Its voice was strangely pleasant as it said, "I thought I had killed you. The rumors I received I had thought just hoarc superstition. I watched you fight my pilgyns and kill my pets. It does seem you will not stay dead, so I suppose it is pointless to kill you again."
She waved finger at him. "As I watched you kill my vlak, I knew the only way to keep you from coming back is to chop you in little bits then seal each in a jar. I also realized you'd be of much more use to me alive."
This was the one behind the evil, this was the demon--he knew it in his bones. This thing trying to look like a woman had caused the lies he had believed. It had tried to kill Tayan.
"I want you dead," he grated.
Tipping her head slightly, she beamed a smile at him. "So sad, you cannot kill me. Although, unless you do as I ask, I will pull your son out of that bag and tear him apart before your eyes."
"No!" he choked.
Her eyebrows rose as if she were remembering something. "And how about your lovely Jeni? I delivered your letter, in the guise of a messenger boy, of course.” Batting her eyes sweetly, she giggled, "She even gave me a hug."
"Leave Jeni alone!" he wailed. He had to do something, but he couldn't move a muscle! He was powerless against it. Odif tried to think to him. She sensed it had used most of its power--if he fought it hard enough, he could break free.
The creature’s smile dimmed into a sneer. "You want to see what will happen to your Jeni if you do not do as I ask?” Extending her arm towards the group of elves, she spat, "Watch!"
Lucinthia drifted up out of the grass. Her body rotated upright as she floated towards them. "I can appear as anyone, anywhere," the demon told him. It stopped the elfmaid just out of reach and lowered her to stand on one leg. It said something in a low, strange tongue, and Lucinthia's eyes flew open. Suddenly, it was Tayan standing where the demon had been.
"Honey!" the demon cried happily, extending its arms out towards her.
Lucinthia's face broke into a wide grin.
"Tayan!" she cried as she ran to the demon. The leg that was amputated at the knee seemed to hold her up as well as her whole one.
Odif had a bad feeling about this. “Do something! Attack it!” she cried.
Eric tried to scream a warning, but his throat would not obey. The demon hugged her as it grinned evilly at him. One of its arms was around her shoulders. The other hand came up on her neck and wrapped its fingers tight. Melting back into its own shape, the demon griped her neck hard. Lucinthia's eyes widened as it twisted her head and pulled. Her arms shot out, fingers splayed wide as her head was torn from her body with a crack and a sickening wet ripping sound. Her face was frozen in shock as the demon showed it to him before tossing the head over its shoulder as if it was a common stone. It flung her lifeless body to one side.
Eric was in shock as he watched the body fall. It had just killed Lucinthia! This was not any sort of battle but cold-blooded murder. It had just murdered her for no reason at all. His son's caring wife was now lying dead by the hand of this thing. His own face turned into a sneer.
"I will kill you!" he growled. Odif echoed his feeling, adding, “Break free, kill it!”
"You will do as I say, or I will tear Jeni's lovely head from her cute little body just as I did with this one!" it growled back. "Both your son and your girl, the only ones you care for, will be dead because of you!"
Tears clouding his vision, Eric let out a wailing scream. He tried to think. This thing was powerful in magic; there was nothing he could do against magic.
"Fight me!" he blubbered. "Don't kill my Jeni!"
"You want Jeni and Tayan to live?"
"Yes!"
"You will do anything to let them live?"
"Yes!" he cried again.
"Then make a pact with me! Be my slave and I shall let them live!” Looking at him mischievously, it said in a softer tone, "You do not deserve to have such a fine lady as Jeni. You do not want to ruin her life. No matter what you do, it will always be in the back of her mind that you slaughtered her people. No matter what she says, she will be holding on to you to keep you from doing it again. It will be her sacrifice, to keep other elves safe. You are an agent of evil; it is only fitting that you become my slave."
“It’s lying!” Odif snapped then screamed herself hoarse, “Fight it, fight it!”
