Chapter 10: Discord

Akali was having difficulty seeing what was in front of her, because she kept remembering the moment when she died. The memory was vivid, almost as if she was still there, but some of the intensity had already begun to fade. Daku's face was right in front of her. He had been yelling something, and she remembered feeling his spit land on her face, but not a thing he'd said. Or maybe she hadn't been able to tell. There had been a lot of pain. She'd felt the blood pouring down her neck like so much warm water. The sun had gotten in her eyes at some point. These few sensations were all that she remembered now, even though they were probably the least important. She couldn't remember her breath or her heart stopping, for example, or her soul leaving her body. It was just Daku's face, and now this. It was a large fern, she realized. It was jagged and dark green. She looked up and saw the blurred outline of a massive tree. There were bright pink and purple flowers hanging from vines here and there. It was a jungle. There was a lot of rustling. She still had all her senses. She could even feel the dirt beneath her feet.

The sun got in her eyes again, and she heard screaming. She was reliving her death again and again, unless...she stopped and took a deep breath, which was rather an odd sensation without any lungs, but now she could hear that the screaming was higher-pitched than Daku's voice, and it was farther away. Then the cry came again, closer this time. She listened and made out the words:

"HAMAVAKI STAB!"

And out of the rustling fern burst a red and black creature about the size of a six-year-old child. It went whizzing past her ear and she yelled in shock. It landed behind her with a thump and rolled over. She faced it and aimed her sword at its face. Then she realized she was holding her sword. It looked the same and felt the same in her hand. Maybe she was still alive.

The creature bounced to its feet and rose to its full height. It was roughly the shape of a human child, with arms and legs and a face, albeit with dull red skin and clothed in what appeared to be a piece of curtain. Spiny wings grew from its back and its bright green eyes flew from her to the sky and in all other directions. In its right hand it clutched a black dagger. Akali brandished her sword.

"In the name of Zel!" she shouted, and then realized she had no idea what she wanted it to do in the name of Zel. She didn't even know what the creature was. The word "demon" banged insistently around her thoughts, but that was impossible. A test, maybe. Zel was testing her.

"Zel?!" shrieked the creature. Then it laughed. The sound was like sick cats scratching at a rusty shield, but she didn't feel the pain of it in her ears. She just noticed. It was definitely a test. So she was dead. Probably.

"You must be new!" it continued, barely able to stop giggling. "Zel isn't here, knighty! But we fight anyway?!" It lunged forward and jabbed its knife against her sword. They didn't clash, but the creature yelled "CLANG!" with far more glee than was appropriate.

"In the name of Zel, I demand you tell me who you are!" Akali pushed her sword forward, and the demon rolled back out of the way. "What do you want and what is this place?"

"Told you. Hamavaki! Hamavaki stab!" it said as its head rolled upwards. "You must be the newest of all!" It spread its wings and jumped off the ground, sailing towards her head. She hefted her shield off her back and swung it up to meet Hamavaki. He-Hamavaki was definitely a he-landed on top of it and slipped across it over her head. Akali whirled around and swung her sword behind her, where Hamavaki was sure to fall. He tumbled into the jagged fern, but Akali's sword went straight through him.

"OW!" Hamavaki shrieked from below the leaves. "You knighted me! I've been knighted right in the shoulders!" He clambered out of the foliage and clasped at his throat, grimacing and muttering and making no effort to pretend Akali had actually hurt him. Akali kept her sword pointed down at his face out of habit, even though it was clearly useless. She wondered why she would even be carrying it if she had left her body behind. Maybe souls could imagine their material possessions from life, although that was nowhere in the Holy Book. Or maybe she was dreaming. Either way, she had to keep treating this as a test from Zel. There was no other way.

Hamavaki tossed his dagger from hand to hand, his eyes focused on the point of her sword.

"My turn! Pointy!" he shouted and threw his dagger in the air. Akali took a step back and brought her shield forward. Hamavaki dove straight through her shield as though it were nothing and Akali suppressed a scream. His dirty claws scrabbled at her forearm, caught hold and propelled Hamavaki further towards her face. On his way there he caught his dagger and stabbed her in the throat.

She did not feel her skin tearing or the flowing of her blood, but pain flooded her body and she felt herself falling backwards. She let go of her shield and landed on her back in the dirt. Every inch of her body felt roasted by fire.

Hamavaki leaned over her head and waved his dagger in celebration.

"You don't frighten me," she said, feeling her body shaking. "I've eaten worse things than you for breakfast." It was something Daku would have said, she realized after she said it.

Hamavaki's high-pitched rambling overlapped with hers. "Stupid silly ghost knight! Welcome to Uul! You can call for Zel all you want, but only demons will hear you!"

"I don't believe you. You're a test from Zel. If this were really Hell, you would be…" Less silly, she thought. "…taller."

Hamavaki laughed again. It was horrible in a different way this time, like a drunkard vomiting live mice. "Don't worry. You'll meet the taller ones soon. Hamavaki will stab them for you. STAB!"

Hamavaki leaped into the air and thin wings spread from his back. It looked like he would fall back down until he began beating them like a sparrow and he soared upward.

Akali's limbs tingled. She didn't understand how her body worked now that she didn't have a body anymore, so she continued to lie in the dirt and watch Hamavaki fly away. Now that the pain had subsided, she could tell that the dirt was cool. Maybe she had passed the test.

