by Reiter
“I will not fail you, Brother,” Kethgeegan said before turning to run into the house.
Valian watched them run away and nodded once before turning back to his remaining people. “Job Number Two: holding off the demons for as long as possible. Gilestra, take the retainers and coordinate with Quybron. Fessural, take the car. Hugh, Arva is yours. Bef’Lurro will be in Kolinkar. ”
“We will hold them, Master,” Lady Gilestra vowed before tapping Kayjoe on the shoulder and turning to enter the house. The others fell in behind her with Valian catching N’Char by the arm.
“Thunderstar isn’t with us,” Valian stated. “None of the horses are... and I need to get to that breach!”
“We need to get to that breach!” Annodia corrected. “The only way you can deny me this is to kill me. You know you need your strength and the numbers.”
Valian looked at the woman and smiled, taking her hand and squeezing it. “Make that an order to go for two.
“The Great Mother knows your heart,” N’Char replied. “I am sure she will provide.”
“And the argument is only made stronger,” Valian thought as the wind blew over his face. “Here I am, supposedly fighting for Zorkaysha, and she’s been a no-show for most of this. But the Great Mother? Where is she?” Valian looked down at the vaporous horse he was riding. The Ghost Strider – that N’Char had summoned from the smoke of his quickly-made fire – ran off the edge of the cliff, striding on the very air, gaining in speed. “She’s right here with me!
“How are you standing it, Annodia?” he asked.
“This is the only way one rides into glory!”
Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.
Og Mandino
(Rims Time: XI-4907.05)
“They’re flying right by us,” Annodia remarked.
“We are enshrouded in the apparition of these Ghost Striders,” Valian stated. “Plus, these demons have their intended targets. I doubt this benefit will continue on the other side of the breach.
“Annodia–”
“I do have a question,” she shouted, speaking over a discussion she did not want to have. “How is it that you can carry me from the Ruins of the Bog to the Stake, but can’t fly us to the breach?”
Valian turned to look at his friend and squire. The two said many things without saying one word. “I wasn’t depleted by carrying you, but I can say that I felt the strain,” he explained. “I think we’re both going to need every bit of strength for this.”
“That we are, my Lord! It’s a fine day to die, sire!” she stated. “... and I can think of no place I’d rather be.”
“Then let’s try to find one tomorrow!” Valian offered.
Annodia chuckled. “That sounds like a very good idea.”
The cloud of demons rolled over the grounds of the Jhormynn Estate. The first to set foot on the property were struck by a barrage of six missiles. The explosions tore through demonic flesh, sending demon-headed apparitions back toward the breach as the destroyed flesh burned into the grass and earth.
As all heads turned to see the source of the volley, the launchers receded back into the armoured frame of Valian’s roadster. The redheaded young man who stuck his head up through the sky-roof looked around and shrugged his shoulders.
“I’ll be sure to get with Chief on how that broke to the left at the end there,” Fessural mentioned.
“Please do,” Gilestra said as she stepped forward. “And let’s have that be the last uncoordinated attack.” Fessural started to give argument when the Lady KnighT turned and nodded to Nokeyesh.
The groundskeeper smiled, rolling up his sleeves, and MannA fired to life in his eyes. Lifting his hands over his head, the elderly man cast a spell creating a dome of light over the property. Facing the waters was a pair of walls acting as doors.
“A bottleneck!” Quybron whispered, smiling at the tactic.
“Hugh, do you have enough maneuvering room up there?” Gilestra inquired as the fighter-craft flew overhead.
“It’s tight, but I’ve got wiggle room,” he replied.
“Good. We know where they’re coming in. Kayjoe, you are the cover for Nokeyesh. So long as he holds his concentration, he can more easily hold the construct.
“House Guard, firing line advance. Ready your weapons for maximum firepower. Remember, blasters won’t do that much damage to demon flesh. Fire and clear out so your weapons can charge up.