Slave--the word sounded permanent. He knew it spoke true--he had done evil. He had wondered why such a beautiful girl would want him. The explanation left a foul taste in his mouth, but he felt the demon was right. His anger drained away, defeat filling in the void. This was the only way to save his son, to save Jeni from this thing and from him.
Calming himself, he looked the thing in the eye. "You promise you will make sure Tayan is healed and swear never to hurt either Tayan or Jeni, ever?"
Odif shook her head wildly. “No! Don’t do it! You can’t give up!”
Smiling triumphantly, the demon asked, "Is that your side of the pact?"
He swallowed hard. Something was terribly wrong with making a pact with this thing; but if it could just show up and rip people’s heads off, there was nothing else he could do to save Jeni from it. "It is."
Walking up to him, it said, "Mine is this: you will come with me and not harm any of my minions, ever. Beware--if a pact is broken, the one breaking it suffers greatly."
This was the only way, he knew it. Still, something in him was screaming for him to deny this thing, to say no to it. To say no was to allow it to kill Jeni and Tayan. No matter how much he didn't want to become this thing's slave, he didn't want Tayan or Jeni hurt even more. He knew he had to do something to make up for what he had done to his son. The word tried to catch in his throat, but he forced it out.
"Agreed."
As the word left his mouth, he felt something very unpleasant wash over him. He had never felt anything like it. It felt dirty, as if the stench of the grave had just inundated him.
The demon smiled evilly. "The pact is sealed.” Grabbing him on the sides of his head, it pulled him to it and kissed him. Eric squeezed his eyes shut, his lips felt numb. The numbness started to spread down through him until he felt the shocks run through his body. The current ran up and out of his mouth and into the demon. He passed out, hoping he really would die.
***
Odif was thrown out of the vision. Looking down at the crystal, she gave a tortured cry. Using all her concentration, she focused on the last thing she had witnessed.
The crystal turned black. A pair of glowing red eyes staring out at her.
“Who are you!” it snapped.
Jeni recoiled in horror. The wizard Chez fled the tent.
Odif’s face screwed up in rage. Tensing every muscle in her body, she picked up the crystal to throw it out of the open flap behind her. The crystal stayed in place--what was flung was the black thing. It bounced and came to a stop just outside the tent.
It had just started to register with Jeni that the thing had wings when Odif shot her arms out at it.
“Caz-gizat!”
Lightning flashed from the sky, engulfing the thing. As Jeni snapped her head away from the brilliant light, the air split by the lightning came back together in a thunderclap that knocked her into the tent wall. Blinded and ears ringing, she barely heard Odif.
“Caz-gizat!”
Heart in her throat, Jeni was sure she was struck by the second bolt. The light penetrated her shut eyelids; and the concussion of the thunder shook the tent, which was now burning by the entrance.
The afterimage of the lightning bolts dominating her vision, Jeni could barely make out Odif’s shape as the flames started to consume the tent. She was dazed, but instinct told her to move. Clambering to her feet, she grabbed Odif and shoved her outside. They took a few stumbling steps over the pile of carbon that lay at the entrance then fell outside.
Jeni blinked, trying to clear her sight. The dual white bars in her vision faded but very slowly. Between them, she saw Odif lying on her
side. She wasn’t sure, but it looked like the druid’s whole front had been burned. Her hair was singed, she could smell that; and Odif’s shirt and shorts looked ripped into charred pieces.
Muffled voices got her attention; she looked up to see her coachman. She thought he was asking it she was all right. Nodding, she pointed to Odif.
“Help her,” she said, stressing each word. Her voice sounded hollow.
The scene was chaos. Jeni heard the far-off yells through the ringing in her ears. Guardsmen rallied bystanders for a bucket brigade while the coachman helped her back to the coach. Two men tried to carry Odif there as well. When someone tried to put a blanket around her, she twisted and shook it off along with the remains of her clothes. Jeni caught a glimpse of her face, twisted in agony. It looked like she had no eyebrows.
