When Hell Froze

by Forrest Minter

  Benny nodded. “Yes,everything. Next time, if possible, I’d prefer something a bit less… formal.”

  Lorbin bowed again. “As you command. However, I was told this had been made specifically for you.”

  Benny’s mouth fell into a thin line. “I’ll have to talk to Azel then.”

  “As you say, Verilien.”

  Benny sighed. “Let’s get going then.”

  Lorbin nodded, and followed as she strode toward the throne room.

  Chapter 12

  Benny stood in the throne room, amid a growing crowd. Lorbin, standing next to her, snarled at any Demons who got too close. The conflict didn’t even register in her mind, as the events unfolding in front of her drew far too much attention.

  “Guardian Noraz, you have been accused of dereliction of duty. Specifically, you attacked your charge with intent to harm. How do you plead?” Azel said in Demon tongue, voice and face impossible to read.

  “Guilty, my lord.”

  “Furthermore, you are accused of losing control after a blood ritual. How do you plead?”

  “Guilty, my lord.”

  Benny’s knuckles turned white where she gripped the railing in front of her.

  “Do you wish to present any witnesses or testimony to defend your actions?”

  “No, my lord.”

  “Very well, then I must-”

  “Wait!” Benny shouted, climbing over the rail to rush to Noraz’s side.

  Azel frowned at her dispassionately as she came to a stop by the defendant’s stand. Lorbin arrived next to her a moment later.

  “Guardian Lorbin, please restrain your charge.” Azel said cooly.

  “As you command My Lord.” Lorbin grabbed Benny’s arms gently, and attempted to pull her back to where they had been standing. Benny ducked into and under his hold, drawing him off balance. She used the motion to free one of her arms before he became cognizant enough to clamp down harder. She jabbed the thumb of her free hand into a nerve on the side of his arm. The pulse of pain caused his grasp to go slack for a moment, which she used to extract her other arm. Acting before her thoughts caught up to the situation, she simultaneously swept Lorbin’s feet, and shoved her palm hard into the back of his head.

  He hit the ground with a thud, and crunch that caused Benny to wince as she returned to a neutral posture. Lorbin didn’t get up again, and Benny said a silent apology to him as she returned to stand by Noraz.

  The coolness of Azel’s expression had dissolved into naked rage now. “What is the meaning of this, Verilien?” Benny resolved to ask him later whether her pet name had graduated to an official title without anyone telling her.

  “I’m here to tell you that Noraz isn’t responsible for his actions. If anyone bears the consequences, it should be me.” She said, after gathering her thoughts for a moment.

  “Verilien no-” Noraz began, before being cut off by Azel.

  “Indeed, and what is the basis for this claim?” Azel had reverted to his previous icy demeanor.

  “I was the one that ordered him to fight me. I told him to blow off steam, and even goaded him to let loose. Since he’s essentially under my command, and I ordered him to spar with me; if a crime was committed, I’m responsible for it.”

  Murmuring broke out among the assembled crowd until Azel raised his hand, bringing it perpendicular with his body. The crowd went silent.

  “And what was the motivation for this command? What possessed you to fight someone who was under the effects of a blood ritual?”

  “My own arrogance.” She replied after a momentary pause, the statement making her feel slightly vulnerable. “I thought I could handle him; that he would fight me, lose, and that it would help him suffer less.”

  “Indeed, and did you win?” Benny thought she saw a glint of amusement in Azel’s eyes, and recognized it as the light at the end of the tunnel.

  “I did my lord. When he wakes up, Lorbin can vouch for me as a witness.”

  “There is no need for him to wake.” Azel gestured, and an attendant stepped out of the shadows behind his throne. Benny was surprised, having not detected him in any way until now. The attendant stepped to Lorbin, and waved a magical device over Lorbin’s head. A thin screen rose into the air, and began playing Lorbin’s memories complete with sound. Somehow the screen even seemed to psychically project the smells of the memory into her mind.

