Daemon Knights – Angus’s Trial

Brascko laughed as he stepped away from Prolier, clapping his hands loudly. “Excellent! Well done! That was a masterful plan given the limited time I gave you. For first years to find an answer to my teleportation is incredible. As you said, it wouldn’t have worked should I have chosen to flee, but still an unbelievable showing of your talents. Your group will certainly be one to watch in the coming years. Angus, I tip my hat to you in teaching these young ones so well.”

The team assembled before the master, each grinning widely. Angus wore the largest of the grins. “Thank you sir, I am lucky to have such gifted students this year. They have met and exceeded my every expectation.”

Brascko was still laughing. “I can see that. Given fifteen minutes, they planned an ambush, constructed traps and figured out exactly how to lead me to their hidden man. Amazing results.”

Marnie gave a little cough. “Actually, we have a confession. The traps were fake. We only had time to make them look like traps, not enough to actually put anything in place for them to trigger.”

Brascko’s laugh increased in volume. “That’s even better! You had me fooled enough that I refused to step on any of them. They were just as good as real traps if they allowed to control the field of battle as you did.” His laugh wound down and his face became more serious. “Sadly, we have other matters to attend to.”

The master pulled his phone from a pocket in his deep crimson master’s robes and pressed only one button before pulling it to his ear. “Bring the council together. The trial of Angus Campbell will begin as soon as we’re assembled.”

* * * * *

The trial began less than ten minutes later, with Turiel running in just before the doors were closed. “What is the meaning of this?” He spluttered as he found a seat. “Isn’t the council going to take the time to do a proper investigation, or have you already found enough evidence to finally remove this imbecile from our campus?”

Brascko looked down at the headmaster. “Silence. If you cannot contain your insults, you will be thrown from the courtroom. No matter what evidence we’ve found, this is a court of law and you will treat it and all within it with the proper respect.”

Turiel’s face dropped and he fell into the seat he’d just managed to make it to. He said nothing else.

Angus was seated in the spot reserved for those under suspicion, but he didn’t look nearly as worried as Turiel thought he should. Between the reprimand from Brascko and the peaceful look on Angus’s face, Turiel began to get very worried, though he tried not to let it show on his face.

“This court is here to assess the guilt or innocence of one Angus Campbell in regard to the charge of student endangerment. He has previously plead his innocence. Angus, has your plea changed since our initial hearing?”

“No sir, it hasn’t.”

“Very well. We will now hear the evidence of the defendant, followed by any additional evidence from his accuser that may have been uncovered since the charge was brought against him.”

Angus stood up and brought a stack of paper forward with the data disc from Lethen’s backpack strap sitting on top. “Masters, this is the memory chip that was hidden within one of my student’s packs before we left the campus. The papers below it are a trio of printed copies of the data contained within, as well as a timestamp, computer ID and login credentials showing exactly where and when it came from.”

The masters each took a small stack of paper and looked over the details. After a few moments, and some quiet discussion amongst themselves, Master Carter looked at Angus. “How did you uncover all this information? Particularly the location of the computer and the person logged in at the time of the transfer.”

“I have a contact outside the academy who specializes in accessing secrets stored on computers. Some might call him a hacker. He looked into the data for me and these are his findings.”

“Why did you give someone who isn’t even affiliated with the school access to this? The information here is of a very sensitive nature and should’ve been handled by Hikari personnel only.”

Angus stopped. This wasn’t quite how he’d expected it to go. “Firstly, I had no idea what was contained on the disc until after I’d had my contact access it, and secondly, since the disc had obviously come from within Hikari itself, I wasn’t sure who I could trust with the job. If I’d taken it to the wrong person, they could’ve wiped it and I’d have no way to clear my name. I took it to a contact that I trust. The data will go no further.”

Carter didn’t look convinced. “You trust a hacker, someone who you so deftly pointed out is a specialist in accessing information that isn’t his, with information this sensitive?”

“As I said, I was unaware what the disc contained until after it was opened.”

“I’m fairly certain that a memory chip hidden in a student’s backpack to be transported to a different country without their knowledge could be assumed to be something more important that your grandmother’s potato soup recipe. If it wasn’t confidential information, there wouldn’t have been so much subterfuge in it’s transportation.”

Angus narrowed his eyes and dumped a bagful of sarcasm into his voice. “Understood. Next time I’m caught in a situation where I’m being accused of something that involves the attempted trading of classified information across international borders, I shall come to you for guidance in the matter.”

Carter glared at the sensei, but let the jibe slide. “Your lack of wisdom in computer experts notwithstanding, this information pertains to someone who we now consider a rogue. While it’s never good for sensitive data to be leaked, this is hardly proof that anyone here is selling our secrets.”

“With all due respect sir,” Angus said, “this is just the one instance that we happened to catch. The person or persons responsible for this leak could easily be selling information that could be used against us and Hikari as a whole.”

Carter nodded once. “Point taken. It says here that the login used to transfer this was that of one Kaito Yamikaze.” His focus switched from Angus to Turiel. “Headmaster Turiel, do you have anything to say about this?”

Turiel stood, looking much less concerned than he had at the beginning of the trial. “Gentlemen, since it has already been established that Angus used a contact without credibility and a penchant for the manipulation of computer systems, I would imagine that the validity of those particular details are in question. In fact, the data disc story as a whole is far from being proof of any wrongdoing from anyone besides Angus himself. A farfetched story to save his job and standing within the daemon knights.”

Angus bristled. He had expected Turiel to throw Kaito under the bus. He hadn’t guessed that Turiel would turn it around like this. “You can ask my students. They were there when the disc was revealed.”

Turiel smiled at him. “Yes, the students that are loyal to you and would happily lie to get you off the hook.”

“And where would I even get that information? I don’t have access to detailed records of past daemon knights.”

“It sounds like you have access to any damn thing you want with the help of your cyber criminal friend. Does any one here really believe -”

“Enough!” Brascko roared. “We didn’t call this trial to listen to you two bicker. I brought this together now because Angus came to me with his evidence and I decided to look into it.” His eyes bored into Turiel. “The moment you left your office, I had Hikari’s own computer specialists examine Kaito’s terminal, as well as a few other inconsistencies, and they have just sent me the results. The information was accessed from there and it was transferred to the disc from that computer. They checked this with methods I don’t fully understand that prove that it was physically done exactly as Angus’s data suggests.”

Turiel fell back into his seat. He could tell that he was being cornered and now understood the significance of the speedy trial. They were making sure he didn’t have time to cover his tracks. His mind was quick though and coming up with ways to deflect blame was one of his specialties. “So Kaito betrayed us all,” he said, not having to fake the despair etched into his features.

“No,” Brascko said. “According to the time stamp, Kaito was at lunch at the time his computer was accessed. We have witnesses that say he was in the staff canteen, as he is everyday at the same time, without fail, since the day he was hired. Someone else with access to his terminal created that disc.”

“I take lunch at the same time Kaito does,” Turiel stammered. “I may not be as boring with my dining choices, but I do leave the office for the same time period. Someone must’ve come into my office while we were out. Many people know our schedules.”

“Yes, but unlike Kaito, you do not have witnesses to your whereabouts.”

Turiel started to speak, but Brascko held up his hand to stop him. “This is not a hearing to find your guilt or innocence, though I dare say one will be coming soon. This was done simply to prove that someone did in fact set up Angus and the entire 1C squad to be unknowing couriers of data between someone within our hallowed walls and the Russians for reasons unknown, and that it was this person, not Angus, who truly endangered our students. These are the people who it is our job to protect, even above and beyond those who pay heavily for our services and they were thrown to the wolves. We will discover the identity of this person and they will be made to pay for their treachery.”

* * * * *

The remainder of the trial consisted of mere formalities, and was over after another ten minutes. Angus was reinstated as the sensei for 1C and Turiel left with his tail between his legs. While he wasn’t directly accused of anything, it was obvious that we was going to be watched very closely for the foreseeable future and his possible involvement in the Russia debacle would be investigated.

Turiel had decided to go drown his sorrows in town afterward and was only just making it back to his apartment on campus around midnight. He hadn’t gotten too drunk, but was far from stone cold sober. He entered his home and plopped down on the couch without turning the lights on. He immediately started drifting toward what he assumed would be a troubled sleep. He had almost made it when he heard the soft click of the entryway door being closed.

Turiel looked up and could only see a pair of boots in the rectangle of light that was cast across his floor from the moon hanging in the sky. He wasn’t pleased to see them, but he knew whose they were and was not afraid that there was any threat to him.

“That did not go well today.” The figure said simply.

“I noticed. I thought we had him up against the ropes until Kaito’s computer was checked. Luckily they can’t prove I did anything wrong either so we’re safe.”

“For now, but your obsession with the half-breed has come very close to exposing our operation and the added scrutiny your under makes things more difficult. Don’t let your personal feelings get in the way of the bigger plan or our next meeting will be very different.”

Turiel didn’t respond as he watched the figure turn and leave the room, the crimson of the bottom of a master’s robe catching the light before the figure disappeared through the door.

* * * * *

Previous Episode – Brascko’s Game

Daemon Knights – Brascko’s Game

Angus was grinning as he wended his way back to the school. He had proof that the data disc came from Turiel’s office, if not Turiel himself. Even if it wasn’t the smoking gun he was looking for, it was at least a gun. Enough to show that he had in fact been set up and more than enough to cast doubt on the headmaster. After this there would be a full investigation, conducted by the masters themselves. One that Turiel was unlikely to snake his way out of.

As he stepped foot on the campus, he went straight for the industrial zone. He knew that by now Brascko would’ve questioned the students and if he was clued in to everything, he was the most likely ally amongst the council members. He would need at least one of them on his side before the investigation began, someone who would be there to convince the others of the truth of matters. That was part of the problem with situations like this. Evidence could mean a lot of different things depending on how you chose to view it. A friend on the inside could steer their thinking.

It didn’t take him long to locate his team and their temporary teacher. Brascko had them sitting in a circle, discussing something. Angus wanted to hear, but didn’t want to disturb them, so he crept closer and listened.

* * * * *

“So what have figured out how to counter my gift?” Brascko asked the students. “What can you do against teleportation?”

“I don’t think there’s much you can do against it.” Marnie said. “If you can do it instantly, you can just not be there when any of our blows land. The only hope anyone would have is if you didn’t see it coming.”

“Good, and how would you do that?”

Lethen spoke up. “Well the most obvious way would be to sneak up on you, but it’s too risky. It would be a one shot deal. If you saw one of us coming, the game would be up.”

Marnie continued, “We decided to use this area as an example ambush place, but this plan only works if you chose to fight us. Of course you could always just vanish and appear in Germany or something if you wanted, but we decided to make a plan on the assumption that you would stay and fight.”

