(Fiction) Fred and the Elf : Chapter 4
It was dark. No, that's an understatement. It was so dark I could not tell
if my eyes were open. It was so dark I wasn't certain I was awake. Then I
realized that I couldn't feel my limbs, I couldn't move. Was this sleep
paralysis? No, I couldn't hear anything, not even my own
breathing...
"Am I dead?" I asked
myself.
"No, however; you and
death were close for a while, you are comatose.” A disembodied voice
answered
“So where am I. and who are you?”
“You are safely deep in the Great Western Wood, I am the healer tasked with
helping you.”
“You’re answering my questions, but…”
“The answers aren’t really what you wanted to know?”
“Something akin to that, I mean: why am I in a coma? How can I speak with
you? How did I get here?...Wait!” I panicked as fragmented memories
rushed through my head: images
of fighting, and blood, I felt a sense of dread…
“Don’t worry, She’s safe. She
has mended and is healthy."
“But..”
"You did well and held out, you protected her and help arrived in time, you did what you had to do and you survived. The little one that was in your pocket is hale as well"
"That is a load off my mind, but..."
“Hush now, It took quite a bit to get you this far. I said your mate is well, we
all are. We‘ve won. You don’t need to worry anymore. I want you to
concentrate on rest; you need to let your body heal.”
“I can’t just relax.”
“You have to. Now take a nap, I will be here afterwards and we can chat
then.”
“How can I take a nap? I’m already unconscious, already dreaming if I’m
having a conversation…”
“I’ve entered your dreamspace. I needed to check on you, I’ve been here all along, but this is the first time that ‘anyone was home’. Which is good, but, you’re not ready for more yet. Soon, I promise, you’ll get all your answers. Not today. Today is for rest and…”
I couldn’t hear what else she said, I felt myself drifting, as if my mind was enveloped in a fog. It was dark, but I felt like maybe I was safe. I slept.
*****
I'm not sure how accurate my memories were, how much was
my remembering and how much was a dream-reconstruction, but I re-lived a battle in my sleep:
The three of us were walking on some trail that only Elleth could
see, nearing the edge of a wooded area when Vicki signaled us to
stop. Her ears twitched.
"Something is coming, a small group, eight or ten, I'd
guess they are trying to be stealthy, soft footsteps...fools, the cart
gives them away no matter how much they tiptoe...also maybe half a league behind them is a large group, no, a much larger group, not
bothering being quiet." She reported to us sotto voce, the vixen
then continued "...and in the distance...some... thing, big."
Elleth closed her eyes, concentrated, and faintly glowed for a
moment "Likely a scouting force, by the type of mana, I'd say <goblins>, maybe looking for a path into the woods for the larger force that follows? or
perhaps they are hunting, and hoping to scare up someone they can
extract information from." Elleth added. "This isn't good."
"Can we lose them? Or go another way?" I asked.
"Without a doubt, but I need to warn our allies, I
wouldn't worry about a small group, the forest itself would confound
them, they wouldn't leave alive. But a large group, they are likely to
start a fire or clear-cut a path, we cannot allow these
things
to penetrate the woods, to find a way to the Enclave. I'll run ahead,
alone, it'll be faster." She removed her pack, potion bandolier, and
satchel then handed them to me, apparently wanting to lighten her
load. She indicated Vicki with a tilt of her head; "She is fleet of
foot, but you wouldn't be able to keep up. Vicki, lead them astray, then
double back and conceal yourself and Lazybones. I'll get reinforcements.
This very well might be the last swarm that the Emperor's forces have
been trying to eradicate, if it is, the Hero, and his regiment should be
on their heels, then we can get the swarm from both front and rear, and
effectively end the war. If it's some other group, when I return with
the Elites, we'll wipe them out ourselves."
Then she vanished and apparently dashed off. I could neither see nor hear where
she went, for she moved far too quickly.
Vicki cast some sort of spell, "Stay here, there's an
illusory space around you, you'll remain undetected. I'm going to
lay out a few false trails then I'll come back for you, we'll stay
hidden and let the scouting party walk right past us." Then she too
vanished in a blur.
****
I don't know how much time had past since I was last aware of not being alone in my head, but I again sensed a vaguely familiar 'presence'.
"Hello again." I said into the darkness.
