“Now what?”
“Lina hide us. All twelve senses if you can manage.”
Her eyes went wide. “I don’t think I can.”
“Fine. The five physical senses and beast.” Jez glanced at Aniel and wracked his brain, trying to remember what other areas else the pharim lord might be strong at.
“Healing,” Osmund said. “Then, protection and destruction in that order.”
“Eight?”
Osmund shrugged. “You can probably ignore touch.” Aniel started to rise, and Osmund let out a sharp breath. “We really don’t have time.”
Lina shook her head but closed her eyes. The cave became a little dark, and the sounds became muted. Aniel struggled to his feet and shifted into the form of a huge back hound, easily the size of a grizzly bear. Its teeth looked like they could crush stone. It sniffed at the air, and Jez found himself holding his breath. Aniel’s eyes focused on them, and he growled. Jez could feel the sound reverberating in his chest.
“Lina,” he said.
“I don’t know. The illusion is up.”
“I don’t think it’s working,” Osmund said.
“I can see that.”
“You really should fix it.”
“I’m not sure what to do.”
The hound leapt at them.
CHAPTER 41
All three of them cried out as the hound tore through the air. It landed right in front of them, directly on top of the snake man who’d been slithering unseen on the ground. It hissed and bit into him, but either Aniel was immune to poison or his current form was too large for the amount of venom the snake man injected. Either way, the bite didn’t slow him down. He snapped at the snake man’s head, but the creature partially withdrew into a thin hole, its body writhing under his paws.
Aniel barked and tried to dig at the rock, but he succeeded in nothing more than inadvertently releasing the hold he had on the snake man, and the rest of it disappeared into the hole. Aniel snapped at the hole, but it had no effect. He turned and scanned the room, but Ravous, the only other snake man who’d been there, was already gone, though Jez hadn’t seen him leave. Aniel snorted. He was so close Jez could smell his breath, an earthy scent mingled with the smell of blood.
“Jez, is he supposed to do that?” Lina asked.
“Do what?”
“Breathe.”
Jez shook his head. He looked into Aniel’s eyes. Though he hoped the pharim lord couldn’t see him, Aniel continued to stare forward. He didn’t turn away for several seconds. Then, he disappeared down the passage leading to outside. No one moved for a long time. Jez’s heart was racing, and he wouldn’t have been surprised if the others could hear it. Finally, Lina allowed the illusion to drop.
“By the seven,” she said. She let out a laugh. “I guess that was one of the seven, though.”
Jez nodded, but a second later, his knees gave way, and he collapsed. The next thing he knew, Osmund was picking him up off the ground.
“What happened?” Lina asked.
Osmund hefted Jez onto his shoulder and started walking. “He was in Luntayary’s form too long. He needs a healer. They won’t be able to repair the damage, but it might help.”
“We’re a little far from the Academy.”
“Let’s go back to the beast men.”
“What good will that do?” Lina asked.
“The dominion of beasts is closely related to healing.”
“They don’t exactly like us.”
“They’re the best chance we have. We’ll just have to hope they’re not under the influence of beast mind too.”
With an effort, Jez managed to lift his head. Every word was a struggle. “Put me down.”
“Nope,” Osmund said without slowing.
“I’m fine.”
“No you’re not.”
They rounded the corner, and Osmund stopped. Jez craned his neck and saw Galine lying on top of the massive bear. Both creatures had wounds made by tooth and claw, and blood stained their fur. They were both breathing the regular rhythm of sleep. The bats had vanished. The pain from Aniel’s power being bound to the world had probably knocked the combatants out, but both creatures moved as they approached. Lina stepped close to Galine and bent to examine him.
“Don’t do that,” Osmund said.
She laid a hand on Galine’s head. “He’s hurt.”
“He could be under the influence of beast mind.”
She looked over her shoulder at him and glared. “That’s even more of a reason to help him. He’d rather be dead than wild like that.”
Osmund shook his head. “It was Ravous who said that, not Galine.”