  After the attendant fiddled with the device several times, skipping between different memories, he finally hit on the correct one, and Benny watched silently as the battle between her and Noraz played out. She shivered when she realized that the leer he had been giving her in his madness was more lustful than murderous, but did her best not to think about the implications of that. Finally, she saw herself disable him and stand, walking over to Lorbin. The attendant cut the memory immediately after she fell unconscious. There was shocked whispering between the assembled Demons now, but with the same hand motion he had used before, Azel silenced them again.

  “From what I have seen, only one crime has been committed here. Guardian Noraz, for lying to this court via your false guilty plea, you will be demoted to the rank of Fiend. In addition, Fiend Noraz, you will be docked a weeks pay for displaying cowardice in failing to defend yourself. Since the Verilien has shown her combat prowess to be on par with a Demon Lord I confer the rank of Lesser Lord onto her under my own command, and assign you as her direct subordinate. Guardian Lorbin, for failing in my earlier command to restrain her, shall likewise be demoted to the rank of Fiend, and be placed under her command. This is my judgement as reigning lord of this military courtroom. Trial adjourned.”

  Noraz seemed to slump where he was standing, and he made his way to her. Benny noticed that despite the trial being adjourned, no one had moved, though the whispering had recommenced. Reaching her, Noraz knelt to her, and dug a talon into his palm. Silently, he offered his bloody hand to her. For her part, Benny stared at him blankly, unsure what to do.

  “Lord Verilien, take his offering as your due. You are his lord now, and he offers you his power.” Azel advised, still sitting on his throne.

  The meaning of the display clicked in Benny’s mind, and she reached out. Hesitantly, she used the blood pooling in his palm to draw a cross on her forehead, tracing over the lines of power she could still occasionally feel just under her skin. When she had finished, Noraz extended his hand; one talon gently piercing her forehead. When the skin parted, she felt his blood mix with her own.

  Once again she felt the strange melding of souls, but this time, she felt like the senior partner of the bond. Her soul washed over his as if she was an ocean, into which a rock had been dropped. The waters of her soul rapidly penetrated farther and father into his essence until she could feel the whole of him. It was a strangely intimate, yet frightening bond as she felt his totality. At the same time, she knew he was experiencing some portion of her own essence, and it felt strange to feel so exposed. If she could describe what she felt from him, it was warmth. She could feel that he was a genuinely warm person, and though she wasn’t conscious of it, her body smiled at the feeling. Finally, the experience began to ebb, and she felt herself recede into her body. Despite that, she could feel that on some fundamental level they were inextricably linked now. She instinctively knew if she ever needed to find him, she could follow that thread to his location.

  “Rise Fiend Noraz.” Azel said regally. “Your allegiance has been given and witnessed.” Azel gave a hand signal to his attendant who began smacking Lorbin with his palm; careful not to gouge Lorbin with his sharp talons, until Lorbin sputtered awake. The attendant whispered into his ear for a moment. Lorbin nodded, stood, took two steps, knelt, and presented his bloody face to Benny.

  Feeling slightly disturbed by using actual wounds she had caused, she repeated the ritual she had used with Noraz. Where Noraz’s soul had felt warm, Lorbins soul was fierce. Fierce, determined, somewhat cold, but not in a cruel way. Her body smiled without her being aware ag
ain when she felt a pocket of loyalty to her. A moment later, the effects of the offering receded, and she came back to herself feeling the same connection to Lorbin that she had to Noraz.

  “Rise, Fiend Lorbin. Your allegiance has been given, and witnessed.” Azel repeated.

  Lorbin stood, bowed, and moved to stand by Benny.

  “You are all dismissed.” Azel intoned ritualistically after a moment. Noraz and Lorbin both bowed, then turned. Benny turned with them, though she didn’t bow. Silence pervaded the room, punctuated only by the quiet sound of their footsteps as they marched out the door.

