turned to my left to see the beautiful and dangerous Mika. The girl was over seven-foot-tall, athletic figure since she’s a cheerleader, and on the volleyball team. She has red hair, green eyes, and a smile that lit up the school. She has modest breasts, a small waist, and a supple ass that I could stare at all day long.

Point being, Mika was also out of my league. Every girl was. No one was under six foot. Mika hung around the popular kids in school. She also had a dual affinity in magic. Fire and Illusion.

I walked by them, they were laughing and chatting with each other. All of the girls were beautiful, and I closed my eyes, knowing that none of them would even give me a second glance.

My mind wandered and didn’t listen to my friends until we were almost to first class. I perked up and we talked about meeting up at lunch. We arrived at our first class, Garth waved goodbye, he wasn’t in ours. I sat in the back, so no one could see me. Luka had to sit in the middle. It was a calculus class and I hated it. Good thing my boy Luka was great at it.

The teacher came in and got started, I just tuned everything out. The only classes that I looked forward to are A&P (Anatomy and Physiology) which showed the differences in each race and their similarities. Alchemy, and Apothecary. 

It was in A&P that I used my vision magic to see for myself if they were different. It changed the way I would look at some of these folks. Tracy, a cheer leader, was a Dragon and her boyfriend was a Demon. I wonder if they will tell each other. I chuckled and went back to my lesson. While in concentration, something else happened. Things started to highlight and start blinking. Tha fuck? When I would think about the different organs, bones, and muscles, they would blink. Not knowing what this was, I experimented on everyone in the class. Even our teacher, Mrs. Evans. She was a regular Human. When my mind picked the item in question, it zoomed in and started giving me descriptions on the particular parts. For example, one of the hearts of a Dragon (they had two of them) had sections in each and let me know what it was and what its purpose was.

Wow. That would be handy to have if I was a doctor.

It was an interesting way to learn. At lunch, I sat with Luka and Garth. We discussed the upcoming science fair and how we would both like to attend. Some others were talking about the football and volleyball games.

“Hey, little guy!”

We were still talking and not paying attention, not knowing they were talking to me.

“Little guy!”

That caught our attention. I looked over my shoulder to see a gorgeous creature standing five feet away from us. Sharuth was a seven-foot-tall brunette with sky blue eyes, broad shoulders, small breasts, and long legs. And she was staring at me for some reason.

“Kristjàn?”

“Yeah?” I responded, like a dumbass.

“Hey, cutie. Can we talk for a minute?”

Not sure why she wanted to talk with me. My friends didn’t care and shoved me towards her. Sharuth walked out of the cafeteria to the outside lawn, a bit away from the tables by some bushes. She sat down on the ledge of stone, I did as well but feet away.

“Here we are. Now, I was told that you are a wiz at A&P.”

“Uh, not a wiz, but I do okay.”

Sharuth moved closer, to a foot away from me. “Is there a way that you can help me out?”

She wants a tutor. “How so?”

“I need a tutor. My grade is shit and if I don’t get it up by next week, I will be off the team when report cards come out. Coach Levenstein (her volleyball coach) advised me to get your help. He somehow knows that you’ve got an A in that class.”

So, the coach is snooping, is he? “Okay. I’ll help, but it can’t be on Wednesday, that’s when I’m helping out someone else.” I work at Shelly’s for some extra cash.

“Not a problem. Tonight then?”

“When and where?”

“After school, outside if you want. We can use the picnic tables if you like.”

Groaning inwardly, I didn’t really want to do this, but she is beautiful. “I’ll be there. We can see how much you need to catch up on at that time.”

She smiled and kissed me on the cheek before skipping away. It was strange to watch that, since she is so tall. I walked back to the cafeteria, Garth and Luka were still there, smiling broadly. They wanted to know what was going on, so I told them about the tutoring. The two were still smiling after, saying that I might get lucky. I laughed, knowing that wasn’t going to happen.

The rest of the day went by quickly, and when the last bell rang, I went outside to meet up with Sharuth. I let Serena know on my communication stone that I was going to be late. She gave it to me so that we could keep in touch throughout the day if needed.

She wasn’t too keen on me staying for a tutoring session that came out of the blue. Sharuth was waiting for me as I came up.

“Hey, Kristjàn.”

“Call me, Kris.”

She smiled and said, “Sure.”

I pulled out my textbook and asked for her to go over what she had trouble with. We went over the last two chapters, bit by bit. She would ask questions and I would answer them, but then I asked some of my own. During this time, I kept seeing the diagrams and meanings of each item that we went over, just like in class.

Taking a moment to calm down, my vision changed. Looking over at Sharuth, I found that she is a Dragon. I could see what her true form looked like when she changed into a huge lizard. Green scales were covering her body, claws with long talons on them, and she had powerful legs. Wings were attached to her back, and I knew that she had earth magic. It had a level 15 out to the side of it. Hmm… wonder if that is a scale to measure her powers?

I could also see her hybrid form as well. She was around 9 feet tall and had scales on certain parts of her body. No wings though. Maybe the hybrid form hides them? I’m not sure.

My vision changed again, and something caught my attention. It was the blinking item in my mind’s eye. An artery? Several actually. They were all blinking red. That’s the first time that I’ve seen this. Somehow it zoomed in, showing me the blockage. From the description, they were mana pathways. It also highlighted black spots in her lungs and on other organs in her body. I stopped her from moving on to the next chapter.

“Sharuth, how have you been dealing with the breathing issues and nausea?”

Her eyes went wide before narrowing, “How do you know that? Who told you?”

“Uh, no one.” I didn’t know how to respond to her questions and knew that I couldn’t let her know why I inquired about anything. I made up a lie, “You told me this afternoon, about how you have felt sluggish during the day.”

“I said that?” She tried to remember our conversation. “I don’t remember saying that but can’t figure out who would’ve told you since no one else knows. I go to the healer for treatments, meditate as well.”

I nodded, smiling that she didn’t catch me in a lie. My mind’s eye was still blinking at me, it showed me how to fix them. Hoping this will work, I advised that we take a break and I would rub her shoulders to relieve stress. She shrugged and let me, saying she was tense. I started rubbing and at the same time, focusing on my task. Most of the damage was on her lungs, stomach, and one of her hearts. I would need to do this in steps. There was just too much.

Taking a deep breath, I read again how to fix this and focused on the ones that had less damage. I felt something inside my chest start to heat up, and flow up through my arms and hands into her body. She didn’t tense or act like anything happened, so I kept going. Moments later, I could see a flow of something go towards the blockage on each pathway and the black spots inside her body.

Is this magic? Am I healing this woman?

The flows reached their destinations and within moments, the blockage and black spots were being removed. Little by little, until the black spots were gone from the first step of healing. I heard her moan something and looked up to see her eyes heavy lidded. Immediately removing my hands, I slowly moved away from her and sat back down. She stayed that way for a moment, rubbing her thighs together a bit.

Holy shit, did she orgasm?

After a minute, she opened her eyes and looked over. Realizing where she was at, her cheeks went pink in embarrassment.

“I-I-I’m sorry. That was an awesome massage. Never had one give me an orgasm before.”

She smiled shyly at me. I didn’t want to tell her it wasn’t the massage that did it. I smiled and asked if we should continue.

Sharuth shook her head, “No, I should probably head on home. You’ve given pointers on where to start and concentrate on. Can we meet again this week?”

I thought about it, since it was Monday then it would have to happen on Thursday since they don’t have any games on that day. “Thursday?”

She nodded and put her stuff away before kissing me on the cheek, “Thank you for helping me. The massage too, again, it was fantastic.”

I nodded and she left, sashaying her way down the sidewalk. Her ass was on display in those tight jeans that she was wearing, and it was divine.

Somehow, I could see the magic working, healing Sharuth. I wonder if this is normal. Maybe I could ask Serena when I get home, or Garth, tomorrow. Shaking my head, I got my stuff together and walked to the law firm. Showing my ID, they let me through to the portal room and taking a breath, I entered.

When I got back home, it was dinner time. Serena was eating when I walked in. I put my things in my room and joined her. She had a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“So, how was the tutoring?”

Swallowing the tea that was in my mouth, I said, “Fine. She needed help in A&P. Otherwise when grades come out, she wouldn’t be on the volleyball squad.”

“Uh-huh, and did anything else happen while you were tutoring?”

Not really wanting to answer that question, I shrugged, “Nothing really. Except, I think that I somehow healed her.”

That caught her off guard, she put her fork down and leaned over the table, “Huh? What do you mean you healed her?”

I cleared my throat, “Today, something else happened. While I was in A&P, my vision changed again. Actually, I’m not sure how to explain it. I’m calling it my mind’s eye because it’s like I can see all the parts that make up a person’s physiology. When I think of a specific item, it highlights and gives me descriptions about everything.”

Serena’s jaw dropped, and it took a few moments for to get herself back together. “Are you saying that you can see those things in your mind? And check abnormalities?”

“Uh, yes.”

“Holy shit! I think you have what they call a Third Eye,” Serena said in awe, but demanded, “Tell me what happened.”

So, I told her everything that went on today. She was quiet for a couple of minutes while still eating her food. I went back to mine since she was taking a bit to respond.

“Sorry, it is just hard to take in. Usually when you’re a healer, they use their magic in a broad way to heal you. What you’re suggesting is you can see the actual problem and fix it.”

“I guess. I’m not sure what those black spots on her lungs were, not going to ask either.”

“That’s probably for the best. From your description, you have a rare power, Kris. I’ve never heard of this. The only reason that I said Third Eye was that a general that I know has something like it for strategy and logistics.”

Makes sense. Though with a power like that, they were probably tough to defeat. I went back to eating.

“You gave her an orgasm?”

Yeah, figured she would say something about that since she’s a Succubus. “Yep. She said it was a fantastic massage too.”

Serena put her bottom lip out, pouting. “How come you’ve never volunteered to give me a massage like that? I need orgasms too.”

Not knowing how to respond to that, I carefully responded. “You’ve never asked.”

“Oh? Is that on the table?” She teasingly asked.

Thinking over it for a minute, “Would you like a massage, Serena?”

She smirked, “I don’t ever turn down a massage. But would you feel uncomfortable?”

Was she trying to make me uncomfortable? I rolled my eyes, “Serena, you don’t make me uncomfortable. Though with the attire that you’ve been wearing this past year is risqué. At least, if someone shows up at our door.”

I’ve noticed this past year that Serena has been showing off her body more. She used to wear clothes around the house that didn’t show any skin at all. Now, the woman only wears a shirt with panties, though they are g-strings and thongs. Some of the shirts are also see through. Most of the nightwear has my favorite color on them. Blue. Any kind of blue. I thought she was just getting comfortable in her home. Though thinking about it, Serena has also been wearing shorter skirts and tight blouses lately.

Was she trying to tell me something? Or am I reading it the wrong way?

“They make me feel sexy,” Serena said in an upset tone. “Do you not like them?”

I shook my head, “I like all of them. Shows off your beautiful body. You should know that by the boners I get and the lust coming off of me.”

She smiled like the cat that got the cream, “I know you’ve been getting hard.”

“Do you get off teasing me?” Sometimes I wonder if she has always been a tease and I didn’t pay attention.

“No, I… I don’t want you to think that I’m teasing you. I-I like how hard you get for me. It makes me feel special.”

“Huh?” I scoffed. “Serena, you could have any man that you want. Why would you care if I get hard for you?”

She sighed and stared at me. After a minute she spoke in a whisper, “Because, you are the only one that knows what I really am.”

Putting my fork down, I rubbed the back of my head and keeping to myself. She went on, “You intrigue me, Kris. You always have. It’s not just because that you found out what I am. Like I told you, having you here has filled a part of me that has been missing. And it’s more than you living with me. I can be myself around you, and you’re not repulsed by me.”

I chuckled, “Repulsed? Why would you think that? In both forms, you are gorgeous. Some people just see your race and think you are immediately evil.”

“See? I’ve lived and worked with people that I know would have a shit fit if they really knew what I was. You don’t care, and it makes me swoon, honey.”

Taking a few calm breaths, I asked, “What are you saying, Serena? Tell me so that I don’t miscomprehend.”

She looked away for a bit to get her thoughts together before answering. “I know that it is hard for you, knowing that I’m not your aunt. Though, to tell the truth, that’s why I didn’t want you to call me that. I knew and didn’t want you to find out and leave. I know this may be unorthodox and maybe even taboo, since we live together and have for ten years, but …I want us to get close. Intimately. Not today or even this week. I just want some of what Shelley has been getting for two years now. Hell, even Carla has been getting your cock.”

Hmm. Didn’t know that she was aware of this.

“Yes, I know. Have known for a while. I’m not mad, Kris. Or even telling you to stop. Those ladies need you too. I don’t know what their stories are and don’t need to, but I’ve heard people say that they’ve seen a difference in their everyday lives.”

Yeah, both have had it rough. Shelly can’t have kids just like Serena. She was cold from the start towards me as I started doing work for her. I figured it was because I was a male, one had to have hurt her badly to act that way. She never told me what happened, but after some time, her icy demeanor started melting and eventually, we became close. Friends with benefits. We waited for me to turn sixteen, since that is the age of consent. She took my v-card and taught me how to please her, and in turn, any woman. Though to answer your question, yes, she pays me but it’s for taking care of her yard and anything around the house that needs repairing.

Carla came on the scene about eight months ago, she caught us fucking when returning a dish to Shelly. I was a bit embarrassed that she caught us. Shelly didn’t care at all, just kept bouncing up and down on my cock. Moaning and mewling. She finally said something to her friend since Carla just stared at us.

“Something the matter, Carla?”

The dark-skinned woman shook her head and cleared her throat, “N-No. Just returning your casserole dish.”

“Thanks, hon.”

Shelly hadn’t stopped or slowed down while talking with her friend. Carla wondered, “Is it good, Shel?”

“It’s fucking fantastic. His young cock has satisfied me for a while now. Want a ride?”

What? Is she serious?

“Uh, you sure?”

The blonde woman nodded and kept going till she finally climaxed. Fluids went all over me. Shelly slowly got off and laid to the side of me. Carla came over, I hadn’t realized that she was naked now. Her ebony skin was flawless. She had grapefruit sized breasts, long, strong legs, and full bush between them.

Carla has a voluptuous body, curvy in every way. When she turned to put her clothes on the dresser, I could see that she had a big, round ass. Perfect for fucking. She let loose and we fucked twice that afternoon.

That day started a routine, when Shelly and I were done with our tryst, Carla wanted me over at her house. Needless to say, I was very sated when returning home those nights. I did find out that Carla’s man had passed, and she left her clan, wanting to be on her own. She had two kids as well.

Shaking those thoughts off, I went back to listening to Serena.

“I want to stop going out to feed, and to have you fulfill my desires and lust.”

“It sounds like you’ve thought about this before now.”

She scoffed, “Way before now. Especially since you were fucking the other two women. I just didn’t know how to bring it up and not tell you what I am.”

I grunted, “What if it doesn’t work out? I don’t want this to ruin our relationship.”

I was concerned that this would affect us in other ways as well. Like her job.

Serena sighed and spoke in a low voice, “Will you think about it? We can go slow.”

“I will think about it, Serena.” She immediately smiled.

We were done eating by then, so both of us cleaned up. While she was putting away the dishes, she spoke. “Oh, what you said about feeling your lust? I’ve never felt yours, it’s why I started wearing skimpy things. To see if you were immune to me somehow.”

Huh. She can’t feel my lust for her. “Really? Never?”

“Nope, I always wondered why that was. Maybe it’s a defense mechanism to my race.”

Maybe that was it. I shrugged and we finished up the cleaning before getting comfortable on the couch to watch her dramas that she is in to. Serena came over and put her head on my shoulder, I put my arm around her and she scooted closer. Eventually we went to bed, our own beds. I had a lot to think about. When my head stopped racing from all that had occurred today, I drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 4

The next morning brought the sunlight and a few birds chirping. Not sure what breed it was, but sounded like a wren or a finch, maybe a warbler of some kind. Hell, I couldn’t tell you the difference since I’m not a bird watcher.

Yawning, I got up and took a shower then got dressed and brushed my teeth before heading to the kitchen. I walked in and stopped in my tracks. Serena was making breakfast in skimpy gym shorts and a sports bra that was two sizes too small. She was dancing to music and her ass was swaying back and forth. I looked closer and found that Serena had changed her form. Her ass and breasts were bigger. The woman wasn’t playing fair. I must’ve been staring because she had to clear her throat to get my attention.

Turning to her, she innocently asked, “See something you like, honey?”

I immediately responded, “Yeah, bacon and eggs look delicious, Serena.”

She smirked, “Uh huh, and nothing else?”

I shrugged and she went on, “It looks like someone likes my new look.” Serena pointed towards my lower area. I looked down and sure enough, junior was up and standing at attention.

“Morning wood.” I then went over and fixed me a plate before sitting down at the table.

Serena set down a glass of juice for me as well and leaned down, “It’s okay, Kris. Actions speak louder than words. That was all that I wanted to see. If you were attracted to me then it would be plain as day, and it was. Thank you for that. Our agreement was to take it slow, and we will. No more just wearing panties and a shirt until you are comfortable with being intimate with me.”

She pulled back and looked straight into my eyes, I could tell she was being serious about this. I nodded and the sexy woman winked at me before making her own plate of food and joining me.

We ate in silence for a bit, I then asked, “Are you off today or going in late?”

“Not off, I just don’t have to be there till at least ten.”

“Ah, okay.” I finished up and cleaned my plate in the sink then grabbed my backpack and headed out. “Well, have a good day, Serena.”

“Can I at least have a kiss?”

Smirking, I moved over and leaned down to kiss her lips. It was tender. She smiled and kissed me again. “Thank you, Kris.”

“Anytime, Serena.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

I nodded and grabbed my bag before moving to the portal stone.

My buds were waiting for me at the entrance, I was later than usual and had to hurry to get to my classes. Luka and Garth nodded to me as we made our way up to the steps. I was anxious to see if my Third Eye would come out again in A&P. As we were about to head to Calculus, the three of us were accosted by a group of six. Four females and two males, I only knew of one. The blonde Adonis, Gunnar. He was over seven feet tall, broad shoulders and had muscles everywhere. You couldn’t even tell where his neck was. He was on the football team and was a troublemaker.

Ugh, why the fuck are these people stopping us?

A redhead with perky breasts stepped over and spoke, “Kris?”

Her eyes were looking at all three of us, she didn’t know who was who. Garth responded to her, “What do you want?”

Gunnar growled, but one of the other females rubbed his arm to calm him down. The redhead just sighed and shook her head, “We just want to talk to him. It’s about Sharuth.”

“So talk,” Luka got into the conversation.

The girl didn’t say anything, so I patted both Luka and Garth on the shoulder before speaking, “I’m Kris. What can I do for you?”

The group chuckled at my small stature. Gunnar actually laughed, “This is the one?”

I just stood there, waiting for these assholes to get on with it. “Can we get on with whatever you are wanting? We have a class to get to.”

Gunnar cruelly smiled, and spoke over the redhead, “Don’t think just because we are speaking to you that makes us equal. Far from it you little pygmy. You aren’t worth ou--.”

I didn’t hear what the redhead said and cut the prick off. My Third Eye triggered and it showed me a pressure point on his neck. I didn’t even say anything, nor move. I just stared at him and my magic, or whatever it is, activated. A few moments later, the big jerk just fell over and face planted right in front of me.

Both groups gasped; I did no such thing. His group bent down to see if something was wrong with the asshole. While they were distracted, I walked to class with Luka in tow. Garth, I suppose went his way. No one spoke to me, so I took it as they didn’t suspect me of anything. Putting my backpack down, I got the textbook out and looked up to the front of the class. Luka and some others were staring at me. I just looked confused at why they were looking at me. “What?”

No one answered because the teacher walked in, mumbling about ignorant students and steroids. He wrote some problems on the board. “Class, today we are…”

I tuned him out and thought about the incident that just happened. My mind worked quickly against Gunnar. It seems that I can heal and defend myself with this magic. I smiled and thought about how best to use this to my advantage. My mind blocked everything out in class, and I lost track of time. The bell rang while I was debating with myself over actually having to kill someone if I had to.

Could I? I’m not entirely sure. Maybe if my life or Serena’s was in danger.

I got my stuff together and made my way out, knowing that Luka and Garth would be waiting. Sure enough, as I walked out, they wanted an explanation.

“Did you do something to him?”

“No, Garth.” I had to lie, not knowing who I can trust with this power.

“Even Lorrie and Becky suspect that you did something to him. But you don’t have magic, nor did you chant anything,” Luka said. “It’s just a huge coincidence that he was bitching about you and then he falls over, asleep.”

“Yeah, they couldn’t even wake him up,” Garth went on blabbing about the situation. “Alyssa was panicking. Baby this and baby that. To tell the truth, it was fucking hilarious. He won’t be able to live that down for a while.”

I didn’t talk at all. We just walked in silence after that, headed to our next class. I told them that we would catch up at lunch time. They nodded and we went our separate ways.

No one spoke to me about the event that morning. I walked to the cafeteria and got my food before plopping down. They were serving meatloaf and roasted vegetables today. I dug in, not waiting for anyone at the table. Luka and Garth sat down with me and after a few minutes, we started chatting about the fighting going on with the Demon clans. When our lunch was finished, we were about to get up when a voice spoke.

“Kristjàn, can we have a word, please?”

I turned my head to see the same redhead, but she was only accompanied by a brunette. I was getting annoyed with this shit.

“About?”

They knew that I was not happy to see them, but the redhead gestured to the door, “Can we speak outside? Your friends can come too.”

I glanced at them, which they weren’t helpful, they just shrugged. I turned back to the her and nodded. They led us out to the picnic tables. I waited for them to pick a side before sitting across from them, not wanting anyone to get the wrong idea. The two girls waited for me and the others to sit. I gestured for them to start.

“Look, we’re sorry about that prick Gunnar. He wasn’t supposed to be with us, but Alyssa brought him along.”

The brunette started up, “Yeah, it was funny how it ended though.”

Both watched me after she said that, trying to figure out if I had anything to do with it. “I know, right? What happened to him? Do you know?”

Neither responded at first, still suspicious. The redhead finally answered, “He fell asleep somehow. They think it has to do with the stress he’s under or some bullshit.”

I grunted, “Look, I don’t even know your names, but can you just spit out what has you tracking me down.”

“My name is Becky,” the brunette said, and gestured to the redhead. “That’s Lorrie. We just wanted to make sure that you were the one tutoring Sharuth. We need her for the playoffs next week. Can you help her pass?”

Both were pleading with their eyes, I shrugged, thinking this was ridiculous. “I will do my best, but it will be up to her in the end.”

The two nodded and Lorrie smiled, “Thank you for helping her. Coach told us that you had the best grade in the class.”

I nodded and after that, they left. All that bullshit for this. We went to class and the rest of the day was uneventful. I let Serena know what had happened, she laughed and kissed me on the cheek before starting on dinner.

The next month went by quickly, and many things happened. The first week, Sharuth and I had a few other opportunities to study and go over her weak parts of the class. At the end of each session, she wanted a massage. Sharuth said after the first one, that she felt refreshed and was feeling better. Uh huh, she hasn’t realized yet about the unblocked pathways and that the black spots were gone. I tried to give her a massage without a happy ending, but she pouted, so I relented and went in with my Third Eye to start in on the other organs with the black spots, and to see if any other pathways were blocked. There were two.

Ignoring the moaning she was making; I went in and removed the black spots from three other organs. Then removed the blockage in the two mana pathways and fixed a muscle strain. By the time I was done, I could tell that Sharuth had two orgasms.

Moving my hands away, I stepped back from her and saw that she was hunched over the table with a big goofy smile on her face. Sharuth stayed in that position for five minutes, taking breaths to calm down. Opening her eyes, she stared at me with an expression that I didn’t know. Her hand came out, I took it and helped her up. She was wobbly for a few moments but got herself under control.

Leaning over to me, she whispered, “That… was fuckin fantastic, Kris. I had two this time. You take such good care of me.” Then she kissed my cheek and grabbed her stuff before leaving, showing me her fine ass as she walked away.

We had two other sessions like that, I fixed the other black spots that were left. No other pathways were blocked. After that, she found that her grades were up. She came by and told me in person, thanking me. I smiled and said no problem.

Sharuth leaned over and said in a low voice, “Maybe we could meet once a month for a massage?”

I chuckled. “Sounds like you are taking advantage of me.”

“I would never,” she said in concern. “I plan on repaying you, just not with cash.”

I nodded and smiled at her innuendo before leaving. Lorrie and Becky thanked me as well. I nodded to them. Gunnar was around but hasn’t talked to me again.

My time with Shelly and Carla was normal, though the latter expects that her daughters know about me. I asked how and she told me that she talked to them about her needs, not specifically my name. I didn’t care if they knew, it’s not like I have ever talked to them.

Serena kept with her promise, letting me know she is interested without any pressure. Most of the time, we would talk about our days and train at night. She smiles every time that I show her a new move that I had learned.

The woman is a sadist, wanting to get sweaty outside working on our forms and hunting rather than watching a chick flick. She is a great woman.

Other days, we would either go out on dates to eat and have fun, or stay home to read a book after dinner. She likes romantic shit, but my favorite genre is fantasy. Both of us would end up on the couch with either our legs touching or hips. And sometimes, Serena would lay her head on my shoulder. Nothing sexual about it, just relaxing. I loved those days.

My birthday happened during this time; I didn’t want to do anything special to celebrate. Though Shelly and Carla had a cake for me while wearing lingerie. That was a good night.

Serena was dressed in an evening gown and she took me out to dinner then dancing. We had a great time. When arriving home, she had my favorite dessert ready. Cheesecake. It was outstanding. And the best part? Leftovers. Oh yeah, that was the gift that kept on giving all week.

I smiled and opened her gift to me. A silver necklace with a pendant that I had never seen before was at the bottom of the box. It was a sword that had a Dragon wrapped around it. And looking closely my name was engraved across the wings and her name was engraved on the sword. It was… awesome.

“Serena, it’s… thank you for this. It is amazing.”

She grinned, “That is just to remind you that if you ever need my sword, then I will be there.”

I hugged her and she laid her head on my shoulder, sighing in what sounded like content. I patted her back and kissed her on the cheek.

“Thank you for today.”

“No problem and it was great. We can make it even better ya know. We could… sleep together.”

I raised my brow as she smirked, “Just sleep. Get your mind out of the gutter, mister.”

I laughed, “Sounds like a great finish to the day.”

She smiled broadly and hurried to her room to change into something comfortable before calling out to me that it was okay for me to join her. I went in and we cuddled up to each other before falling off to sleep.

Chapter 5

I groggily woke up, wondering why I felt sluggish. Laying on the bed, I remembered where I was and smiled before looking over at my clock to find that I was late to school already.

Did I want to go to school? Not really, but I needed to. It was Wednesday, my day with Shelly.

Not seeing Serena, I called out to her, but no reply was given.  Making some toast, I saw a note attached to my bookbag. I grabbed it and read.

Kristjàn,

I didn’t wake you because it looked like you were content and sleeping soundly. I had a great time with you last night and it was even better when we cuddled with each other in a bed. I look forward to us getting closer.

Yours,

Serena

I wrote a reply and left it on the counter, letting her know that I had a great time too and looked forward to going out on other dates like that in the future. I also let her know that I would be at Shelly’s today. Grabbing my backpack, I left through the portal stone, headed to school.

Stopping by the office, I got my tardy slip and went to A&P. The teacher nodded to me as I went to my seat. Plopping down, I listened in the best that I could. My focus was on getting my magic working better. It felt like it was more than one sphere, and I was kicking myself for not paying attention in the basic class. I will have to get a book from the library and read up on it.

Through the class, I was halfway listening and also learning through my Third Eye. When it was time to go, I put my stuff up and walked out to my next class. Luka and Garth weren’t there to meet me, so I strolled down the hallway and almost made it to my next class when a female stopped me. Sharuth.

“Hey Kris.”

I smiled, “Sharuth.”

“Can… will you join me for lunch today?” She asked shyly. I mean this girl was seven-foot-tall, almost two feet above little ole me. And she is shy? Go figure.

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” I know, my game was lacking.

“Good, um… meet me by the picnic tables?”

I nodded and she winked at me before walking away, sashaying down the hall. She was wearing skintight jeans today and her fine ass was on display. I mean, damn. This chick is fine as hell. Nope, not going to go there. Some fucknut will have an issue with this, I just know it. Oh well. I went to class, not really thinking about any schoolwork.

When lunch came, I walked in the cafeteria and grabbed my food tray before strolling over to talk with Luka and Garth.

“Hey, guys.”

“Kris! Didn’t think you were here today,” Luka grinned and took a bite of spaghetti.

“Got here late. Oh, and I’m supposed to meet up with Sharuth outside, so I’ll talk to you guys later.”

“What?” Garth asked with a grin, “You’re going to sit with her?”

“Uh, yeah.” I know, my words dazzle others, don’t they?

“Go get her stud,” Luka snickered. “Just watch yourself. You’re going to the dark side.”

“Yeah, I will. See ya.”

I waved and walked out to the picnic tables. I saw her sitting alone, so I made my way over and asked to sit down. She smiled and nodded. I got a sub sandwich today and dug in.

“How is your day going, Kris?”

Trying not to talk with my mouth full, I swallowed and replied, “Eh, got here late, but can’t complain.”

“Well, I wanted to talk with you about some things. First, again, thank you for the help in A&P. Second, I want to apologize about my friends accosting you. Last, I want to know if you would maybe… um… go out with me?”

I was nodding to her first two statements, but the last caught me off guard. “You want to go out? Like, dating?”

She grinned, “Yes, dating. You have been on dates before, right?”

Yes, I have. Shelly, Carla, and Serena have been taking up most of my time, though I wasn’t going to tell her that. “Yes. I would love to go out with you.”

“Okay, I have two matches tomorrow, but maybe afterward?”

“Sure. Are they here?” Our school was one of the top in the region in volleyball, football too.

“Yes, do you like volleyball?”

I sure did, seeing those tight, little shorts on those supple asses. Yeah, I most certainly did. “Yep.”

“Would you come watch me?”

“Sounds like fun.” She smiled and ate some of her food. I was almost finished with my meal.

“What um… things do you like to do?” I didn’t have a clue what a girl like her did for fun.

“Hang out with friends, maybe watch a flick, or dinner and a walk down the beach.”

I was listening to her and made a mental note of what she said and was about to speak when others sat down at the table. Turning, I saw Lorrie and Becky on one side, and Alyssa, Gunnar, and two other males built like him that I didn’t know. I groaned, knowing that these pricks will end up pissing me off.

“Hey pipsqueak, who said you could sit here?”

The two males laughed; Alyssa shook her head. Lorrie, Becky, and Sharuth were staring at him with disdain.

“Gunnar, if you can’t sit there and act civilized, then you and the others can go,” Sharuth stated in calm manner. Alyssa closed her eyes but didn’t respond.

It took Gunnar by surprise, “What? You want to let this midget stay?”

“Something like that. And stop calling him names.”

The three males were staring at me now. One of the other males spoke out, “Come on Sharuth, why are you acting like this?”

“It’s not really any of your business, Roth.”

I was getting agitated, feeling them talk like I’m not here. Roth scoffed, “Can the little guy not talk for himself?” Gunnar snickered.

I took a breath and said, “Depends if I want to waste my breath.”

That made the table fall in silence. Gunnar was the first to respond, “What did you say?”

“Exactly.”

That made the ladies snicker, the three guys looked confused. I was done eating at this point, so I got up and whispered to Sharuth, “If you want to continue this conversation, then I will see you after your matches tomorrow.”

She smiled, “I look forward to it.”

With that, I picked up my tray and left. One of the males said something, but I wasn’t listening. Did I want to go down this path? Guys making fun of me, accosting me because I’m on their turf? Well, there is a beautiful lady to consider. I’ll find out tomorrow night.

The day went by slowly, and Luka asked what happened during lunch. I didn’t understand his question at first. He told me that it was all over school, that Gunnar and his friends were laughing at me and making stuff up about me crying as I hurried away from them.

I chuckled and knew right then that I would have to deal with them sooner rather than later. After that, I didn’t want to be bothered. When school let out, I hurried to the portal room and went home, knowing that Serena wouldn’t be there. She was working late tonight.

I went to my room and threw the backpack on the bed, then grabbed some clothes to sleep in and an outfit for school tomorrow. I had to work at the Miller’s farm for a bit before heading to Shelly’s.

Before I left the house, I wanted to do some investigating of myself. My Third Eye triggered and I looked at myself, I had scales on parts of my body. That coincides with what Serena told me about being part Dragon. I didn’t see any wings though, which wasn’t surprising if I’m only half. What did surprise me was my anatomy. I checked and checked again. It showed me that I had double of almost everything. Hearts, lungs, and stomach. I guess some of that can be explained by being part Dragon. Dragons have two stomachs? That was weird.

I looked at the clock, it was time to go. Grabbing my overnight bag that I packed, I went out of the house to the Miller’s farm to work, my second job. Need some spending money for my date.

++++

I was laying in Shelly’s bed, thinking of what had happened tonight. When we finished our session, we talked for a bit about her mate taking her up to the mountains to hike and stay there for a couple of weeks. That was the first time that she had said anything of her past life, especially her mate. Cautiously, I asked about him.

She stared at me for a minute without saying a word, and finally relented. Telling me that they grew up together and fell in love.

Shelly said that she was in the military and was good at being a soldier, but they got cocky. She and her mate, Serge, were out patrolling one night and they made the mistake of not taking it seriously. While they were in the throes of passion, four Demons showed up. Serge died soon after, decapitation.

Shelly was crying now, I held her and told her she didn’t have to go on. She shook her head and continued.

“They took their time with me, three held me down while the other took me, and each got their turn. When they were done, the leader, Gol’gath laughed and started cutting me with a mithril sword, which is the only metal that can cut though our armor. Anyway, he started with my face, slicing me from ear to ear. Then went to my stomach, slicing me open from the middle to down near my cunt, and then my breasts, cutting them completely off. He turned me over and cut parts of my ass off and was about to slit my throat when my kin showed, they must’ve heard my screams.”

She tried to burrow herself into me, I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her on top of her head. “I wanted to die, Kris, but they helped me heal. But all they could do was close the wounds, no one could grow breasts or put my ass back together. They also advised me that I couldn’t have children.”

I had tears in my eyes now, “I’m sorry, Shelly.”

She shook her head and whispered, “My name isn’t really Shelly, it’s Dawn.”

Nodding to let her know that I heard, she went on, “I left my clan after I was better mentally and physically. I had it in my head that no one wanted a scarred-up woman that couldn’t provide heirs. So, I came here and started over. I’m… I’m sorry for treating you so horrible.”

“It’s nothing. You were traumatized.”

“That’s not a good excuse, but I do have a question. Why have you never asked what I am? I told you that I was an outcast.”

I already knew, since my Third Eye activated, but wasn’t sharing that knowledge. I also saw all the scarring and missing parts. But I do wonder why if she can make herself into a Human form, then why have a flat ass and no tits. I guess it is a reminder of what she doesn’t have. Shrugging, I said, “I figured you would tell me when the time is right or if you even wanted to.”

Dawn nodded, “I’m a Phoenix.”

I kissed her on the cheek and hugged her to me. We laid in silence for a bit before she asked, “Will you stay the night with me?”

Smiling, “I would be honored.”

She hit me on the chest, “Don’t think our session is over, bub. I want some more pleasure.”

“Wasn’t thinking that at all.”

We went at it again and her moans and screams of pleasure were even louder than before. It didn’t take long for her to cum and fall over to the bed on all fours, ass up in the air.

She looked over her shoulder, lust crazed, “Come take me my ass, Kris. Slowly.”

I did as she wanted and was taken along for the ride, the Phoenix came, a lot. Squirting even. She lasted longer than I thought, around twenty minutes, but passed out the last time she orgasmed. I smiled and laid down beside her, wishing that I could help her forget some of the past.

Wait a minute, I wonder if my magic can help?

I thought about it and changed my mind for now. I needed to practice this magic before doing any kind of reconstructive surgery. Smiling, I knew at some point that she would have her body back to what it used to be. Closing my eyes, I went to sleep.

Chapter 6

My eyes opened the next morning and looked around at the room I was in. Oh, yeah, I’m at Shel- uh. Dawn’s house. I tried to move but she was spooned up in front of me with my cock in the crack of her ass. I slowly moved away from her and went into the kitchen to see what time it was. And… time to get ready for school. I went to the bathroom and showered and brushed my teeth, she has one for me when I come over.

After getting my morning ritual done, I got dressed and looked in on Dawn. She was still asleep, so I grabbed my bag and carefully made my way out and back to my house. Serena was already gone when I arrived, but since I didn’t eat breakfast, I grabbed a banana nut muffin and ate it on the way.

When I got to the school, I could tell that something was off. Luka and Garth were in the same spot as usual, but someone had joined them.

“Hey, guys! And gal.”

They turned to look, she tilted her head, “You look exhausted. Rough night?”

Huh. Didn’t think I looked that bad. “Yeah. Something like that.”

“I’m hoping that you’ll still make it tonight?”

“Of course, Sharuth. I’ll be there.”

She smiled and walked beside me as we made our way inside. We chatted for a bit over our classes before making it to hers and dropping her off, then we went to ours.

“She seems nice, Kris,” Luka commented. “Hope you know what you’re doing.”

I turned to him, curious over that statement. “What does that mean?”

He sighed, “Kris, just be careful. Hell, it seems like Gunnar’s mission is to bring you down a peg or three. I’m just trying to warn you. We’re not in their league man. Sharuth is gorgeous, a young woman that has high standards and will be going places. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“I hear you. I don’t know why she is even bothering with me, but I’m not going to let this opportunity slide by me.”

He patted me on the shoulder as we came into class. School went quickly that day, I declined sitting with Sharuth during lunch, stating I needed to go over some homework with Garth. She nodded at that excuse.

I need to figure out what her game is. Why suddenly someone of her social status would want someone like me. Maybe I’ll find out tonight.

After school let out, I went to a fast food place to get a snack. Sitting down on an empty iron bench, I closed my eyes to just let myself relax. My body ended up meditating and it was some time when I opened my eyes to see that it was dark out.

Shit, hope I didn’t miss anything. Taking the shortcut, I hurried to the gymnasium. A set was in progress, although it had just started. I searched for a clock to see how late I really was and saw that it was 6:45pm. Damn, I scanned the seats to look for an open one and sat down.

I found the gorgeous Sharuth out on the court in her skimpy shorts, showcasing her long, sexy legs and supple ass. Shit, all of the ladies had my attention. I stared at their tits, flopping up and down as they ran and jumped. And their asses were barely held in those skimpy shorts.

Damn! I shook those thoughts out and watched the set. Our team was really good, and they won the first match. The ladies took a breather and started another match. It was long and went back and forth many times before Sharuth and her teammates finally won. They yelled out in happiness, as did the fans. I clapped with the other spectators and waited till the teams separated. Sharuth was with two of her teammates and was looking around the gym. I came up and praised her.

“Congratulations!”

The three turned to me, Sharuth grinned and gave me a hug. “You made it.”

“I told you that I would.”

The other two with her had confused looks, she introduced us, “Brenda, Cassie, this is Kristjàn.”

“This is him?” Cassie asked hesitantly.

Brenda came over and shook my hand, “We thank you for helping Sharuth with her studies. She hasn’t stopped talking about you.”

I glanced over at Sharuth, who had pink cheeks. “Yeah? Well, she’s a quick learner.”

“Hey, I need to change and speak to my parents before leaving. It’ll only be a few more minutes.”

I nodded and Sharuth went into the locker room while I walked towards the front of the gym and took a seat. I sat and went back to meditating for a bit. It didn’t last long before something broke my concentration. It was the voice of an asshole.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Opening my eyes, I saw Gunnar, Roth, and another guy in front of me.

“Caught the matches, cheering on our school. What’s wrong with that?”

That wasn’t the answer he was waiting for and it confused him and his two meathead friends.

“Uh, then why are you still here?” Roth asked after thinking it over.

“Waiting on a friend.”

“Yeah, who is it?”

“Why do you need to know?”

“Because it’s my business to know.”

That didn’t even make sense. “No, it’s not your concern, nor your business to know.”

“You are really trying my patience here, little man.”

“I think he is here to see, Sharuth,” Roth commented as he popped his knuckles.

Gunnar smirked, “Is that so?”

I didn’t deny it. Gunnar and his cronies were gearing up for a confrontation. I held in my smile, thinking how stupid they would look if they went to sleep in the gym.

“What’s going on over here?”

We looked over and found the head coach of the volleyball team staring at us.

“Uh, nothing coach,” Gunnar stated. “We were just leaving.”

The three stared at me, Roth told me, “This isn’t over.”

I watched them stroll away, the coach mumbled something about steroid abuse as he walked the other direction. Thoughts of why I am here at the moment went through my head. I turned and saw Sharuth with her parents, at least they looked similar. Though the father looked familiar. It took me a minute, but it hit me between the eyes. Her father is Adrian Johanson, he owns JCorp International. He is also a professor at Clearwater Magus University. He teaches Advanced Tactics.

Holy Fuck! What the hell is Sharuth doing talking to me?

This is bad. Her parents are going to take one look at me and laugh before forbidding her to see me again. I was in my own little world when someone tapped me on the shoulder.

“You okay?”

I looked up to see Sharuth staring at me in concern. “Uh, yeah.”

“Ready to go?”

Nodding, I got up and turned to look for others watching me. No one else was in the gym. We left and she flagged down a shuttle that took us to a restaurant in the better part of town. Or should I say, the richest part. On the way over, Sharuth took my hand in hers. She was quiet though. I just went with it. When the guy dropped us off, I tried to pay the fare but was overruled by Sharuth.

I had never eaten here, by the atmosphere and the mostly quiet area around us, it was somewhere to have private conversations. The server sat us, then wrote down our drink order. Sharuth ordered fried eel for an appetizer.

“Can you sit by me?”

That surprised me, but I nodded and moved over to her side of the booth. Sharuth scooted over while I sat down. She grabbed my hand again, rubbing my fingers with her thumb. My hand was dwarfed by hers, but it didn’t seem to bother her.

“What’s wrong?”

I turned to her and saw that she was nervous, “Not a thing. Just curious, and wondering to myself, why someone like you would want to date me.”

She sighed and kissed my hand. “I know that we don’t really know each other that well. And we never spoke until you tutored me, but I-I… this is harder than I thought to talk about. Kris… I know that you did something to me during our study sessions.”

Trying not to react, I didn’t respond but knew eventually that she would find out.

