“Here, let me—” Jasmine began, but the elf growled at her.
“Do not waste a single drop of mana on me until we’re out of here,” Xandra said flatly, starting to move forward slowly. “I do not know how your rescuers plan to activate the portal, but they might need it. I’ll live… and I’ve been through worse.”
Jasmine opened her mouth to ask what could be worse than breaking every bone in her arm in multiple places at once, as well as having half-incinerated a hand earlier, then shut her mouth, as she decided she really didn’t want to know. Instead she followed, as Vanreth turned back toward her, and Adrian fumbled out something as he rushed toward the portal.
“Milady, we need to… Heaven’s tears!” the paladin swore, recoiling from the sight of Xandra, and Alora snorted softly, shaking her head.
“We need to go, I know. How are they going to open the portal?” Jasmine asked, nodding toward Adrian and Naomi, who were both huddled over something. She felt useless, but without her holy symbol, the spells she could cast were limited, and less powerful than normal.
“They… they have a portal stone that the priesthood prepared. It has all the mana needed to get us back home… or at least into the right region. They said that it could be off by a few dozen miles,” Vanreth said, swallowing as he sheathed his sword. “Should I help her to the portal?”
“Don’t touch me,” Xandra snapped. “If I’m going to leave, I’m going to walk out on my own feet. Those work just fine.”
“As does that venomous tongue, I see,” Vanreth replied, his eyes narrowing. “I don’t see why we should put up with you.”
“Sir Vanreth, be polite. She just dealt with an opponent that was going to cost us too much time,” Jasmine said, a little surprised by the strength of her reaction. He had the good grace to flush, and Alora laughed, nodding.
“As much as I hate to admit it, she’s right. That big one would’ve been tough to fight, and I can hear the wings of more demons,” Alora said, looking back toward the building as her eyes narrowed. “We’d better go, now.”
“I believe that’s what I’ve been saying all along,” Xandra interjected, and Jasmine rolled her eyes, quickly walking toward Adrian and Naomi. They were both holding the stone now, and she could see a glow beginning to suffuse it.
An instant later, the entire portal flashed with similar light, lighting up the courtyard with brilliant white light that hurt Jasmine’s eyes. If that hadn’t drawn attention, she didn’t know what would… and on the other side of the stone was a glowing white circle of magic, one which obviously led elsewhere.
“Are you sure you can make it?” Jasmine asked, glancing over at Xandra again, and was surprised to see the woman was walking normally, despite her hands occasionally twitching, and blood dripping on the ground beside her.
“I said I’ve been through worse,” Xandra replied. “I’m far more concerned about anything following us.”
In front of them, there was a brief discussion, then Alora jumped through the portal, followed by Naomi. Adrian was waiting with an anxious look on his face, and there was the faintest tremble from the ground beneath Jasmine’s feet. She didn’t look down, though, not with all the remains that had been scattered across the courtyard.
“Won’t happen. Once through, we can destroy the portal with a word. Looks like we’ll need to quickly,” Vanreth said, just behind Jasmine now. She looked over her shoulder, and almost instantly regretted doing so.
The darkness over the palace wasn’t just from smoke, now, and the palace itself was horrifying as well. Shimmering, spectral remains of hollowed out souls were struggling to flee, but they were hooked on ghostly chains that were attached to the palace. It was a structure that looked like the vast skull of some pre-historic beast, with tusks rising into the sky so high that their upper sections were shrouded by smoke. And from the eyeholes of the skull were pouring hundreds, thousands of demons, their wings darkening the sky.
Turning again, Jasmine rushed forward quickly, almost slipping in her haste, and she had to slow as she slid a little.
“Careful, Milady!” Adrian said, offering her a hand, and Jasmine flashed him a smile as she took it, steadying herself.
“Sorry, let my haste overcome good sense. Let’s get out of here, shall we? Sir Vanreth, are you coming through last?” Jasmine asked.
“Yes, Milady,” Vanreth said, drawing his sword again. “Please, make it quick. I’d rather survive.”
