Metal Mage 5, page 8
I mostly had my eyes trained on the two leaders, and they seemed like the only two who were nearly matched for abilities, but Onym’s elves had torn ruthlessly through their enemies, and only three elves remained of the group that arrived with Rhys.
These three were incredibly quick and flipped out of the way of their attackers as they went on the defensive. They leapt to the tops of boulders and wove through thick fronds to confuse the furious elves who struck at their ankles with their glaives.
A turquoise clad elf grew impatient with their maneuvers and pulled his dagger from its sheath to hurl it through the air and into the chest of his target. The body that had just leapt nimbly from a boulder suddenly came down with a sickening thud as his back snapped over itself.
Another of the gilded elves slipped beneath a low hanging leaf, and he shot an arrow through the back and out the heart of the elf who’d just slain his comrade. Then he doubled back around in time to drive his dagger through an elf that had trailed him. The turquoise tunic bloomed with deep red blood, and as the elf dropped to his knees, the gilded warrior who’d killed him was caught up from behind, and a blade split his neck half through.
Now, only four elves remained in the clearing, and Rhys and Onym finally broke apart. Their eyes flicked across the bloodied bodies around them, and each had a single elf at their flank. Everything seemed suddenly still without the clashing of blades, and there was nothing but the heavy silence of the many dead, and the ragged breaths of the few remaining elves who stood in the middle of the carnage.
“What next?” Rhys goaded with his blade still held out. “You have only one of your dogs to guard you.”
Onym bristled at the words, and by the expression on his face, I could tell how badly he wanted to rip the tongue out of the green-haired elf’s mouth.
It dawned on me that he’d probably be the type to do it, just before his black eyes flashed to the last gilded elf who stood beside Rhys.
He seemed to sneer as he sized up the simple sword in the elf’s hand, then he looked to Rhys with a greedy glint in his eye. “Your own guard lies twitching at your feet,” he hissed. “Is this hunter meant to avenge you?”
“This hunter will skin you while your heart still beats and wear your hide when he burns your house to the ground,” Rhys growled back.
I’d never seen such hatred between two men, but it practically boiled beneath their bloodied skin. The tension seemed to lock them to each other, just like it had when they’d first came head to head in the clearing.
Then the turquoise clad elf who flanked Onym grabbed for his leader’s arm and pulled him back a few steps. He spoke fervently in the same lilting language, and I recognized the elf with the murky blue eyes who’d been so disgusted by Aurora. With only the two of them left, I realized their silver hair was the same hue, and together with the dark glint of their eyes, it almost looked like they were related.
The elf with the murky blue eyes was splattered all over from some violent spray of blood, and his boots had what looked like torn flesh caked to the toes. He kept a tight hold on the bloodied arm of the leader as he spoke, and Onym actually seemed to heed his words this time.
The black-eyed elf nodded curtly and looked like he was about to lower his sword, when a shriek split the air, and all eyes turned toward us as Shoshanne was yanked from my side.
A third gilded elf had apparently hidden in the fronds and brought himself behind us during the fight. He grappled to get a firm hold on the Aer Mage as she elbowed him hard in the gut, but he suddenly let out a yelp as he dropped straight into a trench.
I slammed the ground shut around his ribs, and by the time his eyes looked up in terror, he was inches from the nose of Cayla’s revolver, with Aurora’s fingertips ignited and at the ready.
I contemplated letting the women kill the fucker, but Shoshanne’s eyes snapped forward, and I turned just as Rhys jumped toward me with his blade aimed straight at my gut.
He only made it a few steps, though.
Rhys stumbled abruptly, and he dropped his sword as his hands flew to his throat. Then his lips began to fade to a sickly blue.
The Aer Mage at my side held the sights of the green-haired elf coldly as he struggled to breathe, before she let her plush lips curl into a little smile and finally released him from her invisible hold.
