Chapter 4
I pondered the thought of having so many weapons in my arsenal. If I absorbed the power from all the magic batteries I could find, I would be an unstoppable force of demon-slaying. Thinking back to the other pages in the Demon Hunting book that had flipped through in my head, showing me the weapons I could conceivably have, made me almost squee with excitement. Joel looked at me, puzzled. "Wha's got ya so happy, Spell?" "Oh, I was just thinking about my future as a Demon Hunter and thinking about all the weapons at my disposal." I exclaimed happily.
"Ahhh..." Joel sighed with some slowness. "I know yer excited for all the "fun" you think ya'll be having, hunting our enemies, but it will be dangerous, Spell." He said, making an air quote gesture with his right foreleg as he said "fun". "Just remember tha' this ain't a game. You could die." He said a little to harshly for my tastes. I felt tears form at the corners of my eyes. A single tear slid down my cheek. As I felt it, I lowered my head a little, and studied the ground for a moment.
"Alright uncle, I understand the consequences. I accept responsibility for my actions. Just tell me what to do so we can survive our next fight." I said, looking up to face him, giving him my most determined stare, with only one tear still sliding down my face. He trotted over and wiped it out of my eyes. He gave me a fierce expression with a hint of respect and pride and told me, "Okay," He breathed. "We have ta rally tha troops, give ya' a bit of defensive training, and set up some fortifications around mah house," He paused for a few seconds, then looked at me. "All of which will require yer magic, ya' may not even get ta fight. Honestly, I'm nah sure if ya' have enough energy ta do what needs ta be done and not be too tired ta fight."
I nodded, understanding that I'm still a filly and may not possess enough magical strength to do all of what's required to make it through. I may be too spent to be of any help after all of what Joel asked me to do. Shrugging, I asked him, "Okay, so you said call reinforcements first? How do I do that?" "It's a telepathy spell. Pretty simple, if ya know who yer talkin' ta." Joel informed me, then continued. "In that book there at yer feet, it should be on page...ah...wha' was it? Page thirteen, ah believe."
Using my telekinesis, I flipped to the telepathy spell page. Slowly, I studied it. Memorizing the spell words that activated the spell. "Now, since ya don't know who yer calling, ya need some of their DNA, so ya can link yer minds together." Joel said, handing me several locks of hair that must be from the ponies he intended for me to call. Focusing on the first lock, a ruby red colored strand, smelling faintly of strawberries, I wrote the demon words for "track" "mind" and "link" in my head and chanted "V'tiem", "Ou'pf", and "Nup'm" out loud, as I slowly closed my eyes, and released the spell.
Instantly, all I could see in my mind was darkness, then something like a pale light at a far end of the tunnel I seemed to be in. I focused harder on the hair I held in my hoof, spoke the demon words again, and the light shot toward me and collided with the viewpoint in my head. A second later, there was a bright white room in my mind which had a ruby maned mare staring at me in the middle.
"Well I guess it worked," I told her. She snorted, slowly walking towards me. "So, Spellflash Darkheart? How are you this fine evening?" the pegasus said. "Uh, I'm not so sure who you are exactly." I admitted with a bit of awe that this spell worked and some confusion at who this pegasus was. After a pause, she spoke again. "Ah, so you don't remember me," she remarked with a tinge of sadness. "The last time I saw you, you were just a baby." the dark blue pegasus sighed with a hint of reminiscence. "Since we have not yet met properly, I shall introduce myself. I'm your auntie, on your beloved mother's side, Sophie Redmane." As she said this, she flipped her luxurious mane back behind her neck, in a fashion that I expected had come with years of practice. "I suspect that you have called upon me because Joel let some demonic cat out of the bag, so to speak." Sophie said with mild annoyance. "Actually," I started weakly. "It was me, I killed a prince of the demons apparently when I was trying to find Joel's wife, aunt Sally." I said, pausing to gauge her reaction. She was just staring at me, absorbing the information.