“No, Galine just hated the fact that he’d killed.”
“Which is why we should get away from here, so he doesn’t kill us because he doesn’t know he’s not supposed to.”
She closed her eyes. “One moment.”
“Lina, you can’t cure beast mind. They’ve been trying to do that for thousands of years.”
She opened one eye and glared at him. “I said one moment.”
He sighed and stepped around them. He placed Jez on the ground, and Jez struggled to his feet, though he had to lean against the wall to manage it. Osmund eyed him, but said nothing. Instead, he turned back to Galine and lifted his hands, shrouding them in flame.
“It’s not beast mind,” she said without opening her eyes. “At least not exactly.”
Galine’s eyes opened and focused on her. Instinctively, Jez tried to summon his crystal sword, but the effort caused pain to blossom in his chest and sent him to his knees. Osmund glanced down at him, but almost immediately, he returned his attention to Galine. The fire around his hands went from orange to blue, distorting the air around them with heat. Galine started to rise, but Lina’s muscles tensed, and to Jez’s surprise, she held him down. His eyes glowed purple, and Lina let out a breath. Violet mist came from her mouth and swirled around Galine. He took in a sharp breath, and his eyes dimmed.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Lina withdrew her hand and stood on shaky legs. She backed up and Galine got to his feet. He eyed the bear who was just starting to stir. He looked at Jez.
“I see. Can you help him like you did for the wolves?”
Jez took a step forward and immediately felt like he was going to pass out. He put his hand on the wall to keep his balance and shook his head.
“Then, we should move quickly. I would not want to fight him again.”
CHAPTER 42
“His mind was buried,” Lina said once they’d gotten out of the cave. Jez couldn’t move very fast so they were walking slowly. “I just brought it forth.”
“So you cured beast mind,” Osmund said.
“No, it’s not the same thing,” Galine said as he ducked under a branch. “When one first comes under the influence of beast mind, it destroys you, leaving only pieces of who you were. That’s why it can’t be undone. This is different. My mind was still intact. It was just submerged so she could bring me out of it.”
Osmund glanced at Jez. “Galine, are there healers in the town?”
“Not in the town, but there are some scattered about the valley. I doubt Welb will be happy if we talk to them. He considers that magic to be too human, but they’ll help anyway. Any mind that would hold on to that kind of knowledge would have a hard time turning away any injured. Provided, of course, that any healer we find is lucid.”
“I should be able to help if they’re not,” Lina said.
Galine inclined his head. “Good. Put him on my back.”
“What?” Jez asked.
“The three of you move slowly enough as it is. With you injured, you’ll be even slower, and we don’t have time.”
Jez nodded and staggered over to Galine. He tried to use a tree to pull himself up, but he didn’t have the strength to lift himself off the ground. Osmund grunted and walked over to him and picked him up with one hand before depositing him on Galine’s bac
k. Jez glared at him but said nothing.
Galine leapt forward, and Jez kept a death grip around the lion man’s waist. The wind tore at him, and he had to shield his eyes. They moved through the trees so quickly that Jez saw only a green blur. He looked back, but his friends were nowhere in sight. He tried to call out to Galine, but his voice was drowned out by the wind.
After a few minutes, they stopped in the middle of a circle of trees near a narrow stream. Galine spent a while moving from tree to tree looking into branches, though Jez had no idea what he was looking for.
“Penar.” Galine’s voice bellowed over the sounds of the jungle, and birds chirped in response. “Penar, where are you?”
The trees rustled, and Galine turned in that direction. A few seconds later, Osmund and Lina came through, breathing heavily and drenched with sweat. Osmund gave Galine a level look as he wiped at his brow.
“You could’ve gone a little slower.”
Galine huffed. “I went slow enough. You were able to find me, weren’t you?”
“So where is this healer?”
Galine shrugged and extended his arms in a gesture that encompassed the surrounding trees. “This is his grove.”
