10 comments/ 9571 views/ 18 favorites The War Lich Chronicles Ch. 01 By: Mackenzie Taylor I was inspired to write this by a game but these boys are all my own. And every one of them is going to find someone to love. Enjoy! mac 000 Danroth watched from the depths of his cloak as a tiny red headed elf came bouncing happily in through the door of the Rusty Bucket. The innkeeper ran over and grabbed her up in a bear of a hug. She laughed and pounded his back. "Put me down, Egan! I'm soaking. You'll get wet." "Nan, Ni is back!" Egan called out toward the back of the inn as he set the girl down. "That's wonderful." Nan, Egan's wife said exiting the kitchen. She came forward and gingerly hugged the girl. "You poor thing, you're soaking wet. I'm going to have Bets get some hot water ready for you. You need a bath before you catch your death." "Thanks Nan." Ni said with a grateful smile. "We were worried about you." Bets, the Barmaid, said as she came down the stairs. "This weather is horrible!" Right as she said that the inn was shaken by a large clap of thunder. Everyone one jumped except for the four cloaked men that sat at one of the few tables. The four merely turned their cloaked heads toward the window, looking out at the rain pinging off the windows. Nerves of steel, Ni thought to herself. "Come on Ni." Bets said taking her hand. "Let's get you in a hot bath. You can tell me all about your adventures." "Sounds good." "Did you kill any walkers?" Bets asked talking about the undead that always seemed to be plaguing the region. Sometimes it got so bad that you couldn't walk around without being in a big group. "You know they can't really help what they've become." Ni told the girl. "I try not to kill them if I can help it." "Whatever. I just don't see how you can be sympathetic toward those things." Bets told her but immediately let the subject drop. Ni shrugged but didn't say anything else about it either. They walked upstairs and talked about silly female things. Bets helped Ni with her bath and into some clean clothes. When they went back down stairs Ni sat at the table next to the four cloaked figures. Egan and Nan joined her and Bets went to fetch food and drink. "You said a week only." Egan said with a shake of his head. "I know." Ni smiled. "But I found a great vein of silver. The only reason that I even came back was because the weather was starting to get bad." "You made it just in time." Bets said as she put food and drinks on the table. "I still got a bit wet though." Ni said. "Can I get you gentlemen anything else?" Bets asked the four cloaked figures, not even going near their table. They shook their heads no and Bets sigh of relief was almost audible. The figures all looked to be around seven feet tall and they had large builds with wide shoulders. They dwarfed the table that they were sitting at and everyone in the inn felt intimidated. Accept for Ni. Her father was around seven feet tall. Most of the men that Ni had grown up around were large. Ni could sympathize. Sometimes large people were just as frustrated about being large as small people were about being small. "You look worn out." Egan told Ni when they had finished eating. "I am." Ni rotated her head, hoping her neck would pop but it didn't. "Between Goblins and Walkers I didn't sleep a wink." "You've been out for almost two weeks!" Nan said with wide eyes. "Thankfully I take after my dad." Ni said and the others nodded in agreement. Danroth rubbed a finger over his lips thoughtfully and put two and two together. Her small size and generous curves indicated human but her obsidian black eyes and pointed ears indicated elf. So she was a half breed. Normally elves only mated with their own kind but there were acceptations to the rule. It was that way for any of the races of Solaran. Ni looked over and saw that one of the cloaked figures was looking at her. She smiled shyly and turned back to her conversation with the others. He was just curious about their conversation was all that it was. It would have been nice if he'd been interested in her but she was plain and never garnered much attention from the opposite sex. "I'm going to go to bed." Ni finally said, getting to her feet, and yawning widely. "The rain should stop in a few hours and I want to get an early start." "How early?" Egan asked. "I'll probably be gone before you're up." Ni pulled a small pouch of gold from her pocket and set it on the table. "Ni I told you that-" Egan started but Ni halted him. "You're the only human family that I have left cousin." She patted his cheek, remembering the day he'd been born. "It will make sure you get through the winter. You know you won't have many people come this way when you have six feet of snow." Egan stood up and hugged her tightly. She was such a gentle caring soul. The inn, the Rusty Bucket, would never go under because the locals came for the booze no matter what, but things could be a little lean in the winter months. The gold would ensure that they all stayed comfortable and wouldn't have to let Bets go for winter. "Thank you, Ni." Nan said gratefully and gave her a hug. "My turn." Bets said and then whispered to Ni. "Thank you." Ni caught sight of the cloaked figure watching again and for some reason started blushing furiously. "It's nothing." She smiled at them. "I'm off to bed before I drop." When she was gone from sight Egan looked over at the table holding the cloaked figures. Their food and drink were untouched. Danroth took that as his cue and stood up, the others following suit. They'd paid for their beds in advance so he merely headed up the stairs, the others following behind him. Egan shook his head and looked over at Nan and Bets who were watching the strangers walk away. Both women had on identical frowns. "We'll be gone early." Danroth threw over his shoulder to the innkeeper. Egan shook his head again and helped the ladies clear the table. Good waste of food and beer was what came to his mind. Strange, those ones were. But he figured if they hadn't made trouble by now then they probably weren't going to at all. This was good, because it would probably take the whole damn town to stop them. There were four bunks in the room that Danroth had rented. Of course none of them would really fit on the tiny things. But they didn't really need to sleep either. They just needed a place to rest for a while. Even those that were undead didn't like to traipse around in the rain if they could help it. He walked over to the fireplace that was lit and heating the room. He contemplated the small pot sitting next to it. It was filled with water waiting to be heated for drinks or bathing. He looked over at the wall that was separating their room from the one next to it, cocked his head slightly, and listened. He could hear the little elf settling down to sleep for the night. After a few moments he heard her sigh as she dropped off to sleep. "Neron?" Danroth said the name of one of his companions getting his attention. "Ya mon?" The troll asked. "Do you have any sleeping herbs?" Danroth asked him as he put his hand to the wall gauging its thickness. "Ya mon. Why?" Neron asked. "Make some tea." Danroth told him then threw out his elbow and knocked the wall hard. Each of the men heard the girl in the room sit up. She mumbled something about the horrible weather and snuggled back down into the bed, dropping back off to sleep almost right away. He looked over at another one of his companions. "Tirin when is the rain going to stop?" The Wood Elf stood up from the bunk he was sitting on and walked over to the window, opening it. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Even though he too was undead Tirin was still very much in tune with nature. "An hour." Tirin told Danroth as he closed the window and crossed back to the bunk to sit again. "What exactly are you contemplating Danroth?" "How old do you think she is?" Danroth asked Tirin. "By the way she acted I'd say she's still very young. If I had to guess I'd say a hundred or so." He shrugged negligently. "It's hard to gauge with half breeds like her though. They usually live as long as regular elves but tend to retain a lot of their human qualities for a very long time as well." "What you contemplatin mon?" Neron asked as he moved to the fire place to make the tea. "She's not beautiful." "She's not ugly either. She's unique." Danroth smiled, picturing the shy smile she'd given him. "I like that mass of red hair." "It's the de color of flame mon." Neron snorted. "De ones wit the red hair are spitfires." "You think that because she's sympathetic toward the walkers that she'll be able to accept you." The last of the four spoke, his hood still pulled up over his head. Keslur had watched his friend watching the girl. He liked that the girl tried not to kill the walkers. She was right; they couldn't help what they had become. It didn't mean she would be able to accept Danroth. But on the other hand he couldn't really fault his friend for wanting to try having a relationship. The others sensed that the Vampire had more to say so they waited. They had all learned patience from Keslur. His thoughts might leave his mouth at a slower rate but they were usually witty or wise. "Perhaps you're going about this the wrong way. Most women liked to be courted. Not drugged and held captive." Keslur finally said. "Of course you have a point." Danroth said with a nod then slammed his elbow into the wall again, waking the girl back up. "But there are two problems with that." "What's that?" Keslur asked. "I'm a War Lich. And I don't have time for courting." Danroth knocked the wall several more times before the rain let up. Finally, Ni had had enough. The last hit to the wall had finally