Herald of Shalia 3, page 1
Contents
Let's Have Some Fun!
Other Series
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Free Book Offer
Acknowledgements
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Copyright
Let's Have Some Fun!
That's our goal here. On it's surface it sounds good, right? Everybody likes fun! Well, it's important to clarify that when we say fun we're not talking about family board game night. We're talking over the top explicit content. Now, once again you're probably thinking that sounds good, right? Well, we really want to emphasize over the top really means over the top. This book is meant for adults. You've been warned.
Other Series
Herald of Shalia Series
Herald of Shalia Book 1
Herald of Shalia Book 2
Herald of Shalia Book 3
Herald of Shalia Book 4 (Coming Soon!)
Forbidden Arcana Series
Jinx (Book 1)
Ariel (Book 2)
Mirage (Book 3)
Theia (Book 4)
Sable (Book 5)
Luna (Book 6)
Talia (Book 7)
Morgana (Book 8)
Valaria (Book 9)
Arcana Slice of Life Series
Animal Magnetism (After Sable)
Rank Zero (After Morgana)
CHAPTER 1
The well-dressed woman stepped into the decrepit tavern.
The dilapidated building was located down the filth covered streets near the docks where no self-respecting woman would find herself, which was why the white-haired woman immediately drew the attention of the patrons. Their initial excitement quickly turned to disappointment as their eyes fixated on her long-pointed ears. It wasn’t an unusual occurrence for Cassia, but even after nearly hundred and thirty years, it was still annoying.
She lifted her elegant violet cloak to prevent it from brushing the inch-thick layer of grime that accumulated on the disgusting floor. It was bad enough that she was probably going to have to burn her white knee-high boots after touching the surface without also sacrificing one of her favorite cloaks.
“I think you’re in the wrong place,” the barkeep spit in a glass and set it in front of her. “This is about all you’ll get here demi.”
“I highly doubt that,” she sighed while staring at the disgusting stool in front of her. “I imagine if I touch anything in this filthy establishment, I’ll walk away with plenty.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” the grizzled barkeep snarled.
“Never mind,” Cassia reached into her coin purse and the jingling immediately drew the attention of the patrons. It wasn’t the sad ting of three or four coins but the joyous scratching of dozens of coins brushing against each other. She set a fifty rel piece on the counter and the bartender’s eyes instantly filled with a hungry stare similar to the one that young elven men used to give her in her prime. “I wish to purchase information…I heard there’s…”
“I don’t think you’re in a position to purchase anything,” a large muscular man said as he rose from his seat. The twenty-eight other men in the tavern did the same as they all greedily eyed her purse. “That coin purse is ours now.”
Cassia didn’t bother activating her scan anymore. She wasn’t sure when it happened but at some point, she developed the ability to sense the levels of others naturally. As for classes, they were easy to determine by their stances. It was a relatively sad assortment of low levels and basic classes. Sadder still, their weapons and armor were so poorly cared for that she wondered how anybody could have seen them as a threat.
Make no mistake, it wasn’t the quality of the weapon or armors that Cassia was judging but the lack of care. A blacksmith with well cared for basic tools clearly took his profession seriously while a blacksmith whose extravagant tools were in disrepair clearly did not. These men had neither extravagant weapons nor well cared for ones. They were rusted, dull, chipped, and some of their grips were cracked.
“Shalia help me,” Cassia whispered to herself as she looked at the men moving to surround her. “If you men were more experienced, you’d ask yourselves why you were unable to scan me. At which point, you’d realize that my level far outstrips yours. If you were even more experienced than that, you wouldn’t even need to scan me because you’d realize that the circumstances themselves suggest I’m a very dangerous woman.”
“Oh?” the muscular leader of the cutthroats laughed while brandishing his dull iron short sword. “You think you’re dangerous?”
Cassia pulled out an elegant white wand covered in Divine Runes and with a flick of her wrist created cubic barriers around each of the men. Their eyes filled with a dread that Cassia was all too familiar with. It was that brief moment that you’re falling but before you hit the ground. It was a moment that felt like an eternity as your mind tried to convince you that everything was an illusion in a desperate effort to make it true. And then splat.
“I thought it was fairly obvious I was dangerous,” Cassia put her wand away and turned her attention back to the bartender as the horrified man stared at his suffocating patrons. She slid the coin across the counter toward the barkeep. “Is it normal for women like me to walk into piss-soaked taverns? Not to mention I’m clearly untouched despite passing at least a dozen filthy little thieves on the way here. But then again, I don’t expect anybody who drinks here to have sense. They’re probably riddled with diseases.”
“They’re dying…” the bartender pointed at the men silently scraping at the walls of their soundless prisons.
“Oh,” Cassia nodded toward the men. “Would you like me to take care of them so we can continue our business?”
“Yes please,” the man nodded eagerly as Cassia pulled out her wand and pointed it at the ground.
