by Billy Wong
"Honestly, I could see us taking in a half-daimon if he had a good heart. The likelihood of that is what's in question."
"You know you have no authority to take prisoners from us," Fractus replied to Cordy.
"And you know you have no official authority to detain people who haven't committed a crime against their will either. I know you're used to getting your way because most are cowed, but now we have witnesses to vouch for your wrongdoing. Holding onto him will only dig you deeper into trouble."
"And who are these brave witnesses?"
"I'm one," Sam said, hoping nobody detected the tremor in her voice. "Your colleagues not only forced Eli to stay against his wishes, but imprisoned me as well when I tried to stop them."
Vincent added, "I witnessed them taking Eli from our home too. Give him back or else."
Fractus let out a thunderous snort. "Or else what? You'll report us? You will do that anyway. Besides, who is to say he did not commit any crime? No, I cannot hand any prisoner to you without direct orders from the Council."
"Cannot or will not?" Cordy asked.
"There is no relevant difference." He drew the sword off his back, an immense one with the blade alone longer than most men were tall and wider than two hands side by side. "You should leave before you further test my patience."
"You wouldn't dare. Most of us are members of distinguished families, put that dull metal club away because I see right through your bluff."
"There will only be much outcry if they are killed. If they are simply roughed up being ejected while following a foolhardy superior who oversteps her bounds, the consequences will but be minor. For the instigators, perhaps an exception can be made. The reckless Cordelia Talben, tragically slain in an attack on the Tower of Justice."
Cordy drew her axe. "Is that how it's going to be? Then bring it!"
"Can you take him?" Sam asked.
She didn't answer as she walked to meet the titan. She threw a slash he blocked with ease, parried his reply but was hurled back, barely landing on her feet. "He's stronger than he looks." Even stronger? "I guess he really is half daimon."
Fractus stalked her around the room as she circled away, perhaps trying to think of a plan, but looking stumped. "Now you realize the foolishness of your actions."
"No I don't realize it! You think Lady Cordy's frightened by you? I will destroy you!" She darted at him with a flurry of strikes, but he warded them off nonchalantly. He backhanded her while she tried to get inside his reach, knocked her sprawling with bright blood on her lip. Huge as her opponent was, Sam still found herself a little surprised to see Cordy seemingly on the losing end. She thought about trying to help, but before she could take a step forward felt a hand close around her arm. The Paladins outside had slipped into the room, and held her and Vincent back. The other Guardian Knights hesitated, perhaps reluctant to face that mammoth blade or thinking she didn't want them to interfere.
Cordy retreated around the office trying to keep ahead of Fractus' sweeping cuts, looking similar to how Sam imagined herself against Leland. She grew increasingly worried. If Cordy lost, she and Vincent were probably the other "instigators" the giant had threatened to kill. With an upward swing, he smacked the halberd out of Cordy's grasp. She ducked a swipe at her head, ran in weaponless. What? She leapt into the air, fist geysering up towards Fractus' chin. Her uppercut snapped his head back, lifted his enormous bulk off his feet. No way... Fractus crashed through the desk, splinters flying, then hit his block of a head on the chair and split it in half too. Cordy spun away, kicked a Paladin who moved to stop her to the ground and grabbed her halberd up off the floor.
"I'm not that easy to beat," she said.
Fractus rose up, holding his iron-encased jaw. "Impressive blow. Did you break your hand?" She rubbed her knuckles as if to test them. "Regardless, one good punch will not avail you much. You are still doom-"
"You all still didn't get Eli back?" a voice interrupted from beyond the doors. In strode a tall, muscular but lithe female figure wearing leather armor topped with metal pauldrons. The hilt of an oversized falchion jutted over her back behind her familiar face. Drea!
Fractus froze while Cordy turned and dashed at the new arrival. What on earth? This was no time to rekindle an old rivalry...