Without another word, Adrian stepped through the portal, still holding Jasmine’s hand, and she quickly followed him. Stepping through the portal was like being bathed in liquid light that warmed her as it permeated her entire body, easing some of the discomfort from the transformation that was still ongoing. An instant later she stepped out of the portal into a brightly lit clearing under a mostly cloudless night sky, and she paused, swaying as she took a deep breath, almost shocked by the absence of sulfur in the air. Naomi and Alora were a few steps away, looking around, and the tip of Naomi’s staff was glowing with a soft white light.
Then Jasmine yelped as she was bumped into from behind, staggering her slightly. She heard a hiss, followed by Xandra’s voice. “Did you have to stop just after going through? Of course you did.”
The elf took a step to the side, and looked upward as Jasmine took another step, taking her hand from Adrian’s as she blushed. She opened her mouth, intending to apologize, but at that moment Vanreth jumped through the portal, almost running into Jasmine, and snapped, “Adrian!”
A single word from the mage caused the portal to flare, then it vanished, plunging the clearing into near-darkness in an instant. Jasmine let out a breath, utter relief rushing through her.
“That could have gone worse,” Xandra said, and when Jasmine looked at her, the elf was still looking at the night sky.
The next instant, Alora was next to Xandra, and demanded, her sword raised and ready to strike, “Yes, but now that we’re free, why shouldn’t I cut you down here and now?”
Jasmine’s happiness almost vanished, as she saw all the others tense.
This was not how she’d wanted her return home to go.
Chapter 5
For the second time in less than an hour, Xandra was being threatened, and she couldn’t help a sigh of annoyance this time.
“At least this time the threat is earnest, rather than a sword held right in front of my nose,” Xandra said, looking at Alora steadily. “If you’re going to do it, go right ahead. It isn’t like I expected us to get out.”
“What? No excuses, no arguments?” Alora demanded, her eyes narrowing as her grip on the sword tightened. “That isn’t what I’m used to from your kind.”
That was another matter, as the woman sparked a tiny amount of anger that wasn’t directed at an individual for the first time in a few years. The ignorant new acquisitions of her Mistress were always arrogant, believing they knew far more than they did… and that was aggravating.
“My kind? You think you know who I am? What I’ve been through?” Xandra asked, tilting her head as she looked at Alora with a sneer. “Just because you were trapped in a small room for a year, tortured, and forced to bear a demonic child? Please. You’re barely less ignorant than they are.”
A jerk of Xandra’s head indicated the knight and his companions, prompting them to flinch back slightly. That was laughable to Xandra, since with her arms disabled she was almost completely helpless.
“Please, we barely got out of there. Is this really—” Jasmine began, clutching her cloak closer around her shoulders. It was a little chilly, Xandra agreed, but she’d been stuck in oppressive heat for so long she wasn’t sure if that was just her mind playing tricks on her or not. Unfortunately for Jasmine, Alora interrupted.
“I’m not going to relax until I’m certain we aren’t going to be bitten by a venomous snake,” Alora spat angrily, her eyes narrowing. “How dare you call me ignorant? What could you have possibly gone through that was worse than that?”
/> Xandra began to laugh, softly at first, then steadily louder, a hint of madness leaking into her voice, as the laughter grew strong enough that it shook her arms, which caused still more pain. She didn’t stop, though, not for several seconds, and she could see Alora’s confidence waver as tears prickled at Xandra’s eyes.
“What could possibly be worse? You poor, innocent thing… why, the start of it was when they used a spell to keep me conscious, alive, and fully aware when they ripped my chest open and removed my heart,” Xandra replied sweetly, grinning broadly as she took a step toward the woman. “I remember that much almost perfectly… it hurt too much to forget. Then they replaced it with a demon’s heart, one known for their battle-madness and regenerative properties. To their disappointment, all I got was the regeneration at a far weaker level. I learned that when His Majesty cut me in two out of frustration. I almost died, but not quite.
