Warlocks of the Sigil (The Sigil Series Book 1)

by Peri Akman

  It is a deal! And as for what I want, it should be the opposite. So instead of a skinny girl, I want a fat boy! Wait, no, I want one of those new-fangled genders! No! Aargh, I can’t decide! What is more opposite than a girl: a boy, or a lack of gender?

  The Light King seemed genuinely troubled by this.

  You have five years to figure it out, dear, the Dark Queen said, smirking. She turned to Quinn.

  Enjoy your five years, she said to Quinn, smiling her non-smile.

  “I won’t do it. You can’t make me!” Quinn spat out, sobbing.

  Oh, don’t worry: by the end of the five years, you’ll be jumping at the chance to serve me.

  She flicked Quinn straight out of the darkness.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Quinn was on the ground, staring up at Kole. She stared back at him confusion evident on her face, and for a split second they realized mutually what had happened, and neither had any idea why.

  Kole took several steps back, and before Quinn could say anything, a new spike of pain radiated his body.

  White stripes seared across his hands. The demonic infection on his fingertips shriveled and died.

  In full force, a voice boomed.

  GREETINGS, MY BOY!

  His head pulsated.

  I’m the Light King! We’ve talked before, but not much! It’s nice to finally have your skull split wide open. Your childhood was quite boring, did anyone ever tell you that?

  It hurt. Everything hurt. Every muscle screamed its betrayal at Quinn. He just wanted to sink in some hole and die. This was too much stimulation. Too many emotions.

  Aw, kid, don’t cry! Don’t worry, once the sixth year starts, you’ll be able to kick your counterpart’s ass! My wife thinks she’s sooo clever by removing all of her weaknesses and calling it a day, but I’m far more resourceful than that. She spread out all this energy to give her backups and secondary powers, and I used all of that for one trick. But it’s the best trick. You agree, right?

  Quinn was on the ground, curled up into a ball, trying to focus on anything that wasn’t pain, voices, his own tears, or the fact that there were people dying in front of him.

  Ooooh, I thought of the perfect parallel! She removed that one’s weaknesses, but I removed your limits! Isn’t that grand? I had to hedge my bets at day one, and wait patiently, but when I found out you could summon, it certainly paid off!

  Laughter echoed in his head, like this was some sort of casual conversation. Kole knew. She had known this would happen. She had been planning this entire time!

  He couldn’t even fight back, thanks to the tattoo. He was just going to be stuck here with Serethen as he—

  Wait, where was Serethen? Quinn’s eyes strained to see that part of the cave, but Serethen was gone. So she escaped after all.

  Quinn had never hated someone so much in his entire life. He know he shouldn’t, but gods, it wasn’t fair.

  And now I need to make a quick checklist of things. You are a male-type, correct? And I see you’re on the fat end. This is good. Very good. Are there any other opposite effects you could supply to me? I’m just spitballing here. You could be a moral legalist! Or how about gleeful concupiscence! Would you be willing to sacrifice your arm for the sake of the image of the Light King?

  Why couldn’t everything just stop?

  You know what? I’ll get back to you on that. I think I can schedule a brainstorming session in, eh, two to three months? Then I can pencil us in for a talk on why monsters are superior. I think this is gonna go amazingly well!

  Oh gods, just SHUT UP, Quinn’s mind screamed.

  During this, the Dark Queen was discussing plans of her own.

  These bodies are cluttering my view, she said, picking up the limp and ragged Tsalir. She gave them a good shake. Tsalir gave no indication of feeling it; they had long ago passed out. Or died.

  “I can get rid of them for you, if you want,” Kole mumbled.

  The Dark Queen dropped Tsalir on the ground, causing their body to further bend in ways it wasn’t meant to.

  Now I do believe you sent a legion of my demons out to attack a temple, yes? After your assassination attempt, I mean, the Dark Queen asked.

  Kole lowered her head in shame, as Asim gave another sputtering, bleeding cough.

  “Yes, master,” she whispered.

  Then why don’t we do that next? Burn that obnoxious hunk of rock to the ground. The bodies will remain as food, the Dark Queen said, smiling.

