Heretic Spellblade 3

by Robertson, K. D.

  Not that he would ever admit that to anyone. The Astra who had forced him to keep that secret might be dead, but he somehow suspected this one would happily enforce his promise.

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Nurevia is helping Tharban to damage the alliance with the Empire,” Nathan said. “He wants the Spires to pull out of the Houkeem Desert.”

  The dark elf in question froze, as she overheard what Nathan said.

  Slowly, Astra lowered her glass to the table. She stood up.

  Nurevia leaped to her feet and tried to run. She didn’t make it far before Astra caught her. The scream echoed through the entire floor.

  Astra returned with bloody hands.

  “You didn’t kill her, right?” Nathan asked. He hadn’t felt Nurevia’s gems activate.

  “No. But she needed a lesson. I’ll extract my full price later.” Astra’s smile was cruel, and a reminder of her desire to beat things to a pulp.

  Nathan coughed. “She’s not the problem right now. The Council is.”

  “No, it’s not,” Astra said. “My Bastion is.”

  Chapter 21

  Nathan froze. His mind raced as he processed what he had heard.

  Astra’s Bastion was his problem? Her green eyes bore into him, their edges curving slightly as she smiled.

  Nobody else reacted to her words. Narime dozed in her drunken haze, while Seraph checked on the sleeping beastkin. If Astra’s words had reached either of them, they didn’t show it.

  Nathan knew Astra. Not extremely well, but he thought he could trust her. Was that a mistake? If her Bastion was working against the Spires, she shouldn’t be loyal to him.

  But then again, Nathan didn’t know that for sure. By the time he had gotten to know Astra in his world, the current dark elf Bastions had been replaced several times. Too many cascades had rippled through the Spires during the invasions of the Empire and the Federation.

  For all Nathan knew, Astra trusted her current Bastion more than him.

  Which meant Nathan needed an escape plan. Right now, Astra didn’t seem hostile, but if that changed…

  The moment he thought that, Astra’s eyes lit up. “Yes, like that. That’s a good face. Your eyes are strong. Nobody looks at me like you.”

  Before he could say anything, one of her opals lit up.

  Nathan reacted instantly. He hurled his glass at her while flipping backward over his chair. Astra’s hand obliterated the glass, splashing vodka all over her arm. The glass fragments seemed to skate over her skin.

  She blurred forward despite that, one opal still glowing. Nathan reached for his magic. He dropped into his mental world to give himself time to think.

  Even with the time dilation, Astra still moved. Not fast, but Nathan saw her body shift in an otherwise frozen world. Her powers were terrifying.

  “Fucking hell,” he swore mentally.

  This wasn’t what he needed. Or what he could handle. Within his mental world, his gaze lingered on the fat, creepy tendril that belonged to the Twins.

  Was now the time to reach for their help? Supposedly, they were mentally connected to him. He suspected he could reach for Maura’s help and…

  Do what? The Twins were being nice to him because they couldn’t attack him. What use would they be against a trigem Champion? Unlike everybody else in the world, Astra was experienced at battling Messengers.

  Nathan needed to handle her alone. Not that he knew why she was attacking him. She had switched from friendly to hostile in an instant.

  Then again, he was dealing with Astra. She loved battle. Maybe this was a test.

  Or maybe she wanted to rip his head off in order to help her Bastion. Nathan couldn’t assume anything.

  Astra slowly grew closer, her eyes practically glowing with glee.

  Her opals held immense power. The one she had activated granted her increased speed and strength, on top of her strength enhancement. Astra bench pressed entire castles and punched holes through magical barriers. Dodging her was the highest priority.

  The real problem was Astra’s trigem ability. Fighting back against her was meaningless. Nathan might have bothered if he were close to a binding stone, but not here.

  Nathan only had one viable weapon against her: ascended magic. He cast it faster than the natural elements, and it might work against Astra. Mental magic was out. He liked Astra and didn’t know if this was a genuine fight.

  That left one option.

  Time resumed. Nathan quickly summoned his power and cast a spell. A golden triangle appeared over his back.

