of loyal guards, who rounded up the Euryice loyalists and killed them swiftly. Then, motivated by a need to get to Darma, and with the benefit of surprise on our side, Glynus and I and our small contingent released Queen Zerphor and her mate Quince.
Thank you, dragon fighter. You are a good friend to my people. Queen Zerphor told me later when we’d gotten them safely ensconced back in her caverns.
I bowed slightly. “I need to ask for one more favor, Queen Zerphor.”
Name it.
I grinned. You aren’t gonna like it.
Her sigh filled my mind as her beautiful black eyes slid toward her mate. Quince’s chuckle rumbled through my mind. Not unpleasantly.
I’m sure of that, dragon fighter, this isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with you. Your life is never easy, and anyone who participates in it must be ready to “roll with the punches”, as your human neighbors would say.
I flushed. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I treasure your friendship. And I’m beginning to think I may really need your help.”
Chapter Seven
Going to Hell
Our Lady’s sister lands in Hell, a bloody message writ,
To Hell, to Hell our miss must go, to save the cranky twit.
Glynus dropped me at home and, after thanking me for helping her find her parents, left with a promise to stay in touch. I immediately called Darma on my televisual and was moderately concerned when she didn’t respond.
I headed to the Red Knight and climbed inside, programming Darma’s address into the machine’s flight computer.
As I flew toward my sister’s home I looked around at the city below the Knight. It still showed the scars from recent riots, brought on by the Serpent’s attempt to take over the human world by dropping a poisonous magic veil over everything. The veil had made magic users crazy and humans even crazier, creating violence and destruction on an epic scale.
I still shuddered when I thought of it.
Dialle, Darma and I had barely managed to beat Satan back before he’d finished his work and brought the veil completely down, locking it over the Earth for all time. It would have meant the end of humans and a permanent turn toward the dark side for the magical world.
With my Settling bearing down on me, I’d almost forgotten how bad the dark side of my magics could be. I’d embraced the darkness, in fact, for whole moments at a time. Or rather, embraced the sheer pleasure that darkness could bring me. Before it burned away all light from my soul and turned me into a soulless monster like the Serpent.
The scarred earth and torn buildings far below were a stark and welcome reminder of why I had to fight my dark side with everything I had.
My destiny was in the light.
I was surer of that now than ever before.
But that didn’t make it any easier to resist the siren song of dark magics. Unrestrained power can be intoxicating.
I stopped the Knight if front of Darma’s house and sent it skyward with a command, engaging the locks as it hovered above the neighborhood.
Turning to Darma’s home, I took note of the open door with the splintered frame. A horrible sense of déjà vu slid its cold fingers down my back. The last time I’d found Darma’s door ajar like that, it had taken a whole contingent of angels to pull my sister back from the brink of death.
Pulling my knives from their hidden sheaths in my boots, I pulled my power forward and kept it shimmering just below the surface, to be pulled free if I needed it. I didn’t know what I was facing yet.
If it was a human foe or a lesser demon or devil, my knives would suffice. If my foe had more magical tricks beneath his or her sleeve, I’d need every bit of power I owned to get the upper hand.
The problem with playing for the light side is that you kind of had to play fair or you quickly found yourself toe to tippy toe with oily darkness. Then you weren’t playing for the light side anymore.
The other side isn’t constrained by silly things like rules and
Thank you, dragon fighter. You are a good friend to my people. Queen Zerphor told me later when we’d gotten them safely ensconced back in her caverns.
I bowed slightly. “I need to ask for one more favor, Queen Zerphor.”
Name it.
I grinned. You aren’t gonna like it.
Her sigh filled my mind as her beautiful black eyes slid toward her mate. Quince’s chuckle rumbled through my mind. Not unpleasantly.
I’m sure of that, dragon fighter, this isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with you. Your life is never easy, and anyone who participates in it must be ready to “roll with the punches”, as your human neighbors would say.
I flushed. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I treasure your friendship. And I’m beginning to think I may really need your help.”
Chapter Seven
Going to Hell
Our Lady’s sister lands in Hell, a bloody message writ,
To Hell, to Hell our miss must go, to save the cranky twit.
Glynus dropped me at home and, after thanking me for helping her find her parents, left with a promise to stay in touch. I immediately called Darma on my televisual and was moderately concerned when she didn’t respond.
I headed to the Red Knight and climbed inside, programming Darma’s address into the machine’s flight computer.
As I flew toward my sister’s home I looked around at the city below the Knight. It still showed the scars from recent riots, brought on by the Serpent’s attempt to take over the human world by dropping a poisonous magic veil over everything. The veil had made magic users crazy and humans even crazier, creating violence and destruction on an epic scale.
I still shuddered when I thought of it.
Dialle, Darma and I had barely managed to beat Satan back before he’d finished his work and brought the veil completely down, locking it over the Earth for all time. It would have meant the end of humans and a permanent turn toward the dark side for the magical world.
With my Settling bearing down on me, I’d almost forgotten how bad the dark side of my magics could be. I’d embraced the darkness, in fact, for whole moments at a time. Or rather, embraced the sheer pleasure that darkness could bring me. Before it burned away all light from my soul and turned me into a soulless monster like the Serpent.
The scarred earth and torn buildings far below were a stark and welcome reminder of why I had to fight my dark side with everything I had.
My destiny was in the light.
I was surer of that now than ever before.
But that didn’t make it any easier to resist the siren song of dark magics. Unrestrained power can be intoxicating.
I stopped the Knight if front of Darma’s house and sent it skyward with a command, engaging the locks as it hovered above the neighborhood.
Turning to Darma’s home, I took note of the open door with the splintered frame. A horrible sense of déjà vu slid its cold fingers down my back. The last time I’d found Darma’s door ajar like that, it had taken a whole contingent of angels to pull my sister back from the brink of death.
Pulling my knives from their hidden sheaths in my boots, I pulled my power forward and kept it shimmering just below the surface, to be pulled free if I needed it. I didn’t know what I was facing yet.
If it was a human foe or a lesser demon or devil, my knives would suffice. If my foe had more magical tricks beneath his or her sleeve, I’d need every bit of power I owned to get the upper hand.
The problem with playing for the light side is that you kind of had to play fair or you quickly found yourself toe to tippy toe with oily darkness. Then you weren’t playing for the light side anymore.
The other side isn’t constrained by silly things like rules and
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