Heavy Metal Mana 3

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Chapter 1

My power had grown to the point that I no longer felt the need to hide my approach as I blitzed my way toward the orc mining camp. I chose to come at them head-on instead of from on high. My armor glared in the high noon sun as I screamed through the air, hovering mere feet off the ground and trailing thousands of metal slugs behind me in a deadly swarm.

They didn’t stand a chance.

I blew into the area and brought myself to a hovering halt. Pushing up fifteen feet into the air above the railroad tracks that ran from the mouth of the cave toward the smelting facility nearby, I fired streams of metal slugs into anything that moved. Based on our extensive scouting and Lion’s Maw intel, I was confident that everyone here were Materials and Acquisition soldiers.

The MAT.

Lord Manageer’s dastardly army.

Orcs charged from their positions in a swarm. Climbing up over fortifications and natural hills, charging toward me, hurling obsidian axes and spears. I moved my arms slowly and with precision. I began firehosing metal at anything coming toward me, knowing that my ladies were following orders and flying high enough that I wouldn’t hit any of them.

All of them but Isla would have a good chance at stopping my steel slug sprays, but there was no reason to be reckless.

This was the seventh mine we’d assaulted in the month since we’d killed Duke Meedle. Always hauling up the locally stored products like iron and copper ore. Even the purified and smelted materials.

None of them had what I wanted.

Tungsten.

One of the strongest and most dense metals that existed, as far as I knew.

Of course we took everything we could and loaded it into The Chorus, the airship we’d stolen from Lord Manageer’s air force. Though I wanted that damn tungsten for a special project of my own.

A squad of elven archers broke from cover behind an industrial hauler and let loose a score of arrows in my direction. A quick glance at them showed that they were no ordinary arrows. My eyes were growing sharper every day as I accustomed myself to the powerful vision I’d gained through coupling with Tisha, the latest member to join the harem.

My family.

With a swoop of my hand, I created a glob of metal out of some of the slugs behind me. Flaring pyromancy and melting them. Stretching the mass thin like puddy. Just as the arrows were about to reach me, I teleported out of the way and placed myself behind the enemy archers. I’d been hauling plenty of mass with me to use once I arrived.

“Nothing personal,” I said with a wink, bringing a clump of metal around me and swatting it sideways through the elves who wore no armor. The cloud of steel balls ripped through all twelve of them, killing them all instantly. Another quick teleport brought me back to the ball of gooey steel I’d created. I was pleased to see that the backs of the arrows had been caught in the soft mass.

The tips of the weapons hung loose. Their matte black points were deceptively dull colored. It would be easy to think that they were nothing special, but they were anything but ordinary. I encased the entire arrows in steel, creating a pocket that would keep the tips from touching the surrounding metal, then dropped them near the downed archers. I made a note to return to the spot later to collect what we’d started calling void-tipped arrows—or voidmass.

Whatever it was cut straight through substantium—a material we’d thought was the hardest in all of the Shimmerlands.

Lord Manageer seemed to be unleashing more and more surprises on us as we continued to destroy his kingdom, creeping our campaign of destruction closer and closer to his stronghold in the south.

“Luis!” Jade’s voice called over my earpiece. “We can play with toys later. There are reinforcements coming out from the mines.”

Her teasing tone got a smile on my face. I pushed back up into the air and cruised over toward the cave, downing fifteen orcs with a few short sprays. Without metal armor I couldn’t manipulate them easily, but it also left them hopelessly exposed. Lord Manageer—or Buzzkillington, as we’d been calling him—had conquered the entire Shimmerlands by infusing metal with leechium.

His iron grip had been uncontested.

Until I came along.

Another group of orcs charged at me headlong. Their wooden armor splintered under my concentrated hose of steel balls, the mass hurtling into them and shredding them. Once they were down I pulled the slugs back into my trailing ammunition pile. Then I remembered I hadn’t given Jade an answer yet.

“If I don’t stop and play with toys, what will the rest of you ladies do?” I laughed and glided forward. I began picking up the pace as I crested the hill that blocked my view of the cave itself where most of the mining was occurring.

“Fresh company. Woah!” I heard Tisha’s voice over my earpiece, but it was also screamed out into the air. As I cleared the hill completely I saw her hovering closest to me, shooting her own steel ammunition down at a nearby felled orc. The plump elf didn’t seem to care about him though and was instead staring at the cave entrance ahead. “Big squad coming!” she shouted. “Never seen anything like it!”

I squinted in the direction she was pointing at. The flying forms of Jade and Evelyn were blurring from the edges of my vision. The two of them were cutting down any orcs that were still putting up a fight. Not even bothering to get the ones that were running.

We’d been seeing a lot of that lately.

I wanted the fear to spread.

My magical eyes penetrated the mouth of the cave, and I made out what Tisha was talking about. The soldiers charging up the interior ramp were moving much faster than they should’ve been able to. Archers moving behind them were also strapped with bulky quivers that held arrow designs I was unfamiliar with. They seemed to be holding fancy crossbows too.

Then there was the huge monster that lumbered up behind them.

I didn’t need my powerful sight to hear the slamming of its feet, or notice the shaking of the rubble below me.

“Everybody pull back behind me,” I said. “This looks new. Make it safe. Isla, you in position?”

“Ready when you are,” the animus mage said. “You finally going to need me? Or is this just more teasing?”

“Bring the squad closer. I might want some extra targets.” I floated closer and commanded the full swarm of my slugs to rotate around in front of me, setting up an impromptu mesh that would protect me and also easily fly forward to attack my foes.

Heat flared ahead of me as a handful of green shapes blazed in my direction. They came at me so fast I hardly had time to fire. Still, I blitzed off a quarter of my ammunition in a single blast. The shapes reacted suddenly and zipped off in random directions. One of them careened away at an odd angle and crashed into a jutting boulder—then erupted into a fireball.

“Damn!” Jade yelled over the comms. “What the hell are those?”

I shifted position and hauled my steel swarm with me. Trying to get a better look at what was coming. Tracking the shapes that I was now recognizing as orcs in jetpacks.

“So… this is new,” I said, taking a slanted approach to the cave and taking off after the nearest pair. “Everyone pick one off. Melee range only. No crossfire.” The ladies of my team sounded off and everyone picked their own targets. I flew after mine, closing the gap easily but struggling to match the erratic movements of the orcish flyers. “Isla, send in the mob. There’s more coming. Tisha, keep those eyes on, don’t bother with the flyers.”

I finally closed in on the two orcs. The pair of them were gripping complex controls that stuck out in front of their chests. As I got close enough to strike I melded my steel into a long cutting blade. I noticed, as I was moving close, that the orcs were already terrified before they even saw my attack. Just as I was about to strike I yelled, “Move off from melee range! These guys are rigged to blow!” I pulled back just as the two of them closed their eyes and pressed red buttons—detonating themselves.

The proximity of the blast would’ve been lethal for most Shimmerland beings, but I was no ordinary creature. Besides my durability as a shapeshifting Smokehide, I had control over fire with the pyromancy I’d gained from Evelyn. A quick thought compacted the blast of fire and I absently reached for the shrapnel the orcs had made, knowing I could stop the metal from slamming into me.

Except that didn’t work.

The shrapnel peppered my face and armor as I peeled off. I grabbed some of it and stared as I circled back around to the cave, pressing the hot material in my fingers. It wasn’t metal at all but something synthetic like rubber or plastic.

I shook my head in confusion as I got back to the cave. Yet my bewilderment turned to pride as Evelyn and Jade launched their own metal shots and blasted down the remaining orc fliers.

They hadn’t even had weapons. Was their job to fly into us and explode? It didn’t make any sense.

“They’re out!” Tisha yelled.

Close to fifty orcs broke out over the ground. They were suddenly throwing themselves in superhuman leaps in my direction. A few of them were flying more than ten feet off the ground. It was almost high enough to grab Jade as she made a pass back toward me.

Something was wrong with them.

“Bring in the mob, Isla!” I roared as I picked one target and fired three lethal shots into its head. The skin of the orc was graying and its muscle was completely unnatural. The slugs found their target and I moved to my next one, stopping in surprise as the one I’d already shot powered forward, as if I’d missed entirely.

“What in the world…” I muttered.

Movement broke out beneath me as Isla’s animus army swarmed the field of combat. Thirty rock golems and just as many creatures of animated ivy and water roamed the battlefield. One of the stone animus closest to me pounded forward on its strange jutting legs and plowed into the unusual orc. The creature of stone swung its rock arm and punched a hole in the chest of the orc I’d already hit with a triple headshot. The orc now fell to the ground, finally dead.

With that done the animus roved forward to find further targets. I blinked and took a quick look, getting a feeling for how things were going. Just as I did, the smashed-to-hell orc got up. It began groaning a lifeless and terrible sound from a jaw that hung broken off its skull.

Zombies?

“Necromancy!” I shouted. Changing tactics, I pushed down toward the over-muscled and already shredded orc, already creating another steel blade and decapitating it. Then I chopped off its arms and legs. Black and green blood were flying through the air. I took up off the ground and watched the lopped off limbs shamble toward me, clawing at the air as they approached.

“What?” Evelyn replied, a gasp coming quickly afterward.

“Necromancer,” I repeated. “Tisha, look for the one controlling them!” I raised myself off the ground and scanned the area. Just then a huge lumbering shape lurched out of the cave. The thing was easily twenty feet tall and carried a tree-sized club. It was stomping toward me with a simple grin on its face. “And a giant?” I said.

“Looks like it,” Jade said.

“You guys have those?” I flew backward and the creature tracked me, taking a swing at me with the huge club. It came up very short but I’d have to be careful to make sure it didn’t get me in its reach.

“Yeah. They don’t come out of their mountains much. BK must’ve bribed them pretty well for this,” she said. Jade was using the acronym we’d come up with to shorten Buzzkillington—which we’d been using in place of Lord Manageer.

I cut left and launched a blast of metal at the giant’s head. The slugs smacked into him hard yet only a handful of them seemed to make any decent wounds. The thing roared and charged after me faster. “Damn!” I shouted. “These bastards are tough.” As I banked further to the left I saw the squad of archers with their crossbows sprinting out of the mouth of the cave. They wasted no time in letting loose. They were ignoring me for the most part and focusing on the rest of my ladies.

“Watch out!” I said as I ducked another huge swing from the giant. I began pumping more steel into his head, aiming for the wound I’d already created and not bothering with soft spots like his eyes. “Evelyn, those aren’t normal arrows! Cut right!”

My foxgirl listened to my order and gracefully pivoted to her right, using the control of metal I’d given her to pull her armor. The turn got her out of the way just in time as the arrows detonated into a cloud of fire and smoke.

“Those assholes!” she said, growling. “Don’t they know who I am? I’ll show them fire.” Evelyn cruised down toward the archers. Coming in too close to the giant. Trying to close in on the archers with reckless speed.

The giant grinned even wider and spun with surprising speed, whirling his tree directly in Evelyn’s direction.

I could’ve used my last volley to shoot out his eyes. That was one of his softer spots—but there was one even softer than that.

I gripped my hand into a fist and grabbed onto every bit of metal that had made it into the creature’s thick skull. Then whipped them into a swirling frenzy, pulping the huge beast’s brain in an instant. His swing toward Evelyn went limp and the tree in his hand tumbled to the ground with a thunderous crack. Seconds later he hit the ground too with an even louder boom.

I relaxed for a moment and nodded in satisfaction at the kill. The ladies had each taken out their own flying orcs and were gunning down the remaining ground forces. It looked like the fight was over.

Then, without a sound every corpse rose from the ground at once. Hundreds of bodies rising as if pulled by invisible puppet strings. The giant lifted off the ground too, magic raising him up by the chest. He landed on his feet and his eyes drifted in separate directions as he turned toward me.

All of the undead were turned toward me.

Chapter 2

“Well, that’s certainly new,” Jade said. Her voice was tight with anticipation as the mob of undead swarmed toward me. Their movement was dumb and clumsy. Many were tripping over rocks and falling. Still, though, the ones closest to me flew through the air as if they were flung. Their legs were barely flexing as they hurled toward me in the air.

“They’ll die twice,” Isla hissed as her golem army smashed into the enemy ranks, the huge stone creatures hitting the approaching undead like a wall of hateful nature. The air filled with cracks and thumps as the battle hit a new height of fury. A whoosh took me by surprise as the giant flew toward me in a way that it shouldn’t have. Instinctively I blended the metal in its skull harder, hoping to completely destroy its brain.

I met no resistance at all.

The thing’s brain was already destroyed.

That wasn’t stopping it from coming.

It threw a sloppy punch at me as it hurtled through the air. I used Jade’s teleportation magic to pop behind it and then extracted all the slugs I’d buried in its head. Then I gathered them with the rest of my trailing ones and flattened them into a rough sword. I swung it hard and fast, watching the improvised blade decapitate the giant.

“Nice!” Evelyn shouted over the whoosh of flames as she torched the enemies closest to her.

I watched in horror as the headless giant turned toward me and swung its fists again. The head itself flew up toward me as if hurled by a catapult. “Not nice enough!” I shouted back before teleporting once more, getting clear of the monster entirely. I pushed higher in the air and let my truesight free, scanning for traces of magic. “Tisha, do you see the necromancer yet?”

She pulled up next to me and shook her head. Despite the heat of the battle I couldn’t help but admire her beauty—her deep blue eyes and the curves that her armor amplified. Ample breasts pushed up by her chest plate, with substantium chain mail covering the otherwise exposed flesh.

“I do love it when you check me out, Luis, but some other time?” she joked with a shake of her head.

“I’ll do it whenever I damn please!” I chuckled back at her, pulling the pair of us higher as an undead orc with a spear flew through the air and came right at us like a missile. “Holy fuck, this is insane.” I scanned the area again and couldn’t find a trace of magic out in the open. “Whoever this is, they’re good.”

“I don’t see anyone down here. They should be close by. You’ve got more magical range than anyone I’ve ever met and you’d need to be close by to manage something like this.”

I wrinkled my nose as I whirled a cloud of slugs and pulped two more incoming undead orc missiles. “I wouldn’t touch magic like this if my life depended on it.” The glassy-eyed stares of the enemy and the hideous lurching of their movement were completely disgusting. My body rebelled against it in a bone-deep primal way.