“That’s a reasonable assumption. Given the terms of the experiment and what you’ve come up with, I would say it deserves to be tested, but I will warn you, it’s very difficult to sneak up on me, isn’t it Angus?”

The sensei came from his hiding place and smiled at the master. “I don’t imagine you’d have made it to the rank you have if it was easy. I didn’t wish to disturb you. Plus I thought perhaps you could teach me a thing or two about tutoring my class if I didn’t intrude. So the game is five first years against you? Should I can the medics now or wait until one of them is unconscious?”

Brascko grinned. “I am going to be purely on the defensive. I don’t expect them to be able to hurt me, I just want to see if they can come up with a cohesive plan to counter a known ability. I’m going to give them fifteen minutes to set up this block the way they wish it to be and we’ll treat it just like as if they were ambushing true prey. I will enter from the west and exit through the east. You have from the time in between to make your assault.”

The master stood and started to walk toward his entry point, but stopped. “Angus, would you like to join them? I want it to be their plan, but you can play too if you want.”

“Actually sir, I think I’m going to take up your time for the fifteen minutes until you test them. I have results from the data disc and I think you’ll want to see them. I assume you already know everything that’s happened from the student’s point of view.” It wasn’t a question.

Brascko nodded. He and Angus walked away and the students got to work.

* * * * *

“So you’re sure that the disc was made on Kaito’s computer here within the school?” Brascko asked after Angus explained the findings to him.

Angus nodded. They were out of sight of the squad, but they could hear them. It sounded like some fairly heavy construction was going on. “Positive. There is no question where it came from and we both know that Kaito doesn’t do anything without Turiel’s say-so. I like the guy but he hasn’t had an original thought since deciding which of his momma’s tits to suck on as a baby.”

Brascko chuckled. “Very crudely put, but more or less accurate. The only problem we have is that Turiel could easily disavow all knowledge of it and we can’t prove Kaito’s robotic nature. If Turiel chooses to throw him under the proverbial bus, there’s not much we can do about it. As the headmaster’s assistant, Kaito could easily gain access to any information and set up just about anything by telling people that Turiel requested it. Even though we can’t prove it, everyone knows that if Kaito does something, it’s already got Turiel’s stamp of approval and no one would question it.” Brascko drew his hand to his chin and considered that. “To be perfectly blunt, we’re very lucky that Kaito is so loyal, his position would allow him to do many unsavory things if he chose to. We may have to rethink our security procedures presently.”

“What do you think we should do?”

“Sadly we must follow protocol. Charges have been leveled against you. We must hold a hearing.”

Angus was shocked. “You’re still planning to try me?”

Brascko shrugged. “Have to, but don’t get yourself all wound up. Your evidence is more than enough to show that you were set up. The problem is that we have to take care of that before we can face the Turiel situation. I’d love to be able to keep this quiet until we can gather more against him, but it’s pivotal to your defense and as your accuser, he has the right to be present at the trial. He will know that you’re on to him and how far you’ve gotten. It will allow him to start tying up loose ends before we can get all the information together.”

Angus hung his head. This wasn’t going how he’d wanted it to. “So you’re saying we’re screwed. For me to clear my name I have to show my hand, giving him time to clean everything up and shove it under the carpet.”

“Sadly yes. There is one hope though. He already knows that you’re going after him. If we hold the trail immediately, he has less time to work. If we can get your problem taken care of, we can start his sooner and make him rush the job. Maybe something will slip through and be forgotten in his haste.”

“We can have the trial right now?”

“Well not right this second.” Brascko looked toward the area where the students were working on their plan and smiled broadly. It was much quieter now and their time was up. “I must admit I am intrigued by your team and want to see what they’ve come up with.”

Angus shared the smile. “Be careful. I think they’ll surprise you with their resourcefulness.”

* * * * *

“Ready or not, here I come!” Brascko shouted before stepping around the wall and viewing the ambush zone for the first time since the kids had set it up to their satisfaction.

The first thing he noticed was Renala standing in the center of the square area. She was just posted there, casually holding her massive halberd as if waiting for a bus. He had expected them to all be hidden, but she couldn’t be more obvious.

As he scanned the rest of the area, he could see that makeshift traps had been set up in several different places. Some were more obvious than others, but all of them would have to be avoided. He mentally marked the locations.

He was beginning to see their plan. Start the fight with Renala and have her lure him into different positions, maybe push him into a trap. Not a bad plan at all.

He checked the skyline. Their sniper would be up there somewhere, waiting for him to make a mistake. It took a second, but he spotted the thin barrel of Angel’s gun sitting back a bit in one of the windows. At least the boy had the sense not to extend it out the window. Almost anyone else wouldn’t have noticed it.

Satisfied that he saw everything he could so far he walked forward toward Renala. As he got close, she took up her stance. He stooped and looked at her. “This isn’t exactly sneaking up on me.”

She didn’t say anything, she just smiled and swung her halberd.

He dodged the first few swipes, but then one came that he would have to step on a trap to evade. Thus far the team hadn’t even seen his daemon, but he needed it to block now. A thin silver bracelet he wore slid down into his hand and shimmered into a three pronged sai. He caught her blade and shoved it back, then he teleported to a safe spot just behind her.

He was about to give her a small shove when he spotted Lethen launching himself through a window, just a couple feet to his left. Another quick teleport and he was fifteen feet away from the duo when Lethen landed.

Brascko was pleased. “You anticipated the jump. Well played. But what’s your plan now that-”

The master flung himself backward as a bolt of energy speared the air where his head was a moment ago. It hadn’t been a killing shot but it certainly would have hurt. He glanced about and made sure he knew where he could stand. They were making him move more than he’d expected and he didn’t want to step on one of the traps. He wasn’t sure what each would do, but he knew he didn’t want to find out.

Lethen squatted down and leaped high into the air, aided by the gift he got from the late Silva. Brascko caught the boy by his shirt in one hand and frowned. So far this was the silliest move of any of them, but Lethen grabbed the masters arms and smiled.

Brascko felt movement beneath him and looked down to see he had already sank a couple inches into the ground. He dropped Lethen and teleported to an area on the other side of the square.

He only had a second of respite when a rapier stabbed at his heart from a shadowy alcove he couldn’t see from his previous position. He dodged it, but was between a pair of traps and had to teleport once more rather than move into one.

He appeared in a spot where Angel couldn’t get a bead on him and looked at the team. They were very impressive. “Well done so far. It’s incredible that you could predict my moves so well. I’m actually having to work for this.”

Renala smiled and switched to her shield just before a wide beam came from Angel’s gun, reflected off her shield and swept toward him. He backed into the corner to avoid it and felt two sharp jabs in the skin of his back.

As he turned around he saw Prolier fade into existence where there had been nothing before.

“We win,” was all Prolier said as he grinned.

* * * * *

Previous Episode – Harsh Truths   Next Episode – Angus’s Trial

Daemon Knights – Harsh Truths

Brascko’s training for the remainder of the day was tame compared to Angus’s, but he was simply trying to get a feel for the team and their abilities. He spent most of his time with Renala, who had intrigued him with her voluntarily bound daemon armor. Although he had played up much of his amazement at the teams achievements, he had been completely honest about having never seen a wild daemon do something like that. In fact he had never seen a wild daemon be anything short of violent toward a human until after it was broken.

After the team had worked up a mild sweat he sat down with them again. “I am very pleased with how far you have all come. I would love to say that it was due to our rigorous curriculum here, but it seems that the most informative parts of your education were actually when Angus went against our current methods. This is something I may need to bring up with Turiel, assuming he keeps his job long enough to make any more decisions. Perhaps we’ve become too soft over the last few generations. These days everything is about safety and security, two things that a daemon knight will never truly have once they leave these walls.

“When I was a student, we lost probably a quarter of our people by the time we graduated. I’m not saying that’s good, we lost some people that likely would’ve made damn fine knights had they survived, but it taught us more than just tactics. It taught us to accept that our lives hang in the balance every time we step beyond the walls, and occasionally while we’re within them. Now, we have many more students make it to the end of their seventh year, but some of them break as soon as they lose a friend. We’ve failed vital missions because while our graduates were well trained with their weapons, their minds were weak and they couldn’t handle the sense of loss that always comes with this life.

“Can anyone tell me how many daemon knights that have come through Hikari have lived long enough to retire?”

There was silence. None of the group were willing to hazard a guess, but by the way it was worded, they all assumed the number was very low.

Brascko took note of the looks that passed between the students and once he felt they’d had sufficient time to consider where he was going, he spoke. “None. Not a single daemon knight from this school has ever retired.”

The faces around him took on a cast of fear, which made him laugh. “Don’t look so glum. I don’t mean that none have ever made it to normal retirement age, just that there is no retirement for daemon knights. Once a daemon knight, always a daemon knight. As you age you become more powerful and take on harder missions. I myself am occasionally called in to tackle some of the most dangerous or essential missions. Ones that cannot afford to fail. I may seem retired and in a cushy job just watching others, but I still pull my weight when it’s required.

“Back in the days before Hikari, there weren’t as many talented healers around and there were daemon warriors, this was before the daemon knights were formed, who were too badly injured to continue their work, but now if you’re not dead, we can get you back to near perfect health.”

Brascko watched as the postures and tension eased from the air. He was playing them like a sharply tuned instrument, watching them go from concerned to relaxed so he could pull them up short again. “Don’t mistake my words. Every daemon knight bar one has died in combat. One of the masters from when I was a student died of a heart attack in his bed at the ripe old age of eighty-six, but he had been on a mission no more than six months previously. Every other daemon knight that has come through here has died at the hands of our enemies.

“This is neither a safe nor a secure life and often not a terribly long one.

“Here’s another question for you. Can anyone estimate the average life expectancy of Hikari students? I say students rather than graduates because I’m including the ones who died while attending the academy.”

The students looked at each other. Lethen was the only one bold enough to speak. “Forty-five?”

Brascko shook his head. “I think you’re underestimating the danger involved in this life. Try twenty-eight.” He once again watched as he played with their emotions. He wasn’t doing it to be mean, but he considered himself an expert storyteller. He savored being the center of attention and seeing the effects of his words. He loved being able to string people any way he wished with nothing more than a few syllables and the tone of his voice to work listeners into whatever state of mind he desired.

“I’m sure most of you know the few families that have been here since the inception of the Hikari academy. The Jericks, the Tortugas and a few others. There were more of course, but most of the ones that were with us at the beginning have been killed off along the way. The Flints were here at the start of things, but Master Flint only had one child and she died several years back, so he’s the last of his line. Others have rose in prominence like the Proliers, who came in just a few years after Hikari was created, but of the originals, very few are left.

