by J E Mueller
“So, there really is no doing away with demons.” Lydia sighed.
“What if the other side were to find you and raise you?” I asked, ignoring Lydia’s statement.
“That’s often what happens,” Marella replied.
Lydia’s eyes went wide. “What.” It wasn’t a question.
“Nature versus nurture is always a fun topic, is it not? Neither side is exempt from stealing away toddlers to reraise into their form. Though how we survive is still genetic coding.” Marella shrugged.
“So… anyone who is now a demon could actually not be a demon.” Lydia held her head in her hands. “This is a headache.”
“It’s the truth.” Marella didn’t seem to mind the facts.
“So, genetically, what side are you on?” Lydia pushed.
“I don’t know,” Marella replied honestly. “I was most recently for the last….” She thought hard. “...several centuries on the demon side. I know I feed off of both hope and fear. I know the other side feeds off of determination and failure. Good luck figuring out what side belongs to which.” She smiled sweetly.
“I don’t know if I can handle this information,” Lydia said, slowing her pace.
“It still doesn’t get me any closer to understanding what I’m supposed to do. Apparently something with gates?” I grumbled. I need to switch topics. This angels and demons mess was a bit much.
“If it helps,” Marella said to Lydia, “The angel side at least is very precise in what they say and do. If they say you’ll have this gift for this amount of time as long as you do this, that is all there is to it. For the demon side, well, you already know they want to jump to the end result as quickly as possible unless more damage can be caused.”
“I’m done with new information. Can I go back to stabbing things?” Lydia grumbled.
“Do I get to learn more about these blasted gates or not?” I grumbled louder.
“In time, dear,” Marella replied. “Reawakening will be a great help with that, and you’ll be much safer since we are nearing very heavily filled demon lands. They’ll be trying to listen to us for sure if they don’t just attack on sight.”
Eavesdropping demons. Lovely. “What’s another day without answers?”
“Safety,” Marella replied. “If they know you know how to fix things, we’ll see much stronger demons and in greater numbers. I can only do so much.”
“I feel like you can do a lot more than that,” Lydia stated.
“Destroy a couple dozen low-level minions in a single swipe? Sure. I didn’t even phase Beleth, now did I?” Marella shook her head.
“I thought you were stronger,” Lydia scoffed.
“I was,” she retorted. “A lot has happened, more than you need to know right now.” With that Marella pressed on ahead more quickly.
Without much more to say for the moment we quickly followed along.
Chapter 13
Late the next day Reawakening was within our sight. Marella had us shielded and hidden, a trick that only worked when we were stationary.
“I’ve counted thirty-seven demons that I can see,” Lydia grumbled.
“Twenty-eight in hiding,” I added, simultaneously thankful and annoyed by how well my gift helped with this.
“How are we supposed to get from here to there? There’s no way.” Lydia shook her head.
“Isn’t that supposed to be my line?” I looked at her.
“The odds usually aren’t this far from our favor.” Lydia remarked as she crossed her arms, “I’ve no idea how we’ll succeed at this.”
“With very careful planning,” Marella said, concentrating on the landscape. “I think I spotted a route with the least trouble. Fighting is inevitable. Once that starts it’ll draw in the others…”
“Can’t you wave these low levels away with some magic again?” Lydia asked, almost pleaded.
“Yes, but that will draw even more attention to us. So that will be our last resort. Before that you will need to make a break for the safe zone and get as close as possible before I wave them away.” Marella kept plotting out her path.
“How will that draw attention if they’re all dead?” Lydia shook her head. “Do I even want to know?”
“My stronger magic pulls at the balance. It will alert someone with equally strong magic that I am near. They’ll want to jump in and see what's going on,” Marella explained, never glancing our way.
“What if none of them are near?” The hopeful sound that escaped my lips surprised me.
“One is very near. I can feel them, even if they haven’t caught scent of me,” Marella replied gravely. “Thankfully, they aren’t able to disrupt the safe zone so the plan will work anyway.” Marella looked off in what I guessed was the direction of this other evil before turning toward us.
“Wait, there are demons that can disrupt these? I thought you said they can’t be broken?” Lydia almost screamed.
“Disrupted isn’t broken. It can only affect the outer edges for a mere moment. Sometimes that’s all you need to cause damage.” Marella waved off the concern. “Tella is fast enough that I’m not worried about that, and you’re good enough that I doubt it’ll be an issue.”
Lydia wanted to argue but nodded. “I am good at what I do.”
“So we’re set then.” Marella ended the discussion.
“What’s the plan?” I asked curiously.
Marella pointed a bit out of the way. “We will head through the forest down toward the small cliffs. It’ll be harder to walk, but we’ll avoid half the goons looming near the main path. Once we get within sprinting distance we will undoubtedly be drawn into a fight. Lydia and I will take them, you will run.”
I scrunched up my face in disgust. “I’m not leaving you two to just fight for me.”
“You will run,” Marella emphasized again, pointing sharply at me. “They will follow you, and we can take them from behind instead. It will be easier for us if you keep them distracted. While it is not a fancy or exciting plan for you, it is the best one.”
