Chapter 104: Fiery Retribution

Chapter 104: Fiery Retribution

Fighting alongside Zaren was like nothing Jack had ever done before. In this life, at least. From how immediately they just clicked, he and Ria must have been a force of nature. She knew where he was going to be before he even started moving. She ignored enemies because she knew he’d take care of them, and she was right every time. She hardly needed to look at him, instinctively knowing exactly where he’d be at all times.

Not that she could stop herself from sneaking peeks here and there. Gods he was magnificent, wrapped in those furious shadows that ripped and tore his enemies apart almost as efficiently as those blades in his hand.

More than once she wondered how their enemies felt as he cleaved through them. To an outsider, he must have been terrifying. Death incarnate with a cold, deadly expression. He never flinched. Never snarled or shouted. Never tried to intimidate his opponent or psych them out. Every strike was clean and calculated. The few attacks that managed to get past his defenses didn’t seem to faze him in the slightest. It was in that moment she truly understood some of the monikers he’d earned during the war. Reaper. Slayer. Deathbringer.

Shadowborn.

But Jack could see the truth. She saw the faint tick at his temple. The set of his jaw. The slight hunch to his shoulders as he threw himself at his foes, giving them no opportunity to breathe before he put them down. The way his thumbs worried the hard edges on the crossguards of his blades, pressing hard enough that she thought he might be trying to draw blood.

Zaren was a hound who knew his leash wasn’t strong enough to hold him, and he was fighting so very hard to keep from snapping it.

Safina was just as impressive. Brute strength wrapped in thick armor crackling with lightning. Every swing of her mace snapped bones and bent blades. Even in hallways that were a little too tight for her to maneuver properly, her size and strength made her an absolute menace. She wasn’t afraid to use her body as a weapon, shoulder checking guards and sweeping legs with her tail as often as she cracked skulls with her mace. Zoey was a gifted swordswoman, but she lacked the experience the rest of the group had. The girl knew it, too.

She fell back to cover their rear, taking on any guards that tried to flank them. She lacked the ferocity and presence of the other three melee fighters, but her slow and steady style suited her in this instance. Reese stayed in the center of the group firing arrow after arrow from her enchanted quiver, each one finding purchase even in these cramped quarters.

In all honesty Jack was using more mental energy keeping her flames in check than actually fighting. She used [Forged in Flame] to conjure a set of swords nearly identical to Zaren’s and cast [Cloak of the Phoenix] to protect herself. Her flesh turned to flame in many areas, wreathing her in a cloak made of pure brilliant flame that illuminated the hallway and reflected off the pools of crimson they left in their wake.

The mercenaries they encountered as they cut their path through the manor weren’t the same shit guards they’d run into before. They were higher level, better trained, and had better equipment. Jack was good, but even she couldn’t stop every blow. The pain turned to heat as [Body of Flame] plugged the holes they carved. Each one only pissed her off more.

She wasn’t sure how many of them they’d carved through in this massive mansion when they all heard an ear-splitting shriek cut through the air. A short humanoid creature with batlike wings and a long, thin tail hurtled at them from above coated in flames. Four arrows punched into its tiny body in rapid succession, three of them burning off before they had the chance to do any real damage.

Jack called upon her [Sunfire Bow]. The arms sprang from her left wrist as she pulled back a glowing golden string. An arrow made of the crimson and golden flames sparked to life when she hit full draw and she released. The arrow struck true, and she felt a brief struggle as her golden flames fought against the dark crimson hellfire that surrounded the summoned imp.

Hers won out and the imp faded to ash. The mercs around them all stepped back, eyeing her warily, just as the sounds of barking echoed through the halls. Two hounds made of the same hellfire came tearing around the corner, racing for the group. Jack took the one in the lead out with a double shot from her bow while Reese sunk two arrows into the shoulder of the second.

It sprawled hard and Safina darted forward to smash its head in before it could recover. Zaren shot her a glance and she nodded with a grimace. It was fun while it lasted, but she had a job to do.

