Caught in the Devils' Hand

by Ruby Duvall

  “W-what? Sister!!!” he screamed. She ran toward the front of the house, her mind working overtime as she went through a dozen scenarios in the space of ten seconds.

  What if the fighting had already begun? Would she need to help Mai? Should she go after Majo first? Should she think of ways to coordinate the four of them? Or could she let them worry about themselves?

  The walls moved by her so slowly and she wished both that she had more time and that she was already there. Her heartbeat was loud in her head, her breathing harsh and fast.

  The entrance that was centered on the opposite side of the main sitting room where they normally spent their time was a grand piece of architecture. The main doors that opened from the outside were the same paper doors, perhaps a bit wider, but the frame was made out of coal wood, marking those doors as the main entrance.

  The doors opened into a large entryway that was the same size as their usual sitting room, and it was lined with elaborate shelves meant for the shoes and belongings of guests. Every bit of wood in the entryway was also made of Coal Wood and the shelves were lined with delicate white molding that depicted tree leaves and ivy. There was even an ornate desk to the side that was meant for the estate secretary to use.

  It was into this impressive room that she ran, charging into it from the inner hallway. The black-framed doors in front of her were actually shut, surprising her no small bit. She had thought they would be wide open. She looked down to see one of her pairs of shoes sitting in wait on the main floor area, and made short work of stepping into them. Checking for just a second to make sure that her dress was properly shut, if not neatly, she placed her hand on the doorframe, ready to push it open.

  It was strange…she could hear nothing on the other side of the door. Perhaps just the soft sound of leaves rubbing together in the night breeze, but there was no talking, no fighting, nor even any fidgeting noises. It was as if no one stood outside at all.

  However, there was no mistaking the sickening, clingy feel of Majo’s magic. It wasn’t inside the house, she knew, but it was trying. It was feeling along the wall of protection she had set up, trying to find a flaw.

  It would not find any.

  Her magic, sitting still and watchful inside her, was no longer the playful entity that she sometimes felt it was. Even it, with the small bit of personality she imagined it to have, was now serious, and she somehow knew that it was ready to do anything she asked.

  She wasn’t sure if that was comforting or not. Sliding the door open, she took in the sight before her. Three people stood closest to her, merely three yards away on the ground. Rosuke and Mai stood to her right, just a step away from the base of the stairs that led up to the entrance. Neither of them looked at her but kept their eyes on something farther away. Vallen, standing to her left, still had one foot on the bottom step and looked at her with a serious face.

  All three of them held long, thin swords, the blades bare, sharp and ready. Vallen’s looked as wicked as it had before with its serrated edges. The blade of Rosuke’s sword curved slowly, a little wider than the blade of the other two swords. Mai’s was the plainest, but it was also the longest.

  However, she was able to see them only because a bit of faint moonlight reflected off their skin. Another couple of yards beyond Rosuke, who stood the farthest out, was a dark mystery.

  “She wanted to wait for you,” Vallen said evenly, his head slowly motioning to something beyond her range of vision amongst the trees…something that lay in wait for the four of them. She walked down the steps, her eyes searching the still darkness in front of them. Raising her arm, she aimed her cupped palm at a spot in the sky.

  “Hikari.” A low pop, like taking a cork from a bottle, and a ball of light was thrown into the air. It was all she could do to merely gasp in surprise rather than let instinct and fear make her scream.

  There had to be at least a hundred demons, all standing still and attentive. A few of them flinched at the light but the great majority didn’t even react. After all, the light from her simple spell was not true sunlight.

  She had never clearly seen a demon born from Oblivion before and to look into the face of evil was like watching the cruelest and most gruesome act happen before your eyes. She instantly felt sullied just by having their gaze on her. Each face was twisted and malformed—teeth in the wrong place, eyes askew, multiple mouths, or arms, or legs…They didn’t look like any kind of animal either. Some bore fur, but some were hairless creatures. Some had tails, some had horns and some had claws.

