— Chapter1 Rude Awakening

Tom opened his eyes. He was already standing upright. The world was dark save for the pale orange light of the sun that hung low on the tree lined horizon. The image was framed by two large stone pillars and the rest of the space was occupied by a dense void.

I’m in the worldtree? It wasn’t exactly how he remembered but the sheer massive scale was scarcely able to be replicated to begin with. The memories he had of the giant crack in the worldtree left jagged edges that trailed into the heavens, but this visage was strangely uniform. The opening left by the stone made a perfect rectangular frame for the beautiful landscape before him. 

He didn’t have long to enjoy it. He saw the all too familiar sight of Hinba walk into view on the other side of the stone opening. 

She was approximately 90 feet tall, and her skin was a dark red. She wore her standard leather skirt and top that looked more like armor than streetwear. Her two horns hugged the top of her head and pointed forwards. They were a pale purple color that matched her eyes and she had white hair that just barely grazed her shoulders. 

At first Tom wasn’t sure if he should be afraid or relieved. She was the source of so much of his fear but at the same time, he knew she could at least tell him where they were. Tom spent most of his life in the city so magical forests were infinitely foreign. 

He tried to move towards her but found his legs were stuck in the ground up to his knees. He tried to yell to get her attention but could not produce a sound. His arms were sluggish as he tried in vain to wave them up and down. 

She appeared to move in slow motion as her long strides carried her closer to Tom. He watched as she approached, growing nervous that she had yet to notice him. 

There was a sound that came from behind Tom. He turned quickly to stare into two glowing red eyes without a face or body. There was another noise, somewhere between a throaty gurgle and a pained groan. Try as he might, Tom was unable to speak, unable to ask the disembodied specter what was wrong or what it wanted. 

In an instant, the eyes multiplied, illuminating the dark void with an eerie red glow. Tom felt their ghostly roar in his chest. Trying to make sense of the situation, Tom turned to the one thing that was actually familiar. As much as he was afraid of Hinba, she could at least make sense of what he was seeing. 

When he turned back to face her, she still had not noticed him. Her gaze still transfixed on some far off point ahead of her. Tom watched in silent horror as foot centered above him, and came crashing down. 

—

Tom jerked upright and immediately regretted it. His entire body was sore and he felt he had the worst sunburn of his life. He started to cough uncontrollably before he felt a hand on his back. Turning he saw Hinba in her human form. 

“Rough night, huh?” She said with a warm smile. Her skin was a dark olive and if they were both standing side by side, she’d be a full head taller. She still had her white hair but thankfully she did not have her horns when pretending to be human. “Did someone have a nightmare?” 

“Where am I?” Tom said as he looked around. It looked like he was back in his apartment in his bed, but he knew Hinba could make him think he was anywhere she wanted. 

“Oh this?” She gestured to the room. “This is the afterlife. I’ll be your guide.” Her voice was sickly sweet. 

The flood of memories came back from the prior day. She had eaten him. He had been swallowed alive and whole. Worst of all, he asked her to do it. There was still a thin layer of tacky slime that clung to his skin. He needed a shower, and the sheets would probably need a trip through the laundry, or better yet, the garbage. “You brought me back? I thought…” he wasn’t sure what to think. “Why?” 

Her smile broadened. She leaned over and pressed her forehead into Tom’s, pushing him back down on his back. Tom’s whole body tensed up at the motion but he was too weak to really stop it. Her eyes closed. 

“I decided you were too much fun to torture.” Her breath felt warm on his face. 

“Torture?” He gulped. Didn’t I give her what she wanted? Tom’s heart began to beat out of his chest. The fear of making Hinba mad was still alive and well. What could I have possibly done to make her angry? “But-“ he started but one of her fingers came up and pressed against his lips. 

“Shh,” Tom was instantly quiet as she spoke. Her eyes remained shut and her lips mere inches from his. “I want you to think of all the horrible things that I can do to you.” 

Tom’s eyes went wide. He froze with fear of all of the things she had already done to him. How could it get worse?   His mind raced with possible gruesome and humiliating fates she could inflict on him. Some involved her in her human form but most revolved around the size difference at her normal proportions. That didn’t even mention her ability to influence his dreams. She could make them so detailed and so lifelike that they were indistinguishable from reality. They were real. They felt real. He could fully endure all manner of pain and death several times over and be completely unharmed. 

Her smile broke into a toothy grin. “My, what a delicious imagination you have!” she said as she sat upright. 

She’s just messing with me. Tom thought as all the tension disbursed from his body. “Goddammit. I will never get used to that.” 

“You’re the one who wants to be my pet.” she stood up from the bed. Tom’s eyes went wide both from her comment and that he had just now noticed that she was only wearing a black bra and underwear. 

“Look, can I explain what-” 

“Nope.” She cut him off “You can’t change your mind now. Even if you beg me to swallow you back down.” her hands rested on her abdomen and Tom couldn’t help but watch them with dread. “You’re going to be my little toy until I say I’m done with you. Who knows when that will happen. Hell, you might not even see it coming. I might just suck you down when you're asleep only to have you wake up in my stomach.” 

Tom thought about this for a moment. She seemed to find just as much enjoyment from messing with him mentally as she did physically. There’s no way she would enjoy it as much if he were unconscious. “Yeah “ he scoffed, “We both know that’s a lie!” 

The words escaped his lips before he was fully done thinking. It took him a moment to even register what he had even said before he tried in vain to force the words back into mouth. If his skin wasn’t already red, he would have been clearly blushing. 

Hinba made no attempt to hide her amusement at his comment, choosing instead to just let Tom stew in his unintentional outburst. 

There was something else in her facial expression, Tom thought, something hiding right beneath her vindictive smile that he couldn't immediately place. It was something genuine . . . was it affection?

“You’re right,” she said softly. “It was a lie. Now come on,“ she tilted her head towards the door. “I want you to talk me though what you’ve found out.” 

Tom groaned as he swung his sore body up and ouf bed, testing his legs a few times to confirm they could still support his weight. He was still completely naked and debated putting on clothes. He took one look back at the bed and he decided against it. His sheets had a slight greenish hue left behind from where he was just laying. I can always buy more, he thought. The idea of trying to actually wash out the stain and memory was not worth the effort. There was also a small red spot around the center of his back where the skin had already started to crack and blister. It didn’t hurt more than any other part of his body but he needed to clean himself before he risked infection. 

He turned to Hinba who was still waiting patiently by the door. In the end Tom just draped the top sheet over his body rather than actually getting dressed. She led Tom out of the room as if it were his first time in the apartment. The door to the other bedroom was already open. 

“So you know everything now?” His question was intended to sod defensive, but in truth he was just trying to avoid telling her something she already knew. He could not expect to live very long as her “pet” if she found him boring. 

Entering the room and moving straight to the central desk, Hinba started to flip through the dozens of hand drawn maps. “It’s remarkably fuzzy. Between the amber stone and your obsession with vintage automobiles, it’s still really odd to see what all you were up to…” she shot him a look, “behind my back. It’s actually quite impressive.”  

There was a polite way to take a compliment, however, Tom never learned that particular life lesson. His strategy centered around maintaining focus on a set of goals, and maintaining course. Unfortunately, Hinba was the one at the helm of this conversation. Tom was merely a humble passenger. He found a compromise before speaking, “I was just trying to get as much detail as possible. It was difficult since I spent a lot of my time-“ 

“Inside me, I know” she cut him off. 

“I was going to say, ‘unconscious’ but yeah.” If Tom had any strength left, he would have been more unwilling to accept her logic but the emotional stress of yesterday was still fresh in his mind. 

Hinba set the maps down and walked over to a small box in the corner of the room. “Ok, little one, explain this to me.” She held up a metal ring about the width of a tennis ball. 

“That was before I knew you could come to the human word as a... “ he motioned in her direction, “Human.” 

“Get to the point.” She wasn’t angry but wanted Tom to explain quickly. 

“Honestly, I’m not entirely sure,” he said as he raised his hand up beside his head, careful not to drop his makeshift robe that hid his nonexistent decency. “It was really hard to actually plan, or even do, anything without you finding out but I wanted there to be some sort of physical object to prove to you that I wouldn’t run away the first chance I got. The closest thing I could think of was a wedding ring, But that wouldn’t work...“

“You should have got a collar.” she said with a raised eyebrow. 

“The ‘pet’ thing was your idea, not mine.” He tried to avoid sounding annoyed. “I wanted you to find out from me, on my terms, but I couldn’t keep it a secret if it was too big or too obvious.”

“And you used this,” she held up a broken piece of amber, “to do all this,” motioning to the room, “without me having the slightest clue?” 

“I don’t know what you want me to say. It was just survival instincts taking over.” He chose his next words carefully, “plus, I really did want to help you find the missing people. It ... It was easy to empathize with them. They all just disappeared without a trace. I spent a lot of time thinking that would be me one day.” There was more he wanted to say and explain but his eyes drifted to Hinba’s exposed abdomen. 

Hinba caught him staring but passed on the chance to tease him for it, instead just pointed to the large map of her town on the wall. It was covered by a length of red string that snakes around multiple pins in the map. Together they made the shape of a five pointed star. 

“If you keep me waiting, I might get hungry again.” Her message could not have been more clear. 

Tom snapped his attention to the map. “So at first we were looking for someone that could use naga magic, right?” Hinba nodded but let him continue. “We suspected that because of the strange markings on the walls, but there were two things that bothered me about that.” Tom held up a pointer finger. “One; the entire attack, slash, obduction must have occurred almost instantaneously.” 

“You already told me this.” Hinba cut in.

Tom held up a second finger to interject. “Two; the marking seemed to vary in width from house to house.” He sighed waiting for Hinba’s eventual comment telling him how her patience had worn out and he would be lunch again. The moment passed and he pressed on. “So that got me thinking, ‘what if it the marking looked like explosions because they were explosions?’” 

“Alright you’ve solved it.” She made a sarcastic clap. “Now let’s go back to the forest to reunite you with my stomach.” 

There it was, he thought. “I don’t think it was several different amber stones. I think it was one stone that somehow…” he motioned with his arms trying to find the right word, “teleported from house to house. The small variations in size would explain the order that the buildings were tagged for the spell.” He walked closer to the map, trying to get Hinba the widest berth possible in the small space. “I didn’t go into every house and I don’t have a perfect memory, but I figured that there might be some importance to the ordering.” He touched the string. “It took a lot of trial and error, but I think this is the order. I don’t think we are looking for a naga, but someone who can use naga magic AND your magic.” 

There was a long pause and Tom began to wonder if he should accept his fate or try to run. If he was quick he might make the elevator before She caught up to him, but the idea of being chased around the city streets while completely naked when he could barely keep himself standing cautioned him against such an endeavor. 

“So I guess we need to look at the town one more time with a fresh set of eyes.” She said finally. 

“Wait what?” Tom was in disbelief. There was probably a better response he could have made but he had apparently used all of his mental faculties to manage a concise explanation for literal years of work he had done while under a trance-like state. He was doing his best. 

“I was serious about keeping you.” She started to move closer while Tom started to back away. It was another example of a wrong move on Tom’s part. Hinba enjoyed tormenting Tom, and when he tried to flee it only deepened her enjoyment. 

Tom was making his way out towards the door but he never turned away from Hinba. He bumped into the door then into the door frame without taking his eyes off her. Hinba made a playful jump in his direction and he jerked back. The sudden movement caused Tom to lose his footing and fall backward. 

He landed on his back and Hinba placed one foot on either side of his chest. There was a small moment where Tom wanted to continue to inch his way backward, but he knew that all she had to do was drop on top of him to halt any further progress. 

Satisfied that her pet was no longer on the move, she bent her knees and slowly lowered herself down so her crotch was directly above Tom’s exposed chest. She made sure not to put any of her weight on her little human, out of fear of breaking him. “As much as I would love to play rough with you, you’re still a bit . . .” She tapped his chest with her index finger, “squishy.” Her stern expression broke into a warm and playful smile before she rose up and off of Tom. 

“Squishy?” He repeated in a daze. 

“Go take a shower, you still smell like yesterday’s lunch.” 

—-

It was a hard decision to make between getting a hot shower or a cold shower. He needed to clean off all the remnant bile but his skin was still too irritated to actually enjoy a refreshing shower. His decision was to put the temperature somewhere in the middle and slowly move it to cold as he went. As he washed himself, he watched the drain with a morbid curiosity. The colors slowly faded to a clear stream. He actually was starting to feel like he was back to normal. 

He was in the shower alone. Hinba had the decency to give him some solitude while she got up to god-knows-what. Tom was actually starting to feel uneasy about her being left alone to her own devices. A stray demon unattended in his apartment . . . Tom shuddered the thought away. 

His hands traced over the tattoo of a five pointed star on his chest. There was a small red patch near the center. It’s probably another blister, he thought with an internal groan. This one felt odd. It didn’t have the same sharp pain when he applied soap nor did it have the dull throbbing pain when left alone. It didn’t really have any feeling at all. 

He should probably ask Hinba, though he feared that she would give him some fantastical explanation most likely involving magic and sorcery. Or worse, he thought, she might give him the truth. “Hey Hinba, can you-“ 

The curtain flung open in one quick motion. It caught Tom completely by surprise as he fell down into the tub. “Fuck!” He yelled. 

Hinba reached over and shut off the water before turning back to Tom. “Boo.” She said in an even tone. 

Tom rubbed the back of his head as he got back to his feet. “Were you there just waiting the whole time?” 

“No. I was putting on clothes,” came her response. She was wearing the same light purple blouse that matched her eyes and a pair of blue jeans. “I came in when I heard you start thinking about my charm.” 

Her “charm” was how Hinba referred to the star tattoo on Tom’s chest. It allowed her to know what he was thinking with surprising accuracy. 

“Let me see.” She said before giving him time to react. Sure enough, there was a small red circle in the middle of Tom’s chest. Her fingers reached out to feel the marking. With a content smile she spoke, “Looks like I got a little piece of you after all.” 

When Tom noticed she did not withdraw her hand, he replied, “I don’t understand.” He tried to move backward but his back was already pressed against the wet tile. 

“I think you do,” she said, without taking her eyes away from his chest. “Just a small piece though. You should be fine.” Hinba tapped chest a few more times just for good measure. “Get dressed, we’re getting pancakes.” 

Tom sighed. “Let me guess. Your treat?” Hinba only smiled as she ushered him to get out of the bath. They were both well aware the “her treat” meant she was going to pay using Tom’s credit card. It was a relatively small price to pay considering her alternative dietary habits. 

——

One of the benefits of living in a large city was the selection of nearby restaurants. There was a decent breakfast place only a few blocks away from any given spot on the map. Tom considered using a cab despite the relatively short jaunt but Hinba made the decision for the both of them to walk instead. She made a joke about offering to carry Tom but he was too tired to get it. 

The pancakes were... Pancakes. Tom never really cared for breakfast food that needed to be served outside of a mug. He was hoping the relief of living through yesterday’s events would spur his appetite. There was no such luck. He lazily picked away at his plate. 

Hinba was predictably famished. Tom wasn’t sure how much of him she had actually taken the other day, but he knew their time together would be short lived if she didn’t get a proper meal. If only I could feed her other self pancakes. 

She shot him a look that let him know she was listening to his thoughts and didn’t like what she heard. They remained quiet for most of the meal, both contemplating their next move. Thankfully, they were on the same page about not wanting to draw attention to themselves by talking about a magical abduction in a mystical forest openly in a diner. 

As a small means of showing gratitude, Tom decided to pour over all the information he had collected and analyzed but kept hidden from Hinba. He started by reviewing memories of the last time he was there. There were the visual images of walking through all the wreckage along with his mental commentary. He made a considerable effort not to remember the events that occurred after he met back up with Hinba. She didn’t openly react to anything he was thinking about but just continued to eat her second plate food. 

Tom pressed on, unsure if his review was considered helpful or even being “spectated.” All of his time spent in the spare room of his apartment came flooding through his head. The manner in which he worked meant that he had difficulty organizing his memories but, nevertheless, he managed to strip away the haziness of the jumbled mess to make a clear timeline of his thought process. There was no detail too small, he included everything. 

In a strangely surreal way it almost seemed more efficient than actually talking through everything. He had already given Hinba his findings but this felt more like a “show your work” to corroborate and explain the final product.

For a long moment she just continued to eat her food. Tom wasn’t sure how her charm worked. He didn’t know if there was a way for her to ignore his thoughts or if she was just profoundly uninterested in what he had to “say.” He sighed and took another long sip from his coffee. 

“Thank you.” She said softly. Tom choked on his drink and lifted his other hand to cover his mouth as he coughed. He caught most of it but was horrified to see a small spot on Hinba’s shirt that escaped his grasp. Hinba followed his gaze to her shoulder and burst out laughing when she spotted the small droplet of coffee still clinging to the fabric. 

I’m dead, he debated running. “I’ll go get you some more napkins.” Tom shifted towards the edge of the booth. 

“Stop.” Hinba managed to stay while she was still giggling. “You can relax, I promise I'm not going to hurt you.”   

“Yet.” Tom muttered sarcastically as he slumped back in his seat. 

“Yet.” Hinba confirmed. 

They finished eating and Hinba gave the waiter Tom’s credit card. The waiter awkwardly gave the card back to Tom with a strange look. Tom waved him off before placing his signature. Hinba opened her mouth to say something but decided against it. Involving other people would only serve to cheapen her enjoyment. It was all about her messing with Tom and she didn’t really care for embarrassing him socially.

On their walk back to the apartment, they made a quick stop at a small corner store. “Go in and get yourself a bunch of non-perishables. I don’t know how long we will be gone before we can make a trip back.” Hinba told Tom before he hurried into the store. 

He was quick, getting a variety of prepackaged items. There wasn’t too much thought that went into his decisions but he was able to keep his mind off of running away. He knew every time the thought crept into his mind, Hinba would know and would find some way to make him regret it. 

He emerged from the small shop to find Hinba leaning against the side of the building. Tom was about to greet her when he heard the voice of a young man behind him. 

“Oh hey Tom. I thought you were camping or something!” 

Tom spun around to see Charlie. He was a young intern that worked at the same office as Tom. They would often work together on smaller projects that were more straightforward but still help keep the company profitable. Tom tried to look happy to see him. He enjoyed the young kids' company but not today. Not with “her” standing right behind him. “Yeah, there was a slight change of plans.” Tom said, trying not to seem too vague. 

“Did you decide to go to the beach instead? You look like you got some sun.” he said with a grin. “Don’t tell me you’re retiring!” 

“Who’s retiring?” Hinba’s voice came from behind as she stepped into the conversation. 

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Tom screamed internally, “No one’s retiring. I’ll be back in the office in a few weeks.” 

Charlie extended a hand to Hinba, “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Charlie. I work with Tom.” he turned to Tom but still kept talking to Hinba, “He always said he was going to retire on a beach somewhere but with how much he works, I don’t even know if he OWNS a swimsuit.” 

Hinba laughed at the harmless comment and Charlie joined in. Tom let out a soft chuckle, forcing himself to be pleasant in the encounter. He was still screaming internally. 

Thankfully the conversation was brief. They all exchanged goodbyes and parted ways. 

The rest of the walk back to the apartment was uneventful. Tom set the groceries down on the counter before walking into the living room. He felt awkward in his own home, not sure what to do or what he was allowed to do. 

“I’m going to get a shower” Hinba announced. “Someone spilt coffee all over my shirt so I need to freshen up,” 

“Your sarcasm is unnerving. You realize that, right?” Sarcasm was his thing. 

She didn’t respond to his comment, “Come on, you’re going to sit in there while I get clean.” 

“Why can’t-” he started. 

“Because you have been thinking about running away all morning. As much fun as it would be to chase you while I’m all naked and wet…” she trailed off, giving Tom time to enjoy the mental image before she started to disrobe. 

Tom sat on the closed lid of the toilet that was directly adjacent to the shower listening to the water and trying not to think about Hinba’s naked body. As if on cue, he heard the water shut off and Hinba opened the curtain. There was not a hint of reservation about being naked in front of Tom. 

“Why do humans always seem to prefer this version of me?” She asked as the water still dripped into the tub. 

Tom failed to think of a proper response but managed to avert his eyes to stare at the open door to the rest of the apartment. “Look at me, Tom.” Her voice had a hint of venom but Tom continued to look elsewhere. He wasn’t sure why he was fighting it. Maybe he was still sore from yesterday. Maybe he didn’t want to give Hinba the satisfaction of knowing he found her attractive or maybe he just wanted to convince himself.

“I could just leave you here for one more day while I go back?” Tom knew it was a trick, she was just dangling some prize in front of him so she could prove her point. “That friend of yours was pretty cute. I might take him to the forest.” 

Tom’s blood ran cold as he snapped his neck to Hinba. “No.” He said. 

“It won’t take the full day to snatch him up, but I love to just relax after a big meal.” She started to slowly caress her abdomen. 

“Stop, please! He has nothing to do with this!” Tom sat up right and started to move towards Hinba in a pleading gesture. “Look, I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t hurt-“

“Shhh,” she put a finger on his lips. “You’re making this too easy. I’m not going to hurt anyone, not unless you give me a reason. You’re not going to give me a reason now, are you?” Her face twisted into a fake pout. 

Tom shook his head but didn’t try to speak with her index finger still in the way. 

“Good.” She said and pushed lightly on Tom’s mouth. He stumbled to the floor into a sitting position with his arm propping him up from behind as Hinba stepped out of the bathtub. She was still dripping water and the droplets peppered the front of Tom’s shirt when her leg draped over his chest. “‘Whatever I want?’” 

Tom knew what she was asking. Her crotch was right at eye level. This was practically dejavu, so he started to move his mouth closer to her womanhood. He was stopped when hinba grabbed a handful of his hair. “I love how eager you are, but I’m in the mood for something a little different. I wanted to do this the other day but I didn't want to scare you.” 

“Scare me? You wanted to kill me!” he snapped back. 

“No, I wanted to eat you.” A playful grin appeared on her face. 

It was unnerving how easily she could switch between evil and jubilant. “Which would have killed me!” 

“A happy coincidence.” she said with a pat on her stomach. 

“Not for me, now what-” 

She swung her leg over his head and started to lower herself onto Tom. Before he could react, his face was buried in between her cheeks. Her movement was quick enough to catch him by surprise but slow enough not to slam the back of his head into the hard tile as she sat down completely on his face. 

Tom tried to protest but she was easily able to overpower him. There was a series of muffled cries emanating from her backside. The vibrations they caused were a welcome sensation and she let out a content sigh. She pinned his arms under her legs allowing herself to properly enjoy his struggles. Her hand roamed down to the crotch of his pants to feel the growing erection. “Why do you try so hard to hide how much you love this?” She lifted up slightly to allow Tom to breath and give his response. 

“I don’t-”

She sat back down, “Wrong answer.” Hinba was humming with glee. Her hips started to rock forth, using Tom’s face to stimulate her most intimate areas. “I can’t wait to do this back in the forest, It always feels better when you’re actually inside me.” 

Tom made a panicked muffled noise. Hinba lifted her hips again to allow him to speak. “Please don’t put-” 

She sat back down again. “Oh little one, you’re still not being honest with yourself.” her hips pressed down with force on Tom’s head pressing him deep into her wet folds. “Fortunately your cock doesn’t lie to me. Tell you what. If you agree that you love being dominated by me, I'll wait to take us back to the forest for the rest of the day. We can just relax and don’t have to do anything “noteworthy” until tomorrow,” 

Tom considered her offer and started to nod his head furiously. Hinba lifted her hips for a third time and he spoke quickly. “Alright Hinba. I love being-” 

Her hips crashed down again, cutting him off mid sentence and mid breath. “Oh I'm sorry I didn’t quite catch that.” she said with sarcastic glee as she bounced on Tom’s head. 

He began to scream but was only able to produce a small whimper into Hinba’s taint as he felt his consciousness begin to fade. Tom fought as hard as he could to stay awake, knowing that as soon as the world went black he would wake up in the forest and Hinba would have her way with him. There would be no way to fight back when she could overpower him with a single finger. Fight it, he told himself, FIGHT IT! That was his final thought before fading into the void.

— Chapter2 Broken Ribs. 

“Finally! You have no idea how hard it is to hold this pose.” the booming voice of Hinba could be heard far overhead. 

Tom blinked away the haziness from his eyes to see the twitching red anus of the giant Hinba. He was held on her open palm beneath her ass. “Oh fuck-” was all he managed as he was jolted upward and pressed against her anus. As much as he hated to admit it, the fleshy muscles that gripped his body were not as tight as they were the last time he experienced being shoved up Hinba’s massive asshole. With indignation, he tensed his body and waited to be pushed farther inward. He didn’t need to wait long. When he was up to his hips, he felt the fingers on his back release and a new pressure applied to his thighs and legs. It only took a moment for him to be completely consumed. 

“Oh fuck!” Hinba squealed in delight. She had a somewhat willing human inside her ass. She made quick work of getting him fully inside. Once her sphincter winked over his feet she flipped over onto her back and began to furiously masturbate. It was not clear how long her pet would continue to struggle inside her before he lost his vigor and she wanted to make the most of it. Her fingers found her clit and she spent a good amount of time enjoying the sensation of Tom squirming around. When it seemed like he was beginning to slow down a bit, she squeezed her anal muscles and the pleasant struggles reignited with renewed veracity. 

On some level, Tom knew that he was not in any real danger. He had survived this ordeal before and he would survive it today. The pressure shifted when she moved onto her back and increased dramatically shortly after. He could feel her heartbeat picking up. Tom was being used, again, reduced to nothing more than a simple sex toy. The shame was unbearable yet despite himself, he could feel the almost painful stiffness in his erection. “God damnit Hinba, let me out of here!” 

Hinba smiled as she felt her orgasm approach. Her fingers slowed to a teasing pace. She was enjoying herself and wanted it to last. There was something poking her from the inside. Was her little human enjoying himself as well? Never missing an opportunity to humiliate, she spoke loud enough so she knew Tom could hear her, “How does it feel being in my ass? Is it as wonderful as you remember?” 

Tom hated everything about the question. He lashed out trying to pull himself back towards the exit, Hinba’s exit, he thought. Every effort he made seemed to only succeed in pulling him deeper. He started to panic as the slimy tunnel turned downward and he could not prevent himself from sliding farther in. His panic was at an all time maximum. 

“Oh fuck,” Hinba cried out as she felt her captive slip even deeper within. If he kept going, she might not be able to get him out for hours or even days. The thought drove her mad as her fingers rubbed her clit at a furious pace. It didn’t take her long for her orgasm to peak. 

All the undulating flesh around Tom went rigid for a moment, halting all his panicked movement. The intense heartbeat thundered all around him as he was mercilessly squeezed. It felt like his body was about to pop before the pressure released. 

The world shifted. Tom hoped that it was due to Hinba shifting into a sitting position. He slowly started to slide down and once again felt pressure on his feet before it rolled over his whole body. 

“Welcome back,” Hinba said to the sticky human in her hand. They were both still panting. 

“That was horrible.” Tom coughed. 

“Some of you liked it” she said, peering down at his member that was still annoyingly stiff. 

“What was even the point of letting me take a shower” he said as he started to wipe the slimy goo off his naked body. 

“I can always just lick you clean if you like?” 

Tom scowled, “Gross, which way to the worldstone?” 

Hinba rolled her eyes, “We’re not going back just so you can take another shower.” She started to stand up, careful not to move too quickly to cause Tom to fall off of her palm. 

“No, I know. I just want to get my bearings is all” He said as he started to scan the surrounding trees. They were in a small clearing.

“Planning another escape attempt, are we?” Tom didn’t answer right away, choosing to continue to scan the trees. One of Hinba’s fingers from her other hand came up and flipped him onto his back in her palm. She didn’t need to apply any real pressure to have him completely pinned. He was brought up to her enormous face. “Are we?” she repeated her question. 

“I’m not planning on running from you. No matter how far away I got, you could always find me.” 

She removed her finger from Tom, “I guess you’re just hopelessly at my mercy.” 

“I am hopelessly at your mercy.” Tom said with an exacerbated sigh. He craned his neck back towards the treeline, “but I am serious about wanting to know where we are. I spent so much time trying to paint an accurate picture of this place. Now I'm here again but this time I don’t have to worry about...” He wasn't sure how best to finish that sentence. 

“Dying?” Hinba offered. 

“Or being eaten.” Tom tried to make light of his situation. Hinba’s smile showed that it was working. 

“Someone’s learning.” She pointed in a direction to her right. “The worldstone is that way. It’s not far.” 

