Galen Vesa

A woman without a face, climbed atop my naked body, leaving a trail of cheap lipstick and a tingling sensation my body yearned for. Lazily her lips traversed up my neck to their final resting place, pressed against my own chaffed mouth. Skillfully her tongue slipped in, and I tasted her like I would taste a finest wine. First came the scent of oriental flowers, then little sips brought me a promise of pleasure, then a long and satisfying taste of cherries came with her kiss. Sweet, sweet, cherries. Content of her own scheming, her filigree hands pushed her torso up, exposing her milky white mountains with twin, pink peeks and an inviting valley between them.

She laughed and spoke in a language I should have known, but just like her face I could not remember the meaning of her words nor what my answer been. Enjoying the golden halo cast around her head by the morning sun I put my hands around her hips and brought her down and we became one. She moaned in protest yet soon her hips began to sway in rhythm with our passion. Like a feline stalking her prey, she kept gazing into my eyes until her body took us both over the endless sea of passion. There at the edge of my consciousness, a sound came to my attention. As if a stone tossed against concrete or hitting on metal can. It froze my very own soul banishing all my pleasure.

The woman, oblivious of what come about, rode the waves of pleasure with her head cast back and her eyes sealed shut. Finally with the passion gone, she looked back at me, smiling. Unbeknownst to her, a crimson stream trickling from the center of her chest. Surprised at sudden discomfort, in those last few moments, her fingers surveyed her sacred valley only to discover the strange, sticky, red liquid leaking from her heart.

I remember shackling my scream as it boiled in my throat, letting silence fan my rage. I remember the weight of her lifeless body atop me. I remember her blood seeping into my skin. I remember I waited until they came to make sure. I remember he crawled in with a long, long knife while I stared at him with my unblinking eyes. Motionless, I waited. They wished to send a message. That soon became my knife.

I remember a village burned down that night. Then another one and after that, yet another one.

My eyes popped open as abruptly as my dream faded away. Was it a dream or a memory of life I wished to forget? My life?

My hand still remembers the pleasant, cold mass of that knife. If any of what I felt is true, I sure earned those cursed ears in my previous life. Why would it even come to me in this time? I had nothing to say about it. My mind felt blank. It seemed more interested in that third arm I could sense growing somewhere to my left. What a peculiar sensation. Quite a bit of my mana appeared to be circulating between me and that virtual appendage. Should I even try to describe the glee of the monstrous, giggling entity, otherwise known as my mana, as it went ~merry go round~ between me and that fancy tree we planted in the guild backyard? I wonder how that went. Well, somebody picked up my anorectic bones and put me in bed in yet another room I have not seen before so at least something went right. A room without doors or windows. A room without anything aside the bed I occupied and a shelf next to it. Whatever else could be hiding in this tiny box of a room, I could not see. At the moment my neck wasn’t too interested in operating my head so further sightseeing had to wait. Given the familiar stiffness in my entire body, I had not moved in a long while.

"You sure did not, my useless master."

Cora’s voice assaulted my half-awake mind. I think I would cringe at the sound have I had any control over my face muscles. As it was, my face remained blank, devoid of any mark of presence. At the same time, one of her bodies materialized beside me, smartly dressed in one of her favorite maid uniforms. Almost as if she were concerned, she placed her palm on my forehead.

“And you are still running a slight fever. Nothing life threatening but I would prefer if you would rest some more. Your body has yet to adjust to the increased mana flow.”

“How... long...”

My voice came out feeble and hoarse. A miracle it came out at all, given the sudden rush of mana to my throat. Taking a towel that waited just for this moment on a on a nearby a shelf, Cora turned me to my side and with the towel pressed to my lips, waited until I coughed out all the blood. Her practiced moves told me this had happened before.

“About a moon and a half. It took much longer than I hoped for before the flow stabilized. Also, my useless master, it’ll be best if you refrain from speaking for now. Your days and nights were restless. Your throat suffered quite the abuse so if you do not wish to make the damage permanent, embrace silence until your voice heals.”

Eh? What happened? Did I scream in my sleep?

“Screamed. Sang. Cried. Talked. Called to people that were not there and abused your throat in every other ungodly way possible.”

That, that sounded possible. Familiar even.

What did I say?

“I do not know. You were not using languages I am familiar with.”

Well, English’s not too widespread in these parts I presume. Why is she looking at me like that? Am I missing something? I am, aren’t I? Oh.

Vittoria, what happened to her?

“Ah, yes. I thought you would not ask, my useless master without a heart.”

