Fate Rides Wicked: Volume I of the Lerilon Trilogy (52 page)

Lazol found the room with the exit to the roof and
positioned himself for the devils to return. He heard four
arrows pass through the night air and the trap door lifted.
An injured devil appeared, and died from Lazol’s blade. A
shrill whistle told him the roof had been cleared and he
climbed out. From his perch he could see Arif and Ofeldar
already down from their positions and moving across the
street. In a few minutes the house would be engulfed in
flames, so they had to find the leader quickly. From here
he could watch for the city guard and any approaching
thieves or assassins in cohorts with the devils.

Aquendar battled opponents that fought with stealth and
in this room he had the advantage. With the two-foot
sword he had liberated from his first victim, short by his
standards, he avoided and returned every blow. Only four
leather-armored men remained when Arif and Ofeldar burst
in. Seeing the odds had swung against them, the friends of
the devils allowed themselves to be bound and placed just
outside the door.

“Zebra, you’re bleeding,” said Lioness.

Aquendar looked down and saw a cut in his armor with
blood trickling from it. “Must of snuck one in on me. I’m
all right, it’s superficial. Start moving these rugs, the door
to the cellar has to be under one of them.”

Arif went straight to the back left corner. “As a thief I
learned that people usually place their trap doors and such
as far from the thief’s point of entrance as possible.” Glass
Spider moved a table aside and pulled an area carpet up. A
thin line marked the edges of the door. Arif lifted the
leather strap but let go as Aquendar pulled her away. As
the door shut, flame licked out of the edges and vanished.

“He’ll probably have pretty strong magic. Let me get
us in. You follow me and Lioness after her. I’ll distract it
from the door.” Aquendar picked up a body and gestured
for Arif to lift again, only out of the way. Tossing the body
down, Zebra watched the lightning bolt cook it and jumped
in after. With a dive to the side, he landed behind a pillar
and came up protected.

Zebra had learned from Tych and Nandel that it took
time to generate a spell. As he stood there he counted to
five. Upon reaching it he sprinted more away from the
door and to the right of the creature. His last pillar
exploded in a meteor shower. The leader screamed in rage
as another person dropped through and went to the beast’s
left.

While Arif drew his attention, Aquendar came around
with his crossbow and got a good look at him. Taller than
Zebra by at least two feet, he floated a foot off the ground.
A long black robe glowed slightly and seemed to hide
nothing underneath. His coal black face looked beautiful
yet sinister, and tints of fire red flickered on his cheeks.
His eyes turned from white to red and back as he cast a
spell at Arif and Aquendar fired.

Ofeldar dropped into the basement as the firestream
arched towards Arif and the bolt crossed between pillars.
The Lioness avoided detection altogether and watched the
bolt bounce off the cloak and fall to the ground as if it had
been a feather. She looked at Arif who lay choking on the
ground from the acrid smoke of the burning pillar.
Quickly, she took out the bolt Aquendar had prepared for
her from one of his thrandril arrows, magical by nature, and
loaded it in her crossbow. Each of them had one to use and
as Aquendar moved to be directly left of the creature, she
stepped out to fire. Much to her horror, the leader had
moved closer to the door and sensed her presence.

The Lioness fired in the act of sprinting for cover and
the bolt only caught her target in the right chest, far from
fatal. Aquendar stepped out and his special missile raced
towards the creature as it screamed in pain and rage.
Zebra’s bolt also missed being fatal and their fate rested
with a gagging Arif.

With a horrible look of destruction on his face, the
leader reached into his cloak and pulled out a glowing,
black sword, taller than any of them save Aquendar. With
long strokes he began carving his way through the pillars
towards Ofeldar. She desperately tried to stay in front of
him as he sped through the air, the sword becoming a blur.
Aquendar felt helpless and raced to Arif to get her magic
bolt. She lay breathing heavily, incapacitated by her earlier
lack of oxygen.

