“You may have stopped the suffering of a few faceless commoners,” Robert said, “but how much suffering have you caused to those you know in the process? Has all the pain and tragedy your actions caused been worth your vaunted ideals? Was it a fair exchange? I had dinner with a lovely woman and bright young boy who would certainly say it was not.”
Ellyssa intentionally kept the man talking so she could distract him so he would not notice the small tendril of power she directed at one of the thick coils of rope behind him. Despite this, his words burned her like fire down to her soul with their truthfulness. No, it was not a fair exchange. Not yet. Not until Captain Jake was dead, and not even then. Probably never.
“You are exhausted and out of room to run,” Robert continued. “Tell me where the Codex Arcana is and surrender to me. It is time to end this pointless crusade.”
Ellyssa coaxed the rope toward the wizard and struck. Magus Harvey let out a yelp as the animated cord constricted around his ankle and jerked him into the ocean. Ellyssa channeled her power into the rope until she could no longer affect it. By the time she had reached the limit of her power, Magus Harvey was treading water and shedding his heavy clothing half a mile from the docks.
After a rapid sprint out of the city, Ellyssa practically fell through the magical gate and stumbled into the dark chamber of the cave now serving as her home. Despite her exhaustion, she went immediately to the Codex where it lay open upon the natural shelf of stone protruding from the wall. Or perhaps not so natural. Many of the features within the cave looked to have been molded by human hands wielding magic. She was not sure what she could do with the dagger, but she was certain the book would.
“I need to find Captain Jake. I have his dagger.” A smile played across Ellyssa lips. “Show me.”
The pages fanned as if blown by a strong breeze or an invisible hand. The pages ceased their turning and words formed upon the pages, each perfectly penned character glowing faintly with a silver light.
“Yes, this will work. I need to kill him when I find him, and I want him to see my face. I want him to look upon me with terror in his eyes so great it follows him to the abyss where it will be the thing of his nightmares for all eternity. Show me.”
Again, the pages fanned before her eyes and the glow of the letters shined off her sweat-glistened face. Another smile found its way onto her face, darker and more sinister than any before. The spell the book showed was perfect, as were they all, but it was very complex and it would require a great deal of study. Ellyssa had never heard of such a spell or dreamt such was possible. It would take her to the edge of her strength and very possibly beyond.
Having recovered from their arcane beatings, Oliver and Melanie raced toward the docks. By the time they arrived, Magus Harvey was calling out to them only a few hundred feet from shore.
“Throw me a rope!” Robert gasped out, obviously very fatigued.
With help from his associates, Magus Harvey soon stood on the docks, shivering. He had shed almost everything except his underclothes to keep from drowning. A simple spell dried him out and warded off the cold.
“It appears that we have underestimated the girl,” Magus Harvey declared. “Her innate strength and access to the Codex makes her more than a simple journeyman mage.”
“So what do we do now? Seek her out or lay in wait again?” Melanie asked.
Robert pursed his lips in thought. “No. We shall return to The Academy and hand this over to the inquisitors. Given her actions this night, I have no doubt the council will agree that their involvement is warranted.”
Magus Parkes frowned his displeasure. “You do not think we three can take down a child? You want to go back to The Academy empty-handed?”
“I have no doubt we could overpower her regardless of the Codex or her abilities. She is just a novice after all. The problem lies in taking her alive so we can recover the Codex Arcana. Its acquisition is paramount above all else. The inquisitors are trained for this sort of thing. We are not, and I will not allow even my great arrogance to jeopardize the recovery of the Codex.”
Magus Harvey spent the several days of travel back to Southport preparing to address the council. He and the other two members of his ill-fated expedition soon stood before the assembly. At least two dozen wizards sat upon the benches behind them.
“Magus Harvey, I presume you and your colleagues called this council to session regarding the mage, Ellyssa Jensen, and the disposition of the Codex Arcana.” Headmaster Florent stated bluntly. “Since you have not handed over either of those two things, I can also assume your mission was not a success.”
Magus Harvey took a step forward and ducked his head. “It was not, Headmaster. The girl was much stronger than expected. Even taking that and the fact she possessed the Codex Arcana, I believe much of the difficulty in capturing her was her obvious militant training.”
A great deal of murmuring arose. “You confirmed the book in question is the Codex?” the Headmaster asked.
“As much as I was able. Magus Allister was convinced it was. When he attempted to secure it, the girl attacked him and fled. Neither they nor we were able to locate where she is hiding.”
“Ms. Jensen attacked the archmage? Successfully?” Magus Sorenson asked.
“So the archmage says. He claims the girl took him by surprise and was able to secure the room in which the book was located. By the time he was able to unravel the wards securing the room, she had vanished with the book.”
