The Broken Halo

Velmora’s northern gate closed behind the final wagon.

By then, the front of the convoy was already more than a kilometre ahead.

Thirty-five heavy wagons formed a long line across the northern road. Each one was pulled by two broad, six-legged beasts covered in dark leather armour and iron plates. The creatures moved at a steady pace, their wide feet striking the road with dull, heavy sounds.

The wagons had been divided into five sections.

Seven formed the front.

Seven guarded the rear.

The remaining twenty-one made up the main body of the convoy, with the most heavily protected wagons placed around the centre.

One hundred and forty recruits travelled with them.

They had been divided into thirty cores, but a core did not always contain the same number of demons. Most assault and defence cores had four or five members. Reconnaissance cores were often smaller, while support cores sometimes had six demons with different skills.

Assault Core Nineteen was one of the few exceptions.

It contained only Simon, Sonya, and Akaza.

Black Horn had kept them together because they already knew how one another fought, had accepted the same war oath, and possessed enough strength to make up for their smaller number.

The recruits were only a part of the convoy’s protection.

Almost two hundred Velmora soldiers moved beside the wagons. Some walked on both sides of the road, while others rode armoured beasts or stood on platforms built above the cargo.

Twenty-four Black Horn officers were spread throughout the convoy. Twelve formation masters travelled in protected wagons, along with healers, medicine workers, beast handlers, and other support personnel.

Simon also sensed four Greater Demon auras.

One moved near the front.

Another remained at the rear.

The third travelled close to the formation masters.

The final one was somewhere among the central wagons.

Those were only the demons who allowed their strength to be felt.

There could be more.

Assault cores moved along the outer sides of the convoy, where they could respond quickly to an attack. Defence cores remained closer to the wagons. Reconnaissance teams had already travelled ahead, while others moved across the distant hills on both sides of the road.

Support recruits stayed within the centre, protected by guards and several layers of formations.

Core Nineteen had been assigned to the eighteenth wagon.

It stood at the exact centre of the convoy.

A reinforced platform had been built above its covered cargo, giving the three demons a clear view of the road and the wagons around them.

Sonya sat at the front of the platform with her legs hanging over the edge. One palm rested against the wood beneath her, allowing her to feel the vibrations travelling through the wagon, the beasts, and the road.

Akaza stood near the back with his arms folded. His eyes moved repeatedly toward the distant hills, almost as if he was hoping something powerful would attack before the first day ended.

Simon remained on the left side of the platform.

The wind carried the sounds and scents of the convoy toward him.

Armoured beasts breathing.

Wheels grinding against stone.

Soldiers speaking quietly.

Metal chains shifting beneath the covered wagons.

Simon could also feel the movement of the air around every demon close to the central section.

For now, nothing appeared unusual.

Another assault core travelled beside the eighteenth wagon.

Assault Core Twenty-Two had four members.

The first was Joro, a male Kesh Demon with digitigrade legs, a thick tail covered in white bone rings, and short black fur growing from his elbows to his fingers. He was a Noble-blooded Supreme Archfiend with a High A grade metal affinity.

Smooth dark plates covered parts of his forearms, although Simon could not tell whether they were natural armour or something created through his affinity.

Beside him walked Dessa, a female Lume Demon.

Two translucent fins spread behind her jaw whenever she turned her head, and thin webbing connected her fingers. Her dark eyes had no visible pupils, making it difficult to know where she was looking.

She also possessed a Noble bloodline, a Prime Infernal Heart, making her a Prime Archfiend, and an Intermediate A grade water affinity.

The third member was Ossun, a broad Orrun Demon with a smooth shell-like plate covering his shoulders and upper back. His neck was almost as thick as his head, while his flat teeth looked better suited for crushing stone than tearing flesh.

He was a Noble-blooded Superior Archfiend with a High B grade earth affinity.

The final member was Pela.

She belonged to the Sile race and had long pale sensory strands instead of ordinary hair. The strands floated around her head, bending toward every change in the air.

Pela also possessed a Noble bloodline and was a Supreme Archfiend with a High A grade wind affinity.

Simon remembered seeing her during the affinity examination.

She was also the first among Core Twenty-Two to speak.

”So you’re Blackmoon.”

Her pale strands turned toward Simon with the wind.

Simon looked down at her from the wagon.

”Yes.”

Pela waited, perhaps expecting something more.

But nothing came. Only Simon’s indifferent and emotionless eyes.

Dessa glanced at her and smiled faintly.

”You made him sound more talkative.”

”I only said I wanted to meet the other wind user with an affinity higher than mine.”

Sonya turned her face toward them and looked at Pela with narrowed eyes, a dangerous glint flashing in her eyes.

”Are you trying to steal this Honourable’s little kitty?”

Pela blinked.

”Your what?”

”Little kitty.”

Simon closed his eyes briefly and ignored Sonya and the strange gazes he received from those who heard Sonya’s words.

Akaza looked away, though the slight movement of his jaw showed that he was amused.

Pela glanced from Sonya to Simon.

”Why do you call him that?”

Sonya tilted her head.

”Because I can?”

Pela frowned.

”That does not explain anything.”

”It explains everything,” Sonya scoffed.

Pela stared at her for several seconds before deciding not to continue.

Simon could not blame her though. Talking to Sonya could be really exhausting.

The convoy followed the northern road while Velmora’s walls slowly became smaller behind them.

The land outside the city was broad and uneven. Dry black grass grew between flat pieces of stone, and low hills stretched toward the north. Thin smoke rose from cracks in the ground farther away, carried upward by heat left behind by ancient underground fires.

Several fortified watchtowers stood along the first section of the road.

Velmora still controlled this part of the region closely.

That protection would weaken the farther they travelled.

The first day would take them toward the cracked lands.

The flooded basin waited beyond that.

Then came the forest filled with Dread Beasts and possible Calamity Beasts.

And Black Banner could attack anywhere along the way.

Simon shifted his attention toward the wagons.

Black Horn had continued moving cargo throughout the night. Several wagons now carried different covers, and the numbers engraved beneath their frames did not follow the order in which they had entered Velmora.

Some were deliberately heavier.

Others possessed formations that created false weight or concealed the energy of their cargo.

Even Simon could not identify the three cases from where he stood.

The Voice had been right about one thing.

Any wagon number given before the final inspection would have been useless.

Simon’s gaze moved toward the road ahead.

His War Tag rested against his chest, recording the position of Core Nineteen. If another section of the convoy came under pressure, the tag would direct them there and measure how quickly they responded.

As Blackmoon, Simon’s movements would be watched.

As the Outsider, he would eventually need to move without being watched at all.

He still had no complete plan for achieving both.

That did not trouble him though.

The convoy had only just left Velmora.

The Voice had not revealed the wagon, the attack point, or the rest of her forces. Korran had not revealed whatever was hidden inside the convoy either.

Every side still possessed pieces Simon had not seen.

A little more than an hour passed.

The final watchtower disappeared behind a low hill, and the city walls could no longer be seen from the central wagon.

Sonya stretched her arms above her head.

”How long until something interesting happens?”

”Hopefully never,” Dessa replied from below while giving Sonya a strange gaze.

Why would she want something that could endanger her life?

All because of fun and excitement?

Sonya frowned.

”What kind of boring demon hopes for that?”

”The kind protecting a convoy.”

Akaza glanced toward the hills.

”It won’t remain quiet.”

Simon agreed.

He was certain that too many demons wanted what these wagons carried.

Just as he had that thought, something moved inside his spatial ring.

Once.

Then again.

Simon’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The Murmur Bone had begun to vibrate.