Part Fourteen
Shadow in the Shade
Esmeralda had heard of Pixie Dust and she had certainly seen it in action, but she had never experienced it until Amber blew the fine golden particles into her face.
It instantly sent her into a dreamy state where in a way she was there present in the Arena conscious of what was happening, but at the same time it was as if she were she were watching herself in third person.
She watched the Tickle Beast attack her, but she felt nothing of the tentacles that swarmed over her body. Something in the back of her mind told her she should be grateful for the Pixie Dust because otherwise she might have been terribly tickled by the Tickle Beast. However, as with most victims of Pixie Dust, concern for one’s personal and physical welfare is usually kept to a minimum.
She watched as her body hit the ground hard when the Tickle Beast dropped her. It should have hurt, but Esmeralda only smiled. Through her mind’s eye, she stared dimly at her blank face with her eyes gazing out into space.
Esmeralda was dreamily content to stare afar emptily. The fact that the heavy Tickle Beast could trample her to death was a concern that was very, very low on her list of priorities. Staring was her number one concern at the present moment.
The dark spell caster Orion later appeared at her side, but Esmeralda did not even blink. He could kill her, enchant her or kidnap her. Either seemed fine to Esmeralda. Nothing really seemed to matter much to her.
Patrisa was shouting something and Orion was shouting back. It was something about an Elfling King. Then a lot of magic mumbo jumbo. Nothing worth paying much attention to, Esmeralda decided.
She slipped in and out of darkness several times appearing in different parts of the Palace. She thought maybe she was slipping in and out of consciousness, but it appeared more logical that Orion was casting shadow magic and pulling her through the shadows with him. So, kidnapping it was…
Too much thinking, she thought to herself as she continued to stare on. They jumped in and out of darkness many times until they arrived at the base of a very large tree at the center of a wide and grassy plain.
He pulled her to her feet which Esmeralda noticed were bare from after the Tickle Beast’s attack. She stood up, but only swayed softly from one side to another.
Orion touched her face with his fingers and studied the substance that remained on his fingers.
”Pixie Dust,” he said disgustedly recognizing the substance. “I can’t even tickle you for magic!”
Esmeralda didn’t really care. Staring was fine. Tickling could wait. She wasn’t sure if she had just thought the words or if she had said them also, but Orion frowned deeply.
He placed some fingers on her neck and pressed gently.
“Mind as well let you sleep it off,” he said impatiently as Esmeralda watched her body slowly collapse and fall unconscious. Orion caught her body and placed her over gently over his shoulder. He then stepped into the tree through a dark crease in the bark that had magically appeared.
Esmeralda wondered briefly how it was possible her body could be unconscious and she could still be watching herself being carried away, when she was suddenly aware of an intense drowsiness crashing upon her.
She would have been concerned, but right now sleep beat staring on her list of priorities.
The world went dark.
* * * * *
When Esmeralda awoke she discovered her wrists were in iron shackles. Other than that she was unrestrained and resting upon a pile of furs. It was a dark place where she was. It felt damp, but it was warm. There was a large fireplace in the center of the round room and it warmed the entire room. The room was not more than 30 feet in diameter.
She could see the spell caster Orion with his back to her sitting cross-legged without his black robes and staring into the fire.
“This is hardly the kind of safe house the Scourge has shown you,” he said without turning back. “But beggars can’t be choosers. Xavis has closed and sealed most of the safe houses in the Animus Realm. The good thing is he hasn’t found this one yet.”
Esmeralda’s head ached as she stood up and took some steps towards the Spell Caster. “What happened?”
“I was going to ask you the same question,” Orion asked. “You were actually doing quite well with the Tickle Beast until you had an unfortunate run in with a pixie.”
“Amber!” Esmeralda said thinking of their betrayal.
“Color them any way you choose, I’d never turn my back on a pixie,” he said smiling. “Only a Tenderfoot would trust a Pixie. I’ll bet you anything that Patrisa didn’t know about the pixies.”
