by James Wisher
“That’s not even the worst part. Alexious wanted to sacrifice the entire continent, but was forced to activate the ritual before he could subdue the primitive tribes on the western side of the mountains. Now any time a large sacrifice is planned by a demon cult they call it a harvest. Though the largest ever documented after the mad king’s was still under five hundred.”
“If King Alexious is Connor’s idol then it stands to reason he’ll want to finish his work, harvesting the western half of the continent,” Jen said.
“That’s the kingdom!” Amanda sat up from where she’d been dozing.
“No need to get too excited,” Dorius said. “King Alexious spent over a century constructing pyramids to help focus the ritual. I can’t imagine the king would let this Connor person build a handful of massive structures without opposing him. And without a focusing system the ritual can’t be completed.”
Jen frowned as she thought. If the professor was correct then what did Connor have in mind? And more importantly to Jen, what did he need her brother and the other sorcerers for? “So there’s no way he can perform the same ritual?”
Dorius chuckled. “Not without conquering the kingdom first. And he’d need a powerful army indeed to do that.”
Jen gasped. “Like an army of demons? How many do you think are wandering the haunted lands? If Connor could harness the sorcerers’ power and subjugate the demons of the wastes that would give him one hell of a start at building an army.”
Dorius stared at her. “No one knows how many monsters are in the haunted lands. Anyone stupid enough to try and explore them ends up never heard from again. That’s why I turned my research toward these ancient ruins from demonology. Up until I found those mutated goblins it was much safer.”
“Wait,” Kat said. “Connor couldn’t just use the others’ power on his own. He’d need some way to gather and control it. I’ve never heard of an artifact capable of doing that.”
“I’d never heard of a goblin with black scales capable of fighting a warlord to a draw before,” Jen said. “But that didn’t mean one didn’t exist. We need to alert the king and archmage then head over to the paladins’ fortress. They need to be told of the possible invasion.”
“They aren’t known for welcoming outsiders,” Kat said.
“Don’t worry, I have a friend that will vouch for us.” Whether anyone would listen to Marie-Bell Jen had no idea.
Chapter 15
Lidia Thorn sat at her cluttered desk and stared at a report from an inquisitor detailing the status of the border barons following the events of last winter. She’d been staring at it for half an hour and still had no idea what it said. She tossed it on the pile for later.
Her stomach grumbled, reminding her she’d skipped breakfast again. She glanced at her closed door half expecting Damien to walk through with a sandwich for her. Of course, he didn’t. Her apprentice was missing and she knew by many presumed dead. Lidia didn’t include herself amongst that group. That boy was too strong and too tough to count him out. Until she saw a body, Lidia would assume he was alive and do everything in her power to find him.
Which wasn’t much as it turned out. Her responsibilities kept her in the capital and even if she went looking Lidia had no idea where to start. All she could do was hope and trust Jennifer to figure out where he’d been taken. And when she did, heaven help whoever had Damien. Lidia would bring all the power of the Crimson Legion down on their heads.
Lidia sensed a message from Thomas approaching and willed the door open. A moment later a scroll held in the beak of a raven construct flew in and landed on her desk. The raven vanished, leaving the scroll behind. It must have been important if Thomas sent a full scroll.
She unrolled it and started to read. She paused halfway through and began again, certain she’d misunderstood. The information didn’t change the second time through. According to Kat, a demon invasion from the haunted lands appeared not only possible but likely. The theory they’d developed after speaking to a Professor Dorius, an expert on demonology, sounded crazy to Lidia. She’d never heard of an artifact that could store and redirect soul force. That said, she also couldn’t deny that such an artifact might exist. It sounded similar enough to the power of the urns that she didn’t dare discount it completely.
Lidia rolled the scroll up and headed to the royal apartment. The king had indicated that he was taking the day to rest and had scheduled no meetings. She hated to bother him, the poor man had been working himself day and night, but this wasn’t the sort of decision she dared to make on her own.
As she made her way through the back halls to the residence, servants eyed her with nervous looks. Everyone sensed the tension that had filled the castle these past few days even if they didn’t know exactly what was happening. Lidia ignored them all and picked up her pace.
She knocked on the apartment door and after a brief wait Karrie opened it. She started, obviously not expecting to find Lidia there. “Archmage. Is everything okay? Is it about Damien?”
“I don’t know. Is your father free?”
“Yes, please come in.” Karrie opened the door the rest of the way and Lidia stepped into the apartment.
The king must have heard them talking as he emerged from deeper in the suite. “Lidia, what is it?”
She glanced at Karrie and raised an eyebrow.
“It’s all right. She needs to learn the threats that face the kingdom and now’s as good a time as any.”
“As you wish, Your Majesty.” Lidia proceeded to lay out everything her agents had learned so far. When she finished she said, “We need to decide how seriously we wish to treat this potential threat.”
“A possible demon invasion is about as serious as it gets. I’ve already mobilized the eastern army and ordered them to relocate closer to the pass. I suppose we could order the northern and southern armies to send their nearest divisions to assist, but it will take weeks for them to arrive and we may leave ourselves open to trouble elsewhere.”
