Going Feet First Ch. 04

The boy in front of Petra, who had also been distracted by the enchantingly beautiful Half-human, had refocused on her and began to spit out an apology. However his words were completely ignored as the assassin remained focused on the Hybrid as she climbed up to the second level. When she reached the landing, she looked back toward the Inn's front door, to the young waiter that was standing beside Petra. In a sweet, calming voice, she called out a name that immediately drew the young man's attention.

"Yes, Dee?" he replied

"Tell the men I'm back in business and to come up when they want it."

He swallowed something in his throat, glancing over at the male patrons in the room with a red face before he sighed, "Yes, I will."

Dee smiled and waved as she continued along the upper level and disappeared into the last room.

So she's a harlot... Petra thought, the edge of her mouth curling upward.

The former Shadow Stalker took a quick glance about the room to ensure there were no other takers to the Hybrid's offer. All of the men had stayed in their seats, and from what she could hear, none of them planned to hire Dee for her services. This gave Petra all the assurance she needed to start for the staircase, her movement causing the young man to turn back to her.

"Miss? Where are you going? Can I order you a meal?"

"No. Leave me to my own," Petra growled as she reached the stairs.

When the Neko began up the steps, the waiter froze behind her, his mouth gaping as she reached the landing and continued across the second floor. When she reached Dee's room, she stopped and glanced in his direction, making a dismissive motion with her hand before grabbing the handle and going inside.

To her surprise, Dee's door was unlocked and when she entered Petra found the Hybrid was already stripping down in a corner. The Neko pressed the door closed behind her and dropped her cloak to the floor around her feet. With her tail playfully flicking about, she crossed her arms and waited.

By now Petra's smile had grown, and the heat within her sex was reaching its peak at the sight of the deliciously feminine body before her. Dee was sliding her pants down over her smooth thighs, bending down to offer a full view of the pink petals of her womanly flower before she kicked the garment aside. When she stood up straight again, the sides of her impressive bust bulged out slightly from the sides of her chest; Petra unconsciously licking her lips at the sight.

Compared to Teirie, this Hybrid had more curves and bounce to her body. No doubt she had less strength compared to the assassin's late junior, but at the same time the lack of muscle meant softer flesh to grab and caress. And once she had completed her business, Petra would want to do plenty of that.

For the entire time the Neko's lecherous gaze remained fixed upon Dee, the Hybrid hadn't acknowledged the Neko's presence or turned in her direction. She only took deep breaths to relax her tension and continued to do her teasing stretches to prepare herself for the customer. After all, she hadn't expected a client to come for her so soon.

"My fee is ten silvers to your first climax, anything after that is extra," she finally announced, fixing the frills falling over her chest so they would not cover her breasts.

"Really? Is that an expensive price in these lands?"

Hearing a female voice, Dee's eyes went wide and she swiftly spun around with a confused look to her face. Seeing the female Neko standing at her door, arms crossed over the wrap wound tightly over her breasts, Dee hunched over a bit timidly and pulled her hands up to cover her areola while bringing her thighs together to hide her sex.

"I-I charge extra for females, and I will call it quits if it doesn't feel right," she declared nervously.

The Neko chuckled, her eyes gazing hungrily over the neatly groomed patch of black hair hardly hidden between the hybrid's thighs, "Do not worry, Dee. Though you do look... delicious, I'm here for other reasons... for now."

"Other reasons?"

Petra shrugged. "I'm looking for somebody, and I need information from a person whom I can trust."

"And you can trust me?"

"We are of the same kind, and I'm sure we can work out something that is good for both of us."

The Hybrid woman cocked an eyebrow then, Petra jingled a pocket on her belt, her body relaxed a bit though she still covered her privates. "Who are you asking about?"

"Someone named Lord Fretheim."

At the mere mention of the name, Dee frowned. "Lord Fretheim? Why do you want him?"

Petra shrugged dismissively. "Reasons that are my own. The kind that I would kill you for should he become aware of my presence."

The frown over Dee's face lifted, replaced by one of curiosity. "Are you out to kill him? An assassin?"

