by Marie Harte
Sava’s sudden appearance by the demons startled Lexa and Remir into silence. That Sava didn’t look well was a gross understatement. The once pristine Aellei was covered in Dark matter, his hair tangled and matted, his skin blistered and oozing. But his eyes scared Lexa the most. The Sava she knew didn’t exist in that gaze.
He approached the red demons without glancing up, yet she knew he was aware of her presence.
“Lord Sava?” Remir whispered, a frown on his face. “What’s he doing here?”
“Come brothers. It’s been a while, and I want to play.” Sava winked at the demons and flicked a finger at one of them. The creature blew up, energy exploding into a tightly confined field, a blast of filth hanging suspended over the other two demons.
“What have you done?” one of them cried out.
“I’m hungry, Feor.” Sava grinned, his teeth alarmingly like ‘Sin Garu’s. He opened his mouth and inhaled the suspended energy in one long drag, as if sucking through a straw.
Feor snarled and left his post to the other demon. “You’ll pay for that, white one.”
“Feor,” the other demon started.
“Come, Vrak. This one needs a reminder about life in the Pit.” Feor tilted his head. “Sava, you’ve changed. Why, are those Monitors inside your eyes?” Feor chortled with glee. “Possessed are you?”
Sava, possessed? Dammit. Does he expect me to save myself at his expense? He’s as dim-witted as Arim. Lexa fumed as she compared the two males, neither of which came out favourably. She glanced at Remir and realised she was surrounded by people who sacrificed themselves for her. And she didn’t like it one bit.
“Come on,” she snarled at Remir as soon as Vrak joined Feor out of sight. They quickly floated down the rocky slope and stared at the barred cage. Not sure how to open it, Lexa reached for the nearest bar, only to have Remir grab her hand.
“It hurts. Let me.”
Fine. You do it. Then I’ll save your ass too. No more sacrifices for me. Lexa was feeling less and less worthy of so much forfeit. She didn’t like being in anyone’s debt. Especially not when she already felt horrible that she hadn’t been there when Remir needed her most.
He grunted with pain as he closed his hands around a large bar of green light. His expression one of agony, he pulled with all his strength, allowing her a slim expanse to slip through. She didn’t wait but moved inside the bars. Her lost energy called to her, and she reached out to her soul, smiling when it flew to her. She joined it with a simple touch. Shocks of blue energy flared, and she finally felt like the powerful Dark Lord she’d been bred to be.
Short on time, she focused on the other reason for her presence in the cage. Closing her eyes, she mentally sought the essence that was Remir. Commanding the essence to come, she opened her eyes to see Remir’s energy balled up in Dark bands. Muttering Dark magic, she pulled the bands with her to the exit, and not without some difficulty.
“I can’t hold much longer,” Remir rasped.
She hurried to the entrance and slid outside but couldn’t pull his energy with her. The soul couldn’t leave the confines of the demon prison. Grabbing the fiery door with one hand, she shoved one of Remir’s arms inside the cage only long enough to watch as his soul settled over his spirit. The Djinn lit up from the inside out. He pulled his arm back and she let go just as the door to the cage slammed with a powerful bang. Energy scattered up the slopes around the crater like fingers of green lightning.
Remir, however, no longer held a golden tint. His eyes returned to their natural brown. Now he was Dark, his aura pulsing with a white, clean light, much like the aura he possessed when he burned in truth.
“Thank you,” he said softly, his love shining like a beacon. “Now go before they return.”
She could hear inhuman shrieks mingling with Sava’s cruel laughter.
“I’m not leaving without Sava.” She made up her mind. “Or you. Come on.” Not giving Remir a chance to argue, she raced through the air, at long last exhilarated by her rightful Dark power. Lexa was completely whole, though she knew she couldn’t possibly be as strong as she felt.
Once they rounded a large boulder they found Sava. The sight that met them froze them in her tracks. Sava had expanded to five times his normal size, much like Arim had done when he encountered the Church brethren in Tanselm. Unfortunately, Sava also looked five times as demonic as he had. Vrak and Feor were crying out as he smothered them under his massive feet.
Sava chuckled, his smile wide when he met Lexa’s stare. “Finally. Took you long enough.” He glanced at Remir and frowned. “You can’t leave. Your bargain was met.”
