Joint Intentions (Book 9) (29 page)

Holli looked to the delver.

"Ryson, when I give the order, I want you to unsheathe the Sword of Decree and circle the demon. Ensure your own safety. You are to distract it, not attack it. Be ready to move on my signal."

"Whenever you're ready," Ryson agreed.

"Vraya, I want you to use your magic in concert with mine. The plants in this realm are weak and in a constant state of decay. Right before I cast my own spell upon the surrounding trees and vines, I want you to alter their substance into a healthy and more vibrant state. Can you do that?"

"I can. What will your spell do?"

"It will instruct the trees to encroach upon the demon. The withered vines will entangle its legs, but they have to be strong enough to be viewed as a persistent threat."

"I can strengthen them sufficiently."

"Excellent." The elf then turned to the elder wizard. "Jure, prepare your spell, but do not send the magic to Enin until the demon is sufficiently distracted."

"I understand."

Holli gave one more sweeping glance at the surrounding grounds and sky. With the pit demon standing idle and the area clear of other monsters, there would be no better time to act. She gave the order.

"Vraya, start your spell."

The sorceress accepted the challenge. While it would require enormous reserves of magical energy, it was not a difficult spell for a magic caster experienced in the transformative elements of ebony energy. She focused her powers of alteration on the diseased plants surrounding the pit demon. The transformation would reverse the state of decay in all the vines and brush scattered about the ashy ground and fill them with a healthy vigor.

Placing her concentration on reaching the deepest and most potent elements of her own magical core, Vraya tapped into vast pools of ebony energy. In one grand gesture, she unleashed the full force of her spell in a crisp, black circle which rotated at phenomenal speeds.

The ring of magic broke open at one end as it drove over the dreary landscape in an awesome wave. The ebony energy completely reversed the stages of rot and decay. It altered the cycle of diminishing growth in a harsh and brutal environment. It transformed the inherent sense of surrender into an altered outlook of hopeful persistence.

As the black wave rushed across wilted vines and broken trees, the vegetation broke free from the devastating shackles of life in the dark lands. The vines and leaves did not turn lush green as they would in Uton. They remained dark and twisted. But instead of brittle and weak, they became resilient and strong. Pulsing with energy, the vines thickened and tree branches stretched outward.

As the strange vegetation continued to grow, it filled the once vast empty spaces with layers and layers of leaves and stems. The vines and limbs appeared to fight with each other, each strand trying to choke out any competition for room to grow. The area surrounding the pit demon became a frightening jungle of misshapen brush, all of it twisting together into one angry mass.

Holli was both pleased and surprised by the strength of Vraya's spell. In order to get the pit demon's attention, she would need to work with a vast and strong field of trees and underbrush. Vraya gave her that and far more. The mass of thick dark branches reminded the elf guard of the threat of shadow trees, and such a horror could not be easily dismissed.

With Vraya's spell working so proficiently, Holli's task became substantially easier. The inherent qualities of life in that angry realm brought out the vicious and aggressive nature of the trees and vines bursting with a surge of ebony magic. All the elf guard had to do was nudge the pulsating jungle into a frenzy and point it at the proper target.

An octagon of green energy appeared at the elf's wrists. She cast it out toward the thick field of dark brush. The moment it hit the outer edges of the new growth, the magic exploded into emerald dust. It scattered across the entire area, imbedding itself into nearly every leaf, vine and stem.

As the direction of the magic took hold, the movement within the dark field intensified. It appeared as if war had broken out among the trees and vines, but their attacks against each other quickly faded. The invigorated stems were given the freedom of greater movement and a new target for their aggression.

Trees did not uproot themselves completely, but the trunks pulled upward as the roots lengthened and extended to allow the trees to push toward a new enemy. Branches swelled even further outward, and they pressed in one massive lunge toward the pit demon.

Vines slithered along the ground and through those same lurching branches. All of the stems moved with deceptive speed. They twisted and turned through every open space like mice running through a thicket. When they hit the feet of the colossal demon, they quickly spread upward, wrapping around the ankles and shins of the dathit. They rose up over the knees, along its thighs, and finally encircled its hips.

The entire bottom half of the pit demon was ensnared with layers and layers of thick, dark vines throbbing with ebony and emerald energy. The dathit lifted Enin high over its head, as it clearly wished to protect the wizard from the encroaching mass. Otherwise, it remained motionless even as thick branches and heavy limbs from nearby trees crashed into its body.

Snaps and cracks echoed across the dark lands as the trees broke against the giant's thick hide. The uproar became so loud, Holli had to shout her next orders.

"Ryson, unsheathe your sword and prepare to circle the giant."

With one smooth pull, Ryson freed the Sword of Decree from the sheath on his back. The blade glowed gloriously in the dim starlight of the dark realm. It became a shining beacon in a dismal land, and its brilliance could not be ignored, even by a colossal faceless demon.

Holli issued one last warning before commanding the delver to make his run.

"Ryson, take heed of the plants. They will move of their own accord and they will disregard your path. If you are not careful, they will drag you into the dathit. Still, I need to ensure the pit demon's attention is properly divided. It may not view the surrounding trees as a significant threat, but your sword will draw its attention. Now go!"

Ryson wondered how the elf guard could be so certain the blazing sword would gain the notice of a demon with no eyes. It was not a question he had the time to ask, and so, he raced over the desolate ground toward the throbbing mass of shadowy and pulsating brush.

At first, he remained at the edges of the attacking field, stayed upon clear grounds. He circled the demon twice. Even as his sword bathed the dark trees with brilliant light, the pit demon failed to show interest in his movements.

