An Apocalypse Rising Ch. 10

The next man, a barrel-chested soul that had more hair than some of the beasts even though the wasn't one picked Abren up, taking her place on the ground, spearing her as another woman planted her ass on his chest and spread her legs, offering her pussy for licking. Since Abren now had the wet of several other women on her lips, she decided one more was fine and came forward, licking ravenously as her hands in the dirt braced her for her properly twisting herself on his cock.

It was so nice. She hadn't felt so full of passion in years. Happy in her life? Yes, but not like this. The wild abandon had left long ago in favor of duty and her own family. Abren bit her lip and rode him almost casually, savoring the way his girth spread her open. It would feel good to let go and be free. It would be easy. And would it be so bad? All who fell were happy and this one...this one was like...like...

Ghent She moaned it as she thought it, pulling her husband's name from deep within her mind. She remembered how her parents bucked tradition when it was still nearly unheard of to not arrange a proper marriage for one's children by letting her find her own mate. She had met him at a winter dance, him looking at her from across the room with her knowing that he would not ask a young girl such as her because he knew from being told so by many a young woman that his size was...unappealing.

But she saw his shyness and his smile and both called to her. His heart made his body irrelevant to her that way and they they had built a good life together, raising four fine children with three in the military and one in the sciences, the oldest now with family of her own.

I cannot leave them like this. I cannot. She screamed it into her mind like a roar as she said the word between kisses on feminine thigh.

"Shhhh, sweet one," Jessa said as the fog began to descend again.

Emotions welled up as the fog began to clear. "I will never be that bitch's thing. The general will kill her. The mages will kill her. I will not give her my soul to die here like this, like some...used up courtesan. They need me. I want...to go home to them. I will go home to them."

Her cunt kept filling itself with him of its own accord as she looked to see the half-mage still caressing Abren's body, apparently unaware that, whatever the spell was, it wasn't working. It was now her body against her mind and she demanded that her mind prevail. She admitted to herself no small bit of regret came with pulling her heated pussy from his cock.

Jessa's mouth was agape, realizing only then that she had no more magic to wield. "What have you done?"

Abren pushed at her rational mind to continue to slap it awake as she made her way to Delles. "My friends are ridding the world of your mistress."

"They can't." The tone was such that it may as well have been suggested that her friends could stop the world from spinning.

"They are." She found Delles with her mouth firmly planted between the legs of another woman and lifted it away, causing both of them to whine. "Delles, come with me."

The face stared back at her blankly for a moment before Delles tried to kiss her.

Abren struck her hard across the cheek, "Delles!"

She moaned before laughing at the strike, her eyes still glazed and, in their own way, dead.

Abren's expression was crestfallen. "I will remember you well, and as you were. Goodbye, my friend." She let her go find whatever happiness she would and collected her slip, leathers, and weapons as Jessa looked on. "You can't leave."

"Leaving," her voice almost daring Jessa as she moved through the tangles of bodies. Try to stop me and your life ends that much sooner." She remembered Kes and began to dress hurriedly near the entry they came through.

"You can't leave." She extended her arm to no effect.

Dressed, she armed herself and gave Jessa, one last look, "You've said that already and I'm still leaving."

Desperation and fear co-mingled as she shook, not knowing what to do with her impotence. "You can't resist her power!!" Her voice reverberated, the words causing a wave of orgasms to cascade through the cavern.

Abren turned to find her friends and fight for her life.

***

Neral followed Deres as the four made their way rapidly through the passages, feeling much more like herself as they closed on their target. "You're sure these ley lines are blocked now?"

"I'm certain. I can't sense them anymore. Mother did what she'd set out to do."

"How long will it last? How much time do we have?"

"Like the wards, captain, they last until they're taken down. Drexa is clever. If she'd put her mind to it she could undo it, but that would take time and then we'd know where she is."

Neral noted to herself that they had seen far fewer beasts than before. "She's not going to leave herself vulnerable there when she doesn't know what was done, how to undo it, or how long the undoing will take. She's pulling back to the center of things to make her stand."

