Monsters and Maidens (106 to 115) (Patreon)

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Testing a new posting format (pdf/epub still linked at the end).

Also this part has more chapters than normal since it's the last chunk before the special chapters :D

Hope you guys enjoy!

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[106] [Barry]

The heaviness in Barry’s chest pressed against his heart and lungs as he moved across the forest floor. It cut his breath short and kept his rib cage tight, almost ready to burst. The phantom pain from getting stabbed through the rib cage had been slowly dissipating. At least it was no longer suffocating him to the point he’d crumble in wheezing agony if he pushed too hard.

“Are you at your limit?”

Kajou’s words rang out in the same tone of concern that had been used at least half a dozen times since they’d set out. Her hand lingered near his shoulder, and she had a worried expression on her face. The Amazon’s eyes kept flickering towards the forest behind them, always looking for some potential threat that just might jump out and attack them.

Wheezing slightly, the young man could do nothing but shake his head. “I can… do… a bit more.”

“Pan isn’t here.” Kajou frowned slightly, giving a little nod of her head. “No need to play tough, you’ve shown you’re strong enough.”

A bitter pill coming from a being capable of knocking down your average pine tree in a dozen punches. Barry grimaced, shoulders slumping slightly as he let out a sigh. It was the only answer he could give, and he watched as Kajou shifted her pack so it would hang from her front. The young woman crouched, turning to face away from him, her back inviting him to hop on.

The feelings of embarrassment and self-loathing warred within him as he approached, hopping on to get a piggyback ride from the maiden that was just about as tall as him and yet at least an order of magnitude stronger, if not more. Her shoulders were narrow and lithe, her skin soft. By all accounts, she shouldn’t be able to handle another person’s weight this easily. Yet that was exactly what she did.

“Grab on tight,” she spoke with amusement hidden somewhere in her voice.

Barry’s hands found nothing but skin soft as velvet, with muscles right underneath that were hard as steel. The only discomfort the maiden showed appeared to be balancing herself rather than the actual strain from carrying the weight of the young man on her back. It was an extraordinarily strange feeling, sensing how she adjusted her balance because of the shift in center of gravity.

It took her only a couple of seconds to get comfortable, and then she began to run. Faster than the pace she’d kept when they walked together. “We shouldn’t be too far from the court. Hopefully we can get there before we have to start looking into fighting the ferals.” Her voice showed no strain from the effort.

“Can’t we just… climb a tree and wait things out?” Barry muttered, looking around. The trees here weren’t monsters of impossible height as where they’d landed, but they were almost comparable to redwoods either way.

“We’d be exposed to anything and everything that might opt to make a meal out of us,” the woman replied without missing a beat. “One hungry or aggressive feral opts to look up and shoot at us, or fly down from the sky, and we’d be tumbling down into the thick of things.”

“You’ve dealt with this kind of thing before?”

“We all have.” The woman paused, frowning, slowing down to look over her shoulder at him. “But with you, we might have a chance to fix things.”

Barry opened his mouth to reply, but could not find the words. His gaze lowered and turned away, staring into the distance as he tried to keep himself from speaking the rebuttal out loud. What the hell was she expecting out of him? To be some sort of savior? He couldn’t even save himself.

Kajou didn’t seem to mind his lack of an answer. Focusing ahead on the tricky forest terrain, she moved at a speed Barry would have been unable to keep even at his best.

Eventually, the young man found his way through his thoughts and threw out a question. “What’s so important about this Court, anyway? Why send you two from so far away just to get you to talk to them?”

“We need to confirm whether some rumors regarding a different way to form bonds with humans are true.” The Amazon kept looking over her shoulder at him, clearly intent on gauging his reactions. “Even if it’s just a rumor, establishing some relations could prove helpful to everyone.” Despite this statement, she let out a disappointed sigh. “Personally, I’d rather turn around and go back to Coven, now that we’ve seen that you can bond without a collar.”

“I’m not sure it’s…”

“Barry, I can feel how hard it is for you to breathe.” Kajou frowned slightly, not slowing down. It was odd to see how fast she could run, and yet she wasn’t even winded. “You have nightmares of her death, you scream sometimes.”

“It could just be PTSD.”

“I don’t know what that is,” she replied. “But you have to trust me on this one. I know what I saw. You bonded her, and you’re showing all the signs of a broken bond. And I’m sure something must have happened with that Hound because if a bond hadn’t formed, I’m absolutely sure you would have ended up dead.”

Barry’s grip on her shoulders loosened ever so slightly, but he didn’t let go. “Does the pain go away?”

That seemed to brighten the maiden, her lips turning into a slight smile as her pace accelerated. “According to our elder, yes, with time and new bonds.”

The young man wasn’t too sure what to feel about that proclamation. The tightness within his chest brought his thoughts towards Pan and the glowing, burning sword. It made him grimace and shrink slightly. He could barely stay alive, not even properly run. Was this what would await him every time? The only reason why he’d survived the pit, the ferals, had been Kajou.

It made him feel useless, weak, small.

For the first time in what felt like forever, his thoughts turned to Mark. Was his brother even alive? Was… Veronica? Barry’s lips thinned at the memory of the young woman. Shame and anger burned inside him. She’d betrayed them. If Mark found out, Barry was sure he’d likely try to kill her… if they were still alive at all.

Shaking his head, Barry refused to let his thoughts be further dragged down. No, Mark was alive, out there, somewhere. Maybe he’d even found out about what had happened. There was no way his older brother wasn’t able to handle the bat-shit insanity this world had to offer. A slight lightness came to Barry’s chest at this thought. It was hard to think Mark would be anything other than alive.

His musings came to an end when he spotted a flicker of white overhead. The young man quickly stiffened, gripping Kajou’s shoulders. She didn’t miss the signal, slowing down and coming to a halt, glancing upwards until they both spotted Pan. The winged maiden was descending from the treetops, spiraling her way to the ground with a stern look on her face.

Barry could not hop off of Kajou fast enough, doing his level best to move away from the Amazon and to the nearest tree and, hopefully, remain away from the blond woman’s immediate attention.

“What’s the situation?” Kajou spoke out before Pan had even finished landing.

The blond monster’s gaze turned to Barry, and her eyes narrowed as her fingers lingered on the pommel of her sword for only a second before looking back at Kajou. “No frenzy yet, but I spotted a second wave.”

“Already?”

“It was on the other side of the river,” she replied, shaking her head. “I doubt we’ll have to worry about that one.”

Kajou frowned slightly. “You flew all the way to the river?” Approaching her sister, she reached out, touching the tunic. “You changed your clothes… you were attacked, weren’t you?”

“Some ferals trying to get a lucky shot,” came the reply, a roll of the eyes. “I had to confirm there weren’t Hunters chasing the ferals, and that might come our way.”

“They could have spotted you.”

“Do you take me for an idiot?” Pan replied. “I was pretending to be feral.”

Kajou’s eyes widened, her hand shooting out and touching the black collar the woman wore. There was a pause. She touched her own, softly. “You didn’t take the collar off.” The words were both accusatory and heavy with relief. Her brows furrowed slightly. There was something in that gaze that hesitated, something that went unspoken.

“We need to move. We’re almost at the court. I spotted the tree they told us to look for. Adjust the course a bit more to the South.” Pan spoke up before Kajou could say anything else. “It should only take us a day, two if you keep pretending the human’s actually walking on his own.”

Spreading her wings, she jumped into the air, taking several strokes before she’d gained momentum and started gaining height. A lingering silence permeated the two left behind as the woman kept going up and up, and eventually soared off.

“I think she’s warming up to you,” Kajou commented offhandedly, glancing at Barry with a smirk.

He could only gawk at such a proclamation.

[107] [Brye]

There were many things Brye had heard about the Wildlings living in the forests south of the kingdom. Of the very many terrible things they did to those they captured. Humans would be castrated and put into underground holes, never to see the light of day ever again. Maidens would be worked to exhaustion and then slowly killed, skinned alive one strip at a time, eventually being cooked into soup.

Of the Dark Elf Courts specifically, the stories only grew wilder still.

She knew many of these things were just folk tales. Brye mostly expected a series of crumbling shacks built atop some old ruins and some group of amateurs without a clue about what they were doing.

Not this.

“I think this is the fanciest place I’ve ever slept in.”

Shery’s tone might have held the typical detached cynical bite, but Brye could tell her partner in crime was truly marveling at the polished wooden finish in the walls and roof surrounding them, at the enchanted glow stone that kept a constant dim source of light, the large holes that might as well have been called windows, and the spider-silk clothes they’d been given to wear.

Brye had seen better, but this was still impressive considering how far away they were from actual civilization.

“They’re buttering us up,” the fox claimed easily enough. Her two tails were stiff, and her ears kept rotating around as she was trying to pinpoint where the real threats lay.

“Think we can make a run for it?” Shery asked. Brye’s words had brought the maiden’s thoughts back down to reality.

“The room’s got spellwork, can’t use my powers to sense anything.”

Technically true. The enchantments that had been weaved into the wood kept her psychic abilities from reaching past the window’s threshold. Like hitting an invisible wall. Though the Nogitsune was still perfectly capable of picking up the breathing of at least two guards on the other side of the door.

With a frown, Brye grabbed up a raisin from the fruit platter and tossed it out through the hole that was the “window”. She watched it soar out into the empty void and out at the other end as if there were nothing there. Yet her powers could not follow it past that empty space.

“Can’t teleport out either.”

She might be able to jump out the normal way, but she suspected there was at least an alarm in place if not an actual barrier that’d block their attempt.

Shery didn’t speak the curse out loud, but her thoughts were loud enough to cover for that.

“It is unfortunate, but we can’t quite trust you yet.”

Brye jumped forward and turned around. Power pooled in her hands, ready to attack. Her golden eyes focused on the spot the voice had come from. The sight of the Warlock made Brye’s hackles rise. The fact that she could not sense the old maiden’s presence immediately raised alarms. It was as if it were an illusion, but Brye knew her way around such things, and this was flesh and bone.

“At least I hope that will change.” The gangling coal-colored woman smiled with rows of perfect white teeth. The gesture would have almost been disarming were it not for the white eyes, unable to focus on anything, distant and cold, blind.

How old was this creature? Brye had seen maidens whose lives were counted in generations, and none had felt this ancient. Like a corpse that had been shambling half-dead, unwilling to die.

The sooner this conversation came to an end, the better. “What do you want from us?”

“Straight to the point? I can certainly appreciate that.” Milky eyes turned to focus on Brye, and the Nogitsune felt the pressure of the power held behind that half-blind gaze, pinning her in place. “You were set up to fail, were it not because I am… generous, you would be dead right now.”

Neither Brye nor Shery spoke, though the fox could feel the twinge of apprehension in her companion’s thoughts.

Uninterrupted, the Warlock continued. “The collars your owner has been selling to us are faulty, by design.” A bony finger reached out to point at the collars both maidens wore. “The very ones you wear right now.”