Magus Mason King, the councilmember to the right of the headmaster asked, “Do you believe this account?”
“I cannot say with certainty, but I have no reason to doubt his claim,” Robert answered.
Magus Douglas spoke up. “I believe with this new information we must revisit the debate of what to do with this girl and that school.”
“Magus Harvey,” Headmaster Florent asked, “what are you and your team’s assessment of this situation?”
“Council members, I believe we must file a formal request of inquisition to bring this rogue mage to heel and recover the Codex. I believe her obvious militant training requires the expertise of the inquisitors in order to capture her alive and extract the location of the Codex. I also feel this training with an obvious combative bent is the reason this situation is as complex as it is. Because of the unlawful and unregulated training, I once again recommend the school be shut down immediately.”
Several wizards in the gallery seconded this motion. The council began debating, which quickly devolved into outright arguing and shouting. The Headmaster and Magus Morgarum were the only two who strongly voted against the recommendation. It took all of her maneuvering and calling in favors, but the council finally reached a solution.
Headmaster Florent banged the butt of her staff on the floor to restore order. “I will personally contact the inquisitors and give them all of the information we have on the subject of Ellyssa Jensen. In five days, a contingent of two score full wizards and archmages, along with one thousand mounted soldiers from the Martial Academy will take ships to North Haven and place the school under the control of The Academy. This is not a siege! The members of the Magus Academy are there to augment the teaching staff already in place and to ensure Academy laws and curriculum are followed to the highest standard. The soldiers are merely a show of force to discourage any resistance to the order. I hope this meets with your approval, Magus Harvey?”
“It does, Headmaster. I think the council has made a wise decision, given the circumstances.”
Headmaster Florent turned to her other councilors. “That contingent will gut our already meager staff. I move we recall several wizards to return to The Academy to avoid disrupting classes.”
“Agreed.” Magus Sorenson nodded her approval along with several of the others. “I shall contact The Office of Inquisition immediately after adjourning this council.”
CHAPTER 9
We must act now. We have no more time to gather our forces, Klaraxis told Azer
ick. Drak’kar is drawing nearer and thousands of our minions are dying with every delay.
“All right. I’ll take what I have and order those still coming to converge here,” Azerick responded. “From there I can order them forward or create a second line of defense.”
I am glad to see you are not a complete idiot when it comes to tactics. If only you showed such wisdom in the rest of your life, this all might have been avoided.
“It’s just one criticism after another with you.”
Azerick stepped to the ledge of the tallest tower of the citadel and looked out over the amassed throng of demons anxiously milling about below and up at the hundreds flying overhead. With a wordless call, he ordered them to mobilize as he shed his human form and took on Klaraxis’ fearsome visage. Azerick leapt from the tower precipice, unfurled his enormous, bat-like wings, and soared over the heads of those on the ground.
The succubi and other flying demons immediately formed ranks around him while those on the ground raced across the barren landscape. Azerick was forced to slow himself and his flyers to keep from outdistancing the horde below, but not by much. The flightless demons possessed nearly inexhaustible stamina on their home plane and swiftly ate up the miles.
Despite the progress of Drak’kar’s juggernaut forces, Klaraxis’ domain was vast, and it took a substantial amount of time to reach the site of the nearest battle. Azerick’s incredibly keen eyes spotted the battle long before his host was near enough to engage it. There was no sign of Drak’kar, and the numbers involved suggested this was merely an advance party or perhaps a large group that had simply decided to strike out on its own to create havoc.
About a thousand Fourth Circle demons were tearing apart maybe a fifth that number of his people. Azerick felt a moment of emotional discomfort when he realized he considered the demons his people. He ignored Klaraxis’ chuckling at his inner turmoil and led his flyers to engage the invaders without waiting for the bulk of his forces. The embattled demons below simply did not have that much time.
The enemy only had a few flyers, and their attention was so engaged on the battle raging on the ground they did not spot Azerick and his minions before he set upon them. Several of Azerick’s grackin struck the flying enemy from above, sinking long talons and blades of black metal into the flesh of their foes. Succubi hurled small balls of fire whenever a target presented itself and occasionally dove in with claws and blades to stab and slash before swooping higher into the air.
One of the flying grackin, unnoticed in the ensuing chaos, glared down at the broad back of the demon lord with hateful, blue eyes. The Rook made a few halfhearted swooping attacks against Drak’kar’s forces, but he focused most of his attention on Azerick. He could not afford to miss a second time. It would put the powerful creature on too high an alert. He must bide his time and wait until he was vulnerable.
