Joint Intentions (Book 9) (15 page)

Even as it stood revealed, the demon made no move to escape. It focused its apparent wrath not on the elf or the wizard, but at the rotund spell caster capable once more of casting in crimson energy.

"You have broken your agreement," the demon hissed.

"Not so," Neltus countered. "I did exactly what was asked of me. I brought them all into the desert. What's more, I got my magic back on my own. You didn't have anything to do with it."

"We created the threat necessary for you to make a successful plea," the demon argued. "Without us, you would still be empty."

"Nonsense. That wasn't part of the arrangement, and I know your plans. You took control of me, but when your spell faded, I followed it. I saw the whole scheme. The agreement was broken before it even started."

"Plan?!" Holli raged. "What is this treachery?!"

"Ask the demon."

"I will ask you! And I will ask you only once!"

Neltus smiled deviously at the elf.

"Do you really think you can tell me what to do? You are such a fool. This is the desert. I've been recharging with pure red magic since we arrived here. Do you think your weak emerald energy even has a chance against me?"

"I'm not alone."

"No, you're not, but Jure has just battled two separate demons. He can't stand up to me now. And I won't even give the delver a chance."

Neltus moved far quicker than anyone expected. Even Ryson was too stunned to react before it was too late. Events spun out of control. The plan for saving Enin vanished with the uncovering of the doppelganger. Ryson could react with reflexes faster than a shift in the wind, but he could not overcome the confusion of the moment.

And Neltus was correct about Jure. The elder wizard had released vast amounts of energy in his spells to bring the dathit back to the desert surface and to expose the doppelganger. Jure's ability to cast a defensive spell was limited by his lack of magical reserves.

The desert was Neltus' natural environment, his domain. The crimson energy flowed strong across the Lacobian. With his core restored, he absorbed the red magic like a massive sponge. He pulled at the power stored in each grain of sand, each rock and stone. The energy pulsing in his essence was far more than necessary to deal with his foes.

With one quick wave of a single hand, Neltus unleashed a ring of destructive red power. Energy from the surrounding lands surged through his ravenous core and exploded over his enemies. Cascading sand rushed up and over the surrounding dunes like a giant wave. Rage and determination fueled the assault, and it crashed down upon Ryson, Holli, and Jure, as well as the doppelganger, in a thunderous heave. 

Ryson managed to leap to one side, but he could not escape the onslaught completely. The wave was too wide to avoid. As the sand struck him, he attempted to climb through it, press his way through the avalanche in a flurry of movement. He found a level of success, but only for a brief moment.

The sand continued to rush over him, wouldn't allow him to break free. It encircled him and drew him back down into the heavy mound collecting upon the surface. When it finally relented, the delver was stuck hip-deep in a heavily compacted pile of sand.

Sticking half out of the desert surface, Ryson looked about frantically for the others. He saw nothing but a wide and tall mound. Jure and Holli had been completely buried. Before he could free himself from the surrounding sand which pressed heavily against his legs, he heard Neltus laugh.

The crimson cored wizard caught the delver's gaze and decided to gloat.

"I've always wanted to do that to that stupid elf witch. She always thought she was so much better than me. I doubt she thinks that now."

Before Neltus could say more, he was interrupted by movement to the west. The sun had sank completely below the horizon, but there was still enough light during dusk to see the massive form of the dathit. The demon colossus evidently decided it was time to leave.

The gigantic pit demon continued to hold Enin in its massive hand. The wizard was conscious but did not fight against the demon's hold. He remained as still as possible to avoid arousing the ire of the creature. He had no desire to be crushed to death.

Neltus flicked his fingers towards the pit demon as if pleased to be rid of the monster. He knew Baannat had sent the dathit to capture Enin, understood the devious plan which was part of a grand scheme worked out between the slink ghoul and Reiculf. With the pit demon leaving and the doppelganger buried beneath the massive mound of sand, the crimson casting wizard only needed to concern himself with the delver.

Ryson watched helplessly as the dathit moved quickly away with a massive stride. Unwilling to remain trapped, the delver used his agility to squirm out from the compacted sand.

Before Ryson pulled both legs free, Neltus laughed once more as he watched the delver struggle relentlessly. After momentarily enjoying the spectacle, he called on the crimson magic. A bolt of red energy crashed into the sand, missing Ryson's head by the smallest of margins, but it was not meant to miss.