  Astra touched the chair and sent it hurtling across the room, where it exploded into a million tiny fragments upon impact with the stone wall. A moment later, her fist soared toward Nathan’s head. He saw death.

  His spell finished an instant before he felt death.

  The room shifted forward for a moment. To Nathan, it looked like one of those optical illusions where what you’re seeing is stretching away from you, but it’s really right in front of you.

  He imagined Astra saw it differently—to her, Nathan had teleported backward and the room in front of her had extended with him. Nathan had used spatial magic to extend the space he stood on back a few dozen feet.

  Then the spell finished and Nathan appeared on the opposite side of the room. The strange visual effect vanished.

  Astra stared at him, fist hovering in midair. Her opal stopped glowing. Her green eyes wavered in shock.

  He instantly started casting a supercharged fourth rank spell and two golden squares appeared over his hands. This was a spatial ward, as he knew what Astra’s follow-up would be. As powerful as she was, she was at least predictable.

  “Nathan!” Seraph shouted.

  “Seraph, don’t,” he snapped in response.

  The duogem Champion charged Astra despite his warning. Her arm snapped out and sent a wave of energy toward the dark elf. All of them had been disarmed here, so they lacked weapons.

  The energy wave passed through Astra without even ruffling her clothes. All three of her opals lit up for an instant as the wave struck her.

  Astra let out a huff. “Don’t care about you.”

  She backhanded the air between her and Seraph. Two of her opals lit up.

  Seraph didn’t have a moment to react. Something slammed into her chest, and she flew across the room. The impact was weaker than the blow against the chair, so she at least didn’t explode upon impact with a wall. Instead, she tumbled across the floor, gripping her chest. Her jade gems lit up as her regeneration magic kicked in.

  On the ground, Narime stirred from her stupor. Her ears flicked as she tried to take in what was happening.

  “Sleep,” Astra said.

  She then gripped the air with one hand. Narime yelped as the front of her robes bunched up. When Astra raised her arm, Narime hovered, her tails flailing around in the air. The fox then flew onto one of the distant sofas with a crash and a scream.

  This was Astra’s duogem ability. She could project her body using magic. Her insane strength was maintained. With a weapon, she could cut down an entire row of demons with a single slash or pierce someone’s heart from a hundred feet away. Ordinarily, she used her bare hands with similarly devastating effects.

  Nathan finished his ward. Unfortunately, he didn’t know what to do next. In the nearby corridor, he heard Nurevia stir. Neither Fei nor Ciana had awakened, which Nathan felt thankful for.

  Astra did know what to do next, however. She smirked at him.

  “Is that it?” she asked. “Where is your power?”

  Her hand reached for him. Two of her opals glowed. She clenched her fist.

  The space in front of Nathan compressed. Magic crackled in the air around him as his ward strained against Astra’s raw power and strength. She physically crushed the ward, as if it were a pane of glass. His view of the world through it distorted.

  This was new. Nathan didn’t know she could do this. He knew her ability involved spatial di
stortion of some form, but he hadn’t known how.

  Astra tilted her head in amazement. She raised her other hand and made a tearing motion. Space warped again, but the ward held. Nathan felt immense magic build up in the world around him. If she kept this up, she’d break through eventually.

  But he felt good that he had cast a ward that kept Astra out. A smile crossed his face.

  She saw it and narrowed her eyes. “Are you even human?” she growled out.

  Damn. That was not the response he wanted from her. He needed a plan to deal with her.

  No, he needed a plan to escape. Narime got up from where she had been thrown aside. She appeared mostly unharmed, if still drunk.

  It would be difficult, but Nathan knew that the fox was his best bet to escape. She knew teleportation magic. Fighting Astra was pointless, especially with most of his Champions incapacitated.

  If he had gone to meet her, would she have killed him once he was alone with her and suitably drunk? Then again, she hadn’t waited for him to be drunk now.

  “What the fuck is this?” Nurevia yelled as she stumbled back into the common room. Blood streamed from her mouth and squashed nose.

