The Pony Loa

by Leila Drake

Chapter 26: Hell Beneath the House of Light

Their way back to the stairs felt like an eternity to Eclipse. Vol'Shalai dragged Mark along, his hand firmly around his captive's biceps. Mark did not really resist. He stumbled a little, apparently still nauseous.

"Let me go, I promise I won't cause you any trouble," Mark said desperately.

"Sure, right," Vol'Shalai sneered.

Levinia sighed. "Look, guys, I'm really thankful. But I think you can trust Mark."

Vol'Shalai shook his head. "Not happening."

"Well, I'm sure you'll see yourselves out," Levinia retorted, slightly irritated. "Meet me at the inn."

"Wait -," Darren began but the spirit had already turned into a wisp and shot straight up through the ceiling. Darren groaned. "Let's move it," he said, looking sour.

There was a commotion in the corridor behind them. They halted and raised their weapons.

"They found us," Nylene said dryly.

"Shit." Darren motioned Eclipse closer. "We'll have to fight them."

"Dere be six or seven of dem cultists, minimum," Vol'Shalai said calmly. He shoved Mark into a corner.

Darren seemed to consider something. Mark's hands were bound behind his back, his mouth covered with a bandage Nylene had tied around his head. Darren raised a hand and ice crept up the wall, tying Mark's hands to the stone. More ice wrapped around Mark's feet like white chains, hardening as soon as it was in place. The poor human looked thoroughly uncomfortable but he did not make a sound.

The cultists came around the corner. There were definitely more than seven of them. And these were not the surprised robed people they had seen before. They were armed with swords, staves and polearms. One of them was even equipped with a bow, nocking an arrow. A snarling dog stood next to the archer, frothing at the mouth.

Eclipse's ears folded back. They were vastly outnumbered.

With a warcry, Vol'Shalai twirled his axe but did not let it go. He raised it and summoned a gust of wind. As the startled cultists regained their balance, Darren wrapped himself in his own personal snow storm and charged at them.

The dog leaped at Darren, trying to bite his leg. Nylene threw her glaive at the animal. With only three legs left, the poor dog fell over and cringed, whimpering pitifully.

The archer cried out in anger and aimed at Nylene. As she let go of the string, Eclipse turned into smoke and took shape between the arrow and Nylene. He sang and raised his wooden shield. The arrow hit the shield that was now glowing in a golden light.

Nylene smiled, surprised by his quick thinking. Then, she raised her glaives and ran towards her first human opponent. Large demonic wings unfurled on her back, the disguise weakening as she used the fel fire inside of her to boost her speed.

Free from canine distraction, Darren carved his way through the crowd. He focused on those armed with melee weapons such as swords, disarming and immobilizing them. His eyes glowed in a cold fire, revealing the bloodlust of a death knight. The corridor grew colder with every passing second.

Vol'Shalai used his axe to deflect attacks from two halberds. He spun around one of his attackers and used his pole-arm to impale his comrade. Then he kicked against the shocked cultist's knee. An ugly crack was heard as his leg was broken and the man fell. Vol'Shalai let out an enraged and joyful shout. "Samedi!" His own disguise had also fallen away, revealing a tall, fuming troll.

Nylene had already killed the archer. As two robed cultists raised their hands in unison, her head twitched around like that of an alarmed bird. They were calling for their magic. Fireballs and arcane missiles were hurled at her and she had to do a somersault backwards to escape them. She threw another glaive but it whizzed past the mages and spun back into her hand. Nylene sighed curtly and straightened her back. The hallway seemed to shrink and turn darker as she rose to her full height. Curved horns sprouted from her forehead, green fire ignited around her. Summoning the power of her chaotic magic, she watched contently as the mages quivered in fear. She jumped at them, raising her blades. As her cloven hooves hit the ground, cracking the tiles, she made quick work of them.

They had not forgotten Eclipse, though. A warrior swung his heavy mace at the pony but Eclipse would not let him hit his target. He dodged and ducked, narrowly escaping the blunt weapon. He knew his physical strength was inferior to that of the dwarf. He also really did not want to get squashed so he summoned a golden shield of Light. Watching the confused dwarf trying to make dents in the glowing magic bubble, Eclipse quickly decided to try something else. He evaporated into smoke, let the shield bubble dissolve and rushed around the dwarf to disorient him. The warrior spun around, despairing as he realized that his mace could not hit smoke. Eclipse rematerialized behind him and smashed his wooden shield onto his head. The dwarf fell over and onto his face.

