“Guard me!” Gayel cried out.
Half a dozen Shadeslayer afur cleared the area immediately around him. The lord of knowledge moved his hand in a wide circle, leaving a trail of yellow light. Beings made of fog, no larger than small dogs, flew out of it. The forms were hazy and indistinct, and all Jez could say for certain was that they had wings. They lifted beast man and soldier alike, and carried them through the hole, though only half the fog creatures were used that way. The rest flew in groups of ten or twenty and swarmed around demons. They would do that for a few seconds, and when they parted, the demon was gone, utterly consumed. The afur fought on for a few more seconds before disengaging and following. Jez stood next to Manakel and Ziary, not wanting to leave until all his soldiers were safe. The fog creatures tried to grab one of the soldiers, but it screeched when it touched him.
“Too many are possessed,” Gayel cried out. “Faylings cannot take them.”
“I can’t just leave them!”
“You cannot help them if you die here,” Manakel said.
The pharim lord swept Jez up in one arm and shot through the hole in the ceiling. Some of the flying demons came after them, but freed from the constant assault, the afur made short work of them. Sariel waved his hand at the floor, causing the hole to close.
They were in a large room, though Jez couldn't guess what it had been used for. Demons were in this room as well, though not nearly as many. The soldiers were holding them off long enough for the mages or afur to deal with them, and they were doing an admirable job. Manakel gripped the bone spike in his stomach and pulled. It came free, and red light spilled from the wound. He tossed the spike aside and motioned to Aphlel, who frowned before healing him. Balud himself healed Jez of the worst of his injuries while other healers tended to the soldiers. Jez looked down at the spot where the hole had been before turning to Manakel.
“You left them there to die.”
“Not necessarily,” Sariel said. “They are possessed. For all intents and purposes, they belong to Andera, and he is not likely to simply throw their lives away, not while he may still find some use for them.”
Jez thought he was going to be sick. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“No, I suppose not,” Sariel said. “There were also those who were out patrolling. They may have found a way to escape.”
“The question is what do we do now?” Haziel asked. The king carried a sword too, though Jez had never thought of him as a warrior.
Sariel looked to the entrance to the room. “They will be here soon.”
Manakel held his blade toward the door. “When you run out of options, you must attack.”
“You seem to run out of options rather often, Manakel,” Aniel said. He’d been fighting in a two-legged bestial form that looked like a cross between a tiger and a wolf, and it sounded odd to have such clear speech coming from a creature like that. “Still, in this case, I believe you are right.”
Jez tightened his grip on his sword and nodded, trying to ignore the lump in his throat. There could still be others out there, but with a keep full of demons, he didn’t hold out any hope. Only a few dozen soldiers remained and half that number of each afur and beast men. It was an almost laughable force, considering what they were facing. Any plan he made would almost certainly lead to their deaths. Jez eyed the soldiers. They stared at him, and for just a moment, he saw a glimmer of hope. They knew about him. They had heard stories, and now all of them had seen him in action. They knew that he’d faced impossible challenges before, and they hadn’t managed to kill him. For that, they would follow him to the bitter end.
“Evil has to be fought,” he said under his breath. They, he shouted. “We attack.”
CHAPTER 27
They headed for the throne room, convinced that Sharim could be nowhere else. Though they stayed on the top level to avoid the bulk of the demonic forces, it was only a temporary solution. They could do nothing to stop the demons from simply climbing the stairs. One of the only good things was that a few of the patrols had apparently had the same idea as them and had fled up the stairs. Jez was relieved when he saw Kilos among those joining them, but even that sense of relief didn’t last long. They hadn’t even made it halfway to the throne room before they were inundated with demons.
