“I spoke with the guards at the front gate,” he explained. “Apparently he came to the castle looking for the Captain here claiming he, Hawkblood that is, had been replaced by a demon. Sergeant Batine then escorted him to the Great Hall. I think you know the rest.”
“So how did he know so much about what was going on? Was he part of it? And if so, why would he alert the guard?” Landir asked.
“I think Batine mentioned something Hawkblood had said about escaping,” Clyne said. “But why would he follow it through the portal, kill it, and then escape through another portal? It doesn’t make sense.”
“I imagine until we find Mr. Hawkblood, we will not know the answers,” Vanier said. “Thus, I’ve put out a notice for his arrest. We need him to get more answers.”
Chapter Twenty
Esselles felt the strange sensation of stepping through the gate, but even though it passed, he was still in darkness. The sword in his hand gave off a faint glow, and he thought he could see a barely perceptible redness in the distance, but otherwise the world was black. He heard a clank from the direction of the redness and set off in that direction, moving slowly to try to avoid running into anything. As his eyes adjusted from the bright daylight to the blackness of his surroundings, he found he could just make out things in front of him thanks to the faint illumination given off by his sword.
He appeared to be in a cave. He heard no water dripping or stepped in any pools on the ground, but he could see the mineral floes down the walls whenever he neared a wall. The air was very warm and the cave floor and walls were warm. Esselles could feel a power just below their surface.
Shit, it looks like this is the only way out of here, Esselles heard in his head. He quickly quieted his own thoughts for fear of alerting Renamir to his presence. He heard, Maybe I can redirect it home after I fire it up.
Esselles stopped walking and sat on the floor to concentrate more on Renamir’s thoughts. He began to hear the clinks and clanks as if he was making them and realized that he was now hearing through Renamir’s ears. He closed his eyes and focused harder. Soon he could make out what Renamir was seeing, although it was if he were seeing it through a thick fog.
In front of him was a strange tableau. There was a glowing sphere of red light hovering the air. On the ground was a seven sided star. Renamir was reaching down to set a candle at one of the apexes of the star. He then turned and grabbed a second and moved to set it on the next apex along the line of the star. He repeated this four more times to complete the star – apparently he had already set the first one before Esselles had tapped into his vision. When the seventh candle was in place and lit, the lines of the entire star began to glow.
Renamir went over to a large black stone. He touched the stone and pulled his hand back in shock. Damn. Too much for me to handle. He looked around the room. There must be something here I can use.
He spotted a large metal pole arm and went over to retrieve it. He hefted it, tapped it against the ground, and looked at it with his second sight. This will do, he said to himself. He held it in both hands and began casting a spell. Esselles was surprised at how regimented Renamir’s mind became when casting. Through his vision he saw the metal in the pole arm strengthened and infused with magical energy.
In the back of Esselles’ mind, he had a little voice saying he should do something, but he was so concentrating on not thinking thoughts Renamir could pick up that he largely missed it. His brain heard it, but its import did not register. Instead he continued to focus on what Renamir was doing. When Renamir used the pole arm to connect the primary apex of the star pattern to the large black stone, energy poured through the pole arm and infused the star with energy, racing from apex to apex. Renamir pulled his hand back in pain as some of the energy coursed through him as well. Esselles could feel the energy level in the air grow even where he sat in the hallway, but he barely noticed because in the middle of the seven sided polygon formed by the lines of the star, a black sphere began to coalesce.
Not another gate! Esselles’ screamed mentally.
Renamir’s attention snapped to and Esselles lost access to his ears and eyes.
You!? came through the link, emphasized by a blast of mental energy.
Esselles batted the attack aside, his will resolved to defeat this enemy of the empire. He jumped to his feet and raced down the corridor, but Renamir was further away than he thought. When he reached the room with the star, Renamir was jumping into the black sphere of darkness that had formed in the center of the star. With a pop, it disappeared, and the red mage light hovering in the middle of the room went out at the same time.
“Damn you!” he screamed in frustration and anger and fell to his knees in the sudden darkness and silence.
“Now what?” he asked out loud. Maybe I missed an exit, he thought. He looked around the room but saw no exits. He retraced his steps back to where he had first come in and found that to be a dead end as well. He dropped to the floor in despair at being trapped, but the despair was soon mixed with rage over Renamir getting away. As he sat, he felt the power in the air begin to grow. It took him a second to realize it was the same he had felt before. He jumped to his feet and raced back to the room with the star, narrowly avoiding running into a stalagmite in his haste.
When he reached the room he saw another black sphere coalescing in the middle of the room. “How did this happen?” he asked aloud in shock. He quickly realized that the pole arm was still funneling power from the black stone.
To jump through or not to jump through raced through his mind, but the anger at Renamir and despair at being trapped quickly outweighed any fear or caution about jumping into an unknown gate.
“Yet another blind leap,” he said as he jumped.
