Chapter 614: Easier

The first few teleportations passed without much trouble, though Grey’s temporary platforms became noticeably rougher the farther they moved from Melix’s formation.

By the time the last flash of distorted space released Grey, Brad, and Amara, they found themselves standing in a barren stretch of grey-black sand that looked more like ash than anything Grey would have associated with a normal desert.

Far in the distance, a volcano dominated the horizon, its peak disappearing behind dark clouds while faint red light occasionally pulsed through cracks along its sides. As large as it was, it was obvious they were still a long way away.

Grey stared toward it for a few seconds before reaching inward and calling on something he hadn’t used in a while, and the Dark Kin Cycle tore free from where it had embedded itself near his heart. The black bike landed heavily in the ash, Grey swung one leg over it, then looked toward Brad and Amara with a grin. "Got room for one more, but whoever loses gets dragged behind us, so who’s feeling lucky?"

Amara moved before Brad could answer.

She stepped forward, planted one foot on the Cycle, then hopped lightly enough that she landed directly on the handlebars without so much as wobbling. Grey blinked at the ease of it while Brad grinned, apparently perfectly happy with the alternative as he climbed onto the back and wrapped both arms around Grey’s waist.

"Thanks, buddy."

Grey’s lip twitched.

He looked down at Brad’s arms, considered several things he could say, then ultimately decided life was too short and twisted the throttle instead. The Dark Kin Cycle screamed across the ashen desert, throwing a cloud behind them as its wheels tore into the loose ground and rapidly carried the three of them toward the volcano.

Grey chuckled to himself once they really picked up speed.

’Joke’s on her. Now that glorious rump is in my face the whole time. I’m winning.’

And what a glorious rump it was.

Amara had somehow balanced herself perfectly on the handlebars despite the Cycle moving at speeds that should have ripped an ordinary person away almost instantly, her body shifting only slightly whenever Grey changed direction. Her dress wasn’t nearly as cooperative, though, with the wind pressing the fabric tightly around her lower body and leaving Grey with a considerably clearer outline than he felt any decent man should ignore, at least of her hips, anyway.

Grey wasn’t a decent man.

His eyes flicked upward several times as they travelled, and after the fourth or fifth time, a thought slowly occurred to him. Amara’s phasing ability was almost certainly the reason she could stand up there so easily in the first place, since she had already demonstrated enough selective control to let attacks pass through her while still walking normally and interacting with whatever she wanted. Which meant there was no particular reason the wind needed to be affecting her this much.

Grey’s grin slowly widened.

’She’s doing this shit on purpose.’

Because of the way the wind was blowing, her dress might have been tighter around her hips, but they were considerably looser around her ass, so Grey’s fun was actually a lot less than it could have been.

Amara remained facing forward with the same calm posture she seemed to maintain through everything, giving absolutely no indication she noticed Grey’s repeated glances, which somehow made him more certain that she knew exactly what she was doing.

’Feisty.’

Grey liked that.

They continued tearing across the ashen landscape until the distant volcano began growing noticeably larger, and after almost an hour, Grey finally raised his voice over the roaring engine and rushing wind.

"Alright! We’re getting close to their territory now, so be ready for some bullshit!"

Brad shifted behind him while Amara glanced back slightly.

"Knowing these cheating bastards, there’s probably somebody watching my livestream and feeding them information right now," Grey continued. "So assume they know we’re coming, what we’re riding, where we’re headed, and probably how many times I’ve stared at Amara’s ass."

Amara slowly looked down at him.

Grey smiled innocently.

Her gaze returned forward.

On foot, reaching this point would have taken them at least a day, probably closer to two once the volcanic terrain became difficult, but the Dark Kin Cycle had eaten through most of that distance within an hour. Technically, the land ahead should already belong to Melix now, since Veyrath appearing during their Culling proved that his territory had fallen under the same broader structure Grey eventually inherited, but reality was messier.

While Grey had been unconscious, the Elementals had moved quickly to secure the region again. Losing Veyrath was one problem, losing control of an entire strategically important region and whatever resources it contained would have been another, so Grey doubted they had sat around politely waiting for Melix to establish ownership.

The moment the Cycle crossed what remained of the old territorial boundary, something changed.

Veyrath stirred.

Grey’s eyes narrowed as the feeling travelled through the Infernal Temper Band, not quite fear and not quite anger, but something closer to a restrained urge to sneer. That was strange enough coming from Veyrath that Grey immediately eased off the throttle slightly and expanded his Resonant Sense through the surrounding region.

Little embers were appearing.

Not campfires, not burning vegetation, but tiny sparks of Fire Energy bursting from the ash at seemingly random points before vanishing again. Grey’s gaze darted from one to another as his Neural Frame tracked the pattern, while Veyrath’s strange reaction only grew more pronounced the farther they travelled.

Then the ground rumbled beneath them.

The Dark Kin Cycle bounced hard enough that Brad tightened his grip, while Amara barely shifted despite the handlebars jerking underneath her feet. Grey’s head snapped toward the volcano just as another rumble spread through the earth, this one stronger than the first, and several glowing lines suddenly crawled across the mountain’s distant slopes.

’Son of a bitch.’

Grey knew what was happening almost immediately.

The Wind Elementals hadn’t needed to create a hurricane from nothing, they had only needed to start the right conditions and let nature do most of the work afterward. Compared to building a storm large enough to swallow a Territory, encouraging an already active volcano to erupt was probably several magnitudes easier.

Grey stared at the mountain as its summit began glowing brighter.

"Fuck."