Joint Intentions (Book 9) (39 page)

"You think I'm distracted?"

"Yes. What was it that started you on this journey? And what has distracted you? Get back on the path you set out to follow, and I believe you'll find your answer."

"Why can't you just tell me?"

Vraya was shocked by the demand. It sounded as if Ryson believed she was withholding aid from the delver, and nothing could be further from the truth. She revealed her beliefs with absolute conviction.

"Because I don't know the answer! I'm not trying to trick you... or make you guess. I just know that there's something inside of you that will guide you. You just have to let it."

Ryson could not afford to spend additional time arguing with the sorceress. The pit demon was slowly shaking off the effects of the enchanted light. It was growing more aware of its surroundings, and it sensed the town which it wished to destroy.

The delver sprinted across the clearing and used his momentum to climb up onto the giant's back. He plunged the Sword of Decree deep into the demon's neck, and the burst of burning enchantment kept the demon disoriented for a few additional moments.

Riding about on the pit demon's shoulders, Ryson used all of his agility to maintain his balance as the giant struggled to reach him. The delver constantly shifted his weight to compensate for the violent thrusts, twists, and turns of the monster beneath his feet. He kept his sword embedded in the demon's neck as he desperately searched for a way to end the threat.

Deeper in the fields, the remaining two pit demons continued their battle with neither one able to gain an advantage. They grappled and pounded upon one another. Blows that could shatter mature oaks into splinters were turned aside or absorbed with no apparent damage. As they struck one another, the impact resounded across the land, and the thunderous echoes could be heard as far away as Pinesway and the elf camp in Dark Spruce Forest.

Enin remained close enough to the battling titans that he was constantly sprayed with dirt and debris exploding from underneath their feet. The waves of rock and cascading dirt would have caused serious harm if not for the shield which surrounded him. Despite the protective barrier, he could still feel the waves of concussion within the clashes. Several times the strength of the surge put enough pressure on the shield that he was forced to step back. Immediately, he would press forward so the pit demons would remain locked in combat over his presence.

The drain on Jure's magical reserve was becoming somewhat of a concern. With all of the pressure placed on the shield, the elder wizard needed to constantly replenish the barrier with additional energy. Eventually, he would run out of magic, the shield would fail, and Enin would be forced to withdraw for his own safety. When Enin was no longer in danger, the pit demon from the Lacobian would fail to sense the need to engage, and the other giant would be free to attack Burbon. If the elder wizard was to prevail, Jure needed to find a way to end the stalemate between the two goliaths.

Deciding to risk the bulk of his remaining energy, Jure spent nearly all of his magic on one spell directed at both pit demons in the same instant. A large circle of white magic appeared around the elder wizard's shoulders. It continued to grow in size as it spread out and encompassed more and more of the northern farm field. Once it reached significant size to encircle both demons, Jure willed the energy up into the dark sky and let it fly to a point over the battling giants.

When the ring of magic reached its intended destination, it turned crimson and dropped down as if it had suddenly gained the weight of an entire mountain range. When the force of magic struck the land beneath the pit demons' feet, the ground collapsed as if dwarves had dug out a wide tunnel which bore straight down into unknown depths. The weight of the pit demons sent them plummeting downward, still embraced in battle, still locked in combat with no victor able to emerge.

At the opening, the red circle of magic tightened like a rope being pulled into a knot and the surface of the ground closed over the hole. The land had been sealed over the pit demons, and it served as a sufficient obstruction to keep them entombed.

His magic almost completely exhausted, Jure ended the shield spell around Enin and moved to the sealed remnants of the hole to inspect the grounds.

"Nicely done," Enin congratulated his friend.

"Thank you. Do you think they're still fighting down there?"

"Maybe. Even though I'm no longer in danger, there's nothing else for them to do. I sensed how much downward force you put into the spell. They're deeper than any dwarf stronghold. They'll feel quite at home down there, and there's no real reason for them to surface."

"Maybe we can talk to the dwarves about reinforcing the area surrounding them, just in case."

"Not a bad idea, and I certainly want to alert them to what we've done, but that's for later. Do you have enough magic to help Ryson?"

"Not at the moment. I'm empty inside."

"I thought as much."

Jure believed they stood a safe distance from the last pit demon, but that could change in an instant if the giant moved in their direction.

"We should both get behind the wall for now. It will give me a chance to regain more magic and we can keep out of the way."

"But they shut the gate."

"They're opening it now."

Enin gazed back toward Burbon's wall and saw the gate swing open. Over fifty soldiers armed with spears rushed out and fell into formation in the clearing between the town and the last pit demon.

"It looks like they're going to attack," Enin noted.

"I'm not sure what good spears will do," Jure responded.

Enin smiled and revealed he saw a bit more.

"It's not what's in their hands, but what's in their hearts."

Ryson also watched the guards exit from behind the wall. He knew they were coming to his aid, but he wanted to shout at them to turn back. He didn't want to see the soldiers place their own lives in danger for his sake, but then he realized they weren't doing it just for him. They were fighting for every person in Burbon.

Ryson was more right than he knew. Captain Klusac had seen the other pit demons fall. He watched in awe as Ryson rushed the last giant. He and his soldiers would not wait for others to fight their battles. They all agreed to enter the conflict, even while knowing their spears and swords would be useless against the demon. They came out through the gate willingly, and most knew their odds of survival were minimal at best.

