Ulrika and I walk back to the cabin to recover the dead elf’s corpse. We haven’t talked a word since we left the town. She stays close to me, bumping my arm with hers. I peek over at her, using my eyes only. She stares ahead without moving her eyes or blinking. It’s like she’s looking beyond the trees in front of us. I interlace my fingers in her right hand. Her lifeless stare breaks into a torrent of blinking. She looks at me with a blank expression, but it breaks into an acute encouraging smile.
“Are you okay?” I say. I direct us off to the side of the trail, so I can examine her. “How are you holding up?” She scoffs, looks up the path for a quick moment, then frowns.
“You already know what I’m feeling, Kaio.”
“Your blank stare is worrying me.” She holds my hands walking me back over to the center of the trail, where she then snuggles on my right arm.
“I was thinking about the boy and other depressing shit.”
“Let’s talk about it.”
“Maybe later.”
She stays on my arm, slowing our speed into a casual stroll. I don’t mind our steady pace back to the cabin. At least she’s not blankly looking into the distance like her soul left her body. All this mess that’s going on makes me wonder if she or I could handle these types of battles. I’m also worried about her mental state once we see the lifeless child around the paradise she sees as a home from the world.
At the turn of the trail, the boy’s body is in view. Her grip on my hand tightens. She keeps her head down and continually snuggles on my arm all the way up to the cabin. We stand over him, but she doesn’t move off of me. I lean down to see what’s wrong with her.
“Ulrika,” I say with the quietest voice I can muster.
“Right,” she responds, breaking away from me in a slow fashion. She squats over the boy getting ready to remove the arrows. I tug on her shoulder, preventing her index finger from touching the shaft of the arrow.
“No, I’ll do it.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want you to carry this memory.” I pull out all three arrows from his stomach. “You don’t need to experience this heartbreak.”
Seeing and feeling his blood on my hands boils so many emotions inside of me. I feel anger, sadness, confusion, and fear for the future. Ulrika’s touch on my right shoulder takes me out of my troubling thoughts.
“Let’s go,” I say, putting the boy into my arms.
----------------------------------------
In the heart of Thaa Alora, near the town square, people crowd around a makeshift morgue. I tell Ulrika to wait for me as I move through a thick crowd of weeping souls. Their cries almost send me into tears. Some people around me notice me and shout at others ahead of me to move out the way. Suddenly I get a clear pathway over to the dead bodies. Everyone stares at me with frowning mournful expressions. It’s so overwhelming to the point I can’t look at them for more than two seconds. Out of nowhere, Ulrika pushes me to continue walking past everyone.
“I thought I told you to wait for me,” I say.
“It would be a disgrace for me to leave your side with this burden.”
There’s an open spot next to two bodies that I lay the boy in. I can’t stand seeing him or the rest of the corpses, so I advert my eyes to view the ground. Ulrika reaches in for a hug, but I back away, flaring my arms up to my chest.
“Don’t touch me,” I say, putting another foot between us.
“Why?”
“I’m tainted with blood.”
“But that’s nothing new. We’ve shared a hug before with blood on our bodies. Why the sudden distance?”
“The one thing you hate is seeing the young dead. Ulrika, I have his blood on me. Do you want that on you?” She puts her head down and brings her arms back to her side.
“No...I don’t. But you look like you need one.”
“I honestly do but save them until I cleanse myself.”
“Let’s hurry home so I can give you all the best hugs you want.”
We walk through the crowd using the pathway I came in. At the end of everyone, Haleema stands with her hands on her hips, flanked by the Palidians.
“Kaioson, may I speak with you? I need to tell you what we’ve found,” Haleema says. Ulrika plows through her and one of her men. I ease myself between them but stop to look at Haleema.
“Let’s talk later.” Ulrika walks into the street, whistling for my horse. It arrives seconds later, then she looks over at me with one hand on the saddle.
“Kaioson, this is important.”
“Can it wait?” Haleema furrows her brows at me and sighs with her eyes closed. “I have to attend to something first.”
“What is such a priority that overthrows the information we’ve gathered?”
“Ulrika,” I say, walking past her.
Ulrika hops onto the saddle, offering me her hand to get on. She quickly realizes that I can’t touch her and draws her hand away from me.
“I forgot,” Ulrika says, giving me a sulky grimace.
“I know. I’ll walk.”
