The Demon's Game (The Guardian Series Book 4)

by Rain Oxford

  To my surprise, it wasn’t Rojan’s calmness I got from my bond with Mordon but something I was less familiar with. When my mother tried to struggle out of bed, I growled. “Lay the hell down, woman. If you tear those stitches I’ll tape up your wounds with duct tape!” I barked. She stopped and stared at me in shock for a moment before lying back down.

  I turned back to the man with a gun in my face. Whatever it was Mordon shared with me made me calm, but not at peace. It was more like I felt indignant that this man didn’t instantly submit to me. I didn’t need magic because I was in complete control of the situation.

  “Get that gun out of my face before I shove it down your throat. I’m from Texas, moron, you think I don’t know how to get that gun out of your hand before you can blink?” He hesitated, but lowered the gun slightly, probably in shock from my change in attitude. “That’s better. Now, you’re going to get out of here and never contact this woman again. If you try to stop her or come near either of us again, I have full access to drugs that will really fuck you up and a morgue slab with your name on it. I’m an ER doctor; I can induce a coma and send you to the morgue as dead. They would take my word for it and perform an autopsy. As they cut you open, you’ll feel everything and won’t even be able to scream.”

  “You can’t do that!”

  Of course I couldn’t, but he didn’t know that. “I’m the head ER doctor. Nobody would question me, nobody would investigate, and nobody would rat me out. But you’re right; that would be suspicious. After rendering you defenseless, I would have to make it look like you were in a major accident. A few cuts, bruises, and some broken bones will do. Any more than that and you would die before they could perform the autopsy.”

  “You can’t do shit if I shoot you dead!” he said, desperately trying to believe his own words. He came here expecting not to be confronted. My change in behavior and lack of fear confused and worried him.

  I laughed. “If there was even a chance you could hurt me, do you think I would be standing here threatening you?” He hesitated, and that doubt in him was exactly why I was in control. That was, until I felt my world tip.

  My vision blurred and grew dark while bright white shadows grew and shrunk. My head pounded so hard all I could hear was my heartbeat and some kind of static. I couldn’t breathe. I could feel the man’s panic in the back of my mind, which was all that was left of my awareness. I felt him pull the trigger, the sound of the gun, and the pain of the bullet shredding my flesh and organs… but at the same instant, it didn’t happen. It was going to happen, was happening, and had already happened all at the same time… or maybe time was the problem. There was no time.

  My vision cleared, but it was not an angry man in a hospital room I faced. I was now in a dark lab of some kind. The place wasn’t a dungeon by any means; it was clean and I saw no rats or exposed pipes, but it certainly wasn’t sanitary. Hail was chained to a wall, dirty, sweaty, and barely conscious, but I couldn’t see any actual injuries. Ron was strapped to a bed, unconscious and looking so small in the twin bed. Their clothes were the same they were wearing for our day out.

  I couldn’t seem to move, so I reached out with my magic for the chains and disintegrated them. They vanished so readily that I had a second to feel suspicious before they reappeared just as easily. I took in every detail I could from the room, including the number above the door before my vision blurred again.

  * * *

  I was back at the hospital. The man stood before me still, but without any shock or fear. In fact, he didn’t even breathe. Looking between him and my mother, I realized they were both frozen. I walked around my mother’s husband and left the room, only to find every nurse, doctor, visitor, and patient the same. Everyone in the hospital, including every newborn, was still as statues.

  “Mordon?”

  I waited, but received no response. If Mordon wasn’t able to answer me, something was seriously wrong, and I was afraid it had something to do with my sons being held captive in some kind of lab. I could have flashed to him, but if I was doing something to freeze everyone in the hospital, I didn’t want to accidentally spread it.

  Time was dangerous, unpredictable, and unstable for the most part; unfortunately, this wasn’t a fracture in time. Every person was entirely still, but the machines still ran and when I checked the water fountain, it was working fine.

  So why has everyone stopped? “Vretial?” I asked aloud.

