by Samuel Small
Sol Book Three:
Icarus
Samuel Small
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Chapter 1
There were three things that Jake was aware of, all of which made him uncomfortable.
Number one was the sensation of dizziness. All of the blood was rushing to his head, courtesy of thing number two – the tightly coiled tentacle that held him by the ankle and twisted up his leg.
The third was the laughter echoing from below (or was that now above?) Jake coming from the boy with orange hair. When he saw Jake get snatch up by this Malice as they were walking through the marshland, rather than try to help he pointed and shouted something about pornography, though it was difficult to tell through his labored breathing.
Equally terrible were Jake’s other comrades who, rather than save him, began to chastise Dante. Sara yelled about how rude he was being and Elizabeth continued to call him an idiot. Jake wanted to shout for help, but the probing tentacle of the beast slid around his neck and tightened.
“Dante, seriously – it isn’t funny.”
“That’s, pha, not what I-eheheh see. It’s gonna-PHAHAHAHA!”
“You’re an imbecile.”
“It’s gonna slide up his ahahass!” Dante jeered, then fell to the floor, kicking at the air frantically. The rest of the scene became blurry, but Jake could make out the vague shape of Sara, only on account of the smudge of silver at the top of the blob, reach her arm out and point it toward him. The tentacle was severed, and he fell into the warm marshland with a graceless splat! Jake stood up, ankle deep in water, and wiped the mud out of his eyes only to see Dante in full focus, now laughing even harder than before.
Jake clenched his teeth, pulled out his sword, and plunged it into the many-armed creature’s big round head. It twisted and thrashed its tentacles about in the water, but that didn’t stop Jake, who drove his blade even deeper into the beast, wanting it to feel as much pain as he was feeling embarrassed. When he was satisfied that the creature’s suffering was at its apex, he tore his sword out, sheathing it as the creature burst behind him. He took a step out of the murky water and onto the slightly more even tree root that they’d been walking on before the attack.
“Aw man, you killed it already?” Dante said, clearly disappointed, though a faint line of freshly dried tears still shone on his cheeks.
“Yeah, no thanks to you.”
“Seriously Dante, he could have been killed,” Sara said.
“I was gonna step in. I just wanted to see it molest him some more first.” His face broke into a wide smile and he almost laughed again, but Sara’s palm found its way to the back of his head in time. He sprung up, rubbing it and calling her a bitch.
“With this one’s wonderful cooperation in mind, we should try to be more careful moving on from here. There could be any number of Malice hiding in the marsh, waiting to attack,” Elizabeth said.
“Noted,” Jake replied, then took a step forward on the tree root, the rest of his team following suit.
A dark and dense wetland surrounded them, most of which would have been virtually untouchable had it not been for a giant tree that grew in the center, the roots of which Jake and company were now traversing. His clothes felt heavy underneath the weight of mud and marsh water that now stained them, in no small part thanks to Dante, but he was more than willing to forget all about it as he made his way to the floating nation of Icarus.
“Do you think we’re making a difference when we kill the Malice, now that the big one’s taken care of?” Sara asked.
“Of course,” Elizabeth responded, “most of the larger creatures originated from that one, and when they were defeated they were usually replaced. Without its presence, any defeated Malice are now gone for good.”
“The shit monster who shat out shit monsters,” Dante said, nodding.
Elizabeth eyed him as if a second skull was slowly budding out of his forehead, but then softened her features and nodded. “Yes, I suppose if that’s what you want to call them, although the rest of the sane world is going with ‘Malice’.”
“I don’t see why they’re—”
“Big, wet, and a pain in your ass, we know,” Sara said.
“How many times are you gonna use that line?” Jake asked.
“When you lot start to appreciate its eloquence,” Dante replied.
“I don’t see what could possibly be eloquent about excrement,” Elizabeth said, crinkling her nose.
Jake continued to step forward, his boots splatting water over the root with each step. He didn’t like being wet. Technically it was spring, but an eerie wind rustled through the trees and it sent every inch of Jake’s skin into a chill-fueled frenzy. He grasped at his arms, shaking. “Do you think we can find a place to dry my clothes?”