"I'm not sure why," I paused, then continued, "But, Sally has gone into the Nether-Plane and I was sent to look for her, as well as find some ingredients for a tracking spell. I didn't see her there in my brief stay, but I did get the demon eye Joel didn't have so we could cast the tracking spell." I paused again, waiting for her to say something, but she still just stared, like a statue, unblinking, waiting for more information, and for me to finish my explanation of what's going on. "Anyways," I continued, "Joel gave me a lock of what I assume is your hair and told me to cast a telepathy spell, so here I am." I said, looking around the featureless, white, and empty room, save for me and Sophie.
Noticing that I was done with my somewhat epic tale, Sophie trotted a bit closer to me and hugged me tightly. I wondered where this was coming from, and thought that if Joel knew my parents were dead, Sophie would too. I hugged her back, tears forming in my eyes. I felt a tear sliding down my cheek as one of hers dripped onto my shoulder.
I knew that was what she was hugging me for. She must have really loved her sister. I sighed, then said, "So, I guess you figured it out then," I said sadly, with my head down and tears still flowing. "I could do nothing to stop him, I-" She cut me off with another brutal hug. "I know, Spell, it'll be okay, you're with family again. You have Joel, me, and Sally once we find her, so far. Our society is large, Spell, we will get revenge for your parents." She told me with a stern determination.
Feeling a little better about loosing some of my pent-up emotion, I smiled and nodded at her. "So, now that personal introductions are out of the way," Sophie said, "You may be wondering what I do as a Demon Hunter. Yes?" With a flourish she flew up a few feet in the air and spun in a highly eccentric fashion, again I assumed with years of practice. "I'm the Armorer!"
If I was drinking apple juice at the time, it would've squirted out of my nose. "Armorer?" I blurted, laughing slightly, "Are you serious?" "As a case of Feather Flu." She assured me, full of pride. "Don't believe me? Look above you." Without warning I was snapped out of the spell and fell on my plot. I rubbed at my head with a foreleg, looking up as I massaged away the side effects of casting the spell.
The very same pale indigo pegasus that I had just spoke to, circled above us carrying a large crate of unknown contents. She flew down to meet me and Joel, carefully setting the cargo onto the floor before settling on the ground herself. She winked at me, then walked over to Joel and hugged him while saying, "Joel! Darling! How have you been?" Joel looked uncomfortable, yet somehow thankful that she had come. "Well, I guess you guys are wondering what's in the box?" She asked. She turned her back end towards the box and with a swift buck, the box split open, pouring out armor of various sizes, shapes, and materials. "Told you I'm an armorer." She told me condescendingly.
"Well then," Joel breathed, "Now tha' we got our armorer, we can call in tha others. Go on Spell, do the same thang you did with Sophie." Sighing mostly at the headache that was forming from using too much magic in a short period of time, I grasped the next strand of hair and focused, copying the spell I had done before, but with a different result. I was greeted by the blackness again, but this time with no light at all. Puzzled, I murmured the words again and focused harder on the strands of hair in my hoof, but to no avail. Sighing I opened my eyes and told them the bad news. "I can't get a connection, it's like they don't exis-" I cut myself off before saying the last part. I started to cry because another family member I knew was probably dead.
I heard laughter coming from both of them. "Why are you laughing? This is serious!" I shouted at them. They simultaneously wiped a tear that had formed from excessive laughter with a foreleg. "Spell, I think yer gettin' tired. Cuz', tha' ain't no hair from a pony. That's a handful of straw from my broom." I looked at my hoof, saw that it was straw, then looked to the ground, noticing a broom with a large section of straw missing. Sighing with exhaustion, I blushed. Embarrassed, I sank on my haunches and closed my eyes tightly. "Yeah, Spellflash, brooms can't use telepathy." Sophie blurted before she saw that I was crying again. "Awww, Spellflash, don't be like that, we're only joking with you." Sophie said as she giggled.
