Jez nodded. Linala offered him her hand, and he took it. Together, they stepped into the room filled with living shadows.
CHAPTER FIVE
Jez watched as his father walked away from the baron’s manor. Bartin didn’t look back as he left the grounds. Beside Jez, Baron Dusan cleared his throat. Jez looked up at him, and Dusan gave him a toothy smile that sent chills down his spine. His steel gray eyes showed no emotion whatsoever. He looked evil, and Jez started looking for a place to hide.
Jez shook his head to clear his mind of the image. That hadn’t been just his memory. They had added fear to it that hadn’t been there before. He tried to keep ahold of himself like Linala had said, and he looked around.
He was in complete darkness, but somehow he could still make out vague forms. He looked over his shoulder. The door was a panel of light, though it seemed somehow restrained by the surrounding darkness. Linala, her form vague and indistinct, tugged at him, and they went deeper into the room. One of the shadows passed through him, and he remembered a time, over a year ago, in Dusan’s summoning chamber. Jez had destroyed his protective runes, and the demon Marrowit, whom the baron had been trying to control, had consumed him as he came into the world. Because of Jez’s actions, a person had died. The fact that it had been an evil man didn’t matter. Jez had done it.
The sound of Linala gasping brought him back to the moment. He couldn’t see her, and even the feel of her hand in his became a distant sensation. He called out to her, but she didn’t respond. He squinted in her direction but could no longer see her through the darkness. He took a step toward her just as another shadow flew at him.
He was in Marrowit’s throne room, the one the demon had created in the dream world. The nightmare demon had tortured him with images of losing himself to the much more powerful consciousness of Luntayary. When that had nearly broken him, the images had shifted, showing Luntayary the memory of being bound to human flesh and of being forced to live a life as a mortal with no memory of who and what he was.
The shadows drew back so fast it was almost painful. Jez winced, and he and Linala, once again visible, exchanged glances. He heard whispers in his head. He couldn’t make out the words, but he got the distinct impression of surprise. And of longing.
“Let’s go back,” Linala said.
“Why? What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen them act like this.”
They started moving toward the door, but they’d only gone a few steps when the shadows screamed. They rushed at Jez. Though seemingly insubstantial, they hit him with such a force as to pick him up off the ground. He flew through the air, his hand ripped from Linala’s grasp, and slammed against a wall hard enough to drive the breath from his lungs. The shadows writhed against every inch of exposed skin as they burrowed into him. They swarmed on the memory of the nightmare Marrowit had given him. They focused on Luntayary.
With a horror, Jez realized what they were doing. Luntayary had existed since the formation of the universe, and he had been created explicitly to defend against evil. He’d seen things mortalkind couldn’t begin to imagine. The pharim’s memories had been locked away in order to give Jez a semblance of a normal life, but these beings, through whatever method they used to find memories, called them forth, and they feasted.
Pain filled every fiber of his being. Andera, one of the greatest of the demons, focused its attention on him. Dozens of pharim, both Shadowguard and Shadeslayers, fought with sword and spear, with earth and fire. The terrors unleashed on them were so horrible that Jez’s mind couldn’t hold on to them, and they vanished from his memory the instant they had passed, leaving his consciousness burned and writhing. Jez cried out as his mind buckled under the strain.
Let me.
The gentle voice washed away some of his pain. He was still in the midst of the battle with the demon, but it seemed far away. A strange invisible presence shielded him from the worst of the scene.
Who are you? he asked.
You know who I am.
Luntayary. I thought Sariel locked you away.
A blue-robed figure with wings and a crystal sword appeared between Jez and the battle. Soft blue eyes focused on Jez. Yes, but he bound this memory too. Let me guard you. Your kind cannot bear the weight of memories such as this.
But...
I will retreat again once the danger is passed.
We need information.
I will get it if these creatures have it.
Jez hesitated. Beyond Luntayary, Andera morphed into something that hurt his mind to perceive. Jez nodded. Thank you.
Jez and Luntayary weren’t truly separate beings. Jez’s personality had formed over nearly fourteen years while the memories of Luntayary had been locked away, but a life of fourteen years was as nothing when compared with eternity, and so the pharim’s consciousness always overwhelmed him when it manifested. It did something similar now, pushing the part of him that was Jez into the deepest reaches of his mind, leaving Jez with only a dim awareness of the shadow creatures raking through his mind. Even that would’ve brought tears to his eyes if Luntayary wasn’t in control.
He had no concept of time as the visions passed before him. Finally, he felt a quivering. Luntayary walked out of the room with Linala in tow. As they stepped outside, the shadows tried to follow, but Luntayary did something, and they squealed before retreating back into the chamber. As Luntayary promised, he retreated. Just before he vanished entirely, he said one more statement.
Enki. The one who can tell you how Sharim will escape is the spirit Enki.
