I return to consciousness with a naked Indel straddling me. “You see, my love, what I have seen. There is no hope but surrender. Join me, please! Be my conquering general astride the world.”
Gotta stay strong for Svelgi, for Mailis, for Nym and Katarina, who emerged with the survivors. I can’t betray Blaze. “Indel…”
She whispers in my ear, voice quiet and needy. “Please, please, please, my love — think of all we could do together. Think of all we could accomplish!”
Need to get out of here before Achillea attacks. Need to stall. “I admit, I’m pretty impressed you captured me. I thought you’d be paralysed arguing.”
“Yes, it was an operation of beauty. Soaring on Castellan’s wings, the world offers no more resistance than sugar might to tea. See, love?” With a snap of her fingers she disappears, the light with her. After a few moments she appears before me with a silver pitcher of wine from the Mystic’s Tower. She holds my head back and pours me a generous mouthful — trickles run out the corners of my lips. It’s even nicer than Alyx’s. “We can go anywhere with a snap of my fingers — and we can stay there as long as we like. With you leading a strike force, we could drop into their little pirate haven and slaughter them all.”
Her Familiar’s given her one hell of an upgrade — any permanent Alteration spell is powerful, but permanent teleportation? (Usually teleportation magic works like a rubber band, eventually flinging you back to your start point). And her plan’s Dawn’s best chance of beating Achillea before Syrene can swamp them with her cheating. Still, I’m Blaze. Keep stalling; keep scratching.
“Kidnapping me the only thing you and Mae could agree on?”
Her face flattens. “Yes,” she says, quietly, “even the peasant understands your value.”
“Where is she?”
The door flies open and I hear her comforting voice. “Alright, Princess, it’s my turn.”
“Why must you mention her, love? We could’ve had such a wonderful time together.” Indel, still naked, wraps her arms around me protectively as Mae stares from the door, beautiful in her Imperial uniform.
Her voice is cheerful as she approaches us. “You want to win, right Princess?” She leans in close, whispering singsong in Indel’s ear. “I think you know I have a better chance of getting her on-side than you do. I think you know she likes me more.”
Indel’s body shudders, her neck tightening around me with one final pythonish embrace before she releases me and slips her clothes back on.
“My darling Hattie’s heart is wild; I would not presume to tame it. She will return to me, when she tires of you.”
“Bye, Princess!” calls Mae as she disappears. Then her eyes fall on me and her voice lowers. “Hi,” she says.
“Hi,” I squeak.
“Sooo,” she begins, placing her finger on my ankle and running it slowly up my leg, “you tried to probability manipulate your way onto a team with me, right?” Her finger stops at the top of my pants, fingers lightly brushing the skin of my lower stomach. Oh god. I breathe deeply, fight to stay focused on the work my hands are doing behind my back.
“I, um, I did.”
She throws a leg over so she’s straddling me, shuffles close until there’s no space left between us.
“I wish it worked,” says Mae, laying it on thick, looking up at me with an expression that is almost ludicrously seductive, “I wanted to be on a team with you, Hattie, and not just because I knew you’d be strong player.” She stretches up so the tips of our noses are touching; she’s staring at my lips; I think I might faint. “I was kind of hoping to lose control around you,” she whispers.
I’m physically fighting to keep my breathing under control now. She pulls away just an inch and smiles brightly.
“But all that can be fixed now!” I don’t see where the bracelet comes from, but she holds it up triumphantly. “We can be on the winning team together! Wouldn’t you prefer we both get tie clips?”
Believe me, it won’t be such a cut and dry victory, Mae. I can’t spill the little intelligence I have, though. We need every advantage we can get. My throat is dry, and when I finally manage to get my voice out, it sounds weak.
“I’m sorry. I can’t betray Blaze. Facing off against enemies together… it sort of creates, I dunno, a sense of loyalty?” Mae’s fingers dig hard into my shoulders.
“You’re not loyal to me, Hattie?” My throat forms a lump. She’s so beautiful. “Because I’m loyal to you.”
“Loyal?” I manage, “You’re making me compete with another girl for you!”
She rolls her eyes. “I didn’t send a strike force to bring Alyx to me, did I? What you and I have is special.” She wraps her arms around my neck and godsdamnit she looks up into my eyes again. Concentrate, Hattie. “That’s okay, though,” she says, “because it gives me a very good excuse to break my promise.” Suddenly she’s grinding on me, hips rocking back and forth. The sudden pressure, the way her body’s moving — I can’t help it, I let out a moan. “You could have me Hattie. Not Alyx. You,” she whispers. “Who could blame me, if it was to get you on side? And who could blame you, switching teams for love?”
I shiver. At least her frankly vigorous movement means my hands can work more insistently behind my back. She moans loudly, collapsing into my neck, shuddering with pleasure. I can’t help but bury my face into her lavender-honey smelling hair as she unbuttons my jacket.
“Let me make you feel good Hattie,” she says, voice breathy. “Whatever you want, okay? All you have to do is put the bracelet on.”
I’m about ready to cut the entire arm off, if she asks me to; if she keeps moving against me like that, keeps kissing along my neck. No! Hattie! Concentrate!
