03 Atavism of the Ifrit Read online

  Excessive pain coupled with the old taunt that always got a heated response managed to break through the all consuming rage that blinded the nerves. “Wha…” He roared. One hand covering the bleeding face and the other trying to stop the bleeding upon the severed wing.

  “So it worked.” Smoothly commented Blake.

  “Wha… ahhh! Fuck!” Roared Ethan overloaded with too many sensations.

  Blake didn’t release his swords, but his voice broke through it all. Blake, always the quiet and collected one. “Do not fight it, Ethan. Use it.”

  “What’s happening to me?!” He shook all over.

  “We are in training again. You are once again a helpless novice. Trust in me. I’m am still your master. If you do not wish to die, I will help guide.”

  Still a war raged inside. One to kill Blake for smelling of weak Ifrit. One to listen. One of pain all over. One of missing Kanade’s thoughts. Lost without her. So many things battled, but pain took priority. “Blake, please… help me.”

  “Listen closely. You are not a Berserker normally, but now you are. You must center yourself before you are consumed again. I will teach you to…” Blake struck to keep Ethan in pain as the wrath was taking over again by stabbing the sensitive skin between the hooves. “control it. You must merge the cold rage, focus and this instinct all into one and bind them into something you control. You must be in control. Do not rely on another for this. The abilities and instinct are separate and fracturing your mind. You need to learn control. I will keep you in pain. It helps bar the untamed instinct from taking over.” He stabbed the other hoof and Ethan fell. “Take off your jacket.”

  Wet fingers managed to snap and only a bloodied white undershirt covered the torso. Blake managed to refine his left katana into a dagger and plunged it into Ethan’s abdomen where there would be no lasting damage, but hurt fiercely.

  “AHHHH!” Roared Ethan as pain remained.

  “Do as I taught you in meditating. Push everything away. Find the center. Pain is just your body’s way of telling you to live. Push it away. Focus on finding the core of who you are and control it. Control your mind, control yourself… Control everything and you will live.” Blake turned the dagger and elicited a pained growl. “Believe in me if you want to see Kanade again. If you don’t Panther will kill you. I know it. I saw him prepared to obey had he asked him to kill you right then. You do not have time to gradually gain control. You have but hours. Find harmony.”

  Struggling with great effort Ethan pulled his feet in, crossed his cloven hooves beneath and rested his fists upon the thighs as blood flowed freely. “Let the pain go. I will care for your body. You do what only you can.”

  Slowly Blake watched the fists relax as controlled breathing evened out the ragged ones. Fires gradually lessened and extinguished. Left behind was a dark molten desert aglow from heat that turned it into a sea of glass as sand melted. Above were the ever present ribbons of light. Wherever they had been sent, Blake’s reaching mind didn’t detect any nearby threats.

  Not that there would be in all the heat.

  Alone and isolated outside the palace the Naga gradually kept turning the dagger. He knew one blow from Ethan would be fatal even in the armor. Already had he not been wearing the enchanted armor he would have been dead due to the sea they stood on. Ethan had been a ruthless beast. Only honed self-control made the difference. Taking great chance and not taking his reptilian eyes from the pupil, Blake allowed his right hand to release the power of the katana and dug into a pocket to extract a clotting salve he always carried. It stung unmercifully, but a little went a long way. He pulled the steel tube to his lipless lips and managed to pull the stopper, glad Kira could resize it, spat the cork away and watched it ignite as soon as it hit the liquid ground. Thick like molasses and clear as water he poured globs on the wing he severed and watched Ethan’s reaction.

  A growl and tensing muscles were a moment from breaking the meditation, but were released. Blake said nothing as he spread the agent over. Face lacerations and hooves already clotted, being shallow overall.

  Blake kept the pain going, not even daring to enter the maelstrom going through Ethan’s mind. Many times that focus would slip and Blake would remind by twisting the dagger to deal a bit more pain. Internally though he was glad pain and the old name had broken through the haze. He wasn’t afraid by any sense. Blake knew a deadly opponent and Ethan wasn’t when under the enraged influence. He could have fought all day and not been scratched.

