I was on my feet looking at the sky with everyone else but my eyes could filter out the late morning sunlight and I could see the other stars looking down even during the day. Among the stars stood a dark skinned demonic figure. I didn't know his rank because his wings were folded tight.
Don't go after him, try to get him to come down to you. All you need to win is for him to take a breath. Then I will destroy him. I blinked and drew my weapons that I had decided to still keep on me.
I wasn't sure the dominic creature wouldn't be able to hear me but I wasn't sure it mattered as another blast crashed against the city shield. What in the world makes you think that I would be ok with you killing a demonic? You want to protect the children all well and good, but I will fight my way and die my way if I have to, you mean that and I won't be able to fight him at all.
He is soulless, you oath doesn't bind.
He is intelligent and if I believe it binds then it does. I could feel my key growing warm as I argued with the voice only I could hear and another blast hit the shield. I was beginning to wonder how many of those the shield could take.
Fine, I will do nothing that I know will shorten his life. It would still be better if you can get him to come down, I have found there is a lot I can do that won't kill demonics. I was not completely sure I had not just come to an agreement with myself somehow.
Daughter mine, come on out from under that shell you found. I have to kill you now. This mental voice was definitely more male and not my own. From how the wizards were ducking and covering their ears I was sure I also wasn't the only one hearing it.
I turned and looked at Sarah who seemed a little stunned still but she was drawing power and forming an attack only she couldn't see a target. "Get out of here, NOW! Don't interfere! Stop them."
I pushed the red to get her moving. She stumbled from the force I used. I was a bit distracted from monitoring the force of my strength at the moment. Sarah hit the archway which luckily the person on the other side opened before she slammed into it.
I watched her stumble through the opening. Hopefully they closed it as fast, "Sorry father you have a problem with me? Maybe you should come down and talk about it." I felt amusement as he thought about what I had said. There was also a feeling that saying it out loud was childish too. "Or are you scared of your own blood?"
I know the old stories baby girl, you won't trick any member of the thirteen that easily.
"You want something from me. I have no interest in you. If you want me you will have to come get me!"
I could feel the amusement turning to anger, there was something going on. He did not want to be here. He didn't care if the vermin in the city died so he could get to me but he seemed conflicted about being here. I tucked my weapons into my belt and sat back down on the sand. As another blast shook the shield.
He saw the other children as vermin below his notice, he was projecting his thoughts at me and if that hurt them oh well they shouldn't be so close to me. Yet that also meant he didn't think I put a value on them either so he wasn't going to go out of his way to hurt them. As long as they didn't annoy him.
"Let me know when you get over your cowardice." The shield whispered a memory at me, "You will never get back in with Satan if you believe in those stories. Isn't that what you told my mother. 'The planet surface might not be as much of a protection any more; demons believe since the angels are dead, the planets are dead.' You know how to get through the shield, come get me."
It won't protect you, child. The demonic started to lower through the outer atmosphere. Perfect he was going to come to me. Hopefully this arena is strong enough for us to fight it out.
It is. I ignored the shield and the warmth of the key against my chest. I was focused on the creature about to hit the shield. He paused then passed through the shield. I could feel the demonic magic following off of him. I focused on looking unconcerned about his approach, if he stayed below the main shield but didn't enter the arena I could be screwed.
My insult worked like I had hoped. The demon launched himself at me within moments of passing the shield. I looked up and smiled at him as he hit my personal shield, which he could not see. "Thought you said it wouldn't protect me, father."
You must be stronger than you look. Good killing you won't be boring. You won't get me to let the planet in. Let's see how weak these weaklings have forced you to become.
I couldn't stop my eyes from widening as sand filled the air around us. The demonics power had just doubled and the ground seemed to be reacting to it. I felt my shield start to crack so I reinforced it with demonic energy. I didn't try and think about what I was doing, in real fights that could be deadly. Pulling my weapons again I focused and put everything but the fight out of my mind.
My crystal blade cut through the demonic's shield and hit his skin. He pulled back before he lost his hand but he was surprised by how effective the weapon was. His own weapon appeared in his damaged hand. So he had still not thought me worthy enough to fight like he meant it.
The ground moved but nothing got through the whole in the demonic's shield. It was almost as if the land couldn't find the demonic. I could hear a whisper at the edge of knowing but I blocked it out. The distraction could be bad at the moment he was stronger than anyone I had fought so far. My asureity that I could win without killing him was not as strong as it had been at the start of the match. I was getting more hits in on him but that was more that he hadn't figured out a good counter to the crystal weapon than that I was more skilled or enough stronger than he was to actually win. There had to be something.
