Chapter 11.

Aeiln stopped walking when she was close to the heart of the forest, causing Gavin to stop abruptly and duck behind a thick tree trunk. "Alasdair," she said, worry flooding through her words, "I didn't expect you back so soon."

"Neither did I. Here is what you asked for." He handed her a dark, cloth bag before they both tugged the other into an embrace.

Gavin decided to risk another quick peek. He could tell that Alasdair was no longer dressed in his long robes, but a simpler outfit that suited him much better.

"Thank you so much, this means a lot to me," Aeiln sighed in relief. "I know how much you risked to get this. I-"

But Alasdair held up his hand to cut her off. "They already suspect someone isn't normal. One of their security crystals picked up some of my energy, and they're attempting to trace it at this very moment. I might have to fake my death to shake Them off my tail, but I'll come back to you as soon as I am able. I promise. But I have to leave for now."

"So soon?" Aeiln asked, to which he nodded in reply.

“I tried my best to scout out the surrounding area as well. It looks as though there might be a spot to take shelter afterwards, which you should be able to find easily,” he added, and Gavin, figuring he had seen enough, crept away into the forest in the opposing direction. Making his way into the tavern, he made sure to purchase a small meal, but order it on larger plates so that it appeared as though he had eaten more, crunching pieces of bread in his hand to make more crumbs on the plate. All in all, it seemed as if he had sat there for awhile, about as much time as it took to spy on someone. Pleased with his handiwork, he relaxed and waited for Aeiln to come in, which she did in a matter of minutes.

"Aren't you done yet?" she questioned, raising an imposing eyebrow.

"I am whenever you are," he replied, trying hard not to smile at how well it worked. He hopped down off the seat, leaving his dishes for the wench as they headed to their room for more privacy.

Shutting the door quietly, he turned to look at her serious face. She was holding the same pouch that Alasdair had gifted to her, and he made sure to appear surprised, but to hold off asking about it for a moment.

"Now, shall we go over the plan one time more before we set out?"He glanced outside. The sky was losing its sunset luster, which meant that the Inquisitor's would be changing from their day shift to night, which in turn meant it was nearly time to go.

"Sure go ahead."

*Wow, thanks for being involved. How can she make me feel so useless one minute and like I'm doing all the work for her the next?*

"Hold on second," he paused, "This might sound mad, but couldn't your brother just help us get the Relic, since he already works there?"

She smiled at him and held up the bag, and he felt his heart jump in his chest. It couldn't be, it was too easy, and he couldn't read any magikal energy off of it, but still…

"That's the Relic! He gave it to you?"

"No. It's a map of where it is located, you fool," she said, closing her eyes in a boisterous laugh.

"Damn it, you got my hopes up." He walked over to look at the map. "It shows all of them. Why would the Human Inquisitors have access to that kind of knowledge?" He was stunned, especially considering Humans were the ones who couldn't use them.

"It's a war Gavin. One side will do anything to get information on the other. That's how you win. Anyway, what matters now is that we have it. Let's go." So saying, she jumped out the window.

"Aeiln!" he called out, rushing to the window, where he found her safely on the ground. "You seem to have forgotten that I can't simply jump out the window. Did you bring everything with you?" She nodded. "Then I'll meet you downstairs in a minute."

"Ugh, you are no fun," Aeiln said, rolling her eyes once he had caught up to her outside. "Come on, run with me if you can," she challenged, bolting across the street to their destination. Gavin ran after her, and he was fast for his age and build, but only as fast as a healthy human could be in this state, and he couldn't keep up. She finally stopped five feet from the building and waited for him to catch up. When he finally did, she asked, "Can you climb walls?"

He smiled at her slyly. "Of course I can. Just make sure no one sees me and we're good. So where are we coming in from? You're the one with the map."

She pointed to a gate in the distance. "It's right here. Now, I want you to be prepared. If I touch you and you feel tingly, it's just my magik, okay?"

"Not a lasting effect, right?"

"Shouldn't be. It is only if someone comes by, and you need to be invisible," she elaborated as she opened the gate, which he guessed Alasdair had left unlocked, as quietly as possible.

