Page 12 of The Grin of Prophecy (Book 1 of the Death Incarnate Saga)

Chapter 11

  Not since the effect of Meeka’s first kiss has Cage slept so heavily that his senses were so dulled that he wouldn’t wake right away if there were a disturbance. Years of dedication and training made him a light sleeper and only the most subtle irregularity truly gains his attention to wake him. Such as the case when he heard the steps of a horse’s clopping approaching. His eyes opened and with a few gentle kicks he snuffed what remained of last night’s fire. The combination of darkness and the natural barrier of foliage meant they were well hidden from the road.

  The darkness of night wouldn’t last for more than an hour, but the amount of sleep was adequate enough to remain fully awake. He never could roll over and return to a sleeping state unless something happened that really upset his system. But as his eyes adjusted he felt much more relaxed than he has in many years. He looked to his left and found Meeka hadn’t shifted position since he fell asleep. She had her back flush against his side, used his upper arm as a pillow, but clutched his forearm between her breasts like a young child would a stuffed animal. His movement to kill the fire hadn’t roused her. But he couldn’t seem to look away from her sleeping form as they shared warmth on the thick and soft grass. He felt calmer as she slept soundly in a cuddling position. He didn’t understand what was happening to him in regards to this inexplicable attraction, but as he watched her content arrangement he realized that he liked it. Such a realization was new for he liked women and the pleasures and sensations they bring, but there is something different about Meeka. Things feel better and not as isolating.

  The problem is, his experiences and hurts that resulted from shallow women who cannot see past his physical attributes made making a connection with someone as gentle as Meeka nearly impossible. This problem kept his mind clear and focused from emotion’s problematic sway. Cage’s feelings and draw to Meeka was finally reaching a state of being controllable as his former experiences began to win the battle over his mind, but only barely.

  Nighttime sounds began to change as nocturnal animals went to sleep and diurnal claimed their time in the world.

  Cage shifted his arm while saying “It is time to wake up, Meeka.”

  Hearing his voice startled her and she jerked upright until her mind remembered the new circumstances she found herself in. Her blue eyes shifted as she heard a chuckle. She looked to find Cage laying back with one arm behind his head and his other arm flexing to reestablish blood flow and reduce the tingling. For a moment her thoughts had never seen him look so amazing. When her mind began working she yawned “What is funny?”

  He sat up and created a magical mirror. He pointed and Meeka turned to look ahead and let out a cry of surprise. It took a moment to recover and settle her racing heart. It made Cage laugh more. She recovered saying “That wasn’t funny. Scared me half to death.” Meeka then looked back at the hanging image to see an image of herself and couldn’t hold back a mortified gasp. Her hair was a mess with twigs and grass. Dry drool coated her left cheek and a smear of dirt coated her nose. She got up quickly, not wanting Cage to look at her, but before she could she felt long arms wrap around her.

  “Don’t feel bad. I actually find it adorable. It means you slept well in a situation you’re unaccustomed to.”

  Feeling him hold her made her heart race. He pulled her against his chest and she relaxed as his hint of manly smell made her feel less anxious. He held her for only a moment, but he stood up and brought her with him. “Go ahead and do what you were going to. We need to eat and I need to learn something?”

  “Like what?”

  “You’ll see… later.”

  Cage smacked her firm backside, causing her to squeak and hurry over to the stream with her pack. She glanced over her shoulder when she heard a grunt to find Cage doing an odd exercise. Somewhere he found a thick old branch, placed it across his shoulders and jumped up, landed deeply so his butt touched his heels and jumped again. She asked “What are you doing?”

  “My version of squats. It warms my legs up before I really put them to use.” And he jumped a foot in the air before doing another deep squat.

  Meeka used the water to wipe her face clean and wash away any remaining sleep. She then took out a hairbrush and began the painfully tugging out the knots and debris that accumulated in the night. She actually still felt a bit sore from yesterday, but also very relaxed to sleep beside another living person and liked it almost as much as her growing feelings and the amazing night the day before.

  By the time she finished cleaning up and putting on her boots she turned around to find him with his feet outstretched and together while his arms rippled to throw himself up in the air. He clapped three times, landed on his hands, bent and pushed himself to do another series of claps. “And now?”

  “Push-ups.” He grunted and did another sixty more before working up a nice sheen of sweat.

  Feeling much better he stood and looked her up and down critically. “By the way you move, Meeka, can I assume you’ve never used that knife in your boot?”

  She looked down in embarrassment. “I know how to use it.”

  “In combat?”

  “Theoretically.”

  “Have you ever tried to fight with one?” She shook her head. “I made a decision last night that if you are going to accompany me you’ll need certain skills in the event we become separated. You said you can take care of yourself, but I can see it was merely a show to ease your parents worry. If the unfortunate happens and we get surrounded I need to know how many you can safely defend yourself from. If there is more than one you cannot rely on your kiss. You pass out and will be an easy target for someone else. I can fight over fifty men before tiring somewhat, but if someone gets around me while I’m engaged I’d prefer to not worry if your skills are adequate enough. And I will not use any form of magic.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying, I do believe you’d never hurt me, but I cannot have your death on my conscience if I didn’t give you the skills because of my own problems. What I want you to do is take that knife and come at me so I can see what I must impart.”

  Appalled, Meeka went wide-eyed while furiously shaking her head and making her blonde hair blow like a willow tree in a strong breeze. “No, I will not do that. I care too much for you Cage. What if I make a mistake and really stab you. I don’t want to even consider harming you.”

  “Not even if we make a deal?”

  That got her undivided attention. “What kind?”

  He grinned at the thought of a fight, even a teaching one. “How about this. If by some chance you draw even a single drop of blood from my body I’ll do any one thing that is within my power.”

  An instant idea came to mind. “Does that mean I can have you make love to me?”

  “It would mean you can even keep me as your lover for as long as you want if you ask it.”

  Meeka saw the calm confidence exude from his every aspect. He wasn’t boasting, he meant it honestly and had the skills to accomplish what he wanted. She remembered what he did in her rescue all too well. She didn’t know the true depths of his skills, but they were certainly far beyond her own. Yet she couldn’t believe what he offered in response to a single drop of shed blood. It was too much to refuse and she wanted him more than anyone else.

  Slowly she drew the knife and looked at it. Meeka’s hands began to shake with excitement and trepidation. “No, I still can’t do it…”

  “Not even if you saw someone about to kill me?” Her shaking stopped. “If you wouldn’t kill to save the life of someone you love than you’ll be a coward. That isn’t the Meeka I have come to respect. Remember, it is best to consider the worst. It is better to overestimate an enemy than underestimate. What if it were a baby about to be killed? Would you stand up and kill the person before they got to the helpless infant? I’m trying to teach you something important. Push your emotions aside and learn. To live is to kill. There is no other alternative in life. Now if you want me, I suggest you lea
rn quickly. Otherwise you’ll never become of one body with me. You will not find happiness or satisfaction from me any other way. So I will ask only one more time, to get your reward you must first get my blood-price. Will you remain helpless and unfulfilled or will you strive for a real goal.”

  “If I fail, will I get another chance?” She inquired to stall a moment longer.

  “Yes, every morning we will set aside one hour to train you. As a onetime warning, you can only approach me with a knife for this training session. Any sneak attacks won’t end well for you outside the allotted time. We do things my way for your protection. Are we agreed?”

  Meeka nodded after a serious internal struggle. “We are.”

  “Now prove to yourself you can take life in your own hands.”

  She looked down and gripped the knife more securely in her right hand and bent her knees. All she received from Cage was a questioning eyebrow that lifted as if asking ‘Are you serious?’ He stood calmly, with his long arms hanging at his side, not six yards away as if completely unconcerned.

  Feeling a little hurt he didn’t prepare himself, Meeka yelled “Yah!” and ran as hard as she could and hoped to not hurt him too badly, but he did ask this of her and gave an offer she couldn’t refuse. She threw her knife hand forward at his chest.

  Cage grinned when she came within range. The long blade aimed right for his sternum, but he whipped his hand to grab the blade, ripped it out of her grip without any effort and tapped her forehead, neck, her left breast that disguised her heart, and the elbow of her outstretched arm with the round end before sidestepping and hooking her unbalanced foot with his own. She yelled in surprise as she fell face first in the soft grass they laid on earlier.

  She flipped herself over and breathed hard saying “What just happened?” She sat up and searched her hands.

  “Looking for this?” He asked and she looked to see him holding her knife between his thumb and forefinger. While he had her attention he flicked his wrist and threw the knife right passed her ear and sink up to the small guard from impacting the dirt. Reflexively she jumped and moved away, especially feeling the wind left behind by the expertly thrown knife.

  Her fright didn’t calm for nearly five minutes. Then she retrieved her knife to say “I don’t understand. One moment I charge, then your arms seem to blur before you completely disappear and I find myself face down on the ground.”

  “Do you remember how many times I tapped you?” He said in a peaceful way.

  Meeka then began to truly realize that not only is Cage an expert fighter, but that he absolutely loves to do it. She shook her head and asked “Twice?”

