“Oh, I didn’t realize,” Rose said, her discomfort easing, then she frowned and asked. “Anna already knows, then?”
“Most certainly. We have access to magical wards across the region which allowed us to signal that we were under attack as soon as the battle began,” Zeera said, the bone demon’s voice almost clinical, and she was certainly the least friendly of Rose’s guards. “As none of us fell in battle, she’ll know that we’re fine, and won’t be leading a force to our rescue.”
“Which is why I suggested we get going,” Ethan explained. “I hope there aren’t more attacks like this, but the more time we give them to prepare, the worse it might go for us.”
“As you say. Hopefully there aren’t attacks, but it’s good to know how skilled all of you are,” Rose said, giving them a slight smile as she nodded. “You’re a skilled team, and one that would certainly daunt me if I was up against you.”
That prompted a smile from Ithik, and chuckles from the others as he spoke. “Thank you for the compliment, Lady Rose. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we’d be wary of running into you on a battlefield.”
The others obviously agreed, and after a moment, Rose smiled more and shrugged as she replied, feeling more amused. “Well, fortunately I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”
They chuckled, then Dathael, the last, almost silent demoness, nodded and started leading the way. If she hadn’t introduced herself to begin with, Roselynn might have thought the woman was mute.
Chapter 39
Isalla held up the vial of blue liquid, examining it nervously. It didn’t look like much, but she also wasn’t exactly thrilled by the idea of a fungus which could make her stand still in a daze, even if it would make it easier to rescue Roselynn.
She looked away from the vial and over at Kanae, who was standing over near the shallow cave. The demoness was crouching down with the ceramic jar she’d pulled out of her pack, and she was carefully pulling out what looked like one of the mushrooms that attached to trees, almost looking like a shelf or ribbon. Kanae pressed it against the wall, her other hand sprinkling some liquid on it, and as Isalla watched, it adhered to the wall. Kanae quickly picked up the jar and moved away, looking visibly relieved.
“There we are. I was half-afraid it might have died on the trip, but hypnis are able to go dormant for quite a while,” Kanae said, stepping closer to Isalla as she looked back. “It only takes a couple of minutes before it starts releasing its spores, and the hypnotism lasts for as long as someone is near, or about ten minutes after the person leaves the area or the fungus is destroyed.”
“Will that be enough time?” Isalla asked, feeling slightly worried about their chances. “You said the back of the cave is an illusion, so it should get us to the teleportation node quickly, but what if they recognize the fungus and destroy it?”
“I sincerely doubt any of the guards have the experience to recognize hypnis. It’s reasonably rare, even in the Fungal Abyss, so only those who delve into it frequently would know what it is,” Kanae explained confidently. “Even if it is destroyed, I’m sure we can get out of here before any guards that succumb can recover.”
Isalla nodded, then followed Kanae as she began moving farther away to where they’d have more cover and a good vantage point. They were well off the road, and the area had a little more vegetation than a lot of the hells did, which gave them some advantages, though they had run into a nest of nasty avians that they’d had to deal with. They settled into their hiding spot, and Isalla considered before finally asking the question she’d had for a while.
“Why are you putting so much work into not hurting the guards? From what you said, it would be pretty easy to eliminate them, or just leave them under the effect of the hypnosis. I know that could lead to them dying, though, but… I’ve just wondered,” Isalla said, fidgeting slightly. She didn’t like the idea of killing people who couldn’t defend themselves, but if it allowed her to rescue Roselynn, she’d probably do it.
Kanae looked at Isalla, then smiled fondly as she shook her head. Her voice was quiet as she replied. “We’re going to be stealing someone who Queen Estalia views as a major prize, Isalla, and that’s going to annoy her enough as it is. If we kill trusted soldiers as well, there’s no telling how much effort she’ll put into tracking us down. Beyond that, we don’t have any idea what Roselynn’s mindset will be like. If we hurt people she views as friends, how likely is it that she’ll trust us? I’d rather take a path that’s less likely to cause problems all around.”
