“I walked the Otherworld, Puc,” he stated flatly, distancing himself from the magic absorbing bauble around Amber’s wrist. “I became something more, and I am ready to walk Earth Realm once more, you parasitic prick.”
Oxivius matched Puc’s power with a swirling cloud of his own dark magic that made Xlina’s stomach churn, just like the night with the cephalopod. He beamed with the dark arts, brimming with evil as souls burned from his skin, feeding the dark cloud of necromantic magic swirling about him.
“Oxivius Soulstealer was my name when I was young and controlled by my lineage’s curse, but I am a prisoner to my Lamian heritage no longer,” Oxivius declared firmly. “Soulstealer, that is what they called me when I last walked Earthrealm but that name, that person, after centuries in Otherworld is gone. Now it is nothing more than just a faded memory of a darker time. The souls trapped within me are mine to command. I emerged from Otherworld as Oxivius Soulforge, the Necromancer, Eater of Death... and I hunger.”
Chapter Seventeen
Taming Of The Fae
The raw cataclysm of magic sucked the very air from the room, and Xlina struggled to catch her breath as Oxivius, in all his necromantic glory, squared off against the fae Puc. It was like two titans of magical will colliding, and she felt awash in the raw energy as she struggled to steady herself. Morticae lay in a dazed heap, blood flowing freely from his face as she turned to make her way to Amber but stopped, remembering the potent blood magic spell Morticae had used in Heart’s Hearth. She turned back on the fallen warlock. She would have no Baku nature to blame this time. The choice was hers and hers alone as she straddled the fallen warlock and squeezed his throat with both hands, choking the last remaining bits of life from him. His eyes bulged, and his face turned blue, starved of the oxygen she denied him. A blood vessel in his eye burst, filling the whites of his eye with blood as his body went lifeless. With his life force extinguished, his barrier around Valeria collapsed with the sound of shattering glass.
Xlina stood from the warlock’s corpse, grim and determined. She turned toward Amber and cautiously picked her way closer to the swirling maelstrom that was Oxivius. The currents of magical energy buffeted her, and she struggled just to focus on Amber as she held her breath once more. In an instant, she was behind Amber, standing in the girl’s shadow, mere feet from the entrapped Valeria. The ring burned hot on her finger as she taxed its limits of power with the rapid shadow steps. She was close now, and she wrapped Amber in a tight hug from behind, trying to shelter the girl from the storm.
“It’ll be alright,” Xlina whispered, barely believing the words herself as Oxivius’ raw power swirled about. The stench of evil filled the room as Oxivius burned souls from his flesh to fuel his magic. It was just like before when Oxivius revealed his magic against the Cephalopod the smell of death and decay brought images of bloated corpses under a hot summer sun to her mind as her stomach turned in knots. Xlina decided at that moment that there was no smell more twisted and foul than the burning of souls, and she wondered if that smell lingered in the Infernal Realm, a place dedicated to burning the souls of the wicked for all eternity. She was among those counted as wicked after all. It would be her soul burning at the demon’s pleasure, thanks to Valeria and the accursed mark. She thought of an eternity of that noxious odor as her soul burned on the embers and shuddered involuntarily.
“It’s terrible,” Amber trembled, unable to take her eyes from the spectacle that was Oxivius and Puc.
“I know,” Xlina answered softly in her ear, trying to turn her away from the black smokey maelstrom filling the room.
“Xlina,” Valeria’s ragged voice called from the side. She seemed only semi-conscious as she breathed deep the pungent odor of burning souls. “Free me.”
“Like hell,” Xlina barked back. “This is all your fault; sit on your spit and spin.”
“Xlina Xanni Dar’karrow, daughter of Riatha, I invoke your mark,” Valeria demanded in a forceful tone. In the Dream Realm, Xlina had been free from the mark, but here in the Earth Realm, it blazed to life under the call of its owner, filling her with the compulsion to obey. Her mind fought it, railed against the commands, but her body was not her own, and she let go of Amber. Heeding the demon’s call, she walked to the impaled succubus and grabbed the iron skewer, pulling it from Valeria’s body and casting it aside. Amber wailed in pain as her frail human vessel recoiled at the powerful swirl of building magical energy. Her cries brought Brick bounding down the stairs, his pursuit of the goons cut short. Brick crossed the room in but an instant, diving back into Amber and resuming his position as a fiery red tattoo once more. The transformation was quick, and thankfully so. As she stood, Brick’s essence sheltered her from the storm of magical energy. Xlina reached, her body moving beyond her mental cries, to unclamp the manacles holding Valeria in place.