  “No, I hit you four times. Three would be fatal and you would have died in seconds and the last was a maiming wound that would make your dominant arm completely useless.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Would you like to see for yourself?” She nodded and he made a mirror of magic showing her whole body. “Do you see the red mark on your forehead and neck?” She had to look closely but she did see it. “Now look down your shirt, where your heart would be.” She pulled the collar out and gasped. “And your elbow.” He said and made her image vanish. “Meeka, that was me holding back, way back. If this were a real life or death battle I would have stabbed you nine times in under two seconds with your own knife. With my bare hands I could do about eleven deadly moves in the same timeframe. But I must admit you did impress me in one aspect. Your legs have a lot of power in them. For a woman that is natural since it is how you are built, but nonetheless you have a good foundation. Being tall also helps, your bones are thicker.”

  “It is strange though. I see the red marks, but felt nothing.”

  “That is because you aren’t used to fighting and your body cannot process everything so new or quick. You’re in a bit of shock. In time you will learn, but for now I need to teach you the basics. First of all you aren’t holding the knife properly. The way you held it before is all well and good for cooking, but as you saw it was all too easy to take out of your grip. Hold it like you did before.” He approached with twinkling black eyes as she held it again. He wrapped his hand over the blade, knowing his new skin wouldn’t be cut. He could feel his skin fold as it naturally would and how razor sharp the blade is, but it didn’t hurt or break the metal hard flesh. “Holding it this way puts a lot of pressure on the thumb. It might be the strongest digit on your hand, but it is fundamentally weaker when compared to the combined might of the other four. Watch.” With swift twist he ripped the knife out of her hand again. She sucked in a breath because she held it tight and didn’t want to give it up this time and it hurt as he easily disarmed her again. He returned it. “This time make the blade point away from your thumb, not with it. And turn the edge side to be as level with your knuckles as possible. Good. Now grip it tightly and you’ll see the difference.” Cage grabbed the knife and twisted, hard, but her arm twisted and the knife didn’t slip.

  “I did it.” She grinned. He released his hold as she got a concerned look. “But if I hold it this way wont my reach be shortened.”

  “Good observation and your right, you lose the added eight inches of your blade, but as I demonstrated, wouldn’t you rather keep hold of your weapon if someone wrenches it out of your grasp? Speed and strength are important in battle, but the greatest thing to always remember is skill and experience far exceed physical attributes. My sisters could fight any man in the world and not break a sweat even though men are naturally stronger. What I want you to be is someone who can outclass any man she has to face. Your strength will always be less than a man’s, but after I teach you you’ll be one ball busting babe who can truly say they can take care of herself. And our bet still stands, if you can make me bleed, one of the truly most dangerous men of my world, you can claim to have wounded me and claim your well deserved reward.”

  He saw her eyes alight with determination. “What else can you teach before our hour is up?”

  “How to stand and move properly.” She raised golden eyebrow. “You have too many wasted movements. Space your lags apart.” She did so, but he sighed and went down on a knee. He gripped her sensual thigh and brought it around, had her bend her knees and lean forward slightly. When she made it correctly he said “From this stance you can jump, sidestep, lunge, kick or punch with the easiest and least wasteful movements. Bring your arms up like this.” He took a simple karate stance with his right fist to tuck it near his armpit and his left arm half extended. “This is a simple offensive and defensive stance. It will protect and allow you to see anyone who approaches from the front and sides. Just be sure someone isn’t coming up from behind. For the last forty minutes I want you to stand just like that. Whatever you do, don’t move. This will help get you comfortable with it.”

  “Sounds easy.” She sensed a perverse reaction come from his jocular smile.

  Cage took out the care package and made his legs take the same stance so they shared the experience. He gave her a large biscuit, potato and some berries. They ate together without moving, but after only two minutes Meeka understood his smile as they began to feel uncomfortable. Soon they began getting hot before shaking from strain. “Cage, it hurts.”

  He grinned. “Feeeel the burrrn! Love the burn!” After another minute it became an agonizing pain that made her collapse. “Your time isn’t over, on your feet.” She understood he enjoyed seeing her in discomfort, but was trying to instill her with knowledge from another world, one without magic. Meeka grunted as she took the painful stance again, only receiving a small comment to twist her ankle a bit to achieve the correct stance. To distract her he said “Naturally, when we as humans stand, we place more weight on one leg and when it becomes uncomfortable we shift to the other. This stance, when held for long periods, builds leg strength, spreading our weight evenly. It turns a full day’s walk into a few minutes. This was the first thing the old man taught me. Right now I don’t feel any discomfort because I’ve built myself up. I couldn’t even do fi
ve full minutes the first time, but after a while I reached my best time of six hours before the pain was too much. Soon you will be sick of me and want to quit, but if you really want me that badly you shall quickly become one beautiful woman with a nasty bite. If you want to quit and go home because it is too much I’ll understand.”

  “If I did that I’d lose you. Forget it!” She growled as sweat dripped off her. Her eyes wavered now and then, but she noted how pleased he looked after hearing her determination. She vowed internally; I will win the bet and prove my worth. I will find happiness and have you be part of it. I’m not afraid to fight…

  “Time’s up!” He said suddenly and Meeka collapsed in a painful heap. She had never been so grateful to collapse before. She had fallen three more times after her declaration. And lay there for only a few seconds before she felt something uniquely different. She looked down to find Cage rubbing her legs. It felt of an odd mixture of pain and bliss. He saw her expression and said. “I’m doing a deep tissue massage. I know it might hurt right now, but I’m working the knots out of your muscles while also increasing blood flow to remove lactic acid buildup.”

  “Lactic acid?”

  “It contributes to the pain your muscles are feeling when it didn’t get enough oxygen. Just be quiet, I know what I’m doing.”

  That he did. In less time than she figured it would take to recover she was able to stand, albeit in a stumbling way. He led her to the water which felt doubly cold as they both cleaned off the accumulated sweat. He let her rest as he saddled her horse and helped her mount.

  Then they left, still in the early morning light. Again Meeka became surprised Cage could still run after all he did already and make it look easy while she felt an odd sense of being loose of body while in a sense of pain. Riding was much easier than running and she knew if their positions were reversed she’d collapse several times over.

  “Alright, Meeka, it is time to prove yourself as my guide. Miot lays about three miles from here, but we cannot go there to resupply…”

  “Why not?”

  He didn’t even slow or sound out of breath. “Because it might be a bigger place than Kote, but I’d like to avoid danger. We destroyed Tran’s business and he knows our faces from our last encounter. We also made many people who take the drug our enemy. Don’t forget he might have paid off officials to turn their cheek and now that they aren’t being bribed they will be angry too. Our description would easily get us in trouble, trouble you won’t be ready for. You and you mother were the tallest women in Kote and from many in Miot. Pair that with a guy my height and we’ll easy targets. We might be able to blend in, but are you willing to take that chance?” He looked up and winked.

  “I guess not. Give me a moment to think… What kind of supplies do we need?”

  “Food and a blanket for us to lay on when we need to stop for the night.”

  “In that case there is a chandlers shop about a half mile just outside Miot’s northern gate. There will be a road up ahead that forks and will let you bypass the city. Mostly couriers use it if they don’t have to stop there.”

  “Perfect.” Cage said as they rounded a curve and saw the fork ahead. They took it and enjoyed the scenic route all the way around the problematic city.

  By noon they found the chandlers shop and got the supplies. Meeka selected a large bedroll and tied it securely to her saddle while Cage also bought a blue ribbon. Once outside Cage said “If we don’t do anything with your hair it will be nothing but a problem for you. You can attest to this morning’s experience.”

  She smiled and turned around, not even knowing if he could work hair, but she felt him instantly manipulate with it. With some gentle tugging he tied the ribbon to the end and tossed it over her shoulder. She gasped at how fast he did something and marveled at the intricacy because not one hair stood out. She couldn’t believe how much it looked like golden rope. “What did you do?”

  “It is called a French-braid.” He looked around and didn’t spot any potential witnesses. “Have a better look.” And he made two mirrors, one hovering in the front and the other behind. Her lips parted as she saw the braid looked to have begun at her delicate widows peak and snake her entire scalp to the end. “If I had more time I could make it look better.”

  “How can it get any better than this?”

  He smirked after noting how she truly loved it. “You’ll have to find out one day. I think it looks good on you. It really reveals your soft neck and accentuates your cheekbones quite wonderfully.”

  “Thank you.” She said as she blushed.

  They began running soon after and made quite a bit of ground.

  As night began to fall Meeka again guided them to a known river her family rested at when her father had business in the capital and they picked a spot far from the road where no one could possibly spot them. After Meeka took care of the horse she took the stance he showed this morning and worked at it for an hour. He didn’t say anything, but Cage understood she’d do this every night so in the morning she can spend more time trying to get a successful hit in. She found the stance harder than this morning and she fell twelve times within the hour and for all her hard work Cage rubbed out her painful and slightly swollen limbs.

  Since the night was theirs, with no one around, and the stream was isolated he offered “Want to go skinny dipping with me?”

  “Skinny dipping?”

  “Swim together without clothes. Trust me, the water will help your aching body.”

