Knight of Shadows, page 39
Yserria’s heart raced faster than it had when she had been fighting the demon. Her gaze darted around the arena taking everyone in. There were trial officials, mages, counselors, and palace guards in addition to a plethora of servants; and they were all bowing to her. It took her mind a moment to catch up. All the other contenders were dead. She was the only one vying for the throne who was left to claim it.
Where there should have been relief, she suddenly felt the grip of dread. No! her thoughts raced in alarm. I cannot be queen. I am not meant to rule a nation. I can’t do this. Everything was closing in around her. Her vision became black at the edges, and she swayed on her feet. A man approached, but she could not see him clearly. As he neared, Yserria’s knees buckled. He caught her before she hit the ground.
“Breathe, Yserria,” he said into her ear.
She recognized the voice. It was Malcius. He had come to save her from the demon, and now he would save her from the horrible mistake she had made. She grabbed onto his arm and turned into him, hugging him tightly. He gripped her just as tightly and whispered, “I nearly lost you.”
Yserria released a shuddering breath. “I’m okay, Malcius. I’m alive.”
He stroked her hair, “I am not a religious man, but today I thank the Maker.”
Yserria looked up into the stands to see that many of the spectators remained, and they were cheering. “This is real, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Yserria. You are queen of Lon Lerésh. You earned the right to wear the crown. It is yours.”
“But I cannot do it,” she mumbled into his neck.
“You doubt yourself? You are the strongest woman I have ever met. You are intelligent and skilled and completely dedicated to the queendom’s success within the empire. You are a worthy queen.”
Yserria pulled away and looked up at him. “Do you really believe that?”
“I do,” he said as he met her searching gaze. In his eyes she saw certainty and … love.
Yserria steadied herself on her feet and returned her attention to the kneeling crowd. She had worked hard to earn her place on the throne. She had prevailed against all the other contenders. And she had defeated a powerful demon. Rezkin had confidence in her. Malcius had confidence in her. She felt an upwelling of strength and resolve. It was the kind of feeling she had during a duel. She knew she could prevail.
She turned to Malcius and nodded. He smiled and took her hand. He led her toward the litter and leant her support as she climbed atop it and sat in the throne. Then she lifted her chin and said loudly, “Rise.”
The single word echoed throughout the arena, and everyone rose to their feet. The crowd parted, and a woman Yserria recognized came forward. It was Lidia Oppena, head of the Queen’s Council. Lidia genuflected appropriately.
“My queen, if I may. You have defeated not only the other contenders for the throne but a great enemy of the people as well. You felled, in single combat and without the aid of the talent, a powerful battle mage—a monster—bent on destroying this city. You could have submitted to him, but instead you chose to sacrifice yourself to save the people. All of Lon Lerésh is in your debt. Your strength, courage, cunning, and perseverance are proven on this day and throughout the trials. Although you no longer need the vote of the nobles, it should be known that you have won their hearts and fealty. We recognize your claim to the throne, Yserria Rey, Queen of Lon Lerésh.”
She felt the burden of leadership settle onto her shoulders, but she was undaunted. She had started the trials to accommodate Rezkin’s initiative, but she had ended them with a resolve to protect the people. Before they carried her away, Yserria looked down upon Lidia and asked, “The attacks in the city—what of them? Are the people still in danger?”
“A great warrior fights the monsters that plague our city. Much damage has been done, and many lives have been lost.”
“And this warrior? What of him? Who is he?”
“No one seems to know.”
“What of our forces?”
“Half the city guard is stationed outside the palace in case the monsters make it this far. The other half as been called in to deal with the creatures themselves.”
Yserria said, “Send the entirety of the city guard and the mage force to fight the demons.”
“But, Your Majesty, the palace will be unprotected!”
“Palaces can be rebuilt. Protect the people first,” said Yserria.
Lidia’s brows rose in surprise, but then she smiled. “Yes, my queen, I will see to it right away.”