"Yes!" Eclipse cheered as he noticed the dwarf did not move anymore. He squeaked in surprise as something grazed his wing. He quickly turned his head, then ducked immediately, narrowly escaping another strike from a wooden staff. "Yikes!" he gasped, his hackles rising. An elven woman swung her staff again, this time hitting his hind leg. With a yowl of pain, Eclipse fell to the ground, letting go of his shield.

Darren must have heard his shout. He instantly turned around, moving his sword in a wide arc to finish his opponent. Covered in blood that was not his own, he ran over to Eclipse. Darren pointed his sword at the elf that stood over the pony - she bent over with a gasp. Ice flowers bloomed all over her body.

Eclipse stared in horror as the tall lady stiffened, her mouth slightly open, her eyes glazing over. The tip of Darren's blade pointed at Eclipse, coming out of her chest.

The elf fell to the side, revealing Darren with his bloodied runeblade in his hand. He stretched out his hand to help Eclipse up.

"I can't - I think my leg's broken - I c-can't move it," Eclipse panted. Stars danced before his eyes.

Darren frantically looked around. He was sweaty and panting heavily, Eclipse realized, and his anger only hid the truth: Darren was scared for him. Eclipse had to get back on his feet.

He closed his eyes, confident that Darren would protect him. He tried to count his breath, then he called for the Light. A wave of warmth, love and peace washed over him. His leg warmed up. Eclipse opened his eyes again. Golden light enveloped the leg, mending the broken bones. He smiled. His first proper healing spell had worked. But now he was tired.

"What are you -?" Darren looked at Eclipse who quickly rummaged in his saddlebag. There, a bottle with a blue liquid inside. He uncorked the bottle and drank the mana potion in big gulps. Darren nodded, raising his sword again.

Eclipse tried to stand up which turned out to be pretty hard on the slippery frozen ground. It was suddenly very quiet, except for the breath and dismal groans of everyone still alive.

Vol'Shalai had just defeated the last cultist. He pulled the axe from his skull and pursed his lips.

"Ya hear dat?" he asked, raising a brow.

Nylene, still engulfed in green fire and also out of breath, turned her horned head. Wow, she looks creepy, Eclipse thought. She nodded, turning her head towards the noise.

"More of them," she confirmed, her voice sounding like a crackling fire. "And too many this time. We must flee. Now."

Vol'Shalai snatched Eclipse from the ground, pressing the shaking colt against his chest. "The human -" he began.

Darren interrupted him. "No time. Go, go go!" He snatched Eclipse's shield and tucked it under his arm.

They ran.

---

As soon as they found the staircase - thank the Light they had memorized the path - Vol'Shalai gently put Eclipse down. He asked Nylene for a bandage and quickly wrapped it around his hand. Vol'Shalai set his jaw, taking a deep breath. Then, with a cry of rage, he hit the wall next to the door with his fist. The ground shook. Stones dislodged from the wall, blocking the doorway.

"Thank da Loa and da Spirit of Earth," Vol'Shalai muttered, rubbing his knuckles. He let Eclipse climb on his back and picked up his axe. "Dat should buy us some time."

Darren urged Nylene and Vol'Shalai to use their scrolls again. As they read the spells, both scrolls caught fire and crumbled to dust. They quickly let go of the paper fires. But the spells had worked once again - two Night Elves stood there, one of them with a shivering pony on his shoulders. Thankfully, the illusion also hid the blood that stained their armour and weapons.

They climbed the stairs as fast as they could, their heavy breaths the only sound that echoed through the staircase. When they reached the door, Nylene went first. Darren sheathed his sword and wrapped himself in his cloak and hood to hide the blood on his armour and white hair. They slipped through the door, trying their best to fake calmness as they entered the cathedral.

They made a beeline for the nearest exit, just slow enough not to draw any attention to themselves. Thankfully, nobody stopped them.

