Chapter 19

Anika dropped the knife and bent down to check on Kal as he hastily untied Ria’s bag from his belt and tossed it on the ground beside him. The mage scooped up the pouch with his magic crystals and continued healing himself while getting to his knees. Kal stared in confusion at the bag of holding as the surrounding grass blackened and started to smolder from the radiating heat. The bag began glowing red, which seemed impossible for something made of leather, and caught some of the nearby grass on fire.

“What’s going on?” asked Kashka, running up to them. She knew through the bond Kal was already healing himself and didn’t feel like he was in any danger. Instead, he worried more about Ria. When Kashka realized the thing on the ground glowing red and slowly getting brighter was the sprite’s bag, she couldn’t blame him.

“I don’t know,” said Kal. Looking up at Anika, he asked, “What did she do?”

The arachne blanched at the intensity of Kal’s stare and looked away. “When I woke up, she told me Tavik needed to recharge between lightning bolts and I had to strike within that time. She didn’t think your staff could handle a direct hit, so she wrapped herself around the end of your staff and let it hit her instead.”

The mage’s brow furrowed in anger. “Her idea was to let you take a lightning bolt head-on in hopes you could kill him before he fired a second shot?” he asked. “What was she thinking? If you missed, you’d be dead. So many things could have gone wrong there.”

“Regardless,” Kashka interrupted, “Tavik is dead by Anika’s hand. I don’t think you have much room to complain about Ria’s plan, considering you just nearly killed yourself. Is exploding things in your face a common way for you to fight? Because you’ve done it twice so far.”

Anika’s eyes widened, “You blew yourself up?”

Kal unclasped his cloak, letting it fall to the ground, then gingerly pulled his shirt over his head. Holding both garments up, he showed Anika the holes burnt through them, then pulled his flight rune out from where he tucked it under his belt. The mage was surprised to see the leather stayed in one piece. He expected a hole like his cloak and shirt. Kal guessed from the burnt ink furthest from where the bolt struck that the activated spell absorbed a good amount of the bolt’s energy.

“The plan was to use my flight rune to get away from the explosion,” he explained, throwing the charred and blackened leather panel on the ground next to Ria’s bag, “but the first lightning bolt did this. As much as it hurt, I can’t regret what happened.” He looked up at Kashka, “That explosion is likely the reason Anika is still alive.”

“What? How?” the arachne asked as she picked up his shirt and inspected it

“Magic and lightning have a special relationship,” he said, leaning forward to stretch his lower back. The healing rune mended the damage, but the pain from the bolt’s impact and explosion was still fresh in his mind. “Unlike a fireball that uses heat and flame or my partially solid arrows, lightning is almost pure energy. Pump too much energy into a spell and it can shatter and explode, which is why I couldn’t use my shield against him. I used that same relationship to put a couple of healing spells pointed at you in the way of his lightning bolt. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get away from the blast,” he said, waving a hand at the damaged leather.

“Sorry to ruin your lesson, but there are still Reavers around,” said Kashka. “We need to track down the archers you didn’t kill, the guards stationed at the servant’s quarters are still unaccounted for, and we need to finish off the men out dismantling traps. We also need to figure out what to do with the men they kept as servants.”

“Until I know Ria is okay, the servants and remaining Reavers can go to hell.”

“Stop it, Kal. I know you don’t believe that,” said the cat, tapping her temple.

The mage grunted, “You’re right, but that’s what I want to say.”

“Do you think you should call her?” Anika asked.

“I don’t know,” Kal sighed as he got to his feet. “Consider what I said about magic and lightning and how it applies to Ria taking a lightning bolt to keep you safe. I’m guessing this heat is her way of bleeding off all the extra energy her avatar absorbed.”

“But she stores your crystals when they are fully charged,” the arachne pointed out.

“Those are crystalline containers that go through Ria’s storing process, not getting hit with raw energy. All I can do now is wait, and I suppose that means taking out my worry on a few stray Reavers. We’ll deal with the servants when Kashka and I get back.”

Kal looked down at his bracers as the runes on them glowed faintly. The strength rune was ruined, and the speed rune only had a few uses before it would also burn out. Kal glanced down at Ria’s bag and remembered that all his inks to make new bracers were still inside her. He quickly realized he didn’t care if he lost everything stored inside her, just as long as she was okay.