Esmeralda was silent.
“I thought so,” Orion said with a smirk. “She hates pixies.”
“I suppose I’m your prisoner,” Esmeralda stated holding up the shackles and wanting to change the subject.
“Yes,” Orion said. “At least for the time being.”
“May I ask what you plan to do with me?” Esmeralda asked.
“I will turn you over to the Elfing King for a hefty reward,” Orion said. “You’ve gained quite a bit of notoriety of a Tenderfoot. You have an interesting price on your head.”
“Why haven’t you done so, yet?” Esmeralda asked wondering why there were in a safe house and not in the Elfling Dungeon.
“Because getting out of that cursed Palace used up all my available magic,” he explained with a hint of anger in his voice. “I can’t just enter a shadow here and exit a shadow in the Mushroom Wood. I have to be able to see the next shadow where I appear. So you can imagine how many times I had to cast the spell until were safely out of the Palace.”
Esmeralda sat down cross-legged next to Orion.
“I guess you would have tickled me silly already if you could have,” Esmeralda said trying to understand this man who had such a reputation as a powerful spell caster.
“Clever girl,” he complimented. “The safe house does not have a magic cache as I had hoped. I could tickle you for more magic, but if I force it from you I would require much magic. In the end, I think the overall benefit would not be enough to open a wormhole to a better safe house. I understand you are a protégé of the Scourge under tutelage of Madame Jordanna. Without magic I doubt I’d tickle very much out of you.”
He drew a finger across Esmeralda’s bare sole that was staring at him from the cross-legged position and smiled as she giggled and pulled away.
“I am a skilled tickler, but I’m no fool either. That is about as much as I’d get out of you without using magic to tickle you.”
“So we are at an impasse,” Esmeralda said feeling better since she sensed she had some say in what was going to happen.
“Not really,” he said coolly. “You can cooperate and let me tickle you to take your magic, or we can wait a couple days until I recover my magic and I am the capable to cast the spell to step through a wormhole to a better safe house.”
“What do I gain from rushing things along?” Esmeralda asked.
“A better meal and a better bed at the next safe house,” he said shrugging. “I don’t expect that you change your mind, so I am already prepared for the long haul.”
Esmeralda wasn’t sure what to do. Orion certainly seemed like he had everything calculated and seemed to be agreeable company despite the iron shackles.
There was certainly more to him than what appeared.
* * * * *
Orion was disappointed.
While he did not have a clear idea in his head on how he was going to capture the Tenderfoot when he stepped into the Red Panther’s Palace, he believed that if he played his cards right, he’d get clean away.
Things did not go quite like he had anticipated.
He lost Haydeen. That was bad in way, but he trusted that she was clever enough to even the score with Xavis and take care of herself. The Elfling King would not mind even losing his favorite Interrogator if in the process his arch rival Xavis was humiliated.
He lost the Scourge too. He had had the intention of freeing her also, but in the end it seemed she too had allies as he observed the hot-air balloon approach the Arena. Besides, she was only going to object to what he was doing anyway.
The only thing he gained in the end was the Tenderfoot.
And now after meeting her and speaking with her, he was reluctant to turn her over to the Elfling King. Most Tenderfoot simply do not adjust to this world of magic and tickling. They usually end up being ticklish slaves, used and abused for their ticklishness with no hope of escaping and much less of ever getting home.
He and the Scourge were exceptions of course, but few Tenderfoot learned to thrive among the Realms as they had learned to.
Esmeralda had the ‘right stuff’ (as he and Patrisa called it) to get ahead. It would be a shame to see such potential get nipped in the bud.
But a promise was a promise, he thought to himself gravely. He would turn her over to the Elfling King.
He would decide later how to get her free.
* * * *
“Is Orion your real name?” Esmeralda asked as they dined on dry meat that was stored in the safe house.
