Extermination (Daniel Black Book 3) (8 page)

“Mother Hestia said we’ll have hearth witches showing up,” Avilla pointed out. “That’s a start.”

Cerise nodded. “Yes, but you really need two or three different specialties to make decent teams. Murder witches would be great, but apparently I’m the last one.”

“Unless you’re going to haunt Hel’s battlefields looking for spirits to bind,” Avilla joked.

Cerise got a thoughtful look. “You know, that might not be a bad idea. Hel has gotten her hands on a lot of us over the years, and she’s probably going to be sending them to fight the Aesir. But I doubt she’s going to spend the power to make fresh bodies for them once they fall in battle, and even dragging them all back to Hades is probably too much work when she’s busy running a war. There could be a lot of ghosts floating around where I can call them up. Familiar spirits aren’t as good as living witches, but there are other options.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. “I’m not entirely clear on how the whole soul ecology thing works in this world, but I didn’t think you could raise the dead.”

She gave me a sly look. “Not real resurrection. But there are ways to get a soul back into a living body if the gods aren’t paying attention. Usually the problem is getting their soul out of Hades, which is just about impossible if the current ruler of the realm doesn’t want to let them go. But Hel has already sent one army to march on her enemies, and it’s obviously going to happen again. They’re bound to her will as long as they’re in those undead bodies she makes for them, but I bet a lot of them end up roaming free if those get destroyed.”

Tina said up, and shivered. “Cerise, do you mean there are ghosts all over Kozalin now?”

Cerise patted her on the head. “Don’t worry, cutie. We’ll keep you safe.”

Tina didn’t look very reassured. Cerise sighed, and pulled the nervous catgirl into her arms. “They can’t get into our rooms, Tina, and we’re going to ward the whole island to keep them out soon. Besides, they’re scared of me. If you see one just scream, and I’ll come eat it for you.”

“What Cerise hasn’t mentioned is that spirits can’t survive in the material world without a body,” Elin put in, getting back to the topic at hand. “An unbound spirit will fade in a few weeks, and binding it to an object only extends that to a year or two. A strong spirit can possess a living body, but I would hope we aren’t contemplating such measures.”

“We usually use animals,” Cerise suggested tentatively. “Unless Daniel is going to let us capture Aesir-lovers and banish their souls to make empty vessels.”

I snorted. “No. I guess it isn’t any worse than killing them, but if we start down that road we’ll end up at war with Kozalin. We can’t afford that.”

“Well, on a lighter note, I’ve always wanted maids,” Avilla said.

“Don’t you already have those?” I asked.

She smiled. “Just a start. I’ve always dreamed about having a big, beautiful house with a staff of well-trained maids who will happily do anything I tell them to.”

“Yeah, I know just what kind of orders you want to give,” Cerise teased.

“Well, ah, maybe,” Avilla blushed.

I chuckled. “A little wish fulfillment is fine, as long as no one is being forced to do anything they don’t want to. How does the keep measure up on the first part of that?”

“Well, it’s very impressive,” Avilla said. “Spacious, too, and the bath is simply amazing. But there’s nowhere to put a garden, and everyone can see all our comings and goings.”

“Noted. Alright, I’ll think about how to solve those problems. What else?”

“It would be wise to become as self-sufficient as possible,” Elin said. “While Kozalin has weathered every attack to date, the city wall doesn’t seem to be as much of a barrier as one might hope. Every attack takes a heavy toll in lives, and if this goes on eventually the city will be depopulated.”

“I’ve thought about that, too,” Avilla said. “But it doesn’t seem practical. We’d end up with at least a thousand people on the island, and there isn’t anywhere to put them.”

“Making the island bigger won’t help much,” Cerise said. “That would just give us longer walls to defend, and we’d end up needing even more soldiers.”

