Demon's Dream (8 page)

He touched her shoulder gently. “I know, love, and I’m sorry.” He looked around the boulder again and pulled her with him.

“Look!” He pointed at two Whippers nearing their position. “They’re obviously of some rank since they’re not training. My powers seem to hold in here so I have a suggestion. We take out Tweedle Ass Dee and Tweedle Ass Dumb over there. I’ll shift us to look like them. We then go to king ugly ass over there, take the medallion and haul ass out of here.”

“That’s a lot of ass there, Mel.” She pursed her lips. “Will your magic hold? If you think so, I’m sure as hell game.”

She pulled back and extracted a knife Mel had conjured while at the ogre’s home to check its sharpness. “I’m ready.”

She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, if his magic didn’t hold or they were discovered before they could get close to head honcho ugly ass, it would be horrible for them. She knew they needed to do this to get out of this realm but it didn’t make what they had to do any easier. Leaning towards him she quickly kissed him. “For luck.”

He gave her an astonished look at the show of affection, suddenly feeling a bit sheepish. Smiling, he turned towards the Whippers and whispered, “I’ll draw them here. Be ready.”

Mel peered around the corner and tossed a small rock at the one of their feet making sure their head snap in their direction. Satisfied they saw enough to get him and his friend to come over, Mel motioned to her to get ready and waited for them to come around the boulder.

She smiled softly at his shocked looked but prepared herself for the Whipper’s arrival. They sounded like a herd of elephant the way they stomped. It was difficult to believe there were only two of them. She could hear their whips cracking just before they turned the bend. Without hesitation, she threw her knife. Her aim was straight and strong. She may not have her magic but she still had her basic skill set. The blade embedded itself up to its hilt between the creature’s eyes and he went down like a shot.

As she threw her dagger, Mel moved faster than other the creature could blink and slit his throat. Dragging them both from sight, Mel took a piece of cloth from each and give her one.

“Hold that on your person, it will help the illusion.”

He waved his hand over her form from top to bottom and as he did so, she took the form of the Whipper. He grinned at her. “You are one hot Whipper.” He winked as he repeated the motion on himself. “Ready?”

Clarissa regarded him and cringed slightly. She had to remind herself that she now appeared the same in some fashion. She slipped the piece of cloth under her breast so she wouldn’t lose it then she nodded. “About as ready as I’ll ever be.” She scooped up the whip. “Wait. I have never used this weapon and they flick it everywhere they go. I better work with this first.”

She tried to flick it and it was obvious that she had never done it before.

“Since we don’t have time to go through Whipper training one-o-one, you’ll have to improvise, love. Just yell at the troops a lot and look mean.” Mel grinned an ugly Whipper grin and pushed her towards the crowd.

She frowned and mumbled, “Wonderful. We are
so
going to die.”

She moved slowly, still trying to flick her wrist correctly and caught his calf. “Whoops. Sorry.”

He growled at her. “Don’t push it, love.” Walking around the boulder, he took on a commanding pose. Some of the troops missed a step as they glanced up at them.

“What are you looking at? Get back in line!” When they continued to muddle through their formations, Mel let out a loud roar. “Around the mountain
now,
you lazy fuckers!
Go! Go! Go!”

Clarissa just growled at them and made sure they followed Mel’s instructions. She flicked her wrist and surprisingly struck a Whipper that was too slow. “Faster.”

They slowly patrolled the perimeter as they made their way to the tent where the commander lounged under a canopy while he barked orders at the men on the training grounds. So far so good as none of the Whippers seemed to suspect the wolves in sheep’s clothing in their midst. It felt as if they had traveled a whole day by the time they reached the commander’s facilities. As they slowed their pace, Mel observed the leader carefully to see how he interacted with his men and where they could catch a break in getting close to him. Mel motioned to Clarissa and whispered, “Look! Do you think you can operate one of those?”

He pointed to a Whipper setting down with one of the strange flying machines.

She turned and followed his finger then looked up at those who were maneuvering overhead. After a couple of minutes, she whispered back, “I can only try.”

She returned her attention back to the leader and saw the medallion clearly on the breastplate. She nodded towards Mel, indicating the desired piece.“That’s what we need.”

Straightening her shoulders, she gazed at the machine which sat behind the canopy. She narrowed her eyes as she tried to see the controls. Another flying craft came in for a landing while an additional one took off. She nodded again, more in trying to convince herself as well as him. “Yeah, I think I can manage.”

“The people of rank seem to be able to come and go around him and in the general area of his seat. We may be able to surround him and get close enough to get the medallion. I can shield us from the horde and take him out but how long that will last is debatable. We’ll have to move fast and get to one of those before the shields of my illusion drops.”

She started to incline her head as two Whippers passed by them then halted herself as she realized the gesture wasn’t something the Whippers did. She lifted her chin and stood strong despite her knees being weak. She could still almost feel the razor whips cutting into her skin and if they failed or were caught, well, she wasn’t sure she would be strong enough to last long. Yet, Mel gave her a hint of strength and she drew on it to do all they needed to do and leave the realm. They approached the dais and climbed the steps.

