Chapter 25: Aftermath

“I will admit, I am actually impressed,” Typhon told Elaine. They were standing in the dark void of her subconscious, talking while her body was passed out from exhaustion in the real world. As before, Typhon had appeared as a male version of her with tanned skin, clad in black slacks. “The way you were dancing around that abomination was really quite fluid. You've come a long way in a very short time.”

“I guess I should thank you for helping out with the complicated spells,” Elaine said.

“Think nothing of it. You're throwing yourself head first at the problems you need to tackle and so long as you don't back down and run off a little assistance like that isn't worth mentioning.”

“You know, it's funny,” she said. “The books I read, whenever the protagonist has some ancient intelligence living in their minds they're always evil and trying to take advantage of their host.”

He nodded. “There are beings like that in this world but most Soul Shards aren't among them.”

“Most?” Elaine asked dubiously.

“Soul Shards are bits and pieces of gods,” he explained. “The me you see before you has all the memories of Typhon but I am not Typhon, not truly. I've been stuck inside this tall, rebellious military chick for over two decades, after all. If you die, I return to wherever it is Soul Shards hang out when they're not inside a soul. I would lose many of the memories of being this version of me. And, frankly, I quite like being me. And so I, like most Soul Shards, have a vested interest in keeping my bearer alive. Also, most people aren't in tune with their Soul Shards enough for the Soul Shard to do more than tinge their personality. But there are some Soul Shards who, given the chance, would love to ruin their bearer.”

“Like?”

“Me, for example.”

Elaine frowned at him.

“I told you before, didn't I? So long as you fight against the tyrants seeking to control the world, you have my unconditional support. But if you were to find the people responsible for the Invasion and ask them to let you join their evil league of evil then I would fight you every step of the way.”

“Fat chance of that,” Elaine muttered.

He nodded. “But there are other Soul Shards, ones who are cruel and evil and will ruin their bearer no matter what. But even then, in order to do true harm their bearer would need to gather strength like yours.”

“Do any of my girls have shards I should be worried about?” she asked.

He gave her an approving nod. “I like the way you worry about them. A good leader should always care for those they fight with. But to answer your question: No. The only one at the base who might have become a problem if he'd gone down the same path as you was Brandon but he is no longer a concern to anyone.”

“Whose Shard did he have, anyway?”

“Gilgamesh,” Typhon said, his voice grim.

“You say that like it's bad.”

“It usually is. Whenever bearers of a shard of Gilgamesh gain any amount of power they go mad with it. That also explains, at least in part, the actions that led to his demise.”

“How so?”

“He subconsciously sensed the shard of Ishtar that Rahel the Temptress carries and tried to subjugate her. When that didn't work he tried the same with you, perhaps sensing the shard of Tiamat inside you. And finally, his last mistake came when he took umbrage with Alexis, who holds the shard of another king of heroes.”

“You're saying he could sense that?” Elaine asked dubiously. “I don't know what you're on but I've never been able to just sense other people's Soul Shards.”

He waved a hand dismissively. “Not consciously, but unconsciously you've been aware of them since forever. You have been encouraging Alexis' confidence, drawing out the power of Lugh. You have been trying to get Ophelia to open up, dragging the lightbearer goddess Hecate out of the shadows. You have been punishing Evelyn's impulsiveness, as Indra needs at times. You have been pushing Abigail into the spotlight where Apollo belongs. And with Cassie you have been encouraging both his fighting prowess and his sensuality, balancing the two aspects of Freya.”

“I guess that must be part of what I got from Tiamat. You don't strike me as the nurturing type.”

He shook his head. “No man nor woman can fight a revolution on their own. I am proud of the way you've been helping them all grow. But I will admit that yes, the mother of dragons is a more nurturing person than I am.”

“So, when do I get to meet her?”

In response to that the blackness behind Typhon shifted and suddenly it no longer looked like a black void but like a curtain. A shape pressed against that curtain, one that took a moment to resolve itself into the head of a dragon, a long reptile snout and four enormous horns curling out of the temples, two framing the head and two curling upward.

As Elaine stared at it she got a splitting headache which shouldn't even have been possible given that she was only a phantom of thought at this moment.

“Grow stronger, child,” the dragon said and Elaine was shocked when its voice came out as a clear, feminine voice, much like her own but fuller, richer and more cultured. “Right now you cannot handle what I can give you but we shall speak soon. We have much to discuss.”

And then the dragon head receded and Elaine's headache cleared up in an instant.

“Fucking hell, is supposed to hurt like this?”

“No,” Typhon said. “But that's already a pretty good reaction, all things considered.”

“Are you insane? I could barely stand to listen to her!”

“Indeed. But now consider that the first time she tried to speak to you you collapsed and lost all memories of the encounter.”

Elaine blinked. “Wait, what?”

“When you gained your powers as a Lacrima Tiamat wanted to be the first to congratulate you. Except when she tried you collapsed. While you were passed out her and I spoke and we decided that I would be the one to greet you. And when you woke up you didn't even remember her speaking to you.”

