A Tune of Demons Box Set: The Complete Fantasy Series

by J E Mueller

  Back in the room with my body, Mist nodded to me and was gone once more. Danni seemed to have recovered her body and was discussing something with Lliam. The boxes of weapons and blades were spread out.

  Danni quickly noticed our arrival, and Mist’s quick departure. “How did it go?”

  “I think I’m just meant to have more questions than answers in this life.” I sighed. “Let me get back to myself.” I closed my eyes. While it took more than a few moments, I was able to reconnect with my body much more easily this time. “I’m back with some annoying information and a bad plan.”

  “I don't like the sound of that,” Lliam grumbled. “What happened?”

  “The way to fix the gate requires too many sacrifices,” I replied. Seeing their confusion, I explained. “It would involve killing the right person and using their soul as a way to rebuild and bind things.”

  “Oh heck no.” Danni cringed. “Why are the old ways so distorted?”

  “Exactly. Of course, it would be quick, minus dealing with the demons lurking outside our safety net issue… but I can’t do that.” I sighed.

  Lliam actually looked sympathetic. “What’s the alternative plan?”

  “Unlock my past lives and see if past me has better information. For that I need to get to the physical gate,” I replied.

  “That’s not too far from here.” Danni smiled. “I’m not sure exactly how to get there, but I heard it’s just a couple of miles away.”

  “Less than a couple.” I nodded. “I know the location, but we need a distraction. The demons have been focused on watching Lydia practice. I’m not sure if there’s a way to get them all to focus on her. We should also get Marella as backup. Getting out may be easier than getting back in. Maybe they’ll both be difficult. I don’t know.” I felt exhausted, mentally and physically.

  Danni took in my sudden drop of energy and glanced over at Lliam. “Can you find Marella?”

  He shrugged. “I can try.” Lliam looked over at me. “What do you intend to have me do?”

  “Play scout,” I replied honestly. “I’m sure getting to the shrine will be easy for you, and you can lead the way or stand there and just be a beacon for us.”

  “Us?” Danni looked confused. Seeing Danni’s surprised look, Lliam laughed and disappeared.

  “You’re coming with me,” I replied.

  “I… I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Danni replied honestly. “I can’t fight demons.”

  “You can phase through them, and you can deal with restless spirits. I’ve no idea what will actually happen at the shrine. I need your help.”

  Dani sighed. “I really hate this plan.”

  “It’s better than killing someone at an altar and sacrificing their soul,” I replied cheerfully.

  “This has got to be one of the worst things I’ve ever agreed to help with.” Danni shook her head. “Okay, we’re going to do this then.”

  “Do you have any other magic aside from this spirit stuff?” I asked, wanting to have all options available.

  “Healing.” Dani shrugged. “I actually can also infect, but that doesn’t do much good.”

  “What?” I asked, surprised.

  “I can heal like any healer, but I can also do the opposite and cause infections. I can cause a body to turn on itself. Destroying someone isn’t hard for me. Too bad I doubt it works on demons. They’re kind of too hot and coal-like for me to try it on them,” Danni explained a little further.

  “Yeah, I doubt it’d work too, but that’s one heck of a magical talent.” I could see why she hadn’t mentioned it prior.

  Danni shrugged at me, the same awkward way she had when we first met. I could tell she didn’t like her gifts, but maybe someday it would come in handy.

  For a moment we sat in silence before Danni finally spoke up, “You need your rest.”

  “I’m fine,” I tried to assure her.

  “You’re not used to going back and forth between your body and spirit form. You’re past tired.” Danni wasn’t leaving room for argument.

  Still, I tried. “I’m more than fine. We’ll finish creating a plan, see what needs to be set into motion and when. Then I’ll rest.”

  “You can’t even walk easily,” Dani replied.

  I blinked in surprise. I hadn’t tried to get up. I truly did feel exhausted, but I didn’t think I would be that bad.

