by Eric Vall
“Argh!” I yelled as I hit the ground on my back.
The sword sank into the demon’s midsection, but it didn’t stop the creature from still trying to snap at my throat. It slid farther down my upturned blade, even more enraged, and I had the horrifying thought that I’d miscalculated big time.
Suddenly, a white light pierced through the sickly red atmosphere and startled the demon out of its pursuit of tearing me apart. It shrieked in fear and scrambled off me with my sword still stuck through its middle, but it didn’t seem to care as it tried its hardest to run from the shaft of pure white.
I gasped when I realized the Duelist Stone around my neck was the sole cause of the phenomenon. Somehow, it must have come untucked from under my chest plate, but unlike when it had dimly glowed in the weapons cache with Jenner, the light that came from the Stone now was almost blinding.
I got to my feet and held the Stone out in front of me, and when I did, I discovered I could direct the beam of light, so I pointed it right at the demon.
It gave a squealing roar and tried in vain to scooch away as fast as it could, but it was almost as if something was holding it in place. Then, a second later, the six-foot demon exploded into ashes.
“Woah!” I shouted and flung an arm over my face to prevent the ashes from getting into my mouth and eyes, but I coughed a few times when I was a bit unsuccessful about the not-getting-it-in-my-mouth part. “That’s nasty.”
“Who are you?” came an awe-filled voice from behind me.
I turned and saw the young man who was tossed aside from earlier. He was sitting up in his spot where the demon had thrown him, and he stared at me with wide eyes and a slack jaw.
“He is Asher Alex Brightwood,” came Zoie’s proud voice as she stood up from her previously fallen position, and she sheathed her sword and walked closer. “He is one of Mercedes’ blessed warriors.”
“Yep,” I said. I was a little self-conscious, but I was relieved Zoie was okay, and I smiled at her. “That’s me.”
“Oh,” the man said, and after a beat, he fainted dead away.
“Ah, shit,” I said and walked over to him. I knelt to see if he was okay, and Zoie did as well. “Where did this kid come from?”
“He came from the palace,” Zoie replied and brushed his sandy hair back to examine the cut on his forehead. She then pulled an official looking envelope out of the kid’s satchel. “He’s the Lord Asher’s courier.”
I took the envelope from her and tucked it inside my jeans pocket for later.
The blood-red moon in the sky suddenly faded into a more natural white like the moon on Earth, which caused Zoie and me to look up.
The stars that were previously missing now sparkled and gleamed in the midnight blue sky. Sounds of life returned, the cold had lifted, and the very air even felt more natural to breathe.
I was startled to realize how fucking grateful I was for the normalcy of it all.
The scattered demon corpses I didn’t get around to ashing suddenly melted back into mounds of earth and clay as if they had never existed, and even the tacky blood all over Zoie and me evaporated under the light of the moon.
“What the fuck was that?” I finally had the coherence to blurt out. “Demons? Really?”
“How did you even do that?” Zoie asked as her katana hung in her limp grasp. She stared at me with a star-struck expression, and then she looked between me and the remains of the six-foot demon.
“Um, well,” I said and rubbed the back of my neck. “I just ashed it like you said?”
Suddenly, a glowing red light illuminated the ash pile where I’d killed the six-foot demon.
We both jumped to our feet with our swords held at the ready, but when no imminent threat was apparent, we lowered our weapons.
“Oh!” Zoie exclaimed as if something had just occurred to her, and she sheathed her katana as she jogged over to the ash pile.
“What’s going on?” I asked when I walked up behind her.
“The stories all say that when a herald demon is killed, it drops a core,” she said as she sifted through the ashes with the toe of her boot, and the dust swirled away until a gemstone the size of a marble was revealed in the center of the pile.
It pulsed a glowing red like a beacon.
“That’s a demon core?” I asked.
“Take it,” Zoie encouraged as she gave me a small scooch forward. “Only the Asher who made the kill can harvest the core. It is your reward for closing the portal, and it can be used to modify and enhance weapons.”
