The Forsaken Hero

The demons started at my command, circling closer to the inner walls. A piercing shriek rang in the skies, and I looked up, eyes brightening.

”Borealis!”

The ice demon wheeled high above. At my cry, he tucked his wings and dove, pulling up at the last second as he always did. I managed, with some pride, to keep from flinching as his wings flapped a few inches before my face, buffeting me with wind. I did, however, duck my head as he tried to land on my horns, barely dodging him in time.

”That’s enough out of you. Can’t you see what’s happening?” I scolded, offering him my shoulder lest he went for my head again.

Borealis clucked, dissatisfied, but took my offer. He bore a few scratches from his tousle with the seventh-level inquisitor, but his aura bristled like a crouching tiger, ablaze with the power of Celestial Grace.

The empire’s soldiers were torn and bloody. Hardly any stood without aid or injury, and their souls flickered weakly. Their eyes were dull and hopeless, yet still they stood, gripping their weapons in preparation for the final battle.

I started to turn, my gut twisting at the thought of the slaughter to come when the heavy iron-bound gates creaked open. A single girl strode out, her step shaking slightly. Verity. Her silver armor gleamed dully in the firelight, matching the sheen of her long, flowing hair. She held a slender long sword in one hand and a small hemp child’s doll in the other. The doll was scorched black on one side and soaked in blood on the other.

The demons paused as I bit my lip, squeezing Fable’s fur. Her eyes, flecked with starlight, brimmed with unshed tears.

”Please, Xiviyah, stop this. Talk to me.” Her voice echoed hollowly through the courtyard.

I slid off Fable, walking to the edge of the wall, in plain view of the entire keep. ”What more is there to say? Haven’t you given me enough lies?”

She winced. ”I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted to give you a chance to leave the darkness and heal. I’m sorry you couldn’t understand that.”

”Is that all?” I asked softly, audible only in the muted silence of both men and demons.

She bit her lip, knuckles whitening around the hilt of her sword. ”If...if you won’t turn from this path, then I challenge you to a duel.”

”D-duel?” I blinked, my tail flicking anxiously. ”But I can’t... and you’re only sixth...”

”There are thousands of civilians trapped in the southern sections of the city. You’re quarrels with me, not them,” she said, stepping forward.

I folded my arms as a chill ran down my spine. A shining tear trickled down her cheek, but she ignored it, staring hollowly into my eyes.

”There was a young girl,” she mumbled, lifting the doll and clutching it to her chest. ”She got lost a few days ago and...I found her. But this morning, she was...”

The doll fell from her grip, bearing the weight of a mountain. I flinched as it struck the ground, expecting a tremor, but it bounced once and fell face down.

”So duel me,” she said, wiping away her tears and glaring at me. ”If I win, spare the innocent. I’m the one you want, not them.”

I glanced at Fable, who was watching Verity intently, his muscles coiled. ”Verity...this isn’t about revenge. It’s about doing what must be done. I have nothing to gain from endangering myself in a duel. You already know I can’t fight.”

Her shoulders slumped as the anger drained from her face. ”I... Soltair said it would work...that it’s a hero’s job to fight so the innocent don’t have to.”

I sighed, rubbing my horn. ”I suppose he would say something like that.” My gaze softened as I looked at the Fate Hero. ”But Verity, I’m serious about this. I don’t care to slaughter the innocent, but the demons need this city and the powerful souls within to strengthen their forces.”

Her voice cracked, a sob escaping her lips. ”Please, let them go.”

I hesitated, my gaze falling upon the demons surrounding me. Their eyes burned with a ravenous hunger, their fangs bared. Did her soul look as appetizing to them as mine did? Did the innocent children?

Letting them go had always been my intention. I started to nod, only to pause as my soul tingled. A few stars gathered in my vision, but they dissipated before revealing anything, leaving only a faint impression behind. I might have brushed it aside, taking it as a whimsical thought, but my recent experience communicating with the demons left me sensitive to such suggestions.

