At the Gates of Darkness Part 25

'I don't know,' replied Belasco. 'I only hear vague references to "them", or "the invaders". One time I heard that they were "from the darkness"...Other than that, all I know is that this force has destroyed the order, such as it was, of the Fifth Circle.

'Of the two kings who did not ally, one took a wait-and-see position: my friend here, Dahun.'

That brought forth the sound of snarling, but no coherent speech.

'The other was Maarg. Some fool on a world in this realm opened a Demon gate into Maarg's realm, and he unleashed the outer horde into this world. There were great battles, but in the end, the demons found themselves stranded on another world with no way back.'

'Shila,' said Sandreena. 'Pug has spoken of that world and the demon battles with the Saaur.'

'But it was Dahun who saw the potential inthis realm. The demons have their own magic users and before Maarg devastated Shila, Dahun sent spies and agents into that world, to pillage the libraries. They returned with everything they could carry and for the better part of half a century they simply studied. realm. The demons have their own magic users and before Maarg devastated Shila, Dahun sent spies and agents into that world, to pillage the libraries. They returned with everything they could carry and for the better part of half a century they simply studied.

'Dahun first recognized the need to solidify his own position so he annexed Maarg's realm, trapping Maarg on the mortal realm knowing the demon king would eventually starve to death after he devoured everything.

'He then allied with the three remaining demon kings and sent forces to battle the invaders; but the forces he sent were those he inherited from Maarg's realm, he kept his own loyal army close.

'He then began preparing to leave the Fifth Circle.'

'And come here?' asked Gulamendis, as his brother walked into the room.

'The battle goes well,' said Laromendis, as his brother nodded, but held up his hand to indicate silence.

'Yes,' said Belasco. 'This realm is weak compared to the Fifth Circle, but Dahun is by far the most intelligent of the demon lords. He realized that changes would be needed before his entrance into the realm.

'You know as much about demons as any man can learn on his own, brother. You know that without control, a demon will continue to feed until he devours everything he can find. Dahun created that control. He created a hierarchy that went further than the one that already existed in the demon realm, one that relied not only on power and alliances, but loyalty, as well. He orchestrated betrayal, infiltrating spies into the domains of the other rulers, and began a series of conflicts between his neighbours.

'Dahun created the illusion that Maarg had returned, feigned his own defeat at the hands of the demon king, and allowed the other rulers to believe what he wanted them to believe. Then he escalated the demon war to a new level, setting allies against one another and against the mortal races he encountered in this realm, against anyone who might pose a threat.

'In short, he readied himself to enter this level of reality and a.s.sume supremacy.'

'But we somehow managed to frustrate that plan,' said Amirantha.

'More than you realize,' said Belasco. 'At first I thought this merely another opportunity for some grim fun, a little nasty play that might net me some personal gain, but when I discovered what Dahun's plans were, in truth, it was too late.'

'You were in his trap,' said Gulamendis.

'Ahh, another new voice,' said Belasco. 'Yes, demons are creatures that cannot be reasoned with, negotiated with, or pleaded with; they can only be forced to reach an accommodation, and the only thing you can be certain of is that they will betray you eventually, given an opportunity.

'Amirantha, you would not believe what your so-called minions think of you. Before you take offence, understand they feel that way about all humans. We are cattle to them. We are food. We provide things they desire, nothing more. To get what they desire, they will serve if they must, but it is always about what they want.'

'And Dahun desires to live on this world?'

'He desires to rule it. He sent every demon he could herd through his gates to vanquish the elves on a dozen worlds. He came here because-'

'No!' came Dahun's voice. 'You may not speak of that!'

There was silence.

Amirantha said, 'Belasco?'

More silence.

Gulamendis looked at Sandreena and then Amirantha and said, 'What do we do now?'

'I have no idea,' said the Warlock.

CHAPTER NINETEEN - Demon Unleashed.

PUG CAST A SPELL.

A wave of pulsating energy rose above the heads of those struggling on the ground and swept the sky clear of the few remaining winged demons. Somewhere in the midst of the fray Kaspar was bringing order and the diverse Midkemian units were beginning to coordinate their efforts. Demons still crawled out of the pit but the rate had slowed to a trickle and Pug sensed they were on the verge of defeating this invading host.

A dozen magicians had accompanied the soldiers and they used their arts to contain the more fractious creatures, or to neutralize the magic-using demons. Pug turned to Magnus and said, 'I think it's almost over.'

Before Magnus could reply, a loud thrumming filled the air and a huge pulse of blinding green light shot up each of the four towers to explode at the top of the columns.

