“Oh but they do. They have been watching you for a long time; even before you were born they were watching you.”
“What are you talking about?” Jonas demanded.
The demon prince laughed again. “Do you know what happened to your father?”
“He left us when I was born. He did not want a cripple as a son,” Jonas said, a little bit shaken by the direction of the conversation.
“You were a cripple because the Forsworn made you so. Gould the tormentor had known about you before you were even born. Your mother was poisoned during her pregnancy hoping to kill her and you.”
“You lie,” spat Jonas, gripping his swords tighter. Jonas used his powers to weave the energy around him into an invisible shield. His powers were growing stronger and it only took him a couple of seconds to spin the molecules around him into a translucent shield of energy.
But Jonas knew that he had to use his powers sparingly, for the headaches that came with their use could incapacitate him, something that would be his doom when facing a foe like the one before him.
The demon prince snickered knowingly. “We had assumed your mother would die, killing you along with her, but she was much stronger of spirit than we thought. She was sickened; however, the poison deformed you. Your father was strong of body, but not of spirit. Gould used his servants to force him to leave and then they took him as Gould’s slave.”
“You mean my father did not leave us on his own accord?” Jonas asked shocked.
“Correct, and we thought you as good as dead, a mistake which I’m here to remedy.”
“You should have killed me then, I will not be so easy to defeat now. My heart is pure. You cannot corrupt me with your seeping blackness.”
“When the Forsworn realized that you were still alive, they had Malbeck the Dark One, my master and their sword on this plane of existence, order your death.”
“But the High One sent Airos to protect the town and me,” replied Jonas as he thought about Airos’s sudden arrival. “But Airos did not know exactly who I was, only that he needed to help fight off the threat that attacked my town. His death helped me survive and I believe now that Shyann shielded me on that dark night.” Realization of Airos’s sacrifice and the simmering plot to destroy his family hit him like an ogre’s fist. “But why me?” Jonas asked more to himself than anything.
The demon prince spat on the ground and hissed. “You already answered that question. You are IshMian, a rare power that threatens my masters. More importantly, your heart is pure and incorruptible; a rarity in men and a potential threat to the powers of darkness, but it is a weakness, cavalier, for you cannot truly accept the power of the Forsworn. ”
Now it was Jonas’s turn to laugh. “Power? They hold no power! They only exist because they feed off of the weaknesses of men. Your Forsworn are parasites that have no power of their own,” Jonas countered, swinging his swords left and right.
The demon prince crouched, hissing angrily like a snake, his long blade bursting in red flames. Then he whispered a few words and orange flames suddenly burst from his left hand. Jonas stood his ground as the flames slammed into his mental barrier and rushed to either side of him. He smiled as the flame’s heat did not touch him. The fire subsided, revealing Jonas unharmed, holding his swords at his side.
Jonas used his mind to send the translucent shield forward like a battering ram. The energy wall hit the demon prince hard, slamming him against the back of the tent. Strangely, when he hit the tent wall it looked like he had crashed into stone. Whatever magic the demon had used to seal the tent turned the walls into something hard and unbreakable.
Jonas quickly charged forward as the demon prince smashed into the wall. Releasing the energy of the shield he used his leading blade to hastily block the demon’s fire sword, but his second blade scored a hit on the demon’s leg, causing a deep cut across its thigh. Nelstrom hissed and kicked his leg out impossibly fast. His powerful foot struck Jonas in the abdomen and sent him reeling backwards.
Kiln had taught Jonas many things, one of which was how to deflect the power of a blow by not fighting against it. And Jonas’s agility almost equaled Kiln’s, allowing him to move like an acrobat. So Jonas went with the blow, leaping backwards at the last moment, deflecting some of the power of the strike. He rolled backwards over his head and came to his feet quickly.
The prince wasted no time and attacked him furiously with his fire blade. The struggle became a blur of blades as the two master swordsmen used all the skills they had. They spun and danced, their magic blades leaving traces of fire and blue light as they whirled through the air. The demon’s long arms and legs allowed him an advantage, but Jonas’s skill with two blades allowed him to keep the demon’s steel away from his flesh.
