There was a plus to these thoughts—they distracted me from what we were running into. Otherwise, I might have found myself paralyzed with fear. Then again, maybe I was starting to get the hang of this whole badass thing; all that mattered was getting the team back together, for now.

  A horrible idea hit me—what if I was too late? What if we had come to this world to make a change, and in the end all we’d done is fuck ourselves over? Panic started to grip me, so I focused on deep breaths, trying to find that calming, inner energy.

  “I’ll scout ahead,” Suiko said, clearly sensing my worry, going into what was beginning to be her normal role.

  Amabie waited until she had zipped off, then said, “And I’ll go along the river to do the same.”

  “Making the rest of us feel rather useless,” Devasla said, folding her arms.

  “Are you kidding?” I protested. “You’re clearly the muscle and fire power rolled into one. You were the one who was rescuing Amabie back there.”

  She grinned. “And I took down one of the storks by myself.”

  “Stork?”

  “Ah, those tall metal things. Some of us call them storks because it’s like they deliver new babies to the hunters.”

  “Not babies, right? I thought it was more like food.”

  “Um, buzzkill,” Lizzy interjected, “but from what I understand by Randi’s going on about this place, babies often are food.”

  My stomach dropped and I tasted bile. “Let’s not stay longer than we need to.”

  “Actually, have you eaten lately?” she asked.

  Basty’s stomach rumbled.

  “No,” I said. “And neither have most of us, I think. Not a bad idea to replenish. Anyone have to take a piss?” I nodded to the trees. Lizzy and I had each gone lately, but I wasn’t sure about the rest of them.

  Koharu headed off to do so, and I glanced at our fiery friend.

  “Oh, I don’t pee,” Devasla explained.

  “That’s… convenient. How so?”

  Devasla grinned. “See that steam rising off me sometimes? Well, that’s not always—”

  “Gross!” Lizzy interjected. “You evaporate your piss away? Remind me never to stand next to you when you’re doing that.”

  Devasla turned her fiery eyes toward the young human. “And remind me to light your hair on fire when you’re asleep.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” she replied, eyeing me with worry.

  “No need for that,” I interjected, then added, “I don’t exactly follow how it works.”

  “Just that excess liquid evaporates from my body. Same with food. It’s not like I piss and then it evaporates, or anything like that.”

  I nodded, gesturing at Lizzy. “See, it just takes some understanding.”

  She nodded, but still seemed a bit grossed out by it all. I took my satchel and had a quick snack of an energy bar, along with some water, and Lizzy had some as well. We had brought enough to last a day or two, but if we had to stay longer than that, we’d have problems. I glanced at the dreary, gray sky, thinking about the idea of sunshine and walking around nude. If it came to that, I’d say screw it all and just wear clothes.

  Suiko returned, taking form about arm’s length in front of me, then turned to address the others. “I found a way in. Where’s Amabie?”

  I shook my head but indicated the river. “Scouting a different path.”

  “I’ll check on her.”

  Suiko zipped out along the river, and she sent the vision of what she was seeing back my way—a quick movement of what looked like a fish jumping out of the water, and then a figure I hadn’t seen before and had thought might have been a tree, vanished into the water. A moment later, red flowed.

  Suiko’s vision disappeared into the water, then found Amabie, who turned her way with a look in her eyes I’d never seen there aside from when we’d first met. It was terrifying. A thirst for more blood.

  At a motion from Suiko, the look vanished and they were both coming back our way. The vision vanished and the two emerged.

  “One less of them to deal with,” Amabie said, wiping water—maybe blood, too—from her chin.

  “We have a way in,” Suiko said.

  I looked at the spirit sight images of the others within and noticed that one was on the move. Without waiting for their word, I started for the way I’d seen Suiko go, trusting that she’d catch up soon enough and show me the way.