  Chapter 13

  That night, Benny lay in her bed staring at the ceiling. The events of the day had somehow caused her to yearn for her home. Despite her relatively good treatment, the alien culture made her feel out of place. Even though she was a soldier, the obsession with blood disturbed her on some fundamental level. On top of that, she was worried about how Charlie was holding up; but when asked, Azel assured her he was fine. Despite his assurances, Azel refused to give her any details about Charlie’s current situation. That fact alone, served to make her even more worried than she had been before asking.

  Still, Benny knew there was nothing she could do. It was that very impotence which dogged her dreams when she slept. Sighing, she turned over onto her side. Hoping to take her mind off things, she opened up her DEVIL interface; something she had yet to do since before the ceremony had placed Noraz and Lorbin as subordinates.

  Welcome to the D.E.V.I.L system.

  Updates since last activation:

  Demonic Fortitude skill added. This is a subskill of Physical Enhancement.

  Demonic Speed skill added. This is a subskill of Physical Enhancement.

  Demonic Strength skill added. This is a subskill of Physical Enhancement.

  Demonic Guile skill added. This is a subskill of Mental Enhancement.

  Demonic Reserves skill added. This is a subskill of Magic Enhancement.

  These powers are default powers granted to Demon Lords when they gain demonic followers. You may increase these powers through the use of Blood Points, but every follower gained will add an extra level to each. Be warned that loss of followers also means losing those extra levels.

  Current point count: 436

  Current functions include:

  -Physical Enhancement

  -Mental Enhancement

  -Magic Enhancement

  -Sigils Level 1

  -Manipulation Level 1

  -Follower List

  Curious, Benny read through the descriptions for her new abilities. The physical, mental, and magical enhancement trees had been mostly empty up till this point, aside from her mapping skill, so it was gratifying to know they weren’t pointless. It was also nice to know that she could gain BP from gaining followers, as she didn’t like the idea of fueling her growth with death.

  Demonic Fortitude:

  In exchange for a proportionate amount of mana, physical resilience is increased by 1% per level.

  Current Level: 2

  Cost to increase: 50

  Demonic Speed:

  In exchange for a proportionate amount of mana, physical speed is increased by 1% per level.

  Current Level: 2

  Cost to increase: 50

  Demonic Strength:

  In exchange for a proportionate amount of mana, physical strength is increased by 1% per level.

  Current Level: 2

  Cost to increase: 50

  Demonic Guile:

  In exchange for a proportionate amount of mana, mental processing speed, and creativity are increased by 1% per level.

  Current Level: 2

  Cost to increase: 50

  Demonic Reserves:

  Base mana capacity, and regen speed increased by 1% per level.

  Current Level: 2

  Cost to increase: 50

  Benny experimented with turning on Demonic speed, and waving her hand in front of her face to test it. The effect was barely noticeable, but also cost a negligible amount of mana. Next, she turned on all of her powers simultaneously. Even with all of them active, she barely felt the mana drain. Experimentally, she bought another level of demonic speed with BP. She could feel that it consumed slightly more mana than it had before. More importantly, the cost to increase the effects again stayed steady at fifty BP.

  Paranoid about the mana cost increasing too quickly, Benny purchased two points in Demonic Reserves, and five more in demonic speed. The mana drain of level eight Demonic Speed, while still not significant, had increased significantly. Benny estimated with all abilities activated simultaneously, she was currently using mana almost as fast as she could regenerate it.

  Before she could explore the system further, a loud booming sound like thunder shattered the silence of night. Noraz knocked on the door, and she gave him permission to enter.

  “Verilien, do you know what that sound was?”

  “No. Wake up Lorbin, and have him take over guard duty while you investigate.”

  Noraz bowed, and closed the door. Azel had called Benny into her office after the ceremony, and among several things they had discussed, was the fact that Benny had the power to promote those under her command. He had verbally stressed this fact until Benny got the hint, and re-promoted her two soldiers back to the rank of Guardian. As a result, they continued to act as her bodyguards in the camp. She had also discovered, somewhat to her chagrin, that Demons only needed four hours of sleep on average. This made it easy for the two demons to take turns as door guards during her eight hour rest period.