The tone of the Hybrid's voice struck Petra in an "off" way. She knew that tone; it was a hopeful one. At this realization, the grin upon her face turned to a smile. "Perhaps, if he gets in my way. He has something I want, something in his possession, and possibly houses another I do want to kill."

Dee stared at Petra for a few moments, looking thoughtful as she lifted one of her hands up to touch her chin upon it. "So he had someone taken from you... and you want to kill the one who did the taking."

The sudden, yet accurate conjecture took Petra off balance, but not in an unwelcome way. "Not from me, but from someone important to me. And from how you are speaking... I would say you as well."

The Hybrid woman nodded and moved over to the bed. "Sit, please. Let's talk, miss...?"

"Petra, servan-"

The Neko went silent as one of her ears suddenly shifted around toward the door, followed by her head. For a moment she held her breath to listen to the noise outside before turning to Dee. She pointed to the door and pressed an outstretched finger to her lips. The Hybrid nodded, and Petra extended her claws as she grabbed the door handle.

After taking in a breath to prepare for a fight, the assassin ripped open the door, grabbing the person kneeling at the doorstep by the collar and throwing him into the room before slamming the door shut.

When he had hit the floor, Petra pounced on top of him, both her claws coming to his neck around his jugular artery. The only thing that stopped the assassin from tearing his throat out was the mere fact that she recognized him. He was the waiter who had approached her at the entrance to this "inn."

"Zuriel!" Dee snapped.

"Please don't kill me!" he cried, turning his head to the side and gritting his teeth to brace for whatever came next.

With a low hiss in her throat, Petra leaned closer to his face while easing her claws into his skin. "You got a lot of nerve spying on us, boy. I've torn out a man's heart for less."

That comment made Dee's attention shift, "What'd you say?"

"Oh Galaeus, save me!" Zuriel cried.

"Shut it!" Petra growled, a drop of blood running down his neck. "Why were you spying on us?"

She could feel his heart thundering in his chest and his whole body was trembling furiously. His mouth began to move but no sounds were coming out. As he choked and stuttered on his words, his eyes began rolling back before finally fluttering shut.

The assassin held onto him a moment longer, rolling his head to either side to examine his face. When he didn't react to her handling, she only sneered and fought back the urge to tear open his neck.

"Pathetic," Petra grumbled, pulling in her claws as she stood up.

"What'd you do?" Dee asked.

"I put the fear of Death into him, and he fainted. It will teach him for spying on your business."

Dee seemed to calm down a bit, though it was clear she was still a bit shaken as she shook her head. "If he wanted me that badly, all he needed to do is ask. I service enough men around here; I wouldn't mind... doing it with him for free."

The Hybrid's comment made Petra glance over at her a moment, then at Zuriel. The Neko debated a moment, but then shrugged. "I guess he isn't bad looking... Wait, no, my priority right now is Fretheim. Could we return to him?"

"Yes, priorities first. But let's get Zuriel off the floor. He has to wait tables tonight and I would hate to see him with a sore back."

"Of course."

Petra grabbed Zuriel by the collar and the front of his pants. Before Dee could even have the chance to offer a hand, the Neko heaved the young man right up onto the bed. Dee seemed a bit surprised by this feat, though she ultimately gave the Neko a nod of approval before tending to the unconscious waiter.

"So Fretheim stole someone from a friend of yours, and you want her back," Dee as she pulled off Zuriel's shirt.

Ignoring the boy's frail body and pale skin, Petra answered, "Yes. And I'll kill anyone who gets in my way."

"You are a warrior."

Petra shrugged. "Of a kind. In Atzla I've killed twice as many men as I have fingers."

Goosebumps rippled over Dee's skin as she set Zuriel's shirt aside and grabbed a cloth to clean the trail of blood from his neck. "What was your tribe?"

"Willher," the Neko answered promptly.

Dee nodded. "Good. If you were a Ra'zorlich, you'd get strung up by the guard on the spot... if you were lucky."

Both of Petra's feline ears perked up atop her head as her eyes narrowed. "If I was lucky?"

Once again Dee nodded. "They tend to have their way with female Ra'zorlichs before enslaving them. With all the horrible things either side did to the other's women in the war..."

"Still sore about that, are they?"

The Hybrid pursed her lips, "Yeah, I'm proof of that."

