Fortune and Fortitude Pt. 05

"It'll be dark soon." Kiara whispered as he tried to pull her in. He looked up at her tiredly. She consented. "I suppose we have some time for a nap. I'll wake up when they arrive."

Jared struggled against his exhaustion. "Are you sure?"

She smiled and laid down beside him, snuggling under his arm. "I become very attuned to the environment in the dark. Trust me, I'll know."

Any other protests died compared to Jared's exhaustion, and he fell asleep.

***********

"Jared." Kiara whispered urgently. "Jared!"

He stirred. "Hmm?"

"They're here."

Jared bolted upright, all notions of sleep vanishing immediately. "Already?"

"We've slept for nearly an hour."

Jared blinked and squinted at the dark figure. "That's you, Kiara?"

She was almost completely encased in shadow, her eyes appearing as two monochromatic blue slits in the darkness. "Yes. This form helps me move freely between phantom and human."

Jared yawned and stretched, bumping the sleeping Zoe beside him. "Will she be okay?"

"Only if we can stop the Dousa."

Jared rose and began looking around for his clothes, until Kiara tossed them to him. "It's not a huge rush - they're still a ways away."

Feeling only a little bit better, Jared dressed himself quickly. "So what's the plan?"

Kiara folded her arms. "We bluff. There's nothing else we can do. I doubt we can take them in a fight. There are six of them by my count - I was expecting four, hoping for two." The moonlight streaming through the cave entrance did nothing to illuminate her figure.

Jared took a deep breath. His exhaustion had fled entirely, leaving only nervousness. "Alright, let's do this." He glanced over at Zoe. "Can you make sure she's safe?"

"I'll try."

Feeling somewhat satisfied, Jared exited the cave. At first, he could see nothing, just the peaceful wilderness brightened by the light of the full moon. But then, he noticed it. Trails of dust caused by what looked to be a herd of buffalo. The gleaming silver quills told him that they were all in the similitude of the boar that had hit the bus. He shivered.

"I'm going to go try to get everyone safely secured," Kiara whispered in his ear. "Good luck."

He turned to look at her, but she was gone, presumably invisible. That left him alone, watching the approaching herd of boars.

He shivered, and not from the cold. So far, he had only fought men, really. Humans. He could take a gunshot or two, he knew that from experience. But against a giant raging machine with tusks? He didn't like his odds, much less against the dozen or so that were streaking across the plains. Maybe with an elephant gun or something...

He took a deep breath, feeling his flame surge inside him. That was odd. Normally it only seemed to show up when he was being intimate. Either he was REALLY nervous, or this was a good sign. He had debated using the emergency number on his phone but decided against it. Knowing that he was virtually immortal, it might just call down a nuclear strike or something.

He began stretching. This could be it. He might never see Quinn again - if he ever made it back to her, he wasn't letting her go until they'd at least had their first night together. Senguine had taken that from them, and Jared wasn't going to let that happen again.

The herd was getting closer. Now he could make out the individual hogs, each moving in a strange, galloping fashion. They had no riders that he could see, and he wondered absentmindedly where the dousa were. They had to be close to harvest death, right? Or maybe they had some way of the boars storing it. He still didn't really know how it worked.

They were getting too close. He took a second to steady his nerves, then strode forward to meet them. They were still a few hundred yards out, but they were moving quickly. As he approached, he could hear them snorting and grunting.

At about a hundred yards out, Jared halted and held up his hands. "Stop!" he yelled. "Stop right there!"

The boars ignored him, not slowing by even a pace. After a moment, they changed course, heading straight for the main cave where the students were located.

"I said stop!" Jared yelled angrily, stepping forward. Again, there was no response. They were just going to run past him, kill all of the humans, and come back to finish him off, all without even giving him the dignity of a quick death.

That angered Jared. "STOP!" The fire roared.

Suddenly, his arms burst into flame, bright and orange. One of the boars screeched to a halt, and several others followed suit. But another kept on for the cave.

His hands extinguished as he leapt for the boar as it passed him and grabbed onto one of the razor tusks. With a shout, he dug his heels into the ground and pulled.

The boar wrenched to the side, skidding to a stop as it turned. Confused, the following boars squealed and pulled to a stop as well.

"What's this?" a sultry voice asked. Looking around, Jared located a cloaked figure atop one of the boars. Behind it stood several others, all standing eerily atop the fallen boar. Their cloaks were a dark blue, their eyes glowing bright red. They were pale, with masks covering the top portion of their face.

"My name is Jared Bertreck," Jared called, "And I'm putting a stop to this heist." He sounded confident, fueled by the fire inside of him.

"Is that so?" The figure glided smoothly down the side of the boar, followed by its kindred. "And just what is your reasoning?"

