I was so engrossed in their practice that I hadn’t noticed someone sit next to me until they spoke. I startled, looking over to see the guard from the other day.
“Oh, hey. I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name before,” I said, moving over a bit to make room for her.
She watched the training I’d been engrossed in a moment before. I let her stay silent, recognizing that she had a lot on her mind. “I’m Amayah. I’m the commander of this troop, and second in command of the army for thePax. I saw you sitting over here for a while and figured I’d come see what youthought, since you’re the newest to this organization. I hear you have combat experience, too?”
I wondered where she was going with this. “Who in Hell doesn’t have combat experience?” I started slowly, “It was drilled into us. It has been a bit weird not to have been training for the last few days,” I admitted.
“I bet.” Amayah focused her attention on me. “What have you gleaned from watching our soldiers so far?”
I told her what I had been thinking right before she sat down with me. I asked her what these new battle strategies were as well.
“Something we have learned since being so near to humans is that war is uncivilized, and any strategy we can come up with that will help us fight more efficiently and effectively should be trained.” She stretched her arms above her head, working to relieve aching muscles. “Our soldiers are currently practicing some mixed martial arts. Human fighting styles like Krav Maga and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are combined with some of our fighting practices from back home such as weapons and magic additions. I would hazard a guess that you would probably pick it up quicker than most, since you’re likely in better shape than these fucks are. Would you be interested in learning?” she asked.
I was itching to go train with them, but I didn’t want to show my cards too soon. “I’ll have to think on it. Do I want to? Yes. But I am wondering if I’m best suited now to figuring out who’s murderingPaxmembers,” I replied.
“Why not both? There’s not a ton we can do right now while we wait for more info from the top and from the Moirai,” Amayah said.
“What have you learned so far?” I asked. I wasn’t expecting her to answer me, since the last time we spoke, she was mistrustful of my intentions. Rightfully so. I didn’t want or expect anyone to immediately treat me with respect.
“Not much. The Demon who died was named Jasper. He was born on Earth, but his parentage was unknown. He was adopted by a family about thirty years ago who are demanding justice. Jasper was well-known for his quirks. He was goofy, but he was a hard worker,” she said as she choked up toward the end of her sentence. I started to reach out, but brought my hand back down into my lap. I wasn’t sure she’d want comfort from someone she didn’t know.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I breathed. I wrung my hands in my lap, not quite sure how to soothe a stranger.
“Thank you. I was not close to him since our ages were vastly different, but he was a good Demon and didn’t deserve this,” she replied, her gaze distant. I wasn’t certain she was only thinking about Jasper. Grief was a bitch.
“I’ll tell you what, Amayah. I will train with you tomorrow, but for today, why don’t you take me to meet his family? I may not have known him, but I would love to know more. Maybe it will help me figure out where to start,” I said.
Amayah stood, offering me her hand. “I’d be happy to.”
“Tell me more,” I said to Jasper’s mom, reaching out to hold her hand in support. She’d been telling me about Jasper’s life, and about growing up as the first Demon born on Earth.
She clutched my hand. Her strength was immense, and I’d expect no less from a Demon of Belial’s line. Wiping away a tear with the handkerchief her husband had handed her, she said, “Jasper was exceptional, as many Faustian Demons are. He didn’t have it easy growing up, much as we’d have liked.”
Faustian Demons were known for being mischief makers, often making deals with humans for their souls in exchange for their greatest desires. The most famous of these Demons was Mephistopheles. Last I’d heard, he was in Hell under Mammon’s jurisdiction, still making deals with humans who lacked the skills to understand a good contract.
“If he was born here, how was his life difficult?” I asked.
“It was still early into thePaxwhen he was born. We didn’t yet know how to handle education, since there were other births years after his in the other Factions. We knew these children needed to learn about the ways of life for the other Factions while also growing up in community with their own.” She gathered herself, grief evident in her posture.
“I’m sure you know that having children for most magical beings is rare, and many of the children who grew up with him were Human. He didn’t have many friends because of the stigmas placed on Demons, and his birth brought another round of ontological arguments about what personhood was. Demons wondered if he was truly a Demon because he was born on Earth, whereas Humans couldn’t decide if he had the rights to an education. Did he have the same intelligence? Did intelligence matter? It was awful.” She sniffed.
I deflated. “Wow. I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been for you all. I researched the education system before I got here. How did we go from that to thePaxhaving the best educational system on Earth?”
“Jasper was the catalyst. His birth was the change the Humans needed to truly understand what Ma’at, Adaela, and the other founding members were trying to convey. It helped thePaxreshape meaning into the charter that pushed us to where we are today,” she replied.
I remembered reading that their births helped stir an uprising in the importance of education from all the factions,and each faction’s scholars were brought together to form crucial curriculum for students going forward. Humans bred at a lot quicker pace than other factions did, and each faction’s children aged at different paces. I could only imagine how they were able to find a solution to this that worked for everyone. When time permitted, I wanted to learn from these scholars, too.
“Thank you for taking time to chat with me today. I’m so sorry for your loss. His memory will live on through all of us,” I said, standing up to give her space to grieve in peace.
As we walked out the door, I wondered if he was targeted because of his importance to thePax.
March 25th
Iwas mid-fight with a newer recruit, a younger reaper just learning how to use weapons. I hadVindictain one hand and watched as he held a scythe he’d conjured.Vindictawas a special weapon. Its original form was a dagger with a silver hilt, copper intertwined on its grip, with skulls adorned on the top and near the blade. But, depending on its need, she could shape herself into anything from a broadsword to a scythe. The reaper still wasn’t sure how to hold his scythe, so I helped him work on his form, usingVindictawhile having him hold his own weapon. Placing my hands aroundVindicta’s hilt, I showed him how the various hand placements could most effectively allow him to swing it. His scythe held sigils that would banish those he killed to purgatory, where they’d be judged and sent wherever they were meant to be.
Excitement coursed through my veins working with these newbies, since it gave me the excuse of being useful somewhere. My body was sore, but it was the good kind of sore that came from working muscles I hadn’t used in a while. When I’d taken a break to rehydrate, I’d had several generals asking me questions on how to best train their teams. I’d happilyanswered their questions until someone asked me to show their troops a battle simulation. I’d reluctantly agreed.
I spent hours, fight after fight, besting some of the best that the Demon Faction had to offer. We’d swapped from being in the battlefield to a colosseum-like building so that crowds of Demons could sit and watch what we were doing. It wasn’t exactly what I’d planned, but I needed to find my place here. I wanted to be known as the soft person I was inside, but that wasn’t always how to earn their respect.
