by Jack Crosby
“Most enchantments either use the strength of the full moon to power them or they need the blackness of the new moon.” I looked to the sky again. “The new moon will be here any night.”
“I doubt that is a coincidence.”
War was right; there were no coincidences with demons. “I guess we have no choice but to ride fast.”
It’s time for War to spill the secret location of Shangri-La. Located in Pakistan, on the western edge of the Himalayas, is the mountain Nanga Parbat. The mountains there are virtually inaccessible by foot, which makes it the perfect place to set up a secret location. The fortress itself is at the base of the mountain, protected on all sides. Do not even try to go there, if the journey doesn’t kill you, the denizens will.
“Master War, I must warn you that since your last visit to the mountain, new securities have been arranged.” That didn’t sound good. “Two generations ago, the queen made a treaty with a tribe of Yeti. Those creatures still roam the mountain today, enforcing the will of the agreement.”
“Yeti? How the hell did a Nyx queen agree to get Yeti to protect them?”
“I have no idea Derrick. I just know they’re there and it won’t be easy to get by them.”
Yeti, or Abominable Snowmen, are highly territorial mountain creatures. Much like the Nyxes, they fled Hell eons ago to seek refuge on Earth. Unlike the Nyxes who are feline sex creatures, Yeti are ape demons covered from head to toe in muscle. A tribe of Yeti would not be easily avoided and even less likely to be defeated.
A hard trip just got a lot worse. Khloros walked over to the fire, and deep down I was hoping he had great news. The horse was followed by Pyrrha. “We have been discussing much and we think we have a solution to your needs.”
I looked over at War who looked on just as baffled. “Well, what do you got buddy?”
“Pyrrha and I may be able to transform together into something a bit bigger. We can try to form a plane if you would like us to.”
War and I were both stunned. Nothing like this had even been tried before. Not sure if they’d even be successful, “You don’t have to go and do anything dumb for us. We can make it on horseback, just like old times.”
He pounded his hooves into the sand. “This is no longer old times. If Pyrrha and I feel this is something we can accomplish, than we accept whatever risks go with that.”
“He is right Death.” Veronica walked over beside him and stroked his pale mane. “We each are responsible for our own decisions and if they wish to help, you should support them.”
Astrid walked over to the other side. “Have faith in your friends as we have faith in you.”
Neither War nor I said a word, but the two horses took our silence for acceptance. They walked a bit out of the way of the camp and stood next to each other. At first nothing happened, except a few small flashes. As we kept watching, their celestial fire engulfed them and the two horses disappeared in a flash. What was left behind blew my mind. “Holy shit…”
It worked. They had successfully combined into a small red prop plane with pale grey accents. The passenger door popped open and sure enough there was a spot for a pilot, co-pilot, and two passengers. War tossed some water on the fire and went aboard. As the three of us walked on the plane, I saw him already in the pilot’s seat.
Of course he knew how to fly a plane, why should I be surprised. “I guess I’m the co-pilot this trip.”
Khloros’s voice came over the in-plane speaker. “Master War, we trust in your abilities to fly.”
“Yes rider, do not kill us.” Pyrrha’s voice was just as sarcastic as Khloros’s.
War started flipping some switches and the engines kicked on. I put on the headset that was attached to the panel in front of me. “War can you hear me?”
“Yeah, you just follow my commands and we’ll be fine.”
He spent the next two-three minutes explaining the finer points of flying. When he felt that I was comfortable with the controls, he guided the plane to a little clearing that was going to serve as our runway. Grabbing the little com sitting by War, “Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your safety belts. Once we reach an appropriate cruising altitude…”
War ripped the com from my hand, “We don’t have time for your games. Everyone sit down and hold tight.”
He grabbed the throttle and gradually moved it forward, causing the plane to pick up speed. Once we got to the right speed, he began pulling the steering mechanism towards him, getting the plane airborne. We kept going up and into the night sky. My ears began popping like crazy as I kept doing what he told me to. He kept rattling off the altitude numbers and when we hit thirty thousand, he leveled off the plane.