  She felt renewed at the idea and nodded. Meeka watched as he stripped off his shirt and pants to stand gloriously before her. She stood and had a harder time slipping out of the boots, pants and top. Eventually though she had the satisfaction of seeing his hungry eyes appraising her curvaceous figure. That was all that she could find that didn’t look to be masked. She put a hand on his shoulder for balance as he led them to the water and she moaned as the water took off the weight of the world and its cool properties pulled the heat and accumulated pain from her body. Cage smiled and began to swim casually away. Meeka began chasing at a slow and equal place. He kept swimming to help her move the inflamed joints so the pain wouldn’t be worse in the morning.

  Meeka felt great after a half hour of swimming and got an idea. She took a breath and went under. Cage stopped and looked around after hearing her quiet intake of air. In the darkness he couldn’t find her, but seconds later he felt her rising right in front of him. She resurfaced with a bright white smile and heard him chuckle. “What is so funny?”

  “Sorry, but I was thinking how it is possible for you to swim under water with those flotation devices grown from your chest.”

  She grinned. “It does take some work to stay under when all they want to do is keep pushing me back up. Still, I’m proud of them. They are big, but not so much they get in my way.”

  He leaned back to float and Meeka joined him. She grabbed for his hand beneath the water and he gave it without intending to, as if it were a long time habit. Cage didn’t pull it back or it would be seen as impolite. The content look on her face as she looked up into the bright stars spoke that is all she wanted and as a reward for working so hard he allowed her to keep it. In the moment of silence he said “Back on Earth, many women want firm and full breasts.”

  “It is like that here as well.” She casually stated.

  “But where I’m from, women can pay to get larger breasts.”

  This was astounding news to Meeka as she first looked down to her chest floating above the surface and then to Cage. “How is that done?”

  “They are called breast implants. They come in an array of sizes from the discrete to the outrageous and for the very large ones they are customized. Where I’m from you would be considered a large D cup with perfect symmetry. The implants look like clear breasts and are filled with saline… uh salt water if it will better explain. The doctor or surgeon cuts off the woman’s nipple.” He heard her muffled gasp from under the water. “Then they put the des
ired implant through the opening and suck out some fat to give the breast a better and more natural look. When finished the doctor reattaches the nipple. If they are good you don’t even see a scar later. It takes a few weeks to heal. Some women truly think they need the implant because some have one breast that is smaller or larger. They do it for symmetry.”

  “Will the woman be able to feed a baby after this surgery?”

  “No. From personal experiences I can say I like natural breast. Usually it is easy to spot natural from manmade.”

  “I know some girls who would like to have this done. I like mine just the way they are.”

  “Me too.” They smiled at each other before laughing. “Let’s head back in to eat and get some sleep.”

  And they did. Meeka washed out her clothes, but saw Cage didn’t bother putting his back on so she just hung them and headed over to the bedroll. They ate and joked for a few minutes, but then Meeka yawned and crawled over to lay beside Cage. This time he didn’t say a word as she placed her head over his heart and formed her nude body right beside his. Both truly enjoyed the natural feeling of flesh on flesh, But Meeka stayed true to her word and didn’t complicate matters since she promised herself she would have him fulfill some of her desires by the oath she took. Meeka so wanted to break the promise as she felt lightheaded and so close to achieving a dream. Before she could consider or regret a later mistake her exhaustion took her to sleep. Cage also had a hard time resisting, but his rational side kept him from confusing their current relationship.

  In the morning they folded up the clothes that dried overnight and put on another pair, ate and later relieved themselves. After that Cage taught Meeka for another hour on properly using a knife. She absorbed his teachings like a sponge, but still didn’t get anywhere near enough to trim even a string from his shirt. Meeka counted she hit the hard ground seventeen times in the course of an hour. After the session ended and she was getting another blissful massage she asked “From all the stories I’ve heard about fighting, why is it always so long and drawn out? We worked this whole time yet our fights last less than ten seconds.”

  “That is because stories are meant to entertain and are embellished. In real life or death confrontations that is how things really are. But when fighting against more than a single individual it can last a minute if they are evenly matched.”

  “Have you ever lost a fight?”

  “Many times, but I never made the same mistake twice and ended up winning.”

  “Do you ever get exhausted?”

  “You already know that answer. Remember me taking you from Tran’s clutches? Magic exhausts me greatly, but as we are on the subject of fighting I can say you tire ten times faster in a fight than running. I can run practically all day if I pace myself. Running at my hardest will last for only a few short hours. In a fight though, I get tired within minutes due to the strain. It is one of the reasons I train regularly because if the battle is drawn out the person with greater endurance wins usually.”

  “I know this is impolite, but how long can you sustain certain activities.”

  He stopped massaging immediately and stood. “You’re right. That was impolite and I don’t want it to be said again. I understand why you’re so anxious and curious about sex like some teenage schoolgirl because of your situation. You see me as your only partner, but some questions are very private. You’re fascinated about our connection and I know that too because my previous girlfriends were the same way and I gave in and showed them just what I can do. In the end I ended up hurt when the excitement wears off and they leave when they find out I enjoy fighting and don’t have any problems killing someone. You know about my paralysis and what women saw me as after it. I will not make that mistake again, though you are making it even more difficult than I ever imagined. You are the second person I believe won’t harm me physically, but when you lose your sexual feelings for me and see me truly, I don’t and won’t go through with such heartache. People are people, no matter which world I’ve seen. Meeka, please stop testing my tolerance. If you win the bet you win me so until you achieve the nearly impossible I must ask you keep any sexually focused questions about me in your head. I have an abundance of patience, but little tolerance.”

  Meeka knew when not to speak and this is such a time.

  They packed and moved back to the road not long after the conversation and headed north. To see more traffic as merchants traveled from place to place and exchanged pleasantries in passing. One courier nearly flew by and Cage sensed the use of magic before hearing the horse’s galloping. The mage didn’t even glance he was so focused on the job. Mostly the day remained uneventful except for a well timed rain shower that lasted all but two minutes. The terrain changed slightly from relatively flat and forested to rolling hills and woods.

  On the morning of the fourth day Cage felt scruffy since he hadn’t shaved in five days and his short beard was as thick as the hair on his head. He didn’t like shaving with a knife since it’s tedious and doesn’t do the job as he is used to. He knew he wanted a proper shaving implement but the current technology he’s seen hasn’t even thought to invent something as commonly used as a multi-tiered razor or even shaving cream.

  I wonder if a spell could do something like that as well? Cage wondered. I know I can make mirrors, illusions, fire and even that one time I created that outrageous bullet that ended up somewhere. Could a spell be manipulated to target a specific attribute such as hair, but leave skin unscathed? It doesn’t have to be very large, but maybe I can make my own shaving razor without the need to carry one… hmm, I do need to shave and it would give me an idea on how just flexible this magic thing can be used…

  Cage focused on an image and the properties he wanted the object to have. While he focused he pretended to grip the handle of a small knife. In a response to the focus he felt the familiar tingle between his shoulders come to life and it spread slightly as the magic began creating a four inch black knife exactly as imagined. As the object began to form Cage felt how nothing was there at first and in five seconds he felt it as if he held an actual knife handle. The draw of magic made it feel as if he were running though he sat comfortably. He knew he needed to act quick because the longer he kept the object together the more energy it drew and he knew he couldn’t sustain it for long. He created a mirror to reflect his five days growth of beard. He took the knife and placed it against his cheek before dragging it down an inch and saw how easily it worked. Since he couldn’t waste much time he used the knife in a slicing fashion to find the properties he instilled into the creation worked for no matter how hard he poked or cut, his skin would not break. The short beard vanished in a few swift strokes. He then stopped use of the knife and mirror with a lessening of his focus. He breathed slow and deep, but the dots didn’t appear to tell him he was overdoing it. While recovering he felt his jaw line with his fingertips to feel relieved because he found the best way to shave then he’d ever known. His skin felt baby smooth without even a hint of stubble. What’s more, he didn’t have to worry about razor burn or cutting the skin.

  The shave worked so well it sparked many new ideas on how to manipulate magic. He couldn’t even begin to believe how flexible, subtle and powerful spells were when used in varying situations.

  Too bad he didn’t have such skills back on Earth. If he had this power he believed it could have been used to save his brothers and sisters, but the past is the past. Thank goodness politicians and governments don’t have such powers or the world might have actually ended many times over. He thought grimly.

  Snapping of a stick brought him out of his thoughts. Meeka returned from relieving herself to surprisingly find Cage shaved and preferred him without a beard. She wouldn’t like kissing hair if given an option. She smiled approvingly and he returned the expression.

  As usual for her new routine she drew her blade. When he didn’t move for her usual attempt she raised an eyebrow and watched as his smile turned to a grin. She knew he was bait
ing her and Meeka obliged. She lunged as she had been taught.

  Before she could bring down the knife Cage suddenly leaned back, smacked his feet on the ground, firmly planted his hands flat on the land while pushing himself in a handstand. Meeka halted her advance because she didn’t know what to do, but quickly stepped back as Cage began walking on his hands while spinning his legs like a whirlwind of controlled fury. She had never seen such a maneuver and retreated to safety after realizing how dangerous the motions would be if any of the kicks connected. She watched as his spinning motion came to a stop and he stood straight as a board with such control she had a hard time believing. He then showed he could easily support himself on a single arm as he scratched his head as if nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He still grinned and had twinkling eyes. “Meeka, not all opponents fight the same way. True, most will come at you with a weapon, but you also need to be prepared for those that prefer to kick. A kick is usually slower compared to a punch, but has double the impact. Few actually have my arm strength because of my time in a chair, but everyone has strong legs. You will come to find I never attack in the same way. If I did my opponent would learn my rhythms and that would be my end.” He then put his other arm down and bent himself forward to stand. Once he smacked the dirt and grass from his hands he said “Come at me now that I’ve taught you how to stand, move and use the knife. It is time to practice becoming lethal.”