“Do you know why I’m telling you all of this?”

Angel looked at him. “Because you want us to know just how dangerous it is out there.”

Brascko laughed again. “Not exactly, plus I’m pretty sure that with your ill-fated mission to visit our comrades in the frigid north proved that to you beyond a shadow of a doubt. What I really want you to be prepared for is death. It’s harsh to come out and say it, but you are all going to die. If you’re not prepared for that, you need to get that way. You will die. Unless you’re the first to go, you’ll see your friends die. From what you’ve told me, a few of you have already experienced dealing out death to your enemies.

“This is not the glorious life we show to the small sections of the world that know of our existence. This is a soldier’s life. With our healing skills, you may not see streams of legless and armless amputees that were caught by enemy explosives like in conventional wars, but ours is just as dangerous if not more so. What do you do against a foe that can defy the laws of physics. What would you do if you faced me?”

The team just stared at him with blank expressions thinking it was a rhetorical question.

“I’m serious. Take some time and try to come up with a tactic that you could attempt to defeat my ability. I have several other abilities, but don’t worry about them. I want to see what you can come up with to counter my gift. Confer amongst yourselves and come up with ideas. I’ve seen how well you can fight. Now I want to see if you can think.”

* * * * *

“So that’s what this was about.”

Angus sat back on Pilgrim’s ratty couch, trying not to fall through the spot where the springs had long since given up the ghost. He looked over the information that had been on the data disc again. Turiel was selling out Vincent Riccio. Granted, the guy was considered a rogue daemon knight and all acts against him were fair game, but Angus considered this low. It was one thing to hunt the man, it was another to provide this much information to a state that was barely an acquaintance.

Russia hadn’t officially been an enemy of Hikari since the cold war, but they certainly weren’t allies. It was the kind of situation where they would shake hands and smile for the cameras, but behind closed doors, there were always contingency plans being worked on in case tempers flared up again suddenly. There was a certain amount of information trade, but it was generally the kind of stuff that a nine-year-old with basic computer skills could find out from Google packaged to look like official documentation. Both groups knew this and accepted it as the beginnings of peaceful contact. The information Turiel was providing in this was nothing short of a detailed history of the man, his relatives (both living and dead), his powers and just about everything short of detailed medical records. This would likely have meant Riccio’s death.

Angus looked up at Pilgrim, who was just sitting watching the sensei digest all the data. “Is there any way you can tell me who put this together?”

“I should be able to. I can look for markers that would tell me which computer the information was originally on and if I can get access to that computer and it has some kind of security that requires a login, I can tell you who was logged in when it was transferred.”

“I’m hearing a lot of ifs and maybes in there. I came to you because you’re the best.”

“I am the best, but I’m not a miracle worker. If the computer doesn’t need a login, there’s no way to tell who was using it. If the computer isn’t connected to the internet, then I won’t be able to access it. I know it’s a lot of ifs but I can only go where the signal goes. A lot of computers with sensitive information on them are kept off the grid for a reason. It’s the only way to keep them truly safe. I’ll do what I can but even I have limitations.”

Angus sank further into the couch and sighed. “Just do what you can. I appreciate your help. I’m just so frustrated. I’ve been suspended by the man who almost got my team killed and unless I can prove he had something to do with this, he may well keep his position and might succeed next time he tries. I’ve grown to care about those kids a great deal. Possibly more than I have any other class I’ve ever had. Whatever it takes to keep them safe, I’ll do.”

Pilgrim turned his back to Angus and began typing commands into one of the many computers the room was filled with. Angus had no idea how the man could find anything in this room, much less keep track of which machine he was using at any given time. He had half a dozen screens on the wall in front of him and a trio of keyboards. Oddly, Angus didn’t see a single mouse amongst all the clutter. It appeared that everything Pilgrim did was controlled by the fingers flying across the various keyboards.

The typing stopped for a moment. Pilgrim turned his head halfway around. “Have you considered just killing the man? I know it seems obvious, but sometimes you over-think things and miss the simple solutions.”

Angus let out a little half-assed chuckle. “I won’t lie and say I hadn’t thought about it, but it won’t work. I’m good, but unlike you I’m not the best. I’m not ashamed to admit that he’s stronger that I am. You don’t make headmaster without some serious skills. If he wanted to and didn’t care about being quiet or subtle, he could snap me in half without breaking a sweat.”

Pilgrim grunted and went back to typing.

It was only a few minutes before he found something. “We got lucky, it’s connected and I’ve got login details. The username is YamikazeK.”

Angus smiled. “You’re a genius. That’s Kaito Yamikaze, Turiel’s assistant. We got the bastard.”

* * * * *

Previous Episode – Master Brascko   Next Episode – Brascko’s Game

Daemon Knights – Master Brascko

The team said their goodbyes to sensei Angus before beginning the trek toward their first year home of the industrial segment of the Hikari campus. Just before they went through the council room door, Lethen flashed a glance at Turiel and was pleased to see the man did not look happy. In fact, there was a distinct discomfort in his eyes, bordering on fear. The headmaster knew that things could get very bad for him very quickly. Lethen prayed that was to be the case.

The walk back to their part of town was subdued. It was obvious that Brascko was keen to ask them about their trip to Russia, but he managed to restrain himself while they traveled through the campus. The students themselves had their heads filled with trepidation about what they should and should not tell this man, member of the council of three, one of the men who held Angus’s fate in his hands and one of the most powerful daemon knights in the world. That last part could not be ignored. Even his ruling vote in their sensei’s case was secondary to the fact that if he so desired, Master Brascko could essentially do whatever he wanted and almost no one could stop him.

Once they were safely within their own area, Brascko finally broke the silence. “We will be doing some minor training today, but first we need to talk. I didn’t want to bring anything up before we got here because there may be unfriendly ears listening. Currently, he are in one of the blind spots on campus, much like the place where Lethen faced Dmitri during the second trial. I am going to need you guys and gals to tell me all you can about Angus, this mission and certain other, more delicate matters that may or may not have had bearing on the situation.”

The team said nothing as they watched this semi-stranger ask them about things they didn’t want to discuss without their sensei present.

“I know you’re a bit reluctant to speak up. Angus is your sensei and your loyalty to him is impressive, but I want you to know that I mean him no harm. In fact I have some information that has come to me by way of various sources that tell me the Russia trip was a method of finding information about one of those delicate matters I was referring to. Something I’ve suspected for some time and wish to get out in the open, but as you can imagine, it is sometimes hard for someone in my position to make discrete inquiries. Either way, we will get to that later. First things first: I know that mission was very difficult and I need to know if anyone requires medical treatment. Obviously none of you are dying, but we have knights here with the gift of healing for any of you that should want it.”

Marnie looked at the others. They nodded. “I was shot in the leg,” she said and raised the hem of her pants to show her calf. “It’s not too bad and I can walk, but it has been slowing me down a bit.”

Brascko’s jaw dropped. “Dear girl! You were shot on your first mission and you are walking like a true warrior. I had doubts about the claims that Angus made in his first review of this team, but I see that he was right about everything he claimed and more. Give me a moment.”

He turned from the group and pulled out his phone, speaking too quietly for them to make out the words. He turned back around, sliding the device into his pocket. “Meredith is on her way from 3A. She is probably the most gifted student healer we have, despite her tender age. She’s not the strongest fighter, but she can seal wounds almost as well as our most gifted senseis.”

Angel grinned widely thinking of the beautiful redhead he’d met during the first trial.

Brascko didn’t miss it and smiled in response. “I see someone has met her before. She is a lovely young lady, but remember the policy against relations between daemon knights.”

Renala had been wondering about that. “Why is that? During our second trial, I had the opportunity to talk to Ankur and he told me that where he’s from, that policy doesn’t exist.”

“It’s true, Hikari is one of the few places to ban it and I don’t think it makes much sense either. Studies have shown that having two people with genes capable of entering the life tend to make stronger knights, but the rule has been in place for longer than I’ve been around and it’s almost more of a tradition now. Rules are easy to change, traditions, not so much. It’s claimed to remove distractions on the battle field, but I don’t really believe that. Perhaps one day it will be repealed. Time will tell.”

The conversation drifted into small talk while they wait for Meredith to show up and then as they waited for her to see to everyone and leave. Angel stared at her as she healed Marnie’s leg and Lethen’s foot (which wasn’t crushed, but was badly bruised).

Once she left (after a smile to Angel), Brascko got down to business. “Okay, enough of this. If you aren’t going to be forthcoming with information, I will share what I know. Perhaps then you will see that my interest in this has nothing to do with attacking your sensei.

“For some time I have been watching unusual things happen within Hikari. Things that could only be happening with coordination from within the school. Coordination from someone with access to sensitive information regarding the school’s inner workings. There are only a few people with that kind of access and I’m becoming convinced that Turiel has his fingers in a few more pies than he should. It’s always been standard for the headmaster to have contacts outside the normal flow of information, but I believe he’s been too liberal with things that should remain within the walls, and a bit too greedy for his own good. Trading the occasion detail for something that will help protect us is one thing. Trading internal secrets for personal favors is entirely another. The headmaster is meant to put the needs of the academy before his own and I think that’s not the case here. Any of this ringing a bell?”

The team stayed silent, but Brascko could tell by the way they glanced at each other that they were on the same page.

He pushed onwards, his tone now containing more steel. “Fine, I didn’t want to play hardball, but I feel I have no choice now.” His eyes went to Lethen. “Do you really think I didn’t know what was going on during your fight with Silva or your second trial? I know what those glowing eyes mean and it’s not that you’re a berserker. Your daemon took over. I’ve kept quiet about that and I intend to keep it that way, but you have to give me something. That prick Turiel has been making a mockery of everything Hikari stands for and you might be my only shot and getting to him. I know you know something and I can only help if I know it too.”

Lethen looked at the rest of the team and dropped his head. “I know something,” was all he said.

Brascko switched back to friendly mode. “Tell me everything.”

* * * * *

After the team told Brascko everything that happened to them from the opening ceremony to the present, he let out a low whistle. “Never would I have imagined that he would go to such great lengths. Dealing with Russian daemon farmers is bad enough, but to bring an improperly bound daemon into the school and hand it to a first year. That’s unthinkable. I thought you’d been taken over because you were weak, but it’s so much worse than that. I must admit that I am at a loss as to what I should do. If I leave you with that daemon, you will be in grave danger, but if I take it, you will have to take another which will be not only painful, but will also remove your incredible gift.”

“I want to keep it,” Lethen said without hesitation. “I know the risks and I know what will happen should he ever fully take over my body. We may not always get along, but I will not see him destroyed because of Turiel. My daemon did nothing wrong. It’s not his fault that he was put in this situation. Perhaps one day when I’m much stronger, I will be able to rebind him.”

