Joint Intentions (Book 9) (38 page)

Ryson realized the three dathits represented the "gift" Rul meant to offer in return for taking Sy Fenden's spirit. It was a gift which revealed the beast's intentions. The demon lord might not have decided upon his ultimate aims for Ryson and Linda, but his plans for Burbon were clear. He wanted it obliterated.

With Sy gone, the town lost its divine defender, perhaps the only entity capable of stopping three pit demons, and Burbon stood in the crosshairs of absolute annihilation. One dathit would have been enough to pummel the entire town into dust. Three was beyond overkill.

Yet again, Ryson wanted to scream, to curse at the heavens for the calamities heaped upon his hometown. Even more, he wanted to unveil Vraya's foolishness; to question whether she believed this was just another
contradiction
and to challenge her to find any blessing within the appearance of three pit demons.

The anguish from Holli's sacrifice remained fresh in his heart, and already they faced additional adversity. It was never enough; no matter how many died or how many suffered, the pain just kept coming. Burbon was supposed to be safe, protected by a ghost warrior who could defend the people against dark creatures and malicious spell casters alike. But Sy was gone, taken by an insidious beast that clearly took joy in offering dread and devastation in the place of security and refuge.

A wave of absolute futility haunted the delver. Every step toward triumph had been erased, washed away like messages in the sand facing the incoming tide. The losses were mounting, the costs already immeasurable and about to grow substantially worse.

He wanted to race home, grab Linda and Stomps, and head for some secure slope hidden in the mountains, but he realized there was no safe place. The forests, the western shores, the plains, the valleys to the east; every region of Uton faced disaster. And with demons freed from the barriers of Demonspawn, the dangers would only grow.

Despite his growing desperation, he knew he could not leave. Burbon was his home, and regardless of the removal of Sy's spirit, he believed it needed to be saved. If not, all of the past sacrifices would have been meaningless. He couldn't allow that, but he was at a loss. He wanted to fight the giants before him, he just didn't know how.

Jure, however, understood exactly what they faced and saw only one potential chance at overcoming the mammoth demons. With Holli gone, there was no one to take control of the looming battle. The elder wizard recalled how the elf guard detested indecision, and out of respect for her diligence, he acted without hesitation. Making no mention of his plans or indication of his strategy, he took the initiative.

"Ryson!" the elder wizard called out. "Distract them. Keep them from the wall. I'll be right back."

"You're leaving?" Ryson questioned, stunned by the announcement.

"We need help, and I know where to get it. I won't be long."

Before Ryson could respond, Jure disappeared in a wave of white magic that rushed straight upward high into the night sky and then streaked to the west like a falling star.

With the most powerful spell caster taking an untimely leave, those remaining at Burbon's north gate were left with little to defend the town.

Captain Klusac shouted orders to his soldiers. He then turned to Enin and Vraya.

"I doubt it's going to matter against those things, but I'm closing the gates. You should come inside."

Both refused.

"I can help you defend your town," Vraya offered, "but I would prefer to do it out in the open. The fight should stay away from the wall. I can use this clearing and the fields to the north to try and draw them away."

"I'm staying out too," Enin declared. "My magic may be gone, but I can still use my knowledge. I need to see how these things react."

Ryson wanted to argue, but he didn't have the time. He was up against three pit demons. They could destroy Burbon in a matter of moments. He had no idea why Jure had left, but he had to believe the elder wizard had sufficient reason. He knew Jure was not leaving in fear. The wizard would be back, and Ryson would heed Jure's request to defend Burbon's wall.

Drawing the Sword of Decree, he raced toward the dathits. Before they could spread apart, he circled them in tight spirals. The delver waved his weapon frantically. The blade glowed brightly in the darkness—magnifying the starlight overhead in dramatic fashion—and Ryson directed the beam from the blade's tip randomly from one pit demon to another. He hoped the magic in the enchantment would disorient the giants as it had done before, but he could not keep the beam focused on a single demon. He had to keep all three occupied, for just one titanic demon could cause unimaginable destruction.

Vraya noted the delver's struggles and tried to assist him. She would have liked to take hold of Ryson's arm to help focus her spell, but she knew he would not stop for even the briefest of moments. He still did not completely trust her, and as a delver, his instincts would force him to keep moving.