"Ah, I see that someone is one more 'at home' " the voice
responded
"That's a relief!"
"What is?"
"That you answered, I'm not sure I like it here
in the darkness."
"So, open your eyes. Wake up."
"I tried, I can't. Or, I've forgotten
how."
"Your body is telling you that it isn't
ready yet, not ready for you to awaken."
"This is weird, you speak as if my body isn't me"
"It isn't. Your self is not merely your body. Your body, your physical self, is in repose, in a healing vat. Your psyche, or your mental self; well, some of it, is here with me in this dreamspace, your spiritual self resides in a different plane and is the conduit betwixt it and the
rest of you. You're in a rather unusual circumstance. Your actions
led to the dissolution of self. Your body, as a preservation
mechanism, went into a coma. You are fortunate that I got to you in
time."
"That bad, huh? I could've died?"
"Worse, your soul and mind were
separated from your body; it would've awakened as a ghoul or zombie,
the rest of you would be doomed to roam as a ghost."
"That is worse. How did I get in this mess?"
"You don't remember?"
"If I did, I wouldn't ask."
"Well, you overused potions, and at the
same time allowed a disembodied spirit to possess you. You
overextended yourself physically. You sustained multiple injuries
and they healed improperly due to the potion saturation. In addition,
because of the possession, when you succumbed to the damage, your
spiritual integration was weak, resulting in your present state."
"My present state?"
"Your broken bones have knitted and mostly been restored to proper configurations, muscles and connective tissues have mostly healed to a state where they should be functional, but I doubt you'll be able to move for a while. Be aware that not all of the (very extensive) damage could be undone. There is much, I guess you'd call it 'scar', or maybe 'gristle'. You see, upon healing, out of necessity; the density of the muscle fibers, and your bones have increased due to the multiple tears, hyperextensions, and, torsion damage, plus the impacts of the multiple rounds of bathing the tissues in improper combinations of healing and other potions...I'll sum it up this way: on the one hand, your body is tougher and stronger than it once was, on the other, you are physically more dense, and less nimble than you could be otherwise. We've had to make modifications to your tendons and ligaments so that your muscles wouldn't spontaneously rip away from their attachment points. We also had to modify other tissues to compensate. You will have to learn to use your body all over again; how to walk, how to control your limbs, et cetera. You'll likely be able to regain some agility, through extensive training, but even afterwards, swimming may prove difficult, as you are no longer buoyant. There are a few other issues, but that is the gist if it."
"I'm stronger than I was? Like, how strong? Super
strong?"
"Well, no. You were very weak before.
Now, I'd say moderately above average for an Anthropoi of your age,
but a child in comparison to The Hero."
I had terrifying comic book images
of post transformation Wade Wilson and Ben Grimm flash through my head...have I become some sort of monster?
"What about my appearance? Am I disfigured from all
that scar and gristle?"
"I don't know how you looked before, but I'd
describe your appearance now as 'rugged'. It has a certain appeal.
Fear not, your appearance is well within the range of 'normal
human', although, you certainly don't look like the 'soft
merchant' that the Seventh Elder described, but that doesn't
really matter, does it?"
"I guess not. I'm just happy to be alive."
"No, I meant that the Third Elder
will embed a <Glamour> on you. You'll appear
like you did before. No one will know. Of course, you will
when you see your reflection, but no one else will. Well, if you ran
into someone with magical abilities greater than the Third Elder,
they'd see through it, so there's only handful on Erf that would see
anything but the old you, therefore, when you return to your world, no
one will be the wiser. Just don't start hurling giant boulders or some
other conspicuous display..."
"I thought you said I would only be slightly
stronger than an average man..."
"An average man, here." The voice
interrupted, "From what I'm told by The Hero, compared to the denizens of
your world you'd be...what did he say? A wrecking machine? Do
you know what he meant? I got the impression that he meant unusually
strong, but..."
"Wow."
"There's more. There are still some
details we need to work out. Soon we'll take you out of the vat, and
then 'lazy' time will be over, shortly thereafter physical therapy
begins, and it will be strenuous...so for now get whatever rest you
can...
"I can't, I still have so many questions!"
"They can wait, I promise to
answer them all, but after tomorrow."
"Will I wake up once I'm out of the vat? Will I be able
to open my eyes? to converse with you normally?"
