CHAPTER 13: Corpus Delicti - (The Body of the Crime)

Ethan did the only thing he could think of to avoid Kendra's charge: he jumped to the side. Thankfully, his legs were as powerful as ever and he managed to get clear of her sword before he lost a limb.

Barely.

He hit the ground awkwardly but managed to roll into a standing position. It was a lot harder with his arms pinned to his sides by Kendra's bolo. He was still healing his left arm and the wound wasn't too severe anymore. But it wouldn't matter because it was pinned anyway.

She skidded to a halt wearing a large smirk on her pretty face. She wasted no time in charging to close the distance again. Again, he jumped out of the way and came up breathing hard after fighting for so long.

"You look tired dragon." She taunted. "Perhaps you should stop jumping around like a rabbit."

"Sure, if you stop charging like a rhino."

She gave him a confused look and shook her head.

Then she changed her approach. She started walking toward him. Her legs were spread wider and she was crouching slightly so her center of gravity was lower. If he jumped again, she'd be ready to pounce on him instantly. He started backing up and called his hammer to his hand, having dropped it after her first charge.

*It's now or never.* He thought to Alana and focused his will and mana into his hammer. He focused on making it positively charged, altering the electrical potential so it started sucking up electrons like a sponge. When they hit critical mass, he would release it as a bolt of lightning. Well, maybe more like a Taser or stun gun.

That was the hope anyway.

He waited as long as he dared, backing up as long as he could and allowing her get as close as possible before striking. He whipped his hammer at her as fast as he could. Unfortunately, with his arms still strapped to his chest that wasn't very hard or fast.

She was ready.

She neatly sidestepped the hammer, using a downward angling block with the flat of her blade to ensure it missed. The moment the hammer touched her blade, he released his spell. He thought it would surge through her like a Taser.

He was wrong.

Her sword block had been angled down, with her blade's tip pointing towards the ground. The electricity surged out of the hammer, down the blade, then arced through the air towards the earth. There was a loud crack, a bright flash and the smell of burning ozone. Kendra herself was completely unharmed.

Her eyes went wide.

A stunned silence fell over the crowd.

She looked at her sword for a moment, then dropped it like a hot potato or poisonous snake. She took several fearful steps away from it, staring wide-eyed at him with shock written all over her face.

"What sorcery is this?" She breathed.

"It's not sorcery; it's science bitch!"

His hammer flew back into his hand and he quickly whipped it at her as hard as he could. She leapt out of the way like he had thrown a vat of acid. She rolled through her dive and came up ready, having picked up a discarded sword while rolling.

Ethan considered what had happened with his first electrical attack. He realized that her sword hilt was probably made of dry wood - an electrical insulator - so the electricity had chosen the easier path through the air instead. In order to hit her directly, he needed to make sure she was the easiest path between his hammer and the ground.

He called it back to his hand and gave it a flourish that was intended to intimidate the dragon huntress.

She seemed intimidated.

He started charging his hammer again, using all his willpower and mana to give it even more power.

Kendra was quickly recovering her shock and raised her sword to a ready position. She started closing on him cautiously. That suited him fine; he didn't know how long he needed to get a really good charge. He didn't think he'd get many shots at this, so they had to count.

Finally, Kendra lunged at him. He hopped backward out of her reach, then leapt as high as he possibly could, aiming to hit the apex of his jump when he was directly over her.

It worked.

Kendra aimed a slash at him as he sailed overhead, but he was just out of reach. She followed him with her eyes, and he waited until her missed sword strike had carried her blade out of a defensive position. When it had, he released the spell directly over the irate dragon huntress.

CRACK!

The electricity surged out of his hammer, arcing through the air with the characteristic sizzle of a true lightning bolt - though at a fraction of the power - and struck Kendra over the heart.

He landed and eyed her cautiously as she turned to look at him.

She clapped her hand over her heart.

Her mouth was open and it almost looked like she was gasping for air. It looked like she'd gotten the wind knocked out of her and couldn't recover it. She stood there for a several seconds, staggering and apparently trying desperately to remain on her feet.

Then she fell to her knees.

Shock and pain were written all over her face as she gasped for air. Her hand was still clutched over her heart.

Her heart.

It clicked in Ethan's mind. The bolt of electricity must've stopped her heart.

Kendra's eyes went wide.

She fell backwards to the earth and lay completely still.

Her eyes were open but were unmoving, unblinking, and strangely vacant. The bolo that encircled Ethan's torso - the one that she'd said would only release with her death or his - loosened and fell to the ground.

Her hand had fallen away from her heart as she had hit the ground, and he saw a zig-zag hole had appeared in her shirt. Underneath, he could see the slightly charred flesh where the bolt had struck, surrounded by pink, healthy skin. The scar was jagged and almost lightning shaped.

A lightning shaped scar...

That jogged something in his memory.

Gabriella had said he'd fight a deadly enemy and leave a lightning shaped scar over their heart. She'd also said he shouldn't let that enemy die no matter what. She said it was an instruction from "her lord" and given that she looked like an angel...

He looked at Kendra's dead body.

Well, not permanently dead; not just yet.

He knew CPR, so he could bring her back as long as there wasn't any other damage. He just had to do it. Without Gabriella's visit it probably wouldn't have even occurred to him. He had struck with the intent to kill because she was intent on killing him.

It was self-defense. He was fully justified.

But still...

* * *

Kendra opened her eyes to discover the blinding pain she'd felt only moments before was completely gone. She felt perfectly fine... except something was very wrong with her vision. The entire world around her was bathed in various shades of purple...

...And she was floating upwards.

She looked down to see her body lying there, slowly getting smaller as she drifted upwards.

Above her was a blinding light that - despite its brightness - felt gentle and pleasant on her eyes and skin. She was slowly floating toward it, a gentle pull making her feel safe, warm, and loved. It was a wonderful feeling. She savored it like she'd never felt it before, because she hadn't.

It was incredible.

Could this be what having someone love you felt like? She didn't know; she didn't have anything to compare it to.

"No." She whispered. "This can't be the end."

She felt a great weight settle overher that had nothing to do with her recent death. She knew no one would mourn her passing, except perhaps Falkaan. But that was only part of what was bothering her. She wasn't sad that she'd died; she was sad that she'd never truly lived.

She felt regret.

Regret that she'd taken such a lonely path in life.

Regret at not knowing any true friends.

Regret that she'd never know love.

She looked down to see the dragon standing over her body. It had started to pace back and forth, casting furtive glances at her unmoving form. It seemed like the beast was conflicted and fighting an internal war with itself.

The crowd in The Arena was completely silent and sat unmoving, like they had all been collectively stunned with a stasis spell.

Movement below her caught her attention, and she saw the dragon leaning over her body. It appeared to have healed the wound on its arm because it put both its hands on her chest and pushed hard.

She felt nothing.

The dragon did this for several seconds, then leaned over her face. It almost looked like it was kissing her and she shuddered at the thought. She was glad she was dead, because she didn't think she could live with the shame of having a dragon touch her like that. It started pressing on her chest again.

Then she felt a jerk.

Her slow rise upward halted, momentarily and she was forcefully jerked downwards several feet. After a moment, she resumed her slow upward ascent. The dragon continued whatever it was doing, then she felt another jerk; this one much stronger. It felt like she was being violently yanked down to the earth.

She plummeted towards her body. The moment she touched it, she blacked out.

* * *

he

Kendra woke with a start, coughing and spluttering as air rushed into her depleted lungs. She gulped huge mouthfuls of oxygen until she felt like she could breathe again, then looked up...

Into the eyes of the dragon.

It looked at her with cold fury softened only by frustration and annoyance. It wiped its mouth with the back of a clawed hand, then spat on the ground. She realized her own lips felt moist... and they smelled like the dragon's breath.

She clutched her stomach, then - realizing their lips had actually touched while she was dead - turned and vomited all over the ground. She would've killed him right there if she had any energy.

How DARE that beast touch her like that!

"Stay down." The dragon growled as it leaned over her.

She didn't have the strength to argue. She could barely move, let alone stand up. She wiped her mouth as thoroughly as she could.

"This isn't over beast." She spat once she'd gathered enough wind.

"I saved your life after you tried to kill me." It held up two fingers. "Twice. You could be a little more grateful." It said with derision in its voice.

She opened her mouth to retort when she realized that it was right. This bloodthirsty, disgusting beast had indeed saved her life. She had been dead. She was sure of it. Yet here she was, alive and mostly unhurt. The wound over her chest still burned badly and she felt completely exhausted, but otherwise she was perfectly fine.

Why?

Why would the beast do this?

It didn't make sense.

"Ladies and gentlemen." The Arena announcer's magically magnified voice said with as much surprise as she felt. "It... it appears the dragon has won. Therefore by the laws of Arcanum, he is... I mean, his slave is cleared of all charges."

The crowd didn't react.

No one clapped.

No one cheered.

No one booed.

No one did anything.

After several moments, a single person began to slowly clap. It was a woman with flame-red hair that faded slowly to blond at the tips, making it look like her head was on fire. She was joined by a wood elf in a green dress, then a few other spectators in the seats. Moments later, the entire crowed was clapping and cheering like the dragon was a war hero who'd saved the land.

Then someone stood up.

The entire Arena audience followed suit, giving the dragon a standing ovation. Wild cheers broke out and jubilant fist pumps were seen all throughout the audience. They were ecstatic; they were cheering the victory of the dragon whose death they'd craved only minutes ago.

She felt like her brain had frozen with the strangeness of the last few minutes.

It had used lightning.

Lightning!

How was that possible?

No mage in the history of the Ten Kingdoms had ever created lightning before. It had never been done. Ever. Many believed it couldn't be done. It was a common belief that lightning was the weapon of Illuminar Himself. That the great God Illuminar had created a weapon made of pure light so evil ones could never wield it.

Lightning struck faster than the eye could see and burned with a righteous intensity. It could smite trees in half and no one could foresee its coming. It was truly a weapon fit for the God of light.

How could a dragon - evil incarnate - wield a weapon made of pure light?

It didn't make sense.

And there was the fact that she was alive. She had been dead, but now she was alive. It just wasn't possible, except it happened. Why had the dragon brought her back?

How had it brought her back?

A death shaman could bring someone back, but only by draining the life-force and mana from one or more living beings, whose bodies were then reduced to dried, wasted husks. There weren't any of these husks in The Arena, so it hadn't used a death shaman's spell.

Only Illuminar had the absolute power of life and death.

Only the Great God of Light could bring someone back from the dead without the life-draining spells of a death shaman. Some of Illuminar's prophets did by using His power at His direction, but a dragon couldn't be a prophet of Illuminar...

Could it?

The crowd certainly seemed to think it could. Their cheering went on for what seemed like forever. They heaped never-ending praise on this murderous dragon with shouts, whistles, and cheers.

Then she remembered: didn't the Book of Light say that Saidow himself comes dressed as an angel of light? The dragon must be that; a demon of darkness masquerading as an angel of light.

There was no other explanation...

...was there?

But then, how could a servant of darkness wield a weapon of the light?

Eventually, the tumult of the crowd died down. The dragon wandered away toward the portcullis through which it had entered, leaving Kendra alone with her thoughts.

And alone she was.

Her mind drifted back to Luminar Kossel's prediction. He predicted that someone would kill her, then save her life twice. He'd said that person would be the best chance she'd ever have of true friendship; of being able to truly trust someone.

The dragon had just killed her and then saved her life. Only once, but...

Kossel couldn't have meant...

No.

No, it wasn't possible.

Not with a dragon.

