"Now wait just a minute," said Josephine, as they went to continue walking north. "Why are we willing to take her word at face value? She bought us rooms at the last two inns, but Bridgette has disappeared, and now she"s telling us to head north, that the Demon King is going that way. How are we even traveling with her? She"s not a hero!"They all looked at each other, then at Aella, then back at Alfred, who seemed to be the leader of the group.
"Alright," Alfred nodded at no one, turning to look around. "We"ll stop over there, at those rocks, and discuss things."
Everyone nodded and headed over to the tumbled boulders, sticking out of the black scorched earth. Burnt trees stood as testimony to the destruction that had swept through, and their legs from mid-thigh down, were black from the soot they were kicking up while walking. As everyone settled onto a spot, Alfred stood before them, staring at the ground, as if lost in thought.
"We were sent by the church to kill the Demon King, as Heroes have been sent for the past, almost thousand years. Bridgette would know exactly that number, but she"s not here."
He held up a hand as Josephine went to say something, and she settled back down.
"The church claims that when we kill the Demon King, prosperity will cover the land until the demons manage to crown another king, which is dictated by a magical timer. From the time the last king died, there must be 6 years before they can crown another, to ensure that the new king is worthy of the position. For over a thousand years, we have been doing this, and the people are not seeing this prosperity. If anything, things are getting worse. You all know what I am talking about, even if you don"t want to admit it."
Josephine shook her head before Robert could say anything, "I will not put my daughter"s life at risk. You promised me!"
Alfred nodded, as Robert looked over at her curiously.
"I did promise you, and we will get your daughter. But we don"t know where she"s being held. Besides, we have plenty of time before they do anything. We have until the first frost before they will be expecting us to report in."
"Wait, what do you mean you"ll help her rescue her daughter?" asked Robert.
Alfred looked at Josephine, who glanced at Aella before nodding at him.
"The church has her daughter locked away somewhere, to ensure that she completes her task of killing the king. If she doesn"t report back in, before the first frost, they will start torturing her."
Robert looked very doubtful as he shook his head. "The church would never harm a child like that."
"Robert, they broke your son"s arm when he refused to drink the poison that would prove him as a hero," said Alfred, giving the man a look of disgust.
"The boy was my son, he should have listened and done what he was told," said Robert, obviously believing what he said.
"So, breaking a child"s arm isn"t torture?" asked Aella, then nodding said, "That"s good to know."
Robert sighed, then said, "The poison wouldn"t have killed him, he would only have gotten sick and thrown up, if the hero traits didn"t pa.s.s to him. He shouldn"t have stood up to the church leader like he had."
"Robert, they picked your son up and held him while two strong men snapped his arm like kindling. It took six months for the break to heal after he was given the healing potion because the fire in his blood neutralized it so fast." Alfred all but snarled in the man"s face.
"My daughter is a sweet young girl, small for her age, and the church said if I didn"t get back in time, they would let her visit with the men in the barracks," said Josephine, clutching her hands in front of her chest.
Aella frowned and growled, "I think finding the girl and saving her from that fate is far more important than trying to kill a king that is trying to save the people from griffons."
Alfred looked at her surprised, then nodded. Josephine gaped at her. "Why would you help me? You aren"t a hero, like we are!"
"Do I have to be a hero, handpicked by your church, to be a hero to someone else? Can I not use the magical gifts given to me, to help you save your daughter?" asked Aella.
"But why? Why would you help me, and what have you really done with Bridgette?" cried Josephine.
"I have killed many children in my short life, children who had no chance at life. The people in power would have them die one way or another. I hate when those in power see everyone else as p.a.w.ns. I have the ability to make a difference. I sought you guys out, because I thought with your powers you might be able to help me stop some of the corruption." Aella clasped her hands in anger, looking at each of the heroes, ending at Robert, who was sneering at her.
"You"ve killed children? You monster!"
Alfred sighed in annoyance as Robert stood up and took the couple of steps that were needed to get in Aella"s face.
"Who are you to judge?" she asked softly, almost purred as he shoved his face into hers.
"The church has declared that all demons are evil. You have horns, so therefor, you must be evil!" he snarled, ripping the hood off her head, and causing her hair to shift slightly, allowing him to see her small horns.
"The same church that would allow a child to die out of laziness?" asked Alfred softly, causing Robert to turn to look at him.
