by Jason Herc
"I don't think that's a good idea," I said. "It belongs to Crowley."
Ember bit her lip but didn't say anything. It was obvious that she couldn't take her eyes off the bag, either.
I sighed. "Fine. A quick look. To satisfy your curiosity." I unslung the bag and unbuckled the clasp on the cover. I checked to make sure there was no one around us. Then, I pulled back the cover.
Polished obsidian coins glittered under the soft light of the pink sky. Mixed with the coins were small, berry-sized globes that gave off a dim but perfectly white glow. Those had to be demon cores of some kind, except they were a purer white than any of the stained demon cores I had found so far.
Ember gasped and closed the bag.
"It's a fortune," Allura said, her voice heavy with her lust. "The Flame stones alone must be worth a king's ransom."
Flame stones? I took that to mean the smaller demon cores.
"I've never seen such wealth in one place," Ember said, "We have to take it back."
"Wait, what? Take it back?" I asked.
"This has to be a mistake," Ember said.
Allura grinned. "Yes, a very profitable mistake. We should go, now. Flee the city. We could live for ages with those riches. You could buy the finest sword and armor. Hire a mercenary guard to keep you safe. Buy your own fortress…"
"No." I shook my head. "We're not stealing Crowley's money."
This didn't make sense. Wasn't Crowley a beggar? How had he gotten a hold of so much money, and why had he given it to me to carry across the city?
"Keep moving," I said. "We don't want to linger or attract attention."
A figure across the street had stopped walking about the same time that we had. His face was hidden by the hood of his dark blue robes. When we started moving, the figure began walking as well.
Maybe it was a coincidence, but I wasn't willing to take a chance. Was it one of Crowley's men? A watcher from the Beggar's Guild? Or one of Ryder's? Someone else?
"Who exactly is Crowley? What's the Beggar's Guild?" I asked while keeping my eye on the dark blue figure across the street.
"It's an ancient guild," Ember said, "although I don't know much about it. Supposedly they did some great service to the Obsidian Emperor himself once upon a time."
"They're everywhere," Allura said. "Every city and every village has a beggar. They see and hear everything. Rumor has it that their masters are quite powerful Seekers."
I could believe that. Based on how Ryder had treated him, Crowley must have been at least on the level of the Imperial agent.
"If they're quite powerful, why do they beg?" I asked. "Some vow of poverty?" That didn't make sense, given the riches I carried on my back.
"You'd have to ask them," Allura said. "I certainly wouldn't live in the sewers wearing rags if I had this kind of wealth."
"It's not that different from some sects, is it?" Ember asked. "Their disciples lead very strict, simple lives."
"Our master would never join one of those boring places," Allura said with a broad smile. "He's far too good at giving and receiving pleasure."
Allura linked her arm through mine and brushed her breasts against my upper arm.
"What are sects?" I asked, ignoring the taut nipples I had just felt.
"Schools that train Seekers in the fighting arts," Ember said with a slight frown. She had, of course, noticed Allura's move. "Most have their own bases, but the larger ones keep a presence in major cities like Duskfall. You could join one, if it ever gets to that."
Allura nodded. "If we joined a sect, they would protect us from Crowley, and even Ryder." She glanced backward at the bag. "Joining a sect isn't easy, but you could easily buy a place in a sect with what you're carrying. They would teach you how to become a powerful Seeker. It's what sects do. Train Seekers."
I had to admit Allura had made some attractive points. I'd have a head start with this stash of wealth. These sects could protect me and train me to protect myself. It sounded like these sects were more respectable, like some kind of military school, rather than a bunch of ragged beggars.
I slowed my steps. I was positive by now that the figure in the dark blue robes was following us.
"We have trouble," I whispered.
"Trouble?" Ember asked.
Allura nodded. "Across the street and back twenty paces."
"You knew?" I asked. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I didn't want to worry you needlessly," Allura said.
