"Just make sure the other soldiers are ready to strike."
As the bloodseeker circled the group to pass on the message, Mashira extended her hands toward the four demons. "Priests, give me whatever you can!"
The warmth of energy surged into her body. As she mouthed the incantation, her fingers curled like claws and light surrounded her hands. The tiny lake that had drowned out the sacred ground glowed beneath the demons. Four chains broke the surface and attacked their prey. The thick collars of light seized the beasts' throats. Mashira closed her fists and brought them down to her side. The four restraints became taut and recoiled into the ground, forcefully pulling the iymed down.
As the brutes crashed into the puddle with a mighty splash, the paladins and watchers charged in. As each demon was slain, the dark energy escaped from the body in search of a new host. Mashira watched anxiously as each of her unbreakable bindings lost its captive to the black cloud. The energy swirled around them before finally sinking into the water and returning to the Depths.
Panting, the Prima used her knees for support. "Good work, but this is far from over. Get to the rectory!"
The fighters obeyed, leaving Mashira with Lady Sundancer.
The bloodseeker patted her on the back. "Summoning four unbreakable bindings through water. That's pretty impressive."
The Prima cracked a smile. "Well, I had some help."
"Still."
Mashira straightened up. "Let's go. We have to finish this."
The Prima jogged at a decent pace, hoping to regain some of her energy. She could only imagine what was happening at the Royal Oak rectory. With any luck, someone had already killed Erynion. But something told her that wasn't the case. She silently prayed they wouldn't be too late. Angels help them if Erynion broke free from his shackles. And though the Denhauli were not the most dangerous threat to the city, they could easily be regarded as a close second.
Mashira briefly recalled her meeting with Mortis years ago. When he told her about the wolves, she had been dismissive. For centuries, rumors circulated about the Devil's attempts to create demons from living creatures. But there was never any evidence. There was no reason to believe he'd finally succeeded.
The Prima thought about her brother. The rift between the kingdom and Alovajj, between the Death Gods and Candelux, between Mashira and Mortis, came down to one major event. The decimation at Deimor Outpost would be forever engrained in her mind, along with a single word: unforgivable.
Her anger was replaced with concern as the rectory came into view. The battle raged on as priests, paladins, watchers, and scorchers fought fiercely with their demon foe. Mashira spotted Omana, light blades ablaze, squaring off with the black wolf. A group of priests tried to subdue the red wolf with little progress. But perhaps the most disturbing sight was Erynion, untouched and unrestrained, kneeling in the middle of it all.
"Sundancer," Mashira said.
"I know."
"He needs to be killed."
"I know," the bloodseeker repeated.
"Be swift, strike quickly. This may be our only chance."
In a flash, Sundancer was gone.
Mashira hurried to a group of scorchers who were firing arrows at the demons scampering along the rooftops. "Scorchers, I need your attention! I need everyone to aim for the demon lord right now. Draw your arrows, and I'll enchant them."
The archers loaded their bows and targeted Erynion.
Mashira cast her blessing. "May the angels make your arrows straight and your aim exact."
The projectiles glowed brightly, and the twang of bows resounded as the enchanted arrows lit up the sky.
✽✽✽
There it was. Something he hadn't truly felt since the first couple of nights. It consumed him like a raging current and felt as if daggers were being driven into his skull. Erynion woke from his dream with a scream for the ages. His eyes opened, and the world was set afire with different colors. He saw who was with him and who was against him, light and dark, demon and human, weak and strong. The incoming arrows were prominent in his vision, and he raised his arm defensively. He wanted them to be diverted away, but he had no power over the objects. The enchanted metal pierced his skin, and the light energy seared him from the inside. It was painful, and it felt good.
The agony's temporary recession allowed Erynion to notice the warrior charging toward him. As demons tried to block her path, she either dodged their attacks or effortlessly cut them down. Nothing slowed her advance. As she came into range, the blade of her sickle reached for his throat. The demon lord stood and struck her with a strong backhand. The fighter tumbled to the ground and her helmet landed even farther away.
