"Knock knock," Dracul's voice rang out in my head.
"Shit, don't be so loud," I cursed.
"Huh?" Tierney asked. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm talking to Dracul."
"You're supposed to say 'whose there?' and not shit, you know?"
"What do you want? I'm kind of busy evading the clergy and their light crystals."
"Hah! That's why I'm talking to you, idiot!" he snapped. "Say, remember when I told you about the last skill you'd inherit? The moving things with your mind and all?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Try moving something with your mind. Just focus hard and order it to move."
"I've inherited the skill? Yes! This could come in handy!" I replied as I focused on a tree ahead of us. My head felt like it was about to explode from the pain and pressure. I almost tumbled right into it, but the top of the tree moved just enough at the last moment.
"The hell! Did you just do that?" Tierney demanded. "How can you do Telekinesis?"
"Inherited from Dracul," I groaned as Tierney caught me. "Shit my head feels like it's about to explode!"
"Until you get used to it, I doubt it will do you much good for now."
"And how come you know?"
"I had a 'friend' so to say who knew how to use it. His head exploded from overusing it."
"Hah! Yeah, that's a possibility."
"I'm serious. You need to rack up on magic and mental amplification jewelry, or you won't be able to do much with it, at least not in a few hundred years," Dracul explained.
"Thanks for the timely warning," I hissed. "I could have just killed myself!"
"Whatever. I need to gather my power for the battle, so don't bother me. Bethrezen is already on it and will use his own magic to amplify yours, or so he said."
"Thanks," I said after a long moment. "I need all the help I can get."
"Oh and one thing regarding that Captain just now. He's not human, as in not fully. Not a changeling like you or Boris or your friends. No, he's divine. That skill just now left a holy afterglow, which means he's a creature that belongs to the god of light."
"To Belobog?" I asked though I knew it was so even before he replied.
"Yeah. I'll be asleep for now, but wake me up when you need me," Dracul said just before he disappeared again. I sighed, annoyed with the fact that they could come and go as they pleased, but there was nothing I could do about it except to endure them.
"You feeling alright?" Tierney asked after I was silent for a while.
"I guess. You can let go now. I can fly on my own again."
"Sorry, but you seemed like you were about to crash, so--"
"Yeah, I was. Thanks."
"Say, it must be bizarre having all these voices in your head, no?"
I shrugged.
"You get used to them. And it's not like Dracul hadn't been a big help up until now. Ever since he awakened inside me, I've been managing. But without him, there's no way I would have been able to deal with the problems to this point."
"True. What now? We go back and wait for the enemy to arrive?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "We can't avoid it, well, we could. But then I would lose everything-- no, we would lose everything. Besides, he killed Vera and Andrej, as well as many others. He needs to die, no, not just him. That whole army needs to be destroyed to the last man."
"Whatever you say, I'm with you. And so are the girls. We live and die together, Ivan."
"I prefer the word live. Besides, do you really think I'm going to let anything happen to you?"
In all honesty, the look she gave me wasn't all that assuring. It was as if she didn't doubt me, but the belief in our success was lacking. Right, who was I even kidding? I didn't even believe my own words.
"No, but life is a strange thing. One day you're the apex predator, the next you're prey. Don't forget that. Don't think for a moment that there isn't anything stronger than you out there. And not just one 'thing' but many. Oh, and speaking of which, I can already tell you that the forces the Vatacan sent aren't the best they have to offer."
"I know that much already. Anyway, let's hurry. I've got a bad feeling for some reason. And I need to get a hold of this Telekinesis skill. There's a great way in which I could utilize it."
It took us slightly longer to get back to Castle Bran. The Werewolves were already busy digging, but I doubted they would make it in time. I'd have to use my shadows and practice mind control while I was at it. But first, the girls needed to know what we were up against and what we'd done.
We landed at the castle square where the party was still full in swing, but only with the girls, Harma and Gamayun. They seemed drunk off their asses giggling and laughing. When they finally noticed us, at least Freya sobered up quickly.
"You're back already? What did you find out?"
"There's over thirty thousand of them. I've counted the groups of soldiers. There are Bishops at the center of each formation and higher-ranking officials in between them. The Captain was there and used holy magic. Rings any bells?"
"Yeah. Direct servants of Belobog. That's not good. There's no telling how strong he really is. Speaking of power, I'm half drained over the fights against Nos."
"Right. How do you regain your power? Is there a way to do it quickly?"
"Sure, there is. But you won't like it."
"Try me."
"Sacrifices. And many of them."
I sighed. No, I didn't like this at all.
"How many?"
"About five hundred sacrificed properly, not just killed," she replied, reading my thoughts. We might have as well gone back and killed the specified number, but no, why would anything be easy for us.
"Do we have any prisoners?"
"About three hundred. They're as good as dead anyway as there's not enough food for them and us," Hana replied.
"Good, prepare them for Freya. You'll recover most of your power that way, and we'll get rid of another problem. I'm off to help the Werewolves. I need it done as soon as possible."
"The digging?" Katya asked. "Why?"
"Yeah. And make sure to save me the blood from the sacrifice. I'll need it."
All the women sighed in unison.