"Not tomorrow, but soon. Don't worry I'll keep you company."
"Alright then, Goodnight....um what should I call
you?"
"You want to call me 'Sweetheart?', you know I can't
give you my name, The Seventh Elder explained that much to
you."
"But I can't just keep calling you, 'You'"
"Why not? Anyone else in there? Sharing your
dreamspace?"
"Whatever, goodnight, You."
"Goodnight, Lazybones."
*****
Once again I dreamt of the battle, or perhaps I should say
I had a nightmare:
The scouting party had some sort of cage mounted on a cart, I could see
several 'somethings' flitting around in the cage; amorphous beings, perhaps
ten centimeters tall. They reminded me of how fireflies look from a
distance.
"They're hunting fairies, pixies to be specific."
Vickie whispered.
"Surely, that isn't the purpose of
their expedition." I replied.
"Of course not, they're plundering as they go.
Their masters likely would reward them for nabbing some
merchandise, the Sorcerer-king's minions grind them to make
potions."
"That's terrible! Aren't pixies people?!" I could
barely maintain my sotto voce.
"Indeed."
"We have to rescue them."
"I know. Maybe when the elf reinforcements
get here we can..."
"You know that would be too late, what if
I make some kind of distraction? You are so quick, you
could upturn the cart and free the pixies, then we can
go back to hiding in the confusion..."
"Too risky..." She said as she drew two
short swords, "We kill them all, these scum aren't so
tough. If we're quiet, we end them, free the pixies,
and find a new hidey-hole. No one would be the
wiser."
I didn't know that Vickie could be so
ruthless, then I remembered what she told me about how
her parents had died. Were the marauders
<goblins>? I fetched the stick I had been training
with.
"You ready?" I idly asked the stick. It
thrummed, and the end morphed into a spear tip. I'd
never seen that before. The spirit within the stick
must've been thirsty for blood.
The scouting party was unaware of us as
they wacked the bushes, hoping to scare another pixie
into being captured. I mused to myself that there were
only half a dozen, and they were distracted. We should
be able to dispatch them without too much fuss.
Vickie looked my way, then held up
her hand, displaying three fingers.
Then two.
Then one.
She sprang into action, her
motions a blur, her blades seemed to
effortlessly part heads from shoulders. In a
few heartbeats the scouting party was mostly
dispatched. A strike from my spear took care
of the thing that was pulling the cart,
another strike broke the latch of the cage. I
don't know what the cage was made of, but
whatever it was impeded the pixies ability to
fly, maybe the metal absorbed mana? I
tore the door off.
"Go! Fly away and
hide!"
Most of the captives
crawled out, scattered, and flew away, two
appeared to try to carry a fallen comrade
but it seemed they were weakened by the
cage and couldn't muster
their strength. Again and again they
tried and failed to get off the ground
bearing an unconscious pixie.
"Fly! I promise to
protect this one, if you have allies,
bring them here. If you can't, save
yourselves." I instructed the last
two pixies as I put their comrade
in my pocket (as gently as I could).
They zipped off.
Vickie and I hid the
bodies and the cart in the tall grass,
then moved to a new hiding spot.
Some time later a separate group of <goblins> approached our position. Again I felt the spear thrum. Vickie motioned for me to stay down and be silent. They walked right past us. The relief caused sweat to roll down my back. A moment later there was a gibbering and uproar from the group. I saw one of the creatures holding the severed head and gesticulating wildly. They had discovered Vickie's handiwork. Orders were given and they spread out in search of us, thwacking bushes and hassocks of tall grass with their weapons...they were getting closer. I tightened my grip on my spear.
"Not today, this isn't a good day to die, not today." I
heard my companion whisper as she readied her weapons, "Darling, listen
to me. Each of these goblins are weak, but, they co-ordinate their
attacks. Groups are dangerous. Once I start mowing them down, cover my
back. There's only a score of them, we can take 'em, but they are sneaky
so stay alert." She leapt. Before I was able to react, half a
dozen corpses had fallen to the ground. I moved to defend her back,
impaling one of the creatures, then another. My spear began to
emit a sound (was it singing?) and I saw blood being absorbed into the
blade that formed the end.
"Lend me your power, and you can feast." I said to
my weapon.