“Okay.” I shrugged and scooped up the glowing gem. The second my hand touched it, the light died, and it turned into an unremarkable ruby.
Zoie looked down at the gem in my palm and poked it with her finger. It didn’t do anything, so I tucked it away inside my pocket for safekeeping.
“I’ve never seen a demon before, much less a demon core,” she said and then gazed up into my face with a star-struck expression. “You are able to take on foes twice your size, your instincts are sound, and you ashed a herald demon without a blade. How is it you can do the things you do, Alex?”
“But I’m just me, I don’t--” I argued, but Zoie placed her fingers against my lips.
“Shh.” She shook her head and gestured toward the courier who was beginning to stir from his unconscious state again.
We both came back over to the poor guy and crouched back down to check on him. He still looked like he was out cold, but I figured there was still the chance he could wake up at any time.
I had to keep reminding myself I was supposed to be maintaining a low profile, and I needed to stop hollering about anything and everything that gave me alien culture-shock.
“Sorry,” I said. “I know you’ll explain more later.”
“Yes,” Zoie murmured as her eyes scanned our surroundings.
“Hey,” I said, and she looked at me when I moved a tangled strand of her black hair out of her face. “Are you alright?”
“I am fine,” she replied with a small smile. “That’s the second time you’ve asked about my well-being since we met.”
“Well, I’m starting to care about you,” I admitted with a shrug. “Quite a lot, actually.”
“You are a strange one, Alex.” Zoie’s smile faded, and she held my gaze as a current of electric tension passed between us.
We were still crouched over the courier with our faces drawing closer and closer until our breath mingled in the air before us, and I could swear I could hear our hearts beating together as one.
Zoie’s hand came up to cup my jaw, and we both moved in at the same time.
Her lips were just as soft and sweet as I remembered.
The first time she kissed me, I was caught unaware, but this time, I was prepared, so I brought my hands up to cradle her beautiful face and to deepen the kiss at the same time.
Zoie melted into my mouth and tilted her head to get a better angle, and I cupped the back of her neck and teased the seam of her lips with my tongue. I was rewarded for this with a little sexy gasp, and that was all the leeway I needed before I began kissing her in earnest.
“Urgh,” the unconscious courier groaned.
Zoie and I were abruptly reminded of where we were, and our lips broke apart with a smack.
“Ohhhh,” she breathed as she brought her fingertips up to her rosy lips. A pretty blush painted her cheekbones like a perfectly applied rouge, and I couldn’t help but feel a little proud at the dazed expression on her face.
If there was one thing I was deservedly cocky about, it was the fact I was a damn good kisser.
“Come on,” I said as I stood up. Then I lifted the courier up and slung him over my back so I could carry the poor guy fireman style. “Let’s get him back to the manor.”
“Yes, Alex,” Zoie said and returned to her stoic business-as-usual composure. “You go back to the manor with him, and I will try to find Jenner and Arvid.”
“Jenner told me he was going to try to put out th
e fire that started in the south pasture,” I said as I looked at the sky. “I don’t see any more smoke, but be careful.”
Zoie gave me another one of her shy smiles that caused my heart to skip. “The Red Moon is gone. I will be fine.”
“I know,” I said and grinned as she drew her wickedly sharp blade.
She nodded once more before she took off like a lithe inky shadow.
“Come on, pal,” I said to the unconscious guy drooling on my shoulder, and I hefted him higher up on my back. “Let’s go.”
When all of us reconvened a little later, we were all sitting back around the wooden table in the kitchen.
I was relieved Jenner and Arvid were okay even if they seemed a little smoked out. The tops of Jenner’s ears were covered in soot, and he kept trying to clean his monocle on any part of his tunic that wasn’t dirty. He wasn’t very successful, and in the end he gave up and let it drop to hang on the small gold chain clipped to the lapel of his jacket.
Arvid was the same as usual with his typical placid expression on his droopy sloth-like face. He was being tended to by Zoie, who was wrapping a bandage around his thick forearm from where he’d gotten burned.
