by Billy Wong
"Relax, handsome. Just making sure the first thing you do when you wake up isn't deliriously stab me in the neck. Now, if I put you down and untie you, will you stab me in the neck or anywhere else?"
He looked irritated at her precautions that showed distrust towards him, but said, "It appears I owe you my life. I will not attack you."
"Can you stand?"
"I believe so."
She set him down and he stumbled, almost falling. Sam and Vincent caught him, holding him up for a moment until he steadied himself enough to remain standing on his own. "Whew, I'm glad I don't have to carry a heavy man anymore." Cordy addressed him. "What's your name, and what happened?"
"I am Giorg, a member of the Cloud Knights. While on patrol, we were ambushed by daimons and my wing was destroyed-"
"Your wing was destroyed?" Sam asked. "Both of them look intact to me."
Cordy snickered. "I think he means his group of comrades he was patrolling with before they got ambushed."
A glance at Giorg's dour expression confirmed that was the case. "Oh, that's what you meant? Sorry, in that case..."
"No apology is needed. One should hardly expect the earthbound to know the nuances of our language." He flexed his wings lightly and winced. "However, one of my own wings was also injured when I crashed to the ground after escaping, which has left me temporarily unable to fly."
"I see," Cordy said. "Considering you can't fly, maybe you should stick with us for the time being. Better to have safety in numbers than wander alone through daimon-infested lands, especially if you aren't at peak strength. By the way, if you're a knight that's something we have in common. I'm Lady Cordy of the Guardian Knights and these are my sidekicks, Sam and Vincent."
"Sidekicks?" Vincent asked. "Whose quest is this, and whose friend are we trying to save anyway?"
"Do either of you have the skills to track him down, let alone fight off daimons along the way?" Sam thought she might be able to beat some daimons, but got the point of what Cordy was saying and kept her mouth shut. "No? Then I'm the leader of this mission and you're my sidekicks."
Giorg had been watching curiously while they bickered. "It would be... interesting to accept your offer, from where I stand. However, I must be getting back to my people, and am afraid I cannot." He started to turn away. "I am indebted to you. I hope to repay it one day, should we meet again in the future."
Sam didn't know if she would need help from an anjeli in the future, though. They could definitely use it at present. She decided to be bold. "In that case, what if we call in that favor now? Without the use of your wing, I imagine it'll take a while for you to get where you want anyway, so why not walk with us a bit while giving it a chance to heal?"
"I see your logic, and what your leader said about safety in numbers has merit as well. All right, I will stay with you for a time." Sam didn't know how long "a time" meant, or if he would still be with them when they found Eli. Heck, she didn't have any idea how long it would be before they found him, so it wouldn't be fair to expect Giorg to stick around indefinitely until they did. She supposed just having an anjeli warrior with magic around in case they ran into more daimons would help.
They resumed their northward slog, Giorg slowing down now and then as he was weakened by "blood" or energy loss. He was a determined anjeli though, and kept up enough of the time that it didn't prove a major problem. He seemed a quiet being, who didn't talk much unless someone specifically sought out conversation with him. "So how do anjeli differ from each other in magical ability?" Vincent asked once. "We've seen how daimons have access to different types of attacks, is it the same with your people?"
"More or less. Most anjeli's magic only functions at touch range, so they can only create things in contact with themselves such as clothes, weapons and armor. Some more gifted ones such as myself can sustain creations for a time away from ourselves, allowing the use for example of elemental blasts, and the stronger among us can also produce larger creations."
"Where do anjeli live, anyway? Do you really dwell in the sky like rumors say?"
Giorg gave a thin smile. "Do you think there are places to sleep in the sky? Despite our wings, we too have to rest sometime. Anjeli reside in a variety of environments, as humans and daimons do. But most of us, including my clan, prefer to live on high mountains close to the clouds we relish a flight through."
"Flying through the clouds," Sam said, "that sounds really nice. I wish I could experience it someday."
His smile grew fuller. "In return for saving my life, perhaps I can do that for you too."
