The first rabbits came at him low as Daniel shot forward. His bruised muscles screamed for him to stop, which he ignored. Time moved slower with the sword’s help. He moved faster, harder, and swung too early.
Worse, he experienced it all in that slow motion, unable to pull back.
Well, this could have gone better.
The blade went over its skull and hit stone.
The shock ran up his arm to the elbow, making his teeth vibrate.
A white blur, the skeletal bun raked his calf in passing. Two more darted forward to spear him. Daniel dove left, rolling across the dusty stone and readjusting.
“What are you doing?” Carl chortled. “If you die this easily, all the waves I planned would be a waste. And I hate waste…”
“Then I won’t disappoint you!”
Daniel arced the blade, cutting one of the three mid-leap. The Tarnished Blade cleaved through it like splitting water. He twisted, feet finding movement that almost felt like a dance, and he managed to dodge the second and cut down the third.
“Are all your monsters this weak?”
“Daniel, my friend,” Carl drawled, “you’re on the first floor. Relax.”
“I might as well, if this is the best you’ve got!”
Timing the bunny’s hops, he noticed the pattern and struck as it came at him in its zigzag angles. Bones cut clean through; it fell to the ground.
He breathed hard and turned, surprised when the monsters shattered. What was left were a few iron coins and tiny, clouded white shards.
“Your monsters aren’t real, huh? They’re just soulless puppets that break into what it cost to make them?”
“I wouldn’t knock puppets, Daniel. All it took was a few iron to make an angel bleed. Look at your leg.”
Daniel glanced down, seeing gold seeping out of the wound. He laughed, but inside, his gut churned. His body was already battered from the fall. The chattering of bones came from up ahead, Carl’s voice low and sinister.
“What will you do now, friend?”
His grip tightened around the sword and the silver box’s feathery design.
A fire grew inside him.
“I don’t know, Carl. I don’t know.”
My memories of general things are returning.
Why aren’t my memories about myself?
He looked ahead.
“I just know I can’t quit. She needs me.”
Daniel took a step forward, gold leaking on the stone as he left the coins behind.
“She? Do angels have partners? What’s her name?”
He cut down the next three, getting grazed on his arm as one used the wall to redirect its momentum.
Are they learning?
“Clara. I think. Angels sound lonely. At least we have each other. Huh, Carl?”
“Are you trying to make me jealous? It’s working. Is this a mortal you fell for? Forbidden love from on high? Pleasures of the flesh grew dull for me as a Core after fifty years or so. It’s all psychological. But you should have seen the things I’ve witnessed between dungeon crawlers.”
“Sounds rough…”
Daniel spun the blade, steeling his mind. His body was slowly ceasing its shakes, his mouth drying. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. But his strikes were getting sharper.
Unfortunately, they were multiplying. Five came in the next wave.
How much time do I have left?
[Tarnished Sword Time Remaining: 49 minutes]
Thanks, little box.
He moved to face the skeletal buns.
“Can’t say. I— Bloody wings, Carl!”
A bony critter jumped off its brother, shiny horn slipping his swing and plunging into his side. He brought the hilt on its skull. It crumbled, the horn flaking away, as if dust and leaving shimmering gold to pool out and run down his leg to paint the stone.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“Are you turning my name into a curse? Interesting vocabulary. But you’re not looking so good. Maybe you should take a break.”
“Why? I’m just getting into the swing of things,” he lied, stumbling forward. “But if you could send pants or a pack my way, that’d be great, friend. I can’t really hold anything with these torn robes, can I? Oh, you vicious thing…”
Eight rabbits hopped around the next junction.
“Just over twenty undead horned rabbits to take out an angel… I don’t know if I should feel sorry for you, Daniel. All you needed to do was give me the box.”
Firming his ground and tightening his grip around the silver case, Daniel fought past the pain. It was duller than he thought it should be. Maybe that was just something about being an angel. His mind was beginning to haze with every golden footprint he left in the hall.
“You really are a terrible first friend, Carl. This box is Clara’s… It’s mine.”
“I suppose I am.”
The rabbits zigzagged in as Daniel’s hand blurred. A few seconds of frenzied movement later, and he stood over several iron coins.
His laugh became wet as blood coated his lips, his voice coming in rasps.
“Punctured a lung…”
“Are you afraid, Daniel?”
“Oddly… No. This isn’t the end, Carl.”
The Core’s voice grew softer, the sneer lifting.