  For some reason, as creepy as it was, the gods all seemed to hear their names when I called. When I received no response, I got irritated. Whatever sense of control I got from Mordon was gone and the silence of the hospital was nerve wracking.

  “Why do you always come to me for help, young Noquodi?” Vretial asked suddenly from behind me.

  I whirled, nearly tripping, but managed to catch myself. The first time I faced the god, I had been told he was evil and insane. I knew better now; he wasn’t evil. Vretial was eccentric and overwhelmingly powerful, but I understood him in more ways than I cared to think about. He would never be a friend, but since the mystery of his past had been solved, I found myself seeking him for advice.

  “Because you give me the answers I need.”

  “I lie to you as often as anyone else.”

  When I met the god, he had no flesh form, only an illusion of his being created with energy. His touch was cold and creepy either because that was who he was or because that was who I thought he was. The power that surrounded him was nauseating.

  Since he took a mortal form, however, he was different. Although he still emanated extreme power, his hands were warm, he breathed, and his heart was beating. The god wore a black button-up shirt and black pants with a black trench coat.

  “I know. But you still give me the answers I need.”

  “Then here’re your answers; you, no, and I don’t know.”

  “No, you’re right; I should have called Regivus. Regivus is much better at this than you. Just tell me what’s going on here. Why is everyone frozen solid, is it hurting them, and how do I stop it? Oh… Damn, you’re good. I thought you couldn’t read the future well.”

  “I can’t see my own future well. As it happens, I just know you that well.”

  “But you don’t know how I can stop it?”

  “Your power is still developing. I don’t know what you are, but I really hope I figure it out before your mate does.”

  “What does Divina have to do with it?” I asked.

  “How can you stand to be married to someone who never gives you the answers you need. Not only does she not give you answers, but she acts against you to hide them from you.”

  “You mean how she’s keeping the Sight from me?” I asked. His eyes widened in surprise and I scoffed. “Oh, please. I figured that out ages ago. You don’t really think I’m that thick, do you? I can tell the difference between the Guardian warning dreams and the Sight. I saw Earth destroyed when the gates opened. I saw Nila die. Thank you, by the way. I know you were the one who blocked her power. Without you, I couldn’t have saved him.”

  “Damn, you’re better. I pray your son turns out like his mother instead of you or we’re all doomed.”

  “He’ll be even better. Give him half a chance and he’ll rule the universe before Raktusha can be built. But that has nothing to do with this. You said you didn’t know how to stop this frozen thing, whatever it is.”

  “I don’t. Whatever you did, you have to figure it out and stop it yourself. Shouldn’t be too hard for you. Did your wife tell you what she’s been doing the last few days?”

  “No.”

  “Did she ask you why you chose this town out of every possible town on Earth?”

  “No.”

  “Did she ever explain what the Iadnah are to you?”

  I paused this time. “The Iadnah are gods. A race of beings older and more powerful than any other in this entire universe. She explained you were all siblings and that you took over this universe shortly after it was born, when
your father destroyed the rest of your race and the Land of the Iadnah.”

  “She certainly told you a lot. She must have explained why we are more powerful.”

  “Because Iadnah energy is superior to nominal energy and the gods are old enough to have mastered their powers.”

  He laughed, but it wasn’t a hollow or snide sound. The “dark” god was clutching his sides, tears streaming from his eyes as he laughed so hard he could barely stand. Finally, after several minutes, he pulled himself together.

  “You are hilarious. That is the funniest excuse I’ve heard in a long time. Iadnah energy is not superior to nominal energy. You believe Iadnah energy is more powerful than nominal energy because you can do more than with it. This is not true. In fact, the fabric of the universe is built with nominal energy. The energy that gods create is easier to use if you can use it, and the amount of energy you can produce is infinite, but nominal energy must be practiced and the user must strengthen himself. You can do just as much with nominal energy, and though it may take thousands of years of rigorous training to gain the ability that comes naturally with Iadnah energy, it can be worth it. Nominal energy is the most basic element of the balance, and every universe that exists. Therefore, it works with the balance, while Iadnah energy works against it.”