There could be no battle lines, not when they were outnumbered this badly. They fought in groups of six or seven, with Istar taking down a surprising number of demons. The only advantage they had was that there were so many demons that it was practically impossible for a given blast of magic to not take out four or five at once. Manakel and Sariel moved through the horde like farmers scything through wheat. Manakel fought with greater fury and as such he took more wounds. Demonic claws and blades ripped into him. Jez had heard stories of certain warrior tribes fighting on long after injury should have taken them. Manakel reminded him of that now. At times, he ran into demons more capable than chezamuts, but even those only slowed him down for the space of a breath. Sariel stayed near him, fending off ten or twelve at a time, and Jez wondered if the pair of them could’ve fought off an entire army by themselves. Next to them, he and Osmund were only a pale shadow.
Due in no small part to the lords of protection and destruction, they made it to the area just above the passage to the throne room with only minimal losses. They formed a circle with Sariel and Manakel in the center. While the rest fought off the demons. Sariel drove his sword into the ground, and a circle of stone, twenty feet wide, just vanished. In the same instant a blast of wind, controlled with such skill that it could never have been wielded by any mortal mage, caught them and deposited them gently onto the ground of the hall. With a wave of Sariel’s hand, the wall before them shattered, and Jez’s forces poured into the throne room, the limaphs and afur rushing in first to secure the area.
The seven stained glass windows depicting the high lords of the pharim had been shattered, though dark clouds outside prevented sunlight from shining in. The thrones had been reduced to rubble. Gold and gems glittered in the remains, and soot stained the once pure white marble walls. Behind the pile that used to be the thrones stood the room’s only inhabitants: a trio of demons.
They each stood twice as tall as a man, but the similarities ended there. The one in the center was perpetually shrouded in smoke. Its form shifted every time the smoke parted enough to get a view, going from man-shaped to beast to something that could only be described as a monster. On its right was a great cat made of sickly green light, with lines constantly going out while others illuminated. Only the eyes remained constant. The final had obsidian skin with fiery cracks spread across its body. Bat-like wings rose from its back and a pair of curved horns came out of its head. More than anything, that one reminded Jez of Marrowit.
“Nakari, Vulior, and Janderol,” Sariel said as he stepped up next to Jez.
“Marrowit’s lieutenants?” Jez asked.
Aphlel nodded. “The ones that came into the world when you stopped them from possessing me.”
The smoke man’s voice sounded like a whisper, though Jez had no trouble hearing it.
“Sariel, you had such a delicious mind. We regretted losing you so soon, but you have come back to us. We will enjoy savoring in your nightmares again.”
The two demons that had hands threw them forward while the cat lunged toward them. A wave of magic so thick it distorted the air rushed forward, expanding as it did until there was no way to avoid it. It ran into Jez and his companions and drove them several steps back. Sariel and Aphlel collapsed. Ziary’s form was ripped away, leaving Osmund, though he still held the flaming sword. The rest of the limaphs lost their otherworldly forms, and a few were completely knocked out. Weapons clattered to the floor as soldiers dropped them and lay down to sleep next to beast men. Even some of the afur dropped. Jez’s eyelids felt heavy. His grip on his sword loosened, but before it fell from his hand, an indigo light shone from behind him. He knew without having to turn around that it came from L
eziel.
“Were I at full power,” the pharim lord’s dry voice said, “I could counter their influence completely. I cannot reverse it in any that are already in their grip, but I can keep it from affecting you.”
The room started to darken, but Daziel stepped forward and lifted his hand. Brilliant balls of light appeared, banishing the darkness.
“I think not, Nakari,” Daziel said. The tiger demon growled. “I cannot help you in this battle, Jezreel. My power will be focused on stopping Nakari’s nightmare visages.”
“As I will be keeping you awake,” Leziel said.
Behind them, demons howled. Aniel growled in response. “We will see to that.” He glanced at Gayel. “We do not have the numbers to hold them off for long.”
Gayel eyed the trio of demons, but Manakel waved him off. “The day I cannot defeat demons of the fourth order is the day I surrender my sword.”
The two high lords and the remaining beast men withdrew to guard their rear as did the soldiers. Against demons of this level, the only thing ordinary soldiers would’ve been able to do was die, and Jez refused to allow that. He held his sword toward the demons as did the afur and limaph. The demons just stared at them.