“Would it be a terrible inconvenience to ask for a visual?” 

Hinba shook her head. “In a minute, let’s get our stuff. I don’t want to walk around with these hanging out.” She lowered Tom slightly and then grabbed a handful of her exposed chest. Her nipple was as large as his head. 

Tom turned his head to look away trying to find anything else to focus on other than her massive breasts. “What stuff?” 

They walked over to a small pile of supplies. Tom recognized one of his briefcases. “Is that mine?” 

“Yeah, I threw all of your food in it. No need to thank me.” she said triumphantly. 

“Did you have to grab the expensive one?” Tom groaned. 

She picked up a small leather flask, “Let me wash you off.” Tom jumped off her hand when he was close enough to the ground and she held the flask above him. A light trickle of water dripped down and he wiped himself down. It wasn’t the best shower he could have asked for but it beat the alternative of constantly smelling Hinba’s insides. 

They both got dressed, Hinba into her standard leather armor in two pieces. Tom into a pair of jeans and a loose fitting, long sleeved shirt. She also carried a large satchel. Well, it was large from Tom’s perspective. To Hinba, it was barely larger than a small fanny pack that hung over her shoulder. She threw her flask and Tom’s briefcase into it and they were off again. 

“This clearing looks familiar.” Tom looked around once more as he stepped back onto Hinba’s palm. 

“Yeah this is where you showed up last time.” 

“Wait, so everytime you bring me to the forest I show up in the same spot?”

“Yeah... Why? Is that important?” 

 Tom thought for a moment, “I don’t know yet...” 

“Do you still want to lay eyes on the worldstone before we move on?” 

Tom looked back up to Hinba. She was being uncharacteristically helpful. “Just the entrance to the tree. We don’t need to go all the way in to see the stone itself.” he waited a moment as she started walking. “Thank you Hinba.” 

Sure enough they passed around a patch of trees and were rewarded with the unbelievable sight of the tree that grew from the worldstone. It dwarfed everything in its vicinity. Tom spotted the crack that signaled the entrance that led to its interior. 

“I can work with this.” Tom said and Hinba stopped walking. 

“Are you sure? I can take you closer if you’d like...” she responded as she pointed to the entrance. 

“No, I'm really just trying to get a better lay of the land. I don’t suppose you have any maps of the area?” 

“Ahh, I do not.” They were both quiet for a moment. “Back to the town?” 

 “Yeah, I want to take another look around with a fresh set of eyes.” Maybe there was something he missed or maybe there was something Hinba might spot. They were not complete enemies this time around so anything was possible. Tom knew there weren’t any other leads that they could really pursue. 

There was one more lead, Tom thought, but he didn’t know the best way to ask about it. He started to fidget nervously. “Are we in a hurry to get back to the town?” 

“Ask what you want to ask.” came her curt reply. 

Tom sighed, he hated that her charm made it impossible to ask anything in a covert manor. “Ok fine. I want to talk to the naga again but I didn’t know how much you’d trust me to go talk to her on my own. I assume she still doesn’t appreciate your company...” 

She brought a finger to her chin. “With how much you’ve been thinking about running away from me, how do I know this isn’t just another scheme?” 

Tom shook his head, “Seriously? You can literally see what I'm thinking. How-” 

“Why don’t you ask the other question that you’ve been thinking of? The one about all that food I had you bring to eat.” 

Tom did not have a question but he knew what she wanted him to ask. He mustered all of the sarcasm he had amassed from years of practice and training. “Well gee... you had me bring all this food for me for the long journey, but what are you going to eat?” he stretched out his arms to pantomime his insincere confusion. 

She brought him right up to her mouth and breathed in through her nose to enjoy his scent. Tom tumbled back into her palm. even when he knew what was coming, there was still nothing he could do to mentally prepare himself for being... enjoyed in such a demoralizing manner. 

She lowered him back down and mimicked Tom’s sarcasm, “Silly me! I forgot to pack anything. Well I'm sure something... or someone, will turn up if I get hungry.” Hinba’s grin grew wide as she licked her bottom lip, never breaking her gaze from her little human. 

—

After a short amount of time, they arrived at a crossroad. Tom was lowered to the ground and pointed in the right direction. It had been five years since he had seen the path but he remembered it all as if it were yesterday. Something compelled him to run. It wasn’t clear if there was a necessity for haste in the current situation but Tom knew he could spend the next hour or more on this path if he continued at prior clip. Eventually he would tire and subtle into a light jog. Years of skipping meals and alcoholism did not leave him in the best shape physically, but something compelled him forward. 

He started to move into an area that he didn’t recognize. At first he thought it was because he made a wrong turn or mistook a curve into the path for another direction. no, he thought, he was here. 

“Miss naga, I never got your name last time but i would like a moment of your time if-” 

A thick tail wrapped around Tom faster than he could possibly react. It squeezed the life clear out of him and he felt his bones start to bend in a painful manner. “You should have stayed away!” the naga yelled into his ear as he started to taste blood in his mouth.

He tried to say something but only managed to cough a red cloud that sprinkled the emerald green scales of the naga’s serpent tail. After all the hell he endured, was this really how he was going to die? Crushed to death by a half woman half snake. Tom made another attempt to speak, “Wait,” 

The naga did not make any response. She lifted Tom upward with her tail to presumably deliver the final killing squeeze. Tom felt the pressure increase and knew his life was about to end. 

He was released and dropped to the ground, hearing the thunderous footsteps of an approaching giant. Hinba’s hand came crashing down on the naga before she had time to slither away, only being able to let out a high pitched shriek. Tom tried to run but could only manage a fast limp towards the trapped naga. 

“Stop, it was my fault.” he cried. Hinba’s other hand came crashing down on him and his vision began to dance with a flurry of stars and colors. “Hinba-”

“How dare you try to take what’s mine!” she roared with an intensity that Tom had yet to witness. 

The naga did not respond but just continued to struggle under Hinba’s grasp. Tom yelled up again, “Hinba listen to me you need to-” 

Her hand that was on Tom lifted up and slammed down again. He could feel the bones in his chest crack as he coughed more blood onto her hand. The coughing didn't stop and Hinba finally peeled her attention away from the struggling naga. “She was going to kill you!” 

Tom spat to clear his mouth and throat. “Let her go,” he commanded. 

Hinba lifted both her hands and the naga slithered away into the underbrush. Tom exhaled, relieved to see that Hinba didn’t do any real damage to the naga. She wasn’t exactly innocent but she didn’t deserve whatever fate Hinba would have bestowed on her. 

He started to cough again and rolled over onto his side. Hinba did her best to pick him up gently and placed him on her chest. She started to walk off without a word. Tom didn’t protest. The soft flesh cushioned her step as she walked. He forced himself to slow his breathing and relax but the experience left him incredibly shaken.

—-

They didn’t talk much for the next hour. Hinba told Tom to hold on as they reached the relatively small drop of the desert. 

“Hold on to what?” Tom asked. “Your boobs don’t come with handles.” 

Hinba didn’t respond, she just placed her hand over Tom to hold him in place in her cleavage. Tom was plunged into darkness as warm flesh engulfed his body. He felt the momentary drop as Hinba made the short leap into the desert valley. 

She removed her hand to bathe Tom in sunlight. “How are you feeling?” 

Tom lifted up his shirt to see his bruised ribs, “I could be worse.” Despite the pain, Tom knew that if Hinba had shown up a second later he would have most likely ended up dead. 

They could cut the tension with a knife. It was going to be a very long trip if there wasn’t some sort of resolution. “So Hinba, I wanted-“ 

She didn’t let him finish. “We’re stopping by the oasis to refill the flask but we’re not staying long.” 

Tom wasn’t sure why they would stay long. Part of him didn’t want to know but keeping Hinba talking might actually be better than the silence. “Were we planning on staying for a while?” 

“Yeah actually, but not any more now that you’re all...” she twirled her hand in the air, grasping for the right word. “Broken.”

“Do I even want to know?” He really didn’t but he figured she would tell him anyway. 

“I was going to shove you up my pussy and keep you in there until you called me ‘goddess’ or ‘master’ or something. You know, to commemorate the last time we stopped by the oasis and to celebrate your new life as my little pet.” 

Tom winced. “That sounds humiliating.” 

“Yeah… you would have only lasted a minute, probably less now that you’re injured.” 

“Have a little more faith in me.” Tom scoffed and craned his neck up to look at Hinba’s face. “I would last at least-'' he noticed Hinba’s wicked grin as he stared back down at him. “I would cave instantly.” He croaked. 

She threw her head back and let out a hearty laugh. “Maybe we can still make time. What if I promise to be extra gentle?” 

His throat went dry. Tom opened his mouth to speak but was only able to manage a flustered cough. Eventually he was able to regain composure, “Let’s just refill the flask. I’m sure we’ll have another chance to stop on the way back.” 

Hinba raised an eyebrow, “Back? What makes you think we’re coming back? Your home is with me now.” 

It had not been easy trying to push his situation out of his mind. Hinba was such an overwhelming presence that Tom found it hard to ever really think about anything else. Something was still gnawing at the back of his head. He watched the sun as it hung low on the horizon, they probably only had a few more hours of daylight. 

The oasis was just like he remembered it. Hinba dumped the stale water out of her flask and dunked it below the surface of the water. When she brought it back up she immediately drank its contents in its entirety and refilled it again. She took extra care to make sure her glups were audible for the human nestled just below her collarbone.

She looked down at Tom, “so are you going to strip or would you prefer to get your clothes dirty?” 

Tom squeezed his eyes shut at the prospect of what was about to happen. His ribs were still in a terrible amount of pain and he wasn’t sure how “gentle” Hinba was really intending to be. He grunted as he tried to maneuver his shirt off. A sudden pain shot through his body when he was about to fling the shirt over his head, and he doubled over in agony. 

“Stop.” her voice was soft. 

Tom met her gaze. “You look genuinely worried about me? What gives?” he feigned a smile but the pain in his ribs was still slightly too much to bear without wincing. 

She didn’t look away for a long moment, taking her time to scan every detail of Tom's body. “Let’s keep moving.” 

Thank you for not abusing me, was what Tom wanted to say. It was what he should say. He didn’t get the chance. Darkness closed around the edges of his vision, and he lost consciousness before he even realized what was going on. 

—

“Did you actually think I was going to “abuse” you?” 

Tom tried to struggle but found that his arms were restrained behind his back. It was uncertain what exactly he was tied to but he could feel the binding around his arms and ankles. He felt a hard smooth surface on his back and was staring down at the ground far below. His world shook violently as he was tilted upward, suddenly pointing to the sky. The smooth surface below him curved, causing Tom to arch his back to accompany it. “What the hell is this?” 

“That is a dildo…'' Hinba said as she came into view. She was significantly larger than normal at least she appeared that way to Tom. “Did you forget that I can manipulate your dreams?” 

She wasn’t larger, he was smaller! Tom didn’t waste much time before he started to panic, “shit! Hinba please can we talk about this?” 

“How does your chest feel?” 

“My chest?” His chest felt fine, he thought right before the realization hit him. Oh fuck, my chest feels fine! 

She crouched down beside Tom so he could appreciate the new difference in their respective size. The entire length of his body barely covered the distance between her chin and bottom lip. “If I recall, you didn’t believe I could break you in under a minute?” 

His eyes went wide and he started to shake his head. “No, no, stop. I’ll call you whatever you want. Master, mistress, goddess? Look just don’t-“ 

“Nah, ‘Hinba,’ suits me just fine.”  she said with a smirk, but before Tom could say anything else she moved in close to press her tongue on the length of his body. He was completely engulfed by the damp and bumpy muscle. 

Hinba enjoyed his taste and paid special attention to his weak struggles against her tongue. With his smaller size and the bindings holding him firmly in place, he was completely at her mercy. Right where she wanted him, she mused. 

Tom struggled to think what she wanted from him as he struggled against the undulating flesh and his restraints. If she didn’t care what she was called maybe it was about him, namely what he was called. He said that he didn’t like the term “pet.” Maybe if he fully accepted his “role” in their twisted relationship, she would spare him this punishment, he thought with panicked desperation. 

Hinba removed her tongue in an upward motion, giving Tom a slow, full body lick. “Mmm, you taste good.” 

Tom coughed out all of Hinba’s saliva that invaded his mouth before calling out. “Hinba, I’m your pet! I’m your toy! Call me whatever you want. I’m yours, I’ll always be yours! Just please don’t do this to me!!” 

She bit her lower lip, “Oh sweetie… I already know you’re mine.” 

“Then what do you want from me!?!” Tom’s voice was beginning to crack. The panic and desperation taking their toll on his vocal cords. “Just tell-“ he didn’t finish his sentence with words but with a scream as Hinba’s mouth approached him again. This time she didn’t stop at just licking him but took the entire phallic object into her mouth. Tom was along for the ride as he was guided towards the back of her mouth. 

She let out a low moan that vibrated Tom to his core. It didn’t take her long to spread her saliva over every nook and cranny of the massive dildo but kept going long after it would have been appropriate to stop. A devilish thought crept into Hinba’s mind. He’s going to hate this, she thought as she took the shaft as deep as she could until it was pressed well past the threshold of her throat. She held that position for a moment to feel Tom’s panicked struggles before taking him back out, ending the motion with a kiss directly on Tom. 

“There! All nice and lubricated.” Hinba said between heavy breaths. She continued using her finger to move her spit farther down the shaft, but Tom did not notice. He was in a frenzy, unable to even form coherent words. This won’t do, she thought, he needs to be fully cognizant. “Breathe for me.” 

His heart was beating loud in his ears. Tom met her gaze but couldn’t hear what she was saying.  He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and screamed. “Fuck!” It was meaningless as a gesture, but it was the only thing he could think to do to focus his mind. 

“Do you need a minute?” Hinba said with an evil grin. 

Tom knew she was being sarcastic. He tried his best to make his voice as calm as possible. “Hinba, I will give you anything you ask for, but I don't know what you want. You can’t…” He stopped himself, “I am begging you not to just torture me blindly.” 

She put a finger to her chin, “What do I want? Hmm. I have everything I want right here.” Her finger moved to Tom and rested directly on his chest. “Everything and then some honestly.… So I guess that just leaves you.”

“No.…”

“What do you want?...” She let the words hang in the air. 

“Please.…” 

Hinba raised an eyebrow, “I’m listening.” 

Tom couldn’t do it. Despite all the torment he had already gone through he couldn’t ask to endure more. He held her gaze for a moment, looking for any sign of mercy.

Hinba gave a knowing nod. “If it’s any consolation,” she rose to her full height, to where Tom was right below her groin. “I wouldn’t have believed you anyway.” She positioned herself directly over the large dildo and spread her lips wide with her fingers so Tom could see every small detail of her folds. “Ok now… deep breath.” 

Tom’s eyes went wide as she descended. His world went dark in an instant and he felt the flesh glide over his body. The pressure was immense, but her arousal made her inner walls slick as they accepted more and more of the invading member. The ripples in her innermost sex seemed to occupy every small pocket of air and Tom was struggling to breath. Every time he tried to inhale, he only managed to swallow more and more of her juices. Despite the lack of oxygen, Tom came to the unsettling realization that his lungs were not in pain. Great, she’s not even going to let me suffocate, he groaned inwardly. 

Hinba started to rock her hips up and down, enjoying the feeling of fullness he provided to her hungry cunt. She moved slowly at first, allowing herself time to be properly “warmed up,” before increasing her tempo. Once she settled into a decent pace it didn’t take her more than a few minutes to begin to climax. Her womanhood pulsed as the waves of pleasure washed over her body, and she found it hard to remain standing. 

Tom felt her heartbeat quicken against the quivering walls, and he could hear Hinba moaning. The pressure increased suddenly, threatening to smash Tom flat against the dildo. He was held there for a moment as the walls shook, wave after wave of steady twitching rolled over his body, threatening to crush him. Immense relief washed over him as he was lazily pulled outward from the gripping cavern. After spending so much time trapped in darkness, his eyes were momentarily blinded by the sudden light. 

“Was it good for you too?” Hinba asked from somewhere above. 

When his vision returned, he actually wished it hadn’t. Her womanhood was still partially agape and twitching. He watched in stunned horror, unable to rip his eyes away. Every part of his body felt wet and slimy. The taste and smell of her sex permeated his senses. 

“That’s one-nil. We’re going to be here for a very long time if you don’t get on the scoreboard.” she said through heavy breaths. 

Tom tried to cough the juices out of his lungs enough to speak. Any protest he tried to voice was cut short as he was once again plunged into Hinba’s dripping cunt. What the fuck does she want? He tried to collect his thoughts through the torrent of moving folds. 

She wants me to cum. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. She would not believe him if he said he wanted to be subjected to this and asking her to continue would be counterproductive. However, he could “prove” he enjoyed being used like this by cumming from the experience. Tom made the decision to act on his inference and tried his best to adjust his hips in such a way to allow some range of motion. 

To her credit, Hinba attempted to accommodate her little pet as much as possible. At one point she even reclined on her back rather than remain standing. This was an effort to reduce the amount of pressure on the inside. She was listening to Tom’s thoughts the entire time and adjusted the angle and tempo of her thrusts. Whenever she could tell that Tom was actually beginning to enjoy himself, she would try to maintain her pattern. It would often become short lived as she too would approach orgasm and her pace would increase with lustful intent while Tom’s panic would stifle any real progress. 

All in all, Hinba came a total of nine times over the next hour and a half before Tom was able to finally get on the scoreboard. 

— Chapter3 Broken Men

The pain in Tom’s chest was almost welcome. It let him know that he was back in the real world, or however “real” one could call the forest. The cold was not as welcome. The sky was dark and a frigid breeze was chilling Tom to his core. 

He peered around, they appeared to be in some sort of burrow carved beneath the roots of a tree. Tom still recognised the foliage from many years ago, they were on the other side of the desert. Judging from the setting sun before he was forced unconscious, this area of the forest was on the western side of the desert. After all this time, he was finally starting to have a clear picture of the topography. 

Hinba was laying on her side about an arms length away. Well, one of her arms, Tom mused. He was actually several meters away. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow, giving Tom the impression that she was asleep but he noticed that she was smiling. It was possible she was just toying with him again, silently daring him to run, but more than likely she was just still enjoying the memory of their mutual dream. 

Tom got to his feet right before another cold blast of air swirled through their makeshift shelter. He couldn’t run. With his bruised ribs still recovering and the low temperature, he wouldn’t stand a chance of actually getting away. Even if he could, Hinba would find him and make him regret it in the most degrading way possible.

Speaking of degrading. He shuddered at the memories pooling in his mind. If he managed to survive this ordeal and make it back to the human world, he would need to book a therapist. 

There was another chilling breeze. One of Hinba’s eyes drifted open and focused on Tom, and for a moment he felt like he couldn’t move a muscle under her gaze. 

“I just had the most wonderful dream.” She said before yawning. 

Tom felt a flash of anger well up inside him, “You just used me as your personal fuck toy for over an hour…” 

She covered her mouth to stifle a giggle, “I know. Wasn’t it amazing?” 

Tom opened his mouth to protest but said nothing. Anything he said would probably just backfire, and he was desperate not to be forced back into a dream to be tormented again. 

Hinba must have realized this and spoke again. “Come over here,” she motioned with her hand, urging him to comply. “We still have several more hours before morning and you’re shivering. I can keep you warm.” 

Tom was still too afraid to move and remained standing. “I don’t want to be ‘put’ anywhere…” 

Hinba laughed at his comment, and traced her finger up and down the length of her body, “You sure you don’t want to spend the night inside me? You seemed to enjoy it a moment ago…”

Tom shook his head, but said nothing, hopeful that she would not force him to do something humiliating as she so often did. 

“Fine, have it your way, you can sleep right here.” She tapped the area between her chin and collarbone with her index finger. 

It sounded like an invitation but she might as well have had a gun pointed at his skull. There was never an “invitation” anymore. He had signed over his life to her and she seemed to be doing everything in her power to make him regret it. To his dismay, she appeared to be enjoying herself greatly…. 

“Don’t worry, you know I don’t bite…” She made a point to show off her teeth in a mock biting motion. 

He reluctantly took a step forward and then another, hesitant to approach her. One of her eyes lazily trailed him the entire way. Arriving at the small pocket, he was greeted with the warmth that radiated off of Hinba neck. Tom unceremoniously flopped his body down on the ground, exhausted from the day's events. 

A stray finger came up and pressed Tom so that his back was pressed against the skin of her neck. The added warmth of skin to skin contact was only pleasant for a fleeting moment before Hinba swallowed, causing the flesh to twitch behind him. 

“Oops, you made my mouth water.” She said as she put her hand under her cheek, essentially surrounding Tom on all sides in a giant trap. As if on cue, Hinba’s stomach let out a long growl, protesting the proximity of food while being denied a proper meal. “Hopefully we find something for me to eat tomorrow otherwise….” She trailed off only letting a long sigh, allowing Tom to draw his own conclusion. 

On that chilling note, Tom gave up on any hope he had of getting a decent night’s rest. At least he was warm. 

—-

Tom woke with a start to Hinba humming a short tune. The vibration from her vocal cords traveled up her neck and directly into Tom’s back. Sunlight poured into their burrow. Despite his pessimism, he actually did get some sleep, and the dull ache in his ribs had subsided. It would probably be several days before the pain completely subsided, but for now he was happy to breathe without pain. 

Hinba shifted and raised her face directly above Tom. There was no point in trying to persuade her for more rest. If she was ready to go, they were going. 

“Morning! So tell me, how was your first full day of being my pet?” She rested her head on her hands. 

“Terrible.” Tom grumbled as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. 

“Well…” she licked her lips. “I am hungry and you’re looking delicious.” 

Tom started to back away but Hinba placed one of her hands behind him to halt his escape. 

“I know I said I would make you beg for it, but I’m feeling generous.” She nudged him closer. “If you don’t want to be my pet, I can always just make you my breakfast.” 

Tom felt pale. He opened his mouth to speak, but Hinba put a finger on his face to silence him.

“Just think, no more torture, no more dreams. Just a quick swallow and all your problems will melt away… literally!” She removed her finger from Tom’s face. “Close your eyes and think it over.” 

Tom did as he was told and closed his eyes. Hinba smiled as he did so. Finally, she thought. She opened her mouth and slowly lowered it over Tom, taking special care to not breath on him. Easy does it, she was starting to salivate. 

Tom felt the warmth surrounding him but didn’t open his eyes. He knew exactly what was going to happen if he didn’t say something soon. When he opened his mouth to speak, no sound came out. There was only a quivering exhale as he choked on his words. Hinba lips past Tom knees taking special care to not let any part of her mouth actually touch her human. She hesitated for a moment. The air was humid and Tom recognised the aroma. Was he really about to let this end after only one day? 

A glob of spit landed on the top of his head and rolled down his face, but he kept his eyes closed. He tried to move, to scream, to do something but none of his limbs would listen to him. Her lips slowly and softly brushed against his knees. DO SOMETHING, he screamed inwardly. The pressure increased and his legs were clamped together. Her tongue came into contact with his chest in the same manner, slowly as first then all at once he was pressed into the roof of mouth before he felt the earth drift away from his feet. His eyes were still clamped shut, refusing to open. 

Tom felt himself flip upside down as Hinba tilted her head back. He started to slide to the back of her throat yet offered no resistance and was still unable to even muster a single word. 

Hinba grabbed his ankles and pulled Tom out of her mouth. She looked at him hanging upside down for a moment before speaking, “Not a single flinch out of you when your life's on the line but you’ll scream and complain for hours when we have sex. Explain yourself, human!” 

Tom covered his face with his hands and muttered something as he hung from Hinba’s grip. 

“Speak up or I’m changing my ‘no biting’ policy.” She also gave Tom a small shake for good measure. 

“I don’t know what you want from me!” He screamed. 

Hinba pursed her lips and gently set Tom down on an open palm, “You know exactly what I want from you… The real question is what do you want?” She brought him to her face for a deep kiss that covered his whole body. The same lips that threatened to consume him a moment ago were now trying to comfort him. 

When she pulled away, Tom was finally able to compose himself. “Why didn’t you…” he knew better than to ask why she stopped herself from eating him, but he felt so utterly broken mentally that he couldn’t stop his morbid curiosity. 

“Why didn’t I… what? Why didn’t I eat you?” she finished his question. “I could hear your brain short circuiting the entire time.” She shrugged, “It didn’t feel fair I guess.” 

Tom wasn’t sure how to respond, “So now you’re concerned about treating me fairly. That’s convenient! I could have used that yesterday….” 

“Tom?” He met her piercing gaze. “I wasn’t talking about you. I was talking about me.”

Tom made a noise that was meant to be a question but came out like a tired wheeze. 

“If you want it that’s one thing, but if you don’t… then I want you to go down kicking and screaming.” She traced a finger down her neck without breaking eye contact. Neither one of them dared to blink. “I’m not going to let you lessen the moment for me just because you can’t make up your mind…. That wouldn’t be fair to me.” 

Tom’s mouth hung open. “Oh… fuck…” was all he managed. 

—-

There wasn’t much to pack up before they left their little burrow. Hinba grabbed her satchel and Tom was once again placed in her cleavage.

“You didn’t ask for food all yesterday. Aren’t you hungry?” She asked as they walked. 

Tom placed a hand on his stomach. Going over twenty four hours without a proper meal was probably the least of his concerns but there was still a sharp pain in his empty stomach. He was smart enough not to ask for food around Hinba. “No, I’m fine.” 

“Nonsense. I can’t have you die on me because you’re too proud to ask for food. Just because I can go weeks between meals doesn’t mean you can.” She rummaged through the satchel producing Tom’s leather briefcase and plopped it in front of him in her cleavage. “Eat.” 

Tom did not dare to disobey her, but couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact while he ate. He just faced forward and made himself as quiet as possible. 

—-

The town seemed the same as it did five years ago. There were not any thin columns of smoke remaining and the weeds were tracing up to the roads and buildings vying to reclaim territory for the forest. 

“I’m surprised how little has changed…” Tom said in a hushed tone. The memories of this place were not pleasant for him but he suspected they weren’t especially good for Hinba either. 

“For you it was five years, but here it was only a few weeks, not even a month.” She reached in her chest and picked up Tom with her index and thumb. 

He flinched at motion but relaxed when he was placed on solid ground. “Alright, short stuff. Do your thing and look around.” Tom wasn’t feeling hugely confident at the prospect of discovering something he might have missed last time. When he looked back up at Hinba, she just gave him a reassuring nod. The message was clear. She wanted him to try something, and he should not be fearing for his life. 

“I want to test my theory on the “charm” magic.” Tom made air quotes, unsure how exactly to refer to the star shaped pattern he knew belonged to Hinba’s mystic stylings. “Let’s go look through a few of the buildings and see if the ordering checks out.” 

“How many are you wanting to look at?” Hinba said as she kneeled down so she didn’t have to strain to hear Tom. 

“Not many, I don’t think. If we can rule out the ‘charm’ theory then we will spend our time looking elsewhere.”

Hinba raised an eyebrow, “I thought you’d want to prove yourself right?” 

It was clear that she was trying to intimidate Tom but he was too focused on the task at hand to really notice or care. “Well sure, but I’m still working with little more than speculation. If we can rule out the wrong guess right away then that’s just less wasted time. I’m…” she leaned in closer, “trying to be efficient.” 

There was a moment where Hinba just looked at Tom wanting to see if her mind games would do anything to break his focus.  “Lead the way.” She said suddenly. 

It was a short walk to the first building that Tom wanted to look at. “This one should be one of the last buildings affected so the markings should be large.” 

“I’ll wait out here” she said as she dismissively waved a hand.

Tom ignored the comment before he strode into the door. It was a familiar sight inside the building. Structural damage permeated the interior. He searched the wall but could not seem to find the oval marking he was searching for. There was a downed beam in the middle of the room that he climbed over to try and get a better look from the other side. No luck, he thought to himself. 

“How’s it going in there?” Hinba called out from the street. 

“Hold on.” Tom called back. He didn’t want to yell so he made his way back out of the building. Hinba was tapping her fingers on the ground to pantomime her impatience but Tom pretended to ignore it. “I couldn’t seem to find any markings. I’m going to check another one” 

The second building was the same as the first, destroyed interior, crumbling foundation, no marking. Tom checked a third and a fourth with the same result. “So much for your theory.” Hinba mused. Based on her tone she was annoyed, but it didn’t seem to be directed at Tom. 

