In the black void of his dream, Erynion's companion stood by him through the whole event. The boy moved his lips, but Erynion couldn't hear a single word. He strained to listen, but not even a mumble slipped past his ears. The boy receded into the darkness, leaving Erynion alone to reflect on his memories. He had seen so much but understood so little. What did it all mean?
A whisper broke the emptiness. "Awake, Erynion. Your time here has come to an end."
Erynion opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar man standing before him dressed in a long black robe and a white scarf.
"My name is Archdon Feranis. Please, don't be alarmed, and don't try to move. We have you adequately detained."
Brightly illuminated chains, just like the ones the priest had attacked Sereyna with the night before, covered his body. Erynion felt no discomfort, and so he remained still.
"You've caused quite a stir by coming to the Surface and telling people that you're here to kill the king," the archdon said. "That is your purpose, isn't it?"
Erynion's expression was flat. For the past day and a half, people asked him questions and offered little in return. He had no desire to engage in conversation, especially with a priest of Candelux.
"From what I understand, this is all quite new to you," Feranis said. "This is your first time on the Surface as a demon, correct?"
Erynion made no effort to speak.
"Well, I've been told that you can't remember your past life, so perhaps you weren't knowledgeable in demonology. Allow me to offer you this free lesson so we can move this along and make it easier for everyone. Demons cannot gain power during the day. That's why they hide or run. And since you and your friend here have been captured, there's no escape. The burning you feel is the holy energy of these chains attacking the dark energy that flows from your dark heart. It brings me no pleasure to see anyone or anything suffer. So here's my suggestion. Tell us what we want to know, and I'll make the pain stop. Understand?"
Erynion glanced up at Flinch, who struggled against the restraints to no avail. "What pain?"
"Are you saying that you don't feel anything?"
"What could you possibly know of pain?"
"I suspect that wound on your face must have hurt pretty badly."
The demon scoffed. "It was a relief."
"From the agony?"
Erynion grumbled.
"It's strange," Feranis said. "Everything I've heard tells me you're exceptionally strong, but what I sense from you is so much weaker. I feel the dark energy within you, but it's more in line with someone who's alive, not a demon. It's nothing close to what it should be. Why would the Seductress come out of hiding for you?"
The demon was tired of the questions he couldn't answer.
The archdon inspected the scars that peeked out from the cloth wrapped around Erynion's head. "I wonder what did that to your face."
"Is that another question?"
"If you wish to answer it. Although I'm more curious as to how much damage was inflicted. Let's take a gander, shall we?"
✽✽✽
Millan watched intently as Archdon Feranis interrogated the large demon. The dons kept their distance but were still close enough to hear the conversation. Feranis motioned to the priests who had Erynion restrained, and they pulled the demon so that his body straightened up. Millan slipped to the other side of Eriph, so he could get a better look.
Using the star on the end of his staff, Feranis pushed up the cloth wrapped around the demon's head. "Just as I hoped. The Devil's Eye. How fortunate."
Millan leaned over to Eriph. "The Devil's Eye? I've never seen one."
"I saw some while I was in Alovajj. They're quite impressive."
"I'm going to get a closer look."
Surprisingly, Eriph didn't try to stop him this time. Millan took a couple of steps forward when a whistling sound pierced the air. An object skimmed past him, and the priest next to him dropped to his knees.
Millan squatted. "Are you all right?"
The fallen don gritted his teeth. There was another whistle, and one of the priests restraining the jester demon stumbled backward, allowing his blessing to dissipate. A slender black arrow was lodged in his shoulder.
"We're under attack!" someone cried out.
Millan stayed low to the ground. Thinking the priest beside him must have sustained a similar injury, he tried to find the wound. However, it became increasingly difficult as his patient fought him off more and more aggressively. Millan finally located the shaft of the black arrow in the leg of the priest, but he was thrown backward.
"Get off me!" Despite the projectile in his thigh, the fallen priest sprang up with no difficulty.