Mel moved around the canopied area, surprised at the ease in which they were allowed to proceed around the area so freely. Then again, the Whippers had no need to fear a snake in their midst. When the canopy finally became clear of other soldiers, except them, Mel gave her a subtle nod as he used his powers to shield the area. To the ones out on the field they would see the platform as it was a moment ago when in reality the picture behind the shield was very different.

Clarissa pulled out her dagger and went behind the commander since his focus was on a dozen trainees in the field who had faltered their steps. She was going to cut his throat but at the last minute she realized she couldn’t take a life like that. Though it had been done in front of her, she couldn’t take another’s life so easily. She knew he was far from innocent but couldn’t bring herself to kill someone without a fair fight. Flipping the knife over at the last minute, she conked him on the head and watched him slump forward. Pulling him back, she used the knife to pry the medallion loose and stuck it in her bra for safe keeping.

“Let’s go.” She quickly headed back towards the stairs.

Mel couldn’t help but gaze upon Clarissa with a grudging respect. He never could stand someone who came at another’s back and her sense of honor attracted him even more. They both moved as fast as they could without raising suspicion.

Mel realized that he had to strain to keep the shield up and maintain their disguises. The powers he was utilizing drained him, especially since he had not eaten in a couple of days. There was nothing in this realm that could sustain him and he knew they needed to get out fast. Sweat pearled on his forehead at the effort and he couldn’t have been more elated to see the flying machine in front of them. He whispered thanks for small favors when he realized that it would take both of them to maneuver the craft. He allowed her to settle in behind the controls of the vehicle before he climbed on after her. He lightly touched her shoulder and leaned to speak softly in her ear.

“We need to move fast. I cannot hold the illusions much longer.”

She quickly scanned the controls. “Give me a second or we’ll end up going backward or worse upside down.” She glanced over the controls as she tried to figure out which ones would start it and after a quick test, she figured she had enough of the basics to fly without killing them. At least not immediately. “Hold on.”

She found the controls a tad similar to her red Ducati as she maneuvered back and up then shot forward.

“Hey catch my stomach, I think I just lost it back there,” she grumbled as she started to move away when she heard a commotion below as some of the Whippers pointed up to them. “Crap. Hold on, looks like we are going to get some company.”

Clarissa wiggled in her seat as she tried some evasive maneuvers in hopes they could escape safely.

Mel couldn’t help but chuckle softly at her first comment then frowned at her next one. In order to conserve his powers, he had dropped the shields. Within seconds the Whippers realized what was going on and sent a flying squad after them. She maneuvered the flyer like a pro and he had to hold on so as not to get smashed around inside the small cubicle.

As soon as the illusion was dropped, his powers immediately felt stronger. As she sped up and started gaining ground on them, Mel threw up a massive invisible wall between them and the advancing army. He gave a whoop as they hit the wall in several fiery explosions.

“Take that you flying fuckers!” Mel laughed in glee.

Clarissa concentrated on the controls. She had to giggle softly at his exclamation. Just when she thought they were safe, she suddenly stopped and backed up as seven fliers popped up in front of them and started firing.

“Oh for
fucks
sake!
”
Mel grabbed the on board gun controls and began firing at will. He managed to rip two of their wings to shreds and laughed as the fliers dropped to the ground. He threw a hand out and let sonic wave slam three into a nearby rock face.

“
Move!
I’ll hold off the other two. You should see the gates from here!”

She gave a subtle nod and focused on her flying abilities rather than on a verbal response she could have given him. For a moment, she lost sight of the gates before she caught view of them again. She spun the ship slightly and headed straight for them. Her landing was a bit bumpy but soon they were down on the ground in front of the dimensional gates.

Mel blasted the top of the machine off, grabbed her hand and jumped down from the flyer. He saw the gate keeper and pushed Clarissa ahead of him.

“Run for it! You need to pay our fare, I’ll deal with these guys!”

She ran while simultaneously checking her bra for the medallion and didn’t feel it. She started to panic as she quickly checked the other side. She breathed a sigh of relief. Approaching the gate keeper, a stone like statue that came to life as they approached, she held the medallion out and grabbed Mel’s arm.

“No more time to play, love, time to go home. Say goodbye to all your friends.”

She tugged him through the dimensional gate and felt her body slip away from her, losing Mel’s hand in the process.

On the guest bed in Azamel’s abode within the Nether Realm, a body that had been still for days gasped to life. Clarissa’s eyes snapped open and Mel’s name tore from her lips. It took a moment to recognize she was back in Mel’s home. She immediately reached under the pillow to feel the hilt of the dagger that she guarded. She smiled softly as she slowly sat up. Mel had been true to his word about everything but where was he?

Down the corridor in a room Mel normally received his visitors a fire’s embers glowed softly. A soft radiant red simmered below sections of gray ash. The light from such dimness barely illuminated the room, nor did it dispel that darkness that crept around such a minimal light source.

Mel awoke with a roar of pain and instantly looked around. He realized that he was on his couch in front of the dying embers. Waving his fingers slightly, the fire blazed anew sending light and restored warmth immediately throughout the chamber. He leaned back, grateful they managed to leave whatever realm of hell they had found themselves in but as he reclined back an agonizing pain ripped through his body.
‘What the fuck?’

He looked down to see the blood drip onto the carpet. A huge gash peeked through a tear in his shirt as the blood flowed freely. He laid back and took a deep breath.