Angelic soul force filled the paladin’s core to bursting. She had been chosen by an angel to be its mortal representative, much the way a warlock served a demon lord. The only difference was an angel would only agree to work with the most pure-hearted mortals, while a demon lord would make a contract with any mortal stupid enough to risk their eternal soul.

If only the woman would listen for a second Damien could explain that they weren’t villains and in fact most likely were working toward the same goal: destroying the demon. He didn’t have a chance to speak before Jen raised her sword and accelerated to warlord speed.

In short order the clash of steel on steel rang through the meadow. Damien groaned at the pointless fight. He and Jen weren’t enemies of the holy warrior. If he could just explain…

The force of their impact sent a shockwave through the air and shook the ground. The two women skidded away from each other, slowing down enough for Damien to see them.

“Excuse—”

Warlord and paladin both raced back together. At this rate one of them would kill the other. Damien needed to end the fight before then, but how? Neither of them seemed interested in listening to him. If they'd just stop fighting for half a minute! He could stop them easily enough, but all his power was going to maintaining the integrity of the flask.

Did you forget about me?

Damien grinned. In fact he had forgotten about Lizzy’s extra power. That should be enough to get the job done. In response to his silent request Lizzy’s power flowed into him. Damien sent it down the outside of his leg then stomped on the ground.

The earth shook.

Jen and the paladin both staggered and fell to their knees.

“Enough!” Damien said.

“What are you doing?” Jen asked. “She threatened us.”

“This trick won’t save you, villain,” the paladin said, her face set in a grim line.

Damien ground his teeth. What had the world come to when he was the reasonable one? “Do you really want to kill a paladin, sis?”

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“As if a mere warlord could defeat a holy knight.”

Jen’s hand tightened on the grip of her sword. Damien had to act fast.

“And you.” He turned his attention to the paladin. “Did you even use your soul sight before you attacked?”

Her stern visage cracked. “I…That is, I saw the demon and you were carrying it from this place and…and…”

“And you assumed the rest. You haven’t been a paladin very long, have you?”

“I, no, I mean, yes. The holy one invested me with a portion of his spirit three months ago.”

Damien nodded. “Uh-huh. Do your superiors even know you’ve left the great fortress?”

“I felt drawn to the life of a wandering knight errant. The holy one said I should serve however I thought best. Hey!” She finally got her bearings back. “How do you know where I was invested?”

“Your heraldry. We studied the paladin orders at The Tower. How about you use your powers to study our auras before someone really gets hurt.”

The paladin huffed out a sigh. “Fine. But if you’re evil I’m still going to smite you.”

“Fair enough.”

While the lady knight concentrated Jen walked over beside him. “What’s soul sight?”

“Paladins can see a person’s aura and determine if they’re generally good or evil. Doesn’t The Citadel have a class on paladins?”

“Yeah, but it mostly covers how to fight them. I don’t remember the master mentioning any powers that didn’t involve combat.”

Damien sighed, not terribly surprised. Citadel training was effective, but very narrow. The paladin had scrambled up on her heels and was staring at them with glowing white eyes.

“Talk about creepy.” Jen shuddered.

When the glow faded the paladin hung her head. “I am so sorry. Without a closer look I couldn’t separate your auras from the demon’s. I might have killed you both.”

Jen snorted, but forbore comment. She sheathed her sword and tugged on Damien’s sleeve. “Come on.”

Damien turned to follow his sister. They hadn’t gone far when the paladin caught up. “So, what are you doing with that demon?” she asked.

Damien rubbed his face. “Let’s find a place to set up camp. We’ll get comfortable and Jen can explain everything.”

“Me?”

“I’m going to be busy, remember?” Damien turned to the paladin. “Do you have a name?”

“How rude of me. I’m Marie-Bell.” She bobbed a little curtsy that looked totally bizarre coming from a woman in mail. “Let me run and grab my pack. I believe I have some tea left. I can fix us a pot while we chat.”

She ran off to the opposite side of the field where, presumably, she’d left her gear. Jen looked at him as they swung around to pick up their own supplies. “She’s nuts.”

Damien nodded. “Odd at a minimum. I’ve never heard of a paladin leaving their post to become a knight errant. Everything I’ve read suggested the Orders acted with great discipline.”

“Ha. I doubt that girl even knows the meaning of the word.”

“Don’t be too hard on her. Marie-Bell is just getting started in her role as a knight. No doubt she’ll improve with time and practice.”

“You’re getting soft, little brother.”

They found a good spot at the edge of the woods. Damien leaned against an old oak while Jen set up camp. He needed to start the process of banishing the demon or they’d never get out of here. He fed power into the flask, slowly replacing the corrupt energy with pure soul force. The demonic energy resisted, but as it did some of the dark fragments shattered.

This might take longer than he thought.