Brascko smiled again. “You’re a brave lad Lethen. One day you may be the strongest of us all. Perhaps even replace one of us as a master. Did you know that in order to gain this title, you have to have one of the legendary powers? Well, that or a new one of similar strength. We don’t pretend to know every gift out there and for all we know, new ones are evolving all the time.” He pointed to Prolier. “The Prolier family was the first to discover that chameleonic fading that saved your life against Claire when she went berserk.”

“If you don’t mind,” Renala asked, “what is your legendary power?”

“Well, I suppose after you’ve all been so honest with me, I will tell you, though very few people know about it. My squad knew about it when I was a student here, but they are all dead now.” Brascko gave a quick grin and vanished.

“Invisibility.” Prolier said. “That puts my gift to shame.”

“Not invisibility,” came Brascko’s voice from above them. He was now standing atop a building that looked like an abandoned car factory. “Teleportation.”

He vanished again and was once more seated before them. “As far as I know, I’m the only one left in the world who can do it. I can be anywhere on Earth that I’ve ever been to instantly. As you can imagine, I’ve done a lot of traveling in order to expand my number of destinations. In fact, considering I’m in the presence of the first ever daemon knight to have had a wild daemon voluntarily bind themselves to her, I think you deserve a treat. Have any of you ever had proper Italian cannoli?”

They shook their heads.

“Ah, well you’re in for a treat. Don’t move, I’ll be right back.”

Brascko vanished again.

He was gone about ten minutes before popping back to his seat before them, only this time he had a bag in his lap. He opened it and handed each of them a wonderful smelling shell filled with sweet creamy filling. Once they had each tried a bite of their treats, he took a bite of his own. “Now let’s discuss how we’re going to get that bastard.”

* * * * *

While the students had been revealing everything to Master Brascko, Angus had been busy contacting one of his contacts in the town outside Hikari. There was only one man he could trust to get into the data on the disc without damaging it. A man who went by the handle Pilgrim. Angus had no idea what his real name was.

It didn’t take long for Pilgrim to break the security on the disc. Angus had been wrong to worry, it wouldn’t have blown up or erased itself, it was just normal password protection. He had expected it to take a while and had settled in to take a nap while his associate (friend was too strong a word) went to work. Angus didn’t even realize the job was done until Pilgrim asked him a question.

“Does the name Vincent Riccio mean anything to you?”

Angus looked up. “It certainly does.”

* * * * *

Previous Episode – Tribunal   Next Episode – Harsh Truths

Daemon Knights – Tribunal

The team was shocked by the news, though Angus wasn’t. He was pretty sure that by now Turiel was aware that he’d stopped the data disc from getting to its intended target. He had already said he knew about the release of the daemons, and that wasn’t exactly something that would appear in the morning papers. The headmaster had to do something to implicate Angus before the sensei could do the same to him. Now, anything that Angus accused him of would look like a last ditch effort at revenge. Retaliation at the man who suspended him.

“And who will be taking over from me as interim teacher for the short time until I’m back?” Angus asked, his voice full of contempt.

“That will be decided at the initial hearing which we are to proceed to immediately. And I wouldn’t get too hopeful about being back in the saddle again any time soon. This is the second time you’ve endangered students in a mission that was beyond them. The first time you were forgiven despite the fact that we lost an entire class during that debacle. This time you were lucky that there were no casualties.”

“Lead the way. I have nothing to hide from a tribunal.”

Turiel was smiling in a very unsettling way. “We shall see.”

* * * * *

On the way to the hearing, Angus hung back with the students. “I’m sorry it had to happen this way, but this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. This will mean that when I bring forward the evidence of conspiracy, it will immediately be seen by the council and taken seriously without Turiel having time to come up with lies to cover himself up. I mean, some of it he will suspect and will have counters in place, but I’m hoping enough of it will be a surprise that we can outmaneuver him.”

The rest of the team were stony faced as they approached the council chamber. It wasn’t until Turiel stopped outside the door that Lethen spoke. “What do you want us to do?”

“Don’t tell them too much, but be honest. As for the time when you have a different teacher, learn all you can and become the best damned daemon knights you can. Whether I’m currently your sensei or not, my wishes for you remain the same. Don’t let the politics and bullshit of this place hamper your growth. You guys have the potential to be the strongest team we’ve seen in years, possibly the best team we’ve ever had. Look out for each other.”

They all nodded and walked into the chamber.

It was a much simpler affair than any of the students had expected. It was no grand parlor or ornate courtroom. It was a room much like any other except for the lack of windows and the oversized desk that was long enough for all three masters to sit at side-by-side. There were a few stackable chairs against the walls and a distinctly unused smell in the air. Apparently it wasn’t often that the trio had to assemble for disciplinary actions. The mustiness in the air could only be created in a room that hadn’t been opened in months.

This was the first time Lethen had seen his personal hero, Master Carter, in person. He’d seen pictures, sure, but in the flesh the man was much less imposing than the half-breed had expected. He wasn’t a man to inspire confidence or fear or much of anything. He was just a man and Lethen was somewhat disappointed. At least he was until the man spoke in a rich baritone that held all the intimidating power that his physical appearance lacked.

“Angus Campbell,” Master Carter said. “Do you know why you’ve been brought before us?”

“I do sir.” Angus replied. “I have been charged with endangering a team of students.”

“That is correct. You took a team of first years on a mission that was classified as a third year mission, and from what our sources tell us, it was an unmitigated disaster that almost got one or more of them killed. What say you to these charges?”

“I plead innocence sir. I admit that I took them on a mission that was considered to be beyond their skill, but as you can see, they all returned without permanent injury. It was beyond their assumed skill level, but not their real level. Each of them proved time and again that they are better trainee daemon knights than their first year status would suggest.”

“What about endangering them?” Master Brascko asked. “Do you deny that they were in danger of death at several points in the mission?”

“I do not sir, but I will never deny that on any mission more complicated than finding a lost dog, and perhaps not even then depending on the breed of dog. Every mission brings with it the chance of injury or death, it’s the nature of what we do, an occupational hazard if you will. If the missions were easy and danger-free, our clients wouldn’t hire daemon knights to do them.”

Brascko dipped his head, conceding the point. “Well said, but this tribunal is to discover whether you put them in more danger than is acceptable to students of our academy and what the motives behind this possible breach of trust were.”

The third and as yet silent member of the council spoke up finally. His name was Master Flint and he was ancient. He had the look of a relic from another time, recently unearthed to be studied. “And what about the mission itself. It was meant to be covert recognizance and it turned into a massive incident that brings attention to not only the truths we fight to hide from the world about daemons, but also the competency of the school and its members.”

Angus swallowed, this was the delicate part. He had to stick to the facts of the mission and not let either his opinions or his knowledge of other issues influence what he said. “Well sir, that is more complicated. I won’t deny that the mission strayed from it’s intended purpose, but much of that was outside my control. Early in the mission, it became obvious that covert recognizance was going to be impossible. Our target was warned of our approach by some outside agent.”

“What?” Carter roared loud enough that half the school probably stopped to wonder what the noise had been. “Are you saying that the mission was sabotaged?”

“I believe so sir, but it will take some time for me to discover who was behind it. I have suspicions, but I will not air them until I have more evidence, or at the very least, more knowledge about the evidence I already have. I know for certain that the enemy knew we were coming and roughly when, but I can’t say for sure who it was that warned them. Considering the fact that we were essentially walking into a trap, I believe that my team and I did the best we could with a bad situation. With how deeply the odds were stacked against us, I would say we did better than any third year team could’ve done in similar circumstances. Possibly better than some adult teams.”

Brascko smiled. “That is a bold claim Angus, but having seen your team in action during the initial testing and the trials, I can’t simply disagree out of hand. You have an extraordinarily gifted squad.”

“That may be true,” Carter said, “but what evidence could you possibly have for such assumptions?”

Angus paused again, wondering how much to tell them. “As I said, I’d like to discover more about the information I have but I will show you one thing that should tell you how serious this breach is.” He pulled the memory chip from his pocket. “This data I have in my hand was sewn into the strap of one of my students’ backpacks. It was to be delivered to the Russians upon arrival.”

There was silence as the masters looked at each other. This was quickly turning from a simple negligence case into something much bigger. “Are you saying…” Carter left the question hanging in the air.

Angus nodded. “Unfortunately I am sir. The person who sabotaged the mission must be affiliated with Hikari itself. Only someone on the inside could have put the card in the pack. Only someone on the inside could have know enough about the mission to give the Russians details of our approach and arrival times. What’s more, only someone fairly high up within the organization could’ve turned a mission for a client into a courier trip without raising eyebrows, that is, if there was truly a client at all. For all I know this could simply have been a drop off with no real mission behind it.”

Angus had been looking at Turiel as he spoke the last words. He hadn’t mentioned him by name, but had made it plenty obvious who he thought was behind it. Turiel was holding his poker face very well, but he had paled a couple shades. Clearly he hadn’t expected Angus to have figured out quite as much as he had.

Carter’s voice was much quieter now. “What data does it contain?”

Angus shrugged. “I don’t know yet, that’s one of the things I’d like to investigate further before we have the official ruling on this matter. I’m hoping that whatever is on here will tell me not only who was behind it, but maybe why the author would be willing to sacrifice a full squad of trainees. It must be awfully important to go to that much effort.”

“Do you have any idea what might be on it?” This time it was Turiel who’d spoken and his voice didn’t contain quite the usual edge of condescension. “Any clue what might be worth that kind of effort?”

“All the Russian said was that it contained information on one of their worst enemies. Since they’re a bunch of underworld scumbags, I imagine that could be almost anyone.” He had a few ideas of who Turiel might be willing to sell out to the Ruskies, but he wasn’t going to voice them here until he had it in writing, signed and dated.

“I have just one more question before we make an initial ruling on this matter.” Carter said. “How did you discover the data chip if it was sewn into a strap?”

“I didn’t, and that’s what leads me to believe that this wasn’t an isolated occurrence. I believe that whoever planned this has been in contact with the Russians several times, including after the commencement of the mission. We had no idea about the existence of the data until the Russian known as Nestor told us about it, and exactly where to find it. It was only by the skill of my team that we were able to recover it and return it here.”

Carter nodded and the three masters conferred for a few moments. Carter stood. “I uphold the temporary suspension of Angus Campbell until the truth can be discerned about this matter, but it’s obvious he did the best he could and that this matter is bigger than we’d thought. All that’s left now is to declare an interim sensei to the team. Does anyone have a suggestion?”