“It wasn’t his bargain to make.” Lexa wasn’t talking to Sava anymore, but to one of those Monitors, or whatever the hell they were, that possessed her friend.
“Then whose was it?”
“’Sin Garu’s. You want him? Come with me.”
Sava considered her for a moment. He straightened and stared down at the red demons a moment before stomping hard on their heads, crushing their horned skulls and smashing them into oblivion. Blood and brain matter spattered the stone floor.
Lexa knew she’d had enough gore to last a lifetime. She barely managed to keep herself from throwing up. Even Remir turned away in disgust.
Sava moved like lightning and had a hold of her arm and Remir’s before she cold blink.
“Ah, Sava?”
“Sava’s not here anymore.” The Monitors laughed and held tighter when Lexa struggled in their grip. Sava squeezed her hand and increased in speed, shooting back up towards the bridge through which they’d travelled.
“I can’t leave,” Remir yelled as the air whipped by them at breath-stealing velocity.
Sava’s skin writhed as if he underwent an internal battle. “You can if the bargain’s not met.” His voice sounded like Sava’s again, but Lexa couldn’t be sure. Then she didn’t much care as they entered that odd between.
They landed in Orfel, and it remained as it had before they’d left. The demons were at work in the gloomy green cavern, ingesting and molesting anything that lived.
“Go to Arim. Remir and I will take care of the bridge and its horrific ladder.” Sava’s booming voice drew the attention of the demons. Remir swore.
“But Remir—”
“I’ll be fine,” Remir said and tugged her away. His spirit was strong, but his form wouldn’t last outside of the demon plane. He needed to join the Next, if he could find it. Lexa had no idea how to guide him there. Unless Ravyn and Faustus could help…
“Go, Lexa. I’ll help Remir.” Sava laughed and crushed several demons in one mighty fist. “Unless you’d rather stay and play with me?” The Monitors returned, echoing his sentiment.
Lexa didn’t need to be told twice. “Sava, you join me in Tanselm soon or I’m coming back for you. And if you Monitors do a thing to harm Sava or Remir, you’ll deal with me.”
Unfortunately, they didn’t take her threat seriously, for Sava erupted into laughter while the demons on the ladder began tumbling, shrieking in fear and anger as Sava destroyed them.
Much as Lexa wanted to stay to help, worry for Arim consumed her. She hadn’t allowed herself to think of him while down in Mount Malinta, but now she couldn’t stop thinking about him. The Dark willing, he was alive and kicking.
Something tickled her belly and she rubbed it, frowning. Then fear shook her when her connection to Arim that had always hummed beneath the surface seemed to fade away.
Chapter Sixteen
Arim did his best to breathe, hoping against hope that Lexa had at least retrieved what she needed to make herself whole. He could no longer see out of his right eye, and his stomach boasted more holes than a wooden flute. Groaning, he didn’t have to feign weakness as he struggled to stand.
He and ‘Sin Garu had taken their fight from the commons out of the castle onto Tanselm’s dying grasses. The land shuddered as every blow from the demon-infested Dark Lord struck him, and thus her, deep into
her core.
It was as if Tanselm had invested the last of her energy in Arim, her chosen Guardian of Storm, and were he to die, he’d take her with him. So not only to save Lexa, but the land as well, he’d forced himself to stay conscious and breathe, when every cell he possessed wanted to lay down and die. The demon poison burned and ached, and made him want things he shouldn’t. It ate at the Light fuelling him and force-fed his Darkness, making Arim both weaker and stronger because of it. A contradiction that was keeping him alive, if barely.
All around him Light Bringers battled the Netharat. Here, in the western territory, it seemed the Light might actually prevail…if Arim could fucking kill one pain in the ass Dark Lord.
‘Sin Garu screeched a warning at the wraith that shadowed his every move and angled to cover Arim’s weaker side, leaving the wraith free to attack Arim’s less damaged flank. He wheezed as he tried to catch his breath. He probably wouldn’t live through this, and he wanted badly to see Lexa again, to at least know he’d helped to save her now, as he hadn’t been able to back then.
