A Tune of Demons Box Set: The Complete Fantasy Series

by J E Mueller

  “Nice.” Liza gave an approving nod.

  “That doesn’t mean she can slay a demon,” Ryan said, having dusted himself off.

  “Now, now, be nice. It isn’t fun to judge a book by it’s cover now is it?” I said, casually walking back to the horses. “I am one of those people who can wield Blessed weapons. That’s plenty common enough. The enchantments may not last terribly long, but it’s more than enough for a fight.”

  “Fine.” Ryan waved me off. “Let’s just get this camp set up already.”

  I chuckled to myself as I continued my task. Among the Blessed it was known that non-Blessed could wield specially enchanted weapons, but not always. There wasn’t a sure-fire way to tell if a normal mortal would be able to use one or not, but most believed it had to do with how sinful a person was. Angels refused to explain one way or another, so the theory stuck. The only exception were the Cursed born, who sadly just had the ill luck of only having half a soul. They were never able to use one as long as a curse remained.

  I did find that the enchantments didn’t last as long for me as for anyone else. My working theory was that it was because of my speed magic. I was moving, blocking, and hitting at a much quicker rate than an average person could. Luck would be on my side with this battle, though. Thanks to Auntie Juni’s runestones I could easily have a shield if I ran out of Blessed enchantment magic. I would need to pocket them correctly before the fight just in case. While I hadn’t thought things would go bad originally, the more unease everyone spoke with, the more concerned I grew. Lydia had assured me hardly anyone ever died and yet everyone seemed to be nervous.

  The standard Blessed bravado would always come back quickly. As we got the camp ready, and the protection perimeter was set, Liza struck up a song. I had no idea how Lydia seemed to know every last song ever brought up, but she joined right in. Half a verse later so did Ryan, and in short order, Bennett seemed to reluctantly get pulled in too. I listened to the words and tried to set them to memory, but I felt distracted.

  My mind drifted back to Marella. Was she trying to protect me? Why would she do such a thing? There seemed to be something bigger that she had full knowledge of, but was unwilling to explain just yet. After this, I’d need to track her down and have a serious conversation with her. I wondered if it would be as easy as meandering over to the nearest graveyard. She seemed to pop up there without fail. Did Marella like graveyards? Or was it because I tended to end up in them alone? Too much to wonder, I shoved the thoughts aside. I would get answers, just not this night.

  Instead, there was a light dinner with some plotting and planning for the short journey ahead and then gossip between the Black and Gray Violets. Hilarious blunders and boastful accomplishments surrounded the campfire. I was much too happy to call it a night, though. With all the recent warnings, it seemed a good night's sleep would be very much needed.

  9

  Morning came too fast. My head spun for a moment as I considered all that had happened recently. It had started with basic demon hunting while I tried to find answers about my gifts and then quickly turned to nonsense. On the other hand, waking up wrapped in my girlfriend's arms was a plus and I did have some answers. I just had no time to fully read them and kept them tucked away in my pocket while we prepared for large scale demon extermination. I didn’t know what was more unreal at this point - having a demon warn me of a possible threat, or having a magical chest of books.

  I carefully untangled myself and tried to get up before I was pulled back down.

  “It’s too early to be up,” Lydia grumbled at me, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “You say that every day,” I muttered back. I shook my head at her. “Get up, you potato.”

  She grumbled some more. “And every day I’m right.” She insisted, trying to pull me back down.

  “Come on. You can’t be a vegetable all day,” I said firmly, breaking free from her grasp.

  “Hmpfh,” she muttered. “At least potatoes are loved for who they are.” Slowly Lydia sat up and stretched out.

  “You’re loved for who you are.” I rolled my eyes. “Even non-morning people need to get up, though.”

  “Eventually. Not at the break of dawn,” she replied, glaring mildly before turning to get ready for the day.

  There was silence for a moment.

  “I had a dream,” Lydia suddenly announced.

