The Forsaken Hero

Screams rang out as the Star Guard cut through the remaining inquisitors and elves, rushing to my side. Luxxa grasped me by the arm, ignoring the severity of her own wounds to look me over. Not until she was satisfied did she release me, looking worn but relieved.

”Thank you, Kahlen,” I said, turning to the blade demon.

”It was nothing, my Lady. It was your idea, and your efforts that saw it through.”

”I’m not sure I follow,” Jenna said, nudging the corpse with her foot. She turned it, getting a better look at the dagger. ”What the hell happened to him?”

Kahlen extended his hand, palm down, and the blade quivered. With a sickening squelch, it slid from the body and flew through the air, landing softly in his palm. He held it out, hilt-first, a silver dagger carved with now familiar runes.

”Anti-magic. One of their assassins tried to slip it into Xiviyah’s ribs, but we caught it. Who would have thought thee blade would come in handy so soon?” he asked, chuckling with dark mirth.

”That’s...devious,” she murmured, shivering. ”To think, the weapons they fashioned specifically to pierce Lady Xiviyah’s wards turned against them. I bet they never saw that coming.”

”Neither did we,” Luxxa said, frowning at Kahlen. ”Some warning would have been nice. I was terrified out of my mind, thinking we weren’t going to be able to break through.”

Kahlen shrugged. ”Learn soul speak then.”

”Then teach me.”

The demon froze, then turned to her, surprised. ”You mean that? A mortal wishes to learn demon ways?”

”Tomorrow. Or tonight, if we can. If it means protecting Lady Xiviyah, I’ll stoop to any low,” Luxxa said. She hesitated, glancing at Jenna. ”Almost any,” she amended. Jenna grinned back.

”But how did you attack him with it? Your swords dropped out of the air the moment that Interdiction hit,” Jenna said.

”He was hiding it,” Gith said, realization dawning in his eyes. ”You faked being unable to wield your swords. But you couldn’t have planned this from the start.”

”It’s easier to separate the sun from its light than a blade demon from its swords. After all, most blade demons are made of swords. I merely evolved to increase the distance from which I can wield them. They’re effectively limbs,” Kahlen said. ”But as for that matter, well, that was Lady Xiviyah’s doing. I hid my power on my own, waiting for an opportunity. I hadn’t expected her to go along and make one for me. Clever girl.”

My cheeks warmed, but the heat fled as the deck shuddered beneath my feet, a shockwave rippling over my wards. The scent of blood and ozone thickened in the air. ”I’m just glad it worked,” I said, my fingers tightening around my staff. ”But this isn’t over yet.”

Fyren and Victor’s fight continued to rage. The end of the Interdiction rebalanced the fight, and Fyren now fought with no hesitation, ruthlessly pressing the Justice Hero back with every swing of his crimson sword. Victor’s movements had grown erratic, desperation seeping in as he fought to hold the demon off. For some reason, he still hadn’t used his own ability, Light of Justice, to suppress Fyren in the absence of Interdiction, weaker though the effect would be. Every time their blades clashed, he came off the worse, wounds accumulating on his body faster than he could heal them.

My gaze returned to the high inquisitor, to the ring on his bloodstained hand. Biting my lip, I crouched down and lifted the hand, my stomach squirming at the fading warmth. But, stilling my tail, I slipped it off and held it. Just holding it made my skin crawl.

”Liberation,” I whispered, curling my fingers around the ring.

Purifying light enveloped my hand. The ring vibrated, frozen cold and also burning like a living coal. The magic struggled, pushing back against my own.

With an audible sound like tearing fabric, the black ribbons broke, recoiling from me. As the curse evaporated, the light faded, leaving an ordinary band of gold pressed into the palm of my hand.

Victor let out a choked cry, stumbling back and flinging his weapon away. Fyren paused, sword half-raised, as the other Justice Armaments clattered to the ground, already dissipating back into flecks of light. He stared at me, wide-eyed, then at the ring in my grasp. His breath hitched, and a ragged sob escaped from him.

”What...what have I done?” he whispered, falling to his knees. He looked at Fyren, then at the ring in my grasp. ”I...I couldn’t...”

