Chapter 28 - Demons

She could feel the ancient power that the location itself contained. It flowed through her with each candle she lit, and each symbol she had drawn so far, as Narien led her through everything that needed to be set up. She felt more clarity than she ever had too, and reviewed in her mind the symbols she needed for the ritual itself, even while she chanted entirely different ones to create a protection barrier that would raise against the demon's followers. Her focus came far easier than it ever had before. She lit the last candle and finished the chant, completing the circle.

Jetha turned towards the center, surveying the various circles as she moved into them, careful not to smudge any of the symbols or disrupt any of the lines of components that encircled the center. The final circle was only barely large enough for the three of them and the small fire that Narien had made, over which a bowl was heating, waiting for the final spell. Narien had been through her bags, collecting everything that was needed. Now vials and bags were lined up, everything in the order that it would be needed. The fire was off to one side. At the moment, it was Niza who stood closest to the center, nervousness clear on her face as she waited with the bundled scepter. It couldn't be placed in the center of the circle until a certain point in the ritual. Narien had been very clear on that. Afterwards, he had told Niza to protect them. He'd done something to her sword so it would harm even demons. The sword had changed colors when he'd done it. Now it hung in it's scabbard at Niza's side, and every now and then she glanced at it. Jetha wasn't sure what her friend was thinking. She could tell Niza was nervous though. She wasn't the only one. Jetha wanted nothing more than to hide somewhere until it was all over.

"The last circle is drawn and powered," she informed Narien. It amazed her just how different this man was from the man she'd been traveling with. There was no hint of Alldeh other than the shabbiness of his clothes and hair as he turned to face her. She could tell that his appearance was nothing like the man had kept before he'd been Alldeh. This was a man who was accustomed to stately clothes and regular baths. This was a man who understood power, both political and magical. She all but trembled under his gaze. She briefly wondered if Nordithet would have been as nervous if they'd met.

"Good," Narien gave a sharp nod. "Now for the last two components before we begin. Give me your hand." Narien held one hand out for hers, in his other he held a small, double-edged knife. She wondered briefly where it had come from. Then again, she couldn't remember the bowl they were using as being something they'd brought with them either.

She abruptly and completely lost that train of thought when he sliced the palm of her hand open. Even knowing that it was coming had not quite prepared her for the pain, and she cried out despite herself.

Niza fingered the hilt of her sword, shaking her head as Narien cut his own palm open. Jetha turned at the metal-on-metal sounds of fighting echoing down to them. They're getting closer, she thought.

"Focus," Narien commanded. "Now is not the time for distractions." He took her hand, and pressed his bloody palm to hers. He squeezed her hand tightly, and guided her around the circle, letting the mingled blood drip onto specific places and symbols.

As the blood fell onto each symbol he said the word for that symbol, and one by one they started glowing. Now it felt like it was really beginning. She felt energy radiate from the activated symbols like heat radiating from a fire. Before long the light from the symbols was stronger than the other light around them. With light coming now from all around them they cast no shadows.

The light itself felt very pure, which was reassuring. For some reason she had expected the ritual to feel dark and evil, like the thing they were using it against.

"Blood has many kinds of energy," Narien had explained to her earlier. "It is a sacred force. The energy it imparts depends on the hearts of the one that spills the blood and the one whose blood it is."

He led her back to Niza in the middle. She backed away from them nervously. Jetha tried to focus on Narien. Niza's part was coming up, but not yet. Narien took some of their blood and drew more symbols, this time on her cheeks and over hear heart. Then he drew the same ones on him.

Lastly, he held their hands over the bowl, letting some of their blood drip into it until there was a dark puddle of it at the bottom. She had not noticed them before, but now saw that there were symbols on the bowl as well, that slowly glowed brighter with each drop until Narien was satisfied. He reached down and picked up two pieces of cloth, one of which he quickly wound around his own hand before wrapping the second one around hers. He did it expertly, tying the ends out of the way, at her wrist, before finishing the same on his own hand.

"Now we begin," Narien said. "Do you remember the words? It must be precise or it will not work."

"I do," she nodded. She'd repeated them in her head over and over again so she would be ready. Still, it didn't make her feel any less nervous.