“True, but if this is bigger than we think trouble elsewhere may not matter. With your permission I’d like to take half the legion along with another twenty inquisitors east to reinforce High Sorcerer Zahara and her team. If you approve I’ll need two or three days to gather everyone and fly out.”
The king nodded. “Do it. I’ll feel better knowing you’re overseeing things. But please be careful. I’d hate for anything to happen to you.”
Chapter 16
Holy power flooded through Kendy as she sped across the sky on her conjured mount. The demons were close enough now that she could make out their various forms. They were as motley an assortment of horrors as you could hope to find. The largest and closest had the head of an insect and its body was covered with black plates. Corrupt power burst from it in almost visible waves.
It was strong, perhaps as strong of an opponent as she’d ever faced. The creatures on either side of it were the typical collection of monsters: goblins and the like, transformed into more suitable hosts by their demonic occupants.
Kendy grinned. It would be a glorious battle.
Hellfire burst from the hands and mouths of the demons. Kendy shaped her power into a white shield and her companions did the same all down the line.
Black flames broke on the glowing barrier like waves on a cliff. The initial clash was a draw.
The two sides came together with a mighty crash. Kendy met the bug-headed leader at the center of the melee. No other demon approached and the paladins were too busy fighting their own battles to lend her a hand.
Kendy wouldn’t have had it any other way.
She leveled her sword and searing white light streaked out at the demon. It lashed its wings and her blast flew under it.
Its counter blast of hellfire splashed over her shield without penetrating.
Paladin and demon chased each other through the sky, exchanging blasts, neither making a dent in their opponent’s defenses. Kendy’s frustration grew. The demon was too fast
for her to hit with a ranged attack. She needed to close and attack directly.
She willed her mount to turn and charge the demon. It appeared as eager for hand to hand combat as she was. Six-inch talons had sprouted from its fingertips and curved, chitinous blades sprouted from its forearms.
They came together. Her sword swooped in toward its neck.
The demon batted her blade aside with one hand and countered with the other. It shredded her barrier, but the holy energy slowed its attack enough for her to lean back out of the way.
How could anything that big be so fast?
All around her shouts of pain mingled with snarls and shrieks. She wished she had a spare moment to check on her people.
She blocked two more swipes, just as fast as the one that almost gutted her. Her arm was growing weak. Her power couldn’t be running out already. The battle had only just begun.
Kendy slashed again. The power behind it was feeble.
The demon caught her sword on the curved blades covering its forearms and ripped it from her grasp. Kendy stared as her weapon tumbled to the gray sand.
She willed her mount to dive. An instant later she screamed as talons ripped through her mail and plucked her from the back of her white horse. Kendy struggled, but the demon’s grip was like iron. Her remaining strength leaked out along with her blood.
A high-pitched whine filled the air. It took her a moment to realize it was the demon’s laughter. “Stupid human. This place drains your strength and feeds mine. You should have stayed in your castle and cut your own throat. It would have been less painful.”
Kendy spit at it. A minor, pointless act of defiance, but all she could manage. It ignored the saliva running down the shiny plates covering its chest and spun around, forcing her to watch the rest of the battle.
She could have cried, but refused to give the monster the satisfaction. How had her glorious battle come to this? Her comrades were being slaughtered one after another. A pair of demons that resembled wild boars grabbed Harry and tore him in half.
Another that had certainly been a goblin at some point ripped the head off a young woman who’d received her holy spirit less than a year ago. Kendy focused through the blinding pain in her shoulder and counted. Seventeen demons remained. At least they’d managed to kill three.
Fifty paladins and they’d killed three demons. She’d go down in infamy as the worst commander of the fortress in history, assuming the kingdom had a future in which to remember her fatal error.
“Just kill me and have it over with,” she said.
“Oh no, that would be far too generous. Don’t you want to see how the warlock’s new toys handle your soldiers on the ground? I’m certainly curious to find out what happens.”
Chapter 17
Connor rushed down from the portal chamber, mentally summoning his crystal soldiers as he went. How could the paladins be here now? When he’d first sensed the mass of approaching energy he feared he’d gone mad, but Morana had confirmed it before running back outside.
“Trouble?” Damien asked as he flew past.
Connor ignored the hint of amusement he heard in the boy’s voice and flew on. The helpless had to find what small pleasures they could after all. He emerged from the cave entrance and, spread out perhaps a quarter mile away, was a force of knights in armor, all of them burning with holy light. Behind them he could just make out a dome protecting another group.
He frowned. Who would they have brought that couldn’t protect themselves from the dark energy of the haunted lands? It didn’t matter. If they couldn’t fight Connor would ignore them. In the sky above, more paladins battled with his new allies. Since his crystal soldiers couldn’t fly he’d have to trust the demons to handle their business alone.
“What now?” Morana asked.
“Now you lead your soldiers out to destroy my enemies like a good general.”
