Chapter 36

Kal’s arm shook as he maintained the shield for a few moments longer, then drew a ward with his other hand that would hide them from the astral plane. The ward could be defeated, but it took massive amounts of concentration and mana. Right now, he doubted Azrin had much of either.

Touching the pouch with his crystals, he shook his head. Kelthor warned him the combined astral and physical barrier took massive amounts of mana. Just a few seconds of warding off Azrin’s attack left him drained, along with another full crystal and half of a second. He took solace in knowing that Azrin was likely in worse shape than him. If the lich were still a living being, the power required to launch a physical attack from the astral plane would have killed him halfway through the assault.

Drawing in a deep breath now that the immediate danger had passed, he turned to Ikuno.

The oni was smaller, nearly a hand-width shorter than him. White hair fell down the sides of Ikuno’s face to her shoulders, and her horns were jet black except for a tiny bit of gold around the base. The oni’s skin was no longer the rich cobalt color but pale blue with a hint of green, which made the dark blue triangle markings on her cheeks stand out. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t have a stitch of clothing on.

But even if she looked different, their connection through the bond told him beyond a shadow of a doubt this was the woman he loved.

Kal pulled Ikuno into his arms and pressed his lips to hers in a crushing kiss she returned with equal abandon. Tears ran down both their face as they clutched at one another fiercely.

The outside world began intruding on their reunion after a couple of minutes. Kal reluctantly released her lips and leaned his forehead against hers.

“I think I wanted that moment to go on forever,” he whispered.

“Me too,” said Ikuno. “It has been a long, boring two years, and I have missed you terribly.”

“Me too,” he chuckled. “But I can’t say it has been boring.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” said Kashka. “But I think you need to explain what just happened, Kal. The townsfolk are terrified. Our friends only slightly less so.”

Kal sent the last few moments before her arrival to the oni over the bond.

“Let me explain it to them,” said Ikuno. “Even if you did just give me a kiss that would make any woman weak in the knees, they’ll accept an explanation from their patron spirit easier than an outsider. You just fill in any gaps.”

“That means I have to let you go,” he said, squeezing her to him.

The oni laughed and put a hand on his cheek. “I’m not planning on dying again anytime soon. Let me take care of these people so we can be alone.” She looked at Kashka, “And by ‘alone,’ I mean with you as well.”

After another kiss that conveyed how much he had missed her, Kal reluctantly let Ikuno slip out of his arms. The moment she began walking toward the people of Sayaka, two of the tournament winner’s attendants rushed forward with a plain white robe and helped her into it. They cast frightened glances back at Kal the entire time.

As the attendants closed and tied the robe, Ikuno raised her voice. “People of Sayaka, I am honored by your warm greeting and apologize for the frightening circumstances surrounding my return. In my absence, I made a powerful enemy who has promised to stop at nothing until I am dead. The man behind me is my lover, Kal, who came here to protect me from the attack you witnessed. Kal believes that my attacker has expended all of his magic and will require considerable time to make another attempt. Thanks to his efforts and skill, we are safe, and I expect you to treat him with the same respect you give me.

“I am sad I do not see any faces I recognize,” she said, scanning the crowd. “But at the same time, I look amongst you and see hints of the people I once knew. I am delighted to see your ancestors led fruitful and, I hope, happy lives after I left.”

Sayaka’s town council lined up in front of the townsfolk and bowed to Ikuno. “Welcome, Great Ikuno,” said the chairman. “It has been far too long since you last graced our humble town with your presence. Sayaka held a great tournament to find men and women worthy of helping you regain your power. In the spirit of your last departure, we have three men, one woman, and one monster girl here to accompany you.” As the lead councilman spoke, others stepped back and shooed Yua, Yamori, and Ichiro back into the crowd while dragging Asahi and the other tournament winners back to their places. When the town council stepped aside, they were all kneeling on their pillows once again, though Kal’s staff lay beside Asahi, and several of the flowers tucked into Senza’s scales now littered the ground around her.

Ikuno stepped forward and picked up the staff. “Thank you for giving Kal the time he needed to protect me,” she told Asahi. “But I regret to tell you that I will not require your assistance as Kal will provide me with everything I need. The same for you two,” she said, addressing the other two kneeling men. Moving to the human woman, she said, “You seem disappointed.”

