2303 Words

Published 9-2-22

Jimin delivers the information he discovered, and I find my attention immediately turning to Everleigh. I can't help but worry about how she is taking this news.

"You mean to tell me that, whoever this sibling of mine is, he or she was here tonight? That he or she went through the gate to Gehenna? Do you think this sibling of mine is setting some kind of trap on the other side?" Everleigh's eyes are wide, and it's obvious that she is both uncomfortable with the situation and scared at what circumstances or traps might be waiting for us.

The discovery that her sibling has been passing through Eisodoi leaving evidence of the magical signature so similar to Ever's has a thought occurring to me. "If Hope saw her sibling doesn't that mean we definitely identified as the sibling in question being female? A sister? A Succubus?" It seems to me that leaving a trail like that behind would have to be on purpose, but this sibling has to know that we worked out at least part of their identity. I don't offer up this thought though. I don't want us to have to deal with too much all at once, even though there was a high possibility of that only moments away.

Namjoon shakes his head, but it's Ever that answers my question regarding my hypothesis about her sibling's gender. "I once shifted the upper half of my body to look male before. I imagine it's just as possible for a male to appear as a female."

Great, I was sure that I worked out another clue. I almost want to berate myself for assuming anything, but it's Ever's continuing outburst that has me focused on her instead.

"I probably have multiple siblings. I did just learn that Demons are an exceptionally fertile race after all." She grumbles out. I am not sure if she is annoyed with that fact in general, or if she is thinking that she might have multiple siblings that consider themselves her enemy for some reason. "I guess it's even possible that for some reason most of them, if not all of them are plotting against me."

I went from momentary thoughts of mental self flagellation to consideration and thoughts of our potential future. Of course that has me thinking of another fact regarding demons and reproductions that I probably shouldn't share right now. Verbally tacking on the fact that due to the many triads in Mythology that multiple births, especially triplets, were also a frequent possibility seems like a bad idea right now. I fear how she will react, and we will definitely need to be level headed because it's likely there is some sort of battle coming up in our very near future. Speaking of, "Ever, how comfortable are you with your weapons now?"

She frowns. "I still haven't had a chance to work with my whip. I should be okay with my swords and the boomerang though."

Both Namjoon and Yoongi make a growl-like sound, well Yoongi's is more growl-like but Namjoon's still carries a margin of similarity due to his lion half. He's the one that speaks his grievance against the idea out loud. "I hate for you to have to fight, but I doubt there will be an easy way to get you tucked into the house before a possible battle."

Jimin frowns. "There's also the possibility that someone could have set up a trap near the doors leading inside the house. No one else can get in the house due to the fail safes we have in place, but there's nothing stopping someone from setting up something right outside of the house either. I think sometimes we take it for granted that there are some things that can't be stopped by the apotropaic magical barrier."

"Oh no! I bet that's what we have waiting for us! It wasn't that long ago someone blew out the candles after all. What if that was also Ever's sibling? What if that's who was behind the fiends that we ended up having to fight?" Jungkook is quick to guess.

"That actually makes sense, although I'm guessing this time we are going to have some different fiends to deal with." Namjoon frowns.

"There's no way of knowing without going through the gate." Hoseok offers. It doesn't seem helpful, but it actually is. Because he is right. We won't know what awaits us until we travel beyond the gate. Good thing the gates have barriers that repel fiends and creatures from them. Unlike our candles though, the barriers are powered by shatterproof gemstones with apotropaic magic.

"So, once we go through the gate if the candles are out, like we feared, most of us won't be able to scout the area from a distance. I can switch forms and have Yoongi ride on my back to help me scout out the area with our night vision." Namjoon explains.

Yoongi grumbles underneath his breath, but I manage to catch what he says. "You are the cat with wings. My four paws are meant to stay on solid ground. Thank you very much."

I'm tempted to say something like, 'Oh you have nothing to worry about. After all, cats always land on their feet.' It sounds very unlike me though, and I can't help but wonder where this sense of humor is coming from. I glance down at Everleigh. Oh...yeah, I guess that makes sense. Especially after we spent so much one on one time with each other recently. Although, I want some better one on one time. I might know her a bit better, but I'd like to be more than just her confidant.

I'm brought out of my reverie by Seokjin's gentle reminder. "We'll need to switch to telepathic conversation once we get through the gate too. Just in case this sibling of Ever's is within hearing range."

I think we are all thankful for the reminder. We don't go to the fighting ring in Tophet often, but when we do we often forget to switch back to telepathic communication for a few hours.

Namjoon and Seokjin go through the portal first, side by side this time. It's a slightly tight fit due to Seokjin's wide shoulders, but security wise it is probably the best choice. Next Jimin and Yoongi go through. Once they are through to the other side I take Ever's hand in mine and we head through together. Jungkook and Hoseok come through the gate last.

Once we are all through Namjoon wastes no time switching forms. It may be mostly dark, but the gateway has some light luminescence and I gasp as I see the difference in Namjoon's alter. "What? What is it?"

"Bend your wing and lift it toward your face as if you are going to tuck your head underneath your wing. You'll see for yourself." Seokjin suggests.

He too gasps. "The rachis of my primary feathers are golden again. They deepen in color and darken back to my Shadow Gryphon colors at the notch and emargination." He looks over to Everleigh. "Sunshine, I think you have given some of my gold back to me."