“I’m going to go look for one of the houses I went through five years- er, three weeks ago.” Something seemed weird to Tom. He ran off before Hinba had a chance to get back to her feet but she would catch up easily enough.

Tom found a building with a door that had been kicked open. “This should do!” he ran through the doorway to the back wall and looked at the top left corner where he remembered seeing the marking all those years ago. There was nothing to see but smoke damage and dust. “Well shit.”

“Come on out, Tom,” came Hinba's voice from outside. 

“Double shit….” he said again before making his way to the door. 

She laid herself down on the road once more to be at “eye level” with her human. “What’s got you all worked up?” 

“The markings are gone, I don’t know what happened but they aren’t there anymore.” 

“I know what’s going on.” She said with an evil look in her eyes. “You’re lying again aren’t you.” 

“What? No I-” he started to protest.

“You know how I feel when my human’s lie to me don’t you?” her lips curled into a smile. 

Tom’s eyes went wide as he remembered the last time she had accused him of lying to her. He took a cautious step backward before one of her fingers shot towards him and hooked under his legs. There was a short fall before landed on his butt. Hinba was using two of her fingers to make a walking motion around him. 

She was enjoying his panic as her smile brownened. Her mouth opened to speak but Tom spoke first. “You’re messing with me again aren’t you?” 

She let out a short laugh, “Well you make it too easy!”

“So you believe me that the-” 

“Yes, I believe you. I saw them for myself last week.” 

Tom bolted upright, “So you know what-”

She cut him off again, “No I don’t know what happened to them or why they’re gone.”    

“Then…” that all too familiar sense of hopelessness and dread welled up in him once again. If there was no way to prove any of his theories, why would she keep him around? 

“Tom,” she used her finger to press him on the ground and moved her face closer. “I meant what I said earlier. This morning was your last chance to opt out of being my pet. From this point on I own you, but you don’t have to constantly worry about becoming my next meal.” she released the pressure on Tom’s chest. He started to stand up but was pushed back down instantly. “That doesn’t mean I can't make your life miserable if you lie to me…. But you don’t need to be afraid of me all the time.” 

Tom blinked in shock a few times before finally managing to speak, “I will try to do that….” 

She pursed her lips in a feigned pout, “Well that’s not convincing at all. I take it back. You’re food.” her lips parted and approached Tom. 

“The cellar!” Tom screamed. 

She closed her mouth but continued to close the distance until her lips were touching Tom face. Her lips pressed deeply against him. To his credit he didn’t pull away, choosing to embrace the absurdity of the giant kiss. “Right let’s go check out cellar, and then I want to fuck you, and you better not complain about it.”

Tom winced at the thought. 

—

Oh yes, the cellar. This goddamn cellar. This fucking, piece of shit, cellar. The everloving dog-shit abomina-

“Tom, I can hear your thoughts.” Hinba said with restrained annoyance, “Calm down, or else.”

That was all she needed to say for Tom to quiet his mental grumbling. They arrived at a small alleyway that contained a small wooden hatch protruding about two feet off the ground. “You’re on your own, it’s too much of a tight squeeze for me.” 

Tom eyed the twisted metal of the latch then looked back at his giant companion, “It looks like you managed just fine last time.” 

“Last time I didn’t have you to help out. As I recall you were… busy.” She rested a hand on her hip. 

Tom cleared his throat, “Right.” He lifted the door and was immediately accosted with a foul smell of rotting flesh. “Oh fuck, that’s horrible!” 

“I might be able to help.” Her eyes started to glow red. 

He was holding his arm over his face to protect against the foul smell, but noticed the stench dissipate quickly. Tom tested the air by breathing in through his nose but smelled nothing. “How did you get rid of the smell?” 

She shrugged, “I didn’t. I just adjusted your perception so you don’t notice it.” 

Tom nodded, “Alright.” It wasn’t that he forgot how much power she had over him, but more that he never thought she would use her abilities to actually help Tom. She spent so much of their time together finding new ways to degrade and humiliate him that being genuinely helpful seemed foreign. “Thanks…”

Taking a step forward, Tom peered down into the darkness. He opened the wooden hatch all the way to let in as much light as possible. Tom turned to face Hinba one last time before he descended into the dark space. She wasn’t looking at Tom but off to the edge of town, “Good luck, I need to go check on something.” without another word she started off. 

Tom scoffed. It was only a few steps down into the cellar. Thankfully the cracks in the floorboards of the building proper provide enough light to look around. 

“God damnit!.” he gagged. The smell wasn’t as bad before but even Hinba’s magic wasn’t foolproof against the toxic odor. It didn’t take long for him to notice the source. The corpse had the top half of a human, possibly female from the long red hair, but the face and chest were too far gone to be sure. The bottom half of the corpse resembled a long snake with dull green scales. “A naga.”

A glint of silver caught his eye, there was a small locket around its neck. “Let’s see if anyone knows you.” He pinched nose with one hand and used the other to reach down and quickly yank off the small trinket. Thankfully the silver chain snapped without issue. It would weigh on his conscience if he defiled a corpse as well as steal from one. 

His eyes followed the wall across a bunch of different vials and instruments, all in various states of decay. Some still remained intact and upright, while others were busted and broken. Their contents splattered the walls with reckless abandon. It was all a waste of time in Tom’s mind. He didn’t need to understand how someone was able to combine magics, he only needed to confirm it was possible. 

The large black star on the ground seemed to confirm his theory. He bent down to run his fingers along the markings. It rubbed off easy enough and he smelled his fingers. It was almost too difficult to discern the scent beyond the decaying corpse but he made out a slight metallic smell. “Blood.” The low light must have hidden the true figment of dried blood. 

“Is this yours?” He asked the corpse. Annoyingly, it didn’t respond. 

Tom scanned the other walls. “What the fuck?” A large map hung on a wall above a small stationary. It was not a map of the forest but of the human world, specifically the city where Tom lived. There was a lot less detail of the buildings and it appeared to have fewer intersecting roads. “What are you doing here?” Tom reminded himself to stop asking questions to things that don’t respond. 

Tom heard a noise coming from outside. It’s probably Hinba, he thought. Not wanting to keep her waiting, he made his way to the exit and climbed the stairs. She was nowhere to be seen. “Hello?” he called out as he started to walk towards the street where she was before she wandered off. As soon as he passed the threshold that separated the alleyway from the street there was a blow to the side of his head. 

Tom saw stars as he tumbled to the ground. He struggled to pull himself back up to his feet when another blow landed squarely in his already bruised ribs. “Kick him again!” a male voice rang out. Tom used his arm to cushion the impact. There had never come a point in Tom’s life, before or after he met Hinba, where he found it necessary to know how to defend himself in a physical altercation. 

Not until today, his brain still managing sarcasm even after the searing pain shot through his body after a third kick.Tom rolled onto his back as he coughed blood out of his mouth. He made out four figures standing over him. All stood about six feet, so they were taller than Tom but still “human sized”. “Who are you people?” he managed. 

“Shut the fuck up.” one of them spoke up, his blond hair was the only discernible detail that Tom could really make out. His vision was still very blurry from the hit he caught with the side of his face. “I’m going to be asking the questions. Maybe I’ll let you live or maybe… I’ll skin you alive.” 

I’m not that lucky, Tom thought with cold indifference to his plight. A sudden realization hit him harder than any kick to the chest. “You have to leave right now!” 

The men burst out laughing. Tom’s eyes darted around looking for his giant companion. “No, you don’t understand! You’re in danger! You need to-“ 

Their laughter increased before the one with blond hair started to move closer. As he walked, he slowly pulled out a large knife from the sheath tied to his pants. “Looks like you want to do this the hard way.” 

“What do we have here?” Hinba’s voice boomed from behind the four goons. Her eyes were already glowing a menacing red. Tom didn’t hear her approach either. They all froze for a moment before they attempted to flee. “Not so fast!” Another flash from her eyes and they all collapsed onto the ground. Tom tried to fight off the magic but his body was too battered to resist for more than a lingering moment to take in Hinba’s emotionless expression. He too fell to the ground as the giantess approached. 

—-

Tom could hear panicked shouting. He jumped up with a start to try and figure out what was going on. There were three men hung upside down off the side of a decrepit building. All their clothing was removed save for their trousers and all had their hands and ankles tied together haphazardly with thick rope. They swayed helplessly against the wall of the building. One was trying to undo the knot around his feet, but failing miserably. 

Tom heard Hinba’s steps behind him, no longer relying on the element of surprise. “Oh good, you’re up. I was actually just about to wake you.” She sat down behind Tom so that he separated her from the three strewn up captives before placing a small handful of rope down by her side. “Are you ready?” 

“Ready for what?” He turned back to the wall for a moment, “And what happened to the fourth one?” 

Hinba made a slight noise before speaking again, hesitating for only a moment to choose her words. “They must have hit you pretty hard to mess up your vision, there were only ever three.” 

He was inclined to believe her. While she spoke there were more panicked screams that demanded his attention. Looking back he noticed something about the men. “You’re lying.” He turned again to face Hinba. “These three have dark hair but I remember one of them was blond.” 

Hinba nodded a few times then snapped her finger, “Oh that’s right! You must be referring to the one that pulled a knife on you. I remember now.” 

Tom’s eyes went wide. He knew her too well to be spared from the growing realization permeating his mind. “Hinba… What did you do?” He asked with a shaky breath. 

She scoffed, “Why do you care? He was going to kill you.” 

“Spit him out now!” He raised his voice. 

“How are you so sure-“ 

“Now! Hinba.” 

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “Tom, you were out a little longer than you realize.” Her hand came and rested on her abdomen. “He’s already gone I’m afraid…” Tom could feel his blood run cold. “How about you focus on them.” 

Tom glanced at the men, “What do you mean? Just let them go and-“

“I want to know what they are doing here.” 

He jerked back to the giant looming over him. “Did you try asking them?” 

“Oh I think they would prefer to talk to you. Something about watching me eat their friend left them a little… flustered.” She bit her lower lip for a moment. “Plus it gives me the opportunity to see you work.” 

Tom's mouth hung open as his eyes darted between Hinba and the poor, unlucky souls swaying in the wind. “What are you talking about?” He was also starting to panic. 

“Isn’t this what you do for a living? You deal with liars and thieves, right?” 

“I look at balance sheets!” Tom shouted, “I don’t interrogate people!” 

Hinba directed her attention to the men on the wall. “Well I tried boys. Looks like you’re going to be joining your friend after all.” 

They all let out shrieks of panic, as she started to move closer. Tom put himself between Hinba and her prey, and lifted both his arms. “Wait!” She stopped to listen. “If I can reasonably determine that they are not anything more than just a small group of harmless scavengers, will you let them go? Hinba I don’t think they know anything about what happened here… or what here is. They didn’t know you were guarding this place…” 

Hinba considered this for a moment then nodded but Tom wasn’t convinced. “I mean it!” She chuckled. “But you need to work quickly. The first one was hardly filling and-“ 

“Separate them.” Tom interrupted. Hinba gave him a quizzical look. “Separate them so they can’t hear each other’s responses.” Tom wasn’t trying to convince Hinba, he needed to convince himself. If he had any doubts, then she would be able to read his thoughts and the three people hanging from the roof would be as good as dead. One of them was already gone but the rest didn’t deserve that fate. Tom wasn’t sure if it was empathy or decency that drove him to want to save these poor fools. They probably would have killed him if Hinba had not returned when she did.

Returned? The thought echoed in his mind. Why did she leave in the first place? He looked back at Hinba. Her eyes narrowed at him. I was the bait, wasn’t I? His thought directed to her. Hinba nodded. 

—-

As it turns out, Tom was deeply flawed at interrogations. He tried to focus on simple questions and circle around to each of the three individuals who were moved to separate buildings. His questions started out incredibly straightforward, asking them all for their names and the names of the other members of their group including the one that Hinba consumed. He moved on from there to ask when they had first met and how long they had been together. Finally he moved on to what they were doing in the town. 

All of the answers shared certain similarities however, Tom quickly realized that English was not their first language and trying to nail down specifics was becoming increasingly difficult. “Within the past week, how many other people have you seen outside of your group?” Tom was beginning to raise his voice out of frustration. 

“Many, many!” Came the panicked reply. 

“HOW many?” He shouted back. 

The man just kept repeating “many” over and over again. 

Tom rested his head in his hands. Hinba loomed ominously behind him. He was trying to think of another way to approach the situation before she spoke. “You’re running out of time.” 

Tom spoke into his hands, not bothering to raise his head. “I didn’t know I had a time limit.” 

“I said you had to work quickly.” 

Tom knew he was no closer to a definitive answer then when he had started. He ushered Hinba away to a spot where they could speak in relative privacy. “Look, they are clearly scared and-“ 

“Are you seriously about to beg for their lives?” 

“I know what it looks like, but-“ 

“Tom.” 

“Just hear me out, what if-“ 

“Tom…” she lingered on his name. 

“You don’t need to-“ 

She held up a finger to his chest, “Say one more word and see what happens.” 

They stared at each other for a moment. Neither one wanted to be the first one to speak. Tom knew what was coming so he flexed his body of the inevitable. He made sure Every muscle was tensed and planned out what he wanted to say. It was all for nothing, however. Hinba’s eyes narrowed as her mouth curled into a smile. He needed to say something before he lost the opportunity. “Wait, don’t-“ 

Her eyes flared, and Tom felt a crushing weight around him. The smile never left her face. He fell to his hands and knees trying to fight the incoming unconsciousness. His body felt like it was going to break from the shear force of gravity, seemingly increasing his weight by several orders of magnitude. 

“Why don’t you take another nap? I’ll wake you up later.” 

Tom tried to raise his head to see her one more time but all he saw was her hand approaching. The eerie silhouette was the last image he saw before falling to his side. 

— Chapter4 Building Blocks

Tom woke to find he was being squeezed on all sides by warm skin. There was a loud gurgle that emanated from all around him. He immediately started to panic. “Hinba! Where am-” his hand felt open air. Pushing with all his might he moved towards the opening. The world shifted ever so slightly and he began to tumble forward. 

“Good morning to you too,” Hinba said with a groggy yawn. 

After a short fall, Tom stumbled onto the cold, stone ground. He rolled over and found he was directly facing one of Hinba’s nipples. She was apparently sleeping on her side with him sandwiched between her breasts. “I thought you …” 

“Ate you?” she finished the sentence, “Nope, I already had a big meal. It’d be a shame to waste you like that.”

Tom watched her hand as it came down and tapped her stomach, the occupants probably long gone by now. “I begged you to let them go.” 

“You said they were harmless scavengers. They wanted to kill you and have killed others in the past.” 

“You don’t know that!” Tom spat back.

“Oh yes, I do.” She reached her hand out to Tom and nudged him closer. He didn’t resist. “I did a little ‘interrogation’ of my own. When I had all three of them in my stomach I waited until they really struggled, then, one by one I put them under.” 

“You made them go unconscious? Why?” 

“Well for one, being digested alive is an incredibly painful experience and I’m not that cruel. Secondly, when I alter someone’s dream I have a lot more time to play with their minds.” 

Tom couldn’t stop himself from asking, “More time?”

Hinba nodded, “Yeah, so it will typically take about an hour, give or take, for a human to die in my stomach, but I can stretch that into a hundred hours in a dream.” She laughed a bit, “Hell, one time I put myself into a dream THEN put a meal into a dream… that lasted ages. It gave me a wicked headache, though.” 

Tom wanted to throw up. 

“But anyway, I got some information out of the trio. The last place they hit was a small settlement to the north next to the old elder temple. They killed some of the people there.” 

“Is it worth checking out?” He offered, trying to push away the queasy feeling clawing up his throat. 

“Possibly. The elders are long gone but if anyone knows something about combining spells…” 

Tom thought for a moment. He looked around, noticing that they were back in Hinba’s cave. The exit had a faint glow that seemed to illuminate the entirety of the surroundings. “One condition.” 

She brought her hand back to stifle a yawn, “Oh, I love where this is going.” 

He took a deep breath, “If we meet any more humans on our travels, you are not to eat them under any circumstance.”

Hinba let out a long sigh, “Tom… it’s been fun, but this.” She pointed back and forth between the two of them. “Isn’t working out. It’s not you, it's me.” Her hand gestured towards the exit of the cave. “You can go now. Be free. I’m still full from earlier so I have no further need of you.” 

This time Tom let out a large sigh. He turned to look at the exit but didn’t make any movement towards it. It was such an obvious trap that it almost hurt to think about. Freedom, he was being offered freedom, but he knew that the moment he took a single step to accept it he would probably be snatched up and …. “toyed with.” 

He shuddered, “What would have happened if I actually tried to leave.” 

“Something humiliating, I want it to be a surprise for later.”

“Hinba. I can’t trust you. I don’t want you to go near any other humans while-”

“Not happening.” 

A small part of Tom knew that was a silly request. Who knew how long they would be together and should they actually find her missing people alive, he would probably stay as her pet. Tom hated that he was using her word to describe their relationship. 

Hinba sat upright. “How about I offer you a deal?” Tom didn’t like where this was going. “How about I promise to not eat anymore humans on our way to and from the temple and you promise to trust me? I mean completely trust me. No more of that pathetic flinching everytime I go to pick you up.”

“That doesn’t seem like a fair trade.” Tom kept his voice level, he didn’t want to sound overly frustrated but he needed more if he was going to agree to anything. “You’re asking me to trust you indefinitely, but you just have to fast for…” He wasn’t sure where the temple was or how many days would be required for a round trip. 

“It’s not a fair trade. Hell, I probably won’t even get hungry before we get back.” 

Tom caught her meaning, “So … you’re about to offer me something in return?” He asked with cautious optimism. 

She nodded slowly, letting the tension build. “I’m going to tell you a secret about me, and I am going to trust you that you never tell anyone about it.” 

What secret could she possibly have that would be of any value? He asking himself as he let out pained groan, “Look I don’t really see the benefit-”

“I’ll tell you how you can kill me?” 

“Come again?” 

“That got your attention!” she laughed. “Do we have a deal?” 

Tom took a moment to think it over. Hinba watched him with a morbid curiosity. “Am I going to regret this?” 

She smiled as she began to adjust her sitting position so she could lean over more easily. As she brought her face down to his level, he didn’t flinch. “Is that a yes?” She asked. 

“Yes.” Tom answered. 

Her face darted Tom and she snapped her teeth shut with a loud crack directly in front of his face. His eyes went wide but he was able to maintain his composure, helped in no small part by the suddenness of her actions. She planted a wet kiss on Tom that encompassed his entire head. The kiss lingered for a long moment to the point where Tom wondered if he was expected to do something in return. 

Hinba released Tom but kept her face uncomfortably near. “I’m glad to hear it.” Her warm breath was a welcome contrast to the chill of the rest of the cave. “Listen carefully. Right after you leave my cave, turn around and travel a short way up the hillside. You’ll find a small bush with purple berries.” 

Tom didn’t realize she was done talking at first. “Wait… you’re telling me out of all the ‘magic shit’ you’re capable of… you have a food allergy? A deadly food allergy?” They both just stared at each other for a second to gather their thoughts. Tom actually started to laugh. She raised an eyebrow at him but he spoke before she had a chance. “Sorry, sorry.” He raised his arms in an attempt to placate the giant but he knew she would find some way to ‘get back’ at him for laughing. “No, it’s just… all thing time I thought you were some immortal demon and-“

“I am immortal.” She cut in. 

Tom continued regardless, “A food allergy of all things…” 

“Well how about it, little man? Are you gonna try anything?” 

He shook his head, “I don’t think so. Don’t get me wrong, when we first met, if you had told me about this I would have slathered myself in that shit!” 

Her lips curled into an amused smile. “I would have liked to see that.” 

“But now…” Tom started to feel strange at the interaction. With so much of his life built on fear of this single massive woman. The feeling that their conversation felt borderline cordial seemed infinitely foreign. But after everything she had put him through, he couldn’t bring himself to hate her. 

He shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind. They had a task to do and a heading. For now that was enough. Tom looked towards the exit and lifted his foot to take a step but stopped himself. Turning back to Hinba, he motioned towards the cave entrance, “Ladies first?” Eventually he would have to trust her, but that didn’t mean he had to fall into an obvious trap. Offering for her to go first seemed like the best way to gauge the situation and let her ultimately make the decision. 

She looked towards the exit but didn’t get up, “We still have a few hours before sunrise. Let’s head out then.” 

Oh god no… Tom thought. Having time to kill always seemed to lead to something sexual and depraved. “Do we need to gather any supplies for the…” he trailed off desperately trying to think of another excuse. “Or would you like to get a little more rest? I know you were walking a lot yesterday.” 

“Your chest and ribs should feel better.” She changed the subject. “I had some time to apply a bit of my salve. It should have fixed you right up.” 

Tom looked down at his chest and felt around the sides of his torso. It was true that he did feel a lot better. There was still some small bruising but, overall he felt fine. “God damn it.” He muttered under his breath. 

“Hmmm, what was that?” Her voice was downright cheery. 

Tom didn’t look up but spoke loud enough for her to hear him clearly. “Nothing.” He knew what was coming. “Is there any chance we can skip the part where you force me to do something I don’t want to do?” 

She adjusted her sitting position to where she was on her knees with her legs off to each side. “Oh Tom. Of course.” Tom looked up with hopeful optimism. It was immediately dashed when her hand drifted to the side of her waist. With an audible snap, she flicked off the clasp that held her leather skirt around her hips. “I wasn’t planning on forcing you to do anything. But I don’t mind.”

Tom could feel his heart start to beat in his chest, “I thought you wanted me to trust you.” 

“I do.” She countered. ”I want you to trust that I’m not going to hurt you, But you’re still more than welcome to be afraid of all the other things I’m going to do to you.” 

His words were failing him as he tried desperately to figure out how he could talk his way out of whatever plans she had for him. “Wh-what happens if I don’t agree to, to uh…” 

“I’ll make you, and something tells me, it will be very unpleasant… but just for you. I’ll have fun either way.”

Every part of his brain screamed to run away but his feet remained planted. “This is extortion”

“Maybe, but you’re stalling. So what’s it going to be, little man?”

“I swear, if you say ‘easy way or the hard way’ so help-”

Her voice boomed over him, “Are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?” she started to chuckle at her own joke. After she noticed that Tom wasn’t laughing with her she quieted down. “Oh Tom, you must be really afraid of me, huh?” Her hand drifted down to her crotch, totally void of any semblance of concern. She started to trace a finger from the base of her opening up to her clit. “I’ll tell you what, if anything starts to actually hurt, then just say ‘wait’ four times, just like before. That’ll be our safe word.” 

Tom opened his mouth to speak but Hinba cut him off. “ONLY if you are actually in pain. I will leave you in there for days if you try anything sneaky.”

Tom gulped. His eyes drifted to her womanhood. Whatever she was doing with her finger was working. Her folds were already starting to glissen with arousal. 

“Tom?” 

He stood motionless, transfixed on the sight before him. 

“Tom!” 

Her voice pierced his mental fog. 

“Snap out of it and get over here.” She pointed to the ground between her thighs with one hand while the other continued to play with her folds. On shaky legs Tom started to walk forward, trying to keep his eyes focused on Hinba’s face, but it was a losing battle. She let out a noise that was a cross between a moan and a purr as she watched Tom approach. 

Tom made no attempt to run away and Hinba made no attempt to hurry him along. Each step felt like a betrayal to every animalistic desire for self-preservation. In his mind he still saw the ‘relationship,’ they had as being one of predator and prey. Every time he willingly handed himself over to her, it was just furthering that betrayal. 

When he reached the area between her knees, he could feel the warmth radiating off of her. “Almost there,” she cooed from above. “Just a little bit more.” Her middle and ring finger dipped into her womanhood. It made a wet squelch that sent chills up his spine. 

“What are you so afraid of, it’s not like this is something new” 

Tom nodded but couldn’t look away. Her thighs were taking up more and more of his peripheral vision. “I know just give me a minute” 

“You could always try your luck at running. I’ll give you a head start…” 

“Ha. Ha.” If he tried to run she would just snatch him up easily and make things worse for Tom. “Enough Hinba, I’m…” It occurred to him that he was not sure what was expected of him. “Wait, what exactly do you want me to do?”

“Your best,” she said, then immediately chuckled at her own joke. She pulled her fingers out then used them to spread her lower lips wide. “Just get yourself as far as you can. I promise I won’t use my hands until the very end. Oh, and don’t lock your knees. We wouldn’t want any accidents.” 

‘Locking his knees’ was probably the only thing keeping him standing. The smell of her exposed sex was overwhelming. She was right that they had done this before but the previous time she had recently cleaned herself. The aroma wasn’t unpleasant, and frankly, it was the least of his concerns. Tom forced his legs to carry him the rest of the way to her wet opening until it was less than an arm’s length away. “Just climb in?” 

“Yeah, just climb in.”

“Alright.” Tom wasn’t sure how he was going to make this work but he reached out to push his arm into the tight flesh. It twitched as soon as he made contact which threatened to suck him in. He wasn’t that lucky. He knew Hinba was not going to make this too easy on him. He stuck his other arm in, exciting a gasp from above. 

“Now the rest of you…” Hinba said as she started to work on her clit. 

There was only so much willpower Tom could muster for the next step. He tucked his chin down to his collarbone and pulled himself in with a deafening squelch. His legs dangled in the open air while everything else was enveloped in her wet folds. He grit his teeth as the panic started to set in and he tried to readjust his arms for another pull. It was a fruitless effort. The walls were too wet and slippery to get a decent hold. 

Hinba leaned her hips forward so Tom’s feet once again made contact with the ground. He tensed his legs but made sure to keep his knees slightly bent, feeling the rippling flesh slide over his body as Hinba’s waist rolled forward. He felt the warmth of her outer lips touch his ankles and he knew that he was completely at her mercy. There were several times where Tom thought he had passed the point of no return. This time felt different but he wasn’t exactly sure why. 

The pleasant fullness sent a shiver up her spine and she reflexively squeezed her tiny prisoner. “There you go.” She said as she rolled backward so she could get a better look at Tom’s progress. “Try to move farther in.”

Tom was reluctant at first but after he had come this far, it would be foolish to choose disobedience now. The slick walls provided no purchase for Tom to grab onto. They gripped him tightly on all sides but any time he reached his arm out, he felt his arm slip between wet folds that seemed to twitch in response. He realized quickly that he was helplessly stuck, unable to to push himself farther in. Oh no, he thought. 

“Let me help you,” Hinba’s voice was incredibly muffled but he still was able to make out what she was saying. Tom felt her fingers press against his feet as he was once again pressed farther into his wet prison. 

She pulled her fingers out, sealing in her prey. Tom tried to follow her digit with his foot but couldn’t find her opening. He tried with all his remaining energy to wiggle his way back out but only succeeded to tire himself out. His breathing was labored as the quivering walls secreted more and more of her slick fluids. Tom tried to flip himself over but the motion briefly caused his head to dip below the surface of pooling liquids. The suddenness caused Hinba to tense which in turn caused Tom to gasp at the pressure, filling his mouth and nose with her fluids. 

Hinba waited until she knew he was on his back and could breath; she wanted to tease him. “Looks like you're trapped, little human.” There was a pleasant sensation of his renewed struggles letting her know that he could hear her. Perfect. “Gods, you feel so good when you struggle like that. This beats a dream any day.” Her fingers played with her clit at a leisurely pace. There was no need to rush things. Her little pet couldn’t go anywhere. She moved backward until her back touched the wall of the cave and let out a content sigh. 

Tom tried to slow his breathing in the cramped space but everytime he tried to relax, the walls around him squeezed. He reckoned it was her way of telling him to keep moving, to keep struggling. “Hinba!” He yelled. “I did it. I did what you asked! How long are you going to keep me in here?” 

Hinba couldn’t hear Tom’s voice but her ability to read his thoughts let her know what he was saying and that he was desperately trying to be heard.  “I told you already, we have a few hours until sunrise. I’ll be the one walking the whole time so you are going to help me relax before we head out.” 

“A few hours?!” Tom’s heart started to race again. He wasn’t even sure he could survive that long. “HINBA!”

She wasn’t listening any more. Her fingers continued to lazily play with her clit as she closed her eyes to fully enjoy the frantic struggles coming from deep within her most intimate area. 

—

For Tom there was no semblance of relaxation. Time started to feel meaningless as fatigue and delirium started to kick in. There were a few occasions where the walls threatened to crush the life out of him, which he could only guess were her orgasms, but he did not bother to keep track or even try to recognise the difference between an involuntary clench and one that she was doing on purpose. Despite his predicament, a part of him held onto the belief that she would stay true to her word and that she would not intentionally let him get injured.  