“Shit...”

“Yeah,” he said. “So I think a piercing headache is a good step forward, don't you? Just keep doing what you're doing and before long you can sling insults back and forth with her as well.”

“I doubt I'll be insulting her quite as much. She seems a lot nicer than you.”

“Niceties are just comforting lies,” he said but he was smiling as he did. “Now, as fun as this has been, I think you should wake up now.”

“Is something wrong?” Elaine asked, instantly on guard.

“No, nothing of the sort. Just wake up. You'll enjoy what you'll find more than talking to me I reckon.”

Elaine quirked an eyebrow. Had one of her girls decided to wake her up? She decided that, yes, that would be more fun than talking to Typhon and so she willed herself to wake up.

**

Elaine had been asleep for a day and a half already, the exhaustion of the fight too much for her to handle. The doctors at the refugee camp had assured Alexis and the others that Elaine would be fine with a little more bed rest but even so Alexis couldn't help but fret.

She would have thought she was being an overprotective girlfriend but the others were acting pretty much the same, all of them taking shifts so that at least one of them was always by Elaine's side. Right now it was her turn, sitting by Elaine's bed, either reading in a corner or laying her head down on Elaine's chest, reassuring herself with the sounds of her heartbeat and breathing.

Something similar had happened to Evelyn before but Alexis' reaction hadn't been this visceral. She cared for Evelyn but Elaine was the one she was in love with. And she also worried that this kind of thing was becoming more and more common. They were clearly using more power than their bodies could handle. They needed to get even stronger, even faster. Killing the Red Rider and then the beast it had spawned had given everyone a hefty dose of EXP but even so they couldn't afford to grow complacent. Without Prudence's expertise and those ritual circles that entire fight might have gone sideways. They had come way, way too close to oblivion that time.

Alexis reached out and stroked Elaine's cheek. Part of becoming stronger entailed growing closer to her lover and it was by far the most pleasant part of the process. Every minute they spent together Alexis felt cherished by Elaine and now it was her turn to cherish her lover. Her gorgeous, powerful, brave lover.

“I could get used to waking up like this...” muttered a sleepy Elaine.

Alexis almost jerked her hand away in surprise but then just smiled.

“Hey there, sleepyhead,” she said softly.

Elaine opened her eyes slowly, blinking them closed against the light again before opening them for good. “Great sight to wake up to, as well.”

Alexis threw her arms around Elaine, doing her best to give her lover a crushing hug but probably just ending up tickling the much stronger woman.

Elaine wrapped her muscular arms around Alexis, hugging her tight as well. Alexis had never thought of muscles as particularly attractive, had always associated them with men, something she had no interest in. But the way Elaine held her in those strong arms made her feel warm and safe and cherished. What otherwise weirded her out was irresistible on Elaine. Same thing with... another part of Elaine's anatomy.

And almost as if the thought prompted the reaction Elaine's arms on Alexis traveled lower, tracing the lines of her body and landing on her cute little butt, giving it a good squeeze.

“Really? As soon as you wake up?” Alexis asked, trying for exasperated but failing miserably. Elaine's hands on her just felt too good to complain.

“How long was I out?” Elaine asked.

“A day and a half,” Alexis said, a little indignant.

“You sound like you were worried about me.”

Alexis pulled back a little to give Elaine a look. “Of course I was worried about you!”

Elaine chuckled. “You're too easy, baby.” And then she used her superior strength to pull Alexis on top of her, onto the bed, before pulling her into a deep kiss.

Alexis' worries about propriety were there and gone in a flash and she melted into the kiss, eagerly opening her mouth to let Elaine in when her tongue begged for entry. She had missed this way too much. It had only been a bit over a week and already she'd felt empty without Elaine inside her. Even just having her lover invade her mouth drove her wild. She didn't even care that they were in a mostly public space. She wanted to give herself to her. But there was one thing she did care about.

She broke the kiss and pulled away to look down at Elaine, trying very hard not to swoon at the hurt puppy expression on Elaine's face.

“Do you even feel up for it? Don't you want to eat first? Maybe drink something?”

“The only thing I want to eat right now is this,” she said as she slid one of her hands lower and Alexis felt two fingers poking at her pussy through her outfit. Elaine continued in her husky voice: “Would you like that, ba—“ And then she descended into a coughing fit.

Alexis waited for the fit to pass before asking, deadpan: “You were saying?”

“A glass of water would be nice I guess,” Elaine croaked out.

Alexis jumped off the bed and hurried to get her lover something to drink, squeezing her thighs together hard on every step to stop the embarrassing wet spot in her panties from growing any bigger. How could this woman reduce her to a dripping mess with just a touch and a few words?

She bit her lip as she filled a glass of water for Elaine. She was actually feeling a little naughty. She had, of course heard about what Elaine and Evelyn had gotten up to and while she wasn't jealous per se, she also wasn't averse to the idea of doing something risky herself.

For once in her life she could be bold and daring off the battlefield, right?

ChrisLensman

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