It was nearly impossible for her to focus on the sword itself. Though it burned brighter than the largest bon fire she had ever seen, the delver raced about with unyielding speed. His sharp twists and turns created a dizzying effect of light swirling across the open ground. When she watched for too long, she became momentarily disoriented and unable to cast her spell.

Ultimately, she focused her casting on one of the faceless heads of the giant demons. Though the beam of light moved incessantly from one dathit to another, it was possible for Vraya to momentarily isolate the ray of enchantment as it struck a single giant.

Hoping to place the force of her magic within the narrow beam, Vraya cast her spell. A circle of inky black energy swelled upward and waited near the featureless head of the demon standing to the far right of the other two. The ring of magic hung in the air until the enchanted light broke through its center. The ebony power embraced the thin ray, and rather than darken it with shadow, it enhanced it with contrast.

The enchantment within the beam did not increase in overall strength. The sorceress knew she could not alter the magic in that fashion. Instead, Vraya attempted to boost the distraction by adding a pulsating effect to the thin line of light. She hoped the pounding magical vibrations would work more effectively against the pit demon's unnatural senses.

It appeared to work, and the demons responded almost violently to the flashing diversion. The three giants thrashed about as if they were suddenly plagued by a swarm of insects. They stumbled about trying to avoid the pulsing ray, waving their mammoth hands at the beam. They remained clustered together, but their confusion lasted only briefly. They eventually adjusted to the vibrations of energy by seizing upon the blank segments within the throbbing light. Slowly, they began to ignore the more intense flashes and gained a greater comprehension of their surroundings.

"Change the pulse!" Enin shouted to the sorceress, as he realized what Vraya had intended to accomplish and how the demon giants adapted to the fluctuations.

Vraya nodded. Rather than cast a new spell, she adjusted the existing one. Through the power of her ebony magic, she easily altered the pulse which trembled within the sword's enchanted beam.

Again, the pit demons lost their direction, became disoriented by the rhythmic ray which cascaded upon the blank canvas of their nonexistent faces. They staggered about with no clear direction and even stumbled further away from the edge of the town. Unable to ignore the erratic waves, they repeatedly failed to unleash their wrath upon the glowing blade. As Ryson continued to dodge their clumsy attacks, all three demons lurched deeper into the empty farm fields to the north.

Behind the battlements at the top of the wall, the soldiers of Burbon prepared to defend their home. With bows at the ready, they waited for the signal to fire.

Captain Klusac watched the movements of the monsters with great care. He looked for weaknesses in the titanic forms, but found little upon which he could frame any hope. The colossal demons had no eyes, and no mouths; no apparent vulnerable spots of any kind. Their dark crimson skin appeared thick and covered in scales, like that of a snake. He doubted the arrows of his soldiers would break through their hide, let alone cause any significant injury.

Still, with Sy removed from Burbon, defense of the town rested in Klusac's hands. It was his responsibility, his duty... his purpose. He might have doubted his abilities, doubted his strength, but he never questioned that one overriding concern. He would do whatever was necessary to save the town.

He watched Ryson run circles around the mammoth demons, and he marveled at the delver's abilities. Klusac wouldn't let the dazzling speed and blazing sword lull him into complacency, but he allowed himself the thinnest of opportunities to appreciate the delver as something more than an individual with great speed and agility. The captain considered Ryson's efforts and realized the delver was also hunting desperately for a way to save Burbon.

The captain recalled the last time he and Ryson spoke privately. Klusac knew the delver was searching for a deeper meaning of existence, looking for a light of understanding in a life plagued by magic and monsters.

Klusac didn't argue with the delver then, but he remembered why he thought Ryson was making a mistake. The captain believed some questions—certainly considerations about death and what waits beyond its threshold— were beyond their grasp, but he understood a delver could never accept such a conclusion. Klusac realized Ryson would always strive for every solution; including one that might offer an answer to the very point of existence... even when battling demons of unimaginable size.

As Klusac considered Ryson's initial quest, the captain came to his own conclusion. He believed the delver was trying to combine too many things at once, trying to find one answer for everyone and everything. It was like trying to tie all of the strings in the land together in one knot.

It was an honorable sentiment, but an impossible one. While Ryson might have wanted to link everyone's destiny to the emergence of Sy Fenden's spirit, the captain held to his own ideas. Klusac might have shared similar experiences and goals as Sy Fenden, but that didn't mean they would share similar fates. Every person had his or her own story... and each story would have its own ending.

