Inkitt Link for those interested.

When I awoke again, I almost thought I’d died and went back to the room with the Dancing Fool. Complete darkness and utter silence engulfed me for several moments, and I nearly lashed out with my magic to illuminate the area in flames, before I felt Crystal’s comforting warmth against me. It took several moments for me to get my breathing back under control and myself calmed down fully enough to remember where we were and to deduce that the fire had simply been allowed to go out, leaving us all in the utter darkness of the stone tomb where we were currently taking refuge in.

Gently moving my hands up and down Crystal’s soft warmth, I caressed her body for several moments until she stretched slightly and reached and took my hand. “My Lord?” She asked quietly, so as to not disturb the others.

“I’m awake, and feeling much better,” I whispered back to her in return.

“That’s actually a relief to hear, My Lord.” Letting go of my hand, Crystal slowly reached and caressed my face in the dark, before finally relaxing and resting her arms under her head. Snuggled up to her side, the invitation to indulge myself in the soft temptation of her bare flesh was obvious. I’d like to claim that under the circumstances of where we were, I resisted temptation and stayed focused solely on healing and escaping; but that’d be a lie. For several long and blissful minutes; I allowed my hands and fingers to caress her in a slow, endless cycle all the way down from her knees, up to her face, and then back down to her knees again; enjoying the feel of every curve, dip, and secret spot between.

Her body arched lightly under my gentle probing and caress, and I quietly kissed, nipped, and nibbled on the round fullness of her breasts, as she worked to keep herself silent. For a brief, blissful while, it was almost a game between us, with her trying her best to not make a sound, and me doing my utmost to make her. Had she been Le’Nara, it would’ve been no contest; she would’ve moaned freely, and anyone listening -- dead or living – could just be damned! De’Nara on the other hand, had a will of steel. If she decided she wasn’t going to moan, I could’ve bit off her nipple and she still wouldn’t make a peep.

The two sisters were the extreme opposites when it came to such things, and as such, neither of them would’ve been half as fun to tease as Crystal was. Gentle little gasps and ragged breaths escaped her lips, and I could tell she was on the verge of letting out a groan loud enough for the others to hear – and yet she always managed to somehow swallow it back with a twitch and a quiver at the last moment.

Honestly, I don’t know how long I would’ve simply laid there and indulged myself in the gentle distraction, but unfortunately the sound of someone else moving and stirring in the darkness made me quit. For several moments after, Crystal wiggled and squirmed, before she finally settled back still beside me. As the first flashes of flint were being used to reignite the fire, I could tell from the briefest of glances that Crystal was covered in sweat and had an almost blissfully peaceful look on her face.

As the small fire finally lit, I leaned up and gently kissed her on the lips. “Good morning,” I told her, not even bothering to hide the large smile on my face.

“Good morning.” Crystal blushed slightly and then wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close. I could feel two hard peaks pressed tight against my chest, with a soft feeling of full, gentle roundness behind them. Leaning forward, Crystal returned my kiss lightly.

“Geeze! Why don’t you two get a room?” Jess muttered, moodily, which somehow made me laugh.

“Fine. We’ll do just that.” Stretching, I slowly sat up and stretched. “It’s cramped in here, and we could use some extra space.”

“My Lord?” Crystal asked, questioningly.

“We’re going to be stuck here for a while it seems,” I reasoned. “There’s a ton of dead outside that door and around us once more, drawn by the large amount of life in this small area. The others are going to need as much strength and health as they can recover, before I work on moving out of here. Extra room so we can separate the sick from the healthy at least would be nice.”

“And how are you going to do such a feat, My Lord?”

“Probably by overusing his talent, burning out, and becoming a worthless bum,” Jess answered.

“Nooo..” Laughing, I held up both hands to show my innocence. “In fact, I’m not even going to be the one to do it. Crystal is,” I stated matter-of-factly.

“Me?” Crystal asked, confused. “I don’t have any magics. I don’t see how I can do anything to make us more room.”

“You’ll both see.” I couldn’t help but chuckle at the confused looks they both gave each other.

“Wakey! Wakey! One and all!” I half shouted, and all three of the boys jerked upright. Dino looked like he was about ready to piss himself, in wild panic, while the big fellow – who I assumed had to be Mongo – was grabbing for a sword that sat near his side. The other, littler fellow, had bolted upright, and even though he half staggered on his feet, he was alert and had a long-bladed knife in each hand.

“Morning all! It’s a pleasure to meet you Mongo,” I half bowed to the large guy with the sword, “and you too Skeet.” I half bowed in his direction, as well. “I’m Michael, your new roommate, and I’m here to rescue you.”

“What ‘n ta nine ‘ells is he ramblin’ ‘bout?” Skeet asked, in a thick, common speech, while staring over at Dino.

“Damned if I know,” Dino shrugged. “He’s like that most of the time.”

“Bloody ‘ell! Ya buggered ta sheet outta me!” Skeet was starting to settle back down slowly, and looked like he was going to simply collapse right where he was, but I didn’t let him.