Aella"s glove had shifted into a dagger, and she was itching to shove it deep into his side, angling it up to slice deep into his heart, but she stayed her hand. Alfred hadn"t killed the man yet, so she would hold off a few more minutes.
"Your brat of a sister didn"t tell anyone that she was sick! You can"t blame her death on the church!" snarled Robert.
Alfred"s eyes had death in them and Josephine saw it in time to roll backwards, off of her rock, with Curt following her.
Robert seemed to realize his mistake, but instead of backing down and trying to apologize, he chose to attack instead. Flames rushed up his arms and down his legs, swirling around him and forming a fiery wall surrounding him. Aella barely managed to jump back out of the way. Crouching in the black soot, she watched as the Hero of Light, and the Hero of Fire clashed on the boulders before her.
Lightning arced off Alfred"s sword, dancing in his eyes as he struggled against Roberts sword. Fire completely consumed his sword, making it appear as if he wielded a fire blade. The struggle only lasted a moment, as they pushed off each other, and Robert tried to use his flames to shoot towards Alfred, but Alfred wasn"t there anymore. Robert turned in confusion, to try and see him, but the slice in his abdomen appeared, and his upper body began to fall.
Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
All of the fire disappeared, as he landed with two distinct thuds. Alfred stood behind him, sheathing his sword and looking towards the horizon.
Aella rushed towards Robert as Josephine shouted, "Alfred! What have you done!"
"I have struggled not to kill that man every since the first day we met. His disgusting words towards my sister were too much. I am done following the church. If we must kill his son, then so be it."
"We may not have to kill his son," said Aella, pulling a small cup from her pouch and collecting the blood that was spilling out over the rock.
Robert gasped several times, looking up at the sky as if shocked he was dying. He seemed to be trying to say something, but his eyes glazed over before he could manage.
"What do you mean?" asked Alfred, turning partially towards her, but stopping just before seeing what he had done, as if it shamed him to see it.
"If I can survive drinking his blood, his hero powers will transfer to me," Aella whispered, looking at the deep red fluid as it darkened and seemed to thicken while she watched.
"Survive?" asked Josephine, coming closer to see what she was doing.
"It said in one of Bridgette"s books, that his blood would burn as if of fire, and I may not survive it, but if I do, his powers would transfer to me, rather than to his son."
"Then you best do it quick!" said Alfred, "Before his son"s powers are awakened, and the church finds out he is dead."
Nodding as she looked at Josephine, Aella tipped the cup back and swallowed its contents quickly. The first thing she noticed was the thick coppery flavor of the blood, much like her own, which was red like her mother"s. It didn"t resemble the overpowering flavor of a demon"s blue blood. Then the fire aspect hit her, and she fell to her back clutching her throat as the blood seemed to be burning her from the inside out.
Closing her eyes, she fought the urge to struggle against the pain. She accepted it, as every other pain she had experienced, relaxing her body, but keeping her hand against her neck. The fire was panicking. Fire needed air to survive, and she had plenty of that to spare. Tapping into the hero qualities she already had, she tried to calm the fire down by promising it plenty of air to grow strong. The heat subsided, but remained, unconvinced.
Outside, she could feel the breeze tugging at her clothes as the air swirled at her call. Aella knew if she didn"t come to an agreement with the fire aspect she had just swallowed, it would flare up and burn her to death. She only had a few more moments to convince it.
Thinking of everything she knew about fire, the images of the torches they had used to light the cave tunnels during her youth in the underground came to mind. She focused on the crackle and hiss the fire would make as it burned the pitch. The fire was intrigued so she continued, searching her mind for other memories.
One of the demon kids had thought to kill her with one of those torches, before they could be pitted against each other. He had actually managed to catch her bed on fire before the guards came and beat him for it. She remembered the heat of the flames, and the smell of the smoke as the bed had burned. The fire liked the memories, but wanted more.
She began to flash through every fire she had ever seen, and settled on the forest fire. The fire inside of her liked that, growing stronger and settling into her veins, but not quite fusing with her. She remembered the urge of the air to grow the flames, to make them stronger, brighter, hotter, and everything seemed to suddenly fall into place.
The pain throughout her body faded and the fire flowed along her veins, alongside the air that already gusted through them. Opening her eyes, Aella saw a twirling fire whirlwind above her, swoop into her and disappear. All of the boulders around her were scorched and the ash that had covered the ground had been blown away.
Alfred appeared beside her and crouched down. "We need to talk, Air Hero."