Tired of watching ‘Sin Garu control this particular fight, Arim called on the Darkness seething within him and tangled a stray beam of Light in his power. He focused on ‘Sin Garu’s lackey, the bloodless Sirral, and sliced the wraith in two. ‘Sin Garu hissed his displeasure and reached out with one clawed hand at Arim’s face as he raced towards him.
“Arim! Mother of Light,” he heard Darius exclaim. Dimly aware of Samantha and several Light Bringer sorcerers gathering close, Arim held up a hand to shield them from his personal battle as he braced for impact.
Caging himself and ‘Sin Garu together, Arim would allow no one but himself to fall at the Dark Lord’s hands. His nephew would have to protect the others from the small number of Netharat still living. But if Darius was near enough to this outlying portion of Tanselm’s western forest, the battle was likely almost over. This skirmish…not nearly so.
‘Sin Garu had suffered some damage to his body, but the damned demons holding him together seemed to absorb most of his injuries. Even with several severed fingers and a broken knee, ‘Sin Garu moved as if he felt no pain.
The two slammed together and Arim felt as if he’d been hit by a brick wall. He managed to avert his eyes from the talons stretching close, needing his precious sight to survive a while longer. ‘Sin Garu raked his neck instead.
Arim cursed at the blaze of pain racking his aching body. “Get. Off.” He allowed the last bit of his Light to pour through his wounds, cauterising them to stop the bleeding, as well as to score deep furrows in ‘Sin Garu’s rotting flesh.
The Dark Lord screamed, cursing Arim, his progeny and his ancestors to every imaginable concept of damnation.
“You’re weak, as you’ve always been,” Arim said hoarsely. “Weak and pitiful.” Not smart, but the insult shot straight at ‘Sin Garu’s major vulnerability. His pride. The Dark Lord pushed Arim away, and he fell hard on the ground. Tanselm’s magic had dulled enough that her earth did nothing to help him as he landed flat on his back.
“Weak? Me? I’ve brought the Storm Lords and your precious Tanselm to its knees. You are nothing. A Light Bringer with no more power than that of your flailing world. You have nothing. My demons are feasting on Lexa even now. She’ll feed them forever.” ‘Sin Garu laughed, and his inner demons laughed with him.
The sound made Arim’s eyes tear with the pain of such shrillness. He could only be glad he’d shielded everyone else from such torment. As he lay looking up at his enemy, a picture of Lexa came to him. Her soft blue eyes both loving and welcoming, her arms spread wide in welcome, eagerly awaiting their embrace… His vision darkened as untold pleasure beckoned him close. If only he could hear her one last time, the sultry timber of a woman in love…
“You die on me and I’ll bring you back from the Next just to kill you again.” Lexa’s cold voice rang with fury.
Arim managed to open one eye in time to see her, from inside his shield, blast ‘Sin Garu away from him and into the opposite confine of the bubble—at least sixty hand spans away.
Unable to move, he chuckled and blinked up at her as she knelt over him. “I guess I don’t have to ask if you’re whole again.”
Her tears hit his cheeks as she raged. “I leave you by yourself for a few minutes and you nearly die. What is wrong with you?” She ripped open his already torn overtunic and placed her hands flat on his chest.
“Lexa…not…safe.”
“Shut up.” The venomous look she shot ‘Sin Garu made Arim glad she wasn’t as angry at him. She waved a hand at ‘Sin Garu and Arim watched in astonishment as the Dark Lord froze like a statue. “There. Now I can focus.”
The cold of her palms numbed the pain. Arim sighed as the sweet relief of oblivion neared. Then heat coursed through their contact, and he squirmed as tingles of energy hit him like angry, stinging bees.
“Ouch. That hurts, dammit.” In one fell swoop, Arim felt life flow back into him. The earth beneath him swelled with power and began sharing it through the matted blades of grass and dark earth replete with new vitality. Lexa’s power smacked of Darkness, but it fed the Darkness in his soul and attracted even more of Tanselm’s Light.
“Finally. Sava broke the demon bridge.” Lexa smiled with reassurance and love.
Arim, however, felt more than just her love. He was overwhelmed with Tanselm’s excited power, and with the bursts of joy surging in Lexa’s womb. It was that energy that brought back his focus. He stared incredulously at the proof of what he’d suspected before.
