02 Wrath of Flames Page 16

  Three days after making the mold and letting the metal absorb carbon and daily mixing so the blending was perfect, Ethan singlehandedly poured a twenty pound cup of molten metal in the mold after securely binding the two halves of it.

  Using the two holes, he poured the bright white metal like water down each funnel until each drop had found its way inside. Using the extra sensory of an Elemental he sensed a single air bubble inside and used a mallet to gently tap the mold and work the bubble out before it cooled. He went to work on another project afterwards.

  Until the next night, when the mold had set, he separated the halves and sitting inside were twin off-golden gauntlets. Sadly they were just expensive paperweights then. He pried the pieces out and used a razor thin burst of heat to cut off the excess metal, making two thin rods from the channels that filled. The rods had a purpose, but would need to wait so he grabbed a small box and sat them inside so they didn’t get lost.

  Being a Fire Elemental was perfect for this line of work because he could cut with heat. Using that method, he cut off each half finger sleeve as well as the wrist area before scoring a single line down the inner forearm. After the quick work he ended up with five tubes for fingers, a top and bottom plate for the hand and a single piece for the forearm and four knuckle spikes, all laid out and separated for just one gauntlet. For the five finger pieces he cut them down one side.

  From that day he folded each individual piece two hundred times. It was meticulous and time consuming, losing its earlier texture, but gaining incredible strength. The smaller pieces were easy to work and toss in to be repeatedly quenched and tempered.

  After thirty two days all pieces were remade almost as they were. The spikes were welded seamlessly in the top of the hand area, perfect for knuckle punching trauma.

  But all the pieces had tiny holes. It came the day when he retrieve the excess stems and did the two hundred folds before stretching them out into thread and sewed every seam together till it all reassembled into a pair of bland badass gauntlets with a great range of motion.

  By the next night he brought down his own finished gauntlets brimming with every bell and whistle Kanade could shove into them. As a reference, Ethan sat down and used a fine angled tool as well as precision heat to dimple the smooth gauntlets and reapply the dragon scale texture with near identical matching. Good thing the scales were all diamond shape and easily imprinted. The work allowed him to sit and focus on the tiny details. Ethan really wanted to impress Celestia’s client, who might likely become a regular customer if shocked the level of work that went into these protective items. It took three entire days just to complete one completed piece.

  And then at last came the final touch when he picked up his maker’s mark and hammered in his finished approval. They turned out to be wicked cool, but before he could show his master he realized she already turned in and that he had worked throughout the whole night again as someone special sat across from him at the large worktable smiling. “Glad to finally be noticed, My Angel.”

  “What time is it?” his neck popped from being hunched.

  Kanade looked at a new wristwatch. “Almost six thirty. I missed you in bed again.”

  “Sorry, Beautiful. I was just so focused on ending this project I guess I didn’t notice how tired I am.”

  “I’m not mad.” She said. “But I did get cold. Panther is good for my feet, but that silly cat’s whiskers tickle. I swear he does it just to make me laugh.”

  “Are you still cold?” she shook her head and thumbed the closed forge behind her. “I’m so sorry.”

  “He he, I’m fine, Darlin’. They look done. Are they?”

  “Yeah. I was going to show Celestia, but she probably sleeping.”

  “Try definitively. May I see them?” Had her hands out expectantly. He passed them over and she took a real close look. “Wow! I can’t even find one tool mark. If it didn’t feel metal, I’d swear it was painted leather. Darlin’, you’ve outdone yourself! Celestia will bite her tongue off once she sees this work of art.” Her slender hands went right inside and a gentle pull on a hidden ring placed in the forearm pulled it all together into a snug fit. “Once size fits all big and tall.” She giggled. “I wonder what Celestia’s friends wants me to enchant these with. If he asks for a simple protection I’ll add a few personal touches. Best to wrap these up and really surprise her, Ethan. Give me a call. I want to see her face when you reveal the beauties.” She slid them off.

  “No problem. We’ll do it when we get home tonight. Good thing this is day seven and Blake and Magnus will not team up on me. I could do with a few hours sleep after breakfast.”

