All Chapters of Aries Ascendant: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

  "He's throwing up," said Heru impassively after a minute or two.  "You've scared him, now.""No more than he would be outside of the temple," I pointed out.  I put my hands on my hips.  "Did you have any other suggestions, other than you're a big boy who can take care of me yourself?"  I could tell that got under his skin, but he didn't show it.  "I think you could've convinced him to help without informing him what you were doing," said Heru, clearly controlling his tone, enunciating each word.  "I don't have any other suggestions.  You mentioned something strange happened to you last night.  Let's drop this.  What happened?"That's his version of a peace offering. Drop the matter until we both have cooled down.  It worked well, but sometimes, I want the fight.  I held my temper in check and thought back to a few hours before."I was approached by a Fae wind.  I

  Aperio stayed silent for a time, his serene yet doleful face studying mine.  I gulped and held his gaze."I know not what would cause such a mighty foe to fall," said Aperio at length.  "No matter.  Free me to bless my chosen people once more."Heru stepped forward on hearing his words.  "What attacked you, Fae?""Voidcallers," Aperio replied, haltingly.  "They have summoned many beasts within."Heru narrowed his eyes.  "Are you alive?  Or are you trapped as a catalyst for their magics?""I am not sure," Aperio said.  "I feel pain as if I am alive, but my eyes are blinded.  My only way to sense anything is to project outward."Orion looked more and more terrified as our conversation continued.  He was biting his lip, head lowered, shaking like a newborn kitten.  He's near his breaking point, I thought.Heru rolled his shoulders.  "How big is your s

 Again, two leapt towards me and a third sought higher ground to launch an attack.  I looked at Orion, who was sitting dumbfounded.  Summoning my favorite exorcist sword, Mirtra, I yell at him"Get that charm on, NOW!"  He complies, wrapping it around his wrist and holding it in his hand.  Not exactly what I wanted, but close enough.  I step forward, towards the set of Voidcallers closing in on me, and swing widely.It holds up its stave to block my blow, as expected.  With a crack and bright flash of light, Mirtra cuts through the staff, rendering it useless.  The Voidcaller gibbers in irritation, before I quickly lop off its head, and the body collapses in a pile of dust and bones.Shrieking, the third falls on me from above, covering my eyes with a rotted hand and slapping my back with its other.  I feel a tickling sensation before a multitude of tiny bites floods my body in pain- and venom.  Gasping,

  Orion's blood.  It has to be. I step out of it to the side and bent over it, fuming. Like most Great Dragons, Heru bleeds ichor, a golden blood-like fluid.  The Voidcallers don't bleed at all. Their summons are de-summoned.  Greater Fae bleed silver, and Hellborn's blood is black. Only my weak, bumbling, kind hearted, human IDIOT of a friend would bleed red.  What...I straighten suddenly and charge into the next room.I see Heru, placidly sitting propped up against the wall. He's looking just as much at home surrounded by piles of bones and mummified animals as he would in a palace relaxing on a couch drinking wine. Damned dragons.  He's taking great care cleaning his wounds on his hands, applying magic, cleaning again. His main weapons are his fangs and claws while he's in human form.Occasionally I'd seen him grab a Zweihander from my armory.  And then he would mangle whatever opponent ang

I sit back on the stone floor, my legs and back touched by its cool temperature.  There's still the injuries from our recent skirmish tickling at the edges of my consciousness.  I continue mindlessly igniting the rags that we used to clean "Aperio".My thoughts wander to his words.  Rejected the royal family- that's almost a death sentence.  I wonder if he was shunned for not being a Regnum-class fae and instead being born a Facultus.  I know the feeling, in a way.Shaking my head to clear my darkened thoughts, I realize that the rags were taken care of.  I dumped the basin water for the last time, and cleaned up the spills that had occurred during the hours that we cleaned him up.  Wiping the surface of the basin clean, I bent over and cleaned the floor one last time, and hung the cloth to dry.  I flicked off the lights, and opened the door to find Heru leaning on the wall nearby, arms crossed, head down.  The intense feeli