Enemies and Allies (Bound to the Abyss Book 3)

by James R. Vernon

  Well, there was no way to tell what kind of mood he was going to be in when he got back up. Or what he might do.

  ***

  Ignorance. Arrogance. Insolence.

  The words were the first things to cross Its mind as It regained consciousness in the body of the human. The pitiful wretch of a creature that had struck him down was full of these things. It would teach this creature humility. It would teach the entire town humility. And pain.

  Then It took a name. Zekar. The Crux word for battle leader would serve for now.

  Noise. Its hearing was the first sense to return. Yells and screams. Grunts and the stomping of feet. The sound of battle. A feeling of rage washed over It that was not its own. The Yulari.

  Grime. The taste of dirt and blood.

  The smell of sweat was the first to touch Its nose. Then blood. Then fear.

  Its eyes opened. Everything appeared to be behind a thin blue curtain. Blood pooled in front of It. The Earth drank it up, the edges of the red puddle slowly receding. Not that far away, dozens of feet shuffled in place or stood still. Those that would not face the Yulari's wrath.

  The feel of dirt and stone rubbed at Its face. An intense heat burned Its neck. Energy repairing the wound. Its heart, which had slowed, now beat like a hammer against Its chest. Air filled Its lungs, a trickle at first, then a rush as if a bellow pumped directly in Its chest. Feeling returned to Its body.

  And strength.

  Hands covered in a second layer of skin pushed Itself up. It removed the coverings over Its hands. Exposed the tattoos that shined with a dark blue light. It yanked the scarf from around Its face. Gasps and cries of despair assaulted Its ears. Good. They needed to learn.

  It took in a deep breath. The energy of the Abyss raged inside It, filled It to the brim. Filled It with life. Energy infused each person gathered around It, filled the air, sprung from the ground. It could feel all of the energy, but it was corrupted, impure. The thought of what had been done to the energy in this land filled It with an overwhelming anger.

  A pain in his leg like the barest scrap of a nail over skin interrupted Its thoughts. The pain was not Its own; it belonged to another. The Yulari.

  Turning its back on the pathetic creatures looking at It in terror, It focused on the battle between the Yulari and the creatures attacking her. The battle was at an end. The Yulari was crouched, a pitchfork had penetrated an opening in her armor and had pinned her leg to the ground. The light blue blood trickling from the wound was barely discernible over her similarly colored skin. A dozen lesser creatures were gathered around her, weapons pointed in her direction. The one in red, the one foolish enough to draw Its blood, stood in front of her. Not a single one of them was looking in Its direction.

  Disdain filled It.

  Ignorance.

  "Fools!" Its voice boomed. Abyssmal energy crackled and danced around Its skin. Those that had been focused on the Yulari finally turned. Took in Its appearance with wide eyes and mouths agape. A few dropped to their knees either in fear or supplication. Either reason was an acceptable one. Not the man in red, though. He tensed but held firm to his weapons.

  "So, you show who you truly are," Jalvar said, lifting one of his sickles and pointing. "Ean Sangrave. The destroyer of Ulundkin."

  Ean Sangrave. That was a name. A weak name. What stood before the man in red was not weak. The Crux called It something else. Zekar. A strong name. Acceptable for now.

  "This one is called Zekar. That is how It must be addressed."

  "It doesn't matter what you want to call yourself. You'll be dead soon anyway." Jalvar nodded towards those behind him although he kept his eyes on Zekar. "Watch her. I have questions for her, but if she moves, kill her. I will kill this glowing murderer myself."

  The words had barely left his mouth before Jalvar charged ahead, weapons raised.

  Arrogance.

  Zekar raised a hand. A wall of dark blue energy sprang up in front of It. Unable to stop his momentum, Jalvar crashed into it and bounced back. The force of the impact made him drop his weapons. The sight of the pain that rippled across the man's features brought the slightest tick of a smile to the Zekarian's face. But it was only the beginning of the lesson the man must learn.

  With a wave of its hand, Zekar made the wall of energy disappear just as fast as it had appeared. Taking a few large strides, It moved in front of where Jalvar lay on his back. The man scrambled to his feet, a knife appearing in his hand.

