Stronger Together chapter 67 (Patreon)

Morgan was easy enough to settle down with Kara around, gleefully engaging in the Kryptonians introductions to Barb and Lily and Harry. The big wizard took the change of teams surprisingly well, but then I knew that Harry had a weakness for women in trouble, and it had become clear that Morgan had been treated very badly. His eyes were soft as he looked at the tiny vampire and he smiled a bit at her enthusiasm for meeting him. Kara for her part glowed with pride at being able to save the girl, and though I wasn’t sure how long it would last I was proud of her too.

Everyone was distracted by the new addition to our group, which gave me plenty of space to slip up next to Raven, who staring at Cinder. Her jaw was tight and I reached out to take her hand. “This is the end of it, one way or the other. She’s strong, but I believe you can beat her. Once you do this ends. She’d been causing so much trouble around here but once that’s done hopefully things will calm down for a while.” She turned to me silently, raising an incredulous eyebrow. I shrugged. “A man’s gotta have dreams.”

Her lips quirked up in a smile as she finally broke her silence “I suppose that’s true.” Her darklight power seeped out around us, creating a barrier without the big obvious cone of silence so we wouldn’t be overheard. “Don’t think I couldn’t feel your will to dominate her, I know you’re hiding things, though I also know there’s much you aren’t aware of either.” She looked at me intensely leaning in to give me a soft kiss. “I trust you, so I won’t question it. But I hope you’ll tell me. For now” She turned back to regard the amber eyed woman. “I’ll bring this slut to her knees for you.”

I’m not ashamed to admit I found Raven so hot right then I’d have fucked her in front of everyone if we didn’t have MUCH bigger problems right now. As it was I made a mental note to have her save that costume to play with later. I saw her bite her lip as the flash of lust went through me and I swear she put a little extra swing in her hips as she headed out to the circle to fight Cinder. God I loved that girl.

Cinder’s amber eyes, which had been closed, marshaling her focus before the fight I would assume, snapped open as Raven stepped into the circle of ground. The plants from before had dissolved without magic to sustain them, and the resulting ectoplasm had washed away Lily’s blood, which I suspected had been intentional. The whole circle was about twenty feet across at this point and after all the magic and force and earth manipulation it was pretty much just gravel and dirt.

I briefly wondered if Lara would plant a garden in here or something, but my focus was quickly stolen back as the final battle commenced. Raven stared at Cinder, and didn’t bother equivocating or hiding things from the crowd. “You’re going to lose, and you’re going to belong to him.” The idea of conquest wouldn’t hurt my reputation at all so I didn’t mind her spelling it out like that. “Why even bother fighting? I can feel your emotions from here; I know you crave it, even as much as you chafe at the idea. Why not submit.” Her voice became breathy “It feels wonderful.”

Cinder’s eyes smouldered, though whether with fury or something else I couldn’t tell. Raven’s words had gotten to her a bit, but I knew it wouldn’t be that easy. This thing between us was driving her to fight. She couldn’t submit, couldn’t go gently into that good night. I had to take her, that was the only way it counted, and she had to make me. But this game was drawing to a close, one way or another. I was just hoping not to find out what this bond would do to me if I lost.

Cinder didn’t speak back, just snarled in rage and ignited her aura. Her right eye blazed up with fire as her maiden power came out to play as well. The room was stunned at the power on display, even Lily’s summer fire hadn’t been a match for Aura and maiden combined. Of course the Summer Lady hadn’t fully manifested the Summer mantle here, but still, faerie queen level power was nothing to scoff at, even if it was the weakest of the queens.

Raven didn’t flinch though. For the first time since we got here she manifested her soul self in full, the great blacklight shadow of a raven arching up and swallowing her, falling away to reveal her in the hooded cloak she made so famous. I’d never seen it before. I expected the costume to vanish, but she just left it there, admittedly it was the same basic design as her other one just red, the only change was the belt of gemstones she always wore.

Again, her power radiated off her in a wave, and everyone’s eyes widened at the fact that two new players on the level of even the weakest of the fae queens had seemingly come out of nowhere. We all waited on baited breath for the fight to begin, knowing deep down this would be the most intense yet. I knew why better than anyone. Cinder wasn’t fighting for a petty victory, she was fighting for her soul. She wouldn’t go down easily.

With no warning or indication the match had started Cinder brought her semblance to bear, constructing a dozen of those molten weapons from the fragments at her feet, hurling twelve spears of burning glass scything out in Raven’s direction. The manipulation of her semblance was so skillful I didn’t even have time to track the pieces of gravel and dirt before she shaped them, and I had to dip back into my aspect to track their movements.

