by Oxford, Rain
While glancing at the Dagyo enchantment, excitement coursed through my blood. To complete the ritual, blood of a dead being and blood of a live being was needed. There was no blood in the bowl. I reached into my boot and pulled out a dagger. Ritual magic was slower than Guardian magic, but obscenely powerful.
Abaddon grinned. “You mean to release me yourself, Zalaznius?” He looked amused, but I knew he wasn’t; he knew my plot just as easily as I did.
“That is precisely what I intend to do.” I raised the book and continued the incantation that the man hadn’t.
“And by this ineffable name, Tetragrammaton Iehovah, do I command thee, at the which being heard the elements are overthrown, the air is shaken, the sea runneth back, the fire is quenched---” the candles went dark. “The earth tremble together, and all the hosts of the celestials, terrestrials, and infernals do tremble together, and are troubled and confounded!” I said, giving up on Enochian to speak in English. I made a few changes to the words, but it would still work. Abaddon was becoming angry and the fire slowly became dark orange.
“Wherefore come thou, O Spirit Abaddon, forthwith, and without delay, from any or all parts of the world wherever thou mayest be, and make rational answers unto all things that I shall demand of thee.”
“Stop, slave, you will not command me!”
“Come thou peaceably, visibly, and affably, now, and without delay, manifesting that which I shall desire. For thou art conjured by the name of the Living and True God, Helioren, wherefore fulfill thou my commands, and persist thou therein unto the end, and according unto mine interest, visibly and affably speaking unto me with a voice clear and intelligible without any ambiguity!”
He was yelling as I spoke, as if drowning my words could hinder their effect. Fire roared around him and energy crashed against my barrier. Only the ancient power of the incomplete spell was keeping him out.
I slit my arm and let the blood drip into bowl. Energy flowed through my body to speed clotting and regeneration; only a small amount of blood drained before the wound was sealed. When I heated energy and pushed it into the crimson concoction, fire woke and brought the blood to a boil.
Power in the form of black miasma burst from Abaddon and he roared a terrifying sound. The blood pooling across the ground began to boil. The fire surrounded Abaddon began to fade with his attention and suddenly everything became silent. He was momentarily weakened while he adapted to his inability to use any form of unnatural energy.
Immortal blood is not a substitute for dead or living blood.
“You used unholy power without being sure of the outcome? You are a foolish slave. Fight me as the servant of your god.”
“I will fight you as one who has few options,” I said in Enochian.
He drew in an immense quantity of energy until the strain began to weaken my circle. My shield collapsed, allowing heat and blood to flow in. Blood reached my ankles, which were protected with my boots, and I could feel through the leather that it was cold.
“Are you not afraid of me, slave? Will you have this confidence as you burn to death?”
“You have obviously never fought a Guardian. You may have power over death, but I have power over life. You are a creature of great power, but I am created by power.”
“And yet the gods believed your kind to be inept.”
“Why do you believe that?”
“You were created by power, but now there is one created of power. The day will come when he will choose to enforce the bindings of power or allow them to fall. He will command the living and the dead and represent the magicks of all.”
I raised my arm to wipe my brow against the heat, but my voice remained cool as ever. “Interesting. Are the gods gossiping with death again?”
“Always. Are you ready to feel the powers of a demon?”
“Now, Abaddon, I admit you are a mighty powerful beast of death, but you have made a mistake in assuming that I have not faced one more powerful than you. You made a mistake in assuming that while you felt I was not a threat, I would return the courtesy of a friendly conversation. As I speak, you are unable to move your legs or cast a spell.”
“There you are wrong, little slave. You can see that as my fire is strong, my power must be as well,” he said, his tone smooth with condescending confidence.
“And yet this is anticlimactic. I am glad my apprentice isn’t here to see how boring a demon can be. It is a testament to my magic that while I have replaced your fire with my own in order to fool you, you never noticed.”
“You lie.”
“Prove me wrong.”
