Shadeslayer (Pharim War Book 7)

by Gama Ray Martinez

  His sword was inches from Lina’s face when Ziary’s flaming blade knocked the weapon aside. Lina had gone pale. She gaped at him, fear evident in her features.

  “He’s been possessed,” Ziary said as he stepped between them.

  Jez felt himself laugh. “So much power. I never imagined.” He smirked at Ziary. “Don’t be ridiculous. You, a mere limaph, could never hope to stand up against a pharim.”

  Ziary gave him a level stare. “I beat Manakel.”

  “You lie poorly.”

  Before he could respond, Jez’s arm thrust. Ziary stepped out of the way and slammed his sword down on Jez’s with enough force to knock the weapon from Jez’s hand, but a second later it materialized in his hand again. Ziary grinned.

  “Who’s lying?”

  Ziary’s sword moved like a blur. The demon tried to block, but unlike lothine or similar demons, this one apparently had access to Jez’s power, but none of his skill, and even at his best, Jez had never been a match for Ziary as a swordsman. The burning blade sliced into Jez’s shoulder, cauterizing the wound as it cut. Pain blossomed in the injury, quickly spreading through Jez’s veins. He would’ve cried out if he’d been able, but the demon, it seemed, had strength enough for one more strike.

  The demon tried to lash out at Ziary, but the pain burning through his veins had robbed him of much of his strength. Osmund effortlessly batted the weapon aside. The block threw the demon off balance, and he fell. Pain wracked him, and he cringed on the ground, unable to get up.

  “What’s happening to him?” Lina asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Ziary said. “I’ve never fought someone who was possessed. I don’t really know what my sword will do.”

  “Will it free him from the demon?”

  Ziary shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  Jez arched his back and cried out. The demon drew on Luntayary’s power, and the feeling of burning flesh mingled with the fire in his veins. It couldn’t actually do anything with the power, not incapacitated as it was, but then, it didn’t really need to.

  “He can’t survive like that,” Ziary cried out. “Do something!”

  “What do you expect me to do?”

  “I don’t know. Use mental magic to drive the demon out.”

  Tears welled up in Jez’s eyes. The world blurred. All he knew was pain. He could feel his body dying as his mind tried to claw its way out of the prison the demon had created for it.

  “Mental magic doesn’t work on possessing demons.” Her words were a panicked jumble, barely understandable. “It takes a binding. We have to get him to Besis or Sariel.”

  Jez thrashed on the ground. His wings knocked Lina’s legs out from under her, and if not for Ziary catching her, she would’ve slammed against a wall. Ziary stared at him. He had calmed down a little, though sorrow filled his voice.

  “We can’t carry him like that, and even if we could do it without being noticed, he’d never survive long enough for us to find help.”

  Lina looked like she was going to be sick. “What do you mean?”

  Ziary sniffed at the air. “Do you smell that? He’s burning. Unless we can stop the demon from holding Luntayary’s form, it’ll kill him.”

  Lina shook her head and stared at Jez for several seconds before turning to Ziary. “Can you carry us both out of the city?”

  “Yes, if I have to.”

  “What about without an illusion?”

  Ziary whistled. “Lina, I don’t know. I’d be hard pressed to escape by myself without an illusion. Carrying both of you...” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t bet on us.”

  “Is it less likely than escaping from the abyss?”

  Ziary smirked. “Probably not. What do you have in mind?”

  CHAPTER 16

  Bands of air formed around Jez’s arms, legs, and wings, holding them prone. Another held his head still. Ziary stood with his hands outstretched and breathing heavily.

  “Hurry. It’s hard to use air like this.”

  Lina stepped up to Jez and put a hand on his forehead. The demon struggled against the bonds and would’ve bitten her if he had been able. She closed her eyes, and for a moment, a faint indigo aura sprang up around her. Power surged into Jez, and he stopped struggling. His wings vanished. The demon was still in there, but Lina had rendered it as ineffectual as Jez himself. Sweat beaded on her brow, and Ziary gaped at her.