In response the end morphed into a larger blade. I now
wielded a naginata. I swept the blade down, severing the arm off of a
corpse and took the shield the thing was using. It was small when
equipped, not much more than a buckler. Still, when my weapon tugged
me back into battle, I felt more confident because of the added
protection.
The skirmish lasted only a minute or so, Vicki was
fast with her twin short swords. She looked like a explorer clearing
a path through the jungle with a pair of machetes, leaving dead
things in her wake. I did alright as well. Nothing approached Vickie
from the rear without meeting my blade, or being smashed by the
buckler. Soon there was only one <goblin> left. It
stared at us defiantly, raised a horn to its lips and blew. The
alarm was cut short by a kick delivered by my Kitsune
companion, the creature crumpled to the ground, broken.
"Shit!" I exclaimed. I could hear the shouts of the
host approaching us. They knew where we were. I could hear blades
of grass rustling as they rushed in our direction. I imagined
I could feel the vibration of the ground and they ran. There must
be hundreds, maybe thousands of the creatures heading our
way.
"Vickie, my vixen, we'll get through this. I
have to get you home to meet my family." I said, trying to boost
our morale, yet knowing my statement was a 'death
flag'.
"That's right Darling, I'm going to marry
you."
"I love you." Then I directed my thoughts to
the weapon I held. "Hey, spirit in the stick, whatever you
are. I can't let them get to her, you hear me? Whatever
happens I need to make sure she lives."
"There is a price."
"I'll pay it!"
I saw a second blade sprout form the
other end of the polearm I was wielding, I felt power
vibrate the weapon, like a hound yeaning to be
unleashed, it started to pull me. I felt myself grin.
A eyeblink later the enemy host burst from the bush,
my weapon spun in my grasp, acting almost on its own
accord. I met the front line and I felt steel bite
into flesh. Again and again my arms were pulled to
deal another blow, I was dancing a dance of death,
yet, I wasn't leading. I felt a rush of
adrenaline as I twirled and thrust, each movement
a killing blow. I heard an eerie sound in my head, my
weapon was singing. Joyously sending these
vermin to the afterlife.
I saw glimpses of Vickie in action
and moved to cover her, but she was faster than I,
and soon we were separated. I leapt over a pile of
corpses, creatures that Vickie had dispatched,
then came upon her, surrounded. I heard a war
cry and didn't realize that it had emerged from my
own throat. My blade was a blur, I was a whiling
dervish, a berserker. I mowed them down.
Soon there was a ring of piled bodies, and parts of bodies around Vickie and I. More and more of the horde crested the heap and more and more met death at our hands. A myriad of cuts covered my limbs. repeatedly I'd pull a potion from the bandolier and, toss it to Vickie before taking one myself and downing it without looking. I either felt a wave of energy or an itching of the wounds knitting. The waves of the combatants didn't seem to ever stop. My weapon still lead the dance. pulling me to the next slash or thrust; extending my limbs beyond their limits. I could feel the ligaments tearing, joints were dislocating, I suspected I had a fractured leg bone, I didn't care. I downed another potion and fought on. I knew that as soon as I stopped I'd be dead, or worse, they'd get to Vickie. The tales of how these demons reproduced filled me with disgust and dread. If we were overcome and got dragged back to their camp....I shuddered and redoubled my efforts.
Suddenly, there was a pause, the few <goblins> that still lived scattered and I saw a formation of things approaching, creatures different than we'd been fighting heretofore. They didn't rush to get within range, instead they stayed back. I saw a row of them, a score or more raise tubes to their mouths and puff, sending a volley of darts towards us. Vickie dodged, I caught several fletched darts on my shield. I knew this wasn't good.
"We can't stay here! Those darts are poison, we have to run!" Vickie yelled.
We randomly picked a direction (away from the main host) and sprinted into the woods. Much like one of the early scenes of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark': we heard shouts and the whistle of darts as they whizzed by or stuck into the trunks of trees as we ran.
Then Vickie fell.
*****
“Calm down, you’re dreaming. You are safe, everyone is safe. We’ve won.” I heard the disembodied voice in my head say.
“I wish I could believe you. I saw…she’s dead isn’t she?”
“She’s fine, in better shape than you are, as a matter of fact.”