“Ah, true enough. I don’t like the idea of trying to escape with her upset and a demon queen after us,” Isalla said, shivering at the thought. Once more, she was thankful that Kanae was with her. There was no way in all the heavens she could have done any of this on her own. She’d likely have ended up dead or enslaved before she reached Silken Veils.
“Exactly. So now, all we need to do is wait,” Kanae murmured, and she settled down still more.
Isalla followed her example, though she didn’t find it easy. They were so close to rescuing Roselynn at last.
Rose followed the others, feeling far better than she had earlier, though she was a little more exhausted than she should have been. It was good that she’d tried to exercise in the spire, because if she hadn’t, her condition would have left Rose embarrassed. At least their trip for the day was coming close to its end, though. Ithik had explained that they’d be going through a hidden teleportation circle that would get them close to one of Estalia’s army outposts much deeper in the domain. At least they hadn’t been attacked again, since Rose doubted that any attackers would have been able to do much more than die.
“There it is,” Ataron rumbled, his voice betraying the barest hint of relief. “I wish it was closer to the spire.”
“If it was closer, it’s possible that enemies could use it in an attack. Her Majesty had the spire built there for a reason,” Zeera replied. A moment later, she added, “Don’t let your guard down, though. Last time I was through here, a bloodvine had decided to take up residence in the cave.”
“Bloodvine?” Rose asked. It sounded a little like some of the vines she’d heard of that killed people, though the name was a little different.
“A vine that disables people to drink their blood. It paralyzes them, and lets them starve to death, though most die of blood loss,” Ethan explained, his lips thinning. “I hate the things, since it’s such an unpleasant end.”
“I agree,” Rose said, shivering slightly. She had some fire magic, which should help against plants, but she didn’t like the idea of dying like that.
“Well, we’ll find out soon enough,” Ithik said, following the others toward the cave. It certainly didn’t look deep, but that was the entire point of the illusion, so Rose wasn’t too concerned.
“Looks safe,” Dathael said softly, poking her head through the wall, which was an eerie sight. “I…”
The woman paused, and as she did so, Rose felt herself growing slightly dizzy. All the others paused as well. Rose had a moment to wonder what was happening, and then her mind slowly went almost blank. She should’ve been more worried, but… she just didn’t want to move. At all.
So Rose stopped in place and waited with her eyes half-closed, a smile on her face. She didn’t even mind that her guards had stopped moving as well.
“It worked.” Isalla’s voice was filled with relief, and Kanae entirely agreed with the sentiment. She’d been afraid the spores wouldn’t do their job, especially on the bone demon, but they had.
The guards were slightly more numerous than Kanae had anticipated, as she’d expected only three or four of them, and these guards looked more skilled than she’d expected. They weren’t Estalia’s personal guard, which was a relief, but the insignia on their deep blue armor indicated they were among the elite guard of the kingdom. Kanae wouldn’t have liked her odds against them, even with Isalla helping.
At the center of their formation was the woman wh
o must be Roselynn, though Kanae couldn’t be certain about that. She was shrouded in a brown cloak that bulged upward where a pair of wings were, and Kanae could only see a few wisps of red hair that poked out of her hood and the sword she wore. Isalla looked excited, though, which made her more confident. The chances of them pulling this off twice were practically nonexistent.
“Time to drink the antidote, Isalla,” Kanae said, keeping her voice calm as she pulled out her vial and drank it. No matter how dangerous their situation might be, she had come too far to back out now. The liquid tasted surprisingly good, even to Kanae, like some of the berries she’d tried when she’d lived outside the hells. Of course, it might also be Kanae’s memory playing tricks on her.
“Alright,” Isalla agreed, pulling out her own vial and sniffing it, then drinking it. She looked startled after swallowing, then looked at the vial for a moment before putting the stopper back in and offering it to Kanae as she said, “It tastes like blueberries.”