“Then there was the time that my Mistress was upset, so she ensured that my torso was essentially fireproof, with a magical bottle of air screwed into a gag to ensure I could breathe, and shoved me out into a lake of lava as a way to blow off steam. Can you just imagine your limbs searing away, all while constantly regenerating over and over again?” Xandra asked, her next step causing Alora to involuntarily take a step back. “As for children, well, there are egg-laying demons whose young—”
“Stop! P-please… just stop!” the knight interrupted at last, looking quite ill as he suddenly moved between Alora and Xandra. Alora stopped, as did Xandra. She did make the mistake of trying to move her right arm, which was quite unpleasant, but Xandra kept the pain from showing on her face as she looked back at him.
“If she wants to stop trying to pretend that she has the slightest inkling of what I’ve been through, I’m fine with it. You can all kill me, or you can leave me alone. The choice is yours,” Xandra said, her voice cold, though her emotions were still raging. “It’s a poor way to repay me, but I wouldn’t be surprised. Not much can surprise me anymore.”
“No.” Jasmine’s voice was soft but clear, drawing the gazes of everyone to her. Xandra’s eyebrows rose as she saw the barest hint of a spine from the woman at last, as she straightened and continued, actually sounding somewhat commanding as she spoke. “We will not murder someone who rescued us, not out of hand. By the same token, we can’t risk allowing someone who might perpetrate great evil to roam free either. Xandra, I do appreciate what you’ve done, but are you willing to accept that?”
Xandra snorted, shaking her head and looking up again. The sight almost set her head to spinning, after as long as it’d been since she’d seen such an open sky. When she spoke, she forced her voice to be indifferent rather than as caustic as she wanted to make it.
“Do as you like. My primary goal was to get out of there. Beyond that… I do not know. I haven’t made plans in so long that I can hardly imagine what I might want to do,” Xandra said, then looked down at last as she added, “Aside from trying to pry my soul out of the grasp of His Majesty. I doubt I’ll manage that, however.”
“Couldn’t you just… do good deeds?” the young priestess asked, but frowned as Xandra snorted, shaking her head.
“Ah, the innocence of youth. If I were damned by my deeds, certainly. Not when I’m damned by a contract which is held in the deepest vaults of the place we just escaped from,” Xandra replied, grinning as the young woman blanched. “No, I suspect it’s there for good. I’m simply fortunate that my servitude wasn’t as carefully worded.”
“…Fine, but I’m going to watch her. I don’t trust the hellbound-bitch,” Alora said at last, scowling at Xandra as she sheathed her sword and stepped away.
“Do as you like,” Xandra said, looking around again. “However, I note a distinct lack of civilization around us. Or at least what I seem to recall civilization looking like.”
“As do I,” the knight admitted, looking around. “I might be able to gather my bearings during the day, but I’m not sure where we are. Reading the stars doesn’t tell me where to go under these circumstances.”
“I’m sure that we aren’t right next door to anywhere important,” the mage interjected, glancing downward as he added, “No ley lines in easy reach, either, so… somewhere north of the city.”
“Which means we need to make camp until morning,” Jasmine said, grimacing as she admitted, “I want to bathe, but we need to let the specialists see the spells that were drawn on me. I’ll live, I suppose.”
“You will. Mistress wouldn’t have wanted to kill one of her toys. I have no idea who you are, but doubtless you were an important prize, to be brought to her while still alive,” Xandra replied idly. “I’d tell you what the spells were for, but I’m afraid I don’t know. She was wary of me figuring out too much about demonic spellwork, and ordered me not to learn anything about them.”
“Damn. There goes that idea,” the mage said, looking disappointed.
“Agreed. Unfortunate… but still, I should heal you,” Jasmine said, looking at Xandra and frowning. “That can’t feel good, even if you can heal.”
“No, but as I said, I’ve been through worse,” Xandra said, shrugging. She did regret doing so, almost as soon as she did it.
