Portals of Infinity: Kaiju Page 25

  I nodded, "Thanks, Fel. I appreciate what you do for me."

  "You're always welcome, William."

  I smiled and went outside to spend the rest of my time with those waiting to crossover to the other side. Two years of nothingness. Yeah, after that I really wanted people to talk with, even if they were dead.

  Twenty-three

  Saladin - Hiland

  "Will!" I heard as soon as I opened my eyes.

  I was lying on the altar in the back of the temple, where I always came back to life when Fel reincarnated me, so obviously he had moved his main temple back to Hiland.

  I was pounced then, by Narasamman, who was crying and hugging me, and who then started to kiss me.

  "I thought we had lost you!" She said.

  "Well, didn't Fel tell you where I was?"

  "Feliogustus only knew that you still existed, he had no idea where you were, or when you would be back, until you crossed over. Whatever that means."

  "Oh," I pulled her up and kissed her back happily.

  "I missed you, Will."

  "You have no idea how much I missed you, Nara," I purred and kissed her again.

  "Well, care to show me?" She asked and let her hands start to fondle me, one of which was definitely in a fairly private place.

  "Well ...."

  "It's been two years, Will. And I saw you first. Rachel will survive another few hours."

  "I haven't told anyone that you are back yet, William." Fel's voice said. "So don't feel guilty about making poor Nara here happy."

  I shook my head and smiled.

  "Let's go to your room, Nara," I purred. "The bed is definitely a lot softer than this altar."

  I spent the rest of the day and some of the next morning making Narasamman very happy. And surprisingly pregnant as well, which truth be told, was fine with me. She promised to bring our two daughters up to visit at the castle in a few days, after I got finished saying hello to Rachel and Laria.

  When I walked into the council room, Rachel literally launched herself from her chair, over the table and right at me. The council members were all rather happy and excited to see me. But when I laid Rachel down on the conference table and started removing her clothing with my claws, they all got a clue and quickly vacated the room.

  I'd never made love on a table before, and I have to admit that if we hadn't missed each other so much, I'd have taken her back to our rooms first. But she was making her desires rather clear, and I wasn't sure I could have made it that far myself.

  Eventually we christened her throne a few times after having christened the table twice. By then it was after midnight and we were able to stay our lusts long enough to make it back to our bedroom.

  The next day she allowed Laria to join us in bed and if I hadn't been so close to the main temple, the source of my powers from Fel, I probably would have gone into a coma. We didn't even start talking until the second day when we finally started to slow down.

  "I was very worried, my love," Rachel said to me.

  Laria nodded her head in agreement; we were all cuddling on the bed, Rachel, my wife, Laria my concubine, and me. All I needed was Darlene here and it would be perfect.

  "Why did it take you so long to come home?"

  "I died in the underworld, and the connections between there and here are few and tenuous. So it took my spirit a long time to find its way back here."

  "That sounds bad," Laria whispered.

  "Yes, it doesn't sound good, Love," Rachel agreed.

  I hugged them both, "It wasn't as bad as it may have sounded. Besides, it was worth it."

  "Why?" Rachel asked, curious.

  "If what their god said to me while he was punishing me was true, I killed thousands of them."

  Rachel laughed and hugged me close, kissing me, "That's my husband. Mess with his woman, his god, or his country, and he will destroy you."

  "I wasn't going to let it get away without paying it back for killing Goth," I sighed.

  Rachel nodded and sighed as well. "Nara came by and told me. She told me how Goth was caring for the injured and wounded. They were very proud of what she was doing, I'm glad you were able to avenge her."

  "So, what happened after I killed the monster?" I asked, yawning. The two of them had really worn me out.

  "You don't know?" Rachel asked, looking surprised.

  "Fel said he didn't want to spoil the surprise."

  Rachel laughed, "Well! Let's see," she thought a moment. "Holse was marching towards Bronsard, as you had ordered him, when some of the priests who had gone with you came across him on the way back. They told him that the temple had been destroyed and that the real reason he'd been ordered to march was as a diversion."