“I think I might be able to fix that problem,” I mused. “Usually a town has to have empty space between the buildings to let in light and air, but we have magical solutions to both of those problems. In theory I could turn the island into something called an arcology. Basically cover the whole island with one giant building as tall as the dryad habitats, with space for everything we need. I’d probably want to raise the walls some too, but I’ve been thinking about doing that anyway.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just save the city?” Tina asked innocently.

I sighed. “I’d like to, sweetie. But after everything that’s happened, I don’t think the prince is going to let me.”

Avilla hung her head. “I’m so sorry, Daniel.”

Cerise and Tina both hugged her.

“It’s not your fault,” Tina said. “You were under a spell. No one blames you. Right, Daniel?”

“She’s right, Avilla. I’m not mad about it anymore. But the political situation was pretty complicated even before Brand showed up.”

“I don’t know if we could do it even if things hadn’t gotten like this,” Cerise added. “The city is too big for you to fortify the whole thing like you did the island, right Daniel?”

“Yeah, that would be a huge project. Upgrading something that’s already there is a lot harder than building from scratch, especially when the city could be attacked at any moment. I’d have to do it in a million little steps to work around all the people and make sure it’s always defensible, and it would take forever.

“I don’t dare supply too many weapons to the garrison, either. Sooner or later they’re going to figure out what we’re up to, and when that happens the only thing that will protect us is being too tough of a target to attack.”

“I understand the difficulties involved,” Elin said slowly. “But I feel very strongly that we should do what we can to save as many people as possible. How can we criticize the Conclave for their ruthless self-interest if we ourselves behave no differently? There must be something we can do.”

“I think I like Daniel’s ‘arcology’ idea,” Avilla suggested tentatively. “What if we did that, and made the island bigger whenever we run short of space? I’m sure Daniel could find some way to empower the dryads as well, so they can bestow their blessings on as much land as we need. If I’m picturing things right we could take in thousands of people.”

“I like the idea of having a huge mountain of stone between you two and the monsters,” Cerise said, snuggling back in next to Avilla.

I frowned. “With that many people we’d have a lot of spies sneaking in, and I don’t know how we’d keep them loyal. Or pay for everything.”

“There are wards for that,” Avilla said. “Subtle things, but they add up. I know one that makes those who plan treachery feel convinced that they’ve been discovered, so that they flee immediately instead of staying to cause trouble. There’s another that would make people who think poorly of our coven feel uncomfortable living within our wards, and a really good one that encourages people to form bonds of loyalty quickly and surely. If we stack up a good set of wards like that the only troublemakers who stay here for long will be the ones with powerful magic of their own.”

“I think I’ve got an idea for where we can get soldiers,” Cerise put in. “There are little towns and castles all over the kingdom that have been cut off from help, right? All we have to do is get some more vehicles built, and start rescuing groups of them. That way we can recruit the ones we want, and dump the rest of them in Kozalin for the prince to worry about.”

“I’m afraid he might just use them as sacrifices,” I grumbled.

“If he does the burden will rest on his conscience, not yours,” Elin said firmly. “On the topic of money, couldn’t you simply conjure gold? I realize the amount of power required would be fantastical, but with these power sources of yours that doesn’t seem to be an issue. Couldn’t you make a device that uses the whole output of a power stone for conjuring, and stop by to collect the gold every now and then?”

“Huh. You know, that’s a good idea,” I mused. “Yeah, I think that would work. I’m not sure how much gold we’d get, but even a few ounces a day would add up.”

Avilla shook her head wonderingly. “I can’t imagine how wealthy your homeland must be, Daniel. A few ounces of gold a day would make us richer than the king.”

Oh, right. There weren’t a lot of gold mines in ancient Europe, were there? Before the discovery of the new world even nobles mostly dealt in silver, with gold coins being a rarity.

Cerise grinned. “I like the sound of this. We get to be rich big shots, and still go out and kill things. Hey, maybe we can take out some more of Gaea’s troops while we’re at it? I’m sure they’ll take another shot at us sooner or later, so the more we can thin them out the better.”