"Mother." His steps quickened at the sight of her and he embraced her tightly and Neral and Dion extended arms to Dalen and Anna before embracing one another quickly and fiercely. "You succeeded."

She looked to Anna. "We did. It will make an interesting story for the trip home. "You are all right?"

"More or less."

She looked him over, then to each of them before she made the leap. "Bryana? I'm so-"

"I could not," Neral said quickly. "It came to the moment and I could not."

She saw the disappointment in Maylin's eyes and it was simply a mirror of the guilt she felt herself, but the look morphed into one of understanding. "Had it been me faced with that choice with Deres...I'm not entirely sure I could have either. We will...simply deal with it." Seeing the way Elan looked upon him with a quiet adoration that she never had before, she looked to him. "Do you have a story as well?"

"Bound to me or lost one way or another is the long and short."

She nodded. Looking to Neral, "We end this now."

"Before she can counter," the general agreed, looking at the hands she had left. "We don't have time to find the others."

"I can draw them," Deres said. With the weapon enhancements done, I can pull the wielder to us, and hopefully it is one of our own."

"Husband, I doubt one or two more beasts will make a difference."

He took her in his arms and kissed her hard and she took a few seconds to relish the closeness of him. If things were to end today, they would at least be together for it. She had seen in her mind's eye often the sight of him as the ranking officer in Erette at the time she fell coming to him to inform him as was custom when the commander of forces fell and it stung, to say the least. They parted fingers lingering in contact for a few more precious seconds. "If there is anyone to bring, bring them."

He nodded as they began moving towards the center of it all, speaking with his mother as they went. "I came up with a way to transmit the disease through mage energy."

"You always were a bright child."

"I had excellent teachers."

"Teach me."

They moved as he did with Anna listening. "Don't suppose we can all do that."

Maylin had sympathy. "Sorry."

"Figures. I'm used to stabbing anyway."

"Are we going to have to dodge you as well as her?"

"It won't harm you," Deres told Neral, sounding as though he were teaching. "Only them."

The Mage's sense of Drexa led them toward her, but they searched for the narrowest of passages to bring them forward to avoid being trapped by the larger things of hers.

"General!"

The group turned to the sound to see Kes come to them, beast blood on her blade and happy to see them. "I thought I'd seen the last of you."

"Delles and Abren?" Neral prepared for the worst.

"We were doing a good job of punishing them. After we trashed a facility the beasts pursued and we were separated...but alive and well the last I saw."

Neral studied her before nodding. "One way or another we'll find out what happened. Follow."

"Yes, sir.

Minutes more of them weaving through passages and they entered what appeared to be a central egg chamber, this one with eggs numbering in the thousands. Two large passages on the other side were covered by gargantuan beasts reminiscent of the lumbering thing in the forest, though these had irregular spines along their backs as though the bone had been stabbed through them in random places. The room was lined with lesser things with another behemoth to their left covering the main entry. Neral and her soldiers took the time to take stock of from where the attacks would come, how fast they could move, and what to avoid first.

Near her chambers stood Drexa, a vision in black that accented her assets, hugging some and forcing others out, as though seduction was to be her last weapon. She certainly seemed unconcerned. On the contrary, she seemed more angry at the disruption than threatened. "Which of you is responsible for cutting me off from my magic?"

They moved slowly to the widest of the paths in the center of the room to face her while the animals snorted and frothed while growls bubbled from the center of their chests, preparing to strike at their meal. Deres gestured to Neral. "She did. Not much of a mage; it's more a hobby for her, really."

The witch was not at all amused which amused him.

"I am," Maylin said proudly, "though I did have to have help since your things did their best to kill us. You may want to work on them a bit longer; more brains and less brawn would have been helpful."

"They serve me. I'm sure you think me an abomination, but even I would never destroy access to magic."

Maylin was unmoved. "That you might be able to use? Of course not." She moved herself to stand between Drexa and the group like a wall.

She studied the group with some amusement. "I see that Adar still doesn't care what I do. Had the Council sent you they never would have allowed you to join with the spear-wielders."

