Half-Breed Hunter: Arrival Read online

  Titania clicked her tongue and removed the spear. I could breathe again.

  I rubbed my throat and glanced back at the dark-skinned girl. “Thanks for the save.” It was my first time noticing her ears. They were even longer and pointier than Titania’s. More fantasy material.

  Amazing what you notice when you’re not ogling breasts.

  “Now now, you don’t need to thank me. But, if you insist, we can go back to my room and do it properly.” Her golden eyes devoured me. I had a feeling that wasn’t a joke.

  “Esther. You said, Esther,” I reminded her.

  “That’s right.”

  I stared at her and waited for her to give me… anything.

  “Oh,” she gasped. “Esther is what I guess you would call the leader of this ensemble. However, she’s isn’t with us at the moment.”

  “Where is she?” I asked.

  “Somewhere out there. Lost in the wilderness,” she dismissed with a waft of her hand.

  “Lost? What do you mean lost?” I snapped.

  “Just what she said,” Titania growled. She jabbed my chest and averted her eyes. “And it’s all your fault.”

  “How is it…” The incident in the portal played back like a recording. I’d lost her hand and we’d been separated.

  This was my fault.

  “We need to find her,” I said.

  “Yeah, tell me something I don’t know,” Titania responded.

  “Well? Why aren’t we out there looking?”

  “Yeah, Dessa,” Titania said to the dark-skinned girl.

  Dessa sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “You’re just as impatient as each other. I’ll find her.”

  “Hurry it up! I’m worried about boss.”

  “But, I’m not done here,” Dessa purred, chewing on her outrageously thick lips, dolled up a similar pink shade to her hair. Her golden eyes watched me, but they weren’t aimed at my face.

  I followed her gaze down and realized something important. I wasn’t wearing any clothes.

  My hands snapped over my junk. Titania’s evading eyes made sense. She wasn’t an exhibitionist like Dessa. That much was obvious. Her petite body was contained in a tight, white, sleeveless leotard. She wore chunky metal boots and gauntlets, which passed her knees and elbows. It was an outfit for action, not seduction.

  “What happened to my clothes?” I asked. “My pants. Where are my pants?”

  Dessa giggled. “Only the living, and unliving, can pass between worlds. No clothes. Lucky for us.”

  “Lucky you, more like,” Titania snapped. “I don’t wanna see this perverts… stuff.”

  “You’ve both ruined it,” Dessa sighed, like she was the reasonable one. “Alright, I’ll go find Esther. And some clothes for our handsome friend. You two play nice why I’m away.” She skipped off and slipped through a red curtain, into another room.

  Without Dessa, the atmosphere in the room could be described as tense. Titania was giving me some serious “don’t talk to me” vibes, which was a problem. I had some serious inquiries to make.

  “Where are we?” I asked. “She said something about passing between worlds.”

  “None of your business,” she predictably snapped.

  “It kinda is.”

  “Doesn’t mean I gotta answer you.”

  “It’d be a nice start. I have no idea what’s going on. I’ve just about picked up your names… I think. I’m not even sure what you’re supposed to be.”

  “And that ain’t my problem.” She huffed and puffed like a disobedient brat.

  I opened up then stopped myself. This conversation was going nowhere. Her attitude was rotten. A real shame as she was a cutie. Once I got past the tusk thing, her face was pretty. She had round cheeks, a squishy little nose, and pixie blonde hair. Even those pointy fangs looked kinda charming. They could be mistaken for piercings.

  She didn’t have the same outrageous figure as Titania, or Esther’s athletic curves, but her body was fantastic. It’s not like big tits are the be-all, end-all. She was a petite beauty who was fixed in the pear-shaped camp. What she lacked in chest padding she paid back down below. Her ass was huge. That leotard only emphasized her cheeks, splitting down the middle and baring a bountiful amount of meat.

  Something throbbed under my hands. I gulped. Having so much eye candy was bad for my health.

