Into the Storm

by Christopher Johns

  I rose above her and dove down to use my claws to bloody his face, the creature's arm flailed and struck my left wing, the bone holding up, but the nails pierced straight through to the other side making flying a risk. I shifted as soon as the nails had come out, luckily the venom didn’t have a chance to enter my body, or I might have been hurting.

  I growled and shoved my metallic hand into his back, but the wind up here was insane, and I wasn’t able to penetrate his ribs. So I cast Lightning Bolt and hoped that it fried whatever was inside him. The electrical arc crashed into him and his body went rigid before he collapsed, and I was able to dig in and actually crush his heart.

  I tossed the body aside, and it fell toward the water, I shouted over the wind. “I’m here now, baby.”

  This small one annoys me father, she is too agile for me to strike, and my rain does not harm her. I could hear the irritation in her voice, and the small wounds healing on her body ignited my ire as well.

  I melded my shadow with hers, and the second the flying fuckass passed within range, I used that chance to cast Shade’s Prison on it. With her momentum halted and her wings frozen, all she could do was fall as Kayda turned and dove at her. The storm roc caught her tormentor and speared her with gigantic beak and claw, tearing off her head and wings before plucking out the beating heart and casting it aside.

  By the time we landed on the side of the ship, the others had finished the crew off, and my mana was full once more.

  “We all good?” Yohsuke groaned. “I’m pretty tired.”

  “How is a vampire elf tired?” I raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief.

  “The fact that I’m a vampire and actually need to sleep in my coffin to rest, dog breath.” He rolled his eyes and turned to walk away, stopped, and turned back. “You know I can’t not look for loot up in here, man. Let’s go.”

  I chuckled and walked with him to the cabin. Balmur, you wanna check for traps ahead of us?

  Balmur moved forward quietly and began to scan the area ahead of us for traps as we entered the cabin area.

  You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. Balmur swore violently and backpedaled into the rest of us. His chest heaved, and I made it out of his way just in time to avoid him retching onto my feet. I peered around the corner into the doorway, and it wasn’t the bloodied remains all over the hallway that made my stomach churn, surprisingly.

  No, it was the glyphs and set up in the room at the end of the hall that caught my eye. And the visage of the grinning demon staring out of a mirror on top of what looked like an altar.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Hello, boys,” Archemillian purred from his side of the mirror, his face pressed closer until only one of his eyes was visible. “Ah, and lady as well. How are you all?”

  “We’d be better knowing that you weren’t cavorting with the enemy, demon!” Yohsuke snarled and marched into the room.

  “Brave words, wait.” The demon’s manicured eyebrow lifted slightly before his almost beautiful features twisted in rage. “You’ve been defiled! By whom?! Who dares claim what is mine?!”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Yoh said, spat and grabbed the mirror in both hands. “Explain why we’re seeing your ugly ass here where people are trying to kill us.”

  “Well, my pet.” Archemillian laid it on thick as he batted his eyes. “I followed a lead to a rebellious faction of Demi-demons to this… place. I had seen the deal made for power with a cloaked figure in return for… sacrificial rights. It was not what you mortals would call pleasant. Is that the champion negotiator I hear retching in the hall? My kindest regards to him, if you would be so kind. Tell me, any news of the demon you’ve been told to hunt?”

  “We found it,” I muttered at him evilly, his warm and almost jovial gaze making me want to choke him.

  “Ah, but he escaped you, didn’t he?” The demon tsked and wagged a finger as if chiding a child. “So, rather than giving in to my baser urges and crushing the demonic blood vials I promised to hold like I so want to, I shall abstain. For two boons, of course.”

  “What’s the price?” Yohsuke sighed tiredly. “No souls.”

  “No souls.” Archemillian pouted theatrically, his usual charming smile returning. “One, you will tell me how you came to be a vampire—in-depth and unfettered so that if it was unwilling, I might take my vengeance. Two, you find the ones who are taking the blood of my demons and destroy them.”

