“The Fire of Ataidar shall incinerate the wicked!”
All nine spears released Flame Waves from their tip. It was impossible to see the grendel through them all. Although the beast howled and thrashed, the spearmen held it in place. Their commander praised their efforts and then turned his attention to Gruffle.
“Stay calm, sir. I’ll get you a healer right away. Johnson, get your pixie butt over here!”
A fairy in royal livery floated over to Gruffle and doused the troll-wolf’s wounds with pink dust. Then he gave orders to other fairies to recover the victim’s arms. They did so and shoved them back into Gruffle’s shoulder sockets. He winced and curled his toes as the healing process began.
“I realize you must be in excruciating pain, but I need to ask you a few questions. Do you know how a grendel got into the city?” the commander asked.
Gruffle shook his head. “It appeared out of a portal from somewhere.”
“Captain!”
“What is it?” he asked without turning around. “Can’t you tell I’m debriefing the victim? There are protocol that need to—”
“It’s doing something weird!”
“What could a gre—Holy Fire!”
His subordinates’ spears were blade deep into the grendel’s bulk and yet it was standing up as if they didn’t exist. Then the flames that should have been roasting it turned back into mana and gathered in the grendel’s hands, which the creature fired back as a Mana Barrage. The nine spearmen flew backwards down the street, into buildings or into the moat.
“What kind of a monster are you?!”
The grendel faced the captain and the human felt the Universal Dread. Clapping its hands together, it pulled them apart to reveal a staff with a crystal arrowhead attached to one end. It brandished this weapon and ran forward shouting,
“Gruffle! Gruffle!”
The captain set his stance and raised his barrier, but when he expected the grendel to strike, the beast jumped over him instead. Gruffle was already running away. He had quite a head start so Grendel didn’t bother chasing him. Instead, he threw his staff after his fleeing prey. It went through his back and halfway out his stomach. Then a compressed mana bolt fired from the crystal back at the wolf-troll’s head. It detonated and spread Gruffle all over the street. Grendel roared in triumph.
Recover from THAT, troll!
“This is Captain Tezuka requesting backup. I have a grendel outside the castle. It just killed someone. I repeat, a grendel just killed someone outside the castle.”
Grendel was no longer fighting Gruffle. Now he was surrounded by a mixture of royal guards, outlaws, and concerned citizens that thought they were containing a threat to public safety. All of them had weapons drawn, spells charged, and a desire to kill him.
THREATS! ALL OF THEM! EAT THEM!
Meanwhile in the castle dungeon, Tiza fought a losing battle against the sedation spell. Despite the wards in her hair protecting her from magical incapacitation, she couldn’t move. The Order Domination Field was too powerful. She was at Dosh’s mercy.
“I won as soon as you fell out of that portal,” Dosh said.
He crossed her hands behind her back and cuffed them. Then he wrapped a chain that connected to the cuffs about her waist to secure her arms to her back.
“The Order Domination Field leeched your personal mana to weaken you spiritually and my Fatigue Cloud drained your stamina.”
He crossed her ankles and cuffed them as well. Then he clipped a chain onto each set of cuffs to connect them.
“It’s a complicated process; a dirty-nailed tramp like you wouldn’t understand.”
He folded Tiza’s legs until the points of her shoes touched her rear. Then he pulled all the slack out of the connecting chain and locked it. As bad luck would have it, she felt the effects of the sedation spell wear off seconds after he finished the hogtie.
“Do you have anything to say before I gag you? I bet you do, but I don’t care.”
Tiza clenched her mouth shut as tightly as she could. She refused to be humiliated in such a manner. Dosh forced her mouth open regardless and wedged a rubber ball inside. He clipped the straps shut behind her head, cinched it tight, and Tiza’s self-control broke.
Sathel warned her not to use Videlicet Mens; trained her to control the emotions and instincts that brought it out. Reckless use could kill her. The last time she used it, she suffered monsanity and almost killed Nolien. Now, she had no other option.