She shook her head; she would never be friends with a dragon. Ever. They were wicked Saidow-spawn that corrupted everything they touched. They were bloodthirsty, primitive beasts without a soul or shred of human decency. The very idea of being friends with a dragon was just...

Just...

She shuddered, felt her stomach give another twinge and resisted the urge to vomit again.

The dragon may have bested her this time, but next time it would be different. It wouldn't be so public and it wouldn't see her coming. She would stay far away and take him unawares. She'd use Falkaan's Dragon Slayer to put an arrow through its black heart.

It could use black sorcery, so she wouldn't give it the chance.

That dragon would pay.

* * *

Alana felt like she had aged several decades over the last half hour while Ethan had been fighting in The Arena. Her heart was still pounding and she was short of breath from having held it so often. Her hands were covered in nervous sweat and her whole body had been trembling so much that she felt like she'd just run a marathon.

But he was okay.

Thank Illuminar he was okay.

They sat in the reception antechamber waiting for Ethan to return from his victory in The Arena. It was the same place where they had met Hailey for the first time. The walls were still covered with ornate tapestries and it was lit by a single iron chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

"Take a deep breath Alana, he's okay." Rachel repeated for the dozenth time.

The wood elf did just that, trying to calm her nerves. She had never been so scared in her entire life. She put her hand over her womb, and thought *It'll be okay little one; it'll be okay.*

*Talking to our daughter?* Ethan asked.

*Your daughter; I'm just carrying her.* She corrected, then realized what she'd said. *I mean... I have no idea where that came from.*

*Me either." He replied with concern. "You know she's as much your daughter as mine, right?*

*I do.*

*Good.*

The door opened and he walked in. The moment she saw him, she ran to him and threw her arms around him. He winced, but hugged her back.

*I'm never letting go of you again; you know that right?* She told him with a sigh. She could feel the last remnants of her anxiety draining away as he held her.

*Yeah, that might be hard when I need to relieve myself.* He chuckled.

*We'll make it workd.*

*I believe you could.* He chuckled again.

He held her for several moments and she could feel warmth and relief coming from over their bond. He was as glad to hold her as she was to be held.

The creak of a door opening finally made them part. Hailey was led in by two guards. They unshackled her hands and feet then left without a word.

"Um, hi." She said when the guards had left, though she didn't meet their eyes.

Alana felt Ethan tense slightly, so she asked. *What are you going to say?*

Ethan took a deep breath, then turned to the former slave. "Hailey, do you realize what you've done? Do you know how much danger you put us all in?"

She nodded, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "I know, I shouldn't have... I-" She swallowed. "I'm sorry."

Alana could tell she meant it from the bottom of her heart. She was really, truly repentant. Apparently, Ethan could tell too.

"We forgive you." He said kindly.

Hailey looked up, shock and disbelief on her face. "Really?"

"Yes."

"We do." Alana agreed, then added. "Just please don't do something like that again while you're traveling with us. I'm not sure my heart could take it."

The willowy woman nodded, glanced up at them, and then averted her eyes again. She mumbled something, but the wood elf wasn't sure what.

"What was that?" she asked.

Hailey swallowed again. "You... you really mean it? I can still come with you?"

Alana disentangled herself from Ethan, walked over and gave the taller woman a hug. Hailey seemed shocked, but accepted it after a moment.

"Yes, we mean it." She said giving the willowy woman an extra squeeze. "In fact, after we help Taloni, I think our next stop is the slaver's camp that kidnapped you?" She broke the hug and looked at Ethan for confirmation

"After we free Taloni, yes. Assuming we can find it and assuming you still want to go home?"

Hailey swallowed hard as the tears which had collected at the corners of her eyes began to fall. "I do, I want to so much. I..." She sniffled and tried to surreptitiously wipe the tears from her eyes. "

"We'll help you, but I need to make one thing perfectly clear." Ethan said, and Alana noticed he'd slipped into a 'fatherly disapproval' tone. She wondered if it was because of the baby on the way, but regardless it sounded pretty damn sexy on him.

"You endangered not only me, but also my wife, my unborn daughter, and the whole crew of the Argo. You're welcome to travel with us, but consider this your one and only warning. If you ever pull a stunt like that again, if you ever endanger my family like that again, you're gone. Understand?"

"I understand and I won't; I promise." She nodded. "And thank you, I don't... After what I did, not many people would let me..." she closed her eyes and seemed overcome with emotion.

Alana couldn't tell if the former slave was deliriously happy and content, or plagued with guilt and feeling miserable. She guessed it was a combination of both.

Ethan walked up to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm not the type to hold a grudge. I know you didn't mean to hurt or endanger any of us. If you had, this would be a very different conversation. Don't beat yourself up over it; we won't."

"Okay." Hailey replied, but couldn't meet his eye.

Alana had never seen such a tall woman look so small. Somehow, she seemed to have shrunk a whole foot.

"Hailey, I'm serious, it's okay." His voice was gentle and caring. "I understand you feel bad and probably will for a while. But we won't hold your mistakes against you. We've certainly made enough of them, so holding yours against you would just make us hypocrites."

"Okay." Hailey nodded, and she seemed slightly better.

"Ethan." Rachel interrupted. "I suggest we leave the city before the magistrate comes up with a trumped up charge to hold us."

"Good idea." He nodded and they headed for the door.

Before reaching the door, it opened and Alana saw Elder Goman standing there. He once again looked at least a hundred years old - maybe older - and like he was on death's door.

"Um... Uh, a moment, yes a moment if you please?" He said in a weak, frail voice.

Ethan turned to Hailey and Rachel. "Can you wait outside for a minute?"

They nodded, stepped outside, and closed the door behind them. Once the door was shut, Elder Goman looked around for a moment to ensure they were alone, then straightened up.

"I have a parting gift for you two." He reached into his robes and pulled out two small, flat items, giving one of them to Ethan.

They were disc-shaped, about four inches in diameter and an inch thick, with a hole in the center that was slightly more than an inch in diameter. But the most interesting thing about them was the hole itself.

The hole was filled with...

It was hard to explain.

The hole had a thin opaque membrane stretching across it, equidistant from the top and bottom. The membrane was like the surface of water as it reflected the sun. Or perhaps like water mixed with oil and left outside because it undulated and moved liked water in a gentle breeze while reflecting the colors of the rainbow. But at the same time, it was a subtle thing; easy to miss with just a glance.

"What are they?" Ethan asked after looking at the one he'd been handed.

"Just the one, the other is for me." Elder Goman replied. Then he took his finger and poked it through the membrane on the one he was holding. The membrane parted like water, and his finger poked out of the one Ethan was holding.

He nearly dropped it in shock.

"What the hell?!"

Alana inhaled sharply as her mouth fell open. "Are those... are those what I think they are?"

Elder Goman nodded.

She stared dumbfounded at them for several seconds before Ethan broke into her thoughts.

"So, what are they?"

"They're portal stones." She whispered in amazement. "I've heard of them but how did you? I mean the cost alone..." She held out her hand toward the portal stone Ethan was holding, and he handed it to her. She accepted it reverently, treating it like it was made of glass.

Elder Goman smiled. "Dragon steel in indeed expensive, but I thought it was worth it. This way we can communicate no matter where you travel."

"Dragon steel?" Ethan asked.

"Dragon scales melted down and forged together to make a metal." Alana explained. "It's the only thing that can take enough magic to form an enchantment that's this powerful at this size." She turned the portal stone over in her hands. The dragon steel wasn't cold to the touch like normal metal. Instead, it almost had a warmth about it.

"I don't know what to say." She wondered as she looked at it.

"Say you'll use it." Elder Goman replied. "Simply write a note and slip it through when you wish to contact me. I'll do the same when I have something that might help you. "

"Thank you." Ethan said to him.

"You are welcome, but it's as selfish as it is selfless. I can't defeat Lord Delmar or his black dragon alone. I need help, and I can think of no one better suited to the task. In fact, you might be the only one in the Ten Kingdoms who can defeat them."

Ethan grimaced. "No pressure huh?"

"I thought you'd be looking forward to it, given the strategy your lovely wife and I discussed."

"What strategy?" Ethan asked turning to her.

Alana went beet red and suddenly felt very warm under her dress. She had 'conveniently' forgotten to tell him what Elder Goman said. Mostly because that would lead to him asking her opinion, and she didn't want to admit what she thought about the idea to anyone, even herself.

"Can we talk about it on the Argo?" She asked, mostly because she wanted to put it off as long as possible.

He looked at her with interest, curiosity coming over their bond in waves. She was sure he'd felt her embarrassment - among other feelings - at the question. He opened his mouth to speak but she beat him to it.

"Please?" It was a genuine request, and she would've told here if he'd asked. She just hoped he wouldn't.

"Okay, on the Argo it is."

"Now, you both should leave. Magistrate Haglath is a vindictive man. If you hurry, you should be able to depart without incident. If you tarry but a few hours..."

"Understood, and thanks again for everything." Ethan replied. Then they made to leave with all haste.

* * *

Kendra had slipped away from The Arena without incident and now found herself stalking through Arcanum's streets with a vengeance, stomping her boots as if each stone in the pavement had done her a great personal wrong. She was alternately clenching her fists and focusing on her breathing; one to calm down, the other to magnify her rage.

It would pay.

That beast was going to pay.

For the hundredth time, she wiped her mouth trying to get the feeling of the dragon off her lips as her stomach roiled at the thought. Finally realizing that her hands wouldn't do it, she stalked into the nearest tavern.

"Give me the strongest whisky you have and an empty tankard." She ordered, dropping a coin onto the bar as she stepped up to it.

The bartender gave her an odd look, glanced out the window at the early morning sun, shrugged, then grabbed the coin and filled her order.

She got a huge swallow of whisky in her mouth, braced herself, and then began to swish it around furiously. It burned like fire, but then fire was how you eliminated darkness. She spat it out into the empty tankard then repeated the process again, and again.

It was only after the fourth time that she felt some semblance of "clean". Two more and her stomach finally calmed down. A vigorous application to her lips and they also felt clean, but burned just as fiercely. Scowling, she left both the unfinished whisky and the tankard on the bar and left. Once outside, she headed back toward Falkaan's ship, the Midnight Sun.

When she arrived, she couldn't believe who was waiting on the weatherdeck with Falkaan.

"What in Illuminar's name are you doing here!?" She demanded.

Luminar Kossel smiled, then glanced at Falkaan. "I thought I'd see an old friend while waiting for you to fail in your crusade."

"Dragonshit!" Kendra's eye narrowed. "There's no possible way you could've known the beast would win. You yourself said I was one of the best you ever trained."

"I'm afraid Falkaan did most of the training, I merely helped. Though given this morning's debacle, apparently you didn't learn much."

Kendra could feel white hot rage boiling up inside her. For the first time in many, many years, she simply couldn't contain it.

She snapped.

She used everything she learned in over a decade of training and threw all of her skill and ability into a careful and precisely aimed attack. Even in her anger, she made sure to keep her balance even and defenses up. It was as close to a perfect strike as she could make.

Then she missed.

One moment, Luminar Kossel was in front of her and her strike was about to land. The next moment, her back was hitting the weatherdeck and the wind was knocked out of her.

"I misspoke." Luminar Kossel said kindly as he leaned over her. "You learned much about fighting, but little about Illuminar or life in general. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so upset."

Kendra was too busy trying to get air back into her lungs to reply. Damn, that was the second time that had happened this morning.

"That... that beast it... it violated me." Kendra spat.

"I was there Kendra." Luminar Kossel said conversationally. "You mean, he touched his lips to yours, seemingly as part of bringing you back from the dead?"

