by Bruce Sentar
“Are you okay?” Hank the richly dressed wizard asked.
Dar didn’t miss how his eyes wandered up and down him, checking out what he was wearing, looking for whatever had allowed Dar to not only survive getting slammed into the ground by the trolls but be up and moving afterwards.
“Fine.” He dusted himself off and looked back towards the forest. The fight wasn’t over yet and it certainly wasn’t time for pleasantries. Not that he wanted to have this conversation at any point.
He spotted several of the mantis-type devils lingering in the shadows of the forest, watching as the wizards routed the trolls they had sent. But that wasn’t what had Dar worried. There was something much, much larger lurking in the shadow of the forest.
“Get ready. They are coming.” Dar squared himself off against the mantises, glad the other wizards had joined the fight.
Several of the mantis devils leaped, but thankfully, none of them blurred into action like the one he’d fought earlier. A shallow relief filled him as they wove their way in a mesmerizing dance towards the battle.
As the blade-armed devils came at him, Dar realized his best shot before was using his sword to combat them. He’d have to figure out a new approach this time. With a lack of better options, Dar grabbed the oversized club from the dead troll and started swinging into the charging mantis.
He felt the impact as he hit, but the mantis’s arm had dug into the wood. It used it to ride his swing and avoid any serious impact.
Realizing that strategy wasn’t going to work very well, Dar tossed the club at the height of his swing and shifted back as the mantis dove upon him and the rest of the wizards.
The displays of dao they had shown previously didn’t work as well with agile opponents that slid back and forth. The wizards telegraphed their attacks in the movements and directions of their weapons, allowing the faster devils to dodge them.
The mantis became more successful than the trolls, a gout of red blood spraying into the air and signaling the wizards’ first death. Dar wondered how many they had lost in similar battles as he moved forward.
But Golum beat him to that mantis, using the moment of opportunity to cover the mantis in ice. Seeing an opportunity to help, Dar came over and slammed the frozen mantis to the ground, killing it with a satisfying crash of ice.
“Behind you,” Cherry called out. He acted on instinct, rolling to the ground to avoid whatever she was warning him about.
A breeze passed over him, and a mantis sank its arms into the ground where he’d just been.
Dar rolled onto his side, letting loose a blast of heat and cooking the devil before it freed itself, not thinking about the implications. At this point, he didn’t care about the consequences. This was a battle for his life.
“Dar!” Cherry screamed again, but this time it wasn’t a call of warning. The plea for help was clear in her voice, and a flare of adrenaline surged within him. He had to find her.
Blasting through the nearby mantis, he pivoted towards her voice, spotting her immediately. A mantis had her pinned against the briar patch. He was fairly certain she could maneuver her way out of it, but it would require her to show her full power.
In his adrenaline rush, his vision to the sides became unfocused, his predatory instinct solely honed-in on the devil that was harming Cherry.
Charging forward, Dar dropped his shoulder and tackled the mantis into the briar patch, using his bar-fight-honed skills to pummel the devil into the ground. And this time, his hits were far more fatal.
The mantis went limp after a sharp crack.
Dar rolled off it and bounced back up to his feet, ready for the next one. But right then, the main battle was a bit further to the side.
Wizards were slinging enchanted attacks in an effort to keep the attacking mantis devils at bay, but the agile devils bobbed and wove through the attacks with surprising skill.
Dar hung back, watching the fight to see what he could learn about the wizards. He noted that the spells the mantis seemed to be able to dodge could easily cause him harm. He tried to figure out how he could join the fight, but felt Cherry tug at his sleeve, obviously sensing his intention.
“Don’t,” Cherry pleaded. “If you get hit by one of those spells, I don’t know if I’ll get you back.”
There were tears in her eyes that tugged at his heart strings. “I won’t, but we aren’t done.”
Catching his breath, he shifted himself to get closer to the wizards, hoping a mantis would break free from the barrage and give him an opening.
“Get back in there!” Golum shouted at Dar, but Dar only snorted in response. Even if it caused him trouble later, he wasn’t jumping into that maelstrom of dao.
A mantis slipped under a spray that looked like a localized blizzard, and launched itself forward, finally giving the opening Dar had been watching for.
Dar was there, tackling the mantis, his hands grabbing its wrists and pushing the blades back. He pinned the thing, too worried about using his dao this close to the wizards.
“Kill it,” he yelled, as a frosty blade brushed past his face and skewered the devil. Dar looked up, glaring at the wizard who had sent the blade.
“I got it, didn’t I?” Henry turned away and continued using the same enchantment into the crowd of mantis.
It took some work, but they whittled down the devils to nothing. Dar kept waiting for the larger creature to show up as they were weakened and distracted, but it never did come. As they finished with the final mantis, the field became quiet.
Dar looked into the forest, and deep in the shadows, he could have sworn he saw something watching from within. It didn’t seem to intend to join this fight, which only made him more concerned. He wondered if the entire battle had just been another probe.
“Got ‘em,” a wizard said behind Dar.
“Huh?” Dar turned towards the wizard that had spoken. And when he looked back, the form he thought he’d seen was gone. An eerie feeling filled him.
