by J E Mueller
Lee sighed and shook his head. “It’s all a confusing mess. The most I can gather is that we need…” He looked at me. “Name of someone who isn’t here that can help.”
“Maralla.” I supplied. Who else could it be?
Lee nodded. “That’s the name. Keep Marella here, alive, and on our side. I’ve no idea when exactly she’ll turn up, but she’s important. However, we have to get rid of both Zander the top tier angel and the Mad King before Beleth shows up. There’s enough of us to take down Zander if the Mad King doesn’t show up during that fight. But when he does, we can’t fight him. We won’t be able to see him.”
Oh. Fuck. Even with the right tools, the daggers were useless if you couldn’t see the target. Well, that was a problem.
Danni shrugged. “Don’t worry about Romulus. Key will be able to take him.”
“Not if she can’t see him,” Lee argued. Danni should know this, what was going on?
“My cards are not on the table yet,” Danni replied firmly. “So first, we dispose of the angel, nab the demon, and kill the Mad King… again. Then kill Beleth, and we should be good to go.”
“This sounds like a terrible mess of a story.” I sighed. “I’ve no idea how any of this will work out.” What cards did she not want to reveal yet?
“Hopefully with less dead than foreseen.” Danni smiled.
“So, you’re trying to manipulate my visions and still asking to see the best outcomes, even though you know your input would completely change everything?” Lee asked, slightly annoyed.
“Exactly. By not currently planning on using the backups, I’m manipulating the information to see just how much is needed. Time is too short to explain, so until the dust settles I hope you can trust me a bit.” Danni glanced my way. “And thank you for not going with Mist’s original plan. It saved me, after all. Least I can do is try and save everyone else too.”
“Hopefully it’s enough,” I agreed. There wasn’t much left to lose.
The winds of change struck as Jareth approached us. He knew we knew he was there. There was no need to hide anymore, but he had forgotten we were hiding from all sides, and he stood out to all thanks to being outside of the protective field.
"And no matter what, Jareth brings the fight?" I asked Lee.
"Sadly, yes. He never realizes in any vision that coming to us is actually what harms us," Lee agreed.
“It won’t take anything for them to ruin our barrier once they have a good enough guess of our location…” I stated more than asked. These beings were too powerful.
“It’s a sad truth,” Lliam agreed, popping up by my side. I don’t think the angels will do anything until the last moment, though.”
“Then why are they the first on the list to defeat?” I asked Lliam. If they weren’t going to do anything, we’d be fine. I couldn’t see anyone wanting to wait until the last moment if they knew we were kicking them out of the realm they had come to enjoy ruling. “Have your team ready. I’m sure angry ghosts and a once demon king are not going to be easy to take down.”
Lliam looked like he was going to say something but shook his head. “On it,” he replied instead, rushing off to talk with his team.
“What’s going on?” Lydia asked me curiously.
“Lliam’s readying his team,” I replied.
“This would be a very beneficial time to hear and know what that side of the team was doing,” Emmyth commented.
“Knowing isn’t always worth the price,” Danni replied softly. “To hear the cries of the dead, trapped between the worlds of the living and rest… You can never unhear those cries in the dark. Never unsee the ripped and tattered clothes, the cracked skulls, or the silently dripping water. And that’s still the best of things.”
Emmyth stood straighter. “I will never know your burden, but if I could help it, I would in a heartbeat.”
Danni laughed. At first, it started off as a small chuckle but soon grew deep and loud. Jareth was within sight now and he stopped, confused as to what was going on. Everyone shared equal looks of confusion.
“Help it? And what if you truly could? Would you? Would you really be able to stand it?” Danni shook her head. “Maybe. You’ve seen enough that maybe you could handle it.”
“Yes. I would. If I truly could,” Emmyth agreed.
Key nodded. “He could handle it, just the same as I.”
Danni nodded and both she and Key turned to Lee.
“I won’t pretend to know if I could handle such a thing. You didn’t have a choice in that gift from what I understand. Just as Tella didn’t,” Lee replied.
“And if you had a choice now?” Danni asked. We all listened closely, eagerly awaiting the answer.
Lee thought about it for a moment before shrugging. “Yes. It would do the most good, and if that would mean access to all the gifts included with it, I don’t see a huge downside. Sure, there are some terrible things attached to it, but there’s that with demon hunting too. Saving a soul in one way is just as great as saving one in another way.”
“Well, that was my answer. Almost word for word,” Rosalie grumbled.
Key smiled. “That’s a good answer. Both of you.”
“Thank you.” Rosalie smiled before turning to face Jareth who was walking towards us again. “Well, guess this is it.” Tossing her pack down, she pulled out her short sword.
I looked at Danni and let the confusion show while the others copied Rosalie’s actions. Why did she seem so dead set on getting these answers? They were much too old to run into that gift. Danni just shrugged.
“What are you up to?” I asked her quietly.
“I am a Creator. The rules are made to be bent,” she replied. “Key knows what must be done.”
“That’s what you were talking about this morning.” It finally clicked.
“She’ll be able to see her fight. Lee can’t see that because I haven’t set that in motion just yet. I am just waiting for this barrier to give…” Danni replied, letting her voice trail off as she watched Rosalie walk to meet Jareth.
