Coye 6.6

Chapter 6 - Fire and Steel

Marlie was alone in the dorm room she shared with her friends. Coco and Britni were out for the afternoon, and Marlie sensed they weren't coming back tonight. Meanwhile, Tiph took off for her lab with a concerning expression on her face. No doubt she was pissed off about the fight, but it worried Marlie to think of what she might be up to right about now. It'd probably have been a good idea to go and make sure Tiph wasn't doing anything stupid, but Marlie wasn't in the mood to be anyone's babysitter.

Chances to have the room to herself were few and far between. She'd done her good deed for the day by helping Tammy enforce the bets, and now there was nothing that could stop her from getting to know her new friend.

If Marlie was to have a lazy afternoon, she was damn well going to look the part. She stripped off her adventuring gear and swapped it out for pajamas. Marlie went with a loose, black cotton shirt with a cute skull decal that hung off her torso yet failed to cover up her midriff and a red, skull-patterned pair of boyish boxers. Her dark brown skin was illuminated by the glowing cracks running along her body that burned with her fiery demonic lineage, but the fire within posed no threat to her new attire. Marlie hadn't accidentally burned her clothes since she was six.

Before tossing them away with the rest of her gear, Marlie emptied the contents of her pant pockets onto the bed. A small smile crept across her lips beneath the mask she refused to remove, even in her lungs. She was thinking about the fight, of course. It was hard not to. Not only was it the most entertainment she'd had since transferring to this sleepy town, but Marlie continued finding Coye more intriguing than she'd admit.

Guess he wasn't kidding about understanding her- Coye wasn't kidding when he said he liked his toys. Her smile grew less subtle as she recalled some of the tricks he pulled off with his arsenal. Not too shabby, but the real interesting part continued to be that curious sword of his.

Marlie's thoughts were interrupted as a small, red rectangle with a crystal screen fell out of her pockets. Attached to it was a small silver chain leading to a locket in the shape of a fiery heart. Some small sense of sentimentality rose within her as she picked up the device and opened the locket, gazing at the portrait within. It'd been a while since she last talked to her father, and it was tempting to hit him up and see how the Abyssal Armory was doing, find out whether he'd found any amazing new arms or how desperate the neighboring princes were for help fielding their armies as of late.

Some other time, perhaps. Marlie had things to do, and giving him a call on her hellcaller would put her in a nostalgic mood for the rest of the day. She was already feeling out of sorts and didn't want to make it any worse. Closing the locket and tossing the magical device further down her bed, Marlie sighed and ran her hand through her short, stylish hair.

Marlie was happy for Coye and his monumental victory. Really, she was. She just wished he could've defeated Auguris in a way that didn't make her life even more complicated.

Coco was unquestionably in love with Coye. It didn't matter that she couldn't admit to it. Marlie no longer had any doubt. She hoped Britni was open to sharing, assuming she got her way. Not that she'd have a choice since he already had a growing collection of two going on three lovers, but still. The poor puppy was already feeling neglected enough as things stood. If things got worse and Coco's mood continued to spiral, Marlie dreaded that she might have to mediate and help Britni understand her pet better, if that was at all possible.

Marlie didn't enjoy the prospect, but someone had to play counselor, and it's not like Tiph was up for the job. Speaking of, Marlie hoped Tiph wasn't going through anything more than her typical spitefulness, but she had her doubts. Tiph's reactions and comments during the match didn't make sense. She was way worse than usual, like something about the situation upset her past the point of simple bitterness. Marlie's assumption that something happened between Tiph and Coye when they were alone together seemed more and more valid.

She shook her head and sat down on her bed, drawing the dark curtains around it to block herself from the outside world. Because of a blanket pinned to the window, the dorm room was dim, and the only light came from Marlie's body. She contemplated the path things seemed to be heading for a moment while sitting amid the comfortable darkness.