The pale courier sat in front of me as I tended to him likewise.
“What’s your name, kid?” I asked as I helped him wrap a bandage around his own head.
“Rylan Daal, Lord Asher,” he said as he ogled at me with that same stunned expression he had right before he passed out.
I thought he was going to say more, but his mouth only gaped open a few times like a guppy, and it made him look younger than I first thought.
“How old are you, Rylan Daal?” I asked and pushed a cup of wine into his hands.
“The Goddess has blessed me with fourteen seasons,” he said and then chugged his wine like a champ.
“Woah, slow down, buddy,” I laughed, but a part of my brain filed away the fact that the people on this world used the word “seasons” for years.
He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and it was just the thing to snap him out of his shock because he began chattering a mile a minute.
“Lord Asher Mec sent me to grant you a summons for his gala, but the sky turned red like in all the stories! The ground was shaking, and I think I lost my balance because I fell down a hill and got turned around and--my satchel! Where’s my satchel?” The cascade of words stopped, and Rylan patted his body down as he looked all over for his messenger bag.
“Relax, lad,” Jenner spoke up, and he pointed to said satchel hanging on a hook by the door. He then set a bowl of Arvid’s fragrant stew on the table in front of Rylan with a thunk. “You did your job well. Now, eat.”
Rylan sighed in relief and pulled the steaming bowl closer, and he was just about to lift a spoonful to his mouth when he paused. “But Night Fast--”
“This is no ordinary Night Fast,” Jenner said in that blunt but kind way of his. “You’ve just received a terrible shock, and you need your strength.”
“It was terrible.” The spoon in Rylan’s hand was forgotten as he looked off into the distance. “There was an awful noise, and then I was being chased by… by them. Demons! I’d never seen one before, and I don’t ever want to see one again.”
“Hey, you and me both, amigo,” I said. Poor kid looked like his whole world had just been flipped upside down. I felt sorry for him, so I bro-punched him a little in the shoulder to snap him out of it.
He focused back on me, and his face brightened instantly when I gave him an encouraging smile.
“But then you were there!” he continued with that awe-filled voice again. “I woke up, and you were fighting this huge demon, and you Ashed him so hard he exploded! Is it supposed to happen like that? That’s not how they describe it in the legends.”
“Errr,” I started and didn’t know how to finish. My gaze darted between Jenner and Zoie for help, and Jenner stared back at me with an unreadable expression.
“Only the most powerful Ashers can channel Mercedes’ blessing and cause that to happen to a herald demon,” he began and put his monocle back into its rightful place.
“A herald demon!” the kid exclaimed as he was amped up even more.
Zoie’s ears went back as her head whipped toward Jenner. She hissed quietly under her breath, but Jenner pretended not to hear her.
“You best remember that, boy,” Jenner went on and leaned back in his seat. “You owe your very life to Asher Brightwood.”
Jenner’s speech did nothing for this kid’s blooming hero-worship of me because Rylan immediately jumped up and bowed deeply at the waist.
“Thank you, Asher Brightwood,” he near-shouted, “if not for you, I would not have my life!”
“Uh, sure,” I said and rubbed the back of my neck. “Don’t mention it.”
“Sit down and eat your stew, you silly boy,” Jenner grumbled.
Rylan went to do just that, but then Jenner interrupted him.
“But say nothing!” he said and stood up from the bench with both hands on the table, and the sudden action made Rylan drop his spoon with a clatter. “Only tell your Lord what you have witnessed here today. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Rylan replied in a grave tone.
“Good,” Jenner huffed and sat back down. “Don’t forget the bread, there’s a lad.”
Rylan nodded and tucked into the stew with gusto. Every so often, he would stop and stare at me when he thought I wasn’t looking, and every time I caught him, he would just grin around his bulging cheeks before returning to his task of trying to shovel as much food into his mouth as quickly as possible.
It was awkward but kind of endearing at the same time, like being followed around by a puppy, and by the end of Rylan’s second helping, I was rather glad the kid didn’t get killed after all.
