Chapter 9
"There you are," Eve said, sitting at a long table with a bounty laid out for her. However, as I studied the table more, I realized it was laid out for all of us.
Merlin, Nyx, Almeria, and I sat down to join her at a meal of fresh grains and fruits, with a slightly tart milk set to the side that I assumed had come from goats, at least if my palate was any measure.
"So," Eve started as we dug in, "if I'm to fully cooperate with you, I'd like to understand what you intend to do with our demonic problem?"
I smiled at her question, as vague as it had been.
"Well, right now? I'd certainly like to kill the demons. That seems to be the easiest option," I said the obvious with a chuckle.
Eve responded with a barely patient smile, and I grew serious for a moment.
"You'll have your people stationed outside the instance as if they are expecting demons to come while they run one.
Meanwhile, you'll be here at the sect and better able to protect those who stay here. As for those just outside the instance portal guarding it, we’ll have them fall back into the portal the second they have any issue," I told her.
Eve crossed her arms under her chest and leaned back. "And what is it you think the demons will do in response?"
"They'll stay outside," I answered and held up a finger to forestall a comment that lingered on her lips. Sure enough, she opened her mouth, then closed it, slightly pursing her lips.
She watched me for a moment before speaking. "Go on."
"As soon as your group finishes the instance, they will dive right back in.
That also means when they leave, they need to be ready to defend themselves.
" I glanced at her. "Our group is more than happy to be a quick bulwark, but ideally, what we want is the demons to be drawn into the instance to fight us. "
Eve's pursed lips turned into a vicious smile. "If they follow you into the instance, you can ensure that they're silenced and none remain."
I nodded and glanced over at Merlin. “Merlin and Nyx can stay outside and ensure no reports of the attacking demons make it back to their base."
"Only after we confirm where said base is." Nyx bobbed her head.
I conceded that to her with a tilt and a smile.
"Of course, that's valuable as well. But I'd like to try the instance strategy several times to see if we can't cleanly remove them and draw some of their heavy hitters out before we launch a more direct attack.
After all, we are most likely going to be terribly outnumbered. "
Eve continued to nod along with our explanation. "And through all this, my singular job will be holding down the fort, as they say.
“If it's not too much trouble, then that's exactly what I'd ask from you," I confirmed.
She let out a sigh and shook her head. "You're asking a lot.
It's not every day I let myself be sidelined while someone else takes on my enemies.
" She gave me a big kiss on my cheek that I was almost certain left a fat red lipstick mark.
"But I believe in you," she whispered in my ear, "and my instincts rarely steer me wrong, Bran.
Good luck, and do your best to protect my people. " With that, she sauntered out.
As she left, Nyx scowled as she stood up. Dipping her napkin in the pitcher of water, she began to scrub the lipstick off my cheek, all the while her serpents danced around my head, pecking me with little kisses to claim their territory.
"It's fine, Nyx." I petted some of her serpents as they attempted to tangle me up.
"Of course it's fine. It's not like I'm mad or anything." One of the serpents met my eyes and quickly glowered, saying much the opposite.
***
I seemed to have found one part of the plan that I had not thought through well enough. I stood still, letting out a sigh as the breeze tickled at my bare skin. Almeria stood beside me in a leafy bra and a skirt of grass. I, meanwhile, looked down and was wearing even less on my hips than her.
As we were heading out, one of the sect members had pointed out that we did not fit in with the rest of the First Garden. I had to don this freshly plucked, massive green leaf and wear it like a kilt as my cover. This thing was one stray thought from being broken in half.
"It looks good on you, Bran." Almeria blushed, her eyes dipping down as if hoping to see something peek around the leaf.
"At least someone had a spare skirt for you," I said, crossing my arms over my chest, which happened to make the corded muscles of my arms bulge and attract not only Almeria's attention but the rest of the First Garden who had come with us on this trip.
