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Chapter 72 - Nightmare

  So many things happened at once. From one side of the room, men wearing the brown and green uniforms of the city watch rushed in. Naked steel gleamed in the hands of some as others threw fire into the air, filling the room with the scent of burning insects. The angel’s vision swam as she watched from where she lay half-conscious on the stone floor but she thought she saw lumberjacks with them. That couldn’t be right.

  In front of her she saw another group of men and women. She saw Nyx kick a lephori man with gray fur across the room. Hey, Nyx was alright. That was great. They’d killed the nest keepers in time. Well, Brivaria had gotten one of them. Someone must have taken care of the other. The party guests were safe. Darkness was creeping up around the edges of her vision. That was a problem and she should fix that but her tail didn’t want to move. The wasps had done a number on her after all.

  Through the haze she saw Kseniya. Hey Kseniya, Brivaria thought. Trixie was there too and licking her face. Her dog was okay. That was important. Her eyes started to close and she could hear Kseniya telling her to transform back. Right, she should do that. She tried to activate Alternative Form while the world faded away.

  Brivaria fell through the empty void and darkness swallowed her. Her wings didn’t move no matter how hard she tried to flap them. She just fell further and further until she suddenly hit the dirt. The impact was painful and jarring but she found she had her shield and her sword. Her silver armor was, for the first time in weeks, whole and intact. She was herself again. An incoherent scream forced her to turn around, sword at the ready.

  Her jaw dropped at the terrible monster that stood before her. It was the demon from Pemburne. The mutated, muscled body of a man grew from the back of a gargantuan wolf only it wasn’t what she remembered. The thing had no wolf head but instead a pair of twin boar heads were mounted at the front. The faces of Duncan and Rory stared at her.

  “Lass, what are you waiting for? We’re packing up and moving out soon,” Duncan said in that stern but affectionate voice the angel remembered.

  “Aye, we’ve got work to do and it won’t do itself,” Rory agreed almost conversationally.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll all go together,” Brivaria heard her own voice answer but the words did not leave her lips. It came from above. The angel’s gaze lifted up from the boar heads only to find that it wasn’t the demon from her memories rising from the back of the wolf. It was her. In the demon’s place was her body but not her angelic form. No, it was her demonic battle form. Black pools of darkness with sapphire stars gazed down at her.

  “What in the name of Heaven is…” Brivaria’s words, her words, were cut off as someone screamed from behind her. She turned to find a human whose name she did not know but whose face she recognized staring at her. It was the man who had summoned her on the day of the incident. The winged girl reached through her memories for his name—Brand… Rutger? He was the leader of the Divine Anvil adventuring company. What was he doing here? For that matter, where was she?

  The darkness around Brivaria suddenly made itself known. In the shadows she could see writhing masses of flesh. Men in dark robes chanted the words to cast powerful, killing spells. Why was she standing still? She had to help the crusaders. They had to escape before they were overwhelmed and killed! It was her responsibility to ensure their survival. That’s what she was here for. That was her purpose. She flapped her wings to lift into the air, preparing to activate a skill when something grabbed her.

  What was grabbing her? Wait, the demon! She’d forgotten about the demon. How could she be so careless? She twisted to escape but the six-armed monstrosity was far too strong. It was holding onto her, squeezing her so hard she felt as though her bones would snap.

  “Now hold still, this will only hurt for a moment,” a voice said but only a second later did Brivaria realize who the speaker was. She looked up into her own demonic face complete with its black eyes and ice blue sclera. Her demonic twin smiled down at her then the tail struck, jamming the strange rose-like object into her chest. The angel gasped as she relived the pain of that single, terrible moment all over again.

  The demon vanished and the angel landed on the ground. She couldn’t move. Her whole body was awash with agony as she twisted in place. The thing that buried itself into her flesh was digging further. It was piercing her very soul. The pain was unimaginable as the demonic seed implanted itself not in her body but into the core of her very being, becoming a part of who she was. No pain, no suffering, no battle wounds she’d ever experienced came close to the agony of this moment. She begged for death if only so the pain would end.

  “Oh Brivaria, child, what happened to you?” Balthazar asked. The angelic overseer was a beacon of hope as his familiar energy tried to resonate with hers. Yet, when she felt him reach out to her, there was only pain. His very presence caused her to suffer. All of them did. She could feel every angel around her. The waves of support and reassurance they gave off should have reassured her, should have soothed her but they were like knives sliding across skin leaving red ribbons of flesh and searing agony in their wake. She cried out in pain, begged for them to stop, but no one could hear her.

