Demonkin (24 page)

“So,” King Haven asked. “What do you need from me?”

Xander glanced at Aryn, then Tania. She raised an eyebrow. She was willing. Xander turned back to Haven and told him.

They would start by forming a dyn disc.

KARA WAS LOST IN A DAY OF SAILING, with Trell, when her warding bubble tickled the inside of her head. She woke at once and rolled to her feet, snatching up her quarterstaff. She searched for Anylus by the dim light of their flickering fire. His bedroll was present, but he was not.

Whoever had tripped her bubble would have seen her fire, and putting it out would only alert them she was awake. She backed from the fire and its treacherous light, waiting for her hunter to show itself.

Kara knew it had been stupid to cook and stupider to sleep beside a warm fire, but she was just so tired of being cold. Anylus had not expressed any concern about the light, and where
was
he? Where was Anylus?

Two figures crept toward the fire, people Kara recognized. Sera and Byn. Sera and Byn were in Terras, looking for a cure, not here.

Kara had seen what she had believed was Byn once before, in the night of Highridge Pass, and the demon had damn near taken her head off. A doppelganger. How had they even found her? Could Byn track her?

A hand touched her shoulder, so gentle it barely made her jump. Adept Anylus crouched beside her, staring at the fire. “Your friends?”

“We can't know that.” Kara missed her friends desperately, which made their appearance all the more ominous. “What if they're doppelgangers?”

“If they are,” Anylus said, “hiding out here accomplishes nothing.” Anylus strode to the fire, robes billowing. “Come. We'll ask them together.”

Kara followed him. The royal adept wielded power equal to that of Elders Halde or Cantrall. Soulmages went into battle with the experience of hundreds of deceased warriors at their beck and call, and if the two at the fire
were
doppelgangers, Anylus could destroy them. Kara hoped.

Byn spotted them and waved one hand. “Kara!” The wide smile on his face melted her heart. If he was a doppelganger, he was the best Malkavet had ever made.

“Byn Meris!” Kara kept her pace even, backing Anylus up with her quarterstaff raised. “Remind me!” She thought back to something only he would know. “Who did you kiss at the Harvest Fair in Jarel, when we were twelve? After we stowed away on the
Seaborne Gale
?

“I didn't kiss anyone that night!” Byn shouted back, “and we stowed away on the
Maiden's Breath
. It was also the Solstice Festival!”

That was right. He was right. He was her Byn.

“Also,” Byn shouted, “it was you who did all the kissing! Garel Smith and Palyn Rourke, one before the dance and one after! Did I forget anyone?”

Kara blushed at the memory. It had been her first Solstice Festival, after all, and it had been the first time she got to be alone with
boys
. A warmth filled her as she realized Byn and Sera were really here. With her.

Kara sprinted to the fire and threw her arms around Byn, wet blurring her eyes as Sera hugged them both. Had they found their cure? She planted a kiss on Byn's cheek and clutched Sera tight.

“Did you find it?” Kara asked. “Did you find the cure?”

Sera shook her head.

Kara felt all the warmth drain out of her. If there was no cure at Terras, there was only one reason for Sera to come here. To see her.

Sera had come to say goodbye.

KARA GRIPPED SERA’S HANDS. “I'm not giving up. You can't either. We're fixing you.”

Sera smiled faintly. “Who says I'm giving up?”

“You're here.”

“Not by choice, and there's a story behind that.”

Kara imagined a dozen perils: Abaddon assaulting them on the road, davengers harrying them through the Unsettled Lands, a harvenger leading an army of animated corpses. “What happened?”

Sera pulled her hands away. “Balazel.”

“Drown me,” Kara whispered. Other Mavoureen had entered the Five Provinces as well, just as she feared. Were Abaddon and Balazel alone, or could there be others?

“Kara?” Anylus stepped closer, tucking his hands inside his long sleeves. “I've business at the Layn. Would you like to stoke our fire and offer our guests a meal?”

“So you're Adept Anylus?” Byn asked.

“I am. You both look quite famished, and a discussion over a hot meal is far superior to discussion alone. You’re welcome to whatever we have.”

“That’s awful decent of you.” Byn eyed the royal adept. “You still cross about that magesand?”

A smile split Kara's face. That was the Byn she knew.

“Go.” Kara looked to Anylus. “I'll explain anything you miss.” She motioned to the fire. “Let's sit.”

Anylus disappeared into the night as Kara stoked the fire for her friends. She unwrapped the last of their food: a half-eaten loaf of bread, cheese, and chunks of salted venison. So what? They could hunt tomorrow.

Kara passed the food to her friends and wrapped an arm around Sera, hugging her close. “So Balazel came after you.” Kara shuddered despite the fire's warmth. “How did you find me?”

“Balazel captured us,” Sera said, “and I thought we were finished.” She nibbled on a bit of cheese as Byn tore into a hunk of venison.

Kara leaned close. “How did you escape?”

Byn shrugged and chewed. “Sera saved us both.” He grinned at them both. “She's a bloody hero now.”