“I’ll stay close by.”
I click my tongue three times, commanding my horse to follow. Ulrika grabs onto the horn on the saddle as we move away from the crowd. I check back to see what Haleema and her crew are doing. Only her and the dark elf face me while the other two talk between themselves. I drop my attention and put it back on Ulrika. Once I’m clean, I predict there’ll be a deep conversation from the day’s events and most definitely cuddling.
----------------------------------------
With the last piece of my clothing hanging out to dry, all I’m left with is a fresh pair of underwear. The sound of water splashing onto the ground behind the house tells me she just finished her bath. I return back inside to find her standing naked in the bedroom doorway with a towel over her head. She freezes for a moment then stands in front of me.
“Are you done?” She says, inching closer. “Can I touch you?”
“Yeah, I’m done.”
She wafts her hand, telling me to step aside. I move over to her right side. She peers her head out the front door and locks it using the deadbolt.
“At last,” she whispers at a level I almost didn’t hear, resting her head on the door.
Before I can ask why she said that, she nearly tackles me with a tight hug. The towel flies off her head due to the speed she ran into me with. Her wet body soaks into my underwear. She’s still warm from the water and smells like rose petals.
“Ulrika, you need to dry off. You’re getting my underwear wet.”
“Then take them off.”
“Um... You want me naked?”
“Fine, then. I will.” She yanks it down to my feet and stands back up to me, pressing her growing against my crotch. “It’s cute when you get shy about being naked in front of me. I can’t be the only one naked most of the time.” She giggles while purposefully rubbing her vagina on me. Every second she arouses me, the more I succumb to lustful motives than what I initially wanted to do.
“Sorry, Ulrika. I’m just making sure.”
“Of what? Do you think I have a problem seeing your cock or something?”
“Well...uh...um...” She backs off of me but pulls me into the bedroom with my fingers.
“My love, we sleep together in the nude. I see and feel it daily. Your acting more timid than usual. What’s going on?”
“Well, I wanted to discuss all that’s happened today. I want to talk in a more moderate... setting.” She lets out a sigh then swings her head left to right with a smile.
“Oh, I see,” she says, shimming back on me with the same tantalizing close hold. “But first, I need your loving cuddles and kisses.”
She peaks over to the bed. Before she undoubtedly asks me to lay with her in bed, I swoop her into my arms with ease. She shrieks, but it mixes with contagious laughter. I spin around, doubling the intensity of her joy, then fall on the bed.
“Kaio,” she praises with so much mirth it’s intoxicating. I want to keep laughing, so I quickly think of possibilities to keep her happiness alive. One idea comes to mind, so I lay her on her side. “What are you doing, Kaio?”
“A bit of payback.” I pin her down and tickle her with my nose as she did to me.
“Kaio! Kaio! Stop!” Her laughter continues to increase, so I stop to let her breathe. “By the gods,” she says, taking in air and laughing some more. “You asshole.”
“You had it coming.”
“Fair is fair.” I lay down on my side, facing her. “Thank you. It seems like laughter was all I needed.”
“So no kisses or cuddles?”
“Oh, I still want those later. You best believe it.” She snickers out a chuckle, but I don’t feel the need to laugh with her. “I guess this is serious time?”
“Yeah.”
“Tell me what’s on your mind. You must have a lot to say since the battle.” I lay on my back to get myself comfortable for this conversation. She pulls herself closer to me with her face resting on my shoulder.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
“I’m going to become a Paladin.”
Half of her body shoots up into the air as she beams me down with open, glaring eyes. I stare into her eyes, afraid of speaking a word so I won’t offend her. Her face switches into a deep frown.
“Are you serious?” she says with a voice crack. “Tell me you’re joking.”
“Well, I’m not sure yet. I need to know more about this cult before I decide.” She rests her face on my chest. Drops of her warm tears land on me. “Ulrika, don’t cry.”
“Telling a woman not to cry will just make her cry more!” More tears fall on me as she cries in silence.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“How could you?” She says, raising her head up. “You’ve never been with a woman before, so you don’t understand shit.” I’m lost for words. “Do you understand what a Paladin sounds like?”
“What?”
“It sounds like a soldier. You’re too young to be fighting someone’s bullshit.”
“21 is not young. You know that’s a lie. You became a Knight at the age of 18 and retired at 24.” My correction makes her silent but worsens her crying. “Ulrika, it’s evident that this issue can be a big problem if it isn’t dealt with.”