Chapter 12
Cordy sped towards Drea, Sam gawking after her in disbelief. How could she just drop everything to do this... She jumped—into Drea's arms, a big smile across her face. Sam's jaw hit the floor. "Drea! I didn't know you were back."
"Whoa, take it easy girl. Jumping on me like that puts some strain on my skinny arms."
"You skinny? There isn't more than a few pounds between us, you're just taller and leaner while I'm stockier."
Drea set Cordy down on her feet. Fractus hadn't moved an inch from when she'd arrived, as if he didn't dare. "Anyway, I just got back recently, and was lying low for a bit. But when I heard you went to confront the Paladins, I had to follow and make sure you didn't get yourselves killed."'
Sam blinked. "You two are friends? I would've thought the opposite based on what we knew."
Cordy looked confusedly at her. "You know each other?"
"We, ah, actually traveled together before getting to Patuta. Drea here told us not to mention her, so..."
"Oh, I see. Daddy thinks she's a bad influence on me teaching me to be reckless and letting me do tasks for her which get me in trouble, so that's probably why. Anyway, yes we're friends. But more than that, this is my Big Sis."
"Big Sis? But aren't you the older one?"
"Older in years, not more competent or experienced. She was only sixteen when we first met, yet I've been following her lead since."
Vincent stared at Drea. "Who are you exactly? I'd guess you aren't just some fugitive who decided to take up acting."
"You don't know?" Monty asked with a bemused grin. "This is Grace Andrea Andeley, first of the Guardian Knights, daughter of the Archduchess, and Devilslayer who slew the daimon king."
"Oh."
"My mother thought I was getting too complacent," Drea added, "and wanted me to try out something I wasn't good at. So I agreed to join your theatre as a cover, while investigating an illegal gambling ring in Berilim which is far enough away for everyone not to instantly recognize me."
Sam smiled. "For someone not good at it though, you kind of made that playhouse your own."
"I try to use my strengths to work around my weaknesses. Maybe it wasn't a very purist approach to being an actor, but you were struggling and my 'creativity' did help you out."
"How are Jon and his family doing, after we've been away for so long? Is the theatre still..."
"I kept it afloat while I was there. After finishing my investigation and having to leave, I've arranged for them to receive some funds from our coffers to support them until you return."
"Thank you," Vincent said, and Sam followed suit.
"It's not a problem. For the excitement you gave me, I'm more than willing to provide some aid in return. Now onto more pressing matters..." She turned to Fractus. "Hand over Eli, or we'll trash this place until we find him."
From his lack of a defiant response, it appeared the giant believed her. "He is not here!"
"Not here?" Sam asked. "Where are you keeping him?"
"That I cannot tell you."
Drea sighed. "That's all right." Her hand shot out, closing around a Paladin guard's throat as he gasped. "He can tell me instead."
"Don't do it!" Fractus said. "She won't kill you, she's bluffing!"
She looked into the man's bulging eyes. "Can you be certain of that? Feel my fingers squeezing, slowly crushing your neck. Are you confident enough to bet your life on it? As the Archduchess' daughter I can get away with a lot, and dare even more." She tightened her grip further, so that her fingers pressing into the sides of his neck looked really uncomfortable. "Will you tell us where our friend is or not?"
He nodded with the limited range of movement her hold allowe
d, and she loosened it enough for him to speak. "The Lord Paladin already took him! As of now, they are en route to the Font of Essence."
"Font of Essence? What's that?" Vincent asked.
Drea's eyes narrowed. "I'll explain later." She released the Paladin with a shove away, coughing and wheezing. "If they're already on their way, right now we need to get a move on."
They left the office, Fractus glaring impotently at her back. As they descended the tower, no Paladins tried to impede them. "Damn, you must have some clout," Vincent remarked on the way down the stairs.
"It's more that Big Sis is scary," Cordy said. "Everybody knows she's the best fighter and not very restrained, so few are willing to risk her wrath."
Sam regarded Drea curiously. "For such a peerless warrior, you got hurt quite bad against a random daimon we encountered."