Yserria stood and made to climb down from the litter. Malcius blocked her way.
“What are you doing?” he asked even though his expression said he already knew.
“I’m going to fight the demons.”
“No, you’re not. We went through hell to put you on the throne for the sake of the queendom and the empire. It will all be for naught if you get yourself killed now.”
“Rezkin needs me, Malcius.”
“Rezkin needs you to be queen. He can handle the demons.”
Yserria’s nerves were compelling her to go fight beside her emperor. “But what if you’re wrong? What if he gets killed for good this time?”
Malcius shook his head. “Do you not understand, yet? Rezkin cannot die.”
Chapter 27
A vivid purple flame shot out of the white demon. Rezkin strengthened his shield ward but dodged anyway. The flame splashed against his ward, eating away at it. The ward abruptly failed, and Rezkin was momentarily unprotected from magical attack. Black tendrils of power whipped out of the white demon to wrap around him again. Out of desperation, Rezkin slashed at the tendrils with his blade. When the sword made contact with the demonic power, it ignited in scorching green flame, and the tendrils burned away. Rezkin did not have time to consider the newfound power of the black blade. He erected a new shield ward and turned toward the nearest threat.
The rusty red demon two dozen feet away turned and ejected a number of its spikes, shooting them straight at Rezkin. He swept the black blade through the air, catching most of the spikes and knocking them aside. One got past him, penetrating his armor and stabbing into his pectoral muscle. Rezkin yanked at the spike, but it would not come free. He had to abandon his efforts to face the two hairy demons who were coming at him from either side. The white demon suddenly leapt forward, spinning and lashing at him with its tail. Rezkin dropped his sword and caught the end of the tail. He used the creature’s own momentum and a bit of vimara to propel the white demon into one of the hairy demons.
He kicked his sword up into his hands and thrust it forward into the chest of the charging hairy demon on the other side. Green lightning enveloped the demon. The demon reared back, then grabbed the hilt of the sword and wrenched the blade from its chest. Then it threw the black blade across the street into a pile of rubble. Rezkin jumped and rolled out of the way of an attack from behind. The white demon and the other hairy demon had recovered and were now attacking in unison.
Rezkin’s heart turned to ice at what he saw next. Seena was running toward the battle, her brilliant blue scales glinting in the sunlight. He shouted within his mind for her to go back, to retreat, but she paid him no heed.
Rezkin retrieved his miniature crossbow from where it hung at his belt and aimed at the white demon’s head. Just as he released the bolt, the hairy demon behind him raked him with its claws. The strike failed to penetrate his armor, but it sent his crossbow bolt awry. Rezkin skirted the hairy demon and ran after his sword. Seena met him halfway and scurried up his body to perch on his shoulder. She arched her wings and back and straightened her tail in preparation for battle. It was then that a new sound reached his ears. It was the sound of thundering footsteps and clanking armor. It was the shout of a commander and the responding call from his troops. Rezkin bent to grab his sword and came up spinning. From every street and alley in the vicinity came the troops of the kingdom. At the fore were dozens of mages, many of them battle mages.
He was both relieved and alarmed. He could finally get a brief respite, but more people would die. The troops charged the four demons in the square as the mages began sending volleys of flame, lightning, and ice in their direction. The nearest demon swept the troops aside as though they were dolls made of paper. It ignored their swords and spears as it shredded their flesh from their bones. Rezkin looked to the other demons who appeared to be doing the same to all who engaged them. The mage attacks fell uselessly against shield wards made of demonic power. A few of the attacks landed, but the demons were undeterred. They began targeting the mages next.
As the mages died, the troops were far less protected thanks to the collapse of their shield wards. Within minutes, the troops were decimated, and those left alive ran away. Rezkin watched their retreat with relief. Part of him hoped they would regroup and return with a better plan of attack. The other part hoped they stayed far from the battle and the death that awaited them.