I took a breath, firming my resolve. ”I will, but on one condition. Speak with me. I have to say much to you, both about Soltair and your calling.”

She bit her lip, tightening her grip on her sword. ”Soltair is a good man. He’s kind and gentle, and always cares for–”

”Soltair is a hero. Nothing less, nothing more. He will do what a hero should do, regardless of the consequences. Or who he hurts,” I added in a small voice.

Verity’s eyes flashed, but she bit her lip, holding her tongue. Her shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath. ”You’ll spare them all?”

I nodded, and she glanced around at the demon army. Her grip on her sword slackened, the point sinking until it dug into the ground.

”I accept,” she whispered.

”You have until sunrise,” I said, glancing at the darkened sky. ”I won’t allow the demons to enter the eastern quarters until then.”

”Um...and R’lissea?” she asked.

I shook my head. ”Go, Verity, and save as many as you can. I will come to you later.”

Her gaze lingered on me until I shifted, tail swishing. When, at last, her silver eyes turned from me, I sagged, letting out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

”Do it,” I whispered, turning from the keep. ”Raze this keep to the ground.”

There wouldn’t be much left for the demons to do, especially after the inquisitors’ powerful magic had reduced it to a flaming shell. But I couldn’t stand the sight of it lingering any longer. This fortress had become a painful reminder of all the darkness, heartache, and loneliness I had endured these past few days.

Borealis nuzzled my cheek, and I smiled faintly, scratching his chin. ”You’re right. You guys are here now. And Luke...” I flinched as a shockwave struck the wall, nearly shaking it out from under my feet. ”Wait, Luke!”

The noble’s district pulsed with contrasting lights and shadows. Radiant white clashed with dark, ominous violet, reducing grand mansions to ruins and turning lush gardens to dust. In the eye of the maelstrom, Luke and Lord Evlon’s indistinct forms converged, their souls flickering like candles in the night’s breeze.

Fable bounded to my side and, with a flick of his head, tossed me onto his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tight as he lunged off the wall and took off over the housetops, leaping from roof to crumbling roof. Borealis hunched low on my shoulder, eyes slit against the roaring winds.

My bond with the demons weakened as we streaked across the city. Borealis remained clear in my mind, but the rest faded to obscure mutters and occasional bursts of hunger and greed. The quiet was a welcome relief, and I used it to renew my wards, reinforcing them against the chaos ahead.

In less than a minute, we cleared the wall dividing the nobles from the city center. A few seconds later, we breached the outer reaches of the clashing eighth-level auras. Vicious gales of curses and sunlight crashed against us like breaking waves, making my skin crawl and my soul itch. These two forces marked my existence, and yet...here I was, plunging headlong into it.

”You’d better be alive,” I muttered, huddling behind my wards. ”Luke...I’m serious.”

Fable fought through the auras one leap at a time, often growling at the effort. His soul and body were weakened from his many injuries, and though I’d healed the worst of them, it would be days before he’d regenerated enough mana to purge the inquisitor’s mana from his body fully.

At last, we broke through the storm and arrived at the center. Luke and Lord Evlon stood against each other, only twenty feet apart. The aged inquisitor’s back was bowed, and he leaned heavily on his staff, panting. Blood dripped from a nasty cut on his cheek that wavered with the uneven texture of his wrinkles. His robes were stained red beneath his arm, where a long, jagged claw mark bared his ribs.

Luke wavered unsteadily on his feet, sword gripped in one hand. His other arm hung limp at his side, his bicep almost entirely stripped from his bone. His face was pale beneath his cowl, and his tail slumped at his feet. He seemed to favor his left hip, though it might have just been his stance.

”Luke!”

My cry felt soft and hollow, barely rising above the winds. But both jerked at the sound, heads turning toward me. I swallowed as both their auras descended, remaining upright only by the power of Celestial Grace.

Luke started to step toward me, only to grimace and rub his side with his wrist, not daring to drop his sword. ”Xiviyah...what are you doing here?”