“Fire is… fun,” Evelyn said as she torched a huge wave of leaping undead. Struggling for the words. “But not really doing much.” I looked over as I casually obliterated another pair of hurtling undead attackers that flew toward us. Evelyn was strafing the enemy ranks and torching them with huge walls of white-hot flames. The sizzle of flesh was the only effect, and the now-flaming monsters kept coming as they were ignited.

For normal forces it would have just added another problem. Having flaming orcs blasting into your ranks would be an issue for immobile ground troops. Not to mention morale issues. We were too mobile and seasoned after the month of fighting to be too shaken by it. Plus, Evelyn and I could extinguish the flames if we needed to.

“Giant on your ass!” Jade shouted. I pulled left and tracked Tisha, making sure the elf was moving too. She banked to the right as the lumbering monster came toward us. We got out of the way in time as its huge bulk flew through the air, flailing wild punches.

“Everyone cover me. They’re after me. Just pulp anything that gets close. Pull back if they turn to target you and let me know.” I caught a glimpse of Isla’s golems piling onto the giant as it landed. Their dozens of blows were keeping the monster occupied. Hovering to my left, I ran my eyes across the mountain above the cave, refocusing my truesight, which was amplified by the ultra-sharp magical vision that I’d gotten when Tisha and I had coupled.

There was something at the mouth of the cave.

I pushed forward, squinting and taking in what I could. I’d ignored the traces of magic initially because they were pretty common at these mining sites. BK’s mines typically made use of geomancers that could drill rocks out of walls. The magic left traces that we’d seen at every site. It was enough cover that in the heat of battle I’d ignored the signs completely. Now though, as I was getting closer, I could see that there was a lot more magic in the area than there should be.

As I closed in the battlefield filled with a hideous groan.

It sounded like an undead chorus. It made my skin crawl, and every inch of my body told me to turn and fight whatever the hell could be making such a sound.

I pushed forward instead.

Closing in on the waves of magic.

With some effort I unleashed the full strength of my enhanced vision on the upper section of the cave where the magic was concentrated. Unlike the ripples of Jade’s illusions, or the gold lines of Tisha’s enchantments, this magic was a deep and cloudy black. Within the cloud of magic I saw the outlines of four mages in what looked to be a bunker hanging from the ceiling of the cave entrance. The bunker was styled like the surrounding black stone but was made of something else. Something sturdy and nonmetallic.

“Got them,” I whispered, pulling back as if to reengage with the rest of the battle. As I turned I saw the ladies flying in a V formation with Jade at the front. My heart pounded as I took in their beauty and ferocity in battle. The three of them were looking like valkyries as they swooped through the air and rained hell down on the enemy. Jade’s horns gleaming as they jutted from her helmet. Her turns graceful as she whipped long cables of metal out beneath her, slicing the enemy to pieces.

Evelyn’s orange hair was whipping in the air with each swing of her hammer. Blunt steel shapes trailed behind her, obliterating whatever was left in the wake of her swings. The determination and pleasure on her face as she unleashed her magic—which she’d had to hide for so long.

In the distance Isla stood on a hill. Her arms were crossed as she watched her army lay waste to the enemy. She seemed to catch me looking at her and gave me a quick half-salute half-wave. We’d been getting closer and closer over the last month. Each victory over BK’s forces seemed to relax her even more. Through it all she’d been playing hard to get—which I actually found exciting. I had my hands full with the rest of the harem anyway. Not to mention the war we were waging on Lord Manageer.

“I’m going for a deep phase. Everyone pull together and stay safe. They’ll peel off me,” I said as I set myself up for a flying climb. I whipped into a backflip and started barrel-rolling in the air so that I was face-to-face with the mountain again. Throwing every bit of magic I could into my enhanced vision. Lining up a dive straight into the mountain itself.

“Luis!” Tisha yelled. “It’s too dangerous. We can burn them out—or find another mine. What are you doing?” The distress in her voice was clear, but I had to take the risk. We needed what this mine contained and I wouldn’t be running away just because BK had thrown necromancers at us.

I wouldn’t back down.

I hurtled toward the mountainside and washed my body in phase magic. Turning my entire body gold and ghostly. Rushing the process that I’d been practicing so much lately. It would be key for a new phase of my plan that I hadn’t told the ladies about yet. I just had to ensure that every inch of me—armor included, and the slugs I was dragging—was completely ethereal. A huge slab of marbled stone rushed up toward me and I forced myself to keep my eyes open, fighting every self-preservation instinct I had.

The stone should have slapped me in the face, breaking my neck at the speed I was moving.

I should have smashed into the mountainside like a bug on a windshield.

Instead I flew through it as if it wasn’t there at all. The world was strange and ghostly around me while I passed through the hundreds of feet of earth and stone like a spirit.

A vengeful one.

I slowed myself just enough that I was sure I could control the slugs trailing behind me. Then I blitzed through the necromancer bunker, dumping hundreds of metal balls into it and then dropping through the bottom of the bunker. Forcing myself to breathe, I slid into the wall of the cave beside it.

Then I churned the cloud of slugs to a ferocious speed, instantly killing the necromancers inside. Setting the whirling steel balls into an endless blend, I zipped back out through the wall and into fresh clear air. An absence grew up behind me. As if the air was being pulled down into the cave. Something sucking matter toward it.

Without looking I hurled myself farther from what felt like growing darkness. I willed my armor through the air and carried my huge barbarian body with me, not stopping until I’d put a few thousand feet between whatever was happening and myself. I started turning around only when I reached the ladies who were hovering above a mountainside next to Isla. She sat on the shoulders of one of her huge stone golems.

By the time I got a good look, the death spell the necromancers had cast was fading away. A cloud of black nothingness fading away in the light of day, as if the very sunlight was fighting the spell. Within the cloud was a green circle with a diagonal line through it.

“The Necromancer’s symbol,” I said. I remembered it from the many conversations I’d had with Isla and the rest of the ladies about the man—if you could even call him that.

A monster that could command such mages and creatures.

“Luis, that was really reckless,” Tisha said. She hovered over to me and began hugging me, our armor clanking against each other in the air.

“He was well clear,” Isla said with a satisfied grunt. She looked over at me with clear lust. I hadn’t seen it so plain in her eyes since I’d first bested her in the jungle. Seeing me use my powers in the last fights had clearly turned her on, but I hadn’t really let loose like this in any of those.

There hadn’t been any need to.

“I’m worried,” Jade said, adding on to Tisha’s nervousness. “That death spell could have killed any of us if we’d been closer. Maybe even you, Luis.”

I shrugged. “Maybe.” After having my head cut off in our last raid on Duke Meedle’s keep—and surviving—I was starting to feel almost invincible. It was something I was trying to fight against, but my powers kept growing at an incredible rate. Every time we defeated another of BK’s armies, I could feel it increase. Then of course, there was my rapidly growing collection of magical powers—and the powerful angel’s boon that Lailah had given me.

A resistance army had begun to gather in and around Clontikus. It was full of Maintenance Syndicate defectors and hundreds of mages. Every town that we’d stopped in to play a show for was openly performing magic and embracing the idea of rebellion.

It was just like the chaos Goddess Jodi had said: the freer and happier the people were, the more powerful I was becoming.

“Like Isla said, Luis was out of their reach. We’ve been talking this through. It was bound to happen.” Evelyn gave me an encouraging nod. As one of the more powerful fighters in the group she’d become sort of an unofficial second-in-command on the battlefield. The strength that she and Isla had gave them insight into the risks I took.

Dangerous, yes—but also calculated.

I twitched and looked around, noticing movement only from Isla’s wandering animus. “All of them went down when I popped the necromancers then?” I asked. The downed bodies of all the enemy undead were confirmation enough. I noticed that most of them were smoldering or on fire.

“Yes,” Evelyn said. “I went ahead and torched most of them just to be sure.”

The sight would’ve been grim if it had been humans—or anyone at all besides the MAT. As it was, I took in the flaming bodies and melting stone with satisfaction. My barbarian bones thrilled at the victory in combat. The thought of our loot possibly being nearby put a smile on my face.

“Okay everyone. You know the drill. Search and destroy. Tisha and I call it out, the rest put them down. No surprises. Secure the area.” I lifted off the ground and Tisha patted my shoulder as we separated. The two of us flanked out and started a search pattern over the battlefield. We were looking for anyone playing dead—or for any other surprises. We found none, even in the mine itself.

After an hour of searching, I called it, and Isla summoned up more rock golems. The huge lumbering creatures were running on orders to kill anything that wasn’t us. They fanned out into the surrounding area. Having them patrolling put my mind at ease. It let me relax. Now that Isla was part of the team, having a crew of lookouts made things much simpler. Everything wasn’t all on me.

We’d had plenty of surprise attacks and the animus had always given us plenty of warning. After all, Isla was the Lion’s Maw’s chief of security. They wouldn’t have had anything less than the best. Isla had told me herself that Her Eminence Lailah was only able to let the animus mage loose because of her top-tier position within the organization.

After another hour of investigation we finally found what we’d spent weeks searching for. Behind a false cave wall deep within the mines was a room full of processed and purified metals. We all knew what was in the crate before we got it open. Each of us had spent time with Tisha’s metal collection, getting to know the feel of all the known metals.

It still didn’t feel real though, after so many mines had turned up plain old iron or other common ores. I walked up to one of the ten crates and picked up a nearby crowbar just for the hell of it. Jamming the metal into the seam by hand. Cranking it back with my powerful body. Popping it open and grinning at the contents.

Chapter 3

Within the crate were hundreds of bars of pure tungsten. At a glance, without my powers, they appeared very much like steel. However, a touch of my magic exposed their superior density and rigidity.

Which was exactly what we needed the material for.

“Finally,” I said as I placed my hand on the exposed metal that was packed with a straw-like substance. “I was almost beginning to believe that the records were fake.”

“BK’s logistics paperwork is never false,” Jade said from behind me. “BK loves paperwork. That’s an executable offense for sure.”

I didn’t nod or say anything. BK killed anyone for almost any reason. The guy was a total asshole.

“What makes this stuff so special?” Isla asked, brushing up against me as she stepped to the crate. The tall, athletic woman had already ditched her combat armor and put on one of her naturalistic outfits. Long trails of what looked like snakes wrapped around her, mostly covering her breasts, and wrapping around her hips to provide some modesty down below. The snakes were made of what looked like smooth river stone. Her skin was a deep tan, and her green eyes pierced into mine. They were full of attraction and curiosity.

“I didn’t want to talk about it until we got our hands on it,” I said, moving from crate to crate as I spoke. I began popping them open and nodding as I confirmed the size of the tungsten haul. As I moved through the hidden cavern I found even more crates than I realized. There was more than enough for what I’d initially planned. “Have you all ever heard of… space?” I asked, turning toward them and raising an eyebrow. “You know. The heavens?” I pointed up above, as if through the cavern itself, toward the outside sky.

Jade nodded but waited for the others. Evelyn shook her head, as did Isla. Tisha was squinting at me and then flicking her eyes to a few of the crates.

“Can I have a few crates, Luis?” she interrupted.

I pretended annoyance, then burst into a grin. “For your secret project?” I asked.

She nodded. “Exactly. Tungsten is a bit brittle, but with proper support it is very durable.” Her eyes seemed to glaze over as if calculating. Over the last month we’d found tons and tons of steel and other metal—not to mention a shitload of industrial parts. We’d loaded it all into The Chorus—our airship—and I hadn’t known what to do with it. Tisha had apparently pulled Jade and Evelyn into designing something that would use every spare scrap of metal we found.

“And I still don’t get to find out what it is until,” I raised my hands up and did air quotes, “‘my birthday’?”

“Yes. That,” Jade replied. Her eyes were flitting left to right in playful, suspicious movements.

“Even though I haven’t told you my birthday,” I said.

They both nodded. Evelyn snorted and shook her head. “He could just find it and figure it out you know. It’s completely insane.”

Tisha slapped Evelyn’s armored waist. The little elf was so much smaller than the foxkin. “Evelyn, hush! You’re gonna ruin the surprise.”

“Fine, keep your secrets,” I said. Though I hadn’t done any prying, I’d figured out that the project involved a lot of metal, the huge prototype engine we’d stolen in the assault on Duke Meedle’s airship manufacturing facility, and the help of the Lion’s Maw’s most brilliant scientists. The thought of the Maw sent my mind spinning, and I turned to Jade. “Did we get any word from…” I trailed off, trying not to make it too obvious. “The Maw’s command?”

Jade gulped and her lips pressed together. She’d been running communications with us. Operating the flashpoint relay we’d installed on the nose of The Chorus, which was powered by the engines. Producing bright light that we pointed toward specific coordinates given to us by the Lion’s Maw. They were bolder now in their operations with BK’s forces in shambles from our continued strikes.

“No,” Jade said with a shake of her head. Not, you were on the bridge with me all night or I would have told you if Lailah said anything. Just no. She’d kept my frustration with Lailah between us, which I appreciated. I’d brought us back to the relay point more times than we’d needed. All we’d gotten was communications for Tisha’s project, and general updates on the state of BK’s kingdom.

Nothing from Lailah herself.

It felt ridiculous to even be missing Lailah at all. We’d only spent the equivalent of maybe a day together. Sure, she’d blessed me with a one-of-a-kind magical boon, but that had been about saving the Shimmerlands, hadn’t it? I’d been the one to say that I’d get her away from that old mage Crucius. She’d said she’d wanted to go out with me, but that wasn’t much. I’d almost gone on dates with plenty of women and never connected. It hadn’t ever bothered me before.

She’d only kissed me on the forehead, too.

It hadn’t exactly been a hot night of passion.

With a harem of three women already, and Isla hopefully joining soon, it really felt stupid to be pining after Lilah, but I couldn’t ignore the disappointment I felt each time another flashpoint relay period ended with no message.

“Luis,” Isla said, nudging me with her elbow. “The tungsten? Why do you want it?”

I shook my head and sighed, snapping myself out of my thoughts. It was finally time to tell them what I was planning. Why I was planning it. “BK himself needs to die. It’s time.” I looked at each of them in turn and was surprised to find the ladies nodding along in agreement. “Maw’s estimates still put his MAT orc army in the near millions. Possibly more.”