“They’re of the fourth order?” Jez asked.
Manakel nodded. “They are.”
“Maries was of the fourth order. It took everything we had to take him down.”
“Maries is a warrior. They are not. Even weakened as I am, none of them could stand up to me.”
“There are three of them.”
Manakel’s eyes moved from Jez on his right to the assembled afur on his left, and he smiled. “We have them outnumbered. I’ll take Vulior.”
Then, he rushed forward and attacked.
CHAPTER 28
Manakel slashed at the smoke man, but its body fuzzed, and the pharim’s sword passed through nothing. When the smoke cleared, Vulior stood two feet to left of where he’d been. Jez ran toward the winged demon, Janderol. His sword hissed as it cut through the air. The demon lifted a hand, and a sword of liquid flame appeared, catching Jez’s blade. Osmund darted in from the other side, but Janderol caught his sword in one hand and ripped it out of his grip. The fire went out and the demon tossed the weapon aside, its metal distorted by heat. The motion apparently barely inconvenienced the demon because it had no trouble warding off Jez’s attacks. Out of the corner of his eye, Jez caught a glimpse of Manakel fighting Vulior while the afur took on Nakari. None of them were winning.
“You are the one who destroyed Marrowit?” Janderol sneered as he brought his weapon down hard on Jez. It was all Jez could do to hold on. “A worm like you? How could you possibly have destroyed one of the greatest demons to ever walk in this world or the next?”
A ball of fire slammed into the demon’s head, but if he noticed, he gave no sign. Osmund flung fireball after fireball, but they all just hissed as they splashed into the demon, seemingly with no effect. Other mages who had hung back threw workings of their own, but they had minimal effect on the nightmare demons. In spite of his skill, Janderol batted aside Jez’s sword strokes with a casual ease. Jez had spent years training in both the use of the sword and the battling of demons, but while Janderol might not be a warrior, demons of the fourth order were the equal of master mages and swordsmen. Despite what Manakel had said, it was no simple matter to beat one.
Jez never even came close to wounding Janderol. Only when facing Sharim himself had Jez been so completely outclassed. The demon didn’t even seem to be trying. Janderol knocked aside one of his blows and slashed high. Jez dropped into a crouch and lunged forward, trying to skewer the demon, but Janderol stepped aside and brought his sword down, slicing into Jez’s shoulder. Jez cried out as fire spread through his veins. His sword vanished, and he fell to the ground, unable to stop his convulsions. Tears blurred his vision. He could just make out Manakel batting aside Vulior’s bladed hand and thrusting an arm toward Jez. Flames streamed out of Jez’s nose and mouth and congealed into a ball before slamming into Janderol. The demon staggered back. Osmund came at it from one side, slashing with his warped sword. Devoid of magic, the weapon lacked the strength to pierce the demon’s hide. Still, he hit so hard that the blade snapped. Janderol glared at the limaph and sneered.
With its attention temporarily diverted, Jez threw himself at the demon, his hands moving in wide circles to craft a white light binding created to battle nightmare demons. It hit Janderol in the chest, turning a circle of obsidian skin white hot. The demon threw back its head and roared. Jez summoned his sword, driving it into the demon’s chest with every ounce of strength he had. Janderol’s eyes went from blood red to sapphire blue, and azure flames billowed from its mouth, though they didn’t so much as singe Jez’s flesh. The demon cried out and exploded in a shower of blue sparks.
Manakel still fought the smoke demon, having given up a temporary advantage to help Jez, while the afur battled the tiger. Once again, Jez launched the white fire. It slammed into Nakari, but just before it hit, some of its green light formed a circle to catch the binding. Then, both went out, though the tiger demon seemed otherwise unharmed. Jez and Osmund exchanged glances.
“They’re expecting it now.”
“Your wards aren’t very good if a demon can avoid them just because they’re expecting it.”
Jez raised an eyebrow. “A demon of the fourth order?”
Osmund nodded. “Good point.”
“Can you transform?”
