Joint Intentions (Book 9) (41 page)

"But I am still the ruler of
this
realm."

"Yes, you are, but that doesn't change the fact that you're not the threat you once were. When you twisted yourself together, you didn't become more than you were, you became less."

"And do you really think that makes me vulnerable?"

"More vulnerable than you were."

Rul Saattan's eyes glowed white. His massive body pulsated with hate and anger. He would have enjoyed reaching out and throttling the delver, choking the life out of the insignificant pest. With his transformation complete and the spiritually connected core of Neltus under his control, there was no reason to keep the hated delver alive. Rul had obtained everything he coveted.

Unfortunately for the demon lord, Ryson was correct. Rul was not the culmination of strength and power he had hoped to become. The strengths of Ansas and Baannat did not offset their inherent weaknesses. His power did not total the grand sum of the three individuals merged into his form. In fact, he had become substantially weaker than the form of Reiculf alone.

Had he tried to grab the delver, Ryson would have easily dodged the assault. Rul knew of the delver's speed and agility. It was something he could not hope to match.

To Rul's great infuriation, the delver had figured that out, but what Ryson Acumen failed to realize was that, even at diminished strength, Rul Saattan was still the master of his realm, and the demons of that domain would follow his commands.

They came from all over the region; some flew, some crawled, most just prowled across the bleak lands of Demonsheol to heed the call of their master. They ignored each other as they lined up along the ring of the crater. They screeched and screamed, roared and growled, as they peered toward the center of the great depression.

They numbered too many to count. They filled every space. Some were larger than the pit demons which towered over Burbon's wall, and they filled the gray sky high above the crater's edge. Others were as small as rats, and they scurried underfoot hoping to feast on any small shreds left behind once the invaders were battered and beaten. But for the moment, they all remained at the edge of the crater, revealing their fury and hostility in their constant howls.

Jure and Vraya watched the gathering horde of demons. Though they both possessed great power and skill, they knew they could never match such a congregation of evil. They could feel desperate hunger in the violent vibrations churning through the currents of magical energy.

Jure wondered if he should begin to withhold some of the energy he was funneling toward Ryson in case they needed to make a hasty departure. If he continued to feed all his magic through the delver's sword, they would have no defense against the gathering of monsters and no way to escape.

Ultimately, he decided against placing limits on what he offered. He did not wish to second-guess the delver, and more importantly, he believed he needed to remain on the path he had chosen.

There weren't always clear signs; definitive indications of what he needed to do. Often he had to listen to something beyond instinct, to grasp an influence deeper within him than the energy of his magical core. He had to follow a whisper within his soul and hope it would steer him in the right direction. Standing at the center of that crater in Demonsheol, the inner voice of guidance told him to stand firm.

For Vraya, it was never a question of whether or not to restrain her flow of magic into the delver. She had professed allegiance toward Ryson, and she intended to remain loyal to that promise no matter what her fate.

As the two spell casters made their decision, the demon lord revealed his own claim of superiority. 

"I am not vulnerable in my domain," Rul snarled at the delver. "Even with all of your speed, how can you possibly hope to outrun the army which now surrounds you. And what of your friends behind you? They might have had a small chance to survive if they did not foolishly waste their magic by offering it to you."

Rul paused for a moment to gaze and grin menacingly at each spell caster. When he returned his attention to the delver, he growled with impatience.

"That's right, I'm well aware of what they've been doing, and it's all for nothing. Even with additional magic within you, you can't win."

"The magic isn't for me. It's for you."

In a blur of motion, the delver dashed closer to the demon lord. Once within striking distance, he swiftly jabbed the tip of his sword into the beast's shoulder. The point barely grazed Rul's thick gray skin, but it was enough to pour all of the magic which Ryson had gathered directly into the monster's essence.

Rul shrieked, and the scream overwhelmed the howls of the demons gathered around the crater rim. A burst of light revealed the flare of enchanted fire which rushed into the beast's core. The surge of soul-burning enchantment was quickly followed by two currents of black and white energy, the full measure of power the delver had received from Vraya and Jure.

Rul pulled away, and when contact with the sword was broken, another flash of radiance exploded across the crater and up into the blank sky. When the burst of light faded, the gray emptiness which seemed to swallow Demonsheol was gone, replaced with a night sky filled with stars.

Ryson offered only a partial explanation.

"I don't know if Baannat or Reiculf ever had a soul, but Ansas did, and he's part of you. No matter how small it is in comparison to the rest of you, it's still there. It was vulnerable to the fire of my blade and opened you up to the magic I had been holding for you."

"So you caused me momentary pain?" Rul Saattan growled. "What has that gained you, aside from a more excruciating death?"

"It wasn't the burn of your essence that I was targeting." Ryson then pointed to the sky with the sword still in his hand, the blade suddenly glowing with incomparable brilliance.

Rul glanced upward. He found the loss of emptiness distressing. The portion of his being which had been Baannat had grown accustomed to the void of his previous domain. The hollowness of nonexistence formed a unique bond with the slink ghoul and the blankness of the realm etched its own mark within Demonsheol. To Rul's displeasure, the emptiness appeared to have been filled.

The demon lord dismissed the inconsequential alteration as he considered it in relation to past achievements by the delver.

"You have filled empty skies before and it hasn't helped you. You brought stars to the dark realm, a place of desolation. Some believed you brought hope, but the dark realm remains as it ever was. Opening the gray skies to the stars may bring light to your sword, but it will not save you. The demons will still feast on your flesh."

"They're not stars," Ryson revealed with a slight smile.