woke her up enough to make her realize that the rain had basically stopped so it wasn't thunder that kept waking her up. She got up and left her room to go and pound on the door of the offenders. "What in the name of all things holy are you doing in here?!" She asked the man who answered the door. The one who'd been watching her downstairs. His hood covered his hair but showed a handsome face. Danroth smiled down at her sheepishly. He motioned toward the small bunk beds against the wall. "The beds are so small and I couldn't get comfortable." He hung his head ashamedly. "I didn't mean to wake you lass." "Oh, I understand, I guess." The beds couldn't be comfy for the man or any of his companions. She could sympathize with something like that. "My friend is making me some tea to help me sleep. Why don't you join me?" "Oh no I-" "I insist." He pulled her into the room but left the door open so she wouldn't panic. "It's the least I can do for keeping you awake." A small cup of tea was set in her hand by one of the cloaked figures. She didn't really want to drink anything given to her by a giant stranger wearing a hood so deep that she couldn't see his face. On the other hand she didn't want to be rude. They more than likely weren't planning to anything nefarious to her. The tea actually smelled very good too. She hadn't had a good cup of tea in weeks and her mouth was starting to water. Maybe something hot in her stomach would help her sleep. The gods only knew how bad she needed it. At least a few hours so that she would be able to make her way home to Alay. "Here's to a restful night." Danroth said and touched the rim of his cup against Ni's. She smiled and nodded, taking a sip of the tea. She liked it. It was very good with a strong mint flavor. She could feel it warming her all the way down to her belly. She took an even bigger drink. "I'm Danroth MacCairn by the way." He told her as he took a drink of tea. He knew that Neron would only have put the herbs in her cup. "I'm Ni." She took another drink of tea. "Nienna Surion." "Don't elves usually have names like Moonwind?" He asked and looked over at one of his companions. "It's my mother's last name." She took another drink of tea. The man that Danroth had looked at stood up and walked over to stand next to him. "It's the norm for half breeds to take the name of their non elf parent. I'm not sure where the practice came from." Tirin said pushing back his hood. Ni gaped at him. Her cup slipped from her fingers and Tirin reached out faster than she could see and caught the cup before it could fall far. He held it out to her and she gingerly took it from him. She'd met several Wood elves in her time and none of them had been very pleasant to her. Most elves didn't approve of half breeds. The fact that she was half Sun elf didn't help her cause with any Wood elf. He smiled at her and then he started wavering in and out of focus. She blinked several times and shook her head but it didn't help. She was starting to feel a bit unsteady. She must have been more tired than she thought. Danroth smiled at her as he took the cup out of her hand, giving it to Tirin. She closed her eyes and started swaying. Danroth caught her up in his arms and took her to one of the bunks and gently laid her down. "The tea?" She asked him, not managing to pry her eyes open. "Yes." He said pushing a lock of hair off her forehead. "Why?" She slurred the question. "Because I don't have time for anything else." Ni heard him say as she moved off into the oblivion of sleep. 000 It was probably the gentle sway the finally woke Ni. Or perhaps the quiet. She lived in Alay most of the time and it was solid as a city could be, so no swaying. Even in the dead of night Alay was laden with the sounds of the hustle and bustle of trophy laden adventures and people hawking their wares. She was wrapped in a warm blanket or cloak that was covering her head. Smothering her, it felt like. She reached up and pushed the material off of her head and took a deep clean breath. It was then that she realized two things. She was blindfolded and her hands were bound at the wrist. She reached up to remove the blindfold and her wrist was grasped by a large hand. "Ah, ah, little one. Leave it be for now." That voice! "You!" She tried to turn and was once again stopped. "I wouldn't start struggling if I were you. We're flying fairly high. I would survive a fall from this height but I know you wouldn't." Danroth told her easily. "Flying?" She croaked. "I don't like heights." "I can tell. You're shaking like a leaf." She gave a small wimper and he pulled her tight to his chest. He wrapped a heavily muscled arm around her front and stroked her arm. "You don't have to worry. I won't let anything happen to you." He bent his head and kissed the top of hers. "I promise I will always take care of you." I can take care of myself! She wanted to scream at him but the words seemed to be stuck in her brain. "We must cover your head." He told her and she started to struggle. He held her tightly until she stopped. "Can you not feel the cold?" He asked. "What is that?" She asked as her teeth started to chatter. "Why is it so cold?" "We are leaving Ice Cleave behind. We're flying over the Frozen Sea." "Frozen Sea?" She asked bewildered. "Yes. We live on an island far out into the sea." "But-" "No more questions. I'm going to cover you again. Please stay that way. I don't want you to freeze." He may have requested it of her but his tone said it was a command and that she shouldn't disobey. He covered her head and instead of fighting him on it she decided that she'd rather be covered. She was already becoming warmer. Then she had a thought. "What about you?" She asked pushing back the hood again. "Thank you for your concern but the cold doesn't bother me or my companions." He pushed the hood back over her head and she left it there. They flew for a quite a while and she contemplated how she was going to escape this obviously crazy man. This was definitely not how she was planning to spend her winter. She'd figured on warm sun and sand down around Sondori. She'd had a falling out with her father and Egan knew she spent winters in warmer climates so nobody was going to start looking for her any time soon. "We are gliding over the island right now and we'll be landing in a moment. You'll feel a jolt." She heard Danroth say. What she heard were quite a few angry shouts. She was glad that she didn't speak the language they were shouting in because she was sure that it would singe her eyebrows off. "Don't mind the Voran. They are large sea going raiders. They took over this island some time before we got here. We took probably a quarter size chunk of the middle from them." "I take it they didn't like that?" She said and even though it was muffled he heard and laughed. "I'm afraid that they didn't. They can't really do anything about it though." "Why?" She asked curiously. "Because bigger is not always better. My companions and I are not to be trifled with." His tone was deadly, making her shiver. "I know it's cold." He said mistaking her shiver. "I will have you by a warm fire soon." She refrained from saying anything to him. They landed smoothly and walked their mounts into the cave mouth that served as the entrance to their Enclave. They were greeted by Asdern Stormrider, the unofficial leader of their small group. He had a serious look on his face. "You're back early? What's wrong?" Asdern asked the group. "We found a Wizard that was able to port us to the edge of Ice Cleave." Danroth told him. "Why?" Danroth pulled the hood off of Ni and Asdern stared at the bound, blindfolded women in bafflement. "I just don't know what to say to that." Asdern finally said. "You're not the only one." Ni sniped and Danroth covered her mouth with a large hand. She bit him and he yelped. "You were covering my nose. I have to breath you know." "We're really not equipped to care for her." Asdern said to Danroth, ignoring the byplay. "We'll muddle though." Danroth told him. Danroth dismounted then pulled Ni off and handed her to Asdern. "Hold her while I get my mount taken care of, will you?" Asdern frowned and was about to put her down. "She's barefoot." Danroth told him. "Ah." Was all Asdern said but held onto Ni. "You're an elf." Ni said to Asdern. "How did you know?" He asked with a frown. "Because no other male species in the whole of Solaran is secure enough in their masculinity to actually wear the scent of flowers. You smell like cherry blossoms." "It makes me feel alive again." Asdern said quietly. "I know what you mean. It's always the little things that make me feel better when I'm down." Ni said giving him a pat on what she assumed was a shoulder. "Oh boy." Asdern said. "What?" Ni asked. "I'm going to set you down. Step on my feet instead of the snow. "Kay." She did as he asked then gasped when she heard a knife sliding out of a sheath. "Hold still." He told her then slid the knife between the bonds on her wrist and cut them. "Thank you." She told him. Thankfully they hadn't really been tight so they hadn't cut off the circulation to her hands. She held onto his shoulders as she felt him lifting her blindfold off. She looked up into his glowing White eyes and felt herself frown. She'd never seen that particular color before. "You should have waited." She heard Danroth say. She turned to look at him. His eyes were the same glowing White as Asdern's were. His long hair was styled in a pony tail and was almost as long as hers. But it was white. She looked back at Asdern who had white hair as well. Not many species on Solaran had white hair. The cogs started turning in her head. Danroth came and picked her up and headed into the cave