  Seconds, minutes and hours ticked by as Ethan sat meditating. The writhing desert sea gradually cooled and became less chaotic. Blake found he needed to twist the conjured dagger less and less as a the student found a zone. Already he covered the large abdominal wound with what was left of the salve, but stood several hundred yards away with swords out and ready.

  Waiting and not knowing what was happening was difficult, but few could ever say they had half as much discipline as Blake. Thus he waited.

  Long had the glass cooled into a solid sheet over a planet’s width in the vast desert. Only the hot breeze and lights above changed. Everything else was deathly still. Even Ethan’s severed wing had nearly fully regenerated.

  Eventually Blake took a defensive stance as soon as he witnessed a change in the Ifrit’s breathing. The equal in and out took in a much deeper one and then a fist clinched and released along with a long sigh.

  Ethan slowly opened his eyes and Blake recognized someone who had finally achieved a true meditative center. The calmness showed no inner turmoil or aggression. And something else was different.

  Using a smooth, graceful move never exhibited before, he stood tall. Blake had always seen Ethan awkwardly out of place on the ground. Soaring he was free, but now so too was he upon the ground. It was a litheness he never expected.

  Having exceptional hearing didn’t hurt in the distance shared between. “I understand now.”

  “What do you understand?”

  “How Zagan has lived for so long where others of my kind had not. Something has at last clicked inside me. Like a puzzle piece finally being matched to the whole. Blake, it would be best if I show you.” Ethan rumbled, but not in a threatening way. He snapped his fingers and put on his jacket without a shirt anymore, having being taken off. On went the gauntlets next. “Attack anytime you feel ready.”

  Blake gradually circled around, but Ethan showed only being relaxed. The Naga searched for blind spots or weaknesses to exploit.

  Naturally from behind was opportune to strike, especially with wings taller than the head, but Blake’s acute knowledge in battle were warning him not to proceed. Gut instincts were always listened to. From the way Ethan had wrapped his tail around his middle spoke how it could lash around like a scorpion’s stinger attached to a whip. Few had given Blake pause and another was just added to that short list.

  Coming around, Blake said “No need to show. I can see the difference. I do not think I could escape your range unscathed, but now there is a new problem.”

  “Oh?” Ethan asked calmly, something Blake had intentionally tried to make sure the demeanor wasn’t a fluke. He didn’t get a rise out of him.

  “Your focus has broadened. One on one, with your pinpoint focus, Krav Maga was your only viable method of defensive martial arts. Now with it open you can handle multiple adversaries. From watching you stand and looking for weaknesses it would now be possible to learn and master a weapon.”

  “What kind?”

  “Not a sword, that is for certain. With your body and wings, you wouldn’t master it due to your wings. They’d be too easy to cut when swung around. The bony sharp edge to your wings are like swords already… A dagger is meant for fast people, but still wouldn’t find it adequate. You aren’t an archer and weren’t good with a quarterstaff either.”

  “No kidding. I constantly cracked my own forehead twirling it around.”

  Blake remembered all too well and so did many curious onlookers. He hissed a laugh. “The
best weapon I know you’ll be comfortable enough with would be a studded mace. Not spiked. Solid, heavy and sturdy. You’re better using a bludgeoning weapon. Forcing your strengths on weaker opponents. You’d be best with two. The left should be slightly shorter by six to eight inches in length and lighter so it can be used in conjunction with the forearm shield Reevy shaped for you.”

  “A mace? But with my strength I’ll not feel any weight with it. Maces are supposed to be heavy to their owner. Swinging it around would be dangerous. I could do worse damage with an enchanted wooden club…”

  Blake stopped him with a hand raise. “I understand, but enchant it with weight exponentially till it’s to your liking. Make it so only you can lift it, but add a spell so it doesn’t fall through the ground and it end up vanishing, lost forever. With your overwhelming physical prowess it would be to a benefit. It would also need to be light enough for it not to drag your pants down too when not in use.”

  “Wouldn’t want that now will we?” Joked lightly.