The figure of Hamavaki flew into the trees. Then two enormous black things soared into view. Both of them had bodies and wingspans at least three times the size of Hamavaki's. They also had horns. Akali did not need to see them clearly to know that they were demons. She would have loved to continue thinking that she might be alive and dreaming, but she knew there were few possibilities left. She was dead, and she was a ghost, and she was in a hot jungle with demons. Above her there was a conversation:

"We'll kill you, Hamavaki. Leave us alone."

"HAMAVAKI STAB! You and the new knight too."

"Hah! What, a ghost! A knight just died? A Zelist knight?"

"Yeah! She told me things in the name of Zel!"

"Wow. One of the bigger idiots. I bet you cheered her up, Hamavaki."

Akali did not see the demons anymore. The sun was in her eyes and Daku was slashing her throat apart again. She smiled.

Janaka fell on his back. His head throbbed from Saru's staff-blow, and something was jutting into his back. He pushed the ground and dodged to the left as the staff came down again.
"Why do have a staff, anyway?" he said, grimacing. "Not like you need help walking…"
She didn't answer; her body wasn't under her control. Nasatu was bending her to his will. The staff came again, and Janaka jumped back. But he bumped his head on… something. He glanced back to see a shimmering wall dissipate, and forward to see the staff smacking him.
He kicked, sweeping Saru's legs. She hit the ground, making no effort to catch herself. But of course, Nasatu didn't want her to protect herself: He wanted to kill Janaka with her.

Mato groaned. That hadn't been the first punch in the face he'd ever received from Daku, but it had been the hardest one and the third least expected. Slowly, he got up. Quickly, he got knocked back over again.
"Gargh!" he looked up to see someone, whooshing over him on bright red wings.
"Nasatu." he mumbled, getting up and fumbling for his sword. He drew it, and kept it at the ready, waiting for Nasatu to swoop again. As he watched him circle, he heard thumping sounds from where the portal was.
Nasatu came at him, knife flashing. Their blades clashed, and the knife twirled out of Nasatu's hand, falling into Mato's.
"An unstable hermit taught me that one. He called it, 'Traks River Catch of the Day.' Now let's see what your demon pal's taught you."
"This." Nasatu landed, and snapped his fingers. Mato tossed both weapons aside, and Nasatu whooshed in with a punch. Mato went flying, and skidded along the gravel again. His cape had to be ruined by now.
He started to swing himself up, but Nasatu pounced. Mato struggled, but Nasatu's demonic strength was too great. Mato started seeing stars as Nasatu throttled his neck…

For a while Daku had no idea what was happening to him. He tried to see and his eyes hurt. All of his body hurt, actually, or at least tingled like all hell. Before he could figure any of it out it stopped and was replaced by a huge fern. Daku fell into it.

"OW!" he said heroically. The fern poked him in the throat. He grabbed the frond that had done it and tore it off the plant and out of his way. He stumbled out of the thing into the sunlight coming through the canopy far above. There were bright pink and purple flowers sprouting from trees in every direction.

"AKALI!" he shouted. He began running through the jungle and yelling her name.

"So Akali's dead too?" The voice came out of a nearby tree. It wasn't a shout, but the voice was powerful and it stopped Daku in his tracks. He looked up. At first he couldn't see anything amongst all the twisted vegetation, but then some of it spread its wings. It was a demon, and he jumped down out of the tree to land a few feet from Daku.

"So who killed her? You?" The demon was wearing a dark green outfit that blended with the colors of the jungle, and a bitter expression. He was slightly taller than Daku, with large wings, but an otherwise humanoid body. There was a strange metal object in his hand. Daku drew his sword. He tried to speak, but his throat got in the way.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You kill a lot of people who get in their way. Or even get close to you. Don't you, Daku Hammerfist?" The demon stepped close to Daku.

"Get away!" said Daku. He knew this demon somehow. How?

"That could be arranged. But I'd like it if you could at least remember my name." The demon pointed the device at Daku. The front was a hollow cylinder.

"I owe you nothing, demon!"

"What do I have to do? Threaten to confiscate your hammer?"

Suddenly Daku remembered his sword entering the demon's neck. He had been less green then. More silver. Like a soldier. On a mission into a small village with a few knights and an emissary and the smith in the village would not shut up.

"Oviscean," he said without wanting to.

"There we go." There was a bang like he had never heard, and an intense pain in his chest. Everything went black. Then the light came back, in a dim and fuzzy way. A green shape put its hand around his neck.

"You get away!" said Oviscean, and then Daku was flying through the air. He felt like he was missing something.

Janaka glanced around for his brother. He'd need to subdue him in order to keep him from attacking through Saru. He saw the demon pinning Mato, and narrowly dodged another swing from Saru as he rushed towards them.
He tackled Nasatu, who tumbled out of his grasp and flew back up. But before Janaka knew what was happening, there was a swift and gruesome flish sound. Nasatu shot to the ground, a black spear through his heart. He fell, his death too quick for the slightest gasp.
"NO!" Janaka yelled.

Mato looked up, dazed, to see an angel. He was definitely an angel: There could be arguing this point. He had white, awe-inspiring wings, many-colored hair that floated around his head, and a body that made Mato feel insecure in his masculinity.
The angel spoke, in a dark, confident voice. Mato wasn't sure if he was being protective, condescending, or both. This was because Mato didn't understand a word the angel had just said.
"Uh… Sorry, man… angel… manly angel, but I don't speak Angelic or whatever you guys speak up there."
The angel frowned, and rolled his eyes, and pointed at something a few feet left of Mato's shoulder.
"Huh?" Mato whirled to look behind him, sword at the ready. "Something behind me?" He turned back, slowly. "I guess not."
The angel pointed straight at Mato.
"Me…" Mato followed.
The angel mimed that his fingers were a pair of running legs.
"Run? I should run?"
The angel shouted at him.

