by M. D. Grimm
The revenai had to have one as well.
Their eyes were a good start; I gave Aishe points for that. Thick blood dripped from its two ruined eyes, and I shot a lance of fire at one of its heads. The head jerked back and drool was flung everywhere, eating through everything it touched, like acid. I snarled and aimed for the eyes as well but those arms were a problem. It swung its claws at me, and I jumped and ducked before one hit me and sent me straight into a tree. I slammed hard and the air was knocked out of me. But I managed to duck as it came back and attempted to rip my head off. I rolled away and gasped for breath, flinging up a protective shield as a fist came down. I was slammed to the ground under the sheer strength and felt my bones creak, threatening to snap.
Someone roared, and the weight lifted. As the stars before my eyes faded, I looked over to see Aishe straddling the revenai's wrist, stabbing it with a short sword and causing black, viscous blood to gush. I sucked in a breath and struggled to my feet just as Aishe leapt off of the revenai. Another hand came to grab him. He ducked away and rolled, and I kept on the opposite side of him, trying to divide the demon's attention. Five heads were enough to deal with.
Aishe and I couldn't keep this up, and I tore through my brain, trying to find a way that would end this conflict as fast and as bloodlessly as possible.
Before I'd found a satisfying idea, the demon got a hold of Aishe and proceeded to squeeze the life from his body. Fury, so intense I wondered why I didn't explode, whirled through me as I created a blade of pure force and flung it at the revenai's arm, cutting it cleanly in half. The monster roared, Aishe fell, and more blood gushed.
The dialen didn't move.
"Hey! Demon shit!" I bellowed, my magick amplifying my voice. The revenai turned to me, the lust for death in its eyes.
"Follow me, if you have the guts!" I ran deeper into the forest, hearing the lumbering beast close behind me. Fury gave me power and focus, and I used it. I gasped for breath, my muscles burning, as I emerged at the river where only minutes before I had seen Aishe naked. I ran along the bank, the revenai emerging seconds later, lumbering awkwardly, ripping up trees as it went. I swung around and churned the water, lifting it into the air and flinging it at the charging revenai. I continued to lash the monster with water, and it swung its hands around uselessly, becoming more enraged. When I had enough water whirling around the revenai, I took a deep breath and blew it out, causing the water to freeze.
The revenai's thrashing ceased, and the drool froze on its lips. I knew it wouldn't hold, but maybe it would contain the thing long enough for me to find out what to do with it -- and to find out if Aishe was even still alive. I ran around the large, frozen demon and nearly collided with the dialen as he emerged, whole, from the trashed forest.
I skidded to a halt, and my heart was drumming in my chest, relief making me dizzy.
"Thank the Mother," I gasped and before I could think better of it, I flung my arms around the dialen and hugged him hard. It lasted for about a second before I jerked back as if electrocuted. I grimaced, and Aishe looked shocked.
I took several steps back. "Sorry, I... You all right?"
He nodded, but I noticed he had his arm wrapped around his waist. "Nothing broken, I think. You?"
I shook my head. Aishe looked over my shoulder, and he smiled, big and wide. "Well look there, a revenai glacier."
I chuckled and turned back, admiring my work. "Yeah, for as long as it lasts. Now, where to put him?"
"I think he'd like a volcano," Aishe said, his smile dark.
I liked the way he thought. The underworld was a dead world, with neither extreme heat nor cold. It was solemn and empty, and the only thing interesting about it was the monsters and demons that called that place home. The lack of extremes made it easy for me to capture the revenai off guard with the ice. And now, I was sending its ass into the middle of a volcano. Maybe now it would think twice before answering a summons to come to the surface world.
"I can do that." I said. "In fact..." I walked over to the revenai and rolled up my sleeves, calming my heart and the shakes of my body. I had to be extremely focused to transport a large object across such a large distance. I had a volcano in mind; it was on an island where nothing lived or grew, and it sat in the middle of the wide ocean. I had been there once, which was good, because I couldn't transport something to anywhere unless I had been there myself. It was all about visualization.