Master Brascko stood now. “It seems that most of the investigation will be handled by Angus himself. Unless the other masters believe they will need my help in this matter, I put myself forward for the job. I will learn more details from the students themselves that may shed light on the matter and I will teach them in his absence. Does anyone object to this?”

There were no objections.

* * * * *

Previous Episode – Choked Up   Next Episode – Master Brascko

Daemon Knights – Choked Up

Renala stared at the assembly of Russian border guards scattered along the road. There was absolutely no way they could get across without being spotted, and more importantly, being riddled with holes. “How are we gonna get home?”

Angus had come to the same conclusion his small student had. “I had wanted to take the direct route back, but it looks like we may have to make a small detour. There are some thicker woods to the west of us. Maybe six or seven miles over, it gets denser and the road travels a bit north of the true border. There’s no way they have enough men to watch the entire border, so hopefully there will be somewhere we can cross. I’d be willing to bet that this is where the heaviest concentration is since we came through here before.”

The team prayed that he was right, and he was, but not by much. While the section close to Altanbulag was the thickest with soldiers, it was by no means the only bit they were prowling. It took them a couple hours to move west into the more heavily forested areas, but once they got there, they knew he had been wrong about the number of men they had available. There were almost as many men here, but not all of them wore the uniforms of border guards.

“Well, this isn’t good.” Angus said. “Do you see those guys with the green and red sign on their uniforms? Those are the normal border guys. The ones with the red flag are the Russian army. When I said they wouldn’t have enough men, I wasn’t thinking that they’d get back up. Then again, the government pays the army whether there’s a war on or not, so perhaps they’re just getting their money’s worth.”

Prolier stared at the men on the road before them. “How far will we have to go before there won’t be so many?”

Angus shrugged. “I’m not sure that will help anymore. The border service may have limited men, but with the army itself involved, they may be able to cover damn near the entire thing, at least for short periods. Even if it’s not the whole thing, they can certainly cover the whole Mongolian border and that’s more than enough to stop us in our tracks.”

Lethen kicked at the dirt under his feet. “If we can’t go across, can we go under?”

Angus smiled. He’d been thinking something similar himself. “Well, that depends. Can you breathe while you’re under there?”

Lethen stopped. In all of his practice he’d never actually tested it. He’d always just held his breath like he would for regular swimming or kept his head above ground level. “Only one way to find out.”

He pressed his face to the ground and pushed it in. After a few seconds he started choking and Angus had to pull him out and drop to the dirt, covering his mouth to muffle the noise. Just that first harsh hack was enough for the men on the road to swing their lights around.

Angus felt bad for Lethen, who had just taken dirt into his lungs, but it he didn’t keep the boy quiet, they were all done for. After the last crossing the orders would be to shoot first and ask questions never, especially after what they did to the guys from the chopper. They may not have killed anyone from the official Russian forces, but they had made them look like idiots. Sometimes shame is a more powerful motivator than revenge. No one likes to look stupid.

Once the lights moved off, the group retreated further into the woods. It wasn’t until they hadn’t been able to see the road for a couple minutes that Angus allowed Lethen to bring up what he’d inhaled. Racking coughs filled with dust put Angus in mind of a horse running across the desert, billowing clouds kicked up behind it.

“I know this is gonna suck,” the sensei said, “but you should try to inhale some water. It will hurt like a bastard, but you need to get as much of that dirt out of your lungs as possible. Having water in there isn’t good, but having dry dust is probably worse. Once you get feeling better, we will try a few experiments. As much as I hate to admit it, your gift may be our only answer. If you can hold your breath long enough to cross, we might just make it.”

Lethen tried the water idea and it made things much worse. Angus had been right about it hurting like a bastard, and now he was hacking up mud. It took over an hour of repeating the process for the water to start coming out almost clean, and at least another half hour before he was breathing even close to normally. If there was anything Lethen learned from the experience was that he never wanted to repeat it. He’d been beaten many times, even stabbed once, but all of that combined paled in comparison to how wretched he felt after forcing himself to inhale and expel lungfuls of water in an attempt to rinse the agonized organ. Worse still, he could now only hold his breath for twenty seconds or so before he was doubled over, coughing and gasping like a fat kid with asthma after a hundred meter dash.

After the fifth try, Lethen knew it was useless. With as slowly as he moved through the earth at his present skill level, combined with how badly his lungs were working, he wouldn’t even make it to the road, much less under it before he’d need to come up for air. “I can’t do it. I won’t make it.”

Angus nodded. He regretted asking Lethen if he could breathe underground. That simple question might’ve ruined their only chance to get home. Perhaps not their only chance, but their best one. He knew, that given some time, they would figure something out, but it was likely to involve engaging the Russians rather than avoiding them. Angus was running out of ideas.

“Maybe if we rest for a while I’ll be able to get my breath back.”

“Not enough for it to work. It was a long shot and only really viable if you and your passengers didn’t need to hold your breath. I would guess that at your current level of mastery, it would take at least ten minutes for you to cross that road, assuming you went in far enough back to be out of sight and allowed the same margin on the other side. As incredible and desirable as your gift is, it won’t be all that useful until you get better with it. We’re gonna have to rely on distraction again.”

Angus considered each of the student’s abilities and knew that the key wasn’t there. As much as he hated to admit it, the key was within himself.

A little known fact among the students of Hikari is that senseis weren’t supposed to use their own gifts to assist in missions. It wasn’t exactly forbidden, but it was considered an option of absolute last resort. Only to be used if the team was facing utter annihilation. The group would be getting a new teacher each year and they couldn’t be allowed to come to rely on someone who wouldn’t be a permanent member of the squad. Angus had gained a fair selection of gifts in his years as a daemon knight and had yet to show them even a single one. He felt bad about it, since those talents would no doubt have made some of their earlier exploits much easier, but he had his orders. Even at this point he didn’t want to use any of them, but facing down the entirety of Russia’s border guard and a sizable chunk of it’s army probably counted as extenuating circumstances.

His mind flicked through his list of gifts for a plan and only one thing leaped out at him. His ability to become ethereal. Sadly this wasn’t quite what some may think. Perhaps one day he might be able to ghost through walls and such, but his conscious mind controlled it and therefore also limited it. He couldn’t pass through anything he could see as solid. His mind just wouldn’t allow it. He was tuned to the idea of solidity and it was a hard habit to give up. His feet would still plant on the ground and he’d still have to scale or go around walls. It’s usefulness here lie in the fact that bullets move too fast to see. The Russians could unload clip after clip into him and hit nothing.

Despite the circumstances, he still didn’t want the team to know about the gift. He trusted them more than any other students he’d ever trained, but old habits die hard. Just like being solid. He also considered them the most promising team, and it killed him to think that he’d gotten them into a situation like this. He hated himself for it.

“Stay here. I’ll call when it’s safe to cross.”

The team started to protest, but their words fell on deaf ears as Angus marched off to face the Russians.

Just before he disappeared into the woods he looked over his shoulder at them. “If any of you follow me, your time at Hikari is over.”

A look of shock was shared amongst the group. Not even on the first day had Angus spoken to them like that or threatened them. None of them had the courage to ask what they should do if he didn’t call back to them. If he died in the fight.

They didn’t need to worry, but they didn’t know that.

The sounds of gunfire made them flinch.

It didn’t take long until the sounds died off and they heard a call from the direction Angus had gone. They ran forward to find all of the men who’d been manning the border were down. Whether they were dead or unconscious was unknown and would remain so as Angus offered them no explanation.

“Get across now. The shots will have attracted more men.”

Angus waited on the road while they crossed and got safely tucked away into the woods, then he followed before he could be seen.

Prolier opened his mouth to ask how the sensei had managed it, but one look at Angus’s face told him that he’d get no answers, so he closed his mouth again. It was obvious that something had happened that had driven a wedge in between the teacher and the students. A gap as wide as the Grand Canyon that Prolier prayed could be bridged given time. The mutual trust had faded.

The rest of their trip back to Hikari was uneventful, and mostly filled with silence. The team talked quietly amongst themselves on the plane back to Japan, but anytime a question or comment went in Angus’s direction, it was answered only by a single word or, even more likely, a grunt or shrug.

As they approached the edge of Hikari’s campus there was a solitary figure waiting to meet them. It was headmaster Turiel.

“I understand things didn’t exactly go according to plan in Russia.” He said as the squad walked up. “Not according to plan at all. A simple recon mission turned into an international incident involving several injured border guards and the release of dozens of wild daemons. Endangering Hikari students by taking a mission obviously beyond their abilities and not for the first time. Do I need to have you replaced?”

“Doesn’t matter if you think so or not, that’s not your call.”

“True, but I can force the call to be made. Angus Campbell, you are hereby suspended as head of 1C pending an investigation by the council of three.”

* * * * *

Previous Episode – Borderlands   Next Episode – Tribunal

Daemon Knights – Borderlands

The wolf howled sadly as the owl vanished before their eyes. The metallic swirl had seemed to disappear into Renala, who wriggled a little as it happened.

Prolier turned a full three-sixty once it was gone. “Where did it go? Is it going to attack?”

Angus didn’t respond at first. His jaw was dropped so far it appeared that he might be part snake. It closed slowly and then a rumble began deep in his chest. Once it surfaced, it came out as a barking laugh that went on for some time. “Well that’s something you don’t see everyday.” He said once he’d gotten himself under control. “In fact, I doubt many people have ever seen that. I know I haven’t, at least not with a daemon that hasn’t been bound before.”

“What just happened?” Gregor’s brother-in-law asked.

“That daemon just willingly bound herself to our dear little Renala. That shimmer was the same as when a daemon changes form, so I’m guessing he’s in there somewhere, probably under her clothes.”

Renala nodded and lifted up her somewhat tattered shit. Beneath it lay a shimmering silver breastplate. “What am I supposed to do with it?” She asked meekly.

“Wear it of course!” Angus barked, with another bout of laughter. “It is offering itself to you as a reward for freeing its friend.” He paused for a moment of consideration. “You know, this is turning out to be quite the class. I wasn’t too sue of you when I first saw you, but we have the second person to force a yield in the initial testing, and now we have the first ever first year to gain a second daemon. Not only that, but it’s the first time I’ve ever heard of that a daemon would willingly bind itself to a person without having been with them for years beforehand. You guys are gonna go far, I can already tell.”

Renala blushed. She wasn’t used to this kind of attention. She certainly hadn’t expected to be breaking any kind of records. “It won’t hurt me will it?”

Angus shook his head. “I wouldn’t imagine so, but if you want me to check, I will.”

Renala nodded.

