Lightgiver (23 page)

“Do not interfere, pharim. This is a thing between mortals and none of your concern.”

Shamarion tried to push forward, but his captor held him back. “This is about choice, Luntayary. He cannot trap you as he traps us.” A chain lashed across his face, and blue light dripped from the wound on his face, but he continued speaking. “If you choose to surrender...”

His voice cut off as the demon wound one of its chains around Shamarion’s neck and squeezed.

“Surrender, and I will release him,” Sharim said. “You have my sworn word.”

Jez paused. A demon could not go against their sworn word. It was the only way any sane person would ever believe one of them. No, that wasn’t true. No sane person had any dealings with them whatsoever. They were also masters of manipulation. Jez glanced at his half-finished circle. If only he had more time.

“How will you free him?” Jez asked.

“How else? I will command the shariek to crush his throat. That will release him to the Keep of the Hosts.”

“That’s not what you said,” Jez said. “You said
you
would release him.”

Sharim laughed. “You want my hand to hold the blade? Do you think you can guilt me away from doing this? Are you so foolish?”

“I notice you’re not moving,” Jez said. “Why not? Are you afraid?”

“You will surrender?”

Jez looked at the hurt pharim and nodded.

“No!”

The word was torn from many throats, both pharim and human. Lina gaped at him in horror. He tried to reassure her with a smile, but it didn’t work. Sharim laughed. “Even now, you surprise me.”

He lifted his sword and held it over the pharim. Then, he forced it down toward the back of Shamarion’s neck.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Jez was ready. His sword shot forward. He couldn’t stop Sharim’s strike completely, but he deflected it, so the flaming blade only bit into Shamarion’s right shoulder. For a second, everyone just stared at him, and Jez took advantage of the distraction by lashing out at the chain demon. At the touch of his sword, the creature reddened and became rust before crumbling altogether.

Shamarion gaped, but nodded and moved to stand in the center of Jez’s circle. He glanced down at it before looking up. Jez saw understanding dawn on him, and he almost let out a breath of relief, but he didn’t want Sharim to catch on.

“Why did you do that?” Sharim asked. “You made a promise.”

“I promised that I would surrender if you freed him. You haven’t freed him, so I’m not going to surrender.”

Sharim started to respond, but Jez threw himself forward. Sharim’s blade rose to meet his attack, but he’d been caught off guard, and he held his sword awkwardly. He fell back, barely avoiding having the crystal blade cut into him. Jez rained down blows on him. Dimly, he was aware that the Shadeslayers had formed a circle around him, holding off Sharim’s allies. They wouldn’t be able to stop the demons for long, but hopefully, they wouldn’t need to.

It only took Sharim a few seconds to recover. He swept his leg under Jez, who crashed to the ground. He rolled out of the way just as Sharim’s blade melted a hole in the floor. Jez threw a binding at Sharim meant to interfere with a possession, but the wave of energy passed harmlessly through him. Sharim didn’t have time to gloat, though. Ziary roared. His form flared, the fire seeming to melt his bonds, and he went for Sharim with an almost rabid anger. For a second, Sharim seemed surprised. He knocked aside Ziary’s attack with ease, disarming him and sending him to the ground in one smooth motion. Jez struck before Sharim could do anything, but the human demon was better with the sword than Jez, and they both knew it was only a matter of time.

They exchanged half a dozen more blows, and more of Sharim’s attack scored a hit on Jez than missed. After a handful of heartbeats, there was hardly a body part that didn't ache. Jez was sweating and having trouble lifting his weapon. Sharim didn’t even seem winded.

“You’re toying with me,” Jez said.

“As hard as this may be for you to believe, I don’t want to kill you. What would that accomplish? You would simply return to the Keep of the Hosts, and I would have a powerful enemy there.”

“I’m not going to let you take me alive.”

Sharim smirked. “You couldn’t stop me, but it wouldn’t do me much good. How long do you think you could survive here? You’d be dead inside a week, and I would have the same problem. Surrender. You will be kept safe, and your friends will be released.”

Jez lowered his weapon, and Sharim did the same. He stared at Sharim for several long seconds. “I won’t give you the rune.”

Sharim grinned. “I already have part of it, but that’s not the point. You had a surprise waiting for me last time. I doubt very much you could repeat it. It would go much easier for you if you surrendered. Look.”

He pointed behind Jez. There was an explosion of light and sound. Jez turned around. Chain demons held the last of the Shadeslayers. Other’s moved toward Shamarion, who knelt in Jez’s circle, drawing in the ash. As the demons approached, a bubble of opaque blue energy surrounded the pharim. Sharim’s eyes went wide.

“Don’t bluff, Shadowguard. You’re not good at it. You cannot interfere in my affairs.”

Jez laughed. It felt out of place here, and Sharim looked at him in shock. “You didn’t learn anything from your confrontation with Aniel, did you? A pharim can’t interfere in your affairs unless you interfere with theirs. He couldn’t until you tried to attack him directly.”

Sharim’s eyes hardened. “You tricked me.”

Jez tried to imitate his raspy voice. “I didn’t expect it to be so easy.”

Shamarion looked up. “Luntayary, the circle is complete!”

