Page 6 of Relyn
“I am Relyn,” he said, enjoying the sound of it on his lips.
Caldar nodded, but there was no more time for talk. A doorway opened on the far side of the room and a Suhlik filled it. The devil hissed and showed brilliant golden teeth and claws. It struck quickly, slicing through Relyn. Had he actually been made of flesh and bone, Relyn would have been gutted immediately, but instead, his form liquified for a moment and the path of the claws sealed as quickly as it had been split.
This obviously confused the devil, and he paused, trying to figure out why his victim was not lying dead on the floor.
Caldar took advantage of this and swept around, grabbing the monster by the neck and twisting, snapping the life out of it much more quickly than it deserved.
“Ha!” Caldar said as he let the Suhlik crumple to the floor. He grabbed one of the knuckles and cracked it’s armor casing. “We’ll use their own fingers against them. It’s a crude weapon, but effective.” He bent one bladed finger against the other and used it to saw it free. Caldar handed him the blade and went to work on a second one.
The blood from the end dripped onto the surface of Relyn’s skin, and he felt a familiar tingle. He felt the forms pushing into his memory. If he wanted to, he could become a Suhlik, just as he had formed himself into a Mahdfel.
“I have an idea,” Relyn said. “But you may not like it.”
“If it gets us the fuck out of here, I’m all for it.”
“I shall try it. Stand still for a moment.”
Relyn put his hand- Balcore’s hand, and let it melt forming a thin layer that creeped across Caldar’s form. He slowlymolded himself to the form, until he completely surrounded the Mahdfel. Then, with much concentration, he slowly, part by part, gave his outer skin the appearance of the Suhlik, as if Caldar was wearing the devil’s skin. Once he was done, Relyn relaxed and let Caldar’s muscles pull him and move him as if they were his own.
Caldar held up the shiny claws that now extended from their fingers. The reflection staring back was clearly Suhlik. It was quite unsettling, but Caldar seemed impressed.
“This is a very good idea.” Caldar tested the movements, and once satisfied that his disguise would hold in place, he exited the room and into a long hallway. There were similar doors all along the hallway.
“The rest of my company is dead. Balcore was the last that I had not seen with my own eyes,” Caldar said as he paused and listened at the next doorway. He waved his hand at the door anyway and it slid open. It was empty.
Caldar sighed and continued on. There was a hope that he could rescue more, but every door he came to revealed an empty room. The final door at the end led to a wider corridor. Here, he did not test any more doors, knowing that at any second, they could come across another Suhlik and be discovered.
Caldar moved purposefully through the corridors. He did not pause or blink when he saw the first Suhlik. He walked by as if the monster were invisible. It would not do to leave a trail of corpses behind them, yet. He seemed to have a good idea of the layout of the facility and soon enough they entered a large hangar bay full of ships. A quick glance around and he chose one. It was small, sleek and armed to the teeth, the perfect ship to make a getaway in.
There were three Suhlik nearby, it was clear that they had no idea what was about to happen. Caldar reached out for the first one, and easily slid his knife fingers between the scales aroundits neck and cut its throat. Relyn could feel the tingle as his body contacted the blood, but he ignored it as the second Suhlik looked up in surprise. A moment later, it too was lying on the floor from a snapped neck.
The third let out a great hiss and attacked, slicing its fingers against their chest. But Relyn was ready, and thickened the layer, allowing it to pass through him and not Caldar. It hissed and attacked again, but Caldar reacted swiftly, slicing his opponent in the same way, but his claws penetrated, slicing the devil nearly in two.
The Mahdfel actually laughed as he climbed up the hatch ramp and sealed the door behind him. A brief search showed the ship was empty, and a moment later, they used the Suhlik face to pass through the security and were speeding away without any pursuit. It wasn’t for nearly twenty minutes later that Relyn pulled away, reforming back into Balcore. He took the navigator’s chair and looked at the control panel. He could not remember seeing one before, but again, his instincts guided him, and he easily knew how to complete each function.
“We shall be back in Mahdfel space in less than 12 hours,” Caldar said after a long moment of silence. “You don’t have any one, or anywhere?”
“I do not remember anything beyond the Suhlik.”
“I have been around, and I’ve never seen a species quite like you. Odds are that you don’t resemble anything that you started out to be.”
“I am alone.”
“You are unique. That makes you special, not alone. And I’m always on the lookout for special. A Mahdfel of your talents would come in very useful, if you wish to join me.”
“I will join you.” Relyn didn’t really need to consider it, but he asked anyway. “Will I get to kill more Suhlik?”
“Yes. Though to be fair, I did most of the killing. But it is to be expected that both of us claim to have killed a dozen or more in our escape, which alone will make us legends.”
“Legends. I do not even have my own face.”
Caldar shrugged. “You will wear Balcore’s face, and you will honor his sacrifice with the blood of endless golden devils. He would like that.”
“Then I shall.”
Chapter 3
Relyn
