He didn’t wait to see if she went. Sulfur wafted from every direction. Down one hall, he saw a group of soldiers holding their own against an eight foot tall creature that stood on two legs and had the head of a raven. It was a kantu, a scout demon that was deadly in its own right. With a flick of his hands, Jez shot a glowing ball of water at it which enveloped the demon in a bubble. It howled for a second, trying to claw its way out, but though the skin of the bubble seemed thin, it resisted the demon’s efforts. Once it slashed, and its hand got stuck. It tried to pull out, but the skin absorbed it, pulling the demon into the bubble. The kantu floated across the surface, banging in an effort to break out. It floated up to the ceiling, and when the bubble popped the demon was gone. Jez didn’t stop to speak to the guards. Odds were good not every foe would be so easy to defeat. He needed help. He turned down a hall and pushed open the door to the stairs leading to the dungeon.
A familiar orange light flickered beneath. Jez rushed down the stairs, emerging in the dungeon just as a demon flared and disappeared. Ziary had once again burned through his bars and was fighting a dozen demons of all shapes and sizes. His sword moved so fast it looked like a fiery blur. He was keeping them at bay, but there were so many of them, and he couldn’t spare any attention to attack without opening himself up to reprisal. Orange motes bleeding from wounds on his chest and arms said he had already made that sacrifice more than once. His right wing had been broken, and orange liquid bled out, but he used the other to push away attackers. He was like a living weapon, but he couldn’t last long.
Jez didn’t bother to try a binding. The wards on the prison were still intact and would dampen any working he tried. Instead, he lunged forward, severing the spine of a creature that looked like a wolf that stood on two legs. It stiffened before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Ziary met his eyes for a second before refocusing his efforts on attack.
Jez’s sword cut down two more, and Ziary destroyed one of his own. They met in the middle of the horde and turned away from each other so they could fight back to back. The demons surged forward, but none got close. They all fell to crystal sword or to flaming one. In mere seconds, the demons were gone. Ziary winced as he turned back to Jez.
“Thanks. What’s going on?”
“The keep is under attack. Come on. I need your help.” Ziary turned to look at his cell, but Jez shook his head. “We’ll take care of that later. I don’t know how many there are, and I’ll need all the help I can get. Let’s go.”
Ziary nodded. His broken wing twitched, and he gestured with his sword for Jez to lead the way.
CHAPTER 27
They headed toward the throne room, moving as quickly as they could without risking an ambush. A few times, they encountered people fleeing, and Jez directed them to Villia’s tower. Half a dozen times, they ran into groups of demons battling soldiers. Most of the time, the humans were losing, and only the arrival of Jez and Ziary turned the tide. Once, though, they found a dozen men fighting half as many demons, and the men were winning. Steel wasn’t as effective as the flame or crystal blades Jez and Ziary bore, but it was enough. At each encounter, more soldiers joined Jez. By the time they reached the throne room, thirty men had gathered around them. Most were wounded, and one had an arm that hung limply by his side, but they all carried looks of steely determination. The demons had invaded their home, and they would be repelled.
The door to the throne room had been torn away, its splintered remains lying just inside. A demon, at least ten feet tall and resembling nothing so much as a statue of molten gold, clasped its hands together and slammed them down at the throne where King Haziel huddled in utter terror. A dozen other creatures, smaller but otherwise identical to the larger beast, leapt at the king. Haziel screamed. As their attacks neared, however, a sphere of violet energy appeared around the throne. With a flash of light, the demons were driven back several feet. Bits of gold splashed to the ground and burned holes into the stone. One of the smaller demons turned toward Jez and his companions. It was no more than three feet tall. Its head was human-shaped and bald. Its face had no features whatsoever, seeming to be only a flat plane of molten metal.
“What are those things?” Ziary asked.
“I don’t know,” Jez said.
The demon pointed and cried out in a language Jez couldn’t understand. He had no idea how the creature spoke without a mouth, but the sound made the hairs on his arm stand on end. The other demons turned, and though it had no eyes, Jez knew the largest one was focused on him.
