“Shit, apparently we didn’t account for all the guards,” Tex said. “Did they hear us?”

  They stood still and listened. Bmimi shook her head. “No one’s rushing over here. Everything’s the same as before.”

  She put a hand on her hip and glared at Zila. “You stole my kill.”

  Zila grinned. “You too slow.”

  Tex dragged the corpse over to the patch of ferns. “He’s gonna keep us company.”

  Then he burrowed into the ferns, his heart already pounding with adrenaline, pushing fronds aside with his rifle.

  They waited. Morning twilight crept into the village, changing the color of the longhouse. Tex could see that it must have been rather stately in its day, but now the wood was decaying and covered with lichen.

  The air brightened, and the first light of dawn broke through the branches overhead.

  It seemed to take forever, but three tall figures finally emerged in the dull light.

  “This is it,” Tex whispered.

  Looking through his scope, he got a closer look at the three figures as they approached.

  There was no mistaking that Alok was the one in the middle.

  He towered over the other two, although they were powerful-looking men themselves. They walked behind at a respectful distance, glancing at him with fretful eyes.

  And he certainly was scary.

  His face should have been visible in the dawning light; Tex could see the features of the other two men — even the lines worrying their heavy brows. And yet, Alok’s face was still obscured in shadow. Only his glinting blue eyes were visible.

  He wore a fur cloak over his shoulders, despite the heat, and his breath came out in visible puffs, as if he lived in perpetual winter.

  Tex had never been so glad to have a gun.

  The sorcerer continued walking through the village towards them.

  Just another 30 yards. Get him nice and close.

  The closer he got, the more Tex worried Alok would somehow detect them.

  Hurry the fuck up, Alok.

  The sorcerer suddenly stopped. He looked to one side and then the other. One of his men stepped closer and murmured something.

  Sweat dripped down Tex’s temple.

  What the fuck? Did he...?

  Tex swallowed heavily. Was it possible? Did Alok actually sense it when Tex addressed him in his thoughts?

  Tex quieted his mind. Alok continued walking towards them, closer and closer.

  Suddenly, Bmimi whispered, “Tex! The sentry’s coming. He’ll see us.”

  Close enough.

  He pulled the trigger.

  The shot cracked through the air. Alok jolted as a cloud of red mist burst behind him.

  The gunshot echoed through the sleeping village, and birds flew from the surrounding trees.

  While Alok’s two men looked around in confusion, Tex aimed at the biggest one, putting his temple in the crosshairs.

  A second shot split the air.

  Blood and brain matter sprayed into the air. The big man fell in a heap.

  Alok staggered, clutching his neck with both hands, searching the forest with his icy blue eyes. Tex felt the sorcerer’s icy gaze as it swept past the spot where he was hidden.

  Tex shot him again, this time in the chest. Alok staggered and then crashed onto the ground like a felled tree.

  Meanwhile, everyone sprang into action; the first gunshot was the signal they’d been waiting for.

  Neesha, Utu, and Zila dashed towards the guards, flinging spears and knives.

  Alok’s surviving man drew a dagger and charged towards the woods. Zila leaped out from the ferns and threw one of her knives. It lodged deep in his eye socket. He threw his hands over his face, roaring. That made him an easy target for Utu, who hurled a spear through his chest.

  Neesha and Bmimi took down the remaining guard.

  However, about half a dozen more men came running from other parts of the village or out of buildings. Women also came out, some of them armed.

  When they saw Alok and his right-hand men on the ground, they froze and stared in amazement. More women emerged, many of them shrieking.

  There were about 50 inhabitants in all.

  Some of the females began to rejoice, crying, “Alok is dead! The tyrant is dead!”

  A big blonde woman stood apart with five other girls. This was Alok’s harem. The big blonde looked coldly at each woman who had rejoiced Alok’s death, probably making a mental note so that she could punish them later.

  Tex and his girls ran out of the trees, with the bachelors following behind them.

