Serpentlord (Rise To Omniscience Book 9), page 26
“Why did I agree to help these people, again?” Morgan asked as he sat back in a cushioned chair and rubbed at his temples.
Planning a mass exodus from a doomed continent in the middle of a war where the enemy controlled nearly half the ships you needed was hard enough. Having to argue about it at every turn with the very people you were trying to save didn’t make it any easier.
“Because you’re a good person,” Sarah said, coming up behind him and placing her hands on his shoulders.
It was nighttime, and the two of them had retired to their stone tent after hours of arguing and planning.
“I’m not so sure about that,” Morgan said with a groan as Sarah began squeezing at the tense muscles there.
“Really?” she asked, digging her fingers in and squeezing a bit harder. “I suppose only selfish and rotten people travel to another continent, fight a war for the people there, and then do everything they can to stop their extinction.”
Morgan let out a sigh as Sarah skillfully worked at the knotted muscles, her fingers traveling up to the sides of his neck and her knuckles dragging along the skin. Even with his metal-woven and enhanced muscles, it seemed that knots and tension were never going to go away. Thankfully, Sarah seemed strong enough to work those knots loose. To anyone who was weaker, it would be like trying to massage a bar of pure adamantine.
“You need to stop getting so worked up over things like this,” Sarah continued, working her way up to his temples. “Elyssa is a smart woman; she’ll see sense. And if she doesn’t, Ragnar and Malachi will talk it into her. She’s already lost her home, her guardian since birth, and thousands of her people. She isn’t ready to give up on Faeland, even if she knows deep down that you’re right.”
Morgan let out another groan as her cool fingers began moving in slow circles over his temples, her nails scratching along his scalp and pressing in at all the right places.
“How are you so good at this?” he asked, slumping in his chair even more.
Sarah didn’t reply, but as she continued working, Morgan got a distinct sense of satisfaction from her.
“You know, you should really let me return the favor every once in a while,” he said after a few more minutes of silence.
“I think I’ll take you up on that,” Sarah said. “I quite like the idea of you running your hands all over me.”
Morgan chuckled at that, then let out a soft groan as Sarah stopped what she was doing and pushed at the center of his back to get him off the chair.
“Stop complaining,” she said as he turned to look at her. “I just wanted you up so you could go lie down on the bed.”
Morgan visibly brightened when she said that, which made her laugh. Quiet moments like these, where they got to simply enjoy one another’s company, had been rare in the last few weeks, which was saying a lot seeing as she’d only been back for about two months. Since this would likely be their last quiet night before they enacted their plans, they were going to enjoy it to the fullest.
He walked over to the bed, stripping out of his shirt and lying down on his stomach. He turned his head away from the flickering lantern on the small table, keeping the main light source from piercing through his eyelids.
He could hear Sarah shifting around before her weight settled onto the bed next to him. A moment later, he felt her swing her leg over his back as she settled on top of him. Morgan didn’t ask if she felt well enough to do this with her injured arm. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have offered.
“So, tell me about this restaurant you promised to take me to once we’ve taken the Brutal Bayou,” Sarah said, placing both palms to either side of his spine and pulling down.
Her hands were slick with something, and they slid easily, leaving a warm trail down his back.
Morgan winced a bit at that. He’d had to revise his promise to after the war was over, and although she hadn’t been happy about it, Sarah had agreed.
“I’ve only been there once,” Morgan said, his voice coming out slightly muffled as half his face was pressed into a pillow. “It sits on the edge of a beautiful lake, and the water is so smooth that it appears to be made of glass.”
Sarah moved her hands up to his right shoulder, one hand pressing down on the blade, while the other pulled slow sweeps under the joint, her fingers digging in in the most incredible way. Morgan could feel small crunches as she pulled, moving whatever had been building up there to the nodes that disposed of toxins that built up in the body over time.
Of course, he had no idea of knowing what that would look like now, thanks to his evolution, but he assumed the same functions would still be available, especially if his muscles could still get knotted and sore like this.
“Go on,” Sarah said, moving her fingers down the right side of his back.
“There are many trees flanking the sides of the lake,” Morgan continued. “A special tree that blooms with beautiful pink blossoms. The owners of the restaurant told me they normally only bloom that way once a year, but they keep them that way with a skill so the diners can enjoy the view year-round.”
Sarah worked her way lower, scooting backward as she did so. She started working with her palms, digging into his lower back where a good deal of the tension was congregated.
“At night, they set candles floating out on the lake, lighting it up like stars in the sky,” he said. “There’s a small band, hidden from view, that plays quiet music. You’re boxed off from all the other diners to give you a sense of privacy, and even the food orders are given through a slot in the walls.”
“It sounds very romantic,” Sarah said, pushing into the center of his back and sliding up.
A loud series of pops and cracks rang out in the quiet, and Morgan sighed again as more tension seemed to disappear.
“It is,” Morgan replied. “Very.”
Sarah was silent for a few minutes after that, continuing to work on him. As he found himself drifting off, she asked another question.
“Who were you there with?”