To think that dimwitted little half-elf she'd first laid eyes on over a year ago was capable of sowing such seeds of chaos. Why did friends always have to be so troublesome? Marlie never wanted friends in the first place, but now that she had them, she didn't want to go without them. Luckily, her steel friends weren't as demanding or psychologically vulnerable as her fleshy friends.

To cheer her up from all of this Coye business and maybe get some answers, Marlie was ready to make a new acquaintance. She pushed everything else from her mind and extended her right hand. Closing her eyes, Marlie visualized the Abyssal Armory that served as her father's seat of power. It sat crowning a lake of burning lava, a castle constructed of hundreds upon thousands of endless weapons forged by souls of the damned.

As was her birthright, a single room in the castle belonged to Marlie.

In that room, there were many weapons she'd collected in the last three years, and she had the power to summon any of them or to deposit new acquisitions into her room whenever she liked. When picturing it, Marlie could see her recent additions, piles upon piles of steel she'd never again touch, and the wide rack where she kept all of her favorites. None of that was what she was looking for.

Marlie was after a sword that wasn't yet her own.

It'd been haphazardly dumped into one of her to-be-sorted piles when she pocketed it away a few hours ago. Her hand roaring with an abyssal flame, Marlie called the sword from afar, and in no time at all, she was suddenly holding the same weapon that broke through Auguris Aureo's peculiar armor.

Marlie turned the blade over, inspecting it closely. "I'd say you've seen better days, but then again, haven't we all?" Wailing on magically reinforced stone caused Coye's sword to become covered in cracks similar to hers. Like Marlie's, these cracks also had something going on under the surface.

Mystical blue light swirled and sparkled inside the weapon- a hint at its true power.

Marlie always knew there was something special about this one. Her slitted purple eyes possessed all the analytical prowess of a demonic lord of arms. Marlie only needed a glance to pick up on any weapon's hidden potential. Such wandering eyes often got her in a lot of trouble during her youth. Her mother would always laugh it off, but her grandmother would always give her a stern talking to whenever she came home with any new toys.

Lot of good that did. Some habits you just don't grow out of.

What struck Marlie as strange besides the light was how the sword seemingly called out to her. So long as it remained in her hand, Marlie felt that it didn't belong to her. That no matter what she tried, it wouldn't ever be hers.

Bringing the steel closer, Marlie inspected the light coming from within. She wondered what it could be. Her first thought was light magic, but that probably wasn't the case. That usually had a yellow glow. Blue was often an arcane color, but the way it sparkled seemed more specific than your ordinary magic sword. Whatever it was, Marlie wasn't familiar with the source.

Time to get familiar, then.

"Be gentle with me," Marlie teased, extending one of her claws toward one of the sizable glowing cracks. "It's my first time handling one like yourself." She poked at the energy and winced as she pulled her hand back, flapping it uselessly.

It didn't hurt, but it did zap her enough to shock. Her hand felt tingly but not in a numb sort of way. It felt more energetic than that. Like everything was swirling around her fingertip- crackling, shivering and shimmering. How interesting. Marlie had no idea what was going on there, and the blade's surface was as unfamiliar as its innards.

Her mother taught Marlie all about the many styles of weaponry common throughout Karnalle's history, and during her time with her father, the hellish prince opened her eyes to weaponry from realms far beyond Karnalle. However, despite all that, she still couldn't place its make.

Marlie's best guess was elvish, but it couldn't be. Elven smiths always signed their blades and inscribed all sorts of other runes wherever they could fit them, whereas this one had none of that. It shared the sleek, graceful design philosophy you see in many elven swords but lacked the pretentiousness that turned Marlie away from them. Elvish weapons were all full of themselves and generally made for poor company. Aside from its rebellious nature, Marlie didn't sense any of that here.

The curiosity growing inside her was nearly too much to control. That was fine. Marlie was determined to have all the answers soon enough. No one was here to get in her way, so she figured it was time to get down to business and stop playing around.