The fight went on with us exchanging blows. I was more than able to keep him from using his weapon on me. As the fight stretched out I realized that he was fighting at the best of his ability. He had little skill with the weapon he was trying to use and almost no skill in fist fighting either. He was heavily reliant on magic and it just wasn't as effective against me. Overall he was less effective than I had been expecting. It helped that the ground moved to support me and I could breath to increase my muscle strength while the demonic seemed to be trying not to even touch the ground.
When that part of my mind recognized my superiority in this case against the demonic I found myself having to resist the urge to bite him. I kicked the demonic hard in the belly to get some room in the arena that had seemed to be closing in. If you can bite him before I get a hold on him you would be the winner without me completely interfering. What the terrain has done so far is within the rules. It could be a trap though, you don't live as free as he has for as long as he has without knowing a few tricks.
His wings unfurled as I jumped back taking a breath. Well that explains why I have a hard time thinking of him just as a demon. He isn't, my wings are red with no sign of black in them, his wings are over half black. He is a high level Devil. His wings folded tight again before I could bounce off the ground kicking up more dirt. I still launched again at the devil, he was ready for me but I was much stronger than he had been expecting.
I managed to go over him and landed behind him. He tried to turn but I was faster. Placing my knee in his back and dropping one of my weapons to grab his shoulder. He tried to shake me off but he was wearing out faster than I had been. I let go of my control over myself for a moment and bit into his hard flesh as he hit the ground. My weapon pushed into the top of one of his shoulder blades with my other hand holding the shoulder. If he moved wrong he would lose his wing before he would be able to shake me.
His movement stopped as I tasted his black blood. I could feel my body reacting to something in the blood which was strange, wasn't my blood already partly his blood? It is not the same, rank like that doesn't pass down.
I felt the devil breath in out of surprise. He used the air to curse as I let him go. I could feel where he was in space better, as I wiped my mouth on my sleeve. I didn't turn away. He was still dangerous just not as dangerous. He paused seemingly waiting for something that wasn't happening.
"If you want I can ask the planet to give you a taste of what you were expecting. I am not going to let you die yet, I have more than a few questions."
The devil took a breath in again, this one not quite as shallow. "If I had known this planet was so lax I might have actually spoken with your mother."
"It isn't, it just likes me it seems. Your oath or I am going to start seeing how much skin I can remove from you before it scars."
The devil looked around the arena, "I swear that I won't attack you again or this planet."
I felt a breeze move in the arena not that I needed it to know that oath wasn't good enough, "Seper simpie. I won't agree to anything less." I crouched putting my weapon back out in front of me I expected him to attack me again for demanding that oath.
The man put his hand to his neck where I had bitten him, "You cannot enforce it."
"I have no demonic master, so no one has proven stronger by default. Since no one can default a stronger claim, you can not have a master you know is stronger than me. As for enforcement you took a breath, since I have no motivation to leave planet side. I can now ask the planet to place a two body length restriction between you and the air limit. You won't be able to cross that distance fast enough to keep the planet from pulling you back. You try it and I get to punish you. So yes I could enforce that you stay near me until your other master comes for you."
"My other master is Satan." The devil that stands a head taller than me moved his hand and looked at the blood on it. The mark on his neck was mostly closed.
"I am aware."
"You think you can beat the only surviving Satan?"
"Not yet maybe but that would be my problem."
The man that called me his daughter stood there looking more shocked than when I had bit him. "He will wipe out all life on this planet to get to you."
"If that is true then I won't have peace in my life until one of us has lost either way. So if you being here brings the confrontation a bit sooner then so be it."
He started to talk again but I launched at him. He moved to block but his movement seemed significantly slower and I went around his block. Having bit him made my awareness of him enough better that even with the planet choosing not to interfere there was no match anymore. It was worse than fighting a kid.
The devil hit the ground hard and covered his head waiting for the next blow which did not come. He lowered it slowly to look up at me. He said a phrase in a high form of demonic that was much too short for its meaning.
I replied with acceptance in the same level of language. There was a moment where my skin felt a size too small, demonic at that level had real physical effects. Which is why it wasn't used as a conversational language.
I wiped the crystal blade on my sleeve before tucking it back in my belt. The devil watched my every movement. He did not seem sure that I wouldn't change my mind and kill him anyway. "What do you want me to do now, owner?"
"I am going to want you to answer my questions but I have other work to be doing. Don't kill anyone." The devil lowered his hand and sat up in the sand. The air was still clearing from all the dirt that had kicked up as we fought.
I plopped down in the sand across from him and closed my eyes taking stock of my physical condition. I wasn't as thirsty as I feared I might be. Which was good, I felt like I should have bruises from head to toe but they normally go away quickly.
"Hey Des!" I looked up into the stands where Theon stood with two guards that looked ready to grab him. From the state of his uniform and one of their faces I think they must have grabbed him once already.