  “Here I come.” She warned before charging since she had to shake off the terrified feeling of just how well he can fight in any situation.

  The hour ended with eighteen falls and nine submissions, but both Meeka and Cage were surprised when one of her kicks glanced off his foot. It was the first time she actually touched him in practice. She still felt glad she advanced enough in such a short time and Cage said she did well.

  They recovered soon and began running along the road for an hour when Meeka said “Cage, hold on for a moment.” She pulled on the reins of her horse as they both came to a stop. He looked up at her and hadn’t waited long before she said “Last night I was thinking about the trails and roads that all lead to Vin’re and I remembered something. May I borrow your map?” He pulled it out of the tube and gave it over. She squinted and put her eye nearly right up to the paper. “Oh good, I didn’t get that wrong.” She handed it back and he curiously did as she had done, but instead of losing focus on the highly detailed map he saw thin veins which he just realized were actual roads he couldn’t see unless up close. He put it away as she said “In about an hour we’ll reach another fork that splits three ways. The left one will lead us to the ocean. The straight one begins to curve around the base of a mountain, but the right one doesn’t go far before cutting north and will lead us to a local pass only a few know about. I only took it once before and it’ll be isolated. If we take the straight one compared to the right, which takes us through a pass, we’ll gain close to a day going around the mountain and the winding road.”

  “The right road is a short-cut?” She nodded. “The sooner we get to this capital the more time I’ll have to prepare. Let’s go.”

  In just under an hour they reached a fork, but found a small business selling traveling goods. Meeka bought a strip of smoked meat since she found it hard to go completely on Cage’s vegetarian diet. He bought onions, tomatoes, carrots, turnips and a fresh head of his favorite iceberg lettuce.

  Packing didn’t take long and the old man gave his thanks as they left to move down the trail that headed east for all of a half hour before ending at a sheer cliff that made them chose either north or south. They took the way north and steadily began to climb a recess between two mountains. The one to the left was slightly smaller than the right and each were nearly shrouded in thick trees that made it difficult to see what the mountain hid. You’d be lucky to even see a hill back home in Florida, but after traveling the world Cage prefers the beauty of a mountain without a snowcapped peak. The warm air slowly cooled and reaching the pass at noon they stopped to break for a light meal. They ate and drank, but something seemed off about Meeka’s horse as it kept snorting every few minutes and didn’t graze as it usually did when they stopped for a half hour. “What’s wrong with her?” He wondered.

  “She probably smells something she doesn’t like. Usually she is the calmest horse I know. Last time she acted this way was when a bear came close and Father ran it off by banging Mother’s frying pans together to frighten it.”

  “You think she’ll be alright to ride?”

  Meeka nodded as she nibbled on a tomato he offered. “She wants to go now, but won’t leave me. I raised her since she was a foal.”

  “If she’s worried do you think we should break early and continue down?”

  “That would be wise.”

  And that they did. Meeka mounted and the paint seemed eager to leave.

  Strangely as they began the descent down the mountainous pass an hour later Meeka and Cage noticed the mare’s edginess continue to grow ever more unsettling. The horse’s unease made the two humans more aware of their surroundings, but the thick growth of forest made it nearly impossible to see more than a hundred or so feet at the most. Meeka had to force the steed to even walk along the path and Cage kept a reassuring hand on the horse’s side and patted it often to also say “It’s alright. It’s alright. Good girl.” reassuringly over and over. The horse seemed to know something was up that they didn’t, but after an hour she still didn’t settle and her swerving ears never stayed in one direction to give them an idea on where to look for the problem or to avoid it altogether.

  Cage slowly began to realize the only sound came from the horse’s hooves on the rocky road and her snorts. The whole forest seemed to have completely gone silent. Maybe that is what unsettled the mare.

  The breeze shifted and something on it completely terrified the mare beyond anything he’d ever seen. Her eyes went nearly white all around as she neighed loudly as if shocked from tremendous pain. “Meeka!” Cage yelled as the horse reared unexpectedly, throwing off her rider and long time companion. Cage lunged and caught his guide in midair, flipping both of them for him to take the full brunt of the impact. His shirt did little to protect his back as he landed hard on the rugged ground. The horse landed on all fours again and charged as if being possessed down the trail as fast as she could to leave nothing in reserve. Cage reopened his eyes to find the horse already several yards away and going fast, leaving a trail of supplies from whatever Meeka kept contained in her pack.

  The two recovered quickly and Meeka yelled after her horse, but no matter how hard she screamed the steed ran in the very essence of blind fear. Neither of them had ever seen a horse do something quite like that before.

  Cage found it uncomfortable to stand as his back hurt in several places, but he got up and stood beside Meeka to watch what just happened.

  Suddenly something absolutely enormous jumped out of the forest as the horse made it nearly two hundred feet. The gigantic creature toppled a tree and opened its great maw with a line of curved yellowish-white teeth and easily chomped down on half of the horse, lifting it effortlessly.

  Then came a second forest crashing sound as a second creature bit down on the large mare’s hindquarters and together they ripped the horse completely in half, spraying blood and entrails all over the ground and the beasts. The horse went silent forever more.

  Cage got a good look at something he never thought to see or imagine. The creatures looked like a giant iguana on steroids. Each appeared to be forty to fifty feet from nose to tail with a spiked ridge starting at the base of its skill and growing along the spine. Their scaly skin was a mixture of dark greens and browns, perfect camouflage for the terrain. Long, powerful arms seemed suited for bursts of speed and ample enough to propel the bulk that they are attached to. Its snout has two large holes for it to scent whatever it desired and two feet behind the seven inch large eyes were ear holes suited to listen in on everything for miles around. The whole body seemed to easily weigh abo
ut four or five tons. Viciously curved claws appeared to be capable of disemboweling anything.

  Cage stood almost as if it weren’t him looking and hearing the hissing and growling sounds the lizards made while eating.

  Meeka’s silence ended first as she screamed in horror at what occurred. Her reaction unfroze Cage as he clamped a hand over mouth.

  It was too late as both animals turned in their direction with blood and meat dripping from jaws capable of eating them whole. “Shit!” Cage cursed and grabbed Meeka’s hand and ran straight into the woods, hoping the close-growing trees will slow them down. Meeka had a hard time keeping up with the speed Cage set. If not for their connected grip she would have fallen dozens of times or gotten lost in the thick mountainous forest. Cage heard crashing sounds of pursuit over the noise he and Meeka made. It was hard to run in such a situation, but at the thought of being eaten, he didn’t dare stop.

  Ten minutes of frantic running uphill was exhausting. They both had to stop and Meeka had dozens of scratches all over and her clothes had an array of holes and scrapes. His clothes weren’t in any better condition, but only his cheek had a cut so far. His arms and legs were well protected. Silence greeted them as they both breathed quick, though he fared better.

  Silence ended when there came a hissing growl from the north and west, sounding not several feet away. They weren’t seen though.

  Now wasn’t the time for talking and Cage jerked Meeka up and ran diagonally up the mountain to stay as far away from those carnivores as possible. The crashing sounds erupted again as the pair stalked the two humans.

  Adrenaline became the only thing keeping Meeka on her feet and fear that the beasts were right behind them made her legs move.

  Pursuit seemed to be falling behind and Cage knew they had to find some kind of defensive position since he knew those things would topple trees if they foolishly thought to climb.

  They came upon a large, open-mouthed cave. “In there!” He decided without regard and pulled her to it. He knew it would make it a one creature tunnel and also that they would end up a meal sooner rather than later if caught out in the open. They plunged directly into the cave and he made a bright white orb to flee further inside. A rancid, decaying smell of rotting flesh hit them like a wall after only several dozen yards. Not hearing pursuit from outside the cave Cage slowed to a cautious walk. Only their labored gasps echoed in the large cave that quickly expanded into a large cavern.

  Hundreds of stalactites hung from the ceiling over fifty feet above the floor. The cavern flooded with magical light as they entered the seemingly natural expanse. The smell became awful, but breathable.

  Meeka gasped and knocked Cage’s orb out of his hand and hissed “Turn it off!”

  He saw her point and found a third giant lizard, but much, much larger. It stretched out over a hundred feet, but it looked more fearsome than the two from earlier put together. He canceled the spell to completely be engulfed in darkness. He half jumped as Meeka took his hand again and began leading him back while whispering so as to not wake the sleeping behemoth. “Before you stopped the spell I saw a crack we might be able to hide in. Hurry I hear the others coming.”

  Blindly, they moved back to the cave wall and to expedite the search he made a dim red light and Meeka found it so they hurried to the jagged vertical crack. Sounds from the tunnel leading outside sounded like shuffling and a great set of lungs sniffing like a bloodhound. She reached in with renewed urgency. It was a tight fit, but she squeezed through. He gave her the red orb as she plunged deeper. It was much harder for Cage since he was larger. He was grateful for his lean body for if it were any bulkier he’d never make it. Shallow breaths were the best he could manage because his chest couldn’t flatten quite like Meeka’s. He had to turn his head to the side and walk sideways. Then he heard her whisper “It opens up some.”