The captain knew he wasn't latching on to some concept of uniqueness or individuality. He couldn't allow himself to think in such terms. He was a soldier, part of a greater whole.

He was only accepting reality. He looked beyond his own circumstances, considered the lives of all those inside, as well as outside, of Burbon's walls. People were different. They could all end up ultimately believing in the same thing, but they weren't all going to reach that belief in the same manner.

That understanding allowed him to see different concepts of life and death, and perhaps it allowed him to speak to Sy where others could not. It also gave him the strength to lead Burbon's guard against one more inconceivable peril.

After watching Ryson's use of light against the pit demons, Klusac decided to add his own fire to the conflict. The targets were far enough away from the wall to safely use arrows blazing at the tip. He ordered his soldiers to wrap their arrows in oil soaked cloth and light them with torches before firing. It delayed the initial barrage, but the time was well spent.

"Aim for the head," Klusac ordered. "Fire at will!"

Hundreds of burning arrows cascaded through the darkness. The fire and the impact caused little harm to the dathits, but the additional streaks of light added to the pulsing wave of magic coming from the delver's sword. It was difficult to determine if the barrage caused additional confusion among the pit demons, but there was no doubt about the lift of morale it offered the soldiers defending the town.

Immediately after the first wave of arrows lit up the night sky, another burst of light appeared in the darkness. A large flash of white energy heralded the arrival of a fourth pit demon. The giant arrived not through a portal but solely through a spell of teleportation.

It appeared further to the east within an empty cornfield. Rather than focusing on Burbon, it moved with slow deliberation toward Vraya and Enin. Its faceless head pointed downward. Even though it lacked a nose, it seemed to be sniffing at the ground, as if it was hunting for a scent it could not smell.

Before the soldiers on Burbon's wall turned their bows on the fourth pit demon, Jure ran out of the darkness from behind the monster.

"Don't shoot at it. It's here to protect Enin."

The delver, still racing about the other three giants, heard the welcome news. He was about to add the newly arrived demon to his circling paths, wondering if he could keep all four dathits occupied and confused. He realized it wasn't necessary, that Jure had indeed brought perhaps the only assistance which would work against their enemy.

Ryson's belief was confirmed as the elder wizard shouted instructions required to create the necessary conflict.

"Enin!" Jure called out. "I'm going to cast a shield around you. It'll keep this pit demon from taking hold of you. It'll also protect you from the others. After I cast it, run to the demon closest to you. When it attacks, this dathit will defend you!"

As Enin nodded, Jure brought his hands together and whispered words to create a powerful shielding. The elder wizard used a substantial amount of energy, but he knew it would be necessary.

A dome of white energy surrounded Enin, and the coreless wizard wasted no time in running toward the nearest pit demon. The shield moved with him, allowed him to take a position directly in front of the giant.

Ryson understood Jure's strategy. The elder wizard transported the pit demon from the Lacobian and placed the creature at the edge of the battle. The giant would not enter the fight against Burbon, but it would carry out the last order given to it.

It was told by Baannat to guard Enin, to keep him safe from dangers, especially in the dark lands. That order was altered slightly by Vraya. The pit demon would only seek to protect Enin when the two were near, a condition which Jure just ensured.

In order to allow the tactic to work, Ryson ceased his assault upon the giant closest to where Enin stood. Klusac, not fully comprehending the action but unwilling to endanger Enin, also ordered his soldiers to avoid firing at that same demon.

With the distractions removed from its featureless head, the pit demon refocused its attention on its surroundings. Utilizing its internal awareness, it sensed the human within a magical shield near its legs. Although Enin's core was gone, the demon could still perceive the vastness of Enin's magical awareness. There were strong echoes of power within the empty caverns which represented the coreless wizard's magical essence, and the dathit viewed the human as a potential threat.

It raised its mammoth fist high over Enin's head and brought it crashing down like a hammer of fury meant to crumble a hillside. The impact of the blow did not shatter the shield, but it sent out a force wave felt by the soldiers behind the battlements of Burbon's wall.

