Joint Intentions (Book 9) (28 page)

Once more, Ryson felt the overwhelming weight of responsibility fall upon his shoulders. He didn't wish to believe he had any part in the creation of a monster, but he could not deny his role in past events. The beast also implied the delver's future actions might prove to be in Rul's favor, and in that, he made his own desires clear.

"I have no intention of helping you."

"Your intentions do not matter."

Ryson disagreed, but he decided not to argue the point further. Rul Saattan continued to answer his questions, and the delver decided to demand more detailed information regarding the problems he believed were in need of the greatest attention.

"Where's Enin?"

"Still in the clutches of the pit demon."

"And where's the pit demon?"

"In the dark realm, somewhat lost and confused at the moment. It was told to wait for instructions by Baannat, told to guard the coreless wizard and protect him from harm. But the slink ghoul no longer exists, and the connection between the ghoul and the pit demon has been severed. Baannat's previous wishes are no longer relevant. I have no need for Enin, so I have no desire to waste my time giving the dathit new instructions."

"What about Neltus?"

"What about him?"

"Where is he?"

"Hiding."

"You don't know where he is?"

For the first time, Rul Saattan hesitated in offering an answer, and Ryson noted obvious annoyance, even fury in the beast's twisted face.

"You really don't know, do you?" the delver pressed. "You said you were in my debt and answers were the payment. If that's true, you have to answer, or you will still owe me."

"Very well, delver, you are correct... in both regards. I have to answer you, and I do not know where the crimson cored wizard is hiding."

"How can that be? Reiculf and Ansas were both connected to Neltus. You should be able to find him without a problem."

"There are other forces which work against me."

"What kind of forces?"

"Forces which oppose me."

"That's the same answer as before."

"But it answers your question."

"Are you trying to find Neltus?"

"Yes."

"Why? If the boundaries of Demonspawn are really broken and you can reach out to any existence, you don't need him anymore."

"It's not a matter of need. It's a matter of want. What you said about Neltus is correct; he was connected to both Reiculf and Ansas. Because of that, I want him."

"Why?"

"You are running out of time, delver."

The warning surprised Ryson.

"What are you talking about? Are you saying you don't want to answer my question?"

"No, I'm warning you. Your
friends
are about to transport you back to the dark lands. I could stop them... if I wanted. Know this, I don't want to. I view their desire to return you to relative safety as the end of our discussion. When it ends, my debt to you will be paid. If I explain the reasons I want Neltus, you will not have time to ask another question."

Ryson understood. He believed it was extremely likely that Holli, Jure, and Vraya were attempting to find him. When they did, they would bring him back to the stone spire in the dark realm. He decided he could not risk losing the opportunity, so he asked Rul the question regarding the most important aspect of his life.

"What are you going to do about Linda?"

"As with you, I have not decided."

"That's not an acceptable answer."

"But it is the truth. Like you, she has played an important role in many key events. In many ways, she is responsible for the defeat of Baannat, Ansas, and Reiculf. She may be the most powerful individual in your land."

"I'm not going to let you hurt her."

"That's not a question. And it seems my debt to you is now paid in full."

Ryson was unable to respond. He felt Jure's magic take hold of him and pull him through a portal which opened and closed in an instant. He found himself back at the peak of the rock tower in the dark realm.

Holli could not continue to wait. Looking down over the precipice, she could hear the shrieks of the dark creatures growing louder and more chaotic. The removal of Demonspawn from the dark realm and its merging with Baannat's sanctuary stirred the beasts into a frenzy. It was as if an immense tempest had thundered across the dreary lands. The heart of the storm might have passed, but the following winds continued to blow and play havoc with the threads of magical connections.

Her thoughts were burdened with several worries, but the welfare of the delver became her most pressing concern. Vraya had revealed Ryson had been pulled into the new creation, Demonsheol, and Holli had no reason to doubt the sorceress. What the elf guard needed was a way to retrieve him.

"There must be a faster way to find him," Holli stated as she turned back to Jure and Vraya. "We can not simply stand here and hope the turmoil will eventually calm. If Ryson is trapped in this new realm, he may be in great danger."

"I don't want to wait either," Vraya agreed with the elf, "but I can't follow the trail of my spell. There's just too much interference."

"She's right," Jure agreed. "I can follow it for only a short distance, but it leads right into this new realm, and that's where the chaos is the greatest. And it's the ebony magic of her spell which makes it even more difficult. The creation of Demonsheol is affecting black energy more than the other hues."

"But your magic is not of an ebony color. What if you separate out the white magic you used to link to her spell?"

"There's no way to do that. My magic is just riding on top of hers. Her spell is the base."

The elf guard would not relent.

