Chapter 78
Seventy-eight
James
After a night of tossing and turning, missing Edwin, and generally wishing I could go beat up on training equipment, I finally rose at dawn and had an early start to the day. We were now halfway to Berengar, meaning we were making excellent time, even though it didn’t feel like it.
I tried to pace myself, knowing I’d need energy later, but right this second, I had a great deal to do. My first order of business was to check on Berengar—make sure everyone had gotten out—so I asked Mage Rexword to make the call.
Only it wasn’t working.
I didn’t like this. I didn’t like this one bit.
I looked at Rexword and requested, “Call again.”
My mage dipped his head in agreement and called again. Still, no one responded.
I’d left four knights behind to guard the portal: Sir Abel, Sir Lanslet, Dame Joan, and Dame Sarra. Someone should have answered.
Unless Valentina had beaten me there and was already wreaking havoc.
I swore and tried not to panic. If she had an entire town to sacrifice to open the portal, she could do it easily. I didn’t want my people sacrificed for any reason, and I sure as hell didn’t want the Demon King brought back into the mortal realm.
Turning my head, I looked at the mages who were already casting wind spells to hurry the ship along.
We were going as fast as physically possible.
Any faster than this and we risked tearing the rigging right out.
We’d still get there a half day faster than normal, but right now, it felt too slow. Like I was already late as it was.
The sea wind beat at me, brine in my mouth from all the sea spray, but I ignored both. My mind churned with possibilities and what to do, and I wasn’t sure of the right answer. I’d just have to go with my best judgement.
“Rexword, disconnect and call Edwin.” The rings would still work, but right now I wanted to see him, and the connection via mirror would be much stronger and easier to hear.
Apparently, my husband was hovering near a mirror, as he answered immediately.
“James, how fare you?”
“I’m fine, but I can’t reach my knights stationed at the portal.”
His expression closed down into one of worry. To anyone who didn’t know him well, it would look like he was thinking deeply, his brows drawn into a line. I knew him well enough to see the anxiety underlying it all.
“Perhaps they’re too busy to answer? I’ll call a neighboring town to see if they’ve retreated there and report back.” Edwin gave me a soft, encouraging smile. “Conserve your mages’ strength; you’ll likely need it soon. It’ll be all right, dearest. We’re not too late to stop her.”
“I pray you’re right. I don’t want a pitched battle with the armies of darkness.” Not again.
Edwin turned his head, lighting up with a smile. “Lila!”
“I’m here, I’m here! I’ve got it!”
Here? Oh, the spell! Thank Vuheia, I really needed that.
Lila abruptly came into view of the mirror, smiling tiredly.
Definite circles shadowed her eyes, but she looked victorious in her exhaustion.
“I’ll recite it for you in a minute, but first let me explain.
It’s a true sealing spell, unlike what’s on the portal.
The wording at points might be a bit tricky, but it’s as close to the original as we could get.
I had a high priest look over it, and he’s in awe over the whole thing, said it’s a strongly worded divine prayer.
He’s going to put it back into circulation immediately.
So I know it’ll work. Memorize it as quickly as you can. ”
“I will. How do I use it?”
“Start the invocation right as you start fighting the Demon King. The spell will dampen his energy and make it easier to fight him. Or so the instructions in the book said. It’ll be tricky to say the spell and fight, so defend and use the spell if you must make a choice.”
“Got it.” I called for paper and pen and immediately put them to use as Lila read me the spell. Then I read it back to her, had to make two corrections, then read it back a second time.
With divine spells like this, I wanted to make sure I had it right. Who knew the consequences of saying the wrong word. All that said… “Er, this spell seems to summon a god?”
“Basically, you’re summoning a god to possess you,” Lila explained.
“It’s incredibly temporary—the god is only in you long enough to quell the demons and seal them back in the demon realm.
To be honest, I’m not sure entirely how it works, as we’re only halfway through translating the instructions.
We skipped over them to get the spell done for you.
I’m not sure if it summons a specific god, but it’ll summon someone, that’s for sure.