“What kind of question is that?” he asked as he took two cups and poured wine into them.
”There are not many people called Orion back in the real world,” she said chewing on the meat. It was simple but delicious meat. “You are from the real world, right? Earth? Cars and people and no magic?”
“Yeah. My real name is Jeremy,” he said passing her one of the cups of wine. “But the name Jeremy wouldn’t strike fear into my opponents as I needed it to. So I took up the name Orion that I thought was more mysterious and would give me a little edge. Then, when I began to master shadow magic, I took the name of the Shade.”
“Do you miss the real world?” Esmeralda asked chewing on the meat and washing it down with wine.
“I love tickling,” he said after some thought and chewing thoughtfully on the meat. “Even while I was in the real world, I really loved tickling. Then one day I woke up in a world that is all about tickling. The best ticklers are respected, powerful and there are plenty of persons to tickle and get tickled by. Tell me, why would I want to go back to the ‘real world’?”
“Is there a way back?” Esmeralda asked.
“Yes,” he said draining his cup of wine, “but it’s not worth it. Forget about it and make you home here. You’ve got potential to do great things.”
“Enough potential for you to set me free?” Esmeralda asked hopefully holding up the shackles.
“Enough for me to be a gentleman and treat you well until we meet the Elfling King,” he said. “Get some sleep. We’ve both got to recharge our batteries. A bad night’s rest won’t help us recover our magic.”
Esmeralda watched Orion lay back on the pile of furs and sleep.
She could try and attack him or figure out a way to open the shackles. A hundred ideas rushed through her head at once.
“Oh, by the way,” he said. “I drugged the wine you drank. I can’t sleep with the thought of such a clever woman machinating a way to escape.”
Esmeralda became wide eyed at the comment but only for a moment. She felt very sleepy and her eyes started closing rapidly despite her effort to stay awake. She yawned and wondered when she was going to stop acting like such an amateurish Tenderfoot.
“Night, night,” Orion said as Esmeralda fell over and started snoring gently.
* * * * *
Esmeralda awoke to the sound of chopping.
“What’s going on?” she asked. She was on a pile of furs with a blanket which Orion must have placed over her during the night. The night’s sleep had done her well and she felt much refreshed.
“Animus Enforcers and Avengers,” Orion said grimly staring into the fire.
Esmeralda realized that she also could see into the fire and see images appear. There were half a dozen Animus and one very large Walrus headed one held a double headed ax and was chopping down a large tree.
”They’ve discovered the safe house,” he said. “They most likely don’t suspect that we are here. Probably just a routine patrol.”
“So what will happen?” Esmeralda asked.
“If they chop down the tree, the safe house is permanently severed from the world,” he said. “We’d be trapped here together forever. Or at least until we die of hunger.”
“Can we fight them?” she asked.
”Five Enforcers and an Avenger? Not unless you and I were both 100%,” he said. “Otherwise, not a chance.”
“Then what alternative do we have?” she asked.
“I need more magic,” he said. “If you let me tickle magic from you, I can open a wormhole to another safe house away from this cursed Animus Realm.”
“Is this another ploy of yours to get what you want?” Esmeralda asked suspiciously.
“Let’s say that if it isn’t a ploy, you and I would both be in big trouble. Do you want to take that risk?”
Esmeralda was reluctant to admit that he was probably right.
”Okay, okay,” she said and Orion’s face lit up. “But on one condition.”
“What is that?” he asked.
“That you tell me how to return to my world,” she said.
“Agreed,” he said. “I will tell you in detail once this crisis is adverted. You have my word.”
“Then get to it.”
Orion turned Esmeralda over on her belly and straddled her knees as he prepared to attack her bare soles. There was no sense trying anything complicated with so little time available.
Orion placed his weight on her calves began to tickle slowly as he tried to study her reactions. He began to scratch the wrinkled soles and he smiled as Esmeralda began to giggle gently and her feet tried to unsuccessfully get away. It was always a pleasure to tickle a new person even under such urgent circumstances.