Erynion analyzed the arrows stuck in his scarred flesh. Their auras were negated by his own energy. A spell came to mind, emerging from his clouded memories. With his arm outstretched, the demon lord manifested his energy, spiraling around his hand. As its size increased, the dark spell pulled in the light from the fighters closest to him. Another hail of arrows descended upon him, but he made no attempt to dodge the attack. Moments before the arrows made impact, a streak of red crossed his line of sight as the red demon wolf landed beside him. The fiery beast shook wildly to dislodge the projectiles before jumping back into the fight.
Erynion gazed at the brightest aura, the woman who wanted to cleanse him. The void gained more strength, and the surrounding light auras began to dim. He heard the Prima shouting.
"Group up and fortify yourselves! Don't let him steal your energy!"
✽✽✽
Lady Sundancer lifted herself to one knee, wiped the side of her face, and surveyed the battlefield. As the Prima barked orders, most of the holy fighters retreated in preparation for a unified effort. The demons mirrored that effort by gathering behind the red wolf, positioning themselves between Mashira and Erynion. Sundancer caught a glimmer of light from the corner of her eye. On the other side of the courtyard, Archdon Omana stood alone, fighting the black wolf. Her wings of light were brilliant, but they seemed to offer her no advantage as the wolf matched her in speed. The two were locked in a stalemate.
Sundancer rose to her feet. Her strawberry blond hair, once braided in loops and hidden beneath her helmet, hung haphazardly over her eyes. She brushed the stray hair behind her ears. Erynion was unprotected with one hand dedicated to a ball of dark energy. The bloodseeker searched the ground for her weapons but only found one of her sickles. Stooping, she took a firm hold of it. "Be swift, strike quickly."
Sundancer sprang forward. Prima Mashira, Archdon Omana, the priests, paladins, watchers, demons, and even the Denhauli faded away. Her vision tunneled, and only Erynion remained. With each stride, she soared across the ground. As she neared her target, a stray fray blocked her path. Without a second thought, she placed her hand on its head and hurdled the imp. Once she was within range, the bloodseeker went in for the kill. Her sickle whooshed as it sliced through the air, but it stopped inches from the demon's neck. Erynion had caught her hand.
As Sundancer struggled to free her blade, the demon lord released his ball of dark energy, and it sank into the Surface. The void burrowed into the dirt, and the glow from the Blessing of Sacred Ground vanished. The bloodseeker felt a sudden chill as Erynion pulled her closer and placed his hand on her forehead. Sundancer was paralyzed as he siphoned her energy from her body. Weak, she collapsed to her knees, and her weapon dropped to the ground. Tired, her heartbeat slowed to a crawl as she fought for air. Helpless, she had no choice but to lose herself in the eyes of the demon lord. The edges of her vision grew darker, and his face was all that was left.
A bright light forced her to close her eyes, and the bloodseeker felt the connection break. She fell forward onto all fours while she regained control of her body and steadied her breathing. As she fought to push back her eyelids, Sundancer spotted two severed fingers on the ground beside her. Dark energy wafted up from them. Archdon Omana positioned herself in front of the bloodseeker with arms outstretched. T
he light from her wings made it difficult for Sundancer to make out much more than the glistening fangs of the black wolf.
✽✽✽
"Group up and fortify yourselves! Don't let him steal your energy!"
Millan spun around as he recognized the Prima's voice. With the constant fighting, he hadn't noticed her arrival. He and the other holy warriors gathered around the Prima while the demons took their place behind the giant red wolf. Millan was pleased to find himself close to Mashira, but he wouldn't be there for long.
"Don Millan," the Prima said. "Go inside the rectory and get everyone out of the basement. We need them out here."
Without hesitation, he ran for the rectory door. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the red wolf shift her body sideways. The beast flicked her tail at the young priest, and a wave of embers filled the air. It was too large and too fast to escape. Millan crouched and covered his head. His body tensed in anticipation of the pain, but something spared him. He peered over his arms to find a guardian with a raised shield standing over him.
"By the angels, thank you!" Millan exclaimed.
"Anytime."
