32. Sava

Chapter 32

Sava

King of the Aellei

I looked over in time to see Sin Garu on a tear as he tried to knock down Lexa with demonic flame. She seemed prepared to take it, but Arim's reflexes weren't as off as my turbulent magic, and he shot between them to absorb the attack. Lexa snarled something even as she jumped over Arim and crouched low.

She protected him, her aura a bright blue as she leaned over her lover. At the same time, she changed the force of her blast and aimed at the demons around Sin Garu, who writhed in pain and began to diminish in power, their bodies fading again.

Arim groaned and rose unsteadily to his feet, a dark bruise on his forehead and blood dripping down his side a testament to my sacrifice. A sacrifice which was going to be unalterably fatal if the three of us didn't figure out a way to solve this power problem. Hell, even I could feel the fading threads of Tanselm's energy as she tried to aid her champion.

I grimaced as I noted how fat and full several newly arrived demons appeared. The bedamned things had to be feeding off the land, making Tanselm weaker as they used her energy to bridge the gap between planes.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen a demon outside of Mount Malinta and didn't plan on looking at them any longer than I had to. The sight of the nasty fiends reminded me all too vividly of my time in the Pit, a nightmare I still revisited if I had too much to drink and too much on my mind before sleeping.

Sharp talons sliced through my thigh, and I cursed as I pulled myself together. Dwelling on what-ifs and a horrible past weren't helping. I had to figure out a way to assist Arim and Lexa with Sin Garu. Now.

The sooner we killed him, the sooner the Netharat, at least, would crumble. Together, the Netharat were strong. They worked well under Sin Garu's control. Without him, they'd likely scatter, their inability to focus and follow orders a definite plus. The wraiths would flail, the Nocumat I would control, and the enemy Djinn would fight among themselves for power.

But how to take out Sin Garu without Light Bringer magic? I toyed with the problem as I destroyed three more wraiths and settled my attention on a naughty Nocumat.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Oxcen's friend, Berju. Your time in the Light is over. Even the Shadows won't save you now, my disloyal subject."

To those of the Light and Dark, the Nocumat were feared, fierce creatures. Composed of a red, gelatinous substance that made them versatile in fighting and almost impossible to kill, the Nocumat fed on everything they touched. They slowly consumed their prey over weeks or months, depending on how often they fed. And they feared little except for their king.

Me.

I and other Shadow Dwellers with power, like my niece Alandra, could control the beasts, which were actually quite intelligent and thoughtful under the right circumstances. That intelligence made Berju's perfidy hard to bear, considering his mother and I were good friends. But I couldn't allow the Shadren to join with the Dark. I ascribed to certain rules, and trying to conquer worlds and subjugate others under Dark Lord leadership didn't factor.

Not wanting to, but knowing I had to, I readied to destroy my kindred. I ignored the weeping pleas only I could hear Berju make and raised my hands. In seconds, the spell I invoked turned Berju into mist, and then into nothingness. Another Nocumat witnessed the destruction of his brother and vanished in a silent screech of anguish.

Angry at the worthless loss of life, I slapped my hands together and strode through fallen bodies and brawlers toward Arim and Lexa. The enemy's attack had been so sudden and so involved I hadn't the chance to wonder how the rest of the kingdom fared, if anyone else had fallen victim to the Netharat.

At least the Light Bringers who joined the fight in the commons had done well. Most of the Netharat in the room looked on the losing end of their battle. Sorcerers and warriors took on the wraiths and Djinn foolish enough to continue the struggle. I heartily left them to it.

"All over the kingdom," one panting sorcerer said to me as I passed. "Massive front to invade the land. Was told to tell you or them." He nodded to Arim and Lexa engaged with Sin Garu.

So the Dark Lord thought to take everything at once. Keep Arim occupied while his demons crossed the gap into this reality, and at the same time, Sin Garu's minions crept over the land, decimating as many Light Bringers as he could. With the demons draining Tanselm, he very well might succeed.

Already, it looked as if he'd done Arim some major damage. Though on his feet with Lexa by his side, the Guardian of Storm looked ready to keel over. I knew that demon blast hurt worse than anything anyone could conceive.

Lexa knew, too, and the anger on her face said she worried more than she liked. She'd experienced similar pain when she'd taken that first blast meant for Arim. She'd suffered in a coma for nearly three months after it. That Arim was even standing meant Tanselm wasn't totally gone…yet.

Knowing time was of the essence and with a thought of what might turn the tide of this war, I joined them, only to face off against a nightmare from my past.

"Why Sava. I've missed you." A dark voice poured from Sin Garu's lips. I had to force myself not to flinch. Shit. Of all the demons that had to be possessing Sin Garu, why did it have to be this one?

"Well, hello Ghal. What's it been? Nine hundred, a thousand years?"

Ghal laughed through Sin Garu's lips, and Lexa and Arim tightened the distance separating them, strengthening their shield. "Too long, my Shadow. I've missed you."

I swallowed my distaste and smiled. "Wish I could say the same. But you know, you bring up a good point. We should visit more." Pulling a small pouch out of the air — from the pocket of Shadow I kept by my side — I handed it to Arim. Quickly linking through their shield to pull Arim close, I whispered into his ear, "I think we have a shot at this. You keep Sin Garu occupied. Hold this close and the demons can't touch you. At least not until they wear down the charm."

Arim whispered back, "You have to protect Lexa."

Damn. He sounded hoarse, his breathing raspy. I could feel the taint of demon poison spreading through Arim's body.

I added, "Hold tight. I'm going to try to sever the demons' link to Tanselm. That'll give you the power you need to end this."

Arim nodded, his gaze dark and glazed with pain. Yet his aura remained bright, his iron will an impenetrable thing they'd need. "Take Lexa away from this. Free her soul."

I started, having forgotten that important fact.

Lexa grunted at the effort of decimating two more demons. "Damn it, you two. Stop whispering and let me in on whatever you're doing."

"Yes, share," Ghal demanded. "My dear girl, how are you killing my kind? Your brother is right; you are a treasure. One we want to keep." The demon in Sin Garu smiled, and the sharp, roving teeth in that mouth freaked me the hell out.

"Okay. Playtime's over." I latched onto Lexa's hand. "We'll be right back."

Leaning close to her, I murmured, "Trust me," and took us through the Between.

And straight into hell.