The world shifted and he felt gravity pull towards his feet. He knew that she was getting up and could feel her taking steps from the rhythm. “Please let me out?” His voice was barely over a hoarse whisper. He had used up all his strength trying to keep himself from drowning over the past hours. Tom remembered what she had said earlier about leaving him in her vagina for days if he misused their “safe word.” She wouldn’t actually do that, would she? “Hinba!” The plea came out as a croak. She made no response and after a few more attempts, he gave up, resigning himself to his fate as his eyes glazed over.

In his prison of squishy flesh, Tom felt something solid come in and wrap around his ankle. He was pulled out into the cool air before his mind could decipher what was happening. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the flood of light. She flopped him onto her open palm then grabbed his wrist. He offered no resistance as Hinba lifted him above her face. She lowered him into her mouth and began to suck on his limp body. Tom felt his ears pop but could not bring himself to move a single muscle in protest. He was being treated like a piece of candy, he thought, at least she was still holding onto his wrist.

Tom was pulled back out of her mouth. “All clean!” she said triumphantly. He made no attempt to wipe the slim and saliva off his face. 

“Can I please rest now?” he said as he was lowered down into her cleavage. Tom welcomed the dry skin over his prior arrangements. 

“I enjoyed that a lot. I guess I'll let you sleep for a bit.” They had already left the cave and were walking down a well worn path. “But if you sleep too long… I'm going to come into your dream for some more fun.” 

Tom’s eyes went wide at the threat. Too exhausted to plead with her, he accepted the blackness that crept in around the corners of his vision, he saw Hinba give him a warm smile and wave as he lost consciousness.

— Chapter5 Barely Lucid

“Run!” Tom screamed to no one in particular. He opened a cracked wooden door and dashed through to a square room with three more doors. The pale yellow walls were stained with a cartoonishly green mold that seemed to move and morph as if it were alive and giving chase. 

He reached for the door knob but the door wouldn’t budge. The room began to shrink as the walls raced in to greet him. Tom made one final attempt to push the door open. “Try pulling’' came a disembodied feminine voice. 

“Who said that?” Tom yelled but his voice was barely over a whisper. The door burst open towards Tom causing him to fall backward. Hinba walked through the small doorway, ducking her head to not hit her head on the frame. “What do you want?” He asked while trying to back away. 

“It’s time to . . “ she pointed a finger to the ceiling, “wake UP.” 

Tom jerked his neck upward to see the giant face of Hinba smiling down at him. The encroaching walls were replaced with the wide open wilderness. “Good morning.”  she said as he tried to catch his breath. “You looked like you were having a nightmare.” 

The sun was shining brightly in the sky, it was hardly still morning. “It was a fine dream until you showed up.” He shot back a little harsher than he probably intended.

Hinba shrugged her shoulders, causing the passenger in her cleavage to bounce slightly. “You were twitching and mumbling in your sleep, I thought I was doing you a favor.”

Come to think of it, Tom wasn’t actually sure if it was a good dream or not. He only really remembers the last little few moments before he woke up. His slide comment was going to come back to bite him later, he was sure of it. “I uh, didn’t mean to snap at you.” Maybe if he apologized quickly she would forget and move on before the end of the day. 

She smirked, “Someone’s a bit grouchy. Also, did you forget I can read your mind?” 

Tom’s face went red, he could almost feel Hinba’s magic invade his mind. He needed to think of something to change the topic. 

“You want to change the topic so I don’t sit on you later. Look Tom, this will go a lot smoother if you just be honest with me….” She used a finger to lightly caress the back of his as they walked. Tom was about to recoil away but he remembered their deal. He opened his mouth to speak but she continued. “As much as I love to see you naked, would you like to put on some clothes?” 

Tom looked down to confirm that he was indeed still naked from earlier in the morning. The saliva and other fluids had dried to his skin. It wasn’t as sticky as some of the other “fluids” he found himself coated in but he was still desperate for a shower. “No chance I could wash off somehow?… Somewhere other than your mouth?” He added quickly, his strength had largely returned after resting but he didn’t want to give her another excuse. 

They stopped beneath a large pine tree. Tom was lowered to the ground and Hinba poured a small amount of water from her flask into a cupped palm. It was certainly better than nothing. Tom moved quickly, not wanting to waste her momentary kindness. 

He did his best to dry himself off before putting in the clothes that Hinba placed on the ground beside him. She had also offered to dry him with her hair but Tom politely refused.

Just as soon as they had stopped they were off again. “Are we making good time?” Tom asked, feeling a strange unease at their destination. There was nothing comparable to a “temple” in a densely populated, metropolitan area.

“Good time?” she repeated without looking down at him. “Are you asking if we are there yet?” 

Tom was also facing forward but shook his head reflexively. “No, I don’t really know how far this place is-” 

“Tomorrow.” she answered quickly, “I’ll need to find a place to rest before nightfall but that shouldn’t be too hard. The temple is near the top of a nearby mountain range, so we’re going to try and get to the base of the mountain tonight.” 

Tom could feel a chill in the air. “Wouldn’t it be better to sleep in the temple? You know, get out of the elements?”

“Have you ever climbed a mountain at night?” Tom only shook his head but still faced forward. He made a mental note to refrain from asking questions that Hinba might find unnecessary. “Plus the temple is not safe. We shouldn’t idle there.” 

Tom jerked his head back to look at her. “I thought you said all the ‘elders’ were dead? What’s there to worry about?”

“I said they were long gone.” She met his gaze stopping in her tracks. “Until I see a corpse, I’m not going to assume they are dead.”

She was clearly annoyed and Tom threw his hands up to try and placate the angry giant. “Look, I’m sorry if I offended you. I’m clearly out of my fucking depth here.” he took a deep breath while he waited for her stern expression to soften. “Just tell me how I can help. I want to know what happened to your missing people. I’m sure you’re wanting to find them as well…” 

Hinba wrapped a finger around his chest and lifted him up to look at him in the face. She noticed happily that he did not flinch at the motion. He was learning. “Here’s how you can help. Keep your eyes open. Do that thing you do where you notice all the small details.” She chewed her lips to try and properly phrase the next instruction. “If we happen to get separated, you run. Do you understand me? You run as fast and as far as you can.” 

If there was a correct response, it was lost on Tom. “What the fuck are we expecting to find there?” 

“Nothing good.” she set him back into her cleavage. “I can handle myself in a fight, but I can't do that while watching after you. If anything happens, get yourself to safety. I’ll find you later.” 

“A fight?” he shot back, “You’re what? A hundred feet tall. What else can put up a fight against you?” 

“The elders are taller.” 

Despite himself and the danger, Tom groaned. “But you are a good fighter, right?” 

She raised an eyebrow at the comment. “What makes you say that?”

He was unsure if he struck a nerve. “Ok, so what’s the plan if we run into one?”

“I plan on beating them into a bloody pulp. I know I can fight. You didn’t answer my question.” She used a finger to press Tom’s legs deeper into her cleavage. “Answer my question, little man. What makes you think I’m a good fighter?” 

Tom squirmed at the increased pressure. The heat was bearable, perhaps even welcome with the chilling breeze, but he started to get weary of the sudden direction of their conversation. “You’re…” He paused. “You pinned me to the ground when we were the same size. I know I’m not a token of physical fitness but it felt like you weren’t trying that hard.” 

“Maybe you’re just really weak?” She offered. 

“Ha. Ha.” Tom gave a fake laugh and he was pressed into her cleavage again, this time up to his ribcage. “Fine. Look I’m not going to deny that I’m not a warrior. I had no reason to be. I never had a reason to learn before we met, and it seemed just as pointless to learn anything after we met...” 

“That’s cute,” she pushed him down again so only his head was left poking out of her skin. “But I know you’re smarter than that. It doesn’t take much to overpower a weak little human such as yourself. You thought I was a, and I quote, ‘fighter.’ Tell me why.” She placed her arms below her chest and gave them a slight squeeze. 

The pressure wasn’t enough to cause any pain but Tom knew she could force the air out of his lungs in an instant if she wanted to. “I don’t know, Hinba.” He tried to keep his voice level so he didn’t sound panicked, “It could have been any number of things, or rather a bunch of small hints.” 

“Tom.” Her voice was also level and calm but for a very different reason. “Tooooom.” There was another small squeeze. 

He started listing off, “Your reaction time is fast as fuck! You don’t just pin me down, you know exactly where to push to get me off balance. Like, it feels more precise than just a brute force effort.” He could feel her getting ready to squeeze him again. “Wait! I’m not done. You have a fucking club thing, and I know you know how to use it. Your abs are hard as a rock.” 

“Anyone can have abs, Tom” 

“Right. But yours make you look like a fucking orc.” 

“A what now?” She asked with a light chuckle that caused Tom to jiggle in her chest. 

“Oh fuck.” Tom realized too late that his comparison could be considered rude. “They are… aren’t a real thing, just common in folk lore, I guess. They are often described as having green skin and being good fighters.” She nodded but kept quiet, allowing him to continue. “There are many iterations. I didn’t really mean anything by it.” 

“Right, right.” she was nodding excessively now. “And I’m not going to ‘mean’ to sit on you later tonight.”

Tom gulped. “Wouldn’t that…” He stopped himself. They had an agreement that Tom would trust she wouldn’t put him in harm's way.

“Wouldn’t that?...What were you going to say, Tom?” she raised a teasing eyebrow as small droplets of sweat began to form on Tom’s forehead.  

Tom tried to squirm to get an arm free just so he could wipe the sweat from his face. It was no use. He knew that he was stuck until she released him. “Nothing, Hinba. The heat is just getting to me.” There was a moment’s pause for Tom to gauge her reaction. Considering that he was not squeezed again, he reckoned she was not offended. “Could you let me out now? Please?” 

Hinba reached her hand down and scooped Tom’s body out of her cleavage with a single finger. “I guess since you said please.” For a moment Tom thought it was some sort of trap, as if she only released him to do something more sinister. He reclined in her cleavage for a few tense moments but nothing came. The gentle sway of her chest with her steps and the cool breeze hinting of the coming winter were a welcome combination. 

—-

They continued on in silence for several hours. Tom allowed himself to relax and take in the scenery. He made an effort to try and calculate the distance they had traveled and to determine how far they had left to go. The sun was starting to hang low in the sky. There was not much information he could gleam from the flora other than noticing that the trees were becoming slightly more sparse and they went. At one point during their trek, Tom had his briefcase dropped on his lap. He hadn’t really noticed his stomach start growling, but he silently accepted the offer for food. The idea of eating in front of his giant companion still unnerved him but he did his best not to make any outward displays. 

After stuffing his garbage back into his briefcase, careful not to let anything drop, he turned backward. “Hey Hinba?”

“Human, I dare you to ask if we are there yet.” She spat back immediately. 

Tom recoiled at the sudden outburst but remained calm. “I’m not ten. I can handle a long ‘car ride.’” He made an air quotes gesture. “Are you ok? You seem on edge about going to this temple.” 

“I am. I don’t know what we are going to find there.” 

Tom nodded. “That's sort of what I want to talk to you about. We’re looking for hints about how to combine different schools of magic, but there’s something else that’s bothering me.” 

She threw off her satchel into a small patch of dirt. “We’re here.” She announced. A small dead tree had fallen onto another giving them some shelter should it rain but it was going to be a tight fix for at least one of the duo. 

Tom looked to see the position of the sun in the sky. “We probably have an hour of daylight left. Listen Hinba. I saw a map of the city I live in when I was in the cellar.” 

“What about it?” She asked as she broke a few of the downward facing branches. 

Tom shot her a look, “You’re not even remotely curious? I thought these were your people.”

She picked him up and lowered him to the ground. Tom realized he must have struck a nerve as he was dropped the last few feet. It wasn’t enough to hurt but it did catch him off guard. Hinba crawled over Tom into their makeshift shelter and reclined backward on the tree. “They are my people, but that doesn’t mean I know everything about them.” She started to rub her feet. “Gods, my feet hurt.” 

“I just think we need to have an idea of what we’re looking for so we can get in and out.” he took a cautious step towards the resting giantess while trying to stay out of her reach. “If you’re nervous about this place then I'm terrified, so let’s come up with a plan.” 

“You’re the planner. That’s why I keep you around, because you can help me. Also because you’re fun to tease.” She sighed, “I’m only here to make sure you don’t get into trouble. Now come over here. I remember someone said something about wanting to get sat on.” 

Tom froze. He truly wanted to believe he was not in mortal danger, but there was little solace in their arrangement when it would be so easy for her to accidentally crush him. 

“You look frightened, was it something I said?” she feigned concern. “I thought we had a deal.” 

Tom balled his fist to collect his nerve. If she could take advantage of the situation then maybe he could as well. “I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to make it seem like I’m not making enough of an effort to trust you.” He raised his hands. “I am begrudgingly trusting you not to intentionally kill me, but…” he trailed off. 

Hinba laid out an open palm and motioned for him to come closer. “Come here.” 

Despite himself, Tom held onto his composure as he walked towards the outstretched hand. To his credit, he barely even hesitated. “No accidents,” he commanded, absent any real authority. 

“Yeah, you were right.” she said as she dropped him onto her collarbone. In her reclined position, it felt almost like a warm hammock. 

Tom didn’t protest the motion. “I’m right? Why do I feel like there’s more to it?” 

“There is something I have always wanted to try with a human but have never had the chance. I was going to make you choose the lesser of two evils; being sat on or…” she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. The long trek had clearly taken its toll. 

“Do I want to know?” Tom shifted uneasily. 

“You’ll find out. Just let me get comfortable.” 

Tom jolted upright. “No. Let’s not do that. You’ve been walking for the past fourteen hours. How about you get some rest while I get a game plan for tomorrow.” He knew it was a wasted effort but he still had to try. 

“Sweet dreams,” came her ominous reply. 

Tom predicted what was coming next and tensed his body to prepare. The crushing blackness closed in around his peripheral vision but he fought back. “At least tell me what you’re planning!” He said through grit teeth. 

“Oh you’re about to find out.” She picked him up and brought him to her lips. It was even more difficult to fight against her magic while being moved around. His only real hope was to remain still and focused. He was brought to her lips for a long kiss. Tom could feel his strength failing him as he was pulled away and could see Hinba’s glowing red eyes. “You’re actually getting really good at resisting.” 

Tom’s labored breathing was making talking nearly impossible. “Please… wait.” 

“Give it up, Tom. You’re mine, remember?” Her words started to echo in his head as he slowly lost the fight and fell limp in her grip. 

—-

“Tell me what are those small little candies you would always eat to make your breath smell better.” Her voice boomed. 

Tom opened his eyes to see Hinba’s massive face. It was several magnitudes larger than he had ever witnessed. He felt like little more than a pill in the palm of her hand.

“Tip tap, or something? I can’t remember… the point is I tried to make you as small as possible” Her breath threatened to blow him straight off her hand. “Well what do you think?” 

He couldn’t pull his eyes away. “Is it too late to change my mind?” 

Her eyes narrowed, “You’re gonna have fun…. Well I’m going to have fun.” She corrected. “You’re going to behave.” 

Tom slumped his shoulders. “What’s going to happen?” 

Hinba’s mouth curled into an evil smile. “You’re going to go…” her hand lowered to her exposed chest. “Right in here.” She grabbed a handful of her breast and jiggled it slightly. Just one of her nipples was bigger than Tom’s entire body. 

His eyes went wide at the revelation. “Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait.” He counted on his fingers as he recited their safe word. “I refuse. I’m not doing that.” Tom said while shaking his head rapidly. 

“You’re not at all curious? After all the fun we’ve had, you can’t tell me you’re not even a little curious if it’s possible.” 

 “No I’m not! There’s not even…” He caught himself. “No! I’m not engaging in this.” Tom lost his balance as he started to back away. “Look. I have ‘behaved’ enough for you to earn a mulligan. I’m cashing it now, and we’re skipping this!” 

Hinba started to pinch her nipple, rolling it around in her fingers. “When have you ever been able to talk your way out of something with me?” 

Crawling backward was a fruitless effort with how small he was, but Tom couldn’t control his limbs as they acted on their own. “The one time it counted. I’m still alive, aren’t I?” 

“Don’t kid yourself. You are alive because I want you alive. I let you live when you were moments away from becoming little more than a fond memory. 

He needed to keep talking. That was his only chance. “You don’t give me enough credit. And I gotta say…” 

“Times up.” she said suddenly as she brought her hand to her breast. 

The unexpected motion alone was enough to pin Tom on his back. He was quickly shrouded in darkness as her warm skin enveloped him. She shifted her grip while he flailed his limbs. Her finger pressed into his back as he was pressed into her chest. The soft flesh easily wrapped her finger past her first knuckle but she could not feel Tom actually ‘enter’ her nipple. “Come on,” she mumbled as she started to move her finger about, trying to find an opening large enough for Tom to slip through. 

For Tom it was a nightmare. Sandwiched between her nipple and her fingertip, he was being crushed. There was no inward progress. Panic gripped his mind but he could not scream with all the air being squeezed out of his lungs. He did the only thing he could think of to get her attention. Tom opened his mouth as wide as possible and bit down on Hinba’s skin. 

“Ow!” Hinba yelped as she pulled her hand away and caught Tom in the palm of her hand. “Did you just bite me?” she asked as her other hand covered her nipple. 

Tom was gulping air trying to quickly refill his spent lungs. He met her eyes. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were wide with shock. “I said… I’m not doing that.” he managed to say through a small coughing fit. His stern gaze did not break eye contact. 

“So you bit me?” she asked again, but Tom did not reply. “Tom?” there was the slightest hint of a laugh in the back of her voice.

Tom refused to speak, choosing to just glare at her. Hinba moved her hand away from her chest. He spared a glance to the afflicted nipple. There was a small dot of crimson red directly on the tip. When he looked back up, Hinba's expression had barely changed. There wasn’t a hint of anger, she just seemed… amused. “Um. Tom?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. 

It was at this point that Tom realized he had made a terrible error. They both waited for a tense moment to see who would break first. 

“Can we talk about this?” Tom said as he shot both his hands up. 

“Not a chance!” Hinba said before she broke out into a hearty cackle. With a flick of her wrist, Tom was catapulted through the air towards her open mouth. He collided with her hard palate and tumbled down to the back of her throat. After a quick gulp, Tom was sent in a near freefall down her esophagus as if she were simply swallowing a pill. 

Hinba could not actually feel Tom enter her stomach, but she knew when he arrived all the same. His mind was ablaze with panic and terror as he was once again in her stomach but this time small enough for it to feel like being dropped into a lake. “Consider this your punishment. You’re not going to digest, but I am going to just leave you in there.” she patted her abdomen a few times, no doubt generating tidal waves in Tom’s prison. “Try and get some rest. I’ll wake you up when we are at the temple.” 

—

The trek up the mountain was incredibly boring on her own. Her little human was safely tucked into her cleavage while she navigated the rocking pathways. Though she normally kept to the valley below, she was at least vaguely familiar with the winding trail. Tom twitched uncomfortably in his sleep, clearly not enjoying the dream he was having. At some point in the past hour, he had managed to sink past her stomach and was somewhere in her intestines, slowly being kneaded and pushed through her body. Even though it was in a dream, she was still forcing him to experience it in real time. She didn’t even allow him the mercy of drowning for fear it might actually break his mind or snap him awake. No, even if his punishment was slightly disproportionate to his crime, she still wanted him to taste every single second. 

Besides, they were almost there. She looked upward to the crest of the pathway. Tom would probably be useless if they ran into anything larger than a gerbil. Hinba looked over her shoulder at the steep path behind her. “But… I actually might need an extra set of eyes for this.” 

Hinba took a final step off the stone pathway and her foot sunk into the loose dirt and snow. “Hey Tom. Wake up. This is a rare sight for humans.” 

With the spell broken Tom shot awake. “Fucking Fuck! What the fuck Hinba!” 

She held a finger in front of his face, “Mind your language. We’re on sacred grounds.”

He wanted to continue cursing but he was not about to be disobedient after spending the past eight hours in her digestive system. “Never again! Do you hear me? NEVER again.” 

“You can be mad about it later. We’re here.” She removed her finger to reveal the temple. 

It was beautiful. The mountain continued upward on either side of several stone buildings. It was less of a “temple” and more of a “botanical complex”. While the rocky space around the grounds were a mix of gray and white from the snow, the grounds themselves were rich in a vibrant green. 

Tom’s mouth hung agape, “There must be hundreds of different plants up here. How is this possible?” He asked as he felt the stinging cold. 

“It’s very old magic. You’ll feel it get warmer in a second when we get close. It protects the plant life that allows them to flourish for centuries. See that?” she pointed to a large mound looking structure with a wide variety of different coloured flowers peppered up the gentle slope of the outside. “It’s called ‘the Tomb of the Mages’ and it's where we’re heading.”

“This is amazing” was all Tom could say. He instinctively flinched as Hinba picked him up again. 

“You're going to stay on my shoulder while we’re here. Grab onto my hair if you need to steady yourself.” 

Tom did as he was instructed when he was placed on his new perch and grabbed a fist full of her silver hair, making sure to wrap it around his arm a few times just to be sure. He spared a glance towards the ground. One would assume he would be used to the height by now but without Hinba holding onto him, the threat of falling to his death seemed vividly imminent. He twirled his wrist one more time about her hair. “I’m not complaining or anything, but what’s with me on your shoulder?” 

“It’s a better vantage point.” She took a deep breath and started walking towards the burial mound. “There are general spells that I use to help me know when tinies are nearby but they don’t work as well on larger creatures. We are going to have to rely on our physical senses while we’re here. Keep your eyes shaved for any signs of movement and watch my back. Got it?” 

Tom had never heard her this concerned before. He was able to overlook her messing up the phrase “eyes peeled,” as simply a consequence of her being nervous but there was something he couldn’t resist saying. “‘Tinies?’” 

She frowned, “Did you hear anything I just said?”

“No, I stopped listening after you use the word ‘tinies.’ Since when were we not just ‘humans’ to you?” 

Hinba realized that Tom was being sarcastic even without needing to probe his mind. She jerked her neck to the side causing him to lose his balance as he was almost flung off her shoulder with her hair. He let out a quick yelp as he got back to his feet. “Alight! Yes, I heard you. I’ve just never seen you this tense before. It just seems so… unnatural.” He motioned around to the lush greenery at the top of a snow capped mountain. “And ‘unnatural’ isn’t exactly in short supply up here.” 

She sighed as she continued forward. There was a small pattern of cobblestone clearings below. They were wide enough for her feet so she could move without disturbing the plant life but they were spaced slightly too far apart. She needed to widen her gate in order to accommodate their spacing. 

Tom did his best to give Hinba unrestricted access into his perception. He was beginning to notice the slightest sense of “intrusion” when she was using her magic to read his thoughts. The many years he spent training his brain to keep things out of his conscious experience melted away as he examined his surroundings with almost reckless abandon. 

Hinba broke the silence, “You’re being really… loud.” Tom could only give a quizzical glance. “You’re thinking really loud.” 

“I’ll stop.” He wasn’t entirely sure what she meant but trusted his inference. 

“Hang on,” she snapped her fingers and her brow furrowed. “Normally there’s a slight delay, almost like an echo. I don’t know what you’re doing but keep doing it.” 

Tom chuckled slightly, “Well that makes two of us.” 

They made their way to a circular opening on the far side of the burial mound. The sides were covered in the same lush greenery but they were able to see a small amount of the structure beneath as they got closer. “Watch your head.” Tom watched the opening and thought Hinba would need to duck to avoid any collision with the frame. The floor dropped down a small distance when she got the opening. She braced herself on the curved frame while she stepped down. “Well never mind,” Tom said as the archway was now several yards above her head. 

In the inside of the structure, the outer walls were formed from stone buttresses that were arranged in a large circle. The foliage of the outermost layer provided a makeshift canopy that allowed in plenty of natural light. The inner wall curved sharply around a central room they had yet to see. The wall was intricately decorated with a series of intricate symbols. “What is this?” Tom pointed at the mural. 

“It’s the reason we’re here.” She walked up and touched the artwork. 

“Do you know what it means?” 

“Barely,” Hinba walked around the wall to see the full picture. They passed by another opening to the inner room but did not enter. 

“Care to enlighten me?” Tom wasn’t wanting to sound impatient but he was having trouble making heads or tales of the markings without any context. 

“I’m looking for the starting point.” Sha made another round. “Here.” She announced. “I think it’s a story about the first Oni to arrive in this land.” 

“What’s an Oni?” 

“Me, I’m what is known as an Oni.” 

Tom always just mentally referred to Hinba as a demon or giantess. It was weird to hear this new term being used after they had known each other for so long. 

“It doesn’t say where she came from but it mentions she got here through the worldstone.” Her head darted back to an earlier section of the markings. “It’s not in order that’s the problem.” 

Tom was beginning to feel very useless as he looked at the unfamiliar markings. “Maybe just tell me everything that you can make out and we can try and put it all together later? Would that help?” 

“Uh-huh,” she spoke while still reading intently. “There’s something about her getting trapped in some sort of prison. It’s going into a lot of detail about the prison being magical in nature but it’s all a garbled mess.” She pointed to another section. “This is where she got out using some sort of ‘exchange.’” 

“Like she bribed a prison guard?” He offered. 

“Possibly.” She continued on. “This part talks about the two forms. So we know she visited the human world.” 

Tom shook his head, “You lost me.” 

“Right, so when I travel to the human world. I’m not disguising myself as a human, I actually am a human while I’m there.” 

He didn’t waste much time accepting that logic. Any time “magic” was involved, things lost all sense of normalcy. “So do humans have a second form when they come here.” 

“Nope.” She smiled without turning her head. “You only have one life, unfortunately.” 

Hinba started to move to the next section but Tom spoke up. “I have one more question then we can move on. What would have happened if you got killed in your human form?” 

Hinba raised an eyebrow. “Like the time you tried to shoot me? It wouldn’t have changed much. I would just end up back here in my Oni form and you would be left to clean up a dead body.” She laughed for a moment. “I think I would have let you believe that you actually killed me for a day or two before I summoned you back to the forest.” 

“So it wouldn’t have changed anything?” 

“Well I wouldn’t be able to visit the human world anymore, but other than that no. Oh look at this!” She pointed to another symbol. “This bit talks about the worldstone and the worldtree.” 

For some reason Tom actually recognized the symbol. “Are they upside down?” 

Hinba made a silent clapping motion, careful not to make any noise that might carry outside the structure. “Someone’s paying attention, I’m impressed.” 

Tom couldn’t help but chuckle slightly. It was meant to be a compliment but she still delivered them with a cartoonish amount of sarcasm that he could help but laugh. “So what does it say about the worldstone?” 

“Something about a shroud, as if someone was trying to hide it.” 

“How could you hide the worldstone? It’s fucking huge.” 

“Language, Tom. But you’re correct.” 

Tom looked over the wall. “Wait… how many times is ‘worldstone’ referenced here.”

She tried to see what Tom was seeing. “Several times… I can’t see why though, it reads like gibberish but…” Hinba trailed off. 

“Too many to be a coincidence?” he offered. 

“Maybe. Oh!” She pointed at a lower part of the wall. “That means ‘sickness.’” 

Tom recognized the preceding symbol. “Worldstone sickness? Should we be worried?” 

“Well humans have been passing through the worldstone for centuries. I haven’t heard of one getting sick from it.” 

“Maybe none of them live long enough…” Tom said dryly. “But what about you? Do you ever get queasy from the trip?” 

“Never.” Hinba took a half step to the side. “There’s some more stuff about the worldtree, and a list of other names that the fist Oni met along her travels.” 

“Anything stand out? Any names you recognize?” 

“No, there’s not anything useful and nothing about combining spells. Come on.” They walked to the doorway that led to the central room. There was a circular opening in the ceiling that illuminated a large stone tomb in the center on the floor. “There’s probably nothing to learn from here. These mounds were built to tell a story on the outside of the walls but specifically kept bare in the middle.” 

Tom looked around to confirm noticing that the walls were almost strangely plain. “Simple and perfunctory. Alright.” Even the tomb itself was absent of any markings. “We’re not opening that. Please tell me we’re not opening that.” 

“I’m not going to open the tomb, the spirits would haunt us both for centuries.” She poked Tom in the stomach. He laughed nervously as he was momentarily thrown off balance. “I haven’t met a human that lives that long, I think we should head out.” 

