The week passed slower than I anticipated. I spent it resting and training. Occasionally, when Mavie had a free hour, we wandered the city together. It was a wondrous place, but I was often preoccupied with the threat of death hanging over me.
On the morning of our departure for the Dead Zone, Mavie accompanied me as I waited for the carriage. She couldn't stop casting worried glances my way. Flynn leaned against a stone pillar without a care in the world.
Finally, I groaned. "Stop, Mavie. I'll be back the day after tomorrow."
Mavie bit her lip. "How can you say that? Some initiates never return, and some return in such a state they never graduate."
"I've prepared to kill demons my whole life. This will be a walk in the park." It would not be so easy, but I wanted to ease her concern. I wasn't comfortable with so much emotion.
Mavie tugged at her hair. "But what if there are too many demons?"
Flynn cut in before I could respond. "I'll make sure your knight in shining armor makes it out alive."
"I don't need your help."
Flynn pushed off the pillar and strode over. "We'll see what you say once we get in there." He leaned in so his soft breath hit my face. It smelled of coffee and honey. "You might change your mind."
I rolled my eyes. "Not likely."
Mavie grabbed my arm, eyes wide. "You'll stand a much better chance at surviving together."
I slipped from her grip, but couldn't hide from her eyes. For her benefit I said, "We'll see."
Shortly after, a small carriage rattled to a stop before us. We climbed inside and Mavie waved until we rolled out of sight.
"You managed to find a girlfriend fast," Flynn commented from his seat across from me. The carriage was cramped, even with only two of us.
"What? Mavie's not my girlfriend," I said. I wasn't even sure I liked girls. Or boys. My father hadn't exactly provided time to explore my romantic inclinations.
"Not yet," he countered. His knee bounced against mine and I jerked away.
"Well, do you have a girlfriend?" I asked. His cheeks reddened and he looked away. I grinned. "You don't. Bet you've never even kissed anyone!"
"If I hadn't it wouldn't be surprising. There aren't exactly a ton of reasonable options on the Islands."
I peered at him. "You never visited the brothels?"
He stared out the window at the passing grassland. "That sort of thing never seemed right to me."
Once again, I'd pushed too far. I ducked my head, but his gaze returned to mine. "You were wrong about me never kissing a girl." It was his turn to smirk. "But I'd bet you never have."
"Seems like a waste of time to me. I've got demons to fight," I said. And evil men to kill. We lapsed into silence for the remainder of the ride.
It was an hour before noon by the time we arrived at the Dead Zone. The Monik was nowhere in sight, but a gaggle of Holy Knights stood by a guard tower. There were many guard towers around the Dead Zone, and a few, like this one, protected gates.
A Holy Knight with blond hair and a smile that glowed with the light of the sun approached us. He shook my hand, then Flynn's. "It's nice to meet the two stars of all this. Your scores were spectacular, I'm looking forward to you joining my Parish's ranks."
"You're a Parish leader, then?" I asked.
The man nodded. "I'm Arawn, leader of the two hundred and twenty second Parish."
"Is my brother here?" Flynn stared past the man, at the other Holy Knights who milled about.
The man shook his head. "Only Holy Knights and testing initiates are allowed out here. But you'll see him soon enough, so long as you survive." He said it with a laugh, but these words made me tense. Maybe Mavie was right to worry. In a low, conspiratorial tone he said, "You'll have the best luck surviving together. I don't recommend splitting up." Flynn's gaze slid to me. I refused to meet it. I would not need his help.
Arawn led us to the gate. He told us that our goal was to reach the center of the Zone and retrieve pieces of demonite stone to prove we completed the journey. It should take us a day to travel in and a day to travel back out. A healer would be ready upon our return.
He handed us each a sword. It wasn't angelite, but it would be enough to send a mongrel demon back to its Realm.
"Good luck," Arawn said. Flynn and I exchanged a look as the gate clanged open. I took the first step inside.