Raven had no such trouble, her soul self unfurled in front of her, swallowing up the spears as it rose behind Cinder releasing the attack right at her own back. Cinder barely noticed, casually flicking her fingers, perfectly deploying another twelve spears of glass up from the ground to intercept the redirected attack. A second flick of her wrist sent a vortex of gravel spinning around her like leaves in fall and she hurled her hand out igniting flames among the debris ash sent a wave of molten rock and flame at Raven, spread out so as to avoid being completely blocked.

Raven muttered a few words and the candles that had been relit after the first match was decided dimmed. Shadows in the room lengthened and the toll of a great hellish bell cracked the air as the temperature plummeted. When Raven’s soul self rose this time it was a titanic monster, its darklight beak hooked and cruel and it devoured the attack. The heat it consumed forced the temperature even lower, and frost began to climb the walls and tile.

Raven didn’t wait for Cinder to take the offensive again, she spat another word and the frost on the floor leapt up into great scything blades of wicked looking black ice. The cruelly jagged weapons looked like a pair of giant headsmens axes and plummeted in at Cinder from either side, seeking to bisect the other woman at the waist and chest. Everyone was enraptured, even Lily was stunned into silence at the magical forces being brought to bear here.

Cinder stomped one stiletto heel and the ground cracked, lines of molten red light playing out preceding a circle of molten rock erupting around her in a column of magma. Or lava since it was outside the ground? I could never remember. Either way the weapons were slagged when the slashed through it, and through the dispersing clouds of steam and raining molten stone which actually hit several vampires standing too close, I saw Cinder floating off the ground above where the second blade would have struck.

The candles flared back to life, driving off the chill and the tolling bell fell silent. Cinder was panting now as she glared at Raven. “Ok. I’ll give you that one. That was impressive. But don’t assume I’m finished. You aren’t the only one who can play with giant weapons.” She reached out a hand to her side and all the falling magma flowed back up into the air, condensing into a massive molten sword the length of a fucking car and about half as thick. She didn’t bother gripping the hilt, she just used her power to swing the maiden crafted weapon in a downward smash at Raven’s head.

Raven spoke a dozen words simultaneously in a way I suspected wasn’t actually possible, her voice echoing and rattling around in my head as sharp pain manifested behind my eyes. Several of the onlookers cried out in pain at the unnatural sound as the shadows in the room flowed into its center and up Raven’s body into an intricately crafted masterwork set of pitch black plate armor. Her arms remained exposed as did her thighs, but she wore greaves and gauntlets that went to her knees and elbows as well as a black plate skirt.

She reached up with her shadow clad hands and caught the sword, rendering it completely motionless with pure brute fore. Then, still glaring at Cinder she grunted and the molten light in the lava sword started to change. The normal glow of heat shifted in hue slowly down the length of the blade, starting at her hands and rippling down the length of the giant sword. As the light changed, so did the sword, warping into a twisted evil looking thing, black stone cruelly hooked and barbed in a way obviously meant to cause suffering.

By the time the changes reached the other end the sword was gone, Raven was holding a massive demonic looking halberd between her hands, flickering with unholy green light between the cracks in jagged obsidian. She brought it down on Cinder with a heave of effort, putting all the massive strength she’d used to catch the thing into the attack as the tried to cleave the other woman in two. Raven wasn’t fucking around, Cinder would lose or Cinder would die, there was no third option.

Cinder didn’t bring any crazy maiden power to bear to stop the attack this time. She got the fuck out of the way. Using the wind that was holding her aloft, she dodged to the side, then arced back to land on the back of the halberd as it smashed into the ground, planning to use her weight to pin it and run down it’s length to catch Raven unaware. That turned out to be her undoing.

Tiny skeletal hands reached out from the glowing green cracks, dozens of them gripping Cinder and dragging her down to the shaft of the halberd, the thing melted as the pulled reforming as the hands dragged her into an obsidian birdcage. Cinder hung suspended spread eagled in the air at its center, her arms and legs immobilized by lengths of linked bone with skeletal hands at the end clutching her wrists.

Raven strolled up to the bars and looked the other woman in her amber eyes, her maiden power already fading under the suppression of unholy green symbols worked into the bars. “You lose. You’re his now.” And as soon as she said it, it was true. Cinder’s loss changed the bond, everything shifted and clocked into place and then sort of vanished. I couldn’t feel her anymore, like she was too much a part of me I didn’t need to be aware of her, but I knew I could trust her. She was mine. And unlike the cage, she would never be free of that. She wouldn’t even want to.