Claws and fur moved in a blur, the giant tail swiping by forcing Luizitine to duck. A trap. The second came too fast to avoid, the hellspawn blocking albeit with minimal pain. Gingee doubled back, disappearing into the mist around them. Which way? Left? Right? Above? It was impossible to judge given the swirling vortex around him. And the constant shriek from all sides.

"Bark!"

A weight fell over his back, paw pinning him to the ground.

"Bark! Got you, Master!"

The mist and shrieking fell away, Gingee standing atop him while Karla floated down, nodding proudly.

"Nice work, Gin," she said. "Good dog."

Their wagging grew more intense, to the point Gingee's tail was making small holes in the ground. For once, Luizitine decided not to spoil their moment.

Training was essential for turning the denizens of the Kingdom of Luizitine into finely crafted soldiers. And though they were lacking in wisdom, the duo of Karla and Gingee did seem to be progressing efficiently. The former's illusions in particular had gotten much more potent since they'd begun. Adding a ghostly wale for misdirection was a nice touch.

"Gingee," he said.

"Bark! Sorry, Master." They stepped away, Luzitine dusting himself off.

"No, it's quite alright, Gingee. You have done well."

He put a hand on the devildog, which turned the tail holes into larger craters. Such an excitable creature. I suppose he's earned it. Both of them have. He looked to Karla.

"You never told me you could do that," he said.

She grinned. "Been practicing. Check it out."

A bird appeared in her hand, the small gray avian opening its beak in what should have been a series of tiny chirps. Instead, a screech rose up from its non-existent lungs. One so loud it was impossible to make out what Karla was saying.

"What?" he asked over the screaming.

It vanishes away along with the avian.

"I said I can't get any louder without hurting Gingee's ears," Karla explained. "Plus it starts to feel really weird after a while."

"In what regards?"

Karla shrugged. She'd still had yet to fully grasp her powers as a ghost, it seemed.

He wasn't sure how long Karla had been dead for, but it was clear as day she'd only scraped the surface of what she could do. Illusions were useful for scaring, sure, but there was so much more to a ghost's power. Sensory overload. Mimicry. Even psychological warfare was fair game for a sufficiently powerful spirit. Granted, he doubted Karla would be very good with such a tactic, but that was why they were training, wasn't it? In time, he'd turn her from a simple prankster to a true poltergeist worth being feared.

But that would take time. Until then, he was fine with her being on support duty. He moved to the next person in the regiment.

"Minion Jeff!"

The reptile poked his head out from their makeshift home made of automobile parts. It was no castle, but it functioned as a decent enough starting structure for their kingdom. In time they'd build the towers and spires more befitting of a ruler's domain, but until then the metal bunker served as the temporary throne room / living quarters.

"It's your turn to train," Luizitine said. "Come on out. I promise the regimen will be gentle."

Jeff slinked back inside, coming out moments later with a sheet of metal in one hand. One that both he and Karla raised a brow at.

"Minion Jeff?" Luizitine asked. "What are you doing with that?"

He stamped the misshapen plate into the dirt.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"What? We're supposed to be knights right?" He knocked against the metal. "A knight needs a shield. Even a monstrous one."

Karla and Luizitine exchanged slightly confused glances. The former snickered, the latter ultimately shrugging it off. He had just recovered his injuries and he may have been a novice to regimented combat. A little naivete wasn't a huge issue.

"Gingee."

"Bark! Yes, Master?"

He stepped away, motioning for Karla to do the same. The ghost floated into a sitting position.

"You'll be fighting Jeff now," he explained. "Your goal is to pin him to the ground. Jeff, you'll be trying to do the same. Is everyone clear?"

Gingee howled in response, though he was pouncing long before Luizitine ever gave the order to start. As he was afraid of.

Jeffrey's shield got knocked away in seconds, the reptile forced on the defensive as he dodged tail swipes and paw hammers. Despite his naivete, he had good reflexes, at least. He ducked and parried every blow he could, to the point that he more than likely would have survived a different opponent.