*****
My boots sunk into dead grass. Everything was dead. Spread out before us was a forest of blackened trees. Some of the trees kneeled over on the black ground and a few corpses of birds scattered across the land. Flynn stepped up beside me and the gate clanged shut behind us. I clutched the hilt of my sword.
Flynn cleared his throat and pulled out a map we had been provided with earlier in the week. I already studied mine enough. I set off towards the center and slightly left. The map crinkled behind me as Flynn refolded it. His grass crunched under his quick steps.
"Where are you going?" Flynn asked.
I didn't stop, didn't look back. "Where do you think?"
In three big steps, Flynn caught up with me. Damn his long legs. "We should travel by the wall. It's made of angelite and might repel demons."
"I know what it's made of."
"Then why are you walking into the center of the Dead Zone?"
"It'll be faster. I want to be out of here as soon as possible," I said.
He stepped in front of me, forcing me to stop. "So do I, but it's too dangerous. We need to stick to the wall."
I glared up at him, hands on my hips. "Then stick to the wall. I don't need your extra weight."
Flynn glared back. "The Holy Knight said-"
I cut him off, throwing my hands in the air. "I don't care. A few mongrel demons don't scare me."
His face darkened. "They should." I could handle whatever this place had to throw at me. Flynn could stick to his plan and I could stick to mine. I didn't want to travel with such a stuck-up failed Cadet anyway. Besides, I'd have to remove my chest bindings at some point. Being alone would make my life easier.
"I don't care what you do. I'm going this way." I stepped around him and stomped off. The dead trees wound together above me, blocking out most of the sunlight. A beat later, Flynn's footsteps followed after me. I'm ashamed to admit a small, very small, part, of me was relieved. Despite my bluster, fear lingered in the dark parts of my mind. Or maybe the sensible parts.
We walked in silence. Occasionally, a distant shriek echoed through the air. I held my sword, never once sheathing it. Flynn did the same, but he was mad. He made it obvious from the way he shuffled along and kept shooting glares at me. But I already told him to kick rocks. His feelings and safety were not my responsibility.
We trekked throughout the day and stopped only to grab our dried meat and bread for lunch. At least the shade of the twisted limbs from the trees kept us cool.
I didn't drink a ton of water, but after hours of walking, I had to pee. I ignored it. I would have to pee sometime, but I wasn't quite sure how. I mean, I knew how. What I didn't know was how I would escape Flynn long enough to do my business without suspicion.
I managed to push it off for about an hour, until Flynn said, "We need to stop for a minute."
I paused. A break sounded like a wonderful idea, but we still had a lot of ground to cover. And the shrieks in the distance had only grown closer. Flynn dropped his backpack to the ground.
"Make it quick," I grumbled, dropping to the dirt beside his pack. I still had my sword, and could be up in an instant. We could spare a minute of rest.
"Yeah sure." Flynn turned away and began tugging down his trousers. I squealed in the most unfortunately lady-like way.
"Not here, moron," I squawked.
Flynn shook his head. "It's fine. We're leaving in a second anyway."
I covered my eyes, face blooming red. "I don't want to see your ass, and I don't want to hear you piss."
Flynn sighed and grumbled under his breath. But he walked behind a fallen tree. I opened my eyes and let loose a sigh of relief. I could just make out his dark hair through the branches.
Might as well get my business done too. I ducked behind a trunk several yards away from our packs. It was uncomfortable and I did my business quickly. I was retying my trousers when heavy footsteps pounded around the corner. Something lumbered into sight.
Before I had a conscious thought, I shot a ball of dirt at the thing. A second later, I processed what had come after me. Rather, who. The dirt hit Flynn square in the stomach.
He leaned over with a groan. "What the hell?"
"It was instinct. You shouldn't sneak up on people like that." I declared as way of apology.
"I'm not the problem here. You hit me!" He still clutched his stomach.
"Why'd you creep on me?" I challenged.
He sighed and straightened with a wince. "You disappeared. Tell me next time you're going to run off like that."
My face burned. "I had to pee."
He rolled his eyes. "I got that. Man, you're pretty weird." I frowned and Flynn shook his head. "Come on. There should be a cave in another hour's walk. We can stop there for the night."
