Tex squeezed his shoulder. “We’ll talk more about it later. Tell the men about it… But try to say it more eloquently than I did.”

  “Alright,” Yarolk said. “I will… I will!”

  He strode back to the trees, eager to share the news.

  Chapter twenty-five

  TEX MARCHED BACK into the village, eager to get the formalities over with so that he could start planning his siege of Fimm.

  He felt confident Yarolk’s bachelors would join. Utu, however, doubted the bachelors could be trusted.

  “What if they decide it’s less of a risk to fight you for Fogu’s tribe instead of attacking Alok? They’ll wait for the right moment and then turn on you.”

  Tex knew that temptation would present itself. That was why he made the bachelors wait in front of the village; they would have to look at a pile of corpses as they discussed what to do.

  It served as a gruesome reminder of what would happen if they tried to cross him.

  The formalities took place by the fire pit, which was the center of the community. The village women gathered around, shrieking and prattling excitedly, watching him with wide-eyed wonder.

  The energy was electric.

  The only ambivalence came from Fogu’s core harem — the three women who had been with him when Tex had arrived. They stood outside the former chief’s hut, watching from a distance. The beautiful blonde held her head high with proud defiance.

  Weevol raised her hand officiously. “Silence. Silence, please!” The chatter died away.

  “Behold, the Conqueror of Fogu! Lord Tex!” She threw her hands up and gestured towards Tex, who looked around in surprise.

  The women cheered, preened their hair, and dragged their eyes over Tex from his head to his toes.

  The atmosphere was feeling more like a bachelorette party than a solemn political ceremony.

  Weevol raised her hands, urging the women to be quiet.

  “Now, with Solis as our witness, let us each come forward and recognize Lord Tex. Truly, he is a mighty conquerer!”

  The audience repeated the phrase, “Truly, he is a mighty conquerer!” Some of them said it enthusiastically while others just murmured it. Fogu’s three women watched in silence.

  The women lined up in front of Tex.

  An attractive woman in her 30s came forward first, provocatively gazing at him with her big dark eyes. She kneeled before him, kissing his right hand and then his left.

  Her body language and flirtatious glances suggested his hands were not the only thing she wanted to kiss.

  Two beautiful girls followed after the woman; Tex gathered that they were her daughters because they looked like younger versions of her. They were about 18 years old, and even more vivacious than their mother as they walked up to him, kneeled, and pressed their lips against his hands.

  Oh, my God. Every single woman of the village is gonna come up and kiss my hands?

  His mind soon wandered away from his plan to attack Alok, as woman after woman got on her knees before him. He received many meaningful glances and many kisses that lingered longer than necessary.

  Tex couldn’t help but be impressed by the ceremony. It was a stark display of the power he’d attained.

  And not only was he the conqueror of Fogu. Utu had also announced him as the Prophesied Hero. Tex overheard the village women discussing it:

  “Do you think it’s true? Could he be the Prophesied Hero?”

  “It must be! How many men have challenged Fogu? None has ever come close to beating him.”

  And so, Tex’s stature was growing bigger by the minute.

  He’d already gained physical power, thanks to the river god. Now he was gaining power of a different kind: The power of rank.

  Although Tex was wary of letting his ego get too big, there was an undeniable erotic potency in his high rank. It made the women almost crazy with lust as if he was the star of a boy band.

  By the time the last one approached to kiss his hands, Tex’s throbbing cock was tenting his animal skin wrap.

  After the last woman finished the ritual, and Tex thought it was over, the crowd parted and looked towards the chief’s hut.

  There Fogu’s women stood, watching. They sauntered through the village towards Tex.

  When the first two came up to him, it became clear that their standoffishness was little more than an act.

  These were women who didn’t have any particular loyalty to Fogu. They only recognized one thing: power.

  They met his eyes with long provocative looks and caressed his fingers as they pressed their lips against his hands.

  The proud blonde came last.

