This one is about twice as long as my past posts, hope you enjoy it...
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Chapter 13
He spent the next hour helping the soldiers and healing the wounded. His magic felt low, but he had enough for that if he went to each one and physically touched them. He also figured out how to focus his magic. If he just turned it on, it would actively try to restore, heal, protect and change. But if he focused hard enough, he could get it to just heal and restore the soldiers, they had no need of protection or change at the moment and it was a waste of magic.
The oath Anton had given him didn't mean he had to come up with all the ideas, it was just when there were conflicting ideas he could force his through. No one had a differing opinion though, the way forward was obvious. Take the sixteen hundred men that were left and free the southern villages. There were still five hundred enemy soldiers down there, though split up in the towns.
For now anyway, he was convinced the commander of the enemy invasion had escaped, he had a feeling he would go for the towns as well, to collect his remaining troops and set a new trap. Though the end of the battle had been a rout, they had lost about four hundred of the two thousand soldiers that survived the trap. Still, in a battle, five to one on the butcher's bill was a huge win, even if it didn't feel like one.
He did use the oath once though during the strategy meeting.
Anton said, "I need to go back north, report to the king and collect more troops."
He shook his head, "No, you'd be gone over a week. You need to lead the forces doing actual battle, why don't you write a report of what happened, what troops you need, and send an air talent to deliver it."
He had some good ideas from Earth's history and had smelled out the trap, but he wasn't a general. He didn't mind giving Anton orders, but he couldn't run the soldiers. He was also getting more comfortable with the culture and how things worked here, but he still knew he had a lot to learn. The problem was, he didn't know what he didn't know.
As long as Anton was here with his own ideas and advice he wouldn't do anything too stupid in ignorance. Like get four thousands soldiers killed? He sighed at the thought, Anton wasn't all that happy about staying because of his blunder, hopefully he would get over it.
Although he could probably depend on Nora for that instead of Anton, he didn't think the soldiers would follow a woman's orders, plus, she was in charge of their little group, she couldn't do both at the same time, at least, not well. He also thought that though she had experience in a small squad and could lead, that might not translate well to leading a much larger force.
The battle had only taken a couple of hours, once things were settled and they had gotten some food down, they set out for a half days march. The faster they went, the more likely they would catch the Egerian soldiers in small numbers. Even so, it would be this time tomorrow before they reached the first town.
He was a little tempted to go on ahead with the ladies, together they could probably kill fifty soldiers easily, but he held back from that idea.
He moved himself right next to Nicci and asked softly, "You doing okay after that mess this morning?"
She shrugged half heartedly and said, "Seeing all that death... It drove home what a self absorbed brat I've been. I don't need to prove anything to anyone. I just need to do my best for the people around me."
Trying to cheer her up he said, "You forgot beautiful, a beautiful self absorbed brat."
What the hell? Why did those dumb ass things always sound better in his head?
She asked with head hanging, "Is that what you think of me, really?"
Obviously he had failed miserably at the cheering up thing so he tried again, this time without the humor that wasn't funny.
Softly in denial he said, "Of course not," in a serious tone he added, "I think you grew up isolated, and it's just taking a while for you to open up to what's around you. Self absorbed has a... selfish connotation, and you have never been that. Just, trouble connecting at first."
She smiled a bit, a mischievous twinkle growing in her eye. He guessed he got it right the second time.
She cocked her head cutely and asked, "So not beautiful then either?"
He snorted, "Fishing for a compliment? That's like the water asking if it's wet."
At her confused face he said, "Merely beautiful is a major understatement."
She looked up with an innocent smile, then winked.
That was another issue he had, the words translated but the sayings didn't. Right as rain, fit as a fiddle, fishing for a compliment etc... Still, at least he got her to give him a smile, so, mission accomplished.
