Empyreal

by Helsel, Spencer

  “Sure.” Dani joked. “We’ll get coffee and talk all about it.”

  The Fury smiled politely at her joke. “Yes, well then, I must be off. There is a third Trial to oversee.” Lady Alecto bowed and turned, wings sweeping behind her as she left.

  That left her alone with the three people she upset the most. “So, I’m guessing you’re pissed.”

  Mastema, Ethan and Nathaniel were equally stone-faced. She hated that. Why did guys do that?

  “I’m sorry. You have to understand—.”

  “We do understand.” Ethan interrupted. “Dani, of course we understand. We always have.”

  “It was you they worried for.” Her Guardian said stiffly.

  “Just them? Not you?”

  He didn’t give an inch. “My concerns are only for those who I feel are in need of my concern. You were not of my concern.”

  “That’s a lot of ‘concerns’ Mastema. You weren’t worried about little ol’ me?”

  “No.”

  Was that his way of saying he wasn’t worried or didn’t care? She didn’t know. She never knew with him.

  “So, are you angry with me?” She knew they had the right to be. Two of them she romantically turned down. The other she just yelled at. Worry or not, that was an awkward thing to come back to.

  Nathaniel was the first to say, “I’m not.”

  “You’re not?”

  “No.” The single word spoke volumes. The tone told her he wasn’t exactly okay, but he wasn’t angry. “It’s good to see you again, Dani.”

  “Thanks. You too.”

  “Mind not running off again?”

  “Deal.” She looked at Ethan painfully. “And you?”

  Ethan still hadn’t said anything about what happened between them. It was there, like a gigantic neon elephant in the room, but he didn’t acknowledge it. “I’m glad you’re safe. That’s all that matters.”

  It was the best she was going to get and she knew it. “Thanks. So where does that leave us?”

  “Your third Trial.” Mastema said. “We must prepare.”

  “And what is my third Trial?”

  Her Guardian’s expression darkened. “To do what every Numen is born to do: you must kill a demon.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  “Kill a demon? I have to kill a freaking demon?” Empyrean was different. After the announcement of the third Trial, lessons suspended. Three weeks and the Novices would leave Empyrean for Earth to hunt. Dani took a week to resettle. She had to get used the idea that she would fight for real. The first two Trials were training. The Third was the actual thing.

  After the break-in at her house, she decided to meet in a better spot. So the following week, she, Mastema, Ethan and Nathaniel met at the West Gate. The battlements were a nice, quiet place. Plus, they overlooked Los Angeles.

  Dani did the math. It was late November, maybe December now. Below, she could see Christmas lights all over the city when she looked through the clouds. Time passed normally below, but things remained the spring up here.

  “You do realize,” she said, “this Trial is bat -crap crazy.” “It is the final rite of passage.” Mastema told her. “In order to truly understand what it means to be Numen, you must destroy the thing we are sworn to destroy: the demonic.”

  “It’s not as daunting as it sounds.” Ethan assured them.

  “I remember the wraiths you killed in L.A.” Dani told him. “Trust me, it’s pretty damn daunting.”

  “I remember those things every time I shut my eyes.” Nathaniel grumbled. “They’re like demonic pitbulls.”

  Mastema chuckled. It was a strange, creepy sound. “There are such things, you know.”

  “What?!”

  “Well, they are not pitbulls, to be precise. Hellhounds, actually. But they are—.”

  “Mastema, we’re trying to inform them, not terrify them.” Ethan scolded. “Ignore him. I haven’t seen a demon outside a wraith in years. And despite what some describe,” he glared sideways at the other Guardian, “it’s not terrifying.”

  “You expect us to believe that?”

  “What I mean is that you’re not sent alone. Every Guardian helps their charge track and kill the demon. Also, the Powers go as well to ensure you’re never outnumbered. And two Elders oversee each aerie.”

  “Oh goodie.”

  Mastema frowned at her sarcasm. “Every aerie works in concert to destroy specific nests of demons. The forces we bring are immense. There is little danger.”