As soon as he entered the sphere, he felt it solidify such that he actually landed on the edge of the darkness and then with a pop, the outside cave disappeared. After a few seconds of sheer darkness, he could see daylight through the dark walls of the sphere. Looking down he saw a mountain ridge quickly falling away in the distance as he shot up into the sky. Soon he had climbed through the scattered clouds and then above them. The world began to curve away from him. To the east was a large ocean. To the west was the mountain range with an immense forest beyond it. To the north the range continued up towards the whites of the continual snow. To the south lay all of Ostar.
But soon even those features blended together and he was looking down on a green and blue sphere wrapped in scattered clouds of white with two smaller spheres near it. And even that began to shrink until it was just another point of light in the pitch black sky dominated by the sun off to his right. Seeing a completely black sky even when the sun was out was completely foreign to Esselles. As was the realization that he was now floating within the sphere, as if he were under water. The sun continued to recede in the distance, getting smaller and smaller until it too became just another point of light in the foreign black sky.
Still the sphere showed no sign of slowing. To the contrary, it seemed to be picking up speed even though Esselles did not feel himself pressed backward or the rush of wind like when he was racing on a horse. The only reason he knew he was still gaining speed was the stars outside appeared to be moving past at greater and greater speeds until they appeared to be streaks in the sky. At one point, he felt the sphere shudder and he was thrown forward, but whatever had tried to slow its forward progress was unable to stop it and he continued his race through the stars.
He started to get a claustrophobic feeling, which was strange considering he was in this large void that stretched unimaginably in all directions punctuated only by the passing stars, also inconceivably distant. He realized that his problem was the staleness of the air. Do I only have the air that was trapped in here with me when I jumped in? he thought in fear.
He quickly overcame the momentary panic and realized his best bet was to meditate and slow down his breathing. He recalled his instructor’s lessons on achieving a fully meditative s
tate and did so. As such, after ten or so minutes, his brain did not immediately register that the stars outside the sphere were now slowing down or that eventually, two large red stars began to grow ahead of him and he was headed straight towards what looked like a giant crescent moon in front of him with five other partial moons around it. The realization did finally push him out of his trance and he started to gasp for air. He continued to plunge towards the big sphere and soon it filled his entire vision. He clutched at his throat. Even though he was pulling in breaths, he felt like he was choking.
Outside, the sphere began to glow red, then white. He was thrown forward against the wall of the sphere and it was hot to the touch, soon reaching scorching levels. He was near passing out from lack of oxygen and his hands and feet were starting to burn. He thought it might be delirium, but he saw his body enveloped in a white glow and the heat subsided. He passed out in relief.
*
Balderon, Clyne, and Landir stepped through the fold in space into the dark cavern. Balderon raised his staff and the room was immediately bathed in white light. He probed forward with his mind.
“There’s no one in here, but there’s a large gathering of energy up ahead that way,” he announced.
“Two sets of foot prints and some blood,” Clyne added while crouched to examine the floor.
A loud pop echoed from down the corridor.
“Whatever was building up energy, it just discharged,” Balderon informed them. “Come on.”
They raced down the cave towards the larger cavern at the far end. They spread out from the entrance and looked around.
“The source of the energy discharge?” Landir asked, pointing to the glowing star pattern on the floor.
“I would guess so,” Balderon answered. “And it appears to be charging back up.” He walked over to it and carefully held his hand out over the star. He extended his senses punching into the ethereal plane. He saw a tendril extending straight up through the roof of the cave and out towards the sky. He sent a pulse along the tendril and waited, counting off the seconds. Finally, after about twenty seconds, he felt the echo of the pulse returning down the tendril. He paid close attention to the modulations he felt in the pulse.
“Damn it. Just as I feared. This leads beyond our realms to the home of the demons.”
“Did they go there?” Clyne asked.
“Someone did. Possibly two someones. One pocket was almost there, one half way there, and one had just left, although only the first two were occupied. If I knew it was only enemies in them, I could try to pop them or at least sever the tendril so they are stranded in the void between worlds.”
“But you think one might be Hawkblood in pursuit?” Landir asked.
“It is certainly a possibility,” he said. “Decide now. The opportunity won’t be there much longer.”
“I for one can’t in good conscience have Hawkblood killed,” Landir said. “It looks like he was trying to stop them.”
“I agree,” Clyne added.
“Do we go now?” Balderon asked.
“Yes,” Clyne said immediately. “Let’s take the fight to them.”
“Is that wise?” Landir asked. “We have no idea what is waiting at the demon’s home world. This attempt on the emperor’s life obviously involved some big time players,” he said, sweeping his arms to indicate their current location and the star in front of them.
“I tend to agree with Landir,” Balderon said. “There is a demon prince with whom I have battled a number of times. This may just be a lure to get me there with insufficient defenses. Let’s gather a small strike force and go in prepared. But first, let me destroy this thing.”
*
Esselles had a sudden feeling someone was nearby and he snapped immediately awake. He heard a scrambling sound and then heard Damn it! in his mind.