"Someone had to stand against what you are and what you seek to do. I saw. I acted. And, these people...," she looked to Neral and each in turn. "My daughter and those she commands sacrificed much to bring me here. "

"Let them go, Maylin Xon. Adar is full of doddering, sheltered souls that they are willing to just sit by and let the world happen around them. They would even debate protecting themselves to the point where you have to ally with the cave people to do it. We are the strong. We should rule over the petty children. It is our birthright. The universe demands it."

She shook her head. "If you can so commune with the universe that you know its will, you are a great mage indeed."

"Show me how great you are then. Show me that you can stand against all that is mine. Show me that yours is the superior will."

Taking the invitation, Maylin drew her own blade and channeled the energy forward into a beam of blue and white that curled around the protective shell she had created. When it dissipated, Drexa laughed at the absurdity of it. "Is that it? Really, is that it? I've literally been hit harder by children."

She shrugged. "It was worth a try. Let's see how it works on something else. She aimed at one of the spike-backed animals and its tan hair where the beam hit simply vanished into dust, the hide underneath turning brittle and falling away, doing the same to the soft tissue beneath before cutting through entirely to some of the animals in the tunnel behind it.

Drexa studied the results, ignoring the primal cries of pain she heard as the magic wrecked them. She tilted her head and conceded, "That was better."

"Did you think we were just going to come in here with nothing and hope for the best?" Deres glanced to his wife. "Study your enemy and seek weakness as long as they'll let you."

She drew her sword. "Good on you for paying attention, Husband."

"I only feign boredom to get under your skin occasionally."

"Must you?"

"It amuses."

Drexa was done, "Let's see how long you can hold out. "Take the primitives. Have one of them and the mages will submit."

In response, Neral called out in her most commanding tone. "Everyone save one of the red slips. We will not be taken."

The words got her a "Yes, sir." in near perfect unison.

As Neral was used to, anticipation turned into frenzy as the beasts came from all around them, some lumbering, some skittering, some running in a way something like the way people run. Her eyes darted looking for an opportunity before choosing one at the entry. "Maylin!" She pointed to where she wanted to be. "Carve me a path if you can."

She ran headlong to the nearest creature, glad for the weapons as they were. There were too many creatures for a protracted battle with any one of them. There was no time for finesse. There was only time to strike and depend on the magic. Drawing the blade down the chest of one creature she shoulder-rolled to the next, slicing at a leg before pushing herself away to dodge a strike before reaching into her pocket for the grenade slips.

Maylin's magic threaded through in a seemingly endless stream from both hands, felling them quickly, but more and more were coming. Clearly Drexa was trying to throw every creature meant for Adar at them, but the tunnels themselves were her enemy now, restricting their number and their flow.

Maylin forced enough of them back to let Neral run parallel to the beam and out several feet into the passage before she jumped and threw two of them with all her might before rushing back into the cavern and the fray. The explosions rocked everything, bringing some of the ceiling down on the creatures, shattering the lighting and sending burning animals careening into one another, slowing those trying to climb over the dead or dying.

It was coordinated mayhem with Deres and Maylin back to back, daggers in both hands, cutting down all they could reach and the soldiers slashing all they could in a lethal dance. Anna was vaulting from creature to creature, kissing them with her blades.

Dion took her anger out on anything near her. Dalen rammed her sword into the back of a once-human as Elan slashed with her short sword before drawing an arrow and using her bow to drive it into a creature closing on Deres while Neral threw her dagger into another before recovering it. It was getting hard to navigate the bodies of the creatures creatures and to keep up the pace. Even Maylin and Deres were feeling the strain in their tightened brows and sweat.

Kes ducked and slashed. "General! She's retreating."

Neral fixed her gaze at Drexa who was moving toward her chambers. She went to a full sprint with Kes not far behind, hearing the crackle of energy that marked the magic in use and saw it carving a path parallel to hers. She knew it was Deres without looking. Her breath was ragged from exertion, but she forced more from herself, quickening and widening her stride, oblivious to anything but closing on her target.