  She didn’t realize it, but she was slowly breaking. Her breathing was speeding up, her skin was growing moist with the cold sweat of fear and her body was stiffening with fright. It wasn’t until she felt Vallen’s hand on her arm that she snapped out of her horrified trance.

  “Empress, your enemy wishes to speak with you,” Vallen said, now obviously speaking in some official capacity. It was the most serious she had ever seen him.

  Her spell, still hovering in the sky, cast enough light to see the large group of demons waiting for the inevitable fight and it was certainly bright enough to see the only one amongst them who looked human. It was somewhat of an overstatement though.

  “It’s been a while, Shumei,” Majo purred. She stood at the front of the legion, decked out in silk and leather. Her black leather belt was wide, both pushing up her generous breasts and hugging the curves of her hips. Her sleeves were long, etched with red and white symbols that Shumei recognized as being a kind of magical armor. They were basically automatic shields, active at all times.

  Her skirt was cut scandalously short though and it looked as if bending over or even walking would reveal all to anyone who was looking. Her boots were reminiscent of Vallen’s leather pants. They laced up the sides, reaching all the way to mid-thigh.

  The clothing had not surprised Shumei, in all honesty, but her face…

  It was horrifying. The woman’s eyes were completely black. There was no iris, no pupil and no whites. She wasn’t even quite sure if her eyes were still there. The skin around her eyes was ashen, as if the pits of her eyes were a black hole that would suck you in. On the right side of her face, the veins under her skin seemed to flow with indigo ink, so dark were the lines tracing her cheek and temple. The left side of her face wasn’t much better. A deep scar ran from the corner of her mouth down to her jaw, making her smile just a bit lopsided, and another scar broke the clean line of her high cheekbone.

  “Not long enough, Majo,” she answered, grateful that her voice was loud and strong. Vallen’s hand left her arm.

  “It seems as if having your lover around suits you very well. You look positively delicious,” the witch said, her voice husky and attempting to be seductive.

  “And you look like a hag,” she responded. The older woman’s smile only widened, looking even more lopsided.

  “Just trying to fit in,” she chuckled, gesturing to the horrors standing around and behind her.

  “How did you find us?”

  “That’s what I love about you, Shumei. You’re so direct. To answer your question, the only downside to joining the other side was that I lost any ability to track you using the Empress’s Pull, but finding and following another black-haired user trying to find you…that was simple enough.”

  “You followed Mai,” Shumei deducted, not realizing that such a thing could happen and yet now it seemed obvious. She couldn’t help but glance over at her newest ally, whose face was horrorstruck.

  “I-I’m so sorry, Empress! I didn’t know!” Mai said, her voice sincere. Shumei turned her face back to the witch, ignoring her for now since there were more important things at hand than comforting Mai.

  “And where is Akiji? Is he still alive?”

  “Do you actually care, Shumei?” Majo asked, looking down at her hand as if checking her nails. She noticed that the witch’s fingertips were black, as if the tips had suffered severe frostbite.

  “He’s a bully, but he’s not evil…at l
east not when I last saw him.”

  “All I can tell you is that my Master has decided to keep him for a while. He’ll not join us this eve,” the witch said, her tone reflecting her suddenly serious face.

  “Why is the Damned One doing all of this now? Why did he not wipe out all of humanity while it was unprotected by an empress?”

  “So many questions… You have been thinking a lot about this moment,” Majo smirked, her good mood returning again. Shumei thought to herself that mood swings must be a common demonic trait. It was one of Vallen’s worst qualities when she had first met him. “Very well…after all, it is something that even I did not know until He told me.” The witch took a deep breath.

  “The last empress, slain in her bed by a blondie, was not killed quite as quickly as many believed. She had enough time to utter one of the few powerful invocations reserved only for a champion—the Martyr’s Plea.” Shumei heard Vallen make a small noise of surprise, but it wasn’t loud enough for Majo to hear.