"Wait." Niza stepped forward, her hand on the hilt of her sword. "I have questions first."

Jetha looked at Niza, seeing that her friend was trying to look confident as she spoke, but was still nervous, nonetheless.

"We don't have time for this, Niza," Narien said, looking at her. "The demon has lied to you."

"This ritual," she said, her eyes narrowing at Narien, "will it end the war?"

"No," Narien replied flatly. "It will end the demon. That will return free will to those whom the demon has been corrupting, namely the Elar. The Elar were a peaceful, scholarly people. Once they can begin to question it, they will want it to end. They will also have lost the advantage of having demons as allies. There will still be summoners, but they will begin to remember why they didn't use such magics when the demons themselves stop being so accomodating. The demon we seek to destroy here has bought their alliance, and clouded the minds of the Elar until they believe him to be their god. That is what the demon wants - the power to be a god. He plays with your mind, Niza. He'll tell you what he wants you to believe."

"He says he can bring an end to the fighting. That his way will bring peace."

Jetha was stunned. Niza had never mentioned anything like that to her. Niza had always told Jetha the details pertaining to the ritual and the cave, and occasionally about things that the demon was doing to her or the others, but Jetha had never gotten the impression that Niza had been having conversations with the demon.

Oh Gods! I should have seen it! she thought, mentally slapping herself. What has he been telling her? She saw that Niza's knuckles were white with the grip she had on the sword hilt. Her eyes darted back and forth between Narien and Jetha, seemingly filled with nervous suspicion.

"Sometimes, Niza," he explained, "the truth is the most effective lie to tell. He says he can end the fighting? If he wins, and the Elar conquer the world, who do they have left to invade? Yes, that would end the war. But that would not really be peace. I think if you'll ask a lot of people, you'll find they'd rather fight than be a slave."

"But, he said..." Niza stammered.

"What did he say?" Jetha prompted gently, seeing where Narien was going with it. "What did he promise?"

"He asked you to betray us, didn't he?" Narien asked. "He probably asked you to turn on your friend. Isn't that what he had Maren do? She listened to him, or to his priests who speak for him, didn't she? And she turned on you, didn't she?"

"Yes," Niza said. Her sword was slowly drooping lower and lower. "She changed. It's almost like it wasn't her anymore..."

"And some would say that Jink is at peace, too," Narien added. "But is that a solution? Feeding every human to demons would put an end to human conflict for all time. But that's not much of a solution, is it?"

"No, it's not." Niza said. By now the sword hung limply at her side.

"It's easy to talk about peace like that, Niza. I can tell you that if we continue and succeed, the war with the Elar is not going to simply stop. People will still fight with each other. They will still be sometimes petty and sometimes cruel. People will get drunk and brawl in taverns and commit a wide range of sins. But they'll be free."

"It can go either way, Niza. What we do right now decides it. We three hold the fate of the world in our hands. We can choose to be slaves to the Elar, feeding power to one demon while being cattle to other demons. Or we can choose to be free, and fight, and keep being human beings."

The sounds of fighting in the hallway were very close. Metal clanged and muffled voices cried out in grunts and pain.

"I know what Ullden and Marus and Kyla chose," Narien added. "I know what I choose, and I know what Jetha has chosen. Now it's your turn, Niza."

She heard Marus' voice cry out in pain, and winced, fearing for a moment that Niza would side with the demon just to maybe save her friends.

"I choose freedom," Niza said. "What do you need me to do?"

"It's time for the scepter, for what you came here to do," Narien said. "Are you ready?"

Niza nodded, putting her sword back into the scabbard and picking up the bundle at her feet as Narien turned and picked up the first component.

"Jetha, we must begin the chant," He said, pulling a small handful of leaves out of the bag and holding them over the bowl. Jetha nodded at him and picked up the second component, beginning to recite the incantation together with him. As if a dam was slowly opening, she felt a surge of power begin to rush into her, growing stronger as they moved further into the spell. Niza unwrapped the scepter and Jetha could see it glowing with an angry red light at each of the runes upon it. The crystals at each end also glowed red, reflecting off the crown-shaped gold that they were set into. The large ruby that was near the top of it glowed as well, but seemed to have black swirling around inside it.

