Rain could barely feel his feet as he was dragged along the ground.
He kept trying to force himself to stand. To move. To do anything.
The most he managed after twenty minutes was to curl his fingers and groan.
After thirty, he managed to finally talk.
"You... you don’t have to do this..." he rasped.
"It’s nothing personal, Gale. Princess got soft on yeh. Wasn’t expecting that. So we gotta do the hard work protecting everyone, which ans we can’t no one out there who knows we’re here. That’s just how it is."
"I wasn’t... going to tell anyone..."
"Can’t take that chance," Scior shook his head.
"Shit," Lemina looked across him, at Scior. "He’s moving."
Rain was trying to move his body, but he couldn’t feel himself very well. His fingers and toes felt cold.
"Stop," Scior ordered Lemina, he stuck his tongue behind his lower lip, thinking as he searched around. "We’ll stick him there," Scior nodded at a wilted sapling, starved of light and mana.
Together they slamd Rainier into the crook of its trunk, before tying him to the leafless branches.
"Please... don’t do this..." Rainier begged as they stretched him out. He managed to move one entire arm, but all he could do was drop it free, only for Scior to rush over and grab it.
"Tie him tighter, dammit! If he moves enough to cast, we die!"
"Let’s just be done with it and go back to the village." Lemina pulled her knife and stuck it between Rain’s ribs.
A pained shout broke free of Rain’s throat.
The mont she pulled her knife, however, the wound started to heal. Leaving fresh blood glistening down his abs. Rain’s mana took a significant plunge as his body was forced to heal a fatal wound.
"He’s not dying, Scior-" She tried again, and again his wound healed.
"I can fucking see that!" Scior shouted back. "Should have brought more curare from the village."
"Please... I’ll go. Just let go." Rain pleaded. "You’ll never hear from again..."
Scior walked back and forth, running his hands over his horns.
"We’ll cut off his fingers. Break his hands so he can’t cast then figure out how to kill him..." He rubbed his chin. "Even if this takes too long, I think I can convince Princess not to look too hard into-"
A wet sound cut off Scior mid-speech as a spear landed through his back, severing his spine and causing him to drop.
"Scior!" As she rushed for her fallen friend, Lemina was pelted with arrows. One after the other, even after she lay still.
Rain was frozen in shock. He wanted to scream. He knew whose weapons had found them.
With a gentle flap, Auric Victoriam settled onto the leaf-covered floor.
"There you are, little Rainstorm... How did you manage to get captured by demons?" he chuckled.
The twins landed behind him, looking annoyed to see Rain. As one they stored their bows.
"Well? Aren’t you going to answer your superior, Elevated?"
"Poison," Rain said. "Curare..."
"Curare... hm, I guess I’ll have soone look it up." He snapped his fingers and a chair manifested itself behind him.
Taking a seat, careful of his wings, he regarded Rainier, who was still tied to the tree by one hand and his hips, the fresh blood fully absorbed into his uniform.
"Look at you... We were following you for the last ten minutes. I wondered what you’d do... If you’d fight or break free... but I guess the answer was begging for your life like a dog," he chuckled, shaking his head. "How unbefitting..."
"They were just... civilians..."
"Civilians? No, they were demons. Getting killed by demons is... worthy of being a martyr. But civilians?" He puffed out a semi-laugh. "That’s just embarrassing."
"There was no need to kill them."
"There was every need." Auric snarled. "You belong to Cassiel, and through her to Heaven. Heaven over all. Every angel, every Elevated, belongs to that. You and I belong to that." He sighed. "I was too lax with you because Cassiel thought it best, and here we see the result. Because of your indiscipline, we’ve lost the dragon titan. My uncle is coming, and what have I got to show him? Rescuing you from her incompetence."
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
"So tell , what should I do with you, Rainier? How should I discipline you?"
Rain remained silent.
"I think I know how," Bariel stepped forward, Variel following. They began to whisper in Auric’s ears, staggering their sentences as brother finished sentences for brother. They both had wicked smiles.
Because he couldn’t hear them, Rain guessed they were blocking their voices from carrying with magic.
