Into The Abyss (Demons of Astlan) (79 page)

He spent considerable time thinking about how one could make these links.  He’d like to practice.  It would be rather convenient to have a link to Rupert to know where he was and if he was in trouble.   Edwyrd did have some concerns about the ethical nature of these links, but having one to Rupert, who was supposed to be his son, would seem like a reasonable thing.  Maybe Rupert would let him practice on him tonight?

Edwyrd also studied his own body, as much as he could.  He was glowing, a lot, and while huge, it was sort of like a big cloud all around him.  He supposed, since more experienced people reigned in their mana, he probably should to.  It would keep him from sticking out like a sore thumb.

Later in the afternoon, he headed back to his room to get to a quite space so he could practice concentrating his mana.  He’d done some meditation for Tae-Kwon-Do, so he thought he’d try that and imagine sort of sucking his mana inside his Edwyrd body, sort of how he sucked the giant Tom body inside.  It seemed to
Edwyrd, that containing mana would have to be similar to containing a giant demon form that kept wanting to burst out of him like a car’s front-impact airbag.

He had rather lost track of time working on containing his mana
, when Tizzy and Rupert returned to the room.  “Hey Edwyrd, about ready for dinner?” Rupert asked.

“Sure.”  Edwyrd only pretended to eat, but the company would be nice.

“Who we going to eat tonight?” Tizzy asked.

Edwyrd shook his head as Rupert grinned cheek to cheek.  “No one, I think you do that just to try and get a response out of me.”

“Still seems to work, a bit.”  Tizzy observed.  “Should be a quite dinner what with all those wizards scurrying around.”

“Well we are under siege.”  Edwyrd told him.

“Yeah, don’t know what they’re up to, but they got teams running around buying up all sorts of crazy stuff in town and heading off to the basement with it.”  Tizzy told him.

“Well, good then.  I really don’t want to have the Rod, or the Sky Fleet coming in here.  So whatever it takes to keep them away, the better.”

“Yeah, don’t like the Rod.  Very high and mighty.  About the only thing they were ever good for was kicking Ramses off the plane.  But even that only lasted a thousand years.”

Edwyrd perked up.  “Ramses the Damned?  The one Maelen and I have been talking about?”  Tizzy shrugged.  “A Time Warrior?  Dresses in leather straps, wears two swords.”

Tizzy nodded, “Yep, same one.  I disliked him then, he was a real pain.  Good thing Exador had him killed, for a while at least.”  Tizzy seemed to be getting bored and floated out into the hallway.  “He built himself a nice place there in the Abyss after that.  Funky looking demons and all.”

Edwyrd shook his head.  Tizzy was a treasure trove of information, if only there was a way to get it out of him more consistently and on demand rather than as an odd after thought.  At least now, Tizzy seemed to have confirmed that the Ramses running around here was the same one with the palace in the Abyss.

Rupert and Edwyrd headed to the cafeteria; Tizzy had drifted off somewhere, again.  When they reached the cafeteria, Maelen and Gastropé were there, so after picking up their food, they sat down with them.  They both confirmed that wizards from the palace were running all over town looking for various spell components, particularly rare elements and gems.  Edwyrd told them of Tizzy’s confirmation of Ramses.

Maelen shook his head.  “Do you ever get the feeling it would be a lot easier to just ask Tizzy first?” 

They all laughed at that.  “About 80% of what comes out of his mouth makes absolutely no sense; the other 20% is pure gold.” Gastropé shook his head.  “The trick is…”

“Knowing which is which.”   Maelen finished his sentence with a laugh.

~

“Rupert, you’re a wizard.”  Edwyrd stated to Rupert later that evening in their room.

“A junior apprentice.” Rupert acknowledged.

“What do you know about links?”

“A bit.  The basics I guess.” Rupert replied.  “Jenn or Gastropé could tell you a lot more.  Jenn’s a thaumaturge and Gastropé does conjuring.  Both of those specialties do a lot with links.”