Rhys dropped to his knees and fought through a few ragged breaths, and when he looked up, his eyes flicked between the four of us with the kind of uneasy fear I’d read about in horror stories. He looked terrified, like any moment an invisible death would come over him, and just behind him, Onym’s face had gone completely blank except for the stern line of his lips.
The elf who was still half buried in the dirt gave a grunt as he dug at the ground to try and pull himself free, and Aurora looked to me to give the order.
I considered the trapped elf for a second before I shook my head, and the revolver was pulled back as the flames on the half-elf’s fingers went out. Then I turned back to Onym.
“Like I was saying,” I said evenly, “we’re here to meet with the Elven Council.” I raised my hand before me to be sure I had his full attention, and the black eyes dimmed back to their menacing glint, but I saw fear in them as well. “Which way is it to Rhoemir?”
Onym held my sights for a long moment before he lifted a bloodied arm and pointed the way.
“Two leagues east,” he hissed through gritted teeth. “Cross the river. One league south to Rhoemir.”
The faint trumpet of what sounded like a bugle echoed from far off in the jungle, and Rhys suddenly snapped his sights to Onym. The two glared at one another like this before Rhys let out a low and mirthless chuckle and finally rose to his feet.
“Call for your army, coward,” the green-haired elf growled.
A greedy smile came to Onym’s lips, but it fell as his eyes flicked to me.
Rhys quickly looked in my direction as well.
I lowered my arm and held their sights steadily until the two finally looked away.
Then they exchanged a long, silent look, and some unspoken truce seemed to have been made. Almost at once, both of their weapons were stowed, and an eerie race began.
They turned swiftly to the bodies on the ground, and the elves who had flanked each leader followed in suit. They removed the sheaths and quivers from the dead with practiced haste. Then the bodies were dragged unceremoniously by their lifeless limbs, and the elves hurled them into the fronds or kicked them over felled logs with their bloodied boots.
As Onym and the murky-eyed elf gathered the weapons of the fallen in their arms, the leader turned once more to Rhys. “That’s another half league lost,” he sneered, but Rhys only grinned.
“Count again, viper,” the green-haired elf replied, and the four turned to eye the gilded elf in the ground. He had become desperate as he clawed around for a way to escape the vice I’d locked him in, and sweat shone as it dripped through his braids and down his strained face.
I sighed and softened the earth enough so he at least had a chance of escaping, and as he finally pulled his legs free from the dense soil, he stumbled and fell in his rush to get as far from us as possible. When he made it back to Rhys’ side, Onym looked almost amused beneath his deadly mask.
The black-eyed elf opened his lips to remark, but the sound of the bugle rose up much closer than before.
Rhys and his elves turned without another word and disappeared into the thick of the forest they’d come from, and Onym took a last glance at us before he and his guard disappeared through the fronds at their backs.
The rustling of the leaves faded quickly, and suddenly it was just us and Bobbie in the clearing again. Only now, the dirt was blackened all over with fresh blood, and the crooked limb of a dead and discarded elf stuck up from behind a rotted log.
“Okay…” I started, and I brought myself to the center of the clearing.
The dirt had turned to brackish mud as it mixed with the various bodily fluids of the elves, and the stench of death in the humid air had already started to get overwhelming. I turned in a slow circle as I processed everything we’d just witnessed.
“Okay…” I started again. “So, I’m gonna say this was a learning experience.”
Aurora furrowed her brows, and Shoshanne shifted a bit in her confusion, but Cayla only gave a short nod of agreement.
“Those guys were fucking ruthless,” I continued, “and they seemed a little rogue to me, but maybe not. Either way, they’ve at least heard of the Elven Council, so … we may have just gotten a glimpse of what we’re potentially walking into.”
Aurora raised her eyebrows, and I returned the look.
“Yeah, alright,” I allowed. “We probably, definitely got a glimpse, and it’s not a great one.”
“There you go,” the half-elf said, and she rolled her eyes as she came to the center of the clearing. “There are a dozen dead elves tucked in these bushes and not one of them will apparently be missed. I’d say we’re completely fucked.”