  “Demons naturally gather together, wraiths especially. They will hold up in warehouses or abandoned buildings; any place that is empty. Since their primary hunting grounds are the streets and poor

  neighborhoods, that is where we will hunt, as well.”

  “Demons prey on the poor?”

  “That surprises you?”

  No, it didn’t. She didn’t imagine demons stalking people in upscale neighborhoods.

  “Every so often, demons will kill an affluent individual,” he said, “but more than most attack the homeless or the disadvantaged. Large cities, at least when it comes to the wraiths, are their preferred areas.”

  “Why?” Nathaniel asked. “What do demons want?”

  “Wraiths are pack animals.” The hatred was easy to hear in his voice. “They are the feral beasts of demonkind, but as with most demons, they prey on weakness and vice: lust, greed, anger, fear. They feed on it in the blood and flesh of their victims.”

  Ethan translated. “It’s not about the kill. They feed on all the negative emotion in our blood. The homeless and the poor are usually the most prone to be the victims of them. They have no one to help them and because of that, they have problems with drug addiction, violence, theft; things people shouldn’t have to endure. And that doesn’t include what drove them into homelessness in the first place: alcoholism, abuse, mental illness. They’re a psychological meal for demons. It’s,” he shook his head, “terrible. People shouldn’t have to live like that.”

  Dani agreed. She met more than a few homeless in her lifetime. To think they were prey for demonic animals…

  “So they eat them? And no one notices?”

  “The deaths of those society cares nothing about generally go unnoticed or unreported.” Mastema grunted in disgust.

  Ethan added, “In America and other modern countries, dozens die per year. Demon killings don’t always look like demon killings. The veil protects them. And they feed on Numen and gifted as well, so sometimes they don’t need to snack on the disadvantaged.” He was bitter as he said that. “In countries that are less technologically capable, there’s really no telling how many are demon-killings. It could be more. Demons are born out of darkness, disease and depravity. It’s getting worse year to year.”

  “So how does it work?” Nathaniel asked. “How do you hunt a demon?”

  “Well, as I said, an aerie usually goes on a hunt with two Elders overseeing the Trial, but since Dani is in an aerie by herself,” he glanced at her, “we don’t know.”

  “Yes, we do.” She said. “I had to face the first Trial on my own and I would have faced the second the same way. I doubt they’ll change it for the third.”

  “But this is different.” Ethan reminded her. “The others were safe in comparison. They won’t send you to slaughter.”

  “Don’t be so sure.”

  ______________________

  “The Council has decreed,” Castus told them, “that as it is tradition for a single aerie go on a single hunt, that Novice Daniella must complete the task without the aid of other Novices.”

  Dani and Mastema stood before the assembled Council of Elders. Some looked displeased, such as Elder Jeduthun and Elder Azariah. Even Elder Aleister looked like he wanted to speak up. Others, like Elder Castus, seemed as if it were the only option. Elders like Heman, however, looked so pleased he was doing a happy dance under his robes.

  Dani didn’t argue. There was no point. She had a near -litany of things she coul
d say, some of them so good she begged for a reason to use them, but she didn’t. Partially, it was Mastema next to her. It was clear her Guardian was ready to crap a brick he was so furious. Yet, he held his tongue. She might as well do the same.

  Look how much more mature I am , she thought cynically while trying not to imagine slapping the spit out of Heman.

  Mastema bowed. “I am to assume that as her Guardian, only I will accompany her?”

  “It is the law, yes.”

  “Then I pledge my life to see her succeed.”

  Dani felt something for her Guardian she never thought she could: appreciation. She knew what that statement meant. If she failed the Trial, he would be put to death. If things went badly during the hunt, it would amount to the same. He would give his life for her. She didn’t doubt it.

  Mastema was not cuddly in any sense of the word, but for the first time she knew that when it came down to it, he was committed to her.

  A clearing of the throat brought everyone’s attention to Alecto, who stepped forward. “It is my understanding that the Trials are not completely following the rules set forth by the first Numen.” She flicked her eyes to Dani and flashed a small smile. “Elder Heman, you will oversee her Trial, correct? Only one Elder will oversee Aether in your place?”