“Yeah, well I’m not about to ask Gastrop
é.  He’d assume I was trying to break my link with Lenamare and kill everyone.”  Rupert laughed as Edwyrd grinned.  “And Jenn,” Edwyrd continued, “she’d ask more questions about why I wanted to know, then she’d actually answer.”  Rupert grinned.

“I guess you’re right.”  The boy admitted.  “Well, there are all sorts of links, object links, familiar links, wizard links, binding links, and more I don’t know anything about.”

“Well, tell me about those.”  Edwyrd asked.

“Well, I can’t really do many
, other than maybe a simple object link if I get lucky.  An object link is a link applied to an object.  You use Magic Writing to engrave some special runes on an object so you can attach a link to it.  From then on, you know where the object is, and can follow it, and maybe do more advanced stuff over that link.  Again, this is just what I’ve been taught.”

“OK, what’s a familiar link then?”  Edwyrd asked.

“It’s a link to a living creature, typically your familiar.”  Rupert said.

“Familiar?”

“Yeah, like a black cat, a bird.  Wizards use them, specially trained and prepared animals that the wizard links to and he or she, if skilled enough, can use that animal as a second set of eyes, or command it to do things.  Typically spying, alerts, or scouting.  Birds are very good for that.”

“Can a wizard do that to a person?” Edwyrd asked, somewhat concerned.

“No, humans have too much mana, too much intelligence and willpower.  You’d have to really overpower them, and sending that much power through this type of link would break it.”  Rupert explained.

The boy got a sudden thoughtful look on his face.  “What is it?”  Edwyrd asked.

“I suppose, well…I just got to thinking, the way a wizard uses a familiar sort of sounds like demonic possession.”  Rupert shook his head.  “Maybe that’s what demons do when they possess people?”  He looked at Edwyrd curiously.

“Don’t ask me
; I’ve never possessed anyone.”  Edwyrd shook his head and smiled.  “What was that last one you mentioned, a Wizard Link?”

“Yeah, I have no idea how that’s done.  But it’s how wizards link up to each other to share mana and cast spells.  For example, in demon conjuring or setting up
these wards…” Rupert gestured at the glowing ward light outside the palace.  “They all link up and share their mana and sort of cast the spell in unison; not sure if there is any telepathy going on or what, but they can share their power.”

“Hmm,” Edwyrd murmured.  “That’s interesting.”  It certainly explained how a bunch of wizards no single one powerful enough to capture or defeat a demon could combine together and capture and bind one.

“Do you mind if I practice putting a link on you tonight?  I won’t try to possess you, I just want to experiment and learn how it’s done.  Plus if I can make it stick I can find you next time you pick a fight with a knight in glowing armor.”  Edwyrd smiled at the boy.

Rupert laughed.  “Yeah, that would be convenient.
  I could have used some backup.”

Edwyrd and Rupert spent the next several hours practicing trying to make links.  Rupert showed him an object link and Edwyrd tried to follow it.  It took some doing, the Magic Writing thing the most confusing; but he could see the link was attached to the runes, not the object itself.  The link basically had to be linked to either mana or animus apparently.  That sort of agreed with what he’d read.  Since the link was mana based, generally, it stuck best to animus, but could also stick to mana with some work.

Edwyrd didn’t know anything about wizardry; he’d had luck faking Animagic or maybe demon magic, so he thought he’d stick with that.  He tried various things where he tried to hook a bit of the animus cloud around himself into Rupert’s mana and/or animus and then sort of spin it out in a thread.

It didn’t work particularly well; at least not at first
, but he eventually got something to sort of work before Rupert pooped out and went to sleep.  While Rupert was falling asleep, Edwyrd worked on trying to create threads out of his mana.  Once the boy was asleep, he’d try attaching again.  Rupert had agreed with that, and Edwyrd had a few more ideas to try.

Damien answered the knocking on the door; Antefalken was heating his bath water; demons were really good water heaters, Damien reflected.  He’d slept like a log after yesterday’s insanity.  He hadn’t done that much physical work and labor in a decade; it had worn him out.

