Wild Wastes 5 -ch24- (Patreon)

Elizabeth pulled backward and her wings moved slower for several seconds, causing her to dip down. She descended fairly quickly, though Vince couldn’t tell if it was controlled or due to the large wagon she was carrying between her paws.

Just before landing, she set it down to one side and then landed on the turf with a huff.

“Well, that’ll cover us for a few days as far as supplies go. I still find it amusing that they tried sending supply convoys across anyways,” Elizabeth grumbled, looking to Vince. “How’d your end go.

“The same as yours I imagine. Unfortunately, I’m not a giant flying weapon of death, so I couldn’t bring anything back,” Vince lamented.

“Why thank you. I’m glad to hear you think of me so,” Elizabeth purred with a chuckle, her head swiveling around to face him directly. “I’ve worked very hard to be so. Do you think I’ve worked hard enough to put together a vault for me?”

“Definitely,” agreed Vince. “Most definitely. We’ll need to have a vault in Spain anyways. I’m sure Elysia will tell me that the finances need to be separated anyways. One for Yosemite of North America, one for Spain. I’m sure technically it’ll be two kingdoms and I’ll be the head of both, but we’ll need to do a whole bunch of stupid crap for each one.

“See… this is where I rely on my elves. I just let them do all this for me. I’m no good at it at all. It’d be like asking you to take care of a rodent problem. You could hit the whole place with fire but that wouldn’t really solve the issue in a good way.”

“I agree. Yes. There are things that are best suited for others. It’s one of the reasons I’ve worked so hard at being human. I want to be more useful. More so than even Taylor,” Elizabeth said and then lifted a clawed hand to reach into the wagon. She pulled out what looked like a watermelon.

Lifting it to her mouth she paused, a large glowing eye focused on something distant.

Turning to look in the same direction, Vince saw that a new group of enemies were heading their way.

There was one obvious magician in the group that was riding a magical construct and a large group of soldiers marching in formation.

They were coming.

“Oh,” Elizabeth said and then put the watermelon back into the wagon. “Well, that’s a pity. I was hoping to try and get you to make love to me like a human if I’m being honest.

“I was feeling particularly ready, considering how well we’ve been fighting together for the last three days. Especially sleeping next to you at night.”

Vince nodded his head to that. He’d definitely felt a shifting in his personal awareness of her lately.

“I’ll take the soldiers,” he muttered instead, moving to the far side of Elizabeth. Closer to those with weapons. Much as they’d just talked about, it’d be foolish for him to fight the magician.

That was a bad matchup for him.

As he passed by, Elizabeth leaned her head down and pushed her snout up against his shoulder. Taking a deep whiff of him as he went. Then letting out a soft rumble a moment later.

“You’re letting your Dragon out more lately,” Vince remarked as he pulled his pistol out and eased the slide back. There was a round in the chamber, so he flicked the safety off.

“I’m confident in my ability to be human-like, so I no longer have to hold back my natural instincts. That, and I had several good talks with Taylor. As well as a number of other Dragons.

“You smell like violence and blood. It’s lovely.”

Smirking, Vince shook his head and flexed his hands out. After it felt like his fingers were loose, he started to bounce in place, even as their enemies kept coming on.

Those who were heading their way made no move to shift about or change their orientation. Heading straight for them, unerringly.

Vince looked off to the north to spot where the Nullifiers might be. They were rather quiet today and hadn’t done much of anything.

Just watched from a distance and kept an eye on Vince and Elizabeth.

So far, Vince had noticed there were two different groups. The current group was the same one that’d knocked the magicians out of the sky so that they could, quite literally, be fed to Vince.

So long as they stay over there, everything is fine.

Just dandy, in fact.

Looking back to the opponents, Vince pulled out his sword. Holding his anger back from himself, Vince wanted to stay as sane as he could in this fight. He needed to dispose of this group of soldiers as quickly as he could and then join Elizabeth.

The mounted magician was matching the soldiers speed though at a considerable distance from them. The whole of them now only thirty or so feet away. There was no mistaking at this distance that all the soldiers were utilizing enchanted weapons and armor.

Lifting his pistol, Vince aimed it at the lead soldier and fired. His pistol would be able to punch through their armor after a shot or two to burn up the inherent magic.

Except, no sooner had he fired than the image of the soldiers flickered, then blew apart into nothing. All that was there was the magician who’d been much closer to Elizabeth a moment ago.

Now they were directly above and in front of Vince, and he could make out a determined look on what was clearly a female face.

Vince didn’t have time to notice anything more of her as he was now trying to rapidly juggle his thoughts around. Where the magician had been was now a group of soldiers with enchanted gear. Two of their number had crossbows and were already in the process of firing. Both bolts were fired and tore through Elizabeth’s spread wings.

There was a brief flash of orange as the projectiles left a flaming hole behind where they punched through.

Shit, she won’t be able to take off.

Grimacing, Vince realized he needed to do the same thing to his own opponent, or she’d be raining down hell on him from above. Never engaging him on the ground and keeping him out of reach.

Lifting his pistol, Vince aimed it at the one place he hoped he could do some good with it. The magical platform the mage was riding.

