FOC - Uleni's Gamble 04

He felt a shiver go through him, as he once again felt the altar against his magic. It felt like a cold steel blade was held against his throat, and he could swear he could feel blood dripping down his neck. It was eerie. He wondered how anyone could live here when he noticed he wasn't really seeing anyone. Maybe they had abandoned the place for now?

Stephen had a hitch in his voice, "This is as far as I go. Take those stairs down and follow the corridor, you won't miss it. Your witch can take down the stone wall we put up. Good luck."

He watched as Stephen went back the way they came in, at almost a run. That answered his question on if anyone was still in the castle.

Nora said, "Well, at least we know we won't be ambushed right away, there isn't anyone here to do it."

They started down the stairs, and when they were halfway down it felt as if the blade at his neck was digging into his skin. He embraced his talent, but sparingly, surrounding him and the ladies in a thin cover of dancing white flames. He took a deep breath and continued down the stairs and followed the corridor. When they reached a wall in the corridor, Sally took it down, and they stepped through the exposed door.

They looked around the room with the altar in it. It was well lit, another reminder this was not a dark god they faced, but a true god of their universe. It was also the treasury, so they saw gold, jewels and what must be important papers. They did not see any books.

The books were gone.

He just stood there, looking around the room again, mad at himself they did not at least destroy the books last time they were there. They had agreed it was too dangerous to do so when they weren't ready to face the altar, but that was scant reassurance in the face of having lost the opportunity to destroy them.

He sighed, letting go of the anger, it wouldn't help them right now, or ever.

"Are you ready?" he asked, not quite hiding his nerves.

Chapter 15

They surrounded the altar and held hands. Without the books there was no choice, he was confident it would work, but not certain, and that bugged him quite a bit.

Sally said, "Wait! The ceiling is spelled to collapse when the altar breaks. I can barely feel it with the aura of the altar messing with us. I would have missed it had I not been so sure they would betray us."

He flared his power, pushing out white flames to cancel any nearby magic.

Sally looking relieved said, "Good, you got them, and probably others that I couldn't sense."

He said, "Ready?"

They all nodded and he bowed his head to pray to his goddess as the others did the same.

Nicole's plan was simple if incredibly risky. If him giving up his free will to the goddess gave her great power and the ability to act, how much more powerful would she become if they all did it? The sacrifice of their family, bound together by love, their mate bonds, and his magic as the Flame of Cytherea.

Of course, there were risks. If they failed, they would all die. The other issue was they all had to mean it, it wouldn't be a sacrifice otherwise, they all had to be willing to die, and give over their souls to Cytherea's care. The last concern was the power that was channeled through him last time was almost overwhelming; would his body be able to deal with six times the power? That was even assuming the rise in power would be linear, it may be more than that.

He had no more time for doubts though, and gave everything he was to the goddess in hope and love. He closed his eyes at the bright white light that filled his vision, but it was so blindingly bright closing his eyes didn't make much of a difference. He felt power, and the love of the goddess fill him, but his body screamed in pain at the same time as if he was being burned from the inside out. He thought he heard a scream of rage and the altar crack as he lost consciousness.

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Katrina caught Justin as he collapsed. Justin had been the focus of all the power so the rest of them had at worst, spots in their eyes from the light. She noticed the books against the wall and pointed them out.

Sally said as Nicole burned the books to ash, "Ares must have hidden them somehow in the altar's aura. I guess he was trying to preserve a chance to get back here if we succeeded."

Sara looked down at her and the unconscious Justin with concern and said, "I feel people approaching, coming in the castle doors now. What do we do..."

She understood what Sara had left off at the end, what could they do without Justin able to protect them? They might hold their own for a while, but eventually... His body felt warm in her arms, too warm really, as if he was in a fever.

She knew how Justin must have felt that day when she looked to the door, and saw Trina staring at them all with awe and reverence on her face.

Trina said, "Follow me, I think I can get us out of here."