And? I am asking now. What become of her?

“She died. Well, her old body did after my hypocritical master decided to pluck out her soul, right after his fascinating speech about sin, taboo and…”

Oh, eat a sock. I had nothing to do with all this soul snatching. Tell me, the ritual, did it work?

“Yes. There are some lingering side effects but I think she will live. She has a strong mind.”

Side effects. I’ve dealt with side effects. Nothing good ever came from side effects. Reading my troubled mind, Pellicora smiled as if I just uttered a joke.

“Fear not, my useless master that sometimes care. She is well, however you are not. Rest. Our body needs it.”

Before I noticed what she’s done, my eyelids fell like a heavy curtain. This time I did not dream of anything.

I can’t say I know how long that veggie born trickster kept me asleep but, frankly, this time I did not mind. My body deserved some rest but... a silent nagging at the edge of my mind grew in power by each day I spent in bed, doing nothing.

Until a voice I despised roused me from my slumber.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Rise and shine mista Whabbit, rise and shine. You’ve got some ashes to kick about.”

Do I hate that voice or what? It jarred me into full awakens well before her presence vanished. A heartbeat earlier and my fist would hit something. Fist? My palm was open, and my nails fully extended. It felt as if Rage was aiming for her jugular. Enough of this.

One, two, three! My body moved against my own expectations. I thought it would take me at least a dozen tries before I can plop on the floor but to my astonishment, I succeeded on my first try. And I didn’t smash my face into anything. How exquisite is that? A normal morning. Somebody even went through the trouble of putting a nightgown on me. A modest nightgown. How cool is that.

Twiggy?

“How can I be of use, my sleepy master?”

Her uniform encased pillows appeared right before my eyes. I opened my mouth to give her a piece of my mind but a constant current of mana buzzing in my throat stopped me. Instead, I just poked the bouncy barrier until she stepped aside.

Let’s go, I think I’ve done enough recuperating.

“As you wish.”

She offered me her hand so I could heft myself up and, sound the drumrolls, my legs managed to hold me standing. Interesting. Aside from my sore throat and the familiar ich in my back, my body appeared to work fine.

A wall I saw before from the bed, upon closer inspection turned out to be a tightly woven lattice of vines and thorny creepers. As it began to part before us, I noticed another interesting feature of this structure. The walls were at least twenty feet thick and on the outside of my room and as we walked through the opening corridor, I could see and smell sweet, purple venom dripping from razor sharp thorns.

Twiggy, I never knew you’d care so much about your useless master.

My body seemed fine enough for me not to require her support but even so, I leaned on her and pulled her arm tighter into my pillows.

“I do not, my perverted master. I’ve been merely protecting myself.”

Her lips stated but at the same her face told me a different story as she turned it away from me. What a cute monster tomato plant.

Thank you anyway.

I take back what I said earlier. These walls were much thicker than twenty feet. We walked a good five minutes before the final layer parted exposing us to warm sunlight and prompting my inner eyelid to close shut. At the same time, a sudden gust of mana windswept my gown and my hairs, making me shield my face with my free palm.

“I forgot to mention, we made some changes to the guild grounds, master. You may feel disoriented at first. It shall pass soon.”

Cora stopped to give me a moment to readjust. Well, I think I’m gonna need more than a moment.

What on earth happened here?

We came out into a forest of tall conifers. Pines if I ever saw one with purple needles and white bark. Acres upon of acres of this oddly colored pines stretched whichever way I looked while currents of mana carried purple seeds from the tree crowns onto the strange fluffy, blue moss in which my bare toes sank.

No. More important, where are we?

While here and there sun rays sneaked through the canopy, I could see no sky nor the city. All I saw were trees. Countless trees spread everywhere.

“We are within the guild hall. More or less. Would it suffice to say that space and time around this place bend a little bit? Your tree requires some room for it to grow. The place available here was unsatisfactory so it made some space for itself.”

Some?

I had to rub my face and pinch myself. Well, it did me about as much good as facepalming myself would do and, I pinched myself again, I still couldn’t feel that.

What about the city? Tell me we haven’t cannibalized the entire area just to give this weed some space?

“The city is well and stinky as it always been. You’ll see later. Come, she is waiting.”

She?

“Your escort. Judge magister Fenella Tirsten. The empire sent her to ensure your safe journey, master.”

Rather than my escort, Pellicora’s face told me she regarded the newcomer, the one she had the pleasure of showing out through a wall, as something smelly that stuck to her boot. Escort. Empire. Safety. Indeed, a smelly affair.

