14-1
Ash sat in the forest with Tina standing beside him looking down at the town below them. They had been watching for two days as the duke searched for them with his armies.
“We should just kill him,” Tina said with a slightly annoyed tone.
“I still can’t get used to you wanting someone dead,” Ash said shaking his head.
“I have tried to explain this any number of times,” Tina said in a scolding manner. “Gods don’t make laws just because they want to. Each god focus on a different aspect. The god of death feels each stolen death by necromancers like a slap to the face. The god of life feels the same thing when an unborn child or animal is killed. I feel it whenever someone reaps something before it is ripe. For wheat that is when it is still a young stock. For a human that is when he is younger than twenty-three. The younger the person the harder the slap. For animals I feel it each time one is killed and not used. Like shooting a deer and just letting it die for fun. All that aside though right now I am not a god. The part of me that is a god is still in the heaven realm. Right now I am just a person and that man needs to be culled.”
“OK…OK,” Ash said trying to hush Tina who was slowly rising her voice louder and louder with each passing second. “If we get a chance to we can kill him.”
“Good,” Tina said cheerfully, her attitude changing almost instantly.
Ash wished that he had his bow right now so that he could just shoot the duke, but he didn’t. Most the items in his storage were still sealed. It was one of the few abilities he couldn’t use at all with the collar on. Reaching up Ash tugged on the collar and hoped that it would soon lose its power. The pain when using his abilities was almost gone but that was not true with his skills. The skills were gifts from the gods, just like his item box was and that meant that most of them were not directly linked to his soul like the abilities he had gained on his own..
“Right now we need to keep heading to Relar,” Ash said as he moved back from the hill. “I won’t miss the ship home for anyone or anything not even a goddess.”
“Such a spoil sport,” Tina said though her words were teasing and held no real anger as she lightly hit him in the arm.
With the duke’s and kingdom’s armies looking for them they couldn’t take the main roads but with Tina’s sense of direction and knowledge of the landscape they didn’t have to worry about getting lost. Still Ash and Tina stayed close to the main road. Most of the time they stayed out of sight of the people on the road but every now and then when the trees were thick enough they would creep closer and check out the road. Most the time the road was empty with only a few normal travellers but every so often Ash would see a contingent of soldiers checking the travellers. There was no way for the duke to know where they were headed but Ash knew that the main roads would be thoroughly watched and so would the towns. They had supplies for now and could forage for what they needed but once they came to Relar they would have to go into town otherwise there would be no way for them to find the ship much less board it.
Ash and Tina made camp away from the road when the sun began to set. Ash didn’t want to set a campfire since he was sure that soldiers were still watching the road but Tina started one before he could protest. As the fire went from a little flame to a small fire Tina moved closer and closer to Ash until she was so tight to his side he could feel it each time she breathed.
Tina wrapped her arm around Ash’s waist and leaned her head on his shoulder. “It has been a long time since I just sat around a campfire,” Tina sighed contently.
Looking at the fire as small portions of the wood popped and crackled Ash felt completely warm. “I don’t think I have ever just sat around a fire with just a single person before. There was always something going on around me.”
“I know,” Tina said with an understanding tone. “I kept an eye on you as much as I could after I learned about you. Your life over these past years has been a busy one but there are many who have led just as busy lives.”
“If my life was so common then what gained your attention?” Ash asked as he looked down at the goddess.
“I never said your life was common,” Tina protested. “No life is common, boring yes but never common. Each life has its own experiences that are unique only to them. But you are right it was not your life that drew my attention it was your soul. Souls are like the markers that define us in ways that nothing else can and your soul burned much brighter than those around you. It was not hard for me to find out that your soul was alien to this world.”
“Oh and why is that?”
“Did you know that all the gods’ souls were brought from other dimensions?” Tina asked with a raised eyebrow. “Back when the world was young we were given life and we lived as normal humans just as you do now. Upon our death instead of our soul moving on it lingered and we took on the mantle of the gods. The position we took on depended on our nature and the life we had led. You see this world has to have gods since we are stranded outside the natural flow thanks to chaos. It is our very presence that gives the world its shape, laws, and balance. When Lafier died the world started to falter. The animals didn’t have as many foal, the birds forgot to fly south for the winter. I took over his duties but even as a god my power is not infinite. The world needs a new god and it has finally chosen.”
For the first time Ash was surprised. “Me a god,” Ash said trying to pull back from Tina but she held his arm tightly.
“Not yet, and not for years to come I bet,” Tina said trying to calm him down. “You have demon blood and while a portion of it is human which means you will not live eternally you will live for thousands of years before your death if you wish it. Upon your death your soul will shed its body and takes its place within the heavens.”
Ash heard a catch in Tina’s voice as she spoke. “What is it?” Ash asked as he sensed something was bothering her.
“I wish you wouldn’t become a god,” She said morosely.
“I thought having me around forever would make you happy,” Ash replied teasingly.
“After you die you won’t really be you,” Tina explained. “You will keep your memories but becoming a god is not as simple as gaining power. You will be striped of most of your humanity and at first you will only have your duties. After twenty or thirty thousand years of small portions of the souls of this world seeping into your being you will start to regain your humanity but you will never be the man you are at this moment again. The only thing that will remain is the base of your soul.”
