Jez blinked and looked around. “What hit me?”
“I don’t know. You should probably do something about that.”
Again, Jez started crafting a ward against illusion, but his power vanished. He tried to call it again, but it refused to come. A tendril of earth rose up and wrapped itself around his ankle. Jez tried to back up and sliced at it with his sword. His foot came free so abruptly, he fell to the ground. Bands of earth held him down, once again forcing Jez to fight the evil sensation. The bands of earth allowed his head just enough movement to see that Ziary had engaged with a shadowy figure. It was at least twice as tall as a man and seemed to be made of solid darkness, but it moved with just a little too much skill to be an ordinary demon.
“Andera.”
Jez spoke so softly that the wind should have carried his words away, but the dark creature batted aside Ziary’s strike and looked at Jez. Though its face was uniform black and had neither eyes nor mouth, Jez knew it was smiling. He gritted his teeth and threw power at his bonds. Once again, there was that oily sensation, but he forced his way through it, and the bonds holding him collapsed.
Jez got to his feet as nearby shadows congealed into another figure, identical to the one fighting Ziary. This one charged Jez, covering the distance between them in the space of a heartbeat. It attacked with a liquid grace that was beyond human capabilities, and it was all Jez could do to block its strikes. If this creature wasn’t Andera, it was something every bit as powerful as the human demon’s mortal form. Jez ducked under a slash, and risked a glanced at Ziary. The demon his friend faced seemed just as skilled as the one Jez was fighting. Both couldn’t be Andera, but so long as their shadowy illusions hid their identities, Jez wouldn’t be able to tell if either one was. Maintaining two illusions this complete had to be draining though, and Jez doubted even Andera could do that while engaged in combat. If he wasn’t maintaining them, someone else had to be.
“Lina, you have to stop this!”
The shadowy creature struck. Jez caught the blade on his own, but the attack was so strong that it left his arms feeling like jelly. He dodged under the next swipe, and though the sword was as shrouded in shadows as the rest of the demon, he felt heat exactly like that which came from Andera’s burning blade.
“I can’t keep this up!”
Ziary’s demon delivered a blow so hard it sent the limaph to the ground. It lifted its sword to impale Ziary. They were only a few feet away, and Jez twisted out of the way of another blow and lunged, knocking aside the demon’s descending blade. He turned and tried to meet the attack of the creature he had just fled, but its sword was already hissing through the air. Jez backed up but not fast enough to keep it from burning a cut across his chest. He cried out as fire ran through his veins, joining with the agony caused by the abyss, as well as the burning of his flesh brought on by his own transformation.
The illusions faltered. It was only for a second, and held by pain as he was, he almost missed it. The one that had been attacking Ziary fizzled, revealing a red-scaled creature with blades for arms, and Jez cursed himself for not realizing this earlier. This was no Andera. It wasn’t even close. The demon was far larger and more heavily muscled than a chezamut would be in the mortal realm, but there was no doubt it was one of the soldier demons, albeit one made stronger in the unaltered form it wore in the abyss.
Ziary leaped forward, attacking with renewed fury, and driving his opponents back. Rather than press his advantage, however, he backed up several steps and raised a hand toward Jez. He made a tugging motion, much like Master Fina had done in the throne room. Fire gushed out of Jez’s wounds, leaving him breathing heavily, with tears blurring his vision. Gradually, the pain subsided. Jez wiped his eyes.
Ziary had been backed against a cliff wall. Both of the demons were on him, apparently having given Jez up for dead. They attacked so fast that Ziary didn’t have a chance to strike back. One delivered a blow so hard it knocked Ziary’s sword out of his hand. The other lifted a shadowy blade to take the life of Jez’s oldest friend.
Jez didn’t think. He threw his hands forward and crafted the silver binding that was best suited to deal with chezamuts, but this wasn’t like before. The abyss bolstered demons within it until even the weakest was a significant threat, and chezamuts had never been weak. Jez couldn’t afford for his binding to fail, so he poured every ounce of power he could into it. It would normally manifest itself as a beam of silver light, smaller even than his little finger. Now, it shot out of his hands as a thick chord, bigger around than most tree trunks, and slammed into the creature about to kill Osmund.
