“Because she’s not evil,” Nalyx told the captain, keeping his voice calm and steady. For the moment, he didn’t make a move for his sword, hoping they could settle this with words and reason instead. “They’re people, just like you or me. They’re not demons. Their world is dying, and they’re just trying to find a way to survive.”
“Have you been brainwashed, or are you just blind? Fire-breathing dogs? Flaming unicorns? Enormous black dragons? These creatures are spat out of the mouth of hell itself, and if this vile female has convinced you otherwise, it’s because she’s used some kind of hypnotism on you. Well, perhaps it was a mistake to bring her into town, after all. If that’s what she’s capable of, she’d best be kept well away from our own citizens.”
“How did you know we were going to be here?” Nalyx asked, trying to distract the captain. Gantalla and Alithmain were cautiously edging away from them both, but if they moved too far or too fast, he knew Leefe would be all over them in a heartbeat.
“I noticed the key missing,” Leefe said, his tone smooth and patronising. “And given you were the only one in my room today, it wasn’t hard to figure out where it had gone. But the better question waswhyyou’d steal it. So I thought I’d come and see for myself. I must say, I am surprised. A warrior of the gate helping a demon to escape. Have you completely lost your mind?”
“The demons mean us no harm,” Nalyx tried again. It wasn’t likely the captain was going to listen, but he at least had to try. “The only reason they fight us is because we keep trying to kill them. We should try having a conversation with them. Find out what they really want. Negotiate peace.”
Captain Leefe chuckled, though it was a harsh, cold sound. “I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous. I’ve spent my entire life defending that gate, and I’m not about to just turn around and let the hoards swarm all over us now.
“And you, Gantalla,” he said, turning to her next. “You’re that last person I expected to find in a situation like this. You were offered marriage to one of my finest warriors. You’d just throw that all away for this foul creature? It’s a good thing we delayed that wedding after all. You don’t deserve Hallix.”
“I’d say quite the opposite is true,” Gantalla said, not sounding the least bit cowed by his denouncement. “I think he’s the one that doesn’t deserve me.” She said nothing more, but Nalyx felt every muscle in his body tense in fear. From the sounds of it, Leefe hadn’t yet worked out what Gantalla was, but any stray word might tip him off. For Gantalla’s part, her silence was the wiser choice.
“So now what, Nalyx?” Captain Leefe asked. “What’s the next step in this brilliant plan of yours?”
“Now you let us walk away. Gantalla and the demon will leave town. You’ll never see them again. And in the morning, we simply say that the demon used some sort of magic to let herself out of the cage. I will not stand by to see either of them harmed.” Captain Leefe was going to refuse his offer, Nalyx knew without a shadow of a doubt. But the question was, what the hell was Nalyx going to do about it?
A look of disappointment settled on Leefe’s face. He slowly drew his sword. “Stand aside, Nalyx. You’re a fine warrior, and we can still work this out between us. But the demon has to die.”
Nalyx drew his own sword, planting himself firmly between Leefe and the two women. “Not on my watch.”
Seeing that trying to reason with Nalyx wasn’t going to work for him, Leefe’s lips drew back in a smug smirk. “So that’s the way of it, then? You can’t fight me. You couldn’t best me on a normal day, but with your shoulder injured, you don’t stand a chance. Stand down, soldier. And let me do what’s right for this town and slay that demon.”
“You don’t think I can best you?” Nalyx asked, forcing some of his usual cockiness into his voice. “Well, that’s a bet I’m willing to take.” He was bluffing and they both knew it. All he was really doing was buying time, trying to come up with some other plan, or perhaps just praying for a miracle. At the very least, he could fight the captain to give Gantalla and Alithmain time to run away.
“I don’t want to kill you, Nalyx,” Leefe said. “But I will if I have to.”
“Funny,” a voice said, from somewhere over to Nalyx’s right. “I was about to say the same thing.”