“Just take ’em off and hold ’em for now. We’ll dry ’em toward the end of the day.”
“Dante, that’s fucking disgusting,” Sara said.
“Completely undignified,” Elizabeth agreed.
“Why?”
“They don’t want to see me running around in my underwear, Dante.”
“Well don’t you have a change of clothes or somethin’?”
“I do but they were in my bag, which is now also soaking wet. I just hope my comp still works…”
“Just let him borrow some of your clothes,” Elizabeth said.
“No way,” Dante said, then batted his hair back with his hand, “he can’t handle this level of fashion!”
Sara sped up so that she was walking beside Dante, her arms folded behind her back, but her eyes were narrowed in a suspicious stare. “What’s the real reason why you won’t let him borrow any of your clothes?”
“I just don’t want him stealin’ my look, that’s all.”
“Bullshit, let me see your bag!”
“No way!”
Sara reached around Dante’s back to grasp his bag, but he kept her at bay with his arms. She pressed forward, pushing past his palms, and grabbed his backpack firmly. He gasped then shot in, picking up her feet and dropping her to the ground. She wrapped her legs around him and his eyes widened.
“Elizabeth, grab it!”
“Shit,” Dante mumbled and tried to rise to a stand, but Sara pulled and brought him down. He kept swearing and fidgeting but Sara held him tightly. As he continued to try to force himself up, Elizabeth grabbed his backpack and tore it off, then tossed it over to Jake. He caught it and heard Dante plead for him not to open it, and he probably wouldn’t have had the boy not been laughing as he was attacked by the Malice just a few minutes before. Happy for some revenge, Jake flipped the backpack open, then raised an eyebrow.
“What’s in it?” Sara said, pushing into Dante’s jaw and twisting his head.
“Nothing,” he mumbled. Sure there were things in the bag, but nothing essential. Just his hammock and a few comic books. Elizabeth walked beside Jake and peered into the nearly empty bag. She jerked her head quickly to the grounded boy. “Do you honestly only own one change of clothes?”
He drew back at the accusation and that was all Sara needed to hear. “Ew!” she shouted, then kicked him and knocked him onto his back. She then sprung up and gathered Sol into her hand. “You’re so fucking gross!”
“I wash it almost every night!” he said.
“Almost?”
“I knew your wardrobe was limited, but I thought it was because you liked black shirts and jeans. I would never have imagined…” Jake said.
“Yeah, well I don’t have a big fancy government to give me free underwear and shit!” he shouted back, and Jake thought he almost saw tears in his eyes.
“Maybe you’d be able to buy some if you had a j-o-b.”
“Ah, what the hell do you know?!” Dante said, throwing his arms into the air and walking away. The rest of the way through the marsh they tormented him, and he yelled back and called them assholes as a retort. It was the most pleasant part of the trip, Jake dared to say.
That night they stayed in a hotel, courtesy of the gold coins the group received before leaving for this quest. It was nice to have a budget for once, and Jake recalled almost sleeping in a broken-down barn on one of his other escapades. He threw the coins onto the counter and asked for two rooms. The shopkeeper nodded, and handed him two keys.
“There’s a hot spring out back. Girl’s bathing time’s in a few minutes, the boy’s an hour after that.” Jake nodded, handed one of the keys to Elizabeth, and then had Dante follow him. Their rooms were situated across from each other and after wishing the two girls goodnight, Jake and Dante went into their lodgings.
Jake jumped into the air and landed on his nice firm bed. It was the first time in the trip that he’d been able to sleep in one, as the last few nights he was forced to stay in a tent on his own. The bed jiggled and felt oh so soft against his cheek. He closed his eyes, ready for sleep to overtake him, but he felt eyes on the back of his head. Sure enough, when he looked behind him he saw Dante eyeing him wryly.
“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of doing something creepy with the girls and plan on dragging me into it,” Jake said.