"Yeah yeah, sure. I'll go! Just let me make sure my friend's okay." Mato made a beeline for Saru.

She was on the ground, rubbing her eyes. "Uwrgh…" she said.
Mato helped her up. "Are you alright?"
"Like I just woke up from the wrong part of sleep. But I'll be fine."
The looked at the angel, who had taken a position in front of the portal, his black spear pointed at it.
"He wants us to go away." said Mato, quietly.
"I'm okay with that. But where's Janaka?"

Janaka looked around the world on the other side of the portal. The flora was much denser and virulent than most he'd seen on Nolix, but Janaka was no botanist. He wasn't sure if the angel had seen him escape or not, so he hurried on into the jungle.
He had some idea of what was going on: Nasatu had involved himself in a plot with one or more demons, who wanted to re-connect Uul and Nolix. Why any demon would want to come to Nolix was beyond him.
With the immediate danger gone, Janaka started to notice something… He was moving faster than normal. He and Mato had been running miles without rest, but Janaka didn't feel tired. The world seemed lighter, easier to manipulate.
He also had a funny feeling in his wings.
Wait, what?
Janaka flapped, and sure enough, he felt the air whoosh against two new appendages on his back.
I'm a demon.
"See Nolix?! Find friends?! Stab!"
Janaka vaulted behind a tree. Quickly, he climbed into it's shady branches.
"Yes, Hama! We're going to find our friends. And I'm sure you'll stab plenty, if not all of them."
He watched, as two creatures walked by his hiding place. One was tall, humanoid, and female. Janaka hesitated to think "human," given her abundantly red skin and vivid, butterfly-shaped wings.
The other was a horned imp, about the size of a human child. Bat-like wings sprouted from his shoulders.
"Hamavaki stab!" declared the imp, swiping a bejeweled dagger at the taller demon.
"Quit it!" she said, swatting the imp away. "And you're not to stab Magleus either once we find him, no matter how happy you are to see him again."
"Mraw…"
Once they'd gone by, Janaka started to sneak after them, but stopped and turned around; he had a more important quest on Uul.

"We should do something."
Saru and Mato were resting against a large, fallen tree.
"Yeah…" said Mato. "But what? I'd like to see what's on the other side of that portal, but that scary angel's in the way…"

"I could use my magic to hold him in place. If he's as powerful as Nasatu, though, he might break out of such an enchantment easily."

"He looked stronger than Nasatu."

"So I'm ruling that out as an option…" Saru looked into space, thoughtful. "Still, it seems worthwhile to keep an eye on the portal."

"Are you ready to do that?"

"Janaka was very nice while I was attacking him." Mato felt one of his heart-strings tug. "The damage I've suffered is minimal."

"I'm sorry you got hurt at all. I'm your bodyguard, I shouldn't have let-"
"Really, don't worry about it, Mato. Now let's go check out that portal."

They headed back through the sparse trees, towards the rocky wall on which the portal was painted. But on the way, Mato caught sight of something: A drop of blood on a leaf of trampled ivy.

"Hold up." he said, and pointed at it.
"What?"
Mato leaned down, and touched it. He brought his finger up for Saru to see.
"Oh…" she said.
Mato licked it, and contemplated the taste.
"Does that help you conclude if it's human or not?"

"Well, no… The old man didn't seem to think that was important. I can tell you whatever bled this was probably getting enough iron, though. Because apparently we need iron."

"Um… Quaint?" Saru said. "Let's look around. Maybe we'll find what bled it." She said it as if she didn't really want to find the bleeder, which she mostly didn't.
Mato drew his sword, and walked through the ivy cautiously. He found a clearing, where the glint of a familiar shield told him what he really didn't want to know.
"Oh Zel…"
Akali was lying in the clearing, a pool of blood spilled from her throat. Her arms were spread out, her face serene: Like she'd faced death head-on.
Neither of them could say anything. Silently, Mato touched her arm, checking for a pulse. He shook his head.
"What could have happened to her?" Saru shuddered.

Mato proceeded slowly. "Seconds before Nasatu showed up, Daku came out of nowhere, punched me in the face, ran past us, and broke into the portal. I think there's a connection."

"I get it…" Saru said. "Nasatu left me tied up in that tree so he could kill Akali. But what was he trying to accomplish by doing so?"
"I don't know… Maybe he needed to eat her soul or whatever? Now that he's a demon?"
Saru frowned, and closed her eyes. "I'll sense around for magical signatures."
Mato hadn't known Akali long enough for her death to really get him down; not like losing his mom. But still, it made his heart sink to see her dead… She'd been brave and energetic, with that spark of heroism in her eyes, just like the knights of legend. And she'd been nice. Mato had always been of the opinion that the world didn't have enough nice people.
As Mato watched Saru meditate, he heard a faint rustle nearby. "Sar-"
"Shh; I'm picking up something." Saru said.
Mato looked around the clearing, but Saru suddenly grabbed his arm. "Something's coming!" she whispered urgently. "Hide!"
They dove under a thicket. A pair of quiet, robed figures entered the clearing.
"Well shit, Orph: A dead knight."
"Yes, Mr. Pinephros, so I observe."
"A dead woman knight, too. Someone had better get ready for a face full of frozen daggers!"