She sniffled and wiped tears out of her eyes with her free hand and spoke in a low voice, “For many years, I have battled with breathing issues from magic backlash when I was young and foolish. Healers tried to help. We went to lots of them, even off world. None of them could help since it was magic oriented. And because it was inside of my body, they really couldn’t see what was causing the issues. Most of their diagnoses were broad, lung issues, heart issues, and so on.”

The server brought us our appetizer at that point, so she waited for her to leave the area before continuing.

“After our first session, I felt different and thought it was because of the spectacular orgasm you gave me. But I didn’t know anything was different until my…” she looked around to make sure that no one was paying attention before whispering in my ear, “my Dragon made me aware of it. She told me that you had started healing my mana pathways and cut out dead tissue so that new could grow to replace it.”

Her eyes met mine, making sure that I wasn’t going to deny it. I didn’t say anything, just stared back. “She told me it was a process that you continued over the next few sessions and that’s why I had you massage me. That and the wonderful orgasms.”

I took a few breaths and responded, “Yes, it was me. Are you feeling any aftereffects?”

“No, Kris,” Sharuth smiled. “I feel better than I have in years. My magic works better too.”

I nodded and took a bite of fried eel, not my thing but I ate it. “I’m glad that it worked, and it helped you get better.”

“I… I wanted to make sure before confronting you. So, since Lorrie’s mom, Katelyn, is a healer, I wanted to take a breath test and see if my stats improved. She was skeptical about me telling her that something is different, but she performed the test and was shocked. Kris, it displayed healthy lungs, heart, and mana pathways. At that point, I was ecstatic and beaming, knowing that I wouldn’t be restrained. Katelyn wanted to know what happened, demanded even. But my Dragon advised me not to say anything, that this magic was rare, and you probably didn’t want anyone knowing of this.”

“Yeah, she’s right.” I sure as hell didn’t want the authorities to find out, who knows what they would do to me.

“Umm… I uh, did some research on you. It told me that you didn’t have magic.” I nodded and she went on, “Kris, how can that be if you healed me?”

“I don’t know how it happened, but things started happening a little over a month ago. Unusual things.”

“You must be a late bloomer then. Oh, and I know you are a Dragon like me.”

“Only part.”

“No, full-blood. My Dragon told me, and we are ecstatic that you have come into our lives.”

That confused me. Full-blood? I would have to look at myself again with my Third Eye. “And why is that?”

She giggled and whispered, “Because, you and your Dragon are about to come on to the scene. You don’t have your full use of your mana pool, that tells us that you will be powerful.”

Still confused and a little bit agitated over all this, I finally asked, “What are you wanting, Sharuth? I’m hoping this isn’t all a game.”

“Oh, no, it’s not. And call me Shari.”

I grunted and relented, “Okay, Shari. What’s this all about?”

She rubbed my hand again and kissed it, “We feel connected to you and want to have you consider taking us into your house.”

“My house?”

“Oh, uh, I guess you wouldn’t know any of that would you. Well, it means that I want to be one of your women.”

Staring at her with a blank face, I was waiting for her to start laughing or saying it was a joke. When she didn’t, I shook my head and responded in a low voice, “One of my women? Shari, you have a wonderful life ahead of you. Going to Clearwater and graduate from there, maybe join one of their elite crews. Me? I will be lucky to get into college at all, and one without magic training.”

Shari slapped me on the back of my head, “Stop with that talk. You will be who you’re meant to be. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t get into Clearwater. And how do you know that I will be attending?”

I snorted, “Easy for you to say. …I saw your parents tonight and recognized your dad from his company commercials. I also know that he teaches at the university.”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t know who they were, it would give me a chance to explain and get to know each other before I dropped that info. Oh well, it’s probably for the best that you recognized him.”

“I don’t think your parents would allow you to see me.”

I know that I wouldn’t if I was in their shoes. Short teen with no heritage to say, orphan, and without magic. Yeah, good prospect there.

“I have talked with them, numerous times. We have argued over many things, but when it comes down to it, I make the decision. My Dragon feels the connection, and I told them that as well. So, can we stop the why me shit?”

I grunted and she smirked, “Good. Now, let’s have a nice dinner and we can start getting to know each other. Sound good?”

“Sure.”

Well, if she wants to date me, I have no problem with it. Even if it doesn’t last long.

“Oh, here’s our dinner.”

We ate and chatted about our hobbies, foods we like, and even clothing stores. That last one was her. She likes sports, anything outdoors, and hanging out with friends. Somehow, we got on magic and I listened in, hoping to learn something. She talked about her spells and how getting to work on them was the highlight of her day. Although, the advanced classes aren’t until college. I nodded but didn’t have any input. Finishing up, we left and walked a bit, holding hands.

It was getting late, so we took transportation to Serena’s law firm. Shari knew that I was basically an orphan, and I told her about Serena. Well, not everything. She walked me to the door and kissed me goodnight.

“Thanks for this evening. Are you going to ignore me tomorrow?”

“And why would I do that?”

“Because Kris, I know that you’re shy. Since we don’t have any classes together, that doesn’t mean we can’t talk to each other in the halls and eat lunch together.”

“I’ll try, but I’m sure your friends will have something to say about it.”

She shrugged, “They’ll get over it.”

“Uh-huh, we’ll see.”

I watched her leave. After going over our night in my mind, I shrugged and made my way to the portal and went home. Serena was in the kitchen, so I went and checked in with her. We talked about my date. Serena smirked and asked me if I was hitting that yet. I looked at her in disbelief and she laughed, saying that my face was priceless. She didn’t really care to know about that, so I kissed her on the lips goodnight and went to bed. It was a great night.

Chapter 7

When my eyes opened for the day, I smiled, knowing the gods gave me another day to breathe and live. My mind went back to last night and what Shari wanted. It turned out to be a good night. Today will hopefully be a decent one as well. I’m supposed to meet up with Carla. Her smooth dark skin, big round ass, and grapefruit sized breasts always got my motor running.

My morning ritual took longer because I was looking at my form again, it showed more scales than last time but no wings or turning into a big lizard. Sighing, I walked into the kitchen. Serena was there, already dressed and sitting at the table with a tablet in her hands. I went and grabbed the cereal out of the cupboard and the milk out of the fridge. Sitting down, I ate my breakfast in silence.

She asked, “Will you be coming home tonight?”

“I’m not sure, but last night I didn’t tell you about everything. Things keep happening to me.”

The Succubus went into concern mode, “Tell me.”

I did, telling her what I could do with my magic, seeing myself in my Third Eye and my anatomy.

“Well, it seems that your magic may be coming out. Especially if you can see scales. When will you be home?”

“I’m supposed to go to Carla’s tonight and go out with Shari on Saturday.”

Serena looked disappointed. I let her know, “Sunday, I will take you out to dinner. Sound good?”

She looked at me with those sky-blue eyes and whispered, “That would be great.”

I got up and went over to hug her, she leaped out of the chair and wrapped me in a hug, not wanting to let me go. We stood there for a few minutes before she released me.

“I can’t wait for Sunday.”

I smiled and cleaned up before heading to school. It was an eventful day, Shari told people that we were dating. Which shocked everyone, even Luka and Garth. I just smiled and nodded, letting everyone know that we were an item. Some just shrugged it off, but others seethed, thinking that I didn’t deserve to be with her.

When school was over, I went over to Carla’s house to spend time with her. That brought me up short, I will have to tell Shari about Dawn and Carla, even Serena. Huh. Guess that will be a short date tomorrow.

Carla met me at the door when I knocked. She was dressed in blue lingerie that barely covered anything. Smiling, we came together and kissed passionately. She closed the door and ran to the bedroom, I followed her.

After the first session, which was just rutting, the woman was as loud as Dawn. Hmm… I will need to check on her. After another two sessions, she told me that her kids will be home soon.  We showered together and I left after getting dressed.

It took a bit for me to arrive at Monty’s, I was hungry after our little get together. It’s a sit-down restaurant that serves warboar steaks, they are awesome. And looking over the menu, it serves the same food that Shari ordered at the ritzy restaurant that she took me to. Cheaper too.

I ordered one warboar steak, and a baked potato with the works. The server left and I took a few sips of water, then glanced around the restaurant. My eyes came upon a table with a few loud and obnoxious males. Four of them, all tall and broad. Three were obviously Fire Giants by the way they looked, the last guy was pale with blonde hair and silver eyes.

There was also four women at the table too, all of the females were taller than me obviously, but probably only just a little under seven feet. My mind took over and investigated their other forms, and found the table was a mixture of races. Two Human, one Dragon, and the last was pale like her counterpart, she had emerald green eyes and red hair.

My mind then came up with the solution, they were of a race that I haven’t come across before. Vampires. The female was wearing a short dress that barely covered anything, but her perky breasts seemed to stay in the air because she could not have a bra on with that dress.

Damn, she’s beautiful.

To tell the truth, I didn’t know of any of her kind on our world. Must be here on business or something.

I turned and acknowledged the server as he brought my mead and a water with lemon. Taking a drink of mead, I glanced back over at the table and saw that she was staring at me. We stared at each other for some time before someone got her attention, she smirked at me and turned to a brunette. Not sure what to make of it, I mentally shrugged and started minding my own business. At least, I tried. Out of the entire restaurant, something had me keep glancing over at that particular table. My senses picked up a bad vibe from someone.

I grunted and started humming to myself for a few minutes until my food arrived. It looked great, and I dove into the steak with gusto. Not long after the server dropped off my food, the people from the rowdy table left. Chewing up and swallowing the piece of meat in my mouth, I saw the male vamp with the brunette hanging on his arm, the redhead was hanging on the arm of one of the brutes. She stared at me as they walked off.

Tha fuck are you looking at?

The vamp must have seen my face, her smirk turned into a broad smile. That confused me but on the other hand, it pissed me off. Shaking off the thoughts of breaking her fuckin neck, I went back to eating my meal.

Woah! What the hell was that? Breaking her neck?

I had no idea where those thoughts came from. Taking some breaths to calm down, I finished my meal, paid, and left.

I walked down the street, not really paying attention to anything except what was in front of me, but something was off, and my mind went into action on its own.  My magic activated. It picked up eight people off to the side in an alley. I heard some shouting and fighting, then screaming. My vision saw two people fall to the ground. I wasn’t sure if I should get involved with this, but suddenly a calmness came over me that I’ve never felt before. Then I felt something strange happen. Somehow, I could feel my consciousness being pushed to the side. It was as if something took over my body, and after a few moments, my anger came back with a vengeance.

My eyes picked up two of the Fire Giants on the ground, unconscious with a few wounds. The other four were huddled together, back against the wall. The two vamps were calmly telling them that it didn’t have to end this way, they just needed to come with them.

“Fuck you! We won’t be slaves to you or anyone.”

The male vamp laughed, “Your two friends will be soon. You may as well join them, Fire Giant.”

The big guy was trying to change forms but seemed to be having issues.

“I can’t change,” the female Dragon whimpered.

“Neither can I,” he replied in a low voice.”

The female vamp giggled, “That’s because we drugged you. Just a little pinch in your drinks every so often.”

The Humans were crying softly, the Dragon and Fire Giant were angry.

“Julie, they aren’t fighting back. I’m getting bored.”

“I agree, Riktor. Pathetic beings. Let’s get this done and head back to base.”

He nodded and they moved towards their prey. No one had seen me yet, so I looked into the bodies of the defenders and found the poison. Taking the steps that were advised, I purged the toxin from their bodies, even the ones on the ground, then activated their hybrid forms. I pressed a pressure point on the two downed Fire Giants and they became wide awake. It was shocking, that I could do that. The Fire Giants and a blue scaled Dragon were surprised but not as much as the two vamps were. Four predators went into action then, the two vamps fought them off as best as they could. When they saw their opening, they sped down the alley towards me.

What was I still doing there you say? I didn’t know either, until a voice popped into my thoughts.

We need to see about the base that they have and tell someone about it.

Tha hell? Where did that voice come from?

We will discuss this later.

This was starting to freak me out. I didn’t know what was going on and wondered if anyone else has had an experience like this.

While the two slavers were trying to run away, my magic went into overdrive and built something for the two of them. When they came upon me, my body let the spell loose. The two vamps slammed into an invisible barrier and then the other sides locked together, lighting up when they connected. It was a prison.

Gasps and a crunching sound were the only things that I heard. The vamps looked to be flattened against the invisible barrier, and blood was flowing down from their open wounds. Bones were broken and it took a few moments, but since the two were undead, their bodies started to heal. The two wiped the blood from their faces. The being who took over my body smiled at them, he thought it was funny for them to slam into the barrier.

The female saw me first and hissed, “You!” Both of the captives tried to get out with brute force.

Again, I wasn’t in control of my body as I responded in a deep voice, “Hello.”

“What the hell are you doing? Let us go!”

“And why would I do that?”

At this point, the defenders ran up and stopped, their mouths agape.

“Because when we get out of here, then you and your family will pay for this insolence,” Riktor snarled.

Why did they have to bring anyone else into this?

My voice spoke after laughing softly and sweetly asked, “Would you be so kind to let me know where this base of yours is?”

“No fucking way!”

“Whatever, I’ll just strip your mind of it then.”

They laughed, the defenders were still quiet and not making any sudden movements.

“No magic of that kind exists on this world,” Riktor smugly commented. “Only one race can use that sphere and that world isn’t anywhere near here.”

Julie smirked, “Not only that, our minds are attuned to block that magic. Oh, and just to make sure that doesn’t fail, we have mind shields as well.”

The duo laughed at me, I just stood there and waited on the prick that was holding me hostage inside my body to do something. He didn’t disappoint and my magic triggered. He let the two idiots cackle, biding his time to do whatever he was doing.

The spell lashed out, taking ahold of both vamps. It was quick and powerful. Both went still, their mouths open and eyes stared at nothing. I saw two separate screens come into existence in my mind that showed scenes of the lives of both Vampires.

What the hell is going on? This magic must be part of the mind sphere. It is cool but somewhat horrifying if people can do this.

It went quickly until coming to a particular area where a squad of twenty were set up in an abandoned factory off Chandler Road. It disclosed that they have cages full of people being transported after receiving a slave mark on their chests. Branding them, which prohibits them to lash out against their owners.

On the other hand, what these two screens showed was disgusting. This might not have been morally acceptable to some but tough shit, these idiots were slavers.

I heard whimpering, gasps, and even shouting, but ignored it for now and watched for any additional information. The only other pertinent information was the leader of the unit was named Sven. A piece of shit that tortures people for the fun of it. Seeing that no more could be taken from them, I turned to the prisoners and saw blood coming out of their eyes and ears.

Taking a breath, my body walked closer to the barrier. The others were still here, and the smell of fear was radiating off them like a perfume.

“What the fuck, dude?!”

“Can you not hear us yelling?”

My body turned to them and said, “Sleep.”

They all spoke again at the same time.

“What the hell?”

“Why would we want to sleep?”

“You’re fucking insane.”

“Let’s get out of here!”

The group took off and made it four steps before falling over, unconscious. My Third Eye activated and went into each of their minds, and one by one it erased the last day from their memories.

Holy shit! Since when can I do this? It must be attached to one of the mind magic tiers that allowed me to pull the memories from those vamps. This is getting strange.

After making sure they weren’t harmed in any way, I turned my attention back to my prisoners. The fuckers were still out of it, and I had gotten everything out of them that I could. Not knowing what was about to happen, I sighed and observed.

My vision turned white and my right arm shot out in front of me. After a few moments, my hand started to curl into a fist, and I felt resistance. It took some time, but my hand continued to close. Movement caught my eyes and I saw that the prison was shrinking.

Holy fuck! They’re going to be smooshed.

Sure enough, it compacted, and their bodies were flattened, turning them to paste. Then the prison disappeared. The voice came back, and we had a conversation within my mind.

You need to calm down.

Who the fuck are you? And why did you take over my body?

The voice sighed, I am you, well, the combat version of yourself.

Ooookay. And why would there be another version of myself?

We should’ve merged long ago when you were young. And if we aren’t then our forms are activated on your eighteenth year. Since activating, I have noticed that your mana flow is weak and looking within, someone has blocked your magic. That and your blood is tainted.

I know about the block, but don’t know how to remove it.

It will take some time for me to eliminate the block, but it’ll be completely gone after.

Okay. Great!

We also need to talk about your tainted blood.

What? Why are you saying my blood is tainted? I’m a half-breed, Human and Dragon.

Because young Kristjàn. You are a Celestial, and someone has given you the blood of a Dragon and something else. I’m not sure yet but will continue investigating.

What the hell is a Celestial? I’ve never heard of that race before.

Hmm… It is going to be difficult to explain. When your magic is unblocked, then we will go over that.

What kind of magic was that when you trapped the two Vampires? It was like it encased them.

It is called barrier magic, it can imprison them or just put a barrier in front of you like an impenetrable shield. And it can only be used by Celestials. Powerful ones at that. You will be very powerful, young Kristjàn.

Whatever. Why did you squish the two perpetrators?

Because they were evil, you know that. And Vampires are the enemies of your people.

Really? The entire race is evil and my enemy?

The voice was quiet for a few moments. The entire race is not evil, but they are your enemies.

What was that mind extractor thingy? It is part of my repertoire?

Yes, it is called Mind Dismantle. It strips the mind of everything you want it to. But it is a very potent spell and if you aren’t careful, then your subject will be brain dead after.

Uh, yeah. That will be a last resort method, unless the situation is dire.

I can agree with that, but this was necessary after listening to them speak about slaves.

I agree. …We should get out of here. Can I have control of my body back now?

After a few moments, I could feel my body again and moved my limbs. I walked out and away from that alley. It was almost five minutes before the voice spoke again.

You need to figure out what to do about the Vampire nest.

Why would I need to do that?

Because you are the only one that knows about it and need to either tell someone to take it out or do it yourself.

I started laughing, thinking that was a ridiculous statement.

There is no way that I could take it out and I don’t know anyone that I could tell who would do anything about it. They would be skeptical and ask how I came up with this information.

We will do it together. Not tonight, but soon. Your block will come into play, but if we could get half of your core released then it will be enough to stop them.

I thought about it but didn’t respond. It was ludicrous to think about, especially since I really had no idea how to use the magic that I now had.

That is why I am here, to help with your transition. Also, we need to figure out what this other blood is that is in you. It is potent, as is the Draconian blood. With the latter, you should be able to shift into a Dragon and the hybrid form.

That would be cool. How could that be though, I was told that I was a half-breed.

No, you will be a full blood. Having Celestial blood prevents you from becoming anything half. Yes, your body may show traits of the other when shifting, but it will not be half Celestial and half Dragon. Your body will be one or the other.

I responded sarcastically. Yeah, that clears it up. Thanks for that explanation.

After your core is unblocked, you will know and learn what you can do and become. Now, we need to speak about training your mind on the magic that you can do now and spells that you will be able to do in the future.

And how will I be able to do that and keep it a secret? Others know that I cannot do magic. It will become very suspicious if people find out that I can shift into a Dragon or this Celestial you keep speaking about.

You can just tell them that you are gaining your magic late in life. To keep your mind at ease, we can work on it when you are sleeping. I will be able to unlock the knowledge within your mind that your parents gave you when you were born.

That sounded strange, and thinking about my parents, it saddened me. Maybe one day, I will be able to find out what exactly happened and where they are. A thought came into my mind.

Would you know what world I come from?

Yes, but that isn’t important right now.

What? Why would that not be important now?

Because, if you were sent through a portal, then something happened that they wanted you away swiftly. It must’ve been bad if no one joined you.

That made it worse, but I shook those thoughts off. I walked on and thought about tonight’s confrontation and the magic that my body performed. It was awesome, yet gruesome. Being able to make barriers with my mind was cool. Performing healing and reconstructive magic was cooler.

You will be able to use most of the spheres of magic, if not more than others since you have Dragon blood and whatever the unknown blood that you have. But barrier, reconstructive, and a few others are only used by one race. Celestials. One such sphere is astral, and you have already been using it.

Astral? Never even heard of it.

Think about what you did with making those people unconscious without even touching them. That and moving things around with your mind. It is like telekinesis but since you have access to the astral sphere, when you move things, you use astral limbs.

And what exactly can they do?

They are stronger than you are physically and can be used in battle as well as everyday use. You can go through walls with them, and since you have astral sight, you will be able to track and see through walls and buildings if needed.

Wow, that’s amazing.

That’s not all, it seems that you may have kinetic energy as well. That may be from the unknown blood, we’ll just have to verify and practice it.

Hmm… too many things to think about. I need to get home.

I walked to the lawyer’s portal stone and went straight to my room. My vision went white again and scanned the area before another flash of light came out of me, putting a barrier around my room where no one could enter from any crack, crevice, or entry.

I put a barrier around us so that no one could interfere with your mind training.

I nodded. That is so fuckin cool.

After being mesmerized for a minute or so, I stripped out of my clothes, and when my head hit the pillow, I was out.

++++

Alistair was hovering above the house in the woods, shocked to say the least. The boy was showing signs of magic that he thought gone from this world. He had an idea what the boy was, and it shook him to the core. If one of his kind was here, then something must be on the horizon. Trying to take a closer look at the boy, he immediately flew back as if slapped, a barrier was formed in his room, making sure nothing could see or get in.

Fuck! Some of his power must be getting out. And if he is this powerful while his power is mostly blocked, then the kid will be immovable when it is unleashed. I need to talk with the council.  

Alistair flew off towards the mountain in the sky that was invisible to the world. A fortress was built into the mountain and was the home to the Guardians of Exhulm. He landed in the courtyard and immediately made his way to the Grand Hall that housed the council. A steward was at the desk, writing down something on a piece of paper.

“Lenard, I need to see the council. It is important.”

He looked up and sighed, “Alistair. Let me see if they are done with the others.”

Alistair nodded and waited for almost ten minutes before being led inside. He went down the walkway and stopped in front of the dais. Six members stared back at him, three females, a Phoenix, a Kapre, and a Dragon. Three males, a Fire Giant, a Dragon, and a Djinn.

“Alistair, what brings you here?” The male Dragon asked.

“Esteemed council, I have news. As you know, ten years ago, a boy appeared on our world that we never could figure out where he came from. That is, none of us saw evidence of any kind, or anyone that came looking for the lad. And you knew of what I did to the boy to help him survive.”

“Yes, we remember,” the female Phoenix stated. “You took it upon yourself to do something that was forbidden.”

Alistair sighed and nodded, “Yes, that is correct and have taken my punishment with my head up. But I have discovered something else. While checking on the boy, his magic is leaking out and he is using it like a veteran. Chantless magic even.”

This brought concern to the council. The Djinn asked, “And what sphere of magic is he using?”

“Well,” Alistair hesitated, “he is using telekinesis, air, and barrier magic. Also, magic in a way that I’ve not heard of. I think he is using Celestial magic.”

The council members were very concerned now, the female Dragon asked, “And how do you know this?”

“Well, the barrier magic is the first clue. But he is making others fall over, asleep, without even moving or speaking. Making them move on their own accord.”

“So, a Celestial is on Exhulm,” the male Dragon commented. “I don’t know if this is good news or bad. If the legends are true, then this little bit of magic is just the beginning. It is said that they can bend the elements to their will and use most of the spheres of magic.”

“They are not an aggressive or evil race,” the Phoenix stated firmly. “Though, they are someone not to fuck with. We need to be very careful with how we handle this.”

“Agreed.” The other council members said.

The Phoenix continued, “Monitor him and when his magic releases, then intervene and bring him to Eudor. We will decide what to do then.”

“Yes, council, thank you.”

“Oh, and remember, Alistair,” the female Dragon got his attention. Alistair turned to her. “You gave him your blood. Not just Dragon blood, but Guardian blood. Shapeshifting and portal magic, just to name a couple. …He is your responsibility now. If he goes rogue, then both of you will be either killed or banished from this world.”

Alistair nodded and left the Grand Hall with much to think about.

Chapter 8

My eyes opened and my mind was heavy. It had knowledge of people and things that I have no idea about. Though looking at the memories or whatever they gave me was something to see. The Celestials were a proud race, and not to be fucked with. Observing the scenes in my mind, I realized that none of them were under ten feet tall with different body types. All had swords on either their backs or hips, and all were trained in combat.

I also saw the magic they used and how to perform them. All elements and other spheres as well, though none could use all of the spheres. The training that Serena gave me was different than the Celestials, and now I have knowledge of those forms and techniques in my mind. I will need to train on those in the future. But not today.

I got up and drained the main vein before getting dressed. Moving slowly to the kitchen, I was still groggy from the information overload.

It will pass, just get something to eat.

Serena was at the table and since it was Saturday, she made a full breakfast. The Succubus smiled when noticing me come in to fix myself a plate.

“I tried to wake you, but a magic barrier wouldn’t let me in.”

I smiled back as I approached the table to sit down, “Yeah. Just learned that.”

She shook her head, “Barrier magic isn’t known on this world. I’ve only heard about it a few times but can’t remember where.”

“It’s pretty cool to be able to do that.”

Serena nodded, “What are your plans for today?”

“I’m supposed to meet up with Shari.”

She didn’t respond right away, just went back to her food to eat a few bites. “Are… are we still on for tomorrow?”

Swallowing my eggs, I said, “Of course. Where would you like to go?”

“Monty’s.”

I nodded and she grinned before picking up her tablet to browse.

That restaurant name brought me to a stop. What if someone recognized me and called the authorities?

No one will. We erased their memories.

Oh. Yeah, I forgot about that.

Why haven’t you taken her to your bed?

What? Who?

The Succubus.

Why the hell would you care?

She is strong in magic and in combat. Even though she is a Demoness, the female would be a great mate to have. Plus, it is plain to see that the woman is in love with you.

It’s complicated.

No, it is not. You think because you live with her that it is wrong. She isn’t your blood nor your race. I don’t see anything wrong with what she wants.

I just don’t want our relationship to fall apart if we go our separate ways.

Yes, you will eventually have to go home. I hope you realize that. Whatever the circumstances that have led you here is just the first part of your journey. It will be in your mind until we can get you back to see what happened. And at that time, you will have to leave everything here, even Serena if you don’t claim her.

I thought about it and knew the voice was correct. I agree. So, you think that Serena would go with us?

Only one way to find out.

I sighed and nodded, going back to my breakfast.

“Something wrong?”

I looked up at Serena, she had a concerned look. “No, just contemplating the past few weeks. Everything has changed, even us. Just going over it in my head.”

“Would it be bad if things did change?”

“Well, let me ask a question. If for some reason in the future that I had to leave, what would you do?”

She didn’t hesitate, “Go with you.”

I chuckled, “You’ve lived here for how long, Serena? How can you just up and go at a moment’s notice?”

“My home isn’t this building, Kristjàn. You are my home. So, if you leave then so will I.”

“What about your friends and colleagues?” I was having a hard time believing that she would leave everyone she knew for me.

“What about them? They have no stance on this conversation. I can make friends anywhere and have colleagues at another job. I don’t love them, I love you. Any crazier questions?”

Told you.

Whatever.

“No. What are you doing today?”

She responded with a serious voice, “Going out with Shelly and Carla.”

That caught me off guard and it was almost a minute before I spoke. “And why is that?”

“Because I think that the women in your life need to meet. I spoke with them the other day and asked them to meet, they agreed. If you keep dating this Shari, then I will want to meet her as well. Especially when we get intimate.”

Sighing, I didn’t respond to that and instead changed the subject. “I need to go work at the Brown’s. Hector is expecting me. Then I’ll get a haircut. Shari and I will be going to dinner tonight before catching a movie, at least that is the plan.”

“Do I get a movie too?” Serena asked with a smirk

“Yeah, if that is what you want.”

“Maybe, but dinner and dancing would be better.”

“That sounds fun.” And it did, dancing with Serena always was a blast. She smiled at my response.

I finished my breakfast and cleaned my plate. “You need help cleaning up?”

She shook her head no, so I kissed her on the cheek before leaving.

Hours later, after working and getting my hair cut, I went home to take a shower. It was almost 6 and after making myself presentable, I walked out of the portal room and went towards the mall. I was meeting my date at Jaquelan’s Pizza. It took me ten minutes to get there and then a couple minutes more to reach the eateries inside. Shari was sitting down at one of the tables with others. When getting closer, I recognized her friends sitting and talking.

Shit! Guess I will have to fake smile until we leave.

None of those at the table are a threat to us.

Except they outnumber us ten to 1.

Still not a threat when using the astral and mind spheres.

I didn’t respond but felt better when the voice made me aware of what I could do. Shari saw me walk up and scurried over, she gave me a scorching kiss and took my hand as she dragged me over to the table.

The only person that said hello to me was Lorrie, which is fine because I couldn’t give two shits for any of them. I responded in kind and listened to them talk about the upcoming football games and volleyball matches. It was a record, within ten seconds, I was bored with this conversation. After that, it was them wanting to eat here, then afterward they all wanted to go out. The guys, not me, wanted to go to Antoine’s, which is a popular club in the city, if not the most popular. The girls agreed, even Shari. She squeezed my hand, knowing that I wasn’t happy. We spoke in whispers.

“Please? I haven’t been clubbing in a while.”

“I don’t dance.”

Especially when Gunnar and his punk ass friends were around. Of course, I didn’t say that out loud.

“Can you do this for me?”

I was having second thoughts about coming around, but asked her, “Is that what you really want to do tonight?”

She nodded and smiled, “Yes, it’ll be fun.”

Groaning inwardly, I rolled my eyes and said okay. Shari kissed me on the cheek and went back to talking with her friends. I was hungry, so after waiting another five minutes, I got up and walked over to the counter. The guy took my order which was a large pizza all the way with two waters, I knew my date liked everything on her pizza. Me? I like the Meat Lovers and told Shari when we discussed our favorite things. I went back over to sit down, and a few minutes later, the others went over and ordered.

During the meal, the group kept ignoring me. Although, Shari tried to get me into the conversation, but they didn’t want to include me. Gunnar and the other males, and a couple of the females, kept throwing insults at me and even asked Shari why she was with me. I was getting fed up and felt my anger bubbling beneath the surface, waiting to come out.

Calm down. Your core is fluctuating and is beginning to show signs of instability. I do not know what will occur if that happens.

Closing my eyes and taking a few breaths, I calmed down. Shari looked at me, concerned.

“Kris and I are heading out. We’ll see you at the club later on.”

“Awww, Sharuth, why bring him along? I can be your date.”

“No thanks, Roth,” she hissed. “If it came down to you being the last male on this world, I would still never go out with you.”

The others laughed as his cheeks went red in anger. He looked straight at me; I knew then that the asshole will be trouble tonight.

“Let’s go, Kris.”

I got up and walked away, not caring what any of those idiots thought. We walked in silence for a few minutes before she spoke.

“I’m sorry, Kris. They are blind and stupid. The idiots can’t see that you’re a great guy.”

I grunted, “It’s not a problem, Shari. Like I said before, none of them will want me around you. They think that I am unworthy.”

“We both know that’s not true.”

I turned and looked at her, “Are you sure?”

“You know that answer, we’ve already discussed this. Stop with that talk.”

She took my hand in hers as we walked away from the mall. I’m still wondering why the hell she is with me. Yeah, I have magic now, but that doesn’t make me in the same league as these people.

The voice chuckled evilly. These cretins are not in the same league as you. Even though we have not merged, I know that to be true. If it’s magic that they base their opinions on, then they are in for a surprise. We have not come across any that are above you, at least in mana or strength. You just don’t have the experience or training.

Well, maybe one day I can find a trainer.

It doesn’t matter right now. I have given you the knowledge. We’ll just have to practice.

Sounds good to me. I’m getting tired of everyone’s shit.

Shari brought me back to the conversation. “I need to go change. Will you meet me at Antoine’s?”

Not really wanting to, she could see my reluctance and kissed me. “Please?”

“Sure. What time?”

“We settled on nine.”

Her friends. I’ll have to figure out if I want to be a part of this group of people. Right now, it doesn’t look like I’ll be joining. I looked at the time on my watch, it was seven.

“Okay. I’ll see ya then.”

She kissed me again and we went our separate ways. I watched as she made her way towards her home, which come to think of it, I don’t know where that is. Oh well, maybe she will let me know later on if her parents come to like me.

I chuckled. What the fuck am I thinking? They will never like me.

When my thoughts unclouded, I didn’t recognize where I was. Coming up to the next street sign, I looked up and saw that it was the corner of Stayput and Chandler. A thought came to mind and I sighed. What are the fuckin odds?

Shall we?

Yes.

It was getting dark, but I walked down the road anyway, looking for an abandoned factory. There were several buildings on the lot, and it took a bit to find the building in question, but when my eyes gazed upon it, I knew it was the right one. The factory had to be at least a hundred thousand square feet with the surrounding buildings being warehouses. The structure in question was mostly stone with windows, but some were built of wood and tin which were rotten and rusted. It was also fenced in. Trees and bushes surrounded three sides of the lot, which was great for me. Stealth will be the key to finding out what is going on here.

Crouching, I moved every few feet and observed the area to see if anyone was around. No one was outside on this side of the factory. Moving on, I came to the back of the factory and saw four people outside. My astral sight activated and zoomed in on them. It showed me details of the four individuals, the most important being their pale skin. I triggered my Third Eye to make sure, the read out said what I already knew. Vampires. The four males were cutting up, so I released the eye and made my way towards the other side. Stairs led up to a door, it was as good as any window would be. I found a hole in the fence and slowly strolled to the building. My ears picked up the conversation from the four but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Not seeing anything to hinder me, I quietly took a step at a time and eventually came to the door. My astral sight came on again and I waited for the scene to display in my mind. No guard was waiting for me on the other side of the door, so I checked the doorknob. It was locked. Damn. Couldn’t be easy.

Use your astral limbs, open the door from the inside.

Huh. Awesome.

I did and within a few moments, the door lock and deadbolt were moved to the unlock position. Quietly opening the door, I moved inside and slowly shut the door behind me. Looking around, I saw cages lining the walls with different races within. Male and female, old and young.

Shit, he’s got a shit ton of people in there.

Scanning the area, I counted at least twenty Vampires. My ears picked up some yelling and I turned to see down on the ground level a group of five were in a heated argument. I couldn’t hear most of it, since they were talking normally one minute and then yelling the next.

Use your senses. The Dragon blood will allow you to hear from afar.

And how do I do that?

Concentrate.

Sighing, I concentrated and after a few moments, my senses were heightened. The smells in this place were horrendous. Shit, piss, and uncleanliness. The lights were bright to me and the sounds were loud as fuck.  Closing my eyes, I took a few breaths to calm down, and opened them. I could hear the conversation now.

“…we don’t know.”

“Someone has to know where they are. We don’t lose two of our own unless something happened.”

“I agree. We need to be diligent. Someone must be aware of our presence on this world.”

“I will kill whoever has harmed my children!”

I looked at who last spoke. The tall male with dark hair. He was over seven feet tall and had silver eyes, just like the other one. He must be Sven. The guy just oozed evil.

He needs to be taken care of.

Yeah, no shit.

The discussion went on for a few more minutes. It allowed us to listen to their plans. Ten of the pukes were going to head out tonight to numerous locations, but one such place had my hackles up. Antoine’s. It was a place they attended when coming here and have been most of the week. Shari will be there. I couldn’t care less of the others, but the beautiful creature was going to be in danger. Everyone was supposed to meet up at Antoine’s around nine.

FUCK!

Thinking over the situation, I decided on a plan and then headed outside. When making it to the fence line, I hurried to the law firm and used the portal to go home. My feet took me towards my room but stopped immediately when I heard talking from the kitchen. That was weird, I thought Serena was out. Curious, I quietly made my way over.

“…that would be great.”

“He certainly has been a lifesaver. What do you think Carla?”

Carla? Was the meeting here?

“Kris has been taking care of me, but I’m not sure if it will last too much longer. I need to start looking for long term and right now, I don’t get that vibe from him. Don’t get me wrong, he is special, and sensitive to my needs, but it is inevitable that he will eventually leave to start his own family.”

Serena spoke up, “That may be, but do you want to be a part of it?”

“No. I want someone already established. I don’t want to start over with kids,” Carla replied hesitantly.

Well, there’s a kick to the nuts.

“I am not sure what I want right now, Serena,” Dawn commented. “I’m not making a decision like that in one night. I’ll need to think on it.”

Serena hissed, “What the fuck are you saying, Carla?”

She sighed, “I am thinking about cutting ties.”

“Yeah? And just how long have you been thinking about this?”

She didn’t answer at first, but finally answered, “A few months.”

No one spoke for at least a minute. Serena broke the silence, “Then why the fuck are you leading him on?”

“It’s hard to say goodbye to a good thing,” Carla replied in a low voice. “Can we just leave it be? I mean, we can discuss this later.”

“Sure, you can talk about this later when you break it off with Kristjàn,” Serena retorted. “And you can tell him that you’ve been too frightened to speak about it with him because your pussy is getting pleasure. I can’t believe this shit!”

“I feel horrible, Serena,” Carla said. “Please just drop it.”

“Fine, it’s dropped. …It’s almost time to leave and since we made plans, we can walk together, but when the night is over, I expect to never see you again. Dawn, we will talk later, but know this, if you are thinking the same as your friend then don’t let me find out that you are still seeing him.”

Dawn didn’t say anything as they got up from the table, I shot over to my room and went inside. Hoping no one saw me. I waited for a bit but didn’t hear any knocking. Since my barrier is still up, they couldn’t in anyway. My emotions were all over the place, sad that Carla was doing this, even Dawn didn’t give a straight answer. I was confused on why Carla was leaving, and angry at her for leading me along, even though the nights with her were great. I could feel myself feeling unstable and went directly into meditation.

Yes, meditate. I will bestow more training techniques and forms.

The voice did as planned, and I lost track of time. My mind was filled with forms from other races and we went over them step by step. It was exhausting. Taking a break, I looked at the clock and saw that it was 10:30. Fuck, I’m late.

Why didn’t you tell me what time it was?

Because we were in training mode and couldn’t stop in the middle of instruction.

That doesn’t sound right. Why couldn’t you stop in the middle?

Unless you are in danger or dying, then I’m instructed to not stop once the training is activated.

I sighed and changed clothes, then sprayed myself with cologne and hurried to the portal stone.

Wait!

I stopped and listened.

Take your swords.

Great idea.

I put on my harness and grabbed them. It took almost twenty minutes to get to the club. When approaching, I could see others outside and waiting. Two bouncers were waiting by the door.

We need to get in there, quickly. Those two vamps are keeping everyone out.

No shit. I can see that.

Go around back. Activate your Third Eye and make sure no one is in the shadows.

It was dark, and when I triggered my Third Eye and astral sight, I investigated the area. But nothing was of note and stopped at the back door. No one was manning the door either since it was locked. It was opened ten seconds later.

As soon as it was opened, I expected to hear loud music come from within, but it was the opposite. Silence reigned. I scanned the building, looking for the vamps. What I saw was people standing still and waiting. I did pick up the ten fucks soon after, they were placed in strategic areas. Two of them were speaking to the crowd.

“You will follow our orders or end up like the other three on the floor.”

I looked closer and found the three. Blood was coming out of wounds all over their bodies. They would perish soon.

My ears picked up Sven’s voice, “Take them to the trailer and get them into the cages. Our time is up, and we need to leave.”

Trailer? I didn’t see one but turned around and went back outside. I found a little cubby area on the back wall outside and hid within. It wasn’t a minute later that I heard footsteps. Watching the captives, I picked out numerous people that I knew. Classmates, Garth, Luka, Gunnar and his bunch, Shari, Dawn, Carla, and you guessed it, Serena. They all looked drugged, and the women had tears running down their faces. Rage hit me all at once and I was about to step out to get her free but was held back.

Sit down and calm yourself. Doing that will kill us. Bide your time, we know where they are taking them.

You’re right.

I thought about the three inside and cursed. We waited for the last person to go by and after another two minutes, I left the hiding spot. Making my way inside, I scanned to see if anyone else was around before heading to the three on the ground. All three were bleeding from multiple lacerations. Kneeling, I went over each one and stopped the bleeding, healing most of their wounds. The superficial wounds I left to heal on their own to avoid others asking questions.

After making sure they were breathing normally, I sprinted towards the factory on Chandler Road. When I got there, lights lit up the area.

How can no one not know what is going on here?

The truck was already here, so I moved with caution. My sight picked up six vamps, two groups of three marching around the fence lines. Moving through the hole from before, I located their esophagus and let loose three astral limbs. It took a moment but the three were on the ground, gasping for breath after I cut off the air supply.

Taking my swords, I cut the heads off of the vamps. I needed to move these bodies, so I lifted them with the astrals and put the bodies into a dumpster. The heads, I took them out into the woods and punted them into the darkness. Three down and three to go.

After a few minutes of observing the patrol, I did the same thing to them as the previous. When the coast was clear, I went to the stairs and climbed up to the door. Checking to see if it was clear first, I opened it and walked in slowly. The captives were already in cages and the vamps were discussing their next steps.

“Are you shitting me?” Sven scoffed. “They need to get their asses here, now!”

“That’s what I told them, but they said it would be tomorrow at dawn.”

“SHIT! Okay, whatever. We will just have to put up with all this fuckin whining for one more night.”

Must be the pickup teams. I scanned the area and found the new captives. They were spread out into separate cages. My sight picked up fifteen baddies, wondering if this is the rest of them. Six are dead outside. I thought about what I wanted to do, but the decision was made by the vamps.

“Uh, Sven?”

“What?”

“Can we um… sample the new product?”

All the male vampires smiled, Sven nodded, “Yeah, that’s fine.”

The group of males gazed upon the cages, looking for prey. Sven walked off with three female Vampires, not caring what their kin did. The group went to a room further into the facility. I turned back to see one of the male pukes walking to a cage and picked out a female from the new prisoners. It was Lorrie and they pulled her screaming body out then rushed to a door on the opposite wall. My sight was already working, so I observed what was going on. The male had pushed Lorrie onto a bed, about to have his way with her. She was screaming, crying out for help. Damn, they were about to rape some of these women. Lorrie was a Dragon, but she wasn’t shifting.

My mind remembered the alley when the vamps cornered some others, they were drugged. It caused them to lose the ability to be able to shift and fight back.

 Great. So, these people can’t fight back either.

I took a calming breath, and felt my anger rising. It wasn’t a minute later that another bastard plucked a female from a different cage. I didn’t know who it was, but she immediately screamed for help. The vamps laughed and ignored her. They went to another room and the same thing started happening. I shook my head at this.

We need to do something

I agree, but there is still thirteen against one. And your magic is still blocked off.

I don’t give a fuck! There must be something that we can do.

My anger was rising, must be the Dragon in me. I did know that they were known for their rage. The two females that were observing, walked away, leaving seven to deal with.

I’m going to get closer.

