The skeleton, which had never released his throat, looked distorted through the field of rapidly greening water. The bones showed no expression, but a sense of rage washed over Jez. It reached for his face with its free hand, but a flick of his sword removed the arm at the elbow. The water was starting to burn now. The demon roared, but with another slash, Jez removed its skull. The fog dissolved, and Jez let the green water splash to the ground, burning vegetation as it fell.
A second later, the cloud Onior had gone into exploded. The afur’s robes were burned in several spots. Four bands of burned flesh at his throat said the demon had gripped him in the same way it had grabbed Jez. A second later, the cloud Ziary had attacked went up in a burst of flames. A charred skeleton fell away from him, dissolving before it reached the ground. Ziary was breathing heavily and seemed to be struggling to stay aloft. Burns littered his wings.
Lina had climbed down from the tree and was speaking with Aniel, who had once again assumed the form of a well-muscled dark-skinned man, though his eyes looked like those of a cat. Songbirds had landed in the branches above him, their song contrasting with the battle that had just taken place. Aniel nodded at the trio as they landed.
“You have my thanks.”
“Why were you running?” Jez asked. “Couldn’t you have fought them off? There were only three of them.”
Aniel smirked. “Not all of us are warriors. I can attack with all the fury of the wild, but a poxin’s cloud of gas attacks from every direction at once. Of all the demons of the abyss, they are the ones best able to deal with our particular style of fighting. Those three probably would not have killed me, but they could have hurt me enough that Andera’s servants could have taken me, as they did to Aphlel.” He sniffed at the air and a growl rose from his throat. “We should go, lest they get away with him.”
Jez started. “They have Aphlel here?”
Anger flashed in Aniel’s feline eyes. “They grew this forest to give themselves a path they could take to escape. They never counted on me taking the crystal back into myself nor that because of that, their working would affect me less than the others.” The forest itself quavered at his growl. “I have their trail now, and they will not get away.”
CHAPTER 32
Rather than have them fly as individuals, Aniel took the form of a great bird with a wingspan at least thirty feet wide. They all climbed atop his back and latched on. The hairs of the feathers were as thick as ropes and it was easy to grip them. Jez resumed his human form to give himself time to recover.
One flap of Aniel’s wings sent loose leaves and twigs flying, and birds took off from the branches. A small bush was torn out of the ground and flew out of sight. They rose into the air and were propelled forward at a mind-numbing speed by the beating of the huge wings. The swath of destruction no longer showed the way, having been caused by Aniel himself, but the lord of beasts had access to all the abilities of the wild, and even as a bird, he seemed to be able to track his prey by scent alone.
Like an arrow, they shot across the sky. After nearly a minute, Aniel dove, snatching at some unseen target in the trees. A woman’s voice cried out. Then, Aniel shrieked. Instantly, Jez transformed and spread his wings, catching the wind. He was torn off of the massive bird. He caught himself and steadied his flight. Aniel held Mirel in his talons, but she was slashing at him with a sword made of brilliant yellow light. Her attacks left wounds that bled glowing green motes. In Aniel’s other talon, he held the unconscious form of Aphlel. Jez flew under the great bird and grabbed the unmoving pharim lord.
“Aniel, I have him!”
Aniel loosened his grip on Aphlel, and the lord of healing came free into Jez’s grip. Before he could turn and head back to the manor, Mirel slashed again. Green light spilled from the wound, and with a grunt, Mirel forced the talon open. She flew up and rammed her sword into the bird’s chest. Her body glowed with power. Aniel screamed, and Jez’s blood turned to ice. She was trying to summon something directly into Aniel’s body. Jez started to move toward her, but he was already feeling the effects of carrying a high lord, and his body was sluggish. He would never make it in time. No sooner had that thought occurred to him than a red streak crashed into Mirel. Aniel screamed one more time. Then, his skin writhed as his feathers became flies. They flew apart in all directions, and in their place, suspended by leathery wings, flew a dozen bat-like creatures, though with the size and general shape of a man. The bats were already moving to help the one who had summoned them.
