Chapter 138: Bad News

“Howling horrors” was an unfortunately apt name for the demonic monstrosities that emerged from the tree line. A hodgepodge of wolf, bear, mountain cat, various prey species, and very disturbingly humanoid features, the sight of them made my stomach turn. There must have been a dozen loping out from the tree line, and the undergrowth all around the clearing shivered and shook with who knew how many more.

“They’re just lesser demons!” Sey shouted with less confidence than I’d hoped for.

Like the world’s most terrifying patchwork dolls, their features clashed and competed. How they moved as quickly as they did, I didn’t know, but a two-headed mostly-wolf demon at the fore howled again and I was out of time to think.

Kicking off the black-tinged rocks, I sprinted forward at full speed. As we’d discussed, Kartania rushed forward behind my rapid charge. The others took the flanks, two to each.

So much for practice.

I tried really, really hard not to think about how I’d just blown all my mana reserves showing off as I reached the lead demon, my claws practically itching. Swiping with two arms, I caught its flank despite its attempt to twist out of the way, and dark blood poured from where my claws had torn through fur and flesh.

They’re weak. No value for contracts. The sudden thought unsettled me, just enough that snapping jaws were able to close around my forearm. The wolf-like demon’s teeth dug into my flesh, but I caught it’s second head across the eyes with my claws and it let go with a roar. I hardly noticed any pain, and for a brief moment, we sized each other up again as the better part of a dozen other demons circled, looking for a chance to strike.

In all of the incoming demons, I sensed wrath and fury raging. Unlike mortal meals, the emotion would do nothing to aid my recovery.

No intelligence showed in any of the mostly-wolf demon’s five pure-black eyes—only malice. What cruelty must have been wrought to create you and your kin?

I brought my hand down again and it twisted out of the way—right into my tail, which knocked its forelegs out from under it with a hefty crunching sound. Even as other lesser wrath demons leapt at me, I pounced.

Rolling, the wolf demon slid away from my first clawed hand, and the second missed between its heads down into the rocks, but the third and fourth, carrying the full strength of my charging weight, impacted behind its necks.

Black blood sprayed out as my unheated claws tore through its flesh as though it were a mundane animal. Other, startlingly slow demons reached me, claws and fangs and horns ripping and tearing. With one last push of my mana, my vision turned hazy, but my wings blazed forth.

Like white-hot skewers, my limbs of fire pierced through several demons, bisecting two of them. Under me, one of the wolf-like demon’s heads came free and I roared in triumph.

Ending the spell for my wings before I collapsed, I spun, tail knocking off more demons even as the jaws of one clung onto my legs. I punched downward, knuckles shattering bone, and the jaws went limp.

I had a dozen slashes and punctures on my body, but none of them were enough to really hurt me. Gods, I’m a monster. And it feels good. Claws out and horns down, I dove back into the melee, slashing and kicking and swinging my tail.

Lesser demon after lesser demon fell before me, and bodies started to litter the rocky field. On occasion, I drifted near my sister, who disassembled demons with a grimly-set jaw and well-practiced swings. Tania used her ice magic to reduce the number of opponents she had to face by freezing limbs, icing the ground, or creating pale blue walls.

Part of me was scared at just how much I was enjoying this—even out of magic as I was. Our opponents were near-mindless monstrosities, and there were no innocents to watch out for. Just me, my sister, and a horde to take apart, limb by limb.

Behind me, I heard the crash of magic and the howls and roars of combat, reminding me with a sudden jerk that the battlefield included more than just us two. The pang of worry I had for Nelys dissipated when I felt through our contract that they weren’t gravely injured. With their new power, they weren’t nearly as fragile as before.

Instead, I worried for Taava, but her mad cackle peaked in a lull of noise and I felt a palpable relief. A lance of holy magic speared a wounded bear-like demon circling the fringe. The horde was thinning, and dozens of lesser demons lay dead already. To my surprise, an arc of painfully bright, blue-yellow lightning stunned another demon. Barely reacting in window of time afforded me, I leapt forward and drove my clawed hand through the demon’s midsection, fingers poking out the back to either side of the spine.

I threw the still-alive demon forward into the horde. Spikes of ice erupted ahead of me, skewering several, and clumping the others together.

“Renna, get back!” Seyari shouted from somewhere behind me.

Tensed legs almost jumped me forward instead. My burning blood rushed through me, heat poured off me in waves, and I could scarcely feel my fatigue against the thrill of battle. As much as I reined this part of me in, as much as I controlled it, it felt good to cut loose and rip and tear, weapons be damned.