I blinked, then looked her in the eyes. "Seriously?! You're joking around while demons are on the loose, killing innocent ponies? What's the matter with you?" I shouted, while simultaneously running to the house, diving inside then finally flopping onto the couch, still crying, into the pillow.
A few moments later, Sophie and Joel came into the room from outside, closed the door and sat next to me, on the chairs adjacent to the couch. "Sorry Spell, I thought we needed a bit of comedy to get us through this dark time. To distract us and make us feel a little better. A motivator to increase our morale, and all that." Sophie said, more seriously than her last statement. Slowly, I got up, a little angry at myself for my earlier outburst. "Sorry guys. I guess I need a rest. I've been casting spells left and right today." I yawned, "I feel a little worn out." Joel left the room, up the stairs to the attic, where I had been sleeping before and came back with a blanket and my satchel that I had before, which contained all my demon hunting supplies. He draped the blanket over me, set the satchel on his living room table, and left the room with Sophie so I could sleep.
I woke up several hours later. As I hopped off the couch and stretched a little bit, I felt a lot better and went into the kitchen. I hadn't eaten in a while and I thought that having a meal would re-energize me. I entered the door to the kitchen and found Joel looking into the fridge and Sophie looking at a large piece of paper on the kitchen table. I rubbed at my eyes and walked inside.
"Got any food, Joel?" I said with a smile, knowing he obviously did, with his huge garden outside. "He probably never had to go to the market for food," I thought absently. A plate with an exquisite looking sandwich dropped in front of me. "What kind is it?" I wondered aloud, while also checking between the bread slices. I found it to be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. One of my favorites as a filly. Instantly, upon discovering the identity of my sandwich, I dug in face-first, mostly out of hunger, but also subtly telling them that I forgave them for laughing at my magic-induced stupor from earlier.
"'Ey, slow down a li'le. There's more where that came from!" Joel said, opening a new jar of peanut butter. "Ah thought you might be hungry after yer nap, so ah made us a couple sandwiches." Joel told me happily. Nervously, and around a bite of sandwich, I asked, "So, Joel, were you able to message the other family members about the incoming attack?" Joel looked at me with a serious expression, changing instantly from lighthearted uncle Joel, to the serious and grim, uncle Joel, the Demon Hunter.
"Yes, we were able to contact the other ponies that are in the area to help fend off the demon's strike force." Two ponies that I hadn't seen before stepped out from behind me, like they were on cue to come out as he said "other ponies". One was a dark unicorn stallion with a emerald mane that looked like the back of his neck was leaking fire. The other, an emerald colored, dark-maned, unicorn mare, her hair looking like living flames as well. Both of them looked like they had seen a few battles before. They both had battle scars across their sides and hooves. The stallion had a scar across his left eye, which was a shade of useless grey. His other eye was a bright, healthy shade of blue. The mare had a scar across her right eye, also a shade of useless grey, her other eye being a healthy shade of purple. I wondered to myself if they did that on purpose.
"Spell," Joel started, "These are some family friends. Meet the brother and sister mercenaries, Salem and Sabrina Flamebreak." He said with a dramatic tone, like he unveiled a great invention to a large group of important scientists. I glanced at their cutie marks. Salem's was a green fireball, while Sabrina's was a black fireball. I mentally shrugged. I guess they were made to fight together. I assumed with a name like Flamebreak they were skilled in fire magic. Cautiously, I introduced myself. "Hi, I'm Spellflash Darkheart." I said calmly in their direction, without looking up from my half-eaten sandwich. It didn't feel right looking at them directly. Like they were some kind of royalty and I wasn't worthy to look upon them directly. Sensing a large magical power in both of them, I assumed that this was why I didn't want to look at them directly.
"Hello Spellflash." Salem said, looking at me. "We've heard much about you from your uncle. It's a great tragedy, what has befallen you." he expressed, with some displeasure in his voice. I supposed that Joel and Sophie had told them everything. "So, I guess you were friends with my parents?" I asked, finally getting enough courage together to face them directly. "Yes," Sabrina said, "We were, your father was a great stallion, one of the best Demon Hunters I've seen. Your mother, one of the best medics I had the pleasure of being healed by." She said, gesturing at her left foreleg, with her right, implying it had been broken, or something serious like that, I wasn't sure.
