Death Incarnate: Aegis of Merlin Book 7 (The Aegis of Merlin)

by James E. Wisher

  “You’re always ruining my plans!” she screeched and slashed the orb at him.

  A line of dark lightning shot out at him.

  Instinct made him raise the staff and will a dark magic barrier into being. The lightning slammed into it with more force than he’d imagined her capable of. It didn’t penetrate, but when he lowered his barrier Lady Raven was gone.

  “She fled into a dark portal, Master.”

  He couldn’t let her escape. The crazy witch would raise more undead and attack again. He needed to stop her now. “Reveal the way through infinite darkness. Open the path. Hell Portal!”

  The disk appeared and he was through it before he could think better of the decision. Conryu didn’t worry about an ambush on the other side. That would have meant defeating both Kai and Cerberus.

  Speaking of Cerberus, the demon dog came trotting up, his hackles raised and fangs bared.

  “Did you see her, boy?”

  Cerberus snarled and Conryu took that as a yes. Cerberus had taken an instant dislike to Lady Raven, not that Conryu blamed him.

  He cast Cloak of Darkness on himself and Prime then hopped up on Cerberus’s back. “Let’s hunt.”

  With a single loud bark, Cerberus leapt into motion. Seconds later a speck of movement ahead caught his attention. The speck soon resolved into Lady Raven. A little ways ahead of her, a shimmering wall blocked her escape. That had to be the barrier.

  “We have her now,” Prime said.

  “How many times have I told you not to say things like that?”

  Lady Raven spun and brandished the orb. Black energy rushed out of it and took the form of a giant skeleton clutching a black ax.

  Conryu shot a glare at Prime. “What is that?”

  “A demon,” Prime said. “Probably the one that granted the artifact its power.”

  Great. He patted Cerberus on the flank. “Can you kill that thing, boy?”

  Cerberus growled and Conryu hopped off his back. “Go get it.”

  The demon dog’s bark was more like a roar. He grew as he closed with the skeletal demon, doubling in size then doubling again.

  A chill blast rammed into him. Conryu staggered and focused on Lady Raven. He felt the attack through his protective spell though it didn’t do any damage.

  “Flames rage and consume. Fireball!” He pointed his staff and released the magic.

  A fireball the size of a Volkswagen rushed toward Lady Raven.

  Her Dispel negated most of it beyond a few guttering sparks at the outer edge. Lady Raven’s already pale complexion had gone almost translucent as she panted for breath.

  Conryu leveled the staff at her. “Surrender and I promise no harm will come to you.”

  “I’m not going back to prison. Better to die here.” She raised the orb above her head and chanted.

  He raised the staff, the words of a counterspell on his lips. Darkness poured out of the orb and washed over Lady Raven. Her mad cackling didn’t end until she’d been fully consumed. The darkness dissipated, revealing the orb floating in the void.

  “What was that?” Conryu asked.

  “She turned a death spell on herself,” Prime said. “Apparently she really didn’t want to go back to prison.”

  He shook his head at her madness. She might not have been a drooling mess anymore, but Lady Raven had been far from her right mind. Cerberus came trotting up, tail waging, the thigh bone of the demon clamped between the jaws of two of his heads.

  Conryu patted the demon dog on the flank. “Good job. I think we’re done here.”

  “What about the orb?” Prime asked.

  For a moment he was tempted to leave it where it was, but leaving such a destructive item lying around for anyone to find wasn’t a good idea. He conjured a light magic sphere around it and willed it to follow him.

  He hadn’t wanted anyone to die, but at least the Ministry wizards were safe. For now anyway.

  Kelsie walked along the lakeshore trying to distract herself from worrying about Conryu. She knew something was wrong when he didn’t bring Anya back that first Sunday. That was six Sundays ago and no one had bothered to tell her where he was or what had happened. To be fair, the world appeared to be going insane. Last night the news from Sentinel City had been beyond horrible. She hoped Conryu and Maria’s parents were okay.