“Keep the smaller ones off my back,” he said without taking his eyes from his foe.
“Are you sure?” Ziary asked, but Jez was already halfway across the room.
He lifted his sword and struck at the demon, but the creature’s body parted, flowing like water, and Jez’s blade sliced through empty air. Behind him, the sounds of battle erupted. He slashed again, but his second strike was just as ineffectual as the first. The demon balled its fist and rammed it into Jez’s side. The force of the impact sent pain shooting through his body. The next thing Jez knew, he was leaning against the wall, twenty feet away from the throne. A blackened circle had been burned into the side of his robe.
Ziary and the soldiers had engaged the smaller creatures, but they were having no more luck than Jez. The demon forms were too fluid, and they kept flowing out of the way. He needed to do something to help. The larger demon took a step toward him, but Jez was already weaving a binding. He threw his hands toward the head creature, and a wintery blast shot forward, enveloping the demon. In response to Jez’s will, the wind circled the room catching all the others. It wasn’t intended to banish them. Banishing a demon without knowing what it was could be a risky proposition, one that failed on the first attempt more often than not. Trying to banish over a dozen would’ve been suicide. He could, however, bind some of their power.
The demons stiffened for a second before continuing, and a layer of frost crept over their skin. One of the soldiers slammed his axe into a demon, and the blow shattered the creature. Man and demon alike stopped and stared at the pieces as they evaporated. The surprise lasted only a moment before the demons surged forward.
The lead demon brought its fist down, but Jez’s crystal sword flicked forward, slicing off its hand. Its closed fist shattered when it hit the ground. The demon’s skin rippled, but it was too strong to be destroyed by any incidental wound, and it shoved the remains of its arm into Jez’s chest, sending him to the ground. He landed on his burned side and cried out in pain. He tried to lift his sword, but the demon brought its foot down on his arm. As the pressure increased, pain rushed up his arm. The world blurred as tears formed in his eyes. Just as he thought his arm would break, a flash of red crashed into the demon.
It was Ziary. His flaming sword bounced off the demon’s skin and the scion slammed into it, causing the demon to rock back and forth. It was only a little bit, but it was enough. Jez ripped his arm free, clenching his teeth against the pain, and he got to his feet. The demon grabbed Ziary by the neck. Jez lunged, his sword moving in a blur. The demon’s legs came off, though it held on to Ziary as it fell. Ziary grunted, but couldn’t free himself. Jez stepped forward and drove his sword into the center of the demon’s body. Sapphire cracks spread through the creature, and pieces of it flaked off, evaporating before they hit the ground. It let out another roar before collapsing into dust. Jez moved toward Ziary, wincing at the pain running up his side. He offered Ziary a hand up, and the other boy’s form melted away leaving a tired looking Osmund. Jez looked around, but the demons were gone. Several of the soldiers lay unmoving on the ground, and even more were injured. The crystal sword dissolved as Jez and Osmund looked toward the king.
CHAPTER 28
“What happened?” Haziel’s voice was unsteady, and he seemed on the verge of tears.
“It was Lina,” Jez said. “I don’t know if she had her father’s help, but she’s the one who summoned all these demons.”
The k
ing blinked at him. “Lina? That’s not possible.”
Anger surged through Jez. He stamped his foot on the ground sending a flow of terra magic into the stone floor. The room shook, and Haziel started to whimper and sank back into the throne. The sight of the king on his throne looking so terrified drained the anger from Jez.
“What will it take to convince you?” Jez asked in a quiet voice. “She tried to kill you.”
“If she tried to kill me, why aren’t I dead?”
“I actually don’t know,” Jez said.
“It was royal magic,” a voice said from behind. Jez turned to see Villia with Sharim right behind her. She gave Haziel a bow, but the one she direct at Jez was even deeper, though if the king noticed the slight, he gave no sign. “Haziel is the rightful king of Ashtar. The rights of kings were established by Daziel, the Lord of the Veilspeakers himself, and there are certain magics protecting those rights. A demon can’t easily overcome them.”