system. He navigated a maze of corridors, arguing with Asdern in a strange guttural language. He finally made his way into a large hall. He set her down on a chair in front of a large fire place and made sure she was covered well. The War Lich Chronicles Ch. 01 "You'll be warm in no time." Danroth told her. "The perfume makes you feel alive again." Ni said quietly to Asdern who came to stand next to Danroth. "Because you're dead?" Danroth let out a small hiss and Asdern frowned and nodded tightly. She looked over at Danroth who stood poker strait. "I've heard that most War Liches aren't usually willing turns." She looked at Asdern and he nodded again. "There are eighteen of us here." Asdern told her. "Our master is dead. We are free. We side with no one. We've left the rest of the world behind because we're tired of fighting. We want to live peaceably." "Of course that's understandable." She said. "But is seems that some of us have grown lonely." Asdern told her putting emphasis on lonely. Ni burst out laughing. "Well that's not the reaction I was expecting." Danroth said to Asdern. "It's just that you stressed the word lonely." Ni said trying to pull back her laughter. "Why is that funny?" Asdern asked in puzzlement. "Well apparently my mind is in the ditch and I took that to mean something sexual. Sorry about that. I was just having a moment. I'm the last person that someone would want to be un-lonely with." She emphasized the word just as Asdern had done. Both of the men didn't say anything, just looked at her gravely. "Oh." She stopped laughing and looked over at Danroth. "You really want me to?" He nodded. "With you?" "I suppose if you like Asdern can join us." Asdern whipped his head around so fast to look at Danroth Ni was sure she heard his neck pop. "Relax." Ni said to Asdern. "He's joking." Danroth nodded and Asdern shook his head and walked away. He said something to Danroth in their guttural language and Ni frowned. "What did he say? What language was that?" "He told us to figure it out on our own. As for the language we were speaking it doesn't really have a name. It's merely the language of the dead." "Language of the dead?" She asked curiously. "I didn't know there was one." "Not many do. Most people think that the walkers are merely gibbering." "But they're not?" "No." He shrugged. "Of course their minds are mostly gone so they don't really have much to say. "Oh. Wow." "Asdern was right." Danroth knelt down in front of her. "I brought you here because I was lonely. I honestly don't remember the last time I was with a woman." "Oh." "I want someone to talk to about things other than swords. I want someone to laugh at my jokes." He looked up at her almost desperately. "Gods above, I want sex!" Ni laughed. She wasn't promiscuous in any way but she did understand the need to connect with someone every once in a while. That itch had to be scratched every so often. She reached out and ran a hand across Danroth's forehead moving a lock of hair behind his ear. She really looked him over. He was human. His features were even and he was handsome in a classical way. He was around seven feet tall and heavily muscled. And he had the loveliest beard. Ni really did have a thing for neatly trimmed beards. "Well I normally spend the winter somewhere warm but I guess I could spend it here with you." She blushed furiously but didn't try to take it back. Just looking at him was making her get the itch. If he was willing to scratch her back for a while she would sure as hell scratch his too. "Excellent." He grabbed her out of the chair and swung her into his arms. He was striding out the hall door and back into the corridors. "Oh, okay. I, uh, guess now is good a time as any." She said taking a deep breath, reminding herself she wasn't likely to get away and that she thought he was handsome. Just thinking about him running his big hands over her body made her stomach jump. Everything about him was just so large. She knew that his manhood was as well. She'd been pressed against him for quite awhile after she'd woken up. "Not right now." He said. "No?" "No." "Well, then what in name of the nine hells are we doing?" She was frustrated now that she'd been fantasizing and he was telling her no. "I have responsibilities and you need to get some more sleep. You're as taut as a bow string." "That's because I was just fantasizing about you and your big hands! And now you're telling me no!" She screeched. He looked down at her and smiled wickedly as he pushed through an open door way. He walked over to a lit fireplace and laid her down on a large bed of furs that was close to it. He bent his head and kissed her lips gently. He ran a hand up her leg, over her stomach, grazing a breast, and then wrapped it around her neck. He felt her pulse speed up and stroked her jaw with his thumb. He squeezed just a bit and she opened her mouth so he could deepen their kiss. Her tongue dueled with his before he pulled away to look down at her. His eyes glowed with an unholy light. "Sleep." He said pulling a fur over her body. "You'll need it." He got up and walked out of the room, unconcerned about the erection straining the fly of his trousers. Ni sighed and threw a hand over her eyes. He'd made her so hot she was burning up and then he walked away. He may not have remembered the last time that he'd been with a woman but he hadn't forgotten the tricks of getting one's attention. For a moment she contemplated just taking care of her needs on her own but she was stopped her in her tracks by one single thought. He'd done this to her and she'd see that he finished what he started. She closed her eyes and let herself fall asleep because he was right, she would need it for later. Danroth walked back to the great hall and stopped dead when he realized that every one of his comrades were there waiting for him. "Ya weren't gone dat long mon." Neron said as he fingered one of his tusks. "She needs rest before she can take me on." He said with a shrug. "Where'd the extra furs come from?" "I've been getting back into my leather working." Said Korian Hardhoof, the only Minotaur among the group, with a grin. "Asdern came and asked me for them. He explained the situation. I'll not begrudge you them." "Thank you." Danroth said. "No thank you." Korian said. "I figure if you have the stones to go out and find a woman then so do I." Everyone in the room agreed with him. "There is one thing." Danroth said seriously. "What's dot mon?" Neron asked curiously. "Ni is a half elf. She's likely to live as long as I do." Danroth told them all seriously. "I chose her mainly for that reason. I don't want to get attached and then have her die on me in fifty years." "Well damn me then." Came a deep voice from the back of the room. "What's the matter Tesh?" Asdern asked. "I don't like elves!" The Orc groaned in frustration. Everyone laughed. "Ye don worry laddie." Said Nallish, the group's one and only dwarf. "There are plenty of other species out there that are immortal and hae some luvlee lassies among them." "Like what?" Tesh demanded. "Come now laddie don tell me you ne'er saw the banshee queen Ellana Courtsong." "A former elf!" Tesh barked. "What about one o them demons from the Ronlan Desert?" Nallish fired back. "Oh yeah." Tesh smiled, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth. "I could get myself one of them." Asdern whistled loudly getting all of their attention. "Is this something we're all actually contemplating?" Asdern asked seriously. "Because this place is barely fit for us and we're dead." "Lad's got a point." Nallish piped up. "We all ken that this place ain fit fer a rat let alone a gaggle o lassies." "Then we make it fit." Said the cultured voice of the Moon Elf Aidan Diamondflame. "We have gold, do we not? We will go to Krinlin and buy the beautiful things that women like." They all nodded in agreement. "I don't know what in the nine hells women like!" Tesh's twin brother Grolsh said with annoyance. "Perhaps we should be findin out wat we be matin with before we buy tings." Said Toshin Bloodwind. "Troll women be different dan human and elf women." "Ya mon. Can you see a orc woman wantin to take a bubble bath?" Geru Deathdagger asked with amusement. "I guess we have a few things to think through before we go about making this place a home." Asdern said and they all nodded in agreement. "Let's go about our responsibilities for now." 000 Danroth was lying next to Ni watching her sleep. She was looking so much better. The dark circles that had been beneath her eyes were gone and her tanned skin was starting to get a healthy glow about it. He'd initially been worried because she'd been asleep for almost three days but Aiden had explained to him that it was a normal occurrence for an elf to crash if they'd been up for two or more weeks. "Wake up girl." Danroth whispered and Ni opened her lids and gazed up at him with her obsidian colored eyes. "How long?" She croaked. "Almost three days." He told her as he sat up and grabbed a water skin for her. "You were right." She told him after she'd had a big drink. "I needed to sleep. I hope I didn't worry you." "Not at all. Aiden explained to me that you're sleeping for so long is normal." "Aiden?" "Aiden Diamondflame." "He's an elf?" "Yes. A Moon Elf. Time to bathe." Danroth said and picked Ni up. "That would be heavenly." She snuggled into him. "I thought you might like that." He walked into a small adjacent room and set her in a small steaming pool. "Hot!" She yelped. "Give it a second." He made quick work of stripping off his clothes and Ni gave an audible swallow when she saw his manhood jutting out from his body. He smiled at that but said nothing. He stepped in and sat across from