Cherry Blossoms and Hellfire Ch. 05

Charok

I stood by listening as Blossom and Stone discussed our payment. I knew little of the currency system in this world, so I would be no use in the discussion. Besides, I trusted Blossom, with his supernatural powers of persuasion, to get us a good price.

When they were done, we joined the warriors who were on the mission with us. They all looked a little pale. I saw Cera, the woman who had hired Blossom, beside us. Her mouth was set in a grim line.

Captain Terria stood before us. "I'm not going to lie," she said. "This is a dangerous mission. Most of you are probably going to die so a few can get through. However, if you don't go, all of us will die in the siege, and Lord Stone has promised significant compensation for your next of kin." She surveyed the line. "This is your last chance to back out. Are you all in?"

There was a chorus of affirmatives. Some warriors just nodded grimly.

"I wouldn't ask any of you to do something I wouldn't," said Captain Terria. "I will be leading the charge."

Gossom looked at her sharply. Apparently this was news to him. "Who will command the guard in your absence?" he asked.

Captain Terria gestured over a young man standing off to the side. "Lieutenant Yaril."

Gossom pursed his lips. "I would rather have you in charge. But I will trust your judgement."

Lord Stone stepped forward, and a thin man with ink stains on his sleeves hurried toward us with a stack of papers. "My secretary will be handing out letters with my seal. When you find a suitable mercenary group, give them the letter. It explains the situation and the payment they will receive if they help us." He surveyed the group. "Since we are not sure who will survive, everyone will receive a copy. Good luck."

Captain Terria led us to the gate, and we all prepared. She glanced at Blossom as he pulled out his fan and knife. "Are you sure you wouldn't prefer a sword?" she wanted to know.

Blossom grinned. "I would have no idea how to use it. Trust me, this is better."

She shrugged. "Your choice." Then she signaled the people on the winch to open the gate.

*

Blossom

We charged the raiders' fortifications. Arrows rained down, clanking off the shields the guards held. I heard a scream as an arrow made it through, but I didn't look around. Charok caught an arrow headed for him and casually tossed it aside. I lithely dodged one meant for me, my Sun mark flaring briefly. I hoped no one had noticed that.

We reached the earthen wall before the trench. Charok launched himself up the slope, growling. The female demon appeared at the crest and slid down to meet him. Shit. Hadn't he said he was evenly matched with this one?

With a bellow, Charok slammed into her, carrying her back up the slope. She fought to hold her ground, but they reached the crest of the wall and plummeted down into the trench. I heard a crunch as Charok landed on top of her, but she shoved him off and sprang to her feet. The two fighters circled each other warily as the human fighters backed hurriedly away.

I dropped neatly into the trench beside Charok. Glancing around, I couldn't find the sorcerer who controlled this demon. I couldn't find any of my allies, either. Had they all already fallen, or had we just been separated?

The female demon laughed, the sound grating across my nerves. "Run, little human. You are no match for me."

I bit my lip. Now was no time to hold back. If any of my allies saw me, I'd explain it later. Calling on the power of the sun, I imbued my clothing with strength, turning it into armor.

The demon's eyes widened as my sun mark flared again. "Chosen," she hissed. "Perhaps you will be an interesting challenge after all." She grinned. "I bet you will taste delicious."

I smiled charmingly. "I have been told I am quite tasty." I winked.

She laughed. "You amuse me. Perhaps I will just eat your arms, and keep the rest of you as a pet."

The raiders were now running away from us full tilt, leaving plenty of space for the combat. Charok glanced at me. "Now would be a good time to run," he growled.

"I'm not leaving you," I countered as the demoness produced a knife out of thin air. "We can take her. Together."

The demoness launched the knife at me. Noting its trajectory, I didn't bother to dodge. Instead, I lunged toward her. As the knife bounced off my apparently ordinary clothing, the demoness darted out of my path with inhuman speed. Now Charok was on one side of her and I was on the other. The two of us circled her. She started to look nervous.

I caught Charok's eye and nodded almost imperceptibly. He caught my meaning, and we both lunged towards her. She parried Charok's claw swipe and tail with her knives, but was unable to counter my attacks. I buried my knife deep in her side. Unfortunately, it caught on a rib, and I was unable to withdraw it.