“You’ll not best me, necromancer,” Puc roared defiantly. “No matter what you call yourself.”
“Soulforge,” Oxivius replied again, his voice filled with gritty determination. “You might as well remember it, chap, on your way to hell.”
Oxivius lunged both hands forward, and an obsidian skull shot forward, conjured from the darkness. Cackling in midair, the skull burst into a mass of black flames as it streaked up at the fae. Puc lifted his hand, releasing a prism of color that intercepted the cackling skull in a fiery explosion. Puc followed with a quick chant, and roots coiled and slithered from the ground, bursting through the floor and rushing at Oxivius. The necromancer swept his arms wide as if drawing a cloud in the air, and the encroaching roots withered and died around him.
“You’ll need to do better than that, Puc,” Oxivius taunted with a devilish grin.
Puc squealed in rage, drawing on more of his energy as he unleashed a brute force blast of multicolored magic that streamed from his outstretched fingers. Once again, Oxivius countered with a projectile of his own, opening his mouth and vomiting a black swarm of insects into the air before him until the cloud was so thick that it resembled a wall of writhing mass. The multicolored blast slammed into the wall of insects, the explosive force rending them apart, but the insects managed to block the worst of the blast, and Oxivius still stood strong with that stubborn smile. He cast his gaze to the side, to the fallen corpse of the warlock, and muttered something foul. A plume of black smoke swirled about the corpse before entering its mouth. Morticae’s eye grew a smokey white as the body snapped awkwardly to its feet, reanimated by Oxivius’ dark magic. The fresh corpse lurched toward Puc, mouth agape and hands outstretched, clawing at the air.
“Foul magic indeed,” Puc howled, throwing violet balls of energy at the reanimated corpse. They landed with a dull thud, shaking the body and blowing sections of flesh and bone free from the animated corpse, but despite the surface damage, the zombie did not slow. The fallen Morticae staggered forward all the same, growing closer and closer to the fae as Oxivius continued his barrage from afar, drawing a bone spur from midair and throwing it like a spear. Puc dove from the throne just as the bone spear struck, impaling the chair where the fae once stood. The fae crashed down on the floor, rolling his bulbous body around before scrambling back to his feet. On the ground level, he looked far less imposing, standing no more than four feet as he backed away from the approaching reanimate.
The warlock staggered on, swiping with its undead arms until it made contact with the fae’s flailing arms. Puc grunted and groaned as he batted at the undead monstrosity, but despite his unnatural strength, the singularly focused reanimate ploughed on, clamping down with a vicious bite on the fae’s forearm and ripping flesh from bone. The fae howled in pain as the warlock tackled him to the ground, biting and gnawing at his arms and legs as the bulbous fae thrashed defensively on the ground.
Xlina reluctantly removed the first manacle, and Valeria immediately grabbed for her mark, igniting the burning wave of agony inside her. The succubus drew on her spirit, feeding greedily to restore her lost strength and causing Xlina to cr
umble down in a heap. Her body falling from the succubus’ reach was possibly the only thing keeping Valeria from draining her soul dry on the spot. Valeria reached up, her strength returning. She grabbed the other manacle and yanked, snapping the wrought iron like it a cheap plastic toy.
Xlina looked up at the demon. Her clothes had been torn away. She stood in lacy black lingerie which only accented her natural beauty. Despite the blood trickling down her abdomen, she was radiant and powerful. Her natural magic was alluring to all those that gazed upon her. She stood unabashed in a lacy thong, black garters, and a torn bodice, the portion on her abdomen ripped away to reveal her porcelain smooth skin below. Despair crept into Xlina, the feeling that even with her powerful friends at her side, the demon remained stronger than them all. Valeria turned, leering down at Xlina. She brushed her stomach where the iron rod had skewered her, thick black blood still seeping from the wound.
