Sister, sister

As the figure emerges from the fire, several bestial forms follow, horned snd clawed. You leap from your horse, already giving instructions. “Anna, Elys, Lynn, Rachel, Yura. Stay here. Anna and Elys, make sure nothing gets close. The rest of you, get ready.

Everyone nods. Clarissa jumps from the wagon, her armor flowing onto her body like liquid metal. As her massive axe forms in her hands, she turns to you. “The threat is this Khadi. The other demons are distractions.”

You nod, watching a glowing helmet form over her head. “Can you and Sadie take them, or do you need Maya too?”

You hear a growl inside her helm. “I think Sadie will be plenty.”

The djinn has already taken to the air. “Come on new girl! Let’s blast some demons!”

You turn to Maya, who has transformed already, all claws and fangs. She simply gives you a nod and falls into step beside you. Kali looks at you, golden light beginning to spill from her eyes. “Khadi. Of course my father would send someone.”

“One of your sisters, I assume?”

Kali nods. “The youngest. Her powers are weak, but beware those weapons. And do not let her bite you. All of those will cause horrible wounds.”

You nod, and Kali walks beside you as you approach the demonic figure. From the side you can see Clarissa wade into battle, demonic claws glancing off her heavy armor with no effect. She swings her axe two handed, and a gout of flame erupts as she cleaves her opponent in half. Meanwhile, Sadie swoops in, a blast of lightning cooking a demon as it tries to attack Clarissa from behind.

Satisfied that they will be fine, you turn to Khadi. She has stopped about twenty feet away, and speaks with some difficulty around her fangs. “Well, sister, I see that you embraced your weaknesses now. At least you’re not pretending to be a true daughter of the demon lord anymore. Father promised me power if I can bring him your head.”

You sigh. “So, this is going to be a whole thing. Fine. Full blooded demons I don’t reason with.”

Kali growls. “I have no father, I have no sister. I have Josh. I have my family.”

Maya, for her part, just snarls. You summon a flame wrapped blade, and point it at Khadi. “I would normally give you a chance to surrender. But no one threatens my girls. And demons are a plague. Therefore...”

With a sweep of the blade, you send a blast of fire towards Khadi. As expected, it has no effect, and she leaps forward to swing her barbed sword at you. You summon a shield to catch it, but she lashes out with her whip. Snaking around your guard, the thorns rip a chunk from your shoulder, and you stagger back in pain. You see a grin on Khadi’s horrific face.

There’s a snarl, and Maya springs forward. Catching Khadi by her left arm as she raises it to strike, Maya roars. “No one hurts my Josh!”

The metal of Khadi’s armor squeals in protest as Maya’s grip distorts the black metal. With a snarl, she twists the arm, and there’s a horrifying crunch of breaking bones. Meanwhile, Kali is at your side, concentrating for a moment as she lays glowing hands on your mangled shoulder. The wound closes, leaving a scar behind.

Khadi kicks Maya in the stomach, forcing the half-dragon back. The whip drops from her useless arm, which hangs limp at her side. She raises her cruel blade in a guard as you stalk towards her. Summoning a second blade, you hammer her sword aside, but she leaps away before you can strike.

“You’re fast, Khadi, but let’s see how well you dance.” You snarl, sending a blast of lightning her way. She dodges aside, panic starting to darken her features. You throw another bolt, but she is too fast, and dives aside.

You never meant to hit her, however. The last dodge left her standing among the smoking corpses of the demons she brought. She looks around in surprise, and opens her mouth to speak. She never gets the chance.

From behind her, a massive, glowing axe cleaves her from shoulder to hip, the edges of her sundered armor glowing orange as her torso falls away, smoking. Standing over the dissolving corpse is Clarissa, who swings her axe in the air to clear it of demon blood, before looking to you and nodding.

You look at her and Sadie. Neither seems injured, and you smile. “Well done.” You turn to Kali. “Are you ok?”

She smiles. “I never liked her. But she was never going to be a threat. It won’t be that easy next time, and they won’t underestimate you again.”

You nod. “Well, we need to keep getting stronger, then. Let’s check for survivors in the post, but I don’t think it’s likely.”

Kali shakes her head. “Likely sacrificed to summon the demons. That’s what caused the explosion. Khadi could barely make a candle.”

You sigh. “Let’s check anyway, and then we move on. No sense waiting for another attack.”