The effects were almost instantaneous, the ground heaved beneath everyone's feet and knocked most of the combatants to the ground. Pug quickly regained his footing and pointed to the towers, which now pulsed as ripples of green energy ran up to their tops to feed a growing, bright white ball of energy.

'Oh, G.o.ds, I know what that is.'

Magnus said, 'It's a summoning device of some sort, as you said.'

'But it's also what ties the necromancy and demon lore together!' said Pug. 'It's why those death rituals that Jim reported occurred, and why there were bodies in the pit, and it's why Dahun doesn't care how many demons we kill.' He pointed to the energy running up the towers, increasing in frequency and tempo. 'When the gate is fully open, he'll come through.'

'But he's here, already,' said Magnus. 'He's possessed the body of Belasco!'

Pug said, 'It's a ruse! He's buying time.' He gripped Magnus by the arm and said, 'Get back down there. Tell Amirantha and Gulamendis what is occurring.' He looked at the ma.s.sive battle and said, 'I've got to come up with a way to stop the killing!'

The human forces were coalescing around Kaspar who was orchestrating a containment attack, pressing in on all sides around the remaining demons. The tactic forced demons to confine other demons, so only those on the outside could engage the human soldiers.

Then another wave of demons exploded out of the pit. 'Oh, d.a.m.n!' said Pug.

Magnus hurried into the chamber. 'They're using death magic to activate the Demon gate!' Amirantha looked at Gulamendis and said, 'Now, I wonder who thought up that idea?'

Dahun's contempt cut through the air. 'Your brother thought to use me, human! He was bending power to his own ends! He envisioned a demon army here, serving him on this world, as he conquered it! The fool!'

Amirantha's brow furrowed. 'I've never known him to be that ambitious.'

Gulamendis said, 'People change.'

Laromendis said, 'Whatever the motivation, am I correct in a.s.suming this melding of death magic and demon summoning has created an unexpected problem?'

Magnus said, 'Each life taken up there fuels the device, and it appears as if it has begun to open a Demon gate. Lesser demons are coming through in waves.'

'Can you shut that creature up?' asked Sandreena.

Gulamendis closed his eyes and said, 'No. But I think I have a trick.' He chanted something and abruptly the sound of Dahun's voice in their minds retreated to a distance.

'What was that?' asked Magnus.

Amirantha smiled. 'A nice little trick that I'm going to get him to teach me if we live through the rest of this day.' Looking at the still face of his brother, Amirantha shouted, 'Belasco! Can you hear me?'

A distant whisper answered, 'Yes.'

They had to strain to hear him over the ranting demon. Amirantha said, 'Was it you who created the death magic portal?'

'Yes,' said Belasco. 'I almost killed Sidi once in Kesh, forcing him to abandon his lair. I found several interesting tomes and books.'

'You always wanted to better our skills,' said Amirantha.

'Because I am better!'

'Well, you're about to get everyone here and probably half the world murdered to prove you're not as clever as you thought,' snapped Sandreena. She was obviously tired and did not feel this was going well.

Jim narrowed his gaze and gave her a silent warning to keep still.

The still magician's ethereal voice took on some urgency. 'I can feel the tug! The gate is opening! Our bargain? If I tell you how to defeat this monster, do I get my day's head start?'

Jim started to say no, but Amirantha's eyes warned him this was coming to a head. Finally, Jim nodded.

'One day,' said Amirantha. 'You get nothing else, no food, water, horse or weapon.'

The sound of laughter drowned out the railing demon. 'Done! Here is what you must do. You must render me unconscious within the next ten minutes.'

Sandreena hefted her mace to where the p.r.o.ne figure's eyes could see, and held in a menacing fashion. 'That's no problem.'

Belasco laughed at the threat. 'I like her!' In faint tones that seemed to be growing more distant, he said, 'No; brother, you know what to do.'

Amirantha nodded and looked at Gulamendis. 'His body isn't the issue; it's his mind. You need to keep aware of what Dahun is doing while I stun Belasco's consciousness.'

'Excellent,' said the rec.u.mbent magic user. 'As soon as you do, I will lose my hold on him between the realms and he will come through the gate.'

'This is your plan?' said Sandreena. 'I thought we were trying to keep him out of this realm!'

'You must destroy the gate while he is still within. You will have less than a minute once he begins to manifest, but he will be completely vulnerable during this translation. That is when you must strike.

'Then revive me and I will be on my way, dear brother.'

Amirantha said to Magnus, 'You need to alert your father. It's going to get very nasty up there in a couple of minutes.'

