Wolf time, p.15
Siege: The Rider's Dragon 02, page 15
The space between the poles was uncomfortable to look at; the gaps between the wires seemed to bulge in places, while in others the view appeared to shrink. He’d never identified anything as spatial mana before… yet now a thin film of colorless energy was oozing between the poles. Worse, Jaden was taking three of those metal disks to Cambus, Artax, and Talia with instructions to channel their mana. Once the power surged, the disks lashed out to strike the gate with draconic energy.
The activation itself was… anticlimactic. The entire gap between the poles distorted and then vanished. What appeared in its place was a country road with a wagon train stretching down it. Soldiers in steel breastplates and leather trousers were waiting, and they began marching through the hole in space without hesitation.
Three figures with the crimson-dyed crests of officers came through and started organizing everything. Gryphon riders were dispersed, and troops immediately used earth techniques to harden the ground to make smoother paths for the wagons. Nemesis was shocked at how efficiently everything went. It was a far cry from the way Jaden’s men had rushed about.
The actual legion commander must be a strong personality to have everyone moving so smoothly. Which is good, because I’m not sure how long Talia and Artax are going to last with this channeling. Nemesis glanced at his companions. Artax was slumped, his head lying on the ground, though the blue dutifully continued channeling mana into the disk while Min stroked one of his horns. He looked like he could slip into hibernation at any moment.
Talia wasn’t much better, though being a Magus she had far-larger Magic reserves. Her scales had dulled to a sickly bronze color, though she remained upright and alert. Kaia, still fuming, looked like she was contemplating stabbing Jaden.
Nemesis would have loved to see that, if he were being honest.
Then an elf strode through the gap and everyone’s attention shifted to the man. Nemesis had never seen a bald elf before, nor one so… small. The man was tiny, not even five feet tall, and if it wasn’t for the aura of danger he exuded when he moved, Nemesis would have laughed at the thought of him commanding a thousand soldiers.
Then he did move, and the smooth flow of his muscles made it clear he was a powerful cultivator of some sort. The aura of killing intent was so mighty Nemesis couldn’t help thinking…
How does Jaden dismiss this man?
Chapter 19
Nemesis watched, fascinated, as the small man turned on Jaden, who seemed completely oblivious to the disapproval coming off the stern figure.
“Why is this portal being powered by the dragons?” he asked. His composure was perfect, almost nothing showing on his face, yet his annoyance was so clear to Nemesis. Jaden snorted dismissively and waved a hand.
“Wasting powerful beast cores to fuel this formation was pointless when we have the dragons. Now our legion is better suited to maintain itself in the coming year.”
A tiny twitch of the bald elf’s eyebrow revealed his annoyance. “The dragons are our most powerful combat unit. Have you considered how much weaker they’ll be until they’ve recovered from having their mana drained?”
Jaden visibly swallowed and Nemesis realized the man had just enough sense of self-preservation not to be rude to the commander. The blonde noble turned to look at the elf squarely. “We’re facing a horde of barbarian cultivators, who are practically beasts themselves. The legion should have no trouble slaughtering all who come. Which is why I have the men improving and increasing the fortifications here.”
Interesting, Nemesis thought. It sounds like Jaden intends to stay on the defensive while he’s here. The legion is supposed to be pacifying this area in the name of the empire. If the dragons are too weak to leave the base, they cannot assist in that. We might have killed a lot of the most powerful spirit beasts in the area, but the land is still far too wild for farmers and settlers. The legion has a lot of work ahead of them.
Nemesis remembered that swamp and all the poison frogs he’d killed to empower his own cultivation. Creatures like that would have killed dozens of low-tier humanoid cultivators. They were the exact sort of monster the legion was meant to remove.
The pair had continued their exchange a bit, yet the elf’s discipline never wavered. Few signs of his disapproval truly showed upon his features, though the aura was clear. Jaden remained unconcerned, though his disdain for the man merely grew. In the end, the last wagon rolled through without anything changing. Once the portal snapped closed, however, the bald elf took a single step and was suddenly directly in front of Nemesis.