“I agree.” Lydia nodded. “And you know if I’m agreeing with her, Tells, it’s got to be the best.” She shook her head and sighed. “I don’t know how we ended up here, but this is it. Listen to the demon lady's plans.”
“Yes, listen to the Blessed child’s suggestion.” Marella rolled her eyes. “Any other problems we need to discuss?”
“How many does it look like we’ll be facing?” Lydia asked.
“Eighteen,” Marella replied without hesitation. “It’ll draw the rest in quickly, but by then Tella will be safe, a good number will be slain, and I can whisk the rest away. At that point, Tella should be even further into safety so when more trouble does come it won’t matter.”
I wanted to argue with them, but I settled for glaring. They were right, and more than likely that this was the best plan. If they knew who they were looking for, the demons would chase after me. I could stay just far enough ahead of them to not be in trouble. This wasn’t my first sprint against them, but I was annoyed nonetheless.
“Fine, can we get this over with?” I grumbled. The sooner I got to safety the sooner the other two could get to safety. Things would be fine. I hoped.
Lydia nodded. “I’m ready.”
“Shall we be off?” Marella asked, already leading the way.
Lydia stayed a step behind her and I trailed loosely behind. My running magic never took a thought to summon up. I always felt it swirling happily around me. Something Marella said earlier came to mind. Living in a place without magic must be more than just dull. I’m sure one could adjust, but to have that part suddenly ripped from you? I wondered if many went mad from such a thing. I could hardly imagine it myself.
“Well, they are more alert than usual,” Lydia mumbled, snapping me from my reverie.
I started to actually pay attention to my surroundings. Visible demons were easy to sense nearby. I could hear some chatter in their language. No one seemed to think we were heading this w
ay – or so I gathered from the broken speech.
“We’re almost to the place… Ready, Tella?” Marella asked me.
I ignored her, having stopped several feet back. Something about the chatter caught my ears. “We’re not alone.” I tilted my head to the side trying to gather the rest of the story. Demon speech was so hard to understand even on the best of days.
“What do you mean?” Lydia asked, very uncertain.
“They’re looking for….” I couldn’t quite pull the words together. The snarls, snapping teeth, and overall gritty voices were too far away to hear well.
Marella glanced at me, confused, before turning her head to listen for herself. She was considered a demon. Understanding them shouldn’t be an issue.
For a moment we all stood there. Lydia couldn’t hear them, I couldn’t hear them well enough, and Marella seemed more annoyed than anything as she slowly took in the words.
“It would seem,” she said slowly as she pieced the story together, “that there is someone already fleeing here who is gifted with spirits. I doubt they’ll survive without a little help.” Marella thought for a moment before glaring at me. “You will continue with the plan as is. I’m sure Lydia and I can handle this.”
“And leave someone else to be demon bait?” I clicked my tongue. “That just won’t do.” I defiantly placed my hands on my hips.
“You’ll make the plan that much harder to save this new person,” Lydia said with a sigh.
“Or I can lure them away.” I stood firmly. “I doubt this new person can run like me. They may not have any other magic to aid them at all.”
“I’ve got more than enough extra magic to see them to safety,” Marella assured me.
“Then see them to safety.” I agreed with that much. “I’ll be able to get the majority off their trail.”
“Don’t you do what I think you’re going to do,” Lydia warned me, already seeing the plan in my mind.
“It’s worked well before, hasn’t it?” I smirked. “I believe they said this person is just…” I got my bearings straight and pointed left of us.
“Don’t….” Lydia sighed, already knowing she couldn’t stop me.
“What are you planning?” Marella asked.
She might have been the only one able to stop me, but she would have needed to know the plan first. I happily shrugged.
“Do what you do best, and I’ll have them following me before this person can be found. Likely they have what, minutes left at best?”
“Less, I’d say.” Marella eyed me carefully.
“Guess we’d better go save them, then!” I replied cheerfully and took off.
I could barely hear Marella cursing behind me. The wind whooshed by, my magic gleefully dancing as I quickly gained all the attention I was looking for. Whoever this person was, they’d be in the clear very shortly.
The tingle of magic changing near me made me push myself faster, nearly to my limit. I knew I was being followed. I could hear them trying to keep up. Several demons were slower than me, but for the most part, they could keep up. Once I pushed myself to my limit, I wouldn’t have much time to get to safety. I knew that well from attempting this several times with Lydia. It had always worked before, but I had never been the prime target like this.
A stronger shift in the magic around me made my heart flutter, and I pushed myself as hard as I could. It was time to circle back to safety. I wasn’t too far away. I knew from that battle with Beleth weeks ago, that the change in magic meant one of them was here. I didn’t know, or want to know, what was likely tailing me. I tried pushing myself harder and felt the strain on my energy, magic, and body all at once, but safety was in sight.
I could do this. Relief filled me as I slammed into something solid that I could not see. The pain was a terrible shock to my body. I didn’t even recall falling to the ground. Rocks, twigs, and who knew what else dug into me, but I barely registered it. My vision blurred and danced. What had happened?
