"He just left us?" said Caedius. "How can he do that?"

"Bit of a vague question, isn't it?" Felix shielded his eyes from the light of the setting sun. "Morally? I don't know why he's helping us in the first place, except for teaching Leones a thing or two in the past. Literally? He says he's a follower of Archon Aramadat. There's definitely something off about him."

"Keep an eye on him," I said.

Felix responded with a despondent chuckle. "I'm going to need more eyes."

Revealing my full extent of my distrust for the philosopher would be a risky endeavor. Certainly not something to voice out loud. Even if Astaroth and Vasely had more pressing matters to concern themselves with, Brother Augur may still be observing us from some hiding spot.

Perhaps if we had walked back to the office, I could jot my suspicions down with some of Caedius' supplies. But that would expose my time magic, and while I wavered on whether or not to tell Felix the truth, there was no chance I would bare my neck to someone who had already betrayed me once.

For now, I kept quiet. We stood on a simple portico, looking out on an avenue that could have been any of a dozen affluent streets throughout the city. Between the last, vibrant light of the setting sun and the gentle drift of snowflakes, the view was almost calming.

"Should we get you a knife at least, Caedius?" said Felix.

The young man shook his head, cheeks twitching. He really did not want to go back in there. I was tempted to go grab him one anyways.

"Do you know what's happening out there?" I said. "Full-scale demon invasion. Summoning a Goetia. You need a weapon."

Caedius' voice was low. "My sword is in the living room. It's filthy with blood. I don't want to go back in there."

Felix snorted but his tone was kind enough. "I'll go get it."

While my friend went to retrieve the weapon, I walked down to the avenue, looking down both directions to get a better lay of the land.

Though the manors in this area clearly denoted wealth, they were clustered together in like most of the older sections of Odena, before the city became large enough to necesitate a planned layout. No one milled about like I expected. Guards did not even man the gates of the larger homes. Finding people willing to lay down their lives for a bit of coin would have been difficult under these circumstances. Anyone willing would've already been recruited into the city guard or into mercenary forces.

"Are there any horses?" I called out to Caedius.

"We have stables," said the bigger acolyte with a hoarse voice, "but I'm sure they were stolen or released long ago. I lost track of how long I was trapped inside. There was some weird, time-warping barrier until I was the last one alive. Then..."

The boy broke off. A small amount of pity tried to creep through, but I thrust it aside. All he had given me was an unnecessarily long 'no'. Damn.

Felix returned after a minute, a sheathed sword clenched in one hand. They both joined me so we wouldn't have to shout.

"Sorry," said Felix, "I tried to clean all the blood off but I might have left some. It might stick to the scabbard a bit. There was a lot."

Caedius' face turned even paler as he accepted the weapon. "Thank you."

I kept my hand on my steel sword, comforted by its presence. Dasein dangled next to it. A mystery I intended to explore as soon as it was safe. "How far are we from the Gardens?"

"About three miles," said Caedius. "We're near the outskirts of the city."

"We better start walking, then," I said.

Felix coughed into his hand. "Should we even go back to the Gardens? Maybe it's best to stay away from him. He may not have much power left, and he can't find us if we hide well."

"Honestly, I doubt that," I said. "We don't know the extent of his power. He can teleport multiple people, multiple times. Crush demons with no more effort than lifting a finger. He uses forbidden names without caring. At least he's done nothing to us so far. But I definitely agree, we shouldn't trust him."

Caedius took the lead, walking in the direction of the Gardens. The more he moved, the more limber he seemed, until a tinge of his former hearty complexion returned to his cheeks. Putting distance between himself and that slaughterhouse must have helped. He kept his head down, eyes focused on the flagstones, and I was content to leave him alone with his silence.

It was important not to forget that he had become another one of Astaroth's Echoes. While I was a bit better as a technical swordsman, Caedius had at least forty pounds of muscle on me, and would have abilities similar to Felix. Precision and rapid calculation would rectify some of his most glaring weaknesses. Even if I could nullify his abilities with Paimon's power, if he attacked me in my current state I doubted I would win. At least I had Felix at my side.