  Cage reached the point he heard her voice and took a needed full breath as the crack did expand. He found her standing several feet ahead. The jagged crack opened up into a small hole nearly five feet by eight and twelve in height. As he entered the space Meeka threw herself closer and wrapped her shaking arms around him to sob. Cage returned the embrace with steady arms, knowing they are safe for the moment. Those huge reptilian arms would never fit through.

  He sunk to the ground and realized he somehow didn’t manage to lose his pack. He shouldered it off and sat down, bringing her down as well. He scooped her frightened form into his lap and allowed her to vent her emotions of loss, pain and fear. Cage knew Meeka thought heavily on the loss of her only companion being devoured and the frightening race to where they found themselves. He only shushed her when the reptiles passed by their crack. She remained in a state of incoherent shock for what felt like an hour. A red orb took so little strength he didn’t worry about weakening for several more hours.

  Eventually she came around when the tears stopped flowing. She looked up to find Cage smiling reassuringly upon her. She realized where they found themselves and why he looked strange in the red light. “Are we safe?”

  “For the moment.” He whispered. “Meeka, what the fuck are those things?”

  “Wyrms.”

  He gave her an incredulous look. “Those can’t be worms.”

  She shook her head. “W. Y. R. M. Not W. O. R. M. Don’t you have Wyrms back on Earth?”

  “Not at all. The most dangerous reptiles we have back home that are even close to resembling those things are alligators or crocodiles. They don’t get half that big. We have nothing like a supersized Iguana running around who can do what they did to a horse so easily. If I were a betting man and not from here I’d swear I just got trapped by dinosaurs. Tell me about these wyrms and how do we get away or how to kill them if necessary.”

  Meeka shook her head and wiped her nose on her already ruined shirt. “I wouldn’t know how to kill them, but we won’t get away. They have our scent and stories say they’ll hunt their prey even to starvation. Once they had our scent it is our death sentence. From what I know, their scales are very thick and they are known to like the taste of man the most. Stories say most don’t know they are there till you see their open mouth and never see the light of day again.”

  “Are they intelligent?”

  “Not like a wyvern and certainly not like a dragon, but they are fierce creatures.”

  “Wait, dragons are real? And what is a wyvern?” He asked in real interest, but also to keep her from falling into misery again. While she collected her thoughts he now knew why the two, what he assumed were adolescent to teenage, wyrms herded them right to their cave. Depending on the plumbing they were going to be food for mommy or daddy, whatever the case is.

  “Wyverns are also reptiles, but have magic to breathe fire and are usually larger than that big wyrm out there. They have two large back legs and two enormous, leathery wings and when they fold it they can walk somewhat. Dragons, to my knowledge, are the strongest of all the creatures in our world. They are the largest and most beautiful for it is said their scales shine like polished gems. They have four legs and two mighty wings on their back and are larger than castles. Their magic is legendary as is their intelligence. Grandmother said she got to meet one once and he forever changed her life. But I’ve never seen a wyvern or dragon myself up close so I do not know. Today is my first time seeing a wyrm… and likely my last.”

  “Answer me this. Why is a wyrm here? I doubt you would have made us use the pass if there was knowledge of these things.”

  “They shouldn’t even be on this side of the Vlaran Mountains. But they are here nevertheless and have claimed this mountain as their own.”

  “Enough with the doom and gloom already. Give me a minute to think of a way out of our current predicament.”

  At that moment both of their heads snapped to the crack as a loud sniffing noise at the mouth soon exhaled a breath of rotten meat that made them both gag and make their eyes water. Then there came a horrifying roar that rattled the whole cavern system
. Out of instinct they both jumped as their heart raced as one. Meeka turned to look at him. “Better think faster.”

  Now knowing that if they are alive they can die, a grin of accepted challenge spread across his features. Meeka found it comforting and a little disturbing.

  Three large claws found their way in the crack and the mighty strength of the wyrm ripped out huge chunks of rock. One such chip found its way into the hole where they were trapped. Cage picked it up and infused it with magic. When there came a clear shot he threw the rock and felt it leave his hand with more velocity than he threw. An instant later there was a puff of smoke as the rock shattered harmlessly against the neck scales. Apparently the wyrm didn’t seem to feel a thing. He knew rocks were useless now. He knew unless it was something much heavier, nothing would dent that hide. He also guessed it would take another fifteen or so digging movements to reach them. Then he noticed that each time it made the crack wider it pauses for just a moment to look at them with one large eye to see where they stood. Cage could see hatred and endless hunger in the round eye as he made them actually work for a meal.

  When it blinked it gave him an idea. He looked to Meeka to see she shook again and wouldn’t be of any help. “Meeka, make yourself as small as you can and close your eyes. Whatever you hear or feel, do not open them. I now understand how to fight these wyrms and will get us out of here.”

  She didn’t hesitate to ask as she obeyed his calm order. Meeka sat down and wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her head between them before tightly shutting her eyes.

  Cage picked up the red orb and made it become a soft white. After the next clawing, when the eyes peeked again, he threw it and dumped more magic into it, making it instantly flare like a flash bomb with the brightness of the sun for a fraction of a second before throwing another rock at the softer eye. As the large eye contracted the rock-bullet pierced right through the eye with little resistance.

  Pain filled the roar as the wyrm flailed around, unable to concentrate on anything except its ruined eye. The ground rumbled as it thrashed helplessly.

  But before Cage could capitalize on the first one the second took its place to dig the prey out, but seemed to learn from the first’s mistake as it kept its eyes closed and dug more fearlessly. It turned its head, making Cage assume it listened with great hearing. In response to the change in tactic he cupped his hands together and made the sound of a squealing rabbit. It excited the wyrm to pull more determinedly. Since it didn’t dare look it pulled out a marginally large hole before turning its head close to the opening once more.

  Cage grinned triumphantly and ran five silent steps, bringing his hand back, firmly stiffening his straight fingers and speared his arm shoulder deep down the hot and waxy ear canal. The creature became so surprised it stiffened instead of shying away. In that instant Cage felt something soft and stringy and grasped hold of all of it, planted his feet to the side of its head and pulled with his entire body, ripping out the enlarged hearing organs and pulling it completely out. He landed hard on his back as thick, nearly boiling blood rushed out and coated Cage in the coppery smelling liquid.

  A moment later it thrashed and roared in overwhelming pain like the first, but rolled oddly since it lost its inner ear equilibrium. Cube law should reconsider its parameters after seeing how something so large can move so fast.

  With the two smaller wyrms incapacitated the third roared loudest of all and it vibrated everything in its anger after seeing its kids in pain. Unlike the first two, this big momma made the floor shake in her mad charge to the hole. She kept her head raised back almost eight feet off the ground and blindly tried ripping for her prey to get vengeance.

  Cage brightened his orb beneath the overgrown gecko and knew he couldn’t get anywhere near to bring the giant down. She roared in frustration and shook the ground by her weight. Cage had to push his back flush against the wall when her claws began reaching in the space, but in his search he couldn’t exploit her soft spots. His eyes combed for a solution or a weapon, but if he didn’t act fast she would sink her sharp, curved claws in them.

  He then looked up and grinned.

  “Why didn’t I think of that before?” He kicked himself mentally.

  Sharp stalactites dotted the cave over fifty feet above and Cage sent a spell to the ceiling, cracking through the hard mineral that took thousands of years to make. Before the crack went completely through Cage dumped more magic into it, making it an oversized bullet. Cage yelled defiantly back and released the spell, firing the pointed rock like a spear. Upon release, the unordinary weapon fired down far faster than gravity intended and was strong enough to not only pierce the scales, but dive completely through the skull of the greater wyrm and pin its head to the cave floor. The ground shook as her weight collapsed and twitched with nerves though the brain died.

  Cage found the other flailing two also beneath the pointy objects and were speared through the throat and likewise pinned.

  The cave became remarkably silent except for large twitching and scraping.

  He slid to the ground, overly exhausted since using that much magic took nearly everything he had left, out of him. He gently placed a hand on Meeka’s small form. She nearly jumped out of her skin. “It’s alright. They’re dead.”

  Meeka blinked, not believing what lay before her eyes. What was once a tight crack became nothing more than a gaping hole with a head thrice her own body’s size laying right in front of her, not fifteen feet away. She looked over to gasp in horror as the new orb of light revealed Cage covered in blood. He kept grinning proudly. “Cage, there is so much blood.”

  “Relax, this time it isn’t mine. Listen, I’m spent and need help getting the hell out of here. Do you mind?”

  “Are you sure they are dead?”

  “Yes, just residual nerves. Let’s go in case there are any more who wanna show up to the party.”

  She found her own nerves all but gone as she heard and saw proof that the wyrms were all dead. Her hands slipped the first time she helped him up and both fell with a laugh to release the tension. She also grabbed his pack and orb and together they kept well out of reach of claws and whipping tails.

