Before Jack could comprehend what had happened to him, he was being led by Mama Helga away from the town center. Though, dragged along would probably be a better term for the rapid pace the elder set, Jack's hand feeling like it was in a vice. The next instant, Jack heard a door slam shut behind him and he was dragged into a chair.
"What's going on," Jack began, his breathing short and rapid, "What's happening to me? What's-"
"SILENCE!"
Jack flinched slightly at the sharp edge of Mama Helga's voice.
"Look at me Jack. I SAID LOOK AT ME BOY!"
"Y-yes ma'am," Jack struggled to hold his gaze on the elder, he had only seen this side of her once before. When the crew of a large ship was causing trouble in the town, she cowed them all in an instant when the city guard could not. Like a human typhoon. Her eyes felt like they were weighing and measuring Jack's worth.
"Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions and you had better not lie to me." Jack nodded earnestly. "Good. First, what reason would possess you to make a deal with a demon?"
The question caught Jack completely off guard. "Excuse me?"
"Answer the question," Helga repeated flatly. "And remember: no lies."
"I swear by all the gods and all that I hold dear I would never make a deal with a demon of any kind," Jack pleaded.
To his surprise, she smiled. "I just wanted to hear you say it to be sure. It still doesn't explain how this happened," she motioned to his wings.
"That what could cause me to grow these?"
"Ha ha ha, I was talking about the color. You are a celestial, or close enough to be called one. Normally a celestial is when an angelic being and a mortal share a night together, however the ones created here are made a different way. While a child is in the womb, the angels and demons might visit and offer to give the child some of their essence."
"Why would anyone accept a demonic essence," Jack blurted out, "they're vile creatures that spread misery and destruction!"
"True that demons come from a realm that feeds off 'evil' impulses, but does that inherently make the residents evil? Is a shark evil because it kills to live? Is a rat inherently evil for taking the grain from the inhabitants of a home?" Jack frowned as he considered this while the elder continued. "Additionally, we are obligated to accept, for we owe both sides for our existence, it is us fulfilling our part of the bargain that saved us from the dark armada."
"That's...a lot to process."
"Indeed. Now I need you to think really hard. Where could you have been involved in any rituals or came into contact with any demonic or cursed items?"
"Nothing I'm aware of."
"Any ways you could have come into contact with a demonic or aberrant entity?"
"It sounds almost like you're going down a list of possible ways someone can become corrupted," Jack tried to joke to relieve some of the tension he was feeling.
Mama Helga waved her hand and a scroll flew across the room, stopped, and hovered next to her. The scroll then unrolled to close to nine feet long, a large portion resting on the floor next to the elder.
"Yes, there is actually a list. This is just the abridged list obviously. Please answer the questions so we can finish today," she asked patiently.
Jack visibly paled at the document's size. "No contact I know of."
"Have you ingested any bodily fluids of a demonic or aberrant entity?"
"Bodily fluids?"
"Blood, ichor, urine, etcetera," she listed, visibly disgusted.
"That's disgust-," he interrupted himself, "Would a half-demon count?"
"Infernals typically don't hold the power to corrupt like full demons do. So any 'nightly activities' you had in the capital wouldn't be able to do this," she motioned to his wings.
Jack's face turned bright red at the implication she was hinting at. "No I didn't mean it like that!"
"Then what did you mean?"
"Well...I've got this friend that's an infernal, and when we finished our third year proper at the academy, I sort of led them in the blood bonding ritual," Jack admitted slowly. The utter silence that followed was far more uncomfortable than the questioning as she looked at him long and hard with half lidded eyes.
The scroll rolled itself closed and returned to it's place on the shelf. Mama Helga rubbed her eyes and sighed. "Where did you even learn about that little ritual?"
"My father, Saul, told me about it one day and said it was used for people you feel connected to."
Helga smiled and bowed slightly. "Excuse me, but I think I need to have a word with dear Mr. Turner."
She raised her hands and began to weave her spell, muttering quickly the incantation. A glowing circle formed in front of her as she neared completion of the spell. With a bright flash that forced Jack to close his eyes, wings instinctively moving to shield him further from the light, Saul was forcefully yanked from his conversation with the concerned villagers and placed before the spellcaster.