Suddenly Auric clapped his hands together. "Excellent suggestion!" He looked up at Rain. "The demons ntioned a village... do you know where it is?" When Rain remained silent, he sneered. "Where is the village?" His voice growled with compulsion, reaching into Rain and pulling the answer forth.
"Back the way... we ca..." He tried to resist, but couldn’t. The effort left him panting as his mana dipped lower. It was happening again... he was being forced to betray people who didn’t deserve it... just like he’d betrayed Kir...
"Bariel, Variel, follow the trail and call in the others. Make sure everyone’s nice and gathered for the show."
The twins took off in a flutter of orange wings, tracking back along the path of disturbed leaves.
As soon as they were alone, Auric stood, lifting his spear out of Scior’s corpse and cutting Rain free.
"Stand." He compelled.
Even though Rain’s body was about to collapse, the godflesh drew on his mana to force him to stand. He tried to reach up, desiring to choke the life out of -
"At attention!" Auric added to his command.
Rain’s arms zipped to his sides. The heels of his boots clicked together.
"I have two options for you. You can serve Heaven of your own free will, or I will compel you for as long as it takes to put you in a cell." He stepped back. "Follow."
Rain followed. He had no choice.
Auric stored his spear as he started to walk along the trail without a look back.
As he was made to walk, Rain was able to look at the corpses of Scior and Lemina one last ti. They had tried to kill him, but he felt he understood why... If only they’d listened. If only he hadn’t been so trusting... If only he’d never followed Bait in the first place...
Guilt stalked every corner of his mind as he was made to walk.
Dozens of people were about to die because of him...
Two years of working with Auric told him that. The angel never questioned himself.
He could be pushed into corners, and Cassiel had done so after the loss of a third team - convincing him to let the Expedition equalize on the basis of skill and experience - but he never fundantally changed. And that was why Rain had kept his distance from him. That, and Cassiel.
Auric began to talk, drawing Rain out of his reverie.
"I knew, you know. That Cassiel let you into her bed." He scoffed. "Such an immature woman. It was the first thing I asked about you once the Expedition arrived. Didn’t even have to use compulsion to get both an answer and a promise of silence."
If he’d asked Cassiel, she would have told , Rain thought. The only thing he could conclude was that Ozzy had inford on them.
He clenched his fists.
Auric continued. "She is a treat in bed, I’ll grant her that. Tell what you like about her."
As the compulsion settled in, Rain answered, "She’s sincere. She cares. Even if she doesn’t always think through things completely..."
Auric burst out laughing. "And here I thought you’d say ’her tits’." He scowled, "The nerve of you. I thought it was just an act, but you really think you’re better than us, don’t you?"
Rain’s fists clenched tighter, guilt gnawing at him. "No. I’m the worst of everyone..."
"Don’t deny it. I see the way you look at us. Behind that smile, you judge us as if you have any right to question what the people of Heaven decide. As if you get to define your kind, unelevated, or even demons as being more than what Heaven allows. That attitude of yours infected Cassiel, and I’ve put in a lot of work over the last year to correct her politics, even if she stubbornly clings to foolish sentints."
Rain knew Cassiel had thought she was doing the sa for him. But it was clear to see now that Auric was never going to change. Not for her. Because he didn’t respect her at all.
The rage building in Rain’s body tightened his whole arm.
The second compulsion had weakened the first - such was the nature of layering a similar finite spell upon an indefinite one. Rain knew this. Auric should have known this.
"You..." Rain ground his teeth as Auric started to turn. "You bastard!"
His punch caught Auric in his angelic face, right above his right eye.
He stepped forward, about to deliver a followup when Auric shouted "Stop!"
The compulsion hit him like a wave and he froze mid-swing.
"You had a slim chance to obey. To continue to serve. But that’s over now," he spat. Then his next words ca out as compulsion. "Obey my orders without speaking."
A compulsion so general in nature drained Auric’s mana down to half, by Rain’s sense, but still the angel had plenty to spare.
"Follow ," Auric said.
In silence, they walked.
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