Another man’s hand flicked through the air, and a swirl of amber light flashed outward, sweeping aside the arrows that had just been loosed at Isalla. The black-skinned man grinned, and a hooded woman with abnormally thin fingers spoke. “By My Lady’s Grace, may Her enemies have leaden wings!”
A cloud of darkness rippled across the field of battle, and all the angels Rose could see cried out as they were dragged to the ground, their wings stained black by magic. Rose had heard of such magic before, though she’d rarely seen it used by demonic forces. There just weren’t any conflicts large enough to require it that she’d been involved in.
The last woman was vaguely draconic, and she launched toward one of the angels, snarling savagely as her claws extended. The man’s eyes widened, having just gained his balance on the ground, then the mage was taken down by the woman’s brutal assault.
“Who are you?” Rose demanded, her sword at the ready. The four-armed man was already charging toward the angels around Isalla, but she wasn’t going to drop her guard yet.
“Queen Estalia left us to keep an eye on you and guard you during your trip back to the palace,” the woman said, extending her staff and speaking a word. A length of glowing red light lashed out at the woman who’d been speaking to Rose, then turned into gleaming bonds that restrained the woman. Painfully, from the way the woman screamed, at least until it gagged her.
“Where were you when they shot Kanae?” Rose demanded, dodging as an attacker loosed an arrow at her, only for the angel to be promptly blown into a tree by the black-skinned demon’s magic.
“Too far away,” the demon replied, his voice about as deep as she’d thought it’d be. “We stayed out of Kanae’s wards, but with preparing for combat and getting over here, that just took longer than we’d have liked.”
“No time to talk, Qorr!” the staff-wielding woman said, and the woman and man both raised a magical shield as the last angel mage launched a beam of blazing light at Rose. Their shield blocked it, and Rose’s fury reached a peak at last.
“That is it. Ember, may your fire consume all it touches!” Rose cried out, raising the sword high as she poured her mana into it with reckless abandon.
The blade ignited, glowing even more brightly than it had at any point in the battle. Fire surged out of it, bombarding the area with heat as it rippled with her anger and rage. Only when it was blazing like the sun did Rose fix her gaze on the mage, and she saw his face pale with fear. She didn’t let that stop her, though, and she brought Ember down with all her strength, releasing the hilt as the blade pointed at the man.
Ember shot across the landscape like a meteor, its fires burning all in its path. The angel let out a scream in the moment before Ember impaled him, but the scream didn’t last more than an instant as the blade incinerated him and slammed through a dozen trees and into the hillside, burning a hole all the way. Rose extended her hand angrily and beckoned, and after a moment, the sword ripped out of the glowing hole in the hillside, spinning through the air as it returned to her hand.
“Hellfire, why didn’t you do that before?” Qorr asked, looking stunned, but he cast a spell that caused one of the angels to stagger, looking confused before the man fell unconscious.
“It takes a lot of mana, and I can hardly control it,” Rose spat, glaring at the demon. She wanted to take out her frustration on someone else, especially as she was upset about what had happened to Kanae, but all of the angels were pretty much dealt with. She growled under her breath, then quickly flew toward Isalla.
Her friend was frantically looking around the area where Kanae had vanished, and as Rose landed, Isalla looked up, tears leaving tracks down her face.
“Rose, she’s gone!” Isalla cried out, her voice trembling. “One second she was here, and the next she was… she was…”
“I know, Isalla. I saw it happen, too,” Rose said, hesitating before sheathing her sword, her rage starting to subside as she looked at the empty spot. There wasn’t any sign of Kanae, and as she thought about how the demoness had fought fearlessly, despite being surrounded by over a dozen opponents, tears welled up in Rose’s eyes.
Rose spread her arms, and Isalla rushed into them, sobbing as her armor clanged against Rose’s own. Hugging Isalla, Rose lowered her head and wept. She hated that she couldn’t have stopped the woman who’d shot Kanae.
Why couldn’t the guards have arrived just a couple minutes sooner?