It was all he could do not to jerk his head back at the speed the man displayed. Nemesis narrowed his eyes as he stared down at the man. His wings flared, but then he forced them to settle once more against his back.
“You are Nemesis, yes?” the elf asked. The man knew before he asked, so Nemesis assumed this was some kind of social ritual.
“I am,” he agreed. He was tempted to see what secrets the man might hold in his mind… though instinct had him abstaining.
“I don’t see your rider. Where is she?”
Nemesis choked off the urge to growl, his protective instincts making him want to defend Harper, except she hadn’t been insulted. It took a moment to register that the commander was simply curious.
“She experienced a moment of enlightenment and is currently cultivating in the alchemy workshop. Given she was working on some highly toxic potions, I would not recommend anyone go in and disturb her.”
Nemesis put enough emphasis on his last comment to make it clear the potions weren’t the reason people would regret bothering her. To his surprise, a small smile touched the elf’s lips. The man inclined his head.
“I am Commander Toh. Can you tell me what happened with the gryphon riders who came as a vanguard?”
Nemesis rumbled. “I can. The dwarves were sent back to the legion one by one with reports. All but the last one. He should be around here somewhere. Dar and Cron, however, were directly absorbing beast cores in secret. They used talismans glued to the middle of their backs to conceal the aura. We discovered their corruption and executed them, as the law dictates. Your man here can attest to it all.”
“You dare!” Jaden yelled, charging toward him. “You executed my soldiers witho—”
“Sir Jaden,” Commander Toh said in a quiet voice that exerted immense pressure on the area around the three of them. “The dragon is quite correct. Legion law dictates that those who attempt to gain power directly from the cores of beasts and become corrupted are summarily executed as a warning to others. Reckless ambition is a disease that must be stamped out without hesitation. Surely you agree.”
The pressure vanished as swiftly as it had appeared and Jaden was left momentarily stunned. He recovered from his stumble quickly, adjusting his uniform again in some pointless gesture. After clearing his throat, he nodded. “Quite right, thank you for reminding me of the regulations. Dragon, you’re dismissed.”
Nemesis blinked at the sudden shift, then realized Jaden didn’t want any witnesses to his conversation with the commander. The black rose to his feet and carefully made his way over to Talia and Artax. The pair were… not doing great.
Artax was sluggishly eating chopped-up portions of beast meat as Min accepted them from a legionnaire. The blue didn’t even have the energy to chew, so Min was breaking the food into chunks that he could swallow without effort.
Talia, at least, had the energy to eat her pig the old-fashioned way. The animal slid down her elegant throat after a few crushing bites of her jaws. Her coloring was still faded and sallow. She dipped her head to acknowledge him, though she was focused on the next animal being led to her.
Min didn’t have time to acknowledge him, but Kaia walked over and put her hand to his chest. ‘How fucked are we?’ she asked, clearly counting on him to grasp she wanted to speak silently.
Nemesis formed a link between all of them, leaving the meditating Harper out, then began to relay all the observations he had made of the soldiers so far, as well as his impression of Commander Toh. It took some time, as he remembered a great deal of the gossip the soldiers had been thinking… however, it wasn’t easy for him to remember which soldier had thought what. Something Kaia insisted was vital.
By the time he was done, Artax had regained enough strength to fly to his lair. Talia, meanwhile, flew to the entrance of Nemesis’ own. His sharp eyes noted that she remained outside his waterfall, which was wise. Kaia and Min climbed onto his back, and together they headed toward the alchemical workshop. Nemesis could tell Harper was coming out of her cultivation, as her emotions slowly grounded back into the world around her. The feeling of transcendence had faded.
Min knocked on the door, though they weren’t clear if Harper could hear them with all the containment formations going. After a moment, however, it opened and the stench of the toxins that she’d expelled from her body wafted out. Nemesis, having the most sensitive nose, was forced to back up while repressing his urge to gag.