If that one had been Andera, the binding would’ve done nothing. Even against most other demons, it would be of limited effectiveness. Jez had only seen beneath one illusion, and anything could be hiding beneath the second, leaving a one in two chance that his friend would die.
The working hit the demon with such force that it tore a hole right through the creature. It didn’t even have a chance to cry out before the silver light consumed it. The other attacker looked stunned. Jez didn’t waste a second. He crafted a ward against illusions. It slammed into place, severing the illusions from their source of power. The shadowy figure wavered, but rather than revealing Andera, it became a ten-foot-tall obsidian statue. It had no eyes, and its teeth may as well have been daggers. It carried a black sword that seemed to suck in all the light around it.
Jez had no idea what it was, but he brought his hands together, and a distortion of air ran over the creature. It didn’t even seem to notice. He shot three more in quick succession, but none had any more effect than the first. Jez sighed.
“So, not an earth demon.”
Ziary had resummoned his sword and was holding off his opponent in spite of their vast differences in size. With only one, they were more evenly matched, and Ziary could do more than just defend himself. He managed the occasional strike of his own. Trusting that his friend could survive at least a little longer without help, Jez looked around, searching for the source of the illusions. It took him a few seconds to find her. He might have dispelled all illusions, but that didn’t prevent someone from using more mundane ways of hiding, especially given that it was still dark. Whether it was chance or the mysterious link that had formed with Lina, Jez’s eyes landed on the right spot.
In one of the cracks in the rock wall, the possessed Lina huddled, almost completely hidden. It backed up when his eyes fell on her, and Jez wasted no time. He threw himself into the air and rushed over to the spot. She raised a hand toward Jez, and pain erupted all over his skin. He fell and skidded across the ground. It couldn’t be an illusion, not with his wards up, but though Lina was a master of illusions, it wasn’t the only area of magic she was skilled in. She had also been trained in the dominion of secrets and in the use of mental magic, and he hadn’t taken the time to repair his wards after the rasheks had broken through.
He told himself the pain was all in his head, but it didn’t help. He cried out, losing his grip on his ward. Instantly, the world went dark. From behind the illusion, Ziary cried out. The pain held Jez completely paralyzed. He had no choices left.
Jez reached within himself, to the barrier that kept Luntayary’s consciousness separate from his own. If he unleashed the pharim, his own mind would be pushed aside by the much more powerful mind of Luntayary, and Jez had no doubt that Lina would face a much greater challenge trying to hold a pharim’s mind. Of course, Jez’s consciousness would be subsumed unless Luntayary chose to retreat. The pharim had done that once before, though Jez held no hope that he would do so again. At this point, however, he had nothing left to lose. He cast his thoughts into the void in his mind as he opened the door.
Save her.
The presence in his mind heard his plea. Luntayary had just started to emerge when the darkness vanished and the pain faded away. Jez slammed shut the door in his mind and got to his feet, though he couldn’t stop himself from shaking. Another heartbeat and Luntayary wou
ld’ve gained control. Lina grabbed her head and screamed.
Jez?
Lina?
Jez, help me. I can’t hold them off.
Jez didn’t remember taking off. He was just in the air, flying faster than he ever had. In the space of a breath, he had covered the distance. His right hand touched her forehead just as she looked up with hate in her eyes. She tried to pull away, but his left arm shot forward and seized her, sending a binding into her flesh that paralyzed every demon inside of her. Protected by human flesh, the lothines could only be affected by that working for a few seconds, but that was all Jez needed. He dragged his hand down to her heart, tugging at the demons within. As one, they howled as he dragged them out of her body in a plume of acrid smoke. It came together faster than it would have in the mortal world, solidifying into a ten-legged spider as big as a horse. Jez scurried back. He had been expecting many smaller demons, not this one joining of several. He hadn’t even known they could do that. The spider squealed and tried to bite him, its fangs dripping a putrid green fluid which steamed as it hit the ground.
Lina, anger twisting her features, threw her hands forward. The scream the spider let out was like nothing that had ever been heard in the mortal world. The rocks shuddered, and blood dribbled out of Jez’s ears. The demon legs curled in upon themselves, and for a second, it rocked back and forth, keening in pain. Then, it went still, and the silence that followed felt like it could swallow the world. Jez stared at Lina.