“There,” Cassia smiled as the barriers collapsed on the men, crushing their bodies until they were small cubes of blood and shattered bone. She swirled her wand causing the barriers to vanish and the blood to trickle out. “I’d apologize for the mess but I’d say these floors are no more disgusting now than when I arrived.”
“Fuck,” the bartender whispered as piss ran down his leg. “What did you want?”
“Information,” Cassia said pushing the coin across the counter. “I’ve heard a rumor about a smuggler delivering monsters to Kal.”
“Captain Henry of the Golden Rascal,” the bartender answered eagerly. “You’ll find him at pier twenty-three, beneath it though. You have to travel through the sewers and you’ll find a small boat at the pier twenty-three exit. You take the small boat out toward the edge of the pier and in the base of one of the ships you’ll see a spot marked with a red circle. Knock on the circle and somebody will open a compartment.”
“And when is Captain Henry next set to depart?” Cassia asked.
“Tomorrow,” the bartender answered as tears ran down his face. “He’ll leave at noon.”
“Wonderful,” Cassia said cheerfully. “It seems I was worried about nothing!”
“Please don’t kill me,” the bartender begged. “Please…”
“Quiet,” Cassia pointed her wand creating a small barrier in the man’s throat that expanded until it broke his neck. “I hate begging. It’s so self-serving. It wasn’t as if I walked in here intending to hurt anybody.” She lectured the bartender’s corpse. “I came to purchase information. Everything that occurred here was your fault and you have the nerve to beg for your life? You could have told those men to sit down. You could have acted polite toward me. You could have mopped these disgusting floors so I didn’t ruin my boots! Everything was within your control! It’s ridiculous! There were thousands of ways this could have gone that didn’t end in your death and you have the nerve to beg!”
“I mean,” a cloaked elf appeared at a table in the corner. “Had you announced yourself properly I’m sure things would have gone differently as well. Everybody knows Calamity Cassia leaves a trail of bodies wherever she goes. Which I always appreciate because it makes you easy to track.”
“Lohan,” Cassia eyed the dark-skinned elf cautiously while sliding her fingers toward her wand. “Are we doing this today?”
“Not today,” Lohan drank the remaining alcohol from one of the dead men’s glasses. “I’m only here to make sure you leave the continent. The Herald of Ocelon’s happy to finally be rid of your psychotic ass.”
“I suppose he’s the one that ensured the information about the Herald of Shalia made its way to me,” Cassia smiled. “You know if it turns out to be untrue, I’ll be upset.”
“Prophet of Ocelon confirmed it herself,” Lohan grinned while staring at her hand. “Shalia summoned the herald a little over a month ago and since then he’s made quite a name for himself on Kal. Apparently, he’s even secured a territory of his own. He’s populated it with elves, humans, and even Arachne.”
“We both know that’s only temporary,” Cassia watched Lohan cautiously. She found it difficult to believe that the sorcerer was willing to let her leave peacefully after decades of hunting her. “Before long the other heralds will move against him. All he’s really done is gather them together in one place to be eradicated.”
“You sound jealous,” Lohan said smugly. “Is it because he’s gathered more followers for your goddess in a month than you have in decades?”
“You’re trying to goad me into attacking you,” Cassia smirked knowingly at the blue-eyed elf. “You can’t attack me unless I attack you first, can you?”
“I could always be making you think that so you let down your guard,” Lohan grinned while staring at her hand. “But we both know you won’t let down your guard no matter what, don’t we? I mean, my men massacred an entire village of your followers while we had a standoff and you didn’t even flinch! It honestly made me a little hard.”
“Only a little?” Cassia gritted her teeth while inching her fingers closer to her wand as she recalled the screams of the helpless elves. “I suppose good compromises really do leave both parties unhappy, don’t they?”
“We don’t have to compromise,” Lohan said. “All you have to do is touch that wand and we can see how our story plays out. Lohan the Scourge versus Cassia the Calamity. Come on Cassia, let’s finally see who the most powerful sorcerer on the continent of Tilore really is.”
“You’re the most powerful sorcerer on the continent Lohan,” Cassia said smugly. “I’m a prophet.”
“No,” Lohan laughed while slowly standing up. “Prophet’s talk to gods. You haven’t been a prophet for decades.”
“I still talk to Shalia,” Cassia said while meeting Lohan’s cobalt gaze. “She just isn’t in the mood to talk back.”
“It seems even the elven goddess of love has her limits, doesn’t she?” Lohan methodically cracked his fingers while casually moving his hands toward his belt where his silver and gold wands waited for him.
“You really want this fight, don’t you Lohan?” Cassia said while watching Lohan’s fingers inch closer to his wands. “It almost feels personal. Is it personal? Lohan, it’s been fifty years. Don’t tell me you’re still holding a grudge. It was a few wives and children.”
“No,” Lohan laughed. “Wives and children are easily replaced.”
“I suppose yours are,” Cassia grinned. She wondered if his trembling was due to his frustrating orders or merely an act to goad her into engaging. “My daughter is a beautiful priestess of Shalia. She is perfection and you can’t simply replace perfection. I love her more than anything in the universe. My perfect little Lysandra. I can’t wait to see the type of woman she’s grown into. You have nine daughters, don’t you?”
