Jez shook his head. “I disabled it.”
Galine grabbed him by the shoulders. “Are you telling me he can repair it?”
“No, but it’s like rowing a leaky boat. If you row fast enough, you can still get where you’re going before it sinks. Sharim’s going to pour enough power into it that what I did won’t matter.”
“You knew this was a possibility?”
Jez tore away from him. “Did I know it was possible to use a disabled circle if you pour enough power into it? Yes. Did I know Sharim would have access to the power of the lake amplified a thousand times because of the presence of every Beastwalker in existence?” Jez shook his head. “He would’ve never been able to do it with anything less.”
Galine stared at him for a few seconds before looking into the distance. He made a curt gesture with his hand and bounded into the trees. The other beast men ran forward. Jez rushed after him, Osmund and Lina running right behind him.
CHAPTER 48
They came out of the tree line and looked out onto the land before them. The lake shimmered in the distance. The runes of the circle at its edge shone so brightly they left an afterimage in Jez’s vision. He could barely make out Sharim standing at the edge with arms raised. Dark shapes swirling around him stood as a sharp contrast to the light of the circle. Jez thought he caught a faint whiff of sulfur, but at that distance, it was impossible to be sure. Still, he didn’t really need it to tell what was going on.
“He’s summoning demons,” he said to Galine. “It could be to possess animals or to possess you.”
A shadow passed over them, and Jez looked up to see a bright red bird circling and coming in for a landing. It landed on Jez’s shoulder. Though its body was red, the long feathers on its wings were bright blue with a few green feathers separating them from the red. The tail was a mix of blue and red, and it had flaps of white skin around its eyes. It had a curved beak that Jez suspected was good for cracking open nuts. It watched a large lizard sunning on a nearby rock before hopping closer to Jez’s ear.
“Saw you.” The bird let out a low whistle. “We attack from south. Coordinate.”
The bird whistled again before taking off to the south. Jez stared at it until it vanished into the trees. He turned to Galine.
“Was that a beast man?”
“Just a parrot.” When he saw the confused look on Jez’s face he went on. “It’s a type of bird that can learn to imitate human speech. I’ve never seen one used as a messenger before. It takes too long to train them for it to be feasible.”
“What about with beast magic?”
Galine nodded. “It’s possible, though it’s a rather frivolous use of the power.”
Lina chuckled. “My entire school of magic is rather frivolous. It’s not surprising that others have those kinds of uses too.”
“You don’t understand. The beast mind is a crucible that burns away all the excess and leaves only the core of a personality behind.”
Lina smirked. “I’ve met frivolous people before. Trust me, the nobility is full of them.”
“And how many of them are mages of any real skill?”
Lina’s smile vanished. “Not many. Actually, none. There are a few mages that pretend to be like the other nobles, but it’s all an act to gain political power.”
“Frivolous personalities don’t make it far as mages, certainly not far enough to transform and stay that way for weeks on end.”
The darkness around Sharim moved faster, shading him entirely. Then, as if flung by some great force, a piece of the darkness flew into the jungle. One by one, other shades did the same, pelting the jungle with shadow. One flew in the direction of Jez and his companions. Jez fell back, barely managing to avoid screaming. It hit the lizard. The animal hissed and started to grow. Jez reacted without thinking, moving his hand from the creature’s head to its heart. Inky blackness billowed from its nose and mouth. It started to solidify, but Osmund threw a ball of fire, and the darkness disappeared in a puff of smoke. The lizard scurried into the bushes before the flames had even started to fade.
The jungle erupted in howls and roars as the lotheen took control of their prey. The trees to the south rustled. Welb charged out, his claw blade emitting brilliant green light. Lacking the support of beast men, Welb had found other allies. Behind him came wolves, lions, and every type of animal who lived in the valley. They were heading right for Sharim. Without waiting for a command from Jez, the beast men charged Sharim as well.
CHAPTER 49
At least fifty creatures thundered behind Welb, and the beast men joined his forces before they had gone a quarter of the way. Sharim looked at them, utter contempt showing on his face. He lifted a hand and the green crystal at his feet flared to life. The animals froze in their tracks, all but Welb, who kept running.