"How much longer are you going to keep quiet, hm? I'm ready to talk whenever you are."

Not a sound could be heard in response, yet Marlie seemed satisfied a moment later.

"There you go. Was that really so hard?" Marlie paused for a moment, then started laughing softly. "Yeah, that's fair. I imagine this is probably your first time talking to someone who can understand you, so I don't doubt this is- oh. Really? Interesting... very interesting indeed."

Few mortals could speak the language of steel, and even fewer heard it spoken back, but it wasn't explicitly limited to demons of her lineage. Still, this was the first time Marlie had ever encountered a weapon that'd been talked to before she got her hands on it. Not one that wasn't her father's, anyway.

"I don't suppose you're willing to spill the details on that, are you?" As expected, the sword disappointed her. "Oh well, worth a shot. Anyway, you remember me, don't you? A week ago, I took you from your sheath and teased your master a little. Sound familiar? Good, glad to hear I made an impression. That'll make introductions smoother. My name is Marlissax Ashebarre, and I am the sole daughter of-"

Suddenly interrupted, Marlie listened to her new friend go on a surprising tangent.

"Uh, yeah. He's fine. Banged the fuck up, but fine. I took hold of you because things got hectic after the battle when your master was foolish enough to cast you aside. I'm not planning on letting him off easy for that, mind you, but... yes, I'm well aware Coye vowed to punch him in the face again. Still. He shouldn't have just thrown you away like that- barely conscious or not."

Though she sensed they'd have to agree to disagree, Marlie also felt a surprising amount of relief from the sword. It was genuinely pleased to hear that Coye was safe and sound.

"I'm going to give you back tomorrow, I promise..." Marlie sighed, trying to get it to simmer down a bit. "What's it matter to you? Do you seriously care that much about him, or what? I get that he's a decent guy, but it's not like he's-" instantly, Marlie regretted her offhanded insult. The sword started chattering and offering factoid after factoid in an almost analytical manner spouting off all the reasons why Coye was so cool.

"Fuck, okay, he's the shit. I get it... moving on-" Marlie huffed. "I was trying to tell you earlier that I am the daughter of Demon Prince Argored, Armament Lord of the Abyssal Armory. I sing the song of steel and fire, and I desire your friendship. Tell me, would you kindly answer some questions regarding your master? Don't get me wrong, I'm curious about you as well, however-"

Coye's sword didn't like the direction this was going suddenly, and it quieted. It'd seen Marlie often enough in the background many times in the last year. Unlike her friends, she never really joined in on the bullying, but she was still an accomplice to all the harassment her master received. There was reason to doubt Marlie's intentions, so it expressed those doubts.

"Okay, yeah. I get where you're coming from, but it's not like that. I promise. It's just..." Marlie struggled to articulate herself, laying the sword across her knees to rub her forehead. "Those friends of mine you're referring to? Two of them are totally into him, and I suspect the third wishes him ill. I'm not here trying to protect him, but you should know things are on the verge of changing for the worse. I doubt I can prevent it, but if you told me more about Coye, I might be better at navigating this oncoming storm."

Marlie didn't expect the sword to suddenly get cheeky with her, but that's exactly what happened. It focused more on the part where Britni and Coco were into him and less on Marlie finding that concerning. From there, it took on what almost sounded to be a teasing tone and asked why Marlie really wanted to know more about Coye.

"Seriously?" Marlie rolled her eyes and turned her head defensively. "I already told you why, I-" there was a few seconds of silence followed by a small trail of smoke billowing out of the cracks on her cheek. "Yeah, no shit, he thinks I'm hot... do you think I don't already know that? The dude throws a pretty wide net and isn't exactly subtle about it. No. I'm not trying to hit you up for his life story because I have a crush on him or something- end of story."