  “Fuck off,” Astra said, her eyes flicking to Nurevia for a second.

  “No, I don’t think so. He’s mine,” Nurevia said, her purple eyes narrowing.

  Then her hand slipped into her vest and withdrew a thin steel throwing knife.

  “You shouldn’t have that,” Nathan said. He began to cast a spell in order to cross the room to reach Narime.

  “I shouldn’t be here at all, or be getting beaten up by this dumb bitch,” Nurevia said.

  Her amethysts glowed. A moment later, the throwing knife glowed in sympathy, shimmering with an eerie purple light. Then it blurred across the room at Astra, who was still preoccupied with Nathan’s ward.

  The dagger slammed into Astra’s face point-first.

  Then it exploded into a thousand pieces without even scratching her. The purple light vanished. All three of Astra’s opals glowed briefly.

  “Really?” Nurevia growled. “Even after all these years?”

  “So young,” Astra said. She continued to strain with effort. Her eyes glared at Nathan and a pout crossed her face. “Fight me.”

  “Yes, I’ll fight the trigem Champion who is functionally immortal,” Nathan drawled. He shook his head and laughed. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

  Astra stopped trying to rip the world open and lowered her arms. Her pout vanished. In its place, the smile from earlier returned.

  “You know how my gems work?” she asked, almost purring.

  “What?” Nurevia whispered.

  “Your trigem ability prevents the state of your body from changing. You can’t age. Weapons can’t cut you. Magic flows around your body harmlessly,” he explained. “It’s easily the most powerful trigem ability I’ve ever heard of.”

  Astra tilted her head to one side while the other dark elf stared at him with an open mouth. Nurevia looked between both of them in shock.

  “Is that true?” she asked Astra.

  “Yes,” the immortal said. “Omria gifted it to me.”

  Nathan blinked. He hadn’t known that part.

  “Really?” he asked, scratching his head. “I thought Omria ignored the dark elves.”

  “She did.” Astra smiled. “But why assume I lied?”

  Her smile turned devilish, but her opals didn’t glow. She walked back to the sofa she had been sitting on, poured more vodka, and sat back down.

  Nathan stared at her. “Was that it?”

  “No. But you won’t fight. So we talk.” She shrugged. “Sit. Drink. Answer me, I answer you.”

  “That was almost a real sentence,” he remarked.

  She glared at him. Despite her anger, he didn’t join her for a drink.

  “I know you want to talk, but I’m focused on business,” he said. “You said your Bastion was the threat. Which one do you serve?”

  “Does it matter?” Seraph asked as she joined him. Her regeneration ability had healed her injury already. “We can’t trust someone who attacks us for no reason.”

  Nathan stared at Seraph with a raised eyebrow.

  “You threatened me before forgiving me,” she whined. “Where is the whole ‘betray me and I will rip off your head’ speech?”

  “Can I hear that?” Astra asked, eyes bright.

  “Yeah, that sounds hot,” Nurevia said.

  “Oh my goddess,” Narime groaned as she joined them and sat in one of the surviving chairs. “What is wrong with all of you?”

  “It’s not my fault you’re not into the fun stuff.” Nurevia made a whipping motion.

  “Too tame,” Astra said.

  “Uhhh.” Nurevia raised her hands and stepped away from Astra. “I kind of want to agree, but your definition of ‘tame’ is my idea of exciting. You’re probably the only woman who would ask for Nathan to be bigger.”

  Astra’s eyes latched onto his crotch.

  Realizing that everybody had lost sight of their objective, despite his intention to focus on business, Nathan seized control of the conversation.

  “There are three Bastions in the Spires,” he explained. “Two of them share control of the binding stone in the nearby mountains. One of them protects the portal full time and the other the city. The third Bastion protects the portal and binding stone in the valley itself, outside the city. Which Bastion is rebelling?”

  Astra shrugged. “The one protecting the Council. He controls the guards. Only he can do this.”

  Something felt wrong. “Do you even care about him?”

  “No. I’ve killed many traitorous Bastions. I will forget his face quickly.”

  Cold.

