The following day, I was greeted by a thick haze that rippled and eddied on the wind, turning everything a little grayer, as though it were draining the color from the world. It stretched across our camp, clinging to tents and gathering in empty spaces between the troops. The soldiers themselves moved sluggishly, their feet dragging more than usual. Conversations were hushed and scattered, with an overlay of frustration to them.
Captain Sonea stood in the center of camp, barking orders rather than issuing them with her usual instructional calm. However, her sharp voice seemed unheeded by the dull movements of those under her command.
Uh-oh.
I rubbed my eyes and caught sight of Nora near a campfire, her slightly puzzled gaze fixated on Captain Sonea. Even though I was pretty sure of the answer, I asked, “Hey, do you see all this around us?”
She frowned, glancing at the soldiers. “See what?”
I gestured at the air. “The haze. It’s everywhere.”
“Haze?” Nora glanced around, then held still, her face tightening as she concentrated. “Hmm… Oh! It does look a little foggy now that you mention it. But it’s weird…” She reached out and poked at a particularly dark swirl as it slid by on an errant breeze. The black air quivered, and to my increasing astonishment, she absorbed it through the tip of her glowing index finger.
“So this is what animus looks and feels like!” she said, rubbing her thumb and finger together. “I could only use my own before, but now that Master Landon showed me how to sense it… Well, I guess those lessons paid off.”
“Uh, isn’t… isn’t that dangerous?” I stammered. “Too much animus can—”
“I only grabbed a little,” she replied with her signature shrug. “I know better than to bite off more than I can chew.”
“You can see ambient animus?” Relias’s startled hiss from behind caught both of us off guard. “And siphon it out of the air?!”
Nora blinked. “Uh. Yeah, I guess I can…”
Relias looked around frantically, then motioned for us to come closer. “Lady Nora, you must not share your newfound power with anyone! Sensing—and more rarely, seeing—animus is a known ability of powerful Dark Mages and Amity Users. But to intentionally assimilate ambient animus into one’s form is the unique hallmark of—”
“Nora is not a demon!” I half-whispered, half-shrieked.
“I know,” Relias replied, his hand steadying my shoulder. “But others will associate the ability with those monsters, maligning her as one of them.”
“Alright, alright,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “I’ll keep it to myself, okay? No worries.”
Yes, worries! And then some, like Raeanna’s words from last night about her being in danger. But I couldn’t press the issue now. Instead, I resolved to speak with her alone later.
Relias studied her with a long, searching look, then sighed and nodded as though willing himself to believe her. He turned to me, extending his hand. “Dear One, may I call upon your strength? I must see if I can sense this troublesome energy myself.”
“Alright.” I clasped his hand.
He held his breath, squinting momentarily before letting out an audible gasp. “It is far thicker than I anticipated. We must disperse it at once. Yet I cannot discern where it is coming from…”
“We’re in the thick of it,” I murmured. “It could be anyone—or everyone. I doubt there’s just one source.”
Captain Sonea, most likely reaching the peak of irritation with her shuffling subordinates, delivered one final ultimatum to break camp and made her way over to the rest of us. “We’ll be ready to move out shortly,” she announced calmly, though one eyebrow refused to cooperate with her little white lie.
“It’s not their fault, I think. There’s too much animus in the air around here. It’s affecting them.”
Captain Sonea paused, scanning the area. “I’ve noticed the morale’s low, but I assumed it was the continued march.” She glanced at the ground. “If I am to be honest with you, I also find my temper shorter than usual. I don’t believe I’ve ever sworn so much.”
I blinked. “Swearing? From you?”
Nora chuckled. “You slept through it. Even I learned a few new ones!”
Captain Sonea’s cheeks turned red before she asked, “Can you get rid of it?”
Relias looked out over the troops. “I believe it possible. Ambient animus is the outcome of internal strife and unbalanced ill will. If we can shift the mood of the Order—unite everyone—it should weaken.”
Sonea’s eyes narrowed, already calculating. “A hymn to start.”
I blinked. “A hymn?”
She turned to the nearest knight and barked, “Spread the word. Traditional battle hymn. Every soldier sings.”
The knight started to scowl but caught himself, snapping a sharp nod instead. He nodded, moving to relay it.
----------------------------------------
The first notes were rough.