  Quinn had a mental flash of Asim, Tsalir, Kay, Li, Uleyn, Yven, and many more lying on the ground, skin and bones, barely alive, but unable to die.

  Just like Serethen was.

  His breathing hitched. He couldn’t let that happen. Not to all of them. He had spent the past month growing to love that temple and its stories and people. It would be too much. He tried to desperately expand his mind, but Kole was too smart. She knew exactly how to use the tattoo to stop him from casting. Even the smallest of expansions came snapping back into a migraine.

  There had to be some safe part of his mind that she couldn’t reach. Some well-guarded place...

  But there wasn’t. He knew there couldn’t be. It would be foolish to hope for such a thing.

  Even if Quinn could counteract the mundane, the fact was, this demon magic just seemed to hurt him more than it did anyone else. At least now he knew why. He had been sponsored by the Light King all this time.

  He should have turned running the second he realized that he had summoned that monster.

  …

  …wait.

  Huh, yeah, that would work, the voice of the Light King in his head said.

  Quinn’s mind screamed for a single entity. A monster.

  He could summon anything he wanted, right? And there was only one thing that reacted differently to demons than anything else.

  For a split second he thought it hadn’t worked, and then the cave was filled with a roaring noise.

  The white monster had returned.

  It slammed Kole against a wall, spraying bits of spit everywhere in its anger.

  The link was broken. Quinn could move. Free will flooded back in, and like an idiot he lay there, frozen on the ground, as he processed the information.

  Quinn turned to leave, but stopped.

  No.

  Not like this. Not leaving Asim and Tsalir to be drained.

  An unsettling thought stayed at the top of his mind:

  No matter what, Quinn was guaranteed to survive.

  He had to rescue the others.

  He went to shout the orders, but Ser Crystal Flake had already seemed to have gotten the message. The monster skidded over to Tsalir and gripped them in their mouth like a ragdoll.

  The Dark Queen sighed, and darkness rose up against the monster, slamming it downwards.

  Ser Crystal Flake whined at the pain, only it was a monster so the whine came out as a hideous, blood-curdling roar.

  In some small part of his brain, Quinn realized he could understand the exact emotion Ser Crystal Flake was conveying, despite him having no reason to know this.

  “Banish it!” Kole snarled, staggering forward from against the wall, but healing at a rapid rate.

  Quinn reached out to banish it, as ordered, but was slapped back.

  For whatever reason, monster trumped tattoo.

  The white monster roared and scrambled away from the Dark Queen’s grasp, relatively unharmed. More information surfaced from his subconscious. They’re not allowed to kill each other’s creations.

  That would be breaking a deal.

  Ser Crystal Flake grabbed Asim next with its thick tail (the tail was prehensile now?), its white fur turning red from his blood.

  Kole reared back, black lances surrounding her. The monster’s eyes widened and it charged— straight for the exit.

  It slammed through, just as Kole managed to hit it with one of the lances. The white crack of an exit was now a giant gaping hole. A small stream of water began to s
purt out of the hole.

  Quinn gave a small laugh of relief. Sure, the lake would be a problem, but it had worked. He had disobeyed them. And maybe… maybe he could pretend they would survive.

  The Dark Queen frowned.

  Kill him.

  Wait, what?

  Kole’s head whirled towards her. “What? But he’s the—”

  My husband will get a new slave. I’m terminating this one. The deal can restart later, with the appropriate compensation. Kill him, the Dark Queen ordered.

  Quinn paled. He wanted to banish the monster, and summon it back here, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t let Asim and Tsalir drown like that.

  “Kneel down,” Kole ordered, and Quinn had no choice but to listen. Oh sure, the monster could disobey, but not him.

  He stared at Kole. He refused to die. He refused to accept this!

  “Stop making eye contact,” Kole muttered irritably.

  Overwhelmed with the fact that now he couldn’t make eye contact, Quinn found himself bowing down, staring at the cold hard floor. In his peripherals, a demon was lazily sitting up, giggling silently at him.

  He screwed his eyes shut when—a noise.

  “Wh-what’s going on here?” a familiar voice called out.

  Dale. Dale’s voice.

  “H-h-holy GODS!” another voice yelled. Kay’s.