The Luminar offered a hand to help her up. She batted it away and stood on her own, her wind having finally returned.

"Kendra." The old priest continued. "The Book of Light tells us that Illuminar breathed the breath of life into every living creature. Perhaps Ethan was merely doing that?"

Kendra shuddered again and resisted the urge to vomit. Suddenly, that whiskey didn't feel like it had done the job.

"Regardless." He continued. "I'm actually here to help you on your crusade."

She shot him a look.

"Truly, I will help. Unless I'm much mistaken, you didn't expect to lose this morning. Therefore, you have no plan in place to track Ethan when he leaves Arcanum."

She scowled, but couldn't deny he was right.

"I will tell you exactly where he is going, on one condition."

"What condition?"

Luminar Kossel smiled. "You will make no attempt to kill or even hurt him or his companions until the sun rises in two days. To be clear, that's just under forty-eight hours."

"No deal." She shook her head. "I'll track him myself and put him in the ground before nightfall."

"How?" Falkaan asked, speaking up for the first time. "How would you track them?"

"My ship is a lot smaller than the Midnight Sun, so it's a lot harder to see."

"And you think a dragon - and a wood elf - wouldn't spot it when they are wary of being followed?" Luminar Kossel asked.

She scowled.

Luminar Kossel smiled. "No attempt made to hurt him or his companions until the sun crests the horizon in two days. That's the price for not losing the trail. You may stalk, hunt, and do reconnaissance to your heart's desire until then. But until you see the sun two days from now, you will make no move to injure them or their allies; no move of any kind whatsoever."

Kendra scowled again, but she knew she was backed into a corner. Certainly, she could refuse and pick up their trail again later, but she'd likely lose more than two days doing so.

"Agreed?" Luminar Kossel offered his hand.

"Agreed." Kendra shook it with a scowl.

"As witness, I confirm this as an oath between members of the order." Falkaan said, reciting the official words of a witness. "May Illuminar strike dead the one who breaks this vow."

"Amen." Kendra and Luminar Kossel said together as she continued to glare at him.

Luminar Kossel chuckled. "Oh don't make that face child; you look like someone killed your favorite puppy." He said with an amused grin.

She was not amused.

* * *

"Wow." Ethan said as he tried in vain to scrape his own jaw off the floor after Alana had related Elder Goman's plan. "That's... That's... Just wow. He really said that?"

He was sitting on the bed in the captain's cabin with Alana sitting next to him. Rachel was leaning up against one of the two closets that were on either side of the entrance. He ran his hand over the top of his head and onto one of his horns, exactly were his hair had been a couple months ago.

"Uh-huh." Alana nodded her head, which at the moment had the two prettiest hands in all creation covering an equally lovely face. Her engagement braid was still wrapped around her wrist, and he smiled as he remembered putting it there.

"I'd ask what you think of it, but..." He smiled wryly as he felt the almost overwhelming amount of both embarrassment and arousal coming over their bond. She seriously looked like she wanted to hide under the nearest rock. That would be hard because they were already safely aboard the Argo in the captain's cabin, but he wouldn't put it past the wood elf given the chance.

They had nearly run to the Argo and gotten away from Arcanum without incident. To ensure they weren't followed, Anthiel suggested they travel to the west until they were out of sight of Arcanum, and only then turn toward their destination. As a result, the early morning sun was streaming into the captain's cabin and casting a warm glow on the three who occupied it.

"For those of us who aren't bonded, what do you think?" Rachel asked the embarrassed wood elf.

Alana made some kind of muffled noise, but he couldn't tell what it was because she was still covering her face with her hands.

"Well, you're not throwing things so I assumed you're not entirely opposed?" The redhead asked.

Alana hesitated for several seconds before shaking her head fractionally. She stood and moved several steps so she was standing in front of the window. Her hands finally dropped now that her back was to the room.

"So that's Elder Goman's plan huh?" Rachel mused. "You bond to a bunch of women so you can get enough magic to defeat Lord Delmar and the black dragon he's allied with. It makes sense in a slightly creepy, 'dirty-old-man' kind of way."

Ethan opened his mouth to respond, then closed it again. He didn't see a way to reply that didn't make him sound like a total horndog. Of course the idea of having a bunch of women bonded to him and ready to share his bed appealed. Of course it did; was there a red-blooded man - or dragon - to whom it wouldn't appeal?

He was having some trouble keeping his cock down enough so it didn't pop out in front of Rachel though. He pushed a bit mana into his disguise gem, making himself look exactly like his unaroused state. He relaxed his control slightly when it took effect, and his cock leapt out like a spring.

Rachel glanced at his when he moved the mana, but made no comment.

As the blood rushed to his loins, quite another train of thought rushed to his head. He suddenly had visions of women kneeling before him, calling him master and existing to feed his magic. Each of them willingly spreading their legs and begging him to put his seed inside them. They would beg to carry his offspring, each offering everything - whatever they had - for the privilege

His dragon side loved it, he wasn't entirely opposed.

Apparently Alana guessed at his imaginings because she said telepathically: *Illuminar forgive me, but it doesn't bother me.*

*Really?* He asked.

*Really.* She nodded

"You're having another one of those silent conversations aren't you?" Rachel said with a resigned sigh. She didn't sound annoyed or anything, just accepting that she would miss part of the conversation.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to cut you out, it was just a bit... personal." Ethan replied.

"I understand." She said. "So, what are you going to do?"

"I honestly don't know." He replied as he started thinking about it.

To the primal dragon side of him, it seemed like the perfect solution to the problem. It was made even better by the copious amounts of sex he would be having. Alana certainly seemed on board with the idea judging from what she'd said and the arousal coming from her. It actually made him want to bend her over the bed right now, but he didn't think it appropriate with Rachel there so he resisted the temptation.

"The way I see it, you have three options." Rachel offered. "One, you could reject Elder Goman's plan and remain in the Ten Kingdoms. You would probably spend the rest of my father's life - several decades at least - running from him and you probably wouldn't escape forever. Eventually he'd find you and then kill you, your bride, and your unborn daughter."

"Never." Ethan and Alana hissed together, though she still hadn't turned away from the window and still had her back to the room.

"Understood." Rachel nodded. "Option number two: go back to Ethan's home with Hailey when we find the slaver's camp with the portal. If you destroy the portal, it would be nearly impossible for Lord Delmar to find you there, and you could live out your lives."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Alana said.

"Oh, I'm not done." The redhead grimaced. "If everything I've heard about Ethan's home is true, there's no dragons, elves or other non-human races. You'll be outcasts. Even if you manage to stay hidden, you'll never be able to get very close to anyone for fear they'll discover your secret. You daughter - and any future children - will have the same problem."

"We could hide; we'd just need to be careful about Alana's ears." Ethan countered.

"And your children's ears, and their children's' ears, down to about the tenth generation." Rachel pointed out. "The pointiness of elven ears is a very persistent trait which lasts at least that long. Besides, can you see a child keeping their ears hidden while playing? No, you'll need to live in secret and constantly cautious about your secret being exposed."

"On second thought..." Alana sighed.

"Yes, but at least you two would be safe." Ethan countered.

"Assuming Lord Delmar never followed you, and assuming none of you required a healer for an injury."

"I hadn't thought about doctors." He frowned. Elven physiology might be very different from a humans, and dragon physiology certainly was, which would be obvious if either of them needed a doctor.

Rachel continued. "Plus, what if a human with views similar to Lord Delmar discovers you there? Would you still be safe?"

"That's true." He conceded. "Most people fear what they don't understand." He then did his best Yoda imitation. "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate... leads to suffering."

They stared at him.

"It's from a-"

"-A movie." The ladies finished together.

"How much time did you spend on those things anyway?" Alana asked, still not facing the room.

"Uh, less than I spent watching shows on Netflix."

Rachel stared blankly at him.

"Nevermind." He shook his head then turned to Rachel. "I take it the third option is staying here and fighting?"

"And building your..." She grimaced slightly before continuing. "...your harem of women to increase your power. At least until you're a match for Lord Delmar and the black dragon he apparently follows. Then you'll have a winner-take-all fight to the death, because neither my father nor any dragon he'd follow would accept defeat without plotting revenge."

Ethan sighed. "I don't suppose there's an option that avoids lots of bloodshed and death?"

"Staying on your world."

"Yeah, but I don't think that's such a good idea." He considered what would happen if they were discovered. He was sure that he and Alana, and probably their child, would end up some secret government facility somewhere. At least if they stayed and fought, then - if they died - the death would be quick.

Besides, something deep inside Ethan just bristled at the idea of hiding from anyone. In the short term to gain an advantage, or to stalk and hunt; fine. But long term running from someone - especially a human - as if Ethan was his inferior...

He just couldn't stomach the idea.

Or maybe the dragon couldn't. He wasn't entirely sure.

"So, you'd rather stay and build a harem then?" Rachel asked, her face betrayed no emotion at the idea, but she didn't look surprised.

"I guess?" He raised his hands and shrugged. "I mean, what guy hasn't dreamed of being told he needs to build a harem of hot women to save the world?"

"They don't need to be attractive." Rachel countered with a grin. "You could find a bunch of old grandmas."

The image that sprang to his mind was slightly disturbing. "Yeah, I think not."

"Alana, what do you think?" Rachel asked.

The wood elf swallowed, then turned to face the room. She seemed to have gotten control of her facial expressions, though her cheeks were still a little pink. She opened her mouth to speak, then shook her head and closed it. She sat down on the bed next to Ethan, so he was between her and Rachel, before speaking.

"I um... Uh, I guess I don't exactly hate the idea."

"Oh?" Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I mean. If it's what's best for him- I mean us, and the baby. With the whole Ten Kingdoms at stake, I guess I don't mind..." She trailed off as she seemed to lose her nerve.

Ethan could tell she was simply too embarrassed to continue. It was funny; she shouted down a dragon the day they'd met and was fearless in battle, but couldn't admit she didn't mind the idea of him building a harem. Or at least, she didn't seem to mind judging from the emotions coming over their bond.

Ethan and Alana both looked at Rachel.

The redhead put her hands up as if to ward them off. "And just to be clear, no. Never."

"Never... what?" He asked confused.

"I am not joining your harem. Ever. Don't even think about it because there's no chance. Ever. Zero. None. You got that?" She added with a glare.

"Got it, I wasn't going to ask." He replied. Though, now that the idea had been mentioned... he shook his head; no sense going there.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments.

He considered for a minute, having no clue what to do next. Apparently the plan was to stay in this world and fight Lord Delmar and the black dragon by building a group of women he was bonded to. For lack of a better word, a 'harem' sounded about right.

"I have no idea what to do next." He finally admitted.

"You mean where - or who - to start with?" Rachel asked.

He nodded.

"You've been awfully quite Alana." The redhead observed.

The wood elf took a deep breath before replying. "I don't think we need to worry about it."

"Oh?" Rachel said.

"Yeah." Alana continued. "I mean, Ethan has already met a few along the way - me, Taloni, and Beth - and you didn't need to go out of your way to find us. Maybe we'll meet the right women along the way?"

Ethan nodded as his mind went to Alana, Taloni and Beth.

Beth...

"What?" Alana asked.

Ethan stood up and starting pacing, though there wasn't much room to move in the captain's cabin. "I still have this feeling that something isn't right about how Beth died."

"I don't think anyone thinks it was right, but it happened." The redheaded mage replied.

"That's just it, I have this..." He frowned. "I have this feeling deep down that maybe it didn't happen. I know I sound crazy, but I just can't help it."