  Her tone surprised me, and I glanced at her as I finished dressing. “And?”

  Lydia shrugged as she pulled things from her bag. “It was confusing. I don’t know what it was supposed to mean but…” She made a vague motion with her hands as she talked. “We were running, and we knew the place we needed to go was just up ahead. Just out of sight. For whatever reason, you were staying the same speed as me, but then…” Lydia looked at me, lost for words. “You hit some sort of barrier. I was able to continue on ahead but try as you might, you couldn’t go with me. I knew I had to get you through it, but I can’t remember why.”

  “That is a weird dream,” I said as I began to pack everything away.

  “Normally my dreams are about battles or nonsense. This one felt different.” Lydia looked at me, uncertainty was in her eyes and how she held herself. “Could something have affected my dreams?”

  “Yes,” I replied simply as I tried to consider what could have happened. “Really, anything can. Angels, demons, spirits. They can’t control the direction of the dream, just send out an influence. You know that.”

  Lydia gave another shrug, still uncertain. “I’ve heard such things. Magic is strange, and so many things have been exaggerated. Do you think that it’s true?”

  “I do.”

  With a nod, Lydia took a deep breath and started getting things together at a quicker pace. “Then something wants me to make sure you get somewhere. But where? Why?”

  It was my turn to shrug. “I haven’t a clue, but if I had to guess, it sounds like whatever we’re running from or to is important, and as much as you want me to be there, you have to accept I can’t get there.”

  “Psh,” Lydia snorted. “What could possibly create a barrier that I could pass through but you could not?”

  “Not a clue. It could just be a dream,” I pointed out.

  “We’ll go with that. That actually makes sense,” Lydia agreed.

  It didn’t take us long to set out. As we traveled, I got to hear more about our destination. Since this place had become a hotspot for demons, it was heavily warped and ruined. Parts were spliced from the realm below us, leaving the area not only in havoc, but also a wasteland with a nontypical climate. Instead of a land with a cooler temperature, it was more tropical. The heat and humidity made for the perfect environment for plants that sounded and looked like they could be demons themselves.

  “The black bat-flowers are probably my favorite,” Ryan commented.

  “No, those things creep me out too much.” Liza shook her head. “Dangling fruit shouldn’t look like bats.”

  “Come on, the octopus stinkhorn is way worse.” Lydia laughed. “It looks like bloody tentacles coming out of the ground, just waiting… plotting to latch onto your ankle the second you get too close!”

  “Add a little bit more of a coal-like appearance and it’s a demon,” Liza replied nonchalantly before tossing in her favorite-least favorite plant. “No, the doll’s eyes are creepier than that.”

  “Where are we going again?” I asked, unsure if we were demon hunting or walking into a horror story.

  “Oh, you know, just the place where walking by bushes causes those prickly devil's claws to stick to your clothes.” Bennett laughed. “I swear you get close enough to see them and suddenly a dozen are already on you.”

  “And some of these are from the other realm?” I asked curiously. When I had been there it was mostly ash, dirt, barren bushes, and some evergreens that were looking pretty shabby.

  “Yep.” Lydia sighed. “Those things grow abundantly right in this spot in the other realm,
so with how weak the realms are in that spot, and plants being their own things, some have slowly crossed over. Give it a few years and they’ll happily spread out of their own accord until they reach the spots here, in this realm, where the climate is its normal cool self.”

  “Is there a way to make these spots stronger so less crossover is possible?” I asked curiously.

  “Slay all the demons,” everyone replied at once.

  “Oh.” It was a simple answer, and yet, I was sure it would be much more difficult than that. “So, since my simpleton knowledge here isn’t helping… How come this hasn’t happened? You’ve been at it forever from the sounds of it.”

  Liza chimed in right away. “We slay a large amount and leave because if we slay too many it entices the bigger demons to come fight. The more of them we manage to kill, the more bigger demons we attract. We’d need more angel help, and the more powerful Light Bringers in order to take down those demons and then we’re back to having that terrible unbalance that could quickly and easily destroy the world we live in.”

