De'Vas Chronicles Book 4: Chapter 9

Haylee leaned against the partial wall on the second floor of the ruined guard tower, her hand making slow gestures as she worked her Water Magic. Perhaps three hundred yards away was a tree with ripe fruit. Her stomach growled as she watched the small globe of water encase the apple, pop it from the branch, and roll it along the ground to the ruined guard tower they were hiding in.

“Come on, come on,” she said, watching the blob of water with the apple in it. “Shit!”

She jerked her hand to the side quickly as the behemoth charged toward the blob of water, its jaws slamming into the ground where it was.

“Not this time, you bastard,” Haylee said as she pushed herself off the wall.

Her hands came up and caught the apple as it flew through the air. She then waved it at the behemoth, who was chewing a mouthful of mud. She knew the beast couldn’t see her. The old obscuring runes on the ruined guard tower prevented it from locating them. Still, the beast could smell them even if it couldn’t pinpoint where they were, and so far had refused to leave the area.

The male behemoth was the size of a bus with sharp claws and horns made to tunnel into earth and stone. Thick, shaggy fur covered it, and Haylee doubted even her Water Arrow spell could pierce through it. Selena’s gun did little against it except piss it off.

Turning from the beast, Haylee made her way down into the tower as she used her pocket knife to cut the apple in half.

“You finally got one,” Selena said from her spot on the stone floor.

Haylee held out half the apple to the unicorn.

“Shaggy almost got it,” she answered, using the nickname they had given the behemoth. “I had to throw it with my Water Magic.”

Selena devoured her half of the apple before Haylee had even taken her first bite. She didn’t blame her. It wasn’t like they had rifted with food on them, and that apple was the first thing she had eaten in two days.

Selena laughed.

“I’ve dreamed of coming back to Vas since the first day my father and I rifted to Earth. I finally return home, just to be chased by orcs and trapped in ruins by a damn monster.”

The laughter shifted to something more akin to a sob.

Haylee understood how Selena felt. Hell, she felt the same way. They hadn’t really been given a chance to fully process the fact that they were back. They tried to escape Ash’s battle with the stone dragon, only to run into orc slavers who started pursuing them. They fought against them at first, but one of them used Fire Magic to try to box them in. They escaped, but Haylee had lost her bow. Their luck worsened when they encountered the behemoth next, and the beast started to chase them. If not for the ruined guard tower with the obscuring rune, it would have caught them.

“We need to find Ash,” Haylee said.

Selena bit her lip and looked up at her with fearful eyes. She started to speak, but Haylee cut her off.

“Don’t say it!” Haylee growled.

Selena gave her a sympathetic look.

“I recognized that stone dragon. It was Councilman Victor.”

Haylee gritted her teeth.

“Ash is tough! He fought and killed a kraken!”

Her voice carried too far, and she heard the behemoth stir outside. Both she and Selena looked toward the small window and waited for the beast to barrel through the ruins. Thankfully, it didn’t, and she silently thanked the gods that the obscuring runes still worked.

“Ash is out there, and right now he’s probably feeling like how we felt when we arrived on Earth.”

Selena nodded in agreement.

“I have one magazine left with seven rounds. Not enough to kill the monster, but we can perhaps drive it off? Or just piss it off enough that even the rune won’t save us.”

The behemoth stirred once more outside as Haylee tried to think of what to do. They both grimaced at the window. It wasn’t normally this active.

A roar escaped the beast, and Haylee heard its massive feet striking the ground in a charge. She held her breath, waiting for it to burst through the wall, only for the sound to grow distant.

“Hurry, while it’s gone!” a voice called out.

Haylee and Selena looked at each other.

“Do you think it’s the orcs?” Haylee asked.

Selena shrugged and stood up.

“If it is, I have seven shots and the orc with Fire Magic is catching the first bullet.”

They made their way to the ground floor quickly and saw a brown haired rabbitkin wearing animal hides waving at them.

“Yes! Strange clothing! You have to be his friends!” the rabbitkin said excitedly, almost jumping into the air. “Hurry! This way, we need to get downwind. The Old Bear can only trick the behemoth so long!”

The rabbitkin ducked back into the woods, disappearing. Haylee and Selena wasted no time in following her through the brush. Every so often, the rabbitkin’s head would poke out and wave for them to hurry up and follow her.

