Spellscribed: Ascension (5 page)

 
                    He quickly accessed the information he had gathered from Kalenden, wheedled out the parts he needed, and closed the information up with as little trouble as he could manage. He did get a rather strong picture of what the succubus could do for him, as well as to him, from a memory of Kalenden that leaked out. She seemed so much smaller then. She also resembled Selene a great deal.

 
                    That might have been the other reason he was not yet willing to destroy her.

 
                    When he regained focus she had not moved, but the visual damage to her stomach had mostly disappeared. She was watching him curiously.

 
                    "What are you thinking about?" She asked, curious.

 
                    "Just... sorting the process to send you back." he said carefully. Succubi could inherently sense strong sexual desires or responses and he was already being focused on. He had to keep her from forgetting to not jump him again.

 
                    "Okay," Endrance said, taking a step forward. "I have the means to return you."

 
                    The demoness stood, statuesque in her unnatural beauty.

 
                    "But!" Endrance added, raising a finger. "I can't unless you're bound to me.

 
                    The demoness hissed, her broken wing twitching. "If I'm bound to you," she stated angrily "you could order me to stay, mortal."

 
                    Endrance scowled at her. "I don't want you here anymore than you wish to stay!" he said. "I will bind you. You will let me. I will ask you to do something easy, and then I will send you back as part of the binding. You have my word." Already in his mind some ideas were forming.

 
                    The succubus snarled, her left wing cracking as the bones forcefully set. "Fine!" she cried out. "Do it soon, or I will just kill you and take my chances outside!"

 
                    Endrance nodded and directed her to stand on the circle. The wizard held his hands out to the demoness, palms facing her. On his right palm was the violent starburst of arcane lines that made up his fling spell. On his left a mesmerizing swirl of lines that trailed down his forearm, allowing him to use that hand to touch elemental forces like fire or lightning and redirect it without harming himself. It had been incredibly useful when battling against Kalenden.

 
                    He reached out with his power, touching the circle and activating the initial protective magic. The demoness barely flinched as the circle closed, the gold inlays gleaming of their own light. Now she was contained, he pushed through to the second stage of the spell.

 
                    His mind touched on hers and he immediately felt how alien and deep it was, like some form of thinking that he was not able to find any common understanding with. Regardless of her desires to leave the castle, upon his contact she immediately tried to push her will onto his. As she would say, it was 'in her nature.'

 
                    Either way, if she could make him succumb, he would have to do what she said instead. He pushed back, and now that his mind was clear of her alluring power and sharpened by the bite of the cold drafting through the passage, he was able to slam into her mind with equal force. The two struggled for what felt like hours, but neither Endrance nor the demoness was willing to budge.

 
                    As he pushed his will against hers, he could feel himself hesitating to push harder. It was the part of him that didn't want to harm himself, and kept him from really pushing except when he was in a life or death situation. He reached that barrier long before the demoness' will showed signs of giving in.

 
                    He struggled and strained, but whatever ground he gained wasn't enough to bind her. At best, he could hold her at this point for a few seconds. He had run into his ceiling.

 
                    He couldn't give up. If he failed, he very well would be killed by this demon. He had hardly the strength to hold her off, and if she turned up the charm on him again after he was mentally worn down from a battle of wills he would be utterly at her mercy. He strained against her will, his body tensed from head to toe and sweat beaded on his skin despite the cold.

 
                    He felt the barrier give only the tiniest bit, and he hit it again as the demoness relentlessly pushed her will onto him. He had to beat this, or else he would be lost. It was then the barrier in his mind broke, and he was able to push back harder. Blood trickled from his nose as he leveled the full amount of his considerable will against the demoness without restraint for himself or her. Something else broke when he shattered his way through the ceiling, but he couldn't devote even a split second of his attention to it.

 
                    Endrance's body was on fire with pain, but he had the demon trapped. He clamped down on her will and pushed back until she finally yielded. Once she did so, he felt the spell confirm she was now bound. He released his hold on her and dropped to his hands and knees, trembling from the exertion. Blood spattered down his smooth chest and several drops of it splashed on the stone floor as he struggled to remain conscious.

 
                    "Your spirit is worthy of binding me. What are the terms?" The demoness said, her voice sounding hollow and empty.

 
                    Endrance swallowed, trying to clear his head. He looked up at her, his eyes bloodshot. "The terms of your binding are these:" he began, pulling himself up into a kneeling position. "You are to tell me information on a topic of my choosing and level of detail upon my asking for it, and upon completion of doing so, destroy the summoning circle you were called here with. Then will you will return to hell immediately." He was pretty certain he had worded the binding so that it wouldn't be misinterpreted, something that demons were well reputed to do.

 
                    The demoness nodded once. "The terms are accepted by the Baphomet accord." she said, and her eyes came back into focus on him. She stepped out of the circle onto the floor gracefully. She kneeled down and put a finger under his chin, her fanged teeth showing in a smile. "What do you want to know?" she asked, her voice no longer sounding impersonal.

 
                    Endrance stood, trying to wipe the blood off his face and chest with the ruins of his shirt. He mostly succeeded, leaving his chest smeared with it in places. The bleeding had stopped, but he had developed a powerful headache and his skin still burned.