Soldiers muttered under their breath, clearly embarrassed, and the hymn stumbled along unevenly at first. But slowly, it grew. Their voices strengthened, and a few harmonies emerged as more people started to pick up the cadence and rhythm.
Then Faith joined in. The shield’s melody whispered in my mind, weaving through the song like a thread of pure light, pulling it all together with counterpoints that couldn’t be sung through a human range. I froze, overwhelmed by its complexity and how it elevated every note the soldiers voiced.
But no one else could hear it.
Nora noticed my reaction. “Faith’s singing, isn’t she?”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
I sighed. “Yeah, but it’s not exactly helpful to the rest of the troops.”
Nora’s eyes narrowed just as her grin widened. “Oh, I can fix that. One sec.”
I started to feel queasy. “Wait, I don’t think you should—”
“Audite Fiducia!” she announced with a flourish, her staff glowing brighter than I had ever seen.
“What did you just—”
The hymn surged, Faith’s melody erupting into the air like a symphony at full volume. The soldiers froze mid-note, their eyes wide as the sound blasted through the camp, reverberating off tents and armor alike.
“Nora!” I hissed, clutching my ears as the sound threatened to rattle my teeth straight out of my mouth.
“I thought holding the staff would help. Huh. I guess that animus I grabbed earlier might be having an effect. It’s a little… louder than I expected,” she admitted, her voice barely audible over the cacophony.
“A little?!” I yelled, gesturing wildly at the soldiers. Some were wincing; others had dropped their swords to cover their ears. A few stared at us, their expressions caught between confusion and consternation.
“Fix it! Turn it down!” I shouted.
“I’m trying, I’m trying!” Nora dropped her staff, muttering frantically under her breath, waving her hands exaggeratedly as if turning a giant dial. The melody warped, momentarily dropping to a low hum before skyrocketing into a deafening crescendo.
“Wrong direction!” I bellowed, scrambling to cover Faith with my cloak, hoping that might muffle her sound.
Spoiler: It didn’t.
“Wait, wait, I’ve got it!” Nora shouted back. “Diminuendo Sonum!” The sound dipped again, settling into a tolerable volume. “See? Just a temporary technical difficulty. Shall we take it from the top?”
I stared at her, not knowing where to start. Flagrantly using dark magic in front of everyone? Overpowering another spell? Brushing off the unanticipated outcome as if nothing untoward happened?
I drew myself up to deliver my blistering denunciation, my finger already pointing at her accusingly. However, a sharp laugh broke the tension. I turned to see one of the soldiers doubled over, his armor clinking as he clutched his sides. A nearby archer joined him, then another, until the entire camp erupted into laughter.
“See?” Nora smirked. “It all worked out in the end. Maybe even a little better this way.”
I glared at her but couldn’t refute her observation. The continuing sounds of laughter rippled through the air, brighter than any hymn. The haze began to lift as the soldiers turned to each other to join in more normal camaraderie. It thinned and curled away, rising slightly before disappearing entirely.
But not everyone was laughing.
An armored knight from the edge of the group stepped forward, his face twisted with disgust. “Glad you find all of this amusing, Hero.”
The camp quieted as heads turned.
“Perhaps if you spent less time playing and finding ways to mock our ancient traditions,” he continued, “maybe you would have found a way to prevent the attacks from the demon portals. Instead of leaving us to clean up their aftermath.”
I froze, his words striking hard. “I just wanted to—"
“That’s enough,” Captain Sonea snapped, her tone sharp. “You’re out of line!”
The knight straightened but didn’t back down. “Am I, Captain? She has been missing for years. But after that display, I find it hard to believe she ever even attempted to come back. She has willfully neglected her duties, and we’re left with the consequences of her repeated failures!”
“Go cool your head,” Sonea ordered, her glare hard enough to silence further remarks. The knight turned sharply, stalking away without another word.
I swallowed hard, forcing my expression to stay neutral. The moment passed, but the uncomfortable feeling lingered, along with the last wisps of the haze.
“Captain Sonea, would you give me his name?” Relias inquired after he left our sight. “I will find it easier to alleviate his affliction should I know it.”
“Sir Darian Sorne,” she replied quietly.
Relias nodded somberly. “Of noble lineage, I see. I think I shall ride with him this morn.”
I cringed a little. “Maybe I could help, too?”