  Naga and Ifrit smiled at the imagery of being pantsed by maces.

  Smiles sobered as Blake came hesitantly closer, watching closely for any sign of the rage resurfacing. Thankfully Ethan was in full control. “You know what I’m about to say aren’t you?”

  “Got a good idea. You want me to meditate don’t you?”

  Blake nodded. “After you wake each day it is necessary to sleep and after each mating when you are at the calmest. Whenever you feel it returning, stop and do it again.”

  “Believe me, I didn’t like it taking over. But can you help me shut Zagan out like he said you can?”

  “Yes. It was to be my next topic of discussion. I’m going to try seizing your mind. Prevent me.”

  For the first time, Ethan caught a glimpse of Blake’s mind. It was sharper and more refined than any blade. Merciless, specific and could pierce the hardest defenses. Ethan retained the sense of self easily and it made all the difference. Under control, it opened more abilities and thoughts to stand ready. There was no way he could be as sharp as Blake, but he was a mountain, a planet, a supergiant star. Pierce a few surface layers? No problem. Manage to stab all the way into the core and take control? Not a chance.

  Blake sent trillions of stabbing thoughts, but couldn’t get deep enough. The new focus defended everything that could be thrown. “Though I’m hardly the strongest, I do not see anyone controlling you so long as you retain the balance.”

  “It’s too easy to keep in place. Barely one of my thoughts maintains it.”

  “Rest and reflect.”

  Both men sat down alone in the middle of nowhere, but before Ethan went into a deep meditative state he felt conflicted so he asked “Why did you leave your swords behind? It is strange seeing you without them. Same with Reevy.”

  Blake admitted “My swords were merely tools that served their intended purpose. This” in an instant appeared an iridescent katana within the claws. “is much more robust and severs not only skin, but energy. It cut through my broadsword with one strike. Why would I carry an inferior weapon? Becoming what I am now allows me to create any bladed weapon I imagine, even throwing daggers. I can even manipulate a blade’s range over a mile long though isn’t very efficient and drains my energy rapidly. I have you to thank for allowing me to finally create the ultimate weapons. My brethren will be jealous.”

  “Glad to be of service.”

  The men closed their eyes and meditated.

  Later reality returned by footsteps approaching. Ethan opened his eyes to find Panther approaching carrying a small leather bag with a closed drawstring sealing the mouth. Far behind on a glassy hill stood a concerned Dallare.

  “The king’s stomach has sounded, Master. Are you ready should you fail his test?”

  “You mean am I ready for you to kill me?” Sarcastically said Ethan. He and Blake rose and Panther’s ears twitched, all that showed he too noticed a profound difference. “Do what you have to.”

  Panther continued his stroll and opened the pouch. He then waved it under Ethan’s nose and inside were hair clippings of the king. The potent smell assaulted the senses and Panther readied to extent his claws.

  Not even a flicker of the eye elicited a response and Panther relaxed the muscles deep in his forearm. “Well done, Master. Very well done. The king chose wisely in leaving him in your care, Naga.” Blue eyes lifted to the reptile man.

  “Forewarning would have been nice, but I know my student and how to handle him. Return us to his majesty so our mates do not worry further.” Coolly responded Blake.

  Merely raising a hand had Dallare teleport closer and then they departed.

  Waiting anxiously was Kanade, Kyoko and everyone else outside the palace. Both women covered their worried hearts and Kanade flew into her angel’s arms to bury her face in his neck. Needing to reconnect her mind linked to his and she paused, leaned back and looked close. “Darlin’, you’ve changed.”

  “In a bad way?”

  “Hardly. You seem much more…”

  Inside her head too, he finished as she searched for an appropriate word. “Balanced.” She nodded. “You okay?”

  “I am now.” She hugged and gave a quick kiss.

  “So what’s next?”

  “Nothin’ till tomorrow. The king dismissed us after sendin’ you away. You don’t want to be near him now, Darlin’.”

  “Why?”