I crouched and moved swiftly but quietly down the stairs. They were conveniently in the dark. At the bottom, old crates were still here, so I used them as cover to make my way over to the cages. I was almost overwhelmed with the stench of sweat and piss coming from inside the cages, but I pushed through and made it beside the first cage to the east wall. The other seven fucks were selecting their picks and commotion brought my attention to one of the cages in the middle. I saw Gunnar and two of his cronies try to block the Vampire’s path, but they ended up getting tossed to the side like a ragdoll. All three of them were moaning, the vamp grabbed Alyssa and slammed the door to the cage shut. She was desperately trying to get away from him, but the male laughed and drug her to a room.

I don’t much care for her personality or character, but this was wrong on so many levels. The last one was making his pick.

We need to get to those rooms and kill those bastards.

Hmm… yes, I agree. There are ten rooms, let’s see if we can put them to sleep from here.

Right, that sounds doable.

But it wasn’t, I couldn’t do it because they weren’t in my range. I scanned the area to make sure no one was around, my ears picked up yelling and crying from the rooms. Shaking my head, I needed to get done with this quickly so that I can get everyone out and kill those fuckers. I walked out of my hiding spot and quickly strode over to the closed doors, hearing murmurs from the cages.

Crouching down, I tested again and found that the rooms were in my range now. So, I closed my eyes and without paying attention to what was going on in there, I put them all into a deep sleep.

Let’s free the captives first, then we can deal with them.

Gritting my teeth, I focused on the cage in front of me. Two more were in my vicinity, ten feet apart. They were half full, consisting of mostly females of different races. I used my magic to see how bad these people were drugged. Scanning everyone, I found that they had a potent toxin in their bloodstream.

That’s not good. Wonder if they can fight back if the toxin is cleared.

Not sure, but I count thirty cages total. Let’s free these first three and go from there. We need to move quickly.

I agreed and concentrated on the cages in front of me. It took a bit for me to get the toxin removed, but I got the procedure down and went through the rest quickly.

Break the locks on those doors with your astral limbs. Free them, and we will work our way to the others.

Okay, but let’s hope no one comes out to check on them.

I walked over to the cages, some of them gasped as they didn’t notice someone was moving freely. I put my hand up to stop them from talking. While using the astral sphere, it has let me make the limbs thicker and denser. I blinked and the limb shot out towards the lock, shattering it. Opening the door, I gestured for them to be quiet. Everyone was gawking at me, but I ignored them and went to the other two cages, freeing them. The groups came out, and I advised them to be silent so I could free the others. I went to the next three in line and a few minutes later, they were free.

“What is your name, hero?” A voice asked in a low voice.

I was still purging toxin on the last one and when done, I turned to see a tall blonde and brunette, that looked to be in their twenties, smiling at me.

Hero?

“Kris.”

The two females bowed their heads to me, the blonde said, “My name is Veronica, and this is Cecilia,” gesturing to the one beside her. I nodded and she went on, “Thank you for saving us. When this is over and we are out of this prison, can we speak with you again?”

I didn’t see why not. “I guess. Not sure what’s going to happen, but I need to continue on.”

“Yes, of course. But can I ask why you are concentrating so hard?”

Can we afford to let others know what we can do?

I don’t see that it matters now. We need to get moving.

Taking that advice, I replied, “Because… I am removing the potent toxin within your bodies. Though you won’t be able to shift for some time.”

I started walking towards the next few cages as many of them gasped.

Dammit, they need to shut the fuck up.

When I arrived at the next few cages, I closed my eyes and concentrated, though my ears picked up footsteps coming my way. When finished, I popped the locks and opened the doors.

“We will protect you. Jaque and a few others are leading the others out.”

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Veronica and Cecilia with two males. Huge Fuckers. Way over seven feet. I shrugged and went to the next ones in line. It was taking a bit longer than I thought, but my goal was to get everyone out before any of those assholes came back. My mind was too focused on removing the toxin that I didn’t remember seeing Serena or Shari in the mix.

Then I found both of them in the last one. Serena was badly beaten, and her dress was torn in places. Probably from her fighting back. Shari was in a dress as well, though not torn in many places, she did have injuries. I then moved forward and even though it took time, I healed them both.

After moving about and knowing they hurt the two most important people in my life, my anger came upon me quickly. But a voice brought me out of my thoughts of cutting these bastards up piece by piece.

“What now?”

Scanning the area, I saw that most of the captives were gone. I then turned my attention to the person who spoke and came face to face with Veronica. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. My face was three inches from her huge breasts. The red halter top that she was wearing was dripping with sweat, and while observing the mouthwatering cleavage, her nipples started making an appearance.  I looked up and saw her smirk, then wink at me.

Clearing my throat and trying to keep my anger in check, I said, “I need to get those ladies out of those rooms.”

“We’ll take care of that,” Cecilia responded. “Bronson?”

“Yes, milady. Consider it done.”

Milady? A noble? Why the fuck would they be here?

I watched him and a few others carry out the unconscious females from those rooms. Alyssa, Lorrie, and Becky were in there. Shari’s friends, and even though they didn’t like me all that much, they were still people that I knew. That and these bastards hurt Serena and Shari. The rage came upon me like an erupting volcano. My body was shaking, growling with displeasure over the situation.

“Are you okay?” Someone asked in concern.

I ignored them and sent out nine limbs. They shattered the doors and grabbed the sleeping Vampires by their necks. The walls were demolished when the bodies came through them. People hollered out in fright at what they were seeing.

“What the fuck is happening?”

I didn’t even look at the ones behind me, “You might want to leave with the others. I’m about to make my presence known.”

“Why would you want to do that?” Veronica asked with a high-pitched voice.

With the bodies still hovering in front of me, I replied, “They have really pissed me off. Now, I will kill them all.”

“Did you know those women?” Cecilia questioned in concern.

I didn’t answer. Bronson came back at that time, “We left the females with the others outside. They’re going to be in the woods, waiting for us,” then looked around at the aftermath. “What the fuck is going on? Oh, sorry milady.”

“We can help you, Kris,” Veronica voiced her opinion. “The leader is a Demon, an Incubus. He’s very powerful.”

Cecilia answered Bronson, “Kris knew some of those women, and now he is about to get himself killed going after Sven.”

“I agree with Lady Veronica, we can help man!” he emphasized.

With my anger still rising, I took a few breaths and my vision turned white. My magic oozed out and sent out a command. New limbs shot out and wrapped around the Vampires. A few moments later, the bodies were torn apart. Blood and guts went everywhere.

“Holy Fuck!”

“Shit!”

“You are not capable of shifting yet, even though that toxin is gone, your body will take some time to recover. Now, leave before they get here.”

“Are you sure that you want to do this?” Cecilia asked.

“Come with us,” Veronica pleaded. “We’ll get reinforcements and come back to defeat them.”

“No, they will have retreated by then. I can handle this. Go.”

The group shook their heads at me, Cecilia came over and spoke, “When this is over, we will speak again.”

Veronica calmly commanded in the speech of a noble, “You better survive so we can reward you properly.”

Reward? Sure.

I nodded and they walked off. Closing my eyes, I talked with my other self.

Since you are combat, then you need to take over. I want those fuckers to pay.

I felt myself move over and let him drive. Again, my vision turned white as a kinetic spell came out from my body. A shockwave flew across the factory, picking up all of the body parts as it went by, and impacted the far wall at the other end. A loud boom sounded when it hit, shaking the entire structure, and taking a closer look, it was heavily dented and painted in body parts.

We walked to the middle of the building and waited, a couple of minutes later, the far door slammed open and ten individuals strolled out. Half of them were female and they were naked. They noticed the wall and that blood was dripping off it.

Sven scanned the area and his gaze fell upon me, “So you are the reason for this. I see that you freed those pathetic creatures.” The pissed off Demon looked at the wall and noticed the clothing still attached to some of the body parts. He hissed and growled, “You will pay for this puny Human. I don’t know how you defeated my followers, but we will not make the same mistakes.”

He looked at three of his followers and nodded. The trio sprinted towards me and right before they tried taking me out, an invisible kinetic shield formed. The three slammed into it, flattening the first one and the other two couldn’t stop fast enough, the last one crushed the other two. A wave of my hand and the shield expanded and encased the meat patties. I made a fist and squeezed. Moments later, the Vampires were crushed to paste, and I flung my hand towards Sven, releasing the shield. The paste flew over and landed near the other vamps.

They took a step back, all of them except Sven. He seethed in anger but looked over his shoulder and nodded before turning back to me, “You really fucked up, little man. Look upon me, Human. Gaze upon perfection.”

The jerkoff shifted and turned into a ten-foot-tall Demon with black wings. He had black leather skin, muscular, and displayed two horns on his ugly head. I felt something trying to overwhelm me but shook it off.

“Do you not know who you are dealing with? I am an Incubus, little worm. You cannot defeat me, and I will find out who your family is and defile them before slitting their throats.”

Just listening to his raspy voice and comments pissed me off. The last statement made me go ballistic, and I felt something inside me burst. It took a few moments to calm myself and figure out what happened. My core was free of its block. I smiled at this and started walking towards the Incubus.

He and his crew laughed at me. I kept going and took a few breaths, then felt myself shift for the first time. A bright light flashed and lit up the whole area, blinding everyone. I felt different and looked down at myself. Shit, how did I become so tall? I didn’t know how tall I was, but it had to be at least double of what I was. My skin was a golden tan, broad shouldered, muscular but not excessive, more of an athletic body. Shiny black armor covered most of my body, it looked to be Dragon scales. Then something moved on my back, I looked over my shoulder and was shocked. My eyes gazed upon wings, white with spots of black throughout. They moved when I wanted and retracted when not using them, disappearing into my back. A harness showed up then with two swords in the sheathes.

Cold Iron. Used to defeat malevolent entities.

I nodded and then looked down at the splotches of black on my arms.

The Dragon blood mixed with our Celestial blood.

Do you see anything wrong with that? Any negative reactions?

No, not at this time. Let’s get this done so we can test further.

The Vampires and Incubus stood there; mouths open in disbelief. I noticed that I was taller than the Incubus now, and he backed up a few steps to get his courage back up.

“How are you on this world? You shouldn’t be here!”

Laughing, I responded in a deep, strong voice that shook the building, “Well, I am. And since you pissed me off, I’m going to enjoy making you take your last breaths in agony.”

I moved forward and his followers took off in different directions. With a few hand gestures, the entire factory lit up the outside as a barrier slammed down and enclosed the old structure. The Incubus was confused and gestured for someone to check it out. Two went to a door on the east side and opened it, observing a bright translucent film in front of the entrance. The idiot tried to walk out and was struck by a kinetic force, throwing him back inside. The vamp fell to the ground and groaned. Another follower went to a different door and saw the same atmosphere.

Sven looked around and knew that no one was going anywhere unless they killed me. He stood there, contemplating. I knew the dufus was going to do something idiotic. It didn’t even take a minute before the Demon made his decision. He ran and launched himself at me, which was stupid, I guess he wasn’t paying attention when his people hit my shield. The Demon hit it and was thrown back thirty feet.

Groaning, he got up. I let my shield go and took out the two cold iron swords on my back. He saw what they were, and his eyes were filled with fear.

“Please, this was just a misunderstanding. Can we not settle this some other way?”

“Really?” I scoffed. “Stand up and face me Demon. Being just a slaver, I would’ve taken you and your lot to the authorities. You brought this on yourself when kidnapping these people and mouthing off to me what you would do to my family. No, we cannot settle this another way.”

I threw up another shield as Sven snarled and threw spell after spell at me. Fire, Hellfire, Poison Cloud, and others. They all hit my shield and vanished over and over, until he started panting.

What happened to the spells?

They were absorbed. The shield has taken his spells apart and used them to boost itself.

Wow, that’s cool.

I moved towards him still holding onto my swords. The Incubus stood there, waiting. When my feet hit the twenty-foot mark they all rushed me. I swung in a horizontal direction and hit most of them except the Incubus. He stopped in time for the first strike. His followers were cut in half and lying on the concrete floor. Sven tried to call up another Hellfire spell and tried to release it, but before that could happen, I rushed over and backhanded the motherfucker. He flew over and hit the middle of the east wall, destroying most of it. Bright light came in and lit up the inside.

While he was picking himself up, I walked over and stepped on the heads of his followers, crushing them. Sven yelled in anger and flew towards me. Taking the sword in my right hand, I waited until there was no way he could move and launched my sword at him. It struck hard and embedded into his chest. The weapon messed with his trajectory and he ended up ten feet to my left. Watching the Demon for almost a minute, I wanted to make sure that he would stay down. When he didn’t move, I strolled over and stared down at the worthless piece of shit. Sven moved his head so that he could see me, and the fucker smiled, blood flowing out of his mouth and from the wound in his chest. He chuckled and spit some blood on the floor.

I thought about what the fucker said about my family and it made my decision easier. Two astral limbs shot out and wrapped around the Incubus, lifting him into the air. One knocked the sword out of his chest, and they flung him against the west wall, it crumpled. I did it again and again and again, missing all the support posts and beams, until most of the wall was gone. I then brought him to me, most of his body was mangled, but he was still smirking.

The two limbs hurled him against the east wall, over and over, crushing it as well. The bright light of the barrier lit up the factory like it was daytime outside. I brought him back to me again, his horns were gone as was most of his body. Getting tired of this fuck, I squeezed and pulled. The Demon’s head came off and rolled to the side. I couldn’t tell if he was still smirking or not, but the asshole wasn’t alive anymore. 

Dropping the body, I picked up my sword off the ground and sliced the Demon up. Flicking the blood off both of my swords, I sheathed them and scanned the area for anyone else still alive. I saw a piece of metal sticking up from the floor that was over seven feet off the ground. Picking up Sven’s head, I slammed it on the metal spear. It would be a magnificent art piece.

Taking a few breaths and scanning the area, I saw that it was clear and thought about what they might be hiding. These bastards must have an office of some sort. Maybe it will reveal something else.

Taking over for now, I strolled down the hallway and found an office area. Snooping around, I pulled drawers out and checked for anything valuable. There were ledgers on a desk and sifting through them, I found names and dates. So, I put them to the side. I also found a safe embedded in the wall. My astral limb smashed through the door and pulled it off the hinges. It contained more ledgers, jewels, bonds, silver, and gold. Bingo. I investigated a room that had clothes and other materials but nothing to hold anything. Finally, I found a duffle bag in a closet and threw everything into it. The bastards owed me this. I figured it was compensation for stopping these fuckers.

Checking in all the rest of the rooms, I didn’t see anything else of value. So, I put the duffle bag over my shoulder and made my way to the front entrance. As I came up to the front, I pulled open the door but hesitated. My astral sight activated, it showed there were lights flashing and people were all over the place.

It looks like someone spilled the beans and called the authorities.

What do you want to do?

Suggestions?

Hmm… Go through the roof?

I smiled and nodded. He took over and my wings came out, then we lifted off the ground to crash through the roof and went through the barrier. We stopped about thirty feet up over the factory. The barrier was still strong and bright. I scanned the area, and sure enough, people were pointing up at me, gawking. I didn’t know what to make of this but took a few breaths.

Destroy it.

The factory?

Yes, leave no evidence. We don’t want anyone to find a fingerprint or any DNA to link me at this location. Even though people saw me, doesn’t mean they recognize us as we are now.

He grunted and worked some hand gestures. A few moments later, the barrier started compacting until it was a big metal square. People all around us gasped and yelled something. He pointed a finger at the square and a kinetic spell shot out and hit our target. The metal exploded, though it didn’t damage anything since the barriers were still active. After almost a minute, the barriers vanished, and a truck load of metal shavings fell to the ground.

I don’t want anyone to follow us and should’ve thought about this before announcing our presence. Can we use a spell to disguise us?

Yes, an illusion will make us seem to disappear.

Is it difficult?

No.

Then do it.

Half a minute went by and he said it was done. I didn’t feel any different though and when contemplating over it, I shouldn’t since it is an illusion. But my ears picked up murmurs and people shouting.

Guess it worked. Maybe one day, I can learn invisibility, if that’s even an option.

I observed for another few minutes, scanning for Shari, Dawn, Serena, and Carla. I didn’t see them, but my eyes fell upon Veronica, Cecilia, Bronson, and some others that were kidnapped. Even Gunnar and his cronies were staring in my direction.

Wonder what they’re thinking?

Probably asking themselves where you came from and what happened to Kris. That, or they know you are him. Simple logic.

You think, smartass? I guess he doesn’t know that was a rhetorical question.

Yes, that is what I think. Now, we need to get out of here and go someplace where we can calmly shift back. Then rest.

I rolled my eyes and told him to head towards home. My mind was wondering if we could fly there, he said that is possible but time consuming.

What if we are different than before? I knew something changed when my magic released. Especially since I could grow to twelve feet tall.

Where can we go that no one would bother us?

I thought about and came up with a solution. The park.

Great idea. Let’s head there.

A few minutes went by before we saw the park area, so we went straight to the section that was surrounded by trees and landed. When my feet touched the ground, my wings retracted and disappeared. Putting the duffle bag down, I scanned the area for signs of life. Only a few rabbits were around.

All right, shift back.

I could feel myself transform and after a few moments, I looked down to see that things did change. Observing my new body, I could tell it wasn’t anything like my old stature.

Can you conjure up a mirror or something? Oh, and some light? I need to check some things out.

He did and I stepped back, stunned. There wasn’t anything of my old self that was recognizable. My hair was dark brown, ending at my shoulders. Eyes were a dark blue, Prussian to be exact. Though, every so often, I could see what seemed to be lightning flow through them. Damn, that’s freaky. My ears were pointed, like a fuckin elf, body type was buff, but not extremely so. And my skin tone was a golden tan color.

I guess we will have some explaining to do when arriving home.

I’m sorry. I tried to get back to where you were before, but the Dragon had other ideas and wouldn’t compromise.

Oh? You can talk with him?

Yes, it’s a nuisance for sure, him not talking with you. Though for now, I am mediating until we merge.

Not knowing what to say to that, I went on. He was adamant?

Yes, he wasn’t going to be a scrawny looking Human again. Those were his exact words. People will know when he is near. The blue eyes are his, as is the lightning. Part of his spell repertoire. The ears are part of your heritage.

Shit. How are we going to explain this going to the portal room?

We won’t be able to. And you are not trained enough to shift into your Dragon form. So, that leaves only one choice. Fly home.

Wait. Dragon form? I will be able to turn into a Dragon?

Yes. But don’t think on it now. You need to rest. All of the magic you have used will take a toll on your body until you build up your stamina.

Make my ears like a Human’s for now.

Good idea.

He did and after a few moments of checking I nodded. Okay. Let’s go.

I picked up the duffle bag as my wings shot out, then we were off, flying into the dark of night. I was worried about things, how everyone would act towards me was the biggest concern. That and having to explain everything.

It was early the next morning when we arrived home, exhausted, even though I stopped to take breaks every so often. As soon as I touched the ground, I felt a presence near. Turning, I brought out my swords and unsheathed them. “Show yourself.”

A chuckle brought my attention to my right. “Very good, young man. You sensed me right off. Not many can do that.”

I didn’t speak or respond. A middle-aged guy stood in front of me with long dark hair and blue eyes. The man was shorter than me but not by much. He went on, “Let’s get the formalities out of the way. You are Kristjàn and I am Alistair. I brought you here when I came upon your unconscious body. We have lots to discuss and you will have many questions, but not now. We need to leave here before anyone locates you.”

So, this is the guy who brought me here all those years ago.

“Why would anyone care?” I knew someone would want to eventually, maybe other Vampires or Demons.

“You are a being that’s not supposed to be here on this world. That and the things that you did tonight will have some angry and others frightened. …Everyone thinks you are dead, Kris. Which by looking at you, it looks to be true. At least, the old you.”

I grunted and shrugged. He continued, “Serena and Sharuth were distraught when finding out that you were there tonight. Dawn and Carla too. They cried themselves to sleep.”

The last two names were surprising. Well, maybe they did care about me.

“I can just tell them what happened. No big deal.”

Alistair shook his head, “No, son. It is best that this happened. No one will know the new you.”

“What? Why?” What the hell was this guy talking about?

“There are things we need to talk about. But not here and since your power has been released, we need to leave this place. For now, maybe at some point in the future, you will be able to return.”

“But what about Serena? Shari? And the others? I can’t just leave them without saying goodbye.”

“I’m sorry, that’s the way it needs to be. You also made impressions on the nobles. We need to keep you out of the spotlight, and since you’re not just over five feet anymore, everyone will want to know why you have magic now.”

That’s fucked up. I sighed, knowing that he is correct in his assumption.

I also agree with him. We need to rest and train your body for magic that was taken from you. And the Dragon will need to be merged as well.

“Okay, I will come with you, but on one condition.”

He was confused and curious at my request. “And that is?”

“I will need to tell them that I am alive. They are too important for me to just walk away.”

Alistair thought about it and after a minute of silence and debating with himself he said, “Very well, but not right now. You need to rest and build your strength back up.”

I was about to retort, but he held up his hand, “No, this is not a compromise. I said that I will allow you to do that, but only when you are capable.”

“Fine. But let’s get this out there. You aren’t my caretaker and I’m fine living on my own. I was brought up to survive on the land if needed.”

He chuckled and shook his head, “Strong willed and independent. I like that. You will need it.”

Tha fuck is that supposed to mean? I sighed and sheathed my weapons and picked up the duffle bag to lay it on my shoulder.

“What’s in the bag? I know it’s not clothes.”

“…Look, I don’t know you and the only reason that I’m allowing myself to go with you is because I don’t want to put anyone that I know in danger. So, why do you need to know what’s in here?”

You should tell him.

Not now. How do we even know what side he’s even on?

True, but you need to tell someone.

Agreed.

“Call it curiosity if you want,” Alistair replied. “But you’re right, you don’t know me. All right, let’s get going. Come here, close to me.”

After thinking it over, it occurred to me that this might be a trap, but I can defend myself now. So, I walked over and stopped a foot away. He then put his hand on my shoulder, “This will make you a little nauseous.”

“What will?”

As soon as I asked that, we were transported to another place. The fucker can teleport. That’s an awesome skill to have. Wonder what else he can do.

I didn’t feel anything when we arrived like he said that I would. I looked around but couldn’t really see anything since it was dark, except that we were surrounded by trees. Are we in a forest? Alistair stared at me for a few moments with a look that seemed curious before he started walking east, so I followed him.

A few minutes later, we came upon a cabin that was lit up on the inside. He flicked his hand and the door came open which let out a huge feline. It was a cougar. Four-foot-tall and five-feet-long with a three-foot tail. Its paws were as big as my hands and the fur was a dark brown color, well it looks like it since I couldn’t really tell. It caught me off guard because I didn’t know that those creatures were around.

How far are we from my old home?

The feline walked over to Alistair and nuzzled, the man petted the cat and said, “Cloe, say hello to Kris. He will be staying with us for the time being.”

She huffed and nodded to me. Intelligent creature. I nodded back and followed Alistair inside. It was quaint, not much décor inside but had a chair and couch to sit down on. Kitchen had a stove and sink, and a table to sit at.

“The second bedroom is yours, drop your things off in there while I fix us a few sandwiches.”

My stomach started rolling at that statement, so I did take my stuff into the bedroom and placed it on the floor. The room was smallish, smaller than mine at Serena’s. It had a dresser, bed, and a closet. The basics, which is all that I would need I suppose. Walking back to the kitchen area, Alistair had everything out on the table. He placed a plate for me with two sandwiches piled high with different kinds of meat, cheese, and the works. A mug was right beside the plate, so I got some water and sat down to eat. In no time, the meal was gone. I was hungrier than I thought.

“Any time that you use that much magic, your body will need sustenance.”

That brought up some questions, “How do you know what my body needs? Were you there?”

He nodded, “Yes, I have been watching you from afar for some time. When you began using magic, I have been there more often. Tonight, I observed. And when your block was removed from your magic, I knew that you would have to drop out of sight for a while. No one here has seen a Celestial since the Great Wars that formed this world. “

He knows about the block?

“Wait, so my kind was here before? Why are they not now?”

“No, their world, or yours as well, is far from here. Your race was allied with the Phoenix and Dragons to help rid of the malevolent races that ruled this world. The Demon hordes that were cut down were pure evil, as were the things that they spawned. Ghouls, Vampires, Zombies and Liches to name a few. The Demon kind that you see around now are nothing compared to those malicious creatures. Every race on Exhulm are tame compared to the ones thousands of years ago.”

Hmm… “From that story, I’m getting a vibe that for some reason, you know what really happened.”

“Yes, I was there.”

“What? That would mean that you are thousands of years old.” No fucking way was this middle-aged guy that old.

“It is true.”

That took me a few minutes to contemplate. If he was telling the truth, which it seemed that he was, who the fuck is this guy?

“Just who are you, Alistair? Better yet, what are you?”

He grunted and stared at me for a few moments before making some decision, “I’m a Guardian of Exhulm.”

Was that supposed to mean something? I must’ve had a blank look on my face because he continued, “A Guardian looks over the world, trying to balance it. We aren’t allowed to interfere but can push in one direction or the other. We aren’t supposed to reveal ourselves to the inhabitants of this world either.”

“Uh, okay. Then why are you telling me this?”

“Because I’ve already intervened for you.”

Huh? “What does that mean?”

Alistair sighed, “When I first found your unconscious body, I… I wanted to make sure that you survived on this world. You were an unknown entity at the time. So, I… I blocked your magic and gave you some of my blood.”

My eyes went wide and sneered, “It was you that put on that block? Why the hell did you do that? I’ve been picked on and laughed at my entire life!”

He calmly responded, “Because for one, you were a boy that was very powerful, and two, you were not of this world. I couldn’t chance that someone would find you and use your power for evil. So, I blocked it.”

I sat back and took a few calming breaths before speaking again, “Why the blood then?”

“Because at the time, I wanted you to survive so that I could find out where you came from or who you were. Contaminating your blood would make you a half-breed, making you look as though you belonged to this world. I investigated but couldn’t determine anything until you began using barrier magic. At that, I knew that you were a Celestial. I’m sorry, Kris.”

Not knowing what to say, I pondered my situation for a few minutes. Then advised the Guardian something that I was told, “I’m not a half-breed. I’m full blooded.”

“What?!” He was flabbergasted. “How do you know that?”

I figured the truth would be wise, but not all of it. “He has spoken with me. I also have traits and skills from him.”

“What color are you? What is his name?”

Do you know his name?

No, he will not give it to me until you are merged.

“He will not give it to me yet. I haven’t had a chance to come to terms with all this. My magic was only fully released last night.”

“Ah, yes, that is true. Okay, you need to rest. I will clean up and tomorrow we will need to talk about the coming days.”

I grunted and left, not clear about what that meant.

Chapter 9

The morning came with birds chirping. I awoke to the feeling of being watched. Turning to the right, I came face to face with Cloe. Shit! I moved away.

When I got myself together, I said, “Good morning, Cloe.”

The feline stared at me and left, I guess she was my wakeup call. Getting out of bed, I got dressed and walked into the kitchen. Alistair was at the table with breakfast. I sat down after he handed me a plate full of eggs, bacon, and toast.

Not saying a word, I began eating. Alistair joined. We ate in silence and when finished, he took the dish and started cleaning up. I brought over the others and placed them on the counter. I sat back down and waited for him.

“This morning, we will begin your training. Magic and combat.”

That surprised me, “You’re going to be the one training me?”

He chuckled, “I don’t see anyone else volunteering.”

I sighed and nodded. He rubbed his neck with his hand, “Look, I know that this is going to be awkward at first, but hopefully we can start to trust each other. I am aware of your past social status and again apologize for that. Right now, though, you will start over as someone else. Maybe that will help going forward. When you are conscious of your power, then we can see about placing you back into society. I don’t want to be responsible for a tragedy that we cause because you are untrained, especially if we can avoid it.”

“Sounds logical.”

“Good. The other thing to note is that I’m responsible for you.”

“What does that mean?” Nobody is responsible for me now.

“The Guardian Council is aware of what I did and commanded me to watch and observe you until your block came off. At that time, they advised to bring you here. I have notified them of everything, and they have given me the responsibility to train you over the magic you have found yourself with. They also advised that if you can’t be trusted or become a problem then both of us will perish or be banned from this world.”

“Uh, okay. Kinda harsh, but whatever. And yes, I am aware of the Dragon magic but there is another unknown magic within.”

“Oh? …Uh, yeah. In my hurried manner, I didn’t think that my Guardian magic would pass to you through the blood as well. We will have to test out what you can do.”

Ah, so that’s what the unknown blood is. Guardian magic. Sounds powerful and intriguing.

Yeah, but this crap about him being responsible for me isn’t jiving.

Well, you will have to deal with it. It’s the only way you can leave this place and not have people track you down.

True, maybe it won’t take forever to accomplish.

“Here.” Alistair placed a book in front of me. I gazed upon it and saw that the book was for beginners. Low blow, but hey, I haven’t been practicing long.

“I know that you’ve somehow found a way for your magic to work in situations, but let’s start from the beginning. Work on the fundamentals first.”

That is a good idea.

So, we did and for the next few days, I learned the spheres of magic and the hierarchy and tiers. Since my counterpart advised that I could use most of the spheres, I wanted to test which ones. We also worked on my sword forms and techniques. Alistair was impressed and advised that he had a different technique that he would teach me, if I wanted. I said sure, couldn’t hurt.

Taking a break for lunch and to rest my mind a bit, Alistair fixed us a meal and turned on the TV. I haven’t even thought about that. It was on a commercial break for a minute, then went back to the news studio.

The news story showed scenes from an old factory with a barrier around it. The headline read ‘Slaver Ring Found at Old Factory and Was Defeated.’

Holy shit!

The reporter told the story of how everything happened from eyewitness accounts. Even had some of them on camera. It then showed a picture of me and that I was a casualty of the slaver ring. The story went on to say that I was a hero and even said something about a funeral, but my mind was having issues with my face on the news. It was a reminder that I need to make an appearance and quickly.

The news went to another story, but I was staring at the wall, thinking about Shari and Serena. I sighed and shook the bad thoughts out of my head.

“Are you okay?”

I looked up and saw Alistair concerned, “Yeah. Just wasn’t prepared for that.”

He nodded and said, “If it’s any consolation, Serena will be taken care of for the rest of her life. Not that she needed it, but Veronica’s and Cecilia’s parents paid for your funeral, and have given her ungodly amounts of money to her for your sacrifice. I believe she will share with Dawn and Carla, and donate some to charity. Veronica, Cecilia, and their entire group that was with them are taking it hard. Even Bronson and his crew shed a few tears at the funeral.”

That was specific details, I looked up and determined, “You were there this morning.”

“Yes, you had quite the turn out,” Alistair agreed. “Your two longtime friends sat with Shari and her friends. All of them were crying, Gunnar and Alyssa were having issues with their eyes as well. It was a nice service. Even though a body wasn’t there, Serena is setting up a gravesite behind your home at your favorite spot.”

I smiled at that, she remembered. “It’s time for me to make an appearance. The funeral should’ve deterred anyone that may have been looking for me. And I’ve recouped.”

“I thought that might be the case,” he sighed. “Are you sure this is what you want to do? You can walk away with a clean slate.”

Not hesitating, I responded, “Yes, they are special to me.”

“They won’t recognize you, Kris.”

I grinned, “No, but they will know that it is me.”

Alistair was skeptical and just shrugged, “If that is what you want then at least wait a couple of weeks to let them get back to some normalcy.”

I nodded, “That sounds fine. We trained, went over the spells that I should be able to do without backlash, and finished with linguistics. He was teaching me other languages too.

We ate and I went back to learning. After the past few weeks of books, magic training, and combat training, I felt more confident. The voice helped in ways and was silent when Alistair began teaching. The voice, I started calling him Sam, just so I can separate myself from him. He didn’t know how long it would be before we merged, because I asked. But since I’m older, and somewhat more mature than what is normal, I was going to be patient and take it day by day.

One day, after a training session, Alistair explained to me about the relationship between him and Cloe. She had been injured from a fight with another predator. He healed her and she ended up staying with him. The feline watches over his home and in return, she is well taken care of.

I remembered that her species doesn’t exist on my continent. “What continent are we on?”

“Ah, I knew you would figure it out sooner or later. We are on Eudor.”

“Eudor. Can’t remember what dominant race lives here.”

“The Nature Dragons are in the forest, as are the felines, and bear population. Then there are the Gargoyles out by the mountains. Fire breathers are out by the volcanos and fire lakes.”

“Fire breathers?”

“Yeah, Fire Dragons, Fire Serpents, and Salamanders.”

“Wow, dangerous place you live in.”

Damn, all kinds of predators around us. Guess I better pay attention when exploring the woods.

“It’s not that bad. Just be aware of your surroundings. I need to go into town to get some things, are you going to be okay by yourself?”

“Sure, not a problem. I might go explore the forest a bit.”

Alistair grunted, “Be careful, stay clear of any trees that glitter. Fairies don’t take too kindly to intruders.”

“Fairies? Really? Huh, didn’t know they existed. But I’ll be careful.”

He nodded and walked out of the cabin, then opened a portal to whatever town he was going to. I looked over at Cloe, who was laying down, asleep. I decided not to bother her and downed a cup of water, then packed my backpack with a few snacks and bottled water before leaving.

It was a nice day out, so I took my time strolling through the forest. My eyes scanned the area for danger and anything that intrigued me. The air was clear and fresh. I saw rabbits hopping around, some insects that seemed like dragonflies were flying around, and I heard sounds of other animals among the trees.

After a half hour or so, my body tensed as the astral sight activated. Knowing that something is around, I scanned the forest for any indication of why it triggered. A minute went by and nothing showed up on my radar. I began walking again but was more vigilant. When it seemed that nothing was going to happen, I sighed and looked up into the trees. My sight picked up a heat signature, it was small and hovering. Either that, or it was flying. Making sure that it was always in my sight, I continued on.

The little bugger was curious, it followed me for another half hour. So, I took a break, and sat down on a log before pulling out some berries and nuts to eat. It kept coming my way and finally stopped on a limb above me. I finished my snack and downed a bottle of water, before stashing it in my pack. Thinking about the situation, I smiled and thought, Why not?

I called out to the stalker, “I know that you are following me. Come down and show yourself.”

The stalker tensed and was hesitant. I could tell now that it was closer that it had wings on its little body. The thing was only a foot tall. Finally, it decided to come down out of the trees. My sight deactivated and saw the little being fly down to my level. When it arrived, I wasn’t surprised to see that it was a fairy. What did surprise me though was that it was a female. Beautiful too. Blonde hair with green eyes, she had pointed ears like mine, and had a lithe frame, even though she was only a foot tall. I didn’t see any glitter coming off of her though, which was weird.

Her voice when she spoke serenaded my feeble brain, “How did you know that I was following you? I was hidden under an illusion.”

Ah, so that’s why I couldn’t really tell what she was. “I can see things that others can’t.” Which is true, through my astral sight.

“I know of no beings that can do that. What are you?”

I chuckled and said, “Eh, I will keep that secret for the time being. Let’s talk about why you are following me.”

She fidgeted for a few moments, hovering in the air in front of me. “You are someone new in this forest; I’ve not seen you before. I was curious.”

A curious fairy, huh? “Well, can we exchange names or is that against any rules?”

To tell the truth, I have no idea about any cultural issues or not with the fairies.

“Rules? No, it’s not against any rule that I know of. We are wary of anyone that is taller than us. My name is Koko.”

“My name is Kristjàn, but you can call me Kris. Nice to meet you.”

She flew over and landed on my knee, “Well, Kristjàn, what brings you to the Gallows.”

My brow rose at that name, “Gallows? It’s really named that?”

She stared at me for a moment before she giggled. “No, it’s not. The name we call it is Wandering Forest. Because if you don’t know how to navigate around the woods, then you’ll be wandering for days.”

“That’s worrisome. I’m new to this area.”

Koko laughed again, “Man, you are gullible.”

My cheeks flushed, embarrassed really. “Thanks for treating a newcomer this way.”

“Oh, I’m just playing. Alpine Forest is its name. Home to many creatures. Which brings me to ask, why are you out here if your new to the area. This forest is dangerous.”

I grunted, “Curious, I suppose. I mean, the first day, I meet you. It must not be all that bad around here.”

Koko blankly stared at me and then dryly responded, “Is that supposed to mean something? You’re a weird guy.”

I shrugged and asked, “Why are you out here alone?”

Her face displayed sadness and replied, “I’m a bit of a loner. People don’t understand me and won’t stick around for long.”

That sounds lonely. “What is it they don’t understand?”

“I want to be out seeing new things, exploring the world, not having to put on a smile for stupid events that my clan puts on. My mind wants all the knowledge it can get. I love it when I can find something that has been lost or thrown away. It’s a treasure for me because even if I throw it back from where I found it, I still get a thrill from it. Then I have the daily complaints from my family, or have some suitor claim that they can provide for my needs. My family says for me to grow up and do my duty. It just gets old, Kris.”

Sounds like she is forced to do stuff for her family, that sucks. “Well, I hope that it gets better for you from now on. I was exploring before, so let’s continue. At least I won’t get lost.”

She was confused, “You want me to go with you?”

“Yeah, why not?”

Koko shook her head and lifted off my leg, “You really are a weird guy.”

“Probably,” I said, then smiled at her.

Getting up, I began walking and after ten or fifteen steps, Koko landed on my right shoulder.

“You don’t mind if I sit here, do you?”

I smiled and kept my eyes forward, “Nope.”

When we were further into the forest, I kept scanning the surrounding area for danger, but didn’t come upon anything. Koko told me about her daily life, she helps her parents with their shop, and other chores. When free, she comes to the forest. I tell her about mine, the magic and combat training.

“You’re a magic user?”

“New to it, but yeah.”

“New? That can’t be right. Magic usually manifests in youth.”

“True, except that a block was put on mine.”

“A block?” Koko asked in shock. “Why would a block be put on your core?”

I didn’t want to reveal what I was, so I gave her half the truth. “They thought I would be evil when coming into my magic. Some stupid shit like that.”

She looked at me for a bit before shrugging, “You don’t seem evil to me.”

I laughed but didn’t respond. We explored more of the woods and didn’t find anything interesting, so I started my way back to the cabin. Koko listened to me talk about school and what it was like for me until recently. I didn’t tell her why I was here now, and she didn’t ask.

Coming up to the cabin, Koko lifted up off of my shoulder and kissed my cheek, “It was nice to explore with you, Kris.”

“I had a nice time too.”

She was hesitant and looked away before asking, “Can we do this again sometime?”

“Sure,” I answered without hesitation. “I’m not sure about the time, but it will be in the afternoon each day unless my mentor has me doing chores.”

Koko nodded, “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow. Hopefully.”

“Have a great rest of the day, Koko.”

She flew off and I walked towards the cabin. Alistair was back and fixing dinner when I walked in. Cloe was lying down by the table, licking her paws.

“Where have you been?”

“Exploring the forest.” I went over and washed my hands after dropping my pack down by the door.

“Yeah? Find anything interesting?”

I shrugged, “Not really, except I met a fairy.”

Both Alistair and Cloe looked up at that. Why would the feline do that? Alistair asked, “You talked to a fairy?”

“Yep.”

Alistair looked over at Cloe and shook his head, “The boy hasn’t been here long and already causing issues.”

Cloe huffed and went back to licking her paws. I was confused, “What do you mean by that?”

“Kris, the fairies like to keep to themselves. They don’t come up to any race unless they must. For one to come up and talk to you means that they are curious about you. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.”

Taking that into consideration, I didn’t tell him what Koko said. He dropped the subject after that. We ate and after some reading, I went to bed.

Chapter 10

A couple of weeks went by and I let Alistair know that it was time. He nodded and we finished our daily routine.

I cleaned myself up and dressed before going to the kitchen to make myself a sandwich. Alistair was waiting for me when I finished and laid something on the table. I picked the item up and saw that it was a blue stone the size of a gold piece with a small hole visible at the top.

“It’s a communication stone. I put a hole in it so that you could wear in on your necklace that you never take off.”

I smiled and asked, “How does it work?”

“The stone is linked to you and me. You will be able to link others to it later. To activate it, all you need to do is feed a little bit of mana into it. The stone will light up and you say the name of the link you want to communicate with, and it opens up a path for two-way communication.”

“Cool. I’ve seen these but never knew how it worked.”

“Now, you won’t be able to travel with other means unless you pay for it. I don’t use the mana crystals because I have no need for it. That means you won’t be able to rent transportation either, unless you buy the crystals from the rental place.”

“That’s not a problem, I have the money that I took from Sven.” It was a great haul too. Three hundred gold and two hundred silver. I continued, “But I’ll probably stay away from renting a shuttle.”

He grunted, “Try the stone to make sure it works for you.”

I did and it worked as indicated. He advised, “When you get back, we will continue your education.”

That brought up a question that I’ve been meaning to ask. “I didn’t get to graduate, if I want to go to college, is that a possibility?” Since I can use magic now, maybe some things will open up for me.

He thought about it and slowly nodded. “Yes, eventually. But we will have to get you a new identity, or at least a new last name. It might be a couple of years before you’re ready, Kris.”

I nodded and said, “Okay. If I have a goal to work towards then I will be fine with that. Also, how do I earn some money? Will I be able to get a job? Speaking of that, how close are we to any city or town?”

Alistair winced, “Nowhere close to any civilization. But since you can use different spheres, then you might be able to portal anywhere you want or maybe teleport.”

Thinking about that, I smiled and nodded.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

He nodded and we walked outside. Alistair said some words that I couldn’t understand and did some hand gestures. After a few moments, a portal opened.

“Be careful, Kris. Don’t get into any trouble; avoid it if you can.”

“I will and thank you for this.”

“It is not a problem and the portal should be outside of the mall in the afternoon since the time is a little behind us.”

My brow rose, “The mall?”

He shrugged, “It is where she will be since it is Saturday. And yes, I have been keeping tabs on both of them. Just to make sure they are safe.”

“Thanks.”

He bowed his head to me, and I walked into the portal and ended up at the back-parking lot of the mall. Smiling, I made my way towards the entrance. I stopped to scan the area to make sure no one cared that a portal opened here. The scan came up empty.

Strolling through the entrance, I went straight to Mitch’s Outdoor and Camping Supplies. They have sunglasses there and the shades should help to conceal my eyes when my magic triggers.

After browsing for a few minutes, I made my selection and paid the five silver for the high-end shades and put them on before walking out. The sandwich didn’t settle my stomach, so I walked to the eateries for some grub. I ordered a pizza and sat down to wait for it. It didn’t take all that long before they brought my order to the table. A large meat lovers pizza was staring at me, so I dug in and had half of it eaten when I heard a group of people talking loudly as they were heading over to the food court.