“Cherry.” He turned to the lovely spirit, who tilted her head like a confused kitten.
Sighing, Dar realized she was back in character. He’d have to ask her later.
“You did very well.” Golum smacked Dar's arm.
“Thank you. But that was my first time seeing other wizards in action. You were all incredibly effective with your spells.”
Golum nodded. “We’ll work with you on how to become just as strong. In large part, it is about collecting the correct enchantments and working with your spirit to combine them to deadly effectiveness. Whatever you used to make your body like stone was impressive. Didn’t know a man, even a wizard, could survive getting knocked around like that.”
Dar felt his lips twitch. “I’m pretty durable.”
“Indeed, something that is a struggle for wizards. In fact, it’s one of the things that puts us at a disadvantage against the ancient races. What enchantments do you use, anyway?” Golum’s eyes grew a bit hungry, watching Dar.
Dar realized that Cherry was right. With the skills they already had, making their bodies stronger would give them a serious advantage. Right now, it only took one false move and they could die like the wizard in the battle.
“It certainly is an advantage, one we wouldn’t want to lose too easily,” Dar hedged, he needed to speed up his plan to leave the city.
“Ah but to protect the city you might need to. Not to mention it would put humankind on an even footing to the growing dangers.” The way Golum was looking at him reminded him of a certain ring-obsessed halfling. The only other time Dar had seen that sort of look was an addict ready for their fix.
“Cherry, let’s go.” Dar moved away, but Golum caught his arm before he took a step.
“Don’t forget our meeting tomorrow. Don’t bring the spirit; it is best if she doesn’t see it coming.”
Nodding slowly, he did everything he could to keep a grimace off his face. Moving away, he scooped up Cherry, not pausing in his stride as he walked back tow
ards the city.
“Dar, what about all the corpses?” she said in a hushed voice.
He watched as the surviving militia began dragging the bodies free from the fields. They needed to move the bodies away from the city so they didn’t spread disease.
“Will they burn them?” he asked.
“This close to the city? No, they’ll bury them in the woods.” She looked up at the setting sun. “Though probably not today, they’ll just move them. No one will want to work in the woods tonight.”
Dar nodded, already having an idea. “We’ll go out tonight, with your help. I’d like to bring them into my inner world.”
Cherry bit her red lips and nodded. “We can do that.”
“I didn’t get a chance to thank you, but you saved my life. Even as durable as I am, if you didn’t cover me in those vines, I’m pretty sure I’d be done.”
“I’d never let that happen to you.” She gazed up at him, sincerity and something else shining in her eyes. He realized it was a deep longing that spoke of attachment far beyond the short bit of time they’d had together.
Falling into the moment, he started to lean forward, wanting to kiss her. But her expression shifted, and she used her hands to push herself back from him.
“Dar, stop,” she whispered.
He pulled back, embarrassed and a bit confused. He had really felt in the moment that she wanted him. Continuing to walk forward, he really wished she wasn’t in his arms and he could just go get some time on his own.
“Dar.” Her voice held urgency that made him look back at her. “There are too many people around. Stupid, stupid.” She punctuated her statement with a sound of pure frustration. He could still feel the sexual tension, which just made him even more confused.
“Um, sorry. I guess I shouldn’t have done that. I thought we were having a moment?” he mumbled it, feeling awkward.
Cherry paused, looking around to see who was paying attention before she leaned in and whispered into his year. “To be clear, I want to rip your clothes off and fuck you right here. Especially after watching you in battle. BUT that would really make the wizards descend on you in an instant.”
“Oh.” Dar couldn’t help but feel the smile stretch across his face. He had read the mood right—now just wasn’t the time. “I guess that makes sense. But why would the wizards care?”
“You and Sasha, you and me… it isn’t normally accepted, Dar. It’s just not done. Sasha was too embarrassed to tell you, but we’re not seen as being your equal.” Cherry looked down at the ground. “Not to mention how would the wizards feel about your ability to train me if they saw that.”
“Why? And who cares what they think.” He wasn’t buying this hate that people seemed to have for those that are able to step on their dao path. If anything, it seemed like a blend of jealousy and fear. If anything, people should fear the wizards that seemed to have a screw loose and were too eager to grab at power.
“That doesn’t matter to me, Cherry. You and Sasha are amazing women.”
Cherry squeezed his arm. “Thank you, and make sure you tell Sasha that.”
The dryad did her best to keep up her airhead persona, but a smile kept creeping onto her face as they walked closer to the city.
He couldn’t help it as his eyes wandered over her, enjoying her happiness. Dar had come to care about both the girls in his life. It made him want a home with them even more, one they wouldn’t have to keep defending. He’d find a way to break them out of the city.
His thoughts were broken as shouting broke out.
“Kill the lot of them. We didn’t get attacked until they came here.”
Dar felt his brows press down, having a bad feeling about what they were about to walk into. A group of spirits were huddled against the city wall, like they had been placed there in the event of the militia failing to defend the city.
People were scared after the attack, and he didn’t blame them. Many of them had likely lost someone they knew in the militia; there were hundreds if not over a thousand dead. But that didn’t give them the right to take it out on innocent spirits.
