Joint Intentions (Book 9) (27 page)

He smelled the air, scanned the grounds, and listened for every sound. There was something vaguely familiar about each quality, but he remained certain he was in a place he had never previously visited.

It was the sky which caught his immediate attention. It offered light, but Ryson could not comprehend how. It appeared like a drab canopy devoid of a sun, a moon, or stars. Worse, it reminded him of Baannat's empty realm. If forced to guess, Ryson would have assumed the dismal lands he walked upon had been swallowed by an emptiness comparable to the slink ghoul's sanctuary.

A dim and dreary light was the only thing which seemed to exist in the vast void, but Ryson believed the light was only a mere reflection. It was as if every small illumination was pulled up and trapped in the hollow heavens and reflected back down to the ground. The faint glow served to do nothing more than simulate the existence of a sky in an otherwise dank sea of nothingness.

The dreary state of the heavens was accented by a numbing chill which filled the air. There was no wind, no rush of a breeze across his face. Along with being cold, the air was bone dry and thin as a whisper in an empty closet.

The terrain was odd as well. It was something he knew he had never experienced before. Portions appeared like the Lacobian Desert, but instead of tan sand, the ground was made up of gray grit. Mixed through the dunes of ash was a shattered landscape very similar to the harsh terrain which bordered the desert back in Uton. There were ravines and canyons of broken and battered stone.

There were no mountains in the distance, only fractured hills and steep mounds. There were large and seemingly heavy rocks scattered all around. Many stood taller than his own height. They looked like black granite from a distance, but when he touched one, it broke apart like burnt charcoal.

There was an absence of trees and plants. He could see for long stretches and he could not spot a single tree; not even the tortured, rotting, half-dead trunks with twisted branches and sickly leaves which dotted the landscape of the dark realm.

Despite the lack of vegetation, he knew there was life in that strange land, or at least a semblance of it. He saw glimpses of movement far in the distance, so he knew he was not alone, but he could not determine the shape or size of whatever was lurking behind the rocks, under the shallow soil, or within the carved ravines.

He bent low to get a better feel for the strange ground, but as he did, he was almost bowled over by a swell of energy. It crashed into him like a sudden wind, and when it struck him, it erupted in his core.

As he felt a familiar surge, the delver took hold of it in his mind, isolated it from his odd surroundings so he could analyze it more carefully. He recognized it as his own magic. It was the portion of energy which was placed within Reiculf, the small slice of magic which symbolized his victory over the daokiln. Its return did not offer him any solace. If anything, it stirred apprehension.

The fear, which was only marginal at first, began to grow, nourished by a realization which darkened his spirit far worse than Vraya's spell of shadow. Reiculf had removed the piece of energy and flung it back at the delver in pure defiance. It was the essence of power which marked the delver's control over the daokiln, and its return altered the state of balance between the two. Ryson's unyielding belief that the beast could not harm him or his wife shattered in that instant.

He stood straight up and sniffed the air again. He placed greater attention on what entered his nostrils. He focused on every scent with severe determination. As he did, he noticed two strange aspects he could not dismiss.

A portion of the air seemed hollow to his senses, lacking in substance. It was remarkably similar to the sensation he experienced in Baannat's realm. It was, however, an emptiness which was not complete. There were strings of a depraved essence hovering closer to the ground.

He began to realize he had not left Baannat's domain, not completely. He believed his concept of the sky was accurate. He was still within the emptiness, but that hollow void had been filled with the substance of another realm.

The empty layers were woven in with chilled threads of despair. Faintly separate from wide vacant strands, a shroud of hopelessness became apparent. It clung to the thick pockets of emptiness and created its own sensation of a deep and unbroken loneliness.

As he pulled apart the scents in the air, he quickly noticed another familiar stench which had been muted by the interwoven emptiness. He sensed the painful signs of torment in the air, and beyond that, the unmistakable scent of demons.

He recalled his time in Demonspawn. He noticed certain similarities, but there was only a distant likeness. He was sure the land he stood upon was not Reiculf's domain. There was only a vague familiarity, a hint of the daokiln's overwhelming presence. In Demonspawn, Reiculf dominated and amplified the essence of his realm. The daokiln's presence was unmistakable.