  Tex would have liked to empty the rest of his magazine into Alok. But he wanted to keep some bullets for Kdar Tol, so he slung his rifle and ran towards Alok, axe in hand.

  The sorcerer lay with his arms at his sides. But the shadows over him had deepened. His whole body became black.

  Tex’s stomach sank.

  The sky suddenly darkened, and an icy wind blew through the village.

  Tex slowed his pace, dropped his axe, and swung the rifle into his hands. In the same instant, Alok’s hands flung up and something exploded in the air like thunder.

  A violent light flashed through the village, blinding everyone, and Tex felt himself flying backwards. A powerful explosion had smashed him like a speeding semi-truck.

  The ground crashed into him, and he felt the dirt against his cheek.

  Magic, he thought as his mind swirled. This motherfucker… has real magic!

  Everything went fuzzy, his thoughts fading in and out of wakefulness.

  He sank into blackness.

  But then... a single thought pulled him back, like a pinpoint of light in the darkness.

  Emi.

  She needed him. She believed in him. He couldn’t let her down. So did little Grendel. Both girls needed a protector. And what about Neesha, Utu, Zila, and Bmimi? They were all hit by the blast. Were they hurt?

  That thought was intolerable.

  Wake the fuck up!

  Forcing his eyes open, he saw a dark sky. His heart sank; had he been lying there all day?

  No… Alok wouldn’t just leave me here.

  Lifting his aching head, he saw the black figure of Alok, standing in front of the longhouse. Little forks of lightning crackled around him. The sky continued to darken.

  Painfully twisting his body, he glanced behind him. His heart sank as he saw Bmimi and Zila sprawled on the ground in front of the forest. Broden had smashed into a tree. Other bachelors were strewn over the ground.

  His eyes darted around for Utu and Neesha. He couldn’t find them, but he saw a few bachelors watching from the cover of the trees.

  Terror was written on their faces. The man who’d given them hope was getting thrashed.

  I’ve gotta finish this...

  Tex rolled onto his stomach and pushed his hands against the dirt.

  Get up...

  His head was still spinning, and pain stabbed his ribs. His limbs were heavy as lead. It felt like wet cement clung to his body. Was this a spell of Alok’s?

  The sorcerer raised his arms into the air once again, and the wind swirled. Bachelors shouted from the trees.

  “Get down!” “Take cover!”

  Even Alok’s supporters shrank back against the longhouses, and many of the women ran indoors, shrieking.

  Forget getting up. Where’s my rifle?

  He dragged his hands over the ground, glancing around for the weapon.

  The wind intensified. Electricity crackled above Alok’s head. But the sorcerer faltered. He lowered his arms, and the wind died away.

  Slowly, tortuously, Alok put one foot in front of the other as he tried to walk towards Tex. But the effort was too much. He stopped, standing as if frozen, his icy blue eyes flashing at Tex.

  What the hell does he want? Tex thought. And where the fuck’s my rifle?

  As his senses came back to him, he realized he was lying on the rifle. That’s what was jabbing into his back!

  Alok’s entire body shuddered. Horrible gurgling noises came from his throat, and Tex saw blood bubbling and gushing out.

  The sorcerer was trying to speak.

  He wants to know who I am. That’s what it is… I’ve taken him by surprise — wounded his pride. He can’t kill me without knowing who I am.

  Tex rolled over and pulled on the rifle, but it was stuck. He was still lying on the stock.

  “Oh fuck,” he whispered, his heart pounding violently in his chest.

  It felt like everything was lost. His body was numb and broken.

  Suddenly, a peaceful feeling washed over him, and a female presence came to his side — someone gentle and free-spirited.

  “Emi?” he whispered.

  No... it wasn’t Emi.

  His eyes rolled around, trying to find her. But he could only hear her voice; it was sweet and smooth as honey.

  “Tex Decker,” she breathed in his ear. He felt her gentle touch on his chest. “I’ve been waiting for you. You don’t know how happy I am that you made it.”

  “I’m… dead,” he said. “I’m dead, and you’re an angel.”