  “Maybe after you do me silly. I like chopping your mornin’ wood and have missed eleven chances since you started with these.” Her small nose winkled so adorably he couldn’t help his heart doing a flip flop.

  “You’ve counted?” he asked, mildly dumbfounded.

  “Damn right I do. If I don’t get my mornin’ fix I’m not as happy as a hound on a fox hunt. More like one begin’ for table scraps.”

  Morning wood rose to salute the occasion at her hungry and pitiful glare. “Better make that eleven a ten.”

  Her serious expression transformed into a sultry one. “Thought that would get me what I want. Lets shower and have that quickie!” She giggled as she rushed upstairs and got the water running while he shut the bedroom door and sat the completed items on his desk to make ash out of his clothes again when he found her already getting wet with a finger curling at him, beckoning his talents to send her soaring.

  “Ten!” and then she chomped down as he did.

  “Got my daily dose of lovin’.” She swooned while unwrapping her legs from around his waist as her powerful inner muscles relaxed enough to disengage their union. Kanade gave a quick lick at his neck to swipe the evidence of blood, making him rumble. Then she sucked her bloody fingers clean as if it was chocolate treat. Already he stopped bleeding after a few minutes. “Ethan, you know your abilities make me love you so much. Even with magic I need to preen my feathers, but a few seconds with you and they are ready and rearin’ to go. You dry my hard to reach places. You save me hours of preenin’ and pluckin’ old feathers.”

  “By the way, Angel, may I ask for a few of your softer inner feathers? I’m learning how to weaponize lifeless objects. The quills are perfect for piercing. Kira showed me how she can take a blade of grass and shoot it clean through trees more than four feet thick.”

  Kanade brought her wing around and looked for a few that would fall off soon anyway and selected three of her down feathers and an inner flight feather from the other wing. He brightened up as she happily gave part of herself and enjoyed the way he brushed them across his lips out of habit and hid the shiny blue feathers in the space on his forearm after sliding on his Dragon gauntlets. “If I wasn’t so hungry we’d spend all day naked in here.”

  “And if I wasn’t tired I’d make sure you couldn’t walk straight.” He fired back while sliding on a new sleeved shirt and a leather jacket Kanade spelled. It was a handsome black with silver protective runes that grew as he did. Black leather pants matched. It was his new battle gear able to be worn year round and casual enough to go anywhere and fit near any occasion. Kanade chose the black leather as it made him seem more mysterious and mouthwatering. He had the bad boy look and huge physique to make her lady parts oh so pleased while his kind and open expression made all other parts in love with him quite content. The gauntlets peeking out from the sleeves gave just enough contrast to not make him seem overbearingly dangerous. And when he put it all on he liked how she always feasted with her eyes.

  Kanade dressed quickly, now able to afford all silk clothing. Her underwear was always made of silk, her indulgence. But now that they both made so much money she could afford to pay Dress to custom make her real choice of clothes. But she wore no less than two layers of pants and three tops to defend against wither’s chill. Instead of wearing heels, those she loved, she opted for
heavily insulated boots to keep her feet somewhat warm.

  “We have ten minutes, Darlin.”

  “Done on my end. I’m out the door.”

  “Keep me warm.” She asked.

  “For what other reason is your Fire Elemental soul mate good for?”

  “Mind blowing orgasms.”

  His deep laugh had her feeling more loved than the hot and heavy release in the shower. “You know, ever since we started getting comfortable about our sex lives, I’ve noticed our friends not teasing so much.”

  “Same here, but it is getting annoyin’ when Nell keeps trying to cop a feel. She likes to sneak up and grope me from behind if I sit down first.”

  “Be thankful she isn’t a Pixie or she’ll be worse than Blossom who likes to still dive in your cleavage. Nell would get in your pants.”

  “Ain’t that the truth. But a Nymph is a Nymph. At least she is better than most others. Her sister is incorrigible. Once she was teasing me and pinched my clit when we went swimming last week. My scandalous bathin’ suit wasn’t enough defense against those quick hands. It hurt.”

