by David Aries
Titania thumped Blair’s shoulder. “Shut it. We’re gonna nail this. Right, Jake?”
“Right,” I said. It wasn’t the time for getting nervous. Fake it until you make it and all that.
Blair nodded. “Please, come back safe.”
“It’s a promise,” I said.
Once we got a chance, we flung open the wagon’s door and took off. I performed a demon jump but didn’t stop channeling power into my feet. It passed into the boots and propelled us onward. Rather than the usual initial burst, my fire roared as a continuous stream, pushing us higher and higher. I was an arrow soaring through the sky.
Riding a wyvern was exhilarating, but this was something else. I’d become motherfucking Iron Man.
“Holy shit,” I snorted. “We’re flying. We’re really flying!”
“Stop reminding me!” Titania screamed. I had her in a bridal carry, but that wasn’t enough for her. She clung hold of me and buried her head against my shoulder.
“Don’t be such a chicken.”
“I’m not a chicken!”
“If you’re scared of heights you shouldn’t have come.”
“I’m not scared! I’m trying to stay warm!”
It was a bit nippy but I felt like hot shit. Flying was incredible. I could have happily lost hours soaring like a bird if I didn’t have important business to handle. There was an eyesore blotting the sky and we had to stop it.
Blair, our resident airship expert, had been correct. They didn’t activate their shield. We got in close and landed on the upper deck. I stopped providing energy and the boots died, plonking us down.
Titania jumped from my arms and kissed the floor. “I missed you so much.”
“Get a grip. Let’s hurry and find that control room,” I said. According to Blair, the controls were likely at the base. That was a lot of ship to pass through. “If we’re lucky, we’ll get there undetected.” I opened the only hatch in view.
An alarm shot back.
“Dammit, Jake,” Titania said.
“What else was I supposed to do?”
She growled and hopped down the hole. “Come on. Let’s hurry this up.”
I sighed and joined her. That was stealth done. Reckless speed was our next best option.
We made as much headway as we could before encountering the arriving mob of guards. They were black-garbed elites. Only the best for hunting us.
Titania wasn’t intimidated. She charged right at them and thrust her spear.
They put up their shields, but it wasn’t enough. A surge of blue lightning drove the soldiers back.
That was new. Closest I’d seen was when I’d buried her spear in the wyvern’s side and that was my doing.
The weapon looked different. It had gone through a skin change, from metallic to blue. Static flickered around the tip.
“Your spear,” I said.
“Little busy!” Titania grunted, swinging at another guard.
She had a point. Curious Jake could wait. I summoned my fire and charged into battle.
The enemy’s shields crumpled under the force of my destructive jabs. Our aggression and overwhelming offensive power pushed the coming soldiers into a permanent state of defense. They didn’t get a chance to counterattack. They were fighting for their lives… almost.
We didn’t kill but we knocked out every guard who showed up. The ship’s corridors worked the same way as the sewer tunnels. We effectively bulldozed through them.
“Easy,” Titania said, seeing off the last opponent.
“Compared to the coliseum,” I agreed. “So, that spear.”
“Cool, yeah? It just turned like this. It’s awesome. Kicks more ass than ever.” She adjusted her grip and marched on. “Who’s gonna face it next?”
Just turned that way? Unlikely. Its color was familiar. Looked the same as my first sword, the one I’d flooded with demon power. And I had used the spear for something similar.
Forget the spear. What are you doing wasting all this tasty experience?
“I know you’re not talking about these people,” I said, glancing at the fallen guards.
Who else? It’s such a waste.
“They’re not demons,” I reminded my inner darkness.
A soul’s a soul. We need power.
“Not that badly.”
They tried to kill you. They don’t deserve mercy.
“That’s my call. Not yours.” I left the napping guards and followed Titania. We didn’t have a map so we just went down whenever we could. The airship was huge but it was a finite space. I figured we’d find our target eventually.
After going down a few levels, and knocking out a lot of guards, we arrived in a sizeable bay.
