Chapter 393: Chapter 391: For Now

Agdistis

My apologies to all my readers. I had no idea that my traditional second Friday chapter did not post until I saw a message from Maddhawk. I didn't double check like I normally do, so that's my fault. I hope you all can still enjoy this chapter today.

“Do you have anything that can detect cultists?”

Amarantha tilted her head to one side as she turned her gaze on Dys. The Lares had maneuvered her walking cauldron so that it was blocking the path between the front and back of the pastry shop, where the most injured people were. The Mystic’s construct continued to autonomously dole out portions of the bubbling purple liquid to those gathered in the front of the shop while Amarantha focused on the people in the back.

“Cultists? No, that’s not something I’ve worked out a potion for just yet,” the small fire cat said in her adorably squeaky voice. “Jocelyn has a way, though. So does Lucia. If either were here, one of them could probably hunt out any cultists nearby.”

“Where are they?” Dys asked pensively. “Can we get either of them here soon?”

“Maybe,” the flaming ball of fluff shrugged somewhat carelessly. “Maybe not. Lucia’s a couple of districts over with Halvor and Jocelyn is near the northern palace bridge with Rein. Or they were, last I saw them. Hard to keep track when we split up like this, you know.”

So the Hero and his companions had split up. Jadis had guessed that was the case since by the sounds of all the alarms going off throughout the city, the Demons had launched attacks at different areas simultaneously. Wilhelm must have decided to divide his party and send them after different points of conflict to help the defending soldiers. That Ludger had shown up at the restaurant where his fiancé was located couldn’t have been coincidence, which meant he’d purposefully run off to protect Elodie. Amarantha had probably been the other companion paired up with him, but the big man had likely panicked at the thought of his love being attacked and rushed ahead. Jadis had acted similarly herself in the past, so she could well understand.

“Alright, well, we’ll just have to keep holding everyone here until we can get one of them or someone else who can do something to root out cultists. At least we’re good on healing for now.”

Indeed, healing had become far less of an issue with Amarantha’s arrival. The potions that the Lares had given Eir had greatly restored her magic reserves and the cleric had been pumping healing into everyone she could at even faster speeds than normal. Apparently, one of those potions had temporarily boosted how fast her channeled spell could be cast, which was a pretty nice boost.

“Where’s the wizard?”

“Hm?” Amarantha hummed as she turned to look at Kerr.

“You know, the wizard. Tiernan? You didn’t say where he was at,” Kerr pointed out absently as she worked on putting together a container for the possession Demon that Jadis had put in her hands.

“Even less way of knowing that,” Amarantha said with a sniff. “He’s flying somewhere in the sky, raining down destruction wherever he might be needed. Wilhelm should be doing the same, but I saw him rush inside the building over there for some reason.”

“The Demons breached through the basement of that restaurant,” Dys informed the Mystic cat. “He’s helping us cut them off.”

“Helping us? Or helping you?” Amarantha said as she hopped off of her cauldron.

The small cat landed on Dys’ knee, balancing there as though it was a completely acceptable perch for her to claim. Her two-toned eyes gazed up at Dys, and she felt for a moment like she was some kind of particularly interesting tidbit of meat that the Lares was examining with a mind to decide whether she was going to pounce on it or snub it.

“You’ve caused quite the stir, haven’t you? Three Nephilim sisters showing up out of the wilds of Weigrun. Or one Nephilim with three bodies? The rumors are divided and seem entirely based on which version the teller feels is more likely. Ulya has been quiet on that question. She won’t lead me one way or the other, which just piques my curiosity even more.”

Ulya was the goddess of the hearth, and the mother of the Lares. It made sense that Amarantha would turn to her goddess for guidance on a question like the Nephilim, though why Ulya wasn’t being forthcoming with her, Jadis couldn’t guess.

“He’s helping us,” Dys emphasized, “because it’s not just me in that building, but my companions in there, and others as well.”

“Ah ha…” Amarantha said, her eyes twinkling. “Halvor owes me a gold piece.”

“Putain! Get the fuck in there you little scum stain!”