her. The pool was probably knee deep on her but when she sat it came up to her breast. "Um. I don't remember falling asleep naked." She said to him with a raised eyebrow. "I undressed you of course." "Of course." She smiled. "Look your fill?" "Oh most definitely." He smiled. "You're quite lovely. I like the beauty mark on you hip." She blushed. "There is no sparring with you is there?" "Not really, no. I'm afraid when I became a War Lich most of my emotions went to the wayside. It's much easier to be honest in such conditions." He shrugged. "You've been smiling for me a lot." She pointed out. "They're starting to come back." "Now that you're no longer tied to your master." She guessed. "Correct." He nodded. "We've all been experiencing a lot of returning emotions lately." "Including lust?" "Not until I saw you." "Really?" She asked sarcastically. "I know I'm plain." "You are unique." He reached out and ran a hand over her hair. "I've never quite seen this many shades of red before." "It's weird." She grumbled. Ni had been born with a full head of flaming red hair, or so her mother liked to tell her. Growing up, the other children had always made fun of her hodgepodge of looks. She'd learned to rely on herself for a playmate and not take what others said to heart. As she'd grown older she knew that men were always drawn to her hair, but not always the rest of the package. Danroth sighed and smiled fondly at Ni. He put a finger under her chin. "I will make you feel beautiful and loved. You will never have to doubt yourself with me." "You may not be that emotional but you're a very expressive person, aren't you?" She asked. Ni had never been an emotional person and was usually uncomfortable around people were. "Not usually no." He shrugged. "I will fill free to be so with you. We are going to be together for a long time and I would like to start our relationship out the right way." "That's.., that's uh.., that's a good thing to know." Her smile was forced and the whole time she was thinking ookay what the hell have I gotten myself into? "I'll wash your hair for you." Danroth said moving over to her side. "Okay." She shrugged and ducked under the water. When she came back up he had a small pot of soap. "I borrowed this from Asdern. I hope you don't mind." He scooped a bit into his hand and started massaging it into her scalp. "Not at all. It'll be nice to feel clean." He was very thorough and after a good five minutes he finally let her duck under the water and wash out the soap. When she came back up he had more soap in his hands which he massaged into her back and shoulders. By the time that he was done bathing her she was so relaxed that she felt like she never wanted to move again. Danroth had other ideas of course. He picked her up and took her back into the bedroom, laying her on the furs. He put a few more logs on the fire, building it up. "We'll be dry in no time." He laid next to her and started running a callused finger up and down her arm. "This is nice." She put an arm behind her head, displaying her breast for him. He smiled at her antics. "We've discussed it and decided that our home isn't really fit for living beings at the moment." Danroth told her. "So you have decided to spend the winter in a warmer climate?" She asked with a hopeful smile. "No. We've decided that we will go to Krinlin and procure the things that will make a woman comfortable." "Oh." He smile faded and she looked at the fire. "Good luck with that then." "You will be joining us. Your input will be important." "Yeah. Not going to happen. Sorry." "I don't understand. Don't you wish to be more comfortable?" He asked with puzzlement. "Sure. But we'd have to go to Alay or another city. I won't be setting foot in Krinlin." She told him angrily. "I'm listening." He said gently. "My father lives there. We had a falling out a few months ago." "What about?" "I refuse to follow in his footsteps and become a ranger. I have other things I want to do with my life right now." "He doesn't like that I take it?" "No." She remembered how awful she'd felt confessing to him that she wouldn't be joining the rangers. The disappointment on his face hurt but his words broke her heart. "So human." He started walking away then stopped to look back at her. "Do not return to me Nienna Surion until you've decided to take your rightful place." Ni felt a tear slide down her face and swiped it away. She took a deep breath and tried to stem the tide of rising tears. The hurt had been battering at her for months and the longer she suppressed it the harder it became. Danroth reached out and pulled her into his arms. She snuggled into his chest and he held her as she sobbed her heart out. Eventually she fell into a light sleep. Danroth covered her, put on his clothes, and left her to sleep. 000 "Elven pride is harsh mistress." Tirin said to Danroth and Aiden nodded in agreement. "Just the fact that he had a child that was half human would have been a great blow." "And then for her to throw away her heritage, as he would consider it, would be another blow." Aiden said with a shake of his head. "Don't think there is anything wrong with wantin to follow your own path." Elias Brenmore said. His fellow Lyken, Deven Stone and Cameron Fraiser piped in with their own agreements. "You wouldn't." Tirin said. "You're human." "We're Lyken." Cam told him with a glare, even though he was the only one of the three to be in his hybrid form. "E's right lads." Nallish said. "You were once human an' you still think like them. But other races, including me own don' see it the way you do. Followin' in the footsteps of a parent is important. As is passin' on the knowledge and skills of the ones who came before." "So your ancestors were death knights?" Cam asked sarcastically. "Nay lad, they were smiths." Nallish shrugged. "Make no mistake though, I followed like I was sposed to. I can hammer out a sword and armor wi the best of them." "We're walking proof of that." Deven told Cam and pointed to both of their swords, which Nallish had made for them some time back. "Ye got a stick up yer arse or what Cam?" Nallish asked. "Yeah. You're a grump all the time lately." Deven said. Cam merely rolled his eyes and said, "Hell if I know. I think Danroth got it right. I need to go find myself a piece of tail." "You're going to have to pay some silver for it if you call a woman a piece of tail." Ni said walking into the room and all of the men stood up. "Women don't like to give it away when they hear things like that." Cam grumbled and looked away. "Are you blushing under all that hair?" Ni asked. Cam gave a snort and threw himself back down in his chair. Danroth pulled a chair up next to his by the fire and Ni went and sat, grateful for the heat. She was seriously going to have to invest in some warmer clothes. The men in the room didn't seem to mind at all. All of them were wearing various shades of leather pants and short sleeved cloth shirts. Danroth and Tirin were both barefooted too. Danroth had been waiting for her to wake and had made food in preparation. He pulled a large sandwich off of a near table and handed to her. She was about to hold it up in front of her face for a closer look and then thought better. She was hungry enough to eat it as long as she didn't know what was in it. "Ye feelin better then lass?" Nallish asked. "I am thanks." She took a small bit of the sandwich which was actually pretty good. "Ye got a tan." Nallish said confusedly. "Never actually seen an elf wi a tan. Different colors, maybe. Never a tan though." Ni smiled. "I'm a Sun Elf." She said with a shrug. "I spend a good half the year in warmer climates too." "An' this'n brought ye to one o the coldest places in Azeroth." Nallish said motioning at Danroth. "Yeah. I'm freezing my tits off." She said moving her chair closer to the fire. When she looked up from taking a bite of her sandwich they were all staring at her. "What?" "You said tits." Cam said incredulously. "Oh. Wow." Ni said as she watched most of them blushing. "Aren't you all hardened warriors?" "What's that got to do wi the price of Iron in Hollow Mountain?" Nallish asked. "I just thought that-" "I canna speak for the others but I spent more time warring that I did wooin the lassies." Nallish laughed ruefully. "I thought I had all the time in the world." "Um I'm sorry." Ni said sadly and Danroth glared at Nallish. "No worries lass. Now I do got all the time in the world. You ken?" "Oh. Yes I think so." "Yeah." Eli said. "Danroth has inspired us. If he can get you then we can get our own women too." "No more cold nights alone." Deven said. "Uh-" Ni honestly didn't know what to say to this revelation. "What is it lass?" Nallish asked. "I just really want to caution you guys to think things through before you do anything rash." "Like what?" Demanded Cam. "Um, you know, like kidnapping innocent women." "It worked for Danroth." Eli pointed out. "He got you and you don't seem to mind at all." "Okay. We're done." Ni stood up and walked away. "I am not having this conversation with all of you." Danroth glared at the Lyken. "What?" Eli asked. "Could you possibly be any more insensitive?" Tirin asked them. "Probably." Eli said. "Besides, I'll be a lot more sensitive to my own woman. If I was all nice to Ni then Danroth would probably take it the wrong way and go for my throat." Danroth opened his mouth to deny it then thought better and didn't say a word. "See?" Eli asked. "Have ye figured out what ye want then laddie?" asked Nallish. "Perhaps an elf." Aiden said with a small smile. "Not a chance." Eli said. "Well?" Cam demanded. "You remember Gwendolyn Ghostfire in Te'Arun?" Eli asked Cam. "Gods! That damn banshee almost killed me more times