The demon prince pushed Jonas close to a wall, hoping to pin him against it, but Jonas sensed the wall’s presence and frantically fought to keep from being cornered. Nelstrom’s foot struck out again, so fast that Jonas could not avoid it, striking him in the thigh, the power of the kick forcing him to stumble backwards.
The demon prince saw his opening and swung his fire blade downward towards Jonas’s head. But Jonas, too, was fast and he quickly brought both blades up in a cross to block the powerful stroke. The power of the strike sent sparks everywhere, severely jolting Jonas’s strong arms. It felt like he had caught a falling boulder.
The blades held together and the prince stepped in close to Jonas’s face. Jonas used all his strength to hold the blade still as the demon leered down at him. He strained and gritted his teeth as the flaming steel inched closer.
As the demon’s head moved closer, he opened his fanged mouth, spitting burning flames at Jonas’s face. Jonas screamed as the fire seared him but he did not let go of his swords for he knew that the demon’s fire sword would cleave him in two. He felt his skin bubble and the pungent smell of his burnt hair assaulted his senses.
Jonas closed his eyes and drew on his cognivant powers again. Using these powers was always tricky. He had to balance the need against the power of his opponent and the energy he would expend in using it. Against a powerful opponent like the one he faced now, he risked incapacitating himself. But if there was a time to use those powers, it was now. He called on the energy around him and wrapped it around the demon prince. Instantly the flames went away and Jonas used his mind to lift the demon in the air and throw him across the room to smash again into the wall of the tent.
Jonas stumbled from the agony, trying to open his eyes. The pain was immense. He had been burned so badly that his eyes were sealed. His head pounded from the cognitive energy used to fling the powerful demon against the wall.
From a distance, Jonas heard the demon laugh as he struggled to maintain his balance. His heart beat quickly as he fought to get control of himself through the pain and fear. Jonas could heal himself but he didn’t know if he had time before the demon attacked again.
Then he heard Shyann’s voice in his head and all fear went away. “Hold tight Jonas. Do not fear. I am here with you. Use your mind.”
Jonas’s mind cleared and all fear evaporated in a rush of energy. He opened up his mind and used his powers as a cognivant to see the area around him. In his mind’s eye he could make out the particles of everything around him, including the demon prince who was now just before him with his sword raised above his head. Everything shone with different hues of light but it was enough to give Jonas an idea of distance, size, and shape.
Prince Nelstrom smiled wickedly as he brought his fire blade down with all his strength at the blinded cavalier. But the blade struck the ground hard as Jonas had moved aside with impossible speed and agility.
The prince tried to get his blade up but the cavalier was too fast. As Jonas sidestepped the powerful swing, he swung his right hand blade down onto the exposed arm of the demon, slicing easily through its flesh. As the demon’s sword arm fell to the ground, he watched in horror as the cavalier spun like a dancer, the momentum of the spi
n sending his left sword whirling by his face, slicing through his throat. The prince’s neck parted easily on Jonas’s blade, and he stumbled backwards from the blow.
Jonas, his eyes still burned shut, saw the demon prince move backwards holding onto his slit throat with his one good arm. But he would not be so easily killed. In his mind’s eye, Jonas saw the demon work some dark magic. Two bolts of energy shot forth from the demon’s hand but the bolts did not hit the cavalier. Instead they landed on either side of him creating two huge spiders from the crackling energy. Jonas could not see the spiders perfectly but he could make out their shape and size. They were as big as a man, similar to the spider that Taleen had fought on the battlefield.
Both spiders instantly attacked him. They leaped with incredible speed and slammed into the invisible wall that Jonas had quickly formed with his mind. One landed heavily on its back while the other maintained its footing, sending long clawed legs into the barrier as it tried to reach the retreating cavalier.
