“You are Enki?” she asked.
“Leave me be. Do not taunt me by showing me your world.”
“Taunt you?”
“Every moment in the abyss is an agony, but to touch your world, even in such a limited fashion, makes my pain that much worse.”
“You’re in the abyss? You’re a demon?”
“That has no simple answer.”
“What do you mean?”
“It was not only the afur who rebelled. I am Enki the betrayer. Enki, imprisoned in the abyss.”
“You’re a demon that rebelled against the abyss?” Linala’s eyes darted towards Besis. She kept her arms raised, though she seemed to be having trouble keeping them in place. She was breathing heavily, and Jez worried she would pass out, but she spoke in a strong voice. “There have always been rumors about that.”
The light dimmed. “Release me. I do not wish to be here.”
“Wait,” Jez called out. Linala’s eyes flashed to him, and he took a step back, but he felt the light’s attention fall on him. Jez took a deep breath. “Do you know about Sharim?”
“Sharim.” The light brightened, and pure emotion ran over Jez. It wasn’t joy or anger or sorrow, but a combination of all of those and a thousand others. It was the raw stuff of emotions. His mind had no way to interpret it. He fell to his knees. Linala staggered, but everyone else went to the ground. It was at least a full minute before anyone had recovered. “I know of the creature who calls himself Sharim.”
“He wants to escape from the abyss.”
“We all want to escape.”
“But he has a plan.”
The light dimmed again. “Yes.”
“Do you know what it is?”
“The pain. The touch of your world has brought it anew.”
“I’m losing him,” Linala cried.
The light screamed in absolute agony and hopelessness. The sound didn’t just bring tears to Jez’s eyes. It ripped them out, and they poured down his cheek. For one instant, he understood how this being felt, shut away from even the possibility of peace, and even that brief moment nearly broke him. The light vanished, and Jez wasn’t sure how long it was before he could sit up again. It was only then that he realized everyone had been affected. The adjutants of protection and destruction were picking themselves off the ground. Lina had gone visible again. Even Master Linala wiped tears from her eyes.
“A demon who rebelled,” Besis said. “Is that even possible?”
“There have always been stories,” Linala said, “but I thought them nothing more than that.”
“He knows about Sharim, though,” Jez said. “Can you call him back?”
“Maybe.”
“What do you mean ‘maybe’?” Jez asked. “We know more about him now. That should make it easier.”
“Provided he wasn’t lying.” She narrowed her eyes at Jez. “I don’t suppose this has shaken any memories loose.”
Jez shook his head. Most of the masters thought he, like Osmund, was a limaph. Their unique heritage granted some unusual powers, and a few knew things they had no way of knowing. Jez had used that excuse more than once.
“We need more information,” Linala said. “If we can’t contact Enki again, there are a few other sources I can try.”
“A Shadowguard might know about Enki,” Jez said, “especially if he took part in some demon rebellion.”
Linala smirked. “Do you happen to know one?”
Jez nodded. “As a matter of fact, I do, but I don’t think we should try to summon him. He might take that badly. We should just call him.”
“Call?” Besis asked. “How does one call a pharim?”
Jez smiled. “I just need to use the speaking stone.”
CHAPTER NINE
Rather than having everyone ascend to the top of the central spire, the masters had dismissed their adjutants and had had the large sapphire that the Academy used as a speaking stone brought to the summoning chamber. Now, they all stared as the person Jez had contacted activated the speaking stone in Rumar Keep. Villia’s face appeared in the crystal. The stone tinged her face blue. Her raven black hair framed features that seemed to belong to a woman in her thirties, though in reality, she was much older. When she saw him, she sighed.
“Jezreel, I told you, there’s nothing I can tell you about the abyss.”
“It’s good to see you too, Villia,” Jez said. “That’s not what I wanted to know.”
She gave him a half smile. “Sorry, it’s all you’ve wanted to talk about lately.” Her eyes flickered to Osmund. “I see you’re back.”