  Even worse than all her friends being gone, her cousin Charlotte was now attending the Academy. Though freshmen and juniors didn’t associate much and she was light aligned and thankfully living on a different floor of the dorm, just having a member of her family nearby made Kelsie sick to her stomach. It might have been worse of course, but things certainly weren’t good.

  A tingle of magic on the back of her neck prompted Kelsie to turn. Above the main building thirty portals to various realms opened all at once and wizards emerged from them. A few seconds later all hell broke loose.

  Spells of every element rained down on the campus. Trees burst into flame. An earthquake shook the ground and nearly sent her to her knees.

  Her mind went blank for a moment then the dean’s instructions came back to her. The teachers had been preparing them for a possible attack. They’d had drills and everything, though no one took them that seriously. Why would anyone want to attack the school? Most of the students were no threat.

  Another explosion at the main building focused her mind. Who cared why they wanted to attack the school? They were doing it and that was what mattered. A huge shelter had been built in the basement under the dark magic classrooms. She needed to get there, preferably before any of the flying wizards noticed her.

  Should she raise an obscuring mist? No, the magic might draw more attention than just running for it. Kelsie wished Conryu was here. He’d take care of the invaders in no time flat.

  The forest ran along the edge of the campus and while the trail was a long route, at least she wouldn’t have to run through the rain of spells outside the main entrance. Cracks of lightning and the scream of the wind prompted her to pick up her pace. A branch scraped her cheek, but she ignored it and kept going.

  As she moved further away, the sounds of battle dulled a little. She took a little relief from that even though it was an illusion.

  Halfway down the path, the earth vibrated. Kelsie paused and listened. In magic defense class they’d learned that a vibration like that often came before an earth magic attack.

  Limbs rattled in the wind, but nothing else presented itself. She shrugged and took another step.

  The earth exploded in front of her. Kelsie went flying, bruising her shoulder when she landed against a fallen log. She rolled over and standing at the top of a pillar of earth was a woman wearing a green jumpsuit. The prisoner had a square jaw, short, hacked-off hair and when she smiled revealed a mouth full of broken, black teeth.

  “What have we here?” the prisoner said. “A poor student lost in the woods. I’ll show you the way, little girl. The way to your grave!”

  The wizard chanted in the gravelly language of earth and spikes shot out of the ground toward Kelsie.

  She threw up her hand and screamed, “Break!”

  The spikes stopped six inches from her chest.

  Kelsie took advantage of the prisoner’s shock to run for it. She didn’t pay any attention to the path, instead crashing through the thick evergreens that lined the path. She was pretty sure she’d chosen the right direction, but at this point any direction was good as long as it took her away from the crazy woman trying to kill her.

  “You can’t escape me, girl. I can feel your footsteps.”

  Trees crashed behind her. Kelsie risked a glance back, but evergreen branches blocked her view.

  The thuds and pops of toppling trees grew louder by the second.

  Kelsie ran for all she was worth.

  Fear and adrenaline set her heart racing.

  Branches dragged on her robe, slowing her and letting the enemy gain.

  Something slapped across her back, staggering her and sen
ding her tumbling through another patch of pine trees and out onto the lawn.

  The breath rushed out of her when she hit.

  As Kelsie lay gasping for air like a fish on the bank, a stone worm crashed through the brush and towered over her.

  The prisoner stood on its head and leered at her. “Nowhere left to run, little girl.”

  Magic gathered around the prisoner’s hands then streaked into the earth beside Kelsie.

  She tried to crawl away. Her breath came in ragged gasps.

  Stone serpents rose out of the ground, their fangs gleaming like diamonds.

  The snakes slithered closer.

  Kelsie kicked at them to no effect.

  The snakes reared back to strike.

  “Break!” A dark orb streaked in and slammed into the serpents, reducing them to gravel.

  Mrs. Lenore stood a few yards away, her hand raised, her robe flapping in the wind. “Are you okay?”

  “Best worry about yourself,” the prisoner said.

  The stone worm lunged at Mrs. Lenore who stood her ground and cast again. Dark magic shot from her hand, causing the stone to crumble.

