Warrior_Monster Slayer Page 12

  “Who are you with?” I asked, glancing about the camp. Lace, with her lithe form, small round breasts and tight ass was an obvious choice. Beat had just arrived, so I assumed they hadn’t gotten too friendly yet. Then again, his race seemed to have a different view on relationships, and Vrill had taken me that very first night. Other than those two, the rest of us were dudes, at least at the moment. I wondered whether the ratio changed much over time.

  “I’m Minertha’s favorite,” Dravon said, looking rather pleased with himself.

  My jaw dropped open. I could picture the earthy woman’s perfect form and her sly grin as she lounged on the rock. “You mean, you and her, she and you—”

  “‘Get it on,’” he said, stealing my own words. “The Three have needs, too. We are here to fulfill all of them. Protection. Sex. Conversation.”

  “We’re sex-slaves?” This was getting weirder and weirder.

  “Not exactly. It’s up to you to decide whether to go when they summon you. Me? I go running when they call.”

  I was speechless. Literally. My mouth opened and closed twice, but I couldn’t find a single thing to say. After a few starts and stops, I finally came up with a single word: “Wow.”

  Dravon shrugged. “They’ll blow your mind, that’s for sure. I’ve been with Minertha a bunch of times. Persepheus twice. But never the third. Never Airiel. She’s rarely seen. They say she’s the worst off, waking only to sip water. She hasn’t been seen for a long time now. There are rumors she’s already dead.”

  I shook my head. How could a goddess die? This had to go back to the bigger picture—what was causing all of this? “What happened to them?” I asked, tabling the conversation about sex with goddesses for the time being.

  “None of us know. Kloop maybe, but as Protector he’s part of their trusted inner circle. If he knows, he’s not telling. You could ask Eve, but only if you’re willing to risk having your male parts chopped off.”

  “My nose is itching,” a familiar voice said, and right on cue Eve was there. Though she was once more wearing her dark, short dress with the back cut out, my mind instantly conjured the view I’d gotten of her from above, when she emerged naked and dripping water.

  “Eve,” Dravon said. “You looking for Kloop for a report?”

  “Already got one,” she said. “Heard we lost another. Damn shame. I can’t go Finding for another few days. Got to recover my strength.”

  I felt my face go red at the reminder that it was my fault we ‘lost another.’ I also felt a twinge of anger at her nonchalance about the whole thing, like it was nothing more than losing an object of small worth. An umbrella or a shoe that needed to be replaced. Is that all we were to her? If so, I could understand why Vrill would run away from this life.

  “We’ll be okay,” Dravon said.

  “I know. We always are.” Though I think the statement was meant to inspire confidence, her monotone delivery made it sound like a robot repeating a catch phrase it had been taught. “Anyway, I’m here for you, Dravon.”

  “Minertha?”

  “Yep. She’s awake and bored.”

  “I could use a charge,” Dravon said, winking at me before following Eve away. They marched around the cliffside and out of sight.

  “Jesus,” I muttered, still trying to make sense of everything. My stomach grumbled as the smell of the roasting leafrats assaulted my nose. Hunch had removed one from the spit and placed it on a wooden plate. Then he left, offering it to Protector Kloop first, I assumed as a sign of respect.

  “Newbs eat last, I’m afraid,” Beat said. Then she grinned. “At least I get mine before you.”

  “Awesome,” I said.

  We sat in silence for a while, watching the other leafrats sizzle and spit. “So…” Beat finally said. “Where you from?”

  I coughed, because it felt like the weirdest question in the world now. Back on Earth, it would be perfectly natural. A conversation starter at a bar or sitting next to a stranger on an airplane. But here, on Tor, the only answer that felt right was, “Earth.”

  Beat snorted. “I guess I set myself up for that one. I’m from Pittsburgh. Can you believe it? I’m missing football season. That’s like a sin in the ’Burgh.”

  Now it was my turn to laugh. “I’m from Chicago. I’m missing, well, nothing. Video games, I guess.” Even that didn’t feel quite right. If I was suddenly back in my crappy apartment I think I would throw my video game consol out the window along with all the games. Nothing virtual could really compare to this.

