Chapter 2

“Do you know who it is, Lillian?” I asked as I started to put my pants on. “Could it be the innkeeper or possibly the dock master looking for us?”

<< No, I don’t recognize this smell, but there are scents of blood and battle on them.>>

I nodded to Janet and she quickly took up her nearby sword, placing it near her and out of the line of sight from the door. She then quickly put on a sleeping gown, though I never remembered her having one. Perhaps it was something that she had worn prior to meeting us, but it looked alluring on her.

I placed my sword next to the door and stretched out my senses. Lillian was correct, as I could hear two or possibly three people arguing with the innkeeper. There was too much noise from the other patrons, as well as the people outside of the inn, for me to focus enough to hear what they were talking about.

A few minutes later, the arguing ceased, and they began stomping up the stairs. I glanced at both of my companions and could sense that they were ready for whatever might happen in the next few moments. The footsteps stopped outside our door and a moment later we heard one of them banging on the door.

“In the name of the Vishant, open this door immediately. Failure to do so will warrant your immediate arrest.”

I opened the door with a friendly smile, “Hello there, what seems to be the problem?”

“You will come with us immediately,” The man demanded. Based on his garb and armor, he was someone within the same military as Janet.

“On what grounds?” Demanded Janet, who now had appeared next to me in the doorway.

“You are to come along, too,” the man snarled. “It is against the law to appear as a member of the Vishant Military, woman!”

He reached out to grab her, but before his hand could reach her, her sword was drawn, and the tip was pressed to his throat. I watched how fast she moved and was realized that she had not needed to use her enhanced speed.

“How dare you draw a weapon on a Vishant warrior! I will have you thrown into the darkest cell I can find.”

Janet laughed, “That will be difficult if you’re dead. You do know that you can be put to death for threatening the Captain of the Torgal?”

The warrior’s face blanched at what she had said, and I could see the indecision on his face.

“Just look at my sword, it will be all the proof you need to back up my claim, you sniveling worm!”

The soldier looked down at her sword and I think he was trying not to faint, cry or urinate on himself.

“I am so sorry, Ma’am. I was told by my men at the dock that a group came into port on a fishing boat and that they claimed to be military. They did not believe that what you had told them was true, as we had not been told that you would be arriving.”

Janet pulled the sword away from the man’s throat but continued to glare at the man. “While that may be true, the arrogance and rudeness were not necessary. I do not care what is going on, but we must never lose the people we are to the battle we are fighting.”

He nodded and apologized before bidding us a goodbye and leaving to go downstairs. Only when I heard them leaving the inn, did I breathe a sigh of relief. I hoped that we would not have to deal with this again, but I had a feeling that we would be seeing more of the same thing soon enough. These people had been going through terror, death and torment for over a few hundred years. Thinking that they had beaten their enemy, only to have them come back when the people least expected it.

“I am sorry that happened, Davik. I didn’t think that we would have to deal with such things. I wish they had given us a seal to make it easier to prove who we are so that we don’t have to deal with this nonsense.”

I closed the door and pulled her to me. She tensed slightly, but relaxed once my arms were around her. Lillian got up from her spot and made her way over to brush herself against us.

<<Well, now that we have gotten all that out of the way, you need to get her on that bed and continue what you were doing before we were rudely interrupted.>>

Janet glanced at Lillian with an exasperated look, “If you remember, my love, he did a rather good job before we were interrupted.”

<< I know that, but that was only the first time and we both know that he can go at least two more times>>

I felt Lillian giggle over the link and a chuff escaped the lips of her wolf form. We both smiled and removed our clothes as Lillian padded over to her spot across the door. I did indeed have the energy for another round of love making, leaving us both tired but happily satisfied. As my consciousness began to fade into slumber, my thoughts drifted to seeing our lovely Lillian in our dreamscape.

Firelight danced along the rocky walls of the room, casting shadows between the flickering flashes that moved keeping the darkness at bay. Sitting on an ornate chair near the back of the room sat a singular figure, covered in a long robe. As the sitting figure sat pensive on its throne, the silence of the room was broken by incoming footsteps.