“Does it? I thought it might, but I couldn’t quite remember… it’s been too long since I had them,” Kanae replied, not moving yet, except to put the vial away. “We’ll give it a couple of minutes, then head forward. The antidote should work within a few seconds, but I’d rather give it more time.”
“That’s reasonable,” Isalla agreed, settling back down from where she’d almost looked like she was going to bolt over the log toward the group.
“You think that’s Roselynn? I’ve never seen her, so I can’t say,” Kanae said, nodding toward the winged woman. “As far as I’m concerned, she could be any angel, or even an ashborn.”
“It’s her. She’s the right height, and while there’s something slightly odd about it, that’s how she walks,” Isalla said confidently, then swallowed. “You said they… change the people who go there?”
“No, they convince them that they want to change, Isalla,” Kanae corrected, remembering her own visit to the spire with a shiver. She didn’t want to return there, yet at the same time she longed to go back. If Anna was still there… it took a moment for Kanae to focus on the conversation instead. “If that’s Roselynn, you might barely recognize her due to any changes she’s made. She’ll likely have made herself look like a tiny part of her has always dreamed she could be like.”
“I’ll brace myself, then,” Isalla said, nodding quickly as she took a deep breath, then let it out. After a few seconds, she admitted softly, “I have no idea what to say to her, once we have her away from them.”
“We’ll figure it out when we get there, Isalla,” Kanae assured her with a smile. Deciding that enough time had passed, she stood up, trying not to think about how her relationship with Isalla was likely about to end. “That should be plenty of time. Let’s go rescue Roselynn, hm?”
“Right!” Isalla said, standing quickly, and the two of them headed for the group.
It was a short walk, and Kanae felt her tension growing as she looked at the guards. It was fortunate that she didn’t recognize any of them, or else she might have been tempted to risk giving them orders to forget her. The hypnotism wouldn’t be guaranteed to work with an order like that, though, and it might wake them up. Not that they couldn’t see or remember her while hypnotized, they just wouldn’t be able to act.
Seeing Isalla open her mouth, Kanae spoke first, her voice soft. “Don’t yell. We don’t want to risk breaking the trance. Only speak softly to Roselynn and ask her to follow you. I’ll check the cave again, then you can lead her to the teleportation circle.”
“Okay,” Isalla agreed, swallowing her words with obvious disappointment.
Kanae let Isalla approach the angel and instead moved to the illusionary wall and looked through it, glancing around the chamber. The cave was much deeper than it looked, and dim red light at the far end illuminated the teleportation circle, an elaborate enchantment that was twenty feet across and in perfect condition. It did look different than she remembered, but that was probably because it’d been replaced, not because it had been altered. The cave was large enough to make things easy to transport, at least.
Behind her, Kanae barely heard Isalla’s voice, the woman sounding stunned. “What happened…? Never mind. Please follow me, Roselynn.”
Turning back, Kanae gestured Isalla forward, then paused as she caught a glimpse of Roselynn’s face. The woman’s face was breathtakingly beautiful, yet at the same time, even in the midst of the hypnotism, there was a sense of peace to her, and her ruby lips were slightly curved in a smile. Her hair was a deep red, deeper than Isalla had described it, and she wore several pieces of glittering golden jewelry. It was obvious to Kanae that Roselynn had changed herself in the spire, but at the same time, it looked almost natural for her, even with her narrow waist and the sword at her hip.
Isalla took Roselynn’s hand and led her toward Kanae, and the demoness could see the worry in Isalla’s eyes. At the same time, the look of pure relief and delight on Isalla’s face caused Kanae’s heart to clench slightly. Regardless, Kanae raised a finger to her lips and gestured for Isalla to enter the cave. Isalla nodded and quickly did so, though she hesitated slightly before pushing through the illusion. They were fortunate that it wasn’t one of those illusions that was real until someone saw through the magic.
