A Dragon at the Gate (The Chained Worlds Chronicles Book 2)

by Daniel Ruth

  Cloning was magic of a legendary sort. Even a demon lord wouldn’t use it that easily, so I would guess this was an illusion. Did I mention Raksasha are also excellent conmen and illusionists? All in one elegant bundle of evil.

  While I didn’t have enough power left for an attack, I did have enough to send out a minute pulse of psychic energy. Not subtle but the reflection of this energy would let me know which image actually had psionics active. He scowled and the images faded.

  I was starting to get worried. We both were pretty good swordsmen, incredibly strong, though I believed I had an advantage, and very durable in a city containing a huge ley line node. This could last a while.

  The Baron obviously thought so too. He stepped back and then started glow blue. What demonic power was that? Then it struck me. He had turned invisible. Apparently, he had no idea I was one of the many entities that saw the invisible. Either that or he was setting me up. I decided to bite. If it was a trick, I believed I could survive it.

  “Where are you?” I shouted swinging my sword wildly. I made sure to get close enough so I didn’t look like a moron, yet realistically miss. “Come out and fight, coward!”

  I saw from the corner of my eye as he smirked triumphantly. He waved his hand and one of the bisected zombies jerked. I obligingly took the bait and turned around to face it, leaving my back open. I strained my hearing to detect the almost imperceptible rustle of his clothes and then spun around, putting my entire strength behind my two blades.

  As I turned I saw he had also brought his blade up and down for a stroke embodying his entire power. I winced but didn’t stop my blow or try to defend myself. His sword took me in the chest and penetrated an inch.

  My swords came down at the junction of his neck and between the two glowing blades penetrated a foot. I gave a predatory smile. There was world of difference from a demon lord and greater demon. I kicked him off my blades and advanced, following up on my advantage. While he was staggering back and trying not to fall, I delivered blow upon blow. A mortal would have died from any one of these wounds, however, demons are only loosely bound by their biology. The gaping wounds and pulsating exposed organs were only an inconvenience. It wasn’t until my final blow severed the Baron’s head that he finally fell.

  Chapter 31

  As the Baron’s body slowly evaporated, I fished in my bag for the ceramic containers I had prepared for the minor insect demons that had once swarmed my house. I had prepared these to preserve the body parts and keep them from fading away. Believe it or not, properly prepared demon parts, are the main ingredients in many rituals and circles. I certainly wasn’t going to let a perfectly good greater demon go to waste.

  We had both grown during our battle, so even though his size didn’t change he reverted to his true demonic form. This meant that he now had a tiger’s head and a fur pelt instead of skin. Although large, he still looked like a miniature version of his lord, Vatapi.

  I spent a good thirty minutes preparing his corpse and rendering it into many useful ingredients. In death, the Baron would do far more good than he ever had in life. Even though he would likely reform in one of the planes Vatapi had prepared, I did feel some warm fuzzy feelings as I ripped and tore at the carcass to remove the precious parts.

  I didn’t get everything before his body melted away but I had enough for many experiments in the future. Creating the pastes and paints for wards and circles is as close to alchemy as you can get and not actually be alchemy. It was one of the reasons I was as decent as I was with merely a year of experience. That and the natural advantages an inherited memory can provide.

  After I was done, I stood at the door. My wards were now completely dead. The broken anchor rune was still there but I could tell that even that was degrading as the firmament slowly rejected its warped concept. I stared at the crystal. Then I looked at Durmont as he gazed mindlessly at the floating rock. I had decided not to place any controls on him but that didn’t actually tell me what I was going to do.

  With a sigh, I walked in, wincing as the defenses once more slowly blistered my skin. Moving over to the desk I reached out and crushed the crystal. The stone ejected a final flare of energy and the light died as it was reduced to dust. I put these into another ceramic jar while keeping an eye on the acting principal.

  “What? Who are you,” the man groaned in a groggy manner. “What are you doing here? You should leave.”

  “I don’t think you really want that,” I pointed out. “If you think really hard, you just may remember that you have been under the complete control of a demon lord for... at least a decade I would suspect. Likely much longer.”

  “Yes, I remember. The principal. He was a demon. He had us chasing impossibilities.”

  “Draining the ley line energies of this world, into another. Yes, nonsense.”

  “Why would he want us to do this,” he muttered to himself as he stood unsteadily.

  “Well, he got an entire country of mages to find the perfect spots to set up the circles, lay down those circles and activate them. Now he just needs to gather up his armies and sweep through the ten worlds he’s chained together.”

  “What? We have to stop him!”

  “I already have. At least temporarily,” I assured him. I was getting pretty uncomfortable and I didn’t have any psychic reserves left. “Let’s talk in the main building. It’s hot in here.”

  “Your smoking,” he replied absently as he moved towards the door. “Why is the corridor piled high with dead people?”

  He was still unsteady, so I lent him a hand as we made our way over the small mountain of corpses. “Do you remember that your assistant, the Baron, was a demon?”

  “Unfortunately.”

  “That’s what’s left of his entourage.”