Unfortunately, Ryson could not ignore the implications regarding the return of his magic. He knew it had been cast free of the demon lord. That in itself pointed directly to Reiculf's influence. The scent of demons also needed to be addressed, and the delver wondered how Reiculf might be involved with the surrounding lands. With Linda's safety at stake, it was a question he could not leave unanswered.

Remaining alert, he began his initial scout. If he was going to find answers, he had to start with determining exactly where he was and who, or what, was there with him.

He ran swiftly but carefully toward the movements he detected in the distance. He would not utilize stealth; that wasn't his strength. He was a delver, and he relied on motion. He did not race into an all out sprint. He would hold his top speed in reserve in case it was necessary for surprise or escape.

Rather than pure speed, he employed deceptive motion. He glided across the rough landscape and made several twists and turns, hoping to keep any potential predators off guard. He gave nothing away as his path appeared to be a haphazard journey with no clear intention.

Continuing to monitor the subtle movements across the landscape, he ran forward with extreme diligence and caution. As he closed on a shadow of movement near a cluster of rocks, he turned quickly from them and appeared to make a hasty retreat.

The ploy worked far better than the delver hoped. A five-headed serpent, a drahkasin, slithered out from its shelter in quick chase. The slinking demon believed it had found suitable prey, and it broke from the rocks in frantic pursuit.

Ryson recognized the beast instantly. The five heads and the snake-like body were unmistakable characteristics of a drahkasin, a full demon which called Demonspawn its home. Such a fiend preyed on lesser demons which it could find in abundance only in the outer layers of the demon breeding grounds.

The presence of the creature confused the delver far more than it surprised him. He knew he was not in Demonspawn. There were certain similarities, but the shifting gray curtains were nowhere to be seen. Reiculf's domain was an evolving tribute to past decadence, a virtual abstract of dismal history, and in being so, it was never quite complete.

Time was an anomaly in the daokiln's realm, and the delver had learned to recognize the odd waves of history. The composition of Demonspawn had swirled with unmarked boundaries, borders which were influenced entirely by the past. The most recent alterations could not completely wipe away ancient events, and the marks of history became blurred memories grappling for recognition. The grayness surrounding the edges of each layer within Demonspawn were a testament to the realms incompleteness.

The land he raced across lacked those unfinished borders. There were no curtains of indefinite boundaries in the distance. Other than the space above, the region was complete, defined, and distinct for as far as he could see, and that was not the overriding essence of Demonspawn.

While he could sense emptiness in the air and sky, it was in no way similar to the incompleteness he previously experienced in Reiculf's domain. It was an entirely different sensation. One was the complete absence of substance while the other was more of an unfulfilled promise. It was the difference between a story that was never told versus one with no ending.

With nothing else to gain from eluding the serpent demon, Ryson decided to face it. He pulled to a stop, freed the war blades from their sheaths at his hips, and swung around to meet the demon head on.

The drahkasin did not hesitate. It hoped to capitalize on its prey's misguided decision. The snake-like body continued to slither forward, but the five heads sprang outward in separate directions. It hoped to ensnare its prey in one of its large mouths by covering several potential paths of escape at once.

The delver moved far too swiftly to fall for such a an obvious tactic. He remained standing in place, allowing four of the five heads to strike at empty air where the demon anticipated he might retreat. Instead of dodging, Ryson attacked. With one quick slash of his right arm, he lopped off the one head which darted directly toward him.

The demon's severed head fell to the ground, bounced once, and then rolled to a stop. Its wide mouth remained open and its forked tongue twitched in spasms.

The other four heads pulled back and the body of the beast came to a complete halt. Four sets of blazing red eyes stared down upon the ground, apparently contemplating the impudence of such a brazen attack.

Ryson quickly took control as he spoke with unquestionable authority.

"I could take off your other four heads just as fast."

The demon did not move, but it did shift its attention from the severed head upon the gritty ground to the delver standing before it. The four remaining heads spoke in complete unison, somewhat like a group of algors directed by a similar decision to speak the same thought.

"You are undeniably fast, but there is something about that statement which rings false to me."