CHAPTER SIX
Luntayary had done something to the stone so that it emitted a faint white light, allowing Jez to see. Linala lay unconscious next to him. She seemed to have gone several shades paler, though in the faint light, he couldn’t be sure. Her heartbeat was weak but steady. He knew he should get her to the healing house, but without being able to disable the wards, Jez was trapped until she woke, which took two hours. She had to lean on him as they walked, and she trembled with every step. Each ward took her several minutes to disarm, and it was well past sunset before they made it to the first floor of the spire. Osmund and Lina sat waiting when Jez pulled open the door.
“We need to get her to the healing house,” he said.
Osmund nodded and picked her up off the ground. She tried to argue, but eventually, she slumped against him. They drew stares almost immediately upon exiting the tower, and Jez was sure the news would race ahead of them. By the time they got to the healing house, Chancellor Balud was waiting for them. He instructed his students to take the knowledge master and place her in a private room. His eyes glowed orange briefly as she passed, and he nodded. Then, he called Jez and his friends into the small office he maintained in the building. The walls of the room were crammed with books, most with titles Jez couldn’t guess at how to pronounce. The room had that same sterile smell as the rest of the sick house, and pictures that looked to be of the human body hung from the walls.
Balud closed the door and turned to them. “Now, tell me what happened.”
“We went to the bottom of the tower.” Jez glanced at his friends, but he only hesitated for a moment. “The room with the shadows.”
Balud’s eyes widened slightly. “I see. A moment.”
He walked out of the office and spoke to an adjutant who’d been walking past. Jez couldn’t make out everything he said, but it sounded like instructions. When he was done, the chancellor came back inside and sat down.
“Now that we know what happened to her, she should be fine by morning, but why would she take you there?”
Jez told him about their attempt to summon a Lightgiver. Balud kept his face impassive as Jez related the details of the encounter. Afterward, the chancellor remained silent for a long time.
“All of them?” Balud asked. “All the pharim have left?”
Jez nodded. “Except for a few Shadowguard watching over the greatest demons.”
&n
bsp; “Then, you were right.”
“I wish I wasn’t.”
He stood up and paced, though in the small office, he could only take a half dozen steps before he had to turn and go in the other direction. “Enki. I don’t know the name. Do you know what this spirit is? Demon or pharim?”
Jez shook his head. “It could be something else entirely, for all I know.”
“What else is there?” Lina asked.
“A great deal, I’m afraid,” Balud said. “It’s not normally knowledge entrusted to adepts, but Jezreel is no normal adept, and I doubt he would keep these things from the two of you.” Jez tried to look embarrassed, but the chancellor waved him off. “Given what the three of you have accomplished, I’m not sure I can blame you, especially with what’s at stake. In any case, there’s little you can do until Linala wakes up.”
“We could search her library.”
“I’ll get some of her students on it, but it’s nearly midnight, and as much as you seem to enjoy it, you won’t gain anything by falling asleep in a book.”
“But...”
“Jezreel, you were right. Sharim can escape from the abyss. We’re going to treat this matter seriously, and we’re going to keep you informed. You’ve had too much success against this creature for us to do otherwise, but you can’t do all the work yourself. Let others research Enki, at least for now. Get some rest. I have a feeling you’ll need it before the end.”
Jez started to argue, but Osmund grabbed his arm and forced him to stand up. Jez glared at his friend, but Osmund ignored him.
“We’ll see he gets some rest, chancellor.”
Balud nodded and Osmund practically dragged Jez out with Lina following right behind. After a few seconds, Jez stopped resisting, but only because he didn’t want to be embarrassed by being forced through a sick house full of people. When they’d gone outside, Jez tore his hand away from his friend, and the three of them started for the spire.
“All right. Fine. That was a good act, but what’s the real plan?”
Osmund raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“I mean you pretended you were going to force me to sleep so the chancellor would leave us alone. What are we really doing?”
Osmund grinned. “What makes you think I was pretending?”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Luntayary’s presence had protected Jez from the worst memories of the battle with the demon Andera, but even what little Jez had seen was enough to give him nightmares. He awoke screaming and in a cold sweat at least a dozen times in the night, and by the time the sun finally rose, he felt more tired than before he’d gone to sleep. Even so, he rolled out of bed and headed toward the sick house to check on Master Linala. Lina and Osmund were already there. Jez almost griped at them for not coming to get him first, but he decided it wouldn’t do any good.
The adepts of healing didn’t want to let them in to see Linala, but when she realized they were there, she called them in. Mirso, a grim faced healer with the robes of a full mage, warned them not to tire her out. Linala lay in a bed under heavy blankets, awake though obviously tired. Her face had regained some of its color, and her eyes brightened when she saw Jez.
“I’m glad you made it out of there. I’ve never seen them react that way.” She took several deep breaths, and her eyes flickered to Osmund and Lina before returning to Jez. “Did you learn anything?”
“Does the name Enki mean anything to you?”
“Enki. The name rings a bell.” Linala closed her eyes for a second. “The fragment of the Chronicles of Mage Sarose speak of Enki helping to plan a battle strategy.”