Millan scrambled to his feet. "I'm sorry, I just—"
"Yeah, you're going to be." The Nolka priest made a fist and advanced toward him.
Eriph intervened and shoved the deranged priest backward. "What are you doing? Get a hold of yourself!"
"Don't fangling touch me!" The Nolka priest swung wildly and missed. A third arrow whistled into the group. A fight broke out as two dons tackled each other. One by one, the holy chains fell away from the captives. Millan focused his energy in preparation to cast his own restraint blessing.
Eriph patted Millan on the shoulder. "Hey, forget about them. We need to deal with this. Keep them away from me." Eriph slid his shield from his back. After a quick incantation, he lifted the shield over his head, and a dome of light encompassed the group. Millan kept a watchful eye as the uninjured priests subdued the wounded. Archdon Feranis crossed into the safety of Eriph's spell and immediately cast holy energy on one of the arrows. The black shaft disintegrated, and the afflicted priest stopped fighting his comrades.
With Feranis healing the injured, Millan directed his attention toward the demons again. The jester iymed soared through the air. With daggers in hand, the beast slashed through Erynion's remaining chains. As the giant demon rose to his feet, Millan caught a glimpse of the Devil's Eye, shimmering with vibrant oranges and reds. The jester iymed tugged on Erynion's arm until the pair finally ran into the forest.
The Nesinu priest pursed his lips. "Your Grace, the demons are escaping."
The archdon gave no response as he healed the leg of the injured priest.
"Your Grace, should we pursue?"
"No." Feranis calmly shuffled over to the next priest being held by his companions. "No, we stay here and make sure everyone is healed. And then, we destroy the gate. Let them go for now. There will be other chances."
Chapter 13
The Marksman
This is no simple task, and you need not go it alone.
The voice was faint, but the words were clear to Erynion. Flinch and Sonojj, however, didn't appear to hear a thing. Where was the voice coming from? Erynion didn't wish to alarm his new friends, so he said nothing. It had been over an hour since their narrow escape from the priests.
"Can you smell them?" Flinch nervously checked behind them as he rubbed his wrists, coated with dark, dry blood.
The shape-shifting demon growled. "For the last time, look at my face. I may not have eyes, but you do, so use them for once."
Although Sonojj had reassumed his humanoid form, the chain-linked scar across his nose was still quite visible. "Besides, they're not going to follow us. Destroying the twisted gate will be more important to them."
The three demons walked in silence until they came upon a stream running through the forest. Sonojj bent down and splashed water on his face. Flinch removed his checkered shirt and flung it on a nearby rock. He waded into the creek and began to clean himself. Erynion remained on the bank and reviewed the condition of his clothing. His pants were still stained with the blood from the first night he arrived, however he chose not to wash.
Erynion plopped down next to Flinch's shirt. He gently pressed the eye hidden behind the cloth. He thought back to his encounter with the priests. After his restraints had fallen away, Erynion had briefly observed the group. Everyone glowed wi
th a yellow light, but the archdon in the black robe outshined the others by far. Erynion had been particularly captivated by the sight of the holy dome. It was exactly like the spell from his meditation, the one that had saved his life during the Assault.
Erynion pushed the cloth up so his right eye was exposed. Sonojj was enveloped in black energy with a tinge of green.
Flinch retrieved his shirt from the rock. "So, that archdon was right. Make sure you keep that eye hidden from the priests."
Flinch's aura was like Sonojj's, except it was only black.
"Why's that?" Erynion asked.
"Ask Sonojj. He knows firsthand."
The blind demon cocked his head. "Ask me what?"
Flinch struck his temples to get the water out of his ears. "Erynion has an exposed Devil's Eye. "
"Best to take it out then."
"I don't see why I should," Erynion shot back. "It shows me some sort of energy when I look with it."
"The auras." Sonojj joined them by the rock. "That eye lets you see a being's energy."
"Any being?"
"Sure. Humans, demons, even animals. The color tells you what power they wield. Priests use light energy and have a yellowish glow. War-mages are usually red or blue depending if they mastered fire or water. Pan-mages are green, lighter if they're healers, and darker if they're shape-shifters. The stronger the power, the more intense their aura."