“Soon as they do clear out, Retainers, rain woe down upon their cursed forms. Keep it to steel and stone and listen for the horn. That will be your cue to clear so the firing lines can go again.”
“For honor!” K’Vatti cried.
“For duty!” Quybron added.
“FOR VALIAN!” Ereena sang out as the demons collided with the dome.
It was the demons colliding with the dome that made Valian smile. He took one last look and turned his attentions to the fight ahead of him.
“Hold them, Sisters and Brother,” he thought. “We will be as quick as we can!”
“Very well, none of us are happy with what we’ve been assigned,” Vaiyorl admitted as he paced across the floor of the ballroom. “But we have to give Valian and his people a chance to work their plans.
“We were holding our own, Father,” Pirion argued. “We should be out there helping with the fight!”
“My brave SorceroR,” Guysorla said softly, bringing the back of her youngest into her chest. “We are helping... just not in the fashion we would prefer. I am sure Valian would prefer to be enjoying his victory over Evard and Lusorra. But he is here, with his family, fighting... fighting...”
Pirion put his hands on his mother’s arms and gave them both a good squeeze. “Valian is on his chosen path. So are all of your children. Yorlson chose the wrong path. He received the same love the rest of us did.”
Closing her eyes at his words, tears rolled down Guysorla’s face. “Listen to my youngest. How did you get so wise?”
“Listening to my mother,” he replied.
Whatever comfort the exchange might have given them was taken by the growl that reached their ears. It was close to being an animal, but nothing that most of them had never heard before.
“Daemon Dogs,” Vaiyorl declared, looking around. “Apparently Yorlson is into his choice deeply enough to command a pack of them.”
“There are times when the Jhormynn standard of excellence is a pain in the ass!” Shonsatah remarked as she readied herself. The glow of the MannA exchange she had experienced with Yorlson was still alight around her body. She looked around before locking eyes with her father. He was smiling at her commentary and she allowed herself a slight smile before the single growl became at least half a dozen.
“Here they come,” Vaiyorl said, taking his cane out of his shoulder bag. It was already glowing with ambient MannA, and his weapon had the weight of a twig in his hands.
“This will certainly go down as one of his not-so-ingenious plans,” Champanna whispered.
“I get the feeling that is how most of them will be regarded by those who have to carry out them out,” Quilori added as the two women moved quietly down the dark corridor. “It’s the idiot writing the history that’ll leave out how people like you and me drew Daemonite Search Duty.”
“And what are we supposed to do with this thing?” Champanna whined. “He’s mostly demon, so touching him is out. Whole bunch of good martial arts does for me with that.”
“Don’t forget that even naked steel may not do what it’s supposed to unless it’s aligned,” Quilori added.
“What the hell is aligned steel?”
“Anything blessed by a Priest of a deity.”
“We don’t even have a freaking Priest on the team!” Champanna stressed. After a few steps, the young woman smiled and put her hand to her mouth as she started laughing.
“You find something funny?” Quilori asked.
“And to think I used to complain about being a slave.�
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The Olasson woman smiled, looking at Champanna. Her eyes gaped wide open as a pair of red eyes opened in the middle of the wall just over Champanna’s shoulder.
“Duck!”
Champanna dropped to a low squat as Quilori jumped back, staying just outside the arc of Yorlson’s clawing attack.
Yorlson pressed his attack on Quilori, believing he had to contend with the Olasson female first. He could feel the innate MannA coming off of her body. A psychokinetic thrust threw Champanna down the corridor while another threw Quilori back to the far wall of the corridor.
Quilori gasped as she flew back, her body splashing into shadow as she reached the wall.
“I have the cure for your Shadow MajiKs, woman,” Yorlson growled as his right hand generated a small sphere of light. Quilori came out of the wall, well above the floor and bounding for the chandelier. She grasped the lowest hanging rim and swung herself up to stand on the light fixture. “And perhaps, in all of the excitement, your forgot that I can fly.” Yorlson smiled as he slowly came up from the floor. “Whatever will you do now, Retainer Mistress?”
