Sex Wizards - Initiation Ch. 14-15

Author's Note: Remember those non-sexy chapters I mentioned earlier on? These are them. CW for more mentions of non-con, though nothing will ever be shown in graphic detail in this series. Next week is the grand finale, so if you've been enjoying the story, please let me know! Part 2, Mastery, has been sent out to beta readers and should start appearing in a couple of months. If you like the characters and the world (and the smut, of course) there's a whole lot more in the works! Thanks again for reading :)

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We find the entrance to the caves just where Isa said. Half a mile up the hill, set into a rocky outcropping. There's signs of inhabitation - a full clothes line strung between two trees, a cold fire pit circled with sitting sitting stumps. Nearby, I hear the trickle of a creek, and there's a makeshift wooden tub for bathing just beside it. We creep closer, but to all appearances, no one's home.

Arlon turns to me. "This is where you stay," he says, voice pitched low.

"Arlon, please-" The grandmaster puts his hands on my shoulders and squeezes.

"No. You have done more than enough," he says, his tone gentle. "Your resourcefulness has led us straight to their lair. And that same resourcefulness will someday make you a wizard to be reckoned with, but today, I need you to stay here, and stay down."

I nod, but I can't meet his eye. It feels too much like being a kid again, told to stay behind while the adults do the important work. Arlon squeezes my shoulder and searches my necklace until he finds the abjuration spell he'd given me. He takes the focus off and releases the spell before closing it into my hand. "If we're not out by sunrise, you go back to the horses and you return to the Crux. Is that understood?"

I swallow, dread settling in my stomach as I wrap my hand around the little ring. I don't want think about going back alone. Even so, I nod. "Understood."

Galiva kisses my cheek, and I pull her into a tight embrace. "Be safe," I whisper, holding on for a second longer before I let her go. My traitorous thoughts remind me that this could be the last time. We outnumber them, but who knows what waits inside of that cave?

Arlon turns back to the assembled wizards as he detaches a string of spells from his necklace and wraps it around his fist. A few others copy him, readying for the fight. "On my lead, we go in, we find our people, and we don't hesitate against those who would stop us. Understood?" There are nods all around and Arlon lets out a quiet sigh. "May the gods watch over us." Then, without another word, they vanish from sight.

I don't hear them leave, but something changes in the air, and I know they've gone in. I duck a little further back into the trees and let out a shaking breath, my nerves alight. Even under Arlon's abjuration and illusion, I stay still and quiet. It's more habit than anything, even though I itch to pace, to do something. It feels wrong to be sitting here while they're all risking their lives inside of that cave.

The minutes tick by, a slow torture. I pull my bow from my back and nock an arrow. The weight of it is comforting in my hands. Somewhere to my left, something small shuffles through the underbrush. The birds chirp their songs overhead. I block them out and watch the dark entrance of the cave, waiting for movement, ears strained for any noise.

It feels like an eternity, but when movement comes, it doesn't come from the cave. My fingers tighten on the string of my bow, and I duck low as laughter makes its way up the hill. A minute later, a small group of people emerge from the trees not twenty feet from where I'm crouched.

Three men. Full strands of spells hang heavy around their necks. But between them is a young woman. Her wrists are bound in front of her. The colorful skirts she wears are ripped a torn, a part of it making the bright gag that's tied into her mouth. Tears wet her bronze cheeks.

One of the men gives her a shove and she stumbles. At first, I think she's shaking, but when she turns to scream muffled obscenities at the man, I see nothing but plain fury on her face. "Look at that, Diran," one of the men laughs. "She's a fierce one, ain't she? You'd think a bandit's bedwarmer would have learned something of fear by now."

I don't know what I expected Diran to look like, but I'm surprised by how... average he is. White skinned with short brown hair. One could squint and call him handsome, but the sneer on his face makes me want to put my fist through his teeth. He's wearing well made traveling clothes and sturdy but muddied boots.

He steps forward and grabs a fistful of the woman's black hair, yanking her to her knees. She shrieks into her gag, and I draw an arrow back to my ear. "She will soon enough," Diran says.

My arm shakes. I want to let the arrow fly straight through the man's eye. But fucking hell, I can't take three of them with a bow. Not when they're armed to the godsdamned teeth.