  “What did you do?”

  Lina spoke slowly as if simply forming the words took a great effort. “I disconnected his mind from his body. I’m just glad the demon didn’t put back Jez’s mental wards after it broke through.” She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. “I have to hold this working. It takes a lot of concentration. The illusions hiding us are down. I don’t think anyone noticed us in the time it took for his power to fade, but if we’re going to escape, we have to do it now.”

  Ziary nodded and swept up Jez in his right arm. As the limaph’s left arm lifted Lina, however, Jez felt the demon struggle against her working, no doubt hoping that the sudden movement would cause her to lose her concentration, but she held on. Ziary didn’t bother to open the door. A gout of flame reduced it to ash. They surged through the doorway, propelled not only by Ziary’s wings but by the torrent of wind he summoned. Even through the haze of pain, Jez could sense the power roiling inside of his friend, more than he had ever felt any individual mortal hold outside of a contingent. The wall opposite the entry to the small room was only a few feet away, but Ziary turned at almost a right angle and launched himself into the sky, singeing the buildings as he flew.

  They ran into a trio of catoz, but the bat demons seemed more surprised than anything else. Ziary caught one in his wind stream and slammed it into the other two with such force that the demons fell from the sky, disintegrating before they hit the ground.

  As if that had been a signal, the skies were suddenly full of flying demons. Jez itched to help, but he was kept immobile, both by Lina’s working and by the demon controlling him. Lina was occupied holding Jez prone, and Ziary could use neither of his hands, limiting him to workings that required no gestures.

  A creature that looked like a woman with the wings and talons of a hawk swooped down and raked her claws across Ziary’s face. Jez felt the wind shift as his friend stirred the air and used it to propel them upward, but with a beat of her wings, the demon countered the working and sent them tumbling through the air. Ziary recovered after a moment, but by then, a magma demon, in the form of a burning eagle, had joined the fray.

  “I don’t think I could fight one of those even without you,” Ziary said. “If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know.”

  “I can’t help you and keep Jez still at the same time.”

  Ziary tightened his grip on Jez. “None of us are going to survive if I have to fight them off like this.”

  He twisted in the air, barely avoiding the claws of the magma demon, though the maneuver put him in range of the teeth of a bat demon. It latched onto his right shoulder, and the hand holding Jez loosened.

  “Lina!”

  Jez jerked as the working holding him still dissolved. Once again, he transformed, causing Ziary to lean to one side and grunt with the effort of holding him. Jez thrashed, trying to pull free, but Ziary held him firm. Suddenly, they were surrounded by a thick cloud of fog. Jez’s wings pushed against Ziary, and he felt himself coming free. If the demon had had full control, it doubtless would have been able to escape, but it was still wracked with pain from the injury Ziary had given him. Even so, he wouldn’t be able to hold on for long. Off to one side, Jez saw an orange glow as Ziary passed within a few feet of the magma demon.

  “Can you leave the fog illusion up? I can’t hold on for long!”

  “We’re moving. It only extends for about ten feet.”

  Osmund glowed red. Power went out in all directions, though not enough to hurt the demons. The grip tightened around Jez, but that would only be a slight delay.

 
; “Hold on to Jez,” Ziary cried out. “I have the fog!”

  “You can’t create fog.”

  “Can we not do this now? Just trust me.”

  Lina reached over and brushed her hand against Jez’s arm. A scream died in mid cry, and his body went limp as the form of Luntayary melted away. His throat dried out, and his skin felt like it was cracking. Apparently, Lina’s working didn’t prevent completely involuntary motions because he coughed several times. The air around them shifted, the fog changing colors slightly.

  “How did you do that?” Lina also coughed as she spoke.

  “I didn’t think of it until you called the fog. It’s not really fog. It’s steam. I evaporated all the water in the air at once. This won’t last long.”