than I can count." Cam said with irritation. "She just needs a firm hand is all." Eli told him with a frown. "But she's dead." Deven pointed out. The War Lich Chronicles Ch. 01 "So are we. What's your point?" Eli asked. "She doesn't have a body." Cam said. "Kind of important don't you think?" "Gwen can become completely corporeal if she wants." Eli informed them. "And how do you know that laddie?" Nallish asked with a raised eyebrow. "I've seen her do it." Eli said with a blush. "I was out hunting in the woods and I came across her. She was practicing and she seemed to have had it down pretty well." "We haven't been back in quite a long time." Deven said. "How do you know someone hasn't killed her by now?" "She's been a banshee for a very long time. She's nigh un-killable. Cam can attest to that." "Yeah." Was all that Cam said. "When are you going?" Asdern asked from the doorway. "I was thinking probably within the next few weeks." Eli said and looked over at Neron who was in the corner mixing herbs and ignoring the conversation. "Neron can you make me up something to keep Gwen corporeal long enough to get her here?" "Sure I could mon. But I don have da stuff." Neron said with a shake of his head. "Kinda hard to come by too." "Could you get it from Errdari?" Asdern asked speaking of the city that was considered the magic users capital. "Ya mon. It would still take a few weeks to perfect da brew though." Neron told him. "Aiden can you open portals yet?" Asdern asked him. "Yes. It's really starting to come back to me. It's a bit draining though." He smiled. "But fulfilling." "Can you get us to Errdari?" "Yes. But I'm pretty tapped out right now so you will have to wait till in the morning." "Perfect." Asdern purred. "I need to pick up quite a bit of stuff so I will need some strong backs." "And what are ya buyin yer lassie?" Nallish asked before anyone could agree to be his pack kodo's. "Jewels." Asdern said with a smile and walked away. "Guess he's not buyin for the lass, he's buying her instead." They all laughed. 000 "I see you finished eating." Danroth said from the doorway. "Do you think maybe you guys should not kidnap women? I mean seriously! There is not a one of you that aren't beyond handsome. You could probably get just about any woman that you want!" "You're not going to let this go until we discuss it are you?" Danroth asked with a sigh. "No." Ni said. "It's simple. We are undead warriors that were in the service of an Arch Lich. That will make all but the most enduring women run for the hills. And women like that are few and far between." "I wouldn't have." Ni told him gently. "I couldn't be sure of that." He sat down on the furs next to her and brushed crumbs off her shoulder. "To be honest I consider myself to be the luckiest man here. You didn't hold my taking you against me. You even agreed to stay with me." "For the winter Danroth." Ni reminded him. When he didn't say anything she sucked in a breath. "Oh gods! You don't plan on letting me go at all, do you?" "I think we'll address the issue when it comes up this spring." He brushed his knuckles over one of her cheeks. "Perhaps you'll find you'd rather stay here with me." "I really don't-" He reached out faster than she could see and grabbed her neck. He gently pushed her down on the furs. He reached for the collar of her white button down shirt and yanked ripping it open. Her breasts were no more than a handful but more than that was merely a waste in Danroths mind. He loved her tiny pink nipples that puckered under his hot gaze. "I'm frightened." She whispered. "Don't be." He told her. "I won't hurt you. But I will dominate you." He took both of her wrists in one hand and pushed them above her head and ordered her to leave them there. He put a hand under her back, drawing her forward, and leaned down to gently press a kiss between her breasts. Ni had never felt the need to actually be dominated, but it was turning into quite a heady experience. He moved first to one breast then another, bathing her nipples with his tongue. Everything just seemed more. She'd never particularly had sensitive nipples but now they were so hard it almost hurt. He came back and kissed her lips as he ran a large rough hand over her mid section. Her lower belly jumped when he ran his hand over it and he smiled wickedly at her small gasp. He moved his mouth down her body to her belly and ran his tongue across it. Her hands moved to his head and she tangled her fingers in his white hair. He took her hands and pushed them back over her head. "Leave them or I'll bind you." He told her and she groaned. He went back to kissing her quivering stomach and then moved lower. As he removed her pants it was revealed to him that she had a tiny little patch of red hair on her pussy and that was it. She was practically dripping when Danroth finally started running his tongue over her outer lips. He parted her pussy lips with his large fingers and she groaned. "Oh gods, please!" She cried. She wanted this so bad. She'd never actually had this before and was as eager as a cat in heat. "Patience little elf." Danroth reminded her. Patience he had to remind himself as well. Her pleasure first, than his. He brought his head down and licked her pussy from bottom to top. Her high keening wail made everything worthwhile. He focused on the small pearl of her pussy, flicking at just the right pace. He inserted his large middle finger into her tight body. She was so wound up that it pushed her over the edge. Her calling his name was vindication but she wasn't ready and he wasn't finished. The taste of her was a heady thing and he kept licking. "I can't! Not again!" She cried when he inserted another finger. "You can and you will." He told her roughly. Danroth was large and he wanted her to be ready for him. When she found her release again Danroth reared up to his knees and freed his cock from his pants. "Oh gods! You're so big." She whispered in awe. She'd seen him in the bath but if possible he seemed even bigger. She looked up at him with pleasure glazed eyes and smiled. She took a deep breath and sighed as she opened her legs wide for him. It was all the encouragement that he needed. He came down over her and pushed his way into her small body until he was all the way in. His eyes rolled back into his head. He started moving gently and Ni forgot that she wasn't supposed to touch him and started raking her nails along his broad expanse of back. His hiss of pleasure told her that she was doing the right things. She leaned up and caught one of his small hard nipples in her teeth and pulled. He bucked hard and her eyes widened as her pleasure seemed to almost double. "Harder." She told him. "Don't want to hurt you." He gritted out. She shoved him unexpectedly, rolling him onto his back, and came down hard on his cock. He grabbed her waist and started pumping her up and down on his cock. She came after a few moments and the feel of her pussy milking his cock pushed him over the edge. She collapsed onto Danroth's chest after the most prolonged orgasm of her life. "So you'll stay with me?" Danroth asked her once he could actually speak again. "Cripes." Was all he heard her say before she crawled off of him and covered her head with a fur. The War Lich Chronicles Ch. 02 chapter 2- Hope you like it. Please vote. If you find an error don't hesitate to point it out, the only way I'll learn is if I know what I did wrong. I'm introducing some new characters. Let me know if they need stories of their own. mac 000 Keslur landed his mount not too far from the Rusty Bucket. He watched quietly from the shadows of a tree as Bets, the barmaid, walked out. She sighed and headed toward a small path in the woods, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "You be careful now!" Nan called from the door. "If you see a walker you come running back this way. You hear?" "I heard. I promise." Bet's called back over her shoulder. "See you in a week." "I'm glad things are starting to slow down." Nan told Egan as he came to stand behind her. "Yep. Poor girl needs a break." Egan said. "I'm glad we managed to get her to take some time off." "I can't wait to throw her a birthday party!" She clapped her hands excitedly. "Carrot cake." Keslur smiled as he watched them walk back into the inn. This was just too easy. He hopped off his mount and sent it off. He wouldn't need the thing for now. He sped up a bit and caught up to Bets. He walked a few steps behind her and thanked his lucky stars he was a vampire. No one had ever heard him sneak up on them. He smiled as he watched her generous backside swish in that sexy unconscious way that some women had. He loved how she looked. She was only about five foot two but she was very curvy in all the right places. Keslur had never really liked women that were skinny. Every time he looked at a skinny woman he just wanted to go and offer her a sandwich. "It's not up for discussion Bets." He heard the girl mimicking someone, perhaps Nan. "Fifty years in this boring, stupid, place. I've got to get out of here!" Bets stopped suddenly, picked up a rock, and threw it at a tree. Keslur's eyebrows raised up high as he watched the rock actually embed itself in the tree. That was different. Keslur heard Bets groan as she caught sight of a walker shambling toward her, the sound having drawn it. He raised his eyes to the thing and started to push at its mind when Bets distracted him. "You're a bit close to town. Poor baby. Are you lost?" Bets said to the walker. She went and patted it on the head like one would a dog. "Come on. Let's get you back to the woods." Bets smiled at the walker. She took his hand and led him quite a bit deeper into the woods and pushed him