Becoming Fae
The Vale, Pt. 2

“I-I didn’t mean-.”

“We have to run,” Mal said, taking my hand.

We all ran, but it was like the entire forest was after us. We dodged and circled around things that I didn’t think existed, but the trees lifted their roots and thick, thorn covered vines reached for us as we ran.

“We don’t have a choice!” Harmon shouted and used his magic to make fireballs.

“He’s right!” Naz growled; his teeth bared with a rock in each hand. “The cork has been pulled, so defend yourselves!”

“It’s wild magic in here,” Mal warned us as he picked up a heavy branch. “Your magic might be effected.”

“Harmon!” I called, picking up a branch that looked sharp-ish. “Keep Naz and Mal in the middle!”

I used air to slice through roots and vines before calling the earth to hold them down while calling on lightning to zap the creatures that were coming after us. They looked like the inhabitants of the Sidhe, only less... cultured? I fought a dryad with viciously sharp teeth who barely looked like the one Mal had taken me to see so long ago. He looked... wild. Feral. Deadly. There was a family group of pixies, but those pests are usually vicious to begin with. Brownies, a handful of different nymphs, and some sort of bird-lady thing with deep gray feathers.

I saw a giant lion-horse running for us and I crouched down, my wings wide and shaking, rattling like metal, and screamed at it before I launched forward and sliced across its face and chest with the sharp edges of my wings before ramming the hard, dense arm bone into the side of its face, making it yowl and jump back, shaking it’s head and pawing at the blood dripping into its face.

“There’s too many of them,” Naz growled as he and Mal bashed at the smaller creatures that got by Harmon and me.

I felt a sharp pain in my side and whirled to see a brownie stabbing Mal with a primitive, stone spear. My vision clouded and I reached over my head with one hand, grabbed something that felt solid, but I knew there was nothing there, and ripped it down.

Blue and red lightning came from the sky, striking all but Harmon, Mal, and Naz, leaving nothing but smoking, dark spots on the ground where they had once been. I sagged, falling to my knees and shivered at the massive drain I had just put myself through.

“Fae?” Mal asked, rushing to hold me up as I swayed. “Are you okay?”

“Tired,” I muttered. “How long have we been in here?”

“I don’t know, but if that took this much from you, it has to be more than a day or two,” he said, helping me stand on shaking legs.

“Take what weapons they may have had,” Naz said, dropping his bloody rock and grabbing a few stone tipped spears that were barely as long as his arm.

“I’ll see if any of them might have food or water or something,” Mal said, but I grabbed his arm before he could move away.

“I think it might be best if we avoided eating or drinking anything until we replace the Heart,” I said.

“We can’t last that long without water. Food, maybe, but not water,” Harmon shook his head.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and my feather puffed out, sensing something... powerful coming right for us.

“Get the weapons,” I said sternly, looking at Mal. “Something is coming, and it makes what just happened look like a child's tantrum.”

“Great,” he muttered, and Naz sighed, coming over and putting his hands on each side of my face, his eyes closed in concentration.

I felt a warm rush and shuddered as he gave me some of his energy, making my legs stop shaking and giving me a bit of pep, though it wouldn’t last long and there would be no more grand displays of magic.

I nodded at him, and he gave me a spear before turning back to scour for any other weapons that survived my lightning.

“I don’t like the feeling of this new threat,” Harmon muttered, coming closer to me.

“It feels... dark. Very dark and deadly,” I nodded.

“It’s tainted, like the curse,” he said.

“Do you think it sank into the Vale someplace?” I looked at him and he shook his head.

“The Vale is different than the curse. Incompatible,” he replied.

“So... what do you think?”

“It’s moving quickly. Too quickly to outrun and too fast to be going through the forest. Over it, perhaps,” he tilted his head. “It could have flown too high at one point, but these creatures... they are permeated with the magic in the Vale.”

“So, it’s unlikely this thing collected the taint by chance,” I nodded, closing my eyes to feel this presence a little more.