Ryson's speed had saved him, but only barely. He felt the concussion of the blast, and it contained the compacted force of a landslide. Neltus meant to kill him, and the rage the delver beheld in the wizard's eyes chilled his soul.

"Are you insane?" Ryson questioned, stunned by the callousness of the attack.

"Insane?" Neltus responded. "No, not in the least. I'm whole again. And you best understand what that means."

"It means you're a danger to everyone and everything."

"Perhaps, but not in the way you think. You're still worried about Reiculf taking over my magic, but I won't let that happen again. No one can control me, and no one will give me any orders. I will retain my magic."

"You've been stopped before."

"Maybe, but who's going to do it now? Enin? Enin's power is gone. And if Jure somehow finds a way to dig out of the sand, he lacks the stomach to ever beat me again. Do you know how I'm sure of that? Because I know an emptiness he can't conceive. I know what it's like to lose everything. He doesn't. He wouldn't have a chance against me, not now. "

Neltus sneered at Ryson, but he held his magic in check. He had no love for the delver, but he decided a clash between them would gain him nothing. He had already obtained absolutely everything he wanted. He had his core back, and he believed without the slightest doubt that he didn't owe anything to anyone in the process.

It was Baannat who wanted to trap Ryson and his friends. If any of them had a problem with that, they could take it up with the slink ghoul, and that was only a worry if Holli and Jure managed to pull themselves out of the sand in one piece.

As for the slink ghoul, Baannat had already broken their bargain when he included demons in the mix. The ghoul's scheme included elements far beyond Neltus' expectations. The way Neltus saw it, he had helped Baannat capture Enin and regained his core through his own guile, and not with any assistance from Baannat.

With no further cares, Neltus' attention turned to his own desires. He enjoyed the desert, but he would not remain so close to the algor sanctuary, or to Ryson Acumen. It was time for him to move on.

With a small flick of the wrist, crimson energy streamed off his fingertips. The sand swirled about and formed a twist in the land, a connection to a place he knew well. Neltus stepped into the distortion and was teleported away.

Ryson stood alone upon the unmoving sands of the Lacobian Desert. His companions were gone. He faced a number of calamities, all of which seemed to accelerate in severity with the advancing night.

As the darkness of evening spread across the desert sky, a host of stars became visible, especially to the east. The air was very still, but without the sun beating down, it quickly began to cool. The shifting temperature created an odd sensation as he could feel the residual heat rising up from the sand.

With a quick shift of his head, Ryson looked to one of the several dilemmas screaming for immediate attention. The giant form of the dathit was quickly fading behind the dunes to the west. Its enormous stride allowed it to cover broad portions of the desert with each step, and it showed no interest in the delver or anything else it left behind.

Enin remained in its grasp, but Ryson heard no shouts for aid from the powerless wizard. The delver deftly snatched the spyscope from his pouch and gazed through the curved lenses. Even in the narrow starlight, his delver eyes gained a tight perspective of his friend. The wizard did not struggle at all, his body remained motionless. The delver could only hope that Enin was still alive and not crushed into eternal sleep by a careless reflex of the callous goliath.

Even as he believed he should follow the dathit, other considerations held Ryson in place. Putting the spyscope away, his head swerved about as he focused on the signs of another departed adversary.

The delver witnessed the lingering distortions of Neltus' teleportation spell swirl into the shimmering heat of the Lacobian sands. The thought of the crimson cored wizard generated anger in Ryson's soul. He held Neltus responsible for the monumental troubles spawning in the desert, and the delver remained convinced Neltus was a threat to all of Uton. For all the anxiety and suffering the self-indulgent wizard caused, Ryson would have loved to beat the deceitful spell caster into submission, but Neltus had escaped with the wave of a hand and a burst of red magic.

Ryson knew he couldn't follow. He didn't have the magical ability to sense the trail of such an incantation, and he couldn't cast a teleportation spell of his own even if he knew where Neltus had gone. As far as the rotund wizard was concerned, all the delver could do was curse at the fading remnants of the magic which had whisked the wizard beyond his reach.

Disregarding the crimson spell caster, Ryson raced about the edges of the giant mound of fiercely compacted sand left behind by Neltus' previous assault. The wave of magic had fallen swiftly and brutally upon Jure and Holli. They had not been swept away, but rather buried alive.