"We've been over this." Rachel said. "There's no possible way she could've survived. None. It's simply not possible; even one of your scientists would admit that."

"You're probably right it's just..." He looked out the window toward Arcanum. It was still visible and he could feel a pull toward the city. He didn't know why, but he knew it had something to do with Beth. Something inside of him - maybe the bond they had shared, maybe something else - but something was calling him.

"It's just what?" Alana asked.

"I just don't feel right about leaving her behind." He finally said. "I know she's dead, but I just can't shake this feeling."

"What feeling?" Rachel asked.

"That I can't leave her behind." He explained. "That she's out there somewhere and I need to go find her. I realize I'd be looking for a... a body. But I just... I don't feel right leaving Arcanum without her."

"You really mean that, don't you?" His wife said.

"I do." He nodded.

The wood elf made a thoughtful sound, glanced at Arcanum through the window, and then turned to look at him again.

"Then maybe we should go back." She suggested.

"You want to go back?" Rachel asked. "Is that wise?"

"I don't know." He admitted. "But something is missing here, I can feel it."

"How long have you felt this way?" The redhead pressed.

"It came on pretty gradually, so I'm not sure. I guess since Alana found me with Taloni? Around there maybe?"

Alana stood up and he stopped pacing as she smiled at him. "Hey, I can feel how much this is bothering you. Maybe we should go back and take a look."

"We?" He asked.

She nodded. "We."

"I don't think that's a good idea." Rachel said. "They'll be looking for you."

"Will they?" He countered. "The Argo's departure wasn't exactly clandestine. Sure they'll be looking for me, but not in Arcanum. I can use the disguise gem and make myself look like a giant bird or something. Plus, if I go under cover of darkness there should be almost no risk."

"Do you remember what happened the last time you went flying over Arcanum at night?" Rachel countered.

He subconsciously adjusted the shoulder that Kendra had fired an arrow through only a day and a half ago.

"It'll be different this time." He replied. "I'll pick a disguise that won't stand out and flow very high and fast, so it should be safe."

"I think this is a bad idea." Rachel said.

"I'll bring my bow and arrows, he'll bring his hammer and spear; we'll be fine"

"It still seems risky."

Alana smiled and said to her with a wink. "It's okay mom; I won't let the monsters get us."

Rachel shot her a look, but nodded. "Be careful though, and keep your eyes peeled."

"We will." He said.

* * *

Beth hovered in mid-air, again suspended between the tendril and the gentle pull of Illuminar's light. It looked like the sun was beginning to sink below the horizon as night approached. Of course, everything was bathed in a purple on the Astral Plane, which added even more monotony to her situation.

It had been a long, boring day.

"Ah, finally done!" The wizard exclaimed as he stood up and looked down at Beth's immobile body.

To her surprise, the wound on her neck was completely healed. There wasn't even a scar where it had been. There was still blood all around where the wound had been - so you could clearly tell that her throat had previously been slit - but now it was healed.

"Finally, I can begin the enhancements tomorrow and summon that-" the wizard stopped, then looked around as if expecting to see the shadowy figure return. He shook his head after a moment, and then turned and left the room.

No sooner had he gone, then Beth heard a kind and gentle voice behind her.

"Hello Beth." Gabriella said.

Beth turned as best she could in mid-air to see the luminous woman standing before her. As ever, she looked like a beautiful teen in the prime of life, yet also had the demeanor of a wise old sage. Her smile instantly made Beth feel better.

"Thank you for coming back, please don't leave me again."

Gabriella smiled. "My dear girl, I can stay only a minute."

Her face fell. "No, please don't leave me again. You don't know what happened, what that thing made me... I mean, what I..."

Gabriella raised an eyebrow. "Beth, what did I tell you?"

"Um, that Illuminar would keep me safe?"

"The enemy traffics in lies and deception. Illuminar - blessed be He - traffics in truth and revelation. One of the enemy's greatest weapons is to make the faithful doubt the promises of God."

Beth breathed a sigh of relief. "You mean, I didn't ruin everything."

Gabriella chuckled. "No my dear, you're simply not that powerful. You've passed your last trial on this plane and it's time for you to go home."

Beth's eyes widened and she looked up towards the light in the sky. "You don't mean I'm going to..."

Gabriella laughed. The sound shattered all of Beth's doubts and brightened the room considerably. "No my dear, you're not going to die. I mean you're going home."

"But, Gralden is so far away."

"My dear girl, Gralden is no longer your home." With that, Gabriella looked up to the heavens, concentrated for a moment, and then Beth felt the pull of the light weaken.

"Draw your sword, cut the tendril." The luminous woman instructed.

Beth complied, surprised to find that Aharown was now visible and touchable at her side once again. She wasted no time drawing it, aiming a careful slice, and neatly severing the tendril.

As before, a horrible piercing wail filled her ears. Startled, she dropped Aharown as Gabriella pulled her away from the tendril so she wouldn't fall onto it. The flat of the gleaming sword landed on the tendril. It seemed to burn through it like hot iron through a sheet of ice. The tendril's dying wail continued as Beth clamped her hands over her ears to block out the noise.

It didn't help.

Eventually, Aharown 'melted' through the tendril's base, which began to evaporate, like boiling water out of a pan. Nearly a minute later, the piercing waling finally stopped as the last of the tendril disappeared like smoke in the breeze. It was completely gone, and Beth got the distinction impression it would never return.

Once the sound faded, Beth retrieved Aharown. It looked as clean and pristine as ever, the black tendril having made no mark whatsoever on it's pure, gleaming blade.

"Now, you need to stay here for a little while longer." Gabriella indicated the room around her.

"Why?"

She shook her head with a grin. "Always with the questions young one. He does love that about you."

"You didn't answer the question."

"No, I didn't." Gabriella replied. "You simply need to trust me and the One that I serve. Have I led you wrong yet?"

"No."

"They stay here until it's time to leave."

"How will I know it's time?" Beth asked.

"You'll know." Gabriella turned to leave, but paused a moment. "One last thing, Remember how hard it was to move the pages of the book and the sand in The Arena?"

"Yes."

"You'll find it equally hard to grab other things, except your own body. Because it's yours, it won't be hard to grab it at all. You won't be able to move it, but you can grab it. When the time comes, hold on tight."

"Hold on tight?" The blonde teen was so confused. "What does that mean?"

"You'll see." Gabriella replied as she started walking toward the door but stopped just before leaving. "The Saidow spawn refused to use your real name. Let me remind you who you are... Elizabeth Ejder"

Beth smiled as she recognized Ethan's last name attached to her first name. It sounded good. For some reason, she really liked that she had taken Ethan's last name as her own. It made her feel connected to him somehow.

"May God bless you richly." Gabriella said. "We will meet again."

Then she was gone.

Beth looked around the room and decided that just this once, she could trust without asking questions. It wouldn't do much good anyway as she was already alone. And what in Illuminar's name did Gabriella mean that she would know when to leave?

* * *

Kendra knew two things. First, thanks to Luminar Kossel, she knew the dragon's airship was headed to a gold mine north of Arcanum. Second, she knew it had traveled west when it left Arcanum, meaning they were trying to throw off pursuers. Thankfully, that made their intended flight path relatively easy to guess.

She'd left Arcanum in a hurry, stopping only to retrieve Falkaan's Dragon Slayer, which he was still letting her borrow. Years of experience and a little guesswork allowed her to put her tiny airship about where she thought they would be at nightfall.

She was right.

She grinned as she put away her telescope. There was no mistaking it; that was the dragon's airship. The light was fading fast, but thanks to her enchanted telescope she could see reasonably well anyway. She extrapolated their course, and set her ship on a parallel one. She was pleased to see that Luminar Kossel had been right about their destination being a gold mine. She could only imagine that the dragon was planning to steal from the mine, because it was a dragon after all.

Then she saw something.

It was so subtle and far away that she almost missed it. She pulled her telescope out and saw that the dragon - apparently carrying someone its back - had leapt off the airship was flying towards Arcanum. It steadily climbed until it was extremely high in the sky; exactly what she would do if she was trying to avoid detection at night.

She briefly considered trying to follow it, but then realized it was moving much faster than her airship could fly. Besides, she'd sworn not to attack it until dawn in a day and a half. That left her wondering...

What was the beast up to?

* * *

*I think it was right there.* Alana pointed to an alley that looked like the same one where Beth had died. She wasn't sure, but it looked right.

*Yeah, that looks right,* Ethan replied and then started circling the area.

They were high above the city, relying on the great distance to keep them safe and their superior vision to see. The whole city was spread out underneath them. Small lanterns lit most of the populated areas and they could see the ebb and flow of foot traffic as the citizens finished up their business for the day.

The wood elf couldn't help but smile as she looked through the gossamer outline Ethan's disguise gem projected. Just before they'd reached Arcanum, he had disguised himself to look like some kind of giant eagle with white feathers covering its head, which made it look bald. The faint outline of fake feathers made an interesting contrast to the scales and membrane which were real.

*I'm about to dive, get ready.* He warned.

Taking care not to choke him, she wrapped herself even more tightly around him, screwed her eyes shut, and then tapped his chest to show she was ready.

He dived.

She could feel the wind rushing past her face and she clenched her eyes tighter still. Suddenly, he shifted and she felt his enormous wings flap hard to slow their descent. There was a moment of intense gravity followed by near weightlessness, then they dropped several feet to land.

"You can open your eyes now." He chuckled.

She did, and saw they were on a rooftop adjacent to the alley. She slid off his back, taking a moment to thank Illuminar for being on solid ground again. She trusted Ethan and even like the flying; but she was glad to be safe on terra firma again regardless.

"So what are we looking for?" She asked, noticing he'd changed his disguise gem so he looked like a man again.

"I wish I knew. I just feel like there's something here; something I missed."

He looked around the rooftop as if trying to see something that was hidden. They spent a few minutes looking into the alley and around the roof top. Then he looked at her like he was seeing her with new eyes.

"What?" She asked.

"You're incredible you know that?"

"Really?" She felt a warmth in her chest that belied the coolness of the night air.

"Absolutely. I'm mean, I'm running off into the lion's den on a weird hunch and you're right here with me. You didn't belittle me or fight me on it either; you just supported me. I can't even tell you how much that means."

She felt like she could've flown back to the Argo with him on her back and her smile was wider than the rooftop. "Thank you."

He walked up to her and gave her a kiss that made her simply melt in his arms. When their kiss broke, she snuggled up against him. She always felt so safe and happy in his arms.

"What's a 'lion's den'?" She asked after a few moments.

"It's a... Well, there's this story from... from..." He trailed off as he sniffed the air.

"What?" She asked, stepping back and sniffing too. She didn't smell anything, but then she didn't have a dragon's nose.

He frowned. "There's a familiar scent on the air, almost like..." he sniffed again. "It almost reminds me of Beth, but it's so faint. Her scent wouldn't have lingered this long would it?"

She shook her head. "I doubt it. Besides, I think it rained a few days ago while we were up near Taloni's mine."

"Then why...?" He sniffed the air again and began hunting around the roof with his nose. After a minute, he reached the edge of the roof overlooking the alley where Beth died.

"I think it's coming from another building." He scooped her into his arms - which probably was easy because she was still wearing the weight reduction necklace - and then jumped over the alley, using his wings to glide the last several yards. They spent the next several minutes hunting rooftops until he finally smiled.

"I think it's coming from this building."

"Well, let's see what's inside." She replied.

Five minutes later, they'd found their way down to street level and located a door to the inside.

The first floor was empty.

Like, truly empty.