I turned around to reassure the girls, but both of them looked rather sick. Astrid especially looked a little green. “This is your first time flying huh?”
She shook her head yes, afraid to open her mouth as she’d probably puke. I didn’t know if Khloros and Pyrrha thought of air sickness bags in their transformation.
The coolest thing I witnessed was watching the sun rise as we flew towards Nanga Parbat. Flying east, right into the light was really cool. Roxanne would’ve loved to have seen that.
The flight on Air Horsemen was really smooth. There was little turbulence which helped Astrid overcome that barfy feeling and return to her normal talkative self. “Veronica, you flew a lot as an angel. How does it compare to this?”
A little bit of an insensitive question, but the angel took it in stride. “Nothing can compare to the feeling of the wind beneath you. To look down and see the world at your fingertips is something that I cherished so much.”
“It might be cool to fly, but do you have a horse that can turn into a freaking airplane?”
She smiled, showing that her sadness wouldn’t last. “No I do not. This is pretty amazing.”
Jokes were all we could do to keep the mood light. This trip had already cost all of us to some degree. Veronica lost her wings, I lost Roxanne, Astrid found out there someone close meant her harm, and even War had experienced hurt. He endured watching Sabrina torture Roxanne as he was helpless to do anything. Shangri-La no longer felt like the safe place to go. It’d become the final hurdle on this damn quest.
“Death, we are closing in on the mountain range.”
Sure enough as I looked down I saw the beginnings of the Himalayas. Sticking out like a snow covered beacon was the mountain Nanga Parbat. Down in the valley below sat the fortress of Shangri-La and there were answers. “Landing is going to be a bitch isn’t it?”
War had his radar pulled up and was reading it. “I’ll try to get us as close as possible, but more than likely we’re going to have to deal with the Yeti.” He got the plane ready to descend, “Everyone hang on.”
He asked for no assistance this time. He was focused on finding a spot to safely land. As we got lower, the Indus River came into view. On the shores of the massive river, “There’s a spot, right next to the Indus.”
With no alternative, “That’s as good as it’s going to get.” He dropped the landing gear and made the final descent. As the wheels touched down we bounced a few times. War slammed on the brakes, causing a loud roar from the rushing wind. The plane slowed down until it finally came to a stop, not too far from the forests nearby.
Safely on the ground, “When we leave the plane, the Almighty knows what we’re in for. We move and act as a team, got it?”
In unison, “Yeah.”
“Pack up what you need and get off the plane. I doubt Sabrina expected us to fly here so the element of surprise is now with us. Let’s not waste it.”
Before I could leave, War grabbed me. “Brother, I know you’re in pain, but we cannot afford to be reckless.”
I tried my best to smile, but it was insincere at best. “Don’t worry about me War. Worry about those who get in our way.”
Chapter 32 – A Yeti for Your Thoughts
The forest was quiet, almost too quiet. I secretly wished Roxanne was here
, just to hear her go on a profanity laced tirade about what a bunch of monkey fuckers all these demons were. I also harbored a lot of guilt about my feelings for Astrid and I wanted nothing more than to tell her what happened. She deserved that and not what had happened.
Khloros and Pyrrha were exhausted after the transformation and ensuing flight. After we all were on the ground, they transformed back into their horse selves and pretty much collapsed. They wanted to continue on with us, but War and I were having none of it. Neither of them wanted to accept they would be more of a hindrance, but fortune smiled on us as Veronica soothed the two of them. “You have done us all a great honor by getting us here.”
“Pyrrha and I still can go on.”
“My friends, rest. If things go how I believe they will, your roles will be greatly needed in escape.”
“Very well angel. We will be prepared for your eventual extraction.”
