Chapter 45

We pushed through the next two rooms as easily as the first. Even more easily, in one case. That room was one of their main supply caches, rather than a makeshift barracks. There were only a few soldiers there, but they were better equipped, with gear similar to what we had looted and equipped.

We paused there long enough for Myta to incinerate the bulk of their supplies. At this point we were hardly worried that a lack of supplies would push them to attack sooner. I also left them a small parting gift that I’d prepared. Some spirits, to which I’d added a slow-acting poison. I didn’t think it would accomplish too much, but every bit of hindrance to our enemies could be valuable now.

When we approached the warded room, i took a moment to assess our condition. None of our company had died yet, and all were still riding high on the rush of battle. Aside from very minor wounds we were in good shape. Myta came to the same conclusion only a moment later, and we rushed into the warded room at her signal.

Miraculously, we still had the element of surprise, but this time we were not so fortunate in our enemies. One sorcerer, one demon, and a squad of five soldiers awaited us.

The demon reacted instantly to our presence, their driving need identifying us immediately as prey. Fortunate the sorcerer was not nearly so quick to react. The demon leapt at Myta, hands like tearing scavenger beaks extended to consume her. I wondered, idly, if there were actual throats in those clacking avian maws. But then the creature was brought up short. I saw a flaring leash of anima, that connected it to the sorcerer. I suppose that explained how the Pure were controlling them.

Myta didn’t hesitate to take advantage, driving her glaive straight into the head of the beast, and then trying to incinerate it from within. Whatever changes the monster had undergone however, apparently made its head less vital for survival. She soon found herself bound with it, attempting to wrench her weapon from its dense skull.

I focused on the sorcerer, covering the ground to him as quickly as possible. He reacted quickly, however. Dropping his food and leaping to his feet with an agility and speed that spoke of an air affinity. Fortunately, now that we were within the ward, I no longer needed to lean on my meager physical skills.

I pushed my presence out, flooding the area around the monk with my mana, pressuring his spirit. It wouldn’t be enough to harm him any, but it would slow him down, and impede his sight. The pale-skinned man sneered, clearly unimpressed with my blunt application of power. Contemptuously, he tossed two razor air discs at me, the dense mana shaped perfectly by his intention, heavy with will. Those discs sliced easily through my presence, headed straight for my **** flesh.

Turning away, the monk clearly believed me to be already dead. I’d made no move to dodge his spells, and my presence wasn’t near enough to stop them. But before the spells could reach me, they vanished without fanfare. There was no clash of mana against mana, and barely even a contest of will. His spells were simply gone, unmade, taking the presence he’d invested with them.

Shocked, he turned back to confront me, but now it was too late. If he’d rushed me with a physical attack , it might well have been deadly. I didn’t have the speed to compete with him like that. But now my spell reached him, hidden by the thick cloud of my presence. A field of tiny whirlpools of essence surrounded him, stripping away his presence as though drawing in ink. My spell consumed his external mana in moments, and then began to drain his internal mana as well.

I had no care for the well-being of any idiot foolish enough to create and harness demons as weapons. It felt good to let lose for once, not worrying about the consequences, the side effects of bringing my full will to bear. The monk’s anima warped under the **** of my spell, distending, and then outright tearing apart. I squeezed out his mana like the juice of a pulpy fruit, and felt not an ounce of regret as he screamed in soul-rending agony.

Behind me, the battle ended. Myta had finished with the demon, and the enemy soldiers were cut down quickly as they stared in horrified shock. Knowing the Pure, there had been a few demonstrations of the monk’s power, so I suppose they were entitled to their fear. Ket stopped shrouding our noise so that she could absorb the miasma of **** and terror in the room.

*And humans believe that reapers are dangerous.* She aimed the thought at me pointedly, with an amusement so dry that it could have withered trees. I ignored it, however. We were done here, and needed to press on.

The door was easier to open from the inside, and shortly we emerged to an odd smell. Musty and stale, our surroundings were dusty laid stone. We were in some kind of man made tunnel, illuminated only by Myta’s palm of flame. Denu and Guta were up the stairs and out a moment later, but rather than heading off to their assigned task immediately, they paused in confusion. Others joined us, filling up the stairs two at a time. But Hati pulled Myta, myself, and the scouts off to the side.