“Go after the part where the arch meets the toes,” Esmeralda suggested as she began to laugh a bit harder as his tickling began to grow in intensity.
Orion followed her advice and tickled her there exactly. Esmeralda began to struggle much harder and her laughter was loud and strong. She had very pretty feet. He had tickled maybe tens of thousands of pairs of feet in his time and none were prettier than these he was tickling at this moment.
He also enjoyed her laughter. It was deep and hearty and cheerful all at once. It was music to his ears. There was no screaming, no protests, no pleas for mercy. Even though most ticklers were sadistic and enjoyed the screams and the protests, Orion’s favorite tickling was with a very ticklish and willing partner.
He concentrated on the tickling, carefully scratching the sensitive flesh between her arches and her toes. He especially found her especially responsive under the big toe and under her pinky toe. Esmeralda’s laughter grew louder and louder as he attacked these spots. Beautiful, he thought as he listened to her surrender to the tickling sensations and the intense laughter.
It took a few minutes, but not as long as Orion would have wanted. Esmeralda was approaching climax quickly as her laughter became so intense that she almost stopped breathing. Orion pushed straight ahead despite his urge to let her catch her breath and continue the onslaught.
Esmeralda gasped and then suddenly relaxed as Orion realized his tickling was no longer having any affect on her. He stroked her feet gently enjoying their smoothness and disappointed that the session was over.
A red magical gem appeared above Esmeralda’s forehead and he took it and placed it against his own absorbing her magic.
She was exhausted, but it good spirits as it usually was when one willingly gave into tickling. He helped her to her feet and cast a spell to open the wormhole.
As he stepped through and guided Esmeralda he regretted promising to tell her the way home.
He wasn’t so certain he was ready to see her go.
* * * * *
“What are you two up to?” Patrisa asked the two pixies as the hot air balloon carried them through the night sky. “Why did you allow her to be captured by Orion?”
Indigo and Amber exchanged glances but did not reply.
”What are your names?” Patrisa asked. Then, after a moment’s pause, she added, “Navy Blue and School Bus Yellow?”
Indigo pouted and then shouted angrily out at the Scourge. “For your information, my name is Indigo and my friend’s is Amber, but I wouldn’t expect a color blind thug like yourself to know that!”
“You are traitors to the Academy if you are here against Madame Jordanna’s will,” Danea said watching the pair intently. Pixies were never to be trusted, but they usually refrained to mischief and such regarding non-pixies. This appeared to be something much greater than simple mischief.
“You’re one to talk,” Amber said rebuking the comment. “I’m sure Madame Jordanna did not send you, but how can you be so certain she did not send us?”
Danea was surprised at the pixie’s comment. Had Madame Jordanna, her Elfling mentor, really send the pixie’s on a clandestine mission? Was it possible? Indeed, Madame Jordanna did not send her. Danea wondered if there would still be a place for her at the Academy after this.
“If they won’t talk, put them in a jar with vinegar,” Peter the Peddler said licking his dinosaur lips. “Pickled Pixies are truly a delicacy.”
The two pixies stomped furiously from with in their cage with total indignation.
“Pickled Pixies, what nerve!” Amber fumed.
“What’s that?” Brunilda the Centaur asked pointing to the horizon behind them.
They all turned to look at what she was referring to.
It was a muti-colored cloud that was approaching them at an enormous speed.
“It’s not a cloud,” Patrisa said noticing that it was going against the wind.
”It’s the cavalry,” Indigo said excitedly jumping up and down in the cage on the end of Patrisa’s fighting stick.
“Cavalry?” Peter repeated as a humming sound could be heard from the direction of the cloud.
“We’ll see who gets pickled before this day is done,” Amber said with a smile.
Patrisa swore softly.
“Pixies!”
