“Is that even possible?” she asked finally.
“Suppose it is.” I pressed my lips to hers, loving the feeling of her tingling skin. “You’ll always be by my side. Always protected. Always safe. We can hunt down Karlyle together and punish him for his sins. And when Entropy marches on Zagorath, you’ll be right here, with me. And the others.”
“You don’t strike me as a monogamous type,” Abby said, but she smiled.
I shrugged. “I’m good at sharing. Are you?”
“I can learn,” she said, and her mouth found mine again.
This was different from our first kiss. She was surer of herself this time. My smirk grew as her hands raced over my bare chest and her fingers massaged the ridges in my muscles. Her tongue probed, finding mine and curling around it. Abby stood on tiptoe, and her knee brushed against my thigh. On a whim, I caught her under the arm and took her to the glassy floor. She moaned in anticipation as I pinned her hips with mine. I stared deep into her eyes and reconnected with her soul.
“So, your answer?” I asked as my vision clouded with a vampiric haze.
“I think you know what it is.” She giggled.
“I want to hear you say it.”
“I accept your proposition. I’ll be your champion, Von Dominus.”
My gaze shifted, and suddenly I was swimming in her consciousness. I came to understand every inch of her skin and every facet of her power. As I studied her mind, I learned it was utterly different from my other champions. It wasn’t conniving and hyperactive, or a war between a disciplined half and a second half that boiled with savagery. Abby’s mind was a windswept garden, bursting with color and rain and beauty.
Then, as she squirmed, her fingers tore her clothing and bared herself to me. My gaze had ignited the passion within her, and she was eager to relive our mountaintop experience. The electricity of her flesh tingled and ticked my blood, and then a brief notification flickered over my vision.
Charm test . . . Success!
Abigail the Storm Elemental successfully Captured!
Storm Elemental (Storm Avatar)
Name: Abigail
Core: Storm
Rarity: Legendary
Possible Evolutions: 2 (Tempest Elemental, Raiju)
Abby moaned softly in my pointed ear as she pulled me into her. She didn’t need to tell me twice—in a moment, her cloak became a blanket yet again. We swapped places so that she was on top, and this time it was me who received. My back arched as her tingling lips found me. Her tongue sent electric waves rolling from my member, along my stomach, and into my head. I clenched my teeth and gripped her hair as every muscle in my body tightened. Before I could release my tension, Abby nestled herself onto me. As her hips moved with an electrifying rhythm, a thought occurred to me.
There’d never been a lightning storm on the First Floor before.
28
Interlude
The men at Ralph’s back were seasoned professionals—nothing like the Scalpers had been. The Sand Pirates moved with speedy efficiency, always together and protecting each other’s backs. As they ascended Shadow Crag, any Infernal monsters that crossed their paths were quickly slain. Alaxon had died before he could explain how to work with other adventurers, but Ralph was a fast learner. Their tactics were new to him, and he studied them with a keen eye.
The pirates traveled in a loose group, using a tempting, single target as a way to draw the creatures. Then that one individual moved back while the other pirates hungrily surged forward, dispatching the creatures. Even in tight knots of four or five, the enemy mobs couldn’t stand up to Ralph’s new band of adventurers. Their weapons, their sigils, and the Infernal Essence pumping through their veins was too much for Lilith’s spawn.
The band took a different path from the one Ralph and the Scalpers had used, a snaking trail leading up the opposite side of the foreboding mountain. The ex-lieutenant, and now Ralph’s right-hand man, Zarrik, hadn’t been lying—these pirates were starving for Infernal Essence. They were only too happy to feed their sigils on the guardians of the mountain.
Halfway up the mountain path, the pirates rolled out their packs and pitched their tents for the night. There was only one more day until they’d reach Zagorath, and Ralph wanted someone to speak with. He’d remained mostly silent on the journey so far, but it was probably worth getting to know the pirates a little before trusting them with his life inside the dungeon. He approached Zarrick, and the grizzled warrior offered him dried jerky.
“Thank you.” Ralph took a mouthful of the old meat and gritted his teeth at the taste.
“You’ve held up well. Not bad for a kid.”
“Don’t call me that,” Ralph said, his voice edged with danger. He swallowed the last of the jerky and his stomach felt satisfied. He didn’t need much sustenance, not with the magical power rippling through his body. The essence nurtured him and doused his need for such simple things as food.
“I meant no harm. Youth is something you should take pride in. When it’s gone, there’s no way to get it back. Not unless you find yourself with some Holy magic.”
“We’re a long way from the Holy Realm,” Ralph commented.
“That we are. Should consider
