The Goddess's Hero

Victims

Skye's POV

The water swirled lazily and then began to ripple. Dim mystical lights gathered to the top of the pool and agonizingly got brighter and brighter. I covered my eyes as the water splashed and a flash of bright white blinded the area. Gasps could be heard around me. I lowered my hand to find a creature assessing me. Glittering purple translucent wings caught my gaze first. They were fluttering slightly keeping the female humanoid's slim feet grazing the surface of the pool. The creature had no shoes to match the dark dress it wore. The head of the creature was angular and the mouth was small. The eyes caught my interest after I grasped the concept of wings. Light blue pupils glowed in an alley of black. They were large and bigger than her petite nose and small mouth. Her skin was a creamy beige. She reminded me of a rock that had been smoothed over by rushing water. 

When she spoke, her words disrupted my train of thought. "The Fountain is for the dead." It commanded that I turn away without uttering a single syllable of, 'get out.' I thought of mentioning that I was under orders from Jacqui, but then I remembered my goal. To find anyone suspicious at the Fountain. Some soul who only watches Jacqui through it. If I were to mention who I was and what I was doing here, that person could take off and never return. I nearly rolled my eyes. I didn't think I would find anyone here who could mimic a goddess's powers. The unearthly eyes continued to stare at me. I had to say something. 

"Very well." I shrugged and turned away. A rush of wind ruffled my tunic and blew some of the souls about and I quickly turned around to see the creature had disappeared. Looking around, all eyes were on me. So much for being stealthy. 

"Alright." I stood up on a small hill near the Fountain. "Now that I have your attention, how many of you enjoy this place?" I was met with confused stares and complete silence. And then the little boy who led me here yelled, "I love this place!" Which gave others the courage to nod and raise their hands. Pretty soon, everyone was cheering. I raised my hand and the crowd quieted. 

"Isn't this so gracious of the Keeper of this Realm to give you?" For some reason I didn't want to say her name. I was met with rounds of, "Long live Lady Jacqueline!" Long live Lady Jacqueline? She was a freaking goddess, of course she was going to live long. 

Until you kill her. 

Shut up. 

I continued my interview, "How many of you watch Lady Jacqueline through this?" 

A few hands raised up. I turned my attention to them. "Do you think you could copy her?" I pointed to an older looking minotaur. He snorted jangling his nose ring and folded his arms across his chest. 

"Lowly soul can't copy a gods power." He shook his mane at me. My thoughts exactly. 

"Why not?" I asked him directly. Who in this realm could copy a goddesses' power? 

"No magic for dead souls." A human gentleman shouted. That's right. Those who die can't use magic. Gods are immortal-never dying. They always use magic, they can because they are alive. The question now would be, who is alive in this realm?

"You've seen me!" I decided to follow this train of thought. I lifted my arms into the air. "I'm not dead!" I conjured a fireball into my hands and played with it. "I can use magic!" My spectators didn't make a sound. "Who can do this?" I clapped my hands over the fireball causing it to sizzle out. 

"The Demons!" A young Draconi woman shouted from the crowd. I faced her. 

"What?" I asked. 

"The Demons make magic like that here. They live in the lower layer of the Underworld!"

Wait. The Demons actually live here?! WITH the souls of the dead? And they live? 

Jacqui's in charge of the demons AND the souls of the dead?

She IS the Goddess of Life. It is her sworn duty to protect the living and guide the dead. 

I felt like a fool for not realizing this sooner. I pointed to the Draconi woman, "Take me to them." 

She nodded her head in response and I followed her through the Underworld jungle until we reached a sign with unfamiliar symbols. 

"What does this say?" I asked. 

"Land of Demons-right ahead." She answered and continued on. I kept up with her pace and soon I could sense a strong presence. It frightened the woman I was with and she froze. 

"This is as far as I'll go." She stuttered before turning around. I moved forward with the grace of a two-ton elephant. The presence didn't move. When I turned a corner, I was met with fiery red thin membrane wings. They curled at the tips into little spikes. This definitely looked like a demon. I moved forward and the demon turned around. 

It had the body of woman and wore a long dark red gown. Long horns rose above her dark brown hair. Her face resembled a human but her small eyes were the color of red roses. She wasn't scaly and she wasn't made out of rock. She was nothing like the demons I had come across before. In her small hands, she held a bouquet of flowers. Curiosity dominated her features. 

"Who are you?" She tilted her head like a puppy. 

"I'm..." Should I tell her my name? This was a demon after all! I wasn't used to speaking to demons. I was usually just tearing them to shreds. What did I really know about them? Nikolai's instruction merely followed the races of Comwen. He didn't go into detail about the races of the Underworld. 

"Inarticulate?" The demon girl giggled and came toward me. "I'll show you how it's done." She pointed to herself. "I am Sophia." She then pointed to me. "What is your name?" 

"Skye." I decided on the truth. 

"That's a beautiful name!" Sophia gazed upwards. "I like the sky. It's so bright and blue. And when the land gets dirty, the sky washes it clean! It's like a mother. Always watching, always caring." She looked back toward me. "You must be here to watch over us, too!" 

"Uh.." I didn't know what to say. She came over to me and grabbed my hand. Her hands were soft as if they hadn't done any type of work ever. 

"Please, Sir Skye, I must ask you a question." She paused but not long enough to hear an answer. "While you watch over us, will you please make sure our family and friends no longer disappear?" 

Shock consumed my body. A demon was asking me for help. A demon thinks that I'm here to watch over them, protect them. Are they being taken just like the souls of our dead friends? Are they just victims too?