“I got lucky.” Sera stared at the flames. “The demons had us for almost three days, locked in the grips of defilers. We moved at an incredible pace. Balazel and his demons move far faster than horses.”

“Where were they taking you?” Kara asked.

“Toward the Layn. That's all I could figure out. We entered the Valerun yesterday night.”

Kara suspected she knew exactly where Balazel had been taking her friends — to Knoll Point, where Abaddon must be leading Trell right now — but she needed to hear everything from Sera first.

“Eventually, they had to feed us,” Sera said. “While they did, I examined everything I remembered from my time as Ruin's Champion.”

That raised butterflies in Kara's stomach. Ruin might have taken Sera as his champion to help them, but the master of the Five did not lend his power easily. No mage had scribed Ruin since the All Province War, and most thought his power as dangerous as the Mavoureen's.

“Anyway,” Sera said, “I put it all together, and scribed what I felt would work. The Hand of Ruin.”

“You're certain?” Kara asked. That glyph was known to none save Demonkin, and no one in Solyr.

“I don't know what else it could be. I ended those defilers, Kara. I ended Balazel too. He's gone now, back to the Underside or somewhere else.”

“You slaughtered them.” Kara could believe it. Ruin's power was absolute. “Byn, did you see this?”

“I watched it happen.” Byn snorted and shook his head. “They came at her all at once, and they didn’t stand a chance. My heroine.”

“How did you find me?” Kara asked.

“I...” Sera glanced at Byn, who chuckled.

“Tell her,” Byn said. “You have to tell her.”

Sera's cheeks flushed. “I ... smelled you.”

Kara stiffened. “What?”

“Rannos the Wolf.” Sera turned beet red. “Please don't think ill of me for saying this, Kara, but you have developed a rather strong smell.”

Kara laughed so hard her sides hurt. She couldn't stop laughing. After days on the road without a bath or a change of clothes, she must smell terrible. And so Sera and Byn were here, alive.

“I've had a journey as well,” Kara said, after they all calmed themselves. “There's no help coming.” She filled them in on everything that had happened since Tarna. Abaddon's attack. Trell's abduction. Her imprisonment. When she was done, they had all sobered considerably.

“So here's what I don't get.” Byn gnawed at salted venison. “If Haven's after you, why not head for Boon? My family can protect us, and I know a half dozen sailors who would take us on at a word. Haven can't find you on the open sea.”

“That's where Haven would expect her to run,” Sera said, “but that's not why she's out here.” Sera fidgeted, staring at Kara. “You're going after the demons, aren't you? You're going after Trell.”

“We're going to where these Mavoureen arrived,” Kara said. “Knoll Point, above Pale Lake. It's infested with Demonkin, and both Anylus and I believe they opened another portal there, somehow. If Trell's anywhere, he's there.” Kara would not let Abaddon murder him.

Byn tapped his chin. “Rory Mason spoke about Pale Lake once. Visited with his mother. Said it was too cold to swim and looked like a giant mirror.” He tore into his share of the loaf. “I want to end these bastards as much as anyone, but taking on an entire town of them? And their demons?”

Kara grabbed a small chunk of cheese. “We don't have a choice. Abaddon, Balazel, all of them ... they entered through a portal at Pale Lake. I'm certain of that, and more may be coming.”

“Are you?” Sera asked quietly. “Certain?”

Kara frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“How much do you actually trust Adept Anylus?”

“He got me out of Tarna.”

“Perhaps he did. Perhaps he wanted you somewhere his demon friends could abduct you, rather than inside the most fortified city in the world. Did you think about that before you fled?”

Kara huffed. She wanted to be angry at the way Sera asked that question — of course she had thought about it! — but Sera was not berating her. She was concerned about her best friend. It made sense Sera would have trouble trusting Anylus, and his timing was convenient.

Yet it couldn't be that simple. If Abaddon had wanted her, it would have taken her, not Trell, when it carved a bloody path through Tarna's streets. Who could have stopped a Mavoureen general?

“Look.” Kara squeezed Sera's hand. “I understand you don't know Anylus, but I do. He's useful, and it's not like I had options. Anylus proved himself when we escaped. He sacrificed a great deal to help me.”

“Like what?” Byn asked.

“His career? His entire life? Anylus can never return to Tarna now. Freeing me has branded him a traitor in King Haven's eyes, in the eyes of all of Tarna, but he did it because he agrees only we can stop this.”

“Even if he is on our side,” Byn said, “one mage isn't going to help us much. If there is a portal at Knoll Point, the Mavoureen are guarding it with davengers and Five knows what else. Why not summon Torn?”

“Summoning Torn would require training,” Kara said, as Byn asked every question she had asked herself this past week, “and I can't know it would work. Soul glyphs are hopelessly complex, and Anylus has tried it. Wherever he is now, Torn's spirit isn't responding to anyone.”

“How long to Knoll Point?” Sera asked.

“A day or two, if we march hard every day. I wish we had horses of our own, but it was difficult enough to get out of Tarna as is.”