“Let’s move,” she said, dismissing her bow. Zoey surged forward, carving a path with wide sweeps of her blade while Reese put arrows in arms and thighs to widen the gap.

Jack followed them both down the path created by the cinder footprints of the hellhounds. They left Zaren and Safina behind and raced through the manor, but they didn’t have to go far to find their quarry.

Four’s unique description would have been enough to recognize her. Soot black skin and blood red hair with a set of bright orange eyes. The collar helped, too. Flames seemed to crackle beneath her skin as she summoned another one of her hellspawn, a grimace set on her face.

A creature like a bipedal insect rose from the ground. It was wrapped in thick carapace with hellfire leaking out of the gaps. “Another fire user. Funny how people always think that’ll help.”

Jack grinned. “Don’t worry, girlie. I promise I’m not just another fire user.”

She flicked a hand and Zoey and Reese scattered to either side. She used [Forged in Flame] again, this time creating an almost comical hammer from her flames. How it had enough weight to be used as a bludgeon she didn’t really understand, but she’d never cared enough to stop and think about it.

She darted under the hellspawn’s first swipe and slammed her hammer into its torso. The carapace was just as hard and heavy as it looked, but that just meant the beast was slow. It swiped at her with its four three-pronged claws, but Jack dodged them easily.

She slammed the same spot on its armor over and over until it finally cracked. When it staggered back to try to cover its new weak spot she slammed her hammer into the knee closest to her. She twirled her weapon to build up momentum and brought it down on the hellspawn’s head. There was a sickening crunch as its head sunk a good few inches into its body and the pressure from her blow caused the cracked part of the armor to burst outward, spilling hellfire and innards onto the floor.

Four took a few nervous steps back as Jack walked through the hellfire spreading from the corpse, unbothered by its heat. It was affecting her health pool, but not enough to matter. Not as much as the intimidation factor her actions earned her, at least.

Now, time to play her part. “We need to keep the collared separate,” she called to her allies. “We can’t take them both at once.”

Four’s eyes narrowed like she sensed a trick, but she didn’t say a word as her collar illuminated. Cracks of flame spread along her hands and wrists again as she summoned three more hellhounds before turning and running deeper into the mansion.

“Go,” Jack commanded. She stepped forward to engage the hellhounds as Reese and Zoey took off after Four.

Jack was really feeling the hammer right now, so she kept it. She smashed through the hellhounds with relative ease, but their purpose was never to do anything more than stall her. She dismissed her hammer and took off after the others, keeping a keen eye out for Reese’s marks.

Four led them on a chase through the mansion, through half the building and up a flight of stairs until they were in what had to have been the back corner of the building. She turned the corner just in time to see Four summoning yet another hellspawn, this one a serpent that was as thick around as Jack’s waist. It launched at Zoey, but Jack intercepted it. It’s long, scaly body wrapped around hers and started squeezing, so Jack let go of her control. She threw her arms around its neck and let her fire rage.

Hellfire and Primal Flame warred, but hers won out in the end. It took less than sixty seconds before Jack was standing with a feral grin and the disembodied head of the hell serpent in one hand. “What else you got in there?” she asked, tossing the head at Four’s feet.

“What—what are you?” Four demanded, shrinking back.

“She’s a Fireborn,” a new voice said. “And a strong one, at that.”

Jack risked taking her eyes off Four to see a man in fine clothes and a wide smile on his face. At his side stood a collared Seelie that could only have been Seven. She eyed Jack with suspicion and a faint glimmer of hope.

“Seven,” the man said. The Seelie’s collar lit up, confirming Jack’s suspicions. “Take care of the fires these two have left behind.”

Seven grimaced, but she turned anyways. Wrapped around most of her thigh was a gorgeous winged serpent made entirely of water. It peeled off her skin, growing until it was even larger than the serpent Jack had immolated a moment ago. It flew past them, spraying water across the crimson and golden flames that Jack and Four had left in their wake.