It looked like it been abandoned years ago. There was a thick layer of dust on everything, and she had to clean cobwebs out of her hair and off her dress more than once. The only disturbance was a well-worn and obviously recent path through the dust leading to a rickety looking staircase to the second floor. Despite the look though, it was strong enough to hold them. At least, it didn't fall down while they climbed it.

"Holy mother of Ithlan." She breathed when they had opened the door at the top.

The room was quite reminiscent of Elder Goman's laboratory. There were several tables covered in strange looking magical apparatuses, most of which she didn't recognize, nor had she heard of anything like them.

"Beth." Ethan whispered as shock and confusion flooded over their bond. She followed his eyes to a large wooden crate.

Beth's body was inside.

Her jaw dropped.

They both stood stunned and transfixed at the sight, neither moving nor speaking as nearly identical emotions washed over their both of them. Finally, after nearly a whole minute, he started forward and knelt by the crate.

She watched as he reached out a finger and gently brushed her cheek. A painful smile appeared on his lips; hope mixed with sadness, and longing mixed with pain.

He looked at her, confusion on his face as he asked: "What the hell is going on?"

* * *

Beth could hardly believe her eyes. There, standing in front of her was Ethan; her husband. A million questions raced around her head. What was he doing here? How had he found her? Did he know she was still "alive"? Did he come to get her? Why was Alana here?

And why...?

Beth eyed the small, seamless braid on wood elf's wrist. It was an Elven engagement bracelet; she was sure of it. Why would she be wearing that unless... It took a moment for Beth to remember Gabriella's words right after she'd 'died' in the alley. The angel predicted that Ethan would marry and bed Alana before eight days had passed.

She knew they had.

That meant that not only had Ethan married Alana, but he had also taken her to bed. She couldn't decide how she felt about that. The first emotion seemed so strange and foreign that she almost did a double take: She felt happy that they had shared a bed.

She shook her head as that feeling was replaced with a mild sense of regret that she'd missed the spectacle. That in turn was followed by embarrassment at the thought, which was followed by a mild sense of arousal at the thought of her mate claiming the beautiful wood elf.

And she was beautiful.

Beth found herself admiring her soft, silky chocolate brown hair. The elegant figure that was modestly - though not completely - hidden behind her signature green dress. Her eyes lingered on the flare of her hips and the swell of her breasts.

But it was more than that.

Alana was a truly beautiful person, not just physically but also her personality; her spirit. She was kind, brave, and caring. She was the kind of person you couldn't help but love. Her smile was beautiful and genuine, and she was brave in a fight too. She found herself getting mildly aroused thinking about the diminutive wood elf.

What was going on?

Beth thought about how Ethan's other wives. Somewhere deep inside of her, she just had this sense that he deserved both of them. She remembered how he had so thoroughly pleasured her and she knew there was no way that she alone could ever fully satisfy such a powerful creature. He was a dragon, of course the dragon would need more than one wife.

It just made sense.

Thoughts of Ethan in bed with all three women - herself included - flitted through her mind. She grew more than a little aroused thinking about being surrounded by so much naked skin and scale. Then she imagined something that shocked her to her core.

She imagined kissing Taloni.

The thought was so powerfully captivating that she stood in shock for several seconds. She imagined the honey-blonde girl's soft, full lips pressing against hers. She imagined the Fey's soft tongue playing at the entrance of her mouth. Then she imagined the winged girl's tongue in... other places.

If Beth could've died in embarrassment, she would have. She suddenly felt the urge to hide behind one of the tables so no one could see her, even though no one could. She tried to push the image out of her mind, but it seemed to have gotten stuck.

It wasn't until she noticed that Ethan was gently and carefully lifting her body out of the crate that she realized she'd been lost in thought for several minutes.

"I can't believe we found her." Ethan said as they set her gently on the floor.

"I can't believe she's had a stasis spell put on her." Alana replied. "It must've been done right after she was... you know."

Ethan knelt by her body, and tried to move a strand of hair out of her face. It was stiff, but it did move. "How soon after?"

"Thirty seconds, maybe a minute at most." She said after looking at the body for a few moments.

"Really?" He asked, and looked excited for some reason.

The wood elf nodded. "It definitely wasn't longer than a minute."

Ethan stood up and started doing a little happy dance. "Brain damage doesn't set in for several minutes, we can revive her!"

Alana's jaw dropped. "Really?"

He smiled so widely she thought it must hurt. "Absolutely. Maybe not on this world, but definitely on Earth!"

"So, she's not dead?" The wood elf asked.

"Yes she's dead." He explained. "But on our world we can bring people back from the dead if their injuries aren't too serious and they haven't been dead very long. We can do the same with her."

"Truly?"

"Absolutely!"

He looked like the happiest man in the land, and Beth felt like the happiest woman of all time. She was going to be alive again! Of course, then she started wondering how they were going to accomplish that.

"First we need to get her back to the Argo." He said. "I'll fly her there then come back for you. Just like old times right?"

Alana gave him a mischievous grin. "Except this time I won't resist the impulse to do this." She walked up to him, wrapped her entire body around him and gave him a sour-searing kiss.

Beth felt her arousal start to grow as she watched the diminutive wood elf lock lips and duel tongues with her husband. She was slightly jealous, but only because she couldn't kiss him herself. She shocked herself by not being upset that Alana was kissing her - no, "their" - husband.

It was a strange feeling.

Good, but strange.

"Yeah, please don't resist doing that; ever." Ethan breathed when their kiss broke.

"I won't." Alana replied.

"Me either." Beth said, though neither could hear her.

"See if you can find some rope so she doesn't fall off." Ethan said as he carefully - almost lovingly - held her body. It was still stiff as a board because the stasis spell rendered it immovable, and therefore very difficult change in any way, even moving a limb.

Alana rummaged around the room until she found a long length of bailing twine that had been casually thrown into a corner.

"Here's some rope, and there's..." Alana trailed off as she saw the runic circle on the floor from which the inky black tendril had risen. "What's this?"

"I have no idea." Ethan replied with interest. "It looks like some kind of spell or incantation maybe?"

"I know that." The wood elf replied. "But what kind? It almost looks like... like... I know I've seen a drawing of something like this before, I just don't remember where."

"Say something if you remember, but we should get going."

"Yes, of course." She replied, then tore her eyes away from it and handed the bailing twine to Ethan. "You can't take off from the street." "So how are we going to get her outside with someone seeing?"

"Maybe there's a back door?" He suggested.

"I'll go check." Alana headed for the door, but stopped before going downstairs. She looked back with a wide and genuine smile on her face. "I'm so glad we found her; I missed her."

"Me too." He nodded fervently.

Beth swallowed and felt her throat grow tight. She was certain tears would be collecting in her eyes if she wasn't on the astral plane.

They missed her.

Not just Ethan, but Alana too.

She felt her heart soar at their words and didn't know whether to jump for joy or break down crying. She'd hoped they had missed her, but hadn't been sure they had until now.

She was shaken from her reverie by Ethan carefully trying to get her body through the door. That was proving difficult because it was as stiff as a board. Finally, he gently set it down on the floor and waited for Alana to come back.

"There's a back door, and a set of stairs not too far away that we can use to get her to the roof." The wood elf announced when she came back. Ethan nodded and together they carefully carried her body down the stairs, out the back door, up the other set of stairs, and onto the roof.

Beth trailed behind, watching with a maelstrom of emotions swirling inside of her. The way they handled her still stiff body with such care was just... there were no words. They both kept looking at her body, and then they would get these small, happy smiles on their faces.

"I can't believe we found her." Ethan marveled again when they were safely on a nearby rooftop and had set her body down on the roof.

"But we did; I don't know how, but we did." Alana grinned.

"Could you strap her to my back as securely as possible?" He said nodding at Beth's body. "I don't want to take a chance of her falling; I won't lose her again."

Beth's heart soared...

...then it fell

How was she going to follow Ethan back to the Argo? She couldn't hold onto anything in this damned... then she remembered what Gabriella had said and smiled; that frustrating woman really had thought of everything.

Once Alana had put the weight reduction necklace on Beth's body and finished tying it to Ethan's back, the blonde teen wrapped her arms around her own body. They held. Her own body was easy to hold onto, unlike everything else in this thrice-damned Astral Plane. She grabbed on tightly, determined that she wasn't going to let him go again.

Her heart soared with him as he took off.

She was going home.

* * *

Rachel's jaw dropped when Ethan landed on the Argo's weatherdeck. "Holy mother of Ithlan... Is that...?"

"Yeah, it is." Ethan said with the biggest smile she ever seen. "Unite her and put her somewhere safe, I need to go back for Alana."

The moment Beth was untied from his back, Ethan leapt into the air and headed off again toward Arcanum, stopping only long enough to gently remove the weight reduction necklace from Beth's body.

Rachel stared opened-mouthed at the blonde teen's stiff-as-a-board body and worked her jaw trying to find the words. There was no way she would be this well preserved - with no foul odor - and this stiff unless someone had put a stasis spell on her body.

The redhead also noticed the blonde's throat, which was miraculously healed. She knew enough about stasis spells to know that healing through a stasis spell would've taken a long time and an obscene amount of mana to accomplish. No normal mage could've done it in the nine days since Beth had been murdered.

This was the work of an arch mage.

She was sure of it.

"Hey, ain't she supposed to be dead?" Raklan asked when he wandered over.

"No; no I don't think she is." Rachel said, as her eyes got slightly watery. Raklan shrugged then wandered away as the rest of the crew came over.

"Who is that and what happened to her?" Hailey asked.

"It's Beth and someone put a stasis spell on her." Rachel replied.

Hailey looked around at Rachel, in the direction of Taloni's mine, then toward Arcanum where Alana was.

"Hmm." She mused. "Ethan certainly surrounds himself with young, attractive women; doesn't he?"

Rachel nodded. "You noticed that too."

"Kind of hard to miss."

"I don't think he realizes he's doing it." Rachel said, and only then realized it was true. He was more concerned about helping people than surrounding himself with beautiful women, even after learning a harem of women might be the key to growing powerful enough to survive Lord Delmar.

Now that she thought of it, his first impulse upon learning that he needed to build a harem wasn't to focus on finding new women, but on taking care of Beth. That made him an incredibly unusual man. When faced with the prospect of bedding many women, his first thought was to take care of the ones he already had, not to find more.

Rachel cocked her head to one side.

She looked toward Arcanum and let her thoughts escape as a whisper. "You're a strange man Ethan Ejder."

* * *

Near midnight, Ethan landed as lightly as possible on the deck of the Argo and Alana slid from his back. Beth was still laying on the deck, though someone had lain her on a blanket. God, she looked beautiful. Even with the blood and dirt smeared on her face, she was still a vision in his eyes.

"What in Saidow's lair is going on?" Rachel asked moments after they landed.

Ethan recounted what they had found, and the redhead's face grew more confused and interested by the moment. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head.

"That's interesting." Rachel said as they described the runic circle they'd seen on the floor. "It almost sounds like a black incantation from the pit."

"The pit? You mean hell?" Hailey asked.

"What's a 'hell'?" Rachel asked.

"It's a place where- never mind. What's the pit?"

Rachel frowned. "It was a conclave of dark mages that met a few thousand years ago. They tried to conquer the Ten Kingdoms with the most unholy, grotesque spells you can imagine?"

"Like what?" Ethan asked.

The redhead ticked on her fingers as she recited the list. "Necromancy, zombification, will-breaker rings, ripper spells, and everything else you can imagine. There's even a legend that they tried summoning some of Saidow's minions to learn more about black magic. Most of the worst spells and enchantments of the last few millennia can trace their roots back to the pit."