“I really screwed up, didn’t I? I’m wrecked.”
“Look, worry about yourself for now. Your mate is fine. As a matter of fact, she's quite a handful. I spend a lot of energy answering her questions and keeping her contained, she wants you out of this vat and in to a bed where she can take care of you. So, if you'd just concentrate on that it'd be easier on all of us."
"It isn't that I want to be in here! What is it I need to do anyway? You have magic, heal me and let me out."
"It isn't that simple, getting you put back together after the battle was quite an undertaking, and I've already explained that to you, but, the larger issue is what arose during your convalescence.”
“What?”
“Some latent curse or something, I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve been a healer for over …well for a very long time. Your blood was eating itself. The parts of your blood that usually fight disease were attacking the parts of your blood that carry energy. In addition, when we tried using healing techniques, the curse just accelerated…”
“You are describing leukemia! I have cancer?! If your healing magic doesn’t cure that? I’m a dead man, and you’ve wasted so many resources on me, I’m sorry, it was all for nothing. How much time do I have left? Maybe if you can get me back home in time I can get to an oncologist …or at least see my family and say goodbye.”
“You had 'loo-kee-me-ah', as you call it, past tense. We did cure you. The Hero described a treatment from your world; a 'bone marrow transplant'. We eradicated your bone marrow (and the curse with it) flushed out your spleen, transfused blood and transplanted seed tissue. The curse has been dispelled, however…”
“However what? My heart can’t take this!” I exclaimed
“The donor, the donor is an elf.” The voice replied, with a tone of heavy remorse.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Your Elven bone marrow needs mana to survive. In order to cast spells, one moves mana in particular patterns through one's pathways. You can’t cast spells, so something is wrong with your mana ‘circuitry’, you can’t circulate mana to keep that tissue alive. You're saturated in mana while in the vat, and that’s been keeping you going, but once you wake up…Don’t lose hope, there is a procedure? A ritual? I’m not sure what to call it, there is a way we can induce the flow of mana. We would need to periodically repeat the process so..."
“What are you saying?”
“You’ll need mana, and the induced current to keep it circulating. I’m told your world lacks practitioners of magic and might not have mana like this world does at all. I’d tell you just to stay here but…”
“Are you saying that I can’t go home or that after all this I’m still going to die soon after I get there?”
“Just staying here isn’t even an option. The 'Spell of Hero Summoning' is a temporary teleportation. Yes, you need to be at the proscribed place at a particular time to return home…that is to return home at the time and place you left. If you, and The Hero, miss the ‘return windows’ you’ll be dragged back to your world. Not like the original summon, as if you gently floated over like a flower petal in the breeze, it’d be more like debris blown in a storm. You may awaken in your world hundreds or even thousands of leagues from your home and decades after you left…or years before”
“That could be more than a mere inconvenience, that could be a death sentence in and of itself! What if I arrive in the middle of the ocean? Or a kilometer in the air?!”
“Indeed, when The Hero informed us of the limitations of the summoning, and that he’d only barely survived several such misfortunes, we've made having you at the correct time and place a high priority.”
“So what do we have to do?”
“Right now we’re in a race against time The Elders have been working day and night to try and formulate methods that would achieve the mana circulation you’d require, so far they have been unsuccessful. The First Elder has sent for help from the Sage, the First Elder of the North Woods, she’s on her way now via dragon-back. An entreaty to the Empire of Anthropoi has been sent, but no one expects them to have answers that the Elves lack, and as a last resort…”
The gravity, in which the voice stated ‘last resort’, made me hesitant to ask. “What is this ‘last resort’?”
“You and I would need to form a covenant, so that I could summon you back here to perform the ritual on a regular basis.”
“Is this ‘ritual’ painful, or something?”
“On the contrary, the ritual itself is quite pleasant; I’m looking forward to it. The frequency is the problem, would likely be cause chaos. You’re going to need regular periodic treatments, so relative to your subjective time, about once a week I’d summon you. You’d receive your mana and stay with me until the next return window then I’d send you back. You’ll spend months here for every week that passes in your world. Eventually it will be challenging to your sanity.”
“My sanity aside, I’ll die of old age before my daughter’s next birthday. I’m trading my life with my family for…for what?
