C'thelli's Demonic Orphanage

14

As C'thelli flew further along the monster's wake with Hanley in tow, she was glad to see that the damage was only dealt to the forest. Nobody, wraith or otherwise, was foolish enough to flee directly ahead of its path lest it suffer a mortifying fate. With the closing distance her ears perked, as if tuning into a broadcast. Harsh sounds of steel clanging and violent shouts to and fro. It was the song of combat, one that filled her with worry. 

Vivian was the only one stupid enough to come out this far. What if she wound up encountering humans from a different settlement, ones who were not aware of her deal and sported silver weapons!

Her wings spurned on, further and faster until they were diving down a slope and bursting through the treeline with a forceful gust of air at their backs. Taking a second to wipe the silky leaves from her eyes, she surveyed the scene. They had found themselves in an expansive bubble of night - black and grey swirled and mixed around the clearing, draining the colour from the atmosphere as Vivian's eyes blinked and glared around the scene. Well at least they found her.

Hanley gagged as he slapped a mouthful of acorns from his mouth. Further below her eyes aligned with the wraith's and befell a small clearing with a pond, it's water stank of stagnation and rotting reeds. But that was not the worst of it. A large Griffin, fat and strong, stood tall on its hind legs, and with a deliberate sweep of the wings, sent a powerful gust of wind cascading into Feimo who flew backwards and phased through the reason for this outing.

"Vivian! When I get my hands on you, you're dead," the devil exclaimed with the ferocity of a god of war. Whether she actually heard her, or more than likely ignored her, the wraith kept her focus on the beast's claws as they swiped at her. The demon had recovered, and attempted to pull her aside to safety, but they were too slow, leaving a long blue cut along her arm. What? But such a blow should have phased right through her.

"Isn't she already dead?" Hanley asked. She promptly stuffed another acorn in his mouth and ignored him.

At least Feimo had heard her, she could see his little smile on his lips as he waved innocently towards them. However, all C'thelli could think about was what she had just seen. Never in all her time on earth had she seen a mortal physically touch an apparition. So how did it do it? How did it strike her little girl? 

"Who's that?" Hanley's voice clawed at her attention. With a pointing finger, he directed her towards the rotund armour clanking along from the south to flank the beast from behind. The sight of the individual was enough to catch the breath in her lungs. That suit, the last time she had seen it was close to a century ago, when she fought alongside the battle priests against Satan. She didn't need to look, but if she did, then she knew she would glimpse the two-headed eagle of the holy Roman Empire emblazoned on the right shoulder. Dom.

Before she could blink, the Griffin rounded on the soldier of old, who had just enough time to swing his sceptre in an wild, unpractised arch in a bid to keep it at bay. As if unbothered by the priest's display, it patiently waited for the giant cross to swish along the air before pouncing on the man. Claws and beak poked at the sturdy shell, vying to get to the meat inside. 

"Ok, I've seen enough," the devil said.

Squirming in her hold, Hanley turned to her with a hopeful look, "Is it time for Sir Hanley and Mistress C'thelli to save the day?" he cheered with enthusiasm.

"No. You're on peacocking duty. Stay behind Feimo and I'll handle the rest," she said sternly. The steely gaze in her eye spoke a silent warning to her sprout. One that he had to heed.

"Aw, man..." he murmured as she released him, letting his cloak of shrubbery and moss to swell and expand to catch the air and slow his descent into a glide like a feather from a bird. Before she could see him touch the ground, she readied her sword and descended towards the creature. Landing on its back, her weapon bit into the creature's flesh. The smell of iron leaked into the air as the beast reared its head and shrieked in pain.