“I know!”
“So, why are you crying?”
“You won’t get it. It’s still too early to tell you.” She rolls off my body to sit up. “You won’t understand my worry for you.”
“What is it, Ulrika?” I sit up and hold her in my arms. She crosses her arms against her body, but I keep my hold. After a few seconds of one-sided hugging, I let go. “Ulrika...”
Her silence frustrates me to the point I’m tempted to leave the room. Once I slide over to the edge of the bed, she grabs my right thigh.
“Don’t go,” she pleads, wiping her eyes with her left forearm. “Please stay.”
“Talk to me.”
“I don’t want us to die. I want to live a long life with you.” She pounces me for an extremely tight hug. “If you leave me too early, I’ll lose it!” Her concern is enough for me to break into tears and hold her with the same amount of grip she’s giving me. “I’ve envisioned so many things I want to do with you.”
“Tell me some of them.”
“Own this cabin, maybe expand it further out. Eat that brown sugary candy from Kromagia.”
“You mean chocolate?”
“Yes! Eat tons of that. Cook your food, cuddle in hot springs, dawn in beautiful attire to please you and even...”
“Even...?”
“Start a,” she pauses to look at me, “family.”
“A family?”
“Kaio, have I gone psycho for thinking something big like that in three months of being together?”
“I’m not too sure,” I quickly answer. “To be honest, I’m surprised that you see me that way.” She giggles in a sharp low tone while she looks off to her left.
“Can I tell you something?” Her left index knuckle rests on her lips as her eyes return to me. I nod my head, yes. “I want two daughters, so I can make my brothers jealous. If you recall, I’m the only sister in the family.” We both burst out laughing, but I stop after a few seconds.
“It shall be done.” Her laughter comes to a slow halt and her grin into a barely noticeable smile.
“Kaio...r-really?”
“Yes, and I promise we’ll make it through this, so we can fulfill everything your heart desires.” Tears flush out her eyes. She wipes them away while chuckling.
“Don’t make a promise if you don’t know if you can keep it.”
“Then, I vow to you that we will prevail.”
“Oh, Kaio. This’ll be one crazy undertaking.”
“We can do it. We’re capable of pulling it off, and with the help of Haleema and her team, we’ll make it work.” She throws me on my back, cuddling tight on my body.
“I love you!”
I’m amazed at the age of 25, she yearns for a 21-year-old man who she’s only known for over a year. I feel lucky to be given a woman who’s so passionate about loving me. She takes care of me, I’m always in her thoughts, and she looks out for me when I’m ignorant of what’s around. These coming days will be hard for us, but I know in my heart we’ll survive this threat.
“Kaioson,” she whispers, playfully elongating my name. I don’t respond but look her in the eyes. “I think it’s time we talk with Haleema.”
“Yeah, your right. She did say she had something important to tell us.”
“I’ll air dry our clothing.”
She spins her finger clockwise with her right-hand flat and left index finger pointing at it, creating a miniature vortex. She sticks a hand out the window towards the clothing. I hear the trees sway from the high-speed wind.
“I’ll let that go for a few minutes,” she says, returning back to me. “Are you hungry? I can whip up a snack.” My stomach gurgles, but it’s barely noticeable.
“Please, and thank you.” She gives me a kiss that turns into an onslaught of arousal kissing. “Relax, Ulrika.”
“Sorry. Forgive me.”
I give her one soft kiss then try to ease her off the bed. She rolls near the end and hops off it. Her ass jiggles due to the short jump she does. I can’t help myself but flick my hand across her cheeks. Again, they wabble like a ripple effect going across the pond. She flexes them and releases them to stop the movement.
“Oi,” she shouts, rolling out the latter end of the word.
I reach again for her ass, but she takes a step forward out of my reach. Her playful giggles excite me to try again. My second attempt ends in a miss. When I stand out of bed, she bites down on her whole lower lip, egging me with a finger wag. As she backs into the kitchen at a steady pace, I pursue after her. She steps over my underwear and picks it up using her big and second toe.
“Do you want to put this back on or no?” She says, extending her leg out to me. I glance at it, but her round, perfectly muscular shapely legs steal my attention. I track up her leg with my left hand as I move closer to her and grab my underwear from behind me. She balances with so much control, that she’s almost not wobbling. It’s a fantastic feat.