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. You’re no longer entirely human. How do I explain? I mean…hold on, I need your permission for something in order to describe this, I need to search your memories to get some more 'vocabulary' so that we can communicate effectively, may I? I’ll try to preserve your privacy but it is inevitable that I’ll learn things that you’d rather keep to yourself.”
“I was wondering why I hear you, in my head, speaking English, and using slang that no Elf should know, you already rooted around in there, right?”
“Well, yes, it was a necessity. The spells I use are a ittle different that what typical elves have access to...but their <Communion> spell is similar as it allows us to communicate on a conceptual instead of a spoken word basis. I hear you speaking to me in the dialect I spoke as a child. I suspect I’m the only resident of the Western Woods that speaks it.”
“You’re not an elf?”
"No, I’m a half-elf, a mule. My father was an elf that might give you an idea of how old I am.”
“Hold up, the way it was explained to me, when an elf and an anthropoi have a child, female offspring are elves and males are human…there shouldn’t be half-elves, or did I misunderstand?”
“No, that is true, if an elf woman and a human man were to parent a child…but my mother wasn’t human, so I am what I am, a mule. I have one foot in the world of my mother and the other in my father’s world. I’ll never be fully part or either, and I’ll never be a mother to children of my own. “
She stated this somewhat forlornly. For the first time I realized the person sharing my dreamspace was a woman, and apparently an ancient one. As I realized this, the pitch and timbre of her voice changed in my head, became more definitively feminine. Some feelings I apparently had been harboring crystalized. Maybe it was a form of 'Florence Nightingale Syndrome' or the isolation, or something else, but I felt I was developing an emotional attachment to my caregiver. The revelation that she was a 'she' magnified or unlocked something I was holding back. So, in that moment my sympathy for her also welled up somewhat. Here I was agonizing about my family, who so many folks were working so diligently to make sure I could see again, and this woman can’t have children. She didn’t say as much, but it was obvious that that was a wish of hers that was destined to be unfulfilled.
“Search my memories, no, allow me to share them with you. If some secrets get mixed in, I’ll trust you with them. Don’t just look for ‘vocabulary’. I have nearly two decades of memories of being a parent and nearly three as a husband. I imagine my childhood has little interest to you, but…all of it, you can share in all of it. I have no way to express my gratitude to you for staying with me now, healing me, and keeping me sane. Take a stroll while you’re in there and share in some of the joy I have felt. You said you've never had the chance to be mother, I know this is merely an echo, but I want to give you this…so, go ahead.”
“Are you certain? Are you sure you want this level of intimacy with me?”
“You are already in my head, and we’re speaking of forming a contract. I’d think that the point of holding back anything would be moot.”
“In the future, I’d advise you to be a little more careful. To allow yourself to be so vulnerable is dangerous; charming, but dangerous.” She warned.
“Still, I want to give this to you. On balance my life has been a happy one. There are some things that cannot be described, they must be experienced, and frankly there’s nothing else I have that I can give you. My whole life is open to you…”
Shortly thereafter, I felt as if my mind was being enveloped in fog. Then images, like snippets of memories flashed across my field of view: my mother (as a young woman) looking down at me, little league baseball, school, the University, meeting my wife, our honeymoon, my daughter’s excited squeals as she rode a bicycle for the first time…a myriad of images like a slideshow at supersonic speed…
“Thanks for the meal,” the voice in my head intoned.
Once again the pitch and timbre of her voice had changed. Somehow it seemed that I could detect that she had changed from sharing my memories. Instead of merely feminine, now she sounded sultry. Maybe my developing affection for her was changing my perceptions?
“We have much to discuss.” She said. “I have some questions about some of the experiences you’ve shared with me but that will have to wait. In the meantime I have what I need to continue our previous discussion.
