Demiourgos

by Chris Williams

  Quickly she stopped what she was doing and began tracing her steps back toward the strands linked to her body. It looked like a spider’s web but shimmering blue and the rest of the world around her was dark save for motes of silvery light signifying living beings and strong magic. Once again her opponent redirected its effort to block her and she severed several strands with one surging effort. She could feel her body utilizing more stored magic; it was a detached, almost separated sensation.

  Sweat beaded on her brow as she struggled with control of the filaments of the spell that were tethered to her body. Each time she severed one she could feel herself able to move the ship a little more. For what seemed like an eternity she put all of her effort toward defeating the unknown power affecting her.

  Once she loosened a few more threads of the spell she wrested control back and turned the ship hard to port barely missing one of the large creatures. Everyone on the deck sucked in a breath and Rose cried out when she realized how close they had come to being shattered against the rock.

  Once Rose steered them out of the way and into the clear she let go of the wheel and fell to her knees and covered her face with her hands simultaneously letting out a cry of frustration. “I’m tired of this game and all of this torment. I’ve never done anything to anyone and yet here I sit fighting for my life and my sanity it seems. I’ve barely been free and everywhere I turn someone wants to exploit me, or kill me, or worse. I think it’s high time I take the fight to my opponent’s door.”

  “We don’t even know who it is.” Nina said as she took up the wheel and began steering in Rose’s stead. “How are we going to find them?”

  “The magic that was being used was linked back to my body. Whoever was using the spell to track me knows how to find me somehow.” Rose looked down at herself and then back up at the three of them questioningly. She was directing her inquiry more toward Avreel than any of them. “Your knowledge of magical lore is greater than mine so how do you think they’re doing it?”

  “The easiest way is by an amount of purified blood but there are several ways to do it.” Avreel looked Rose over and folded one arm across her stomach while resting her elbow in her hand. She tapped a finger against her chin. “It’s also possible to establish a link with an item you carry.”

  “I’ve been around elves, demons, the kurenai and your people.” Rose indicated Avreel with a gesture of her hand. “Of those I can only think of two that would want to track and harm me.”

  “There is truth to that but we did not have you long enough to establish such a link.” Avreel said with a shrug. “That leaves the demons and honestly I can’t say as I’ve ever heard of them going through such pains for a prisoner.”

  “Then who?” Rose looked down at herself again. She found herself wondering who would be powerful enough to track and hinder her at the same time. “It’s strange, who could have taken notice of me this far beneath the earth. It would take someone powerful; am I wrong?”

  “No, you’re right.” Avreel said with a nod. She tilted her head to the side and regarded Rose for a moment, as if seeing something she hadn’t seen before. “Take everything off.”

  If she hadn’t been so consumed by the recent attack she would have found the statement absurd and humorous but at the moment she just stared; not comprehending what Avreel was saying. It took a few seconds for her to follow the logic but she nodded and stood up leaving Nina to the wheel with Avreel and Liostro striding behind her. “I’ll do this in the captain’s quarters if you don’t mind.”

  “Of course.” Avreel nodded and stood to the side of the entryway near the stairwells.

  Rose turned around to Liostro and put a hand on his chest, smiling sheepishly up at him after a moment of looking at the planks below her feet. She shifted her legs once and felt herself blushing regardless of the intimate moments they had shared thus far. “Would you mind waiting out here?”

  “I would not enter without your say my lady.” Liostro bowed a little and leaned against the doorframe. His intent had not been to watch her undress he was just afraid of the magic that had been invading her person. If her aggressor was determined to hinder her progress there may be wards against her tampering with the item in question. “I’ll be out here if you need me.”

  “Thank you.” She called in reply as she began stripping herself of everything she carried starting with her sword belt and sword. Idly she ran a finger along the chain that dangled across her cheek and dismissed the notion that the pasha had been able to hire a wizard of sufficient skill. Next came her clothes; once she had rid herself of everything she carried Rose shifted her eyes into the magic spectrum and found the silvery blue filaments still swirling around her body. “I don’t understand; the link is still here I can see it.”

  “Did you remove everything?” Liostro called from around the corner. “Every item?”

  “I do not wish to remove my ka’harah.” Rose felt the golden chain dangling against her cheek and swept her gaze out across her body again, one item caught her attention but she did not want to believe it. “Liostro I want you to get Nina down here right now.”

  Not one to question he grunted a quick reply and rushed out of the doorway past a startled Avreel and walked to the point where he could see Nina. She was steering the ship with seemingly no issues until both of them felt the caress of magic. The feeling was subtle but there. “Quickly, Rose wants to see you.”

  Nina followed him down the short stairwell and entered the captain’s quarters with Liostro and now Avreel in tow. Once Nina had walked by him she heard Avreel huff in frustration at being barred from the room.