She appreciated the thought, but they would both have to survive until after his wing healed for it to happen. She didn't have complete confidence in that, although her optimism had become greater. "Are anjeli similar to humans in how your relationships function? I know there are male and female anjeli, but do you mate and have children as we do or is your appearance merely cosmetic?"
"We have children just as you. However, there is a major difference in our understanding of family, if what I've heard about your society is true. You humans identify strongly with your parents, correct?" She nodded. "We bear no special attachment to those who father or birth us. While they are considered elders to be respected by the child, an anjeli once born belongs to the clan as a whole."
"So in that case," Vincent said wistfully, "among the anjeli there are no orphans. Unless the whole clan was lost with one sole survivor."
Cordy put in, "While that's a novel idea, I think the concept of parents in human society serves to discourage incest."
Giorg shrugged. "There has been no evidence that our lack of concern towards parentage negatively impacts our race." For all she tried to keep an open mind, the implications of that made Sam feel squicky. Whispers said that inbreeding among kin, perpetrated over a long time, could lead to frightening things. But maybe it was different for anjeli.
A day after meeting Giorg, the Paladins' tracks turned east. "You know what's this way?" Sam asked Cordy.
"The Jagged Lands are. The flatness you've been getting used to? That'll end soon if we keep going this way, replaced by buttes and gullies, mesas and ravines. Rough hiking at times. But if you mean a destination for the Paladins? No clue. The Jagged Lands extend far, with no human cities within them. Past them are high mountains, and beyond that ocean. So unless they're going to change course again... or maybe, they have a base somewhere in this direction. Only one way to find out."
The rugged terrain Cordy described soon came into view, a maze of imposing landforms that didn't let them see far ahead at all. If somebody did want to build a secret hideout, this seemed as good a place as any to do it. As they navigated rough paths following the Paladins' trail, Sam thought one of the rock formations on a ledge ahead seemed off. "Does that sort of resemble a head to you?" she mused. They slowed and observed the structure that loomed above. The more Sam looked, the more it reminded her of a body, that boxy protrusion on top a head, the gap in its front dividing it into legs—then the top protrusion turned as if on a neck so short it was near imperceptible, and she realized it to be more than a resemblance.
"Over here!" Cordy said, hopping into a large ditch and pressing herself up against the side in hopes of remaining out of sight. The others joined her, Sam certainly wary if even she was.
"What is it?" Vincent asked.
It moved more, giving them a better sense of its form—like a great block of stone set upon smaller blocks which passed for its limbs, its head the smallest block of all with slots in its side which must house the eyes. Such a simplistic looking thing, but powerful in its mass and size. It must have stood fifteen feet on all fours, and Sam wondered if it could walk on its hind legs alone.
"It's a daimon," Giorg said.
Sam's pulse quickened. If such a huge creature could use magic too, and was inclined to be hostile towards them... "Are you sure? It hardly looks intelligent, it might just be some kind of strange animal."
"Do you think I, a
warrior who has battled daimons all his life, would mistake his foe lightly? It is a daimon indeed, one of the dread colossi whose breadth of attack is feared even by stout anjeli."
"What should we do?" Vincent asked.
"If it is alone, we ought to destroy it before it can join with others to spread havoc."
Cordy held up a hand. "Wait just a minute. I understand being a hot-blooded warrior and wanting to strike down your enemies, but you're injured and that thing is gigantic! The rest of us have another important task we'd best not get hurt before completing, so unless you're sure you can take it down by yourself, I'd suggest we wait to see if it moves on and find another way around if it doesn't." So she wasn't as reckless as her overly spirited demeanor had made Sam fear. That was good.
"I admit you have a point," Giorg said. "Since I am intent on repaying my debt to you, I suppose we should err on the side of caution."
"That's a smart anjeli."
The daimon turned towards a nearby overhang and reared up to clap its front paws together. Fire leapt from between them to light a pit sheltered by the outcropping—some kind of forge? Hissing noises reached Sam's ears from farther away. More daimons? She must not have been able to see them due to the landscape obscuring them, but it probably did.
