that he likes it. “When you’re around, it feels like I can do just about anything.”
He keeps playing, fascinated with the new depth of the music.
I make myself comfortable with my head in his lap as usual. “Next time you make a harp, you can make the hollow box and the bridges for the strings in one piece. Also, you can fasten the strings so you can tighten and loosen them. You know back in the village, they have metal strings for the crossbows? Maybe try those instead of the sinews. But you don’t need to. Do what makes sense to you. The way you play right now will always be my favorite music.”
“And mine. Are there such things on your planet?”
“There are some.” I see no need to tell him about guitars and violins and the Beatles and such right now. I may never need to.
“But now I have Dolly, and your planet does not.”
Something hard twitches under my head, and immediately heat runs to my crotch.
“Really?” I ask innocently. “Do you have me? Maybe you should make sure.”
He puts the harp aside and calmly slides my shoulder straps down so my breasts spill out, greedily grabbing them and making me moan with lust.
“I will.”
- - -
A little later, I gaze up into the sky. No stars can be seen, it’s all dark above.
I pull the furs over my naked, blissfully exhausted body. “Brank’ox, do you want to sleep in the hut tonight?”
He gets up and scans the sky and the horizon, hands on hips.
Then he starts collecting our things. “Yes. It’s getting cold.”
27
- Brank’ox -
The morning is cold and foggy, and I’m uneasy. The last time it was this cold, I lost two women entrusted to me for protection.
I keep sticking my head out of the forge to check that Dolly is still up in her factory, happily making her gunpowder. There’s a solid roof above her and every part of her process. So even if it starts to rain, the powder won’t get wet.
But the forge is hot and bright. I hammer on steel, making another tube for a new gun.
Rain starts falling on the roof. First softly, then harder.
Perhaps that’s why I don’t trust my ears when I hear the first scream. I stop hammering, not sure if I heard anything at all.
“Brank’ooox!” It’s faint, and it’s urgent.
I drop the hammer and tongs and run out, drawing my sword.
Dolly is no longer in her Factory.
“Dolly!” I roar, climbing fast.
But there’s no reply, and a hard coldness spreads in me.
Nobody is on the upper level.
I climb on, the rain falling hard and noisily.
The door is open, swinging on its hinges.
“Dolly!”
I sprint out, then slow down right before I reach the door. This is how I was defeated the last time – a simple ambush from a hidden enemy. If someone is outside the door, out of sight, ready to strike the moment I pass through...
But there’s nobody outside.
And no movement anywhere.
“Dolly!” I roar as loudly as I can.
There is no reply.
Then, on sheer instinct, I run to the left, along the side of the alien structure.
There they are, barely visible in the thick fog. Dolly and three dragons in human form, dragging her away. She struggles, so at least she’s aware of what’s going on, as opposed to when Isualic took her far into the woods without her realizing.
I go after them, my warrior experience telling me how to best attack without Dolly coming to any harm. The dragons are about my size, but they have no weapons. They move with an urgency that tells me they did not expect me to be upon them this soon. I doubt they have any experience defending themselves from a warrior with a long blade. On the other hand, there are three of them and they are notoriously hard to kill or injure, even in their weakened human form. When the men and I were attacked by these same three, I hit one of them with enough force to cut any man in half, but now I can’t even tell which one of them I hit.
Now they have been discovered, they don’t need to stay out of sight and they can make for the jungle. They start moving down the hill, two of them carrying Dolly between them and one keeping himself between them and me.
That suits me fine.
I storm down the hill after them until the closest one stops and faces me with a silly grin on his face.