Chapter 44: Power Trip

My hand caught the first blade and I laughed. “Fools!” I shoved him back, inhaling deeply. “I am—” The world spun around me, my vision swimming.

But for some reason I felt like I could run a marathon.

He pulled back. I clenched my hand around the blade. No, I was monologuing, stop moving. I snorted, slamming my foot down on the parapet. “BE STILL.”

He froze, glowing sword still clasped in his hand.

“That’s new!” I giggled. “There you go, just stand there!” I patted the man on the cheek. I took a step, then the stone under me crumbled and I almost tripped. “God!” I caught myself against the wall, parapet thing. “What happened to building codes. Oh, wait, I just stomped so hard it shattered the stone.”

I looked up, grinning at Maria and the other guards. “Strong stuff.” I giggled again. “Get it? Strong. Because—”

“Get her already!”

The other two charged.

I raised my other hand—oh wait I’d never lowered my first hand that was—and spread my fingers wide. “None of that now.”

Claws ripped from the air, catching both men.

“So easy!” I clenched my fingers tight, and the demons clawed them apart. The blood looked almost gold as it ran across the stones. “Man, why don’t you all use this stuff!” I laughed again. “It’s insane.”

Maria took a step back.

“None of that—” I paused, tilting my head. “Wait I already said that one. Need to work on my one-liners. Note to self, work on my one-liners!” I waved my hand. From each claw or arm in the air, a full demon bounded into reality.

They tackled Maria before she made it two steps.

“There we go.” I crouched down next to her, my golden eyes reflecting off of her breast plate. Pretty. “You just stay still…now.”

I could feel my pulse thrumming in my ears as I leaned down, placing a hand over the golden circles. “Pretty.”

She struggled, but honestly with like, a couple tons of demons on each arm, it was pretty futile. She should know that. “What you’re doing is pretty futile, you know,” I told her.

She growled. “So are you.”

“I know you are but what am I. Now.” I stood up. “Usually not a biiiig fan of executions, but given my track record with leaving people in this city alive…” I waved a hand. “I mean, you didn’t even leave me alone for a day.”

“I thought you might be different from the rest of the scum in Silverwall.” She glared up at me. “But you just turned out to be an even bigger monster.”

A pulse of white hot rage ran through me. “Oh spare me the sanctimonious bullshit!” I slashed my hand through the air, and my demons did the rest, leaving one more body on the top of the tower.

I spun around, facing the first guard. “There, see?” I grinned at him, before it grew into another laugh. “You’re—you’re the lucky one!”

He swallowed, muscles in his neck convulsing. “I don’t feel very…lucky.”

I glared. “Did someone give you permission to speak?”

He shook his head.

“Good boy, stay there while I finish this.” I took two steps over to the edge of the tower. Glancing over the edge, I snorted at my earlier timidity. If one or two gryphons would be shot out of the sky, I would simply summon a hundred.

“Unlimited POWER!” With my shout, a host of gryphons poured out of the abyss and into reality, lashed to my will. “Fly my minions. Fly!”

Cackling, I stepped onto one’s back as they winged off the tower. The shouts and screams of those below sounded like mere music to my ears, and I laughed only louder as the wind whipped my hair. My only regret in the entire world?

The distance between the towers was too short for a proper villainous laugh.

My hoard of gryphons crashed through the far tower’s window in a symphony of broken glass. Shards shimmered like silver, shooting across the room. A tide of black feathers and twisted beaks overwhelmed the few remaining guards with barely a thought. Frantic nobles tried to flee, and they too were caught up.

All this before I dismounted—no, alighted from my own conveyance onto Seneschal Hawkwright’s map table, idly kicking aside the carefully-crafted castle representing the city of Silverwall.

Villainy is all about presentation.

“Ladies and Gentlemen.” I spread my arms in an elaborate bow. “Thank you for joining me for the festivities this evening; I assure you we have a wonderful show in store for you!”

They looked at me like I was absolutely insane. “Right, so!” I paused in my script as some of my demons started to melt, dissolving into gold slurry in time to the pounding tempo in my head. “Well. That’s probably not a good sign.”