I recognized most of them. Gunnar and his buddies were leading the pack, Alyssa, Lorrie, Becky, and Mika were with them. Lots of good-looking females walking around. But they didn’t hold a candle to the beautiful brunette that was in the middle, chatting with them. Shari was dressed in those tight skinny jeans that I loved, and a green halter top.

There were empty tables all over the place, and they chose the one in front of me. I watched the ladies sit while the guys asked what they wanted. One of the guys asked about getting a meat-lovers pizza for them to share, but Shari gave her opinion.

“No, don’t order that, please. I-I don’t want to even see it on this table.”

Lorrie asked, “Why not, Shar? It’s good.”

She shook her head and with tears in her eyes, replied in a low voice, “Because that was his favorite.”

The group glanced at each other and the ladies shook their heads, knowing who she was talking about. Becky cleared her throat, “They won’t order it, sweetie. What would you like to eat then?”

“Nothing.” Shari had tears flowing down her cheeks.

“Come on, Shar,” Lorrie argued. “You need to eat. …Shar, he wouldn’t want you to act like this.”

Alyssa and Mika came over and put their arms around Shari as she broke down.

Damn, looks like she has taken it hard.

“I know that none of you liked him, but he was my savior, way before he saved us from that warehouse.”

The gathered looked down and were silent as she went on, “Kris healed me from a stupid accident that I caused to myself. Magical backlash. You all know that I had issues with breathing, and it had gotten better this year.”

The group nodded, Lorrie stated, “Yeah, we thought it was some experimental drug they were trying, and it worked for you.”

Shari snorted and wiped away some tears, “No, he somehow cleared my mana pathways and removed the scar tissue in my body.”

“Damn, he could see the actual problem and heal at that level?” Mika whistled. “If he was still around, people would be lining up for his healing services.”

A chorus of agreements went around. “Don’t forget he purged the toxin out of us that night,” Alyssa commented.

“Why didn’t he tell anyone that he could do magic?” Gunnar questioned in curiosity. “I mean, most of us saw him free the captives.”

“He was just getting into his powers,” Shari stated. “A late bloomer, I suppose. Oh, and he was a Dragon.”

“What?” Roth scoffed. “No way. Why would he be that size then?”

Shari shrugged, “It’s true, somehow he hid it. My Dragon told me about how he healed my body and that he was a full blood Dragon. She advised that he would’ve been a very powerful one.”

No one said anything to that, and after a few moments, the guys went to order the food. I was still eating mine when they came back to the table, biding my time.

They jumped into a conversation about upcoming events in school. I didn’t really pay attention to any of them except Shari. She was still sad and withdrawn.

It was minutes later that their food arrived. Everyone started digging in, except Shari. I certainly didn’t want her to be sad but didn’t know how to proceed without everyone knowing that I was still alive. My eyes noticed two empty seats by her, and Mika had moved away. I was about to introduce myself. Hopefully, no one would recognize any feature that I had.

I stood up and noted that the ladies at the table, except Shari looked over. Cleaning up my spot, I threw the trash away and strolled towards the other table. A few looked up at me and were wide-eyed, but I ignored them and sat in a chair two seats away from her.

“What’s wrong, pretty lady?”

Shari flinched and everyone stopped eating at the table before looking over at me.

“Uh, hello. What was that you asked?”

The other women were trying to figure out who I was.

“I asked what was wrong.”

She didn’t answer at first but relented, “I lost someone special to me.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that. But I think that he wouldn’t want you to starve.”

Shari shrugged but then thought about it for a moment, “Wait, I didn’t say anything about a gender. How did you know?”

I shrugged nonchalantly, “Just a guess.” She didn’t know that I overheard them talking.

I noticed others at the table were about to jump in the conversation, so I rose. Taking a breath, I thought about the consequences of my next actions but said fuck it and bent down to whisper, “You look tense Shar, maybe you need a massage to relieve some stress.”

Her eyes went wide, and I walked away as she gasped loudly. My ears picked up some arguing as I made it to the entrance doors. Taking a deep breath, I started making my way towards Monty’s, hoping she would follow when hurried footsteps came up behind me.

“Stop! Please!”

I stopped and looked over my shoulder to see Shari making her way towards me. Lorrie and some of the others were a little further away. When Shari came up to me, she took a few calming breaths.

“How did you know about the massages?”

“What?”

“Please don’t play games with me. No one knew about those intimate moments. I kept them to myself because they were precious to me.”

She was looking up at me with misty eyes, I responded, “Are you hungry, Shari? Let me take you to eat.”

“How do you know my name?”

I smiled, “No one would forget a beautiful lady such as yourself. Would you join me for dinner at Monty’s?”

“Shari, are you okay?” I turned to look at Lorrie and Becky ten feet away, Gunnar and Roth behind them.

“Yeah,” Shari replied without even looking at them. “He asked me to have dinner with him.”

The girls gasped and Gunnar was shaking his head. Becky stated, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Shar. You don’t know him.”

Shari looked into my eyes and said, “He won’t try anything. In the mood I’m in he won’t like the outcome if he does.”

Lorrie asked, “Do you want one of us to go with you?”

Shari stared at me, unblinking and said, “No, but to put your minds at ease, we are headed to Monty’s.”

They nodded and watched as we walked away. Neither of us spoke on the way there. When we arrived at the restaurant, the hostess led us to a booth. I sat on the opposite side.

The beautiful young woman was nervous, and a little bit wary of me. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just wanted to spend some time with you.”

“Why do you want to spend time with me? We don’t know each other.”

I wonder if her Dragon can sense mine.

No, he is hiding his presence.

Huh, didn’t know that he could do that. I really need to get a book on the anatomy of the races on our world so that I have a better understanding if they need healing.

That is a great idea. You should bring it up with Alistair when you return.

I sighed, “I’m going to order, do you want anything?”

She shook her head no. When the server came over, I gave her the drink order. Shari just sat in silence, waiting. As the server came back and set down our drinks, I ordered everything we got that night when we went to dinner after her volleyball match. Even the fried eel. Nasty shit.

As the server left, Shari’s eyes changed to orange and had slits in the middle. She looked to even have steam coming out of her nose and mouth.

Woah. She must be mad.

“I’ve had about enough of this and I am to the point of changing to my hybrid form. So, you are going to tell me who you are right now or face the consequences.”

“Why are you mad, Shari?” I was not trying to goad her but the mischievous side of me couldn’t help it.

“There is no way that you would’ve known to order the exact same items that we did on that night unless you spied on us. Now, I don’t know what kind of sick joke you’re playing at, but you will stop right now.”

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, I said, “I’m not playing a joke. I just want to have a nice dinner and conversation with a beautiful young woman.”

“Unless you want to make a scene buster, you need to come clean. Please. I don’t need to be reminded of him. He is in my dreams, and everywhere that I look. I know that we didn’t know each other for very long, but I loved him and didn’t have the guts to tell him. He died without knowing that, and I will forever be in shame for not telling him.”

Shari broke down and started sobbing.

Damn. Not even thinking about it, I reached with a couple of astral limbs and started massaging her like before. She gasped and then froze as the tears stopped. At that moment, her eyes went back to normal and moments after starting the massage, she began softly moaning.

Shari went wide-eyed and tears immediately started flowing again. “Kris?”

Not able to verbally respond, I nodded and pulled the limbs back to me. She flew out of her side of the booth and was in my lap faster than I thought possible. She was hugging and kissing my neck, asking me how it was possible over and over. I held tightly onto her and kissed her head a few times.

At least ten minutes went by before she released her lock on me. Our server brought our eel out and didn’t want to disturb us, but I gestured for her to put it on the table. Shari took her time but finally pulled her head up and looked into my eyes, seeing if I was lying.

“It’s not a lie, Shari.”

“Where have you been, Kris?” She asked in a low voice.

“It’s complicated, and I would appreciate that you would keep everything to yourself.”

She nodded and kissed me, I tasted her tears and sighed as she clung to me again.

“You can’t stay, can you?”

“No, but I will check up on you. I can’t tell you where I am, but one day, I will be able to tell you the whole story. For now, just know that I had to leave because of my transformation and of what I am.”

We stayed wrapped together for almost a minute before she spoke again.

“You’re him aren’t you,” she mumbled in my neck. “The guy that crushed the factory like it was an insignificant bug.”

“Yes.” I was hoping she wasn’t afraid of me now.

“Damn, Kris, that was some scary shit,” she seriously stated, but then giggled. “Gunnar and his asshole friends shit their pants when you showed everyone just how powerful you are. Of course, they didn’t know that it was you though.”

She rose again and looked at my face, lightly touching all over. “You were handsome before, but now… you’re an absolute hunk.”

Shari sighed and melted into me. She wanted to talk about everyday events, and I was fine with that. It was a bit after that when the server brought our food. Shari wasn’t moving away from me; she had the woman put our food down on my side and dug in. We haven’t even touched the eel until now, so the two of us ate in silence. It was nice.

“I had a long talk with Serena and Dawn.”

I froze with my fork halfway to my mouth. “You spoke to them?”

She smirked, “Yes, and we made a pact to get together once a month.”

“Oh? Well, as long as its not about any males, then I won’t need to intervene.”

I went on eating as she giggled, “We might. Depends on if they are healers like another that I know.”

“You know a healer? I need to talk to him then, I’ve got this crick in my neck that needs looked at.” I rubbed my neck and popped it.

She laughed and shook her head. “My parents are still shocked that you were able to heal me.” I shrugged and she suddenly got serious, “How long do I have with you? Minutes, hours?”

I sighed, “The rest of today if you want, but I don’t want to interfere with any plans that you had.”

Shari smacked me in the back of the head, “Did you seriously just say that? Kris, if I could go with you, then we would be back at my house getting packed. But that isn’t on the table, is it?”

“No. Maybe one day, though. But you don’t have to wait for me, Shari. Live your life and if you find another that makes you happy, then go for it.”

I didn’t want her to move on. She looked at me like I had grown four heads.

“Do I need to smack you again? Shit, Kris, you have no idea how much that I long for you to take me with you. That way, you would know that I mean to stay with you till the end, my love. Yes, Kris, I love you. And I know that you will have numerous women in your house.”

“Why would I need numerous women to be with me?” That was strange for her to say. I know that some families on our world do this.

“You know that on our world the powerful ones have the choice for multiple spouses or not. My father has three, but he is nowhere near in your power scale, though. I’m not sure if any are.”

I laughed at that last statement. “I’m not that powerful, Shari.”

She took a breath and kissed me tenderly on the lips, “Yes, you are. I know that you grew up without magic and made do with what you had and was combat ready if need be. But I’ve seen the videos Kris, and I was there in person, remember? The power displayed that night was astounding.”

She rubbed my arm and smiled at me, I changed the subject, “Can we talk about something else? Like the fact you will be going to Clearwater or not?”

“Yes, I will be there. Father’s orders. Since I got myself kidnapped, he wants to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

“Sounds like your path is already chosen.”

Her brow rose, “Don’t think that just because daddy dearest is telling me that I will join the university will have any effect on my private life. You are my path, Kris. Understand that.”

I nodded and we finished our meal. Paying the two silver for the meal, we started walking to the park for some fresh air.

“Have you spoken to Serena?” We were seated on a bench now.

“No, I will probably wait till Monday and catch her at the office.”

“That’s not satisfactory. She needs private time with you. I know about her wanting a relationship with you and how you were indecisive about it.”

I nodded, “Yeah, we were taking it slow. She raised me, Shar. I found out that I was found on the ground unconscious, someone opened a portal and threw me in before something bad happened. I lost my memory and the person who found me brought me to Serena for her to take care of me.”

“Wow, I didn’t know. But that doesn’t change anything, you are not related through blood or even marriage. It is strange somewhat, but because of the circumstances you just named, then it shouldn’t matter.”

“No, but I’m not sure how she will react when told.”

“She took it bad, Kris. Worse than I did. Dawn was sad but not like Serena.”

Thinking it over, I was trying to come up with a way for us to meet.

“I will contact her tonight and ask her to meet me here tomorrow morning.”

I turned to look at Shari, “Are you sure? She might react badly.”

Shari smiled and nodded, “Serena will act just like I did, and be in your lap trying to kiss you to death.”

I snorted, “Or she won’t come at all. What will you tell her the reason is?”

She shrugged, “I just needed to talk to someone, she will understand.”

Thinking it over, I sighed and nodded. “It’s a good idea. See if she will do it.”

She snuggled into me and sighed in content. We sat there in silence, watching the sun set. It was romantic.

The rest of the night was just us being together and loving the presence of each other’s company. Not much was spoken, but she did get numerous notifications from her friends to call them back. I laughed at that, knowing some of them were on pins and needles, which was understandable since they didn’t know who I was. She also talked to Serena and had her agree to meet at Monty’s at 6 tomorrow night.

When the night ended, I walked with her to flag down a public transportation craft. Shari held onto me for a few minutes, then kissed me passionately.

“Do not make me wait for long periods of time before you reach out again, Kris. I will not be happy if that happens.”

I chuckled and a thought popped into my head. “Can the communication stones be tracked in any way?”

She thought about for a few moments and replied, “Not that I am aware of. It is private, otherwise no one would use them.”

I nodded, taking that with a grain of salt and pulled my necklace from the confines of my tunic, which had my stone attached.

“Then link to mine. And show me how to do that, I’m new to this.”

She linked herself to my stone and showed me how to link to hers. It wasn't a big deal, just placing some of my mana inside it and saying a phrase. Which is all that Alistair had me do as well. I thought it was some complicated shit, but it turned out to be simple.

“I may not answer you right away because of the training I’m in but I will always get back to you.”

She nodded and started getting misty eyed again, “Thank you, babe. I… this is wonderful. I promise not to bother you too much.”

 “It will be fine, just remember that I may not be able to get back to you quickly. Also, if you need me for any reason, let me know and I will be there. Well, let me rephrase. For emergencies, I will be there. I’m sorry, I can’t make it to any of your sporting events.”

Shari laughed and said, “I know, but it still is great that we can communicate, Kris. Thank you.” We hugged again but was interrupted by the driver, she kissed me again and got into the craft. I watched as they took off, waving as she left. I waved back, hoping that giving her access to me doesn’t bite me in the ass later on.

Sighing, I made my way to get a hotel room for the night.

++++

Waking up the next day, I lazed around for most of the day, eventually heading to the mall. I bought new clothes, undies, and a duffle bag. Oh, and some candy. I had a sweet tooth.

The rest of the day, I went to see where the factory was. Coming up on the location, I saw police tape all over the area. Except the only thing in the center was a wide space of nothing. Even the metal shavings were gone.

Huh. Wonder what they took those for?

As I looked around, it took me back to that night. The memory of what happened. I shook my head and was still amazed at what happened.

You will be able to raze entire cities after finishing your training. Especially with your Dragon’s help.

I don’t want to raze cities.

You may not, but there may come a time that you must.

I hope that time never comes.

I walked away and went back to the hotel to pay for another night. Laying my head down on the pillow, I had the attendant set a wakeup call at 5 pm for me to get refreshed before my meeting.

I was sitting in a booth at Monty’s, waiting. The table was reserved for Shari and her party. I had to lie and say that it was for her.

It was right at 6 when the hostess brought over a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. She hasn’t changed her appearance and I was glad. They stopped and the young woman gestured for Serena to sit. She was surprised and was looking around for Shari, I guess.

“Is this the right table? I was meeting a young woman named Shari.”

“This is the right table. She will be along shortly.”

Serena was still skeptical but sat anyway. The hostess walked away as Serena smiled at me but was cautious.

“Hi, my name is Serena. How do you know Shari?”

“We go to the same school.”

She nodded but didn’t respond. A server made his appearance at that time. He was trying to concentrate on our order but failed as he ogled the Succubus. I can’t blame him, she was gorgeous. The sunflower dress showed off all her curves. And she wasn’t wearing a bra. After the guy went to put the order in, I smiled at her scowl she aimed at him.

Serena was looking around the restaurant but not making eye contact with me. So, I decided to make some conversation.

“How was your day?”

She narrowed her eyes at me, “Why?”

I chuckled, “Just making conversation.”

“Look, I’m sorry, but I don’t know you and the past few weeks has been rough for me. I was supposed to meet Shari here because we had someone taken from us. This isn’t what I agreed to.”

I nodded and smiled to myself as I said, “I apologize for making you uncomfortable. I was only trying to break the ice. I get nervous around beautiful women.”

“Don’t get any ideas,” Serena hissed. “I’m not in the mood to be hit on so do yourself a favor and back off.”

She got up and was about to leave, but I said, “Sit down, Serena. I’m not here for that and Shari isn’t coming. This meeting is for us.”

She stopped and stared at me, “What the fuck does that mean? Why would Shari want me to meet you? Is she trying to play matchmaker?”

I shook my head no, “Please, sit. I will explain why I am here.”

A minute went by before she sat back down, and the server brought our appetizer and drinks over. She watched me as I ate, waiting for my explanation.

After wiping my hands and mouth, I said, “Shari isn’t playing matchmaker. We had dinner last night and she suggested that I talk with you.”

“She had dinner with you last night? That bitch, I will give her a piece of my mind when I see her next.”

“There is no need for that, I asked her to dinner, and she agreed, though not wanting to at first. I had something that she wanted.”

“What? You had something she wanted?”

“Yeah, information. You will want it too.”

“Information?” Serena scoffed. “Why would I care what information you have?”

I stared at her, “Because I know where Kristjàn is.”

That made her freeze, her eyes wide but shook her head from her thoughts. “He is dead. And you are wasting my time and are about to find out what happens when people piss me off.”                           

I smiled and two astral limbs held her to the chair and my eyes turned white. She struggled to move and was hissing at me, I put another over her mouth to cover her screams. Her eyes went wide and continued to struggle.

I spoke to her in a low voice, “Calm down, Xennara. I’m not going to hurt you. I am looking at your true form and I remember what you told me about not being able to have children. With my magic, I can see where the scars are. Here, here, here, and here.”

I touched them one by one, and she was in disbelief now. Serena stopped struggling and waited for me to continue.

“Yes, you told me your true name when I first came into my magic.”

I pulled my astral limbs back and she just stared at me with tears in her eyes, like Shari had.

“Kris?” She whispered.

I nodded and Shari was right, she did the same things. Serena ended up in my lap, hugging and kissing me. I felt wetness on my shirt and her body was shaking, letting me know that Serena was crying. I hugged her and she fiercely returned it. We spoke quietly, not wanting anyone to hear us.

“How are you still alive?”

“I went through a transformation.”

She gasped, “It was you at the factory. Holy fuck, the magic that you threw around was shocking, Kris.”

I grunted and she kept kissing my neck. “Why aren’t you home with me then?”

“It’s complicated. The guy that brought me to you all those years ago had me go with him. People would wonder why I had magic now and that I’m way bigger than I used to be. Also, the nobles saw what happened inside and wanted me to meet with them after. He is my mentor now and advised that it was best for everyone to think that I was dead.”

She pulled her face from my neck and touched my face, “You are definitely different. But that doesn’t change my feelings for you. How long will you be away?”

I sighed, “Not sure, Serena. But we can communicate if you want.”

I pulled my necklace out with the stone on it, she immediately grabbed the pendant and checked it.

“You still have it.”

“Of course,” I scoffed. “You are special to me too, Serena.”

She kissed me tenderly and smiled. We linked up our communication stones and from then on had a nice dinner and conversation. The woman didn’t move from my lap, so I had to eat with one hand. I had a great time with her and she with me. We took a walk and spoke of different things, one of them was about Shari, Carla, and Dawn.

“You know that Shari talked with us. Dawn is sad as well, Kris. Carla advised us that she was done with your trysts and wanted something more permanent, but Dawn was undecided. Since the incident, she keeps crying when your name is mentioned. We talk every few days, and she wants to meet at least once a month to reminisce. What do I need to tell her?”

I thought about it for almost a minute before responding, “You can tell her if you want, Serena. She probably won’t believe you. But reaching out to you and Shari was my priority. I will give you the same opportunity that I gave Shari. If you feel the need to go on a different path than me, then do it. I will be sad but know that your happiness is worth more to me.

She slapped me on the back of my head, “That won’t happen, Kris. You are my path. And if I must wait years for us to be together permanently, then I will.”

I grunted and we walked hand in hand for a bit more and ended up in the park. We sat and she laid her head on my shoulder, sighing in content. The night went on and after a bit we ended up in a heavy make out session.

Coming up for air, she panted, “You better go, I know that you need to get back, just know that I will be using my favorite dildo tonight. I named it Kris, after you.”

Thinking on it for a few moments, I decided, “I have a hotel room, Serena.”

She stared into my eyes and said, “Are you sure, Kris?”

I nodded and she immediately got up, pulling me with her. We hurried to the hotel and before arriving at the room, she pulled me into a passionate embrace. Serena was grinding against my leg, whimpering in need. Reluctantly releasing me, I opened the door and she yanked me inside, slamming the door behind us. Serena slid her dress off her shoulders and down over her hips, letting it fall to the floor.

I was right, no bra, and her perfect breasts were on display. She had a blue g-string on that barely covered anything and I could see that it was soaked with arousal. The woman is just gorgeous.

“See anything you like, baby?”

Pulling my shirt off, I smiled and pointed to the tent in my pants. Serena grinned and hurried over to me, making quick work of getting my pants and underwear off. My erection slapped her chin as she knelt in front of me.

Gasping she grabbed my cock and slowly began stroking. “Fuck me. That is a huge cock, Kris. …Last chance to back out.”

I shook my head no and she started licking my shaft up and down, sucking on my fat mushroom head. Then Serena tried to take as much as possible into her mouth and throat, but she ended up gagging halfway down. The woman wasn’t deterred and kept at it but was unable to get it all down. She then started bobbing up and down, while looking me in the eye. It was sexy.

After a minute, she released me and pushed my body onto the bed and mounted me, slow at first. Serena gasped as my cock stretched her tight pussy, and her moaning began. It took a bit, but halfway down she started bouncing lightly to get further down. When she felt that my cock was lubricated enough, the Succubus started going faster and the moans were getting louder.

Her breasts were bouncing right in my face, so I grabbed them and started sucking on her rock-hard nipples. Moving from one to the other, she whimpered and shuddered as I lightly bit on them. Serena screamed out and a torrent of fluids gushed out of her. Her orgasm hit her and didn’t let go, it kept going and going. My balls, thighs, and the bed were getting soaked.

After that, I couldn’t take anymore and let loose my seed deep inside her womb. I watched her beautiful face pant and gasp as the pleasure was too much and her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

Serena fell over onto my chest, and I panicked at first, thinking that she was dead. But she was breathing, her chest was rising and dropping. A few minutes later, her eyes opened, and she grinned.

“Fuck, if it is that great every time, then I will die happily.”

I rubbed her back and asked in concern, “What happened?”

“Your cum is potent, Kris. Holy shit! It took me by surprise, and I wasn’t ready for it. …Checking on my mana pool, it is filled up and with only one fuck. Damn, baby, it usually takes me fucking someone at least a week straight to do that.”

I didn’t know how to answer that. She rose and got off me, then looked at the mess we made. Serena giggled, “Let’s get into the shower and clean ourselves up.”

Helping me up, she slapped my ass before kissing me, “Thank you for the magnificent fuck, honey.”

We got into the shower and cleaned ourselves, but we got a little too handsy. I ended up pushing her up against the wall and taking her from behind. She screamed, letting everyone in the hotel know that she was getting pleasure. After finishing, we cleaned up again.

As Serena was getting dressed, she bit her lip and whispered, “Any regrets?”

“Not a single one. Well, the only regret is that I waited.”

She came over after I was dressed and wrapped her arms around me, laying her head on my chest.

“You know that I don’t want this to be a one off, right?”

“Me either.”

“Will you be able to visit at least once a month? I think with the mana you gave me, I can last further, but until we test it, I don’t want to chance me going on empty. Even though I know it takes two months for my mana to run out and it was almost time for me to do just that. Just so you know, Kris, I haven’t been with anyone since we started getting closer. “

I nodded and smiled, “I will request it and let you know through the communication stone.”

She nodded and kissed me tenderly, then we walked downstairs for me to check out. After taking care of that, we walked towards her office.

“Shari will want intimacy soon as well, Kris.”

“What? I’m not sure that is a great idea knowing who her father is.”

“That girl is smitten, and I don’t think she cares what her parents think. She told me before the incident happened that she wanted to be a part of your house, family, whatever you want to call it. And you might as well put me on that list as well, bub.”

I turned to look at her, “Are you sure?”

She nodded and took my hand, “Yes, and we know that you will add more wives.”

“She’s got you on that too?” I scoffed and shook my head. “Why do I need more than you two?”

“Power, status, you name it. We have no problem with it, as long as we don’t get pushed out the door.”

I grunted and when arriving at her office, we kissed.

“Take care of yourself, Kris.”

I hugged her and said, “You as well, Serena.”

She nodded and walked through the front doors. When she got out of sight, I took my stone out and contacted Alistair. A few moments later, he opened a portal at my location. I walked through and to the house.

Cloe was waiting, I scratched behind her ears as she purred. Walking inside the cabin, Alistair was at the table reading something.

“Get everything situated?”

“For now. I linked them to my stone if they need me or are lonely. Oh, and before I forget, can you get me a book on the anatomy of each race on Exhulm? If I need to heal any of them, I want to be somewhat knowledgeable beforehand.”

He nodded and said, “That sounds doable and a great idea.”

We talked for a few minutes before I headed to bed.

Chapter 11

The weeks passed which turned into months, and we got into a day to day routine. Combat training in the morning, followed by reading and learning linguistics, and in the afternoon, magic training.

I am getting more competent in the spells that I am learning to use without going overboard with the power associated. For example, I tried to cast a fireball at some rocks, but ended up melting the formation. Another time, I was supposed to pick up and throw a rock. Instead it was a tree, it shocked me, so my spell carried on and the tree shot across the meadow and crashed into others of its kind. Alistair shakes his head every time that happens.

Oh, and the voice in my head has been letting Alistair take over my combat training since the knowledge I needed has been bestowed to me already. We haven’t merged yet, and my Dragon hasn’t revealed himself to me either, but I’m not upset about it. Hell, I’ve got to get control of my Celestial side first anyway. After training, I take a stroll through the woods. Koko visits often, but she has her duties to take care of too. Though we’ve been around each other, I still haven’t told her what I am and how powerful I can be.

During this time, Alistair has been teaching me the basics, and now he thinks we are ready to try out the intermediate spells. I roll my eyes at that. Knowing that we need to take it slow is frustrating, but in the end, I will be able to control myself when some asshole pops off something hurtful.

The combat version of myself came up with a training regimen on the tiers of magic that I need to be exceptional at. The barrier tier, astral tier, and the mind tier. It went over how to do certain actions and spells like mind manipulation, dispel, dismantle, telekinesis, kinetic spells, shields, the astral limbs, and the prisons that I have used before. He is a bastard as well, riding me hard all the time to get better.

I was also visiting Shari and Serena at least once a month. On my visits, we would go out to dinner, dancing, and to other entertainment. The latter was mostly going shopping, not my kind of entertainment. Though to be honest, I got the enjoyment of watching them try on outfits and swimsuits. They even purchased lingerie.

We talked almost every day. Mostly about their days and how they couldn’t believe such and such was still with this jerk because he cheated on her. That was Shari, she also told me that her friends have seen a dramatic change in her. She seemed happy again. When she denied anyone a date, her friends asked why, and she told them that a beau was already in her life.

That made them immediately want to know who it was, even demand. They finally got to know who it was when I showed up to the mall one day and was introduced as Brian, she picked out that name.

On that visit, we left them and did our own thing, ending up at a magic range. It’s a place for people to test and try out new spells, even compete against others. Shari wanted to compete, so we did.

I paid the fee of two silver for an hour. Targets were setup at different distances and there were a couple of obstacle courses set up for competitors to challenge each other in a timed competition. We did both, they also had a magic shield that measures how potent our spells were, and even had rankings of others that came in. It showed the top 10 of each magic sphere. I made sure that my spells held only a certain amount of mana before releasing them. I didn’t want anyone knowing what I could do.

Shari did great, her spells were awesome. Since she has earth magic, I watched as she threw her boulders, earthquake, and other spells at the shield to measure them against others. While she was doing this, I looked at her level again and it had changed to 20. Again, I wonder what that means.

It is a ranking that is measured on your power and the potency of your spells. The scale is from 1-100. Though not many get over 50. That is a high ranked individual, a clan leader for example. It can get higher if a clan leader bequeaths their power to the chosen person that is taking over or if they are dying.

Makes sense. What is my level?

It is inconclusive at this time.

Why?

Because we haven’t merged, and your Dragon hasn’t made itself known.

Damn. Okay, does the magic scale have a status or pull in this world?

Yes, nobles are higher in rank because of the training and magic enhancement pills they get. The lower ranks are considered workers, tradesman. If you join your clan’s military, they train, and you get notoriety when in battle. You also have ranks within such as captain, commander, sergeant, and others.

So, if you are born in the nobility then you have easier access to training and magic to boost your abilities?

That is correct.

Man, I should’ve studied better in school.

Shari is finishing up her spells now.

I looked over and she was stepping out of the room, smiling broadly.

“I got tenth place!”

Glancing at the scoreboard, I found her final score and sure enough, she had reached the top ten. “That’s awesome!”

She came over and kissed me, then poked me in the chest, “You are not even trying, are you?”

“No, I don’t want to stand out.”

“I thought so. Can we get a smoothie and go to your hotel room?”

I smiled, “Feeling frisky now?”

“Oh yeah, and your big cock is the only thing that can satisfy my urges,” she winked and groped my ass.

“As long as you don’t go overboard again and hurt yourself.”

“I’m sorry, Kris,” she blushed in embarrassment. “You are just so damn sexy. And that big piece of cockmeat got my juices flowing, but I will take it slow this time. My pussy isn’t sore anymore. Please?”

She gave me the sad, pouty eyes. “You know that I can’t say no to you.”

“I promise to not wear you out for Serena tomorrow,” she smirked.

I sighed, “It’s still strange that you two are allowing this.”

Shari patted me on the chest, “We are just getting prepared for the future when others join us.”

I slapped her ass, she yelped as I said, “What makes you think that is going to happen?”

She grinned and slapped my ass, “Because I know what will happen and so does Serena. Deal with it. Now, come on, my pussy is already wet for you.”

Yeah, Serena was right about Shari wanting intimacy. That weekend was wild. Shari and Serena were insatiable. It’s a good thing that we aren’t together all the time, or they might kill me with sex. But it would be a great way to go.

I was working on my forms and magic one morning. Astral and Mind were the easiest to use since it was my main tiers of magic. The elements were somewhat easy to use as well. Illusions were a little more difficult, but the void sphere was the toughest to crack. I have the capability, since Alistair gave me his blood, but that didn’t mean I could snap my fingers and poof, a portal opens. Or even teleporting. Though my mentor said that even he had issues with it in the beginning.

Deciding to take a break, I filled my backpack up with snacks and water to go clear my mind in the forest. Saying goodbye to Cloe, I left and slowly made my way through the woods. I was going to walk the outskirts of the forest and fire lakes. Yeah, Alistair showed me the fire lakes. Definitely wouldn’t want to fall into one of those.

It was a beautiful day, butterflies and fireflies were out. My eyes picked up rabbits and a few stags roaming around as well. It wasn’t long before I realized that someone was following me, so I turned to see Koko making her way to me.

“Kris, how’s it been going?”

I smiled, “Good, and you?”

Koko shrugged and landed on my shoulder as I kept walking. “My parents are at it again, wanting me to choose a suitor and settle down. I balked and said they must be eating the wrong mushrooms if they think I’ll do that.”

“Sounds like things are getting complicated,” I chuckled. “What are you going to do?”

“Well, not sure yet,” she contemplated. “You said that we could go on adventures. Maybe it’s time to look into that.”

“And will you get into trouble if we are out on an adventure?”

She thought about it and shrugged, “Not really. I’m my own person and can take care of myself.”

I smiled, “Well said. Now, what kind of an adventure would you like to go on?”

Koko didn’t answer at first, thinking on her response. “I’ve seen you enter a portal every month. Where do you go?”

Didn’t know that she was aware of that. “Are you spying on me?”

She smiled, “Maybe. I try to look after my friends. Especially you.”

“Why me?”

“You are fun to be around, great attitude, and definitely easy on the eyes.” She blushed when letting that out.

“Yeah? Well, thanks. You are very easy on the eyes too.” Koko went crimson when I said that. “To answer your question, I go to check on two people that are important to me.”

She perked up, “Women?”

“Maybe,” I smirked. “Jealous?”

“Very,” Koko replied seriously. “The bitches are taking away time that you could be spending with me.”

I laughed and she giggled then hugged my neck. “Let me know if they get out of line.”

“I will.” We made our way into the forest now. “Do you get into trouble for hanging out with me?”

“No,” she said. “Even if I did, it wouldn’t matter because my time is mine and I like to spend it with you.”

I grunted, “My mentor says that it’s strange that you hang around.”

“Eh, he’s probably a dick. Another being that thinks the fairies are beneath them.”

Laughing out loud, I said, “He isn’t like that and knows that your kind doesn’t trust easily. He is amazed that we are friends.”

“That’s because we are the same, Kris. Adventurous and outgoing are just a couple things that we have in common. And we enjoy each other’s company.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m going to visit Shari and Serena in a few days. Just letting you know.”

She nodded and was silent for a bit. “Can… can I go with you?”

I stopped walking and she flew in front of me, “Why would you want to go?”

“I want to see who has your heart, Kris. And I want to get away from here for a bit.” Koko had a pleading look on her face.

Thinking it over, I carefully said, “Koko, when we meet up, I take them out for fun and then we go back to a hotel room for fun, if you know what I mean.”

She smirked and landed back on my shoulder, “Oh? Involving some hanky panky?”

I couldn’t help it, I laughed at that. After a minute and calming down, I replied, “Yes. If you want to know.”

Koko shrugged, “Wouldn’t be the first time that I watched others going at it. Man, you should’ve seen these two Djinns going at it. All sweaty and...”

“Hey! I don’t need to know that.”

“It’s not a big deal. Hell, my kind does it out in the open where others can watch if they want. We are voyeurs by nature. I get all kinds of horny watching.”

“Dammit, Koko. I don’t need to know that either.”

She giggled, “I’m getting all hot and bothered right now just talking about it, Kris.” A low moan escaped her lips.

I stopped again and she kept giggling then she hit me on the cheek, “I’m just kidding, stop being a baby about it. Sex is a natural and beautiful thing, Kris.”

“Yes, and for most people, a private thing,” I huffed. “Thank you for today’s lesson on sex education.”

“Calm down, I was only telling the truth.”

“You’re right.” We walked further into the forest, not seeing much around. Just some rabbits.

“So, can I go?”

Sighing, I said, “I think that it’s a bad idea but if that is what you want, then it will be okay with me.”

She clapped and settled down on my shoulder chatting away. The rest of the day was uneventful, and we parted ways, she was excited for the upcoming trip.

++++

The portal opened and I stepped out. This visit was bittersweet for me, it was the last weekend before Shari is off to Clearwater. Remember, it is off world. I doubt Alistair will open a portal there when their security is highly trained, and it is a school for the elite.

She is beyond excited about going, Lorrie is going with her as well. Both are rooming together. I smiled at her enthusiasm that came through the communication stone when we talked a couple days ago. Both girls were busy getting everything together, so we haven’t talked much lately.

I was busy as well with training. Alistair keeps harping on me about getting better with the Void and Illusion tiers. And most of the time, I want to give him the finger and remind him that this is my first-year practicing magic, but I held back. My mind knows that we need to get better with the Void tier so that I can teleport or portal to where I want. But damn, it gets frustrating when things don’t go as planned.

Koko was on my shoulder with an invisibility spell on her. I didn’t know that she could do that until today, it was cool though. Maybe one day I can accomplish that.

Anyway, we arrived at the parking lot, and I knew right off that something was wrong. I turned and saw a group of people to the east of the mall entrance. I wouldn’t have messed around with it but there was one that I recognized involved. It was Gunnar. He was being held by two others while getting pummeled by a huge fucker. He had to be at least nine feet tall and built like a body builder. I mean, this guy had muscles everywhere.

Curious, I strolled over and saw Alyssa surrounded by three others, and they weren’t letting her move. I was getting upset now. Where is Roth and the others? Getting closer, I heard the big fuck talking.

“What the matter, Gunnar? I heard that you had more fight in you. It seems that they were wrong. Don’t worry though, we’ll take good care of Alyssa.”

Gunnar tried to get out of the hold that the two had on him. They beat on him some more.

“Why don’t you shift into your hybrid form and let’s battle. I want to see if the stories are true, that you are a force to be reckoned with.”

Gunnar thought about it but didn’t. My magic triggered and I saw that the huge fuck was a Frost Giant and turning, I saw that his cronies were Yetis.

What the hell are they doing this far away from the mountains? Guess since they know Gunnar then it must be a personal thing. My scan also picked up that the Yetis were all under level 20 but the Frost Giant was 25. I also scanned Gunnar, he was a 23 and checking Alyssa, who is a Fire Giant as well, is a 15.

Huh, guess she doesn’t train that often. My scans also told me the obvious, they use fire and ice spells.

I decided to make myself known, “Hey Gunnar, everything alright?”

The group turned to look at me, the Frost Giant sneered, “Mind your own fucking business!”

His cronies cruelly smiled at me, hoping that I would join in. Alyssa pleaded with her eyes to intervene. Gunnar was bleeding from his mouth and a few gashes that were open but his regen will kick in to heal that.

This guy must have something on Gunnar, though I suppose he doesn’t want Alyssa to get hurt.

“Nah, I don’t think so. Why don’t you guys leave them alone and hit the buffet at Lorenzo’s, the pizza there is great.”

Koko whispered to me, “Just give the signal and I will help take the bastards down.”

The big guy huffed and walked over to me, stopping a foot away, “This is none of your business, and if you don’t want to get your ass whipped then you need to run along.”

I smiled, “I’ll take my chances.”

Immediately putting up a shield, I waited for it. Mr. Frosty was predictable and threw a right cross at me, I grinned when he hit the shield and was thrown back. He landed thirty feet away, and I took that as my que and went after the three holding Alyssa. They forgot about her and ran towards me. Idiots.

She threw fire spells at the three, and I smiled as they hit, knocking them down to the ground. They yelped as the fire burned their skin. I didn’t care and dropped all three into the earth, encasing their bodies up to their necks. Turning, I saw an ice boulder heading towards me, but it hit my shield, doing nothing to me. It bounced off and cracked into pieces all over the ground. I looked over at Gunnar, he and Alyssa were fighting the two that were holding him.

Mr. Frosty is the one who threw the spell at me, he was enraged now and ran towards me, throwing spell after spell.

“When he gets closer, open up a hole for our enraged Jotun.”

She giggled and did what I wanted. The spells bounced off the shield, and he was almost to me when the earth split right in front of him. The guy screamed as he fell into the crack and hit with a thud. Koko did the same to the three just hanging there. They yelped and screamed in pain when the three hit a solid surface.

“How far did they fall?”

“A hundred feet or so.”

I snorted and glanced over at the front entrance of the mall to see a crowd of people were watching now. Great. Witnesses. Gunnar and Alyssa took care of the two they fought. Both were unconscious and a bit burnt.

I walked over to them, “You guys okay?”

Gunnar was holding Alyssa, and both said they were. I nodded and turned to leave when two arms wrapped around me, then two more a few moments later. I looked down and saw that Alyssa had me on the left side and Shari on the right.

“Thank you for helping us, Brian. Those bastards caught us by surprise, and if you hadn’t intervened, then who knows what they would’ve done to me. Morgyr is Gunnar’s nemesis and since this is the last weekend that we will be here, he thought that it would be a golden opportunity to strike.”

“It’s not a problem. You and Gunnar moving off?”

“No, we are headed to Clearwater.”

Wow, the bastard is headed there, huh? Must be nice. I turned to see Gunnar watching us. He nodded at me and I made the same gesture back to him.

“That’s great! You have a great rest of the day. Oh, and those idiots are safely down in those holes about a hundred feet down.”

She giggled and hugged me again before leaving. I turned to see Shari looking up at me, still holding onto me.

“I can’t believe that you helped them,” she whispered.

“Yeah, me either. But I couldn’t let my emotions get the best of me and let them take her. That wouldn’t be right.”

She hugged me fiercely, “I love you, Kris.”

I slapped her ass and she yelped, letting me go. “How is the move going?”

“Slow, but we’re excited.”

“Cool. I will miss you.”

We walked off, headed to the park area and sat down on a bench. Some privacy. “I will miss you too, Kris. Things will be hectic and busy at first, but we will get into a routine. The freshmen aren’t allowed visitors, or I would invite you there.”

I chuckled, “I don’t think that would be a good idea. Opening up a portal there would get us restrained or killed immediately. And even after your freshman year, Alistair probably won’t let me.”

“True. And I will greatly miss you, Kris. Hopefully, the year will go by quickly. We get the summer off.”

She laid her head on my left shoulder, Koko was still on my right one. We stayed like that for a bit before grabbing a burger and fries to eat. Shari didn’t want to go out anywhere, she wanted to relax at the hotel. So, we left.

When we got to the hotel, I paid the fee before walking with her to the room. When the door was closed, the red halter top and skinny jeans came off, leaving a blue lacy bra and panties. They quickly came off as well. Shari was standing there completely naked. Her tan skin glowing from an inner beauty. I watched as the nipples on her pert breasts get hard. She was smiling at my ogling.

I threw off my clothes, Koko had moved off when we got into the room. I didn’t know where she was but knew that the fairy was watching us.

Shari couldn’t take it anymore and tackled me onto the bed. Kissing and licking up and down my body. She went straight down and put junior into her mouth. Bobbing up and down for almost a minute, when she thought he was lubricated enough, Shari straddled me. Lowering herself onto me, she gasped as my cock stretched her out. Her body slowly moved in a grinding pattern for at least two minutes, trying to get her pussy juices flowing.

Before long, Shari was bouncing up and down on my cock, moaning my name. I let her take charge the first time and it didn’t take long before we cried out in pleasure as both of us orgasmed.

After coming down from her orgasm, she kissed me tenderly and whispered, “I’m going to wear your cock out. Serena is letting me have her day tomorrow, so that I can have more time with you.”

“That was nice of her,” I panted.

She nodded and went down on junior again to get him back into action. I looked around the room to try and find Koko, knowing the horny fairy was getting off watching us. I couldn’t find her though. Shari got my attention back on her and for the rest of the weekend, we talked, fucked, and made love. Some eating and showering were thrown in there too.

As Sunday came to an end, she got dressed and was about to leave. I was about to tell her something, but she cut me off.

“If you say what I know you’re about to, then I will gut you, Kris. No, I don’t want anyone else and will be true to you, my mate. I love you, Kris.”

I smiled and said, “Love you too.”