With a shout of “Light Come Forth!” a pillar of blue energy exploded from her body. It blew Dosh away with its force. She thrashed like a monster; yanking on the cuffs, bucking against the chain, and twisting this way and that, desperate for freedom.
“Go ahead! Waste your energy! It will only make you easier to handle afterward!”
Tiza’s aura diminished as the Order Domination Field drained its energy. As the Fatigue Cloud continued to weaken her, her struggles became less powerful and more frantic. At last, she ran out of energy. The two together reduced her to fitful squirming. Dosh cautiously approached her, and when he was sure she could no longer fight, slipped a hood over her head. She sobbed as he laced it at her neck.
Several floors above the dungeon, Nolien was locked in combat with the Anti-Magic soldier. He was so busy avoiding slashes, thrusts, and kicks, he didn’t notice the soldier steering him toward the maid. She stuck out a leg and tripped him up. He fell on his back and the soldier plunged a sword into his chest. The soldier pulled his sword out and then back in three more times in quick succession.
None of them were instantly lethal, but they were beyond what Nolien could heal before he bleed out. Even his divine magic from Wiol couldn’t save him in time, and that was if Order would allow it in his territory. He was going to die.
The world discolored and a hole in reality opened before him. A pale lady in a black gown stepped out and knelt at his side. She held his hand with two gloved ones and smiled beatifically.
“It doesn’t have to end this way. I can save your life if you make a contract with me.”
“Go to the Abyss, reaper; rather, go back to it.”
“That was rude, Second Duke of Heleti.”
“I don’t care!” He winced. That outburst agitated his injury. “I’m a healer from a long line of healers. I’d never be so desperate that I’d turn to you for help.”
Samael sighed and stood up. “If that is your decision, then I will respect it. However, you may find that you will regret it. There are worse fates than eternal hospices.” She glided back into her portal and, before it closed, she said one more thing. “I may not see you again.”
The portal closed, but time did not resume and neither did Nolien continue dying. A new presence appeared, but this one did not take such a pleasing form.
It was formless. It all around him; everywhere and nowhere at once. It was a cold and unfeeling authority. It was a parasitic desire to devour all life. It was the unflinching presence that maintained the structural integrity of all life. It was a spirit whose immensity could not be grasped by mortal minds, only suffused with dread. It was the judge who sat on high.
It could be no one else.
Fear not, Nolien Heleti. I am not speaking to you directly but through the Order Domination Field. The phenomenon is more complicated than that, but it will suffice for our purposes.
“The reaper already came and left. I’m not interested in selling my soul.”
Nor am I interested in buying it. I offer Equivalent Exchange: one quick favor for another quick favor. Are you interested?
“I’m listening.”
I will prevent your death by granting you a one-time boost to your healing spells, and providing you with all the mana you need to save yourself. In return for these boons, at some point in the future, you will do something for me to achieve a result that I desire. It will not be a long quest, but a simple and singular action. As I said, Equivalent Exchange. If I do not achieve results through no fault of your o
wn, then I will not hold it against you and instead consider our contract fulfilled.
“Order, you are obstructing the natural progression of Life and Death. There is only reason you would do such a thing—The First War. Thus, you wish to use me as pawn against Lady Chaos, which leads me to believe that you want a sleeper agent in Eric’s inner circle because he is The Trickster’s Choice. Am I right?”
Clever mortal. Yes, you are right.
“Then you must want me to sabotage Medical Mana Mutation. Am I right?”
It is one possibility. Before you disagree, I want you to see something.
A viewing portal appeared before Nolien. Within it, he saw a masked man attaching metal cuffs to Tiza’s wrists and ankles followed by a gag in her mouth. She invoked Videlicet Mens and writhed helplessly on the dungeon floor while her captor taunted her.