The woman bowed, “My apologies, Great Ikuno. I came looking for a strong Azum man. I did not expect I would be offering myself to an outsider.”

“As a woman who has been with Kal many times, I feel you are making a mistake judging him by his ancestry. He is a wonderful lover. But if you are not interested, I will not force you. Like the men, you are released from your duty to me.”

Ikuno stepped in front of Senza and sniffed the air. “You will not be backing out,” she said.

“No, Great Ikuno, I wish for a daughter. Kal has denied me twice, and I hope you can convince him to change his mind.”

The oni looked back and glared at Kal. “You denied her twice?”

“A lot has changed in two years, Ikuno. I honestly do not know how many children I have left behind on this journey, which bothers me. I won’t take leaving another behind lightly.”

“‘Children?’ Not ‘Daughters?’”

“Perra and I have a son, Tallin.”

Ikuno’s face lit up with unadulterated joy for a moment before she calmed and collected herself again. “You’re hiding things from me,” she said, tapping the side of her head.

“I am,” he said with a cheeky grin. “There are some things I want to tell you about before I let you into my head to see for yourself. Don’t worry. I’ll make it up to you later.”

“Hmmm, I like the sound of that.” She turned back toward those assembled and addressed the council, “Was there anything else?”

“Yes, Great Ikuno. Many generations have passed since you last lived among us, but the families you touched so many years ago still remember you and passed down messages to be given upon your return.”

“Did they want to give me these messages now?” she said with a meaningful glance back at Kal.

The councilman’s face turned red. “I understand that some of the messages involve a ... physical aspect, best suited for private venues. But those were not planned until after you were done with our champions.”

“As I mentioned, I will only be taking the pangolin-girl. The rest are free to go. As for you,” she said, looking at Asahi, “I invite you and those who defended me to join Kal, Kashka, and I, but only as friends. As I said, Kal will take care of me.”

Asahi bowed. “I think I can speak for my brother and our companions by saying we would be honored.”

“Wonderful,” said Ikuno, then looked over at the town council again. “Where will we be staying?”

“Here, Great Ikuno,” he said with a touch of confusion.

“Where is...” Ikuno looked around at the tall fence for privacy, the garden, the caretaker’s home, and lastly, at the large building where the stacked rocks of her shrine rested, “here ... This is my shrine?”

“Yes, Great Ikuno,” said the caretaker. “There are living quarters behind the room with your shrine. It was built in your honor after you left the last time, and my family has been caring for it since.”

Ikuno’s expression became distant as she searched her memories. “I remember ... There was a day I thought someone had destroyed my shrine, but only hours later, I felt it rebuilt. That must have been the day you moved it.” She turned back to the crowd, “Thank you all. What you have built for me is beautiful.”

One of the council members stepped forward. “Great Ikuno, I have a question.”

“I may have an answer.”

“Why did he protect only those four during the attack and not the rest of us?”

Ikuno looked back. “Kal?”

“These four have some connection to Ikuno, and I didn’t know if Azrin could exploit that. He has done so in the past by attacking me through my connection with her,” he explained, placing a hand on Kashka’s shoulder.”

“Why didn’t you protect the rest of us?” a villager shouted.

“Because he was attacking from the astral plane, a separate plane of existence from here. He wouldn’t have known you existed without a connection to Ikuno, similar to these four, or a physical presence with which to see you. Coming here in an astral body would have revealed your presence but left him vulnerable to my retaliation. Honestly, I don’t know if he could tell these four were here, but I wouldn’t take the chance.”

“What if he attacks again?!” a woman shouted

Kal shook his head. “That won’t happen for a long time. The astral plane is a place of the mind and does not like magic. Mana must be pulled from this world, and much of it is lost maintaining the conduit. This makes magic very weak on the astral plane. Attacking Ikuno so fiercely has likely left him on the brink of death, and he will require significant time to recover. The mana I used making that barrier will take me days to replenish. It may take him months before he could even consider attacking again.”

“Does that mean he might be dead?” she asked.