But I wasn’t alone. And I was in control of my wrath. So I faltered, taking a knee instead of launching forward.

Over my head, a massive beam of burning light raced forward like an arrow from a giant’s bow. Around the fringes, sharp shards of ice whistled and frantic bolts of lightning danced. I watched through eyes that burned as the pile of demons took the full impact.

From within, shadows tore apart like paper, dissolving away like honey in warm tea. Save the rushing air, there was no sound: no roars, no screams, no sound of tearing flesh.

Under the combined assault of my friends’ magic, nearly all the demons were burned away. Seyari’s beam even punched a hole through Tania’s ice wall, continuing on to burn into the trees. Behind me, I heard my fiancée hiss and I saw in my mind’s eye as she fell to her knees.

I turned to slowly, only to watch as Taava and Joisse in her demon form held a smiling, sweat-soaked, exhausted Seyari—one to each shoulder.

“We’re not yet finished,” Tania announced. “None must escape.”

Next to her, Nelys stood with their hands outstretched. Arcs of light danced between their tentacles and lifted the ends of their hair.

I nodded, and stood up, fatigue hitting me like a wall with my fury expended. I hissed out my breath and started forward, steps turning into a run. Beside me, Nelys and Kartania approached more carefully.

Only the smallest, weakest demons remained. The runts and the stragglers that even now seemed unsure whether to defer to me as their sovereign or to run. Without the horde moving as a whole, they understood their situation, at least on some level.

What pitiable existences. Nothing but cast-off fury—perhaps born of true suffering, but now relegated only to spreading it.

We killed them quickly, and without ceremony.

“Are there any more?” I heard Nelys ask behind me. To my relief, their tone was exasperated and cautious, rather than the disappointed tone I was sure I’d make if I spoke more than a roar or growl.

I turned on my aura sight, wary of the blackness of mana fatigue creeping in at the edges of my vision. Bodies of demons littered the clearing, their magic gone with their death. Nothing popped out from the trees. In fact, the forest was deathly still. I had to take a long moment to calm myself and let the heat of battle fade from my mind.

“I don’t see any. We should get back to Linthel.” I turned off my aura sight and staggered back over to my friends. “This needs to be reported.”

Something squeaked and I snapped my head in the sound’s direction reflexively. The lupael woman covered her mouth, eyes wide and ears flat against her head.

Quickly, I looked away, a blush inflaming my cheeks. “Sorry,” I mumbled. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Who…” she asked, looking around warily at all of us. She especially paused her gaze over Joisse, who had only just changed back to her human form, her coat hastily pulled over her. The young wrath demon wore an apologetic smile under her red eyes.

“I’m Taava!” our capricious kazzel answered cheerily. “Big scary over there’s Zarenna, and ya can trust me that she’s a big softie—er, mostly. The demure demon with the big spikes is Joisse, and she’s sweet as a ripe plum when she’s not tearin’ a limb off—okay maybe I shouldn’ta said that.” Rubbing the back of her head, Taava extended a hand to the lupael woman.

She took it. “Brynna”

Taava nodded. “Gotcha! Well welcome ta the crew!” She stopped just short of clapping Brynna on the back. “Anyway, Nelys’s the one with tentacles and they like cute things, solvin’ murders, and card games. Seyari’s the half angel with the half-hair and she’s usually only mostly as mucha a hardass as she looks. And then there’s—”

“Kartania Miller,” Kartania cut the kazzel off, looking the lupael woman up and down. “Paladin of Dhias. Do you need to be carried, Brynna?”

Brynna shook her head, but I saw the way her legs wobbled. More worryingly, she edged away from Kartania, a low growl escaping her throat.

“Good.” Kartania glared at Brynna’s hostile posture, but didn’t press the issue. “I’ll want a full report from you once we’ve found a safe place to camp. Once Zarenna recovers, anything that still poses a serious risk probably isn’t something we could run from if we tried.”

I scratched at a horn nervously. “I should be mostly back to full strength by tomorrow morning.”

Kartania glanced warily at the mountains further south. “A march through the night could be a mistake. You—” She pointed at Brynna. “How did you outrun a horde of demons across a mountain pass?”

“I…” Brynna’s voice hitched. “I didn’t—not alone. Others bought me time, but they’re all…” She took a deep breath, flinching under Kartania’s icy gaze. “I’ve been running with only small rests for days, and I only heard the howls this morning.”

“How could they track you from so far away?” I asked, legitimately curious.

Brynna frowned. “I was moving poorly. Prey, not a hunter.” She looked again at Kartania, almost like she wanted to say something but didn’t dare.

