by J E Mueller
Marella shrugged and ran her fingers through her dark auburn hair. She was exactly as she had always been. Tall, pale, and deadly.
“Why do you haunt this place but never get vanquished?” It was a curious question - not one you often got to ask a demon.
Marella smiled slyly. “You have to be bad to be vanquished, and I have done nothing wrong.” Her chuckle made me believe otherwise.
I knew little about her. She was a very powerful demon - one of the few that could take a human form while in this realm. I never saw her too close to the town, but sure enough, the second I was here alone she’d appear. It started when I first visited the grave alone when I was about six, a few months after my father passed away. I was angry, and had come to yell at him. While I had succeeded in doing so, Marella appeared.
She wasn’t surprised I was angry, and didn’t fault me for it. Instead, she told me to seek comfort from my family. It was years before I realized she was a demon. Her attitude toward me had never made me think she was anything but a wandering person until I was old enough to question why she was always here.
“What brings you by this time, small child?” she asked me.
It was my turn to roll my eyes at her. “I’m hardly a child.”
She clicked her tongue. “Oh, but you are still. I believe you’re at least several hundred years younger than me.”
I blinked at her. “What brings you here?” I asked instead of responding.
“I wanted to visit my favorite friend. It’s not often you stop by anymore,” she replied sweetly. Her tone seemed genuine, but I had little to say in reply.
“Life has been busy.”
“Traveling with the Blessed does that.” Marella smirked.
“I’ve no idea where you get this information.”
“I’m not without my sources.” She grinned. “Now, back to you, dear friend. What are you doing here today?” Marella leisurely walked around me.
“Probably should have you vanquished,” I grumbled.
“I’m too quick and strong for that. Now, stop avoiding the subject.”
“Isn’t it obvious? The same as always,” I replied, motioning to the graveyard. “I’m here to… visit.”
“What good does it do you?” There was genuine curiosity in her voice.
“We get to have these pointless little chats.” I shrugged. That really did sum up what happened every time I visited.
For a moment she said nothing. Then she laughed. “Well then, as long as you look forward to yelling at the stone and arguing with me.”
“I’m not here to yell at the grave,” I replied. I watched her continue her slow walk around me. “He’s long gone. There’re no more answers than there were yesterday, but I don’t think much would be different if he was here.”
“That may or may not be.” She smiled. “I do have the answers you’re looking for.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s what you’ve said before. I don’t care to know your price.” I got up and started walking away.
“Here’s an answer without a price. Your answer starts here.” I stopped and turned to watch her point to my father's grave.
“I believe I narrowed down that much when I was six,” I replied as I started walking away once more.
“But did you turn it into a question you could use?” Marella asked as she chuckled. “Maybe look less for spoken answers, and more for similar tragedies befalling the young.”
I paused. I didn’t like how this sounded. I refused to turn to look at her. “Are you saying that this… magic as it seems to be called, that this gift is only for children who had my same… history?” I struggled to choose my words.
No response came. When I turned to look at her, she was gone. Damned demons. At least the weaker ones were quick to get to the point. They wanted to fight the Blessed. I traveled with the Blessed, so they wanted to fight me. Easy. Done. Marella made no sense. I had no idea what her game was, and despite her tendency to be annoying, she did genuinely seem to be harmless to me. Why would a demon go rogue and choose to be neutral?
With more questions than answers, it was time to leave. I couldn’t help but be curious about her free advice. It was true, I hadn’t been directly looking for someone with a similar situation. It wasn’t a very polite conversation. Did you have a parent go insane and nearly murder you at a young age?
Psh. There was no way I was going to ask something like that.
But Marella had a point. I was looking for someone who was known to see spirits instead of looking for what could be tell-tale signs of someone like me. I’m sure they would have similar reasons for hiding their magic like I had for so long.
I noticed Lydia standing at the edge of the forest. “What are you doing here?”
She nodded back the way I had come. “I figured you would be visiting.”
“That obvious?” I sighed, stopping a few steps in front of her.
“Anytime things get heated with your family,” she agreed, walking up to me. “There’s nothing wrong with a visit, right?” Lydia looped her arm through mine and we walked back toward the village. “How did it go?”
“Marella was there.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were making her up.” Lydia sighed. “I never sense her, and I can sense demons from a pretty fair distance.”
“She is more powerful than your average coal looking creature,” I reminded her.
“Yeah, you’ve said. And I know you know the difference. It’s just weird. Why would she hang out around here, and why has she talked to you and you alone for so long?” Lydia wondered aloud, not for the first time.
“Let me know when you figure that out.” I laughed tiredly. The mystery continued. “Anyway, we don’t know if she talks to others or not. All we know is she’s never actually said anything about a pact to me. Nothing. She didn’t even want to admit to being a demon until she knew I was certain about what she is.”
“She’s a strange one for sure. I wonder why she never visits if I’m with you,” Lydia mused.
“Might have something to do with you being Blessed,” I suggested.
“Maybe.” Lydia considered the idea. “But if she really is so much stronger than most demons, why would it matter? I wouldn’t be able to do anything, right?”