“Eighteen now,” Lohan said. “Are you jealous?”
“I prefer quality over quantity,” Cassia said smugly.
“If she’s so impressive, maybe I should follow you to Kal and meet this daughter,” Lohan smirked. “I could always use another wife.”
“You really want this fight, don’t you Lohan?” Cassia said while activating Aura of the Divine, Breath of the Goddess, and Fate’s Guidance. “Even if it means defying Ocelon and losing all of those privileges he’s granted you?”
“It’s not a matter of want anymore,” Lohan said while activating Aura of Ruin, Devil’s Breath, and Death’s Guidance. “I need to know.”
“Good,” Cassia grinned wickedly while moving her hand away from her wand. “Knowing that you’re so desperate for one last fight makes leaving so much more satisfying.”
“I’ll come after you,” Lohan said angrily as Cassia turned to walk out of the tavern. “I’ll spend a few months finding and killing the remaining followers of Shalia on this continent, but when I run out of your followers here, I’m coming after you…”
“If your herald allows it,” Cassia said smugly as she made her way toward the door. “Because you’d hate to be thrown back in that prison, wouldn’t you? He only let you out so you could hunt me. He doesn’t even acknowledge you to the people! Are you sure he won’t send you back anyway? Nobody would really know he violated his deal. Anyway, something to think about while I sail away.”
“Cassia!” Lohan kicked a chair across the room. “You can’t just walk…”
That’s what she was waiting for, that wrath, that imbalance, the moment that she felt his aura fluctuate. She let her wand slip from her sleeve into her hand and began energizing the divine runes that filled her mind. A thousand incantations flowed through her in an instant as she turned to see Lohan grinning like a maniac. The elf sorcerer’s hands were already on his wands, but it was too late.
He was only a millisecond behind but to spellcasters like them it was an eternity of difference. Cassia’s barrier spread through the room before Lohan’s walls of flame could create an escape route for him.
The elf sorcerer waved his golden wand and ripped the wind from her lungs as she created a barrier inside of herself to keep them from collapsing. Suffocation was unpleasant but collapsed lungs were even more so. Cassia created a chain of barriers inside of Lohan only for the sorcerer to dispel them all.
“Yes!” Lohan said excitedly as he launched a chain of lightning at her.
“Everything is fine. Nothing can hurt you,” Cassia said in a sing song voice to herself as she moved to the far side of the room in a flash while creating a series of barriers. “Everything is fine. Nothing can hurt you.”
“I can hurt you!” Lohan laughed as the wind ripped through the sealed enclosure carrying with it the electricity and flames as everything turned dark.
“Everything is fine. Nothing can hurt you,” Cassia continued as she erected thousands of thin powerful barriers in an instant, not to block the magical miasma but to guide it, separating each portion of the sorcerer’s spells into their own little compartments before sending them back toward him. “Everything is fine. Nothing can hurt you.”
“Come on!’ Lohan snarled while dispelling the mixture of lighting and fire the white-haired prophet sent back toward him. “Are you just going to defend or are you going to attack?”
“Everything is fine. Nothing can hurt you,” Cassia grinned wickedly as she counted the seconds. The sweat was already forming on the elf sorcerer’s brow and his azure eyes were dilating. He fired off a series of face paced explosions as Cassia used a barrier to absorb the force of the explosion while pushing her away. “Everything is fine…”
“Stop saying that!” Lohan roared as electricity pulsed through him. “I’m going to kill you! You f…ak…ak…”
“Nothing can hurt you,” Cassia grinned as she watched the elf drop to his knees and cough up blood. He pointed his wand at her and nothing came out no matter how hard he attempted to cast. She walked toward the dying elf and smiled as she leaned down to get a closer look. She gently stroked the dying elf’s cheek as he gripped his chest. “Everything is fine.”
“Ca…ss…” Lohan fell to the ground as his heart quickly decayed inside of his chest along with the rest of his organs.
“Yes Lohan?” Cassia crouched down to get closer to the dying elf. “Would you like to say something?”
“How…” Lohan coughed as the life faded from his eyes.
“You forgot the stories,” Cassia smiled. “Followers of Shalia bring plagues, remember? You locked yourself in a room with me. The tiny barriers you inhaled and dispelled…understand?”
“Ha…” the dark-haired elf smiled as he took his last breath and fell to the ground.
Cassia waved her wand and purified everything inside of her barrier and after she was convinced every bit of it was eradicated, she lowered the large barrier containing everything. The pressure that’d built up from their short battle exploded outward, instantly demolishing the decrepit tavern.
Cassia stood in the center of the wreckage as the rotted wood planks fell to the ground around her. Her personal barrier deflecting the smaller chunks of debris and putrid fluids. Within a minute the entire building had transformed into a pile of rotted mush which she considered an improvement from its previous condition. She looked around at the crowd staring at the destruction and noticed a familiar face.
