Tex’s eyes widened. Was she saying a goddess might demand sexual favors from him?

  Lorelei gave Tex leave to take any tree he wanted, so he immediately went into the woods and chopped one down.

  The moment it hit the ground, he could already see the canoe inside the tree; it would simply be a matter of carving away the excess wood.

  The bachelors helped drag the log to the beach.

  “I hope you have the tools,” Yarolk said. “Because we don’t. We lack the knowledge, too, I’m afraid. Our people haven’t been seafarers for many generations.”

  “Tools won’t be necessary.”

  Yarolk looked at Tex like he was stark mad. The other men exchanged perplexed glances.

  “What do you mean?”

  Tex grinned. “You’ll see. Everyone stand back!”

  Lorelei giggled with relish. Tex raised his hands towards the log.

  “Look at his fingers!” one man bellowed. “They’re glowing green!”

  The log suddenly floated into the air. Everyone gasped and exclaimed in shock. Flakes began flying. The log rapidly transformed: it was like watching time-lapsed footage of a canoe being made.

  After about five minutes, a finished craft lowered onto the sand.

  The women cheered. The men stared in amazement. Some of them praised Tex:

  “His magic is greater than Alok’s.”

  “Well, he killed him, after all!”

  “And we got to see it with our own eyes.”

  “Imagine! We’ll be telling our grandchildren.”

  ***

  In the moments before departing for the Isle of Shayla, everyone dined around campfires on the beach.

  The bachelors seemed solemn, and Yarolk’s face became increasingly important as the meal went on. All the men kept looking at him as if they expected him to say something.

  After Tex swallowed his last bite of fish and washed it down with berry juice, Yarolk cleared his throat.

  “Lord Tex. There is something all the bachelors want me to say.”

  “That’s right,” Broden put in. “That goes for my group, too.”

  “Okay,” Tex said, slightly concerned.

  “Well, Lord Tex, with all due respect… We think it’s only right that you should claim the entire Rama tribe for yourself. We won’t begrudge it.”

  The men nodded emphatically, grunting, “Right!” and “Here, here!”

  Yarolk put his nose in the air, and added: “Truly, Lord Tex, it is unbecoming for the Prophesied Hero — and a member of the Order of Heros — to claim only a handful of women!”

  The Rama women vigorously agreed. “Yes!” they cried. “He speaks the truth!”

  Tex stared at Yarolk, dumbfounded. This was quite the curveball.

  “We know you’re trying to be virtuous because you want to set an example,” Broden said. “That’s fine. But you said it yourself: chiefs are allowed a greater number of wives than normal men, as the laws decree. But your status is much higher than a chief’s, so your harem should be that much larger.”

  “Yes!” one Rama woman with gleaming eyes burst out. “It is in keeping with the laws!”

  She was about 37 and had very large boobs and big thighs. She also had a pretty daughter who kept casting flirtatious glances at Tex.

  He sighed.

  It was a male fantasy come true. His fifteen-year-old self was screaming, DO IT! SAY YES. But he also heard that little nagging voice of caution again, in the back of his mind:

  Wait! Think this over. Maybe it’s not the best—

  Yarolk interrupted Tex’s thoughts: “It’s not just that it’s in keeping with the laws. I… I mean no disrespect, Lord Tex. I know you are from across the Deep, and you are not used to our customs. But… for us it is… Well, if I may be blunt, it is against the natural order that a man of such high standing as you should only take a few women.”

  Tex nodded slowly. “I… see.”

  It was an interesting predicament. They were perfectly willing to limit themselves to one or two wives, but they considered it positively grotesque for the Prophesied Hero to do so.

  It felt hypocritical to preach one thing and do the opposite. But he had to look at it from their hierarchical worldview.

  When in Rome…

  “Alright!” Tex blurted out. “Since you put it that way, I suppose I don’t have a choice.” He grinned at the women.

  Utu and Neesha came to his side, throwing themselves on him.

  “Don’t feel shy to take any Rama woman you want,” Neesha breathed in his ear. “They all belong to you… just like me and Emi.”