The noxious black slime had soaked into Harper’s clothing—Nemesis caught a glimpse of her stripping as Kaia used a flame technique to burn the offending garments, including Harper’s mask. Min, meanwhile, had taken the pragmatic approach of dumping an entire bucket of water over Harper and was scrubbing her within an inch of her life.
Unwilling to give a passing soldier a chance to see something they shouldn’t, Nemesis dropped his bulk in front of the building and blocked the entrance in a wall of scales. He was tempted to peek, but he didn’t want to twist his neck at the angle he’d need to look down into the building. As it was, he amused himself listening to them talk.
“Harper, what triggered this?” Min demanded in between grunts. Nemesis assumed she was still scrubbing Harper’s long hair.
“I was working on the potions we discussed. The ones I thought would bring us closer to Nemesis and improve… the technique,” Harper explained. Nemesis dearly wanted to know what she was working on exactly, yet he didn’t want to ask out here where someone might overhear… It was possible even telepathy wasn’t invulnerable to eavesdropping with so many strangers about.
“Oh,” Kaia said, her tone excited. “Did it work?”
“Yes!” Harper whispered, excitement bubbling in her voice. “It didn’t just brew successfully—I grasped a whole new truth to alchemy. More, I believe the potions will do more than I thought they would, because I managed to combine them with both the serenity-melons and the cleansing potions. We need to go to his lair as soon as possible.”
“Then put on a robe and saddle up!” Min urged. That was followed by the unmistakable sound of a hand slapping a bare ass, then clothing rustling.
Nemesis heard some bottles clinking and assumed Harper was gathering whatever it was she wished them to see. Then the women were squirming out the door and up onto his back. He was surprised they’d managed to squeeze out the doorway, given his body positioned in front of it. He almost laughed at the fact that in their excitement none of them had thought to simply ask him to move.
He rose to his feet and wrapped all three of them in his mental grip. With their bodies secured to his back, Nemesis quickly made his way out of the workshop area and onto a path with enough room for him to put his muscles to work. He crouched and then hurled himself up. With a snap, his wings spread and he began flying upward. The dragon let himself drift out over the lake before he swung out in a curving flight that would take him to the waterfall.
His keen eyes saw that Talia had shifted to her human form and was now lounging naked on a flat stone near the water. He wasn’t sure if she was asleep or not, but she definitely looked comfortable. His passengers were keeping their mouths closed while they were flying. Thankfully, he felt a little more comfortable now that they weren’t surrounded by so many new people.
‘We’ll need to rebuild Min’s room,’ he sent to the others.
Curiosity came from Kaia, while Min and Harper were a mix of amusement and embarrassment.
Min was the one to use the link to explain to Kaia. ‘Turns out cultivating with a dragon can produce some impressive feedback. The mana levels surged and cracked the cave walls… melted the formation plates within too.’
‘Reduced the bed to splinters as well,’ Harper chimed in.
“What?” Kaia blurted aloud, then she remembered to switch to telepathy. ‘How in the world did you produce so much secondary energy that you melted my formation plates?’
‘We’re not sure. Harper wasn’t in a good state to observe at the time, and Min’s mana senses aren’t the best. I suppose you and Talia could sit on the outside and simply wait…’ Nemesis teased.
That seemed to cause the auburn-haired woman to focus. She smacked his scales with a fist and laughed. ‘No you don’t. I’m first in line. After that, we’ll find out if you can dual cultivate with Talia. Neither of us has masculine aura, so I think the need for male and female energy is part of it. But the question is whether two spirit beasts can engage through the technique.’
Nemesis snorted. ‘Are you sure you don’t just want to watch me take Talia?’
He felt Kaia’s skin warm on his back and this time he didn’t bother to contain his laughter. The sound echoed against the mountain and came back to him. He swept his wings forward and carefully dropped down onto the mountain path. Talia had stood and was currently smirking at them. Nemesis had never removed her from the link, so she’d heard all of it.