A brown streak drove out of the air. A rodent squealed as a hawk snatched it from the ground. It landed on a nearby branch and started tearing into its prey. Jez did a double take. It was only about a foot tall and underneath its wings, it had tiny arms which it used to hold the dead rodent. Galine walked up to its tree and inclined his head.
“Penar.”
The hawk screeched and flew to another tree, keeping a watch on Galine as it continued to eat. Galine raised an eyebrow at Lina. She nodded and reached up, but the branch was too high. She closed her eyes but opened them after a second and shook her head.
“I’m sorry. I need to be touching him.”
“I’ll get him,” Osmund said.
“Don’t hurt him,” Galine said.
“Don’t hurt him,” Galine said.
Osmund nodded and raised his hands. The hawk squawked as a gust of wind tore it from the branches. It spread its wings and tried to fly away, but another blast blew it down. It crashed into the ground, sinking a little into the muddy earth. Several feathers flew free. Galine growled.
“I said not to hurt him.”
“Sorry, I don’t exactly have fine control.”
Lina grabbed the hawk as it tried to flap away. She cried out and Osmund moved over to her and held the animal’s wings. Lina smiled at him for a second before closing her eyes. Once again, the violet mist poured out of her mouth and enveloped the hawk. It struggled for a few seconds before calming. Lina opened her eyes and nodded.
“Well, that was unexpected,” the hawk said in precise words. He had an odd accent that reminded Jez of how Dusan had spoken. “Young man, would you mind letting me go?”
Osmund blinked and nodded, releasing the hawk’s wings. It flapped up the tree and peered down at them. Its eyes focused on Galine.
“Galine, it’s been a long time. Is that a human on your back? Goodness, he’s hurt.”
“It’s why we came to you, Penar.” Galine glared at Osmund before looking back to Penar. “Are you hurt?”
He ruffled his feathers. “Nothing serious. I’ve gotten worse than this from a particularly bad tempered falcon. Now, why don’t I see to your injured friend, and you can tell me what’s going on.”
CHAPTER 43
Penar perched on Jez’s shoulder. Orange light shone from between his feathers. Strength flowed into Jez as his blisters vanished. Penar couldn’t heal the damage completely. It was a peculiarity of the transformation that the power hurt Jez in a way magic couldn’t heal, but Penar could still return strength to him and help speed his body’s natural healing abilities. After a few seconds, the hawk hopped off Jez shoulder and landed on the grass next to him.
“Well, that was more difficult than I thought it would be. I’ve never seen burns like that. What caused them?”
Jez shrugged. “It’s complicated.”
The hawk blinked at him. “Yes, I imagine it is.” He turned to Galine who was seated nearby. “Now, would you mind telling me how I came under the influence of beast mind? I thought I’d moved past that long ago.”
Penar’s eyes couldn’t widen, but he blinked several times as Galine related the relevant details. When he got to the part about Lina restoring his mind, Penar cooed at her and bowed. The motion looked so odd that Jez laughed, drawing the gazes of everyone there. He shrugged and nodded at Penar.
“An interesting story,” the hawk said. “What help can I be?”
“This is worse than our ordinary internal bickering. I need you to intercede with Welb.”
“I doubt he’d listen. He hates me even more than he hates you.”
“Assuming he’s even in his right mind,” Galine said. “Even if he is, the others might be more reasonable. We’ll gather without his consent if that’s what we need to do.”
Penar squawked and looked around the grove as if worried someone might overhear. When he spoke, it was in a soft voice that was nearly swallowed up by a breeze. “A splinter tribe? There hasn’t been one of those in decades. It ended badly last time.”
“I’d rather there be a war between tribes than have the whole of the Beastwalkers destroyed, and probably us along with them.”
“Welb and the others may already be mad from what you say. How do you suggest I bring them out from under beast mind?”
Galine glanced at Lina but she wrinkled her brow. “Maybe your power can snap them out of it. It’s not exactly beast mind.”