“Stay away from her,” Amber cried. Returned to her hybrid form, she leapt at the demon, hands flexed like claws, swiping and scraping at the succubus’ exposed flesh. Valeria accepted the swipes as Amber’s pointed nails dug in at the top of her shoulder, dragging down toward her breast, leaving claw shaped marks. Valeria snapped her hand up, quickly grabbing Amber by the throat and lifting her into the air. Amber kicked and clawed at the demon, but Valeria’s brute strength left her feeling like a child.
“I told her,” Valeria cooed. “I told her this would happen.”
Xlina looked up plaintively as Amber struggled against the grasp of the powerful demon. Her face darkened as Valeria squeezed, a devilish smile curling on the demon’s lips. She looked down at Xlina and waited for recognition.
“Let her go,” Xlina coughed weakly. “I won’t fight you again.”
“But I am so hungry, Xlina.” Valeria turned, looking back into Amber’s green eyes once more as they began to roll in her head. Amber grabbed hold of the demon’s forearm with both hands and focused again, calling on Brick’s innate abilities. Her hands burst into flame. “Foolish girl, don’t you know where I am from?”
“We are killing Puc,” Xlina begged. “We came to set you free. I am doing what you asked; please let her go.”
“Indeed,” Valeria cooed, and she flung Amber aside like a toddler discarding an unwanted doll. Amber’s body bounced off the wall, and with a stiff grunt, she fell to the floor and remained motionless. “Morticae’s patron will not be pleased with you now that you killed his warlock.”
“All of you can go back to hell and leave us alone,” Xlina screamed as tears streamed down her face.
“Kill the fae,” Valeria commanded before turning and striding away, walking toward the door leading to the main floor. “And stop hiding from me.”
“Not yet,” Oxivius called, turning his attention from Puc, who was frantically battling with the reanimated warlock. “You haven’t danced with me, love.”
With a malicious glare, he looked at Valeria and uttered something in his foul dark language. His very glare became a weapon; Valeria’s skin aged and boiled as he focused intently on her. Xlina could see dark circles of magic gathering around Oxivius’ eyes as he stepped closer, maintaining his glare. The demon’s perfect porcelain skin bubbled and cracked under the necromancer’s foul spell.
“The curse of ages,” she hissed in defiance as her flawless skin wrinkled and split.
“Courtesy of the Witch of Endor,” Oxivius replied smugly. “Everything ages and dies, Valeria, even filthy demon spawn like you.”
She wailed under the magical assault, writhing and convulsing as the necromancer’s magic rent her flesh. Her face wrinkled, and pits formed in her once youthful skin. Her eyes glazed and clouded. She shrieked in rage, but he continued, bearing down on the demon, leaving a trail of burning souls in his wake.
“Release her,” Oxivius demanded, pointing at Xlina.
“I can’t,” Valeria whimpered.
“You can,” Oxivius responded sternly.
Puc finally overcame the warlock’s corpse, casting it off in a smoldering heap. The fae looked on in awe as the necromancer manhandled the demon, his eyes wide with fear. He had seen enough of battle for this day and dove for cover behind his throne.
“I can’t,” Valeria answered again in a pleading voice, feeling her mortal coil become old and frail. “I have been compelled.”
Oxivius blinked, and the spell ended as Valeria lay withering on the ground. He looked at the fallen demon, now akin to an eighty-year-old woman draped in black lingerie, then back to Xlina, who had rushed to Amber’s side.
“Your patron compelled you to mark her?” he asked, eyeing Puc, who cowered behind his throne. The fae flung his hands up in surrender, wishing to see no more from the vile necromancer.
“Yes.”
“So you can’t release her,” Oxivius mused cryptically. “But you can’t kill her either, can you? Your patron has plans for her, is that it?”
Valeria merely looked away in shame. Oxivius settled down, drawing his energy back into himself. His body lurched forward in exhaustion. He stood hands on hips, breathing heavily as the faces, many fewer faces than before, stopped their swirling and settled back to normal.
“Xlina,” Oxivius called with a smile. “You rescued me, love. Well done.”
“Um,” Puc stammered from behind his throne. His spindly arms showed dozens of bites from where the warlock had gnawed, and his chest bore scratches where the reanimate had clawed at him. He was filthy, having rolled around on the floor in puddles of his own blood and the warlock’s gore. “I surrender. I offer you a boon for my life.”