Hawkwright pushed himself to his feet at the far side of the room, bald pate glinting in the sunlight. “The dead woman shows herself at last.”

“Moi?” I pointed to myself. Then I blinked away the gold at the edges of my vision. “No, wait, sorry, I’m in the middle of a monologue. You can wait your turn.” I cleared my throat. “Now! For my next trick, I’ll need a volunteer from the audience. What’s that, no one wants to participate? Well.” I turned back to Hawkwright. “Come over here.”

He physically struggled against my words, before taking a step back. “No.”

Something snapped inside me. I growled. “That’s not very nice. That’s fine, I don’t mind doing things from here.”

“And I don’t appreciate you wasting my time.” He raised his chin. “You’ve abused the Ash of Creation. Just from your eyes I can see it burning you out from within. Whatever you hope to accomplish here will end in nothing.”

“Ash of creation is a really fancy name for this fancy super drug you killed people to make.” I took a step forward, crunching the carefully-sculpted map under the heels of my boot. “And from one dead person to another, you don’t have room to talk.”

He glared, narrow eyes flashing. “All your efforts have been useless. Your minions may have escaped, but they flee to their death. Your pitiful village will be overrun by the monsters you failed to disperse, the guardsmen you could not defeat will raze the ashes and put every single one of your followers to the sword, and you will die here.”

I laughed, long and loud. I could hear gold ringing in my ears, taste it upon my tongue.

“I may die.” My words echoed off the walls, reverberating deep into my bones. “But that just means other people will have to enjoy my time for me.”

“For the last time.” He took a step forward. “Your cause is wasted, no matter the outcome here.”

“No.” I stepped forward as well, grin stretching so wide across my face it threatened to rip open my cheeks. “Because my life is just one more thing I’m willing to trade.”

I lunged.

His hands came up, glowing with some skill.

I punched through his guard, through his chest, fist smashing out his back in a rush of golden light that pounded against my skull.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

“Practically businesslike.” I shook my head. “We just sat across the board from each other, not even playing the same game.”

I turned around, staggering once. The room pulsed golden around me, lights flashing in my eyes. “Now then, you lot were Hawkwright’s closest supporters, yes?”

A wave of denials washed over me, the words flashing across my eyes. I staggered.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

“No.” I raised my hand. “Speak the Truth.”

From trembling lips, an older man spat. “Y-y-yessss.”

I nodded. “Normally, I’d be more circumspect, but it turns out I am perilously low on mercy or forbearance. Kill them all.”

And the room was awash with gold.

Oh, that wasn’t just the blood anymore. Most of my demons were…melting away. That, that wouldn’t do. Deep in the sinking, pulsating morass of my brain, I decided that I didn’t want that.

“We’re not quite finished.” I raised my hands, they felt heavy. “Drive everyone from the castle.” My demons rose again, this time, I felt the power rushing out of me like a physical torrent.

I staggered, armor catching me before I could fall. “Ah… that’s not so good.” I sank to the ground, catching myself against the wall. The room still glowed gold, but sickly, shimmering like spoilt honey. It clogged my throat and lungs. “Go.” I rasped.

I felt as my demons went.

I began to shiver, teeth clattering together. I clenched my jaw, forcing the shivers to migrate down to my chest, shoulders jerking uncontrollable.

“How—how uncomfortable.” Pins and needles ran down my arms. I hated it. I could still taste metal on the back of my tongue. Ah, of course, blood. I should have realized that sooner. I thought I was having some trip-induced synesthesia.

“Ar-armor.” I coughed once, swallowing back the blood. “Contingency mode.”

A beep.

I allowed myself to go limp as my power armor moved me into a fetal position, chin pressed against my knees. My hands folded in front of my ankles, wrist-mounted weapons opening up. I let out a shuddering breath as the joints locked into place.

At least I wouldn’t have to leave my armor behind again. Put…way too much effort into it to just hang it out to dry.

Ugh, I was absolutely covered in sweat. What a horrendous way to die.