Morana stared at Connor and the hundred or so crystal soldiers behind him. “You want me to lead them? I can barely manage to get Big Eyes and Broken Fang to do what I want.”
Connor shrugged. If she couldn’t handle a handful of paladins under the best possible circumstances how could he trust her to lead his army in conquering the kingdom? “Just do your best. Think of it as practice.”
“Practice?” she muttered.
The paladins were marching towards the cave, weapons out and shining with holy light. “Best get going. I don’t want them to come too close.”
“Right.” Morana pointed at the approaching enemies with her ring hand. “Attack!”
The crystal soldiers lurched forward and broke into a trot. Morana flew along behind them leaving Connor alone to observe the fight. It would be interesting to see how his crude efforts performed. The information would be of great help as he decided how to improve their shapes.
He glanced up and found the battle in the sky already over and most of his allies still alive. The leader clutched a figure in his massive hand and pointed it toward the soon-to-begin battle. Curious, Connor flew up toward them.
He paused a safe distance from the demon. “A prisoner?”
The demon’s high-pitched laugh grated on Connor’s nerves. “I just wanted the woman to watch her people die before she joined them. I’m surprised you’re not leading the battle yourself.”
The woman groaned. Dark magic held her eyes open so she couldn’t look away from the battle below.
“This will be a good test for both my soldiers and my general. Up until this moment all my plans for the crystal constructs have been theoretical. This is where the true test happens.”
“If they fail your plan dies with them,” the demon said.
“No, I will find a way to join the Horned One. If this doesn’t work I’ll try something else. But it will work. The crystal bodies are immensely strong when powered by demonic energy. My only real concern is their durability.”
“Oh?”
Connor nodded. Below, the two sides were separated by only about twenty yards. “When the demon spirit enters the crystal body it fuses all the fault lines creating a seamless whole. I’m curious to see if any residual weakness remains in the points.”
The paladin raised her head and glared at him. “How can you talk so calmly when scores of good men and women are about to die? Is there no shred of humanity remaining in you?”
“Little enough or far too much, depending on your point of view. Now be silent. It’s time to enjoy the show.”
Chapter 18
Morana couldn’t believe Connor had simply thrust her into the role of general. Two days of practice ordering two crystal soldiers around hardly qualified her to command over a hundred of the things. She didn’t know whether to be honored by his trust or angry that he hadn’t given her more time to prepare. Perhaps a little of both.
It didn’t matter now. Her forces were rapidly closing with the sixty some knights filling the sand before her. The crystal soldiers stomped forward at a quick march. It seemed to be the best pace they could manage.
One paladin was a little faster than the rest. He reached the lead soldier and brought his glowing blade down on its shoulder. The blade snapped into three pieces. In his instant of shock the soldier thrust its clawed hand through his mail and into the flesh beneath. It hurled him aside with an eight-inch hole in his chest.
From her position at the rear of the battle Morana marveled at how easily the construct killed one of the kingdom’s elite soldiers. Up and down the line her soldiers battered and tore the paladins to pieces.
One fellow glowing with more power than the rest attempted to order them into some sort of formation. Morana doubted it would matter, but she didn’t want to take any chances. She sent mental commands to the constructs closest to him to focus their attacks on the leader. Ten soldiers turned, surrounded the unfortunate man, and tore him limb from limb.
His death seemed to knock the wind out of the rest of the army. Their resistance, pitiful as it was, crumbled. In under five minutes she had
completely wiped out her opponents. Morana smiled. It appeared the constructs didn’t need minute-by-minute orders. She just had to point them in the right direction and order them to kill everything they encountered.
The crystal soldiers turned their attention to the young knights behind the enemy line. They rolled around in the sand, overwhelmed by the corruption of the haunted lands. They wouldn’t last a minute.
She blinked, not quite believing it when Connor landed in front of the young knights and raised his hand. The soldiers stopped dead. A dome of dark energy formed over the enemy.
Morana flew up to him. “Connor?”
“No need to waste this bunch. They aren’t true paladins yet and thus will make good sacrifices for the crystal. They probably have enough combined soul force to summon fifteen or twenty new sprits. Well done commanding your first battle. You didn’t lose a single construct.”
Morana basked in Connor’s approval. She hadn’t actually done anything that impressive, but no need to point that out. The demon landed a few feet away and Morana unconsciously edged back from it.
The creature held an almost-dead paladin in its claws. The woman looked like she’d fought a war all by herself. Blood covered her white tabard, obscuring the design on it.
“You really are a monster,” the woman somehow found the strength to gasp.
Connor was busy inspecting the soldiers for damage and paid her no mind.
“Do you have any use for this one?” the demon asked.
Connor glanced their way. “No. Her holy energy wouldn’t be compatible with the crystal matrix.”
The demon’s insectoid features were incapable of anything resembling a human expression, but Morana sensed its pleasure at Connor’s answer. It grabbed the woman around the neck with its free hand and squeezed until her head popped off before discarding her dead body like so much garbage.
