The glittering purple palace shined in the dim red light as the last of the ice was slotted into place. With any luck, Dragon’s nest would now be able to approach the city of Ater-Albus without the threat of the splinter cannons. It would still be a dangerous flight but at least now it would not be an impossible one.
The island under my feet began to rumble as it lifted up from the forest of ice. Broken shards of ice rained down from overhead and shattered against the ground. Not wanting to touch the blistering cold shrapnel, I hurried inside the palace. The warm air billowing from inside felt so nice after days exposed to the chills of the forest that I could not help but let a out sigh of relief.
Before joining the others planning and preparing for our second attempt at approaching the city, I made a short stop at one of the rooms. Inside, I could see both Mom and Dad laying on separate beds. The thick blankets hid the sorrowful sight of their broken bodies underneath. Charly looked up as I entered the room and nodded at me silently from his chair beside their beds. He had yet to leave this room since they were injured. He worked tirelessly to keep Mom alive and Dad comfortable.
Dad still looked as if he was sleeping peacefully. Only the wrinkled skin and bleached white hair gave any indication that there might be something wrong. His comatose state was disheartening but at the very least he was not in pain, something I could not say for Mom.
She had a few bouts of consciousness in the past two days while we were preparing the floating island to be ready for our attempt to siege the city. Every moment she spent awake was pure agony for her. Mom’s skin, nerves, and muscles were all burned beyond what any medication could suppress. The most Charly could do was put her to sleep until we had a way to treat her.
I sat down next to Charly and held Mom’s uninjured hand. It felt so frail in my grip. Anger welled up in my chest as I stared at her sleeping face. Even with her eyes closed, she looked like she was in pain. I hated this feeling of helplessness and my own inability to do anything for her. All the years I had lived, all the armies I had led, and all the victories I achieved did nothing for me now. I could not help but wonder if this is how she felt when I had been sick as a child.
I leaned down and kissed my mom’s forehead. “Don’t worry Mom. I will get you help soon, i promise,” I whispered softly. It might have been my imagination, but after I spoke, Mom’s pained expression lessened slightly.
With renewed determination, I gave a reassuring smile to Charly. “I will be counting on you to keep them safe while we break into the city.”
Charly nodded firmly. “Nothing bad will happen to them so long as I am here.”
Taking a deep breath, I stepped out of the room. As much as I wanted to stay by my parents’ bedside until they were better, I was more help working towards our goal.
Moving through Dragon’s Nest, I climbed the stairs until I reached a locked room at the top of one tower. Inside, almost as if waiting for me was the blind, half-woman, half-snake hybrid Demonkin controlled by the one person I wanted to talk to the least.
“Look who finally decided to come and visit me!” Irene’s voice echoed out cheerfully, “I heard you had quite the interesting clash with the Demons the other day. You know, I could have warned you about their trap if you came to talk to me more often.”
Clenching my fist in frustration, I resisted the urge to burn the undead snake to ash. “If you really wanted to warn me, you would have called out until you got my attention. Being trapped in here has never stopped you from reaching me in the past.”
“True,” the undead replied with a malicious smile, “but you will never know if you could have prevented the tragedy by simply taking a minute to talk. I heard one of your family was injured beyond repair. I wonder if you could have saved her if only you had known.”
Sparks burned down my arm as I struggled to control the rage building up within me. “Since you seem to have no interest in upholding your end of the deal and provide me with information, I am going to get rid of this undead here and now.”
“It does not matter,” Irene said with a sigh, “We are all going to die soon enough anyway, You, me, and all the Demons. Berith is panicking as she tries to figure out a way to prevent her death but I have accepted it. I studied you for four hundred years. I know you will not give up until the very end. The future Berith saw is certain.”
“If you are sure that death is absolute, why are you still helping the Demons?” I asked after taking a moment to calm my anger, “I saw the glyphs that appeared when the mirror Demon died. It was identical to when you used Demon blood to open a rift before.”
“Yes, I am rather proud of that work. The glyphs are literally carved under the Demon’s skin. It took a lot of trial and error to perfect that technique, you know. As for why… I am not particularly fond of being tortured and these Demons are a very sadistic bunch. If I hesitate even slightly following one of their commands, it does not end well for me.”
“Perhaps you should have done the world a favor and killed yourself to end your misery,” I mumbled.
“Does that mean you do not want to know the failsafe I created while creating the glyphs?” Irene asked with a confident smile.
“Are you going to tell me if I ask?”
