Chapter 449: Grumpy old Grandma

Mason sighed with relief as he and the other players closed the portal in Nassau. The grass all around it was dead, a few buildings looking aged by about a decade. But since the town was empty, no one had been hurt. Not that any demons got out of the circle anyway.

By far the best thing to do was to reach a portal before the creatures started to spawn, then kill them as they came out blinking to the new environment. The problem was when you didn’t stay on top of them.

After the town portal closed, he raced back out to the ‘oldest’ looking red cloud he could see, thinking some kind of triage was wise. All his players were now busy with circles of their own, so again he ran straight in on his own.

The shadows had grown. And grown. And now the man-sized creatures were often a head taller than Mason and sometimes just as wide. He loosed a Power Shot into the neck of a four-legged…dino-demon, spraying shadowy blood before leaping at a vaguely humanoid giant with his Claws.

The thing spun and caught his wrists, eyes burning with fire, forehead horned, nose and mouth more like circular hunks of bone.

Mason’s momentum kept him flying in, and he slammed his forehead into its face. The circular nose cracked and punched back, and the thing looked too dazed to react. Mason pulled back and slammed his head again, driving the bone even deeper.

The thing’s eyes rolled back. It went slack and Mason fell a good six feet to the ground before the thing fell back and pounded into the dirt. A few other, much smaller demons, turned and ran.

Mason wiped the blood off his face with a Sleeve as he watched half a dozen scatter in different directions. He re-summoned his bow to take down three before others started spawning behind him.

Too many are escaping, called Stag through their bond, ramming another flying back in.

“I see that,” Mason shouted, turning to shoot down another few demons that bolted the moment they spawned. His ‘kill everything himself’ strategy was turning out to be a problem. Because demons, apparently, weren’t mindless killers.

What was getting obvious was after he killed something (and sometimes just after the creatures took a good look at him), the demons bolted. He threw down his traps, he kept shooting arrows, but with every portal and wave more just kept getting away.

But what the hell was he going to do about it?

He ran for the group of four players he saw dealing with another portal, hoping maybe to swap one of the ‘spearman’ to join him just to cut off a demonic retreat. Kiaan found him first.

“Patron!” The scout came flying across the lightly forested terrain outside the settlement walls. “The elves have offered their assistance. They say they can assist in closing the portals.”

Mason was about to ask exactly how they intended to spill demon blood with a single scout and no real warriors, but he assumed they meant with magic. With a glance at all his players still battling portals, as well as the variety of demons getting loose and running off like dogs that finally caught their tails, he frowned.

“It’s not safe here. They’ll need escorts.”

Mason dropped to the nearest patch of living grass, activating Speak with Nature.

Come to me, he commanded Streak and his pack. And Violet. And maybe anything else that listened. He rose up and looked to Kiaan.

“Get them out here. And any civilians that think they can do something. I’ll meet them at the gate.”

Kiaan nodded and ran, and Mason decided he had time to close one more portal before he escorted the elves and civilians out.

**

“Mother, we can’t risk it. It’s too dangerous out there. Not now. Not when we’re so close to the prophecy. We could be pregnant already!”

Ayet took her daughter’s shoulders and met her eyes.

“You were right, Naya. About this place. About everything. But these humans are clueless about portal magic. Mason was like a babe in the woods in Shariss. I’m an enchantress trained in the exact thing they face. They need my help.”

“I’ll watch over her, my lady.”

Dariya stepped from the open doorway to the elves group house, leaning on her staff, wrinkled lips set in a line.

“Thank you, Oracle,” said Naya, her tone carefully polite. “But there are demons running loose in our plane. We can’t simply escape if they…”

“Who said anything about escaping,” the old seer snapped, and Ayet couldn’t help but smile.

She was no stranger to the real daughters of the moon goddess. Most in Shariss no longer kept the old ways, forgoing the ancient gods all together to embrace magic of their own. But it didn’t mean their disciples had no power.

Even the acolytes of the temple were said to be able to channel divine light. Ayet had seen a priestess boil several pots for a wedding with little more than a wave of her hand. And Dariya was no acolyte.

“Your husband will protect us, I’m sure,” Ayet said, still supremely uncomfortable referring to Mason as her lord.

Or as her lover. Dear Goddess don’t think about that!

But with action overcoming thought, Ayet pulled her shawl over her shoulders and hair and stepped out into the tree city. The humans were all standing on the edges of the platforms, looking down and pointing and looking increasingly panicked.

They weren’t wrong to be. Ayet saw half a dozen growing portals—the life-sucking magic draining everything around them as they expanded. Goddess help us, she thought, hardly believing she was seeing demonic magic with her naked eyes in the prime.