A wave of shadows washed over the clearing toward the animals. Welb held his sword before him as if to catch the shadows. It glowed, forming a pillar of green light. Jez had spent nearly a year studying demons. Protection magic could guard against them and destruction magic could banish them, but there was no way beast magic could have any effect on them. Jez stopped in his tracks as the shadows fell upon Welb.
And they turned aside.
They split on the sword, half going to either side and missing the animals entirely. For a second, Sharim just stared, his mouth open in shock. Welb raised his sword and as his light fell upon the animals, they began to move again. A lion let out a roar, and the animals surged forward like a wave. Then, the jungle cried out.
Disfigured animals, far larger than their counterparts, rushed out of the trees. Even Welb stopped and stared. The possessed animals ran toward the natural creatures with Welb. The afur backed up until he stood in the middle of the creatures. At first, Jez thought he was hiding, but as the light intensified, he realized he was wrong. The natural animals didn’t grow or become more muscular, but they suddenly stood straighter, with muscles tensed. They just seemed like more than they had been.
“He’s making them stronger,” Jez said.
There were more of the demonic animals than the normal ones, but enhanced by Welb’s power, that seemed not to matter. The animals on both sides moved with deadly speed, but Sharim’s beasts seemed just a little slower. Their teeth always missed by inches and their claws never seemed to catch anything but fur or feathers.
“Reminds you a little of Rumar, doesn’t it?” Osmund said. “When the townspeople distracted the demon so we could assault the castle.” His form rippled, and Ziary stood before him. The scion pointed his flaming sword at Sharim. His eyes blazed. “The way is open.”
Jez looked to Sharim who was engrossed with his ritual to call up more demons. Now that they were closer, he could see the snake-like scales covering Sharim. His hair had fallen out, and his arm looked frail and withered. He’d obviously used transformation magic to deal with the poison, but it hadn’t come without a price. Jez nodded, and Galine came to stand next to him.
“I’ll hide your approach,” Lina said, “and I’ll do whatever else I can from here.”
“Don’t get ahead of me,” Jez said. “He probably has that shield around him, and I want to be close enough that he won’t have time to react when I take it down.”
Galine and Ziary nodded and after a few seconds, the world dimmed as Lina hid them from sight. They charged toward Sharim. As they got within a few yards, Jez’s fingers wove a complex pattern. The barrier flashed into sight then shattered. Sharim’s eyes went wide as they attacked.
CHAPTER 50
Sharim bent backward at an impossible angle as both Jez’s and Ziary’s blades sliced the air above him. Galine’s heavy paw slammed into Sharim’s side, sending him to the ground. Jez followed up with a thrust, but Sharim moved like lightning, twisting out of the way without bothering to stand, and Jez’s sword sank into the earth, cutting into the edge of the circle. Jez screamed as transformation magic travelled up his blade and spilled into his body.
; He could feel everything. Ziary and Galine fought nearby, transformation power filling them. At a distance, the energy Welb fed into the creatures around him glowed like a beacon. The lotheen in the animals reflected a dark transformation of their own, and on the other side of Jez, the lake practically sang with power. The part of him that was Luntayary stirred and came to the surface. Jez couldn’t tell which pain was greater, that of the pharim within burning away his flesh or the nearly boundless transformation energy coursing through his body.
Jez tried to push Luntayary back, and for a moment, he thought he would succeed, but nearby, Sharim laughed, a hissing sound that would’ve made Jez shiver if he hadn’t been overcome by pain. Luntayary lumbered forward, slow but unstoppable. He came even more fully than before, and Jez knew he had mere seconds before the Shadowguard overwhelmed him.
“Ziary.”
Jez wasn’t sure if he’d spoken the word or just thought it. Ziary was a scion of the pharim. Luntayary was more powerful by far, but they were the same type of being. Osmund was a descendent of the afur, beings like Welb, the pharim who had rebelled. He was not entirely human and so his body could bear the transformation Ziary brought on him. Jez could feel the difference in Osmund’s flesh even as it was being suppressed by Ziary. Perhaps if he could copy it...