Jonas asked for Shyann’s help and brought forth burning blue flames that erupted from his right sword. He pointed the blade at the spider that was attacking the invisible barrier and sent a column of flame into the hideous beast. He had to drop the wall to let the flames out and he hoped that the spider on its back would take a few moments to recover.
The flames struck the spider with a flash, quickly incinerating it. Its squeal of pain was quickly extinguished as it was transformed to a smoldering pile of ash.
The second spider was quicker than he had expected, attacking Jonas simultaneously with four spiked claws. He stumbled backwards and used his right sword to deflect the first three attacks, but the last lightening quick claw shot through his defenses piercing his thigh just below the metal skirt that protected his hip and groin. The spider retracted the leg and attacked again as Jonas screamed from the pain and stumbled backward.
Jonas knew that he had to finish this spider off quickly or the demon might soon join the fight. He did not know if the demon prince had survived his attack but he had to assume he had.
The spider was a blur of red energy in his mind’s eye. He used his two blades frantically to keep the beast at bay while he used his mind to concentrate on the hunting knife that was sheathed at his side. The spider did not see the knife coming as it was focused on trying to get through the deadly blades that blurred before it. Jonas used his mind to send the knife into the large right eye of the spider. Green gore burst from the wound. Screeching in pain, the spider backed up, trying to use several legs to knock the knife free.
Jonas had never used his power to levitate his own body but he had to try. His head was pounding with the exertion of using his powers but he put his trust in Shyann and forced himself to focus and draw forth whatever energy he had left within him.
He was able to use his power to leap high into the air, wrapping his body in energy and lifting himself well above the spider, then quickly releasing the energy to slam his body into the injured creature. His feet hit first followed closely by both blades. His feet slammed the spider down into the stone while both swords plunged to the hilt into the soft hairy body. Jonas ripped both blades outward, slicing open the abdomen and showering the floor with its entrails. Simultaneously he jumped off the dead spider, landing on his shoulder and rolling quickly up to his feet, both swords held before him.
He mentally scanned the room for another attack. He was tired and severely injured, but in the state of Ty’erm he was able to block the pain and focus on what needed to be done. His head ached badly but in his meditative state he could handle more pain than normal. He pushed his strength to its limit, knowing that it would mean life or death.
Various colors assaulted his mind as he tried to makes sense of what he saw in the room. He could make out the two dead spiders, their color in his mind now a darker red as their bodies cooled in death. He could see the king’s bed and the softly glowing blue outline of the dead ruler.
Prince Nelstrom was choking on his own black blood as his spiders were attacking the cavalier. He tried to whisper the healing word that his master had taught him, a secret word found in the Shan Cemar. All that came out was hissing and gurgling as his ripped throat showered the ground with his blood.
One of his innate abilities as a follower of the Forsworn was that he could call on Naz-reen’s servants at will, once a day. So he didn’t need to say words of magic to bring forth the spiders. He simply willed them to arrive and they would, but to heal himself he needed to speak, to use words of magic like a wizard.
His red eyes boiled with rage as he felt his life’s energy begin to leave his body. But he was not dead yet, his magical body was able to handle injury and pain beyond that of any human.
He used the last bit of his energy to run forward, grabbing his sword off the ground with his only arm. His eyes focused on the cavalier with hatred and fury and he ran toward Jonas just as he had finished off the last spider. The demon prince attacked Jonas from the side, hoping to drive his dark blade deep into his body.
Jonas detected a glimpse of energy from the corner of his eye and turned quickly to meet the attack. He felt a searing pain lance through his side in the seam below his breastplate. No normal blade could puncture Jonas’s chain mail shirt under his armor, but this was no normal blade; it was a dark blade cursed by the Forsworn, and its magic was powerful. The blade pushed through the chain mail shirt, and through his abdomen, bursting out his back.
Jonas screamed in pain as the demon prince held the blade inside his body, twisting it left and right as the flames burned his soul. Jonas’s arms were flayed out to his sides, but he still held his swords in both hands. He whispered a prayer to Shyann as the pain enveloped him, nearly causing him to drop his swords.