"I assure you, I require no proof that you are obsessively protective of women, Mr. Pinephros. Now, perhaps Ms. Caul and her companion can inform us of the situation when they've removed themselves from the thicket."

"Oh, bugger." Saru whispered, and got up, brushing herself off, embarrassed. Mato followed suit.
"Saru!" said one of the figures, a youth with blond hair.

"Heekin." said Saru. "And Teacher Orph…" she said, looking at the other figure, an older man in dark robes. A hood obscured his forehead, but let a few locks of raven-black hair outline his piercing, azure gaze. Strangely, Mato felt much more afraid of this man than he had been of the angel. There was a sense of foreboding mystery about him, like the inscrutable depths of a murky lake.

"Saru Caul." he said. "Mr. Pinephros and I have come to investigate the magical disturbance that has transpired. Tell us what you know."
Saru gulped. "This knight was our friend. We have reason to believe she was slain by a demon. There is a portal nearby, guarded by an angel."
Orph nodded. "Show us this portal."

The angel was still there when they returned, standing like a statue. A statue of an angel pointing a pike at a portal.

Orph raised his hand, signalling the others to stop. "I am going to read his mind. Ms Caul, create a barrier if he retaliates."

"Okay."

Orph stared at the angel, and focused, slipping into the back of his mind like an infiltrating spy.

Daku fell through the air and the canopy shot past him. There was a sound like shrieking metal and burning and he felt that the air was warm. He came to a stop a few feet below the ground, and bounced up. He saw a pair of young men dashing towards him. They weren't like the demons he'd seen before and had no wings. But they had weirdly colored skin and a not-so-human look about them. They were dressed like… ship's captains. Explorers.

"Hey ghostie!" one cried, but was quickly interrupted by the other:

"Have you seen-"

"A portal to-" Each seemed intent on finishing the same sentence before the other did.

"Nolix?"

"Yeah." said Daku. "You seen a knight girl with hair like golden grass?"

"No. But I'll help you-"

"Look if you show me-"

"The portal-"

"To Nolix!"

"For I am Captain-"

"Elias-"

"Wisidang-"

"The Cloud-"

"Blower-"

"AAAAAAUGH!"

Daku and the two explorers turned in the direction of the scream.

"That's her!" He yelled. Each explorer grabbed one of his arms, and shot towards the source.

Akali was on her knees in the clearing, pounding silently against the ground.

"Akali!" Daku exclaimed, as the captains flung him towards her. She floated up, and stared. He saw something like tears streaming from her eyes.

"Akali…" Daku said. "I tried to not kill you, but then I did, and I couldn't resist trying to bring you back, and now I'm dead too and… I'm sorry. I didn't know I could be, but I am."

She gazed at him, eyes wide. "You tried, Daku. That's all that matters."

They embraced, for the first time. They had no bodies, no heartbeats, no warmth. But they had each other. And, at least for those moments, that was all they needed.

Akali murmured, her voice like the first new trickles of water through a dried-up creek. "I know I shouldn't, but… I'm glad you're here. Maybe hell won't be so bad with you."

"Hell? You mean that crater in the desert of Raz?" Wisidang chimed in.

Noticing the two captains, Akali let go of Daku, embarrassed.

"Isn't this hell?" asked Daku.

"Nope. Hell's really far away from here. Nasty place." Elias continued.

"I explored it!"

"Not before I did!"

"Wait… Who are these guys?" Akali said.

"They're Wisidang and Elias, apparently." Daku said. "I think they're explorers? Maybe demons, but-"

"Demons? Halfsense!" declared Elias.

"We're Humankin!" said Wisidang.

"Half-human, half-demon."

"You don't seem very evil…" Akali pointed out.

"Evil?" Elias looked affronted. "Are we supposed to be evil just because we're part demon?

"That'd be terribly limiting!" said Wisidang. "So how about showing us that-"

"This is all wrong!" Akali yelled. "Good people aren't supposed to go to hell when they die!"

"I was alive when I explored it."

"We were born on Uul, actually."

"What?" said Daku. "I thought this was the land of the dead; y'know, since we came to it. After dying."

"Oh, it is. Doesn't mean we can't be alive, though. Anyway, can we go to the portal now?"

"Yeah." said Daku. "But me and Akali can't seem to move very well without bodies. Could you-?"

Wisidang grabbed Daku, and Elias swept up the immensely confused Akali. Daku managed to direct the excited pair of Humankin towards the portal before they figured out that he wasn't sure where it was. After much jumping around, they found it. Elias and Wisidang simultaneously leaped through it, bumping into one another. Their feet barely touched the ground before they shot off into the trees.

Meanwhile, Akali and Daku were coming back to life. A surging, euphoric wave of sensations went through them as their bodies returned, seemingly from nowhere. Their hearts and veins throbbed. A gentle breeze touched their skin. Sharp images blasted their eyes.

The first of thing Akali saw was Daku. The dirt and grime that she was used to seeing in his hair was gone. Yet he still had a rugged look, contrasting with a boyish smirk that not even death could wipe from his face.

She threw her arms around him again. It felt so good, sharing the warmth, the joy of being alive… He returned the embrace. They stood there, silent, arms wrapped around each other.

She kissed Daku on the cheek. He whispered in her ear:

"You missed."

She drew her face back. "You're right," she said, and punched him in the gut.