Jez dove into Shamarion’s bubble. He expected the Shadowguard to take it down, but apparently, he’d crafted the ward with the purpose of allowing Jez to pass, because he went right through it without disrupting the barrier. He landed just outside the circle. Sharim and his demons screamed, but Jez ignored them. He stood up and blinked in surprise. The circle seemed to have three focal points drawn in a triangle with its points just outside the arc. He stepped into the closest one and raised his hands. The words came out of his mouth almost of their own accord. He poured every ounce of power he had into the circle and the Library of Zandra, as well as everyone inside of it, groaned as Jez pulled the building into the mortal realm.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Pain shot through Jez as the circle drew more and more magic. He could feel his flesh burning. It was too much. Then, Osmund stepped into one corner of the triangle and Lina into the other. Jez was the one most able to bear the torrent of energy, so the bulk of it still went through him. The amount that passed through his friends, however, was still enough to tear blood-curdling screams from their throats.

His vision went red as both demons and pharim faded. The pharim had been summoned into the abyss, and once they were taken from that world, their forms vanished, and they returned to the Keep of the Hosts. The demons had no working to feed them the energy needed to pass between worlds, and they remained in their home. Mirel screamed and tried to break through Shamarion’s barrier, but abruptly she, along with the barrier and nearly everyone else, vanished. Only Jez, Osmund, Lina, and Sharim remained as the library tore through the boundary between worlds.

Abruptly, the shaking stopped, and sunlight streamed in through the broken windows. Jez, along with both of his friends, was on the ground. Sharim, his face a mask of rage, stepped toward Jez and lifted his sword. Jez tried to summon his own weapon, but the ritual had taken too much out of him. The burning blade seemed to roar as it tore through the air. Jez cried out, but an instant before it cleaved his head in two, an opaque blue bubble appeared around him. The sword slammed into the ward, shattering it, though the working had deflected the blade enough for it to miss Jez by inches. He looked to the doorway. Besis stood there with his arms extended toward Jez. Behind him stood Fina, Horgar, and Linala.

Besis and Fina threw their hands forward. Red and blue energy spiraled toward Sharim, but he caught it on his sword and turned it aside. He spread his wings and soared out of the window. Horgar watched him for a second before shifting to the form of a great eagle and following. Jez knew it wouldn’t be enough. Sharim was free in the world, and it was all Jez’s fault.

Sharim had escaped from Master Horgar easily by turning the wind against his pursuer. Jez and his friends were taken to one of the sick houses in the healing district of the Academy. While they were all injured, most of what they suffered from was simple fatigue and hunger, and after a few days, they were on their feet again. Linala summoned them to the library. Someone had already repaired the windows, and even now, students along with a couple of full mages were going through it, attempting to understand how exactly the library was organized. Jez found Master Linala in a small roomed filled with old books with cracked covers. She looked up as they entered.

“Jezreel, this is incredible. This entire room is devoted to summoning spirits of fire. I never even knew there were so many kinds.”

Jez scanned the covers, but one question burned in his mind. “How did you know we were going to be here?”

Linala smiled. “Apparently, your friend Villia received a visit from Shamarion. He warned her that he would be unable to watch over Maries while he was helping you, but if all went well, you and the library should be appearing here within a day. She called us, and we waited for you.”

Jez stared at her for a second. “I guess telling an afur that he wouldn’t be where he should be doesn’t count as interfering with mortal matters.”

Linala nodded. “And she doesn’t have the same restrictions. I think that Shadowguard is more devious than we’ve been led to believe.”

Jez shrugged. “It was all for nothing, though. I brought him here. Sharim got away.”

“Yes, in a disfigured body without the support of the rest of his kind. He’s alone. Besis has already started building wards around this place. Sharim won’t be able to get back in, and the weapon he intended to use against us is now ours. He escaped, but it’ll be a long time before he can be a serious threat again.”

“I don’t know...”

“Jezreel, from what you’ve told us, if you hadn’t done what you did, he would’ve gotten the knowledge, and he would be free and in a much better position than he is now.”

Jez hesitated. Even bound by human flesh, the Shadeslayers had been worried when they discovered that Sharim was really Andera. Most of the damage to the library had been repaired, but it was still fresh in Jez’s mind. Sharim had caused it. The front room had practically been in ruins, but more than that, even the worst of it had only been collateral damage. In spite of the knowledge master’s words, Jez couldn’t help but wonder what Sharim could do if he actually tried.

Jez sighed. “I’m not so sure.”

“Don’t worry, Jezreel.” She spread her arms to indicate the library. “I don’t think we’ve even begun to discover what secrets this place holds. Knowledge is a weapon in its own right, and by bringing the library here, you’ve provided us with a powerful one.”

Jez started to nod, but sighed. “I hope you’re right. I get the feeling we’ll need every weapon we can get.”

About the Author

Gama Ray Martinez lives near Salt Lake City, Utah. He moved there solely because he likes mountains. He collects weapons in case he ever needs to supply a medieval battalion, and he greatly resents when work or other real life things get in the way of writing. He secretly hopes to one day slay a dragon in single combat and doesn’t believe in letting pesky things like reality get in the way of his dreams. Find him at http://gamarayburst.com/ and http://www.facebook.com/gamarayburst