“Woah!” Rushing over to help support him under the arms, I was amazed at how light he felt. “Let’s get you over to the other wall. We’re going to be doing some remodeling on that one. It’s why we needed you guys to move.” Everyone was looking at me like I was crazy now, except for the two girls who were still passed out and completely oblivious to everything over in the corner they were in, and I found myself laughing once again. Somehow, the more I baffled people, the more it amused me.

Too tired to argue, Mongo slowly lumbered over to settle down closer to Dino, and I helped Skeet to the same corner.

“You guys should be good there, and we shouldn’t bother the girls over in their corner.”

“An’ what ta ‘ell ya doin’?” Skeet asked, curious. Dino hadn’t warned me much about his accent or way of talk. It’s going to take me a bit to adjust for it in my head.

“Well, Crystal,” I flourished a deep bow towards her, which I thought was quite amusing since I was still in nothing more than my underwear, “you’re up!”

“Me?!”

“Yep. You.”

“What the heck am I supposed to do?”

“Well, it’s simple really. You’re going to grab that pretty little Heartblade of yours, then you’re going to mosey over here and beat on this wall a few times with it.” I really was feeling much better this morning. I couldn’t keep the sparkle from my eyes or the smile from twitching at the corner of my lips as she simply stared back at me, unblinking.

“Honest,” I reassured her, “that’s the plan. The sword you’re carrying has proven itself quite a bit sturdier and sharper than steel, and there’s a room right behind this one that’s only got a few inches of stone separating it from us. As we saw in the brief time I had light and was conscious in the hallway, the other doors along this wall were closed, and I can’t feel anything moving back there. It should be perfectly safe for you to hack us a hole to the next room,” I assured her.

“If you’re certain…” Crystal shrugged, hesitantly.

“I’m certain of one thing,” I told her; “we have nothing to lose by trying.”

Nodding, Crystal grabbed Heartblade’s hilt and slowly walked up to the wall. “Anywhere in particular?” She asked.

Moving back to clear out of her way, I went over to sit down beside Dino and the other guys. “A little way from the far corner, away from the door, would probably be best,” I answered. “The corner is a strong spot of support and is less likely to cave in, and it’s not likely to collapse the wall leading into the hall so the dead out there can swarm in here. We simply want to open a hole to the room beside us; it doesn’t need to be overly big or fancy.”

I could tell she was still uncertain, but Crystal simply frowned and nodded as she walked over to the corner and slashed at the wall a few feet from the far corner. Heartblade made sparks which briefly illuminated the darkness, and cut a scrape several inches deep into the stone.

Taking a moment to feel and examine the slice, Crystal finally nodded in satisfaction and took her blade in both hands and began to hack passionately at the wall. Sparks flew, and soon a small gap opened as she carved her way through the obstruction. I have to admit, it was truly a sight to behold watching her slice and hack at the ever growing hole, all while wearing nothing more than a pair of sting panties. Mongo and Skeet stared at each other for a moment, and then both turned to look at Dino; who simply shrugged at them and then pointed to me. “Ask him. He knows her. Personally, I think they’re both crazy.”

As they both turned their gazes over towards me, I couldn’t help but shrug and laugh lightly. “What can I say? We might be crazy, but we’re effective.”

“Effectively destructive,” Dino muttered.

“Maybe,” I couldn’t help but agree. “But, sometimes it’s necessary to be destructive. It’s gotten us this far, so far, hasn’t it.”

Dino started to say something, but was interrupted by a loud crash and Crystal laughing freely as she whipped her hair back away from her face. “We’re through, My Lord,” she informed us, grinning back and covered in sweat – a large gaping hole now open, leading into the next room. She truly was a beautiful woman and a lovely sight to behold as she stood there triumphal.

“Lady Crystal, one. Stone Wall, zero!” She bragged, and then laughed again. “Now I know how a mole must feel as it tunnels through a farmer’s garden and roots out one treasured carrot after another.” Grinning, she rubbed a hand through her hair to pull it back out of her face. “Should I open the next room as well, My Lord?” She asked.

“Certainly,” I confirmed. “As long as you’re not too tired. We’ll be here for a few days at least it seems. We may as well move out and make some extra space for everyone. From what I can tell, you should be safe to ‘mole’ through the next four walls. There’s a few boneheads moving in a couple of the rooms, but they should collapse as soon as they’re exposed to Heartblade. I don’t think there’s anything in them which should prove an issue for you.”

Holding out a hand towards me, Crystal laughed lightly. “Then come join me, My Lord. If you shall make a light, I shall mole us some extra space so we won’t have to suffer so while we’re resting and the others are healing here.”

“Certainly,” I agreed, getting up to walk over and accept her hand. “Allow me to light the way, My Lady.” Bowing towards her, I flexed my talent and created a small bright flame which I danced into the next room. “After you,” I motioned.

Taking a moment to curtsy back, Crystal laughed and then climbed over the debris and into the other room. As I slowly followed behind her, I head Mongo asking something which sounded like, “Just who the hell are they?”

“You don’t want to know,” was Dino’s half-whispered response, “but that’s our new roommate.”

If Mongo said anything after that, I didn’t hear it. I was already in the next room, snooping around while Crystal was singing lightly to herself and hacking away at the next wall.