Haleema decides to make all of our feet levitate off the ground as we run to the second tower. We’re not connected to Haleema’s control. She points at the third tower before leaping down the ladder. Ulrika and I bank left, zooming down the walkway. I move to her side to incite some competitive fun. She shakes her head and wags her finger.
“I got this. Get the last one,” Ulrika says, holding my shoulder.
“Alright.” Someone climbs up the ladder, but she takes them out with a throwing knife.
I don’t tarry around to watch her do her part. Plus, I don’t know how long this flight will last, so I speed towards the last lookout. I reach it within seconds and jump into the hole, right in the center of four cultists. Their close proximity to me makes it impossible for them to attack with their swords. Using a magical blast would cause too much attention. I know if I fight these guys all at once, it’ll be one hell of a hassle.
“Shit,” I whisper, raising my fist to the sides of my head.
One person aims for my head with a right hook. I quickly drop to the ground, doing the splits with my legs going under them. Three of them jump on me, pinning me on my back. I ignite my hands to force the one who’s closest to me off. He screams, but his buddies stay on top of him. His chest ignites in flames, causing him to yell some more. The other two finally back off. Their clothing burns enough to cause a small fire on their clothing. I kill the man on me with my dagger and stab the standing one in the foot.
“Ugh! My bloody foot,” he says, kneeling on the ground. He cheap shoots me in the right cheek, but his punch isn’t hard. His attack causes him to lose his balance and fall over me.
“Come here,” I say, lodging my dagger in the back of his neck and leaving it there. While the last two are concerned with their burning clothes, I manage to get out of the dead cultist pile and up to my feet. They wield their swords, but I tether their hands to fatally strike each other at their necks.
“Fuck me,” I say, resting on a wall to catch my breath and ease my adrenaline. “Need to arm this orb.”
I activate the explosive, drop it on the ground, then return to the surface. I see Ulrika sprinting over to me. Haleema just turned from the third tower heading this way. Ulrika slows her speed into a casual walk. I sit on the ground to resume calming myself down.
“Hey, are you alright?” Ulrika says, getting on both of her knees.
“I think I got the worst luck down there.”
“What do you mean?”
“Take a look.” She leans over the hole, then slowly turns back to me.
“Shit. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I just need a moment.”
“Where’s your dagger?” I touch my scabbard, look all around me, then remember where I left it.
“It’s lodged in one of their necks.”
“I’ll get it.” While she climbs down the ladder, Haleema makes it over here.
“Did you place your orb?” Haleema says. I reach my hand up to her to help me up. She tries to pull me up, but most of the lifting is done by me. “Gosh, you’re heavy.”
“Who?” Ulrika says, coming back up the ladder with my dagger in hand. She hands it back to me, cleaned from the blood.
“Kaioson.”
“No, he’s not. I can carry him on one shoulder.” Haleema looks at us with a brow raised and arms crossed.
“It’s true,” I confirm.
“Wow,” Haleema says, elongating the word.
Off to my right, I hear heavy stomping boots and a crowd of voices. We all look down towards the inner courtyard.
“Up there,” a man says, pointing at us.
“Crap! We gotta go,” Haleema says.
“Wait. What about identifying the man in white?” I say, holding her arm.
Three cultists jump up to the wall to surround us. Haleema and Ulrika engage in combat. I rush to help Ulrika since she’s taking on two, but she slays them with her throwing knives. Haleema ducks under a fast diagonal swing. The sword strikes the stone, sending sparks down below. She throws the cultist off the ledge, then runs towards me.
“We need to retreat!” Haleema yells.
Something massive explodes from under us. The roof above me from the watchtower crumbles as I fly into it. My head slams into hefty chunks of stones. I’m dazed, unable to tell where I am. All I know is that I’m not laying on anything. When I look to my right, I see an ashy green hand heading straight for my face.
----------------------------------------
It’s dark, and it hurts to breathe. My face is throbbing, plus the top of my head stings with sharp pain. I rub my tongue against the back of my teeth to see if everything is still there. They’re there, so I crack open my eyes to see where I’m at. It’s dark, but my eyes are already adjusted to the blackness of the room. I turn to my left to check out the room. My arm is blocking the view, so I move it. I can’t budge it out of my sight, so I look up to see what’s restraining me. I’m cuffed with what feels like a rough rope.
“Shit,” I say, only moving my mouth. I pivot my head forward past my arm. Ulrika and Haleema are cuffed in the same position I’m in. “Ulrika!”
“Kaio,” Ulrika says, swinging from the rope. “Are you okay?”
