Soon after he dismissed the gatherers to go off in small groups with bags, Alec suddenly felt a disturbing pain in his head. “Oh no,” he said softly to himself. Bauer, do you feel pain? He broadcast a silent message, as he looked along the roadway.
There were no evident sorcerers. A smattering of travelers were carrying on normal commerce, leading carts, riding horses, or carrying packs on their backs as they moved along the road. There was no sign of a sacrifice or a black-robed person carrying out the arcane actions needed to call a demon.
I have a headache, and I feel uneasy, Bauer responded to Alec.
He’s here. Limbaw is calling a demon forth. I don’t see him anywhere yet, Alec answered. We’ll see a demon in the next few minutes.
“Back, everyone come back!” Alec called loudly. “Rahm, we’ll probably going to see a demon any minute now,” Alec told his guard as he pulled his sword from its sheath. “Get all our guests on horseback and ready to evacuate.” As puzzled teens came flocking back to the roadside, Alec stood in the center of the road, his sword held ready. “Send half the kids that way to block traffic from coming,” he motioned. “And do the same in that direction,” he pointed down the other direction, on the road back towards Vincennes.
There was a sudden roar behind Alec, and the demon came out of the forest. The hostages who Alec had taken out on a pleasant afternoon jaunt began screaming and panicking, most climbing onto their horses and bolting wildly away from the monster that had appeared.
Bauer, find the sorcerer for me, Alec commanded the young former sorcerer. It was the last message he had time to send as the demon singled Alec out as its target and charged towards him.
Alec was ill-prepared. He had no bandolier of knives, just his own sword. And fighting in the forest was a different arena than he’d ever been in when fighting a demon; Alec was trying to evaluate whether the trees and obstructions would provide more help for him or the demon more as he backpedaled to draw the demon farther away from those youngsters who had not yet reached their horses or ridden out of danger’s way yet.
Without his knives he wouldn’t be able to try to blind the demon, and with only one sword he would be challenged to effectively decapitate it. He needed to find the sorcerer and kill him, Alec concluded. That would diminish the demon and help improve Alec’s odds of survival.
The monster was very close now and swiped at Alec as he ducked behind a tree for protection. The tree was effective, at least in the short term; the demon’s claws cut through most of the tree trunk with difficulty, saving Alec, and giving him time to leap around the demon to get behind it. But the trees were a hindrance to Alec in the respect of blocking his highest priority, finding a view of the sorcerer who had to be nearby.
He was back in the center of the road, and saw that many of his companions sat astride their horses nearby, watching his battle. As the demon emerged from the trees, Alec stood his ground, uncertain of how to proceed. He was using only his Warrior abilities, pulling the energy from the ingenairii realm at the fullest level he could muster, ready to respond to the least act by the demon.
The monster was not given to tiny actions at this point in the battle. It charged directly at Alec and confronted him with a number of efforts to swipe, snap and bite him, keeping Alec constantly using his sword to block attacks while he leapt and ducked rapidly. He managed to avoid harm for several moments, until a claw penetrated his defenses and raked his right arm.
In desperation, Alec sought a respite from the attack by running around and away from the demon. He ran to the tree the monster had shredded earlier, and leapt up onto its leaning trunk, ran three steps upward, then jumped again onto the lower branches of a neighboring tree. He was now thirty feet above the ground, and as he turned to look behind him he saw the demon bring down the damaged tree as it tried to emulate Alec and jump on the slanted trunk. Alec climbed higher, and moved over to a different tree, then stopped and looked again.
The demon was below him, watching him like a dog looking up at a treed cat. Relieved, Alec used his momentary refuge to switch to his Healer powers, and he treated the painful wounds on his arm. Looking down, Alec watched the demon try to climb another tree, its weight breaking the tree before the monster could rise far off the ground.
Alec jumped to another tree, one at the edge of the roadway opening, and glanced up and down the road. He saw the hostages in two clusters at either end of the vicinity of the battleground, and other traffic starting to build up behind them. In the gloom beneath the trees on the far side of the road he could barely register a light-colored blur that he thought might be Bauer.
Bauer, have you found the sorcerer? Alec asked, and then grabbed onto the branch above his head as his tree shuddered violently.
The demon was deliberately trying to bring down the tree Alec was in. It shuddered again, and began to lean precipitously, causing Alec to scramble to the other side of the tree and leap into its neighbor. He hurried across it and into another tree, then jumped far outward into the open space of the road, landing beyond the middle of the dusty lanes, and sprinted into the forest on the far side.
He had heard no response from Bauer. Concerned, Alec ran towards where he had seen the boy’s white shirt in the woods. He could hear the demon behind, at no great distance, while ahead he saw the same white motionless spot on the ground, and as he approached he saw that it was Bauer, lying on the ground, a bloody stain spreading across his stomach. To his right he saw a motion, presumably the retreating sorcerer who had harmed the young former sorcerer apprentice.