  The minutes slipped by and the awkward silence lingered. I did all I could to observe the messy room instead of Titania’s exquisite behind. The room appeared to be a mix between a lounge and a kitchen. A cooking area occupied one portion of the room while a withered red couch and chair set dominated the rest. None of the furniture looked to be in the best condition, something I was used to.

  Female underwear scattered around was a new one.

  I couldn’t help noticing the floor was made from metal. The same went for the walls and the roof. It wasn’t a building material I was used to. Perhaps a metal bunker?

  “I’m back,” Dessa said in a sing-song voice, returning through the curtain.

  “Well?” Titania asked.

  “Good news.” Dessa threw me a bundle of fabric. “I managed to find some clothes for our darling newcomer.”

  “Who gives a shit about him?! Did you find Esther?”

  “Oh, that. Yep, I found her.”

  “Seriously?” I asked. “How?”

  Dessa wagged her finger. “No no, darling. We women need some secrets. You’ll discover more soon enough.”

  “Great, more secrets. Just what I want.” They were stacking up. Eventually, I would collect that debt. “Where is she?”

  “She’s not too far away.”

  “What are we waiting for?” Titania said. “Let’s go!”

  “Now now. Let’s allow our darling boy to change first,” Dessa said.

  “Pff, we don’t need him. He’s gonna slow us down.”

  “Is that really an issue when he’s serving as such delicious eye candy?” She glanced at me and nibbled a finger.

  Being viewed as meat wasn’t as fun as I’d hoped. Not that my lecherous mind had the willpower to ignore the beauties around me.

  I changed as fast as I could. The black pants were a bit baggy but did their job. The matching boots were like gloves, once I strapped them tight. No shirt was provided. Instead, I got a red cape.

  “Am I meant to wear this?” I asked.

  “Of course,” Dessa cheered. “It’ll make you look even hunkier. I promise.”

  That wasn’t exactly my ambition. However, it was a cape. Some say all men have a secret desire to wear a cape like some badass fictional hero. It seemed pointless to waste the opportunity.

  The fabric acted as a cowl around my neck and fluttered down my back. I checked myself out in the mirror and couldn’t help smirking like a damn kid.

  “Don’t forget this,” Dessa said, throwing me a sheath.

  I caught it and pulled out the blade. It was a proper sword, with a white crystal buried in the hilt.

  My childhood fantasies escalated.

  “Why do I need this?” I asked.

  Titania let out the loudest groan and rubbed her brow. “Do we seriously have to bring this clown?”

  “Cut our darling boy some slack. He’s new here. He’s got much to learn,” Dessa said.

  “I’d learn a lot faster if somebody told me what was going on,” I helpfully pointed out.

  “And where would the fun in that be?” Dessa giggled.

  I groaned. At least Esther was withholding details for a reason, not pettiness or personal entertainment.

  What sort of company had she left me with?

  “I ain’t gonna wait any longer,” Titania said, marching to the door. “Anybody who ain’t ready is getting left behind.”

  “I’m coming,” I said. “I’m not gonna abandon Esther.”

  “Yeay, let’s go Esther hunting,” Dessa cheered.

  Titania tapped at a console and the door fell open, becoming a set of stairs to the outside. An orange glow bled in, demonstrating the structure’s window problem. I covered my eyes while they adapted to the light change. I hadn’t even realized it was morning. Esther and I had jumped into the portal before midnight. We’d been separated for hours.

  If somebody bad happened to her, I would never forgive myself.

  I followed Titania outside, out of the stuffy warmth and into the frigid morning air. My eyes grew accustomed to the sun’s glow and revealed the horizon. A clear blue sky shone down on grey mountains peaks and forests of brown, orange, and red. There were no buildings in sight. The craggy terrain went on as far as the eye could see.

  The ‘metal bunker’ was actually a vehicle. Think motorhome crossed with a tank. It was an armored fortress on wheels.

  “Now that’s a view,” I said. We were on some mountain road, facing a drop. There was nothing to obscure the landscape.

  “We didn’t come here to sightsee,” Titania snapped. She had her spear in one hand. The other arm had a shield strapped onto her forearm. “Dessa, where’s boss?”