A shiver ran down Brye’s spine; both her tails stiffened. But she kept quiet, only sharing a concerned look with Shery. Had they fucked themselves over?

“In three months’ time, it will start to fail,” the old maiden proclaimed, silently walking towards the table that had a platter of fruit on top. “It will start as random small failures. One night you wake up realizing the bond broke. Nothing you can’t fix, but give it a week and then it starts happening every other night. Within days it just stops forming the bond at all.”

A cold knot of ice formed in Brye’s stomach, her lips thinning and her ears laying flat against her head. “You’re buying some high grade illegal shit, if you expect it to work like the normal…”

The woman laughed, picking up a pear and looking at it intently before gingerly returning it to the platter. “I accepted that argument, at first. I’ve since come to realize that was a foolish mistake on my part.”

Walking across the room, gliding in her dark silk gown, the woman looked out the window, her fingers reaching out to touch the empty space in the window’s threshold. With a flicker of power, the space turned black, almost as dark as the maiden herself. Brye flinched as all sounds from outside were abruptly cut off. The only source of light now was the dim glow of the stone above.

“I have since learned a bit regarding enchantments.” The woman turned towards them, frowning ever so slightly.

The fox flinched, grimacing as the Warlock turned towards them, approaching with silent steps, the only sound that of the wood creaking under her weight, and the air rustling in her wake. Yet not a sound came out of the maiden- not that of her heart, or her breathing, or her clothes. Brye would’ve put doubt on her own hearing if not because Shery’s heart was pounding so hard a human could have probably noticed it.

The Warlock reached out, cold bony fingers hooked on Brye’s jaw and tugged at her face to meet the milky white chalky eyes. Brye could feel the frailty of the woman’s body, old, worn, and brittle. She could outmatch her, just one punch, one scratch. It would be all it’d take to down her.

But the old maiden did not fear Brye. The Warlock knew she felt it. The immeasurable elemental energy swirling around the maiden. The moment Brye so much as tried to attack, this monster would blow her to pieces where she stood.

“Ah, I see. A threshold. That explains it.”

Next to the fox, Shery gasped.

Brye’s stomach dropped. Anger flared, and she growled. How the HELL had this woman found out!? “None of your business.”

“True, I suppose.” Brye’s jaw was released, the woman stepping back, smiling in amusement. “But aren’t you tired of being at the bottom?”

“What. Do. You. Want.” Growling, the fox’s tails lashed in anger.

“Join me,” the woman replied. “There are no maiden slaves here.”

“That is a pretty good sales pitch,” Brye spoke coldly, giving a derisive shake of her head. “Living in nature, all happy and free. Hell, if I’m lucky, I’ll be able to grow into a wrinkly old lady who gets her diapers changed by young studs.” Snorting, she rolled her eyes. “Then again, it’s likelier the Kingdom will come crashing down on this place harder than a Quartzal meteor. Then I’ll get my corpse thrown into a river, and the last thought I’d ever have would be why I agreed.”

“Oh?” Amusement crossed the woman’s face. “And what makes you think the Kingdom would be able to destroy us?”

“Besides, how few there are of you? These would also fuck you up.” Brye pointed at the collar currently on her neck. “You can’t make an army if you don’t have enough collars. You’d have to steal them. And the army would come knocking before you had the chance to go anywhere.”

The smile that spread across the Warlock’s lips almost split her head in two. Those milky eyes shone with wild joy. “You would be right… normally. Things, however, have changed.” Her finger caressed the wooden walls as she walked towards the door. “What if I told you I have found a way to awaken the slumbering Elves?”

Brye’s eyes widened; she quickly suppressed the shock. “Their curse is too strong to be broken through.”

“A week ago, I would have told you the exact same thing.” The grin didn’t quite vanish, remaining with a tone of smugness. “That the Elves that fall into the deep slumber will never awaken. That no human or magic is powerful enough to overcome their feral state.”

“I don’t get it.” Shery glanced between Brye and the Warlock; her mind was muddled with questions and doubt, too many for her to just stay quiet and observe. “What changed?”

“We discovered someone that can form bonds without needing the help of the collar.”

“Bullshit.” The response was an instantaneous one. The kingdom would’ve been in an upheaval if such a person was found.

The Warlock extended her arm, pointing a finger at them. Brye barely had the chance to react as an invisible force grasped her collar and yanked. It was a hard tug, powerful, accompanied by something sharp caressing her throat. Every instinct in her screamed. “No!”

Too late- the collar had been sliced and yanked out of her grasp.

Next to her, the exact same thing happened to Shery.

A billion thoughts crossed Brye’s mind. The bond would break within the next handful of seconds, and she would have three days before she began going feral. Locked in a room, unable to escape. No, she could not let that happen again! Her eyes focused on the Warlock, and the room warped around her. Appearing right above the frail, bony bitch, she prepared her right hand to unleash a wave of darkness at her target.

If this was going to be the end for her, better dead than feral.

The Warlock did not move, not even looking up to see Brye’s incoming attack. Had the fox caught her by surprise?

As her nails wracked against an invisible wall, mere millimeters away from the Warlock’s bone-white hair, it became clear she had not. Brye flinched, feeling herself slide downwards to the floor in front of the enemy maiden. She prepared to dodge a counterattack.

But none came.

The Warlock merely looked at her with that awful smirk, seemingly too amused to attempt to splatter her into bloody chunks.

“Brye!”

The voice came from behind the fox. She twisted to see Shery, the gray maiden’s eyes wide, and her fingers on her throat. Why hadn’t she attacked? Brye caught a flicker of thought from her companion. A singular, clear, powerful thought.

“The bond is still there.” The realization struck her like a hammer. She didn’t have her collar; the enchanted item was still firmly in the old maiden’s grasp. Yet she could still feel the presence of the bond, urging her to worry over a specific and very important human whose comforting presence was currently well out of her reach.

And in an instant, everything clicked.

“Mark.”

The Warlock’s smirk grew even more. “Exactly.”

[108] [Mark]

After almost a week trapped in that cave with the fox bitch and the gray bitch, Mark had come to expect many things out of his new host. What he didn’t think would happen was a room larger than the whole apartment he grew up in, and a bed that was proportional to a bouncy castle. With less bounce and a lot more silk. And enough pillows he could have hidden under them and likely never come out.

Understandably, the young man was keeping the hell away from the bed and expecting that just about anything was going to jump out of the shadows and drag him towards said silk-covered piece of furniture.

Mark held the small knife they’d left there to be used on the fruit with white knuckles. Little comfort in the face of inhuman monsters, but better than nothing, at least.

His eyes flickered towards the only other living being in the room. The mouse was curled up, knees pressed firmly against her chest, her head resting between her knees, and facing the wall. Noah had not moved from that spot since they’d dropped them there. As far as Mark was concerned, she was just as likely an enemy as whatever else might enter the room, but so far she’d done her best to avoid even giving hints at existing at all.

As soon as the door opened, Mark immediately shifted his concerns.

The woman that had just entered was far FAR worse than everything else he could have faced. With coal black skin that seemed to absorb light, and a presence that made the air around her buzz, the maiden had a soft smile as she stepped through, the door closing behind her.

The human couldn’t quite put it into words, but it felt as if the very air around her was threatening his very existence.

“Mark,” she greeted, with a slight bow of her head, beady, glassy white eyes piercing into him. She turned towards the only table in the room, approaching and taking the nearest chair. She gestured for the chair opposite to herself, the piece of furniture moving itself with a slight thud. “Please, join me.”

Did he have a choice? With a frown, Mark approached the table, not letting go of the knife in his pocket. Carefully he observed the maiden’s features- soft round cheeks and sharp long ears, silky white hair, and those eyes that spoke of her being far, far older than anything else about her might have suggested.

With a slight nod, she raised her hand and snapped her fingers. The door to the room opened again. And in came a woman.

A tall woman, tall enough she had to slightly crouch under the door, almost three meters tall. The only thing she carried was a silver platter with two cups. And that was the sole article on her person, for she wore not a shred of clothing either.

Mark’s eyes widened as he looked at the exotic woman. Her skin was a dark gray that had hints of purple delineating her arms and thighs in ways that hinted at the coloration being the equivalent of a tan. Her body was slim but well built, clearly an athlete, judging by the scars on her arms, a warrior. The woman’s eyes were a deep green, her statuesque features frozen into a serious expression, a single piercing on her lower pale blue lip.

The human’s eyes wandered towards the curves in the figure. There were few to be had, but her breasts were large and her hips powerful. Though the way she moved had little sexuality about it, it was as if she commanded respect by force of will alone, a commander that cared nothing at all for the lack of clothing.

“Let me present my daughter,” the old woman spoke with a slight nod. “Embla, please greet our very important guest.”

The woman nodded, gingerly placing the tray on the table before turning towards Mark. His hand gripped the knife more tightly. There was a split second as their eyes met; something flickered in those pale green irises, something he couldn’t recognize. And then she lowered herself to a knee, bowing her head. “I greet you, sir,” she said, placing both hands on the floor, and nearly pressing her forehead to the floor. The maiden’s white hair tumbled down and pooled around her naked feet, and he realized her neck was adorned by no collar. In its place was a pale band of discoloration that told him its presence having been there only until very recently.

“Please stay like that, Embla,” the other spoke, turning to Mark. “You may use her as a foothold, if you wish. You will find none here will attempt to stand above you.”

The human hesitated, seeing Embla’s powerful shoulders tense, but the tall woman did not move an inch from her half-kneeling position. His throat tightened, taking a moment to look at that pale grey skin, before he turned back to the true threat in the room. “What do you want?”

The question, somehow, amused the old woman. She chuckled lightly, as if having been reminded of some inside joke Mark wasn’t aware of. “For you to stay, willingly.”

That’s it? Mark frowned; something didn’t make sense. “Why?”

“Because you are the first pure human to walk these lands in over four hundred years.” The woman tilted her head. “And with your help, we can achieve many many things.”

A tiny squeak from the back of the room made Mark glance at Noah. The mousy maiden was looking at him with wide eyes, blinking rapidly in surprise.

“I don’t care what you want.” The human turned back to the old woman, refocusing himself.

“And I don’t see why you should.” She was nonplussed by his statement. “You get what you want, and we get what we want. Embla could very well be the first thing we give you.”

“Your own daughter.” Mark’s neck tensed, lips thinning, his brows furrowed.

“Such is the importance of our cause,” she spoke with smooth control, but with an urgent edge to it. “We do not expect your belief or loyalty, only your aid.”

He shifted further away from Embla, the scowl leveled towards the yet to be named woman that sat before him. There was a knot tensing in the back of his neck. She’d sell out family just like that? Anger started to boil within him. “And what would that imply?”

“You only need to bond some maidens, break their feral state. We would take care of the rest.”

Mark’s grip on the knife tightened. “And in exchange, you would throw away your own daughter.”