  “What do you do for a living?”

  Again, the most mundane question, which sounded like a joke. I responded in kind. “Slay monsters. Bed goddesses. Save the world.”

  “Which goddess?” she asked.

  “It was a joke. I don’t think I’ll be summoned like Dravon anytime soo—”

  “Sam Ryder,” Eve called. I hadn’t noticed her return, but there she was, a stone’s throw away. “You’ve been summoned. By Persepheus.”

  I looked at Beat and she raised an eyebrow. “Wrong again, Sam,” she said. “See you later. Have fun.”

  Dravon said I could refuse a summon from one of the Three. But then I might miss an opportunity to get some answers. Right now, the mermaid-like goddess was my best bet. I stood up and followed Eve away from camp.

  THIRTEEN

  I’M AN IDIOT. YES. YES, I AM.

  “Why does she want me?” I asked Eve as we mounted the hill.

  “Don’t get too high on yourself,” she said. “She summons all the males after their first Black, assuming they survive.”

  “Not the females?” I wasn’t certain how…traditional…the beings in this world were.

  “Minertha doesn’t discriminate. Male, female, two, three, four—all is a possibility with her. Persepheus prefers the company of one male at a time.”

  My heart skipped a beat, especially because I wasn’t totally certain whether she was talking about what I thought she was talking about. “And you?” I said, trying to deflect the conversation in another direction.

  She glanced at me, offering one of her seductive smiles, the very same that had landed me in this place. “Why? Are you making an offer?”

  “I—no. I was just curious. Dravon makes you out to be a man-eater.”

  “Does he? He’s just angry I always refuse his advances.”

  “Not your type?”

  “Something like that. I prefer the type who live for a while.”

  Right. Because we were expendable. The reminder was sobering. I couldn’t let my feelings affect my brain, however. I was already wasting a chance to gather information. “What is the average lifespan of a Warrior, anyway?”

  “Twelve Blacks,” she said, bringing me to a sudden halt.

  “You’re joking.” I remember learning something about certain insects that only live for a few hours. Twelve Blacks was better than that, but not by much.

  “I wish I was. The Black is unforgiving. I try to bring in a new group every five days or so, but most don’t survive the Circle, and then most don’t last long after that, so…”

  “It’s hard to keep up.” I didn’t feel bad for her—I felt angry. She was like the grim reaper. She brought tons of people from all different worlds here to die. I wondered if she even felt bad about what she did. It didn’t seem like it.

  “Yes. I’m starting to—” She stopped suddenly, shaking her head. “Sorry, I’m just tired. I need to rest so I can go back out to Find more.”

  “More Outcasts?” I said, not trying to hide the accusation in my voice.

  Faster than should’ve been possible, she stepped into me, grabbing me by the throat with a hand that was much stronger than it looked. She slung me to the hard ground, stars exploding before my eyes as my head hit a rock. “You want to judge me, human?” she said. “Last a year. Last ten. A century. Then we’ll talk. If you still think I’m worthy of your judgment, I’ll accept whatever sentence you impose. Even death.” She released me and stood
up. “But until then, keep your fucking mouth shut.”