I concentrated, thought about the island, the heat of the volcano, the molten magma churning just under the surface, and when I opened my eyes, the revenai was gone. I sighed and rolled my shoulders, feeling the aches, and my back moaned loudly. I was winded physically instead of magically. My magick could keep on coming, while my body... It was my weak spot.
"He summoned it, didn't he?" Aishe asked. I turned around and nodded. He swore violently, and I was amazed at my body's reaction to his foul mouth. Especially after the beating it had taken.
"Couldn't you just send it back?" Aishe asked.
I sighed and shook my head. "No, damn it. I didn't summon it. I don't control it. I've also never tried to open a gate between the worlds, and I don't even know if I could. With the stone, he's more powerful than I am, and the stone gives him knowledge of things my mentor probably doesn't even know. And it will be back, destroying us is its mission. Revenai don't go down easily, and they heal very quickly."
"You mean... it'll regrow its arm and eyes?" "Yeah."
Aishe swore again, anger sparking in his eyes. "So why are we standing here? Let's go kill that jagen."
I smiled. That word refers to someone who likes the taste of their own excrement. We walked back to our demolished camp. I winced and mourned the loss of so much beauty, but I knew the rym and seehirt would take care of it. My mattress was ruined, but I still transported it back to my home. I didn't want to piss the seehirt off more than I already had. I could see them in the distance, turning red and coming quickly.
Aishe found his pack and bow and quiver. He gingerly put the pack on, and I noticed he was limping but he said nothing. He took out a purple leaf from one of his pouches and ate it. I recognized it as a leaf that reduces pain.
We walked out of the forest and continued down the dirt path. I noticed the muck on my clothes and thought a word that made it all slide off. I did the same for Aishe and received a small smile in thanks. The crystal still pointed west, and I thought about what I'd said to Aishe about the underworld. I hadn't been entirely honest. I might be able to send the revenai back to the underworld if I could find a natural gateway, one where the veil between the two worlds was thin, but those places were usually sacred, guarded by different hostile spirits. It would be easier just to kill the sorcerer; that would send the revenai back.
Aishe said nothing about my hug, and I appreciated it. I didn't know what possessed me, and I hoped it didn't happen again despite the way he had felt, the solidness of him and his smell... stop it!
The crystal vibrated. I stopped short and lifted it, watching it shake and make a dull ringing noise. I grinned, but it was cold as I looked at Aishe. He saw it in my face, and he grinned as well.
"The sorcerer is close," I said.
Chapter Five
We climbed quickly over a steep hill that divided the Kracka mountain range. Aishe jogged up despite his limp, and, not to be outdone, I jogged as well, my breath coming short as we reached the top. After being physically pummeled by a revenai, my body was screaming for me to rest, but I couldn't. We reached the top of the hill, and the crystal was now ringing shrilly. We both looked at the large town laid out before us and saw strange lights exploding in the air and fire sweeping over the houses. It looked like a fireworks display gone horribly wrong.
I stuffed the crystal in my pocket and gripped Aishe's arm. "Brace yourself," I said, and before he could say a word, I gathered a ball of magick into my stomach and with a word sent us hurtling through the air at a speed that left a path of fire in our wake. I made sure to extend my
magick shield to Aishe, to keep him from breaking his neck, and I never loosened my grip. If I let go, the impact to the ground would kill him instantly.
The town rose up before us in a heartbeat, and I slowed down marginally, managing to stop at the entrance to the town. Aishe fell to his knees, but I stayed standing. I let him catch his breath as I listened to the screams for help and the blasts of power being shot from the sorcerer. I watched the fire consume everything like a hungry monster.
"He didn't wait long," I said. "Couldn't put more distance between us before destroying."
"Lucky for us," Aishe said as he gained his feet. "But unlucky for them."
"Stay behind me," I said immediately, and I had only a moment to wonder why I'd said it in the first place as I headed into the chaos. The citizens of the town ran in all directions, screaming in terror and pain. I tried to ignore them and discover where the sorcerer was. Where would he be dispensing his fire blasts? And why this town? Did he just feel like destroying things?