Kal and Ikuno shared a look between them. “I wouldn’t count on that,” Ikuno replied. “Azrin is very resilient in his current form.”

“What if you’re wrong?!” the woman shouted, a touch of hysteria tinging her voice.

“I’m not. But the second spell I cast was a ward that hid all of us from the astral plane. Once I have regained some mana, I will travel around Sayaka and cast similar wards, hiding the entire town from him until I leave.”

Ikuno sighed. “I hoped to be doing something more fun than warding the town. But I suppose that will have to wait. The people’s safety comes first.”

“You can come with me,” he offered.

Her face lit up. “Trudging through the countryside alone with you? I can see how that could turn into a fun time.” When he didn’t respond, Ikuno’s eyes narrowed. “I know that smile. You’re hiding something else from me.”

Instead of answering, Kal turned to the town council. “Are we done here?”

“Until the feast tonight? Yes, I believe so.”

“Excellent,” he said, wrapping his arms around Ikuno and holding her tight.

“Not that I mind, but what’s this all about?” she asked, draping her arms over his shoulders.

“Ikuno,” called Kashka. The oni looked over Kal’s shoulder at the cat. “Thank you for insisting I join you, but you two should have some time alone first. I’ll take care of things here. You have fun,” she said with a smirk that matched Kal’s.

“Thank YouUUUUUU?!” the oni squealed as Kal grabbed her even tighter and launched them both into the air heading north.

“You can fly!” Ikuno laughed as the wind-shield formed in front of them and deflected the oncoming air enough to talk. She pulled herself up and whispered in his ear, “I need you to fuck me while we’re flying.”

Kal grinned as they began descending. “I promise I will, but not now. Sayaka isn’t a big town, and if I’m flying, we won’t be in the air long enough to even get started. Also, I want to make love to you in front of your shrine.”

Ikuno groaned in frustration, “Tease.”

“He can fly too?” asked Ichiro as he, Asahi, Yua, and Yamori walked up to her. Behind them, the townspeople of Sayaka slowly filed out of the front gate, returning to their lives until the feast in Ikuno’s honor that night.

“It combines a spell called Jump and the Featherfall spell. That’s an oversimplification, but you will need to ask him about the details,” she replied. Turning to the caretaker, she said, “Ikuno has invited these four to join us. May they move their tents onto the shrine’s grounds? Also, Kal will likely be setting one up as well, though I doubt he will be spending much time in it. Last, we have three more friends who we would like to join us.”

“Zakku and Dioga?” Asahi asked. Kashka nodded.

The cat turned to Chihiro. “Ikuno is very curious about you. If you do not have a lover, she would like you to join us in place of the human woman chosen by the tournament.”

“Me? I d-don’t think that’s a good idea,” she stuttered, backing away with her hands up defensively. “I see things others cannot and do magic by accident sometimes without knowing how. The people of Sayaka don’t like me very much, but my parents were well-known and respected here, so they put up with me. I would love to accept, but it might make Ikuno look bad.”

The caretaker’s wife shook her head. “Chihiro, you’ve been talking about meeting Ikuno ever since you were a child, and though they would never admit it, the council based this entire tournament on your predictions of her return, not ours. The people of Sayaka don’t like you because your magic is unpredictable, and you can be a bit excitable sometimes, but they respect you. Helping Ikuno regain her power is one of the highest honors in our town, and Ikuno has chosen you. Do not let this chance slip by. As for your tents,” she said, addressing Kashka and the others, “we have an area beyond the rear fence for travelers to camp and rest. However, since Ikuno herself invited you, we will allow you to set up your tents inside the shrine. Do not harm the grounds. That means no campfires.”

“What do you think, brother?” Ichiro asked Asahi. “Shall we move yet again?”

Asahi appeared lost in thought for a long time before answering. “No, I don’t think I will, Ichiro. I have had some time to think about our conversation the other day, and Yamori wants to get back to her mate and daughter. I think I will take the opportunity of Ikuno officially releasing me of my duty to go with Yamori and meet them.”

“Are you serious?” the gecko asked, incredulous.

Ichiro chuckled. “My brother lacks Nao’s cunning but is just as calculating. He likes to have all the information he can get before making a decision. Will you be taking your guards?”