Rezkin took a deep breath then ran toward the nearest demon. He grabbed on to its hairy back and yanked it backward off its feet. It crashed to the ground, and he stabbed it through the chest. As he did so, he fed some of his vimara into the black blade. Green lightning snaked over the demon. He pushed more power into the blade. The demon abruptly ignited in fiery green flames. It shrieked and writhed as the flames spread across its flesh. Black tendrils of power erupted from the demon to slam against Rezkin’s shield ward. Within seconds the demon was reduced to a charred husk amongst a pile of ash.
He was suddenly yanked off his feet. The black tendrils had broken through his ward. They now held him suspended upside down a dozen feet from the ground, and his black blade was still stuck in the remains of the hairy demon below him. Seena clung to his chest as she screeched at the demon, dark puffs of smoke streaming from her mouth and nostrils. The remaining three demons merged on him. Rezkin launched throwing daggers at each of them. The daggers hit their targets but did nothing to deter the demons. He needed to release himself from the clutches of the demonic power. He closed his eyes and sought eskyeyela, not an easy feat with three demons bearing down on him. He sought his power. Once he heard its melody and witnessed its bright luminescence, he captured it. He drew it into a ball at his core. Opening his eyes, he released it.
A brilliant sphere of pure white light surged toward the center demon. It smashed into it and exploded in a cloud of sizzling lightning that zapped all three demons. They all three dropped to the ground as they jerked and spasmed under the assault. Rezkin grasped another thread of his vimara and fed it into the black tendrils holding him aloft. The tendrils released him, and Rezkin crashed to the ground rolling head over heels to absorb the impact. He ended on his feet and immediately retrieved the black blade. When he turned to face the demons, they were already bearing down on him. They were noticeably slower and weaker than they had been previously, but they were still a formidable foe.
A streak of light abruptly split the air between him and the demons, and Rezkin realized he was staring into a portal. Seena clambered up his body once again and shouted into his mind, “Go!”
Rezkin did not know where the pathway would take him, but he jumped into it nonetheless. He did not get one step before he was exiting the pathways. He realized he had reappeared behind the demons.
Inspired by his successes, Rezkin opened the gates between his power and the black blade. The blade glowed with green lightning as he ran toward the first demon. The hairy monster spun and raked its claws through the air, just missing Rezkin’s face. Rezkin brought the blade up and down again. It sizzled with power as it sliced through the monster’s appendage. The demon wailed as black blood spewed from its stump. Lightning crackled through the creature as Rezkin sliced through the beast’s abdomen, spilling its entrails across the ground. The demon fell forward, and Rezkin brought the glowing blade down upon its neck. The head tumbled from its body to land at the feet of the white demon.
Rezkin did not wait a single heartbeat before he was slashing at the white demon. It whipped at him with its tail, so he severed the lengthy appendage from its body. Black tendrils of power threatened to capture him once again. Rezkin allowed his power to leak from him, wrapping him and Seena in a cocoon of white light. The black tendrils recoiled from the light, abandoning their mission. The red demon rolled into a giant spikey ball and tumbled toward him. He dodged, but it followed him as he raced around the square. Meanwhile, the white demon began spewing purple flames at him, catching buildings alight and turning the square into a flaming bonfire.
Turning, Rezkin ran straight at the white demon. Its violet flame surged toward him, but he did not leap aside. At the last minute, a portal opened before him, and he leapt through. He came out to the right of the white demon just as the flames splashed into the rolling red demon. The demon became a giant red and purple fireball as it rolled right over the white demon. Rezkin followed in its wake. He ran the black blade down into the chest of the white demon as he released his power. Green flame mixed with purple flame, and the creature was consumed. Rezkin chopped off its head for good measure. Then he turned toward the remaining demon—the red spiked demon.
