Chapter 4

Gazza asked Bette, “So where were you headed before we met?”

“I was going to find the western road to Green Bay and then go south to Avilla, the Capital City of Ant Island and try to find a job,” she told him.

“You said something about a University; can we learn more about magic there?” he asked.

“Yes, but it’s not cheap. My father had considered sending me to it. As a rule, Faeries do have some magical abilities but it is rare that they wear magical items. I’m surprised that I can.”

“Didn’t you say Shifters were often strong in magical abilities?” he queried.

“Yes, they are but Ella didn’t believe that my mother was that strong. Then again, I’ve been told that sometimes it skips a generation or it can depend on the two parents. To be able to wear high mage items means that we are both very strong in magical abilities. Gazza, it would be a good idea if we didn’t let people know just how strong we are.”

“I don’t think the Queen or her court would be happy to learn that we had items stronger than the items the Queen can wear. Our last Queen died about five years ago and she hasn’t been replaced, as her items have not yet chosen the next Queen. It is unusual that they have waited for her replacement as they tend to pick from the royal line.”

“If anyone asks, they will know we have a ring since the band never disappears even if the stones do. They will suspect we have a medallion because you have a strong glow and I suspect that I do as well. I suggest we don’t mention the wand or the diadem, as both are rare items here. We should even try to suppress our glow.”

“We would also need to come up with a story to cover why we have crystals. At least we can use them to get some coin so that we can afford to live in the city. They should also pay for you to go to the university if you wish.”

“For us to go to the University, Bette. I’m not going without you. We are bonded even if we never mate. We share the same secrets now and I have no idea how to live in your world. You have to be a very clever person by your own descriptions for Lore to be your primary skill,” Gazza replied.

He didn’t realise that while he was trying not to force himself on Bette, he had unwittingly given her the impression that he didn’t want to mate with her and he only wished to keep her close because of the secrets they shared. He was now further from his goal than he had been before.

He did have enough perception to realise that something he had said had been wrong when he felt her withdraw from him but he didn’t know what. He had never been good at understanding women, with men he at least knew what they wanted from him. “So how did we find the crystals?” he asked to change the topic.

Bette had given this some thought after she found them. “Many people believe the original settlers hoarded their treasures. Fire Mountain was one of the first settlements and the odd cache of crystals and magical items have been found over the years between there and the coast where Avilla is.”

“There was an eruption not long after the people came here and many fled this region and moved to the coast and then to the other islands. Some of the people also went missing. My people tell a story about a high mage having been on the ship. They believe the Queen wears the items that remain from this mage.”

“So I think that with us coming from this direction, we can safely say that we got lost and found an old hut or mine that had a box with crystals and the magical items in it. The best lies have some truth. It would also explain why we don’t know how to use the magical items we have.”

“We need to come up with a reason why I don’t know much about how this world works,” Gazza then said to her.

“Well, you did have an accident, we can say I found you in a mine shaft and you had hit your head. You do look a little different from most people here so we can say your parents were worried about you being bullied, so they didn’t take you to town very often,” she replied with a grin.

Gazza chuckled too. “Well, I only had a father for many years so he and I could have been prospectors. Being short for my age and skinny, I had my fair share of bullies at school so I can relate to being picked on. I found several bags of uncut gems and gold nuggets in my box so I can use them to prove I’ve been prospecting. They will help us get some coins too.”

“Yes, I like the mine story since you did find me banged up and in a cavern. We will need to find me some clothes, so I fit in better. I doubt your people wear camo-fatigues. I do have a pair of jeans and some t-shirts with me, for now. It might be a good idea for me to leave my army fatigues here. Can we put a shield on the crevasse so only we can come in here?” he asked.

“Yes, I think we should put one over the cave entrance I used too. There are still a lot of crystals in the outer cavern and we don’t want all and sundry to help themselves to them,” she replied thoughtfully.

“Good idea,” he told her and smiled at her.

Gazza had little idea that his smile had a distinct effect on Bette. She had already felt that she was infatuated with him and his smile did nothing to dampen her desire. She just wished he could feel the same for her as she was starting to feel for him.

They decided to go through what items Gazza had been able to scavenge from the wreckage and choose what would be best to take with them. Gazza emptied one of his duffle bags and they packed half of the rat-packs into it. He then added his bedroll, socks, undies and spare t-shirts. He kept one clean set out and his jeans.

Without thinking, he dropped his sword belt, removed his boots and stripped off. He was so used to communal showers now that he had no inhibitions on being nude. He was pulling a clean t-shirt over his head when he heard Bette gasp. He turned to see what her problem was and then realised where her eyes were placed.

Her eyes went wider when her staring at him had the undesired effect of causing his cock to go to full mast and tent his undies. Then she unconsciously licked her lips. “Bette, that’s not helping me here,” he groaned.

“What?” she stammered as she tore her eyes from his erection to his face.

“Honey, I have enough problems keeping my hands off your delectable body as it is. If you keep looking at me like that, I will go back on my word and you will find my stiffy inside of you so fast you won’t be able to catch your breath.”

