Metal Mage 5, page 26
“She went that way,” Aurora said blankly, and she pointed to the side of the house.
Dragir immediately ran over and disappeared through the vines, and the leader narrowed his eyes on me as he studied me closely.
“Get that creature out of my house,” he finally growled.
I lowered my arms as I ground my jaw. “She isn’t in your house,” I calmly explained. “She’s in your yard. We’ll be on our way just as soon as the naticea are planted.”
The leader curled back his lip. “Remove it before I--”
“We’re done,” Shoshanne interrupted, and we all turned to see her and Cayla patting the soil down around the base of the last plant.
“Perfect,” I said through gritted teeth. “Let’s go.”
I took Aurora’s hand and headed for the side of the house, and as Cayla and Shoshanne swiftly fell in behind us, I heard the leader call out.
I clenched my fist and hoped my fury would stay there instead before I slowly turned around. “What?”
The leader’s aged face looked frail and blank, and he looked from me to the naticea for a moment before he responded.
“Thank you,” he finally said.
His warriors’ blades still flashed behind him in the dim sunlight, and I really only had enough patience to offer a low “you’re welcome” before I left the garden behind me and made for the jungle.
None of us spoke as we passed the front of the house, and I heard Dragir’s voice somewhere in the distance as he berated his sister again.
I paused and scanned the trees when we made it to the path, but I didn’t see the elven beauty anywhere, so I followed the women without another glance and didn’t stop until we’d made it to Bobbie.
“Should we--” Shoshanne began, but I shook my head.
“If I stay here another minute, I’m gonna murder one of them,” I growled, and Bobbie roared to life as I settled into the seat and pulled Aurora with me.
With the half-elf tucked firmly between my thighs, I took a steadying breath before I kicked Bobbie into drive and headed for the crystal bridge.
Chapter 17
I was too pissed off to waste any more time with the overgrowth that slowed Bobbie’s tires on our way north. Plus, I kind of needed a good outlet for my irritation, and destroying the beautiful land was something to that end.
So, I sent my Terra magic out in front of us and tore the ground apart as I overturned the spongy, decayed layer to get to the fresh soil beneath. At the same time, I hardened the exposed earth, and even though this process took a constant stream of my energy, it burned like a good work out, and it helped to ease most of my annoyance by the time the jungle began to thin.
As the terrain returned to a wash of massive ferns on dense black soil, we were able to weave around the foliage at near top speed, and I was able to ease up on the constant effort. Now that my mind was less occupied, and my irritation was mostly gone, I nudged the half-elf with my thigh.
“You alright?” I asked over the drone of Bobbie’s engine.
I still couldn’t believe Dragir and his father had been tactless enough to refer to her as an “it,” and I was worried she might be well past her limit with the elves. Especially since she’d built that flaming wall only three feet shy of burning their house down.
Aurora gave a curt nod, and I leaned forward to get a glimpse of the half-elf’s face. She had a smug little smirk on her lips as she glanced back to me.
I chuckled. “Feeling pretty good about yourself then?”
Aurora tilted her chin up a bit and casually flipped her blue braids over her shoulder. The gesture made her look like a blue-haired queen, and I silently thanked Deya for having the good grace to explain a few things to us.
The fact that Aurora possessed a trait of superiority definitely clarified a few things at least, and although her true-blue hair made her a constant target in Nalnora, I was pleased to know the extra knowledge had gone straight to her head. She sure needed the boost.
I tugged playfully at one of the half-elf’s braids, and she giggled proudly as we turned west.
We were probably about twenty miles from Rhoemir when Cayla rested her chin on my shoulder to murmur in my ear.
“House Natyr are going to try and kill you before you can get a word in,” she pointed out.
I nodded. “That’s the plan,” I called back.
Aurora turned. “Shouldn’t we just go to House Natyr and tell the leader we accept his offer?”
I immediately shook my head. “I’m gonna need more of an upper hand in this one,” I informed her. “But Onym’s persistent as hell. It shouldn’t take him long to find us.”