“Those are conservative estimates,” Jade agreed. “They’re recruiting more from Scraggle Rock. The war drums are beating. They smell war. They want war. It’s what orcs always want.” Scraggle Rock was apparently the homeland of the orcs within the Shimmerlands. The first thing BK had done when he’d gained power was to spread them out over the Shimmerlands. It made the orcs incredibly loyal to the bastard.

“We’re going to have a war. There’s no doubt of that,” I said, closing my eyes momentarily. “If there’s a way we can do it without killing a million orcs in open combat, that would be easier.”

Evelyn snorted again. “Sure,” she said. “Let’s make the sun rise in the west while we’re at it.”

I opened my eyes. “I’ve seen orcs scared. Remember?” Pointing at Jade, I said, “When you made that dinosaur illusion. Or when we unleashed those substantium sawblades on Featherton.”

“You used the sawblades in Featherton,” Evelyn corrected. I tried to talk about my feats as if we’d all done them, just so we felt like more of a team. Evelyn didn’t always go with that though.

“Sure, whatever. My point is: they can be scared. They feel fear. There may be a way to make them feel the heat enough that they don’t want to fight for BK anymore.”

“The war chiefs themselves are deep underground in Scraggle Rock,” Jade said. “Are you suggesting we attack them directly? There are even more orcs on the ground there than BK has at his command.”

Isla kept staring at me. Her green eyes were searching my face. “What did you say about space? What does it have to do with this?” she pointed at the crates.

Searching for the best way to explain things, I decided on the simplest terms. “This stuff is dense. I want to go very high and drop it a long way. In my world, it was a feared weapon. Capable of deep penetration of the ground. Designed to attack targets in bunkers that should never be vulnerable.”

Isla’s eyes widened as she stared at me. “Why would you do such a thing? Surely you could beat the orcs head-on in open combat. Especially with the army gathering around Clontikus. The Lion’s Maw’s forces would rally too.”

I shook my head and gripped the crate. “The MAT are a bunch of assholes. Granted. I’ve done some checking though…” I trailed off. On a few of our visits I’d spoken to some of the orcs in the cities. The half-breeds and even full-blooded ones. “I think a lot of the orcs just want to get out of Scraggle Rock. Most of them want to fight, but some of them just want to live. I could kill them all. It would take time though. Lots of lives would be lost, and not just theirs.”

“Orcs are brutal creatures. They want nothing more than war,” Tisha said, crossing her arms. “Elves know that more than anyone. Even before we came to the Shimmerlands we were at war.”

“Not everything you hear about a race is true,” Evelyn said. Her voice was sharp but just short of snapping. She’d grown a lot since we’d first started dating. It was still a sore spot for her though.

“I-I’m sorry, Evelyn,” Tisha sputtered. “You know I wasn’t talking about foxkin.”

“I know, Tish,” Evelyn said with a sigh. “If there’s a way that we can weaken the orc’s support of BK, we have to try it. We can still fight them head-on too. I’d be more than happy to. Luis is right though. I’ve met some city orcs. They’re not all bad. The worst ones are in the MAT. Some are just trying to get by.”

“So what’s the plan then?” Jade asked. Her brows were pinched tight, almost mimicking the angle of her horns.

“We’ll give the orcs what they want at first. A war.” I slapped the wood and started pacing. “They won’t take us seriously until they get their asses handed to them quite a few times. Frankly after what we put them through in Featherton I’m shocked they’re still following BK at all. I’m stunned the lengths they go to in defense of BK.” The shoddy gear they wore in the last battle was proof enough of that. “We’ll finish up the destruction of BK’s air force for starters. Hunt down any airships that are still flying. Destroy or capture them for ourselves. That will no doubt rally some kind of response. We’ll crush anything that heads toward Clontikus.”

“Okay,” Evelyn said, nodding as her hand went to the hammer at her hip.

“Then I’ll sneak in and have a word with the orc chieftains in Scraggle Rock,” I said.

“Luis, that’s insane!” Tisha shouted.

I raised a hand. “I know it seems that way. To anyone else it would be. Not for me: I can fly, turn invisible and phase through walls. If I needed to I could kill all of them if I could find them in a room together.”

“That would send them into chaos,” Jade said. “They’ll know it was you. No one else could pull that off.”

I shrugged again. “I might be able to make it look like an accident—but you’re right. I don’t want them scattered. I want them organized and afraid. I’ll have a chat with them and let them know what’s coming. I’ll tell all of them what’s coming. Then…” I said, as I trailed off, slapping the crate nearest to me. “We hit them hard and tell them it won’t stop until they leave BK to us.”

Isla was openly ogling me now. Her arousal was plain for all of us to see. It reminded me of the time I took Tisha to the huge airship engine. I made long eye contact with her, and my body responded. Heart pumping and blood flowing. The urge to embrace her and take it further than we ever had was overpowering.

“You’d use this power of yours to save life?” Isla said. Her face was screwed up in disbelief. “Surely you could rain enough of this metal on Scraggle Rock to destroy the orcs entirely.”

“If we found enough of it, I guess.” I shook my head. “I want BK. The orcs are just in the way. As far as I understand it, they were fine when they were on their own in Scraggle. Let them go back. The ones that aren’t in the MAT can stay if that’s what the people want.” I ran my hand across my forehead, thinking about the political fallout of deposing Lord Manageer. “The Lion’s Maw can sort out the mess that follows. They’ve got political operatives in every major city.

“Why would you spare them?” Isla asked. “Any of them?”

“When I was given my powers by Jodi she said I needed to do as best I could by the people of the Shimmerlands. She said my power would grow only if they were treated well. If things got better. War is hell. War never changes. If I throw the entire Shimmerlands into all-out chaos it’s going to ruin a lot of lives. Kill plenty. The less that have to die the better.”

“So you’re leaving us?” Tisha asked. Her eyes watering.

“No, I’m not leaving. Not right now, and I promise I’ll be back.” Her lips quivered and she ran over to me and threw her arms around my waist. “We’ve got plenty of work to do first. Tisha if I’m going to pull this off you’ve got to teach me more about warding and inspection. Especially if I’m going to sneak into the orc chieftains’ caverns.”

Tisha’s head nodded against my stomach. Her helmet bumped against my armor.

“Jade. Can you start asking around with the Maw? Get me information on the political situation in Scraggle Rock? Or maybe outside of it? See if there’s any kind of faction that doesn’t want war. I’d like to get the message to them too.”

“Sure thing, Luis,” she said, blowing out a long breath. “I thought the plan would be a lot crazier than this. I’m… surprised. You’ve grown a lot.”

“What… you’re disappointed I’m not going to drive a motorcycle through the orcs’ windows?” I grinned.

“Maybe,” she said, winking. “This though.” Jade pointed at the crate near me. “We’re testing this right?” The imp looked around the room at everyone. “Am I wrong or is this the craziest part of the whole plan?”

“He’s going to fly into Scraggle Rock by himself!” Tisha shouted into my armor. Her words were practically a sob.

Evelyn rolled her eyes only after making sure no one could see the gesture. “He’ll be fine. After seeing what Luis did today it’s pretty obvious he’s been holding back. A lot of it is your power Tisha.”

“Huh?” Tisha asked, sniffling.

“He can travel through walls safely. There’s almost no limit to what he can do now. He won’t even have to hit them head-on. Not to mention his invisibility and—” Evelyn stopped and sighed. “I’m honestly jealous, Luis. You’re the strongest mage in the Shimmerlands. There’s no debating it anymore.”

“Stronger than BK himself?” Tisha asked, pulling her head back and looking up at me with tears streaming down her face. “It’s said that he can kill with a single word.”

I stretched my arms wide, putting on a brave front for the ladies. “He hasn’t got shit on us,” I said. When I’d initially heard about how BK had risen to power, I’d been worried that we’d all be killed in our sleep somehow by the man. The more we did to fight him though, the less power he seemed to have. His real strength was in the orc army he’d created and the landscape of leechium laced metal he’d created to weaken any magic users who opposed him. “It’s decided then. We’re taking down BK and freeing the Shimmerlands, together.” I waved everyone in.

They closed in on me and wrapped me in a hug, our armor bumping and clanging awkwardly. The hugeness of the task ahead had us clinging together for longer than ever. Enjoying the warmth and safety of each other’s bodies. Without her armor Isla had managed to slide in closest to me, her height allowing her lips to reach my ears.

Her breath was hot and close as she said, “Meet me at the waterfall in five minutes.”

Chapter 4

How Isla always found herself a waterfall was completely beyond me.

Sure enough though, less than a mile from the mine itself, the mountainside broke into a gentle slope with scattered trees that became a small dense forest. Pouring down from above, a long clear river hammered through the rocks and stones. Pooling in rocky ponds and gathering into a thundering waterfall.

We’d all circled the area and scanned well enough to know that the enemy had been completely destroyed. With that out of the way, and seduction seeming to blow in the winds, I’d stripped out of my armor down to a set of steel bands in choice support locations across my body. My bare skin soaked up the daylight and the spray of the waterfall. The sensations were pleasing and breathtaking.

I set myself down on a perch of gray stone untouched by river moss and looked around. In the distance I could see the shifting and movement of Isla’s animus patrolling the perimeter of our newly conquered territory. The shimmer of The Chorus was well within their patrol, and the rest of the ladies were inside cataloging and storing the haul we’d taken in.

“You invite a guy to a waterfall and stand him up?” I yelled out loud over the thunder of the water, with a small smile on my face. Isla was definitely nearby. She wanted me to hunt for her. The woman was absolutely wild. She’d spent years in the jungle on her own. I turned on my magical vision and found her hiding behind the wall of the waterfall itself. Pitching myself up into the air, I hovered over to a small footpath that ran behind the hiss of the water. Then I squeezed along the rocks. The blast of it soaking my huge body as I tried to move through the tight space.

Once I’d cleared a large stone I found her lounging in a formation of stone that looked like a reclining chair. Isla wore a two-piece bikini made out of animated moss. The skimpy green fuzz hugging her hips and clinging to her breasts without any straps. Her chest heaved as I approached and the depth of the green in her eyes matched what little she had on.

“You cheated,” she said with a smirk.

“What’s that?” I asked, half-pretending not to hear her voice through the hammering of the waterfall inches from us. Using the excuse to get closer to her. Within moments I’d closed the gap and took her hand. Pulling Isla from her seat. Bringing her body to mine. Her warm skin slick with the downpour that came down all over us like rain.

“I expected you to work harder to find me,” she said. Flicking her head to the side and looking at me down the side of her lashes. “You used your magical vision, didn’t you?”

“Hiding behind a waterfall is a pretty old trick,” I said, thinking of the dozens of movies and books I’d remembered it from.

“You’re dodging the question,” she said, leaning in and kissing my neck.

That was interesting. I’d always been the one to initiate in all our last makeout sessions. The ones she always broke off before things went too far.

I threw my arm out and sighed. “You got me. I guess I was impatient to find you.” My hand moved from her wrist up her lean arms and across her shoulder. Then up to her cheek. I tipped her chin up toward mine and kissed her. The two of us came together as the water exploded all around. The sound thundering with the beats of our racing hearts.

We went on like that for a while.

Eventually she came up for air and looked into my eyes. “You’re really a good man, Luis. I wasn’t sure what to expect after all the stories.”

“Ajax Baylor you mean?” I asked. My stomach twisted at the thought of having the conversation again. She shook her head. “What then?”

Her laugh was open and joyous. Nothing like the hard one she’d made when we first met. “The maniac who slays dukes in their throne rooms and gathers women around him like a choir.”

“Ah,” I said. “That.” I tipped her chin up and kissed her neck. Taking my mouth on a tour that stopped just short of the gentle slope that ran down to her mossy bikini. Then I paused. “You thought that I’d be a total prick because I’m wild enough to have a harem?”

I expected a longer answer but all she said was, “Yes.”

“I’m happy to surprise you then,” I said, coming back up to meet her gaze and kissing her once more.

“What will you do with my power? It’s true what they’ve said. How you absorb whatever magic of the ones you couple with.” Her face became suddenly serious.

“What? Your powers?” I asked, squinting at her.

“Yes. With mine and yours you could have an army of metal animus. They would be unstoppable.”

“Oh,” I said, pausing and thinking through the implications. “I honestly hadn’t thought about it.”

Isla’s serious face turned incredulous. “You’re joking.” I shook my head. “I’d assumed that was why you were courting me to begin with.” I laughed suddenly and uncontrollably, and she glared at me. Her eyes turning sharp and dark. “What!”

“I’m ‘courting you’ because you’re beautiful and I enjoy your company. Is that not enough?” I asked. Taking my hands and weaving them around her hips. Drawing her closer. Sharing our heat in the chill of the downpour.

“You really are mad!” she said. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Isla, I’ve got so many powers now I practically need a notebook to keep track of them all.” I shrugged and pulled her in so that we were practically nose to nose as I stared into her eyes. “I want you. Your powers are a bonus.”

“You truly care for them don’t you?” she asked. Throwing her hand in the direction of The Chorus.

“Of course. Clontikus too. The Shimmerlands. All of it.” Anger coursed through me, and I clenched a fist at the small of her back. “Lord Manageer has to be stopped. That asshole is ruining it all.”

“And what of the world when he’s gone? You as the new king?” Her face was flat and skeptical. Expectant.

“Hell no!” I said, another laugh tearing through me. Her body moving with mine as the belly laugh moved me. “I want to build a castle somewhere, or keep The Chorus floating. Fly around and do shows. Maybe the odd quest or two to keep things interesting. More than that though… plenty of time with you and the rest of us.”

Isla looked at me hard, searching my eyes in silence for a lie. She didn’t find one.

There wasn’t one to be found.

“Luis, I’d like to join your harem.” she said after a long while.

My eyes went wide. I’d already pitched it to her a half dozen times. She knew what asking me that meant. “We’d be happy to have you. Me in particular.” I chuckled and leaned in to kiss her. Isla planted a quick one on me then squirmed free of my grip. Standing sure on her feet on the slick stone.

“But first you’ll have to catch me,” she said. Her green eyes flicking toward the sheeting wall of water. “And no powers! I don’t want my man growing lazy in his magic.” Isla’s voice had a hint of steel in it. The tone of an instructor. It reminded me of our session in the cave where she’d pushed my power to even greater heights.