“Are you okay?” She gave him a weary nod. “What did you do?”
She smiled as she leaned against the rock wall. “I’m fine. It was pain. I gave it a lot of pain.” She took a deep breath. “Master Rael said enough of it can break a mind. I’ve never heard of anyone doing it to a demon, though.” Her hand went to her forehead. “I wouldn’t want to do that again.”
“We need to help Osmund,” Jez said.
He turned just in time to see Ziary’s flaming blade cut through the demon’s neck. Its head rolled off and came to a stop a dozen feet away from him. Its body fell, black sand spilling from its neck even as the head collapsed into dust. Ziary was bruised, and his robes were torn in several places. Red motes of light bled from wounds on his chest and arms, but if his injuries troubled him, he gave no sign. He walked up to them and inclined his head.
“Lina, it’s good to see you safe.”
“What are you two doing here?”
“We came to save you,” Jez said. Immediately, he felt his face heat up and went on before she could respond. “And to stop Andera. Where is he?”
Lightning flashed through the sky and Lina looked up. Her next word was barely a whisper. “There.”
“He’s in the storm?”
She nodded and was obviously having trouble keeping her voice steady. “He was going to use me as a conduit. Enki is supposed to summon me. When that happens, Andera is going to hit me with one of those lightning bolts.”
“Why?” Jez asked.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “It would kill me, but because I’m human, the summoning would still take my body, and the lightning would have too much power. It would rip a hole through reality. Then, he can expand it until the barrier between worlds falls.”
Jez gaped, and suddenly all moisture had vanished from his throat. His voice came out as a rasp. “And the hordes of the abyss would spill into our world.”
Lina nodded. “His time ran out. He reached the limits of his transformed flesh and burned through his body. He can’t claim the Keep of the Hosts anymore, because only a human could use that rune, but he can still destroy our world.”
Lightning flashed and thunder crashed. Jez gripped his sword in both hands and shook his head.
“No, he can’t.”
Ziary spread his wings. “I’m ready.”
Jez nodded. “Lina, I can’t ward you from the lightning without a circle, and I can’t craft a ward in this.” He ran his fingers through the soil and shuddered at the oily sensation. “I’d send you back, but...”
She looked like she was going to be sick. “He might be able to use that just as much as my summoning.”
Jez nodded. “We’ll fight him, but if we can’t find a way, we may have to lead him down here. Be ready to give him pain, as much as you can. That might be our only hope.”
She glanced at the dead spider demon. “Jez, that took everything I had.”
Jez met her gaze, and after a second, she nodded. There was nothing more that needed to be said. If they failed, the entire world would fall.
Jez and Ziary leaped into the air and headed upward, toward the rumbling clouds and the demon prince Andera.
CHAPTER 34
The clouds burned like acid. Under ordinary circumstances, it would’ve been enough to at least slow Jez down, but pain had been a constant companion since he’d entered the abyss, and while it would’ve have been wrong to say he didn’t feel it, neither was it enough to impede him. A part of him wondered if he hadn’t already done too much damage to his physical body, but even if he had, there was no coming back from here. He had nothing left to lose.
A gust of wind brought on by Ziary cleared the area immediately around them. The limaph looked like he was going to be sick from touching the wind, but he gritted his teeth, and the clear area expanded. Andera was nowhere to be seen.
“That’s no good,” Jez said. “It would take too long to find him.”
“So, what do we do? Fly around and hope we run into him? This cloud could swallow up Randak and Rumar both with room to spare.” He had just finished speaking when the sky rumbled. Ziary shivered and glanced over his shoulder. “Never mind. He’s there. He’s using some kind of twisted venta magic.”
Ziary flew into the cloud, with Jez right behind him. Jez had only limited training in the dominion of destruction, but the amount of power present in the cloud registered to even his senses. A cloud like this could never exist in the mortal world. He didn’t know where that certainty came from, but he knew it was true.
“What is this made of?” he asked.
“I think it’s the essence of the abyss,” Ziary said. “This won’t just kill Lina. It’ll rip her soul apart.”
Power flared inside of Jez. Without even thinking, he crafted a ward. He wasn’t even sure what exactly he was keeping out, but the smell subsided. Ziary’s flapping grew stronger.
“That helps. What did you do?”