To be continued…
Next: The Rainbow Company
Shadow in the Shade
Esmeralda had heard of Pixie Dust and she had certainly seen it in action, but she had never experienced it until Amber blew the fine golden particles into her face.
It instantly sent her into a dreamy state where in a way she was there present in the Arena conscious of what was happening, but at the same time it was as if she were she were watching herself in third person.
She watched the Tickle Beast attack her, but she felt nothing of the tentacles that swarmed over her body. Something in the back of her mind told her she should be grateful for the Pixie Dust because otherwise she might have been terribly tickled by the Tickle Beast. However, as with most victims of Pixie Dust, concern for one’s personal and physical welfare is usually kept to a minimum.
She watched as her body hit the ground hard when the Tickle Beast dropped her. It should have hurt, but Esmeralda only smiled. Through her mind’s eye, she stared dimly at her blank face with her eyes gazing out into space.
Esmeralda was dreamily content to stare afar emptily. The fact that the heavy Tickle Beast could trample her to death was a concern that was very, very low on her list of priorities. Staring was her number one concern at the present moment.
The dark spell caster Orion later appeared at her side, but Esmeralda did not even blink. He could kill her, enchant her or kidnap her. Either seemed fine to Esmeralda. Nothing really seemed to matter much to her.
Patrisa was shouting something and Orion was shouting back. It was something about an Elfling King. Then a lot of magic mumbo jumbo. Nothing worth paying much attention to, Esmeralda decided.
She slipped in and out of darkness several times appearing in different parts of the Palace. She thought maybe she was slipping in and out of consciousness, but it appeared more logical that Orion was casting shadow magic and pulling her through the shadows with him. So, kidnapping it was…
Too much thinking, she thought to herself as she continued to stare on. They jumped in and out of darkness many times until they arrived at the base of a very large tree at the center of a wide and grassy plain.
He pulled her to her feet which Esmeralda noticed were bare from after the Tickle Beast’s attack. She stood up, but only swayed softly from one side to another.
Orion touched her face with his fingers and studied the substance that remained on his fingers.
”Pixie Dust,” he said disgustedly recognizing the substance. “I can’t even tickle you for magic!”
Esmeralda didn’t really care. Staring was fine. Tickling could wait. She wasn’t sure if she had just thought the words or if she had said them also, but Orion frowned deeply.
He placed some fingers on her neck and pressed gently.
“Mind as well let you sleep it off,” he said impatiently as Esmeralda watched her body slowly collapse and fall unconscious. Orion caught her body and placed her over gently over his shoulder. He then stepped into the tree through a dark crease in the bark that had magically appeared.
Esmeralda wondered briefly how it was possible her body could be unconscious and she could still be watching herself being carried away, when she was suddenly aware of an intense drowsiness crashing upon her.
She would have been concerned, but right now sleep beat staring on her list of priorities.
The world went dark.
* * * * *
When Esmeralda awoke she discovered her wrists were in iron shackles. Other than that she was unrestrained and resting upon a pile of furs. It was a dark place where she was. It felt damp, but it was warm. There was a large fireplace in the center of the round room and it warmed the entire room. The room was not more than 30 feet in diameter.
She could see the spell caster Orion with his back to her sitting cross-legged without his black robes and staring into the fire.
“This is hardly the kind of safe house the Scourge has shown you,” he said without turning back. “But beggars can’t be choosers. Xavis has closed and sealed most of the safe houses in the Animus Realm. The good thing is he hasn’t found this one yet.”
Esmeralda’s head ached as she stood up and took some steps towards the Spell Caster. “What happened?”
“I was going to ask you the same question,” Orion asked. “You were actually doing quite well with the Tickle Beast until you had an unfortunate run in with a pixie.”
“Amber!” Esmeralda said thinking of their betrayal.
“Color them any way you choose, I’d never turn my back on a pixie,” he said smiling. “Only a Tenderfoot would trust a Pixie. I’ll bet you anything that Patrisa didn’t know about the pixies.”