We needed to finish this quickly. If another demon arrived... I whipped out my scarf and imbued it with power while I lunged once more. My Sun mark flared, and, this time, did not go out. My apparently ordinary scarf opened a wound on her neck as Charok grabbed her knives with both hands and plunged his tail blade through her stomach.

Black blood oozed from her wounds. She was moving slower now. I easily dodged a swipe from a knife and countered with a fan attack, slicing off the hand she'd thrust at me. It fell to the ground, and she retreated, hissing, right into Charok.

He grappled her, pinning her arms to her side. "Hold her there!" I shouted as I lunged forward with my fan. Pinned to Charok's chest, she couldn't dodge my attack, and my fan sliced neatly through her neck. Her head fell to the ground.

Her body continued to move, fighting to get free of Charok's hold. He released her and plunged a hand into her chest, ripping out her black heart. Even then, she kept moving, trying to grab the heart from Charok. He dodged her grab and his fist tightened, crushing the rapidly shriveling organ to powder.

The demoness's shapely body fell to the ground, twitching and writhing. I stared. "Is she dead?"

Charok grunted. "Close enough." He grabbed me and tossed me out of the trench. Then he followed. Together, we ran.

We ran through the fields of corn for well over an hour. I think Charok was waiting for me to get tired. However, my stamina was at least equal to his. Finally we stopped, panting, in the shade of a forest.

Charok looked at me, a new respect in his eyes. "You are nowhere near as fragile as you seem," he rumbled.

I shrugged. "I'm one of the Chosen. Of course I'm not." I frowned. "I don't think I'm as good in a fight as most other Chosen, though. As you observed last night, most of my abilities involve manipulating other people."

Charok grunted. "You don't need to be an amazing fighter if you can convince others to defend you."

I shrugged. "True."

Charok looked at me thoughtfully. "We should practice together at some point. Get used to each other's fighting styles. We worked well together today, but we could do better."

I nodded. "Good idea. But, first, we need to find mercenaries."

I pulled out my map, but I had trouble seeing it as my vision began to blur. "No one else made it," I murmured.

"No," said Charok, sounding relatively indifferent. "We were the superior fighters." Then he looked more closely at my face. "You grieve for them," he said, sounding mildly surprised.

I sighed. "Of course. Maybe I didn't know them very well, but they died so that we could get help. They were brave. And now they're dead." Could Charok and I have made it through the raider's lines alone? Even as the thought entered my head, I knew the answer was no. We would have died before we reached the trenches, peppered with arrows. Charok's healing abilities had limits, as did my own agility.

Taking a deep breath, I put my grief aside. For now, anyways. I'd cry for Cera and Captain Terria and all rest of them later. For them, and the people they'd left behind. Right now I had work to do. "All right. " I focused on the map. "We left through the northern gate of the town, so it makes sense to continue north. Or at least northish. There's a few potential destinations, but the closest one is here." I pointed to a spot on the map. "Dresdel. It's a fair sized city, and, according to rumor, the home base of at least one company of mercenaries."

"How far?" Charok wanted to know.

I shrugged. "If we travel at the fastest pace our stamina allows, probably three days." I looked up to oriented myself by the setting sun, turned, and began to head north.

*

Charok

The three days in the wilderness were relatively uneventful. To my surprise, Blossom's stamina equaled mine. According to Blossom, he'd never been easily tired, and becoming one of the Chosen had enhanced this. We ran more than we walked, and made good time.

Soon the walls of the city were in sight. And outside the city...

Blossom squinted into the distance. "That looks like an army camp."

I nodded. "Agreed. Do you think those are the mercenaries you heard about?"

Blossom shrugged. "Any warriors the city has will be based inside the walls. And it doesn't look like an opposing army. The gates of the city are open, for starters. So, yeah, probably the mercenaries."

We started towards the camp at an easy walk. We both could have run all the way there, but Blossom thought showing off our superior stamina would be a bad idea. Soon, though, we were at the edge of the camp.

"Halt!" called the sentry. "Who goes there?"

Blossom halted, and gestured for me to do the same. "You're mercenaries, right?" he said.

The sentry, a young woman, nodded. "We are Bright Eagle Company. Why do you ask?"

Blossom gave her a charming smile. She blushed. "We have business with whoever makes the command decisions around here."

"W-what sort of business?" she asked. Nervously, she combed her fingers through her hair.

"We're here representing the Grimstone Company," Blossom explained. "Which has reason to hire some mercenaries." He smiled again. Her blush deepened. "Can we speak to the person in charge?"