  “That really stinks. I wish there was a way to really fight back without the possibility of messing up the balance,” I replied, not liking the added knowledge.

  Lydia nodded, her sad eyes agreeing with me. “It wouldn’t be terrible if the angels could power through and get down a realm, but they’re weaker than demons on that level, and visa versa. This is the only realm where they are at even footing.”

  “And we’re stuck in the middle while they use us to duke it out,” I mumbled.

  “I wouldn’t say ‘use us’. We did agree to this willingly,” Ryan argued.

  “It’s for the greater good. Angels come through with their promises,” Bennett agreed. “And they don’t make us kill someone to get there.”

  While they launched into a discussion about contracts, I noticed the varying plants they had mentioned slowly appear around us. At first, it was just one here and there, but the temperature quickly warmed and more strange plants sprouted around us. I shrugged off my cloak as I took in the odd plants and tried to make sense of the sudden humidity. My clothes were starting to stick to my skin, and not for the first time, I wondered what I was getting myself into.

  Slay some demons. Go home. I prayed it would be that simple.

  After another half hour of riding, we came across the main encampment. Out of sight, I could hear the clash of swords and the sounds of fighting. As we entered the ring of tents a tingle went through me and I knew we had passed through the barrier that prevented demons from sneaking up on us.

  As we reached the center, a person approached us. She was short, with dark hair pulled into a tight bun. Her face spoke a combination of business and pain. -likely from the break in her leg that a makeshift cast was hiding.

  Lydia quickly jumped down to help her.

  “It’ll pass,” the person said as she shook her head.

  “What?” Lydia looked confused and then something clicked. “Oh, venom?”

  “Sadly.” She nodded in response before pointing out a few tents a short distance away. “Those are free. Drop your gear and get going.”

  I tried to remember what venom it could be. Very few demons had the ability to bite and poison someone. Temporarily, of course, for the Blessed. She would be severely weakened for two or three days, making it so she wouldn’t be able to fight like normal. But she would heal.

  “Isn’t that uncommon?” I nudged Lydia as we set our stuff down.

  Lydia hesitated. “Yeah… it is.”

  “So, we’ve come at a bad time, I take it.” I glanced at the tent.

  “Seems to be our luck,” she agreed.

  “Ready to dance, then?” I asked, holding out my hand for her.

  Lydia grabbed it and squeezed tightly. “With you? Always.” She took the lead.

  We dropped off our bags and continued on to where everyone was meeting to fight. The others did the same and were quickly right behind us.

  As we walked, I adjusted my sword and made sure my runes were exactly where I needed them to be. Without a word, I handed a shield rune over to Lydia.

  “Never hurts to be ready,” she agreed and pocketed it away. “Ready to actually fight this time?”

  “You’re the one that tripped over a twig.” I rolled my eyes.

  “Roots are different than twigs.” Lydia rolled her eyes back at me. “And I saved you like three times in the last battle.”

  “After I saved you five times.”

  We glared at each other for a moment before laughing.

  “Keep your eyes open and you’ve got this.” Lydia’s laugh died down and she paused.

  “Remember, dodging isn’t falling with style.” I nudged her, stopping as well.

  “It kind of is though.” Lydia replied thoughtfully. “Anyway, sword?”

  I held it out but didn’t hand it to her. Instead, I gave her my other hand and she took it in hers. Within moments I felt her magic flow from her, through me, and into the sword. It tingled pleasantly and left an oddly warm trail for a few moments before disappearing. leaving me with a sword that glowed a very soft, hardly noticeable, blue.

  It occurred to me we had faced no troubles getting here. I had figured the final stretch would have a lot more demons preventing us from making it to the final destination. While I was happy to be wrong, it still seemed odd. “How did we get here without seeing a single demon?”

