Sensing his host’s imminent demise, the Rook fled his physical form just as the black fire tore through it. He willed his shade into the dark cleft between the floor’s stones and escaped, though not without feeling the scourge of the human’s abyssal power as it destroyed the demon’s black body.
You see! Even your own minions turn against you!
“Shut up, demon!” Azerick turned to the demog. “What urgent news do you bring, Skulk?”
The little demog looked at the body of the demon then up at Azerick. “Glorious Master, Fourth Circle demons invade through the Omega Gate. Messenger says horrible succubi betray you and let them through.”
You see! I told you something was wrong, and you did not believe me!
“I never said I did not believe you. I said I did not care.”
Klaraxis screamed his fury at the obstinate human. You must do something—now! Drak’kar will be heading this invasion, and when he gets here, he will take this realm for his own.
“So let him have it. I have no interest in it.” Azerick dismissed the demon’s complaining.
You cannot be this stupid. Drak’kar is the lord of the Fourth Circle and very powerful. He will seek to destroy us both or, if he is truly foolish, enslave us long enough to consume our souls.
“You cannot defeat him?”
I can, of course. It is you who cannot. If we are to survive, you must give me the freedom to battle him. You must give up control of this body.
“That will never happen,” Azerick said.
Obstinate human! At least summon my minions. Right now, they are likely being destroyed. You must reach out to them and gather them into a fighting force to at least slow Drak’kar’s advance and weaken him.
“How do I do that?”
I can do it, but they need us to lead them into battle. Even your pathetically limited power is formidable and will make a substantial impact upon the battlefield.
Azerick did his best to determine if the demon was trying to trick him, but he did not detect any treachery. That did not mean there was none. Both of them were able to keep things from the other and hide their motives behind half-truths and veils of secrecy.
“Very well, Klaraxis, summon your hoard.”
We must go to my throne so I can see where to send my warriors.
Azerick made his way to the enormous throne room and sat down upon the stone and bone construction. He relaxed his mental lockdown and allowed Klaraxis a small measure of freedom to act. Klaraxis gazed into the shallow bowl cut into the arm of the throne and summoned forth an image. The pool of blood filling the bowl reflected an image of a battlefield. The disproportionate numbers made it more of a bloodbath than a battle. Azerick could not tell one demon from another, but it was apparent a vastly superior force was tearing apart another.
Klaraxis pulled the image closer and Azerick saw a massive, four-armed demon look up and smile, somehow knowing his foe was watching him. The sorcerer felt more than heard the summons Klaraxis sent out to the farthest reaches of his substantial domain. Hundreds of thousands of demons heeded their master’s call and raced with all speed to intercept the invading force.
That will slow them, but you neglecting your duties and failing to listen to me will cost tens of thousands of lives.
“As if I care. Now, tell me of the person who escaped,” Azerick demanded.
If I tell you, you will take an active role in defending my realm?
“Of course, if for no other reason than self-preservation.”
It was nearly a thousand of your years ago. The foolish elves sought to remove themselves from this world by shifting their northern kingdom to a pocket universe where they could live without threat of the encroaching humans. They made a grievous error and brushed against my realm. I was able to shift the focus of their spell enough to rip a hole between our worlds.
“So you managed to create an opening between here and my world? If you did it once, why not again?”
The elven kingdom was no longer in your world. It was between worlds and, even then, had they not done most of the work I could never have done even that. The barrier between us was tissue thin.
“But you said an elf came over and later escaped. So another rift or gate must have been created to do that,” Azerick persisted.
I am getting to that. You have no patience.
“And you have no sense of urgency. Get on with it.”
Klaraxis sighed heavily at the frustration he always felt when dealing directly with the human sorcerer. The elf wizard who orchestrated their near demise came through the rift so he could close it. There was no other way as I was holding it open so my minions could enjoy punishing the foolish creatures. It was a glorious day, full of carnage. The elf managed to close the rift, but there was no way for him to escape back through before it sealed forever. I spent one of your decades causing the greatest amount of suffering I could devise.
“After ten years he escaped? How?”
I do not know.
Azerick snarled, “You are lying, demon. Tell me or I will torture you with your soulname until one of us goes completely mad.”
