The Forsaken Hero

After crushing the final soldier, the elemental shed some of its bulk, leaving a heap of rubble and bloodied glass on the street. I looked up at the sky, searching for the skyship, and found it on the horizon. It hadn’t moved, and its cannons were still dark. There was no sign of powerful spells or magic circles, so I sighed and nodded.

”Good, they didn’t notice,” I breathed, slumping against the crumbling brick of a derelict bakery. ”Come on, let’s move.”

The elemental had shrunk somewhat, towering over me by a few heads. It was large enough to conceal me in its shadow but no longer loomed over the rooftops. In the darkness of the abandoned city, it would be invisible to anyone not directly before us.

Its footsteps were deafening in the silence of the desolate streets, and I winced each time a chunk of rubble crunched under its foot. As we pushed forward, I found myself glancing back nervously, gripping my staff with white knuckles. Even if the noise didn’t attract attention, a missing squadron of soldiers would certainly warrant investigation. The only question was how long before someone else found us.

Several streets later, I stumbled, color flashing before my eyes. Nausea gripped my stomach, and I fell against the elemental, bruising my shoulder against its side. Ghostly shouts and screams filled my ears, and phantom soldiers materialized mid-charge across the street, their spectral forms shimmering. I bit my lip, stifling a squeak, as one ran straight through me, his spear passing harmlessly through my chest.

”It’s down! Grab the girl!”

A woman’s voice, sharp and close, made me jump. I whirled around, but the phantoms had vanished. The alley was empty.

The disorientation passed, and I scrambled back to my feet. I scanned the street, my pointed ears twitching, straining for any sound. Nothing.

”Let’s go,” I whispered, instinctively reaching for the elemental’s hand. It hadn’t formed fingers, the stone cold against my fingertips, but its solid presence calmed my racing heart.

The clash of steel echoed through the streets, and I instinctively pressed closer to the elemental. A blast of sunlight erupted over the rooftops ahead, followed by panicked screams. The voices died in wet gurgles as a shockwave ripped through the houses, slamming against my wards.

My wards flared before I even realized it had hit us, and I shrieked, diving behind the elemental, my tail trembling. After a moment, I peeked between its legs and gasped. The row of houses had vanished, reduced to rubble and splinters. A thick cloud of smoke and dust obscured the street beyond, but another shockwave blew it apart, revealing a graceful, seventh-level woman with long black hair and piercing golden eyes. Her cloak was a brilliant white, unstained by the ash and grim of the ruined city, with a familiar golden sigil emblazoned on her breast. A High Inquisitor.

A dozen fifth and sixth-level inquisitors surrounded her, emitting a fierce aura of sunlight. They all looked older, but their smooth and fluid motions matched those of the seasoned warriors I’d known in the Last Light Company. Dozens of dying demons lay scattered around them, twitching feebly as sunpurge crawled over their bodies.

Despite the battle, they were completely at ease, laughing and joking with each other. This high inquisitor kicked a dying sixth-level demon before freezing. Her soul emitted a burst of aura, causing the others to stiffen, and she looked directly at me, her gaze piercing the ribbons of smoke and flame.

I shuddered as her lip curled in a smile.

”The gods have smiled on me to lead us to you so quickly,” she said, stalking toward me. ”I was beginning to think we’d have to fight through half the horde before finding you.”

”Who are you?” I asked, hiding behind my spirit.

She paused, looking me over, frowning slightly. ”High Inquisitor Allana, of Radia. But I don’t want my name tainted by your lips. Refer to me as my Lady, or High Inquisitor.”

She spoke with noble bearing, and my fingers twitched, barely suppressing the urge to curtsey. My tail swished audibly in the air behind me, and her frown deepened, she having missed nothing.

”I received word that Lord Alvin has secured the safety of the Life Hero. She can’t be threatened to earn your loyalty any longer, thus there is no longer any reason for you to remain with the demon horde. Come with me, and I shall see you receive fair treatment.”

