The Blackmoon Sorority

DATE: IMMORTAL REIGN 1023 MONTH 3 DAY 1

Against his better judgment, Ruxian passed the night on Susie’s lap. With Dramien whipping their horses through the night, he would not have a wink of sleep. When morning came, green pastures had replaced the familiar golden acres of Sothrend. As much as Ruxian wanted to admire the startled hares and shrieking hawks, the rocky ride revived the nausea he suffered during a middle school bus ride. It seemed not even interdimensional travel could disconnect him from past embarrassment.

Upon the first sight of a running river, the perceptive Dramien halted the carriage. Ruxian made a mad sprint, doubling over, emptying his stomach into the stream. Left with a sour taste in his mouth, Ruxian turned to find Susie standing in waiting.

“I’m alright,” Ruxian whimpered. “Just…give me a bit.”

“We must move, Lord Ruxian,” said Susie, taking his hand. “Captain Gilverman believes something has been following us. Something dangerous.”

“You mean…what was it, a Dracon?” asked Ruxian.

Ruxian felt Susie shaking and tightening her grip.

“Yes,” the tepid water almost drowned out her already soft voice.

Dragged Ruxian back onto the wagon, a smiling Susie offered her lap once again. This time, Ruxian gratefully accepted. Tightening the lab coat around himself, he closed his eyes. While sleep eluded him, the soft and warm pillow eased his motion sickness.

“So…Dracons,” mumbled Ruxian. “What are they?”

Susie shuddered and clasped her hands together in prayer. “Barbaric demons who reject the Goddess. I pray you never see one.”

“But I’m the esteemed hero,” Ruxian pressed. “Dramien, you fought them before?”

“Good warriors,” the large warrior replied. “They bleed red just like us.”

For just an instant, Ruxian thought he saw Susie’s face twitching with disapproval. Curious, he narrowed his eyes in Dramien’s direction, hoping to peek into his thoughts. Silence. Without cat videos to pass his time, Ruxian tried again.

Here it goes...

Ruxian shot up like a startled rabbit when a crisp clink separated their cart from Dramien. As the careening wagon threatened to dislodge its passengers, a pair of scarlet horns poked over the side of the cart. Before Ruxian could raise his voice, a young woman vaulted towards the hypnotist, wrapped her arms around his waist, and dove backwards.

With surprising speed and swiftness, Susie latched onto Ruxian’s collar and thrusted a palm at the intruder, sending the horned girl tumbling onto the muddy road. Dramien, wheeling the horse around, raced back with his sword raised high.

The horned attacker revealed a pair of ebony daggers linked together with a glittering chain. Pointing one blade at the incoming horseman, she drew screeching rings over her head with its partner.

Eyes locked on the demonic assailant, Dramien dismounted and pushed his horse towards Susie. Taking a deep breath, the Targonian warrior advanced like a man crossing a f, his boots barely making a sound they crushed the tall grass.

“I don’t kill women or children,” Dramien shouted. “You are both.”

Baring her jagged teeth, her horns pulsed an ominous black. “No horn, no honour.”

“A true sister of the Blackmoon Sorority snatches victory from the shadows,” said Dramien as he stalked the retreating foe. “Last warning.”

The arcing blade above her head whirled into a screeching crescendo. “Naya Blackmoon, the name of the warrior that killed you!”

Flipping with acrobatic agility, Naya dragged the chained blade down in an earth-rending strike. Shaking his head at the obviously errant attack, Dramien jammed his scabbard through a ring, pinning the overextended weapon to the ground with a decisive thump. Before Naya could free the clattering shackles, Dramien was upon her, driving his hilt at her wrist. With a yelp, Naya dropped her second dagger. Having fully disarmed her, Dramien lifted her chin with his sword.

“Kill me!” Naya snarled, still leering at him despite the steel tickling her jawline.

“You’d have to be better than that to be worth killing,” guffawed Dramien. “Can’t we just spank you instead?”

Naya tossed herself back and clapped her hands. Vanishing into thin air, she materialised again behind Dramien. Kicking away the scabbard tangling her weapons with a loud clang, Naya slid a finger across her throat before coiling the chains around her arms, dragging her daggers noisily over the earth as she fled. Sighing, Dramien’s eyes lingered on the horned girl as she disappeared into the distance, wondering when she would realise her weapons had carved gauges no hunters could miss.

Trotting back to his passengers, Dramien found a trembling Susie with her arms locked around Ruxian’s torso. The pale hypnotist, wheezing, shot him a plaintive look and mouthed a silent cry for help. Chuckling, Dramien pried away her arms before she could break a rib.

“That has to be the most vigorous exorcism I’ve ever seen,” joked Dramien. “Are you unhurt, Lord Ruxian?”

Still rubbing his gut, Ruxian managed a hoarse cackle. “I’m fine. You sure made that look easy, captain,” he praised. “The actors in gongfu movies have nothing on you.”

“Gongfu movies?” Dramien inquired.

Ruxian clapped his forehead. “Action plays?”

Dramien scratched his head. “Your praise shames me. I merely manhandled a little girl. A real garash master –”

“This is serious, captain,” Susie interrupted, her arms akimbo. “Why did you spare the Dracon?”

Dramien ran a thumb over the cut that split the shaft. “Damn that girl. This is going to need a wainwright.”

“Captain Gilverman,” pressed Susie. “Explain yourself.”

Dramien straightened and fixed her a steely stare. “I gave her the Goddess’s mercy.”

“This will not do!” screeched Susie, her hands squeezing the cart so hard that the wood squealed for mercy. “Dracons rejected the Goddess and –”

“They may have,” interjected Dramien with a morose smile. “I have not.” Grunting, Dramien bent down and hoisted up the wagon. “Now, please take the horse with Lord Ruxian.”

Still sulking, Susie lifted Ruxian onto the horse like a sack of potatoes and climbed on behind him. Wrapping a gentle arm around him, she gathered the reins with her other hand, coaxing the mount into a canter. Never too far behind, Dramien had the wagon trundling along at a brisk pace.

“Am I going too fast?” asked Susie. “It seems you’ve never ridden before.”

“Well, bikes don’t have a mind of their own,” Ruxian chuckled, trying not to look down. “And falling off only scrapes the knee.”

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. In hindsight, Ruxian and outdoor activities had about as much synergy as his goldfish had with the hairdryer he accidentally dropped into its bowl. Yet here he was, wind in his hair, horse riding with a beautiful woman like an oil baron. It was almost enough to make him forget he just survived an ambush from a demonic assassin.

“You know, Susie,” said Ruxian, turning his head. “I think I’m beginning to like it here.”

The offhanded remark blew away the residual resentment that clouded Susie’s face. Surprise fermenting into comprehension, the girl broke into a massive grin. Briefly Ruxian wondered what made this Susie seem so different this time. Then it clicked. For the first time since he met her, Susie genuinely smiled.