Ofeldar saw that her run had reached an end. She dug
herself as far as she could into the corner and watched the
last few pillars fall. The ceiling above them began to creak
and groan under its own weight and she knew they had
very little time. Then her sword came up and deflected the
first blow. Energy raced down her blade and made her
scream in pain until the two pieces of steel lost contact.
The black blade came down again and her sword broke in
two. Its point nicked her knee and she fell. The leader
brought death back to finish her and stopped. He fell in a
crumple at her knees as the sword clanged to the ground
behind him. A bolt stuck from the back of his head.
Instinctively, she stood and hobbled towards the door, Arif
and Aquendar waiting to help her.
They burst through the front door as Lazol landed
beside them. They ran as best they could as the building
exploded behind. The force knocked them down and they
rolled over to look. With a sigh of relief, the four picked
themselves up and headed back towards the inn. They
knew the city watch would arrive in minutes, but they
would be gone. Only a scattering of parchments with paw
marks on them would remain from their visit. King
Vrekian would know that the Lioness had struck again.

Nandel and Cert had loved the past two days in the hut
of Tych and Lendril. On the first day, Doleof visited and
the pemilons paid a visit on the second. Now, Cert carried
the breakfast tray into Nandel, still in bed.

She dropped the tray to a clanging of breaking pottery
and bouncing metal when she entered the bedroom. The
room was dark but she could see a huge winged demon
hovering over her lover. The racket made the beast turn.

Cert stood frozen to the ground with fear. The beast
roared with laughter. “He’s magically asleep, and you’re
too frightened. This will be too easy.” The resident of the
abyss turned towards Cert.

At the last moment she dove out of the path of the
beast’s onrushing claws. The demon tore off the ceiling
with a rain of wood as he swooped back up into the dawn
sky. It turned and rushed again as the young endarilan
magician prepared a spell from the rubble. She knew she
could cast each one only once, then, unlike her brother, she
would have to memorize it again. Her firestream spell sent
the creature off course and he slammed into the trees.
Unlike the demons that had died on those branches earlier,
he stood and pinned back his wings in a vicious running
charge.

Cert cast a lightning bolt, but it had no effect. Seeing
her fate came on with incredible speed, she turned and
prepared a dispel magic spell. As the beast touched her,
she cast it at her lover. Nandel had time to sit up and watch
the magician vanish with the beast.

The endaril found herself in a chaotic world of danger.
Geometric shapes lay shattered on the ever-changing
surface. The solids appeared and reappeared, “eating”
everything they formed into. Nothing in this world had
stability.

The demon stepped out from behind some rubble of an
eaten shape. Cert cast a discover spell, a beacon to all who
might look, though aimed at Nandel. Next she cast an
enchanted weapon spell and a sword of flame appeared in
her hand. She realized her nudity as the beast licked its lips
as if anticipating a victim.

The beast took slow deliberate steps. Cert stood firm.
The creature walked on two legs, had four arms and horns
protruded from a humanoid head. Taking the demon by
complete surprise, she threw her sword from her hip like a
spear. It planted deep in the demon’s chest and exploded.
The horned monster roared out in pain and collapsed. A
geometric shape appeared in part of him and both destroyed
each other. In relief, she fell into a dangerous faint.

A minute later she woke as a demon careened off
Nandel’s shield spell and tumbled out of control. It
collided with a shifting shape and disappeared. Ten more
hovered a few yards off, miniature models of the one Cert
had just defeated. “Welcome back, my sweet. The shapes
won’t hurt us if we stay still. Life is too organized for them
and they will avoid us unless the collision is forced.”

The demons began to circle the couple, since the shield
protected only Nandel’s front. The three on the left died in
Cert’s ice storm. The wizard placed a wall of stone behind
them and let a firestream loose on the ones circling to their
right. As flames destroyed the beasts, the four in front
hovering patiently, Nandel drew his blade. “Cert, cast a
strength spell on yourself. You will use my sword.”

With his blade whirring, the wizard held off the first
sweep by the remaining abyss dwellers, and even wounded
one. Cert prepared and cast her spell. As the demons
turned back towards the wizard and the magician, Nandel
handed her his sword and vanished. The disappearance
took the endaril by surprise, but she dug in to take the next
rush. It came and she sent all four away wounded, one
walking with a shredded wing.