“You got it,” I said, putting my hands on my hips and letting her feel like she was in charge. I’d been wondering if flying everywhere had made me lazy. On top of that I knew Isla loved the feeling of being bested by a strong warrior. My heart was pumping like mad in anticipation of what would surely be one hell of a chase.

She sprang into the wall of water without a word. Her lithe body flying off the slippery rocks and disappearing into the falls instantly. I blinked once in shock and then threw myself after her, my boots sliding on the mossy ground. Curses and laughter broke from my mouth as I splashed down into the churning water. I breaststroked my way out of the foam and blinked rapidly in the ice-cold water. The clearness of it was incredible.

The water had gathered into a deep pool that rivaled any I’d ever been in. Trailing grasses weaved up from the bottom, turning in the currents and bending in the direction of the flow away from me. To my right was a sandy shore, and to my left a sheer rock wall. I kept my breath held and kicked and pulled my way forward. I spotted a hollow log to my right and made note of it before continuing on toward the direction of the river flow.

I almost missed it.

Then I took a second look at the log.

A jet of bubbles rolled out from the tip of the hollow. They popped as they broke the surface. The sly wild woman had shot straight through it.

I shook my head and smirked, changing course for the log. Wondering if Isla had scouted the area before to prep for the chase.

I tried to push through the log, but my shoulders were too broad. The hollowed-out tree was just wide enough to admit a woman of Isla’s size, but was too tight for me.

Of course she’d prepped.

That was too slick to have been an accident. She might’ve even hollowed the log out herself.

I hauled myself out of the water and pulled in a huge breath. Pushing myself up onto the log and looking around as water poured down my face. Instinctively I went to stabilize myself on the log with the metal along my body. Catching myself just barely in time. There were trees all around. The area was thick with tall firs and spruces. The piney scent of them was invigorating in my nostrils.

My chest thudded with heavy beats. The thrill of the chase thick in me, along with the reward for finding Isla. I ran across the surface of the log. Throwing my arms out as I did to maintain my balance. Moving along its length to the place she had to have come out from. Footsteps caught my eye to the right. They were heaviest near the water, then lighter and lighter as they approached a set of downed trees surrounded by mud.

I hopped off the log and made for the downed trees, figuring that Isla would use them to mask her footprints, but just as I reached them I stopped. The direction they led toward was much more sparse and had only smaller trees scattered throughout the mud. I’d been getting to know Isla pretty well lately and one of the things she loved was to sit high up and watch the world around her.

She wouldn’t abandon the dense woods and strand herself out there. She was a climber.

I turned back and stepped over her footprints. Looking above. Finding a long hanging branch that tipped down right where the footprints ended.

“Clever girl,” I said. Laughing to myself as I said it.

I hopped up into the air and grabbed the branch. Pulling myself up on it. The strength in my arms more than enough to take me up without any further aid of my legs.

The fucking thing snapped.

I hit the beach hard, landing right on my ass. The whole branch coming down on me. Hitting me in the head. Far off overhead I heard joyful laughter. “Just as I planned!” I exclaimed. Popping up and vaulting to the nearest tree. Throwing myself up the sturdier branches. “I’ve exposed your hiding place with my ruse.” Within seconds I’d swiftly launched myself up to the heights of the tree. My steps on the branches were steady, but I had to keep fighting my instincts to use the metal on my body for flight or stabilization.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Maybe Isla was right. I’d hardly trained my physical body at all. There might be a time when I had no metal on me—or a leechium arrow temporarily took away my other powers. The last time it happened I’d almost died. I needed to be sure that I was effective on my own too. Just in case.

As I leaped along the heavy branches of a redwood I found more and more certainty in each step. I moved with confidence and began charting a path through the top of the dense forest toward the direction I’d heard Isla laughing in. Moments later I sprang down from a high redwood and onto a smaller denser tree, sticking the landing and feeling the sturdy branch shudder under my weight.

I crouched down and stared at a strange shape hanging on the branch.

Then my eyes went wide.

It was the mossy bikini top she’d been wearing. The bottoms were abandoned on a nearby branch. Squinting through the bramble of tree limbs I could see movement in the distance. I snapped a quick look behind me to see if there was any movement in that direction, but there was nothing. I took off toward the movement, hurling myself forward through the trees. The snappy scent of pine sap was thick in the air.

It was possible that she was shaking the trees with her magic to get me off her trail, but that would’ve violated the rules of our game. It didn’t seem like her at all. I pounded ahead. Feeling the spring of the thicker branches and using them to launch myself even further. Marveling at the strength in my Smokehide body.

My breath was hard and fast now as I closed in on the shaking in the brush that was growing wilder with every second as I closed in on Isla. Dense ferns and underbrush were dancing as I caught glimpses of her skin flashing through the foliage. I kept after her, closing in fast. Her technique was incredible, and her lighter frame let her make use of higher branches and routes that my body would simply snap.

I kept gaining on her, but time and time again just as I was about to close in, she’d veer off at the last second. As we raced after each other I realized that we were moving in a counterclockwise circuit through the small dense forest that surrounded the waterfall. We’d done two full laps before I decided to change the nature of the game. I kept after her for a bit longer. Stopping to rip huge branches from nearby trees. Stripping the leaves and smaller limbs from them as I bounded along. Then bundling them under my arm.

Once I reached the point I’d planned on, I did something different.

I stopped completely.

From my perch above the waterfall itself I could see her dancing through the tree line around the edge of the waterfall. As she moved, I lined up mentally. Steeling my muscles and grabbing up my carefully prepared projectiles. I stood on a sturdy branch and put my back to the tree, then started launching the limbs in her direction.

Not at her.

Behind her.

The shots were a bit wild at first—I’d spent so long training my magic throws that I’d neglected my physical tosses. But after a few throws I got the rhythm down and the limbs landed mere steps behind her every time. The huge pieces of wood shaking the limbs. As if I’d been coming at her as quietly as I could. I ended up timing the throws so well that she didn’t seem to be looking back.

When I ran out of them I faded back fifteen feet or so, hopping to the other side of the tree-top racetrack we’d been running. Pulling myself deep into the bushy leaves of a fir tree. Shortly after I heard her springing along in my direction. I spared one look out of the corner of my eye to get the timing right.

Waiting for the exact moment.

Songbirds and crows sounded off. The air full of their cries at the disturbance. The waterfall’s rush was far enough off that it had turned into a low hiss, and the wind whistled through the surrounding trees. Tickling my skin and face. My chest was pounding in anticipation. The time had almost come.

A crack and spring nearby was the sign I needed.

I pounced.

My body flew through the air and I turned to my left with my arms outstretched. Isla was mid-jump. Her long hair trailing behind her as she looked back for where she thought I was.

She turned forward just in time to see me. The look on her face wasn’t one of surprise though.

It was pure lust.

I caught her in my arms and felt hers wrap around me as we hurtled through the air. Her body hot against mine. I’d aimed the jump so that we’d end up in the water, but at the last minute I changed my mind. Reaching out with my right arm and grabbing a huge branch. The two of us hanging in the air by my one hand.

Her breasts heaved against mine. Our skin pressing together as we took in excited breaths. She looked straight into my eyes and shouted, “Take me!”

Chapter 5

Isla kissed me with a ferocity and need that I hardly expected. Her hands went to my hips and mine found her backside, the other still clutching the tree branch. She hung off me like ripe fruit on the vine. “Make us a bed, over above the falls,” I said. Pointing toward the thundering water. She complied instantly, barely sparing a glance toward the area that suddenly became thick with overgrowth. Trees bending toward the falls, and vines bridging the gap between them to create a dense canopy-like bed.

Isla writhed as she clung to me, her breath hot and wild. “Hurry,” was all she said.

Didn’t have to tell me twice.

I let go of the branch and shot us over to the jungle platform bed she’d grown for us. It was just as big as a king-sized mattress, and was now covered in soft moss. The spray of water from the falls was just close enough that it tickled our skin, and the light of the day surrounded us with a prismatic rainbow.

Isla dropped off of me and sprawled back on the mossy bed. Her eyes wide, her mouth half open. As I hovered down to meet her, she started to roam her hands on her naked body. One circling her left nipple, and the other trailing down to the tuft of black hair below her waist. Then further below. I’d expected that area to be a bit more wild, but she might’ve done some landscaping in preparation for the day.

I quickly discarded my clothes. As busy as Isla was with touching herself, she still gasped at the size of me.

That was a reaction I’d never get sick of.

I settled down above her and Isla pulled me down on top of her. Our bodies pressing together. Warm from the heat of our passion and the high sun, but cooled by the spray of the fall and the mossy canopy we lay together in.

One of my hands weaved behind her neck, pulling her eyes up to mine as the other roamed her body. Gripping the curve of her hip, then sliding up her slender waist along her ribs toward her breasts. Fondling each in turn as I kissed her and thrilled in the bucking of her responsive body. Isla’s moans were desperate and wild. As she pushed up against me, my sex pressed into hers. The brief contact bringing moans out of both of us.

“Don’t be delicate with me, Luis,” she begged. The tone in her voice had changed dramatically now that I’d bested her. “When you slide in I want all of it hard in one deep stroke.”

My eyes bulged at the specificity of the response. “You sure you can handle it all?” I asked, looking down. Her own eyes tracking toward it too.

“I’ve been… preparing,” she said. Then she pushed me up into the air with her hands as vines grew closer to me. Winding under my bare ass and lifting me into a seated position above the mattress. Without warning Isla got on her knees and took all of me into her mouth at once.

“Holy shit,” I whispered, placing one hand in her hair and another on her breasts.

In between strokes of her mouth she said, “I want you as firm and big as you can manage.”

I held onto her for dear life as her lips and tongue stroked the tip of my head. Her hands even finding my balls as she went crazy on me. “You know I’m a shapeshifter, right?” I asked in between breaths.

She paused and pulled back, looking from my dick back to me. “Oh…” she said. “Oh.” I’d wetted my thumb in my mouth and traced it across one of her nipples as she said the second one. “Let’s… keep it natural then? For now?” Isla shook her head in wonder. “Perhaps in the future you can see how much I can take beyond this.” Without another word she went back into motion. Pumping her lips back and forth across me. The warm wetness of her mouth feeling incredible as they sucked and swelled me.

Isla grabbed the back of the hand I’d laid in her hair, then pushed it up and down as she sucked. “Show me the rhythm you like,” she said. Her words slurred. I grunted and gently pushed up and down. Tilting her head to hit me exactly where I wanted it. Then I pulled her off of me and tossed her onto the mattress. Pushing one arm across her chest to keep her in place while I returned the favor. Squeezing her firm breasts in my hand as I slipped two fingers inside of her and found her clit with my mouth. Her surprised laugh became yet another moan. I looked up at her, seeing past the hardness of her hips to the curve of her breast and her gorgeous green eyes. When we made eye contact I pressed hard into the depths of her, stimulating her g-spot and lashing my tongue into a fury. Forking it just for the hell of it. Turning my tongue into a tickler with my shapeshifting powers.

She arched her back to get closer to me. Screaming with sheer pleasure. The rhythm of her movement and increasingly heavy breaths told me that she was getting closer and closer to orgasm. The movement of her body and heavy breathing getting me harder and harder. I kept at it. Pleasing her more and more. “Don’t stop, I’m so close!” she said. I waited until she was about to finish and then slid forward. Pushing into her with one deep stroke. She roared in shock and disbelief. Pumping her hips against me desperately as she completed her orgasm with me inside her. “Roaring waterfalls!” she shouted as if it was a swear.

Her lips contracted around me and grew ever wetter as she came. Isla’s eyes rolled back in her head. Her brown hair tumbling down the bed as the water made her body sparkle in the sunlight. Isla shuddered and smiled as I kept thrusting. Her arms going up over her head. I slid my arm under her neck, pinning both arms down with one of mine, then put my hand on her chin gently. Mixing dominance with playful softness. She stared deep into my eyes as I kept going.

The heat of the sun and freshness of the breeze on my skin was exhilarating as I pushed closer to orgasm. Isla’s hips and pussy lips grinding me harder and harder as every bit of me was stimulated. She kept screaming with pleasure, her voice quickly drowned out by the thundering of the nearby waterfall. “I’m almost there,” I roared, not giving a damn who heard me. Relishing in the release of fucking absolutely naked out in the wild.

“Yes, yes!” Isla yelled, pressing against my arm. As close as I was, I released her from my grip. She pressed up into me, squeezing her breasts and thumbing her nipples. Leaning up into me and kissing me hard as I finished within her. Waves of magic crested within me as I finished. The overwhelming sexual surge I always felt bringing another source of pleasure to an already impossibly joyous scene.

I buried my head in her neck as I finished my last thrusts. The two of us panting and heaving together in the final throes of passion.

“Incredible,” she whispered after the two of us had held each other for a few minutes in happy silence.

“You’re telling me,” I said with a laugh. Rolling off of her and sliding my arm under her shoulders to bring her in close. “I’ve never fucked outside before.”

“Me neither,” she said. “I’ve had my own fun outside, but never like this. You’re my first, Luis.”

I’d pretty much expected that with the way Lord Manageer’s kingdom was, but hadn’t wanted to dwell on it.

I leaned over and kissed her again, smiling. “Happy to be your first. You seemed like you were having fun.”

“Quite a lot of it really.” Isla laughed, then paused. “How long after coupling can you use your new powers?”

“Huh?”

“Can you already use my animus magic?” she asked.

“Oh—you don’t want to chill for a bit?”

“I want to see you try! I’ve never met another animus. It’s very rare magic,” Isla said.

I extended my senses, the world seeming to throb with vibrancy in the afterglow of the sex, and the roiling power of my bonus sex magic. “How do I do it?”

“Reach out into that vine,” Isla said, pointing at one in front of us. “Then fill it with an intention.”

“What about emotions?” I asked, remembering very well how much of her emotion that Isla had dumped into her own animus.

“I’ve been experimenting… I don’t think it’s necessary. It was…” she trailed off, getting sad for a minute.

I pulled her in tight and shook my head. “You did what you had to do, Isla. You’ve got us now.”

She took a breath and pushed it out firmly, as if deciding to finish her thought. “It was a way to hide myself. It’s not necessary, but I do think it helps solidify the intentions you set in, and also extends the life of the animus.”