Niza seemed to be struggling as she turned the scepter upright and held it above the small opening in the ground where she was supposed to place it. The scepter itself seemed to be resisting and the bottom crystal glowed brighter the closer she brought it to the hole.

Jetha continued slowly putting in the components, in the timing that Narien had specified. He, too, was putting ingredients into the mix, and an odd sort of mist was forming inside the bowl. Just after the Narien dropped in the two pure white dove feathers, the two of them moved to a different segment of the incantation and Niza groaned as she pushed the scepter down into the ground.

The scepter seemed to burst with a strange reddish light that sent Niza flying just after it was set into the ground. She flew far enough that she dropped off the edge of the circle, into the water around it. It took a moment before she climbed back out, coughing and sputtering as she took her place again in the center circle. Jetha wanted to ask if she was alright, but she needed to continue chanting. She turned her full focus onto the spell as she placed the next component into the bowl - small pieces of a bluish crystal that were only found in the sea. They crumbled easily once dried, and she watched as the dust from the small bits fell from her fingers and disappeared into the misty bowl. The mist turned blue as she did it, and again the power inside her grew. She was already feeling more power than she'd ever even imagined, and they were only about halfway through the components.

Jetha could feel something else as the power grew. She could feel the area of space around her. She realized she knew where everything, and everyone was within a certain radius. She could feel her friends - Niza standing tense and at the ready; Narien pouring some holy water into the bowl. She could feel further - Marus was wounded, a deep cut running down his left arm from the shoulder, but determined as he fell back again; Kyla taking turns with him to fight and fall back, covered with a variety of cuts and bruises. She could feel the Elar they fought as well.

Where's Ullden? her heart skipped a beat and she nearly stopped chanting as she realized he wasn't with the others. She reached farther and saw his body near the top of the stairs, beaten, burned, and broken. She quickly reminded herself to focus on the chanting, grabbing up the next component as tears stung in her eyes. She was glad that Narien had lined up the ingredients in order. She hardly even noticed what it was as she emptied the vial into the bowl. The mist was rising in a spiral and bending towards the scepter, as if reaching to touch it. The hot-red air around the scepter darkened with blackish swirls the closer the bluish mist got to it.

The next step was repitition. She and Narien repeated a chant while the power built. The mist swirled around the scepter as if trying to reach it but also repelled by it.

The sounds of fighting got closer and closer, until they came into view at the top of the pit. Kyla came first down the narrow stair that winded down along the edge of the pit. Father Marus came backing down next, using his shield to fend off the Elar. Fortunately, the Elar could only come down the stairs one by one.

"Do you need me still?" Niza asked quietly. Narien just nodded and continued his own chanting. Kyla reached the bottom of the stairs. Marus did not long after. At the bottom of the stairs, Kyla and Marus had no choice but to fall back to the narrow bridge over the water or be surrounded. There were easily more than twenty Elar left. She knew it was a small number compared to how many they had started up against, but it was still a lot.

Elar chased Marus to the little bridge, and Kyla set fire to the oil-soaked cloth as soon as he was past it. It held the Elar at bay for a moment before they started hopping down into the water. It was only waist deep.

"Now," Narien said softly to Niza, holding out one hand while holding the bowl in his other. He had not told Niza the last part of the ritual. She did not want to watch it, but was unable to look away.

Narien took Niza by the hand and they knelt on opposite sides of the scepter. He took her hand and without warning impaled it on the top spikes of the scepter. The spikes ripped through her small hand and went right through his. She screamed out; he made no sound. Black flame erupted around his hand, but it seemed to have no effect on Niza's hand.

Now she and Narien were at the point where they chanted different things. Narien had only explained a little of it while they'd been setting things up. He had known that there was a connection to the demon, both through himself and through Niza. The scepter itself was directly connected. Narien would use these connections to draw the demon to them. When it arrived, Jetha and Narien would kill it. Narien chanted loudly, over Niza's screams as she clawed at him, trying get her hand free from beneath his.