  “It guaranteed a ceasefire between both sides until the new empress was born. The last empress was a quick thinker…she knew that she had been tricked, that a blondie uprising would come upon her court and demolish her army. Any new empress born unto this world would be vulnerable and one such as I would easily slay the young girl, charging into the Divine One’s territory with no army to hold me back.

  “And so the Divine One waited, patiently watching until the population of dark-haired humans had built up again. Then he chose one female from amongst them, giving her the Light of the Empress, but her magic was asleep and until it awakened she was just another black-haired girl, living out her simple life. It wasn’t until I found the Devil’s Hand that I was able to prophesy the empress’s identity.

  “What a terrible surprise to find out that it was you and not me,” Majo frowned, placing her fists onto her curvaceous hips. “But it was easy to gain my Master’s support. I told him of the barrier flaw, of your identity and even promised the return of his long-lost spell book. Losing it earned me my due punishment.” Her fingers traced the scars on the left side of her face, and for a short second, she looked frightened.

  “Of course, my Master cannot control all of his servants, just as the Divine One could not prevent the blondie uprising. Some demons still preyed upon humanity during the three hundred years of peace, but they were punished for violating the ceasefire.”

  “I don’t understand. Why did it last only until I was born?”

  “My dear, this war has been raging for several millennia. The ancient rules of battle set by both sides, long forgotten by most, are still valid.”

  “And those are?”

  “One champion must kill the other. Only then can the winner take her army into the enemy’s territory and attempt to assassinate the god who commanded the defeated champion. She has one year to do so, or else she must once again defeat a newly selected champion in order to retain the right to enter her enemy’s land. If she perishes in her attempt to kill her enemy’s god, then both sides must choose a new champion and start again.”

  “So…in all those millennia, not one champion succeeded?”

  “Defeating a god, Shumei? Only a champion of champions can accomplish such a thing, which is why I pity you for being chosen.” The witch paused for the briefest of heartbeats and Shumei’s back stiffened as if a drop of cold water were running down her spine. “You won’t survive this battle, let alone a fight with my Master,” Majo growled, her voice dropping to an earth-shaking bass. The doors in the building behind the four of them shook in reaction.

  “What makes you so confident?” Shumei asked, folding her arms. The older woman’s tone would not frighten her. She had heard it too many times coming from Vallen’s throat for it to hold any fear for her. From the corner of her eye, though, she saw Mai’s sword shaking.

  “I know what scares you, Shumei,” the witch replied, her voice normal again. “I know what makes your stomach clench, what thoughts make you wake in the middle of the night. I know this because I am the Damned One’s champion. It is my basic function to know everyone’s basic fear. Fear is a powerful tool.

  “For example, that girl there, holding her sword so tightly… She is afraid of a man’s touch—of sex.”

  “E-empress,” Mai whimpered. Shumei hastily looked over at Mai, whose sword was now violently jerking as she tried to keep it up and in front of her. Rosuke looked at her too though Shumei couldn’t see the expression on his face.

  “I’m on your side, Mai. Never forget that,” she called, her voice calm and even. It seemed to give Mai a bit of courage, and her blade steadied.

  “You see what I mean?” Majo smiled. “With just a threat…”

  “Fear can be defeated, Majo. I wonder if the Damned One is as stupid as you. If so, killing him will be easy,” she launched, hoping to incite her enemy to strike first. If it was going to happen, it had to happen soon. Otherwise, Majo’s words would weaken their resolve.

  “I think you are the stupid one, Shumei. You say fear is easily defeated?” the older woman queried. “We’ll just see about that…”

  Vallen and Rosuke both tensed.

  The ball of magic inside her belly rapidly began to expand as if it knew something she didn’t and within mere seconds, her skin emanated heat as though a bonfire raged inside her.

  The witch raised her hand, which made one of her long sleeves slip down to her elbow, revealing a series of intricate tattoos on her forearm.

