Worlds Apart Read online

  He waited a moment for the sounds of agreement to fade. “And tonight,” he added, grinning slyly. “To celebrate this gathering, I have brought a prize indeed. A wizard of the south, found among the crags!”

  Socretha perked up at that. A wizard? Unusual. They rarely ventured from the cities and their precious Fount, save the few who inhabited the watchtowers near the edge of the Dragon’s Teeth. Or the strange, masked men employed by the satrap. She leaned forward more attentively.

  Morgoroth saw her interest and grinned wider. He struck his chest a booming blow. “Yes! A wizard I found among the crags! Spying no doubt. Cowards that they are! I came upon him and bellowed a challenge. He turned, and tried to cast some spell. But he was no match for Morgoroth! No match for your chief!”

  Socretha rolled her eyes as the massive male gestured magnanimously. “I brought him here to pay! To suffer for the crimes of his people who confine us here. Now who! My brothers. Who shall make him bleed? Who, warriors?”

  There was a clamour among the orcs. One rose tallest. A fierce brute with the grey skin of a swamp orc. One tusk broken, he beat a fist against his chest. “I will! Let me slay the wizard, chief! I’ll make him suffer long!”

  Morgortoth laughed. “Borgrin! Good!” He beckoned grandly, voice booming through the tent. “Bring the mage in!”

  Every head craned to better view the doorway. Every ear listened attentively. But only darkness met their gaze, and silence their straining ears. Morgoroth frowned.

  Something clattered out of the darkness, rolling into the firelight. A horned helm, its inside splattered with black blood.

  In the shocked silence that followed the slow pad of footsteps could be heard. And from the passage emerged a man.

  He struck Socretha immediately. Utterly naked – which she understood was somewhat unusual for a human – strange designs had been carved into his pale flesh, forming a vast map of symbols that hurt her eyes to look upon. Not helped was the glow. A malefic red pulsating through the marks like a living thing. Socretha looked intently despite the strain, noting his red eyes which took in the hall and the hulking horde it housed. How he moved slowly, confidently. Almost amused. Something stirred in her. The man was slowly twisting a black bracer around his wrist. A nullifier band, Socretha noted grimly. It would be a short contest against Borgrin.

  The man stopped, looking about the chamber. At last, his red eyes fixed on Morgoroth.

  “You,” he said. “You look big enough to be the leader.”

  Morgoroth laughed. Began to rise. “You-“

  The man thrust out his hand. Morgoroth slammed back in his throne, rocked it, knocking the two squealing slave girls from his lap. The orc gasped, sucking in a ragged breath. He seemed to strain against some invisibly weight, and to the horror of all in the room, a misty green ribbon rose from him.

  Socretha bolted to her feet, backing up as Morgoroth withered before her eyes, heavy frame sinking against the bones, eyes staring as they sank into sockets. All the while the green wisps snaked through the air. Drawn to the human. Seeping into the marks across his body. The sorcerer sighed and suddenly clenched his fist. Morgoroth toppled from his throne, naught but skin stretched taut over bone. His drawn chest managed a last, ragged heave, and lay still, lips drawn back over teeth in a silent scream.

  Tiberius inhaled the last wisps of the orc’s essence. “Hmm. Minty,” he said, smiling white, white teeth.

  “Now!” the human said, clapping his hands, pulling every eye back to him. The marks across his skin pulsed. He grasped the bracer around his wrist and snapped it off with a sharp motion. “I suppose we best start off from scratch, hm? Judging by your fashion, I assume that since I beat the biggest among you, that makes me your leader now. Doesn’t it?”

  A wizened shaman rose from his place. “Actually, one who has-“

  He was cut off as red lightning seared from the sorcerer’s hand, blasting the orc into a wall.

  “I said doesn’t it!” Tiberius barked as the shaman’s broken, sparking corpse fell to the floor. The sorcerer’s eyes flashed. Magic like red lightning crackled across his body. No one answered. “Good! Now listen close! I have not had a great morning and I am not taking anyone’s shit. Do you hear me? None of it!”