  She strode back down the hill toward the Warrior camp, leaving me with a throbbing head and more confused than ever.

  ~~~

  I had a slight headache from my encounter with Eve, but my thick skull had protected me well enough. Though I was tired from the battle with the hellhounds, I had no trouble clambering down the vines into the gully. I dropped the last few feet, landing in a crouch, adjusting to the dimmer lighting, the silver sun obliterated by the high cliffs.

  To the right, I saw a flash of movement, and I immediately felt embarrassed, looking away. Too late. I’d seen Dravon rejuvenating himself with Minertha. She was on top and—

  I forced myself to stop picturing her, but it was too late. My crotch bulged, and I tried to think of cold showers and getting my head bashed in by Eve. It didn’t help much. Eve had looked incredibly hot as she’d leaned over me.

  Still, I managed to readjust myself beneath the loincloth and head in the opposite direction, toward the beautiful pool. Eve might not want to talk about things, but maybe Persepheus did. Maybe she would answer my questions.

  I stood at the water’s edge, searching for any sign of the goddess. The moss-covered rock I’d seen her on before was empty. The water was still and silent.

  A shadow moved beneath the surface, heading in my direction.

  I took a step back for some reason, in awe of the graceful but powerful manner in which the goddess cut through the water. Her head emerged first, the gills on either side of her neck sucking in one last gulp of breathable water. As more of her appeared, her wet golden hair tumbled across her breasts, which were barely covered by a thin layer of what looked like lichen. Water dripped off them like spring rain. Her midsection was covered by the same stuff, but the rest of her skin was bare, that ever-changing mixture of blue and green, seeming to swirl like the eye of a storm as seen from a satellite. Beneath her lichen bikini bottoms a silver-green tail flashed with hundreds of scales beneath the surface. As I looked on, her tail transformed into a pair of endless legs of the same color as the rest of her.

  My lungs ached and I realized I’d been holding my breath. I let it out quickly and sucked in a new one, feeling slightly dizzy. I wanted to believe it was because of the shot to the back of the head I’d taken, but that would be a lie. This goddess of the sea’s appearance alone made me woozy.

  And then she stumbled, and I simply reacted, stepping forward swiftly, wading into the water to take her hand, which was as cold as ice, and steady her.

  Her eyes met mine and it was like looking into something so ancient you couldn’t possibly fathom the wisdom held behind. Like her skin, her eyes swirled like a churned-up sea. They were bright and alive, but there was something else. Exhaustion. “Thank you,” she said, extricating herself from my grip and clambering from the water. She seemed much steadier now. Whatever had weakened her for a moment was gone now.

  They’re dying. It’s what Vrill had told me. Each of the Three had lost their kingdoms to the monsters and then…what? She’d never explained why they were dying. Weren’t goddesses supposed to be immortal?

  I watched Persepheus climb up onto her mossy rock overlooking the pond. Her legs could’ve been one of the Seven Wonders of the Earth, her lichen bikini bottom small enough that she would fit right in on a Brazilian beach.

  Stop it, man-brain, I thought. Just because Vrill had wanted to be with me in that way didn’t mean anyone else would—especially not a drop-dead gorgeous goddess like Persepheus. Plus, I was supposed to be getting answers.

  She had summoned me, and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do, so I stood dumbly in the water looking up at her. “I am so tired,” she said, offering me one more ancient stare before lying down on her back and stretching out. The curve of her breasts was like a wave crashing across the ocean of her body.

  I felt awkward, especially because I could now hear the excited sounds of Dravon and Minertha’s vigorous lovemaking. If Persepheus was aware of it, she didn’t care. Perhaps this was a daily occurrence.

  Persepheus’s chest was rising and falling slowly. I thought she’d fallen asleep, until she said, “Come, Sam Ryder. Lie with me.”

  Those three words sent a thrill through me. Taken literally, it meant my body would be in a prone position next to hers, which was something I wouldn’t mind in the least. Taken in the Biblical sense it meant sex. But she’d said she was tired, so I was mostly sure she didn’t mean that.

  My penis was less sure, however, and raised itself to half-mast. Luckily, her eyes were closed and didn’t notice the way I had to reposition before I climbed up the slippery rock. I eased down next to her, not touching, but close enough to feel that she was there.

  “You are aroused,” Persepheus said, still not opening her eyes.

  So much for her not noticing. “Uh, yeah. Sorry. It’s just—”

  “There’s nothing to explain. Minertha will eventually satisfy your needs. I don’t have the energy.”