“Enki was a human then?” Jez was a little taken aback, but Linala was already shaking her head.
“It might not have been the same Enki, or maybe Sarose had spiritual allies. It’s not unheard of in ancient times, but the single fragment is the only part of that work that has survived into the modern day. No one is even sure what battle it’s referring to. It might be completely unrelated.”
Jez shrugged. “It’s a place to start.”
Linala struggled to get up. Almost instantly, orange-robed students scurried in and began arguing with her. One girl even held her down. Linala scowled, but they ignored her. The unspoken rule of the sick house was that when one was in a bed, rank didn’t matter, and the healers refused to let her rise. Finally, the master slumped back into bed.
“Fine. I’ll stay here, for now, but I need to speak to these three in private.” The healers gave her uneasy looks, and she sighed. “I give you my word I won’t try to get up.”
Mirso scrunched his brow but nodded after a few seconds, and everyone but Jez and his friends filed out. Linala waved a hand over them and mumbled a few words.
“My students haven’t found anything in my main library. That incantation will let you into my secret one. I’m going to tell you how to reach it, but that information is not to leave this room.”
The three nodded, though Jez struggled not to smile. He and Osmund, with the aid of Master Besis, had broken into Linala’s secret library over a year ago when they’d been seeking information on the demon lord Marrowit. Apparently, she had never learned of that, and she told them exactly where to find the hidden panel that would open to the stairway descending to the level under the summoner’s practice house.
With it being between terms, it wasn’t difficult to get into the practice house without being seen. From there, they slipped into the secret library. Books and tablets lined the shelves and the place had the musty smell that seemed to be common to all libraries. They’d been searching for a little over two hours with no luck when Linala came in. She still looked pale, and her movements were sluggish, but she insisted she was more than well enough to search. Even with her help, however, they found no reference to Enki aside from the single fragment of the ancient volume she’d mentioned before. It was close to sunset when Linala frowned.
“This isn’t going to work. I hate to do it, but we’re just going to have to try to summon Enki.”
Jez looked up from his scroll. “But we don’t even know what kind of being he is.”
“It’s...possible to summon a being knowing only their name.”
“I hadn’t heard that.”
“That’s because it’s extremely dangerous. I wouldn’t even let high level adjutants attempt it. You can’t set the proper protections, and having the wrong ones can be worse than no protection at all.”
“Are you sure it’s worth it? I mean those memory shadows might have been lying.”
“I’m surprised to see you cautious now.” Jez started to argue, but she waved him off. “No, it’s a valid question, but the shadows don’t lie. They’re not capable of it.”
Jez considered for a second before nodding. “What do we do?”
“I’ll prepare the summoning. You three go get Masters Fina and Besis. Tell them to bring a couple of adjutants they can trust. If Enki turns out to be hostile, we need to be able to deal with it.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Jez and his friends did their best to remain discrete, but with the masters of knowledge, protection, and destruction all gathering in the summoner’s practice house, they couldn’t hide the fact that something was going on. Before long, it seemed like the eyes of half the Academy were on them. The adjutants with Besis and Fina weren’t given any details other than to be told to be ready in case an unknown summoned being escaped.
Rather than use one of the partial circles carved into the ground, Linala made one from a variety of different colored sands. The runes that had been drawn on it seemed to shift under Jez’s sight, and it made him dizzy if he stared too long. As she got into the focal point, Besis walked up to her.
“Are you sure you’re strong enough for this?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Do you think you can accomplish a summoning based purely on a name? This likely won’t be an imp. This may well take everything I have.”
“That’s what I mean. Not a handful of hours
ago, you were in a sick bed. It’s been half a year since Sharim fled. What does it matter if we take another day for you to recover?”
“It could make all the difference in the world. Jezreel is right about the stakes.” She met Besis’s eyes. “Don’t worry. I can handle a single summoning. Just be ready to act in case it gets away from me.”
Besis inclined his head and backed off. He lifted his hands, and Jez could feel the power welling up inside of him. Jez prepared to call his crystal sword but instead closed his hand around his gold-veined blade. Osmund shrouded his hands in flames. Lina vanished from sight, and Jez could imagine her being ready to craft an illusion that would aid them in battle.
Linala began the summoning, and other runes appeared in the air, pulsing with yellow light in a pattern Jez couldn’t quite see. Linala’s voice maintained an odd cadence, and after a few seconds, a ball of light appeared in the center of the circle. Master Fina tensed, and one of his students, a burly girl with arms as big as tree trunks raised her hands. Jez expected fire to blossom from her fingers, but her control was too great, and she just kept herself in a ready position.
“Enki.”
Linala’s voice seemed to echo a thousand times. The runes glowed brighter and the light in the center expanded until it was vaguely human shaped, though it never truly solidified. Linala’s eyes widened, but she showed no other signs of surprise.
“Who are you?”
The voice coming from the light sounded pained. It was thin and reedy, as if coming from the other side of a thick wall, and it seemed on the verge of crying out in pain.
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