“As close as you’ll ever get to a pair, Darkheart,” she said with a sneer that was obvious from her tone despite the fact that Thanquil’s eyes refused to dislodge themselves from her chest.
There was a round of laughter and Beck stepped closer, so close her breasts almost brushed his arm. Thanquil felt his heart quick and his cock stir and he tried his best not to let it show. Beck moved her lips close to his ear and whispered.
“I hope it eats you today.”
Thanquil swallowed nervously but only once Beck had moved away did her words register to him and he realised he had no idea what she was talking about. Before he could give it any further thought instructor James marched into the yard and shouted for them all to form up.
The instructors were Arbiters in their own right but those who were too old or infirm to continue hunting down heresy or occasionally those who just couldn’t take the pressure any more. They treated the initiates with a cruel discipline and James was no exception, he was a hard man, tall and thin and all angles. He had great green eyes that goggled at everything and a single missing tooth he liked to suck air through making a whistling noise that set Thanquil’s nerves on a knife edge.
As the initiates lined up and waited for further instruction instructor James glared at them all with savage scrutiny. Thanquil took his place next to Kosh and the bigger boy winked at him.
“I hope you’re all prepared,” the instructor said.
Thanquil glanced at Kosh who sent a nonchalant shrug right back.
“Beck, you’re first. By my side now.” Instructor James walked away and Beck hurried after him sending a nervous glance back at her group of followers who all simpered in return.
Thanquil sniffed painfully through his broken nose and approached Jacob. The older boy looked down on him with a neutral smile. Jacob, while not friendly, was not like the others, he didn’t feel the need to bully but neither did he particularly register Thanquil’s existence as a person.
“Jacob,” Thanquil offered in greeting.
“Darkheart,” Jacob said with an amused nod.
Thanquil noticed Beck’s crew of admirers watching curiously and lowered his voice to stop them from overhearing. “What’s happening today? Seems we missed the announcement.”
Jacob glanced at Kosh behind Thanquil and then back again. “Demon summoning,” he said with a mad grin. “Today we learn the rune to summon and bind one of the beasts.”
Thanquil felt his stomach lurch, turn over and finally try to cower behind his kidneys. Beck’s final comment made a whole lot of sense now but even without it he’d have been close to terrified. He turned to find Kosh looking equally worried.
“Starting to wish I’d gotten a full night’s sleep,” Kosh said with a grin that lacked its usual fervour.
“I’m starting to wish I hadn’t let you break my nose this morning,” Thanquil answered.
“You let me?”
“Of course,” Thanquil said quickly. “Otherwise you’d never win.”
Kosh smiled and shook his head and some of the tension broke but it was a nervous time as they waited for Beck and instructor James to emerge from the training hall. Even her followers were less enthusiastic than normal with their insulting comments and hostile stares. Thanquil almost began to wish that they could summon a demon everyday just to keep the others off his back.
Then Beck and instructor James emerged. Her head was down and her walk was slow, her legs looked as though they wobbled a little with every step and James’ hand was on her shoulder in such a way that he looked to be both comforting her and guiding her back towards the others. Despite himself Thanquil found he felt sorry for the girl, she who was the worst of his tormentors. He cursed himself for a fool and schooled his features into a harsh frown.
Instructor James let go of Beck’s shoulder and she struggled on towards her followers without ever raising her eyes. The instructor whistled as he sucked in a breath. “Jacob, you’re next.”
Jacob glanced towards Beck then looked back at Kosh and grinned and then jogged after the instructor. Kosh shook his head and laughed. “That one is crazy.”
For once Thanquil couldn’t think of a retort so he kept his mouth shut and watched Jacob jog across the yard and disappear into the training hall. It seemed like an age before he came out again, no longer jogging or full of energy and with a look on his face that mirrored Beck’s. He walked ahead of instructor James and kept his eyes firmly on the ground. Thanquil was about to call out to Jacob when the instructor cut him off.
“Initiate Darkheart. With me.”
