"Step! And thrust!"
Ben clumsily tried to pull off the move Emma was teaching him. He nearly tripped.
"This is tough on sand," he noted.
"Yes, it's tough on sand!" Emma yelled. "That's why footwork is so important! If you have proper footwork you'll be faster and have better balance than your opponent in unfavorable environments."
The party had settled into camp for the first night in the Safina desert. Promestein had gotten the group up bright and early, still peeved about the lost time due to the "unnecessary" side quest that would almost certainly have gotten at least Ben and Ashley killed had Ben not suddenly developed an innovative way to use the power of wind. Promestein had been ready to grab Ben and teleport him out, leaving the monster girls behind, if absolutely necessary, but even that would have been difficult amid a hail of bullets. Promestein resolved to herself to work on her very rusty magic skills.
The authorities had been willing to ignore the operation as long as it had been nonviolent and a mission of mercy. Once shooting had started, the police had been alerted, and when the monster girls had given statements that they weren't as free to leave as they thought they were, and that they'd been prostituted for cold , hard cash, the men were arrested, the operation curtailed.
Ben and Emma sat down by the fire to join Ashley and Promestein and have dinner. Promestein had prepared a meal of chicken and potatoes. Ben bit off a piece of chicken and grimaced.
"Sorry," Promestein said. "I'm not much of a cook. I guess since you're so much like Luka I should have asked if you can cook."
"Not really," Ben replied. "Is that bad?"
"Since cooking isn't really an aspect of the soul, I doubt it'll be a problem."
"Is soul even a science thing?" Ben asked. "It just sounds strange hearing you talk about souls and stuff."
"It falls under magic science," Promestein explained. "You see, Earth's physics are very rigid. Most of the science you learned in school comes directly out of Earth textbooks. If you were on Earth, your skepticism about magic would be valid. Magic is very weak on Earth, to the point of not even being a factor in the vast majority of people's lives. Anyone with magical ability who goes to Earth finds that they don't have it anymore, or only the tiniest smidgen of power. Monsters on Earth don't cause critical ecstasy, for example. Even gods can't do much there. But here, there's magic, and since magic exists, science can explain it. Imperfectly, anyway. With the right spells, souls can be analyzed. In order to make the ring, I analyzed Luka's soul, and coded the ring to transfer Luka's power to whoever touched it who was a rough match."
"So that means you're sure I'm a match, right?"
"Er….. no," Promestein admitted. "The problem with magic is that the physics are…. Loopy at times, for lack of a better term. There's no testing or measurement I can do to be sure"
"Soooo…." Ashley said. "I hear you two like movies?"
"Yeah, I love movies," Ben answered. "Mainly the really old Earth movies."
"What's your favorite?" Emma asked.
"That's hard to say, there's so many," Ben mused. "I guess I'd have to go with Terminator 2."
"An interesting choice," Promestein noted. "A boy traveling with a cyborg, trying to stay alive, then getting caught up in a side quest to save the world from Armageddon. A side quest that ultimately failed."
"It's a crime what they did to John Connor in those movies," Emma added. "They set him up to be this hero and savior and by the last film he ended up being the villain. We never actually got to see him be the big hero. Well, there was Salvation, but he looked like a goof for most of that one, too."
"Do you like movies, Promestein?" Ben asked.
"Not much," Promestein replied. "But when you've lived as long as I have you've seen most of them at least once. I can get into good science fiction. I liked Terminator because it reminded me of my Next Dolls."
"Next Dolls?" Ben asked.
"I invented some cybernetic creatures that were far better than anything in that movie," Promestein said proudly.
"Do you still have them?" Emma asked. "Can we use them against Zurith?"
"I'm afraid not," Promestein replied. "They were defeated and destroyed by the Heavenly Knights and Luka."
"The Heavenly Knights?" Ben asked, perplexed. "Why would the Heavenly Knights destroy your cyborgs? Do they hate robots?"
"No, they destroyed them because I created them to kill the Heavenly Knights."
"What?! Why?"
"I worked for Ilias at the time," Promestein shrugged. "I studied the Knights, I studied Luka, I studied the spirits, and I designed countermeasures against them. What I didn't count on was their resourcefulness."
"Is there any story in which you're the good guy?" Ashley asked angrily. "Why did Ilias choose you to save the world?"
