Benny grunted. “Let’s worry about that later. Right now we have to reach Azel.”
Lilian nodded, and fell in behind Benny. They marched as cautiously as they could through the streets for what felt like hours. Twice they were forced to flee in the wrong direction when encountering a patrol. On another occasion they were cornered, and forced to slay their pursuers. Though it still bothered her to kill other humans, Benny found that it didn’t affect her nearly as much as it had the first time. The fact that she felt it less with every kill bothered her, but there was little she could do.
Benny felt a weight fall from her shoulders as they turned a corner, and spotted the keep. The weight immediately returned when she spotted a sizeable sieging force outside the building. From where she stood, she could hear the shouts, and metallic clangs of combat. Benny had to stop herself mid-motion when a tap on the shoulder spurred her into a panicked backward thrust of her sword.
Lilian burst into laughter that she muffled as best she could to avoid breaking their stealth. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to startle you, but there is a patrol coming up behind us. We will have to make a decision quickly.”
Benny nodded, and put her finger up in a silent shushing motion. Lilian cocked her head in confusion, and Benny realized it likely wasn’t included in the Demon’s cultural lexicon.
“Stay quiet, and follow me.” Benny whispered.
Lilian nodded, and the pair slunk into the alley Benny had been using to observe the siege. Stopping just before the end of the alleyway, they hid in the shadows while Benny looked for some avenue of escape. None presented themselves, and Benny leaned closer to Lilian.
“We’re going to go around the corner, and into the first doorway we find. Keep low, and try not to get spotted by the mob.” She whispered to Lilian. Lilian nodded in reply.
Benny let out an anticipatory breath, and began running; body as low to the ground as she could get. Behind her, she could hear Lilian’s footsteps thunking against the tiles. Despite the sounds of battle, to Benny their footsteps sounded overly loud as she sprinted toward the nearest doorway.
A moment later, they were through the doorway, only for Benny to find herself nearly impaled on the sword of a very surprised soldier. Ducking under him as she ran, her sword flashed out of its sheath in a silver blur, slicing through his side as she slowed her momentum. Unfortunately, due to her momentum, she was unable to deliver the coup de grace. The man screamed in pain, silenced a moment later by Lilian digging her talons into his neck while using his body to slow herself.
More voices came from upstairs, even as some members of the siege force turned towards the noise; spotting Lilian standing just inside the doorway. Lilian quickly closed the door, but the damage was done.
“We need to keep moving.” Benny warned. Lilian nodded, grimacing as she wiped her bloody claws on the man’s shirt. Taking the initiative, Lilian began barricading the door with furniture from the room as Benny watched the second floor. She wasn’t disappointed as she soon heard footsteps.
“Hey Richter, what’s going on down there?” A male voice called from the stairwell.
Benny sighed in disgust. Clearly the man coming down the stairwell hadn’t been paying attention during his training, or he would have known not to announce his presence in an unknown situation. Benny motioned with her hands, and Lilian moved so she wasn’t visible from the stairs.
A few seconds later, Benny lashed out with her fist right as the soldier walked into view. He was downed instantly, and Benny pulled him to the side. She motioned to Lilian, who began binding the soldier. Still hearing voices coming from above, Benny moved over to stand by Lilian.
“I’ll be right back.” Benny whispered to Lilian.
Lilian nodded as Benny turned to stalk silently up the stairs. Reaching the top, she could see a pair of soldiers turned away from her. They seemed to be acting as a small scouting party, relaying information to the siege force from the vantage of the second story window.
“I’m telling you, Richter probably just stubbed his toe. You know that baby went to the doctors, and got prescribed bed rest three days in a row last week. Turns out, he just couldn’t handle the cooks soup, and he was feeling a bit queasy. You should have seen how the sergeant chewed him out when they realized what was going on.” One of the scouts said.
“Ya, but that shit could melt paint. I’m surprised we’re not all dying from food poisoning.” The second one said.
