Meavan

There weren’t always dragons in the valley. There weren't always witches acting as healers, or city workers making money by burning the dead. There weren’t always demons running our world, but for the last ten years this had been our lives. Ten years ago the demon kings of Erebus rose to take control of Erabores and make it the fifth circle of hell. They brought legions upon legions of demonic beasts bread for war. Our own soldiers, though we were severely outnumbered, rode out to meet them. A fifth of what was sent out returned defeated. So came the crowning of the fifth demonic king, Apollyon.

It had taken ten years just to burn a quarter of our dead. Monuments were set up in secret locations all over our world to honor the dead. It was the only way we could say goodbye after Apollyon ordered all who had fought were to be burned. The highest form of disrespect, to be burned and not buried. It was our belief if we didn’t get buried, our souls would wander as a sort of shade. Forever kept from peace, alone and dying over and over. A living hell, even in death.

Then Apollyon took all of our kings, seven of them, and executed them. His proclamation, all lands were his lands. All of us belonged to him, and we were now below the demons he brought with him. Demons began to run this city, and all cities like it, they ran everything. Some on the backs of those monstrous beasts that drove all life from the valley. Some bloodsucking monsters who ded on whoever stood in their way. Others were beautiful, but those were the ones you tried to hide from. They enjoyed the toying. They played with their prey before they did unspeakable acts upon you for fun. Princes, some called them. Or lords, dukes. Depends on who you spoke to about them. The best way to avoid them was not to acknowledge them and never show any more fear than you need to. They liked the ones who ran or those who fawned over them like they were cream cheese on a bagel.

Yes, demons now run this world from the ugly, rotting bags of flesh in the sewage to the grand king that sat in his castle of darkness above us all on The Scarlett Mountain, named after the way the sun hits the peak and makes it look as if it was bleeding every sunset. I was twelve when the rising had happened, and now at twenty-two I still hadn’t forgotten my life before hell on Erabores.

I remember when the city was a safe place, or as safe as a city could be. The lord that presided over us had managed to keep crime low and tourism high. Everyone was mostly treated fair and cared for. No one race was ever meant to feel higher than another. Our city, the Arrowthrone, was the most peaceful place in Erabores. It was in the territory of Meavan run by the King of Shadows, Araysh. Our lord was gifted with foresight and production. It was ironic that he hadn’t foreseen what was to come.

It wasn’t hard for all of us to think that he should have seen it, predicted it. That was his power after all. If anything he should have known when the sound of thunder filled the air but no rain. He should have seen when demonic murders had taken an all time high in our little city. If anything else, it should have been when the angels began to feel the effects of dark magic throughout Erabores and armed themselves for a fight.

Ten years. It had been ten years since my mother, Ambriel, general of Meavan’s largest legion of angels, stepped onto the battlefield. Ten years since my sister Ashylnn had to step up as one of the only angelic healers left. Ten years since I had abandoned my arranged marriage to Nox Blackstorm, current commander of Lord Ba'el’s armies. Half angel half fae male from the former nobleman Leone Blackstrom, fae male, and lady Gwen Darling, angelic female. Six years since Leone tried to have me sold off to the brothels for resending his deal with my mother. Six since the rebels had taken me in as one of their own and their leader, Vidarr, had become like a father to me.

The former assassin had enough training. I was put through hell and my human body was pushed over its limits over and over again creating new ones. ‘You can always create new limits, you can never come back from death.’ That was Vidarr’s moto. Even after the last rebellion had taken Vidarr’s life leaving his son Allister in his place, I had kept that motto as my own. By day I was a waitress in a little run down bar that Leone would never attend to see that the money he had gained would eventually have my buyers coming to collect. The lady of House Crimson was not one to be trifled with and since I had escaped from her she would want her assets returned soon enough. I lived for the day Leone’s murder was plastered all over the tv screens. For the words ‘former nobleman Leone Blackstorm was found outside whatever restaurant or bar he had been in, dead.’ For Gwen’s beautiful face broken with lines of tears and Nox’s jaw clenched so tightly no one could understand why his teeth hadn’t shattered.