"Probably because there's nobody else. Story of my existence. People can't trust me, but they keep on needing me regardless."
"So….." Ben mumbled uncomfortably. "Does anyone here like Star Trek?"
"That's an example of bad science fiction," Promestein said. "They just make up words half the time to solve problems. Reverse the polarity! Not to mention a lot of their technology is basically magic. How would anti-gravity even work? We could probably pull that off here, but in the Earth dimension, I don't even know how to begin to approach that problem."
"Star Trek isn't about the science," Emma countered. "It's about envisioning a better world. A better universe. It's a story of coexistence. I bet Luka watched a lot of Star Trek as a kid."
"He was more of a Star Wars guy," Promestein said.
"I would not have guessed that," Emma said. "but then again, I never met the guy."
"You would have loved him. He and Granberia were like two peas in a pod. Even when they were enemies, they were in love with each other."
"Do any of you like any modern movies?" Ashley asked. "I loved the Prince and the Frog Girl."
"Are you kidding me?" Emma asked. "He kisses her at the end and she turns into a human. The movie portrayed being a monster girl as a curse to be broken."
"The point is that he loved her anyway," Ashley argued. "I cried during that movie."
"I cried because it was so stupid. Most movies made here are."
"Why are movies made here so inferior, two thousand years later?" Ben asked Promestein.
"Budget is part of it," Promestein explained. "Earth has ten billion people. Our world has only forty million. A hit movie here doesn't make a fraction of what a hit movie over there makes. But that's no excuse for bad storytelling. That happens because our society is simply less creative, more conservative. That's why we stopped interacting with Earth one hundred years ago."
"I heard it was because Earth was at war and civilization was basically coming to an end," Ashley said.
"Earth was at war when they shut the portals down, yes. That was the last straw, but it was really about too much immigration scaring the natives, as well as how fast Earth was moving beyond us technologically. When 21st century tech was first introduced here, most people were excited about it. Air conditioning and being able to call your family whenever you want is pretty convenient. But as time went on and the 21st century turned into the 22nd century on Earth, it got to the point where the tech just started to freak people out here. The war was the pretext the government needed to just shut it all down. But the war was short, if extremely destructive. That's why those refugees were primarily from Russia. Russia got hit the hardest in that war. Crazy thing is, they got hit the hardest in the previous world war before that. But in the rest of the world, things returned to normal within a couple of decades. Meanwhile, their technology continues to outpace ours by leaps and bounds."
"Why have we been so stagnant?" Ben asked. "Two thousand years later and very little has changed. I mean, we've got better tablets, and nothing runs on semen anymore, but life is still pretty much the same now as it was two thousand years ago."
"Again, lower population, which means lower talent pool, plus our society is more conservative. Earth goes through massive social and technological changes on a regular basis. Conflict arises because these changes leave many people behind, confused and impoverished in a world they no longer understand. That was the real reason the kitsunes decided to close the portals."
"The kitsunes did it?" Emma asked. "I thought the government did it."
"The government IS the kitsunes," Promestein chuckled. "The Monster Lord is a kitsune. The President is a kitsune. The Vice President is human, but has no power. Half of Parliament is kitsune. Three quarters of Nobel winners are kitsune. The Monster Lord may not have any official power, but rest assured, decisions like that don't get made without her being involved. "
"You make it sound as if it's all a big conspiracy," Ashley noted. "The kitsunes are wonderful people!"
"I'm a cynic, but I agree. It's not a big conspiracy. It's just that the kitsunes can be arrogant in their self-righteousness. They worried that the humans here and less intelligent monsters wouldn't be able to handle rapid change. They were also worried about social tensions caused by too many Earthmen flooding into our world. As you know, Earthmen are stronger and among humans, their descendants are also the elite. And most of their descendants also have monster blood. Remember, Earth has ten billion people. If immigration was easy, the native humans here would be swamped and wiped out. And given Earth's history, I wouldn't have held out much hope for monsters lasting very long either."
"But you still seem to think it was the wrong decision," Ben said. "Why?"
"Because it's already hard for Earthmen to come here," Promestein explained. "It requires being bound to a monster girl through sex, on their world. The sexual ritual allows the monster to instantly teleport a man to this world, and once bound to her, he can stay as long as he wishes."
"There's no way for human females from Earth to come here?" Emma asked.