“You’ve got me there. Still, if we can suffer through it, then he shouldn’t get to-” Benny had borrowed a replacement knife from Lilian during their journey since she had lost her original one. For whatever reason, Lilian seemed to have an ample supply of knives strapped to various hidden parts of her body. Benny found herself being grateful for this as the thrown knife lodged in the back of scout number one’s neck.
Before the second scout could react, she was behind him with her sword to his throat. “Drop all your weapons.” She told him in the most threatening voice she could manage.
The soldier obeyed instantly. “Who are you? What do you want?” He whined in terror.
“Not important. Tell me what’s going on. Why is there an army here?”
“You know what, fuck you.” The soldier declared, picking that moment to rediscover his backbone.
Benny pressed the sword into his neck, drawing a line of blood. “Tell me.” She ordered.
“Go fuck yourself. I’m a lot of things, but a traitor isn’t one of them.” He replied dramatically.
Benny sighed. As a soldier who solved problems with fist or blade, she disliked the idea of mind control. It simply disturbed her on some fundamental level. As a result she had tried to avoid using her manipulation power as much as possible. It had been easy to justify to herself when negotiating with the town council, since she was trying to help them to help herself. This was a very different situation though, since she was coercing someone for information.
Benny let out a breath, and allowed pragmatism to take over. Compartmentalizing her moral misgivings, Benny activated Mind Fog first. She felt as if a slight mist brushed against her lips as it activated, and the man seemed to relax slightly. Next, she used the power of Suggestion as she spoke.
“You should really tell me what you know. Don’t you want to live? I don’t want to kill you, but I need to know what’s going on out there.”
“I… but... “ The man said, voice sounding like he was in a trance.
Benny tried again. “I just want to know why you’re here. Is that so bad?”
“I… I can’t…” He mumbled.
Benny sighed in resignation, as she activated her next power. She could almost see a pinkish aura around herself as Seduction activated for the first time. “It would make me really happy if you would tell me.” She ground out through gritted teeth. Despite trying to override her qualms with pragmatism, there were limits. She couldn’t bring herself to actually act seductive in this situation.
“I… fine, you win. This town got taken by the demons a few weeks ago. I don’t know all the details, but I guess one of the black ops guys managed to sneak a portal mage behind the walls. We came through, gave a bunch of weapons to the townsfolk, and then took over the town while the Demons dealt with the riot. All that’s left now is that castle over there.”
“Great, and where is this portal mage now?”
“He’s with the siege forces over there. I think he’s probably going to bring reinforcements if we need them.”
“Thanks, good to know.” Benny stared at the man, who was staring forward, glassy-eyed. After a moment's thought, she bashed him on the head with her sword hilt. He fell unconscious, and she peeked out the window while she retrieved her knife from his companion. At least thirty soldiers stood in front of the door to the building she was in, having peeled off from the main force. From where she was, she could hear them trading insults with Lilian through the door. Behind them, another ten soldiers approached carrying a metal cylinder
.
Benny stood, and raced down the stairs at top speed. “Get away from the door!” She yelled at Lilian.
Lilian jumped to obey, and made it to Benny seconds before a loud *thwump* caved in the entire wall she had been standing by. Not pausing to observe the damage, Benny began running to the back of the house. Finding what she was looking for, she sprinted through the back door, and out into the street. It was thankfully free of patrols for the moment, and the pair managed to duck through a maze of alleys before holing up inside a small restaurant.
“I hate those things.” Lilian whined. “What do you humans call them?”
Benny sighed. “We call them ball busters.”
Lilian snorted derisively. “What kind of name is that?”
Benny rolled her eyes. “They’re long tubes that fire hollow metal balls filled with a mix of gunpowder and distilled mana. Naturally some guy thought it would be funny to make a penis joke, and the name stuck.”
Lilian sniffed again. “Barbarians.”
“You’ve got me there.” Benny said, shrugging.