  "DIE," he screamed before lunging with the knife.

  The blade bit deep into the Zekarian's stomach, skin and organs opening in its path as the sensation of pain radiated from where the blade cut. It made no attempt to deflect or stop it. Instead, Zekar grabbed the man's wrist until he heard a snap. Jalvar jerked back, letting out a howl of pain as he fell backwards. The knife remained lodged in Its gut. Reaching down, Zekar tried to put it free, then gave a heavy sigh. Its skin had already healed around the blade. Zekar yanked it free, reopening the wound for the briefest moment before magic sealed the cut back shut.

  The men gathered around Azalea gave her one long look before giving off yells that were a mixture of fear and desperation, then charged.

  Insolence.

  It could feel the corrupted energy of the Abyss swirling around in each of them. Reaching out with its own energy, Zekar wrapped each man tightly in it. They froze in their tracks, weapons dropping from their hands. The Zekarian's energy began to mix with the corrupted one of each man then began to overwhelm it. The men It had ensnared could not understand what was happening to them, but they certainly felt it. They struggled. They screamed. They begged. Zekar ignored it all. He poured even more energy into each man until the corrupted energy was purged from each of them.

  Then Zekar yanked all of the energy back into its body.

  Screams and yells turned to gurgles as the energy that had kept them all alive for an untold number of years left them. The bodies of the men withered to dust in a span of a few moments, spilling to the ground. Neat piles of dust and ash formed where each man had stood before and were soon covered by what was left of their clothes. Zekar let out a satisfied grunt and turned his attention on the crowd behind him.

  That's when the real screams of terror began.

  Chapter 26

  Zin watched for a moment longer as the people of Driavarage fled. Ean had killed twelve men without a second thought. Something was most certainly wrong. He scrambled down off the roof as fast as he could and didn't slow as he hit the ground running. Zin raced towards Ean as his friend began walking after the people of Driavarage. If Zin didn't stop him, things were certainly going to get worse.

  "Ean!" he yelled, running up to him. The man didn't break his stride. "Ean, wait."

  Instead of listening, Ean raised a hand. One of the fleeing townspeople froze, his body going rigid for a moment before lifting into the air. Not good.

  "Ean, you have to stop!" Still no response. Fighting decades of survival instincts, Zin picked up a small stone and threw it as hard as he could.

  It struck Ean on the side of the head, which was unfortunate for a few reasons. First, Zin had been aiming for his outstretched hand. Second, when Ean turned his head to see who had thrown the rock, his glowing eyes were missing the compassion Zin had come to rely on for countless years. The imp froze in place. When Ean spoke, his voice was not the friendly tone of his friend.

  "Imp. You dare strike me?" Lowering his hand, Ean turned entirely now towards Zin. The man that had been moments from death dropped to the ground and scampered away.

  Well, I saved his life at least, Zin thought. Might be at the expense of my own though.

  "Ean, I--"

  "My name is Zekar, imp. You will address me as such."

  "Uh, right . . . " This certainly was not good. Why was Ean identifying himself as the title given to him by the Crux? "Zekar. I was trying to get your attention."

  "By causing me harm?"

  "Well, I had been aiming for .
. . " Zin waved off what he was about to say. He needed to choose his words carefully. "I doubt a small pebble thrown by an imp would cause any damage to someone as powerful as you."

  Ean, Zekar—whatever he was calling himself—seemed to consider the statement for a moment, then nodded.

  "Your words ring true. I will not take your foolish assault as an insult. This one time. If you are smart enough to speak, you are smart enough to think of a better way to acquire my attention."

  "Understood," Zin said, giving a deep bow. It was funny how quickly he could return to the role of servant. Funny and terrifying. "Might I ask a question?"

  "No."

  "Well, I have a few questions!" Azalea growled as she stormed over. Attempted to storm over. The wound in her leg made her limp, but it was an angry limp. "And I have no intention of asking for permission."

  Ean—Zin chose to keep on thinking of him by that name—looked at Azalea with a stony expression. His gaze was enough to cause the Yulari to hesitate. But only for a moment. She marched right up to him and looked him straight in the eyes.

  Then she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him tight against her.