Ryson didn't wish to debate whether or not he was willing to actually kill the creature. He wanted answers, and rather than fall into a trap of mixed feelings, he brought out the one emotion in which he was most confident. He thought of Linda. His concern for her safety would become his priority.

"I wouldn't test that if I were you," Ryson responded defiantly. "I'm not here to hurt you, if that's what you sense, but I want answers, and I'm not about to walk away before I get them. Now, you still have four more heads. Do you want to get serious, or do you want to wait until there's only one of your heads remaining?"

The serpent considered attacking once more, but only for a moment. Before it could move, a second head hit the ground.

"You
will
answer my questions," Ryson said, even as he sheathed both war blades after his second strike. He could unleash them again in an instant if it was necessary, but he knew they would not be needed again.

Still, before the delver could ask a single question, the demon made a surprising declaration of its own. Right before it spoke, the drahkasin lifted one of its heads and stared off into the distance. It nodded once and then turned back to Ryson.

"Your questions will be answered, but not by me. I have been directed to bring you to the one able to answer all of your questions."

Ryson noticed the snake demon had become even more submissive, and it wasn't the threat of losing another head which forced the drahkasin into meek compliance. The delver knew a greater force had exerted its will upon the demon.

"Your master?" Ryson questioned.

"The master of all demons."

Reiculf.

The name echoed in the delver's mind. He had been certain the daokiln was not behind the attempt to reach Linda, but he could no longer discount the facts before him.

The Sword of Decree led him to Baannat, but the domain of emptiness was not his ultimate destination, and he had long since realized the blade didn't always offer absolute knowledge. In his hand, the blade gave him a form of insight, directional advice, but quite often, he had to determine the final conclusions on his own.

The delver's path was becoming clearer, and he believed it was a course he should not, and perhaps could not, alter.  Following the snake demon might have seemed a dangerous proposition, but Ryson
needed
to find answers. He needed to know why he was brought to the desert and who was behind the attacks of the dathit and the doppelganger. Most importantly, he needed to define the danger to Linda.

"Take me to him," Ryson demanded.

Ryson and the drahkasin moved swiftly across the grim landscape. As they rushed over rolling dunes of dark grit, through jagged ravines composed of razor sharp rock, and across wide plains filled with massive boulders, the delver noted the presence of other demons. While Ryson could not comprehend why so many took refuge in a land beyond Demonspawn, he could not deny the growing connections to the daokiln. It was further proof of Reiculf's involvement.

For Ryson, following in the wake of the serpent offered a horrid sight. Two of the serpent's five heads had been removed by his own hand, but only one of the headless necks hung limply downward, dragging across the dark grit like a long slender sack of rotten vegetables. The second headless neck was raised high. It appeared to be reaching for something, perhaps believing its head might be reattached if it could just lift itself to the proper height. Extended above the other heads, it oozed out a gray slime from the open wound which fell in droplets to the cold ground.

With each step, the chill deepened. If it hadn't been for the lack of moisture, the entire region would have iced over. The ooze from the drahkasin's wound confirmed the low temperatures, as much of the gray muck turned to crystals when it hit the dark ash.

Upon reaching the edge of a great circular depression, the snake demon came to a halt. It nodded with one of its heads to the center of the massive crater.

"The master awaits. Do not disappoint him."

Ryson had no intention of disappointing the demon master, but his delver eyes cut through the distance and captured a clear glimpse of the creature at the center of the bowl-like basin. It was not Reiculf.

The creature was nearly as large as the daokiln. It was roughly the same height as Reiculf, but it was not quite as massive. To some extent, it appeared almost like an exceedingly large tiger standing on its back legs, but there were sections of its body which seemed out of proportion, too thin in some places and too wide in others. The cat-like qualities reminded Ryson somewhat of the slink ghoul Baannat.

"That's not Reiculf," the delver declared to the snake demon.

"No, it is not," the drahkasin's remaining three heads replied in unison.

"You said you were taking me to your master."

"And so I have. Rul Saattan is the master of demons, the lord of this realm."

"I thought Reiculf was your master."

"He was, and is, but the past has now broken from the present."