By night I was second in command of the Nyxus rebels. Between Allister and I we had managed to get spies into all the places that were demon business only, unless invited. We had two in the city council, three as personal guards to Lord Ba’el, several in the town guard and many others scattered throughout all political areas. We had access to all cameras, intel and more recently the meeting with King Apollyon four days ago. It would be foolish, in my opinion, to go straight for the king. If with all our spies in place, he would be heavily guarded by his most elite men. Men that would have required someone like my great grandmother, Queen Callista, a former archangel to strike down. There were a total of five archangels left now and they were in a secured facility where they could be kept watch over.

To take on the king we would need a Seraphim angel, and one of those hadn’t existed for nearly ten centuries. Not since the old wars when the gods fought darkness so vile they named it Erebus and all things evil resided there. The last known Seraphim angel was the great Azazel and his brother Arioch. Some say they were now gods themselves, others say they turned to stone and are the very statues in Meavan, and in other tales the brothers died to give this world magic and keep us safe from demons. Some good that did. We would need an army of Seraphim to take on the demon kings, so I didn’t want my people to die on a foolish errand. Allister didn’t want to listen.

I begged him not to send them out there. Amadis and her crew of twenty. Amadis was a strong, powerful witch who could handle her own, but witch magic had proven to do little more than piss the demons off. Allister okayed the mission anyway and Amadis, my dearest friend, set out to boom city hall. They hadn’t returned. When I slipped out of the rebel compound and made it to the hall in record time, Amadis and her crew were in custody. Nox Blackstorm the arresting officer. The boom is currently being carried off by the city's boom squad. Demonic beasts that couldn’t be harmed by anything fiery or explosive. I found freezing them and shattering their frozen corpses was the best way to eliminate them.

I didn’t shy from stealing a motorbike that someone had foolishly left the keys in outside the bar. I fastened the helmet so the camera’s couldn’t catch my face. Let the engine pur under my legs for a minute while they loaded the last of Amadis’ crew in the back of the armored truck, and then shifted it into gear. I gave it to the count of ten before I kicked off the sidewalk edge and let the bike lunge forward. First thing is to follow someone or something, stay three cars behind, at least, and if possible use another lane. I did just that following the truck which should have gone to the penitentiary just on the other side of town in the west district. It didn’t. I nearly got hit as I cut through cars to catch up when it took an exit. An exit that had my heart skipping a beat and then pounding as blood rushed to my ears. My jaw was so tight I was sure I would shatter my own teeth. Rudger’s St, 2 miles. They were taking Amadis and the crew to Silent Wind Center.

The rumors about what happened inside that demon infested jail made even me cringe. That was hard to do after I had seen the tattered remains of my mother before they burned her before our eyes at just twelve years old. I stopped three blocks before the truck, cut the engine and lights. It was harder to see as I didn’t have my sister’s eye sight, but I managed to catch glimpses in the dim streetlights. I watched them unload man after man before two of them fought to get Amadis out of the truck and a gag into her mouth. No doubt a precaution to keep that witchy tongue of hers in place. They took her into the building kicking and fighting. I stayed for five more minutes after the truck left to see if Amadis would manage to get out of there. She didn’t and I couldn’t linger. Not this close to the rich district. Leone would have his dogs finding my scent the moment it was on the air.

With dread in my veins I started the bike, rode it back to the bar where a very confused male went from pissed to hitting on me in seconds. I simply tossed the vampire the keys, winked and once I was around the corner from the city hall, was running. I ran so hard and fast that by the time I slipped back into the mansion we had called home for the last year I couldn’t breathe. I was still catching my breath when I spotted Allister in the foyer with a group of people. Appeared he was getting ready to send a search party for me.

“Thank the gods! Nymeria!”Allister ran for me but he didn’t get two words out as I struggled to speak through painful panting breaths.

“Amadis and the crew were captured. They brought them to Silent Wind.” I could hear the shake in my voice and his face became ghostly white. No doubt the others, especially those that were Erosian, or not human, who heard most things depending on their race. I knew all the fea in the house heard me. That was why they were the best spies. Of all Erosians, fae were the ones to fear. They heard everything and anything unless their ears were full of music or something, or there were powerful enough enchantments to keep a room or area silent.

