A soft knock at the door. Three light taps, as always. At least she’s predictable. "Yes, you may enter, Rosalia." I finish buttoning up my long-sleeved undershirt just as she enters. Immediately, her eyes are drawn to my body, as expected. Every one of my muscles is chiseled to perfection, every facial hair diligently burned…
The third most powerful demon in existence, Diablo, limps down the hallway. His small entourage of a half-dozen guards, ordinarily unnecessary for one of such power as he, have been summoned due to the grievous wounds he suffered at the hands of the Second Emperor, Belial. He almost trips over a small rock, but before…
My eyes blink open to the odd feeling of my ears both being nibbled on. I almost leap out of bed, thinking the sensation is due to earwigs, but as soon as I start to move, I realize my arms are pinned. The sensation stops, and I turn my head in both directions to see…
The flowers are in bloom. Finches chirp in the tree above me, and the sound of wind whistles through a nearby forest, soothing my soul. The sun gently warms the land, and a butterfly flutters over my prone body. I reach up and rest my head on my hand, staring at the cloud formations above….
"Why isn’t anyone listening?!" Samantha looks at me with panic in her eyes, before turning to another demon running directly at us, a Scyther by the looks of him. "Halt! I am the Second Emperor! Lay down your-" "Blood! I want blood!!" The crazed demon drools incoherently and slobbers as he raises both of his…
"Come at me, human! Hold nothing back!" Bael, the demon with the giant flail, leaps to the side with a speed that surprises me, and tosses his spiked ball in my direction. Using the agility that the gods have given me, I perform the splits on the ground, ducking under the ball and letting it…
"Hey! Ylvusk! Old buddy, old pal!" A rumbling of agony, like that of a broodmother accidentally birthing too many spawn at once, blasts in my gut. Anytime Tvoorik comes running up to me with this much excitement on his face; I can tell it’s going to be a stupid conversation. " Hello, Tvoorik. What is…
Stealth was on the table for at least a minute. I considered sneaking into the palace to see what was going on, but then it occurred to me that this is Hero City, named after me, the one who saved it. Even if a few morons think I was banished, or a few guards don’t…
It’s the shiver down my spine that gives his sudden appearance away, long before I turn around and spot the killer robot. I rub my arms just as my eyes meet Ionis’s single, beady red diode. Samantha and Cassiel turn around only a second later and spot him too. "Uh… Ionis? What are you doing…
A familiar face greets me once again. My own. My imposter and I stand facing each other, him at the edge of an unthinkably tall precipice, and me, not ten feet away. His grip on Samantha’s throat tightens as he holds her over the cliffside. " You thought you could protect them. It took a…