The woman with darkness for skin shifted, showing a hint of discomfort, the tingling force she exerted in the room around her faltering ever so slightly. “She does this willingly. There are no slaves here. None are forced to do something they do not wish for.”

“She speaks only truth,” Embla spoke up, head still lowered. “For the sake of my sister’s freedom, I would gladly give my own.”

Mark snarled, jaw clenching shut. “I’m not interested in helping.”

A deathly silence followed, and the nervousness and apprehension from the dark woman vanished. “… I suggest you reconsider,” she stated with a forced calmness.

“I won’t change my mind.”

“I see.” Her own brows lowered slightly, her expression reflecting Mark’s own for only a moment. “I would have preferred to do this peacefully. Embla? Be gentle.”

The woman stood so fast, Mark barely had the time to pull out the knife. He aimed to cut her hand to get some distance. And the end result was that the knife bounced off of her flesh as if it were hardened leather, her palm wrapped around both the knife and his palm. Her naked form moved with an unerring slowness, twisting Mark’s armed hand behind his back, the other moving to pin his head against the table. The force her hands exerted onto his body was inexorable, unstoppable, and impossible to resist.

“I fucking knew you bitches were too good to be true,” Mark snarled, slamming his free hand against the table, a gesture both Embla and the black woman cared little for.

“Such is life, sometimes.” The older woman swiped at the table, knocking over the wooden platters occupying it. She reached with her thumb and bit it, drawing crimson blood. “Do you know what the true requirements to form a bond are, Mark?” With the red-stained finger, she began drawing a circle on the wooden surface. “One side must feel a distinct and clear emotion for the other, and the other has to accept it. This does not care for the direction of the emotions.” A slight pause. “Your anger for the fox and her acceptance of that hatred are what forms your bond to her. Quite a twisted little thing if I do say so myself.” The circle began to glow as the woman continued drawing upon it. “Humans are very easy to influence in that regard. I’m sure Embla will be more than happy to accept your feelings.”

With the increasing glow, Mark could feel a tingling that was seeping into his body, a familiar heat that was suffusing into his body like warm oil. He knew where this was going and wasn’t about to lie down and take it.

“Fuck you.”

He snarled, moving his free hand from attempting to remove the massive woman’s grasp on his head towards the glowing blood. The gesture was fast, a simple smear- and, apparently, it had not been expected from either side, because there was a brief moment of panic in the dark woman’s eyes.

Then there was a glow from the spot right above the glowing circle, a light that exploded outwards.

And Mark felt his whole body shudder. The heat had turned into an inferno that made everything into an unfocused blur. Dimly, he realized he’d been let go, tumbling backwards and to the floor.

Embla’s scream made him shake his head, fighting to clear his thoughts. The woman had whipped around, hand lashing at a gray blur as blood oozed out of a puncture on her bicep.

It took Mark a moment to find the strength in his legs, standing up and leaning against the wall. Between him and a scowling Embla was Noah. The diminutive mouse’s lower jaw was stained with blood. In front of both of them, Embla stood, flustered, breathing hard. Her bicep stopped bleeding within the next second, the wound slowly vanishing before their very eyes, the blood drying and flaking off.

Mark expected her to be angry, but there was only barely frustration.

But neither Embla nor Noah were really Mark’s concern. The back of his mind screamed for him to run, and it was purely and exclusively due to the singular entity that was still on the floor.

The black-skinned woman had been sprawled, her feeble thin body a tangle of long limbs. She was prone and fighting to stand; the very air around her crackled and twisted as power was accumulating quickly. And everything inside Mark told him he did not want to find out what was about to happen.

It all came to a sudden halt when there was an urgent knock at the door.

Everyone froze, turning to look at the lonely figure that peeked into the room. The intruding maiden grew pale as several sets of eyes glared her way.

“My Ladyship?”

“This is not the time,” the dark woman replied, standing up, her hands glowing with power.

“Our scouts have spotted a feral rush coming our way.” The woman coughed. “I… we deemed it best to inform you about it since the magical defenses...”

And just like that, the floating swirling energies were gone.

“I will handle it.” She looked over her shoulder. “Embla, gather your forces.” A pause as she turned to focus on Mark, milky white eyes flickering with power. “The human can wait until after we’ve dealt with this… inconvenience.”

There were no more words, no more comments or gestures. The tall, athletic woman just turned to leave without a second glance.

The door closed, and Mark felt his legs give out.

“We need to get out of here.”

“Yeah,” Noah agreed, shoulder slumping as she looked over her shoulder at him and sighed. “Or die trying.”

[109] [Brye]

Brye took a choking breath, air driven out of her lungs as the fingers squeezed around her throat with ever increasing strength.

“A fucking threshold!” Shery’s voice roared, tightening her vice-like grip. “I should’ve known a freak like you would turn against the Boss.”

The fox gasped, the whole of her focus centered on pouring as much elemental energy as she could to keep her throat from collapsing under the grip, her hands scratching at Shery’s hardened grey skin. A fruitless gesture considering how much more physically stronger Shery was.

Gasping, the Nogitsune felt her focus waver.

The fingers dug further into her throat, her windpipe now a fraction of the size it should be. Brye wheezed, claws faltering; her thoughts were growing muddled as the oxygen deprivation was slowly starting to get to her.

“DIE!” the gray maiden roared, lifting her by the neck and slamming her head first against the floor.

Everything spun, and her focus shattered. The power she was using to protect herself vanished, and Shery’s grip squeezed tight without missing a beat. Brye’s eyes teared up, barely able to see the world around her spinning and blurring, her lungs burning. There was a thudding noise.

And suddenly, release.

Brye coughed, air rushing in with deep gasps. The maiden lay flat on her chest, trying to recover her bearings through a coughing fit. The world was spinning, but it was quickly coming back to focus.

A soft hand touched her shoulder. “Are you alright?”

Brye’s eyes flickered over her shoulder. A soldier, leather vest and helmet, dark skin, pointy ears. From the Dark Elf genus, without a doubt. “Peachy,” she croaked. “Shery?”

The soldier turned away from the fox to point at the gray-skinned companion. Her last mistake- the fox had reached out and grasped at the blade on the soldier’s hip. Drawing it out, Brye didn’t miss a beat and coated the blade with her powers right as she thrust it through the guard’s throat. The Dark Elf didn’t have a chance to realize what had happened until it was too late.

The scent of blood filled the air. Brye yanked the short blade out before her victim could even get a chance of fighting back. The Nogitsune rushed towards the door. “Help!” Her half-choked scream came with a swirl of the world around her, the room shifting as her new position placed her right at the side of the door.

The second guard stepped in, blade drawn, ready for combat. Her eyes widened at the sight of her companion bleeding out on the floor. That was as far as her shock went; a single swing from behind her was all Brye needed to sever the woman’s head from her shoulders.

“You learn that fancy sword shit in some expensive school?” A grim chuckle broke the moment of silence. Shery lay face down against the floor, looking at Brye with a smirk. “A little help?”

“I like you better when you’re on your knees.” Rolling her eyes, Brye ignored her companion, peering out the door and checking whether they had to worry about others or not.

“Get your head out of your cunt. Will you help me out or not?”

“Waste of energy. They used a small curse, it should wear off any second now.”

Confirming, the guards held the keys to the room. The fox silently closed the door, moving to strip the decapitated guard. “Get the other’s armor and put it on, I doubt we have much time.” It would be a bit of a tight fit for them both, but better than nothing.

With a grunt, Shery began to move, slowly at first, her strength returning to her bit by bit. Brye could sense the hundreds of little questions the maiden had and wasn’t speaking, and it aggravated her. She knew the damn maiden would wait until they were someplace safer before she threw the sharpest ones her way.

“Do you think your illusions will help here?”

“No, it’s why you should put on that shit and pretend we’re part of this whole mess,” Brye huffed, turning around and presenting her back at her. “Help me strap this crap.”

“Your armor’s bloody.” Shery hadn’t missed a beat, fingers deftly tying the hardened leather.

“If they ask, we killed some ferals.”

A pause and a shift in thoughts. “We use the ferals to make it out?”

“Need Mark.”

And just like that the silence went from controlled to out of control. Shery growled. “Your bond’s speaking, we try to rescue him and we’re dead.”

Brye snorted, rolling her eyes. “I can read your thoughts. Half of them are pushing you to run out there and start looking for him.”

“I’m stronger than my bond.” A shove, pinning Brye against the wall. They stared into each other’s eyes. “Are you?”

The fact that Shery was asking was insulting. “You heard the Warlock, they plan to use Mark to wake up Elves,” Brye replied. “If that works, they’ll get a damn army, with no breaks because they don’t need the stupid collars.”

“Since when do we care about that shit? We’re crooks, not heroes.”

The image of the Warlock pinning her down made her hackles rise, and anger sloshed through her like magma.

“You don’t get it.” Brye shoved back, stepping forward and pointing a finger at her. “We fucked up. We lost the cargo, and we left a human worth a thousand times his weight in elemental stones in the hands of a hag looking to start a second civil war. Wanna bet what the Boss would do to us?” Her snarl was clear, threatening. “He’d send us right back here with orders to get Mark out, or kill him.”

Shery’s thoughts snapped towards the mental image of her hands wrapped around Mark’s throat and snapping his neck. The revulsion and fear that came from the bond made the maiden’s skin crawl. “Shit.” That had been the nudge the strongwoman needed to agree.

Brye nodded. “This is our best chance to get him out of here.”

“Shit.” A grimace. “Do you have a plan?”

“Pretend we’re soldiers, track Mark’s scent, hope the Warlock’s not with him.”

“We’re not Dark Elves.”

“I picked up on no less than five different genuses out there.” Not missing a beat, she turned to open the door. “Just move fast and they won’t have the time to notice. Pretend you’re someone who’s in deep shit.”

“Not going to be hard.”

With a shared nod, they exited the room, Brye taking a second to smear the blade’s bloody edge against the carpet before sheathing it. They immediately stepped into the empty corridor and began to move. Not running, but a brisk enough pace to pretend they weren’t about to stop if someone called out to them.

Brye’s nose picked up on a familiar smell right away. “Over here.”

The building was not terribly complex, four behemoth trees that had been connected by a singular wooden structure grown out of the massive trunks. The whole thing likely had several floors, and if Brye had to guess by how polished and well-carpeted it was, this was supposed to be a small palace or fortress in some way. At the very least, it had been at some point in time.

The consideration of Wildlings having built such a thing was worrying to a certain degree. Why would they waste this much effort into such a thing? A part of Brye reminded her of the old Elven courts; the south of the Kingdom had been littered with them. Had these Wildlings taken over the ruins and claimed themselves the new owners?

No, that was not something to focus on right now.

“This way.”

Her ears picked up on rushed footsteps, and Brye stopped Shery for the split second necessary to see another Dark Elf running by. The maiden stank of fear, and judging by the look on her eyes, she had a lot worrying her.

“Ferals?”

