Realms of Magic: Demon Invasion

52. Irvine in Confusion II

"So," John begins, "what happened?"

"Maybe the engine overheated," I comment.

"It's not," the technician interferes. She wipes off her sweat from her forehead. Her left hand carries a small, black box, perhaps six inches long and wide and five inches tall.

"What is that?" Remi asks, her hand reaching for the box.

"Don't touch it," the amber-haired
technician commands. "It's a bomb."

Silence befalls us. In the startling air, Remi speaks out. "So, someone tried to kill us all."

"Yes. And someone tried to save us all. I found hundreds of these bombs, but almost two thirds of them are completely disabled and some more are damaged."

"If that had not happened, we would've been dead meat now." I concur. "But who would want to kill us?"

"Oh, I don't know," Remi replies, her snarky tone back, "it's not like we have been a pain in the ass for a certain faction or something, yeah?"

"The demons, huh?" John murmurs.

"I've called for a horse cart to be sent here from Leinsburgh. The best we can do is wait," Archduke Windwood says.

"But who implanted those bombs?" I ask. "Surely, the hangars aren't easy to infiltrate."

"But if so," Aelita says, "someone knew that a specific aerocopter from a specific hangar was going to be sent to pick us. They have to have some high-level intelligence there!"

John springs into action. "Only the high-ranked nobles could possibly know," he reiterates, "after all, Guard movements aren't made public."

Our eyes shift to Archduke Windwood, who gives a weak nodding confirmation. "Someone in the upper echelons did it."

A lavish cart arrives at last, equipped with two horses, powered with magic. A middle-aged coachman lazily stops the carriage.

"Windwood," an elderly woman greets as she leaps out from the carriage.

"Madam Felicia," I gasp. The white haired woman scratches her hair, tied into a bun.

"Eagle Eye!" Aelita murmurs, her eyes glowing green. "The carriage's safe."

"Get on!" the burly coachman grumbles, then lowers his voice to a mere whisper. "The Order double-checked the carriage."

"This time, nobody knows the routes," Madam Felicia assures, "Eldric, kindly travel trough the western countryside."

"It'll delay us by at least twelve hours," the coachman grumbles.

"It's not a problem."

Archduke Windwood, greatly shaken, continues his peaceful sleep. It has been five or six minutes of peaceful silence of recovery when Aelita begins blabbering.

"So, Vio," she giggles, "how's Darryl?"

"W-why are you asking me about that?" I ask.

"Look, John," she says. "I told you mentioning Darryl is enough to redden Vio's face!"

"My face isn't reddening!" I oppose.

"Oh, wow," Remi butts in, a rare giggling smile forming. "I didn't know you have a boyfriend."

"Because I don't!" I hiss.

"Well, you did go to his tent that night—"

"Shut up, John!"

"Wait, Vio went to Darryl's tent?" Agatha chirps in.

Agatha rubs my belly softly. "Do you—"

"Hey, hey, I'm not pregnant, damn it! He did i—"

"Yes?" Aelita's grin widen. "He did what with you?"

"I'm closing my mouth."

Aelita, Remi, and Agatha erupt into ruinous laughter. Luckily, soon after, Aelita directs her ominous romance-related question at another person.

"So, Remi, how 'bout you?"

"I haven't given much attention to that," Remi admits. "Af–"

"Duck!" Madam Felicia screams.

We fall to our knees, alongside the sleeping John and Joe, who are woken up. Agatha squirms Archduke Windwood's hand and brings him down. Madam Felicia immediately lays on the ground. A split second latter, a barrage of giant glass shurikens decimate the upper part of our cart.

"Bloody hell," Aelita curses as another barrage rains down. "Agatha!"

"Tornado!"

A powerful whirling wind surround the cart, repelling the waves of assaults thundering upon it.

"Eagle Eye!" Aelita murmurs, making her eyes glow green. "Damn it, the attacker's too far. I can't sense anyone!"

Agatha's wind effectively repels all the glass objects thrown at us, but we can't stay on the defensive forever.

"We need to move!" Archduke Windwood declares hysterically, his weak eyes jolted out. "We're going to be late!"

"Bloody hell, Sir, we're being bombarded by an enemy far away and you're concerned with punctuality?" Remi snidely replies.

"Agatha, I'll take over for now. Wall of Anguish!" Four walls of crushed skeletons and skulls form from under the ground, shielding us. Agatha deactivates her Tornado.

"You don't understand!" Archduke Windwood shouts. "Look, they're passing a bill declaring war on Erwing, but if I were there, I would have enough voting power to turn the tide!"

So getting this old dude into the meeting would save everyone?

"We can wait it out. They can't keep on spamming this forever," John says.

"Not forever, but enough to deprive Archduke Windwood of his voting power. Someone of our calibre would be able to do this for at least eighteen hours," I reply.

"Aelita, how far can your Eagle Eye go?" I ask.

"Currently, it's at about 120 km, but I can extend it to 200 km," Aelita replies.

"Okay. Here's the plan. Agatha, you'll go with me. We'll beat the hell out of that bastard. Joe, stay behind and protect Madam Felicia and the coachman. Aelita, John, cover us; John can use Aelita's Eagle Eye to aim better, right? Remi, take Archduke Windwood and make a run for it," I instruct.

"Reliable as always, Vio," Madam Felicia compliments me.

"Ready?" I question, replied by firm nods. "Blood Mist! Scatter!"

Remi disappears in a flash of barely visible lightning. Agatha, John, Aelita, and I march forward under the guise of the thick fog.

"Agatha, your wind!" I order.

"Air Blessing!" Agatha claps her hands.

I feel as if my body were made of feathers and as if my wings were paper. Others feel the same, too; our speed suddenly doubles.

Aelita and John stop in their tracks. "I can sense two people from here. Be careful, Vio, Agatha. We'll cover you from here."

"Okay. Good luck."

"Two people, huh? I haven't seen any glass magic users since forever," Agatha comments.

"The last user documented died five years ago," I claim. "Must be a demon, these two."