“They aren’t likely to take your word for it,” the sorcerer said.
“The fact that I could have killed you all but chose not to should help convince them. Get a move on, I have other things I need to do.”
The survivors flew away the same way they’d come. Lizzy watched them a minute to make certain they didn’t do anything foolish then turned to Lee. “What else do you have to do?”
“I have to find whoever just broke into my cabin. The attack was a feint to draw me away.” He flew back toward the peach grove. “That’s why they sent such a weak force. They weren’t meant to win, just keep us busy and hopefully all die in the process making me look like more of a villain.”
The cabin door was open and the wards destroyed when they returned. Lee closed his eyes and turned a slow circle. He stopped facing southwest and his eyes popped open. “That way. And not far off.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I marked all the pieces of my collection with soul force in case anything happened.” He closed the door and restored the wards. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 11
Lee flew slow and unwavering to the southwest. Lizzy glided along beside him, trying to sense whatever he sensed and failing.
“Do you know what was taken?” she asked.
“No, but there’s nothing in my collection that should be loose in the world. They’re all demonic artifacts of considerable power.”
“How did you come to acquire them?”
“Taken off dead enemies mostly. I found three hidden in ruins that predate the empire. Those are the ones that concern me the most as I have no idea what they do. Down there.” Lee angled a little left and descended.
“Down there” turned out to be a field strewn with giant boulders. It looked like two titans had been playing marbles then quit in the middle of the game. Lee landed and drew his sword. Having seen the power of his sorcery the sword seemed pointless, but Lizzy kept her peace.
At the base of a boulder twice as tall as her sat an onyx dragon with ruby eyes. She could sense the corruption in it from ten paces away.
“Is that one of the ones that concerned you?”
Lee nodded and walked over to collect it. The moment he bent over she saw movement and lunged. Lee stumbled away and a burning pain filled her left side. She staggered and turned to find the assassin from the Kang’s manor. She hadn’t sensed a thing.
“You’re quick, demon.” The assassin unsheathed his lightning blades. “I thought I had him for sure. I guess I’ll have to be content with killing you. But don’t worry. Your man will be joining you in hell shortly.”
Lee lunged, trying to catch the assassin off guard while he talked. The twin blades easily deflected the attack. The two of them fought across the field, blades flashing, racing between boulders.
Lizzy reached around to her side and found the hilt of a dagger. She yanked it free. The blade was black and dripping with her blood. She tossed it away.
The pain didn’t lessen in the slightest. In fact it seemed to be getting worse all the time. She sent internal soul force to the wound. Her eyes widened when her power was absorbed by something. She couldn’t heal herself.
Her body trembled with pain and fear. She couldn’t die, not really. Even if her physical form was destroyed, her essence would reform in hell. Lizzy was afraid because when she reformed she’d lose all the memories she’d gained during her time in the mortal realm. She’d return to being a violent, lust-filled monster, incapable of anything beyond murder.
The clash of swords grew louder as Lee and his opponent drew closer. They came around a boulder. Lee backpedalled furiously as the assassin got within inches of gutting him. A double slash sent Lee’s sword one way and him sprawling beside her.
The assassin stood over them, swords sparking. “And so you die together. How sweet.”
“I can’t heal,” Lizzy said, hoping to buy time.
The assassin smiled, but it held no humor. “The black dagger is infused with the very essence of death. A single scratch will kill anyone or anything, even a demon.”
He bent down to pick up the discarded dagger. It crumbled to black ash when he touched it.
“Give me your ring,” Lee whispered.
Lizzy shifted as though trying to hide behind Lee and worked the ring off her finger. She grasped his hand, passing the ring.
“Enjoy your final moments together.”
The twin swords went up.
Lee flicked his wrist and his soul force surged. The ring accelerated like a bolt out of a crossbow. It struck the assassin square in the forehead and burst out the back of his skull along with a good bit of his brain.
The man collapsed, a shocked look on his face.
Lee breathed out a sigh. “His swordsmanship was amazing. I’ve never fought such a close battle.”
“How did you know the ring would kill him?” The pain had reached the base of Lizzy skull. She choked back a moan of pain.
“The ring was irrelevant. He was able to stop my sorcery from touching him directly, but once I got the ring moving it was no different than an arrow.”
Lizzy nodded and collapsed on her back, the little strength she had remaining used up. When her eyes opened again she was surprised to see Lee and not the burning pit that spawned her.
“I can’t heal you.” Tears streaked Lee’s cheeks. “You saved my life. Thank you.”
“You saved me first. You reminded me there were good men in the world. Sometimes it’s easy to forget.” Her lip trembled. “I don’t want to go back.”
A tingle ran up her spine and her wings shook. Lizzy turned her head in time to watch the familiar bat wings change into the wings of a raven. “What?”
“You’ve risen.” He smiled and his throat worked. “You’ve accomplished something very few of your race ever do. You moved beyond your nature and became something better.”
Lizzy sighed. “And in a minute, it’ll all be for nothing.”
“Not necessarily. Your body is dying. I can do nothing about that, but if you truly do not wish to return to hell I can bind your spirit to my sword. You will become pure mind, able to interact with others only on a mental level. Within your mental world everything will seem as real as out here. It’s up to you.”
Lizzy didn’t even need a second to decide. “Do it. Anything would be better than going back to what I was.”
Lee nodded and retrieved his sword. He laid the gleaming steel on her chest and over the next day and night worked nonstop binding her spirit to the flawless steel. When he was finished the two of them stood in a starry void.
“What is this?” she asked.
“Your mental world. In time you will learn to manipulate it as you wish. I’ll help you as best I can.”
“And when you’re gone?”
“I’ll find you a new bearer. No, I’ll introduce you to good people, I’m not the only one in the world. You can choose who you’d like to spend the next stage of your life with. And when the time comes the process will repeat, over and over, until the end of time.”
Lizzy didn’t know what to think. It was too much, too overwhelming, too new. All that really mattered was she wasn’t in hell and Lee was with her for however long they had.
Author Notes
I hope you enjoyed reading this free story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Lizzy is one of my favorite characters from the Disciples of the Horner One Trilogy and it was fun to explore her past a little. If you downloaded this story after reading one or more of the trilogy novels, thank you so much for your support. If you found it some other way I hope you’ll consider reading more about my world and the people in it.
Until next time.
James E. Wisher
Also by James E Wisher
Fantasy Novels:
The Squire
Death and Honor Book 1
Death and Honor Book 2
Disciples of the Horned One Trilogy:
Darkness Rising
&
nbsp; Raging Sea and Trembling Earth
Harvest of Souls
Science Fiction Novels:
Children of Darkness
Children of the Void
Children of Junk
About the Author
James E Wisher is an author of science fiction and fantasy stories. He has written nine novels so far.
www.jamesewisher.com
[email protected]
Lizzy's First Bearer Page 5