“You mean they can’t kill him,” Jez said.
“They can kill him. It wouldn’t be easy, but a strong enough demon could do it. So could the one who summoned them since the power won’t stop a human.”
“Lina.”
Villia nodded. “She is human, and even the power of a pharim high lord won’t interfere with a human exercising their free will.”
“What are you two talking about?” the king asked as he stood on shaky legs.
Villia inclined her head. “It’s not something many people know, Your Majesty. There is very real power in the throne of a kingdom, and the ability to overthrow that is denied to demons, at least to those without mortal help.”
Haziel took a deep breath and nodded. His eyes locked on Osmund. He looked like he was trying to scowl but was too tired to manage it.
“What is he doing out?”
Jez resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Your Majesty, he could’ve gotten out at any time. I told you it was demons that killed those men. I knew about them the same way I knew about the ones attacking you here. Osmund did nothing to deserve imprisonment.”
“What about when he attacked the nobles at the Academy?” Haziel asked.
“Your Majesty?” Sharim spoke up and he almost shrank away as every eye turned to him. He looked like he wished he could call the words back, but instead he coughed. “It’s like Mage Villia said in the trial. He wouldn’t have been able to hurt her if it wasn’t justified at least a little bit. If Lady Lina summoned demons to attack you...”
Sharim let the words hang, and after a few seconds, the king nodded and bowed to Osmund. “Osmund Jecklson, I thank you for coming to my aid and hereby absolve you of all guilt relating to the attack on Lina and her allies while you were at the Carceri Academy, and I release you from suspicion in the murder of the two men in Lord Varin’s service.” He turned to Jez. “Are you certain about Lady Lina?”
“Absolutely, Your Majesty.”
“Very well. I’ll send guards to apprehend her.”
Jez took a step forward. “Actually, that may not be the best idea.”
“Why not?”
“She’s a powerful mage, and she can obviously summon demons. The guards might not be able to handle her. I’ll go.”
“But you’re a child.”
Jez glared at him, and the king glanced at his broken door. He paled a little and nodded. Jez motioned to Osmund, and they headed toward the south wing. Jez summoned his sword and Osmund once again took the form of Ziary. His wing was still bent at an odd angle, though he no longer bled orange light. Jez eyed him.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
Ziary cocked his head. “Are you sure you want to go without me?”
Jez inclined his head in concession. The guards formed a perimeter around the throne room, and Jez and Osmund began moving through the hall slowly. Jez kept his attention focused on the path before them, but they saw no demons as they made their way to the north wing.
The smell sulfur hung in the air, but it was more an echo of a scent than anything else. Demons had been here, though Jez couldn’t tell how long ago that was. They could still be here, for that matter. Carefully, they pushed open the door to Lord Varin’s chamber but found it empty. Their footsteps echoed through the hall as they moved further down the corridor to the chambers assigned to Lina, and the smell of sulfur grew steadily stronger. They came to the door and stopped. Jez had to resist the urge to shiver. He had no idea what could be on the other side. If he was a demon lord, he needed all the power he could get, even if it destroyed him. He made his decision quickly and closed his eyes to reach for Luntayary’s power. Wings emerged from his back and his robes transformed to sapphire blue. The amount of power coursing through him made his body ache. Ziary gave him a deep bow, and Jez pushed open the door.
No one was in the room. The bed had been pushed to one side to clear a space in the center of the floor where the blackened remnants of a summoning circle had been burned into the stone. Jez recognized some of the runes composing it. He bent down and ran his fingers along it, wincing at the thread of magic that remained. His hands closed on something hard, and he picked it up out of the ash. It was a crystal that looked like it had been singed badly. He held up to the light. It had been yellow once, and had been used to channel a great deal of summoning magic.
“Oh no.”
“What is it?”
“She must’ve realized the book was gone and used what she knew to do this.” He held up the focusing crystal. “This makes it even worse.”
