Aside from occasionally giving her small jobs to do around the town tending to the human citizens that remained behind it’s walls, she was largely left to her own devices; free to roam the town as she saw fit. For their part, the residents of the town seemed uncertain whether to treat her as a traitor, or a human representative. Benny guessed that which direction they chose depended largely on whether they were more angry or afraid. Though she wasn’t sure why, Noraz and Lorbin followed her like puppies following their mother now; where before they had treated her more like a VIP they were tasked with. They had also taken to calling her “Bloody Mistress” and refused to explain why.
All Benny could do with this new dynamic was shrug and carry on with her explorations. It was on the eighth day that her new routine was interrupted.
“Do you feel that?” Benny asked Noraz.
“Like someone watching?” He asked, and she nodded. The two guards shifted their stance as they walked, gripping their weapons a little tighter.
“It’s probably just someone from the town looking out their window. Don’t react unless someone actually attacks us.” She told them.
He nodded, relaxing his grip. “Yes, Blood Mistress.” She glanced at Lorbin, and he nodded silently, relaxing his grip as well.
It was in that moment that the unknown person struck. Jumping down from a balcony, his foot impacted Noraz’s head with a sickening crunch. Noraz remained unmoving as Lorbin drew his sword, but was too late as the assailant directed a sword thrust into the demon’s abdomen. Lorbin cried out, and curled into a ball, clutching at his wound. The unknown figure attempted to deliver the coup de grace to Lorbin, but met Benny’s own sword; finally reclaimed from Azel after the incident with the squad of soldiers had proven her need for a weapon.
“What do you want?” She growled at him, kicking his gut to force him back. The man grunted at the impact of the kick, but gave no ground. He was dressed all in black, and wearing a headwrap that covered his face.
“I’m here to rescue you Benny. You and the rest of your team.” His voice seemed familiar, but she couldn’t attach it to a face.
“Who are you?”
He sighed, and lowered his sword. Hesitantly, he unbound the black mask, revealing a face covered in grey stubble, and massive scars. Cold grey eyes looked out at her from under silver eyebrows, and a close-cropped military haircut.
“Dad?” She said, sword drooping to until it clicked on the ground.
“Dad, what are you doing here?”
“I told you, I came here to rescue you.” Judas Church said. His voice was gruff, and snarly, as if the only exercise it got was to growl at his foes. She realized it hadn’t sounded that way the last time she had seen him. Once upon a time his voice had been a pleasant baritone. She wondered what had happened until she saw the scar on his neck. It was clear that at some point someone had succeeded in cutting his throat.
“I can’t leave. They have the rest of my squad hostage, and if I run away, they’ll be executed.”
“I don’t care about that. You’re my daughter, and I need to save you. Whether you want me to or not.” He rasped at her, face expressionless. Though she no longer really knew him, Benny could tell by his face that he was serious.
“I haven’t seen you in over a decade, and now you just show up making demands? I know you weren’t there, but I didn’t grow up to be a coward. I’m not going to just abandon my team.”
“I understand, but you’re my daughter. I won’t leave you here to be ravaged by demons.”
Benny’s world exploded into shades of red. “You seemed fine leaving me to be ravaged by humans so how is this any different?” She screamed at him.
“What… what do you mean by that?” He asked, surprise and guilt breaking through the impassive mask he had shown up till this point.
“What do you think happens to a teenage girl left to wander a city that spends half it’s time under siege? You abandoned me in the middle of a warzone with no one to look after me. I only escaped the situation you put me into when I forged your signature to get into a military boarding school.”
“You were a responsible child. You were always so mature for your age. More mature than I ever have been. I sent you my wages, and my superiors assured me they would look after you.” He replied defensively.
“I don’t know who made that promise, but I never saw any sign of them. I was fourteen, and alone on the streets. Every month a gang hunted me down, and took the money you sent me; or if I managed to hide it, they took their ‘tax’ out of my body. Sometimes they took both. So fuck off dad, if I wanted your help I would have asked for it years ago. You certainly don’t get to come riding in on your white horse as if you get to make decisions for me from your moral high ground.”
“I… I didn’t know. I checked in with my superiors, and they sent me status reports on you. As far as I knew you were living a happy life in a church school until you joined the military and began serving honorably.”
“All you had to do was come visit, and you would have known immediately that wasn’t true. Instead I haven’t seen you for ten years. You’re just as responsible as whoever was lying to you because you didn’t care enough to check.”
“I… I… You’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I can do to make up for my mistakes, but please. Come home. I need to rescue you.”
Benny’s eyes widened slightly as understanding dawned. “I’m your mission aren’t I? Someone assigned you to rescue me, and that’s the only reason you’re here.” Her sword slowly rose from the ground, into a defensive stance.
“What will you do if I say no?” She asked, already knowing the answer.
Judas sighed in resignation. “I’ll… have to take you by force.”
Benny nodded. “You can certainly try.”
Judases sword rose until he was standing in a stance Benny recognized as a standard sword form. “Very well. If you insist.”