Before I can answer her, someone slides open a lock. It echos throughout the room, then the door squeals open. A masked cultist walks towards me as candles ignite themselves in the room. They punch me in the stomach and backhand me in the face. I’m wheezing and coughing from the gut-punch.
“Leave him alone,” Ulrika pleas in growling anger that’s scary to me. They assault Ulrika with heavy blows to her stomach. Her painful grunts are hard to hear.
“Stop,” I beg with my head down, in a weak voice. “Stop it!”
“Hold your horse there, brother,” a man says with a soothing voice. A familiar sinister aura comes at me like a pulsing heatwave. “Let’s not make it impossible for them to speak to us.” I look up to see who talked. It’s the man in white. He smirks at me, but Haleema’s mumbling catches his attention. “Ah, you’re finally awake! Good morning everyone.” He takes out his sword and jams it into the stone floor. It reverberates like a bell, causing my ears to ring.
“Ugh!” Haleema grunts, pressing her ears against her arms.
“You elves can’t stand that noise.” He picks his sword up and slams it down into the ground again. Haleema squeaks, scrunching her face as she’s screaming in a mute. “Look at you squirm.”
“By the gods, stop it,” a woman says from outside. Her voice sounds familiar.
“Oh, sorry. I forgot you were here...Rhyndac.” She walks in with a smug grin heading my way while waving at Haleema and Ulrika. “Hey, guys.”
“Rhyndac?” I say in a weak voice.
“Hello, Kaioson. Did you miss me?” She kisses me, sticking her tongue in my mouth. I can’t move away from her lips. It feels like I’m being possessed into kissing her.
“Get your fucking lips off of him!” Ulrika says.
“Why? He seems to be enjoying it.” Rhyndac continues to kiss me but gets rough with it. Ulrika yells, trying to free herself from her bondage.
“I’m gonna kill you, bitch!”
“Shut your mouth,” a cultist says, slapping Ulrika. She lunges forward, screaming at him. He flinches, causing himself to fall on his ass.
“Alright, that’s enough,” the man in white says.
Rhyndac gives me a quick smooch to my neck, then snuggles her face on my chest. My head feels heavy. I can’t pick it up nor rotate it. She puts her arm under my shirt, clawing her pointy soft nails all around my chest. Something warm is emanating from her hand, causing the pain in my chest to ease away. Now my lips, face, and the top of my head begin to numb some of my soreness away.
“Allow me to formally introduce myself. I’m Grandmaster Knight, Garret, a harbinger for those greater than me,” he says and chuckles. “It has come to my attention that you three have killed a significant amount of my brothers and sisters.”
“Boohoo,” Ulrika says.
“Stop it, Ulrika,” Haleema shouts in a whisper.
“Listen to her. The next outburst, I’ll shove my throat down your throat,” Garret says. “As I was saying, you’ve murdered my brethren in what looks like a failed raid attempt.” He takes his sword out of the ground and walks up to Ulrika. “You move in a way I feel threatened, I will cut you into two. Do you understand me?” Ulrika nods, yes. “No. Tell me you understand.”
“I..under...stand,” Ulrika says in a calm yet passively angry voice.
“Your voice yet appearance confuse me. Are you a woman?”
“I...am.”
“You sure don’t look like one.” I manage to turn my head in their direction. He rubs his left hand up her stomach and touches her breast, then gropes her crotch. She remains calm and motionless. “You’re more like a castrated swain. Prancing around as a so-called woman! You’re an abomination in my sight.”
Garret violating Ulrika like that is unacceptable. My anger is beyond a level I have never been before. I want to ignite this piece of shit on fire until nothing is left, but something in this room is negating my magic.
“Relax,” Rhyndac whispers in my ear. She whistles towards the doorway. Garret moves his hand out from between Ulrika’s legs. Another cultist walks in and drops a box on the floor.
“Ah, yes. Thanks for reminding me,” Garret says, pulling out the pouches that contain the orbs. “What are these? I sense magic in them.” No one answers him for a few seconds. “Tell me, or I’ll starting cutting off a finger one by one!” We don’t speak a word. He walks over to me with his sword dragging on the ground. Ulrika starts thrashing towards me then pleas from him to stop.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“They’re explosives!” Haleema says.
“Finally! Someone answers.” He skips back to the center of the room, giggling in a low voice. “We found four of these on each of the watchtowers. Tell me what your plan was for these.”
She hesitates to answer, so he presses his sword into her stomach. Rhyndac takes a step in his direction with a hand raised up at him. I’m confused yet curious about her strange response. It’s like she’s going to say something but holds her peace.
“We were going to blow up the garrison,” Haleema answers.
“Is that all?” Garret says, pushing the sword into her stomach.
“Yes!”