Dys and Amarantha both glanced over to where Kerr was wrestling the small Demon into the small wooden box she had emptied out. While it was physically weak, the possession Demon was slippery and trying hard to wiggle away.

“But it seems I owe Rein a gold coin in turn,” Amarantha noted with a frown in her voice. “I had thought the demon Alex would have been more well behaved than that.”

“Alex?” Dys asked, surprised by the comment. “That’s not Alex. That’s a Demon I caught to interrogate later.”

“Interrogate a Demon?” Amarantha showed true shock on her feline face. “What a silly notion. But wait. If that is not Alex, then where is your demonic friend?”

A good question. With how active and chaotic the scene was, Dys had lost track of her Demon lover. Glancing around, she didn’t spot her.

“Sorcha! Where’s Alex?” Dys called out over the noise of the crowd.

“Hold on, I’ll get her!”

A few moments later, Alex made her way through the open front room of the shop, coming from a doorway that led to a set of stairs. Rather than push through the crowd, she simply crawled across the ceiling, prompting a few gasps and exclamations from the crowd. Most didn’t give her more than a glance, though, since by that point they had to have gotten used to her and Elodie running around the shop organizing things.

Speaking of, Elodie wasn’t with Alex. When the blue-eyed Demon came to a stop next to Dys, she was alone.

“Are you okay, Alex?” Dys asked, checking on her since she was still only partially healed from all the fighting earlier. “Does Eir need to heal you?”

“No… Thank you…” Alex replied as she stared at Amarantha. “I am… Regenerating…”

“Gracious…” Amarantha said in a small voice as she stared right back at Alex.

“Where’s Elodie?” Dys continued her line of questions now that she had Alex near her again. “Why were you upstairs?”

“Elodie… Is upstairs…” Alex told her while taking Dys’ hand and giving it a squeeze. “Making room… For more… Who need shelter…”

“Okay, that makes sense,” Dys nodded. Since no one who had come from the second and third floor could be trusted, it made sense to separate them from all the injured survivors who were coming out from the first floor. Jadis was glad that Elodie had taken the initiative to handle that aspect. “Is anyone giving you trouble? Do you need anything?”

“No…” the demonic paladin answered without further elaboration. It seemed to be an answer to both questions, so Jadis simply accepted it and moved on.

“Alright, just wanted to make sure,” Dys gave Alex’s monster-sized hand a squeeze back. “Also, this is Amarantha. She’s a companion to the Hero and is helping us.”

Alex met the Lares’ eyes unblinkingly. After a moment of silence between the two, she bobbed her head in acknowledgement.

“Charmed,” Amarantha said as she gave the Demon a mysterious smile. “Perhaps it is Rein who owes me a coin, after all.”

“Alright, here,” Kerr interrupted them as she shoved the box containing the hostile Demon into Dys’ hands. “Unless you need anything else here, I’m going to go steal a crossbow or something from the guards and get back to Trummelton’s. I swear, this is the last fucking time I leave the bedroom without a gods damned weapon. This shit is nuttier than squirrel cum.”

While Jadis completely understood where Kerr was coming from and fully agreed with her that this would be the last day she ever went out in public unarmed, the metaphor that her lover had used was… disturbing. It took her a second to process, which was why Kerr managed to take a few steps towards the cauldron-blocked doorway before she reached out to stop her.

“No, Kerr, don’t go. I don’t think you’ll be needed.”

“Quoi?” Kerr turned back to look at Dys with great offense. “What do you mean not needed? I don’t give a flying fuck about the Hero or whoever being here, no offense,” she motioned towards Amarantha, who for her part just looked amused. “My mate just got attacked by these fuckers! You almost died tonight. A lot of us did! Alex almost died! Sabina might still die with that fucking poison in her system. Je veux les tuer! I want my fucking revenge!”

“I know, I know,” Dys said as she reached out and pulled Kerr close to her, paying no mind to the little meow of protest Amarantha gave to being dislodged from her perch by the movement. “I feel the exact same way. Whoever orchestrated all this shit is going to have their eyeballs pulled out of their ears, I swear. But you’re not going to be able to help much over there, even if you do steal a weapon from some soldier. We already got into the cellar. We found the breach. It’s a tunnel, and bows and arrows aren’t going to be much use.”