Petra cocked an eyebrow as she thought for a moment. "How so?"

Finished with Zuriel's neck, Dee left the cloth over the marks left by Petra's claws and grabbed the blanket. She pulled the heavy quilt over his body and was sure to tuck him in properly before speaking again.

"My mother was a Ra'zorlich who escaped her tribe. Father was the guard captain who caught her trying to get into the city... after that came me... and... being a mostly human half-breed is probably the only reason I'm alive right now."

So if I were to have young with Galen... Petra thought, delving into those thoughts before she gave her head a shake. There was a time to think on and debate such things, but now was not a good one. Refocusing on her task, the Neko prepared another question, only for the Hybrid to beat her to it.

"So who did Fretheim take from your friend?"

The Neko cast her eyes aside for a moment, her fist tightening up as she thought of Celia. "A Tree Elf."

"What?! Wait, you mean... you mean those legends are true?"

Petra nodded. "My friend is a human who passed the trials of the Tree Elves, a noble and powerful man that ended up capturing the heart of one Elf in particular. Together we had slaughtered a slaver group working in Atzla under the orders of a goddess... only for the surviving slavers to come back and steal the Elf away and bring her here to Redding in order to sell her to Fretheim."

"Sweet Necela..." Dee breathed. "Where is your friend now?"

"With the Dark Elves," Petra grumbled.

"The Drow?!" Dee shrieked.

"Whatever you wish to call them. He saved a Dark Elf Commandant and her squad from being wiped out, now he's in the underground hoping they will return the favor. And from now until he comes back, I need to find out as much as I can about this city and about Fretheim. Help me with this, and I promise you a wealth of gold to help you on your way. Have we an agreement?"

Pressing her hand to her forehead while her wide eyes blinked intermittently, Dee was still processing everything she had just heard. Tree Elves, Drow, a goddess, a chance to see Fretheim's life come to an end, so much so fast was too much for her to fully process. What was crystal clear at this point, however, was that the Full-blood wanted to help her reach her dream, and though she knew little about Petra, somehow she just knew she could trust her. That with her help, the beast that was Fretheim would die at last.

Boasting a new, viciously determined smile, the answer Dee gave to Petra's question was. "We do."

...............................................

Taking a sip from a steaming cup of tea and inhaling a lungful of the sweet aroma, Dreek savored the soothing drink on her tongue a moment before letting it slip down her throat. She then set the cup back upon its saucer and placed it down upon the stand beside the plush chair where she had settled.

The Headmaster's study, the room she currently occupied, had very little for decorations as every wall, save for the one with the fireplace, was taken up by a series of bookshelves and cabinets. Even the door leading into the room had shelves attached to it to allow for even more books to be stored.

A comfortable heat came off the magically fueled fire in the hearth beside the Commandant. No stray sparks were cast out from the woodless flame, nor did the heat reach a point where it could threaten any of the books in the room. Every aspect of the flame was controlled by the Headmaster, who sat at a large, wooden desk on Dreek's left by the wall opposite the door.

"This batch of tea is a bit sweeter than last time, what have you changed?" the Commandant inquired.

"I added honey one of the scavengers had brought back from the surface; it works better than sweet root," the Headmaster replied, his elbows propped up on his desk and his hands joined together under his nose.

"Hmmm, I must seek some out upon my next journey."

"If you can. I have heard gathering it in any abundance is quite the feat."

"Then I'm sure some shop in Redding could be plundered for a supply of it."

"Of that I have no doubt. Though, now that you have made yourself comfortable within my study, could you be bothered to answer my inquiry?" he openly wondered, the heat coming off the flames in the fireplace noticeably jumping a small amount.

Dreek nodded. "If it satisfies your curiosity. What had happened is my pet saw Jaral in possession of one of his weapons, and he used dangerous magic to port the thing from his hands before it was unleashed. But due to my pet's lack of experience with this magic, he stole Jaral's sprit with it."

The Headmaster let out a long sigh as Dreek retrieved her cup again and took another sip.

"Deaf as he was, he was still the most promising of those three," the fire wizard grumbled.

With a huff and a roll of her eyes the Commandant lowered her cup, "Any magically gifted Drow can learn to work with enchantments."