Ziary was a blur of sword and flame. Mirel was holding him off, though she wore a panicked expression that said she couldn’t keep this up for very long. With the bats, though, she might not need to. Jez drew his sword, but a hand tugged at his arm. He looked up to see Onior with Lina latched to his back.
“Do not enter such a battle rashly. We should go.”
“What about them?” Jez indicated the battle as bats flew in to bite Ziary.
“Ziary is buying us time to escape.” Onior said. “We must go. Aniel will recover, but Aphlel is in danger.”
Lina bit her lower lip and glanced at Ziary. “Leave me.”
“What?” Jez asked.
“I said leave me. Put me down on a tree or something. I’ll help Osmund.”
Onior nodded. “It should buy us a few seconds, at least.”
“But...”
One of the demons transformed into a Shadeslayer. The closest bat screeched and attacked the new enemy. It tried to sink its teeth into its victim’s neck. The illusion shimmered and vanished, revealing that the bat demon had closed its jaws on the neck of one of its fellows. The one it had bitten fell to the ground, unmoving.
“Go!” Lina cried out, her left hand constantly in motion even as she held on to Onior with her right.
Jez only hesitated for a second before nodding. Onior left her on the ground, and they started for the manor, though they moved with agonizing slowness. Jez tried to get Onior to take a turn carrying Aphlel, but the afur refused.
“You are flesh. You can withstand his power when it is being released like this. I can feel my essence wanting to fly apart just from being this close. If I were to actually carry him, it would destroy me, but perhaps this will help.”
Wind gusted from behind, increasing their speed. It still wasn’t easy. They moved no faster than a horse at a trot. Aphlel’s energy was a constant strain, and after a quarter hour, Jez had to land. Onior came down next to him. Jez put Aphlel against a tree.
“Sorry,” he said between heavy breaths. “It wasn’t this hard when I carried Sariel.”
“You may not have fully recovered from that.” Insects chirped, and Onior’s eyes constantly scanned the area. “We should not stay here long. The forest is not safe.”
Jez let out a breath. “There’s a whole forest. Most of the ones here are allies. What are the odds our enemies will find us if we take a few minutes to rest?”
“Quite high, actually,” a voice said from the shadows.
Raphlia stepped out from between the trees. Onior drew his sword and pointed it at her neck, but a second later, Illeon appeared to his left and Shanel to his right. Raphlia smiled.
“You did not truly think you could hide from us in a forest we created, did you?”
CHAPTER 33
Jez stepped in front of Aphlel as Onior lunged forward, his sword moving in a red arc. It sliced through Raphlia’s neck, but her head remained firmly attached. Onior gaped at her. Then, faster than the eye could see, she took a step forward and seized his throat. She gave him a smile that would’ve been at home on the face of a madman.
“We cannot kill, but you...” The grin on her face widened. “You are not truly alive, are you?”
The two afur glowed bright orange. Onior screamed. There was a flash of light, and when it faded, the former Shadeslayer was gone. Raphlia let out a laugh that chilled Jez to the bone. She looked him in the eyes. Her pale blue irises showed a cold anger that he would’ve never suspected of com
ing from a healer.
“You would be surprised how closely related the ability to heal is to the ability to harm. You, unfortunately, are human, so I cannot show you exactly what he went through. It is only killing that we may not do. We are still quite able to cause pain.” She gave him a chilling grin. “Do you know how much pain a human can take before their mind breaks? Everyone is different, of course, but it is a fascinating thing to watch. Get out of the way, Jezreel. Let us take Aphlel, and I promise you that when we deliver you to Lord Andera, your mind will be intact.”
In response, Jez’s sword darted forward, cutting into Raphlia’s side. It should have sliced her in two, but the afur just smirked. She reached forward, touching the hand that held the sword, and all Jez knew was pain. He was on the ground. Tears blurred his vision. Raphlia stood over him while the other two moved around him to lay claim to Aphlel. Without getting up, Jez slashed again, but his sword barely slowed them as it passed through their legs. He struggled to his knees and watched in horror as the two traitor afur lifted Aphlel. A dim part of Jez’s mind hoped they would be destroyed as Onior had feared, but as they gripped him, they each shivered. Then, an orange glow passed over them, and they steadied.