“Think this is the bottom?” I asked Titania.
“I hope so. My feet are killing,” she groaned.
“It is indeed,” a voice confirmed, stopping us in our tracks. There was no sign of her but she had to be close. “Well, well. Fancy seeing you guys again. We have to stop meeting like this.”
My instincts flared. I grabbed Titania and dodged to the side.
A whip snapped from the ceiling, missing us. Sneak attack unsuccessful, the executor revealed herself. It was the same masked bitch who’d caused us so much trouble.
“Why’d you dodge? You two are no fun,” she said.
“Shadow,” I growled.
“That’s my name. Well, codename. How kind of you to remember. I guess I do leave quite the impression. How’s your neck?” she cackled, brushing her throat.
“We don’t have time for this.”
“Really? What’s the rush? We already blew up your friends.”
I froze. “What?”
“That’s right. Blew them up good. It was quite the explosion. That metal box went boom. The demons will be eating their guts off the plains all week.”
My breathing raced; my head did the same. There was no way that was true. We couldn’t be too late. Esther was there. She’d have thought of something. She had to have.
“I’ll kill you!” Titania screamed, rushing at Shadow.
Shadow flicked her whip, coiling around Titania’s spear. A second swing flung Titania across the room, into a wall. It was incredible strength for somebody with an unassuming build.
The blow awakened me. I roared and charged.
Shadow flipped over my head and left me looking like a fool. “Are you an ape? All power and no speed. I could keep away from you all day.”
I was by no means slow. Back home, I was a quick fighter. Shame that meant nothing on Terix.
“I’m not gonna lose to you!” I said, launching another offensive.
She danced away from my flurry of jabs with scary ease.
“You’ll never avenge them like this,” Shadow said.
“Shut up!” I snapped, throwing a haymaker.
Shadow captured my flailing arm with her whip. The spikes dug into my flesh. Electricity followed.
I winced and stumbled to a knee. It was as excruciating as I remembered.
“Stupid boy,” she cackled. I couldn’t see her face but I could feel her malicious glare. “You should’ve kneeled. You should’ve joined our side. Not that I’m unhappy. I’m glad. I wanted to kill you so bad.” She pulled a knife from her belt. “I get to kill a half-breed. Imagine that!”
Overwhelming pain stopped me from escaping. My body didn’t cooperate with my wants. No matter how hard I willed it, I couldn’t overpower the current frying my nerves.
“Goodbye,” Shadow said.
Titania shoulder charged Shadow from behind.
The whip ripped from my flesh. It hurt like shit, but it was a lollipop and plaster compared to being shocked.
“Bitch,” Shadow said, getting back to her feet. “Hurry and die.”
“Fuck you,” Titania growled, lunging.
Shadow countered the same way, coiling Titania’s spear. Again, she threw.
This time, Titania released. Her weapon went flying and she kept run
ning. She put all her weight behind a single punch that drilled Shadow on the beak of her mask.
The black metal caved and Shadow stumbled back. She lashed out desperately.
Titania ducked the whip and delivered another brutal punch. The force disarmed her opponent.
Without her weapon, Shadow’s tactics changed. She squealed and darted away.
I caught her before that happened, wrapping an arm around her throat.
Shadow kicked, but she didn’t have the strength to overpower me. Without her tricks and weapons, she was nothing special. Clawing my flesh was all she could accomplish.
I didn’t let go. My heart pounded. I couldn’t forget what she’d told me.
Surely, this one doesn’t deserve mercy. She killed our friends. She mocked their deaths. She was gonna kill us too.
My grip tightened. Others could be excused, but Shadow? She was evil. Wicked. Terix was better off without her.
“I lied, I lied,” Shadow wheezed. “They’re still alive.”
“What?!” I said, grip faltering.
“I was lying. They’re not dead.”
The storm clouding my mind passed. Of course, she was just trying to get under our skin. And for that, I’d almost…
And for good reason. She deserves it. Don’t ease up. Finish the job.