We checked out and I watched her get into a limo. Guess daddy dearest knows about us, oh well. Shari will do well at the university, and I was going to really miss her.

When we got back home, I went to the forest to let my rider go home. She flew off my shoulder and got in front of me.

“That girl loves you, Kris. And if she is going to Clearwater, she will be powerful when graduating.”

“Yeah, it’s just going to be tough not talking to her every night like it has been. Oh, and I hope you enjoyed the show.”

She smiled and shook her head, “You two wore each other out and me too. My little pussy is raw. And might I say, you have an enormous cock. I’m not just saying that because I’m a fairy, it’s big for anyone.”

“Uh, thanks. I think. …See ya later this week?”

Koko thought about it and nodded slowly, “Yeah, I have some family thing, but we’ll get together and explore the northwest. I heard that maybe a clan of Hill Giants may be up there.”

“Are they normally friendly?”

“Yes, not like the Frost and Fire Giants that think fighting is the answer for disputes. Hill and Stone Giants are friendly.”

“All right, have fun!”

She nodded and flew off to her clan. I walked towards the cabin, tired and ready to sleep.

Chapter 12

The months flew by. With Shari at university and Serena busy at work, oh yeah, Serena was promoted to partner and now, she is very busy. The theory of her mana pool being full, we tested and found that she could go six months before needing a fill up, as she put it. That only happened once, she was sent on a case across the world. Serena was worried and I would’ve met her anywhere, but she said wait it out, so we did. It was around the six-month mark when they finished and came home.

I met her there and for three days, she wouldn’t let me out of her sight, but not all of the time was in the bedroom. We talked and just basked in each other’s presence. We had missed each other.

My routine went on and I put most of my concentration on training in combat and magic first then linguistics. Alistair has taken me to a training complex that he knows and had me go through the course numerous times. I made progress every time and Alistair had me try different tiers each time through. On the last journey he complimented me.

“You’re doing great, Kris. Much better form and the spells are potent.”

I nodded and said, “Thanks. Uh, when can I get out on my own?”

He stared at me for a bit before answering, “Not too much longer. I need to convince the council of you doing that.”

“Oh, hey, are they still on your ass about me?”

“No, not as much since they know you aren’t going to cause too much strife on our world. That and they think that one day, you will leave to go home.”

That was the plan, I thought about that very thing numerous times over the past months. Though, will Shari go with? I’m not sure. Serena said she would, but what about now since she is a partner?

“Yeah, I want to find out what happened. But on the other hand, I don’t want to leave Shari or Serena. I know that we don’t talk every night, but hopefully one day, we will all be living together somewhere.”

He nodded and we opened a portal back home. We walked through and onto the cabin to get some food.

“Have you thought about where you want to live?” He took out some bread and fixings for sandwiches. I grabbed the plates.

“Not really, I’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”

When the meal was made, we sat and ate. He asked about my women, as he put it. I told him they were super busy but always took time out when they could to talk. Of course, they knew that I was busy too and since the council was still wanting to keep me isolated, I had my hands tied as well. 

I had just gotten back from spending time with Shari over the summer. She had me meet her parents, which was a bit awkward. I was nervous at first and stumbled over myself but was welcomed. She had told them about us, well, me being Brian. They were nice, her father was intimidating from a business persona. He wanted to know how I would support Shari and my family if we lived together. She calmed him down and advised that until she was done with Clearwater, nothing was going to happen. They were pacified at that. I was deep in thought after that question. How would we make it? I need to figure that out.

Anyway, Shari and I hung out, she told me what life at Clearwater was like. Most of it was snobbish fools acting like they owned the world.

She showed me the spells that she learned. They were very powerful. I then scanned her to see that she had jumped to level 32. Damn. Shari could be a force to be reckoned with. I then asked if she was going to be on one of the elite squads. She told me that they asked and was leery about it. It would take more time away from me. I shrugged and let her know that it was her choice and would support her in whatever the decision would be.

Shaking those thoughts away, I said, “Shari is about to start on her third year at Clearwater.”

“That’s great. She may be invited to be on an Elite Guard Squad.”

“Yeah, they asked her, but she hasn’t given an answer yet. …I need to figure out what I will do for money, Alistair.”

“Hmm… Well, let me think on it. I have some contacts, so I will ask if they know of anything in your expertise.”

I smiled, “That would be great. Thanks.”

He nodded and we finished, then cleaned up. I went to my room and talked to Serena before bed. I then read in my strategy and tactics book for a bit, then went to sleep.

It was in the middle of the week, and I was up early, working on my forms and techniques that Alistair added on me the past month. He came out and handed me a water. I thanked him and took a drink from it. He advised that he was summoned to see the Guardian Council and was going to be gone for the day. I nodded and drank my water.

Before leaving, he told me that it has been three years since that day coming to live here. I waved goodbye and watched as he left.

Three years? Huh. Doesn’t seem like it. Hey, that means that I’m twenty-one now. Damn, wonder what Serena and Shari are up to today? I miss them.

Since he would be gone, I went and packed my pack with snacks and water, then headed out to see Koko. She has been the one constant in my life, except Alistair, which doesn’t count since he is my mentor.

Anyway, she has been on multiple trips with me to see Shari and Serena, though neither saw her. I still didn’t get why she wanted to tag along. She told me that it was a time for her to get away and to spend more time with me in a different continent.

I was walking for about an hour towards the fire lakes when I saw her. When she came up, I noticed that she was wearing a sundress. It was a yellow dress with pink flowers on it. Cute.

Koko came up and kissed me on the cheek, “Hey, stud.”

I smiled, she has been calling me that since that first time she accompanied me to see Shari and Serena. “Hey, cutie. I like the dress.”

She smiled broadly and swirled around, “Thank you. It’s new.”

I gestured towards the fire lakes in the distance, “Shall we?”

She nodded and we chatted about what’s been going on. Her clan was having a get together soon and was in the middle of telling me how her mother was complaining that certain people shouldn’t be invited when we heard roars and screams. Both of us stopped and looked around.

“Sounded like it came to the north of us.”

“Yeah, but do you want to investigate?” Koko hesitantly asked.

Another roar came from that same direction.

“Wait right here, I’ll be back,” I urged.

“And why would I do that?” Koko scoffed. “I will accompany you. Two is better than one.”

I smiled and hurried towards the area where the screams came from. It took a minute or so, but we came up into a clearing and found a brawl going on. A Nature Dragon, which was on the ground not moving, a Fire Dragon, and three Fire Serpents, one of them was cut in half with blood oozing out.

Fire Serpents are at least thirty feet long, reptiles with large venomous fangs. They have spiked tails with poison dripping off them and are razor sharp. The snakes live in fire lakes.

Not sure why they were fighting each other, so I observed for a few moments. The Fire Dragon was in front of the downed Dragon, defending it. Though it wasn’t making any progress of defeating the two vipers.

“Looks like a territorial dispute,” Koko commented.

The Fire Dragon was getting bit on both sides, trying to fend off the bastards.

“Okay, what do we do?”

She laughed and said, “Nothing. You don’t have any weapons with you, and magic will only get us so far. No, we’ll be killed.”

I continued observing but couldn’t just stand there and watch them die. My magic activated, giving me the layout of the physiology of the Fire Serpents. Koko tensed on my shoulder, wonder if she can feel that?

It tried to find the spot that all creatures have, the one that makes them go unconscious. Well, these things didn’t have one, but I could do something else. The fairy gasped aloud when four astral limbs shot out of me and flew across the clearing. Two of them wrapped around the necks of one of the serpents. Squeezing, I made it where they couldn’t breathe, and after a few moments they fell over, unconscious.

The Fire Dragon was confused and shocked when the two reptiles fell over. That didn’t last long before they tried to kill them. Not willing to let them, my Third Eye was still on, so I found the spot on the Dragon and it fell over with a thump.

Koko was off my shoulder by then and was staring at me with fear. “How did you do that?”

I didn’t answer and she went on, “I’ve never demanded this, but please answer. W-Wha… What are you?”

Taking a deep breath, I responded while walking towards the injured Dragon, “No one.”

“That’s a bullshit answer,” she hissed and flew behind me.

I didn’t say anything, just came upon the Dragon that was injured and found they had turned into a naked female. No scales on her body, that I could see anyway.  The woman had dark hair and had a lithe body with perky tits. She also had multiple lacerations on her body. I dropped to my knees beside the woman and took a deep breath before closing my eyes.

Looking at the prognosis in front of me that my mind drew up, I touched her arm and let my magic flow out of me and into the injured female.

“Holy fuck! You can heal too?!”

I ignored that and kept going. It took longer than I thought to close her wounds because I had to remove poison from her body, but when done, I got up and went over to where the Fire Dragon was. Another naked woman was laying down in its place. She had red hair, pale skin, and had an athletic body with melon-sized tits.

I performed the same treatment to heal her wounds, which was nothing compared to the other one, but I was wondering why they had no clothes on. Taking a few breaths to calm down, I got up and walked towards the lake of fire. My astral limbs picked up the two Fire Serpents and made sure that I wasn’t touched by their venomous tails. As I came up to the edge of the fire lake, I threw the vipers into the lake and watched them closely to see if they would awake and come back, but they just sunk to the bottom.

When I turned, a frantic fairy was right in my face. “As much time as we’ve spent together, you never told me any of this. Tell me who you are right now, dammit!”

“I’m Kris, just like I was five minutes ago.” I smiled at her, knowing the fairy was about to blow her lid.

She took a few breaths to calm down, “You didn’t even touch them. I-I felt something when they fell over. Your eyes were white and glowing. I-I-I’ve never seen or heard of what you just did. It’s freaking me out, so please tell me what you are.”

She is loyal and won’t put you in harm’s way, you can tell her.

Ah, Hey! Haven’t heard from you in some time.

Yes, you are doing well in your training. Tell her.

You sure?

Yes, she is your friend. The only one on this continent at the moment.

That’s true.

I took a breath and exhaled slowly before responding, “I’m a Celestial.”

Staring at me for almost a minute, she said, “You are telling me that you are from a race that hasn’t touched this world since the Great Wars. Is that what you’re saying?”

Thinking about it carefully, I wanted her to trust me and that I wasn’t someone to be feared. Not knowing how to respond, I sighed and snapped my fingers. During my training, Alistair instilled in me to always have a defensive spell ready. So, I kept a barrier spell in my mind where it would always protect me if needed.

When it came into view, Koko yelped and flew away from me. I left it in place, and she eventually came over to investigate. Koko flew around the barrier, observing. I smiled; she was cautious. Deciding to end the demonstration, I snapped my fingers again and the barrier disappeared.

Koko shook her head, “I thought you were just an ordinary guy, Kris. A good looking one that lets me watch his trysts. One that has no baggage or complications on being a friend. And then you drop this on me. What the hell are you doing on our world?”

I shrugged, “Not really sure. Alistair, who found me, said I came through a portal and was unconscious when he found me. I woke up without any memory and for ten years, I thought that I was something else. Three years ago, things started happening, then Alistair told me what I am and what I am capable of.”

“Shit, man. This is crazy. I’m standing next to a Celestial. A race that came and removed most of the evil on this world. I don’t know whether to cry, be in awe, or hit you in the face for not telling me.”

“Well, if it’s too much to handle, then we don’t have to hang out anymore.”

It would make me sad if she wanted that, but I would persevere. She has been a good friend.

“No, that’s not it you big dope,” Koko scoffed. “I will just have to get over the fact that you could end my existence with a flick of your hand. Or that forest over there, you could make it into a bonfire with a snap of your fingers.”

“Uh, not likely. At least, right now I can’t do that. But who knows what will happen in the future?”

I was trying to be humorous, but she didn’t seem to find it very amusing. Clearing my throat, I said, “Now you know, so it’s up to you how to handle things from here. I’m going to check on those…”

The words stuck in my mouth as my eyes came upon two naked women standing and staring at us. Both were tall, around seven feet, and were silent. Koko was saying something but stopped when she noticed them too. I tried to keep my eyes on their faces, and it was very hard to do. Junior was having issues staying out of it as well.

“Can you tell us your name, sir?” The redhead timidly asked.

I answered, “Kris. And yours?”

“I am Cora and beside me is my friend, Juliette.”

I nodded to them and was about to say good day, but Juliette spoke. “You healed us. Fire Serpents have poison on their tails and fangs, when it gets into your blood, it is fatal.”

I did not know that. Makes sense though, it was difficult to heal them

Juliette continued, “We didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but we didn’t know what happened.”

“We know you are not of this world, Kris,” Cora stated hesitantly. “And we won’t tell anyone either. We owe you a life debt.”

I didn’t want that and let them know about it. “That’s not necessary ladies. I was in the area and helped. That is all.”

“It doesn’t matter, Kris,” Koko butted in. “They are honor bound now since she has already advised you.”

Dammit. Oh well, it’s not like they’ll be around us anyway.

“Okay. Well, we should get back. It was nice to meet you and I hope your day gets better.”

“Wait, you can’t leave yet,” Juliette pouted. “We want to know some things about you.”

I looked at Koko, she shrugged and landed on my shoulder. Sighing, “Before we start, where are your clothes?”

My eyes were having a tough time keeping above the neck. The naked females weren’t helping, the two were moving around which caused their breasts to bounce around. Did I say they were mouthwatering?

“Oh, um… we were getting some much-needed rest when those damn Fire Serpents ambushed us,” Juliette hissed. “And we didn’t have enough time to strip before shifting.”

Huh, that’s interesting. My clothes stay on. I pulled my pack off my shoulder and grabbed an extra shirt, then threw it to Cora and asked Koko to hover so that I could take off the one I was wearing, then gave it to Juliette.

They caught them and stared at me, Juliette asked, “Don’t like looking at naked women?”

“No, on the contrary. I love staring at women’s naked flesh, but my pants are becoming tight around my crotch area.”

Both women looked down and giggled before putting the shirts on. They did something weird next, the two sniffed the shirts. After a few moments, they did it again numerous times.

I chuckled, “Do they stink?” I had no idea what the two were doing.

“Your scent is addicting, Kris,” Juliette said dreamily.

“Agreed, I would like to have his scent surrounding me all the time,” Cora sighed and then giggled.

“You do smell great,” Koko stated from my right.

I rolled my eyes and spoke, “Let’s get back to our discussion. What would you like to know about me?”

“Where do you live?” Cora questioned as she maneuvered the shirt passed her ass cheeks. Just barely, though.

My first instinct was to lie, but questioned, “And why would you need to know?”

“He doesn’t trust us, Julie,” Cora determined by my facial expressions.

“Yes, I can see that. Well, we’ll just have to change his mind. Kris, would you mind accompanying us to our garrison?”

“Uh, why would you need that?” Koko slapped me on the cheek, I guess to tell me that my question was rude.

“We’re a bit weak right now,” Cora answered. “That and we’re half naked, you wouldn’t want anyone to take advantage of us, would you?” Her eyes stared at me with mischief, wanting me to say no.

I grunted but didn’t respond. Both giggled and clapped their hands together, then gestured for me to follow them. We walked down a dirt path, and the two Dragons chatted back and forth, letting me join in some of the time.

The duo advised that they were out scouting because they picked up squads of Oni’s coming around.

“There are Oni’s on this continent?”

Oni’s are spawns of Demons that have one horn sticking out of their heads and are big hulking figures at least eight feet tall. Tough fuckers from what Alistair says.

“Yeah, they are getting bolder too,” Cora stated. “The clan leaders think they are in cahoots with the Gargoyles and Formordians.”

I shuddered when she mentioned the latter. Only seeing them in a book, I can only imagine facing those creatures.

Formordians are also Demon spawns. They are large creatures, like the Oni’s, that are made up of animal parts. Their whole bodies are poisonous and if anyone comes into contact with them, they are doomed if they don’t have anti-poison potion nearby.

“How accurate is that data?”

Koko wanted to know as well. Those three working together aren’t good for anyone, especially if those damn Demons get involved.

Juliette shrugged, “As far as we know, it’s legit. Our commanders are on full alert.”

Koko whispered in my ear, “I will have to alert my clan. This is bad.”

“Do you want to leave now? I can escort them by myself.”

“No, I want to come and see if any other information can be given.”

We walked in silence for a while, everyone in their own thoughts. I was concerned, though with not knowing anyone around that I could ask for help except Alistair, I would be quiet and observe. He can’t do anything since he is a Guardian, but maybe he can be of help verbally. We’ll see.

An hour later, our group came upon a huge stone structure that had the typical cylindrical watch towers, thick walls that were lined with archers, but it also had two huge Dragons sitting on huge platforms, watching above. There were four, of those that could hold a Dragon on each. One held a Dragon with blue scales and another a brown. I must have been staring because Juliette commented.

“Theo is the brown, and Alisha is the blue. Watch out for her, she’s feisty.”

I turned to the brunette and smiled, “Yeah? Well, I doubt that we will have a chance to chat.”

“Don’t think she can’t see you, stud,” Cora chuckled. “I guarantee that she will want to know who you are.” The blue Dragon flew off the platform and into the garrison, moving away from our view.

“She’s one of our commanders, Marcus is as well,” Juliette said. “He is a red. Hot headed too, he’ll try and push you into a fight if he wants to. Though, I’m sure you can kick his ass.”

“Ooooooooh, that would be awesome to see,” Cora gushed. “The bastard needs to be taken down a few pegs.”

Not caring at all on what they were saying, I kept on walking without speaking. We finally came up to the wall, they noticed beforehand and began opening the gate. A squad of ten came out to meet us with a female leading. They came to a halt in front of us.

“Cora, Julie, what happened,” the woman asked with a frown.

“Commander, we were resting and were ambushed by three Fire Serpents,” Cora replied. “These two helped us defeat them.”

The commander looked over at me, her eyes moved up and down my body. I’m not gonna lie, I ogled her too. The woman was hot. Flowing raven hair with deep blue eyes, and her long, tan legs showed off her lithe body. She was a half a foot shorter than me, but her aura commanded everyone’s attention.

“And I’m assuming those shirts are his as well?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Juliette answered.

The beautiful commander turned to me, “Hmm… You don’t look familiar. What is your name?”

I smiled, “Kristjàn, but you can call me Kris.”

“Well, Kris. Thank you for escorting these two back to safety. Please come in and rest before returning to your lands while I debrief Cora and Julie.”

My gut said to leave, but Koko said that it would be rude and cause strife for us. I agreed to her suggestion and they led us in. People were walking and talking, most were shorter than me, but some were taller with muscles everywhere. Typical muscle-bound jerks probably. Two guards led me to a building off to the right, it had tables and chairs. Must be the mess hall. I looked around and saw what reminded me of the cafeteria line at school. Counters with food upon it under warmers and the smells were pleasant. The two brought me to a stop in front and called out to a plump server that was cutting up vegetables.

“Letha!”

The plump woman was shorter than most of the ones here, blue eyes and brown hair. “Roderick, how are you?”

“Good, good. Commander Alisha wants our guest here to be comfortable and his belly filled.” He gestured to me, she glanced over at me and then to Koko. I didn’t see any racism from either.

“And the fairy? Would you like some as well?”

Koko bowed her head and said, “Yes, thank you.”

The server smiled, “It is my pleasure. We’ve never had one of your kind in our barracks.”

Koko didn’t respond, I thanked the woman as she gave me and Koko a tray full of food. I took the tray and walked over to a table, setting the food down, and then went back to put the tray back in its place and grab two waters. Sitting down, I didn’t realize how hungry I was until savoring the first bit of roast and potatoes.

Koko ate from her plate as we sat in silence. The two guards left after we got our food. Neither of us were in a talkative mood, the walls probably had people listening in and watching us. I didn’t care what they did, the bastards weren’t going to hold me for long. We finished our meal and cleaned up before leaving. I called out to Letha that it was great, she smiled back.

Walking out of the mess hall, I stopped to scan the area. Most were working some job and others were training. Curious, I went over and watched a few sparring. Two males and two females. When they stopped, four more went in again. It went on for some time but this time it was different, male against female. The groups weren’t holding back either, going after each other to win or have them submit. One of them was a big brute, red hair with muscles on top of muscles. Grotesque, at least to me. I mean, why would you need to show others that? Strength is measured in how you defeat your opponent. Not knowing who he is, I’ll call him Red.

From seeing the fucker spar a few times, I would say the guy was a huge prick that lacked humility and honor. He was egging on his opponents and when he got the upper hand, the bastard beat them until someone pulled him off. Red was now fighting a huge Amazonian looking bitch. She was as tall as me with dark brown hair that came to her shoulders. The woman was ripped, at least her stomach, legs, and arms were. She had a firm supple ass but sported small breasts. I’ll label her Zena.

“That man needs to chill, these are his kin,” Koko whispered to me.

“Yeah, def needs to calm down.”

The big bitch was giving as good as him, everyone could tell that Red was getting frustrated, especially with the smirks Zena was giving him. The prick kept trying to find a hole in her defense but came up short every time. The woman was laughing now, and I knew the dickhead was going to do something stupid. On the next pass, somehow, he got in close and swept her off her feet. Shocked when the wind was knocked out of her, Zena wasn’t fast enough to defend against his onslaught of punches to her face and body. The guy didn’t stop, he just kept pounding on the woman.

Hearing shouts all around, I saw people running towards them, probably trying to stop the asshole. Me? I was already moving. Well, at least my astral limbs were, ten of them. They wrapped around him and squeezed, I could hear the bastard wheeze as they picked the fucker up off the woman and slammed him onto the ground twenty feet away. Repeatedly. Again, and again, and again. Everyone around was shocked still and looking around to find out who was doing this.

Koko hissed, “Punish the motherfucker!”

I did, five more times, and when blood was gushing out of the fucker, I then threw the asshole over the wall, outside of the complex. Every eye watched him fly through the air. After, there was silence. I glanced at the big crater in the ground and nodded, then looked over at the injured female. They had healers helping her now. I was still pissed off and was done with this place. Needing to calm down, I moved away from the area and towards the front gate while everyone was still trying to figure out what happened.

When they let us out, I was on my way when others ran out to check where the fucker landed. Not caring at all, I kept on strolling down the path that we came from. Koko was silent but she did pat me on the cheek, I guess that was her way of saying that I did a good job. We weren’t that far when someone shouted my name. I didn’t look back, but Koko did.

“Cora, Julie, and others are running this way.”

I just kept moving along at the same pace, the group would have to go faster to catch up to us. Though it didn’t take long to achieve that, I heard loud footsteps, maybe even running, and growling coming up behind me. Part of the group stopped ahead of me and were in their hybrid forms. The others were behind and in their hybrid forms as well. I guess they were trying to surround me. All of them were over ten feet tall. Instantly I was on alert, my eyes turned white, and my magic was ready.

“Kris, please calm down,” Cora said nervously. “We only want to talk.”

I didn’t respond to them, my eyes checked all potential threats, and found two of them were ready to pounce. Friends of the fuckwad, maybe?

“Please, Kristjàn,” Julie in her hybrid form had her hands up. The green scales were gleaming on her gorgeous body.

I took a breath or two to decide and spoke in a deep voice that I haven’t heard since that day at the factory years ago. “What do you want?”

Most of the group shuddered, two of the males shook their heads. I could tell that these two were potential threats as well.

“We know you were the one that stepped in to help, Trisha,” Cora said confidently. “How it was done tipped us off.”

Not moving or speaking, the commander asked, “Can you stand down? You’re making us nervous.”

I chuckled in a non-humorous tone at that statement. “Nervous? Why would you be nervous? You are all standing in a circle, surrounding me.”

The group glanced at each other, not knowing how to respond. Alisha sighed, “Because you are an unknown. Cora and Julie gave a brief recollection of what they think happened to them. Then the incident at the garrison was eye opening. We have never seen this kind of magic before, yes some have telekinesis, but most have defenses for that. You went through his defenses like he was a newborn.”

“You should’ve had someone stop him before now. I’ve only seen him today and know the asshole needs to be put down. No one should have to wonder if he will lose his shit and kill someone.”

“Yes, Marcus has been a handful lately,” she agreed and argued, “But he is a great fighter. We need him to help with defending against the Oni’s.”

Huh. Wonder how long the bastard will be out. Though with his normal regen from wounds and the healers, he should be right as rain in no time.

“You don’t have to sell it to me lady. I’m not part of your clan. Again, what do you want?”

Alisha calmly stated, “You helped Cora and Julie, which I am grateful for. I just want to make sure that you aren’t an enemy to us.”

“As of right now, no. I will continue being that way until you give me a reason.”

The commander sighed, and Cora and Julie were nervous still. I was calm until one of my targeted threats decided to speak.

“Alisha, this guy is extremely dangerous.”

“Shut up, Theo!”

“No, this is something that the clan leaders need to know about. Especially the Patriarch.”

Another target spoke, “I agree and suggest we take him back to the garrison to keep him there until a clan leader confirms he is no threat.”

Cora and Julie were shocked, Alisha grit her teeth as a few more agreed with the two idiots. I wasn’t about to be taken anywhere. Taking a breath, I closed my eyes and focused on what I wanted. A few moments later, I opened them and waited. The Dragons were still debating on what to do when a barrier spell slammed down on the ground and then surrounded us on all sides, even the earth.

Everyone gasped, even Koko, as the spell lit up. The ten Dragons glanced around to see that they were trapped. The two idiots tried to get out but were shocked and thrown to the ground when they touched the barrier. A few others tried magic to get through, but it didn’t work either. I stood waiting for them to stop.

Eventually everyone did stop and stare at me. I cruelly smiled, “I’m going to have to decline your invite. It isn’t something that interests me. Oh, and one more thing, this was your one and only warning. Start some shit like this again and no one will find any trace of you. Ever.”

I began walking towards the barrier, Julie and Cora ran over. The former blurted out, “Please don’t blame us for this. We did not have anything to do with it.”

I nodded and said, “Until next time, ladies. The spell will last for an hour. Be safe.”

The others shouted out something as I went through the barrier to the outside to make my way home. I sighed, idiots. We walked for a while in silence; I was in my own thoughts but noticed Koko hasn’t said anything for a bit.  

“You okay, Koko?”

She cleared her throat, “Yeah, I’m just glad that we’re friends, Kris.”

That took me by surprise. “You know that I would never hurt you, right Koko?”

Nodding slowly, “It is taking me a bit to get used to your powers, but I am confident that you won’t.”

I sighed and kept silent as we walked. Soon after, we were at her drop off point, and she hugged my neck.

“You need to stay home this week, Kris. Hopefully those idiots won’t look for you.”

I wasn’t going to do that. I’m not letting others dictate what I do. “Maybe, but I’ll be trying to find out about this Oni threat.”

“Yeah, I’ll be discussing that with my clan. Be safe, Kris.”

She flew off my shoulder and headed to her home. I watched until she was out of sight, then continued on my way home. It was uneventful, at least until I got home. Cloe was outside when I came up, she came over and nuzzled me. I scratched behind her ears while she purred and smiled when the feline bumped into me wanting more.

After playing with her a bit, I went inside and found three people inside at the table, sipping on coffee or tea and talking softly. This wasn’t the first time that we had visitors, so I shrugged and went to my room to drop off my backpack then to the fridge for some water.

I was chugging when Alistair spoke, “Kris, I would like you to meet Augustus Cordona and Roman Pepoli. Patriarchs of their clans.”

Immediately swallowing and looking over, I noticed that Alistair was in a disguise. Shit, what the fuck Alistair? Turning to both men, I bowed, “Patriarchs.”

The pricks didn’t even say anything. Fuckin nobles. Alistair went on, “They are here to discuss a job for you.”

Tha fuck? “Job? What kind of job?”

“Are you sure he is the one that can get the job done?” Pepoli asked with doubt.

“Oh yes, he cleaned out the last nest that he found.”

That was surprising. Nest? What nest is Alistair referring to?

“I am still doubtful Mr. Archibald, but if he can achieve what others couldn’t then the young man can ask of anything he desires,” Cordona stated. “Within reason of course.”

“Of course, when should you expect him then?”

I was dumbstruck, to the point of not balking at this ludicrous situation. I couldn’t even retort to anything these men spoke about.

“The sooner the better. Our families depend on it.”

“Very well, he will be there tomorrow at noon.

They nodded and Alistair bid them goodbye as they walked outside. I then heard the sound of a portal being opened, and a few moments later, Alistair came back in with his normal look. I was sitting at that moment, waiting for him to explain. He grabbed a water and sat down.

“We have a situation. People have gone missing, the most notable are the daughters of four of the top families on this continent and two sons from the continent of Alera.”

“And the races they belong too?” I didn’t like what I’m hearing, it sounds like he is volunteering me for a mission to investigate these kidnappings.

“Two of the daughters mentioned are Dragons, which are the granddaughters of those two nice gentlemen you just met. The other two are high in the hierarchy of the Phoenix. Now, when I say that they are nobility, one of the daughters missing is the heir. The other is her cousin. As you know, the noble families are fickle and obnoxious. Be careful what you say and do.”

“What the fuck are you doing, Alistair? I mean, you volunteered me for this without even asking?”

I was pissed and fuming. He didn’t care and calmly retorted, “Yes, you asked about making some money, so you are going on this mission. The council wants you to figure out what is going on and eliminate the perpetrators if you find their lair.”

“I’m only twenty-one. What the hell do I know about this shit?”

He smiled, “Because you’ve already been through it. That and you can see who the evil doers are. Therefore, the council wants you involved, to join the investigation and point out what they are missing.”

I sighed loudly, “Lovely. It seems that everything is already decided for me.”

“I thought you would see it my way. What have you been doing today?”

I suppose the truth was necessary and told him, ending with the sighting of Oni’s and Formordians.

“Shit. Are you sure?”

Shrugging, “I didn’t see them, but those Dragonborn said they have.”

“Dammit, I need to figure out what is going on, but first, I will send a message to see if anyone else has seen this. Eat and rest. You will need it.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, then grabbed a sandwich before heading to my room to study. Not long after, my head hit the pillow and went to sleep.

Chapter 13

The next morning, I rose, handled my morning ritual and got breakfast to go. I needed to tell Koko that I would be gone for a while. Waiting in the normal spot, I thought about what was in store for me. Nobles. The pricks always have something stupid to say or do. I was at the point of leaving when my eyes saw her coming. She wasn’t alone. A male was with her and I smiled as she came up.

Koko scowled at my facial expression, “Kris, this is Mikhael, a suitor.” She flew over and kissed me on the cheek and whispered into my ear, “Good morning, stud. And I’m sorry about the way I acted yesterday.”

I whispered back, “Good morning, cutie. It’s fine, I’m sure it was a shock to see that.” She smiled broadly and flew back over to Mikhael.

I turned my attention back to the male fairy with brown hair and blue eyes, noticing his scowl when Koko whispered to me, “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Mikhael said. “We’ve heard a lot about you. Though, she didn’t tell us how big you were.”

I waved off his concern, “Nothing to worry about, Mikhael. Unless you somehow hurt Koko, we won’t have a problem.”

He gulped and his eyes went wide, Koko giggled and gushed, “I told you he was protective. Especially to women.”

Mikhael cleared his throat, “Yes, you did. And the story now has merit. I thank you for protecting Koko as she explores the forest.”

I smiled and goaded the male, “It’s my pleasure. You know, if she was taller, then I would be trying to court her myself.”

Koko’s cheeks went crimson and she gasped, the male hesitated and then jabbered about how he would never allow that to happen. After almost a minute of him rambling on, I cut him off. “Koko, I have to leave for a while.”

She immediately flew over and landed on my shoulder, her embarrassment gone. “Is something wrong? How long will you be gone?”

“I don’t know. I’m being sent to investigate people disappearing. And I told my mentor about the Oni’s.”

“Yes, I told my clan leaders. They are not happy about this situation and sent out scouts to make sure we aren’t taken by surprise by any creatures in our woods.”

Huh, good thinking. “Well, I just wanted to let you know and when I get back, I will try and get a message to you.”

“Thank you for letting me know. And we had visitors this morning. The Dragons were trying to locate you.”

“Dragons?” Mikhael squeaked. “Why would they be looking for him?”

We ignored him. Koko kissed me on the cheek again and hugged my neck, “Take care of yourself, Kristjàn. I will be very upset to find out that something happened to you.”

I chuckled, “No chance of that. The same goes for you, Koko.”

She smiled sadly and left, but every so often she stopped and looked back to make sure that I was watching, which I was. The fairy was someone special to me, and I was telling the truth about her height. Koko was fun to be around, and her bubbly personality infected others. I would miss her while away.             

Turning to my house after she was out of sight, I made my way home. It didn’t take long, and Alistair was out front, waiting. Cloe was there too and wanted to nuzzle a bit. I petted her and walked over to my mentor.

“Tell your friend you would be gone for a bit?”

“Yeah.”

He nodded, “It still blows my mind that you are friends with a fairy. Oh well, are you ready?”

“I suppose, let me get my pack.”

“It’s on the porch. I filled it with snacks and clothes, but you may want to buy a suit or something when you get there. Those pompous fools love to dress up.”

“I don’t have that much left.”

“I put a good amount in your pack. Now, I am sending you to the Cordona estate, so be careful.”

I was confused when grabbing my backpack, “You aren’t coming with?”

Alistair chuckled, “No, can’t get directly involved, remember?”

“What the hell? You got me in this shit but won’t be there? That’s just great.” I shook my head, not wanting to do this.

He patted my shoulder, “You’ll be fine. Trust your instincts and when all else fails, run. You can’t win every battle.”

I grunted but didn’t respond, and he took that as the end of the conversation. Opening the portal, Alistair called out to me as I walked towards my ride. “I will be monitoring, Kris. Just not able to intervene. Find the lair and take it out, if you find the granddaughters then that’s a bonus. When you are done, then I will open up a portal to here.”

I nodded and waved bye to him and Cloe who was beside him now. When I came through the portal, it was in the courtyard of all places and guess what?... I had a squad of Dragons there to meet me. All were around my height at eight feet tall, in armor, and had their weapons out and ready. Swords and axes, they looked sharp too.

The squad leader yelled out, “Take one more step and you die!”

Fuckin Alistair, I’ll get him back for this.

I stood there as the guards surrounded me, scanning the estate. It was lavish. The mansion itself was enormous. Stone, marble, and granite everywhere. The courtyard sported all kinds of flowers, plants, and greenery. Guards were marching the grounds and I saw guard towers set up every fifty feet or so within the walls that surrounded the estate.

“Who are you? And why are you here?” The leader demanded, spittle coming out of his mouth. He also was tense, fear mixed in too.

I smiled and said, “Good questions. I’m here to see the owner of this estate. I want to know how I can get set up with all this at my new home.”

The guy growled at me, I started chuckling and was about to ramble on about something when a voice called out, “Stand down, Gregor.”

Gregor snapped his head around and bowed his head, “Milady, this cretin came through a portal within the courtyard. We were about to apprehend him.”

I wasn’t even paying attention to either, my eyes were scanning the area for possible danger. Yeah, I didn’t count these guys to be actual danger and my instincts told me these guys weren’t a threat. When my initial scan was done and no major threats were seen, I let my magic go and glanced over in the direction of the person speaking. It was a female, damn good looking too. Looked to be in her twenties with long flowing red hair, tan skin, emerald green eyes, and a body that demanded everyone’s attention. She was wearing a long red dress that showed the delectable curves of her body. The woman was beautiful, and she knew it. I also noticed that she was ogling me as well. She had two female guards behind her.

“Get a good look?” She asked with a blank stare. Yes, I’ll admit it. I was staring.

“Did you?”

The guards around me growled their displeasure of my question. Wow, touchy. The woman however smirked and replied, “I did. …What did you find?”

“I’m sorry?” Not sure what the lady was asking.

She fully smiled this time, “Not me. I saw your eyes glow white, you were scanning for danger or threats. Did you find any?”

Well, the woman was observant. “No, not at this time.”

The woman turned to Gregor, “Did you notice that?”

He sighed, “No, milady.”

“Did you notice that he didn’t even see you as a threat? You surrounded him, but one look told me that he was calm and showed no fear. That tells me he is dangerous.”

“Yes, milady, we did notice that.” He was not even meeting her eyes now.

“Lesson over, Gregor. Be aware next time. Dismissed.” Damn, she’s cold.

“Thank you, milady.” He and his squad marched away. I watched for a bit and turned when the lady approached with her two guards in tow.

“That was dangerous, forming a portal within our courtyard.”

“It was, and I will give my mentor a piece of my mind when I see him next.”

The lady giggled, and from the looks behind her, it caught the two guards by surprise.

“I am Alana. My grandfather told me that you were coming. Though he didn’t say that you would be around my age, nor quite fetching.”

One of her guards gasped, “Milady!”

Alana waved her hand and rolled her eyes, “Becca, look at him and tell me that you did not stare.”

Becca didn’t respond. I bowed my head to them and said, “I am Kristjàn, but you can call me Kris.”

“Follow me, Kris,” Alana said and began walking. “And thank you for coming to our aid. Though I will caution you, the people that you will be working with are pricks and assholes, but they are worried as we all are. My grandfather and Patriarch Pepoli have made us all aware that you are on this investigation. The commanders may see you and balk about you being there though.”

I was walking beside her, and she was almost my height. “That’s okay. I work in the background anyway.”

She stopped and looked at me in disbelief, “That’s not what my grandfather said. He was under the impression that you took out a nest of Vampires by yourself. Was he mistaken? I want my baby sister found and if you’re just going to be in the way, then go home.”

I sighed, not really knowing how to react to this news or why Alistair told them that. “Alana, how many know of what you speak?”

She shrugged and we began walking again, “Everyone. Grandfather and Patriarch Pepoli announced it in our meeting last night. Many were skeptical, and now I am as well.”

I didn’t say anything else, we walked in silence to their war room, as one of them called it. Two guards opened the double doors and let us in to lots of people talking in various groups. Each speaking about something important, I guess. Alana led us to the front and spoke in a bland tone.

“Commander Aiken, this is Kris. Our guest that grandfather mentioned last night.”

Well, guess she has dismissed me as a bother now. Everyone stopped at that announcement. The commander was broad and a bit shorter than I was. He was stout though, with dark hair and brown eyes. He looked up and his look told me everything I needed to know. Stupid, arrogant pricks.

“This is the guy that took out fifteen Vampires? I was skeptical last night and now that I’ve seen him, I know that I was right.” He stopped and stared into my eyes for a few moments, “Stay out of the way, we don’t need you here.”

I looked at him and the others around, rolling my eyes, I moved over to an empty table. Alana and her group stayed to speak with Commander Aiken. I took a breath to calm down and started meditating. It wasn’t even a minute before my senses heightened.

My ears picked up how the girls were kidnapped. They were at a club with their friends, which they also ended up being taken. Five all together. Nothing about the Phoenix though. The club was a popular spot which was to be my next stop, at least when I get out of here. Others were speaking about some evidence they found at the scene. It was black blood, and the only race out there that had that color blood were Demons.

Hmm, wonder if it is another Incubus leading or maybe an Oni.

I was still listening in on other conversations when someone sat down at my table. Not wanting to miss anything, I kept on with my overhearing the other groups. Someone cleared their throat, and then again, a minute later. I sighed and opened my eyes to see four people on the other side of the table. Three women and one male, all were staring at me.

“Can I help you?”

A brunette sighed, “No, but we were told you are in our group. We’re about to leave and it would be frowned upon if we left without you since you’re supposed to be an honored guest.”

“Honored guest?” The male scoffed and started chuckling.

I looked over at him, and then back to the woman who spoke, “Okay, let’s go.”

We got up and began walking towards the exit and I scanned the room for Alana, but she was nowhere to be found. I followed the four in front of me out to a SUV and got in to leave. It was the same at each place that we stopped, no one knew anything. They finally got a lead and immediately, we traveled to an auto parts store and stopped, but before we got out the lady driving turned to me.

“Try to keep up and don’t speak. You’re just here to observe and follow along.”

I didn’t respond and got out with my backpack in hand, the four walked off without me. Not really wanting to burn the bridge yet, I went in their direction and stepped inside as the four stood at the counter. I was off to the side, making it like I wasn’t with the group standing there. They were demanding to speak to some guy, I didn’t catch his name. After a few minutes, this character comes out from the back in his coveralls covered in grease. Must be a mechanic.

“What you want?” He asked rudely.

The lady in charge, we’ll call her bitch, asked him questions regarding the missing college kids. He was all over the place about rumors that he’s heard, and this person said this and that, but he thought it was a hoax. He wasn’t helpful at all. The group got frustrated and left. The mechanic shrugged and went back to his station. I stayed out of sight and maneuvered my way to the back where he was going. Hiding behind some crates, I watched the mechanic.

He pulled out his phone and dialed, after a few moments he started whispering. I could only make out a few words, he said something about commander and Dragons. I concentrated and my senses heightened, the conversation was clear then.

“…they came to the shop asking for me and then wondering about what I knew about the college kids going missing. … I don’t know how they knew to find me. … No, I didn’t tell them anything. … Mario’s at 6? … Okay, I’ll be there.”

Looks like the bastard knows something after all.

I silently made my way back outside and scanned the area to see that the bastards left without me.

Hmm… guess I’ll have to find my own way back to the estate. Yeah, fat chance of that.

Looking at each direction, I made my way towards a grocery store to see if I could find out what Mario’s was. Asking a few people, they all said it was a restaurant down on Fifth St. Thanking them, I flagged down transportation to take me there. It was a ten-minute journey, good thing I didn’t walk.

Checking the time, I had an hour to kill, so I went to a bookstore to catch up on the news and get some coffee. Most lead stories were about the kidnappings, one said that since this had started four months ago and that at least five hundred have gone missing. That’s a lot of people. I moved on but didn’t see anything else worth noting and ended up reading other news for the remainder of the time.

Checking the time again, it was ten till, so I made my way over to the parking lot of Mario’s. Stopping by a tree, I leaned against it and waited. A few minutes went by and two black SUV’s pulled into the parking lot. Guards came out and scanned for danger while three people got out and went inside. I had my sunglasses on, so I triggered my mind magic and scanned the guards to find a mixture of evil. Oni’s and Gargoyles. At six on the dot, a blue sedan came in and parked, the mechanic got out and went inside the restaurant. I scanned him and found that he was an Oni as well.

Guess it’s time for me to get some dinner.

I walked inside and checked the area to find my targets. Finding them, I told the hostess that I wanted over in that vicinity. She sat me at a table, I nodded and checked the menu for when the server came along. With my shades still on, I looked over and quickly did a scan of the table of four. All male, and all Oni. Turning back to my table, I took a breath and listened in to the conversation three tables over.

“They are on to us. We need to get out while we can.”

One of them chuckled, “They aren’t a threat, Micah. We can take them if need be.”

“Are we still on for Saturday?”

“Yes, hopefully we have a better haul than the past week.”

“Okay, which club is it?”