"None that I've found," Promestein said. "I guess I could design a device that makes Earth women stable here. In an alternate timeline, we were once invaded from another dimension by beings that had such devices. So I know it can be done."
"Alternate timeline?" Emma asked, confused.
"Don't worry about it," Promestein replied. "It's not nearly as interesting as it sounds."
"So what's it like there?" Ben asked. "How much have they changed in the two hundred years since my family came here?"
"Not a ton," Promestein replied. "Time moves differently there. Since your ancestor arrived here, only thirty years have passed over there."
"Wait, that means I have ancestors there who are still alive?"
"Probably. As for the tech, it's pretty far beyond ours but unreliable. They never perfect anything before moving onto the next thing. They don't use tablets anymore, instead they use wicked cool brain implants to do nearly everything a tablet could do. The problem is that the implants are unreliable and malfunction constantly. And getting them serviced is difficult, expensive, and painful."
"I think I'd rather just have a tablet," Ben gulped.
"Even the tablets, because we've been using basically the same design for two thousand years, we've gotten really good at manufacturing them. They almost never crash, they last twenty years, and they never blow up while charging."
"Blow up?!" Ashley exclaimed, alarmed. "Tablets on Earth blow up!?"
"It's rare, but yes, it happens," Promestein answered. "They overheat and explode."
"Do the brain implants do that too?" Emma asked.
"Yep. It's quite a sight when it happens."
"So why doesn't our world have a name?" Ben asked.
"There's doesn't either, not really," Promestein answered. "They call it Earth, but that's just… earth. We have that word as well. We just don't name our world after it. But they have a name for our world, to distinguish it from their own. They call it…. Eden."
"After the goddess?" Ashley asked.
"Yes, and also after the legend of the Garden of Eden from their world. They think we're a paradise."
"It's easy to see why men would feel that way," Emma noted. "The second a tasty Earthman sets foot on this world, he's set upon by hungry monster girls wanting to drain him dry."
"Which was arousing, but also scary and dangerous back when the first Earthmen arrived here. But coexistence made this place safer for humans, which increased demands for immigration. Besides, the slower pace of change and the almost complete lack of poverty among humans in this world make it attractive for those wanting to escape the rat race that is Earth."
"So how did Luka get here?" Ashley asked.
"I brought him here," Promestein said with a smirk.
"You had sex with Luka?!" Emma asked, disbelieving.
"Several times, but Ilias was the one who actually did the ritual that brought him here."
"Ilias brought Luka here?!" Ben exclaimed. "Why in the world would she do that?!"
"To get him to kill the Monster Lord. And ultimately, she had ambitions to take his power so that she could become the ultimate being My job was to find someone with the magical potential to kill the Monster Lord. Her job was to bind her to him and get him to serve her purpose."
"We were never taught that in history class," Ben said. "That seems like a pretty significant thing to hide from us."
"Luka wrote about his experiences extensively," Promestein said. "I'm sure there are some rare copies of his books still in circulation, but the kitsunes stopped publication of them over a thousand years ago. They wanted to control the narrative around his legend. They are control freaks. Luka was a good man and he navigated incredibly complex situations with more skill and insight than a lot of smarter people would have. His books go into detail about his confusion, his self doubts, and his trauma."
"Some of which you caused, by the sound of it," Ashley said accusingly.
"I was behind most of it," Promestein confirmed. "But it wasn't just me. It seemed like the whole world was trying to hurt that boy. In the end, almost all of his enemies became his friends. That's a great story, and the kitsunes think it's a message the world can't handle. They needed to spread a tale of bravery and heroism, or good and evil, uncomplicated by the fear and doubt any real hero would experience in such a situation. They also didn't want to confuse people with stories of all his mistakes. The sad thing is, it was all so unnecessary. He was just as beloved a figure when people knew everything about him, warts and all."
"So I notice we're not searching for the ring right now," Ben noted. "Do you have any idea where to find it?"
"No," Promestein sighed. "I've got nothing. I went to get Angel Halo and we're going to get the spirits precisely because I have no real ideas. There is one thing…."
"One thing?" Ben asked. "What one thing?"
"We go directly to the source. We find Luka. And I think I know where to look. Yamatai Village."
"Well, why haven't we done that yet?!"