She gave a dismissive wave. "It was really bad luck. That was one of the strongest kinds of daimon with potential to become king, hence my shock at meeting it when we did. Plus I was a little out of practice, what with having to make do with stage fighting for months in lieu of proper sparring or combat."
"Oh. Sorry."
"It's not your fault. Besides, it was fun going out there all rusty and testing myself."
As they exited the building, Sam asked, "One other thing I was wondering for a while... do you get your power from Lord Drugamor?"
"Who's Lord Drugamor?"
"You don't know? When I ate the nuts you gave me, I formed a connection to some eldritch god who granted me supreme senses and pain tolerance."
Drea's voice took on an edge. "And are you still using those nuts?"
"No. I ran out of them, and haven't had a chance to get more. Do you have some?"
"No, and if I did I wouldn't give them to you. You used a lot of those things, didn't you?"
Sam averted her gaze. "Well, yes... I needed to push past the pain of my wounds, and keep up on the road and in battle."
"So that's how you suddenly got so spry," Cordy mumbled.
Drea spread her arms in exasperation. "There is no such thing as a Lord Drugamor! People react differently to those nuts—they relieve pain for all, but for some also heighten senses at the cost of other changes to perception. That's why I told you not to take them unless it was a real emergency. You never made contact with an eldritch god, you merely hallucinated it."
"I guess that makes sense..."
"They are also highly addictive. How did you feel when you stopped using them after a while?"
Sam hugged herself and shuddered at the memory. "I was miserable with pain and nausea and weakness, and had frightful visions asleep and awake. I thought I was going to die..."
"You could have. You're tough and fortunate to have pulled through, but knowing what you do now, do you still want those nuts again?"
"Well, no. I was just wondering if you had gotten more, but I've learned it's better to stand on one's own merits than the blessings of a dark god."
Drea rolled her eyes. "There is no Lord Drugamor..."
"I know. I was just trying to find a fancy way to say, one should consider the consequences before falling to temptation."
"They made you rather impressive, though," Vincent said. "But you seem just as impressive now."
Cordy put in, "It's a shortcut to reaching your potential. With hard work, you can reach similar heights while being more lucid." She put an arm over Sam's shoulders. "And don't feel too bad. I've had my problems with addiction myself."
"You used those nuts?"
"No, alcohol. I was too proud to rely on an external boost to my prowess in combat, but fooled myself into relieving my pains all the time with 'manly' drink. Drea pulled me out of it, though."
Sam glanced at the tall girl. "Big Sis indeed."
Returning to the Citadel, Drea asked some of her cohorts to find out how many men the Lord Paladin had taken with him and Eli. While they waited in the lobby, Vincent asked, "So what is the Font of Essence?"
Drea took on an anxious look. "Before humans, daimons and anjeli existed, there was only one sentient race known now as the Perfect Ones. They could use all types of magic, until for some reason they decided to build a device which would split magic three ways. As souls bonded with different types of magical essence, they became the races as we know them today. The Font of Essence is the wellspring of life where that device stands."
"And what does the Lord Paladin want there, never mind taking Eli along with him?"
"I actually have no idea, which is what worries me."
Sam suspected Eli might have some kind of special ability that could interact with the Font of Essence, perhaps allowing the Lord Paladin to draw power from it. But that was just a guess with no basis in fact.
Vincent frowned. "So humans and daimons used to be one race? That seems odd."
"They certainly look much different from us now, along with being almost too diverse to be a single race," Cordy said. "I'd presume the type of magic they were given made them that way."
Drea nodded. "That's the logical conclusion. I wonder if the Perfect Ones realized splitting themselves so would make one branch as twisted and violent as the daimons are."
Sam pondered it in silence. If daimons came from the same place as them, was it really okay to kill them with as few reservations as she and her friends had? But then they were quite hostile and eager to attack humans and anjeli on sight. Maybe their common roots lay too far back in time, and the current reality was all that mattered.