It is perfectly safe for you to use it, though. ”
That was…comforting? I think? Not sure how I felt about being even temporarily possessed, even by my own goddess, but it seemed I didn’t have much choice in the matter.
“There is one vital clue we learned from the book. We know the Demon King’s name!” Lila looked incredibly shocked and pleased, smile stretching from ear to ear. “It’s Zag’druren.”
“Spell that.”
She did so and pronounced it for me again.
Now this…this I could use to my advantage. Knowing a demon’s name meant having a certain amount of power over them, and I’d take that ace up my sleeve any day. “Thank you so much, Lila. You’ve done amazing work, and I owe you massive favors.”
“Make my brother happy and defeat a demon king so I don’t get killed in the backlash, and we’ll call it even.”
This was why she and I had always gotten along. I laughed softly. “Consider it done.”
Edwin seemed satisfied as he said, “I want you to memorize this to the point you can recite it backward. Your troops know how to defend against the demonic?”
“Not well enough for battle.” I heard what he was trying to tell me. Focus on what I could do instead of worrying. And he was right. “I’ll go do that. Update me once you have contacted people.”
“I will.” Edwin blew me a kiss and cut the call.
I blew out a stressed breath. What was worse? Going into a battle for the first time? Or going into it a second time, knowing full well how bad it would be? A debate for the philosophers, right there.
My Edwin was right, though. I had two ships of soldiers, knights, priests, and mages to properly brief.
Rexword followed as I went belowdecks, where everyone waited.
People were polishing swords, checking armor, finishing up breakfast. The room was crowded but not really noisy.
In fact, the air was quite subdued. They looked nervous but determined.
I couldn’t fault the first. I was nervous as well.
“Rexword, connect with the other ship so I can speak with all my forces at once.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
It would take a minute for that to happen, so I raised my voice and called to everyone, “Settle, please! I want to brief you on what to do once we land.”
The noise abated, people finding places to sit or stand so they could hear me. I appreciated how quickly they responded. I only had hours to instruct them when I needed weeks. I could only do what I could in this moment, but damn did I hate this.
Rexword tilted the mirror so it would show my reflection. I saw my knight commander on the other side and relayed to him, “I must instruct everyone on our strategy and how to combat demons. Please angle the mirror so the soldiers can hear me.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
All right, time to speak as succinctly as possible.
“First, let me address your fears. The demons shouldn’t be released yet.
We’re dealing with one known cult member trying to release them, which is a different kettle of fish.
We have not confirmed if there’s more cultists, so stay on your toes.
There could be more and we just haven’t overturned the rock they’re hiding under.
This isn’t going to be easy, but I don’t fight hopeless battles.
We can stop the portal from opening again, of this I’m sure.
Second, I don’t want anyone in confusion.
If you’re not sure of what I’m saying, please raise a hand and ask your questions.
I will answer to the best of my ability. Understood?”
I got nods from various people. Okay, good.
“The most important part first. I’m going to teach you what to do in a worst-case scenario.
If the demons really do break through the portal, then here’s what you need to know.
Demonic energy is fed through blood, especially blood sacrifice—that’s very powerful to them.
We must thwart their attempts to lay hands on people at all costs.
Our first strategy is to clear the area of all living souls and keep them well away from the demons.
Doing so will drop their potential combat ability by half.
If anyone is badly injured, move them away from the area immediately.
We need as few deaths as possible. Knight Commander, your orders are to go ahead of me and clear the area.
Force march people out if you have to—do not take no for an answer. ”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
“Speed is of the essence, so move quickly. Second, holy oil should have been issued to you along with your regular gear as you got on this ship. I want you to coat yourselves with it. Anoint your foreheads, just like you would at a blessing, and put a drop at the top of your crown. This will thwart any attempts of both mind-possession or becoming host to a demon. Coat your shields and blades with the leftover oil. You can say a prayer while you’re doing this, that’ll help as well, but the oil will do most of the job. ”
I saw a hand in the very far back of the room raise. I paused, gesturing for the soldier to speak. “What is it?”