  “You’re not dead,” she said reassuringly. “And I’m not an angel.”

  “Who are you?”

  “A friend. You’ll meet me soon... There’s one more thing you were wrong about.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You are the Prophesied Hero. You have proved it more than once during your trials. Alok should already be dead, but... he receives help from below. So... accept this help from me.”

  She spread her fingers over his pecs, and a rush of energy tingled through him; it was green and vigorous, pulsing with irrepressible energy, like a verdant meadow under a blazing blue sky.

  “Now, hero. Rise. Become who you are.”

  The presence vanished.

  Tex felt rain dropping on his face from the dark gray sky. His entire body was not only healed and rejuvenated, but he was overflowing with energy. He sprang to his feet, almost bursting with vigor, his muscles pumping up with power.

  Glancing around, he saw Bmimi and Zila still lying on the ground, but they were stirring now. He also spotted Neesha near a fern, helping Utu stand up.

  Some distance in front of him stood the dark, towering figure of Alok. He threw his hands above his head again. Eddies of wind swirled from every direction and collected in a funnel of air above Alok, as if he was gathering it up.

  Gasping and gurgling continued to come from the hole in his throat as his vocal cords struggled to sound out the question that his pride demanded he ask.

  Tex raised his rifle.

  Just as his finger hovered over the trigger, a cold, stony voice intruded into his mind: Who… are… you?

  Tex shuddered. But he answered the question without the slightest doubt.

  “I’m the Prophesied Hero.”

  He pulled the trigger at the same time Alok’s thunder exploded in the air, drowning out the sound of the gunshot.

  Chapter thirty-two

  ALOK’S MAGIC ATTACK once again rolled over Tex’s entire force, knocking them down like rag dolls and smashing some of them into trees.

  Except for Tex.

  This time around, Alok’s blast hit him like a gale-force wind rather than a speeding semi-truck. But the blast was no weaker than the first; if anything, it was stronger.

  Alok lay writhing on his back under the dark sky, a frigid breeze swooshing around him.

  A dozen bachelors who had sheltered in the trees came pouring out and clashed with Alok’s men.

  Tex glanced over his shoulder, urgently trying to spot the girls. All of them were down, with bachelors attending to them.

  Tex clenched his teeth, seething with rage. If any of them were hurt... he would consider himself a failure.

  Turning his smoldering eyes towards Alok, he set his mind on the grim task he was about to do.

  Striding forward, he stooped and grabbed his axe off the ground, taking its long handle in both hands. He felt the weight of the heavy blade as he marched towards the fallen sorcerer.

  Alok’s harem screamed and wailed. The big blonde ran towards Tex, but the other harem members grabbed her and pulled her back.

  “No, Deslora,” one of them said. “Let Alok fight.”

  The sorcerer rolled onto his side and started to push himself up, gurgling and gasping. Perhaps unintentionally, he continued to broadcast his thoughts:

  It... can’t be the Prophesied Hero… Not now… Not yet!

  Tex hefted the heavy axe over his head until it almost touched the sky and then swung it down as hard as he could. The blade cracked through Alok’s spine and plunged into the dirt.

  His head landed so it was facing the sky. The obscuring shadows vanished, revealing an extremely well-manicured beard, deep stress lines, and thick gray-brown hair.

  Alok’s harem went into shock. They had believed right until the last seconds that their master would prevail. It was simply impossible that he would lose!

  Two of them collapsed onto the ground, writhing and screaming. The others shrieked and convulsed, pulling their hair, or wringing their hands.

  “Our lord and master! Dead!”

  “Kill him!” shrieked the big blonde, Deslora. Her eyes fell on the last surviving male supporter of Alok.

  The man’s face darkened when Tex looked at him. He knew his life was about to end, but he still gripped a dagger, and his body twitched as he prepared to attack.

  A morbid inspiration suddenly came to Tex. Standing over the severed head, he stooped and fisted its gray-brown hair. Then he stood tall and raised the ghastly thing towards Alok’s people.

  “Look!” his voice thundered.