  “Then why attack me?” Nathan asked.

  Astra smirked. “Are you a Messenger?”

  A chill ran down his spine. Her eyes pierced him, and he somehow knew that she was onto his secrets. But how?

  “No.”

  “You use their magic.”

  Nathan kept his cool, but her words alarmed him.

  Seraph intervened this time, moments before Narime could, “Ascended magic is used by more than just Messengers. Narime can use it.”

  Astra dismissed that argument with a glance and a roll of her eyes.

  “That’s not an argument,” Narime growled.

  “I’ve met Omria,” the dark elf said. “Slain Messengers. Met every race on Doumahr. I know magic.” She pointed at Nathan. “Your magic feels like a Messenger. Like Omria.”

  Like…

  “Omria?” he blurted out. “Isn’t that heresy?”

  “I am no believer.” Astra shrugged. “Her magic is like a hurricane. A Messenger is a storm. You are a rain cloud. But you are the same.”

  Nathan didn’t know how to process this. The news that Omria had some connection to Messengers was overwhelming to him. What little faith he had left was crumbling, especially given what he was learning about how Messengers worked and who was behind them.

  Who even was the Watcher Omria?

  “Whatever the case, I’m not a Messenger,” he ground out, ignoring the whirlpool of emotions within him. “I’m fighting to stop Doumahr from being destroyed by them and whoever is sending them here. Trust me.”

  Astra’s eyes widened, while everybody else nodded in response to Nathan’s words.

  “I see,” the trigem Champion said. “Let us talk more.”

  “No,” he said. “We can talk later. There’s potentially a coup taking place. I need to make preparations. Will you help us?”

  Astra pouted. “Do you promise me?”

  “Promise what?”

  She gulped, then looked as if she was concentrating really hard. Nathan knew what came next. Astra only looked like this when she was about to say a really long sentence. For whatever reason, she hated speaking properly.

  “Promise me that you will tell me why you look at me like that,” she said, staring at him with a gaze filled
with longing.

  Another chill ran down his spine.

  He didn’t need to ask what she meant. Nathan knew damn well what she was referring to.

  After all, he had felt her die in his original world. He knew her, at least a little.

  “Fine,” he said.

  Astra nodded, then downed her vodka. She stood up.

  “We’re not going now,” he said, then gestured to the sleeping beastkin. They still hadn’t woken up. “But we need to make preparations. I need to talk to Sureev.”

  “I will find him,” Astra said.

  “And then what?” Seraph asked. “Nothing’s changed from earlier.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. We have Astra now. If she joins in, we’ll have the backing of the legendary trigem Champion of the Spires.” He grinned. “That means we can safely crack some heads.”

  Chapter 22

  After Astra left, it fell to Nathan to encourage his sullen Champions. Being effortlessly tossed aside by Astra crushed their spirits. The two who had slept through the fight were especially distraught.

  Even Nurevia felt frustrated. She wasn’t one of Nathan’s Champions, but he felt close enough to her from his world to care about her.

  “Immortality,” Nurevia said, running a hand through her long lavender hair. “No wonder she talks so much crap about how young we all are.” Her eyes snapped to Nathan. “You seem to know everything. How old is she?”

  “Not as old as you’re probably thinking,” he said with a smile. “She doesn’t know about a lot of what is written in the records. She’s vague about dates, but I’m certain she can’t be older than six or seven hundred years old.”

  “That makes her the oldest person on Doumahr, Nathan,” Seraph observed with a raised eyebrow.

  “Yeah, that’s, uh, older than I thought.” Nurevia scowled. “And how the fuck can you say what she does and doesn’t know?”

  Everybody smirked at Nathan—except Nurevia, whose scowl intensified as she realized she wasn’t in on the joke.

  “Whatever,” the dark elf said.

  “The difference is one of magnitude,” Nathan said. “The Anfang Empire is thousands of years old. By contrast, Omria vanished only four hundred or so years ago, causing Falmir and Trafaumh to split off. And before that, something happened between her and the First Peoples to create this place.” He gestured at the surrounding Spire.