She took a step forward, bringing the butt of her spear to rest on the twitching corpse of a demon. The sunpurge crusting its flesh crackled, filling the air with the scent of scorched flesh, and my skin crawled.

I shifted on my feet, adjusting my grip on my staff.

”What’s with that look?” she asked, eyes narrowed.

As I met her gaze, my chest tightened. The sunpurge hissed beneath her boot, and for a moment, I could feel its heat flicker across my body.

”I won’t go with you,” I managed to whisper.

A low murmur swept through the other inquisitors. Some of their eyebrows rose, but most just shook their heads. Allana’s face lost all expression.

”You, a filthblood slave, reject my authority?” she asked in a voice as cold as ice.

I shrank back, tail flicking furiously. ”I’m not a slave.”

Her eyes fell to my chest, which I covered with a trembling hand.

”A mistake I shall soon rectify,” she said, her eyes fixed on me again. ”You’ve proven dangerous without proper supervision, a sword as sharp as any in this world. Many advocate for your death, but I believe no sword is ever at fault, only wielders.”

She waved her free hand, and the inquisitors spread out, forming a loose semicircle around me.

”Even after everything you’ve done, I am willing to give you the chance to come to the light. So let me ask again: will you surrender yourself to me? Or are you determined to stand against this world?”

I shook my head, firming my quivering lip. ”You have no light for me to come to.”

She chuckled, a humorless sound. ”I suppose that old fool was right. You are a filthblood, after all.”

”Where are the others,” I asked, looking at the inquisitors surrounding me. ”You alone couldn’t have made it past Fyren.”

”Fyren? You named the demon?” Allana laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. ”To think such a naive, stupid child has evaded us for this long. I pity those who have fallen at your hands, and pray they shall, in their next life, outlive such dishonor.”

”My Lady,” one of the others said, ”I believe she’s stalling.”

The inquisitor was the second strongest among the group, his soul near the peak of the sixth level. He wore heavy plate armor and wielded a shield taller than I was, with a heavy mace in his other hand. The unique threads of an ability laced his mana, and his eyes seemed to pierce me to my core.

”I can’t get a good read on her soul; it’s like the Fate Hero’s, but her aura’s weak. Not more than a fifth-level spell in her,” he continued.

”Is that right, Dalen?” the high inquisitor asked, arching an eyebrow at me. ”Do you think that if you buy time, your precious demons are going to save you?” She let out a short, bitter bark of a laugh. ”You’re even more naive than I thought. No one’s going to rescue you, filthblood. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that my companions will break through that blasted fire demon. You’ll find they aren’t as kind or generous as I am.”

She waved her spear, her smile lingering a few seconds longer. ”Engage the spirit. Show her just how futile her resistance is.”

The inquisitors charged, crossing the distance between us in a blur of motion. The elemental met them head-on, ripping cobblestones and rubble from the street and adding to its bulk. The ground trembled, the street flowing toward it, but the inquisitors kept their balance, slowing only to dodge the flying debris.

I turned and ran as the spirit’s fists crashed into a pair of priests. The impact sent rubble pinging off my wards, but Dalen somehow got between the spirit and its prey, taking both hits on his shield. The impact shattered the street beneath his feet, but he didn’t falter. His mace whistled through the air, connecting with the spirit’s extended wrist. Cracks spider-webbed up its arm, and the spirit staggered back, summoning more earth to reinforce itself.

A blast of sunlight struck the elemental in the chest, forcing it to back another step. Rock and stone continued to clump to its body, but its strength waned as more attacks found their mark. It lashed out furiously, but Dalen was always there, protecting the more vulnerable from its titanic fists.

The spirit’s strength waned quickly. Since the first battle, it had lost almost a third of its remaining mana from the crystal enchantment’s drain. Now, against such competent opponents, its soul dwindled at a visible rate. I fled as far as I could, but I hadn’t even reached the next intersection before it collapsed into a heap of bloody rubble.

Allana smirked and gestured to me with her spear. ”It’s down. Grab the girl!”