“Didn’t risk reading her,” Brye replied. “But that’d be a good bet.” Her head snapped to the side. “Scent’s this…” Pausing, Brye’s eyes widened, a soft gasp escaping her lips.

“I know that look.”

“I smell his blood.”

Their feet had started moving before either of them could process the thought, and a sense of urgency and fear lurched out, gripping both of them with such a clear hold that it was impossible for it to be anything other than the bond kicking in very loudly. Brye’s fingers brushed against her throat as she ran- no collar, yet the presence of the influence upon her thoughts was clear in her mind.

Even aware that the bond was urging her forward, she couldn’t truly fight against it. Mark had been hurt, might be in danger. Every instinct in her body urged her to move faster.

As they ran past one of the many windows, her focus was momentarily distracted when she spotted something in the courtyard that refused to be ignored.

The Warlock stood in the center of a large glowing circle. The air around the old maiden pulsated with magic, the very air wavering as the ground beneath her pulsated with power. Slowly, the lines in the circle were stretching inwards, runes Brye had never seen before forming and interconnecting with one another, the complexity of the patterns growing exponentially.

“What is-”

“Just run.”

Brye grit her teeth. A ritual, and a big one at that.

Whatever it was meant to do, they most certainly did not want to be around when it was completed.

[110] [Mark]

Mark grunted, squeezing his grip tighter. “Stop fucking struggling.”

“Fuck you, fuck you fuck-!”

Noah’s words came to an abrupt end with a shrill sound, as she bit down on the piece of wood and snapped it in two, her teeth gnawing through it as she wriggled and fruitlessly struggled against the human’s grasp.

He was keenly aware that despite her being a pint-sized waif of a woman, the Mousegirl was still stronger than him. He made sure to keep himself very focused on where those hands were clutching at, marginally satisfied that she was grasping the bedsheets with white-knuckled intensity. She’d scratched him up once already.

Panting, Noah collapsed, and he finally let go of her ears.

Pushing back the flush, the human watched his handiwork and nodded. He leaned forward, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Now strip.”

Noah didn’t appear to have the strength to refuse, a quiet growl turned whimper escaping her petite mouth as her hands moved to remove her clothes, exposing her pale skin. “The… water.”

“You sure this will work?” His voice was barely a whisper, handing over the water basin.

“Shut up,” Noah growled, face extremely flushed as she plunged her hands into the water. They were still trembling, and she was grimacing as she scowled deeply. Slowly, she rubbed the water across her skin.

Mark felt his feet rooted in place for a fraction of a second, unable to look away. Her body may have lacked curves but made up for it by an almost athletic tightness, a pleasant fragility to her small breasts and round ass. Her hands moved to coat herself in a watery sheen that reflected the light on her skin, keeping her movements efficient and brief. Noah made sure to be liberal in her work however, adding some extra water onto the sheets below.

The resulting effect was successful, she looked like she’d just finished two consecutive marathons. Noah’s roaming drenched hands and flushed face froze as she noticed Mark’s eyes on her. She instantly went very still, unmoving, breath hitched. There were faint traces of fear in those eyes.

Mark realized what he’d been doing and turned around with a grunt, ignoring the sigh of relief Noah failed to hide. “Shirt.” Noah’s voice came as barely a whisper.

The human nodded, taking off his shirt, turning around to look at the Mousegirl as she lay face down on the bed, and then looking away and lying very still on the sheets she’d thrown the water on.

Right, he had his own job to do. The human took the basin, putting it back on the table before wetting his hands and using it to cool down his red hair, face, chest- and then, he stepped towards the door. He didn’t trust this would work; it was too insane, but it wasn’t like there was much of an alternative here.

Knocking on the door thrice, he waited.

It opened, revealing two guards.

The one at the door wore a leather armor, hand on the pommel of her sword and eyes wary. The one behind her had her sword drawn and looked warier still. Both of them looked just about ready to fight, but Mark could pick out the light blush on their cheeks, the hesitant way they looked at his exposed chest and then back up to his face.

“What do you want?” The one who’d opened the door asked, steeling her voice quickly.

“The rat was a boring lay.” Mark grunted and pointed over his shoulder at Noah as she stayed on the bed. “I’m not exactly satisfied, either of you want some?” His cheeks flushed somewhat, and the fact he was already sporting an erection from what had transpired with Noah wasn’t helping with his confidence any.

His mind was screaming out how stupid this was, how impossible it’d be.

“Erm…” They shared a look, hesitating.

He might as well go all in. “I won’t tell the Warlock.” He remembered Noah’s words and put up a smirk. “Unless you’ve already got someone that scratches your itch?”

Another long look was shared amongst them, and Mark almost held his breath, face frozen as he did not trust himself to falter. Was this actually working? The nearest guard gave a nod; it was mirrored by the other.

She stepped through. “Let’s make this quick,” she said, closing the door behind her and following as Mark took a hesitant step back.

“Aren’t you bonded though?” As soon as the words left his lips, he cursed them- he’d been staring at the black collar around her throat, and the thought had come unbidden.

“Are we here to fuck or to talk?” The maiden only hesitated once her hands had moved towards her belt to remove her sword.

With a sigh, she pulled out her sword and the pouch next to it. She turned around, opened the door, and tossed them at her companion with little fanfare. Mark cursed inwardly at this gesture, but did his best not to show it outwardly; this made a lot more sense than everything else that was going down.

The woman didn’t hesitate to reach out his shirt and yank him closer. “I’m going to be on top.”

“That’ll bruise.” Mark replied without missing a beat, ignoring the anger swelling inside of him, his own hands shoving her back. “You don’t want mommy Warlock to find out. Right?”

“Bruises can be hidden.”

“And I’d rather not risk it, she was pissed last I saw her,” he growled in return, leaning in and touching her hip appreciatively.

The tanned woman huffed, but nodded. Her eyes moved towards the massive bed. Without much wait or hesitation, she grabbed his shirt again. “This better be good,” she said, pulling him towards the opposite side of where Noah lay. Her fingers worked on her belt and undid them, pulling her pants off with little hesitation, exposing toned legs.

The maiden hadn’t hesitated in removing her undergarments as well, and her dark chocolate skin made the tuft of white above her pussy all the more apparent. “Not going to remove your shirt?” Mark prompted.

“You still have your pants on.”

The human complied, focusing his thoughts on her shapely ass, feeling himself strain against his trousers as he pulled down his last shreds of clothing. Freed, his erection bobbed in the air, and the dark-skinned maiden whistled appreciatively, propping herself up with her elbows as she lay on the bed, one hand moving down to caress her thighs. “You must want it bad, huh.”

Mark didn’t so much confirm but stepped closer, making sure not to look in Noah’s direction. The mouse had yet to move, what was she waiting for?

“Shirt,” he said.

“Sure, sure.” The maiden shrugged, flicking her light blue hair backwards, hands moving down to the leather straps to her armor.

Her feet hooked around Mark’s hips, tugging him closer as she pulled off her remaining clothes with little fanfare. Her stomach was toned, barely any fat in it, and her breasts were modest but small, with nipples that were black caps to the soft mounds.

Tossing the clothes aside, she smirked, pulling him closer and pressing her crotch against his erection. “Do you want it? You’re so fucking hard you want this tight pussy wrapped up around you and squeezing every drop out of you?”

The human grunted, leaning down, reaching for her breasts and pinching at them. She wriggled, smirking, one hand reaching down to caress her folds, and the others wrapping around his erection. “Such a slut, you can’t help yourself, right?”

The image of Brye flashed across his eyes. “Shut up,” he growled, thrusting slightly against her grip, feeling her tense and shudder.

“Fine, fine.” With a roll of her eyes, she closed her eyes and leaned back into the bed. “Just keep doing that.” She pushed her chest into his palms as Mark kept pawing at them, her body wriggling as her own hips started to hump against him, her fingers knuckle deep in her pussy.

A slight pause, a shudder. “I’m ready,” she said, using her hands to reorient Mark, to shift him so his erection would point at her entrance.

“Who’s the slut now?” He said with a smirk.

“Shut up,” she replied in a deadpan, stretching and relaxing, moaning lightly as the human slowly entered her. Mark grunted, shuddering at the sensation of her tight heat all around him, and the sound prompted the Dark Elf to smirk, eyes closed and luxuriating in the sensation. “Someone likes my tight pussy.”

The human tensed, clenching his teeth and freezing as he noticed the ever imperceptible shift in the bed. His eyes flickered towards Noah. The mouse was lying on her belly, intensely looking at him with steely gray eyes.

Slowly, the mouse put a finger against her lips, and Mark nodded, pulling back and thrusting into the Dark Elf again. She moaned. “Oh fuck I’ve missed this.”

“Human slaves here not up much for some fun?”

“Fucking… not for grunts, geldings, I-” A choke, and she tightened her jaw shut and shivered. “Stop teasing so much and fuck me already!”

“Not yet.”

Noah’s whispered voice startled the Dark Elf, doubly so when the mouse leaned forward to kiss the maiden’s neck, her fingers moving to stroke the long dark ears.

“Oh shit!” The guard whimpered, her cunt tightening around Mark and driving him to thrust deeper into her, working himself into a fast pace. “That’s the spot, that’s the…” Grunting, she thrust herself, grinding the hood of her sex against Mark’s groin, meeting him thrust for thrust.

The mouse’s fingers stroked the maiden’s throat, shifting and moving around the collar. Then, one hand moved down to the Dark Elf’s nipple right as she leaned forward to kiss the guard’s neck again. She moved so fast Mark barely noticed it. A bite, clean through the collar, a yank, pulling it out of the Dark Elf’s throat. And her hands went back around the neck immediately after.

“Harder!” It was as if she hadn’t even noticed; her whole body shuddered, fingers digging into Mark’s shoulders as her legs tightened around his hips. She was pulling him in deeper as their bodies sang together.

The human obliged, roughly grasping at her body, pulling her closer against him as her wet tight folds held him snuggly. The human leaned down, breathing hard. “I’m close.”

The only response she gave was a quick nod, biting her lower lip, face flushed and breath short, moans escaping her with every other gasp.

With a sensation of roaring fire, the orgasm rippled through Mark, a sensation of heat that ran through his whole body as he emptied himself into her core, unable to pull out even if he’d wanted to. His eyes widened as he realized there was something else in that sensation.

“That was…”

“You’re bonded to him now,” Noah spoke in a whisper, her words a bucket of ice. The mouse moved her hands to cover the Dark Elf’s throat, tightening.

She widened her eyes, freezing; her breath hitched, unable to escape.

“Don’t move.” The mouse pressed her sharp fingers into the maiden’s jugular. “Raise an alarm and your friend will come over and hurt Mark. He could get hurt, maybe even killed. Do you want that?”

A jostle ran through the maiden, her panicked gaze meeting Mark’s- hesitation. Her eyes widened in terror as the realization made itself apparent. She gave a deep shuddering breath as she shook her head.

“Nod if you will keep shut.”