Judas launched into a complicated series of blows, so fast that Benny was barely able to keep up. She cursed the fact that she hadn’t had the opportunity to draw a speed sigil. She was a skilled swordswoman, but Judas, driven by decades of experience, was a superb swordsman. A small gash appeared on her arm when Judas switched sword forms mid-combo, catching her off guard. A minute passed in which she didn’t even have the chance to strike back. All she could do was desperately parry. Finally, Judas disengaged, panting.
“You… are definitely… my daughter.” He said, huffing. From her own experience with skilled warriors, she knew that he wasn’t truly out of breath. Instead, he was consciously stockpiling oxygen for the next pass. Benny did the same.
Catching him off guard, Benny launched the first strike. His sword barely managed to deflect the blow, and she used his off-balance block to kick at his leg. He shifted enough to save his kneecap, but the blow still landed, impacting his shin with heavy force.
Judas backed up a step, and Benny registered that he seemed to be limping. Before she could take advantage of this, he stepped back into the fight with a powerful swing. Benny honestly couldn’t tell whether he was trying to rescue her or kill her as she angled her sword to redirect the attack so that it swung wide.
She countered with her elbow, and he dodged backwards, a hasty step saving him from losing teeth. With a heavy swing, she maintained the offensive, doing her best to keep him off-balance. He snarled as he batted away her third blow in the sequence, and propelled himself into her space with a hard step. His fist rocketed into her temple, leaving her seeing stars. She stumbled back, barely conscious. Not giving her a moment's respite, he batted her sword out of her hand, and it clinked several times as it flew down the alley.
Benny collapsed to the pavement, as Judas bent over her. “Just come home, Benny. We can fix everything, just come home.”
“No, don’t.”Benny said weakly, still seeing stars. “Leave me alone dad.”
“Never again.” He muttered, binding her hands behind her back. Suddenly
he stiffened, and Benny looked up to see what happened. She shifted her gaze just in time to see Noraz withdraw his blade from Judas’s back. Blearily her gaze shifted, seeing a blood trail where Noraz had dragged himself stealthily behind Judas.
With a last sigh, Judas collapsed, toppling into Benny’s lap as he died. Hesitantly, Benny brought her hand to rest on her father’s head, before shoving him off her a moment later, and standing up. Even as she stood, his body began to dissolve into nothingness. Taking stock of her surroundings, she hurried to Lorbin’s side.
“Your dad… he dead?” Lorbin asked weakly.
She snorted. “No, he’ll be back. His power will resurrect him at the nearest church.”
“What about one in this town? We need warn Azel?” He asked.
She shook her head. “Only the ones controlled by humans. No one knows why it works that way, it just does.”
She looked down to evaluate the wound. While she didn’t know much about demon physiology, a giant gaping sword wound in his abdomen certainly seemed likely to be lethal. Silently, she began taking strips of cloth from his shirt, and pressing them into the wound. Noraz, slowly standing, wobbled over to them on unsteady legs.
“Go get help.” She told him firmly. He nodded blearily, and moved as fast as he could down the alley; his feet slowly regaining their surety as he moved.
“We protect the Blood Mistress. I am happy.” Lorbin said, smiling wanly at her as she stuffed more cloth into his wound.
She smacked him lightly on the head. “You stay awake. If you fall asleep now, you might die.”
He smiled slightly, but didn’t slip into unconsciousness. “If that is your command my lady.”
Before she could respond, a squad of demons entered the alley, trailed by Noraz; who looked somewhat less dazed than he had before. Benny could now see him clearly for the first time, and realized that the crunch she had heard when Judas drove him into the pavement must have been his nose. She grimaced at the bruised, and broken mess it had become, but said nothing. The Demon soldiers took over caring for Lorbin as Benny scooted back to lean against the nearby building. She curled up into herself as she stared at her father’s corpse.
……………………………………………………………..
A hundred miles away, Judas church awoke, in an unknown bed. In the way of most military men with combat experience, he was awake instantly; sitting up, and scanning his environment before relaxing. It was simply a small room, likely to give him privacy as resurrection didn’t include his clothes. Next to the bed was a bundle of clothes, which he quickly donned, before stepping out into the hallway. Though he wasn’t familiar with this particular church, every church was largely similar in their designs, and he managed to navigate the halls; eventually stepping out into the portal room.
“Send me to the Central Cloister.” He said, glaring down the portal operator.
“But sir, I can’t send you without clearance-”
“I’m specialist Judas Church. Send me to the Central Cloister.”
“Errrr yes sir.” The portal technician said, stumbling over his words.
With a pop, the portal opened as the technician channeled energy into the device. Judas stepped through without a glance back, as the portal slowly closed behind him.
The technician from the Central Cloister, standing just outside the radius of the portal, snapped to attention with a crisp salute as he stepped through. Judas waved a hand at him dismissively, and the portal operator returned to his post.
Expressionless, Judas stalked through the marble halls of the Central Cloister, eventually stopping outside a door. The plaque on the door read “Commandant Rogers.” A trio of quick knocks elicited a harried sounding “What is it?”
Unhurriedly, Judas opened the door, stepped through, and closed it behind him.
“Ah, Judas, to what do I owe the pleasure?” The commandant asked. He was a slightly obese man with red hair in his early fifties; what some in the military might consider more politician than soldier. He sat behind a desk, one strewn with papers.