  10

  We entered the hunters’ fortress through an old canal that was dried out. It led up through what appeared to be a garden, though the plants had long ago died and withered. The room was open on three sides, with triangular pillars intricately carved at each corner. Past those, we were able to make out several stone statues in an inner courtyard.

  “Who are these people?” Suiko asked. “I assumed they were high-tech hunters, by the stories. But this…?”

  “It’s like a temple,” I said, nodding in agreement.

  “The hunters serve their queen, and they see their queen as a deity,” Void said. “It’s very much a religious order.”

  “That so?” I rubbed my chin, wondering if there was more to this monster world than I’d originally thought. With the way they were nude and talked about guys having their ways with females at will, I’d assumed the whole place was more primal. But they had religions, plus the tech we’d seen being used by the hunters. Indeed, I was fairly certain the green, glowing lines I now noticed under a thin layer in the walls was related to electricity and circuitry in some sense.

  Thudding sounded. I went to a wall, put my hand to it, and listened. A quick click of my tongue told me nothing was around, but the thud sounded again. I’d seen Jurassic Park enough times to know this wasn’t good.

  “Over here,” Suiko said, darting back and checking one of the exits, before taking form and waving us over.

  We all moved quickly, darting around to a hallway and inner chambers of the fortress. More thuds sounded, and this time a loud growl. Something was definitely coming.

  “Back, hide,” Void said, gesturing us out of the main hall as she ducked into a doorway near her. The rest of us moved wherever we could, into halls or the rafters overhead, and I went for the closest option. Apparently, the same choice as Lizzy’s—a small alcove with a covered window behind us. We huddled down in the darkness, waiting for those heavy footsteps to pass. I nodded to her when I noticed she was staring at me, and the glint of light on her teeth showed her smile.

  “Sorry. Was just thinking,” she whispered. “How soft your balls were in my hand.”

  “Quiet,” I replied, more worried that Amabie or Devasla would hear what she said than that some guard would find us.

  She inched closer, lowering her voice but not stopping as she added, “And your shaft against my thumb.”

  Her hand found my waist, finger moving along the bone there, toward the top of my pubic hair. It felt damn good, so took me a second to take her hand and move it away.

  “I’m not going to make a move on you,” she whispered. “I just wanted to feel it again. That’s all.”

  How was that not making a move? I didn’t bother to ask, instead shaking my head and leaning in to her to whisper, “I can’t. Sorry.”

  Her scent held a subtle hint of chocolate. I wondered what I must smell like to her, considering it had been a while since I’d bathed. Then again, since we were nude, we were airing out, at least. This fortress was cold, and I wondered if that was a cop out. I mean, one reason I remembered to stop her before touching me was that, at the moment, I was a lot smaller than normal. Even my balls were pulled up close to my body, yearning for warmth. Her touch would have felt damn good, but I’d have felt embarrassed. At least in the dark she couldn’t see.

  “Come on,” came Void’s voice, and I realized that the thudding had stopped, the guard having moved on.

  Lizzy pulled her wrist free, made an annoyed grunting sound, and turned on her heel to walk out. I was about to go when the sound of movement above caused me to look up.

  Koharu was there, squatting on a rafter, tail wrapped around another for balance. She took her tail, wrapping it instead around a closer beam, then lowered herself to look me in the eyes, upside down.

  “Interesting,” she said.

  “I’m… sorry?”

  “That’s a start, but it might be better without the question mark. You slept with her?”

  “What? No.”

  “Tell me, what is it she wanted to touch. What was so… smooth?” In a swift movement, she had flipped over and fell, but twisted to land on her feet. Graceful, and quick—she had me against the cold, stone wall, one hand taking my cock. “Ah, I see. It is quite smooth, isn’t it?”

  “Actually,” I gulped, really not wanting to lie to any of them, “she was referring to my balls.”

  She frowned, leaning close, sliding her hand down to my balls. “I don’t know. They’re not so smooth right now.”

