The Heartstone Saga by Archibald Bradford (short novels in english .TXT) 📕

Olena nodded, her curiosity satisfied.

“A curse of misfortune, brought about by one’s own actions.”

“Guess that explains how he ended up buying an arena-fighting Minotaur that refused to fight in the arena. Didn’t you break both of his legs?” Erica asked a suddenly blushing Milly.

“Do you know where it came from though?” Nameless fretted; “Maybe I should give it back to whoever made it?”

Olena gave him a long look.

“We Witches are few in number, but we don’t all know one another.” He turned pink at her admonishing words as she continued; “It serves the Aegis now. That would be enough for whoever charmed it... probably.”

“Then why even bring it up?” Nina asked in exasperation.

She nearly folded in on herself though when Olena’s eyes found her and held her in place again.

The Witch smiled slowly, unnervingly, before reaching down and delicately pinching one of Nina’s ears and slowly rolling the tiny lobe between the pads of two fingers.

“You are... so very small. I could tuck you into my pocket, and no one would know.”

Abruptly she turned and walked away.

“What a bitch! She doesn’t even have pockets!” Erica protested in a strained whisper.

She was pretty sure the departing monster wouldn’t hear her, but didn’t want to take any chances.

Nina shuddered as the others looked to her with concern.

“Babe, are you alright?” Nameless asked worriedly.

She rolled her shoulders and oddly wiggled from side to side, trying to shake free from the unnerving feelings that the Witch Olena had so easily instilled in her.

When she couldn’t, she had to be honest to her man.

“That woman scares the hell out of me.” She admitted in a tiny voice, shamefaced.

Volka set her hand on Nina’s head, gently massaging her scalp as she watched the Witch head down the stairs.

“With good reason. The curses I have seen unfold on the battlefield were terrible to behold. And her people are as willful as yours.”

“But… she is going to help right?” Milly asked worriedly, not at all liking the effect that Olena had on her bond-sister.

The Gigas was supposed to be the scary one.

“We can only hope.” Volka pronounced as she shifted her hands to massage at Nina’s shoulders; “Suffice to say she will act however she deems necessary, and there is not one thing I could say that would sway her otherwise. In truth, we might never see her again.”

Chapter 44:Ham amidst Crisis

The changes that came over the city in the following days were drastic.

Though it was still being used to house monster girls, the auction house was closed indefinitely. There was simply no feasible way of keeping it open in the wake of the attack.

And no longer were any of the higher ups in the Aegis trying to keep Nameless busy in another office somewhere; there were too many things that needed doing to worry about him, especially when it came to dealing with the injured and dead.

Although Nina, Milly, and Erica refused to leave his side, he worked mostly with Ophelia, her medical training on hold as the two of them helped deal with the physical and emotional fallout from the attack.

The humble young orphan never thought of himself as wise, but when it came to destructive emotions like survivor’s guilt, he was a pro, even when it came to humans.

Helping to ease the burden on the city was the arrival of the Longinus family, because no one understood logistics like an Antlion Queen. Just as Miranda had told Erica, their colonies were the largest of any of the insect breeds in terms of numbers, making even Oldeera’s hive seem tiny by comparison.

At Queen Julia’s suggestion, food was being collected and strictly rationed by the lawkeepers, while a tent-town sprang up in Divinity Square where the legions of Antlions had bivouacked alongside the temporary medical shelters.

All in all, the city was in a state of grim readiness, a mindset that stood at odds with the pleasant summer weather.

Playing guard duty outside of the medical tent where Nameless was helping Ophelia, Erica turned Milly’s braid over and over in her fingers to determine if it was salvageable.

Finally she shook her head.

“It’s no use lover. Evadne wrecked it.”

“I was afraid of that.” Milly sighed as she took the broken braid back; “Well then, I’ll just have to make another one from scratch!”

Erica snuggled up against her and began to purr, glad of the cow’s resilience.

“She’s wrecked a lot.” She remarked, casually twirling one of Kar’s knives around her knuckles.

She would never forget the look on Nameless and Milly’s face when they found each other again after they had faced the Chimera.

They’d all been through so much…

The purring stopped.

Milly lowed quietly and shook her head.

“Yeah, but we’re stronger now. Stronger than she is. And stronger than we were.”

Briefly the two reminisced about their shared history, about Brant, their asshole of an owner that brought them together only to tear them apart, and Erica’s time as a Tenebrae that resulted from it.

“We’re stronger now.” Milly repeated firmly, turning and hugging the Katje.

She didn’t let go until Erica was purring again, and when she did she pressed the broken braid back into the Katje’s hands.

“Here. Until I get a chance to redo it, why don’t you hold onto it? I’m sure Master won’t mind.”

Holding her bond-sister’s heartstone tight, Erica’s mood improved further and she kissed her on her adorably dimpled chin, then on her lips several times.

“You know, there is one good thing about this…” She began suggestively.

“What?” Milly’s eyes widened with innocent curiosity, while the Katje’s hooded with desire.

“I can find out what having your heart inside of me feels like.”

The Minotaur blushed, but retuned her smile.

“I’d really like that.” She