  “I—see?!” Dale nearly squeaked, almost shocked. “I was right! I knew she was evil!”

  Kole’s concentration broke, for whatever reason, and Quinn scrambled towards the noises behind him. Kay and Dale were standing at the entrance, with Kay holding one of Tsalir’s daggers. Cosime was absent, he didn’t know why but thank goodness for that. They didn’t need to be a part of this.

  “What are you doing here?” Quinn rasped.

  “Well, we were here to rescue all of you folks, but it seems like it’s just you,” Dale replied. She had a huge grin on her face, but it wasn’t one of confidence. Her face was merely stretched out to accommodate her nerves.

  A snapping sensation in his mind. The monster was gone. What that meant, Quinn didn’t want to guess.

  Kay gripped her knife, shaking.

  “Where’s Asim?” she asked. “Serethen said that—”

  She was cut off by a scream and a dodge, as Kole sent an entire array of dark lances towards them.

  Dale counteracted the dark lances and shot her own directly towards the throne as demons crawled out of it.

  The Dark Queen idly waved it away.

  Darkness began to crawl across the walls, lunging for Kay.

  “NO!” Quinn shouted, and he summoned the best thing he could conceptualize.

  Ser Hero on their noble steed.

  “Come, Ser Crystal Flake, let us defeat the most heinous Queen and the throne!” Ser Hero cried out, and charged.

  The Dark Queen sent a plume of darkness towards Ser Hero, and Quinn winced as he prepared for the inevitable banishing.

  Ser Hero did not flinch, and instead charged forward, as if it were any other creature they had faced. They made contact, and the shadows swarmed the monster, tearing at its fur and drawing white blood. Ser Hero withdrew an axe out of nowhere and hewed into the shadows. They dispersed into screaming demons, before disintegrating into a gaseous form.

  The duo did not stop there, aiming directly for the Dark Queen herself. They jumped off the ground, and dug a blade directly into the Dark Queen’s face.

  At the pressure, the black shadowy skin split apart down to the neck, before immediately resewing itself. The Dark Queen gave a hiss of actual anger and increased her power. Ser Hero dodged and gave a yelp as she swiped at them in turn.

  Unfortunately, Ser Hero’s steed was a few nanoseconds too slow. Her claws dug into the monster, and instantly recoiled, but the stumbling was enough for the shadows to reform and swarm Ser Hero and slice them in two before Quinn’s eyes.

  Quinn gave a shout of surprise. If Ser Hero could attack the Dark Queen, then Ser Hero could attack the throne. That meant they could stop the demons from coming out. It was the thinnest of saving graces.

  He resummoned them, this time with the orders to stay alive at all costs.

  “Let’s go, Kay—” Quinn began, but, much to his surprise, Kay was not near him anymore.

  He turned around to a scene that made him realize why he had been able to summon so easily. Kole hadn’t been dominating him because she was distracted.

  Dale lay on the ground as Kole repeatedly tried to bash her skull in with her walking stick. Feeble black strands of energy generated to block the blows, but it was an imperfect strategy. Some were diverted into the ground, others were diverted into Dale’s lower face, but Kole’s staff had clearly hit its mark at least once, judging by the sheer amount of blood around Dale’s head.

  Kay was trying to reach Dale, but the lazy demons had slowly begun to stand up, and had blocked her off. She was having some success with the knife, but there were too many demons to fight them off successfully. One demon remained motionless, perched in the corner, hissing what he could only assume were orders.

  Quinn charged, not sure what he was going to do. He couldn’t overpower the demons, but he didn’t have to. He just had to react faster than them.

  He skidded past the demons, and practically side-tackled Kole into the ground. Without even waiting to hit the floor, he wound up his fists, and punched her in the nose.

  Dark blood spurted everywhere, and Kole gave a yelp. Her face contorted into anger.

  “Kill Dale!” Kole ordered.

  Aw, crap.

  He slowly got off of her. He didn’t want to do this. He couldn’t do this. Not murder someone in cold blood.

  He stood up and turned to Dale, a mere few inches away.

  “Don’t make me do this!” Quinn shouted. He’d consider it begging if he wasn’t turned away and now kneeling down over Dale’s passed-out body. He didn’t even know if she was still alive; there was too much blood surrounding her face.