He remembered that gate from the last time he was here. It was made out of iron and infused with energy crystals; crystals to sense his energy and make him dizzy with their power, and iron, being poisonous to Devolns, to burn him when he tried to escape. His hands were still covered in scars from the many times he had tried to escape, so many of them that he remembered when Eldrazi and him had nicknamed it Hell's gate. The crystals didn't bother him as much anymore, but he made sure not to brush up against any of the hinges as he squeezed past.

When they reached the door, Aeiln tested it, but this one was locked. "Faust! They must have relocked it after he left!" So Alasdair did unlock them. But if they relocked it, then they probably know we're coming... She held up a lightly glowing finger, but Gavin pushed her aside.

"Save your energy. I have this." He reached into his belt, taking two silver wires and inserting them into the lock. Feeling the right wire rumble three times as he pushed it further and further in, he could tell it was pretty complicated. Then again, what did he expect for the capitol? Still, it only took two minutes for the lock to quietly fall onto the ground, and he refused to feel any less proud of his accomplishment when Aeiln muttered under her breath how much faster magik would have been.

Heading inside, Aeiln pulled out the second page of the map, looking left and right before choosing a certain hallway. Suddenly feeling uneasy, Gavin flickered out his forked tongue for a moment, tasting the air before grabbing Aeiln's shoulder. "Someone's down there." There was no noise coming from that direction, but the scent of a Human was undeniable.

"Okay, so?" She shrugged, getting out of his weak grip on her and continuing down the hall. Are you coming or not?

*Are you mad? There are guards! We need to go another way, or something. It is great that you can do your disappearing act, but I can't stay invisible forever. It would be better to just go quietly in another direction.*

“Or kill them all,” she answered seriously. “Do you have a problem with that?”

*Kind of? They're just doing their job, that's not really a reason to kill them. They are Humans, with families and siblings that will tear themselves apart because of their deaths, and it's all your fault. It's not right to them, if we can avoid it, then we should.*

She didn't answer, but threw a piece of rubbish at the wall. Voices were heard and the people they belonged to came into sight. Gavin felt Aeiln touch him softly, and felt his body change. Not like he was transformed, which he was, but like he was floating away, becoming lighter and lighter until he had faded away completely even with his feet still firmly on the ground. The guards passed them, continuing on to search for what they would never find as Aeiln let go.

"You happy?" She sounded angry, but Gavin could tell that she respected his decision, possibly even admiring him for it. Not like she would ever admit though.

They continued down two more hallways in a similar fashion, and one tortuous staircase until they finally stopped at one room with a heavy door. *Is this where the Relic is?* He wasn't holding the map, which bristled him slightly because it truly made him feel useless. Why was he even here? Aeiln could obviously hold her own, unlike him and his last visit. How many times had he come back to steal this thing? How many times had they chained him by his wrists to that stone wall dyed red, carving insults into his skin over and over with their iron knives, waiting for his unnatural skin to heal itself before drawing on it once again. Such was the punishment for multiple crimes. Just one death sentence was not enough; it was too kind. But now he was here. It was right in front of him, and he was not going to be caught again.

“You were supposed to say yes,” Aeiln replied, and Gavin found that he had lost track of the conversation again. She had already opened the door, and entered without him.

Sitting on a marble pedestal in the middle of the room sat a... sword handle? No, that couldn't be it? Surely an object of its power would look fancier, made of precious metals, or be hovering over the pedestal emitting light or... Something! For all it meant to him, it was almost an insult for it to only be blandly sitting there, laughing at all of his attempts for... this.

Coming closer for a better look, he could tell that it was at least well-crafted. It had a handle coming out of the butt of it, while the thick handle was wrapped in a red suede cord for grip. Not only that, but when you looked at it face on, it looked silver, but at a different angle, it appeared to shift to green or blue. It was so subtle that Gavin almost thought he hadn't seen it at all, but sure enough, it changed again when he took a step closer.

Aeiln walked past him and grabbed it off the pedestal. "There, we have it. Let's go."

"{Aeiln! Why would you do that?}" Gavin shouted. Even though there was no alarm, he could see that pedestal had an enchanted crystal lying on it, and it wasn't too difficult to guess what it's purpose was as he heard the guards coming. *Why did she do that? Now they are going to come and take me away again!* The image of the walls, the sounds of heavy chains dragging on a mildew covered stone floor began to fill his mind once again. His arms began to prickle as he remembered the knives’ dance once again.