Diran pauses. He tosses the woman to the ground before delivering a sharp kick to her leg. "Shut up," he snarls.

He looks back towards the woods - towards me. He takes a step in my direction, mud-brown eyes narrowed to a glare. My instinct is to run, but I'm frozen like a deer. I don't have a choice but to trust Arlon's spell.

I hold my breath, but his gaze passes right over me to focus on the trampled grass the others had walked across. He kicks at one of Arlon's footsteps that's sunk into the soft ground.

Godsdammit. I'd been so focused on following a trail, I hadn't even considered hiding our own. Diran smirks, and he's so close that I can see his crooked front tooth catch the dry skin of his lip. He follows the other's footprints to the entrance of the cave and kneels to brush off a layer of dirt. Underneath, a glowing focus pulses.

"Someone's here," he says. He sounds almost pleased. Then his gaze turns back to the woman. Her eyes widen with fear as he reaches for a focus on his neck. His fingers pick out the one he's looking for, and when it flashes out, the woman flinches and throws her hands up. But whatever attack she was expecting doesn't come.

Instead, a cold grey barrier appears around her. A cage. She gets to her feet and slams her bound fists against the wall. It sparks bright, but holds. She rips the gag out, but I can't hear her shout. Diran smiles and puts his fingers to his lips. "Don't worry," he says. "We'll be back for you, little dirt blood."

The woman yells something else at him as she flips a rude gesture with her hand. Diran just chuckles and turns to his two companions.

"Let's go," he says, and all three of them wink out of sight.

My stomach drops. Even if the others have downed the wizards inside, they have no idea what's coming towards them. I can't stay here. I can't just wait.

I step out of the trees and creep towards the mouth of the cave. I'm shielded from sight and sound, but it still takes trust to put the spell to the test. I walk past the caged woman as she slumps against the invisible wall. Even though I walk right past her, she doesn't give any indication she's seen me. Instead, she buries her head in her hands and starts to sob.

We'll come back. We'll get her out, too. We have to.

The tunnel is dark, but about ten feet in, there's a torch set into the wall. I take a breath and head towards it. The stone walls feel close on all sides, and I crouch down as the tunnel constricts before widening again. I reach a fork, and feel a cool breeze rush up from one of the paths. It cools the sweat on my face and sends gooseflesh over my neck. To my left, the dark path yawns, and I imagine Diran's smirking face striking out from the shadows. He doesn't, and I choose the path with the torch instead.

The sound of my footsteps are covered by the spell, and maybe that's what makes it seem so eerily quiet down here. You'd think sound would bounce off the stone like an echo chamber, but the paths twist and branch so much, sound seems to get trapped in the maze.

I cross a few more dark paths, and every time, I expect an ambush. It's only when I reach one tunnel that stinks that I realize what this place is.

These pricks have set up shop in a godsdamned goblin hovel. Yet somehow, these wizards are still the worst things down here. Whatever colony existed here appears to have cleared out. Or were killed, judging by the sickly sweet smell down that dark path.

My skin crawls when I pass the entry to another dark tunnel, but it tries to break into a run when the dark path moans. I spin and slam my back against the stone wall. My quiver clatters, and my bow twangs against the wall as I stare down the tunnel. My own breath is loud is my ears, but nothing attacks.

Idiot. Good fucking thing I'm shielded from sight and sound. But what the fuck was that?

My eyes adjust to the gloom, and I can see down the short, straight path. It goes on for a couple meters before it ends in a heavy door, bolted straight into the stone. I creep towards it, my heart in my throat. There's a plank of wood set against the wall, and I see where it usually rests to bar the door closed.

This is a prison.

Everything is telling me to get as far away from here as possible, but I can't. Not yet.

I reach out and grab the heavy metal handle. The door groans quietly as I push it open. And inside, chained along the walls, are the missing wizards.

Allisande looks up at the sound. To her, it must look like the door is slowly opening on it's own. She looks right through me, but flinches as another long, low moan comes from further inside the room. Allisande clamps her hands over her ears, making the heavy manacles around her wrists clank. She shuts her eyes tight, and I realize the other three wizards have already done the same. In one corner, a man with copper skin and black hair cries quietly where he's curled into his corner.