 
                    "Tell me everything you know about Valeria, involving her association with Kalenden or me." he said, panting. Lights flashed in his eyes and the spell light he had called out flickered. Something was wrong.

 
                    "How much detail do you desire?" She asked.

 
                    Endrance sunk to the ground onto his rear. He rubbed at his temples and the pain subsided enough that he was able to focus on her again. "I want to know specifics, but not every minute detail unless it explicitly involves me." he said, his words slurring slightly.

 
                    The demoness watched him without empathy. "I can do this." she said. "Kalenden's associate Valeria was the one who traded the summoning circle in exchange for a large quantity of Crystalphage. She has communicated with him through proxies, though I was only present for the last one, where she cut off her support of him."

 
                    Endrance waited, listening.

 
                    "Ultimately, there is only one thing about you that I know." She concluded. "She loves you."

 
                    Endrance looked up at her quizzically. "What?"

 
                    Instead of answering, the demoness turned and slashed at the circle with her talons. Stone parted like butter and the soft gold was cut clean through. Endrance flinched as the circle fell into pieces before him and magic power flickered through the room in backlash. She turned back to him, kissed the air between them, and disappeared in sudden gouts of flame.

 
                    Endrance watched the smoke dissipate and frowned. He was confused, unable to wrap his beleaguered brain around what she said.

 
                    "Loves... me?" he asked, standing. His head hurt, but it seemed that the absence of the circle had lessened his pain. He knew he had to check himself over for damage, but there was nothing he'd be able to do about it at the moment.

 
                    Endrance started walking down the passage. As he followed the rough stone walls, he had to stop several times to catch his breath and let the world swim into focus again. He needed to continue on; he dimly recognized he was badly injured. Eventually that thought escaped him, and he continued on because he couldn't think straight with how badly his head hurt. The rock below his feet turned to smooth stone and at some point he stumbled back into the light, but Endrance did not see it.

 
                    He could progress no further. He sank to his knees on the raised steps and slumped up against something square and uncomfortable. He almost recognized what it was, but drifted into unconsciousness, only his head and arm resting against the broken throne. As he faded, the spell lights drifting around the room flickered, and died.

 
                    Endrance awoke with a gasp, his hands scrabbling against the cold surface he'd blacked out on. Dried blood splattered the stone underneath his face, and flakes of it peeled off of his skin as he sat up. It was dim, but not perfectly dark in the throne room.

 
                    His head pounded painfully, a war drum being beaten against his skull. His throat was dry and parched and his whole body screamed in aches and pains when he moved. His heart ached and pounded hard in his chest. In the back of his mind, he felt that his aura was almost entirely empty of power. For a moment, Endrance wondered why he wanted to be alive again.

 
                    The aches and pains slowly dulled and the pounding of his head reached a more survivable level of hurt. The wizard finally was able to pull his feet under him, standing. He needed to get back to the people outside.

 
                    He started across the area in the dark and nearly fell on his face when he felt a sharp pain in his foot. Lifting his foot, he found a sharpened bit of horn sticking out of the ball of his foot. Plucking it free, he blinked as the tip came out of his foot slightly luminous. A little bead of blood formed on his foot, visible even in the darkness. He wiped it off on his hand and continued staggering toward the doors.

 
                    Stumbling, the wizard moved through the dark more from memory than by senses. He didn't want to try using a spell with his aura so dangerously close to empty. He'd not sacrifice what little power remained in his body, which was needed to keep him alive.

 
                    He undid the bar to the doors and pulled them open agonizingly slowly, hardly able to handle their weight in his weakened state. He was surprised to see that not only was it daytime, but it was snowing again. Only two men waited for him in the courtyard. One was Joven. The other was Thorald. Both stared at him, mouths agape as he shambled out of the castle into the courtyard.

 
                    "Endrance..." Joven said. Endrance had seen the man shot with crossbows and be less fazed than he was at this moment.

 
                    "I got rid of the corruption." Endrance said weakly. "I really need some food, a bed, and a bath."

 
                    "I'll say." Thorald said, recovering faster than Joven. "You've been hard at work a long time. We thought you had died."

 
                    "Long time?" Endrance asked. The sunlight, even through the snow clouds above, seemed far too bright for him.

 
                    "Yeah,” Thorald replied. “I was trying to convince them to let me knock down the doors and send a search party after you. You've been gone for several hours."

 
                    Endrance stared blankly at the elder barbarian. "Come again?"

 
                    "You were in there purifying the castle for the last half day, at the least." Thorald repeated. "You must have been so busy you lost track of time."

 
                    Endrance scratched his cheek with a finger. "I...must have."

 
                    "Endrance!" Joven said again, with more force behind it.

 
                    "What?" the mage asked, exhausted. "What is it?"

 
                    "What happened to you?" he asked.

 
                    Endrance looked down at himself. He was wearing only a pair of pants and shoes. His chest was bare and covered in blood, sweat, dirt, and scratches. His hair hung limply around his face and he stooped a little, as standing up straight made him dizzy.