  “Does Tiamat know this, or is she just arrogant.”

  “We are all very arrogant. My siblings refuse to acknowledge our limits. We are the Iadnah; we are more powerful than any living person, creature, or demon, but we are not more powerful than the void or the universe itself. Compared to what our race once was, we are each ignorant children. I learned about our powers and people from my father. However, it was during a time when war and power was the only thing anyone talked about. I have tried to teach my siblings what I spent my entire existence learning to understand, but they are very stubborn.

  “We are a race without life, yet we can create life. That doesn’t make us superior to life. We were the first race, to our knowledge, but what created us? I shudder to think, because whatever it was that created the Iadnah could only have been a creature of the void. Life is born of us, but we are born of the void. The death of us, of souls, and of everything alive feeds the void.”

  “So it’s a strange cycle between life, death, and the Iadnah.”

  “I once believed so. Now, however, I’m beginning to think we are all just a side effect. We are bodies of energy and are actually part of a greater cycle between nominal, Iadnah, and void energy. I cannot prove this, and I would never suggest it to the others.”

  “But you tell me.”

  “Because you give me the answers I need,” he said with a smirk. “I want you to wonder, too, because we are very much the same in one aspect. An unsolved mystery hurts, doesn’t it? It’s not just a headache but a deep ache throughout your entire body to figure out the unknown.”

  “Having no answers to my questions burns like a slow fire crawling around under my skin,” I agreed.

  “And Ron is the same. Between the three of us, we can figure it out.”

  “Why do you need me?”

  “Because I already figured the first part out. When we met, I was a mystery you had to solve. Once you did, I was no longer of value to you, but I’ve come to realize you are an even bigger mystery to me. You make no sense, Dylan. You are as powerful as you ever need to be. I have no doubt if I tried to kill you, you would suddenly have the power to destroy me. I’ve come to the very resounding realization that the answer to the universe lies in you.”

  “Me? I don’t have the answer.”

  “You are the answer. When I figure out what you are, I’ll figure out the mysteries that even the Iadnah don’t want to think about. And when I do, I’ll tell you what your wife is.”

  “We’re standing in a hospital of frozen people. There are newborns completely still. I know that doesn’t mean much to you, but it freaks me out. Just tell me what I can do to stop this.”

  “I don’t know what you did to freeze them.”

  “Then how do you know I did it?”

  “Because only you are powerful enough to freeze everyone in this town. It’s not just the hospital, Dylan.”

  “A god couldn’t do it?”

  “I can stop time in a bubble, I can make people stop moving, I can even kill everyone on this planet with a slight thought, but I cannot make an entire population just stop. Nobody is breathing, no hearts are beating. They are no longer aging. They are neither alive, nor dead, and that is beyond Iadnah power. It’s like time stopped, but time is fine; it’s them. A god can create life and take it away, but we can’t… do this.”

  “Help me stop it, then.”

  “I think stopping it was the problem. I think you wanted something to stop, and for some reason, everyone in town did. The animals are even fine. It’s just people that have stopped.”

  “Is Mordon okay?”

  He sighed. “If he’s frozen or if he isn’t, he’s safe for the time being. The people will not need food or water in this state. If he is frozen, it means your power is greater than that of the balance. If he isn’t, it means the balance between you two is greater.”

  “What about my sons?”

  “I don’t know. Their minds are blocked to me, so I cannot see if they are under this enchantment or not. It’s so quiet without the people’s thoughts bombarding me.”

  “Help me.”

  “I don’t know how to undo your magic. My father could have helped you, but I don’t know what you did.”

  “If I stopped the people, I should be able to start them again,” I growled at him. He gripped me roughly by the shoulders, his face grave. He was the only god other than my wife who didn’t seem bothered by touching me. Oddly enough, it always felt like he was treating me as his kid brother when he did.