The young priest frowned. The front of the rectory had caught fire. It was unfortunate the Summa Arcana group in Royal Oak had followed Founder Drevarius to Alovajj all those years ago. Some ice war-mages would've been extremely helpful in this battle.
"Allow me." The paladin used his shield as a ram and charged through the door.
Millan rushed inside. "Can you help me with something else?"
"Of course."
Millan led the guardian down the stairs, to the prison door. "There are two priests guarding a demon in here. Tell them the rectory's on fire, and the Prima needs them in the courtyard."
The paladin nodded, and Millan hurried down the corridor. In the far room, the priests, including Advisors Razza Merona and Deidok, were casting the Blessing of Sacred Ground. As the Nesinu priest burst in, he found all of them quietly meditating. One by one, they raised their heads.
"Her Luminescence, Prima Mashira, has directed me to bring you all out of the rectory," Millan said. "The building's on fire, and we need you in the courtyard right now."
Most of the priests in the circle were slow to rise, however, Advisor Razza Merona jumped to her feet and sprinted out the door. Advisor Deidok and Head Archdon Scarit were the last members to leave. Millan followed the two old priests down the hall, but paused at the dungeon. He poked his head inside to find the jail completely empty. The paladin had done his job and evacuated the priests, but the demon prisoner, Sonojj, was also missing.
The young priest backed out of the room and bounded up the stairs. The fire was spreading rapidly, and smoke was filling the main floor. Millan lifted the neck of his robe to cover his mouth as he navigated to the entrance. Through squinting eyes, he saw the open doorway and the smoke escaping though it. When he exited the rectory, he coughed and wheezed. Looking up, Millan was shocked to find everyone retreating out of the courtyard. Prima Mashira, with the help of Advisor Razza, Archdon Westan, and Archdon Vikard, held up part of a holy prism spell to keep the demons from attacking, however, neither the wolves nor the iymed made any attempt to do so.
"Move! Move!" Mashira shouted. "Don't stop!"
Millan searched for Erynion amid the demons, but was unsuccessful. The young priest ran to his leader. "Your Luminescence! What happened? What's going on?"
"It's the purge. You need to get out of here. Go with the rest of them."
The words terrified Millan. Royal Oak was about to suffer greatly if they did nothing. "We have to stop it! We can kill him!"
"Millan, it's over. The spell has already begun. You need to retreat right now. We can't stop it with the demons interfering, especially the wolves. Get to the city center and use the Blessing of Holy Prism to create a wall with everyone else. We need to protect the rest of the city."
Archdon Omana walked up with Lady Sundancer, who had her arm around the archdon for support.
"Are you hurt?" Mashira asked.
"I'll make it," the bloodseeker said weakly, as she gently pushed Omana aside.
Millan examined Sundancer. What had happened to her? Her face and arms were white like the Prima's robe. Her hair was disheveled and had changed from reddish blond to a solid shade of burgundy.
"Your Luminescence, we must go. Even the demons are beginning to flee toward the north wall." Vikard spoke the truth.
Except for the Denhauli and a few iymed, all the enemies were withdrawing. As the demon crowd thinned, Millan observed a translucent sphere of dark energy with a figure inside.
"We're done here! Retreat and join the others!" Mashira dropped her hands, and the wall of light faded. Razza Merona led the way out of the courtyard as Vikard and Mashira supported Sundancer. Millan wanted to follow, but something kept him rooted.
Archdon Omana cast the Blessing of the Fallen Angel once more and advanced on the two wolves.
Archdon Westan chased after her. "Omana, it's too late."
Millan shuffled his feet toward the two archdons. He made sure to stay behind them as the Denhauli snarled at the remaining priests.
"No, it's not," Omana said. "The wolves won't allow themselves to die to the purge."
"What?! You don't know that. How could you possibly know that?"
"They're too strong. They have too much to lose. And when they retreat, he'll be all alone."
"But so will you." Westan extended his arms. "Look around. The Prima's gone. There's no Talisman. We have to leave right now."
"I'm going to end this."
"Fine." As he turned, Westan nearly ran into Millan. "What the depths are you still doing here? Didn't you hear the Prima?"
"I agree with Archdon Omana. We have to stop him. We can't let him destroy Royal Oak like he did Nesinu!"