  Utu lifted his animal skin and grabbed his cock. “Impregnate as many of us as you want,” she hummed. Then she whispered: “It’s expected of you. Since you’re the haremlord of all these women, it’s your duty to please them and give them your seed, if they want it.”

  “That’s not what’s on my mind right now,” Tex said.

  He stepped over to Emi, who was sitting by the fire, and scooped her up.

  “Come on, sweetie. Let’s go cure you.”

  “Oh, Tex!” she gushed. “I can walk by myself… I… I don’t feel bad… I—”

  He kissed her lips.

  The little elf dreamily stared up at Tex as he carried her to the canoe while a few men dragged it towards the water.

  Lorelei rushed up to Tex’s side. “Remember the instructions I told you earlier? You must follow them exactly.”

  “We remember,” Tex said. “It’s pretty simple.”

  “Tell me again.”

  Emi leaned her head back and looked at Lorelei. “When we’re close enough to see the sand beneath our craft, we must not look at the mountain peak on any account.”

  “That’s right,” Lorelei said with a note of anxiety. “That’s right! Please keep it in mind.”

  Tex put Emi inside the craft and climbed in, taking up a paddle. Neesha rushed towards the vessel, her feet splashing in the frothy water.

  “I’ll see you soon!” she said, her voice breaking. She leaned into the boat and threw her arms around Emi.

  “Don’t worry about me!” Emi said. “I’ll be better soon!”

  Tex glanced at the shore as the men pushed the canoe deeper into the water. Grendel, Utu, Bmimi, Zila, and Neesha stood on the sand, waving.

  “Goodbye!” Grendel said, jumping up and down excitedly. “See you soon!”

  Emi waved as Tex began paddling into the deep water. Foam and seaweed floated around them. The tide carried them out, and their friends became smaller and smaller as the shore got farther away.

  Their voices faintly carried over the waves for a while. And then, Emi and Tex only heard the sloshing of water against the vessel, and the cries of gulls.

  “They’re still watching us,” Emi said. “I can see them.”

  But Tex was rowing, looking ahead to The Isle of Shayla, which loomed amidst the endless horizon of water. It got bigger and bigger until it was closer than the shore they’d left.

  More of its details came into view: sharp cliffs, tangles of dense green vegetation, and the frowning mountain peak.

  The sky was a blue dome and the glassy water was perfectly calm. Emi smiled at Tex, hugging herself.

  His heart beat faster, his eyes glowed with adoration. He knew Kdar Tol and the Skrillings were getting closer by the minute. He knew it would be impossible to defeat them.

  And yet, he dared to hope there might be a way.

  After all, I am the Prophesied Hero.

  Chapter thirty-five

  NOT FAR DOWN the coast from the Village of Fimm, a dark presence loomed on a forested bluff that overlooked the ocean. Perched among the shadows of trees, it appeared only as a deeper patch of darkness.

  Gazing out at the ocean, this fiendish presence was almost carried away by the beauty of the sparkling horizon.

  Feelings of sadness and self-pity swelled inside it.

  Ah, my pretty Ndunu, she said, addressing herself — for it was a female. How long has it been?

  How many seasons had passed in this sunny world since the great war of the heavens? How long did the Fallen have to suffer in the disfiguring atmosphere of the Underworld? Must it be for eternity?

  She wasn’t supposed to be there, under the sunny sky. She was never meant to leave the smoldering wastes of what had become her home.

  But it wasn't like she’d planned to escape. It had just happened.

  She'd noticed the hellhound snorting and whining near a tunnel. Most of her peers scorned the beast; they never gave it a thought except to kick it.

  But not her. She liked when it followed her around. She even patted it sometimes.

  So she noticed when its behavior was unusual. Following it through the tunnel, she discovered that the doors between worlds had opened. She saw the beast pass through to the other side, and she stared in amazement.

  “It must be the work of Kdar Tol!” she said. “He has become truly powerful... But I must go, before the gates close!”