  "How'd he take that?" I asked.

  "Oh, he was just a bit upset, but I've since told him to get over it. You did what needed to be done and when he told me about your little threat I asked him why he had ever questioned your orders in the first place?

  "That made him stop and think for a couple of minutes."

  I nodded, "So what happened when he got back to Rivervail?"

  "Oh, he didn't go back there."

  "He didn't?" I said surprised.

  "Nope, he had picked up a couple of Mowak scouts at that point, so he took his troops through the mountains to Barassa. All of the northern armies had retreated from the area, because of the monster. So he took Barassa."

  "Holse took Barassa?" I said surprised.

  "Yup, and he tore down the temple, put all the surviving members of the royal family as well as most of the nobility to death, and made sure to fill in the rather large hole in the ground that the monster had originally came from. Feliogustus, Fordessa, Roden, Tonoponah, and Selentia all have built temples there."

  "Huh, everyone who helped," I said.

  "And Holse took Riverbend as well. Not that there was much left there to take at that point. He was welcomed like a liberating general when they marched in there. Everyone was worried about surviving the winter after all of the death and destruction that had been wrought."

  "Wow, so your Kingdom really has grown,"

  "And the Mowoks have allied themselves to us," Rachel added grinning.

  I blinked, "Sounds like a very busy two years."

  Rachel nodded, "Yes, it has been. Rebuilding Barassa and Riverbend is going to take years, same for Marland. But the northern countries are happy, I let them keep what they took from Barassa in the early stages of the war and have told them that once the port at Barassa has been rebuilt, I will only charge usage fees for the dock space that they use, that I won't tax their commerce.

  "Same for the docks at Riverbend."

  I nodded and looked over at Laria who had fallen asleep snuggled up to me.

  "So," I said after a couple of minutes thinking. "Do you want me to stop being a champion? To quit and stay home?"

  Rachel sighed and put her head on my chest.

  "You know, I thought about that, I thought about that long and hard, but the facts are, being a champion is who you are, Hon. It's part of what I love about you.

  "Also, just as my country needs me to be a queen, both my country and my god need you to be a champion. I hate to imagine what would have happened if you hadn't been there, Hon."

  "Oh, I don't know. Someone else probably would have picked up the slack," I said and yawned again.

  "No, they wouldn't have. I heard about what happened on that trip. I heard all the gory details. And then I heard what happened afterwards. Without you, it might not have been successful."

  "Where did you hear all that from?" I asked, "Jane was only there for half of it."

  Rachel gave a little laugh, "I had a very long talk with a very pretty friend of yours."

  I groaned, "Evean?"

  Rachel snickered, "Yes, Evean."

  "What was Evean doing up here talking to you?"

  "Something about wanting to know if I'd allow you a third wife," Rachel said with a mock growl. As her claws weren'
t ripping my hide off, I knew I'd dodged a bullet there somewhere.

  "With the way Evean looks, I'm surprised you're not telling me to quit and stay away from her."

  "She is beautiful, isn't she?" Rachel said.

  "Probably the most beautiful woman on the planet," I agreed.

  "But you love me more," Rachel purred and nuzzled my chest. "You don't care if I grow old; you don't care if I get ugly. She told me that, proved it actually."

  "How did she do that?" I asked curiously.

  "She told me about the first time you made love to her. In a well lit room. And she showed me what she looked like, how ugly she was."

  "And why did she show you all of that? Why did she tell you?" I asked curious.

  "Because she said when my time has come and I've left the mortal plane, that she wants a shot at you, and she can't very well do that if you're no longer a champion, and that I needed to stop being silly and worrying about my looks."

  I blinked, "She said that?"

  "Yeah, apparently Fel told her you were thinking of quitting to make me happy."

  "I don't know if I should be impressed or scared." I chuckled.