  A few minutes later, Noraz returned.

  “Enter.” Benny called, responding to the hurried knock on her door.

  “Verilien, the town is under attack.” Noraz said, stumbling into the room.

  “Who’s attacking?” She asked, surprised that Azel hadn’t warned her about any troop movements earlier in the day.

  “We don’t know. The commanders on site seem to think it’s only one man.”

  Benny sighed, and fell back into her bed in irritation. She could guess who that “one man” might be.

  “How did he get back so fast? Did a portal open up nearby?”

  Noraz shrugged. “The main body of the human army is several days travel away. Perhaps he took a portal to there, and journeyed the rest of the way on horseback.”

  Benny nodded, and swung herself out of bed, throwing the covers back angrily. She was in a loose t-shirt, and shorts, so Noraz didn’t turn away as she began to put on clothes better suited to combat over her sleepwear.

  “What are your orders Verilien?” Noraz asked, hands fidgeting with the pommel of his sword.

  “I have no doubt he’ll find his way here, so prepare to stop him from kidnapping me I guess.”

  Noraz nodded, and called in Lorbin, who helped them barricade the door, using a heavy wooden desk that inhabited the west wall of her room as the primary weight to that end. The two Demons turned to face the door, as Benny stood by the window on the opposite end of the room, waiting.

  An hour passed, and continuing reports flooded in through a magical communications device, Noraz had grabbed from his room while investigating the explosion. Benny made a mental map of the devastation her father had wrought, and could tell he was moving in her direction. Finally, tired of standing, she sighed, using the windowsill like a chair. She was caught off guard when; a moment later, her world went black, and she could feel herself falling.

  When the fall ended, she landed gently, and began striking out at anything she could get her hands on, screams magically silenced by the enchanted hood on her head. Strong arms bound her limbs together with rope, and Benny found herself immobilized. Calming herself with an exertion of will, Benny weighed her options. She could feel a steady swaying motion as her captor walked, and decided she didn’t have much time. Trying to talk produced no results through the enchantment on the hood, but the attempt gave her an idea when her tongue brushed the fabric.

&n
bsp; Praying her idea worked, Benny began drawing a sigil of destruction on the hood, using her tongue as a brush, and spit as her paint. With a silent grunt of disgust at the strange flavor of the canvas, she completed her sigil and activated it. It seemed to have failed for a moment, but then her captor passed a torch. A sliver of light shone through a small line of torn fabric, and a quiet whisper helped her determine she had regained her voice. Her captor didn’t seem to have noticed the sound, and Benny planned her next move.

  Turning her head, Benny managed to see the ropes that bound her; bouncing in and out of view through the small tear. The knot used for the binding was entirely the wrong choice for binding a person, and she began pulling at it contemptuously. Either her father was terrible at knots, or someone else had abducted her. She leaned more heavily toward the latter.

  With an easy flick of her wrist, she finished untying the knot. Leaning on her training, she grabbed the rope before it could fall, and struck, attempting to use it as a garrote. Unfortunately, due to her lack of vision, she instead impaled her forearm painfully on the horn of the Demon who carried her. Ripping her arm free with a shout of pain, she used her uninjured arm to tear off the hood. What she saw was the first Demoness she had ever met in her time with Azel.

  The Demoness in question was staring at her now, red eyes wide. Almost as if by reflex, the Demoness began curling her talons, which penetrated half an inch into Benny’s side. Grunting in pain, Benny grabbed the Demonesses hands, and pushed as hard as she could. With a wet sound, the clawed hands slid from her sides.

  Benny disembarked slowly, climbing down from her captors shoulders gradually as they struggled against each other. The Demoness, giving up on restraining her, started pulling her off balance by using Benny’s own effort against her. Talons raked Benny’s side as she fell toward her foe. With a sharp inhale at the pain, Benny turned the movement into a forward roll; gaining several feet of space between her and her attacker.