“Unless Yamori thinks I need them, no. I don’t want to feel like they are looking over my shoulder.”

“Or reporting back to father what he might not want to hear.”

“That too. I’d rather save that fight for later. Preferably after you and Yua have softened him up.”

“Yua and I still need to find a human wife who won’t mind sharing her husband with a monster girl. I don’t expect that to happen anytime soon.” Ichiro looked between his brother and Yamori, “I’m proud of you, little brother. When she said she and her mate had a daughter, I thought that would be the end once you two parted ways. Even if you decide against bringing them into our family, I’m still impressed you gave them a chance.”

“Yamori?” asked Yua.

“I ... I ... we haven’t talked about him coming home with me,” the gecko stammered. “I’m just surprised. Like Ichiro, I thought it would be the end between us when I went home.”

“Since our first time together, I’ve been telling everyone how amazing your pussy feels. That hasn’t changed, but since Yua and my brother made their declaration, or promise, or whatever you want to call it, to one another, I’ve been concentrating on more than just the sex. I have realized that I enjoy being with you and talking with you. Having you nearby makes me feel good, and I want to explore that further. By the way, Ichiro, I blame you for this.”

“Me? Why?”

“You started it.”

The eldest brother looked over at Yua. “And I don’t regret it. Let’s go tell the guards the good news. I’m sure they will be thrilled to be moving camp again. Since you aren’t taking your guards, I’ll have them watch the gate for the locals so they can’t report back to father too quickly.”

“I’m sure they will appreciate the boredom.”

“Congratulations, I think,” Kashka said to Yamori before turning back to Chihiro. “Will you be joining us? I assure you Kal is a wonderful lover, assuming we can get him and Ikuno off of each other. He seems to be having a hard time of that right now.”

“If Lady Ikuno does not think it will hurt her reputation, then I would be honored to join you,” Chihiro answered with a deep bow. As she straightened, she asked, “How do you know Ikuno wants me to join you? You never spoke to each other about it.”

“The answer to that is not something I can explain easily. Suffice to say that Ikuno and Kal share a similar bond to Kal and I, and through those bonds, Kal has relayed her thoughts on you to me. Ask Kal or Ikuno when they return if you want to know more about it.”

“Now,” said the cat, looking around, “Kal and Ikuno will return shortly from casting the wards. I believe they would like some privacy at first, so we should probably go back to Sayaka and start packing up our camp.”

Ikuno’s hand appeared from beneath her robes. She lifted her glistening fingers to Kal’s nose as he raised his hand and activated the warding spell.

“Now who’s being a tease,” he growled good-naturedly, then licked her finger. The familiarity of her taste nearly made him lose his resolve and push her to the ground right here in the middle of a field.

“You won’t give me your cock. That means you need to be punished somehow,” she giggled. “Besides, maybe I want you to push me down. I’m looking forward to you tossing me around like a human woman since as soon as you make love to me, I’ll start growing back to my normal size.”

“I didn’t mean to share that thought. Why did you come back this size?” he said, wrapping his arms around the oni before floating up and angling toward the site of the final ward.

“Prentas,” she said, kissing his neck and grinding herself against the bulge in his pants. “The monster-girl magic is based on human women, so I reappear human-sized, then grow into what you know as I regain my power.”

“And get your color back too?”

Her hips stopped. “No, that will take longer, but I just need you to love me for that.”

Her tone made her look over at her. Kal’s eyes met hers, and he saw something he didn’t recognize. “What’s going on in your head?” he asked

“Why don’t you take a look?”

“Surface thoughts are fine, but I don’t like digging around in your, or anyone’s, head.”

“I think you need to see this.”

The mage didn’t respond as they descended to the site of the last ward. When their feet touched the ground, he looked into her eyes again and saw the intense need to show him her thoughts.

Sighing, he leaned forward and rested his forehead on hers.

Grayness surrounded Ikuno. Not the gray nothing of the astral plane always waiting for a mind to give it shape, but the dull gray of The Torpor, which spirits also called The Gray Lands. This was the place spirits went when they wanted to die. Here in the gray they could lay down and just stop existing, their energies eventually dispersing into the spirit realm.