At the door was one of Gandros’ pages.  “Are you ready?”  The page asked surveying Damien in his dressing gown with puzzlement. 

“Ready for what?”  Damien asked.

The page blinked in surprise.  “The purge.”  The page answered.

“What is ‘the purge’?” Damien asked, waking up.

“The huge ritual the Council is doing this morning to evict all the demons.  You were sent a missive from Gandros.  The rest have been working all night getting ready and they sent me to get you when you still hadn’t shown up.”

Damien shook his head.  “What rest?  The entire council?” 

The page shook his head, “No, just the critical ones for the wards and the spell
.”  Damien just looked at him waiting for more. “Uhm, Alexandros Mien, Gandros, Lenamare and Jehenna are taking the key positions; then the rest of Lenamare’s team, Gandros’ top rune wizards and conjurors; Zilquar, Sier Barvon and his top three wizards, Davron and the two main aides he had here along with Turelador and the ward team.”

Damien ran through his head at who was missing, “So no Exador, Randolf or Trevin?”

“Trevin was invited but declined due to health concerns on her part.”

“Ok, wait here.”  Damien said as he rushed to his dressing room.  He started changing into his ceremonial robes, bath be damned.  “Antefalken…” he hissed at the demon.

Antefalken came out of the bath looking puzzled.  Damien gestured him closer and bent down to whisper.  “The Council is about to evict all the demons, forcibly.  Find our friends and get yourselves out of town fast.  I don’t know what they are going to do, but I doubt it will be pleasant given the fire power they’re unleashing.”  He gestured for the small demon to get going as fast and stealthily as possible.

~

Edwyrd and Rupert were wandering back from breakfast, taking a scenic walk along an upper open air walkway when Antefalken finally found them.  “There you are! I’ve been looking for you for the last hour.  Where’s Tizzy?”

Edwyrd and Rupert stopped as the bard came up to them.  “Hi, what’s up?”  Rupert asked.

“Haven’t seen Tizzy yet this morning.”  Edwyrd replied.

“We need to get out of town quickly.”  Antefalken stated.

Edwyrd looked at him in puzzlement.  “The Council, with Lenamare’s guidance along with Alexandros Mien is doing something to evict all the demons in the city.  Forcibly.”

“What do you mean forcibly?” Rupert asked, concerned.

“I don’t know, myself, but I’m thinking sort of like a banishment spell, a repelling spell, you know like the reverse of a binding pentacle that keeps us in.”  Antefalken replied.

“So like we’re all going to feel an overwhelming need to flee the city?”  Edwyrd said, thinking about the compulsion he’d had to get inside the wards.  “What about the wards?”

Antefalken shook his head, “I have no idea, presumably they’ll be tuned to let us out.”

Rupert was lost in thought.  “Do you suppose any of them thought to open the windows?”  The other two demons looked at him in puzzlement.

~

“Are you ready, Councilor Damien?” Lenamare asked.

“I believe so.”  Damien said taking his place and staring at the notes that he’d been given.”

“It’s very short notice, I realize, but we couldn’t locate you that easily yesterday.”  Gandros said.

“I was working to integrate Lenamare’s and Zilquar’s forces into the city guard and deal with getting them out of the dungeon.” Damien said.

“Yes, thanks, but this is truly important and we need your power and experience.”  Lenamare said, rather tediously.  “We are aligning these new parasympathetic pentacles and wards to the main city wards and then aligning them to create a demonic reverse vortex, that will basically suck all the demons, of whatever level, out of the city.”

Damien’s eyes were rapidly scanning the notes.  “Insane, absolutely astonishing, I have to admit to being impressed Councilor.”  Lenamare smiled coldly, a gleeful pride shining in his eyes.  Jehenna grinned as well.  “I would never have thought of something like this; and the scope, the sheer power we’ll be channeling…”

“Yes.”  Lenamare agreed, positively beaming with the adoration.  “Ready?”  Damien nodded.