He grabbed the transformation power flowing through him and directed it at himself. Even as Luntayary’s power burned his flesh, Aniel’s power changed it. He would never be able to contain the fullness of Luntayary’s power. It was simply beyond the capacity of mortal flesh, but he could make his body better able to bear it.
The pain receded. It still hurt enough to make him want to cry out, but it was no longer the incapacitating agony that had prevented him from acting. The world became clear, and he realized his wings had emerged and his clothes had been transformed to sapphire robes. His sword still buzzed with the transformation energy he’d absorbed from the circle. He rose and looked around.
Welb, Ziary, and Galine, as well as the rest of the beast men, had been bound by strange bands of green energy. Ziary’s robes were torn, and Galine had several burn marks on his chest. The next instant, pain ran through Jez’s body, but it was little more than a pinprick next to what he’d felt a moment ago, and he shrugged it off. He turned to Sharim who had his left arm extended toward Jez. In his right, he held a sword of liquid flame. Jez took a shaky step toward him, and the pain intensified. It was like fire burning throughout his body, but he kept his head up and took another step.
“That’s impossible.”
Jez was gasping, but he managed to force out the words. “Impossible.” He took several breaths. “I’m surprised you would use that word Sharim, given what you are.”
Sharim’s smile showed curved teeth that dripped with venom. “It’s impressive that you’re able to control yourself, but you can barely stand.”
Sharim delivered a quick slash with his sword, and it was all Jez could do to raise his own weapon. The same weapon that still hummed with the power of transformation. If Sharim had been using an ordinary blade, there would’ve been little Jez could do, but Sharim wielded the weapon of a demon, and it was as much a part of Sharim as Jez’s sword was a part of him. It was alive, and beast magic was the magic of things that were alive.
The liquid flame died and solidified into a sword that looked like it was made of orange glass. Sharim grunted and tried to relight it, but Jez’s power held. Sharim scowled and threw his sword aside. It puffed into smoke before it hit the ground.
“I don’t need this to defeat you. You’re good with that borrowed power, but you’re not practiced.”
Sharim held both his hands toward Jez and the power that had been coursing through him was torn from his grasp. Sharim directed the power at the lake, and the waters started to churn. There was a deafening roar as a serpent larger than any Jez had ever imagined rose from the water. Its emerald scales shimmered in the sunlight. Its body was at least as wide as Jez was tall and its serpentine head was fifty feet above the water. It roared, showing razor sharp teeth. Such a creature was too big to inhabit that lake. Sharim had to have transformed it, and Jez had a cold certainty he knew what this thing had been before, and if he was right, he couldn’t allow himself to kill it.
“Aniel,” Sharim shouted. “Kill him.”
CHAPTER 51
Jez forced Luntayary back until the pain from the pharim’s overwhelming power no longer inhibited him. The serpent lunged at him, but he spread his wings and flew above Aniel’s attack. The pharim lord turned upward, its brilliant green eyes focusing on Jez. It tried to bite again, and Jez delivered a quick slash to its nose, spilling motes of glowing green energy. For a moment, confusion flashed across Aniel’s face, but it was replaced by rage a moment later as the serpent reared its head and roared.
“What kind of creature are you?” Jez asked under his breath. Aniel snapped again. This time, he caught a piece of Jez’s robe, and it tore off.
Jez sank his power into the water and tried to ensnare Aniel’s form, but as a tendril wrapped around the great serpent, the water recognized its master and struck back at Jez. Pain blossomed in his head, and the next thing he knew, he was falling. The surface of the water rushed toward him.
Jez tried to flap, but his wings had vanished. He screamed, and something erupted from the water. Strong arms caught him. Jez blinked and realized it was the fish-like pharim from before. They landed on the shore. Aniel roared, but in the next instant, the air around him was filled with birds and the waters near him churned with fish. Strands of green energy shot out of an eagle flying around Aniel’s head. They connected with other birds who spawned green strands of their own. The energy spread out among the animals, eventually joining with the fish and forming a net. The animals closed in on Aniel, wrapping him in energy.
“Those are all pharim, aren’t they?” Jez asked. “They’re all Beastwalkers. You called them.”