“Why do you disrupt my thoughts with your presence?” asked the person sitting on the throne.

The person who entered the room stopped a few meters from the chair and bowed in respect, before removing the hood of a long cloak to reveal a woman.

“Someone has entered Vishant, someone new that I have not sensed before. There is a tendril of a link, but in time, I should be able to make it stronger.”

“Hmm, so, someone of your line that you are not aware of. Intriguing. Very well, I trust you will be discreet. I will not have you disrupt my plans now, not when I have come so close. If your curiosity does anything to jeopardize this for me, I will eat your entrails while you watch. Do you understand me, woman?”

The woman nodded, before bowing to the figure on the throne and turning to leave the room. The sounds of her footsteps faded away as the figure sat and stared into the flickering light before it. “Soon,” the presence spoke, “we will have the victory we crave. Soon, Vishant will be mine and with this great province in my grasp, I will be able to capture all others.”

I awoke feeling well rested and content after our time in the dreamscape. I never tired of the love that we shared there, though I knew it would not compare to when we would be able to do that in the flesh. Janet was curled into my side and I glanced over to see Lillian was resting, as well. Dawn was just breaking, and the sky was only just starting to lighten. Janet had not said what she had planned for today, but I trusted her judgement in this case.

I slowly got out of the bed, hoping my slow movements would allow Janet to continue sleeping. I was happy when I was successful in getting out of the bed without waking her but was not surprised to see that Lillian was looking at me from her spot on the floor. I quickly got dressed and made my way towards the door.

<<Nice job Romeo, if I did not know better, I would think you were well acquainted with sneaking out of a woman’s bed.>>

I walked over and whispered, “Har, har, Lillian. You know I am not the type. She has been worried about what will happen and I know it has affected her sleep. If I can help her get a little more rest, I will.”

I could feel Lillian smile over the link, and I made my way out of the room to go to the facilities. A while later, I returned to the room and Janet was just waking, entering while she was mid-stretch. The sheet fell down uncovering her large, voluminous breasts and I could not help letting my eyes drift lower. When I brought my eyes back up, I could see her smiling at me. I could sense Lillian’s desire over our link, and I smiled knowing that I was not the only one affected by her actions. I walked over and gave Janet a slow kiss, enjoying the feel of her lips against mine.

I sat down and asked, “So you never really said what would be on the docket for today?”

“Other than getting our travel plans squared away, not much. We had a lot of things happen in a short amount of time. I would not mind a day or two of rest. So I hope that we can get the needed wagon and horses for our travels from the garrison after breakfast.”

I nodded in agreement. It seemed like a viable plan and I could understand her need for rest. Still, I could not get over the sense of unease that I was feeling. I had had these feelings ever since things ended with Brenson and it had only increased as we made our way to Vishant. We would have to stay vigilant, not only to keep our abilities hidden from Janet’s own military, but to be wary of threats from Voguels.

“I am in a new element here, sweetheart,” I said with a warm smile. “I am going to be following your lead while we are here. I hope that I do not end up doing something that will make me a burden to you and the others.”

Janet let out a small laugh, “You will not be any burden, Davik. My main worry is that we will be fighting battles on two fronts. How long will we be able to hide our abilities from my government? A few weeks, months? We will need to use our abilities at some point, and we will not always have the luxury to use them where we will not be seen. Then there is the Voguel issue we came here to deal with. I wish that we could have the support of my Dran, but he is very distrusting of his own people, let alone outsiders. We had orders to kill not only the Voguel menace, but also anyone cured. He did not care if it was true or not; he just considered them tainted and as Voguel waiting to happen.”

“How in the seven hells are we expected to fight Voguel and your military? If your Dran believes us the enemy, how many will he send to kill us? Are you prepared to kill your own people? How will the two of us be expected to defeat all of them?”

<< You mean three, right? Because it sounds like you forgot that I would be fighting alongside you!>>

I gave Lillian an apologetic smile, “Sorry, love. You are correct, it would be the three of us. Still, I do not like the odds being so stacked against us.”