“The real question is what we do now.” Lilian groused. “Even you can’t go up against a horde of soldiers like that, and I don’t foresee Azel sallying forth anytime soon. He’ll likely spend the next several days pulling troops in from our underground bases while fighting defensively.”
“Honestly, I think the best we can do is just survive. I don’t really want to kill other humans unless I need to. Azel forced me into this position, and I’m not about to go attack a human army on his behalf.”
Lilian’s expression softened as she listened to Benny. “I think it’s too late to think that way.” Lilian said sadly. “You have been killing soldiers all day. There’s no guarantee your army won’t learn that you are responsible. On top of that, you represented us to the town council. If the human army reclaims this town, they will definitely learn that fact. Are your people so forgiving to those who work with the enemy?”
Benny leaned against the wall with a troubled expression, arms crossed. “No, I doubt I’d even get a trial. They would summarily execute me.”
“Then can you really afford to let them take the city? Even if you are forced to fully reveal yourself; as long as you have us, at least you have a home. I don’t think you can say the same were you to return to human society.”
Benny knew she was being manipulated, but couldn’t deny that Lilian was right. As much as she hated killing her comrades, Benny knew she didn’t have a choice if she wanted to survive. “Fine. We’ll figure this out as we go. For now, let’s try to take out the portal mages before they can bring in reinforcements.”
Lilian nodded. “I agree, that would seem to be a top priority for the time being.”
Benny sighed, and pushed herself off the wall. “Let’s get going then.”
Chapter 18
The pair watched from the shadows of a nearby house as soldiers patrolled the streets. Night had fallen, making it much easier to hide, and Benny was grateful for the opportunity to let some tension out of her shoulders. They had spent the day hunting through the city, attempting to locate the portal mages. Once the mages had been found, it was decided that waiting for night would give them better odds at conducting a successful raid.
Now it was almost time for them to attack, and Benny was feeling anxious. She fiddled with the handle of her knife as they waited for the patrol to pass them. A minute later, the flashlights fading into the distance, Benny motioned to Lilian. The pair stalked through the street, weapons drawn. Benny wondered idly whether there would be anyone she recognized on the other side of the walls, as they inched closer to their destination.
Reaching the wall of the building that housed their targets, Benny could hear the raucous noise of soldiers who thought they were safely behind friendly lines. Using the reflection from a hand-mirror provided by Lilian, she spied through a window. Inside the room, soldiers drank, played cards, and good-naturedly harassed each other. Benny had to quell a feeling of envy as she examined the image in the mirror. Ten men, and two women caroused together, though the women seemed to be more along the lines of ‘camp followers’ than soldiers. She winced as a soldier swatted the butt of one of the women, drunkenly adding more force than was warranted. The woman stumbled, but quickly righted herself, masterfully maintaining her cheerful smile.
Having seen enough, Benny continued moving, ducking under the windowsill. Lilian followed behind her, silent as a ghost. A moment later, they reached the front door. Benny signalled Lilian to stay down, and rose from her crouch; striding toward the entrance as if she had every right to be there. Benny knocked on the door briskly, eliciting a voice from the other side.
“Password?” A deep rumbling voice asked.
“Open the damn door moron.” Benny called back, honoring a long-running tradition among the lower ranks of the army.
“Password accepted.” The voice retorted ritualistically.
The door opened widely. Benny glanced at the burly soldier standing guard in the entrance hall, looked past him to confirm that he was alone, and rendered him unconscious with her fist just as he finished asking her what she wanted. She grabbed the body before it could crash to the floor, and sat him in a chair that rested against the wall. Benny crossed her fingers that anyone who came to check on him would think he had fallen asleep at his post.
Motioning to Lilian, Benny stepped into the hallway. They each knew what their respective missions were, and went to work silently. While Lilian climbed the stairs to the second floor on an assassination mission, Benny wandered the first floor to check on the defenses. After rendering the guard at the back door unconscious with a palm strike to the back of the head, Benny wandered into the main room. She was silently glad that the lower ranks rarely had any form of uniform as they noticed her entrance.