I unleashed my truesight and saw the traces of Isla’s magic that existed in the vine. I’d taken plenty of good looks at her animus since I’d known her. Especially the roaming guards she’d made. This one seemed different.

Simpler.

I kept staring, and then extended my senses. Feeling for something that I couldn’t see. It only took me a few moments but I got a sense of something faint. An intention. I focused hard on it and then heard it.

Grow.

It was as if I’d heard Isla’s voice whispering in my ear, except it seemed to be coming from the vine itself.

“Wow,” I said. “I expected it to be more complicated than that.”

“What?” she asked, pulling me tighter. “What did you feel?”

“Your… intention?” I asked, gesturing at the plant. The intention was straightforward, an urge for growth, and also telling the plant where to grow. “Hold on, I’ll try.” I sent magic toward the same vine, giving it my own order.

Grow, right.

The vine surged, shifting to the right and also growing. “Woah!” I said, stunned that I’d managed it so fast.

Isla clung to me and quivered, her feet flicking up and down in excitement. “Luis, incredible!”

As I watched, the growth slowed. The vine stopping its growth when it extended to the point I’d wanted it to head to. Soon I saw that almost all the magic faded away from it before my eyes. “Wow, you weren’t kidding about the magic going out fast. It’s almost all gone.”

Isla nodded as I watched the last traces of magic wink out. “That’s what I was saying. For natural materials like vines and trees, you can get by on sheer intention. You can get a movement or two like that. More emotional content is needed if you want something to stick around.”

I turned to look at her, then asked, “How do you keep those golems animated for so long?” I flicked a hand in the direction of The Chorus, where her animus squad was busy patrolling. To my surprise, Isla blushed.

“Well… it used to be I’d drain all my anger out into the animus. Up north, at least. I thought anger was the strongest emotion. It sure felt like it.” She waited a few seconds before continuing. “But I’m realizing lately that there are stronger emotions too.”

I put one of my hands behind my head and winked at her, then said, “Go on.” Sensing where she might be headed.

She bumped me with her shoulder and laughed. “You’re so cocky.”

“Oh, were you not going to say love next?” I winked at her again.

“Fine. Yes.” She nestled into the crook of my arm. “Love. I hadn’t been able to feel it for so long.” Isla looked away from me.

“You know I love you right?” I asked.

Isla’s face turned a deeper shade of red. “Thanks, Luis,” she said. Squeezing me. For a moment my heart pounded, as if that was all I’d hear in return. Then she said, “I love you too. I can’t believe it happened so fast, but it’s true.”

“I know, Isla. I know. It’s all been so crazy, but I can’t believe how lucky I am.” After a few moments of thought I slipped a few of my flight bands off of my biceps, then held them in my palm. Heating them with pyromancy and watching with satisfaction as they melted together in one pool of liquid steel. “So love. That’s the big one?” I asked.

“Justice, too. I’m not sure if that’s the right word for it,” she muttered. “The way you feel helping someone you love?”

“Right,” I said, stirring up as much emotion as I could within myself. Starting with the feelings I had for Isla. Letting them gather together in my heart the same way the metal was pooled in my hand.

“You’re going to try metal already?” she asked, gasping as I nodded. “Give it a shape first, dear. You don’t want it to be confused when it comes to know itself.”

I thought for a while, then pressed the liquid into coolness and began looping it around itself to form a long chain. Adding intricate details to the chain that made it look like a ropy strand of blackberry vine. Finally I added a handful of small but sharp thorns. Isla sighed and laughed as she watched me work.

“Amazing,” she said. “I wish I could have such power.”

That got a belly laugh out of me. “You do have it. Try and push on it. It’ll be faint at first, but your magneticism should be growing.”

“What!” she said, her voice shocked and skeptical.

“It’s not a one-way street, dear,” I said, repeating her formal pet name back to her. It felt nice. A few seconds later the necklace in my hand quivered and Isla whooped, throwing one of her hands overhead. “Nice!”

“Unbelievable!” she whispered. “What are you making?”

“It’s for you,” I said. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve been making all of the ladies charms. They let me know where you are in case anyone tries to take you.”

I thought for a moment that Isla would bluster at the idea of being tracked. She was always so at home by herself out in the wild. She smiled though and said, “I like that.”

“Here, watch,” I said. Then I stuck the necklace tight in the air. Pinching it in place with powerful magneticism. Holding it as I dumped loads of magical energy into it. Keying the signature to that exact moment. Our chase, and the waterfall. The glory of the nature around us and the feeling of our bare skin in the open air. The necklace barely quivered under the power of my immobilizing spell.

“Wow,” Isla whispered as the necklace changed color. The power of my magic warping the fabric of the steel itself. Over the next few minutes I finished up, leaving it a flowing swirl of waterfall blue and vine green. Then I sent intentions and emotions into the necklace.

Protect Isla.

Do not hurt Isla.

Stay close to Isla.

Comfort Isla.

I tried sending some more nuanced instructions to specific parts of the necklace just to see if I could pull them off. Then I threw as much emotion into it as I could. The feelings went out of me in a rush, leaving me feeling flat. I forced a long breath, not liking where my head was at, then looked over at Isla. She almost seemed like a stranger—though of course she wasn’t. I drew back a bit of the love I’d stored, then smiled as it blossomed through me once more.

“I can see how you got addicted to bleeding out emotions,” I said.

“Yes. Those were dark times. I’m glad they’re gone.” I nodded and ruffled her hair. Getting a little squirm out of her. Then I sent one last command to the necklace.

Live.

The steel on my hand wiggled. The motion spooked me momentarily. I’d manipulated plenty of metal in my time, but none of it had moved itself.

“You’re such a strong mage. This is incredible. Incredible,” Isla said.

I took one of her hands and slowly dropped the necklace into it. Letting the chains pool up on top of each other. As the thorns descended, Isla barely flinched—she was too strong for that—but the necklace still responded to proximity to her. Just before impact, the thorns changed shape and transformed into ripe blackberries.

Isla laughed, taking the necklace by her fingers and letting it drop. Watching the thorns reappear. “That’s quite the trick, Luis. It’s just like me… a bit thorny on the outside.”

“Thanks,” I said, smiling. Happy that she’d understood the intention of the symbolism. “This way a part of me will always be with you.”

She looked up at me, then kissed me. Leaning her forehead against mine. “I like that.”

“I do too.”

Chapter 6

“Is this really how it works?” I asked, staring down at the twelve steel statues below us in the cargo bay. The Chorus rumbled and hummed as it moved along in flight. The rest of the ladies were up in the bridge taking us on our course south. “It doesn’t feel right.” Since our coupling and my first metal animus, Isla had been training me in the skill over the week of our flight back toward Clontikus and our eventual goal of BK’s Capital territory. The training had been comprehensive, but bringing a small piece of metal to life and ordering it to fly in little circles was one thing.

Creating a batch of soldiers was something else entirely.

“I know you’re not used to… leaving your magic behind in this way, but it’s the nature of the spell. Your mana replenishes quickly. You have nothing to fear. Just remember to instill the orders that you want them to follow and they will follow them. Then of course the emotions.”

I nodded slowly as I looked down at the lifeless steel hunks that stood in ranks on the deck below our platform in The Chorus. The whole team had worked together to craft and style them. With my powers, shaping them hadn’t been difficult. Picking the shape had been a struggle. Everyone had different ideas about what they should look like and how they should function. Tisha wanted them to be a bit less scary, but still powerful in battle. Isla was thrilled at the durability and flexibility of animating steel, and wanted to create creatures that were completely alien to the battlefield.

In the end, I’d made the final call and made them gigantic humanoid versions of me. For multiple reasons.

First, I wanted the orcs to fear them as an extension of me. It was part of the fear campaign I wanted to run against them. I wasn’t exactly relishing the idea of being feared, but it was critical to the plan.

Second, and more importantly, these things were going to be operating on my orders. Whatever they did. Whoever they killed. That was on me. For better or worse. Isla kept assuring me that they’d follow my orders to the letter—but what if I gave bad orders? I’d known plenty of computer programmers through my old roommate. One of the things they’d talk about was that computers didn’t make mistakes: humans did.

Isla had explained that the golems would keep functioning without me around. No matter how far away I was. That was the reason she could leave the Lion’s Maw to help us in the first place. She thought my issue was draining out excess magic. That wasn’t it at all. It was the idea of one of things running loose and hurting people that didn’t deserve it that was bothering me.

Isla put her hand on my forearm and gripped it hard. Pulling my attention back to the moment. “You can do this. You’ve flown through every training exercise. They will think like you. Use what you give them. Just give them what you want them to have.”

Over the last week I’d made more and more complex golems. Trying out individual instructions on each of them. She was right. They’d all performed well. I’d dissolved each of them shortly after though. Not wanting them to stick around and get into trouble.

“Okay, here goes,” I said with a long breath. I made sure that my posture was steady and adjusted my footing on the deck. Then I pushed my magic out toward the hunks of metal using the abilities that Isla had shared with me. First, feeling for any existing life force within the metal and of course finding none. Then dumping in my magic. Bringing life to the metal itself before providing any commands.

Given the complex nature of the spell Isla and I had agreed that creating the entire squad at once was the best move. It would give them more consistency as a team, and overall. The dozen metal statues began to hum and vibrate as the magic soaked through every inch of their being, the whole squad taking on an almost blinding blue light as it occurred. I felt mana falling out of me at a surprising rate. As if someone had punched a hole in my bag of energy and it was draining fast.

In fact I could see it moving through the air in front of me and rushing into the soldiers.

All at once they began to twitch and shake. Their bodies spasming as they came to life. I gave my first command before Isla had the chance to suggest it.

Be still until commanded.

The order went into effect at once. All twelve locking completely into place without a twitch. I kept pouring more and more mana into them. The process went on for at least ten minutes. The more that went into them, the more commands and physical punishment they could take. At the end of the initial seeding—as Isla called it—I found myself less tired than I’d been expecting. The drain on my mana felt like I’d run a few hard sprints, but it barely hit my overall energy reserves. My power had grown so much since I’d first come to the Shimmerlands. It was astonishing.

“Safety protocol now, right?” I asked. Mostly to myself.

“Right,” Isla nodded. “I’m stunned by the power you’ve seeded into these. They will be fine warriors. It’s beyond what I’ve ever been able to manage.” She paused for a moment. I looked over at her and gauged her emotions. She had a mixed smile on her face. “A lesser woman would be jealous, I think,” she said before smirking at me.

“But you’re no lesser woman, right Isla?” I said as I nudged her and grinned.

“Your words, not mine,” she replied as a genuine smile crossed her face. Isla looked at the golems and then back at me. Her eyes roving along my body and then taking on the half-glaze that I recognized as someone using their wizard vision. She tended to check me out that way a lot. None of the other ladies did. Her breath quickened and she shook her head in wonder. Her cheeks and chest reddened as she flushed. “Such power. Incredible. You’re barely drained.”

I took her arm in mine and squeezed it. Taking my turn to bring her back to the present. She giggled suddenly, leaning in and laying her head on my shoulder. I relished the physical touch for a moment before returning to the task at hand. Then I started firing commands at the golems. Forcing so much emotion and power into them that they couldn’t be ignored.

I amplified emotions of law and order as I made the commands. Justice. Righteousness.

Do not harm Jade, Evelyn, Tisha, Isla, Lailah, or myself.

I added in Lailah even though I’d been thinking about leaving her out. I wasn’t sure where we stood, but I had to have her in the safety protocol just in case.

Follow my orders first, then that of those just given. Sacrifice yourself in combat to protect those that you take orders from.

Each time I issued a new command I blasted a firehose of increased mana into the soldiers. There was a bit of a drain each time, but it almost seemed as if the mana was coming back faster than I was using it up.

I could make hundreds of these at once.

The thought flitted through my mind with absolute clarity.

The Materials and Acquisition army is your enemy. Lord Manageer is your enemy. Those that hurt the innocent and helpless are your enemy.

I ran through the sets of safety commands a few times. Drilling them into the golems’ very essences.

Preserve yourself if possible, but the end of the enemy is more important. Work with your brethren to achieve your commands.

“Good. I think that’s enough for now. Mobilize them. Finish them off,” Isla said. Her voice was low and practically a whisper.

I went through the rest of the aspects that we’d trained. Granting them awareness of their realities. I was still amazed that I didn’t need to give them functioning eyes. The golems were able to sense the entire world around them as if their whole bodies were eyes and ears. I gave them the blessing of the rest of human senses. Then at last I informed them of the construction of their bodies and the placement of their weapons.

Lastly I hurled a wave of powerful emotion into the golems. I’d spent the last few nights priming myself for that exact moment. Thinking of all the hell that the MAT had unleashed on the Shimmerlands. Mentally revisiting the kidnapping of Jade. The tales I’d heard from everyone about each horror that Lord Manageer had set loose upon the world. I combined every bit of righteous anger in me with a heap of the love and empathy I had for the people of the Shimmerlands. Imagining the faces of the crowds who’d come to see us play music. Random faces from the streets, too.

Emotions drained out of me in a huge blast, leaving me feeling flat and dull. This was my least favorite part of the animus process. In the wake of the emotional blast though, looking over at Isla, then feeling the presence of the rest of the harem’s charms filled me back up.

The casting of the senses and the final animation drained less mana than the previous commands—though it did sap me mentally. I felt a sense of exhaustion in my brain that was almost like the hangover after a long night of studying music or playing video games. The sensation was coming on strong and fast in an almost dizzying wave. I breathed softly for a few minutes and felt Isla’s warmth against me, then issued my last initial command.

Rise and claim your weapons.

The statues unfolded from their squatted positions and stood at attention, the already tall shapes unfurling to a full height of twelve feet. Their gunmetal gray bodies shined dully in the light bleeding in from the exterior of the airship. Each of them bent to the deck and lifted the huge six-foot executioner’s blades I’d crafted for them. Stories about how I’d slain the orcs with the very blade I’d been set to die by had spread far and wide. Especially among the orcs themselves. The monstrous weapons were nearly half as large as them. Each enchanted by me to be nearly weightless and honed by us to be razor sharp. The weapons would strike fear into the orcs very effectively, and also amplify the story of my initial escape and defeat of their armies.