Raklan grunted. "So, what're we doing with this here corpse?"

"We're going to bring her back." Ethan replied with a huge smile.

"Can you do that?" Rachel asked looking skeptical.

"I don't see why not." He replied. "She was dead for less than a minute before the stasis spell was put on her, so there shouldn't be any brain damage. We just need to replace the blood, lift the stasis spell, and then a little CPR should do it... I hope."

"I hope so, but..." Alana frowned

"But what?"

"The blood Ethan." The wood elf bit her lip. "Even if you could revive her, there's just nothing you can do to replace lost blood. It's impossible." she looked to be on the verge of tears.

"That's perfectly fine." Ethan said with a smile. "She just needs a transfusion."

"A what?" Alana and Rachel said at the same time.

He explained the process, and Rachel looked more disturbed the longer he talked. When he was done, she shuddered, closed her eyes, and appeared to be a little green around the gills.

"What's wrong?" Alana asked.

"That's utterly barbaric." She shuddered again. "What kind of depraved mind would think up something like that?"

"It'll save Beth's life, and there are no side effects." He replied. "We've been doing it for centuries with no ill effect."

"I'd rather die than have someone else's blood running through my veins." Rachel clutched her stomach and looked to be nauseous. "Let me guess, it was a scientist who dreamed it up?"

"Yeah, it was."

"Figures." Rachel said, voice dripping with derision as she shook her head.

Ethan and Hailey shared a look; culture shock.

"What now?" Alana asked.

Ethan ran his hand over the top of his head and onto his horns, looked toward Taloni's mine, at Hailey, and then back at Beth. "We need to free Taloni first. Hopefully, that'll only take a day or two. Then we can find the slave camp that brought Hailey here. If we can find a portal to Earth, we can give Beth a transfusion and hopefully revive her."

Everyone except Hailey stared at him like he was completely insane.

"What?" He asked looking around.

"Stupid dragon." Raklan shook his head. "Why would you want to find a portal that takes you to earth? There's plenty of dirt down there." He pointed over the side of the Argo towards the ground.

"Oh." He said as comprehension dawned. "No, Earth is the name of the planet I'm from."

"Earth? You named your home earth?" Raklan scoffed. "Why didn't you just call it 'dirt' and be done with it?"

"I guess we sort of did." Ethan conceded. "Anyway, does anyone see a problem with that plan?"

Raklan opened his mouth to say something, but Serif almost absent-mindedly slapped him upside the head before he spoke. Raklan looked murderous until he saw who'd done it, then silently fumed. It was rather amusing to see the massive Raklan - who was built like a linebacker - cowed by a man half his size.

Rachel raised her eyebrow and then said with no hint of sarcasm:, "I assume you mean besides the difficulty of defeating a dragon twice your size, finding a camp no one knows the location of, and - assuming you can go through with the barbaric practice of blood-sharing - raising someone who's been dead for over a week? Other than that, I see no problems whatsoever."

"The dragon shouldn't be a problem; we have gunpowder remember?" He replied.

"Okay, but we don't have any guns or cannons to use it, so how does that help?" Hailey asked.

Ethan mimed pulling the pin of a grenade, letting the spoon fly, then throwing it and the explosion, complete with sound effects.

"That... that might work." Hailey nodded.

Again, everyone else looked at him like he was nuts. He explained what an explosion was, but no one besides Hailey really understood since the idea was so completely foreign to them.

"We just need to form the grenade bodies." Ethan mused. "Do we have some iron or steel on board we can use, and maybe some clay we can make into molds?"

"Absolutely, there's plenty in the hold." Anthiel replied. "It's standard aboard all airships. You never know when you'll need to make something."

"Perfect." He grinned. "Then we can start in the morning."

Rachel frowned. "So, assuming you're right about these 'grenade' things, how does that help us?"

Ethan smiled. "I have a plan."

* * *

"My Lord, the king?" someone said, which instantly roused the king from his slumber. He lamented the decades of late-night emergencies that had trained him to go from dreaming to alert in mere moments. It was a useful skill for a king, but sadly one he wished he didn't need. Alas, such was the life of an elven monarch, or any ruler.

He looked around the room.

It was spartan as he preferred it. Most of the decorations were ornate wooden carvings, as befitted the high king of the wood elves. The light of the moon shone through the trees outside the window, allowing enough light to see, but not so much as to disturb sleep.

"Yes, approach." He said after sitting up and making sure his still-sleeping wife was appropriately covered by the blankets. Her golden hair and delicate, feminine features never failed to stir the blood in his loins. Plus her pointed ears overheard nearly everything in the castle. Fortunately, she slept like the dead unless he roused her with a mental nudge.

"I'm sorry to disturb you my king." His herald Delabor said. "But don't I have news from Arcanum?"

The king nodded, acknowledging his statement which was phrased as a question. According to ancient tradition, a herald - or anyone really - knowing something the king didn't know would bring dishonor on the crown. Therefore, statements directed at him were always phrased as question, giving him the ability to say 'yes' or 'no', preserving the honor of the crown.

It was an ancient tradition steeped in honor, and to break that tradition would dishonor his ancestors. Bringing dishonor to one's ancestors was absolutely unthinkable.

"Yes you do, proceed." The king replied.

"A dragon used lightning in the Arena to defeat an opponent. And after striking her down, he raised her from the dead. Is that right my king?" Delabor finished with a question, again to preserve the honor of the crown.

The king rubbed his eyes and yawned, sure he'd misheard. "I must still be in clutches of sleep. Please repeat that."

He did.

The king felt his jaw go slightly slack. "A dragon used lighting and raised someone from the dead." He mused, then looked at Delabor. "Truly, this is wondrous. The High Luminar will need to be roused"

"I shall oblige at once my king, if you but command it."

"I do." The king nodded. "It would be wondrous if a true prophet of Illuminar had arisen again after all these years."

"My king, your wisdom goes before you."

"You have also shown wisdom by rousing me from my slumber with this urgent news, and thus brought honor to your family Delabor. You shall dine with my family at dinner tomorrow." The king replied. It was a great honor for a mere herald to dine with the king and would increase his standing in the court by leaps and bounds.

"My lord is generous beyond measure." Delabor said, then bowed low on his knees with his face touching the floor.

"Rise my faithful herald." The king said after an appropriate amount of time had passed, just as tradition dictated. When Delabor got up but didn't leave, the king added. "There was something else."

"You are most wise my king. Don't I have news of your wife's niece?"

"Her niece." the king repeated. His wife had several nieces and none were terribly interesting or troublesome. They kept out of trouble like his own daughters, but unfortunately not like his ward. She caused him no end of trouble via the mischief she had a knack for attracting.

"Yes my king. But of course, you knew I was referring to your wife's niece who..." Delabor paused a moment, then his eyes darted around the room as if to make sure he wouldn't be overheard. He needn't have bothered; there was no more secure room in the entire kingdom of the wood elves.

"Oh." The king said as comprehension dawned on him. "That niece."

"Of course my lord, as you already knew." Delabor said with a bow. His statement had assumed the king already knew, again to preserve the honor of the crown. "Haven't our agents recently seen her outside of her forest, just north of Arcanum? And didn't they report her being bonded to the same dragon who used lightning and raised the dead in the Arcanum Arena?"

The king of the wood elves grimaced. "Lord Nalfigar would not be pleased to learn of this."

"You are wise my king, but isn't this information only between us alone?"

"Of course." The king replied.

Now came the tricky part: he must ask for more information without dishonoring the crown by admitting the herald knew something he didn't. It was always a balancing act; asking without asking, and seeking information while keeping the appearance that he didn't need it... just as tradition dictated was proper and honorable for a king. Of course, Delabor knew this too, and - as tradition dictated - wisely spoke up to spare him and his ancestors the shame of asking.

"Further, as my king already knows, there is an irate Naiad named Adorelle who wishes to speak more on this matter, but is tangentially silenced by an oath, which only your majesty can nullify."

The king sighed and looked wistfully at his pillow and still sleeping wife; it would likely be several hours before he saw them again.

* * *

Alana felt the waking world drawing near and fought to stay in her dream. It was wonderful dream, if a bit strange.

In the dream, she and two other naked women were laying snuggled up to Ethan on a bed. She recognized the flame colored hair of Rachel and the wings of Taloni. Curiously, Rachel's head was flopped against her chest, and the beautiful redhead was drooling slightly on the wood elf's naked breast.

After a few moments, they roused themselves and Taloni gave Ethan a good morning kiss. Not to be outdone, Rachel leaned up and planted a gentle, chaste kiss on Alana's lips.

It was a wonderful kiss.

Ethan's kisses were was strong, masculine, and had a primal edge to them even when he was being sweet. Rachel was the opposite. Her kiss was soft, gentle, and the personification of feminine tenderness. It spoken of a deep emotional connection more than anything else and was filled with heartfelt affection.

Try as she might, Alana couldn't hold onto the dream.

The soft, sensuous kiss of the dream faded to be replaced by the familiar feeling of her head slowly rising and falling as she used Ethan's chest and shoulder for a pillow. She laid there enjoying the memory of the dream plus the warmth and comforting presence of her husband. She allowed the thought of the dream to flit through her mind, luxuriated in the remembered sensation...

Then her brain caught up with her memory. She realized what she'd been dreaming about and sat bolt upright in bed.

"Huhwhu?" Ethan groaned, then rolled over to put his arm around her waist.

Judging by the light outside the enormous window, it was nearing dawn. The wood elf felt her cheeks grow hot and was sure they were the same red-scarlet color that the clouds would be when the sun hit them. How could she have possibly dreamed about kissing Rachel? Here she was with a wonderful husband lying next to her and she was thinking about another woman.

Embarrassment turned to shame.

How could she do that to him?

How?

She quickly checked the mental defenses that Elder Goman had taught her how to erect and made an alteration. She made it so Ethan could still sense her emotions, but not unless he looked on purpose. She couldn't let him know how she was feeling. She couldn't. She was worried he'd feel betrayed because she was attracted to someone else and she didn't want to hurt him like that.

She looked down at him. He was flopped on the bed, his tongue hanging slightly out of his open mouth and arm around her waist protectively or perhaps affectionately; one of the two, maybe both. She reached down and gently traced her finger along the smooth scaled ridges of his head. He made strange kind of grunt-snore sound and pulled her closer.

She sighed.

He wasn't perfect, but he was perfect for her. After all they'd been through, she was finally his and couldn't be happier about that. A deep sense of shame welled up inside of her; how could she be attracted to someone else? How?

The logical part of her mind reasoned that Ethan was going to take another woman to bed, so why was it bad that she was attracted to Rachel? Something in her mind refused to let that stick though. Strange as it sounded, she felt like both Taloni and herself 'belonged' to the dragon - Ethan - and that it was only right and fitting for him to bed as many women as he wished. After all, he was a dragon.

Alana wrestled with herself for the next several minutes as Ethan continued to sleep. Eventually, he began to stir. She knew he was fully awake when she felt his hand slid up her stomach to cup one of her naked breasts.

"Good morning." She smiled at him, placing one of her hands on top of his and pressing it more firmly against her breast.

"Oh, it's good alright." He had a gleam in his eyes as they roamed over her naked body. He touched one of her nipples, which had long since become erect

"Are you sure?" Alana sighed playfully as the pressure on her nipple made other places on her body start to wake up. "You might need to inspect things more closely to be sure..."