“Let’s go before I change my mind,” he told Kashka. Kal looked at his staff with Tavik still mounted on it, then picked up the jade dagger Anika dropped. “I doubt the armor will have any powers unless worn as a complete set. Take helmets off Tavik and his lieutenant and hide them, but leave their corpses. If and Reavers circle back around to regroup, they can see what kind of fate is waiting for them.” He looked down at Ria’s bag, then up at Anika, his expression pleading. “Watch over her, please?”

“I will,” she replied, handing his shirt back. Layers of fine webbing that shimmered in the moonlight covered the hole in the back.

“Thank you,” he said. Donning the shirt, Kal made his way around the stepped pyramid’s base to where he last spotted the archers.

Kashka fell in step next to him, “When we get back, I’m going to see if I can find my other dagger. I think I can copy how Tavik’s shield launched it away and give myself an idea where to start looking.”

Kal’s eyes flicked to her waist, “What are you talking about? They’re both right there.”

Kashka looked at the two dagger hilts sticking out of their sheaths in disbelief. “But I only retrieved the one...?” she said, confused.

“Something else to test, but not until the area is cleared and secure,” said the mage before they continued on their hunt.

Anika watched them disappear around the side of the temple and felt a wave of relief wash over her as she realized her part in the battle was over. Following Kal’s instructions, she carefully eased the helms off Tavik and the other Reaver’s head.

In the temple’s paintings and engravings, she thought the animals on the brass and silver armor were the same. On closer inspection, Tavik’s appeared to be a giant river otter, while the brass armor resembled a jaguar. She couldn’t reason out why the Ancients might hold an otter in higher esteem than one of the powerful jungle cats. Perhaps there was something about the playful, weasel-like animals she didn’t know.

She carefully scooped up Ria’s bag using the silver helmet and started toward the temple atop the pyramid. Anika hurried as the metal in her hands quickly warmed. A third of the way up, she dumped the leather pouch onto the stone steps and promptly set the helm down before it burned her.

Anika looked around at the carnage she, Kal, and Kashka had wrought while the forest wind cooled the helm. Cleaning up over a hundred corpses would be a monumental task, and she hoped everyone stayed long enough to help.

Once the silver cooled enough to carry, Anika pulled some silk forward on her legs and wrapped it around a portion of the headpiece’s band. After quickly and carefully loading Ria’s bag again, she skittered up the steps to the top of the temple. Near as the arachne could tell, Tavik and Gaboh relied exclusively on the archers to keep them safe, and she didn’t need to worry about any more guards.

Anika welcomed the lack of security as her quick run up the pyramid steps left her winded. It was an unfamiliar experience for the arachne to stand there and pant from something besides arousal. Her large body usually had enough energy reserves she often succumbed to mental exhaustion long before tiring.

The leg she landed on and crushed was whole once again, the hairs where her abdomen cracked were still wet with clear blood, and she didn’t want to think about the size of the puddle beneath her when she woke up after saving Kal. By the miracle of Kal’s magic, she lived through the battle, but it had definitely taken its toll on her. As she stood at the top of the steps sucking in lungfuls of air, Anika doubted she could handle another fight.

The arachne dumped Ria’s bag out of the helm off to the side of the top step and stared at it worriedly as its heat ignited small pieces of dust and debris nearby. It settled into a bright orange glow and didn’t seem to be getting hotter, but the bag didn’t seem to be cooling down either.

A noise came from inside the temple at the top of the pyramid, setting her on edge. The arachne darted to the side, away from the wide breezeway running through the building’s middle, and peered around the wall.

The sound came again from the room of Tavik’s second-in-command, then another from Tavik’s quarters, the shuffling of cloth and the rattle of metal on stone. Anika pulled her few remaining hairs from her abdomen and ducked into the breezeway before quickly crawling up the wall to the ceiling. Holding herself flat as possible, she crept forward to the first linen-covered doorway lit by the flickering torches inside. The hanging sheet of cloth left a small gap at the top. Anika slowly circled the room’s entrance looking for what made the noise.

The room within was a testament to the Reaver’s success. Gold trinkets and fine purple and red fabrics adorned the walls, while ornate and expensive-looking rugs littered the floor. The arachne frowned, thinking of all the men and women who died so Gaboh and Tavik could live in such luxury.