For half a second the Dark Elf kept looking at the human, then at the mouse; anger, regret, and many other feelings crossed her face. Her eyes bounced between Mark and Noah, a new emotion emerging on her face each time her gaze met Mark’s own. Ever so slowly, she nodded.

“Good.” Noah pulled her hand away from her target’s lower lips.

“This shouldn’t be possible,” the Dark Elf spoke under her breath.

“It is,” the mouse spoke with a look that was a mix between reluctance and mirth. “Boy wonder is pureblood.”

With a shake of her head, the Dark Elf glared at the mouse. “I will never betray my people.” The guard hissed under her breath, hands clenching tightly.

“I could order you to fight for me,” the human growled a threat.

“Don’t be stupid,” Noah hissed, watching the Dark Elf’s eyes narrow and returning her fingers to the maiden’s throat. The mouse ignored the maiden, keeping her gaze firmly on Mark. “What part of anything you’ve been doing to her makes you think she’d obey?”

“The bond?”

“Get it through your thick skull, bond’s not an all-purpose tool.” She squeezed, and the guard tensed, growing pale as the mouse’s nails dug slightly into her skin. “Besides, take a wild fucking guess what she was feeling when you bonded her.”

Despite herself, the Dark Elf blushed, looking away, even as her hips slowly humped against the human.

“Shit.” He sighed, slapping her legs off and stepping back. “This’ll complicate shit.”

“No, it won't,” the mouse hissed, letting the pressure subside and letting the Dark Elf breathe in without strain. She looked down at the naked woman and growled. Coming from the pint-sized woman, it would’ve almost a cute squeak if not for the murderous edge to her eyes. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” she stated coldly. “Hard way? We rush out, your friend attacks Mark, and you’ll be pushed to protect him.”

The Dark Elf’s lips pursed, hesitating but not denying it, her knuckles white as she seethed, clenching the bedsheets. A snarl played in her lips as she kept her focus on the mouse. “And the easy way?”

Mark and Noah shared a smirk.

[111] [Mark]

Mark looked at the Dark Elf as she grit her teeth; her eyes burned with loathing, but he ignored it, focusing instead on the door. His hand reached out to knock twice, and the bonded Dark Elf spoke. “Open up.”

“Done already?”

The fellow guard chuckled as she pulled the door open. “My turn yet?”

“Sure.”

The maiden stepped inside, a wide grin on her lips as she focused on the lump that lay under the bedsheets. “Wait, did you tucker him o-…?”

Mark stepped out of the room, Noah hot on his heels. Both of them saw the sword and keys waiting for their owner. Meanwhile, the armed guard heard them, spinning around with a frown, clearly confused by what was going on. Her lips parted as she attempted to speak, likely to trigger the spell that might paralyze them.

The attempt was thwarted when her companion tackled her from behind, knocking her to the floor. “I’m sorry,” the half-naked Dark Elf muttered, her eyes burning red-hot coals on the two escapees.

Before the guard could disentangle herself from her companion, Mark had closed the door, and Noah locked it, snapping the key to make sure it couldn’t be pulled out easily.

A heavy thud followed, and human and mouse glanced at the heavy door, waiting.

Mark sighed.

“Alarm’s going to be raised,” Noah pointed out, grabbing the sword and swinging it. The thing was almost half her height.

“We start running.” The human nodded, looking at the petite woman with some wariness. “Think we can trust the bitch’s directions on how to get out?”

“I’ve been here before.” She nodded, moving ahead and taking point. Her tail was stiff, her ears perked, and the maiden’s hand had a slight shake to it as she held the blade at the ready. “I doubt she’d want you around, probably going to be very happy once her bond snaps.” Stopping dead on her tracks, she took a good long sniff, tilting her head down to one of the corridors. “Blood.”

“Then not that way.”

They turned in the opposite direction, their rush down the wooden corridor coming to an abrupt end when Noah froze on her tracks. Her eyes widened, spinning on her heels and reaching out to grab Mark’s hand, yanking him exactly in the opposite direction they’d been running. “What the-”

“RUN!” She spoke with a shrill proclamation of terror.

Mark looked over his shoulder just in time to see a familiar face stepping into view. Broad muscular shoulders, long white hair, three meters tall. Except this time she was fully armored with metal plates and a wicked looking axe that should have been far too large for her to be able to even carry.

The daughter of the Warlock stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes met Mark’s right as they took the corner.

“ALARM!”

Her roar bounced off the walls; the human had lost sight of her but he sure as fuck was not going to stick around and find out how long it took her to catch up. The instant they’d taken the turn down the corridor, his eyes locked onto the nearest window.

A part of him wondered how far up they were.

The other saw Noah jumping through the hole devoid of glass and followed through without waiting to confirm. And as soon as he was airborne, he realized the drop was at least four meters’ worth.

“DO NOT KILL THE MALE!”

The voice boomed far FAR closer to them than what he thought it should have been. Not that Mark was paying attention, plunging his way down to the ground and doing his level best to roll to disperse some of his inertia.

Both his ankles screamed upon impact, but it had not been enough to cause actual harm… or at least not enough harm his adrenaline-addled brain couldn’t ignore. He wobbled a step, finding his hand being yanked by Noah as she rushed him down the inner yard towards the only door that could get them out of there, rushing through the handful of trees that adorned the otherwise empty space.

Both spotted the stunned looks from several maidens that appeared entirely shocked at their presence there.

The wooden door swung open right as Mark’s ears prickled at the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. He looked over his shoulder- a mistake, as the tall woman had opted to follow their tracks. Noah didn’t wait for the human to process the sight, instead slamming the door shut as soon as she’d pulled him through.

Her eyes were dead ahead, yanking him forward.

One of the doors they’d been about to cross through snapped open, and a pair of grey hands snatched Mark, pulling him in. Noah was dragged along by just how little she weighed. The door did not even close; as soon as they’d been yanked through, a hand moved to cover Mark’s mouth, and the air on the frame of the door shimmered.

Two seconds later, the sound of splintering wood followed, and the Warlock’s daughter rushed past their room as if there were no open door at all.

“Shhh, little pet.” A familiar voice whispered in Mark’s ear; he turned to glance at Brye, smiling smugly at him, both tails whipping back and forth in a slow wag. “Don’t want the big bad lady finding us, right?”

“Illusions,” Noah spat. “At least you’re useful for once.”

The amusement in the fox’s face died as she turned to stare at the mouse coldly.

“If either of you wants to die, you’re more than welcome to step outside and fight,” Shery hissed, letting go of Mark and letting him breathe normally. “Everyone else is welcome to figure how the fuck we get out of here before they start sniffing us out.” She paused for a moment, looking at Mark. “And how did you escape?”

“He fucked the guard.” Noah and Brye stated at the same time, glaring as they shared a barbed look with each other.

“I’m surrounded by horny idiots.” Shery’s brow dropped, unamused.

A crashing sound outside startled them into silence. Someone’s voice carried through, a scream that came to a very abrupt end. “What the fuck!?”

“Ferals,” the fox declared, leaning towards the door. “Fuck, that must be what the ritual’s for.”

“What?”

“Warlock’s doing something nasty big,” the fox said. “It’s probably to kick the ferals off before they can cause more damage.”

“If it works, they’ll be able to focus on us.”

“And we’ll be fucked.” The nods were shared.

“So our only option is to run… through a feral rush.” Shery took a long deep breath, rubbing her temples. “Just fantastic. Next you’ll say we have to wrestle an Ursine with our hands tied behind our backs. Can we actually even make a run for it?”

“We can.”

Noah’s words drew the other’s attention.

“I’m calling bullshit.”

“There’s a river not too far from here.” The mouse kept glancing out the door. “The rush can’t be hitting both sides at the same time. We just need to cross it to get away from them. The Court won’t be able to pursue past the river either.”

Shery frowned, lips pursing as her brows furrowed. “Are there any bridges?”

Mark glanced at her in confusion.

“Her genus can’t swim, they’re too dense. They sink like rocks.” Brye rolled her eyes, patting Shery’s shoulders. “I can make a jump with you, but you’ll have to carry me the rest of the way.”

The gray-skinned maiden nodded and relaxed her shoulders ever so slightly.

And for the barest instant, Noah’s lips had twitched upwards.

[112] [Barry]

“I smell blood.”

Barry spoke as his pseudo-steed, Kajou, kept moving across the forest with seemingly not much complication. It had been for only an instant, a whiff of the scent that had flashed so quickly he’d nearly thought he’d imagined it.

“That’s not good,” Kajou replied with a scowl, her feet hammering against the dirt as she accelerated a bit further. “Any clue where it’s coming from?”

The human could only shake his head. It was one of the things Kajou had told him to look out for, as it could be the signal that the ferals could very well start a frenzy at any moment.

Considering said ferals were currently visible and moving through the forest in the same direction they were, that was a very bad prospect. Barry’s shoulders were locked high and tense each time he’d spot a figure running through the trees. For now, all the ferals he’d spotted were more than content enough to keep away from them, however.

“Kajou!” The voice came from above. Barry turned upwards and flinched, seeing Pan flying above with her glowing sword. “Sharp left, Court is three hundred meters ahead! Circle around, they’ve set up a barricade!”

“That explains the blood,” Kajou whispered, tightening her grip on Barry’s legs as her body switched directions almost on a dime. The human would’ve fallen over if not for his death-grip on her shoulders.

As soon as she’d changed directions, they came upon a dozen feral maidens. All sported feline body parts such as fur, tails, and claws. And all of them reacted to Kajou’s sudden appearance, scattering before turning towards her. Barry felt goosebumps crawling up his skin as he realized they were about to pounce.

“SCRAM!”

Pan’s voice exploded, the maiden diving from above and letting loose an explosion of light that took the larger of the felines square in the chest. It wasn’t lethal, but it knocked the feral over. More importantly, it bought Kajou time to rush past before they could opt to target her again.

“I’ll clear the way!” Pan proclaimed, beating her wings, speeding up and flying ahead of them.

“She’s not even complaining about you.” Kajou grinned slightly.

“How can you be so calm!?” Barry replied, eyes darting around as he desperately tried to spot potential new threats.

Kajou’s only answer was laughter, her footfalls thudding down and her speed making the wind whip around them while she navigated her way through the trees. The sound of Pan’s “work” could be heard, the winged maiden making sure to make loud booming attacks to scare off the ferals that might stumble onto them. It was effective, as it allowed them to move quickly with little interruptions.

That is until they heard Pan shout out. “We’re from the Coven! We come to help!”

A moment after such proclamation, it became clear to whom she was talking to. It was a group of four maidens, all clothed, wearing leather armor and equipped with swords. Barry’s mind instantly tagged them as Dark Elves. It was hard not to consider them as such. Their skin was a deep tan, and their ears were sharp and long.

And just like Pan and Kajou, they wore collars.

The trio took one good look at Kajou, tense with their blades drawn. Their eyes locked on Barry.

“He’s our prisoner,” Pan stated.