Veronica gave him an affectionate rub to the head and Khloros walked back to the red horse. I knew they wouldn’t rest until we were out of sight, so I gave my buddy one last noogie, much to his disgust, and an assurance we’d live to tell the tale.
As for Astrid, she outfitted us all with proper attire to make the difficult trek into the forest and to Shangri-La. War asked her the question we’d all been wondering, how she made clothing appear like that, and all she did was wink. One of these days I was going to get to the bottom of that mystery.
The first sign of something not being right was a large tree snapped in two. It was not naturally done, i.e. thunderstorm or wind, but it looked to be the work of a Yeti. The white fur stuck to one of the more rigid branches was also a dead giveaway. “Astrid, do the Yeti know you?”
“I’ve met a few, here and there. They tend to stay out of Nyx business unless summoned by the queen herself.”
My hope was that if we ran into them, they might recognize the princess and not attack. Brushing the Yeti concern off for the moment, “I wouldn’t be surprised if we ran into more demons along the way. I can already smell traces of brimstone here and there.”
Veronica brought her sword up, matching War who of course had his out all the time. “We shall show no mercy to any demon that crosses our path.”
I liked the show and the gravity of her words. “I think you’ll get plenty of use for that sword of yours.”
Turns out I was wrong. There had been demons here, but each time we stumbled across one, they’d been ripped apart. Whatever was happening, the demons were being slaughtered like cows at a hamburger factory. Astrid seemed confident enough. “The Yeti are still protecting our lands.”
I didn’t know how deep the traitor’s power ran, but if the Yeti were on our side, that would be a huge help. I got the feeling we’d find out soon enough whose side they were truly on. As we got deeper into the forest, I couldn’t help but notice how close the mountain was beginning to appear. Shangri-La wasn’t that far away.
“Ummm guys, I think we’re surrounded.”
“Astrid, what’re you talking about?”
She pointed into the trees but I didn’t see anything. Well not at first, but War did and he brought his sword up. “Death, they are here.”
The white fur of the Yeti came into view. They were all around us, ten maybe more, and we were trapped inside their circle. The one straight ahead was large, at least eight, possible nine feet tall. His gorilla features matched the rest of his companions, but he was clearly in charge.
This close, I picked up their scent, but it’d been covered up by the demons brimstone smell. These creatures were highly intelligent, using the demons as a cover to get close to us. They good news was they hadn’t attacked, but that could be coming. Astrid held out her hand towards the big one. “I am Princess Astrid of Shangri-La. I am trying to return home with the help of my appointed knights.”
The Yeti looked at her and made a few hand gestures. I didn’t understand any of it, so thankfully we had our handy guide with us. “He says we must come with him. If we wish to go to Shangri-La we must prove ourselves to their leader.”
I didn’t like our chances are trying to use force against the ape spirits. “I don’t think we really got a choice here. Tell him to lead the way.”
“We will go with you.”
The Yeti motioned to the others and then back to Astrid. He then took off into the forest with us following. With an entire platoon of Yeti surrounding us, the hike was a bit tense. I didn’t think they’d attack us, especially after the big one talked to Astrid, but you never could tell. Plus Astrid seemed to trust them, so I did my best to keep that trust too.
The trees parted and in front of us was an old ruin of sorts. Judging by the markings and the statues, this was an old Buddhist temple. Yeti were all around, effectively turning the ruins into their home. In addition to the ten that were escorting us, I easily figured there were another forty to fifty here. The looks we were being given told me we were probably the first outsiders to step foot into this sacred area ever.
Our guide led us passed all the others right to the back of the ruins. There was a hut made out of downed trees and packed with mud standing alone, and it was there we were being ushered. The guide stopped at the door and let the four of us walk in. As we entered the scent of frankincense took over, followed by a very large shape at the back of the hut. The Yeti’s cold blue eyes looked at a few mats that were laid out in a semi-circle around him.
Each of us took a seat on the bamboo, with Astrid taking the lead. “Chief, I am Princess Astrid of Shangri-La, home of the Nyx community. I was abducted by demons and these brave warriors have escorted me home.”