“Honestly, Four,” the man said, shaking his head. “I’ve told you again and again to be mindful of your surroundings. This will call for punishment later, you understand?”

Four ducked her head and Seven shot a murderous look at the man’s back, but his attention was back on Jack. “I don’t know who sent you girl, but you should know that I work for some very powerful people. I could make you rich beyond your wildest dreams if you came and worked for me.”

Jack cocked her hip to the side and crossed her arms. “Actually, I’m pretty happy with my current employer, thanks. Just can’t beat his dick.” The man scowled, which made Jack laugh. “Valith sends her regards, by the way.”

His scowl turned to a look of confusion, but Seven let out a relieved breath. “You’ve done it, then?”

“Yup.”

“Fucking finally.”

“Enough!” Gallow barked. “Seven, restrain her.”

Seven’s collar illuminated and she tapped the tattoo on her opposite thigh. Beautiful, intricate vines slithered off of her and tangled together until they were in the shape of a man. “Eat shit and die, Gallow.”

He whirled, his eyes wide and his face reddening with rage, but the vine man slammed into him hard. It wrapped a hand around Gallow’s throat and lifted him from the ground as the vines began to emerge from its body, wrapping around the man’s body until they could bind his hands and gag him.

“Sev?” Four asked, eyes wide.

“Sorry love,” Seven said sheepishly. “I wanted to tell you about Fourteen so badly, but I couldn’t risk it. I’ll explain later, just try to resist for a second.”

Flames erupted from Jack’s hands, wrapping around them like claws. Four’s collar illuminated and forced her into action. She summoned more hellhounds, but Jack ripped through them easily. She waved her hand and called out a wave of imps, but Seven’s water serpent swooped down from above and swallowed them all. Then she called up two of the serpents, but they wilted under the intensity of Jack’s flames as she let her control slip a little more.

Jack’s flames were so brilliant that Four never noticed Reese slinking through the dark. While Zoey bound and gagged Gallow with real rope, Reese hurled one of Rhallani’s creations at Four’s back. It started as a disc only to spring into ropes tipped with weighted bronze triangles. Four let out a strangled cry as they wrapped around her, but before she could call any more hellspawn to her side it activated. Golden lightning raced across her skin, causing her to seize. She convulsed for a second before the lighting turned a dark crimson and the collar around her throat glowed red.

“Wh—how—” she panted.

“No time,” Jack said, dismissing her claws and cloak. She knelt down over Four and touched her finger to the collar. “That class of yours come with any fire resistance?”

“A-a bit,” she stammered, eyes wide.

“How’s your pain tolerance?”

Her eyes flicked to Jack’s hands. “You can get it off?”

I let her sob into my shirt while the others went around disarming mercenaries. One tried to get clever, but after Safina threw him into the wall hard enough to break his back the others got the message. It was just as she’d started to relax that Serena arrived, dragging a limp Nairn behind her. “Sorry, got caught up with some more captives. Found this one, though.”

She dumped him at my feet and Stella buried herself deeper in my arms. I watched him just long enough to see his chest moving up and down and arched a brow at her. She let out a breath. “I healed him enough to stop the bleeding. I’m guessing the fact that he’s alive means you planned it that way?”

“You would be correct,” I told her. “A councilman answering for his crimes will do much more for us than one who simply died for them.”

“Speaking of answering for your crimes,” a familiar voice said. I rolled my eyes and turned towards Sandrel, not letting go of Stella. He was looking over the room with an impressed expression as his guys came in and took custody of the mercenaries. “I have missed seeing the art you leave in your wake.”

“Sandrel. Fancy seeing you here,” I said, grinning.

He grinned right back. “Wouldn’t miss it.” Then his expression sobered. “Gonna be tough to deal with this one, though. A noble’s house is one thing, but a councilman? That shit stirrer Councilman Miles is already outside with a contingent of guards waiting to take you into custody. With how fast he got here, I’d be shocked if he wasn’t involved.”

