COMPASS OF TRUE LOVE - CHAPTER 31

Chapter 31: Battle under the Boughs

-Sephie-

Leaving Deepwood City took a lot longer than expected. Firstly, because I woke up with two girls cuddled up to me, so I didn’t want to get up early, secondly, because even after getting up late it took another hour to get Ashe to wake up – and even then she more or less just walked alongside us like a zombie – and lastly, because the guards at the wooden gates wanted to know exactly where we were headed and what we wanted to do, which was difficult when all we had as an explanation was a rough direction and that we wanted to meet up with someone.

Eventually though, they let us through but warned us to stay on the trails and stay wary. The demons we told them about when we first came here were apparently still roaming around and another far more dangerous predator – which they called a ‘ruscoqui’ – was spotted in that direction as well.

We left the capital of Deepwood behind us at late noon, heading into the forest proper. We generally followed the direction of the compass, keeping to the trails as best we could. The time passed quickly and soon the sun was already going down, leaving the entire forest in total darkness. We found a place to camp for the night between the roots of one of those massive trees and tried our best to ignore all of the very unsettling sounds echoing through the woodland.

Eventually, I drifted off to an uneasy sleep.

*****

-Lissa-

I peered down from a road-sized branch in the canopy, a hundred or so metres down, onto the small group gathered by the tree.

They’d been hiding away in the city, safe and secure from us. We’re very powerful but taking on an entire capital by ourselves… that was outside our comfort zone.

But now they’ve left, finally. It took all the restraint I could summon to not plunge down and slash them all to pieces right here and now. Clenching my teeth, I stood up and quietly moved across the branch towards the tree trunk. Pressing myself against the wood, I reached out with a spell to Naga.

“They’ve made camp,” I hissed, quietly. Voices carried far through these woods.

“Finally,” Naga’s gravelly voice rumbled back. “We shall strike them soon. The beast is still close, but if we enact our plan with haste, it shan’t disrupt us.”

Right. The damned beast. Been chasing us around the forest ever since we got close to the city. Vicious creature, seeping with divine magic. Tore off Naga’s arm like it was nothing when we confronted it the first time. The second time it clawed out one of my eyes and shattered half my ribs.

Needless to say, we weren’t in the best of shapes, but definitely powerful enough to take down that bunch of weaklings. As long as the beast didn’t catch up in time. We had a couple hours at best.

“We strike now,” I decided. “Signal me once you’re ready.”

“I shall,” Naga responded coldly.

I pressed myself off the trunk and strode across the branch again until I was above our prey. They really had proven to be more troublesome that I hoped. I was seriously regretting this mission and the Aspect was step up from their previous supervisors. Emmyrius, our previous boss, was very powerful, even as vampires went, but the Aspect surpassed him by a wide margin.

Unlike Emmyrius, the Aspect wielded a divine artefact, like our little prey did. That goat skull on his shoulder was nothing but the Skull of Unlife, the divine artefact of Craw, Goddess of Death. Not that the goddess had granted it to him, quite the opposite, most of our work contained stopping the goddess’ agents from taking it back.

That was why I was initially happy for this new assignment. Defeat a divine artefact wielder. So much promise for excitement. But now… I wasn’t so sure anymore. I might even go as far and say that I… regretted it. Body half broken, crawling around a forest so full of life it was sickening, fearing for my life. It had been a long time since I’d felt that. Fear of dying. But the beast instilled a deep primal fear within me. The feeling like I was… prey.

“We are in position, Lissa.” Naga’s gravelly voice ripped me from my thoughts and I focussed back down on our prey. Clenching my hands around my daggers a little harder than usual, I jumped.

*****

-Cassie-

I immediately shot up straight when I saw the flash of light hurdling towards us.

“WAKE UP!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, unsheathing one of my swords. I dashed to the side and the magical bolt thundered into the tree trunk.

Ashe, Nydia and Sephie scrambled to their feet, scanning around for what was happening.

Another blueish green bolt of magic shot towards us, but before I could react, the hair on my neck bristled up and, instinctively, I stepped to the side. Not a second later, the form of the female demon impacted the ground right where I just stood.

“Oh come on sweetheart! Why are you making things difficult?” she hissed, a smirk crossing her face before dashing right into my face, daggers outstretched, pink and green flames licking up the slender blades.