Hylope kept his eyes on the portal, his pike ready to lunge at the first sign of a demon. The foreign jungle of Uul beckoned to him from the other side, but he stood his ground: His orders were to guard it, and he could not let his personal ambitions override them.

With a mighty stomp, a demon entered Nolix. Hylope recognized his savage, chiseled face at once. It was one of the two faces he'd never forget.

With a scream of fury, Hylope shot at the demon, pike aimed straight at his heart. The demon beat his wings, thrusting upwards. A scarlet line appeared down his chest.

The two combatants landed, about ten yards from each other.

"Nagrael." said Hylope, every syllable dripping with spite.
"Do I know you?" said the demon, chuckling. "You look familiar, but angels all look the same to me anyway…"

"I don't know your barbaric tongue, demon." As Hylope spoke, he began to glow brighter and brighter. "But I know you, Nagrael. I've been waiting 2379 years to find you and take my vengeance. It has renewed my faith in Zel that you were delivered to me so early in this conflict."

Hylope lunged again, thrusting with his spear. Nagrael caught it in a great metal cylinder. Hylope glared as Nagrael grinned.
"Delivered? Only by chance. With all the angels I've killed, there must be a million of you with personal vendettas against me. You were just unlucky enough to find me first."
"On the contrary, demon. I couldn't be happier with my luck."

Hylope's light escalated to a blinding flash. He pulled his spear out, jumped up, and struck again at Nagrael.

Nagrael caught the spear by the tip. Blood trickled down his hand as he chuckled again. "I've gone months with my eyes blackened by sunlight. Don't think I need to see you to kill you, little angel."

He pointed his cannon at Hylope, and fired.

Nasatu was slumped against a tree. He wasn't sure how he was doing that without a body, but he didn't much care; was too busy being miserable.
It wasn't even because he was dead, though that was part of it. It was because of the path he'd taken. In his quest to get back at Janaka for being a lousy brother, all he'd done was kill a knight, get a bunch of people pissed at him, and help some demon further his goals.
He stared at the blurry ground for a while. He was lost. He wished his death had taken away his consciousness like it was supposed to, so that he wouldn't have to wonder what in the world he would do next.
"Nasatu."
He looked up, to see his brother, standing tall with the sun behind him.
"I don't like what you've done with yourself. But I was the one who caused you to do it, and it's my duty to help undo the damage."
Janaka held out his hand.
Nasatu stared up at him in wonder. As if in a trance, he took the hand. He floated up, next to Janaka.
"Times are changing. The world's about to become a very unstable place, and we won't be able to trust governments and societies for very long. There's only one thing we can trust, Nasatu…"
Janaka's knife was out. He gripped the blade, and cut. He put his bloody hand before Nasatu.
"Blood. That's what ties us. Betray it, and we're both on our own. Do you understand?"
Nasatu gazed at the blood, transfixed. Janaka held his hand steadily as it dripped to the soft, jungle floor.
"Yes." Nasatu said.
They grasped each other's hands, the flowing energy of their personalities intertwining.

"Demon with a cannon. Can't say I saw that coming." said Heekin.
"Looks like the angel didn't either." remarked Saru.
"I suggest we high-tail it before the demon notices us." Mato said. "I somehow doubt he wants to be our friend."
"Indeed." murmured Orph, turning quietly.
"AAAAAAH!"
White light washed over them. As their vision cleared, a very prominent change to Heekin became apparent.
Heekin had a huge pair of white wings, just like the angel had. His skin had taken on a smooth, unearthly quality, and his hair was a floating wave of colors.
"Huh." he said. "I feel awes-" He was cut off by an intimidating string of words from the approaching demon.
"Sorry, big guy;" said Heekin. "I don't speak demon."
The demon surged towards Heekin, swinging his cannon. Mato and the wizards scattered, but Heekin shot up into the air. "But I do speak violence!"
He spread out his fingers, and sent a jet of cold at the demon. Icy crystals rained onto the dirt and grass, many of them covered in blood.
The demon roared, his wings thrusting him towards Heekin. Heekin tried to dodge, but the cannon slammed into his stomach. He careened into the ground, leaving a streak of disturbed earth where he landed.
The cannon came down to finish him, but it crashed against a brilliant white shield. Yards away, Saru's hands were clenched in concentration. Mato slid under the barrier, and swept the beaten angel out from under it.
A voice boomed from above. Another angel descended, a magnificent sword of flame in his hands. Like a comet, he shot at the demon, flames flying everywhere. Both he and the demon were obscured.
Mato frantically pulled Heekin behind Saru, who created a massive wall to protect them from the fire. Exhausted, she let it dissipate when the flame was replaced with smoke. The smell of charred flesh filled the air.
Out of the smoke walked the angel, his red, rune-covered robe billowing in the wind with his iridescent, rainbow hair. Though his frame was slighter than that of the angel from earlier, he seemed to fill the scene with his tenacious presence. He spoke, in a voice like the roar of his own fire.
His words might have been more profound, if anyone listening had known his language.
"Uh… Sorry?" said Mato.
Orph stepped forward. "He said… The courage possessed by a fighting, heroic person, is fire, which causes fear to be cinders. Afterwards, the wind moves forcibly those cinders to Hell. Or so I read."
The angel seemed perplexed for a moment. Coming to a conclusion, he shouted: "RAAAAH!" and extended his arms towards the skies.
Saru looked between the angel and Orph, confused.
"Stand back, guys." said Mato. "I think I've had enough conversations with Daku to speak Arghish. AAAAARGH!"
"HURRRRRRR!" replied the angel, pounding on his bare chest.
Mato pointed at the portal, and said "GRAAAAGH!"
"AAAAAAAAHHH!" yelled the angel, and thundered towards the portal. He thrust his sword into the ground, and a wall of flames engulfed the portal.
"Alright, then." said Mato. "So what do we-"
"Heekin! Are you okay?" Saru had knelt next to the newly winged, heavily cannoned angel.
"Uhh…" he shuddered faintly. His eyes were weary slivers.
"We should remove him from this area. It's too dangerous." said Orph.
Mato and Saru hoisted Heekin over their shoulders.
"Huh. He's lighter than he should be." Mato remarked.
"Probably an angel thing. Helps them fly." said Saru, as they carried him back into the woods.
Mato felt something, a little flicker of confusion in his mind. Something was off. He looked over his should at where Orph was walking behind them, and remembered something his wise old master had told him:
"It's a damn funky world out there," Crazy Old Uncle Farelsh said, gesturing at a large rock and some pine trees. "There's buggers who'd rather read your noggin with slippery magic tricks than sit down with a good book. So when you run into the aforementioned buggers…" He slammed a worn magazine on the stump in front of Mato. The cover depicted an improbably proportioned woman having problems getting dressed. "…Give 'em something to look at." Farelsh chuckled, giving Mato an urge to wash himself.
Mato focused his mental energies, recalling every angle and curve of the images he'd spent hours staring at each day. He wasn't letting any creepy wizard get the better of him.
He'd done most of the staring at a girl a few pages from the back, pictured letting a black sheet fall off her slender frame. He wasn't sure, but she looked like she'd been drawn from a model; there was something real about how her soft, amber eyes looked through the top left corner of the frame, like a seagull who'd flown too far from the shore.
Mato's foot got caught in a root, and he fell forward. Saru's barrier caught him halfway through the fall, and he stumbled back, securing his hold on Heekin. Sulking, he decided against using the anti-mind-reading technique further.