Chapter 26
Rosalie only took a few steps away from the group before stopping. She shook her head. A sad smile reached her lips for a moment before she shouted at Jareth.
“You’re a fool,” she said to him as he neared her. “Why didn’t you come with us to begin with?”
“This isn’t right. They’ve done so much for us,” Jareth replied, referring to his pact with the angels.
“They’ve hidden things and have lied. We are part of a war in ways we never knew and never will understand. They’ve no right to use us like that. Giving us half answers and little facts.” Rosalie shook her head.
“There’s got to be a good reason we’re missing, I’m sure of it,” Jareth replied. His voice sounded less than convincing.
“What do you really believe?” Rosalie asked.
Jareth let out a sigh and shook his head. He opened his mouth to talk and then closed it a few times before finally tossing his pack aside. “Whatever I believe doesn't matter. I’m on your side.” He pulled out his sword and turned around, ready to defend himself.
I could feel the barrier shattering around us. The disruption of magic caused such a ripple in the energy around us even a non-magic user could have felt it.
Carefully looking around, Jareth took in the energies around him. “I think I realize exactly what you meant by fool now.”
“It’s a little late, but I’m glad you understand.” Rosalie smirked, sword gripped tightly in her hands.
“Something about being outside of the barrier brought the foes to the party a little early and very much uninvited.” Jareth rolled his eyes. “Well, that’s that I suppose.”
“Say you’ll stick to this fight no matter what, love,” Rosalie replied. The lack of anything appearing right away was setting everyone on edge.
“Life or death, or is it life and death now?” He smirked. “I’ll see this through straight through to the end for you.”
“
Perfect.” She smiled and raised her sword just in time to block a blade coming down at her. The fight had begun.
It was surprising to see it was an angel attacking her. With a motion of his arm, he threw a pulse of magic at us. The shockwave pushed us back and almost knocked Rosalie and Jareth over. I supposed this was likely the angel Lee was referring to as Zander, but before I could ask, I was distracted by the number of ghosts slowly appearing.
“Key,” Danni called. She turned just in time for Danni to blast her with her own shockwave of strange purple and green magic. Key stumbled back for a moment before looking around surprised.
“Why are they so blurry?” Key asked.
I wasn’t sure what exactly Danni had done, but it was clear that Key could now see the spirits as well as us.
“You need to concentrate solely on them to see them better. Not worth the time. If they attack, attack back, otherwise I’d just leave them be,” Danni replied.
If she could turn on such a gift, was there a way to reverse it? Would it matter? I turned back to the fight at hand, noting that Lee and Emmyth had joined the other two and were still having a difficult time keeping up. Damn these creatures for being so much more powerful. Would we even stand a chance?
Leaving Key and Danni behind, I dashed toward the battle. With my speed, I was able to sneak up from behind and force the angel to turn to block, making it almost impossible for him to block the shots from the rest of the group. He tried to send another blast of magic at us, but Key had managed to erect a shield in front of the others. I wasn’t so lucky.
Being blasted back hurt terribly. The force of the wave sent me back several feet, and I hit my head. I tried to shake off the pain and noticed the angel in front of me. The others were momentarily blocked and protected by the shield making me an easy target. He thrust his sword at me and I quickly rolled away. The thing was huge. I couldn’t quite tell if it was a broadsword or something similar, but there was no way he should have been using this two-handed weapon with a single hand.
Again, he struck at me and I dodged again and again, before finally being able to get up. I tried to dash away but he was quickly in front of me, causing me to dodge once more and turn back. Why did he have to be faster? Nothing else was ever faster until these last couple of weeks. I could either block or dodge and try and run, but it wasn’t much use. I had to keep reassuring myself that I could make this work, but my heart beat faster and faster, trying to explode from my ribs as I barely managed to block another swing.
I tried to run once more but he was ready for that and was already swinging before I could react. Another blade clashed with his instead of mine and I was relieved to see Marella pushing him back.
“This isn’t your fight, child,” she told me sternly.
I wasn’t going to argue with her. I was too in over my head and dashed far enough out of the way to get my bearings again.
I saw that while Key had put up a shield for the others, she was still over with Danni, Lliam, and the other Blessed spirits. They were slowly taking down a group of restless spirits, but were not in over their heads just yet. I turned to the others and my heart sank. They were facing down Beleth. Lee had said something about defeating the angel first before the others showed. That was obviously out of the window. What could be done now? I felt fighting the demon was going to cause the same exact set of problems I was just facing.
I made the decision to rush over to Danni. “What do we need to do next?”
Danni finished sending off the spirit she had subdued. “Once we have Romulus hostage we can move on with everything.”
“How can you even hold a spirit hostage?” I asked exasperated.
“Stabbing it with one of our proper blades without actually having the gift,” Danni replied simply.
“So, Key seeing them doesn't technically count?” I was surprised.
“Different spell, different magic. She can see them and hear them, but has none of the gifts attached to it,” Danni explained.
“Perfect, but until then what?” I asked, desperate for some form of control over this situation. I had no idea how she had gotten all this information. Her past lives were busier and more informative than mine.