She wasn't sure how he did it, but the next moment the aroused wood elf was on her back with her hands pinned above her head. His legs were over hers, and she was completely exposed, the covers having mysteriously flown off the bed. She couldn't move. His hands held her hands, and his feet - which could grab as tightly as hands - where firmly clamped around her ankles.

"I can inspect." He said with a sly grin.

He held her wrists with his right hand, but he started moving his left hand over her body. Not touching her body, just hovering a mere inch above it. He moved his hand up and down, following the contours of her body but never touching it. His hand roved over her breasts, stomach, and hips, but never touched.

Every time she moved her body so his hand would make contact, he moved as she moved. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't make contact. Despite this, her arousal kept growing. She couldn't actually feel him, but she could feel his desire and couldn't help imagining what his hand would feel like.

It was driving her mad.

"Please sir; please touch me." She moaned.

He looked her in the eyes, smiled lovingly, and then said firmly: "No."

Instantly, her arousal grew greater, as if his denial was an aphrodisiac. He was so strong, so masculine; he had her completely pinned there and at his mercy; she liked it. She hated it, but she loved it.

She meant to close her eyes to luxuriate in the sensation, but found she couldn't. He had trapped her eyes open with his gaze. She tried to turn her head, but found she couldn't do that either. She reached into her very core and plumbed the depths of her willpower to see if she could resist.

It took a moment, but she found she was able to.

Barely, but she could.

It took all her willpower, but she was able to slowly close her eyes, though she let them open again immediately afterward. She could fight his willpower. It was hard, but she could do it.

She just didn't want to.

On their wedding night, she'd sworn to love follow and obey him. She was secretly glad she had the willpower to fight him, but had no inclination of any kind whatsoever to use it. She fully intended to keep her vow; to follow and obey him in everything, always. Besides, she loved this side of him. He was sexy all the time, but when he got all dominant like this...

She sighed.

He removed his hand, then bored into her soul with his eyes. She felt her arousal grow greater and greater, like his eyes were some great force amplifying her arousal and the sensations that played over her body. He wasn't touching her body, but she could feel him inside of her, his influence teasing out the strange sensations that were tantalizing her skin.

"Please touch me sir, please." She moaned again. It was too much, she couldn't take the sensations combined with the apparent lack of cause.

"No." He repeated lovingly but firmly.

Suddenly, the force behind his eyes seemed to intensify, and she felt a mini-orgasm start to form. It was such a tiny one though. It was nearly pitiful in its weakness, and it at least doubled her desire for the real thing. She moaned again, this time from both pleasure and frustration.

He knew her too well.

As much as she wanted him to enter her, she wanted him to prolong it more... she just wouldn't have had the willpower to avoid jumping on him. He was giving her exactly what she wanted, and she was both incredibly grateful and ready to slap him for it.

She settled for the next micro-orgasm he inflicted on her. It was weaker than the last, but at the same time only wetted her appetite for more.

Suddenly, he released her.

"Turn over." He ordered. "On your hands and knees."

She instantly complied.

He finally touched her, and she almost had another micro-orgasm at finally feeling his hand on her skin. He ran it up along her spine, making her shiver. He touched the base of her neck and she shuddered. He grabbed a handful of her chocolate brown hair and gently pushed her face down towards the bed.

He leaned forward, pressing his entire body against hers, and said: "You know, we never did celebrate our Arena victory, and you had an idea how to accomplish such a celebration..."

He straightened up as Alana tried to remember what she said. It hit her the instant before Ethan pushed his enormous cock inside of her in one powerful thrust... From behind.

She almost orgasmed right then.

She clapped her hands over her face as she realized he was taking her from behind. It felt so different. He started thrusting inside of her with long, full, deep strokes. His cock hit different areas, applying pleasure in subtly different places. It felt amazing, but also embarrassing.

This was how animals did it. It felt so... naughty. She'd heard some people did it like this, but something about it felt so... primal. It was so primitive and she almost felt like she should be ashamed that Ethan was taking her in such a lewd fashion...

But she loved it.

Oh, Illuminar in heaven she loved it.

Ethan placed both of his hands on her hips and started increasing his pace. Soon, he was ramming into her so hard she thought the bed - or at least her body - would break... but she wouldn't have wanted him to stop for the world. His cock slammed home deep inside of her and brushed up against the entrance to her womb as it did so.

The womb where she was carrying his child.

She came.

She came so hard she had to bite the sheets to avoid screaming in pleasure. Her entire body felt like it was being consumed with pleasure.

He didn't stop.

He kept thrusting deep inside of her with that same implacable, unwavering, heavenly rhythm. He paid no attention to her orgasm; he didn't slow down, didn't stop, didn't speak kind and loving words, he did something he'd never down before: he just fucked her mercilessly.

And she loved it.

She looked back at him and could see the look of both primal lust and deep adoration in his eyes. Ethan was giving her the lovemaking she so desperately craved, while the dragon was using her body selfishly, completely for its own pleasure without any regard for her whatsoever. The dragon pounded into her with primal, almost reckless abandon. She would've been worried but for the tempering influence of Ethan. He would never hurt her.

A tiny part of her mind that had been long buried seemed to unlock. A tiny voice whispered that she was fulfilling her purpose. That she existed solely for this mighty dragon to use and to breed whenever it felt like doing so. She loved that idea, she luxuriated in that idea, but wouldn't let it take control.

Another orgasm obliterated her train of thought, carrying her away onto another sea of bliss.

*Grab me, pull me close; please sir.* she pleaded telepathically.

Ethan obliged in the perfect way, though it shocked her to the core. He grabbed a large handful of her hair and jerked her up so her back was pressed against his front. It hurt, but for some reason the pain only heighted the pleasure she was feeling.

He never even broke his rhythm.

He snaked his free hand around so his arm was pressing into her breasts. His other hand was still holding her hair, and he gently pulled her head to one side so her neck was exposed. His long, warm tongue began to caress the sensitive skin, making her nearly melt into his arms.

"Do you want me to cum inside of you?" The dragon growled into her ear.

"Yes sir." She moaned as her body went slack.

She didn't need to support herself; his cock was lifting her off the bed with each thrust; his arm mashed into her breasts, simultaneously holding her in place and stimulating her nipples; and his hand held her head in place by her hair. The tiny wood elf let go completely, letting him take complete control. She could trust him with that.

"Ask me to." The dragon hissed again; lust palpable in its voice.

"Please sir, please cum inside of me." She moaned, barely able to get the words out.

"Beg." It hissed again.

"Please sir, please I'll do anything, just please cum inside of me. Please." Alana heard herself say.

She opened her mouth to scream in both pleasure and pain, but the dragon was quicker and clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle it as she came.

It was incredible.

It felt like the whole world had slipped away as the exquisite rapture obliterated every thought in her head. She was dimly aware of the sensation of heat as the dragon unloaded its potent seed into her. Despite already being pregnant, her vaginal walls still milked his cock for all it was worth, trying to extract every last drop of sperm.

She sighed as Ethan slowly, gently, and lovingly lowered her to the bed. He laid down behind her and pulled her close, while using a wing to pull the discarded blanket up over them.

Alana laid there for several minutes trying to catch her breath. Her entire body was covered by a thin sheen of perspiration and she felt like she'd just run a marathon.

"Well that was... different." she panted.

"Woman, you have no idea." Ethan eyed her naked body again, the glint in his eye not entirely gone and his cock still quite hard.

"I'm not sure I can; I'm whipped."

"Not yet." He said with a wink and then gave her a light smack on the butt. Curiously, she enjoyed the sensation. She considered moving her limbs, but that felt like a lot of work. She felt completely content, and only wanted to take a nap cuddled up to her amazing lover.

He pulled her close and she snuggled into him. She loved his scent. She couldn't always smell it, but when they were close like this she could. It just made her feel better and calmer inside.

"Did the dragon do that often with Beth?" Alana asked after another few minutes.

"Do what?" he said with a yawn.

"Bring out your primal side, in bed I mean."

"Yeah, I didn't hurt you did I?"

She rolled over to look at him and gently stroked his cheek. "No, I'm fine and you don't have to apologize. It brings a certain... intensity that I don't exactly hate."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." She nodded and snuggled up to his chest, using the smooth scales over his chest as a pillow. "I didn't know sex could be that... wild. I liked it."

"Me too."

He held her for a few minutes before speaking again. "At some point, I need to get up and start making those grenades."

"Five more minutes?" She asked.

"Oh, if I must." He said with mock annoyance and then gave her a little squeeze. "I still need to figure out how to make the fuses anyway. That's the one thing I can't figure out."

"What as fuse?"

"It's how you detonate a grenade. I need to start a fire inside the grenade, but I highly doubt anyone here has invented anything that'll work."

"Well, do you need this fire to go out later?" the wood elf asked as an idea popped into her mind.

"No, it'll be blown to smithereens so we don't really care."

She smiled. "I could enchant a small piece of leather or wood to draw the heat in from around it when you activate the enchantment. It would concentrate the heat it like how a mage makes a fireball and get very hot, very fast."

Ethan grinned. "How hot, how fast"

"I can vary the timing, but hot enough to start a fire in maybe three to ten seconds."

"I could kiss you!" Ethan exclaimed, then smiled. "In fact, I think I will."

He reached his hand around the nape of her neck and pulled her into a soul-searing kiss. Alana felt herself melt into his arms at the exact same moment that she felt a renewed tingling sensation between her legs and renewed strength in her limbs.

* * *

Rachel was leaning against the railing on the quarterdeck, acutely aware of what was going on beneath of her. She could tell that Alana was trying to keep it down, but that wood elf had quite a set of pipes. It wasn't that she was making a lot of noise - she wasn't - but every so often, the unmistakable sighs and moans of a woman on the heights of ecstasy drifted up to the quarterdeck from the captain's cabin below. This was often interspersed with growls and grunts that sounded distinctly dragon like.

And then there was the movement of the bed...

She could've moved to the front of the ship to avoid hearing them, but something kept her there. It wasn't jealousy or even curiosity, though she was curious what it was like to share a man's bed.

She really didn't know what kept her there.

She was extremely happy that her friend had found wedded bliss and was almost as happy for Ethan. They really were wonderful together. Their personalities fit like two pieces of a puzzle, their strengths and weaknesses covered each other's perfectly, and a blind man could see the deep affection they shared.

Another moan came from the captain's cabin, though it was more of a combination between a strangled moan and groan. The third one in as many minutes, only this one was followed by a deep throaty growl that went on for several seconds.

Despite herself, Rachel felt her cheeks grow warm and she knew they'd gone an embarrassed shade of pink.

"That sounds like the end of round two." Anthiel said with an amused smile. "Ah, young love." As usual, she was sitting on the quarterdeck playing an instrument. Today it was a small, round stringed instrument that Rachel didn't recognize.

"I suppose so." Rachel nodded

"Copper for your thoughts?" The kindly elf asked. She was the picture of refined beauty, managing to make leather breeches and a casual blouse look suitable for a royal ball.

"I wasn't... I mean I was just thinking."

"About our rather vocal newlyweds downstairs?"

"Is it that obvious?"

Anthiel chuckled. "Only to someone with ears. They are rather hard to miss. But why do they occupy your mind? Jealousy?"

The flame-haired teen shook her head. "No, not jealous. I'm really happy for them. I just wish..."

"...that you could have the same?"

"Not the same, but similar. That would be nice."

"It is nice, wonderful even, but marriage is hard work." Anthiel said. "It's incredible, but don't romanticize the effort required. Be happy Alana has found a man like Ethan, but no one is perfect and they'll have their struggles."

"But at least they'll go through them together, me on the other hand..." She cast a glance down towards the captain's cabin.