  She launched towards the threshold, pumping her scarred, torn wings as fast as she could, in case anything should thwart her.

  Terror gripped her. Something’s going to stop me!

  But she shot through the opening, her body disappearing as she dissolved into her black, wraith-like form.

  Emerging from a hole under the roots of a giant oak, she found herself in the Dark Forest.

  The hellhound passed her on its way back. It stopped at the threshold, turned towards her with a whimper, and then trotted back into the darkness.

  Dumbstruck, Ndunu looked around the grassy clearing. A group of mortals stood among the trees. One of them was looking right in her direction…

  Does this mortal see me?

  No. His eyes looked right through her. He had probably watched the hellhound return through the dark hole. Her shadowy presence there would only make it even darker.

  But who was this mortal, with his granite jaw and his big muscles?

  The answer struck her. He was the Prophesied Hero everyone had been talking about.

  He certainly looks the part. And he’s traveling with elf females and many women.

  Ndunu hadn’t taken any interest in the Prophesied Hero, for all he was talked about. She hadn’t even taken a peek at him, though she’d heard more than a few succubae and demon girls gush over him.

  But now that she’d taken this impulsive action, plunged herself into the world of mortals… He suddenly seemed fascinating.

  Look at him! How strong he is! He will kill the sorcerer of Fimm, I am sure! This Alok is a novice — not a true sorcerer.

  An idea came to her.

  I will offer to intervene, to thwart The Prophesied Hero. Then they'll let me stay!

  So she crept through the Dark Forest, following the hero and his party. She waited in the shadows as they camped in the field. And, when Tex slayed Alok the following day, Ndunu watched from the pine trees.

  Now, she stood on the forested bluff, gazing at the distant boat that carried Tex and Emi towards the Isle of Shayla.

  It was time to make her case.

  “Lord of Darkness… Dost thou hear me?”

  The answer came, not from the Lord of Darkness himself, but from one of his high servants.

  “How did you get out?”

  “My Lord, I simply passed through the threshold.”

  “You are very lucky, Ndunu.”

  “Then… His Lordship is not angry?”

  The servant scoffed. “Why should he be angry? No one stays in the Underworld by choice. We all wish to break the cruel bonds imposed upon us.”

  In truth, the Dark Lord would certainly be bitter and resentful about Ndunu’s escape, for he had a prideful and envious nature. The servant knew this perfectly well, but he wasn't about to say it out loud.

  Still, Ndunu took the servant’s words at face value, and she was greatly relieved.

  “Then… I may stay?” she said, trying to hide the swell of emotion that threatened to overwhelm her.

  “You must stay. The doors are closed; I don’t see how you would return even if you wanted to. Unless you are sent back to the Underworld, you shall remain where you are.”

  “But I won’t be of any use floating around as a shadow, My Lord. Please give me substance, and I will lead the Prophesied Hero to his destruction.”

  “You cannot just destroy him. We are all bound by the Fates.”

  “I have not forgotten. But there are subtler ways of destroying an enemy than direct warfare."

  “Very well. I’ll give you the ability to take whatever form you like.”

  “Thank you! The Dark Lord will not be disappointed.”

  Wind swirled among the trees, blowing dead leaves into the air as the black shadow grew larger and larger, threatening to swallow up the trees.

  “I will take on my true form,” Ndunu murmured. “The way I used to look.”

  Gradually, dim light illuminated the shadow, and the outline of a curvaceous woman appeared, like a lady silhouetted behind a screen.

  Then the swirling darkness began to fade from the ground up, lifting like a curtain. First, it unveiled a pair of delicate feet standing daintily on the forest floor. The darkness continued its ascent up an exquisite pair of legs, and then up to round, succulent hips. A tuft of soft dark hair in between them made for an irresistible package.

  The shadow continued past her tiny waist and the slight bulge of her long belly, her delicate arms, and her heavy breasts.

  Finally, the darkness disappeared altogether, revealing shining black hair and a face so beautiful it was almost painful to look at. Her baby blue eyes and pouting lips alone were enough to convince any man that she was an angel.