  "Scared?"

  "Evean is one seriously scary woman at times, Hon." I said and kissed the top of her head. "She's way too beautiful to not be distracting when she's around, and it has a tendency to make you forget that she's the smartest person in the room."

  "So, what are your plans now, Love?"

  "Well, Nara is bringing the kids over tomorrow I think, and I definitely want to spend time with our children, including Laria's of course."

  "You should give her another child. She would like that you know."

  I smiled at Rachel. "So would I.

  "Anyways," I continued, "I'd like to spend a few months just enjoying your company, maybe take a trip to Marland to check on how things are recovering, check on my children with Tareassa." I shrugged as I laid here. "Visit Darlene for the winter."

  "You really need to work on convincing her to move here," Rachel purred.

  "Don't be so sure of that," I laughed, "Because she would stand up to you. When it comes to me, she is not timid about getting my attentions.

  "But other than that, I have no desires to do much of anything for as long as I can get away with it. Hopefully you and Fel will both give me a bit of a vacation."

  "Well, things are nice and peaceful right now," Rachel purred and yawned. "I know it won't stay that way, it never does. But I think we'll get to enjoy it at least for a little while."

  I nodded and started to pet her head slowly, until she fell asleep, then nodded off as well.

  Twenty-four

  Saladin

  Eastport (formerly Barassa)

  I was sitting at an inn in what used to be Barassa. The rebuilding of the town had progressed rather well it seemed. Of course they hadn't rebuilt any of the city walls; in fact they'd torn down the remains of the wall and used the materials to repair all of the broken buildings, as well as to build the five new temples.

  "So, I hear you're looking for me?"

  I turned and smiled at Evean, who walked over and dropped down into my lap and purred. All of the males who had been watching her walk through the room immediately looked away at that point. Apparently I wasn't just the god slayer anymore; I was the monster slayer as well. My legend had grown even more.

  We kissed and she smiled at me.

  "So, you went and talked to my wife?" I asked looking at her.

  Evean smiled, "Well, your Feliogustus had dropped a hint or two, and I'm not slow on the uptake, unlike perhaps some other people and I thought I'd help calm her fears."

  "What about the 'I want him next part?" I mock growled at her.

  I was surprised when her facial fur poofed up in the local equivalent of a blush and she looked embarrassed.

  "Yeah, that kind of slipped out. Your wife it a lot smarter than I thought she'd be, I got caught out in the cross examination."

  "Uh-huh I said and leaning forward and to the side a little I started to lick along her neck, grooming the fur there. Among the felinoids of Saladin, that was a fairly intimate caress. Evean purred and leaned into me a little more.

  "Well, this is unexpected," She said rather happily.

  "So, tell me about what was going on with Loomis and you?"

  "I didn't think you were the jealous type, Will."

  "Actually I can be terribly jealous, but we're not at that stage yet and that's not what I'm asking about. And you know it."

  "I'm not sure what you mean by that," Evean sighed relaxing into me.

  "You know, Evean, prevaricating and lying are not the best thing to do to a male whose teeth are right up against your neck, especially if it's one you supposedly care about."

  "You wouldn't," She purred smugly.

  "I shouldn't have to," I grumbled, "and you know it. Now talk."

  "Spoilsport," She said and started to sit up.

  I pulled her back down against me, "This is where you learn to trust me," I told her and went back to my grooming.

  "Okay," she sighed and relaxed. "Though if you kill me I'm going to be seriously pissed at you."

  "Uh-huh. Quit stalling."

  "When we all got together and started out, everyone was worried about what you would do."

  "What?" I said surprised.

  "You have a huge reputation, you have stories, songs. Do you have any idea how famous you are, Will?"

  "Apparently not," I said.

  "No one wanted to help you build your reputation. Reputations like yours lead to problems for the other gods and champions, to troubles, and eventually competition. You've more than tripled your wife's kingdom since you got here, and even more than that for your god. So the gods were all worried and the champions were all worried."

