The Replicator hummed gently as I dusted off the plinths and considered my next move. My uncle’s companion-builder reverted itself into cooldown mode without enough essence to continue production. I was down a Shield Slammer but fate had given me a beautiful blood mage instead. A creak at the door of the shack drew my eyes up. The Slammers shouldered their way past the door and filled the room with the smell of blood.

Rikard’s half-vaporized head gaped at me as it swung from the second homunculus’ hand. The other homunculus chuckled to itself as it swung the Guard’s two dismembered arms around. Dead fingers slapped against each other in a weird rhythm and a surge of excitement blasted through me. Fresh materials meant that the next homunculus I created would have much better stat points.

“You really shouldn’t ask these idiots to cut off fingers with such a big sword,” Alexia commented as she closed the door to the shack. “They’re just as likely to slice off their own.”

“Arms work fine,” I said and focused my mind. Set down the head and limbs on the bench.

The Slammers deposited the grisly remains of our battle. I sent them outside to guard the entrance to the shack with a thought. My two soldiers grunted their assent and half-garbled murmurs hummed out of their throats.. The beautiful homunculus sighed in relief as the Slammers took up a defensive position outside and banged the door shut. Her blood-soaked blouse shifted over her rear as she leaned against the harvesting bench. Alexia caught me mid-stare with a laugh.

“Why did you send them outside?” the elf teased. “Did you just want to get me alone?”

“It crossed my mind,” I grinned, “but with Rikard gone, we need someone to keep watch. It won’t be long before Longhorn notices that his pet Guard is missing and sends someone to investigate.”

“Does this Longhorn scare you?” Alexia asked me. “He seemed to scare Rikard.”

I shook my head. “Longhorn is dangerous, but no, I’m not scared of him.”

The elf turned around one of the arms and nodded decisively. “Good. Now, why did you have the other homunculi bring the arms and whatever is left of the head here?”

“That’s simple enough,” I said. “We lost a Shield Slammer to Rikard. And we need to keep our numbers high if we’re going to keep you safe from Longhorn. The only glaring problem is that we can’t use the Replicator until tomorrow.”

“So why bother harvest Rikard’s flesh if you can’t use any of it?”

I waved a hand at the shelves piled high with pickled fingers, eyes, and other organs half-hidden in grey fluid. “We can, just not yet. If we cut him up, store his fingers, then it gives us plenty of material to work with later.” I strolled over to a metal barrel and reached up to get an empty jar. “This fluid keeps the life and vitality of the flesh intact while preparing it for alchemy. It’s one of the cornerstones of creating homunculi.”

Alexia held up her dagger. “So you need his fingers?”

The grey preservative splashed into the jar as I turned the spigot on the barrel. “Yeah. Ten fingers means ten fresh homunculi when we have the resources to create them.”

The elf harvested the fingers from the severed arms of the former Guardsman. She brushed her shoulder against mine innocently as I set down two jars of grey liquid beside her and directed her to place them inside. Alexia took the fingers with smooth, efficient slices of her dagger. I sat back against the bench to watch her work.

“Are you going to create more of those things outside?” she asked. “Or are you going to create new homunculi like me?”

She dropped a thumb and index finger into the preservative as I considered my options. “Jamin only ever taught me how to create homunculi approved by the Crown. Using Rikard as a base ingredient is definitely not kingdom-sanctioned. We usually get our supplies from coroners and surgeons from long-dead corpses. There’s a lot of paperwork involved. The body of a missing guardsman will bring the Companion Commission down on our heads if they found out about it.”

Alexia frowned as she sawed through a bone. “If Jamin created me as a favour to a criminal, then I’m definitely not legal to own. Are you going to turn me in to this Commission?”

“No,” I said firmly. “You’re far too special to be turned over to someone like Longhorn, and besides, the only person that knows you exist apart from Jamin and I is having his fingers turned into Replicator ingredients.”

The elf gave me a sly glance. “You think I’m special?”

I sealed off the first jar and shot her a flirtatious grin. “You know I do.”

Colour crept into Alexia’s cheeks as she started on the second of Rikard’s arms. I dropped the new jar of fingers onto the shelf and considered my situation again. Longhorn would come after me once he found out that Rikard had vanished. He wanted Alexia bad enough to send one of his paid Garrison Guards after me. My two Shield Slammers weren’t the ideal homunculi. Alexia herself was powerful, and I could cover a lot of angles with my arbalest from hidden positions around the farm. But we needed the advantage of numbers and a wider set of skills. That would be the difference between victory and defeat.