Jetha chanted the words Narien had taught her, words she'd been collecting and familiarizing herself with slowly over the course of the journey here. The power within her was so strong she knew that she literally glowed with it. Her skin felt as if it hummed on her body, a tingling vibration that was inside her, on her, and thick in the air just around her. It was all she could do to not just release the power. She stood there, speaking the words, desprate to keep control until the right moment.

Elar came in groups, she had no idea how many there were around them. They fought against the protection circle, which shimmered each time it was hit. They couldn't seem to get through, although Marus and Kyla were able to reach them from the inside. The two went back and forth, stabbing through the curved shimmering wall, trying to deal with as many as they could before they might find a way through. Eventually, the Elar stopped trying. They moved back to the other side of the water and formed a circle themselves, joining hands and chanting. Then, as something rose from the water itself, the Elar all collapsed as one. They seemed unharmed except for smoke that seemed to wisp out of their mouths and noses. A vile stench filled the air.

Niza stopped screaming as she, too, turned to watch the demon arrive. He still held the human persona she'd seen in her vision, tall and thin, wearing the same expensive robes, with sybols embroidered all over them in golden thread. She recognized some of the symbols now - fire, death, and power were prevalent.

He stepped through the protection wall without even flinching, his gaunt face stoic and his dark eyes locked on Narien. He did not even look as Kyla approached him, swinging her sword. He did not have to touch her as he waved his hand in her general direction and she was sent flying backwards. She landed somewhere beyond the water.

Marus moved to intercept him next, and this time the demon did turn his head to look. He stopped a moment and looked at the sword and shield in Marus' hands, each in turn. They suddenly seemed to burst, a fine black dust falling from Marus' now-empty hands. He waved his hand again and sent Marus flying as he had done with Kyla, only in the opposite direction. Then he turned towards Narien, who reached out he unharmed hand for Jetha's. Jetha took it, picking up the dagger with her free hand and finishing the chant.

"I know your name," she said to the demon with as much courage as she could muster. "I know your true name." She drew the power together, focusing it onto the blade in her hand. It glowed so brightly she couldn't look directly at it. The same bluish light was also slowly enveloping the scepter, through Narien and Niza. Everything was going as Narien had explained it.

You can do this she told herself, drawing the symbols for the demon's true name forward in her mind. She focused on them as she let go of the handle, letting the dagger float in the air above her hand, pointed at the demon. All she needed to do was hit him with it. The energy would do the rest. The name would make it true. She heard a chanting that told her that Narien had destroyed the scepter and was trapping the demon here with them. The trap wouldn't last long, she needed to do her part soon.

Then, just as she was about to send it flying at him, the demon reached forward and flicked the dagger out of her hand, dispelling the energy she had built up into it. The sound of it hitting the stone ground at her feet echoed in the cavern around her.

"You didn't really think it was going to be that easy, did you?" the demon asked, mockingly.

"We will succeed this time," Narien said.

"You hid well from me, Narien. You will not get another chance."

Narien stepped back and said the ancient words for angry light, and a ray of bright light lanced from his hand into the demon. It had no effect.

"I am all but a god now. I am far more now than I was the last time we met, Narien. You cannot stop me this time."

Marus climbed out from the water, chanting some kind of protection spell.

"The days of your gods are coming to an end, mortal priest." The demon kicked at Marus and sent him flying across the water again. Marus landed in a heap and did not get back up.

"None of you have a weapon which can harm me. Your spells are too small, and you will never have enough time for another ritual. Your gods are weak and impotent, and have lost their reach to interfere."

Narien cast another spell, larger this time, and the crackling sound of it echoed in the chamber. The demon fired his own beam of light, this one a dark red. It burned a large hole completely through Narien's chest, and he fell making a choking sound.

"I can stop you still," Niza said. She stabbed with the broken half-scepter. It still glowed, although the light was fading. The longest spike on it pierced the demon and blue light shot out the other side of the demon. Black cracks appeared in the demon's flesh around the scepter, and blue light spilled out through the cracks.

"That scepter channeled energy into you, and it can channel it back out," Jetha said, realizing what was happening. It all came together for her. The demon was trying to become a god, usurping the faith of the the world's peoples. It did that in part through the scepters, which were links to the demon. Somehow Niza had also been connected through the scepter, and she must have realized what could happen.