Passing the portal, they let go of all restraint and ran down the broad stairs to the plaza. They jogged on for a few blocks, then Vol'Shalai halted, his hand against a wall.

"Levinia," Darren said curtly.

Vol'Shalai groaned. "I know, jus' a minute," he panted. Then, his breathing slowed down a little and he nodded. "Alright, let's keep going."

---

Allison jumped when the door to her inn opened and three people entered. A Night Elf set Eclipse, who trembled like a leaf, down on a couch and collapsed onto the cushion right next to him. A woman that looked like Nylene if she were not corrupted by fel magic slumped onto a seat, setting her warglaives down on the table before her.

And then there was Darren. The knight just walked past them and went upstairs to his room.

Allison slowly approached Eclipse.

"Are you alright?" she asked carefully.

The little pony nodded, looking thoroughly exhausted. "Yeah, we're good," he said, smiling for a second. But his legs were still shaking and his fur bristled.

The Night Elves looked at each other, then at Allison. The female spoke. "Mead, if you please. The strong kind." Her voice was that of Nylene. Allison suspected some kind of illusion magic.

"Make dat two," said the other elf with a trollish accent.

"Uh..." Eclipse thought for a moment. "I'll take a jar of milk. A b-big one. Ice cold if that's okay."

"Be right back," Allison said. She rubbed her neck as she made her way to the kitchen.

---

When Allison returned, the male Night Elf was gone, replaced by Darren's troll friend. Nylene was back to her demonic self. They still looked exhausted, though. And there was blood all over their armour and weapons.

Allison stiffened, sweat running down her back. "Where in the world..." she muttered. Steeling herself, she went over to the dangerous guests and set her tray down on the table. "Mead," she said, trying to keep her voice steady, "and milk for the pony."

"Thank you kindly," said Nylene. "Don't worry about the stains. After our drink, we shall retreat and clean ourselves up."

"Yeah, mon." Vol'Shalai said. "We lookin' pretty savage, eh?" He grinned at Allison.

Eclipse reached for the milk without making eye contact with anybody.

Allison took the tray, sans drinks, and escaped to the kitchen again. This was something she did not want to deal with.

---

Darren staggered upstairs, his steps much less steady as soon as he was out of sight. He fumbled with the key, unlocked the door and gently shut it behind himself. Leaning against the wood, he exhaled slowly. Scenes of the fight flashed before his eyes. He had killed roughly a dozen people. It had been necessary, granted, but he hoped to heaven that Levinia was safe. Darren slid down into a sitting position, closing his eyes.

He wanted to keep sitting there, just for a moment. Then he would wash himself and look for -

"Darren?"

"Agh!" Darren exclaimed in surprise, his hand reaching for the hilt of his blade as his eyes snapped open.

He relaxed and dropped his hand as he saw who had spoken.

Levinia sat next to him, on her haunches, and reached for him with a tentative hoof. She looked worried.

"Sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to startle you." Her wings folded at her sides.

"It's alright," Darren rasped, closing his eyes again. "Just need a minute."

"Uh... sure. I'll... just sit here, then," Levinia said uneasily.

After a while, Darren opened his eyes again. "Thanks," he said. He stood up, slowly making his way to the basin. There was a small mirror on the wall behind it. He looked at his reflection.

Wow, there were bags under his eyes. He looked a little crazed if he was honest with himself. Brown spots were on his cheeks, on his forehead and in his hair. Blood. He looked down on his armour. More of it. Darren sighed and turned around.

"You alright?" he asked Levinia.

"I think so," she replied slowly. "Thank you for getting me out of there. I was so scared," she admitted, her voice shaking.

Darren smiled sadly at her. They hugged. Levinia cried. There were no tears. Levinia's ethereal body was cold but that did not bother Darren. He held her but she also held him. He had not been aware how much he needed comfort after this... relapse.

They let go and he pushed a strand of mane out of her face. She smiled back at him, then her smile turned into a frown.

"Eclipse was down there with us," she said slowly. "What did you do to make him come along?"

"Nothing," said Darren. "He wanted to help. Without him, we might not have made it out."

"He's a child, Darren," Levinia whispered.