Esmeralda was silent.
“I thought so,” Orion said with a smirk. “She hates pixies.”
“I suppose I’m your prisoner,” Esmeralda stated holding up the shackles and wanting to change the subject.
“Yes,” Orion said. “At least for the time being.”
“May I ask what you plan to do with me?” Esmeralda asked.
“I will turn you over to the Elfing King for a hefty reward,” Orion said. “You’ve gained quite a bit of notoriety of a Tenderfoot. You have an interesting price on your head.”
“Why haven’t you done so, yet?” Esmeralda asked wondering why there were in a safe house and not in the Elfling Dungeon.
“Because getting out of that cursed Palace used up all my available magic,” he explained with a hint of anger in his voice. “I can’t just enter a shadow here and exit a shadow in the Mushroom Wood. I have to be able to see the next shadow where I appear. So you can imagine how many times I had to cast the spell until were safely out of the Palace.”
Esmeralda sat down cross-legged next to Orion.
“I guess you would have tickled me silly already if you could have,” Esmeralda said trying to understand this man who had such a reputation as a powerful spell caster.
“Clever girl,” he complimented. “The safe house does not have a magic cache as I had hoped. I could tickle you for more magic, but if I force it from you I would require much magic. In the end, I think the overall benefit would not be enough to open a wormhole to a better safe house. I understand you are a protégé of the Scourge under tutelage of Madame Jordanna. Without magic I doubt I’d tickle very much out of you.”
He drew a finger across Esmeralda’s bare sole that was staring at him from the cross-legged position and smiled as she giggled and pulled away.
“I am a skilled tickler, but I’m no fool either. That is about as much as I’d get out of you without using magic to tickle you.”
“So we are at an impasse,” Esmeralda said feeling better since she sensed she had some say in what was going to happen.
“Not really,” he said coolly. “You can cooperate and let me tickle you to take your magic, or we can wait a couple days until I recover my magic and I am the capable to cast the spell to step through a wormhole to a better safe house.”
“What do I gain from rushing things along?” Esmeralda asked.
“A better meal and a better bed at the next safe house,” he said shrugging. “I don’t expect that you change your mind, so I am already prepared for the long haul.”
Esmeralda wasn’t sure what to do. Orion certainly seemed like he had everything calculated and seemed to be agreeable company despite the iron shackles.
There was certainly more to him than what appeared.
* * * * *
Orion was disappointed.
While he did not have a clear idea in his head on how he was going to capture the Tenderfoot when he stepped into the Red Panther’s Palace, he believed that if he played his cards right, he’d get clean away.
Things did not go quite like he had anticipated.
He lost Haydeen. That was bad in way, but he trusted that she was clever enough to even the score with Xavis and take care of herself. The Elfling King would not mind even losing his favorite Interrogator if in the process his arch rival Xavis was humiliated.
He lost the Scourge too. He had had the intention of freeing her also, but in the end it seemed she too had allies as he observed the hot-air balloon approach the Arena. Besides, she was only going to object to what he was doing anyway.
The only thing he gained in the end was the Tenderfoot.
And now after meeting her and speaking with her, he was reluctant to turn her over to the Elfling King. Most Tenderfoot simply do not adjust to this world of magic and tickling. They usually end up being ticklish slaves, used and abused for their ticklishness with no hope of escaping and much less of ever getting home.
He and the Scourge were exceptions of course, but few Tenderfoot learned to thrive among the Realms as they had learned to.
Esmeralda had the ‘right stuff’ (as he and Patrisa called it) to get ahead. It would be a shame to see such potential get nipped in the bud.
But a promise was a promise, he thought to himself gravely. He would turn her over to the Elfling King.
He would decide later how to get her free.
* * * *
“Is Orion your real name?” Esmeralda asked as they dined on dry meat that was stored in the safe house.