They placed Odif on the back seat. Her skin was bright red and blistering from her head to her feet. A peasant woman climbed in and showed Odif a jar then started to gingerly apply honey to her burnt skin and pick off the pieces of gravel stuck to her. Eyes fluttering, she cried out and clenched her fists, but let the woman cover her with the sticky amber goop. When she was done, the woman put a white linen cloth over her.
Outside, the tent was a rumpled mass, burning. Most of the water being thrown went on the building behind it to keep the fire from spreading. Jeni caught sight of Wizard Chez being led away by the guardsmen. He was yelling and motioning to the remains of his tent as they prodded him down the street. Someone brought Odif’s staff and the battered armor. When the coachman asked where she wanted to go, she could think of only one place.
“Home.”
They were most of the way there when Odif became coherent enough to speak. Looking at Jeni through half-closed eyes, she said, “I’m sorry.”
Jeni gave her a weak smile. “At least you killed whatever that was.”
Odif shook her head. “No, I destroyed its body, but its spirit fled. It killed Lucinthia. It ripped her head off and made Eric watch.”
She then told Jeni everything she had seen. Jeni was crying in wracking sobs by the time she finished. She didn’t even hear Odif’s last words.
“I know its soul, and when I find it, it will pay.” Her lips curled back, splitting the blisters. “It will pay.”
The agony of the vision, however, and the more present pain of her burns were too much to bear. Hurting and exhausted, she let herself slip into unconsciousness.
***
Odif awoke to see a ceiling of polished wood. She was in bed, a thin linen covering her hot, aching body. She sniffed at a sweet smell. Honey. She remembered a woman had put honey over her. The woman had been smart--honey was the best treatment for bad burns. She thanked her Goddess for the intelligent peasant woman then looked to see whom it was she sensed nearby.
A young woman in a maid’s dress was sitting by the bed reading a book. Odif didn’t recognize her. “Where am I?”
The woman glanced at her. “Lady Salinthia’s estate.” Creasing a page, she closed the book and folded her hands in her lap. “Mrs. Redman brought you here.”
“Where is she?”
“She is in her own room, with her family. I was asked to relay a message to you. The family has decided to let you stay until you recover. I am to see to your needs. As soon as you are able then you are to leave and never return.”
She stood up and straightened her dress. In a harsher tone, she suddenly added, “I saw Jeni come back with you. She was burnt and terrified so badly she could hardly walk! All she could do was cry, but none of us understood anything she was trying to say. How could you do that to such a nice lady?”
It figured. Sally and Arthur were pissed at her, the demon she had fried was probably coming after her once it got its strength back; and now Salinthia had shunned her. She had been around here long enough to know that a message from “the family” meant it was from Salinthia. She gazed off into space, not sure if she should be angry or just heartbroken.
“Tell them I'll be gone before morning.”
“You do not need to rush--”
“Tell them!” she barked.
The woman drew herself up. “Very well then.” she said coolly, and walked out.
She was not going to be upset over this; she had to concentrate. Closing her eyes, she felt her skin and began working to repair the damage. Usually, such a thing was easy, but this time she was distracted and had to keep shifting her focus back to what she was doing. Thoughts of Jeni, who had tried so hard, broke her concentration. Next, her mind drifted to cute little Erica. Then it was Arthur then Sally.
Every time she caught her mind wandering, she forced her concentration back on what she was doing. Was she so bad these people couldn’t at least learn to put up with her? After all, she had tried to do everything she could for them. She remembered Tayan’s telling her she was a pain to live with, and she had replied he wasn’t so easy either. Living with anyone, you had to learn to deal with them.