Before the giant could raise its hand for a second strike, the pit demon from the Lacobian Desert leapt upon the aggressor. It did not care that it was attacking another demon. It only cared about defending Enin. That had been the last instruction it received from Baannat, and since Baannat no longer existed as a single entity, that order could not be rescinded.

Nearly caught between the two giants, Enin dove away. The shield would have protected him, but there was no need to place additional strain on Jure's magical energies which were feeding the protective barrier. He watched with fascination as the two giants locked arms.

The two faceless goliaths wrestled for superiority. They grappled for long moments, neither able to gain an advantage. They were equally matched and they pitted the full measure of their immense strength against each other. The ground shook beneath their feet as they stomped through the northern fields. As both lacked a mouth, neither could scream or grunt, but the clash of their bodies produced resounding crashes which echoed across the countryside.

With one of the three invaders occupied, Vraya hoped to focus her entire strength on a single demon. After probing the giants with her magic, she believed she had found a way to defeat at least one.

"Ryson!" she shouted to the delver. "Leave the one on the left to me!"

The delver knew the sorceress controlled vast power in her ebony magic, but he remained uncertain of the full breadth of her character. He knew so little about her. He wasn't certain he wanted to leave the safety of his home—the security of Linda and Stomps—in Vraya's hands.

He could not, however, argue with the simple logic behind the sorceress' plan. If they divided the remaining two pit demons between them, they had a better chance of keeping them both from Burbon's wall. He decided to allow the sorceress the opportunity to prove herself, and he kept the beam of light focused on the faceless head of a single giant.

With the pulsating ray of enchantment removed from its sightless perception, the dathit regained its full awareness. It sensed the devastating battle between the two pit demons in the fields behind it, but it felt no need to offer aid or enter the conflict. It held to no allegiance, no duty to any of the other demons. It remained concerned with its own desires, a willingness to demolish, especially that which conveyed any sense of refuge.

Pit demons were the embodiment of desperation and hopelessness. Their essence was comprised of the distress of abandonment and the hollowness of dissatisfaction. Long ago, the seeds of discouragement and apathy germinated and took root within the famished ashes of Demonspawn and bore the fruit of demons filled with the wrath of frustration. A pit demon's great size was a testament to the colossal urge for vengeance upon those reveling in the warmth of contentment.

The demon could sense Burbon laid out before it. It could not look upon the orderly streets and well-kept houses, but it could feel the layers of order and the offering of sanctuary within the borders of the town. Its awareness grew of numerous individuals finding hope and refuge in a concept of home and community.

As its perception expanded, so too did its rage. The large collection of humans located behind the walls before it kindled a craving to lash out at the numerous structures.

The pit demon stepped angrily toward the wall and ignored the waves of burning arrows raining down upon its upper body. With the strange ray of enchantment no longer twisting its inner perception, the projectiles were as meaningless as strands of cotton blowing through the wind.

Vraya decided against any tactic of delaying the demon or altering its path. Rather than wasting energy trying to redirect the demon, she attacked it with one concentrated effort.

While alteration—a move from one state of existence into another—constituted the basis of ebony energy, it was not the sole power inherent in the darkest of magical hues. When harnessed properly, deep black energy became an unmatched source of consumption. It could absorb light, heat, and sound; waves and vibrations of nearly any type could be devoured completely. When ebony magic was directed by those skilled enough to influence it into a state of sheer absorption, it could become a force more powerful than even the emptiness within a pit demon.

With a cunning strategy developed, Vraya intended to utilize both properties of her dark magic. She would release all of her energy in one brazen attempt. She spoke one word that emphasized the full intention of her spell in such a way that both alteration and absorption would work in concert to destroy her foe.

"Converge."

A black ring of magic flew off her fingertips and landed directly upon the pit demon's chest. On impact, the ring compressed into a tight ball no larger than the petite sorceress' fist. It would have been invisible if not for the contrast created by the flickering torches from Burbon's wall lighting up the dathit's crimson skin.

The tiny ball was darker than the night sky, blacker than any onyx ever found within the lands of Uton. It glistened in the flickering light, as if it had been dunked in oil. It also began an unstoppable process of alteration and absorption at the very heart of the pit demon.

The ball of black magic released waves of energy, tainting the vast emptiness within the dathit's essence with a sense of fullness. It altered the core of the giant from the nothingness of despair into a substance of confidence. The desolation which urged the demon into a rage of destruction turned over into a richness of overriding restoration.

