Origin (Land of the Elementals Book 3), page 40
“Keep them coming then,” Arbor said, sitting down and crossing his legs. “And don’t stop until they’re all tethered.”
Shelderoth nodded somberly, then turned and began barking out orders. Within seconds, an entire group of ten was crowing around him, all placing hands on whatever bare patches of skin they could reach. Then, the pain began.
It wasn’t the slight buildup of pain that he’d expected, but an immediate and horrific sensation that was indescribable. If he were to try and explain what it felt like, it would be as a mix of being simultaneously burned, frozen, crushed, cut, and electrocuted at the same time, and that was only from the first group.
The tendrils all connected to his Origin, and Arbor was very happy that it didn’t take much concentration on his part to follow them back, as his mind had gone all but blank from the pain assaulting his senses. Time after time, he felt small hands pressing to him, followed immediately by some new and horrific sensations of pain. Sometimes it was the burning and freezing, and other times it felt like he’d been seared from the inside, had all his bones liquified or his muscles ripped to shreds.
Arbor had no idea how many groups he saw, only counting on the brief respites between groups to maintain his sanity. Shelderoth had not been exaggerating about the pain, though Arbor dearly wished he had been. Once, in the few seconds between groups, he heard Kya whisper into his ear.
“You’re doing great, just keep holding on.”
He was glad she hadn’t told him how much longer he had to go, nor how many he’d done so far. For all he knew, he’d only anchored five or six groups. Pain had a funny way of warping one’s perspective, so it was best no one said anything until he had just two or three left. When the end was in sight, things often became infinitely easier.
But the pain didn’t stop, didn’t slow. It just kept coming, washing through him in waves. Arbor had to wonder how much this was going to damage his psyche. His body was clearly fine, as Kya probably would have stopped him had he been a broken, bloody mess. However, the mental anguish might very well break him before this was done.
Another group of hands landed on him, and pain wracked him once more. Arbor wanted to scream, to twist away as the streams of yellow, red, blue, and black wormed their way down to the Origin. It was too much. He couldn’t take anymore. They connected with the Origin, and his magic flowed back up, tethering him to the small creatures. The hands released him, and Arbor sagged, trying to force himself to remain in place and not flee from the next group.
However, the next hand that fell on him didn’t belong to an Elemental. It was far too large to be one of theirs.
Arbor’s eyes flickered open, and through the haze of tears that had sprung to his eyes unbidden, he could make out the blurry outline of Kya.
“That was the last of them,” she said in a low voice. “You did it.”
Warmth flooded his body, soothing away the pain and nearly causing Arbor to weep in relief. The absence of pain was so potent that it felt practically euphoric. He’d never been one for plants or herbs which warped one’s perspective of reality, nor those whose properties brought on feelings of giddiness, but at that moment, Arbor imagined that this was what it felt like.
“I can’t believe you did that.”
Arbor’s eyes flickered open once more, to see Shelderoth, not floating in the air, but standing on the ground before him. His voice was tinged with awe and gratitude, and his entire body was trembling from head to toe.
“Why would you do that to yourself?” he asked. “I understand that we made a deal, but to put yourself through so much, just to ensure that everyone who came could make it…Well, that’s…I don’t even know what to say…”
“Pain is temporary,” Arbor said, his voice rasping as it came out. “Who am I to leave so many behind, when that is all it will cost me?”
Shelderoth simply shook his head in amazement, still not believing what he’d done.
“How much time do we have left?” Arbor asked, changing the subject.
“Ten minutes.”
“Is anyone else coming?”
Shelderoth’s good cheer seemed to diminish somewhat then, and he shook his head.
“I don’t think they will. There are literally millions of my kind in the Lower Realms, but not many are willing to take the sort of risk that leaving requires. Do not feel bad. Thanks to you, over a thousand of my kind will go free.”
The small Elemental placed a hand on Arbor’s knee, both of which were still locked tight as Kya worked to soothe away the pain.
“You can’t possibly understand what this means to all of us. If we were to try and explain ourselves, it would take hundreds of years for us to fully express how we feel. So, instead, we will pledge our loyalty to you and your children. For every one of us you saved, we will serve you for a hundred years. We will…”
Arbor held up a hand to stop him, slowly shaking his head.
“I’m not freeing you, only for you to go and enslave yourselves to me instead. If you’d like, we can arrange something once we’re back home, but I won’t make anyone work for me if they don’t want to, especially without fair payment and a place to call home.”
For just a moment, Arbor wondered if the Elemental was going to cry. His bottom lip started to quiver, but he managed to keep it together. Shelderoth didn’t say a thing, patting him on the knee one more time before flying toward the others still scattered about the room.
“You did well,” Kya said, her voice soft and sounding oddly choked.
“Did I?” Arbor asked, fighting back the exhaustion threatening his mind.
The pain was swiftly receding, but in its place came a weariness that seemed to seep down to his very bones.
“While they can’t articulate how they feel, the sense of overwhelming joy, disbelief, and gratitude are so strong that I’ve actually had to rein my magic in,” Kya said with a light laugh.
Arbor didn’t reply. He simply did not have the strength. All he wanted to do was curl into a ball and sleep for the next year, but he knew he couldn’t. His tired mind fumbled down toward his Perception core, pulling a thread of magic up to his brain. It was always dangerous when using this particular technique, especially on himself, but right now, he needed to purge the weariness.
The portal would be opening in just a few short minutes, and he had to be ready and able to act when Karria began to push from her end. Just the thought of finally being reunited with his sister banished all doubts from his mind, and Arbor flooded his brain with Perception magic, giving himself the jolt he needed. New strength flooded his body, his mind sharpening back to full awareness as the fatigue was washed away in an instant.
This was only a temporary measure, and he knew that in about an hour, he’d pretty much be collapsing from exhaustion no matter what.