  Because she’s dying, you dolt. Try to think with your brain rather than your crotch.

  “What happened to you?” I managed to ask. “And to your sisters. Vrill said…”

  Oops. I realized my mistake a moment too late. It didn’t seem like Vrill’s name was appreciated much around here. Persepheus, however, didn’t react harshly. In fact, she didn’t react at all, her body as still as the stone we lay on. The silence stretched out, and this time I really did believe she’d drifted away. Again, I was wrong.

  When she spoke, her voice was strained. “Vrill was one of the good ones—is one of the good ones,” she said.

  I had to admit, I was flabbergasted. “But she left you to fend for yourselves.”

  I propped my head on my hand so I could look at her. Her cheeks swirled, green and blue, never resting. I wondered whether her skin was always in motion, even when she slept. Her soft-looking lips parted and she said, “This life is…hard. For all of us. I could promise you auspicious rewards and wealth beyond measure and a place in my kingdom once it is restored, but those would all be false promises. The only reward for your service to me and my sisters is death.”

  I appreciated her honesty. It was like tossing aside an umbrella and facing the storm head on.

  But I hated hearing the defeat in her tone. Though I’d only just met this woman, I felt for her. For her plight against the relentless attacks from the monsters that plagued this world. But where had they come from? And how had they managed to overthrow the Three’s kingdoms?

  Regardless, I already knew what I would do: “I will die for you, if that’s what it takes.”

  Her eyes flashed open, meeting mine. She bit her own soft lip. “I don’t know that we deserve such loyalty, not anymore. Not after all the wrong we’ve been a party to.”

  “Tell me what happened to you,” I said, feeling bold. Giving commands to a goddess wasn’t something I would’ve done on Earth. Hell, I couldn’t even stand up to my evil boss. But here I was changing, Black by Black. It wasn’t just the visible effects the primordial ooze had wrought on my body, but a deeper change somewhere inside me. I didn’t just want to survive or even protect the Three. No. I wanted to level-up, to become what they needed me to become, to help them defeat the monsters and restore their kingdoms.

  “Leave me, human,” Persepheus said, rolling over and away from me. “I tire of your company.”

  Just like that, all my confidence and plans were washed away, obliterated by Minertha’s scream as, across the gully, she climaxed.

  FOURTEEN

  ATTACK

  “Enjoy yourself?” Beat said when I returned to camp. I was tired and hungry and thirsty and not in the mood for talking.

  “It wasn’t like that,” I said. “And no. Not particularly. But I’m pretty sure Dravon did.”

  “I’ve heard he always returns with a smile when Minertha summons him.”

  “I bet.” I flopped down by the fire and accepted the leafrat kabob Beat ha
nded me. Apparently I’d missed my turn at the end of line but she’d saved one for me. “Thanks.”

  “Learn anything new?” she asked.

  I took a bite of my dinner, enjoying the combination of flavors, from the aromatic leaves to the charred meat beneath. “Nope. Except if the Three are trying to build a loyal army of Warriors they’re doing a shitty job.”

  She laughed at that. I quite enjoyed Beat’s laugh. I wondered if she was someone I might’ve been friends with back on Earth.

  “Hey, are you a gamer?” I asked.

  “What do you think?” She sucked the marrow from the bones of her leafrat and then licked her fingers.

  “Yes?”

  “I had more friends online than in real life. Pathetic, right?”

  “Yeah,” I said, and she whacked me with a powerful backhand. I rubbed my shoulder, though it hadn’t really hurt. “I was the same. You play A-Civ?”

  “Like a boss. Class 12. I was halfway through exterminating the brood on Planet Delta.”

  “Jesus. My space marine was Class 9. I’d just started Planet Charlie. I kept getting killed by the first brood mother.”

  “She was a real bitch,” Beat said. “But there was a trick. Want me to tell you?”

  I shook my head. I hated cheats. I never bought guidebooks, never watched YouTube videos by gamers who had finished a game. For me, that took all the fun and satisfaction out of it.

  Then I realized how ridiculous I was being. “I guess it doesn’t matter now. It’s not like I’m ever going to play that game again.”

  Beat chuckled. “You’re a purist, I like that. Anyway, you’re playing that game every night now. Except one day it’s going to kill you for real.”

  I looked at Beat and she looked at me. Having arrived at the same time, having fought in the same Circle, I felt an instant bond. “Do you think we should leave?” I asked. After my latest encounters with Eve and Persepheus, it was a serious question. Vrill was out there. And I could see why she’d left. Things here felt like they were falling apart at the seams. I didn’t know what it was like before I’d arrived, but it was definitely bad now. What would happen when the wards fell?