*{Gavin! That's not going to happen again if you just calm down and make sure that doesn't happen. Kill the guard if you have to. I know you don't want to, but I am not going to let them torture us again, even if I have to completely take over.}*

Gavin had no time for a panicked response as the guards opened the door with a bang. Aeiln stepped in front of him, blocking him from view somewhat. "Hello boys. I'm afraid I don't have time for you right now," she cautioned, a sword appearing in each of her hands.

All of the sudden, one of the guards ran forward unbelievably fast, for a human anyways, slipping behind her and grabbing Gavin's neck in the crook of his elbow. A smile in his voice, he said, "Put down your swords please. At least, if you don't want to see anything happen to this boy. It'd be such a shame." Gavin looked up, and could tell by the look on the guard's false pitying face that he didn't know the first thing about him. *He must be new here…*

*{Otherwise, he'd know not to do that,}* Eldrazi finished for him as Gavin began to fish out his dagger.

Aeiln snapped and her swords disappeared into the air. She smiled before appearing behind the man the same fashion that he had to Gavin. "Yes, what a shame that'd be," she agreed as she recreated her sword and thrust it though his face, right betwixt his glazed eyes, making Gavin have to duck out of the dripping blade's way. The corpse's grip softened, and Gavin pulled his way out in horror. *Wow, I didn't even get to take out the guard holding me. Why am I so useless Eldrazi?*

Determined to amount to something, he drew both knives from his belt and ran forward, his eyes glinting yellow as he leaned to the side, slashing his blade in an upper, diagonal line across an Angel guard's chest. If she was an Angel, she must have been a captured slave, now forced to work for the opposing side. Which was going to make their job slightly harder.

Screaming in agony, the woman lunged forward, the tips of her fingers pulsing blue as she reached to touch him. As Gavin stepped backwards to avoid the attack, he grabbed the slave's elbow, using his own height against her as he ducked underneath her arm and whirled around to the woman's back, stabbing her in the spinal cord. He then turned the dagger like a key in a lock and wrenched it out, letting the woman fall to the floor in his wake.

Stepping over her body, Aeiln walked to the doors and almost opened them before Gavin leaned forward, grabbing her wrist in his blood-stained hand. "{Wait, there are even more guards out there. We should go out the windows before all of our exits become surrounded,}" he suggested. Not like the window was at an easy access, being located all the way at the ceiling, but any option was better than the hallway.

"Aww, but that way is more fun." She sighed, "Fine. You better be able to climb walls." It only took her a second to jump up to the window, where she stood outside and guarded the exit until he could follow.

"{Is that a challenge?}" Gavin asked, cocking an eyebrow before changing, his skin becoming both cold and hot, his vision both blurry and clear at the same time. He ripped off his shoes, tossing them up to the window ledge, where Aeiln grabbed them, then he placed his hands on the wall, the skin-colored scales on his hands hooking themselves into every crack and notch on its surface. Making sure he was stuck tight, he then placed his bare feet on the cool sheetrock, and scuttled up the wall, eventually climbing out at the top.

Gavin then looked around him, waiting for Aeiln to hand him back his boots, but she was nowhere in his sightline. Still looking for her, he heard voices behind him and, turning his head, he saw more Inquisitors. *Great. Just... great.* Spinning on his heel, he began to sprint in the opposite direction whilst trying to pull his bow off his shoulder.

He had just set an arrow when Aeiln appeared out of nowhere, her presence enough to make Them stop in their tracks. It only lasted a moment though, before one of Them stepped forward, holding himself that demonstrated exactly who he thought was in charge. "Miss, please step out of the way," he commanded in a deep baritone. "We have no intention of harming you, and, if you hand over the boy behind you, we will pay you a most handsome amount. You probably don't know, but he is one of the most wanted criminals in Esternia. Hell, he's the one who started this Holy War. Now he has stolen one of the most powerful objects in existence, the only thing that keeps the balance in this world, and with it, you do not wish to know what he is capable of. He is a ruthless killer, and if you help take him down, we can assure you that you will be a hero. And," he offered, looking at his wealthy fingers, each one neatly closed in a fist, "We would be willing to pardon all of your prior incidents." He held out a hairy hand, for her to shake on the deal.