My friend and I walked step-in-step slightly behind the bigger acolyte. Fine with me. My hand stayed on the handle of my steel sword. A few shifting curtains hinted that people were inside some of the homes, but otherwise the area seemed deserted.

After two minutes we came across our first pair of civilians walking down the street.

A young man and woman walked in our direction, packs slung over their backs. They stopped as they noticed us approaching, their faces carefully composed.

The man looked to be late into his third decade, his scruffy facial hair and gaunt face doing no favors for his appearance. He wore an unfamiliar black military uniform, collar stiff with starch, with three golden epaulettes on the right shoulder. No common guardsman. A veteran from the Frontier, perhaps? The sword at his side looked to be of fine quality, and his thick hands and muscular neck revealed him to be no stranger to violence.

The woman was gorgeous, if a touch crazy around the eyes. Her long black hair, tamed into a ponytail, still held a luxurious sheen. Smooth, tanned skin. No visible weapons, though she would have to be stupid not to have something hidden in her fur cloak.

"Greetings," said Felix, his attempt at a smile more alarming than if he did nothing at all.

"We don't have anything," shouted the woman. "Just leave us alone."

The man said nothing, his eyes red and intense. He wrapped an arm around the woman, holding her tight. Both of them looked away and to the side, moving to past us on the left. I nodded at them in greeting before continuing along.

Then a sudden exhalation and a shout from Felix. He held the woman's outstretched arm with both wrists, stopping the knife in her hand a few inches from his chest. Enemy Echoes? Who else would attack three armed men?

Felix disarmed her and swept her feet out from underneath her. Like a cat she twisted through the air, landing on all fours. My friend launched a savage kick at her head. The veteran charged forward, crashing into Felix and throwing him off-balance.

By this time my sword was in hand. "Caedius! Help!"

The large disciple had drawn his weapon as well, but he stood in place as if rooted on the spot.

The man had managed to grab his partner and retreated some distance away. He bared his teeth in a snarl.

Felix balanced the stolen knife on his palm before flipping it up into the air; he caught it between his thumb and first finger, primed for throwing. His throw was smooth, practiced. Steel flashed with refracted oranges and purples as it wheeled through the air, right at the man's face.

In one smooth motion the veteran drew his sword and struck the knife from the air.

"Not bad," said Felix.

A deep sense of wrongness infiltrated my senses. My magical awareness, unconsciously spread throughout the immediate vicinity when the fight began, detected two new presences a dozen feet behind us. Demons.

One was roughly humanoid, head-and-shoulders taller than even Caedius, with the usual transparent skin and a massive eye in the center of its forehead; its arms ended in a pair of long chitinous blades like scythes.

The other looked like a chimera of various wild animals, most notably one of the great wild cats from the Narahven Desert. Black chitin coated its entire body down to its four cloven feet. A scorpion tail curved over its back, the tip of its wicked blade unwavering as it pointed at us. Instead of whiskers, long tendrils surrounded its mouth, each of them squirming in their own directions like worms torn from the earth.

To my surprise, it was the chimera that spoke. "Infants without their handlers are forbidden. Surrender to us and fulfill your duty, or you are breaking your oath to our master."

"Well," said Felix, "you aren't him. The four of you fuck off back to whatever tea party you were having before we crossed paths. I'll give you this one warning since we're supposed to be on the same side."

The logistics favored them heavily. Despite them being in isolated pairs on either side of us, they had the advantage of both numbers and the manueverability to flank us. Caedius was an unknown factor and I was likely to pass out from too stiff of a breeze. Though Brother Augur had not seemed too impressed with Caedius' handler, these demons would be a step above the scouts I had faced before.

I hoped my suspicion about Brother Augur still watching over us was true. This could still all be a test.

The chimera exposed its cruel yellow fangs in what may have been a smile. "We were sent to investigate the lack of communication from the pair in this area. Completion of our duties in a timely manner is crucial. I sense two of you belong to our master. And one of Nothing's little rats is scurrying around with you. As a neutral party, you are permitted to leave as long as you hide away until everything is completed."