  The prisoner tumbled to the ground and before she recovered Mrs. Lenore cast, “Rot and ruin, Entropic Blast!”

  Tendrils of dark magic lanced into the enemy wizard. She writhed and twitched then went still. Kelsie didn’t look close enough to tell if she was still breathing.

  “Thanks.” Kelsie scrambled to her feet. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t showed up when you did.”

  “Dean Blane sent me to look for stragglers. I sensed your magic and came as quick as I could. Let’s hurry. I don’t want to have to fight off another of them.”

  Kelsie heartily agreed with that plan. It was abundantly clear to her that she didn’t have what it took to be a battle wizard. Despite her growth, she was still too weak.

  She’d lied to Mrs. Lenore. Kelsie knew exactly what she would have done if her teacher hadn’t shown up when she did.

  She would have died.

  A crowd was waiting for him when Conryu emerged from Hell. Maria ran over and hugged him. The ruby elf ring gleamed on her right index finger. She must have talked Kai into handing it over. Jemma stood front and center among a group of red-robed wizards. From her haggard look he guessed she hadn’t been sleeping well. No surprise given the circumstances. Angus stood off to one side, muttering to himself. Probably trying to figure out how to have a book signing in a bombed-out city.

  When Maria finally let go she swatted him on the shoulder. “What were you thinking, chasing that woman all by yourself.”

  “I was thinking I didn’t want her to escape and have to kill a bunch more zombies when she came back. Besides, I wasn’t alone, Cerberus was with me. You couldn’t ask for much better backup in a fight.”

  She still didn’t look thrilled, but no more complaints were issued so he considered the matter closed. Jemma separated herself from the group and strode over. She held out a hand and Conryu gave it a shake.

  “You’re a sight for sore eyes, Conryu. I wasn’t sure how we’d deal with that horde of zombies. Nice staff, where’d you find it?”

  “Long story. Speaking of artifacts…” He gestured and the orb floated over. “Is there someplace safe we can put this thing? Lady Raven used it to kill herself and I don’t want to touch it just in case some part of her personality was absorbed in the process.”

  “An entirely reasonable fear. We don’t have a safe room in this building. Celia?” An older woman with hard, suspicious eyes joined Jemma. “Would you be so good as to keep an eye on the orb? We’ll put it back in storage once we’ve retaken headquarters.”

  Celia nodded and made a mystic pass of the orb. A faint twinge ran through Conryu when she took control of the spell. The orb floated over beside Celia and he was glad to be rid of it.

  “I’m afraid we need to impose on you once more,” Jemma said. “You’ve noticed the barrier encircling the city?”

  “Yeah, Kai mentioned it then Lady Raven got trapped between it and me. Looks pretty strong.”

  “It is. We’ve determined that it’s being generated by an elf artifact at our headquarters. We believe that the wizard living there is the last of the invaders. If we can take her out then it’s just a matter of hunting down the stray zombies and London will be ours again.”

  “And you want me to dig her out, right?”

  Jemma nodded. “We’ve been under siege here for weeks. None of us is in any condition for a fight with a powerful enemy. I’m sorry to say you’re our best shot at defeating her. Will you help?”

  If Conryu were a mercenary, he’d be rich by now considering all the favors he’d done. In this case he needed to turn off the barrier so he could leave London anyway; helping Jemma out was a bonus.

  “Kai and I will see what we can do.”

  He waited for Maria to insist she wanted to come along, but to his immense relief she just said, “Good luck.”

  “We’ll join you when the barrier goes down,” Jemma said.

  Conryu nodded, cast a flight spell, and leapt into the air. When he was a few blocks from the Ministry building he activated a simple magic detection spell. The artifact appeared to be on the roof. There weren’t any guardians visible, but he refused to believe it wasn’t protected.

  “Do you sense anything, Prime?”

  “Not from this distance. My first thought is, trap.”

  “Are you reading my mind again?”

  “No need, Master. Unfortunately, I don’t see any way to deactivate the artifact that doesn’t involve springing the trap.”