“I’d like to know where you’ve been for the last ten years.” Judas said, taking a seat in a chair that sat in front of the desk.
“Excuse me?” The commandant asked, looking genuinely confused.
“You assured me that my daughter would be looked after. You even claimed you’d see to it personally. So I’d like to know why she apparently spent most of the last ten years on the streets with no one to look after her.”
“Ah, that.” The commandant said, recognition, guilt, and fear flashing across his face before he turned it into an expressionless mask with an effort of will.
“You see, I put in a request, but the higher-ups decided to institute a church-wide policy that the military wasn’t responsible for the children of soldiers. I was directly ordered not to do anything. I couldn’t defy a direct order!” By the end, he was nearly screaming.
“Then why not just tell me?” Judas’s icy mask slipped for the first time, becoming nearly crazed with icy rage.
The commandant looked away in shame. “I was ordered not to. Your work was too important, and they didn’t want you distracted from it. Thousands, perhaps millions might have died if not for your intelligence reports, and black ops work. What would have happened if you left in the middle of a mission to care for your daughter?”
“She wouldn’t be a prisoner of war! She’d be living her life safely, far away from the front lines!” Judas yelled at the commandant.
The man paled, but his eyes took on a determined glint. “I tried to tell them that sending you for the rescue op was a mistake, but they refused to listen. Look, you’re too emotionally invested in this, and we need to assign someone else. As of this moment, I’m moving you to the ops pool pending a new assignment.”
“Like hell!” Judas said, standing to tower over the commandant, eyes embers of molten rage.
“This isn’t a debate. That’s an order!” The commandant yelled, exploding out of his chair. All hints of shame, or hesitance had left his demeanor, replaced by decades of command experience.
“Shove your orders up your ass. I’m done.” Judas said, the molten fury drawing back until only a spark was visible in his eyes. “I’m going to rescue my daughter. You can help me or get in my way. You know what happens when something is in my way.”
After being his commanding officer for fifteen years, Commandant Rogers did indeed know what happened to anyone or anything which stood in the way of Judas Church. Combined with a decade of accrued guilt, he collapsed back into his seat.
“Fine. Just… Fine. Go, we’re done here.” The Commandant said, pretending to do paperwork as if to hide behind it.
Judas stalked toward the portal room, face an unreadable mask.
Chapter 10
Benny stood in front of Azel, waiting for him to speak. Noraz had just delivered a detailed report on their encounter with Judas, and Azel was now sitting on his throne, staring into space.
“I see. It was definitely Judas Church then?” He said at last, glaring at Noraz.
“Indeed my lord.” Noraz said, nervously. “Lady Benny confirmed it herself.”
Azel sighed in defeat. “Very well. I suppose I can increase the guard, but I must warn you Benny, I’m not optimistic about our chances of actually stopping him if he means to break into the city. Would you like me to evacuate you to the underground base? I still mean to keep my promise to protect you regardless of my other plans.”
Benny shook her head. “No, I refuse to run from him. If he comes, I’ll fight him again.”
Azel nodded. “Very well. In that case, I will confer greater power upon your guards, so they might better defend you.”
Azel said something Benny couldn’t understand in the demon language, and one of his attendants walked off briskly. The entire assembly stood in silence, and several minutes later, the attendant arrived with two other demons. The two followers bowed deeply, then knelt in front o
f Azel.
“I have promised power to the guardians. Do you understand?” Azel asked the two demons in Demon tongue. This time Benny could understand it in a broken fashion. After a moment of trying to parse out why she could sometimes understand it, and sometimes not, she realized there might be multiple dialects.
“We understand and serve.” The demons told Azel in the same language.
Azel nodded at them, and they stood in unison. Several steps placed them in front of Noraz and Lorbin, where they knelt again.
“By your blood you live forever with me.” Noraz said in a ritualistic tone of voice, repeated a moment later by Lorbin.
With a brutal slash of their long nails, Noraz and Lorbin simultaneously tore out the throats of their respective sacrifices. Benny wasn’t sure whether to be fascinated or horrified as she fixed her gaze on the normally amiable Noraz. With a look of concentration, he gripped his victims head by their forehead, nails digging into the skin, and drawing more blood. Suddenly, the blood gushing from the slashed throat seemed to quiver and stop. Vibrating oddly, the pool of blood slithered into Noraz’s shadow like some kind of slime creature, and fell in as if falling into an abyss. More and more blood drained from the corpse until she could see it shriveling, the very moisture of its skin being drawn out.
Finally with a cracking sound, the corpse fell from Noraz’s grip, nothing left but a dried husk. A second cracking sound echoed the first as Lorbin released his own victim. Both Noraz and Lorbin had expressions on their face that reminded her of men high on cocaine. Benny realized her mouth had been slightly open, and closed it so fast it made a clicking noise as her teeth impacted each other. Both demons turned their gazes on her at the sound, a wildness in their eyes that made her feel like prey to their predator.
“Do you find our ways displeasing?” Azel asked Benny. She turned to face him, but couldn’t find any clues on his face to tell her how to answer his question.
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