Even as the essence of the giant demon swirled with a new quality, it was not meant to  sway the demon's own intentions. Vraya knew such a ploy would never work. It might serve to temporarily confuse the pit demon, but it would ultimately fail to stop it. The energy within the spell would eventually subside and the demon would continue its rampage.

The second half of the spell, however, was devised to take advantage of the temporary alteration. The tiny sphere of energy drew in the fullness of the demon's altered essence. It was constructed to absorb that which had been changed into a greater substance.

As the ball of ebony magic drew the matter around it inward, it became more condensed. Its intensity expanded even as its size contracted. It started to pull with greater force at the core of the pit demon. With the concentration of power increasing, the grip of magic extended its reach to the very edges of the dathit's body.

The massive demon started to shudder even as its arms and legs were pulled inward. It collapsed to the ground as it became a hunched over mass of convulsions. It fought against the compacting force, but its own altered essence worked against it. Its massive body shrunk into a smaller and smaller heap. After long agonizing moments, the full measure of the pit demon caved inward and was swallowed by the ball of ebony magic.

The glistening black sphere hung in the empty air for a few moments, but it too disintegrated into nothingness, swallowed by the power of its own construction. With dark ball's destruction, one of the three pit demons which had been sent to obliterate Burbon was no more.

Vraya nearly collapsed from the loss of energy within her. She remained standing on unsteady legs. Only the desire to watch the delver deal with the third giant kept her on her feet.

Ryson saw the removal of the pit demon and hoped for a reprieve. He kept the tip of the sword pointed at the remaining giant even as he raced to Vraya's side. He hoped her magic would be strong enough to remove another of the demons.

"Can you do that again?" he asked.

Vraya exhaled deeply.

"Eventually, but it'll take a while for me to replenish my energy. I don't think we have that much time."

She stumbled and almost fell, but Ryson grabbed her and held her steady.

"Thank you," she offered, as she leaned on him slightly before shifting her weight and steadying herself once more upon her own feet.

"That took a lot out of you, didn't it?"

"Everything I had," Vraya revealed.

Ryson knew she had held nothing back for his sake.

"You did that for me, didn't you?"

"I told you I owe you a great deal. I still do."

"I don't think you owe me anything," the delver offered.

"We can discuss it another time. You need to finish off the third pit demon."
Ryson refocused his enchanted sword on the giant's faceless head.

"This isn't going to work for much longer, is it?"

"No, and I can't alter the enchantment any longer... not enough power."

Ryson looked toward Jure, but the elder wizard remained occupied with the other two pit demons. Jure had to ensure Enin's safety by continuing to offer energy to the shield spell.

Ryson watched the grappling pit demons and knew they were caught in a stalemate. There would be no immediate winner. They would only weaken each other over time, and Jure's magic would, by necessity, remain locked within their battle.

The delver glanced over his shoulder at the guards upon the wall. Klusac had ordered for a rearming of his soldiers. Many were holding spears, but Ryson understood they were grasping at empty hope. While he was thankful so many soldiers would risk so much to protect the people of Burbon, he knew any stand they made would end in disaster.

Without an idea of his own, he hoped Vraya might have obtained some insight in her successful attack.

"What did your spell do to destroy that thing?" he asked the sorceress.

"It altered the emptiness within it, and it created an absorbing force which condensed the growing substance of its core. The force grew so strong that it collapsed within itself."

Ryson could not see how he might use that knowledge to defeat the final demon with the skills he possessed.

"Is there any other weakness you sensed,  some way I could fight it on my own?"

"No, but you now know they are not invincible. That should be enough for you," Vraya replied with obvious confidence.

Ryson did not share the sorceress' encouraging outlook.

"I can't beat this thing on my own."

Vraya disagreed.

"You once defeated Reiculf. This battle should be substantially easier."

"I defeated Reiculf because I was in Demonspawn. I realized he was vulnerable to the past. His strength came from history. I used it against him."

"That's true, but I'm not talking about the strengths of a daokiln... or a pit demon. I'm talking about what gives
you
strength."

"I don't know what can give me strength against something like this," Ryson admitted.

"Yes, you do. You ask questions, and you seek answers. You don't ignore what's around you, not intentionally any way. When you miss something, it's because you've been distracted. That's your problem now. You've lost focus."