Newly Summoned Demoness 2 - Chapter 3 – The City Guard (Patreon)

By the time Elania was awake and ready, morning was mostly over. Even with Yolani’s help waking up early. The streets were already bustling with the sounds of moving goods, and customers and inhabitants of Artificer Row waved and greeted them as they passed by.

Elania pulled her green cloak a little tighter and considered pulling up her hood. It wasn’t the same one that she’d taken from Marcus after she’d killed him. That piece of cloth had been destroyed in the battle at the Magistry. Why she’d felt compelled to replace it with one of the same color, she wasn’t sure. Maybe that was just because it complemented her red hair?

The row’s security gate was as well guarded as ever, a half dozen Ironfist mercenaries standing by the cargo entrance while a smaller squad manned the smaller gate. A steady stream of traffic made their way in and out, keeping the guard’s attention, but as Elania and Yolani neared, the leader waved to them.

Sergeant Harlock looked as well as he ever had, and his armor had a newly polished shine to it. That was probably because the man had made a lot of gold working with them. He’d even gone with them on the Hornar spider expedition.

And one thing Elania had definitely learned was that artifice paid very well and meant that Yolani could throw a lot of coin at some problems. They certainly didn’t lack for any necessities.

His weathered face broke into a rare, if somewhat gruff, smile upon seeing them. “Good morning, you two. Going out to face the dragons?” Harlock asked as they came to a stop.

“Something like that,” Elania replied with a light chuckle. “We have a meeting with Magister Bannock.”

Yolani nodded. “We need a wagon to take us to the City Guard Headquarters. Could you get us one?”

He turned to one of the mercenaries watching the gate. “Lucas! Girls need a ride. Go fetch one, please.”

“Sure thing.” The middle-aged man gave them a thumb up and headed out. Elania smiled. The man was one of the people who had helped them as well.

They made small talk for a few minutes until an artifice powered wagon arrived, driven by a chauffeur. Yolani passed him a small gold coin. That was one tenth of a large gold, which was Neftasu’s largest coin denomination.

It was an exorbitant fee for a ride across the city. A [Ralfot] carriage would have got them there almost as fast and still spared them a walk at a fraction of the cost.

But Elania enjoyed riding in the artifice wagon. It was pretty close to an old-timey automobile. Except it was made out of cloth. She was pretty sure that cars weren’t supposed to be made out of fabric. Maybe she was wrong.

They waved to Harlock as they got on board. “Thanks for the help,” Elania said.

Harlock nodded. “Well, keep your eyes sharp. The city’s been a kettle about to boil over these days.”

The artifice wagon was hardly a smooth ride, but the magic propulsion was relatively silent. Like an electric car.

As they rode out of the artisan district, Elania couldn’t help but admire the vibrant tableau of activity that passed by. Tailor shops displayed their wares in windows full of fabric and clothes, forges belched plumes of smoke, and the clang of hammers on anvils was a symphony of productivity. The throngs of people outmatched the number on the more private Artificer Row.

They left it behind all too quickly, passing into the central district of Neftasu. The transition was swift and marked a heavy shift in atmosphere; the industrious hum gave way to a thrumming tension of humanity that prickled the air.

The throngs of people thickened until their driver was forced to turn and take a different route. Yolani, who had been uncharacteristically quiet on the ride, pointed toward the central square. “There is some kind of demonstration going on.”

Elania tilted her head and leaned over to look out the other girl’s side of the wagon. “Any idea about what?”

“What else other than the reforms?” Yolani asked.

Elania grunted. Well, she was probably right. Things had not been going entirely well since the ‘event’ where she had somehow put a geas on all the magisters to clean up the city on pain of… having their souls ripped out or something.

Her memory of being in the Celestial Engine and what came after had never recovered, but Yolani had filled her in on the specifics. Apparently, she’d turned into some angel type badass and laid down the law. Which was the main reason they had received so much assistance with the law and materials for rebuilding Aetherhart’s Artifice.

