Qing's Quest book 2, Chapter 5: Tits and wings

The axe handle felt firm in Qing's hands as he gripped it tightly, staring up at the descending harpies. They shrieked obscenities as they descended. Part of the Earth's population would have found this situation extremely…interesting, as the upper halves of the harpies were all woman, as if a Moroccan model agency had rented out their most beautiful members, and they didn’t wear a single thread on their bodies. But their lower half was all chicken, with feathered feet ending in eagle-like claws longer than Qing's fingers. The wings sprouting from their backs ranged in colour from swan white to raven black. If they weren't attacking, the sight might have been magnificent. As it was, Qing felt the familiar fear stir, and his hands went clammy.

"Knut, I think it's time to fire," Qing said.

"But, look at them," Knut said, and Qing turned. The man stood slack-jawed, eyes open. "They are so beautiful," the man said. "So…naked."

"They are half chicken, you crazy idiot," Morgana said, aiming her crossbow. The bolt flashed upwards and hit a wing. The harpy shrieked in pain, wrapping her wings around herself and plummeted towards the earth. But two others grabbed her legs, hauling her away. "You will pay. We kill you. You die!” the shrieks rained down on them.

“Snap out of it, Knut," Qing said, and ran past Jenny, heading away from the camels, Knut, and Morgana. That put Jenny as the centre of their force. She held her axes out to the side and roared up at them, "Come at me, you ugly chicken bitches!"

A slap sounded in the air. Knut rubbed his cheek. "What was that for?" he said.

"Shoot the monsters," Morgana said, "or they'll bite your damn sausage off. Look at their legs, not their tits."

That seemed to break the spell, and Knut drew and released, a fire-tipped arrow flashing up. It hit a harpy, straight in the face, mid-dive. She went limp in the air, dead.

Qing opened himself to the air’s charge, pulling on the electricity. The hair on his arms stood as it built, and he fed it mana. One hand raised against the diving monsters, he cast Chain Lightning. Thunder roared through the air and five harpies went rigid, arms, legs, and wings splaying out wide before they collapsed, dropping limp towards their death.

Twenty-one remaining.

They opened their wings right above ground, flashing in to attack. They carried golden knives in their beautiful, manicured-like hands. Eight attacked Knut and Jenny, but her whip cracked through the air, taking the wing off one, black feathers filled the air.

But the next harpy lashed out, its clawed feet digging into Morgana's left shoulder, throwing her backward. She cartwheeled through the air, blood streaking into the air, and screamed in pain.

Knut fired an arrow point-blank, tearing through the naked chest of a harpy who tumbled head over heels across the sand before throwing himself to the side.

Then, Qing lost sight of Knut as five harpies descended on him. They came down like fighter planes, but Qing wouldn’t be cowed. Quick Reflexes proc’ed and he stepped to the side, lifting Paulhandler’s Keg-smasher. A harpy crashed into it, her foot cut off at the knee, blood spraying the desert like a crop-duster. She furiously beat her wings, screaming in pain, trying to gain height.

But there were too many of them for Qing to avoid. Talons screeched at his back plate like nails on chalkboard, searching for his unprotected flesh. It knocked him forward, and a dagger buried itself in his hip. Pain flared and his foot buckled, but he swung wildly, forcing the harpies back. They circled, darting at him in turns. Each time he turned to defend, another struck at his back so fast he couldn’t keep up.

"Why do you seek death?" Qing said, and blinked, pulling on the desert’s heat.

They cackled, laughing like twenty-year-old girls on a night out, and three threw daggers at him.

One flew towards his face, and he blocked it with the axe as he fed mana into his hand. Another clipped the side of his face as the Firebolt appear in his hand. He threw with all his might, hitting a harpy, caving in her chest. Her hands clawed at the blackened wound as she was thrown to the ground. Feathered feet kicked sand, but only for a moment before they stilled.

“Sister!”

“Revenge!”

“Tear!”

The others rushed in. Qing raised his arm to protect his face, and claws ripped into it. A dagger bounced off his chest plate.