  “When I’m cold, no.” I sighed, realizing how it must have looked. “I didn’t mean anything by it. We were riding Gardie. My balls were bouncing and hurting, and she… cupped them. To help me.”

  Koharu bit her lip, then leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Dear, you don’t have to convince me. Just remember, she’s with Randi, and we don’t know how far we can trust that crazy Lamia. You and I have no problem, but I’m thinking of the others.”

  “I know, I know. Milkshake gets a bit… territorial.”

  A warmth spread through me as she ran her finger along the bottom of my scrotum, between my legs to my taint.

  “You can… let go now,” I said.

  “Can I?” She nibbled on my ear. “That whole right place, right time thing? Boring. I’d take you right here, right now, if I wasn’t in a rush to find the others.”

  Shit, hearing it like that made my worry return. The thought of returning without all of them, or not returning at all, caused my gut to clench up, my head spinning. I needed to clear my head. To focus. Losing myself in a downward spiral of depression and worry wasn’t going to help anyone. If there was one sensation that helped distract me, these ladies were good at it. Her finger down there, still moving, helped me focus in that regard.

  “Ditto,” I finally replied and figured if she was going to tease me, I’d play her game. I reached out, cupping her pussy, and ran my middle finger along her moist opening. She was about to melt in my hands, biting my neck gently and breathing heavily. And more than that, it was helping me keep my cool.

  “First chance we get,” she said, “You’re so fucking mine.”

  Then she turned, shivered, and led the way to catch up with the others. They were waiting for us in the next hallway, where Koharu, acting as if nothing had just happened, asked about the guard.

  “Anyone see it?” She eyed me with a hint of a smile, then turned to Suiko. “You, maybe?”

  “I tried, but there’s something about this place that’s… off-putting.” Suiko floated over to the nearest wall, reaching with her translucent hand as if to go through it, but her hand wouldn’t even touch. “Seems to be a barrier of sorts.”

  We all shared looks of unease at that, and Basty sent a shiver through me. If even he felt uneasy here, I knew it had to be a problem. Attempting to use my spirit vision, I found it gave me no results within these walls. What it did tell me, however, was that Void knew when I was using it, or seemed to. Because as soon as I tried, her head jolted my way, eyes locking on mine. For a second I wondered if actually, she was blocking me, but I shook that thought off.

  “Keep on this way,” Void said and gestured us ahead with a point of her staff.

  “Why exactly are you helping us?” Amabie asked.

  “A mutual hatred of the hunters seems to be the go-to answer,” Devasla growled. “That, or a shared love of excitement and Ferris’s cock. “

  I cleared my throat but was glad to find that her comment didn’t earn me any glances.

  “No offense to Ferris, but none of the above,” Void said. “You see, I could have made a move against the hunters long ago, and as nice as Ferris surely is, our lands don’t lack for… well, you know.” She held her staff at the next corner, apparently able to see with the eyes of the skull. Or maybe she was doing something else with it. “What’s different, though, is a certain presence of energy I’ve been feeling from this direction lately, and the makeup of your team. I believe we can help each other when the time comes.”

  Devasla cast a “told-you-so” look my way.

  We continued again, turning a corner only to see what I had no doubt was the creature we’d been trying to avoid. This was no hunter; it was a portable tank. It had a domed metal top with sensors and a cannon, and two arms, each with blades along what looked like a railgun on one side and maybe a flamethrower on the other. It was a cross between any space mech I’d ever seen and a massively armored ogre. I only knew there was a living creature inside because of the red skin that showed briefly near the joint areas when it turned.

  I ducked back and out of sight, glad to see I had been the last to do so. Koharu was pressed up against me, finger to her lips. She pointed with her staff to the next hallway back, but I shook my head, holding up a hand for us to wait.

  Two thuds showed the tank growing closer. And we waited.

  11

  Without having the rest of the team yet, the last thing we wanted was to have a massive fight with explosions. We didn’t want to notify the whole world of our whereabouts.

