“You escaped once before. I can,” she leaned in, nose touching Shalise’s hair, “smell it on you. A familiar scent. Thank you for not killing Orgaz and Tzlip. Otherwise I might still be stuck in my cell.”
Maoa gently, almost tenderly ran a finger over the brand on Shalise’s chest.
It felt like ice cubes.
Shalise sucked in her stomach, trying to put as much space between the finger and her skin as possible.
“Carrying out another prisoner? I should have thought of that first. Lucky for me, my imps proved worthless in killing you.”
The finger on her stomach continued dancing over her brand, tracing light circles over it. At the same time, Maoa’s grip on Shalise’s hair lessened, though she did not let go completely.
“W-what are you saying?” Shalise didn’t bother trying to whisper her words. Face to face as they were, there was no chance Maoa wouldn’t hear.
You escaped, Prax said. He sounded angry. The glare that Shalise could feel only emphasized his anger. But there was a hint of happiness. Or maybe smug pride. And she thinks that I am a genius.
That’s why he sounds smug, Shalise thought. If she wasn’t close enough to Maoa to smell her breath, she might have rolled her eyes.
Instead, her eyes widened. That was where she had heard her voice before. She was the person who had shouted at the imps just before they attacked.
Unfortunately, Prax spat out before her thoughts could go anywhere, I believe she desires a ride out.
Shalise’s heart skipped a beat. “A-a ride? My head is full enough with just you here,” she said.
Maoa nodded despite the comment not being meant for her. One lithe finger pointed up towards Juliana.
“I am happy we could come to an accord. This battle is–”
As she spoke, Maoa turned her head back towards the fight.
All at once, her eyes widened. She shoved Shalise back before leaping backwards.
Time slowed to a crawl.
No sounds reached Shalise’s ears. Her peripheral vision showed no movement in the battle to the side.
Despite it having been racing just a moment before, her heart didn’t beat.
Maoa’s expression had frozen in a snarl as she flew backwards in an arc.
Except, Shalise realized, Maoa isn’t the only thing moving.
From the very bottom of her vision, a shiny, silver line rose up a few inches from her nose. It was about an inch wide, but it stretched from one end of her vision to the other.
As it got higher, Shalise could see herself reflected in the edge. She only recognized herself by virtue of understanding how mirrors work. Her shocked expression had been bloated by Prax’s muscles.
The silver blade lifted up and out of Shalise’s vision.
And everything started moving again.
Shalise continued falling back until Juliana crashed into the wall with a loud clatter.
This time, Juliana’s leg slipped out of Shalise’s grip. She still had a hold on Juliana’s arms, but the sudden weight swinging down knocked Shalise off-balance.
They both fell into a pile.
Throughout her tumble, Shalise kept her eyes on what was before her.
Maoa landed a short distance back, bent over with her claws spread out down by her sides. She looked far more feral than the scary-yet-human-appearing demon that had been speaking to her just a moment before.
A lithe leather boot stepped lightly just in front of Shalise.
She followed the boot up past the tucked-in pants and brown long-coat to a pale face framed by silver hair. Two mercury eyes met Shalise’s own. The corners of her lips tipped down before she turned her head towards Maoa.
Heavy leather gloves tightened around her sword.
Shalise didn’t blink and she still missed the moment that the sword-doll moved.
Maoa, on the other hand, saw it coming a mile away. She moved her gauntleted hands up and caught the sword on a ridge in the tree bark.
Get up and run! Prax shouted in Shalise’s head.
Shalise wasted no time arguing. She didn’t believe for one moment that she could outrun that doll, but maybe it wouldn’t chase.
Scooping up Juliana, Shalise turned tail and ran.
Wrong way.
“The other way,” Shalise said between pants, “leads through that battle. And that doll. And your mother.”
We cannot leave without first entering the armory.
Shalise slowed to a walk. “What do you mean by that?”
Consider the other demons’ presence. Despite being slaughtered, they have yet to flee as you have. He paused, giving a chance for Shalise to collect her thoughts.
It took her a lot longer to figure out than it should have.
Shalise knelt down and placed Juliana on the ground, propping her up against the wall.
The blond was still unconscious, even after being jostled around so much. She wasn’t sweating much and her breathing was steady. Placing two fingers on the side of her neck, Shalise decided that she had a steady pulse. Maybe faster than normal, but she didn’t know what was normal.
Shalise couldn’t use her pulse as a baseline. Her heart was currently making repeated attempts at breaking out of her chest.
As far as Shalise’s dismal knowledge of medicine went, Juliana was perfectly fine.
She just wasn’t awake.
Whatever had happened to her must have been some sort of sleep inducing toxin. Even deathly sick people would wake up after being dropped a few feet.
Wouldn’t they?
Shalise leaned up against the wall, staying on her knees. What a nightmare, she thought in her own voice.
“What is behind those dolls that is so important?”
None of us can truly escape without entering–
“Stop dancing around words.” Shalise felt like shouting. The words came out too tired. Too quiet. However much sleep she had managed to get was not nearly enough.
You are missing something, servant. How mortals can be so ignorant of their own being, I will never comprehend.
“I’m not your…” Shaking her head, Shalise sighed and closed her eyes.
I see you finally understand your position. Every word he spoke radiated pure smugness. It is about time.
Shalise snapped her eyes open. She put on a smile she didn’t feel. The smile was for Prax’s sake, not her own.
“If you do not explain, I will go back to that battlefield. There I will wait. Either your mother or the doll will come out on top. If your mother comes out on top, I will tell her who you are–”
You would not dare.
“I am tired. I am hungry. I have a headache. I want to go home. I just don’t care. It couldn’t be any worse with her yelling in my head than you.”
You have no idea.
“If the doll wins, well, I might die. But your mother seemed to think I was on their side or something? None of you people can talk straight. But the doll didn’t kill me when it clearly could have. I’ll take my chances.”
Her speech finished, Shalise shut her eyes and leaned her head against the wall. Neither was a chance that Shalise was all that keen on taking.
Contrary to her words, Shalise did care. She didn’t know enough to decide whether Maoa would be any better or worse than Prax, though she was leaning towards worse. As for the doll, it was true that she hadn’t killed Shalise. So she had that going for her.
There was the possibility that the doll had simply been concerned with the obviously bigger threat, but there was something about the way the doll glanced at her.
It reminder her of her youth in Mrs. Mendoza’s home. Usually when Shalise did something she knew she wasn’t supposed to do and Mrs. Mendoza found out anyway. A look full of disappointment.