After he was full, Zoie, Jenner, and I walked Rylan out to the main path back to the road.
“Thanks again, Asher Brightwood,” the courier said and looped his messenger bag over his shoulder. “It was an honor to have met you.”
“It’s all good, bud,” I said and patted him on the back.
“I will name my first-born son after you, and I hope he becomes an Asher so he can defend us with Mercedes’ blessing just like you,” he rattled off with enthusiasm.
“Um--” I said.
“Run along, boy,” Jenner broke in, “and make sure you speak of this only to your Lord.”
“I promise,” Rylan said, and with a gawky wave, he took off at a run.
“You really don’t expect him to keep what he saw a secret, do you?” Zoie asked Jenner after the eager courier disappeared from sight.
“Of course not,” Jenner chuckled. “Mercedes willing, he’ll tell every single person he runs into.”
“Do you realize what you’ve done?” the cat-woman hissed. “You’ve just put a target onto Alex’s back!”
“Oh, please,” Jenner said as he swatted away her concern like a bothersome fly. “If anything, I will have made those who want to kill him think twice before they try.”
“Or the opposite!” Zoie argued.
“It was a risk I was willing to take,” Jenner said in a tone that signaled the discussion was closed. He cleaned his monocle again and started walking back to the manor, but then he stopped with his back to Zoie and me. “The gala is tomorrow, and you and Mr. Alex need to rest. I am assuming there will be a lot to talk about with everyone there.”
“You made sure of that,” Zoie muttered under her breath, but by the way Jenner’s big ears twitched, I had a feeling he heard what she’d said anyway.
He didn’t respond, though, and continued walking.
“Maybe Rylan will keep his mouth shut,” I said as Zoie and I watched Jenner go inside.
“Not likely,” Zoie grumbled and released an exasperated huff. “Jenner knew exactly what he was doing. By tomorrow, everyone will know what you have done, you’ll see. You’ll be the talk of the whole city, and every single Asher will be trying to figure out ho
w powerful you are. They’ll want to know if you are going to be an ally or someone they can duel to get your new possessions.”
Well, shit.
So much for flying under the radar.
I sighed and followed Zoie back up to the manor.
Chapter 5
Zoie showed me how to get to my room again because being dragged the two whole times when I was delirious with exhaustion did not help my memory in the slightest.
When we parted, it was on polite terms, but the atmosphere felt a little stilted between us. I could tell she was still angry with Jenner even though I didn’t understand the full reasons for why. Also, I figured she must have been just as exhausted as I was, if not more so.
In fact, it was all I could do to take off my boots and breastplate before I collapsed face first onto the bed as sleep swallowed me whole.
My dreams were treacherous that night. Instead of the multicolored flashes I had before Jenner ripped me out of bed to fight the Demon Apocalypse, my dreams this time consisted of only darkness.
Well, not just darkness. There was also the ever-present sensation of being rocked and set adrift on a fathomless ocean.
“Alex,” a voice the color of storm blue called to me from across the deep sea. “Alex.”
“Mmmm?” I mumbled and turned my head farther into the soothing hand I felt combing through my hair.
“Wake up, my husband,” Zoie’s voice floated through my consciousness, and I swam to the surface.
I opened my eyes, and the room was dark except for the soft glow of a lantern held high in Zoie’s hand.
The lantern itself reminded me of a cordless rock salt lamp with a crude rope that acted as the handle. The soft pinkish light pulsed and flickered almost like torchlight, and it seemed to cast a glowing halo down on Zoie’s head from above.
She looked like an angel sitting there on the side of my bed.
Her ebony hair was brushed through and loose, and it cascaded down from her fluffy cat ears in a waterfall over one of her shoulders. The simple white sleep dress she was wearing was thin and gauzy, and the garment clung to her curves just right. I could even see the small peaks of her pert nipples as they brushed against the soft material. It made her look open and vulnerable in a way that contradicted how fierce and capable I knew her to be. There was something so alluring and mystifying about her, and I looked forward to peeling back more of her many layers.