  “And if you screw up, they all die, including those babies you adore,” he warned. “If that happens, I can’t stop you, and you’ll forever blame me.”

  “Why do you care if I blame you?”

  “I’m not stupid enough to want you as an enemy.”

  “You helped Ron and Hail. Until you prove otherwise, you are not my enemy. Help me. You advise Ron and Hail all the time.”

  “This is your doing.”

  “I understand that, so help me.”

  “I am helping you. I can’t stop you. You can’t even stop yourself. Your magic is out of control; anywhere you go, people will stop because of your magic.” He looked at me like I was entirely stupid.

  “So… I’ll go somewhere where there aren’t any people. I’ll go to the Land of the Iadnah or something.”

  He nodded and finally let go of my shoulders. “That’s brilliant, and very responsible of you. You go there and stay there, because you will never be able to return without stopping everyone. Brave of you to sacrifice yourself. I’ll let your mate know your last act was to save the pathetic little mortals.”

  “Wait, shut up,” I said, my mind searching. I knew something, something that was staring me in the face. I needed to stop my power… “I know something… I’m so stupid! Nila. He’s a void!”

  Before Vretial could say another word, I flashed to Dios. Nila stood before me, bruised and bloody. The High King was at least thirty, but he looked to be barely twenty. His normally shiny blond hair was matted with blood and his bright blue eyes held the shadow of desperation. It wasn’t Nano by his side or a horde of guards but one solo goblin, armed to the teeth and just as disheveled as my friend.

  Dressed in black like ninjas, the seven men who faced the king froze with looks of shock on their faces, as did the guard. Nano, however, turned to me. “You shouldn’t have come here, Dylan,” he said.

  Nila was truly the friendliest person I knew. He always had a smile and bone-crushing hug for me. While I understood the pressure the king was under since most of his people moved above ground, I couldn’t see why he would speak to me so coldly. “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “This is nothing
. I can deal with these fools blindfolded with both arms tied behind my back. You have to leave. There is someone looking for you, and I’m afraid what he might do if he found you.”

  “I need your help. I seem to be…” I waved my hand at the ninja guys in gesture. “Stopping people uncontrollably.”

  “Why? Were they making you angry?”

  “What? No! It isn’t on purpose. That’s why I came to you… You can stop my magic.”

  “Why can’t you stop it?”

  “I don’t know what I’m doing.” As if he suddenly understood my point, he reached out his hand. I took it, expecting to see the ninjas come alive… and nothing happened. “Why are they still frozen? I thought your void curse worked on Iadnah magic.”

  “It does. It even works on your pet’s dragon magic. Dylan, you have to want it.”

  “I do.”

  “Then demand they move again.”

  “It’s not that simple,” I argued.

  “Have you tried?”

  I paused, considering. It seemed ridiculous, almost embarrassing to try, but I went to the goblin guard. “Wake up,” I said, trying not to sound half-hearted. Predictably, nothing happened. “I told you it wasn’t that simple.”

  “Then I guess everyone you ever come in contact with will just freeze. Too bad about your kids. Or you can try it again and mean it.”

  I sighed. “Wake the hell up and protect your king before I smack him!” I yelled at the guard. “I swear if you don’t move, I’ll give him a very serious smack in the arm! It might even hurt him!”

  The guard blinked at me, then shoved me aside to protect Nila from the ninjas, who also sprang to life. “Dylan!” Nila yelled in panic.

  Before I could ask him what was wrong, a dark shadow formed in front of me. It was a humanoid shape and exuded malevolence, but I couldn’t see anything to determine who the person was… if it was a person. There was no sound, not even a husking breathing like in the movies. All I sensed from it was cold, both in temperature and intent.

  Nila stabbed at the shadow with a knife and it dissipated too quickly for me to find out anything else. There were two things I did know without a doubt; it wasn’t a demon, and this wasn’t the end of it.