The sensei walked over and set his hand on the edge of the new armor. He closed his eyes for a second then stepped away. “You are safe. It is a perfect binding. The kind that can only happen when a daemon does it his or herself. That daemon is totally in your thrall. It can do nothing without your command or permission. I want to add that you now have a powerful gift, or will once it chooses to let you access it.”

“The healing.” Angel said.

Angus agreed. “Yes. The healing. I think once you have learned to control it well, you may become the most valuable member of this little group. Between your defensive abilities and the fact that if anyone else goes down, you can bring them right back, you are shaping up to become one of Hikari’s finest.”

A shadow crossed Prolier’s face, but was gone before anyone noticed it.

They all stood there for a moment considering what had just transpired before them when Renala’s small voice broke the silence. “So what are we going to do about the wolf?”

“Well,” Angus said, “he’s free now, so I guess we let him decide that.”

They looked at the wolf who just stared right back at them.

“We should really be going.” Gregor’s brother-in-law said while casting a wary stare at the now beautiful wolf daemon. “We have quite a distance to go and our families are still moving. The sooner we leave, the sooner we’ll catch up with them.”

Gregor spoke a few words to him in Russian, then he translated them for the group. “Gregor wants to say thank you again for all that you’ve done for him and this town. Just a few days ago he felt like he would never achieve anything in his life, but now he’s a new man.”

“Torture and almost dying will do that to you.” Angus said before writing something on a small piece of paper and handing it to Gregor. “Tell him that we are also thankful for his assistance and that if he ever needs something that requires our particular brand of talents to call this number. We will be there as soon as we can.”

There was more Russian discussion before the duo waved to the team and walked toward a small car. They sped off down toward the main road and disappeared.

“Alright,” the sensei announced, “I guess it’s time we made our way back home. What do you guys think?”

The response was very definitely affirmative.

* * * * *

In one of the towers of Hikari’s housing district a phone rang. In fact it rang quite a few times before it was answered by a sleepy and somewhat irritated headmaster by the name of Turiel. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”

A voice speaking English with a thick Russian accent was on the other end. “As a matter of fact I do. The question is, do you know what the hell is going on up here?”

Turiel was suddenly wide awake. He switched on a light, bringing his large sitting room into focus. It was an immaculate room with two large sectional sofas in not-quite-matching shades of tan leather. He sat down on one with the portable phone in his hand, which was shaking slightly. “What do you mean? How am I supposed to know what’s going on in Russia?”

“We had an arrangement Turiel. We give you what you want and you give us what we want. You wanted a dangerously bound wild daemon for some half-breed among other things. Now, we find out that said daemon has one of the six legendary powers. This is something that could not be foreseen and we don’t hold that against you. The first part of our deal, allowing Dmitri entrance to Hikari despite his less than perfect scores you have done. We are happy about that. What makes us less happy is that you promised us certain information on one of our most bitter enemies and have failed to deliver.”

Turiel’s confusion was etched on his face, not that there was anyone there to see it. “What do you mean. I sent it up with a group of first years. It should have been easy for your men to take it from them.”

“Well it was not.”

“The weakness of your men is not my problem.”

“Weakness? Silva is dead and so are over a dozen more men. There are wild daemons running all around that area and you say it’s not your problem? Our arrangement was for it to be delivered, not that we would have to fight a team of daemon knights for it. We were under the impression that your own son would be bringing it here.”

Turiel hesitated. “There was a complication. At the last minute the mission was assigned to a different team. It was all I could do to even hide the data chip within the half-breed’s backpack before they left. What was I supposed to do?”

“I was under the impression that you were the headmaster there. When we made this deal, you assured me that nothing happened there that you didn’t know about. Now you tell me how this happened and how you’re going to fix it.”

“The teacher in charge of that team had the missions changed and for me to change them back without good reason would’ve made it too obvious that something was amiss.” Turiel didn’t like the way this was going. He endeavored to always be the one in charge of any situation and this was getting away from him fast. He needed to steer it back before he lost totally. “I did the best I could by sending up the data expecting that your men could handle a small group of first year pups. I told you what was happening and that I didn’t even care if you killed them. What happened up there was the fault of the idiots you left in charge.”

Turiel took a breath, but kept going before the Russian could counter him. “Now, I’m a reasonable man who pays his debts. I will get the information to you even if I have to bring it myself. I made a mistake in assuming that your men were competent enough to handle a small fight, but it won’t happen again.”

If Turiel was expecting some sort of apology, he was sadly mistaken. “Good. We will be waiting.”

“Before you go,” Turiel said in a voice so small it even startled himself. He cleared his throat. “Before you go, what about the rest of what I was offered? What you owe me hasn’t even been mentioned since the terms of the deal were originally discussed. When will I be seeing that?”

“After this last charade, we shouldn’t even have to pay you, but a deal is a deal. When you bring us that data, we will discuss further.”

The line went dead.

Turiel cursed loudly a few times before turning the light back off and dropping onto his bed. It was some time before he managed to get back to sleep.

* * * * *

The team made it back to a spot near the border without incident, but the wolf was trailing behind them the entire way. As they rested and waited for nightfall, they discussed what they should do about it over a meal of dried meat and fruity paste.

“We can’t take him back into Hikari.”Angus said. “There are rules against having daemons running wild within the campus. Plus I don’t think they’d let us take him on the plane once we get to Mongolia anyway.”

“Can you bind him?” Lethen asked. “I mean, I don’t really know who would take him, but I think he wants to be near his friend and that would solve the transportation problem.”

Angus turned his head to the side as he mulled it over. “I suppose I could, but I don’t think it would be a good idea. Not only do we not know whether he’s tame enough for that, but a binding takes a lot out of you. It’s not an easy process even when the subject is willing. It takes a lot of preparation to do it right and if I made even the slightest mistake, he would be destroyed when we reached Hikari. As it stands, we will already have to declare Renala’s new friend when we arrive. The daemons allowed within the grounds of the school are strictly regulated. Your shovel would’ve been destroyed already if anyone other than Turiel had given it to you.”

“You mean I can’t keep the owl a secret?” Renala asked. “I thought we weren’t supposed to reveal things, even to other daemon knights.”

“Generally yes, and it won’t be common knowledge, but the administrators keep records that only the council of three and Turiel himself can look at. The only other people that will know will be whomever you tell.”

Once darkness had fallen they approached the road that stood as the border between the two lands. “Well I guess they learned their lesson from last time.” Angus whispered.

The road was just short of swarming with border guards. All of them were being terribly vigilant and all of them carried large automatic weapons. They looked along the trail to see if there was anywhere that crossing would be easier and it didn’t look like it. They had to duck back as a spotlight swept the are they occupied.

“I don’t think they learned their lesson.” Lethen said. “I think someone called ahead.”

* * * * *

Previous Episode – Reunion   Next Episode – Choked Up

Daemon Knights – Reunion

Renala didn’t know it was possible for an owl to glare at someone, but this one managed it. It was glaring at her and Lethen, its eyes darting back and forth between them as if trying to tell them something. She could see the intelligence behind its eyes, and not the sort of thing you attribute to a border collie or a dolphin or other animal that was considered smart, but real thoughts. Real expectations. She suspected that it now expected something of her and her half grizzard friend. She also thought she had an idea of what it was.

Angus watched the exchange, and came to a similar conclusion. “I think it can smell the wolf, or perhaps sense it some other way. I think it wants him released.”

Renala nodded slowly, her eyes never leaving the piecing gaze of the snowy owl. She knew he was right, but didn’t know how she knew. Perhaps it had something to do with how much closer she was to her daemon than the others were to theirs. Maybe her halberd was conversing with the owl and passing some of the information to her subconscious. “Why is she looking at me and Lethen though?”

It was Lethen who had figured it out. “She smelled him on us. That’s why she followed us in the first place and helped us with the fox daemon. She was hoping that we’d lead her back to the wolf.”

“She?” Marnie asked.

Renala looked at her and nodded again. “I’m not sure how I know, I just feel like she is a she. And I think we should do it.”

“What?” Prolier shouted. The astonished looks on the faces of some of the others mirrored his exclamation. “Are you out of your mind? Don’t you remember what that thing did to you? Don’t you remember being locked in there while it tried to eat you?”

“I do. I also know that it was being starved and starving animals do crazy things that they wouldn’t normally do. My dad once told me about one of his missions where he found a woman who had been killed in her house. The doors and windows had been closed and she had a small dog. Friendly, loyal little pup from what he told me. She had been an informant for him and he’d met them both before. She’d been dead for two weeks and the dog had started to eat her legs. It’s a matter of survival.”

“It’s not just animals,” Angus agreed. “People too. There have always been stories of people stranded by an avalanche or plane crash who have resorted to cannibalism when their hunger got severe enough. I’m not saying we should let it out, but I don’t blame the daemon at all for eating people the way it did. Apart from Lethen here perhaps, none of the rest of you have ever known true hunger. you’d likely do some pretty savage things in that circumstance. The most basic instinct of any living thing is survival.”

Prolier looked at the sensei. “What about you? Have you felt true hunger?”

Angus’s eyes darkened as he slowly turned his head toward the inquisitive teen. “Once, but it’s not something I’m willing to discuss right now. We need to get moving.”

“Not yet.” Renala said. “I’m releasing the wolf.”

Angus looked at her but said nothing immediately. He was torn. He could order her not to and possibly lose her respect and even lose her. If he gave a direct order and she disobeyed, he’d have no choice but to punish her. Insubordination was not something that was just given a slap on the wrist in Hikari. Especially when it was something that could endanger the team. Depending on the view of the council of three, she might even be executed. He didn’t want the wolf released, but he definitely didn’t want the possible alternative. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“No,” she admitted, “but if that’s the only thing keeping the owl friendly, I’d rather that than having to keep a watch out for silent death coming from the sky. I don’t think the wolf will hurt us, especially if we have some food to offer and Lethen goes in with me. Lethen’s daemon seems to scare the hell out of him.”

Angus shook his head. He didn’t like it, but he would back her play if she was insistent on going through with it. “Alright, you and Lethen go in and open the door. We will be out here, weapons raised, waiting for the wolf to come out. If they intend to attack us, we’ll be ready for them.”

The team spread out with Angel falling back a little further than the others, weapon aimed and charging. Gregor and his brother-in-law stood back even further, talking in Russian whispers. They didn’t look happy about this, especially Gregor, who knew that he’d been one of the beast’s jailors. If the thing wanted revenge, it would be hard for them to stop it before it took a sizable chunk out of his throat.