“It’s alright. You don’t need to lie to me. There’s no shame. I’m just glad you came… It’s not so bad, being here. It’s just very quiet. Maybe that will change. I promise I’ll take care of you in ways Clara never could.”
He spat out the shimmering gold.
“Now I’m getting a bit scared. Funny. But I’ll never surrender, Carl. I’ll never— ”
Ahead, a burning skull of a skeleton came into focus in his blurry vision. It raised a bow and released an arrow. It whistled through the air, striking him between the eyes.
“Goodbye. Blame me. Let your rage out… I’m here. Maybe my experiment will work this time… Maybe we won’t be apart for that long. See you soon, my first friend.”
You’re a sorry guy, Carl… I’d still pick her.
I’ll always pick her.
The dungeon stopped. Chills cascaded through his wing nubs.
He was on his back. There was a ceiling of dark stone above, with water seeping out like stomach acid, hidden teeth waiting to sink into his flesh. There was no pain anywhere.
And then invisible hands reached out with such warmth that it chased away all cold.
Silver hair tickled his nose as the world washed white.
Gentle words caressed his ears.
“When are you going to stop breaking my heart?”
Through it all, he refused to let go of the box.
Everything faded. And he fell into her embrace.
The sound of wind, rustling sheets, and the gentle scent of spring rain.
Soft lips pressed against his, pulling him out of the deep.
Eyes opening, he found white locks draping him, pulling his gaze to the seafoam-blue of the ocean. She was smiling for him with longing.
“Welcome home, my husband.”
He was lying with his head in a woman’s lap. Light ran off her fingers into his forearm. He felt the wound close under it. Gold blood stayed behind on his skin in bright, drying streaks, and she did not wipe it away.
A light giggle slid through her frame, and in that silver bell’s chime came sensations more than memories.
“Lips catch your tongue?”
He pushed himself up, and she jumped into motion, crawling to the edge of the bed.
“Oh, let me show you around—ahh!”
Top left wing folding under her knee, she tumbled into a full somersault off the bed with a glorious grunt as she landed in a tangled heap on the fluffy carpeted floor.
“Pfft—” Daniel couldn’t help a laugh bubbling up as he watched her lie there, bright, silvery tears coming on. “Hello, my wife.”
“You’re so mean… Quit laughing at your poor wife. I had this perfect plan. It was perfect. Only to klutz it all up with my stupid jittery wing. And what is with Carl? I think he likes you a little too much.” Her wing creased in that pout that matched her lip. “You liked him.”
“Baby. No. He’s just a friend.”
“Who said he’d treat you better than me?”
Daniel climbed off to lie atop the sniffling woman’s chest to hear her thumping heart.
“He’s delusional. Hey, and who said it wasn’t a masterpiece?”
“I didn’t expect you to drown me in affection…”
His smile softened as he pinned her down.
“I can be harder on you if you like.”
Her feathers ruffled underneath his hands as he hung over her, blond locks veiling the room so she couldn’t look away.
“You’ve clearly been watching me. I want to know everything about you, about our kingdom, and most importantly, this insecurity you bathe in. What is eating at you, my love?”
A lump fell down Clara’s throat, unable to pull away from his searching gaze.
“And if I say there isn’t time…”
His head tilted to the side.
“Then it’s a mystery for me to solve. My fallen state. My wings. Your imprisonment… Our love that feels written into my bones. So, what time is there for, My Queen? Every direction you point my eyes is another piece to fit into this beautiful puzzle.”
“You sound more dangerous by the second, My King.”
He pulled her into an embrace that brought her fingers sliding through his hair to hold him closer.
“A man is only dangerous when he has something to lose, and something to gain. Waking up in your lap is my heaven. I want to know why. So what can I do to put those tears back into your eyes? Or are tears exactly what you want?”
Her silver-hued, feathery wings folded around him.
“I want this… Just this. Always this.”
He smiled and shifted slightly to bring his lips up to hers. Her wings folded tighter, arms trembling. And Daniel knew with every fiber of his being that he would protect this woman. Even if she was hiding everything. He’d find the answers. He’d find out why he kept this angel in his heart.
“Yes. You’re way better than Carl.”
That brought the tears to an end, her cheeks coloring and her smile returning.
“Good.”
Daniel knew the salt of her skin and lips, the shape of her hand and wings in his, and the love she showered him with. Yet, as the heat flowed into his body, questions followed.
What is our story?
I’m home… But for how long?