Ajacii and Demons: The Ingenairii Series

There’s
no end to the battles Alec faces, even when he thinks he has won peace for his new land and a new life for himself…

Alec felt a strange, painful sensation, one that was disturbing and familiar. His head began to throb, and he tried to figure couldn’t understand why. Suddenly the shocking realization of what caused such pain struck him like an arrow, and he winced noticeably, causing Caitlen and the priest to both look at him with concern.

It couldn’t be possible, he told himself. He twisted his neck, looking around the room at the crowd of people, trying to identify an obvious source. He knew he was sensing the spiritual pain of a demon being called into the world. It was something that he hadn’t known in centuries literally, something he couldn’t imagine that existed here in Vincennes. He’d never heard of demons being called forth in this nation.

Alec held up his hand to the priest, seeking a pause in the ceremony.
Rahm, Bethany, stand nearby, ready to help Caitlen. Are there spare swords near me?
He asked.

Caitlen, I sense great danger, something that can kill and destroy dozens of people. It is something that can easily defeat me in battle. Be ready to run,
he sent a panic-stricken message to his bride.

The intensity of the pain of the demon’s impending appearance increased in his mind, and he went down to his knees.

“
Alec, are you alright?” Caitlen asked aloud, bending over him. “Are you this scared of marrying me?” she asked with worried humor.

Alec vomited in response, his stomach twisting in anguish at the thought that a demon was about to appear at his wedding. “Caitlen, you and the priests need to prepare to leave immediately. Rahm and Bethany will take you to safety. Is there a back way out of here?”

“
Alec, what is it? You’re frightening me,” Caitlen answered.
What do you fear?

Before he could answer, he heard a crashing noise, and then a multitude of screams. He looked up and saw a demon entering the back of the room, ripping through the location where the doorway had stood.

I am so sorry we didn’t finish our wedding
, Alec told her.
Rahm, Bethany, come take the princess and the priests to safety,
he added.

“
If I survive, I may take a long time to heal. I love you, Esmere Caitlen Trelawney,” Alec spoke aloud.

The Ingenairii Series

2. At the Seat of Power: Goldenfields and the Dominion

3. The Loss of Power: Goldenfields and Bondell

4. The Lifesaving Power: Goldenfields and Stronghold

5. Against the Empire

6. Preserving the Ingenairii

7. Rescuing the Captive

8. Ajacii and Demons

For more information, visit the Ingenairii Series on Facebook

Ajacii and Demons

The Ingenairii Series

Book 8

Jeffrey Quyle

Index

Chapter 1 –
Farewell to Vincennes
Page 1

Chapter 2 –
Return to Krimshelm
Page 5

Chapter 3 –
A Jagine in the Palace
Page 22

Chapter 4 –
The Countess of Krimshelm
Page 35

Chapter 5 –
The Battle of the North
Page 44

Chapter 6 –
After the Krimshelm Battle
Page 50

Chapter 7 –
Dreams of the Life Before
Page 52

Chapter 8 –
The Ingenairii Restoration
Page 55

Chapter 9 –
Birthday Party for a Princess
Page 57

Chapter 10 –
A Dark Promise
Page 64

Chapter 11 –
The Lure Beyond Death
Page 65

Chapter 12 –
A Choice of Worlds
Page 71

Chapter 13 –
Return to Caitlen
Page 84

Chapter 14 –
The Battle with the Impossible
Page 108

Chapter 15 –
Lokasenna in the Palace
Page 111

Chapter 16 –
The Effort to Heal
Page 126

Chapter 17 –
Alec in the War Zone
Page 132

Chapter 18 – The Demon Appears Page 173

Chapter 19 –
The Ajacii Move
Page 178

Chapter 20 –
The Road to Valer
Page 185

Chapter 21 –
Safety in Valeriane
Page 181

Chapter 22 –
A Journey to Warm Springs
Page 208

Chapter 23 –
The Sleagh Maith
Page 214

Chapter 24 –
Learning of the Great Challenge
Page 219

Chapter 25 – When All is Known Page 233

Chapter 26 – Back to Warm Springs Page 237

Chapter 27 – A Ball at the Palace Page 240

List of Characters

Alec, the lost ingenairii

Bethany, his adopted sister

Rahm, Palace Guard in Vincennes

Caitlen, from the Princess’s court

Connors, officer at Black Crag

Mulvane, Black Crag squad leader in Vincennes

Stocker, Valeriane Army leader

Bernadina, Lokasennii leader

Baltasar, Lokasenna

Availlen, Ajax warrior

Bauer, apprentice sorcerer

Perpet, Sleagh Maith

Macon, page at Krimshelm castle

Perry, army commander at Krimshelm

Menard, major domo at Krimshelm castle

Ailse, Countess of Krimshelm

Harbin, Krimshelm army officer

Chandler, mountain guide to Dana

Ephraim, mountain guide to Dana

Claudia, Black Crag squad member

Hector, Black Crag squad member

Ofelia, Black Crag squad member

Huena, Black Crag squad member

Adelmo, Black Crag squad member

Prologue

In “Rescuing the Captive” Alec awakens as a stranger in a strange land, without memory, not knowing the language of the people he comes in contact, not aware of his own ingenaire abilities. He is set down in the city of Krimshelm, where he witnesses an audacious robbery attempt, a crime which he foils by inadvertently claiming a wagon load of gold coins and a frightened teenage girl. Together he and the girl set out to find a better life in the distant city of Black Crag.

On their way they stop in the great metropolis of Vincennes, capital of the Avonellene Empire, where Alec slowly starts to regain some self-knowledge . There they get caught up in the politics of a coup that overthrows the young ruling princess. Driven by a sense of injustice, Alec chooses to help the princess, and with a friend sets the princess and her attendant free. In their flight from pursuit, Alec and the princess learn to respect and care for one another -- despite the culture’s xenophobic dislike of foreigners -- but ultimately are separated.

When Alec travels on alone to reunite with the princess, he instead discovers a hidden village of the Lokasennii, a race with powers that remind him of ingenairii.

Alec ultimately returns to Vincennes and finds the princess clinging to a tenuous hold on power in a court filled with treachery and uncertainty. Though disliked by most of the powerbrokers because of his foreign accent, Alec repeatedly provides critical assistance to save the princess and strengthen her claim to authority.

At the same time Alec is torn by the gaps in his memories, as he struggles to understand who he is, where he is from and what he has lost. Alec feels anchorless as he tries to discover why he has been set down in a foreign land.

When he eventually helps the princess firm up her control of Vincennes by the use of his great powers, Alec is subjected to exile from the court as a way to preserve her political power. He is sent to Krimshelm to try to fight the princess’s adversaries there in the northern city where his adventures in Avonellene began.

Chapter 1 – Farewell to Vincennes

Alec stood alone in his apartment, blinking his eyes as they adjusted to the dim light that filtered into the room through the narrow gap that framed the window curtains. He was physically alone in the empty set of rooms, and he felt emotionally isolated, abandoned in the name of political expediency. Caitlen, the princess who shakily sat upon the throne of the Avonellene Empire, had dispatched him away from her court and herself to placate the powerbrokers who currently supported her right to rule.