“You formed a contingent.” Jez’s voice was barely above a whisper.
Raphlia smiled. Aside from Aphlel himself, these three were the most powerful healers in all of creation. Their exile from the Keep of the Hosts may have limited them, but by combining their power, they had overcome that. Now, they were using that power to heal themselves the instant they were wounded. Still, all power had its limits, and if being near to the unconscious pharim lord was really as harmful to spiritual beings, as Onior had claimed, they had to be using a great deal of their power to keep themselves from being harmed.
Jez drew deeply of Luntayary. The pain lessened as he got to his feet. Raphlia tried to touch him again, but he drew water out of the air and used it to hold her against a tree. It wouldn’t hold her for long, but hopefully, it wouldn’t need to. With all the speed he could muster, he slashed at Illeon, cutting into him again and again. Shanel released Aphlel and tried to strike at him, but she was no warrior, and he knocked her wooden blade aside with casual ease before resuming his assault. His attacks did no more damage than the previous one, but the look on the afur’s face said Jez had guessed right. They were reaching the limits of their healing power. Illeon dropped Aphlel, and he and Shanel held their swords ready to meet his attack, but rather than continuing, Jez leaped onto the lord of healing. Raphlia sneered. The tree she had been bound to had withered away until the trunk crumbled.
“Oh, come now. You cannot beat us while you hold on to him, and neither can you fly fast enough to get away.”
She was right, of course. It was all he could do to stay aloft while holding Aphlel, but he was a Shadowguard. His magic was of binding and warding. It was the magic of water, and it was the magic of earth.
He and Aphlel sank into the ground. Raphlia cried out in surprise before her voice was muffled beyond comprehension. With an effort of will, Jez shot through the earth in the direction of the manor. Holding the high lord, he couldn’t move nearly as fast as he could’ve otherwise, but it was still several times the speed he could maintain in the air. The earth itself seemed to dampen the effect of Aphlel’s power, Either that or the element was strengthening Jez. There was movement ahead as roots from the largest trees tried to grab him, but he just went deeper, far beyond their reach.
In the quiet of the earth, Jez could almost forget the chaos that was going on above. Almost, but not quite. He forced himself to focus on his destination and was surprised when he realized he could feel it. Rather, he could feel its absence. When Sariel and Gayel had transported the manor partially into Between, they had taken as much of earth below as they had of the air above, and with his mystical senses, he felt a great hole in the earth. He headed in that direction.
They came up a few yards from the main entrance. No sooner had he emerged than a shadow passed over him. He looked up to see three figures diving toward them. He had hoped he would have more time. Freed of the earth, Aphlel’s power renewed its assault on him, but Jez gritted his teeth and carried Aphlel into the manor.
CHAPTER 34
“Baron?” Captain Narva stood just inside the entrance. Her eyes went wide when she saw Aphlel. “How?”
“There’s no time,” he said. “Where’s Sariel?”
She shook her head. “They haven’t come back yet. What’s going on?”
He grabbed her with his free arm and tugged her deeper into the manor. “I have three traitor afur right behind me. I need your help.”
She had gone pale but nodded. “I am at your command, Baron.”
He wanted to reassure her, but there was no time. He opened a door to one of the servant’s quarters and ushered her in, laying Aphlel against a wall. “You stay here. Try to be quiet.”
She nodded once, and though she tried to keep her voice steady, it cracked as she spoke. “Won’t they find me?”
Jez shook his head. “They’ll be too busy coming after me to worry about you.”
She rested her hand on the hilt of her sword and stammered as she spoke. “Baron, forgive me, but what are you going to do? If you thought you could beat them, you wouldn’t have run here.”
“I don’t have to beat them,” Jez said. “I just have to keep them busy until Sariel and Manakel get here.”