  Existing in Heaven, in her home, was torture. Every moment was an eternity. She had to get out of this place, away from them, away from everything. She had to. She had to! She lashed out at the beings around her but it was like trying to push boiling hot water away with her bare hands, ineffective and oh so painful. She screamed louder as her movements became more erratic, more desperate. Her hands turned black claws as she tried to cut her way out of the scene.

  Next she was falling again. Nothing made sense. Everything hurt. Her mind was a confusing jumble. She hit the ground and this time it wasn’t dirt but the stone floor of the Barton keep. She sat up and realized she was back in her demon form. Footsteps signaled someone coming toward her and she spun around, claws ready but froze. What stood before her wasn’t the wasp rider, the red man, nor even the gray lephori that had struck her before she blacked out. She stood before an angel.

  A golden halo floated over beautiful locks of white hair. A gleaming, silver breastplate hung from the angel’s chest and two pristine, white wings extended far out to either side. Angels looked so much alike. She could have been Brivaria’s twin but wasn’t. Brivaria knew with certainty that only a dream could provide that this was not her, nor any dream-conjured version of her.

  “Demon.” The angel spoke only that one word and it descended upon Brivaria like the blade of a guillotine. She was suddenly very self-conscious of her form. That wasn’t right. She wasn’t a demon. She was an angel. It didn’t matter what she looked like. She was…

  The sword went through her chest. It was so quick that Brivaria couldn’t even follow the movement. The angel had casually drawn her sword and plunged it straight through Brivaria. There had been no hesitation. In the angel’s eyes, Brivaria was nothing. She wasn’t even a person. She was a demon.

  The lack of compassion, of recognition, of her being anything but another monster to be culled hurt. Brivaria had lived through countless battles and taken wounds of all sizes and shapes. She knew what it was to suffer or she thought she did. Being spurned by her own people hurt more than the sword in her chest and left a wound that healing magic couldn’t mend.

  Brivaria awoke with a start on a bed in a room she didn’t recognize. Her hands frantically felt for the place where the angel had pierced her with a sword but there was no wound. Had it been healed? The confusing jumble of strange memories lingered becoming less clear and harder to remember with each passing second. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she tried to make sense of the fleeting images.

  The bed shifted and Trixie was suddenly there, nearly knocking her over. Trixie whined as she nuzzled the angel. Brivaria didn’t know what had happened but she didn’t need to for now. Her normal, non-demonic arms folded around Trixie and she hugged her beloved dog. The tears she was holding back began to fall, dropping onto Trixie’s golden coat. Trixie was a rock in the storm for Brivaria and the angel clung to the dog, quietly sobbing and burying her face into the soft fur.

  “Little angel, you are awake,” Kseniya said from the door to the small room. Brivaria looked up with red, tear-filled eyes and Kseniya made a distressed sound. “Oh no, are you injured? Did they not heal you?”

  “No, I’m healed, I think,” Brivaria began but sniffled. “I saw things, horrible things…”

  “You had a dream,” the sorceress said with wonder. “You do not sleep so this was your first?” The angel nodded.

  “It was terrible. I saw the faces of the dead. Duncan, Rory, others. It’s hard to remember now,” the angel’s voice got quieter as she talked.

  “Ah.” That single word held a wealth of understanding. “It was a nightmare—a bad dream.”

  “Are they all like that?” the blonde girl asked.

  “Sometimes. For some, no. For adventurers, often. The first time you see someone die up close, you will not sleep well for a month. The first time you kill someone, not a monster but a person, the memory will haunt your dreams forever. It is one of many reasons not to become an adventurer.”

  “I can’t imagine having that happen every night. That sounds… awful,” the angel whispered.

  “It can be. Some say it gets better with time. I think those people are liars, you know? There are good dreams too. Not as many for people like us but some,” Kseniya explained. The room was silent for a long while. Brivaria took handfuls of Trixie’s long hair and squeezed. The dog merely rubbed against her affectionately and let out concerned whines.

  “What happened?” Brivaria finally asked. She was aware of her surroundings now. She was no longer in her armor or even her previous clothes. They were in a featureless room with a bed, a small wash basin on the floor, a chair next to it, and little else. The clothes Brivaria wore were generic and gray but clean. The shirt was a little baggy. Now that she was paying attention, she saw that it was a normal shirt with its back cut open for her wings.