  Getting up, I found my legs were shaky. I wouldn’t be able to get far easily. Standing up next to me, Danni didn’t even ask before taking hold of my arm and pouring healing energy into me. After a few moments, I felt much better.

  “It won’t hold long, but we can at least get you to your room,” Danni said, motioning for us to leave. “Remember, this isn’t my first time working with someone new at this. I know all the signs and have lived them myself.”

  “Blah blah…” I mocked jokingly before adding, “Thank you for the extra help.”

  “Of course.” She smiled and happily led the way out.

  19

  As we headed back, Lydia joined us. She looked at me and shook her head.

  “What have you even been doing?” she asked tiredly.

  “It’s a story, that’s for sure.” I yawned.

  “And we’ll figure out the details tomorrow,” Danni warned me and nodded toward Lydia. “Make sure she gets some sleep.”

  “Sure thing.” Lydia watched her go and then turned her eyes on me. “Spill.”

  We continued walking back. “Either I find a better plan, or I need to sacrifice someone to use their soul to rebuild things as we know it,” I replied. Watching her face turn bleak made me laugh for a moment. There was no humor, just a tired, sad sound. So, I dove into all the details. Even the ones I hadn’t given Danni. Her soul would be perfect and I really didn’t want to put that burden on her. It wasn’t fair.

  After that, I explained everything else. Getting to the spirit realm, the changes in appearances, and all the silver-blue nothing. There were so many useless details I told Lydia, but I knew if I stopped talking for long I’d fall asleep. I didn’t want to just sleep on things, I wanted to feel prepared for the day to come.

  “Right about now I wish you could have your own Blessed contract. You could slay your own demons if they get in the way and not have to rely on Marella,” Lydia grumbled as we lay on the bed together. “Why is magic so weird? Why can’t one be fully in charge of their own fate? Souls shouldn’t be able to be stolen away.”

  “Agreed, but maybe it’s for the best. I need to be more creative, and creative solutions are exactly what we need here.” I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

  She was silent for a moment. “This journey has turned into so many things.”

  “It’s turned into so many things since we started, yes,” I agreed. “I don’t even know where to begin, or which way is up anymore, but we need to solve this soon. Can you imagine Romulus breaking free once more? The damage he’s already caused is a terrible headache, and I don't want to even think about all the spare time he’s had to plot and scheme.” It was a frightening idea. He wasn’t beyond any tricks, traps, or deals.

  We sat in silence contemplating the possibilities of what could happen if this failed. If we failed.

  “I don’t know if me trying to distract the demons will be enough,” Lydia admitted.

  “I don’t think it’ll be enough for long.” I agreed. “If any one of them figures out we’ve left, that’s it. We’re more than likely done for.”

  “There may be another option. I’ll have to see if I can make it work.” Lydia smiled at me and got up from the bed. “I’ll be back.”

  “Where are you going?” I asked, getting ready to come with her.

  “Sleep. I promise I’ll be back soon.” She glared at me until I sat down.

  “Promise?” I raised an eyebrow at her.

  “Sleep.” She nodded, crossed her arms, and wouldn’t budge until I finally lay down and closed my eyes.

  I heard the door ope
n and close, and not long after sleep consumed me.

  It was cloudy, so instead of the sun awakening me, a tapping at the door did. I didn’t remember Lydia coming to bed, but her arms were wrapped around me. Carefully, I removed them and went to answer the door.

  Danni was on the other side, clearly tired but ready for the day.

  “What’s going on?” I yawned at her in greeting.

  “Is Lydia awake?” Danni asked.

  I glanced behind me and opened the door for Danni to see in. “Nope.”

  “Oh. I wanted to talk with her. Darn it.” Danni hung her head for a moment, thinking.

  “I can wake her.” I motioned for Danni to follow.

  After a few nudges, I got a grumbled response. “Hm?” Lydia mumbled, turning to press her full face into the pillow.

  “Get up sleepy head, we’ve got company,” I said softly.

  “Forget them,” she grumbled.

  “They’re already here.” I laughed.

