Hercynian Temple (2)

      Just as the barrier lets out the final squeal of life, Rose latches onto my back. The barrier shatters as I stand up. The branches fly towards us as we run deeper into the forest, heading to the other side.

      Abi’s laugh tears through the tension. Even as we, or perhaps because we run from a situation we are almost guaranteed to die in, she laughs. And laughs. And laughs. Every branch that comes near us is either set alight by Dom or slashed down by Abi.

      It is this moment, beyond any other that has come before, that drives home my powerlessness and my gratitude for having such determined and powerful people at my side. That thought spurs me on with greater force.

      The trees themselves are out to kill us, with each near-kill, I move. Having Rose on me now no longer seems so much a burden. Her directions to dodge make my body move on instinct. I trust her and the others implicitly, and before we know it, a clearing stands before us. We burst through it as tendrils of monstrosities snap behind us. It would seem their limit is their own domain. The grass is soft beneath my body as I fall to my knees.

      Though she winces, Rose gets off my back and lays down beside me.

      Dom wipes his hand across his forehead and joins us.

      "Never did I imagine such a difficult trek," Abi says, collapsing on the ground too.

      A comfortable wind blows through us, carrying a thankful word from Rose. As I turn to her to see if it was my imagination or not, I catch what seems like a small blush before she looks away.

      Hurriedly, Dom stands and places his hands at the ready, on his staff.

      "Eld," Abi says.

       "Hide behind us, Rose," I tell her.

      She meets me with stubbornness as she stands up to join us. Together, we brace ourselves for the patrol in the distance. Only a brief moment passes before a high-pitched squeal pierces the air. Their horn sounds and they collapse upon us.

      The Eld, I notice between blocks and counters, are the humans of nightmares. They're the selves I imagine some see when presented with their own reflections. Their eyes seem glassed over in a daze with twisted, almost torn, smiles tugging at their faces.

      As I stab one, they nearly shrug it off before continuing their efforts. Even as they lose a leg, they keep coming. Abi makes short work of a few that attacked her, cleaving one in half from head to crotch. Dom did well, incinerating the rest long before they could flank us on all sides.

      "A small patrol party. If not already, the others will know what happened here, and soon," Dom remarks.

      "Forward, then." I tell them, not missing the disappointed look Abi sends my way.

      We run as fast as we can without leaving Rose behind. By the time the suns set, we have made it, apparently, halfway to the Academy.

      The night air cools our flushed skin from the hot day. Using the river near our campsite, Abi and Dom clean themselves first, but seem to have some unusual agreement on the “ladies” bathing separately. Who am I to judge?

      The water is chilly as my toes dip into it and is heavenly to have them resting in something so cold. I wasn’t used to having blisters and the like. My attention is drawn to the sound of rustling to my right.

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      When I look over, I see Rose in all her naked glory. She looks up and notices my gaze after letting her dress fall. Her pale, beautiful body almost shines in the moonlight. Her form is a little thicker than the others, with wide hips suitable to a mother. Moving up, her large breasts, ones I have almost suffocated in before, share a satisfying shape with pink-colored nipples.

      I’m entranced, and can’t take my eyes off them. Eventually, I realize that she has been standing stock-still herself for far too long. I bashfully look up into her eyes, only to notice her staring back at me with an eyebrow raised.

      “Ah. Uh-u-um. I wa-was just, uh…”

      “Are you not going to undress? Would it really be wise to bathe in your battle garb?”

      Ah, so that is what she was curious about. She didn’t seem to find my leering gaze to be weird. However, I found my interests to be weird. What in the…?

      In my world, I stared at Gee and felt nothing. I’m back here, and suddenly I’m attracted to women again? What nonsense is this?

      Oh. I’m standing here too long and Rose is thinking I’m crazy, I just know it. With an internal sigh, I go to remove my shirt, first turning my back to Rose. I’m too self-conscious for anything less. Before I get my shirt off, I feel hands on my shoulders.

      I immediately tense up. “Relax. I’ll help you.”

      “Um. Alright.”

      With this, she undresses me slowly as second after agonizing second go by. Her fingers dance with my clothes as she drags them off. Her skin brushes against mine, causing a chill to spread over my body.

      I’m losing my fucking mind, and that’s before I feel Rose’s lips upon my neck.

      “W-what are you doing?” I try to protest, my voice is weak.

      “Relax.” She tells me again.

      I slowly fall back into her. I feel her supple breasts rubbing my back as she nibbles at my collar bone and drags her teeth across my skin.

      With a sting, I feel her bite into me.

      “What the hell?” I call out. My body feels numb and I’m unable to resist.

      I can feel her tongue lapping up my blood as it flows freely.

      “Rose. Stop. You don’t know who I am.”

      She bites harder, seemingly becoming aggravated by my protest. That ends soon though, as she pulls away and starts coughing violently. She lets me go, and I fall to the ground.

      During her coughing fit, I start to gain feeling back in my limbs. Long before she finishes vomiting up the contents of her… snack, I stand before her.

      “Are you a fucking vampire?!”

      She glares at me, but it carries no sting. She starts to cough again, so I scoop up water and bring it to her mouth. She acts like she wants to resist. When she has settled for a moment, I ask my question again.

      “What is a vampire?” she asks.

      “You can’t be real! A vampire. You know! Long pointy teeth, can’t be in the sun, can change into animals. That kind of thing!”

      “I… have no idea what you’re talking about. More importantly, what did you do to me?” she demands.

      “To you? You tried to fucking eat me!”

      “I did no such thing! You should have been in ecstasy as I fed on you. I was doing you a favor really!”

      “Yeah, well. Sure, it felt good. Not for the reasons you think it did. You’re lucky you even survived.”

      “What kind of monster are you?” she asked, blinking dumbly. “Wait, then how did it feel good?”

      “U-u-um. No. Nevermind.”

       I try to turn away, suddenly becoming acutely aware of her naked form again. She reaches out and grabs me, yanking me down to her. I try to get up but she stops me, bringing me close to her mouth. She whispers into my ear.

       “There is another way for me to feed, girl.” She runs her tongue across my ear. I gulp at the absurdity of it all.

      “A succubus?”

      “You know such strange-sounding words. Now relax, and let me have what is mine.”