“I am here, Jonas,” Shyann whispered in his mind as she shielded him from the pain.
Instantly the pain went away and Jonas spun his swords in both his hands so the points were facing down. The demon used his sword as leverage lifting Jonas’s body off the ground with one arm just as Jonas raised his blades high, and slammed both points downward through the demon prince’s chest and into his lungs and heart. Simultaneously he called on his God Fire, sending the flames roaring down the blades and into the body of the screaming demon. The flames burst inside the prince and shot forth from his ears, eyes, and open mouth, until his entire body was glowing with God Fire from the inside. Suddenly Prince Nelstrom burst into flame and disappeared in a shower of fire and ash.
The only thing left on the ground was his armor.
Jonas crashed hard into the ground and fought to maintain consciousness. The pain was minimal as Shyann still shielded him, but he did not have the strength to pull forth the dark blade or heal himself. He lay on his side, the cursed blade buried deep in his flesh, his face burned like a blackened piece of roasted meat, his long curly hair scorched and burned to his scalp. His head swirled with exhaustion and he barely held onto consciousness.
He heard the faint sound of rushing footsteps nearby but didn’t have the strength to view the scene in his mind. But through the black haze he thought he heard Taleen’s frantic voice.
“Kiln, do not touch the blade, it is cursed. Let me do it!” There was a pause. Then he heard Taleen whisper close to him. “Jonas! Bandris help me! Jonas, do you hear me?”
His senses were blurry with sounds and smells whirling around in his mind. Finally, the pain from his injuries slammed into him like the gust from a dragon’s wing. Jonas’s head swam and his body finally succumbed to his terrible wounds. The last thing he felt was the dark blade being pulled from his body. Then he felt Taleen’s hands on his abdomen and nothing more.
Eleven
The Mission
Jonas awoke slowly as several voices gradually brought him from a deep sleep. As his eyes adjusted to the light he could see Taleen and Fil standing before him. He was lying in a bed of soft furs in the tent that King Gavinsteal had arranged for them.
Then it all came back to
him in a flood of memories. The king was dead, slain by his own son who had sold his soul to the Forsworn. But as he recalled the terrible battle with the prince and the severe injuries he had sustained, his heart lifted with joy as he realized that he was seeing the world from his own eyes.
Jonas slowly reached up and touched his face for any sign of scarring. Taleen leaned in close to him as she sat on the edge of the bed. Her red hair seemed to outshine her gleaming silver armor. Jonas was again overwhelmed by her beauty, and the vision was such a contrast to the terrible images of his recent memories.
“There are no scars, Jonas. I healed you but you were so exhausted that you’ve slept for over a day. I’m glad I was there or you surely would have perished within moments of sustaining those horrible wounds.” Taleen smiled warmly as his hands moved to his scalp and his eyes widened in surprise. “You don’t look so bad bald, Jonas. I’m sorry, your hair was so badly burned that we just shaved it clean. But you’ll never guess what was left behind.”
Fil moved closer and smiled reassuringly at Jonas as he sat on the other end of the bed. Jonas’s senses finally came back to him as he looked at his two friends.
“You should see it, Jonas. It is amazing,” Fil said with open admiration.
“What are you talking about?” Jonas asked, bewildered.
“I think you pleased Shyann, Jonas. She left you a gift,” Taleen said as she brought a mirror to his face.
Jonas lifted himself up in bed and looked into the mirror. It took him a second to get used to the bald headed face reflected there, but he had to admit that he didn’t look half bad. Then he saw the mark, the gift that they were talking about. His heart swelled with pride as he rubbed his hand over the symbol on his forehead. It was a scar, but no ordinary scar. Burned into the skin was the shape of a great oak tree, the symbol of Shyann. It was as if someone had branded his forehead with the symbol and then stained it blue. The mark did not have the jagged edges you might expect from a normal scar, they were raised and smooth, perfect in every way. Jonas stared at it for several seconds.
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