I sighed. “I figured.” I grabbed Stella by the shoulders and gently pried her off me. “I need you to go with Serena right now,” I said, wiping her cheeks with my thumbs.

“Wh-what? No, I don’t—”

“Stella,” I said gently. “Serena’s going to take you home. Our home. You never have to set foot in the Swallow again, but I’ve got some things I need to deal with right now. I’ll feel a lot better if you’re safe at the manor, so please go with her.”

She sniffled, then nodded. “Okay. Promise you’ll be there?”

“They couldn’t keep me away if they tried. Trust me.”

She let me hand her off to Serena, who shot me a worried look. I inclined my head. “Get with Valith and get her and the other two back as quick as you can. I’ll be there after I deal with Miles. Take the demi-humans with you, just in case.”

Serena took a breath, then put on her best comforting face. “Come on. The quicker we get moving the quicker we get home. We can get you some food and a nice hot bath.”

I watched them go before I turned to Allie. “Don’t bother,” she said, “I’m not going anywhere.”

That brought me no small amount of relief. I grabbed her by the back of her neck so I could press my forehead to hers. “Come on, then. Let’s go get arrested.”

Safina wasn’t happy about leaving me behind, but one look at Stella’s pitiful appearance and her protective instincts went into overdrive. Jack, Tiana, Nora, and Therese were all as adamant about not leaving me as Allie had been. I wasn’t sure what I’d done to earn such loyalty, but I was hardly going to turn them away now.

I dragged Councilman Nairn through the mansion by the scruff of his blood soaked robes. Just as Sandrel had warned, an entire platoon of city guards were waiting for us at the front door. The man I recognized as Councilman Miles stood at their head with a smug expression. I just loved it when my enemies provided an audience for me.

One that fell as soon as I dumped Nairn’s unconscious form at his feet. “Oh, good. You’re timing is excellent, councilmen. Gentlemen,” I said, nodding to the guards at his back, “please take Councilman Nairn into custody.”

Miles sputtered. “Wh—on what grounds!?”

“Kidnapping, theft, trafficking, take your pick.” I shrugged. “My people are gathering evidence right now, so we’ll know more soon enough.”

One of the guards stepped forward with a pair of handcuffs uncertainly, only to freeze when he saw the stump of Nairn’s arm. Miles swatted him away. “Get back, you fool! Lord Nocht, you are under arrest for trespassing, murder, and—”

“Actually, Councilman, you’ll find I was well within my rights,” I said. “Mercenaries under Nairn’s employ kidnapped servants who legally belong to me. I was merely retrieving them, and in the process I discovered Nairn’s crimes.”

The guards heads snapped between me and him as if watching a bout. Miles was turning a shade of purple by this point. “If a wrong was committed against you, then you should have gone through proper channels and—”

“And allow him to sell my servants in the time it takes you to decide you want to put resources towards it? I don’t think so.” I crossed my arms. “Unless you’re saying that Patrons have no real right to reclaim their property. That would be a dangerous precedent, councilor. Just imagine how many demi-humans might disappear behind closed doors if that were the case.”

Miles blanched, then he paled. No doubt he sensed he no longer had the upper hand, if he’d ever had it at all. “You still had no right to launch an attack on a councilman’s house.”

“Wrong again. As magistrate of the lower quarter, I would argue that it is my duty to protect the wellbeing of those who call my quarter home. I haven’t had the chance to install a quarter guard just yet, so I took the liberty of doing things the old fashioned way.”

“You—I—there’s—there is no magistrate for the lower quarter!”

“There wasn’t,” I agreed, “but I rectified that a few hours ago. You’ll find that all the proper paperwork is in order.”

I could see the gears turning in his head. If I wasn’t bluffing, that meant I had as much power as he did. Maybe even more so. Challenging me outright would be disastrous for him, especially if he was as crooked as I suspected. “In that case, we’ll be taking custody of any and all demi-humans on the premises. While you and your human compatriots might be protected by your status,” he spat the last word like it was vile on his tongue, “and demi-humans who caused harm to the citizens of this city must be incarcerated immediately.”

