I wavered slightly. The hums and jeers of the raucous crowd dimming until it was a low murmur. Couldn’t let anything distract me from the massive amount of demonic power just radiating from the figure across the arena from me. He stood with hands clasped behind his back, and I knew as soon as they relaxed from that position they’d be at my throat, tearing my head from my neck.
[Pearl is correct. This is not a fight we can win, Eric.]
Trouble was, I needed that crown. He was wearing it now. It still had blood on it, from its previous owner that he had executed for an excuse to ‘play’ with me.
//She is extremely serious. She won’t be able to come bail you out. Please, Eric.
“Code Red. I’m sorry,” I murmured.
“You are quite the oddity, Eric Redd,” the demon began, tilting his head slightly.
I shrugged. “You don’t know the half of it.”
“The waves you have made lap infrequently at the shores of the Highers. But… the actions of Hunters seldom do.”
He clearly knew me for good reason. Probably not good for me, or my longevity. There was something about him that told me he was important to my destiny. A piece of the puzzle. Pearl hadn’t filled me in on his details, which meant she didn’t want me to engage him. Which meant that I must.
“So what?” I shook my head. “You seek to prod me around and make me a plaything until I break? Get some satisfaction in killing a notable human?”
His grin widened, red eyes aglow. A strange sheen spread across his green scales, and a dark shadow shook around his form as if he was being torn from reality - before he appeared about a dozen feet closer. Ripples of super-heated air waved around him.
“That would be a shame, wouldn’t it?” His voice thrummed around me. “Since I would lose all that money I bet on you.”
“Then why? You know I don’t have a chance of beating you.”
He vibrated again and then appeared behind me, facing away from me. There was no accompanying attack with it, however - my dodge would have given me a warning even if I didn’t have the power to avoid it.
“You sound more sure of that than I am.” The demon chuckled. “Very few Hunters make it to the heights of the Mids. I’m just vetting you.”
“Customary?” I ran my tongue across my lips. He was just out of arm’s reach behind me now and the amount of raw energy that was just radiating around him was intense. Pearl was powerful, but she must have some kind of nullifying ability that stopped her from being like a tall glass of uranium constantly.
“Hmm. Not as such. It’s more… I’m making sure you’re not something.”
Despite my melting brain, I could still read between the lines. He wanted to make sure that the Last Lantern hadn’t resurfaced. This could only mean that he was part of the group that was behind the death of my family. Pearl couldn’t intervene, possibly for political reasons, or part of her remaining banishment.
[We need to leave, Eric. Do not believe you can bullshit your way into killing him.]
‘I don’t need to kill him… do you trust me?’
[Yes.]
“And how do you intend on finding that out, Mr Demon?”
“You can call me… Beckett. It’s very simple, Eric. We’ll play a little game.”
I rolled my eyes. Another demon who spent too much time enjoying the smell of their own farts. He wasn’t as strong as Frank, I could tell. Not that I expected my prospective father-in-law to come bail me out of my bad decisions either. This was just how I did detective work. By sinking myself five and a half feet into the ground to see what worms were crawling around.
“As long as it’s not chess,” I grunted. “I’d rather you just killed me if it is.”
“Tempting.” He exhaled. “You certainly have the mental fortitude for the Mids, that is for certain. That attitude will have you losing that tongue in short order, however.”
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“I’ve done a lot worse with it than snarking demons.”
He paused, briefly taken back by my casual stance to whatever garbage he was filling my ears with. I couldn’t ask him directly about the greater things in motion, as that would tip him off I was the Lantern he was keen to erase. They’d thought the legend had died when they rid the world of my son, but I’d been ruffling enough feathers to give them concern.
Plus, I was gradually losing my sanity, now only feet away from a powerful demon. The crowd and arena full of monster still present too - but muted and distant somehow. Wight was still possessing me, my insides steeped with his power. It was about to get a lot worse for all parties involved. I just had to buy a little more time.
“A test then,” Beckett said. “Let’s see how your tastebuds enjoy my Domain.”
I spun by instinct, unsure what to expect, only to find the demon was no longer behind me. Instead, a dense jungle met my eyes, and as I turned back - I was surrounding by it on all sides.