“Hey, who’re you?” one of the soldiers called out.
“Midnight transfer.” She retorted. “Someone got caught sleeping on shift, so we got switched.”
The man winced. “It was Henderson wasn’t it? I told him he needed to stop slacking off in front of the brass. Never thought he’d be dumb enough to get caught sleeping though.”
Benny shrugged. “Dunno. They don’t tell me shit. I’m here though, so let’s make the best of it.”
Those soldiers who had mugs raised them, while those without mugs mockingly saluted. “Amen to that.” Said the man she had been talking to.
With her subtle encouragement, the room turned from a companionable gathering of soldiers to a loud, raucous party. Benny pretended to get drunk with the rest, while allowing most of the alcohol to splash down her shirt. The soldiers were too intoxicated; both by alcohol, and by the ever-more visible lines of her cleavage to notice that almost none of the booze had made it down her throat.
Meanwhile, Lilian waited until the noise had kicked up a notch to leave the pool of shadow in an empty room on the second floor. Slinking silently through the hallway, she found the first occupied room, with two men deep in conversation.
“I swear, could those idiots downstairs be any louder? I’m trying to concentrate on my work.” The first man moaned.
“I agree, but what are you going to do? They’re grunts. The only things they know how to do are fight, fuck, and party.” The second man commiserated.
The first man sighed. “I know that, but if I can’t concentrate on my meditation, I won't have enough mana to hold the portals open later. It won’t be them that gets in trouble for that.”
The second man shrugged. “Then go yell at them. I doubt it’ll work, but you can try.”
Lilian retreated out of sight as the first man stood, and turned. Pulling a small cube out of her pocket, she cycled mana into it, causing a veil of shadow to fall over her. She had debated whether to tell Benny about this earlier, but had decided that since she was as much spy as subordinate, it would be best to avoid revealing too many of her secrets. Moving slowly, Lilian positioned herself by the doorway as the man
walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Waiting until he had made it halfway to the stairs, Lilian began sprinting low to the ground. Her talons dug into, and through his neck just as he turned to investigate the sound her feet made against the wood tile. With a barely audible croak, he died. Lilian dragged his body silently into the empty room she had been hiding in earlier.
Mission accomplished, she returned for the second mage. Stalking into the room, Lilian found him deep in meditation. Somehow, despite her utterly silent footsteps, the mage sensed her coming. As he turned, she sprang forward; a fraction of a second too late.
“Dem-” *gurgle* He shouted before she had reached him. She heard a door slam somewhere, and launched herself into the nearest patch of shadow. Just as the door to the room slammed open, she managed to activate her shadow cube.
A man and a woman burst into the room. From their non-muscular frames, Lilian could tell these were also mages. “Brian? Oh god, what happened?” The woman cried out. She sprinted for the corpse, while her companion milled by the doorway in confusion. Lilian used this opportunity to assassinate the man, talons shattering his skull as she erupted from her hiding place. The female mage turned, and managed to duck under Lilian’s hurried attempt to silence her.
“Help! Demon!” The woman cried, just before Lilian buried a talon into her heart.
The woman made a croaking sound, and died a second later. Lilian’s face turned grim as she hurried out into the hallway, hiding in the darkness of the previously empty room.
Downstairs, the soldiers perked up at the sudden shout.
“Waazat?” Slurred a soldier named Edward, taking a swig from his mug to punctuate his question.
“Dunno. Couldn’t hear what they was sayin.” Another one responded. Benny felt slightly sorry for him because his name was Curly, and as a result his fellow soldiers told no end of jokes at his expense.
Benny rolled her eyes, as a third soldier spoke. “Should we *hic* check on things upstairs?” The speaker this time was named Mo. Benny was actually surprised he had joined the army at all because he hailed from the southern end of the continent, where the Demons were no threat. There was no conscription edict in that part of the nation.
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