The duo of Lethen and Renala crept in through the hidden door that led into the room adjacent to the room where the heavy steel door was. They kept looking to each other for reassurance and finding none. Both of them vividly remembered being trapped with the howling monster. Lethen’s foot and Renala’s ribs still ached from their last meeting and now they were going to let it out.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Lethen whispered, not entirely comfortable with the situation she’d gotten them into. It’s not that he wanted her to go in alone. He was glad he could be there to back her up. He’d rather that neither of them were in there at all. Even if she felt pity for the wolf, he clearly recalled the only thing keeping it from killing them was when his daemon took over. That wasn’t the case now. He prayed the wolf remembered him. “How do you want to do this?”

“I’ll open the door,” she said, “you be ready with your shovel and the food held in front of you. Hopefully he won’t attack when he sees that not only are you the one from before, but that you bear treats.”

Lethen shook his head. They were about to face a deadly monster and she was acting like he was the neighbor’s pet puppy. “Alright. It’s your show, but if he eats me, I’m so coming back to haunt your ass.”

Renala smiled, but it wasn’t filled with much mirth. She was scared too. Lethen tried to keep that in mind. He wasn’t terribly happy with her dragging him into this, but she was being incredibly brave and selfless, properties he admired greatly. She was putting herself (and him) at risk to save a wounded and abused animal.

She slid the bolt back and eased the door ajar. It had only moved an inch before the wolf slammed into it, knocking her to the ground. He flew from the room and was immediately on top of her, slavering and gnashing it’s teeth inches from her nose. The only thing holding him back was her halberd across its throat. His claws were slashing at her midsection, tearing the fabric and drawing little lines of blood on her stomach.

After the initial shock wore off, Lethen leaped forward and dove onto the beast, wrapping his arms around it’s neck and rolling it off of her. He almost tried to smack it with his shovel, but remembered that wouldn’t work. He doubted that his daemon would care that Renala was being savaged.

The wolf pulled free and sank onto his back legs, ready to pounce once again when he saw the shovel and let out a little whine.

“Are you alright?” Lethen asked. “Can you get up?”

Renala had already rose to her feet with some difficulty. “Yeah, I don’t think he knew it was us at first. He stopped attacking once he saw your daemon. I think we’re safe now. Try giving him the food.”

Lethen looked down and realized he still had a fistful of dried meat. He threw all but one piece down in front of the wolf who paused to look at him before devouring it. Lethen wasn’t sure he even saw the beast chew once.

Renala motioned Lethen toward the door. “I think you should back out through the door. If we just let him out, he might attack the others without the presence of your daemon. I’ll follow him out. If the rest of them see what he did to me, they might attack. Hopefully the owl will be able to keep him under control once he’s outside.”

Lethen didn’t like the idea of not being between Renala and the wolf, but like he said, it was her show. If it looked like it was turning back toward her, he would take whatever steps were necessary, not that she was likely to need help. She’d switched to her shield and wouldn’t be surprised this time.

Holding the last piece of jerky out, he backed from the room and outside. It was slow going since he had to watch both the wolf and his step. The area was still littered with various tools, including the prods and nets they’d used the last time they were there.

“He’s coming out now.” Lethen called to the rest of the group as he came out through the hidden door into the sunlight. He heard movement as everyone tensed, waiting for the situation to go bad with a quickness.

Slowly the wolf crept through to door and began to growl when he saw the circle of armed humans before it. Lethen was sure the daemon was going to attack until he heard the hoot of the owl., which immediately ceased the growling.

The wolf looked up and watched the massive bird swoop down and land right next to him. There were a few tense moments when the group had no idea what was going to happen, then the wolf lowered it’s head and nuzzled against the owl’s breast. A wing came up and wrapped itself around the mangy mammal. It looked almost like the reuniting of lovers. Considering how much they knew of other daemonic aspects, they knew almost nothing about their reproduction so it could’ve been exactly that. In nature, an owl and a wolf could never be a mating pair, but these weren’t normal animals. For all they knew, these two could be siblings. The only think that was for certain was that these two had been close and the owl had gone way out of its way to be reunited with its long lost pal.

After the initial joy at reunion, the two wild daemons stared at each other, most likely having a mental conversation that those around them couldn’t perceive. After coming to some sort of conclusion between them they turned to Renala. The owl spread it wing across the wolf again and the team could see it’s wounds disappearing before their eyes. After half a minute, it once more looked like the majestic wolf it had once been. Both approached the small girl, but with none of the previous rancor.

The wolf stopped a few steps away, but the owl walked right up and pressed its head to hers. The grimace of pain left her face as the daemon healed her. The scratches on her stomach vanished as well as the rib injury she’d gained previously. The owl turned back to the wolf for a moment. The latter’s face seemed sad, but the owl screeched, apparently settling the matter.

The owl turned back to Renala and disappeared in a mercurial swirl.

* * * * *

Previous Episode – The Owl   Next Episode – Borderlands

Daemon Knights – The Owl

With the fox daemon advancing slowly, Angus decided his attention belonged on the owl. He hoped Renala could handle the fox if it came to it. She had faced off against the white tiger during the trials, no reason she shouldn’t be able to keep this one back at least long enough for him to do something about the owl.

He spared a glance for his group and saw that the others had already readied themselves. Angel had his rifle up and was presumably charging a shot at the winged death that was closing on them quickly. “Hold your shot,” he told Angel. “We will dodge the first sweep, get him in the back after he passes us.

Angus watched the bird’s trajectory and decided that it was coming straight for him. It wasn’t coming down far enough to get any of the students or Gregor who were all between them. It would swoop down right around his face level if his estimation was correct. It wanted to peck his eyes out, but he wasn’t going to let that happen.

When the owl was barely clearing the heads of the others, Angus dove to the side, into a roll. He came up into a crouch with his whip at the ready. As his eyes found his target, he noticed that the owl hadn’t pulled out of its swoop as he’d expected it to once its target was gone. Instead it had kept its talons out and was heading right for the fox.

Apparently the fox was just as surprised as Angus. It didn’t move out of the way fast enough and was snatched up. It tried to bite at the owl’s legs as it was lifted from the ground, but the owl was obviously an expert and had gripped its back in such a way to make that impossible.

Angus stared after the unlikely duo as the bird gained altitude with its prize. It was a damned big owl, but the sensei never would’ve expected it to be able to lift the giant fox as easily as it had. Just scooped it up like it was a small rabbit. A tasty little snack to hold him over until dinner. Angus didn’t know much about owls, but he did know that while they usually ate prey small enough to swallow whole, they could, and occasionally did, eat things that were too big and they’d have to tear apart piece by piece. He didn’t envy that fox one little bit.

Not one to starting counting teeth on a gift horse, he turned to the squad. “Well that was weird, but let’s get moving again. There is still some distance between us and Selenduma and I don’t want to be caught out here by another daemon looking for a meal. I want to be there by the time the sun rises. We need to find out the fates of those who were planning to abandon the town. If some of Silva’s men went down there, they might be in trouble.”

* * * * *

The team made it to Temnik and opted for a short break. The daemon knights, both teacher and students, had trained for things like this and could’ve continued. Even Marnie with the hole in her calf was holding up just fine. Gregor was another story. He’d been tortured at length and wouldn’t be at a hundred percent for a week at least. Even if he had been at a hundred percent, he was not used to this much hiking. They’d traveled a few miles and it was wearing on him. Without even bringing the cuts he’d received as Nestor’s guest into it, he was gonna be hurting in the morning.

While they waited for him to work his leg muscles some, they shared a quick snack. It was nothing compared to the spread the Russians had put before them, but it was nutritious and relatively tasty.

Angus mused about how far trail rations had come since he’d been a student at Hikari. When he’d went out on his first mission, they’d had dried meat and cans of almost tasteless veggies. The dried jerky had stayed about the same, though now it was more flavorful, but now they had pouches of fruity paste. All of it was now enriched with all the vitamins and minerals that could possibly be stuffed into it. Even a small snack could provide a day’s nutrition. You’d still feel hungry, but you’d have all the riboflavin you needed to get through the day. None of them knew what riboflavin was or why they needed it, but it was there none-the-less. The package told them so.

They were about to set off again when Prolier noticed a speck of gray-white in the sky to the north. They group hid, not knowing what it could be. It was too small to be another chopper or even a one-man glider, but it was the age of technology. There were drones and other small aircraft that could spot them and cause trouble aplenty should they allow it.

They watched the shape grow larger as it approached and it soon became obvious that it wasn’t any type of man-made aircraft after all. It was the owl. It had come back.

“Well there’s no use hiding anymore,” Angus said. “That thing’s eyesight is a lot better than ours. It saw us long before we saw it and there’s no doubting it knows where we are. I guess we’d better make our stand here. I’m not sure it wants to hurt us, since it missed a perfect opportunity to when we were facing the fox, but it wants something. That much is sure. We’ll move much faster if we find out what and don’t have to keep looking over our shoulders every step of the way.”

They stepped from behind their concealment behind the small station and waited. It wasn’t long before the owl swooped down and landed a mere ten feet in front of them. At this close range they could see how truly magnificent the beast was. It’s feathers were a pure white over almost its entire body, with just a few speckles of black along the wings and breasts. Angus had seen quite a few daemons in his time, but none quite so beautiful as this one. Most of the well kept ones were large and majestic specimens of whatever base animal they were, but this thing looked like he ruled all of bird-kind. He was the king, emperor and god of all of avian society.

They tensed as it walked around them, peering at each in turn. After its initial circuit, it made another, this time inspecting their weapons. The second lap was much slower as the massive bird of prey would stop before each one as if communicating with them. Then again, perhaps it was. After all, they knew that daemons could send and receive telepathy from other daemons, and possibly from their owners to some small extent. Perhaps it was sounding the group out by talking to their weapons. Finding out what kind of people these were.

In four of the cases, the silent rapport went on only for a handful of seconds. The two exceptions were Lethen and Renala. In Renala’s case, it went on for a few minutes. In Lethen’s case, it only took the bird a second to realize that it had no interest in that particular weapon. Angus smiled as he imagined the brief conversation. Owl: How are you? Shovel: Scream of inarticulate rage from the shovel with obscene words thrown in. Owl: How rude!

After the second and final revolution it stood for a moment before launching itself back into the air. It circled them a few times and landed atop the building they had so recently been hiding behind. Once there, it simply stared at them. Although Angus couldn’t hear mind messages from it, he got the distinct impression the daemon was asking them what the hold up was. Maybe it was the tilt of the head or the intelligent look in the eyes, but he caught a faint whiff of ‘ready when you are.’

“Well,” he said with more calm than he truly felt, “now that that weirdness is out of the way, shall we get going?”

Prolier stared in awe at the bird glaring down at them. “Aren’t you worried about him?”

Angus shook his head. “If he was going to attack us, he probably would have when the fox was there and we were distracted, or just now. I’m not sure, but I think he’s just keeping an eye on us. Maybe he’ll wander off after a bit. We’ll keep an eye on him just in case.”