  She was thankful he followed Rose’s orders to the word. When she approached she found the naarabian handling and shaping a steady stream of magic that she did not fully comprehend. It was visible in the regular spectrum for starters. When Rose loosed one hand from the casting and put it to her lips Nina nodded.

  Spinning a spell she had devised on her own in the short moment she had been alone Rose brought her hands before her and indicated her ring with one finger then continued to cast the spell without missing more than a heartbeat. Her fingers and hands worked at the ends of her arms drawing an intricate pattern that she knew signified silence and blindness but worked outwardly instead of on an individual. When Nina removed her ring and set it on the ground Rose did the same in a quick gesture. She then leaned down and cupped her hands around the two small bands of metal, working the spells into the intricate carvings. When she was done she shifted her gaze again and found the strands of the spell fading quickly. “Quickly gather up Liostro’s ring and throw them overboard!”

  Nina ran from the room with the two rings in hand and caught Liostro’s in mid-air then tossed them over the side without another questioning word. Though she was confused about throwing the valuable magical items off of the ship she had learned from experience to trust those stronger with magic than her. Once the artifacts were disposed of and behind the ship she returned to find Liostro and a clothed Rose heading out of the captain’s quarters with a look of confusion on both of their faces. “How could someone have corrupted the magic in my grandfather’s rings?”

  “Through all of my trials and tribulations with each new group of kidnappers none of them stripped me of my ring.” Rose replied to Nina with her eyes still locked on the fur around her ring finger that was even now reforming to its original shape. “Why would that be?”

  “They were instructed not to.” Avreel replied to her before letting anyone else even begin considering the reasons. “My sister did not strip you of your ring, that’s one of the first things we do is remove all items that could be magical from the prisoners. Her patrol was out a little longer than usual as well and I don’t know why.”

  “I cannot believe that Leonidus would betray us.” Rose frowned and looked over at Nina and Liostro. “Correct me if I speak improperly but he has never felt as an enemy would. At every turn he has been helpful to us.”

  “
There is a side of him you have not seen.” Liostro told the boards below his feet before he could even look up at Rose. His mind drifted across the scene in the throne room that had conspired between father and daughter. He had been crass with the queen of the elves, to whom he owed his fealty regardless of the fact that he was her sire and former king. “The anger I saw in his eyes when he had learned that we lost you was reminiscent of the Scale of Darkness when he first took over. He requested a report from me before he even offered healing and I was quite obviously injured.”

  “I have never seen him like that before I must admit but can you not call that loyalty to a friend?” Nina chimed in, shaking her blonde locks in denial. “I cannot think that my grandfather would want to bring harm to Rose or myself.”

  “We shall have to question him about it when we return.” Rose cut any further arguments off by walking away from the three of them and heading toward the bow of the ship. Thankfully all of them got the hint. Nina returned to the wheel and Liostro and Avreel continued talking as they took the stairs up to the quarterdeck to join Nina. Once she was alone on the forecastle deck she sat down and crossed her legs, watching the water around her.

  The ship they were sailing on was amazing, it seemed to take care of most of the work by itself. When she had inquired about the ropes and sails Avreel had explained the workings of the ship in a little more detail. It had been crafted by the hands of an infernis elf skilled in the arcane arts. They had commissioned the ship to be made from the hardest stalks of the mushrooms that grew in the endless dark. Once it was built they had assembled the sails and the spellcrafter had bound an elemental into the ship. The creature was subsequently killed and the resulting death created a whole new being in the living vessel. All the ship needed was someone strong in the arcane arts and it could cut the waves with ease. The abundance of water around her and the swaying of the vessel made her feel a little calmer; it almost felt as if she were made to be at sea.

  Rose closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax further, attempting to drive the thoughts of potential betrayal out of her mind. Her legs were crossed and she rested her palms on her knees. It took her back to the harem and the long nights of watching her candle diminish down to nothing. She shook her thoughts free again trying to make herself focus on nothing and form a void in her mind. Emotionless and endless calm and blackness, that’s what she wanted to feel instead of thinking. She worked hard to clear her mind and smooth her thoughts out. She barely knew Leonidus but the sting of betrayal was there as thoughts of him drifted across her mind. It took some time for her to wrest control back but soon she found the peace she sought through magic. Memories came back to her in a slow trickle. The Spellrage was chief among them due to the fact that as she focused she began to remember more. She had felt a feeling of immense power and the seductive pull of having that much might at your fingertips. Rose had also felt the madness associated with it gnawing at the recesses of her magic-plagued brain. No one was meant to touch that sort of power unless they were a god; she had no idea how she knew this.

  Formulas and spells passed through her consciousness over and over as she ran through the various ways she had used magic in the short time she had been given access to it. As if by instinct her mind began to mesh spells together and morph the results based on the streams of flowing information. New uses for the raw energy at her command came as easily as breathing. Her first reaction was astonishment; it shook her out of her meditations and she was surprised to see that the orbs floating in the skies above them had dimmed down to twilight. She had lost herself in the seductive pull of magic yet again. She felt a real fear then as she stood up rather stiffly and stretched.