Aishe suddenly ran past me, and I shouted at him. Before my eyes, he ran toward a small girl who was standing in the middle of the chaos, screaming, with huge blue eyes and tears streaming down her dirty face. He wrapped his arms around her, picked her up, and continued to run just as a house crashed to the muddy ground right where she had been standing.
I couldn't help but stare in shock as Aishe turned around, the sobbing girl in his arms, and looked at me across the wreckage, his face like stone and eyes fierce. So much for staying behind me. Well, I continued to look around, the best way to find the bastard was to have him find me.
I lifted my arms, spread my fingers, and calmed the fires raging over the flammable buildings. It was hard, and sweat began to slide down my face and pool at the base of my spine. My breath became shallow, and I knew I was glowing, the intensity of the magick I was using affecting my body. It was hard to fight against an element's nature. Fire's nature was to burn and to destroy. I was essentially telling it no. I was denying the fire its nature, and trust me, it didn't like it. And it was also extremely difficult because I had not called the fire into being. I never had control over it in the first place, so the fire didn't think it should listen to me.
With words muttered under my breath, I struggled to deny it of air, to calm it. I began to shake, but I could see that my magick was working. Heat was rapidly leaving me as I kept using my magick non-stop, and I began to shiver from the cold that wrapped around my veins and bones. But I didn't stop; my focus never wavered. All I heard was buzzing in my ears, and all I saw were the flames.
Finally, they died, and my arms fell to my sides as I dropped to one knee, gasping for breath. I needed to practice on my endurance. Most of the magick I did was quick and small but effective, like with the revenai; I had kept charging with small bursts. It helped me conserve energy and power, but sometimes, like now, situations called for magick to last longer.
My hearing came back, and most of the screams of panic had faded along with the fire. I could still hear the fire bursts in the sky, but the roar of the flames had vanished. I lifted my head, my hair sticking to my face and neck, and saw a group of citizens of the town staring at me with astonishment. They had no idea who I was or why I was helping them. I wasn't going to enlighten them.
"Come on." Firm hands slid under my arms and pulled me to my feet. I managed to stand and though I was wobbly at first, I found my balance quickly, and with a couple of deep breaths, I was no longer winded. I turned and saw that Aishe was beside me, pride in his eyes.
What?
Someone fell from the sky and landed in a heap before us. We both jerked back, but Aishe was the first to run over to the fallen creature. When he rolled it over, I was shocked to realize I recognized the face. She was another mage, one slightly older than myself and not as powerful.
"Elissya?" I gasped and knelt beside her, feeling for a pulse. Blood trickled from a gash on her forehead, mixing with her bright red hair. She was alive, but her pulse was faint. I remembered her as sweet, determined, and ready to help anyone who asked. She was shy and kept her powers to herself most times. My mentor had introduced us.
She had been my first.
Anger for her gave me fuel, and my magick snapped around my hands. I stood up and pointed at a group of citizens of various species who were watching me.
"You! Take her out of harm's way, now!" I ordered. They scurried toward me and managed to be gentle and quick at the same time.
"You know her," Aishe said gently.
"I knew her."
"How dare you!" A voice bellowed through the air, ringing in my ears and making me wince. All the citizens fled before the sorcerer as he dropped from the sky in a dramatic flurry of debris. He actually had a long cape to flap around him, to make him look more dramatic.
Douche bag.
I shoved Aishe behind me and widened my stance, bracing my body. The sorcerer landed, and I felt a hand touch the small of my back. It was gentle and oddly reassuring. I wasn't afraid; in fact at that moment, I was supremely pissed. I didn't know just how much of Rambujek's magick the sorcerer had unlocked, and it was impossible to prepare for everything, but the image of Elissya's broken body and Aishe's steady presence helped me focus.
I could see the shock in the sorcerer's face when he realized it was me. Whatever doubt I'd had about who sent that demon was put to rest.