"You and your secrets. You summoning Demons or something?" Selene joked.
"No, but I'm sacrificing the army to-- someone."
"Huh? Who are you doing it for?" Freya demanded. "Tell me!"
"What's it to you? If you want I can sacrifice them to you instead," I replied, trying to get out of the mess I just created without thinking.
"No! Tell me! Now!" she yelled.
"Something with the letter M. I forgot the name."
"Idiot! What is the sacrifice used for?"
"Do we really have to do it here? And now? We're about to have a war on our hands!"
"We do! What is it for?"
"Umm," I replied, trying to come up with a lie.
"Don't even try to lie! I can read your mind!"
"Whatever. It's to bind my soul to Dracul and Bethrezen's."
"Shit! Then it's Marzanna?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Oh, lord! Why did I have to stumble across such an idiot and fall for him?"
"Freya, I think it would be best that you and I continue with this conversation in private."
"No, they need to hear it as well. You've decided to bind yourself to them using thousands, and in turn, you'll become a sex slave to her. She's a nympho that can go on for a day straight draining man after man and killing them of their life-force!"
"Oh. I didn't know that."
"Yeah, no shit! It's only logical they didn't mention it," Freya hissed. "You need to break it off."
"Look, there are some things you don't understand about my situation. Unless I do this, they can fuck with my body and take over. I have to--"
"No! Dracul was the same. The one before him inhabited his body along with Bethrezen! They're trying to set you up for something! And no, I don't know what exactl
y, but I doubt it's any good."
I sighed, annoyed by the way she handled this.
"What's she to you? And don't tell me nothing, cause otherwise, you wouldn't get so angry."
"She's my sister if you already have to know."
Chapter Thirty-Seven
"Show me, what symbol are they carving?" Freya said, holding her hand out. I took a piece of parchment from the table and cut my palm, then used a tiny shadow to draw the symbol in question. A small circle at the top with a line underneath that went down at an angle and created the letter M.
"Ugh. Yeah, that's hers. Mine's almost the same but inverted to create a W."
"So, what now?" Katya asked interrupting. "You two have been going at it for a while now and haven't come up with a solution. Do we stop carving the ground or do something else with it?"
"Like?" Freya asked.
"The rune for summoning fire is similar. We can mix it up a little and add paralysis to fire."
"Shit, she's truly terrifying," Selene cursed. "You want them to burn alive as they're paralyzed?"
"Yeah, I do. Why do they keep coming after us? It's their own fault," Katya replied. I sighed, but in the end, I was on her side. We didn't attack any village or community, no, we just wanted to be left alone in peace.
"Let's do this. Fuck all of them. We'll do the same to the Vatacan capital if we survive this! What's more, just imagine the loot if we do win today. Jewelry and weapons beyond count. We could make an army of our own."
"If we survive this. Anyway, give me some time to come up with the rune. I'll be back with you within the hour," she replied and left hurriedly. There was not much else to do but wait and practice my mind control after I got my hands on the best jewelry and a strange-looking wand that helped with concentration.
First on the menu were small bottles and glasses, then I managed to move onto weapons and small furniture. The headache was mostly gone and didn't play a significant role anymore. But the thing that shocked me was the versatility of this skill. Once I was used to it, I was even able to lift my girls' skirts without them noticing.
The next thing I needed to learn was to move my spear around like a third limb. In all honesty, that proved to be a much bigger problem than initially imagined. The weapon weighed incredibly heavy on my mind. I had no idea why, as the other weapons I used for practice weighed in as light as a feather.
A good hour later, Katya finally appeared before me with a piece of parchment in hand. The rune was almost identical to what the Werewolves were already carving, so there would barely be any change. All the difference lay in the position of the circle, and a cross at the lowest right corner of the W letter.
"Here. This should work. But we need some fuel. Maybe liquor? Blood won't do," Katya explained. "Something needs to catch fire. The soil won't do as much since it doesn't have the property for combustion."
"How much? Do we need to fill all of the carvings?"
"No, just in a couple of strategic places, but I'll handle that part myself when you're ready. Now, make sure that everything's ready at least a couple of hours before they arrive. We'll need to inscribe hundreds of wards and place them in strategic locations."
"Good. I'll be helping them out. But first, how is everything else going? Any idea?"
"Yeah, I do actually," Katya replied. "The soldiers have mock-fights every hour, and so far they're doing about the same. Otherwise, their accuracy, strength, and speed are remarkable. They'll be equal to the clergy footsoldiers in a couple of hours."
"Finally, some good news then. Now if we manage to take away the one thing that gives them the most advantage over our regular troops, I wouldn't have to worry that much about this upcoming battle."
"Oh? What's that?" she asked curiously.
"Their light crystals. They just have so many of them it's insane!"
"Hmm, maybe we could come up with something. Give us a couple of hours while you go do your thing with the Werewolves. Everyone's busy doing something anyway, so might as well try to pitch in."
"Yeah, yeah. What would I do without you, Katya?" I asked, reaching for her. She jumped into my embrace and landed a big kiss on my lips. It wouldn't be a gentlemanly thing not to kiss her back, so I did for a few long seconds.
