FIREFANGED: Demon in Exile

by Rory Surtain

  Entering the dining room that evening with Loeb and Glenn dressed in their finest, I had a feeling I was in for a rude awakening. We were served mugs of warm ale while we waited for the families to arrive. I found my heartbeat quickening with anxiety at the thought of meeting the full families of both Vigil Snow and the Warden of the North. Loeb noticed my worry and gave me a knowing smile. He enjoyed seeing me sweat for once. My experience with family life was sorely lacking, and I would soon be well beyond my comfort zone.

  In walked Vigil Snow, Lady Rebecca Snow on his arm. Lady Rebecca smiled at me and thanked me for attending her dinner party. She was a good ten years younger than her husband and had a healthy glow about her. Vigil Meryck Snow gave me a formal handshake and introduced his two daughters, Lynda and Meryna. Both spitting images of their mother, they had auburn hair, green eyes, and healthy complexions.

  Lynda was nineteen and just about coming of age. She had an attractive, confident smile and a warmth about her when she reached out to greet me. Meryna was fourteen and showed a slight clumsiness that went hand in hand with the rapid changes a girl experiences at that age. Their older brother, Meryl Snow, worked as a liaison for the Order of the Vigil in the court of Duke Ragir down in Stonnberg.

  Warden Gabriel Hartwell arrived with his even larger brood. His wife Melody had light brown hair like my friend Cat, with brown eyes and a warm smile. She introduced her four children to me. Oldest was her twelve-year-old son Davin, followed by Gina (short for Regina) at ten, and a pair of six-year-old twins, Derrick and Dale. The kids took after their dad, each with dark brown hair and a mischievous smile. The twins were fascinated by my arm. They immediately wanted to know why I wore the leather brace and what I was doing in the Vigil and had I killed any demons, and so on. Gina was the shy one, letting the twins take the lead, while her brother, much like her dad, just grinned, knowing I was in for a long night of intense examination by the young pair.

  I was a bit nervous with all the attention as the newcomer at the keep, but I found the seating arrangements to my liking. Lynda Snow had noticed my look of unease and pulled me over to the dining table, putting me in a spot between her and her sister as everyone else sat down. I never had a girlfriend in Lockrun, always keeping focused on my outdoor endeavors and survival. With the direction my life was heading and my new position in the Vigil, I might not even get a chance to have one. Given the opportunity to sit next to the well-dressed sisters, I pushed my lonely thoughts aside and breathed in their friendly energy and lovely scents. I could get used to this.

  Vigil Snow remained standing at the head of the table to offer us a few words: “Friends and family, first I would like to toast the Sentinels and remember those of the contingent that were lost during the Lockrun campaign. I am proud to be in the company of ones so dedicated and brave and regret that not all will be able to join us in the next fight.

  “Second, it’s not every day that we march out to eliminate a demonic threat and return with a new member of the Order. I want to welcome Ara to our midst. Even though he may have joined us through seemingly unpleasant circumstances, I hope that he will soon feel a part of the family that we call the Order of the Vigil. May he realize the importance of our work. It is for the sake of the family you see all around you that we hold our Vigil. Now let’s begin.”

  The meal passed more quickly than I would have liked. Having eaten my fill, I settled back in my chair and did my best to participate in the conversation after the younger children were carted off to bed by Melody Hartwell. Davin was particularly interested in the recent battle and the tactics used to win the day. His father earned his post as Warden by being a brilliant tactician who had gathered decades of experience fighting the Dark Horde.

  “They remained in the rough terrain of the foothills to neutralize the impact of our heavy horses and weaken our formations. That’s why you rarely ever see a large breach down in the plains. They know our advantages and avoid them,” said the Warden. “Just as we know their weaknesses and target them. The King’s Realm Guard won the day by attacking deep and taking out the Hell-knights.”

  Vigil Snow, on the other hand, took a long strategic view of things. While the Warden had built up decades of tactical knowledge, the demons had millennia of understanding our tactics and our ability to counteract their incursions. The Order of the Vigil did its best to capture accurate histories and battle logs to improve their training of future generations in the art of Infernal warfare. Still, the resources needed to do this were immense.