But this was also a place of rebirth. From the energies of those who passed, The Torpor spawned new spirits into the lands of humans and elves.

Ikuno waited here, drawing upon the energies of The Torpor. She could sense the passage of time but little else. Here there was no taste or touch, no smells, and no sound. But off in the distance, she could feel something, a connection that felt important though she couldn’t understand why.

Her memories were hazy and flitted away like a dream after waking the moment she tried to grasp at them. Ikuno knew they would come back to her at the end of her time here, but the constant state of “almost remembering” frustrated her.

The thing, the outside presence, was new to her. Even without her memories, she could tell this differed from her past experiences in The Torpor. The presence came closer to her, then moved far away and stayed there for a time. This made her sad, though she didn’t know why. When it began coming closer once more, this time, it didn’t stop. She knew its thoughts often meandered in her direction and that it was coming for her but felt no fear of its approach. She often struggled to snag a wisp of a memory that would explain this presence and why she wanted it to hurry and arrive, but every time it slipped away.

When the presence had nearly reached her, she was almost ready to leave The Gray Lands and return to the physical world. It was then she felt another being searching for her. Like the presence, there was something familiar about the being, and there was also a sameness between the two. But where she welcomed the first, Ikuno instinctively shied away from this new being.

But her time was quickly approaching. Spirits like her were bound to physical things like her shrine and could not remain in the spirit realm once they were whole again or risk losing themselves to the ebb and flow of the realm’s energies. Her shrine gave her structure as well as purpose and grounded her in the physical world. Though she knew this new being wished harm or even death upon her, Ikuno had to go back.

The first presence was very close now. It felt like he was right next to her. He ... she knew it was a he as she felt the pull from her shrine. The energies she collected in The Torpor swept her from the spirit realm to the physical world. There they coalesced, giving her shape and form as well as a house for the memories which had frustrated her for so long.

Newly created legs gave out, and her knees hit the stone walkway beneath her. She collapsed to the ground as thunderous crashes filled the air around her. Trembling hands helped Ikuno to her knees, and she looked up to see a human mage holding a barrier over her and the small group of humans surrounding her.

‘Kal,’ she said to herself as the memories flooded back into her head. This was the presence she had felt for the past two years. Her lover and the man she had given herself to now stood over her, defending her as powerful blows rained down upon the astral and physical shield he held above her.

The being attacking her was Azrin, a former lover driven insane by the need to avenge the sister Ikuno killed. As her body came into being, she had felt a seeking spell latch onto her, then Azrin’s presence for a brief flash before Kal erected the barrier around them. Azrin had hoped to kill her within her first few seconds of returning, before she regained the ability to defend herself.

But Kal had stopped him, though the rain of impossibly strong attacks was taking its toll. She could feel the barrier draining his mana quickly, and each blow on the shield took out large chunks of the mage’s mana pool to repair it before the next attack.

There was a pause between attacks before a final heavier one that made the mage cry out and clutch his arm in pain, but he refused to let the barrier fall. Ikuno pushed herself to her feet and reached up, forming a healing spell in front of her hand which she used to mend Kal’s arm.

When he turned to look at her, his face lit up with pure joy.

“Do you see?” Ikuno asked. “For two long years in The Gray Lands, you were the only thing I could sense or feel. Then when I came back, there you were, defending me from Azrin in my weakest moment. I’m strong, Kal, physically, mentally, and magically. I’ve always saved others, not the other way around. Some of those I saved from death adored me and even pledged their short lives to my service. Now I understand why. I would give my life to you all over again if I hadn’t already because I know you will love and cherish me with all your heart, but now I have seen you will protect me with all your power.”

Kal chuckled, then kissed her lightly on the lips. “You are having this wonderous epiphany while nothing has changed for me. I’ve always loved you like this. It’s just this time I had the power to protect you instead of the other way around.”

“I know, but knowing it in your head and seeing it happen when you are vulnerable and weak are two very different things. Let’s hurry. I need you to make love to me.”

The mage smiled as he began tracing the ward. “I’ll admit, there is a teeny-tiny part of me that doesn’t want to.”

“Excuse me?!”