Whether or not the sword believed her was irrelevant, as Marlie ignored any further insinuations. If it didn't trust her about Coye, she would shift the goalpost. "Whatever, we can circle back to him later. How about you? I like talking to new weapons, learning their personal stories, and about the photos they've killed and the masters they've had. What about you? I bet you're dying to spill your heart out, aren't you?"

Marlie instantly realized she couldn't have been more wrong. Heavily contrasting the talkative nature of the sword until now, it clammed up. Worse, she could feel sadness from it.

"Okay, maybe not... that's fair. I mean, I'm the only one in my friend group who had what I'd call a happy childhood, but I still understand not wanting to talk about your past. My bad. What about who made you? Even just the race is more than enough for me." Marlie asked. She wanted to get it talking to try and make things right, so she waited for the sword to make up its mind about sharing such information. Ultimately, it provided an unexpected answer. "Fairy made? No shit."

Marlie ran her fingers along the blade. Suddenly, things made a lot more sense. No wonder she couldn't place the damn thing. Not even her father had any fairy weapons in his collection. Her demonic nature provided a few intrusive thoughts at such a prospect. Surely he'd be willing to trade a fair few of her favorite weapons back if she forked this little number over...?

Tempting... very, very tempting... but alas.

"You're making it difficult to want to give you back, you know... oh, relax. I'm just joking. Here, I can help you out a little and show you I have the best intentions" Marlie ran her burning palm across the steel, calling upon the power of her bloodline to mend it wherever she touched. After lifting her hand, it was as good as new. "Feels better, right? Good. I thought you might like that."

Marlie smiled and noticed a subtle change in the sword's behavior. Putting it in better condition loosened it up significantly, making it more trusting and talkative. Marlie figured now was as good a time as any to press forward.

"So now that we're on the same page, any chance you'll tell me more about the two of you?"

Much to her pleasant surprise, the weapon was agreeable and started off by telling a brief account of how Coye stumbled onto it in the first place. For reasons the sword refused to elaborate on, it was resting inside a pedestal deep within the Gnarled Woods. It didn't know how long it'd been there in its secluded grotto, but suffice it to say it was a long time. As for why Coye ended up there, that came down to pure luck.

This happened early in his career, so it'd been with him for nearly two years now. In that time, they'd been on numerous adventures, and Coye put it to work on slaying countless foes. As before, it had nothing but high praise for its master. Coye allegedly always took great care of it. He frequently cleaned it of blood, guts, and viscera, kept it in tip-top sharpness, and always polished it thoroughly after smearing one of his oils on the blade.

This greatly pleased Marlie, but the sword wasn't without complaints.

Chief of its concerns was that its current power was only a fraction of what it once was. Marlie tried to get some details on what kind of things the sword could do, but it played hard to get. From the sound of things, Marlie figured the blade might not fully know the answer. Its current ability, shooting harmful beams of light so long as its user hadn't been damaged that day, was a crippled version of one of its basic powers.

Marlie thought the sword seemed upset it couldn't serve its master better. Admirable. In her experience, weapons usually only wanted to get stronger for their own sake. Her new friend was pushing all the right buttons, and Marlie considered doing the weapon a considerable favor she rarely offered.

"Hm... tell you what. You want to get stronger, don't you?"

It agreed without hesitation.

"Well, I don't think I can help you unlock more of your powers- not without taking you for myself-"

Out of the question.

"Right, I know. Let me talk. So, yeah... as I was saying, I have this power that I don't use very much because it's a huge pain in the ass. I've only done it on a handful of my favorite weapons, and it's good for a one-time generic power-up. Again, this won't do shit for your powers, but it will give you a base increase in raw strength. How does that sound?"

Amazing, obviously. But what was the catch?

"What do you think? You still haven't really told me much that I can use. Help me out, and I'll help you serve your master better. I want to know everything you can tell me about him. Especially if it'll help me understand his recent behavior."

Again, the talkative sword went awhile without saying a word. When it did, it was an accusation.