Klaraxis laughed. It would be such an ironic end. By the time I was through with the elf, he too was thoroughly insane. But such a threat will only result in both our suffering. I do not know how he escaped. I returned for his daily torture and found him gone.
“How do you know he escaped the abyss and did not simply flee?”
There was a powerful but strange magic in the air. It was without a doubt transdimensional, but who or what cast it I cannot say. I have never sensed such magic before or since.
“Would Sharellan know?” Azerick asked anxiously.
Of course. The goddess knows everything happening in her realm.
“Well then, I suppose it is time to pay her a visit.”
You do not simply drop in when you feel like it and disturb our dark queen! You swore to engage in the battle for our kingdom and very lives!
“I lied,” Azerick responded lightly. He stepped toward the rune-inscribed circle set in the floor behind his throne.
Cursed, vile, lying human! Never have I hated another creature as I do you! Should I ever regain control of this body, somehow, someway, I will make the torture I inflicted upon the elf look like a mild spring rain!
“You should be pleased your influence is rubbing off on me. Now how does this thing work?” Azerick mused as he studied the glyphs. “Ah, I think I see.”
Klaraxis tried to control Azerick’s legs, and when that failed, he attempted to interfere with his channeling power into the transportation glyphs. Azerick shoved the demon aside and activated the gate. Azerick’s stomach leapt into his throat as he felt his body plummet through space only to have it drop into his boots a moment later. The experience was similar to his gate spell but far more pronounced. His new form handled this kind of translocation far better than his human one and he shuddered to think what that would have been like.
Azerick found himself in a surprisingly pleasant chamber of white marble. Soft music echoed through the room from some unknown source. A set of tall door set in one end of the room displayed the only visible entrance or exit.
Listen to me well, human. You shall be in the presence of our queen. Never forget she is the sole authority here, and her word is everything. Conduct yourself properly or risk her wrath.
“You have so little faith in me, Klaraxis.”
Incorrect. I have absolutely no faith in you. There are protocols here to which you must absolutely adhere. Her seneschal, a devil named Krade, will soon come and inform us Sharellan is aware of our presence and we shall await her pleasure. Do not insult him. Krade is our goddess’s personal attendant and best not trifled with.
“You sound as though you are afraid of him. Is he truly that powerful?” Azerick enjoyed poking at the demon lord’s pride.
He is a power within his own right, but it is the patient, manipulative subtlety of his kind that makes him dangerou
s. You will never see him, even as everything around you grows chaotic, he will remain in the shadows as you struggle to maintain control.
“I see. So what else must I know so I do not embarrass myself?”
Sharellan will make us await her pleasure, but I do not think it will be long, perhaps one of your days at most. She knows everything in her realm and is aware of our urgency. All you have to do is sit and wait. When you address her, you will do so with absolute deference and humility. She is not some trumped up noble whose authority is nothing more than a virtue of birth. She is the ultimate power, and her rule is absolute. Even the other gods tread lightly for fear of incurring her wrath.
“Be patient, be polite, and be deferential. Is that all?”
Yes, it is so simple even you should have no trouble following it.
Azerick looked at the doors. “I have a better idea.”
Before Klaraxis could convey his feeling of dread into words, Azerick unleashed his magic upon the doors. The doors crashed inward on their hinges with a resounding boom, sending Krade tumbling when the heavy wood struck him full in the face just as he was about to open them.
Azerick strode confidently into the enormous chamber. “Sharellan, you lied to me!”
Azerick’s rage nearly faltered as he took in the beauty of Sharellan’s palatial throne room. He had expected it to be as dark, dismal, and disturbing as Klaraxis’ abode. However, it was the exact opposite. Every surface was of white marble with brilliant silver veins. Fruit trees and flowering bushes and shrubs filled the air with their pleasant aroma. The dark goddess herself sat upon a throne of crystal, or possibly diamond, her flowing, black gown of spider silk standing out in stark contrast. It was a place more befitting Ellanee, goddess of nature, than the queen of death.
Krade leapt to his feet with a hiss, ready to tear the upstart apart. “Leave him, Krade. His manners are still terribly human.” The devil gave Azerick a look promising terrible retribution and stepped to the side of the room. “Why are you here instead of defending yourself from Drak’kar’s invasion?”