  “They’re zombies. Good grief, how many people did he kill?”

  “A lot. It was what got us on his trail in the first place.”

  “Trail? I’m sorry but I still have no idea who you are.”

  “Derek,” I paused, then gave in. “Call me Professor.”

  “You don’t work for our school.”

  “No. Do you remember that last world you and the Baron went to?”

  “Vaguely. A lot of it is a blur. The Baron had to leave suddenly but I had already left a while back. Thinking back on it, the world was fascinating. They did so much with mechanical constructs. The vampire population was different, though, not like ours at all.”

  “The Baron went native and formed a gang of zombies,” I clarified. “I had wondered why he would go off the tracks like he did if his goal was to connect the worlds. Now it makes sense. A demon has... urges. I suppose he couldn’t resist.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  “I was called in to investigate the prepared corpses the Baron hadn’t finished with.”

  “You’re from that world?”

  “Let’s go with that. We’ve been tracking the demon lord back and found his trail lead here.”

  “Are you with that world’s government?”

  “I work with them. I am the best one to follow up on these things. I’m not sure if you noticed but the rest of the world was in the dark in regards to magic.”

  “I had noticed. It seemed odd with the vampires and the shifters running about. At the time I wasn’t in a state to ask any questions.”

  “Was the entire council controlled?”

  “I think so. Yes.” His eyes widened in dismay as he recalled something. “The council chambers had a centerpiece. Whenever the Baron attended it would activate just like the crystal on my desk. Good lord, I need to destroy that thing. The demons are in complete control of the country!”

  “Hold on, were there others besides the Baron?”

  “I don’t remember any,” he said calming down slightly.

  “Then there’s no need to rush there. Unless you activate it and give the commands to free them, simply destroying the crystal won’t free them from previous commands.”
<
br />   “Does that mean...”

  “You should be unbound. I gave the appropriate commands to free you.”

  “Thank you. But how did you not get trapped?” By this time, we had made our way to a comfortable sitting room. Durmont collapsed bonelessly in a chair, hands cradling his head.

  “I am very resistant to things that play with the mind. I can stop by the council and reverse the demon’s commands. Assuming you get me in.”

  “I can do that. Are you an official representative of your government?”

  “Not really,” I said uncomfortably. “I consult with them in regards to the occult. The magical community went into hiding a few decades back after placing a geas on all the world leaders. They didn’t have anyone that knew anything.”

  “How terrible,” he replied weakly. Likely he was thinking about how that compared to be controlled by demons to open the dimensional gates for an invading army of demons. It was probably a tossup.

  “I can contact them fairly easily. You may want to coordinate some defenses on that upcoming demon invasion bonanza.”

  “Right,” he said, visibly pulling himself together. “Contact your leaders and we’ll stand with them against this demon horde!”

  “Right, hold onto that thought.” Uncovering my holo terminal, I send a contact request to Conrad. He must have fixed the technical difficulties from before because within twenty seconds his image was floating about the terminal.”

  “Hey Conrad, glad you got your terminal fixed.”

  “Hello Professor,” he nodded at me, then looked over to Durmont. “Who is your guest?”

  “Actually, I am his guest,” I corrected with a smile. “This is Durmont Sembling. Acting principal of the Royal Academy.” Conrad nodded politely but obviously wasn’t making the connection.

  “Assistant to the previous principal.” Still nothing.

  “The principal that was also the head of the council.” No reaction.

  “You remember Vatapi? The demon lord? Big guy with a cat head? The one planning to invade us at the head of his demon army?”

  “Yes. I remember him.” He was obviously too used to me. I think he might be pulling my leg. If so the world might just be ending. Again. “He seems very friendly to you. Is there a reason?”

  “You appear to be a representative of your government,” Durmont interjected at this point. “I would like to make a formal apology on behalf of myself and my own government. I have just been freed from the demon’s control and realized the horrible situation our worlds are in.”

  “Didn’t you tell me that once a demon has control of someone, they may be compromised forever?” Conrad asked me with a frown.

  “That was if they contracted with a demon,” I clarified. “The control medium, in this case, was more like a very strong hypnotic state. Almost a geas. It should be broken now.”

  “There was no contract involved. Although the demon lord was very wily he must have known that a soul contract might be detected. It’s not as if our community isn’t aware of demonic threats. We have fought against them relentlessly since the ley lines went out of control.”

  Conrad glanced at me. I shrugged. He didn’t have any signs of demonic contracts or empowerments. Other than that, I was a bit skeptical of Durmonts claims of expertise considering his entire government had fallen under a demon lord’s control.

  “Okay, I will accept you are no longer under the control of an entity hostile to our city... I mean our world. I assume that you wish to engage in talks regarding an alliance?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t have authority to make any decisions, however, I can get you to the correct people. Professor, please give him your terminal. I’ll set it to restricted mode.”

  I looked at him in dismay. This terminal was mine. Admittedly, I only used it for taking notes, although I had mapped the city. But the point was, it was mine! He must have noticed my expression. “You still have your backup.”