And with that fact revealed, the tiny dots of lights in the dark sky began to move. More and more appeared as they swirled downward and grew larger. Within moments, the heavens above glistened with light.

Around the edge of the crater, the demons grew quiet. Their gaze moved uncomfortably from the center of the great depression to the lights overhead. They cowered against the growing radiance, slumped low against the desolate ground. Many raced away, unable to face what they recognized as a force they could never defeat, even before Ryson revealed it to the demon lord.

"They're spirits," the delver proclaimed. "You thought by merging Reiculf, Baannat and Ansas into one entity that you would gain power over all existence, gain entry into every realm. You made a mistake. That's the illusion I talked about. When you changed things to allow demons to cross into other realms, it changed the rules for others as well. I can call on angels, and as you said when we arrived, the doors to your domain are now unlocked."

"This is not possible!" Rul hissed.

"Oh, but it is. I told you the magic was for you. Reiculf wanted the ability to reach any realm, any level of existence. He wanted to erase the barriers. And that's exactly what happened. When I sent the magic into you, it was able to call out to every corner of existence. You opened the doors."

"They cannot enter my domain!" Rul insisted, refusing to accept what his own eyes revealed.

"Then by all means, order your demons to attack us. Let's start this war. Pit your demons—at least the ones who haven't already retreated—against this army of angels. Let's see what remains of your realm... what remains of you when the battle is over."

"No! There will be no battle!" Rul vowed. "I will not allow them to destroy what is mine!"

"Then you will release your hold over Sy Fenden's spirit. He will leave with us, as will Neltus and his core."

Rul roared in fury. Unable to contain his anger, he swung viciously at the delver, hoped to crush the irritating pest into the barren rock. He didn't think about the consequences, the beast acted on raw hate. He would have bitten the delver in two if he could have reached Ryson with his teeth, but he couldn't even strike the delver with his fist, let alone reach him with his wide angry mouth.

Ryson stepped aside with ease. He made no move to counter the beast. He kept his sword high but away from Rul's gray hide.

The lights in the sky grew brighter. The dome of light over the barren ground of Demonsheol pressed downward. Even as the heavens remained blanketed in one sheet of magnificent radiance, hundreds upon hundreds of individual lights rushed through the sky in streaks of glowing brilliance. They formed a larger circle around the demons still gathered at the edge of the crater, becoming a single ring of radiance. The gleaming circle pulsed with fury at the congregation of beasts.

The demons stood trapped. They retreated from the light, began to crawl down the slopes of the depression. They moved with fear, unwilling to stand before the entities of light and afraid to tread too near their master.

"Stand your ground!" Rul demanded.

The demons reluctantly ceased their retreat, perhaps more so because the spirits encircling them stopped at the edge of the crater.

"Do you really want a war?" Ryson questioned as he stared up at the monster. "Look at the sky. There are still so many waiting. And what can your demons do against spirits? Can they trap them as you trapped Sy? With what? They can't use Neltus' core the way you did. They have nothing. They'll be decimated."

"These demons are minions to do with as I please," Rul snarled. "If they are decimated, so be it."

"And then what will happen to you?" Ryson demanded. "Do you really think I'm going to let you hold on to Sy? It's not going to happen. I'm going to free him. If you let this continue, you'll be left with nothing... a ruler of an empty world. Maybe that appeals to the part of Baannat that's within you, but it can't make Reiculf or Ansas happy. They always aspired for more."

"You think you can create conflict within me? Is that how you hope to defeat me?"

"You're already defeated, and I'm running out of patience."

"And so you will order these ghosts against me? You speak of arrogance. How arrogant is it to claim control over such entities?"

"I don't control them. I just called them, and you're the one who made that possible. These souls know that. They know exactly what you are. You're a threat to everything, and they won't allow it to continue. You might have removed the barriers of Demonspawn when you created this place, but you didn't destroy the forces which work against someone like you."

"So you expect me to cower and surrender without a fight?"

"Actually, no. I want you to fight. I'm not going to wait for you to make some decision about me, or more importantly, my wife. I'm not going to let you make that choice. I'm going to make it for you."

Ryson lunged forward with the Sword of Decree, but he did not aim for the demon lord. He moved upon the body of Neltus and jabbed the point deep into the crimson wizard's thigh.

When the delver withdrew the sword, Neltus' eyes flashed open. A wave of crimson magic exploded outward and demolished the field of energy which held him in place. The wizard landed heavily upon the ground but remained standing. Another burst of red magic healed the wound on his leg, and Neltus turned to face Rul Saattan with waves of wrath molding his expression.

Rul sneered at the wizard with contempt.

"You dare to stand before me? You are nothing but a sniveling coward."

"I'd be very careful about what you say," Ryson advised. "You're not talking to Neltus. You're talking to Sy."

Before the master of demons could protest, Ryson quickly removed the clump of sod he had placed within his pouch. In one swift movement, he wiped the blood from the tip of his sword into the dirt and then crushed the thick tuft of soil into fine granules. He cast the dirt high into the air and let it scatter across the crater. There was no wind to carry the small particles, but Ryson knew the specs of dirt would invade all of Demonsheol.

"That wasn't just Neltus' blood on that blade," Ryson advised. "Remember, this sword is enchanted. It reaches the very essence of its host. You trapped Sy within Neltus' body. That means a part of Sy's essence was on that blade."

"What do I care?"

"That dirt was from the clearing around Burbon's wall. I mixed Sy's essence into the soil and now it's spread throughout your domain. You once said you would have no chance fighting Sy in his territory. Well, guess what? There's a part of both Burbon and Sy's essence mixed within your realm, and that makes it as much his domain as it is yours."