by J E Mueller
“Anyway she confirmed you needed help and we split up. There was apparently no one guarding my mom anymore because of a commotion and I knew it had to be from something that was going on with you. So Tella took the lead with four at her side and I took the other three. Never seen Tells so excited to lead something. Though she was mad later that she didn’t get to rescue you.”
“I want to say she’ll get over it, but she may have an opportunity some day.” Hopefully my luck would change. “Julianna is my mother. She never crossed over and has been following me around since we first went to visit my family.”
Lee laughed. “I don’t know how you’ve managed to resolve all your conflicts with your family.”
“I don’t know about resolved.”
“The Mad King is confirmed dead,” Lee replied as we entered the dining hall. He set me down at one of the first long tables. “So that matter is completely over.”
“Good.” I smiled. Everything hurt, but if the Mad King was gone for good at least that battle was won. It meant everything to me that he had finally fallen.
“I’ll be just a moment,” Lee assured me as he went off in search of some water.
The dining hall seemed rather large to me. Six fairly long tables filled the main part of the area and two smaller tables on a raised platform stood at the head of the room. As I looked back Lee returned with a pitcher of water, two glasses, and Emmyth.
“It’s good to see you up,” Emmyth said with a smile.
“Every time someone says something like that I worry I’ve been out for three months,” I replied honestly.
“It’s only been two days. Healing bones takes a lot of energy out of the healer and the person being healed,” Emmyth explained.
I glanced at Lee.
He shrugged. “It was a good lesson. Never know when that’ll come in handy again.” He poured us each a glass of water.
“Hopefully not anytime soon. I’ve never heard a mother lecture anyone so much as yours,” Emmyth jokingly complained.
“Where is Juni, anyway?” I asked.
“She wanted to stay with a friendlier crew and is now with Celia,” Lee replied. “I think she just likes her more right now. She can’t make pacts and dive into a lower realm to complete a crazed rescue mission.”
“I’m not sure which of us you're talking about.” I laughed.
“Tella’s on the list too. We’re all in trouble right now,” Lee teased. “She’ll be happy when we can get her home.”
“So this pact you made…” I looked at him and took a long drink of water.
“It’s a short term contract. I have to do some demon slaying for the next three years. One month on, one month off give or take.” Lee replied honestly. “I’ve no doubt you’ll be wanting to travel with me. I’ve heard you’ve been practicing?”
“Yes. I got in a lot of practice in a short amount of time. It helped a fair bit.” I responded. Everything I had learned recently I did put into use.”
“Either way you’ll both need a lot more practice,” Emmyth teased. “At least everyone made it out all right.”
“I feel like that’s all the Order ever says. Lost a limb, but no big deal, everyone’s all right.” I joked back.
“Oh gods, yeah that did happen like two years ago. The hand puns were terrible. I can’t even fight as well as Dexter now. He really took his game up six notches,” Emmyth replied lost in his own memory.
“No thank you. The scars are enough for me.” I glanced at my arms. They looked pretty bad, but most would probably disappear without leaving me even more scared.
“Want to hear the best news though?” Lee asked excitedly.
Emmyth gave a strong clap. “Let’s hear it. Bring on the good news!”
“What’s going on?” I asked, confused.
“There was a lot going on when I finally made it to you,” Lee explained. “You were near dead, worse than what most said could be healed.”
“Not that that stopped eight of us from trying,” Emmyth interrupted.
“Anyway, so by the time we could start trying to heal you, your magic had dwindled and was unstable to the point of almost being gone. When we finally got you stabilized, none of us noticed that your cursed magic was gone.”
“What?” I asked, confused and feeling very much like myself. The warmth of my magic was clearly still there.
“You’ve got your fire magic, and for a few moments while you stabilized it was out of control… But in a good way. With your weakened state, it was finally able to destroy the curse. You just have strong elemental magic now. No curses, no more being extra attractive to demons. It wasn’t until we got out and those not involved saw you that the connection was made,” Lee finished excitedly.
I glanced at my hands as if that was where my magic was kept. “I truly feel no change.”
“Do you feel like you're controlling it, or is it just sitting there waiting to be used?” Lee gifted me a sly smile.
It dawned on me that I wasn’t controlling it. There was no effort there, not because I was used to it, but because there was no effort to be made.
My eyes widened. “It is gone!” I just about shouted.
“Yes, it is.” Lee smiled.
“When you’re well enough we’ll have a true celebration, Order of the Black Violet style!” Emmyth cheered.
I laughed. “I cannot wait to tell my family this… though I should probably leave out most of the details…”
Lee chuckled. “Though Zarek might be ready for a good tale like that, I agree. Keep it toned down for the rest of them.”
The next couple of days were a cycle of resting and healing followed by working on walking and moving my arm to rebuild my muscle and strength. Tella was a frequent visitor and helper, not having a need to train constantly. When I finally felt well enough to walk a reasonable distance, I made a visit to Juni and Celia.