He let out an enraged yell that only increased my confidence. I didn’t wait for him to find a way out of my spell. Drawing my depleted energy, I called upon the ancient spells I learned from my brother.
“O thou Spirit Abaddon, because thou hast diligently answered unto my demands, and hast been very ready and willing to come at my call, I do here license thee to depart unto thy proper place; without causing harm or danger unto man or beast.”
He shook with anger, but couldn’t break the magic I casted.
“Depart, then, I say, and be thou very ready to come at my call, being duly exorcised and conjured by the sacred rites of magic.” I breathed heavily as my spell over him burst. Just as the ground crumbled, his magic struck me. As I lost sense of this world, my last thought was that he would draw me into his realm. At least the grimoire had been destroyed in the battle.
* * *
“Wake up. Wake up!”
It took me a moment to understand the Enochean words; however, it took me no time at all to recognize the unnatural lack of voice. I opened my eyes and looked around, finding myself desolate on a slab of stone in the ocean.
“Well, this is unfortunate. Can you give your loving servant a little help?”
“How then would you learn?” Erono was a god who felt it was a weakness to show himself, to appear as a mortal. “Sarcasm is a trait I would wipe from your species if it would not only reappear. You will give your apprentice more time alone with the sago you travel with.”
“Why am I going to do this?”
“Because I have given you the order. You will not question your god. Your very existence is to follow my orders.”
“Then you should not have given me the curious instinct I have. Why should I leave Dylan with Divina? And how do you know of her?”
“Do you think I do not know what you do and will do? Tiamat’s Guardian will learn from the woman, develop ideas, and make important decisions. It is Tiamat’s wish to leave him in your care, but she expects him to learn much more than you alone can teach him.”
With that statement, the longest, in fact, that I’ve ever heard from him, he vanished. I suddenly found myself on the shore before the Aradlin forest.
Chapter 8
The forest was just as large as Edward’s, but the trees were more sinister looking. They blocked almost all light and even the ground plants looked evil. “Oh. It’s that kind of forest.”
“Yep,” Divina said. “Try to be very quiet, don’t move too quickly, and please try not to trip.” Despite her warning, she bounded forward almost cheerily while Edward and I followed more cautiously.
It smelled like a swamp, and what could smell better than moss, malaria, and alligator urine? The surprisingly cold air was thick with moisture and dread and it felt as if the chill in the air was a warning to retreat. I couldn’t see anything at first, but when my eyes adapted, I saw dark shapes moving slowly around us. I pointed one out to Edward.
“They’re just trying to get around like us; it’s when they flee that you need to worry,” he whispered.
I went back to trying not to trip, barely succeeding even as Divina held onto my arm. As time passed, walking became easier and I grew more aware of Divina’s body practically pressed against me, but my body wasn’t used to hiking for hours on end or weighing so much. We walked for hours until I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Edward�
��” I whispered. By then, Divina was holding me up like an injured person.
He glanced at me but kept walking.
“He needs a minute,” Divina said.
“It only takes a minute to be discovered,” he answered. “We won’t stop. Carry him if you have to.” He sounded very worried.
“Not a chance,” I argued. “But if we get attacked, and I’m too tired to run, there goes the new Guardian,” I said. Edward hesitated, considering it. “Remember, I was struck by lightning less than a week ago. Remember my heart stopped? No hospitals?”
“I get it. Don’t talk, just rest,” he said.
Not needing to be told twice, I slumped down on the damp ground. I wanted to take off the boots, which were too big and made my feet blister, but I had to be ready to run if I needed to. Edward and Divina remained standing and eyed everything that moved.
After less than a minute, I stood up on shaking legs, for I couldn’t endure their increasing apprehension any longer. When I stood, they were visibly relieved. We started moving again, slower this time. While it was difficult to move fluently, I could handle the pain.