She eventually found the right angle to see the bed, which consisted of a large pile of expensive-looking pillows tossed into the corner. A young woman sat on it, her arms holding her knees to her chest and gently rocking as she anxiously watched the sheet covering the doorway.

Anika was surprised. The bandits’ leaders did an excellent job keeping these women hidden. Through her signal lines she never heard the other Reavers speak of concubines. The girl inside shifted, and the chain attached to the metal cuff on her ankle scraped along the floor. No. Not concubines, slaves.

Despite her strength, Anika doubted she could dislodge the chain. Even if she could, the spider wasn’t sure how to remove the cuff from the girl’s ankle.

More noise from the lit room on the other side of the breezeway caught her attention. Anika forced down the emotions welling up as she approached Tavik’s quarters. The room was quite spacious, taking up most of the building on that side of the breezeway. She believed it was once a pen that held animals for the Ancient’s blood sacrifices. Its doorway was equally large to allow for the passage of livestock. The bigger door made it easier for someone her size to come and go, so her mother naturally chose it as her room when making the ruins her home. After Anika’s mother passed, it sat empty for a month before she finally took it for herself.

Inside were two more women about the same age as the first. One knelt beside the Reaver’s bed in a submissive pose wearing an ankle chain and the same haunted look on her face as the first. The other woman looked more relaxed as she paced quietly across the lavish rugs and appeared free of any shackles. Both were young and beautiful like the other girl, and all three women wore clothing of transparent gossamer that barely covered their breasts and sex.

Anika carefully released four legs on one side, straddling the height of the breezeway before letting herself down. A claw clicked on the stone in front of the door, setting off a flurry of movement inside. The arachne thought for a moment about the best way to handle this unexpected situation. Bursting in would probably terrify them, so she picked a softer approach. She pulled back only the linen in front of her face and held the rest in place to cover her body.

The scene inside had changed drastically. The kneeling girl’s legs were spread and mouth opened in invitation while the one pacing had bent over with her bottom facing the door. The arachne caught the glistening of wetness coating both her ass and pussy before the woman saw her face and spun around in surprise.

“Tavik is dead,” said Anika.

The standing woman’s shoulders slumped in relief, but the kneeling girl pointed at her and yelled, “She’s one of them!”

The other girl shot a glare at the one in chains. “No, I’m—Urk!”

The free woman’s retort was cut off by the arachne’s hand at her throat as she burst into the room. “Explain,” she growled, pointing one of her glass-like hairs at the girl’s eye.

Despite the apparent danger, the girl remained calm. “My mother bit a Reaver’s cock when they took us, and they opened her throat for it. I chose to live.”

“You ... you...” the kneeling woman couldn’t find her breath as she stared at the arachnid portion of Anika’s body, “You’re not chained! You could have escaped, Saida!” she finally blurted out.

“And gone where, Tarah?!” spat the arachne’s captive. “I know nothing about surviving in this accursed forest. It would have killed me as surely as a Reaver’s blade.”

Satisfied, the spider released the girl.

Rubbing her neck, the woman dropped to her knees and stared at Anika’s sex before looking up at her face. “Are you our new master now? I’ve only pleasured her,” she glanced at the other slave, “in performances for Gaboh, but—”

The arachne held up a hand, stopping her, “No, I just wanted my home back. I have no need for servants, and the people with me are no fans of slavery. Although someone has recently shown me how good a tongue feels, if you want to—” A staccato of short, gasping breaths from the other slave girl interrupted her. Anika turned to see the girl, Tarah, pass out onto the pillows.

“What’s wrong with her?” Anika asked.

“I think it sunk in that our rescuer is part spider. Tarah isn’t very fond of bugs in general.”

A shiver ran up Anika’s human torso as Saida leaned forward and placed a kiss on her clit. The arachne looked down in surprise to see the human grinning up at her.

“If you are freeing us, then my body is at the disposal of my rescuers as thanks. Just tell me when.”

Anika could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. “W—We have other things to worry about first,” she stammered. “My friends are hunting down the remaining Reavers. When they get back, we need to figure out what to do with the male servants and you three. Saida is it? How do we unlock the other two’s chains?”