“Then hand him over. We’ll put him in a cell,” the apparent leader of the trio proclaimed, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Gladly. Kajou?”

The Amazon hesitated. “You mustn't harm him, he’s an otherworlder.”

“We won’t do anything if he behaves.” The Dark Elf’s eyes widened slightly, focusing on the young man before making a sharp gesture with her head towards somewhere behind her. “Your Valkyrie will stay here to assist in the fight. Follow Ella.”

This time it was Pan’s turn to hesitate, glancing at the Amazon. “Drop him off and come back.”

There was only a nod. The shortest of the three Dark Elves broke off from the trio, gesturing for Kajou to follow further into what Barry assumed was the Court’s territory. “How bad is the situation?”

The Dark Elf grimaced. “We’re already cutting down the first stragglers.”

Kajou tensed as she heard this. “The blood is going to cause the whole rush to frenzy.”

“It doesn’t matter,” the soldier replied, shaking her head. “So long as we can buy enough time for Lady Dagmar to finish her ritual, the rush will be of no concern to us.” She paused for a second, glancing at Kajou’s frown. “She’s a Warlock.”

That certainly got a reaction out of the Amazon, eyes wide. “Wasn’t the leader of the Court Embla the Dark Lady?”

“Lady Dagmar is Lady Embla’s mother.”

They had to alter their course as a slanted wall of wood and vines obstructed their way, forcing them to twist slightly further to the right. Barry noticed there was no one near or around the piece of wood that’d been strapped between two trees, but he did notice that there were more of these walls scattered all over the place. Yet each one appeared to be pointed in the same general direction.

He would’ve thought they were meant to be there to block the ferals’ path, but the wooden wall was not continuous, nor were all the walls aligned. It was as if someone had just tossed a handful of them to be randomly spread around the place while making sure they were all ran along one another. Like a maze that was missing half its walls.

“What’s this for?”

“To try to alter the rush’s direction,” Kajou replied without missing a beat, following their guide zig-zagging through the forest. “There are probably dozens of these all over the place.”

“We didn’t have much time to prepare,” the guard chipped in, her voice slightly strained. “This also was a very bad time for a rush. Many of our soldiers were sent to scour the forest.”

“Why?”

The only response was a scowl and a shake of her head, the Dark Elf keeping her hand tightly on the sword she wielded. It looked clear that though the soldier was allowing their presence there, she was not trusting them. Barry could only frown. For a group that was smack in the middle of the woods, he got the distinct impression they looked oddly disciplined.

The maze of parallel walls came to an end rather quickly, followed by thinner trees that were rather scattered. The range of visibility grew, and with it Barry could make out a pillar of thorns. Only ten meters tall, the mass of green was only three meters across. Each thorn was at least half a meter long and pointed in every direction. There were five such odd columns, placed approximately a dozen meters from each other.

Their guard led them through the pillars, making sure to keep a healthy distance from the pillars.

“Who goes there?”

The voice startled Barry. He couldn’t see anyone. The source felt scattered from all around.

“An Amazon from the coven and a human prisoner. Allegedly an otherworlder,” the guard piped up, not slowing down. “There’s a Valkyrie near the front giving assistance.”

“Confirmed. Move quickly, the wave’s about to hit.”

The human wondered if they had some way to communicate with the others.

“I will be in need of a weapon if I’m to assist,” Kajou spoke out. “I can handle myself with my fists, but…”

“Amazon, I know.” The guard nodded. “We’ll see what orders we get once we have put the human into one of the holding cells.”

Barry could only grimace at those words, shuddering. The thought of being put into some room and locked up wasn’t exactly appealing, but it was certainly an improvement over having to twitch every time he heard Pan move. His eyes lingered on the back of Kajou’s head as he tried to organize his thoughts.

“Stare any harder and you’re going to bore a hole through my skull,” the Amazon declared with a slight laugh.

“Why am I a prisoner?”

“Because we need to put a wall between Pan and you, and I don’t trust you’ll just start running the instant you’re out of our sight.” A slight sigh followed. “We need to sit down and talk, without the threat of violence lingering over your head,” she added, slowing down as they approached a wall of vines, frowning slightly. “A real talk.”

Her words fell silent as she saw the wall part as if on its own, creating a small tunnel for them to walk through. The moment they stepped out the other side, Kajou’s eyes fixed on two new figures, their skin pale and their hair a deep green.

“Elves? There are wild Elves in the Court!?”

“Very few,” the guard replied, gesturing at Kajou to put Barry down.

“What’s the difference between an Elf and a Dark Elf?” Barry frowned slightly.

That question appeared to bring a scowl out of the two pale figures, their emerald gazes locking onto the human and causing him to shudder.

“Please forgive him, he’s an otherworlder and knows not of our ways,” Kajou quickly spoke, bowing her head rather low.

That only made the two elves look at him in closer scrutiny. Barry felt pinned on the spot by those deep green eyes. The two green-haired maidens almost seemed to be looking through him.

The moment was interrupted by the sound of a loud horn, an alarm of some sort. One long and three short, they forced every head to snap in the direction straight ahead, through the trees.

“What was that?”

“A prisoner’s escaped.” One of the Elves frowned.

No sooner had she spoken, a second louder horn blew from the opposite direction, straight from the direction they’d come from. No interruptions, no pause, twenty full seconds of a singular shrill toot.

Barry didn’t need an interpreter for that one.

The ferals were here.

[113] [Barry]

Barry felt himself freeze up at the thought that the alarm for the ferals would sound now. Kajou had mentioned they were barely at the tip of the feral rush and had been keeping ahead of the main body. And yet Barry had still seen at least a hundred ferals scattered about, running in a clear attempt to stray away from danger.

So now that he knew the main part of the rush was coming, he could only feel dread in the pit of his stomach.

“Move!” The proclamation came from Kajou. Her face turned to the Elves. “Prison. Where?”

No sooner had she spoken than two vines erupted from the ground, wrapping around Kajou’s ankles. The Amazon froze, looking at the two elves with a scowl. “We can’t leave him here, he’ll die.”

“You’re not vetted, we can’t let you move freely.”

“Then lead me to the prison cell so I can leave him there!”

“We can’t leave the wall unattended.”

A shrill scream echoed through the forest.

“I can help!” Kajou’s voice said. “But Barry needs to be put someplace safe!”

The taller of the two Elves grit her teeth, turning to the shorter one and sharing a nod. The shorter one quickly pulled out the blade from her sheathe and tossed it at Kajou. The Amazon didn’t hesitate, cutting down the vines and letting go of Barry.

“Follow me, quickly,” the shorter Elf proclaimed.

With a gesture of her wrist, a vine shot from her tunic, wrapping around Bary’s right wrist and tethering him to her belt as she began to walk away from the wall. The human had to run to keep up and avoid getting dragged through the ground.

His eyes locked on Kajou for a moment, but quickly shifted forward. The trees were thickening again. Something about their presence reminded him of the monster-sized trees that were over at where they’d crash-landed. Not quite as massive, but nothing to scoff at. It took Barry a fraction of a second to realize that the trees weren’t just larger, but that they were also occupied. Doors, windows, balconies. He barely had the chance to take a look at them before his gaze was drawn towards a singular source that demanded the full of his attention.

She was a frail woman, bony and thin, her skin a pulsating shadow that made her seem as if she were merely a black silhouette contained within a set of baggy purple robes. She was glowing, hovering atop a circle of glowing runes that glowed and wavered, their light drifting upwards as if it was snow rising into the sky. There were no less than a dozen armed maidens standing around the circle and looking fierce as the dark figure’s mouth moved in a silent chant.

Barry’s skin was tingling just from being this close to the source of the glow, his eyes entirely unable to look away. His red hair rustled against the slight breeze blowing his way.

Which is why he missed the lumbering armored woman as she placed a gloved hand on his shoulder and pinned him in place. “Found you, you little…” The woman spun him around, Barry flinched, raising his hands in fear. “… Who are you?”

Seeing nothing happening to him, Barry hesitated, lowering his arms slightly so he could get a better look at the lady whose arm felt like it weighed half a tonne.

She was tall and statuesque. Those were the first thoughts that ran through Barry’s mind. He was forced to move his chin up to meet her gaze, his eyes barely able to make it over the horizon of metal that covered her chest. “Wha-?”

“Lady Embla!” The Elf spoke up quickly. “Two messengers from the Coven have appeared. This is a prisoner. They claim he is an otherworlder.”

The tall tanned woman paused, head turning in the direction they’d come through and then at Barry. “Return to your post, I’ll handle him.”

The Elf nodded and ran off. The vine that had been holding Barry’s wrist loosened and fell to the ground. The young human could only awkwardly stand there as the tall lady kept looking down at him with a slight frown.

“You…” Barry hesitated, blinking. “You don’t have a collar?” It was impossible. She had to be a maiden, what with the sharp ears and being almost three meters tall. Was there something Kajou hadn’t told him?

The woman’s frown deepened, her sharp angular features tightening as the first hint of a wrinkle came to adorn her brow. The human could only squirm under the maiden’s intense gaze, focusing on the piercing on her lower lip to try to distract himself, to look for something to focus on other than those piercing emerald green eyes that were staring into his soul.

The moment broke at the sound of a scream.

Both of them turned towards the source. There was movement near the ritual. One of the guards had dropped, and between the guard and the glowing figure, was a new presence. Two fox tails trailed behind the maiden that was rushing forward, her figure shimmering and wavering as if not entirely there, a glittering blade held in her hand.

“NO!”

Embla exploded forward, lumbering towards the ritual as she drew her a sword out of the scabbard on her hip. In a singular fluid movement worthy of an Olympic athlete, the dark-skinned maiden threw the blade forward with every ounce of strength her body could provide.

It flew like a rocket, aimed directly at the fox.

Barry’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw the fox react, react all too quickly for what was clearly an attack that should have been impossible to see coming. It had been a simple gesture, a throw, done just in time before Embla’s attack punched straight into her shoulder and dragged her away from the Warlock.

The black-haired maiden’s thrown blade struck true, sinking squarely into the middle of the shadowy woman’s back.

There was a muted cry of pain, a quiet gasp surrounded by a dozen panicked faces.

The Warlock fell to her knees, face contorted into a grimace of agony.

The runes began to glow with a blinding light, lightning exploding upwards at the edges of the ritual, a column of brilliance that was hard to even look at. And an intense burning tingling that was washing against Barry’s skin like a bad sunburn.

Whatever happened next, Barry couldn’t really tell. Almost on instinct, his body hit the floor, and he closed his eyes tightly as he prepared for the worst. Every part of his body screamed in alarm at something big about to happen.

The blast didn’t make a sound, but it made the air around him shudder all the same. Barry’s eyes opened as soon as the burning light had vanished and he realized that he had to run. It was as much a command as a desire as a need. He had to run. Something was coming, something fierce and dangerous and massive, something that would eat him, tear him apart. He had to run. Barry had to RUN.