“These stones are like those of Bani’s oldest buildings. I think we are inside, or perhaps under, the city.”

“That follows well enough,” I nodded in understanding. “There was a time when many people sought to investigate the ancient ruins, or even worshiped some group of the ancients themselves. Wherever this is, it hasn’t been used in a long time”

“Except by the Pure.” Denu pointed out one of their trail signs, marked on the wall in ash.

“Follow them. See where they come out, and try to get the attention of some guards, as we discussed. We need to know Tarun’s status as soon as possible. And we may well need reinforcements here.” The girl nodded at Myta’s instructions, and then she and Guta headed out.

I looked around, trying to spot anything we could use. But short of bringing down the ceiling, there was nothing here. In theory we might be able to do that, but we had no real idea what might be above or around us, so there was certainly no way to do it safely. I told Myta as much, and she nodded. Nothing for us to do but set our watch and wait. We had no idea how long it might be before our attack was discovered, but surely not too long.

She set the first rest period for those who had done the heaviest fighting, including us. We sat against a nearby wall, to be close at hand when the enemy emerged. Leaning close, we pressed our shoulders together, enjoying the contact, limited as it was.

“I wish we had more time, master.” She murmured to me, keeping her voice low so as not to disturb the others who were resting. “This next battle will be punishing for us, and I’ve been missing the time when we were alone. Ever since Nesratin, we haven’t had that. The time just for each other.”

“I suppose not.” I turned my head, kissing her hair. “I often prefer to be alone, but I greatly enjoyed being alone with you. Perhaps, after Bani, our life will calm down.”

“Our life.” I could hear her smile. “I like that. But you don’t sound like you have much hope for it.”

“No.” I sighed. “Once the gods have you in their sight, it’s difficult to escape.”

I tried to meditate, and refine the mana I’d taken from the monk, but discontent gnawed at me. I settled myself by feeding my own mana to Myta, over our link. It brought our souls closer together, and I took comfort in the feel of her. I knew from experience that it was important to take that comfort where you could. My vas sighed happily, and then I heard her breathing deepen, and not with sleep. She made a pleased noise in her throat, and I could feel her pleasure from the interaction slowly build. It wasn’t intense, nothing dramatic, just slow waves of sensual enjoyment passing between us.

I shut out what was around us, focusing instead on my sense of her. Myta was feeling the strain, not over the fights that had taken place, but the responsibilities she’d been **** to bear. The lives she’d taken, and the ones that hung on her decisions. Both were wearing on her, even with my support. It had left her feeling isolated, disconnected. A feeling she hated, but was far too familiar with.

Her stress had built into physical strain. I could sense the knotted muscles of her back and shoulders, and I soothed them gently. Letting the flow of my power act as a slow massage. Warming and easing her muscles. She opened her spirit to my manipulations as easily as ever, and I ran my power through her like warm honey.

Across the small of her back, then slowly up the sides of her spine, I pushed tingling relaxation. Like a soothing stretch that made her spine pop and shiver. Between her shoulder blades, then up to the nape of her neck, and all the way up to the base of her skull and temples. Then back down her arms. She moaned a little as I did this several times, working through those tense muscles until they relaxed into the consistency of wet noodles.

When I began to shift my attentions to other parts of her body, I felt a momentary flicker of ****. We weren’t safe right now, nor was this private. But she needed this, and I was going to take care of her. My certainty dissolved any thought of protest she might have had, and I stroked her skin with tingling heat as though it were my hands. Her toes curled as her feet relaxed, the muscles releasing a little painfully. Her calves weren’t in much better shape. But by the time I reached her thighs they were prepped and ready, and she turned her face to my neck to stifle a tiny whimper.

Her body was wet and relaxed, and by now my mana was a warm buzzing under her skin. It soothed and stimulated all at once. She didn’t resist the slowly building pleasure, and I tipped her over into a very mild, but drawn out climax. I kept her there, as her limbs gently shook, for long minutes. It was far longer than any normal peak, wringing out her muscles with extended waves of satisfaction. Until her whole body slumped like a wet rag.

“Good girl” I whispered, kissing her head one more time. Holding her through the renewed aftershocks that caused, before easing her to the floor, pillowing her head on my lap. I gently brushed the hair out of her face, looking down at my flame. Her content expression filled me with a quiet pride, and I closed my own eyes. We needed what rest we could get.