I just shook my head again. “Sorry, that won’t work either. You see, any demi-humans that fought here today did so under my orders, which makes their actions my actions. Unless, of course, you’re saying a demi-human should disobey a direct order if they consider that order unlawful. Another dangerous precedent to set, Councilor.”

“Wh—no, of course I’m not saying that,” he said quickly, his eyes darting around to the guards behind him. Only they weren’t the only audience watching our little show anymore. The commotion had drawn a small crowd who were paying close attention to our conversation.

“I see. That’s a relief. That said, if you’re dead set on punishing someone, you’re welcome to arrest me.” I held my hands out with my wrists together. “I take full responsibility for the demi-humans under me. Though,” I said as his hopes started to rise, “I suppose that causes another precedent issue. I’m not sure how many Patrons would stay free men if we started punishing them for the actions of their servants. Your choice, councilor.”

His face mottled with rage as the full implications of what I’d done hit him. The very same system that allowed men like him and Nairn to take advantage of the demi-humans now protected me. If he wanted to take me down, he’d have to go through his own rigged system to do it. Not only that, but I’d flat out told him and anyone else listening exactly how I’d done it. I was sure our conversation would be spread out through the city by nightfall, which meant that anyone who had the desire to could do what I just did.

Unfortunately, while his arrogance might have gotten him into this, Miles wasn’t a complete fool. He knew when he’d been outsmarted. “Captain, please take Councilman Nairn into custody until we can see this mess sorted out. Magistrate Nocht, I assume I don’t have to request you remain in the city while the investigation is underway?”

I inclined my head. “If you need anything at all, you know where to find me.” He spun on his heel and stormed off without another word.

Some guards grabbed Nairn, several of them looking at me with fearful expressions which were completely understandable considering I was still covered in blood. Several shot me covert nods of respect and I committed those faces to memory.

“I can’t believe you pulled that off,” Allie breathed.

Tiana nodded, looking a little green. “I’m shocked he backed down so easily.”

“He didn’t have a choice,” I said. “It’s like I told you back in Anford. I don’t have to do anything to get rid of the Accords. Not really. A corrupt system will always expose itself eventually, you just need the patience and timing to take advantage when it does. This is the first domino, the rest will fall soon enough.”

“That’s what I keep trying to tell Rolar,” Sandrel said, strutting up with his hands in his pockets, “but the old fart’s just too rigid. He thinks the only way to get rid of the Accords is with staunch resistance, but the harder he pushes the more rigid they become.”

“It’s why we were the ones to do all the shit like this,” I told him, “and Rolar was the one who sent us to do it.”

He grunted his agreement. “Go home to your women, I’ll handle things here. We’ll turn the place over before Miles and his rats get a chance to get in and hide anything. If I find anything, you’ll be the first to know.”

“I appreciate that.”

He just shrugged. “You did all the hard work. I’m too old for all that business, don’t you know.”

I snorted. “Really? You don’t look a day over seventy.”

He wagged a finger at me. “You know, when I was your age...”

“Yeah, yeah, kiss my ass gramps.” I flipped him off and threw one arm around Allie and the other around Tiana. “Go have all your young and spry employees do all the hard work while I climb into my giant bed with all the gorgeous women crazy enough to let me.”

He scoffed and threw his hands up, then walked back towards the mansion with a chuckle. Allie just cocked a brow and grabbed a handful of my ass. “Crazy, huh?”

I gave her a squeeze. “You really think someone completely sane would put up with me?”

“Not a chance,” Tiana said. “Come on, I’m sure Stella, Noelle, and Rhallani are all going to be nervous wrecks until we get back.”

I winced. “Yeah, something tells me Noelle won’t let me out of my sight today. She’s gonna be pissed I made her stay behind.”

“You’ll just have to make it up to her,” Jack said with a shrug. “I’ve got a few ideas if you’re struggling.”

“Something tells me that won’t be a problem,” Therese said.

I couldn’t help but smile. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”