Humid air. The hum of overly large insects. Foliage and thick trees spread out across, blocking the horizon in all directions. Bush and dense grasses around my feet, bringing an odd earthy smell to my nose. Already, I was sweating. Beckett was nowhere to be seen, the tracker on my wrist going haywire as the direction spun around wildly.
[The die is cast. We cannot teleport now.]
That was fine with me.
Never look a gift horse in the mouth - I just had to make sure I didn’t get trampled in the process. If he had so much interest in me, that could only mean that I should have the same amount for him. Then it should be that he was part of the whole process - a connecting piece that I had to feel around to see what shapes protruded. The puzzle needed completing.
The sound of sharp hissing drew my attention, and I rolled to the floor, fanning my revolver into the dense foliage. I caught sight of a thick snake slithering in the shadowed recesses of the greenery ahead. Didn’t look like I hit it.
Faux bullet casings dropped from my revolver as Wight reloaded it. The area was too cluttered to properly track the monster, and my wrist-mounted gadget had given up the ghost from being in a Domain. I was pretty sure the giant snake was Beckett, although I had expected something better from a Highers demon.
Sure, I was a few seconds away from being bitten and probably have my limbs fall off due to necrosis or something worse, but…
I turned my head slowly, to see the figure standing two dozen feet away. He had made no sound in appearing there, and even as he now held a sword that flickered in green flame, he could just be an illusion for all I knew.
“We never thought we’d find another…” he said, tilting his head to the side. “Nice of you to come and make yourself known, Last Lantern.”
“Nah, I think you’re barking up the wrong tree.” I turned slowly to face him.
“Few Hunters make it to the Mids. Fewer still can endure possession for this long, or lay with fallen whores and remain intact. If not the Lantern, then I’d love to know what kind of human you truly are.”
I smiled and exhaled through my nose. Normally I’d enjoy a bit of banter before a fight, but I was pretty exhausted and any combat we enacted would be no ‘fight’ at all. “Well, why not come a little closer and find out?”
Beckett sneered. “I could fell you in one blow, while you couldn’t even lay a hand on me. Whether you’re the Lantern or not.”
“Then, what do you have to lose?” Less than me, sure… but we weren’t playing for the same prize at present. If he suspected me of being the Lantern then he’d kill me anyway, and if that was the case, it meant he had something up inside his head that I wanted.
He darted for me, lightning quick. Certain death.
I moved slightly and his burning blade pierced through my right arm instead of torso, immediately incinerating muscle and nerves, rendering that limb inert. This was part one of my plan. Every single spec of Balance and Divine energy that I held in my core was expended to save my life.
Part two was the harder part, and would decide whether I lived or died. Odds weren't great.
Now solely driven by demonic power, I filled myself up with the atmospheric energy. And there was a lot of it. Between the dodge and soaking in my maximum allowed, barely a split second had passed. Enough power to drown myself in. I had tipped the swimming pool up to take a small sip.
It was enough. A second use of all the power that I had to use
His confused eyes met mine, and as the crimson light bore into me, I expected the skill to fail. He would turn and lop my head off - his power just too much for what Wight could allow me.
But no.
“At the site of the Organization, in the city of Pinkjade.”
Panic now replaced the confusion on his face. It was almost like he wanted me to know with how much information he put in that sentence. With my brain trying not to explode out my ears from all the power moving around, it took me a couple of seconds to process what he had even said. The weight of the revelation.
“Oh fuck, fuck!” Beckett seethed, before he received the final jump scare. The whisper of his true name filtered down into his Domain and circled around me. The parting gift from Rodney, and the main reason I allowed their eyes to watch this charade.
I wasn’t strong enough to kill him, that was for sure. But… just the implication - the threat that I knew his true name was enough.
He vanished, and the lush jungle followed suit, plunging me into bright amber light as I returned to the arena. Shocked cheers and whoops thundered through my ears as a pulsing migraine immediately shook the insides of my skull.
They announced my win, and Wight finally dropped his possession - a relief even if I knew the worst was yet to come.
My body vibrated as my pact demon formed beside me and crossed his feathered arms.
[Congratulations. Let us hope you still do not fall.]
I waited three seconds. Five. Did not return home.
//Code Red… is activated.
I held up my hands to view my sharp nails. Pressure pained my head as two horns broke through my skin and grew out of my skull.
“Good,” I said, and begun laughing, my eyes staring at the stands full of demons. “Good.”