Thanquil nodded and swallowed down a lump in his throat. Then he realised his legs weren’t moving. It wasn’t a conscious decision to stay rooted to the spot but rather the fact that everything below his waist seemed to be refusing to accept his command. Jacob and Beck were two of the bravest people he knew and for both of them to look so harried.
Instructor James hadn’t waited to see if Thanquil followed, the man expected and demanded instant obedience. Thanquil needed to move and now or face punishment. He felt a hand on his back and a hefty push later his feet stumbled then remembered how to move; one foot first then the other. Thanquil glanced back and gave Kosh a grateful nod before hurrying after the instructor.
“I expected more of you, Darkheart,” the instructor said as Thanquil caught up. He had a way of saying Thanquil’s name that made it sound like an insult.
“I’m not sure what you mean, Arbiter,” Thanquil said.
Instructor James snorted. “You have already seen a demon, have you not?”
“I… don’t well remember, Arbiter. I think so.”
“Then you are the last one I would have expected to hesitate. It seems cowardice runs in your heretic blood.”
Thanquil tried to bite back his retort, he failed. “Better than the bile that runs through yours.”
He regretted the words before, during and after they came out of his mouth but sometimes he couldn’t help himself. Instructor James did not take insult well. The Arbiter span around on his heel and backhanded Thanquil across the face. Even had he been as large as Kosh or Jacob the blow would have still felled him and Thanquil couldn’t help but notice the instructor had been whispering a blessing as he struck. It seemed a strange victory that the man felt he needed to augment his strength to hit a boy but it was a victory Thanquil clutched to as the ground rushed up to meet him.
He hit the ground heavy and felt the air rush out of his lungs, a moment later he was gaping like a fish and praying for a respite. James did not give it him. The old Arbiter aimed two savage kicks at Thanquil’s ribs, flipping him onto his back and then bent down and hauled him up by his collar and shoved him towards the training hall. Thanquil stumbled along, all but blind as he gasped, trying to remind his lungs what air felt like. He did not move fast enough and the instructor gave him another shove towards the door.
Thanquil thought about apologising to the old Arbiter but decided against it. The apology would ring false and it was unlikely to gain him anything. Instead he let the man push him through the doorway into the great training hall.
The room was well lit with sunlight streaming in through high windows sending shards of light angling across the hard, wooden floor. A number of training dummies had been moved to the side of the hall and the prayer mats had all been rolled up and stacked by the far end. Thanquil had never seen the room so empty; only a small table with a stack of brittle wooden chips and an inkpot stood in the centre. As Thanquil drew closer he also saw a sheet of parchment no bigger than his hand. Three bold runes were inked onto the parchment, three runes Thanquil did not recognise.
Instructor James put a heavy hand on Thanquil’s shoulder and turned him around. The old Arbiter stared down at his charge with barely concealed hatred. “I give you five minutes to memorise that rune, Darkheart. I will not show it to you again.”
Thanquil nodded vigorously then turned and ran the last few steps to the table and bent his back, studying the combination of runes with an intense scrutiny. All too soon the instructor stepped up beside Thanquil and whipped the parchment away, pocketing it out of sight.
“Now transcribe the first rune, Darkheart.”
Thanquil picked one of the wooden chips and inked the brush, he recalled the first rune and set about copying it onto the wood. The first rune was fluid, swirling in on itself in a most organic, circular fashion and ending with an angled tail that connected it to the second rune. Thanquil could feel the energy flowing out of him into the wooden chip and felt his arms wobble slightly. When he was done he put down the brush and stepped back for the instructor to inspect.
Instructor James scrutinised Thanquil’s copy and gave a grudging nod of his head. “What is the purpose of the first rune, Darkheart?”
Thanquil had been expecting this and he could answer the question without hesitation. “It is an energy rune, Arbiter. The rune required to summon a demon is a strong one and so an energy rune is required to power it.”
Instructor James grunted. “Transcribe the second rune.”
Again Thanquil stepped forward and picked up the brush. The second rune was more angular, there was nothing fluid, nor organic about it; it was harsh and rough, showing many edges and forking back on itself in most unnatural of ways. Once finished Thanquil stepped back. The very shape of the rune seemed to make his eyes itch but he refrained from rubbing at them.