Nandel returned with his staff. “I forgot this, but I need
it to get you back.” Four lightning bolts left the wood and
four demons died.

As Cert handed the sword back to Nandel, a figure
shifted into the wall of stone, causing a massive explosion.
The two magicians flew over forty feet, missing shapes
only barely. Nandel fell unconscious before he hit the
ground and landed roughly. Cert controlled her descent
with her magic strength. She sat up and rubbed her head.
She wondered at the explosion, since it had no flame.

The princess looked around. She saw the sword get
caught in a shape shift and turn to dust. Frantically, she
looked for Nandel. A shape shifted within inches of him,
yet he didn’t move. She ran the score of feet between them
and checked his pulse. Finding him alive, she knew he
would be okay. Cert looked around for the staff.

“Is this what you’re looking for?” Cert spun and froze.
The credaril woman stood tall, staff in hand. She wore a
black cape from head to toe, but her bare front glistened in
the flickering light. Her eyes glowed red and charcoal
would have lightened her skin. She had a perfect figure
and to most males not from the daril races, she would be
attractive. To a daril she represented the lowest form of
existence.

“Lotha,” was all Cert could say. She would horrify
most endarils she found alone, for she was to the credarils
what Lendela was to the endarils—a goddess. Cert had an
added incentive to be scared. The credaril grasped the
staff, their only way out. She bit back rising nausea and
stood firm, calling on her last bit of courage. “Lotha, the
ugliest creature alive. I bet you’re behind all of this.”

“Yes, I am. Your relatives are either too young to be
worth it or too powerful to fool around with. But you
provide a great mix.”

“For what purposes?” Cert began to get control of her
emotions.

“The credarils need some endaril to rejuvenate the race.
You will be the mother of a new, stronger breed of credaril,
then a sacrifice to those even more powerful than I. As
your offspring prepare to rise up once again to destroy the
endarils, you will suffer in hell.” Lotha now stood only
arms length away from Cert.

The princess suddenly remembered her strength and, as
Lotha stepped closer, she grabbed the top of the staff and
flipped up the bottom. The credaril caught the bulk of the
wood in the chin and let go. As the demon-woman
stumbled back, Cert swung the staff like a club. She caught
Lotha in the ear and sent her sprawling a few feet away.

Lotha stayed on the ground, but did so for a reason: She
was transforming. Her head remained but her body quickly
became that of a horse sized spider. With great speed it
spun on ten legs studded with glistening six-inch spikes.
“You are no match for me. My magic will destroy you.”
The credaril-spider charged her as fast as she had turned.

Now brave with success, Cert cast a lightning spell
from the staff. Lotha jumped and it passed underneath her
red belly. She landed on Cert and knocked her down, the
staff falling to the ground. The endaril kicked and punched
as a leg pinned each arm and each leg. Helpless, she
watched her attacker bring a spike down to her side,
dripping with poison. It pierced her skin and she screamed.

Suddenly the weight left and she sat up. Things
became groggy and unfocused but she could tell a large
golden creature now battled the spider. Black blood flowed
from the giant arachnid as she fought her opponent. The
two would have been well matched if not for the initial
surprise Doleof had in his favor. With one last strike, the
spider leapt into the air and vanished. Doleof flew to the
two lovers and touched them. Everything went black.

Cert looked up. A blurry cloud passed between the two
moons, hift and nuvi. A large winged shape blotted out hift
and began to circle down. As it came closer, she realized
how cold she felt. She looked out the window at the snow
and remembered everything. She turned and sighed.
Nandel slept peacefully on the bed. As she picked her
cloak up off the rubble-strewn floor, pain raced through her
body and her vision went dark.

“He’ll be fine, Cert.” The blind endaril looked in the
direction of the dragon as he jumped from the wall. He
landed as a man. “My warning to those two majestic
endarils...” Doleof froze and backed away as Cert’s cloak
fell around her shoulders. The red glow in the princess’s
eyes showed the blackness in her body. “You are lost to
us.” With this Doleof touched Cert and sent her to the
home of the credarils, deep under Li.