“The Midnight Star, at 9.”

“How long are we going to be there?”

“No more than a few hours, shouldn’t take that long to coerce anyone to go with us.

Today was Thursday, so two days away for their next batch of kidnappings.

I stopped listening in after that as the server came over and took my order of Lasagna. It didn’t take long for the meal to show, and I cleaned my plate not knowing how hungry I was. Placing money on the table, I grabbed my pack and left to go next door again to check where this club was located.

Asking the guy at the counter about the club, he smiled and told me it was the club to be at on Saturday night for sure and that he would be there with his buddies. I thanked him for the info and left to find a hotel to stay in.

I know what you’re probably thinking, and it would be correct. I’m keeping the shitheads in the dark for now. Finding a hotel wasn’t hard, and after paying for it, I went in and rested. Watching some TV for a bit, I was tired, so I went to sleep.

The next two days were uneventful, I followed the mechanic, but he didn’t go anywhere except home. At least that happened, if I need to backtrack and get information, he is the one to get it from even though he’s a pawn.

It was boring, the guy was a slob. Dirty dishes everywhere, uneaten food just sitting there with flies buzzing about, and the asshole never took a bath that I saw.

Maybe he’s a once a week bather. Gross.

It was late Saturday night, and I had gone shopping to get some new clothes. Making myself presentable, I left and was taken to the club via a shuttle. Man, I wish that I could just teleport there, it would be so much easier.

The shuttle pulled up a block away and I got out to see a long line to get in. It was around 8:30, so I had time to get inside to make my rounds to see what was going on. The line went surprisingly fast and after paying my cover charge, I went inside the doors to loud music and light shows. And dancing of course.

I made my way to the bar and ordered an ale, then took it and found an empty table to sit at and browse the area. One problem that I had was, what were these jackoffs looking for in a captive? And what age? Did it matter? I wasn’t sure, but if it is like the slave ring back home, then I could understand them taking anyone. So, I just observed for the first hour and didn’t see anyone that I recognized from Mario’s. Ordering another drink, I checked the time and found it to be almost ten and wondered if anything was going to happen. I walked around and found a group of twelve together, talking and laughing. I hovered in the area and watched to see if anything caught my attention.

“Hey, handsome.”

I turned to look who said that and was face to face with two raven haired beauties, both with their tits hanging out of the halter tops they were wearing, and the miniskirts they were wearing couldn’t have been covering anything.

“Like what you see, baby?”

“Yeah,” I answered and looked back over to the group and others.

“Awww, Annie, he’s ignoring us.”

“I know Cari. Are you waiting for someone?”

Not looking at them, I said, “No.”

“Then why don’t you come dance with us? It’ll be fun,” the one named Annie suggested with a smirk.

I didn’t care, but someone might catch me watching, so I relented and agreed to her suggestion. Both clapped and giggled. I followed them out to the dance floor, but not too far that I couldn’t keep my eyes on the suspicious group. Both were clingy and touchy, groping me in all areas while dancing so close, I could smell her sweat and other things. We were carrying on a bit and I almost missed it, but Cari looked over at the group behind me and nodded.

Well, looks like my cover’s blown or they are trying to capture me. Briefly activating my Third Eye, I saw that the two ladies dancing with me are indeed Demons. Succubi, actually. Interesting. What the hell are these bitches doing with Oni’s? To make sure of myself, I scanned the group and the others beside them to make sure that I wasn’t taken by surprise, and sure enough, all three groups around the area are in cahoots with each other. Gargoyles, Oni’s, Succubi, and Incubi. Three of each at the tables, two more Succubi are with me. Great, it’s worse than I thought.

These bitches with me are trying to use their spells on me. Then I had a stupid idea that popped into my head. I contacted my mentor and held my stone up to whisper my plan to Alistair. He didn’t respond but I knew that he got the message.

Be careful. We are almost merged, do not hinder that.

I’m not, but I need to find where their lair is. I may need your help.

Very well. Hmm… your Dragon also has an interest in this situation.

Why?

He won’t say, but he is aware of what is going on and gives his full support.

Well, that’s so gracious of him to say. Did you hear the sarcasm in that?

I know, he’s being stubborn.

Whatever. I’m going with my idea, you with me?

Yes, let’s do it.

I started groping on Cari’s tits, and she began grinding on my cock with her ass. The bitch moaned and we danced like that for some time before my hand went down under her skirt to find that she didn’t have any panties on. I heard her gasp and shudder as I began fingering the lust Demon.

It wasn’t a minute later that she moaned loudly, and fluids gushed out onto my hand, her legs, and the floor. I let her go and grabbed Annie and started on her, she didn’t balk. We got into a rhythm and she wanted the same treatment. So, I gave it to her. Five minutes later of groping on her tits, ass, and then fingering her pussy, she squirted like her friend. After getting themselves together, they wanted to go sit down.

“C’mon, come meet our friends.”

I thought it was funny that they never asked for my name, though it probably didn’t matter since they were going to kidnap me anyway. The duo led me over to their group of friends and introduced them to me. Again, no one asked for my name, they just smiled a knowing smile and went back to whatever they were doing before. Cari and Annie drug me to a vacant place on a couch and pushed me down. They plopped down beside and started with the affection, even ordered me a drink. They were kissing me, so I wasn’t aware when the beer got there, but they did and forced me to take a drink.

I knew that it was drugged and went with it. The toxin went down my throat, but my body quarantined it immediately. I downed the entire mug and asked for another. They smiled and another was in front of me within a minute. I downed it also, and the toxin was confined like the last. The two bitches couldn’t keep their hands to themselves and started rubbing my cock, and before long, Cari had it out and went down on me. It didn’t take long for me to erupt. Hey! It has been a long time since I had any lady company.

“Yummy.”

I wondered if the toxin wasn’t isolated, would she have gotten some into her system? Curious.

The night went on for another hour and I noticed the other targets start to relax, some even went to sleep. I copied a few of the others and waited for the inevitable. Not long after, the two Succubi took my hands and pulled me up.

“Wanna go with us to a party, handsome?” Cari smiled and slapped my ass.

I nodded, not wanting to speak and give away anything. They took an arm in each of theirs and led me to the back of the building where a tractor trailer was waiting. The two escorted me up the ramp and sat with me. Others came into view and before long, the trailer was full.

When the doors closed, the truck began moving and I glanced at others around me. They were of all races and ages, I guess the bastards aren’t racists nor particular. Cari and Annie kept my attention the whole way to their lair and even helped me down the ramp to a warehouse. It was dark, so I didn’t get a good look at much of the area. We walked inside and low and behold, there were cages lined up on the walls. Had to be thirty of them.

Everyone in those cages watched as we were led to different ones and pushed inside. Cari and Annie gave me a kiss, the latter said, “We’re sorry but the party didn’t pan out. You seemed like a good guy and maybe would be an awesome fuck, but we must do as we’re told. Hope you understand.”

I didn’t answer, just went inside and they locked all the cages.

Bitches didn’t even let me go to the can. Guess I’ll have to spray the walls then.

My eyes scanned the cage that I was in and found four big fuckers. I would see what they were when the lights went out. But it wasn’t meant to be, or at least not at first. The assholes had a meeting and spoke about their plans. I counted at least twenty-five. The three Incubi would be the most dangerous to handle, for them I would need to recruit some help.

Overhearing their discussion, it seemed that I got here just in time, because the slavers were coming in two days. I needed to see what these faggots looked like and who was leading them.

When they were done, most of them picked a partner for the night out of one of the cages, men and women. I had to restrain myself as they did this, remembering what happened before. The captives were taken somewhere and brought back an hour or two later.

While they were gone, I checked the four that I picked for help and found them to be two Red Dragons and two Phoenix. I don’t know if this is good or bad. Scanning them, I saw that they were all over level 30. Good, but the hotheads may blow our cover. So, I scanned the others in my cage and most of them were Human. The cages next to us had a few Dragons, Phoenix, and Fire Giants. Good. Hopefully, these will help kill these pricks. I went to sleep after coming up with a plan, and it was a long night with lots of crying and whimpering.

The next day we were given water, which was drugged, but everyone drank it. Most of the day was listening to people getting angry and others crying. I decided to meditate. Deep into it, I was approached by a powerful entity within my mind. An enormous Dragon.

Kristjàn, it is time that we met.

I figured it out who it was. Okay.

I am called Rhysidod. Also, known as the Destroyer, or the Balancer. Since Alistair was chosen as a Guardian, and no longer Dragon kin, I went to a long-awaited rest. When he gave you his blood, I was awoken when your pure blood mixed with mine. So, you can understand why I was hesitant to make myself known to a youth that wasn’t a Dragonborn.

Yes, I understand your caution. And I did, hell, who wouldn’t. Can I call you Rhys?

Yes. …Watching these pricks and the ones before when you were just coming into your magic made me believe that this was destined. I’m not sure of that, but from the looks of things, evil is returning to Exhulm.

I can agree with that assumption, but what do want to happen? I mean, you could go back to rest if you want, I’m not going to force you into something that you don’t want to.

He chuckled. It was a deep laugh. I’m awake now and want to create havoc for these idiots that capture my kin and others for slavery.

All right, what do you suggest? I was going to wait on the slavers to appear then recruit others to join the fight.

That is a sound plan, and I will support you with my power as well. We will recruit my brethren in the cage with us and beside us. Those Demons will find out just how powerful we can be.

I like the sound of that, but will they follow our commands?

Oh yeah, they will.

Not sure of that, but we will see what happens. Sounds good to me.

Meditate and I will begin our bond.

Bond? How will this affect me?

Only make you more powerful. You can bring up Dragon armor, use fire for spells, intimidate, coerce, and other skills. But most important of all, you will be able to shift into a Dragon form.

Annnnnnd, just how big will I be?

You are looking at the form right now.

Damn, that’s big.

Yep, now let’s get started.

I did and was deep into it and must’ve fell asleep. Rhys was gone from my mind and it felt like I had been run over by a truck. My muscles were sore, and my body ached. My mind was clear though, which was a good thing. I noticed my clothes were tighter and my senses were heightened. Shit, I wonder if it will be this way from now on.

I felt different and looking down, I saw that my arms were bigger, more muscle definition. Legs and chest must be larger and longer as well since my pants and shirt feel snug. Huh, guess Rhys wants others to see a bigger form.

I looked at the others in the cage and noticed they are sweaty and smell like B.O. Wonder how long I was out?

One of the bigger guys glanced at me, “Ah, so you’ve awakened. Just in time too, since we will be taken away soon.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The others shook their heads and chuckled, the guy responded, “You’ve been asleep the past two days. And now, the slavers are here for transport.”

I scanned the area and found guards for us captives. “What do they look like? Are they any different than those other bastards?”

“What does it matter, kid?” Another of the big guys spoke. “We can’t fight back, they drugged us with something.”

The first guy continued, “Yeah, we have no access to our magic. Some of the others tried to fight back last night and were hurt pretty bad, if not killed. We were surprised that you didn’t awaken when that went down. Guess you’re a heavy sleeper.”

“Better not do that when you’re sold into slavery,” a woman with brown hair popped off. “They will kill you.”

The others around grunted their agreements. I watched the doors to see if any of the slavers came out. None did. As the others were carrying on with a whispered conversation, I started in on my plan. Activating my magic, I began purging the toxin in my blood as well as the others in my vicinity. Twelve of us in the cage, and like I said earlier, most were Humans, but they needed a chance to get out too.

I then called out to Sam, he didn’t answer. Waiting for a minute, I tried again. Wonder what that’s about?

When the toxin was out, I did know from past experience that it would take a bit for their bodies to realize that the magic is back. Taking a gander at the guards, they looked to be bored and weren’t paying attention to us. My eyes stayed and observed them for a few minutes to make sure they were the only ones. Two more showed up and pulled them over to a table to play some card game.

Awesome. Coincidence? Maybe. Alistair? Not sure, but I’m not going to let this chance get away. On to the 2nd phase of my plan.

Rhys, are you with me? I haven’t heard from him yet, wonder if he is recuperating like I was.

Yes. And you have merged with the combat version of yourself.

Ah, good. At least I won’t have two voices in my head.

Okay, let’s start kicking some names and take some ass.

Uh, I don’t think that is how you say that phrase. Who taught you that?

Alistair, but you may be right. Who cares? I’ll put it to you differently. I want dead bodies in our rear view with blood gushing from their wounds.

Ooookay. How do we get your brethren to listen and follow instructions?

Our bond will take care of the skills you need for this. Just walk up and command them.

Um… that sounds strange. If that was true, then your kin would command each other all the time.

Oh no, you need experience and power to do this. Good thing that I have both.

Yeah, that’s good. But what makes you different?

Let’s just say that I’ve been around for a looooonng time.

Okay, I’ll take your word for it.

Picking myself up off the ground, I realized that I was taller. I went over to the two Dragons. They looked up as I came over.

“I need backup. Are you game?”

The duo glanced at each other, rolled their eyes, and went back to talking with the others. The female that spoke to me earlier started giggling.

All right, if that’s how you want to play.

I felt my eyes glow, and then growled. The people around us gasped as I spoke in a deep, ancient voice that wasn’t mine, “You young whelps and everyone in this damn cage need to get your fuckin asses up and pay attention.”

The Dragons tensed and shot up as did the Phoenix; the Humans were slower but did as I commanded. One of the Dragons stood at attention, “Sir, we did not know you were back. Please forgive us.”

“Stop, do not speak of this. I don’t want others to know yet.”

“Damn, we thought that you were with the elders, sir.”

I sighed, “That conversation is for another time, if ever. Follow instructions and you may live through the night.”

My eyes met the Phoenix, “Am I gonna have a problem with you two?”

Both went wide eyed and shook their heads no.

“I don’t need hotheads right now. If you or your brethren interfere with me or my plans, I won’t hesitate to end you. When you get out, spread the word.”

“Yes, sir!” Both responded.

I turned my head to the other cages, they were up and standing as well, watching. Smiling, I made my way to the door and sent out a command, the lock broke and I silently got out. The Dragons and Phoenix came to the door.

“Wait here. I will purge the toxin from the other cages and signal when it’s time for action.”

The people inside gawked, one of the Phoenix asked stupidly, “You can do that?”

I nodded and made my way to the next cage, hiding myself to the side. A few minutes later, I was done with that cage. No one said a word, just waited. I went to the next and then the next and the next. I wasn’t paying attention to who or what were in the cages. I just did my duty and went to the next one. When approaching the front, I caught snippets of conversation but wasn’t paying attention to any of them. Purging the last one, I glanced around to the other cages. Everyone’s eyes were on me. I then turned and began phase 3 of my plan.

Eight astral limbs shot out and wrapped around the guards. All four tried to shout but were muffled by my limbs. They picked them up and kept them hovering in the air as I walked up. Their eyes were wide in fear and spoke something incoherent. I already knew that these were Oni, so my command went out and the eight limbs squeezed until they popped like a zit. Blood went everywhere. I heard gasps and whimpers from all around.

My eyes went white and glowed again. They hurriedly scanned and made sure no other threats were around, then I went and grabbed the door of my cage and let them out.

“I am counting on you four to handle everyone here. Find others for help and check outside for anything to escape in. I’m not sure of where we are, so find out and send word to me. I will go around to each cage and break the locks. Do as I command.”

They all responded with a “Yes sir!” and walked out of the cage.

I strolled down the warehouse and sent out a limb to break the lock on each cage. It didn’t take long before all the cages were open. My eyes and mind kept watch as the captives freely moved about. They need to be quick and silent from now on until they are away from this place.

It was some time before a voice spoke up behind me, “Sir, we have found credible people to help with the evacuation.”

I turned and looked upon ten people, male and female, different races and heritage.

“Did you recon the area?”

“Yes, we are in an industrial park of some kind. Ten guards are outside patrolling the area and others are at the gate. Not sure how many of those?”

“Good. I don’t know if you are aware, but we were caught by Demons. Oni, Succubi, and Incubi. Some Gargoyles are mixed in too.”

Their faces showed anger now, that’s what I wanted to see. “The lust Demons will be the biggest threat, and we need to take them out.”

A female spoke out, “We can’t help, our magic isn’t working like yours.”

I turned to her, a tall blonde with hellacious curves, and pretty lips was staring at me. “When was the last time you tried?”

They looked at each other, shrugged and everyone gasped as their magic began working. The blonde smiled, “How did you accomplish this?”

I wasn’t going to reveal anything, so I just shrugged and was about to go on when a rude fucker started talking, “Thanks for the help, getting us free and even giving our magic back, but we can take it from here kid.”

Tilting my head, I scanned the bastard and found out that he was a Dragon. My four recruits were hissing at him, the others around were looking at him with disdain.

I on the other hand chuckled, “Let me guess, you were born into one of the influential families of this world and now you think that since someone else did the hard work, you are going to take the credit for everything. Is that it?”

He smirked, “You catch on really quick, kid. You are correct, I’m a Burgess. I’ve got my people taking care of the guards outside and soon will be the one who leads everyone out.”

I hadn’t heard anything about the Burgess family and to tell the truth, I didn’t care. “And what is your plan for taking out the Demons?”

He shook his head, “I’m not. We will be out before they know it.”

Sighing, I walked over to the male idiot and looked down at him. Yes, I was taller. My eyes glowed again, “So, you’re a coward.”

“Maybe, but I will be famous after this and everyone will know what a Burgess did.”

I was tired of this shit already and felt my eyes turn white before hissing, “Sit!”

His eyes went wide and involuntarily sat down, as did the others.

Well, shit. Didn’t mean to do that.

“Since you like to run your mouth, Mr. Burgess, you will lead by example. Find your brethren and take out those guards outside before they alert anyone that their captives are leaving. And after that, run away to your clan. GO!”

He got up and hurried away. I watched him make it to the side door and exit. Sighing, I shook my head and my eyes went back to normal. I turned to see the others in disbelief and fear in their eyes.

“Those of you sitting down, get up. We have work to do. Soon, they will send out relief, we need to be ready. Those of you who have ideas that aren’t in any way of help, don’t speak to me until this is over. I am about to go through those double doors and pick a fight. For those of you that want to join, then by all means. Those not, help the others escape. You’ve got five minutes.”

They nodded and went their separate ways. Most helped others get out, I turned to watch the doors again. No one bothered me for a few minutes, until someone spoke behind me.

“You’re a scary fucker, you know that?”

I looked over my shoulder to see a redhead with her hand on her hip, standing beside the blonde that spoke before. I didn’t catch her name if she gave it out.

“No, what makes you say that?”

Both gave me a look of incredulity, the blonde spoke in a calm voice, “You just single handedly freed over three hundred people from being slaves. Somehow you destroyed those four guards without touching them, and then you sent Titus out to fight like he was one of your soldiers to command. By the way, he won’t take that lightly if he survives.”

“You also told us that you were about to start a fight with the Demons,” the redhead said. “That is either completely insane, or you are way more than you look.”

I chuckled and stated, “You’ll just have to tune in to find out.”

Twenty people came over and joined us. I looked over at my recruits, “All right, everything taken care of?”

“Yes, sir. The guards are dealt with, our people are patrolling the areas and guarding the gate. The others are loaded up in the trailers. When we give the signal, they will be taken away from here.”

“Awesome. Go ahead and give the signal. We’re about to go pick a fight.”

One ran to the door and did some signs with his hand and then came back. “Power up, everyone. This is a no quarter battle. You see an enemy, you destroy them. Don’t hesitate.”

The Dragons and Fire Giants shifted to their hybrid forms; the Phoenix showed off their flaming armor. The redhead and blonde were Phoenix who pulled their cold iron swords out. Their hair looked to be on fire and eyes were like hot coals. Damn, they were hot. Literally.

“No powerup, stud?”

“Yeah, no armor?”

Are you ready to fight?

Absolutely! I’m assuming you’re asking this since you don’t want others to know of your Celestial side?

Unless I can’t help it. Not ready to let others know about that yet.

I understand, but your weapons will appear in our hybrid form and even if you just use your armor.

Awesome! Let’s just do the armor to begin with.

I took a breath and let myself be suited up as Rhys said in the background. Opening my eyes, I saw the Dragons gawk at the Black Scale Armor that covered my body. I pulled my two swords out and popped my neck.

“Damn, stud. Where the hell did you get that armor?” The blonde smiled but shook her head.

“Are you a Dragon?” The redhead asked while looking at my armor.

“Not important right now. Let’s go.”

We began walking towards the double doors and suddenly they opened and out walks the Demons with the slavers. We gawked at each other for a moment, but someone shouted, “Kill them!”

That’s all it took, and we were off. The slavers were mixed with Gargoyles and Vampires. The Gargoyles were of earth and they all shifted to their stone skin, fending off the metal and fire. The Vamps had speed and had poison dripping off of their blades. The Succubi and Incubi waited in the background.

On our side, the Phoenix were of fire and had flaming armor over their skin. They used cold iron swords, while throwing fire spells. The Djinn were of fire and air. Most were using fire spells and the others using air blades to cut into their prey. The Fire Giants were of fire. They held fire swords and had tremendous strength.

It was a slaughter at first, and we were making headway through the Vampires and Gargoyles, the redhead and blonde that spoke to me had a torrent of fire coming out of their hands, cooking anything in their path.

The four that I recruited were doing just as good if not better. The two Phoenix must know each other because they were in sync, cutting down their opponents with those cold iron swords. The two Dragons were covering and defending them from any threats. It was going great, until the Incubi shifted. All were hulking beasts. Then the Oni shifted into Demons ten-feet-tall with black skin and ichor dripping off their claws, which sizzled when hitting the ground. Poison. The Succubi were in supporting roles.

My team were getting beat back and wounded, some badly. I cut through a few Oni’s and watched the others fight against them. The Phoenix were holding their own, but the Demons had the size and quantity to deal with us. The building wasn’t big enough for the Dragons to shift into their true forms, so we kept on fighting. A few minutes later, I knew that if we kept this up then we would be defeated. I didn’t realize that they had this many fuckin Demons here and made a decision.

“Everyone get back! Regroup!”

They did as commanded, and we moved further into the warehouse. The Demons just laughed at us as the three Incubi stomped to the front. The trio were at least twelve feet tall, with black wings, and two horns sticking out of their heads. Oh, and ugly as fuck! I sheathed my swords.

“You may have freed those captives, but you will not be alive to save any others.”

The leader gestured towards the ten Oni that were left, they charged but didn’t make it very far when my astral limbs cut through them like butter. Their body parts slid in different directions as they fell over. The Demons went pale and hissed.

“What the hell?”

“What kind of magic is that?”

I didn’t give them time to scrounge up any courage, my limbs went to the Succubi and cut them up as well, but slower. They screamed for help as they watched their bodies being cut up and were powerless to stop it. Everyone in the facility stopped and were silent after the lust Demons died.

The three Incubi panicked and flew towards the exits separately. I brought my arms out and said an incantation under my breath. A few moments later, the barrier spells formed at the exits. When the Demons tried to flee, they hit the barriers and were held there as they formed around the big ass Demons. When finished, the prisons lit up the warehouse.

Everyone around gasped at this, and someone yelled out, “Holy fuck! What kind of magic does that?”

Others went on about it as well. I closed my eyes and activated my mind magic and went through their minds to find out if they had any other places like this around. They did and I noted them in my mind. After getting what I wanted, I made a fist and started squeezing. The barriers went solid where no one could see inside as the Demons were squished. A couple of minutes later, I let go of the spell and let the mush fall to the ground in a plop. Looking at the aftermath, I wanted to make sure the fuckers didn’t come back.

Light them on fire.

What? I didn’t think fire affected them.

Normally it wouldn’t, but with our combined magic, the fire is a hundred times hotter.

I thought about it and let him drive. He picked up all the bodies and parts, then put them into a pile. Taking a few breaths, he let loose a torrent of fire that felt like an active volcano just erupted. Five minutes later, the pile was ash and I had to take some breaths to calm down. My head and chest were hurting, guess I used too much magic at once.

When I felt like my head wasn’t splitting, I turned to see that I was alone. The others had fled further back into the warehouse and shifted back to normal. I shrugged and walked inside the double doors to see if they had any goodies for me. I did find an office and a safe. Hell yeah! I pulled the door open and found all kinds of goodies. Ledgers, jewels, and lots of money. I found a satchel off to the side in another room and put everything in it. Payday!

Scanning the other rooms, I didn’t find anything else of worth, so I went back to the warehouse to see a group standing by the pile of ash. Not caring why they were doing it, I went by and exited. It was dark out but was lit up by some light on poles. My eyes scanned to see that a few vehicles were at the gates, I walked that way.

Not even halfway, I heard rapid footsteps behind me, but I wasn’t concerned since my armor was still up. A few people caught up to me and walked side by side. The Phoenix women on one side, my recruits on the other. There were others behind me but didn’t care to look.

“Are you a threat to us?”

I turned to look at the blonde, “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name earlier if you said it.”

“As long as you give me yours. I’m Erica, and this is Frea, my cousin.”

I nodded to the redhead and turned back to the blonde, “Nice to meet you, I’m Kris. And you should know the answer to your question.”

My feet carried myself further before she spoke again. “If you don’t mind me asking, what are you?”

I thought about it and replied, “Dangerous.” At that moment, I heard sirens and looking up, I saw airships headed our way. “Shit, someone called the authorities.”

“Yeah, it’s going to be a long night explaining this one,” one of my recruits said.

I didn’t say anything nor did the others. We just kept walking and when reaching the trucks by the gates, I hopped up onto the tailgate of one. Erica sat on my left, Frea on the right, and the others behind me. Hmm… wonder why they did that? I released my magic and let my armor flow back into me as did my swords.

A few minutes later, the authorities, news crews, emergency crews, and armored transports came into view and parked. Everyone rushed out and started in on their jobs.

“Can I ask you something?”

I glanced at Frea, “Sure.”

“How did you get free?”

The others perked up at her question, my recruits as I call them, already knew.

“Well, I have a skillset that helped me in this particular situation. The toxin they used didn’t affect me because my body purged it.”

“Wow, that’s… an awesome skill to have,” she stated with a smile.

“I want to thank you for helping us tonight,” Erica praised. “Without you, we would have been sold into slavery.”

The others gave their agreements. I nodded and said, “I am glad that I could help.”

People started coming over and separated us. They looked us over for injuries and got our statements. I told them we got out and killed the Demons. Hopefully, no one else commented on my skills, though I didn’t tell them not to. Wonder if that will bite me in the ass. I did find out that we were about ten miles from the club we were at. Shit, I’m gonna need a ride back to my hotel.

The four meatheads came back over when they were done and gave me their contact info, telling me that they will come and assist me anytime, anywhere. Although, I don’t have any way to communicate and I doubt Alistair will allow that. But I put their addresses in my mind’s database.

I thanked them and watched them walk away. Erica and Frea were talking to a medic getting looked over when a group of twelve ran over to them. Two women stood out from the rest, both looked regal, carried themselves in a dignified manner, and were as tall as the girls. Must be the moms.

They waited until the medics were done and then started in on the hugs and kisses. I stopped watching and scanned the rest of the area and came upon two young women, waiting with authorities. Both were brunettes and they looked scared. I suppose the situation was traumatic for them. I turned back to Erica and found that they were in a group huddle away from the medics and news crews, though I did see a few of them come up to the group and was stopped by one of the guards.

Minutes later, more armored transports came in and stopped. Fourteen people got out of those four airships and hurried over to where the brunettes were. I did recognize a few of them. The two Patriarchs, Gregor the guard, Commander Aiken, and Alana.

Well, must be the granddaughters. Hmm… time to make my exit. No way in hell am I going to be waiting for that shit.

I began making my way towards the road, stealthily. Hoping no one would see me.  Nodding my head to the authorities and medics, I hurried away from the scene. It wasn’t my night though, someone yelled out my name. Not my full name, just Kris. I didn’t care who yelled it, and I wasn’t keen to speak with some pompous ass.

Let’s try to portal to the hotel.

Oh? Not wanting to talk either? I chuckled.

Not really, and we need to rest.

True that.

We are more powerful together, so let’s try it out. Couldn’t hurt.

I agree. Let’s try it.

And we did. Concentrating on Alistair’s teachings about teleporting, I felt something different this time. It was a spark inside me that my mentor said should be there. I grabbed onto it and thought where I wanted to go, and a few moments later, I heard a whoosh sound. I had to shake my head at the dizziness that was momentary and opened my eyes to see that we were outside of my hotel room.

Awesome!

I opened my room and went straight to get some water, then went and took an hour-long shower. It was needed. Putting some gym shorts on and relaxing a bit, I then ordered a big dinner from the hotel restaurant. My body needs sustenance. It was a good thirty minutes later that a knock woke me from dozing off. Looking through the hole in the door, I saw a delivery boy, so I opened and gave the guy a tip.

I was relishing the greasy burger and fries and was almost done eating, when a whoosh sound came from behind me. I didn’t stop eating though.

“Like making waves, don’t you?”

I chuckled, “I see you got my message, and I don’t know what you’re talking about. I did what was asked and found the location of the captives. That is what you wanted, and as a bonus, the Patriarch’s granddaughters were there.”

He sat down on the couch, “True. I did ask for you to do that.”

Swallowing a drink of water, “Then what’s the problem?”

At that moment, my communication stone went off. I didn’t answer and it went on for a few minutes. Looking at who was the one calling, it was Serena and Shari.

He smirked, “Oh, nothing. You just have numerous people looking for you after that stunt with teleporting away. And it looks like your women are as well if your communication stone is going off.”

“Yeah, it seems that Serena and Shari are needing to talk.”

“Congrats by the way, on the teleporting. You’ve come a long way in a short amount of time.”

“Ah, were you watching?”

“Yes, it was impressive.”

“It was luck that it happened. And who may I ask is looking for me?”

Alistair looked up and tilted his head in thought, “Hmm… let’s see. To start, the two Patriarchs were pissed that you were left behind and then couldn’t find you. They let that team have it. Mr. Cordona made it clear to Alana, since she was supposed to be your liaison, that if they didn’t find you then she and the ones that were responsible would be banished from the clan.”

“Wow, a little harsh.”

“Not really. Both Patriarchs sought out help, and I pointed them to you. You went as their guest and was treated unfairly, I think.”

That brought up something for me. “What the hell were you thinking opening a portal in the courtyard?”

He laughed, “It was funny.”

“Yeah, for you maybe. They were about to try and kill me.”

Alistair shrugged, “It worked out.”

I rolled my eyes and went back to his earlier statement. “Who is looking for me, Alistair?”

“Many Dragon clan heads will be when word spreads about that armor you brought up. Oh, and we need to talk when you’re ready about that.” I nodded and he shook his head as he continued, “Damn, Kris, I don’t know if I envy or pity you. With all the power that you possess, it will have consequences.”

“I know, people will fear me. They already do. I could see it tonight and last time.”

He sighed, “Yes, but know this. You made friends and allies tonight. …And you’ve also stepped into something that you might not want.”

That confused me, “Oh? What’s that?”

Clearing his throat, he replied, “You’ve impressed the De Vesci family.”

I didn’t know who that was, and it showed on my face because he tried explaining. “The De Vesci family? You know, the Royal Family of the Phoenix?”

Thinking about it, I shook my head and shrugged, “Not really. I’ve heard of the name but never learned anything about them. How have I impressed them?”

“For one, you found the lair that has plagued the continent for the past few months. By the way, good idea to let yourself get caught. Where was I, oh, yes. You freed their heir. Yes, she was there tonight. And they were adamant about finding you.”

“And why would they want that?” I don’t know if I want to know the answer.

“I don’t know the answer to that, but it will only be a matter of time before they track me down through the Patriarchs because they also were adamant about finding you.”

“What for? Alana pushed me to the side as did the rescue team.” Those bitches can eat shit for all I care.

“To apologize? Make amends? Pay you? I don’t really know.”

I perked up at that, “Payment?”

He looked at me like I was stupid, “You didn’t think that you weren’t going to be paid for the job?”

“I wasn’t sure, since I didn’t leave any evidence behind.”

He shuddered at that statement, “I know, that must’ve been tremendous heat for you to turn them to ash since they are supposed to be immune to fire.”

Rhys chuckled in my mind. It is a great weapon that we have, young one.

Yeah, people will talk now. Those Dragons recognized you. Colleagues?

He scowled. Pups is more like it. Young bastards. I am surprised that they realized who I was. We may have company sooner than later. Alistair was right about the clans wanting to speak.

Great. Another thing to add to my list of to do’s.

“Well, I’m not sure what they want, but you will need to look your best within the Queen’s presence. Did you come out well with the stuff you took from the safe?”

That brought me to a stop, “I didn’t even look in it nor count anything. Not sure what’s in there.”

“It should at least be enough for you to go buy a suit or two. Go to the tailor across from Mario’s. They are good and will give you a good price.”

A damn tailor? I groaned and whined, “Do I have to go? Why can’t we just go back home? I am sure after a few days that these families will forget all about me.”

He stared at me with a look that said he knew something that I didn’t, and it made me wary. Alistair said, “They won’t forget you, Kris. Not ever. Especially with the accounts that everyone has given. Fire Giants, Dragons, Phoenix, and even the Humans. No, they won’t forget about you.”

“Then when is this meeting?”

“They haven’t said. When I hear about it, then you will be the first to know. Until then, lie low, buy some new clothing, maybe even cut that mop on your head, and above all, rest. You used a ton of magic today.”

I nodded and he left through a portal. I finished my meal and cleaned up while thinking on what he said. When done, I contacted Serena and Shari. Both were worried when they saw the news story. They knew that I was involved because of the magic used and the nest being destroyed. I told them everything was fine, and they calmed down. Not wanting to go into too much detail, I explained what happened.

They then went in another direction and spoke about their days and the past few weeks. Both are content and busy with their daily lives, though bummed that we haven’t seen each other in some time. I advised them about what Alistair said about my time in isolation maybe coming to an end. They were ecstatic about that and wanted to know when. I told them the date was unknown, which disappointed them.

Then I let them know that some influential families may be looking for me and gave them the names. They were shocked silent, at least a minute went by. Shari told me that the heir of the Vesci family and her cousin were going to Clearwater. No one has seen them for weeks though. Both gasped when I told them they were captives. We talked about other things and after our conversations were done, I told both that I loved them before disconnecting. Smiling after talking to them, I got up and brushed my teeth before hitting the sack.

Chapter 14

The next week went by with nobody beating down my door nor no sign of Alistair. I did what he suggested. Lie low and buy some new clothes, a suit. I bought one. It was decent, but simple, I wasn’t going to go overboard for anyone. If they didn’t like how I dressed, then that’s their problem. No haircut though, it’s not that long. I did get some new sunglasses and swim trunks, then took several breaks at the pool. It was great. With my shades on, I could stare at the bikini clad bodies all day. The tits were bouncing up and down, I also stared at their pussies and asses that were on display. My eyes mostly stayed on those areas.

I was lying down on a lounger by the pool, drinking a martini, and talking to a beautiful brunette named Betty when a male voice called out. “Sir?”

I wasn’t paying attention, knowing that they weren’t talking to me. I was listening to the beautiful creature sunning beside me while she talked. Again, that damn voice spoke again, “Sir, we need you to step inside and speak with us.”

My mind knew that voice, so I turned to see the four guys that I recruited at the warehouse standing there. What the hell are they doing here? And how did they find me?

“Hey guys. What was that you said?”

“Do you know these people, Kris?”

I turned back to her and saw that her large areolas were showing, Bety had sat up and her tits that were just barely held by her bikini top almost spilled out. My cock was loving the view. Getting a long look at her tits, my eyes went straight down south to see her pussy lips swallowing her thong.

 Damn. Why did these idiots have to show up now?

“Yeah,” I answered her and then asked the four males, “What’s up, guys?”

“We need to speak to you in private.”

I rolled my eyes and wondered first, why they were here and second, how did they find me. I then turned to Betty, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

She giggled, “I’ll be waiting.”

Man, the woman was beautiful, and I felt a connection. Though, the connection may be wrong since my little head was doing all the thinking.

I wanted to get to know her, Serena and Shari said others would join my family. Maybe she was one they talked about.

I sighed and glared at the four standing in front of me. They had the sense to realize that they interrupted something and were looking elsewhere. Getting up, I followed them through the hotel, only to be led to the exit. Did I really want to listen to what they had to say? No. I have a gorgeous creature waiting for me at the pool. Did I want to box their ears? Hell yeah!

“What can I do for you fellas?” I asked, trying not to get angry.

“We are… um… your protection.”

I glared at them and wondered who came up with that stupid idea. “Okay, first, let’s exchange names. You already know me, what are your names?”

“Viktor.” He was the one that always spoke to me.

“Bjorn.” The other Dragon.

“Ivan.”

“Nikolai.”

The Phoenix were a bit odd to see with the two Dragons, but it wasn’t entirely strange to see them together. They were in a traumatic experience.

“All right, now that we’ve got the introductions out of the way. How bout you tell me who’s bright idea it was that I needed protection?”

In unison they replied, “Our clan leaders.”

“And why should I care?”

They glanced at each other having a silent conversation. Viktor said, “Kris, have you seen the news lately?”

“I have not. Nothing good comes from watching the news.”

He was uncomfortable for some reason, “Your name is all over the news. Your full name. Praising you for your heroic deeds.”

“Dammit! Whose idea was it to plaster my name on the tube?” I knew that Serena and Shari had said they saw on the news where the incident had happened and what went on, but they didn’t say anything about me personally being on the story.

“The Patriarchs Pepoli and Cordona, and the De Vesci family,” Bjorn answered with a grin.

“And I don’t remember giving them my last name.” I thought on it and only one person had that piece of information. Dammit Alistair! Good thing we changed it.

“Whatever. I don’t need protection, guys. So, you can go on your merry way. Oh, and how did you find me?”

“Alana commanded us to come here when her investigators located you. She said in no uncertain terms that if we failed, she would castrate us,” Viktor hurriedly explained.

“Did she say why?”

“No, and we didn’t ask.”

Shit. What are they up to?

“Ivan, Nikolai? Why are you involved?”

Ivan cleared his throat, “Our Queen commanded us.” I glanced at Nikolai and he nodded his agreement. Their Queen? Why the hell would she command that?

I shook my head and started to walk off, “Well, you can make yourselves comfortable at the pool then because I’m going back to continue my conversation with Betty.”

They followed and Viktor said, “Uh, Kris, I don’t think that is wise.”

“Oh, and why is that? Do you know her?”

“No, but Alana knows where you are, and it would be safer if that woman wasn’t around.”

I laughed at that, “Viktor, why would she care?”

“Erica and Frea know as well,” Ivan blurted out before Viktor could speak.

Why the hell would they care where I was at? “Are you telling me that your clans are talking to each other and making decisions for me?”

The four looked anywhere but at me. I snorted and walked to the pool, not caring what anybody thinks. Bety was still in her chair and talking to another hottie as I came up.

“Here he is now, Shelly.”

A strawberry blonde with huge melons on her chest was in my chair. She put out her hand. “Shelly.”

I grabbed and kissed it. “Kris.”

The ladies giggled, Shelly scooted over and let me sit down. Viktor and the others shook their heads and moved away but were still in the area, watching me. I sighed and turned my attention to the women, and we had a nice conversation. We talked about the upcoming weeks in our lives. I told them that I was free if they wanted to get together. They glanced at each other and smiled. We also chatted about the pool party tomorrow night, they wanted to know if I would accompany them. I was about to reply when I got cut off.

“He won’t be able to make it.”

I was confused at first and turned to Viktor to see if they interrupted because it was a male that spoke, but they were standing still with their heads bowed. Turning back, I saw Shelly and Betty were standing and looking down as well. That was weird and concerning. I hadn’t checked to see what race these ladies were, to me it was exciting to find out later on, but now it was needed. Immediately, my mind activated and checked both women, they are Dragons.

“That’s right,” the male spoke again. “They are my kin and with our clan.”

I turned to the speaker with my eyes still glowing and stood up. There were twenty people around us, and the ones in front stared at me. They took a step back when I turned my gaze at them. At that moment, I didn’t hear any chatting or laughing, so I looked around and saw that everyone in the area had vacated. Guess these idiots ran them off. Deactivating my magic, I took a few breaths.

My eyes went back to the speaker. He was shorter than me, middle-aged, and somewhat muscular. His brown hair was to his shoulders and he was wearing a suit. The guy’s brown eyes gleamed in mischief, and he had a greasy grin on his face. I could tell he was a douche just by looking at him. I also saw Commander Aiken behind the man out front.

Glaring at the douchetard, I spoke in a raspy voice, “Who are you?”

“You don’t need to know that.”

“Then what do you want?”

The guy sniffed, “I’ve come to escort you to a private dinner.”

Really? A private dinner? “And who is attending this private dinner since this is the first that I’ve heard of it?”

He sized me up and said, “You are not allowed to know that information.”

“Yeah, well, then I’m not going anywhere with you. If you won’t tell me the things that I want to know, then leave. Fuck off.”

My Dragon chuckled as he was now listening in on the conversation.

Gasps were heard all over. The guy was still, calm and collected. “You will not come with us?”  He added, “Quietly?”

I shook my head, “No. I will not. Now, run along so I can go back to enjoying the atmosphere around here without you and your entourage.”

Commander Aiken and a few others behind him growled. The guy in front of me tilted his head and suddenly, his eyes turned crimson as he stared at me. I felt a tingling as my mind was attacked. My defenses were already up, Alistair instilled that into me from the beginning. Rhys laughed for some reason.

I also felt the others around me fall to their knees in prostration. Not realizing what was going on, I looked over at Viktor and the others. They were straining against an invisible force. When I glanced over at Betty and Shelly, they were in the same position as Viktor.

What the hell is going on?

He is trying to assert his will upon you. Since this isn’t working, he will try to compel you.

Who the fuck is this prick?

I’m not sure, been asleep for too long. Just do what you’re doing, it’s working. I thought I was going to have to help but your defenses are astonishing.

Not sure about that. They were helping me out right now though. I turned my gaze back at the prick and his eyes widened. He then started speaking in a commanding voice. He was trying to compel me. I let the prick finish what he was saying before I began laughing.

“Your little mind tricks won’t work on me. I’ve been up against four Incubi and wasn’t fazed. So, since you want to see who has the bigger… mana pool, I’m game. Let’s see how good your defenses are, shall we?”

Rhys?

Gladly.

He took over and my eyes immediately went to a glowing white. Then my armor slithered out, the black scales covered my body with my two swords in their harness.

“Kneel!”

Everyone in the group in front of me went down to a knee, fighting the compulsion. The prick and Commander Aiken kept on fighting to look up but to no avail. They gave up after a minute or so. We glanced over at Viktor and his crew, then the ladies. They were getting themselves back to normal and then stood. Neither group said anything.

Rhys spoke in his ancient voice, “Now that we’ve determined who is more powerful, you will now get up and leave this place. Peacefully. And no speaking about this to anyone.”