Once they were past her, Kanae looked at the guards warily. They’d almost certainly remember her and Isalla, but she wasn’t willing to go too far. While Kanae had an unusual appearance, it’d take time for them to track down where she lived. That should give enough time for Isalla and Roselynn to escape, at the least. Even so, she hated to get the guards into trouble with the queen.
So Kanae put a hand to her chest and bowed slightly, speaking softly. “My apologies, but Roselynn is an old friend of hers. I promise that she’ll come to no harm.”
She held the bow for a moment, then straightened and pulled out another vial, this one filled with clear liquid. Stepping over to the fungus, Kanae undid the stopper and carefully poured the liquid onto it. The liquid hissed and bubbled on hitting the fungus, and where it touched, the pale blue flesh turned dark and pitted. It would take less than a minute for the fungus to die, and then they’d be truly short on time. Giving the guards another polite nod, Kanae stowed her vial and darted into the cave.
Isalla and Roselynn were standing next to the circle, and Kanae gestured toward the center as she approached, still not speaking. Isalla blinked, then stepped into the center of the circle, still holding Roselynn’s hand, and the angel followed obediently. As they did so, Kanae rushed forward and quickly examined the circle. Her worries eased as she saw that it truly was the same as the previous one. That would make her task easier. She pulled out an amulet, the pendant made of glittering adamantine alloy set with several tiny diamonds, each shimmering with internal light.
Kanae held the amulet in her right hand and pressed it against the circle as she reached within herself, breathing deep as she accessed her magic again for the first time in a couple of months. The rush of mana out through her body made her shiver happily, and Kanae smiled as she channeled it through the amulet and into the circle. The words to activate the circle were simple, and fell from her lips quickly, echoing in the cavern despite her attempt to keep them as quiet as possible. Then it was a matter of continuing to channel mana into the circle until it activated.
A minute passed, then two… and then the sound of a foot against the ground brought Kanae’s attention snapping upward as one of the guards lunged through the illusion. The bone demon had her rapier drawn, and Kanae could see her anger in her stance and how tightly her lips were pressed together.
“Surrender now and I’ll have mercy on you,” the demoness said, but she didn’t stop her charge.
Kanae considered replying, but instead she simply smiled, murmuring the words of a second spell as she channeled more mana into her left hand, weaving a spell with a couple of flicks of her fingers. Purple magic wreathed her hand just as the bone demon was about to reach her, then surged outward i
n a wave of purple light that knocked the woman backward a dozen paces. It didn’t hurt her, and despite being almost thrown through the air, the woman landed on her feet, though she did look surprised.
“No need, I’m afraid. I must say, managing all this without hurting any of you was a bit tricky,” Kanae said, and she smiled at the bone demon with a hint of admiration at the woman’s quick recovery. “Goodbye.”
She could hear the other guards moving, but it was just a bit too late. With a popping sound and the stomach-wrenching lurch of a teleportation, they were gone.
Chapter 40
“What do you mean, they didn’t come out here?” Ataron demanded incredulously. “This is the only place the circle connects to!”
“I’m well aware of that,” Ithik replied, scowling in return. “All I can tell you is that no one has emerged from a teleportation here but us in the last day or so.”
“That’s not good,” Ethan murmured, frowning deeply and looking quite displeased. “Bad enough that someone managed to disable all of us and kidnap Lady Rose, but they also managed to get away cleanly?”
“It looks that way,” Ithik said, frowning. “Zeera? You’re the only one who got a good look at them before they were gone; was there anything specific you noticed?”
“Other than the woman who spoke to us being a skilled enough mage to charge the teleportation circle and knock me back with telekinesis simultaneously?” Zeera asked rhetorically, then shook her head and sighed. “Sorry, that just… I came so close.”
“We don’t blame you, Zeera,” Ataron said, taking a deep breath. “From what we’ve seen, the demoness must be quite powerful, enough to make me concerned. She could have hurt all of us, or even killed us. She didn’t have to kill that thing that was disabling us, either.”
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