  “We are losing the long war,” said Snow. “We can detect and defend against the larger incursions due to our greater numbers and the relatively long time it takes for a Horde to cross over and form up. Still, the growth of devil-ridden heretics in the East and South is bringing more crossings to those regions, and we have little in the way of reserves. We don’t even have a presence anymore in Maidenhall, leaving things completely up to the Kingsmen.”

  Okay, so he knows how to bring down a party.

  Quickly changing the subject, Rebecca Snow suggested that Lynda show me around town sometime and maybe help me pick up some new clothes.

  She poked her husband, “He isn’t always required to look like he is on duty.”

  I sensed that I already had an ally or two here and gladly accepted the help. Excusing myself before I got too comfortable, I asked Sentinel Glenn if he would mind pointing me in the direction of the Vigil Scouts. It was full night now, and I felt like being active. Glenn was happy to guide me as it gave him a chance to fill me in on the formal roles and ranks of the Order of the Vigil.

  All Sentinels of the Order began as recruits. After a full year of successful training, recruits progressed to the position of Sentinel-Adept. While Adepts were considered Sentinels, they were ranked below the full-blooded Sentinels. A man would advance from Adept to full Sentinel upon killing his first demon in combat. This act could happen in a battle or single demon encounters. All claims of demon kills were reviewed by an Inquisitor of the Vigil and validated by a Vigil. Promotions from the rank of full Sentinel were to Sentinel-Sergeant, Sentinel-Captain, and finally Warden. Paladin, while nominally equivalent to a Sentinel-Captain in rank, was a position of honor, not command, given to the stoutest and most heroic of Sentinels. Those selected had at least a dozen lesser demons to their credit or a single-handed killing of a greater demon, such as the Hell-knights commanding the Horde northeast of Lockrun. Paladins were the most powerful and substantially armored shock troops of the Order and were often placed in the center of the Sentinel line of battle. Scouts were full Sentinels with the best night vision, independence, and mobility. They were the tactical eyes and ears of the Order, and they could fight effectively alone or in minimal numbers.

  Inquisitors, on the other hand, were pulled from the various agents of the Order that provided a variety of specialized, non-martial functions. Inquisitors tended to have exceptional intellect, insight, and observation skills. They also exhibited certain esoteric skills, clear sight being the main one, and had to have gained the full trust of a Vigil.

  Arriving at the North Tower, Captain Glenn introduced me to Sentinel-Sergeant Corbin, commander of the Berykholt Scouts. They provided external patrols, day and night, around Berykholt and the mountains to the north. This scouting was especially crucial when Vigil Snow was absent. Now that he had returned, the Scout group was able to focus on finding and tracking the smaller threats to Berykholt. The Scouts bunked in the North Tower and were comprised of a dozen hardened Sentinels beside the Sergeant. They wore dark gray tunics over leather armor. Much like the Paladins, the Scouts were an elite, honored group. Only the toughest full sentinels were invited to join, each with multiple demon kills and a stout attitude to their name before even being considered. Sentinel Scouts wore a black half-moon emblem affixed above their left breast to signify their penchant for working at night while the rest of the Order was sleeping. Their right breast still carried the Order emblem of an eye within the sun.
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  Sergeant Corbin and Captain Glenn seemed to have a comfortable veteran’s rapport. Being just shy of my eighteenth birthday, I got a few funny looks as I was introduced as a ‘master tracker’ with a recommendation straight from Snow to work with the Scouts. Glenn made it clear that even though I was young, Vigil Snow wanted me to gain some experience with the Scouts, and luckily that was that.

  I had friends in high places as opposed to dark taverns.

  Corbin handed me off to his Second, Sentinel Dan Jacka, for a briefing on Scout routines, weapons, and tactics. Jacka was a bit twitchy but knew his business as he gave me the run-down.