Jez didn’t answer until Ziary looked back at him. “I almost let Luntayary out earlier. I don’t think he’s entirely held back anymore.” Jez shivered. “I feel a little like when he took control back in Hiranta, when we were dealing with Marrowit.”
“The difference is,” a voice came from above, “then, a demon was coming into your world. Now, you are in mine, and you have nowhere to retreat to.”
Jez spun. Andera’s fleshly form was gone. Jez had seen an image of the demon’s true form twice. The first had been in a construct of his own mind where neither he nor Sharim had been held back by the limitations of human flesh. The second time had been in one of Andera’s own memories. Neither of those times had prepared him for the sheer power of the demon’s true form. Even the semblance Jez had seen in Rumar Keep was nothing like this.
Andera had two arms and two legs, but the resemblance to a man ended there. He stood twenty feet tall with a body almost as wide as it was tall. His skin was mottled red and black stone, though the red glowed deeper than any fire and the black was so pure it seemed to shed darkness. A pair of horns spiraled up from his head, adding another two feet to the demon’s height. His arms were longer than his legs and ended in six-clawed hands that glowed with scarlet power. His wings burned so hot they distorted the air around the demon and prevented Jez from getting a clear view. It was as if the abyss itself couldn’t bear to look at this creature. Two pairs of eyes, one just above the other, shed an angry red light, and if Jez looked at them, agony blossomed in his chest and quickly spread throughout his body. Jez stopp
ed flapping just long enough to fall a few feet and break the gaze. Andera roared, revealing three rows of razor sharp teeth. He stretched out his hand and a sword of liquid flame appeared in his grasp.
Ziary, who had apparently flown up several dozen feet, dove, his burning sword held point down, his momentum adding strength to the blow. Andera didn’t even turn around. He thrust his hand back at the limaph. Ziary brought his sword down on the demon’s arm, but it bounced off without leaving so much as a scratch. There was a loud crack that could only be the breaking of bones as the demon’s fist slammed into Ziary’s chest, sending him flying through the clouds. The whole time, Andera kept his eyes on Jez. Jez kept his gazed focused on the demon’s teeth, unwilling to meet the pain inducing stare again.
“I didn’t think you’d be foolish enough to follow me here. Now...”
Jez didn’t wait for him to finish. Drawing on every bit of power he could manage, he shot toward Andera, his sword moving so fast even his eyes couldn’t follow, but Andera was faster still. Jez didn’t even see the blade move. It was just there. The swords impacted with a sound like thunder. Other times they had fought, Jez had been thrown back by such an impact, but this time, power emanated from them in a wave, thrusting away the clouds.
A ball of fire crashed into Andera’s back. He sneered and glanced over his shoulder at Ziary, who had been revealed when the clouds had moved. Before Andera could turn back, Jez struck again, but the demon parried his blow, apparently without actually needing to see. Jez threw his hand forward and unleashed a gout of black flame. It was most useful against hagines, but given Andera’s mastery of several schools of magic, Jez hoped that a binding meant to be used against sorcerer demons would have at least some effect. It engulfed Andera and, at Jez’s command, spun around him like a burning whirlwind.
He slashed again, though he couldn’t see his foe. His blade cut through the flame as if it were empty. At first, Jez thought Andera had escaped somehow, but then, he felt control of the flame being pulled from him. After a second, it was completely beyond his control. It shrank, becoming a ball of burning darkness in Andera’s hand. He flicked it back, and it rushed at Ziary. The limaph dropped several feet to avoid the blast, but the fire turned in the air and crashed into the side of Ziary’s face, the black fire spreading over the right side of his body. He screamed, and for a moment, his form flickered back to that of Osmund. He started to drop, but before Jez could do anything to help, Andera’s sword lashed out, strike three times in quick succession. Jez was able to block them, if only barely. He tried to counterattack, but Andera was too fast, moving out of way almost before Jez’s sword had started to move. Even workings that Jez launched were easily blocked or avoided. As Jez fought, Ziary rose up behind Andera, seeming to pull a trail of cloud behind him. He wound around them both, almost as if he intended to tie them. It was only a thin tendril, but Jez felt the acidic prickle against his skin. Andera laughed even as he fended off Jez’s attacks.
Shadeslayer (Pharim War Book 7) Page 15