~

“A very nice tea, I must say.”  Bess complimented Exador.  The three allies were in Exador’s suite enjoying tea, toast and fresh fruit as the morning sun filtered in through the wards onto
the balcony and through the wide-open French doors in the suite.

“Hmm.  Decent.”  Ramses said. 

Exador nodded.  “I had it imported from the southern hemisphere, very rare down there even.

Bess paused while sipping.  “Do you feel an odd thrumming noise?” 
She asked suddenly.

The other two stopped and listened, there was definitely a thrumming noise, a
low-level bass droning that was getting steadily louder, they could even feel slight vibrations in the table.

Ramses looked out the window.  “The wards are getting weird.”   They all looked out the open doors to the wards over the city walls.  The wards were oscillating, as if the entire sphere was rotating, each slice starting to have a different color.  Mostly shades of red, but also violet and green.  More colors began to
appear, as the rotation of the ward sphere seemed to increase.

“What in the Abyss
is the council up to?”  Exador asked.

“I’ve never seen wards do that before.”  Ramses stated.

Bess swallowed hard.  “I don’t know about you, but it’s starting to make me nervous.”

Exador and Ramses both did a double take and stared at her.  Archdemons didn’t get nervous, and if they did, they didn’t say that.  Suddenly there was the sound of glass crashing somewhere outside, but in the palace.  A moment later another sound of glass shattering and then screams of anger, rage and frustration started.

Exador got a sick look on his face.  “Ok, now I’m feeling nauseous and anxious myself.”  Ramses nodded, he was looking a bit paler than usual.

“This is very strange.”  Bess said.  “It’s been about three thousand years or more, but if I didn’t know better, I’d think I was having a panic attack.”

Ramses growled through gritted teeth.  “A panic attack is caused by a rush of neurotransmitters in the brain; it’s a chemical reaction.  I seriously doubt your body has the chemicals necessary to induce a panic attack.”  He was breathing heavily.

The screams and roars from around the palace were getting louder.  There were a few more glass crashing noises.  “What the fuck is going on?”  Exador looked towards the wards.  “Holy shit!”

They all turned to stare, there were demons flying through the air, from the palace towards the wards.  As they hit the wards there was a flash of light and then the demons were on the other side of the wards.

“It’s a fucking banishment spell!”  Exador raged. 

“Fuck, they’re banishing demons from the city.”  Ramses raged.

“How the hell are they doing this?”  Bess grabbed her head, she was bent over trying not to puke.  “It’s effecting us!”  She was taking very deep breathes, they all were.

Exador grunted.  “I can’t, I can’t fucking understand how this is possible.  All my demons, they’re fleeing, every one of them.”  He was clasping a large talisman on a jeweled necklace.  There was an explosion from somewhere, the sounds of stone and mortar being blasted apart.   Apparently, some demons were having trouble getting out.  Screams from around the palace were getting louder as more demons were being thwarted from leaving.

“How is it affecting us, all of us, and all of them.” Ramses asked.

“No fu..uh..cking idea!”  Exador raced to a closet door and yanked it open.  He pulled out a large rug and gestured for them to help him unroll it.  “Since, I am sure, none of us wants to shape change into a flying form and we need to maintain our appearances; I suggest we get on this frigging rug and get the hell out of here.”

“Amen…”
  Bess said tears of pain running down her cheeks as she helped the other two unroll the carpet.

“Fuck.”  Ramses shouted.  “I really, really don’t fucking like this feeling.  You fucking wizards are a royal pain in the ass, Exador.”

Exador laughed, “Not me, my friend, this has got to be the work of one, and only one fucking cocksucker; and by all that’s unholy is he going to pay for it.  Oh Lenamare, if you thought you had an enemy before…”  Exador laughed over his own gasps of anxiety and pain.  Exador barely had enough wits about him at this point to order the carpet up and out of the palace.

