67. Hazardous Plans

Olzu hadn’t stopped pacing since they’d first stepped foot onto the train. The back of Isaac’s head hit the window behind him with a thump. He could feel the exhaustion seeping into his bones, but at the same time, his mind was still churning, resulting in a rather unpleasant combination of weariness and an inability to relax.

“Olzu, perhaps you should sit down for a bit,” Rosalinde said gently. She was seated across from Isaac, somehow managing to look elegant even inside the worn down train car.

The demon did finally sit down, thankfully, but he kept fidgeting and shifting positions, to the point that he looked a bit like he was vibrating in place. Isaac sighed.

“Calm down,” he tried to say, though he wasn’t sure it was all that convincing.

“I can’t help it!” Olzu exclaimed. If the demon had hair, Isaac was pretty sure he’d be tearing at it. “So many demons’ll be watching, and oh no, what if someone reports it to Lord Lucius and he decides I’m a failure and—“

“He’s not gonna do that,” Isaac interrupted. Olzu huffed, swinging his legs back and forth on the seat. The old plastic lifted slightly with the motion, but managed to remain bolted down.

“I owe Lord Lucius everything,” the demon said glumly. “And here I am embarrassing him!”

“You won’t embarrass him,” Isaac said. “Stick to the plan and, uh, do your best.” The second part made him cringe the moment the words left his mouth—that sort of talk had never been helpful for him in the past, and he immediately regretted saying it. If anything, it had just made things worse for him, because to fail after “doing your best” was a special kind of devastating. He cleared his throat and attempted to change the subject. “Uh, thanks again for all the help, Rosalinde. I know you’re really busy.”

“I’m happy to help,” the woman said simply. She smiled. “And it’s nice to get away from the healing area for a bit.” Her eyes glanced between the two of them. “Are you certain you don’t want my help for your…plan?”

Olzu and Isaac both quickly assured her that they didn’t. To be honest, Isaac had briefly considered just having Rosalinde use her magic again to get Olzu in the air, but there were a few problems with that. First of all he hadn’t wanted to trouble the woman any further, which was a sentiment Olzu seemed to share, and second of all the way her repulsion magic was confined made it difficult to escape the bounds of the magic circle for forward movement. It was perfect for practice, but for the actual race, they’d ideally want Olzu to be able to get into the air faster with a more sudden force, something less constricting that would allow the demon enough momentum to continue flying forward.

The train made a familiar screeching sound as it slowed down and pulled up to the orange line station. Olzu froze, and Isaac had to nudge the demon a few times to get him to stand up and get off the train.

The demon hopped stiffly up the stairs, though admittedly Isaac was no less antsy himself. When they exited the station, the crowds of people had somehow grown even more dense since the day before; nearly every space was filled with either an active event or spectators watching. Isaac could feel the beginnings of a headache as his sleep deprived brain attempted to process the yells, claps, and cheers sounding from around the field as well as the flashes of light and sudden jerking movements scattered across his vision. The place was bursting with activity barely contained within the bounds of the barrier.

Perhaps because of all the distractions, he didn’t notice Mortimer until the half-undead man was right in front of them and spoke.

“Isaac. I was wondering where you were.” His eyes shifted between the members of their odd trio with his usual deadpan look. His gaze paused on Rosalinde. The two Solonell City residents stared at each other silently, and Isaac thought he detected the hint of a frown on Mortimer’s face. When he spoke again, however, his expression was completely neutral.

“I’m going to watch some more events,” he said simply. “Let me know if you need anything.” The man turned away and soon vanished from view as he slipped back into the crowd. Isaac blinked. Weird.

He turned to Rosalinde, about to ask the woman what exactly was going on, but she spoke before he had a chance to. “I’m afraid I must return to the healer’s area. Please be careful,” she said in her usual calm, serene tone. With a single nod, she, too, walked away with deceptive speed.

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Isaac frowned, and beside him, he heard Olzu mutter something about humans being weird. He couldn’t really argue with that.

Isaac just sighed and shook his head, grip tightening on his tablet, and he forced his mind to focus on the task at hand. The flight competition, according to the time displayed on the magic projector screens, was starting in about ten minutes, so they needed to hurry up with the plan. “Come on,” he said to the demon, and he began making his way towards their destination.