"We can walk for more than another hour," I said.
"Maybe. But demons prefer the night, and I don't fancy giving up our only easily defensible spot," he said.
It made sense. I guess. I nodded and we returned to our packs. I scooped mine up and slung it over my shoulders.
Grass crackled in the shadows. I exchanged a look with Flynn. Demons? Or the wind? He watched the shadows. I couldn't find a hint of movement.
"Let's go," I said. The sooner we got out of the forest the better. Flynn nodded and followed after me, but didn't stop eyeing the shadows. Another crunch. Definitely not the wind. I walked faster.
*****
About fifty yards beyond the edge of the forest, boulders spread out around the cave entrance. Whatever had followed us in the forest was nowhere to be seen in the open space around it. The sun had only begun to set, but shadows seemed to spill from the cave's mouth.
Flynn took the first step inside. Within a few steps, we were plunged into darkness. I turned around, and the dim glow on the dying sun barely penetrated the entrance.
"You're certain you want to sleep here?" I asked.
"It's our best option, since we didn't stick to the wall," he said. I stayed silent. After a moment he asked, "You still there?"
"Where else would I be?"
"There's no telling. You seemed pretty keen on running off by yourself earlier." A hand clamped around my wrist and I swallowed my scream.
"Tell me next time you're going to do that," I whispered. I don't know why I felt the need to whisper. Cold crept down my spine as we rounded a corner.
Flynn's voice lowered. "Sorry." He stopped and I reached my hand out. We'd reached the back wall of the cave. He sighed. "Too bad neither of us have magic fire."
"I can make a fire," I said. I had collected some of the dead branches along the way and tucked them into my pockets and pack.
"Then what are you waiting for?" Flynn asked. I glanced behind us. I couldn't see the outside. We were far enough in that our light wouldn't reach the entrance.
I dropped into a squat and began. Flynn wandered back towards the entrance to grab some logs. I couldn't see, so I worked by feel and memory. Luckily, my father had trained me blindfolded. I knew what I was doing. Soon, a spark caught my kindling.
Finally, I could see. I sat inside a roomy cavern with a tall roof. My shoulders loosened; they'd been tight all day. It was good to have some light. And some warmth. The cave was significantly cooler than outside. I wrapped my arms around me and leaned back.
My back bumped into something soft. It fell sideways. I whirled around, on my feet and sword at the ready. A scream stuck in my throat.
A corpse stared up at me. A human corpse, with bright blue eyes and yellow hair. His mouth hung open, his eyes wide. He had died mid scream. I stumbled back, gaze shifting wildly around. The body was fresh. No rot had taken hold.
A shuffling in the cave entrance. I swung my sword in that direction, but Flynn said, "It's me."
I didn't lower my sword as he stepped into the dim glow of firelight. His gaze landed on the corpse. Logs clattered to the ground as he rushed over. He dropped to his knees beside the body. Checked his pulse. There was no pulse to find.
"I knew him," Flynn murmured. "His name is Erik. He was an initiate with me. Came in six months ago. Guess we know why he never came back out." He closed the boy's piercing eyes.
"Six months? But there's no rot. How could that be?" I asked.
Flynn's gaze shifted to me. "You've never seen what demons do to humans." It wasn't a question, but it put me on the defensive.
"Demons consume humans."
Flynn tilted his head. "In a way. Demons consume human souls, not their flesh. They have little use for flesh."
Apparently my father glossed over the demon's exact methods. His goals relied more on human death so it must not have mattered to him. My horror overrode any embarrassment. "Their soul? What happens to the person?"
Flynn gestured to the dead boy. "Sometimes, a soul can still be saved if the demon is killed with Holy Fire. But only if it happens very quickly. It's too late for him."
I leaned against the back wall and wiped a hand across my brow. "We need to get out of here."
"It's not safe out there," he said. Shrieks of demons beyond the confines of the cave drove home his point.
"It's not safe in here," I countered.
"We have cover in here. There's too many of them and too few of us for a fight out there." He ran a hand through his hair. "We'll sleep in shifts. We can make this work."