  “So that’s why you stared daggers at her and wouldn’t tell me what was wrong.”

  “We both know you would have done something stupid and set her hair afire or something. I told her if she did it again I’ll report her to Edda personally.”

  “Wish I thought of that. After saving Vina from the Elf she grabbed my shlong in front of everyone and asked if I’d take her right then and there.”

  “Pissed me off too. Thankfully Floa told me you handled it like a perfect gentleman and later that night you discovered me.”

  The door opened to blackness. This time of year the sun doesn’t rise till about eight thirty in the morning and sets around quarter till four in the afternoon. It wasn’t an easy adjustment, but for Celestia it was the time of year she got most of her work completed. Darker days is best for a Forgemaster. The metal is seen much more clearly. It still screws up an internal clock. The worst parts are Demon attacks happen longer and are much more serious. The northern houses especially are assaulted during the extended nights. The true benefit and deterrent are Gargoyles who thrive like bats and tear into the enemy using ultrasonic screeches and heightened hearing. Most lesser Demons are blocked by the house’s invisible barrier, and the one that is hiding them via an illusion to make the landscape seemed untouched by any hands. Only the strong Demons come, those likely having a death wish or are bound and under orders. But everyone, including Ethan too, that the probes to the First House are harmless compared to the widely known fact that Odin’s slumber will last seven days, the Odin Sleep. It would be a grueling week in which Demons will attack in waves. From midnight on New Year’s till January eighth, the All Father was vulnerable, the only yearly window of opportunity he could be killed. The rest of the year he was invincible and never sleeps. It was like clockwork and all Odin fearing Demons knew this was the only chance to kill the one eyed Viking. But since two thousand years had passed and no Demons had gotten anywhere near the main castle before, it was a useless assault. Nevertheless, all known precautions were taken to ensure the leader of the First House survive his slumber.

  Light flurries turned to warm mist as Ethan turned up the surrounding temperature right to Kanade’s liking. She spread her wings out wide in a much needed stretch, doing her arms too before her man held on and she took to the air, not feeling any sort of chill while his face was a bit redder, a sure sign he was using his power as an elemental. Instead of landing and walking through the Ogre hall, she flew because the quickie she had to have ate up more time than she planned on.

  “Mornin’, y’all.” She voiced and sat.

  “Top of the morning to you both.” Kira said and had an unexpected visitor beside her.

  “Hi, Minna. If this isn’t a special surprise.” Ethan said to Minna Penbrook, Kira’s younger sister. A class One C witch as of three weeks ago when she finally made her finger faintly glow and wrote her very first rune.

  “Mum and Da are away for their anniversary. Kira is watching me.” The auburn haired child said lovingly while eating a fresh bowl of fruit.

  “Well it has been a long time since we saw you. Kira’s been telling us you finally made your first spell.”

  Minna eagerly started telling the adults across the table all about how happy she and her parents are. As a Demonstration she made a sparkle of light with her small finger doing a circle.

  Afterwards Ethan turned his attention to the reptilian couple. “Good to see you home, Reevy. How was the mission?” she knew he meant against Sheedan. The assault devised by King Grayback was a complete disaster. Three hundred S Class teams and eighty A’s were beaten in a failed ambush Sheedan lured everyone to. The Agas Demon was ready for their arrival, but until that horrible day no one knew she was a Demon who is so powerful that once unbound, being in her presence was a death sentence. Ethan watched the mission after it was released as Sheedan looked like a dragon one moment and then a scantily clad woman of Native American stock. She took off some kind of necklace and then the attacking force dropped like flies. She personally killed twenty two warriors and took their souls before Odin and Pegasus tried skewering her. Then she snapped her fingers and a remarkably clean, yellow skinned Elf appeared to vanish together the next moment. Since that day all missions after Sheedan was pulled back and to observe movements from afar. Once she put back on the sealing necklace she was much harder to track. It was clear Sheedan expected to take out many more Order warriors in her one person counterattack. She didn’t expect her former forced lover’s wrath to be there in person by her frightened expression caught on camera.