Firing repeatedly, Vince did what he could to somehow imbue the weapon with power. Either just directly from him, encompassing it with Nullifier power, or realistically, anything he could force onto the weapon.

The first several shots struck the object before the mage realized she wasn’t being fired at. Whatever she was using to protect herself must’ve tried to shift downward as the next two shots hit something other than the platform.

Apparently that was too late though.

Whether the bullets by themselves were enough, or whatever he’d tried to do to the rounds had worked, the flying object pitched to one side, then backward. It rapidly started to move the magician away from Vince before dumping her out onto the ground.

Hitting the ground, the mage tumbled head over heels once, then somehow managed to land in a crouch. Her hands and feet in a four-point crouch and sliding across the turf.

Elizabeth lowered her head and let loose a massive gout of flame, cooking half the soldiers before they’d even gotten a chance to close in on her. Once they were in her face so to speak, she wouldn’t be able to get a good breath of fire out like that.

Vince turned his focus entirely on his opponent. Elizabeth could handle what she was dealing with better than what Vince was going up against.

He couldn’t afford to look away.

Getting upright, the mage looked at Vince.

It gave him the first chance to really look at her. To get a sense of her.

He was immediately struck by the fact that she was not human.

Or more precisely, not mortal.

There was a strange feeling to her that Vince couldn’t initially pinpoint on seeing her, but now had an idea on. That she wasn’t mortal, instead, she was more like Dea.

Fuck, I’m fighting a goddess who uses magic?

Shit.

Her hair was quite short, not much more than finger-length dark curls, though it was a black that shone from reflected light. Her eyes were odd to him though. As far as he could tell, they were as black as her iris, which made her eyes look very dark.

Everything about her screamed that she was taking this fight absolutely seriously and expected to have to do anything and everything to win. That if she found an easy win she’d take it without hesitation.

Need to close the distance!

Vince sprinted toward her, his sword drifting upward and being prepared to swing out. Firing at her with his pistol would be a waste of ammo at the moment.

The woman’s left hand made a swirling motion, causing a dense ball of fire to shoot forward toward his abdomen.

Unable to duck, he could only move to the sides or backward.

Planting his foot, Vince ducked his shoulder and shifted his weight to the left.

Only to slam into a low wall of stone that was ankle high. Causing him to pitch forward in a stumble.

Doing everything he could to catch his balance and not look away from his opponent, Vince stutter stepped through the grass, his arms windmilling as he fought gravity.

A ball of earth slammed into his hip and sent him flying. Spinning through the air like a blade of grass tumbling in the wind.

Before he’d gotten too far away, a hammer of air smashed down on him. Knocking him down and flat into the grass before landing atop him.

Trying to flatten him straight into the ground outright.

Holy fuck she’s manhandling me.

I don’t think Leila, Elysia, or even Yaris could do this.

Fuck me.

Rolling backward, rather than forward or to the sides, Vince kicked out with his feet the moment he felt the ground beneath his soles, launching himself backward and away from the mage.

A boulder the size of a house slammed down into the grass where he’d been with a gigantic rumble. Blocking his field of view of the mage and hers of him.

“Fuck,” hissed Vince as he danced a step or two and got his balance again. Then he rushed forward, putting himself up against what would’ve been his grave if he’d been only a second or two slower.

He didn’t doubt for a second she’d seen him get away. If he waited too long to pursue her, she’d get her magical construct put back together and fly off.

Pushing forward and getting close to her was his best bet.

That meant he needed to go.

Let’s go!

Go and —

The big rock vanished, and Vince found himself staring at his opponent.

Her hands were up in front of herself. Her eyes were hard, her frown deep and her downturned mouth showing much the same expression she’d been wearing since earlier.

A blast of long icicle-like projectiles launched free from her palms. Almost like a shotgun would effectively work. Flinging more out at Vince than he could deal with by moving in any way.

Activating the brief Nullifier shield he could barely operate, Vince started racing ahead again. Every shard that hit the shield become nothing more than a puff of vapor as the shield eliminated it and used it to power itself.

Straightening up, the mage flicked her left hand to the side and made a pointing motion with it, her right hand closed on itself then flung up with a twirl. A cone of air spread out in front of her and around Vince.

He felt his speed drop off suddenly, but he kept moving.

The air around him became the coldest he’d ever felt in his life, the shield around him doing absolutely nothing. Whatever the mage had done was an indirect type of attack that didn’t actually engage the shield.

It was too late though, Vince had cleared the distance and was now in front of her.

His sword came out in a slash with all the speed and strength he could manage. Tearing through the air and creating a whining noise that sounded like the air itself was screaming.

Passing through her middle, the sword bisected the mage across her navel. The weapon going right through her clothes and out the other side without much stopping it.

Except the mage didn’t split in half or move. She just stood there.

Vince was confused and hesitated, watching her blank face.

A second after that and the cold caught up with him. Causing his breath to actually catch it was so bitingly void of heat around him.

Then the mage vanished into nothing, reappearing twenty feet to the left and the side. She was moving parallel to him and keeping her distance, but within range to work her spell.

Damn! She teleported or something.