"Mainly because I don't think he's alive. And the one person who knows the answer to that question for sure doesn't like me very much."
"Does anyone like you?" Ashley asked.
Promestein had no answer for that.
The remainder of the journey to the ruins where Gnome resided was mostly uneventful. A scorpion girl had approached the group trying to see if she could get a little semen out of Ben, but Emma had pointed a gun at her and told her to keep walking. Ben didn't understand why Emma had been so hostile towards the woman. Emma explained that if Ben knew what scorpion girls were like he wouldn't ask that question. Ben's response was to wonder aloud why monster girls kept complaining about being stereotyped, even as they stereotyped each other. Emma had nothing to say to that.
During the journey, Ben had practiced his flying in preparation for a possible return trip by air. His aptitude truly was remarkable, Promestein observed. The desert was an ideal place for this sort of practice, as there were few obstacles to hit and the ground was much more forgiving to his rough landings. With luck, they might be spared a three day hike back to Sabasa. The group arrived at the ruins towards the end of the third day.
"So what happens now?" Ben asked. "Is it like Sylph, she'll come to us if she's interested in seeing us?"
"Assuming Promestein doesn't scare her away like she almost did Sylph," Ashley observed.
"I'd be offended, but Ashley's probably right," Promestein said. "The spirits really don't like me. But you have Sylph with you now. Gnome and Sylph are good friends."
Sylph emerged from Ben's body to look around. "Gnomey! Come out and play, Gnomey! I miss you!"
There was no response.
"Is Gnome even here?" Ben asked. "I mean, it's been forever since you two last spoke. Does she still live here?"
"She's here," Sylph replied. "But she's afraid. Not just of Promestein, but of something else. Gnomey! Whatever it is that you're afraid of here, you'll be safer with me and this boy! He's amazing! I can't wait to see what he does with your power!"
"What could Gnome be afraid of?" Promestein asked, now on guard, looking around. "I know she has a reputation for being a little cowardly, but she's one of the most powerful beings in existence."
"Oh, Gnomey is scared of her own shadow!" Sylph answered. "Not because her shadow can hurt her, but because it looks scary."
Gnome appeared suddenly, out of nowhere, before Sylph.
"Gnomey!" Sylph said joyfully. Gnome responded by smacking her.
"I'm sorry I called you cowardly, Gnomey!" Sylph said, rubbing her cheek. "Look, I brought a new friend! You should go with this guy."
Gnome turned to Ben and looked him over. She turned back to Sylph, shaking her head furiously.
"I know he's weak," Sylph countered. "but he has an incredible gift for the elements! He'll be fine, trust me! The world is in danger again. We're needed!"
Reluctantly, Gnome turned back to Ben. She seemed to struggle with her decision. Then, glancing around furtively, she did what Sylph had done, taking Ben's hand, touching his wrist, and entering his heart. Sylph reentered Ben. Man, that's a weird feeling, Ben thought.
"Now Ben," Promestein said cautiously. "Do you feel any different? Should we be afraid you'll turn into the Juggernaut or something?"
"I don't really feel different, no," Ben replied.
Emma walked up to Ben and punched him right in the jaw. His jaw didn't even budge. She grimaced in pain, as if she'd struck a brick wall, shaking her hand.
"Dammit, that hurt!" she said. "Yeah, I think it's safe to say that you're different now. Here, try to crush this rock."
Emma handed Ben a rather hard looking stone that she found on the ground. Ben experimentally squeezed. The rock almost immediately turned into dust in his hands.
"Oh my God!" he exclaimed. "I've got super strength! And I can fly!"
"I knew this was a good idea," Promestein said happily. "at this rate you'll be a threat to Zurith even without the Luka ring. I hope so, anyway."
Suddenly, the ground began to shake and sand began to shift around their feet. Alarmed, the group looked around for signs of danger.
"Are you doing that?" Emma asked. "Please tell me that's you."
"I don't know!" Ben answered. "I shot up into the air without warning when I got Sylph. Maybe this is just an aspect of my new earthpower?"
"it's not!" Sylph cried. "This is what Gnomey was afraid of!"
A dark figure slowly emerged from beneath the surface of the sand. It was a terrifying sight, Ben had to admit. The light just seemed to be absorbed into her body. All he could see on her were orange, glowing eyes. And then yellow, sharp teeth as the thing smiled lasiciviously at him.