They heard from out in the hallway, "The structure is still intact, the spells didn't work, go get more soldiers and mages, hurry."

She gave Justin to Nora and transformed, darting into the hall quickly she saw there were only three people there. Two were mages, and much more powerful than she would ever be.

But she was quicker. Spells take the marshalling of thought and will, her claws, speed and instincts won out as she mauled all three in a blink. Perhaps that would give them some time. She wasn't sure how long others would wait before checking up on the three she killed.

Trina shook her head and said, "This way," and led them deeper into the underground hallways.

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Nora carried Justin in her arms and held her magic tightly in her mind's grasp. She reminded herself over and over he was still alive. They hadn't been able to wake him though, and he was the only one who could heal his injured body. She very carefully tried not to let that panic her.

Nora had forgotten that since Trina was once an assassin for Uleni, she would know the layout of the castle. She tried to focus on what was going on, rather than the life in her arms that was far more precious to her than her own. King Luis had made a mistake only sending a few people to verify their deaths, hopefully that would be enough for them to escape.

Although she was tempted to turn around and fight, without Justin they would have no chance against the numbers Uleni could bring to bear.

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When they came out of the tunnels they were behind the city. They made for the tree line and entered the wilderness away from any roads. Nicole knew they needed to find a place to hide and plan, but it still bothered her they were going the wrong way, deeper into Uleni. They travelled for most of the day on foot, not using magic at all, and made it maybe five miles into the forest before setting up camp.

She watched as Sally cast her magic on the tent, hiding it and them from magical detection. She was relieved when Sally explained.

"Even if a mage flies over as a bird, he won't detect our magic, as long as we aren't using it."

She checked on Nora and Justin, he was still out. Nora was trying to get some water into him and she was a little freaked out by everything, and angry. They hadn't planned for this at all. All their plans had assumed they would either be dead, or all okay, no one had guessed Justin would be struck down.

"What should we do?"

Nora shrugged, "Lay low until Justin recovers..."

They all went to bed reluctantly when Justin didn't stir for the rest of the day, if only he would wake up, she knew he could heal his body...

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Sally woke early and got Justin to drink some water, using a trickle of her magic to make sure it went down the right pipe. They really hadn't had time yesterday in it all, but she couldn't help the awe she felt at her experience. All the goddess's power went through Justin, but they had all felt her presence, and the love she felt for them all. It had been a life changing experience for her.

She knew of course the goddess loved her, she felt it each time she used her magic, but yesterday's experience had been so much more... intimate. As if her soul was cradled by the goddess herself. She struggled to truly define it.

Now if only Justin would wake, it would all be worth it.

Sara woke up, so she asked her, "We still alone?"

Sara tilted her head for a second, then said, "No one in range, I think we are okay."

They spent the morning making plans. It would take a week, but they decided to go back under cover, rather than quickly over the road. The mages in Uleni communicated and moved too quickly for that to be an option. They even brought up the idea again of simply attacking when Justin woke, but they decided there was little chance of getting anyone better to run the country. Uleni was one enemy they would have to suffer.

None of them thought Uleni would push the issue if they escaped back into Abelaweth, they were simply too weak right now to go to war. Sally sighed, they were a bunch of ungrateful bastards is what they were.

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Sara was worried. She hadn't told anyone, but she couldn't feel any emotions from Justin. None at all. It was like he wasn't even there. She refused to give up hope, she had never felt nothing from a living body before now, but that didn't mean his soul was gone, did it? How could it be?

They were finally done, all they had to do was escape this cursed kingdom and they could settle down in their tavern and enjoy life, raise their children. That was all she wanted for her whole family. A normal life well earned by service to the goddess.

Was that too much to ask?

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Trina was shaken. She still didn't thinks he was especially deserving of Sara, but after yesterday's experience she was sure the goddess loved her despite what she was in the past. She could tell Sara was bothered by Justin's condition even if she wouldn't talk about it, and she hoped he would recover.