  They zipped through the air. More than once, they came close enough to a demon to see its outline, though none moved fast enough to intercept them. They had been flying for less than a minute when wind gusted from behind them. The steam dispersed, revealing two dozen flying demons ahead of them. Three of them were the magma demons that were so formidable. Shrieks came from behind as their pursuers closed in. They were surrounded.

  Then, the sky exploded.

  CHAPTER 17

  The ball of fire took out fully half of the demons that were in front of them. Before the rest had time to regroup, Manakel was there, a fury of wind and fire. He still bore some of the injuries from before, but that didn’t appear to be bothering him. His sword didn’t even slow as he cut down demon after demon. In mere seconds, six of the creatures had fallen. Those that remained only did so because they were out of his immediate reach. Manakel glared at Ziary.

  “What are you waiting for?”

  The words had hardly left his lips when Ziary surged forward. Cries from behind said some of the demons were following, and Jez imagined Manakel tearing through them. They hadn’t even started descending when the demon cries went silent. Soon after, Manakel caught up to them. He started to speak but then stopped. He flew down until he was staring into Jez’s eyes. His robes had been torn and he had taken more wounds in addition to breaking open the old ones, though Jez had no idea why Aphlel hadn’t healed those. Manakel seemed to see into Jez’s very soul. Fear filled him, and he would’ve looked away if he’d been able to. A part of him recognized that the fear mostly belonged to the demon. Mostly, but not entirely. Only the insane could look into the eyes of the lord of destruction and not feel fear.

  “Rashek!”

  “What?” Lina asked.

  “He is being controlled by a rashek, a mist demon. They are almost as rare as hagine, but rather than crafting workings themselves, their very bodies can be shaped, giving power to the working. They can even join together to make one stronger. Anyone that examines the working too closely risks possession. I take it that is what happened here?”

  “Yes.” They touched down and immediately, people started gathering around him. Ziary laid him down, face up, which allowed him to see everyone. “He tried to fully cut off the city from Between so that Sharim couldn’t summon any more demons.”

  “There’s destructive power moving through his veins. You hit him with your sword?”

  Ziary nodded. “He was attacking us.”

  “It’s trying to burn the demon out of him, but so long as it is protected by human flesh, the power cannot reach it.”

  “Is that why it’s hurting him?” Lina asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, do something!”

  Manakel stared at Lina. To Jez’s surprise, she didn’t even flinch. The pharim lord inclined his head and moved to stand over Jez. He waved a hand, and red smoke streamed out of Jez’s nose and mouth, only to disperse at a wave of Manakel’s hand. The pain in his body withered before vanishing entirely.

  “I have removed the magic of the sword, though the demon remains. It has entwined itself with his soul too completely, and it would take a greater binding than I can currently manage to separate them. Without that, I dare not attempt to destroy it as it is. Sariel is attempting to take down the southern wall. Can you hold him for long?”

  Lina paled. Sweat gleamed on her forehead, and the working wavered for a second, though she restored it before the demon broke through.

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “That will not be necessary.”

  Jez couldn’t see the speaker, but he recognized Besis’s voice. The protection master walked up next to Manakel, though he didn’t meet the destruction lord’s gaze. Instead, his eyes stayed locked on Jez. The ragged condition of his own robes as well as the bruise on the side of his face said Besis had not kept himself from battle. Manakel shook his head.

  “This is no mere lotheen, mortal, and Jezreel is more than a human host. You cannot imagine the complexity of what you aspire to do.”

  Besis eyed Lina. She nodded, but he held up a finger, though he held it close to his chest so that his body hid it from the crowd behind him.

  “He is a limaph, I know.”

  He lowered his finger, and Lina nodded. When Manakel spoke, his voice had the odd reverberating quality of one behind a silence working.

  “A limaph? What game are you playing at? You know what he is.”

  People started crowding in, but they stopped at Besis’s glare. The protection master then turned his attention to Manakel. “I’m trying not to reveal his secret to everyone in earshot.”