The fight drained from him, leaving a broken, defeated husk. Fyren turned to me, raising an eyebrow in question, and I nodded. He lowered his sword, a grim look of satisfaction settling on his face as he surveyed the ruined skyship, finding nothing left to fight.

”Good work with the inquisitor,” he said brusquely.

”Thank you for not killing him,” I said, slipping past him and approaching Victor.

The hero didn’t react. His armor shorn and cracked, barely clinging to him anymore. Fyren’s sword had left long, vicious marks across his body, but he regarded them not, shivering uncontrollably on the ground.

”Victor,” I whispered.

He looked up, and the raw horror in his eyes made my heart weep. ”I...I wanted to kill you. After the kindness and mercy you showed me...I wanted you to bleed.”

I knelt beside him, taking up his hand in both of mine. It was rough and calloused, like Luke’s. He recoiled at the touch, fear flashing through his eyes.

”Get away,” he cried, jerking his hand away. ”I’ll hurt you!”

Fyren’s sword rose the moment he moved, but he lowered it as I motioned him away. Victor glared at the demon, then returned to me, tears welling in the corners of his eyes. He stared at me, shivering, as a war raged in his soul. Again, I reached out, tentatively brushing his cheek. He flinched, but allowed me to tilt his head up, forcing him to look at me.

”Maybe,” I said, speaking softly, like I might to a child. ”But that’s okay. The things you wanted, the things you became...you don’t have to be that anymore. You were cursed, Victor. Don’t let that define you.”

”I...I’m sorry,” he whispered.

My heart swelled. I offered him a small, gentle smile and placed the ring in his palm.

”I know.”

He stared at it, tears now streaming freely down his face. His hand tightened into a fist, clutching the ring in a death grip.

”How can you do it?” he asked, looking up pleadingly. ”How can you touch me? How can you be so gentle?”

”I wonder that myself. She’s hopelessly naive,” Fyren rumbled, sheathing his sword. He cracked a smile. ”But I found it’s best just to accept it. Questioning will only make her sad, and I won’t be so forgiving then.”

My cheeks warmed at that. ”Stop that! It’s called compassion, you know. But Victor...” My voice softened as I turned back to the Justice Hero. ”Stop worrying about what you deserve. Sometimes, it’s okay to forget the law, to stop forcing yourself to see things as right and wrong, as action and consequence. I want to help you because I want to, not because of some duty or obligation.”

He stared at me, then at the ring, and then let out a choked sob, slumping back. The fight had finally gone out of him, and the rest of the Star Guard turned away to give him a modicum of privacy as he wept.

”I don’t know what you mean. How can I do anything else?” he asked.

I was quiet for a long moment, then sighed, my shoulders falling. ”Victor, I...I once followed a law as strictly as you. Never trust. Never hope. Stay in the dark where it’s safe, even if it hurts. I’d learned that lesson better than any other, and it kept me alive. But it left me so...empty.” I gently caressed his cheek, rubbing a tear away with my thumb. ”There is a place for law, for justice, but Victor...there is also a place for mercy. For forgiveness and understanding. I want the divine and their church to receive justice for the atrocities they’ve committed, but...I’d rather bring light to their darkness, to bring freedom to those they’ve enslaved. That’s where I’ve found healing. Not in vengeance or retribution, but love.”

”You...I don’t see how you’re still alive,” he mumbled, blinking away his tears. ”That’s insane. I just can’t...and maybe that’s why.”

I nodded. ”Maybe. But we can talk about this later. For now, let’s get you on your feet.”

I let my hand fall from his face, retaking his hand. This time, he didn’t pull away.

”Regenerate,” I breathed, casting the seventh-circle spell.

Sylvarus itself resonated with the spell, imbuing it with the strength of Selena’s Arboreal World. Victor gasped as the green light fell upon him. His skin crawled, knitting together, his pale, bloodless face flushing with warmth. The hand that had trembled in my grip firmed, and with a groan, he stood, helping me to my feet after him.

The shift in his demeanor was so abrupt that I let go of his hand, stepping back uncertainly, but he just smiled, stretching his arms. ”Gods, that’s so much...no, I don’t suppose they deserve any credit. Thank you, Xiviyah. You saved me yet again.”