They had all been through so much, it seemed unfair if they lost him now in the end. But if there was one thing Trina knew, life wasn't fair...

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Cytherea smiled as she felt the presence behind her.

"Do you plan on keeping him daughter?"

She turned and looked at him curiously, "You know I do not. I am simply waiting for his body to recover enough. Though it is tempting, he did give himself to me, why should I not keep his soul with me? I could use good company."

It was his turn to be curious, "Are you teasing me daughter?"

Her lips twitched, "Me father? Maybe a little, though I do get lonely."

He replied, "Yes, you wait for one worthy of you, but why do you not spend time in the world with the mortals you love?"

She frowned, "Are you teasing me now? You know I cannot, not without influencing them as I had done in the past. You yourself have forbidden it."

He slowly disappeared as he said, "Daughter, I simply said you can't go as yourself without impacting their free will... think about that for a while."

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Justin groaned, his body felt abused, and he had a splitting headache and couldn't think straight. It took all his concentration to get his talent going, and he started to feel better almost immediately as the healing took hold of his body.

He cracked his eyes open and saw Nora lying next to him. He was in the tent and wondered how the hell he'd gotten there; last thing he could remember was drowning in both love and pain. He was curious to ask what had been going on, and how long he was out, but Nora looked so peaceful and adorable asleep he didn't want to disturb her.

He looked around as his head started to clear, and everyone was asleep, so he closed his eyes, yawned and fell towards sleep himself. Being unconscious was exhausting...

When he woke up the next day he found himself drowning in kisses from his beautiful mates. He must have been worse off than he thought. Eventually he got someone to explain their situation, which wasn't good. They fed him and he had to insist he was perfectly fine many times before they relented. His power had healed him after all, he didn't need to be coddled.

He agreed with their plans to head south without using magic, and it was close to noon by the time they started out. They made slow but steady progress as they made their way through the woods. He wasn't quite as bad a woodsman as he was when he showed up on this world, but he was thankful they had Katrina to take the lead. She seemed to be able to instinctively find game trails heading in the right direction without any problems.

When they stopped and set up camp, had dinner and relaxed by the fire, he realized he must have been very close to death. They had been treating him like glass all day, and now no one had dragged him off. He laughed, grabbed Nora's hand and pulled her to the privacy blanket. Apparently he would have to prove he was very much better.

Nora resisted at first, looking worried, but when she gave in and kissed him it was a deep desperate kiss. As if she was afraid he would disappear on her.

He said softly, "I'm here love, I'm safe with you. I'm sorry if I scared you," as he caressed her hair and neck.

Nora kissed him, her wandering hands making short work of their clothing. She didn't say anything, but the look in her eyes told him exactly how scared she was that she almost lost him. She pulled him down as she laid back onto the bedding. They kissed hungrily as he explored her petite supple body. When he checked, he found her ready but teased her core to orgasm with his fingertips, putting off his own pleasure for the moment.

He loved the scent of her skin as he kissed and licked her neck and shoulders. Her breath was short and fast, sweet sounds of pleasure exhaled from her lips as he brought his mate to bliss. His fingers were soaked with her sweet nectar, and he tasted them as he knelt between her legs.

He lined up and slowly impaled her in one firm forward thrust while staring deeply into her eyes. He could see the tears in her eyes as the emotions of the moment overwhelmed them both. He sighed in pleasure when he was fully buried, filling her, and he could feel her body clamp around him as she got used to his welcomed invasion.

There was so much love, passion and emotion in her eyes, and every touch, that he wondered if he would ever be worthy of it. He started to pump his hardened flesh in and out of her tight supple body, her wet heat pure pleasure. Their bodies came together in a physical manifestation of the deep love they held. It was all just too much for him to hold out when she screamed his name in pleasure and her center locked tightly around his manhood he felt his body preparing to explode in pleasure.