  Reevy sighed, wearing her sleek battle gear too in event she needed to go at any moment. “Nothing new to report sadly. Our stakeout turned up zilch. Demon activity was minimal at best. The harlot keeps expanding her territory, but we can’t find out how or why. Another team believes she is taking orders from someone, for some diabolical purpose, but as far as can be proven she’s taken control of half the Middle East, all of North Korean Demons, a few small areas in Brazil and large chunks around China.”

  “Besides souls, what do Agas feed on?”

  “Fear and hatred.” Blake said. “For those pitiful humans, she feeds of them relentlessly. She was held in check by other powerful Demon Lords, but after you killed so many she has few contenders. Five to be precise. There use to be over a thousand Demon Lords. Now just six… at least till some come from Demon World. I hate thinking this, but she needs to be stopped and apparently we need even more powerful Demons. Sadly, those in her current level of strength can be even worse than she is, but to have one supreme overlord… it will not be good for this world, especially since her ultimate goal is to destroy the Accords.”

  “Can she do it?”

  “If her territory keeps spreading her influence and binding more Demons under her… yes if she kills or brings in the remaining Demon Lords to heel. If she rules without opposition, so many Demons working at her whim can indeed lift the veil and protection on humans. I do not want to see such a bloodbath happen to this world again. Ethan, believe me when I say that for these past five centuries, the war you stopped was nothing compared to what will happen. Humans think their nuclear bombs will destroy the world. Not going to happen. They are going to be slaughtered by Demons by the millions.” Blake got off his chest.

  “Then when she’s found I’ll incinerate her. If it is true I can lay my eyes on her without passing out she’ll get a shitload of these.” A Drone appeared in his palm. A huge red, orange and slightly purple sphere of fire so intense it instantly turns its target to ash. It might not work well on Dragons, but an Agas wouldn’t stand a chance.

  Blake’s morbid thoughts died away as an approving nod came from the Naga. “I would think so, but since no one has ever seen her true form, will it work on illusions?”

  “As it so happens, yes and no.” Ethan admitted as he absorbed the fire back inside his body. �
��I wondered the same and talked to Merlin. One experiment was his powerful illusions. Without me being aware he turned a pencil into a baboon. My Drone destroyed the baboon’s illusion and the pencil was turned to ash. But then he did the same, but as soon as I threw my drone he turned it into a flamingo. My Done stopped mid air and hung in place for over an hour till it returned to a baboon and went on the attack again. If I see one form of Sheedan, she’ll have to change her look and never use the first one ever again. If I see two or more, she’ll have that many Drones seeking that form I targeted relentlessly. But if I see her true form first” He held up a finger. “no matter what she looks like after, my Drone will not stop at all.”

  “Does Odin know this?” Ellen asked while holding a hand for Vitally to be silent.

  “Better believe it. When someone can definitively prove Sheedan is in the open, our team will be sent and I’ll hound her till she is no more. But this doesn’t leave the table. That included you too Minna. This is a secret mission I was to reveal when one of my members were overwhelmed.” Ethan said.

  “Wait… you knew?” Magnus whispered from across the table.

  “Yeah. Odin sent me all top secret files relevant on Sheedan over the past three hundred years and I’ve been studying on her every spare moment. Mostly I study all her forms either painted or taken as a picture. I’ve memorized six hundred and some odd appearances she has taken so that I’ll recognize her at a glance and attack. Sadly I can’t tell you everything she has done since the Accords five hundred years ago, but out of the remaining Demon Lords, they will fall to her within a year if I don’t do something. I and this team are all that stands in her way to become the overlord we fear. As the leader I’m ordering all of you to keep your traps shut and not talk about it even in private. I’ve got plans in motion with Odin to wipe her from existence. This is for your peace of mind. One word to anyone and you’ll be imprisoned. Her knowledge of the attack has the heads suspecting an Order traitor in the A and S class team ranks. She expected it and if you don’t believe me, look at Reevy’s recording again. She was alone in the woods. That should have been the first clue. The only plan she didn’t count on was Odin and Pegasus showing up at the last second. Am I understood?”