“Brace yourself for the cold,” Valian warned as he leaned forward on his mount. “And do not engage with anything unless you are attacked. I have an idea.”
“And here things were going so well,” Annodia muttered.
“I heard that.”
The two of them rode through the breach, coming into a gigantic cave of red and black rocky walls. They were above the ground where more demons were gathering, a would-be second wave ground attack force. They were forming under the direction of a three-meter tall, green-skinned, winged demon with three heads. Two of the heads turned to look at the Ghost Striders and the things that were riding them. It was not Ghost Striders the creature saw.
“Who has called for this attack?!” Valian shouted as he circled over the winged demon. His angry tone came with an assured authority, and the winged creature stepped back, allowing Valian to land. “With all that I have planned for this part of the Rims, who has inserted this folly?! Answer me or know what it is to fear the Vythe!”
“It was the Baron,” the three-headed demon offered, stepping back another stride and pointing further into the cave. “He has crafted a willing Daemonite, a would-be mortal SpellCasteR. This attack was signaled by him.”
“Since when do the creatures of MoGo march to the orders of a mortal?!” Valian cried as purple lightning bolts sprang from his extended hand, striking the demon, causing him to kneel and wail in pain.
“Argh! Mercy, Master!” the demon cried. “It is the Baron you seek!”
“So it is,” Valian said, finally lowering his hand and ending his torture of the creature... not that he could have had Jack absorb any more of the creature’s incredible power. “But if I hear you had anything to do with this so-called stratagem, we will continue our discussion. Hold this wave here until I return!” Valian took hold of his reins and urged his Ghost Strider to take back to the air.
Annodia followed him, a smile on her face as she hissed at one of the demons. “I didn’t know you could fool demons with an illusion!”
“Neither did I,” Valian replied, “but it seemed like a good time to verify! We have to be quick. I am spending FantasioR faster than Jack can generate it. This illusion isn’t costing me yet, but it’s only a matter of time before it will. Once it does, I will have to decide whether to bear the cost or let it fall.”
“Then let me do the talking from here on,” she asserted. “The more you can concentrate, the easier it will be for you to hold.”
“Good point.” Valian smiled as his squire moved in front of him. He closed his eyes and focused.
The explosions were still burning when the firing line cleared out. Only three of the Imps had been destroyed by the volley, but the progress of the attack line had been stalled. Valian’s roadster sped into the area, spinning to a stop with the rear facing the oncoming horde. The back wheels spun, hurling dirt into the faces of the demons, blinding them and forcing the front line to step back into the numbers behind them. Fessural unlocked the front wheels and drove to get out of the way. Carlos and five of the House Guard advanced with weapons drawn.
“Okay, amigos,” Carlos yelled, leading the charge. “... let’s do this like we did in practice, only better!” Lifting his shield up to cover his chest and head, Carlos swung low for the legs of the demons.
The House Jhormynn had no persons of the cloth on its roster, but that was a fairly common position in the Inner Rim. What passed for a Chaplain in the household had only been able to bless the ceremonial altar where fires burned for the more theological events at the estate. Quybron had asked the Chaplain to make the fire. He then had the men place all the melee weapons they could find into the flames with two men left to circulate weapons in and out of the fire. When Carlos’ blade cleaved into the flesh of the demon, the men cheered and Quybron breathed a sigh of relief.
Each of Carlos’ men swung low, crippling the demons they struck as they exited the scene as quickly as they had entered.
“Ready!” K’Vatti yelled as she and four guardsmen lifted their crossbows and took aim. “Remember, we’re fighting dirty,” she said, firing a bolt that lodged into the mouth of a screaming demon. “Loose!” The other four fired as she quickly reloaded, firing from the hip. Her second shot claimed an eye.
The horn sounded and the firing line quickly took their positions.
Gilestra smiled at the way the plan was working. Her smile faded when she heard the guns of the Arva firing. She looked up to see a demon, which had just breached the dome, get shot in the chest. The fighter’s guns were much more powerful than energy rifles; the twin burst killed the demon and it became a plug for the hole it had made.