"What about his sword?" Holli questioned the sorceress. "Previously, you focused on the Sword of Decree to follow him. You were able to watch him from any distance, from almost any realm. We have to assume it is with him again. What if you focus on the blade instead of your spell?"

"I didn't just follow the sword," the petite spell caster maintained. "I followed the alteration of the sword's enchantment. It was the transformation of its properties which allowed me to monitor Ryson's movements. That energy also rides through ebony magic, and it faces the same disturbance."

Jure understood Vraya's dilemma, but he analyzed the problem from a different perspective. As he considered his attempts at following his own white magic, he believed he saw a way through the turmoil.

"But you still were able to take hold of the sword's enchantment," Jure noted to the sorceress. "You basically used it as a sight spell without actually casting the spell."

"It was still based on ebony magic."

"But the sword isn't enchanted with exclusively black magic. It's empowered with all the hues, especially the energy of light."

"I can't follow yellow energy."

"But I can."

"You can use the enchantment of the sword to locate Ryson?" Holli questioned the elder wizard.

"Not alone, but with Vraya's help I can. She was able to follow the sword because of its transformation, its unique signature in ebony magic. If she shares the knowledge of that link, I can find a similar pattern in other hues."

Holli looked to the sorceress.

"Will you do this?"

"Of course," the sorceress responded without reluctance.

Vraya held out her hand for Jure. When he clasped his fingers around hers, she called to mind the distinct echo from Ryson's enchanted sword. She allowed that memory to ride through her ebony magic and into the white swell of the elder wizard's essence.

A magical vision of the Sword of Decree energized within Jure's perception. He could feel the awesome power of the blade, and he also sensed the immense transformation still surging through the weapon. In Ryson's hands, the sword had become far more than the elves had ever envisioned. It had become a symbol of hope and unity.

He saw it all through Vraya's ebony magic. He understood immediately how the sorceress could follow the delver's activities through the echoes of such power. Vraya's magic linked her to change; the more significant, the greater the connection.

That link, however, always flowed through Vraya's focused energy. It limited what she could follow during the turmoil within the ebony magic. But Jure could follow through different routes.

Once more, the elder wizard took hold of Vraya's shadow spell which remained upon Ryson. He could only follow it so far, but it took him to the edges of Demonsheol. Once his perception breached the new land of nightmares, he picked through the echoes of magic, looking for the defined pattern which would lead him to the Sword of Decree.

It took long moments to refine the search, but eventually, he found what he was looking for. Using both the echo of the sword's unique enchantment and the trail of Vraya's spell, Jure followed it directly to Ryson's exact position.

"I found him," the wizard declared.

"Is he safe?" Holli demanded.

"I can't tell. I know where he is, but I can't really see him. There's something else with him, something that's keeping me from focusing. It's blurring all the magic."

"Vraya, can you follow Jure's connection? Try to see him as you have in the past."

"I can't. There's still too much interference."

Holli did not wait another moment to decide. Even though she had no idea what the delver faced, she believed they could not waste the opportunity.

"Jure, can you transport Ryson back to us?"

"I can, but I don't know what he's doing. He may not..."

"Bring him here immediately!"

The tone of Holli's voice convinced Jure not to debate the issue. He placed his hands together and concentrated on a spell to retrieve the delver.

It was not difficult, not like creating a portal to Demonspawn. The new realm was a separate entity but within the same plane of reality as Uton and the dark lands. All he had to do was create an ordinary portal between the two points, and then teleport Ryson into the center of the rift.

A circle of powerful white magic rolled off Jure's arms and exploded upon the flat plateau of the rock spire. A portal to Demonsheol was created in an instant, and Jure's magic flowed through the rift. The energy locked upon the delver by seizing the distinct enchantment of his sword. In one massive surge, it pulled Ryson into the rift and placed him back in the dark realm.

Ryson stood before them, appearing more annoyed than confused or frightened. He looked about quickly and immediately recognized the wide flat grounds of the high plateau. He had several questions, but he believed he knew more of what had happened than the others.

Before he stated anything else, he requested Vraya remove her spell of shadow from his senses. Once that was done, he called out to the elf guard with a desire for immediate action.

"We need to help Enin," Ryson stated.

Holli recognized the stern expression and urgent tone. She decided additional questions could wait, but she needed further direction from the delver.

"What must we do?" she asked.

"The pit demon took him into the dark lands."

"We are aware of that. Vraya found the remnants of the portal the dathit took to enter the dark realm."

"That's right," the delver recalled. He then questioned the sorceress. "Do you remember where that was?"

"Of course," she replied

"Good, then we can follow it. The pit demon was under orders from Baannat."

"How could Baannat take control of a dathit?" Jure questioned.