Birds. Why did they chirp so incessantly? To tell each other where food was? To warn of approaching danger? To entice one another to mate, and spawn more birds, which would also chirp?
These thoughts fell from Mizelane's mind as she perceived a roaring sound and flashes of orange and red.
Quab hurried towards this racket, his shredded black cloak rippling behind him, followed by his cultists. Mizelane followed, intending to make sure the fire destroyed as much as possible.
Even the deranged cultists were awed by what they discovered. The angel stood at the threshold between two worlds, surrounded in flames that leaped towards the sky.
The cultists stared. Before them was living proof of the greatest threat to their revelry, one of the legendary soldiers who had been the bane of their master.
"Well, what the hell are we waiting for?!" Quab yelled. "Rip 'im to shreds!"
Weapons raised, they surged forward. The angel turned, sweeping his fiery blade through Quab, who fell to the ground laughing as the flames consumed his flesh.
The angel whirled, his eyes blazing hotter than the fire that wreathed him. He caught two cultists, who fell into the wall of flame and screamed. A third, however, got a jagged knife through the angel's chest.
The fire began to die down as the angel crumpled. Vone, the cultist who had stabbed him, looked down and cackled. Those who had been cut and incinerated gurgled and shuddered as they died. Mizelane felt no remorse for them; only disappointment in them for not laying more life to rest before they died.
Vone took a cigarette out of his pocket, lit it on Quab's flaming corpse, said "Sleep now in the fire," and took a puff as he walked through the portal.
Mizelane hadn't noticed it before now. Perhaps it was the source of the magical disturbance she'd felt earlier. She approached it, cautious of the flames.
Suddenly, her vision was filled with white. She felt power, energy, life surging through her. A pair of wings, her third set of limbs, sprouted from her back. Perhaps, she thought, she wasn't meant to scour life from the world after all: She was meant to enjoy it, to frolic in it's beauty.
But she pushed these temptations from her mind. She would not let frivolous, earthly pursuits stand as obstacles on her true path. Resolute, she strode through the portal.

Hylope smiled, polishing his rock with a piece of soft leather. The rock was smooth, hard, and a deep ochre, well worth the week's journey into the deranged sand dunes. It would make a fine gift for his bride, conveying the strength and stability with which he would love her. In addition, it would provide a good surface for crushing herbs.
"Hylope?"
He turned to see Emphora, clad in his second-most bead-covered tunic. "It is time, my friend."
Hylope stood, holding his rock tightly. "I am prepared."
They walked together towards the Large Rock of Amalgamation, in silent reverence of the sacred occasion.
The whole clan was gathered around the rock, a circular mass of people. They parted, allowing Hylope and Emphora to approach the rock. Hylope gazed into the eyes of his friends and family as he passed them by. His mother blew her nose on a piece of woven grass.
The musicians played on their wooden flutes as Hylope and Emphora reached the Rock of Amalgamation. Emphora took his place at the foot of the stone stairs, and picked up the ceremonial Stick of Regret. If Hylope fled and left his bride at the rock, Emphora was honor-bound to hit him with the stick on his way out.
As Hylope ascended the steps toward the love of his life, he couldn't remember a single time he'd felt so alive, so terrified, so glorious. He took the last step, and Llanna was there, waiting for him.
Her golden hair was laden with beads, like curtains around her beaming, round face. A dress made of white feathers embraced her sun-touched skin. Hylope looked into her eyes, and let all his thoughts wash away in the emerald sea.
Entranced, he extended the ochre rock to her. She sighed, and the air turned into flowers as she took it and slipped it down her dress as tradition dictated.
Slowly, they locked hands, drawing closer. Hylope closed his eyes as they kissed…
The cheers of the clan were suddenly replaced by a chorus of gasps. As Llanna and Hylope withdrew, smiling, he noticed something behind her.
"Llanna, you're-"