The fighting was so tightly packed Azerick quickly gave up trying to use his powerful magic, finding it easier to wade into the melee and use his enormous size and natural strength to crush and rip apart the smaller demons. Klaraxis cackled with glee at the carnage Azerick caused and used his influence to urge the human to even greater levels of violence. The demon lord’s influence was so subtle Azerick found himself covered in gore and watching the remaining enemies retreating before he realized he had fallen fully within the joy the destruction brought him.
The demons made a terrible mistake by fleeing en masse. Their cohesive retreat allowed Azerick to bring his awesome magic to bear without fear of destroying his own forces. With a few powerful beats of his leathery wings, he looked down at the demons running away and hurled a massive ball of fire into the center of their ranks. The fireball erupted when it struck and created a concussive blast of fiery death for a hundred yards in every direction, effectively destroying the remaining enemy. Succubi and grackins swooped down and easily finished off the few survivors.
Azerick clenched his fists and took several deep breaths in an attempt to slow his pounding heart and cool the fires of bloodlust and destruction burning within him. It was then he realized he had lost a measure of control and fallen into the unfolding chaos. Had he not noticed Klaraxis’ influence and allowed the rage and ecstasy of the battle to continue, it might have consumed him and allowed the demon to regain control.
That was a glorious battle if short-lived. You have a fighting spirit for a human, Klaraxis said.
“I know what you tried to do, demon, and it will not work. I will not let you push me over the brink so you can take control.”
It did not work this time, human, but perhaps the next time, or the time after that. Time is on my side, and I only have to win once where you must win every battle in which we engage.
“Then I will win every battle from here until the end of eternity.”
We shall see. Drak’kar and his main host are near. I can sense it. That battle will be truly telling and will require everything you have just to survive, much less win. You will have to embrace all of your rage, pain, love, and hatred to access your full potential and tap the bulk of your power. Even then, I do not think you can defeat him yourself. You will need me. You will have to give me control or risk death.
“Then I’ll die,” Azerick swore. “I will never exist as your slave. Not yours or anyone’s ever again.”
So you say now, human, but there are far worse fates than death. If you allow Drak’kar to win, you may very well learn what those are.
Azerick tried to dismiss Klaraxis’ words, but he could not help but wonder how much of the elation he felt at unleashing such violence was a result of the demon’s influence, and how much of it came from some dark recess within him. The innocent, happy boy he had been died with his parents and friends, and in the ashes of those agonizing losses, Azerick was reborn and delivered by the hands of vengeance. His quest for vengeance was paved in blood, blood nothing could ever wash clean. Every time he thought he was free of his need for retribution, some other event arose to revitalize it. Would he ever be free of its compulsive, destructive influence? How long would it continue to drive him? Even in death, it burned within him.
He and his horde raced onward across the vast, desolate wasteland of his kingdom. Massive, black fissures gave evidence of dark canyons and gulches that forced Azerick to maneuver his army and avoid. Those gullies, crevasses, and craters were the only features of the otherwise barren landscape, with the exception of a few giant boulders that looked to have been casually tossed around.
I sense the battle unfolding not far beyond the Shattered Lands, Klaraxis said.
Azerick looked down as the last of the deep crevasses fell behind him and mentally nodded. He too could sense the battle being waged only a few minutes ahead of him. If he concentrated, he could hear the screams and cries of his people as they fought for their land and lives. Once again, it troubled him to think of these creatures not just as people but as his people. Azerick wanted to maintain his aloofness from them and even his perceived superiority over what he saw as a violent, evil, and despicable race, but he found it increasingly difficult to do so.
The first thing Azerick spotted from his lofty vantage was a massive cloud of reddish dust rising a hundred feet into the air and stretching for at least a mile. As he and his army drew near, Azerick began picking out darker specks within the dust cloud. Some flew above and were punctuated by balls of fire and arcs of lightning. Far more ran and leapt about on the ground as they raked, bit, and clawed one another to shreds.
Azerick felt the presence of Drak’kar before he saw him. It did not take long for Azerick to spot the hulking demon lord amongst the throng. The four-armed brute picked up and smashed two or three of the smaller demons at a time. Occasionally, Drak’kar would unleash powerful magic when a tightly bunched knot of defenders presented itself, incinerating and exploding dozens at once. He did not seem to care if he caught several of his own warriors in the blast.
Azerick summoned dozens of succubi and grackin to form a screen in
front of him. He was unsure if Drak’kar could sense him as well or if he was too distracted by the battle to notice his presence, but he hoped to launch an attack that would take the powerful demon by surprise. Visually obscured by his allies, Azerick entered a steep dive while channeling the Source and lacing it with demonic power.
The Sorcerer's Abyss (The Sorcerer's Path) Page 16