They learned the Lord Paladin had taken Eli out of the city three days ago with a score of men, going east towards the mountains where the Font of Essence was supposed to be. Always just a step behind... Drea dismissed Chad, Rich and Geoffrey and went around the Citadel with Cordy picking out more experienced Guardian Knights to accompany them. Gathered in the lobby, most looked to be grizzled vets in their thirties and forties, the few younger ones still scarred or with hard eyes that had seen much blood. Eleven were men, one of the two women a moon-faced hulk bulkier than most males and the other a shaven-headed girl lean and sinewy as a hound.
"We're just going to confront them with even numbers?" Sam asked. "Why not bring more allies to give us the advantage? The Paladins are hardly honorable enough that we should show them the courtesy of fair play."
"It's not about fairness. If the Lord Paladin chose to bring twenty with him, it might be that a larger group would be unwieldy where we're going. Besides, we shouldn't divert more knights from their preexisting duties than necessary. Don't worry so much, me and Cordy are with you so that should be plenty of advantage."
"You aren't very humble about your abilities. I suppose that's kind of understandable, though. Are you better than the Lord Paladin?"
"Him? He's more known for his leadership than personal fighting prowess." Drea grinned. "I once knocked him around on a whim after he got me angry at a party, contributing to my mother thinking I was getting too big headed and needed to learn some humility."
Sam laughed. "That's good to know. What about the help he's brought, do you think they'll be skilled?"
"I'm sure he's accompanied by competent Paladins," Cordy said. "But the knights we picked are among the best we have too."
Vincent asked, "What if the Paladins see us leaving the city, realize what we're doing and send a larger force after us?"
"We already asked our allies staying here to watch their activities. If they try anything like that, our people will stop them."
Sam felt weird when they marched out, to be at the head of such a force. Not that she and Vincent led it, considering Drea and Cordy's presence, but they were still the reason all this had happened. She wondered if they could really go back to a normal life after, the way things had once been. Having walked the land between cities, fought daimons, broken legs alongside Lady Cordy and heard the voice of Lord Drugamor, she felt like a different person than the innocent girl who had struggled with whether to become a city guard. To go back to just being an
actor... the image of her striking off Leland's arm flashed through her mind. She had some talent for combat, and it might make her feel incomplete to not make good use of it.
"By the way," she asked Drea, "what was the hair flick thing you did with the guards back in Berilim about? I thought you might be using your feminine wiles then, but now I'm not so sure."
Drea brushed back her hair on the left side, revealing that she was missing most of her ear. Startled, Sam couldn't help a shiver at the sight. "Oh, don't look so horrified, things like this happen to warriors like us. I'm well known for this scar, hence I use it to identify myself sometimes."
"A little unusual that a girl would flaunt her disfigurement."
"It's a symbol of pride, since I got it felling the daimon king. I would show off the huge scar on my chest too, but that would require some creative and impractical armor design."
"Drea and I used to compare scars after battles as a competition of sorts," Cordy said. "Like with everything else, she won out in the end." She embraced the taller girl, ducking low enough to rest her head against Drea's chest. Sam thought about how the dangers they'd been through together must have strengthened the bonds of their friendship and hugged Vincent too, feeling they'd experienced similar.
"Sam, are you alright?" he asked.
"Love you, Vincent," she said, pressing her cheek into his shoulder.
"What?"
Hearing the confusion in his voice, she leaned back from him. "I didn't mean like that. Don't we feel closer now, after all we've gone through?"
"Well, I guess. But I didn't go through as much as you."
"Still. We've walked long and far together seeking the same goal. Even if we part ways after this, I won't ever forget it."
"Part ways?" Cordy asked. "Are you considering joining the Guardian Knights like Daddy suggested?"
"It's been on my mind. After all this, it's a little hard to imagine just going back home and acting like it never happened."
"I'll miss you if you're gone," Vincent said. "And Eli and the others too, I'm sure."