  “Kuragari,” she invoked, snuffing out the light that had been hovering so innocently above their imposing scene. Shumei heard Mai’s gasp, and that’s when the screaming began. Every demon that had been standing in front of them was howling, baying, hollering their war cry.

  She had only a couple of seconds to think. The demons closest to them would undoubtedly leap forward to dig their claws and teeth into the nearest bit of human flesh. They needed to see in order to avoid it.

  She needed to see in order to kill Majo.

  “Rosuke! Come to me!” she called over the demons’ deafening barks. She took one step toward Vallen, placing her hand on his arm. Rosuke’s fingers touched her elbow, and she quickly grasped for his sword hand, finding the hilt of his sword with her fingers. She did the same with Vallen and gripped the bases of their blades. Neither of them questioned what she was doing. There was no time.

  “Sokobikari,” she whispered. Carefully running her hands up the length of the blades, a bright glow followed her fingers, giving the blades their own inner light. It was bright enough to see a few yards in all directions, something that Majo could not dispel from afar.

  “Rosuke, touch blades with Mai, and stay close to her. Good luck,” she hurriedly told him. “Vallen, just keep them away from me long enough for me to finish her off.” Both men nodded and Rosuke ran back to where Mai stood. She heard a clang, and the glow of her spell spread to Mai’s blade as well.

  This was the best she could do for them now.

  “Tsuyosa.” She invoked her strength spell, watching as the first few demons entered their ring of light. Rosuke hollered as his fight began.

  “Tajuu,” Vallen called. His sword unexpectedly multiplied into five more, the blades of which hovered in front of him as if ghosts wielded them. He lunged forward, and all six swords thrust in unison, directly striking the four demons’ chests.

  It was time.

  She raced forward, jumping over the felled demons and swiping her arms to both sides. She knocked demons aside as though she were flinging branches out of her way, smashing them into trees or each other in her race to reach Majo, who had been standing only fifteen yards away before the light spell had been extinguished.

  She didn’t look back to see if Vallen was following. If he simply fought to keep himself alive, that was good enough at this point.

  She had what felt like a million ideas as to how to hit Majo first, and then second, and then third…the problem was which one would penetrate her shield, deal a
lot of damage and be unpredictable, giving the witch no way to counter it before it could hurt her.

  She decided to go with her instincts.

  One last demon was punched to the side, hitting a tree with a sickening crunch, and Majo was suddenly before her, now barely visible in the remaining light being thrown from Vallen’s sword, but the witch already had something ready for her.

  “Tate!” Shumei quickly gasped out, blocking the two Flying Fists that had rocketed at her almost faster than she could think. Majo blinked in surprise, probably not expecting that she could have blocked them.

  She had to do it now.

  “Moui,” she muttered under her breath. Her arms seized up, burning with power, and she planted one foot in front of her. Time slowed down, and her magic’s high-pitched whine filled her ears. The witch was bringing up her hands, her face shocked, but she was too slow. Twisting quickly, Shumei put as much weight into her punch as possible, putting every bit of the spell’s energy into her clenched hand, and made bone-crushing impact into the witch’s abdomen.

  It was a direct hit. The witch’s shield blocked magical attacks only, just as she had predicted.

  Her enemy was flung back, feet and hands out straight as they followed the rest of her body. Other demons were mowed down as the older woman flew out of the light’s range, which had come closer, and the faint sound of her body landing on something met her ears.

  This is when she made a grave mistake. Instead of watching her surroundings, she was absorbed in the moment of hitting the witch and simply stood there, vulnerable and stupid.

  It wasn’t long before a heavy body slammed into her, bearing her to the ground beneath it. The breath was knocked from her body, and for a couple of seconds she could only see stars. The light of Vallen’s sword was even closer now, but several demon bodies separated her from him, and he was too occupied with fighting them back to even see that she was down.

  “Little one,” a hollow voice rasped.