Saul blinked several times to orient himself and noticed Mama Helga staring at him. "Mama Helga! Why the sudden summoning spell? I was in the process of easing the Harpers worries when you dragged me here," he explained, clearly annoyed.
The elder crossed her arms and scowled at the much larger man. After a few seconds of staring at him in silence, she began, "Saul, what possible reason would possess you to teach a boy about the blood bonding tradition? And it had better be good," she added.
The large blacksmith seemed dumbstruck, his eyes darting between the glaring woman and the nervous newly awakened celestial. "I thought it would help him make friends," Saul answered.
"Explain."
"It was a bonding moment between me and my son. I wanted to show him how to forge stronger relationships with people, I didn't think it would have this sort of effect. It has never ever done something like this. It's not even magic, it's just symbolical!"
"True, but what races have you seen this bonding performed with?"
"Just humans, dwarves, and a few merfolk. Although I suppose celestials and infernals count too."
"And who did you mix with?"
It took a moment for Jack to realize she was talking to him. "An infernal, an elf, and a fairy."
"And that might be the problem. Fairy blood can be used, by unsavory individuals, to increase the effectiveness of certain potions. Sadistic, but it is an unfortunate truth. This might have been able to cause your body to react to the infernal blood. Still, what's done is done. Here, take this and try to get some sleep. Your father and I have much to discuss," Mama Helga tossed Jack a small object without looking at him, keeping her gaze solely on Saul.
Jack grabbed the object and, with one last look of apology towards Saul, left in a hurry. After he shut the door behind him and heard the muffled voices of his father and the village elder, Jack took a moment to examine the object he was given. It looked like an unassuming ring made of iron. Curious Jack slipped the ring on his finger and felt a shudder ripple through his body until it focused on his back and then it was gone. Jack glanced around and saw his wings were gone, the only evidence they ever existed being the torn holes in the back of his tunic.
"Well that should make life a little easier," Dolph observed, his sudden appearance causing Jack to jump in surprise.
"I suppose so," Jack answered, his eyes downcast. He glanced toward the aspiring paladin and saw the judging gaze directed towards him. "Go ahead, speak your mind," Jack demanded angrily, his exhaustion from the recent events having worn away at his patience.
Shocked at the sudden outburst, but understanding that anyone would be on edge after such an ordeal, Dolph swallowed his own rising ire. "How do you feel?"
"Honestly? Like my world was just turned on its head. I don't know exactly what I should be feeling. Angry at myself for getting into this mess in the first place. Scared how people will act around me." Jack scratched his head anxiously and paced back and forth.
Dolph watched the wild eyed man for a moment before he spoke. "What do they feel like?"
Jack stopped his pacing and looked at Dolph. "Aren't you nervous to be around a fallen? That's the first thing you ask?"
Dolph waved away his concern. "I most of the conversation. You never struck me as the type to deal with an evil entity anyway."
"A holy paladin eavesdropping on a private conversation, my what will people say," Jack jokingly declared.
Dolph smiled and shrugged. "I've got to find answers somehow. A little eavesdropping has helped me plenty of times."
"Fair point. You asked so here you are," Jack pulled off his iron ring and felt the same shudder through his body before a force from behind nearly knocked him off feet. He stumbled forward a few steps, but regained his balance. He gave the black pinions a few experimental flaps.
"How does it feel," Jack noted the excitement in Dolph's voice.
"Like having a pair of arms growing out of my back. I have to adjust my balance slightly forward to counter this weight hanging off my back."
"And how do you move them?"
Jack paused and thought about the question. The answer actually frightened him a little. "Like I've always had them. It feels no different than if you were to raise your own arms."
"C-can I touch them," Dolph stammered, trying not to sound like an excited child.
Jack shrugged and turned around. Dolph approached and raised an outstretched hand. He tried to stifle the trembling limb as he inched closer. As his fingers made contact with the feathers he sighed, as though all his doubts and reservations were washed away. A calming reassuring feeling spread through him. He let his hand move along the soft feathers for a few moments before Jack broke his trance.
"Are you almost finished? This is getting a little uncomfortable for me."
"Oh! My apologies," Dolph jerked his hand backward.
"We should probably get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow will be a handful for me."