The fish man put Jez on the ground. It smiled before spreading its fin-like wings and taking to the air. A wave of heat washed over Jez and he turned to see Sharim rushing toward him, his flaming sword once again in his hand. Jez raised his hand. His sword popped into existence at the last second. The two blades clashed together with a sound like thunder.
“You’ve only delayed your own demise. Even all the Beastwalkers together can’t long restrain Aniel.”
The focusing crystal in Sharim’s hand glowed, and behind Jez, Aniel roared. Jez tried to take the power from Sharim, but either Sharim was too powerful or his experience was too great. The transformation energy slipped through Jez’s fingers.
Sharim laughed. Again and again Sharim struck. He attacked with a casual ease that Jez, in his weakened state, couldn’t counter. Sharim delivered a hard blow. Jez caught it on his sword, but the force of the impact sent him to the ground. Sharim put his sword at Jez’s neck. Its flames sent agony surging through Jez’s body, but Sharim didn’t press it in. Instead, he laughed.
“You made a good show of it, but you never really stood a chance.”
He looked at the lake behind Jez. Jez risked a glance over his shoulder. The green energy net had tightened around Aniel, but the pharim lord let out a roar, and the energy exploded outward as the pharim were thrown away. Aniel cut through the water, heading right toward Jez. Again, Jez tried to seize the transformation power from Sharim, but it was no use. The focusing crystal made his control too absolute.
With Jez’s body weakened from his transformation, and Sharim ahead and Aniel behind, Jez was out of options. He drew deeply of Luntayary’s power. Sharim’s sword pressed a little harder, and Jez knew he wouldn’t be able to move before his foe skewered him. Jez clenched his teeth and drew even deeper.
Though his sword was a potent weapon, it was not his only one. He was a Shadowguard. He knew protection magic. He might not be skilled but he was still strong. Protection magic was the magic of warding and binding. The magic of water, and it was the magic of earth. The power burned i
n him. He wouldn’t be able to last long, but he wouldn’t last long without it either. He directed all of his power at the focusing crystal. Aniel had created it from his own will, but in changing it, he had made it into a crystal, and crystals were made of earth.
It shattered in an explosion of green energy. A wave of power washed over Jez, banishing Luntayary’s form. Sharim too returned to normal. As the energy hit Aniel, it twisted around him, encircling him. He threw back his head, but the cry that came out sounding more human than anything else Jez had heard from the pharim lord. The form of the great serpent melted away leaving the antlered form of Aniel suspended in the air. Aniel’s eyes locked onto the shore, and with only a few flaps of his great wings, he landed next to Jez. He drew his claw blade and advanced toward Sharim.
“No,” Sharim said, panic painting his face. “I am human. You cannot interfere.”
Aniel took another step forward. The jungle erupted in animal cries, but somehow, Aniel’s quiet voice could be heard over it.
“Not unless you interfere with me.”
Sharim paled and backed up several steps. He seemed to be moving faster than Aniel, but for some reason, the gap between them continued to shrink until Aniel stood before him. Sharim grasped at his chest. A thin chain around his neck that Jez hadn’t noticed before snapped, and Sharim pulled out what seemed to be an obsidian crystal. Rather than glow, it shed darkness.
Aniel’s eyes shone as he raised his sword, point down. He drove it toward Sharim, but the shadows coalesced beneath Sharim. A hole opened, and he fell into a circle of blackness. It closed and Aniel’s blade stabbed into the earth. A bright aura of green light surrounded Aniel, and his face twisted in anger.
“What happened?” Jez asked.
“He’s fled into the abyss.”
CHAPTER 52
With the crystal gone, there was nothing keeping the Beastwalkers from returning the core of their power to the Keep of the Hosts. Then, they spread out through the valley, restoring the minds of both the beast men and the animals that had been affected by Sharim. Penar did what he could to heal Jez’s wounds, but too much magic had gone through his body recently, and he needed rest almost as much as he needed healing. Galine carried him back to the remnants of the village. Though the fires were out, it seemed like nothing more than a collection of burned out husks.
Beastwalker (Pharim War Book 3) Page 17