Bette’s eyes dropped back to his stiff cock and saw it wiggle, as it seemed to grow even longer. She couldn’t help wondering how he could possibly fit it into her little cunnie. However, she did wonder if it would be fun trying to see if it did. She was sure that she was wet enough down there and her nipples were so painfully hard that she really wanted him to touch them.

Bette looked back up as Gazza groaned her name again. This time she blushed scarlet and looked down at the floor when he said, “Damn girl, I have no idea how you’re still a virgin if you have looked at other men like you were looking at me just now. I’m going to have my work cut out for me trying to keep you from being raped and not just by me.”

Bette kept her head down so he couldn’t see her smile. She’d had men in the town of Fire Mountain look at her with lust but none with the fire that had been blazing in Gazza’s eyes. She felt gratified that he did at least find her desirable and her wings quivered in anticipation.

Whether that lust would lead to interesting activities or not, she didn’t know but it was nice knowing that he wasn’t indifferent to her, as she had thought earlier. She didn’t think it was his entity driving him either. He hadn’t looked at her as he did now nor grown so large until he caught her staring at him. A shiver of desire ran down her spine and her cunnie tingled.

When she looked up again, Gazza was pulling on his jeans, clean socks and then he sat down to pull on his boots. He had decided he’d keep the boots, as they were comfortable and worn in. “Bette, do I need a coat?” he asked as he did up the laces on his boots.

“No, it has just turned summer here and is the start of a new year. While the weather stays cooler in the high mountains, it does get a lot hotter on the coast. You may find those tight pants will become too hot to wear. We may have to go into Green Bay first and get some clothes for you,” she replied.

“How far is Green Bay from here?” he asked as he stuffed his dirty underwear into his washing bag and then put it with his toiletry bag and other odds-and-sods into the second duffle bag.

“Well, it’s about a hundred and fifty klicks south-west of us if I am where I think I am. It’s then another two hundred and forty klicks to Avilla from there,” she told him as she watched him pack the bags.

“That’s a long walk,” he replied. Bette had shown him some basic measurements and he had determined they used the ten based system of mathematics and measurements. They were close enough to Earth’s measurements that he just subbed in his system in his head.

“For you, maybe,” she grinned.

“True, I don’t have your sexy wings. At least you’re not wearing a skirt,” Gazza commented as he packed away the last of the items he wanted to take with them.

Bette frowned, “Why?”

“It will be damn hard walking with a stiffy if I was looking up your skirt all the time,” he shot back. Bette chuckled and then cracked up laughing when he added, “It’s going to be bad enough just watching your cute arse wiggling in the air.”

Gazza was pleased that Bette seemed to have gotten her good cheer back. He still didn’t know what he had said to upset her before but he hoped he didn’t put his foot in his mouth too often or he would be doing a lot of self-servicing before he could coax her into his sleeping bag. He was going to have to do enough of it in the meantime as it was.

They decided to spend another night in the cavern and move out in the morning.

The next morning the young couple and Basil made their way to the first cavern that Bette had entered.

Gazza stared at the crystal formations overhead. “Wow-wee! If they are worth as much as you said, there is a King’s ransom in here, ten times over. Bette, how about we see how many crystals we can stuff into those magical boxes? As far as I can tell, only we can open them.”

“I like that idea. I can put most of my other crystals in my box too. They looked like they had plenty of spare space in them,” Bette replied as she unclipped her pack.

They spent the next hour retrieving crystals. Gazza had kept the plastic bags that had held the contents of the rat-packs and several others that he had scavenged from the wreck. He had been pleased to find the big first-aid kit and the emergency survival gear, had still been stashed in the head-locker that was welded above the mesh partition behind his seat in the old Bell helicopter.

He had also found the three spare canteens and they had filled them with fresh water before they left the cave. He had used the spare tarp and had tried out his magic to form two poles to use as part of a travois. He had been delighted with the result and had even used the hold-down straps and one of the seatbelt-harnesses to make a body harness so he could pull it comfortably.

It had not been fun trying to get the travois through the crevice between the caverns but they had managed. Before they left, they placed the shields over the crevice and then one over the cave mouth. Bette had even managed a glamour that made the cave disappear.

It had been downright scary making his way with the travois, down the loose scree from the landslide. They both had to laugh because Basil had decided to ride on the travois and had thought the ride down was sheer fun.Once back on the more level ground, they headed south-west.

Gazza had determined that even with the travois they should make forty klicks a day easy since he was very fit and Bette had told him flying at a constant speed; she should easily be able to keep up with him.

Her biggest worry was predators. Gazza told her that if she should see anything, then she was to fly as high as she could and not worry about him. They had both spent some time with the magical books the night before to work out how to make personal shields.

Gazza had learnt that the medallion would shield him to a degree and warn him of danger. High mages were hard to kill but he still preferred to have all the aces in his hand. Having the pistol and the sword made him feel a lot safer.

As they moved through the forest, Bette commented that this side of it was not as heavily treed and these trees were smaller. They angled to follow closer to one of the streams for many kilometres before it started to head more southerly, so they turned more towards the west, to go between two lower hills.

Gazza was delighted that his compass seemed to work here just as well as it did back on Earth. Once they were in the more open canopied forest, he was able to get his bearings and having been trained while young how to navigate in the bush, he felt right at home.