  “The Scouts here are organized into six squads. Each day, two squads split the daylight shift, and two split the more dangerous night shift. The other two squads get a rest. Fast horses are used during the day to cover the most ground while the night shifts patrol on foot. Scouts wear leather over chain armor instead of the heavier plate to improve mobility and minimize noise. The Vigil light axes are our primary weapon. Any questions so far?” he asked.

  It all made sense to me.

  “Can you set me up with some leather armor? Perhaps something that will fit over the chainmail and heavy vambrace in my current kit? Also, I’m new to the area, and I prefer to work nights. It would be great if someone could give me the full tour tonight. After that, I’m glad to spell anyone who needs it or happy to go out alone.”

  “Nobody here goes out alone,” he stated. “I’ll take you out with second shift once our first night shift returns. Having another set of eyes is always a good thing. We have passes to watch and caves to track. Our primary mission is to keep any demons from getting into Berykholt town or slipping further down the valley and into the heartland beyond.”

  “You have much activity around here?” I asked, thinking of Lockrun and its usually safe, quiet countryside.

  “We haven’t seen an organized horde in years, but there’s plenty of good reason why the Vigil of the North is located up here in these foothills. The local caves are known to spit out demons during the warmer months, and this close to the mountains, we encounter all sorts of friendly wolves, lions, and bears, as well as the occasional, but deadly, dark elf.”

  “Understood,” I replied. “Finding demons is my specialty.” Or was it them finding me?

  “Great. Get yourself kitted out and meet me back here in an hour. I’ll have some decent leathers for you then,” Jacka finished.

  Bar Sinister

  Distractions

  “This is my exile, Sister, so have a seat and keep your growling to a minimum,” I offered with a smile.

  Exile was undoubtedly looking up.

  A sultry black shape walked with the gravity of a black hole through Bar Sinister. Black leather wrapped an Infernal body that painfully reminded me of just how deprived I’d been sitting here next to Memet. Her dark complexion was offset by eyes the color of fire, her lips dark, the color of fresh blood. Her smile was furtive and distracting as Hell.

  “I wouldn’t taunt her, Younger. You know who that is, don’t you?”

  “Of course, I do. Why do you think I’m still gripping my sword?” I replied.

  Chapter 7

  Demon hunting party

  An early Summer night started perfectly. The weather was clear and the moon high, with a cool breeze flowing down from the mountains. My chain-mail was covered with a thick layer of dark leather, the sleeves cut short, making room for my steel vambraces. My axe was strapped across my back, with my dagger secured below it.

  We left Berykholt via a small gate from the north tower around Mid-night, just as the earlier night patrol was returning. They had run a loop up through the Everest Gap, as the nearby mountain pass was known, and then searched westward before turning back. Their fifteen-mile excursion had come up empty of any sightings, and it seemed like we were in for a quiet night.

  Jacka took the lead and gave me a rundown of the area that we would be covering. After clearing the Gap, which was located just a mile north of our valley, we would be encountering rough vertical terrain. It forced us to turn either east or west to get around Adam’s Peak, which was positioned directly north of the Everest Gap. We would take the route eastward, chasing game trails for signs of predators and caves, following a counter-clockwise route for the night’s patrol.

  Besides Dan Jacka, I was also partnered with Sentinel-Scout Pika Havens, a smaller man of about thirty years with a hunter’s eye-sight and attitude. I liked him immediately. We traded stories of our favorite kills to pass the time as we hiked into the mountain pass. Adam’s Peak wasn’t so much a peak as a tall cliff, and I wouldn’t expect anything but mountain goats to call it home. The area around us lacked any serious predators as far as I could tell.

  We hiked a few miles eastward and then turned to the northeast through another small valley. I could feel the anxiety of the men ramp up, though my senses were telling me that we were safe from anything predatory or dark. As we trekked further, I noticed the dull scent of a somewhat recent kill.

  “Sentinel Jacka, what can you tell me about this place?” I asked. “I mean, there’s an air of violence here,” trying to put things mildly.