I insisted we travel straight through the demon's land. Maybe he was right about sticking close to the wall. I didn't want to be the one to make a bad decision again. "Fine. But we're moving the body over there." I pointed to the darkness just beyond the light my small fire cast.
Flynn nodded. I stood and took hold of the corpse's arms while he grabbed his legs. Erik's skin was icy and so stiff it didn't even shift as we moved it. We settled it into the darkness. Something large fell from his pocket and clashed against the stone floor. Flynn knelt beside Erik to pray over his soul. I wasn't sure how much help that would be, if a demon had already consumed it.
I scooped up the fallen object. It was smooth, cold, and fit into my palm. I walked into the light. It was a jagged chunk of rock, darker than anything I'd seen before.
"Demonite," I whispered.
Flynn stepped up beside me. "It looks like it," he said slowly. "Though it could be something else."
"We're still better off completing the mission."
"If we're wrong, and it's not what they want, we'll be disallowed from ever becoming Clunaics," he said. He was right, but still, the temptation to risk it and ensure the fastest possible return clawed at me. I tucked it into my pocket.
"We leave at first light." I settled against the back wall. I couldn't wait for morning. Every part of me sat on edge.
Still, it was better, with darkness hiding the horror. Hiding what could happen to us, if we were unlucky.
Flynn sat beside me. "First light," he repeated.
*****
Neither of us slept. We tried, we had shifts, but we couldn't sleep. And so, when the sun was close to beginning its climb into the sky and something dragged its way into the cave entrance, we were both wide awake.
I climbed to a crouch, sword out. My free hand pressed tight against the ground. I fed it mana, urging its mana to mix with my own. Sweat broke on my brow as the thing crept closer.
Flynn stood, sword raised. We could take a single demon. It would be nothing between us.
When the thing strode into the light, I gasped. Her skin was smooth and spotless. She did not smell of death and wore clothes made of grass. Horns curled along her head and leathery wings folded along her back. She smiled with pearly white teeth. This was no mongrel.
"I was wondering when they would send me another batch of young to feast upon," she said. Her voice was melodic and so close to human.
Flynn's arm trembled. "You killed Erik?"
The demon extended long claws from her fingers. "Honey, I don't know their names. I just know the taste of their souls."
She launched herself at us. I shot up and the rock obeyed my command. It broke into a wave that knocked into her. It kept her back, but not down. She hissed and leaped atop the rock wall. I sent as many shards of rock flying after her as I could, but she was quick. Few met their target as she leaped through the air.
She dropped towards Flynn. He swung his sword. She blocked with her forearm and the blade left a deep slice. It didn't faze her. She landed and swung her claws at him. He ducked and swung his sword up, missing by inches. We could kill her, if we were just a little faster.
I jumped in from behind, striking fast. The demon leaped into the air and unfurled her wings. I stopped; my sword now aimed at Flynn. He spun so he could follow the demon's flight. She leered down at us.
"You children are always so confident. It's delicious." She raised her hands above her head. Roots burst from the rubble I had created earlier.
"Magic?" The word burst from me. Magic was not unheard of, but rare for demons.
The demon shoved her arms towards us and the roots attacked. They shot towards us fast as lightning. I slashed through the first, and the second. The third wrapped itself around my ankle and jerked. I fell, smashing my head into stone. Another root tangled itself around my sword and tugged. I clung to it with all my strength, but the root around my ankle moved. It rose into the air until I dangled upside-down. My head brushed the stone floor and my sword arm ached as I struggled to hold on.
Flynn still stood against a wall, but a root wound itself up his leg and torso. It reached for his neck.
The demon shrieked and the root shook me. My arm burned at the roots tugged me and my sword in opposite directions, but to give up would mean death. In a split second, I let go of my sword and grabbed my dagger. I unsheathed it and slashed at the root holding my other arm. It sliced clean through and the root shrunk back.