“Of course! It is why I made it after all,” Irene said with a flamboyant gesture, “I can tell you how to stop the Demons from fracturing the realm at the moment of their death but, that information will not come without a price.”
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“What do you want?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“It is not much. I simply wish for a small bit of your fire for myself. I have heard great things about this golden flame of yours. Berith has been quite vocal about its power. We can discuss the details after you rescue me from the dungeons of Ater-Albus.”
“You want to copy more of my talents? Are you completely incapable of creating anything original?”
The snake woman shrugged, seemingly disinterested in my response as she curled up in the corner of the room. Laying her head in her hands she spoke. “The choice is yours but surely you can understand how valuable the information I am offering is.”
I hesitated for a moment as I wondered if Irene was trying to trick me in some way. However, I could not deny how dangerous it was for the Demons to be able to accelerate Envy’s arrival. “Fine, you have a deal. How do I prevent the Demons’ deaths from creating tears between the realms.”
“Excellent! It is a deal then,” Irene said with a smile as she slithered uncomfortably close to me, “A Demon’s body is a resilient canvas. Destroying a single part of the glyph will not be enough to stop it from triggering and might even make the death more explosive. Instead, you must destroy five separate points before the Demon dies.” Irene reached out with a single long finger and pointed between my eyebrows. Her touch sent chills down my spine. Her finger trailed down the rest of my body as she spoke. “Here between on the head, each joint of the shoulder, the center of the sternum, and just under the belly button, the injuries do not need to be serious but they must be deeper than the skin if you want to stop the glyph from activating.”
I slapped away the finger drawing down my stomach with a scowl. “You could not have made it any easier to disrupt? Simply killing a Demon is hard enough. How am I supposed to make sure I injure specific spots before it dies.”
Irene shrugged without concern. “That is your problem, not mine. Berith is no fool. Shoddy work would have tipped her off that I am no longer willing to simply obey her commands like an obedient dog. You should be happy I simply put the glyph under the skin. I did not have to. I am skilled enough to etch my glyphs into living bone. If I wished it, I could create a glyph on the Demons' bodies that nobody could break before their death by simply etching it inside the heart and brain. However, since I do want you to succeed, I will give you a word of warning. My glyphs will stitch themselves back together if the Demon heals. Abigor, the Demon capable of regenerating his body will be especially difficult to kill without triggering it.”
“Thanks for the warning, I guess,” I said as I tried to think of ways to injure the Demons before killing them, “Is there anything else I should know?”
Irene chuckled. “Does this mean you trust me now? How delightful. As a reward, I will warn you not to come to Ater-Albus. The entire city has become a hive for Demonkin. I know of at least fifty Alphas and several hundred mature Demonkin. Berith has spent a lot of effort to guarantee you do not retake the city.”
I nodded in understanding. I expected the Demonkin but retreating now was not an option. If Mom had not been injured, I might have considered a more conservative approach, slowly whittling down the Demonkin until we could face the Demons on even footing. Now, my concern for my parents forced my hand.
I left Irene’s puppet in her cell and slowly walked down the stairs. Dragon’s Nest was ready to charge the city. The only question was if we would actually succeed in reaching there or not. Regardless, this would be a hard battle.
Reaching the central hall, I saw everyone gathered together around the central table with a map of the city sprawled out in front of them. They turned to look at me as I approached. I could see the concern in Donte’s eyes as I sat down at the table next to the others and took a deep breath.
As hard as it was, I forcibly calmed my emotions. Charging into the city head first would only lead to a swift decapitation. If I wanted to save my mom, I could not act rashly. We needed a plan.
I clasped my hands together in front of my face as I looked each person in the eyes. Their emotions ranged from worry to complete confidence.
I spoke slowly, measuring each word that came out of my mouth. “Five days, within five days, we will capture the city of Ater-Albus.”
Sebastion frowned as he spoke up doubtfully. “We have a way to approach the city but fighting there would be risky. Do you actually have a plan, or do you just want to charge the city’s fortifications and hope for the best?”
“I am not letting emotions cloud my judgment, Sebastion. No battle is without risks but I have a strategy that might work. I truly believe we can accomplish this in five days. All I ask is that you trust me?”
Sebastion hesitated for a moment as he looked me in the eyes. I met his gaze confidently without looking away. Sebastion paused, then nodded. “I trust you.”
A bright smile of delight spread across my face and I tapped the map on the table. “Then, let’s get started.”