toward a few others that were milling about. He went easily enough. The walkers always liked to be together anyway. Bets might bad mouth them in front of the others in the village because she didn't want anyone to find out that she didn't have any problems with them. But unlike anyone else she knew she'd never killed one in her life. She always tried her best to get them to stick to the woods, away from the most populous parts of the village and its surroundings. "I'm off. Stay in the woods." Bets blew them a kiss and headed off to her own home. Keslur was intrigued by this. He remembered at the inn how she'd spoken to Ni about killing them and here she was making sure they didn't actually get killed. So she secretly didn't mind the undead, probably even liked having them around. She seemed an affinity with them. They hadn't tried to attack her at all. "What the hell?" Bets asked and then flipped around to look up at Keslur. "Who the hell are you?" "You couldn't have heard me." Keslur said to her. "You were pushing pretty hard on the mind buttons." She told him dryly. You're a telepath? He asked her. I am. She answered back. "I heard you say you've been here for fifty years. Are you immortal than?" He asked. "Gods, I love having this conversation." She sighed. "I haven't aged in thirty years, so yeah, I'm probably immortal." "I think I'm in love." He said with a big smile. He watched her fingers curl into her hands as if she were holding something round. Then to his amazement he saw fire ignite in both hands. "My name is Keslur Iceheart of the Bloodborn Vampire clan." He said and pushed back his hood. Bets could see him clearly in the light of the full moon and she was a bit surprised. He looked like someone that you might see walking down the street. He was handsome in a somewhat aristocratic way with his high cheek bones and hawk like nose, but not intensely so. He had mop of curly dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. He was a bit pale but not white. More like maybe he'd been sick recently and now he was starting to get over it. "You're a vampire?" She asked her fire extinguishing. "Really?" His entire eyes bled to red and he flashed some fang at her. She swallowed and wanted to take a step back but refused to let herself. "Gods!" She took a deep breath and let it out. She always gave people a chance though. It's just how she was. "Well, my name is Bettissali Sariel. Everyone just calls me Bets though." "Sariel?" "My father's name." "And he was what?" Keslur asked curiously. "Beats me." She said with a shrug. "My mother got lost in the woods when she was a teenager and was raped by a," she hesitated, "man." "You hesitated." "She was out of her head with fever when they found her. She swore it was a demon but nobody believed her." "Until you stopped aging." "Yes. By that time she was dead though." "I'm sorry." "She was a good person all her life. She's in a better place now." "Question for you." He smiled, showing a bit of fang. "Okay." She really had to wonder why in the name of the nine hells she was standing out in the forest having this strange conversation with this Vampire. "Would you like to visit your friend Ni?" "You were one of the men at the inn the other night!" She said accusingly. "What have you done with Ni?" "She's spending the winter at my Enclave with my friend Danroth." "Why would she do that?" "He was very convincing." He told her emphasizing the word very. "Whatever." She rolled her eyes. "Come now my dear you have a week off. Wouldn't you like to get away from here?" He smiled a crooked smile. "I suppose." She said hesitantly. He laughed with delight and then gave a whistle. His mount, whom had merely been waiting for his call appeared out of the forest. He hopped on and held out his hand. "On that thing? Are you crazy?" Bets asked horrified. "Have you ever flown?" "No." "You'll love it. It's exhilarating." He reached out and hauled her onto the mount in front of him. "Hold on." He didn't even wait for her to say she would join him. Of course he had to be right. Flying was one of the most fun things she'd ever done. Scary but fun. Keslur's mount was fast and the scenery seemed to just wiz by. After a few minutes he took off his cloak and wrapped it around her. "I don't need it." She told him. "You will." Keslur dipped the mount steeply, pulling it up when they were a mere few feet from the ground. He guided it into the portal that Aiden had waiting for him and heard Bets gasp. They'd come out right over the frozen sea, about fifty feet from the shore of the island. Aiden, who been waiting for Keslur to get back, saw him and closed the portal. He hopped onto his own mount and flew up to meet Keslur. "It took you long enough!" Aiden shouted over the heavy north wind. "Well I got her! Let's get back to the Enclave!" Keslur shouted back as he covered Bets head. She had already started to shiver and he wanted to get her warm. They flew over the island, making their way to the middle. They dropped down and made their way to the cave that was the entrance to the Enclave. Aiden and Neron had recently done a little magical tinkering with the entrance ensuring that the snow and driving cold wind didn't make their way into the cave system. They were all in the process of bringing home mates and this was just one of the improvements that they'd talked about making to the caves so that their women would be comfortable. "Are you alright my love?" Keslur asked pulling the hood off Bets head. "I'm not your love." Bets told him with chattering teeth. "You could be." He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "What is it you want me to see so badly?" Ni asked Danroth as he dragged her to the cave entrance. "Ni!" Bets called, throwing off Keslur's cloak, and jumping down from his mount. "Oh my god! Bets?" She glared up at Keslur, who'd dismounted and was standing behind Bets. "How could you?" "I brought her to visit you." Keslur said with a slow growl. "Don't speak to my beloved in that tone." Danroth told Keslur angrily. "Beloved?" Bets asked Ni as the two men stood toe to toe and glared at each other. "Beloved? Seriously Danroth, I've been here less than a week." Ni said with a shake of her head. "It doesn't mean he doesn't love you." Keslur said with a frown, defending his comrade. "Yes. I love you." Danroth told her. Bets glanced significantly at the cave entrance and then questioningly at Ni. Ni's shoulders drooped a bit and she shook her head no. Keslur walked up behind Bets and pulled her gently against him. She tried to move out of his embrace but his strong arms weren't budging. This was saying something considering Bets was stronger than anyone she knew. "You won't get far. We are on an island that's deep into the Frozen Sea. Not to mention the giant sea going raiders that also inhabit this island. They don't like us." "What in the name of the Nine Hells is going on Ni?" Bets asked with confusion. "Short version?" Ni asked and Bets nodded. "There are eighteen War Liches here. They're free now because their former master is dead and they're looking to start reclaiming their lives. That includes finding mates." "Please let go." Bets said to Keslur who did as she asked. She rounded on him. "I don't want to visit anymore. Please take me home." "No." He said. "What do you mean no? I want to go home." "Again, no." "Now!" She stamped her foot and her dark auburn hair burst into flames. Danroth grabbed Ni and shoved her behind him. Nallish walked into the room and stopped when he caught sight of Bets. "Hey lass, do ya ken yer hairs on fire?" Nallish asked Bets. Bets screamed and pointed a hand at Nallish sending a ten foot jet of flames at him. He managed to dive out of the way before he got singed but it was close. Keslur grabbed her wrist and felt the flesh on his hand start to burn but ignored it. He pulled Bets close and planted kiss on her reddened lips. The flames that had become part of her extinguished themselves and she collapsed in Keslur's arms. "Wow." Ni said coming out from behind Danroth. "You made her maaad. I haven't seen her do that in forever." "You," Bets said opening her eyes and looking at Keslur, "are tasty." "What?" He asked confused. "Tasty. Tasty vampire." She said and licked his arm. "Apparently making the fire is a really heady thing." Ni told Keslur. "So yer sayin the lass just tried to barbeque me and now she's drunk?" Nallish asked picking himself up off the ground. "Basically." Ni said. "Ha. I haven't seen you move that fast in quite some time." Aiden, who'd been watching all of this from a safe distance, said to Nallish. "You an me both lad." Nallish said dusting himself off. "Are you tasty too?" Bets stopped licking Keslur's arm and asked Nallish. "Nay lass, not unless I'm cooked and you missed. You ken?" Nallish said gently. "Oh." She smiled and started licking Keslur again. "How about you and I go and have a lie down?" Keslur said to Bets. "Oh we'll lie down alright." Bets told him, pressing her breast against him. "How long will this last?" Keslur asked Ni. "She should probably pass out anytime." Ni chuckled. "Bets is kind of a cheap drunk." "Thank you." Keslur told her and then headed to his room, Bets still licking his arm. "I'm a virgin." Bets said out of the blue. "Virgin!?" Keslur almost dropped her. "Shhh, shhh, shhh." Bets put a finger to her lips. "Don't tell anyone." "How can you still be a virgin?" Keslur asked with amazement. "Everybody knows I'm a half demon. None of them want to take a chance on me." She told him sadly. "It's okay. I'll take a chance on you." Keslur said kindly. "Oh goody." She giggled. "You're going to make me a not virgin." "Yes I suppose so." He smiled and squeezed her comfortingly. "But