He looked around for the threat, but couldn’t find it. But he knew that Renamir was nearby thanks to the mental link connecting them.
You are the most persistent, annoying person I know. How is it you keep following me?
“Lucky, I guess,” Esselles answered snidely.
Not this time. You’ve followed me to the demon’s home world, where we are likely trapped.
Sure enough, the world Esselles had entered was totally foreign. The ground beneath his hands and feet was hard, cold, and black. It was also smooth as glass, and in some places, as sharp as broken glass. He stood up to get a better view and as he did, he noted he felt extremely heavy and lethargic. He scanned the area. He was in a deep, circular depression, near one of its steep, glassy walls. Closer to the center of the depression, the ground was covered with a fine black sand. Looking at the sand, he could see the impression where his body first landed. He could also see a set of footprints approaching and then turning away in what looked like a scuffle. A realization dawned on him.
“You were trying to kill me!”
Not true, came the response. Although he didn’t believe it, he could feel the truth of the statement through the link. But if not kill him, then what?
“You were going to disarm me,” he said as he figured out the answer.
Yes. I’m not too keen on you killing me.
“Then why weren’t you trying to kill me?” he asked. “And why are you not just answering me?”
Because I will need you alive to get back home. But I would have trusted you a lot more if I were the one holding that sword. Which answers your second question. Until I can convince you that we need each other to get out of here, I don’t want you to know where I am.
Realizing Renamir was invisible again, Esselles shut his eyes and tried to see through Renamir’s eyes again.
Nice try. You were only able to do that because I was concentrating on operating the demon’s gate and I was careless. It won’t happen again.
“What was that thing and how did it bring us here?”
It appears that it was set up by a powerful demon or a mage helping them. Our two worlds are too far away to simply open a gate between them. No man or demon can channel the amount of power required to do that. So instead it creates an ethereal pocket and sends it along the path from the one world to the other. I had been hoping to redirect that path before jumping into the ethereal pocket but you showing up in the cave killed those plans.
“Good.”
No, not good. Because now we are both on this foreign plane with no means to return through the void back home. I don’t have the power or ability to create the pocket and get home, so now we either need to find another portal, like the last one, and hope that it too is unguarded, or find a demon powerful enough to bring us back.
“I am not going to bring a demon back to our world.”
Then you will be stuck here for the rest of your life, and based on what Malicar has told me of this place, that won’t be very long.
“Can’t we find another portal like the last?”
It’s possible. But that one was in a cave with no entrance other than to gate in. Without knowing the precise ethereal coordinates, we never would have found it. I suspect your demonic double used that path home the last time he was in our world. But assuming someone protected a portal the same on this end, our chances of finding it are slim at best. Either way, we will need the assistance of a demon to find it.
“Getting the help of a demon is one thing. Helping him get to Ostar is another.”
But it might come to that. I do not have the ability to get us home. The demon won’t have the ability to punch through the protective barrier between our two worlds.
“That resistance the pocket punched through?” Esselles asked.
Precisely. Have you had any magical training or learned of the different planes of existence?
“No. But that was the only thing different on the entire trip and it felt like the pocket had to fight its way through.”
It did. But it is easier to permeate the barrier on the way out of our world than on the way in. The demon lacks the proper energy to do so
. I possess the proper energy but I lack the power to create the pocket and project it all the way back home. Not to mention, I don’t even know where to send it, even if I had the power to do so.
“So you are going to trust a demon to bring you home?” Esselles asked incredulously.
No, I’m not. That’s where you come in. You and the sword you hold. That’s an incredibly powerful sword. One that can cut through a demon’s magical protections. Any demon we encounter will be fearful of that sword as they will be able to see its power. You will be the threat that keeps the demon in line.
“So let’s say I believe you,” Esselles began.
You do. I can read it in your mind.
“Stop that. Let’s say I believe you. How can I trust you not to kill me?”
You can’t. Not once we are home. Any more than I can trust you not to kill me. But until that time, we are unfortunately dependent upon each other. So unless you want this to be the end of your life’s story, we need to work together. Do you think you can do that?
“I don’t know.”
Again, you speak the truth. But while you think about it, let’s get moving. I am afraid that our arrival here might bring unwanted attention. We do not want to be around if a demon prince shows up.
“Lead the way,” Esselles said. As he did, Renamir faded into view on the rim of the depression he was now in.
“One direction is as good as the next. Come this way,” Renamir said aloud.
As he walked, Esselles looked up into the night sky. Instead of the midnight blue he was expecting, the sky clearly had a dull reddish hue. In addition there were three moons visible in the sky and they too had a ruddy hue to them. A few wispy grey clouds drifted across the foreign sky. Beyond the clouds he saw the stars, though they too elicited surprise. There were none of the constellations he was used to seeing.
By the time he reached the edge of the depression, he was leg weary and breathing heavily. “Why do I feel so listless and unable to breathe? Was it the suffocation?” he asked Renamir.
Demonified (Hawkblood Chronicles Book 1) Page 22