"Don't speak in riddles to me! Where's Reiculf?"

"The master holds the answers to all your questions."

The snake demon would speak no more. It turned swiftly about, never contemplating moving down the sloped embankment and into the heart of the basin. It had accomplished its task and had no desire to remain near the new lord of the new land. It slithered quickly away.

Ryson considered following it, cutting off its escape, but he doubted he would get anything more from the creature. He let the demon leave and fixed his attention on his surroundings.

He had been brought to a place of importance. The demons of the area steered clear of the depression. Only one creature stood within its boundaries, and it waited directly at the center of the crater. By that alone, Ryson wasn't ready to consider it the lord of all demons, but he could not discount the sheer magnitude of the beast.

Rul Saattan.

The name meant nothing to the delver. He had not heard it before. It was not part of any of the legends, and he could not recall it ever mentioned by the dwarves or the elves. He believed there was no written history of the creature.

With the drahkasin's abrupt departure, the delver was left with few alternatives. He decided to place greater focus on the single demon at the center of the basin. He took out his spyscope and peered through the curved glass for a closer inspection.

As the beast turned directly toward him, the delver nearly stopped breathing. Confusion and fear bit down on the delver's every thought. In the twisting mass that was Rul Saattan's face, Ryson could see faint traces of the daokiln, but he could also see Baannat... and Ansas.

The monster stared back at him. As if it could feel the delver's astonishment and terror, it grinned in ecstasy.

"Come speak with me!" Rul demanded, and the voice of the realm's master rolled up the slopes of the basin and into the delver's ears, as if directed there by sheer will alone.

A very large portion of Ryson wanted to run in the opposite direction. His desire to break at top speed from the crater was even stronger than his curiosity. If there was no other reason to confront the beast, he would have sprinted away.

The thought of Linda held him in place. The delver needed answers to ensure the safety of his wife. In that regard, he would not retreat. He put the spyscope back in his pouch and steadied himself. After one long breath of the cold thin air, he glided down the embankment, moved across the flat bottom of the basin, and stopped but a few paces from the frighteningly large beast.

"You are Rul Saattan?" Ryson questioned immediately.

"I am."

"You're also Reiculf, aren't you?"

"I was."

"Baannat and Ansas too?"

"They are my history."

"Demonspawn used to be an accumulation of history," the delver noted.

"My realm is more than it was."

"And this is your realm, but it's not Demonspawn and it's not Baannat's domain. What is this place?"

"Demonsheol."

"But what is it?"

"It's my kingdom. An alteration, a realm that combines emptiness and torment."

"Baannat's realm and Demonspawn combined?"

"Very perceptive."

"How did this happen?"

"I allowed it."

"Why would you allow something like that?"

"As demons, we have, to some extent, always been confined. You are aware of that. There were boundaries. If they were crossed, there were consequences. It was always an intricate dance, an irritating balance of choices created even before delvers existed."

"Are you saying those boundaries no longer exist?"

"Not as they once did. Baannat's realm had boundaries of a different sort. The nothingness of nonexistence became, by necessity, a separate domain of its own definition. But within its own reality, it could not be bound."

"That's a contradiction."

"So it is, but then so was Baannat, and to some extent, so are you."

The answers were becoming far too abstract, and the delver needed to change directions.

"You ordered the drahkasin to bring me here, didn't you?"

"I did."

"Why?"

"You are a delver, you have questions."

"And you're just happy to answer them for me?"

"Happy? No."

"Then why?"

"There are some things which can't be ignored, and I have my reasons."

"Do those reasons have to do with the magic you sent back to me?"

"Partially."

"How did you remove it?"

"When you battled Reiculf, you had Ansas take your magic and place it within the daokiln. Ansas and Reiculf are now a part of me. I can undo what both, or either, have done."

"That doesn't mean you can just forget about what happened between us."

"I have not forgotten."

"And what do you intend on doing about it?"

"I have not decided."

It was not an answer the delver expected, and he eyed the beast with growing mistrust.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I have very few expectations of you."

Ryson was becoming frustrated. The beast appeared willing to answer his questions, but he wasn't getting any clear answers. He decided to start at the beginning.

