A Shuffling of Planets (The Chained Worlds Chronicles Book 3)
Page 39
"I don’t think so," she replied with a grin. She didn't stop her spell construct while chatting with me. She may be an evil demon but she was a competent evil demon. "My alien friend may be dumb as a stump, and he may be as magical as my left shoe..." I involuntarily looked at her shoes. Yep, totally none magical. "But his race is so ridiculously physically strong they can compete very well in even the most savage combat with the strongest entities. He will be breaking through your defenses within seconds."
And he did. He struck the barrier once, then twice and finally a third time, shattering it completely. Each time he struck the entire building shook and swayed. Debris and particles fell from the ceiling. Then he stumbled and looked around him in confusion as his eyes drooped. Shaking his head, he drew himself up and glared at me. I smiled back and popped up another full-strength force bubble.
Dash must have been observing from the corner of her eye because I saw her shoulders droop a bit. "A sleep spell. No, it's part of a circle. It's not very effective but he doesn't have much resistance," she acknowledged warily.
The trapped hero struck the bubble repeatedly. Each blow made the room shudder but it wasn't nearly as much force as earlier. On the last blow, the wall around him shattered, but at the same time he seemed to stagger backward like a punch-drunk fighter. A moment later he slumped to the ground.
"Good job," the she-demon congratulated me sarcastically. "You've disabled a lump of muscles. But all I am is trapped. I just need to finish this and I am free. Meanwhile, my teammates will be trickling in."
"I think you're under the impression that all I can do is trap you," I replied mildly. "I also think you underestimate the chaos happening outside." I wasn't even sure how she had communicated with Starman to get him here so fast. Simply dominating someone's mind doesn't give you the ability to instantly command them across massive distances. I had a suspicion that Starman had some sort of enhanced or nonstandard senses. Chances were that the other team members may not even know their headquarters had been invaded.
Some of my pain had faded as I slowly healed but my stomach and chest still felt like it had gone through a meat tenderizer. I tapped the second psychic storage gem to flood my body with healing energy. It was obvious she was delaying our confrontation by talking, but I was feeling better by the second.
"So, you’re a smart mage," she said with a shrug as she continued her circle. "What are you going to do to me? Beg me not to swallow your soul when I get free?"
"I'll do the same thing I did to your father and the good Baron," I said as the energies pooling in my hands reached completion and extended into massive blades. "Destroy their bodies and reduce them to disincarnate souls. Do you think you’re a better fighter than they were?"
"Do you think I don't know you used some sort of trick on my father," she said with a grimace. "As for the unlamented Baron, we'll see who is better."
"You should know that when you lose you won't be going to your own plane to reform your body," I said with a nod towards the vial I had placed on the table earlier. I slowly moved towards her. She couldn't leave the circle but anyone else could come and go as they pleased.
"Since you are presently in a Binding circle I'll be able to place your essence in this little cage. You can expect to spend the next several millennia in a very small, cramped place."
"Wait! We can talk about this!"
"Really? I don't see how we can come to an agreement."
"You’re a mage," she said quickly. "Demons and mages have had a special relationship throughout history. We can make a contract! Quid pro quo!"
"I doubt your sincerity," I said with a snort. Her hands were still busy with her counter Binding circle. I didn't elaborate, she was a smart demon.
"Fine," she spat out. She paused in her drawing. It was equally obvious that she could start again at a moment's notice. "Let's talk."
"Eternal servitude or eternal containment," I declared flatly.
"Screw off, mage," she spat out with disdain. "You know as well as I do that eventually the binding container will break. I'd rather wait it out. Nothing is forever unless you're stupid enough to put it in a contract."
"Ten thousand years," I replied without pause. I had just thrown that out to test the waters. If she had agreed, then she was playing for time and not remotely serious. She still may not be.
"One thousand years," she replied instantly. "Contract to be broken on your death or willing release."
We continued to bandy conditions back and forth. Neither one of us was certain of victory, though I did have the upper hand at the moment and leveraging my previous victories I was able to pressure her.
"Your aid is to be active, offering advice considering my well-being first and foremost as well as my intentions and goals."
"What the hell does that even mean," she screeched as we got to the concrete definition of her services. "Do you think I can read your damn mind?"
"Not if I can help it," I returned. "I will describe my goals. If you corrupt my commands or misinterpret them, I will invoke a penalty. These penalties will be one of the following..."
At this point, she was looking confused. I didn't blame her. I was getting into far more detail than a typical demon contract. This was more detail than even most career demonologists.
I wasn't drawing on my ancestral memories. My ancestors apparently had more sense than to deal with demons. This was the experience I had from the Unseelie. It seems they hadn't been kidding about being confident in shanghaiing demons.
"I will also be exempt from direct combat with my fellow demons," she demanded at one point. "My father will not tolerate such things."
"I can exclude you from operations against your fellow Rakshasa, however, you must assist, if requested, against all other species of demons," I countered. She looked ill at this point.
"I also cannot give information on demon culture, rituals, magics, biology or any information on my father's plans."
"Right. No telling me what the secret handshake is. Got it. Of course, anything not specified would be fair game." Since we hadn't specified general circle magic that should be fair game. I smiled a bit at the thought.
"Fine. Is there anything else?" By now an hour had passed and the explosions coming from outside were getting less frequent.
"That should cover it," I said with a nod.
"Shall we seal this with a blood bond?"
"I prefer a more traditional contract," I replied as I reached into my bag and pulled out several thick stapled contracts. Her eyes widened as I browsed through the various prepared versions and pulled out the one that matched the terms we had just agreed on.
"What the hell," she cried out in shock. "Are you a mage or a damn lawyer?"
"Just read it and sign in your blood. You should be able to sense that it is a viable blood contract. Properly sanctified and blessed."
"I smell goddess," she complained with a furrowed nose as she read through the contents. Despite her disparagements about lawyers, I noticed that she seemed equally familiar with contract negotiations. "This... is exactly what we discussed. You came prepared."
She took a dainty claw and stabbed it into her arm without blinking, then used the black ichor to place a sigil on the contract. I wasn't as skilled as she was but I did have an old-fashioned quill pen I had borrowed from the sidhe. I stabbed it into my arm and followed suit.
A wave of magic flowed through us, building in harmony until it reached a crescendo. Then I felt a geas settle in. A verbal promise would have been sufficient for demons, they are liars but ironically bound by their promises. Most others, mortals, shifters, and even dragons don't have this same restriction. When making a binding reciprocal contract if you don't include a limited geas you don't really know exactly where one's responsibilities lie.
"Good. It's done. Let's go find out why the aliens are invading."
The End of Book Three of
The Chained Worlds Chronicles
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel grew up reading fantasy, science fiction and playing various RPGs. He has enjoyed sharing his worlds as a GM (Game Master) and thought he would share some additional stories he thought up.
Born in Canada in 1969, he moved to Chicago when he was about four years old and then a few years later moved again to New Jersey where he finished his school years. He is married and has two daughters. He presently makes his living as an engineer in California.