But time was running out, and my recipes were limited. I couldn’t afford to try and create new ones through experimentation. Jamin had cautioned me against it in the past, and after hearing the fates of over-enthusiastic companion farmers, I wasn’t in any hurry to treat myself to the whims of fate.

“So if you’re not turning me over to the Commission, or to Longhorn, what are you going to do?” the elf asked. “You said you can’t build any more homunculi today, not until the machine cools down.”

“I’m still figuring it out,” I admitted.

“I’m sure you will,” Alexia giggled. “You certainly seemed to know what you were doing against Rikard. I’ve only ever read about people like you, Caleb. You’re like the dashing captains of armies who knew exactly how to defeat their enemy, even if they were caught by surprise.”

I shrugged as modestly as I could. “We’re not out of the woods yet. And you were the one to put Rikard away, not me, remember?”

Alexia sliced the last thumb from the arm, dropped it into the pickling jar, and cleaned off her dagger with a dirty cloth. “I’m almost as surprised as you are, honestly.”

“You’re our strongest homunculus,” I told her seriously. “Don’t forget that.”

She blushed again and looked away as I sealed off the second jar and sat it next to the others on the shelf. Jamin had spent decades creating this collection, but he’d always made sure to stick to the guidelines of the Commission.

Well, at least until he’d created a blood mage without telling me.

“How much do you know about Jamin’s process in creating you?” I asked Alexia.

She hopped up onto the bench and crossed her legs. I had to tear my eyes away from the curve of her hips. Even covered in blood, the elf tore my breath away.

“Why?” she asked playfully.

“More I know about you, your powers, and how you came to be, the better,” I replied. “I’m not looking to replace you, Alexia. But more homunculi with similar powers means that we can hold our own against Longhorn. The more options I have, the better we can adapt to an attack when it comes.”

“That seems wise,” Alexia nodded.

“Jamin never told me that I was a blood mage,” she said as she busied herself with wiping the blood off her arms. “I knew that I was a created being, and that your uncle made me with your machine. But he left me in the cellar.” She caught my eye and smiled. “Before this morning, I’d never even seen the light of the day.”

“So how did you know you could use magic?”

Alexia shrugged. “Perhaps it’s instinct. When Rikard sliced your homunculus in half, I was drawn to the blood.” She sniffed the cloth in her hand and made a soft sound of appreciation. “Once I tasted it, I remembered a book your uncle left for me in the cellar. It detailed the basic theory of magic. I’ve always been curious about my existence, and wanted to experiment with magic. But it took me a lot of time to find it among all his recipes-”

“Wait,” I said as excitement surged through my mind. “Recipes in the cellar?”

“He has shelves of them down there,”Alexia confirmed, “but most of them have been burned and blanked out with ink. I believed I asked him about it, and he said they were unsuccessful experiments.”

“Jamin, you sly bastard,” I grinned. “Come on, we need to find them.”

“Now?” Alexia asked, sliding off the bench.

I held the door open for her. “No time like the present. Let’s go.”

The Shield Slammers didn’t so much as blink as Alexia followed me back to the manor house. Manic energy rippled through my body as I pulled the keys out from around my neck and unfastened the heavy padlocks that kept the trap doors shut. I heaved them open and descended the stairs in a flash. The midday sun illuminated the darkness.

I took a few moments to let my eyes adjust. Alexia darted ahead of me to the rows of books beside the racks of wine bottles. Her fingers danced over the dusty tomes as she searched for the books she’d spoken of. I joined her after a minute and she poked me in the ribs with her elbow as I peered over her shoulder.

“You’re crowding me,” she teased. “Further down on the left.”

The elf couldn’t hide a self-satisfied smile as I left the stairs behind me and went deeper into my uncle’s cellar. Alexia had kept her living space clean. Soft perfume mixed with the earthy scent of maturing wine and old parchment. A long shelf of books sat above a row of wine barrels. I narrowed my eyes as I searched the titles.

The cellar hadn’t just been hiding Alexia.

Jamin had left his experimental recipes for the Replicator down here, I was sure of it.

Three volumes stood out to me. Brewing Ingredients, A Culinary Guidebook, and an unmarked tome with a slashed leather cover. I piled them into my arms just as Alexia nudged me from behind with her hip. I hadn’t heard her approach and I fought to keep from dropping my new collection of books.

“I have a place over by my bed,” she purred in my ear, “if you’d care to join me.”