I shook my head. "Next time, you tell me immediately if something seems off."
"Yes, master," Allura said.
"I'm sorry, master, I failed to warn you as well," Ember said.
"Okay, stop it with the master business for now. What do we do? Is there a police force or some guards?" I didn't know if it would be a good idea to fight out in the open streets.
Allura shrugged. "Seeker fights in cities aren't unusual. As long as you pay for the damages, no one will complain. Some even consider it good luck to receive such a payout. It's a way to start over or replace a failing business."
"I still don't want to attract too much attention." I looked around for a suitable place to confront our follower, in case things got messy. "As soon as we round that next corner, Allura, go high and stay hidden on the rooftop. Ember, you stay with me."
"Understood." Allura moved a few footsteps away from me to give herself room to unfurl her wings on a moment's notice.
We rounded the corner of a tall wooden building that would give a moment of cover. As soon as we were out of sight, Allura rose into the air and disappeared over the building's roof.
I drew my sword and huddled against the shadows of the building's wall. Ember waited next to me with ready claws.
The patter of quick footsteps signaled that someone was running around the corner. A blue-robed figure dashed past us before halting.
"Looking for someone?" I asked, stepping forward, my sword held in a low guard as Crowley had instructed.
The figure slowly turned. I could make out a lizard's snout and scaly skin beneath the robe's hood. Three claw-tipped fingers emerged from the sleeves, and now that I could see him clearly, I could make out the curl of a tail under his robes as well.
"Leave now," I said, "and no one has to be hurt."
A forked tongue snaked out of the snout. The lizard creature hissed at me. "Give me your riches, or die."
"Your last warning," I said. I let a burst of black Flame surge along my sword. Either the would-be mugger didn't notice, or he didn't care. The thief hissed again, then crouched in preparation for a lunge.
Well, I had given him a chance. "Allura, now!"
Four black needles slammed into the ground where the lizard had stood. He had jumped backwards in the end to avoid the attack. As he looked up to find the source of the attack, I pointed my sword at the needle in the ground closest to him, channeling a thin stream of my black Flame into it.
The ground exploded, knocking the lizard off-balance. Ember charged and ducked low to dodge a swinging chain the lizard had pulled from under his robes. She swung hard with a wing, catching the lizard in his knee to send him tumbling to the ground.
A flurry of needles pierced the lizard's legs, and he howled in pain. He tried to stand, but his movements were hampered by the thin black needles piercing his muscles. He was still on his stomach when I placed the tip of my sword against the back of his neck.
"Stop this," I said, relieved. "I'll ask you one more time. Leave, and you can keep your life."
There had been a small chance we had been about to fight a powerful Seeker or secret Imperial agent. Luckily, the lizard had seemed to be little more than an ordinary street thief.
Allura flew down to join us next to the subdued lizard. "Kill him." A pair of black needles appeared in her raised hand.
"Wait," I said. Despite what Allura had said, I wasn't quite comfortable with just killing someone out in the open like that, even if he had threatened us. The street wasn't too cr
owded, but someone might still have seen our little alley fight. I also didn't want to create new enemies, like the clan of the bull men we had killed on the Gluttonbarge.
"Will you leave us alone if I let you go?" I asked.
The lizard opened its mouth. Some sixth sense warned me of the impending danger. I dodged to the left as the lizard spat a glob of thick green liquid at me. The liquid hit the wooden wall behind me with a sizzling sound.
Ungrateful vermin! Kill it.
Acid, venom, something really bad. It didn't matter. The lizard had returned my mercy with an attack. The dark Flames wrapped me in their warm embrace. With a quick strike, I decapitated the lizard.
I cleaned my sword on the lizard's robe and slid it back into my belt. This new sword from Crowley had a better balance, and it had cut smoothly through flesh and bone. Even with my black Flame aiding me, my rusty old blade hadn't performed quite as well. Crowley had helped me in many ways, hadn't he?