One by one, they did as commanded. Commander Aiken and the middle-aged prick stared at me with disgust and hate before walking away. Hmm… wonder what that’s about? Rhys gave me back the reins and I deactivated my magic and armor.

“Holy shitballs, Kris! Do you not know who that is?”

I turned to Ivan, “No and I don’t care to know either.”

He was about to say something else, but Viktor stopped him. Shaking my head at the whole situation, I sighed and glanced over at Betty and Shelly. They wouldn’t look at me, guess since both are affiliated with douchetard, then we won’t be speaking again.

“Ladies, it was nice to meet you. Hope your week goes better.”

I didn’t even stay to hear them answer, just walked off to the hotel and in the elevator. My mind was working and thinking that I needed to get the hell out of here. My four shadows were right behind me.

“Guys, you should not be associated with me. I don’t know who that guy was, but he’s probably ticked off and will retaliate soon.”

“He is Robert Cordona and is the conditional heir to the Cordona Clan,” Viktor explained. “He’s a prick and a downright evil bastard.”

“Why was Aiken with him?”

“He’s his right-hand man. Commander Aiken is just as bad as Robert.

“I take it with his invitation to a private dinner that eating wasn’t part of it.

“You are probably right,” Bjorn gave his opinion on the subject. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he planned to take you somewhere where no one could find you.”

“Looks like I’ll have to watch my back on this then.”

I got off the elevator and opened my room. Grabbing everything of mine, I gestured for them to get out and closed the door.

“Where are you going?” Nikolai asked as we went back to the elevator.

“Far from here. This place has served its purpose.”

They followed and watched me turn in my keycard, then walk out the front. Out in the parking lot, I asked, “Where’s your vehicle?

They pointed and we got into their shuttle. Ivan glanced at the others before asking, “Where are we going? I’m not sure that we’re supposed to leave.”

I rolled my eyes and said, “If you want to stay then by all means. I’m not worried about clan politics or someone trying to keep tabs on me. I am concerned about the three other locations that people are being kept.”

The four went wide-eyed at my little bit of information. Bjorn asked, “There are more places that have captives in them?”

I nodded and Viktor questioned, “Then why haven’t you told anyone?”

Without hesitation, I answered, “Because I don’t trust very easily and only one person in our group knew until now. If word gets around that there are other locations to clear out, then I will know that one of you blabbed. It will not be good for you if that happens.”

I activated my magic and looked closely at the shuttle to see if my Third Eye could pick up any beacons or trackers. It found two, and my astral limbs took care of them. They shattered and metal fell to the ground.

“What was that?” Nikolai stopped and asked the others.

“Two trackers, I destroyed them. Disable any location devices you have.”

The group sighed and did what I demanded. Bjorn voiced his concern, “We have to call and check in every so often. They will check and see that we aren’t here. What do we tell them?”

“That you are protecting me. No one should know where I am for my safety, especially since they plastered my face all over the world.”

“That is a good excuse,” Viktor agreed.

We got into the airship and I gave them the first location to check. It was four hours away, so we settled down for the long haul.

Chapter 15

The trip was uneventful until Viktor and Nikolai received calls from their superiors. They were highly upset with them after finding out that we left without a word. The duo then recited my words. Their superiors demanded to know where we were, advising that we have no backup. Alana even got in on the conversation and chewed them out, I chuckled at that. After they finished with the conversations, I told them to disable their communication stones for the time being. We don’t need them where we are going.

Arriving in the city of Trelas, we stopped at a fast food joint that made sliders, taking the time to plan our next actions. Looking up the address of the place to check out, we found that it was an old waste removal plant. It was in the afternoon, so after eating, we parked a few hundred yards away.

Walking through the foliage, our group came upon the plant’s entrance. The entire area was fenced in, so we checked around and found a hole. Moving back into the natural camouflage, we waited to see if any guards were posted. Not seeing any in an hour, the five of us slowly made our way over to the front door.

Viktor opened it slowly to make sure no one was behind it. He gestured for us to go, so we walked in and I took the lead. It was a long, dark hallway that we came into. My eyes picked up light at the east end, so I decided to move that way. It was strange not to hear any sounds, except our footsteps.

Finally making it to the end, I checked through the door window and found another hallway. Pushing open the door, we walked down the stone walled path to a stairwell, then down the steps that led to the dark basement. Or at least, it seemed to be one. We then heard some movement and noises down in the darkness.

“Man, I can’t see shit,’ Ivan whispered. “Hope nothing is down here. It gives me the creeps.”

“Something is down here, those sounds didn’t come from nowhere,” Viktor pointed out. “I can see a little, my night vision isn’t great.”

“I thought Dragons could see everything in the dark,” Nikolai said curiously.

“We can but our eyesight was damaged in battle,” Bjorn grumbled.

I could see because of Rhys, so I led the group. We slowly strolled over to some double doors that had a bit of light coming through the bottom. Nikolai opened the doors and what we saw made my jaw drop. It was a large cavern built into the earth.

The light was coming from torches that lit the area. My eyes scanned the area and counted forty cages filled with people lined up on the cavern walls, but my eyes also picked up movement within the middle. Creatures that had a lion’s body, bat wings, and a humanoid face.

“Are those what I think they are?” Viktor asked in a low voice.

“Yeah,” Ivan whispered. “Manticores.”

“They must be guarding something,” Bjorn commented. “None of those creatures were watching us.”

Groaning, I closed my eyes and took a few breaths. “Have any of you fought manticores before?”

“Bjorn and I have. Watch out for that stinger, it’s for paralyzing, and the bastards have three rows of teeth.”

“How do we kill them?”

“Cut the tails off and then the head,” Viktor answered with a grimace.

 Looking at the creatures in front of me, I counted five of them. Hmm… one for each of us.

“We need to take them out, so we can figure out why the hell no other guards are here. One for each of us. Last one to kill there’s gets to escort all these people out.”

“Why can’t you just use your magic to kill them?” Ivan questioned while trying to figure out how to kill one.

“Because, if I do all the fighting for you, then you’ll keep wanting me to take the next enemies too. And if that is how it’s going to be then why are you here? Also, use your shields.”

I could take them out without touching them, but I have a feeling that the four meatheads need some experience too.

They sighed and agreed. We spread out and took our positions, then they shifted. My armor slithered up and covered me with my two swords at the ready. Just in case, I put a shield in front of me.

Unsheathing my swords, I yelled. “Kill them!”

The manticores looked our way as the five of us were sprinting towards them. We were almost upon them when they began moving. They flew off and started diving at us. I didn’t give them the chance to come at me as I swiftly jumped into the air, meeting the bastard halfway. The manticore hit my shield and bounced back, but my forward momentum had me on it immediately. I swiped and jabbed my swords at its legs and wings, two hit their mark as a wing and leg were sliced off.

The manticore screamed in agony as it couldn’t keep itself in the air. Its body hit the ground, hard, and I was there to finish it, pushing my sword through its eye and into the brain, killing it instantly.

For good measure, I cut the head off and went to the tail and sliced it off as well. Turning my head, I could see that the others were taking care of business, so I observed their fighting skills. All four were competent and skillful, that’s good for me I suppose.

I watched Nikolai and Ivan bring out fire whips. Whoa, that’s cool. They roped the head of the manticores and with a flick of the wrist to make sure the whip wasn’t coming off, they pulled with both hands which made the loop shrink. As it moved, it cut and cut until the head popped off. It also cauterized the neck.

Impressive. I turned my attention to Bjorn and Viktor. Both were using fire spells, burning the manticores. One was throwing a mini fire tornado towards its target, causing it to fly back and hit hard against the wall of the cavern. Bjorn jumped onto the back, pulled out his sword, and cut the tail off of his target, then the head. I missed Viktor killing his, but the head and tail were on the ground.

I then scanned the cavern, looking for any idea why these manticore were here. My group came over to me, bloodied.

“Anyone hurt?”

“Ivan got hit,” Nikolai answered as he rubbed his arm. “Not sure if he needs to be checked for poison or not.”

I turned to Ivan and checked him over. It was just a flesh wound and would heal with his regen.

“No poison. Okay, let’s go around and let everyone out. I’ll break the locks, and you guys follow along to make sure they are fit to walk out of here. Also, I’m going to check to see why those manticores were here.”

They nodded and we set off to get everyone out of the cages. The captives were wary at first but jumped for the opportunity to get out.

I moved around to see if anything was out of the ordinary. Not seeing anything right off, I activated my mind magic and checked again. It found something glowing further into the cavern. Making my way over, I saw that there were multiple glowing letters of a language I didn’t know.

Runes

Runes? What is that?

A language used for magic enchantments, spells, portals, and summoning.

Sounds complicated to learn.

It is, but reliable. Unless the rune is damaged, then it will last forever.

Hmm… Can you tell what it’s for? I’m going to guess it is a portal to somewhere.

I agree and considering where it is, then I would have to assume that the other end is a slave hold as well.

Agreed. Shit, I need to talk to Alistair about this.

Yes, but he is unable to help directly. You need to ask your recruits to tell their clans to guard this place.

Yeah, that sounds logical.

I shook my head and walked back to the cage area. Everyone was free and mingling when I approached. Viktor came over.

“Boss, we learned that there is a portal up where you were at.”

Boss? I guess that would be an apt description.

“I saw it. We need to get these people outside before anyone shows up. When out, we need to get the authorities here and to send these people home.”

“You know this shit will be on all the news channels, right?” Bjorn grinned. “What is your plan?”

Thinking it over for a moment or four, I replied, “Since a portal is here, that means they are probably shipping their overflow here.”

“Which means that wherever the other end is, they will have at least double what we found here,” Ivan deduced when thinking it over.

“Agreed. So, call your supervisors and let them know what is going on. Get their assault teams down here to guard this location. Maybe find someone that can decipher where the other side is.”

They nodded and we slowly got everyone moving, advising that we would get help once outside. It took a while for six hundred people to make it out of the facility. When we did, they split off into groups and waited. Ivan and Viktor made the appropriate calls. I made mine.

Chapter 16

The authorities and emergency personnel got there minutes later, shortly followed by the media. Our group stayed out of the way, until we had to give our statement. Although, most of it was ‘No Comment’ because they didn’t need to know how we knew that this place was for slavery.

While we were watching the work going on, I felt a presence behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a familiar face and walked over.

“I see you’ve taken it upon yourself to clean out the vermin.”

“Well, someone has to,” I chuckled. “Did you find the portal below the facility?”

Alistair nodded, “I saw, and agree with you about it being an overflow. How did you know where this place was?”

“Took it from the Incubi before I took care of them.”

“And you’ve had this information in your head but haven’t shared,” he sighed and shook his head.

“Yeah, I don’t trust easily, Alistair. You of all people should know that.”

“I do know that.”

“Oh, and there are ledgers that I took from that warehouse in my pack. It’s in the backseat. I haven’t checked them out, but maybe you could skim over it and place them for someone to find.”

He grunted, “Good idea. I’ll take care of it. Be aware that this is only going to bring up your status more, Kris.”

“Huh?”

“Listen carefully, there are things at work now that you will have no say in. It would be better to just go with it.”

What the hell does that mean?

“Uh, what?”

“I may have overheard a few conversations about you, Alana, Erica, and Frea.”

I was totally confused now. “What kind of conversations?”

He didn’t say anything, just smiled. “You are about to get some company. Remember, it will be better if you just went with it. I’ll check in again soon. Oh, and you might want to tell your women about the others.”

“Others? What others?” Shelly and Betty? No, they wouldn’t even talk to me.

The Guardian smirked but didn’t respond. He took three steps before a portal opened for him to walk through. Guess he wanted to make sure others saw him leave instead of just going invisible.

It wasn’t moments after he left that two more portals appeared and out steps scores of guards. By the look of the colors they were wearing, I can safely assume they are Dragons and Phoenix.

The Phoenix wore black armor with orange and red stripes. The Dragon clan, which is Cordona’s, sported black and green armor.

I sat down on a stone wall and watched as they piled out and got into formation. My crew made their way over after speaking with a few people and sat beside me.

“Everything set?”

Viktor shrugged, “We relayed our findings, they will handle it from now on.”

I grunted, we stayed out of their way. It was interesting to see the discipline the soldiers have.

“We’ll head out in a few.”

The four glanced at each other and chuckled. Bjorn cleared his throat, “You have guests coming.”

My brow rose, “Guests? For wh--.”

Viktor cut me off, “Incoming, three o’clock.”

I looked over and saw a whole slew of people, led by two males. One I recognized, Patriarch Cordona. The other I didn’t, and he wore the colors of the Phoenix. As they came up, my crew got up and bowed their heads. I stood but didn’t bow.

“Viktor, Bjorn,” Cordona said.”

They both called out, “Patriarch.”

The other gentleman, who was maybe my height with dark hair and blue eyes, spoke in a deep voice, “Ivan, Nikolai.”

“Prince Consort,” both responded.

What the hell is a Prince Consort?

Husband to the Queen.

Huh. Wonder why he is here?

Probably to try and order you around like the other nimbnuts.

You mean numbnuts?

Yeah, that.

It was very hard to keep a straight face when the Patriarch and Consort turned their attention to me. The former said, “Kristjàn, nice to see you again.”

“Patriarch,” I responded with a blank stare.

He smirked and stated, “What, no bow this time?”

“That all depends. Last time I did that, you didn’t respond to me at all. Then I came and helped you find your people but was shunned, even by your granddaughter. And was also left behind.”

I did not notice everyone around go wide-eyed after my rant. The Patriarch grimaced at my statements.

He sighed, “I am sorry for that and will atone for the failure of my people.”

I shook my head at that and seriously doubted that he would make good on it. “It’s not a big deal. Now, what can I do for you?”

The Consort was smiling, “He’s blunt. I like that.”

Cordona nodded, “He is at that. We have come seeking information.”

“Oh? What about?” I had a feeling what it was but waited for him to say it.

“We see in front of us a facility that for some reason no one in this area knew that it was set up for slavery,” he commented while gesturing to the building. “And in one week, you have decimated two slavery cells and found a portal to another. Can you enlighten us on how you knew this place existed?”

I shrugged and replied, “I could, but I don’t trust you, or anyone here for that matter. Since your clan member came to me about a private dinner, but wouldn’t tell me anything about it, then tried to assert his will and compel me to go with them, I will keep it to myself.”

The Patriarch and Consort were surprised over that. The former asked, “And who did this?”

“Your son, Patriarch.”

He stood there, not saying a word. The others around were all listening in to our conversation now. He cleared his throat before speaking again, “And what happened?”

I smiled, “Are you sure you want to know?”

My crew was uncomfortable now as were the majority of everyone around. He nodded and I went on, “Well, like I said. He tried to assert his will on me which the four beside me can confirm. It didn’t work and then he tried to compel me which didn’t work either.”

Both Patriarch and Prince Consort were in disbelief. Cordona shook his head as did many others, “That’s impossible. He is strong willed and strong in his magic. You should have bent to it.”

“I agree,” the Prince Consort said. “I have sparred with him.”

Pfffft. These guys don’t know how strong you are.

Should we show them?

Not sure that’s wise

We may have to.

Maybe.

“It didn’t.”

By the looks they were giving, they didn’t believe me. The Consort suggested, “Maybe we could perform a little test?”

Really? They want to do a test?

Let them, it won’t hurt you. Your defenses are very strong, but if you need it, I will help.

“What kind of test?”

“It is a battle of wills. Are you up for it? I know that you have just fought, so I want to make sure.”

I looked over at Ivan and Nikolai, both shrugged and smirked. Viktor and Bjorn were hesitant in showing any emotions. Turning back, I gestured for him to begin.

He nodded, “Okay, let’s begin.” His eyes turned and it was like looking at burning coals, white hot.

Immediately, I felt something trying to invade my mind but was shrugged off. I stood there, noticing many around me looking down but trying to fight it. The Consort watched me and snorted when he couldn’t faze me. Then he took it up a notch, I felt more power than the last try. This made almost everyone prostrate on the ground.

The Consort stopped, “Interesting.”

He stopped his test and I looked around to see the ones on the ground getting up and shaking their heads.

The Patriarch was watching the whole ordeal then stepped in, “Do you mind if I try, Kris?”

I was surprised at that, though Rhys said it was no big deal. I nodded and he started. His eyes changed to crimson like his son, but he was bringing his A-game. Scales appeared on his body which brought out a few gasps in the area and everyone went down to the ground except the Consort and me. I really need to find out his name. The Patriarch stopped after a minute.

He said, “Very interesting. Can I ask what you did to get him to leave?”

This made my crew very uncomfortable, but Rhys had a good laugh. Everyone dusted themselves off and slowly got up.

“I told him and his squad to leave.”

The two leaders stood there, waiting for more.

“That’s it?” The Patriarch asked. I nodded.

“Damn, you must be extremely strong in mind magic to do that,” the Consort whistled.

They glanced at each other and subtly nodded, coming to some kind of decision.

Cordona stared at me for a few moments before speaking, “Will you be able to show us that as well?”

What? This is getting out of hand.

I guess it’s time to let them know who we are.

Yep, looks like it.

I sighed and scanned the area, expecting to see people chatting and such, but everyone was watching now. It was a huge crowd.

“And I will not receive any backlash from this?”

Both said no.

“Okay, but after this, I’m leaving.”

They were confused at that. I turned to the Prince Consort and said, “I’m sorry, but I do not know your name.”

“Call me, Ethan.”

Of course, Cordona had to interrupt, “And me, Augustus.”

I nodded but didn’t notice the disbelief of my crew or the others around when they wanted me to call them their first names. I was suspicious of that.

They must want something from you. These leaders would normally not do that.

I agree wholeheartedly.

Ethan continued, “Kris, our curiosity has gotten the better of us and it isn’t the reason that we are here. Hmm… how should I put this? On the threat of his granddaughter, my daughter, and our wives disowning us, we came here to invite you to join us for the day and have dinner with us.”

That caught me off guard.

Dinner?

Don’t miss the part about the wives disowning them. Seems that the ladies want to have a chat.

Whatever for? Alana dismissed us right off. And I’ve only spoken to Frea and Erica a couple of times.

I don’t know. Maybe it’s a political move?

Don’t tell me that.

Rhys laughed. Suck it up. You may not have a choice, like Alistair was referring to. Could be worse. You could be tied to an ugly Fire Giant.

I shook my head and realized Alistair did say that about having to just go with it.

“It was more like coerce than invite,” Cordona laughed.

Do you think they would take it personal if I said no thanks?

Of course, these are nobles we are talking about. Not to mention, those ladies would probably hunt you down. And that is counting the Queen. Remember, they have been looking for you.

I didn’t respond and turned my attention back to the two leaders.

“It seems that my plans are to be put on hold.”

Both smiled, my crew relaxed some and came up beside me.

“What about the portal in the facility?”

Ethan replied, “We will have squads guarding it. Are you ready?”

“Where is it that we are going?” I wasn’t going into this blind.

He sighed, “You are aware who my better half is?” I nodded. “She has requested that we bring you to one of our homes away from the palace. Less… well, let’s just say less formal.”

“You mean away from prying eyes?”

“Exactly.”

“Before we go, I would like to ask a question. Why are you doing this?” I wanted them to be up front with me.

Augustus and Ethan glanced at each other, the former answered, “It’s complicated.”

“I’m sure it is. I’m also positive that if you are going to all this trouble then there must be an ulterior motive. And not to be a hard ass about it, but if I don’t like what you’re proposing then I will take my leave.”

That’s right, keep them on their toes.

“I think that is fair,” Ethan agreed. “But please don’t jump to conclusions and wait until everything is explained before you make your decision.”

Thinking on that for a minute, I accepted and walked towards them.

“Excellent. I know that you’re wary but if you would follow us? Viktor and Ivan will get your possessions.”

I nodded and the two leaders walked in separate directions with their guards surrounding them, heading towards a portal. Footsteps came up behind me, I looked over my shoulder to see my crew with our belongings.

“Ready?” Viktor asked with a smile.

“Be truthful, what the hell is going on?”

“And spoil the fun? No thanks.”

All four chuckled at my murderous stare. Bjorn suggested to the others, “Let’s go before the portal closes and we are on latrine duty from now on.”

I sighed and followed them through the portal that the Prince Consort went through. My body felt tingles, and moments later, I was in a place surrounded by the forest. A huge mansion sits within the enormous clearing that we were in. It was lavish, though I suppose if you’re the Queen of your people then it was assumed that her houses would be this way.

White marble covered just about everything on the mansion, even the spires. Armed guards were everywhere on the grounds and towers. Red, orange, and white flowers were staged in places. A lake in the distance, with boats on the banks, and people were out in a few of them, fishing.

At that moment, I scanned the area for possible threats. My eyes were glowing now and as I came to the completion of my scan, a voice spoke out.

“It is wonderful, isn’t it?”

I turned to where the voice was and saw two males standing to the side, both my age. One had red hair with blue eyes and an athletic body. The other had dark hair with brown eyes and sported a wiry frame. Both were shorter than me. Four male guards were hovering by. I also noticed that my crew were waiting but a bit away.

“It is.”

Everyone took a step back at my deep voice and glowing eyes, all of them went into a defensive stance. Not knowing who they were, I scanned them to make sure they weren’t a threat. None of them were over level 23. We stood there staring each other down for a minute.

“Are you a threat to us?” The redhead demanded. Both young men were nervous, and it showed.

“That depends. Is anyone here a danger to me?” I was thinking that these two were nobles and I wasn’t going to back down.

Hell, Shari would stomp the shit out of these pompous asses.

The redhead relaxed, “You must be the one that everyone is talking about.”

Releasing my magic, I asked, “Why would that be?”

“Because supposedly,” the dark-haired male scoffed. “You are the one who freed the heirs and killed a warehouse full of Demons,”

“Don’t start, Peter,” the redhead warned, shaking his head. “You know that it has been verified. And he and his guards just took out a cell by themselves.”

“Start what, Alonzo? I’m just skeptical that he took out three Incubi by himself. We all know how powerful the heirs are. Who’s to say that they weren’t the ones that did it? Why all of sudden does this guy show up out of nowhere and everybody is in awe over him?”

Awe? That’s a new one.

“Because the guy defeated three Incubi.”

Four actually, but I wasn’t going to bring that up.

Peter dismissed that, “Whatever. Until I see the power myself then I will keep saying bullshit.”

They argued for over a minute, before I stepped in. With a predatory smile, I said, “Look, I don’t know who you are, and I don’t care. I’ll leave you to whatever you were doing.”

“He even needs a lesson in etiquette,” the bastard kept on as I walked off towards my crew who were watching intently. My ears picked up footsteps coming behind me. I didn’t see who it was, but Viktor and Nikolai moved in behind me to intercept someone. While they did that, my eyes picked up a few people that were coming our way from the mansion.

“Move!”

That sounded like Peter. I stopped and looked over my shoulder to see them blocking the guy.

“No, he is the Queen’s guest,” Nikolai hissed. “And was invited by the Prince Consort and Patriarch Cordona. You need to calm yourself before something happens that you will regret.”

“It’s not him that’s in danger here, Lord Peter,” Viktor cautioned. “I’ve seen him with my own eyes tear Demons apart with his mind.”

He is a noble. I could see in his eyes that he was trouble. Stupid nobles. The bastard was arguing his case when a voice spoke.

“Is there a problem here?”

I turned to see the Prince Consort, Patriarch Cordona, and numerous people I didn’t know, observing us.

“That man needs to be shown proper etiquette, Prince Consort!” Peter stated.

The Prince and Patriarch glanced at me, I shrugged. I wasn’t going to say anything and began walking towards the mansion. My crew came with me, but as I left, my ears still heard their conversation.

“See!”

The two leaders glanced at each other and chuckled. Ethan responded, “Peter, you have to understand that he isn’t aware of such things. He wasn’t brought up that way. And you don’t have the authority to do anything about it in the first place. If you feel that he has dishonored you, then it can be brought to my attention, and we will deal with it.” He looked around at the others gathered, “Let me be clear on this. Do not challenge or even make a move against him. He is a guest of ours and will be treated as such. If you do, and it ends up that he doesn’t kill you, then we will punish you with extreme prejudice.”

Cordona laughed, “I say we let anyone who wants to, challenge him. After the first duel, they will abandon their challenges.”

The Prince grunted and walked away with Cordona; their entourage made their way back to the mansion.

“I can’t believe that idiot did that,” Bjorn commented.

“I can,” Ivan scoffed. “He’s jealous. The guy sees his dreams of being in the palace slip away.”

My ears were listening but not hearing what they were talking about.

“Yeah, the guy is a prick,” Viktor laughed. “His family has been trying to force a union with the Princess for a while now. As a last resort, they even suggested the Duchy.”

“Fat chance they would agree to either of that now,” Nikolai smirked.

“Nope,” Bjorn snickered. “Not since they have other choices.”

The four chuckled at that. I didn’t know who they were speaking about and didn’t care.

Wait. I thought about what they were saying.

Yeah, ya dope. You. They are talking about you.

What the hell are they thinking?

That you will make a better mate than the other choices.

Surely, they have other options.

Rhys laughed. I guess we’ll just have to see.

I stopped and stared at the four knuckleheads.

“Finally figure it out, did you?” Viktor cackled.

“Let’s just say that my mind is elsewhere. …I want to know what the hell is going on, right now. Or I’m gone.”

Ivan put his hangs up in a wait stance, “Hold on. Please don’t do anything drastic. This is not our call. We were specifically told not to speak about it.”

“But you can guess why you are here,” Bjorn smiled. “Political shit.”

I grunted and started walking when I realized that the others were behind us. Our groups came up to the entrance and my crew were led to the east wing while the others went elsewhere. The inside was as extravagant as the outside. The architecture was white as well with orange and red blended in. Pictures of Phoenix in battle hanging on the walls. The halls were long and had numerous bedrooms to count. Wonder how many people can live here. Damn, it’s fuckin huge

Chapter 17

Finally arriving at our rooms, the four were close by, but this didn’t matter to me. I can take care of myself. The suite was large, enough to almost put Alistair’s house inside. There were many rooms, a kitchen, a sitting room, two bedrooms and bathrooms.

Looking in the bedrooms, they were huge with an enormous bed in the middle with a dresser, armoire, and other furniture. Curious, I threw my pack onto the bed and checked out the bathrooms and found at least ten people could be inside the shower. A two person sink and a jacuzzi tub were in the middle.

Damn. All this for little ol’ me?

Walking back, I sighed and closed the door before undressing. Butt naked, I was walking towards the shower when someone came through my door. A male, shorter than me, wearing a suit strolled over.

“Master Kristjàn, let me get your water hot for you.”

I watched the guy walk right by me, while I was naked, and into the bathroom to turn the shower on. After a moment, he came back into the room and gestured for me to get in.

“Uh, thanks… Mr.?”

“Oh, call me Clayton, Master Kristjàn.”

I waved him off on that, “Just call me Kris. No master though.”

“I cannot. It is uncouth, sir.”

Shrugging, I went inside and took a long shower. I bet it had to be at least an hour. Well, maybe not that long, but it hit the spot. When done, I dried off and stretched, my body popped in a few places. Looking at myself in the mirror, I checked myself for any injuries that I missed from my fight with the manticores. Not seeing any, I strolled back into the suite and over to my pack, not paying attention to see if the man was till around or not. I was anxious to get this over with and get back on the road to clear out the other slave sites so that I could go home.

I was almost to the bed when someone cleared their throat, my eyes snapped over to see two women with long flowing hair. One was a redhead with green eyes, pale skin, high cheek bones, and very tall. Almost as tall as me and sporting a red dress that seemed to be painted on her curvaceous body.  The other was a blonde with blue eyes, tan skin, and was the same height as the other woman. She was wearing a blue dress that fit snug against her athletic body.

A dark-haired male dressed in a regal outfit was beside the blonde. He was somewhat muscular. The Prince Consort, who was trying not to laugh, was waiting beside the redhead who was wearing a crown on her head. I missed that. Must’ve been staring at other things.

“I must say, the girls are missing out. Wouldn’t you say, Daria?”

“Yes, Queen Talia,” Daria quickly replied.

She sighed, “Stop that nonsense. We are away from court.”

Daria smiled, “Yes, Talia. He is well made.”

My brow rose at that. Why were they in my room? Of course, the Queen could go anywhere she pleased.

“At least we know that he isn’t shy,” the Queen chuckled. “Are you, Kristjàn?”

I shrugged, “Not really. What can I do for you, Queen Talia?”

Her eyes twinkled in mischief and said, “Oh, I can think of many things that you could do for me, honey. Especially with that impressive package you are sporting.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that as Daria laughed, Ethan rolled his eyes and chuckled as well.

He said, “We are sorry for interrupting, Kris. My Queen and Duchess Daria have been anxious to meet you. They were adamant even though I told them that you needed a shower and a break.”

“Yes, you did, but you know that I’m not the waiting kind,” Queen Talia retorted. “Plus, I wanted to meet the man that saved my girls. Is that too much to ask?”

I kept my mouth shut but smiled. She winked at me. Daria spoke at that time, “Yes, we were also interested in the male that doesn’t back down from the Cordona’s. Even though he is an ally, they can be pricks at times.”

Queen Talia nodded, “Kris, may I call you Kris?” I nodded and she continued, “Kris, dress and let us give you a tour. And maybe answer some questions?”

“Okay.” I was about to look into my pack and get dressed but the Queen tsked.

“You will find clothing in your closet. We had them made for you.”

That surprised me, and not knowing how or why they did that, I nodded my thanks. She smiled and winked, “We’ll be waiting in the sitting room. …Unless you would allow us to stay.”

I snorted, “Up to you.”

“Damn, I can’t get you riled up or flustered.”

“You do not want me riled up, Queen Talia.”

“Why not?” she demanded. “I’m curious to see why my daughter said that you are the scariest individual that she has ever seen. Even my husband says you are not one to trifle with.”

Trying to get on with this, my mind magic activated, causing my eyes to glow white and growl in that deep voice of mine. It wasn’t as good as Rhys, but it did what I set out to do. “Because someone will get hurt or killed.”

All four stepped back and went into defense mode. They changed into their hybrid versions. Flaming eyes, armor, and hair with swords at the ready.

I stared for a few moments and immediately put up a shield just in case they threw fire at me. Damn, the women were downright beautiful. I didn’t even look at the guys because they had all my attention. With that, I laughed and walked to the closet releasing my magic from within.

The damn thing was full of all sorts of clothing. I thought about their attire and remembered that they didn’t wear formal clothes, so I put on casual looking ones. I wonder how they got my size. Hmm… maybe one of the guys looked at my clothes in my pack and relayed it. Even had the right size boots. Strange.

Walking out of the closet, I saw that they weren’t there. Maybe they will leave me be. Nah, not a chance. Not wanting my pack out in the open since they will walk in, I put it behind some clothes within the closet. I then made my way to the sitting room and out into the hallway. Clayton was out waiting for me.

“The Queen said for you to meet them in the gardens.”

Guess I spooked them. I chuckled at that thought and followed the butler. Wonder where my crew is? I shrugged as he led me through the halls. My eyes scanned the area and being mindful, and a little paranoid about all of this attention, I put up a shield. It wasn’t long before we were outside and making our way towards our destination.

The gardens were lovely. Orange, red, white, and purple flowers filled the area. Lots of different sized plants as well. The hedges that lined the walkways were tall and round. Lush green too.

We arrived and I saw that it wasn’t the Queen and her entourage at all. Alana, Erica, and Frea were there with a few guards and my crew off to the side. The three were wearing dresses fit for their station but showed off their feminine curves.

They all were smirking. Guess they know something that I don’t.

“Hello, handsome,” Frea grinned.

I stopped and looked over my shoulder to see if someone was behind me. Not seeing anyone, I turned back and gestured to myself.

“Me?” She giggled and nodded. The last time that I saw them, she was singing a different story.

“Maybe, but if memory serves, you and everyone else were… cautious. What was it that you asked me?”

She blushed as the other two women glanced at her. “I asked numerous things, but the main one was, what are you?”

I grunted, “And what was my answer?”

Erica was grinning now, Frea replied with a smirk, “Dangerous.”

“Yep. So, my thoughts on why I am here are suspicious and confused. Especially since one of you shunned me after finding out something that she didn’t like.”

Alana flushed with embarrassment and looked away before saying in a low voice, “I’m sorry, Kris. I was worried about my baby sister and didn’t need anyone that wasn’t going to help me right then. I embarrassed myself and my family. Please forgive me.”

I watched her for a few moments before responding, “I forgive you. It wasn’t that big of a deal though. I like when people disregard me. Makes it easier to blend in and do what I need to do.”

Alana looked back at me with misty eyes and nodded.

“Now, the three of you are here for a reason. What would that be?”

The three glanced at each other and Frea took the lead. “Can we take a walk? It is a beautiful day.”

She was nervous. I nodded and we made our way slowly through the gardens toward a field near the lake.

“Kris, my people have been putting pressure on my family for me to pick a suitor for some time now. Before you say it, I know that other clans choose for their heirs, but mom wanted me to choose for myself. It was what she did and her mother before her.”

I was just going to listen and not say anything. It was still strange to hear this conversation.

“There were traits that I had in mind that the male needed to have that would be important factors in my decision. And before last week, no one stood out to me that showed those characteristics. When we were in those cells, I thought about my family and was scared that I wouldn’t see them again. It was terrifying, and everyone in that warehouse had lost hope. Until you pulled us out of it. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

I smiled and nodded, still not wanting to interrupt. She continued after a minute or so.

“I want… no, I need you to know that I’m not pressuring you into anything. To be honest, I’m scared to tell you.”

Erica and Alana came over to her and put their arms around her. Strange indeed.

“Tell me what, Princess?”

She stared at me for a good bit of time then whispered, “I want to court you.”

There it was. Holy Shit! The Princess of the Phoenix wants to court me.

Told you!

“But it’s not just me,” Frea warned.

Erica said, “I would like to court you as well.”

“And me,” Alana stated as the three stared at me.

I was at a loss of what to say. Three beautiful women want to court me. It took me a few moments to gather myself and respond.

“I am honored, ladies. Truly. But I have a few questions.”

They nodded and I took a few breaths to calm down.

Oh, stop being a pansy. Three gorgeous women want to be with you, and you have to think about it? Do I need to take over for you?

No, but it is sudden, and I have no idea how to act nobly. Is that even a word?

Yes. And think about this, you will have many soldiers at your back to help with what is coming.

What’s coming?

Have you already forgotten about the Oni’s and Formordians?

Oh. No, I haven’t.

Whatever. Just get your head out of your ass and get on with your questions.

“Frea, how can you and Erica court me at the same time? Aren’t you cousins? Wouldn’t that set off your people in protest that two of your main political positions were married to me?”

Both giggled a bit. Erica grinned and said, “We’re not really cousins, Kris. We tell others that to keep them from pestering us. I’m not a Phoenix either. I’m a Djinn.”

Woah, that’s interesting. Though I don’t remember scanning her to see what they were but her hybrid form, she looked like a Phoenix.

“Your hybrid form, it was like Frea’s.”

She nodded, “It is similar, though with a bit of illusion, we can seem the same.”

“Okay, is Erica your real name then?”

“Yes,” she giggled and so did the other two. I rolled my eyes at them.

“We met at school early on and were fast friends,” Frea commented. “We were tired of the attention from the males, so we decided to tell everyone that we were cousins to help sway others not to approach when they figured out that we didn’t take too kindly to stalkers. The two of us made sure that the other was safe. Our mothers are great friends too.”

Daria must be her mother then. Huh, they do look alike. Turning to Erica, I asked.

“And are you nobility as well?”

“My mother is a Duchess, sister to my uncle, the King of the Djinns.”

Shit. It just keeps getting better and better.

I know, my head is already hurting thinking about all the etiquette shit that we will have to deal with. I was wrong kid, maybe we need to get out of here before it’s too late.

You scared?

A little.

I laughed within my mind and shook that off mentally.

“Let me see if I have this straight in my head. Frea, you are the Princess of your people. Erica, you are the niece of the King of the Djinns and your mother is a Duchess. And Alana, you are the granddaughter of one of the most powerful Dragon clans on this world. Does this sound about right?”

They glanced at each other before nodding. “You ladies are way out of my league. Not only that, I’m not a noble from any place on Exhulm. Are you doing this because you think that you owe me? Because if it is then don’t. I was just doing what needed to be done.”

“That is not the reason,” Alana said as she shook her head no.

“Political move then.” I knew it.

They didn’t answer right off. Frea relented after a minute, “That is partly the purpose, but not the whole reason. More like a quarter of it. You are powerful, and it would be stupid for us to not try and negotiate a marriage contract. And it is logical for our families to want their heirs to always be protected.”

“They have already seen this from you, Kris,” Erica continued. “But ever since that fateful day, we have all wanted to get to know you. The questions that we had. Where did this guy come from? How did he do those wondrous things? Is he attached to someone? And a hundred other ones.”

I snorted, “You don’t have to court me for some of those answers.”

She shrugged, “No, but we have an ulterior motive too.”

Here it comes.

“Oh? And what is that?”

“You make our pussies tingle when you’re around,” Alana replied with an innocent look.

My brow rose at that statement, not knowing how to respond. The three blushed and giggled.

“Come on, Kris. We’re three young women who may have found their potential mate. It’s not difficult to understand if you think about it,” Frea smirked. “You are the ultimate catch. Powerful and mysterious.”

“Don’t forget that he’s a stud,” Erica snorted at her friend.

“That too.”

I still didn’t respond. Alana sighed, “No one has put us up to this. We asked for it.

“That is true,” Frea agreed, Erica nodded. “We did ask for it.”

Alana continued, “I know that we got off on the wrong foot and it is entirely my fault, but please give me a chance. You won’t be sorry.”

“Why now? Is there something that I should know before responding to your requests?”

“Quick thinker too,” Frea snorted. “Yes, there is another reason. …Our military leaders think that the Demons are compiling an army and have allied with other races. We are preparing for everything, even war.”

“As are the Dragons,” Alana butted in.

” and the Djinns. Our parents want us safe during this time, so that is the answer to your question,” Erica said.

Hmm… So, others are aware as well.

“I am aware of the situation.”

“You are?” Frea asked in surprise. The other two looked surprised as well.

“Yeah, heard from a Dragon named Alisha, well it was originally from Cora and Juliette.”

I saw their eyes cloud over with an emotion that I couldn’t decipher but it went away after a moment or two.

“You’ve met Alisha?” Alana asked with a low voice. “Blue Dragon, commander of a garrison on Eudor?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

She sighed and said, “Bitch. They got to you first, didn’t they?”

That confused me, and Frea showed panic on her face. “Come again?”

“Alisha, Juliette, and Cora. Beautiful women and highly flirtatious. Are you in relations with them?”

Frea and Erica were stammering, trying to not get upset. I chuckled at that.

“No. No relations with them. I do have relations with two others though. You will have to talk with them about courting, they are with me till the end.”

The three were visibly nervous now. Frea cleared her throat and asked, “Who are they?”

“Well, one is Sharuth Johanson, and the other is Serena Wilcox.”

All three gasped at that, Erica explained, “We are classmates with Sharuth at Clearwater. And she’s a badass.” The other two nodded.

“Yeah, she told me that you gals were classmates.”

“Wait,” Alana interrupted. “She said that she was dating a Brian.”

“Yeah,” Frea agreed. “Going on and on about a Brian. We asked where this guy was, and she said that he travels a lot. That they were mates.”

I smiled, “That is the name that I go by. I need to keep a low profile, as you have seen. My magic isn’t normal around here.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Erica said. “Fuck, this is awesome, but complicated. Do you think that she will have a problem with this?”

“I’m not sure, but I have a question. How are you three out of classes right now?”

The three smiled, Frea answered, “When your mom is the Queen then you get some privileges.”

I laughed and then asked, “If you know Shari, is she linked to your communication stones?”

“Yes. We will contact her. If she answers, will you give us a few minutes to talk?”

I nodded and they tried to get in touch with Shari. After almost a minute, a voice came on.

“Hello?”

“Shar, this is Frea.”

“Hey, girl! Are you ladies okay? Haven’t seen you in weeks.”

“Yeah, we were captives for a bit, but we won’t go into details until we see each other.”

“What!?”

“Yeah, long story. But that’s not the reason for us contacting you. I have Erica and Alana here with me.”

“Hey, ladies! Have you been entertaining a suitor or two?” Shari giggled. I smirked as the others grinned.

“As a matter of fact, we are,” Erica replied. “He is tall, dark, and dreamy. Oh, and mysterious.”

“Wow, when do I get to meet him?”

“Uh, not sure.”

“I wish Brian was able to visit, then we could go on a double date.”

Erica laughed softly, “Yeah? I don’t think that will happen. Anyway, we have a favor to ask.”

“Go ahead, if it is in my power to give then I will.”

Frea stepped in, “We met this suitor as Erica said, and he let us know where he was from. It ended up being in your hometown.”

Shari paused for a few moments before responding, “What is his name? Maybe I know him.”

All three giggled, Alana answered, “His name is Kris.”

Shari didn’t speak, silence was on the other end. Frea smirked and went on, “Yeah, that is what he goes by, but his full name is Kristjàn.”

“Do you know him, Shari?” Erica asked. “Is he worthy?”

“Listen to me very carefully, ladies. He is no one to fuck with. Kris is very dangerous and with a snap of his fingers, you are dead. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Do not let your brothers or any suitors around him. He will make them look stupid and they will try to retaliate. If it suits him, then Kristjàn will end them.”

“Woah, really?” Alana said with mock surprise. “By the way you speak of him, it seems that you know him well. Did you two date?”

Again, Shari was silent for a bit. “Yes.”

“And do you still have feelings for him? We don’t want to interfere.”

“Okay, let’s get this out there. Since you know of him then I will tell the truth. There is no Brian, never was. It was a made-up name that we used for Kris to be around me. He is the love of my life, and I will end anyone that tries to take him away from me or Serena.”

I smiled and shook my head. The trio of young women grinned. Erica said, “We know, Shari. He told us to contact you about us courting. That you had to give the okay.”

Shari gasped, “What? Is this a joke?”

“No joke,” Frea explained. “It’s a political move amongst other things. Are you able to talk about this, or do we need to talk later?”

“No, it needs to be now, or I will fret over it all day.”

“Okay, let’s start with…”

That was my que to leave, and I waved bye as my feet took me away to check out the estate with my four escorts. It was a beautiful day. We stopped by the stables and spoke with the stablemaster for a bit. Then went to grab a snack from the kitchen before making our way out and talked with the guards. I wanted to check and see if they were competent in their jobs, they were and seemed loyal to the families here.

At that, we ventured back but were stopped when my communication stone lit up. I pulled my necklace from within my shirt and activated the stone. I knew who it was before answering, hopefully she won’t be in a down mood.