"Did you bring me here... to this place, to Demonsheol?"

"No, circumstances took care of that."

"What circumstances?"

"You were in Baannat's realm when the slink ghoul's domain and Reiculf's sanctuary were merged. Everything within Baannat's realm, every aspect, is now here. Which means you are here."

"But why was I restored? I was separated from my body. My body was back in the dark lands, not in Baannat's realm. Why was I put back together?"

"Many factors were involved in your restoration. As I have just said, the transformation of Baannat's realm is partially responsible for your arrival in this realm. There is also the significance of the energy within you. The magic of being a delver would not allow for you to be broken apart while two realms were brought together. There are other forces as well, powerful forces which determined you should not be lost. Finally, there was Reiculf's attitude towards you. When Reiculf existed as a separate entity, he wanted to punish you. He couldn't punish you if you were incomplete."

"Reiculf restored me?"

"No, you should not confuse Reiculf's desires with the consequences of his actions. They are separate entities. Reiculf wanted many things, punishing you was but one small aspect."

"But you just said you haven't decided what to do with me. Now you want to punish me?"

"No. Reiculf wished to punish you. Reiculf, as he was, no longer exists."

"And Baannat?"

"He is also gone, just as Ansas is gone."

"Why would Reiculf merge with Ansas and Baannat if he knew he would no longer exist?"

"Because of you."

The accusation fell upon the delver like a heavy chain net; confining his movements, weighing on his conscience, crushing his spirit. He still could not determine the true intentions of Rul Saattan, but he knew, without doubt, they were far from benevolent. 

"Don't put the blame for this on me," Ryson declared.

"Why not? I deal in lies, but I love the truth... when it hurts."

"How can that be the truth?"

"You defeated Reiculf, created another barrier which held him back. You put your magic in him as a way to prevent him from harming you or your mate. It enraged him. You turned the past against him."

"Then it was Reiculf's rage which made him do this," Ryson argued, "not me."

"You cannot separate one from the other. Your actions caused his rage."

Ryson had no desire to take responsibility for Reiculf's twisted actions, but he could not simply ignore the beast before him. Rul Saattan was a combination of three of the most powerful and dangerous creatures the delver had ever faced. Whether he wished to accept responsibility or not, he had to know the level of danger which existed from the creation of a new land... and its new master.

"So what happens now? Are you going to attempt to rule all of existence? Or are you just going to go on a binge of destruction?"

"Perhaps both, perhaps neither. I am newly born. I have yet to determine the full extent of
my
desires."

"But there are some things you want."

"Of course."

"What are they?"

"Far too broad of a question. If I asked the same of you, how long would it take you to detail each of your desires?"

"I don't want to play some guessing game with you."

"Then do not guess. Ask me direct and precise questions or ask me nothing at all."

"How can I be precise when I have no idea what you're talking about?"

"An insufficient response. I am giving you an opportunity which should not be wasted. I had you escorted here because, as I have said, I owe my existence to you. I am in your debt, and my answers are your payment. When we have concluded this conversation, I will owe you nothing."

"If that's true, then you should answer
all
my questions."

"I have."

"No, you haven't. I asked what you were going to do about me. You said you haven't decided."

"I haven't. You are not some miniscule, irrelevant creature. You have been at the center of many important events."

"Someone else told me that not long ago."

"The sorceress Vraya."

"You know her?" Ryson questioned, wondering about any connection between the sorceress and the fiend before him.

"I do now," Rul admitted. "Her magic is similar to that of Ansas, and Ansas is me. She appeared in the desert when Baannat kept watch over you. The slink ghoul heard your conversation in the Lacobian. She was insightful about you. Baannat realized that as he listened. Baannat is also me, and so, I know what Baannat knows."

"So you heard what she said and you're just repeating it?"

"No, I'm agreeing with it. You asked what I was going to do about you. I'm not quite certain. I would like to remove you from existence, but that may be a mistake."

"Why would
you
think it's a mistake?"

"Consider this; if Reiculf had obliterated you when he had the chance, I would not exist. You served a purpose in my creation, and you may serve me in other ways as well. I must be careful when dealing with one such as you."