Tom pushed the finger away as he righted himself on her shoulder. “We tend to live longer if you don’t eat us…” 

Hinba scoffed at his bad joke. “Well how long are you going to live?” 

He just shrugged, “I’m playing it by ear.” 

Tom felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. They exchanged a wordless look and turned to leave. Hinba moved quickly out through the exit. “Tom, if we get separated, remember you  need to run as fast and as far as you can. I’ll find you when I can. You-“ 

As they rounded the structure they both froze. There was another Oni blocking their path. Even at this distance Tom could tell that this one was significantly taller than Hinba. She was very thin, had long straight hair and was completely naked. Unlike Hinba, she only had one small horn that poked out directly above her forehead and her skin was a slightly lighter shade of red bordering on pink. Her eyes were already glowing with a menacing glare. 

Tom tightened his grip on Hinba’s hair. “Hinba, whatever you’re planning on doing, now’s the time.” he shouted. Even with her warning, his chances were better hanging on her dear life as Hinba ran. “Hinba?!” He looked over at Hinba. She stumbled forward as she let out a pained grunt. Her hands came up in front to brace her fall. Tom realized too late to fully prepare himself for her impending collapse. Using her hair to keep himself from falling off her shoulder became his downfall as he quickly became hopelessly tangled as Hinba tumbled to the ground. 

Out of all the times that Tom came close to death, this was the first where he felt his life flash before his eyes. He hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of him. The arm that was still tangled in Hinba’s hair was jerked back, dislocating his shoulder. Time seemed to slow down as he watched the Oni woman slowly approach. “Hinba!  Wake up!” She was unresponsive as he tried in vain to untangle his injured arm. He screamed her name again but it was no use, he was all alone. 

At some point Tom stopped looking at the approaching threat, choosing to focus on freeing himself. The other woman wedged a foot under the facedown Hinba, and with a quick motion flipped her unconscious body onto her back. 

There was nothing Tom could do to stop himself from being pulled along. The pain in his arm was unbearable as he was flung around. With Hinba on her back he was able to get to his feet to start prying himself loose. 

A voice boomed from above. “How dare you defile sacred ground.” She reached down for Tom. He had just managed to get his arm free as he felt her fingers wrap around his midsection. 

“We were just leaving!” Tom cried out as he was brought up to her face. With her free hand she grabbed Tom’s arm. Panic shot through him. One wrong move, intentional or otherwise, and she could rip his arm clean off. He screamed in pain as she started to pull. “Wait what are you-“ 

She quickly reversed directions and his arm snapped back into place. He felt dizzy from the pain but, amazingly, it started to relent. “I hate how fragile you humans are. You’re worse than the flowers.” 

“We’ll leave.” Tom grasped for words through a dense haze of fatigue and mental fog. He looked down as he saw the giant’s foot move to Hinba’s neck. The earth and plant life began to buckle under the increased weight. She’s going to kill Hinba, he thought. There was a brief moment of hesitation that bubbled up in the back of Tom’s mind. He was looking down at all of his problems about to disappear. All the torture and fear he experienced was being snuffed out along with his tormentor’s wind pipe. 

He turned back to the Oni that was still holding him. She was smiling down at her handy work as she increased the pressure. Her teeth were sharpened to points, appearing as rows of daggers more than anything biological. “Wait!” Tom screamed, and to his infinite amazement she did. 

Her face turned once again to the tiny human in her fist. Her expression shifted several times, trying to put the pieces together, before landing on pity. “Oh you poor thing.” She said with cold indifference. “You must be completely under her spell.” 

“Please, just let us go. We didn’t want any trouble.” Tom pleaded while still only able to lift one arm. The other was still too sore to move. 

“Human, you might not be aware of this one’s reputation.” She kicked the side of Hinba’s face. “She doesn’t keep pets. Whatever she’s told you to earn your fleeting loyalty… is all lies. The moment you outlive your usefulness…”

“I know all that!” She blinked at the response but Tom continued, “I know she lies and I know everyday I’m with her could be my last, but I can’t just watch you kill her and do nothing!”

“Would you prefer I end you first? Your tendency for self destruction is laughable.” Upon hearing her words Tom started to struggle in her grasp. “How about I make it quick? One quick little bite and then…nothing.” Her tongue gently teased her sharp teeth as if to prove her point. 

Tom could feel himself giving up. “Just-” 

“You want me to make it painless?” She finished the question. “I only do that for humans I like, but I’m sure you’ll find a way to forgive me in the afterlife.” 

“Just let her go.” This got her attention. “I’m the reason we’re here, not her.” 

“The reason for you being here is irrelevant. You have shown disrespect to the spirits of this temple.” 

“Then let her go! She knew the customs. She showed respect. She didn’t walk in the plants, she used the…” He pointed to the cobblestone clearings that provided a pathway for giants. “Steps. She didn’t even curse!” At this point Tom was fully grasping at straws.

“Didn’t curse?” Tom watched a single white eyebrow raise on the giant’s face. “Human, I don’t know what this one told you to earn your loyalty but it’s equally commendable and distressing.” She lowered Tom until he was close enough to be dropped onto Hinba’s chest safely. “I’m going to give you a chance to prove your loyalty. I’m going to get a device to help me carry her out of the temple without disturbing any of the flora.”

“You’re letting us go?” Tom asked with blinding optimism. 

“No. I’m just leaving you alive until I get back.” She started to walk away, carefully navigating the stone pathway.  

“How does that prove my loyalty?”

She turned back to answer his question, “You are going to stay with her, and say your final goodbyes. She won’t be able to break my spell but there’s a chance she might still be able to hear you… However, if you abandon your companion, then I will find you, and ensure that even the afterlife cannot give you respite from your agony…” 

She was just going to leave him? He thought to himself while still standing directly below Hinba’s collarbone. Tom watched her disappear around a stone outcropping beyond the temple grounds. As soon as she was out of eyesight, he sprung into action. There wasn’t really much in the way of a plan of how to escape but he sure as hell wasn’t going to do nothing, and he certainly wasn’t going to leave without her. Despite his earlier hesitation, Hinba was still his best chance at getting off this mountain alive, and though he hated to admit it, he was her best chance as well. 

Tom Jumped and reached for her chin. On any other occasion it would be an easy maneuver, but his left arm was still reeling from the pain of being ripped from shoulder and not so gently, reattached. He huffed as he was finally able to pull his hips over her ching and then rolled his weight onto her face. He came to rest on his back directly on her lips and took a moment to catch his breath. Hinba apparently needed to breathe as well as Tom felt a gust of wide pass over him. “Don’t you dare.” he said as he rolled off her lips right as they relaxed open. “That would have been bad…” 

Tom moved carefully over the uneven surface until he was kneeling on her forehead. Balling his fist, he smacked the space directly between her eyebrows, “Wake up!” he didn’t want to yell too loud to inadvertently alert the other Oni what he was trying to do. “Hinba! Get up! Come on, we’ve got to go!” his fists came down again, as he released a flurry of punches.  “Don’t do this to me! After everything you put me through!” his blows were getting weaker as the pain was getting too much to bear and he had to stop using his left arm. “You can’t just leave me here.” Exhausted, he smashed his forehead into her skin, still making weak attempts to jar her awake. “Please…” 

As Tom stayed there, with his head on hers, he felt a sudden feeling of deja vu. That same creeping blackness that he felt right before Hinba imposed her magic on him… it was surrounding her. He shot upright. “Are you awake?” There was no answer, and Tom didn’t want to waste any precious time. He had to take a shot. He pressed his forehead back down against her. After so many times of trying to fight off her magic, this time he was going to embrace it. “Please work” Tom focused expressly on the darkness that wormed its way around the edges of his consciousness. “Please, just this once…” And he was gone.

— Chapter6 Beck and Call 

Tom found himself beside a raging bonfire, the wicker effigy of a giant humanoid creature crackled and burned. Tom noticed that it bore two large horns that stretched up into the night sky. “I’m in Hinba’s dream?” The realization hit him quickly as he whirled himself around. “Hinba!” he yelled, no longer needing to be quiet. There wasn’t time to doyle about. They needed to escape. 

Tom started to run around the perimeter of the massive fire. Thankfully it didn’t take him long to spot the towering red figure standing still a small ways behind the inferno. She was facing away as Tom approached. He called up to her to try to get her attention. “Hinba. Come on, we have to go. You can enjoy Burning Man later.” 

Tom’s blood ran cold as she turned around, as “it” turned around, as “they” turned around. There wasn’t just one Hinba. There were several moving in unison and occupying the same space. Their faces morphing in and out of one another to create a nightmarish visage of Hinba’s face passing through a kaleidoscope. 

It was too late to run as Tom found himself already standing on her open palm, high above to earth. This was it. This was his chance to get her to wake up and get them off the fucking mountain. “Hinba. This is a dream, and you need to wake up.” Tom wished he could have said more before a cacophony of voices shouted at him. 

“Lies!” 

“He’s lying.” 

“What is he doing here?” 

“That isn’t my Tom.” 

“What is he trying to say?” 

“This isn’t a dream.” 

“That isn’t our Tom.” 

“Follow him!” 

“I need to find Tom!” 

All the voices seemed to hit him at once. He was having trouble parsing out any real language from all the static. The sound was more akin to a lion's roar than actual speech. “We are both in danger! If you don’t wake up, then that other Oni is going to come back and fucking murder both of us! You need to snap out of this!” Her faces seemed to strain in all directions at once as if they were trying to pull themselves apart from one another. 

“Not Tom!” 

“Prove it!” 

“It’s a trick!” 

“Tom wouldn’t lie to me!” 

“Find the real Tom!”

“Prove it!” 

“Kill him! Stop the lies” 

“It’s all a lie!” 

“Sniff him out!”

“PROVE IT!” 

He heard enough to make it count. “You want me to prove it? To prove this is a dream?” 

“Prove you’re Tom!” The voices screeched in unison. 

Tom couldn’t help but cover his ears at the noise. This was not a version of Hinba that he was used to and not one he would even like to see again if they lived through this. “This is a dream and I’ll prove it! Go ahead and eat me!” 

“What?” 

“It’s a trick!” 

Tom continued, “Do it! I know it's a dream, so nothing you do to me here will actually kill me.” 

“He’s lying!” 

“That’s not my Tom” 

This wasn’t working. “Fucking do it, Hinba!” he screamed at the top of his lungs in an attempt to cut through the dense psychosis of personalities. 

“That’s what he wants!” 

“It’s a trick!” 

“He’s trying to escape!”

“That’s a lie!”

“He wants to die!” 

“He wants to be rid of us.” 

“The real Tom would want to live!” 

“He wants to be rid of ME!”

“The real Tom wouldn’t give up!” 

“Fucking eat him!” 

“Don’t let him escape!” 

“Don’t give him what he wants!”

“Kill!” 

“RIp him apart!”

Tom watched in utter horror as all the faces passed in and out and through one another. He clawed at his ears as they began to sting from the verbal assault. Some of the faces were even completely upside down as they betrayed all semblance of reality. There was one face that blipped in and out of focus. 

“This is what he always wanted!” 

“He doesn’t want to be with us any more!” 

“Don’t let him go!” 

“Don’t let him leave!” 

“Feed!” 

There was one face that didn't have a panicked expression. One face that seemed strangely calm in the midst of all the chaos. 

“The real Tom wouldn’t give up!” 

“It’s a trick!” 

“Not Tom!” 

“Where is the real Tom?” 

The more he focused on the one calm face, the more frequently it seemed to appear. He willed himself to quiet the other voices ringing in his bleeding ears and just train his mind on the small bit of Hinba that wasn’t experiencing utter turmoil. 

“THAT’S NOT ….” 

Silence greeted him. He was staring face to face with a singular Hinba, a cold Hinba. Her  expression looked as though she didn’t care what happened to him. While the giantess that he had come to know wasn’t exactly the fountain of empathy, her expression in this moment made him feel as though he were nothing more than an inconsequential speck. He gulped. He knew that he needed to shock her awake and he had an idea of how to go about doing that. “Hinba. Bring me closer.” His voice was calm and focused. 

Her hand brought him within meters of her face. There were small hints of contortion on her face. The prior chaos tried to regain disorder once again, but Tom didn’t let it. He focused on the quiet. There was a cold fury beneath the surface. He focused on the cold and indifferent version of Hinba… And he spat at her face. 

There was a moment when he swore he started to hear his heartbeat. Hell there was a moment he could hear her heartbeat, specifically when it started to drum in her chest. Her face contorted into a blind rage. “IT’S A DREAM.” he screamed as her fingers curled up and around him. 

There was no mental filter in place to modulate his pain. There was not a modicum of belevilounce from Hinba and he felt his bones crack and splinter at the core of her closing fist. The only positive thing about experiencing his own death was that it was quick as his screams were cut short when his knee passed through his windpipe. 

— 

Hinba shot upright, the motion caused Tom to fly off of her forehead. In one fluid motion she snatched him out of the sky. “Gotcha.” she sneered, and brought him to her face, “What was that?” 

Tom didn’t allow himself time to recover. “No time to explain. Hinba we need to leave right now.” 

“Tom, what-” 

“Run! Now Hinba!” 

She didn’t need any more encouragement. Tom felt her grip tighten around him as she got to her feet. He was having trouble even focusing his eyes on what was happening as Hinba darted towards the winding pathway that led down the mountainside. She’s not slowing down, Tom thought as blind terror started to claw it’s way though his broken mind. He tried to yell through the thunderous drum of her feet cratering the ground. “What are-”

The noise seemed to disappear for a moment then replaced with the sound of rushing wind. Tom watched the zigzagging pathway pass under them and quickly shrunk behind them. There was nothing left to do but scream. He was flying through the air in the balled fist of a giant that just lept off the side of a fucking mountain. 

The ground rose up to meet them as Hinba tucked her cargo close to her chest. As soon as her feet made contact, she shifted her weight forward and rolled with the momentum. If Tom had anything left in his stomach, he would have most definitely been reintroduced. Hinba repositioned her feet under her as she continued to slide down the steep incline. 

As soon as they made it to level ground, Tom was sure that she would slow down but that never happened. She continued to pump her un occupied arm as she barreled through the dense trees and full speed. Tom could tell she was doing her best to keep him from shaking too much, but the sheer force of her movement forward was leaving him nearly breathless. It didn’t take long for him to pass out. 

—-

Hinba was not a marathon runner. She was a sprinter at the best of times. Her breath was harsh and her lungs burned. They were almost to the desert. As soon as they passed the threshold she turned onto her back as she fell. There was a cloud of sand that kicked up as she hit the floor of the valley.

She dropped Tom on her chest as she struggled to catch her breath. “When did you come too?” 

Tom shook his head, “I’ve been drifting in and out the whole way.” he couldn’t seem to find his breath either. “Did you really just run the whole way? That had to be five hundred miles at least.” 

“Yeah… I mean I ran the whole way. I have no idea how far it was.” her arms spread wide into the sand. “I think we got away.” 

Tom tried to stand upright, but Hinda’s heavy breathing prevented him from finding his balance. He could only manage to meet her eyes right as she looked down at him. There was a moment of silence before they both began to laugh. “I think we gave her the slip, alright.” 

“Tom? What happened?” Her breathing was still heavy but at least she was able to get her words out without pausing to gulp down air. 

Tom tried to pull himself out of a daze. “The other Oni did the whole ‘go to sleep’ spell on you.” 

A smirk appeared on Hinba’s face but she didn’t move. “I mean after that, I only remember waking up and it was just you and I there. How’d you convince her to let you go?” 

“I didn’t. She told me to wait there with you while she left to grab something.” It didn’t feel like a win. Sure they made it out with their lives but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was merely ‘allowed’ to live. “She had her foot on your throat and…”

When Tom didn’t finish the thought, she finished it for him. “You what? Asked her to stop?” 

He didn’t want to remember, but just started to nod.

“Tom.” He knew that voice. “Did you hesitate?” 

His blood ran bold as he heard her question. “I don’t know-“ 

She cut him off. “Did you hesitate to save me?” 

He immediately felt her presence in his mind. She wasn’t going to let him lie. His chest started to burn as the residual trauma of the whole ordeal shot through him. “Please Hinba, don’t make me answer that…” 

“That’s a yes!” She chuckled softly. “I still want to hear you say it.” 

He heard the echo of his bones cracking and resigned himself to whatever cruel fate would await him. “Yes, Hinba. I hesitated. Please…. Don’t be angry. It all happened so fast I wasn’t-“ 

“You’re fine, Tom. Really.” She pressed her chin down into her collar bone so she could look him in his eyes. “I’m not mad at you.” Tom could only manage a nod. “Then what happened.” 

“She just left me with you, saying I need to say my ‘goodbyes’ or something. You were out cold.” Hinba lay her head back down, and Tom knew that was his cue to keep going. “I was somehow able to get into your dream. The only thing I could think to do at that point was convince you that you were unconscious.” 

“Well it worked.” She said as she was finally able to start breathing normally again. 

“Yeah…” Tom desperately wanted to go home, and sleep in his own bed. 

“What’s wrong?” Tom didn’t answer, but soon found the ground moving as Hinba sat upright. “Tom, how were you able to convince me it was a dream?” 

He wasn’t sure how to answer but he made an attempt. “I spat on your face and…” Hinba’s eyes went wide, “and you crushed me in you hand, and I guess-“ 

“Oh no…” her other hand covered her mouth. “Tom, are you ok?”

The sudden shift in her demeanor left Tom in a state of whiplash. “It was just in a dream, so I’m not-“ 

“Did I hurt you?” 

Tom tried to lie, “It happened so quick…” 

“I’m sorry. Tom, I need you to know that I’m sorry and… I know I’m a monster in a lot of ways but I really do not like to cause physical pain.” Their eyes met and for a long moment Tom couldn’t look away. 

“But you…”

“I need humans to survive, but I always go out of my way to make it as… humane as possible…. Just tell me how I can make it up to you.”

Tom needed a moment to collect himself before he blurted out, “Freedom?” 

“That’s not happening.” She said with a chuckle. “You’re still mine.” He wasn’t sure if he had said the word out loud or if she just heard his thoughts. “How about we just rest for a bit and you think about it? Sounds good?” 

“Please no more dreams… I think I’ve had my fill for a bit.” 

Hinba adjusted herself back into a reclining position. “No dreams? Of course, I can manage that.” Neither of them said anything else as she laid him down in the center of her collarbone. He didn’t need any convincing to take a short nap in the afternoon sun. They both had a very eventful day and a short break from the chaos was most welcome. Neither of them took very long to drift off. 

—-

“Where are you!” It was hard to see through the dense snow fall. “Hello?” He kept trudging down the city street fighting against the torrent of wind that threatened to lift him up and away. The bitter cold bore into his exposed face. He heard a female's voice coming from inside a small diner tucked in the side of a much larger building. “Can you hear me?” He called again. 

The building did little to stop the wind, or even slow it down. Broken glass and snow covered the floor as Tom carefully navigated a shattered window to gain entry. It was dark inside, as all the lights were blown out but at least there was some respite from the gale. “Is anyone here? Please I need to find…” he turned and saw Hinba. Still sporting her red skin and horns but approximately his height. 

“Who are you looking for?” She asked.

“Who…” she nodded again. “Who am I looking for?” 

“Tom. Are you ok?” 

“This is a dream?” He pointed a finger at Hinba. “You said ‘no dreams.’” 

She nodded and took a step forward. Tom flinched at the motion and took a step back. Then they both froze in place, Hinba not wanting to advance and Tom not wanting to retreat. “I meant what I said… but you seemed to be having a nightmare, you were moving so much that you almost fell off me in your sleep.” She shrugged. “I wanted to check on you.” 

Tom motioned to the frozen hellscape, “Why are you doing this to me? Haven’t you done enough?!” 

Hinba raised both of her arms. “This isn’t me, Tom. This is all you…” she her palms in a placating motion. “I’m going to come near you, and you are going to stay still. Understand?” Tom didn’t respond and Hinba didn’t wait for one. She slowly started to make her way forward. “Just stay calm, and we’ll figure this out.” Her words made him feel more like she was talking to a wild animal than a person. He watched her every movement, the way her bare feet passed through the snow and broken glass, her arms forward while her fingers seemed to be reaching for him, her eyes were wide but her face was trying to be a calming presence. 

The wind outside started to howl as it snaked its way through the tall building. The deafening noise pulled both of their attention away. “Tom, don’t worry about that. It’s not real.” 

“It’s not real.” he repeated as their eyes met again. “It’s not real.” 

She was less and an arms length away. Hinba reached her arm out to touch Tom’s shoulder. “See? Nothing bad is going to-” 

As soon as she made contact with his shoulder, she heard a sickening crunch. It made a similar noise of a dead tree branch being snapped underfoot but it was significantly louder and rang out from all directions. “What was-”

Her question was cut off when Tom dropped to his knees and began to scream as he clawed for his ears. She immediately got down to his level, trying to soothe the panic away. “Tom, what’s wrong? What was that?” The only response Tom was able to muster was another shrill scream. 

Hinba let out a long sigh. This wasn’t working. She stood upright and regarded Tom one more time. He was still clawing at his ears. She quickly snapped her fingers and then everything went quiet. Hinba, Tom, and the rest of the dream disappeared. 

—-

Hinba awoke to the starry night sky. She got to her feet but was careful not to disturb Tom who was still asleep. His turbulent nightmares quieted for the moment. “I really hope I didn't break you.” She mused to herself as she started walking to the center of the desert. 

“Who broke what now?” came Tom’s groggy voice. 

Her eyes went wide for a moment. “I thought you were still asleep. I, uh, didn’t mean to wake you.” 

“I’m actually a really light sleeper when I'm not forced under.” 

He was supposed to be her pet, but for some reason she was genuinely hurt by his comment. “At least you know it wasn’t me.” They made eye contact for a moment before Hinba rolled her eyes. “This time! You know it wasn’t me this time.” 

“I know… it’s just been a rough few days.” Tom’s gaze drifted to the cloudless night sky.

“Are you mad at me?” 

“Like I said, it’s been a rough few days.” He clenched his eyes shut.  

Hinba just sighed. “Yeah… is our deal still on? Whatever happened back there… I didn’t-” 

“Hinba, I know you were lying about the berries.” 

That stopped her dead in her tracks. For a moment, she debated if she should try and extend the con. “When did you find out?” 

“Honestly, I wanna say I never believed you but that might be giving myself too much credit…” 

They walked in silence for a few long minutes. Their path illuminated by the twinkling star light. “For what it’s worth, I really wanted you to feel safe with me. Not… well.” she was tripping over her words. “I don’t know, Tom.” 

Tom nodded his head, “Stop. You don’t need to say anything. Look, even though I knew you were lying through your teeth, I know what you were trying to do.” He hated what he was saying. “I know you’re not going to deliberately hurt me.” 

She set him down on the ground as they approached the oasis. “-or kill you? Right?” 

Tom shook his head. “Not any time soon, I guess.” He watched as Hinba started to strip out of her clothes. “I know I’m still going to end up there at some point.” he said while staring at her abdomen. Their eyes met and Tom immediately regretted his words. He started to take off his clothes to try and shift her attention. 

“That doesn’t need to be anytime soon.” she watched him disrobe. “Would you like to join me?”

Tom could feel the dirt and grime from the past few days clinging to his skin. He dropped his pants and moved to Hinba who already had her feet in the water. After she picked him up she moved into the center of the pool and floated on her back. She placed Tom on her stomach. The water lapped up enough for Tom slash handfuls all over his body. He did his best trying to scrub away the memories of the past few days. The bracing cold wasn’t helping. 

“Would it really be so bad? You know, after we find the missing people?” 

He wasn’t sure what she was talking about but he could take a guess. “I’m not food…”

She stifled a laugh so Tom wouldn’t be thrown into the water. “That’s not what I was asking, and yes you are. I was thinking about you staying with me long term.” 

His brow furrowed. “Wasn’t that your plan already?” 

“Yes but I’m asking you.” She moved her hands to either side of Tom to protect him slightly from the cold night air. “What do you think of it?”

He was either too tired to recognize a trap or he just didn’t care. “I have a life back home! I have a career and-“ 

“Name the last time you went out drinking with a friend. Hell, you don’t even have a pet!” 

Tom threw his hand up, “Jee! I wonder what ruined the idea of owning a pet for me!” 

Hinba started to laugh once again at his outburst. This time she made no attempt to hold back as Tom stumbled into her hand. He held on through the quaking before it eventually died down. “How about this? What if we could both get what we want?” She nudged him closer. “Imagine a situation where you get to keep your career and I get to keep my pet.” 

“I don’t think that would work out…” 

“And why the hell not?” Tom hoped she was only pretending to be hurt. 

“Well there’s one reason but I-“ he was cut off by a low grumble emanating from below his feet. “There are two reasons.” 

“That daring escape really took a lot out of me. Now what’s the other reason?” 

Tom shook his head, “I’ll tell you later.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt Hinba worm her way into his mind. “Please Hinba, trust me. I will tell you later.” 

She pursed her lips at him, “Why can’t you tell me now?” 

“Because I’m still putting all the pieces together. I need to get back to the human world to check something.” 

“That’s fine with me.” She chirped. 

His eyes narrowed, “That was easy.” 

“Did you expect me to need some more convincing?” Her lips curled into a mischievous smile. 

“No, well yes. Anyway…” he tried to get back on track but there was a twinge of fear for whatever she might be planning. “I need to make one more quick stop before we head back.”

“Hmm?” She started to drip water onto her forehead while she listened. 

“I’m going to pay our friend a visit one more time.” 

She stopped what she was doing and looked at him for a moment. “The naga?” He nodded. “I’m going with you.” 

“No, I need to go alone and… I need you to not intervene. No matter what.” 

“Out of the question.” She said curtly.

“Just trust me on this, please?” He started to walk towards her between the canyon of her chest. 

“That’s a dangerous spot to talk about trust.” She moved her arms together causing her breast to softly engulf the tiny human. There were several muffled cries that rang out from her chest. Nothing that made her believe Tom completely hated the experience, but she still couldn’t make out what he tried to say. “Come again.” she said as she released him. 

“Is that a yes?’ Tom managed as he fell to his hands and knees. 

“I guess… just please be safe.” 

“Yeah you bet…” he was still in the process of catching his breath. 

“Now that you’re all clean, I gotta get myself clean as well!” She announced. 

“Alright, can you just drop me off at the shore?” 

Hinba turned to the nearby shoreline. It was definitely too far for Tom to swim but was probably about two or three arms lengths for her. She could drop Tom off with relative ease, but she had a better idea. “But it’s sooo far away.” She drawled. 

“Maybe for me, what are you-“ 

Tom was unceremoniously plucked up and dangled over Hinba’s face. “I’ll just be a second.” She said before dropping him into her mouth. The transition from the cold night air to the heat radiating from her tongue was enough to make him dizzy. 

He grumbled for a moment as he could feel Hinba changing her position. She’s really going to clean herself with me in here… He could feel his feet dangling over the back of her throat. It could be worse. It could be worse. It could be worse. Tom repeated the thought over and over again for the duration of their “bath.” 

—- 

Hinba enjoyed every minute of their dip from that moment onward. She made it a point to stay under the water's surface as much as possible with her “passenger.” Mostly, this was to ensure that his taste coated every corner of her mouth, but she also loved the idea that Tom was completely at her mercy. The small pool of water wasn’t all that deep to her, but for Tom, it could have been the bottom of the ocean. 

Eventually, her fun needed to come to an end. She released Tom, who required a second bath. At first he was actually unwilling to wash off again. He saw it as an invitation for another trip into her mouth, but he was easily persuaded otherwise with logic and reason. 

“I should have seen that coming.” he grumbled as he wiped the thick globs of spit from his face as he walked back into the water to rinse off yet again. Her aim at this distance was annoyingly precise. 

“You should have listened the first time.” She called back as she wiped the remaining water off of her skin. Towels were an absolute luxury of the human world. She waited to get dressed until Tom was ready. The cold water mixed with the chilly night breeze was bearable for her, but she was used to it. She never had a problem keeping herself warm. Tom, on the other hand, needed more help, especially with winter right around the corner. Tom moved a little bit faster when he saw that she was waiting on him. 

Neither of them were in any real rush to get moving again. They were both still tired from the events of the prior day and feeling very groggy from their jumbled sleep schedules. Tom slipped into his worn clothes and hinba followed suit. Once they were both dressed, Hinba placed Tom on her shoulder. Walking with the light of stars was easy enough on the relatively even surface of the desert sands, but she had no desire to navigate the eastern woods without daylight. The main reason she wanted to get to the edge of the desert was simply to get out of the harsh wind while they waited for morning. “-good a spot as any.” she stated before sitting down. They both were unable to fall back asleep but enjoyed the simple act of watching the night sky in silence as the stars slowly turned overhead. 

