DEVILRY [FANTASY LGBTQ]

Chapter Ten:

His boots crunched in the fresh cover of snow as he walked. The sky was clear and bright, the sun reflecting off the ice and snow of the mountain. Tree limbs creaking and cracking as the weaker limbs gave under the weight of the snow. It was quiet and cold; with every exhale he could see his own breath. He was glad for the heavy weight of his cloak and the tall leather of his boots as he trudged through the snow. Still the metal adorning his arms and chest was icy to the touch and its cold was seeping through the fabric of his clothing. Perhaps traveling up the mountain in the midst of winter wasn't the best idea. But he had little choice. He wasn't about to wait until spring. He stopped as a strong gust of wind blew, its cold cutting through him like a knife. He grit his teeth and looked up, seeing the silhouette of a monetary in the distance. At least his destination was in sight. While pausing he looked back behind himself, seeing the expanse of rolling hills and forest, a small settlement in the distance below. At least the view was nice. He enjoyed the sight for a moment longer before another gust of wind caused him to shiver, reminding him to push forward. Wrapping his cloak tighter around himself he pressed onward.

When he reached the monastery ingress, he placed his hand on the large wooden door. Giving it a shove, when it didn't budge, he frowned. It was heavier than it looked. His gloved hands roved over the door, finding no hidden latches or handles in its carved surface. He let out a sigh, pressed his forehead against the door before he shoved away from it. He didn't come this far just to be halted by a damn door. He stepped a few paces back and looked up, eyeing the row of tall arched windows above him. Curiously he touched the wall, finding it rougher than it looked. He could climb this. Steeling himself he grasped the uneven parts of the wall and hoisted himself up to begin climbing. Who would have thought just a few weeks ago he was hunting a werewolf, now he was scaling the walls of a monastery like a common thief. Or like a cat perhaps. As he hoisted himself up the wall his foot slipped, scrambling to find purchase. A very uncoordinated cat.

Despite his slip up he managed to reach the windows after a precarious climb. Grasping the stone sill of the window he pulled himself up, resting on the edge. He made the mistake of looking down, if he fell from here, he'd certainly break something. He pushed the thought from his mind and peered through the stained glass. It was hard to make out shapes and such through the colored glass, but it looked like a wide corridor. Without another thought he smashed the window with his armored elbow, breaking enough glass for him to slip inside. The glass crunching beneath his boots as he stepped into the thankfully empty corridor. Hendryk peered down the hall, its inner wall lined with arched recesses with stone statues embedded in them. The floors of the corridor were smeared with an array of colors from the light streaming through the line of windows stretching the length of the corridor. As he stared down the corridor, he heard something shuffle behind him. Quickly he whirled around spotting a hooded figure standing behind him. They were around his own height, not diminutive but not tall either. Their slender form draped in elaborate white robes. He could only see the lower half of their face, but they were pale with an angular jawline.

"Um...I can pay for the window" Hendryk commented awkwardly as he slowly turned to face the hooded man. When he didn't speak, he shuffled his boots, the glass crunching. "No one answered the door" he added, reaching up to adjust his own hood, pulling it lower on his face. The figure never answered him, instead they raised their hand, their fingers long and slender. Hendryk tilted his head as something stirred in the air, a whirl of color emerging in the stranger's hand. Hendryk's eyes widened as the hooded figure fired off a blast of magic at him without so much as a warning. Hendryk raised his own arms, crossing them over each other as he conjured a shield of magic before him. The blast struck his shield, the force of it sending him slipping across the marbled floor. Hendryk braced himself against it before he stepped forward, redirecting the blast out the window, the glass and stone shattering on impact. "Hey, that was you all you, you can't blame that on me" Hendryk argued as he eyed the damage for a moment before returning his attention to the hooded man. The stranger charged at him suddenly, throwing their hand into the open air before they fired another blast point blank. Hendryk reacted quickly and diving under it, the blast firing down the corridor, shattering the windows as it passed before striking the back wall.