  The man with the dagger stopped and looked on grimly.

  “Your leader is dead!” Tex roared.

  He flung the head, and the man jumped out of the way in a panic, dropping his dagger as the head rolled.

  Alok’s harem ascended to new levels of hysteria.

  However, few of the other women looked like they were going to shed any tears for their dead chief. Some of them even rejoiced:

  “Alok has fallen! He’s truly dead!”

  “Thank the gods!”

  But Deslora screamed at the man who’d surrendered. “Coward! Coward!”

  “Let some other man oppose him,” the man retorted. “There’s no profit in it for me — only death.”

  The blonde spat. Tex saw her pull out a glassy black dagger, which he recognized as obsidian.

  Just then, a bright green light shone onto Tex’s back, casting his shadow over Alok’s corpse.

  Glancing over his shoulder, he saw it was coming from the forest.

  Everyone stood transfixed.

  The light emerged from the trees. It was about five feet in height, and it moved with obvious intelligence behind it. Tex recognized it as the mysterious feminine presence he’d encountered earlier.

  A womanly outline became visible inside the light.

  The first thing Tex thought of was Tinker Bell, but he knew it must have been the dryad Utu had told him about.

  Tex could see her hips swaying as she walked among his fallen followers. As she passed by, each of them stirred.

  Neesha, Utu, Zila, and Bmimi all got to their feet, their eyes sparkling with gratitude towards the benign being who had healed them. Broden, Yarolk, and the other bachelors also rose.

  The light slowly faded as the female form became more definite. Chestnut brown hair tumbled over her shoulders, and she had the face of a Disney princess.

  She also was butt-naked. Her pert breasts stood at attention, and a triangle of brown hair nestled between her milky thighs.

  She stopped and held her hands up in front of her face as if it amazed her to see them. She bunched up her fists and then spread out her fingers with a look of excitement.

  With an irrepressible smile, she continued walking towards Tex. He felt increasingly energized as she got closer, and his body buzzed with erotic vitality. Clenching his fists at his side, his balls grew heavier and his cock unfurled beneath the animal skin wrap.

  Catching his eyes wandering, she looked down at herself and giggled.

  “Woopsie!”

  Waving her hands over her body, she made a tunic materialize. Then she walked up to Tex.

  He felt a bit awkward, not knowing the proper way to greet her. Should he bow? Or genuflect, even? She was a semi-divine being… or something. Surely a sign of respect was appropriate.

  However, to Tex’s amazement, the nymph declared, “All hail the Prophesied Hero!”

  And then she genuflected for him.

  Neesha, Utu, Zila, and Bmimi eagerly followed suit like the fangirls they were. Broden, Yarolk, and the bachelors also solemnly and respectfully took a knee.

  But this behavior no longer made Tex cringe. He understood this was a role he had to play. The men genuflected to show respect for his rank; it did not differ from soldiers saluting an officer.

  Except… They also wanted to show respect to him personally. That was clear in their faces; he’d won their admiration as a leader.

  The lone surviving male supporter of Alok gave Tex a forthright look and bowed his head before taking a knee. The women who’d been living under the sorcerer also readily bent the knee.

  Even most of Alok’s harem complied without fuss. There wouldn’t have been any resistance if not for Deslora, the big blonde.

  As the other harem members got on their knees, Deslora shrieked and grabbed them, the knife still in her hand. Several bachelors had to restrain her. She kept shrieking and writhing before passing out, delirious.

  Everyone gathered around the nymph, waiting for her to speak.

  “I am Lorelei,” she said. “The Sundvarr Elves summoned me to enchant the forest of Fimm until the last of them have departed from these islands.”

  She turned towards Neesha, who was watching her tearfully.

  “Arise, daughter of the Sundvarr. Everyone, please; arise. Come and gather around us.”

  Neesha got up and approached the nymph, bowing deeply. Meanwhile, Utu, Zila, and Bmimi jumped to their feet and ran over to a group of women, falling into their arms. They all hugged and kissed each other affectionately.