Soon, they emerged in a small clearing with half a dozen beastkin in it.

“I knew I smelled them!” a catkin said, her tail swishing about.

The rabbitkin nodded.

“They were hiding in a fort with an obscuring rune. I only noticed when one of them yelled.”

Haylee turned at the sound of moving bush and saw a large bearkin step into the clearing with a massive sword on his back. He looked at Haylee and then at Selena before frowning.

“What happened to your desert elf friend?” he asked.

Haylee and Selena looked at each other. Ella didn’t rift through with them, so the only person who would know about her should be…

“You know where Ash is?” Haylee blurted out.

The bearkin nodded.

“Warchief Ash sent us to find you, though he also mentioned a desert elf.”

Silence hung in the air as they stared at the bearkin.

“Warchief?” both she and Selena asked at the same time.

***

“Haylee! Selena!” Ash yelled as he raced from the door of the main keep.

As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, the tails of nearly every female beastkin started to wag.

So many tails…

He arrived at them in an instant and threw his arms around Haylee in a hug. She embraced him and saw many of the tails slow down or stop. Then she saw the orc woman who walked out of the keep stop shortly behind Ash. Haylee squeezed Ash a little tighter as she met the orc woman’s eyes, pushing her chest against his.

Ash broke away from the hug, smiled at her, and then embraced Selena. Haylee stuck her chest out, trying to make her boobs seem bigger as she looked at the orc woman and the beastkin. She claimed victory when the orc woman gave a quick glance at her chest and looked away.

Faylen and Ash’s other mates aren’t here…

She felt it was her duty to keep those without Faylen’s blessing from getting any ideas. She looked at Selena, who was hugging Ash just as tightly as she had.

“Where’s Ella?” Ash asked after breaking the hug.

Selena shook her head.

“She didn’t come through with us.”

Ash took Selena’s hand and started pulling her toward the keep, as he turned toward Haylee.

“We can talk in the keep,” Ash said, a massive grin on his face.

Haylee rushed forward and wrapped his free arm around hers. He smiled as he led them both to the stone building, completely unaware of the tense stare her and Selena were now sharing, though they eventually broke it to glare at the orc woman following behind Ash.

Orcs, beastkin, elves, and dwarves were moving around the keep when they entered, and the place reminded Haylee a little of what District 114 might have looked like if it were on Vas. Many bowed or saluted Ash as he passed by. Ash ignored it all, only stopping to open a wooden door.

“Eva, can you bring us some drinks and food?” Ash asked the orc woman.

She quickly did a salute.

“Yes, Warchief.”

The room was spacious, with a large wooden table at its center. Ash pulled out a seat for Selena, then one for her before taking the chair across from them for himself.

He sighed as he looked at both of them.

“I’m so glad you’re both alright. I was worried sick.”

Selena chuckled.

“Worried enough to conquer an orc tribe and become their Warchief, apparently.”

Ash scratched his head.

“Yeah, didn’t really plan that. I saw what turned out to be the Warchief with Haylee’s bow on the ramparts and just attacked,” Ash admitted. “Apparently, Eva declared me as a challenger to the Warchief during the fight. After I killed the current one, they started swearing fealty to me.”

Haylee clicked her tongue.

“Eva,” she said.

Selena mimicked her tone.

“The young orc woman who is following you around everywhere?”

Ash nodded, either ignoring or oblivious to the tone of their voice.

“Yeah, she’s my herald or something since she backed me as Warchief. I’m not sure what it all means, but she’s kinda like a bodyguard or assistant.”

Ash shook his head.

“Eva isn’t important right now,” he took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I got you girls dragged into this.”

Haylee and Selena shared a look, then turned back to Ash.

“Ash, it wasn’t your fault. Whatever the reason Victor attacked you, it’s not your fault the rift happened,” Selena said.

Haylee nodded in agreement. The two of them had wondered how the rift had formed that sent them back to Vas, and the only thing they could figure was the magic Ash and Victor were throwing at each other. The Force Magic would have crushed them if Ash hadn’t used his Lightning Magic to push against it.

Ash licked his lips.

“I’m going to tell you both everything,” he said, then looked at Selena. “And it starts with the goblin Bo and I captured in District 208.”