The larger boy inclined his head. “It was an interesting couple of months.”
“I imagine so, if what I’ve heard is true. Now, what was it you wanted, Jezreel?”
“I need to speak with a Shadowguard.”
“I would think that would be easy for you.”
He cleared his throat and eyed Linala and Fina, though neither reacted to Villia’s statement. He shook his head. “It’s complicated. None of the Shadowguard can be contacted except for those standing watch over the most powerful of demons. The only one I know is doing something fairly important, and I think it would be a bad idea to just summon him. Since you’re right there...”
Villia’s eyes widened. “You want me to contact Shamarion. You know he’s standing guard over Maries.”
Suddenly, Shamarion stood next to Jez. There was no flash of light or crash of thunder. He simply appeared, towering over everyone but Osmund. His robes shimmered blue, and he had the sun-tanned skin of someone who spent their life outdoors. He had shining white wings on his back, and a crystal sword hung from his waist. His eyes were as blue as the sky on a clear summer day.
“You wish to speak to me, Luntayary?”
Linala raised an eyebrow at that, and Jez avoided meeting her gaze. “It’s Jez.”
The Shadowguard inclined his head. “Yes, of course. Jez.”
He drew out the name, as if struggling with it. Jez turned back to the speaking stone and said goodbye to Villia before ending the transmission.
“How did you get here?” Jez asked.
“I went Between.”
Jez rolled his eyes. “I guessed that. I mean how did you know we needed to speak to you?”
Shamarion’s eyes flickered to the crystal. “The traitor spoke my name as well as that of my charge. How could such a thing escape my notice? What do you need?”
Linala stepped up next to Jez and cleared her throat. Shamarion glanced at her but returned his attention to Jez half a second later. She stepped forward.
“Excuse me, lord Shadowguard. I am Linala, Master of Knowledge of the Carceri Academy.”
“Linala, Master of Knowledge of the Carceri Academy, I was not speaking to you,” Shamarion said without looking up. “What did you want, Jez?”
He stumbled over the name again, and Jez smiled. He glanced up at Linala before answering. “I heard a rumor that there was once a rebellion of demons.”
Shamarion inclined his head. “Long ago when the race of man was still new upon the world, the demons discovered that humans knew more than just rage and hate. It intrigued them and some decided to change.”
“What happened to them?”
“They were destroyed.”
“All of them?”
“I don’t know for certain. We have no ability to see into the abyss, but they were not cast into the mortal world like the traitors among the pharim. They must have remained in the abyss, and there, they could be destroyed. Why do you ask?”
“We made contact with a being who claims to be a demon who rebelled. He says he’s imprisoned in the abyss, and that he’s been tortured.”
Shamarion hesitated. “Such a thing is not impossible.” He didn’t sound very sure of himself. “If any would torture their own kind for century upon century, it would be demons. How did you find this being?”
Linala cleared her throat again. Shamarion glared at her. “If you are goin
g to keep interrupting, perhaps Jez and I should speak privately.”
Her face flushed, and she spoke through clenched teeth. “That’s not necessary, but I do think some of the others should leave before you answers that question.”
Shamarion narrowed his eyes but shrugged. “It makes no difference to me.”
Jez eyed her. “I’m going to tell Osmund and Lina whatever happens. They can either be here when I hear it, or I can tell them later. It’s up to you.”
Osmund smirked, and Lina tried to hide her smile. Linala glared at them, and they both avoided looking her in the eyes. Finally, Linala turned her gaze on Besis. The protection master only smiled, and Linala’s face reddened.
“You really do need to learn what it means to be discrete, Jezreel,” she said. “If I thought our guest would talk to me instead of you, I’d send you away as well. We got his name from living shadows.”
Shamarion nodded. “Ah yes. If anyone would know such things, it would be they. If they have spoken plainly and told you these things without speaking in riddles, then you can trust it is true.”
“If Enki is trapped in the abyss, how do we get him out?” Jez asked.