  "Foolish boy," she said as she pushed him back and held him at arms- length. "I thought they had murdered you. The imp had talked about how you had to kill, and you had mentioned Auz telling you something similar, but when that arrogant man slashed your throat--"

  She cut off as Ean brushed her hands off his arms.

  "You are acting too familiar, Yulari." Ean's tone was just as flat as it had been with Zin. "Do not overstep your place."

  "Overstep my place?!?"

  "Azalea," Zin said, trying to stave off the impending explosion. "I think you should take a moment--"

  "Quiet, imp. I will not have our young friend here brush off my concern like it was an annoyance for him."

  Ean shook his head for a moment as if he was trying to get rid of a fly. He looked around in confusion for a moment before his attention fell back again on the Yulari.

  "Your concern is not an annoyance," he replied, which got a small smile out of Azalea. Which then disappeared as he kept speaking. "Your thoughts and feelings are irrelevant, and so, are impossible to cause me any annoyance."

  "IRRELEVANT?"

  "Azalea," Zin tried to interrupt her. "I think you--"

  "I'll show you irrelevant!"

  Azalea lashed out with a kick that caught Ean square in the chest. To her credit, the blow made him take a single step backwards. He even grimaced, although Zin couldn't tell if it was from pain or from irritation. Then, without changing his expression, he grabbed Azalea by the collar of her leather armor and hurled her towards the market stands. She crashed completely through the first one she hit, skidded across the top of a second one, before slamming into the base of a third. Before she had even come to a stop, Ean was moving in her direction.

  "Wait!" Zin moved in front of Ean even though every instinct screamed at him to just stay out of the way. "Ean, I mean Zekar, she didn't mean--"

  "Move, imp," he said, but then paused to swat at something around his head. He looked confused for a moment, which Zin hoped gave him an opening.

  "Azalea didn't mean anything by it. She was just playing around. The two of you always joke around like that." Did this personality even have any of Ean's memories? Was it even a new personality or something else entirely? Zin felt like he was trying to tread water with a rock tied to his ankle.

  "I chose to overlook your foolishness, imp, because no attack made by you could be considered a threat. A Yulari is a much more powerful creature, and she knows this. That one,"–he pointed to Azalea who was still trying to rise on shaky arms and legs–"lashed out in anger in an attempt to harm me. If she is going to continue to serve, she must know her place. A lesson now . . . "

  He paused and swatted around his face. "What is that noise?" He waved his hands around a few more times then suddenly stopped. The barest of frowns touched his lips as he tilted his head to the side. "Imp, do you hear that?"

  Zin listened but all he heard was his own heart thudding against his chest. "Hear what?"

  "No matter. The Yulari's lesson must continue."

  Zin danced out of the way as Ean strode right over where he had been standing. There was no doubt if Zin hadn't have moved, Ean would have stomped him into the ground. He glanced at Dao, hoping for some aid. The man was face down on the ground where his attackers had left him. Zin didn't see any help coming from him anytime soon. If anyone was going to help Azalea and Ean, it was going to be him.

  Sometimes Zin hated being so amazing.

  Moving at a sprint, Zin caught up to Ean just as he reached the first destroyed market stall.

  "Excuse me, your . . . uh . . . " Zin struggled with coming up with a flattering title. It had been over a decade since he was a slave in the Abyss and a great many years longer since working under the Plaguebringer. His ability for flattery was a little rusty. "Most powerful one."

  Ean stopped. Those glowing eyes looked down on Zin, making him instantly cringe. All of the compassion and humanity that Zin usually found behind his friend's plain brown eyes was gone.

  "Great Lord," Zin began. That sounded a little better. "If you could--"

  "Imp." The power behind his friend's voice was like a thunderclap. "I care not for your titles and your transparent attempts at flattery. What I need from those that serve me is obedience and loyalty. The Yulari has faltered in those regards. Today she will either learn or be destroyed."

  A chill settled into Zin's stomach.

  "Yes . . . Zekar. I understand. But don't you think that the Yulari could learn without pain? She would be more useful to you if she did not have to waste time recovering from your lesson."

  "No."

  "Alright, well . . . hey, wait a minute!"