Prolier shrugged, having nothing to refute the sensei’s logic, knowing that Angus knew daemons better than he did.

The team headed south again and as soon as they started moving, their new friend lifted off and took his position behind them, watching as they walked. Nothing more, just hovered along after them without so much as a squawk. Angus had never heard of such a thing before, but was glad the daemon was peaceful. So far at least.

* * * * *

They made good time and reached the edge of Selenduma just as the sun was peeking over the horizon, letting it’s golden rays creep across the landscape like lava rolling down a gentle hill. The town appeared to be deserted, which could be good or bad. Neither Silva nor Nestor were forgiving men. The apparent emptiness could mean that the people got out safely, or it could mean that Silva’s men had slaughtered them all. Every man woman and child. Then again, it could just mean that it was really early in the morning and no one was up yet. They’d find out soon enough.

As they slowed to carefully pick their way between the buildings, the owl settled atop a roof near the edge of the small town. It watched them move forward, but didn’t pursue.

They didn’t see anyone as they moved deeper into the village, but kept their eyes open. There had already been far too many surprises on this trip, and now that it appeared to be winding to a close, Angus would be damned if he would let them get sloppy now. Somehow they had all survived the crap they’d been through and he’d make sure it stayed that way.

They made it to the building housing the raging wolf daemon when they saw the first an only person left in the town. It was a man they didn’t recognize, but Gregor did. He ran up to the man and caught him in a big hug. The man looked Gregor over and they spoke for a few minutes before rejoining the group.

“I have been left here to welcome you back,” the man said, “if you made it. I am glad to see that Gregor is intact, though it looks like he has been to hell and back. I am his wife’s brother. I believe you would call it a brother-in-law in English. I thank you for returning him to us. From what he’s told me, you all risked your lives several times over for him. He owes you his life.”

“He owes us nothing.” Angus said. “He risked his life for our mission and a man named Nestor did this to him.”

“Nestor,” the man said, spitting on the ground. “Gregor told me about his ‘interrogation.’ Please tell me you did something unpleasant to him. Gregor said he hadn’t seen him since he had his men lead you all into a room.”

Angus motioned to Prolier. “Do you see that claw? The last time I saw Nestor he had that shoved into his guts up to the knuckle. He is dead.”

The man said something in Russian to Gregor who smiled.

He was just turning around when a loud caw came from behind them. The owl had moved forward to perch on the building housing the wolf. The daemon did not look happy.

* * * * *

Previous Episode – Overrun   Next Episode – Reunion

Daemon Knights – Overrun

Things had gone to hell very quickly within the compound. While Lev was an excellent warrior and a fair tactician when it came to things like battle, he wasn’t the smartest person in the world. He had led most of the men out into the courtyard when the music had started and once it stopped, he hadn’t taken them back in. They currently milled about the area, several of them in front of the large doors that covered the entrance.

“Has anyone figured out where that noise was coming from?” He yelled.

“It was obviously something to do with those intruders who escaped us earlier,” another man answered. “It certainly wasn’t Russian music.” The man had been standing next to Lev for most of their time outdoors, marking him to be a lieutenant or something similar. “They must have been playing it for a reason.”

They found out the reason just a few seconds later.

The flimsy gate exploded inward, blasting bodies from the area. Some were likely already dead, and a few others were groaning on the ground with bruises and bits of wood poking from various parts of their bodies. All told, there were a dozen men who were either permanently or temporarily out of action.

It seemed that their enemies were getting the better of them at every turn. They had already killed Nestor, whom Lev had been a supporter of, and taken the data that had been traded for. They had made fools of the group and their only saving grace was that when it came time to report to the bosses, Lev could blame the entire fiasco on Nestor, claiming that it all went down while he was in charge. There would be questions, but as long as he could clean this up even slightly, they would have no problem with his assumed leadership. For someone who prided himself on preparedness, Nestor had left him with a fine mess.

The smoke and dust from the explosion was settling now and Lev knew things were going to get worse before they got better. Through the drifting cloud of wall and gate particles, he could see the small herd of daemons that were just beyond the portal. They had fallen back when the bomb went off, but now that they could see in, they would advance. They were kept slightly hungry at all times so they would learn to appreciate their masters. Now that didn’t seem like such a good idea.

“Fall back to the building. Now!” The leader shouted. He knew the men were capable of handling daemons, but they didn’t have any of their equipment and usually they did so one or two at a time. Having fifteen or so daemons coming at you all at once was an untenable position. Whoever didn’t make it back inside would be dead very soon.

The men scattered to the nearest doorways, some tripping over each other or the wounded in their haste. One man stopped to help a fallen friend and it proved to be his undoing. Daemons will eat dead flesh, but they much prefer a fresh kill. The biggest of the beasts attacked the wounded that were still moving, while the others dragged the dead beyond the walls.

The doors were slammed shut and the men watched from the windows. Though it wasn’t as bad as being mauled by a daemon, watching your friends being shredded and hearing their short-lived screams was still unpleasant. One man fainted and a few others threw up violently while the massacre outside continued.

Lev had seen enough. He fell into a chair, pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one. He took a deep drag and blew the smoke out with a heavy sigh. “This isn’t going to be easy to fix. We have the equipment we need to put the monsters back into their cages, but we’ll have to wait until they wander off and now we’re short on men.”

The lieutenant was one of the ones who’d made it back inside, and as ever, he was hovering not far from Lev’s right elbow. “They should wander off once they can no longer see prey. Speaking of which, we should probably stay away from the windows for a little while. I doubt they would try to break through, but in their current state, I wouldn’t bet my life on it.”

The men at the windows looked at each other and quickly drew the curtains.

“Now we can’t see what they’re doing. How can we know when it’s safe to start rounding them up?”

“Quick peeks probably won’t be too dangerous, just try to stay as hidden as possible. If they spot you, there might be a ball of teeth and claws coming through in short order. We may also want to consider trapping some of them inside here.”

“Are you mad?” Another man called out. Many of the others nodded in their agreement, though they didn’t share the man’s courage enough to speak up.

Lev knew where the thought was leading though. This was more his speed. Divide and conquer. “We do have a lot of empty rooms now and if we can start trapping the daemons within them, we may be able to force the encounters into being better for us. I’d much rather have four men with stun rods and nets open a door with a single daemon inside than go out there and try to face them all at once.”

The men were skeptical, but wise enough not to be too open about it. Like it or not, Lev was their leader now and none of them had any better ideas.

“Alright guys, go get your stuff, we’re gonna need to start rounding up these bastards or we’ll run out of supplies in here. If you see an opportunity to get a daemon into an empty room, do so. Then lock the door and put a mark on it to show it’s occupied. We’ve already lost enough people today. Don’t take one of these things on unless you are confident you have enough men and skill.”

The men filed out, obviously not happy, but Lev didn’t really expect them to be. They had just watched a decent chunk of their comrades ripped apart by the beasts that Lev himself had ordered released. The time may well be coming when Lev would have to make a few examples to cement his authority or he’d wind up on a stake just as Silva had.

The thought of the old boss made Lev peek out the window. Silva’s body was still up where it had been, but the more easily reached head had already been snatched up as a meal. He peered around and saw what looked like a large dingo gnawing on the ex-leader’s skull. Lev shuddered.

He looked over at his lieutenant who had stayed nearby in case he was needed. “I don’t yet know how, but once I get everything in order here, I am going to make those little bastards pay for what they’ve done. The first on that list is Gregor, the traitor who led them here. Then we will tear the rest of them apart, piece by piece.”

* * * * *

Angus watched the owl as it floated along behind them, seemingly with almost no effort. It wasn’t attacking, but that could change in an instant. Normal owls were incredible hunters, and this one was not only larger, but would possess some gift that none of them were aware of. If it decided to attack while they were on the water, it would almost certainly be a disaster. Fighting a daemon is hard on land, where you can use footwork and mobility to escape the raking talons. In a boat where a dodge to the side would capsize them, it would be virtually impossible.

The trip itself was actually proceeding quite smoothly. Renala’s enormous halberd, with it’s long handle and wide, flat blade, made an exceptional oar, though it was a shame the smallest of them all had to be the one to paddle. Angus guessed the daemon itself was helping some as the small girl didn’t seem to be tiring as quickly as he would’ve expected. Also, Lethen’s shovel made a pretty fair rudder. If not for the ever present threat looming behind them, it might’ve been quite a pleasant little journey.

Angus set Prolier to watch the owl so he could get down to something he’d been meaning to do since they met Nestor. Once he’d found out about the memory chip, he’d been curious about what was on it. It must be something pretty important to warrant the delivery method.

He got the chip from Lethen and slid it into his phone, waiting while the software took care of trying to access it. It didn’t take long before Angus saw a little screen popping up that told him that it had a password protecting it. He probably should’ve guessed that. If it was as sensitive as he imagined it was, chances were strong that not only was it encrypted, but if you didn’t know the password, it would destroy it self, either physically or by dumping the data. Angus couldn’t afford either of those scenarios. That little chip was their ticket to being absolved of failing the mission.

With a sad sigh, he removed the card and put it into his pocket. He noticed Gregor watching him, but since the two couldn’t communicate, he just smiled. The man smiled back before shifting slightly to be more comfy, sending the boat rocking slightly, though not enough to dislodge any of the occupants.

They made it to shore more rapidly than Angus would have guessed and still the owl was hovering off behind them, neither attacking, nor leaving. Angus wondered about that, and thought maybe the creature was waiting until they were no longer paying attention to it. Well it would have to wait a long time for that.

They made good time heading south, then southwest, following roads whenever possible. They wanted to meet up the train tracks and follow them south. The only one of them who knew much about the area couldn’t tell them anything so they wanted to get back to where they knew. It would drag them through daemon farming territory, but Yuri had told them that it was kept a ways back from the tracks themselves, as not to be spotted but normal freight or passengers that used the thoroughfare.

It took a surprisingly short amount of time to reach the tracks, and luckily, they reached them without incident. Their luck wasn’t to hold though.

They were a couple miles north of Temnik when they heard a growl from off to the west. They stopped and formed a defensive circle around Gregor, the only member of the party incapable of combat.

Slowly, a fox the size of a German Shepherd sauntered toward them. It obviously considered them more of a meal than a threat because it didn’t even attempt to conceal it’s approach. It stopped about thirty feet in front of them and the circle rotated to put Renala and Angus closest to it. The beast eyed them and their weapons and took another step forward.

A screech sounded from above them and Angus cursed. They had been so intent on this new threat that they’d taking their attention from the one that literally hung over their heads.

Whether it had been waiting for backup or for them to become distracted, it choose that moment to dive toward them.

* * * * *

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