  Socretha gasped as the marks in his skin blazed with his fury. “I am Tiberius!” he roared, raising his arms, the malefic glow washing across the room, deepening shadows. Raising them up in strange shapes that writhed and shifted across the walls. “Sorcerer of the Black Ring! Conqueror of kingdoms! Wrecker of your shit! And I have a proposition to all of you,” Tiberius said, sweeping a finger before him. “You all serve me, and I don’t kill you all in horrible – yet increasingly interesting – ways. Fair?

  Stunned silence greeted his proclamation.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” Tiberius said, his smile hard as stone, his face limned in the glow of the flames. “Now. First order of business. Someone get me some pants.”

  Waking in Solita

  Morning came. Presumably. The seemingly impenetrable dusk which gave the Dusk Woods its name made it difficult to tell, but Auria was from the twilight city of Vassara, and so was adept at her internal clock keeping time.

  She stirred among the tangled blankets, sighing and stretching languidly. As she did every morning, she glanced aside and checked to see who was sharing her bed. Spotting the sleeping human, the events from the last few days closed in on her once more, and she sighed wearily and covered her face with an arm.

  He was, perhaps, the only positive result of the entire fiasco. Oh it had seemed easy enough. Go forth, retrieve the Arcris, be home in time for the afternoon orgy. She had been careful not to be seen. That would have rather spoiled things. But how could she have known things would go so wrong? First the trader had betrayed her. Then, the bandits had caught her and killed him. She sighed, considering the human beside her. A small smile twitched her black lips. Perhaps this wasn’t a total loss. Yes. Perhaps she could use this…

  She grasped the blanket, pulling it down and baring the man’s midriff. She smiled at the sight of his cock. Thicker than an elf’s, a bit bigger too. She stroked it expertly, coaxing it to hardness.

  Felix groaned softly in his sleep, shifting as his length engorged in her skillful hands. Flashing a wicked grin, she leaned forward, and took it in her mouth.

  “Mnnn…” Felix groaned as she began to bob, her tongue swirling round his shaft. Auria hummed happily at his obvious enjoyment, cradling his balls in her hand and softly stroking him.

  “Ah…G-gods!” Felix cried, twitching his hips and fisting the sheets as he came. Greedily, Auria swallowed his seed, tasting his hot, thick cum.

  With a groan Felix raised his head, blinking in surprise at the shapely dark elf between his legs. Giggling huskily, Auria released his softening cock with a pop. “Good morning, my knight,” she said sweetly.

  “Ah, morning,” he said, blinking rapidly. “You ah…”

  “I’m afraid it was simply too tempting,” she crooned, stroking his muscular thigh and smiling with faux guilt up at him. “Seeing you so helpless there. And I did want you awake.”

  “There are other ways to do that,” Felix observed, flush, running a hand through his sleep mussed hair.

  She laughed again, gently stroking his shaft. “But none quite so fun.”

  Felix cleared his throat, blushing slightly. “Ah,” he said, shifting. “You wanted me awake?”

  “Yes,” she said, sliding up him, dragging her breasts along his chest. She paused, resting her head on his hard chest, giving him a sweet smile. “I wanted to talk to you.”

  “Oh?”

  “Mmm. You see, I need some… assistance. Which intersects, rather, in the reason I was in the position you found me in.”

  “I was a bit curious,” Felix said, his arm automatically moving about her, resting on the plush globe of her bum and pulling her against him.

  She hummed, snuggling against his solid frame. “Yes.
I think it time I explained. You see, my family is one of the great houses in the Twilight City Vassara. And a large part of that prestige is locked about a certain treasure. One which was… unfortunately, stolen from us.”

  “Oh,” he said.

  “Yes,” she said, bitterness creeping into her voice. She glanced aside, lashes lowering as she reflected on it. “It’s known as the Arcris. A potent channel for magic. Its loss means we’re at a strategic disadvantage. My mother sent me to find it, and only me, lest the other houses learn of our weakness and seek to use it against us.”

  “They’d do that?”