"Well, it's not that they didn't have spares," Almeria said. "Just nothing to fit you. Besides, the plant even had a rank, and that's a C-rank leaf covering you." Her words only made me frown harder. C-rank would crumple like… well, a leaf in any fight where I went all out.
"Are you sure we'll be okay?" one of the First Garden disciples asked me, and her nervousness was enough for me to dismiss my discomfort and instead grow gravely serious.
"Of course," I said. "When they come, put up a fight, but stay defensive and try to keep yourself safe.
Run into the instance the second you're concerned.
There are a few healers stationed on the inside.
" I checked to make sure there was no demon amongst us.
The last thing I needed was them giving us away.
Still, how the demons knew of every instance that the First Garden went after was still beyond me.
Either they had spies deeply embedded in the sect or they had someone with comparable abilities to Eve who was able to sense a large swath of the rainforest. All I could do was stand and wait.
According to Eve, her team had yet to touch an A-rank instance without demons showing up before it was completed.
Almeria slid a step closer to me, the small blue horns that popped out of her forehead marking her as different, but I doubted the demons would observe us before launching their attack.
I was expecting them to be at least somewhat reckless.
Having already done this dozens of times, they should be overly confident in their ability to deal with the First Garden and its people.
Almeria awkwardly started the conversation. "You and Merlin?" she asked, with a tilt of her head. I could practically see the ears of the First Garden sect members twitch at her words.
I rolled my eyes. This topic was sure to start some rumors.
"Merlin and I have come to an understanding. I suspect that after we get back from this, we'll solidify it," I told her.
Almeria's arm gently and slowly—as if she was worried about spooking me—snaked around mine, catching in the crook of my elbow until she leaned her cheek against my bicep. A faint blush spread across her cheeks.
"That's good. Simone said it would be better if I waited until after Merlin," she said.
I squeezed her against my side. "I see. Do you think Simone sent you with me with ulterior motives?"
Almeria blushed. "I wouldn't ever want to be on the opposite side of Simone's wishes. Though I suspect both myself and Venthra were being given a little more opportunity. That's likely why Venthra is so mad that you sent her away."
"Really?" I asked, turning to stare into Almeria's sapphire blue eyes.
"Oh, yes," Almeria finished with a chuckle.
"Venthra's got it bad, but she's still in denial.
At least Winnie is past her denial." Almeria started to say something else and then shook her head.
"Here I am, having a nice, semi-private moment with you, and I'm talking about other women. " She gave a sad shake of her head.
"Welcome to my life," I said and earned a laugh from the nearby disciples who then stifled it immediately. "If it's not about one woman, it's about another. You've been a great help, Almeria," I said, slowly easing into the conversation.
"I have been, haven't I?" Almeria ran right over anything else I was about to say, staring at me with a determined look before going up on her tiptoes, her lips puckered out, but she was still too short to reach my lips.
I bent down, pressing my lips to hers in a gentle, chaste kiss. It was enough to turn her face bright red, as if the proximity to me had been hotter than a bonfire. She opened her eyes; there was a shimmer of wetness to them that made them sparkle as she stared back at me.
"Thank you for accepting my feelings, Bran." She continued to run right over any excuse I could lay out.
"And here I thought you were shy when it came to these things," I told her.
She snuggled up against me and peeked one eye open. "Simone said letting you talk was only going to make it more difficult."
I squinted at her, and she beamed up at me, resting her head on my bicep as her white hair spilled over me like the softest silk.
"Fine," I said, giving up on pushing her away all at once, though that didn't make me suddenly in love or in lust with her.
"A chance is all I need." From where she was holding my arm, she twisted and shifted until her fingers found mine, lacing them together and squeezing my hand tight.
"You know, we should do some sparring later.
I know you've grown quite strong, but amongst my people, we often let blades do the talking. "
I chuckled. "You'll fit right in with the Borrsons. I'm sure of it."
"Yes, very different warrior cultures, but warrior cultures, nonetheless," Almeria agreed, still flushed in the face and holding me tight, even going so far as to nuzzle my arm.
