Chương 28: Chapter 26 – Just a little spar

The silence stretched for exactly long enough for me to wonder how famous my dear brother actually was in the secret societies. Like, this man was clearly blind, but still. One of the guards stepped toward the blindfolded man.

"Sir, this is Damian O'Connor. Golden Sands climber. He's here to see Sarah Langley." The man's head tilted. A smile crossed his face.

"Well, that is slightly awkward. I am Verchiel. Come inside, Damian." He motioned toward the compound. The guards looked at each other with obvious discomfort. I finished buttoning my shirt, tucked it in, and drew the jacket back over my shoulders. I followed Verchiel into the complex. The insides were the US Army standard, clean, efficiently arranged, purposeful. Verchiel walked with surety, slowing down a step to walk next to me.

"I admit I hadn't heard Peter had a brother involved with the Secret Societies."

"I didn't know he was involved until I got here," I said.

"How do you know him?" Verchiel's smile thinned.

"That is extraordinarily classified."

"By whom?"

"By the Secret Societies. While our practice of secrecy may feel frustrating, it is a best practice proven by the millennia of society's existence. But let me assure you that your brother is doing well." And my twin brother also apparently meddled with demons enough for Verchiel to think it was him when the demon alarms rang. Mother must have been less than pleased with us. With me, there was a little hope I would stop interacting with demons.

But she had high hopes for Peter to live a normal life in alignment with God's teachings. That didn't pan out. Some things just ran too deep in the family, apparently.

"I suppose you cannot tell me what he's doing, or how to contact him," I said.

"Truth be told, I know neither. Your organization should be able to get you his phone number, though. He is independent, as far as I am aware, but he has connections with a certain member of the Golden Sands." I smiled. That was more than I hoped for.

"Thanks. If I may ask for another thing, I have a significant outstanding debt at the Golden Sands. Could it perhaps be arranged that I would change organizations, and you would pay the debt for me? I would bring you plenty of items from inside the tower." Verchiel released a snort.

"Money is but a token among our societies. The sum might be denominated in dollars, but it cannot be repaid in them. Whatever debt you might have with the Sands is impossible for us to pay off, even if engaging in the topic of a transfer between organizations wouldn't risk our relationship, which it would. The very relationships that is necessary for everyone's access to the tower." I clicked my tongue. Not the answer I was hoping to hear.

"Now, if I may impart a touch of unrequested wisdom."

"For as long as it's not a sermon." He snorted slightly.

"Make sure the means you've justified by an end aren't worse than the alternate end. That is one of the sharper lines between good and evil." Hmph. That got serious real fast. And I knew what he meant, and frankly speaking, it was why I hadn't been summoning Elsha. It also reminded me of Peace. That was the prime example of using any means to an end.

"I'll keep it in mind," I said, and actually meant it. Not that I was necessarily going to follow it, but I planned to not forget that. We walked through a side corridor, past an armoury with its door propped open, and out to a side courtyard. A weapons rack along the far wall held practice weapons. The Pacific wind cut through the space, sharp with salt and the distant sound of construction. Sarah stood in the center, moving through sword forms. No armor today, just training clothes.

She didn't even carry her main sword. The practice sword in her hands was wooden, carved from something dense. She moved through the forms with the muscle memory of ten thousand repetitions. Clean footwork, smooth transitions, textbook paladin technique. But the strain in her movement was visible. The moves were fast and precise, but she needed to break between the forms, often relaxing the posture to catch her breath. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Ms. Langley," Verchiel said.

"You have a guest." Sarah turned. Her expression cycled through surprise, suspicion, and a smile.

"Damian."

"Sorry for interrupting you, Sarah." Verchiel spun and headed away, leaving us to ourselves.

"I came to check on you," I added. Her eyes sharpened. The blue could have cut glass.

"Because you can't climb floor eighteen without me?"

"Because I zeroed you. Your state is a bit on me, so I've come to see how you're doing." She blinked, and the sharp edge softened into something more complicated. Not warmth, exactly. But she stopped looking at me like I was there to ask for a favour. She pointed the practice sword at the weapons rack.

"Pick up a sword. We can spar while we talk." She reset her stance, rolling her shoulder out.

"Unless you're afraid a tired paladin is going to embarrass you." I walked to the rack, pulled a practice sword off the hooks, and spun it in my hand. Pretty well balanced for a practice sword. I turned back to her, caught the sword with both hands, and took a stance. Sarah's eyes narrowed. She scanned me from head to toe.

"That's a standard stance… of a Church's paladin."

"My mother spent her life as one. She's retired now, but she taught me to use a sword before she taught me to read." Something lit up behind Sarah's eyes, betraying warmth.