"So you are the one who threatens my master," the thing hissed.
"Oh my God!" Ben exclaimed. "The barrier's broken!"
"Not yet!" Promestein said. "If it was, we'd be seeing thousands of them! It's weakening slowly, so some can get through."
"Yessssss..." the thing said, now fully emerged from the sand. "I am called Sinheresy. I am drawn to sin. The smell of it here is so delicious. My mission is twofold: to eliminate the threat to my master, and to find the delicious source of sin that I can smell among you. The overwhelming fragrance enabled me to penetrate the barrier. Soon, my brothers and sisters will come. And my master."
She moved threateningly towards Ben. Despite her fearsome appearance, there was a strange attractiveness to her as well. She seemed to sense Ben's emotions.
"Make it easy on yourself, boy," Sinheresy said. "Come to me, embrace me, and you shall know ecstasy before I send you to your eternal fate."
"You stay away from him!" Promestein raged, grabbing the thing by the arm. Sinheresy smiled and turned towards her, grabbing Promestein's other arm.
"Oh, your sin is delicious indeed!" Sinheresy said gleefully. "Let's see you as you truly are."
Promestein's face was frozen in a mask of horror, black corruption spreading through her veins as the demon held onto her tightly. Then Promestein's eyes began to glow.
"Yessssss…." Sinheresy laughed. "Your final destination is not in doubt. One day you shall serve my master. You will even outrank me. Your time will come soon, angel. But for today, I give you a glimpse of your true eternal form."
As her companions watched, frozen in horror and indecision, Promestein transformed into a creature that looked even more frightening than the demon. Saliva dripped from her fangs, her glowing eyes focused on Ben. Promestein began to advance on Ben. Sinheresy laughed.
"You travel in distinguished company," Sinheresy taunted. "That one's soul is one of the darkest I have ever tasted. Ah, but I see there is a succubus here. Let me taste your sin, girl!"
"No! Stay away from me!" Ashley cried out in terror, taking to the air and fleeing.
"Coward!" the demon taunted at her fleeing form. "It doesn't matter. We already have more succubi than we need in Hell. You are of no significance. I can wait for you."
Sinheresy turned towards Emma, who had quelled her terror enough to draw her sword. "Come get me, motherfucker!" Emma yelled. "I'm not afraid of you! You'll be the first of many demons I send straight back to hell!"
"Oooh, such violence in this one," Sinheresy purred. "I wonder what your sin tastes like?"
With a battle cry, Emma charged at the thing with her sword. Nonchalantly, it dodged. Emma was clearly still quite scared, because Ben saw that she was off balance after missing, something a warrior of her skill would never have had happen to her if she was in control of herself. Emma recovered quickly though, and struck again, this time more accurately. Sinheresy simply caught her sword arm.
"Oh yesssss…." Sinheresy chuckled. "You are a violent one indeed. Much resentment in your heart. And… guilt. What do you have to be so guilty about, as young as you are, little girl? Let me see deeper. Let me find your true form and show it to you."
Emma's face froze in terror as Promestein's had. Ben, focused on the slowly advancing Promestein, had his own problems and could not aid her. Nevertheless, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. He feared to see what she would become.
Emma's face began to change, the corruption entering her veins, her skin seeming to crack. But then a look of determination crossed her face, and the corruption subsided.
"You…. Don't… know… anything… about me!" she raged, and grabbed the demon's other arm.
Now it was the demon's turn to be frightened. Emma bore the demon down with all of her strength, forcing her to the ground. Wrestlng her sword arm free, she drove it into the demon's chest with a cry of rage. With a laugh, Sinheresy dissipated into a cloud of dust.
Desperately, Emma looked over to Ben. Ben was slowly backing away, Angel Halo drawn, as Promestein staggered towards him, her eyes filled with hunger. Emma had no idea what Promestein would do if she reached Ben, but decided that she really didn't want to find out. She drew a gun and aimed it at Promestein.
"No!" Ben shouted. "Don't kill her! Promestein, I know this isn't you! You need to fight this! I know you're still in there!"
Promestein only continued to advance on him, arms outstretched with gnarled claws, her mouth opening in a terrifying, sadistic grin. Ashley, seeing that the demon was no longer present, landed beside Emma.