“Are you sure?” The sword moves further in.
“Yes!”
“Positive?”
“Garret,” Rhyndac says. He swings his head to look at her. His sword moves away from her stomach, and he puts it over his shoulder.
“What?”
“You’re on the clock, remember? Tan Da forces are soon to arrive.”
“Damn, your right. What to do with these laughable Paladins?”
“I got a few ideas,” she says in a sexualized voice. “And, a bit of sweet payback.”
“You drows are weird. Alright. After you’re done with whatever you’re gonna do, kill them, then return to me at the northern gate.” The two cultists and Garret walk out of the room, closing the door behind them. She locks the door and returns to me.
“Get away from me!” I say. She smirks, then turns her right ear to the door. Her ear moves around as she listens for something. I look at Ulrika and Haleema to see how well they fair. “Ulrika, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, my love,” Ulrika whispers, with a reassuring smile.
“Haleema?”
“Shush,” Rhyndac says.
“Fuck you!” Ulrika says
Rhyndac slaps Ulrika two times in the face. Ulrika lashes forward, trying to headbutt her. Rhyndac catches her face and makes her body go lifeless. She slumps over, dangling from her hand restraints with her eyes and mouth open.
“Ulrika?! What did you do to her?” I say.
“Take a look, idiot. I killed her,” Rhyndac says, laughing hysterically. “Now I’ll be your only love.”
“Rhyndac, why? Why have you betrayed us?” Haleema says.
“I was never on your side.” Once again, Rhyndac turns an ear towards the door, but this time, she puts a finger over her mouth. My eyes start flooding with tears. I can’t believe she killed her.
“Why?” I murmur, crying my heart out. “Why did you do that?”
“She’s not dead, Kaioson,” she says in my head.
“Huh?” She flicks her right hand at the door while walking over to Ulrika. The spaces between the door and the frame glow blue.
“Wake.” Ulrika awakes, taking a huge gasp of air. “Sorry for that.” They look at each other for a moment, then Ulrika headbutts her right in the nose. Rhyndac stumbles back, holding the front of her face with both of her hands. “Okay. I absolutely deserved that.” She snorts and spits out blood from her mouth.
“You deserve death for betraying us and having your way with Kaioson!” Ulrika screams.
“Relax, Ulrika. I’m—”
“I will not relax!”
“Settle down, or I’ll put you back to sleep. Let me explain myself.” Right as Ulrika is about to yell something, Haleema shouts at her to settle down.
“Rhyndac, what’s going on?” Haleema says.
“I’m,” Rhyndac pauses, moving one hand off her face. A flash of red light sparks under the hand that’s over her nose. “I’m undercover.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s the truth. I swear to you.”
“So you’re playing a double agent?”
“Yes.”
“Does Emdal know about this?”
“He does.” Rhyndac heads over to Haleema, unlocking her arm restraints, then touches her stomach. The same type of flashing red light blips from Rhyndac’s hands. “Please forgive me for the emotional distress you all went through. I had to keep my cover intact.”
“So part of that was smooching your filthy lips all over my husband?” Ulrika screams.
“I’m so sorry. Please, you must forgive me.”
“Get me out of these restraints, Haleema, and I’ll show her how forgiving I am.”
“Ulrika, calm down a bit,” Haleema says. Ulrika starts pulling down on the rope with all her strength. The twines in the rope begin to snap as she continues to stretch it out. It breaks, dropping her to her knees. “Stand down, Ulrika.”
“Come here bitch,” Ulrika yells, tackling Rhyndac. Haleema cuts me loose, then tries to restrain Ulrika. I rest my back against the corner, watching Haleema struggle to get Ulrika off Rhyndac.
“Kaioson, I need your help,” Haleema says. I keep quiet and look away. “Kaioson?” I’m too sad, angry, and still in shock of what transpired to care to help. All I want right now is to take the life of Garret for what he did to my precious Ulrika. “Ulrika, stop!” I look back over to see what’s going on. Ulrika is clashing with Haleema while Rhyndac is leaning on her side, dazed. Now I feel the need to end this rampage.
“Ulrika, please stop,” I say in a calm voice. Ulrika stops, then sits on her butt. Her face starts redding when she looks at me.
“Kaioson,” Ulrika whimpers. I quickly comfort her in my arms.
“I’m gonna kill him for what he did once I’m out of here. I promise,” I whisper in her ear. Rhyndac slips her hands under us and unbinds the rope off Ulrika’s wrist. Ulrika remains calm, but I know she’s intensely heated.
“I don’t know if you can today,” Rhyndac says.
“Why the hell not?”
“Garret is a paragon. His power is beyond yours.”