“So you remember what life you had before you became a god?” Ash asked trying to take her mind off of him.
“Yes,” Tina said wistfully. “Long ago, too long to even count I lived in a world wrecked by nature and the gods. The animals mutated in creatures far more fierce than anything alieve even in this world. I didn’t live a long life nor a happy one. After my death I awoke here. There were few people at that time and most of them lived lives not that much different than animals. I taught my tribe to grow crops instead of just following the herds. My tribe started to flourish and after years I died of old age leaving behind my husband two children and six grandchildren.”
Tina and Ash talked late into the night about their lives and past lives. Tina having lived much longer had many more stories but she seemed far more interested in Ash than he did in her. Ash knew that there was more of a reason that she took an interest in him than just his soul but she didn’t seem inclined to let him know what it was. Ash could push the issue but he figured that neither of them would be the better for it so he left it alone.
The next morning the two continued on the road with Tina much more subdued than she had been the previous days. Usually when she was surrounded by greenery she
would be almost euphoric but today it seemed as if she had lost a bit of the childlike luster that normally surrounded her.
While they walked neither Ash nor Tina said much though Tina kept her eyes firmly on Ash throughout the day. Ash on the other had was thinking about what Tina had told him the day before. He couldn’t imagine becoming a god but if what Tina had said was true who he was now wouldn’t be the god but the god would become him. It was not a very reassuring thought but after a day of thinking Ash decided that there was little he could do about it and that meant there was even less of a reason to dwell on it.
As the day passed and night fell once again Tina once again started a small fire and sat beside ash. “You look better than you did this morning,” Tina said braking the day long silence.
“Did I look that bad?” Ash asked as he looked at Tina’s now beaming smile.
“Yes,” Tina said with a firm nod of her head. “You looked like someone who had ate something bad and was having stomach cramps.”
Ash couldn’t help but laugh at the mental picture. “Well I feel much better now,” Ash said pulling Tina close to his side.
As he was bending down to give Tina a kiss Ash heard something rustling in the distance. At first he thought it might be a large animal but the sounds grew thicker and he knew that it was coming from more than one source. Holding his finger to his lips Ash picked the sword he had stolen from one of the duke’s guards from the ground and moved into the darkness while invoking his stealth ability allowing him to move about silently unlike his potential foes. Tina continued to sit by the fire seemingly unconcerned with whoever or whatever was approaching.
A few seconds after Ash had left the camp seven men wearing soldiers’ armour broke through the brush line and approached the fire where Tina sat alone. “Can I help you good sirs?” Tina asked in her melodic voice.
One of the soldiers looked at Tina, his eyes giving her a look that made even Ash’s skin crawl. “Looking for a two criminals. One is a beautiful young lady such as yourself while the other is a murderer. You wouldn’t happen to be travelling alone or maybe with a bat winged bastard.”
Tina slowly moved toward the man who had spoken and placed her hand softly on his cheek. The soldiers didn’t seem to fear the unarmed and weak looking Tina but their stance changed after she had spoken. “You shouldn’t call him that,” Tina said coldly as she moved her hand down and gripped the soldier around the throat.
The soldier lifted up his hands and pulled at Tina trying to release himself from her grip as his face slowly started turning blue but her hand was like a vice. When the soldier went for the sword at his side Tina tightened her grip forcing the man to his knees. “Let go of the Lieutenant,” one of the soldiers yelled as he advanced on Tina.
When he was only two steps away Ash appeared out of the darkness his sword breaking through the advancing soldier’s chest. As the soldier fell dead on the ground the one in Tina’s grasp eyes started to roll back in his head. With a twist of her hand a loud snap filled the air. Tina let the dead man fall to the ground before she took her place at Ash’s side while he faced the remaining five soldiers who were frozen in shock at the unexpected turn of events.
Seeming to ignore the five soldiers Ash looked at Tina. “Quite a grip you have there,” he said in mock fear.
“If my body didn’t have enough strength how was I going to keep you in line,” Tina said as she batted her eyes at him before turning her attention to the five soldiers who were now shifting as they tried to decide what to do next. “How should we take care of them?”
“If we let them go they will just run back to the main force of the army and tell them our location,” Ash said his words sounding heavy even to his own tongue. As much as he had been forced to do it, he hated killing soldiers. Most of the time they were just following the orders of the only real person that needed to die. As he tightened the grip on his sword Ash started to wish that he had just killed the duke earlier.
“Told you that we should have killed him,” Tina said with a hint of smugness in her voice. “We can’t kill the boy on the right through,” Tina said after a few seconds of looking over the soldiers. “He is too young and is body has yet to be soiled with the blood of others.”
“Now you have a problem with killing,” Ash said as he looked toward the young man not much older than sixteen that Tina had pointed at.
“I told you. Sometimes things must be trimmed but you don’t cut down a sapling before it has had time to grow,” Tina said as she stomped her foot.