“But what is all this?”
“This is a circle used to summon a greater demon, and she used the power of this crystal to make the summoning permanent.”
CHAPTER 29
Villia ran her fingers across the circle and clutched the burned out focusing crystal in her left hand. She turned back to the book and examined the image she’d been comparing the circle to. She let out a low whistle.
“What is it?” Jez asked.
She shook her head. “You have to understand, this has never been my area of expertise.”
“You’re the only one who can read the book.”
“All the runes aren’t here either,” she said. “Some would’ve been in the air. It’s not necessarily this summoning. What she was doing may not even be in this book.”
“Villia what is it?” Jez asked.
She tapped a rune that looked like a broken crown. “Maries.”
Jez looked at her blankly. “Who’s Maries?”
“He’s a battle demon.”
“Like the chezamuts?”
She laughed. It was almost hysterical, and Jez and Osmund exchanged uncomfortable glances. “He’s to the chezamuts what a master swordsman is to an unarmed farmer.” She snorted. “An unarmed farmer with no arms and legs. He is one of the generals of the abyss.”
Jez tried to swallow the lump in his throat, and when he spoke, his voice was pitched higher than usual. “Of what order is he?”
“Fourth.”
Not as strong as Marrowit. Jez let out a breath of release, but he realized he was being foolish. A demon of the fourth order was a deadly threat and could take on entire armies and decimate cities. It was only in comparison to a demon lord such as Marrowit, who had been of the third order, that the idea of facing such a being could be a relief.
“Still,” Osmund said, “if he’s just a battle demon, he can’t be that great a threat. I mean he can only be in one place at a time, right? There are only so many he can kill even if he has access to some sort of magic.”
“He can’t kill many until he summons his army,” Villia said. “He’s a general of the abyss. If he’s not stopped soon, we could have a thousand chezamuts on our hands, and that would only be the first wave.” She looked from Jez to Osmund. “Not all of us have powers suited to battle. A thousand chezamuts could tear Rumar apart and not leave one stone atop another. Maries could overcome Haziel’s protection with little effort.”
“What do we do?”
Jez asked.
Villia looked around and shuddered. “First, we get out of here. Lina may have left traps.”
Jez nodded and followed Villia out of the door. Haziel was waiting outside and raised an eyebrow. Villia shook her head and motioned for him to follow. The fact that he offered no argument showed how worried he was.
“Stay on the lookout,” Villia said. “We could be attacked at any time.”
Jez nodded and kept his sword drawn. He was almost used to how the power made his skin crawl. Some of the guards escorting them eyed his sword with something very near reverence. Jez felt like he was being watched from the shadows, but no attack came. Villia led them to a small room Jez hadn’t been in. The only furniture was a rectangular table in the center of the room. Rolled parchments sat on a shelf, and a map of the kingdom hung from one wall. Numbers had been written on it, though Jez had no idea what they meant. Villia motioned for them to sit. Jez sat but made sure he could easily get between the king and the door if the situation demanded.
“Your Majesty, you have to dispatch guards to find the demon Lina summoned. Send as many as you can spare without reducing the defenses of the keep.”
Haziel nodded. “What does this demon look like?”
Villia glanced at the ceiling for a second as if searching her memory. “He looks like a man with blue skin and red eyes.”
“What about Lord Varin and his daughter?”
“We should find them if they’re alive, but our priority has to be the demon.”
“What do you mean ‘if they’re alive’?” Haziel asked.
“A demon as powerful as Maries isn’t easily controlled, particularly when his summoning was made permanent with a focusing crystal. It would take years of study to get it right, and if there’s even the slightest error, he’d kill his summoner. Regardless of whether or not he’s free, the result will be the same. He’ll try to summon his army and attack the keep.”
“How big?”
“Maries is one of the highest generals. He can command a thousand lesser demons, and each of those can command a thousand more. I doubt he can bring them all here at once, but he won’t wait to attack.”
Veilspeaker (Pharim War Book 2) Page 9