Like I said, you are no longer entirely human. You have elven bone marrow which means you now have elven stem cells. You are a biological chimera and for all practical purposes almost immortal. You'll age at a barely perceptible rate. The infusions and soon the proliferation of those stem cells will accelerate your healing, however those muscles and tendons and other tissues are destined to be a mosaic of human and elvish cells. As your human cells age and die, more and more of them will be replaced by hybrid ones. Unfortunately, this won't heal the scar tissue, and, it also won’t change who you are. Your mind and spirit are very much you own, and will change with the centuries of experience you will accumulate, you'll still be ‘you’. In the worst case scenario we discussed, you’d be destined to spend more time with me than you do on Earth. It will be a challenge to keep your accumulation of experience from changing how others perceive you at you home. Between now and, say a decade from now in Earth’s timeline…maybe about the time your daughter is going to get married, you will have changed quite a bit. After all, you will have lived a century or more by then. That isn’t fair to you or your family, but I can promise you this. If you must form a covenant with me, I will strive to be as good a partner as your wife has been on Earth. I will take care of you. After all, we are very much alike now; hybrids, and we will both live our lives between worlds”
I had received too much ‘heavy’ news all at once, I was becoming exhausted. The cancer, the contract, the changes this might mean for my future…it was too much, I felt myself drifting.
“I can think of worse fates, I guess I’ll be in your care then.” I said, I didn’t know such a thing was possible, but I was slurring my words when I wasn’t really speaking. After all our communication was on a conceptual level not a auditory exchange of words…”I’m sorry, I’m falling asleep. Maybe sharing all those memories made me tired?”
“Of course, my dearest, rest. If you think of me I’ll make sure you have pleasant dreams. I know all your preferences now; do you want to get a little wild?”
I laughed, “Yea, right. I’d like that. Let’s go nuts.” I said, dismissively, not believing her, as I drifted to sleep.
“You asked for it.”
I won’t describe the dream we had. I’m not sure I can, and even if I could, some things are better left unsaid. I’ll summarize in this way. Until that night I hadn’t had a ‘wet’ dream since adolescence. Afterwards I felt her kiss my cheek as she left me. (How is that possible? I'm in a vat) I slipped into a deeper slumber and dreamed about the rest of the battle…
*****
I saw Vickie fall, I didn’t see what struck her, but she wasn’t moving anymore. I moved to position myself between her prone body and the ‘things’ with the blowguns.
“C’mon you bastards! Come at me, I’ll end all of you!” I shouted as I brandished my spear and buckler. I ran to close the distance.
They responded with a volley of darts, I blocked any that had a trajectory that would hit Vickie with my buckler, it looked like a pincushion. I felt several prick my skin. I brushed them off and doffed another potion, hoping that it would allow me to power through.
Soon I was among their ranks, dealing death. Once again I was a berserker. My weapon sang, its head, like liquid metal, transforming between blows from billhook to glaive, or some other polearm that I didn’t recognize. Another score of my enemies were dispatched. I retreated to cover Vickie. Some of the goblin-like things we first encountered were approaching from one flank. I knew how to handle them. They fell like wheat meeting a reaper’s scythe.
I heard a loud series of cracks and could see trees falling in a path rapidly approaching me. Something big was coming. The ‘small fry’ I was fighting until now scattered then regrouped at the edge of the clearing.
A gigantic thing, horrible to behold, pushed a tree out of its way and entered the field. It was huge, the size of a ‘gundam’; at least a dozen meters tall. It bellowed a deafening war cry. I could smell its breath from where I was, many meters away. It brandished a massive club, an uprooted oak; clods of dirt still clinging to the roots, broken limbs still hanging from the trunk near where the giant gripped its improvised weapon.
“Well, I’m fucked.” I thought, I was sure I was 'done'.
Then I heard creaking and a whistling, like an artillery shell screaming though the air. Half of the giant’s head disappeared in a pink mist. Someone (or something) had hurled a boulder, the size of a Buick.
“<Let fly!>” An order was shouted from somewhere behind me. The sky momentarily darkened and a massive cloud of arrows swarmed overhead. I saw my enemies struck. Some were pinned to tree trunks, others seemed to spout arrows from throats or eye-sockets.
“<Let Fly!>” the order was given again, I saw whom I presumed to be the leader of “the Elites” that Elleth spoke of. She looked like a Valkyrie, or an avenging angel. The sunlight glinting off her armor, her grim expression, her terrifying beauty, she was like a force of nature. Once again arrows flew; there must’ve been several hundred archers. I heard missiles hit their marks, multiple ‘thumps’ as arrows sank into flesh…then silence.
I don’t recognize this ceiling” I thought to myself.
“<I would imagine not, this is the first time you’ve opened your eyes in quite a while.>” An unfamiliar voice from above me answered.