Alec stood over Bauer’s body and turned to face the approaching demon, while trying to focus on the delicate maneuver of drawing upon the three streams of ingenairii energy simultaneously – Warrior, Healer, and Spiritual. With the demon’s arrival Alec crouched defensively, appreciating the use of the thick trees around him, which restricted the demon’s ability to quickly shift position around him. Alec’s sword flicked and struck repeatedly as he worked to effectively call upon the Spiritual energy and then the Healer energy, so that he had both received several cuts and scratches from the demon in the course of the skirmish before he had all three powers fully at his call.
He nudged Bauer with his foot, and awkwardly directed his Healing energy into the boy’s body. The process of healing through his foot, and the diminished stream of Healing power made the cure for the knife wound a slow process. Just as Alec sensed he was successfully repairing the organs that were wounded by the stab, there was a shout behind the demon, and Alec saw Rahm and two hostages attempting to attack the monster from the rear.
The demon whirled with incredible speed to pounce on its new antagonists, and Alec instinctively reacted to attack it from the rear, to draw its attention away from the vulnerable humans who had bravely but foolishly joined the fray. He took two steps to prepare then soared high up to an overhanging tree branch, and swung higher from it to arc up and then come down athwart the back of the demon, landing with his sword pointed downward so that the metal blade drove deep into the neck of the abominable foe. Alec immediately pushed himself away from the demon, leaving his blade buried in its flesh, and landed on the ground with a roll.
He came up standing and looked at the tableau before him; the monster was paying no attention to its opponents. The point of Alec’s blade was sticking out from the front of the creature’s neck, and its arms were flailing, trying to reach behind its back to grab the horrible blade.
“Go that way! Find the sorcerer that called the demon and kill him! That’s the best way to defeat it. Hurry!” Alec instructed the three rescuers who had come to help him, and he motioned in the direction the sorcerer had run. Alec watched the three obey him and run in pursuit of the sorcerer, then he ran back to Bauer’s body, where he grabbed the sword from the unconscious boy and faced the demon again.
The monster was slumped to the ground, its arms still moving, though with less energy now, and Alec approached it cautiously, wishing again that he had a
bandolier of knives to throw at his adversary. He heard a scream in the distance, from the direction Rahm had run, and he felt emboldened to approach the demon now, to try to finish it off as it grew weaker.
Suddenly his mind received a powerful message from Caitlen. Alec! he heard her mind call out his name beseechingly, and as he stood distracted momentarily, the demon pressed itself up from the ground and lunged at him, shuddering and shrinking as it did so. Alec raised his sword and brought it down with both hands as he tried to fling himself out of the way of the monster’s thrashing motions, but one set of claws raked his torso as his sword cleaved through the demon’s neck, hacking until it hit the metal of Alec’s first blade.
Alec staggered backwards, filled with pain, looked down to see the terrible damage the monster had inflicted on his own body, and heard Caitlen again; Alec, they have me!
He fell to his knees as his left leg collapsed, nearly severed from his body, released his Warrior energy, and called on his Healer energy to try to keep himself alive as he slumped forward and passed out.
Chapter 19 – The Ajacii Move
When Alec awoke, he was in the palace, lying on a comfortable bed, with a nurse and a guard and Rahm all present. Rahm was pacing the floor, while the nurse sat calmly and the guard stood at attention.
“You’re lucky to be alive, sir,” the nurse said gently. “Welcome back to the living.”
“Alec! Thank heavens you’re awake,” Rahm said, turning to approach the bed. “We need you badly.”
A premonition of horror swept over Alec, as he remembered Caitlen’s frantic cry while he had fought the demon. “Where is the princess?” he asked aloud.
“She’s been seized, taken as a hostage,” Rahm replied.
“Who took her? Where is she?” Alec asked. He tried to sit up, but his balance was strangely altered.
The nurse held out a hand to grasp his, helping him steady himself. He knew what had happened, even before he looked down; his left leg was gone, apparently lost in the battle with the demon. His rib cage hurt badly, as did his stomach.
“Who took her?” Alec repeated, holding on to the nurse with a tight grasp that made her wince.
“Three men,” Rahm answered. “They fought like you,” he paused to let it sink in. “They came on the very day you battled the demon, fought their way into the palace, slaughtered several guards, took Princess Esmere and Bethany hostage, and left the palace.
“They left a message for you, Alec,” Rahm told him. “They said that if you survived the fight with the demon, you must disappear forever from the realm, and the Princess would be returned only when they were promised control of the throne.”
“Do you know where they took her?” Alec asked, an old idea already coming back to life in his head.
“They said they are the Ajacii, from their village outside Valeriane,” Rahm answered.
“Abelard,” Alec softly muttered. Caitlen, can you hear me? He sent a message out into the world, but received no answer.
“They mentioned him too,” Rahm confirmed. “They said that if you come to try to find them, the Princess would die in revenge for his death.”
“How long ago was this? How long have I been like this?” Alec motioned towards the severed leg.
Alec closed his eyes to think. “Who rules in the absence of the Princess?”
Rahm let a long silence pass. “The palace rules,” he said hesitatingly.
Alec opened his eyes. “The palace is a very nice building, but it’s just a building. Who is making decisions?”