  “I think she’s… over there,” Dessa said, pointing a blue-tipped wood staff at a nearby forest. She hadn’t gone through an outfit change which meant she was tackling the cold in slutwear.

  “You think?!”

  “We’ll find her eventually.”

  “This is boss we’re talking about! Be more serious!” Titania complained.

  “I’m totally serious,” Dessa cooed, doing herself no favors.

  “That wasn’t serious at all!”

  “Don’t worry,” I said, stepping forward. “We’ll find her. I promise.”

  “So cool,” Dessa giggled, grabbing my arm. “I feel confident already.” Her giant bosom slipped around me, hugging me in softness.

&n
bsp; “That wasn’t cool at all,” the huffy Titania insisted. “Stop goofing around and come on. Boss is waiting.” She marched ahead, giving us an amazing view of her barely hidden, swaying, ass.

  “Is she always like this?” I asked Dessa.

  “To an extent. She’s a bit more aggressive than usual. I don’t think she likes you very much,” Dessa giggled.

  “Great,” I sighed. That was all I needed. Going on a rescue mission with a girl who hated me for no reason.

  “It’s okay. I like you, darling. I like you a lot.” She purred, nuzzling my shoulder. “When we get back, we should have some fun together. Oh, the things I’ll do to you.”

  The blood surged to my lap. I’d counted my chickens early. A rescue mission with an antagonistic brat and a boner. That was the real plight.

  Down the road, somebody screamed.

  I wrestled away from the slutty elf and rushed to help. The familiar shrill tone belonged to Titania. She had her shield up and was backing away from a group of wild dogs.

  They had glowing blue eyes and shaking tails that rattled like a certain snake’s. Their fur wasn’t the same midnight black I recognized, but that blue color was the same as the monsters who had attacked me.

  They bared their teeth and barked at Titania, circling around to avoid her shield.

  Not on my watch. I rushed in and drilled the closest mutt with a kick. My foot deflected back, without doing any damage. It was like my first fight with the monsters.

  The canine turned its attention to me and lunged.

  “Shit!” I rolled back before I became dog food.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Titania complained. “Are you stupid?”

  “This worked last time.” The difference was my hands. They weren’t burning. That mysterious power was nowhere to be seen.

  I was back to square one.

  We both retreated. Titania couldn’t risk getting flanked by the mutt focused on me.

  “Use your sword, idiot,” Titania said.

  I’d forgotten I had one, and I’d only picked it up moments earlier. My lack of armed experience was telling. I drew the shimmering blade.

  The beast’s confident advance faltered. Wasn’t so cocky when I could fight back.

  I lunged in and swiped. The dog skipped back and left me hitting air. It left me vulnerable for the next beast along. Or so it thought. I twisted my body and sliced the pouncing mutt. Its head split in two.

  “That really worked,” I said.

  “Of course it did,” Titania snapped, slamming her shield into an attacking monster. My kill drove them to madness. They swapped tactics for fury.

  I blocked an assault on my throat using my sword. The dog’s teeth interlocked with the blade. It was a battle of strength. I slammed the hilt and drove the sword up, slicing through its maw.

  Another was right on top of me. I swiveled and avoided getting my leg chomped. My own attack only grazed its shoulder. It yelped and hopped away.

  Titania buried her spear into another dog. It was her second kill and tipped the numbers in our favor. Only one of them remained.

  Its blue eyes flicked between us before it turned tail and fled, a matching shade of blood oozing down its sliced body.

  The tension melted away and I could breathe again. I drank in the sweet taste of fresh air and sighed in relief. “We did it.”

  “Don’t act so cocky,” Titania complained. “Those were chumps. Any hunter can handle a few Rattledogs.”

  “Yeay, you guys did great,” Dessa said, applauding as she joined us.

  “And where were you?!” Titania snapped.

  “What? You just said they were chumps. Why would I need to tire myself fighting such small fry?”

  Titania huffed and continued marching. A wise choice for her anger.