As he desperately searched for signs of his companions, Ryson realized the huge surge of sand had also buried the dark blue form of the doppelganger. Clearly, Neltus had no concern for the demon during his attack, but that offered little consolation. The delver was only worried about his friends, and he knew the enormous mound was quickly becoming a tomb for Jure and Holli.

He looked feverishly for any signs he could see or hear; a slight scratching, a muffled cry, or even a minor shift in the sand just below the surface. To his growing dismay, there was nothing. The sheer pressure of Neltus' spell compressed the mound into a hard, crusty substance. It would take a miracle for him to find either of his companions, let alone both. He hoped that one of them might still be conscious and capable of utilizing a powerful spell to break free, but the ground remained deathly still.

Ryson gave one last glance to the dathit, as the pit demon continued its trek to the west. Ryson could follow the monster easily, use his speed to keep up with the giant's massive stride, but that would mean leaving Holli and Jure buried in the sand. While he knew he could not chase after Neltus, he still had to choose between two friends trapped below the desert surface and one in the grip of a faceless colossus.

Without much further thought, he placed his full attention upon finding Holli and Jure. As much as he wanted to save Enin, he realized a pit demon was a foe beyond his abilities. Even if he followed the dathit, any assault he could muster would be as effective as throwing pebbles into the sea. Staying where he was came down to an honest assessment of what he could achieve versus wallowing in indecision and hopelessness.

He pulled both war blades from their sheaths and frantically but systematically began to chip away at the compacted sand. Granules flew up in the air and stung the delver in the face. He ignored the pain as he looked desperately for signs in the hard sand which might indicate a trace of his friends. He searched for air pockets or slight alterations in the crusty residue. To his growing dismay, he found nothing which might indicate the presence of an obstruction or a diversion to the wave which had come crashing down upon his companions.

After digging furiously, he realized time was becoming an issue. He wouldn't tire easily, but Jure and Holli would soon run out of air, if they hadn't already been smothered to death by the sheer volume of sand which surrounded them.

He allowed himself one brief glance to the south. The sandstone sanctuary of the algors remained eerily silent. He could catch their scent drifting out of the caves, but he noticed no sign of any activity. The algors revealed no desire to inspect the wild occurrences outside their safe haven.

He wondered if he should go to them, attempt to retrieve an army of algors capable of excavating the area with their sharp claws. They worked together with extraordinary precision, as if guided by the same mind. He had seen them dig in the sand before and recalled their efficiency. With a sufficient number, Ryson believed they could clear much of the newly compacted sand in moments.

There were usually thousands of algors deep within the caves, and if he could convince one to offer assistance, he could convince them all. They would descend upon the desert like an army of giant ants. Despite his own speed, he could never match that kind of effort. If he was going to save his friends, he would need the algors' help.

Just before he raced off to the sandstone cliffs, assistance arrived... but not in a form he expected. Ryson immediately noticed a shimmering break in reality, another magical bending of space, but this one was not red.

It was the shadow of a hole, a dark mass of distortion, but not quite a portal. He peered into the gap and saw what he believed were the flatlands of the central plains; an area of vast farmlands which separated the foothills of the Colad Mountains from the Great Valleys to the east.

He only obtained a quick glance of the opposing lands, for his view was quickly blocked by a woman of tiny stature; clearly a human but only slightly taller than a dwarf and substantially thinner. She stepped carefully through the opening, and as she came into the desert, the dark mass of distortion dissolved behind her.

"You are in need of aid, Ryson Acumen?" the woman asked.

Her offer of potential assistance surprised the delver. Rather than question the woman's appearance, he started to blurt out an explanation of his circumstances.

"Yes... my friends... they're trapped. I was..."

"I'm aware of what has happened. Please stand clear of the sand which has covered your companions."

Still shocked by the appearance of the small woman, Ryson did as he was asked without questioning the newcomer further. He raced over to her side and watched carefully as the stranger went to work.

Pressing the palms of her hands together, the woman revealed her power. A circle of absolute black energy formed around her wrists. The magic pulsed like that of a heart beating within a human's chest, and the shadow of the energy darkened the woman's face. Even in the growing obscurity of night, Ryson could see the stranger's hazel eyes turn black.

The woman spoke softly, almost meekly. She whispered simple words and released her spell.

"Free and clear," the spell caster murmured.