“Patrol the deck,” I shouted, pointing my hand at the large cargo hold we were gathered in. The creatures shuddered into motion. Their metal limbs screeching into movement. The noise was incredibly loud. I winced and felt Isla cringe as well. Without thinking I reached out and applied heat magic to their joints, leaving a permanent touch of magic in all of them that instantly stopped the sound. They clomped along the deck and fell into perfect formation. Huge blades held in their right hands. Their faces were perfect replications of my own, and each one had stylized long hair that ran down their heads. Just enough for my likeness, but not enough to get in the way during a fight.

“Halt!” I yelled. They stopped that very second.

“Good. Now try the nonverbal commands,” Isla encouraged.

Resume patrol.

As I thought the command I threw magic at them again and they went into motion instantly. Isla clapped her hands together and shook her head in amazement. My magic reserves were still incredibly full. So high in fact that I decided to try something new.

I commanded the golems to a halt and then threw nearly half of my magical reserves into them. Blessing them with a lesser form of magneticism that they could only use to control themselves. Giving them the knowledge to perform the weightlessness spell I’d used on their blades, and also to undo it in case they needed to swing even harder.

The magic left me in a rush and had me dizzy for a moment but I forced myself to sit up straight as it blew out of me and rushed into the golems. Isla gasped, turning to me in shock. “What was that?”

“Watch,” I said. Managing to keep my voice level as I spoke.

Fly.

The room burst into motion as the golems leapt from the ground in gentle arcs. Their huge steel booted feet kicking them off the ground in giant leaps. Each of them landing on the deck in complete silence as they perfectly slowed their momentum with my weightlessness spell.

“By the gods above…” Isla whispered. “This shouldn’t be possible. I’ve never been able to bless a golem with magic of my own.” She looked at me with pure lust in her eyes and tackled me. Smothering me in kisses and grabbing my hands to roam them across her body.

“Captain Smith!” Jade’s voice piped in from above. Coming in through one of the metal speaker pipes that ran from the bridge. Her voice was augmented by one of Tisha’s sound charms, sounding almost like it was coming from a PA system. I kissed Isla one time then pulled her back and listened. Jade only called me that when something serious was happening. “We’re pulling up on an MAT airship. Should we follow?”

I ordered the golems to halt and reform ranks. Watching with pride as they shuffled into formation and sheathed the huge executioner’s blades on their backs. They stood completely still and awaited further orders.

“Come on, let’s go.” I scooped Isla up by the legs and waist and shot through the air on my flight bands. Heading through the corridor we’d created that allowed for fast access to the bridge. Yelling my approach through the safety tube and barreling along. We got to the bridge in less than a minute.

The ladies were all standing around Tisha, who had the wheel. The expansive windows gave us a clear view of the enemy airship as it cruised through the sky a few miles off, its own height lower than ours. We both were flying over a long curving river and low rolling mountains.

“How far are we from the next populated city or town?” I asked, leaning forward to consult the map that we had tacked up next to the helm. Touching everyone in turn as I moved toward it. Each of them giving me a squeeze or a hug in greeting.

“There’s nothing for miles,” Jade said. Her thin finger pointed to the map and I could see that she was right. “What should we do Luis? Are we taking it? Or blowing it up?”

I turned toward Isla, then looked further over my shoulder in the direction of the cargo deck. Then I looked back toward the enemy ship. “We’re going to introduce the MAT to our Steel Guard.”

Chapter 7

I could hardly believe how much power I still had in me as I closed in on the enemy ship, flying under my own power after I’d slipped out of The Chorus. Full armor hadn’t been necessary so I’d just kept my flight rings on and simply cloaked myself as I rocketed toward the enemy ship. Peeling off to its starboard side to avoid rotor and rocket wash. I circled it carefully and scanned with my superior sight. Looking for signs of magic warding and finding none. Feeling out for the pull of leechium as I flew in close, but sensing nothing.

This ship might’ve been called in from the far north. Maybe in response to our attack on Featherton. Without a port like that they might not have had the chance to upgrade the ship. With the pyromancer failsafe still in effect, they didn’t seem to have the ability to use leechium freely. That made things much easier on me.

I increased my speed and sent my body into its golden phasing state, careful to apply steady illusion magic over my body as it glowed. Then I made dozens of passes through the ship. Phasing from side to side. Counting the enemy and looking for any surprises. The ship was loaded with more than fifty MAT soldiers. The inside smelled of smoke and blood. The army itself was fully orc with a handful of mages, which were mostly in the bridge. Their armor was covered in soot, and some of the cargo holds were filled with grain and other common materials that might have been claimed from raiding small towns. A few of the holds contained piles of copper and gold coins stained with blood.

I had to stop myself from shouting in rage as I realized what these monsters had just done.

They hadn’t taken any prisoners. I made sure of that. Doing a second pass through the ship once more. It would be a perfect opportunity to release the golems. I peeled back and returned to The Chorus, then slipped through a bit of metal hull to put myself into the cargo hold with the Steel Guard. They were eerily silent and still, but I could sense the tremendous magical energy I’d poured into them.

Weightless.

I sent the command and was thrilled to see that they responded to my mental intent along with the word. All of them set themselves into a hover above the ground. Still perfectly ranked.

Follow in rank.

I pulled back away from them in a hover and peeled the side of the hold open again, flying backward and realizing I had to make the gap even taller for their huge forms. Once I did they flew out after me. The Guard didn’t have enough magic in them to be weightless and fly freely, so I latched onto them with my own power. Getting all of them in tow and sealing the ship back up. They’d be capable of leaping long distances in battle, but I wanted them to be somewhat limited in mobility so they couldn’t wander off too far.

I weaved illusionary magic ahead of us, creating a wall of invisibility. Then I wrapped it around us entirely and carried the squad forward. I sensed them waiting behind me without needing to look. Once we’d caught up to the enemy ship I dropped them one by one onto the hull. Picking spots that I knew through sense and memory of airship layout. Ones where they could easily slice through canvas and drop into the enemy ranks.

I felt a surprising calm as I deployed them, wondering for a moment why I wasn’t nervous about taking the ship this time and realizing immediately that it was because everyone was safe back in The Chorus. As I sent each golem to its post, I had no worry about their well-being. Unlike the ladies, they were all replaceable. I took two of them with me to the bridge itself, and then sent a broad command for them to cut down and attack.

I turned to watch as they did. Each of them drew their huge blades from their shoulders in complete unison, then hacked a deep gash into the canvas of the ship. Dropping without a sound or any objection. The screams and chaos that followed were music to my ears.

A song of vengeance for the village they must’ve just raided.

I let them run loose on the ship as I took my remaining pair with me toward the bridge. Wasting no time and blasting a hole in the exterior, I remembered to make it fifteen feet tall to accommodate the monsters I had in tow. I dropped the illusionary spell and set myself down on the deck.

“It’s him!” the caption yelled. The foxkin were throwing fireballs at me with surprising speed. I’d expected a bit of shock and awe, but I was the only one capable of such an attack on an airship. It made sense that they’d know who I was.

The fireballs arced toward me. Crackling in the air. Just as I moved to smother them with my magic, one of my golems jumped in front of the attack and bore the fireballs on its massive chest. The huge creature barely fitting in the cavernous bridge, crouching slightly on its human-shaped body. Crew members screamed in shock as they tried to come to terms with what was happening.

Before I could stop the golem it lurched forward and sliced the captain in two. I had to reach hard for the kill switch spell, barely managing to grab it from foxkin’s grasp as he breathed his last breath. That had been close. I hadn’t told the golems about the kill switches. They were just following my initial orders. I’d have to make sure they were given condition updates if I put them in any complex missions.

By the time I finished gaining control of the spell the entire bridge crew had been dispatched. Ten MAT mages and soldiers beaten in less than a minute. “Damn,” I muttered in surprise. “You, wait here,” I said to the one that had done most of the killing. “You, come with me,” I ordered the one that had acted as my bodyguard. Before I left I walked over to the physical kill switch that was tucked into the corner of the room. The soldier that had been standing on it still had his foot jammed into it. I grabbed his body and pulled it away, then bent the metal decking so that it locked the switch in the safe position.

With that out of the way I floated off the bridge, turning back and seeing the results of the animus. Both had their enormous blades still drawn and blood dripped from them. One floated above the carnage in the bridge. Orc bodies lay scattered across the floor. A shiver ran through me. The effect was terrifying, and if it worked on me then it certainly would on the orcs.

The golem following me shifted its position into a flying orientation and sheathed its blade to better make its way through the tight corridor. We emerged from the bridge catwalk onto the central platform to find utter silence. The only sound was that of the engines chugging in the back. I whistled low and made rapid passes through the interior. I expected to see ongoing resistance but only found scattered golems of my Steel Guard surrounded by bodies.

Some had even taken the initiative to seek out and destroy batches of soldiers that had tried to hold doorways to last longer. I stopped at one of them. Noting the gigantic hand-sized pieces that the golems had taken out of the doorframe itself. Most of the animus barely had a scratch on them.

Gather the bodies and bring them to the engines.

The two closest to me got to work, following my orders. I did one last pass through the ship looking for survivors and found none.

“Incredible,” I whispered. Isla had said that she’d been able to give basic orders to her animus, but the ones I’d created seemed to be more intelligent than anything she’d managed. I hovered to the engines at the back. Then I closed off the dead man’s switch mechanism within the engine. I severed the pipe that led from the back of the engine to the cyclicite compartment beneath the engine. Eliminating the need to hold onto the captain’s spell and fully disabling the ship’s self-destruct mechanisms.

I instructed the golems to load the bodies into the engine and waited a few minutes to ensure that they were doing it properly. Then I flew out of the ship and made a pass in front of The Chorus. Flashing the ladies a thumbs-up and yelling, “All good!” Throwing myself back into flight and entering the captured ship again. I found all the animus standing around the engine, waiting.

They were all standing in formation in the engine room. I’d been able to control them from clear across the whole ship. It looked like the old “ten feet of magic power” rule that the Shimmerlands had clearly didn’t apply to me anymore.

Once I got confirmation that they were going about their work properly I floated through the open interior of the airship and found a cargo hold filled with plenty of cabling—which all the ships seemed to keep stocked for repairs. It was in the same location as our extra was. With that found I rendered it weightless and then slipped it and myself out of the ship. I returned to The Chorus and we transferred some stuff to the new ship. Then I worked with the ladies to put the huge vessel in tow behind ours. After that we made for Clontikus.

***

As I hovered down toward the house I was flying toward I couldn’t help but be shocked by the changes that Clontikus had gone through since I’d first arrived. The town had never been small with all its manufacturing and industry, but it was never like this.

Clontikus had swelled to easily ten times its original size. The original streets and houses formed a central cluster within seemingly endless ranks of tents and hastily thrown up structures. What should’ve been absolute chaos was actually well controlled. Figures in long gray robes worked with the citizens below—the robes bearing the Lion’s Maw symbol. They’d provided most of the tents in the area after taking them from BK. With their organizational skills the ranks of tents were clean and structured with evenly spaced spots for bathrooms and even miniature town squares.

The sprawl of tents had spread far beyond Clontikus itself, but the ample farmland around it was perfect for such a tent city. I smiled as I made my last descent. Watching magic flare in the daylight as mages used their powers in mundane ways. A young woman—whose hand was as bright as a miniature sun—was shining her magic into a well as two others near her stuck their heads in and pulled out a full bucket.

An old man with graying hair was flanked by a hundred goats, who all followed him in calm and happy ranks. Chewing grass away from a nearby field. The animals clearly charmed by his power. Off behind him a young scrawny boy carried an oversized wooden hammer and a heavy load of metal rods on his shoulder. He expertly dropped them from his load and smashed them into the ground with superhuman strength. His powers clearly allowing him to work quick and hard.

A number of the citizens were wearing the red jumpsuits that were Maintenance Syndicate issued, but the text had long since been removed and replaced with hand stitched lines saying Free Mages. The population of them in Clontikus had swelled so rapidly that they’d had trouble getting basics like clothes. Watching the Shimmerfolk work their magic in their old uniforms felt fantastic.

It was a huge fuck you to BK himself.

I landed on the stoop of a tall and elegant two-story home next to a healthy willow that hung over a large pond. The structure was made of white pine, and had the elegance that I’d expect from an elven home. It’d been a long time since I’d visited my old friend, and I had an offer for him that I doubted he’d be able to turn down.

I rapped on the door and stepped back, smiling when Heartsbreech opened it. An earthy scent wafted out the door. The tall elf archer and expert chef was wearing a pristine white apron that looked like it had never even heard of grease.

“Do you cook with that thing? Or keep it in a glass case?” I asked, gesturing at it.

“You’re wearing a shirt. This must be a formal call of some sort,” Heartsbreech joked back. I looked down and chuckled. The elf had only known me for a few months, but he had me there.

“It’s good to see you, Heartsbreech,” I said, reaching out and shaking his hand.

“You as well, Luis. Or Heavy Metal Mage—or Luis of the Unlicensed Fornicators. You’ve so many titles it’s hard to keep track these days.”

“You missed one: Captain. I got myself a ship,” I replied.

“Oh?” Heartsbreech stepped out farther and looked around as if I had a ski boat waiting in tow somewhere nearby that he could spot. “We’re quite far from the coast you know. Oh, you mean that metal contraption? You never came back. I’m glad you got it running. What a feat.”

I shook my head and said, “Not that one. Still got it, but I’m talking about something else.” I leaned back and smiled, blessing my timing and pointing toward the north. “That’s my ship.” The Chorus cruised toward us and Heartsbreech stepped out onto the porch farther. His mouth was hanging open. I’d had Jade alter the cloaking spell enough to make The Chorus visible for all to see. It would only help morale in Clontikus.

As we watched, The Chorus come toward us, and kept solidifying into view as Jade pulled back the illusion spell.

“By the High Elves. What a feat.” Hearstbreech shook his head in wonder and then said, “You… may want to inform the town. They may think this is an attack.” He pointed at the camps. There was quite a stir as the tents began to empty. Mages and soldiers of every sort staring and shouting alarm.

“Oh, we’ve got that covered.” I said, turning from Heartsbreech and setting my earpiece in my ear. “Go ahead, Tisha. Hit it.”