  We glanced at each other for a moment, and curious delight dawned on his face. “You had no idea that this is what can happen when mortals ingest the blood of demons?” My brothers shook their heads, and that seemed to bring even more joy to the demon’s features, a sparkle of mirth entering his eyes. “You should know all about it by now, why—your brother Balmur should know all about it. The tainted blood I collected wasn’t merely from exposure to our realm. It was a catalyst for greater change. To make him stronger, more aggressive, dangerous.”

  Like a steroid made of demon blood. I choked myself on the thought, imagining them holding him down and pouring the disgusting stuff down his gullet.

  “We found him, he’s not dead yet, though.” Jaken hauled the unconscious caster to the front of the group. “Operative word being yet.”

  “That is not him.” Archemillian shook his horned head. “He was here, certainly, but the one who made the deal was a great deal more… charismatic. And he offered many souls.”

  I frowned. “Gnomish?” Archemillian regarded me as I spoke and motioned a familiar short height. “‘Bout yea tall, old as shit and speaks like he has the biggest dick in the room?”

  “Dude.” James smacked my shoulder, but my hackles were raised as the demon squinted at me.

  “I am not familiar with that last description, and the second one not so much, but he was gnomish.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Tell me, does he carry a staff covered in runes? Capped in blackened metal?”

  “Motherfucker!” I bellowed as loud as I could, the rage in my heart dulling all the rest of my senses as the world shrank.

  The little bastard was trafficking souls now? Distressed screeches from the sky and barking from outside the door brought me out of myself to the sensation of hands around my body, holding me down.

  “If only I had spoken to him when our deal was made, he would have made a fine use of my power.” Archemillian tutted and turned back to Yohsuke. “Time is of the essence, pet. I will hear this tale soon, and my vengeance related. It is not a quest, merely something to stay my hand. Do you agree?”

  “Fine.” He threw the mirror across the room, and it shattered with Archemillian’s laughter ringing out around us. “Let’s loot the place and get the hell out.”

  “You all go ahead,” Bokaj muttered as we walked out of the room. “I’m going to see to Balmur.”

  We nodded and piled outside, then a strong hand grasped my shoulder and turned me. Vrawn frowned at me. “You hate him that much?”

  “I hate anyone like him that much.” I growled, a heavy sigh heaving from my chest. “He’s selling souls out of spite, Vrawn.”

  “Who?”

  “Tarron Dillingsley.” The name tasted like ash on my tongue and almost made me gag. “He was supposed to be my mentor, and when he shot me down and taught me wrong on purpose because he was hurt that we were supposed to be saving his people instead of people born and raised here, he took up the cause in his own way. He will lie, cheat, kidnap, steal, and apparently sell souls to do what he thinks is best.”

  She frowned. “Other than the selling souls portion, which I despise myself, is that so bad?” I stared at her, but she just watched me back, so I motioned for her to elaborate. “How is it any different from what you would do if you knew that your own situation was hopeless?”

  “What?” My hackles rose again. “Are you defending him?”

  “No.” She shrugged, motioning to herself. “I’m merely offering a perspective from someone outside the situation. You have power gifted to you from the gods. All of
you are uniquely trained to fight in our world despite having not been raised here and creatures who would normally spurn mortals actively seek to aid you in your fight. If someone else came to your world where you had once been revered and seen as powerful to do the same things you are now, would you not do what needed to be done to protect what you love? Would it not be important for you to try and maintain some semblance of control over your steadily worsening situation?”

  I paused, stopping myself from lashing out, or telling her that she was wrong, and instead looked at her. Really looked. There was a hint of what she had said there in her eyes. Truth.

  “You feel the same way, don’t you?” She didn’t look away, but a small amount of pain seeped onto her face, her eyes pinched at the corners for a second too long. “You do.”