“Demons have extraordinary senses; you should know this,” Seyari replied evenly. “Brynna is telling the truth, difficult though it may be to believe such claims.”

“We should get moving then,” Nelys added, with a worried glance behind them. “If they caught up to Brynna, any more would absolutely have seen Zarenna’s spell and the fight.”

“Let us away then,” Kartania concluded, turning to walk down the hill.

The rest of us moved after her, but Brynna only got a few steps before stumbling. Joisse caught her, reacting far faster than a human could have. The lupael woman flinched in her grip.

“Sorry,” Joisse muttered, her eyes downcast as she let the woman go.

Brynna looked up at Kartania, then back at Joisse. She closed her mouth and simply shook her head.

Joisse gave a small smile and walked in step with the woman.

I almost moved to carry Brynna, but once she got going again, she seemed to find her footing and stayed stable all the way back down the scree with only one more incident, catching herself this time. My own weight and fatigue slowed me down, however, and I found myself at the back right behind the very nervous woman who looked up at me with visible fear.

I only now realized how tall Brynna was. She had to be half a head taller than Seyari, and was all corded muscle. That would explain her prowess at running.

“I’m sorry for scaring you, I really am.” I bit my tongue to stop me from repeating that we wouldn’t hurt her. Only our actions could prove that much.

“Will you stop me if I try to leave?” The words came out as a whisper.

Her reply caught me off guard. “I… no, I wouldn’t.”

“What about the Church woman?”

“Kartania?” I shook my head, then stopped. “She… might actually.”

Brynna growled again.

“She means well, though. Really.”

The lupael narrowed her pale brown eyes at me. “Does she?”

“If you tell me what you’re worried about, I’ll try to help in any way I can.”

“Will you?” The way she asked the question made it clear she wanted no answer.

My reply died into a sigh and I watched her stagger ahead of me. I followed, and soon enough an uneasy silence descended as we marched quickly back toward the remains of the pass road and our route home. The awkward, quiet march lasted for well over an hour, until the afternoon sun threatened to give way to evening reds.

“We’ll look for a defensive position to camp tonight, and we’ll move at first dawn,” Kartania commanded.

I didn’t see fit to refute her. This whole trip was her idea, and it wasn’t like I was in charge of my sister. Still, I couldn’t help but worry at the way Brynna continued to look at all of us warily.

“Should we find a cave to camp in or a cliff to back up against? So we don’t get surrounded?” I tried to get the conversation going—anything but the awful silence that had reigned the past hour.

My sister shook her head. “Not a cave. Certain magics could concentrate and kill the lot of us. That, and there’d be no way out.”

“What about a cliff with an overhang?” Nelys asked.

“So long as it’s stable, that may be our best bet.”

“Whatever it is, I want a nice safe place ta put Zarenna between me and whatever might be after us.” Taava chimed in. “This mood’s killin’ me.”

“Would you rather something a lot more corporeal kills you?” Seyari snapped.

Taava hissed, and I felt actual anger spike out of her.

“Let’s not fight,” Joisse said, struggling to keep her own anger in check.

I realized with some horror that I barely had enough power left to keep her in check if she spiraled out. Thankfully, the other wrath demon’s comment shut everyone up, and we set about searching for a place to camp. We kept in pairs all close to each other, with Brynna going with Nelys and Taava.

Thankfully, we did find a sturdy-looking cliff with a shallow cave under an overhang. Immediately, I set about unloading and setting up camp, thankful we’d shed our packs at the back before “training.”

“No fire,” Seyari announced before Kartania could.

“Yes, and be ready to run if need be,” my sister added, as if feeling the need to contribute to the plan. For a fleeting moment, I remembered young Tania always wanting to plan with Abby.

I rubbed the tears away and found Brynna staring at me with wide eyes.

“Sorry,” I mumbled. “Just a memory, that’s all.”

The lupael woman looked down at her well-worn boots and said nothing.

“Zarenna can you take first watch?” Kartania asked.

“I can…” I swallowed before continuing, “Actually, I can take both watches. I… This isn’t a good time to bring this up, but I’m not sure if I really need sleep anymore.”

“I’ll stay up with her,” Joisse declared. “Zarenna might say she doesn’t sleep, but I know I don’t need it.”

Thanks, Joisse.

“That’ll work. Brynna can share a tent with Seyari.”

“I’d prefer a say in this,” the half-angel responded stiffly. “But she’s welcome to, of course. Let’s eat before we set the tents up though.”