It's obvious due to her mixed expression of surprise and confusion that she didn't know he was once golden. It's also possible she is trying to sort out the terms he just nonchalantly threw out there without a thought to the fact she wouldn't understand the terms of the words coming out of his mouth. If it weren't for the numerous years we have been together I wouldn't have known that the rachis is the long pointed sweep of his feathers. The notch is the noticeable spot where the underside of the feather narrows. The emargination is the same, only at the top instead. The primary feathers are the feathers at the lower part of his wing on the outside of his wingspan. I would explain this all to her now, but we don't really have time to focus on that though. It would be easier with pictures, but we should be concentrating on the scouting expedition right now instead.

As if Yoongi read my mind he grumbles once more before sitting astride Namjoon's back. "Well this fight is definitely not going to be as easy. Jungkook, I want you to project these fiends as I announce them. I want Everleigh to be able to understand each fiend I am referring to."

Jungkook nods his head to us before replying to Namjoon. "Okay, I'm ready."

Only a few moments later he projects to us. "Well, on the good side we have easy Maeks to contend with. The difficult part is that there are seven of them." Jungkook casts an image off the cow sized caterpillar in midair. He makes sure to show the only part that makes them difficult to fight, which is the cavities running down either side that emit clouds of poisonous gas. Namjoon must also receive a telepathic visual because he goes on to explain. "They also have limited eyesight, Ever. Like a horse their eyes are on either side of their head."

"Unfortunately, the rest of the fiends on these fields are not as easy." Yoongi grumbles in annoyance. "I don't think I am going to be able to help much with these fights. I'll probably have to focus primarily on the Maeks."

"Yeah, we also have a Kaiaelan." Jungkook hisses through his teeth before he projects an image of the elephant sized three headed serpent. "They do have one big downfall. They're blind. However, don't ever grow complacent due to this fact alone. Their hearing and sense of touch are impeccable. It's those senses they use to hunt their prey."

"They are also as poisonous as Hades. Their scales, saliva, bite, and breath. There isn't a single part of them that isn't poisonous." Hoseok adds. Jungkook shows hideous scenes of what happens whenever anyone is inflicted by their poison. It's horrible to watch, but Ever needs to be prepared. The boils and nausea are the visual repercussions, but those are only the beginning of the slow painful death that would result from their poison as it essentially kills its victim from the inside out.

"Looks like the last Abyssal Fiend from the Infernal Plains that we have to contend with is of course the worst of the six fiends in existence in the area." Yoongi shares.

I think he's trying to lighten the mood, but the idea of Ardneirs being part of this fight darkens our moods significantly. When it comes to Arneirs there is no easy way to fight them. The projection shows how their fazing form has no static substance to it. It is merely a fiend made of smoke and fog, and everything passes right through it. That is unless it's somehow frozen. "You know what's coming, Taehyung." Namjoon shares with me directly.

"Yes, I know what's expected of me."

"That seems like a lot to contend with." Ever sends across our shared telepathic circle, and that's when I knew that Namjoon was sharing a telepathic one on one moment with me. She didn't ask about it, and due to her inquisitive mind I know that if she had heard us she would have asked what it meant.

Yoongi growls in our mind. "Namjoon said that was the last of the Infernal Plains Abyssal Fiends that we had to deal with. Not the last of them over all."

"We also have five Volsarien out here." Jungkook's eyes open wide, but he quickly shares the image of the oversized rodent fiend. Due to the species height, weight, bulk, and toughness of their skin I often mentally compare them with the combination of a wild boar and a rock formation. They can weigh anywhere between 220 to 250 lbs (100-113kg). While their legs are stubby they are still able to stand about 5 feet (152cm) off the ground. Unlike a wild boar or an unusually sized rodent though they have no fur to speak of. Their hide is made of a rock-like exoskeleton that can't be pierced by any sharp object. Their exoskeleton is segmented however, meaning the best way to fight them is to try to aim between those segments.

"They remind me of ROUSes from The Princess Bride only in a rock hide variety. I see that their rocky skin makes it hard to pierce them, but how do they defend themselves outside of their tough exterior?" She truly asks the smart questions.

"Just like me. They use their claws, teeth, and tails to fight, Kitten." Despite how tough he thinks this future battle will be, I can hear his pride for our mate in his voice. I'm also pretty shocked at the endearment he used there. I doubt he intended to. A surprised growl echoes in our shared link. "Namjoon, I think I just saw a Dru'rek too."

Crap. Jungkook shares a view on the Dru'rek species of fiend. A dump truck sized beetle. The reason he probably didn't see it at first is due to their shiny reflective exoskeletons; they probably mirrored back their surroundings. I'll have to hope I can handle the Dru'rek in the same moment as the Ardneir, because once the oversized beetle burrows underground we are going to have a shit ton of issues. Their movement underground is untraceable, no tremors or dug up dirt on the surface. They attack by rushing through the ground underneath their target's feet and catapulting them into the air. It takes them about a minute and a half to regain their bearings, and that is the only other time we have to attack them. I know we would all rather attack it before it ever burrows under the ground.

"Shit. Make that two Dru'rek."

Well...Fuck...

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