“We still got some bread and butter,” she says, looking at the table. “How does that sound?”
“I don’t mind.” She steps to her right to walk past me. I open my hand out to stroke her broad smooth hip. “You’re so touchy. I like it.”
----------------------------------------
We arrive at the prison house a few hours before dusk. Two of Haleema’s partners stand outside, talking to each other. Their conversation fades away when they notice us. I get a quick examination between the two to guess what they are. The man on the right seems to be a mage in their mature age. He has stubble facial hair, pierced ears, golden rings on all of his left fingers, and a long sage-colored cloak. To his right is an armed swordsman. His hair is medium length, black and curly. He’s wearing a sleeveless shirt kinda like Ulrika’s, but this is dark blue with white intricate sharp lines going in a pattern around the body.
“Ah, you two finally ready to join us?” The man in the blue says, walking up to us.
“Yeah, we’re ready,” I say.
“Awesome! You just made my job easier.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Haleema, ask me to find you.” He walks over to me and puts his arm around my shoulders. “Hey buddy,” he whispers, walking me up to the building. “Who’s the big lad with the two swords walking behind us?”
“That’s not a man,” I say, almost laughing. His eyes bulge open, and he stares back at Ulrika for a long moment.”
“The hell are you looking at? Kaio, is this man bothering you?” She says.
“Wow, I’ve never seen a woman pack on meat like that. Oi, why doesn’t she have big tits, eh? She’d look a whole lot better if she had the sizes Haleema and Rhyndac have.” He says out of earshot from her.
I pretend I didn’t hear that and try my best to restrain myself from not responding with a smart-ass comment. His constant staring vexes me, so I slip out under his arm and stand behind Ulrika.
“Why don’t you ask her?” I say, holding her waist. We all stop walking, and I wrap my arms around her stomach, giving him a dead stare.
“Ask me what?” She says.
“It’s nothing,” he says nervously with an exaggerated laugh.
“Kaio, what does he want from me?”
“Hey, what’s your name?” I say.
“Hayden... Price,” he answers.
“Hayden here is amazed that a beautiful woman like you doesn’t have big tits like other women he’s seen,” I say, laughing as I walk back over to him.
His disrespect to her is so insulting to me that I can’t let it go unpunished. I’m stuck smiling as my anger rises. I get about a foot from him, then drive a headbutt right between his eyes. He folds back right into an unconscious state—the second man in the sage cloak laughs between his teeth with a hand over his mouth. We lock eyes, then he gives me a head bow with praying hands.
“Ulrika,” I say, extending my hand to her. She smiles with pinkish cheeks as she takes my hand.
“That was chivalric,” she whispers as she claws her nails across my chest.
I squint down at Hayden while Ulrika and I continue towards the building. He rolls to his right, then stumbles up to his feet. When he sees me, he runs at me with his right fist clenched. I can see he’s still dazed by his clumsy running, but I put up my arms to defend myself.
“Boys!” Haleema yells from behind me.
I step to my left to see her. Her eyes dart from me to the fist she grabs moments before it slams into her face. In that quick catch, she deflects Hayden’s hand downward. The bones in his wrist ripple into a crackling pop.
“Uhhh,” he grunts, dropping to one knee. His voice reverberates throughout the room. “Haleema... what the fuck?”
“Kaioson,” she says with a hint of excitement. “Follow me.”
She drops his hand and strolls away. I follow Haleema heading up to what looks like a small room that doesn’t have any windows. To my right, there are six unmasked cultists, chained with their arms in a crucifix. They’re equally split in genders, separated by an armed guard.
“Hey, Haleema,” I say, keeping my eyes on the cults.
“Yes, Kaioson?”
“Why are some of them out here?”
“They’re waiting for their execution once I show you what I’ve found.” As she opens the thick wooden door, its hinges squeal breaking the room’s calm atmosphere. “Hey, Rhyndac.”
Rhyndac leans off a table in the middle of the room. Her dark purplish skin blends in with the dim light, making it hard to see her figure. Her red hair and blue are the only things that stand out.
“Oh..the boy finally joins us,” Rhyndac says in a slow and flat voice, walking up to me.
She cups my face into her warm, soft hands, stroking my cheeks with her nails. They feel like claws but they’re dull. They’re smooth to the touch. For some reason, I can’t move away from her ticklish touching.