He also noticed he wasn't getting that hold off feeling anymore while talking to her, yet he had no idea why, or what had prompted it before. He was starting to have suspicions about his feelings and those promptings during sex. His power connected to the goddess, but that wasn't unique. Still, he wondered if Cytherea had been, and still is, feeding him non-verbal advice that he was free to accept or reject. So far he had followed those feelings and it had always turned out well...
Besides, one could do a lot worse than having the goddess of love as a relationship coach and to improve his ability to sense what would give his partner the greatest pleasure during sex. He would be a fool not to listen. It sounded absurd to him, but there it was. He had originally thought it related to his magic, but none of the things his magic did had anything to do with identifying a woman's secondary erogenous zones.
He frowned at that thought, his magic did enhance the pleasure during sex, so perhaps he was reading into it too much, and the truth was it didn't really matter either way. He was after all, still learning about his new power, perhaps there was more yet to understand...
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, very glad, that his instincts weren't having him hold off anymore. All of the women attracted him, but in different ways. In Nicci's case it was her fresh innocent face and incredible body, it evoked a strange mix of protectiveness and the need to have her in every way imaginable until he collapsed in exhaustion. Her cute looks and the way she flirted seemed to enhance that innocence and in short, drove him crazy.
He also loved that she had a joy that was infectious, and a wonder of the world around her that probably came from her being closeted in the castle so much.
He admitted to himself he may have disregarded the inner urgings to leave her be, if his libido hadn't been getting plenty of attention from Nora and Kat. Those two ladies more than took the edge off, and held his complete attention. He saw her mouth twitch and knew he'd been busted staring again, fortunately she not only didn't mind but seemed to eat up his attention.
They talked for a while longer before he went off to spend some time with the rest of the women, after all, if he planned to spend most of tonight with Nicci, assuming she said yes, he needed to make sure he didn't neglect the others...
---
Arnath stared down from two thousand feet, fighting off his rage. He wanted nothing more than to go into a dive and kill the cursed Flame that had cost him so much. That wasn't his purpose though, at this height he was sure they would never detect his presence. He was following to be sure where they were going.
It looked to him they planned to start at the westernmost village and sweep the border going east from town to town. It wasn't a bad plan, but worthless now that he knew. He managed to force himself to break off, his anger growing. He could feel nothing else now, just anger and fear, which simply made him more angry. It had been a struggle for him to control himself.
He headed for the town east of where they were going. He would simply gather his troops, sweeping east a day or two ahead the whole way. They should have close to five hundred in the last town. He was tempted to gut the towns on his way through, but his king wanted to make the Abelawethans slaves, not dead enemies. He had a feeling he would already be in enough trouble for his failures.
He wasn't sure yet what he would do, once they were all gathered. If he could set a trap, he might consider it, or he may take what was left and head for the border. He considered it as he flew...
---
Kat was a hunter, a tiger made of mostly muscle, designed to stalk and kill her prey. Her magic lent her even more skill and strength. She was stalking a deer about a mile away from the main force. She had killed many soldiers this morning and needed time to come to terms with it, to absorb the strange turns her life had taken. Hunting was in her blood, familiar, and felt normal. She needed normal.
She didn't for a moment regret her feelings for Justin, or what they shared together. Quite the opposite, she loved him more than she ever thought would be possible despite their first meeting being a scant week ago. She would never regret following him that afternoon.
But the battle had hit her hard. She was a hunter, but one of animals, for food and sustenance. She was not a killer... or at least, not until this past week. They were invaders, and she had protected her intended mate, and she had reveled in it. The first two points didn't bother her at all, it was the third that had drove her to escape, to be alone with her thoughts, to go on a simple hunt.
Did she revel in the fact she had protected Justin, kept him safe? Or was it the kill, the power to take a life with such speed and ease. She hoped, she wanted it to be the former. But she just wasn't sure. So she was out here, doing what she knew best while trying to make sense of it.
She bared her teeth, having successfully snuck up to striking range her body scrunched in tight, muscles contracting, and she dove forward. The deer didn't even see what hit it, as she closed her jaws around its neck and twisted.