Lifting his pistol, Vince started trundling after her and began firing. Trying to escape the awful cold that was leaching his strength while keeping her off balance.

Only for the mage to move a hand and point with two fingers to the left. It was actually quite similar to the gesture she’d made previously.

When she’d apparently teleported away from him.

Shifting his weapon to where she’d pointed, he waited a split second, then she appeared there a moment later. Adjusting to correct for where she’d ended up, Vince started firing on her. Putting six or seven rounds down range before he realized she wasn’t even trying to block them.

They were just going through her.

Damn, damn!

This is ridiculous!

The heat of the day suddenly fell on him and he could feel the sun washing rays of glorious heat over him. He’d managed to escape whatever spell she’d dropped down there that’d been tearing through him.

A thin blade punched through his Legionnaire armor and came out his front. Sticking upright in front of him in a weird and strange way.

It’d gone right through his lung and barely missed his heart.

Stumbling forward, Vince spun around and lifted up his sword to fend off the mage’s next attack.

Only to find one of the soldiers that had been fighting Elizabeth standing there. A bloody blade held aloft in his hand. Elizabeth wasn’t that far behind the man, laid out on the ground.

She was unmoving and looked to be quite dead.

Her head had nearly been hacked free from her body. Most of it had been cut free from repeated blows. There was also a sword that’d been run right through the top of her skull and down through her brain.

Another soldier was moving toward Vince, only two having survived their encounter with Elizabeth.

In grounding her, they’d prevented her from escaping them and utilized their weaponry to inflict much greater wounds than normal steel could. Even firearms wouldn’t have been much of a threat to her.

The rage Vince had been holding in check flooded upward and through him quickly. It caused his heart to beat erratically and roughly.

They planned extensively for this. It was foolish and arrogant on our part to sit here and think we could handle them by ourselves. Foolish, arrogant and beyond stupid.

Vince rushed forward even as the soldier looked at Vince as if expecting him to fall over right then and there.

Roaring, despite the fact that his breathing felt wrong due to only having one working lung, Vince caught the soldier before they could really process that they were being charged. The pistol in his hand moved back as he lunged forward with his sword.

The tip went right through the soldier’s chest and pierced through his heart. Not hesitating, he jerked the weapon free, pulled up the pistol, and put a round through the man’s head. Cycling the weapon to the right, he lined it up on the other soldier and hit the trigger once more.

Their head jerked back as the round passed through their temple and blew out of the back, spraying bits of their skull and brain matter about.

Looking about, panting through gritted teeth, Vince didn’t know where the mage was. He needed to find her before she could attack him.

Except, she wasn’t anywhere visible. As far as he could see, she simply wasn’t there.

Letting the anger grow, Vince tried to provoke his animal-like instincts. To push them into helping him identify where the danger was.

He didn’t for an instant think the woman had left. Not when she clearly had been prepared for him and had thought up a number of tricky things to deal with him.

No, he expected her to be hiding somewhere nearby. Lurking and waiting for an opportunity to attack him once again. Especially while he was wounded.

As he focused his senses, Vince felt a touch better with each breath, each was coming with a bit more oxygen than the last. He felt that, while it might take a while to completely heal, he wouldn’t be out of the fight for very long.

Licking his lips he looked one way, then the other. Casting about with his senses as best as he could. Straining to hear or see anything at all.

Wait, wait.

Wait.

We’re thinking of this like an apex predator.

She was most definitely not that. There was no joy in her face at this battle. No desire for it.

She’s competent, wary, and aware. She thinks I was just stabbed and wounded horribly.

Why would she try to end me, if she thinks all she has to do is wait for me to die of my wounds?

That means she’s not stalking me, she’s watching me.

Waiting.

Turning his mind in that direction, Vince tried to think of how a tricky person might handle this. Looking for an efficient end that’d provide him with his answer, with the least amount of risk to himself.

His eyes flicked to Elizabeth’s corpse and stayed there.

If I were a tricky thing, looking to kill a crazed animal that was slaughtering my kind, and trying to let it die from its wounds what would I do?

If it looked incredibly wounded, it’d be worth approaching.

But if it were still dangerous, you’d stay away.

Vince was certain the mage was hiding around, on, or behind Elizabeth’s corpse. He didn’t want to bet on that though. Instead, he stood there, looking the part of the crazed wounded beast.

He’d waste some time like this to give himself a chance to recover a bit. If they were willing to wait thinking he was dying, when he was actually recovering, he’d play that game.

Slowly, he kept looking around. Inspecting the area around himself while pushing at himself to figure out where she was.

To hear her, see her, smell her, something.

Anything.

“I’m going to catch you, kill you, and eat you,” growled Vince, wondering if he could provoke a response.

The mage said nothing. Not responding to the provocation in any way.

Acting as if she weren’t there.

As if she wasn’t waiting to take his life away.

Sniffing, Vince wondered what would happen next. Lifting his hand up, he rubbed the back of his wrist against his brow. His pistol held somewhat loosely as he did so.

Out of nowhere, a massive and sprawling net of lightning came down from above and landed on Vince.

Damnit, I didn’t look up. Did I?