About half an hour later, I was wheezing loud enough that I thought Edward’s nails were going to cut into his palms. That’s when my luck showed its ugly face. I felt the very slight tug around my ankle, inside my boot, and ignored it, thinking it was a weed. I stepped forward and cried out. Divina’s hand was over my mouth so suddenly I didn’t understand why I couldn’t breathe. Edward helped her lower me gently to the ground and took off my boot. The pain increased. I would have been yelling if I could have.
Edward cursed in his language, but I didn’t care; my ankle was burning much hotter than fire ever had. Edward pulled out a jar of the Wigknot paste and slathered it on my ankle, but while it helped to numb my skin, the burn kept spreading.
“Hold him still!” He was trying to pin my leg down.
“I’m trying. Stop biting me,” Divina said.
I realized I had bitten down on her sweet tasting skin but I couldn’t let go. The burn was reaching my thigh.
Edward was muttering and even through the pain, I could feel the stirring of magic energy. And then the pain very slowly retracted. Excruciatingly slowly. I truly wanted him to just cut off the leg, and I really, really liked my leg.
The pain was gone, but my leg felt numb and cold. I trembled compulsively and my eyes stung with sweat and tears. I pried my teeth out of Divina’s skin and she moved her hand so I could breathe through my nose. She held me against her in a comforting position and stroked my hair back.
“It’s okay now. You’re okay.” Her voice, though quiet, was very soothing, so I leaned my head back on her shoulder. I tried and failed not to grunt as Edward tied a white cloth around my ankle and replaced the boot. I expected him to be furious at my outburst, but instead he looked very concerned.
“Does it burn anymore?” he asked, standing.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, my voice slightly broken.
“No, it’s not your fault,” he said. “It didn’t cut too deeply, but you will not be able to run until it’s given more attention.”
“What was it?” I asked.
He kneeled down on the ground to talk quietly. “There was a plant that has tiny, long feelers. It sensed your body heat and one wrapped around your ankle. When you pulled away, it was so thin that it sliced right through your skin and bone. You are very lucky it didn’t cut off your foot. When it touched your blood, it became poisonous. I got it off and used magic to remove the poison, but I can heal it much better later. Right now, we need to go.”
They each took one of my arms and pulled me up, then immediately froze, listening to something. Divina held up two fingers and Edward nodded. Divina very slowly lowered me to the ground… and then settled herself on top of me!
“What are you doing?” I asked.
She put her finger to her lips inches from my own.
“Just holding you down. Whatever you do, don’t move.” She scooted a couple of inches down and laid her head on my chest. There was a slight gust of wind as Edward jumped very high. He kicked off a tree and landed gracefully on a branch, then froze again. I tried to relax and when I couldn’t do that, I released my energy, which I had subconsciously taken in again. There was no sound and nothing moved except for Divina’s chest as she breathed.
She was not as heavy as I thought she would have been; although her body was denser, she couldn’t have been any heavier than Vivian on Earth. My hand brushed her side and somehow found its way under her shirt. I quickly removed my hand and clutched the cold dirt. She didn’t react, though she must have felt it. Divina was very soft and warm, and fit nicely in my arms.
Then I heard it.
There was something moving very quickly through the woods, coming closer. It slowed to a prowled before it came into view. Its body was similar to a velociraptor, but with thick, long arms and muddy-green, scaly skin. While it was standing bipedal, its arms looked to be just long enough to walk on four legs. It had four fingers on each limb and each finger ended with a long, sharp, hooked claw. Its head was shaped like an alligator’s with huge, super sharp teeth, except that its snout was slightly thinner and flatter. It made a clicking sound as it looked around. The slits it had for nostrils moved; it was sniffing the air.
“Do not move a muscle.” Divina’s voice rang in my head and I was thrilled that I didn’t jump in surprise. “It can smell us but not see us. Just don’t move or make a sound.” It sniffed around for a few minutes before wandering slowly away. Divina didn’t move.