I hear the moan again, louder this time and my gut drops. "Get off me." His words are thick and clumsy, but I'd know Olbric's voice anywhere. I hurry to the back of the room, brushing past Allisande close enough that I'm sure she feels me.

I find a narrow path through the stone of the back wall, and hear the sound of tearing fabric from beyond it.

"Please," Olbric moans. He sounds exhausted, defeated. It makes my stomach twist, but the sight that greets me when I squeeze through the narrow passage is worse.

Olbric is shackled and hanging a few inches from the ground by nothing but his wrists. His face is bloodied and bruised so bad his left eye swollen shut. Blood drips from where the manacles bite into his wrists, his arms wrenched at an awful angle.

The man that stands in front of him rips at the fabric of his shirt. One last tear gets it all the way off, and the man tosses it aside. Olbric kicks feebly at him, but it's like his body won't cooperate.

"Begging already, huh?" the man sneers. "You know how much I've been looking forward to some payback?"

Olbric moans, his head rolling loose on his shoulders. He blinks hard, like every time it takes more effort to keep them open.

My stomach drops. They've drugged him.

I check my arrow and draw my bowstring to my ear, taking careful aim. "Get off of him." The second I speak, there's a shiver of magic across my skin, and I know I've just broken the spell that kept me hidden. I can't quite stop my voice from shaking. "Get off him."

The man whirls and his face makes me want to recoil. The skin on one side is pink and raw, glistening from where one of Olbric's spells must have burned him. His lip is curled into a permanent sneer, but it only grows more pronounced as he focuses on me.

He ducks behind Olbric. One hand digs into Olbric's throat while the other pulls a knife from his belt. He jabs it under Olbric's chin, and the wizard groans as a new trail of blood slides down his neck.

"Hope you're a good shot," the man sneers. He's using Olbric as a shield. Only part of the burned half of his face peeks out from around the hanging wizard, making him a narrow target. His eyes flick off of me for just a second to travel to his spell necklace that's laying in the corner with his shirt. I see him tense, ready to lunge for it.

I don't let him get that far. Rage steadies my hand.

"I am."

I let my arrow fly. It flies true, and slams into the man's eye. The meaty thud of impact makes me feel sick to my stomach. It's so like shooting a deer, and yet not like it at all. The man barely makes a sound. A little grunt of surprise before the knife drops from his hand. He takes a staggering step back and collapses, dead before he hits the ground.

I sling my bow over my shoulder and rush forward, doing everything I can not to look at the man I just killed. Olbric is limp as I grab him around the waist and lift. It takes a second, but I manage to get the link of his manacles off the hook that's screwed into the rock above. He shouts as I lower him to the ground, and his shoulder lets out a sickening pop as it slides back into place. I swear and cup his cheek, tapping gently.

"Olbric, can you hear me?"

Though his one eye is swollen shut, his other flutters open. It rolls in his skull, disoriented. When he finally finds me, his face twists with pain. "No," he gasps, his voice hoarse. "Not you, too." Tears well to his eyes and spill down his cheeks.

I pull him into a tight embrace, careful of his shoulder. "It's alright, it's okay," I say. "They didn't get me. We're here to get you out."

It's hard to say what gets through to him. Whatever they've given him has looped him up good. He rests limp in my arms, though his entire body shakes like a leaf. I pull back and kiss his forehead. "You're alright. I'll get you out of here, I promise."

I don't want to leave him, but I have to. I might already be too late.

I scoot past the dead man and snatch the string of focuses from on top of his pile of clothes. I drape it around my neck before I give Olbric a gentle shake. He blinks hard and clutches my arm as I gently ease him to his feet.

"C'mon," I say. He struggles to get his feet underneath him, but I pull him to lean against me, my arm tight around his waist. I half-carry him out of the room.

Allisande's gasp snaps me to attention. She stares at me with wide eyes, a hand closed over her mouth. She lowers it just enough to whisper, "Dominai?"

"Hey, Allisande." I lower Olbric to the ground beside her as careful as I can. "I'm here with Arlon and a few others. We're here to get you out." I take the dead wizard's spells from around my neck and hand them to her.

Her hands shake a little as she takes the string. She's still looking at me like I'm a specter that might vanish at any second. "How?" she asks, and it's only then I notice the other wizards have tuned in. They're watching me with a desperate sort of hope.