  “I do.” She motioned to me, then her weapon. “You’ve studied enchanting for months, and are already at the level of a master. You and all of the others fight like men possessed and have skills and abilities normal people like me can only gain through deadly training, and even then, you all still far surpass us. Surpass me.”

  She stepped out into the gentle rain falling from Kayda’s spell. She stopped and let it bathe her, clearing away some of the gore that had spattered onto her from the fight. “You all are legends forging your names in this world, saving us and taking our plight onto your shoulders, and we cannot do a thing to stop it. You, or the generals, or even the damnable minions. We are vulnerable, and those of us who know what is going on are terrified. Because we have no say in what befalls our home.”

  “Of course you do.” I stepped closer and reached out to her. “You’re here, right now, fighting with us.”

  She pushed my hand away, suddenly angry. “Because I forced you to let me. Because I gave you no choice. If you had a choice to bring me along for this, would you have?”

  Dangerous territory here, Zeke. I sighed to myself.

  “Honesty,” I muttered to myself, and she seemed taken aback by it. “You deserve honesty. I trust you, so you should be able to trust me. No, I would have chosen for you to stay with the village to protect them. Because I know what a great asset you are, how brave and courageous you are, and how you would be willing to lay your life down for the people we care about. I wouldn’t have brought you because I would save you from the hardship of being here with us where things can truly kill us. Because if I had to choose, I would die alone and save everyone I could.”

  She stayed silent, almost eerily so. So I spoke on, “Is that some sort of god complex? Taking the brunt of the blow for the glory of it? Because no one else is capable? Please.” I snorted at myself and rolled my eyes. “I do it because I constantly think that I’m the only one who should because everyone else is better suited than me. Because I’ve tried my best to be a shield against misfortune for others my whole life. It’s all I know how to be. Protecting others because I’m not worth it. So yeah, if given the chance to choose whether you get a shot at living or not, I would have you live.”

  She walked away from me then, her shoulders rigid, and her weapon at her side. She grabbed a rope on the side of the ship and hopped over the rail out of view.

  “That was smooth,” Captain Holly remarked with her arms crossed as she leaned against the wall of the cabin. “I had plans to go see what I could find in the captain's quarters, but this was… enlightening.”

  “Forget you heard it, and we’ll be okay.” I sighed and ran my hand through the fur on top of my head. “You’re better off not knowing anyway, it seems.”

  “She wanted you to tell her that you would have her fight at your side rather than be anywhere else.” She pressed, bouncing off the wall behind her with a press of her shoulder blades. “You have no mind for romance, my friend.”

  I couldn’t bring myself to fire back at her, so I just rolled my eyes. “I’m pretty incapable lately, it seems.”

  “Don’t you try and press that pitifulness at me, master Zeke.” She punched my shoulder, and it ached mildly. “I saw you fight. All of you. You were amazing, and so was she. No one touched her, and the one who came close died at your hand because you had her back. I dare say, if I had let you all board first, my men might be alive now, and that is something I must live with. Poor Taejon.”

  “Yeah, but we didn’t know either,” I shrugged, it was the best I could do at the moment. “Your crew’s sacrifice is noted, thank you.”

  “Noted?” A coughing laugh burst from her mouth. “Noted? Really? Have you, ‘the shield’ grown so callous that lives mean nothing to you anymore?”

  “No, but I can imagine that monetary compensation will come out of our payment to care for any of their families back home.” I turned to face her. “The coming fight will be worse, that’s why we’re preparing ourselves and the ship for what is to come. Will this person we’re meeting tomorrow be able to help us more if we give him more? Or are we just paying to pass through?”

  “More the latter,” she grumbled. “But we can ask about the first. You might want to go after her then because we will need every hand we have.”

  I nodded and moved away toward the lattice-like grate that covered the portion of the deck that led below.

  We got wood and other supplies down here, nothing metal other than what the carpenter would use to make minor repairs, but it should be enough to make at least another ballista if we’re careful. Bokaj seemed to take a moment to go over the findings he’d spoken of again. Then shouted, “There was a hollow wall! We found some metal!”