“Regrettably, we must consider it a wise choice. Many winters passed since elves walked the streets belonging to human empire. Many more will need to follow before one could enter the capital, or the emperor’s palace.”

Ah, now this sounds more logical. The emperor sent his doggy not to ensure my safety but to protect and dissuade the occasional idiot that might try to annoy an elven assassin coming by for his party. Logic seemed conflicted as to whether consider him a mastermind or an imbecilic. On one hand, he could anticipate trouble arising from my mere existence on the other, that joker invited and insisted on attendance of someone that might potentially slaughter all his guests.

“Then, master, perhaps you ought to avoid losing consciousness.”

And why is that?

Pellicora stopped and massaged her neck, remembering something unpleasant.

“Because having my head looped or twisted off fifty-nine times as I tried to stop you from murdering outsiders is not an experience I wish to repeat in any near future. Not to mention...”

Her entire body shivered.

“These meaty sheaths break in so many unpleasant ways. My old body never had any of those issues. Well, there were termites and other bugs to worry about but nothing a friendly woodpecker couldn’t fix.”

A woodpecker? Interesting. Cora, did I...?

“Aside from me? No. Not this time.”

Thank you. I know I’m beyond a point of worrying about my conscience but... I... I think I should not add any more people to the pile of bodies I have on my tab.

“If you have a choice then, perhaps you ought not. Although, some advice, my master. From a monster to a monster. Doing good is not as easy as you think. In that regard you remind me of my lover. He was a good man. You saw where it led him.”

I’m a monster now, ha? Perhaps I always was?

The rest of our way we covered in silence, Cora guiding me through a maze of moss and tall trees until we reached a familiar brick wall over which endless branches of a shining tree, spread out in every direction.

“Please do not gawk, you are making our daughter uncomfortable. She is afraid.”

Huh? Our what?

Pellicora pointed at the branch I was staring at.

“You are scaring our child. She’s hardly a moon old and here comes that lump of mana and stares at her. One would be scared, don’t you think?”

You are making that up as you go, are you?

“Of course, my useless master.”

She smiled and patted a portion of the wall with her hand, and I felt as mana left me. Because why would she use her own power?

“It is my power. You are my host. What is yours is mine.”

Said not so cute, monster tomato parasite while at the same time bricks in the wall began vibrating. Suddenly, one of the bricks dislodged itself from the wall and floated inward. Soon its neighbors followed its example. Within seconds a perfect archway formed, surrounded by a hail of bricks zooming in the air, ready to strike whoever dared to cross this threshold without its owner’s permission.

But that was not the only change I marveled at as I crossed the border between blue moss and green grass. In the magical twilight cast by the overbearing tree, tiny spirits floated chasing each other, zooming between the magnificent branches that covered the entirety of the guild plaza, its buildings and hefty area outside the guild walls. Underneath the tree shadow, corporal spirits and human maids busied themselves, tending to the grasses and flowers spreading all over the overgrown pathways and flowerbeds. Spirits and humans. Together. Chatting. Joking.

Oy, what is going on in here? Who summoned all those troublemakers and why do I feel concentrated mana in the air?

“My child, Is it not to your liking? I put so much work into all those grape vines, making sure they grab onto all those bricks without damaging anything and leaving windows unobstructed. You should know it is no easy feat. Even Wind led us her hand by stuffing moss in all those cracks in the facade. You know she doesn’t have to, yet she helped.”

Four meddlesome musketeers of chaos and destruction materialized beside me. Uncalled and uninvited. Again.

“Look how nice those mandevilla compose themselves over the dormitory’s entrance...”

Earth droned on and on about this or that little thing she fixed or improved on the guild grounds. The please seemed to be teeming with herbs, plants, shrubs, rocks and... running water. A part of the wall, previously occupied by the old gate, turned into a foaming waterfall and developed a pond.

Well, yes, yes. All is nice and shiny and... What have you lot done again? Why are you here? I did not summon you and I sure have not called any of those guys.

Whichever spirit I looked at would pause its job and nudge its head at me in a greeting. Some would even wave their hands. That is, whenever I could see anything from beyond the curtain of tiny ones buzzing around us ever since their queens appeared.

“My love, you accuse us of a crime we are not guilty of. In accordance with the contract our guild master signed with us, all guild grounds have become our possession and count into our territory. These are now part of our respective domains.”

Water came forward with the most devious smile I have seen so far on her lips.

“Summoned or not, we have every right to be here. This is our land.”