“Maybe she is hiding because if you had more information about her you’d hunt her down?” I asked, throwing the most logical idea out there.
“Actually, yes. That would probably be the best bet.” Lydia nodded. “Even if she has turned a new leaf, there is probably much too long of a list of sins to ignore. She should be taken down. Sure, I’d have to get more than a little help, but it would be worth it.”
“That might be the exact reason to hide.” I considered her side for a moment. “If you saw her, you might be able to recognize her and her past sins. While you alone couldn’t stop her, you could bring reinforcements and track her down. If she’s turned a new leaf, she wouldn’t want you to see her because then she’d have to kill you. That wouldn’t do this new path she’s on any good. Can a demon be redeemed?”
“No,” Lydia replied fiercely. “It takes too much to be that evil, even at a lower level. To be as strong as she is now, she has done unspeakable things. Nothing would right her wrongs.”
I dropped the subject. Lydia’s heated opinion had been formed by a lifetime growing up learning how to track and slay demons. While I couldn’t argue that Marella had to be pretty horrible at one point to have been as strong as she was, I was still interested in her side of the story. It was unlikely I’d ever hear it, though.
Surprisingly, brunch went without incident. My mother decided to ignore the fact I was leaving for an undetermined period of time and said she’d see me soon. She left before much else could be said. Juni gave us a proper farewell.
“Travel safe, girls!” Juni stated cheerfully. “Will you be traveling with the others?”
“Nah, they’re too noisy.” Lydia dismissed the idea.
“I wouldn’t say they are too noisy,” I attempted to explain. “But when we are all together that’s usually the case.”
“I blame them.” Lydia shrugged.
“I think it’s ninety percent you debating with Emmyth.” I rolled my eyes at her.
Juni smiled. “Are you interested in Emmyth? He seems nice.”
Lydia couldn’t help but laugh a bit too loudly. “Oh no, not at all. I’m not interested in men.”
“Oh, okay then.” Juni laughed in surprise. She continued to laugh for a moment before just smiling. “Well, I hope you find someone. Emmyth does seem like quite the debater.”
“Ugh, tell me about it.” Lydia rolled her eyes. “At least he’ll argue both sides. You never know what points he’ll make. It can be fun.”
I had known that about Lydia for several years. However, unless asked, Lydia was never interested in talking about relationships, so it made sense that Juni hadn’t heard.
“What about you, Tells?” Juni asked me curiously.
I shrugged. “I’m not overly interested in any of that right now.”
I hadn’t considered a relationship at all recently, to be honest. Not that there weren’t some good options on both sides of the spectrum, but I didn’t think most would work out. Randomly having a conversation with a spirit someone else can’t see seemed to set people on edge. A crush would have to accept that part of me before I could ever consider anything else.
Juni, ever supportive, nodded. “You seem happy enough doing what you’re doing. That’s all that matters.”
“You’re the best,” Lydia declared as she waved and started to head out of town.
I smiled at my aunt. “Thank you. I am.”
She smiled and started to wave before she froze. “I almost forgot!” She quickly disappeared inside and returned with a small bag. “For your travels.”
I went to open it, but Juni shook her head. “Go catch up with your friend. I’m sure it’ll serve you well.”
Confused for a moment, I shrugged. “Okay. Thanks, Auntie!” I hugged her and dashed to catch up with Lydia.
Lydia glanced over as I caught up. “What’s that?” She nodded toward the pouch.
“Let’s find out,” I replied as I opened it. My hands slid across several stones and I smiled at Lydia. “I think we may have some luck on our side.”
“Enchantments?” Lydia’s eyes widened.
I pulled one of the stones out and glanced at the rune. It was a simple one - the top looked almost like a pickaxe and the bottom the same in the opposite direction. “I think this one is for defense.”
“So what, you wear it and it adds to your defense?” Lydia questioned as we made our way out the front gates.
“That’s the general idea. It’s supposed to keep you safer and ward away things that intend you harm. But with a twist.” I smiled slyly at her. “Say we were circled by a few too many demons. We could break it and it would provide us with a temporary magical barrier. A few extra minutes to catch our bearings could be the difference between victory and death.”
“Why didn’t we get these sooner?” Lydia laughed, taking the stone from me looking it over. “This is wonderful.”
“They are hard to make. I know they take a lot of time and magic to create. A simple enchantment doesn’t take too much, but that barrier? Yeah, this is a great gift.” I pulled out a few more to see what we now had. It was only defense, but with my extra speed and Lydia being able to heal, it was the perfect balance we needed.
“I hope she gave some to your cousin,” Lydia said, handing the stone back to me.
“I’ve no doubt she gave some to Lee,” I agreed, putting them away. “Hopefully we don’t ever need to use these.”
“I wonder how she does that extra little enchantment?” Lydia thought aloud.
“Divine intervention,” I replied simply. I knew how they were made, but since I had no skill with enchanting it made no difference.
“What do you mean by that?” She glanced my way. “Gods don’t give extra gifts and there’s no reason an angel would aid in making trinkets.