Ember tore the lizard's robes open with her claws, then attempted to pierce his hide. She frowned as the tough hide refused to tear.
"I can't get his core," Ember said.
"Let me do it," I said. I reached for my black Flame again, then stopped myself. It was becoming too easy to just resort to it whenever I needed something done. Instead, I reached for the white Flame hidden within and calmed the dark emotions, sending them back into the back of my mind.
I could sense the lizard's demon core, somehow. I knew exactly where it was and exactly what cuts I would have to make.
I took a deep breath and slashed three times, each slash guided more by instinct than surgical precision.
I reached into the opening and pulled out the marble-sized demon core. It was small, yellow, and streaked with infernal Flame.
"About what I expected," I muttered as I tossed it into my spatial band's portal. Still, every bit would help.
I needed to boost my Flame so that I could open Ember's Node completely. Now that I thought about it, the thief hadn't been exactly ordinary. Allura's needles had been able to pierce his hide, as had my Flame-boosted sword. Ember's natural claws, though, had been unable to cut through it.
I would accumulate as much Flame as I could within the next day or two and attempt to open her Node with a surge of Flame.
"Over there," Allura said. She and Ember dragged the corpse to a gutter on the side street.
I stared, incredulous. "We can just leave bodies there?"
"Someone will be along to take it soon," she said. "Scavengers. Anyone looking for a free meal."
"This is still the Abyss," Ember reminded me.
"Keep moving," I said. "We don't know if he has friends, or if anyone else saw us."
Had he caught sight of the money in my bag? He had to have had some idea of what was in my bag. Why else would he have risked his life in a three versus one situation?
We reached the main street and continued towards the crown, as Crowley had instructed.
Allura nudged my arm lightly. "What are we going to do?"
We all knew what she was asking about. What was I going to do with the fortune Crowley had given to my care?
"Those Flame stones. They would increase my Flame, right?" I had a guess for how they worked, based on the demon core I had absorbed before. The Flame stones must have been some kind of ultra-pure variety, a quick and easy path to opening one or more of Ember's Nodes.
"Yes," Allura said eagerly.
"He's taking them to the potter," Ember said. "Our master is an honorable man." She gave a wistful sigh but smiled at me.
"I don't know about honorable," I said, "but I'm afraid Ember's has the right idea."
I wasn't going to betray Crowley. This had to be another one of his damn tests, and I intended to pass it.
"Are you sure?" Allura asked.
"Yes, I'm sure."
She eyed my bag with greed, and I wasn't sure if she would run off with it if she could. In the end, though, she forced a smile as well.
"As you wish, master." Allura moved to the front. "Quickly, then. We don't want to risk another encounter."
CHAPTER 19
We soon arrived on a street filled with squat houses with large chimneys sending plumes of colored smoke into the sky.
"The alchemists?" I asked.
Ember nodded. "They can serve as healers, but they spend most of their time brewing elixirs and purifying pills for Seekers."
"You make them sound like dealers." I had run into a few now and then at the gym, but this was different. When life and death were on the line, I would take any edge I could get.
"That's one way of looking at it," Allura said. "Very expensive, though."
She gave one last mournful look at my bag before we entered what had to be the potter's shop. A sign hung above the doorway displayed a picture of a vase.
The temperature of the air inside was warm, almost uncomfortably so. We were standing in an area displaying the various wares. There were various bowls, cups, pitchers, vases, urns, and other goods that I didn't really care about, most made with a deep black lacquer or a dark red glaze.
Someone with long purple hair was sleeping while seated at a table, her head resting on her arms face first.
"Excuse me?" I called out. When the shopkeeper didn't stir, I stepped up to the table and rapped my knuckles on it.
The shopkeeper bolted upright. She had large yellow eyes and a delicate, pretty face. Her purple skin had a black diamond pattern along her neck, but she otherwise looked human, at least from what I could see above the table. Based on her face, I would have placed her in her late teens or early twenties, although I knew age could be quite a different matter in the Abyss.