I could hear chatter over me. The gritty, nails on a chalkboard sound didn’t make any sense to me. What did I hit? I was so close. Everything felt broken. I couldn’t concentrate on anything other than pain.
Something hit my side, and I felt like screaming, but couldn’t. I had never been in so much pain that I couldn’t cry out. Fear gripped me as another wave shot through me. Someone, something had lifted me off the ground. My body started to go cold, my eyes heavy. I begged myself not to lose consciousness, but felt myself slip away as darkness claimed me.
A soft breeze awoke me. It hurt to open my eyes, but other than that I was relatively pain-free. The room around me was longer than it was wide. Several beds were along the same wall with curtains neatly tied back. I was the only one in this infirmary.
The only one living, that is. Lliam was leaning against a wall not too far away, head down, eyes closed. I couldn’t tell if he was just in deep thought or sleeping. Either was fine by me. I still couldn’t make sense of what had happened or how I had survived, and talking with Lliam seemed to more often produce questions rather than answers.
The breeze from the nearby window reminded me I should get up. Enough light was getting in that I assumed it was late morning or early afternoon. Without another thought, I carefully sat up. Lliam still hadn’t moved, so I tried getting out of bed. My legs protested for a moment, but I seemed well enough to walk.
“Take it easy, still,” a voice said.
I glanced around before I noticed someone was sitting on the floor by a very small bookcase. He carefully got up, dusted himself off, and offered me a smile.
“Sorry, I didn’t notice you were awake. I had been reading,” he apologized. “You can call me Danny.”
I nodded. “Hi, Danny. So… what’s going on?” The man across the room wasn’t much older than me, though the dark blonde hair pulled back into a short ponytail gave him a much younger look.
He motioned vaguely with his hands for a moment before shaking his head. “Truthfully, I’ve little idea. They said to heal you, so I healed you. They didn’t want to explain much of anything, even though we’re both fairly screwed right now.”
I tilted my head, both surprised and confused by his words. “Can you elaborate a bit?”
Danny gestured vaguely at Lliam. “He said I needed to come here. That the demons were going to be after me and I couldn’t just ignore them anymore. I really didn’t want to listen, and didn’t at first, but then the attacks began. It’s been a very long couple of days.”
Danny sat on the edge of the nearest bed. “Demons have never given me any trouble, well, no more than you’d expect. Angels are about the same. So, why all this nonsense now? You hardly see any of them close to Reawakening. Why now? What’s going on? I didn’t need this added trouble now.”
“I’m sorry.” I sat back down on the bed I had woken up in. “Well, I do know the demons are going after anyone who can see spirits.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Danny waved it off. “They blocked ghosts from crossing over. Like we can do a thing to fix that, though? Come on. It doesn't work that easily.”
I was surprised by his words. “You seem to be better informed than me.”
Danny shrugged. “I grew up a two day ride from here. Dad was a healer, mom was a healer, and I am a healer. Weird talents? I had heard about these ghost whispers before I gained the talent myself. I know the basics, maybe a little more, but I wouldn't say I’m an expert.”
While it was surprising to finally meet someone who knew the basics, the first part of his statement rang loudly in my mind. Was, was, am.
“What happened to your parents?” I asked softly. It was a bold question for someone I had only just met.
Danny shrugged again. “It’s a bit complicated of a matter. So, to sum it up, mum didn’t like who I am, who I truly am. Tried to kill me. You know how that bit works, right?” I nodded and he continued. “Well before that, before she could, she had to get through my dad. She succeeded. It’s harder to defend your
self when you’re mourning the loss of one parent. Not that I wanted to get injured or anything, but still. It happened, but not before I dealt a destructive blow. So, dad hadn’t crossed and tried to make sure I stayed, got healed, and things got better. More or less.”
It was a sad, jumbled story to take in, but before I could even ask about what he meant by his true self the door opened.
Lydia breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank heavens you’re finally up.”
“What was I down a week or something?” I asked confused.
“Four days, so it might as well have been,” Lydia confirmed. “Do you remember anything?”
“Not much. My plan was great until I hit something solid and very much invisible.” I wanted to know what that was about.
“Marella said it’s a very high-level demon trick,” Lydia explained. “Basically you ran into a shield, and with how fast you can run, I’m sure that was more than just unpleasant.”
“Ugh, those stupid high-level demons.” I groaned and let myself fall backward onto the bed. “Is there any way for us to get around these issues? I’d like to not do that again.”
“You could just pass through it,” Danny replied.
I sat back up and gave him a look. “The heck do you mean? I don’t have that magic.”
Danny looked over at Lydia and then again at me. “Okay, so you can see ghosts, you can talk to them. Do you know anything else about what you can do?”
“No,” I replied a bit too sharply. “I haven’t found anyone that could help teach me yet.”
Danny nodded as he got up to pace. “So, there are several things you can do. The obvious being talking to spirits and helping them cross. The less obvious is accessing your spirit form, working within the spirit realm, and upholding the gate. But the gates are destroyed, so that doesn't matter anymore.”