They fussed over me for a few moments, making tea and getting us comfortable in the living room. Then came the questions and the scolding. That much I was expecting and endured willingly. It hadn’t been the best set of decisions ever made but I had no regrets in what I chose and the outcome had still been favorable.
Afterward, I made my way with Tella’s aid back to Kegan’s for a good dinner. She asked about what happened and I told her. Much to my surprise, she approved of my plan.
“The best plans are either loved by everyone or hated by everyone.” Kegan shrugged, picking up my empty plate.
“I can see how that’s possible.” I nodded. “But why do you like it?”
“It was to the point.” She shrugged again. “It needed to be quick, no time to dawdle, and worry if the others were okay or not. You knew they’d be fine. No questions. While it was dangerous for you, a situation being dangerous for one is better than it being dangerous for many. And that’s something my husband knew well. Still support those facts.” She gave a firm nod and took the dirty dishes away.
“That's awesome.” Tella smiled. “Kegan liked your plan. I bet that's a tough accomplishment.”
Laughing, I agreed, “That is probably why so many come to her for advice.” I felt proud of myself. It was nice knowing someone had agreed with the idea.
“What do you think you’ll do now?” Tella asked.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever have an answer for that question, honestly. What about you?” I asked instead. While a lot had changed for me, everything had changed for her.
She shrugged. “There’s someone else who can talk to ghosts in the Order. They’ve offered to help teach me what they know. I might be able to help ghosts cross over. I think that’s what I want to do. I don’t think all that demon slaying stuff is what I want for me, but it’s been fun.”
“You’ve got ages to decide anyway.” I smiled.
“So do you! You’re not that old.”
“I’m glad we both agree on that.” I nudged her. “Don’t rush your decisions and learn everything you can while we’re here.”
>
“I plan on it… and it’s not a bad trip here. Maybe we can visit?” She looked hopeful.
“There’s no way they’ve seen the last of us,” I promised her, “And we’re stuck here at least another week before I will be well enough to travel.”
When we finally made our way back, walking was getting very difficult. Lydia greeted us moments after we walked in.
“I heard rumors you were out and about,” she said happily to me before smiling at Tella.
“I still hate you for never telling me any of this.” Tella pretended to be insulted.
“Whatever. You could talk to spirits this entire time and never said a word.” She held up her hand and looked stern for a moment before they both broke into laughter.
“Go off with your friend,” I encouraged Tella.
“Don’t you need help still?” Tella looked conflicted.
“I’ll be fine. Go,” I insisted and watched them dash off.
I slowly made my way to the balcony. For once it wasn’t filled with people training or milling about. It was quiet, and late enough that dinner was over, but not so late that people weren’t still hanging out and enjoying one another's company.
It amazed me how many people were here. I had asked once before and found out that forty-five people regularly lived here, and that one hundred and eight people were in this order alone. It seemed like a lot but spread throughout the kingdom, it still wasn’t enough for all that was always going on.
“What’s on your mind?” Emmyth asked, joining me at the railing.
“I was thinking about how large this group is, and yet, so small at the same time,” I replied glancing over at him. “And how I am not ready to tackle so many stairs. I’ve really got to stop this near dying thing.”
“Let me know how that goes for you.” He chuckled. “At any rate, there’s no way Lee’s going to be given any missions alone for a long time. Hopefully, by that time, you’ll be up to par enough that it won’t matter anymore.”
“That’s a reasonable goal,” I agreed. “Until then.”
“Until then what?” Lee asked, joining us.
“I’ll be practicing so I stop almost dying,” I replied, feeling determined.
“Good plan,” Lee agreed, eyeing me carefully. “How was visiting my mother?”
“She was mad at me but happy to see me. She can’t wait until we’re ready to go back home. I think she’s ready for a more normal life again.”
“I can’t say I blame her.” Lee sighed. “You know, overall I think this was a good decision. We’ll see where it leads.”
“You know, I’ve worked my entire life to find an end to this curse,” I said gazing off into the empty training room. “I’ve no idea what to do now. I’ve never had any other long term goals.”
“How about sheep?” Lee asked.
I looked over at him and rolled my eyes. “Not sheep.”
Lee pretended to be shocked. “Not sheep? What is this world coming to?”
Emmyth stared at us in confusion.
“You’re not missing anything,” I said to him.
Lee laughed. “He’s clearly missing everything. Having sheep is the most important goal in life.”
“You’re both insane.” Emmyth shook his head, chuckling, “How about we just team up and see how things go from there?”
“I’m down for that,” Lee agreed.
“This could be a good team. We’ve got the awesome up and coming newbie,” I motioned to Lee, “The respectable warrior.” I pointed to Emmyth. “And then of course me, the one most likely to get injured.”
“Sounds like a good balance.” Emmyth laughed, nudging me with good humor. “Here’s to the new golden trio.” He held a fist up.
“Here, here!” Lee cheered.
Laughing, I joined in.