“You lied to me about it being impossible to get home. There was an elf here and he did it. I demand to know how!”
“Child, you demand nothing from me. I told you no one who belonged here has ever left. It was a true statement then, and it still is. Why you insist upon wasting your time trying to go home is beyond me. Your former wife and son are doing just fine without you. It is this home that is in desperate need of your attention.” Sharellan smiled cruelly.
Azerick had gone to great lengths to avoid thinking about Miranda and his child. The emotional pain was a distraction he could not afford. He needed his full attention focused on getting home. Hearing the goddess speak so lightly of the pain he tried hardest to avoid was staggering.
“I-I have a son?” Azerick choked almost choked on the words, fighting back the tears of both sorrow and joy. “How is he? Is he well?”
“He is—healthy.”
“Why do you hedge? What is wrong with him?”
“Nothing is wrong with him. He is exceptionally bright and creative. I assume he gets that from you. He does mature at a rapid pace, which I attribute to his other father.”
Klaraxis laughed smugly. I told you human. Your son is as much mine as yours. How that must stick in your craw!
“Shut up, demon, he is my son and mine alone. You will have no influence and you never will!” Azerick turned his attention back outward at the goddess. “You still hedge. What are you not telling me?”
Sharellan pursed her red, perfect lips and paused. “He is complicated.”
“Complicated how?”
“We are all but blind to his existence.”
Azerick tried to understand what the goddess was saying. “Who is blind, how?”
“We, the gods, and even the Sisters of Fate are unable to see him within the weave. Such a thing has never happened before. The Sisters are quite upset about it.”
Azerick swallowed, trying to digest this new information. “What does that mean?”
The goddess shrugged. “It means he could be the solution to saving your world or be the source of its destruction. The Sisters have been able to spot just a glimmer, for the briefest of instances, of his involvement on both strands. If it were up to me, I would simply drown the brat. I think his existence is a far greater threat than the possibility of his being a benefit.”
“You will stay away from my son!” Azerick screamed in fury and fear for his child.
“There you go making demands again. I must tell you, I do not find your complete lack of obeisance endearing.” Sharellan gave Azerick’s anger a dismissive wave of her hand.
Hearing about his son made Azerick even more anxious to return home. His son needed a father to help guide him into manhood, especially since he was so different from other children. He knew what could happen to the spirit and character of a person who was peculiar. The hardships of being different or strange affected people and seldom in a good way. Azerick only needed to look at himself to see that and desperately wanted better for his son.
“Tell me how the elf got out or so help me I’ll…!” Azerick warned.
Sharellan stood up, her patience at an end. “You’ll what? Your obstinacy was amusing for a time, but that time is over! This is where you belong now, and you will act in accordance to your…”
Before Sharellan could finish her rebuke, Azerick pulled from the Source and wrapped it around his abyssal power, creating a spell of enormous power. His fury was so raw and primal, had Klaraxis not been stunned by the swiftness of the unexpected assault, he likely could have seized control and dominated the human parasite. As it was, the demon was unable to react to Azerick’s incomprehensible action before he lashed out.
A black ray of abyssal power wrapped in silver arcs of lightning erupted from Azerick’s hands and streaked out toward the goddess. Her look of utter disbelief that anyone would dare strike at her was so profound it was almost comical. The ray struck her with astonishing power, knocking the goddess of death backward over her crystal throne.
You complete, utter fool! You have destroyed us both!
Before Azerick could form a single thought in response, Sharellan flew into the air, a billowing, black-shrouded form of pure fury. “You ungrateful, impudent, little shit!”
Azerick barely had time to brace himself when an invisible mountain of force slammed into his body. The blow sent him flying backward at a frightening rate. Azerick tried to brace himself for the inevitable impact with the unyielding wall a few score feet behind him, but it never came. The sorcerer opened his eyes and watched the blur of the alien landscape fly by as he continued his uncontrollable flight. Seconds and then minutes passed and still he did not stop.
Just as he began to wonder if he would fly forever, he struck something so hard he was certain his body would shatter into a thousand pieces. Azerick lay upon the floor back in his citadel, languishing in the pain caused by his abrupt impact with the wall.
“I think I could have handled that a little better,” Azerick quipped.
The Sorcerer's Abyss (The Sorcerer's Path) Page 13