  He heard Ser Hero in the distance, making quips as Ser Crystal Flake roared in pain. They were losing. They were holding their own against the Dark Queen, but it was temporary. They couldn’t defeat her. They wouldn’t be able to destroy the throne.

  His hands circled around Dale’s neck, and he pressed downwards, every inch of him trying to fight Kole’s orders.

  Kay gripped Quinn, forcing his shoulder out. It only took a second for her to register the glowing brand before she cursed, and released him. She let go of Quinn and barreled past him.

  Had she defeated the demons? There was no way. He couldn’t see from this angle.

  Regardless, he was stuck here strangling Dale.

  And then the order wavered.

  His head spun to Kole.

  Her walking stick was swinging, aiming for Kay’s head. Kay crouched and raised her jacket up, blocking the hit remarkably well.

  Right, amplifier.

  She raised her foot and aimed a kick at Kole’s chest. Kole grabbed her foot and tipped her over, causing Kay to fall on her back.

  She began to slam down with her walking stick, but Kay met it with the dagger—

  Slicing the walking stick in two.

  The thick, clubbed part of the stick fell to the ground with a clatter.

  Kole stopped moving for a moment, as she stared at Kay in shock. Kay was breathing heavily on one knee.

  A sickening squelching noise and a snapping in Quinn’s mind informed him that Ser Hero and Ser Crystal Flake had run their course.

  Quinn grabbed Kay’s hand and tried to drag her away.

  “We need to go!” Quinn yelled.

  Darkness teemed around them, and before Kole could get another order out, Ser Hero and Ser Crystal Flake reappeared, ready for round two.

  This time they split up, Ser Hero fighting the Dark Queen, Ser Crystal Flake charging towards Kole.

  This time, Ser Hero was banished near instantly from the Dark Queen’s force. They had gained precious seconds.

&
nbsp; “We have to destroy the throne!” Kay cried out. Apparently she had reached the same conclusion as Quinn. Either that, or Serethen had told them.

  “We can’t! There’s no way we can—” Quinn cut himself off. This would have to be fast. “How good’s your aim?”

  The Dark Queen was raising her hand.

  Kay didn’t reply, she just nodded.

  In his head, Quinn screamed: Ser Hero’s Spear.

  A spear with an emblazoned H appeared in his hand.

  Kay didn’t waste time questioning it. She grabbed the spear. In Kay’s hands, it began glowing brightly. Ser Hero’s spear wasn’t inherently magical. But it was inherently Ser Hero, and that had to mean something, right?

  Kay took a step back, squinted, wound her arm back, and chucked the spear with all the force she could muster.

  The spear soared through the air. The Dark Queen raised her hand to stop it, but instead it pierced straight through it, and into the throne.

  The throne began to crack.

  Kneel.

  Quinn found himself down on the ground again. The spear was still embedded in the throne. He couldn’t summon the monster without getting rid of it.

  Kole slowly limped towards him.

  For a split second Quinn was aware of the fact that he would die before the throne shattered.

  The next second, Kay tackled Quinn, lifted him over her shoulder, and made a dash to the exit.

  She skidded to a stop a foot away from the exit, and looked back at the dying Dale. Demons began to swarm as the Dark Queen roared in anger.

  “We can’t carry her,” Quinn whimpered, Kole’s desires still on his mind, trying to get him to break free from Kay’s grasp. Luckily for him, an amplified Kay was far stronger than him.

  “I can,” Kay said. She dropped Quinn to the ground and kicked him out of the portal with her amplified boot.

  Suddenly, water. Water everywhere. He had forgotten to take a breath. His free will broke, his own emotions rushing back to him. Quinn was free, oh gods, he was free. He wanted to float in elation, but he was drowning far too much to do that. He couldn’t even feel the connection to the spear anymore. He hoped it had done what it was supposed to. Hazily, Quinn summoned his fish again, effortlessly. It guided him to the surface, where Quinn took a thankful gasp of air. His mind pounded with the reality of the situation. The last thing he had seen was Kay being swarmed by demons. Was she going to make it? Had Asim and Tsalir made it? He had no way of knowing.