"Strike her down, Ben!" Ashley shouted.
"Do it, Ben!" Emma agreed. "That's not Promestein anymore!"
"I think it is," Ashley said darkly. "That's exactly who she really is."
"I refuse to believe that!" Ben shouted. "Promestein, please! The world needs you! I need you! You wanted to make up for your past sins, well now's the time to start doing it! Fight that darkness inside you!"
If his words had reached her, she didn't show it. Her smile only grew wider as she continued to advance on him.
"Ben, you need to kill her! She's lost!"
With a cry of utter despair, Ben raised Angel Halo and slashed at his friend and mentor. The sword embedded itself in her side. Promestein cried out and collapsed onto the ground. As Ben stood over her, she changed back into the pretty, humanlike form he was more familiar with. He knelt beside her, shaking her.
"Promestein! Please tell me you're alive! Please don't be dead! I couldn't live with myself if I killed you!"
Slowly, her eyes opened. Ben hugged her close. "Oh, thank God! Thank God! You scared the hell out of me, Promestein!"
"Ben?" the angel asked, confused. "Oh no, Ben! I can't! Please, don't touch me!"
Without warning, she simply vanished. Ben was left holding air.
"What happened? Where did she go?!" Ben asked, begging Ashley or Emma for an answer.
"She teleported away," Emma said matter of factly. "I think she's gonna need some time."
"With luck, she won't come back," Ashley said angrily.
"As much as I sympathize with that sentiment," Emma agreed. "We need her. For now, there's nothing more that we can do. It's nightfall, now. Let's set up camp and we'll decide tomorrow how we're getting back to Sabasa. Then we'll figure things out from there."
Numbly, Ben nodded and the three remaining members of the group began to set up camp in the ruins.
Promestein returned that night just before Ben and the girls were about to go to sleep. Silently, unable to meet their stares, she sat down by the fire. Ben, growing uncomfortable with the silence, tried to break the ice.
"Do we need to set up watch tonight?" he asked. "is there anything that can surprise us, that your tablet can't see coming?"
"Hello!" Emma exclaimed. "Demons coming from under the ground!"
"Oh," Ben said sheepishly. "Sorry, I was just trying….
"I know what you're trying to do," Promestein said. "And you're really sweet, Ben. Emma's right. We'll probably need to set up watch shifts from now on. If one demon can get through now, there will be more. Ashley's right too. If my soul draws more of those things like a beacon, then I'm more of a danger to you than a help."
"Promestein, I know you said that you were a bad person a long time ago," Ben said. "but what was that, two thousand years ago? You're not that person anymore."
"Maybe not," Promestein conceded. "But until that demon touched me, I didn't realize just how little I've really changed. I never really faced the enormity of my crimes. I never felt an ounce of guilt over them. I just… moved on. I decided I wasn't that person anymore, so why dwell on the past? Now I realize that I can't truly move on without repentance. I have to face what I did."
"What did you do, exactly?" Emma asked. "Besides work for Ilias?"
"Most of what I did, I did while working for Ilias. I did a few bad things between working for Ilias and Luka, mostly on Earth, but nothing too awful. But the things I did in Ilias' name…."
"None of that matters now," Ben insisted. "You're trying to save the world now. You're one of the good guys."
"Bad people don't just become good, Ben," Ashley argued. "She said it herself. She never took the time to feel bad for what she did. I want to hear what is that she has to feel bad about."
Promestein seemed to consider for a moment, then sighed, her decision made.
"I'm going to confess all of my sins to you," she said. "It's going to take awhile. You'll have every right to hate me and never trust me after I tell it all. If you ask me to, I'll leave."
"Promestein, you don't have to do this," Ben urged.
"I do," she said with finality. "it's time for me to start facing up to the things I've done."
"Go on," Emma said, less hostile than Ashley but intrigued and frightened at what Promestein might tell them.
Promestein began her story. She told of her early experiments on living things, which eventually graduated to humans,angels, and monsters, and even experiments on herself. She told of the war, the drain labs, the trooperoids, the Next Dolls. She told of her sealing of the spirits and her attempt to capture Luka and perform cruel experiments on him. She told of the Six Ancestors Seal and how she betrayed even Ilias by using it on her. She told of how she fled to Earth to avoid justice, and her return when Luka needed her to help him save the world. She finished by telling of her final betrayal of Luka, a plot she had concocted to manipulate him into fighting the goddesses. She had thought it absolutely necessary at the time, but her theories of how Luka's power had worked could have been wrong. If they had been, he would have probably been killed or enslaved by the goddesses. The only person who had ever befriended her, she had made to suffer and then gambled his life for her own purposes. And just like that, he had forgiven her, as if all she had done was eaten his last donut without asking.