"Get back," Qing roared as he ripped the golden dagger out of his hip and threw it at a harpy. It hit her, hilt first, but he’d thrown it so hard she fell from the air. Two remained on him, and he swept the axe in a circle, buying a moment to check on his friends.

Four harpies held Knut, his bow and quiver lay on the sand. He screamed for them to let him go. Morgana was crawling backwards, two harpies stalking towards her. Jenny was out of sight, surrounded by harpies, but he heard her. She was screaming, but it was in rage.

Good. I need to help Knut. If they carry him away we could lose him forever.

Qing popped a healing potion and kicked off towards his friend. As he passed the harpy he'd knocked down with the dagger, he chopped out with his axe, lobbing her head off.

"No!" screamed the harpies that chased him.

Adrenaline flooded through his system, making him feel invincible yet vulnerable, everything in life on a knife's edge.

As he sprinted, he closed his eyes for a moment and sent his feelings into the ground. He found the earth, targeting a harpy approaching Morgana, and cast Nature's Grasp. With a surprised shriek, she sank into the sand, beating her wings furiously and grabbing onto her friend. All she accomplished in her terror was to pull the other harpy in with her, their wings entangling.

As he passed the group around Jenny, he heard her scream in pain, and for a moment he worried. But a harpy flew past him as if pulled by a cord. Both her wings were missing, and she collapsed with a whimper, long and black silken hair splayed around her head.

Do I help Jenny? No. Trust her to do her part. Focus on Knut. Save Magic Missiles in case they fly off.

The four harpies had lifted Knut, and were beating their wings, rising into the air. Three feet, six feet, ten feet off the ground. Knut screamed in fright, pulling on his arms and legs.

"You will do nicely," a harpy said. “Your friends can’t save you now.”

"You've never met a man like me,” Qing roared in reply, activating his sandals’ Dash. He flashed forward, coming out of the sprint right underneath them. He squatted down and jumped straight up towards them. He arched his back, axe held over head, and he threw with all his might. The axe flashed through the sky.

Please don't hit Knut…

The axe smashed through the harpy holding Knut's right arm, embedding itself in her stomach. As she dropped, Knut drew a dagger from his belt and stabbed the one holding his other arm, cutting her wrist.

But it wasn’t over yet. As she let go, Knut pitched downwards with a scream until he hung head down.

The two remaining harpies pierced his legs with their talons and threw daggers at Qing, continuing to gain height. Qing landed in the sand, making a small crater. As he turned, eyes closed, he peeled back the veil of reality and siphoned off arcane energy, casting Magic Missiles. Arcane energy flashed towards a harpy. She let go of Knut and dived, attempting to dodge the incoming spell, but to no avail. It burned through her wing, into her chest, and her hip, and she fell screaming, her wings snapping as the sand embraced her.

It was too much weight for the last harpy, and they started descending, so she let go of Knut. He plumeted head first.

"Shit, shit, shit“ Qing said and rushed forward while pulling down light energy, forming Divine Light and casting it on Knut, just as he caught him. He couldn't stop the fall, but he needed to stop him from dying instantly. Instead of hitting the sand headfirst, Knut landed on his back with a crack, but Divine Light already worked its magic, and Qing knew he would live.

"Enough," roared a voice that would have won any singing competition. Qing turned and looked up at quite possibly the most beautiful face he'd ever seen, online or in real life. Next to her, Cleopatra would have been the ugly friend. Her face had a perfect symmetry, full lips, sharp nose, high cheekbones. Influencers would sell their soul for her natural beauty. His heart raced as he looked up at her, ignoring the perfect breasts heaving as she beat her swan-white wings. Taller than any NBA player, but what freaked Qing out was her hair. Twelve snakes moved around her head, as if a medusa had dreadlocks.

And Qing instinctually knew her name. Cliomatrix. An elite foe.

"You will be mine," she snarled at Qing. “Finally, a worthy mate for my children."