Ryson watched for any signs of concern in the dathit, but the colossus remained virtually motionless. The most it would do was brush encroaching branches away from its arm which held Enin high over its head. Beyond that, it ignored both Ryson and the vines which entangled the lower portion of its massive body.

The delver decided to make a bold move. Ryson had grown comfortable leaping from tree to tree in Dark Spruce Forest. The branches served as intertwined paths and byways for travel above the forest ground. Those trees, however, remained mostly stationary. Beyond swaying in a stiff breeze, they were not engaged in a massive struggle against a giant pit demon.

The dark branches and limbs between him and the dathit moved constantly. Those further back pressed heavily against the trees closer to the monster. Long branches swung violently in a desperate attempt to close the gap. Limbs speared upward into open space and then darted over the tops of tangled masses. The chaos of movement created a dangerous swirl of potentially bone-breaking collisions, but Ryson found the cascade of motion too tempting to avoid.

With one large bound, he leapt upon a heavy limb, and then swung over to a long branch. He danced through the turmoil as he jumped from tree to tree and rushed ever closer to the pit demon.

As fast as the vines snaked through the mass and as boldly as limbs jutted upward toward open spaces, Ryson raced with even greater speed across the thicket. He continued to circle the pit demon, but with each pass, he drew closer.

The Sword of Decree marked his presence. It sparkled and glistened. Its light blazed even more brilliantly against the dense brush. It appeared far brighter than any of the stars in the foreboding sky of the dark realm, and it finally caught the pit demon's attention.

The beast had no eyes with which to look upon the blazing blade, but it turned its faceless head toward the bright glow. It followed the light, even turned about as the delver circled around to its back.

As it pulled its massive legs from the tangled vines, the stems snapped and broke. Though much of the long strands remained wrapped around its lower body, large portions broke free and dropped to the ground. Thick limbs shattered from the collision with the demon's torso, and trees were forced to pull back as the giant continued to move within the thicket to follow the path of the glowing blade.

"Ryson has its attention," Jure pointed out.

"Are you ready to send the magic to Enin?" Holli questioned.

"Whenever you say."

"Do it now."

Jure cast a very subtle spell. The ring of white magic was barely visible in his palm, and the circle of energy remained there as he held his hand aloft. Jure whispered a few words no one could hear, and then remained as still as a stone.

To ordinary eyes, it appeared as if the spell failed to engage with any purpose, but the sorceress noted the true power behind the casting. She could not follow the flows of energy as Jure could, but her ebony core allowed her to see the subtle changes in all magical currents. She watched in great appreciation as Jure pulled aimless magic from the heavy flows within the dark lands and gave the energy refined direction.

Strong winds of magic surged through the tiny ring, found a level of purpose, and raced toward the pit demon's extended arm. Jure did not place anything within the energy other than an openness to be molded into a spell. It was in essence, a free flowing enchantment, a current of magic willing to be shaped into a spell of power. All it required to fulfill its ultimate objective was a person capable of placing the proper incantation within the current.

When the energy reached Enin, he was unable to absorb it, but he could seize it for the purpose for which it had been delivered. There was no message within the magic, no description of a plan, but he understood what he needed to do. He was in danger as long as he remained in the grasp of the pit demon, and the wisest use of the magic was to escape.

He actually struggled to take hold of the energy, and he found his limitations disheartening. Before he had lost his core, the magic bubbled within his essence and he could mold it on a whim. It danced to whatever beat he provided, sang to any tune he hummed. But that was when it was inside of him, when all he had to do was utter a small word or make the tiniest of gestures, and the magic would erupt from his core.

As he felt the magic surge across his body, he remembered what it was like to hold immense power at the center of his being. He wanted so badly to feel that fullness one more time, to have raw energy raging within the center of his essence.

Enin believed he had accepted his fate and had moved forward with an understanding that the magic was no longer his to command. Any attempt to drink in the energy was a futile grasp at his past. He thought he was beyond such cravings, but the flow of energy willing to be shaped by his hand reminded him of all that he had lost.

Much like Neltus, he wanted it back; wanted to control it, to absorb it, and to carry it with him. To his growing dismay, no matter how hard he tried to contain the magic, it slipped through him like a waterfall cascading down a tall cliff face. As the energy passed through him, he felt a great pang of resentment.

Fighting off both bitter frustration and crushing sadness, he took hold of a single spark of joy hidden deep within his essence. His magical core might have been gone, but his  awareness of the energy remained intact. He understood the full spectrum of magic, from its near endless possibilities to its defined limitations. That same magic was suddenly willing to bend once more to his command, but only within certain parameters. Unable to pull the magic into his essence, all he could do was sculpt it like some mad artist furiously working with a chisel and hammer, hoping to finish a masterpiece before the inspiration dissolved.

In the most subtle way possible, he crafted a spell of teleportation and placed it directly in the flow of magic which Jure provided. Two circles of white energy rotated around his shoulders. Just before the pit demon clamped its hand into a fist, Enin's body was removed from the grasp of the colossus and placed next to Holli and Jure.

The dathit went into a frenzy. Its arms swung violently at the surrounding trees, and its thick fingers ripped away at the tangled vines. Ryson's blazing sword continued to alarm the beast, irritate it, but the loss of its prisoner was of far greater concern. It tried desperately to swat at the racing delver, to remove the enchanted light as a distraction, but it struck only at empty air. With no mouth to scream, it raged in silence.

Enin acknowledged Holli and Jure with a quick nod. He glanced uneasily at Vraya, but then refocused his attention on the delver.

"Call him back," the wizard directed.