  Outside, daylight still reigned. She glanced and understood they had many hours left to get as far away as possible. The orb vanished, but she still helped Cage walk since he overused magic again, and survived again. Meeka held him close to say “We should head down the mountain and take the trail we were using. Maybe some of my belongings might still be laying around. Then we find water somewhere and get cleaned up and tend to our wounds. Do you think we should spend the night in a tree to be somewhat out of reach?”

  “Yes to all of it. We cannot chance being surprised on the ground if there are any more. The sooner we leave the area the better.”

  “Very true. And thank you for saving me again.”

  He chuckled. “Then repay me by putting more effort into your training.”

  She hugged him, uncaring of the transferred blood, before going downhill.

  Without any trails to follow, it made moving away from the cave slow going. Cage noted aloud “Look at the ground. Those wyrms didn’t make any kind of print like they did in the cave. Do you think they have magic?”

  “They must because something that big would easily leave a devastating trail in their wake. I somewhat wish they made a trail we could use, but we can’t find their path they made us take. You found our markings from when we were forced here, but not theirs. I find it quite unsettling.”

  “Me too.”

  They passed several trees before asking “Cage, were you ever scared?”

  “I was ever since you were thrown off the horse.”

  “But you smiled…”

  “That is because I didn’t know anything about what I faced. I figured since it was alive it could be killed. The challenge of a good fight always brings the best out of me. Survival of the fittest is the first law of life. Apparently I was more fit than them. All I can s
ay is I fully enjoyed that fight.”

  “Weren’t you the least bit afraid?”

  He smiled calmly down to her. “As far as I know, there are four kinds of people when they become afraid. There are those who can’t make any response and freeze. Some focus and think critically to overcome their shortcomings. Fewer have the courage to run away. Then there are those, like me, who fight their fear with excitement and can react or change tactics as the situation progresses.”

  Meeka then asked “Is there a way I can get out of that first reaction class?”

  “What do you think I’ve been teaching you every morning? If we make it to morning I want you to smile as we spar. I’ve always enjoyed fighting, but the old man used to say it is best to smile, especially in a situation that isn’t funny.”

  “I can try that at least, but I don’t see how it’ll make a difference.

  Cage went quiet, allowing her to figure things out.

  It was slow moving through the thick vegetation, but much easier since all they had to do is keep going downhill.

  In an hour’s time they reached the road and Cage recovered enough to walk under his own power again, but not enough to go very fast. He already took off his ruined shirt and threw it in the forest to decompose. Without the added weight and the drying blood he moved more easily. They found their old tracks and followed them. A casual walk took a half hour before they saw the evidence they left behind. Meeka tried her best to stay strong, but such love and friendship with her horse was too much for her tears to be held back for long. Meeka found several herbs in an alright condition that could be used later, a full water container, her hairbrush and somehow the bedroll came undone and survived the attack. She knelt at the pool of blood left behind and finally cried at the loss in her heart and the fate of a friend.

  But her remaining pack items were all gone.

  They didn’t stay long because neither were in a position to fight again.

  Three hours later their descent down the mountain came to an end where Meeka pointed “Look!” for in the distance she found a small nearby lake that had been fed by the mountain.

  A burst of energy invigorated them as they half ran to the isolated, crystal clear water. Meeka held her brush as she waded into the water completely naked with Cage at her side. She undid the blue ribbon and the intricate braid while she watched Cage vigorously scrub the blood off with handfuls of sand and submerging in the deep water. She also did the same to clean the crusty blood from her wounds so as to get out all foreign matter. She brushed her hair while it remained wet before she said “Cage, come here.”

  He did and she had him turn around to use sand to scrub the blood from his back since he had a hard time doing it alone. Besides the cut on his cheek he had several abrasions on his back which he explained were from catching her as she was thrown off.

  Cleaned once again, they moved back to shore and Cage watched as Meeka took one of his cups and a semi-long piece of rock and began crushing some precise herbs together. He didn’t have this knowledge so he watched how she ground up the leaves and roots. She added a little water and set it over a small fire he made at her request. She never looked away from the contents, but to Cage it seemed she took the cup off the fire just a moment before it would begin to boil. She took the cup and placed it in the lake to cool more rapidly, without allowing any more water to flow over the lip. Once cooled she returned, and earlier cleaned an article of clothing, took her ruined shirt and tied it over the mouth. Meeka used the second bowl and flipped the cup over to strain the liquid into the bowl for ten whole minutes. She set aside the cup and contents to dip her finger in the sticky liquid contained in the bowl. She then applied the medicine to every wound within reach. “Go ahead and put some on your cheek. It will take the pain away and keep the wound clean.”

  He tried it to find the injury went semi-numb within seconds. This effectiveness caught him by surprise. She smiled at his reaction. He looked her over and said “We escaped with minor injuries, but I can see your bruises are nearly gone.”

  She looked down at herself and saw that the greens and browns on her chest had turned a dull yellow. She smiled much more confidently since they began to look as they once did. Meeka looked him over and in the bowl from what remained of the concoction. “Cage, turn around and let me tend to your back.”

  He spun around and she got closer. She used one finger and gently applied the sticky liquid to the scrapes and heard him sigh contently. By the time all the marks were well coated, the bowl lay empty.

  Meeka, after finishing, wrapped her arms around his neck and held his back to her front. She kissed his cheek and laid her head on his shoulder. She heard his deep voice about to say something, but she beat him to it. “Please just let me have this much. I won’t go any further, just let me stay like this and hold on to you.”

  “Alright. You can have that much, but what was the kiss for?” He said to keep his mind off her bare breasts pressing completely against his back.

  “Because I’m falling more in love with you as each day passes. You’ve already done so much and you even fought a wyrm. You deserved some reward since you won’t claim what I’d gladly give. I know you don’t wish to speak of it so I won’t press the subject, but I promise that I will push harder and win our wager so I can prove I’m not like the women you knew. I will show you we belong and give you something to look forward to whenever and wherever you are. Now I don’t want you to say anything so let me hold you till I feel better.”

  His tense shoulders relaxed, but Cage couldn’t stop his mind from repeating her first sentence over and over. ‘I’m falling more in love with you…’ and he had to admit his feelings for her were also growing and he knew she truly meant those words though this was the first she ever said them. Cage gently patted her arm and they stayed there like that for a half hour.

  Cage broke out his rope, a second pair of pants and a shirt. He said under his breath “I’ve never ruined so many shirts in so short a time.” and chuckled. His feet crunched the grass as he came closer to find Meeka standing near the bank and looking over the water. Cage never thought of the naked body as shameful or needed to be covered, especially when Meeka’s truly natural beauty fit properly with nature as a background. Birds began to sing their final songs of the day and staring, he couldn’t remember a time he had ever felt so at peace. She was so gentle and calm he realized she had forever made her way in his heart, but he truly regretted himself and knew she would find another and leave him like everyone he ever knew had done. But he enjoyed the view without allowing dark thoughts from ruining something so wonderful and beautiful.

  When she turned around he came out of the reverie and handed over his pants and last remaining shirt, both being black as night. “Since your clothes are beyond repair, take mine. You might need to use your knife to cut them to size. My pants, as you can tell have become shorts.”

  “Thank you.” She took the offer, laid out the material, removed her knife and began carefully cutting several inches off the pants legs and tried them on. She had to rely on her belt to hold them up. Although Cage has a narrow waist, as a tall man he was still slightly larger than she. Meeka heard the jingle of money from her and him to say “Good thing we keep our coins on our hip or otherwise I’d have hated to retrieve them out of the wyrms.”

  Cage laughed at the thought. He pointed and said “Don’t bother to do an hour’s stance tonight because you’ve already had plenty of exercise. That tree is the biggest in the nearby area. Start climbing while I set up an early warning system.”

  Meeka didn’t even ask what he meant and went to the large tree and began climbing while Cage untied the rope and made a thirty foot perimeter. The rope wasn’t long enough to completely encircle the tree, but the most likely access points were wrapped. He didn’t bother with traps since those wyrms wouldn’t be harmed so he stretched the rope and used sticks and loose stones to make a horrible, nail on chalkboard, screech if anything so much as touches t
he tight rope. For the places where the rope didn’t protect he gathered hundreds of dry twigs and laid them everywhere and added a spell to snap if any magic comes near them. It took almost nothing to set up such an easy spell, but it also meant he couldn’t do any more magic or risk undoing all he had set up. He had to have some warning should those creatures actually do magic, but back during the confrontation he just couldn’t remember if he felt anything. Even for him it was too much to understand.

  By the time he finished organizing and kicked out the fire he looked up in surprise at what Meeka had done while he worked. About thirty feet up the tree she had taken several stiff branches and laid them between two sturdy limbs and made a triangular platform on which to rest on, but she also managed to spread out the bedroll. Her head peeked over an edge in pride and Cage yelled up “You are a genius, Woman.”

  “You just realizing it now?” And they chuckled.

  Cage climbed the tree with ease as he always had done as a child. There wasn’t a lot of room on which to sleep together on, but he came up and found it easily supported both of their combined weight with ease. The bedroll gave just enough cushion to make the knobby branches somewhat more comfortable. He said “We’ll sleep in shifts. I’ll stay awake till midnight while you keep alert till dawn.”