This is a live feed and that masked human is your brother. He seeks to use her to coerce you into revoking your claim to the dukedom. If you die, she will have no further use as a bargaining chip and you fear what your brother would do to a pretty girl who has no other use.
Memory of the Fear Field returned and more vivid than before: sweat, blood, tears. A new scene where Tiza was helplessly restrained in a dark box and fed through a tube until Dosh wanted to play with her. A third scene saw her sold to one of the countries still practicing human slavery and the horrors she would endure there.
The last time Tiza was kidnapped, Sathel could not find her until the damage was already done. This case may be different, but I know you will not take that chance. She means too much to you. Do we have a deal?
If he accepted this deal, he would be responsible for whatever harm Order caused through him. The talks were fragile enough already; anything could ruin them for ages to come. Then he thought of Tiza and all she had suffered and how much she might suffer in the future. He thought of all they shared and the future they could have together.
I shall include a portal to her location. You have my word as The Inventor and Guarantor of Promises.
“Order, I accept the terms of your contract.”
Power flooded his body and soul. More than mana; this was sheer spiritual fortitude. He didn’t expect to feel so mighty until he was an old man. Healing four critical wounds would be trivial with so much power! They closed up as if he were an elf and he was ready to fight once more. By then, the maid had stolen his medallion.
The maid and soldier were looting his supposedly dead body, and the first thing they took was the medallion signifying that he was the heir to the House of Heleti. It took all Nolien’s self-restraint not to grab her wrist. He needed surprise for this to work. The maid placed the medallion on her own neck and clung to the arm of her soldier.
“Where to next, my love?”
He stroked her cheek with his free hand and gazed adoringly down at her. “I hear Logou is nice this time of year; lots of tourists.”
Nolien sprang into action, grabbing the maid’s braid with both hands and yanking her backwards. She was so surprised, she let go of her soldier’s arm. Before either of them could counter, he twisted one arm behind her back and placed a mana scalpel at her neck. The latter was generated from his fingernail. Normally, something like this would be difficult to create and maintain, but right now, it was simple.
“I thought you were dead!” the maid shouted.
“So did I. Anyway,” he twisted her arm and she winced, “I believe you know what happens now.”
“Don’t make me laugh,” the maid said. “You almost fell for my ‘decoy damsel’ routine. You’re not going to kill me.”
“Maybe, but I doubt your knight over there is going to take that chance.” He nicked her neck and a trickle of blood stained her ruffled maid collar. “Are you?”
“Go to the Abyss!”
“Thank you for confirming that you’re not automata. If you were, then you would have killed her to get to me. Now, if you would be so kind, please disarm and dis-equip.”
Piece by piece, the soldier obeyed. He put his sword down and kicked it away. He did the same to his second dagger. Then he unbuckled the various pieces of armor. Nolien watched him carefully for signs of trickery; instant spells or thrown objects. This meant he paid less attention to his bargaining chip, and she used the distraction to stomp his foot and remove the scalpel from her neck with her free hand. Then she blew him away with a mana bolt from her snared hand.
Nolien grabbed his staff and jumped to his feet. Brandishing it, he said, “So then, round two is two on one.”
The maid ran into her soldier’s arms and they closed protectively around her.
“On any other day, I’d slice your neck open for nicking hers. But you have your own girl waiting for you, so I’ll let you off with a warning.”
“How do you—”
Two portals appeared, one behind each combatant. The soldier jumped backwards and it closed behind him.
“Abyss take it…”
Nolien grabbed the discarded Anti-Magic equipment jumped into his own portal. He came out at the entrance to the dungeon. The door was locked.
“Order! Open this door!”
The dungeon is warded against teleportation, but even if it were not, I could not help you. As prisons are meant to confine lawfully convicted criminals, it is not in my nature to make them easy to enter or exit.
Dread filled Nolien’s mind, but adrenaline pushed it aside. He equipped the Anti-Magic gauntlet, aimed its palm at the door’s hinges, and prepared a mana bolt. While its primary function was absorbing mana, if the function was reversed, it could amplify mana. A further boost from the Order Domination Field would make it a potent weapon indeed.