Osmund shook his head. “Whatever they did put Ziary to sleep. I can’t wake him.”
Jez shrugged. “You’re still a destruction mage, though.”
Osmund nodded, and he charged the tiger while Jez attacked the smoke man. Vulior turned to catch Jez’s blade, but that was all the opening Manakel needed. One blow of his massive sword split the demon’s head in two. Jez and the pharim lord turned to Nakari, but the addition of Osmund to the battle had turned the tide. The demon bled green light from half a dozen wounds. Its substance was leaking away, and it growled at Jez.
“Andera knew you would fall for his trap.”
“What trap?” Jez asked.
“Coming after us instead of learning where he went.”
A chill ran down Jez’s back. “Where did he go?”
Nakari sputtered, and the lights of his body faded. His eyes were the last to go, but they too winked out of existence. Before Jez could do anything, the air above where the thrones had stood shimmered, and Sharim stepped out of nothing.
Though Sharim technically had a human body, he had spent years altering it with transformation magic to make it better able to stand his power. He had twisted his flesh to the point where he no longer even resembled a human. He stood twelve feet tall, green scales, like those of a reptile, covered his body. His trunk-like arms ended in long curved claws. A thick tail swished behind him and bat-like wings, lined with bone, rose from his back. He looked around, seeming surprised, though not bothered, by their presence. In one hand he held a rusty sword. In another was a blue-robed figure with brilliant white wings. Jez could sense the vast well of protective power. This was no afur. This was a full pharim, the Shadowguard set to watch over the demon who had been imprisoned beneath Rumar keep.
“Shamarion,” Jez said.
“He has Maries’s cage!” Manakel cried out as he lunged forward, an aura of fire bursting to life around him.
Sharim dropped the unconscious Shamarion and caught Manakel by the throat. He didn’t even wince as the fire kissed his scales. With frightening ease, he tossed the lord of the Shadeslayers aside. His eyes wandered over the assembled mages until they landed on Haziel.
“Ah, the last thing I needed. Bring him to me.”
Jez held his sword forward. “What makes you think...”
Kilos drew a knife and held it at the king’s back. He shoved Haziel forward, and everyone around him was too shocked to respond. For a second, Jez could only gape. Then, he took a step toward them, but Sharim threw a ba
nd of light around Jez, and his legs just stopped working. He fell to the ground.
“What...”
Sharim laughed. “It never even occurred to you to check your friend for possession after you ‘rescued’ him, did it? Why do you think there was only a single demon set to guard them?”
There was a roar in the hall behind them. Jez glanced over his shoulder to see the great cat form of Master Horgar, no doubt possessed, attacking the afur. He didn’t have time to worry about that, though. Sharim grabbed Haziel by the throat and held him against the ruined remains of the throne. Violet light shimmered around the king as the human demon tapped into the ancient magic bound to the rulers of Ashtar. He drove the sword into the king’s stomach, and the blade disintegrated.
Istar screamed, and tried to charge, but one of the soldiers held her back. Haziel didn’t even cry out. He just fell to his knees, coughing up blood. Jez knew enough to know that it would be a very painful, very slow way to die. The ground shook as Shamarion arched his back and cried out in pain. A hole, blacker than a moonless night, appeared before the thrones. A blue-skinned demon with red eyes and a pure white uniform rose out of it, floating though he had no wings.
Manakel struggled to rise and stood beside Jez as Maries, demon general and the deadliest warrior of the abyss, bowed before Sharim.
CHAPTER 29
Maries rose and turned around. His eyes blazed. Sharim’s face twisted in anger. He made a chopping motion with his right hand. Then, he did it again, only more pronounced.
“You can’t hide them forever!”
For a moment, Jez was confused. Then, he turned to look at Daziel. The lord of shadows nodded.
“If we are careful, we might be able to sneak out.”
The flames around Manakel’s sword brightened. For a moment, Jez thought he would attack, but after a second, he nodded. “We are not ready for this battle. We cannot defeat them as we are.”
Shadeslayer (Pharim War Book 7) Page 12