What was happening to the world? Was there another Doom? Had some ambitious fool torn the layers between the planes?

She forced herself to the somewhat frightening lift, giving Dariya a grateful smile as she joined her without a word. But the damn thing wouldn’t move.

“How do we…” Ayet stared at the strange bar covered in different colored rectangles and something like arrow-heads.

“I think they just push these,” Dariya said, reaching for one before pulling back in indecision.

“It’s pointing. Like up and down,” said one of Mason’s concubines, stepping up next to them on the platform. “Probably not safe at the bottom. Still going down?”

She was dark haired and skinned and very beautiful, but Ayet didn’t know her name. The girl also wouldn’t know they were now equals and potentially vying for the same man’s attention. Ayet smiled politely.

“Yes, please.”

The woman pushed a square, and the platform jerked and started to move. Both Ayet and Dariya grabbed the rail, causing Mason’s concubine to grin. Ayet did her best not to flush with embarrassment.

At the bottom, all three of them hurried towards the gate, and pretty soon the concubine was watching them with narrowed eyes.

“Where exactly are you going?”

“To help with the demons,” Ayet said. She was tempted to hold up her book of enchantments, but realized the human wouldn’t have a clue what it meant.

The concubine swept her eyes over both elves with obvious skepticism, particularly Dariya. The old seer made a guttural sound of contempt in her throat and walked to the gate, stopping to mutter about the lack of a gate keeper or any sort of civilized systems.

“Well is there another silly little arrow?” she said, gesturing. “One going sideways, maybe?”

Mason’s concubine was obviously entertained. She walked towards the gate to open it before the doors flew open, and the baron’s chief scout came running towards them. When he saw the women inside his eyes flared with concern.

“Run! Or close the gate! They’re behind me!” he shouted.

Ayet’s heart picked up speed. She saw two satyr-like infernals hopping and scurrying after the man with bloodlust in their eyes. He seemed slightly faster. But Ayet and the others were definitely not.

“Close the gate,” she hissed. “We need it clear.”

“Oh enough.” Dariya stepped to the open gate and raised her staff towards the heavens. The moon was maybe two thirds full, big and bright in the cool evening air. Ayet knew little enough about moon magic, but she knew her people had abandoned it because it came and went. Too random, it was thought. Too weak in the wrong moment.

Ayet jerked as a sound like thunder cracked. Blinding light flared from the oracle’s staff, a thin trail pointed towards the moon above, and Ayet covered her face with a hand. The light flashed and loosed—the power sending little hairs up all over Ayet’s body before it raced across the open ground.

Mason’s scout leapt aside with a panicked shout. The infernals did not.

When the light faded, Ayet took her hand from over her eyes, and saw two sets of smoking hooves. There was nothing left above.

“Well move on, then,” Dariya said as she walked out from the gate, gesturing for Mason’s scout. “It doesn’t hurt you, human. No need to leap about. And there’ll be more. So hurry up and take us to your master.”

The concubine was making some religious gesture on her chest and head. The scout staring with wide eyes as he stood.

“My God. I thought she was just some grumpy old grandma,” whispered the concubine.

Ayet grinned, proud of the old priestess. Though she was a little frightened, too. Nobody quite knew just how old the ancient seer was. It was said the moon goddess granted unnaturally long life to her disciples—unnatural even for elves.

And the order had long complained that being in the fey weakened them—disconnected them from the source of their spells.

What secrets might the old matron hold? What powers might have awakened after she finally left the Fey?

Ayet followed behind the seer, and the pale-faced scout. For a moment, at least, she was feeling she had some kind of upper hand, and knew what she was doing. But she still flinched and turned when she heard what sounded like a large number of running feet.

She screamed when she saw the wolves. They were charging straight at her, Mason’s huge monster at their front with its bright and glowing green eyes.

The concubine leaned over and smiled, practically catching one wolf as half a dozen swirled around her and licked or yipped or growled like they’d found their mother.

“I feed them,” she explained, pouting her lips and making kissy sounds as she scratched a few necks. “They didn’t scare you, did they? I expect they’re our bodyguards. Aren’t you? Yes you are. Yes you are.”

Ayet saw the very competitive glee in the other woman’s eyes, and realized she might have a hell of a time ahead fighting for Mason’s attention. And wait, why was she even worrying about that? This was a ridiculous situation and he was still her daughter’s husband. She should keep her distance anyway.

Demons, you silly woman, trying to invade the world, her brain practically shouted.

Life had truly become unbelievable. She’d had decades of almost no change. And then in a few months, the loss of everything, the gain of something else.

She took a breath, feeling more alive than maybe she ever had, and certainly more terrified. With a list of portal spells in her mind, she ran and chased after the seer.