“Fuck,” Kerr cursed, her arms wrapped firmly around Dys’ neck in a tight embrace. “Shitty fuck. I want to get them.”

“Me too,” Dys rubbed her bonded lover’s back. “I do too. But sometimes, we’ve got to pick our fights.”

“What does it look like in there?” Amarantha asked, her small paw tapping at the side of Dys’ foot for attention. “It’s rare to have the ability to know what is going on in more than one place at once. Has the restaurant been made safe?”

“Safer,” Dys answered with a sigh. “Though we aren’t entirely done.”

As Dys filled her small audience in the pastry shop in on what was happening, Jay and Syd discussed what to do about the roadblock they’d encountered with the others in Trummelton’s cellar.

“That greater Demon definitely fled down this tunnel,” Jay pointed at the dark opening. “We have to hunt that fucker down.”

“Of course,” Aila calmly agreed. “That abomination needs to be found and slain before it can harm anyone else. But this is not something we should do. Not right now.”

“Look, I know I don’t have my weapons and armor, but I’m still strong enough to—”

“No one is doubting your strength,” Vraekae interrupted Jay’s words with her own firm tone. “Do you doubt mine? You have seen what I am capable of. Yet you do not see me rushing down that tunnel. That is because tactically speaking, it would be a mistake. Restrain your anger and think about the situation.”

They were right. Jadis knew they were. She didn’t have her weapons or armor, which put her at a disadvantage, but more than that she was still injured. Her health hadn’t risen above the one-third mark, not even with Eir constantly pumping her magic into her between other patients. The poison in her system grew worse every time her health rose above a certain point, eating away at her reserves. She was also limited in how far she could split her selves from each other. Her Dys self had all the physical injuries on her and was in no condition to be on the move. They had no idea how far down the tunnel went, so it was a stupid risk to even entertain the thought of diving in after the Demons when she knew she’d have to turn back.

Jadis was angry. She was enraged. She was so unbelievably furious about what had happened that night that she was practically ready to start tearing the stone floor apart with her bare hands to get at the Demons below. But she wasn’t going to do that. She had learned from past mistakes. She wasn’t going to rush in blindly and stupidly. There was a big difference between acting boldly and acting rashly, and the distinction was clear in this situation.

She still wanted to go down the tunnel.

“Jadis. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand,” Jay answered Vraekae’s insistent question. “I really do. But if we’re not going down that tunnel, what now?”

The blue elf paused at Jay’s question, her eyes travelling across the ruined cellar for a few seconds. Jay turned her own gaze to follow Vraekae’s and took in the scene.

With Wilhelm, Ludger, and Vraekae present, it hadn’t taken long at all to destroy the remaining demons in the storeroom above. Jay and Syd had pushed ahead to get down to the cellar as quickly as possible and had found it in pretty much the same state as it was now. The ruinous rot that had infected the floor above wasn’t quite as bad in the cellar. Most of the huge room was filled with wine casks and crates of preserved foods, which the Demons hadn’t bothered to touch. There were a few patches of gore where some poor soul had clearly met his or her end, but the majority of the remains had been swept up by the invading force. When Jay and Syd had made it down the stairs, there had been a few Demons standing in her way, but for the most part the resistance had been light.

The obvious spot of destruction in the cellar was the broken wall on the far eastern side of the room. The cut stone blocks that made up the wall had been knocked down in a section that was about five feet wide and seven feet tall. A tunnel had been dug, and it had likely happened that very night, as evidenced by the rocks and dirt all over the floor. Jadis would have questioned how something like that had gone unnoticed, but considering the illusion magic she’d seen at work so far that night, she could definitely understand how simple kitchen staff wouldn’t have had the means to see through whatever had been used in the cellar to cover up the disturbance.

The tunnel itself was a winding one and had clearly not been made by human hands. From what little Jadis could see of it, the passage had no clean footing and went down at a steep angle that would be a problem for most people, though no issue at all for wall-crawling Demons. Even if Jadis had been fully equipped, the tunnel would have been a daunting prospect. The sight of it gave her flashbacks to the tunnel in the Kalters Wall mines she had almost been cooked alive in.

