Chapter 30
FAMILY
Even though Djinn had just killed her mother, Triana was a demigoddess. Devon knew that her body would soon begin to repair itself, just as his had done when the accursed human aspect of him had perished. With that firmly in his mind, Devon acted quickly and began channelling mana out toward the queen’s soul. Initially, it resisted his attempts to summon it, so he sent more mana into the twitching corpse. With his Reaper’s sight, he watched his target as it vibrated and struggled against the inexorable pull of his magical power. Yet more mana flowed from his arm. He now had every mana-channel open, each at maximum capacity. Although Brack was getting tired, he kept the power coming like the star he was. The torrent flung itself into her chest, grabbed her spirit, and shook without mercy. Triana’s soul finally gave in and fled from her wrecked body, then floated over to Devon. The shadowy self-image was twisted and highly disfigured by the evil it had done in the past. Every soul carried the scars of its deeds. The queen’s soul glared at him unrepentantly.
He watched the souls of other dead creatures come to him with a vague but tired interest. His entire spirit ached, but it was over. They had destroyed Triana and the evil she represented. He wanted to laugh, cry, cheer and sleep all at the same time.
He bundled her putrid black shadow up into a tight ball and stashed it away safely, then watched with detachment as several of his soldiers walked over and kicked the dead queen’s body, their grief and hatred overflowing finally. He didn’t blame them or feel the need to chastise them for their actions. Devon walked over to the corpse and, like his troops, kicked it hard. It didn’t make him feel better. So, he did it again and spat. Even that didn’t give him the sense of closure that he craved.
Devon felt the change inside him as the queen’s realm changed its allegiance and bowed to him. He experienced an infusion of power as hundreds of his people rejoiced and gave thanks. It was their happiness and the new freedom they possessed that would give him the closure he craved.
He turned and looked at the remaining nobles. “All that swear loyalty to us may leave here alive. Those that don’t; won’t. If you choose to live, you can join us in Sanctuary as equals. Any rank, wealth or privilege you may have enjoyed is now completely meaningless. We expect you to contribute to the overall good just like everyone else. Understood?” The nobles looked terrified, but every one of them sank to their knees and made the oath. “Anyone who wants to join our army can come and see me in a few days. Spread the word. Now make your way over to the west wall where my people will guide you to your new homes.”
The fairies trooped out of the room. Devon checked to ensure all the prone figures that remained were genuinely dead and found no less than three fairies were faking it. He killed them in short order and added their souls to his collection.
That was it, all done. The queen was dead, and his revenge realised. So why did he feel like crying? A dainty arm wrapped around his waist, and he looked down to see Izzy gazing up at him with her glowing azure eyes. His mood instantly lifted.
“My wonderful idiot,” She said with a smile. “Just so we are clear. I officially resign from the army, as of now.”
Devon grinned back at her thankfully. Her insults had almost become terms of endearment now. With those few words, she’d lifted his melancholy. “That’s a relief. It saves me firing you.”
Izzy smiled up at him. Sympathy crossed her face when she saw how tired that he appeared. “You poor thing. I think you have earned some rest, relaxation, and unashamed pampering. Gwen and I will organise some volunteers. Let us take you home, Lord Wayfarer.” Izzy squeezed him tightly again so that he understood there would be no argument on the matter.
I want everyone to go back through the waygate, unwind and get some rest. What is left here will still be here when we return to sweep up tomorrow. Now is a time for celebration. Dismissed everyone.> Jet nuzzled him affectionately. Her warm, consoling thoughts washed over him. She was always just what he needed when he was down. Devon scratched his wonderful companion’s head in thanks. Like everyone, she had fought hard for this ending. He put his arm around Izzy, and they walked. ****-**** Gwen stood back and watched the god she loved with such passion embrace Izzy. Even though she had talked with Izzy about it, there was still pain there when she saw him in someone else’s arms. Tiredness pulled at her, and she realised that her depression was more to do with her physical state than anything else. Devon was hers. Anyone who challenged that would die by her hand. She would share him with Izzy as long as the elf played fair. Otherwise… She didn’t want to consider the ‘otherwise’ option. It was a dark place even for her. Izzy thought to her. She sent warmth and friendship with the words. There was great concern for her friend in there too. Gwen snapped out of her darkest reverie. Izzy was her friend. The only one who could see the darkness inside her and so truly understood what she had become. That made her feel relieved, suspicious and fearful all at once. She needed Izzy as much as Izzy needed her. One of them needed to stay by Devon’s side and keep him safe. Gwen had made a pact with Jet, and they both planned to guard him well. He got hurt far too easily and needed looking after. Jet sent Gwen thoughts of warm agreement and camaraderie. She was grateful for such a powerful ally and would carry her proudly anywhere alongside her master. She looked back at Devon and Izzy. She was pondering what it all meant. Gwen was a novice in matters of the heart. She just knew that she wanted him so much it made her insides sting sometimes. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Izzy turned to Gwen and outstretched her free arm toward her. Gwen didn’t need to consider the elf’s words. She hastened over and joined them. Devon gave her a smile that made her shiver with happiness, and Izzy took her hand. They walked through the wrecked palace toward the front entrance. When they finally got outside the building, there were two extremely long lines of soldiers and refugees on either side of the path. As the four of them made their way toward the ruins of the palace gate, applause, whistles, and cheers rang out. Tears and exclamations of utter relief escaped unchecked from over a thousand individuals. At that moment, the four of them realised just how elated the creatures of this realm must be. Their bane and the terror she induced had finally perished. Life, for them, could now begin. ****-**** Devon lay there in his bed and thought. It had been nearly two whole days of resting for him and his troops since they had taken Triana, and he wondered what he should occupy himself with next. Abi had brokered the fairy queen’s soul, Entwaine’s and some other named nobles for which the Pantheon had offered bounties. Now Haven had plenty of points again. He’d even managed to repay some of the favours owed to his mentors. Yet, there was still so much more left to do. Devon rarely slept these days and often got some of his best work done while everyone else lay sleeping, but he didn’t want to leave Gwen on her own. She was currently experiencing one of her rare moments of peace as she lay asleep, curled up next to him. Her slow breathing soothed his thoughts. These days his witch only ever slept in her room when he wasn’t in his. Devon knew that she suffered from brutal nightmares, but she never shared the details with him nor revealed anything about her past. The only solution he had come up with to calm her night terrors was to cuddle her when she started thrashing about madly. With his assistance, she usually recovered quickly enough to awake, remembering nothing in the morning. Now that Devon knew the villagers better, he realised that almost everyone had experienced some form of unpleasant trauma or abuse sometime in their life. Earth realm had become an oppressive place populated by two categories of human: the perpetrators and the victims. His thoughts must now turn to this world and fixing the global mess that was turning everything toxic. But where to start? He would need to quiz his mentors for guidance. His conscious drifting was suddenly interrupted by Beth. ****-**** The war-room buzzed with activity. Electronic components, cables, and hardware lay strewn across the table that had risen from the floor. Office chairs haphazardly surrounded the chaos as gnomes, goblins, elves, and humans bustled about. Beth and Beks had their heads together with Glimmer, who sat on the edge of the table so that she could maintain eye contact. They’d hit the motherlode recently during one of their hacking sessions. They had managed to obtain access to an information storage resource that belonged to Hextaine Corporation, and Beth’s technomancy had allowed the team to waltz right through their security systems. Once inside, they found that nothing was encrypted or protected in other ways. The vast quantity of data they had found was in a corporate area that nobody thought might fall into enemy hands. They’d gotten careless and been caught out by a nerd rebel with some serious magical skills and payback in the forefront of her mind. Beth had been trying to get into Hextaine Corp’s key information areas since she’d been in her teens. Over seventy-five years ago, the Hextaine Corp had taken the world hostage when the vicious C25 virus had decimated populations. As millions perished, the world’s economy went into free-fall. Hextaine formed an amalgamation of some of the largest corporations and rode roughshod over governments with their mercenaries. Now governments only existed as figureheads for the corporate machinations behind them. For Hextaine, slavery was a means to an end, and they had no morals when acquiring workers. The only authority that anybody recognised these days came from the owner of the biggest gun, and Hextaine owned virtually all the guns. At least they had done until now. Some of Glimmer’s projects would make their plasma weapons look like peashooters. As far as Beth was concerned, Hextaine were the primary enemy. The fairy queen that Devon had wanted dead so badly was just a distraction for her. Since then, Devon had asked her to find targets in Earth realm, and she would damn well find them for him. “The facial recognition software is ready and online, mistress. Shall I start the analysis?” “Yes, please, Abi. The image feed is there waiting for you,” Beth replied. One of the primary causes for her joy was a personnel file on every employee within Hextaine. Not only that, but it had an indexed three-dimensional image repository that visually identified each person and linked them to their file. With some clever design and a hefty dose of magic, the new vision implants she was working on would be capable of recognising and identifying Hextaine’s employees after just one glance. Devon would be thrilled when she presented her latest creation to him. Making him happy motivated her more than she dared admit to herself. “Mistress, my master appears in this database, linked by marriage to one of Hextaine’s six leaders. He is identified as ‘ex-husband’ to Jennifer Bryant. Cross-referencing files now. Outputting to display.” Beth looked at the display in wonder. Her original suspicions that Devon was part of Hextaine were indeed unfounded, and here was the proof, but he had been married to one of the six leaders of that evil corporation. And they had – “Oh shit!” While she waited for him, she let her mind drift to somewhere it often went, the god she had once hit across the head with a metal pipe—her darkest time in recent months. Devon had so rapidly become a massive part of their lives. He had raised them all to become something more than any of them could ever have imagined. The man, she was initially sure was an enemy, had empowered them and let them make their own way. He had brought so many people together, and they all became stronger under his guidance. Every time she thought about him, she got itchy, and her stomach tingled. Beth fought the feelings tooth and nail, but they never left her. They’d agreed to be good friends, and that would do for the time being. Devon rushed into the war-room and headed straight for Beth. His eye caught the rotating display that hovered above the table and skidded on the slippery floor as he went rigid in shock. “CHLOE! Chloe, my little girl? But, but how? I’d forgotten her. How could I have forgotten my precious girl? Is she alive? Where is she? If you’ve found her, I can go and get her, right? She could come here. Where is she, Beth? Where’s my Chloe?” He sank to his knees, his brain stuttering and belching memories from Earth realm, back into place for the first time since his reawakening. “Beks! Not helpful!” Beth protested, looking at Devon with concern. His eyes were flicking in random directions, and they were unnaturally wide. He had started to look manic. “Look at him. I’m not wrong.” Beks said. “Devon, please! Just calm down and listen,” Beth said, trying to keep her voice relaxed and using downward-facing palm motions in an attempt to soothe his turmoil. “We have found her, yes, and yes, she is alive.” Beth hesitated and bit her bottom lip in uncertainty. It didn’t matter how she worded this next bit; he was going to lose the plot. Glimmer jumped into a standing position on the table and turned to face Devon. Her big golden-brown eyes were damp and full of worry. “Boss, I’m afraid we have some bad news.” The end.