The figures spread out, forming a semi-circle around him. He shifted but maintained eye contact with the leader - at least, he assumed it was the leader.

He straightened, faintly aware of his burned off sleeves. "They are under my protection. As a Ferronaught, I demand you leave." He hoped he knew what he was doing, and wished Kiara had given him more instructions.

"A ferronaught?" the voice drawled. "A bold claim. You are quite young. And who is your father?"

Jared hesitated. "He doesn't want to be associated with me - he abandoned me at birth." It was close enough to the truth. "I stand alone."

"Oh, is that so?" It sounded skeptical. "And why should we believe you? If you are indeed a ferronaught, we would be truly foolish to violate your claim. But if you are not, we would be foolish not to."

Jared raised his chin. "You can believe what you want. It doesn't matter either way to me, though it might to you."

The figure licked its lips nervously. "I see. I suppose we have little choice."

"Now wait just a moment!" Another voice hissed angrily. "He cannot be what he claims - why would he be stalking such small prey if he truly is of such a powerful bloodline?" It shook its head. "The claim must be tested."

Crap. And it had been going so well. Jared raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Test it if you want to. You versus me, right here and now."

The figure snorted. "Gladly." It looked to the leader. "May I take this challenge?"

The leader hesitated, then nodded. "So long as our young friend acknowledges that this action is yours alone, not ours." It looked to Jared. "We are understood?"

That was NOT the plan. Still, it would be easier to fight just one of them. "I accept your terms," Jared declared boldly. "This is your last chance to back down."

The figure smirked. "More like your last chance to intimidate me, friend. And you failed." It walked up and shirked it's cloak, revealing that it was male, and that it was entirely naked beneath the cloak. "Shall we begin?"

Jared smirked. "Well, I'm not about to strip naked. But sure, whenever you're ready."

The figure tilted his head and grinned, teeth yellow in the moonlight. The boar behind him roared and charged forward, going directly for Jared.

Jared leapt to the side, a bit unprepared for the sudden onslaught. He rolled to his feet as the boar circled around, glaring daggers at him. Meanwhile, the other dousa retreated to a safe distance along with their creatures.

Jared eyed the boar, waiting for it to make the next move. He didn't really have a plan, frankly. He was hoping that Kiara might be able to get something done while he was acting as a distraction.

The boar howled and leapt forward, not bothering to gear up for a charge. Caught off guard, Jared moved to dodge but wasn't fast enough. One of its tusks narrowly missed gutting him, instead slamming into him with the broad side and sending him flying across the sand.

He flew for nearly 20 feet before landing, rolling to lessen the impact. Still, it hurt, the point where it hit him aching like he'd been hit with a sledgehammer. He jumped to his feet as it came hurtling towards him again.

This time, he was a bit faster, and he leapt for the tusk, trying to pull off the same move that he had used to stop it the first time. The boar was ready for him, however, and when he grabbed for the tusk, it flipped it's head upward.

Jared let go of the tusk, cutting his hand open to avoid getting thrown again. He stumbled and fell to his feet as the boar whirled around.

"He is no Ferronaught!" cried one of the other dousa. "We must delay our feast no longer!"

"Agreed!" called the leader. "Finish the impostor, and begin the feast!"

The boar rushed Jared again, but this time he stood his ground. Gritting his teeth, he planted his feet in the ground. As it came on him, he ducked beneath the tusks and slammed his shoulder into the beasts chest.

It squealed loudly as it was thrown to the side, the momentum of its charge carrying it quite a ways. Before Jared could be pleased with himself, another boar suddenly came in from the side. On instinct, Jared raised his fist and slammed it down, breaking off one of the tusks but cutting his other hand in the process.

The third boar caught him off guard, nailing him straight on. He was thrown onto the second boar, the quills cutting his skin and clothing as he rolled over it. He scrabbled for a handhold, finally catching onto one of the quills.

He needed to do something. How did he light his arms on fire? He squeezed his eyes shut and focused, trying to get them to ignite. Nothing happened.

Beneath him, the boar screamed in fury and whipped around, throwing him from off its back. He hit the ground hard, skidding on the rocky surface for a few feet. The boar rushed him again.

That was it. Jared rose to his feet. "ENOUGH!" The fire inside him roared once more. As the boar ran him down, he didn't attempt to move. Instead, as it closed the distance, he ran towards it, with a single goal in mind. You're dead.

As they met, he raised both fists into the air and brought them down on the boar's skull with a shout. His hands lit with a bright white flame as they made contact.

The boar squealed and shrieked in pain as the fire spread rapidly across its body. A few dousa took notice, and one of the other boars charged again.

