Chapter 339: Do you know who I am?

Chapter 339: Do you know who I am?

Blake watched his brother vanish into the wall, then turned to the others and grinned. He couldn't have been more proud.

"Did you see that magnificent bastard brother of mine?" He shook his head. "Considering you're in heat, Ilya, I don't know how you didn't throw yourself at him. I'm not sure I'd blame you."

The orc lady blushed her peculiar shade of yellow, mouth slightly agape as she stared at Blake in confusion. He couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, lighten up. We should all be dead, really." He glanced back and forth "Did you think I hadn't at least considered the possibility of treachery? No offense, but you orcs can be a bit naughty. It all worked out rather beautifully, I'd say."

Here Blake winced and glanced at the surviving orc prince.

"Apologies, of course, Lord Stoneblood. But even you have to admit, your father and brothers...made a terrible mistake."

The orc stared with a clenched jaw and seething rage. Blake shrugged as he drew more energy from Seul-ki, and flowed more soothing Influence into Annie's mind.

"You’re going to need to think clearly now, my friend.”

“I am not your friend, wizard.”

“Even so. Clearly it would be better for both of us if demons killed your kin and warriors, and not a murderous bunch of humans.” Here he stopped and took on a dramatic tone. “The resistance to our efforts was even worse than we could have imagined! But despite all odds, together we triumphed over the attackers—the Stonebloods died as heroes, to be remembered for all time—and yet again imprisoned the ancient evil of Saza... whatever, where he shall remain for 150 years. Not bad, uh?"

Blake was glad the orc lord looked too injured to attack him. He wouldn't have wanted to have to kill him.

"You want me to deceive the council?" Halvar rasped. "To cover the deaths of my own brothers and father? To call them heroes when they were not only too cowardly to face the demons, but turned on their own allies when they were weak?"

Blake looked back and forth and tapped his fingers on his knuckles.

"Mmhmm."

The orc scoffed and slumped to the ground, any violent intent at least seeming drained. Blake kept on Meditating and soothing Annie, the little redhead now calm enough she'd lay down with her head in his lap and closed her eyes as Ilya continued healing her.

It seemed her mental barrier power had its limits. Somehow the demon’s magic must have shattered it with its mind rend, though no one else seemed affected. Probably it had been an area effect and the poor girl just got caught by being too close to Blake.

"Oh, and thank you, my dear," Blake said, turning to Seul-ki. "Your continued loyalty is truly remarkable. I promise relations with my brother will be entirely fixed with a bit of time. I meant everything I said to him, and to you."

The Korean smiled, eyes sparkling with pride as she bowed in his direction. Blake was reminded how alike they were, how in fact he could keep her far closer to his plans than maybe anyone else. Probably including his brother. At least for now.

"I don't understand what's happening," Ilya said, looking somewhat emotionally drained. Blake took her hand and gave it a gentle pat.

He had to go to the nymphs. What Calypsa was going to want, exactly, he wasn't sure. But he knew in his gut that sooner or later he was going to have to pay, and that if he waited, the price was only going to go up.

It wouldn't take long, he decided. Calypsa and Thea would make their demands, and Mason would pay or he wouldn't.

If he didn't, he fully expected to have to fight off their magic, and probably lose them forever as allies. He wanted very much to avoid that, but he also wouldn't pay if they demanded some kind of fairy tale price like his first born child. Hopefully they just wanted to bang his brains out.

And since more violence didn't seem to be on the table, a filthy afternoon with the nymphs might be a pretty close second. Since he probably still had a marriage ceremony to deal with, maybe he could call it his bachelor party.

He took a few steps towards the nymphs with a bit more excitement, doing his best to remove Blake from his mind completely. The fucking prick. The stupid, selfish asshole, lost in his own games and nonsense when the extermination of the human race was probably on the table.

It was a good thing Mason recognized the sound of the nymph tree—like a woman singing as she washed clothes, or did some other mindless chore. A deceptively simple, safe little melody that definitely didn't reveal the true danger or nature of the women living there. But Mason wasn't afraid of them.

He stepped into the mists of the tree, moving a hand to the nymph charm as he walked straight through.

The druid returns. Thea's beautiful voice drifted in the breeze. I have missed you terribly. And so have your children. Enter. We await you inside.

And Calypsa? Mason thought. Was she waiting with a spear at the ready? Or with some magic spell to try and bind him?

He entered the tree without hesitation, confident he could handle whatever tricks the nymphs used. His eyes adjusted quickly to the misty gloom, the wonderful floral scents and warm moisture tickling his senses.

"Druid!" Thea rose from her pond in nothing but a see-through skirt, hair over her shoulders and dripping down her breasts. She held out her arms to him, then stopped and looked like a naughty child. "I'm sorry," she said. "But I cannot come to you yet."

"Where's Calypsa?" Mason said, sniffing and searching for the far more dangerous sister.

"I am here," she called in her more formal tone. Mason suddenly saw her clearly, standing on the far side of the grove before a wooden cauldron. "I sensed your coming. I am ready."

"Ready for what?" Mason said, taking small steps forward, ready to fight, ready to run.

Calypsa waved a hand over the cauldron and closed her eyes. A moment later she convulsed. As her body twitched, images of another person flashed and twined with her own.

Mason saw white hair and wrinkled skin, then another raven-haired woman with silver eyes. Calypsa drooped, then rose, smiling as a staff appeared in her hand.

"Hello, young buck," said the woman Mason had known only as an ancient druid he'd called the ‘crone’. They’d met in a cave, then after sometimes in his dreams. "Do you know yet who I am?"

Mason hadn't. But he did now. The name struck him like a harsh slap, then a gentle kiss. He said it to himself more than her, no idea what it meant, except that fighting or fleeing was officially off the table. He said it with a sigh.

"You're Gaia."