Sovereign Stone (28 page)

Worst of all, he could feel Isabel flinch in his arms every time one of the bees stung her. She whimpered at the dual attack of the proximity of the demon and the stabbing pain of the stings.

Marla saved them.

Alexander felt a wave of heat overhead and heard the popping and sizzling of burning bees. The stench was gagging and the heat was oppressive. Orange light washed over them as Marla directed a jet of flame from her outstretched hands and bathed the swarm of bees with her magical fire.

A moment later, the swarm broke and the demon came free of its host. It looked straight at Alexander with its hateful red eyes and shrieked soundlessly before turning and fleeing into the mountains, no doubt in search of yet another creature to possess.

They made camp on the spot and built a fire while Lucky attended to Alexander and Isabel. Both had been stung countless times and were in great pain. He used numbweed and healing salve to treat their many wounds and they both drifted off to sleep for an hour or so while the medicine did its work. When they woke, it was nearing dark and dinner was ready.

“How are you feeling?” Alexander asked Isabel.

“More afraid than anything. When that thing got close, the door opened and I couldn’t close it. I could feel the darkness trying to draw me in, and it was all I could do to keep from losing myself again.”

“We have to find a way to get rid of that cursed door, once and for all,” Alexander growled. “I wish there was something I could do.”

“There is, Alexander. You’re doing it right now,” she said as she gave him a tighter hug, and then they got up for their dinner of a simple but well-seasoned camp stew.

Alexander itched all over from the bee stings, but the welts were fading fast and the pain was almost entirely gone.

“You have terrifying enemies, Alexander,” Marla said quietly after the meal was over.

“I can’t argue with that,” Alexander said wryly. “How did you create that fire?”

“I’m a Priestess of the Dragon,” she said with a proud smile. “Fire is one of my areas of study, although I must admit, I rarely have cause to cast that particular spell.”

“Thank you,” Isabel said. “The demon possessing those bees was also in my mind trying to claim my soul. If you hadn’t driven it off when you did, I fear I would have been lost to it.”

“You’re welcome, Isabel. I don’t want to get your hopes up, but the Druid Council may be able to help you. If they can summon that demon and then banish it, I believe the door within your mind may vanish. I can’t be sure because I’ve never heard of a case such as yours, but it stands to reason that the demon is actively keeping the connection to the netherworld open within your mind and that it can only do so if it remains in our world.”

“How is a demon banished?” Alexander asked.

Marla frowned a bit. “My understanding is limited because the power to do so is beyond me, but I know a little about the process. Demons are not supposed to be in this world, so their presence creates an imbalance. That imbalance draws them toward the netherworld if a passage is created.

“Certain members of the Druid Council may be able to create a place where the veil separating the world of time and substance from the aether is blurred. If done in the proximity of the demon, it will be drawn into the aether where it will eventually find its way back to the netherworld.”

“And once it’s gone, it won’t be able to hurt Isabel anymore?” Alexander asked.

“I believe that to be the case,” Marla said.

“I think she’s right,” Lucky said. “I’ve read of banishings before where the victims of a demon recovered quickly after the demon was sent away.”

“Thank you, Marla,” Alexander said. “If you can help Isabel, I will be forever in your debt.”

“I’ll do whatever I can to help,” Marla said. “You made a friend when you saved my life, and I’m coming to see the choice that lies before the entire world. You are a man who would risk your own life with no promise of gain to rescue a stranger. Your enemy sends creatures from the world of the dead to haunt the living. I know which side I would choose to stand with.”

“What of Tanis?” Alexander asked.

“She is my patron and I will obey her in all things, but I will also help you as much as she will permit me to. She sees things from a much longer perspective than we do. She has lived for many hundreds of years and will live for many hundreds more. Our wars and governments are fleeting and ephemeral to her, so she pays them little heed. I fear this conflict is different, and I believe there will come a time when she will see the necessity of taking sides.”

“I hope you’re right,” Alexander said. “We can use all the help we can get. Phane is dangerous and resourceful. But most of all, he’s relentless. He’ll never stop until he subjugates the entire Seven Isles.”

Before dark, Alexander found a small patch of soft moss in the meadow and sat down to meditate. It had been some time since he’d left his father to fight the battle against Headwater and he was starting to wonder about the outcome.

He relaxed his body and inhaled the cool but fragrant mountain air. Methodically, he went about clearing his mind of thoughts, acknowledging each one as it came to him and then dismissing it.

Soon he was in the state of empty-mindedness that was his portal to the firmament. This time it took only ten minutes or so before his awareness was floating gently on the ocean of endless possibility.

He listened for a time to the infinitely intricate music that represented all things happening at once. It was complex and graceful but mostly it had become a sound of beauty to Alexander’s mind. Here, anything could happen and he could see any event by simply focusing his attention on it. The power of his clairvoyance still amazed him but not nearly so much as the vastness of the firmament.

He focused on the city of New Ruatha, and his awareness coalesced above the Glittering City. It looked intact and was as busy as usual in the early evening. He redirected his focus to the valley east of the city where his army had made their stand. His awareness moved with impossible speed; the world rushed by in a blur until he was hovering over the valley many miles to the east of New Ruatha.

It was scorched and marred, muddy and trampled. There were markers of mass graves for the fallen, but soldiers were no longer on the field. The battle had been fought and apparently Ruatha had won. Again, Alexander focused his awareness, this time high above Headwater.

What he saw caused him to recoil slightly. The city was on fire. The Ruathan army was surrounding the city in a cordon, but they hadn’t advanced; it didn’t appear that they were planning to attack so much as lay siege.