"Excuse you?” Qing said, looking her up and down, arching an eyebrow at her feathery half.

"You will sire my children, and be their first meal," she said, smiling, hands on hips.

She flapped her wings, hovering in place, and put her hands out left and right.

“Arms!” she said, and two harpies flew in, one carrying a golden heater shield, another an arming sword. She grabbed both and waved them away.

“Leave use alone and go back where you came from, and I will let you live,” Qing said.

"Let us go?" she said, tilting her head and laughing musically. Even though she was a homicidal monster, it still sent a tingling up his spine. "Drop to your knees and beg," she said, “and maybe I will let your friends live, if you come without a fight."

"I don't believe you," Qing said.

She smiled. "Clever man. What need would I have of a weakling.” She lowered the sword, pointing it at Qing's chest. "I want you. And I'm going to take you. I’ll carve your arms off in single combat and carry you back to my nest," she grinned.

Qing swallowed as discreetly as he could, but held her gaze. This was an opportunity to save his friends.

“Cliomatrix, I accept your challenge of single combat," Qing said. “So stand down your…sisters? And let us fight."

“Peculiar,” she said as he named her, tilting her head and tapping her bottom lip with a perfect index finger, snake hair dancing around the razor-sharp sword.

"Agreed," she said, and whistled a golden note that would have smashed glass and set Qing's teeth on edge. The remaining harpies lifted, leaving Jenny and Qing, gathering behind Cliomatrix like an entourage in a rap music video, except there were more feathers and about the same amount of clothes.

Qing took a deep breath, held it, and let it out slowly, calming his nerves. Every monster in this world was lethal, but few more so than elites. Arcane Missiles and Chain Lightning were on cooldown. Nature's grasp and the grasp of the dead would be useless unless she touched the ground. Raise Skeleton was not worth the mana. That left Smite.

"Let's dance," he said.

She smiled, angling her wings, and like an angel created by a God on fairy dust, dove, sword pointed at his chest.

Qing wanted to end this fight fast.

She dove and Qing leaped towards her, axe blazing with Smite as he struck. But with a twist of her wings, she dodged, agile as a sparrow despite her size, letting him sail past her. Her sword flashed out, biting into the back of his thigh. As he landed, his leg collapsed, and he fell to one knee with a grunt. His good leg pushed into the sand and he threw himself to the right. The golden sword carved into the sand where his arm had been a split second earlier, and sand whirled as she passed.

She hovered in the air, brought her sword up, inspected at the tip, and licked his blood. "Delicious," she said. "Magical, potent…” She shivered, legs shaking. "Oh, that's exquisite!”

"You lay the fuck off my blood," Qing said. "Get back down here so we can finish this."

Knut moved in the sand, sitting up, and Jenny jogged towards him. Morgana had fashioned her whip into a crutch, keeping distance from the two harpies still stuck in the quicksand, angling towards the camels.

The longer I fight, the more times they’ll have to recuperate. But, she’s lightning fast…

He didn't want to use a heal yet, holding some of the healing in reserve, and he didn’t want to give away his abilities. They’d see Knut survive, but now how.

Cliomatrix dove, and he forced himself to stand.

Qing feinted an axe strike, but anticipating her dodge, he spun in a tight half-circle, axe whipping around behind and up. He had judged it correctly, and his axe slammed into her shield, knocking her off course. She shrieked and flapped frantically, her golden shield dented. But more than that, her chicken foot touched the ground, once, righting herself. As she did, Qing activated Shadowsight, opening his eyes to a world that was dark, cold and filled with terror. Hundreds of ghosts and the souls of the dead stood around them. The desert was filled with them.

But he had learned his lesson during the siege of Shadowgrove, and as she touched a foot to kick off, he commanded five of the dead to grasp her, pushing his will against them and overcoming their resistance in a flash.

Before she could lift off, undead hands grabbed hold of her legs, and Qing blinked away Shadowsight, hobbling towards her.