“Hello?”

“Hey, you.”

I laughed and said, “Hello, Serena. How is your day going?”

“Oh, you know. Busy day dealing with the partners, runners, and paralegals. And now, I was just informed that you were approached about courting.”

“Yeah, took me by surprise.” Well, not really. Alistair hinted and so did the guys.

“Well, how are you doing with all of that?”

“It’s fine. Just strange that all three want to court me.”

Serena giggled, “Kris, you are quite a catch my dear. When you rescued them, their parents saw an opportunity and they are jumping all in. I won’t be surprised if they offer incentives as well.”

“What kind of incentives?”

“Make you a Duke, money, or give you some land, things like that. That’s normal for the nobility.”

I sighed loudly, “Just the kind of shit that I don’t want to have to deal with.”

“It’ll work out, sweetie. This is a great opportunity for you and our family going forward. When will you be able to leave your current home?”

“Alistair said my time is almost up.”

“Great, I miss you, my love. I just wanted to let you know that Shari is handling all the negotiations and I give my blessing as well.”

I shook my head and looked around. This is crazy. Negotiations?

“Okay, are you sure this is what you two want? I don’t want anything to come between us.”

“We are sure but thank you for being worried about it. Of course, we didn’t imagine that you would get three very talented and sought-after women, not to mention all three of them are from the top influential families of Exhulm.”

I snorted, “It wasn’t like I was making a move on them, things would’ve gone south if that happened.”

“Yeah. I’ve got to go, Kris. But contact me tonight if you can.”

“I will.”

We disconnected and I continued walking towards the garden where the young women were. They were sitting in chairs now, chatting away and giggling. The trio saw me approach and smiled as they rose from their seats.

“Kris, it is all settled with Shari and Serena. They are onboard, and Shari will contact you tonight to talk.”

“Sounds good. Still strange that you three want this.”

They nodded and Erica commented, “Can we go back and talk about you meeting Alisha and the others? You were about to say something when we went in another direction.

“Oh, uh, yeah. I was saying that if they found out that you know me, then someone may come looking for trouble.”

“Why?”

“Because there was a prick named Marcus who was sparring and beat the hell out of this chick. I took offense to that and beat the shit out of him. That and trapped some others with magic for an hour where they couldn’t move.”

She gasped, “That was you?”

“You heard about that?”

Alana starts giggling and couldn’t stop. Finally, after almost a minute, she gets herself back to normal and says, “Sorry. Yes, the whole clan heard about it. Though, you should’ve killed him.”

Huh, that garrison is a part of the Cordona Clan? Small world.

I grunted, “Yeah, probably. But the backlash would’ve been bad. Your clan wanted to take me back and have one of your clan leaders check to make sure that I was no threat. Well, they found out really quick that I was after their stupidity.”

“Ah, well, everyone is still wondering how you did that. And telekinesis is one thing, but your power is another. He is still recovering.”

I mentally chuckled, serves the bastard right. He should know not to beat on anyone, especially a woman, when they already won the match within the ring.

“Wait. That means that you are the one who healed Julie and Cora of the Fire Serpents poison,” Alana stated in awe.

Frea and Erica gasped. The former whispered, “You healed them? The poison from a Fire Serpent is usually fatal.”

I shrugged and said, “It was difficult to purge.” That and keeping my eyes to myself when they were naked.

The three young women were staring at me in amazement. Alana squeaked, “Holy shit! I was also advised that the person who did all that had a rare creature with them. …You had a fairy with you.” The other two gasped, again.

Erica cleared her throat, “You know a fairy?”

“Yes, he knows her,” Alana retorted. “She was sitting on his shoulder, cuddled up with him. Even hugged and kissed him.”

The trio got into a stance with a hand on one of their hips, waiting for my response. I almost laughed aloud at their stares. By the way they were acting, it seemed they wanted to know what kind of relationship I had with Koko. Good thing I’m not going to tell them that I hoped she was taller otherwise we would’ve been in relations as they called it.

“Yeah, I am on friendly terms with a fairy. Is there something wrong with that?”

Alistair never said it was bad, just not common. He even gave me weird looks when Koko was brought up.

“No Kris, it is not.”

I turned to see the Queen and her entourage walking up. Daria, her mate, and the Cordonas were with them. The Prince Consort was the one who answered me. I nodded to him as they were coming up.

“It is just rare to hear that someone is close to any these days. They don’t trust anyone. For you to have any relationship with a fairy is amazing.”

“She’s a good friend.”

Ethan looked over at Daria’s mate, and then to Cordona, who was over to the side. They all chuckled and shook their heads.

“If that doesn’t help make your decision, then nothing will,” Ethan smiled. “The boy is, in my mind, the right choice.”

“Agreed.” Both of the other males said.

I rolled my eyes and laughed at that. “You guys think that you have the say so on this? You don’t. From the looks of things, the males and that includes me, we don’t have the authority to make this decision.”

Queen Talia stared at me and smirked, Daria and a lady beside Cordona laughed heartily. The males were looking at their women, then sighed.

“It’s okay guys, we really don’t have the authority either,” Queen Talia giggled. “Regardless of what our decision is, it would seem that they have already made theirs.”

Everyone looked at the three young women. The trio stood straight with their heads held high.

“We have, mother,” Frea answered in a dignified manner.

“And the verdict is?”

“We all want to court him.”

“I see,” the Queen said with a hint of a smile. “And each of you are okay with him being with multiple women?”

What the hell?

“Yes, we are Queen Talia. We discussed us being a family with Shari and Serena, his other women as well.,” Erica stepped forward and answered as she stared at me. “He is worthy of us and we are worthy of him.”

The other two nodded. Talia turned to me, “Kristjàn, what is your decision?” Talia didn’t bat an eye at the mention of the other two, she knew already but hadn’t advised the young women. I guess so they could do this on their own. I agree with that.

Damn, she put me on the spot.

What did you expect? These are nobles and a Queen. She will not accept a stupid ass answer. Just saying.

Yeah, but damn, this isn’t what I envisioned my life to be. It was more of hunting down the slaver assholes.             

We can do that too.

Maybe.

I was not forthcoming with my answer and could tell that some of them were antsy and anxious.

“I am honored by this,” I started, and the trio slumped their shoulders thinking that I was backing out. “But I must be honest, Queen Talia. I didn’t see myself in this situation nor livelihood. You know what I’ve been doing, how can I keep targeting slavery and be here to do my duties?”

“That’s life, Kris,” Talia snorted. “Yes, sometimes you will be away and handling things on your own, but you misunderstand. Those three will not be here without you, trust me on that. And you can’t court if you’re not here.”

“They will be adamant on that,” Daria nodded and giggled. “At this point, I don’t think you have a choice in the matter.”

I turned to the trio and they shook their heads which set off the whole group laughing. I sighed, knowing that my life just drastically changed.

“All right, I can already tell that I’m in trouble. But with this responsibility, I know nothing of your politics and daily life. And I don’t want to become something that I’m not.”

Frea stepped forward, “We aren’t going to try and change you, Kris. Just be yourself.”

“Uh huh, and after I beat the shit out of the first arrogant fool that tries something against me or you? What will you say then?”

Ethan and Cordona snickered. They were shushed immediately by a look from the Queen. Erica and Alana were trying not to smile too.

“We will have to see,” Talia replied. “I don’t need strife amongst my people, Kris.”

There is the statement I was looking for. “And you don’t see me, since I’m not a Phoenix, not causing conflict when I am courting your daughter? What will your people say to that?”

“Quit trying to get out of it, Kris,” Queen Talia warned. “It’s already been decided. You have made your choice, as have your women by the looks that my daughter is giving me, even though you haven’t said it out loud. Don’t question yourself. To answer about my people, they will heed my decision and if any are worried or angry over it, then they can come to me. Now, tell us what we already know.”

I chuckled and shook my head, “Yes, I will agree with the courting since Shari and Serena have.”

The three young women clapped and squealed in delight before rushing over and hugging me. The parents smiled as they watched the youngsters.

“You have lots to discuss,” the Queen stated. “Why don’t you retire to the Great Hall? Pickup a snack and talk.”

“That sounds great, but we want to stay out here for a bit more, mother.”

Queen Talia smirked, “Very well. We will see you at dinner then. And Kris? …Formal attire, please.”

I nodded and watched as the group left. My eyes scanned the area again and saw that it was still filled with guards standing at attention, my crew as well. I chuckled and turned my attention to the three ladies. They were watching me.

“Anything wrong?”

“No, Princess Frea. Just wanted to make sure.”

“Okay, let’s meander a bit. Tell us something about yourself. Hobbies, likes, dislikes. What you normally do each day.”

“Uh, why do you need to know all of that?”

Frea rolled her eyes, Alana and Erica giggled. “Because I want to know things about my intended. Is that a crime?”

“Intended? Are we betrothed now?” I asked with a chuckle.

Her cheeks went red but responded after a few moments, “Well, I intend to marry you. We may not be betrothed yet, but that is a formality in my mind. So, yes, you are my intended.”

“And what happens if we are wed and I have to leave? What would you do?”

I knew that at some point my destination would be my home world and knew that I may not come back.

“Go with you,” she immediately replied. The others agreed.

“You are the heir of your people, Frea. Erica, you are the heir to a duchy. Doesn’t that come first?”

Frea sighed and nodded, “Yes, Kris. That is high priority, but it’s not number one to me right now. My mom is the Queen and is still young enough to take care of things. You heard her yourself, we will be by your side until called to perform our duties which might not be for a long time.”

I grunted, she had me there. “Just making sure you are aware that things in my life are changing every day.”

The trio nodded and we kept walking, discussing our daily lives and what makes us ourselves. They also told me their ages and asked me to give mine.

Frea, 20, likes going to the movies, concerts, clubbing, and Orange Roses. Erica, 20, likes the same things but is partial to Orange Gerberas. Alana, 22, likes sky diving, water sports, clubbing, and her favorite flower is the Blue Iris. Scanning them, I found that all of them are almost at level 30. I also found out that she is a Blue Dragon. Water mage. Which helps since the other two are fire mages. I have two fire mages, a water mage, and an earth mage that want to be in my family. Ain’t that some shit.

We were making our way back to the mansion to get some refreshments when my eyes caught a group chatting together. Alonzo and Peter were speaking to two other males with regal outfits, laughing as well. They had guards around, watching. The girls groaned when they saw them. The guys heard us approach and turned to look. They smiled when seeing the ladies and lost it when seeing me.

“What the hell? Him again?” Peter complained to his friends.

“Again? Who is he?” A guy to his right asked. He has brown hair and blue eyes, a somewhat muscular build, but seemed soft. Like he hasn’t worked a day in his life. The other one is a pretty boy too. He has blonde hair and blue eyes.

“He is a guest and not to be bothered,” Alonzo answered the three with warning.

“Bothered? What does that mean?”

“It means, Arthur, that we can’t touch him unless we duel.”

“That isn’t true, Peter, and you know it,” Alonzo hissed. “My father gave a warning that he would punish those who made a move against him.”

The two with them were confused and surprised that the Prince Consort would punish them for that. This guy must be someone important.

“How about you stop talking about me like I’m not here.”

Peter’s jaw clenched at my statement. Alonzo came over and said, “I don’t think we were properly introduced. I’m Alonzo, Frea’s brother.”

He stuck his hand out and I looked at it for a moment before shaking it and said, “Kris.”

I then looked over at Frea as she asked, “You’ve met?”

Alonzo rubbed the back of his head and replied, “Yeah, sis. It was when he first arrived. I saw him scanning the area for something and was caught off guard when he was still working his magic. I thought he was a danger to us.”

I smiled at the memory of our meeting. Frea huffed, “Oh, he is to those who are a threat to him. One hundred percent. And what is this about father getting involved?”

“It was my fault, Princess,” Peter stepped in. “The insolence he showed was upsetting to me.”

The disdain that she had for him almost made me laugh aloud.

“Insolence? Really? What did he do that was disrespectful, Peter?”

The noble didn’t say anything. Arthur, Alonzo, and the other guy that I don’t know were looking at him for an answer.

“He said that I needed to be shown proper etiquette because I didn’t bow to them or gravel at their feet. Or something like that.”

“You want the guy who saved us to bow to you?” Erica hissed.

Alana jumped in, “Arthur, you weren’t apart of this, were you?”

“No sis, I wasn’t there. Though, it doesn’t matter if he saved you. He should still show proper decorum. Don’t you agree, Jon?”

Sis? Proper decorum?

Idiot nobles don’t know who their fuckin with.

“I don’t know. If the Prince Consort is involved, then he would’ve said something about that.”

“He did,” Alonzo agreed. “My father knows that he wasn’t brought up in our culture or clan politics. He also said for you to let it go, Peter.”

“Whatever,” Peter scoffed.

“Then I will have to go with what the Prince Consort commanded,” Jon said to the others.

“I’m glad you agree, brother,” Erica stated.

Brother? It’s a fuckin family get together.

“I didn’t say that I agreed. I said that I will heed the command of the Prince Consort. Kris needs to show proper decorum like Arthur suggested.”

The three women hissed something, but I jumped in and said, “I don’t have to show you shit. And if you don’t like it, you can suck a dick. Matter of fact, you four can suck each other’s dick.”

They went red at that, the three young women gasped, and I caught my crew shaking their head and trying to hide their smiles. I walked off with a smile on my face and just in case, I put up a shield for protection. There was yelling behind me as I strolled off and wasn’t surprised when something hit my shield. It dissolved and the mana went in to reinforce my shield. Four more spells hit it before they stopped, guess they found that they couldn’t harm me that way.

It wasn’t a few moments later that I heard loud footsteps coming my way. Shouting and cursing came from back there too.

“Stop where you are, commoner!”

Not caring, I kept on and the spells started back again but was dissolved like the others. I could tell that the fucks were getting frustrated. It was getting to the point of me stopping and confronting them, but I didn’t have to.

“What is the meaning of this!?”

Turning, I saw Ethan, Cordona, and Erica’s dad coming over with their guards in tow. All three leaders had their eyes glowing. The group stopped and bowed their heads, showing deference. I rolled my eyes at that and stood there, waiting for someone to answer.

“I’m not going to repeat myself.”

Peter stayed still, as did Alonzo. Arthur cleared his throat, “Prince Consort, we were trying to get Kris to stop and discuss why he insulted us.”

“Is that true, Jon?” His dad asked with a no-nonsense voice.

Jon didn’t answer at first, but reluctantly said in a low voice, “Yes.”

“That’s not true,” Alana spat out.

“Alana, please hold your comments to yourself for now,” Cordona commanded.

“Yes, grandfather.” Alana then stared with disgust at her brother.

“Alonzo, tell me what is going on here,” Ethan demanded. “And it better be the truth, or you will find yourself on stable duty for a month.”

Alonzo went wide-eyed and gulped before answering, “I cannot comment on this.”

Taking one for the team, is he? Stupid fuck.

“Cannot or will not?”

Alonzo didn’t answer, his father stared at him and shook his head. Ethan turned to everyone and said, “I made it very clear what would happen if anyone made a move against our guest. I don’t care what he did for you to retaliate. You four just don’t know who you’re dealing with and are lucky he didn’t kill you.”

The males went wide-eyed at that. Peter spoke up, “He can’t do that. Our families would hunt him down.” The others nodded.

Cordona laughed, “The only family that he would have to think about is yours, which it wouldn’t be after we explained why he killed you. That and the three of us would be on his side, not yours. I don’t think your family would chance getting involved in a war because of your mouth and actions.”

It took a few moments before the other three figured out what he said. Erica’s dad spoke at that time, “That’s right. We wouldn’t come to your aid or retaliate against him because we know how you carry yourselves. Always thinking you are better than others. Which is confusing since none of you are in a role that is better than anyone else, plus, you have never been in battle. So, think about this. Kris has killed three incubi and numerous Oni’s. He also saved my baby girl, the Princess, and the granddaughters of the Cordona and Pepoli clans. See, there is another clan that you must worry about. And from my understanding, all Kris would have to do is call the Patriarch up and he will send his best warriors to fight with him.

Huh. That’s nice to know.

Yep, we may be calling him soon if the Formordians show up.

“Ethan? What is going on?”

We all looked over to see Queen Talia and the others coming out of the mansion. I nodded to her as the others bowed. I’m not sure why I don’t do as the others and follow proper decorum. It just gets on my nerves to have to do that. It may be wrong, but on the other side of the coin, I don’t have to be here.

“Nothing, dear. There was just a misunderstanding. We have it handled.”

She nodded and looked at everyone. Observing the sons and daughters in front of her. “The mix-up must be vast since it seems that our children are at odds with each other.”

Ethan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, then took a calming breath before replying, “It does seem that way. I will let them tell you why they are at odds.”

The four males were anxious now, fidgeting. “Frea, we will start with you. What is this misunderstanding?” Queen Talia asked.

“Mother, it appears that the four noblemen have issues with Kris not following ‘proper decorum’, as they put it.”

The four males wanted to rebut her, but kept their mouths shut. I shook my head at this.

“I see. So, this whole scene before me is about you four wanting him to show you deference. Is that it?”

The four idiots did not look at her, she waited for them to respond, but they didn’t. Queen Talia sighed, “Kris, would you excuse us? Can you go get ready for dinner?”

“Uh, sure. I will take my leave Queen Talia.”

She smiled and I walked off, not wanting to get involved in that shit. Not even ten steps away, she hollered, “And remember, Kris. Formal clothing. Clayton is there and will help.”

“Yes, ma’am.” My crew followed but at a distance, and when I went into my room, they went to theirs.

Clayton was in my suite, laying out my clothing. I sighed and chuckled at this whole situation. Yay, family bonding. Of course, I would kill to have family time. Not knowing if I have any family at all, I have wondered if they thought about me.

Shaking those thoughts off, I cleared my throat. Clayton looked up and smiled, “Ah, Master Kris. The Queen wanted me to get your attire ready. Please go shower and get cleaned up.”

I chuckled, “Yes, sir.”

Walking into the enormous shower again, I took my time and relaxed, letting the water flow down my body. A little while later, I got out and dried off before heading to get dressed.

Clayton helped me get suited up in my monkey suit. I looked in the mirror and thought it was decent. Clayton went to check to see if it was time for dinner and came back as I was fixing my hair.

“You clean up nicely, Master Kris.”

“Why thank you, Clayton.”

“Please follow me.”

I did and wondered how this evening will be. Awkward? Tension filled? Boring? When we got closer, I heard others talking and smiled as Clayton led me to the Great Hall where everyone was seated at a long table. I walked over and was about to sit on the end, but the Queen called out for me to join her at the other end. I looked over to see a seat was empty between her and Frea. Both were watching me as I walked over. When seated, the Queen nodded to her servants which proceeded to bring out the first of a four-course meal.

It was vegetable soup, which I didn’t eat much of since I am a steak and potato man. The atmosphere was still tense, which made me sigh. The Queen introduced Tarek, Erica’s dad, and Monica, Cordona’s wife. They were cordial through the conversations.

I was talking to Tarek, when a hand was rubbing up and down my right thigh. Not making any change of movement, I let Frea have free reign if she wanted. The redhead didn’t go all the way up, but she could tell that my cock was hard and gasped when she rubbed on it.

I still didn’t make any change on my face or movements. She didn’t rub on it for long before eating her food. Everyone had questions about the raid on the water facility and I gave my version of what happened. No one said anything on that, and I chuckled to myself. The Queen must’ve laid down the law.

The night went on without any incidents and was in conversation with the gents when dessert came out. It was Crème Brulee. Finishing up that, we went our separate ways, I went back to my suite to get some sleep. It had been a tiring day, mentally and physically.

Chapter 18

The next week went by in a flash. The three ladies were a delight to be around and we were growing comfortable with each other.

One thing to note is that I found out that Queen Talia told the noblemen that I would be around for some time, and it would be in their best interest to not mess with me or harass me. I guess it worked since they avoided me. I didn’t see them until we ate together.

It was the weekend, and I was wondering when I would be able to get back to some normalcy and check up on the other slavery cells. Guess I should tell someone where they are at.

We were out in the fields past the gardens, walking and talking in the gorgeous afternoon. Not a cloud in the sky and both suns were brightly shining.

“When did my mom see your eyes glow?” Frea asked during a break in silence.

“Huh?”

“Mom spoke about when she saw your eyes glowing, that it was eerie. And while we’re on the subject, can you tell us what happens when they do that?”

“Or how it works?” Erica butted in. “Is it an active or passive power?”

I sighed, not knowing if I should speak about them being in my room. Deciding to be truthful, I replied, “When first arriving, your parents came to make sure that my room was satisfactory and maybe give me a tour of the place. She then was curious about why you told her that I was dangerous. I tried to shrug it off, but Queen Talia tried to rile me up, and get me to show her some instance of why you called me that.”

The three had concerned looks on their faces. Frea took a calming breath, “And did she rile you up?”

“No, but I put them on guard, and they left without another word,” I smirked. “Didn’t even get a tour of the place at that time.”

All three were curious and a little bit wary at my statement.

“What did you do?” Erica asked. “Can you show us why they were on the defensive?”

The other two nodded their agreement. I looked at them and then at the guards, thinking that it would be fun.

Let’s see how quick these guards are.

Don’t be poking the sleeping Jotun. They will change to their true forms if you’re not careful.

I don’t plan on going that far.

Just don’t do anything stupid.

Wouldn’t dream of it.

Turning my attention back to the ladies in front of me, I activated my mind magic which made my eyes start glowing. The girls stared at me, observing.

“That doesn’t look so scar-,” Alana was cut off by my deep voice, intimidating them.

“Oh, but it can be. It gets really interesting when people rile me up and piss me off.”

The ladies moved back a few steps, and I noticed the guards start inching closer. My crew was wary as they came near.

Frea gulped, “That is… definitely intimidating.

Alana whispered as she stared at me, “Yeah.”

I was about to chuckle and quit my demonstration when my astral sight picked up two forms behind the hedges in the garden west of us. And off to the north, a good distance behind the girls, there was a form in the trees watching us. They had something in their hands pointing in our direction.

Do you see that?

Yes, I suggest you move towards your women and put a shield on them just in case.

My women? They aren’t mine yet.

He scoffed. Yes, they are. And when you do this, they will forever be since you will stop an assassination attempt.

How do we know it’s for them?

We don’t, but who else would it be for?

True.

“Girls, stay still,” I commanded in a low voice.

They all got this look on their face then. You know the look, the one that says no one tells me what to do, especially one that now has the potential to become her husband.

“Don’t even, Kris. I think you’ve made your point,” Frea warned, her eyes glowing orange. Alana and Erica nodded; their eyes glowed too.

Shit. This is going to be disastrous; they think I am trying to compel them. At that point their guards came up. One of them asked, “Is everything okay, Princess?”

She didn’t answer right off, Viktor came up to me.

“Kris, it’s okay man. Calm down.”

I then spoke to him in a whisper, “No, it isn’t. I picked up three targets. Two in the bushes and one in the trees.”

My crew went tense and started looking around. “No time, just keep them safe.”

“What are you going to do,” Bjorn whispered to me.

“What I do best.”

I smiled and closed my eyes, thinking of what I wanted my magic to do. A few moments later, my eyes opened to see most of the guards were in our vicinity but not all of them. Not worried about them now, I had Rhys command, “Stay still, all of you!”

The ones that were close stood at attention, even the girls. I hurriedly moved away and gave my magic the go ahead. Moments later, a barrier came down. Building itself up and around the group, it surrounded them in a protection shield. All hell broke loose then, the guards panicked and raced toward the captives.

Tell everyone to get down Rhys!

“Everyone, get down!”

 Everyone inside and outside of the barrier dropped immediately, even the two behind the hedges. My mind sent out two astral limbs to kill the targets before they could do anything else. The limbs pierced their chests and pulled them towards me, two squeaks were heard from their voices before they slumped over.

A loud boom caught me off guard, and I turned to see something headed my way that reminded me of a firework at the celebrations that we had in town at Redwater. But this was bigger and from what my mind magic picked up; the object was full of mana.

A mana missile. Pure mana. Move and get away from it!

I can’t let it hit the girls.

Your barrier magic is impenetrable, Kris. Trust your instincts and kill that bastard before he sends another one our way.

I then heard another boom. Too late.

Teleport to that fucker and kill him!

Tell the guards outside the barrier to get up and flee.

“All the guards on the ground outside of the barrier, get up and run away!”

They did and I turned my attention back to the two hanging in the air in front of me. I slammed them into the front of the barrier where the mana bombs will hit and concentrated, willing my magic to cooperate.

When the first mana missile hit, the explosion was loud and as the debris and shockwave came my way, I felt my body tingle and move on its own.

Getting myself oriented, I heard the second bomb go off a few moments later and the explosion was massive. I looked around to see where the culprit was and found him standing on the ground at that time, laughing. He stopped after the cloud of dust fell away, the bastard thought it would be a crater in its place. Instead, it was some kind of huge shield.

“What the fuck? What kind of magic is that? Dammit! Someone saved the Princess,” he seethed.

I could see the whole mansion was in disarray, some were trying to get to the girls, but most were hiding.

“Well, no matter, I still have two mana missiles left. Time to get this over with. All Hail the Queen,” he sneered with an evil chuckle.

I was a hundred yards away as he prepared his weapon. My armor flowed up my body as I sprinted towards the asshole. I took my sword out and threw it at the perpetrator. The bastard got off one before my sword pierced his chest, and he cried out in shock as it pinned him to the tree.

Blood was gushing out of the wound and when he tried to speak, it came out as a croak with blood spewing out of his mouth. He stared at me and smiled, “You’re too late, asshole. Tell whoever survives that the Vespir family says hello.”

He then coughed and wheezed as he slumped over. Pulling the sword from the tree, flicking the blood off and sheathing it, I turned to look at the mana missile as it made its way towards the mansion.

How do we stop it?

I don’t know if we can.

Can we maybe divert it with our astral limbs?

I’m not sure, bud. It’s worth a try.

We must try something, or they’ll perish if it hits.

Keep your armor on and have it cover your face.

I concentrated and felt my face being covered as my body felt the tingle before it teleported. My mind came to as the screams pierced the area. Everyone was terrified, and I saw people fleeing the mansion. Good.

Let your wings out.

Why? I don’t want anyone knowing about my heritage unless it’s necessary. Though, thinking about it, it might be essential.

No, change to your hybrid and bring your Dragon wings out.

I didn’t think that could happen in the hybrid form.

Only the more powerful of our kin can do this. The older ones can achieve this and since you are young, it will be questioned when this is over. So, be ready for that.

Hmm… Not going to care what they say or do. We need to stop that bomb.

Agreed.

You know what’s going on. You want to handle this?

No, but I will get you started on the hybrid form and letting your wings out. The rest is up to you since that is a Celestial form of magic.

Oh, yeah. Let’s do it.

Rhys took over and we shifted into our hybrid form. I then felt something on my back as they formed. They expanded out to around twenty feet. They were huge, leathery appendages with bones throughout and scales covering them. Flapping for a few moments, we took off towards the incoming mana bomb.

Hovering in place, Rhys called out. It’s up to you, Kris.

Knowing the distance limitation of my astral limbs, I waited till it got closer, and sent four out to encompass the missile. When I thought it was in my grip, I then took off away from the mansion. It was working!

We were half a click away from the mansion when I was going to let the fucking thing go and blow up some trees or something, but the motherfuckin thing blew while it was in my grip, only a few feet away from my body. I didn’t realize it could have some form of a timer on it, so me being a dumbass, I had it close to me just in case it fell from my grip and to top that, a shield was not put in place.

The explosion was loud, and it hurt me badly. The shockwave carried me away from my location and threw me into a rock formation. My body rolled end over end down into a ravine and a loud thud was echoed throughout.

Fuuuucccck. I tried to move but couldn’t and everything hurt. A moaning sound came from me.

Damn kid. I’m sorry, I didn’t know about the timer and should’ve reminded you to put up a shield. Fuck this hurts!

It’s okayyyyy. Not yyour fffaulttt. Too hectic.

Shit! Damn kid, this is bad. Stay still. Let your regen take over and it will help you heal. It may be a while before you can move or get up, so I will let your hybrid form go. Can you make a barrier to ward off things? No telling what’s down here.

I didn’t answer but tried to concentrate with all the pain in my body forcing me to take longer than usual for the spell to form. Finally, it molded around me. I then with all my strength activated my communication stone.

When he answered, I groaned.

“Kris? What’s wrong?”

“I’m hurt bad. A mannnnnna misssssile went offffff besssside me. I ppputttt aaaaa baarrrrrieer arrrrounnnndd meeee so nothinnnnnggg willll botherrrr mee whillleee I healllll.

“Okay, I’m on my way.”

He disconnected and Rhys spoke.

Good, I’m going to use an earth spell to form a capsule around you as well, so no one can disturb us while you heal.

I grunted and blacked out from the intense pain.

++++

The Prince Consort was with his Queen and her guests in the Great Hall, eating refreshments and conversating about the discussions with their daughters. They were going to announce their courtships to young Kristjàn. The leaders knew that they would have a powerful husband and he would give them strong children.

The hall was loud when the message went out that they would have a formal dinner tonight. Supposedly, the Queen had an important announcement.

The leaders were sitting at a table, smiling and laughing at someone’s joke when a guard shouted, “My Queen, something is happening out where the heirs are.”

The leaders glanced at each other and quickly got up to look out the window. They saw their children with some of their guards on the ground.

“What is going on? Why are they lying on the ground?” Cordona demanded and was about to leave to find out when a loud sound caught their attention.

“What was that?” the Queen asked in fear for those outside.

“Fuck! It’s a mana missile!” Ethan cried out as he watched it sail across the clearing.

“It is headed towards the children!” Daria screamed. “We need to get out there and help them!”

Another loud sound was heard from a distance. “Another one!” Someone yelled out.

The scene changed and the guards that were further away from the heirs got up and fled. The leaders were about to go help their young ones.

“Wait! We won’t make it!” Cordona bellowed. “Kris is moving and has two people in his grip or whatever the fuck you want to call it.”

They watched the young man, and he threw the two that he had hovering in front of him towards the location of the heirs. A few moments later, the first missile hit, and the explosion was loud. Dirt and grass flew everywhere. A little while later the other hit, and it was more powerful than the other. A huge dust cloud formed around the area and was difficult to see anything from where the leaders were.

“My baby,” Queen Talia whimpered. Then Daria and Cordona’s wife cried out too. It took almost a minute for the dust to settle enough for them to see the aftermath. That was when a shiny bright form lit up the surrounded area where their heirs were.

“What the hell is that?” Cordona asked in awe.

“It looks to be a huge shield of some kind,” Ethan answered while gazing upon the magnificent sight. “And impenetrable by the looks of it since two mana missiles couldn’t destroy it.”

“That is not a shield,” Queen Talia commented as her heart started beating faster and faster when she realized what this was.

“Then what is it?” Daria asked curiously.

She cleared her throat and knew this would cause chaos amongst everyone around. They haven’t seen one since the Great Wars. She glanced around to make sure others couldn’t hear her before speaking, “That is barrier magic.”

The group gasped and stared at her, wanting to verify her statement. She nodded, “I remember my mother and father speaking to me about it when we learned about the Great Wars.”

Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Cordona asked hesitantly.

“Yes, a Celestial is here. A very powerful one if they can perform that kind of magic.”

“Holy shit!” Daria bellowed. “Where could they be? Why don’t they show themselves?”

“He already has,” Ethan sighed. “We just didn’t know it or pick up on it, did we honey?”

“No, we didn’t,” Queen Talia smiled sadly.

The group looked at them and thought about it. Cordona figured it out first, “It’s Kris.”

Ethan and Talia nodded while the others went wide-eyed at the information. Ethan looked around to make sure no one was around.

“We keep this information a secret. He doesn’t need this right now.”

“Agreed,” Cordona nodded. “We will need to keep eyes on him from a distance for any help that is needed.”

They nodded. Daria chuckled, “Well, we knew about how powerful he was before but damn.”

They smiled but it left them after hearing another loud boom. Immediately, they looked out the window and saw a mana missile coming towards the mansion.

“Everyone, get out!” Queen Talia screamed as she and her husband shifted into their hybrid forms and moved as fast as they could. The others did the same, heading towards the exit.

When the group made it outside, they were about to head into the woods when a hybrid form appeared out by the courtyard. It had black scales and wings, hovering above them.

“Holy Fuck! Is that…” Cordona was stunned and beside him was Ethan and Tarek. Both were astonished as well.

Cordona asked in a low voice, “I’m not the only one seeing this, right?”

No one could look away from the hybrid in front of them.

“No, you are not the only one,” Ethan stated. “It seems the boy has an arsenal of weapons within him.”

They couldn’t look away or flee. For some reason, the boy had them spellbound. The group watched as he lifted into the air by his wings and got into the path of the mana missile.

“He’s going to try and destroy it,” Ethan muttered with a shake of his head.

“Can he do it?” Queen Talia asked in a low voice.

He shrugged, “I don’t know, but if he isn’t careful then it could kill him.”

The ladies gasped and watched as the brave young man hovered for a moment, waiting for the mana missile. It was speeding towards the main hall and Kris moved over in its path then somehow grasped the missile before deterring it. Both began moving away from the mansion.

“Wow! He’s doing it!” Daria shouted gleefully.

“The boy is full of surprises,” Cordona smiled and continued to watch as he fled the area.

Everyone sighed in relief as the missile was taken away and will hopefully detonate safely somewhere. The group was still watching as a loud explosion shook the area. The ladies screamed as they saw the missile had went off before Kris let go of it. The young man was thrown from his path and away from their eyes.

“Oh no! What happened?” The Queen demanded as tears began to form and fall from her eyes. The other women were teary too.

“Shit, it must’ve had a timer on it,” Cordona commented. “That’s the only explanation.”

“We have to find him! He must be hurt!” Daria shouted and was about to take off in that direction when Tarek stopped her.

“Honey, you need to check on Erica and the others first. We will try and locate Kris.”

Cordona and Ethan agreed. The ladies took off towards the girls and the males went in the direction Kris went down.

++++

The mothers ran through the gardens and saw that the barrier was gone and everyone around was getting up or helping others. Some didn’t move, they must’ve been too close to the explosion.

The women homed in on their daughters who were surrounded by guards. They heard arguing when they approached.

“Dammit, Nikolai, get them the fuck out of the way!”

“I cannot do that, Princess. Kris didn’t put his life in danger for you three to go around where everyone can see you. Now, we need to get you to the mansion and into the saferoom. Please.”

“Absolutely not! We are going to find where my intended is right now. I need to make sure that he is okay!” Other guards around them that didn’t know were wide-eyed at that statement.

“That is not a good idea,” Bjorn countered. “We don’t know if all the assassins were killed. Please follow us to the saferoom, then we can find where Kris is.”

“Fuck that, Bjorn,” Alana hissed. “We need to see for ourselves.”

The mothers came up at that time, and the group dispersed when they saw who it was. Queen Talia saw her daughter, Erica, and Alana, and they were distraught. They had been crying, she could tell by the tear streaks on their faces and red, puffy eyes.

“Frea!”

“Mom!”

The two embraced as did the other mother and daughter. Matriarch Cordona consoled her granddaughter. They held each other and sobbed for minutes, telling each other that it was going to be okay.

“My Queen,” Ivan interrupted. “We need to get you and the others to the saferoom. Please.”

Queen Talia looked over and sighed before nodding. Getting a squad together, the guards marched them to the mansion and to the saferoom. They saw the aftermath of the explosions and the destruction that they caused. Bodies strewn everywhere, the gardens destroyed, and people were terrified.

The young women couldn’t stop crying, knowing that they could have been a casualty of the situation. The mothers got them to calm down and had refreshments brought to them.

“Mom? He’s okay, right?” Frea softly asked.

The other two looked at the Queen, who didn’t know how to answer.

“I don’t know, sweetie. I’m sorry to say that the last missile went off with him in the vicinity and he was thrown from the area. Your father and the others are looking for him, honey. We will have to wait for any word from them.”

That set them off again, even the mothers were crying now.

++++

Cordona, Ethan, and Tarek didn’t know where the boy went down and searched everywhere for him. After searching for at least an hour, they knew that a search party was needed.

The three took off back to the mansion and found Kris’s four guards hovering by the front entrance. When the four saw them, they hurried over and bowed.

“Prince Consort, did you find him?”

He shook his head, “No, Viktor.” The four dropped their heads in defeat. “We have arrived to get a search party together. Can you gather your comrades and some of ours? We leave within the hour.”

They shouted, “Yes, sir!”

The three leaders then were escorted to the saferoom where their families were. And when they came in, they felt the somber atmosphere. Even the four noblemen were silent and afraid. Queen Talia saw them first and stood up, this caught the attention of the others. They too rose from their seats.

“Father?” Frea asked in desperation. The three were holding on to each other

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. We couldn’t find any trace of him. We are getting a search party together as we speak.”

The three young women broke down again. Their attendants tried to console them. Queen Talia came over to her husband.

“Is there any hope?”

“I don’t know, honey. All we can do is hope and pray to the Gods.”

She took a deep breath and exhaled, before hugging him. They stood like that for a bit and decided to get some refreshments before heading back out.

When they got back down to the courtyard, there was at least forty waiting.

“Okay, is the cleanup complete? And has the perimeter been cleared for us to be out there?”

Nikolai nodded, “Yes, Prince Consort. We have others still helping the wounded.”

“Very well. Now, those of you probably already know, but the only reason that most of us are alive is because of Kristjàn.” Everyone nodded and agreed, so he continued. “And you are aware that he has been injured, but we don’t know where he fell or ended up. We will split up into four groups and search until it is dark, or we get weary.”

“Yes, Prince Consort!”

The groups went separate ways looking for young Kris. They searched for hours and into the night, but no one located any sign of him. The Queen halted the search for the night, and they went at it bright and early the next day. The young women wanting any word of him were silent and waiting.

When no one located him the next day, everyone was getting worried. They had another search going for any evidence of who was responsible for this travesty, but it turned up empty. Two of the three assassins were vaporized from the mana missiles, and the other one, no one knew what clan he was with. Prince Consort Ethan commanded that everything would be on lockdown for the next few days so they could make sure no other assassins were around. He commanded the young noblemen to stay inside the mansion until further notice. They happily obliged but were still dazed from the incident. Everyone was.

The search party went out again the next day. Everyone was tense and very worried. The young women hadn’t come out of their rooms since this morning.

His guards were not taking it well either, they felt that it was their fault since they were supposed to be with him. Everyone advised it wasn’t possible, no one could’ve been of any help at that time.

The mothers didn’t know what to do or how to comfort their daughters but decided in the end to wait for them to grieve and come to them when they were ready.

The men were at a loss as well, wanting to locate the young man. They were just baffled that no one saw any evidence of him anywhere. Patriarch Cordona recommended that his mentor needed to be aware of the situation. The others wanted to go with him when he left.

At that time, Viktor and Ivan came running up, breathing heavily. They had to take deep breaths to calm down before being able to talk.

“My Queen,” Ivan panted out his word. “We have found him.”

Everyone stood up and started talking at once, but Viktor held up his hands to calm them.

“He has put himself into a barrier that is inside a stone capsule. It was just happenstance that we came upon it. A light was shining on top of the hill when we were down there. The hill doesn’t belong, so we had people with earth magic confirm our theory. We can only feel the magic from the barrier, but it is definitely him.”

“He must be trying to heal,” Consort Ethan commented and was in deep thought before continuing, “Take us to him.”

The males started walking away, not even asking the ladies to come with, but Queen Talia scoffed, “Do you really think that you’re leaving us behind? I don’t think so.”

The ladies began following and the group was led over and down into the ravine. All saw the hill of earth that didn’t belong. The young women gasped and ran over, putting their hands on the dirt. Tears were falling down their faces. Queen Talia and the other ladies came over and comforted them.

“At least we know where he is now,” Talia stated while rubbing her daughter’s shoulders.

“Yes. Nikolai, Viktor, get two guards down here and set them up to keep watch. Change every two hours.”

“Yes, sir!” They bowed and took off.

Ethan looked over at his wife, “Talia, we can only stay here for a little while. But can come back.”

“I know, we’ll stay for a little bit more.”

He nodded and they stood there in silence. Two guards showed up and ten minutes went by before Frea broke the silence.

“Mom, we have to contact Shari. She needs to be aware of what happened.”

Talia nodded, “Let’s go back to the mansion and do that. We need to get you girls cleaned up.”

The group walked off, not knowing they had someone watching from overhead.

++++

Alistair observed the dirt hill down in the ravine and was deeply concerned. His charge was hurt and had put himself in a barrier to heal. He sighed and shook his head, hoping that it won’t take too long before he comes out. Alistair kept watch the entire night and the next morning, watching the guards change every so often.

He left, knowing that it would take at least a few days for Kris to heal. He had to alert the council of what transpired.

As he left, Alistair saw the three young women making their way towards their intended, wanting to be by his side. Those ladies will be good for him, keep him on his toes. He hoped that this incident won’t have lasting effects on the young ladies.

--The End--

Glossary

Fire Giants – organized warriors that dwell among volcanoes, fire lakes, lava, and rocky mountains. They are militaristic brutes who are well known in metallurgy. In their true form, they can reach heights that range from twelve to twenty feet tall. Vulnerable to cold iron and ice.

Phoenix – in their true form are large birds that reach twenty to forty feet in length. Their wingspans can reach up to sixty feet. They are known to produce fire that radiates from their body when in battle. Vulnerable to mithril.

Fire Serpents - are reptiles with large venomous fangs, at least thirty feet long. They have spiked tails with poison dripping off them and are razor sharp. They reside in fire lakes. Vulnerable to cold iron and ice.

Kapre – some know them as tree giants. They are muscular brutes. In their true form, they are known for their battle prowess, but also for the strong odor they produce. Vulnerable to fire and ice.

Djinns – beings of fire and air that can shift into a human. Their true forms are spirit and can manipulate their bodies to however large or small they want.

Oni - spawns of demons that have one horn sticking out of their heads and are big hulking figures at least eight feet tall. Vulnerable to cold iron.

Formordians - are demon spawns. They are large creatures that are made up of animal parts. Their entire bodies are poisonous.

Fairies – they are reclusive and don’t trust easily after so many beings on Exhulm look down on them.

Gargoyles – dwell within the stone mountains. Known for their stone skin when in battle. Can fly in their true form and are vulnerable to cold iron.

Frost Giants – nemesis of Fire Giants. Known for ice spells and dwell in the mountains with the Yetis. They are every bit as fierce as the Fire Giants in battle. Vulnerable to fire and cold iron.

Demons – hulking beasts that have different species within. Lust, fire, and blood. They are malicious creatures and are always wanting to cause chaos.

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Editing by Aline Unwin

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