“You got it, Luis,” she replied. Moments later a throbbing drumline filled the air as The Chorus’ speakers blasted out one of the band’s tracks. The sound was followed by a bassline and rhythmic guitar. It all faded a bit lower as my recorded voice came on like an announcer.

“Attention Free Mages. This is The Chorus, flagship of Luis and the Unlicensed Fornicator’s Rising Fleet.” The recording paused and the lull in sound was replaced by tremendous cheers from the entire tent city. The soldiers dropping their weapons and a few displays of celebratory magic rising into the sky.

“I’m not sure if you can call one ship a fleet,” Hearstbreech said with a chuckle. Still shaking his head and staring at The Chorus.

“How would you like to fly the next one?” I asked. The captured vessel was directly in tow behind The Chorus, and on its current bearing was completely hidden.

Heartsbreech ran his hand through his long blond hair and looked back to his house. Then laughed openly. “You’d never manage such a thing twice.” He sighed and his eyes went hard. I could tell he was thinking of taking any opportunity to strike at Lord Manageer that he could. He’d been a fierce combatant in the Battle of Clontikus. All of my ladies had refused the opportunity to fly the second ship, stating that they wanted to be closer to me.

“I couldn’t think of a better choice,” I said to him.

After a minute more of staring he said, “If you find one, I’ll fly it.”

“You hear that?” I said out loud, mainly for the ladies.

“Yep. Message received,” Tisha answered in my ear.

“No take backs, Heartsbreech,” I said with a wink. He frowned at me and then his eyes went wide as The Chorus began to bank hard. Slowly revealing what it had in tow, the mass of the captured ship coming into plain view.

Heartsbreech slowly pulled off his apron and wadded it up before tucking it under his arm. Then he looked over at me and said, “My wife is going to kill me for this.”

Chapter 8

Oracle’s Insight: Richard Head, AKA Lord Manageer

The urge to slaughter The Necromancer was overpowering. The foul stood before Lord Manageer in the Deep Laboratory. The stench of decay in the labs was strong enough, but the ghoul looking out from beneath the black hood made it even worse.

“Have I made myself clear?” The Necromancer repeated. Doubling down on his power play. “I’m leaving, and I’m taking the Cadre with me.”

Lord Manageer clenched every muscle in his body. He’d always been told as a child to breathe deeply in such situations but found that only worked him up even more. Only complete tension and rigidity kept him sane and on track. He felt the muscles in his orc body go hard and still as he stared at The Necromancer.

That had been an argument in itself. Calling the man that, as if both words were capitalized. If Lord Manageer had known how far this all would have gone when he first relied on The Necromancer to come to power, he wouldn’t have worked with him in the first place.

The confrontation had been abrupt, with Lord Manageer storming his guard to The Necromancer as soon as he’d heard the wizard’s plans. The air was full of the tension of imminent violence. It seemed as if one twitch or cough would set off combat. The room practically throbbed with the potency of magic. As if it was ready to burst from everyone at once in a deadly spray.

Fifty of Lord Manageer’s best mages stood behind him, with his elite orc guard clustered close by. The Necromancer had fifteen of his acolytes behind him. All of them in their black robes. Their eyes burning red beneath their hoods. Lord Manageer took a deep breath, and even as powerful as The Necromancer’s forces were, they winced at his inhalation.

So, the dark wizard hadn’t broken all of his oaths. Just the one about unwavering loyalty.

He’d kept the myth of Lord Manageer’s voice of death going.

“Where do you plan on going?” Lord Manageer asked. Projecting his voice as loud as he could while also putting a whispery rasp in it. The wizards in the rank before him flinched again. Lord Manageer’s gaze flitted across the ranks. He turned it to The Necromancer, who gave him an almost imperceptible nod.

A nod which meant, Your secret is safe with me.

Even if he was abandoning Lord Manageer in his hour of greatest need.

It was The Necromancer who’d worked with Lord Manageer in the first place to spread rumors that Lord Manageer’s voice could kill at a distance. Through careful use of specific poisonings and even actors that could mimic the Lord’s tone, the pair had convinced the entire Shimmerlands that their Lord was more than a simple force mage. As his sons were.

Had been.

A simple thought from Lord Manageer would’ve been enough to snap The Necromancer’s neck instantly. The same went for his minions as well. The fact that the dark wizard stood within a close distance seemed to imply that he had some kind of protection from such a killing. If any could defy death, surely it was this dark bastard.

“We will retreat to my temple in the Southern Range,” The Necromancer said. “I have many projects that I am eager to pursue. I hear the locals there are… quite naïve.”

A shudder may have run through Lord Manageer if he hadn’t already known for decades what kind of sources The Necromancer drew his power from.

“Leave us!” Lord Manageer shouted. Pushing his voice to its absolute limits. “All of you, now!” Another small nod from The Necromancer sent his own forces out of the room, with Lord Manageer’s own guard shuffling off instantly. The forces retreated to opposite ends of the Laboratory as if they were camps in opposing armies. Exiting completely and leaving the two men alone.

“You disappoint me Gladdy,” Lord Manageer said, shaking his head. Using the name he’d met the wizard using so long ago.

“And you me, Richard,” The Necromancer quipped back.

Lord Manageer’s eyes blazed and he raised a hand as if to strike The Necromancer down. The dark wizard waved his hand dismissively. “Oh, relax. I’d death curse you to pieces. Even if you managed it at all.”

“You bastard,” Lord Manageer hissed. “You abandon me now in my time of need?”

The Necromancer—or Gladdy—laughed. His voice dry and cracking as if it was coming through an old reed. “You’ve been in a time of need ever since we’ve met. Without me you’d still be down at Scraggle Rock scaring orcs with tricks.” The look that Gladdy gave Lord Manageer showed that he was mostly teasing. “Can we dispense with the theatrics now that the minions are gone? I’ve something I’d like to show you.”

“Your work is unfinished. What of the transference? You said I was to be immortal.” Real frustration and anger came through in Lord Manageer’s tone. “That was what you promised in exchange for my protection.”

Gladdy waved Lord Manageer along toward a huge obsidian door, which slid open at the dark wizard’s approach. “Oh, come off it, Richard. I said I could swap you into one of your sons’ bodies in a proper celestial alignment. It’s not my fault they were dumb enough to get killed by that barbarian wizard.”

That barbarian wizard.

Gladdy spoke the words as if he didn’t fear Ajax Baylor—or Luis Smith as he was calling himself as of late—at all. Rage filled Richard at Gladdy’s casual mention of the slaughter of his children. He’d never particularly cared for them. After all, he’d had them only as vessels for his own immortality. Even with Gladdy’s spells and the rejuvenation of every powerful healer he had captured and enslaved, Lord Manageer would grow old some day.

Maybe even soon.

If he survived the assault on his kingdom.

Lord Manageer’s powers had been waning too. Lately at an alarming rate. The deal he’d struck with the God of Order had given him power in proportion to the strict reign he had on the lands. It had been slipping and now he was weaker than ever.

Lately he’d kept his rarest amplifum potions in hidden pockets. The quick-boosts they contained were something he’d never even thought of needing in the past.

Now he knew they could be the difference between life and death.

Richard was no fool. Unlike other kings and lords he’d read about prior to his portaling to the Shimmerlands he had daily reports on the health of his kingdom. Statistics about production and the morale of the mages he held in the Maintenance Syndicate and other conscription forces. Ever since Ugg had tried to execute the Smokehide everything had gone to seed.

Richard suddenly found himself wishing for the days when his biggest concerns were chastising an intern for using the wrong font in a report. He hadn’t thought of such things in decades.

After he’d come to power, his biggest problems had been forcing himself to intimacy in order to produce heirs. He’d always found physical contact with others repulsive. Sex most of all disgusting.

Pleasure for him was that of a well-organized file-folder, or a productivity report that trended higher each month. Bedding a woman was almost worse than losing a city in battle. Doubly so, now that his vessel children had died.

Richard, or Lord Manageer, found himself walking down a long corridor with Gladdy. The two of them walking past chambers filled with torture instruments and chambers with floors that had grooves to channel blood flow.

The Necromancer had required many human sacrifices as he came to power and helped secure Lord Manageer’s kingdom. Luckily there had been many deserving of such fates:

People who dog-tagged books instead of using bookmarks.

Unlicensed fornicators.

Clerks of his who refused to follow the rule of double-spacing after periods in reports.

Drivers of his who failed to park within the ample lines he’d had sprayed with precision.

The list went on and on.

The world was full of vile and reckless individuals. It had been a great pleasure for him to tame it.

From deep down the hall ahead Lord Manageer heard a spine-crawling shriek. It sounded animal, but had a shuddering unreal quality to it. There was also a hollowness deep within. Like the sound of an entire cave mine roaring.

“You’ll see, Richard, that I’m not abandoning you without tools.” Gladdy patted Lord Manageer’s shoulder, and he tolerated it. “My lesser acolytes will also assist you in defense of your various outposts.”

Richard grunted. Having to step twice as fast as the tall wizard to keep up. The orc body that the God of Order had given him was small and frail compared to that of most orcs. That hadn’t mattered though.

The lord of the Shimmerlands half-grinned. Exposing his bleach-white orc teeth, which had been filed to absolute human perfection. Gladdy didn’t build something up like this unless it paid off.

“How long will they serve in my armies?” Richard asked as they reached the end of the corridor.

The Necromancer answered immediately. “So long as we have the run of the MAT orcs to… augment. You’ll have their support. A few deaths will serve my minions well even if they fall in battle. It always increases their zeal toward me when I bring them back from the brink of obliteration. My champions and I will retreat to greater safety, but there is still much work to be done—and work requires flesh. You’ve been quite generous there.”

“How kind of you to repay my generosity with your retreat,” Richard said. Gladdy didn’t respond, instead stepping over to the next obsidian door which swung open at his approach.

“Oh Dick,” Gladdy said. Using the name that Richard actually enjoyed, contrary to the expectations of those in his old life. “I think you’ll forgive me for this one. Once you see what I’ve pieced together.”

The two of them emerged onto a balcony that overlooked a massive cave. The drop before them long enough that a man would need to take a breath once or twice to keep screaming on the way down. The lower portion of the cavern was covered with stone, and on that stone were plenty of torches. The stone had openings on either end, and Richard could see movement to his left. In the deep dark, there appeared to be the thrashing of a gigantic limb or tail.

Gladdy stepped to his right and started down a set of stone stairs that was carved directly into the cave wall. Richard came after him, slowly. “You really should get a handrail, Gladdy. This whole place is dreadfully out of code.” The Necromancer snorted. The sound was like rattling bones.

“Never change, Dick. You won’t regret this little jaunt. Watch your step.”

They walked in silence for some time. Moving down the thousands of stone steps to approach what was apparently a pen for a beast of epic proportions. Without warning Gladdy said, “If you should lose control of your orcs… I thought it best that you have a weapon. Something no one can overcome.”

It was Richard’s turn to snort. “I’d never lose control of the orcs. I’ve given them everything. None are more loyal to me than them.”

The Necromancer turned to Lord Manageer and stared at him. His body seeming to disappear in the cavern. His red eyes like glowing coals that hovered in the air. “Last year would you have thought it likely that a barbarian would fly through a window and slaughter your sons with metal magic?”

Lord Manageer clenched his jaw. Not bothering to respond. Both of them knew the answer to that question already.

“As I thought,” The Necromancer said. “In the event that you lose your orcs, I’ll lose the flesh that my practice requires. Without me, and without your orcs… you’ll have your hands full. I hear rumors that even the Maintenance Syndicate is losing members of its ranks.”

“Those rumors are greatly exaggerated,” Lord Manager snapped. Knowing full well down to the man, woman, and child how many had actually fled. His lie was convincing, but The Necromancer just shrugged.

“A creature like this has never existed. With it, you should defeat this heavy metal mage with no great issue.” He extended a robed hand to the pen before them. The gesture was both a flourish and an invitation for the flames around the pen to flash from red to a dark green. A color which Lord Manageer had come to love deeply since he’d come to the Shimmerlands.

The flare of green flame brought the cave to great light. All that Lord Manageer could see was rows and rows of teeth set in sickly flesh and blackened bone. A nostril the size of two of his largest orcs stacked on each other’s backs leaked what appeared to be magical flames.

“With Ajax slain, the land will return to order. With that, I will return,” The Necromancer said.

“How am I to defeat him?” Lord Manageer shouted in the depths of the cave. Feeling free to vent his frustration with the one man he’d confided in for decades. “He controls the very metals I employ to dominate the land. Even leechium has no effect on his abilities. He’s stealing and destroying my airships. Ajax slayed my sons, even when we were trapping him.” Lord Manageer was rambling now. He was always in control—at least when in front of his soldiers and subjects. Truly though, Ajax was seemingly invincible. “With his powers I-I-”

“Cool it, Dick,” Gladdy said, pointing his bony fingers at the right side of the cave. Whether Gladdy’s hands were covered in black gloves or his thin fingers had turned black from his magic, Lord Manageer couldn’t tell. “I’ve prepared a demonstration for you. Rest assured, Ajax Baylor will fall.”

Lord Manageer looked over to the right side of the cave. Huge piles of metal were stacked. Steel, aluminum, and many other alloys. Lord Manageer had used them so much in his conquering that he could tell them at a glance.

The Necromancer produced a blackened amulet from deep within his sleeve. Lord Manageer grimaced at the filth the black metal seemed to be coated in. He wasn’t sure if it was magical, or literal, having been where it’d been. The Necromancer swung it over to Lord Manageer. “Here, put this on.”

“I’d prefer to wash it first,” Lord Manageer said.

“Damnit Dick. Put on the fucking amulet. I’m giving you ultimate power and you’re worried about your robes getting smudged.” The Necromancer slapped the heavy blackened chain into Lord Manageer’s chest. The amulet had an obsidian lump in the center. It was rock hard, but seemed to have something living swimming in it. Like a worm or lizard.

Lord Manageer took the amulet and pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket. Rubbing the amulet furiously. He made little progress and muttered to himself.

“Dick! Put it on. I have much to do,” Gladdy shouted, rubbing his thin hands within his hood. As if against his forehead in frustration.

“Fine, fine.” Richard slipped it over his head and let it settle on his shoulders. He could always burn the robes after he wore them. “I can recast the chain, right? Create something more hygienic?”