Chapter 51
Queen Estalia’s guards had left Isalla and Rose to their tears, instead quietly moving about the former battlefield as they gathered the fallen angels together and put out the forest fire. Isalla wasn’t sure why they were gathering the angels together, and was even more unsure as to why they’d stabilized those who’d lived. A third of the angels had died during the battle, but that still left ten of them, all of them injured to one extent or another. Isalla was a bit surprised that one of them wasn’t dead, but she also didn’t much care. They’d killed Kanae, and even now Isalla’s eyes burned with grief, her tears only barely held back.
One of the demons, his skin black as pitch and with a pair of horns that protruded from his helmet, came closer and cleared his throat. He paused for a moment, then spoke, his glowing amber eyes bright against the darkness of the rest of his body. “Pardon me, ladies, but… while I must admit it’s unlikely, it is possible that your companion is alive.”
“What?” Isalla demanded, looking up at him suddenly, a little incredulous. “I saw that arrow engulf her in light!”
“Yes, but there was nothing left. That’s unusual, Lady Isalla,” he replied, his voice respectful. “As it was so unusual, and considering she’s Her Majesty’s daughter, I investigated and I found something else was unusual. What you saw was a teleportation effect, one so powerful it could ignore the ley lines to reach its destination.”
“Are you certain?” Rose asked, standing suddenly, just as hope surged through Isalla, but the man raised his hands, as if to caution them.
“Calmly, ladies, please. Yes, I’m certain. Her Majesty has a few items capable of such, but they’re expensive, and ours take a good deal of time to set up. One was left with us for emergencies, to return you to the palace quickly, but knowing how it works allowed me to see the similarities,” the demon explained, his tone soothing, and his expression darkened. “That being said, if she is alive, I doubt she’s in a good situation. I can’t imagine someone using a weapon like that to teleport an opponent someplace nice.”
“That sounds accurate to me. And if she is alive, Isalla, we can find her,” Rose said, looking at Isalla with growing hope in her eyes.
Isalla felt her grief lessen, and she swallowed hard before nodding, speaking softly. “R-right. If there’s a possibility, however slim, we have to check. The question is, how would we find her?”
“Her Majesty has an archmage who specializes in divinations in her employ. If you asked, I’m certain she would look for your Kanae. She is her daughter,” the man offered.
“Very true. Rose? What do you think, after everything else we’ve gone through…” Isalla said, swallowing hard. “I really don’t want to delay, not if we’re to have a chance of finding Kanae.”
“You’re right. We’ve spent enough time here, and we drew down these… things on Kanae,” Rose said, scowling at the angels angrily, and Isalla tensed. “Why did you even leave them alive?”
“Her Majesty will wish to question them and learn what they know,” the man said, straightening slightly. “While killing them would have been easy, it’s far more important to learn what we can from them.”
“True,” Isalla said, relaxing slightly, then took a deep breath and looked at Rose. “Let’s grab what we can of the things that Kanae was going to bring with, alright? Then we can go.”
“Sure,” Rose agreed, still frowning at the angels. Then she looked at the man and asked, “I don’t think we asked your name. How are you planning to get all of them back to the palace, anyway? There are only f
our of you.”
“My name is Qorr the Shimmering,” the man replied with a bow, then smiled. “As for transport, I believe this qualifies as an emergency, and we do have that teleporter. As soon as you’re prepared, I think we’ll vacate the area and take you to Her Majesty.”
“Alright. Let’s go get what we can, then we can go,” Rose said, her expression hardening. “And if anything could make me even more determined to rip open this conspiracy you stumbled on and drag it into the open, Isalla, this did it.”
“Agreed. Now I’m even more upset than I was,” Isalla said, standing up and taking a deep breath, then headed for the house. Behind them, Qorr turned to his fellow soldiers, and Isalla took a mental note to thank him later.
For now, she just wanted to get together as much of Kanae’s things as she could, then go meet Queen Estalia. She wasn’t going to give up on Kanae, not yet.