Cayla chuckled. “And when he does?”
“Try not to kill him,” I said with a grin.
We took a roundabout course to settle within the bounds of House Natyr’s territory, and I tried not to wince as I lifted my injured leg up to dismount.
The pain had already returned in full force when I’d stormed out of House Quyn, and the constant vibration from the bike’s engine had only made it worse.
I managed to make it a few paces with only a slight hitch in my gait, but as I turned back toward the women, Shoshanne caught me by surprise as she leaped into my arms to give me a fiery kiss.
I collapsed on the spot, and a yelp of pain slipped from my mouth as the caramel beauty toppled onto me.
“Shit!” the Aer Mage gasped. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I managed through gritted teeth, but the healer was already stooped over the wound and had the bandage half untied. I groped around to pull her hand away. “It’s seriously fine, you don’t have to--”
“Gods, Mason,” Shoshanne breathed.
She’d gotten the wound exposed, and I felt a river of warm blood stream across my thigh as I gave up and let myself go limp across the ground.
“The wound’s reopened completely,” Shoshanne muttered, and she hopped up to get her healer’s bag from the sidecar.
“It’s really fine,” I insisted, but the pain forced my eyes shut, and I took a few deep breaths to steady the tremble that began to take over my leg.
Aurora sighed and lifted my head into her lap. “You can stop lying now,” she said with a grin. “You’re bleeding all over the place, my love.”
I squinted up at the half-elf with half a grin. “Am not.”
Shoshanne clicked her tongue against her teeth. “I’m going to have to stitch this,” she muttered. “I know you’ll be up and walking around no matter what I tell you, and it’s just not going to heal otherwise.”
I let out a chuckle. “Go for it,” I told her. “You’re probably right.”
The Aer Mage began to string her needle, and as I eyed the size of it, she sent me an apologetic smile. “I didn’t mean to flatten you,” she admitted. “I just wanted to say thank you. Those elves were assholes, but you saved that man’s life, and I really can’t imagine how to thank you enough for doing it. Really.”
I cocked a brow. “You’ll think of something, I’m sure,” I replied as I sent her a wink.
Shoshanne’s cheeks blushed lightly. “Well …” she mused, “I do happen to have the most accommodating nurses on staff.” Then the Aer Mage sent Cayla a dirty little smile.
The princess giggled and nodded obediently before she curled her long leg up and over me. I could feel the warmth of her center as she settled herself on top of me, and she grinded her hips against my groin as she leaned forward and gently slid her tongue across my bottom lip.
I groaned and grasped the woman’s thighs.
“You’ll be numb in a minute,” Shoshanne assured me, and Aurora began to lightly stroke her fingers through my hair.
The pain in my leg had only just begun to let up when the needle pierced the skin, and I gave a jolt in response to the pain.
Cayla caught my shoulders and pinned me to the dirt as I spasmed before she delved her tongue into my mouth and pressed her clit firmly against my erection.
I focused on the heat between the woman’s thighs rather than the needle tugging on my flesh, and as the pain finally numbed completely, I grasped at the leather that encased Cayla’s breasts.
“Take it off,” I ordered.
Cayla gave a slight bite to my bottom lip before she slowly untied her top. Her plush and pale breasts burst from the leather, and her pale pink nipples were already perked with her arousal. Then she leaned forward and let the supple flesh press against my chest as she tangled her tongue with mine.
I pinched the taut bud of her nipple between my fingers to tease her, and Cayla moaned in response. Her hips began to weave in steady circles as her thighs clutched tightly around me, and I let her trail her tongue along my neck next.
I heard Shoshanne let out a husky chuckle, and she began to tie a fresh bandage around the sutured wound.
Cayla bit lightly at the meat of my neck, and she slid her hand down to my belt, but just as she’d undone the ties and begun to reach lower, Aurora’s thighs tensed beneath me, and she gasped.
“Mason,” the half-elf hissed.
I didn’t even need to guess what the problem was.
