“I declare my desire to claim you and you alone in so many ways, and you demand I replace you with another female?Is this some kind of test?”
“Oh my God.”This was hopeless.Why had I thought I could reason with a being from another world?
“Test or not,” he carried on, taking my hand in his, “I assure you I will be devoted to you and only you while we are together.And our togetherness will continue for more than one night, do not doubt that.I have never claimed a female smelling so compatible.Therefore,” he smiled with one fang showing, “I do not have to forget about getting in your pants.”
I opened my mouth then closed it.What more could I say?
Visibly pleased with my silence, Xaniban hand-led me toward the defensive wall.It looked more blueish than pink, now that the sun was closer to setting.If there were guards on the watchtowers, I couldn’t see them.Just like I was yet to see a gate.
“I must beg your forgiveness in advance,” Xaniban told me as we walked.“I will not be able to join you in bed right away.Pressing matters require my attention first.”
It hit me then that his haste after we landed might not have been bedroom-related.“What matters are those?”
“I am Xaniban to you, but to my brethren I am the king of this homecloud.I must check how many of my warriors have survived today’s battle and plan our next move.”
Oh!“Those were your soldiers, back in the office building!I saw them fight on one of the floors.They were greatly outnumbered because of the vampires working jointly with the zombies.”
His wings fluttered.“Yes.The alliance between flesh eaters and blood suckers was not something I had anticipated.”Xaniban sounded grim.Gone was the playful tone: this was the king talking about a military defeat, not the gargoyle talking aboutclaimingme.
A nice change, if you asked me.
“Why were your soldiers so spread out inside the building?”I couldn’t help but ask.“Why were you all alone on the top floor?”
“Gargoyles rarely fight as a close-knit unit the way your kind do,” he explained, seemingly not bothered by my curiosity.“We are strong enough to deal with a small number of enemies individually.In this case, individual battles were very risky, but we had no choice.”
“But why go to that abandoned building in the first place?”
“To kill their king, of course.”To my shocked look, he elaborated.“It took us some time to determine where the very first flesh eaters of his new army had been created.I thought I might find him still there, operating from the place he had chosen to start this war from.”Xaniban’s wings fluttered again.“I found a fortress but one of many, not his prime stronghold.I was foolish, and he was cunning.I led my warriors into a trap.”
I gave his hand a squeeze.“You couldn’t have known.”
He hummed and squeezed my hand back.“I need to plan my next move more carefully.Hopefully, some of my warriors have found clues I could use to locate my foe.That was why we split up: to go through the entire building quickly before the king could escape or his minions could destroy valuable evidence of his whereabouts.”
“I see.”It was nice of Xaniban to tell me all this, but it raised so many questions.
How could zombies have a king?They didn’t have higher brain functions, I was sure of it.And they were allies with the vamps, who I knew as no smarter than a wild cat?How did they form an alliance when they were incapable of speech?I needed time to process this shocking information.
Only, I didn’t have time, because we reached the wall.And Xaniban pulled me inside it.
– 7 –
Harem
Isqueezed my eyes shut.If my face was about to go pancake on the wall, I didn’t want to see it.
No pain followed.I felt coolness against my exposed skin, the air became thicker like in a dense fog, and my ears popped as if there were a change in air pressure.But those sensations were gone so fast I might as well have imagined them.I cracked an eye open.
I was in a courtyard full of gargoyles.Armed with shields and swords, they were an impenetrable wall between us and what looked like a medieval castle.
My survival instincts went into overdrive.If these creatures wanted me dead, I was a goner.My knife was but a chopstick against their long blades, and fleeing was not an option.Hence I hid behind my gargoyle’s back.
Silence fell.
I sneaked a peek from behind a folded wing.Every single gargoyle was down on one knee, head bowed, sword planted in the pinkish ground.
“Rise, my loyal brethren!”Xaniban’s voice carried over the courtyard.He had his hand and tail raised in greeting or command; I could only guess.
As everyone got up and put their swords away, I went back to hiding.I was hoping to remain out of sight until I could orient myself in the situation.