He fired the mana bolt and it flew with the force of a shotgun. He stepped back from the recoil. When the dust cleared, he examined the results. The heavy steel and orichalcum alloy door did not have a scratch on it.
Meanwhile, in the Royal Mage Tower, the former royal mage reveled in his victory over Basilard. He’d wanted to do that ever since the man stormed out of this very room months ago. This was his true power, not toadying for that little brat. He pulled out a syringe. One way or another, the Bladi clan would aid his research.
Basilard touched the wound on his stomach with his left hand and extended it towards Sequitor.
“Ancestral Beam!”
A flash of red light shot from his hand unimpeded by the Order Domination Field and struck Sequitor square in the chest. It knocked him back several steps, but did no damage. His only reaction was to laugh.
“Your power is truly derived from Chaos and is truly genetic.” He waved the syringe around. “I’d love to study it.”
Basilard fired another beam, but Sequitor pulled out a crystal with his other hand. Like Eric’s, it was made of soiléir, but unlike Eric’s, it was marked with Order’s Eye and Hands. It absorbed the beam easily. Basilard clenched his fist and the crystal exploded. It filled the room with light and momentarily blinded Basilard. The flash from the blast shouldn’t have been that big or that bright…
“Fascinating!” Ciceron exclaimed. “Independent control of energy, even in such a container. I must study it further.”
Basilard stepped back and held BloodDrinker with both hands.
“Sequitor, despite what I said earlier, I respect your work and the time you’ve put into expanding magical knowledge.”
“However?”
“However, you are not the first person interested in our blood. Luke the Bloody, our founder, was subjected to many seducers and mystics after his enchanted genes. Countless others throughout the ages have tried to steal our blood. It never goes well for them.”
Ciceron sneered. “Because you kill them.”
Basilard’s countenance remained civil. “Because it kills them. We’re registered as ‘mana breed’ on the federal census. Our blood is dangerous to those that are not born to it.”
“Like your un-orthodox daughter?”
Basilard scowled. “How do you know
about her?”
“Citizenship requests, rumors, heresy…”
Basilard jumped forward swinging BloodDrinker, then moved into a punch and grabble combo. Sequitor ducked, dodged, and avoided the blows.
“I get enough of this from my clan! I don’t need any from….you.” Basilard’s eyes glowed red. “You’re in contact with one of my relatives. Tell me everything!”
Sequitor deflected a paralysis spell and parried BloodDrinker with his staff.
“You have no authority here, Bladi Chief, but I’m feeling generous. They told me her future is creating bastards.”
Basilard charged ancestral beams in both hands and fired. They encompassed Sequitor completely and gouged the floor in a V shape. They didn’t stop until it reached the orichalcum section of the walls. There was nothing left of Sequitor. Then Basilard contorted in pain. Someone had stuck a dagger into his back.
“You’ve been talking to a light construct since the crystal exploded,” Sequitor said as he twisted the blade. “I expected a mage of your caliber to detect that, but you know what they say about love and intelligence.”
At the same time, in the isolated closet, Emily pressed her back against the stone door. It was the only thing stopping the monsters on the other side from swarming inside. She braced it with her spirit barrier and several more spells, but it was only a matter of time before all of them shattered. Over and over, she repeated, “Protect Kallen, Protect Kallen, Protect Kallen” like a mantra of strength. She needed it to block the visions.
Ever since Kallen went into her trance, unbidden images flashed into her mind. They showed her dying in numerous and painful ways. They showed how she would suffer beforehand. Accompanying all of them was a voice droning, Give up. Seek mercy.
She steeled her mind against them. This world was counting on her.
You were kidnapped from your own world.
Kallen showed her the world.
She showed you death, disease, and despair.
Mana Mutation Menace (Journey to Chaos Book 3) Page 27