The snarling and snapping startled me a moment before the raptor came rolling back into view, fighting with another beast! This thing looked like some huge wolf with coarse black fur. I wasn’t sure which one’s blood was being smeared all over the ground. I hoped it wasn’t the raptor’s; if he won, he wouldn’t be able to see us. However, that wouldn’t help us much if they rolled over us while fighting.
Preoccupied with the fight, I was confused as Divina pulled me up. When I saw another wolf-beast coming at us from the side, I didn’t need encouragement to run. Divina had to help because I couldn’t walk through the woods on two legs let alone run on one. The wolf, on the other hand, was agile and fast. I didn’t know what I tripped over, I just remembered falling.
“Stay down!” Divina said. She reached down, grabbed a large rock, and threw at the wolf’s face. Clearly more interested in revenge than food, it was suddenly chasing Divina.
For a second, I wondered if I could stand up or if I had damaged my other ankle. However, I decided the risk of being trampled was too much. I rolled over, grabbed hold of a tree, and used it to heave myself up.
My uninjured ankle didn’t hurt, but my cut one burned to high heaven. I took a moment to gather my energy and listen to what was happening around me. The sounds of the raptor and the wolf had died down, but I could still hear the second wolf chasing Divina. And then…
You’ve got to be kidding me…
I heard heavy breathing right behind me and didn’t dare turn to look. Once again, I ran with everything I had. My injured ankle made the agonizing exercise slower, but huge, snapping jaws was a fantastic motivator. The beast was barely jogging; he was toying with me.
It wasn’t long before I landed wrong on my uninjured ankle and hit the ground hard. Small, sharp rocks dug into my back, but I didn’t have the chance to get up before the beast had me pinned. I stared right into pure blood-red, globe eyes.
The creature had the general appearance of a huge wolf with matted black fur, and a flatter snout. Its ears were flat against its head in anger, but its snarl looked more like a grin than a scowl. The beast knew I was injured and out of strength.
Bloody dribble dripped from its mouth onto my shoulder and a large section of the skin went numb. Its saliva was venomous, probably a paralyzing agent.
My mind raced through all the magic I already learned. I knew how to levitate things, control water, pl
ay with wind, make a sun charm, and make weapons rattle. So I could bathe and blow-dry the beast. I was stuck. However, and I suppose fortunately, the wolf’s toxic saliva also caused hallucinations.
Use the force, Dylan. The voice was clearly in my head, clearly Obi-wan, and clearly a sign of schizophrenia. Of course, I was never one to argue with Ben. I reached out with my mind and called forth a weapon of the earth. The large rock hit my palm with almost enough force to break my bones. Acting on instinct, I stuffed the rock into the wolf’s mouth just as he was opening up for supper. By luck that couldn’t have been mine, it stuck.
I rolled away just in time as the paw came down where my chest had been a split second before with a crushing blow. The maddened wolf shook his head and tried to snap its jaws, but when the rock in its huge mouth started to crumble, I knew it was time to run.
I had injured my second ankle and could barely stand up. “Come on, Ben, I need help here.”
Busy, my hallucination answered me.
If I had had a mirror, I would have glared at myself, but decided instead not to argue with my hallucinations. I couldn’t outrun the beast, but it didn’t look like it could climb a tree. Of course, neither could I, and I certainly couldn’t control the slight wind enough to lift myself up. But I could control rocks, apparently.
I reached out with my mind and retrieved a fair-sized rock, which I found was easy to move, to lift myself up with. Unfortunately, I had underestimated how heavy I was.
An instant headache came on, but I preferred it over the alternative. I remembered that earth was one of the two elements that took more power. Without trying any harder to make it do what I wanted, which I knew would make me lose control, I poured more energy into it. The rock jerked, but then began to lift me up. I wasn’t having trouble with power.
The rock wavered and I looked down. I was about twenty feet in the air with the wolf snapping at my toes; he had crushed the rock in his mouth. As I started to panic, I started to sink.