“Rhyndac, enough with the touching,” Haleema says.
“Haleema, don’t you feel the magic in this boy flowing? It’s making me bawdy just sensing it,” Rhyndac says, moving down to my chest.”
“Hey!” Ulrika says from the doorway. “Get your hands off of him!” Rhyndac stops touching me but gives me a clawing scoop from my neck to my chin with her nails.
“Forgive me,” she whispers in an echo that sounds like she’s far away in a tunnel.
She pushes the left side of her hair forward, giving me a wink and air kiss out of Ulrika’s sight. I get control of my body when Ulrika pokes her finger in the meaty space between my lower ribcage in the pelvis.
“So, Haleema,” Ulrika says, resting her fingers on my belt buckle, “what did you find?” Rhyndac snaps her fingers, and the dark space behind her crawls out of existence. The candles on the wall light up, uncovering four cultists sitting against the wall. Three of them are slouched over, but the fourth has her eyes covered.
“What’s wrong with her?” I say.
“I trapped her in an illusion of a living hell,” Rhyndac answers with a disturbing amount of exuberance. “This is the leader of the onslaught.” A sudden wave of confusion and anger slams into me.
“Why...?” I say, keeping my eyes on the cultist.
“From what Rhyndac got off of her, she told us that Olly was the one who commanded the massacre in the name of Zadione,” Haleema says.
Zadione? I’ve never heard that name before, but why does it feel so familiar?
“Who’s that?” I ask.
“She was a god for chaos. Her sister, Phopasis, was the opposite of her. She was the goddess of harmony. Many eons ago, they both lost their position because Zadione let the innocent ancient people of Kromagia die when there was suppose to be saved.” Haleema gazes into my eyes with a deep frown. “Zadione lost her powers and was sent to our world, which upset her greatly that she promised to go to war with the gods...once her strength is returned. Thus, her cult was formed.”
“That’s fucking insane,” Ulrika says. “Some goddess bitch is mad because she failed at her job and wants her anger out on the world? That makes no damn sense. ”
“It doesn’t, but gods don’t think like us,” Haleema replies, gently squeezing her forehead in. “What we do know is how to slow her resurrection.”
“How do we do that?” I say.
“Zadione feeds off fear and death. This is her fetish and source of power. The more we can stop the brutal assaults and have more kingdoms on the Inaubira aware of her, we can shrink the cults numbers.”
The cultist sitting on the ground starts yelling in a deep voice that’s in reverse. Her body folds backward as she floats in the air. The other bodies in the room start rising too, twisting and shaking violently. Rhyndac pulls Haleema by her arm over to us and then puts up a barrier in front of us. The woman’s yelling ceases, but she continues screaming. Dark thick liquid pours out her mouth with fuming steam. She clutches her throat, coughing out the substance. I can’t look at her suffer, so I advert my eyes to Ulrika. She pulls her eyes away to lay on my shoulder.
“It’s happening again,” Haleema says. I look at Haleema, but she’s looking at Rhyndac. “Rhyndac, what can you deduce?” Haleema says calmly like she’s not being fazed by what she’s seeing. “Is it magic or something else?”
“I can now confirm it is magic, but it’s not the standard detectable kind you feel.”
“Then, what would you call this?”
“Being a drow, I should’ve known this. After all, Zadione created my race using it.” The tar substance pours out the woman’s mouth, nearly covering her body. “Haleema, this is demonic power.”
A second later, Rhyndac tells us what we’re seeing, all four bodies blow up, covering the entire barrier. Haleema conjures magical inputs with her hands and fingers. Symbols and sparkles flare from her hands—all of the goo disintegrates, putting the room back to normal. There are no bodies; not even a piece of clothing remains.
Is this what I’m up against? Cults, goddesses, demons? This call to arms intrudes at the best time of my life. Ulrika is probably saying the same stuff I’m saying but at a higher disappointment. I really do hope we can end this madness. I want to keep my oath to her and fulfill her incredible desire for me.
Ulrika Pence, we will make it out in one peace.
We’ll save this world from going into chaos and create a tiny world of our own.
I’m still surprised you see me worthy as a potential father.
And if you’re seeing me as one, you must be thinking of me as a husband.
By the gods, Ulrika, what a terrible predicament we’re in.