Whatever was to come next, I’d be ready, and we’d conquer it.
The story continues with
Spirit’s Lullaby
A Tune of Demons Book Two
Spirit’s Lullaby
This book is dedicated to Aud
Thank you for your constant support and hilarious insite. Your commentary has really helped shape this book and pushed me to improve my writing time and again. This story would be lifeless without you. Thank you for the inspiration, and puns.
1
I watched as Lydia pulled the sword from the final demon’s gut. It vanished in a less than exciting puff of smoke, and she limped her way across the small clearing to me. Covered in blood and sweat, we both looked a weary mess -not as the bards we were pretending to be. Thankfully, the density of the forest would protect us from being seen by any other traveling souls. Or so we hoped.
“What kind of fight was that?” I teased from where I sat. I tried to wipe the sweat from my brow but it seemed to only instantly reappear. “I’ve seen better footwork from a drunk, you useless cucumber.” After the last fews days, some humor was needed.
“Says the one who can’t...” Lydia raised her eyebrow at me. Unable to finish her retort, she waved me off. Her short, black curls were a matted mess from all the recent combats, and I didn’t even want to know how my longer brown hair looked. It would likely be easier to chop it off than untangle the mess it surely was. Ponytails only did so much to help.
“I’m not the ‘best dodger this side of the Order of the Black Lillies.’” I mimicked her the best I could.
With a huff, Lydia dropped to the ground next to me. “I was until you showed up.”
“Uhuh.” I didn’t buy it.
We sat silently for a moment while a nice breeze picked up. Everything ached from the last few weeks of traveling, and I was starting to want a real bed. Adventuring had sounded so much more fun hearing it from Key’s perspective. I now knew too well it was a few good stories and several weeks of dullness mixed together.
Still, a lot had been going on recently and I wondered what was the turning point in my life. It was Key. Five years ago, she happened to wander into our village just as chaos struck. In a few short weeks, I went from being bored because my best friend was out of town to being kidnapped, rescued, having my aunt kidnapped by demons, to finally revealing my own odd magic abilities. For the most part I still ignored those.
“Come on Tella,” Lydia groaned, pulling me from my thoughts with a jolt. “Just get yourself a contract and you could slay demons easily by my side!”
Being Blessed was an interesting concept. It was essentially the same as being Cursed, only in a more positive manner. A formal contract was involved, along with angels, and from what I understood, some form of ceremony. Through this, the Blessed gained extra magically enhanced talents of varying degrees and qualities. The common abilities for everyone were quicker self-healing, the ability to heal others even faster than healing themselves, being able to slay demons, and being able to actually see angels when they were in hiding. The price for these talents was simple: protect the world from demons for a set amount of years.
“You mean heal you after every battle?” I replied instead, once more brushing off the subject. It’s not like we hadn’t discussed it before. It was just more complicated than signing on the dotted line.
“That would be so great, thanks!” Lydia rolled on the ground in exaggerated pain. “Self-healing is so stupidly slow.”
“It’s still a faster pace than normal healing,” I said, getting up. “That’s what now, nine demons slain in two days? I think we should get back.” Normally we didn’t run into any trouble after a mission. That was the downside of having a Blessed best friend. The Blessed were like a magnet for demons. They were always trying to catch each other unawares. It caused an endless cycle of fighting for control of this plane of existence.
“But we didn’t complete the mission!” Lydia groaned loudly. She accepted my hand up after a moment of pouting.
“Only because someone beat us to it. The mission is done. Let’s get back to real beds, and food that doesn’t taste like mud.” I carefully move
d Lydia’s arm over my shoulder to give her extra support. Staying in the vicinity of a recent demon fight always attracted more demons, and we didn’t have the strength for that.
“Why won’t you join us?” Lydia asked for probably the fifth time this month. It was very uncommon for someone not Blessed to accompany one on a mission. Even less common for someone considered normal to know about the Blessed.
It was a long decision, and one she knew the answer to.
It wasn’t my path.
While it was harder to explain why, she knew the reason. There were layers of complications, and I wasn’t sure what to say about them. Overall, I was just happy we were on the same journey, even if our paths may eventually lead in different directions. Lydia had signed a pact ages ago, exchanging her soul for gifts from divine beings. They called them angels. Others preferred to call them the Divine’s Chosen.
I simply called them by their names. For some reason, that often irritated them.
Smirking at the thought, I glanced over at Lydia. “Because someone’s got to stand at your side and make you look good.” With only my normal magic, Lydia was the strength of our party. My gifts were very limited in usefulness. I was fast. I had super speed, and I could learn extra quickly. I ignored my other gifts. They had caused enough headaches, and I planned on fully diving into that quest again soon.
But first, dreams of a warm bed and a proper meal called me.
“Guess you’re right. A combo of your magic and Blessed magic would show me up at times. Only at times, though.” Her sassy smile was replaced with a grimace of pain.
“Right, let’s see if there's any healers or Blessed nearby.”