Emma's horror only grew as Promestein told the lengthy tale. Ashley didn't seem surprised at all. Ben was devastated.
"You're even more of a monster than I thought!" Ashley said, speaking first. "Given what I've heard of Ilias, I'm not surprised that she chose you. She always uses you to do her dirty work!"
"That's not what this is, at least not this time," Promestein whispered. "She doesn't want the world to be absorbed into hell anymore than you do. She lives here, too. Besides, she's not who she was either."
"You're right, Promestein," Ben said. "As awful as all that was, it was still two thousand years ago! I'm not God. I can't give you penance for the things that you've done. But I can decide whether or not to have faith in you now. And I do. For two thousand years, you've proved you're not the monster that you used to be. I'm sure I can trust you for another few days, or weeks, or however long it takes to save this world."
"Ben's right," Emma said. "Ashley, being with us puts you in a lot of danger. I know you don't trust or like Promestein. Frankly, I don't either. But this isn't the first time she's helped to save the world. By my count, she's saved it more times than she's tried to destroy it. I'm playing the odds. I'm trusting her. More importantly, I'm trusting Ben. Ben, if you decide that you want her to stay, I'll back you."
"As much as I don't like her," Ashley said. "I'm staying. I'm ashamed that I ran away from that…. That thing. I want to fight for my life, for this world, just like you two."
"Ashley, don't blame yourself," Ben said. "You're not a warrior. You were smart to fly away from her."
"Maybe," Ashley said. "But I left my friends behind. I'll never do that again. I swear to you. Never again."
Emma took Ashley's hand and squeezed it. "It's settled then," the dragonkin declared. "Ball's in your court now, angel. You're right that you can never atone for crimes of that enormity. All you can do is live every day as if you're trying to do just that. Then, if there's a true God out there, maybe he or she will judge you with mercy. All I know, is that demons are going to invade my world. They're going to attack those I care about. They will make this world burn. If you'll be my ally in preventing that, no matter what your real motives might be, I'll fight by your side."
"Thank you," Promestein said gratefully. "That means a lot. I'll try not to let you down."
"See that you don't," Ashley said coldly. "You can start by taking first watch. I'll take second."
"I'll take last," Emma said.
"What about me?" Ben asked.
"Humans need more sleep than dragonkin," Emma said. "Especially when they are being driven to critical ecstasy nearly every night by a succubus who needs to drain him for 'medical reasons.' Besides, it's my feeding night as well. So get those pants off."
With time now working against them, there was no choice but to get back to Sabasa as quickly as possible. Promestein said that she would teleport herself and Ashley back to the city and make travel arrangements to get to Noah at once. Undine's spring was their next stop. Ben would be flying Emma back.
"Don't be too worried about me, Ben," Emma said as she put her arms around Ben's neck and allowed him to hoist her up in his strong arms. "I'm really sturdy, as you saw in that caper in the city. I got shot twice and only suffered bruises. I can take a pretty rough fall as well. So just concentrate on your flying and don't worry about me."
Promestein and Ashley were already gone, presumably back in Sabasa and safe. Ben just had to make sure he pulled off the same feat. No problem, he thought. All I have to do is fly about fifty miles. At my speed, that's what? Thirty minutes? I could probably do it even faster. No, take it slow and easy, he thought.
Tentatively, he commanded the wind to give him lift, and just like that he was in the air, rising a moderate, controlled speed. Steering the wind back in the direction of Sabasa, he picked up some velocity and sped back towards the city.
"This is amazing!" Emma exulted as she held on tightly to him, her face inches from his.
"You're not afraid?" Ben shouted over the sound of the wind rushing past.
"Why would I be?" she asked. "I may not have wings like a full dragon, but genetically, dragons were bred for flight. This feels right! I wish I could fly!"
"Well, enjoy your short flight to Sabasa! I wish I could serve refreshments, but I'm afraid this is is budget seating!"