—

It was a stupid idea. This had to be the single worst idea he ever had. “God damnit.” Tom mumbled to himself. There was a very high likelihood that the naga he was going to meet wouldn’t be happy to see him. He had already been walking for over an hour and the forest gave him no hint of how much further he needed to go. There were no signs of the struggle that occured the last time Tom was on this side of the desert but he did notice the blind spots. The small spaces missing from his conscious perception. He would never have noticed if he didn’t spend five years training to use an amber stone to block Hinba’s perception. Notice the gaps, he told himself. 

Tom stopped. This was it. This was as far as he went. The forest looked the same if he only took into account the things he saw but there were areas he couldn’t see. He never really noticed a huge amount of wildlife but the sound of nearby birds was suspiciously nonexistent. Try as he might, he couldn’t even spot a single insect on the ground. “It doesn’t even smell like anything.” He said to no one. 

Tom let out a pained sigh as he lowered himself to his knees. “Easy does it,” he reached into his pocket and clutched a small silver locket.  There was no stimulus around him, even the warmth of the sun seemed to dissipate without cause or reason. “Please, just hear me out…” he said in a low, even tone. 

In an instant, he felt something being shoved into his mouth. The intrusion was so quick and without provocation that Tom was completely caught by surprise. The taste was foul and bitter and he immediately wanted to expel the gross substance. 

There she was. The naga loomed over him, wiping her fingers off on her hip. “Apologies for that. You’ll have to forgive me for taking some extra precautions after our last visit.” 

Tom caught a gag. “No worries, but could you-“ 

“It’s sap. It doesn’t last as long as a stone, but I needed you to be cut off from your owner.” She examined her fingers. They were still damp but she got most of the sap into the human’s mouth. “That should get us at least a few hours.” 

He pushed his nerves down with gulp as he shifted uncomfortably on his knees. Her words sent a shiver up his spine. “Ok, look, I never got an opportunity to apologize for the mix up earlier. That was-“ 

She cut him off, “You never got to apologize? Well I never got to thank you.” 

Tom really didn’t like the look on her face. He watched as she approached, her snake half slithered up to him with an inhuman smoothness. At her full height she was well over ten feet but Tom couldn’t even start to estimate her total length to include her snake half. 

“Stand up, human.” Her red hair billowed in the wind, the forest finally deciding to make its presence known again. 

He wasn’t keenly willing to follow her demands but preferred to keep that a secret for the time being, rising to his feet as slowly as possible. If dealing with with Hinba required kid gloves, dealing with this naga was like disarming a ticking time bomb. With no training. his mind added. “While I made Hinba promise not to interfere, she still expects me back at some point… preferably in one piece, I’d wager.”

The naga lowered herself until they were relatively eye to eye. Her hand came up to rest on Tom’s chest. For a moment he wasn’t sure how to interpret the gesture.  A forceful shove threatened to lay him out but he managed to keep his feet under himself as he stumbled backward. “What are you-” Was all he managed to say before another quick shove landed on his shoulder. It all happened so quickly that he couldn't fully process the blur of movement. 

Every floundering step backward was doubling as an effort to put distance between him and the naga. She closed the distance every single time. 

Tom slammed his back into a tree. Before he could steady himself, he felt the smooth scales wrap around his midsection. “Shhh, that’s enough.” She pinned his arms by his sides as her tail continued to coil around Tom and the tree until just his head was visible. “There we go. Comfortable?”

“No.” He gasped for air in his compacted lungs. 

“How about now?” 

Her coils loosened slightly, Tom was finally able to breathe normally but was still struggling to move a single muscle below his neck. He managed a nod. 

“Perfect.” The tip of her tail moved under his chin and pushed his face to the left. She regarded him for a moment before doing the same on his other cheek. A worried look appeared on his face as he was being studied. “Oh relax, I assumed you’d be used to this by now. Tell me, how is your life as a pet to a demon going? Is it everything you hoped it would be?”

Tom winced as the coils tighten again, seemingly unable to decide if they intended to break bones. “Peachy,” came his laconic response. “She’s expecting me back.” 

“You already said that. Like I said, I just wanted to say thank you for saving my life from your owner… even though you’re the one who put me in that situation by seeking me out to begin with.” She released Tom completely, allowing him to slump to the ground. “This forest is not a kind place. Many have met their end for less so consider us even. Ask your question. I know you didn’t come here without a reason.”

Tom got to his feet. “I have several, but could I start with your name?” 

“I’m called Zmera. Ask your next question.” She wasn’t wasting time with pleasantries. 

“Tom, charmed.” He reached out a hand but the naga made no attempt at a hand shake. For a moment Tom wondered if she was familiar with the gesture. 

“If it’s all the same to you, calling you “human” suits me just fine. What else?” 

“Ok…” Tom pulled the small necklace out of his front pocket and held it out. “Do you know who this belonged to?” 

Zmera’s eyes went wide as she saw the small locket dangling from a silver chain. “Where did you get that?” 

“I found it on the corpse of a naga at the epicenter of the village abduction. Since I haven’t met many other nagas, I thought you might have known each other. I’m sorry for your loss.” 

She balled her fist but remained still. “Give it to me now, human. Don’t make me take-”

“It’s yours,” Tom tossed the locket to Zmera before could finish her threat. She caught it with a smooth motion. “I’ll also see to it that she gets a proper burial.” They were both silent for a moment. “I need another stone.” 

The naga looked up from her cupped hands. “What are you planning?” 

Tom shook his head, “I don’t know yet, but I think the missing people are somehow trapped in the worldstone. I figure if I can somehow weaken the worldstone’s magic, that I could somehow free the folks trapped inside.” 

“And what do you plan to do?”. 

“Ah, well, erm…I ” Tom picked his next words very carefully, not entirely sure of his plan himself. It was a price he had to pay to keep secrets from Hinba. “I’m going to break it in front of the worldstone. I’m also going to have to convince Hinba to release her charm as well but…” That wasn’t going to be easy. “If it took these two schools of magic to trap them in the worldstone, then it’s worth a shot to try and free them by nullifying the effects of those magics next to the worldstone.”

She nodded before chiming in. “Make sure you are on either side. Hinba will need to release your charm on this side while you remain in the human world.” 

“Why’s that?” 

The naga reached into her wool satchel and pulled out a glowing yellow stone. “What you're suggesting will not just weaken the worldstone… it could potentially kill it, severing the link between our worlds.”

Tom reached out to accept the stone, transfixed by twinkling beauty. “It looks different then the last one.” 

She plopped the stone in his hand. “That’s because it is. Now listen carefully, you need to know how it works.”

— Chapter7 Back home

 “Where have you been?!” Tom heard Hinba’s booming voice but couldn’t see her until she ran out from behind a downed tree. 

He instinctively jumped back to avoid getting stepped on. ”The naga did something to temporarily hide me. It’ll wear off soon enough.” Hinba didn’t waste any time as she picked him up. It was very disorienting as she twirled him about to examine him for injuries. “I’m fine, Hinba!” he managed to say while being flung around. 

“I had to know for sure. Tom, it felt like you just disappeared! I was so worried.” The movement finally stopped. She kept him still but didn’t lower him away from her face. 

He planted his hands down on her wrists as both a means to get her attention and to calm his own dizziness. “I’m safe now. Do you need a moment? Or are we ready?” Tom could use a moment to catch his breath as well but he was more than willing to let Hinba make the decision to head out. It wasn’t clear if the prolonged excitement of the past few hours, or days, was having a physical effect on him, but he was very tired. The only reason he felt safe to even think that was because he could still feel the mental shroud of magic protecting his private thoughts from Hinba’s watchful gaze. It will probably wear off soon…

“You’re safe?” She repeated, more to convince herself, then started to nod. “Ok. You’re safe. So the next stop is the worldstone?” 

“Yes.“  They started off. “Wait, no. Take me to the place where we first appeared in the forest the most recent time.”  

—

“Ahh, memories…” 

Hinba was back to her normal, chipper self, Tom thought idly. There was a part of his mind that was worried about the possibility of going back inside her ass. The majority of his brain was just tired and wanted to get the information he needed. “So whenever you summon me to the forest, this is where I appear?”

She nodded, “Yeah, at least since you were in your new fancy apartment.” 

Tom sighed, his apartment was entirely not fancy… “Ok, on the way back, could you try your best to walk in straight lines and take even steps? I want to get a really good idea of where this spot is in relation to the worldstone so I'm going to count your steps.” 

“Do you need to stay in my hand to count steps?” Hinba chewed her lower lip as she asked the question. Tom was still sweaty from his morning walk. Damn, did he smell good, Hinba thought. She was going to have a hard time being patient.  

Tom was too focused on the ground to see her facial expression, oblivious to her predatory glances. “Yeah, I need this to be as exact as possible. Try and walk as close to due south as possible.” 

And so, Hinba marched south. She made sure to keep an even gate in her steps as she eyed the small human in her hand. For the moment, she would need to be patient. 

Tom counted, making sure to keep an eye on her feet and their direction. They were far enough away from the worldtree for Hinba to walk unhindered. She walked until the breach was directly to their left. Hinba turned ninety degrees in an almost comically rigid manner. “It’s a straight shot to the worldstone. Are you sure you need to stay in my hand? You probably won’t be able to see in there anyway…” 

“It was a long time ago, but I remember the path curves to the left at the very end. I know this seems like guesswork but I really am trying to be as exact as possible…” Tom could feel her eyes boring holes into the back of his head but he kept his eyes forward. Whatever she wanted to ask him would need to wait until they were back in his apartment. 

“Okay…” she drawled out, really playing with sound. She noticed that Tom didn’t wince or shudder at her tone. He maintained his forward gaze. Hinba smiled at her little human who was  focused on his task… totally unaware.

Hinba started walking again, passing into the threshold. They were both bathed in darkness and Tom immediately needed to rely on the sound of Hinba’s footsteps to maintain his count. How is she able to see in here? He thought before shaking the question away. It would need to wait until later. 

The telltale glow of the worldstone began to dance on the walls again. It was a bittersweet memory for Tom. On one hand, it was a sign that he was almost home and away from the forest. Unfortunately, Tom had since realized that the dangers and demons of the forest could easily follow him into the human world. 

“And five steps back to the left… or north. Ok this should help.” Tom eyed the smooth blue surface of the worldstone. It was exactly as he remembered. The roots of the worldtree dug themselves into the stone, causing deep cracks around the edges. Towards the center the surface was a reflective mirror that was much taller than Hinba. It was strange to see his reflection upside down. “Hinba, could you hold me up to our reflection.” 

“Ok but I need to ask you something before we leave.” 

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Tom didn’t hear her content sigh as he was lifted towards their reflection. It felt like he was looking in a funhouse mirror as he pointed up to his reflection. As he was brought up, the other version of Tom lowered to meet him. He was now completely level with his upside down self. “I need to gauge how high up I am…:” he turned back to Hinba and looked at a small area of her skin right below her collar bone. She didn’t have any blemishes to mark the area. “Hmm, hey Hinba?” Tom reached up and touched the same spot on his body, “Do what I do. Put your finger right there, right below your collarbone.” he said and Hinba obliged. “Good. Now please remember that spot, ok?”  

“Mmhmm.” Tom waited until now to look at the facial expression Hinba was making and instantly regretted it. She was biting her lip and there was a mischievous glint in her eyes. “So is there anything else you need to do on this side?” 

Tom started to slowly shake his head as he felt his heart start to thump loudly in his chest. “We should probably head back. Can we…” He shot a thumb over his shoulder to his escape route. 

Hinba started to nod slowly. “Yeah we really should get back as soon as possible…” she let the sentence hang in the air for an uncomfortable amount of time. “But…” 

Oh hell! Tom fought the urge to leap off her hand towards the worldstone. “It’s right there…”

She raised an eyebrow, “but…” 

“It’s right there.” 

“So there’s an interesting opportunity that presents itself anytime we travel back to the human world. I know you’re eager to get back so we’re both at eye level again, but I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind… indulging me for a bit before we go?” 

“I mind very much, thank you.”  

“No you don’t.” she shot back quickly. “Besides, it’s nothing we haven’t done before. You asked me so nicely last time, begged even.” 

Tom’s eyes went wide and he could feel warmth on his cheeks from Hinba’s comment. “I didn’t beg.” He was being truthful but it was probably the worst thing he could have said. 

“Fine. fine. Now are you going to take off your clothes or am I?” She held a finger in front of Tom. He knew her preferred method of undressing him involved tearing his clothes to bits while he was still in them. 

The amber stone was still in his pocket! His blood ran cold. Tom was able to stop himself a moment before he instinctively covered his pocket to protect the secret inside. If Hinba discovered he had another amber the magic wouldn’t work. “Shit…” He couldn’t risk her finding it. Tom turned to the worldstone once again. “It’s right there…” 

Out of the corner of his eye, Tom saw Hinba’s finger slowly wrap around his shoulder. She hooked her fingernail under Tom’s chin and carefully turned his face back to her. “I don’t need to read your mind to know what you’re thinking.” her words cut through him like a knife but he didn’t speak. “You’re desperately trying to think of a way out of this. It’s ok though, I’m not going to keep you down there for long. I just… really need you inside me.” 

Tom couldn’t help but relax, thanking his lucky stars the naga’s magic was still effective. 

Hinba noticed the tension leave her small human, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Wait, did you actually think I was going to digest you after all we’ve been through?” 

Now he had to roll with it; thinking quickly for a believable response, “No, I was just worried you were going to make me beg again.” It wasn’t the best lie he ever told.

She laughed again, this time she was even louder. “Alright, little snack. I won’t have you beg… Now, I’ll ask you again. Are you going to undress yourself, or would you like some help?” 

Tom gulped. He was out of options. This was happening. “I can do it myself, thank you. Could you hand me my briefcase?” 

“Why? I can just hold onto your clothes for you.” 

Tom shook his head to stall for time so he could think. “You… don’t fold them.” He was doomed. 

There was a long pause. “You want to fold your dirty clothes and stick them into a briefcase that is currently being used to transport all of your food?” 

There was another long pause. Tom briefly revisited the idea of just jumping for the worldstone and hoping for the best. “Yes, please.” he finally said. 

Hinba shrugged. “Alight.” and she reached into her satchel and brought the infamous briefcase to Tom. With a thud, she dropped it by his feet as Tom started to undress. 

The amber stone was safely hidden away. He tried to think of that as a small victory but was not having much luck. As soon as he was fully naked and his clothes were packed away, Hinba took the case back and deposited it back in her satchel. 

“Oh look! You’re naked now.” She teased. “All alone… with me.” Hinba lowered herself to the floor and reclined with her back against the wall of the dim enclosure. 

Great… she’s sitting down, Tom thought to himself. She intends to enjoy herself for a while. Curiosity got the better of him. “How long are you planning to uh… keeping me?” 

“Keeping you where? Please be more specific.” 

Tom rolled his eyes. “You know what-”

She cut him off, “Don’t worry, you’ll wake up with all of your limbs. No guarantees on that sunburn though.” 

Tom felt hypnotized as he watched her free hand approach. With painful slowness, she pinched his right arm slightly above his wrist, then the same with the left. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion as his arms were lifted above his head. Little by little he felt his weight release from his legs. After his feet no were no longer in direct contact with her hand, she let her arm relax at her side. 

“Have I ever told you how good you taste?” Tom snapped out of his hypnosis to meet Hinba’s gaze. She was already starting to wet her lips in anticipation. 

“No.” 

“Do you want to hear how good you taste?” 

“Nope.” He didn’t make any attempt to play along or try to talk her out of whatever she was about to do to him. 

Her cheek twitched into a wry smile. “You know, you’re usually more energetic. Have you gotten bored with me already?” 

He knew it was a rhetorical question; something to nudge a response from him. Tom actually thought of a really mean and snarky comeback but decided against it. There was no sense in making things harder on himself. Honestly, he was just tired, and sometimes honesty is the best option. “Sorry, I’m just really tired. It’s just been a minute since I’ve actually been home and I’m just excited to sleep in a proper bed.” He forced a smile and prepared for the worst. 

Hinba nodded for a time. “You humans sure do love your beds… as much as I’d love to tease you by saying that my stomach is your new home, I really do agree with you. It’s gonna be nice to get off my feet for a while. Plus I won't have to carry you all over the place.” 

Tom took a moment to look up at the hand that he was dangling from. “Was that a joke?” 

“I’m going to put you down now.” Hinba didn’t bother to answer his question, but merely lowered him to her mouth. She parted her lips when he was close to reveal her sharp teeth. Tom gulped nervously but refrained from making any attempt to stop his descent.  

Tom made contact with her soft lips with his feet and moved them so his legs slipped into her mouth. He saw Hinba close her eyes, presumably enjoying his “taste”. All he could hope for was that she would make this quick so he could get home. 

When Tom was fully inside her mouth, Hinba wasted no time tossing him around her mouth to absorb every modicum of his flavor. He felt like a limp ragdoll as she effortlessly moved him around. The only times he offered any resistance was when his face was pressed directly against a particularly wet spot of her mouth that prevented him from breathing. Hinba was on cloud nine. 

All good things… she thought. Once Tom was sucked clean of all the sweat from his morning hike, Hinba moved him to the back of her mouth where his feet dangled over her waiting throat… and then she gulped hard. There wasn’t the slightest hint of a struggle as the human slipped down. Hinba made a noise that was a cross between a moan and sigh when she felt Tom arrive at her stomach. One of her hands rested on her abdomen right above where she could feel the telltale flutter of a recent meal trying to get comfortable. Her other hand darted down to her loins. She had to stop herself from immediately plunging her fingers into her folds. 

This was becoming an annoyingly familiar situation. Tom tried to keep as much of his body out of the digestive juices. He wanted to avoid as much irritation to his skin as possible. At least Hinba was enjoying herself, he thought to himself while the soft sounds of her distant moans could be heard just barely over the ambient gurgling. Please cum quickly, Tom silently hoped she would use her magic to make him go unconscious. 

“Hey Tom…” He heard Hinba’s voice. “I think you being in my stomach is making the amber wear off…” His heart sank as he realized what she meant. “How badly do you want me to cum?” She smiled as soon as she heard Tom’s annoyed groan. Her fingers slipped into her womanhood. 

Tom could hear her heart rate start to pick up. The added movement made it that much harder to stay out of the acidic puddle. Just as he was becoming desperate Hinba gave her stomach a hearty slap. It felt like he was inside of a punching bag and for a brief moment the shockwave made him feel weightless. He splashed down hard. Desperation turned into blind panic as he fought to regain purchase higher up on the undulating walls. “Dammit Hinba!” He coughed. 

She couldn’t hear him. She was too focused on her own pleasure to pay attention to Tom’s thoughts especially as the amber magic was still in the process of waning. His struggles however… those were taking her right to the edge. Honestly it didn’t need to take long but Hinba wanted to milk Tom’s thrashing for as long as possible. 

He could feel Hinba’s heartbeat increase to a fevered pace then slow back down again and again. It was clear she was edging herself at his expense. Tom opened his mouth to scream his indignations as loud as he could but stopped himself. There was a strange feeling of acceptance that filled his conscientiousness. The strange feeling of someone else being present in his mind returned along with an overwhelming … pleasure. Hinba’s desire was overflowing and taking over his every waking thought. As quickly as he realized what was happening, another, almost welcome, feeling came over him and the constant movement of his prison was replaced with quiet and stillness. 

—

“Help us!” thousands of voices cried in unison. “HELP US!” and thousands of beading red dots sparked into being surrounded by a crushing blackness. Tom screamed an incoherent string of words before he… woke up.

—

He recognized his kitchen instantly. The floor was cold against his naked back and he still felt damp and tacky. It took him a solid minute to notice that Hinba was leaning against his fridge and she was in her human form sporting nothing but her standard black bra and panties. “Hi,” was all he managed to say. 

“Hi.” she said as well before walking closer to him. Both of her hands were behind her back but he made no attempt to movi as she approached. Tom resigned himself to simply admire her beauty in her human form. “You’re out.” one of her arms came out from behind her back to reveal a half empty bottle of whisky. 

Tom was unsure what to make of her comment. “I thought you didn’t like hard liquor.” 

She responded by nodding to two empty bottles of beer and then repeating, “You’re out.” 

He could almost feel his life slipping away as she spoke. “I assume you’re not much of a wine drinker?” There were a few bottles of both red and white wine that Tom kept for when the mood really struck him, but he could predict her response before she even needed to breathe a word. 

“Nope.” 

“What time is it?” 

“Past nine.” 

“I’ll get you more beer… but could I shower first?” he asked with a hopeful smirk. 

Hinba nodded, “good boy.” Her other hand was still behind her back. “One other question… I was trying to find your laundry detergent to do the bed sheets and I happened across these.” She was holding a bundle of high quality rope. “I have my guess of what this is… but I would just love to hear your explanation.”

— 

A little over an hour and a half later they were back at Tom's apartment. He had taken a shower to wash off the leftover stomach acid, then they left the apartment to go to a nearby corner store to pick up as much beer as they could carry, which was surprisingly little. Hinba refused to let Tom carry any of the alcohol. For a moment he thought she was beginning to get soft on him before they passed a Chinese takeout restaurant on the way back. “Order as much as you can carry.” she demanded. 

He had no problem buying take out. It was honestly one of his favorites but he knew that’s not why Hinba picked this place. There was probably some other reason… maybe it was another manipulation tactic. “Who knows.” he grumbled to himself as he signed the receipt, making sure to give a decent tip. 

Tom was about to hand the receipt back when he noticed the date. “It the date right on this thing?” he asked the employee behind the counter. They just nodded, giving him a strange look. Four, no five, days in the forest… yet we only left this morning? 

“Can you believe she just… let us go?” Tom had barely finished half of his plate before switching entirely to alcohol. “Like she had both our numbers, and then she just… fucked off.” 

Hinba was well into her fourth plate. “You’re talking about the Oni from the temple?” 

Tom brought his drink over to his small two seater couch, it was the only holdover piece of furniture from his smaller apartment. With a content sigh he flopped himself down, happy to be back in relative safety. His eyes met Hinba’s for a moment as she was still eating at his minibar. Even though she had started drinking before him, she still seemed completely sober. Tom on the other hand felt the warmth of his drink spreading through his entire body. “Yeah. Let’s say hypothetically, she did kill you, but I managed to make my way back to the worldstone.”

“All the way back? Past Blue?” Hinba was referring to the giant Yōkai that also had a taste for humans. 

“Yes, I know. It’s just hypothetical. If you died in your demon… or Oni form” Tom wanted to break the habit of calling her a demon. “And I somehow managed to survive and get back here. Would you just wake up here as a human.” 

Hinba let out a quick laugh. It was probably the only outward indicator of her inebriation she’d made so far. “Maybe. I really don’t know how close to the worldstone I’d have to be for that to work. But if it worked, then yeah I would be stuck as a human and I would be unable to go back to the forest.” She squinted at Tom until he started to shift in his seat. “You’d like that wouldn’t you? Me? Stuck like this?” Hinba stood up and motioned down the length of her body. 

“I’m not going to answer that. Wait, would you still have your magic abilities?” 

“You tell me.” She answered and Tom saw her eyes start to burn with a fierce red glow. With a quick motion she removed her shirt and then started to walk towards the couch. “Tell me you’d hate it. Tell me you’d miss seeing me tower over you and I might go easy on you later.” 

Tom took another long gulp from his drink, even with ice it still stung his throat. “I don’t know! I mean there would be a huge logistical problem if you were stuck as a human. For one, where would you even live?” 

Hinba’s jaw almost hit the floor. “If you think for a moment that-“ 

He cut her off, “I mean I have the extra bedroom but I’m kind of using it as an office right now.” Hinba was just shaking her head back and forth. “I guess you could crash on the couch if you’d like but it might be too small for you.” 

“Ok now I know you’re just fucking around.” Hinba walked around the coffee table in the middle of Tom’s living room, removing her pants as she did so. She sat down on the couch then rotated to face Tom. “If you think for a moment that you can make a hypothetical situation where I’m stuck in the human world and it doesn’t end up with you and I in the same bed-“ 

Tom opened his mouth to speak again but was cut off when Hinba brought one of her feet up to his face. He was immediately silenced. “You would still be mine. Got that?” He nodded into the sole of her foot. “You still ARE mine. Do you understand?” Another nod. She pushed his face back slightly before removing her foot. “Excellent.” 

His drink was getting low. Tom swirled the remaining ice cubes around before taking another sip. “Can I ask you something?” 

Hinba nodded. “What is it?” 

“Why did you pick me?” She gave him a look. “I always figured I didn’t just fall into the forest. I guess I just assumed that you did something to bring me.” 

“If you must know… you smelled good.” 

“That’s it?” Tom couldn’t help laughing at the simplicity of her answer. 

“That’s it.” She repeated. “You know, Tom… once we find out what happened to the town, you could continue your life here. You will always belong to me, but you can keep your human… endeavors.” Hinba wasn’t partial to the idea of a job, “You’d still need to give me most of your time but with how time flows differently for you and I when we’re apart… it wouldn’t be terrible for me to leave you alone for a few months, here and there.”   

There ‘s an idea. Tom mulled over the potential arrangement in his head. If she was willing to go without him for a week, that would be over a year for Tom. Not to mention when they were both on the same side of the worldstone, the ratio of time is inverted. Tom could stay in the forest for a week and barely a day would go by on this side. Hinba was offering him “months” at a time. He could potentially have eight years or more to live a normal life for essentially the cost of a long weekend provided he was doing the math right. 

He took another sip of his drink. Tom knew Hinba well enough to know when something was too good to be true. There wasn’t any reason to believe she was trying to trick him. Afterall, she already owned him, but in any case it was not a decision he should make while inebriated. “It’s a generous offer to be sure… I think I need some time to consider it.” His words were a practiced mantra. 

“I look forward to your answer.” Hinba was clearly amused. If they were playing poker, all the cards were already face up. They both knew each other's tricks at this point but played along just to keep the game going. Neither wanted the facade to end. “Now finish your drink. I want to show you just how scary I am at eye level. You might prefer the other me after tonight...” 

— 

“Looks like my poor little human’s all tied up…” 

Tom struggled against his restraints. The rope that he had once purchased to help him carry a dead body out of his apartment was now being used to restrain him. He fought the back throughout the entire… extensive process. Even when Hinba was only a head taller, she still was able to overpower Tom with an almost comical ease. His arms were crossed tightly behind him as he lay on his back in his bed. Hinba used the legs of the bed to help forcibly spread Tom's feet as far apart as possible without becoming uncomfortable. 

“You put up a good fight, but in the end…” she leaned over the side of the bed to whisper the last bit into his ear, “I still have you right where I want you…”

Tom tried to respond but was only able to chew on the rope in his mouth. It was becoming a strangely routine for Tom to find himself at the mercy of Hinba’s sexual proclivities. Maybe not this way specifically, Tom mused, but in some similar fashion. If she was trying to make him afraid of her even when she was in her human form, it was working… 

Hinba eyed Tom’s struggles one more time to make sure he had no chance of escaping against his bindings. Satisfied, she crawled onto the bed and positioned her hip directly above his face. “Deep breath.” 

He knew the drill before she even lowered herself onto his head. She didn’t bother with subtlety as her folds passed over his nose. Her hips moved forward causing Tom to feel her arousal wet the bridge of his nose down to his chin. This motion repeated several times as Tom struggled to find air. Her scent permeated his nostrils and his mouth was mostly useless from the gag. 

“I’m going to need more…” she moved her hips down the length of Tom’s body dragging her crotch over his chest. He could feel her leave a trail of wetness as she moved to his groin. Tom tried again to struggle against his binding, if only to get a better look at Hinba’s movement. The ropes dug into his skin around his neck and chest. Tom tried to lift up his head but was unable to do more than wiggle under her weight. 

Hinba laid down when she could feel Tom’s erect cock pressing against her asscheeks causing him to shudder as her warmth enveloped him. Her pussy lips pressed against the base of his shaft and her chest threatened to smother him. She planted a kiss on his forehead. Tom wanted to scream. He hated how she could go from fearsome predator in one moment to someone displaying genuine affection in the next. The shift was enough to give him whiplash. 

“If you do a good job, I’ll consider releasing you.” She sat upright and positioned her opening directly above Tom’s manhood. “If not and well… I have something extra humiliating for you to dream about. I’m sure you’d love it.” Tom gulped nervously as she lowered herself. The soft warmth traveled all the way down to the base of his groin. He gasped at the sudden pleasure. 