Not being able to concentrate, she looked around the room. By some standards, it was a nice place. It had finely polished wood, and the stonework was smooth, each block perfectly cut. Designs were etched in the walls and ceiling, breaking up the monotony of the large surfaces. A pair of paintings on the wall depicted brightly colored flowers in a vain attempt to bring life to this hollow, dead room. No trees would creak as their branches swayed in the wind. No chirping crickets would lull her to sleep, nor singing birds herald the morning. She didn’t belong here. Once she knew this, it was easy to concentrate on healing her burns.
Odif decided not to try and talk to any of them again. When the maid returned, she stressed once again that Tayan must be told he had to be at the city on the plains. When she was sure the woman had the message, she made her leave. Going to the window, she opened it wide and changed into an eagle.
The eagle gave the room one last look then flapped off into the night.
Chapter 13
Two weeks after the attack by the interfering druid, Aliana finally regained enough strength to form another body. This one looked the same as the other but was pure black. To give it the semblance of life, she had to visit her food slave; but even after she drained his life force, she was still weak. She absorbed the lives of ten other slaves; then when her food slave regained consciousness, she drained him again. Only after this large injection of essence was she able to properly animate her body and began to feel like herself.
Normally, if she had been caught unawares, she would have flown into a rage of torturing and killing. The one who had pulled her through the crystal, however, was not some common being to be destroyed so easily. She had seen who it was, and she knew Odif the Druid as one of Zodiac’s minion--the druid bitch had somehow found her. She had not thought anyone capable of tapping into her crystals. Odif not only called her, she had done the impossible and pulled her through. The druid whore would die, but she had to deal with this threat intelligently. A mistake next time might mean more than a charred body.
Fearing to use her crystals, she ordered her wizards to bring her spies together. Through various forms of magic, they assembled in the throne room of her city palace on the surface. Once they were gathered, she made her entrance. All dropped to one knee, bowing their heads. She was wearing her human form as she settled into her dark red throne.
The first thing she did was take reports. In Elrad, King Alderlan was convinced the real danger was to the south. The bulk of the elven army was gathering near Capetown and along the lower parts of Longforest. Hans was running through the north, meeting very little in the way of effective resistance. At the pace he was going, he would be at the capital city in a month.
News in the human lands was equally good. Zayton and Krundle were not becoming involved in any way. Tolina’s elves were organizing to help their homeland, but Spring Valley was poised to make sure they never got there. Even in Paladnia, another thorn in her side, the holy knights were readying themselves for war but weren’t moving from around the ci
ty. From the news, all was going according to plan.
There was only one thing out of place.
Duke Toma was bracketed by two of her gray-cloaked scouts. Behind him, his escort was also shadowed by her own men. Raising an eyebrow at this, she called him to her. He knelt in front of the dais.
“Tell me how Spring Valley fares,” she asked pleasantly.
He kept his head bowed, speaking as confidently as he could. “We are doing well, Master. We have plenty of men and weapons, the food stores are at optimum and I have secured the confidence of the church. I am still allowing normal travel to the east and west, though the barricades and troops are poised to seal off the road at a moment’s notice.”
“Well done.” She nodded. “I do not see Lord Tayan here. Have you had him put in my dungeon already?”
Toma stiffened. Swallowing hard, he said, “He escaped. I’m sorry, Master.”
She tipped her head. “How did this happen?” she asked coldly.
Toma took a heavy breath. “A woman help him. We searched, but could not find either of them.”
She got up smoothly then reached down and dragged him to his feet. Glaring at him, she growled, “You let one woman effect his escape?”
Faced with her anger, he whimpered, “She was nothing like we’d ever seen. She disguised herself as a priestess then as a dancer. We were taken by surprise. We chased them, but they vanished! Not even the bloodhounds could find a trail.”
“And did you get a look at her?” she prompted.
He nodded vigorously. “Light hair, well built--one of my men heard what Tayan called her. I think her name is Odif.”
Alianna's eyes shot fire. “Odif!” she screeched. “Her name was Odif!”
She lost control of the illusion. Her large black wings spread out as she melted into demon form. Toma shook in terror and wet himself.
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