  Heman shifted uncomfortably. “That is correct. I volunteered.”

  Of course you did, pendejo.

  “Then I would like to offer my services as a second judge.”

  Every Elder stared. None spoke up, except Jeduthun who—Dani suspected—wasn’t happy with Heman’s choice. “Very well.”

  Heman protested. “Lady Alecto, though an admirable judge of character, is not a Numen. She—!”

  “Is a warrior of highest degree and will offer a fair assessment of the Novice.” Castus finished for him. “Unless you wish to challenge her experience?” Heman didn’t. He said nothing. Castus turned back to them. “Then, it is settled. Lady Alecto will serve as a second judge. Are there any questions you have for this Council, Guardian Mastema? Anything you wish to add?”

  “Nothing this Council will wish to hear me say.”

  Dani barely avoided giving him a sideways glance. Was that a little sass he threw their way? Damn, I’m gone three days and Mastema grows a pair.

  “Then we are adjourned. Novice Daniella’s Trial will commence. Novice, take the next two weeks to prepare yourself.”

  She spoke up. “Where am I going for my Trial? Every aerie is sent somewhere different, right? Where am I?”

  “You are to return to your place of origin: Los Angeles.” Jeduthun told her. “You are going home.”

  With the Council dismissed, Jeduthun came down to the main floor to speak to them. Alecto departed with Dani thanking her silently.

  “I’m afraid that my interventions amongst the Council have not been very effective.” Jeduthun said. “A demon hunt is by itself dangerous. To be hampered in such a way, I fear for you both.”

  “Well, I’d like to say I’m surprised, but I’m not.” Dani grumbled.

  He pursed his lips, biting back his next statement—which she assumed was along the same lines—and instead agreed, “My dear, I wish I could tell you something different, but the mood of the Council is not easily swayed.”

  “Yeah,” she smirked cynically, “there’s more than a few of them I’d do more to than sway. Like sway them off a cliff.”

  Mastema nudged her.

  Jeduthun was a member of that Elder Council, but he smiled. “A biting commentary, but a valid one. Very well. I assume you have heard the tradition of the third Trial?”

  “I haven’t.”

  Jeduthun smiled wider. “Excellent. I adore surprises.”

  “What surprise?”

  The Elder glanced at her Guardian. Dani looked at him. Mastema’s face was an impassive mask, but when she looked closely, she saw something tug at the corner of his mouth.

  A smile. He was actually smiling. Holy crap.

  “It is tradition,” he said, “for the Novice before their third Trial to choose a weapon.”

  Now it was Dani’s turn, but her smile was a big, foolish grin. “Is that right?”

  ______________________

  Jeduthun led them down to the lowest level of the Keep to the Forge. Dani hadn’t been here since the first day.

  The massive, adamantine-braced doors opened and the heat of the fires boiled out in thick, acrid-metallic wafts. Hammer strikes sung through the air like music as Dani followed inside; each strike on steel a melody and each hiss of metal in water the chorus. Sylphs and salamander elementals watched as they passed. The deep orange glow of liquefied adamant flowed through the forges. Jeduthun led them down past the large mass of celestial iron in the middle to the other side.

  The vault door Jeduthun and Mastema lead her to was the one she saw gifted take finished weapons through that first day. Sunlight poured through the open doors. The heat dissipated as they left the Forge and a short hallway led to a room full of pure daylight.

  Jeduthun stopped at the threshold. “Welcome to the Armory.”

  It wasn’t a room. At least, it wasn’t a just a room. The chamber was circular, wide enough to fit three houses across, but once she looked up, she saw it wasn’t a chamber at all.