~

Glass was exploding around them; demonic screams were coming from all over the palace.  “Well, I guess that explains what they are going to do.”  Edwyrd said.  Antefalken was pure white at this point and Rupert was also looking rather Gastropéish.

“Ahh fuck!”  Rupert screamed and dove over the edge of the balcony changing form even as he did so.  It was fast and it was furious and he damn near hit the ground before being able to take flight, but then he got up into the air and headed out.

“I’m with him!”  Antefalken stated and took off.

Edwyrd shook his head.  He felt it, he felt it bad.  It wasn’t as bad, yet, as it had been when he’d needed to get into the castle.  He hoped Tizzy would get out OK. 
Yes, it was definitely building.  Edwyrd flashed to flame and then to his demon form and took off after the others.  The feeling was definitely growing in intensity; he was feeling nauseous at this point.

He turned and flew backwards
as best he could, watching as other demons, hundreds of them burst out of windows, a few through walls and headed to the wards and out of the city.   There were demons going in every direction, from almost every direction.  The vast majority were coming from the palace, but there were quite a few from other parts of the city as well.  Were there over a thousand?

Tom headed through the wards.  He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it wasn’t archers shooting down demons, or trying to.  Where they failed, wizards were zapping demons with lightning bolts!  It was like a demon massacre!  Holy shit!  The Sky Fleet and the Rod were acting in tandem to shoot demons down where they
would then hack them to pieces on the ground! 

This was fucking insane!  Those demons hadn’t been doing anything but spying and now they were being butchered?  True, they’d most likely just go back to the Abyss, but it would be very painful for them.  The vast majority were type I and II demons. 

Tom shook his head in dismay and looked for Antefalken and Rupert.  He found Antefalken hovering high, dodging arrows, occasionally batting at one with his harp.  “Hey.”  Tom said as he approached.

“This really sucks.”  Antefalken said sourly. 

Tom nodded.  “Tell me about it.  It is starting to piss me off.  Have you seen Rupert?”

“Not yet.”

Tom, or rather, Edwyrd had managed to get a link on to Rupert last night, fortunately.  He could feel Rupert, alive on the other side.  It was just a tad bit confusing, at the moment, to follow it; what with all the demons and arrows an lightning bolts.

Tom scanned trying to find Rupert visually.  As he glanced back towards the city, he saw Tizzy come through the wards, sort of drifting aimlessly, staring around at all the commotion. “Tizzy!”  Tom shouted.

Tizzy spotted him and flew over.  “What’s going on, what’s with the party?”  Tizzy asked.

“What do you mean?”  Antefalken asked.

              Tizzy shrugged, “I was just wandering around this morning and suddenly all these demons start screaming and heading for the wards, like there was some big party going on, and no one had told me.”  He shook his head and lit his pipe, which was suddenly in one of hands.

The other two demons looked at him as if he were insane
—which technically—he was, “Didn’t you feel the compulsion spell?”  Tom asked.

“The anxiety, the fear?”  Antefalken asked.

Tizzy blinked and thought for a moment.  “Oh, that.  I just thought that was a sour stomach.  Ate some seriously noxious stuff last night.  That and I’m pretty hung over.  And, well, I’m just a little twitchy normally so…really didn’t pay it much mind.”

Antefalken shook his head.  He turned to Tom and shrugged, “Well, I’ve heard that fear spells and such don’t work very well, or predictably, on the insane.  Who
knows?”

Tom just shook his head.   Tizzy never ceased to astonish, he started to look around for Rupert again when about two thousand feet away a flying carpet with wizards came flying out of the wards.  The wizards were rolling around on the carpet looking pretty sick.

“What are they doing?  Coming out to observe their handy work?”  Tom asked and pointed.  Antefalken squinted, telescoping in on the rug.

“The one guy is Exador, Lenamare’s arch enemy.”  Antefalken stated.

“Notice the one guy, in the leather straps and the two swords on his back?”  Tom asked, Antefalken nodded,   “Ramses,” they both stated.