I curled upward, slicing at the root around my ankle. It quivered and danced out of my reach. My ankle snapped. I bit back my scream. The root shook me and bumped my head against the stone over and over. My head rang and stars crossed my vision. I couldn't reach. I tried to place my palm against the ground, but I swung about too much to make contact.
Against the wall, the root slipped around Flynn's neck and he tugged at it with his bare hands. His dagger and sword lay strewn just out of reach. His face grew purple and veins prominent across his forehead.
The demon landed with a heavy thump between us. I struggled to breathe through the searing pain as I concealed my dagger against my wrist. She ran a hand along Flynn's cheek. He went limp at her touch and I screamed.
She released him and turned to me. "Delightful. It's been too long since I've had the delicate soul of a child. The question is, which of you should I enjoy first?" She strode towards me. My heart pounded in my head. One chance. Strike true.
She reached a hand towards my face. I swung my dagger. One chance. I struck her in the chest, where her heart would be if she had one. She jumped back and my dagger went with her.
Crimson blood spilled down her chest. She screamed, jerked my dagger from her skin, and threw it to the ground. The roots slackened and I slipped free. I landed on the broken stone hard on my back. The world swum before me as I sat up. Flynn slumped against the wall, but his eyes followed me. He was weak, but alive. Thank the angels.
I pushed myself up. My ankle screamed in pain and nearly buckled under my weight. I grit my teeth and let my right leg hold most of my weight. It still hurt immensely, but I didn't have much time to think about it.
The demon glared at me. The gash across her chest was already healed. Impossible. Not even demons should be able to heal that fast.
The horror must have shown in my face because she sneered at me. "You thought a dagger could kill me? I'm not some mongrel demon."
She was far more than a mongrel demon. Far more than what we had been warned awaited us in the Dead Zone. She shouldn't have been able to slip through the tear. She was too powerful; her magic shouldn't have been able to fit into our realm.
I didn't know what to do, so I kept her talking. "How did you get through?" Flynn inched across the ground towards his sword.
The demon examined me. Then she struck. Five deep scratches across my cheek. I was too slow, too hurt. I stumbled and tried to retaliate, swung my fist at her face, but roots entrapped my legs. The agony in my ankle brought me to my knees. More roots swarmed me, pinning me to the ground. My cheek wept blood against the stone floor.
My vision darkened and spotted. No, now was not the time to faint. I concentrated on the mana pooled within me and forced it into the stone. It was an uphill battle, but one I was desperate to win.
The demon crouched in front of me. "I'm going to enjoy playing with you. I suppose I should thank you for making my choice for me."
I begged the stone to obey. I begged it to run over her feet and trap her. Slowly, it listened. It crept up her boots, little by little.
She grabbed my chin and forced my gaze to hers. I fought her hold but it was pointless. "You want to know how I got here? It's simple. I came as a lower-level demon and grew more powerful. Too powerful to return to the Demonic Realm. But don't worry, I won't be alone for much longer. Lucifer will send more like me, more ready to grow. Then we'll cage your people. Keep them like you keep cows." She grinned down at me. "It's a shame you won't be around to see it."
Before her next words, a gleaming sword protruded from her neck, a good few inches into her flesh. Blood spurted. She shrieked and tried to spin, but my stone held her fast. She tripped and turned for me, claws outstretched as blood oozed down her neck. The injury should have been more than fatal, but seems only to inconvenience her.
Flynn sliced through the roots that held me pinned. He rolled me out of her reach and hauled me up, weak though he was. His entire body trembled and his eyes were bloodshot.
"Can you run?" He asked.
I shook my head. "Can you?"
He didn't need to answer. It was obvious enough. Neither of us were in running condition. We were barely able to walk. I spared the second it took to grab my dagger, and we were off. The demon wailed after us. We had to move quickly.
"We need healers," Flynn said.
"But the demonite," I protested. It was a weak objection. The demon was still alive and would be after us before long. We wouldn't escape a second time.
Flynn swung an arm around me, for balance and support. "They'll understand. They have to." I wasn't sure they would. But my ankle was on fire and I was in no condition to argue. I leaned into him.
We stepped into the light of a rising sun, holding each other together.