“For now, there’s a council of us who get together to make decisions. We’ve been waiting for you to awaken to take over. Field Marshal Stocker has left the battlefield and says he’s on his way to assume control,” Rahm replied.
Alec released his grip on the silent nurse and lay back down. “I will not forsake my wife,” he said at length. “I will heal myself, and to do that I will have to leave Vincennes. That is all I have to say for now,” he ended cryptically. He shut his eyes, and appeared to fall asleep. Rahm and the nurse looked at one another, then Rahm left the room to see to other duties. Later that day he received a report that Alec’s body had vanished, disappearing right before the eyes of the nurse and guard on duty at the time.
Three days later, Alec reappeared in the now empty room where he had been kept; his leg was restored and his body was scarred but fully healed. He went to see his infant son Elisan, who he held quietly for a long time before returning him to his wet-nurse. “He misses his mother,” Alec told her softly, “but he likes you a lot.
“Which way should I go to find Rahm and the ruling council?” he asked a guard outside the nursery.
“They’re in the formal chamber meeting Marshal Stocker, who has entered the city,” the burly guard replied.
Alec thanked the guard, asked him to see that additional guards were immediately added to his son’s security, and headed to the armory, where he equipped himself with two swords and two sets of bandoliers, then went to the kitchen and filled a bag with crusty bread suitable for travel rations, and finally made his way to the formal chamber. He entered through a side door, unnoticed, and paused to look around the room. Nearly half the room was filled with soldiers that Stocker had brought in with him, and assorted officials, many whom Alec suspected were from Valeriane.
A priest was placing a heavy fur-trimmed robe of rich material upon Stocker’s shoulders. “You are declared the rightful interregnum ruler of Vincennes and her subject territories during the absence of a legitimate heir to the throne,” the priest said loudly, as Stocker stood with a self-satisfied smile on his face.
“I object,” Alec said loudly. “This ceremony is illegal, and without merit or cause.” He pushed his way through the crowded room, receiving many cheers and friendly slaps as he worked between people, and stepped up onto the stage in the front of the room.
“There is no place for an interregnum ruler in Vincennes,” Alec spoke loudly. “There is a rightful monarch, the Princess Esmere, and her rightful heir, the Prince Elisan. As such, I am the regent for the prince in his mother’s absence, and it is my role to serve here, not this man’s,” Alec gestured with an insolent flick of his wrist at Stocker. The room erupted in an uproar.
“I was told you were next to dead after allegedly fighting a demon,” Stocker said. “And that you had crawled away to die after losing, just as you and the Black Crag vermin ran away during battle down near Cearche.”
“Your claims are false and outrageous,” Alec said, a deadly calm settling over him. He engaged and extended his Spiritual powers towards Stocker, and found the man felt equally calm, and equally confident of victory. Such confidence could only have one foundation, Alec now realized, and he was prepared to deal with it.
“I proclaim that as regent, my only goal is to rescue and restore Princess Esmere to the throne. Because you are an Ajacii, an accomplice of the kidnappers of the princess, I proclaim you a traitor to Vincennes. You may leave this city immediately under a promise of safe passage,” Alec warned, “and the consequence if you choose to remain is death in battle.”
Stocker allowed the elegant cape to slip off his shoulders and fall heavily to the floor, puddling around his feet as he held out his hand and a junior officer from his corps handed him a sword. “I will fight for the right to serve Vincennes by ruling here,” Stocker said calmly, “if you choose to carry out your bluster. Either you will fight me here, or you must leave this realm forever.”
Alec lifted one bandolier off his shoulder, then unbuckled his extra sword, and finally removed his second bandolier of knives, and stripped off his shirt, revealing vivid red scars that ran up and down his wiry frame.
“Abelard was a good fighter, but not one of our best,” Stocker said. “Now, you’ll face a better fighter,” he warned, and he advanced towards Alec was a sureness and grace that belied the stout and aged appearance. For just a moment Alec had time to recollect Rubicon, his original tutor in the Warrio
r ingenaire arts, a one-armed man with a jolly appearance that totally belied how deadly the man could be in battle.
“A better one, or the best?” Alec asked, as he shifted to his left, facing towards the deadly silent roomful of observers who were watching the duel on the stage.
“Definitely better, but honestly, not the best,” Stocker answered. “It’s a shame you won’t have a chance to face him,” he said, and he pounced forward, his blade speed startling even to Alec, felt the metal graze his forearm as he blocked the first thrust of the battle. He attempted to riposte, but Stocker’s blade was as quick as his, and the metal clashed ineffectively, though Alec flicked his wrist to deliver a shallow slash to his opponent’s ribs as he pulled his blade back.
“Bravo! You drew some blood,” Stocker acknowledged. “If you can do that so early in this bout it’s no wonder you were able to do away with Abelard.” He still had an easy and confident air about him, and Alec remained cautious, almost worried that the man must have some trick planned to win a battle that didn’t seem predetermined in either combatant’s favor from Alec’s point of view.
Ajacii and Demons: The Ingenairii Series Page 23