“A boon?” Xlina asked. Helping Amber to her feet, she braced herself under Amber’s shoulder like a crutch, helping the injured girl stand.
“It’s the fae’s tradition,” Oxivius explained. “Puc knows he’ll die, so he’ll trade for his life. Like a leprechaun surrendering it’s gold or a djinn offering wishes when caught.”
“Wait, those are real?” Amber stammered with a grin. “Fuck the goblin; let’s catch us a leprechaun and retire in the tropics.”
“The gold is cursed,” Oxivius answered with a grin. “Not worth the trouble, but a boon...”
“Can you remove a mark?” Xlina blurted.
“No,” Puc replied. “Nor do I know of any who have.”
“Then no deal,” Xlina spat, looking down at the shriveled Valeria and feeling a sense of sadness. Despite all her wickedness, seeing her emaciated on the ground was like looking on a Van Gogh that had been painted over. “I’ll take my chance at keeping her happy over dealing with her patron.”
“Hold on a moment,” Oxivius interjected. “If her patron sent her to you, then the only logical explanation for all this is Morticae’s patron, a rival demon here in Portland.”
“Your point?” Xlina replied with a dour tone. She had had enough of demons and their games. She just wanted to go home, to Heart’s Hearth, and put this all behind her.
“Simply that there are larger schemes afoot, Xlina,” he sighed. “You’ll not outrun this.”
“We can try,” Xlina pleaded.
“No, we can fight,” Amber chimed in, wrapping an arm around Xlina and squeezing her tight.
“He won’t rest,” Valeria warned sternly. “I am... disposable. If you rid yourself of me, he’ll send another to stake his claim. Your only way is to play the game and survive. You know it’s true, death eater.”
“Oxivius,” Xlina looked back at the necromancer with a pleading expression. She looked for hope, she looked for answers, but he had none to offer her. They were well entwined in the damn schemes of demons now; he considered their asses well and truly cooked.
“I can help,” Puc said, offering again to save his own skin. “I can help.”
“He works for the rival demon,” Valeria barked weakly. “He must be removed; only then will the Burnished Rose stop hunting you.”
“How?” Oxivius demanded, ignoring the withered demon.
“Ertigan,” he
stammered. “Morticae’s patron is Ertigan.”
“Christ alive,” Oxivius muttered in dismay.
“What?” Xlina asked.
“Ertigan is a name I know,” Oxivius said solemnly. “And when you know the name of a demon, that means they are dangerous enough to be notorious even among legions of spawn like our succubus here.”
“Notorious?” Xlina asked. “What does it take to be a notorious demon?”
“Lineage or deed,” Oxivius muttered.
“What are we going to do?” Xlina asked, looking down at Valeria and then back to Oxivius.
“I helped, yes?” Puc gibbered with a smile. “In exchange for a boon, Oxivius will spare Puc’s life. A fair trade.”
Puc emerged from behind his throne. Grinning from ear to ear, he approached Oxivius, hand outstretched to seal the deal. He bounded across the expanse to the necromancer. His trepidation faded into a toothy grin; he had managed to save his skin once more and retain his position of power in the Portland area. Amber pushed Xlina aside and with a sudden motion released a cascade of flame from her hands, as if the full fury of Brick was focused on the fae. His defenses down, a look of betrayal was all he could muster before being immolated in the magical flames. His charred corpse fell to the floor in a smoldering, blackened heap. Oxivius cast a stern glare at Amber.
“What,” she answered. “I didn’t promise shit. Bastard was going to eat me; fuck him.”
“Yeah,” Xlina agreed firmly, once again resuming her crutch-like support of Amber. “Fuck him, and mission accomplished.”
“What do we do with her?” Amber asked, motioning to the demon.
“Holy ground,” Oxivius reminded. “We can’t bring her to the Hearth.”
“We can’t leave her like this,” Xlina replied. “If someone wanders in and finishes the job, a new demon will follow. Better the devil you know—”
“Than the devil you don’t know,” Oxivius finished with a nod. “Fair enough; she can tag along if that’s what you wish, but you are not going to like it.”
The Infernal Games Page 26