  Manakel looked around and actually seemed ashamed. He inclined his head at Besis. “Ah, I see. You have my apologies, but my point remains. This is no simple working.”

  “And I’m no simple mage,” Besis said. “It’s not for no reason that I’m protection master.”

  “I do not believe it should be risked. He can be restrained in other ways.”

  Besis shook his head. “If that fails, he could be hurt even worse than he already is. Look at him. Without some sort of healing, he might not survive the day.”

  Manakel broke in. “That can be dealt with as well.”

  Besis kept on as if the pharim lord hadn’t spoken. “More than that, you can’t stop me, not if the rules against mortal interference hold.”

  Manakel stiffened as Besis stepped forward and placed a hand on Jez’s forehead. Manakel clenched his fists but otherwise remained motionless. Besis splayed his fingers and dragged it down to his chest. As his fingers moved across Jez’s face, his spirit seemed to snag on something. The rashek was pulled downward, but it had wound itself around Jez’s soul. As Besis tugged at it, Jez felt himself being pulled out of his body. Still held prone by Lina’s working, he couldn’t cry out, but Besis seemed to realize what was going on. A wave of cold washed over Jez. The demon stiffened and slowly began to slide off Jez’s soul. Besis’s hands moved a few inches before the rashek became like fire, but Besis was ready.

  Protective energy rushed into Jez. The working was too complex for him to see exactly what it did, but suddenly, all heat seemed to drain out of the demon, and it became like smoke, though somehow, Besis kept a grip on it. Again, the protection master’s hand moved down, but the rashek thinned, trying to slip through his fingers, but Besis’s soul sprouted a hundred little thorns. They shouldn’t have been able to hold the demon, but yet they did. Pieces of its essence began to drip away, like blood running from a wound. Besis jerked his hand down, and the demon came free, wrapped around the protection master’s hand. He staggered and took several steps back, holding it away from his body as it reached for his face. He lifted his arm toward Manakel. The demon had become a cloud that shrouded everything beneath his elbow and was slowly expanding. There almost seemed to be a face there, one wearing a wicked grin. Manakel shook his head.

  “I am sorry. Mortal interference.”

  “Oh, by the seven,” Ziary said.

  He whipped his hand forward. A whirlwind of flame, no more than a foot tall, floated toward Besis’s arm. As soon as it touched the cloud, the demon became a blaze that burned for almost a full minute, screaming in pain. A few times, Besis’s
robe caught fire, though the protection master swiftly drew water out of the air to put it out. When the flaming demon finally died, his sleeve had been burned away, though Besis’s skin was unharmed. The protection master raised an eyebrow.

  Ziary’s form melted away to that of Osmund. “Sorry. I don’t really practice being that precise.”

  Besis nodded. “No harm done. Under the circumstances, I’m grateful. You may release him, Lina.”

  She let out a breath and nodded. As soon as she released the working, Jez started shivering. The pain was gone, but the damage was done. The world spun, and he fell into unconsciousness.

  CHAPTER 18

  Jez recognized the touch of Aphlel’s power before he had fully been restored to consciousness. Most people had never been healed by a mage, much less the lord of the Lifebringers himself, and now, it had happened to him twice. For some reason, the thought struck him as funny, and he chuckled.

  Lina’s voice drifted from the darkness. “Why is he laughing?”

  “His mind is transitioning to wakefulness,” Aphlel’s gentle voice said. “Give him a few seconds.”

  The world came into focus. Jez was lying on a bed. His skin tingled, and he was hit with the all too clean smell of a sick tent. Aphlel stood over him, the orange glow fading from his hands. Jez sat up. Osmund, who stood nearby, moved to hold him down, but Aphlel waved him off. He grew lightheaded, but the sensation passed after a few seconds. Lina was also in the tent, along with Besis and Balud.

  “There is no need. His strength has returned.”

  “That’s an interesting trick,” Balud said. “Fatigue is one of the hardest things to treat.”

  Aphlel shrugged. “It is of no great consequence.”