Anthiel cocked her head to one side. "How long have you had feelings for him?"

"I don't."

Anthiel raised her eyebrow.

"Okay, yes he's a good guy, but he's Alana's guy. I wouldn't dream of doing anything to come between them."

"I didn't say you would. I'm quite certain you would rather die than harm either of them..." She got a sly smile on her face. "...but you didn't answer my question."

"I don't know. I mean, I don't have any." Rachel said, and only after she'd said it aloud did she realize it wasn't quite as true as she wished it to be.

"Okay." Anthiel replied, yet she didn't sound convinced. Quite the opposite in fact; that sly smile hadn't left her face.

Rachel didn't pursue the conversation further because they both knew the score. She had long ago decided she would never lie to herself and didn't intend to start now. Sure, she might like Ethan, but she would never, ever, do anything that might possibly come between herself and Alana, or adversely affect the wood elf's marriage in any way.

Out of curiosity, she closed her eyes and checked her deep mana. The large chunk of mana Ethan had given her to save her life several weeks ago was still there. It was definitely smaller, but still there. She nudged it experimentally, but as before it refused to move.

It felt strange, she had a part of Ethan - well, his mana - inside of her. For some reason, that made her feel better. She almost felt guilty for feeling better, but she did.

She was brought back to the real world by the sound of the door to the captain's cabin opening.

Moments later, Ethan and Alana came up the stairs to the quarterdeck. The wood elf appeared to be walking slightly oddly, but had a dopy grin plastered all over her lovely face anyway. She even appeared to be trying to hide or downplay it, but there was no denying she was among the happiest people Rachel had ever seen.

She couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

"Morning." Ethan said to Rachel and Anthiel. "Is Hailey up yet?"

"Only Just." Hailey yawned as she walked bleary-eyed up the stairs. "I couldn't sleep with the racket you two were making."

Alana's face went beet-red but Ethan just grinned.

"We'll try to keep it down next time." He said, though he didn't seem the least bit ashamed. "For now, we've got to get started on the grenades. I'd like to finish them by day's end if possible."

"How do we get started?" Rachel asked.

"First we need to make some molds for the iron." He turned to Anthiel. "Could you get some of the supplies from the hold?"

Anthiel turned to leave and he turned to Rachel. "Can you weld something together using magic?"

"I'll need a pretty hot fire nearby to pull heat from, but yeah. If you leave the breakfast fire going it shouldn't be a problem."

"Good, does anyone here know how to make a mold?" he asked.

"I do." Serif replied, making Rachel jump. He had somehow ended up on the quarterdeck without her noticing him arrive.

Lastly, Ethan turned to Alana. "Could you get started on those fuses. I'd like for them to take about five seconds to start a fire."

The wood elf nodded, and Rachel couldn't help but notice the twinkle in her eye.

"Perfect, then I'll get started mixing the gunpowder. Let's get to work."

* * *

Kendra decided that this was the most confusing dragon she had ever hunted. It was mid-morning and she still had another twenty hours to wait before she could kill it. However, the way it was spending the day was just so confusing.

Through her telescope, she could see the crew of the dragon's ship gathered around a fire. It appeared that the redheaded mage - Lord Delmar's daughter - was using the heat from a charcoal fire to melt iron ingots into the clay mold they had been working on since they got up that morning

The molded iron looked like a small rounded cup, at least until the mage welded a small iron disc to the open end, sealing it completely. Just before she welded it shut, the wood elf would drop a small bit of leather into it. Then the dragon used a funnel to pour a dark powder in through a small hole. Finally, the mage carefully sealed the hole.

What in Saidow's lair were they doing?

She grimaced; it was never a good sign when you didn't know what your quarry was up to. That introduced an unknown element to any hunt, and it was the unknowns that got you killed.

As she watched, she saw the wood elf with chocolate brown hair regularly giving the dragon an affectionate touch or caress, occasionally even a kiss. Kendra had never been in love before, never known a man's touch before, but looking at that tiny wood elf...

It looked appealing.

Not with a dragon of course. That thought made her want to vomit. But the way the elf was so hopelessly captivated by the dragon... she wanted that. She wanted it so badly it almost hurt. She knew she could never have it, but she wanted it so much. There was just no way she'd ever be able to trust anyone that much. Not after everything she'd been through.

She resumed watching the dragon's airship to take her mind off of it. The longer she watched, the stranger it became. She'd done recon on many dragons before, and with a few minor variations they were all the same. Any humans around them were uncomfortable and scared, usually being forced to perform some service or other.

But this one was different.

It seemed to interact genuinely and genially among the other crew. There was no hint of fear from any of them, and it had clearly earned their respect. The longer she looked, the more she came to one inescapable conclusion: this dragon was unlike any she had ever met before.

That made him unpredictable.

Dangerous.

There was no such thing as a good dragon, no matter what façade they put up. They were all predators who considered themselves as far above humans as humans consider themselves above cattle.

She would need to be careful.

Very careful.

It was late afternoon before something interesting happened. The airship had struck its sails and come to a relative stop. The dragon took one of those strange metal objects, held it over the side, and then dropped it into the forest below.

Five seconds later, Kendra hear the unmistakable sound of distant thunder. She looked at the sky, but it was cloudless. No indication of anything on the horizon, much less the kind of clouds needed to make thunder.

She resumed watching the airship.

Everyone on the airship was looking at the dragon with awe and a bit of reverence. The dragon was oblivious, looking over the side of the airship with a broad smile on his face. He held out his hand, and the flame haired mage handed him another one of those strange metal canisters like it was made of porcelain. He held it over the side, then dropped it.

This time, she followed the canister's trajectory until it disappeared into the forest below. Moments later, one of the small trees appeared to shake violently. Moments later she heard the sound of thunder again. Kendra stared for several seconds before her brain put it together in the only way that made any sense.

No.

No, it couldn't be.

Not thunder.

It wasn't possible.

First lighting and now thunder? This dragon was quite possibly using the only two things which were forever beyond the reach of mere mortals. He was using Illuminar's own weapons. A dragon! It must be some kind of trick; it had to be. There was no other explanation.

She looked back at the airship through her spyglass, but they seemed to be done dropping those things for now. The wood elf grabbed the dragon's hand and nearly dragged him inside the captain's cabin. The significant looks the other crew gave each other left Kendra in no doubt as to what the dragon was about to do to the elf.

She shuddered in disgust.

The elf must have been enchanted, or tricked.

There was no other explanation.

Right then, Kendra vowed to herself that she would free the elf and everyone on that ship from whatever enchantment the dragon had cast on them. She wasn't sure what it was, but she was sure they would never be free as long as that dragon lived. Fortunately for them, she only had to wait another half-day; then they would be free and the dragon dead.

"Hang on; help is coming." She murmured as she observed the crew of the airship.

* * *

Ethan laid back on the bed in the Argo's captain's cabin and breathed a sigh of relief. The sun was past set and the dark blue-greys of twilight were visible through the enormous bay window. He was lying on the bed and marveling that the grenades had actually worked.

To ensure they wouldn't accidentally kill themselves, he had made sure the walls were fairly thin steel so the shrapnel would be lightweight and far less deadly. He was hoping the explosion itself would be the primary source of damage and it seemed to work. He'd gone down and inspected the trees where they'd dropped the test grenades. They'd made a mess of the underbrush, there wasn't much shrapnel.

He sighed

It had been a long day, but thankfully they had finished the grenades without incident. He'd been a little worried about Rachel putting the final weld so close the hole through which he'd poured the gun powder. But true to her word, the rest of the grenade hadn't even gotten warm as she dripped a few drops of molten steel to close the hole.

It was... well, magical.

It was also pretty damn amazing to watch Rachel work.

The red-head was completely devoted to her work when she put her mind to it. She'd spent several hours magically moving heat around with a look of fierce concentration. She'd done everything with the utmost care, and frankly she looked amazing with the charcoal smudges on her face she'd gotten from tending the fire. It was beautiful to watch, and not just because Rachel was a beautiful woman.

The door to the captain's cabin opened and Alana came in, closing the door behind her. She looked cheerful, but tired and lovely.

"Anthiel says she's dropped anchor. We're near where Thaltien's men said the dragon's lair is. We can start looking first thing in the morning."

"I'm looking at something pretty worth seeing now though..." He winked at her.

She smiled, bit her lip then pulled off her signature green dress that resembled leaves. She stood there in all her naked glory for a few moments before slipping into the bed beside him.

He pulled her closer still and kissed the top of her head. "Today went so well, I just hope tomorrow does as well."

"Me too." She nodded and snuggled her naked body up a little closer against him. As her skin rubbed up against his scales, he was three-quarter tempted to ravish the diminutive wood elf again.

They'd already done it three times today, but he was feeling only mostly satisfied. Not that Alana hadn't been amazing - she had been - but he had one testicle that belonged to Taloni that was still quite full. It would never release for anyone but the Fey girl; ever. Unfortunately, that meant his horniness never completely went away. He was pretty sure it wouldn't until he'd taken Taloni to bed.

He looked around at the bed. It was larger than a queen size, but not quite as large as a king size. As long as Alana and Taloni didn't mind being close, the three of them could comfortably sleep on this bed together... he hoped they were up for that.

"What'cha thinking about?" She asked as she snuggled up closer to him.

"Something very practical and unsexy."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, sleeping arrangements when Taloni joins us."

The wood elf glanced at the bed. "I think there's room for the three of us right here."

"As long as you both don't mind, that's exactly what I'd prefer."

"Me too." She nodded. "I'm not sure I could sleep in a different bed after sharing yours."

"Oh?"

She nodded. "I don't know if it's your presence, your scent, your warmth, or just you being you; but I have never slept as well as I have these last few nights. Being your wife is amazing, and I wouldn't trade it for the world and all in contains."

"I would." He said as he felt his impish side rising.

She instantly leaned up and gave him a startled, somewhat hurt look.

"You're in the world right?" He winked at her

Her expression changed to one of amused exasperation. "I love you brat-brat."

"Brat-brat? Is that my new official nickname?"

She sighed, snuggled back down beside him, and gave his arm a squeeze. "Best husband ever."

"Oh, is that-" He started, but was cut off by a sudden shout from the weatherdeck.

"DRAGON!!"

"DRAGON INCOMING!!"

Moments later, there was a burst of red-orange light outside the window; light that looked suspiciously like it had come from a burst of flaming breath. That's when Ethan realized his mistake. Of course the dragon was here; it was a dragon and dragon's could sense nearby gold. They had parked near-ish to its lair, so it could sense what Ethan had hidden the first night on the Argo.

The gold cube.

It had sensed it and come to collect it. Ethan's temper flared. Not only was the thrice-damned dragon after his gold, his wife and unborn child were here on the Argo, not to mention Beth's still-frozen body locked safely below decks.

But it was too soon.

They weren't ready.

The grenades were in the hold, Rachel was low on mana, and the entire crew was exhausted from working all day.

Plus, the Argo was made of wood...

"By Illuminar." Alana breathed beside him.

They locked eyes for a moment, then both scrambled out of bed. Alana took a moment to pull on her dress and grab her bow and arrows while Ethan called his warhammer and spear to his hands. They looked at each other again, resolute looks on both faces as they knew what must be done. Ready or not, willing or not, they couldn't run and would have to fight.

It was time to slay a dragon.

TO BE CONTINUED...

***I hope you all enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it. I love reading your comments and they're a big part of what keep me motivated. I've even logged on to read them occasionally when I'm having a bad day; that never fails to lift my spirits. :) There's plenty more coming, so stayed tuned for the next chapter near the end of August! ***