"It is an abomination," Giorgi breathed, glaring at it.
"Aside from it being a daimon, which was already established?" Vincent asked.
"No, fool boy, that is not what I meant. Look at that which should not be—it uses the magic of creation!"
Cordy clarified. "Some very rare individuals of any race, for unknown reasons, can use magic other than that which normally belongs to its kind. As that daimon just used anjeli creation magic to bring forth flame, it is one of them." She placed a hand on Giorg's shoulder. "Remember, exercising caution..."
Five other creatures ambled into view under the ledge. They were maybe five feet tall but stout, with short legs and torsos yet long arms. Insectlike wings stood out from their backs, and their heads resembled those of snakes only with the eyes on the tip of their snouts. Each carried a heavy spear. "They are definitely the most varied of the races," Vincent said.
"Those are the daimons that killed my patrolmates," Giorg snarled.
Cordy took on an anxious look. "Are you sure? Maybe they're just more of the same type."
"No, they are the ones." His voice sounded dangerously agitated. "That one in the lead bears a wound on its chest I personally gave it. My comrades shall be avenged!"
"But if you couldn't even beat them with your patrol, how do you expect to do it alone and wounded?"
"They surprised us before. This time, it will be different!" As Cordy, too far away with Sam and Vincent between them, desperately attempted to grab him, he jumped out of the ditch and charged. "Magic of creation, give me arms!" Shining golden plate covered with mystical-looking symbols encased him in a flash, and a similarly regal shield and broadsword appeared in his hands. His sudden lofty appearance, however, didn't do much to quell the pounding of Sam's heart.
Cordy pulled the halberd off her back. "Darn idiot!" It didn't seem like her cautious approach was going to save them from being drawn into another battle as she followed Giorg up. No help for it now. Sam and Vincent also climbed out, and the three ran to catch up. "And I was going to say, they probably didn't have the big one before either."
"They didn't." Giorg fixed steely eyes on the smaller daimons which hovered into the air and flew towards them. "But I have you with me now."
"You have that much faith in me, anjeli?" Cordy smiled. "In that case, I'll take the big one." She dashed to the left, towards a slope that led up to the large daimon's perch.
"So it'll just be the three of us against five of them?" Vincent asked fearfully.
Sam nodded. "Somebody has to keep the big one off our backs. Let's hope our winged friend isn't more bark than bite."
"Magic of creation, give me lightning!" Three streams of crackling electricity lanced from Giorg's outthrust hand. Two daimons veered out of the way, but a third in the middle was caught by a bolt. The streams converged on it, hurled it smoking and convulsing to the ground.
"Wow, he is powerful," Sam murmured.
The daimons drew close. "Magic of creation, give me earth!" A spike of stone burst from the ground, but the creature above pulled up sharply so that instead of being impaled, the spike only grazed and bloodied its leg. Then they were in melee range, spears stabbing forth. Giorg engaged a pair of daimons who put him on the defensive with a ferocious joint assault, while Sam and Vincent faced the other two.
Sam dodged one spear, parried another and tried to step in to hack at the wielder. It flitted back, making her miss. The things were more agile than they looked. Vincent blocked a poke at her flank, but she noticed him glance in Cordy's direction after it backed up from his mace swing. "Don't get distracted," Sam said, clenching her teeth as a spearhead opened up a shallow cut on her arm. She struck the shaft a heavy blow in anger, but the daimon didn't seem impressed as it continued to stare at her with vacant eyes. Those strange blank orbs would make it more difficult to know when they might be getting the advantage, when even a small hint of such might help push them on to victory. Back and forth they traded blows, Sam sometimes having to save Vincent from a tight spot, neither side able to get a good hit in as the daimons remained elusive.
"Should I be helping you or her?" Vincent asked. He deflected a spear thrust past his side and she aimed a decapitating stroke at the attacker, only for the other daimon to block it.