I'm not going to deflower you while you're in a drunken stupor. I'd like us both to not only enjoy it but remember it as well." "Oh." She sounded so disappointed that Keslur almost relented. He didn't want to start their relationship out that way though. She was going to be with him for a long time so he wanted to make sure that it was all going to be on the right footing. But there was nothing saying he couldn't have a look at what he brought home. A long and leisurely look. He made it to his room and laid her down on the bed of furs that was near the fireplace. She had finally fallen asleep but he was still a bit worried about her. He covered her and stoked the fire so that she would remain warm and then went to find Danroth and Ni. 000 "Tell me about your friend." Keslur said to Ni, sitting in one of the empty chairs by the fireplace in the great hall. "I've known her since she was born. Her mom swore up and down that Bets father was a demon." "She could create the fire all her life?" Keslur asked. "No." Ni shook her head. "That started happening once she stopped ageing. She normally has a pretty good handle on her temper but sometimes-" Ni shrugged. "Perhaps the father is a Fire Demon?" Danroth speculated. "If he is, den you got trouble mon." Neron said walking into the room. "Let me guess." Keslur said. "You saw Nallish." "No mon, Aiden." Neron said and plopped into an empty chair with a laugh. "I wish I'd been der. I heard she almost barbeque Nallish." "She didn't mean too." Ni said, defending Bets. "How old is she?" Neron asked. "She'll actually be fifty in about a week." Ni smiled and looked at Danroth. "We need to throw her a party." "Whatever pleases you my love." Danroth said fondly. "You... I'm not..." She sighed and decided to quit while she was ahead. It wouldn't do her any good to argue with Danroth. He was just so damn crazy. "Why is her age important?" Keslur asked. "You know a lot about Fire Demons?" "I know a bit." Neron shrugged. "Demons age differently. Your Bets could be starting puberty for all we know." "Oh, gods!" Keslur groaned. "You can't be serious!" "Not to worry mon." Neron told him. "I tink since she half human her mind and body are full grown. But her powers are young yet. It takes demons a long time to learn to use their powers well." "Oh." Keslur almost sighed with relief. "What about the father?" Neron asked. "She said his name was Sariel." Keslur told the troll. Neron who'd just taken a mouthful of wine started choking. "What's wrong?" Danroth asked as he pounded on Neron's back. "Trouble." Neron said when he could talk again. 000 "I wonder what he meant by trouble?" Ni asked thoughtfully. "It means just that." Danroth told her. "Trouble." "Yeah but I wish he would have elaborated." She said with frustration. "He needed to talk to the girl first." Danroth said evenly. "We must be patient." "I don't want to be patient. It could be hours before she wakes up! I'll get bored." "I will distract you." Danroth told her with a smile and pushed her down until she was kneeling in front of him. "As much as I'd love to suck your cock, I have other things on my mind right now." She stood and looked up into his eyes and raised her eyebrow letting him know that she was serious. "I need to check on Bets." Danroth shrugged negligently and walked over to lean against the wall. He motioned her toward the door with a wave of his hand. Ni looked at him suspiciously but walked to the door anyway. "You son of bitch!" Ni yelled at Danroth when she bounced of an invisible barrier. "I had Aiden set it up." He chuckled. "You don't like my improvement?" "I hate it! I hate you! I want to go home!" "You may hate me Ni but I love you." He walked over and took her tiny face in his hands. "I'm your family now. Your home is wherever I choose to be." Her brows furrowed together. He sounded absolutely convinced of what he was saying and she just couldn't understand why. "It was love at first sight for me." Danroth said, guessing her thoughts correctly. "I don't believe in it." She said, shaking her head. "It's a stupid concept. You can't fall in love with someone just by looking at them. What if they're wrong for you?" "You weren't wrong for me." He stated. "You're damn well crazy!" She yelled, wrenching out of his hold. "Perhaps." He shrugged. "That's all you have to say?" Ni sat down and wrapped her arms around her knees and watching her cry nearly broke his heart. "It'll be alright." Danroth said, kneeling down in front of her. "You can't keep me here against my will!" "Don't test me." He said warningly. Ni reached out and slapped him. Daroth stood up and fingered his cheek with a sigh. Ni cringed a bit. Even though she'd been in Ranger training for almost a decade she knew she was no match for Danroth. He merely shook his head though. "No. I won't hit you Ni." He walked to the door and stepped out, looking back at her. "But I will make you beg." 000 Sariel Deathblaze silently pushed open the door to Bets cabin. He stepped in and looked around at the small Spartan environment. Such a human place. His own dwelling was a palace decked out in the most exotic and sumptuous décor. He walked over to the bed and ran his claws over the neatly made blanket. It was so tight he probably could have bounced a coin off of it. He knelt at the fireplace and picked up a hand full of ashes. He rubbed them between his fingers. Cold. The fireplace hadn't been lit for a day or so. He knew that the girl wasn't at the inn so where the hell was she. Her scent was all over the cabin and outside but was beginning to fade. "Gaaahh!" Sariel turned and looked at the walker who was standing in the doorway. "Where is she friend?" he asked the walker, his smooth accent and quiet tone was soothing. "Where is my child?" The walker was still in fairly good condition and his brain was still working fairly well. He wasn't happy about Bets being gone from the forest. None of the walkers were. Bets took care of them. Kept them out of trouble. The walker started speaking the guttural language of the dead, telling Sariel all that he had seen from the edge of the path. "A vampire?" Sariel asked and reached up to rub one of his horns thoughtfully. "Why would she go with a vampire? Was she unwilling?" The walker shook his head no. Sariel walked out of the cabin, pushing past the walker. He took a deep breath, trying to get a scent of this vampire. "Gah." The walker said getting his attention again and then started speaking slowly to make sure he got the things he wanted to say right. "Keslur Iceheart." Sariel said trying out the name. "I have heard of this one. He is a War Lich." "Gah rah ha." The walker said. "Yes." Sariel said thoughtfully. "Vampires are formidable. War Lich's even more so. Do you know where they went?" The walker answered his question. "Enclave?" Sariel asked curiously. "Gah." "I must think." Sariel said. He made a circular movement with his hands and a fire ringed portal opened into the great hall of his home. He stepped through and the walker watched with fascination as the portal closed behind the demon. 000 Bets groaned and covered her head with a fur. Her head was pounding. The headaches had gotten better over the years. She remembered the first time that she'd made the flame jet. Her head had hurt so badly she'd actually started begging Ni to kill her. Now it was more of an ache. The War Lich Chronicles Ch. 02 "Sit up." Bets heard Keslur whisper to her and even that hurt. "I have a healing potion." She sat up, throwing the fur off. She grabbed the potion from his hand and downed it in less than two seconds. "Better?" Keslur asked taking the empty bottle and setting it aside. "Yes." Bets sighed. She could feel the potion working already. "How long was I asleep?" "Twelve hours." "Geez." "We need to talk." Keslur said gently. "Was I licking you last night?" Bets asked with a frown. "Hmm, hmm." Keslur cleared his throat, wondering how much to tell her. "Yeah, I guess I was." She sighed. "I sorry I lost my temper and tried to fry your friend." "It's okay. You missed so Nallish isn't going to hold it against you." "Still. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that." "I'm sure that I made you quite angry." Keslur chuckled. "Yeah I guess." "We need to talk." He took her chin and pushed it up so that her eyes could meet his. "You taste like apples." She told him. "I-" "You what?" She asked. "I forgot what I was going to say." He smiled and ducked his head to press his lips against hers. Bets put her arms around his neck and held tightly. She opened her mouth, tasting his kiss. She smiled when she realized that he tasted like crisp apples. He grabbed her waist and pushed her onto her back. "Why do you taste like apples?" She asked with wonder. "It's a vampire thing. It was the last thing that I ate before I froze into my immortality." "So if you'd eaten cave fungus then that what you'd taste like?" "Yes." He laughed. "Thankfully it was an apple." "I like apples." "Good." He brought his lips down to hers for a deep kiss. She pulled away when she felt his hand cup her breast and caress her nipple. "I'm naked." She said almost embarrassed. "Nothing gets past you." Keslur said, dipping his head down and capturing her abandoned nipple with his lips. She groaned and started running her hands through his mop of hair. He moved over to the other breast giving it equal attention. He started running a hand lightly over her stomach, smiling every time he felt her muscles jump. "Lower." She said pushing his hand toward her pussy. He did as she asked, running his fingers over her outer lips until she started to groan with frustration. He dipped his middle finger into her folds, feeling how wet she was for him. Practically