The room fell into a cold, calculating silence. Allister somewhere between rage, fear and panic. It gave me time to catch my breath. My lungs stopped burning and I was half bent over still trying to gulp down big breaths. Allister grabbed my arm a moment after he realized I was still struggling to get breath and made me sit on the worn leather couch in the front room. Behind it were windows but all of them were blocked up with trash bags and wood. This house was meant to be abandoned years ago. That was why we used it to house the rebels. No one would look at an already condemned house once it was cleared and marked as unsafe. With Amadis’ protection spells, tracker demons couldn’t find us. They would get turned around and sent a million directions. Heat vision or xray vision would only show an empty house with maybe a rat or mouse or bird inside if there was movement. They wouldn’t notice the cameras that were working again. We had plans in place in case anything went wrong. In case Amadis wasn’t back in time for the weekly patching.

“Tell me everything.” The fae male demanded once I was once more able to speak and take shallow breaths. One of the nymphs we used as a healer had brought me water which I had taken a sip of when Allister finally spoke to me.

“I snuck out after she left, and got to the courthouse in time to see that asshole Nox Blackstorm shoving her and the team into an armored truck. I borrowed a bike to follow them. See if I could somehow intercept the truck on the road and free them before they got to the detention center while everyone else was distracted with the boom removal. They took the exit to Rudger Street and I knew then where they were going before we even got there. I watched and waited to see if Amadis would mercilessly make and escape. When she didn’t and the street was quiet again…I left. I returned the bike, made the man I borrowed it from swoon so he would try to have me arrested and rushed back to tell you what happened.” I sipped more of the water while Allister paced in front of me. His brows furrowed in deep concentration both hands behind his back. That handsome, perfect face blemished by his expression and nothing more. Then dark green eyes turned on me and he sighed softly. I knew what he was about to say before he said it. Shooting up to my feet I stood as tall as I could get to face him. “We can’t leave her and the crew to those demon bastards! You sent her in there! We have to get her out!”

“We can’t, Nymeria. We don’t have the manpower, the time or the weapons to fight off a whole guild of highly trained demon warriors. Amadis will make sure none of them can talk, but we have to get out of this house before her wards fall. I can’t jeopardize everything we have worked on.” Allister went to put a resuring, guilt filled hand on my arm. I swatted him away and pushed into his chest hard enough he actually stumbled.

“You ordered them to plant that boom! You sent her to her death! How dare you abandon her!” By now we had an audience but I didn’t care. Vidarr hadn’t just left Allister in charge and Allister was a fool. He had let their best ally into the hands of the enemy. It didn't matter if Amadis talked. If they got the right spells they would have one of the most powerful witches on their side of everything. Amadis would be brainwashed and turned. “If you had listened to me and we had laid low we might have had a chance at Ba’el. Your father warned you to start low and build up. No, you had to show off and now Amadis is captured. We lost twenty men for our cause and you don’t even want to try and at least make sure they can't be turned?”

“We can’t, Ny. Just drink your water.” Allister walked away before I could hit him like I wanted to. It would have earned me a round of twenty laps the next day, but I didn’t care. He turned to our spectators and cleared his throat. “Pack it up. We will rally at Padma’s Bar.”

Padma was a sea nymph who owned a bar that doubled as our main headquarters. We had many small outposts but Padma’s was both home and business. Padma acted as a surrogate mother when my mom hadn’t made it back from the battlefield. One of the last archangels that hadn’t made it back alive. I sometimes thought that was better than the alternative. If the rumors were true the remaining five archangels had their wings torn off and their power was drained to near kernels everyday to power the dome around our city. No one got in or out without Lord Ba’el’s permission.