  She curled up in a ball, but became surprised when he curled up behind her and pulled her flush against his front. She like how he draped a hand across her stomach and she felt much more at ease in his embrace. In moments she fell gratefully asleep, but dreamed a nightmare of being eaten.

  When morning arrived Meeka rolled around, not having moved all night. She smiled as an idea arrived. She woke Cage by slowly kissing him. She tasted him again and couldn’t get enough of the sugary taste he kept from her. She wondered if all men tasted like sugar, but she stopped kissing him as he began to wake, not realizing what she did to rouse him from a deep slumber. “Morning, Handsome. Sleep well?”

  Cage sat up and shook his head to clear away the sleep. She too sat up. “Did anything happen while I was out?”

  “Once I heard the grunting of a boar that made your trap sound, but the startling noise frightened it away?”

  “Really? Usually I’m such a light sleeper that even the little things wake me.”

  “Well you did some serious magic yesterday. It was bound to take its toll.” She reminded with a smirk, but didn’t know why.

  “Let’s see if my spells from earlier are still active…” He made an orb and a moment later came dozens of snapping sounds. “Interesting…”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I set hundreds of sticks to snap, but only several still retained the power with which to break. When I have time I’ll research why that is.”

  Meeka climbed down first and allowed Cage to gather the bedroll and drop it down to her. By the time he reached the ground she already rolled it up and went off to relieve herself. He went the other way and did likewise. They ate. Before it came time for the usual session she had Cage make another French-braid again.

  When it came time to spar, Meeka had truly meant her words earlier and fought to her hardest extent. It wasn’t anywhere near close enough to do him any form of harm, but each time she fell she got right back up. Cage openly congratulated her for being serious and how much control she exerted. “You are no longer a novice. You’re a beginner now. You’ve graduated a level.”

  “What level are you?”

  “Master. There are six levels. Novice, beginner, intermediate, expert, specialist and finally master. So far you are undoubtedly the fastest female under my tutelage to go from novice to beginner in so few days.”

  She grinned wryly. “Well… I do have incentive.”

  He laughed. “That you do. Right now we need to get going.”

  An hour into the morning journey Cage saw Meeka have her lips in a pout. It was actually adorable so he asked “What is on your mind?”

  Meeka looked up and grumbled “It’s all my fault.”

  “What is?”

  “Everything!” She shouted while throwing her arms up in the air, but kept walking. “I made us take the trail through the pass. I lost my horse! And I’m slowing us down. I’m sorry, I’ve done nothing but ruin this business you have in Vin’re. How many days do you have left to complete this transaction?”

  “Nine days, but don’t take things so hard. You had no idea what awaited us back there. You had no control over those things. Knowing my luck, even if we took the other way around the mountains those wyrms would be waiting on us there too. I know you lost your horse, but you didn’t kill her, they did. Besides, I prefer to believe she unknowingly saved us by running into the trap those two younger ones set. She gave us enough time to get away and kill all three. Personally, I’d rather be alive and be slowed down than end up as a literal steaming pile of shit. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  Meeka stayed quiet for a few moments before asking “Are you afraid of dying?”

  “The old man had a saying I always got a laugh at. He was a rationalist like me and referred to Death as a metaphor, but he said this. Dying is inevitable and when it is your time Death will come to claim you. That doesn’t mean you can’t make the bastard work for it though.”

  It took a moment for Meeka to understand, but once she did she finally began to laugh. Cage joined in and it helped further relieve the heartache.

  Eventually Meeka said “If you want I can run at your side for a little while. I don’t have your endurance, but I can help shorten our time walking.”

  “That is kind, but all the magic I did yesterday is still giving me a headache. I’d like to take it easy today and besides I don’t want you tired if we had to run again.”

  When the conversation ended Cage could see she actually looked more relieved now that her burden came to an end.

  After they took a break to eat and refresh by a stream both Cage and Meeka heard yelling in the distance. It was a kind of yelling Cage knew all too well. She asked “What is that?”

  “Trouble.” He grabbed Meeka’s hand and half ran with her till she caught her strides. He looked over his shoulder to say “I want to see what is going on.”

  “If someone is hurt, as a healer, I’m obliged to offer aid.” She said and ran just a little harder.

  The two ran side by side down the gradually widening trail as the trees began to thin out. They began to run up a steep hill and Cage made her slow down, but he hadn’t noticed that she gripped her knife properly and mentally approved: Good girl! Sounds of a heated confrontation came just over the peak and she followed his lead when he crouched down.

  Looking over the crest he noticed that at the base of the hill lay a grassy area with trees surrounding a small meadow. The sun hung high in the sky with sparse clouds. In the meadow stood ten armed men wearing dark, shabby clothing and had the look of ill intent from the way they moved. Five had crossbows pointed while the remaining drew swords. They all had cornered an older woman wearing a bright yellow robe and carried a walking stick. The whole scene stood not fifty yards away and without any wind they heard one of the men clearly demand “I said give me all your coins or we’ll take it off your corpse with any other valuables you have to offer.”

  “Please just be on your way. We have no quarrel.” The woman said almost in a whisper to Cage’s ear. He had sharp eyes, ears and sense of smell, but he was still human.

  “These are our lands. You don’t tell us what to do!”

  “Cage, we have to help her.” Meeka whispered in his ear.

  He shook his head. “Not we, me. You are not up for this just yet. I can do this. If any more come that I don’t see at the moment, whistle.” She nodded as he took off his pack and shouldered it herself.

  Even thinking of another battle made Cage’s grin come to life. He silently stood, glad the bandits were all keeping their backs towards him and focused solely upon bullying the woman. He began to run just as a breeze made the grass ruffle, further covering any sounds his fe
et might make. Meeka stayed put, keeping an eye out for anyone else coming while also staring in amazement as he seemed to fly down the hill on long legs suited for speed while making practically no noise.

  Not one of the ten even saw or heard him running right at them with an excited and expectant smile, but the woman noticed without being obvious since she faced his direction. She wondered what was happening, but didn’t move.

  Cage felt an almost unnoticeable tingle of magic as his adrenaline clarified every sense and reactions, but couldn’t tell which direction or who such workings it emanated from. It was so little he didn’t worry.

  Before any of them knew it, Cage reached the group unnoticed and caught the first guy by surprise by wrapping his arms around his head, and giving it an overextended turn, loudly breaking his neck. While he began to drop Cage picked up the crossbow and squeezed the simple trigger, launching the bolt right in the throat of the nearest other crossbowman. The guy’s gurgle and collapse made all attention shift away from the woman. Cage asked in a giddy voice “Hey guys! Want to play with me?” and before they had a chance to understand what happened Cage pulled a knife from the belt at the man by his feet. He then skillfully buried the blade in the eyeball to the hilt of the next closest man with a long sword gripped in his hand and dropped him like a sack of potatoes. All remaining crossbows turned on him, but not before he ran to a fourth target, one carrying a sword. Each one fired at him in confusion, but Cage pulled the man in front of him like a shield. All but one bolt made it into the bandit. One of the bolts slammed against Cage’s right shoulder, but didn’t do anything except sting slightly since his armguards protected him all the way to his shoulder. It wouldn’t have made the fight any easier with a bolt sticking out of his shoulder. Thankfully he didn’t need to concern over it since the armaments were part of him. The man he held crumpled as he died from two fatally hit areas. Friendly fire is no ones best friend, but it certainly helped because crossbows weren’t known for rapid fire.

  Three swordsmen charged with a loud battle cry towards a new enemy. Cage laughed happily and ran at them as well, making two get a startled look. They all swung a second faster than the next, but not before Cage fearlessly grabbed the first sword and ripped it out of the man’s hands. He then sidestepped to grab the handle of his new weapon and spin while leaning down to slice the leg completely off the one it belonged to. He cried out and while falling, tripped up the next man. Cage tensed his legs and shifted back as the third swordsman swung down at him. A swipe from Cage’s borrowed sword nearly beheaded the man who missed. Before the one that had been tripped could recover Cage suddenly appeared and he leapt over them while swinging the sword, cutting the jugular of the recent amputee and burying the blade through the gut of the one struggling to untangle himself. It was an oddly executed maneuver that wrenched the sword out of his grip as it lodged itself in the abdomen of the man who would die slowly.

  All that remained were the first swordsman and three frightened crossbowmen. The leader shouted “Reload while I take care of this trash!”

  “You’re just making this more fun!” Cage said gleefully and charged right after the leader. The man did indeed have skills, but never expected an unarmed man to run right for him. He leveled the sword for a thrust, but Cage only pumped his legs harder. The man lunged towards Cage’s shirtless and exposed heart. Cage brought his right fist around and knocked the thrust aside with a few sparks as it made contact with the grinning skull gauntlet. The man had a foot firmly planted for another step to follow through, but Cage used his thigh for a platform and half leapt and twisted into a summersault while lacing his fingers together and putting the recess underneath the bandit’s chin. The flip ended and Cage’s feet landed solidly and his back pressed against his opponents. He leaned forward, jerking the bandit’s head back so violently it caused the base of the skull to detach and break the neck while also severing the spinal cord.

  The tingling of magic increased in intensity and Cage’s grip released, making the leader fall, and turned himself to the remaining three loaded crossbows pointed right at him as an open target. Cage knew he didn’t have time to avoid or pick up the leader or another as another shield, but knew someone was working magic.