“Not a single reason, eh?” I raised an eyebrow at her. I couldn’t help but smirk. “Minions of the heavens are so pure and good they never intervene.”
“Oh, stop that.” She waved off my comment. “Fine, there can be some chaotic good going on here, but I still don’t see why someone would risk banishment for something other than love. Which is more of a slap on the wrist, anyway.”
“It’s one and the same.” I laughed, trying to help her figure it out. “Who is Lee’s dad?”
“Oh, so the extra enhancement is probably more for his benefit.” Lydia caught on. “I hope that’s not seen as too much dabbling in human life, though.”
I shrugged as we entered the forest. The greenery looked wonderful in the sun. A small breeze let the leaves dance for us as we continued on our way. I felt my muscles relax, the tension from home fading as the forest hid it from view.
“These rules don’t always make sense. I get leaving normal humans out of it. Letting them live a more peaceful life, but the rest is just nonsense,” I commented, thinking about the various things I had learned since I began traveling with Lydia.
“What do you mean?” she asked, confused.
“There’s a lot of deception for team good guy,” I replied and held up a hand before she could comment. “I get it. Some is needed to keep the peace, but some things are really sketchy. Like the whole kid situation. Humans in love with angels are dumped because the angels have other duties to attend to, and the human is stuck raising a kid all on their own. Most aren’t even told their kid is going to have extra gifts. It’s pretty shady.”
Lydia was about to reply but couldn’t seem to think of an appropriate answer.
“Do they answer prayers? Demons answer calls. Can angels, or are they not allowed to, but do anyway?” I asked knowingly.
“Okay, so there are some weird sets of rules.” She sighed.
I already knew they did try to answer modest prayers. Yet, since doing so meant directly coming into contact in one way or another, it was usually forbidden.
“At least angels don’t kill and steal souls,” Lydia grumbled.
“I never said they were the bad guys.” I looped my arm through hers. “I just said there are a lot of weird rules. I’m sure the demons also have their own messed up games going on too.”
“You wonder too much.” Lydia leaned her head on my shoulder for a moment. “Overall, we’re still doing the greatest good. Let’s not mess with it too much. We need the angels’ slight meddling to keep the scum at bay.”
“Agreed. I just wish they were allowed to do what they already are doing,” I replied and changed the topic. “I should show you how to use those runes soon.”
“I thought you said you just break them?” Lydia looked at me, confused.
“That’s how you release the magic. To use it you have to reach out for it with your own gifts and say augere. Out loud or mentally is fine. I think it means to double the power or something like that,” I explained.
Lydia stopped walking for a moment and looked around. “Well, it sure got quiet quickly.”
“Is there danger afoot?” I mused, looking around, not seeing anything myself. Her skills were much more honed for finding demons than mine.
“I thought I sensed something but…” Lydia kept looking around for a moment longer. “I guess not. Huh.”
I shrugged and started walking again. “Maybe they didn’t want to actually pop by and dance. We are a pretty good team.”
“The best team at that,” Lydia agreed, catching up.
For the next few hours, Lydia seemed to stay on edge. Here and there she would pause, but nothing would show itself. Instead, she would shrug and we’d continue on. Thankfully, we made it back to the Black Violets without any incident.
“I think I’m going to visit K
egan while you report in,” I said as we approached the building.
“Oh come on,” Lydia pleaded, “I hate reporting in alone.”
“They don’t actually let me come that far with you anyway.” I laughed. “Keep it short and sweet so you can join me faster.”
“I always do.” Lydia sighed loudly. “Until then.” She waved and continued by herself.
4
I loved this part of town. Whenever I was alone I’d make sure to walk as slowly as possible and enjoy it while I could. It was always on the quiet side - both on the human and spirit front. It was one of the few places I knew I’d likely be left in peace. One spirit closer to the Black Violets’s home caught my attention, but they didn't acknowledge me, so I left them alone. It was always harder to see spirits. Their appearance was blurry unless I concentrated. Still, something seemed a bit off about this one, so I glanced back and tried to get a decent look at them. They had their hood up, and it looked as if their cloak was from the Violets Order. That didn’t make sense. They were guaranteed entrance into heaven.
I wasn’t about to investigate though, and continued on my way to Kegan’s. It had been much too long since I had had one of her meals. Was it two months now? Maybe three? There wasn’t going to be much to catch her up on either. While Blessed work could be exciting, a good chunk seemed to be traveling and sleeping outside. Good deeds weren’t all glory. Mud and rain made up for too much of this past adventure.
As I entered Kegan’s inn, I noticed it was still fairly empty. Perfect timing! It was always fun catching up with her when she had time to spare and didn’t need to pull herself away to check on guests.
“I see you finally made it back,” she shouted from the far end of the dining area, a stack of dirty plates balanced in one hand and mugs in the other. “Have a seat.”
I listened to her command without hesitation and sat down at the bar. Two others were finishing their meals, talking in soft voices to one another at the opposite end of the dining hall.
Kegan quickly returned. “Where’s your friend?”