"There's still one magic sword left," Niza said, stabbing with her other hand, still holding the sword Narien had enchanted. Black smoke belched out of the wound it made, and the demon screamed. Somehow Niza kept her grip on both the sword and the scepter, something Jetha was sure she would not have been able to do.

The demon grabbed the scepter with both hands as his human form shifted to his true demon form. He seemed to have a dark reddish skin covering him, with black scales over good portions of it. His chest looked as if it was covered in huge pieces of shell, as a beetle might have, and he grew to twice Niza's size. Her feet came off the ground as she clung to the scepter and sword hilt, trying to twist them both further into him. Her face was wrought with pain and determination. The demon roared as it began to pull the scepter out of his body. Jetha knew she had to do something, and quickly.

She drew on the power again, pulling as much as she could into her as she lunged forward, chanting the words from the last portion of the ritual. She knew it wouldn't be as powerful, but everything was still prepared, so she hoped it would work. She grabbed onto the end of the scepter and pushed with Niza, channeling the energy through it as she did.

It happened faster than she expected, and yet it all seemed so clear as it played out before her. She felt something inside her snap, as if it had been holding the power back from going through her entirely. She felt it come up into her and then flow out of every part of her, as light might pour out of an opened door at night. It took her a moment before she could channel it towards the scepter, through her hand. She grabbed on with the other hand too, and hung on with everything she had as the demon writhed and swung Jetha and Niza about as if to send them flying.

She focused everything, her fear, her rage, and her grief, towards the demon as she spoke the symbols that made up his name. Her hands were slipping, slick with blood - hers, Niza's, and the demon's - but Niza moved her hand back and held Jetha's. Jetha heard Niza call her name as the full force of the magic came through her, like water that finally pushes an obstacle out of it's path to flow free. She let it happen, let it pour through her and through the scepter. It filled her, feeling magnificent at first - like nothing she'd ever experienced. Then it became too much, too powerful. It burned. She screamed, as she felt her body heat up, the magic turning on her, hurting her. Her scalp felt as if it crawled with tiny, biting insects. Her skin seemed to bubble on her body with the heat. Her eyes began leaping about in their sockets, trying to escape, as something ran out of her nose. She wanted to let go, get away from the magic, but she knew she couldn't.

Jetha realized she was not hanging from her grip on the scepter. She was floating in the air, held aloft by the power coursing through her. She knew she needed to let go, that the power was too much, that it was killing her. She did not dare.

Suddenly Narien was there. He seemed taller, and had no trouble reaching her. He put a hand on the scepter, a little lower than her own.

"Let go, Jetha," he said with perfect calm. His mouth was not moving, he was speaking into her mind directly. "You don't have to die. I've always known I would not come back. I have no home to go to, you do. Let me finish what started so long ago."

Whether she let go, or whether her fingers simply slipped, or maybe whether he had gently pushed her away she would never know. The power did keep holding her up, just out of reach of the demon. But the power was flowing around her now, not through her. The burning feeling subsided. Narien had diverted it all through him.

He held the dagger--the one that was supposed to have ended it all--in his other hand. Narien tried to say something, but all that came out of his mouth was blood. The demon looked down at him, glaring angrily. Narien thrust the dagger to the hilt, and the demon erupted into blue flame. She saw the flame burning the flesh off both the demon and Narien.

She could see the invisible energy flowing, and realized that it was not actually flowing into the demon as she had originally thought. The energy was flowing outwards. The spell was grounding the energy out through the scepter and putting it back into the world at large. She felt it flowing away, spreading out. She supposed that it could not go back to the people it had come from, and she wondered where it would end up.

The demon fell to its knees, its legs crumbling as they broke more than bent. As if in slow motion she watched the demon fall, ending as dust. Narien's charred skeleton fell with it, even still clinging to the dagger and the scepter.

She hung there a moment, lost in the energy still flowing away. Abruptly the energy ran out, and there was no longer anything to hold her up. She fell, landing in a heap, and she lost consciousness.