She nodded. "Of-of course." She gestured over another soldier. This one was barely an adult, and male. When he saw Blossom, he did a double take. "Please escort these men to the command tent," she told him.

He nodded. "R-right this way."

As we followed him through the camp, I murmured in Blossom's ear. "They're reacting very strongly to you."

He shrugged. "That usually happens when I make an effort to charm."

I frowned. "I'm not feeling anything."

"I'm exempting you from the effect," he explained. Then he winked. "I can stop if you'd like."

I snorted. "I'd like to have my wits about me. Just in case."

Blossom frowned. "In case of what?"

A woman stepped into our path. Her eyes fixed on me. "Kid, move."

Our young guide blinked. "But I'm-"

The woman was still focused on me. "I don't care what you're doing. Get away from them."

As the young man hurried to a safe distance, eyes wide, her eyes flicked to my tail blade. She could see me as I was, I realized. How?

The woman drew the greatsword strapped to her back. Blossom's eyes widened. "What are you doing?"

She struck, and I shoved Blossom behind me, catching the sword strike in my magically toughened hands.

"Can't we talk about this?" Blossom asked. "Whatever this is?"

"You know exactly what this is, sorcerer," she said, taking up a guard position. "And we have nothing to talk about."

"I'm not a sorcerer!" protested Blossom.

"You have a demon with you," she snapped, striking at me. "Stop lying!"

I caught the blow again and thrust it aside, snarling. I heard Blossom's fan opening behind me.

I snorted. "There's no need for you to get involved, Blossom." I met the woman's gaze. "This won't take long."

The woman smiled grimly. "You're right. It won't."

*

Blossom

I watched in horror as the unknown woman and Charok exchanged blows. I needed to stop this. If he killed the woman, our chances of hiring this company went out the window. Plus we'd probably need to fight our way out.

I glanced around at the gathering crowd. They were grinning. One called out, "Egra! Get the bastard!"

Why weren't they helping? I wondered. And why were they so sure she would win? Charok had dropped his illusion. They could see what he was. Something wasn't right here.

There was a bright flash, and my eyes were drawn back to the combat. What was that?

Charok caught the blade again, and this time he cried out in pain as the sword bit into his palms. What the-? His hands were supposed to be resistant to sword blows!

Charok took a swipe at the woman and she dodged, then struck a blow of her own. Charok, palms covered in black blood, tried to dodge, but she sliced into his shoulder.

Charok gasped. "Blossom! Get out of here!"

I blinked. Was Charok afraid he might lose?

She struck again, and Charok caught the blow. This time, she didn't draw away to strike again. Slowly, the sword moved toward Charok's throat.

How was this possible? She obviously wasn't an Elemental, and no normal human could take on Charok and have any chance of winning. She must be-

My thoughts were interrupted by a bright glow. This time, it didn't swiftly fade. This time, I could see that it came from a glowing circle on her forehead. The people around her cheered.

Chosen. She was one of the Chosen. I darted around Charok so she could see me. "Wait!" I cried, making my own forehead shine.

She froze, and, with her attention diverted, Charok was able to thrust her sword aside. Growling, he struck. I blocked his strike with my fan. "Wait," I told Charok. I looked from her to him. "How about we talk about this?"

The woman's eyes narrowed. "If you're not a sorcerer, then this is a free demon. I still need to kill him."

I grimaced, and glanced at Charok. "He's, umm, not exactly a free demon. Can't we talk?"

"We should," said a voice from the crowd. Respectfully, the soldiers parted, and a man stepped forward. He had grey hair and a beard, but his skin was unwrinkled. Dark eyes, very like my own, surveyed us. "I would very much like to hear what this man has to say."

*

Charok

The grey haired man, Egra, Blossom, and I sat around a small table on cushions on the floor. I vaguely remembered this was a custom from the center of this world, where eyes like Blossom's were common.

I looked from Egra to the grey haired man. The man looked like he came from the same area as Blossom. He also carried an almost palpable air of authority around him, and his hair and beard were neatly trimmed.

Erga watched me suspiciously with dark eyes, fingering the tip of her fiery red braid. Her hair color and tanned skin said she came from the eastern deserts. Her choice of a greatsword said otherwise. Greatswords were most commonly used here in the north. Easterners generally wielded a scimitar or a large knife.