  Unlike the other two, Tex could see that her scorn was genuine. She really had been loyal to Fogu.

  All the women watched intently as she approached.

  “Look at Seris,” Tex heard one lady whisper. “Her face is flushed.”

  “She tries to seem proud, but she’s going to enjoy kissing his hand,” another hissed.

  “She can’t help but recognize Tex’s power.”

  Was it true?

  The arrogant blonde walked towards him with a bitchy strut in her step, but it was a bit too exaggerated.

  Something inside her was beginning to relent. She probably hadn’t admitted it to herself yet, but Tex could see it.

  She could feel the primal, masculine power that was coursing through him.

  The proud blonde stood in front of him, avoiding eye contact. The top of her head did not even reach Tex’s chin. Her face flushed, and for a second, he thought she might erupt with anger.

  But she brushed a wayward strand of hair behind her ear and kept her eyes averted.

  Then got down on her knees.

  Tex felt her fingers taking his hand.

  Unable to resist looking down, he saw the top of her blonde head as she leaned forward and touched his hand with her lips.

  For all the scorn she’d displayed, her fingers were hot against his skin, and she kept her lips pressed against his hairy knuckles for a full five seconds before removing them with a kissing sound.

  When she moved to kiss his other hand, she glanced up at him. Her cheeks flushed even more. Then, with a kind of proud defiance, she kissed his other hand.

  The energy coming from her was unmistakable. Submitting to him turned her on.

  By the time the welcoming ritual was finally over, Tex found it hard to think straight. The good-looking mother and her two daughters kept lingering around him, batting their eyes at him.

  But Neesha and Utu swooped in and threw their arms around him possessively, apparently putting aside their differences in the face of all the competition.

  Emi and Zila joined the group hug.

  Emi mumbled something into his chest. Tex nuzzled her head back so her funny little face was looking up at him, pouting.

  “What did you say?”

  “I said, you’re gonna forget about us,” she said in a tiny voice. “It isn’t fair.”

  “I’m not going to forget you, silly,” Tex chuckled.

  In the same tiny voice, she continued: “You’re gonna take this tribe for yourself, and then you won’t have any time for us anymore.”

  Tex chuckled heartily and kissed her forehead. “You’re very melodramatic. I’ve already got the perfect tribe. Don’t need another one.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  He kissed her lips. Then he kissed Neesha, Utu, and Zila.

  Bmimi and Grendel stood beside them awkwardly, too shy to join in the group embrace.

  The cat girl’s eyes met Tex’s. He reached over and stroked her head. Her eyes immediately closed, and a funny smile came onto her face. Cradling the back of her head, he leaned over the other girls and kissed her.

  Bmimi’s eyes opened in surprise, and her mouth fell ajar so that her little fangs were showing. Then a big smile spread over her face. She threw her arms over the group, swinging her tail back and forth and purring happily.

  Immediately after kissing Bmimi, Tex gently took hold of Grendel’s chin, lifted her little head, and kissed her, too.

  Just one quick kiss on the lips.

  Grendel’s eyes fluttered. Then, a good five seconds later, her mouth slowly opened in surprise, as if her brain had only just processed what had occurred.

  She beamed a smile and jumped up and down clapping her hands. Then she joined the group hug, too.

  The village women gossiped and whispered among themselves. Tex heard a couple of them:

  “His tribe is very possessive of him, but I would be too.”

  “Their bond runs deep. You can see it.”

  Weevol stood nearby, waiting for Tex to address the village as a whole. She gave him an affirming nod, but Tex asked her to send for Yarolk and the bachelors so that they could hear his speech too.

  Everyone waited as the bachelors entered the village and gathered around, opposite the women. Tex kissed each of his girls on her hair and then gently pushed them off him. He held up his hand.

  “Women of the village! Thank you for welcoming me so warmly. If you haven’t already heard, it is not my intention to become your chief. Given the way of chiefs nowadays, you might think I’d want to take over this and every other tribe until I’d bred with every woman on this island and banished all the men. That’s what Fogu wanted to do. And that’s what Alok is doing.”