Magnus closed his eyes. 'I'm not the best at this, but I'll try to save the time needed for me to run up there.'

Father, Pug heard in his mind. Pug heard in his mind.

'Magnus?' he whispered.

Yes. Listen closely as I don't know how long I can maintain this link. In less than ten minutes Dahun will manifest within the Demon gate. He will be vulnerable for a minute, perhaps two. If you destroy the gate at once, you destroy him before his full power is manifested.

Pug let out a long breath. 'I have it.'

Pug saw Kaspar a short distance away, but he was blocked by half a dozen demons. A particularly brutish one, that looked almost like a rhinoceros with two large curving horns coming out of its shoulders, lowered his head, hefted a ma.s.sive sword and charged. Pug shouted, 'Get back!' to the soldiers nearby and sent a pulse of energy at the creature.

Pug was trying his best to stun or disable the demons without killing them, but it was not going well. Several of the monsters were so determined that nothing short of a killing blow seemed to slow them down, let alone stop them.

Pug reached Kaspar and said, 'We need to withdraw.'

'Why?' said the General, his sword smoking from the black demon blood on it. He had a nasty gash on his right cheek, but ignored it. 'We've taken command of the field, have them surrounded and are forcing them into a knot. We can cut them down from the edges and should see them all dead within a half hour!'

'Because in about ten minutes, each death here will cause that thing,' he pointed to the green column, 'to bring a Demon King here and he will have to be put down using enough magic to level this entire structure. Nothing within a quarter mile of this place is likely to survive.'

'Withdraw!' shouted Kaspar, not waiting to hear any more. He had known Pug long enough never to doubt him in matters pertaining to magic. Zane, one of his key captains and a foster grandson of Pug hurried over and looked as if he was about to question the order. Like Kaspar, he knew the human forces had the upper hand in the field.

'Get them south of here! We don't want to be trapped on those b.l.o.o.d.y switchbacks! I want everyone at least a quarter of a mile away in the next six minutes!'

Zane knew better than to question an order like that, and began relaying the command. The order was quickly pa.s.sed and the soldiers confronting the demons launched a fierce a.s.sault for thirty seconds while those behind turned and began a hasty retreat.

Kaspar said, 'This is where I'd normally use archers, but as I didn't bring any...'

Pug said, 'I understand.' He raised his hand and launched a red ball of light. It was a signal every magician in the field had been prepared to see, though not if they saw the battle going well. Still, it was an order to cover an orderly retreat.

Those magicians who could fly or hover took to the air, laying down withering blankets of flame and shocking energy like lightning. Others climbed to the walls and used wands and staves raining all types of destruction on the demons. Pug cursed the need to retreat. They had almost repulsed the demon legion and if he had time to investigate the gate, he was sure he could render it inoperative without destroying the entire structure.

Still, what one wishes for and what one gets are often two very different things, the magician thought. He thought of Magnus,Are you safe down there?

I'm coming up. This chamber is deep enough to keep the others safe, but you may need help with Dahun.

Pug knew better than to argue. His son was most likely right. For a brief moment he pushed aside a rising fear, for he knew he was fated to see Magnus dead alongside his mother and brother, and he wondered if this would be the moment. He prayed it wasn't as he rose into the air and began blasting demons back into the pit.

Kaspar's soldiers were as well-trained and disciplined a group as Pug had ever seen, despite most of them not having trained together. They withdrew in rapid order, leaving it to the magicians to hold the demons at bay. The advantage to the human forces was enough that even during the soldiers withdrawal, the demons could not pursue them due to the punishing magic raining down on them from all sides.

Magnus appeared in the air next to his father and said, 'You've become adept at rising into the air, father!'

It had been something Miranda had been able to do with ease, but Pug always had trouble managing it. It was a point of pride that he laboured to master those skills at which he was not gifted and he smiled as he said, 'I can't let you get better than me at everything, now, can I?'

Magnus tried to chuckle at the quip, but knew his father was nearly frantic with worry. 'It will be fine, father,' he said trying to rea.s.sure him.

Both magicians unleashed as much destructive energy as possible, creating a curtain of death between the demons and the retreating humans. 'Now it gets dangerous,' said Pug, as the last of the human soldiers turned and ran.

Only the magic wall of flame and crackling energy confined the demons, and Pug said to Magnus, 'Tell Amirantha to do whatever it is he's going to do.'

Magnus sent word to the Warlock.

Amirantha's eyes widened as he heard Magnus's voice in his mind.Father says the area will be clear in two minutes.