61. Grudges
By the time Isaac exited the booth, Sharil was gone from view. He blinked, turning his head in different directions. A giant half-snake demon with six wings really shouldn’t be so hard to find, but between Sharil stepping up to the target and his conversation with Fable, the woman had vanished. Isaac sighed and continued walking forward.
The field was a crowd of concurrent events. Various Underside inhabitants formed twisting lines that often clashed and merged with other ones, and there were the constant sounds of murmuring, yelling, cheering, and swearing. Glowing beams of magic shot overhead, the ground shook a little from the impacts occurring across the field. The Old Lands plains were alive, and the air itself buzzed with energy.
Isaac felt his shoulders relaxing as he continued weaving through the crowds, occasionally stopping to observe a particularly interesting competition before continuing his search. He’d been worried that a fight would break out, given the chaotic structure of the smaller events, but it seemed the vague rules had actually helped people loosen up more. Most contestants hung around people they were already familiar with, which meant less chance of running into a sworn enemy or something like that.
Isaac slowed down when he spotted not Sharil, but Olzu a little ways. Not the demon he’d been looking for, but technically he was supposed to pass Lucius’s message onto both of them anyway.
As Isaac approached the imp-like demon, he noticed a few things. First, there was a fresh bandage on his left leg that he recognized as Rosalinde’s work—so he’d been injured after all. Second, Olzu was shifting side to side in tiny hops, and he kept looking around, eyes darting above at the screens listing the event schedule. Isaac frowned.
“That’s not good for your leg.”
Olzu shrieked and spun around. “How dare you sneak up on me, insolent child!”
Isaac just asked, “Do you know where Sharil is?”
Olzu huffed and crossed his arms. “She’s at another event,” he said haughtily.
“Hm. Well, I talked to Lucius.”
“Lord Lucius,” Olzu corrected automatically before his face fell once the words processed. His eyes flickered to the stands where Remus was, and he looked like he wanted nothing more than to run.
“Relax, he said not to worry about it,” Isaac said before the demon could follow through with those thoughts. “He also told you two to enjoy the rest of the tournament, for what it’s worth.”
Olzu’s expression flipped faster than a switch. He looked like he was about to cry, assuming imp demons had tear ducts. “Lord Lucius is so very kind,” he sniffled. “What a gracious, generous—“
“Not that I’m disagreeing with you, but your bandage’s crooked,” Isaac interrupted. He pointed to the demon’s leg. “You might want to get that wrapped again before whatever next event you’re doing.”
At first the demon looked affronted that Isaac would dare interrupt his praise-singing, but he looked down at his leg and cleared his throat, wings drooping slightly. “The other events. Yes.” His wings fluttered. “I, ah, I will see to it, human!” His eyes shifted about in a manner that made it seem like he was trying to be as inconspicuous about it as possible.
Isaac raised an eyebrow. “Here, the healer’s area’s this way.” He turned and started walking over to prove his point. Behind him, he heard Olzu mumble something about not needing a guide and insolent children who dared to think he would ever get lost, but the small demon followed after him. Isaac just shook his head in amusement.
—
The healer’s area was in sight when an all too familiar flapping of wings interrupted their advance. Casimir grinned down at them from above, glowing white wings standing in stark contrast to the red tint of the barrier. Isaac narrowed his eyes at the angel, still not quite sure how to feel about their last encounter.
Olzu, on the other hand, clearly had his mind made up about the man, because he immediately made a noise that he would later deny was a shriek and ducked behind Isaac’s leg.
Isaac didn’t take his eyes off the angel, frowning as he attempted to discern his ever gleeful cheer. “Casimir. What’re you doing here?”
The angel huffed and hovered down so that he was closer, but still a good few feet above the ground. Isaac could feel a slight breeze from his wings from where he was standing.
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“I came to check out the tournament!” the man said.
“Really now.”
“Yep, it looks interesting! Tons of cool stuff going on, some of these events’re really creative.”
Well, Isaac wouldn’t argue with that. “Just so you know, since you’re not registered to participate, you can’t actually get points from anything.” Not that he thought that would deter the man, but Isaac figured he should at least try.
As expected, Casimir waved his words aside without a second’s pause. “Psht, would’ve been boring to win so easy anyway! Nah, I’ll just check things out, do whatever looks interesting!”
Isaac muttered a silent prayer for whatever “lucky events” got the angel’s attention. He just shook his head and turned to continue to the healer’s area, but a tug on his leg made him pause. Glancing down, he saw that Olzu was still there, now fully unobscured thanks to his movement.