“Close enough that I’ll likely need mental magic to do anything for them.” Galine started to speak, but Penar let out a soft caw. “No, you’re right. It’s worth a try. I’ll do what I can. What will you do?”
“We need to find Aniel,” Jez said.
“How?” Galine asked. “Last time, he found us.”
“Last time, he wasn’t under the influence of beast mind and rampaging through the jungle. I don’t think he’ll be that hard to find.”
“Provided Sharim hasn’t already done so.”
“I don’t think he has,” Jez said. He motioned down at himself. “His body is no more able to bear transformation than mine is, and he was bitten by one of the snake men. He’ll need time to recover.”
“He could already be dead,” Galine said. “You were in bad shape because of your transformation, and that venom is potent.”
Jez shook his head. “There’s no way we’re that lucky. I assume you’ll be able to find a destructive force of nature tearing through the jungle.”
Galine stared at him for several seconds before inclining his head. “Just as soon as you’re strong enough, I’ll see if I can convince the bird men to help us.”
Jez got to his feet, half expecting to feel weak as he so often had after healings, but he felt like he’d just had a full night’s sleep. Even his injuries caused by transformation had been reduced to a dull pain. He looked at Penar.
“You’re very good.”
Penar bowed. “Human’s focus too much on individual schools of magic. They’re much more effective when you combine them. Healing together with beast can work wonders.”
Jez blinked at the idea of combining schools of magic. It made sense, though he had never attempted it. Even so, the thought sent chills down his spine. Sharim had shown skills in at least three schools, and Jez suspected he’d only begun to see what the demon made flesh could do. He looked at Galine.
“Let’s go.”
CHAPTER 44
Galine knelt to examine a fallen tree. He pulled a tuft of black fur from a crack in the wood. The earth had been upturned, and the tree had been dragged twenty feet, seemingly by accident.
“He did this alone.” Galine pointed down the path of destruction Aniel had made. “That way. He’s much stronger than he should be as a hound, though I don’t suppose that’s terribly surprising, given who we’re dealing wi
th.”
“He’s heading for the lake,” Jez said.
Galine nodded. “That makes sense.”
“Why would a hound’s mind lead him there?”
Galine snorted. “You really need to put away your prejudices. What we call the beast mind is not the mind of a beast overtaking the mind of its host. It’s the improper mingling of two minds. A part of that creature is a hound, but another part is a high lord of the pharim, and Aniel’s mind is stronger by far than any hound. It wouldn’t be as completely overshadowed as a mortal’s mind. The pharim in him likely senses the echoes of his own power.”
Jez considered for a second before glancing at Lina. “Take Lina on your back.”
“What?” Lina said.
“You’re the only one who can restore Aniel’s mind.”
“Jez that won’t work.”
“It’s worked twice before.”
“On mortals. I’ve already tried to restore Aniel. His mind, if you can call it that, is just too alien.”
Jez looked at her helplessly. “What are we going to do if we can’t cure him?”
“Maybe we can capture him. At least that way we can keep him from falling into Sharim’s hands.”
“Capture him?” Galine asked. “You mean cage him. Cage a high lord of the pharim. How do you intend to do that?”
Lina’s mouth dropped open a little, but she nodded and turned to Jez. “I think the catacombs under the Academy would work. When this whole thing started, you thought he might’ve been imprisoned there.”
“You can’t imprison Aniel,” Galine said.
“Obviously not for long. Just long enough for Jez to contact...” She paused as she met Jez’s gaze. Hiding who he was didn’t serve a purpose anymore so he nodded. “The rest of the pharim.”
Galine’s chest rumbled, but if he’d been surprised by Lina’s declaration, he didn’t show it. “This isn’t just any pharim. This is the lord of the Beastwalkers himself. You can’t cage him.”
“But—”
“Look,” Jez cut in. “This is all a moot point unless we find him. Let’s worry more about that and less about what to do when we do find him.”
Beastwalker (Pharim War Book 3) Page 15