In the bright sunlight outside, I had noticed a scar around her neck. It was old and faded. No human would likely have seen it. Such scars were common on those who had once worn a slave collar. I decided not to bring this up. I'd let Blossom do all the talking.

Blossom bowed his head respectfully. "I believe introductions are in order. I'm Drifting Cherry Blossom, but you can call me Blossom. This," he gestured to me, "Is Charok." He met the man's gaze. "I think I know who you are."

The man's eyebrows rose. "Oh? Do you?"

Blossom nodded. "I don't know your name, but I know your story. You were an officer in the Therosian army. Then you became one of the Chosen. When you left, your entire platoon left with you."

The man smiled. "What makes you think that I'm Chosen?"

Blossom shrugged. "Well, your mercenary group seems to be ok with Egra being Chosen. This implies that someone convinced them that the Chosen are not monsters. Someone they knew and trusted. Someone like their commander. And what would convince their commander the Chosen are not the abominations they are said to be? Becoming Chosen himself. It all fits."

The man nodded. "You are correct." His Sun mark shone briefly. "I am Roaring Storm of the Grand Serpent House. I was, as you surmised, an officer in the Therosian army, and am now one of the Chosen. The members of the Bright Eagle Company were once members of my platoon. With a few exceptions." He glanced at Egra.

Blossom gave a low whistle. "The Grand Serpent House? They're second only to the Flaming Dragon House. The House of the Empress." He shook his head. "No wonder they tried to cover it all up. They must have been livid when you left."

Storm shrugged. "I wouldn't know, but I suspect you are right." Sadness suffused his features briefly. "I don't suppose you know what became of my wife?"

Blossom shook his head. "No. I'm sorry."

Storm sighed. "I thought not."

Egra leaned forward. "What's your story? How did you come to control the demon?"

Blossom winced. "Control might be a bit of an exaggeration."

I grunted. "No, it's not. I'd do anything you asked of me, Blossom."

Blossom winced again.

Egra looked from me to Blossom. "You seem remarkably... Content with your position, demon."

I shrugged. "There are benefits."

Egra blinked. "Benefits?" She tensed, and her hands went to her sword. "He's feeding you, isn't he?"

"The only person he's eaten is the sorcerer who summoned him," Blossom hurriedly assured her. "And, believe me, that bastard deserved what he got."

"Then what sort of benefits are we talking about?" demanded Egra.

Blossom shrugged. "I'm very good in bed."

Erga opened her mouth as if to say something. Then she shut it, blushing.

Storm chuckled. "You're controlling a demon by promising him sex?"

"Essentially," Blossom said, looking mildly embarrassed.

Storm seemed to come to a sudden realization. "I've seen you before!"

"Have you?" said Blossom, looking startled.

Storm laughed. "I went with my betrothed to the whorehouse the night she lost her virginity. I think it was called the Night Lotus? You were the whore she saw."

Blossom smiled. "I'm afraid I don't remember you."

Storm shrugged. "Why would you? It was a special night for the two of us, but for you it was just another workday." He frowned. "So how does the most expensive whore in Theros become one of the Chosen? Usually it requires some great act of heroism or courage."

I looked at Blossom curiously. So far, he had not shared his story with me.

Blossom grimaced. "It's a bit of a long story."

Storm nodded. "Such stories usually are." He smiled. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

*

Blossom

Storm, Charok, and Egra were all looking at me curiously. I sighed. "All right. To start with, I have a sister." As I spoke, I remembered, as if it had happened only yesterday...

My sister, Petal in the Wind, grinned up at me. "See what I brought you, brother?" She held out a pink flower. "A cherry blossom. Like your name."

I leaned down to take the flower and kiss her on the cheek. "Thank you, Petal. It's beautiful." I tucked the flower in my hair.

She smiled. "I brought Mom something from school, too. Can I take it to her?"

I shook my head. "She's working, Petal. Sorry."

The 8 year old pouted. "She's always working." She gave me an accusing look. "And you are too, now."

I shrugged. It wasn't my fault I'd become popular almost overnight. It did make me sad to see less of my sister. "Sorry."

She grinned. "Can I come with you to work tonight?"

I shook my head. "You know the answer to that."

Petal sighed. "I never get to go with either you or Mom. My friend Willow gets to go with her parents to work sometimes."

"When you're older," I promised her. "When you're eighteen."