I’d never met a sentient homunculus before. And certainly not one as teasing and sultry as Alexia. My eyes slid over the curve of her hips and calves as I strode after her. It was impossible to just see Alexia as a simple companion to be used and left behind.

She had her own personality, self-awareness, and desires, just as I did.

Her ‘bed’ was simply a large stack of leather tarpaulins and horse blankets tucked behind a pile of barrels. Books were stacked neatly at the edges and the elf’s scent radiated from every corner of it. I left my findings with Alexia and took a minute to find a lantern. A simple spark off a flint with the elf’s dagger, and an orange glow lit up my uncle’s secret cellar.

“We’re looking for anything that resembles a Replicator recipe,” I said. “Fingers, weapon effigies, and other ingredients. Even a few alchemy brews would be helpful.”

The elf nodded. “I haven’t read these in months, but it shouldn’t take long.”

We got to work.

Alexia hummed a quiet tune to herself as she pored through the pages of the books. She had this beguiling way of chewing the corners of her lips as she flicked through the pages. Her brow knitted itself into a perfect line of concentration as she pointed to a list of ingredients.

“An alchemy brew,” the elf murmured to me. “In Jamin’s hand. It’s called a ‘Draught for Unwelcome Guests’.”

“Sounds like Jamin,” I laughed. “Read out some of the ingredients.”

“Moonlake shadow, creeper bile, gorequinces-”

My eyes widened at that. “Shit, Jamin’s not playing games with that title.”

“What is it?”

“Poison,” I explained. “Those are some of the most lethal toxins you can find in the natural world that don’t have any of their own detectable scent or taste.” I paused for a moment and laughed. “I’m sure glad he had me do most of the cooking once I was old enough. Wouldn’t have wanted to piss him off.”

“Shall I write a copy? I have some spare parchment and a quill here somewhere,” Alexia offered.

“Thanks,” I said with a gentle touch of her shoulder.

Her eyes met mine and the gaze lingered and almost turned into something deeper. The elf’s breath tickled my cheek for a moment before I prodded her knee and nodded at the book in her hands. Alexia blushed fiercely and hurriedly fished through her collection of personal items for a pen and spare parchment.

I was glad the blankets and the shadows kept me half visible. Straining trousers in the middle of research wasn’t exactly something I wanted to try to explain to her just yet.

I found what I was looking for in the scarred-leather volume. Three-quarters of it was filled with Jamin’s slanted and tidy script. Most of the writing was a reflection on the Replicator and its basic applications, but an attached sheet stood out to me halfway through the tome. I tugged it out and held it up to the lantern to read. Three titles caused me to me fight off a shout of pure exhilaration.

Pike Piercer

Yeoman Archer

Zweihander Mercenary

“What is it?” Alexia asked.

“Basic military homunculi recipes,” I said breathlessly. “Perfect for our purposes.”

“Aren’t the Shield Slammers like that?” she asked.

“Shield Slammers are usually a distraction for low-level adventurers,” I explained. “Jamin made most of his coin from providing cheap labor for farms, a few simple units for local guilds, and the occasional clerk for a merchant. The Commission would have his head if they knew he had a blueprint for homunculi designed for serious combat.”

“They’d want his head anyway, just for my existence,” Alexia pointed out.

I shook my head in astonishment. “I knew Jamin liked to keep his dealings quiet, but anyone with access to this could be arrested and executed with barely a question asked.”

The elf shuddered at the thought.

I put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “With these homunculi and a few adjustments to the Replicator, I can create a small garrison right here on the farm. We’d never had to worry about Longhorn coming after us. He’d have to bring his own army to fight mine.”

Her eyes sparkled at my words. “So it’s exactly what you needed.”

“I was looking for something more experimental, but this is enough for now,” I grinned. “Jamin’s a paranoid old bastard, and now I’m starting to figure out why.”

I copied down the recipes with a quick hand. Alexia put the other books back in their place and waited for me at the base of the stairs. A question gnawed away behind her eyes as I folded up the two manuscript pages and tucked them into my pocket.

“Speaking of experimentation, why can’t you just try your own recipes in the Replicator?” she asked, as I waved her up the stairs. “You know how the Replicator works. Why do you rely so much on your uncle’s recipes?”

I nodded as I climbed out of the cellar. “It’s a good question. I’ll tell you while we stable Rikard’s horse.”

A brief scan of the gardens told me that the beast had ventured out into the gentle hills south of the manor house. Alexia bounced alongside me, glad to have the sun on her face and the breeze in her hair. I spotted the horse a second later and we strolled towards it at a relaxed pace.