“Katherine,” Morgan answered without trying to hide the truth. “She wanted to take me out to a nice dinner, and I didn’t want to say no.”
Saran continued working, her palms pushing harder into his back as she pushed up, then trailing her fingertips down, sending chills racing along his spine.
“And did you enjoy yourself?”
Morgan couldn’t hear even so much as a hint of jealousy in her voice, which was so very different from the Sarah of old.
“I did,” he admitted. “As I said, it’s a very nice place, one that I can’t wait to show you.”
Sarah paused for a moment, and Morgan craned his neck to the side, noting a look of sadness on her face. He reached up, grabbing one of her hips, and held her in place as he turned onto his back.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, looking up at her.
“I just feel like I’ve missed so much,” she said. “Sure, I experienced a bit through the spear, but I missed more than two years of your life. There’s so much I wasn’t there for.”
“It was because of what you did that I even had that life,” Morgan said. “Without you, Octagon would have come for me long before I finished powering the scripts. You saved my life, and trust me when I say this, you didn’t miss much. Those two years were mostly filled with training. Yes, I had some interactions with others, and that was when I met Grace, but nothing else really happened.
“About Grace,” Sarah said, seeming a bit worried. “Wy don’t you go for her now that you know where she is?”
“It was her request,” Morgan replied. “She says that she’s in the perfect spot to help the people escape. With Lumia and Shul to protect her, ships from the East coming to land there, and several hundred soldiers marching there as we speak, I think she’ll be okay.”
“Wouldn’t it be safer to just get her out, though?”
“Not if we don’t want to raise suspicion,” Morgan replied. “Lumia says she can handle it, and I trust her, so stop worrying about them. We have our own problems to worry about at the moment.”
“Really?” Sarah asked with a raised eyebrow, her lips pulling up in a smirk. “I didn’t realize having a pretty girl sitting on you was a problem.”
Morgan moved, locking her knees to his side and quickly turning so that she was on her back. Sarah laughed as he leaned in to kiss her, grinning broadly as he pulled away.
“That’s not the problem,” Morgan said. “The problem is that you gave me such a wonderful massage, and I haven’t returned the favor.”
“Oh, you don’t have to tonight…” Sarah began, then let out another squeal as he pulled back, then flipped her onto her stomach.
“Morgan!” she exclaimed as he began tugging at the hem of her shirt.
Still, she didn’t stop him from pulling it up. In fact, she propped herself up on her elbows to make it easier. When she lay back down on her stomach, her back was bare, her face turned to the side on a pillow, much as he had been just a minute ago.
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to tell me if I push too hard,” Morgan said, reaching for the small, clear bottle that Sarah had been using.
He was still growing used to his new strength, occasionally shattering cutlery or other small items by accident. He was sure it would stop in time, but he was still growing, getting stronger every day, and he wanted to make sure he didn’t accidentally injure her.
“Don’t worry,” Sarah said as he poured some of the liquid onto his hands and rubbed them together. “You could never hurt me.”
Morgan smiled as he looked down at her, noting all of the contours, bumps, and indents in her back. It was well-muscled but still obviously feminine. He didn’t know how something like a back could be attractive, and somehow, Sarah’s just was.
He got a bit more comfortable, then placed his palms on her back and tried to do what she had, and judging by the low groans of pleasure he began to elicit, Morgan knew he was doing a good job.
Quiet moments like these had been rare indeed, and Morgan was enjoying every single second of it. Even if it wouldn’t last, the knowledge that they would be spending more time like this in the future was more than enough for him.
Sarah let out another low groan as Morgan trailed his hands up to her shoulders and squeezed. Although he was on the giving end this time, he found that he was actually enjoying himself more.
40
The next morning found the allied forces marching slightly more to the northwest, making directly for the capital. Their original plan – and the only smart one – was to conquer Gnomia, the second-largest city in the Arcane Kingdom, before heading to the capital. However, with the World Beasts bearing down on them, Elyssa had seen sense.
She now marched somewhere near the center of their armies with Ragnar and Malachi while Katherine and Beatrice were out scouting the areas ahead and behind, making sure there were no ambushes and keeping an eye on the World Beasts.
The sky above was dark and stormy, lightning flickering across the clouds and leaving a menacing air hanging above the marching force.
Morgan stood in the air some three hundred feet above the armies and watched their progress. In the distance, he could sense the city of Gnomia as well as the disparate spies that hung at the fringes of his vision. These were not cultists but regular gnomes, watching the progress of the army.
They would likely be reporting to Shedra soon, and that was Morgan’s goal. He stayed with the army for most of the day, watching from his vantage point as the spies left, heading back to the city to report to their commanders.
Sarah came up to speak with him several times, giving him reports and bringing him lunch. Morgan hadn’t been hungry, but it felt really nice to have someone think of him. His eyes flicked over to the area where Sarah was now, talking to a few of Katherine’s scouts.
They were made up of the survivors of Garrison Blue, those who had lived through the attack on the troll capital. Darv, their leader, had managed to escape the worst of the explosions but had lost an eye and his nose in the process. He could still smell – at least according to him – but the healers had already warned he would look strange once the bandages came off.