"On the outside maybe," said Darren. "Inside, I'm not so sure. But I'll pay extra attention to him from now on. Make sure he recovers. And keep him from more fights. I promise."

Levinia nodded. "I'll hold you to that promise," she said firmly, raising a brow. She turned around. "I'll go downstairs and see how our friends are doing. See you later?"

Darren nodded.

Levinia turned into a wisp and disappeared through the floor.

Darren went to the closet and looked for clean clothes. Taking off his armour, he winced as he noticed the many injuries he had suffered. He had focused on making quick work of the cultists and not even bothered to heal himself by drawing life force. Not that he would have wanted to do that. Now it was too late anyway. There was a nasty bruise on his right shoulder, the rest was not so bad. Just minor cuts and bruises, actually. Darren had been lucky. Or still had enough practice.

He was sure there were still bandages in his backpack. Nylene had equipped everyone with a few. She really seemed to like those.

Nylene. Darren's stomach made a somersault as he thought of her. He had dragged her into this. Except that she had wanted to help, too. Freely. She had not taken a single second to look for her own people in Stormwind. Did she like Eclipse and Levinia that much? She had been distant at first but now she was just... kind. Soft. Beautiful. But also deadly and hard as steel when it was necessary. Someone you could trust with your life. Warmth filled his chest, a long forgotten sensation. He had not felt like this since...

Darren held the counter with both hands to steady himself. He really should not think about Grace right now.

Wash the wounds, he called himself to order. Darren gingerly dabbed at his cuts and bruises with a soaked bandage.

---

Nylene stood in her room, looking at the mirror. Useless. All she could see was a vague shape. Mirrors, my lone weakness, she thought, almost chuckling. Untying the straps of her chestpiece, she winced. In her furious dance down in the catacombs, she had not noticed the injuries she had suffered. Although it was not that bad. She had probably been lucky. Or maybe she still had it in her. She probably had drawn a bit of life force from the poor cultists to heal herself without even noticing.

Nylene undid the bandages around her chest and arms, also the dark one around her head. Her eyes felt sore again. She resisted the urge to scratch her eyeballs out and dipped her hands into the basin. Her wings went limp as the cool water eased the pain immediately. Nylene sighed with a shudder.

Something in the corner of her eyes made her spin around and bend her fingers into claws.

"It's me!" Levinia squeaked, raising her hooves defensively.

"I apologize. You startled me." Nylene smiled at the pegasus and lowered her hands. She took a towel to dry herself.

"I keep doing that, it seems," Levinia said guiltily. "Thanks for busting me out of that vault," she added.

"Of course." Nylene put the towel aside. "Did you see Darren just now?" she asked curiously.

"Y-yeah."

"How is he?" Nylene asked hesitantly.

"Tired, mostly." Levinia grimaced and paced up and down. "I think he's worried about something. Not Eclipse, though, I had to make him promise to keep the colt out of trouble from now on."

"Ah, good." Nylene went to the closet to find clean clothes. Maybe that flowing dress that Levinia had declared to be dark red. It would fit the occasion, even though the colour was ironic in a way. "I mean, that he promised that." She looked up. "Worried, you say?"

"He... he seems nervous. I don't know why."

"He has a lot on his plate," Nylene said slowly. "Between Khadgar working on the portal and looking for you, all the while trying to keep Eclipse balanced... Frankly, I would be surprised if he was not."

"You watched him closely, didn't you?" Levinia asked, tilting her head.

"What? Are you implying something, spirit?" Nylene retorted testily. Her wings stiffened a little, betraying her own suspicions. Did she truly have feelings for the knight?

"Far be it from me," said Levinia. Nylene could hear the wide smirk on the pony's muzzle. "Anyway," she changed the subject, "Once you're cleaned up, we should probably join the others downstairs and get something to eat. I mean, you should eat. I don't need to. Er."

Nylene had found the dress. She showed it to Levinia. "Is this the red one?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Thank you."

"Of course," said Levinia softly. "I think I'll go check on Vol'Shalai, too. See you later."

"See you later, little pony."

Nylene lowered her hands, feeling the soft, flowing cloth of the dress.

Great. Now she was confused.

Comments

[Vulpine Dynamic]

I SHIP IT