Erynion found it ironic that it was the blind demon who explained the function of the Devil's Eye. "How do you know all this?"
"I used to have two myself. They were great for fighting. I could figure out who was my biggest threat. But in the end, I had to tear them out."
Erynion studied the scratches on the demon's face. "Why? What was the problem?"
Sonojj shook his whole body like a wet dog. "You've heard the phrase 'the eyes are the windows to the soul,' right? Well, that's especially true for the Devil's Eye. With the right skill, a priest can stare into it and uncover your identity."
"And if they know my name, that would quicken my cleansing."
"Yes, but not just cleansing. If a priest invokes your real name in any blessing, it becomes many times stronger."
"What if it's the wrong name?"
"Then it's the opposite effect," Sonojj said. "Granted, not any priest can just look into your eye. They must be trained for it, or they could get lost in your mind. It's safe to assume all archdons are capable of this, like the one leading those priests. That's why all iymed have human eyes that cover their real ones. How did you lose yours?"
Erynion slid the cloth back into place. "I think I tore it out to numb the agony."
The two lesser iymed were silent.
Erynion unbuttoned his shirt. "I also wounded my chest, but that healed up very fast. Why hasn't my eye healed?"
Sonojj bobbed his head. "The eye is different. It's more complex. It's the only part of us that can't regenerate. The human eye can never grow back. And if you tear out the Devil's Eye, you're left with nothing."
There was a long pause before Flinch changed the subject. "So, I guess we should keep moving. Sereyna said to meet up with the group before nightfall."
Sonojj took a seat on the ground. "Don't worry, we'll make it. We just have to wait here for a bit."
"Why?"
"Because, we just do. Trust me."
Flinch's fingers drummed along his thigh. "Aw, come on. You know I'm terrified the priests are going to follow us. Why don't you just be a pal and tell us what we're waiting for?"
"Fine. Did you happen to see what freed you?"
Flinch pondered the question. "Honestly, no. I felt the chains loosen, got free, cut Erynion loose, and then we bolted like a bat out of the depths."
"I heard some whistling noises," Erynion said. "I think I saw an arrow nearly hit that archdon."
The jester perked up. "An arrow? Marksy came back?"
"There's that name again. Who's Marksy?"
"His name is Alejjir," the blind demon explained. "Before the Assault on Light's Haven, he was one of the five greater iymed. The humans call him the Marksman."
"And you call him Marksy?" Erynion asked.
Flinch smiled. "It's an old joke that goes way back. I followed him for centuries before he died. So, he came back to help us, huh?"
Sonojj nodded. "I was a ways off from the gate when I paused to catch my breath. I was figuring out how I'd be able to return and save you both. I suppose I was lucky he was still in area. Apparently, he heard me running through the forest. So, I convinced him to help me, and he said he'd join us after. We agreed to meet up here at the stream."
"Wait a minute. I thought he was afraid of the demon lord."
"I told him Sereyna hadn't found the demon lord because it's headed for Alovajj. But when she does find it, he said he won't be caught anywhere nearby."
"Hmm, speaking of not being caught, Erynion, I had to yank on your arm a few times to get you running. What happened back there?"
"That barrier spell. I saw it in my vision."
"Oh, right," the jester said. "The vision that almost got us all cleansed."
Sonojj cut in. "That hardly matters now. Tell us what you saw in your vision."
Erynion turned his gaze from the iymed pair to the flowing stream. He found the motion of the water calming, and it allowed him to better recollect what he saw. "It was the day of the Assault. I was with someone. He was young, a teenager maybe, but barely. This watcher captain was trying to get us to safety while arrows rained down from the sky. An archdon ended up saving us with that same barrier spell, a dome of light. It started to get hazy after that, but when it was clear again, we were attacked by an assassin. It was the Shade."
"Draeko?" Flinch leaned in. "You saw him in your memory?"