“Tavik should have the keys for their cuffs. I suggest you leave Tarah in hers until she calms down.”

“This isn’t payback for calling you a Reaver, is it?”

“No, she spoke of killing herself more than once and may not understand you are freeing us. I’ll talk to Karu and explain what’s happening. Then, with your permission, mistress,” Saida’s gaze flicked to Anika’s exposed pussy, then looked back up at her while licking her lips, “we can get those keys.”

Anika blushed bright red and nodded.

“Ugh. I never thought I’d be jealous of you for walking on all fours,” said Kal as they climbed the pyramid’s last few steps.

“It’s handy once in a while,” said Kashka, standing up as her limbs shifted back to human.

When they reached the top level, Kal stopped and looked over at where Ria’s bag sat. The mage could feel the waves of heat still rolling off the leather pouch from where he stood. It seemed like it wasn’t glowing quite as bright, but that could have been from the brightening sky to the east.

The Stamina rune and its drawn counterpart were the only reason he and Kashka hadn’t collapsed. They could feel the exhaustion seeping into their bones after such a long night despite the magic’s help.

“Anika?” he called out while feeding power to the fire resistance rune and picking up the sprite’s bag.

“Back here, Kal,” the arachne called out, stepping out of the room on the far end of the breezeway. “We have some unexpected guests.”

Kal and Kashka looked at each other, “Guests?”

“Gaboh and Tavik had some pleasure slaves,” said Anika moved to the side as they approached and pulled back the linen sheet revealing three women. Two had put on men’s clothing, cinching the trousers with a belt and rolling up the legs and sleeves to make them fit. The last wore a slave’s outfit but looked quite comfortable with her near-nudity.

“Interesting,” said Kal, taking a quick look before asking the spider, “Do you have somewhere you’d prefer I set up my tent?”

“Don’t you need a tree?”

“No. We didn’t know it could do that until we met you. Anywhere flat will be fine.”

“Is there enough space outside?” Anika suggested, pointing toward the far end of the breezeway.

Kal peered around the corner. “That’ll work. What about Tavik’s helm?”

“I have it,” she said, “but your tent is more secure. I think you should take it,” she said, reaching to the side with a pedipalp and handing him the silver helmet.

“You’re probably right,” he replied, holding Ria’s bag off to the side. Without the fire resistance rune, the heat made Kashka and Anika uncomfortable. Kashka stepped up to take the piece of armor.

“Give me a moment to drop her off,” said Kal hefting Ria’s bag, “and we’ll go deal with the male servants as they wake up. They’re about to find out the Reavers guarding them aren’t feeling very lively this morning.” He looked at the three women behind Anika, “I imagine you may not want to stay where you were imprisoned. It might take me some time to learn the proper commands, but I can make rooms for you to use until we leave.”

“What will it cost us?” asked one of the women wearing men’s clothes with a glance at Kal’s crotch.

“Not that,” he said, catching the look. “The women here take care of my needs,” Kal tilted his head toward Anika and Kashka. “There’s no reason you need to pay your way by joining me in bed.”

“What if we want to?” asked the girl wearing only gossamer.

Kal looked her over and raised an eyebrow. She reminded him strongly of the will-o-wisp, Rowan, before she became a will-o-wisp. “Kashka has first say, and because she’s a friend, Anika has second. If they don’t mind, you are welcome to join me.”

“Slut,” muttered one of the clothed women.

“That’s nothing to be ashamed of,” snapped Kashka.

“And what would you know? Your kind are born sluts, opening your legs for any man who walks by.”

Kal put a hand on the cat’s shoulder and reached out through the bond, attempting to calm her. The cat’s reaction seemed unusually strong. “Really? Kashka, why don’t you tell the woman how many human men you’ve slept with.”

One of her ears flicked toward him, and Kal felt her question what he was getting at before answering. “One.”

“One cat doesn’t—”

“What about Gerda?” he interrupted.

“One,” said Kashka.

“Right. She and her sister, Bas, are both centuries old, yet Gerda has only been with me, and Bas has only been with a handful of men. A fox and rabbit couple I know enjoyed my company and asked me to help them have children, but they are very much in love with each other. Maybe get to know a few monster girls first before making foolish statements. I won’t rescind my offer of a room, but know that you will be listening to a lot of sex if you take it. Magical or not, the tent’s walls are thin.”