“What kind of question is that?” he asked as he took two cups and poured wine into them.
”There are not many people called Orion back in the real world,” she said chewing on the meat. It was simple but delicious meat. “You are from the real world, right? Earth? Cars and people and no magic?”
“Yeah. My real name is Jeremy,” he said passing her one of the cups of wine. “But the name Jeremy wouldn’t strike fear into my opponents as I needed it to. So I took up the name Orion that I thought was more mysterious and would give me a little edge. Then, when I began to master shadow magic, I took the name of the Shade.”
“Do you miss the real world?” Esmeralda asked chewing on the meat and washing it down with wine.
“I love tickling,” he said after some thought and chewing thoughtfully on the meat. “Even while I was in the real world, I really loved tickling. Then one day I woke up in a world that is all about tickling. The best ticklers are respected, powerful and there are plenty of persons to tickle and get tickled by. Tell me, why would I want to go back to the ‘real world’?”
“Is there a way back?” Esmeralda asked.
“Yes,” he said draining his cup of wine, “but it’s not worth it. Forget about it and make you home here. You’ve got potential to do great things.”
“Enough potential for you to set me free?” Esmeralda asked hopefully holding up the shackles.
“Enough for me to be a gentleman and treat you well until we meet the Elfling King,” he said. “Get some sleep. We’ve both got to recharge our batteries. A bad night’s rest won’t help us recover our magic.”
Esmeralda watched Orion lay back on the pile of furs and sleep.
She could try and attack him or figure out a way to open the shackles. A hundred ideas rushed through her head at once.
“Oh, by the way,” he said. “I drugged the wine you drank. I can’t sleep with the thought of such a clever woman machinating a way to escape.”
Esmeralda became wide eyed at the comment but only for a moment. She felt very sleepy and her eyes started closing rapidly despite her effort to stay awake. She yawned and wondered when she was going to stop acting like such an amateurish Tenderfoot.
“Night, night,” Orion said as Esmeralda fell over and started snoring gently.
* * * * *
Esmeralda awoke to the sound of chopping.
“What’s going on?” she asked. She was on a pile of furs with a blanket which Orion must have placed over her during the night. The night’s sleep had done her well and she felt much refreshed.
“Animus Enforcers and Avengers,” Orion said grimly staring into the fire.
Esmeralda realized that she also could see into the fire and see images appear. There were half a dozen Animus and one very large Walrus headed one held a double headed ax and was chopping down a large tree.
”They’ve discovered the safe house,” he said. “They most likely don’t suspect that we are here. Probably just a routine patrol.”
“So what will happen?” Esmeralda asked.
“If they chop down the tree, the safe house is permanently severed from the world,” he said. “We’d be trapped here together forever. Or at least until we die of hunger.”
“Can we fight them?” she asked.
”Five Enforcers and an Avenger? Not unless you and I were both 100%,” he said. “Otherwise, not a chance.”
“Then what alternative do we have?” she asked.
“I need more magic,” he said. “If you let me tickle magic from you, I can open a wormhole to another safe house away from this cursed Animus Realm.”
“Is this another ploy of yours to get what you want?” Esmeralda asked suspiciously.
“Let’s say that if it isn’t a ploy, you and I would both be in big trouble. Do you want to take that risk?”
Esmeralda was reluctant to admit that he was probably right.
”Okay, okay,” she said and Orion’s face lit up. “But on one condition.”
“What is that?” he asked.
“That you tell me how to return to my world,” she said.
“Agreed,” he said. “I will tell you in detail once this crisis is adverted. You have my word.”
“Then get to it.”
Orion turned Esmeralda over on her belly and straddled her knees as he prepared to attack her bare soles. There was no sense trying anything complicated with so little time available.
Orion placed his weight on her calves began to tickle slowly as he tried to study her reactions. He began to scratch the wrinkled soles and he smiled as Esmeralda began to giggle gently and her feet tried to unsuccessfully get away. It was always a pleasure to tickle a new person even under such urgent circumstances.