“Not completely,” Cayla offered as she and Shoshanne joined us. “Like he said, they could just be rogue elves, but regardless, they’re terrified of Mason.”
I grinned as I tucked the princess under my arm. “I think they’re terrified of all of us.”
“Especially Shoshanne,” Aurora giggled.
The Aer Mage blushed as she smiled proudly. “Good,” she replied with a shrug and came to my side to lay a light kiss on my cheek.
Despite the animalistic carnage of the day so far, I honestly wasn’t as concerned for our lives at the moment as I’d been before. I knew my women could handle themselves and apparently any assholes who came at me as well, but the looks of the elves when we’d used our magic had unsettled me more than anything.
I thought over this as I walked to the edge of the clearing and peeked over the edge of a log. The dead elf I found there looked like he’d been part of Onym’s group, but the other limbs that poked through the brush could have belonged to anyone. I sighed and scratched my beard, and when I returned to where I’d parked Bobbie, the women were ready to leave.
“We should probably get out of here before that smell attracts any creatures,” Aurora said as she carefully lifted her bandaged leg to mount Bobbie.
I nodded my agreement, and then I turned to Cayla. “In your diplomatic opinion, did you get a vibe from those two leaders?”
“Yes,” the princess chuckled. “They hate each other for one thing. They also want to kill each other and don’t give a shit how many others die in the process.”
I smirked at her frank assessment before I clarified. “Besides that.”
Cayla’s eyes were sharp and clear, and she thought for only a second before she answered. “They were more than afraid of you. I think they have something else on their minds.”
“Yeah … ” I sighed. “I kind of picked up on that, too.”
Cayla crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side as I considered this.
“So, what do you want to do?” she finally asked.
“I don’t know,” I admitted, “but I’m not showing all my cards at this meeting. I think it’ll only be trouble.” I turned to the two mages next to me. “Whatever happens, don’t use your magic in front of the elves if you can possibly help it. We still don’t know what this Elven Council will be like, but it’s better if they know as little as possible about what we’re capable of.”
Aurora and Shoshanne agreed, but I saw a little smirk come to the corner of the Aer Mage’s mouth.
“I mean it … ” I warned as I pulled her against me. “No suffocating anyone unless they’re going for the kill shot.”
Shoshanne giggled and kissed me. “Not even a little pinch?” she asked with a sly grin. “They seriously cringed over Aurora, and it’s just so satisfying to--”
“Nope,” I interrupted, and I nodded my head toward her seat on Bobbie. “We’re going to Rhoemir to have a friendly chat with the Elven Council, and if everything goes well, no one will even suspect that the three most beautiful creatures in the room also happen to be the deadliest.”
“Which is ironic,” Shoshanne added, “when you consider the completely barbaric way they just disemboweled practically half of--”
This time I delved my tongue between her lips to cut her off before I flipped her and nudged her toward Bobbie. The Aer Mage gave a mocking huff of disappointment, and I winked to Cayla as she smirked and returned her revolver to her holster.
I took a last glance at the slimy sheen of mud on the clearing floor before I mounted up with the women, and as Bobbie roared back to life, I heard the heavy beating of wings overhead. We all craned our necks to look up, and two giant sphinxes circled like vultures beneath the high canopy of the trees.
“I kind of like it here … ” I mused as I watched the massive creatures hover lower, with their golden wings spread wide and their massive claws that glinted when the light streamed through the leaves.
Cayla giggled as she looped her arms around my waist, and I didn’t have to look to know Aurora had rolled her eyes along with her heavy sigh. I chuckled and slid my hand along the half-elf’s leg.
“What?” I murmured against her ear. “No sense in letting a little beastie spoil the mood.”
Aurora turned a coy grin over her shoulder, and then she tucked my fingers in the warm cleft between her thighs. “Shall we?”
I grinned, pulled her firmly against my groin, and kept my hand right where it was. Then Bobbie kicked into gear, and we headed in the direction Onym had pointed to.