But he was facing Gingee.

"Bark!"

Jeffrey wiggled under the weight of the devildog's paw, Gingee howling in victory. Karla wasted no time to taunt.

"Way to go, rookie. You survived a whole 10 seconds! Gotta be a new record."

He hissed a response, which only made Karla laugh even more. It wasn't a very impressive display, but Luizitine had seen worse. He nodded to Gingee, the devildog stepping away so Jeff could get up. Though a bit shattered in the ego, he was still in one piece. He wasn't a completely lost cause, though they'd need to work on his technique at a later date.

"You did well, Jeff," he said. "And you too, Gingee, I firmly believe you have grown into a fine steed."

The devildog howled, tail craters coalescing into a giant hole in the junkyard. Luizitine made a mental note to fill it later.

"Minon Gingee," he said. "Minon Karla. Minion Jeff. What you have shown me today leaves me with no doubts we will succeed in our endeavors. It's time we bump up our domination plans."

They all looked to him, even Karla's laughter dying out. The hellspawn smiled, gazing over his loyal minions.

"Members of the Kingdom of Luizitine," he said. "Our days in this junkyard are forever strained due to the enemies at our doorstep. Now it is finally time to fight back. We will be venturing out into the city of Angelas today."

Both Karla and Jeff stared back at him. Only Gingee responded in an excitable fashion.

"Bark! Trip? We're going on a trip?"

He stroked the devildog's head.

"That's right, Minion Gingee. We will be doing some reconnaissance."

He looked between Karla and Jeff. Given what they were against, he knew each would be invaluable for the mission.

"Karla. I'll need you to conceal our movements. Now that you've gotten a handle on your illusions, you'll be ensuring we aren't seen by the humans."

The ghost scratched her head.

"Uh. O-okay, but...Why do you wanna go out all of a sudden? I mean, I thought it was too dangerous what with those robe guys around."

"That's precisely why we must venture out. Although I will admit, their resistance to your illusions makes things problematic. Which is why we'll be operating in the shadows for extra precaution."

He recalled how the counter woman had seen through Karla's tricks. How she'd nearly killed her during the invasion. For all he knew, there were others in Angelas like her. Perhaps that was why Tupwell felt brazen enough to issue his declaration. Even so, Karla's illusions worked as an effective deterrent against a significant portion of humanity. They would buy them time to investigate. Or perhaps even draw eyes away from their endeavors.

"Your goal is to keep as many humans off us as possible," he said. "Use whatever illusions you deem necessary. Gingee, you'll be our early warning system. The minute you hear or smell someone following us, we'll retreat and regroup in the junkyard. So long as we work together, we should never encounter a human outright."

"Bark! I'll make you proud, Master!" Gingee said.

Karla still seemed unconvinced, but she brightened at Gingee's enthusiasm. Luizitine finally turned his attention to Jeff, whose apprehension had been clear from the moment he'd mentioned venturing city-side.

"Minion Jeff," he said. "Do you remember the humans that attacked you?"

The reptile hesitated.

"I-I do."

Luizitine nodded.

Though he didn't know who attacked Jeffrey, anyone that could pierce his scales had to be an abnormal human. Ever since the assault on the junkyard, it had been something lingering in the back of his mind. The humans who had the power to attack their kind. Even assuming the attackers were unrelated, searching Jeffrey's assaulters had the potential to reveal valuable information on the holy-enhanced humans. He would just need to be careful to avoid being linked to the mission. His life as Justin had to stay hidden.

"Those humans may be aligned with our greatest enemy," Luizitine said. "It's important we find out who and where they are. Can you take us to where you were attacked?"

The reptile stared back at him for a few moments, his tail lashing against the ground. Luizitine put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry," he said. "We're only going to investigate. We'll run at the first sign of danger."

Jeffrey relaxed slightly at that, his tongue flicking for a moment.

"A-alright," he said with an apprehensive nod.