The ebony magic rose off her hands and up into the night air. Despite the growing desert darkness, the inky blackness of the sorceress' magic remained impressively visible. As it halted directly over the mound, all movement ceased. It did not rotate or even swirl in the slightest degree. It hung in the sky like a wide ring of black metal, stiff and still. The sand below it, however, churned in upheaval.

The compacted surface of the Lacobian broke apart and rushed up into the desert sky. It was pulled through the center of the black ring and then pushed away, thrown higher in the air to return to the ground beyond nearby dunes. When all of the sand Neltus had used to bury his foes was removed, the ebony circle dissolved into the night air.

Ryson saw Holli and Jure freed from the sand but motionless on the desert ground. He could see both were breathing but neither was conscious.

"Do not go to them just yet," the petite sorceress advised. "It's best if they are not moved. They will both need healing, but that's not one of my stronger skills. I could try if there were no other alternatives, but there are algors nearby, and they are better suited for that kind of magic."

Ryson's focus remained solely on the welfare of his companions. He knew of the algors' healing abilities, and he agreed it would be the best option.

"I'll get them."

"There's no need to leave this spot," the woman counseled. "Call to them from here and I'll make sure your request reaches them. Whether they help or not will be up to their understanding of the situation, so make sure they know it's you who calls."

Ryson wasn't sure how to react to the claim, but he didn't wish to waste time arguing. He turned to the cliffs and spoke in a clear and resolute voice.

"This is Ryson Acumen. My friends are hurt and need healing. Please send whatever help you can."

Just as Ryson finished his last words, the sorceress cast a second spell. Another black ring appeared, one which rotated about the fingers of her left hand. She cast it out toward the sandstone cliffs in the distance.

The delver watched as the circle of ebony magic flew toward the algor sanctuary. Yet again, he could see the defined ring even as it moved through the night air. Its blackness remained so complete that it appeared like a hole in reality.

When the magic hit the stone wall, Ryson heard his own voice. The very words he had just spoken were repeated and echoed through the caves deep in the sandstone cliffs.

"Will they come?" Ryson asked of the spell caster.

"You would know better than I," the woman confessed.

Ryson watched the cave openings intensely, and within moments, over two dozen algors filed out of the tunnel chambers. With amazing precision, they began to descend the cliff wall in unison, their motions melding together as if performing some well-timed dance. When they reached the desert floor, they moved together towards Holli and Jure.

"Looks like they're going to help," the woman stated. "With so many algors, there's nothing to worry about now. Your companions will be fine."

With help for his friends on the way, Ryson turned his attention to the sudden and unexplained arrival of his unknown benefactor.

"Who are you?" Ryson finally asked.

"Since I started casting spells, I've been using the name Vraya." She smiled slightly after revealing her magical title, as if it was a personal joke. Upon seeing the delver's furrowed brow, she explained her slight amusement. "It's not my original name, not the one I was given at birth. I'm not sure why we do that, change our names. It seems as if everyone who is able to cast spells decides to be called something new. I guess the magic changes us. And especially for me, it seems appropriate."

"Why is that?"

"Because my magic is based on the transition from one state of being to another. When the magic returned to Uton, I became different from what I was. It seemed reasonable to alter my identity in other ways as well."

As Ryson considered the concept of altering identities, he recalled the doppelganger. The presence of such an evil creature caused him immediate alarm. He looked about the desert floor, but saw only the two prone figures of his friends.

"There was a doppelganger here before," Ryson warned the sorceress. "It got buried with them, but I don't see it."

"The demon is not a concern at the moment."

"How can we be sure? What if it's pretending to be Jure or Holli?"

"Your senses would reveal that, wouldn't they?"

"I'm not sure if I'm close enough. It could be disguising itself better than it did before."

"I'm close enough, and as I said before, my magic is based on alteration. If one of your friends was not who they appeared to be, I would know. Believe me, I can sense a doppelganger as easily as you can smell a river rogue."

"But what happened to it?"

Vraya took only an instant to scan the desert.

"I can still sense the presence of the demon. It's nearby, but like the dathit, it has decided to retreat. The creature has already utilized its shape-shifting abilities. It has taken the form of a rock beetle and is tunneling away to escape."

"Should we capture it?"

Vraya did not hide her surprise at such a suggestion.

"You want to capture a doppelganger? What would we do with it?"

"Question it... we can find out what it knows."