  It was the base of a massively tall tower that extended upwards at least a hundred feet. It took Dani a full minute to realize that she was standing inside the large tower that dominated the view over Empyrean and where messengers sent and received communications from other cities. The inside walls dotted with large, circular pedestals underneath octagonal windows. Like the Anthenaeum the platforms were gathering places, but instead of tomes or scrolls, each one was covered in arms and armor. Swords. Spears. Shields. Helmets. Bows. Chainmail. Breastplates. Each platform was dedicated to a particular type of weaponry or armor. The nearest platforms on the ground level contained bracers and greaves. The next level up she could see a circular rack of different spears. Even the walls were covered.

  Dani once visited the Washington Monument when she was little; a school field trip she begged her mom to go on. Her mother gave her hell for how much money it was, but eventually let her go. Seeing the Monument from the inside was breath-taking. The sheer size of it! She felt that way staring at the Armory. She could barely see the top.

  “Empyrean’s adamant mines are the largest in the world.” Jeduthun said. “When warriors fall, their weapons are lost. We must replace them. Some of the other cities rely on us to rearm.”

  “Amazing.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.” Nathaniel and Ethan walked in behind her. Her friend stared, too. “I mean, I knew this place existed but…wow.”

  “As per tradition,” Jeduthun said with mild sarcasm, “which the Council is so worried about lately, every Novice is given a chance to choose the weapon and armor they see fit. Each weapon is an extension of oneself. Choice is important.”

  “My own was chosen here.” Mastema told her. “I knew it the moment it was within my hand. Ethan chose his centuries later. I was present when he picked up Stormthrower.”

  Dani raised an eyebrow at him. “Stormthrower? That name people keep calling you? It’s because of your sword?”

  Ethan grimaced. “I told you: sometimes we get names and sometimes it’s from our weapons.”

  “You have to explain it to me.”

  “Some other time.”

  “Yes.” Jeduthun said. “For now it is important you choose a weapon and armor. It should suit your needs. Who you are as a person and as a warrior are shown in your choice. Only you will know when you put your hand on one if it is right for you. So choose wisely.”

  The old Elder bowed, backing out of the room and leaving Dani and Nathaniel with their Guardians. It was a lot to take in. She didn’t even know where to start.

  She was still staring up when Ethan leaned over her shoulder and whispered into her ear. “Start on the first floor and work your way up.”

  She
gave him a mean glare.

  “Just a friendly suggestion.” He grinned.

  ______________________

  They started with spears that lined every inch of the wall on the ground floor. Dani was not a spear person.

  “Adamantine spear point.” Mastema told her, following her from weapon to weapon. “Tridents, diamonds, armor-piercing, halberdier. Most use fraxinus for the spearshaft.”

  “Use what?”

  “Ash tree. The wood repulses the demons.”

  She lifted one off the rack. Spears were heavy. She knew that before, but she never appreciated it until she thought of carrying one into battle.

  “Nope. And I’m pretty sure axes are out of the question, too.”

  “Swords then.” Mastema said, holding out his arm. “They are several echelons above.”

  The pair ascended. As Dani soared past the first few levels, she could see dozens of tables with axes, spears, maces and morningstars; all manner of weaponry used to stab or bludgeon. Other Novices and Guardians scattered about the tower, working to find their own weapons.

  Five floors up and the swords began. Mastema settled on an outcropping, which had a rounded rack of shorter blades.

  He reached out and retrieved the nearest one. “You have shown remarkable adeptness with short swords as opposed to long swords, though I leave it to you, Novice. The question is: which type? We have the xiphos like this,” he held out the double-edged straightsword to her grip first, “which is an excellent personal weapon of the Greeks.”

  She lifted the blade. It felt comfortable, but wasn’t right. She handed the weapon back.

  “Falcata or kopis.” He handed both over. They were of similar design; slightly curved with a single edge, meant for slashing. Both were heavy. Too heavy. She handed them back. “Very well. There are others.”

  Mastema took her to dozens of platforms. There were some twohanded weapons she didn’t mind, but swinging them felt awkward. She’d never been good with double-handed blades. She looked at the gladius and spathe, one-handed Roman swords which felt right but were meant for either thrusting or from striking from a horse. They didn’t feel comfortable to her in a ground fight.