"Where did this asshole learn to speak?" Felix said to me. "A judge's handbook? What do you think, Leones?"

Honestly, the best option seemed to be to reverse time as much as possible and hope getting out of this wouldn't kill me. In my mind's eye, the silver orb denoting my reserves of time magic was little more than a marble. Avoiding them would require going back at least a minute, and I did not have that sort of luxury. Worst case scenario, there was always Dasein. Too many options that led nowhere good.

What a ridiculous way to die. After everything, ambushed by some demons and their pet humans.

"Caedius," I said, unsheathing my steel sword. "You're going to have to pull your own weight. Can you do that?"

The woman, who had been watching events unfold with a hand on her partner's upper arm, decided to speak up. "Do you boys really think you can win a fight? You're the ones forcing this."

"You just tried to stab me, you lunatic," said Felix. "How are we splitting these bastards up?"

They were not foolish enough to let us stand there planning their demise.

The chimera scrambled towards us, its movements surprisingly awkward despite its lightning-quick speed. Felix's luck and the light smattering of snow? Either way, it gave me the time to leap backwards, avoiding its swiping paws. A flash in my periphery alerted me to the scorpion tail lashing out. I managed to stumble out of the way, avoiding colliding with Caedius' bulk.

To my surprise, the other acolyte was already reacting. He thrust his blade into the chimera's rear leg as it sprang past. A solid connection that nonetheless failed to pierce through the chitin. The demon's hooves skittered along the flagstones as it landed off balance.

I was tempted to chase after it, but there was another demon as well as the enemy Echoes. A quick glance showed Felix engaged with both of the Echoes. Even if they would have powers from Astaroth as well, the woman had no visible weapon and I trusted him in a duel with a stranger. There was no other choice.

That left the demon with arms. It hadn't moved yet, but it's knees were crouched, shoulders hunched forward, as if it was getting ready to sprint our way. A rapid dash? If that was the case, I had been daydreaming about a void technique to use against a certain someone.

Adrenaline lent my surroundings a perfect clarity. My earlier exhaustion had been wiped away. There was only the moment, each detail etched realer than real. Instinctually I reached for my time magic and had to force myself to stop. Void magic surged into my palm, numbing everything from the wrist up.

Come on, then.

The scythe-armed demon relaxed, no longer intending to follow through with whatever mad dash it had planned. I did not like this particular bastard at all. A clever one. It was waiting for its moment. With the numbers disadvantage I could not stay focused on the demon forever. I turned, expecting the chimera to already be leaping at my neck, but Caedius was fending it off, having lured it off to the side. The big acolyte's face looked more alive than I had seen it since I first saw him behind that desk.

That left the scythe-armed bastard for me. It seemed content for the two of us to stare at each other. Likely it thought the chimera would finish off Caedius in due time, and they could overwhelm us. As long as it kept me out of the melee, it was doing enough.

Not good enough. I turned and sprinted towards the battle between mortals. Felix had drawn them off some twenty feet to the side, seeming to focus his attention on the woman while the veteran attempted to fend off his assault. He had herded them until their backs were to the closed gate of the nearest manor. Hopefully he would subdue them quickly and turn the tide against the demons.

There was no chance I would make it to join them in time. I didn't intend to. The scythe-armed demon's presence flickered into my awareness as it charged my exposed back. I whipped my arm back in a wide arc, a spray of void magic blanketing the space between us. When the demon made contact, it lost its balance; as if it had been expecting something of the sort, it turned its fall into a roll, coming back to its feet. The magic had less of an effect than I hoped.

The demon maintained some of its momentum as it sped towards me again. Not as quick as I was expecting, but plenty fast enough. In a moment it was upon me, its arms lashing out in wide arcs from different directions. Breathe. I slipped away, hyperaware of the organic blade slicing the air an inch from my nose, and the putrid stench of death from the demon itself.