Squeezing Kashka’s shoulder, he steered her away from Anika and the women and toward the back of the breezeway. The mage pulled the canvas square out of a pocket, tossed it on the stone next to the building, and then spoke the command to assemble it. The tent nearly hung over the edge of the stepped pyramid’s top level as it unfolded. Kal briefly considered shrinking the shelter to its middle size but wanted the larger doorway, so Anika knew she was still welcome.

The entrance glowed, signaling they could enter, and he pulled Kashka inside before sealing the tent behind them. After setting Ria down on the marble, he returned to where the cat-girl stood hanging her head.

“You’re mad at me,” she said in her ‘little girl’ voice.

Kal frowned. He hadn’t heard her talk like that since she first joined him. “No, I’m not. I’m worried. What’s going on in that head of yours?” Looking across the bond as he asked the question, Kal wasn’t sure if she could even answer. Her thoughts were a maelstrom of emotions that flipped from intense, blinding love for him, to panicked fear she had disappointed her master and he was angry at her. Underlying the chaos, she felt guilty for taking so many human lives.

Kal tried to project calm toward the cat, and it seemed to help, if only a little.

“I’ll be okay,” she said after a few minutes. “It’s been a long night. I’m exhausted. And now that I’ve relaxed, what she said set me off. Laika took being a slut as a compliment and told me many times I shouldn’t be ashamed to share my body and enjoy its pleasures, especially with a man I love.” Kashka took a deep breath, “It doesn’t help that I was looking forward to a good, hard fuck followed by some cuddling and much-needed sleep when she said it.”

“I understand but don’t relax just yet. We still have the male servants to deal with, and I don’t know which way they’ll jump once freed.”

The storm raging in her mind abated as he felt her latch on to Kal needing her calm and collected a little longer. Kashka nodded and flashed him a weak smile, “Maybe I couldn’t handle killing all those men as easily as I thought.”

“You were forced to become an assassin. You didn’t do it because you wanted to or liked killing. I’m actually relieved that you weren’t completely unaffected, even if the Reavers deserved what they got. With luck, you’ll never need to do that again. Let’s finish this so Anika and these people can start rebuilding their lives.” The mage cringed, “When I first heard about the Reavers, I thought we would come in, kill them and move on. We may need to stay a little longer to ensure everyone is taken care of.”

Kashka chuckled, “One of the things the stories of Sir Stormhammer never talk about is the cleanup that comes after being a hero.”

Anika and the three girls joined Kal and Kashka at the door to the servants’ quarters. The building was the smallest of those still standing in the ruins. Anika believed it was once grain storage because of the lack of windows and thick walls. Its newly constructed roof seemed out of place atop stones set thousands of years ago. After clearing away the guards’ bodies, Kal asked the girl named Saida to go back to Anika’s room and find something a little more modest. Much as he appreciated her charms and willingness to show them off, he didn’t feel it appropriate garb for freeing a group of men from slavery. Most of which had not experienced the touch of a woman for a very long time.

The door appeared sturdy enough despite the shoddy metalwork. The thick wooden bar set in metal brackets on either side was certainly enough to keep them contained, even if all the men threw their weight against it at once.

The arachne lifted the bar and tossed it off to the side with ease that startled the former pleasure slaves. When Kal asked Anika to greet the men, she seemed confused and worried she might scare them. The mage seemed unconcerned, explaining that their fear would help solidify this was her home and that they should look elsewhere to settle.

Backing away from the door, Anika called out, “Come out, prisoners of the Remnant Reavers. The Reavers are dead, and you are free.”

“We wear their mark, but we are not Reavers.” A voice from inside yelled through the door.

“We already know and promise you are safe,” said Kal. “We can also remove the Reaver’s marks.”

The door opened slightly, then immediately slammed shut again.

“They saw Anika,” Kashka reported, both her ears trained on the door. “A few of them sound panicked.”

Kal nodded and raised his voice. “The spider-woman you saw is the reason you are free. She is the one who killed both Gaboh and Tavik.”

“What are you doing!” Anika hissed, glaring at him. Kal responded with a grin she didn’t seem to appreciate.