  At the mention of the sorcerer, the mood became dreary. Many women glanced out towards the forest apprehensively.

  “But that’s not what I’m going to do,” Tex continued. “I’m here to restore the laws. Your next chief will be chosen through the old ways.”

  “There will be a Great Contest!” Weevol said. “With dancing and festivities!”

  The women’s disappointment was clear on their faces. But the prospect of a great contest was certainly some consolation.

  The proud blonde, Seris, tossed her head. “The new chief will be the same as the others,” she heckled. “I don’t believe all this virtuous talk.”

  Some women jeered. “Shut up, Seris! No one asked for your opinion!”

  But Tex rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “No,” he said, with a sudden inspiration. “She’s right to be skeptical. But I should tell you all, there’s a greater cause behind all of this. My aim is to unite the Aramantha people… so that we can one day stand against the Necromancer of Darkoveld.”

  This made a powerful impression. A grave silence fell over the crowd as Tex slowly looked them over.

  “That’s why it’s so important that I have your support,” he said with deep sincerity. “It’s for the good of us all. That’s all I have to say.”

  Enthusiastic applause broke out among the village women and the bachelors.

  Yarolk walked up to Tex and shook his hand. Three or four other men, close supporters of Yarolk, immediately followed.

  “So you’re in?” Tex asked.

  Yarolk nodded. “We’re in.”

  All the other bachelors came and shook Tex’s hand. One of the last to do so was Bankim, the young hothead who tried to rape Utu.

  He was very surly, and it was obvious he didn’t really want to shake Tex’s hand. He only did it because everyone else was doing it.

  I’ll keep an eye on him, Tex thought.

  Tex’s harem watched with glowing faces as the bachelors shook his hand and the village women applauded. An atmosphere of celebration set in, and the bacon smell of roast boar wafted from the fire.

  The bachelors left the village, but Yarolk stayed a bit to share some important information. He said the elk herd would be traveling north along the coast, and other bachelor groups would likely hunt them — so hopefully they’d run into some on the way.

  And, more importantly, the largest bachelor group liked to stay near to Fimm, in a place called the Dark Forest.

  “Anyone with any sense takes a wide path around it, but Norgan and his men like to go there for just that reason.”

  “Is it dangerous?” Tex asked.

  “Well… yes. It’s treacherous. Lots of pits and chasms. Many crawling things creep up from underground.”

  Tex thought of the giant spider and shuddered. “So it’s a hideout for Norgan and his guys.”

  “Yes. The chiefs have rarely risked following them there. I doubt Alok is afraid of it, but he has more important things to do than go after Norgan.”

  “And that will be his undoing,” Tex said. “Tell your men we set out for the Dark Forest at sunrise.”

  Chapter twenty-six

  THE EXCITEMENT MOUNTED as the evening sun colored the sky orange. For many of the village women, Fogu’s overthrow was a liberation. An oppressive weight had been lifted from the village, leaving them light and joyful.

  Many of them spontaneously began dancing and singing, which they kept up well into the night.

  On top of that, Utu and Neesha couldn’t help but blabber on and on about how Tex was the Prophesied Hero.

  This idea rapidly became dogma among the village women. Nothing Tex could say would convince them otherwise.

  The mood of jubilation turned into one of ecstasy. The women crowded around Tex, breathless for his attention. Younger ones screamed and jumped up and down until they fainted. Elderly ones wanted simply to touch his animal skin wrap because they thought it would cure their arthritic fingers.

  It made Tex uncomfortable, to say the least.

  “They’re determined to make me a cult leader,” he complained as he retreated to Fogu’s hut, where Emi was resting.

  Weevol had already prepared the chief’s hut for Tex and his tribe to stay the night.

  However, as soon as Tex swished through the grass door, he announced, “I am not staying here tonight.”

  The girls rushed passed him and looked around with excitement.