“We will leave,” one of the soldiers said. A sandy brown haired man in his early twenties with the beginnings of a moustache forming.
“You,” Tina said her eyes turning cold. “You have killed nine people two of which were under the age of fifteen.”
“How,” the soldier said but his words caught in his throat as Ash activated his flash step ability and drove his sword through the man’s heart. The remaining soldiers began to move to attack but they were not well trained in swordsmanship and Ash quickly had the better of them even outnumbered as he was. While he was fighting Tina just stood and watched as if it was just an evening show at the playhouse.
Shortly after the fight started it was over with all but one of the soldiers dead. The remaining soldier the one Tina had announced couldn’t be killed by their hands was sitting on the ground holding his hand that was now missing its pinky and ring finger.
“Did you have to cut off the poor child’s fingers?” Tina asked as she looked at the boy who was clutching his hand.
“He had a sword and wasn’t completely worthless with it,” Ash explained. It was either a few fingers or the entire hand. A leg would have worked as well.”
“Bully,” Tina said as she walked over to the boy and placed her right hand over his injured one. A soft golden drown light covered her hand as the smell of grass filled the air. A few seconds later Tina pulled back her hand and the boy’s fingers were completely healed. Tina started to walk back to Ash but he noticed that her face was languid and slightly white. As she started to sway Ash was there to hold her and keep her from falling.
“Leave,” Ash growled toward the boy who wisely rushed off into the darkness. Turning his attention back to Tina, Ash looked at her pale face with a trace of worry in his own. “Are you OK?”
“Just tired,” Tina said weakly. “Using my powers with a human body is more demanding than I remember.”
Ash scooped Tina up into his arms and carried her over to the tent where the bedrolls were already set out for the night and placed her down gently. She looked up at him and gave a weak but warm smile before closing her eyes her breathing softening as she drifted off to sleep. Ash brushed a few loose strands of hair out of her face and just looked at her. After giving her a light kiss on the cheek Ash laid down beside her and soon joined her in slumber.
14-2
They didn’t see another soldier for the next two days but as they neared the next town they noticed that the guard was much more active in checking the travellers coming through. Knowing that there was no way that they could get into the town without a fight Ash and Tina decided it would be best to skirt around the town and continue toward Relar.
They still had plenty of time before the ship left port but Ash was still ready to reach there as he was sure that the church could provide them some much needed succour and while he didn’t hate living outdoors he still wanted to sleep in a warm bed. The long nights on the ground were starting to cause pain in his lower back. Added with Tina’s amorous attention he was getting more than a few bruises as well.
On foot it would take them between ten and eleven more days to reach the port town of Relar and that was only if they stayed on the move. If they had a good horse they could make the trip mush faster but faster didn’t always mean better.
“We need a place to rest and restock on supplies,” Ash said as he looked back in the direction of the town. “You can live off of mushrooms and editable grasses b
ut I cannot, at least not for long.”
“Why they are delicious,” Tina said while pouting her lips. “I guess we could go to one of my churches,” Tina said after a few seconds of silence. “There is one about half a day east of here as the crow flies. It isn’t one of the biggest but they should be able to get us some supplies and maybe a way into Relar without being noticed. The only downside is that the church is just outside a counts castle. It is built in a small village that provides for the count and his table.”
“I guess it is our only choice,” Ash said with a deep sigh.
“Or we could just camp out,” Tina said happily. “I know of some editable moss that has the most unique flavour. It is a little sour but it grows on you.”
“No need the church will be fine,” Ash said quickly. The idea of one more meal made up of what Tina considered unique herbs and grasses made him shudder. He still remembered the bark soup that she had served the day before. Ash was still picking out pieces of it from his teeth. Going to the church would have some danger to it but it was better than having another “unique,” meal.
Not knowing the way Ash had to follow behind Tina who was easily distracted. Every so often Ash would have to drag Tina away from a young sapling or ring of flowers otherwise she would spend hours preening over them. After hours of walking the area started to open up and Ash once again started to see farm houses every so often. A good sized farm could only tend a few acres without the heavy machinery of his time. That meant that farms were not that far apart.
Tina seemed to love the farms as she often stopped to look over the condition of the growing crops. Right now it was just the start of the growing season so the first sprouts were starting to burst from the ground. Ash watched as thing checked on the sprouts with a smile on her face. He would laugh whenever he caught her talking to them in an encouraging tone.
It wasn’t long after they saw the first farm that they noticed the small town that the church was located in. It was more of a village really and one that didn’t have guards like the ones he had seen on the main kingdom roads. The people of the village looked poor but there were a large number of children running around the streets playing without much of a care. In the back of the village was a large manor made of dull grey stone. The manor was not overly large and looked modest in nature. When Ash turned his eyes from the manor back to where Tina had been standing he had found that she had disappeared. Looking around a little franticly he found her not faraway playing with a group of young children. Ash couldn’t help but smile as he watched her run around playing a game similar to tag. The ground was dusty but Ash noticed that not a stain marked Tina’s clothing. Not even the days in the woods had caused so much as a dust mark and her clothes looked as pristine now as they had when he had bought them for her.
Reborn: Demons Return Page 1