“This won’t hold long,” she admitted.
“I think we both knew that was the eventual outcome,” Quybron commented.
“Aye, we did,” the Lady KnighT said reluctantly. “Make haste, my Lord!”
Waving his free hand about for a moment, Vaiyorl conjured three spheres of light, tossing them up to the ceiling. The ballroom was mostly illuminated and he maneuvered his family to the center of the floor. It was not long before they could hear the sounds of claws tapping against the hard floor; the stride of each Daemon Dog as they approached.
The first nine came into the light. They stood one and a half meters tall at the shoulder. Their thick fur was red with orange spots and their oversized teeth were yellow. They growled, glaring their white eyes at the Jhormynn Family, ignoring those that stood with them.
“We will need everyone to remain calm,” Travis shared. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be afraid. After all, Death’s come calling, and she’s a most persistent houseguest. But keep your heads clear. We will deal with the first wave. Set yourselves for the two-legged offenders instead. Recognize that while Death makes no wasted trips, she’s not all that particular about who she receives.
“Tacita, my dear. Can you offer a directive?”
Taking in a deep breath before stepping forward, Tacita looked at several of the Daemon Dogs without the first sign of fear registering in her eyes. She was far too preoccupied with being aggravated. Steadying herself, she spoke. “BURN!” her voice sounded anything but human, and it shook the room as a gust of wind swept over the area where she stood. The Jhormynn Family covered their faces in response, and each of the creatures in front of her exploded into white flames. They whelped as they shuddered in a pain they did not know how to address.
Travis lowered his head, tapping his friend on the shoulder. “And Thomas, kindly see to the rear.”
Thomas seemed unaffected by the wind that was just beginning to die down. The third of the 3Ts was often called Hear No Evil. He was deaf but he could still feel vibrations to an uncanny level. He could also control vibrations in a given area. He rubbed his fingers against his thumbs as he approached the Daemon Dogs. Immediately they began to whine from a sound no one else could hear. The clos
est creature barked just before its head exploded. The others followed the fate of the first and Thomas stepped back, slightly taxed by the feat. He turned to Travis and spoke.
“Can you see anything?”
“I can see that we’re not quite done,” Travis shared before he smiled. “... but I can see a safe light approaching. We may yet live through this ordeal after all.”
“And my son,” Guysorla said. “What of Valian?”
“My vision of him is often in error, milady,” Travis answered. “But I do see his sword. It parries an energy blade being held by a young boy... a gifted young boy... who seems to be getting the better of the exchange.”
“I doubt there are many boys in MoGo,” Guysorla said in relief.
“He only saw Valian’s sword, Mother,” Pirion pointed out. “He didn’t say Valian was wielding it.”
“Jump,” Yorlson suggested as he continued his slow ascension. “You have no other choice but to jump. Don’t worry, I’ll catch you!”
“My, how gallant!” Kethgeegan said as the face of Quilori fell from his face, becoming Boris who jumped toward the Daemonite. “I think I’ll do just that!”
Kethgeegan bound from the chandelier toward Yorlson who was kept from focusing his psychokinetic ability by Boris crushing grip on his neck. Twin Olasson short blades came out of his chest; thrust through his back as Quilori became visible. She leaned forward to whisper in his ear.
“You forgot to process that if I wasn’t on the chandelier, where was I?”
Yorlson was not given time to answer as Kethgeegan landed on him, thrusting his thumbs into the Daemonite’s eyes and channeling coherent light through his hands. The shards of solid light came out the back of his head and over Quilori’s shoulder.
“You forgot, Your Grace... without Valian around to save you, you’re just another splash at the Test Tower.”
All three forms dropped to the floor. Kethgeegan and Quilori landed on their feet. The corpse of Yorlson fell to its back.
“What are the chances he’s got a contingency?” Champanna asked as she walked up, flexing her shoulder.