I nodded slowly, understanding the weight of their pain of losing best friends. I noticed they both had identical amulets around their necks, about the size of a filly's horseshoe, with brilliantly colored rainbow colored gems in a circular pattern, which glowed occasionally with an almost searing intensity. Noting their probable importance, I decided to ask about them. "Those are some pretty necklaces you have there." I commented nonchalantly.
"Oh these?" said Salem. "They bind our powers together. We share our magical energy, like one being. Just like our connection as brother and sister." Sabrina chimed in, unexpectedly. So that's how they were so powerful together. I supposed that the further apart they were, the weaker they both were, and the light coming from the amulets would become softer, until they were far enough apart that they only were supported by their own power. I made a mental note about those amulets in the back of my mind. Assuming that there were many magical artifacts that I hadn't even seen yet, that were probably even more powerful than the amulets, my mind reeled at the thought of possessing some.
"Okay," Joel said, getting to business. "Tha turrets and barricades are set up around tha perimeter of tha house, which we set up while Spell was sleepin'. The cavalry is gathered. Looks like we are mostly prepared to fight this out." "What do you mean 'mostly'?" I asked. Joel turned to face me. "You aren't ready for this. You need some defensive spell training. Come to the basement and we can fix that right up. Oh, and bring that book with you. You're going to need it." Joel said, leaving the kitchen. "Well, I guess I got some training to do." I said, rubbing my hooves together. "Good luck." said Salem and Sabrina at the same time. "Work hard." beamed Sophie.
I finished my sandwich, left the kitchen, and went to the living room table. I grabbed the book and followed him to the basement. Upon arriving to the basement, I found Joel standing next to a bushel of apples. Puzzled, I walked to the opposite side of the basement, facing him. "Okay, Spell. Here's how it's going ta work. I'm gonna throw apples at ya and ya are gonna throw up a shield spell ta deflect it." Joel explained. I nodded, knowing that I was going to impress him again. I had used a variation of the spell he described on Curse-Bearer.
"Ready? Think fast!" He said as threw an apple at me. Thinking quickly, I quickly drew a circle in my mind and inlaid the words "Eu'teno", "Ujou'nf", "Toh'noev" and set it in front of me. A dark colored curtain of magic power appeared in front of me, the outside edges folding in on itself, creating a dome. The apple hit my shield, stopped for a second, making it ripple, then sent it back with double the speed he threw it, nearly hitting him, but he dodged out of the way, looking surprised and satisfied with the spell I had laid before him. The apple hit the wall behind him, splattering apple chunks and juice across the wall, then slowly slid down it.
"Okay, Spell, ya' know how ta use shield spells." Joel admitted, proudly. "Ah guess we can move on." We trained for about a half an hour in this fashion. He started throwing the apples faster and more of them at a time. All of which bounced off my shield easily. With only one apple left in the bushel and apple guts and sticky juice littering his basement, he decided to stop. "Ahright." Joel said, panting. "We're done. Let's go upstairs."
I dropped my shield and turned to leave. Just as I put my back to Joel I felt an apple hit me in the back of my head. I fell to the ground and started to cry. "One lesson about demons, Spell. Never turn your back to your opponent." "Yeah, Joel, I know." I released the circle I drew that I had previously set directly under him, inlaid with the words "Eu'teno" and "N'tuuyp". "All according to plan." I told him, arrogantly. "Heh, yer better than ah thought. Tha apple bounced off instead of smashed, so ya had an armor spell on as well. Well done, Spell, ah think yer ready ta fight. Now, release tha spell so we can go suit up." He requested, gesturing at the magic barrier preventing him from moving. "Of course, uncle." I smirked. I released the spell, then we went upstairs together, as fellow Demon Hunters.