"Let's see if you've learned anything, then." She bolted forward with a low lunge. I parried the strike, circling half a step left. She chased, turning the charge into three precise slashes. I parried two and blocked one, stepping back to remake the distance. Sarah smiled.

"You don't have to be afraid of counter-attacking. I am not made of paper."

"True." I smirked.

"But I also need you for tomorrow's climb."

"You…" She charged again, lunging with a triple stab. With my sword at the center line, I easily parried all three. I stepped in for a quick straight slash. She flowed to its side, using my opening for another stab. I turned my wrists to parry the strike and stepped in for another straight slash. She sidestepped the strike, but I followed up with the sword and a stab. Sarah parried, stepping away in the process. A heavy exhale left her lips. Still suffering from the effects of being zeroed out.

"How does the son of a paladin end up summoning demons?" I stopped in place, holding the default stance.

"With immense talent and a desire for more."

"More of what?"

"Everything." She stepped in and struck again, this time with a heavy overhead strike. Practice swords were terrible for heavy strikes, though. I blocked, bracing my sword with a hand along the edge. The second her blade bounced off, I stepped to the side and countered with a one-handed stab. With an unnaturally quick step, she dodged.

"Why a summoner? You have enough mana to be any type of mage you can think of. You fight with natural instinct, so you could be any type of fighter you want. And also anything between the two." I stopped, letting her catch her breath.

"When I was young, I was a short and chubby kid. Everyone kept telling me I could only do something when I got bigger. So, I figured that I could summon someone big to do things for me that I couldn't." She stepped toward me to exchange a few strikes. These were a notch less serious, so we simply exchanged a few practice parries.

"You aren't a child anymore. You haven't been one for a long time. You can always admit the errors of your childish mind and correct your course." A sour smile reformed on my lips.

"My child self wasn't wrong. The way I see it now, in any form of direct magic or combat, I will always have the ceiling of my own strength, be it physical or spiritual. Summoning cheats around that ceiling, because it allows me to summon beings stronger than me to fight for me." Sarah paused, sword lowered. The wind caught her braid, whipping it across her shoulder. She studied me with the expression of someone who understood the logic perfectly well and hated every implication of it.

"That puts your ceiling to whatever you can summon. Also, why demons from Hell? Why not elemental spirits or something, anything normal?"

"The ceiling of what there's to summon from Hell is unimaginably high. Also, I add my own power to the summon through enhancement and direct mana transfers." I took a relaxed stance.

"And the whole demon summoning has been a bit of a stroke of fate. I was trying to summon something to get the box of chocolates my mother hid on top of the wardrobe. A tentacle worm from Hell wasn't what I had in mind when I fished through the spiritual planes. It brought me the chocolates, though." She shook her head, rubbing her face with her palm.

"And you have never thought that, perhaps, you could try to get spirits to summon from somewhere, anywhere, else?"

"I did, but didn't find out from where and how until I got deep enough into the whole demon summoning thing for it not to make sense to stop." Sarah shrugged, putting her sword back on the rack.

"I will pray for you and your soul. Just know that there is always a way back."

"Thanks." I smiled and meant it. I knew that it actually meant quite a bit in the context of her life.

"I'll leave you to rest. Take care." I headed for the door, giving her a wave over my shoulder.

"Before you go," she said.

"That pink-black shield you used to break the centaur's axe. That wasn't a human spell, was it? Who taught it to you?" The sourest of my smiles formed on my face.

"Pray you never find out." I walked out of the courtyard. The courtyard door was heavy, and it groaned when I pushed it open. Verchiel stood in the corridor. His blindfolded face turned toward me as the door closed.

"Leaving already."

"She needs rest, not moral dilemmas."

"That is a reasonable observation." He walked beside me toward the gate, matching my pace.

"Your visit will undoubtedly motivate her recovery. Few things inspire greatness in the faithful as a lost soul ready to be saved." I laughed, louder than I should have.

"She will have a lot of work with that."

"The harder the labor, the greater the accomplishment." We reached the door that was the side exit from their compound. No one was in the room, only a small table and a few empty chairs by the side. Verchiel stopped, motioning with his hand.

"The path is open. You are welcome to return whenever you will."

"Thanks." I stepped to the low table.

"A little something for your trouble." I pulled on my soul chamber and withdrew the reaper core. I put the pulsing, alien energy core on the table.

"She was a part of the fight, so it's fair for her to get a part of the loot." Without waiting for a reply, I left. Tomorrow, we were going to dive. And I was about to spend the rest of the day meditating and resting to fully recover my mana.