“I’m hardly interested in them. You on the other hand…” he said, leaning in and offering a cheeky grin. Jake sat up and threw his pillow at the boy, which hit him dead in the face and caused him to spiral toward the door. He grabbed the handle, then looked over his shoulder to Jake. “By the way, you’re getting the bed wet.”
“Well, whose fault is that!” Jake yelled as Dante left the room, who gave him a middle finger just before the door slammed shut. Jake glared at it then looked down. It was true that his clothes had dried a bit during the trip, but they were still very much damp and had soaked into the fabric beneath him. He brought his lips in and frowned, then looked over to the clean, neat bed that would be Dante’s by default. Perhaps he could ask to switch, hell, he’d never seen Dante sleep in a bed at all. Even when they stayed in hotels during their trip to the Purist’s Village he always opted to sleep on the floor.
Still, unable to ignore the reality that his clothes were wet, and that the clothes in his bag were even wetter, Jake took off his uniform’s blazer and undershirt, threw them onto the bed frame, then he slid off the bed and unbuckled his pants just as his eyes locked onto the door. Dante’s loud voice conversed with two softer ones on the other side. It was certainly a very Dante move to fling the door wide open without knocking, exposing Jake to Elizabeth and Sara, which would likely get them both killed. A cold sweat ran down the back of his neck at the thought, and he waddled to the door and locked it tight, then placed his pants on the bed frame to dry.
Acknowledging that the locked door would hardly be enough to keep Dante out if he really wanted to get in, Jake opted for an additional layer of defense, wrapping a white towel around his waist and tucking it so that it held firmly. He nodded, satisfied with his attire, then went to his bag to hang those wet clothes out as well.
***
“Elizabeth, it says here our bath times are coming up – would you like to come with me?”
“Yes, that sounds nice. Just let me grab some towels.”
Sara remained with her hand on the door and watched as Elizabeth slid out of her boots. She refused to switch into the Republic’s guard uniform on the trip, instead opting to wear the royal uniform of the previous age that she’d worn during the rebellion. For Sara’s part, she had on a short dress with a snowflake design, her bag packed with similar semi-casual outfits.
Elizabeth threw her boots to the floor and wiggled her toes, obviously happy for the air. Sara giggled at the sight. Elizabeth looked up, a bit confused by Sara’s laughter. “What is it?”
“Oh nothing it’s just… you always seem to carry yourself so proper, but once you get out of the public eye it all falls apart, doesn’t it?”
Elizabeth’s face burned red, and she jumped off the bed, grabbing the two towels. “Whatever you say. Shall we get going?”
Sara turned the handle, hearing the door opposite hers open, Jake shout, then it slamming shut. She sighed and walked out of the room. In the hallway was Dante, looking over his shoulder at the door as if it might attack him. “Since when did he get so snarky?” he mumbled to no one in particular. He raised his head away from the door, took in Sara and Elizabeth, and his eyes widened. They dropped to the towels held by Elizabeth and he nodded.
“Off to take a bath, eh?” He pinched his nose and fanned it with his other hand. “You could sure use it.”
“Says the boy who only wears one outfit,” Elizabeth retorted, stepping forward to Sara’s side.
“Already explained that – ah, whatever, who cares what you think anyway,” he said, throwing his hands up. He stomped off toward the stairs. “Enjoy your bath.”
“You better not be planning anything creepy,” Elizabeth said, her face filled with disgust. At the mere accusation, Dante pivoted and strode back to her without losing momentum. He came within inches of her face and waved his finger in front of it. “As if I’d ever be interested in you!”
“And Sara?” Sara felt a twinge in her chest at the suggestion, and tried to avoid eye contact, although Dante never attempted to make it. Instead he turned his head away and scoffed.
“Not her either. I’ll have you know I prefer girls with hair on the darker side of the spectrum. You two bright lights can’t meet my exacting standards,” he said, then turned around and walked away. His words ticked Sara off, and she sent a few shards of ice into his behind as he walked away. He jumped and yelped in pain, then quickened his pace while swearing under his breath.