I can feel a little give now, in the patch of wall I’ve been scratching at with my handcuffs. Mae throws her head back, crying out in pleasure, and her beauty stuns me for a moment.
You wouldn’t give it all up for this girl? You wouldn’t give up anything you had for her?
Stop! There are eight Blaze survivors left! I need to think about them!
Godsdamnit though she opens her eyes and looks up at me again, all sweet and pleading, and a sound like a whimper escapes me. She bites her lip, moaning wildly, and I think this might be it, I might turn traitor — but the wall is falling away like paper now and I know what happens next.
I shove my arms into the static hum of magic and my teeth stand on end as the magical current passes through me. I let Mae finish — even the juddering magical energy flowing into me can’t stop me from admiring her face and the adorable noises she makes as she cums — but then it’s down to business.
I tell the handcuffs that their job is to restrain Mae, not me, and they obey instantly. Her eyes open in shock and confusion for just a moment but, Gods, the woman can adapt. She tosses both arms over my head, bringing the heavy steel down onto the back of my neck with a screaming impact.
“Fuck!” I yell.
She’s quick, but she can only face off against my brute strength for so long. I wrestle her arms from around my neck and pin her, growling at the stinging pain radiating down my spine.
Her glasses have remarkably stayed on in the struggle. Her eyes are huge and sparkling behind them.
“We have time, Hattie. You can get rough with me.”
Removing myself from her heaving, warm body is physically painful, but I do it. Mae whines.
“We have less than you think, but I really hope you keep that attitude when we get out of here.”
She gives me a don’t you wish smirk. I get to work, chaining her to the opposite wall so she can’t access the live magic spewing out of the corner (I don’t think she could do anything with it, with her Restoration magic, but I’m not fool enough to underestimate Mae Maiven).
She’s posing irresistibly the whole time of course, looking up at me with those huge eyes. I force myself to avert my gaze and tune into the magical link. I thought I couldn’t do it without the bracer, but now that I understand how it works, I find it relatively easy to tap into the already established thought channel.
Blaze! Any survivors, move toward Dawn’s base. I have a plan, I think we can take the palace.
It’s an effort to hold the channel open, and for a moment I think something terrible must have happened, but then Katarina’s smooth voice speaks, as if right next to my ear.
We’re already headed there. In my current state, her voice so close to me… well, I start thinking about the vampyr girl a little differently. We were going to- well- uh.
We were gonna go turncloak, Nym’s cheerful voice cuts in, but I like your idea better. We can make Copper pay as ourselves! As Blaze!
“If you’re not gonna do it, Hattie, I’ll have to call the guards in.”
Then I don’t have a lot of time. I’m connecting pathways in the exposed manaframe, the way Syrene did, but I must be tapped into a different section — I try to conjure some armour (Mae got me down to my tight undershirt and the leather pants, which are no protection except for my modesty — and even then…) but it comes out black and smoking.
Okay, but the handcuff trick worked…
I think myself faster, smarter, stronger. I think myself an Evoker, because it’s what I always wanted to be. And, finally, I think myself the best Seer in the world…
And quickly revert it when the flood of perception blinds me. Still, not a bad arsenal.
The door flies open and a dwarf with a braided beard enters, hammer in her hand. Like a panther I’m on her, wresting the weapon from her grip before she realises I’ve moved. A blow to her chest sends her crashing back into the dark skinned, silver-haired elf behind her. I step into the corridor and dispatch them both with a gelid gale; their corpses lie with blue faces and ice in their hair.
“She’s loose! She’s loose! Red alert!” Mae shouts behind me, and I slam the door to muffle her.
The corridor’s a cramped tunnel of packed ice with gravel strewn across the floor for grip. For the others, it must be freezing — for me, it’s like a home I’ve never seen. The feel of cold wind whipping down the tunnel invigorates me. Indel waits at the end of the corridor, staring with a wide-eyed look I last saw when I grabbed her throat in Oracle’s den.
A spike of ice races down to meet her; she yells and cowers behind her wrist. The ice locks onto her vambrace and disappears harmlessly inside it. It’s only then I see she’s in a bloody Blaze bracer.
“What are you doing?” I challenge, walking towards her. Indel just smiles.
“My love, what else could I do? I knew she could never entice you, for you are an honourable, noble woman, one who would never disgrace herself by defecting. And who are we to demand a radiance such as yours bend to our mortal whim? No, no… I knew it must be I who stains my honour for you… for my precious Hattie — I was coming to free you. But you have done that yourself.” She drapes herself against me, running her talons down my exposed biceps, practically drooling. “Such is your power. Oh, Hattie, please: take me now.”
I have to admit, it’d be cruel if I didn’t give her points for this. With my arm around the small of her back I give her a quick kiss on the beak that brings a whimper I can’t help but enjoy. “We need to secure the base first.”
“Very well. There is wisdom in this. But please, my love, you must promise me you will ravish me when you have bathed in the blood of our enemies.”
“The commander promises nothing — she leads.”
Indel swoons and takes my hand.