"Draeko? Is that the Shade's name?"
"Well, that's his alias. Who knows his real name?"
"Well, then yes, that's what the paladins said."
"Paladins?" Sonojj asked. "What happened to the watcher?"
"I don't know. Time was skipping around."
Flinch jumped back in. "Psh, who cares about the watcher? Tell us more about Draeko."
"I'm not sure what else there is to say. He was quite short. He wielded a massive dagger in each hand. He was gone as quickly as he came."
"Did you see his face?"
"No, I didn't. He was wearing a wolf mask."
Flinch punched his own hand. "Depths! No one ever sees his face."
"Is that important?"
The blind demon waved dismissively at Flinch. "Ignore him. What happened next?"
"After that, my vision skipped again. People were celebrating the demons' retreat. They talked about the Brotherhood. I think the Marksman was mentioned. Everything was so fragmented, though. It didn't really make a lot of sense to me."
"So, you were alive during the Assault on Light's Haven," Flinch said.
"I suppose so. It's not much in the way of figuring out my identity, but I guess it's a start."
"Ah, the Assault on Light's Haven." Sonojj rested on his elbows. "It seems like just yesterday, and yet so much has changed."
"Yeah, you had eyes back then," Flinch remarked.
The shape-shifting demon ignored the comment. "Shinigami betrayed Verago. The Brotherhood fell to pieces. Umaro Lijjo was cleansed. Draeko hasn't been seen since. Sarjjore disappeared soon after."
Not wishing to interrupt, Erynion simply listened, unfamiliar with some of the names.
"Marksy died in the purge," Flinch added. "Ever since then, it's been dangerous on the Surface. Demons killed during the Assault weren't given the energy to return. Rumor has it that Verago became so obsessed with creating another demon lord he hasn't made any more fray or iymed since the Assault."
"A rumor that appears to be true now," Sonojj said.
"I wouldn't say that's entirely true." The new voice was suave with a hint of arrogance. Dressed in a beige trench coat with a quiver slung across his back, a stranger emerged
from the woods. On his head, he wore a wide-brimmed hat that matched his ensemble.
"Marksy!" Flinch dashed over to greet the iymed.
The newly arrived demon grinned. "Depths, Flinch, now you know I hate that name."
"Oh, sorry. I guess I'd forgotten that after sixteen years." The jester playfully slapped the demon's ribs with the back of his hand. "Hey! Where've you been all this time?"
"Hilarious. I see you haven't lost your sense of humor." After patting Flinch on the shoulder, the new demon tipped his hat toward Erynion. "Hi there. The humans call me the Marksman, but around my friends, I go by Alejjir, despite what Flinch might have told you. Nice to meet you."
The iymed produced his claw to shake hands, a gesture Erynion had not yet experienced with the demons. He brought up his human hand and shook the demon's claw. "I'm Erynion."
"So, where we headed, Sonojj?" Alejjir asked.
The blind demon hopped to his feet. "We're following the stream toward Lake Ivorus until we catch up to Sereyna and the others. We better get moving if she wants us there before nightfall."
As Sonojj and Flinch led the way, Erynion and Alejjir walked side by side behind the jester and shape-shifter. They had barely left their resting spot, when Erynion noticed Alejjir scrutinizing him. "Something wrong?"
"Of course not." The Marksman gave a crooked smile. "So, Erynion, you came through the twisted gate?"
"That's right. The night before last."
"They tell you about the demon lord?"
"I've heard him mentioned, but other than that, not really."
"Let me give you some advice. When they find it, stay away. That demon is a ball of energy aching to go off."
"What do you mean?"
"He's talking about the purge," Flinch interrupted.
Alejjir explained, "During the failed attack sixteen years ago, the demon lord who came to the Surface couldn't control its power. As a result, a massive attack was released right in the middle of the demon army. The purge manifested in a physical form. If it was just dark energy, like the Corruption spell, we would've been fine. But this? This destroyed everything."
"And how do you know a demon lord has come back again?" Erynion was curious about the purge.
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