“I know that once we make love, your ability to absorb magic will increase, and that will make you start growing bigger. I’ll admit I’m kind of liking you this size.”

Ikuno raised an eyebrow, then grinned. “Then I must also admit that I like looking up at you instead of down. But being this small feels ... wrong. If you like it, we can look for magic to let me change back and forth. Assuming we do find such a spell, I expect I will not be the only one using it,” she said, tracing the outline of his cock with a clawed finger.

“Imagine if we both used it,” he said, holding the ward over his head and activating it.

“I don’t think you would fit. But that wouldn’t stop me from trying.” She spun around and lifted the back of her robe while leaning forward. “Especially if you put it in here,” she said, pulling an asscheek to the side and showing him her slightly darker blue rosebud.

“I’m glad some things don’t change,” he chuckled.

Kuto awoke to an empty bed and the sound of sobbing. Her talons caught and tore at the bedsheets as she scrambled to get out. Bursting through the bedroom door, she found Perra crying in the dim light cast by the iron stove.

“What happened?” the harpy asked, squatting beside her human lover and wrapping the woman in her wings. “Did you have a nightmare?”

Perra shook her head and smiled up at Kuto before saying, “She’s back.”

With Sayaka and a good portion of the surrounding area hidden from Azrin and the astral plane in general, it was time to return to the shrine.

Kal landed in the woods on the short path leading up to the gates. “Before we go in, someone else needs to see you,” he said before calling softly, “Ria.”

The avatar appeared next to her bag, then flitted up and did her customary look around to take stock of the situation before her eyes came to rest on Ikuno. The side of her mouth twisted in a half grimace, “Aren’t you a little short for an oni?”

Ikuno blinked. “What?” Kal burst out in laughter at the confused expression on Ikuno’s face.

“I said, aren’t you a little short for a st— an oni?” As she spoke, motes of light streamed out of her bag and joined the avatar’s body. Ikuno’s eyes widened as the sprite grew larger and more opaque, not to mention the lusty look on Ria’s face. The avatar draped her arms over Ikuno’s shoulders. “Do you know how many times I sat in the corner playing with myself while you and Kal made love? I’m not going to sit in the corner anymore,” she said, brushing her lips across the oni’s.

Kal waited for a saucy comment from Ikuno, but she still seemed too surprised by Ria’s body. The oni recovered enough to return the sprite’s kiss before holding Ria away from her and taking in the avatar’s body. The oni looked between Ria and Kal before asking, “How? I’ve never seen or even heard of something like this happening.”

“I was caught by a will-o’-wisp,” Kal said, his voice quiet. “Ria saved me by absorbing the will-o-wisp into her body and then returning the life it had stolen from me.”

“Not exactly the circumstances I was hoping for the first time we fucked,” Ria added, floating out of Ikuno’s grasp. “But the will-o-wisp gave me this body and the ability to feel emotions. Which means now I’m one of Kal’s women,” she said with a sensual sway of her hips. “But it sucks that I’ll never be able to form a bond with him like you and the others.”

“You survived a will-o-wisp?” Ikuno asked, shocked.

Kal nodded. “If she and Sera had come a few seconds later, I wouldn’t be here. Sera is cold-blooded and nearly died from the cold trying to save me.”

“Kal, I’ve been alive for centuries and only heard of a handful of people surviving a will-o’-wisp attack. Those that did usually wasted away within weeks, so I’m not even sure you could call them survivors.”

“That makes sense. I would have died if Sera and Ria had just killed the will-o’-wisp. Only by giving me my stolen lifeforce did Ria save me.”

“Yeah, and I wouldn’t have known to do that without your friend.”

“What friend? This Sera you mentioned?” Ikuno asked.

“No, Sera was trying not to freeze to death. A victim of the will-o’-wisp walked around a tree and ran face-first into it. The person’s consciousness somehow lived on inside the creature. She used a part of the will-o’-wisp’s power to make its victim’s passing easier and escaped when Ria attacked it. She came back to tell Ria how to save me. If what she said is true, she’s wandering around the swamp finding men and women, letting them live out their wildest fantasies in a very realistic dream and taking just a sip of their lifeforce in return. I think you’ll like her.”