—

By the time they reached the commentator booth, Olzu’s nerves had returned at full force, and he was gnawing at the end of one of his claws. It looked rather painful, given how sharp his nails were, but then again the demon’s teeth were also quite sharp, so maybe it balanced out.

Olzu frowned at the sight of the booth, and Isaac wordlessly led him inside. As expected, the interior was exactly the same as before. Fable raised an eyebrow and turned to face the two of them from where they were lounging on the chairs. At some point, they’d started using Isaac’s chair to prop their feet up. The table hadn’t been enough, it seemed.

Fable whistled. “Oh? Is Isaac willingly visiting me? I’m honored.” Their eyes drifted to Olzu, and their eyebrows somehow raised even higher. “You even brought one of those supposed friends!”

Isaac ignored the other Traveler and instead peered outside. He could easily see the venue where the flight competition would take place from where they stood. It wasn’t far at all, and it was so conspicuous that it was impossible to miss it. He turned to Olzu, whose eyes were darting about the place nervously. Fable gave the demon a cheery wave that only seemed to make him shrink even further.

“Okay, just to review. Before the event starts, this pillar’s going to shoot up from the ground. When it does, you’re gonna have to spread your wings and jump down, and there should be enough wind pressure to keep you in the air. After that, moving forward’s up to you.”

Olzu stared at the ground, as though expecting it to move at any moment. It remained still. He swallowed, but nodded. They’d discussed this idea in detail the previous night, though Isaac supposed agreeing to something in theory wasn’t the same as actually doing it.

“Just so you know,” he said slowly, “if you don’t want to do this, that’s also fine.”

Olzu frowned, squinting up at him. “Didn’t you say not to give up?”

Isaac was oddly glad to hear a familiar stubbornness return to the demon’s voice. He smiled wryly. “Well yeah, but safety and all that.”

“Demons’re made of tough stuff,” Fable said lazily from the table. They hadn’t stopped watching the two of them, a grin on their face. They cocked their head to the side. “Didn’t think you’d be out here promoting cheating, though.”

“It’s not cheating,” Isaac said automatically. He paused. Damn it, he’d failed at ignoring them. Oh well, it was a valiant attempt. “Nothing says you can’t start the race flying, and he’ll fly to the starting line on his own,” he continued.

Fable just hummed, adjusting their sunglasses with those bright red gloves. “Eh. As long as it’s entertaining.”

Isaac rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the flying event area, where he could see a few spectators and competitors beginning to make their way over. He paused when he noticed Sharil’s familiar form. The demon was frowning and kept glancing this way and that. Olzu clearly saw as well, if the way he winced was any indication.

“She’s gonna be so mad at me,” he mumbled.

“You could explain before the race starts, maybe?” Isaac suggested. Olzu quickly shook his head.

“Absolutely not! She’d never let me compete.” Isaac could practically see the blood draining from his face. “She might even tell Lord Lucius. Oh no Lord Lucius—“

“Hey, don’t start that again.” Isaac straightened, suddenly feeling his own muscles tense up. He forced them to relax; getting nervous right now would just stress the demon out even more. “Okay, I think it’s about time. You ready?”

For a second Isaac was worried the demon wouldn’t respond, but he watched as Olzu squeezed his eyes shut, inhaled and exhaled, and finally nodded. He stepped forward so that he was at the border of where the booth’s roof covered, and Isaac moved back a few paces. He took the opportunity to take a deep breath himself, and after a final nod of affirmation from the demon, he stomped his foot against the ground four times.

Less than a second after the fourth stomp, the earth beneath their feet trembled before shooting upwards. The earth rose rapidly, climbing and climbing as it formed into a tall pillar. Despite being more prepared for it this time, Isaac still stumbled a bit, though he managed to stay on his feet and keep his eyes open to watch Olzu.

The demon wasn’t moving, rigid as a plank, and Isaac was worried that he’d frozen in fear. As the pillar continued to rise, reaching its maximum speed, however, the demon finally spread his wings and leapt over the edge.

Isaac hurried forward, gripping one of the booth’s supporting poles to keep himself from falling down as he searched the air for Olzu. Just when he spotted the small demon’s form, Olzu gave his wings a great flap, and he was moving forward, high above the ground.

The earth pillar slowed to a halt as the booth reached the upper bounds of the barrier, and Isaac almost collapsed in relief. It was all up to the demon, now.