  It was almost second nature to run herself through several poses and positions designed to work her muscles and warm her up for a performance. A thought occurred to her and she drew her sword and began using it as ballast she swept it through several of the stances and found that they complimented the long-reaching blade quite well.

  Leaning against the mast Liostro watched Rose silently; mesmerized by what seemed like some sort of sword dance she was moving herself through. It was like watching a skilled combatant and a dancer all at the same time. Her slender form highlighted by the dwindling light made for the perfect memory he would choose to hold on to. She looked so refined but so primal all at the same time. He turned from her for a moment and headed up to the quarterdeck where Nina and Avreel were also watching from the rail.

  “Is there anything that gods-blasted naarabi can’t do?” Avreel said in feigned annoyance along with a very unladylike snort. “It’s no wonder you fawn over her like dog in heat.”

  “Charming,” Liostro replied to her with a slight chuckle. “Nina can I borrow your blades?”

  “Sure.” She unsheathed her two short weapons and handed them over to Liostro curiously. “What are you going to do?”

  His feet hit the stairs and he cast a grin over his shoulder at the two of them. “Invent a new style of swordplay.”

  Approaching Rose in silence took some skill and even then when he got close enough he did well to cross the two swords over his head to catch her long blade in an overhead down swing that was almost too fast for even him to stop. “You’re getting better at this.”

  “Oh my gods I’m so sorry! I didn’t do that on purpose.” Rose withdrew the blade and let it hang at her side; she had reacted on pure instinct to the presence she had felt behind her. Looking down at the dark metal of the sword in her hand she was surprised at herself. “I just acted without thinking.”

  “Instinct plays a big part in swordplay sometimes. You did well, trust me; I am usually a very good sneak.” Liostro flourished the two short blades he had borrowed from Nina and indicated Rose with one outstretched metal appendage. “Show me what you were doing again, it seems to compliment you more than the crude lessons Barius was giving you.”

  “I was just exercising and the sword added weight.” Rose said with a relaxed shrug. “It just seemed the right thing to do; I used to exercise like this before dancing for the pasha’s guests.”

  Liostro arched a brow then nodded to her. “Then we shall deem it sword-dancing.”

  Rose complied with his request and began from the top; letting her sword rest behind her as she crouched down. Once he was ready she reversed her grip on the hilt and brought the sword up in a crossways strike simultaneously jumping up from the deck and following through with a pirouette that ended with the blade once again pointing toward the sky. Her body continued through the familiar moves as she turned in a grand circle gesturing with her arms the blade cut across his midsection even as he barely hopped back out of the way. Once again she jumped up from the planks and brought the sword down with her. The sound of it scraping off of one of Nina’s blades grated her ears and the sparks that flew lit up the dim night for a moment. She continued the same move three times then on the last one she dipped down low unexpectedly and swept the long black instrument for Liostro’s legs. While simultaneously lifting herself back up using mainly her legs she brought the sword back across to strike in a reversed direction. She caught him off guard surprisingly and pressed the attack by using her free hand to draw some of his attention. She swept it outward then back in while her sword made the direct opposite move. Her strike resounded off of the steel loudly again and she brought her leg in front of her then down again to aid her in spinning around for a powerful attack.

  Her blade only cut empty air and with just inches to spare she sucked in a breath to avoid the sweep of his blade. While she was distracted from that he broke off from her into a run which she obligingly pursued. Her surprise was genuine when he bounded off the rail and flew over her head as if he wasn’t wearing the heavy armor. She was overbalanced and fell to one knee and she knew she was defeated but at the last moment she felt something deep inside of her stir and suddenly she was facing him with her blade above her head just in time to stop the incoming slice. Taking his confusion as an advantage she le
apt up and slashed outwardly with her blade missing him but causing him to take a few steps backward.

  His backpedaling caused him to lose space and she reversed the direction of her dance and brought her entire body downward using it to pour a good amount of strength into the hit. When he blocked it she continued downward and stood on her hands. One hand was open and the other was closed around the hilt of her blade. Rose wrapped her legs around his neck and flung him over her back and without thinking she carried the motion over and did a full somersault. She landed on her feet easily and found the blade of her sword positioned near his throat. There was surprised plastered across both of their faces until she moved the blade and gave him a hand up.

  “Never have I been bested in battle; and that is not bluster.” Liostro grinned ear to ear and looked up at the two women staring in stunned silence from the quarterdeck rail. “Never once!”

  “Impossibly talented wench.” Avreel mumbled.

  Nina couldn’t help but laugh but at the same time she was in awe. She remembered how easily Liostro had dispatched her and even Barius. He had defeated the two demons almost single handedly and again when the infernis elf patrol had attempted to return them to the first house. To see him so easily dispatched was no mean feat. “Incredible!”