  “What’s going on here?” I asked Dessa, pointing my blood coated blade at the corpses around us. “Why are those monsters here?”

  “Why wouldn’t they be?” she responded, tilting her head.

  “This was supposed to be a safe haven.”

  She gasped and covered her mouth. “My my, did our darling leader mislead you? Poor boy. This world isn’t safe. If anything, it’s more dangerous than yours.”

  I went wide-eyed. “What? You’ve got to be joking.”

  “No jokes,” Dessa giggled. “Welcome to Terix. Home of the demons.”

  My jaw dropped. I didn’t know how to respond. I’d left the frying pan and hopped into the fire. Esther had lied to me.

  “Let’s go,” I growled, marching onward.

  “Coming, darling,” Dessa said, skipping behind me.

  Finding Esther was all the more paramount with the new information I’d gathered. One, she was in more danger than I ever could have expected. Two, she had some crimes to answer for.

  I had to find her first before the demons got their claws on her.

  Chapter 6

  Dessa guided us to the nearby forest. We had to descend a winding mountain path to enter.

  Fall had done a number on the trees. Very few had leaves left to shed. Most were scattered on the floor, forming a canvas of red, brown, yellow, and orange. Ripe for crunching.

  My boots sunk down with a satisfying crackle.

  “Are you sure she’s in here?” I asked.

  “Don’t worry. The spirits know where she is,” Dessa said.

  “The spirits?”

  “Hush, my darling boy. It’s unwise to make too much noise in places like these.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of the demons, duh,” Titania groaned, rolling her red eyes.

  I somehow contained the urge to argue and kept mum. We continued in silence, except for the noise of dry leaves breaking. At first, it was thanks to our feet and ours alone. Then, more. Demons appeared between the trees. More Rattledogs prowled around, looking for prey. Nasty looking boars, with warped tusks, scuttled along the ground. Wooden half-giants lumbered, footsteps echoing between the trees.

  The former pair didn’t seem too bad, but the latter was a presence. Each was taller than me with limbs as thick as some of the trees they passed.

  “What are they?” I whispered as one trudged into the distance.

  “Wood sprites,” Dessa said. “Nasty things.”

  “That’s a sprite? That name far too cutesy.”

  “Will you shut it?” Titania demanded. “You’re gonna get us caught.”

  I shut my trap and we continued sneaking around. The trees made great cover and we managed to advance without being detected. Stealth wasn’t my usual style, but neither was swinging a sword. If it got us to Esther I was happy to oblige.

  We stumbled through the lively woods before stopping on the outskirts, facing another rising peak.

  “Our darling leader is over there,” Dessa said.

  Titania tilted her head left, then right, then left again. “I don’t see her.”

  “Are you doubting the spirits?”

  “I’m doubting you.”

  “So mean,” Dessa cooed. “I’m a legit mystic and you know it. If the spirits say she’s there, there she be.”

  “Maybe she’s hiding?” I offered.

  “Maybe she’s hiding?” Titania mocked. “What else would she be doing?!”

  “Shh.” I snapped my hand over her mouth. There was movement ahead.

  Creatures emerged from our destination. The distance was too great to paint a detailed image, but I could see dark-skin and glowing blue eyes. Whatever they were, they weren’t friends.

  Titania was silent, thanks to me, but she was kicking out and making a scene. I dragged her around a tree and into cover.

  I peeked around the trunk and waited. The demons vanished back behind the rocks. We hadn’t been spotted.

  My breath escaped. “That was close. You almost got us caught,” I said to Titania, turning my focus to her.

  Her face was red and her matching eyes were staring at me. My securing hand hadn’t settled on the safest location. It was on her chest, right across one of her small, perky, breasts. I finally understood the softness sinking into my palm.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, releasing her.

  “You pig!” she squealed, covering herself. Her death glare was understandable.

  “I didn’t mean it. I didn’t realize. Your breasts are so small I didn’t know—”

  She snorted and slammed a hard left into my gut.

  My breath evacuated and I dropped to my knees, cradling my midsection. In retrospect, that wasn’t the best response I could have given.