Instructor James whistled through his teeth. “It will suffice. What is the purpose of the second rune?”
“It is the summoning rune, Arbiter. It opens the path between our world and the void for a demon to pass through.”
“Transcribe the third rune.”
Thanquil bent to the task with vigour after his two successes, an arrogant pride warming him inside. The third rune was easy and one he knew well; a large triangle and a smaller one above with a line running straight through the centre of both. He finished, placed the brush back in the ink pot and stepped back with a smile.
“It’s Volmar,” he declared before Instructor James could ask. “His name in runic.”
The old Arbiter turned to Thanquil with a sneer. “And what is its purpose?”
Thanquil had already opened his mouth to answer when he realised he didn’t know. He floundered, his mouth working but no sound coming out. When it was clear he had no response James grunted.
“It is used as a binding rune. The demons are already bound to obedience but invoking Volmar’s name in the summoning reminds them to whom they are beholden. Never draw a summoning rune without it, Darkheart. The demon will be that much stronger if you forget.”
Thanquil nodded and made sure to file the information away.
“Now. Summon your first demon,” Instructor James said with a wave towards the table.
Thanquil crept forward and picked up the rune in both hands. He looked back at Instructor James and for once the old Arbiter gave a reassuring nod. Thanquil sent a prayer of thanks to Volmar that the old man was standing behind him and, grasping the rune between thumbs and forefingers he snapped the wooden chip in half, dropping both to the ground and taking a step backwards.
Both halves burst into blue flame and immediately Thanquil noticed the room darken and the temperature drop. The shards of light flowing in through the windows became dim slivers of grey and his breath frosted in the air as it left his mouth. A metallic clinking noise played on the edges of his hearing, as though chains were rattling somewhere far off and Thanquil shivered.
The area in front of him grew darker still and Thanquil could just about make out the shape of a great, jagged face, almost triangular and covered in lethal spikes. Two black horns jutted out from atop the face and as Thanquil stared on two bright yellow flames flickered to life. A jagged line of white light formed into a mouth and the demon drew in a breath. Thanquil felt his blood go cold as the demon looked upon him, its face a maniacal grin of sharp black teeth and hungry eyes.
Then it screamed. Cold air rushed past Thanquil, battering and buffeting him as the demon’s mouth, just a couple of feet from him, roared its deafening bellow.
Thanquil heard a gasp from behind and then the sound of instructor James hitting the floor hard but he did not move. He stared right back at the demon and prayed to Volmar he wasn’t shaking as much as he thought he was.
There was a crack and one of the floor boards in front of Thanquil splintered as the demon stretched a giant, serrated foot out of the void and into his world. Still the demon stared at Thanquil through those bright yellow flames.
“BANISH IT!” he heard instructor James scream.
Thanquil’s training took over. He pushed down his fear and with a voice that cracked on the words shouted at the demon. “Go back to the void.”
Already the demon was fading but the set of its mouth left Thanquil with no illusions it was laughing at him. “We obey, initiate Darkheart.”
As the light in the hall grew brighter the demon faded entirely leaving the splintered wooden board and Thanquil’s overwhelming sense of relief as the only evidence it had been there at all. He turned to find instructor James staring through eyes showing equal amounts of awe and terror. It took only a moment for the Arbiter to collect himself and the man lurched back to his feet and coughed loudly.
“Back outside, Darkheart, now. Tell the others all classes are cancelled for the day. You are all to study Volmar’s text on the third level of curses.”
Thanquil ignored the order. “Was it supposed to…”
“I gave you an order, initiate,” instructor James roared.
Thanquil bowed his head in submission and bolted for the door before the Arbiter could deal him another backhand. He burst out into the early morning sun and quickly slowed, determined to approach the others as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened despite his growing suspicion that the truth was quite the opposite.
Thanquil
When Thanquil dreamed of his past he never woke truly rested and this time it was certainly not helped by the pounding in his head from being struck by a sword hilt. He supposed he should be thankful the Dragon Knight hadn’t broken his jaw though re-living that first demon summing was more terrifying than any broken bone he had ever suffered and he had experienced his own fair share.