  "You too?"

  "Yes, me too."

  "Jane?"

  "Like you and Fel, she and Fordessa were not included in that conversation."

  "Go on."

  "We couldn't leave you behind, because Fel had as big a stake in this as anyone, and to be honest, your reputation is rather well deserved and I said as much. So we needed you. Part of why I put you as second in command was so I could keep an eye on you.

  "Loomis was rather upset with that, by the way," she chuckled.

  "I guess that was my first strike with him."

  "Yeah, well when I started chasing after you like a bitch in heat, he really got upset with you, and even with me. I believe he thought he owned my attentions by then.

  "Anyway, the plan was for him, or me, or Shin, to be the one to use the device to kill the monster. This way one of us would get the credit, and your legend wouldn't grow all that much. You'd just be one of the 'also helped' people."

  "What about Gregory, Suzona, and Joseph?"

  "Well, if we couldn't do it, any of them would still be better than you, because they weren't even from around here. It still was better than building you up."

  "So, what went wrong?"

  "What went wrong was that Loomis and Quzelatin didn't just want to keep you from getting any of the credit, they also wanted to weaken and possibly even hurt Feliogustus as well as Fordessa. Quzelatin was fairly certain that the monster, being water-based, would go up the river and damage both Marland and Rivervail. Why he might get lucky and have it move further up the river closer to Hiland as well. Then he could move his people both across and up the river and spread his religions and influence.

  "When you spent that truly wonderful night making love to me ...."

  I was surprised when Evean actually shivered in my lap, "I started to think that you weren't the danger the others thought you were, because no one as self-centered as I had thought you were could ever have done that!" She purred a moment, and then sighed.

  "And well," She paused a moment before continuing, "The original plan was for you to have an accident after we got hold of the device. We'd all gate through to Fordessa's temple with Jane, and then one of u
s would take the device and do the deed."

  I gave her a light nip, causing her to jump a little. "You would have killed me?"

  "It's not like I don't owe you in that regard, Will!" She giggled.

  "But after that night, I started to reconsider that part of the plan. Then we lost Jane when the monster attacked Marland, and surprisingly Shin went with her as well.

  "And after that, you got kind of cold, sad. It was pretty obvious to me and most of the others that you were upset with what had happened, but Loomis only saw it as a chance to stir up mischief and advance his agenda.

  "His first goal was to remove the outsiders. He apparently spent some money bribing the local officials in the ultraman world into believing that Gregory, Joseph, and you were all terrorists of some kind. When we went out to eat that night, he called his contact when he went to the toilet. He didn't care that Teshes might be killed as well. He viewed her as worthless anyway."

  "So that was why he didn't have any money on him?"

  "Yup, he'd already spent most of it."

  "So, when did you discover this?"

  "He told me all about it when I was waiting for you to show up at the temple."

  I nodded and went back to grooming.

  "When we went to look for a place to stay later, he called the police again, and told them you were at the library. He was also the one that ratted us out about the portal that was surrounded by the police. He said he called them when we stopped to get gas while you were sleeping in the car. He thought I'd suggest you should deal with it, and I might have too, if Teshes hadn't volunteered."

  "Why not Suzona?"

  "She was our last high-tech worlder. I was afraid of losing her, in case we needed her, which it turned out we did. Plus," Evean shrugged, "Loomis grew up in a rather provincial area. Women aren't a threat to him. They're a resource. To be used. Often."

  I purred, "Well at least he had one good idea."

  I started then as Evean nipped my ear. "Behave.

  "I started to get suspicious after that, your growing dislike of Loomis did cause me to take a step back and re-evaluate. But Roden did not want a war with Quzelatin, and kicking Loomis off the team would have led to one. Quzelatin had made that clear, more than once. That was why when I warned you that last time about behaving, I made sure that Loomis was there, it was a warning to him as well. Sadly, it just went right over his head."