“Go after the part where the arch meets the toes,” Esmeralda suggested as she began to laugh a bit harder as his tickling began to grow in intensity.
Orion followed her advice and tickled her there exactly. Esmeralda began to struggle much harder and her laughter was loud and strong. She had very pretty feet. He had tickled maybe tens of thousands of pairs of feet in his time and none were prettier than these he was tickling at this moment.
He also enjoyed her laughter. It was deep and hearty and cheerful all at once. It was music to his ears. There was no screaming, no protests, no pleas for mercy. Even though most ticklers were sadistic and enjoyed the screams and the protests, Orion’s favorite tickling was with a very ticklish and willing partner.
He concentrated on the tickling, carefully scratching the sensitive flesh between her arches and her toes. He especially found her especially responsive under the big toe and under her pinky toe. Esmeralda’s laughter grew louder and louder as he attacked these spots. Beautiful, he thought as he listened to her surrender to the tickling sensations and the intense laughter.
It took a few minutes, but not as long as Orion would have wanted. Esmeralda was approaching climax quickly as her laughter became so intense that she almost stopped breathing. Orion pushed straight ahead despite his urge to let her catch her breath and continue the onslaught.
Esmeralda gasped and then suddenly relaxed as Orion realized his tickling was no longer having any affect on her. He stroked her feet gently enjoying their smoothness and disappointed that the session was over.
A red magical gem appeared above Esmeralda’s forehead and he took it and placed it against his own absorbing her magic.
She was exhausted, but it good spirits as it usually was when one willingly gave into tickling. He helped her to her feet and cast a spell to open the wormhole.
As he stepped through and guided Esmeralda he regretted promising to tell her the way home.
He wasn’t so certain he was ready to see her go.
* * * * *
“What are you two up to?” Patrisa asked the two pixies as the hot air balloon carried them through the night sky. “Why did you allow her to be captured by Orion?”
Indigo and Amber exchanged glances but did not reply.
”What are your names?” Patrisa asked. Then, after a moment’s pause, she added, “Navy Blue and School Bus Yellow?”
Indigo pouted and then shouted angrily out at the Scourge. “For your information, my name is Indigo and my friend’s is Amber, but I wouldn’t expect a color blind thug like yourself to know that!”
“You are traitors to the Academy if you are here against Madame Jordanna’s will,” Danea said watching the pair intently. Pixies were never to be trusted, but they usually refrained to mischief and such regarding non-pixies. This appeared to be something much greater than simple mischief.
“You’re one to talk,” Amber said rebuking the comment. “I’m sure Madame Jordanna did not send you, but how can you be so certain she did not send us?”
Danea was surprised at the pixie’s comment. Had Madame Jordanna, her Elfling mentor, really send the pixie’s on a clandestine mission? Was it possible? Indeed, Madame Jordanna did not send her. Danea wondered if there would still be a place for her at the Academy after this.
“If they won’t talk, put them in a jar with vinegar,” Peter the Peddler said licking his dinosaur lips. “Pickled Pixies are truly a delicacy.”
The two pixies stomped furiously from with in their cage with total indignation.
“Pickled Pixies, what nerve!” Amber fumed.
“What’s that?” Brunilda the Centaur asked pointing to the horizon behind them.
They all turned to look at what she was referring to.
It was a muti-colored cloud that was approaching them at an enormous speed.
“It’s not a cloud,” Patrisa said noticing that it was going against the wind.
”It’s the cavalry,” Indigo said excitedly jumping up and down in the cage on the end of Patrisa’s fighting stick.
“Cavalry?” Peter repeated as a humming sound could be heard from the direction of the cloud.
“We’ll see who gets pickled before this day is done,” Amber said with a smile.
Patrisa swore softly.
“Pixies!”
To be continued…
Next: The Rainbow Company