I brought up my sword and deflected one of the attacks. The second dagger slashed across my thigh, leaving a scorched slash. I bit back a scream, only a faint whimper escaping my lips, and brought my sword back around for the next attack.

The demon was fast, tough and unlike me actually had some training. But she was different from the last time. One of her eyes was missing, a large claw gash across her face, framing the empty socket. Her torso was also much stiffer than it should be. She was wounded, which meant I had a chance.

Sephie was focussed on the opponent hiding in the dark, protecting Nydia and herself with a shield of vines. Ashe slipped away, nowhere to be seen.

Lissa, the demon, brough her blades forward again, viciously aiming directly for my neck. Quickly, I interposed my sword, batting both daggers to the side and stabbing forward in the same motion. The demon jumped back, barely avoiding the blade aimed at her already wounded torso.

“Just,” Lissa panted, “give up already. I’m beyond you!”

She rushed towards me, almost right into my blade. I angled it to slash into her, but she twisted and turned underneath it, spinning around to my exposed side. A grimace crossed her face and one of her hands twitched towards her upper torso. The wound, I figured.

I quickly made use of the opening, swivelling towards her and slashing towards her chest, from the side this time. She brought the other dagger up and redirected my attack downwards. My sword slashed into her waist, tattering her already tattered jester-like clothes even more. A black ichor dripped from the gash in her pale green flesh.

Wincing, she dashed back, putting space between us and breathing heavily.

“You’re being- really mean right now- using my wounds against me. Unfair, you know!” she bit, her quipping tone drowned out by she sheer amount of pain coursing through her.

“Your fault for ambushing us,” I bit back. I gripped my sword more tightly and took the stance I’d learned at the training yard in the city, right foot forward, both hands gripping the sword, blade pointing upwards and slightly leaning towards the left.

Lissa’s eyebrows raised up slightly. “You’re learning. Slowly, but you’re learning.”

Her hands clenched around her daggers again and the flames began to lick up the blades anew. She hurtled towards me, one blade slashing at my neck while the other rammed towards my heart. Knowing I couldn’t deflect, I stepped back. Lissa struck at nothing and immediately crossed her daggers defensively, catching my retaliatory attack. The right dagger slipped to the side and shot towards my stomach.

I stepped to the side, sliding my blade away from her other dagger and turning back to my stance. I took a second to assess the battlefield and my eyes went wide. Nydia sat at the base of the massive tree, clutching her stomach, covered in arcane scorch marks. Sephie was standing over her protectively, reinforcing the vine shield as more and more bolts melted away the plants. One of her arms was just as scorched as Nydia’s stomach. There was still no sight of Ashe.

“You’re losing.” Lissa commented dryly. She circled around me, stalking me like wounded prey. “We just need that artefact, you know. None of you need to die.”

The compass. The source of my heartaches. I couldn’t help but think about it. Without it, Sephie wouldn’t go around chasing after true loves anymore. She’d have Nydia and me. She’d be happy and I only needed to share her with her. Which… wasn’t the worst of things. But… I couldn’t do that to her. Rip away the thing that gives her happiness. Betraying her trust… for what? My selfish jealousy? That wasn’t fair.

I shook the thoughts away and glared back at Lissa. I had a demon to defeat.

“Damn and I though I had you there for a moment,” she lamented, going back into a combat stance herself.

We clashed again, bit by bit, carving away at one another. For every gash I left on her, I received two myself. With her morale bolstered by the way the battle was going, she was once again beating me.

She parried another of my swings and pirouetted around, leaving another slash on my leg. A sudden scream tore my head away. Sephie was flung across one of the roots, crashing into the wood, not moving, ghostly smoke emanating from her body. I wanted to scream, but my voice was cut off from the dagger that rammed into my side. I slumped to the ground, vision going hazy.

“Should’ve surrendered,” Lissa muttered above me, a faint quiver in her voice. Almost… regretful.

Another familiar voice appeared.

“Finish them already,” the old man snarled. “I will grab the artefact, then we leave. We do not want the beast to catch up, their pain will attract it.

My head lulled to the side, pressed into the grass. My eyes gazed into the distance, the dark forest surrounding us.

Two sharp green eyes stared back at me, at the edge of my vision.

“We are too late,” the other demon announced, matter of factly. “The beast hath arriv’ed.”