"Who do you think? Even after uh, reaching more of my potential, I'm still the second least formidable of our party."
"Yeah, but that monster seems way too big for Lady Cordy to handle alone."
After knocking a daimon back with a kick to the chest, the best shot she had landed so far, Sam dared a look towards Cordy. She did it just in time to see the knight swatted to the ground when she attempted a jumping slash at her foe's face, then shriek as she was hidden from sight by a wide red beam from its chest.
Vincent pushed a daimon before him with his shield and gave it a hard shove. As it leaned off balance, he managed to smash his mace into its elbow with a bone-crunching sound. He tried to brain it with his followup, but it evaded. Nonetheless, it surprised Sam a bit that he did the first real damage even with Drugamor aiding her. "Well?" he said.
"Cordy could use some help." The knight was back up now, but dodged frantically while her enemy rained down fireballs that blasted craters in the rock around her. "Unfortunately, if you leave me, I doubt I can handle two daimons alone." They were all in trouble...
The daimon not injured by Vincent lunged. The spearpoint flashed at Sam's chest. Instead of opting for a safer method of defense, she decided to take a risk. She spun towards the spear, letting it just pass by her as she turned sideways to it. It still nicked the front of one breast, but she didn't feel pain and wasn't sure if it actually parted skin or just cloth. As she rotated to face the daimon, her axe came around. It sank into the sinewy neck,went almost all the way through. She wrenched it out and the creature collapsed, head hanging by a strip of flesh.
"Never mind, go help Cordy now!" He hurried to it. She wasn't sure what he would do against that big monster, but maybe he could distract it? Brave of him to volunteer in any case, and she'd join him once she finished up here. "Just you and me now," she said to the daimon with an arm hanging limp that stood against her.
She pressed it back aggressively while it struggled to guard itself with one good arm, its heavy polearm now a disadvantage since it couldn't move it fast enough. Knocking the spear towards the earth with a downward chop, she whipped the axe back up before it could recover. Her blade sliced its face, going through an eye. It dropped the pole and dove at her, reckless perhaps with rage and desperation. She buried her axe into its gut and tried to rip it up higher, muscles burning as its dense body resisted her, hot liquids spilling over her hands. It shoved her away, the axe coming free, b
ut dipped in the air as its strength faded. Before she could deliver a finishing blow, a sword pierced out its chest from behind and it crumpled.
Giorg stood there with a new cut on his forehead, but it didn't seem serious as only specks of light floated from it. "Not bad for a human girl. You're young, but fight with the reflexes and confidence of a veteran."
Gotten a glimpse of her battle, had he? I have the help of a powerful god. "Veteran no, but I try to be confident. If you don't have faith in your own skills, what can you have it in? Should we help Cordy and Vincent now?" She turned to look.
Cordy had climbed onto a tall rock and now jumped off it as the daimon gazed up. Her descending halberd split the blocky head in two, and the giant's fall shook the ground for many yards. "It seems not," Giorg said. As if at will, his armor and weapons disappeared in a flash of light, leaving him mostly unclothed again.
"Are you alright?" Sam called to Cordy. "I thought you got hit by that big beam."
"It only grazed me." But her face still looked strained, and when Vincent walked over to help her up from the crouch she had landed in, she didn't try to pull away.
"Did the boy contribute much to your victory?" Giorg asked.
"He distracted it a couple times. I probably still would've won without that, but it would have been harder."
"It appears we've all made it through without serious injury." The anjeli nodded with satisfaction. "A fine battle, and I am thankful to you for helping avenge my wing."
"You were still rather reckless starting that fight in the first place, handsome!"
"I apologize for endangering you. Now that this grudge is settled, it won't happen again. Besides, are you not proud to have gotten that notch on your belt?"
Cordy regarded her dead adversary with crossed arms. "I've had better victories before. But no need to dwell on it, so let's move on."
"By the way," Sam asked, "how do those small daimons compare to say the average trained human warrior as opponents?"