I smiled at him, yelling back would be pointless. The wizards weren't going to open the shield until they knew neither of the demonics inside were a threat to the city. I looked around for Markus, I would be able to talk to him through the shield. Since it seemed they could see into the shield.
I found him standing with the red wizard Sarah. They seemed to be having a heated conversation but I couldn't hear them. Neither were looking up while they talked. So I looked around to see if I could spot one of Markus' new unit members. Most of the city had to be around now so they should be somewhere. Yheap, there was one of the females watching me from not that far away from the prince.
I ran my hand down the outside of my ear then touched my chest with my thumb leaving my pinky raised but not straight. The islee soldier smiled and nodded. So she had orders to listen to me, interesting, wonder what Markus told her.
I signaled to her, "Why can't I hear any one?"
She pointed to the back of her wrist. Wizards, that was a helpful answer.
"Why could I hear…" Spelling out names takes longer than the sign I chose. "My lover?"
She smiled and looked at him before back at me to sign, "Angry man. Stupid man."
I snorted then shook my head, "Aren't they all. Well, I won. Also not thirsty, if you tell my lover he will know."
She flicked her pointer up by her ear then ran the hand down like I had half raising her pinky. "I guess she doesn't trust your lover to listen to her. Why are you settling for such a weakling anyway?"
I growled at the man that had spoken to me. "Settling for a great match. Life is so hard when you have everything isn't it?"
"Settling, he is almost human. Not a great match for someone building power like you. If he gives you a daughter she will have a hard time keeping your name." The translation wasn't quite right. Name ment power and contracts that get passed on both as obligations and rewards. For demonics only a child of the same sex can inherit by birth, and they would have to be strong enough to hold it.
I rubbed my forehead trying to talk in demonic was starting to give me a headache. Probably means I should practice more but until today I never had anyone to practice with, well I might have been able to talk to some of the red wizards but who wanted to run that risk. "She would have nothing to inherit from me. Not as you see it anyway."
"You beat me, so you are halfway to having power in your own right."
I looked over as I felt air rushing from the shield. Sarah had opened the entrance. I shrugged the air was much colder than the air in the shield had been. "Weaklings."
I switched to islee, "Shut up before I hit you. You are the one that fell in love with one, if you can feel love, father."
The devil clenched his fist then relaxed it, he surprised me by not continuing to use the common demonic he had been using before, "I am surprised," I wasn't sure what he was surprised about, me calling him father or me not believing he could love, "you would have to ask your mother, on both counts."
"She is dead."
I could feel his surprise without looking at him. "No way."
Sarah stepped carefully onto the sand like she was afraid it would burn her. I reached down and put my hand on the sand, I guess it could be that hot. Sarah took a second step and then raised a shield to protect herself from the heat. "Died giving birth, it happens."
"Not to women like her. There is no way she died of natural causes. These weaklings must be more dangerous than I thought." He had switched the language after the first sentence. He was smarter than I was giving him credit for.
"She is probably the one most likely to figure out what you are saying. Also you haven't revealed anything I wasn't aware of, oh you probably shouldn't take food from anyone here but me."
"I don't eat anyway." He had switched back watching Sarah approach.
Sarah paused just far enough away I couldn't tap her shoulder without taking a step. I smiled at her, "Sorry about the interruption, elder. Are you ready to pick up where we left off?"
Sarah raised an eyebrow, "You aren't tired after that? How much did you hold back when you played with Shevren?"
"I don't fight children like I fight demons, elder. Mostly I use only the abilities my opponent has shown to possess. Like magic, and movement. There is only one child that I don't restrict my strength when I fight. I didn't know he was a magic user."
Sarah looked up at the eleven prince who had his arms crossed in front of himself as he frowned down at her. Markus had appeared next to him talking with the member of his new unit. The eleven guards didn't look happy but they weren't bothering the islee. Ravon was just behind Theon watching the ass, I tried not to sigh, my unit cohesion was even worse than it had been this morning. "Well, that sucks." Sarah looked back at me then bowed, "I surrender, if you did halve what I saw you just do, against me, there would be no question of victor."
I laughed and shook my head. "I cannot do any of that against you, unless you can see demonic magic?"
Sarah raised her hand and rotated it, a ball of light appeared. My key cooled against my chest, not that I needed it to know what she had done. I felt the devil tilt his head as he watched Sarah curiously. "Most islee and elves can see demonic magic, they just don't know what they are looking at. Mixing it like you did can be very dangerous. The forgers were the last ones I know of that could balance the powers. What the reds do now is just parlor tricks in comparison. So, what are you going to do now?"
"If we are done, find my unit. We still have a few hours to work."