“A paragon?” Haleema mumbles to herself.
“How do you know I’m weak against him?”
“I felt your power when I kissed you. In your current state, it won’t be enough. He possesses demonic power.”
“So, that’s what I felt when he walked into the room.”
“You all need to flee out of here before the fighting starts.”
“We will, but not before we blow this place up,” Haleema says. Rhyndac’s eyes open wide, then she quickly turns to Haleema. “We’ve placed explosives all over the place.”
“What? We’ve only found four of them.” Ulrika chuckles in a low tone that seems alarming to me. I say her name, and she stops. She stares into my eyes with a soft smile.
“Nite Fall,” Ulrika says. The building we’re in rumbles from her explosive orbs.
“What was that?” Rhyndac questions, looking up at the ceiling.
“Nite Fall,” I say, keeping my eyes on Ulrika. More explosions go off in the distance. I look at Haleema, waiting for her to say it. She gives me a nod, then looks over to the door.
“Rhyndac, get us out of this building.
“Alright,” Rhyndac says, running over to the door. The light-emitting from the edge of the door disappears when she opens it. She steps out into the hallway, looking in both directions. “Come!” I help Ulrika up to her feet, then we all exit the room. My magic within me comes back. “Before you go, I need to warn you about Nite’s plan.”
“What are they up to?”
“Nite is about to unleash hell on earth. Attacking major cities all over the continent. Six paragons will be involved, but I don’t know where they’ll be.” People shouting to our left down the hall gets louder. “Take the stairwell up to the roof and fly out of here.” The voices get closer with intensity. “Forgive me for what you’ve all been through, especially you two, Ulrika; Kaioson.”
“Let’s go, Kaioson,” Ulrika says, walking away from us.
For a moment, I watch her walk away, then I turn back to view Rhyndac. I shake my head in disgust and follow after Ulrika. She waits for me at the end of the hallway, with her arms crossed, head resting on the edge of the wall, and eyes locked on me.
“Are you okay, my love?” I say, holding her waist.
“I’m fucking pissed off,” Ulrika says in a growl. “What about you? Are you alright?”
“I’m feeling everything you just said.”
“Feeling any pain?”
“I’m okay. When Rhyndac was kissing and touching me, she was also healing me.”
“That sly bitch! How dare that witch has her way with you like that, and it all just to be a front.” She rests her thumb over my lips, gently rubbing them.
“Mark my words, Ulrika, Garret is a dead man for insulting and harassing you!”
“Calm down, Kaio.”
“How dare he violate my wife like that!” She smiles in a coly manner. It’s small yet gentle.
“Easy, Kaio. This type of anger doesn’t suit you.” She squeezes me into her body with a tight hug.
“But... Ulrika... He...”
“Guys, they’re right behind us. We need to go,” Haleema says. I stay hugging Ulrika until she wants to let me go.
“It’s not the first time I’ve been assaulted for my looks,” Ulrika says, easing off of me. “But I’m silently raging like wildfire inside. Once we’ve recuperated. Let’s hunt him down.”
“Hey!” A man shouts from down the hallway.
“Let’s go!” Haleema says, pushing us. We sprint up the steps, all the way to the roof. Most of the city is on fire from our bombs.
“Haleema, are you going to detonate your orbs?” I ask. Haleema looks at the northern wall, then looks at each other wall.
“Damn. I wish I could’ve gotten all of them. Oh, well. Fuck this place. Nite Fall!” All three of the stonewalls explode at the same time. The shockwave knocks me on my knees, but Haleema and Ulrika maintain their balance.
“I got you,” Ulrika says, helping me up.
“Stop right there!” A man says behind us. We all raise our hands to ready to conjure magic. The cultist pulls out their swords and slowly approach us. “Put your hands down!”
One cultist on the far left rolls his sword in his hand. I suddenly remember my sword tied around Ulrika’s swords.
“Sure thing,” I say, putting my hands down.
“Kaio, what are you doing?” Ulrika asks aggressively.
“But, do you mind if I hold my hand like this?” I point my arm behind me and call my sword to my hand.
“Kaioson?” Haleema says.
Ulrika gasps with excitement, then she turns around to face the mountain. I catch my sword and throw it into the cultist who twirled their sword. One rushes me, but Ulrika makes quick work of them with her weapons.
“Ulrika, get back!” I say, coiling my finger around my mouth. Once she stands next to me, I take a deep breath.
Dragon acid!
I let out the intense liquid fire upon every single cultist. The impact of the fire sends them flying off the roof, screaming to their demise. I cut the length of my attack short since I don’t need to use all of the air within my lungs. It still causes me to lose all the air inside of me. Ulrika revives me with her magic, forcing a cool breeze into my nostrils.