My eyes were open? Yes, they were! I could feel that I was resting my head on something soft yet firm, not a pillow. I could smell something pleasant, not quite perfume, and familiar. Lips overlapped mine. The sensation was almost nostalgic. I felt magic flow from the kiss; one hand of hers was on my cheek, the other at my waist. I struggled to kiss her back, but I felt so weak I could barely move. My vision was somewhat blurred, like looking through a camera set on a 'soft focus'.
Then I felt someone on my other side, licking my ear and neck.
“Oh, Vickie!” She was okay; I was so relieved that tears flowed. Kisses were delivered from both sides, drying them. Was I still dreaming? I was so relieved, reality seemed too good to be true.
“<I told you she was fine, didn’t you believe me?>” The voice form above gently chided.
I couldn’t see her, but judging from where the voice must be originating, I was resting my head on her lap, perhaps she was kneeling and supporting my head?
“Minx, I wasn’t that I doubted you, but, part of me dared not hope." I thought. I lacked the strength to actually speak.
“You’ve overexerted yourself, I said there'd be a price, but, I shouldn’t have let you have your fun.” A familiar voice said in my head.
“What was that anyway, I’ve never…”
She interrupted, “Liar, you've shared tour memories with me…”
“I was going to say I’ve never cheated on my wife…”
“And again, I’ll call you a liar. You were 'making out' with the Third Elder pretty much as soon as you met, and even before the other night, your attraction to, and actions with that Kitsune haven’t been anything that an objective observer would describe as ‘chaste’, should I call you ‘King Tut’?”
“Give me a break; I’m dealing with some extraordinary circumstances here.”
“Denial is a thing, however; you’re going to have to cross that bridge again. I presume by now that you’ve figured out what I am and it would be best if you didn’t resist me. “
“What? You’re a half-elf and a healer…”
“I’m talking about the other half. “
“I don’t understand.”
“I’ve been in your head and I know what folklore you know, so tell me: what being has the ability to enter dreams, direct them and inspire lust, can feed on spiritual energy, and uses sex as a currency for strength?”
“Oh my, your mother was a succubus?! “
“Ding, ding, ding! Give the man a prize! Now since you were so greedy and felt the need to impress your girlfriends, you’ve relapsed. I’m going to have to use the upmost limit of my powers to revive you.”
“Hold on, what’s the rush? The last time I woke up…well it was wonderful…but I feel like I’ve had a hangover ever since, why don’t we just relax and…”
“Nope! The Sage is due anytime now, you need to be conscious …I’ll be giving your body adequate incentive to wake.”
“It feels like you’re being rather short with me, did I do something wrong? It almost seems that you are jealous about something.”
“Why would I be jealous? I mean, I use my powers, invite your girlfriends into our shared dreamspace... and everyone gets theirs, then you drift off before I get my turn, Watching can be fun, but you left me wanting.”
“Well sorry about that. Wait. What?! Our shared dreamspace? Honey and Vicki and I, we didn't...and I left you wanting what?"
The stream was now a river, its current was swift. I had to be careful with every step lest I be swept from my feet. When I intermittently perceived what was happening to my semi-conscious self: I could clearly see a beautiful woman was on me, concentrating on her actions. It struck me that this was the first time I've actually laid eyes on her. Before I even realized, something embraced my heart. I was captivated, I'd fallen for her.
Metaphorical whitewater was carrying me down
stream; I struggled to gasp for air. The rapids were too strong for me to
swim; I merely tried to float and paddle perpendicular to the current,
hoping against hope to reach less turbulent water.
I awoke, I was screaming. The woman on me
had her back arched in the throes of rapture; I was clutching her hips as
if hanging on for dear life as she rode me
I panted, struggling to catch my breath:
“Okay, I’m awake, are you happy?” I could hardly breathe, luckily I didn't
need to actually speak in order to communicate.
I noted that I was drenched in what I hoped was sweat, which stung in places, where in her exuberance, she had scratched me.
“Yea, maybe we forget about the Sage, let’s just form the covenant; you're now awake and I want more of what we just did."
“I don't think I’d survive that! I’m pretty sure that if I wasn’t comatose you would not have been able to turn that volume knob to eleven before I literally broke. I’m hoping this was a one-time deal.”
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