“It’s their fault; the devils only came to eat their dao.”
“Burn them!”
Dar's jaw clenched tightly as he heard that. The discussion was growing more heated, and he didn’t like where it was going.
“Stop.” His voice rang through the air with enough force to cause a momentary pause of their beratement. “The devils didn’t come because of the spirits.”
“What do you know?”
“Spirit lover!”
The crowd grew angrier and turned to include him in their ire. These people were beyond listening to anything Dar said. Their fear had morphed into something dangerous that simple words would do nothing to solve.
“All of you, go home.” Dar instead focused his attention on getting the spirits out of the area before anything escalated. They bolted at his instructions, and he pushed through the crowd, wanting to make sure they made it to safety.
Several of the spirits looked over their shoulder at Dar as they fled back into the city. The whole place was still jittered with the energy of battle, even though it had ended and the devils from the attack were dead.
Well, almost all the devils. Dar still couldn’t help but think back to the ominous shape in the forest. He had a feeling today was just the tip of the iceberg.
“Dar!” Sasha jumped into his arms as he made it past the city gates.
For the first time, he noticed a few sniffs in the crowd at her actions. He ignored it but made a mental note. They could be bothered all they want; he just got a hug from a beautiful woman after returning from battle. He pitied them more than anything for the missed opportunities.
“Sasha, I love you. But I need to get you somewhere more protected; everything here is escalating. I want to move up the plan.”
She stared back. “I love you too—” Her statement was cut off as her eyes tracked a man who Dar saw wore an expression of pure disgust. “Dar…” she hesitated.
“Don’t care. He’s stupid,” Dar dismissed her concern, and when he did, he could practically see a weight lift off her shoulders. “But we need to speed everything up. Let’s head back to Margret’s where we can talk.”
Chapter 23
Working through his recap of the day’s events, Dar sat with Sasha and Cherry on the bed, with Amber and Marcie sitting nearby in the bedroom. It seemed like the most private space to keep away from wandering ears as they figured out what to do next.
Taking in their somber faces, he wrapped up. “It isn’t going to get better for non-humans. I actually think it is about to get far worse. If these waves of devils keep coming, food is going to be in tight supply. Once that happens, the sentiment of the city is going to sour far quicker than any of us realize.”
Nodding, Cherry added, “I have seen what hunger can do to people; it can bring out the worst in them. Neighbors turn on neighbors, and anybody different is an immediate target.”
“But they are building the outer wall around the farms,” Marcie pointed out, a plea in her voice, but the rest of the girls shook their heads slowly, giving her a look to let her know it wasn’t enough.
“It’ll be too little too late. Just the amount of crops trampled today will severely cut the last harvest of the season,” Sasha said gently, playing with the bed sheets in thought. “We need to move quickly. How many days do you think we have?” She looked up at Dar.
“I’d like to get out of here in two days. Tomorrow the plan is to talk to the ancients in the tavern, update Amber’s father, and work on getting me a weapon. I’d like something that can do damage at a distance. After watching the wizards today, I’m not sure I could take them down if I needed to without something to help me.”
Looking at Cherry, Dar wasn’t sure how to ask her if she had any enchantments that might help him, and he wasn’t sure how she would feel about that. But she must have read the look on his face because she shook he
r head.
“Sorry, Dar, I don’t have the right dao to make something like that. Everything I do is still tethered to plants.”
“You could get a bow?” Amber tried to help.
It didn’t seem like a bad idea, but he also thought of the bows he’d seen so far. With his enhanced strength, he should look for something bigger and sturdier. “Do they make bows to kill trolls?”
The girls frowned. “No. You’d need something bigger like a ballista to launch an arrow large enough to do more than annoy a troll.”
Dar thought about that and put the idea aside. Top priority was still a sword, but he’d need to figure out how he could fight from a distance as well.
A beam of orange light from the setting sun streamed into the room, shifting to hit his eyes. Shifting on the bed, he moved to get it out of his face, realizing that it was almost dark enough to possibly sneak out.
Turning to Cherry, Dar asked, “Still up to come with me to the forest tonight?”
“Yes, though I’m still not sure how we are going to sneak you out of the city. The guards are going to be on high alert tonight, watchful for any lingering devils.”
But Dar wasn’t as worried. City walls were meant to keep things out, not in. He felt confident he’d be able to slip out. Getting back in was going to be the hard part. “I’ll figure it out. Worst case, we wait to re-enter until morning and come in through the gates.”
“That’ll raise questions,” Sasha pointed out.
He shrugged. “I don’t see why they’d make much of a fuss over it. It may look odd, but they won’t have any evidence of wrongdoing. I’ll play it off as being an odd new wizard leaving at night and coming back in the morning.”
Sasha chewed her lip and looked at Cherry, who nodded as assurance. “It’ll be fine. And I’ll be with him.”
The witch sighed. “Fine. But you better come back to me, Dar. Don’t make me hunt you down.”
“No way I’d not return.” He leaned over and kissed her.
Her hand slipped to his shoulders and held him there, savoring him.