No, I couldn’t. Killing a demon was one thing, but claiming a person’s life?
Shadow stomped my foot, giving her the room to wiggle free. She fled without another word.
“You ain’t stopping her?” Titania said. Her hands were still shaking. “Is that okay?”
“I don’t know,” I confessed. Shadow was evil, there was no doubting that, but I didn’t have it in me to kill her. “Forget it. You heard her. We’ve gotta find the control room.”
Titania nodded and joined me on the search. Being on the bottom level meant we weren’t far away. We continued forward, down a long corridor, and reached the cockpit. A glass front backlit the main controls and the lone woman operating them.
My partner stopped still. She growled, body tensing. “You.”
Magnesia was the one at the wheel. Because of course she was. She left her station and looked at us with her usual cold gaze. “Who else? I’m the Captain of the Guard. Eliminating Grabadon’s most wanted is my duty.”
“That’s right,” Titania snorted. “That’s all you’ve ever cared about.”
“It’s what we soldiers are for.” Magnesia grabbed her spear and stepped forward. “The opponent’s identity doesn’t matter. Demons, children, your own daughter. Orders must be followed. Loyalty comes before everything.”
“Maybe in your world,” I said. “To me, family is everything.”
“Tell that to the daughter who opposes her own mother.”
“You’re not my mom. Not anymore,” Titania growled. “You’re my enemy.”
“Then family is irrelevant.” Magnesia’s stance shifted. Bloodlust pervaded the cabin. “I’ll eliminate you both. Then I’ll deal with your friends.”
I sighed, heart relaxing. It was true, they were still&emdash;
Magnesia’s spear grazed my chin.
I jumped away, catching myself on the sharp edge. A split second later and I would’ve been dead.
“Only a fool lets his guard down on the battlefield,” Magnesia said, staring at me.
Titania lunged from Magnesia’s blind spot.
Magnesia snatched the spear without so much as a glance. “I am no fool.” She swung her own.
Titania threw up her guard. She deflected the hit but it knocked her off balance. Before she recovered, Magnesia stabbed.
I fired my dragon breath.
Magnesia dashed back, avoiding the point-blank attack. As soon as she got out of range, she bolted forward and aimed at my throat.
Titania slid in the way and readied her shield.
Magnesia switched arms and led with her own. Shield slammed shield and the larger woman came out victorious. Titania was driven into me.
Before I’d processed it, Magnesia’s piercing blade was back after my life.
I clapped my hands shut and caught the spear. The tip rubbed against my Adam’s apple.
“Not bad,” Magnesia said. “You would have made a fine guard.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” I mumbled, struggling to keep my arms steady. Magnesia was strong. I couldn’t overpower her. My dragon breath would have worked if her blade hadn’t been so close. A big inhale and I’d have pierced my own throat.
Titania bailed me out. She aimed for her mother’s neck.
Magnesia blocked it without batting an eye. She delivered a swift kick, driving Titania back into my chest.
I stumbled, thudding against the cabin wall.
The head guard closed us down in an instant, affording us no room to breathe and literally nowhere to go. She unleashed a barrage of blistering spear strikes. The tempo was insane, as was the precision. They didn’t strike the wall despite coming so close. There had to be millimeters in it yet Magnesia powered on without hesitation.
Titania stood firm and stopped the blows from hitting our vitals. She forced Magnesia wide, although that didn’t stop the experienced spearwoman from landing some hits. Glancing blows caught our limbs, tearing into our flesh. Blood seeped from our accumulating injuries, gushing down our skin. It was a calculated offensive designed to wear us down.
Our organs were safe but there was no chance to react. Magnesia’s attacks came with such velocity that there was never a window to counter. One bad move and her next blow would end things.
“What’s wrong? Is this your limit?” Magnesia asked without slowing her hand. “How disappointing. I guess you really aren’t my child.”
“Fuck you,” Titania growled.
“Sloppy,” Magnesia said, stabbing Titania’s shoulder.