The archdon shook his head and hurried out of the courtyard.
Millan took his place beside Omana. "What do we do now?"
"We hold position. Once the wolves leave to avoid the purge, we strike with everything we've got. Understand?"
"Yes, Your Grace." This was it. He was putting his life on the line to prevent a complete disaster. But what if Westan was right? What if the wolves never left?
The black wolf howled, and a wave of Corruption flowed from his fur. The black cloud rolled across the ground toward the two priests and obstructed their view of the demons. Omana slashed at the Corruption with her blades of light and created a clear path. When Millan followed her through, he discovered the wolves were running away.
"He's alone and vulnerable! Now's our chance!" Archdon Omana charged toward Erynion, encased in his black shell. She repeatedly struck at the enclosure with her holy weapons, but every time she sliced through, the tear was immediately healed.
Millan did his best to help with spikes of light, but none of his spells penetrated the barrier. His blessings fizzled and disappeared.
Omana bellowed like a wild animal and stabbed the demon lord's shield of energy. The wings of light on her back shimmered, but even Millan knew the attempt was fruitless. The archdon tried to maintain the blessing, but her weapons flickered as the dark energy negated her power.
There was nothing left to try. Millan seized Omana's arm. "Your Grace, come on! Let's go!"
The archdon's blessing faded, but as they began to cross the courtyard, a chain wrapped around Millan's ankle.
"Leaving so soon?" The iymed with the mohawk taunted him from the rooftops. Millan recognized him from their short battle by the twisted gate. The demon yanked the unholy metal links, and Millan crashed to the ground.
"You're a Dardan fool! You'll die too!" With a flash of light, Archdon Omana cut the young priest free.
"You're the fool!" The demon cackled as he coiled up his weapon. "I'm already dead!"
As Millan picked himself up, the iymed threw his chains again. Omana slid in front of the attack, but a large object from nowhere knocked her to the dirt. The demonic chains wrapped around the wai
st of the young priest.
"You're staying here!" the iymed cried out.
The young priest gripped his end and fought to pull the iymed off the roof. Omana screamed, and Millan's jaw dropped at the sight of a black jungle cat sinking its teeth into the archdon's forearm. The animal had no eyes and no front paws. This beast was the escaped prisoner, Sonojj. Omana summoned her light blade and buried it into the demon's chest, forcing the jungle cat off her.
The archdon grimaced. "You."
Sonojj reassumed his humanoid form. "I told you I'd hunt you down."
A loud boom brought everyone's attention to Erynion as the dark dome protecting him flew out in all directions. Millan protected his eyes from the gust of wind, but as it died down, he found the demon lord with his claws buried in the dirt. He sensed this was the end. The purge was imminent. Images of the aftermath at Nesinu raced through his mind—the emptiness, the black, scorched earth. The priests who searched for Don Skully had crossed the expanse in the hope of finding something, anything, but there was no sign of life. Nothing. Not one single thing except for a few patches of grass in the middle of it.
Millan's eyes widened. "Your Grace! Get to the demon lord!"
"You're too late!" the iymed with the mohawk screamed.
The young priest fired a holy spike at the demon on the roof. When the iymed shifted his weight to dodge the attack, Millan heaved on the dark chain with all his strength. The beast lost his balance and plummeted from the roof. With an abundance of slack, Millan bolted toward Erynion. His legs pumped furiously, and he felt weightless, as if hovering across the ground at an incredible speed. He dove at the feet of the demon lord, and when he looked back to find Archdon Omana, there was nothing but twisted metal.
Chapter 31
Pierce the Heart and Burn the Soul
As Mashira, Sundancer, and Vikard entered the plaza where the twisted gate stood, the Prima was comforted by the sight of all the fighters on the far side. Passing the unholy tree, she glanced back at the empty road. What had happened to Westan, Omana, and Millan? A glimmer of hope sparked in her mind as Mashira considered the possibility that they were able to stop the purge. A sudden boom in the distance snuffed out that thought. Her party arrived at the line of priests just as a gust of wind blew past.
The Twisted Gate Page 30