"I will not be sleeping with you," the shopkeeper declared. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands and yawned, revealing a set of pointed teeth.
"Sorry," the purple-haired girl muttered. "Bad dream." Her eyes opened wider as she finally saw me. She grinned, again giving me a view of her deadly bite.
"Well, my day just got better. What can I do for you, handsome?" She frowned as she noticed the two succubi at my side. "He belong to one of you? How much for him?"
"Actually," I said. "They belong to me, and none of us are for sale."
The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow, then licked her lips. "Would they be willing to share you? For just a few hours?" Her eyes slid down my body and back up. "You're not from around here, are you?"
I frowned. I didn't want to give too much away to someone I had just met. Not if Ryder was going to be breathing down my neck.
I took off my bag and set it on the table with a thump.
"I have something for you. From Crowley."
The shopkeeper gave me a blank look.
Ember chimed in. "From Master Beastley."
"Oh. You'll want to see my father about that." She turned to an open door behind her and called out. "Dad! There's some beggars here to see you!"
"We're not beggars—"
A voice shouted back. "Send them away! I don't have time for charity!"
The girl shrugged. "By the way, I'm Helix." She stuck out a hand.
"Aidan," I said, shaking her hand. "That's Ember and Allura."
"Dad! I think you should come here!"
"Fine!"
A well-muscled man with purple skin and gray hair stepped into the shop. His broad chest was bare, and he was smoking a pipe of something pungent and sweet. He looked more like a warrior than a potter, but what did I know about the pottery business in the Abyss?
He looked at the three of us, then the bag on the table, then back to me.
"He sent you, didn't he?" the large man asked.
"Are you the potter?"
"Do I look like a potter?"
I hesitated. "Yes?"
The man roared with laughter.
Helix giggled. "He's cute, isn't he?"
The man frowned, glancing at Ember and Allura. "I don't know what the deal is between you and these two, but my daughter is n
ot some sex-crazed succubus. Got it?" He glanced pointedly at his now pouting daughter.
Unlike Helix, the man had somehow guessed the nature of my relationship with the succubi. I doubted he was simply a potter. There had to be a reason for Crowley to give me this errand.
I held up my hands. "Sure. I'm not here for your daughter." I tapped the bag on the table. The coins inside clinked loudly. "Master Beastley sent me with this."
The man took the bag and opened it, poking one finger inside to dig within the contents. He plunged his arm deeper into the bag and grunted before removing his hand.
"This will do, I suppose," he said with a wry expression. He stepped into the back of the shop again and beckoned for me to follow. "Come. Those two can wait here."
I moved to follow the potter, who had yet to introduce himself. Ember touched me on the shoulder.
"Is it safe?" she asked.
"Crowley sent me. If I can't trust him at this point, we're all screwed anyways."
Helix twined her purple hair in her fingers as she watched us out of the corner of her eyes, a slight smirk on her face.
"You two stay out of trouble," I said. I left them behind in the shop and jogged forward to catch up with the man.
A short hallway led to a set of stairs leading underground. I caught a glimpse of the potter's purple back at the bottom, so I rushed down the steps.
Underneath the shop was a large room with a clean, empty floor of polished wood. Chests and storage bins lined one side of the room. The room was lit solely by a shaft of dim light in the center of the ceiling. It was some kind of sunroof designed to channel light all the way to the basement level.
"Ahem." The potter was staring at my feet. I realized that he was barefoot.
I removed my boots and set them at the base of the stairs. "Sorry."
"Do you know how to use that?" He pointed at the sword slung from my belt.
I drew it slowly and showed it to him. "Only the very basics, unfortunately. Crowley's going to teach me more."
"Is that what Beastley calls himself these days?" he asked. "Him and his sticks. Bah. A sword is a weapon fit for a warrior." The potter grunted. "I also see why he sent you to me. You hold that thing like a baby's rattle."