  She smile wryly. “My knight,” she said, running her hand down his muscular chest. “Politics are not for the weak of wills. Especially among the dark elves. I managed to track it down to here. A bandit lord apparently has it in his possession. I had hired the merchant whose cart we used the other day. He apparently had contact among the bandits and was to provide me with a meeting with some who were… dissatisfied with their current leadership.” She scowled. “Unfortunately, it seems it was a trap.” She looked up again, sliding herself up his chest, dark nipples dragging against his form. “But I now know where their lair lies. And I simply must retrieve it. My Knight, please. I need your help.”

  “Alright.”

  “Naturally, I will see your reward is…” Auria paused, open mouthed. Closed it. “Sorry?”

  “Of course I’ll help,” Felix said. “You are in need. I would be a poor knight, let alone man, if I did not assist you, my lady.”

  “You…you don’t intend to negotiate a prize?” she said warily. “Position? Me? Perhaps some gold.”

  He shifted. “Well… some breakfast would be nice,” he admitted, almost guiltily.

  Auria stared at him. Then she snorted. Laughter bubbled from her as she pulled herself up him and kissing him fiercely. Felix, surprised, but far from unwilling, answered her affections, his hands resting on her hips and stroking her violet flanks.

  She broke the kiss, her sapphire eyes gleaming with mischief. “Well,” she said huskily, reaching down and wrapping her fingers around his stiffening cock. “I think you still deserve a reward. Something a bit… better than breakfast.”

  Felix chuckled, gripping the globes of her bum. “I would hardly say no.”

  She smiled again, lifting her hips and reaching between them. Her long fingers found his shaft, stroking him as she teased his cock with her welcoming slit. “Mmmm,” she moaned, sheathing him in her.

  “Gravar’s Forge!” the rune knight groaned as her inner walls closed around him.

  Giggling, Auria began to move, grinding atop him with unabashed delight. The morning was shorn away by the lovemaking, and in good time, resting lazily on the bed, his arm round her, pulling her close, Felix gazed at the ceiling, relishing the post-coital bliss.

  As he did so, his thoughts slowly caught up with him. He sighed, lazily stroking her curving hip. “So this treasure assists your magic?” he said.

  “Mmm,” Auria said. “We use the Fount for our spells. Calling on the wellspring of magic in Vassara to empower us. It is the source of all our magic.”

  Felix cocked his head. “Is it?” he said, intrigued. “Do think I could see it?”

  Auria smiled indulgently. “I believe something could be arranged,” she said teasingly. “I’m not just a pretty face, you know. I’m a magus. And one of their most potent channelers.” She preened. “I am a magistrix.”

  “Oh,” Felix said. “That’s nice.”

  Auria’s look of satisfaction faded. “You have no idea what any of that means, do you?”

  “Not particularly,” he admitted.

  Auria sighed. “Well,” she said. “Then I suppose you’ll have to come with me then so I can show you.”

  “Do you think some of these… magistrix? That they will know how I came here?” Felix said.

  “If not them, then no one would.”

  Felix smiled with relief. At last, he was getting somewhere. “Good. Before we go though, I will need a forge. My current sword won’t be the best thing for such a battle. And I would like to know…” He trailed off.

  She glanced up to his face. “Something the matter?”

  “Oh, no. It’s nothing,” Felix said. But he did not say his true thoughts. His sudden wondering if he had, as he first thought, come to this strange land alone…

  Meeting in Flames

  Tiberius raised his head. He sighed, tapping against his leg the stick he had been using to draw the ritual circles around the great bonfire in the middle of the room.

  “You know,” he said without looking from the crackling flames. “I have had a very difficult day. I’ve come from nearly conquering a world and summoning a god into the material realm to waking up naked in a cave and being clubbed by an orc. Then! I had to go ahead and seize control of a barbarian tribe, all in the same twenty four hours.

  “And now,” he said, gesturing at his naked torso and the crude pants he had managed to cinch around his waist. “I have some pants that threaten to fall down with every passing moment. I’m doing my spellwork with smoke and sticks, and I lost my favorite hat.

  “And the last thing I need,” he said, turning back to the near naked slave girl huddling before Morgoroth’s throne. “Is to listen to your sobbing! Really. A little consideration, please!”