dripping. "Just do it!" She cried. "It's your first time; I'm not just going to do it." "Please!" She panted. "No. Be patient. I'm large. I'll hurt you if you're not ready." He said and then dipped his finger deeply into her body. Her high keen told him that she liked what he was doing. He slowly stretched her until she couldn't take it anymore and she came. Her body clenched around his fingers and he imagined her body clenching his cock in the same way. "Spread your legs." He commanded her huskily. When she slowly spread her legs, showing her pussy, he hissed his pleasure. He positioned his cock at her entrance and slowly pushed his way into her body. He started moving slowly at first then faster and faster with every cry from her lips. When he felt her start to come he leaned forward and sank his fangs deeply into her neck. Her body milking his cock and her hot blood pouring into his mouth pushed him over the edge and he came, harder than he ever had in his life. Bets couldn't even begin to voice her pleasure. The pain of his bite combined with all the pleasure had prolonged her orgasm and coming down from it was just as pleasurable as coming itself was. Keslur stopped feeding and ran his healing tongue over the holes, closing them. He rolled off of her and touched his fingers to his bloodstained lips. "Are you okay?" Bets asked with concern. "I haven't fed since I became a War Lich. Never even wanted to until now." "Okay." She said but didn't really understand. "I'm a vampire again." He grabbed her and rolled her underneath him. "Thank you." "Sure." She smiled. "Anytime." "Anytime." She heard him whisper right before he sank his fangs into her shoulder. She yelped then moaned as pleasure seemed to flood her veins. 000 "Where's Ni?" Bets asked Keslur. "I'm assuming she's with Danroth." Keslur said after a few moments of thinking. "You're not telling me something." Bets said with a frown, coming out of the stupor that his love making had put her in. They need to figure out their relationship on their own. Keslur said pushing the words into her mind. Is he abusing her? Bets asked seriously. Because if he was she was going to find and fry his dead ass. He is not abusing her. Keslur shrugged. He is merely teaching her. Bets was up and at the door almost before Keslur could process what she was planning. He managed to get in front of her before she exited the room. "Get out my way." She ground out. "Not before you dress." He said sternly and looked down at her bare body. "Oh." She blushed but bent down to grab her clothes and dress. They walked quietly but quickly down the hall. There were quite a few twist and turns, making Bets confused. She grimaced at the thought of not being able to find her way out of here. Keslur may have been awesome in bed but she wasn't so enamored of him that she was going to stay in this frozen wasteland. She was going to get out of here and she wasn't going to leave Ni to rot either. They had been friends for way too long. They turned into another corridor and Bets saw Danroth leaning against a wall, looking into an open doorway. When he saw them he nodded but didn't say anything. Bets ran to him and looked through the doorway. Ni was laying on the cold stone floor, tear stains on her face. "What did you do you son of bitch?!" Her hair burst into flames. Keslur shoved her backward into the room and she fell on her butt. It didn't stop her from sending a jet of fire at the doorway. Both men dived out of the way but the fire merely dissipated at the invisible barrier, not even letting any heat out into the hall. Bets charged the door and bounced of the barrier. She gave it another try and finally quit. She walked over to Ni and knelt down to stroke her friend's hair. "Are you okay?" She asked. "Yes." Ni nodded. "Did he hurt you?" "No." Ni sighed and sat up putting her back to the wall. "I slapped him." "Good for you." Bets said. "You know I don't like letting my temper get the best of me." Ni told her ruefully. "It's all that elf brain washing. There is nothing wrong with having a temper." Bets said, sitting next to Ni. "You barbeque things when you lose your temper." Ni pointed out. "So. Makes me feel better. I can't keep stuff bottled up inside." "You're not drunk." Ni pointed out to Bets. "I'm too mad to be." Bets told her and then looked over at the door. "You still out there vampire?" "Yes." Keslur stepped into view, followed by Danroth. "The minute I get out of here, you're dead meat!" Bets spat at him. Keslur looked over at Danroth, who merely shrugged and planted himself against the wall again. Keslur sighed and went to stand next to Danroth to watch the women. "This is going to set me back with her." Keslur told him. "Probably." Danroth said then waited for Keslur to finish his thoughts. "I suppose this was bound to happen eventually." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Better sooner rather than later." 000 "Well?" Sariel asked patiently. Keerg, tried not to cringe. Sariel did everything patiently until he lost his temper and lashed out. Keerg never knew when Sariel was going to lose his temper though. And that was the problem. It was just last week that he'd almost lost his head. He hadn't though because he was so quick. That was probably why Viceroy Kindin always sent him to deliver messages to Sariel. "The viceroy wasn't able to discover anything." Keerg said and prepared to duck. "Of course he couldn't." Sariel said sarcastically but merely looked at Keerg curiously. "My child is missing." Sariel finally said to Keerg. "She was last seen with the former vampire, and now a War Lich, Keslur Iceheart." Keerg's brain started processing the information that Sariel had just passed to him. "I've heard of this vampire, your majesty." Keerg said slowly. "Proceed." Sariel said to him. "He belongs to the Arch Lich Ar On Doomfinger." "Doomfinger is dead. He has been for almost eight months." "Yes but it doesn't mean that his War Liches would have died as well. They merely would have been free to pursue their own devices." Keerg said and then frowned. "But I haven't heard of any new War Lich mercenaries or mercenary bands showing up in any of the realms." "Nor have I." Sariel said his irritation growing. "The walker I spoke to mentioned hearing the word enclave." "Enclave." Keerg whispered to himself. The word triggered a memory of a conversation over a mug of ale at the local thieves' tavern. "Go." Sariel waved him away. "Find out what you can and report back to me. There will quite a bit of gold in it for you if this doesn't get back to the Viceroy just yet." "Yes, your majesty." Keerg practically tripped over his own feet trying to get out of the throne room." 000 Two days later Tirin found Danroth and Keslur still standing in front of Danroth's doorway. "It's a good thing that you don't need to sleep." Tirin told them. Both men nodded but said nothing. Tirin looked into the room and watched Ni sitting cross legged rocking back and forth. He sighed, not liking to see another Elf suffering but he also understood Danroth's thought process. "Here." Tirin handed Danroth a freshly baked loaf of bread and a jug of milk with a wink, then walked away. "Thanks." Danroth said. Ni stopped rocking when she caught a whiff of the bread. Her head shot up and she focused on the bread. She swallowed hard and looked over at Bets who was sitting in the fireplace. Keslur had basically had a panic attack when he'd seen her first step into the roaring fire but Danroth had grabbed his arm and pointed out that she was perfectly fine. He was right too. Bets wasn't burning at all, her skin merely taking on an orange glow. She was smiling as if she'd just snuggled down under a warm blanket on a cold winter night. "That's just cruel." Bets said with an eye roll but went back to staring at the fire that surrounded her. "Danroth." Ni said getting his attention. "Please. Please I'm hungry." He didn't even hesitate but crossed the barrier of the door and knelt in front of Ni. He tore off a large piece of bread and handed it to her. She hesitantly took a bite. Keslur watched as Bets sat up strait and walked into the room to stop her from doing anything rash. "Look at me Ni." Danroth commanded her and she did. "I need you to understand that I don't want to hurt you. Only teach you. The path that I've set us upon is a difficult one. I need to trust that you can follow my orders and know that I will always do what is best for you. It won't always be easy for you. I have been dead for almost two centuries. Felt nothing. I won't let you go. I can't. I need you. From the moment I saw you, you made me feel alive again. I know that I love you. Please. Please don't take that from me." Ni set the bread down and wrapped her arms around his neck. She stoked his back until she felt him relax a bit. "Promise you won't leave me." He said almost desperately. "I promise." She pulled away to look up at him with a raised eyebrow. "We need to talk about this begging thing though." "But you beg so prettily." He said with a wicked smile. "Gag me with a spoon!" Bets said stepping out of the fireplace and shaking herself until her fire had dissipated. She looked over at Keslur. "Come on Vampire. Let's get out of here." He opened his mouth. "I'll singe your eyebrows if you ask me to beg." Bets told him warningly. "I'm not nearly as dominating as Danroth." Keslur told her with a laugh and pulled her into his arms. "I can be unpleasant when I have to be though." "I could see that." She pulled away to look at him with a frown. "What?" "You know I'm not hungry or thirsty or anything." "Fire demons feed off da heat and flame." Neron said from the doorway. "Now dat you are done playin we need to talk."