It was very dark. Demonic, almost, but worse. Much worse. I could feel the curse, tainting the magical signature of whatever it was, like Harmon said. It felt like it was rooted in deeply, meaning it was highly unlikely the curse tainted it by a simple coincidence. Oddly, despite the dangerous, deadly, dark feel of this thing, I didn’t feel the kind of malicious intent that I had with literally everything else around us.

“This is going to sound nuts,” I said slowly, opening my eyes. “But I don’t think this thing intends to kill us. Not at the moment, anyhow.”

“Everything wants to kill us in here,” Naz snorted.

“She’s right,” Harmon frowned hard as he concentrated. “I’m not as skilled as Fae in sensing magic, but I do know the feel of intent. It’s dark er than anything I’ve ever felt before, but it doesn’t feel murderous.”

“I suggest extreme caution,” Mal sighed.

“Agreed. Mal and Fae,” Naz said and pointed to a thicket of shrubs that looked less than friendly with all of the wicked looking thorns. “Stay out of sight.”

“I don’t think hiding will be enough, but okay,” I shrugged and moved towards the bush.

“Could have picked a less thorny place?” Mal grumbled but came to join me.

We hunkered down and I took the opportunity to rest with gratitude. Even with Naz’s energy, it felt like I was drained and weak still. I was tired, too, and now that we weren’t moving, my body ached. Mal guessed a day or two of walking around in the Vale and it was certainly feeling like it now.

I yawned and laid my head on Mal’s shoulder after we had sat there for a few minutes, Naz and Harmon scouring the bodies for anything useful, appearing oblivious to what was approaching.

“It’s nearly here,” I whispered to Mal, feeling the heavy presence settling firmly between my shoulders.

Both of us got as ready as we could be without blowing our cover, pausing when we heard the heavy thumping concussion in the air above us a second before something fell like a meteor, shaking the ground like an earthquake.

I pressed my face into the crook of my elbow to avoid the dirt that had been kicked up. Coughing or sneezing right now would be bad. When I looked up, there was still a thick cloud of dust in the air, but I froze in terror at the twin spots of what looked like fire glowing through the dust.

“I think it knows we’re here,” I told Mal and he nodded slightly.

“What are you?” I heard Harmon speak; the fiery eyes didn’t even move as I heard Harmon using his wings to clear the dirt from the air.

I covered my mouth to stifle the gasp as I stared up at an enormous demon. Huge, leathery wings, horns that grew from his brow before seeping over the top of his head and curling out along his shoulders, a long, thick tail with a wicked point on the end, and deep, almost blood-red skin, marred heavily by shiny scars. He stood, easily, eight feet tall, with a wide body that was made for battle.

If this demon felt like it, he would easily wipe us all out of existence.

“Nagash ha-ngroth, embasa-rah,” he spoke, and I tilted my head, feeling like I knew what he said, but had forgotten the words.

“Inashan?” Naz said.

We couldn’t see him, but we say the large tail move, followed by the oomph that followed and I hoped Naz had gotten enough practice landing when he was sent sprawling to the dirt.

“Speak plainly, demon,” Harmon tilted his head slightly.

The demon’s eyes flicked to the angel and the pressure that had settled between my shoulder blades multiplied significantly, making me struggle to breathe as I watched the great clawed fingers flex.

I knew he was going to kill Harmon. I could feel it in my bones, blood, and soul that if someone didn’t do something, the Celestial was a goner. Harmon was a great fighter, but I knew better than to assume he stood a chance against this demon unlike any I’d ever seen before. So, I did what I did best and made a stupid decision that I regretted as soon as I made it.

I bolted just as the demon moved, using my wings to get between them, my wings wide to shield Harmon as I forced some into a ball and threw it at the demon's chest. Normally, that would have sent Naz or Rollie sailing a couple of feet before hitting the ground, but all it did this time was make the demon slow down just enough to not run me over.

I stood, staring up. And up. And up some more. The demon was breathing heavily, not from exertion, obviously, but from anger. Rage, really. The twin fires were blazing, his lips were pulled back from his teeth, showing fangs more like a saber cat than anything I’d ever seen.

This close, I could see the scars more clearly than before and I frowned at them before looking back up into his eyes.

“I... Immail?”