“That was amazing,” Ulrika says. I want to laugh, but I need some more of her air.
“Alright, let’s get out of here,” Haleema says, activating our flight ability. She leads up into the air, flying away out of the city. I can breathe on my own again without any trouble, so I kiss Ulrika’s hand to show her I’m okay.
“Does it always do that?” Ulrika asks with awe and a smile.
“Mhmm,” I say. Haleema motioning her right hand in a slow wavy form catches my attention. “What are you doing, Haleema?” A massive explosion erupts in at the building we were just in. The smoke cloud almost reaches the height limit we’re coasting in.
“That,” Haleema says, putting her hand back down. “I blew up the rest of the orbs.”
“I thought you needed to say Nite Fall.”
“Nope. This is just a failsafe.”
I look down at the destroyed city, wondering if what we came to do was worth all the damn mess we went through. This mission is making me reconsider my decree to help fight against Nite. I’m traumatized by what Garret did to Ulrika and the death illusion Rhyndac showed me of her. Her seemingly lifeless body is engraved into my mind. I want it out! Damn you, Rhyndac.
----------------------------------------
I sit on the bed in the dark, recalling every single moment I’ve engaged with Nite and the Paladins. All the turmoil, death, and fighting is making me so mad. I don’t think I can take this type of intensity anymore.
I can’t lose you... I must keep my vow.
“Kaio,” Ulrika mumbles, rolling over on her right side to face me.
“I’m sorry, did I wake you?”
“I couldn’t feel your body.” She opens her eyes further. “Is everything okay?”
“I just... got a lot of things on my mind.”
“Like what?”
“I think I’m done fighting for this cause. After what happened today, I don’t think I can continue on anymore.”
“Why do you believe that?”
“It’s just not in my nature to fight like this. I may be trained to handle weapons and magic with skill, but being a soldier is not me.” I rest my eyes into my hands to prevent myself from crying. “When Rhyndac put you to sleep, I thought she actually killed you.” Even though my eyes are in my hand, I can’t resist myself from crying. “The image is scarred into my mind, Ulrika.”
“It’s okay,” she gently says, pulling my hand away. She wipes away my tears using the knuckles of her hand.
“I’m a hunter. The people I search for, I already have an idea of how dangerous they are. But with Nite, I’m baffled by its followers.”
“I completely understand you. I’m confounded at how insane these assholes are.”
“And what Garret did... I... I...”
“Shush. Don’t speak about him anymore.” She crawls over me off the bed to light a lantern on my nightstand. “You should remove yourself from this mess. Leave the Paladins.” I sit in silence, considering her suggestion.
“Can I just leave?” She sits next to me on the bed, resting her face on my shoulder with my hand in her lap.
“Of course you can. You were never sworn into this cause. We agreed to help out, but it’s taking a toll on you.”
“What should I say to Haleema?”
“Everything you’ve told me.” I sigh with some relief. Exposing my worries to her is shedding off some of my stress. “I’m positive she’ll understand you. Plus, we can fight Nite on our own time instead of hers or anyone else.”
“Yeah?”
“We can operate in a realm that’s familiar to us. Accepting contracts from reputable vendors. Getting paid, relaxing a bit before we move on to the next.” Her words about returning back as a bounty hunter are a great idea.
“Wow. You were right, Ulrika.”
“About what?”
“You were right in saying I’m too young to fight someone’s bullshit. I’m young in fighting a cause that requires so much sacrifice. It’s better if I operate within my zone.” When I kiss the top of her head and forehead, I remember the warning Olly said on his dying breath. Also, my promise to Ulrika is to kill Garret, Nite attacking cities, and the paragons. “Hmm.”
“Hmm?”
“I was thinking about some high-value targets and Nite’s plans.”
“Targets?”
“Ivaran, the recent guy whose name shall not be said, and the paragons. I wonder if we should go looking for them or let the Paladins find their whereabouts.”
“We could, but let them deal with that shit,” she says, yawning. “Plus, we don’t know where to look.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I sigh with acceptance.
“Come back to bed. We’ll discuss what we’ve talked to Haleema in the morning.” She takes me by the arm, guiding me back to the center of the bed. I lay on my left side, waiting for her to scoot into me. Her ass comes first, bumping my crotch, then I conform to her warm body.
“Thank you, Ulrika. You’ve eased my mind.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“Sweet dreams.”
“Always.” I snuggle a bit to find the best feeling to fall asleep in. “Sweet dreams to you too, my wonderful husband.”
I gently kiss the nave of her neck, then whisper, “Always.”