He rocked in and out a few more times, burying himself hard in her heaven as he released his seed deep within her willing body. They cuddled and kissed for a while, no words spoken as their eyes shared everything they needed to hear. A short time later it was time to start again...

The next few days passed as they made progress toward the border. They were sure Luis had groups hunting them, but they didn't run into any. On the fourth day, they did run into someone, but certainly no one that they had been expecting. They all froze and looked around when they heard the crack of a stick breaking. An animal wouldn't have done that.

He looked to Sara and to his surprise, she called out, "It's okay, we won't hurt you. Come out."

A young girl, no older than six came out with a guilty look on her face.

Sara said, "Who are you? How did you get here?"

That was something he was curious about too, they were far from any kind of civilization.

The girl made a face, "Kelly, I'm not allowed to be out here."

Sara asked, "Where are your parents?"

Kelly pointed the way and started walking. They all looked at each other then started following. After about a ten minute walk, one moment they saw nothing but forest, the next step they could see a village. He heard a loud noise, maybe an alarm? He watched Kelly run to a couple of women in the village, who looked up at them and frowned.

Sally whispered, "They are both mages, as is Kelly. There are a lot of them here."

A number of women, and men, ran from the buildings, none of them looked friendly. He sighed, of course they didn't.

He cleared his throat as no one had attacked yet, "Hi, we're just passing through."

A woman said, "And we live here in secret, it is our lives if the location gets out."

Nora almost growled, "I suppose you won't take our word that we won't tell anyone? We are from Abelaweth. For that matter, you would all be welcome there if you don't want to hide in the middle of a forest anymore."

He heard whispered conversations of varying opinions. Some were tired of hiding and wanted to look into Nora's offer, some wanted to let them go. The worst being they were spies and should be dealt with. He wasn't about to let that last happen. These people were some of the ones he had been trying to figure out how to save. But that didn't mean they couldn't be on the wrong side of things as well.

Still, they didn't seem bad, just scared. Which kind of surprised him, there were a lot of witches here, more than enough to fight if they had to. He wondered how this village had come to be.

He asked, "There are a lot of you here, why are you hiding? You can come with us, Abelaweth will be safe for you."

A man shook his head and said, "We need to remain here, to rescue pregnant mothers that will bear a witch."

He guessed they must have some system in place, he rather doubted they would fill him in on it though. He almost suggested they fight, take over Uleni. But these people were clearly not warriors, they were just people who wanted to live in peace, who happened to be witches.

"We'll leave you be now, but remember our offer."

A few looked nervous at the idea, but no one stopped them from leaving. He took that as a good sign but they didn't truly relax until they had a few miles lead from the village.

Almost another full week passed as they slowly made their way to the border. The twisting trails and terrain slowing them down more than they expected. There were a couple of close calls at the border, but they made it through without violence and headed to the capitol to let the king know what was going on. Whatever peace had been made wasn't worth the paper it was written on.

Only the reduced military of Uleni stayed their hand, he wondered how long that would hold true, and what would happen then. He promised the king he would be there to help, should Uleni invade again. It didn't feel like enough, but it was all he could do.

None of them talked about the hidden village they had found, spies were common, and though they would probably be safe even from a search, it would be better to keep their existence a secret.

They spent a few days at the castle, but ultimately left to go home. The tavern was undisturbed and it took them a day to get it back to the point they would be able to open. Even better, the beer they had brewed had aged enough to serve.

As the days turned into weeks, they truly made it their home and business picked up. First just passing merchants, then others came from the city.

They all celebrated when Sara was confirmed pregnant. He had five children coming, and plenty of work to do. The nursery he had thought so damn large when he first saw it, now looked impossibly small. He didn't imagine for one second they wouldn't have more after the initial group of five.

Besides work for the tavern, he was sought out for healing almost daily, and at least once a week went into the city for the day. Usually Nicole joined him for the trip and spent the day at the palace as he healed anyone who needed it, often not charging for his trouble. The king supported this, by not charging him for the office space.