Relias shook his head. “I believe, unfairly, I should preface, you are a trigger of his anger. Though I welcome your assistance, he would most certainly not. He still rationalizes and obeys commands, so I do not believe he is so far gone that I cannot intervene.”
“Ah, alright then,” I replied, secretly glad I wouldn’t be further subject to the knight’s frighteningly accurate accusations.
We managed to get moving before noon that day, and I spent most of the ride trying to articulate my fears about Nora being the target of demonic retribution as Raeanne had instructed. She listened, of course, even nodding along with me as I pointed out the many reasons why I was worried.
“But don’t you think the same could be said for any of our party members?” she concluded. “No one else has amity skills except Relias. And even then, his attacks aren’t guaranteed. He’s a buffer, not a fighter.”
My sigh came out as more of a groan. “You’re missing my point. Could you…”
What should I say? Be more careful?
No. Too vague, too unhelpful.
“If things with the General go south,” I continued. “I want you to run, okay? Run away, as fast and as far as you can.” I paused, trying a new approach to focus on her creativity. “In fact, that mobile teleportation spell. You should work on that. See if you can come up with a way to make a quick exit without all the restrictions.”
A sad, rather mournful look flickered across her face, but she shook it off with a huff. “Yeah, okay.”
“I mean it!” I reiterated. “There’s no shame in running away when things get to be too much. Just be sure you can run faster than anything else, okay?”
She nodded, but her gaze was more focused on the path ahead of us. “You got it, Cap.”
Yeah, I got it… but did she?
----------------------------------------
That night, the haze returned. It had a strange sparkling undertone, something I hadn’t seen in the daylight. As soon as I saw it, I alerted Relias, who ran off, flagging down several soldiers to find Sir Sorne. A strong shimmer caught my eye as I stood at the edge of the camp, watching the horizon with increasing dread. It started as a ripple in the air, then formed into a long, luminescent vertical crack that pulsed slowly against the backdrop of the dark sky.
It was another demonic portal.
I called up my aura and unsheathed my sword, hoping it would withstand our upcoming assault. The portal was still forming, and it was undoubtedly smaller, without the heralding crashing of thunder and lightning like the one that had opened outside the gates of Chairo.
The sooner I take it out, the better.
Before I could reach it, however, Sir Sorne appeared, spurring his war mount forward with a hysterical laugh. His lance blazed with a holy light, even as a dark, vaporous aura coiled around him.
“Real heroes don’t hesitate in the face of danger,” he bellowed as he charged. “Watch as I put an end to the portal myself!”
“Hold your position!” Captain Sonea screamed, but the knight didn’t even slow.
Sir Sorne reached the crack just as it flared open, the portal anticipating his attack. Dark, curling tendrils shot out in rapid succession, wrapping around both him and his mount.
That could have been me!
His horse was the first to scream as the tendrils grew thicker around them, feeding off their radiating aura. They jerked and thrashed, then fell unnaturally still as the tendrils pulled them into the portal’s maw.
The portal flickered, then stabilized, glowing with a sickly, pulsating light. For a moment, all was still.
Then, within its depths, a demon appeared. Dressed in rich livery, complete with frilly ascot and wire-rimmed glasses, he looked more like a pompous court official than a harbinger of destruction. Only the curling horns and his piercing, otherworldly goat-eyed gaze betrayed his true nature.
“Fire!” Captain Sonea barked, and a volley of crossbow bolts flew through the air. They clattered harmlessly, however, against the portal’s shimmering surface.
The demon didn’t flinch. He simply adjusted his glasses and scribbled something on a piece of parchment with infuriating calm.
What is he doing? Taking notes?!
My grip tightened on my sword.
It doesn’t matter. I’m ending this!
I charged, my blade bursting with a bright blue light as I closed the distance between us.
His head snapped up, his eyes meeting mine. For a moment, his expression was blank, even unreadable. Then, it evolved into pure terror. He dropped the parchment, stumbling backward as if he’d seen a ghost. He gestured wildly at something on the other side I couldn’t see. A flash of light erupted from the portal’s surface as the edges folded inward, shrinking faster than I thought possible.
The crack vanished with a sharp, final snap as I sliced through empty air.
“And just who the hell was that?!” I demanded of all who had just observed, but no one had an answer for me.