  He was likely referring to the one Beth ordered under my name. I suppose I could use hers for a while. I sent my files to Beth’s terminal and handed it over with a disgruntled sigh.

  “Fine. Shall we talk about how we’re going to save the world?”

  We didn’t talk about saving the world. We didn’t talk about much of anything significant. Conrad’s figure was replaced by the former mayor of Arc. Now the President of everything that was left apparently. Then they had a round of greetings and apologies. I still have a hard time figuring out what the President was apologizing for. We didn’t set up an invasion of his world. Still, Durmont smiled and seemed more at ease afterward, so I suppose it was successful.

  An hour into the conversation I thought there might be something relevant to getting ready for a demon invasion. I was wrong again. They segued into trading stories on the trials and tribulations of politics and how corruption seemed inevitable regardless of the political system. At this point, I attempted to sneak out while they were occupied.

  “Professor, where are you going,” the President’s voice interrupted my escape attempt.

  “I was just heading out to get some shuteye,” I said with a yawn. Normally I could stay up for a week straight but these last few weeks have been a bit tiring. The nightmares also kept my naps fairly short and less than rejuvenating. When it came time for my long sleep I might be out for a month or more.

  “Would you mind staying a bit longer? There might be some issues that require your input.”

  “Do you know when you will be available to stop by the council chambers? I would like to get the other councilmen freed as soon as possible.”

  “We can do it tonight, as long as I don’t have to fight another demon,” I replied. I wandered over to the shelves lining the room. I refused to think that even a demon mage didn’t collect arcane tomes. I grabbed a few books that looked interesting as they droned on some more. They discussed how their economies could support each other and how a magical military could reinforce a non-magical one and vice versa. That one was almost interesting but since the President needed a lot of background explained there wasn’t anything that I didn’t know or couldn’t deduce.

  Meanwhile, I paged through the books. Some of it was history. I put those ones back. There was one about the Fundamental Accords. I almost read that one but I finally put it back. After hearing about all the foul ups in Jeremy’s world I wasn’t interested in this world’s dysfunctions.

  There was another on some of the theories of the connection of the firmament and concepts. I got a chuckle out of that one. I bet this passed as a comedy for Vatapi. I finally got the idea that there wasn’t going to be any spell tomes squirreled away in these cupboards.

  Looking back at the two politicians, I saw they were showing no signs of slowing down. I coughed and was thoroughly ignored. A louder cough had them both looking at me. “I need to get going. I sprained my toe during my combat with the demon and his horde of dead people. I should go bandage it."

  “I... see,” Durmont replied. He didn’t seem to be buying it but I frankly didn’t care. I had been waiting for four hours. They were lucky I didn’t give them the finger and walk out. “I suppose we can talk again in a few hours, Carlos.”

  “Absolutely! I’m afraid it was quite inconsiderate to leave the Professor waiting after such a trying night.” I nodded in agreement.

  “Can you come to the council now?”

  “Sure, I’ll get fixed up afterward,” I assured him.

  “Excellent,” he exclaimed and cast a ten-second spell. It seemed to be a signal or communication. “There. I have called an emergency meeting with the others. They should be there by the time we arrive.”

  He led the way outside. I noticed the outside entry was smashed inward. Apparently, the gargoyles weren’t programmed with the concept of ‘doors’. Then I blinked in surprise. An elegant carriage sat in the road, just outside the yard’s gate. It glimmered slightly, as if phosphorescent. Four transparent winged horses stood majestica
lly in front of the vehicle, harnessed and ready to move.

  I turned to look at Durmont. “Illusory horses? Isn’t that a bit redundant?”

  He looked away in embarrassment. “It was the principals. At the time it seemed reasonable.” I shrugged. I suppose everything seemed reasonable under the crystal’s effects.

  We hopped in the carriage and he snapped his fingers twice while issuing a command to the vehicle. It immediately jerked into motion, moving forward, but also quickly rising from the ground to perform a graceful arc into the air. The trip was quiet, even restful. I enjoyed the ride, once I suppressed my pang of envy. The mage himself was pensive. Likely thinking of the events that led him here.

  Ten minutes later the vehicle swooped down for a landing in front of an outrageously huge building. It was vaguely Roman, in that it had columns in the front entrance, but dozens of gargoyles sat on the roof, tiny from the sheer height of the building. I was curious how many of them set up to be animated into death machines. There were guards but not many other people on the street, except a few drunkards weaving down the road on their way home. Despite the globes that lit the streets, it was far less busy than Arc’s nighttime.

  Morning, acting principal,” the first guard said. He must have been the leader because his hat looked funnier than the others. “The councilors are waiting for you in the meeting chamber.”

  “I’ll go in now. This is... um, the Professor. He’ll be going in with me.”

  “Professor of what?” asked the guard.

  I rubbed my forehead. Questions like that made me realize why I was so irritated when Jeremy told me that idiots in Arc were calling me that. “I’m not going there.”

  “But you said you would come in and help us,” a suddenly worried Durmont interjected.