I put my hand over hers and squeeze gently to assure her I'm real. "It's a long story that starts with your letter," I say with a strained smile. "I'll tell you the whole thing soon." A smile flickers onto her face, and it seems like it's been a long time since she's done it. I press a kiss to her fingers. "I'll be back with the others. I promise."

Olbric makes a distressed noise when I pull away from him, but I don't have time to waste. I move back out the door and down the short hallway to follow the torches. I move as quick as I dare - there's no spell keeping me hidden now, but I realize that it doesn't matter if I'm quiet anymore.

I turn a corner and enter another wide tunnel just in time to hear Cancassi's musical voice scream. Light flashes from around the corner, and a crack of thunder makes my heart leap into my throat as the walls around us shake. Up ahead, I hear a crash of rock as something gives.

"Get down," Arlon shouts.

I move forward, arrow nocked. I step over the body of someone I don't recognize as a bloom of crackling red light brightens the tunnels. I round the corner to see Diran lift a spell to shield himself as debris rains down.

Galiva stands over Cancassi and Garrett. She has an abjuration up to shield them, and good fucking thing too. A chunk of the ceiling gives way a second later. Chunks of stone and dirt clatter off her shield. She looks up with wide eyes, and I can only pray that more of it doesn't decide to go.

Garrett kneels next to Cancassi, spells winking out even as blood pools out and stains the Maeve's white hair.

Behind them, I see Ambra's back as she raises an abjuration that shimmers like ice. Thaddius is crumpled at her feet while Margeurite stands poised and ready beside them.

I see what's happened. Diran and his cadre split up. They must have ambushed the Crux wizards from two different tunnels, trapping them in the middle.

Further down the tunnel, there's a flash of light. Ambra shouts, and her shield cracks and disappears, but in the second before she raises another, Margeurite shoots off an attack with a snarl. Arlon echoes her roar as he aims a spell at Diran that crashes against his abjuration like thunder.

Diran's back is to me, but I see him tense, his legs threatening to buckle under the force of Arlon's spell. He holds with dogged determination, a smirk tugging at his lips.

They can't break through. Diran and his two cronies have closed in on them like the jaws of a trap. Arlon looks like he's throwing a punch, and another focus around his hand winks out. The spell cracks against Diran's shield in another ear-rattling crash.

Diran spreads his arms, focuses glowing from the string of spells wrapped around each of his hands. The spell concentrates in front of him, and the shine of magic makes a wall between him and Arlon.

I raise my bow and draw, aiming straight for the middle of Diran's back. Arlon's gaze jumps to me, and our eyes lock in a moment of brief surprise. Then, Arlon gives a curt nod.

I let fly, and the arrow flies true. Diran screams as it punches into the flesh of his back. His concentration on the wall falters, and when Arlon slams another attack against it, the light of it flickers and cracks.

Diran snarls and keeps one hand raised to the wall even as he half-turns to glare his hatred at me. He holds his other hand out towards me, palm crossed with dozens of glowing rings and marbles. I fumble for an arrow, but my fingers are too slow.

In the split-second before one of his spells flashes out, I can't help but think that it's been a real fun time. Shame it was so short.

But there's no impact. No fire or pain. He doesn't blast me.

Instead, he runs. There's a sharp snap, and Diran vanishes from sight.

"That son of a bitch!" one of the others shouts, but Margeurite's well timed spell crashes into him. I don't see what it does, but I hear him scream all the same. Arlon spins, stepping past Garrett and Cancassi as he throws another punch. He snarls, and one of the spells on his knuckle flashes out before there's another deafening crack. There's an echoing crash, a final shout, and the tunnel falls quiet.

In the breath of silence that follows, Arlon sweeps down the hall. I hurry forward to see the grandmaster strip the two downed wizards of their spells. Neither of them seem to be in any condition to stop him. I can hear that they're both still alive - if feeling pretty miserable about it.

It takes me a long second to unclench my fingers from the grip of my bow. Galiva keeps the shield held, but she looks far happier about it now that the thunder has stopped rumbling the tunnels around us. Ambra crouches by Thaddius, but the man groans and pats her hair. She helps him to his feet, and though he's moving gingerly, at least he's he's moving.

Cancassi whimpers as Garrett does something, but I let out a breath when I realize they're alive. For a second, I had thought the worst.