  “I bet for this last half it’s just because we were so close to this final checkpoint. They would rather go after a group. Take down as many of us as possible. Maximum impact.” Lydia kept her eyes ahead. “We’ve got plenty now, though.”

  I could sense them. The darkness, anger, and fire that was their normal signature. “Guess we’re perfectly well-rested for once.”

  “I would be if someone had let me sleep.” Lydia smirked.

  “Funny.” I gave a fake laugh as we passed through a small section of trees. I could hear the distant sounds of combat, only muffled slightly by the greenery we were passing through.

  10

  In truth, I wasn’t sure what to expect. This wasn’t it, though. In front of us might as well have been a painting. A group of maybe twenty Blessed were spread out fighting a slightly larger group of demons. In what had to have been the center of the clearing was a small, swirling vortex that was a mix of black, dark purple, and lightning. Smog clung to the immediate area around it and was so thick I couldn’t tell if it was from the vortex or coming from the other side of it. As I watched for a moment, I saw a demon, struggling to pull its fairly human size body through the vortex. One of the Blessed noticed it and pulled out a crossbow to shoot. Another demon took notice of the Blessed with the crossbow and went to attack them, but a different Blessed stopped the demon, leaving the first free to fire a bolt. The direct shot to the demon's head left it hanging out of the vortex for a moment before it was slowly sucked back into it. Another emerged and seemed to pull itself through with little problem.

  “What in the name of Shaudrey am I watching?” I asked.

  Lydia gave a small laugh before replying. “That vortex is their way through. Don’t touch it, it’s got a bit of a kick. Stronger demons can pull themselves through with no problem, though those usually just warp through the realms anyway. They have the energy and magic to handle that. For the weaker ones though… well, as you saw, it’s a way into our world but it still pulls them back to their side. They’ve got to be quick. Some try to avoid battle so they can escape into the world, and cause havoc. Let’s make sure they don’t make it that far.”

  “This almost seems too easy,” I said as we started walking again.

  “It usually isn’t too bad, but remember, the biters are out,” Lydia warned.

  “So, more trouble is likely not far behind.” I heeded her warning.

  Without any more hesitation, we entered combat. With the others from our traveling group just barely ahead of us, a turn in battle came. We were the added numbers needed for a cle
ar victory. The demons were already slightly outnumbered, and with us there, they were quickly gone.

  “I’ve never seen this happen before.” someone commented a short distance away from me.

  “They usually come out quicker.” another said, their voice guarded, but they kept shifting positions.

  Everyone was hesitant. Nervous glances went between groups and friends. Several took steps further back and farther away from the vortex. It continued to release a dense smog that seemed no less ominous with the lack of demons. If anything, it was even eerier.

  I felt a tingle of wind and a whisper. “I’d run now,” I heard Lliam say.

  “Let’s get out of here.” I called to Lydia, and turned to move quickly away.

  These people didn’t know me, but no one faltered at the suggestion. We had barely thirty seconds head start when a loud crackling came from the vortex. We turned as a group and watched a swarm of demons emerge. I was glad to see that they were all lesser demons, but still felt a tug on my arm and a flow of magic as Lydia added power to my sword.

  “I wouldn’t doubt there are going to be stronger ones,” Lydia cautioned, not liking that they seemed to be coming through at once. As if this had all been planned. Still, she didn’t hesitate the second my sword was fully charged to dive back into the fray.

  More and more quickly they poured out, and I took note of one of the Blessed swinging wide as a demon lunged to bite another Blessed. The first one met his mark, saving the other from being poisoned, but how many were there? They all looked so similar. They had barely human features covered in a smoldering coal like exterior. Some had horns, some razor-sharp teeth. A few had extra limbs adding to the nightmare feel.

  There was no way not to join back into the fray. The demons were quickly scattering, some looking to pick a fight, others trying to sneak off into the wider world around us. I couldn’t knowingly let them go out into the world. For better or worse, I was back in this fight.