The difficult tunnel entrance hadn’t stopped Wilhelm, though. The Hero had jumped right in, his steel boots sliding across the rough surface as he disappeared from view around a bend in the passage. Ludger hadn’t followed, but instead had posted up at the entrance, blocking anything from coming out, but also preventing any of the more zealous soldiers with them from following the Hero. The big man simply waited by the rough-hewn hole, standing watch for his friend’s return.

“We should head outside,” Vraekae finally answered Jay’s question. “We need to learn more about the situation elsewhere in the city. Others may have already found the source of the demonic breach and may already be attacking it directly. So long as we have this point secured, we can take a moment to convene and assess.”

A sensible plan, one that Jadis couldn’t really see a flaw in. Nodding silently, she agreed to Vraekae’s suggestion. In short order, Jay, Syd, Aila, Thea, Bridget, and Vraekae all made their way out of the cellar and through the destroyed kitchen. The main chamber of the first floor was a gruesome sight, but looking around, Jadis could see that the building had truly been secured. There were dozens of soldiers swarming the place, checking behind every tapestry and under every turned-over table for survivors and Demons alike. It looked like the people who had been trapped on the floors above were already being evacuated as well, judging by the stream of men and women being led down the stairs. Outside, the chaos of soldiers and civilians was starting to look far more organized as people in charge called out orders and put people where they needed to be. When Jadis and the others made their way outside, she could see that the streets were filled with soldiers, most of whom were filing into the restaurant. Wilhelm and Ludger would have no want for backup.

In all honesty, Jadis probably wasn’t needed anymore. Everything was well in hand. The Demonic incursion had been repelled, or at least it looked like it had been in this area. The Hero and his companions were here and they were taking care of the Demons. The army had rallied and the guards were out in full force. It was an entirely reasonable course of action for her to simply slip away, find a quiet spot, and crash.

But Jadis didn’t want to crash. She didn’t want to sit around and wait for others to handle things. She wanted to take action. She wanted to get out there and find every damn Demon and cultist who had attacked her and her family. She was far, far from done with her fight that night. She was seething with righteous fury and she would not rest until she found the people who had done this to her. Those people were dead and she was going to be the one to—

“Jadis.”

Jay and Syd blinked, pulled out of her thoughts by the quiet voice that spoke between them. Looking down, Jadis saw that Thea was standing between her two selves, one hand on Syd’s arm. She was looking up at her with deep concern in her warm brown eyes.

“It’s t—time to rest.”

“No, I need to help Vraekae and the others find those Demons,” Syd said with a shake of her head. “I can rest later. There’s still too much to do.”

“No,” Thea said firmly. “It’s t—time to rest. Now.”

Syd opened her mouth to reply, then paused as she reassessed. Looking around, she saw that Aila and Bridget were both looking at her with worried expressions. Even Vraekae was giving her a concerned look.

She had just been standing there, staring at nothing, hadn’t she? Here she was, standing with her bare feet in the snow and mud, blood still dripping from her ruined dresses, and she was lost in thought. She was exhausted, that’s what was what. Not just physically, but mentally. After everything that had happened, everything she had seen…

“You’re right,” Jay nodded. “Okay. Let’s get over to that bakery with everyone else.”

“I hope they have some kind of alcohol in there,” Syd said in a tired voice as she started leading the way. “I could really use a drink right now.”

“I’m sure we can find out,” Aila said. “And if we have to fight off a crowd of nobles to get at a bottle of liquor, then we’ll handle that. You, Jadis, need to take a breather.”

Jadis didn’t argue. Instead, she simply led them all into the pastry shop, which was blessedly warm, and cleared a nice spot in the back room where Dys and the others were. There, Jadis’ three selves settled down on the floor, leaning against the toasty walls of the still-burning ovens, and waited. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was waiting for anymore, but she could take a minute to wait.

She was safe. Her lovers were safe. Their families were safe. Even Severina, who was horribly injured, was at least stable thanks to Eir’s healing. Jadis let out a shaky sigh from her selves as the adrenaline slowly left her bodies.

They were safe.

For now.

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