  “Adventurers jumping to conclusions and making messes, as usual,” the sorceress grinned briefly then sobered. Her smile fell and she began to explain. “We noticed one of the nest keepers dying and rallied to charge the living one while the rest either retreated into the storeroom you and Giselle opened up or the entrance. Sorenson’s rabbit led the charge for the entrance. We stumbled into you, Giselle, and Westlake’s bodyguard fighting the wasps. The rabbit saw wings, horns, and a tail then decided that you were the enemy. He struck you from behind before any of us realized what he was going to do. Nyx punched him before he could do it again.”

  “Is there something on my back that says ‘stab here’ that I don’t know about?” the angel asked. Trixie wuffed and Brivaria shushed the dog. Trixie’s tail wagged a little faster. “What happened then?” Kseniya shrugged.

  “Nothing interesting. I got to you before you blacked out and you changed back. That ended further misunderstandings. The city watch put down the rest of the wasps. You and Giselle were the most badly injured but the bodyguard wasn’t far behind. Those wasps did a number on you. I don’t even know what destroyed your armor. Parts were melted, filled with new holes, and otherwise broken.” Brivaria winced at that. She was about to ask what happened to it when the door burst open.

  “Brivaria!” Nyx was through the door in an instant and throwing her arms around the angel. “We were so worried! You had all those wounds and you didn’t get up and…” Giselle walked in the door after Nyx and Brivaria’s relief at seeing the deer girl whole and healed was palpable. The deer spirit walked over to the opposite side of the bed and began petting Brivaria’s head.

  “Giselle, what are you doing?” the winged girl asked. That put an end to Nyx’s rambling as she looked up to see what the angel was talking about. Even Kseniya had an eyebrow raised at the sight. Giselle had been smiling but now looked scared.

  “I was trying to make you feel better, like you did for me in the forest. Am I doing it wrong?” Giselle pulled her hand back while she spoke as though afraid she was going to make things worse. Brivaria sighed.

  “You don’t normally pet people,” Kseniya said, speaking up. “Not unless they ask you to in private anyway.” Three sets of uncomprehending eyes gazed at the sorceress. Trixie turned her head so as not to be left out. “Ugh, nevermind. It was a joke.”

  “Brivaria, I got five levels!” Nyx all but shouted. Excitement filled the cat’s eyes. “Most of the bronze rank adventurers got three or four but I got five! Even the silver rank guys got one or two. Giselle said she got three levels. She’s level 45 and I’m 36 but I’m catching up! I have three whole skill points to spend! How many did you get?”

  Brivaria hadn’t thought about it. She still needed to ask about her gear and find out where they were but Nyx’s curiosity would not be denied. The angel pulled up her System menu and checked her notifications.

  You have reached level 43.

  Gained +5 Physique, +3 Endurance, +7 Arcane, +7 Spirit, +3 Awareness, +7 Presence.

  Gained two new skill selections. (One pending class advancement)

  Gained one new class advancement.

  “Just four levels. I think the only things I killed were the nest keeper and the wasp drones. What happened to the two that orchestrated the whole thing?” Brivaria knew she hadn’t killed wasp rider and, while she’d wounded the red guy, his health was still regenerating his wounds when she’d gotten knocked off him. Kseniya frowned and answered.

  “They call themselves the Insect Lords. The red one shouted about it before using an escape skill to turn into a bunch of ants and scurry off. If that idiot rabbit hadn’t knocked you out then you could probably have ended him then and there. I would have gotten him but I was out of mana. If that fight had gone on any longer then I don’t think any of us would be here now.” The sorceress spoke the last sentence quietly. The angel looked to Nyx and the cat nodded.

  “It was bad. A lot of the adventurers at the party had no skills for groups or swarms. Without Kseniya’s poison and your circle, everyone would have died. That red guy seemed insane but their plan could have worked,” Nyx said darkly. Brivaria sat back while Trixie settled onto her lap.

  “It could. That just means they need to be found before they can do something like that again,” the angel replied. She paused and thought about things then laughed. “I wonder if Cordelia’s bounty applies to insect cultists.”

  Name: Brivaria

  Race: Angel

  Class: Apprentice Shaper of Flesh

  Level: 43

  Stats: Health 85/85, Mana 166/166, Stamina 112/112

  Attributes: Physique 70, Endurance 42, Arcane 79, Spirit 83, Awareness 42, Presence 87

  Active Skills: Current Control, Defensive Bulwark, Healing Touch, Twisted Reflection, Wind Formation

  Passive Skills: Alternative Form, Corrupt Shapeshifting, Infernal Seed, Inventory, Lesser Flight, Lingering Decay, Natural Weapons, Rest, Traits (Angel)

  Magic: Light of Decay

  Affinity: Corruption, Decay

  Pending Class Advancement: 1

  Unspent Skill Points: 1

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