She nodded once and drew her sword, the gold veins seeming to shimmer. She stood between Aphlel and the door, ready to defend him. Jez inclined his head to her and left the room. No sooner had he closed the door than the triune came into the entryway to the manor. Immediately, Jez shot the bubble binding at Raphlia. She caught it on her sword, and it quickly spread out. For a moment, he thought it would hold, but then it exploded outward.
Jez didn’t allow himself time to feel surprised. He rushed forward, and his sword sliced through her with no effect whatsoever. He pulled water out of the air and formed it into bands to restrain the other two even as he delivered three more quick slashes. Raphlia just smiled as her fingers brushed his forearm. The pain only lasted for a second, but it was enough to make him lose his concentration and the restraining bands splashed to the ground.
Jez spread his wings and rushed through the hall. As he’d hoped, they followed him. He turned a corner so quickly that he slammed into the wall, but it barely slowed him. The triune, no doubt having far more experience at flying, rounded it easily. They were gaining fast, and any moment, one would think to ask where Aphlel was.
Jez sent his power behind him, causing the ceiling to fall in on them. Illeon burst out of the pile of rubble, rage twisting his features. Jez allowed himself a brief moment of satisfaction before he threw open the door in front of him and headed down into the basement.
Kilos sat cross-legged in the middle of the room, crafting some kind of working Jez didn’t know. He opened his eyes.
“Jez, what—”
Jez gestured at the three circles glowing on the walls. “Are those ready to be used?”
He gaped. “It’s a little complicated...”
“Can you activate them?”
“Well, yes.”
Jez pointed to the one on the left. “Be ready with that one.”
“What...”
Illeon flew down the stairs, glowing with orange energy. He reached the bottom while the others were still at the door. Jez didn’t waste time with workings. He seized Illeon and threw him against the wall, right in the center of the circle. Kilos gaped.
“Now!” Jez cried out.
Dumbly, Kilos nodded. His fingers danced in complex gestures, and he uttered words Jez didn’t know. The circle glowed, and a creature that looked like a man made of black chains stepped out of the wall. Without needing to be told, it entangled the afur. For a moment, everyone froze.
Sharieks were terrible demons with an insidious power. Anything they entangled wasn’t just physically restrained.
They were denied their power as well. Jez had seen that ability work on pharim. Afur would be no problem at all.
Jez launched himself at Raphlia. She raised her sword and was able to deflect his first strike, but the second cut into her stomach. Denied the full power of the contingent, she couldn’t repair the damage. Against most weapons, what power she did have might have been enough to heal her, but of all the orders of pharim, only the Shadeslayers had swords more deadly than the Shadowguards.
The edges of the wound burned blue. She opened her mouth to speak, but her tongue turned to ash in her mouth. Her skin cracked and sapphire light shone from within. She took a step forward and collapsed into dust.
Shanel turned and fled, and Jez’s blood went cold.
“Jez,” Kilos said, “What’s—”
“Aphlel.”
He rushed up the stairs, flying toward the room where he’d left Narva and Aphlel. Vines burst through the stone to entangle him, and it took him several agonizing seconds to cut his way free. When he got to the room, he found Shanel, disintegrating on the ground. Next to her lay R’Virdi, barely conscious. His hands had been reduced to burned stubs. Before Jez could say anything, Aphlel stirred.
CHAPTER 35
The pharim lord rose smoothly. He took in the room and cocked his head. “What has happened here?”
Jez shrugged. He shed Luntayary’s form before looking at Narva. She had gone a little pale, and it was a second before she could speak.
“R’Virdi found me just after you left. He said he could sense Aphlel. Then, she came in here. I tried to attack. She looked at me, and I was overcome with pain. She gripped Aphlel’s head. Then, R’Virdi leaped at her and bit her wrist. When she dropped her sword, he picked it up and stabbed her with it. She screamed, and three shadows flew out of her hands and disappeared.”
Aphlel nodded. “A pharim’s weapon is linked to their essence. Another cannot use it without severe damage.” He walked over to R’Virdi and touched his forehead. “This is bad. The damage is near total. Mind, body, and soul.”
Lifebringer (Pharim War Book 6) Page 16