Gavin knew when people were lying. He could read anyone's emotions, or even tell who they were right off the bat. This man was telling the truth, and both he and Aeiln knew it. He looked at her, but she refused to make eye contact with him. She reached out her own hand to take his…

*No! Aeiln please.* But Aeiln's mind was clear, determined.

At that moment, her hand glowed a bright orangey-red. Demon magik, and she swept her hand out, hellfire spewing in all directions. He felt her take hold of his cloak and teleport him out of there. When he opened his eyes again, they were in a silent forest, far away from any Inquisitors.

Once there, Gavin let out a yelp and dropped out of Aeiln's grasp, clutching his shoulder in pain. He could feel a one-sided blade sticking out it, the wound thin and deep. One of the guards must have thrown it right before we teleported. Gritting his pointed teeth, he grabbed the handle and wrenched it out of his flesh, handing it to Aeiln with the handle side facing towards her and the blade at his palm.

"{Hey, you want a souvenir?}" he asked, the pain already beginning to fade as his cells quickly knitted themselves back together.

"Aww, you're so thoughtful," she replied sarcastically, tossing the knife somewhere into the grass. "You want to see the Relic?"

He nodded, taking it for two seconds before immediately handing it back. For its simple design, it was as powerful as the legends foretold. Even though he was no longer touching it, his nerves still tingled with magik and adrenaline, and any further contact would most likely be fatal to him. "{That's the Relic all right. Maybe it's just me, but this seemed too easy.}"

"Well, it was in the Human's possession." Aeiln shrugged. “Then again, you also had my amazing help, so you’re welcome.”

"{Hey, don't underestimate Humans,}" he paused, thinking for a moment. "{It will be the worst mistake you ever make.}"

"I know. I've done it before."

"{And you're still doing it,}" he pointed out with a smile. "{That aside, we should go find a place to sleep. I don't know about you, but I am exhausted, and it's not like we can go back to the tavern now.}"

"How do you feel about an actual house?" she asked, pulling out the map.

"{Pretty indifferent, why?}"

"Because there's an abandoned one nearby." She pointed off in the direction of the alleged house.

"{Is the map really labeled, 'Abandoned house, right here! Perfect spot to hide after you steal the most coveted item in Esternia.' Pray tell, does it come with a brochure that tells you what food it holds in its cupboards?}"

*{Why do you question these things? There is a house, and a warm bed to sleep in, just accept it,}* Eldrazi reprimanded.

*All right, all right! I'll go.*

Aeiln laughed in response. “No, Alasdair didn’t write that on there, but he did tell me to teleport here as soon as possible. This forest is so thick and deserted that they shouldn’t really go looking this deep into it anytime soon. For the meantime though, he said there was a place not too far from here. Not the nicest accommodations, but better than the ground, am I right?”

“{There is nothing wrong with sleeping on a patch of soft grass every now and then,}” Gavin answered defensively as the building came into view.

The house was certainly abandoned, all dark and parts of the structure appearing smashed or burnt, although he couldn't imagine how that had happened. Gingerly stepping towards it, he was only twenty feet from the open doorway when he felt his scales prickle. He dashed over to Aeiln and jumped, tackling her to the ground as a fireball shot over their heads.

"{Who's there?}" Gavin yelled, trying to make his normally high-pitched voice louder and deeper like the man they had just met. Even though he knew he had never met whoever had shot the blast, something inside him told him whoever it was, they were also a Devoln. At least, he had never felt another time when two different energies ran alongside the other, working as a team of one. He supposed it was because he had never met another living Devoln before, at least not in a long time.

Pushing himself off of her, Gavin set an arrow in place and pulled the string to his ear. Aeiln began to charge into the house when he saw a Human-shaped shadow appear behind her, its own claws extended. Changing his aim, he sent the arrow flying into the shoulder of the shadow. A humanoid cry of pain cut through the air and the shadow began to bleed, continuing to writhe and scream. Nodding her thanks to him, Aeiln ran inside, he assumed to grab hold of the one who had fired the blast.