“If we can do it without getting ourselves killed,” I said. “Between the dinosaurs and their magic they could actually be a threat to a column of skimmers if we aren’t careful, but I may be able to come up with something better than that.”

“If you continue to ‘come up’ with innovations at your current rate we shall all be riding dragons before the year is out,” Elin said, sounding a bit amused.

“Dragons the size of mountains,” Cerise added.

“Made of iron,” said Avilla.

“With giant castles on their backs,” Tina exclaimed. She sat up and threw her arms out exuberantly.

They all burst out giggling.

“I’ll see what I can do,” I said seriously. “Would my ladies prefer steeds with fiery breath, or would lightning suit you better?”

The conversation wound on a bit longer after that, but when we turned to practical details Tina lost interest and turned her attention to cuddling with the witches. Then her head disappeared under the covers, and they both started getting distracted. Before long Avilla was biting her lip and trying to pretend nothing was happening, while Cerise plastered herself against the buxom blonde’s side with a naughty grin.

When Tina started purring Elin rolled her eyes, and turned away from the bed. “Well, I don’t think we’ll be getting any more coherent planning out of them tonight.”

The words were disapproving, but longing warred with embarrassment in her expression.

“Probably not. But you’ve got to admit, they look awfully cute together.”

She couldn’t quite suppress her smile. “I suppose they do, at that. I just wish they’d learn a bit of restraint. I’m really not comfortable with such elaborate scenes of carnal excess.”

I chuckled, and rose to my feet. “Well, it’s not like we have to stay to watch.”

Elin took my hand and stood. But her eyes were glued to the scene on the bed. “I… suppose not…”

Cerise looked up from Avilla’s breasts, and turned a playful smile our way. “You don’t have to, but you can. Seriously, you can’t tell me you don’t want to touch these beauties.”

She cupped one of Avilla’s round breasts in her hand. Elin blushed, but didn’t look away.

“I, um, well… perhaps,” she admitted reluctantly. “But this is still very new to me. I’d never thought to engage in such… activities.”

I hugged the shy girl from behind, hoping to reassure her.

Cerise slipped out of bed. Her tail came last, drawing a ragged moan from Avilla’s lips, and the wetness that covered the last eight inches or so of its length left no doubt where it had been. She padded across the room to us, completely unconcerned about her nakedness.

“Elin, honey, it’s okay to be nervous,” she said gently. “We all get that you’ve got things to work through, and you’re not exactly a raging slut like me and honeydew are anyway. But don’t let that turn into a wall that keeps you out forever, okay?”

Elin’s gaze fell to the floor. “I know. It’s just… hard.”

Cerise gently cupped her cheeks in both hands, and turned her head up so she could gaze into Elin’s eyes.

“Elin,” she breathed. “Feel the bond. Feel my heart. I like you. I want you. I think you’re sexy. I will never reject you. We’re coven mates, now and forever.”

She kissed her. Softly, gently, just a delicate brush of lips. Elin gasped, and I could feel her tremble. Her hands rose uncertainly, fingertips barely grazing Cerise’s pale skin.

“Yes,” Cerise breathed. “Touch me, Elin. Explore me. Enjoy me. You don’t have to hold back anymore.”

She kissed her again, a little more firmly this time. Elin’s hands ran tentatively up her sides, and through her silken hair. Then suddenly they went around Cerise, pulling her close, and their kiss turned fiercely heated.

“You’re so beautiful,” Elin gasped, suddenly panting for breath.

“I’m yours,” Cerise murmured huskily. “It’s not just Daniel you get to enjoy, Elin. You get me too. All you have to do is let me in.”

Gently, carefully, she started kissing her way down Elin’s slender body. She’d tried this once before, after we’d cast our first coven magic together. That time Elin had begged off. But now she made no complaint as Cerise slowly unbuttoned her nightgown, showering each patch of newly exposed skin with kisses along the way. When Cerise settled gracefully to her knees and started to work her way back up Elin’s thighs I knew she’d decided she was finally ready.