  He knew he’d only survive if he managed to strike first.

  An image of seeing them being thrown like he did to Tran popped in his head and in the same moment he yelled while sending out a wave-like force spell that slammed into the three as fast as a sniper’s bullet with a semi’s backing. The invisible wave shattered the aimed crossbows on impact and literally lifted the three and sent them over twenty feet to crash into three trees with enough force to be like falling from a twenty story building. Each died on impact. Two fell in lifeless heaps while one had been impaled on a broken branch and looked like a gruesome decoration.

  Using such an immense spell turned his vision black and he fell face first into the ground.

  A loud yowl of an enormous cat charged over and jumped on the shirtless man’s bare back and raised his paws to kill, but the woman commanded “Enough! Didn’t you see he came to my rescue and singlehandedly fought off all these bandits.” The cat turned its eyes on her and yowled again. “Yes, I saw his use of magic as well. If he were part of this band I’d let you do what you want, but his actions proved he means me no harm. Get off of him…”

  “Cage!” Meeka shrieked when her racing mind slowed enough for her react.

  The woman and cat turned towards the scream and saw a woman racing towards them. The cat looked back questioningly. “Let’s give her a chance. Come here so it doesn’t look like we mean our rescuer harm.” The cat got off, but the woman saw the young man’s back and drew her brow together in confusion.

  Meeka, in her frightened worry, tripped over the body of a man with a sword in his gut as the last of his gurgling of blood suffocated him and quickly recovered. She held her knife out towards the two as she knelt at Cage’s side. He didn’t appear to have any new wounds in her quick scan. She felt for his pulse and the woman stated in a peaceful voice “He will be alright in time. He just did too much costly magic. Might I get the names of my rescuers?”

  “I’m Meeka and this here is Cage. Are you sure he will recover?”

  “With the short, but immensely powerful spell he did it is a likely assumption. By the way, my name is Megdline and this here is Frill.” She pointed down at her side. “I wish to give thanks for your assistance, Meeka.”

  Meeka stood again and put her knife away when neither of the two made any threatening motions. “Megdline, I’m a healer by trade. Would you allow me to examine you for injuries these men might have done? Are you wounded?”

  “I’m quite alright, Child. Those men couldn’t have hurt me if they tried. Now, might I ask what you and the young man are doing here? This isn’t a very kind place to travelers.”

  “You don’t have to tell me. We almost died yesterday and yet Cage still fought, knowing full well how exhausted he is.”

  Megdline held up a hand to ask in the first show of real surprise in quite awhile. “Wait, you mean to tell me he fought like that while not even at his best?”

  “Yes. That is what I’m saying. He seemed a little slower than usual.”

  “Very interesting…” Megdline began rubbing her chin and then Frill began yowling and making all kinds of feline noises. “Oh, Frill wants to know what trouble happened yesterday?”

  Meeka turned around and pointed to the much smaller looking mountains. “We were attacked by wyrms. Cage slew them all…” Frill began meowing fast.

  Megdline nodded. “I agree, we should wait and hear the whole tale… Yes, we will also see to it the boy wakes up…”

  Cage’s mind returned to his control, but felt completely drained with a pounding headache that didn’t want to relent. He only had enough strength to roll on his back. His mind quickly returned and he sat up and looked around. “Meeka?” he asked as her form looked blurry.

  All three gasped
and stared at him sitting up so suddenly when he had been unconscious for about two minutes. Meeka rushed closer and wrapped her arms around him. The other two stared in denial. Megdline accused “You should not even be awake for several more hours.”

  “Who?...” Meeka pointed and introduced “Cage, this is Megdline and Frill. She’s clearly a mage. I didn’t know from where I hid.”

  Cage’s eyes slowly focused as he took in Megdline. She looked to be a woman in her mid forties to early fifties, but had short and striking jet black hair, grey eyes, and stood about five two with a sun-kissed tan. She still wore a bright yellow robe that wrapped around her slender form. Soft leather boots covered her feet. In her hands he originally suspected a walking stick as tall as she, but it was a staff engraved with small writing and set in the tip was a yellow crystal in the shape of a pyramid, but the size of her fist. But another look at the clarity made it out to be more like topaz, the biggest one he’d ever seen.

  By her side stood the largest Maine Coon cat he had ever seen. It had dark, woodsy markings and gold eyes. Usually he saw them as gentle felines, but the one staring him down looked as mean and aggressive as a mountain lion. “Megdline, is that a Maine Coon?”

  She gasped and glared at him. Cage then let out a disarming laugh as he dropped flat on his back when his head demanded he do it. “Great, it was you I felt the magic coming from. I thought one of those last three was the mage.”

  The woman’s hostility abated as she noticed he wasn’t being malicious or joking. She asked in a dark tone “How do you know the ancient name of Frill’s breed?”

  “Ancient? Sorry, but where I’m from that is what the breed is called. What do you call him here?” He closed his eyes while laying and catching his breath.

  “A Meemthia is his breed’s common name. Where do you come from?”

  “I’ll only tell you if you can answer my own questions. You’re the first living mage I’ve talked to and I need some answers… if you’re willing to help out?”

  Frill began making birdlike sounds and it made Cage sit up abruptly to see an peculiar exchange. He knew of no cat who made sounds almost like they were speaking. “Can you understand him?”

  Megdline and Frill turned to him. “Can you understand him?”

  “No, but the way he’s glaring at me and at the speed and sounds he made makes me believe he isn’t normal.”

  “That is because he is my Familiar.”

  “Is that what you call a pet here?”

  Frill yowled in anger and before anyone could react he pounced, knocking Cage flat on his back without trying. Definitely not a normal cat. He thought as his back pressed heavily in the ground. This thing feels like it weighs several hundred pounds. I can’t even breathe he’s so heavy. What the hell is it? His thoughts ended as the large breed feline pushed its pink nose against Cage’s while glaring and yowling in low warning.

  “Frill says he will rip your throat out if you don’t show him some respect. He is no pet or normal cat. He is a Familiar, a mage’s companion and protector. He has magic as well and uses it for my protection. Do you understand the difference yet?”

  When Cage’s face turned blue, Meeka had had enough and kicked Frill right in the ribs, but she would have a better chance kicking an immovable boulder. The cat didn’t look away from Cage, but its tail whipped in anger. Meeka yelled “Get off of him! How do you expect an answer if you suffocate him!?”

  The cat heard and began to lose weight without moving off or looking away. Cage gasped greedily for air and coughed. Seeing actual intelligence in those angry gold eyes he took a chance. “Forgive my ignorance Frill. I didn’t mean disrespect, but where I’m from we don’t have Familiars or magic. If you explain this magic business I won’t disregard or refer to you ever again as a pet or housecat.”

  Frill leaned away to give him a very humanlike expression like ‘Are you serious?’ while curling one lip to reveal sharp teeth.

  Cage also turned his head to spot the woman. “Megdline, is there some kind of foolproof spell to tell you if a person is lying or not?” She nodded curiously to the pinned man. “Place one on me, for right now. It will be your proof I meant no harm in my words.”

  He felt her magic rise and felt something odd move in him, like it wedged itself in his mind. “Now you cannot lie until I stop the spell. Can you feel it?”

  “Yes.” He truthfully said and felt Frill sit on his stomach with a swishing tail that tickled. Cage looked right in Frill’s simmering eyes. “This is the truth, I’m not from here, but until you agree to my proposal to know where I’m from you will not learn it. What I will say is I’ve only been able to do magic for a few short months.” The cat’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve honestly been looking for a teacher to help make sure I don’t do magic that might kill me. I don’t know anything about Familiars. In fact I just learned what a wyrm is and we nearly died because I didn’t have any information on them. I don’t have them where I from. But I give my word, so long as you do not harm me I will do you and Megdline the same courtesy. Right now you hold all the cards, but I won’t go down easy. Believe me on that.

  “I also hear dragons are real. Is that true?”

  Frill turned and began cat-speaking to his partner. It lasted several minutes and Megdline’s expression turned inward as if considering. “I’d like to know what he meant as well. I’ll ask him. Cage, he says his best friends are dragons, but wishes to know a few things.”

  “I’ll answer if he allows me to sit up.”

  In answer, the cat jumped off and sat not a foot away in the tall grass. His golden eyes swept the area and he yowled. “Oh alright, fine.” His partner huffed as Cage sat up.

  Megdline waved her staff as one would be wiping a window as she used magic. Cage and Meeka stayed still with wide eyes as the ground faintly trembled, but watched as all the dead bodies, even the one impaled on the tree fell, and blood seemed to sink beneath the grass like stones thrown in murky water. In a few seconds all evidence of the bandits were swallowed beneath the ground. Clouds began rolling in on a cool breeze and casted shade all around. It was as if nothing had ever happened here. Attention turned to the very dangerous feline with a calm yowl. “He says you may sit, Meeka, and will listen before acting rash himself. We are both very interested in this conversation and want to know everything you’re willing to part with.” Meeka slowly sat down beside Cage as they both understood they were at the mercy of this mage and familiar. Megdline came closer and sat down in the grass as well. “Now isn’t this a more comfortable place to speak without the dead to draw our mood down dark paths.”

  “So what are these questions the cat… I mean Frill has?” Meeka asked.