"Don't put words in my mouth. I'm not asking you to sell him out. Anything you share will remain confidential. Trust me, I'm good at keeping secrets." Marlie laughed. "I'm trying to prevent trouble, not cause it. Do you think I'd intentionally tell Britni anything that'd set her off? I have enough trouble wrangling her bipolar ass as it is."

That made sense. At this point, the sword believed Marlie's intentions were innocent enough. It still didn't think she was uninterested in Coye, but Marlie would count her victories where she could. Before it ultimately signed off, the sword had a question.

"No, it's not dangerous for me or anything like that. I just don't use it because it hurts like a bitch, and I'll have to take it easy for a few days after. That's all. Don't worry about me. Worry about you. If you want that power-up, you better start talking." Marlie shrugged off the sword's concerns but found it amusing how it was polite enough to ask if she'd be all right.

Coye didn't know how good he had it, having such a devoted sword...

With Marlie's reassurance, the fairy blade took the cue and ran with it. It went back to the brief events it had already covered in the past two years, elaborating on many things he'd done throughout that time, all while painting a more vivid picture of Coye as a person. It supplemented these stories with anecdotes Coye occasionally shared about his childhood, his father, his years of training, or his life growing up in Roselake. While it helped her understand him better, it was not particularly useful.

When the sword got into recent events, however... that was when things took a sharp and immediate turn for the strange.

Marlie's eyes were glued to the sword as it revealed truth after truth of Coye's recent exploits. She learned a lot about the type of company he'd been keeping and about his newfound goals and motivations. It both troubled and amused her how Coye was actively trying to get closer to her and her friends, but funnily enough, Marlie wouldn't have minded if Britni, Coco, and Tiph all ended up on top of him in a big sex pile if it meant preserving the peace.

Sadly, it wasn't very realistic to hope for.

The sword apparently wasn't present when Coye hung out with Tiph, but it overheard some of the events after the fact. It was amusing to picture him getting high, but it didn't sit well with her that her suspicions regarding Tiph were most likely true. She was certainly up to something, and they'd need to have a chat sometime soon. Great. Marlie couldn't wait to get yelled at and told to mind her own business.

By the time the sword was finally finished, Marlie had been officially caught up on Coye's extended lore. What a ride it was. She could only laugh at the end of it all.

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but everything makes so much more sense now..."

It was getting more difficult to deny her strictly platonic interest in Coye. He was intriguing, and he would only become more so by the sound of things. Whatever sort of man Coye became in the future, Marlie wanted to be there to see it for herself. If she allowed herself to drop the pretenses, Marlie found it flattering that Coye had a crush on her. The fact that he was sizing up all of her friends simultaneously didn't turn her off, either, and it wasn't because of Karnalle's harem culture.

Few things were more attractive to a demon than raw ambition, even if that ambition was as stupid as getting many girlfriends and living as hedonistically as possible. Between that and how much he'd earned his sword's admiration, well... where there's smoke, there's fire, and Marlie's cheek cracks were smoking.

Shaking these distracting thoughts away, Marlie couldn't allow any of it to happen. Maybe things would be safe if Britni had a chance to go first, but honestly, Marlie doubted her friend was ready for a stable relationship. Britni had too many issues to work through, and she was already doing a shit job at the one she already had. Coco could vouch for that.

The sword apologized for how much more complicated this made things, but Marlie brushed it off.

"I asked for the truth, and you told me everything and more. If only the situation wasn't fucked, then maybe... I don't know. Maybe things could've turned out well for him. As it stands, everything I was afraid of is right on the horizon."

Her friend asked Marlie if she believed that this information would help her navigate the storm she thought inevitable.

"I might be able to poke around and interfere with a few things, but... I have my doubts it'll do any good. Coye is starting to remind me a lot of Britni. His doesn't have the same gravity, but they both have this aura around them that draws other people into their orbit... whether it's charisma or something else altogether, it's beyond me. What I want to know is what happens when two people with that same dangerous talent are put on a collision course, and neither backs down?"