The others in Garrison Blue didn’t seem to mind, telling the commander that it would make him look dangerous.
Morgan’s eyes flicked in the direction of the city as night fell, getting a good sense of what was happening. There was a lot of movement near the center, which meant that the enemy was reporting in.
He shifted his sense to where the civilian group was now set up and camping for the evening. They had purposefully left in the middle of the night to throw off any scouts, but if they didn’t notice soon, they would in the next few days. Still, by the time that happened, his plans would be in full effect.
Morgan didn’t sleep that night, remaining at his post and watching the goings-on. The World Beasts drew closer, the tremors in the earth growing in intensity. He could begin to feel small fissures forming with his Earth Mastery and knew this continent didn’t have long. Neither did its people.
His senses swept out to sea then, spreading farther and farther until he felt them; the fleet of ships sent by Le’vine. They were perhaps five days away, which was about how much time they had left to make everything work.
In other words, they needed to cross a distance of over one hundred miles in that time. They were lucky the Arcane Kingdom was wider than it was long. The stretch from their wall to the ocean was fairly short as far as territory went, but it stretched from coast to coast, wrapping partway around the landmass at both ends.
Most of their cities were built near the water, and the capital was no exception. As Morgan watched the city, several absences appeared at once. It was easy to tell now where a cultist was, simply by observing the reiki in the world around them. If Strangler had wanted to make them invisible to being sensed, she should have made them blend.
Instead, they stood out like a sore thumb, the void of their souls leaving gaps in the world that should have been filled by the abundant reiki.
“Anything happening yet?” Sarah asked as she flapped her way up to him.
Morgan noted that she carried a steaming bowl of something as she did. It was nearing dawn, though by how dark the sky remained, one could have thought it was still near midnight.
“A lot, actually,” he said, taking the bowl she handed him. “We’ve got nearly three hundred cultists in the city now and several getting ready to come this way.”
“What about in Arcane City?”
“They’re gearing up as well, though no one’s left the safety of the walls just yet.”
“Do you think they will?” Sarah asked as Morgan took a sip of the warm broth.
“Undoubtedly,” he replied. “They have the greater numbers, terrain advantage, and the arrogance to think they can’t lose. They also believe we’ve put ourselves in an unwinnable position by ignoring Gnomia. I don’t think I’m wrong in thinking they’re going to try hitting us when we’re trapped between Lake Silver and the Alley Slopes. It’s the perfect place for an ambush, and since they now have forces on both sides, they’ll take the bait.”
Morgan had laid his plans out in their last meeting, pointing to a spot that would put them in a situation similar to the one they had been in Silica Gorge. No escape to either side. Only this time, the gnomes would come in force.
“Except that’s not going to happen,” Sarah said.
“Except that’s not going to happen,” Morgan repeated, taking another sip from his broth. “But Shedra won’t know that until it’s too late.”
“Why don’t you go get an hour of rest? I can keep watch.”
Morgan shook his head.
“Not like me, you can’t.”
“What about Elyssa? Doesn’t she have the same trait?”
“No,” he said, handing her back the now-empty bowl. “Elyssa has a weaker version of the Perfect Aura Control, the one I used to have. She can’t sense her surroundings the way I can, nor can she see the threads of fate, murky as they still are to me.”
Sarah let out a sigh, then reached out and brushed a lock of hair back from his forehead. She leaned in and kissed him, cupping his cheek for a moment before flapping back.
“Just call if you need anything,” she said as she began to drop. “I’ll come running.”
Morgan gave her a smile before turning his sights back to his surroundings. The next few days were going to be rough on everyone. The next time he’d sleep would be on the ships when they were headed away from this disaster-stricken land.
He turned his sights back to Gnomia then and watched the spots of emptiness heading out in their direction. The cultists were coming to confirm what the gnomes had reported – just as he had hoped. It seemed that despite what he said, Shedra trusted no one but Strangler’s cultists. It would definitely help later on. At the moment, he just watched their progress, mentally preparing for the coming clash.
***
“Come on, you still don’t want to help?” Grace asked, staring at the curled-up gnomes through the bars. “Even after everything I’ve told you?”
Two days had passed since Lumia had shown up, and instead of breaking free right then and there, she’d decided to do the right thing and remained in her cell. She was now receiving a constant stream of information, as Shul stayed in communication with Katherine while Lumia snuck in and out of the underground pens.
It really wasn’t all that hard for her, especially seeing how little attention the guards seemed to give to anything at all. All they ever wanted to do was sleep, eat, and complain. They also seemed to enjoy the occasional beating or murder, but that was only when they were in a bad mood or got bored.
Shul had been completely opposed to the idea of her staying there, but after some convincing from Lumia combined with the knowledge that a large contingent of soldiers and civilians were coming there to make their escape on his sister-in-law’s ships, he eventually caved and agreed. That didn’t mean he was happy about it, but he was at least willing to wait a few days before getting her out.