The fires appeared to be the result of a total breakdown in the government. Alexander’s heart ached for the innocent caught in the city, but he knew that Headwater must be taken and those allied with Phane must be rooted out and captured or destroyed. Headwater was situated in the heart of Ruatha and could not be allowed to support Phane.

Alexander pictured his father in his mind’s eye, and he plunged back into the formlessness of the firmament for only a moment before his awareness coalesced in the command tent of the Ruathan army. His father and mother were both there and they both looked tired. Hanlon and Emily Alaric were there as well. That was good news, as they would have brought the bulk of the Ranger army that Hanlon had hastily raised. General Markos was there, as was Wizard Sark.

“Commander Alaric reports that Rake has fled north into the wilds with his legion of cavalry,” General Markos said. “He’s also captured about half a legion of foot soldiers fleeing from Headwater. He’s requesting orders and additional support.”

Hanlon smiled and winked at Emily.

“Seems your son has done well, Hanlon,” Duncan Valentine said.

To General Markos, he said, “Have General Kern send a regiment of cavalry to support Commander Alaric. Detain the enemy soldiers on the spot and send sufficient supplies to keep them alive but not enough to make them fat. Have Duane send scouts to keep track of Rake.”

“Understood,” General Markos said. “Headwater is still refusing to surrender unless we recognize the authority of the trade guilds to govern the right to work.”

Duncan shook his head and sighed. “So be it. Wizard Sark, I’d like you to coordinate with Warden Alaric and develop a plan to kill the leaders of the trade guilds, in their sleep if possible. I don’t want to destroy the city; there are too many innocent people living there. Maybe if we eliminate the agitators, the rest of the people will listen to reason.”

Alexander withdrew out of the command tent and floated high above the city for a few moments, taking in the sweeping army of Ruatha. There were nearly a hundred thousand soldiers arrayed against Headwater. Legions from New Ruatha, Northport, Glen Morillian, and Buckwold were all working together under his father’s able command.

Satisfied with the progress he saw, Alexander shifted his focus to Blackstone Keep. His awareness came to rest above the bridge platform. He surveyed the surrounding area and saw a force of nearly three legions on the plains below. One was close to the base of the giant black Keep and the other two were camped in fortified positions around the Reishi Gate in the distance.

His message of warning about Phane’s threats had been received and heeded. When he turned his attention to the Keep, he saw the bridge was not present and the paddock was bustling with activity even in the dark of early night. Rangers were working to organize and distribute large stockpiles of supplies that had only recently arrived.

Satisfied that his allies were working effectively toward his goals, he directed his attention elsewhere. He thought of Phane and was suddenly floating high above a rough cove off a volcanic isle. What he saw next was difficult to understand at first. Thirty feet off the water, frozen in space, was a portal cut into the fabric of space with a small room behind it.

Phane sat in a comfortable chair, looking out the door as if he was waiting for something. Alexander looked around and saw a dragon perched on the lip of the volcano’s crater looking down toward Phane. Before Alexander could look closer, Phane suddenly looked straight at him. Alexander shifted his awareness back into the firmament and away from Phane before the Reishi Prince could take any action.

Alexander didn’t know for sure if Phane could hurt him when he was using his clairvoyance, but the Reishi Prince had been able to scatter his awareness before and it made him wonder if Phane could do even more if he wanted to. Better safe than sorry.

The last stop on his journey brought him to the camp of Commander P’Tal. He was surprised to see that the Commander of the Reishi Protectorate had only a large platoon of soldiers left and many of them looked bruised and battered. Alexander wondered what had done his enemy such damage. Unfortunately, P’Tal, Nero, Grudge, and Truss were all alive and well. There were also a couple of others at the fire with them. One was clearly a wizard. Alexander approached and listened to their conversation for a moment.

“They’re camped in a meadow a day away,” the wizard said, “and it looks like they have the assistance of a guide who appears to be taking them to the lake city high in the mountains.”

“I’d prefer to catch up to them before they make it there,” P’Tal said. “If their detour to the Dragon Temple is any indication, they will be well received by the druids in the lake city.”

Truss twitched a bit. “I never even believed in dragons. It’s hard to accept that one would attack us because the pretender asked it to. There has to be a better explanation.” Truss sounded afraid.

“I’m sure there is, Duke Truss,” the wizard said. “Dragons don’t take orders from men.”

“That seems like a pretty big coincidence then . . .” Truss said, but before Alexander could hear the rest of the sentence, his awareness slammed violently back into his body.

Chapter 25

He felt pain tear through him and a moment later he understood why. A mountain lion was on top of him, preparing to strike. His arms were pinned and he couldn’t breathe from the weight of the cat pressing down on him. He felt helpless and foolish. He saw in a glance the colors of the demon.

An instant before the big cat could clamp its fangs into Alexander’s face, an arrow buried deep into its shoulder, no doubt from Abigail’s bow. The cat flinched, but didn’t let up. In the back of his mind, Alexander was once again grateful for the armor shirt he wore. Without it, the cat’s razor-sharp claws would have already torn deeply into his chest.

Isabel arrived first. She hadn’t even taken the time to get her sword but instead dove at the big cat with a dagger in hand. With her left arm, she caught it around the neck and crashed into it with her shoulder as she drove her dagger deep into its ribs on the opposite side. The cat stiffened.

What Alexander saw next defied reason. The colors of Isabel’s necklace flared, and the demon possessing the big cat came free as the animal slumped over. But rather than running away, the demon slid toward Isabel and it seemed to be resisting.

She screamed a blood-curdling scream that made ice flow through Alexander’s veins. He watched in slow motion, helpless to do anything, as the demon flowed into his love. She stiffened and slumped over lifelessly. With his heart in his throat, he scrambled to her side, heedless of the wounds on his arms and legs.