A moment later, one of the First Garden defenders snapped to attention, drawing his blade.
With the sudden danger, the cute, snuggly Almeria vanished. In the blink of an eye, a rapier appeared in her hand, and she was ready for a fight.
My own gaze was cast out to the rainforest around us.
There was always the soft pitter-patter of water dripping from leaves this close to the last rain.
A small mist hung low to the ground, and in the distance, there were all manner of animal cries, although they suddenly grew very silent as something approached.
Leaves shifted, and that was my first clue of their direction.
I drew a C-rank sword from my spatial ring rather than the Bloodiron Blade that might give me away.
"Oh, it seems like more long pigs have thrown themselves forward to be feasted on," a voice boomed through the forest, loud enough to make the nearby leaves quake.
A nine-foot-tall demon stepped forward. Webbed feet slapped on the soft earth.
Dark gray skin, rough like a shark's, covered him from head to toe, though at the same time, I could also say from toe to toe.
He was completely bald with a flat face and without much definition for a neck, which made his head seem like a big toe with a mouth and eyes painted on it.
Honestly, he had the facial definition of a smiley face.
"Nothing?" he asked, as he finally fully stepped through the brush, and what I thought for a second was a wing-like structure expanded behind him. I stared a little longer at the wings, realizing that they were closer to the fleshy fins of a manta ray.
Almeria was the one who reacted most violently to seeing him. "These are the same demons who were fighting my people," she whispered under her breath.
I quickly tossed her a laurel—a system item of little consequence I’d had sitting in my spatial ring.
If she recognized him, there was always the chance that he would recognize her blue horns for what they were, and the last thing I needed was our presence getting out and becoming known to his leadership.
If we remained strong members of the First Garden, there was much less likely to be an overwhelming response.
"Well, if you aren't going to greet me, I'm sure we'll be happy to start," he said, scanning our group with little reaction.
The forest around us shook, and many more demons peeled themselves from the trees. Some of them looked like their leader, while many others had hard, glossy carapaces, their features a weird mishmash of insect and human. But it didn't matter. They were all demons.
I held my blade out in front of me.
"We're from the First Garden, and you cannot enter!" I shouted.
The lead demon charged forward, straight for me to make an example of me as I'd hoped.
He swung a spiked mace so hard that it ripped through the air with a whistle, catching my sword on the blade as I gave a light swing, pretending to strain with effort as the mace clipped my blade.
It chipped the edge, and I let his force slide my bare feet back on the wet soil.
"Now, where was all that fire?" the demon boomed with a boisterous laugh and cocked his arm back for another swing.
I blocked it with the flat of my blade, barely getting it in place in time to stop it from crushing my chest.
Instead, his mace bounced off my blade, scraping my shoulder and sending blood flinging high into the air.
I rolled away from his swing and charged into one of the others that was bearing down on one of the First Garden disciples.
I smashed them to the ground, allowing the disciple the opportunity to thrust her spear into his face, only to barely spin back around, summoning a shield from my spatial ring as I caught the lead demon's mace, its spikes punching through the shield and nipping at my forearm.
I pushed him off and slashed at his waist.
Only for him to jump back and, with a gesture of his finger, summon a jet of water that slammed into me, folding my shield like it was little more than a crumpled-up wad of paper and tossing me on my back.
"They're too strong! Retreat!" I shouted to the rest of my group.
Almeria shot a spray at the lead demon, who swatted it aside. But then she swept past me, arm hanging down like an opportune hook.
I grabbed it, using her momentum to slide around on the ground and twist, before kipping up to my feet and catching up to her.
The rest of the defenders were bolting into the instance.
Almeria dove forward and stopped a spell from hitting a disciple with her shoulder, while I covered her by sweeping in behind, my broad back working like a poor shield and catching spikes and blasts as I covered her.
I grabbed her, hurling both of us into the instance before anyone else could get hurt.