  “When his hunger makes that horrible noise he gets as crazy as you, but with hunger. He seals himself alone in his room till it passes. He’ll attack anythin’ movin’. Till it passes and he recovers, no one in their right mind would interfere in that state.”

  “So what did you do while I was away?”

  Instead of speaking she instead showed him through the connection.

  Kanade had been sick with worry all that time and searched everywhere in Demon World, but it was so vast she couldn’t find him the entire time. As soon as they Translocated out of the king’s throne room she searched. Already waiting for their arrival was the new Elvin aids Villiken and Amandale and they took their place behind the Six. Magnus took lead and had everyone leave for their room for privacy.

  After a few hours Kyoko finally broke through Kanade’s frantic search and managed to pull her from a catatonic state. Kyoko had lovingly wiped tears from Kanade’s eyes and suggested a way to help pass the time. Needing the distraction or risk going crazy with anxiety, she agreed.

  Doing the duties as First Mistress, Kanade was guided by the Six to the Mistress audience hall and barely managed not to go breathless only thanks to Kyoko’s forewarning. In a chamber as large as their spacious bedroom was a female only sitting area. Foods and drinks were served to a writhing mass of severely powerful royal class demons nearly all who were supermodel beautiful. Any and all manner of demons lounged lazily and were served by lesser servants or slaves. Dragons, Harpies and other flyers avoided the rather packed ground by taking to the air. This hall was specifically for those of the highest caste, royalty. None aside from servers would be permitted access if they didn’t meet criteria.

  Around guarded thousands of lioness Balam who kept the other women in line and all were naked. Only those in dresses were mated to powerful males who sent their females to gather more. Being naked showed no weapons other than who they are were allowed inside. It is why Ellen and the other girls chose to stay behind. They wouldn’t relinquish their weapons.

  Not one drop of testosterone had ever been allowed inside other than the king for good reason. The unmated who had risen to Transcendent status sought ever more of the finest. Nothing less would do. Some females had many masters they mated with until the time a more powerful and influential male or female gained them a higher status. Thus being naked meant they sought approval of more elite First Mistresses. It was a common room to seek mates.

  Kanade was led to the place only reserved to the king or a prince’s First Mistress to overlook it all and select as if grocery shopping.

&nbs
p; The high balcony had not seen a true First Mistress in over five centuries and no one had any reason to look up. It gave Kanade time to settle frayed nerves and steel herself. When she was ready Kyoko prompted her on how to proceed. A gentle touch on her topmost guard’s shoulder got the ball rolling.

  Sacnite swelled her chest, opened her vicious maw wide and loosed a deadly roar she hadn’t heard since Panther fought on the island. It was deep, demanding and most of all, deadly. Sacnite roared like a gigantic white jaguar.

  Heads snapped towards the source and conversations died immediately upon finding a group standing on the forbidden overlook. That and seeing the six mistresses of General Panther was no common sight either. Many had begun to question if they lived anymore. Seeing was believing.

  In the following silence of shock, those recovering fastest saw the vibrantly glowing wings of Kanade and shook the room as they near trampled one another to stand in a vacant open courtyard. Speed and power lent flight across the ground till upwards of thirty thousand eager women stared in awe or in jealousy at finally catching a glimpse of the First Mistress of their future ruler. Some women had more power, but wouldn’t dare lay a finger where the Six were concerned. Then others found Kyoko also beside her with the Nine ringed around. Amandale and Dallare weren’t spotted behind them since they were Elves amongst giantesses.

  Some hopeful eyes bubbled eagerly, even other dressed mistresses stood with the other breathtaking women. Never had Kanade realized just how beautiful a Demoness became in conjunction with more power at their disposal. She began to realize feminine Demon Energy as it steadily grew, began smoothing out rough edges and highlight a woman’s curves to its maximum appealing allure. The only ones who were prettier than any she had seen before were Ghouls. They had always been homely scavengers on mortal words she’d been to as a Spirit guide, but the ones standing mixed in were actually pretty. Not supermodels like the tall Yuki-onna, gigantic Titans or voluptuous Succubae, but prettier than any she’d ever gazed upon.