What's the best-case scenario?

"If we're lucky, they'll cancel each other out. Coye could end up a good influence on Britni, maybe help sort her shit out in a way I never could... but I'm not holding my breath. Even if he pulled it off, that outcome isn't without difficulties. I'd imagine the bride's family would have a thing or two to say at the wedding."

That bad?

"Definitely."

Okay, so... what would be the worst-case scenario?

"Don't know. There are a lot of worst-case scenarios, honestly. Maybe Tiph fucks something up. Maybe Coco can't hold herself back. Who knows? Pretty much all of them end the same. Britni will lose her shit like never before..." Marlie left it unsaid, but she figured her friend group would also be devastated past the point of repair. Above all else, that was what she wanted to avoid.

The sword could tell Marlie was troubled and asked after her concerns.

"I'll survive, unfortunately," Marlie shrugged her shoulders with feigned indifference. "But a deal's a deal. You told me more than enough, but there's just one little thing... I can't give you that power-up I mentioned until you share a little something about yourself."

Suspicious, it accused her of trying to pull a fast one.

"It's not like that. This'll be simple, I promise. All I need..."

The dorm room started shifting in nature. Darkness convalesced on the periphery before taking hold of everything around Marlie. All was inevitably swallowed up in shadows. Soon, the only light came from Marlie's glowing eyes and the fire raging within her body. She held the sword aloft, pointing the blade at the ceiling and gazing at its shimmer in the dark.

"Is your name."

That was a simple enough ask, so the beautiful blade consented and told Marlie what she needed to know.

"And in the common tongue, that would be...? Ah. Fitting. It's a good name- one you should be proud of." She smiled at the sword before setting it down on the bed and stripping off her shirt. The cool air started burning as it made contact with her naked skin. Power surged when Marlie began chanting harsh, abyssal words, her fire burning redder and hotter.

Placing her right hand over her heart, Marlie closed her eyes. This part never got any easier. She knew she'd handle the pain well enough, but that didn't make it any less scary. Her claws extended at her command when she pressed their tips against her breast. Marlie took a deep breath, steadied herself, and pierced her skin.

Her hand worked through flesh, muscle, and bone to firmly grasp her still-beating heart. No blood poured from the wound- even after she ripped it from her chest, snapping her arteries like bowstrings stretched too far. There was only smoke and flames.

Marlie looked down at the organ in her hands, how it pulsed and throbbed as droplets of fire fell like liquid from within. Already her body was weakening, and Marlie wasn't looking forward to the next couple of days. Her heart caught on fire as her mind drifted elsewhere.

She wanted to remain indifferent towards Coye, but she thought back to when they hung out a week ago. Marlie replayed the events in her mind while contrasting them with everything she'd just learned about him. Coye was kind, amusing, and seemingly capable of bouncing between being an idiot and surprisingly clever. He was a mighty warrior who treated his weapons with more respect than many others, and overall, he was full of surprises.

The pain was worth it. Not just for the sword's sake but for his. It gave her slight satisfaction to know she was helping him out, even if she planned on downplaying it and remaining coy.

Marlie's fiery heart cooled after an explosion of black smog smothered the flames. What remained after it cleared was no longer a heart but a whetstone the color of darkest coal with harsh embers sparking off of it in random intervals. Then, Marlie took the sword and placed what was once her heart against its edge.

Her voice carried throughout the room like a cyclone of sharp, grating metal when she spoke.

"Servant of the wielder, slayer of all your master asks of you... I gift to you my heart still searing with the forge flames of long-slain Khymeros. Warmonger of wrath, burner of Bragos, second of the seven Lords. Be born again in the fires of his Abyssal Armory. Burn. Burn to nothing and rise sharper than sharp from your ashes- Gleamrender!"

Marlie drew her heart down the length of Coye's sword a single time. She, the weapon, and the world were lost amid an endless inferno where all that existed was fire and screeching steel.