She looked at me and laughed for a moment. “Stay alive so you can complete this mission.”
I was surprised by her answer. “I think that’s more your role. We can’t do this without you.”
“The gates are closed. If I die, I can still guide this mission as long as you’re alive. Go help the others. We’re going to need their help here soon,” Danni replied, shooing me off and stepping back into the fray.
I felt like I was missing a key piece of this puzzle. Of course, I wanted to stay alive. Death did not sound or look fun, but why was I so important to this? Knowing no answers would come at this moment, I went back to the others and joined in the more direct fight with the demon.
Of course, the moment I joined the fight I knew Beleth recognized me. But there was a terrible plan already forming in my mind. Once he was able to turn his full attention to me, I dashed over to the angel. Marella was clearly angry to see me back, and even less excited to see who was on my heels.
“Only one being gets the honor of taking me down, but neither of you have the skill,” I taunted both of them.
The angel turned and looked appalled to see who this supposed competition was. A long series of angry words erupted from his mouth. Sadly, all were in a language I couldn’t understand.
The demon grunted and said something much longer in return. The mix of half words and growls made it sound menacing, but it was impossible to tell what it meant.
“Well, good job kid, they’re trying to decide if they should kill one another first or you,” Marella mumbled to me. “I think you’ll be much safer if you were temporarily not here.”
A blast of magic hit me before I could comprehend her words. For a moment it felt as if I was hanging in darkness, and then, suddenly I hit the ground hard. I was still in a forest but I couldn’t tell where. I sent my magic out, trying to find someone or something that would at least give me my bearings, but I couldn’t sense anyone.
I knew my reach wasn’t incredible, but it wasn’t too terrible. Where could I be that there was literally no one close by? I picked a direction and ran for a few minutes and tried again. Nothing. So I kept going in the same direction for a few more minutes. Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
I crumbled to the ground. This didn’t make any sense to me. It might be risky, but since no one was around I decided to access my spirit form. Something felt off, but I ignored it and tried to access the spirit realm. No matter how hard I tried though, I couldn’t. It dawned on me that Marella didn’t just move me out of sight but had actually sent me somewhere completely different from my own world.
Taking advantage of my spirit form, I let myself float above the treetops. Forest stretched out as far as I could see in all directions. The sky was very light, but despite a lack of clouds, I couldn’t find the sun.
There was no telling what time of day it was or how long I would be here, so I explored. Miles and miles of trees finally gave way to a giant lake and a connecting river. Following that eventually lead me to a small beach with crystal clear water. The further out it went the quicker the water darkened before it was pitch black instead of clear. I could only wonder what caused that. I followed it for a few miles before I was met with another beach. The water was black all the way up to the shore here. What an odd place…
But it was peaceful, or so it seemed to me. There weren’t many animals that I could see. Some birds and deer here and there, but that seemed to be about it. I’m sure there had to be more to this place.
Finally, I returned to my body. The sky was starting to turn gray and as the light lessened a sense of dread struck me. I couldn’t quite explain it, but I knew I wasn’t where I needed to be. That didn’t help me know where I should be. Anywhere b
ut here, my gut screamed.
Listening to the feeling, I moved on. The first direction I choose felt wrong and something inside me screamed to head for the lake. Where had Marella sent me? Somehow this place must be safer, but what was I about to get myself into?
A gripping urge to climb took hold of me and I scaled one of the taller nearby trees. Darkness was rapidly overtaking the sky and weird clicks could be heard in the distance. The sounds were coming from deeper within the forest. I could hear my heart beating loudly in my ears, and I tried to calm my breathing. Whatever was out there would likely not see me if I just kept quiet and still. That shouldn’t be too difficult. I hoped.
Waiting was always the worst part of anything. I could hear the clicking sounds getting closer, and spreading out. It was getting harder and harder to see now, and I realized I might be stuck in this very spot until dawn or at least until Marella arrived. I had one too many questions for her after this small adventure…
Finally, as the sounds got too close for comfort, a snap of a twig drew my attention to what looked like floating glowing eyes. I was sure the creature wasn’t just a pair of eyes, but that was all I could see. Varying specs of red and gold eyes slowly passed beneath me, and as they moved they made those odd clicking noises. I wondered if it was from moving or if that was how they communicated with each other.
As the numbers became less and less I felt a weight on the branch next to me and screamed.
Marella hushed me and the sounds of a hissing forest came to life. The creatures who had heard me quickly rounded on the tree.
“Oh, these creatures have lasted,” Marella said with a mixture of amusement and annoyance in her voice. She hissed back at them, the sound echoing more than it naturally should have.
They all stopped. Silence filled the air and for a few short moments, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. The clicking resumed and slowly they continued back on their journey – one by one they left the tree.
“What are they?” I asked softly, not wanting to draw their attention again.
“Failed spawn. There was a level between me and the lesser demons, and these are them. I’m surprised they haven’t faded from existence yet.” Marella watched them go for a moment before adding, “They only have one desire, and that is to kill. Anything they come in contact with they will rip to shreds… and more gruesome things, but those details aren’t necessary.”