Making camp was a nervous affair, but no odd sounds came from the forest around us. Nor did I hear the normal sounds of night, unfortunately. I wondered if it was a lingering effect of the battle, my continued presence, or a very bad sign.

Thankfully, despite her standoffishness, Brynna ate well.

Once we’d all had some ever-disappointing cold rations, Kartania was the first to speak. “I understand my presence unnerves you.” She addressed Brynna and the lupael flinched, legs tensing as she got ready to bolt. “I am on a mission to kill Theodric Mordwell and Horatio Finley, as well as their entire cult.”

Brynna made a choking sound.

“Is my guess correct?”

The lupael swallowed hard and nodded. “We—” she started to cough, and Joisse handed her a flask of water. Brynna took it and stared at the smiling demon in human guise for a long moment before downing the whole thing in one go, water running down the sides of her dirt-streaked cheeks. Behind her, her limp, bushy tail picked itself up off the needle-strewn ground. “Thanks.”

Joisse beamed. “You’re welcome!”

Brynna heaved a long sigh. “We trusted them as the Church of Dhias. Edath was never unkind to my people, and Ordia has left us mostly alone. Dhias is supposed to be a just god!” She finished with a growl. “I know those names. Those pretenders consort with demons and keep many of them. They’ve come south like an invading army. Why?!”

“There’s no good reason,” Seyari hissed, her tone acerbic and bitter. “They want power. They may speak of a ‘greater good’ but that’s only a lie they ply to the rank and file.”

“It’s more than that,” Kartania said quietly.

“And how would you know?” Seyari spat, standing up. “Have you been their pawn before?”

“No.” Kartania’s voice shook for the first time since I’d met her as an adult. “No, I haven’t, but I’ve seen the pain they cause. More importantly, I’ve been close to Mordwell. I know he wants to secure more power for the church, and he sees subjugating demons as the best way to do that.”

“He’s lying,” Seyari hissed. “All he ever wants is power for himself. Don’t pretend you don’t know who I was, once. I know Yevon knows, and I have a feeling he told you.”

Kartania’s nostrils flared. “I do know, but I believe Mordwell has deluded himself into thinking he is working toward a greater good.”

Seyari shook her head, sitting back down slowly. “You are wrong.”

“Then we will agree to disagree.” She turned to the again-frightened lupael. “Brynna, I am sorry you had to witness that. I assure you that all of us wish nothing more than to see that demon cult destroyed.”

Brynna’s eyes moved from Joisse to me.

I smiled wide, showing all my many sharp teeth. “It is my business to ensure demonic chaff falls in line. But beyond that, years ago they killed me and everyone I cared about, save my sister Kartania. Even if that has led to this new life I lead, I will never forgive them. I am a wrath demon, after all.”

The lupael woman gulped.

I pulled my lips over my teeth, trying to make my smile kinder. “Really, I just want to be done with this revenge business and live a semi-normal life. Sorry again for scaring you. It’s a demon thing.”

The ghost of a smile played at the corner of Brynna’s lips. Finally, she seemed to relax. “It seems you may really be opposed to those who have taken both your own people to the south and mine. I doubt I have a choice but to trust you anyway. I’m tired of running.”

“Do you want to join us?” Nelys asked.

Brynna chuckled dryly. “Not yet.”

One detail stuck out to me. “By ‘our south’ do you mean Astrye?”

The lupael nodded. “I do.”

I grimaced. “Looks like we’ll be leaving as soon as we can then. First, we need to head back to Linthel for supplies and to report this at the very least. Hopefully I can still find time to visit Bourick again.”

***

At a clearing covered in broken bodies, a tall, red-orange figure stopped. They surveyed the scene with four eyes, two blue and two red, and hissed. Aura sight revealed evidence of not only holy, ice, wind, and lightning magic, but of demonic-tinged magic. Particularly powerful demonic fire magic, specifically.

The lingering aura was familiar in a way that made their head hurt. Who? The pain in their mind was enough that they fell to one knee, clutching at their horned head as their consciousness unspooled.

Like a chill wind, their binding reasserted itself, freezing their thoughts and numbing the pain. Too dangerous to pursue. They gave a long, unsure look to the north. Something familiar and warm threatened to melt the ice. Respect.

They felt again for the thread that held them in the toughest of times. The one that Master must never know about. While their orders were absolute, the thread of a memory seemed to burn to life in the presence of the magic.

A warm night with bad fruit.

Mercy and understanding.

A raging river and then eternal cold.

After a shuddering breath and one last, longing look to the north, the figure turned stiffly around, then darted back through the trees at incredible speed, returning south.