“Richard!” The Necromancer shouted, turning to him with his red eyes spouting literal gouts of smoke. “Order the metals to be destroyed. Now.”

Lord Manageer squinted at The Necromancer and then shrugged, waving his hands and doing as suggested. “Destroy the metals, there.” He said it to The Necromancer and expected nothing, pointing to the metal as he did. As far as he could tell even Ajax Baylor couldn’t just dissolve metal. He had to shape it and dispose of it. Maybe he would have Gladdy assassinated after all. Ordering him around like this and forcing him to walk down so many unsafe stairs.

His thoughts melted in his brain as he teetered forward in shock. His body going so limp with surprise that Gladdy had to stop him from falling down the stairs completely. Within seconds of his order, a wave of green magic blasted from the pen to his left and evaporated everything on the platform that had previously been filled with metal. Only the pile of substantium stood mostly intact, its edges partially melted.

The blast of green decay had even cut a deeper groove into the wall where the materials had been held. The dark stone boiled and hissed as if sprayed with acid, but there didn’t appear to be any melted metal pouring down it.

Everything was gone.

“As I said, I won’t be leaving you without any tools,” The Necromancer said with a dry chuckle. “I’d been planning on keeping this for myself, but I’m interested to see what you do with it.”

“Is there an instruction manual?” Lord Manageer asked as he finally collected himself.

The Necromancer laughed once more. This time it sounded almost like the young man he’d been so many decades ago. “You’re as steady as a clock, old friend. Here.” He pulled another item from his sleeve. This one a small palm-sized booklet.

It read: Care and Use of Your Undead War Dragon.

Ajax Baylor was in for quite the surprise.

Chapter 9

Two months later

A green flare shot up from the battlefield below, which had gone nearly still. The flare burned bright green even in the light of day, and it glimmered against the metal bodies of my animus army. The thousand-strong force had dispatched the orc encampment within an hour as we all watched from above.

“It feels weird just sitting up here like this,” Tisha said. Then immediately added, “Not that I’m complaining.”

I gripped the wheel at the helm, looking down at the now-still battlefield. Watching the Steel Guard form up ranks. A mixture of emotions swirling in me as they performed the last formation that indicated the end of a fight and all-clear.

“I’d rather be down there. Can’t we just go and provide support?” Evelyn asked. Her hand was on her hip. Resting on the hilt of her hammer.

“The Steel Guard has proved it doesn’t need any support,” Jade said. Her wings twitching as she looked down from a perch on a windowsill. Her eyepatch looking strange on her head. It still took some getting used to.

“When are you going to take that thing off, Jade?” I asked.

She crossed her arms and said, “I think it looks cool! I’ll take it off when I’m ready.” It was her wearing it that had finally gotten the ladies to stop wanting to charge into battle.

I shrugged and let it drop. I’d rather be handling little things like that with her then bringing the entire group down into battle. Over the last two months we’d obliterated nearly fifty orc camps, and liberated half as many small towns and even a few cities. My animus army had only grown. The few that were melted or blown up in combat were easily replaced by new metal from the mines and warehouses that we captured.

My only concern was that I didn’t find it particularly fun to watch them get most of the fighting done. I still had to fly in and hunt the occasional necromancer though, which was always entertaining. Plus I really got to let loose when we had to operate around leechium, which was relatively frequent in the bigger cities. I picked up the handset on the helm and clicked it on. “How’s everything going Captain Selhef?” I asked, raising Heartsbreech on the radio. He was ahead of us with the other four airships that had been providing air bombardment support.

“My mages barely got to do anything, Admiral Smith. They’re beginning to complain,” Heartsbreech said. The radio hardly had any crackle at all with this range. The soakstone that Lailah had given me was powerful enough to let us communicate with radio waves within a few miles. It made coordinating the fleet a hell of a lot easier. Long-distance communication still had to be done over flashpoint, which was an absolute pain in the ass. It was easily disrupted by line-of-sight issues and weather. Our network of flashpoint towers had grown enormous though. Every time we conquered a new region we made sure to leave them intact.

I considered making a joke about letting them onto the field but held back. The action prompted a sigh from me. Being Admiral of the Rising Fleet was a powerful position, but I was finding the authority draining. With four ships under our control in this position, and another ten overall under operation elsewhere, my responsibility seemed to be growing every day.

The only thing holding my enthusiasm in place was the thought of my upcoming solo operations, and finally testing the orbital weapons.

Had BK ever thought he’d be hit with something like that?

Had a starch-collared motherfucker like him ever read science fiction that featured such an insane idea?

As I watched the ranks of the Steel Guard stand in place down below I wondered if BK had some kind of surprise for me. We’d hit the occasional bump in the road. New kinds of magic and physical traps had cropped up, but with the animus army, none of it had really mattered. It was looking more and more like BK had built his empire on the idea of inertia. His slowly creeping fortress of leechium metal had killed the spirits of all the mages in the land.

Even without my animus army, the Free Mages at Clontikus were likely a match for the orcs in these kinds of skirmishes. Their ranks had grown so much that they’d captured Titanus and the other major cities around Clontikus. Then they’d booted anyone loyal to BK out and spread the word about the capture. Every day more and more defectors were making their way north to join the cause.

The Lion’s Maw was showing itself out in the open now too. Their political operatives and logistics organizers helping stabilize the cities and towns that we captured. Morale was high everywhere.

Except for the orc camps.

Jade heard through the Maw that a lot of infighting was starting up. Many of the orcs hadn’t been happy with Lord Manageer’s dress code and general management in the first place. They’d followed along for all this time because of the power he’d given them, and the combat they’d been able to indulge in.

Now though, after getting beaten time after time with nearly zero losses, things were starting to change. I had a small black book in my back pocket of orcs I’d be paying visits to in the near future to seal the deal on their complete collapse. Hopefully they’d abandon BK and leave him to us. Without the orcs things would be a lot easier.

With them though, we might have still been able to grind it out. I looked over at Jade’s eyepatch, thinking about the possibilities that might occur if we had to throw ourselves all into battle on the regular.

They weren’t pretty.

“Luis?” Jade asked. Poking me with her finger. “Did you hear me?”

“Huh?” I asked, shaking my head. Snapping myself out of my thoughts.

“We’ve got the war room meeting in an hour. Should I give the signal?”

“Oh, right. Sure. Go ahead,” I said. Nodding at Jade as she flapped over to the communications controls where we had a set of radios for each airship. Mine at the front was good for open-channel comms but wasn’t great for complex coordination.

Over the next half hour we loaded up the Steel Guard, which took me almost no time at all. They all rendered themselves weightless and floated into town with me as I hovered them into The Chorus. Leaving a handful on the ground with orders to kill any orcs or MAT that came back. We’d been blasting leaflets and messages far and wide to orcs that the Steel Guard were not to be approached on the battlefield.

I didn’t want any innocents wandering into battle with them. So far we hadn’t had any reports of anything like that happening. BK was such a stickler for uniforms that it made identifying MAT easier too. Either he didn’t understand what was going on, or didn’t care for the lives of his troops. Either way, anyone in an MAT uniform got taken out as soon as they got close to the Steel Guard wherever it was posted.

Isla and I had done plenty of experiments to make sure that the animus maintained orders regardless of my distance. We had proof enough with her absence from the Lion’s Maw headquarters, and even more given how much I moved around. Over time I’d programmed in more complex commands and safeguards. It felt strange having a steel extension of myself patrolling the lands, but it was necessary. Without them the MAT could just move in and retake whatever we rolled over.

They hadn’t successfully launched any kind of counteroffensive.

Whenever a functioning airship was spotted by our spies or fleet I’d take the jet out with a squad of Steel Guard and capture the ship. After that I landed them and left a few guards to wait for Lion’s Maw engineers and pilots.

BK’s air superiority had been his main weapon in controlling the Shimmerlands. Now he had to risk an airship every time he took it off the ground, and no more were being produced. It was a losing position for him.

Just before I headed for the meeting, Jade caught me on the radio and said, “We’ve got a Lion’s Maw fast traveler coming in. They radioed in. All the callsigns are good. Friendly.”

“Let them in,” I replied. “If they’re senior enough they can join the war room meeting.”

***

“Okay, everyone. Quiet down. Let’s hear the reports and then I’ll issue orders.” The hubbub in the war room died down. We’d built it near the bridge out of steel and aluminum, then Evelyn had put in hardwood floors and paneling. The rest of the ladies—except Isla, who wanted to put ivy in every room—worked together to decorate. The room was dominated by a huge polished oak table that could seat thirty. Gathered within were fifteen representatives from each ship. All three of the captains and myself, plus general staff.

“I’m not thrilled with your process for midair docking,” Captain Dremel said. He was a young up-and-coming Lion’s Maw officer. Since I’d broken everything wide open in BK’s kingdom the Maw had to field pretty much every one of their people. Probably much earlier than they’d planned.

“I just gave an order to listen to the report. Your objection is noted Captain Dremel, but raise it some other time.” I blew a short breath out of my nose and looked back at the table which was covered in a huge map of the Shimmerlands. We’d formed it out of metal and included all the geography. There were little figurines for all our airships and forces. All of them snapped into place magnetically. Most of them were clustered around Clontikus except our forces here and the other formation in the southwest.

I kept most of them together because they didn’t have the benefit of my presence. I’d been experimenting with giving each ship a squad of Steel Guard and so far they’d been working out.

“If we keep docking this way, we’ll never be able to meet without you present. It’s improper procedure. I suggest we adhere to the policy I created. I sent it weeks ago.” Dremel went on and on.

“I read your report, and I told you personally that we can use it as a backup. Do you not recall that Captain Dremel? We even ran landing drills in support of your suggestion.” The eyes in the room were ping-ponging between us. Evelyn had her hand on her hammer again and her golden eyes were staring hard at Dremel. The gray was one of the few that had turned to our side. Most of them were still supporting BK. I wasn’t sure if that was part of the reason that Evelyn didn’t like him, but she didn’t really need any more.

The man was a know-it-all insubordinate asshole.

“Yes. That is true. Still though, we had to surrender control of our vessels when you staked them in midair magnetically. As a Lion’s Maw representative and captain of The Cobra I object to this arrangement.” I’d let the man name his own ship as an olive branch to The Maw. Most of the others were musically inspired but he’d gone with The Cobra.

“We are in a mountain range,” I said, extending my arms to indicate the landscape outside The Chorus. “Finding suitable landing fields would take a full day. I won’t wait hours to have a meeting that we could have in hours.” I shook my head and looked at him firmly. Sending him the message that the discussion here was over. I’d told him privately that he could come to me with this sort of thing if he wanted to get into it.

“Still, I will not agree to this. My command—”

“Are you surrendering your command, Captain Dremel?” I asked. The eyes in the room widening and landing on him once more. Jade’s one eye narrowed and her mouth turned up in a smirk. Heartsbreech’s face nearby was stony, but I could tell he was enjoying this. It’d turned out that he’d had command experience in the Elven Armed Forces. He’d been helping me organize the fleet ever since I’d made him my second-in-command.

None of the ladies had wanted to be involved in anything but running The Chorus and helping protect me and each other. I was glad it was that way.

“I… um. I. That’s not what I was saying… exactly… sir.” Dremel said. Adding on the sir a bit late and lame, sensing what was finally happening.

“How many battles have your Lion’s Maw forces, or Free Mage soldiers joined since you’ve been out with us Captain Dremel?” I asked, well aware of the answer.

He coughed a few times and then said. “Well, um. None sir.”

“None? And why is that?” I asked. Driving the point home.

“The Steel Guard has been… effective sir.” His hand shot into his pocket and gripped the fabric. Twisting his otherwise pressed pants. I’d settled on some kind of blue for everyone in the Rising Fleet. Just to have some semblance of order. I wasn’t deadset on running a military. As long as I could keep the captains in line things would be fine. Especially with how well the Steel Guard was performing.

“Ah, right. So you’re saying that my magic is strong enough to win the dozens of battles then?” He nodded wordlessly. “Do you think its capable of anchoring a few airships for this meeting then?”

He coughed and clenched his jaw. “Certainly, sir.”

“I’m glad we agree on that.” I turned to address the rest of the room. “Now then, let’s get on with the briefing.” I looked over at the Lion’s Maw agent that sat at the center of the table next to the stack of paper reports that had come in over the flashpoint network. She was one of Raikia’s ramkin and was a serious operator. I’d have had no trouble handing Dremel’s ship over to her if he kept pushing it. I pulled her name up from the depths of my memory.

“Clatta, right?” I asked as I looked at her.

“Yes, Admiral Smith,” she replied.

“Why don’t you give the reports to Captain Dremel to read? He seems to be in high spirits today.” I flicked my fingers at the pile of folders and then toward Dremel. “After the meeting I’d like you to take a look at The Cobra. Send me a report of its condition. I’d like to make sure everything is in great shape.”

The ramkin grinned and said, “Certainly sir. My pleasure.” She stood and lifted the huge stack, then dropped them on the table in front of Dremel. They hit with a heavy smack. Startling the man.

“Let’s start with the cover sheet, Captain Dremel.” I folded my arms and stared.

To his credit he started swiftly. Getting the paper out of the folder and adjusting the positions of the figures on the table. A few of them took much more effort to move than they should’ve, and I spotted both Jade and Evelyn increasing the weight of the figurine to give him trouble.

It took a lot of effort to hold back my laughter.

Once he got started I boxed out Jade and Evelyn’s magic to give Dremel a bit of a break. He shifted all the pieces around and it was plain to see how far we were advancing. Most of the southern continent of California was ours. It had the same name as the one I knew, but much of it was changed. The area that I thought of as San Diego was where the Capital itself was. A gigantic mass of clumped figurines mobbed the south side of the table. Each blob representing an orc war tribe of no less than one hundred thousand.

“We’re winning,” Dremel admitted as he pushed the last airship south. The one that represented his own. “But the enemy’s forces are consolidating.” He glanced down at the paper and gulped. “Estimates of enemy forces are greater than one million. We’re still getting figures on airship numbers, war haulers, and other equipment…” he kept talking but my attention faded completely.

Someone had opened the rear door to the conference room and slipped in.

Somone I couldn’t take my eyes off of.

It was Lailah.