  “Can’t we just blast the roof with Dispel?”

  “It wouldn’t be enough to deactivate an elf artifact. Remember the Solar Orb? You need a target to use Focused Dispel and the artifact isn’t visible.”

  He hated it when Prime was right.

  Conryu’s heart skipped a beat when Kai’s head appeared beside him. “Do you wish me to scout the rooftop, Chosen?”

  “No. Dispel might not switch off the artifact, but it should erase any wards. I’ll hit it, then we’ll see what’s what.”

  Kai’s head pulled back into the borderland. Conryu leveled the staff and cast, “Darkness dispels everything!”

  A boulder-sized sphere of dark magic shot out and exploded against the roof. When the darkness vanished, a woman in red robes appeared near the access door. She raised her hands and fire appeared between them.

  Conryu shifted his aim. “Lightning Blast!”

  His attack crashed into a swirling shield of flame and was swept away. A moment later a massive fireball came streaking up at him.

  He slashed with the staff and cast, “Wind Blade!”

  A focused gust sliced the fireball in half and sent the two pieces flying past him where they detonated.

  No more screwing around. “Shroud of all things ending. Cowl of nightmares born. Dark wrap that looks upon all things’ doom, Reaper’s Cloak!”

  The chill garment settled around him and he pulled up the hood, plunging the world into shades of gray. Conryu descended through a river of flame pouring from his opponent’s hands. None of them pierced his defenses.

  When the fire ended he found himself facing a familiar foe. It was the woman from the warehouse, the injured Society member.

  He pointed the staff at her. “I don’t suppose I can convince you to surrender?”

  She barked a laugh. “I’ve seen how you treat wizard prisoners. I think I’ll take my chances.”

  “What chances? You don’t think you can beat me?”

  “Though it wounds my pride, no, I don’t think I can beat you.” The red ring on her right hand twinkled. “I do think I might be able to get away.”

  A pillar of flame sprang to life and Conryu flinched. It vanished as quickly as it appeared, revealing a hole in the roof and no wizard.

  “Damn it!” Should he deactivate the artifact or go after her? “Can you sense her, Prime?”
<
br />   “No, but I haven’t been able to sense her since we arrived. Something’s blocking me.”

  “Not what I was hoping to hear. What about the artifact?”

  “It’s behind you, about thirty yards.”

  “Okay. Kai?”

  The ninja appeared. “Chosen?”

  “I want you to find that wizard. Search from the borderland and don’t confront her. She’s strong, like really strong. If you find her come get me. Understand?”

  “Yes, Chosen.” She vanished again.

  It shouldn’t take her long to hunt down the Society wizard. The problem was, Conryu didn’t know how he was going to deal with her without killing her.

  Why worry about it? Null’s cold voice startled him at first. Surely her actions have earned her a quick death.

  “I thought you’d abandoned me. Where’ve you been?” Conryu stepped off the distance Prime told him and found a metal statue stuck in a slot meant for a fire extinguisher.

  Matters in Hell required my full attention. Don’t change the subject. If you can’t bring yourself to kill someone that deserves it, then whatever she does will be on your head.

  That was the most sensible argument the Reaper had ever made and Conryu had to admit he’d considered his choices in those terms more than once. He simply refused to believe there was no other way.

  Null’s disgusted snort echoed through Conryu’s mind. You’ll regret your weakness one day, boy. Mark my words.

  The Reaper’s presence vanished, taking the difficult decisions with it. A moment later Kai appeared.

  “I found her, Chosen. She’s fleeing toward the ground floor.”

  “Okay, stay with her. I’ll catch up to you.”

  Kai bowed and disappeared.

  “Is there any way I can bind her magic so she can’t cast?” Conryu asked.

  “There’s a dark magic spell that will burn out the portion of her mind that allows her to control magic, but most in the wizard community consider it crueler than simply killing your opponent. I’ve only seen it used on two occasions and both the wizards afflicted killed themselves days later.”

  “Great, so I’m going to be killing her either way. I hate this.” Conryu opened a portal and stepped into Hell.