“You cannot free something from the abyss.”
“But I saw Sharim make at least two circles to permanently summon a demon. Is there some reason we can’t do the same for one who the demons are holding?”
Shamarion shrugged. “I’m afraid that’s more your area of knowledge than mine, Lady Mage,” he said finally meeting Linala’s gaze. “Is such a thing possible?”
She pursed her lips. “I’m not sure. Permanent summonings are dangerous things. Maybe.”
Shamarion returned his eyes to Jez and let out an exaggerated breath, which was doubly interesting because pharim didn’t need to breathe. “This is why I spend little time with mortals. They never know what they’re doing.”
She scowled at him and turned to the destruction master. “Fina, would you mind clearing this dust away?”
“Of course.”
The burly man inclined his head. With a flick of his fingers, a gust of wind picked up the dust Linala had drawn in and carried it out through a window. Not even a speck remained behind, and it had been so tightly controlled that Jez hadn’t even felt a breeze. He’d known Fina was strong, but he’d never seen such precision before. He knew it shouldn’t surprise him. Fina wasn’t the destruction master for nothing.
“Thank you,” Linala said.
She pulled a handful of white dust out of a belt pouch. She let it fall to the ground as she walked, creating a new circle from the pearlescent sand. Then, she knelt, and her fingers moved around it in precise movements, drawing runes in the sand. Every once in a while, she would stop and murmur a few words, and the sand close to her would shimmer and change colors.
When she was done, the circle was comprised of the seven colors representing the seven dominions. Runes covered every inch of sand. In many cases, they had been drawn on top of each other, but rather than interfering with one another, each rune complimented the ones it had been drawn upon. It was impossibly complex, and Jez couldn’t believe Linala had constructed it in seconds. It didn’t look exactly like the one she’d used before, but he didn’t know enough about this level of summoning circle to be able to understand the difference.
Linala stood at the yellow wedge, the one representing knowledge, that was apparently the circle’s focal point. She raised her hands and started chanting. The runes lit up, but they seemed to be sputtering. Linala chanted louder, speaking Enki’s name several times, and Jez could feel the energy being poured into the circle. The different colors brightened in a pattern Jez couldn’t comprehend. Other runes appeared in the air until they formed a solid dome. Somehow, he could still tell one rune from another. After a few seconds, however, they all faded. Linala was drenched in sweat and she was breathing heavily. For a second, Jez thought she would collapse, but she steadied herself and shook her head.
“I can’t do it. I don’t have enough power. He’s too deep in the abyss. Maybe if I had a focusing crystal...” She sighed. “Let me gather some of my students. We’ll form a contingent.”
“Do you truly think that will help you succeed?” Shamarion asked.
She huffed at the pharim. “I know I’m just an ignorant mortal, but I have completed greater summonings before. I know what I am doing.”
Shamarion inclined his head. “I meant no offense, but do you truly think a contingent would aid you? Reaching deeply into the abyss requires ten times more magic than you have.”
“Do you have a better idea?”
“I cannot interfere, not even to give ideas.” He smiled and there was a twinkle in his eye. “I am not sure I would help you even if I could. The last time I encountered a circle intended to do a permanent summoning, it did not end well for me.”
Jez and Osmund exchanged glances. The last time Shamarion had run into a circle like this, he’d battled the demon Maries. Maries had impaled him and had somehow used his energy to feed the circle which had, in turned, been used to create a portal to the abyss. That wasn’t the only time something like that had happened either. Several months later, Sharim had drawn energy from Aniel, the pharim High Lord of the Beastwalkers, to power a circle of his own.
Jez eyed the Shadowguard, and Shamarion grinned at him. The rules against interference probably prevented him from suggesting it directly. They would have to work carefully to circumnavigate his limitations, but if Shamarion would really allow it...
“Shamarion, would you mind giving us a moment of privacy?”
The pharim nodded. “Of course.”