"-Angelic" Hylope muttered as he was pulled back into consciousness.
He felt different. He didn't feel good. It was almost as if he didn't feel anything…
He lifted his hand. It was blurry, and partially transparent. Hylope knew what this meant: He was dead. And he wasn't in Zel's realm. He wasn't with his beloved. He wasn't worthy to see her again, because he'd failed. Her murderer still ran free. Now Hylope was stuck in limbo forever, unable to fulfill his oath.
But just as he lost the spark of hope that had kept him going for so many centuries, he felt life crash into him like a battering ram. Blood flowed in his veins like lava, and the dark jungle became vivid before his eyes.
His skin was now a shadowy gray, and he felt a pair of wings on his back. They weren't like the old ones, though…
Hylope had been infused with a new source power. This would make him the enemy of his former companions, but this was of no consequence: All that mattered was vengeance, and the path to it was clear once more.
He rose, and clenched his fist. "I will avenge you, my love. I will defeat Nagrael, rip his skin from his flesh, tear out his bones, and watch him die, helpless and bloody."
Hylope flew into the sky on a pair of black, leathery wings.

Janaka walked the path back to Nolix, his brother floating next to him, holding his hand.
"Now," he said. "Tell me more about these occult dealings of yours. Start from the beginning; I want to know everything I can about the demon who took advantage of your vulnerable emotional state."
"I remember… There was a face." Nasatu said, slowly. "A face in fire. I talked to the face."
"Can you be more specific?"
"It's blurry. Like my past is scattered in a lake and I can't find all of it."
Janaka stopped, turned, and looked at the shade of his brother. His eyes narrowed as he pondered something.
"Oh, right!" he said. "Your brain is on another world, and dead. Hopefully you'll return to normal when we cross the portal. Or maybe if you move back inside your body; I dunno how this sort of thing works."
It felt good, being brothers again. Neither of them was going to say it, but it felt good.
Janaka pushed a fern aside to reveal the clearing, where the sunlight of Nolix shined off of a great tree's trunk. With a light push and a "Let's hope this works," he sent Nasatu back into his own world.

Orph moved a few fallen branches, clearing the way to the kinetic chamber he and Heekin had arrived in.
I guess I'm going back to the Academy, Saru thought. She and Mato carried Heekin through the door, and sat him on the circular metal bench inside the chamber.
I hope I don't get punished too bad for taking the orb with me.
Orph moved to the control panel on the wall, pressing the runed buttons to prepare the chamber to launch. "Ms Caul, you must return to the Academy of Supernatural Research presently. Your personal consequences for the theft of the Regulator will be decided when its impact, and your role in the events of late, have been accurately determined."
Mato glanced at Saru worriedly. She looked back at him and knew that her expression would be opaque. There was so much she wanted to tell him. If only any of it made sense.
"Mr. Drakani, your employ as Ms Caul's bodyguard will be terminated. You may-"
"Change of plans." Saru said, raising her staff. Brilliant blue rings formed around Orph's limbs and mouth. He jolted reflexively, but the rings prevented him from moving. "Mato, the green button!"
After looking around for a moment, confused, Mato lunged at a large green rune on the control panel. Saru pulled Mato out of the chamber, just before the ramp came up and sealed the chamber. It crackled with electricity, rose into the air, and hovered off into the distance.
"We have to move quickly." Saru said. "Those rings won't hold for long, and he'll come right back. We need a place to hide…"
"Easy." said Mato. "To the portal!"