“So, experimentation with a Replicator,” I said. “Recipes are usually given to different farmers for different purposes. Roarwind isn’t a large settlement, really, but there’s still plenty of use for a homunculus on a farm or in a dungeon. So each companion farmer is issued a license by the Commission to regulate what each farmer can make.”

“But Jamin obviously didn’t listen,” Alexia said.

“No, he didn’t. He found other recipes and did a little experimentation of his own. He only showed me simple recipes so that I could use the Replicator when he was traveling for business. So my knowledge of the Replicator is limited, and I can’t just go throwing in ingredients. I need to build better homunculi and get acquainted with the machine before I even think about experimenting with it.”

Alexia picked a small white flower from the grass as we approached the horse. It was a mighty beast, worth a lot of coin, and outfitted with the best saddlery that the Garrison had to offer. The horse glanced up at us and tensed. But then Alexia stepped forward with a soft murmur, pressed the small flower to its nose, and it relaxed.

“Elven instinct again?” I chuckled.

She beamed at the horse. “I suppose so. And what happens if you experiment with the Replicator? What would a hoof do, for instance?”

I laughed. “I don’t know, and that’s the problem. Jamin told me a story about a local companion-farmer in the area who got drunk one night and decided to throw a lizard, a pile of bones, and some local potion he’d never heard of into a Replicator. Poor bastard summoned half a Necrotic Bone Dragon.”

Alexia’s eyes widened as we led Rikard’s horse back to the manor stables. “What?”

“It broke through the tank, killed him, and then exploded. Took out half an acre of buildings. Apparently the place still smells like a graveyard, fifty years on.” I shook my head. “I can’t risk that, so we stick to finding recipes that work for now. There’ll be plenty of time to try subtle changes once I’ve created enough homunculi.”

It took half an hour to unsaddle the horse, rub it down, and stable it properly. There hadn’t been an animal in my uncle’s stables for as long as I could remember. I made a mental note to source some feed and have my homunculi keep Rikard’s old horse well-exercised.

It’d definitely be useful in the future.

I reached out with my mind and found the clunky thoughts of the Shield Slammers. It took a moment to send them across a message to guard the main entrance to the manor house, and I realized that my ability to control them was affected by distance.

“What now?” Alexia asked.

“We get you some clothes,” I answered, “and I’ll clean up while you rest. It’s been a long day for everyone. The Replicator is still cooling down, and an order of essences comes in tomorrow. That, and I need to sit down and think about the best way to fight off a crime baron.”

Gratitude washed through Alexia’s expression. “I’m sure you’ll find a way.”

I gave Alexia one of the upstairs rooms in the manor. Mercifully, Rikard hadn’t been able to destroy everything in the house and I gave her an old suite. Alexia bounded inside as I pushed the door open. A large four-poster bed took up most of the room. A grey fireplace sat empty and dead opposite the silk-sheeted monster of a bed. A writing desk and wardrobe flanked the walls and created one of the better guest rooms of the farm’s manor house.

“It’s beautiful,” Alexia said quietly.

“Well, it’s all yours,” I offered. “If you want it.”

The elf gazed out the window to the garden around the house. “The view’s wondrous.”

A soft breeze sifted through the open glass and toyed with her hair. I’d seen paintings that only just tried to capture how regal an elf could look, and Alexia all of them to shame. I left her to the view, strolled through the broken glass in the halls and found a spare set of clothes in the washing room downstairs. A screaming kettle and a large basin later, and Alexia had herself something to clean up with. I returned to room to find that she’d lit the fire and was huddled naked in front of it.

“Here.” I left the trousers, tunic and boots on her bed and set down the basin and towel beside her. “Get yourself cleaned up.”

She turned and caught hold of my arm. My eyes were instantly drawn to the curve of her breast and gloriously pale skin. Alexia’s eyes shone with mischief as she tried to tug me down to join her, but I twisted out of her grip playfully and stepped back.

“I’m not one to get between a lady and her bath,” I laughed.

“And if I ask you to join me anyway?” she giggled.

I considered the offer very seriously for just a second. But I needed to secure the house, bar the door, and prepare the house for an attack over the night. It wasn’t likely, but it never hurt to be prepared. I shook my head with a smile and squeezed her hand gently. Alexia didn’t let go. She rose to her feet in a single motion and caught hold of my tunic.

“Join me,” the elf murmured. “Please.”

“Alexia-”

“Is it because I’m not human?” she asked me. “Because your uncle created me?”