“Lexa?” There was much he wanted to know, but Arim feared for Lexa’s safety so near ‘Sin Garu. Though her power seemed to have quadrupled, ‘Sin Garu was no mere Dark Lord, but a host of demonic forces that wanted more than anything to conquer this world of Light.
Arim sat up with Lexa’s help. They watched as ‘Sin Garu tried to break through the paralysis holding him still, a paralysis that shouldn’t have worked considering the demons bolstering the Dark Lord’s reserves.
It was then Arim noticed that the shield surrounding him had faltered, because the Royal Four and their affai, a host of other Light Bringers, Jonas, Djinn warriors and Aellei now surrounded the area where the shield had been. Which also explained how Lexa had been able to join him.
“You did it, Arim. You broke the drain on Tanselm’s energy.” Aerolus grinned, the wind whipping around him with the force of a small tornado.
“I didn’t do it. She did.” Arim nodded at Lexa, not at all happy everyone seemed to have disregarded ‘Sin Garu’s presence. The damned battle was far from over, so why was everyone smiling? And why the hell were his nephews here and not fighting in their respective territories?
Sava suddenly appeared next to Jonas with a body draped over his shoulder, startling the Djinn into a battle crouch. When Jonas saw Sava, he grinned and raised a hand, as if to clasp Sava’s. After a moment, he faltered, then backed away and erected a shield of Dark between them.
“Demons,” Jonas hissed, which had everyone defensive and readying to attack Sava.
“Wait.” Lexa left Arim’s side and approached Sava. “I have the one you’re looking for.” She glanced over her shoulder at ‘Sin Garu.
Sava considered her, then shifted his stare to the frozen Dark Lord. “What’s stopping me from having both of you?” He grinned, showcasing a mouth awfully similar to ‘Sin Garu’s.
Arim preceded his words as he teleported between Lexa and Sava. “I won’t allow it.” He didn’t need to be told that Sava wasn’t himself. He could smell demon on the Aellein’s skin, like a musky, Dark cologne.
“Arim, it’s okay—” Lexa tried but he cut her off.
“It’s not okay.” His soft voice should have warned her to tread warily. She didn’t seem to understand the chaos of his emotions. He’d been one breath away from death and then she’d reappeared to save him. Arim might have lost her in that demon hell. He might have died, separating them until she joined him in the Nex
t. But now she was here, and she put herself in deliberate danger confronting a possessed Aellei. That hazard was not only to herself, but also to the precious bundle she carried in her belly.
Arim turned to Sava and spoke to the demons invading his body. “Remove yourselves from the Aellei. He’s your host no longer. Take the rotting Dark Lord. The evil in his soul is one that can feed you for an eternity.”
Sava dumped the body over his shoulder to the ground and walked to ‘Sin Garu, studying him intently. Arim allowed himself a brief glance at the ground and swore when he saw the unmoving frame of Brother Giles, his lone informant in the Church of Illumination. The young man had a bad case of hero worship, and Arim had used it to learn what he could about the Church. Too little, too late, apparently.
Seeming to sense Arim’s concern, Lexa looked from him to Giles and knelt by the young man’s side. She placed a hand on his forehead and nodded. Moments later, Giles groaned.
“I’ll take the Dark Lord,” Sava declared in a horrific cacophony of sound, causing everyone around them to cringe. “Him and the white one.”
White one?
“No.” Lexa stood, and again Arim put himself between her and their present danger. “Sava’s not yours to keep.”
“He’s not,” Alandra said from the periphery, stepping forward.
Aerolus and the other Storm Lords stepped forward as well, their elemental energy throbbing with vigour. Tanselm seemed to feed off their emotions for the land shuddered with power.
“Finally.” Arim made use of the magic that had once been his to manipulate at will. He hadn’t felt such pure power in hundreds of years…not since Lexa had left his life. Staring at Sava, he focused on looking into the male, seeking the forces he needed to deal with.
A true Light Bringer might not have been able to mark the demons in Sava, but Arim tapped the Dark centre of his being. Using the Light that was Tanselm, he easily saw the bevy of demons fighting for supremacy in Sava’s body. Recalling his own bout with a possession spell, Arim began chanting, pleased when Aerolus, a powerful, if novice, Wind Mage, joined him. And then Alandra lent her considerable magic.