  “Suiko, think you can go unnoticed?” I whispered.

  She appeared next to me, hand to the wall, and replied, “I could try, but it depends on their vision. Some beings can see me as a presence even when I’m trying to be invisible. You’re thinking a distraction in the opposite direction?”

  “Just enough to get us out of here, closer to where I think I last saw some of the others.”

  “I can try.”

  Basty popped up, whispered, “Good,” then rolled down to slide along the ground before running off to the hallway behind and to the right.

  I wanted to call out for him to wait, but he’d gone too far, and I’d have had to shout, thereby giving away our position.

  “Change of plans,” Suiko said, already moving after him. “Looks like it’ll be a team job.”

  Koharu placed a hand on my upper arm, nodding, while Lizzy and Void stood behind her. Lizzy looked like she might piss herself, while Void wore a humored smile. Amabie had covered her body in scales—her armor, preparing for a fight—and crouched at the rear hall, watching Basty and Suiko go.

  Devasla was the one I worried most about, in terms of giving us away. Her skin was steaming, the fire in her eyes and other parts of her body starting to crackle. She mouthed, “I can take it.”

  I shook my head, mouthing back, “We’d give away our position. Too soon.”

  She frowned but nodded. Maybe she could take it, but not likely without a bit of a fight. My feet were stinging. I hadn’t noticed when on the move, but now that we were standing still, waiting, they were bothering me.

  Another thud came, even closer. I pressed myself to the cold wall, focusing on my breathing while trying to keep it quiet. I had another ability in my arsenal—the vibration. I considered using that, trying to see if I could focus it and make it work as a distraction.

  Suiko came to my rescue, giving me a vision of what Basty was up to. There the little guy was, walking up one wall then onto the ceiling. He stood there before suddenly breaking off in a scurrying sprint. At first, I couldn’t see why, until Suiko advanced. From where she was now, I saw in the distance four or five figures, the likes of which I wasn’t familiar with, and one hunter. What really caught my attention, however, was the prisoner they had—a nude woman with cat ears and a tail. From this distance, I couldn’t be sure if it was Bloodsong or Ahlaksiz, but it was definitely one of them.

  “Be ready,” I whispered to Koharu, putting my hand on hers. More thudding. The tank had to be right around the corner.

  “What do you see?” Koharu asked, mouth up close so I could almost feel her lips on my ear.

  I didn’t want to excite her yet, so turned to her, gently pressing my lips to hers, and closed my eyes in anticipation. I appreciated Suiko’s vision; with it, I could still see what she saw while my eyes were closed.

  There was Basty, no longer a ball of fur, but a flittering line of black moving closer to the enemy. He suddenly split, exploding out and separating to reach three of those figures at once. They appeared to be lizard men, with small tails and green, scaly skin. One stumbled back and into the figure behind him, causing that one to shove the first in a domino effect. That one struck the guy in front, then a blade glinted. Blood was drawn, a shriek of anger sounded, then four of the five had blades and were tearing each other apart.

  “Fucking gold,” I thought to Suiko.

  She agreed, but added, “My turn.”

  As she advanced in a flash, I noticed a sound that came as a relief to my ears—thudding, but growing distant on the one hand, and louder from the direction of Suiko.

  Then again, it hit me that with one of the monster gals over there, that was the direction we actually wanted to go.

  “Can you get her out of there?” I asked.

  Suiko was almost too busy to reply, but managed a “Yes, go!”

  I slapped Koharu’s ass softly, then motioned to those with me to follow. We darted out along the way the tank had been patrolling. We reached the next hall and turned, then it hit me—if a tank like that was patrolling, maybe it was protecting something.

  “Check the doors,” I said.

  Shouting came from the direction of the others, and Suiko showed me that she was momentarily in the body of our friend—whom I saw to be Bloodsong in the brief instant before Suiko entered—forcing her up and moving her our way.