His legs were moving before his mind could properly process the thought. The human was moving away from somewhere, something, whatever was going to eat him, he had to run, run fast. Breath short and legs straining, he didn’t even care to look around, or at anything, he couldn’t stop. If he did, he’d die.

His mind couldn’t think as to why or how. Run, he had to run.

Dimly, he realized he wasn’t the only one running. There were others, moving faster, but he didn’t care, so long as he could get away from the threat, his every step an attempt to put more ground behind him.

The wall came into view. It had been torn to shreds.

Between Barry and the wall was pandemonium. Dozens of maidens fighting, and those armed were outnumbered four to one by those without weapons. Sparks of power danced around like a fireworks display. Bodies littered the ground, the blood thick in the air. The singular moment was enough to knock Barry’s thoughts back in order. The human abruptly realized he was short of breath.

He’d been running for his life. From what? It had been pure fear, pushing him to run, and run fast.

Had that been the ritual? Barry’s eyes focused on one of the larger holes in the wall. On the other side, he could see ferals scattering or fighting each other. Was this what the ritual had been meant to do? Or was it a misfire?

Standing still on a battlefield was a bad idea, and in this case, Barry learned the lesson the hard way when something knocked him over. Pain exploded from his shoulder and the world whirled out of place for a split second. The next he heard a scream; it was his own voice.

Rather than lie still and confirm what had just happened, his body rolled, urging him to stand and avoid being prone. He’d reacted just in time, too. Whatever had attacked him had pounced onto the spot he’d been occupying not a moment sooner.

His attempt to make a break for it was interrupted by the feral swiping at his feet and knocking him out of balance.

Dimly, Barry realized it was one of the felines he’d spotted on their way to the Court. Her gaze glimmered with unfocused wild eyes, as if she weren’t even seeing him but something else entirely.

And as she jumped to tackle him to the ground, something came out of Barry’s shadow and knocked the feral out of her intended trajectory.

That something had claws covered in black fur, a long canine tail, and wild unkempt hair.

And a splotch of partially flaked-off white paint on her face.

[114] [Mark]

Mark ran with all his might. A good reason for it was the fear that gripped his chest, but the other, more pressing reason was because he needed to get the fuck away from the Dark Elves and the crazy crone as fast as he could before they reorganized and got the chance to hunt him in earnest.

Escaping the Court had been relatively easy when everyone broke into a wild panic and began fighting each other or the ferals that had slipped through the defenses. The issue had been mostly the ferals themselves. The spell had made them scatter in every direction; they were everywhere.

Thus why Noah was leading the way, her ears and nose able to steer them away from the worst of it before they stumbled their way into something they couldn’t handle. The mouse had very nearly bolted out of sight the moment the spell had misfired. If not because Shery had kept a tight grip on the diminutive maiden until she’d calmed down, they could have very well lost their guide entirely.

And with her, any hope of avoiding the more dangerous ferals while also finding the river.

“Brye’s catching up,” Noah declared with a grimace, not even turning around or breaking stride.

“If you can hear her, something must have gone wrong,” Shery replied with an angry hiss.

Mark might have spoken, but unlike the other two, he was winded. It was hard to keep up with the maidens, and it was clear they were slowing down enough for him to keep up with them.

“It went fucking fantastic.” Brye appeared out of thin air right next to Mark, and it nearly made him jump.

“You’re bleeding.” Shery pointed at the fox’s shoulder and limp arm.

“I got poked.” Her shoulder had been bleeding profusely. Burn marks on her shoulder appeared to be the reason why the injury was closed, but her clothes were drenched in blood. She’d lost a lot.

To a degree, it irked Mark to see her in such a state and yet still instantly able to keep up with him without so much as missing a beat.

“Is the Warlock dead?”

“Didn’t get the chance to stick around and see if a sword in the back was enough to kill the bitch,” the fox snarled. “How much to the river?”

“We’re almost there,” Noah replied, slowing down slightly, ears standing straight, and abruptly turning to the right. “Ferals.”

The others didn’t hesitate to change course, following the mouse as she kept looking left and right, her steps moving a bit more cautiously as she began to make a beeline for them to follow along. All around them they could hear screams and, sometimes, Mark could even smell blood, but not once did they stumble onto anything that wouldn’t be scared off by their mere presence.

All too suddenly, Noah reached out to grasp Mark’s hand.

“Start running, right now! It’s hunting us!”

“What is-”

Brye’s ears twitched to point behind them. “We’re being chased, feels like a feral.” She frowned, turning around and lifting her hand as it was wreathed in an ethereal, dark glow. “I’ll catch up in a minute.” The air shimmered in front of her.

“Move, move, move!” Noah spoke with a shrill squeak, yanking Mark so hard his shoulder began to hurt.

Not one to argue when the alternative was being closer to something that wanted to potentially make a meal out of them, Mark did his best to keep up, breath short and legs thumping underneath him as his ears picked up on the sound of running water. It took ten more seconds before he spotted the river, a body of rushing brown water that was down a steep ravine.

Shery began to slow down, taking a look at the river and hesitating. “We need to wait for-”

Faster than Mark could react, Noah had changed course and thrown the whole of her weight towards Shery. The movement was clearly an attempt to trip her up and throw the gray-skinned woman down into the murky waters.

And she might have pulled it off if Brye hadn’t appeared and yanked Shery out of the way. “Nice try, bitc-”

But Noah still held a death grip on Mark’s hand. Her feet still dug into the dirt, and she’d not stopped. The attack had been a feint.

Mark saw almost in slow motion as he was pulled further towards the ravine. The mouse jumped straight towards the river, and for the briefest of moments, a part of him was half-sure Shery or Brye would catch him.

Either from shock or their awkward position, they didn’t get the chance to. Inertia dragged him even as he tried to fight against it, unable to get a proper footing.

Gravity came back from its brief vacation. Mouse and human dropped into the chilly raging waters underneath. In an instant, everything went dark and cold. Mark was battered from every direction, the river dragging them into a funnel of downwards acceleration.

Noah had a death grip on Mark’s wrist, not so much as slipping even in the water.

The human broke through the surface, gasping for air, trying to get his bearings and look for the shore.

“DON’T!” Noah’s squeak rang out, her hand pulling him in the opposite direction, towards the center.

A wave struck them, dragging them back under. Up became down, tumbling, shifting directions, the water robbing Mark’s breath as he managed to pull himself back up with a gasp. His hand struggled to yank free from the mouse’s grip.

“MARK!”

The voice barely made it to his ears, his head catching a glimpse of Brye on one of the shores. She was running faster than Mark thought anyone should have the right to, barely keeping up with them as the distance was increasing ever so slightly. If Shery was anywhere to be seen, Mark did not spot her.

Brye vanished, appearing further ahead, eyes locked on him as she continued running.

“This is the only way!” The words made the human turn towards Noah, the mouse looking very much like a drenched rat, her voice shrill. Her eyes were panicked, but there was something else in them, anger. “This is the only way.”

“MARK!”

Brye’s call made Mark realize what Noah meant.

This was the only way to escape.

Not just the Court, but Brye and Shery.

“She’s going to kill you!”

The call came from the fox, and Mark barely managed to hear it as the stream took a sharp turn, dragging them back under. The human nearly choked on the water, legs screaming as he kicked the water and tried to push himself back out, the cold wet darkness seeping into him from all around.

Just as he’d been about to break back out, something fell onto him, something soft that grasped at his hair and yanked him high enough for his head to make his way out of the water and take a gulp of air before the force of the river pulled him back under. Mark realized someone was holding onto his other hand.

Yanking both hands down to pull himself back up, he took another gasp of air, and he saw that it was Brye that had joined them. The fox was currently very much occupied trying to use her injured hand to reach out to the mouse and gouge Noah’s eyes out. The mouse, for her part, was using her free hand to push away the hand and leaving bloody strips with her claws all the way down Brye’s arm.

“Let go, you fucker,” the fox cursed.

Her body seemed to flicker, and for a moment Mark felt as if something were trying to drag him out of existence and somewhere else. But the moment that sensation reached his other hand, it died out. Noah was not letting go, and she was clearly doing something to keep him anchored in the river’s wild stream.

“Mark!” Brye used her good arm to yank him up to keep him from being as easily pulled under the surface. “Kick her off or we’ll all die!” Her other hand was too weak to be able to stop Noah’s rebuttal, and the fox was clearly not going to let him go if her grip on his wrist was anything to go by.

The human hesitated, remembering the words the mouse had spoken. The way out, to escape Brye and Shery, escape the cave, the rope, the smirking goading humiliation. His brow furrowed and his hand tightened as all too suddenly, the fox’s eyes widened, locking onto his own with what was unmistakably panic.

Could she read his mind? Or was it his expression that had betrayed his thoughts? Mark didn’t care; his boot moved to try and shove the fox off of him.

Time to get rid of her for good.

Noah’s maniacal laughter broke the train of thought. Mark saw the end of the river, a drop that could only mean one thing. All considerations vanished as his mind abruptly clicked in place. Escape took the backseat to survival.

Then the world lost its bottom, and he dropped a second time that day.

Mark realized Brye had let go. She was gone.

Noah laughed hysterically all the way down. And for the briefest moment, as the both of them fell, he saw it in her eyes, the anger, the rage, and above all, the glorious pride and satisfaction at their shared doom.

White foam and a deafening roar turned everything into an incongruent mess instantly, a typhoon that twisted him every which way. Only under the extreme speed of the water around them had Noah’s hand finally let go. Where she went, he could not see. Everything was a muddy darkness.

Mark felt himself sinking, body too tired, too cold. Everything ached, his limbs tumbling under the twister of currents under the waterfall. It was becoming hard to breathe.

Something grabbed his hand, and the world spun.

And air pushed into his lungs as he dropped to solid ground.

Coughing, Mark heaved, collapsed as he gasped for each breath, too weak to move. His head spun in an attempt to realign itself with the world.

“Reconsidering your life choices?” Brye’s voice rung out, her face a deep scowl as she lightly tapped him with her foot.

“Noah…”

“Soon to be dead,” the fox stated, ears flickering dismissively. “Good riddance.”

“No.” Mark clenched his fists tightly, he couldn’t breathe, the air was… “… feel her…” everything was dark, spinning, water was choking him. Two visions were superimposing themselves. He was on the shore, breathing; he was underwater, gasping. His mind spun as dizzying darkness was wringing his lungs empty. “Air!”

“The bond. FUCK!” Brye vanished.

It was a struggle to focus on his real self, on the one that was on shore and breathing air, and not on the suffocating darkness.

Then… clarity.

Brye collapsed on her knees, several shades paler, panting hard, dropping the drenched Noah who was coughing madly for breath. The Nogitsune was trembling and looking far worse for wear than a second ago. “Fuck,” she gasped under her breath.

“What was…?” Mark shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, to focus.