Jared grabbed the tusks and slammed down, bringing the beast to a fast halt. With a roar, he ripped one tusk out of its face and swung around, impaling it back into the boar's eye.

It's squeal of pain cut short as the body slumped, not moving. By now, the fire had raged into a might inferno. He was mad, and gladly so.

"We are deceived!" One dousa cried. "He is Ferronaught!"

Another ignored him, hopping astride a boar and charging forward again, this time just to his left. It would charge then suddenly swing to the left, trying to take him off guard.

Jared didn't mind at all. As it came near, he leapt and grabbed hold of the nearest tusk, and then, with a loud grunt, placed it on his shoulder and pulled down. With a panicked squeal, the boar flipped over him, landing flatly on its back and crushing its rider.

A quick punch with flame was enough to silence it. He turned to the rest of the dousa, who had scattered, trying to hunt down the humans. "Who's next?"

"Halt there, Ferronaught!" The leader proclaimed.

Jared laughed cruelly. "Or what?"

"Jared!"

Jared's smile vanished as one of the dousa held up Kiara, a knife at her throat. She was naked, and the sight ignited his flame.

Jared clenched his fists and scowled. "Put her down, NOW, or I'll-"

Before he could finish, the dousa released her, pushing her away as it retreated. "No need, great one. That was our only leverage against you, and we gave it away freely." It knelt down before bowing itself low to the ground. "Have mercy, great one. We surrender."

Jared glanced around to see the dousa gathered around, all remaining boars behind them as they bowed. He snorted. "You think I'll let you off that easy?"

"Of course not, great one," the leader stated humbly. "But whatever you wish, even our lives, we offer you."

Hmph. Well that took the fun out of it. Suddenly, something grabbed his hand. He yanked it away and raised it to punish whatever fool dared to-

Kiara flinched, raising her hands to cover her face. Jared blinked, and lowered his hand. "Kiara, I-"

No need to apologize. She's just a vassal.

Jared gritted his teeth. That's it. You've gone too far. With great effort, he quenched the flame, ignoring the angry protest.

He knelt down in front of Kiara, who was still shaking. "Kiara, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

She looked into his eyes searchingly. After a moment, she relaxed and embraced him. "Jared, you scared me."

He sighed and returned the embrace, ignoring the dousa around him. "I know. Me too." He took a deep breath, feeling his fire sizzle angrily. "Thanks for bringing me back."

She nodded but didn't let go. He coughed. "But, uh, I still need to negotiate with them, you know?"

"Oh." Kiara let go sheepishly. "Of course."

Jared straightened, eyeing the wreckage around him. Three boars and one dousa dead. Not overwhelming, but they didn't seem to care. He had made his point.

He cleared his throat and walked up to their leader, who was still bowed. "I need one thing from you, and you can go free."

The leader looked up in surprise. "Truly, Master?" It sounded afraid. Distrustful. But a bit hopeful.

No.

Jared ignored the thought. "Yes. I'm telling the truth." He smiled and extended his hand. "Here, let me help you up."

Nervously, the dousa took his hand and stood. "What is it you desire, oh great one?" It bowed its head.

"A phone number."

The dousa looked up in surprise. "What phone number would you like?"

"I just need a way to contact you if I need anything." Jared's smile faded. "You serve me now, and no other master. Betray me, and I'll finish what I started here tonight. All right?"

The leader nodded. "You are most gracious."

Jared pulled his phone from his pocket, relieved to see that it seemed undamaged. He opened up the "New Contact" option and held it out to the leader. "Put your name and number here."

As the leader filled it in, the other dousa looked around to each other in shock. They had thought most of them were dead for sure. Jared smiled. Nah, he just wasn't that kind of demon. At least, not at the moment.

After the leader finished, Jared added a tag to the contact: "Dousa." Then he pocketed the phone. "Alright, you may go. But first," he added, "Make sure you unblock our service. Alright?"

"Of course, master," the leader said humbly. They all glided up one of the boars, and, as quickly as they arrived, trampled away, back the way they came.

Jared let his shoulders slump as they rode away. The fight had still taken a toll on him. His ribs ached from where the boar had hit him, the cuts on his arms still hurt, and he was stinging from the dozens of smaller scratches and bruises. Not bad for the equivalent of being hit by a bus, but not feeling too good either.

Kiara came to stand beside him. "What now?"

Jared pulled back at his phone and was happy to note that service had returned. "I'm going to need to call a ride."

Alright, thoughts? We got to see a bit more of Jared's darker side in this chapter, and we gained not one, but TWO new vassals! Who do you want to see next? Are there any scenes (or threesomes) that you want to see? LET ME KNOW DOWN BELOW!

To reiterate, work on the next chapter will begin once I have 20 comments.