This wasn’t fair, he told himself. There was no way he was going to last long enough to satisfy Hinba. His thoughts were clouded as she began to bounce herself up and down. She was making a show of it, grabbing and pinching her nipples, doing everything she could to bring Tom to the edge as quickly as possible. He came quickly, but she didn’t stop as one of her hands traced circles around her clit. She got what she needed from Tom, now it was her turn. Her pace increased and the added sensitivity of Tom’s post orgasm cock was too much to endure. 

It was too much. He started to shake head against growing discomfort. Hinba slowed and started moving her hips side to side rather than up and down. “Too bad. So where do you want to be trapped in your dream? You haven’t had a chance to really explore this human body of mine”

Tom started to make a series of muffled cries through his gag, exciting a soft giggle from Hinba. She moved her hand to the side of his face to undo a small knot before Tom felt the rope in his mouth loosen. Hinba pulled it away. He still couldn’t turn his head all the way to see her but he could at least speak. “This isn’t a fair fight. I can’t do anything tied up like this and you’re…” he didn’t finish the sentence. 

“Not fair, is it? I quite like you this way. How better would you be if you weren’t all tied up?” 

Go big or go home, he thought. “I’d rock your world just like last time. Now are you going-” 

“Rock my world, huh?” There were a lot of things that seemed to happen all at once. First Tom saw Hinba’s eyes start to glow again and for a moment, he thought it was here following through on her threat but instead of fighting unconsciousness, he could feel his dick getting hard again. At the same time, both of her arms shot backward and Tom felt her fingertips scratch against the skin of his ankles but he was unable to see what she did. In another quick motion, she hooked a fingernail under the rope closest to his waist and traced upward along his chest. Again he wasn’t sure what she was doing until her finger passed his neck and the pressure on his airway release. 

Her nails cut through the rope like butter. He moved arms out from behind his back and moved his legs slightly. They were free as well. “Go ahead.” she smiled down at him. “Rock my world, pet.” her voice lowered to a purr. “I’m going to make your punishment twice as long if you don’t live up to that boast.” 

For a moment Tom couldn’t move a muscle. He silently wondered how much worse off he was now that he was free of his bindings and considered asking for them back. No, he was too far into this lie to back out now. Tom really didn’t want to learn the differences between a human stomach compared to a demon stomach. With a quick motion he wrapped his arms around her muscled core to try and flip her onto her back, thinking he would have better chances if he was on top. 

After his attempt failed miserably he thought quickly for a plan B. Her strong core didn’t budge an inch from his efforts. It’s going to be a long night, he thought to himself. 

—Chapter8 Pyrrhic Victory

“Now listen carefully, you need to know how it works” Tom eyed the yellow amber stone, twirling it aground in his hands. Zmera continued, “It doesn’t hide your thoughts as a whole, but it will hide a very specific idea. Show Hinba the stone and say what you need to say. She won't remember what you tell her as long as you keep it simple. Show her the stone a second time when you’re ready. Even though the effect of the magic is stronger, it’s incredibly fragile so don’t talk about the thing you are trying to hide.”

“So it’ll break right away the second time around?” Tom asked. “That’ll make the timing easier… Thank you, Zmera.” 

“Don’t worry about it, we used to make these all the time. They helped us insure loyalty when our coven was rapidly growing… For what it’s worth, I sincerely hope you find what you’re looking for.” She looked down for a moment. “I have many reasons to hate Hinba and she could definitely say the same about me, but those people didn’t deserve what happened to them. Even you were granted… some agency in your life.”  

Tom considered her words carefully, “On that, we agree…”

—-

It was the first time that Tom woke up before Hinba. The only reason he knew this was because he couldn’t feel predatory eyes on him in the moments where he still pretended to be asleep. He turned over to see Hinba still sleeping next to him in his bed. A strange feeling passed over him. For the briefest of moments he felt the urge to place a kiss on her forehead while she slept. But like a ship passing in the night, Tom let the feeling pass as quickly as it came. 

He got out of the bed as quietly as he could so as to not wake the sleeping giantess disguised as a human. Tom grabbed a pair of underwear and pants but waited until he was outside his bedroom to put them on. The closet door was known to squeak so he opted to go without a shirt for the time being. 

Without thinking, he reached for the handle to his office door. It opened as soon as he turned the knob and Tom couldn’t help but panic for a moment. For so many years this door was to remain closed and locked. Now, being able to open it freely without finding a copy of ‘old  recently-divorced white guy discovers equally-old muscle cars are a thing’ magazine seemed downright suicidal. He took a deep breath and told himself that it was ok, allowing for a moment to stare at the open doorway to let the message sink in. 

Tom stepped through the doorway and got to work sketching a map. His plan was to draw up a map of the area directly outside of the worldtree right up to the worldstone. Matching the scale to a corresponding map of downtown was an easy enough venture. He had a dusty projector around here somewhere that we could use to overlay the two maps however he needed. 

It didn’t take him long, before he put the finishing touches Tom remembered something important. He darted out into the living room and started frantically searching for his dirty briefcase. Hinba had apparently left it by the couch. Tom opened it and stuffed the amber stone into his pocket, thankful that he didn’t hear Hinba stirring in the other room. He got up and made his way back to the office. 

As soon as he rounded the corner, he heard the door to the bedroom creak open. He froze in place, unable to turn his head to face the source of the noise. His mind started to race with the standard concoction of self preservation and potential escape routes. Tom heard Hinba approach and right as he was about to turn to make some sort of excuse… She hugged him from behind. 

“Good morning.” She said while she pressed her face into the back of Tom’s head and inhaled deeply. 

“Morning” he replied, fighting back a nervous shiver. 

—-

“That’s where we’re going.” Tom said, pointing to a projected map on the wall. His apartment was at the center of the projection and a hand drawn map of their jaunt from the clearing to the worldstone was pinned underneath. “So that same distance southeast actually puts us in the bay but we can at least search the docks and marina for some hints.” 

Hinba, who was trying her best to be distracting by refusing to put on any clothes, scratched her chin. “I thought you said we were on the western coast of this continent?” 

Tom nodded, “We are, but we’re also on a peninsula, so you’ll actually hit water quicker going east.”

“Alright and we're looking for the point where worldstone overlaps with the human world?” 

“Yup...”  

They were both quiet for a moment. “Tom?” 

He flinched at his name, feeling extra jumpy at what he was going to ask Hinba to do. “Yeah?” 

She rolled her eyes, “Tom?” This time her voice was more stern and Tom could feel her worming her way into his thoughts. 

“Ok!” He knew she was getting impatient, “Just let me get coffee first…” Tom walked past Hinba to leave the room and could hear her make a fake cough as he rounded the corner. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and he stopped. “Would you also like some coffee?” His voice was shaky, as he tried to remain confident. 

“I would love some.” she said as she came strolling around the corner as well, patting Tom on the head as they both made their way to the kitchen. 

A short while later they found themselves on the couch, sipping in their warm mugs. Tom only had two white mugs. “Please don’t make me ask you a third time.” She huffed. 

Tom sighed, now or never… “Ok, so here's the deal. You’re not going to like what I have to say and there’s now way I can say it without sounding like I have an ulterior motive.” Hinba eyed him intently but allowed him to continue. “I think… I think your people are trapped in the worldstone and the only way to save them is for you to break your charm on me in front of the worldstone.” He never paused to take a breath, worried that if he stopped for a moment, he might lose his conviction. Hinba opened her mouth to speak but was cut off. “Wait, I’m not done. The naga seems to think that doing this might also break the wouldstone’s connection to this world, thereby making passage between the two inaccessible.” 

Hinba nodded for a moment, trying to take everything in. “you’re done now?” she didn’t want to be cut off again. 

“Yes I’m done now, but if-”

“You’re saying that I can get my village back and I get to keep you in the forest? That sounds like a win-win to me.”

“I…” he recoiled at what he needed to say but was too deep to turn back now. “I need to stay here.” 

She burst out laughing. “Oh, come on!

“I’m serious!” 

“So am I! Tom, if..” She slammed her empty mug down on the coffee table, causing it to  smash into several small pieces before turning back to face Tom. “If you…” Hinba found herself unable to put her thoughts in order. 

Thankfully, Tom had also finished his coffee. He set his mug gently on the table right next to the broken remains of Hinba’s. “I think there’s an elephant in the room that we need to address. We haven’t talked about the possibility that these people might still be alive. The past two times we passed through the worldstone I had the same dream. At first I thought it was just you messing with me, but I knew you wouldn’t try and trick me like that…. You’re a lot less subtle. Then, I thought it was just another nightmare, but it felt different somehow. In my nightmares, I’m running away or to something I couldn’t see but not in those dreams. Hinba, they felt… close. I might not be doing a good job of explaining this.” 

“I believe you.” She agreed quickly. “There’s something else I haven’t told you.” Hinba leaned close to Tom and pressed a finger to the tattoo on his chest. “You’re not the only one that has one of these. Over the years, I planted them on a small few of the townsfolk as a way for them to let me know if they were being attacked. They all agreed to it and I never actively monitored them. If they needed something, they would let me know and that was it.” She traced her finger idly around Tom’s chest, “When we first found out they were missing, I tried searching for them…” 

“I assume you didn’t have any luck?” 

“I’m used to tracking humans when their perception of time is wildly different. A decade for you out here would be little more than a month for me back home… But this feels backwards somehow, like I’m the one speeding through time and they are just frozen.” 

“You think they’re still alive as well?”

“Tom,” she put a hand on his cheek. “I know they’re still alive, and I know we’re going to save them.” Her lips met his as she laid down, pressing Tom into the cushion. 

There was still a part of Tom that instinctively feared any time Hinba invaded his personal space. His entire body and mind tensed up as he felt her weight on top of him. Their lips were  locked for several seconds before Tom even realized it was a kiss. 

Tom felt guilty that he was still afraid of Hinba. He had hoped that his fear would have subsided by now. That at some point he could actually feel somewhat normal when they shared a space. Maybe that’s what she was trying to tell when they were in the cave all those days ago. She wanted Tom to trust her, not completely, but to a point. From that moment on, everytime she felt pleasure, he felt fear and every time he felt fear, she felt pleasure. Baring the run in at the temple this was the standard of their relationship. This was their power dynamic. He was ashamed, really, that it took him this long to see it. It was the reason that even while he feared for his life when he was around her, he also felt strangely… safe, knowing she was the one who held his life in her hands. 

All of this was how Tom knew he could relax and enjoy Hinba’s lips pressed against his. It wasn’t a kiss that begged for something more or asked a question so wordlessly to demand an answer…. It was a quiet moment on the morning of a possible goodbye. It didn’t ask for anything, demand anything, it just was… and right as Tom was finally able to put enough of his thoughts together so he could actually enjoy it…. It was over. Hinba released his lips and started to lift herself off of him. 

Tom didn’t let her. In a quick movement, he grabbed her neck and shoulder and pulled her back for another deep and passionate kiss. Her full weight crashed back down enveloping him in her warmth and for the first time in five years, he didn’t feel like running. 

For nearly an hour they stayed in that position, neither wanted to accept that their next adventure might take them down different paths. They both didn’t want the moment to end but for very different reasons. Tom wanted to stay and explore whatever this new development was and what it meant for their relationship but he knew that Hinba had a much harder decision to make. 

Hinba made no outward sign of her turbulent emotions. It was the perfect solution for Tom and she knew it, but she also knew that it would work. Her knowledge of the worldstone and its magic never rose above a superficial level, but she trusted Tom implicitly. The last time she believed Tom was acting purely in self interest she almost robbed herself of… well… Tom. 

Once they finally managed to find their way off the couch, it did not take long for them to be ready to leave. Both just threw on enough clothes to be considered decent. Hinba wore her light purple blouse and jeans. Tom was stuck wearing his sweatpants. There was a small glowing object in his pocket that he needed to keep hidden for the time being. 

They were both at the door ready to go. Hinba reached for the door but was stopped when she felt Tom grab her wrist. 

“Hinba. There’s one more thing I need to tell you before we head out.” she watched him put his hand in his pocket. Tom didn’t appear to do anything after that. After what couldn’t be more than a single blink, his hand was back out in the open. “We’re uh… heading to the marina.” 

She gave him a weird look. “You said that already… Did I actually break you? Please tell me I didn't actually break you?” 

—

It was several blocks to the marina but Tom didn’t want to take his car. There was a very high likelihood that they would need to get into some areas that were considered “off limits” so Tom didn’t want to worry about broadcasting his license plate. Hopefully they would be able to get in and get out quickly. Tom opted for a cab. 

The ride was mostly spent in complete silence. The driver was not overly chatty and Tom appreciated it. When they arrived at the marina, they were met with the sight of… a marina. Tom rarely had any reason to come this far east but the lines of boats seemed unbelievably mundane compared to some of the prior locations he’s seen recently. Much like his interest in cars, he cared little for boats. They were expensive playthings of people that had time and money to burn, and for the past five years he had neither. 

Maybe in a few years, after he put all the crumbled pieces of his life back together, he might change his mind, but not today. Today these were just a bunch of boats, who’s owners would probably object to having Tom and Hinba poking around. “Just walk like one of these is ours. If anyone approaches us let me do the talking.” 

To her credit, Hinba was actually incredibly good at blending in. She walked with a confidence that would leave no one unsure if she belonged. Tom was the one having trouble remaining inconspicuous. People would see Hinba standing at around seven feet tall, beautiful complexion, well dressed, strong build and then they would see Tom. He was still wearing sweatpants and his hair was disheveled. He felt like a pet being taken for a walk with how people were staring at him. 

Hinba leaned in close, “Should I get you a leash to complete the ensemble?” 

“Shush!” He shot back as they continued. Thankfully there was a small turnoff on one of the piers. The boats could hide them enough from the street for them to look around. “Are you able to tell if we’re close?” 

She nodded. “At least I think so, but I’m not sure how close I would need-“ 

Tom cut in, “That’s fine, can you sense it here?” Hinba responded by shaking her head. “Ok, if I’m off, then that means” he looked around trying to remember his scale drawings. “It’s probably further out.” Tom motioned to the murky waters of the bay. 

“Can I help you?” A gruff voice rang out causing Tom to jump. Hinba merely turned on her heels. Tom watched as the older gentleman slumped down to the deck.

Tom turned to Hinba to see her eyes go from a glowing red back into their normal light purple. “What did you just do to him?” Tom tried to keep his voice low as he darted to the fallen man. 

“He’s fine, just sleeping.” She replied. Tom wanted to get him off the pier in case he inadvertently rolled off into the waters. He was not a large man but Tom still was having trouble slinging an arm around the unconscious man. “Here.” Hinba said before pushing him to the side and hefting the limp body over her shoulder. “Where do you want him?”

“Dry land, and then we need to get the fuck outa dodge.” Tom was already thinking of what he was going to say. His plan was quick and simple. “I think this man had a heat stroke.” As few people came over to help lower him to the ground. “We’re going to find help.” He said to a woman that was already worriedly tending to him. 

Hinba and Tom started to hurriedly walk away, fast enough to look worried as well but not so fast to cause suspicion. Neither had any intention of actually coming back with help. 

“Ok never again!” He said after they were far enough down the street opting to continue walking down the street adjacent to the water. 

“He'll probably wake up in a few minutes. No harm done.” She crossed her fingers over her chest. 

“We can’t risk making a scene, Hinba.” 

“It’s fine. Besides…” she stopped for a moment and pulled Tom close, speaking into his neck. “He was like you, Tom.” 

“What do you mean?” Tom tried to keep walking but she held on to him tightly. 

“I gave him a short little dream, just so he wouldn’t remember us, and Tom… he loved it, he loved being dominated by me.” 

Tom quit trying to pull away, unsure what he was more shocked at. Was it the fact that Hinba had the time to implant one of her dreams into that man in such a short time, or that she believed Tom actually enjoyed how he was treated when they were together?

“I know you love it.” She responded directly to his thoughts. Her finger came up under his jaw to help him close his mouth before he even realized it was hanging open. Hinba then released him and continued walking down the street, leaving Tom to collect himself before hurrying after her. 

—-

They watched the boats float by as they sat on a bench near the water. Tom got Hinba a hot dog she didn’t ask for but accepted anyway. “My math must be off.” 

“Hmm?” Hinba said through a full mouth of food. 

“I know it was an estimate but it couldn’t be that far off, could it?” 

Hinba swallowed. “I’m telling you, it wasn’t there. If you're confident that you were close then I know I should have felt something.” 

Tom nodded a few times. He chewed lips trying to rerun the numbers again. “How tall are you?” 

“Taller than you, little guy.” She tilted her head back so she was looking down her nose at Tom. 

“No, no. I meant ‘big’ you.” 

She licked the remaining crumbs off her fingers and smiled. “Oh right.” Hinba leaned close to Tom and whispered, “Taller than you, little morsel.” She traced circles around the back of Tom’s neck. He could feel the slight dampness clinging to her fingertips 

He brushed off the shiver that traveled down his spine. “Alright.” Tom stood up and walked to the railing overlooking the water. “How tall am I when we’re in the forest?” To better explain his question, he held up his hand with his index and thumb about five inches apart. “Or ‘how short?’ might be the better way to ask.” 

“How about ‘how small?’ and you're probably about here.” Her thumb and finger were only slightly closer together than Tom’s. 

Tom was taken aback by her precision. “That’s…” he was about to say something condescending but stopped himself. 

Hinba had a response ready. “I’ve had you in some very sensitive spots.” She stood up still displaying Tom’s measurements. “So let’s hear it, Tom. How far off were you?” 

Tom sighed as he made his mental estimates again. He wasn’t off. “That’s about what I was expecting actually…” Tom turned around and looked back towards the marina then up to the sky. “Unless it’s eighty feet in the air…” 

A boat drifted by that caught Tom’s attention. It was a handsome enough vessel, with a pristine coat of glossy white paint with light blue trimming. The mid morning sun caught the water and reflected a choppy visage of the boat. They must have picked the color white for that reason. “Huh.” Tom noticed that the name of the boat was written in the same light blue trim but the letters were upside down. Reading the name off the side of the boat was utter gibberish but if you looked close enough at the reflection in the water, the name read, “The Merry Voyage” 

Hinba appeared beside him to lean on the railing. “It only makes sense if the boat is upside down. Maybe we’re not looking for something eighty feet in the air but eighty feet deep in the water?” 

Tom chewed the thought for a second. “We would need to go find some scuba gear… but I actually assumed the height thing had more to do with my apartment being on the seventh floor. I don’t appear eighty feet in the air when I teleport to the forest, do I” 

She shrugged. “I guess not. It would be fun to try to catch you though…” 

“Plus the boat’s not actually upside down, it's just a reflection…” He knew the answer was right there. “Only the image is upside down…what if the map needs to be flipped?” 

“We’re looking southeast but we’d need to be looking northwest. What’s northwest?” 

Tom sighed, “The rest of the city.” He stood up and started scanning for a cab. “Everything’s really densely packed around those parts. Let’s go back to the apartment and see if we can narrow it down to a few blocks…” He balled his fist. This was going to take way too long and they weren’t sure how much time the townsfolk actually had. “Fucking…”

Hinba hugged him from behind, “We’ll find it… don’t worry, Tom.” He tried to relax but couldn’t seem to clear his racing thoughts. “You smell good, you know that.”  

“I smell?” his eyes went wide. “That’s it! You said you picked me because I smelled good right?” Hinba nodded but wasn’t sure where he was going. “I had just left the gym! My old gym! The worldstone has to be nearby! Come on, let’s go!”

—- 

“I’ve never had a human take me to a gym before.” 

They stood on the sidewalk outside an rundown fitness center. Tom winced at the curious look he got from another man that walked into the building. He must have heard Hinba refer to Tom as a “human.” The only thing Tom knew to do was nod before the individual hurried off. “We’re not going in. For one, we would stand out.” Tom referencing the fact neither of them were dressed in workout clothing. “And two…” he pointed down the street. “I walked home that way.” 

It didn’t take them long. They walked a block down the street but a building caught their eye. It looked to be abandoned, the small amount of shrubbery that remained out front was overgrown and unruly. The reddish brick was spotted with a green moss that traveled around from the ground to the second floor. “This one’s so much smaller than the ones around it.” Hinba said, looking around at the other buildings. 

“It’s strange. I’d figure it would have been condemned by now if it’s been abandoned for so long.” Tom also looked at the neighboring structures. “It’s a decent enough area. Why hasn’t someone bought this and actually done something with it?”

Hinba turned to him with a furrowed brow. “You think money is the only thing this shithole needs?” 

He just shrugged. “We lowly humans have a phrase. ‘Money talks.’” He started walking towards the entryway of the abandoned building. “And this ‘shithole’ is awfully quiet…” 

The front door was little more than a piece of plywood bolted to the frame. Tom tested the makeshift doorknob. It turned, but the door itself didn’t budge. There was a sound of metal on metal. Whoever sealed this place went to great lengths to ensure no one got in. He turned and started to walk back to the sidewalk. Hinba passed him, heading for the door. “I tried it already. I’m going to look around back for a window we could-“ 

There was a loud sound of spitting wood. Tom spun to the source of the noise to see Hinba standing next to the now open doorway. The frame around the door appeared splintered and cracked. “After you.” She motioned to Tom. 

“You… how?” Tom stammered. If she kicked open the door that was one thing but it happened so fast that Tom assumed she simply pushed the door open as if it were made of paper. Tom counted at least six locks holding the door in place, all of which did nothing to even slow this beast of a woman down… 

“Suit yourself.” She entered the building as Tom hurried to catch up. 

The interior of the house looked as equally disheveled as the exterior. A dark wood flooring covered in deep cracks and stains blended into the remains of an ornate stairway. Lines of wallpaper clung to the battered walls betraying very little of the prior design. The only remaining evidence of a hanging light fixture was a ominous chain that hung from the high ceiling of a narrow hallway. Sunlight streaming in from boarded windows offered little help to illuminate the dingy spectacle.

Tom couldn’t help but wonder if, at one point, this place was actually beautiful. It seemingly was stuck in both a time long ago and left to decay for decades to come. He eyed a few missing stairs. It would probably be better if he checked upstairs. If the structural integrity was failing, he weighed significantly less than Hinba. “Look around, I’ll check upstairs.” 

Hinba was still from the moment she entered the building. “Don’t bother. We’re here.” Without any elaboration, she walked through the hallway. 

Tom followed and was met with a similar sight of decay and degradation, only this room was slightly more spacious than the cramped foyer. To the left side of the room was a broken bookshelf with scattered books dumped haphazardly on the floor to complement the other piles of trash. To the right was a decrepit fireplace. A torn painting of some generic beach vista hung on the wall. Someone apparently took in upon themselves to add to the piece with a can of purple spray paint. In the middle of the room was what appeared to be a small piano with a large crack down the center. The legs bowed outward, and it seemed like the only thing holding it up was a long term balancing act with both halves leaning inward. 

Something on the ground caught Tom's eyes. There were several wood planks missing from the floor that appeared to split the room in two. “This it?” 

“Yeah.” Can Hinba’s reply. She stepped into the room and circled around the left side toward the remains of the bookshelf. 

Tom moved to the right. He was looking for a signature on the painting, potentially able to help him understand who owned the building or why it was in such disrepair. “This isn’t really what I thought it would look like.” He scraped at the spray paint with his fingernail. “I kinda thought it would be blue, you know?”

“Have you tried looking harder?” Her voice sounded distant. Tom turned to investigate. She was still standing on the other half of the room but she appeared as a human sized version of her Oni self and it seemed like she was on the other side of a blue glass window. “Did we do it? Did we win?” 

Tom pulled on the collar of his shirt and pointed to the black star tattooed to his chest. “Almost… remove this and let’s find out.” 

“What if it doesn’t work?” She tried to seem stoic but her face betrayed genuine concern. 

Tom shrugged. “Then you put the charm back on me and we try again. There are worse things you’ve-“ 

“What if this doesn’t bring everyone back. What if it doesn’t fully break and I have to spend months trying to fix it? It would be decades for you. Your entire life might pass by…” 

“It’s ok.” Tom reached into his pocket waiting for the moment of truth. “It’s going to work. And don’t worry about me… I’ll find a way to get back to the forest, with or without the worldstone. You just focus on rebuilding the town.” 

Hinba was stunned at the comment, unsure how even to respond. She could only manage a simple “ok,” and a single nod. 

Tom saw her eyes switch to a vibrant crimson. “I will find a way back to you.” He grit his teeth at a pain in his chest. The magic that clung to his body seemed unwilling to let go. With a steady hand, he pulled the amber stone from his pocket and held it up. ”Remember Hinba, we still need to find out who did this…”  

Hinba saw a twinkling yellow object in Tom’s hand and remembered a conversation she once forgot. “And END them!” 

Tom felt the pain in his chest again as the charm placed on him finally released. He heard the amber stone crack, and he turned just in time to see it go dim. His eyes were drawn back to Hinba. Her face turned to a deep scowl. She let out a deep war cry and balled her fist. Her shoulder cocked back and she swung a punch at the center of the room. 

There was a loud bang as her fist made contact with the translucent barrier that bisected the room. The worldstone became more and more visible and Tom could see the deep cracks beginning to form as the shockwave traveled outward. The entire building shook but Tom maintained his footing. 

“I’LL KILL THEM!” Hinba’s voice sounded more like a roar than anything else. This time she took a running start. When her second blow landed the picture above the fireplace fell to the ground. Tom collapsed to a knee but was able to get back up quickly. This level of anger was rarely safe to be around so Tom needed to stay on his feet. 

Her fist was bloody. They looked at eachother as she grit her teeth. Her eyes still glowing a fiery crimson. She took a deep breath then pulled her arm back once more. Their eyes met one more time and Tom gave her a nod, unsure if it would even reach her in this state. He watched as her fist came forward to meet the translucent wall but never saw it make contact.  

There was a bright flash of light that temporarily blinded Tom and he was thrown backwards. When his head collided with the wall, he was immediately knocked unconscious and fell limp to the floor

—Chapter9 Tom and Hinba 

Tom looked down at his bagel that was only missing a singular bite and his coffee had remained untouched for almost half an hour. The midnight shift of wait staff had stopped coming by to ask if he wanted the check. Choosing instead to allow him to flag them down when he was ready to leave. 

His eyes drifted to the window and he watched entire galaxies form and decay in the vast emptiness. The ubiquity of time and space screaming at him in a silent display of cosmological grandeur. 

“Go away.” He squeezed his eyes shut to will away the images. His hallucinations were getting worse. When he opened his eyes, he saw only his reflection in the well lit diner and droplets of rain chasing each other to the ground outside the glass. 

Tom was looking more like a ghoul than a man these days. Two weeks ago, he celebrated his thirtieth birthday. It could have easily been his ninetieth birthday and no one would have been the wiser. His eyes had sunken into his skull, his skin was gray. He brought a shaky hand up to his chest and pushed slightly against his sternum. It bent easily under his touch, but at least it didn't hurt. 

Two months ago he had announced his retirement. Tom was the only one calling it “retirement.” Everyone else at the firm was calling, “medical hiatus,” or “temporary wellness leave,” or some other bullshit to make everyone believe he would be coming back to work at some point. Tom knew better. Whatever he did, or tried to do to the worldstone was killing him. 

Speaking of the worldstone. Four months ago was when he informally stopped looking for another way back to the forest. He had already started to feel the negative effects of whatever happened to him, so he focused on trying to mitigate his symptoms. With the ambient time dilation between the forest and the human world, Hinba wouldn’t have even experienced a full day go by since they said their goodbyes. At least that’s what he thought at the time. That all happened six months ago. For Hinba, she was about to experience the end of the second full day without him. 

Tom tried to stomach another bite of his dry bagel. His teeth sunk into the doughy bread and he chewed slowly and bitterly. Why did he feel bad? He asked himself that question several times recently. He could understand feeling bad about his deteriorating health. That was easy. It appeared he would never know for sure if their fool’s gambit actually freed the villagers. Again, that was understandable; to feel upset at the uncertainty of the outcome from his efforts, but Tom always prided himself on his boundless optimism. 

“It had to work… It had to work.” Maybe he knew exactly why he was sad. He had gone on a mystical adventure, toyed with magic, stared down a giant, stared down a different giant, and what did he have to show for it? He didn’t even have anyone to share his story with. Sure, he could burn through a fourth therapist but nothing compared to just talking with someone who knew the stories as more than just fantasy .. or psychosis as the second therapist suggested. After the third, they stopped needing names.