Daku slumped to the ground and rolled around in the dirt.
"Oh, wow!" he said. "I'm not even mad you punched me, it just feels so good to feel things with my body again!"
Akali kicked him in the back, but not hard. "Daku! Stop liking it when I hit you! Don't you ever react appropriately to anything?"
Daku looked up at her. "That ain't really what I do."
Akali looked out over the grass. The sun was shining, and she felt as though it might be the last time. Behind her she thought she could feel the portal distorting reality.
"Where do we find the others?" she asked.
"I don't know, but we'd probably better run away from here. Oviscean's probably after me, and I'm pretty sure he's a demon now."
Akali stared at him. "Oviscean? You saw Oviscean? You killed Oviscean! You bastard ass-" she charged at him again.
"No, no, I'll just like it, remember?" said Daku, and she stopped. "Anyway, he killed me when I saw him, and that's how I died. So...I guess we're even."
"You can't be even when you kill someone, Daku! Not ever."
"Why not? I killed him, he killed me. Seems pretty even to me."
"That's just not how it works, because-actually, that does seem pretty even..."
Daku sprang to his feet, laughing. "Akali! You're so sex-" Akali glared at him, but of course the worst of it had already been said.
"Shut up! Where can we find Mato? You must remember where you last saw him!"
"I ran past Mato and Saru and Janaka fighting Nasatu on the way to the Portal in the Mountains. But, y'know, where's that?" Daku looked off into the distance. "Maybe if we just yell for them." He raised his voice far too much. "MATO! SARU! AKALI HAS SOMETHING TO-"
"Stop that! Don't act as dumb as you are," said Akali. "Plus, who knows who'll hear you yelling like that?"
"Them," said Daku. He pointed to two figures emerging from a crop of trees across the field. "HEY GUYS!"
"That is Daku's voice!" said Mato. He and Saru began to run towards them.
"What happened?" asked Saru.
"We don't know!" said Daku. "Isn't it great?"
"There's demons and angels everywhere, wizards are hunting Saru, and weren't you dead, Akali?"
"Yes, but my knight in unwashed armor saved me." said Akali. "Who isn't a knight and doesn't deserved to be called one, just to be-"
"You!" Saru exclaimed, pointing past Akali.
In front of the portal, Nasatu was standing, his pale human face covered in fear. Without the demon wings, he looked younger and more vulnerable than ever.
"Pleasedon'tkillmeIalreadydied!" he said.
"If you seek mercy, it will be granted." Akali said. "But your record is poor in regards to not repeatedly attacking people for demonic power."
"I will see that his record improves." said Janaka, climbing through the portal. "He has encountered the consequences of his actions, and will remain under my… Is something the matter?"
Everyone was staring at him. Or rather, at a something close behind him.
"Nice wings." said Mato. No one spoke for a while.
"Thank you," said Janaka. "Now, brother, tell us what you know."
Nasatu hesitated, and took a deep breath. "A demon contacted me through the furnace in my glassblowing shop. They told me… They wanted to bring the worlds back together."
"So they could make war upon the heavens?" Akali asked.
"That's the thing…" said Nasatu. "It didn't seem that way. They just… needed things to be this way to accomplish something."
"Like...making war upon the heavens? That really seems like the kind of thing they might do," said Mato.
"No! You don't-I felt like it wasn't really about all demons. More like just about the one I talked to, and probably a few other people."
"Could've been a deception. But go on," said Saru.
"They needed your orb to manipulate the force that separates the worlds." said Nasatu. "I think there's one on the other side too, but they needed both. They needed them to be working in tandem. And they needed something else…"
"My life? A life?" Akali asked.
"I don't know." Nasatu said. His eyes were wide, and the words came out slowly. "They just needed me to make you two fight, I think. Make one kill the other."
"But why?" wondered Mato.
Janaka, pacing behind Nasatu, stopped. "So that you could tell the killer about the portal. Isn't that right, Nasatu?"
"Yes." said Nasatu. "They didn't tell me to do anything after that."
"I see," said Janaka. "Using the orbs just made the portal; it didn't open it. That's why Mato and I couldn't go through it. But you…" he focused his gaze on-
"Huh?" said Daku. He'd been looking at a violet flower on the ground.
"I get it." said Janaka. "You'd just killed Akali. You were overflowing with regret, angry at yourself for letting it happen. You wanted her back so much you'd do anything, even if it meant letting hordes of demons loose upon the world. And between you and her was a wall. So what did you do?"
"Punched right through it!'
"So to break the barrier, they needed someone who wanted to break it bad enough?" said Mato.
"Exactly." replied Janaka.
"So what are we going to do?" Saru looked overwhelmed, at a loss.
Silence fell again. They looked at each other, not knowing where to go or what to say.
"The world's a mess." Akali said solemnly. "And I don't blame myself, or any of you, for causing this mayhem to occur. Even if you played into the hands of who ever has been using us as pawns. You had your reasons, and I respect your right to them. But nonetheless, we've become involved in these events. I believe that it is our duty to ensure that no innocents are harmed as a result of what has transpired this day. I believe that we must save the world.
"And I believe another thing," she said, climbing onto a rock. She tried to draw her sword, remembered she didn't have it, and raised her fist instead. "We can!"
"YEEEAH!" yelled Daku.
An intense white light struck the clearing. Akali shut her eyes and forgot what she was going to say next. When she opened them, a group of angels had landed before them. Their golden armor shone. They were an awesome sight. She fell to her knees.
"Kneel!" she yelled at the others, who stood dumbstruck. They all knelt and the lead angel stepped forward. His eyes were like an owl's, powerful but wise.
"Good hello in Zel name," he said. His voice was resonant, but he had a strange accent and the cadence of his words was wrong. It had a thoroughly unsettling effect. "Ask we of you leave of the areal, for there disturbance may have done Ozer." He pointed at the portal.
All of them stood up and backed away from the majestic group of angels.
"Hold," continued their leader. He turned his heavy gaze on Janaka. "One cursed there is of you. Will he stay for cleansing. The rest of you, begone! Elimination we the disturbance." Two of the angels were placing strange objects in the ground around the portal.
Janaka stepped backward again. "What if I don't come with you?"
"Consider you do not have a choice." The lead angel put a hand on the immense sword that hung from his belt.
Daku pushed his way past Akali towards the angel. "Well, maybe consider you don't have a face!" he said, and charged.
The lead angel pointed his open hand at Daku's head. A tiny beam of light appeared between his hand and Daku's head, and Daku screamed. A hole appeared in the back of his head and the beam of light burst through into the grass at Akali's feet. Daku stopped screaming, and everyone else started. His body collapsed, a trail of smoke rising from his face.
"As said I," said the angel. "Stay the cursed one. The rest of you, flee-"
"AAARGH!" Akali's roar was defeaning. The angel doubled back, a bruise on his face from a punch Akali hadn't noticed she was throwing before she did. The other angels held her arms and turned her around to face her companions. She saw Janaka turn around to run, and as he did he vanished before her eyes.