Ray is low on time, luck, and hope; his only chance is an artifact that may not even exist. But upon meeting Landon, Ray is beginning to believe he might find all four.
*****
Cambion...
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Ray turned the dagger over in his hands.
It was an excellent weapon, by all means. The blade was a sleek, beautiful thing, the metal seemingly something that had been born from starlit silver. It was perfect in both its length and weight. It was also deceptively sharp. Ray had barely brushed his finger along its rim and the dagger had drawn a thin line of blood.
If Ray were just observing the dagger as a weapon, he would be hard-pressed to find another of this caliber. Certainly, he had seen finer blades in his life but there was something about how this one fit lovingly in Ray's hand, as if it had been forged for just that purpose, made this one stand-alone.
The sheath that fitted it was just as fine as the blade. It matched the dagger's curved spine perfectly. It was coated with red fabric - a velvet which, if Ray was not mistaken, came from his great grandmother's reign - that remained both soft and vibrant despite the dagger's age.
Both the hilt and tip of the sheath were patterned with silver... No... That was white gold. How very deceptive of the dagger's creator. Regardless of the kind of metal, it curled into a garden of pale flowers, decorated by a variety of precious metals. Ruby, white jade, and a few glittering jewels that Ray was not able to recognize.
It was certainly a weapon befitting the late emperor of Alyra. Everything about it spoke of its high quality and immense value. It seemed that if there was such a thing as the Crimson Sheath in this world then this dagger would have to be it.
So why didn't Ray feel any different?
His fingers drummed along the dark wood of his desk. It was possible that the dagger took a few days to adapt to its new master, learning the lines of their power so that it could adequately bind their soul to this realm. However, given all Ray knew about demonic deals and anchors, he found this somewhat unlikely.
All of the books that Ray had read on the subject stated that the anchor was created the moment the deal was made. There was no time delay, no need to learn or to bind. It was just something that happened naturally.
Then again, Ray was no expert on demonic deals. There was disappointingly little information relating to demons and Ray, himself, had never made a deal that had activated an anchor. It frustrated him to no end as to why this was. Was his diluted blood preventing such an anchor from taking effect? Did his human flesh and partially human soul already count as an anchor? There was no logic to it.
And the dagger before him offered no answers.
There was a knock on Ray's door. His harsh answer was a bit too revealing of his frustrations but, thankfully, the captain of the ship was a none too clever man. Even if he was capable of realizing the dagger was the object of Ray's current frustrations he would not be able to use that information in any way to benefit himself.
"Your Majesty," the captain greeted. "We're almost ready to sail out. Given the success of your mission, am I correct to assume we will be taking the most direct course to Alyra?"