Rose didn’t have much of a chance to look around the palace, though at least peripherally she realized that the building was gorgeous, constructed to both awe and be defensible from sky or ground. The teleportation had been brutal, leaving everyone almost heaving, and some people did throw up, including several of the angels, to the point that the guards had to quickly keep them from choking on their own bile.
Even so, the guards quickly rushed Isalla and Rose through the palace, down wide halls that she half-wished she could tour more slowly. In short order, they’d been led to a sitting room with plush chairs, fine tables, and delicate-looking porcelain on display. Each of them took seats, and Rose was uncomfortable in her armor, considering the circumstances.
A maid bowed and spoke softly, her green scales slightly at odds with her delicate voice. “Her Majesty has been informed of your presence and will arrive as soon as she is able to. Would you like refreshments while you wait?”
“No,” Isalla said shortly, and Rose nodded in agreement. She was in no mood to eat, not now.
“Very well, if you change your mind, simply ring the bell,” the maid said, nodding toward the table and a bell sitting on it.
“Thank you,” Rose said, then fell silent as the woman left the room.
For a long minute, they were silent. Then Isalla spoke softly. “I hate myself.”
“Why?” Rose asked, blinking in surprise at Isalla’s sudden comment.
“If I hadn’t asked her for help rescuing you, she wouldn’t have ended up like this,” Isalla said softly, her voice filled with loathing. “We were taking our time deciding, too. Sure, she encouraged us, but they came for us. They were talking about how we were traitors, and… and I hate that I might have gotten her killed.”
Rose swallowed, opening her mouth, then closing it again. She didn’t know what to say, so she took some time to think. It took a minute, then she murmured, “You aren’t the one at fault, Isalla. If anything, we both share some blame for what happened. I… didn’t think we would encounter danger like as that. I never thought a group of such power would be dispatched after us. If Kanae is dead… I’m never going to forgive myself, even if I manage to avenge her.”
“Well, fortunately for you, you won’t have to forgive yourself,” Queen Estalia said, her voice echoing through the room, and for the first time Rose didn’t quite lose herself at the sight of the incredible woman. Estalia stepped into the room and waved off her guard, closing the door behind her firmly.
“You already found her?” Isalla asked, her voice eager as she stood abruptly, excitement on her face.
“One moment,” Estalia said, shaking her head. She pulled out a tuning fork and gently rapped it against the bell on the table, filling the room with a soft, persistent tone. She examined it for a moment, then smiled. “There we are, no eavesdropping, hm?”
“Your Majesty?” Rose asked, blinking in surprise. She didn’t think that this was a subject which needed to avoid eavesdropping.
“Ah, you’re wondering about my caution? I’m always careful regarding this, but I believe that it’s worth the risk of telling you in this specific case,” Estalia said, smiling brilliantly at them. “I asked Kitania if she’d told you, but she said she hadn’t. She’s always so… reticent.”
“What are you talking about? Didn’t you have your archmage scry for her?” Isalla asked, looking as confused as Rose felt.
“No, I haven’t. Unfortunately, Veldoran is out of the palace for a few days, on a trip to gather some rare reagents,” Estalia said, her smile fading slightly. “Unfortunate timing, since I never expected something like this to occur. At least not now.”
“Then why are you so sure that Kanae… no, Kitania is alive?” Rose asked, correcting herself carefully. “If you haven’t performed divinations, isn’t that a little too much to guarantee?”
“If it were anyone else in the world, whether the heavens, mortal world, or hells, I’d agree with you. But Kitania…” Estalia let her voice trail off, then shook her head, smiling sadly. “No, my little girl is alive. She’s immortal, you see.”
“What? But… all angels are immortal. So are the vast majority of demons,” Isalla said, sounding even more confused.
“Ah, but you misunderstand. Yes, most demons are immortal… but Kitania is special, even among demons. She told you she survived the siege of Rosken, yes?” Estalia asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.