That was handy, because they’d ended up killing some people, and while Neftasu and Eladu were very much what Elania would call on a wild west type of law, people still went to jail for murdering each other.

At least when it could be proven. Which, even with magical artifice stuff like truth stones, wasn’t always possible.

Between the buildings, she spotted a wooden stage at the center of the square as they passed another street. A figure was standing on top of it, passionately shouting to the crowd. From the resounding response, they were eating it up. She focused and pushed a little [Power] into her ears to help her make it out.

“…and we will not be ignored until our demands are heard! The Magisters must answer for their negligence!”

Riiight. Yolani had hit the nail dead center.

“Let’s not linger,” Elania murmured, and Yolani nodded in agreement.

The other girl reached up and slid open the compartment door to the front. “Keep us out of the crowd.”

The driver glanced back and then nodded. “Sure thing, lass! Was already looking for a way ‘round them. Bunch of troublemakers, if you ask me!”

“Why are they protesting?” Elania asked.

The undercurrent of roused voices meant the man had to nearly shout. “Bread shortage! The noble who owned the mill had his goods confiscated, and his trading partners cut off the supply of cave-wheat. It hasn’t run for two days and the people from the Merc Dist’ are furious!”

As they rolled through the gate to the conclave district and toward the city guard’s fortress, the shouts and chants faded into the background. They probably should have just taken the long way around instead of cutting through the city’s center.

It wasn’t long, though, before they arrived at the guard district. It was one of the small, specialized districts that was essentially an enclave inside the city. The walls and gate were imposing, and the driver had to show a special pass to the guards standing at the entrance. Even with that, they were inspected with a meticulousness that bordered on invasive.

Everything was in order and above-board, so they were finally allowed to pass as the gate sergeant waved them on with a curt nod.

It was a straight shot to the front of the headquarters, its imposing structure making her feel suddenly small. The citadel dominated the area, an odd mix of what she’d consider a medieval castle and oversized office building. Countless windows on the upper floors spilled out artificed light, adding to the resemblance.

Elania took a deep breath as she stepped down from the wagon, steeling herself for the encounter with Magister Bannon. The Guard Magister was probably the least offensive magister from the group, but that didn’t mean she liked him. He was stern and martial, and in her opinion, his failures in allowing the guard to fall to corruption hit way too close to home.

Yolani stepped out behind her, and Elania took her hand and helped her down. The driver waved and headed back out to find more clients.

“Are you ready?” Elania asked.

Yolani nodded. “No Henri, so we’ll have to go through the normal gate.”

“Yay, airport security,” Elania mumbled.

“What’s an airport?” Yolani asked.

“It’s a place where people get on airplanes. They search everyone who wants to travel. Unless you are important,” Elania said.

Yolani’s eyes widened slightly. “The flying things?”

Elania nodded, but the conversation was cut short as they reached the entrance. A dozen guards stood idly by along the outer wall and inside the gate there were another half-dozen men that all looked a bit too bored.

Bored guards were bad news.

The man up front gave them a lecherous grin that gave her the creeps. “Two for additional screening. Riles, get over here!”

Yolani frowned and stepped forward. “We’re here to see the—”

“Sure you are. Screening is required at random to make sure nothing dangerous gets in,” the guard said, cutting her off.

Elania grimaced. It was going to be one of those days, apparently. Did the man even have [Identify]? Why would they have a guard without it doing screening?

Riles was a much less imposing figure, almost scrawny even in the heavy plated trench-coat armor the guard preferred. “Giggs, are…are you sure? That one—”

Giggs glared and snapped, “Shut up, Riles! In here you two, now.”

Elania and Yolani exchanged a resigned look, but complied.

They all shuffled into a small side room. Giggs didn’t waste any time, and they relinquished their belongings so Riles could begin to go through them on a table.

“You’ll need to be searched before you can go any further,” the large guard announced, his voice gruff and devoid of politeness. Elania suppressed her growing agitation. Barely. Hadn’t these assholes ever heard of same gender pat-down requirements?