  “Wow!” Grendel squealed. “What a bed!”

  The hut was lavishly furnished with wonderfully soft animal hides, bowls of dried flowers, jugs of juice, and dried fruit.

  The enormous bed was built into the floor; a hole had been dug and then filled with layers of twigs and feathers, topped with animal furs.

  “It’s really comfy, Grendel,” Emi said in a sleepy voice. “Come here beside me.”

  Grendel ran to the bed and lay down on it, spreading out her arms and legs-- it was big enough for her to do that without touching Emi.

  “It’s so comfy! Gods! I didn’t know such a comfy bed existed!”

  Bmimi watched them with her ears perked up. She tiptoed to the end of the bed and stared at it, her tail swishing back and forth.

  “You wanna lie down, Bmimi?” Emi said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She moved closer to Grendel and patted the space beside her. “Come on. There’s lots of room.”

  The feline gingerly crouched down and put her hand on the bed, as if to test it. Then she carefully crawled onto the bed, her head bobbing as she took dainty sniffs.

  She settled down beside the elf. “Do you feel better?”

  Emi smiled. “Much better, thank you for asking.”

  With a maternal air, Bmimi suddenly leaned her face towards Emi’s hair and began licking it.

  “Thank you, Bmimi,” Emi giggled. “You’re taking care of me.” She suddenly sat up, now fully awake. “How is everybody? Were you hurt? Can I heal anyone?”

  None of the girls had received injuries apart from scratches or bruises, so Tex walked to the bed.

  The girls moved aside as he sat down among them, and Emi started running her hands over his back.

  “You sure you’ve rested enough?” he rumbled. “I can wait. It’s just a few broken ribs.”

  “Don’t worry about me,” Emi said in her sweet voice. “I’m fine.”

  Tex felt the caring warmth of her healing magic flowing through her fingers. There was something extra in it this time — maybe it was love.

  Neesha, Utu, and Zila sat on the edge of the bed. Everyone watched quietly as Emi performed her healing on Tex.

  After it was over, Tex lay down on the bed, and all the girls lay at his side. After a long, blissful silence, Neesha spoke.

  “Tex, what do you mean you’re not staying here tonight?”

  “What?” Emi exclaimed, lifting her head.

  “I can’t stay here,” Tex said, already half asleep. “It would be wildly inappropriate. I can’t give anyone ammunition to cast doubt on my intentions.”

  Just then, a storm of chattering erupted outside the door.

  Reluctantly getting up and poking his head out, Tex found Weevol’s daughters bickering with three other women -- the vivacious mother and her two beautiful daughters.

  “Oh! Lord Tex!” one of Weevol’s daughters gushed. “We came to wash your feet and anoint your head!”

  The two of them carried a basin of water and a jug of oil. The vivacious mother and her daughters had also brought the same articles.

  One of the daughters, who held a basin in her arms, thrust herself in front of the Weevol girls. Water splashed on the ground.

  “We came to wash your feet and anoint your head!” she retorted.

  Tex gaped at them and then sighed.

  At this point, why am I surprised?

  He was tempted to solve the dispute by telling them that no one would do any washing or anointing.

  But he knew that would have been taken as an insult, so he suggested a compromise. The vivacious girls would wash his feet, and the Weevol girls would anoint his head.

  This seemed to satisfy them.

  The vivacious girls washed his feet as flirtatiously as possible, using their lustrous blonde hair to rub them and running their fingers over his calves.

  They didn’t seem to mind that Tex’s entire harem was present, watching every little move they made.

  The weevol girls likewise ran their fingers through Tex’s hair sensuously and hummed in his ear.

  As soon as they were gone, Tex was assailed by Utu, Neesha, and Zila.

  All three of them kissed and groped him aggressively, pulling him to the bed.

  Unfortunately, the Weevol girls returned.

  “Our mother wishes to see you in her hut,” they said, as Tex stood at the door with a massive tent in his animal skin covering. “There is a… a formality.”