The fiend uncoiled and turned toward Rezkin. It issued a terrifying howl then began a slow and calculated advance. Rezkin felt a surge in battle energy as he faced down the demon. The beast pulled two of its spikes from its arm and held them in front of it as it began muttering in a strange language that sounded like little more than a growl. A black vapor appeared around the spikes, then it coalesced on them to create an inky coating. The fiend bared its teeth then reached back and launched the spikes at Rezkin. The spikes flew at him faster than he could dodge. One of them missed altogether nearly clipping Seena, but the second impaled his arm through his armor.
Numbness spread through Rezkin’s arm until everything from his fingers to his neck felt dead. He tried to make a fist, but his hand would not cooperate. Then he noticed the black veins that stood out against his alabaster skin. He became alarmed when he realized the numbness was spreading. If he did nothing, soon he would be unable to move. He sheathed his blade and yanked the black spike out of his arm. Red blood mixed with black ink poured from the wound. He backed away from the advancing demon. Seena provided him with a pathway that took him out of the demon’s path. Then he sought eskyeyela. This time when he found it, the melody was distorted, and black veins were converging on his glowing river of vimara. Rezkin pulled on his vimara, but it was slow to respond. The glowing aura that surrounded him began to wane, and he was gradually losing sensation in his chest. The demon screeched, and he knew he had to end the threat now, before he was rendered incapable.
The demon turned toward him, and he took off in the opposite direction. As he ran, he drew the black blade once more. Black tendrils of demonic power reached for him. He batted them away with his sword, and each time he did so, the blade glowed green. It occurred to him that the black blade had a power of its own. He wondered if he could somehow use that power for his own sake. He continued to circle the square, avoiding the red demon as it chased after him.
Splitting his focus, Rezkin sent his mind into the blade just as he had with the crystals on Cael. Diving into the strange mage material from which it was made, he became surrounded by green lightning that crackled all around him. He reached out with his mind and connected with that power. It surged through him unimpeded. His anxiety spiked. He had failed to block the power from consuming him, and now he would endure a fiery death.
Rezkin tried to erect blockades against it. The green power broke through his pitiful barriers as it reached for his core. There, it crashed against the insidious demonic power that suffused him. Green lightning erupted over Rezkin’s body. He desperately fought it lest it char him to a crisp. His alarm only subsided once he realized he was unharmed. The black veins of power that poisoned him ignited and burned away, and sensation began to return. The green lightning did not dissipate. It continued to arc over and through his flesh destroying the demonic power every time it reached for him.
Rezkin stopped running. With the black blade in his right hand, he drew Bladesunder with his left. Then he turned back to the demon. He met it in a clash of blades and claws. Seena launched herself at the demon’s face, clawing at its eyes. With the black blade in one hand and his Sheyalin in the other, Rezkin released the full force of his fury on the spiked demon. The monster raised its arm to block a strike, and Rezkin sheared away the spikes. With his other sword, he scored the creature’s side. Black tendrils of power lashed at him, and the green lightning that protected him crackled. Rezkin tapped into the flow of power between the black blade and his river of vimara. He sent power surging into the blade as he struck at the demon. Green flame and lightning crashed over the demon causing it to rear back in a spasm. Rezkin stabbed Bladesunder into the demon’s side. The demon grabbed on to the blade and yanked it from Rezkin’s grasp.
Rezkin took the black blade in both hands and spun, swinging in a mighty arc. The blade dropped down on the demon’s shoulder and continued through its body to the opposite hip, cleaving it in two. The two halves of the creature’s body fell away. Still, it battered at him with the insidious dark power. Rezkin again brought his sword down on the creature, this time severing its head from its body.
Rezkin fell to his knees over the corpse breathing heavily. Seena joined him on the ground. The battle with the five demons had taken much out of him, both physically and magically. He felt his energy waning, and his stomach rumbled with hunger. Now that the battle energy was wearing off, he began to feel all his aches and pains. He reached up to the spike that still impaled his shoulder and yanked on it until it finally came free. He was bleeding heavily both from the wound to his shoulder and to his arm as well as numerous other lacerations. His ribs hurt, and every breath was agony.