“They are here?” Cayla shot up, and the thrust of her hips as she did made my blood burn beneath her. I groaned as I eyed her full and exposed breasts above me, and then I instinctively tightened my hold on her thighs. I didn’t want to release the sultry woman for anything, but Aurora quickly pulled herself out from under me and made for the sidecar.
“I’m gonna fucking kill these guys,” I sighed as Cayla quickly tied her top closed in the front.
Then I strained and forced myself to stand.
Any of my blood that hadn’t drenched the ground was throbbing in my lower extremities, but at least the wound itself was completely numb.
Still, the spliced muscles protested angrily as I tried to limp to get my crossbow, and I finally gave up.
“Fuck it,” I cursed, and I pulled my revolver out.
Shoshanne was a step ahead of me, and she grabbed my own crossbow and quiver as she snatched her own. I gave her a kiss when she brought it to me, and then I lifted the leather strap to secure the crossbow to my back.
Cayla had her rifle cocked, and I saw her cheeks were still pink with arousal when she glanced over to me.
“I’m not done with you,” I growled as I cocked the hammer of my revolver, and the princess came to press herself against my side as she laid another tender kiss along my neck.
“Good,” she murmured, and her warm breath and lips made my skin tingle.
I caught her before she could pull away, and I was tangled with the sweetness of her tongue when the trees at the edge of the small clearing began to rustle.
I reluctantly released the seductive woman with a sigh. “I really am gonna kill this guy,” I muttered, and Cayla giggled.
“You’re supposed to be trying to get a word in,” she reminded me.
“Trying to get something in … ” I replied, and I pinched her lush thigh just as Aurora loosed an arrow.
“Now would be an excellent time to--” the half-elf began, but she dodged a dagger rather than finish the statement.
“Yeah, I’ve got it,” I returned, and I eyed the tree line.
I happened to catch sight of the arm that had thrown the dagger as the elf ducked to conceal himself, and I aimed a few inches south before I fired the revolver.
There was a short yelp of shock, just before an elf dropped through the brush and landed lifeless in the dirt, and the moment he did, at least ten turquoise clad elves sprang from the cover of the ferns.
Aurora killed two in quick succession as she fired her arrows with incredible accuracy, and as they pierced the elves’ skulls, I took a second to locate Onym. He went straight for the half-elf with a newly serrated blade drawn, and I swiftly melted the metal down before I fired a bullet into the elf at his side.
Onym’s black eyes flashed with their usual fury, and to be honest, it was kind of nice to see it again. He wasn’t nearly as intimidating anymore after the ambush we’d had in the south from House Syru.
I chuckled a little as two shuriken sliced across his forearm, and then I turned to take on another turquoise clad elf who swung a hooked glaive within inches of my head. A bullet to the knee brought the elf down with screech, and I caught up his glaive as it dropped from his grip.
With a single swipe, his neck was split open, and I left him twitching in the dirt as I lunged to catch the ankle of an elf who sprinted for Cayla.
The deadly princess blocked his sword with the stock of her rifle as he stumbled in pain and swiped blindly for her. Then she whipped around and swiftly blew his brains out.
Beneath the taut leather of her top, I could see her breasts jostle as the gun fired, and I had to remind myself again to focus on the task at hand.
“Son of a bitch,” I muttered under my breath, and I shook my head and flexed my fists to get my blood going in the right direction.
A snarl came from my back, and I quickly ducked out of the way of a translucent sword. Then I countered with a bullet to my attacker’s gut, and the elf’s eyes bulged with pain as he stumbled back a few steps. The second bullet went straight through his chest, and his face went blank as he fell backward into the ferns.
Then I swiftly whipped the glaive around to catch another elf who streaked past. He tumbled, but rolled through his fall, and when he shot to his feet, I saw it was Onym’s brother.
A sudden moral dilemma warred in my mind when I came face to face with him, but before I could decide where I landed in that realm, a shuriken impaled his thigh, and I couldn’t help but cringe as I thought of my own wound, still raw and pulsing with every movement.