His eyes swept the room, taking a moment to study each of us. Then, like an earthquake, the creature spoke. “Astrid – Shan – gri – La – not – safe.”
I could tell it was having problems forming words, but it spoke English remarkably well. I inched closer, trying to get his attention without coming across as a threat. “Great Yeti, is there a redheaded demon there?”
He gave me a very short nod before returning to the princess. “Queen – is – helping – demons.”
She fell backwards at his declaration. We were all stunned, as we knew there was someone feeding information to the demons, but I don’t think anyone thought it would be Astrid’s mother. I reached over and held her hand tight, and Almighty bless her, she bit down and continued the conversation. “How did you find out?”
“Told – us – to – let – demons – take – you.”
The Yeti came across as an honorable creature, so I had no reason to doubt him. “Son of a bitch…”
It was really hard to watch Astrid’s life crumble. Finding out your mom was the traitor but that she also helped the demons abduct you, that’s fucking harsh.
With a tear streaking down her face, “Why would she do that Chief?”
He scrunched up his face, trying to figure out how to say it in English for us. “Live – forever – and – not – sacrifice – son.”
“I have a brother?”
With one word, he rocked her world. “Leopold.”
I’d heard that name before, from her story. It was her mom’s pet tiger. “The white tiger your mom kept? That doesn’t make any sense at all.”
“Unlike the females who rule the Nyx community, when a male is born, they perfect their feline form first, but do not get their human form until they mature.”
I wasn’t quite getting it, but War did. “They don’t need a maiden princess; they just need a virgin royal family member! It was all a damn ruse to throw us off any scent.”
“Live – forever – as – queen – if – you – die.”
The Yeti was right. The demons had gotten to her were it mattered most. Without Astrid to challenge for the throne and immortality, the queen would rule forever. “We can’t fool around much longer. We gotta save your brother and make sure this shit doesn’t go down.”
Astrid knew I was right, so she addressed the Chief one more time. “Thank you
for your protection all these years. And thank you for your loyalty.”
“Stop – queen – and – save – home.”
Chapter 33 – Mother and Daughter
The chief gave us an escort right to the front door of Shangri-La. The great metal doors that were meant to keep outsiders out were wide open, allowing us to stroll right on in.
The Yeti fell back as we entered and my first impressions were I’d walked into a third world country. The buildings were in terrible shape and the few Nyxes I’d seen were in bad shape. They looked malnourished and almost feral. I think some of them recognized Astrid, but all they did was run and hide.
Veronica tried to talk to one, but it ran away from her too. “This is awful! What has happened here?”
I didn’t know, but I had a pretty good idea. “I bet the demons came soon after you were abducted Astrid, probably to make sure your mom wasn’t fucking with them.”
With the demons invading, the Nyxes were probably forced back into servitude. Astrid was pissed. “Mother has much to answer for. Come, we go to the throne room, that is where she will be.”
I figured we’d run into some resistance, but the place was like a ghost town. No demons were out and the Nyxes were too damn scared to leave their hiding places. As we got closer to the royal palace, it was time to get ready for the big one.
War brought his red armor to life, Veronica’s flame sword appeared in her hand, and I left Derrick Grimm at the entrance. Cloaked in black with my hood up and scythe ready, Death had entered the battlefield. Astrid snapped her fingers and along with the Grasscutter turned herself into a deadly, sexy samurai. “Everyone else is fair game, but mother is mine.”
The corridor leading to the throne room was empty. Torches lit the way, and at the end illuminated the ornate door. I put a hand on it, trying to get a reading of what was behind. “Power, a lot of power.”
War joined me. “Could there be an Arch-Demon in there?”
Lesser demons could pass through portals, but an Arch-Demon would need a strong spell to allow them to pass through. “I have no idea what Beelzebub’s daughter is capable of. I think we’ve got to accept that’s a real possibility.”