The heat that radiated from the aroused half-elf as we wove through the dense jungle kept me well preoccupied for most of the journey to the river. Aurora braced herself on Bobbie’s engine as she slid my fingers past the taut leather of her body suit, and I did my best to satiate the woman whose leg had been split open by flesh eating acid that morning.
We nearly knocked Bobbie off balance as she grinded herself against my fingers, but after a while, I got the hang of leveling the handlebars out when she was close to coming.
The half-elf let out a satisfied moan as we came to a stop at the edge of a broad river, and as I finally slid my fingers from her moist flesh, Cayla slid her own hand beneath my belt.
“It’s only a few miles to the village,” she purred with her hand grasped firmly around my erection. “How about we camp here for the night?”
I grinned, and the half-elf turned herself around to face me as she pulled her bodysuit down over her shoulders. Then she gave a little wiggle to get the leather below her breasts and pulled me forward to take the bud of her nipple in my mouth.
Shoshanne brought herself around to the side of Bobbie and knelt beside my thigh to loosen the ties of my belt, and as she trailed her lips along the tip of my cock, I felt Cayla slide her own hand between her legs at my back.
Chapter 6
We spent well over an hour trading places on Bobbie, and by the time we made it into the grass, the sun was low in the western sky.
“Godsdamnit,” I chuckled as I pulled my lips from the warmth between Shoshanne’s thighs. “I haven’t even hunted anything for dinner, yet.”
Cayla gave a sleepy nod from where she lay in the grass beside us, and she wiped a bit of my cum from her lips as she sent me a slow wink.
I grinned at the lazy way her lashes hooded her blue eyes, and then I turned to slip my tongue back into the caramel beauty.
I felt Aurora roll along my other side to wrap her leg over me, and she rested her cheek on Shoshanne’s plush thigh as she spoke. “I’ll hunt for dinner,” she chuckled. “You just work on your dessert, but tonight, you’re building us something to sleep in.”
The Aer Mage gave a soft moan of approval, and as I slid my hand up to trace circles around her perked nipple, I felt her begin to convulse against the tip of my tongue.
After I’d satisfied my women multiple times, we ate a small feast of some sort of bird and dried fruits with honeyed bread. Aurora had snagged the bird with the bow she’d stashed in the side car, and it tasted a lot like duck, but less salty. It also paired perfectly with the wine Cayla poured for everyone.
Our bellies were full, and our libidos were exhausted when the odd chirping began to echo through the jungle again. I had just started to count out the reasons I fucking loved this realm when the princess settled herself between my legs. She rested her back against my chest with a sleepy sigh, and I looped my arm beneath the underside of her pert breasts.
Aurora was already half asleep on my shoulder, but she roused herself just enough to slur a few things before she dozed off completely. “House,” she muttered sleepily. “No sphinx, please.”
I chuckled and laid a kiss in her braids before I glanced around to the few pale boulders that lined the river in the moonlight. I used the last of my energy to lift them, and then I molded the soft rock into a circular wall around us that closed in a dome with a little skylight at the top. The last thing I remembered was softening the ground under the four of us, and the warmth of Cayla’s body pressed against mine.
When the sun rose, the light caught on the skylight and made our little den glow orange. I stretched my arms high above my head, and my joints cracked as they got moving again. Then I slowly adjusted the ceiling of the dome to let just a little more light in.
The warm glow and the soft skin of my lovers against me made the previous day seem miles away, but as I sat and grazed my finger lightly along Cayla’s slender neck, the scenes from the elven fight we’d witnessed began to turn through my mind.
There was something unsettling about the way the elves interacted I hadn’t expected when we began this journey. Since I’d come to this realm, most everyone I’d fought either for or against had some kind of loyalty to someone. The elves we’d met in the jungle were apparently loyal to Onym and Rhys, but that loyalty seemed like a means to a gruesome end.
Not only did no one, not even the leaders, appear upset at the loss of their comrades, but the whole thing was literally a numbers game to them. Then there was the way they stripped the bodies of their weapons before they tossed them away like trash.