  “We lost a Scout patrol here a couple of weeks ago, both Sentinels, Drake and Dillon, torn to pieces and scattered about, up ahead a quarter-mile, near that huge flat boulder,” he replied. “Drake was Corbin’s Second at the time. Somehow, they had been cut off and ambushed, but by what we don’t yet know. Too many caves around this area that could hold just about anything.”

  “Could I take a look at where you found them?”

  “Sure, though I doubt you’ll find anything new,” he replied. “Especially not while it’s dark.”

  We approached and circled the kill-site. There was the scent of widely scattered human blood, and a mixture of other scents, mostly animals, but also traces of something unnaturally rotten.

  “Mostly human blood here. The men had their backs to the massive boulder. It seems like they were overwhelmed by a much larger group of demons,” I offered. “They didn’t have a chance to kill any of their attackers.”

  Not wanting to consider the full implications of that, Jacka ordered, “Let’s get moving. This area seems clear, and I want to pull a full circle around Adam’s Peak before the break of dawn.”

  We picked up the pace pushing another couple miles straight north. As we were turning westward to circle back around Adam’s Peak, my senses pricked on something that wasn’t there a minute ago. Something dark, maybe a mile away, was moving steadily in our direction, a new tang of blood in the air.

  “Are there any caves nearby?” I asked. “I think we may have found some rogue hunters.” I pointed up the rough slope to the northwest and then to my nose.

  “How many?” asked Jacka quietly.

  “Hard to tell. Maybe a half dozen. Dark, loud, demonic. Moving generally this way, less than a mile to the northwest.”

  That hit both men hard. One moment, we were enjoying a quiet patrol, and the next, we’ve got serious trouble on our hands. They recovered quickly. Our options were few.

  “Let’s hunt,” whispered Pika. “Time to show us what you’ve got, Ara.”

  I could see the smaller man’s grin in the bright moonlight, masking his fear well.

  I nodded, reaching for my axe. “Sure thing. I’ve got my first training session tomorrow morning with the Sentinel recruits, and I don’t want to be late.”

  A couple of double-takes were thrown my way. I just smiled and shrugged.

  I guess I am a bit evil.

  “We can skirt back toward Drake’s rock, maybe lose them or string them out,” Jacka offered. “Corbin is gonna have my ass if anything happens to you, Ara, and taking on six demons at once is suicide.”

  A fresh breeze hit us, and suddenly, I knew what we had to do.

  “Time to see who’s the bigger monster on this mountain,” I growled to the Scouts as I bolted up the slope.

  They had no choice but to
follow.

  Our going was slow at first, and I started to veer to the left, aiming to get ahead of the on-coming group. The picture in my mind was growing clearer. There were eight lesser demons, not six, chasing a ninth, heading southwest. It was this ninth that was my target. It was wounded, and young, and female. Visions of my friend Cat ran through my head, and I pulled ahead of the other two Scouts. Drawing closer, I could smell the pain of exhaustion, muscle cramping, and deterioration that was common to all prey at the end of their run.

  The scent of their quarry’s failing blood had pushed the demonic pursuit into a frenzy. The demons’ stench and their rage filled the air around me. Their grunts and growls stoked fear in their victim, now only ten yards ahead of the predators as she continued her tortured run across the mountainside. The girl appeared human but slightly different, exotic. The group, a twisted menagerie of fiends, was strung out in a line and completely ignored me as I closed in rapidly from their left.

  Pushing myself, I leaped at the lead demon, a stout beast, part man, part bull, with long horns, claws, and vicious-looking teeth. I brought my axe in hard to the back of its neck. It was a perfect strike, shearing off the beast’s head and filling the night with the scent of sudden death. My momentum carried me forward across the line of chasing demons, and I succeeded in pulling the other monsters from their prior direction as they turned to focus on me.

  The second Hellion in the line, an ugly man-crab variety, veered my way with its over-sized pincer claws, and I spun with a forceful backhanded swing of my axe. One claw-shaped arm went flying away as it diverted my killing blow. I followed up with my left arm smashing into its small, ugly face and heard the crunch of shattering bone.