The elf hissed and bent to remove the golden star, and I took advantage of his distraction to flip around and disappear into the fray of elves to find a less questionable opponent.
I figured killing Onym’s only brother would probably screw up my chances of getting the vote of House Natyr.
So, I sliced the back of another turquoise clad elf open with the glaive, and as he fell to his knees in a spasm of pain, I aimed my revolver at the back of his head.
Just as I was about to put him out of his misery, I saw a flash of silver hair, and my eyes locked with Onym’s as I pulled the trigger.
The black eyes flashed fiercely, and he headed for me in an all-out sprint. I readied myself to try my best not to kill him and quickly stowed the revolver as I clutched the glaive across my chest instead.
Aurora cut across Onym’s path though, and as she tripped him with a solid kick to the ankles, he slammed down into the dirt.
The half-elf pinned him down with her knee between his shoulder blades, but the agile elf flipped easily beneath her, and I felt a surge of fury as Onym dug his nails into the thighs of my woman who was now on top of him.
Aurora snarled and locked her hand in a vice at his throat, but when she whipped out her translucent dagger, that seemed to put an end to the infuriating scene.
Onym let out a venomous hiss at the sight of the dagger, and in a flare of rage, he grasped the half-elf by the waist and hurled her into the dirt with brutish force.
I cocked my revolver and got ready to end it right there, but Aurora swiftly rolled to her feet and hurled a ball of flames at the viper’s chest.
Onym lunged in a panic to put out the flames that began to eat right through his leathers to his flesh, and the half-elf drew her dagger once more as she jumped onto his back.
My pulse thrummed wildly in my ears as I lowered my revolver an inch and waited for an opening, but with the half-elf locked in a deadly wrestling match, I couldn’t get my shot.
Only the ruthless snarl at my back could have distracted me, and in one quick movement, I jumped out of the way of a serrated blade and countered with a firm boot to lower gut of the elf who’d swung it.
The air left his body as he crumpled forward, and I fired a bullet into his brain a second later. The next time I pulled the trigger, the shot split the devilish grin of another elf right in half, and I whipped around as I scanned feverishly for my half-elf.
My eyes fell on Onym’s brother as he came at Shoshanne, and I went into overdrive and lunged as I forgot all about my leg.
The elf hissed viciously when I got a hold of his neck from behind, and he swung his dagger blindly for me, but I forced him to the ground and snapped his wrist beneath my boot.
Then I pinned him to his place, leveled the revolver against his temple, and the edges of my vision flickered as rage boiled in my veins.
“Mason!” Cayla suddenly yelled, just as I cocked the hammer, and it took every ounce of my willpower not to pull the trigger right then.
I locked my jaw and looked over to where Cayla had called from, and she stood with her own gun poised against Onym’s head.
He was pinned hard against the ground with Aurora’s knee dug deep into his back, and she had his arm twisted painfully in the grip of her good hand.
His black eyes were glued on me and the silver-haired elf under my gun.
The rest of the clearing was littered with dead elves and silent except for the heavy breathing of the two hostage brothers, and none of us moved for a long moment.
I tried to focus through my rage and carefully eyed Aurora to be sure she was okay.
The half-elf tightened her hold on Onym for good measure, and the silver-haired elf winced in pain as she sent me a nod.
I ground my teeth, and then I grasped Onym’s brother by his knotted silver hair and forced him to rise to his feet.
The elf hissed as I did, and as I eyed Onym with my gun still held at his brother’s temple, I was pleased to finally see fear in his savage eyes.
“Just couldn’t stay away?” I growled to the elf, and his black eyes narrowed as he strained to breathe.
I nodded. “Well, you know what? You’ve convinced me,” I said with a vicious grin. Then I let go of the silver hair in my grip and let the elf drop to the dirt.
Onym’s brother was wholly unarmed, and he stayed where he’d landed at my feet. He fought to catch his breath, and I continued. “I’ll kill the head of House Syru for you,” I told Onym. “And you’ll give me the vote of House Natyr. Now, take me to your father, so the adults can have a conversation.”