“We'll help you,” Byn said. “Between the four of us, we can smash these Demonkin. We'll rescue Trell.”

“If you trust Anylus,” Sera said, “we will too.”

Kara nodded. Sera had destroyed Balazel and his demons by herself. Even if Ruin no longer remained inside her, Sera had his power. A power that might kill her just as Life’s power was killing Trell.

“Is this how it ends for us?” Kara asked quietly. “We all die together, saving the world? Didn't we try that already?”

“Honestly?” Byn said. “If I have to die, there’s no one I’d rather be with when I do.” He wrapped a big arm around Sera and hauled her close. “But ... let’s do our best to
not
die, all right? I tried it once. Didn't like it.”

“Hug.” Kara raised Byn's other arm and slid beneath it. She sighed and wrapped her arms around her big brother. Together until the end.

“I never saw things ending like this for us.” Kara thought back on their horrific journey from Solyr to Tarna, all they had lost. “I feel so guilty.”

Sera sighed heavily. “That's enough.”

“Hmm?” Kara glanced at her.

“We went with you to Tarna because you needed us,” Sera said, “and everything we did, we did to protect you. No one forced us. That's what family does, and you're
our
family.”

“Sera—”

“If you say one more word about how guilty you feel or how much we sacrificed, I'm going to punch you in the face.” Sera made a fist and showed it to her. “Not kidding. Knuckles, right into your nose.”

“I love you so much,” Kara whispered.

Byn squeezed Sera. “I just love having two gorgeous women in my arms.” He sniffed the top of Kara's head. “Even if one of you does smell.”

Sera gasped and poked him. “Ass.”

A swish of robes caused them to scatter, and a blush warmed Kara's cheeks. What must Adept Anylus think of the three of them, huddled together in the dim fire light? They were just hugging.

“Water.” Anylus offered two canteens. “Drink.”

Byn snatched a canteen and offered it to Sera, but she forced him to drink first. Kara took the other and drank as well. The water of the Layn was cool, clean, and wonderful, and it did much to settle her blush.

Byn was like a brother to her, Sera like a sister, and this might be one of the last nights they spent together. If Anylus took exception to their hugging, he could go jump in the river. “I told them the plan.”

“Excellent.” Anylus crouched by the fire. “Will you help us? You have no obligation to do so.”

“We've got nothing better to do.” Byn leaned close. “Though Sera's the one really helping you. I'm just here for moral support.”

“Sera knows the Hand of Ruin, Anylus.” Kara saw no harm in telling him. He already knew Sera was Demonkin. If any glyph could destroy Abaddon, it was the Hand of Ruin.

“Sera,” Anylus said. “How are you feeling?” His question was simple, but its implication was not.

From what Kara had read, a mage grew more powerful the closer they came to succumbing to the Mavoureen inside them. If Sera had figured out how to use the Hand of Ruin, it meant the demons had influence over her beyond what Kara was comfortable admitting. How many more days did Sera have before their influence overpowered her?

“I'm me,” Sera said.

“It's been over three weeks.” Kara had to be certain Sera remained sane. “You have what? Four days?”

“Three and a half.”

“How can you be certain you're thinking clearly? Is that demon—”

“It's in me,” Sera said, and her voice shook just a little. “It’s growing stronger every day. I feel it, and I hear it, but I'm not listening. It knows about my execution glyph and it's not happy.”

“But it's not controlling you,” Kara said.

“No,” Sera said. “I’m still me.”

“The Mavoureen aren't taking her,” Byn added.

“We hope.” Sera squeezed his arm. “I wish I could give you a better assurance, but I can only tell you how I feel. I feel like me.”

“Kara,” Anylus said, “my
andux orn
specialize in detecting the taint of demon glyphs. I see that taint around Sera’s soul, strong and green, but no demon possesses her yet. She speaks the truth.”

“And I'll stay in control,” Sera said. “My demon won't take me, at least not before we reach Pale Lake. I traded my soul for this power and I want to use it to end this. Melyssa would want that, wouldn't she? To end this?”

Kara shuddered as she remembered the worst of Sera's tale. Melyssa was dead now — a headless body shambling around Terras — and they were all quite certain Jyllith murdered her. That wretched woman had betrayed them one last time, after she got Melyssa alone.

Kara had not known her great-grandmother well — they had only spent a moment together in the aftermath of Terras, before Kara left — but knowing Melyssa was dead still hurt. Kara had respected Melyssa's judgement, trusted Jyllith, and she would not make that mistake again.

“I believe you,” Kara said, because this was
her
Sera. Her best friend. “I'll stay with you until we fix you. Until the end, if it comes to that.”

“Actually,” Anylus said, rubbing his beard, “it may still be possible to save Sera's life.”

“What?” Kara and Sera spoke at once.

“Think about all we know. This Demonkin cult has existed for years, perhaps decades. From everything you've told me, Cantrall took his first apprentice almost ten years ago. Jyllith.”

“Right.” Kara saw where he was going. “So you think—”