  But Ean wasn't listening. He walked right past Zin and up to Azalea. The Yulari was standing on shaky legs. Her eyes were unfocused and she had her arms raised and stood in a defensive position that seemed to be a struggle for her. When Ean reached for her, she tied to bat away his hand but seemed too weak to even slow him down. He lifted her again by her armor and held her at arms-length.

  "Whatever you believe you can get away with," Ean said in the same dead tone that he had adopted since his change. "You are mistaken. I will not tolerate your childish outbursts. I expect you to follow my commands, Yulari, without question. Am I understood?"

  "Yes," Azalea mumbled. She sounded defeated, something Zin would never have expected from the proud woman.

  "Good. I will not show you mercy . . . " His words trailed off and he tilted his head to the side as if listening to something. "What is--"

  Azalea's foot kicked upwards between Ean's legs with such force that even Zin grimaced and crossed his legs. The blow to the man's most sensitive parts affected him with more effectiveness than the knife to his stomach. Azalea dropped from Ean's grip as he fell backwards and curled up into a ball. A low moan escaped his lips as he rolled along the ground. Letting out a growl, Azalea began to kick him in the legs and body.

  "I don't know . . . "–she paused to deliver each kick–"who you think you are, but if you think you can bully me, I'll show you how wrong you are."

  Taking a few steps back, Azalea looked down on Ean with disgust. Taking advantage of the break in the action, Zin rushed forward.

  "Azalea, he clearly isn't himself."

  She turned her scornful look towards Zin. "I know that. Whatever is wrong with him, I plan to beat the sense into him."

  "Is that wise? Whatever is going on, he seems to have more control of his power. A greater understanding of it as well."

  "I've beat the pipsqueak before. Just because he has a few more tricks and his voice is a little deeper doesn't mean he can face a Yulari and win."

  Zin opened his mouth then threw his hands up in the air. There was no point reasoning with her. Backing away, he let out a sigh and spread his hands. "Good luck to you." Hopefully they di
dn't end up killing each other.

  "Won't need it." Returning her attention to Ean, Azalea gave her most ingenuous smile. "Come out, EAN. I thought you were going to teach me a lesson."

  Ean had pushed himself up on his hands and knees. His head was down and he took in a few deep breaths before looking up. Zin expected to see anger or at least pain reflected in the man's eyes. All he saw was a blank stare behind a lightning storm of Abyssmal energy. That blank stare scared him more than if the man had been in a rage.

  As much as he clashed with Azalea, Zin hoped she would be careful.

  "Come on, teacher," the Yulari sneered. "One of us still needs to learn a lesson."

  "Your arrogance, Yulari,"—Ean's voice was cold and emotionless one moment, then had a touch of pain and a hint of the old Ean the next—"is one of the many flaws that I shall erase before this day is done."

  "We'll see."

  Azalea began to circle him. Her movements were light and fast, her feet seemed to barely brush the ground as she moved. A grin spread across her face, but it held no mirth, and her eyes were locked on Ean. He, on the other hand, didn't move at all. Standing stoic as the Yulari danced around him, Ean didn't even follow her with his eyes. His indifference made Zin all the more nervous.

  "Well?" Azalea had come to a stop a few steps from Ean's side. "Do you want to start or should I?"

  "Do as you wish."

  "Always do."

  The Yulari struck like a viper, sliding in and delivering four quick strikes to Ean's side. They barely seemed to faze him. He lashed out, swinging his arm in a backhanded strike that Azalea ducked under. He followed that with an overhand punch that Azalea barely deflected with both of her arms. She leapt back out of his reach and rubbed at where she had blocked his blow. Ean returned to standing still, his body now facing the Yulari.

  "Are you finished acting out? The longer you fight against learning your lesson in humility, the more you delay us. My patience with you will only last for so long."

  The Yulari charged, fists and feet a blur as she struck Ean. Every hit hardly moved the man; a strike to his arm just made him tense up, a blow to his gut or ribs made him lean towards it, a kick to one of his legs pushed it enough that his heel dug a small groove in the dirt. All the while, Ean made no move to defend himself and spent little effort throwing punches of his own that did not come close to striking the Yulari.