That being the case, she was unaware of Abren's appearance in the cavern as the new arrival performed a running slide to slice a creature nearing Elan. Her eyes widened, cold fear running through her as she focused on the sight of Kes chasing Neral. She called out to anyone that could hear,"Stop her!"

The words pulled Deres' attention even as his power cut through more of the beasts. His eyes darted to the two running soldiers now nearly on top of Drexa as she pushed past a barrier of magic and into her chambers. He looked back to Abren as he heard, "She's turned!"

When he turned back to unleash a lethal fire upon her the doors sealed themselves.

***

Neral stood, sword before her, with Kess to her left, controlling her breathing, conserving her energy. and preparing for whatever was next. "End this."

"I offer you that opportunity," Drexa said sweetly. "The battle rages. Magic is not infinite and two swords are gone now. One of them out there will falter, then the others will. I'll have what I want in the end." As if to punctuate her words, the floor beneath them shook and the thunder drowned her voice. Neral took some satisfaction that there was surprise in those unique eyes; she hadn't planned it.

Still, she seemed untroubled. "Mmm..the sounds of desperation, Neral Jaye. The fight is being lost."

"You hope."

There was more thunder and more uncertainty beneath their feet. "As do you. Convince one of your mages to join me. Help me get to Adar and I give my word that that will be the end of it. Adar wronged me. The Council persecuted me. My grievances against them are real. They deserve what will happen."

"You? Your others? You have fought for your lives and you are here. You have fought against your own corruption and have won. Those are the marks of of superior and worthy beings. I will stop at Adar if you help me now."

Her derision was plain. "And just take your word for it that you'll leave the rest be? No. And what of the defenseless there?"

"What of them? Why fight for people who will not fight for you? Look at what magic-weilders you have with you; one because he is your mate and another because she is a renegade not unlike myself. If the rest cared for you they'd be here and I would have been gone." She snapped her fingers for emphasis. "Why sacrifice anything for them?"

She took a step closer. "Those that let apathy allow you to run roughshod have guilt, but that is not all of them. Some were afraid of defying the law. Some were afraid of you. None of them deserve to pay the price you'd take. Fighting for them is worthwhile enough."

"Weakness."

Neral, focused on her enemy, saw that merest flit of her eyes to the right and her sword met Kes's with a clang. Neral looked into those eyes , now with a hint of wild and unhinged. "I am Hers, General. There is no choice."

"She may have a piece of you," she began as she parried a strike, "but there is still you. It speaks to me now."

"I surrendered for joy. For pleasure. For obedience. It can't be undone even if I regret what She asks of me."

They circled one another, striking vigorously, looking for weakness and searching for the signs of a mistake. Kes was strong, and perhaps stronger, but Neral was more nimble on her feet and intuitive. She could see the subtle shift of her opponents limbs and tensing of muscles that telegraphed what she might do next.

That failing let Neral bring her blade across Kes's shoulder, slicing through the leathers to her skin. She cried out in pain, but was able to bring her sword up to block the next strike, staggering backward as the earth shook once more.

"Bored now," Drexa said, swiping her hand to the right and Neral was overwhelmed by the force against her, slamming her into the wall and forcing the air from her lungs in a rush and sending her sword clattering to the stone under their feet.

"The mages will help me or you will die."

Neral struggled, unable to move, feeling again like she was trying to squeeze through the passage again, but this time the rock wall pushed back. "Then I die. Maylin will not stop because she knows what is at stake is larger than my life. Deres will not stop for the same reason and that he knows I'm not sure I could forgive him if he made others suffer so just for me. Kill me!"

Kes waited for the command to do it before a voice echoed from the passage that led to Drexa's laboratories. "Oh, I would be happy to." Bryana leaned against the cavern wall while making her way to the doorway. Her pallor was slightly gray as Neral had imagined the retching had continued, but the spark of her was still there in her eyes and in the way she tried to remain composed and elegant even as she appeared now, though her words spat venom.

"Ever since I met you, Neral Jaye, you have stolen from me. You stole my life from me so I could have the honor of being your pet. I struggle and I am freed to be the person I am and you tried to steal me from me again.