Casimir’s grin somehow widened, and he hovered a little closer. “Well, if it isn’t little Olzu! You competing?”
The demon stayed silent, not giving an answer. Casimir hummed and cocked his head to the side.
“What competitions’re you doing?”
Olzu still didn’t respond, and Isaac frowned.
“There was a really nice flight competition listed! I think it’s tomorrow or something? You should join!” The angel flapped his own wings once for emphasis, sending out another gust of wind. “It’ll be fun, right?”
Olzu finally mumbled something, though Isaac couldn’t discern what it was. Clearly that wasn’t an issue for Casimir’s superhuman hearing.
“Aw, you still can’t fly after all these years? Come on, if you try it it probably won’t be too embarrassing! Always good to learn, right? Don’t see why you wouldn’t want to.”
Isaac hadn’t thought it was possible, but the demon shrunk even further in on himself. Casimir just continued, never taking his eyes off Olzu as he hovered slightly closer, his wings casting a large shadow over the two of them.
“I mean, you can’t still be scared, right? After so many years?” The angel laughed his usual boisterous laughter, only this time it sent a chill up Isaac’s spine. “You—“
“Casimir, that’s enough,” Isaac interrupted. The angel’s eyes finally shifted over to him, but he stood his ground. He narrowed his eyes at the angel. “You’re being cruel,” he said.
For a moment the angel didn’t respond. Finally, Casimir straightened and hovered back to his original position, a bit further away but still close enough for Isaac to register the sheer size and presence of his wings. He could feel Olzu relax slightly, though the tension was still visible in the demon’s posture.
“Oh really? Gee, sorry about that! Didn’t think you were still so touchy about it, Olzu! My bad.” Casimir grinned, and the words brought back memories of Isaac’s last conversation with Casimir. I didn’t think that’d bother you that much, the angel had said, with that exact same perfectly cheery, perfectly innocent grin. Isaac felt a tinge of irritation spark up.
“Cut the bullshit. You knew what you were saying.” The moment the words left his mouth, the more certain Isaac was that they were true. Maybe the first time he could excuse, but Casimir’s ability to prod at people was far too practiced to be an accident. It was too sharp, too precise.
The angel turned his direction, and Isaac nearly took a step backwards. For a second, the smile left the man’s face. In that brief instance, without the cheer and manic glee to mask it, the utter coldness present in those eyes bore a chill that settled deep in the bones, the kind that both froze and also made someone want to flee.
The grin returned almost immediately after, but the illusion was broken. Isaac stared at the man, wondering how he’d never noticed how empty his eyes really were.
Casimir held up his hands in mock surrender. “Whoops, sorry sorry.” His smile sharpened. “Wasn’t a total lie though, I really didn’t think you’d still be so much of a coward!” That was directed at Olzu, and the angel chuckled. Instead of his usual boisterous, ringing laughter, this one was lower, closer to a rumble.
Isaac narrowed his eyes. “You—“
“Chill out, I’m leaving, don’t worry!” The angel flapped his wings a few times, whipping up clouds of dust as he began to rise higher in the air. “I got events to check out, places to be.” He shot the two below him a final grin and wave. “See ya!”
With one final blast of wind, Casimir shot up into the sky, leaving behind only the settling dust and a few stray white feathers.
It wasn’t until the angel was out of sight, vanished to the other side of the barrier, that Isaac released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Olzu visibly deflated, and Isaac turned to face the demon, brows furrowed.
“You okay?”
“I hate that man,” Olzu said abruptly, and Isaac realized that the demon was shaking with fury. “Never has there been such a vile, horrid—!” Just as quickly as it had come on, the rage shriveled and deflated. The demon’s wings slumped down, and his expression was replaced with a look of defeat, one that was all too familiar to Isaac.
He’d seen that same expression in his parents’ eyes on the rare occasions they made it back home while he was awake, so deeply ingrained that he wondered if they’d ever lived without carrying the weight of regret. He’d seen it in himself in the cracked, dusty mirror, back in the days before his own anger had sparked. He’d seen it in Lloyd, when his brother had seen him again after so many years and he’d been everything opposite to what he’d hoped for.
“Prove him wrong,” Isaac suddenly blurted. The words tumbled out on pure instinct. He clenched his fist.
Olzu looked up at him in confusion, and Isaac continued before he could process what he was saying. “Join the flying competition. I’ll help you.”