As the guards fell into formation, Ryson marveled at their courage. When they rushed forward, the delver's desire to keep them safe from harm, despite their bravery, expanded beyond his doubts and fears. He pressed harder on the Sword of Decree, focused on its enchantment, and tried to urge all the power of the blade into the essence of his foe.

With the soldiers closing around the demon, Ryson looked across the clearing and saw Vraya watching him intently. She had already admitted to studying him countless times before. He could not help but wonder why she found him so intriguing. She had given him hints, tried to explain, but it all seemed so absurd.

He considered her most recent revelation, and her words echoed in his head as he tried to grasp their meaning. She believed he could defeat a pit demon on his own, that he could find the answer if he was willing to look for it. But he didn't know where to look, and much of what had happened since he left for Connel had left him confused.

Vraya had even told him he had been distracted.

Distracted!

She was right, but what choice did he have? He didn't start out on his journey with the intention to fight dathits. The giants had come to Burbon at Rul Saattan's request, and that was only after everything else the delver had been through. Of course he was distracted. Holli sacrificed her life against Neltus. He had been cast into Demonsheol. They had faced a contrarian. How was he supposed to remain focused?

But that was Vraya's point. Ryson needed to return to the purpose of his quest. He left Burbon with a single intention; to understand what he saw when he looked into his own essence. He needed to know why he saw his own soul and how he should react. Reader Rachael told him he had been given a precious gift, but he didn't know how to use it. What value was such awareness if he couldn't comprehend its true worth?

He remembered what he had thought about the people of Burbon, how he believed they would not be able to help him find guidance. They had their beliefs, but they guarded them carefully. As he looked at the soldiers ready to defend their homes against a terrible enemy, he realized he was wrong.

The men and women of Burbon faced such perils before. They had been attacked many times by many horrible creatures. Time after time their town came under siege. Despite the number and gravity of the assaults they endured, they met hardship and danger with fortitude and purpose. They would fight, they would give ground, they would even retreat, but they never surrendered. They would mourn their losses, but they would regain control of their town, of their lives, and they would rebuild.

He had once believed it was all due to their desire for structure and control. Even while living near the outskirts of Dark Spruce Forest—a haven for dark creatures—the people of Burbon thrived on order. But such desires only went so far in explaining their unconquerable spirit. As Ryson looked beyond the structure and order of Burbon and considered the very heart of his neighbors, he saw a path toward victory.

The guards of Burbon were prepared to face any foe to protect friends and family, to die for what they believed in. Those beliefs embraced more than just home and duty. It was a faith as strong as any he could find in all of Uton, and they displayed it willingly... openly. Ryson knew there was a strength of spirit within the soldiers which could not be denied, not even by a pit demon.

And in that instant, he knew how to defeat the giant.

"Look at them!" Ryson shouted.

The delver knew the demon could not hear him, but he forced his will into the Sword of Decree and allowed the enchantment of the blade to command the giant. The magic which was within the delver connected him to his weapon and it forced his resolve upon the demon.

"See them for what they are! See beyond their limits, look at what's within. You can't fight that."

And just as Ryson knew the demon had no ears to hear his challenge, he also knew the giant had no eyes to see. But Ryson didn't want the giant to see what was obvious. The delver wanted the pit demon to look beyond the surface... to see what was hidden. Ryson realized the giant had an awareness—a perception—to recognize the strength within each soldier.

The pit demon could not ignore the essence of what it faced. It perceived the strength of spirit rushing toward it and it knew it could not prevail.

The giant slumped downward and rolled into a ball. It wrapped its arms around its faceless head and pressed its knees into its chest. It froze in that position, unwilling to face the soldiers surrounding it. The last demon was defeated not by spears and arrows, or even by the blazing blade of an enchanted sword, but by the perception that its own hollowness could not match the fullness within each of its foes.

Ryson leapt off the pit demon's shoulders and on to the edge of the clearing. He moved first to Captain Klusac. He needed to congratulate the soldiers, for it was their courage which had won the battle... even without striking a blow.

"That was a brave thing you did," the delver acknowledged.

"No braver than you," the captain responded. "We couldn't let you fight that thing alone."

"And you didn't, and that's what defeated it. Tell your soldiers to keep watch over the giant. It'll stay down as long as it can sense them."

Klusac gave one quick glance to the unmoving colossus.

"Are you sure it won't rise up against us?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"What do we do with it?"

"Vraya or Jure can send it away with a spell. Just give us a few moments to regroup."

"Then we'll keep an eye on it until it's gone," the captain agreed.

Ryson nodded, stepped further into the clearing and looked down at the ground. He bent over to pick up a clump of dirt that had been kicked up by one of the pit demons. It was just a rough patch of sod, slightly bigger than his fist, but it felt firm in his hand.

While holding the piece of ground, he watched additional soldiers pass by and take their positions around the dathit. They did so willingly and without concern for their own safety. Understanding what was inside of each soldier and what it was that ultimately made the demon collapse, Ryson knew their courage would ensure the giant would not move.

As he reexamined the dirt in his hand, he realized it was more than a piece of sod. It was a part of Burbon, a part of his home. It was also part of a greater whole, a concept which the soldiers deemed worthy of their protection. It fueled their courage.

He considered what it meant to all of them, and then he finally appreciated the full measure of what it was the dathit perceived within each soldier. The delver knew the demon never had a chance and that surrender was its only option. With the answers to many of his questions becoming clear, Ryson knew what he needed to do as well.

He placed the clump of dirt in his pouch and motioned for Vraya to follow him. The two moved quickly to Jure and Enin. He addressed the elder wizard first.