  Lydia peeked out, took in the sight of Danni, and grumbled into the pillow, “Too early.”

  “I can come back…” Danni trailed off.

  “No, it’s okay.” Lydia yawned as she sat up. “What’s up?”

  “Lliam said he overheard you trying to get help, and I wanted to see if it worked. Lliam is getting help too,” Danni replied.

  This caught her attention. “My plan’s sort of in motion.” Lydia looked over at me. “I managed to get an angel to hear me out and direct some help this way. I don’t know when anyone will get here to help, but it would be a much more suitable distraction for sure.”

  “Oh, that would be great.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Think they’ll actually get help for us?”

  “Of course. He said he would, and within the next day or two, there should be several Blessed. Though I’m not sure if they’ll come together or not, now that I think about that. Ugh, that makes it worse in a way.” Lydia shook her head, then she looked at Danni. “What can Lliam do to help?”

  “Blessed spirits can use that shield thing to keep us secret from spirits instead of demons. It’s not the most helpful thing, but we don’t need to fight both spirits and demons then.” Danni explained.

  “Have more been troublesome?” I asked curiously.

  Danni shrugged. “Only a few. I don’t like handling them, but it’s better than the alternative.” Her tired appearance was starting to make sense. I had no idea what she did in her spare time, but it would seem handling this problem was on the list.

  “So, when should we throw this into play?” I wondered aloud. “We won’t exactly know when any Blessed are on their way.”

  “Well, actually Lliam can spot them.” Danni closed her eyes for a few moments and then smiled. “He’ll be here shortly. I’m sure he’ll enjoy being part of the action again. Damned Blessed complain too much when there’s nothing disastrous going on.”

  “Sounds about right.” Lydia smirked in agreement.

  Lliam appeared and took in the sight of our trio. “What did I miss?”

  Danni glanced over at him. “We’ve got some Blessed help on their way. Think you can spot them and get us a reasonable estimation of when they’ll arrive?”

  Lliam shrugged. “I can try.” He gave us a wink and with that, he was gone.

  “Perfect. That’s a good start on things.” Danni smiled.

  Lydia shrugged. “I’m guessing he said he’d help?”

  “Oh right, yes. He’ll be back as soon as he has more information.” Danni told her.

  “Great. Now what about Marella?” Lydia asked curiously.

  “Lliam said he found her and they spoke briefly. She’ll be around in case she’s needed but we won’t actively see her.” Danni shrugged. “Probably for the best. Marella is the backup plan anyway, so I wouldn’t want to count too much on that.”

  “I’m surprised she hasn't stopped by since I’ve been up,” I mused aloud.

  “She has,” Lydia confessed. “She only briefly stopped by and I forgot to mention it. I have no idea what she’s working on, but she said she was too busy to stay. That and it would be in our best interest if she kept some distance.”

  Of course she’d say something like that. Taking in all the information I nodded. Things would likely be moving into place soon. “Breakfast, then?” I asked, hoping there was at least time for that.

  Of course there was time for breakfast. There was time to gather what we needed together, both normal weapons and ones for spirits, before we ran out of things to do. Lliam hadn’t returned yet, leaving us with no idea of when to be ready. With no more ideas, Lydia sat meditating in our room while I talked with Danni.

  “Any other quick tricks I could pick up before this starts??” I asked curiously. I hadn’t mastered any of the current tricks, but it was worth a shot.

  Danni considered it for a moment. “Nothing is really quick to learn. You’ve got a lot of the basic knowledge down, but you’ll need to perfect it before you can do much more. Even as I described phasing earlier, it takes concentration, and you’ve yet to learn how to move your physical self with your spiritual self.”

  “How is that even possible?” I asked curiously.

  “You’re connected both physically and spiritually. Magic is a strange thing at best. It works, and I’m grateful to have perfected it over the years. Even better before I needed it, but there’s no time for that today,” Danni replied, looking toward the window.