Artax would have as well, though Nemesis could feel that the blue had passed out somewhere. He chastised himself for his oversight and released Artax’ mind from the telepathic bond.
Since he’d landed, the ladies slid off his back and he shifted into his elven form. Talia walked over to him and tapped her finger against his chin. Like Kaia and Min, she was also taller than he was. Her smirk was predatory as she stared into his eyes. “You think you can take me?” she asked in a taunting tone.
Nemesis flashed his teeth at her. “I have no doubts at all,” he promised. He put a hand on her hip, then he spun her to face the waterfall. She only had a second to grasp what was about to happen before his hand struck her tight ass and sent her sailing through the water. The startled squeal was music to his ears.
Harper stared at him in surprise, so he reached out privately to her. ‘It’s been revealed to me that Talia has… a certain love of being manhandled and restrained. Apparently she’s quite submissive in the bedroom. But she also let me know a few of Kaia’s weak spots, ones that don’t seem to fit their dynamic. I expect this to be rather interesting. After all… the technique works best when someone is losing themselves in their passions, right? That just means I need to know exactly what sets them off and makes them lose control of themselves.’
‘Uh huh,’ Harper responded. She winked at him, then turned to follow Min through the waterfall. ‘And your ego doesn’t thrive on reducing women to exhausted heaps beneath you at all, right?’
Nemesis used his mind to spread the water so he could step under without getting wet. Kaia wisely waited for that moment to dart through. Everyone present wound up grinning at the sight of Talia sitting wet on the floor of his cave. The golden dragon was scowling at him… yet he could see a flush of pleasure in her features.
Nemesis suddenly looped an arm around Kaia’s neck and put his foot to the back of her knee to force her to kneel in front of him, facing away. He then pressed himself against her back, denying her the ability to speak with his forearm across her throat.
“Harper, Min, could you prepare one of the rooms with the formations needed for a fire and wind cultivator? We should probably mend the stones before we use them… and Talia, could you inscribe some privacy formations around the entryway? I’m going to spend a little time getting Kaia ready. And thank you for your advice on what gets her… eager.”
Nemesis did enjoy being dominant, but this would have been a bit much if he hadn’t specifically been informed by Talia of Kaia’s stranger cravings. The woman who had taken something of a leadership role among their membership longed for someone she trusted to simply… take what they wanted.
He kept his arm firmly wrapped around Kaia’s neck as the others went about his requests. Talia was still in the chamber with them, inscribing necessary formations into the walls, so Nemesis used the time to scan Kaia’s emotions and found her eager, almost drunk with anticipation. He used his forearm to push her head up so she was staring into his face.
“I’m going to fuck you so hard you pass out,” he promised in a quiet voice.
The gleam in her eyes was enough to convince him that Talia was right, she knew her lover well.
Nemesis concentrated on Kaia’s clothing. The woman was wearing her armor, a breastplate over a full suit of chain, bracers, greaves… and beneath all of that, leather that hugged her body tightly. He expended his mental energy to focus on the leather and the tiny particles he sensed, then he bid the material split into thin strips that slithered out of her armor and fell to the floor in a pile at her feet.
Kaia gasped in shock, though his arm across her throat forced it to become a rasp. Talia’s eyes widened a second before she took in her lover in nothing but metal. Nemesis wasn’t done, however, as he undid the clasps on her breastplate and floated the metal away from her. The greaves and armored boots were also yanked from Kaia’s body. Soon she was nude beneath the woven chain, and he forced the rings to separate over her sex and along the bottom half of her ass cheeks.
To Nemesis, Kaia’s arousal at his display of power made perfect sense. Her nipples were hard and poked between the links in her mail—he’d ensured they could manipulate the metal. He floated his robes away and let them drop on a small table, then he yanked Kaia back so his shaft pressed between the cheeks of her ass.