“Bond… strong one…” The fox rolled over and lay on her back, taking in deep lungfuls of air. “Death… bad for… partner…” Her hand moved towards her wounded shoulder and she grimaced. “Shit.”

Meanwhile, Noah was coughing loudly, shuddering and curling into a ball. The rodent appeared disoriented, her eyes wild as she turned towards the collapsed Brye. Slowly, she reached out, pulling herself towards the fox. Through the fog of disorientation, Noah’s eyes shone with single minded intent, slowly clawing her way closer.

“No.”

Mark found the strength to reach down, grasping the mousy maiden’s tail and pulling.

Noah shrieked, weakly struggling, flailing, her body wriggling and fruitlessly spinning in an attempt to free herself. It was clear she had not yet recovered from nearly suffocating. She couldn’t throw him off.

“You fucking whore.” Mark straddled Noah’s back, pinning her to the ground. His hand reached out for the nearest rock he could find. “You fucking tried to kill me!”

Without a second thought, he slammed the rock down against the back of Noah’s head with everything he had to offer.

The mouse shrieked, trying to get him off, building strength.

The next blow made her flinch and collapse back down.

“You wanted to kill me!?” Fire was swelling within his chest, anger that gave him strength. The next blow stopped the mouse’s attempts to move again. “Betray ME!?” Another blow, blood stained the rock for the first time. Mark’s vision was turning red, he was finding his strength. “ME!”

Pain erupted in the back of his head as he struck once more. He grit his teeth, thrusting the rock back down onto the unmoving maiden. His head burst in fiery agony. He didn’t care, another blow, everything began to spin out of control. Mark found the breath to roar, raising both hands and slamming them downwards again.

The blow didn’t reach its destination. He’d missed her head entirely, hitting the dirt instead. Mark’s arms were shaking, his breathing a deep shudder, vision blurring as he collapsed to the side.

Through the ringing, he heard laughter.

“The bitch was so happy she triggered a shift. Fuck me.” His eyes turned towards the fox, to look at her as she lay on the dirt, wide smirk on her lips as she kicked at the mouse’s hand for him to focus on.

The human barely had the presence of mind to notice the pale white skin was darkening. He didn’t understand- his head was spinning, and his eyes traced further up to meet Brye’s face and the mirth as she stared back.

“The Boss is going to love you.”

Mark could only heave for air and watch as she knelt in front of him, moving his head and putting it onto her lap. Those deep golden eyes met his own, and the world began to spin; he was too tired to fight back.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered, stroking his cheek. “I’ll take very good care of you.”

The world turned dark.

[115] [Barry]

Barry couldn’t believe his eyes.

The canine maiden stood, her back turned to him, leaning forward, growling, facing off the feline feral as her body flickered with dark energy. For a brief moment, she paused, looking over her shoulder at the human, before turning back to growl at the feline harder still.

Barry’s head spun, not wanting to waste his good fortune. His eyes darted around in an attempt to determine the quickest route to safety. His shoulder throbbed. The feline had gouged into it with her claws; blood was dribbling its way down his arm. The adrenaline was likely the only reason why he wasn’t incapacitated by the pain by now.

The moment the Hound moved towards the feral, Barry began to slowly inch away, trying to keep a careful eye out for any other familiar faces. Or rather, at the very least, he hoped to spot some way out of this nightmare. The fights happening all around were growing wild as those strange powers were flying all over. The ferals seemed to have stopped their push, but the remaining fights were all equally lethal to him if he got too close.

The Elves fought by summoning plants to their side, attacking the ferals from underneath or from above, arrows piercing through the moment they couldn’t escape. The Dark Elves, on the other hand, danced with their blades, seeking to cut the distance and approach their targets. The ferals, for their part, moved far more wildly. Most sought to attack through claw and fang, moving in from opposite directions and barely using enough coordination between each other. A few would throw elemental powers from a safer distance, lightning and fire being the most frequent. The battle was slowly turning to the advantage of the Elves while the Dark Elves were barely managing to hold on.

A bark drew Barry’s attention back to the Hound. The noise had been loud and clear, powerful enough it startled everyone else. But especially the feline. The dark-haired maiden’s body darkened as she lunged forward, her form blurring as if, for a second, she lost her shape. The feral tried to dodge, jumping out of the way. Except the Hound had not been there, instead emerging out of the feral’s shadow and grasping the feline’s ankle.

With her free claw, the Hound ripped through the feline’s stomach and tossed her out of the way in a spray of blood. Growling, her eyes looked around, pausing as she looked at Barry.

The human didn’t hesitate this time, turning to run away before she could get to him.

“Barry!”

Kajou’s voice rang out, the Amazon having spotted him through the torn wall and rushing back inside. The Hound was squarely between the Amazon and Barry, and the canine instantly spun around and growled, hackles raising and her body flickering with dark power as it suffused the surrounding air.

“I beat you once, mutt, and I was handicapped.” Kajou swung the blade downwards, the metal taking on a deadly glow. Barry recognized the gesture instantly- how could he forget what had haunted his every waking moment since he’d been rescued from the cave? It was exactly how Pan wielded her sword, the only difference being the color of the light being faintly blue rather than yellow.

The Hound didn’t take her open invitation for an attack, her body flickering with wisps of darkness. It was a defensive pose as she waited for the Amazon instead. Kajou took the initiative, lunging forward, her blade singing as it sliced through the air in a direct forward thrust.

And for a fraction of a second, Barry noticed the canine looking over her shoulder at him. Their eyes met- there was a strong emotion within those eyes, one he couldn’t recognize. The Hound vanished in a blur of darkness.

Kajou’s attack missed entirely; the canine had moved positions right next to the human, her arms wrapping him into a hug as she pulled him back into the shadows. Barry struggled to no avail, feeling the world stretch and contract as darkness turned to light. They’d emerged some place else, a dozen or so meters further away from the wall, deeper into the Court.

“Let me go!” Barry struggled, only to have his breath taken away as they plunged back into the shadows, emerging yet again further away from Kajou. The Amazon was trying to give chase, but the distance was increasing with each jump.

The Hound’s eyes were looking around, taking an awkward step forward while keeping Barry between her arms before lunging straight back into the shadows. But when they emerged from the next jump, something yanked them both sideways. The abrupt gesture tore Barry out of the Hound’s arms, his body rolling through the dirt.

A yelp dragged his attention at the Hound, seeing her getting thrown squarely into a nearby tree as if she weighed nothing more than a rag doll.

“Are you alright, little human?”

It was the very tall armored tanned woman. Embla. Her question had been directed at Barry, but her eyes had not left the Hound for an instant.

“I…”

He couldn’t quite find the words to speak when he saw the weapon the maiden was wielding in her free hand. It was an axe, but a massive one. Its pommel must have been at least four meters long and thicker than his thigh, the sharp metal head a third of that length. Both metal and wood were scarred with gouges that had chipped away at both the edge and the pommel. As if it had seen countless battles.

“Stay put,” the maiden proclaimed, swinging the massive axe left then right.

With just one arm.

Her body leaned in either direction with the shift in weight, but her feet never left the ground as she stepped towards the Hound.

The canine vanished into the shadows.

“Not letting that happen a second time.”

The Dark Lady stomped her foot to the ground, a shock wave of red light glimmering all around her. The Hound had appeared right in front of the tall woman, clearly shocked she’d been forcefully pulled out of the darkness. The axe’s pommel came down with a direct thrust that hammered against the canine’s chest.

Something cracked as the maiden was sent sprawling back and rolling across the dirt.

With the dirt crumbling under the Dark Lady’s feet, her whole body was rocketed towards her prey, axe swinging high and coming down at blinding speed. The Hound had little chance but to dodge, rolling out of the way and barely avoiding the deadly edge. Not that she came out unscathed- the impact against the dirt had caused an explosion of debris.

With a yelp, the Hound hurried to her feet as the Dark Lady yanked her weapon from the ground. Bleeding, the canine’s eyes flickered towards Barry, concern plastered across her face.

Growling, she glanced back at the armed opponent, snarling.

“That’s a nice look you’ve got.” Smirking, the Dark Lady swung the axe back and forth, the weapon swooshing through the air with ease. “But I can’t let a feral get close to our guest.” The weapon began to glow with red energy as she raised it over her head.

The Hound didn’t hesitate, turning around and making a run for it, ducking behind one of the trees before whatever it was the Dark Lady was preparing could be unleashed. It caught the armored maiden by surprise, and she cursed as she lowered her blade, clearly unwilling to unleash her powers in full against the building the Hound had hidden into.

“Tch.” The glow died out; she lowered the weapon and allowed its weight to rest on her shoulder. “Not much fun when they run.”

“Are you going to… chase her?” Barry’s voice cracked as his eyes kept darting around, looking for potential threats.

“One stray feral shows up, and you’d turn into a quick meal.” She shook her head, glancing at him with a serious expression. “Besides, I-”

Embla’s expression tightened as she whirled around, brows narrowing as she’d clearly sensed something amiss. Her brows furrowed, and she shifted her stance, tightening her grip on her axe. A flicker of shadows to her left was all she needed to react, glowing red energy following as she stomped. “Not gonna w-”

The Hound had emerged, but not in front of the Dark Lady- rather, directly behind. The trajectory the canine had used in the shadows was clearly different to what Embla had anticipated. And the canine did not stop; the instant she’d been forced out of the shadows she shifted direction in a straight line towards Barry.

The human met the canine’s desperate gaze and something clicked, his eyes widening as he saw Embla dropping the axe and rushing to intercept. His body moved without thought, leaning forward and towards the Hound.

The Hound’s arms wrapped around his body, pressing him down, forcing him to the ground as she exposed her back to Embla’s incoming attack. Barry winced, feeling the dark-haired maiden press her face against his shoulder while her furry arms tightened around him into a protective hug.

No attack came, only the crunch of dirt as the Dark Lady came to a grinding halt. “What is the meaning of this?” Her voice came with a hesitant strained edge.

Barry’s eyes focused on the concerned look the Hound had as she met his gaze. “I think…” His hand reached out to touch the woman’s shoulder, seeing the canine relax ever so slightly as she eyed Embla warily. “I think… we’re bonded.”

The massive woman approached, kneeling next to the two of them and completely ignoring the snarl the Hound gave off as the dark-skinned maiden approached. Embla’s eyes were fixed firmly on Barry, her body glowing slightly with a reddish hue.

“You’re an otherworlder,” the Dark Lady spoke, almost with a gasp.

A wave of relief washed over the young human; he felt himself slump within the Hound’s arms and nod. “I just… I just want to go home.” His voice shook, almost exhausted, clearly too full of emotion. The canine tightened her arms around him, pressing his body against her own.

Embla hesitated, her eyes glancing at the Hound before she nodded, her right hand moving to press against her left shoulder. “If there is a way to take you home, I do not know of it,” she said, her expression a hardened look of determination. “But we can keep you safe.”

Barry could only nod.

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And that's technically it!

Next week the Bonus chapters for End of Season 2!

No spoilers this time :P