The demon was just another opponent. I had heard of some blademasters wielding two swords, though it was generally inefficient. I was not necessarily at a disadvantage, and it had no hands to do anything with.

A small spark of pride ignited in my chest as I kept up with the demon's flurry of strikes. Deep breaths. Don't think about the others. The demon's strength was phenomenal, each parry sending jolts of pain that seemed to splinter through bone. My knees threatened to buckle. I turned aside blow after blow, patient until I found my moment. My blade lashed out at the demon's exposed thigh.

Steel met skin. And was turned aside. At the last moment, a layer of chitin spread over the site of impact. Damn. I would have to time a landed strike with my nullification magic. Maybe even that wouldn't be enough. The chitin may be an innate characteristic of the demon; its arms hadn't disappeared when I hit it with the nullification magic, after all.

I heard a shout. Felix. The chimera had broken away from Caedius and joined the others fighting my friend. The big disciple was rushing my way. I wasn't sure whether to be pleased with the reinforcements or concerned for Felix.

The distraction cost me. One of the chitinous blades pierced my side, pain searing white-hot through my abdomen. I turned aside enough that the demon didn't land a fatal blow on my internal organs. Frantic blows kept the scythe-armed demon at a distance while I pressed a hand against my side. Sticky with blood, but part of me was terrified to feel my intestines dangling out.

The big acolyte's arrival took some of the pressure off of me. The demon sensed I was no match for it in my current state and attempting to focus on me. The three of us made an awkward dance as the big acolyte attempted to force himself between us. Though I appreciated him acting as my shield, we had none of the synergy that I had with Felix.

Not that Caedius wasn't good. While his strength was no match for the scythe-armed demon, at least he did not tremble under its blows like I had. I had always thought he would have done best with a shield, not that we had one available.

If I fell we had no hope of winning. Caedius may not have died to the chimera, but his sword had not been able to even wound it. Perhaps Felix could injure the demons with Jokul's sword, but at best we would have to survive and hope my friend came to the rescue.

Deep down, I was certain that Brother Augur would show up to save us. Could he just abandon us after everything he had said? But the situation seemed grim.

As the fight dragged on, the battle rage allowing me to focus withered away. Along with the pain in my abdomen, using the void magic again had only worsened my fatigue. With Caedius at my side, I was able to create a couple openings; each time I directed a burst of void magic at the demon while attempting to land a blow. The first attempt rewarded me with a long but shallow line down the demon's left thigh that leaked blue ichor. After that, the demon wised up and focused on evading my blows.

Like I had thought, the bastard was clever. It could tell I was losing my will to fight quickly. After the third attempt at cutting the demon, I stopped wasting my void magic. By that time it felt as if heavy weights had been strapped to my limbs. The white orb in my mind's eye was no bigger than my time magic reserves.

The demon circled, sensing my end approach, almost dismissive at Caedius' attempts to distract it. I reached for Dasein.

But I had created a chance. A call for rescue. From someone who was eager for my scent. Who had been hunting me ever since she had discovered the site of her brother's death, along with the traces of time and void magic lingering in the air.

Felix cried out again, this time in pure glee. The veteran was kneeling on the ground, the woman holding his sword in both hands and pointing it at my friend. The chimera's body lay sideways in the snow, the upper half of its head missing. Its exposed brains steamed in the cold.

Snow billowed around Zephyr where she stood a dozen feet beyond them, the blade of her sword dripping blue. Her attention turned towards me. Energy coalesced around her, unfocused for a moment before centering on her boots.

The scythe-armed demon turned to flee. She was faster. Her next seven-leagues step caught me on the outskirts, the wind of her passage throwing me off my feet. The focus of her attention suffered worse.

Her step finished, Zephyr appeared a dozen feet beyond the demon.

Her blade, its path angled upward due to the demon's height, had sliced cleanly through its clavicle and up through its neck, leaving a perfect line where it passed through the demon's flesh like paper. The demon collapsed to its knees, its head and the chunk of detached torso slipping wetly to the flagstones.