Elizabeth turned away from the boy and began down the hallway. “The utter buffoon,” she said. Sara joined her and dipped her head down, muttering, “You got that right.”
Elizabeth must have heard a slight sound of disappointment in her voice, which definitely wasn’t there, as she asked, “Don’t tell me you’re disappointed that that idiot isn’t attracted to you?”
“Of course not, it’s a blessing if anything.”
“Good, and I don’t believe it I’ll have you know. Guys like him have no standards. They’re attracted to anything with legs that can consent. Otherwise they’d never be able to reproduce,” she said, quickening her stride and glaring ahead. Sara chuckled, and matched her powerwalk step for step.
“I mean it, he’s good for nothing. The only benefit he has is his strength, but that’s only assuming he knows which side to attack.”
“I know he can be a little crude, but he’s actually a pretty good person. I wish you’d try to get along with him better.” Sara slowed and then stopped. Up ahead, Elizabeth looked back at Sara, who was clutching her chest. “Back during everything in Niflheim… when the entire Republic abandoned me, Dante set off to gather an army of troops. And even once he arrived, despite the fact that he barely knew me or the people of my country, he fought in earnest and tried his best.”
Elizabeth’s mouth turned upward in a defeated smirk, and she lowered her head. “My apologies for the tragedy at Niflheim, that must have been difficult for you.”
“No, you had nothing to do with it,” Sara said, wiping a tear from her eye. She tensed her muscles, angry at the thought of who was really responsible. “It was the Republic who caused it all. Had they not abandoned our alliance, who knows what would have happened? Why, Bellator alone could have defeated that, that—”
“That demon. The one from the abandoned town.”
Sara’s eyes widened at the statement. She wasn’t sure how Elizabeth could have known about it, as the Republic government would have tried their best to keep the truth a secret. Before she could ask
, Elizabeth answered for her. “During the preparations for the rebellion, Major Miles gave me a report. It truly was an unpredictable turn of events.”
“Unpredictable, but not unavoidable. That’s why I’m here today. I want to ensure that no other nation has to suffer the same fate as Niflheim.”
“A noble goal indeed,” Elizabeth said, an earnest smiling lighting up her features. She motioned with her head down the hallway. “Shall we?”
Sara smiled and followed the girl down to the bathhouse. After dealing with that crummy marshland, she’d be happy to feel some clean hot water for once.
***
Finding a wooded area behind the hotel, Dante hammered the first of his stakes into a nearby tree. Now that winter was finally over, he’d be able to enjoy sleeping outside once again, something that he was more than grateful for. He always hated being cooped up inside at night. He finished laying the final pole, then hung up the hammock. Once the task was complete, he turned around to survey the forest behind him. Now was the perfect time to get some practice in.
Dante lifted his palms up and gathered particles of hot energy into them, allowing it to condense and become more and more potent. It was something that he was getting better at, and he liked the way it lit the dark area he was in with pulsing flashes of blue light, making him the center of attention. He smirked as the balls became about the size of his head and pulled his arms back, ready to launch the energy.
He slammed his arms together and a bright blue beam rushed out. Grimacing, Dante swept both arms to the side. It took a big, exaggerated motion, and a lot of concentration, but he had practiced for a while and was now able to bend the beam about 90 degrees. Still, his mind flashed to the demonic king, his nails sharp, his teeth even sharper, and his eyes listless and empty. With a flick of just one clawed hand the demon was able to turn that blast a full 180 degrees. That was what Dante had to compete with. He gritted his teeth and prepared to unleash another attack.
After a few long, exhausting shots, Dante became aware that his vision was hazy, and not due to his own exhaustion or the sweat running into his eyes. No, there was a swirling, suffocating fog that crept its way from the depths of the forest toward him. He tried to ignore it, but the fog gathered into a focal point, then stretched out. The haze sprouted arms and legs, then solidified. In no time the suited figure of a demonic boy stood before Dante, his face creased into a frown.