Giggs gave her a look that just solidified her rapidly falling opinion of the man before his eyes settled on Yolani. “Spread your arms and legs and hold still,” he ordered.

A grimace spread over Yolani’s face as he began to pat her down. Pat was the wrong word. The man was literally rubbing his hands all over her!

When his hand went between her legs, she protested. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

Giggs laughed and then reached up and cupped a breast and squeezed. “Got to make sure you’re not carrying anything dangerous, might need to do an intern—”

In a flash of motion, Elania’s hand clamped down on his wrist and pulled his arm back. “Stop touching her. We’re going to report you to your superior.”

Gigg’s face contorted in anger. “You’re going to regret that,” he stated. His other arm came up and his fist swung toward Elania’s head. There was a heavy thud of flesh, but it came from the comical bounce of his hand recoiling as if he had struck solid steel.

Elania’s patience evaporated. The little rational part of her mind told her to restrain him and wait for someone to come and arrest him. The other part, the one now taking control, said he’d get a slap on the wrist and have a chance to do this again to someone else.

Plus, he’d touched Yolani.

She meant to throw him through the wall, but his arm ripped out of its socket and flesh tore with a sickening rip as blood exploded from the sudden hole at his shoulder. There was a scream from Riles, maybe, but she didn’t care.

Correcting her earlier mistake, she kneed him in the midsection and sent him crashing through the masonry and back into the entryway’s corridor.

Yolani stared with disbelief as Riles fumbled for his weapon. Shouts and yelling erupted and someone called for a medic, but Elania doubted Giggs was going to need any assistance. Men with muskets readied stormed into the room and leveled them at her and Yolani.

Before anyone could say anything, one ran up and tried grabbing her wrist, and she twisted the grip and threw him to the floor.

Gently.

Things were getting out of hand. Elania reached out to grab Yolani’s hand to shield her, then drew a pulse of [Power] and shoved it into her [Demonic Aura] and activated it. It spread out like a golden sphere of light motes, barely visible in the air as a shimmer.

“Kneel,” Elania intoned, the order dripping with authority as it resonated through the air.

The guards crumpled onto their knees, weapons clattering to the stone floor.

More guards poured in from other areas, taking in the sight with confusion and alarm. Shouts continued to fill the air from afar. Yolani squeezed her hand tightly and hissed at her. “Elania!”

Well, this was a right mess.

Elania prepared herself to bring up a shield, then cleared her voice and spoke loudly enough to be heard over the shouting. “The man tried to molest my friend.”

There was a flicker of understanding from some of the men, others didn’t seem to hear or care. That made her feel annoyed, so she tried again. “The bastard tried to rape us!”

That might have been a slight exaggeration, although she felt it was quite close to the mark of what the man intended. She shouted it so loud no one could fail to hear. There was a visible relaxation from just about everyone as they processed what happened and realized she wasn’t a crazy demon on a rampage.

Women weren’t treated poorly in Neftasu. She had found they were respected simply because of so many tasks they could carry out and do as well as a man. Even if Yolani was one of the rare exceptions to artifice work, that was mostly by choice for them. There weren’t any laws restricting women from certain jobs other than they needed to meet the requirements for the work.

That didn’t mean there weren’t used and abused in places like the Mercenary District, but in the upper areas of society they were protected. At least in public.

A squad of men centered around a captain with a tall hat emerged from down the hall. The man had a burly frame, and she recognized him as Captain Harrik. Lieutenant Gaston, Henri’s uncle, followed right beside him.

She could feel the relief radiate from Yolani, and a hopeful spark ignited inside Elania as well. Maybe things could be salvaged. Her eyes drifted to the hole in the wall and to the medics tending to the broken corpse half buried in brick. Maybe.

“Stand down! What’s going on?” Captain Harrik bellowed loudly. Several sergeants ran over and began to speak to him as the two officers approached.