He flapped his wings once. The air didn’t so much as stir as he lifted off and landed in the blue wedge of the circle. Jez watched him for a second and motioned for the others to come closer. Most gave the pharim odd glances before they obeyed. Jez looked at Lina and brought a finger to his mouth. She nodded, and power surged within her.
“We’re private.”
Linala cleared her throat. “Don’t presume, Adept.”
Lina flushed, but she kept the working up.
“We need it,” Jez said, pitching his voice low in spite of Lina’s working. “He wants us to bind him. We can tap into him to power the summoning.”
Besis’s eyes widened. “Jez, you can’t mean for us to bind a pharim in that way.”
Jez motioned frantically. “Keep it down. I’m not sure this working will stop a pharim from hearing. Shamarion wants us to use him. He’s just not allowed to say it.”
“If it’s his idea, why don’t we just ask him to lend us his power?” Linala asked.
Jez sighed. “If he’s not allowed to tell us what to do, he’s certainly not going to be allowed to stand there and let us use his power.”
“I’m not going to craft a working to bind a Shadowguard,” Besis said.
“You know,” Osmund said, “that working you used on Ziary would probably work.”
“I made that to bind a scion, not a full pharim,” Jez said. He pursed his lips. “Still, if he’s not going to fight it as hard as he can...”
“Jezreel, no,” Besis said.
“He could be right.” Linala spoke as though the words were being dragged out of her. “With the energy of a pharim to power the working, especially one whose main purpose is to bind things to the abyss, it might well succeed.”
Besis narrowed his eyes at Jez. “If that’s the case, there’s another option we could explore.”
Realization dawned on Jez, and he thought about that for a second before deciding it wouldn’t work. The protection master was still staring at him, and Jez tried to think of how best to answer. Though Besis, Osmund, and Lina knew his secret, the others didn’t, and he wasn’t ready to reveal it to them.
“We can’t use Ziary,” he said. Osmund started, but Jez went on. “Even if he could access the power of a full pharim, channeling that much power through human flesh would burn it out. Osmund would die.”
F
ina raised an eyebrow. “You seem to know a lot about this.”
Jez shrugged. “I’ve had a lot of experience.”
“What do you say, Besis?” Linala said. “You’re the one best able to bind him.”
Besis stared at Jez before turning to Shamarion. The pharim spread out his arms as if inviting attack. Besis let out a breath. “By the seven, he does want us to do this, doesn’t he?”
Jez nodded. “Will you bind him?”
“No, I don’t think it should be me. Not in this case anyway. I suspect you would be more effective here. Go ahead Jez.”
Jez nodded. He took a second to form the working in his mind. Then, without saying a word, he turned and released a stream of bubbles at Shamarion. The Shadowguard met Jez’s eyes before they hit, and Jez saw very clearly that if Shamarion had wished to dodge, he could’ve done so easily.
The bubbles hit him in the center of the chest. A thin film appeared on the point of impact, slowly expanding as more bubbles hit. In a few seconds, they had completely encased Shamarion. Though it would stretch and shift as he moved, Shamarion remained still. Besis whistled.
“You came up with this on your own?” Jez nodded. “Impressive. Master Linala, shall we begin?”
CHAPTER TEN
Jez had first thought up the working in case Ziary ever got out of control, and while it allowed for limited motion, it was a true binding, one never intended to allow the subject to move. As a result, the bound Shamarion had to be carried into the center of the circle. That responsibility had been delegated to Jez and Osmund while the masters watched, ready to act if Shamarion got free and decided to take revenge.
“You know,” Jez pitched his voice low so only Osmund could hear, “I’m pretty sure he could break out of here if he wanted to.”
“I figured as much,” Osmund said. “I think Ziary could’ve broken out if you’d given him a few hours. A pharim should be able to do it without any problems.”
“You’re not worried?”
Jez could hear the laughter in Osmund’s voice as he responded. “Why should I be? If he gets free, he’ll just come after you.”
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