As another fireball exploded behind him, Gavin could see that he was about sixteen, with large membrane wings like a dragon’s tearing through his shoulder blades, and bright orange eyes peeking through his scruffy, raspberry red hair. He might even have been considered good-looking if he wasn't kicking and screaming, "What do you want from me, because I'm not going back! Just leave me alone before you make me do something awful!" Gavin couldn’t help but be reminded of when he had first met Aeiln, and how he acted. He looked away in second-hand embarrassment.

Letting go of him, Aeiln gave him a disgusted look. "I don't want anything from you. I'm not one of Them."

“That’s a lie!” he yelled. “I just saw you, all dressed in Inquisitor robes earlier this morning, looking at every part of the house.”

“What? That wasn’t me!” Aeiln was quick to answer. “That wasn’t me, and both of us don’t even know who you are. It’s a whole situation, but we just came here to run away from Them.”

With her off of him, he gave her a quick, distrusting look before he ran outside to the wounded shadow, crouching down and gently removing the arrow.

Aeiln watched him go outside. She looked at Gavin before asking, "Do you know him?"

"{No. I just know he's a Devoln.}" Noticing her confusion he continued, "{Don't ask me how I know, I just do. I knew from the minute I could sense the fireball. But he's not dangerous. He simply wants to protect himself... like the rest of us.}"

With an understanding look on her face, Aeiln walked over to him. "If it’s okay with you, can I ask what your name is and what you are?" she asked softly, completely different from how she had been only a minute ago.

"It's Talon," he said, "As for what I am, I don't know what you mean. I'm me, whatever you choose to have that mean is up to you." He held up the arrow, the tip dripping Gavin's violet venom down the shaft. "What is this stuff?" he asked him. "Is it going to kill me?"

"{Well, that all depends on what that thing is. If it was you, the poison would have killed you in minutes. You wouldn't even be talking right now. So is that a shade, or your own shadow?}" The creature lying on the ground was completely foreign to him, although he had traveled nearly everywhere in Esternia. It looked like a black cloud of smoke, its shapeless form always changing as it quivered on the ground. A shade was a creature of legend, a living shadow that came on Samhain and possessed both humans and livestock. Not that it was very believable, but Gavin was never one to call anything impossible.

Talon opened his mouth to answer the question, but, glancing at Aeiln, closed it again, and Gavin didn't need to look at her to sense her guilt. In response, she pushed off the wall she had been leaning against and walked up the rotting wooden staircase.

With Aeiln gone, Talon seemed more sure of himself, and more willing to talk. "I'm guessing she's not part of the Inquisitor's then."

"{Far from it,}" Gavin replied, "{Like she said, we're both running away from them right now.}"

"Well, I recognized you, you Gavin, the Living Devoln, the Slippery Serpent! I know all about you!” he shouted, making Gavin take a step back. “You’re my hero!

“{...Excuse me?}”

“I know all the legends about you. I thought she had taken you hostage and was coming for me. So does this mean you’re working together? For what? Wait a second…” he paused his incessant chatter for a moment, and a blush as deep as his hair spread across his face as he seemed to realize something. “Oh gods! I shot a fireball at you. Are you okay? I didn’t mean to, I thought...”

“{It- It’s fine,}” Gavin answered awkwardly, not really sure why he was being doted on, or if he wanted that. “{So about that… thing.}”

“Oh that? That’s just my shadow. I’m a shadowmage.”

"{You should be fine then.}" Gavin sighed in relief. "{My poison doesn't have any effect on non-living creatures, so as long as it survived the blood loss, you're good.}" Not even a second later the shadow shrunk back into its normal size and sat underneath Talon, who also shifted back to normal. In his Human form, his red wings and claws were gone, but one of his reptilian orange eyes remained while the other became a stunning blue. Flipping a black eye patch over the orange one, he harmlessly smiled at Gavin.

"Guess I better go apologize then, huh?"

"{Probably.}"

"Right then. Nice finally meeting you," he chirped, his eyes crinkling into a smile as he extended his hand. His happiness rubbed off easily on Gavin, maybe because of how genuine it was. He went to shake his hand, when he realized he had used his left one. Becoming all flustered, he awkwardly switched hands and took Talon's in his own. He had a firm shake, and as his warm energy flowed through Gavin, he had a feeling that he had just met his first best friend.

"{It's nice to meet you too.}"