  I grinned, then shook my head and went to find my way below deck. There were barrels of rotting food and some of water that had been heavily poisoned. Seems they had hoped to make us sick if they couldn’t kill us. I was a little pissed off that our prey wasn’t here, but that just meant that they were further ahead, right?

  I surveyed the goods, as well, and we found that they would work. The ship moved and listed slightly to the right, the deck shifting with it, and we decided it would be a good time to get the hell out of there. We loaded up and left.

  Once we were clear, my ice wholly melted, and I shot a fireball at the ship, burning it to cinders there on the ocean. No point letting it float there uselessly. The sailors mourned their dead together that night as we plodded along in the water back on course. Some, if not all of them, drank a little to the memory of the fallen.

  Muu joined them, muttering something about how Taejon had only had two weeks to retirement. He looked genuinely saddened at the loss of the old man, and I couldn’t really blame him. He had been nice.

  Bokaj, Balmur, and Jaken worked through the night to get the ballista ready. The base had been made previously, it was only a matter of bending the limbs for the weapon so that it would launch projectiles with enough strength. It was slow going, but worthwhile when they filed into the cabin with grins on their tired faces. I wanted to help; I could have if I had been allowed to melt metal down, but we had a limited supply, and they weren’t sure how it would all react. Poorly made metal being mixed with decent metal was bad.

  “It’ll work now.” Bokaj yawned noisily and smacked his lips. “I’m gonna sleep forever.”

  “If you wouldn’t mind enchanting it, we’d appreciate it,” Jaken added a little tiredly as he walked past with a wave.

  “Balmur wait.” He blinked at me tiredly, and I sat up so I could talk to him. “I’m sorry about what happened on the ship. I know that had to be hard on you.”

  “It was.” He scratched his head. “I’m sorry that I hid on the ship while all the rest of you fought those guys.”

  Recalling the battle, I hadn’t seen him. I just thought he had been elsewhere. Shit. “You want to talk about it?”

  “Not particularly,” he kind of joked back, more hopeful than anything else. “What happened… happened. I’m trying to get over it. I was lucky enough that exposure to the drug was all it was. It never fully took me over, and they weaned me off it after a time because it would have killed me. Couldn’t lose
their negotiator.”

  His tone took on a bitter note, and his nose wrinkled in disgust as he spoke that last sentence. I nodded at him, and he seemed to take it as our conversation was over. He opened the door to his dimensional home away from home and closed it softly before looking back at me. “Thanks for trying to be there for me, man.”

  I nodded once more, and he stepped through the door, and I was alone again.

  I stood and stretched out before going outside to take a look at their work. It was to the right side of the bow and would turn almost fully three hundred and sixty degrees. Their work had been great. Though the line that they had given me to work with was leather that Muu supplied, it was workable.

  I enchanted it to be tensile, but unbreakable, using some Faerie iron shavings to assist in that. Once that was done, the line attached to the front of the limb, and I bent it back in place only to realize that I had no idea how to set it, and I didn’t want to break it.

  A strong pair of hands grasped mine and held the limb of the right side in place, and Vrawn ordered, “Place the drawstring under that little lever there near the front of the system.”

  I did as she said and waited while she had me take the limb from her then went to the other side of the machine. She bent the limb back and attached the line to the other side of it easily. Once that was done, she slowly let it come to a rest before reaching over and flipping the little lever with her finger so that it became a ring that held the line solidly.

  “I’m sorry that I was so volatile earlier.” Her apology seemed sincere, her face hidden from me slightly in the darkness. It was the later hours of the morning, and I hadn’t really slept well.

  “It’s fine, I’m sorry if I sounded petulant. Or like I was trying to play down your desires to help defend your world.” I scratched my neck and sighed. “I’d be lying if I said that my caring about you didn’t sway my words, but it’s mainly that I’m just an idiot who would rather see his friends and loved ones taken care of before himself.”