A deafening howl pierced the cold night air. I looked up at the sky as if I'd find the answer there. How stupid.
"Has Boris run into trouble?" she asked as I pushed her gently out of my arms. I shrugged and unfurled my wings.
"I have no idea. But I'll find out soon enough. And you, please go do what you had in mind."
Not waiting for her to reply, I shot up into the sky and flew direction where I thought the howl had come from.
"Boris! Where are you?" I yelled while skimming the ground with my eyes, but the brush was too thick, and I couldn't see anything.
"Down here," he yelled back from up ahead. They were still near the starting point from where I left them earlier.
"Hey, don't tell me you haven't even started to dig!"
"Done already. Just going over the start some more to deepen the trench. More of his pack appeared, all dirty from mud.
"There's a small change in plan. You need to close the circle up on top and draw these changes. They shouldn't take more than an hour to do. After you're done, go take a bath and eat. I have a feeling they'll be here sooner than expected."
"Huh? Why?" he protested, taking the piece of parchment from my hand.
"Because I say so. Go. I'll do the extension that's drawn over here," I said, pointing at the part that changed the rune into a flaming inferno.
"Whatever, man. Once this battle is over, I want some time off with my pack. I want to roam the land and enjoy myself."
"Sure. If you want, you can do so right away. I won't judge you."
"Hah! As if Boris would run from a fight!"
"Good. Then get to it."
Two hours passed quickly. The amount of land I needed to 'dig' through was quite something. Without my shadows and Telekinesis, I wouldn't have been done for a couple more. They had simply taken a too great patch of land and started working on it. But in the end, it turned out for the best. By my calculations, I could easily catch between four and six thousand of them. It was only a small percentage, but anything was better than nothing.
"My Lord!" one of the scouts yelled as he approached me atop Castle Bran's battlements. "They're two hours in. I have no idea how they're doing it, but they move so fast that two others had to sacrifice themselves for me to get away."
"I see. Very well, go to Rasnov and eat well. You've earned yourself some rest."
"Thank you, my Lord. Oh, and by the way, it's a vanguard that's marching toward us. I figured somewhere between eight and ten thousand. They formed up on a center for some reason and circled around it."
"What do you mean? Explain."
"Lord, I'm sorry that my vocabulary isn't the best. Umm, what I meant to say, there's a group of high-ranking clerics at the center of the formation. The rest is defending them."
"That's holy magic, my Lord," Harma said as she and Marek approached. "The center casts a spell of speed and endurance. That way, you can do twenty miles instead of five. It's that much faster."
"But it puts a drain on the ones casting?" I asked.
"Yes, but mostly it's just a group of specialized Bishops holding up the spell, so it's not like their firepower is affected," Harma added as Marek put a big hand on her back.
"It wouldn't matter anyway," Marek interrupted. "A couple of Bishops don't have the power to sway a balance when it comes to an army of that size. At best, they would keep one of your-- girls busy for a while."
"Which is more than enough for them. Look, we have a limited number of troops compared to them, but we're on the defensive which adds to the calculation in a normal battle. However, this is everything but normal," I said, annoyed by the whole situation. It really didn't play into our hands to have a two-wave battle. But I'd take what we were offered.
<
br /> "Very true. However, I would be-- inclined to let you in on a secret, Lord Ivan," Marek replied. His face was a mask of stone, eyes dead set on mine.
"Tell me what it is, and I might even release you after the battle if you wish to go."
"You have honor. Let's see if you'll keep it," he replied, bowing slightly. "Now, the way light crystals function is straightforward and very easy to counter if you know how to."
"Wait, what? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I demanded.
"Because I wanted to wait until the moment it was worth something. And now with a real army marching down on us, I think it finally is."
I couldn't help myself but laugh. He was one smart and crafty man, and that was something I could appreciate.
"Tell me, Marek. And I'll make it worth your while."
"Alright. Here, this is a light crystal," he said, producing one of the typical crystals the clergy used to amplify and use white magic. "This is glass," he added tapping on the outer layer with his nail. "And how can we break a large amount of glass at once?"
"I have no idea. That's beyond me. I was a butcher in my previous life, not a glass-blower."
"High pitched sound or a blast-wave that shatters it from inside," Freya replied as she appeared from the shadows. "Or heat in our case."
"And if you destroy a light crystal using heat, it explodes. So your plan is excellent for that matter," Marek added. "Yes, you would have seen them explode during the battle, but you wouldn't have understood why and how, so don't go telling me my information is useless."
"Oh, no. On the contrary. Now we can plan something for the second wave. But how can we generate enough sound, so they start cracking?" I asked curiously.
"Ideally we would need a Banshee. They are known as 'scream queen's' in the supernatural world," Freya replied. "But we don't have any, and I don't feel any for over thirty miles. But causing an explosion wouldn't do much good. The side that got hit by the shock-wave would be affected to an extent, but that's it. We need fire."
"Yeah, but we can't do it twice. If we burn these alive, we won't have a second patch of land where to lure them on," I cursed. "Why did these wretched souls need to separate their troops? It doesn't make sense!"
Lord of Shadows book 2: Bloodlines Page 29