She shrieked in pain, raging, sword and shield laying about, cutting into the sand. But no matter what she did, she couldn't harm those already dead. Her eyes flashed as they glared at Qing, feathers mixing with blood. 'You will pay for this,' she said.

“I doubt it,” Qing replied, and he felt Firebolt come off cooldown. He blinked, pulling on the heat, and cast a Firebolt straight at her. She slammed her shield into the spell, swatting it away.

Whoa…She is damn powerful. How to safely finish this?

Her sword had a longer reach than his axe, and she was too agile. Previous tough fights he’d used the roots to his advantage, but he had no doubt she’d fly away in a split second given the chance.

'Surrender,' Qing said, as he approached, chin raised. “Take your sisters and return to where you came from.”

She snarled, eyes crazy, “This is nothing! You'll be mine.”

Qing stopped just out of reach. ”So be it,” he said, siphoning off energy from the universe, mixing it with mana, and cast Magic Missiles. She blocked with her shield, but caught only one, and it burned through the metal. Another burned through her wing, and the final hit her belly. Blood pulsed out, painting a white wing red. Her screams of pain touched Qing, but he pushed any regret away. She stood in his way, and had turned down mercy. All that remained was Qing’s quest.

She was held by the dead, and he stepped in, swinging at her shielded side. She couldn’t reach him with her sword, and had to block. The axe carved through her shield, chopping her arm in two. White bone stuck out, and a detatched part of him noticed her bones were hollow.

“No!” she screamed, glaring at her arm. “You bastard!”

Before Qing could strike again, she whistled.

He’d excepected it, but that didn’t change the challenge, as seven harpies descended on him like a tornado of feathers. They pushed him towards Cliomatrix’s waiting sword.

Qing reached up, pulled energy down, casting Divine Light on himself. It healed him, as the harpies converged on him, a storm of claws and daggers. Qing swiped his axe in large swings, cutting down one, then a second, but they ripped him to sheds. A claw raked his skull, a knife in the gut, and then, a dagger slashed across his face, cutting into his eyeball.

His vision halved.

Panic grabbed at his neck, as he screamed in rage and fear, and twisted to chop, but his axe wouldn’t move. His arms were wrenched backwards by claws, as the harpies grabbed his limbs. Hissing filled his ears, and the axe was ripped from his grip.

Cliomatrix stepped in front of him, snakes whistling in the air. ”You had better be worth it,” she said, snarling. At this distance her yellow eye seemed dominated by the black pupil, and looked nothing like a human’s. Not an ounce of compassion.

“Qing!” Jenny said, shouting over the clanging of her armour as she sprinted towards him.

But Cliomatrix struck. And when the golden sword cut off his arm, just above the elbow, he screamed. The pain nearly sent him into shock, and he moved the arm towards his face to look, spraying blood across the harpies. With a smirk, she cut off his second, and his legs collapsed, the body giving out at the shock.

She grabbed him by the throat and lifted him to meet her eyes. ”You are mine. I always get what I want.” Despite the injuries to her legs and wing, she squatted and hopped into the air, carrying him with her. Two harpies flew with her, each holding one of his legs.

They held him face downwards, and as they gained height, Qing’s stomach lurched. The remaining harpies harassed his friends, growing smaller. Jenny ran for Morgana and Knut, who was struggling with his bow. But it was too late.

Qing screamed at the pain, shaking his legs, waving his stumps, showering the desert with his blood.

“You will give me strong offspring,” Cliomatric said, and he felt her warm and soft breast on the back of his head.

What to do? If they dropped him now, he’d die on impact, and he didn’t have arms.

But then he looked down at Smokey, realising they were flying over the massive dune they had tried to hide behind. If he could time it correctly then maybe…

“The whole of Sunfire Heights will be mine!”

Teetch clenched, he pushed down his fear and pain just in time to feel the spell come off cooldown. He pulled on the air’s natural charge.

“Our children will feast upon your body, gain your power, and then I’ll show the viz—”

“Hey bitch,” he said, interrupting her. “I’ll see you in hell.”

He cast Chain Lightning.