"He wasn't alone," Ryson explained quickly. "Reiculf and Ansas were involved too. I don't know all the details, but I know Baannat ordered the pit demon to take Enin to the dark realm and hold him there. That was the last instruction the dathit received. It's just waiting there. It's on its own, for now. We have to get Enin before things change."

Holli nodded in agreement. Rescuing Enin remained a priority. She had previously restrained from going after the wizard until she had more information. With the delver's report, she agreed the dathit was vulnerable. She could no longer wait.

"Then this is our opportunity," Holli agreed. "Vraya, take us back to the Lacobian Desert, back to the spot where the pit demon escaped."

Vraya did as she was asked. With a spell similar to the one Jure cast to retrieve Ryson, she brought them all to the spot in Uton's large desert where the dathit utilized a portal to enter the dark realm.

Jure examined the remnants of the rift and quickly constructed one of similar properties. They leapt through and returned to the dark lands, but far from the stone tower. They stood in a valley of thick ash, surrounded by jagged peaks of gray cliffs. The elder wizard quickly closed the gateway so that no dark creatures could rush through into their homeland.

The delver easily found the tracks of the pit demon, and after but a few turns around the high cliffs, spotted the giant demon in the distance.

"There it is," Ryson stated the obvious as he pulled out his spyscope. He quickly peered through the lens and then handed it to the elf guard. "It still has Enin, and he's still alive. It's like I said. It's just waiting there."

Holli placed the spyscope to her eye, and her gaze swept over the colossus and the surrounding grounds. She considered the power of the individuals at her disposal, and then requested assistance.

"A pit demon is not an easy foe to face. It will be extremely difficult to defeat, but defeating it is not our goal. We must only remove Enin from the creature's grasp. We have suitable strength to engage the demon, but we need to do so in a fashion that will keep Enin safe. Options?"

"I was told Baannat ordered the pit demon to guard and protect Enin," Ryson offered, "not to kill him."

"It is possible we can use that to our advantage, but I would rather be sure about Enin's safety before we attack. Jure, we once discussed teleporting Enin out of the demon's hand. Your magical reserve has now been fully restored. Can you remove him from danger?"

"It would be better if he did it himself," Jure replied, and the answer surprised the elf.

"You are well aware he cannot."

"I'm not so sure. I've been thinking about what we talked about in the desert before he was taken. We discussed bending the magic for him to use."

"That was a discussion with a doppelganger and Neltus, both of whom were only hoping to trap Enin. I do not believe we should put much trust in their contentions."

"I don't trust them. But I've been thinking about it in a different way, and the theory might actually work. Think about it. I enchanted an item and Neltus was able to teleport all of us from Connel into the desert. What if I used the same concept? What if I bent a magical flow directly toward Enin for him to use?"

"A simple flow of magic may not be enough for him to hold and utilize," Vraya offered. "Without a core, he would not be able to absorb any of the energy."

"True, but what if I placed additional influence of my own into the magic itself? Enchanting an item is more than storing dormant magic in some inanimate container. The magic also has to be shaped so that it can be utilized properly. What if I put that kind of influence in the magical flow and then directed it at Enin?"

"Would that actually work?" Ryson wondered aloud.

"Not for just anybody, but it would for someone with Enin's experience. He knows better than any of us how to shape magic, how to control spells. He might have lost his magical core, but as he said so himself, he never lost his understanding of how to use it. If Neltus could shape magic from a coin, then Enin should be able to handle free flowing energy, as long as it's prepared properly."

"Is there a danger?" Holli questioned.

"Less danger than if I tried to teleport him out of there myself."

"That does not answer the question."

"Yes, there is a danger. If the pit demon senses Enin trying to escape, it might clamp down hard to prevent it, but Enin could teleport to safety on his own faster than I could do it for him."

"What about the magical flow you direct toward Enin? Would that not alert the demon?"

"It shouldn't. It's just magic shaped to conform to any spell. It's not an attack or an attempt to escape. It won't have a defined purpose until Enin starts to use it, but that's the moment of danger. There will be one slight instance in time when Enin has to shape the energy. It's the smallest possible period of time, but the pit demon might recognize it."

"Then we have to minimize that danger."

"Distract it," Vraya offered.

"How?" Holli asked.

"Any means possible which will be viewed as an external threat. The pit demon was told to guard Enin. If it follows that order, it will be more concerned with threats surrounding it than it would be by Enin trying to escape."

Holli nodded. She took one more look through Ryson's spyscope and then returned it to the delver.

"This region is somewhat dormant and the few dark creatures in the area have given a wide berth to the pit demon," the elf guard revealed. "That works to our advantage as well. We have a clear area and I intend to use it."