Her scent threatened to overwhelm me as I tried to form an answer. “No, of course not. You’re nothing like the Slammers. Hell, you’re more a person that Rikard was.”

“So what is it?” Alexia insisted. “I know you find me pleasing. You think I haven’t seen you watching me?” Mischief colored her tone. “And I still haven’t thanked you properly for letting me out of the cellar.”

Her lips brushed my cheek and a thrill of pleasure rippled through my body.

“You shouldn’t feel obligated,” I managed. “I don’t want you to feel like you owe me anything. I don’t want you thinking that you’re my slave or somehow in my debt.”

“It’s not that,” Alexia giggled. “I’ve been reading all kinds of things in Jamin’s books. Tales of men and women and what they do together when they’re alone.” Her hand tugged at the ties on my tunic. “And I’ve never had an opportunity to experience anything like it.”

Spoiler: Spoiler

ny kind of resistance I had vanished after that. My mouth found hers hungrily and Alexia gasped as I pulled her against me. Steaming water soaked my tunic as I tore it over my head. Her soft fingers roamed over my chest and lingered on ridges of muscle. The curve of her mouth intoxicated me. A slight hint of blood melded with her own delicious taste and I couldn’t get enough of her. The room spun around us and Alexia upended the basin as I scooped her up into my arms and carried her toward the bed.

Every inch of her was smooth, scented with a soft perfume, and just fed my desire for her. It’d been months since I’d taken anyone to bed. The elf moaned and encircled my waist with her warm thighs as I kissed the pointed tip of her ear. Her arms tightened around my neck as she drew me in to kiss her again. I forced myself to slow down a little and to let her enjoy the experience. That sensual, unrestrained moan vibrated through her throat as our tongues danced against each other. It wasn’t long before Alexia tore insistently at my belt. I kissed my way down her neck and to her round, pert chest. Her nipples tightened as I slid my tongue over them and uncinched my belt. Alexia’s fingers curled in my hair as I found the warm centre between her thighs. The elf tensed into a perfect arch as I ran my mouth over her pussy and sent lightning bolts of ecstasy through her body.

“More,” she panted desperately. “Gods above, give me more-”

I slid up through her thighs and caught hold of her round ass. The warm water made her skin slick and welcoming as I took her. The elf writhed as I pushed her deeper into the bed with each stroke. Her fingernails tore at my skin as I kissed her neck, her chest, and anything else I could reach. Alexia’s legs tightened around my waist and she shoved her hips back up into me hungrily. I was already inches away from bursting. But I couldn’t finish, not yet.

Alexia’s first orgasm crashed through her like a tidal wave. She writhed like a possessed creature and clung to me with every ounce of strength she had as she climaxed. Her voice broke slightly as her moan turned into a primal scream of pleasure. The elf’s eyes widened as I paused and grinned down at her.

“Your books describe it like that?” I laughed.

“They don’t do it justice,” Alexia said breathlessly.

She caught hold of my manhood and pulled me back to her.

I kept on the pressure after that. Two orgasms later and I couldn’t hold back the tidal wave any longer. Alexia screamed as I filled her and then slowed to catch my breath. Her eyes fluttered closed as I slipped out of her and found my trousers. I’d barely missed throwing my boots in the fire.

“You okay?” I asked over my shoulder.

A soft snore was all I got in response.

I chuckled to myself as I re-fastened my belt and tied my boots again. Alexia hadn’t spent any time outside the cellar. Her energy reserves weren’t anywhere near as high as they should’ve been. Jamin should’ve probably thought of that, but then, my uncle had always put the farm at the top of his priority list.

I kissed Alexia’s forehead and wrapped her in the silk sheets.

Dusk hovered outside as I left my beautiful blood mage behind and went to look for my arbalest. I found it against the wall in the hallway beside Rikard’s corpse and resolved to have the Slammers bring the body to the shack tomorrow. I’d incinerate what was left of the Garrison Guard and hide any sign that the bastard had even come here.

Longhorn Martyn was one of the most feared people in the community of Roarwind. But he hadn’t scared Jamin, and he didn’t scare me. If my uncle hadn’t delivered Alexia to Longhorn, then the old man had obviously intended for me to find the blood mage. The elf’s power and beauty was second to none. She’d be an invaluable asset to any man, criminal or companion farmer.

But she’d chosen me. She’d had her opportunities to run.

My plan hadn’t changed. Alexia had just placed it in sharper focus for me.

I’d be damned if Longhorn or anyone else had the opportunity to fuck with my farm and the people who lived on it.