“Your Majesty, will this work even for us regular soldiers?”
“Of course. I brought the temple knights with me to augment the mages in the fight, as I don’t know how many demons might get loose during this.
But I didn’t bring you along as fodder. You’re fully capable of fighting these things with the holy oil applied.
I’m no more immune than you are, so I’ll be doing the same with holy oil before we land. ”
Morale visibly lifted around me. Vuheia save me, had they really thought they had no fighting chance?
I reiterated firmly, “Once applied, the holy oil will protect you and let you fight demons. That said, keep either oil or holy water on you at all times, and fight in groups of three. At the very least, pair up with someone else. Do not fight alone, as it’s more effective for one of you to be fully engaged in the fight and the other ready to apply either oil or water to the demon.
Doing that will stop the fight immediately.
The demon can’t use their powers correctly, and if a person is possessed, the mind control halts.
Sometimes you can even get the person back to normal without a priest’s exorcism.
Don’t bank on that, though. The oil will break the possession, but often a priest must exorcise them of all demonic energy for them to fully come back to themselves.
Focus on breaking the tie. We’ll handle the rest after the battle. ”
When I saw people around me were looking more determined, I felt a little better.
“That said, look out for people who are possessed. Anyone who has eyes that can’t focus or have a white film over the top, those are your first signs.
An unnatural shade of lips as well, grey or black, is a sure sign of possession.
They’re also very doll-like in their mannerisms. They have no will of their own, so they won’t answer readily or move unless it’s under the orders given to them. ”
A different hand, this time from a knight nearby, shot up.
“Yes?”
“Your Majesty, what’s the best way to apply the holy oil or water if a person has been possessed?”
“Either apply to their crown or anoint the forehead. If you can’t get them to stay still enough for that—which is entirely possible, they generally try to fight you off—then just splash it on them while reciting a prayer. It’ll work. The important part is to hit skin.”
“How can we tell if it worked?”
“They’ll slump like a puppet with its strings cut and will sleep for about two days. If they’re not dead to the world asleep, then it didn’t work and you’ll need to try again.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
I was grateful for the questions. It proved they were all thinking, which was what I needed. Smart soldiers were the ones who got the job done.
“I’ll be honest, the state of things in Berengar right now is in question.
I spoke to the knights stationed there yesterday and ordered the place evacuated, but I can’t reach them this morning.
I don’t know what’s happened, but something clearly has.
I hope we’re arriving before the enemy, but we can’t count on it.
So be prepared for a battle the second we arrive.
When we land, the soldiers on my ship will take up a defensive perimeter around me, the priests, and the mages.
We’ll move in a box formation toward the portal.
Your first duty is to protect all of us, as I’ll need their full support.
Five mages and a complement of twenty knights will go up the river to finish undoing that dam.
I don’t know why they’re still struggling to dismantle it, but it must be destroyed and quickly.
We must have water flowing to redo the seals. ”
I saw trust in their faces. I saw determination, hope, and a willingness to go into what promised to be a difficult battle. I banked on all of this because we must win. There was no other option.
“If I fall—”
An immediate outcry of protest made me grin. Aww, I was loved. Holding up a staying hand, I reassured them, “I’m not planning on it. For one thing, my husband will revive me just to murder me all over again.”
That got a few snickers, likely from the married ones.
“If I fall, please protect the priests as you would me. They’re the only other ones who can perform the sealing spell. Without them, you’ll stand no chance of winning this fight.”
“We’ll defend them with our own lives,” a soldier sitting directly in front of me promised, his voice gruff and solemn. “But we’ll make sure you don’t fall either, Your Majesty.”
“I appreciate it.”
I could only hope all went according to plan, or barring that, they were able to adapt well given the advice and orders I’d just relayed to them.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t direct them more than this, as I had no idea what we were about to step into.
Please, whatever it was, let it not be as bad as the first time.
I sent up a prayer to Vuheia, keeping it simple: Let me get there before the seal breaks.
Hopefully that wasn’t too much to ask.