"Not all are able to do so easily while still being more than competent in finer mechanical systems" the Headmaster countered with a bit more of an edge in his voice.

"Another will be found," Dreek stated flatly.

The Headmaster frowned, "That does not excuse the loss of this one, Commandant."

"No, but it will help you realize that this is only a minor setback and should not be something to dwell upon. Now, onto my original purpose of meeting you."

"Which is what?" the fire wizard asked, teetering on the edge of a growl.

After another sip from her tea, Dreek answered, "I need you to prepare tanneran spell weavers for my pet."

Slouching back in his chair, the Headmaster touched his fingertips together over his chest and cocked an eyebrow, "You wish to kill him already?"

With an odd smile, the Commandant shook her head, "if I am right, he should be able to survive. His body has already accepted new magics and adjusted quite easily, adding on should not pose a threat to his health."

"Five of my wizards died trying, a sixth was left lame, and the seventh was left without his hearing and subsequently is now dead as of this morning. You expect a surfacer to able to survive?"

She shrugged dismissively, "I survived, and you have seen the human."

The Headmaster's eyes narrowed and he glared at the Commandant, "Your body is used to possessing a great deal of magic; your pet is a fluke. What magic that is already in his body is bleeding out through his arm. Anymore and he will become another body to be disposed of."

"I believe it is worth the risk. I do not think my pet would die so easily."

For a moment, the Headmaster went silent, his eyes narrowing as the Commandant finished off her tea. "What are you going to try to place within him?"

"Whatever I need to so he is ready for when we go back to the surface and end this annoyance with our neighbors."

"Do you believe the Sun-kissed alone can settle Redding's lust for war?"

Dreek chuckled, "I do, and we can. If all goes well with my pet's conditioning, we won't need to worry about Redding ever again."

"Your confidence is inspiring," the old fire wizard said as he rubbed his forehead over his furrowed brow. "I will have your weavers ready, only be prepared if things go awry, or if it reacts as it did with my third wizard who tried."

Dreek shuddered at the image. "Yes, well, that wizard was a gutsy one, and so was the empowerment chamber for a long time afterward..."

"Indeed. Are we finished, Commandant?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Yes, Headmaster, my business is concluded," she replied, setting her cup and saucer aside and standing up. "I will return this time tomorrow with my pet for the empowerments. If you have a selection of weavers for defence and movement aspects, perhaps a little something for dark vision, I would be most grateful."

He gave a cheap smile and bow of the head, "Yes, Commandant. I'll personally make sure they are brought out for you."

"Excellent," Dreek responded, casting a glare upon her host. "Until then, Headmaster."

................................................

Alone in a cramped stone room lit by a single candle on the wall, Galen finished placing the last of his unnecessary gear into a large trunk beside the single bed. His rucksack and the other heavy items on his loadout had been stored away along with his shotgun and ammunition bags, leaving him with only his rifle and the gear on his basic webbing. He had his canteen, pistol, knife, a small amount of ammunition, and his shovel; just a limited stock of equipment that he figured he should keep on him just in case.

Feeling the touch of relief in his shoulders, the Private had to admit that it was nice to not have to carry his rucksack around. While not having that equipment readily available or under his watchful eye didn't sit completely right with him, not having to lug it with him did a number of favors for his back, which had begun to ache under the weight. Along with what he saved in pain, his stripped down webbing could be mostly hidden beneath the new black coat that had been given to him upon his return to the Sun-kissed compound.

The moment he, Felyn, and Keetle had passed through the gate leading into small, walled-off village built around the Sun-kissed headquarters, a resentful-looking Drow woman had approached them with a black coat in hand. To the soldier's surprise, she had immediately tossed the garment to him as he rode by on the back of Keetle's lizard. With little effort to correctly translate what she meant, the Drow had brokenly stated that Jrastra ordered him to wear it so long as he was under Sun-kissed command.

Rubbing the black, leathery coat with his fingers as he sat down on his bed, Galen could begin to feel something come off the soft contours of the pull-over. It had a magical feeling to it, not in a blissful way, but actual magic. The sensation running through his fingers as he held it was the exact same as that which coursed through his arm in the presence of that blue pillar in the middle of the city.