Titania squealed but hid it behind gritted teeth. She recovered before the next blow did worse.
I clenched my teeth. It was unacceptable. I had to do something but there were no openings. Magnesia’s offense was perfect. This was the difference between a punk kid, with a few weeks of sparring practice, and a trained knight who had dedicated her life to the spear. She was on a different level.
“Come on, half-breed,” Magnesia said, reading me like a book. “If you don’t do something, you’re both going to die.”
Like I didn’t know that. Magnesia was an animal toying with her prey. We had to break free. Titania’s life was on the line. The others were waiting for us. It was sink or swim.
She was too talented to beat in a fight. I had to risk it all on one throw of the dice.
I unleashed another burst of flame breath.
As expected, Magnesia hopped out of the way.
It was good enough. A small window. I pushed Titania aside and sent every ounce of demon energy into my boots. The rocket propulsion shot me forward, through the wall of fire.
Magnesia awaited on the other side. She thrust, aiming for the kill.
It took everything I had to twist away. Her blade sliced my cheek, passed along my neck, and down across my shoulder. Perfect.
Before Magnesia could withdraw, I tackled her waist and drove her across the cockpit. We flew at breakneck speed until we collided with the control unit. The metal compressed around us, blowing the machinery.
I groaned and rubbed my head. Ramming into steel at a hundred miles an hour wasn’t pleasant. If somebody else hadn’t absorbed the brunt of the impact, I could have been in serious trouble.
Magnesia lay still in the wreckage. The device had folded beneath her weight. Blood trickled from her head, streaming down her face.
“Did I?” I gasped, heart pounded.
Her hand shot up and grasped my throat. “You,” Magnesia growled. Her red eyes brimmed with anger.
I grunted, grasping her wrist. Shit. She was gonna rip out my gullet.
“Drop him,” Titania said, pushing her spear against Magnesia’s neck.
Magnesia’s glare softened
. She snorted and released me. “Unbelievable. I never thought I’d lose to you.”
“Believe it,” Titania said.
She scoffed. “What now? Going to kill me? Going to punish me for being such an unfit mother? Or perhaps it’s revenge for Sterne?”
Titania’s breathing picked up the pace. Her hands trembled, sending vibrations down the shaft. The tip rested on Magnesia’s throat, denting her skin but going no further.
“Why are you hesitating?” Magnesia asked. “I don’t deny any of it. I gave up being your mother to become a killer. Many have died by my hands. More than you know. I’ve slaughtered so many innocent people in His Majesty’s name. This is your chance to avenge them. This is your chance to punish me for my sins.” Her voice was low, steady, monotone. There was no fear in her eyes. They were unwavering. She was a woman ready to die.
No, not quite. I recognized this. It reminded me of a young boy who’d lost everything because of his own mistake. Magnesia wasn’t ready for death. She was welcoming it.
“I tried to kill you. I tried to kill your friends,” Magnesia continued. “You said it yourself. I am your enemy. There’s no need to show me mercy. I haven’t earned it. I lost that right a long time ago. Especially from you.”
“You don’t need to do this,” I told Titania. “We destroyed the controls. It’s over.”
“Really? I’m still breathing. Can you guarantee I won’t chase you? My hands are stained with blood. What are a few more lives to me?” Magnesia stared at Titania. “The only way to be sure is to finish me here.”
“Don’t.”
“Stay out of this,” Magnesia demanded. “He wasn’t there that night. He didn’t see the sins I committed. He didn’t see the children I slaughtered with my blade.”
Titania’s breathing raced. Her hand shook so fast she almost dropped her spear.
“Listen to me,” I said.
“Jake, shut it,” Titania snapped. “She’s right. This is between me and her.”
“That’s right.” Magnesia spread her arms. “It’s time. Finish this. Punish me.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t watch. Titania was going to make a big mistake. I had to stop her before it was too late.
Before I shifted, Titania withdrew her spear.
Magnesia’s poker face crumbled. “What are you doing?! This is your chance! I told you to kill me!”