  “I assume being able to just move into my spirit form with ease is one of the top necessities,” I sighed. It wasn’t hard, but it still took me time. I’d need to practice it more to really be ready. “What are the mechanics for the other part? Moving your body.”

  “Grabbing yourself, pushing your energy through your body’s magic, and then moving through the object before grabbing its essence and form with your spirit magic,” Danni stated.

  Getting up, she moved to sit by the wall. I watched her do exactly as she said. In a moment she was in her spirit form, had hold of her body, and I could see the magic course through it rapidly just as she pulled herself through the wall. A moment later she reentered the room through the door. It only took seconds.

  “I’ve no idea how you do that so quickly.” I shook my head. It was amazing.

  “Practice.” She shrugged. “You can do it too, in time. I’m certain of that.”

  “Time’s just not on our side. Hopefully we’ll have little trouble today,” I mumbled. A thought struck me. “Can you do that with more than one person at a time?”

  “I have two hands.” She said waving them at me with a smile.

  “What if a third grabbed hold of you?” I asked curiously.

  “If they could control their spirit form and still hold on, then maybe I could move three of us.” She shrugged. “That would be tough to practice.”

  “And we don’t have time… but if we survive this, I’d love to test that theory.” I smiled.

  “Then I guess you’d better survive it so we can try it out,” Danni replied, winking.

  “That is the plan.” I glanced over at Lydia. “I’ve no idea what our chances are.”

  “Just better than slim to none,” Lliam commented.

  I spun around to look at him. “Oh good, you’re back. What did you find out?”

  “We’ve got five people to help,” Lliam replied, “Should be here in less than twenty minutes.” Before I could ask anything more he held up his hand. “They’re heading from the south-west. That doesn’t give you a great route, so you’ll have to loop around a bit, but you’ll at least have your distraction. They don’t know exactly why they are coming here. Just that they need to get here and dispose of the demons in the way. They can’t actually mess up your plan since they don’t know it.”

  I nodded. “Can you get to the shrine so we have a clear path?”

  Lliam nodded. “I will once the distraction starts. You’ll need me to tell you when they’re here.”

  “That’s true,�
� I agreed, glad he had quickly pointed out the flaw in my plan.

  “There’s still a chance they’ll call for help and no one will live through this,” Lliam stated.

  I stared at the ground, taking in that fact. Was there any way not to risk others? No seemed to be the only answer. “What choice do we have? If we don’t risk it, we don’t get answers to fix this. Everything we do is basically a game of avoiding sudden death.” I hated that fact.

  Lliam nodded. “As long as you’re well aware of that, I’m more than willing to help. Every decision now is more and more likely to lead to someone’s death.”

  “We can’t all live, that’s just how it goes sometimes,” Lydia chimed in. For a moment I thought she was replying to Lliam but remembered she couldn’t hear him. She was replying to what I had said.

  “I would still rather not make decisions leading to someone's death,” I retorted, feeling tired.

  “We don’t get into slaying demons because it’s easy.” Lydia shrugged. “I know my time could be limited, but for every person, every child I have helped and saved, it’s all worth it. I’ll do whatever it takes to knock these demons back into place. And if I die.” She looked me in the eyes. “Then I guess I get to join the fight on the other side. There is no giving up now. Even if the angels weren’t too clear cut on everything that was going on.”

  “How are you holding up with that?” I asked softly.

  “Pissed off that I’ve been misled doesn’t describe it accurately enough. You’d think they’d have a little more faith in us understanding the balance and how the universe works, but no.” She sighed. “To be fair, any idiot with a clean enough heart can become Blessed, so I suppose they had to draw the line at something. Even if they picked this to be it.” Lydia shook her head. “I wonder if the Elders know. I hope they do. I hope that’s how they choose people for certain things. It’s so hard to tell.”

  “I guess you’ll just have to live long enough to find out.” I smiled at her.

  Lydia laughed. “I fully intend on seeing this damned gate issue through to the end. If I’m going to be taken down, you’d better believe it won’t be until much later.”