  The girl quailed. Blonde, busty, garbed in nothing but golden bracers, anklets and collar, as much shackles as decoration, they were alone in the great hall of the orcs. After Tiberius’s proclamation, none had lingered. None but her, who the sorcerer had commanded to stay.

  “P-please,” the girl whimpered. “P-please don’t kill me.”

  Tiberius blinked with some surprise. “Is that what you’re worried about?” he said, tossing aside the stick he had been using. “Now what on earth would give you that idea?”

  The girl stopped shaking a little. Hope gleamed in blue eyes still wide with terror. “W-well… I mean… Um… You won’t?”

  “Of course,” Tiberius said, reaching out. Tentatively, she took his hand. He drew her up. She gasped, falling against his chest, feeling the heat which bled from the markings in his skin. “Surely you don’t think I would simply kill a woman such as yourself? So fair and beautiful. Oh no. Murdering a vision like you out of hand would be simply criminal. As opposed to… well, all those other murders I did.”

  The girl shivered, but felt herself drawn towards his heat. Towards those red eyes devouring her naked figure. “You…you won’t hurt me?” She pressed herself against him. “Y-you mean it?”

  He smiled, running his thumb along her cheek. “No.”

  And pushed her into the fire.

  Her surprise expression lasted all of a second before the flames enveloped her. Sparks flared up from the blaze. The marks on the floor flashed, glowed, crackling with crimson light. The room darkened. Smoke billowed in a gust, twisting towards the ceiling. Fire rushed outwards in a gust. Tiberius threw up an arm, shielding his eyes.

  The woman’s screams turned to laughter, and Tiberius carefully lowered his arm.

  The slave girl stood amid the flames. Her naked body glowed, ribbons of fire twining round her like serpents. Her hair rose into the air, writhing as if electrified.

  But her eyes were blue no longer, but the fierce gold of a snake.

  “Tiberius,” she said, her voice a seductive purr, reverberating with the girl’s voice, but echoed by something darker. She stepped free of the flames, only the tips of her toes touching the earth. “I was wondering what became of you.”

  “Hello Lamora,” Tiberius said. “The Serpent Who Devours the World. The Bane of Gods. The Endless Hunger.”

  “Must we be so formal?” she said, stepping from the flames. “I mean really.” She glanced back at the bonfire. “Wood smoke and dirt? I wondered if I should come at all.”

  “I did the best with what I had,” Tiberius said defensively. “In case you didn’t notice, things have not gone well for me.�
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  “Mmm. I must admit, I do like the body,” she said, running her hands up her sides, arching, pushing her proud breasts out as her fingers ran through her twining hair. “No virgin, but I suppose it will do.”

  “Always virgins with you,” he muttered. “They don’t grow on bloody trees you know.”

  “That sounds like something that’s not my problem. Now,” she said, stepping nearer, “what can I do for you, my sweet Edgar?”

  “Don’t call me Edgar! And you know what,” Tiberius said, glowering at the woman as she pushed herself against him. He felt his body respond to her – who wouldn’t? – and did his best to ignore it. He had seen what lay beneath the mask of flesh. “Information. Where am I? What happened at the temple? And where is my hat?”

  “You failed, my love,” she said sweetly, her hand brushing his naked chest, running up his cheek and curling a lock of his dark hair. “Your ritual failed to split the veil. I’m afraid I and my siblings were denied your lovely little world as our playground.

  “And you know what that means,” she said, her golden eyes hungry. Her finger traced the markings on his chest, causing them to flare. “That means our… deal remains. Your soul is mine.”

  He caught her hand, grip tight. “I haven’t failed yet,” he growled, staring down into her glowing eyes. “And it’s not yours alone. A dozen of your brethren have claim over me too.” He grinned, savage with the challenge. “And I hope you tear each other apart for it.”

  “Awful clever of you,” she said, arching against him, pressing her burning breasts against his chest. “But it will make my victory all the sweeter. You know what we want,” she said, her eyes gleaming. “We want reality. We want the gate open. Succeed, and you shall rule for us, my love,” she said, her tongue forked as it flicked against his chest. “And I so look forward to being able to thoroughly reward you in… person.”