I smiled slowly. "Hello, jagen, miss me? You really didn't think that fat tub of poison could stop me, did you? Or were you just too afraid to face me like a true mage?"
Fury made his face turn red and twist up, making him look constipated.
"I will show you who the true mage is!" The sorcerer continued to bellow, the flurry still spinning around him. I have to admit, he did look intimidating, but since I had real power and had practiced it all my life, I wasn't too in awe with the show.
"I will crush you like a bug!" he declared. "I will make you weep, and you will beg me to kill you when I am done!"
"Go ahead and try, thief," I countered, taking a step toward him in challenge. "The power you use, the power that allows you to destroy, it isn't yours. It will never be yours. You're nothing but an amateur and a thief pretending to be something better."
I could see I had shocked him. He had probably become so accustomed to having others afraid of him and cowering before him, that he'd never had a direct challenge. Why weren't the other mages after him? Maybe he was smart enough to stay away from their territories until he had unlocked all the powers of the stone. Maybe he wasn't a complete idiot.
"You don't understand," he said with a slight whine to his voice. "You were born a powerful mage; you couldn't understand. You have all the power, but you don't use it! I will, I will make this world great; I will make it reach its full potential."
"You are so full of shit," I said calmly. "All you want is to prove you're better than anyone else. You just want to punish those who've beaten you down your entire life. But think about it; what did any of these townsfolk do to you?"
"They all must pay!" he bellowed again, his eyes glowing. "And that whore mage most of all!"
I growled at him. I watched him reach into his pocket and pull out a dark pink stone, and I could feel the magick pumping off of it despite the distance between us. The ruby called to me, taunting me. It spoke of its power, gleefully gloating that I would only obtain it by killing the sorcerer, by taking it by force. It was darker and more violent than Dilacheuj's call, which made sense. Each stone had its own personality. Fear clenched my stomach, but I controlled it, let it pump energy into my magick.
"Everyone will know, everyone will finally understand my greatness," the sorcerer shouted and lifted the ruby aloft, and it began to shine as bright as any star. I flung up a hand and tapped a finger to each eye, putting on the magickal version of powerful sunshades.
"Down, Aishe!" I bellowed as magick flooded into my hands, and just as the sorcerer flung pure force at me, I brought up a shield that arched over my b
ody. The force glanced off the shield and right into a house to my left. My left hand held the shield up as my right hand shot a stream of fire at the sorcerer's feet. It was a thin stream, and most didn't expect something to come at their feet. I had to break his stance. If I got him unbalanced, I could knock him unconscious or bind him and take the stone.
My shot hit home, but instead of stumbling, the sorcerer launched into the air and shot large fire blasts down on me. My shield held, but my arm threatened to buckle after every blast. This guy sure had a lot of anger issues, and that was saying something coming from me. I noticed that Aishe had found safety elsewhere, and I was thankful; dividing my energy between this asshole and protecting my companion was more than I could accomplish at the moment.
I ran behind a building and dropped the shield. I gathered air around me, elevating myself, and I shot into the air, right at his level. I saw the stunned anger on his face as I appeared in front of him, a small tornado underneath me, keeping me airborne.
"Whatever you can do, I can do better!" I said in a sing-song voice. He snarled and hurled another punch of pure force at me. Jeez, didn't this guy have any imagination? I called to the wind and used it to slap the force aside, flinging it away from me and harmlessly into the distance.
"You may have power," I taunted. "But you don't have the skill!"
He screamed and came at me bodily. He wasn't used to magick, not really, and was used to merely fighting fist to fist. I shot toward him, and we collided hard, but he had just a bit more force behind him than I did. As he gripped my shoulders, we fell from the sky. Really hating this guy, I conjured a force field underneath me as we plummeted to the ground. We crashed through the roof of a burnt house, and the force field made me bounce. The sorcerer lost his grip and was flung away from me. I landed on my feet. I staggered but gained my balance and ran toward him as he tried to get to his feet. Feeling physical myself, I leapt into the air and hit him full in the chest with both feet, sending him sprawling to the floor and smashing against the wall.