Nalyx spun around, seeing half a dozen shadows emerge from the dim corners of the square. A glance over his shoulder revealed more, coming from the other direction, and he cursed blackly, before swinging his attention back to Leefe. Who the fuck were these newcomers? How had they known they were going to be here? And more importantly, whose side were they on? As they stepped further out of the shadows, he could see that each of them wore a hooded cloak, their faces hidden from view. He thought he recognised the voice of the woman who had spoken, but in his panic, he couldn’t quite place it.
“Who the hell are you?” Leefe asked, a note of fear in his voice for the first time, and that, at least, was reassuring. If he hadn’t brought these others here, they were likely on Gantalla’s side. And then Nalyx realised who they were. Other demons, residents of the town, who had somehow found out about their plan to free Alithmain. He backed himself up towards Gantalla, preparing to defend her and her sister from whatever happened next.
◊ ◊ ◊
Gantalla watched in astonishment as the hooded figures closed ranks on them. The woman who’d spoken threw back the hood of her cloak, revealing the jet-black face of a salas, complete with horns curving up from her head.Gosta. Praise the gods, she’d come to help. But an aging woman was no match for the captain, albeit that she was from one of the fiercest races of Chalandros.
Another man threw back his hood – another salas, though Gantalla could tell from the way his black skin was fading to grey that he was well advanced in years. More figures revealed themselves. A rodolan, his skin dim blue in the darkness; two deelees, red with black stripes across their faces. Then a man who appeared to be nothing more than shadow and smoke, his face barely visible in the darkness. But his eyes blazed red, flickering like the flames of a fire. Gods above, he was an infernal! She hadn’t seen one of those in years!
And then the last one, and Gantalla instantly recognised her as Kit, the witch from the jewellery store. Beside her stood the large dog who’d guarded her shop, and as Gantalla watched, the dog changed forms, becoming lean and black, with blazing eyes and legs that were longer than an ordinary dog. A fire-dog. She’d known there was something odd about him from the moment she’d met him.
“I’ll kill the lot of you!” Leefe snarled, readying himself for battle. “You don’t scare me. I’ve killed thousands of your kind!”
“No doubt you have,” Kit said, holding out her hands. “But you cannot fight if you cannot move.” Light surged from the ends of her fingers, swirling across the square and engulfing the captain. He fought the magic, but it was a futile battle. A moment later, he was frozen to the spot, his sword still raised to attack, his mouth half open. Only his eyes moved, as he looked from one figure to the next in terror.
With his head held low and a growl rumbling from his throat, the fire-dog approached the captain. He made a hacking sound, then vomited a glowing coal from deep in his belly. In battle, the dogs could regurgitate great plumes of fire. Clearly this one was keeping careful control of his powers, issuing a threat, but not intending immediate harm.
“Last chance, Captain,” Gosta said, taking a step closer. “We don’t wish to harm you. But we cannot allow you to harm our sister.”
Kit allowed the magic to retreat a little, letting the captain speak. “You can all rot in hell, you fuckingdemons!” He attempted to swing his sword, but his arm moved only an inch or two before the magic tightened, holding him fast.
The infernal stepped forward, and Gantalla cringed as she saw what was coming. Fire-dogs could create fire, but infernals were elementals, able to manipulate flame at will. The man reached down towards the coal and sparks leapt up into his hand. He raised his arm, the flames swirling into a fiery ball. “Godspeed, Captain Leefe,” he said. “May you find peace on the other side.” The flames shot forwards, engulfing the captain in a raging fire. His clothes caught first, then his hair, and Gantalla forced herself to watch as his skin melted off, his mouth frozen open in an endless, silent scream.
Finally, Kit called the swirls of magic back to herself, and Leefe’s blackened body crumpled to the ground, now little more than a charred and smoking pile. They all stood in silence, expressions grim as they stared at the fallen captain.
“Thank you,” Gantalla said, though her voice trembled. “I’m sorry you had to do that,” she said to the infernal. “It couldn’t have been easy.”