“Ny…” Allister had turned to me but I was already up the stairs that led to my room. I didn’t have much to pack so I was sure he thought that was where I was going. Hell no. I was going to the armory. Soft footsteps followed behind me a moment later. I halted just short of the top of the stairs to turn and face Allister. His face was grimm and sorrowful. “I am sorry about Amadis, but I need you with me. Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Go to Padma’s Allister. Don’t worry about what I am doing.” I spat at him like we had to the new recruits. The ones we often called spineless and pathetic. His face changed to anger, his already dark green eyes becoming nearly black.

“I am the head of this operation and I am ordering you to stand down, Nymeria.” Allister’s words only made me smile from ear to ear.

“Whatever you say, boss.” I turned from him and moved before he could grab my wrist. I heard him curse as I turned toward the direction of my room waiting for him to descend the stairs.

Once Allister was busy getting everyone rounded up for the move, I went for the weapons room. Nothing too big. Just enough to get the attention of Nox’s alpha male guards and me into Silent Wind. A handgun, something basic that wasn’t part of my private collection which would make their way to Padma’s even when I didn’t. A couple daggers and the whip for some fun. Once I was ready to be armed I did return to my room to pack, but not before changing into all black complete with the jacket that would cover my hair, black pants, boots and gloves. The jacket was a favorite of mine. It had a piece of cloth I could pull up to cover my face. Only the violet of my eyes would be seen once I had. It had been a part of Vidarr’s assassin uniform which he had gifted to me right before he was slain. It had originally been too big, but with some lessons I had it tailored to fit me like a plastic glove fit a hand.

By dawn all that remained in the house were Allister, myself and Callie, a fawn shifter that had been our main hacker. She was just clearing out the last of the footage from the house, and our intel when I joined them. She looked up and noticed my clothing, Allister did a second later when he walked in. I put up my hands in defense at his scowl.

“I was out of things to change into. Everything I have is dirty. Are we ready to go? I really need something to drink.” I tried to keep my voice casual, but it wasn't hard for me. I had managed a lie my whole life, who was I. To everyone here was Nymeria Fenrir, daughter of the legendary Ambriel Fenrir. The chaos bringer and general of Arrowthorne’s legion of warriors. To everyone else I was Brooke Dayton, waitress and the Golden Stallion, a dive bar where the men got too handsy far too often.

“Just about….done.” Callie called before setting the computers to self district in five minutes. There would be no evidence left. She gathered her things, Allister helping her before we slipped out the back of the house to a black suv waiting for us. Allister’s no doubt.

“I know what you are thinking.”Allister fell back grabbing my arm to slow me as we neared his SUV.

“I am doing nothing, I don’t know what you are talking about.” Another trick of the assassin that had trained me. Deny, deny, deny and keep your story clean. If you change even a small detail they will catch you. “My clothing really is dirty. Do you want to smell my bag?” I held up the duffle over my shoulder and he cringed.

“Just…stay out of trouble. We can’t have anyone watching us until the king leaves.” Allister let it go and I smiled sweetly before sliding into the passenger side. The ride across town was silent except for his mixed tape playing old rock music very softly to fill the silence.

Padma was waiting for us with warm cider and breakfast. I filled up not letting on how nervous I was getting as the day passed. But it went on like normal to ease Allister. I even went about getting my clothing laundered so I could keep up the act. However when night fell and Allister had to leave to keep up his own day job for appearances…I made the decision. If Allister wouldn’t help Amadis…I would. I strapped on my weapons and slipped out of the underground headquarters to the barr.

“Where are you running off to missy?” Padma said in the cool, southern belle accent she had her whole life. She had come to Arrowthrone from Ashriver. A small town in the southern kingdom. I halted and cringed slightly. “Allister warned me you might be up to trouble. I told him…no not my Nymeria. She would never do anything that didn’t have to be done…”

“Padma…” She held up a hand, put her hands on her hips and sighed.

“I know Nymi. You’re only doing what you think is right. Just be careful. I can’t tell Ashlynn her sister went and got herself killed. She will have my head. I will make up an excuse for Allister why you’re gone. Just come back, ye hear?” I gave her a warm smile, crossed the small distance to hug her and thank her. After a too long embrace I slipped out of the bar and into the darkness of night.