“Um, yes?” Rose confirmed, frowning. “I recall her saying it was a terrible battle, and that she lost a lot of friends there…”
“Yes, she did. There’s a reason why I thought she died there,” Estalia said, her smile fading again. “See, she was stationed on the central wall of Rosken. The epicenter of where the battle between the archangels, demon princes, and mortal gods fought. She was stationed in a place that, to this very day, rages with the wrath they unleashed, destroying the fortress and all the people inside it… all but Kitania.”
“What? But… but how?” Rose asked, her eyes widening enormously.
“That is the question, isn’t it? I don’t know. We learned of her gift fairly early on, though we didn’t know the extent of it. Kitania can heal from any injury, and even shrugs off transmutations in minutes or hours. Once, when she was terribly depressed, she threw herself into the gullet of a hellfire worm,” Estalia said, and she scowled. “That was a bad day. She regenerated after we cut it open, much to my shock, considering how little of her was left. Afterward, we tested her regeneration power, and it proved resilient to every form of damage we could come up with. She even attempted to test it a few more times, to my horror, and nothing seemed capable of killing her, not even being turned to stone and shattered. Rosken… if anything could kill her, I thought that could do it. Yet it didn’t. Some tiny fragment of her survived and came back.”
“Heavens…” Isalla said, blanching, yet she let out a breath of relief. “You mean she’s alive? For certain?”
“Nothing is certain in life, but I would bet my own life on her being alive,” Estalia assured them, and her eyes hardened as she added, “That said, I don’t intend to forgive the people who attempted to kill my daughter. I will have them tell me everything they know, and nothing will stop me from finding out.”
“That sounds perfect to me,” Rose agreed, taking a deep breath, then asked, “What about when your archmage returns?”
“When he returns, we’ll find out where they sent Kitania, and then we’ll figure out what to do from there. If she was sent to the heavens, we’re going to have a problem. Anywhere else, though…” Estalia paused, then smiled. “We’ll just have to retrieve her, won’t we?”
“Agreed!” Isalla said, her eyes shining with hope at last.
“Very much so,” Rose added, relaxing a little. The tangle of her emotions needed to be sorted out, and for that, she needed time with Kitania.
“In the meantime, I believe that we need to get the two of you settled into the palace,” Estalia said, silencing the tuning fork with a touch, then looked at Isalla as she added, “And we really do need to discuss getting you your wings back, Isal
la. Your armor doesn’t fit quite right.”
“Thank you,” Isalla said, smiling with palpable relief.
Rose suddenly realized she was smiling too, and she murmured, “We’re going to get her back.”
Epilogue
At least she wasn’t in pain when she woke this time, Kanae reflected, approaching consciousness at last. The last time she’d regenerated fully had been after being caught in a rockslide, and it had not been pleasant to have half her body still crushed in the rocks when she woke up.
This time she wasn’t in pain at all, and Kanae kept her breathing slow and level as she took stock of her body. It wasn’t just a lack of pain that had her alert. The temperature was comfortable, if slightly on the cool side, and she was laying on a bed or cot, from the feel of the thin pad beneath her. A cool pair of metal rings were around each wrist, and her hands were raised on the pillow, which gave her an idea of what sort of position she was in, especially with how it felt like her mana was being restricted.
Thinking back on her arrival in the plaza, Kanae winced internally and murmured, “That… really hurt.”
“Most people who went through what you did wouldn’t be in any position to say that,” a woman replied, and Kanae tensed. She hadn’t realized someone else was nearby.
Opening her eyes, Kanae looked around and blanched, blinking tears from her eyes at the light. It wasn’t incredibly bright, but her eyes weren’t used to it. She was inside what looked like a jail cell of smooth gray stone, a narrow window with bars on the wall behind her head. Toward her feet was a wall of bars, giving her no privacy at all, though the door was on the opposite side of the small cell, which made sense when she realized that the chains around her wrists were secured to the opposite corner from it. What made Kanae so nervous was how she could see magical runes carved into every stone brick and all the bars, meaning that an immense amount of power had been expended on the cell.
Heaven's Fallen Page 36