“The tone is changing, but a few are still panicked. One sounds like he is trying to calm them,” murmured Kashka.

A few moments later, a lone man slipped out the door and closed it behind him. He quickly took in the scene before him, then strode over to Kal and dropped to one knee. Staring at the ground, he said, “Milord, my name is Jagi, and I thank you for my freedom. However, I was the manservant of a powerful Fazalan merchant and have never known a life of freedom. I offer my service and abilities to you.”

“Wrong person,” said Kal, his annoyance clear in his tone. The mage pointed at Anika. “I said, she’s the one who killed Tavik and made sure we knew you weren’t Reavers. If you offer your services to anyone, it should be her.”

The man glanced at Anika and his back stiffened. “But Sir ... she’s a spider girl.”

“Yes, with strong physical needs which you may be asked to help with. You were forced to deal with the ape-women’s desires, but I have shown her the benefits of an active and willing partner and doubt she would force herself upon you.”

“You ... slept with her ... and lived?”

“Many times over the last few days,” he said, nodding. “She even bit me once in a moment of passion, and as you can see, I’m fine. At worst, her bite will put you into a lust craze, but I believe she is putting that style of mating behind her.”

“Kal! Why are you telling him all this?! I don’t need a manservant,” said Anika in a loud whisper.

“Kashka and I can move many times faster than he can. He wouldn’t do anything but slow us down.”

“But your speed spell.”

“Then he’s just an unnecessary drain on my mana reserves.”

Jagi slowly got to his feet and walked stiffly over to Anika, where he knelt again. “Misstress, I offer my knowledge and ... services ... to you if you would have me.”

The arachne stared down at the human, “But ... Why? We’re setting you free. Why would you do this?”

“Because freedom can be scary to someone who has only known a life of servitude,” said Kashka. “If you accept him, you agree to provide a full belly, a roof over his head, and a purpose. What he offers may look like slavery, but it’s very different.”

“The cat speaks the truth. Those born free can never understand how the uncertainty of freedom scares us,” said Jagi.

“I—I don’t know what to do,” Anika stammered, looking over at Kal and Kashka.

“Accept him,” said Kashka. “If he is unhappy in your service, you can always set him free, or in his case, it might be better to trade him to a merchant since he is familiar with that life.”

Jagi nodded without looking up. “Indeed, Milady, if you choose to make this place a trading post, I have much knowledge. If not, I can still effectively manage your estate here.”

“Um, I don’t really have an estate,” the arachne told him

“You do now. The Reavers gave you one,” said Kal as he stepped up beside the kneeling man. The mage drew a rune in the air and directed the magic toward the tattoo on the side of Jagi’s neck. “When it was just you, this area was overgrown,” he continued as the ink seeped out of Jagi’s skin and formed a floating ball that Kal tossed away. “But now you have the Reaver’s entire compound to call yours. Unless you are planning on letting it all go back to the forest and living alone again, you will need a little help.” Kal inspected the light scarring left by the Reaver’s mark. It had faded enough that the pattern wasn’t immediately obvious.

“Then ... I accept?” said Anika hesitantly.

“Thank you, Milady,” replied Jagi as he stood up. Kal noted there was still a little bit of fear in his posture but nothing like when he first knelt in front of her.

When Jagi stood, five more men slipped out and stood in front of the building. “Can we trust them, Jagi?” one asked. “We didn’t suffer through the Reavers only to become a spider’s meal.”

“I don’t eat humans,” she said with an exasperated sigh. “I eat monkeys, pigs, birds, and all the stuff humans do.”

Kal approached the first of the five men. “I have firsthand knowledge that if you end up in her mouth, it will be a delightful experience,” he said as he began removing the man’s tattoo.

“Kal! Would you stop!” Anika shouted, blushing.

“Just letting them know you aren’t as scary as you look,” he said, moving to the second man. “As with most monster girls, humans focus too much on the monster and not enough on the girl.”

“Forgive me, Sir, but there’s a lot of monster there,” said one of the men.

“True, but that’s because creatures that looked like her already existed. The magic that created her ancestor used a formula that already worked. Had it been up to the spell that made the ape-women or her,” Kal pointed at Kashka, “her body would probably have been more human. Maybe a with a chitin shell that opens like the other insectoid girls I’ve encountered.”