Movement brought Tom out of his daydream. “Mind if I sit?” A petite woman with red hair tied up neatly in a bun was standing at the foot of the table. 

Yes , Tom wanted to say but he was working on trying to be nicer to strangers. It had been eighteen days since his last angry outburst and he was trying to beat his record of twenty one days. He might not get many more chances.

“Miss, I’m afraid I’m not good company at the moment, but there are plenty of open tables…” he motioned to the mostly empty diner. 

The woman sat down across from Tom “I’m told you’re the one I need to talk to about finding missing assets.”  

“Missing assets?” It was probably another disgruntled employer wanting to send a message to a former employee with sticky fingers. Tom wasn’t having it. 

“I’m retired.” 

“I’m Celeste. It’s nice to meet you.” Her voice twisted into a chipper glee. “We should start right away, so I was-”

“Ma’am , I’m retired. Would you like the number to my former firm? I’m sure someone-”

“I know you’re dying, Tom.” 

Tom had had enough. He slammed his hands down on the table. “Didn’t you hear me? Leave me alone so I can eat my stale bagel and shitty coffee in peace!” It had been zero days since his last angry outburst towards a stranger. The wait staff were quiet for a moment to gauge if they should call the police. Tom’s only saving grace was that he was a regular, one casual wave to his waiter was all he needed to avoid being dragged off in handcuffs. “Who are you?” 

“I told you my name, didn’t I? Shouldn’t that be enough?” 

“No. Now who are you? Don’t make me ask a third time.” 

Celeste waved off his comment as if it were a persistent fly. “Oh hush, we both know that Hinba took all the fight out of you long ago.” 

Tom’s eyes went wide and he choked on air. After a short bout of coughs, he looked back at Celeste. She had a raised eyebrow to show she was clearly enjoying this. “What do you want?” 

“Me? Oh nothing…” 

“Cut the shit.” 

“I’m serious, I’m here to talk about what you want or what you don’t want to be specific.” 

Tom nodded. “You have two minutes before I walk out the door. Keep talking cryptic. See if I give a fuck.” 

“Fine. Your little stunt with the worldstone caused quite the spectacle on the other side. Zmera had a lot of choice words to say about you.” Tom looked out the window, choosing not to engage whoever this was. He only agreed to listen. “And… there was an unforeseen consequence, namely your condition. See, the worldstone is not strong magic but it is old. It has a certain… survival instinct.” 

“Ninety seconds.” 

“You tried to kill it, and in its deeply fallible wisdom, it latched onto the only living thing that was already a vessel for two other forms of magic… The worldstone attached itself to you.”

Tom turned to face her but didn’t respond, nor did he betray the slightest hint of emotion on his face. Honestly, that was not the explanation he was expecting for his impending doom but it made enough sense considering the warnings in the tomb of the mages. Celeste stared at him for a moment, clearly expecting a response of some kind. “Sixty seconds.” 

“Magic like that is not designed for this world, Tom. When you die it's likely to pass from one human to another, killing each one a little faster. You… You at least had some experience resisting magic, you learned to control amber and held your own against Hinba’s charm, but everyone else. It would kill thousands without a proper means of disbursement…” 

She paused again allowing Tom a moment to ask questions. “Thirty seconds.” 

“The forest!” she said as if Tom knew what she meant. “You need to be sent back to the forest to die so the worldstone doesn't ‘off’ half the continent. I know a way to send you back but…” 

Tom held up his hand. “You should have started with that. Am I just as dangerous to humans in the forest?” 

“Yes, but you’re harmless to nagas, that’s why we’re sending you to Zmera. She promises to make it painless. There‘s this willow sap that-”

“Am I harmless to Oni?”

Celeste bore a toothy smile. “Zmera also said you would ask that. Yes you are harmless to Anything that’s not a human but we already agreed on a spot that would send you back close to the coven. I can’t guarantee-”

“Send me to Hinba.” 

“It might take some time to properly estimate the correct location… We might not-” 

Tom wanted to interrupt her sooner but opted to wait until she confirmed his suspicions. He had already mapped out large portions of the forest and knew the approximate convergence point for the town. It was just on the other side of the bay. “I’ll get the location. Let me double check a few of my maps back at my apartment. Then we can head out.”

“I’m coming with you. We can’t have you passing out on the sidewalk now…”

—-

[Six months ago] 

“You know… normally when I get a noise complaint about some abandoned building. I assume it’s just a few teenagers getting into mischief. Sometimes I find a junky but those are not as common, at least not from a noise complaint.” The burly officer stood at the foot of Tom’s hospital bed. His curly black hair was at one point combed to the side but as the day wore on settled somewhere in the middle of his head. 

He was still handcuffed to the hospital bed but that didn’t bother him. A bag of clear liquid steadily dripped into a tube that fed into his arm. He didn’t remember what this liquid was called, but it numbed him better than any alcohol. In fact, he knew if he had access to this lovely clear liquid from his apartment he might never need to drink again. For a long moment Tom wondered why he’d never gone to hospital before. Maybe he assumed that if he were ever unwell enough to need a hospital visit, Hinba might also think he was “unwell” and try out her own “treatment,” 

The officer snapped his fingers a few times. “I’ll try and make this quick but you gotta focus for me, alright?” He read the name on the chart once more. “Mr. Crowley? Was it? Normally, trespassing would be a misdemeanor but seeing how Doctor Torrez says you’re lucky to be alive and there was nothing valuable in the house to begin with…. I’d be willing to look the other way.” 

Tom knew he didn’t have shit on him. The property had been abandoned for years. It was honestly a surprise that the building wasn’t condemned as a safety concern and demolished. The officer even remotely considering the option to “let it go,” was a clear indication that he was probing for more information and nothing more. He probably did a simple background search of Tom and the building and couldn’t begin to guess what brought the two together. A lowly misdemeanor charge wouldn’t be worth the headache just to satisfy his curiosity. 

“Could you tell me why you were in that building?” 

Tom didn’t turn his face from the window. 

“Do you even remember what happened?” 

Tom had checked out. He watched intently as the window morphed into an elaborate vision of a distant solar system. Tom saw a small creature that looked like a cross between a snake and a shark try to slither its way onto the shore of a muddy beach. The beach was on the southern hemisphere of a small rocky planet that was circling a large yellow star. Tom could see the last bits of reactive elements being used as fuel to keep the star alive. It wouldn’t be more than a decade or so before the fusion reactor at the core ran out of juice and the star would collapse in on itself. That small creature that was so pivotal in pulling the life of its host planet onto dry land for the first time, would likely also live to see its entire solar system eradicated by an impending supernovae. 

Another snap, this one was right in front of his face. Tom slowly turned to face the looming officer as he started to undo his handcuffs. “Just don’t let me catch you there again, alright?” 

“Yes, officer Green.” Tom said in the most monotone voice he could muster. He didn’t forget that the officer had compared him to a teenager just moments ago. He might as well play the part.

“Seriously, Crowley? Are you going to make me regret this?” 

“No, officer Green.” 

With a small click, the handcuffs came off and officer Green headed for the door. Before he was completely out of earshot, Tom heard him mumble, “jackass,” under his breath. 

“Right back at chu’ buddy…” Tom replied after he was actually out of earshot before promptly going back to sleep. 

—-

“Nice place you got here.” Celeste looked around Tom’s apartment but stayed in the main area. Tom noticed she even wiped her feet on the welcome mat. 

“Thanks, the rent is prepaid through may and even then, it’ll be another month or two before they finalize an eviction. Feel free to crash here if you like.” He threw his jacket over a bar stool and made his way to the office to review his maps. “It’ll just take me a minute, make yourself at home.” 

Celeste nodded, “I might just take you up on that.” As Tom rounded the corner her eyes drifted to the bar. There were two mugs on the countertop along with a bunch of small tools and electronics. She was about to disregard the two innocuous mugs but something caught her attention. While one seemed like a perfectly ordinary white mug the other seemed to be held together with a web of silver material. Celeste reached her hand out to grab the strange mug but before the noise of Tom barging back into the room caused her to flinch and retract her hand. 

“We’ll need to cross the bridge. Come on, we can take my car.” Tom was already moving past the stunned Celeste. 

“That was quick…” she hurried to catch up with him. 

—-

Tom started with the radio on but had turned it off before they reached the bridge. Apparently he wasn’t the only one who felt sick of constantly monitoring his words to avoid mentioning the forest or any hint of magic. “Wait did you just say your ‘first therapist’? How many therapists do you have?”

“Fine, Dr. Cooper,” Tom said a bit louder than he should. “-said that idle hands weren’t helping my mental state. She told me I needed a hobby that didn’t involve maps but where I did use my hands. I figured since I still had the pieces of a broken mug…” he shrugged his shoulders as he trailed off. 

“Does it actually hold liquid?” Celeste was stifling a laugh but only moderately successful. 

“Fuck no! I’ve had pasta strainers that hold more water.” 

“Then why don’t you just get a new one? I knew humans were sentimental but that’s-“

“Humans?” Tom almost stopped the car. 

She nodded, “Yeah, I mean they-“ 

“What are you?” Tom felt like an idiot. If this red haired bitch was tricking him, he was playing right into her hand. She probably just wanted an excuse to teleport him to the forest so she could kill him herself. He didn’t even have his gun with him. 

“What’s got you so worked up?  You didn’t actually believe I was a normal human, did you?” 

Tom sighed audibly but was unable to stop from white-knuckling the steering wheel, trying his best to seem annoyed. He knew the question he wanted to ask but needed to hide it under a different query. “Normal is a scarce commodity these days. So where are you going once we’re back in the forest?” If that wasn’t obvious, Tom didn’t know what was. 

“I can’t go back, Tom, I am completely trapped here” She looked genuinely unhappy as she spoke. 

It could likely still be a trap, but Tom was choosing to bide his time before making any drastic decisions. “I’m sorry to hear that.” 

“It’s not your fault, I’m not stuck here because of your antics with the worldstone.” Celeste left out a frustrated huff and redid her bun, apparently uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. 

There were so many questions Tom still wanted to ask but they would arrive at their destination soon, and he needed to think of what he was going to say when he got back to the forest. 

—-

It was little more than a public gazebo. There were a few scattered lights that hummed in the quiet of the night. After they exited the car, Tom handed the keys to Celeste. “Please don’t make me regret this.” 

Celeste winked at him. “Sure thing.” 

“So how does this work?” 

She pointed to the center of the dimly lit gazebo. “Stand there.” Tom watched her as she walked around him tapping the floor with her foot. He listened to the wood echo and raised an eyebrow. “Just making sure you have a soft landing. Now stay still and think of the forest. We've only got one shot at this.” 

There wasn’t an opportunity to wonder what she meant by “only one shot.” Tom took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and tried to focus his mind. He wasn’t exactly sure what happened next but he felt a punch to his chest and fell backwards. The gravel was incredibly unpleasant to land on, but at least the sun was warm…

—-

[Six months ago]

“Hinba. There’s one more thing I need to tell you before we head out.” He held out the amber stone so it was in full view. 

“Why do you have one of those?” She pointed at the yellow rock in Tom’s palm. 

“Please just listen. This thing is, apparently, really fragile.” Tom took a deep breath. “In a minute you’re going to forget this conversation. You’ll remember only when we’ve found the worldstone, but Hinba I want you to know that I’m going to find my way back to you. Even with the worldstone gone, I’ll find another way. I belong by your side and nothing will ever change that.”

Hinba waved her hand absently. “Stop with all the sentimental bullshit. You really think anything would keep me from torturing you for eternity?” She cooed, grinning widely. 

“I need you to hear this and know that I'm telling the truth.” Tom said 

Hinba put her hands on her hips and her face twisted into a scowl. “Why are you telling me this right before I forget about it?” 

“I don’t have time to explain, Hinba.” Tom sighed. He looked down at the amber in his palm. The naga told him that the effect would only work to hide one idea, but there was something else he needed to say. It would need to hold out because there was one more thing he needed her to hear. “You have to promise me that no matter what happens, you will find the person responsible and end them. You can’t let this happen to anyone else. Maybe they had noble intentions. I don’t know, but as long as they are alive, they are a danger to every human in the forest.”

“Fuck that! Don’t talk as if we're never going to see each other again. I’m not about to let my pet get away just because he couldn’t find a better way out of this shit. Think harder!”

Tom grit his teeth. “This is the only way! We spent so much time looking for clues, looking for answers, and this is all we have to go on! Everything we have learned points to us needing to destroy the worldstone. And this,” He gestured to the yellow amber. “This is our best shot.”  

“I could just take it from you, y’know? Overpower you, pin you to the ground and just rip that little rock from your hand. You know I could do that, right?” 

Tom sighed and moved the stone back to his pocket. “Yes, but you won’t… no matter how much fun that might be and you wanna know why?” He didn't wait for a response. “Because you know that I'm telling the truth and I will always belong to you no matter what happens. Now come on, we’re uh… heading to the marina.” 

—-

“Celeste… you bitch…” Tom tried to speak but the wind had been thoroughly knocked out of him. He rolled over on the rough gravel while still clutching his chest. Whatever she did to him had left him with several broken bones in his chest, or potentially none, and he was just less resilient than he once was. He tried to look around but he was having trouble adjusting to the daylight. Eventually he was able to make out several people coming to help him back to his feet. 

Everything was echoing. There were about seven or eight people around him, trying to get information. “Who are you?” “How did you get here?” “Are you hurt?” “What’s your name?” When Tom didn’t respond they started trying different languages. He was about to let them all know who he was but his voice got caught in his throat. His vision had cleared enough to see hundreds of people. Save for the few that stopped to help Tom they were all hurriedly moving about the town. Tom could see the lines of buildings, several of which seemed well into the reconstruction efforts. Some of the buildings were rebuilt completely with downed logs. It was an easy enough commodity to come by in the forest but Tom was still amazed with their progress. 

He never stopped keeping track of the time difference. Tom knew that forty four hours and three minutes had passed for the forest during his time away. More than anything he was impressed with the reconstruction effort. They had managed to do so much in only two days while Tom had barely managed to stay alive. 

While there were still people trying to snap Tom out of his daze there was one woman that caught his attention. Tom was able to see the black outline of a tattoo against the pale skin of her shoulder. It was partially hidden behind her blond hair but the unmistakable contract drove Tom to focus on her and her alone. She was standing quite a ways away but as soon as her lips started to move Tom could hear her voice as if she were speaking directly into his ear. “Hinba wants to see you.” 

 There she was, not even a moment later. Hinba was carrying several logs of downed trees, presumably for the next building they all were currently working on. She quickly found a safe spot to lay them down and rushed over to Tom. There was an unbelievable amount of grace to how she was able to move over the crowded streets without stepping on anyone, let alone slowing them down. It must have been a practiced art form. 

The crowd that had gathered around Tom back away in unison as a giant red hand came and snatched him up. Hinba didn’t say a word as she brought him to her face. Tom struggled to speak with a burning pain still ripping through his chest. “Safe distance… from humans.” he huffed the words and just hoped that Hinba would understand.

—

“I wasn’t sure if I would ever see you again.” She whispered.

Tom wasn’t sure if he had drifted unconscious or was just still hazy from the transition that he had forgotten the last few minutes. He was laying on his back in Hinba’s open palm as her gentle footsteps rocked back and forth. “We need to be alone.” Each breath felt labored but at least he was able to form coherent sentences. 

“I already told you, we’re halfway to my cave, are you going to tell me what’s going on now?” Tom saw a genuine look of concern on her face. 

He wasn’t sure why, but he felt embarrassed by her comment. “Sorry, things haven’t been going great for me…” 

“I’ll say,” she said quickly. Her fingers started to curl around Tom. “You look like shit.” 

“I feel like shit.” 

“What happened to you?” 

Tom felt himself being brought close to her face. He saw her eyes examining him intently for any hints of what was going on. “The worldstone didn’t appreciate what we did to it. It attached itself to me somehow. I’m dying, Hinba.” 

“So that’s why you came back?” He couldn’t tell if she was angry or sad. Her voice was even and calm, not betraying any emotion. “Are you here to find a way to detach it, somehow?” 

Tom coughed a few times. The pain in his chest subsided but he was still having trouble breathing. “No Hinba, I just need to get away from the others… I need to stay away from other humans or the sickness will spread. Everything we’ve done would have been for nothing if this magic infects the townsfolk.” 

Hinba stopped in her tracks. “You’re actually dying?” Tom nodded and he could see the realization forming in her head. “You’re dying and you brought yourself back to me?” 

He tried to fake a smile. “Here’s a good place. Don’t you think so?” 

“I suppose it is.” She shrugged, unsure what to say. 

“I’m not going to ask you to crush me if that’s what you’re wondering.” Tom sighed. “Or chew…I think we both knew that one day I would end up back in your stomach.”

“You know what you're saying, right? What you’re in for?” Hinba questioned. “Please tell me you’re not going to ask for some ‘quick and painless’ route.” 

Tom shrugged. 

“Holy shit, Tom. You’re not joking…” She found a shady spot under a tree to sit down. “Are you sure? It’s not like I can run to wordstone to get you out of my stomach if you happen to change your mind.” 

“Yeah, I’m good… The worldstone is dying with me, so I don’t think that is an option anyways. Don’t make me beg Hinba, this is tiring enough already.”

She brushed the side of his head with her finger. “But that’s my favorite part. It’s our little  tradition.”

“How about you just trust me? I think we’re able to trust each other… right?” Hinba nodded. She tried to hide a smile but wasn’t successful. “What?” 

“Nothing, you’re right. It’s just… you could have gone anywhere. There are plenty of other predators that would love to have you.” 

“I know. I meant it when I said that I would always be yours.” Tom returned her smile. 

After a moment where neither of them made a sound, Hinba broke the silence. “So when were you wanting this to happen? I can give you as much time as you want, but I don’t know how long…” 

“Now works.” Tom didn’t hesitate. He did what he needed to do and now he wanted to rest. Plus it kinda felt good being the instigator for once. Normally Hinba was always the one to push him into certain situations. Tom might have unconsciously added this to his bucket list right between making partner at his firm and riding a horse. Well, at least he crossed one thing off, he thought. 

He was snapped out of his daydream as he saw Hinba’s hand reach for his wrist. Tom experienced déjà vu as he felt absolutely hypnotized. She, ever so gently, grabbed his right arm, then his left and lifted him up. Her finger zig-zaged across his chest and his clothes fell away from his dangling body. 

“I’m guessing you’d prefer feet first.” 

“Yeah, head first doesn’t sound fun. I don’t know if I would be able to get myself back upright if… well…” he trailed off. Hinba knew what he meant. He didn’t need to elaborate. 

“I get it.” She lifted Tom directly above her mouth. “Thank you Tom.” Hinba lowered him down through her parted lips. 

Tom didn’t register what happened next. As soon as he felt the warmth of her tongue meet his feet and legs, his whole body went numb. Hinba closed her crimson eyes while she traced the lump that traveled down her throat. It disappeared when Tom passed her collarbone. Normally she would slow down to enjoy herself more, but this wasn’t a normal human. 

—

Tom didn’t need to open his eyes to know he was dreaming. When he finally blinked them open, he was greeted with the most beautiful sunset he’d ever seen. The “sun” was about three times larger than the one he was used to, taking up a significant portion of the ocean horizon. It shined with a mesmerizing red and purple hue. 

“I remembered someone mentioning that you wanted to retire on a beach…” He turned to the sound on her voice. She was back in her human form standing in the sand wearing a light purple bikini. Tom looked around for a moment to confirm his suspicions. He found himself in a reclining chair on a white sandy beach. “This is actually a dream within a dream. It’s um… it’ll give us more time together.” 

Tom remembered a prior conversation they’d had. In theory this would give him an exponentially longer amount of time, but it would all depend on how long his body would last in her stomach. Curiosity got the better of him. “How long does it normally take for someone to uh…” he motioned to her midsection. 

“Well normally they would last about two to three hours… but Tom, you shouldn’t-“ 

It was too late. Tom was already doing the mental math in his head. “That could be years in here, right?” 

She shook her head. “I said ‘normally’.” Hinba rested a hand on her stomach, her voice was sullen. “I didn’t notice at first but you’re very weak… you don’t have long.”

“So what? An hour?”

“Maybe you shouldn’t-“

“Half an hour?” He spoke over her.

“Tom, just-“ 

“Five minutes?” 

She sighed, “Probably less.” 

Again, Tom jumped through the math. “That would still give us a month in here right?” 

“Probably less.” Hinba let the words hang in the air. Neither of them wanted to speak. Hinba walked up beside Tom and looked out to the neon sea. 

While Tom wasn’t in a hurry to end the silence, he needed to get his mind off of his current situation. He looked over to Hinba. It never occurred to him that she could choose which form she appeared as in their dreams. She always just seemed to match how she looked in real life. “I didn’t know you could appear as your human self.” She turned her head to give him a quizzical look. Tom just motioned around. 

“Oh yeah… well I can, but it’s just a bit difficult. I’m trying to put as much effort into elongating our time here.” She chewed her lip. “You always seemed to prefer me this way.” 

“What makes you say that?” 

“Because I could hear your thoughts.” She let out a grin. “I never heard you think that I was beautiful in my Oni form… not even once.”

Tom was a bit taken aback, “that doesn’t sound right…” he thought back then snapped his fingers. “It was right before you put the charm on me. Remember the first time at the oasis?” 

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow. “But you were still so afraid of me.” 

“One.” He held up a finger. “I still am afraid of you, and two, if you’re trying to make this dream last as long as possible shouldn’t you be in that form now?” 

She chuckled for a moment. “Well I guess you have a point…” Hinba walked behind Tom as he kept his gaze forward. When she reappeared on the other side she towered over him. It took considerable effort for her to sit down in the loose sand without causing it to shift too much. As soon as she was settled, Tom sat up and moved his chair closer to the giant woman.

“I see you ditched the bikini.” He said as he sat back down in his lounge chair. 

“Didn’t fit.” Came her curt response.  

After everything they had been through, Tom was at a loss for what to say. It seemed like for the first time since he met Hinba, that he actually had time on his hands. There wasn’t another adventure to go on, not for Tom at least. Hinba still needed to find the culprit behind the whole disappearing act but it’s unlikely that they would try the same thing again anytime soon. For starters, the worldstone was gone, or rather will be gone very soon. Also Hinba was aiding in the reconstruction. It wasn’t clear how much time Hinba spent in the town before they met, but she would be keeping a watchful eye on the place moving forward. Tom knew if she wanted guidance, she would ask. He did his part. The rest was up to her. Besides, Tom wasn’t the “violent retribution” type. 

All of this led him to the rather uncomfortable topic of how to spend his remaining time at the end of the world. “So uh… does this place have Mai Tai’s?” 

—-

Under normal circumstances, Tom was really good at judging the passage of time, but this was far from “normal.” The sun didn’t move, it merely twinkled as it reflected against the water. They had no need to eat, drink or sleep in this strange and beautiful place. Tom guessed they had been there for two weeks at least but he had no real means of knowing for sure. It was just a vague shot in the dark. 

Tom looked up to Hinba. They both spent most of their time just enjoying the sea breeze in calm silence. She had her eyes closed and her head leaned back, taking long deep breaths of the salty air. 

He was about to ask her a question when he felt some warm liquid around his ears. He touched his ear, then he examined fingers. There was a small trickle of blood moving down his arm. Tom didn’t know for sure what it meant but he could take a guess. His mouth opened to get Hinba’s attention but no words came out. After another failed attempt to speak Tom opted to reach out and touch Hinba’s thigh.

Hinba felt a tiny hand on her leg. Without opening her eyes she responded. “Hmm?” 

It was a female voice “The scribe…” Hinba’s eyes shot open. She turned down to look at Tom. The white sand of the beach with dirt and grass. Tom’s short, dark hair was replaced with the long blond hair of a young woman from the town. The human flinched at Hinba’s sudden movement. “The scribe wanted me to come check on you. They said the human with you was unwell.” 

Hinba laid a hand on her abdomen, trying to remember where she was. Her mind was still groggy from the long dream. “He’s…” She searched for any hint of life in her stomach. There was nothing. Tom was gone. “He’s no longer with me.” there was a light bit of warmth that spread through her veins. It wasn’t the massive euphoria that normally came from a willing human but this one had been through a lot.  You can let the scribe know there’s nothing to worry about. He volunteered.” 

She barely felt anything. Normally when a human is convinced to part with their soul, there is an overwhelming sense of euphoria that spreads over her entire body. Nothing like that happened. It could be that she was still asleep for the moment, but that didn’t seem likely. It was possible that Tom decided he didn’t want to give up his soul, waiting until the very last moment to revoke his willingness. No, Hinba thought, that wasn’t right. The true reason was most likely staring her in the face. Maybe she was the problem. Maybe in the final moments, she came to the realization that she didn’t want Tom’s soul. She just wanted Tom. 

—Epilogue

Tom opened his eyes. He was already standing upright. The world was dark save for the pale orange light of the sun that hung low on the tree lined horizon. The image was framed by two large stone pillars that pierced jaggedly into the sky and the rest of the space was occupied by a dense void.

I’m in the worldtree? It was exactly how he remembered the sheer massive scale. He walked forward on shaky legs.  The close he got to the entrance the more questions were swirling around his mind. Where am I? Am I dead? What’s going on? Instinctively he reached down to his chest. Tom expected to find the soft pliable bones that halted his recent nightmares, but instead he felt something solid. Something that felt like what bones ought to feel like. He pulled the collar of his shirt forward and used the ever increasing light to look at his chest, and for the first time in over five years, he saw his own skin. 

His slow lumbering broke into a full on sprint. His eyes strained to adjust to the light. “Hello?” He called out into the forest but only an echo greeted him. This has got to be another fucked up dream. “Hinba, if this is your idea of a joke- '' Tom said as he turned to look up at the worldtree and words caught in his throat. It was turning to stone. The rich brown on the bark and the vivid green of the leaves were fading right before his eyes and being overtaken by a dull gray. 

“Tom? Is that really you?” He recognized the voice calling to him from the treeline but couldn’t look away.

“Zmera! Please tell me what’s going on!” He waved to her to get closer. “What’s happening? Am I dead?” 

The naga slithered into view in front of Tom. At first he continued to watch the tree but noticed that Zmera appeared completely uninterested in the spectacle. She was focused entirely on Tom. “Only once in a millennia is time marked with the death of a worldstone.”

It was only now that Tom actually regarded her. “Why are you looking at me like that?” His arm reached up to the dying titan, fading away. “Do you know what’s happening to the worldtree?” 

“Exactly what you wanted. And the worldstone accepted your offer.” Zmera continued to circle around Tom as she spoke. 

“Offer?” Tom remembered the message of the tome referring to the exchange of magic. “I thought we were simply counteracting a spell.” 

“The magic of this land has always been equitable in nature. For every benefit received, something too must be given. You gave up a lot more than some magic in order to save the villagers. And again to protect those in the human world. The worldstone accepted it all… and now it’s giving back a part of you that was once trapped.” 

He clutched his chest. “It didn’t just attach itself to me, did it? It actually changed me… but I’m just a human.” 

“No human has ever become such a savant with magic so quickly without being able to cast a single spell. No human has ever discovered so much about the forest while barely spending any time here. No human has ever been awarded a second form… but the worldtree and the worldstone agreed you were worth a second chance.”

“They agree? You mean they’re sentient?” He was quickly becoming overwhelmed with trying to process the information, opting to focus on one thing at a time. “I always kinda guessed that they were… I don’t know… opposing forces in some constant fight for survival.” 

“No.” The naga slithered up to the tree and laid a hand on the rough bark. “They loved each other.” She took a moment to look up as the last of the color faded from its leaves leaving behind a massive stone effigy. “Have you given any thought to where you will go? I’m afraid there’s no way to send you back to the human world…” Tom didn’t answer, but gazed westward towards the setting sun as golden rays of light pierced the dense foliage. Zmera appeared beside him. “I can offer you a place in the coven safe from other predators. Or if you’d prefer someplace else?…” 

Tom smiled up at the naga. “I think I might help Hinba rebuild the town. I’m sure they could use another set of hands.” 

She nodded “Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. I am in your debt for the generosity you showed my niece. She never expected to wind up trapped in the human world.” 

“Wait… Are you talking about Celeste?” 

Zemera nodded. 

“Well then…” Tom took a few steps forward, a hopeful smile spread across his face. “Would you mind guiding me back to the town? It’s quite a long way and I still have a lot of questions…”