  But if they weren’t enough, she also had a resplendent pair of wings, covered in feathers as white as cotton clouds in the sun.

  She flapped these wings, sending leaves into the air. Then she threw her head back and laughed.

  “Beautiful Ndunu,” she said in a silky voice, putting her hands on her hips. The tone of self-pity had completely disappeared. “You’re back! Hmmm… But I’d better hide these for now.”

  The wings disappeared.

  Gathering her hair and brushing it back over her shoulders, she cast an eye to Tex’s boat, now just a speck moving towards the island. Then she turned and sashayed through the forest.

  Chapter thirty-six

  SUNLIGHT SPARKLED ON the water as Tex and Emi got closer to The Isle of Shayla. Tex listened to the water sloshing against the sides of the craft. It was relaxing.

  The island looked relaxing too. The kind of place you might build a beachside resort. It had everything. Palm trees. Glimmering white sand. A green forest rising up steep slopes. A soaring cliff face jutting towards the blue sky.

  Tex frowned at the cliff face. A shiver of anxiety went through him. He looked at Emi; the sweet little elf sat on the other end of the craft, facing him.

  “Remember what Lorelei told you,” he said sternly. “When we’re close enough to see the sand—”

  “We must not look at the mountain peak,” Emi finished. “I know, Tex, don’t worry.”

  She smiled, but Tex could see she was nervous. She kept preening her blonde hair and casting her eyes on either side of the boat.

  Tex glanced over his shoulder at the main island, now far away. He could still see black specks moving along the distant shore.

  His harem.

  He reflected on each one. Neesha, the stony elf beauty, so imperious and haughty — and so fiercely protective of Emi.

  Tex had initially assumed her arrogant pride was just part of her elf nature. But now he was starting to think it was also a defense mechanism: her people had been all but annihilated, and Emi was all she had left. No wonder she had her back up.

  She’d changed lately, though; her pride was softening, little by little.

  Then there was Utu, the alpha female with feathers in her hair, her pretty young face belying the crudeness of her actions.

  But she was changing, too. Ever since Tex had asserted himself as her chief, she‘d softened dramatically.

  And she seemed relieved about it. Now that a capable man had taken charge of her tribe, she was able to let her feminine side take over. It seemed like that was all she really wanted.

  Who knows, I just might domesticate her yet, Tex thought with a smirk. She already shows some wifely tendencies, after all; she likes to cook for me.

  As for Zila, the Neanderthal, she’d never change, and that suited Tex just fine. He loved the way the cheeky brat strutted about with her bare boobs knocking around, hogging his attention and making the others jealous. Not that he wanted conflict among the women, but it was nice to have a bit of spice in the mix.

  Then there was dainty little Grendel. She was so gentle and sweet, such a natural friend for Emi. If she and Utu didn’t have the same bronzed skin tone and wear the same style of clothing, you’d never know they were of the same tribe.

  Bmimi, on the other hand, was a study in contrast. By appearances, the cat girl was just as cute and soft as Grendel and Emi.

  And she certainly had a tender side; it came out in the motherly attention she gave Emi, licking her hair and purring beside her. But unlike Grendel and Emi, Bmimi was a killer—just as much a warrior as Utu.

  Tex sighed. That was the core harem. It was quite the handful.

  He glanced back again, but the distant shoreline had vanished behind the ocean’s blue curve. They were gone, beyond the reach of his protection. It was a distasteful thought. Skrillings could be pouring onto the beach at that very moment and he wouldn’t even know it.

  Tex drove the boat faster, gripping the paddle so tight that his knuckles turned white.

  He tried to reassure himself there was no reason to worry. A Skrilling attack did not pose too big of a threat at that moment.

  The 40-odd Skrillings on the island would be outmatched by the force he’d acquired, especially if Lorelei was helping.

  But their ranks were going to grow fast. At least 100 more would be arriving from the nearest islands at any time. Perhaps their boats were landing on a nearby shore at that very moment.