The knight nodded, glancing at the mage as he said, “In that case, we’ll set up camp while you take care of that. This is as good a spot as any, and we anticipated the possibility of arriving in a place like this. We don’t have enough tents for everyone, since we weren’t anticipating rescuing anyone but you, milady, but we can make do.”
“I don’t need a tent,” Xandra said, watching Jasmine as the woman warily approached. “I’ll sleep on a cloak or something. I’m used to getting sleep wherever I can, when I’m allowed to.”
Jasmine nodded, stepping up next to Xandra as she hesitated, then spoke softly. “Thank you.”
Xandra simply snorted in reply, but stood there as the woman began healing her.
Her bones moving back into place wasn’t a pleasant sensation, nor was the slight burning sensation of the holy magic touching her, but it was better than leaving them to heal naturally.
A few hours later Xandra snapped awake, her eyes opening, and she blinked, wondering what had happened to wake her up. The remnants of the fire were mere coals, but she was able to see well enough. The young mage, who she’d learned was named Adrian, was on watch, while no one else appeared to be awake.
Sitting up, Xandra rubbed her eyes, then asked, “How long has it been?”
The mage jumped, spinning to face her, then relaxed slightly.
“Wha—oh, it’s you! Gods, don’t surprise me like that!” Adrian said, almost breathless as he looked around. “A few hours. Why? It isn’t time to change watches, and you’re not on the schedule, anyway.”
“I woke up. And based on what you said… ah, of course. A few centuries of habit are hard to break,” Xandra said, letting out a sigh as she shook her head. “No matter, I suppose. I can do something else.”
“If you say so,” Adrian said, looking at her skeptically, then he turned back to his watch. It rather amused Xandra, since she knew he found her attractive. It was obvious, just as it was obvious that she scared him.
The camp, such as it was, was nicer than Xandra had expected. The tents were large ones, almost the sort that she’d expect an army would use, and someone could stand up inside them. The other women were in one, while the men were sharing the other. She was simply using a cloak for a bedroll, which she suspected was worse than what even Alora got, but she wasn’t going to get upset. Things being unfair was the nature of the world.
Instead, she decided to sort through the things she’d looted from her Mistress’s chambers. She’d grabbed the most valuable items first, but that didn’t mean she’d had time to examine them all as closely as she’d like.
Xandra adjusted her position so she was settled on the cloak better while crossing her legs, then pulled out the black silk bag and opened it. Her acquisitions were inside, and she reached in, feeli
ng around for the first item she’d need. Soon enough she found the pouch that her Mistress had always used for valuable magical components and pulled it out. Xandra suspected that most of the people around her would panic if they knew what species the black leather was from. Xandra simply didn’t care anymore. Second was what looked like a nutcracker to Xandra, though it was nicer, and the handle was shaped to look like a lounging demoness.
Then she pulled out the gemstones, grimacing as she did so. They were… numerous. Emeralds, rubies, diamonds, sapphires, topazes, opals… they were all large and flawless. They also were far less innocuous than anyone else might think, so Xandra sorted them out by gem type, looking at them closely. Nothing was externally different about them, so she sighed softly and murmured the words of a spell, flicking her finger through the air in the gestures she needed. At least these spells she was practiced with, and wasn’t likely to hurt herself by miscasting them.
As the spell was invoked, the world seemed to shift, as if a faint blue shimmer had been laid across her sight. With her new vision, both the tents and multiple items that Adrian was wearing began to glow, from his earrings to his belt and wands to his boots and shirt. That didn’t surprise her in the slightest, since enchanted items were common to people of his skill. Instead she lowered her gaze to the gems, and when she did, she couldn’t help a wince, as three quarters of them were glowing softly. It wasn’t a bright glow, indicating they held enchantments that most people would miss entirely.
“She did have quite the collection,” Xandra murmured, and sighed, removing the gems that weren’t glowing first. There were twenty of them, and she gently slipped them into the bag again, since she didn’t want to accidentally break them. Instead, she took the nutcracker and the first emerald, set it in place, and clamped down hard.
Dusk Gate (Soul Bound Book 1) Page 4
