The Goddess's Hero

Jacqueline's Secret

Skye's POV

"I am Bal Shadowend. Demons Leader, Demons Keeper." He closed his eyes for a short while and I felt an instant rush of mana.

"What are you doing?" I asked defensively.

"Calling my god."

"No, Bal, don't!" Her voice came before her form materialized. "Please, Bal, don't call him!" Lady Jacqueline was still in her yellow dress from earlier, but now her hair was tied up and she was pushing Bal to the other end of the tavern.

"What's going on here?" I asked as Sophia came up to me. "Isn't Lady Jacqueline you're guys' god?"

"All of the gods are gods, human." Trag'thomoth stated behind us again. "But our Creator, our God who gave us Life, that would be Jasper. God of Earth and Flame."

"But I thought Jacqueline was the only one who could give Life?"

"Under her tutelage, our God was as he created us." He answered my question again.

"So, wait. What you're telling me is that Jasper can also create life?"

"Not without Lady Jacqueline's help." Sophie pointed out.

"So, does that mean that any God can create life?"

"As long as Jacqueline is present, yes."

Bal and Jacqueline were still in the corner of the tavern whispering incoherently. Most demons had returned to their meat and ale.

"Does this happen often?" I asked as I noticed that no demon actually cared that a literal Goddess had just appeared and was speaking directly with their King. Sophia nodded.

"Yes, Bal and the Lady Jacqueline are very good friends." She answered as I watched the duo argue. And then it happened. Bal's eyes wandered down the length of Jacqueline's body. Before I knew what I was doing, I was ripping him away from her and punching him in the face. 

Surprise flitted across his face before my fist met it's mark once again. Bal stumbled back and I threw a fist into his gut. Spittle flew into my face and I flinched. My mistake. Bal's eyes were enflamed and he kneed me in the gut. Blood came from my wound and my mouth. My vision blurred and I fell into the pit as Bal punched me in the face. He was unrelenting as he jumped on top of me as gracefully as a cheetah on a mountain goat. I tried grabbing his arms, but he was much faster than I was. I brought my arms up to protect my face and it was all I could do against the onslaught. 

Magic! Came the voice residing in my head. I uttered the shield spell which glowed yellow as it surrounded me. Bal paused for a moment before laughing. He stared hard at me as I stood within my cocoon of safety. He smirked and without looking away from me, punched his fist right through my shield shattering it to a thousand pieces on the ground. Mana didn't rush back into me as it would have in Comwen. It disappeared entirely, shattered just like the shield I had thrown up. Shock brought me to my knees. Bal didn't stop. He wasn't expecting me to fall to my knees and so his blow went well above my head. I'm not going down without a fight!

I grabbed his legs and threw him to the floor. I stood up just as he jumped up in front of me. There was something serious in his eyes now and I stamped out the fear that threatened to distract me. Whatever he was going to do, I'd be ready. Suddenly, Bal vanished. Instantly I tracked him with his mana usage. I blocked him from the right and intense pain ran through my arm. It was the same pain I had when Jacqueline crushed my bones. He vanished again, but he wasn't far. I went on the offense and kicked his fist away, he corrected instantly and I ducked. Tackling him, I punched him as hard as I could with my unbroken hand. His toughened skin bruised, but no bones broke like I wanted. He twisted his legs around my neck and threw me down. He crushed my windpipe and lava formed around his hand.