The Elder Blood Chronicles – Book Three(52)

“I think so. I don’t think the Forgotten will take long to arrive, once I summon them,” Jala answered.

“If they answer at all,” Valor sighed and urged the Arovanni forward at a slow walk.

“They will answer,” Jala assured him.

Vaze had moved to a slow jog ahead of them and his path seemed to be leaving the road. His form blurred as he increased speed and she watched in amazement as his other four swords were drawn by what seemed to be living shadows. The forms moved with him, only the occasional shift from his body and the additional weapons revealing their presence.

“That’s a nice trick,” Valor whispered.

“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Jala said, her eyes locked on Vaze as she tried desperately to decipher the spell he had used before he grew too distant for her to see the weave. It was an innate ability she was sure, but if she could just study the way it was done for a moment longer, she might be able to roughly duplicate it with arcane magic.

“That must be Davrian,” Valor breathed, his words barely audible over the murmuring of the spirits.

Reluctantly, Jala pulled her eyes from Vaze and looked past him to the massive form that was emerging from the gloom beyond him. Davrian towered over Vaze in height and muscle. The demon had lost nearly all semblance of humanity beyond the basic human shape. His skin was covered in scales that she could see even from her distance. Spines covered his shoulders and arms and seemed to run down his massive back. He drew twin axes from his belt as he lumbered toward Vaze and Jala shook her head in dismay. “Those things look big enough to cleave a horse in two,” she mumbled.

“If he had swords, I would worry. With the size of those Axes, Vaze will be able to dodge nearly every blow. Those are not maneuverable weapons. Once he picks a direction to swing he is committed,” Valor assured her.

Jala nodded in understanding, though she wasn’t sure if she truly believed what he told her. To her, it seemed as though the axes were so big that Davrian couldn’t possibly miss. Vaze sprang forward to strike as the demon raised its axes in what looked to be a challenge. The shadowy duplicates moved as well, splitting to the left and right as Vaze’s swords struck sparks from the creature’s scaly hide.

“Call the Forgotten,” Valor urged her with a gentle nudge to her back. “He said to waste no time.”

Jala pulled her gaze from the fight and quickly wove a message spell to all those she had given names. “It’s time.” She felt their response echo back in the form of raw fury.

The air in front of them shimmered and the gentle murmurs of the shuffling spirits before them was drowned by the banshee squall of the Forgotten as the tormented dead appeared on the road ahead of them. Demons poured through the gates in an effort to keep the Forgotten from the city. The gentle spirits that had been milling calmly, exploded into chaos as the first of the fighting erupted. The Forgotten ignored the frantic spirits completely and threw themselves at the demons with a savagery that made her skin crawl.

“We are supposed to ride through that?” Jala asked in disbelief. From her vantage, there was no way through the mass of dead.

In answer, Valor pressed his heels deep into the Arovanni’s sides and the horse sprang forward. He leaned forward, forcing her toward the horse’s neck, his armor digging painfully into her back. “Stay low,” he ordered, though there was no need for the words. She had no choice but to stay low with the way he was pushing on her.

Hands reached for her as they thundered by, their icy grasp tracing paths across her armored legs. Jala shrank back farther against Valor and willed the horse to run faster. There were too many faces among the recent dead that she recognized, and that itself was far more painful than the chill of their grasping hands. She heard Valor let out a rough chuckle behind her and tried to look up at him but couldn’t turn her head from the way he pressed on her.

“What in the name of all of the Aspects are you laughing about?” Jala demanded. Her own emotions were ranging from disgust to anger. There was certainly no amusement in anything she saw.

“Devron Rivasa was back there. His spirit made a rather rude gesture to you. I don’t think he cared much for the results of your brief duel with him,” Valor answered as he slowly lifted the pressure from her back.

“May he rot here eternally and if fate is generous I’ll send Cassia to keep him company soon,” Jala hissed as she sat up cautiously. They were through the gates now and past the worst of the fighting. More spirits milled in the streets here, but they seemed inclined to let them pass without threat. Glancing down at her legs Jala noted the crystals of frost coating her armor. She could still feel the cold in her skin below, but it was passing quickly. Just a brief touch had left ice however. Should one of the spirits decide to do more than brush against her, she would have problems.