"Right," Sarah paused and tapped her foot in the sand. "You said I should keep the red who orchestrated the attempt on your life away from the palace. Do you know who tried to kill you?"
"Yes." I felt humor from the devil but I didn't feel a change in his position or posture.
They try to poison you?
They would have killed me if I had been you.
That is unlikely there aren't many chemical reactions that break down our structure fast enough, also I don't eat.
I shared what I had seen within my own body. The attack on me doesn't bother me much.
I can tell, you are much more worried about what I might do to your pets than you were worried about me killing you. Strange.
Not for a child of the light.
You think so, daughter? I don't currently feel that many of them being ready to die for you.
I closed my mind and focused on what Sarah was saying. We had that whole conversation in the time it had taken her to say three words. I never noticed how slow talking was before. "Would you mind telling me?"
"If I was going to tell the tower I would have. My trust in you is lacking. Amazingly not fighting me has put me more on edge not less."
Sarah smiled just a bit but there wasn't any humor. "I can appreciate that, but I know when I am out classed when I see it." Sarah tilted her head to the side as she tried to make up her mind. She then looked up into the stands. I tried to follow where she was looking but there were so many people around I couldn't be sure who she was looking at. "Sileen, could you ask one of the islee arch officers to disband the joint unit currently in service? It is bad enough that the crystal weapon holder isn't an officer but you can hardly expect the head of the reds to take orders."
I put my hand on my weapon and felt Sarah watching me, "I am not a wizard."
"You see you don't have to be, the heads of the orders are decided much like crystal weapons are. There is no rule that you must be a wizard to be good enough to meet the requirements of the orders. Just like you don't have to be in the army to earn a crystal weapon. The leader of the reds has always been the person who can balance the most demonic and planetary magic. Knowing how to use it, is what my order teaches its members. The knowledge can help you balance more and be better at it but you, well you are starting ahead of my best attempt. So unless so red wants to try and do a better job than you just did!" Sarah looked around the arena, no one spoke. "Didn't think so. Hope you enjoy the responsibility master Des. No red is going to try and give you an order. Lucky for me the black strip cannot be taken by innate ability as well, but hopefully you will earn that mastership as well. Since just being a red is so rare. Though, if you became a wizard you would be a brown, red and even rarer combo. Which I am going to have to find, since you won."
Someone in the crowd tapped something against the crystal flood that made up the arena stands. "I agree the army cannot afford to not give her a unit."
Another person on the other side hit the crystal. "I still disagree, there is no evidence of her ability."
"And how are we to get that when you don't let her try!"
"I understand your fear but what does she have to do to prove her loyalty then!"
Cries of foul came up from many people in the arena, and it didn't seem to matter which group they were from. There was more banging as disorder spread among the people. I clapped my hands together. The shield blocked most of the effect but everyone looked at me. I looked up at Sileen and motioned for her to continue.
Sileen nodded with a frown, "This is not the place to discus this anyway, I call for a meeting in the council chamber. Until then I call for leave for all units within the shield."
Sarah smiled again without humor as the arch officer's motion passed. Sarah turned back to me, "So with that settled for now, what are you going to do?"
I looked up at Theon, he was still watching with his jaw clenched and arms folded. "I need a bath."
The devil gave me a strange look, "You don't have to get dirty if you don't want to be."
"Everyone knows that, that is not why I need a bath." I turned back to Sarah, "I will keep the new slave near me."
Sarah shrugged, "Sounds reasonable to me. I have a meeting to attend," Sarah looked up at the elven prince then back at me. "I am thinking I should be able to find you, if I need to, master. The apprentices will open the rest of the shield's vents and leave them open until the sand returns to a more reasonable temperature. If you need anything, well any wizard should point you in the right direction, but with your luck I would stick to browns." Sarah bowed again then left.
I shook my head as she left. With a sigh I stood and stretched then I looked up at Theon who was still watching me with a frown. "Looks like you made your lover mad." The devil spoke like he has known common his whole life.
"My husband probably has more then one reason to not be pleased with me. You are at least two of them."
"Husband!?!" That word didn't quite have the same meaning in demonic as it did in common.
"Don't tell me you care now, father." I rolled my eyes and started toward the door. The arena was starting to empty as it was clear the most exciting part was over but there was still enough around that my sentence didn't go unwitnessed. Whispers filled the air and the devil seemed to think better of responding as his first reaction wanted him to. "Come on, unless you want to stay here?"
"You trust me outside your premade jail?"
"If you want, but I will warn you that I do have an evil streak. Don't give me a reason to exercise it."
"Of course not, owner."
I left the arena shield through the entrance I had come in. The demonic creature that had donated half my DNA stepped out with me.