As soon as his mind sharpened, he became aware of a light thrumming from his chest. Seeing as he was already concentrating on his magic, Arbor followed the streams of his Perception magic down to his chest, where he found his second Origin thrumming lightly. The black and white sphere of power didn’t look any different, but he could feel that something had changed. There was more power available to him, though the Tier hadn’t been altered.
His brows creased in confusion as he moved his awareness down to his Perception magic, but the blue core of power was still the same as he remembered. Going back to his Origin magic, Arbor examined it from all sides, trying to spot what could have caused such a marked increase. His answer came a moment later when he tightened his focus enough to see the hundreds of tiny threads flowing from the core and out of his body.
Arbor stared for several long seconds, hardly believing that something like this was possible. The Elementals, it seemed, were supplying him with more magic! It wasn’t like they were each giving all that much, just a small amount leaking through their connections, but when they were all added up, it made a very noticeable increase. Arbor honestly wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, as he was still not confident of his control. It wasn’t like he had much say in the matter, though. However, he would be talking to Shelderoth about it once they returned.
“How are you feeling?” Kya asked as Arbor’s eyes flickered open.
“Much better, thank you,” he said, giving her a smile. “I honestly don’t know if I would have survived that without you being here.”
Kya blushed at the compliment, slowly removing her hand from his face.
“Oh, I’m sure you would have managed somehow,” she said, looking at the ground and tucking a lock of hair behind one of her ears. “You’re the type of man who…”
A massive explosion rocked the room, cutting Kya off mid-sentence, as the door, which had been sealed, was blasted inward, spinning end over end and careening into the far wall.
“Well, well, well,” said a deep voice, tinged with rage. “It seems the little bugs were trying to make off with my prize.”
Arbor turned to Shelderoth, whose eyes were locked on the opening. The terror on his face was clear to see, but as the owner of that voice stepped into the room, Arbor could well understand why. He had never seen this creature before in his life, but judging by all the stories he’d heard as a child, Arbor had no doubt that this was a Demon.
51
The Demon was easily five and a half feet tall, not a giant by anyone’s standards, but his appearance was what truly inspired terror and awe. His skin was a deep azure-blue, with black flecks dotting his bare chest and abdomen. His body rippled with muscle, showing clearly defined massive pectoral muscles and an impressive ten-pack of abdominals. His features were distinctly hawk-like, with sharp cheekbones, glowing green eyes and a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. His nose comprised of a pair of slits, and a pair of ram’s horns, black as pitch, curved up from his scalp.
A pair of pinioned, bat-like wings protruded behind him, and a spaded tail, shaped like a whip, twitched back and forth, as though containing a life of its own. His slitted pupils slowly scanned the room, landing first on Shelderoth, then on Arbor.
“Never in my wildest dreams, could I have imagined such treachery, even from those as low as your pitiful kind,” Nilegard said, his deep voice resounding throughout the room. “That you would try and steal a prize of such value, and from a Demon Lord no less, speaks to the true nature of Elementals. Worse, had you succeeded in escaping, as you so obviously are trying, I would have been held accountable, and in my mind, that is unacceptable!”
The power of his voice shook the entire room, making all of the gathered Elementals cringe in terror. Some dropped to the ground, slamming their faces to the floor and crying out for mercy, while others simply floated there, staring blankly into space. Others still simply looked grim, while the rare few actually seemed defiant.
“Begging will not help you now!” Nilegard roared, his voice cutting off the chatter. “You will all die for what you have done here today. Not only that, but for every treacherous worm gathered here, I will kill ten-thousand of your wretched kind!”
A stunned silence spread throughout the room as the Demon made his proclamation, eyes burning with malice and suppressed glee.
“That should hopefully drive home the message as to what will happen to those who think above their stations. And you,” Nilegard said, swinging his full attention on Shelderoth. “I have a very special punishment in mind for you, one that will have you begging for death!”
Nilegard then – unbelievably – turned his back on the entire room.
“Follow me to await your punishments, and if you should decide to tarry, I’ll kill another hundred-thousand for every second you stay!”
Arbor stared as the Elementals all rushed to follow, pushing and shoving one another forward in their rush to obey the Demon’s orders. He hadn’t had to lift a finger. He had even told them that they would all be killed. He had said that ten-thousand of their kind would be killed for each one of them. Yet they still obeyed.
Arbor knew he didn’t have much time left until the portal needed to be opened. Maybe five minutes, perhaps even less than that, but he couldn’t allow this Demon to do as he wished.
“Get as far back as you can,” he said, unslinging his glaive from his back.
“Arbor, whatever you’re thinking of doing —” Kya began.
“Don’t try and talk me out of it,” Arbor said, reaching for the Origin.
“I wasn’t going to,” Kya said, surprising him.
When he turned to look at her, he could see the steely resolve in her eyes, the angry set of her shoulders, and the way she seemed to be barely containing her anger.
“You kill that ugly bastard and make sure he can never do all those horrible things to anyone!”
Arbor, still completely off-guard by her proclamation, could only nod his head dumbly. Kya gave him a firm nod, then whirled and began running for the opposite side of the room as fast as she could.
“You can’t win against him,” Shelderoth said, floating over to him as the others continued to stream out.
“Oh, really? And what makes you say that?” Arbor asked, taking a tighter grip on his weapon.
“Because,” Shelderoth said, his voice dejected. “His power is on a whole other level. The type that mortals cannot even begin to fathom. I know your kind has a rating system for power, so allow me to explain this in terms you can understand. If Nilegard fought against a hundred of your Calamity Mages, he would win!”
“Those other Mages wouldn’t have what I do,” Arbor replied, refusing to be intimidated by those astronomical numbers.
“And what would that be?” Shelderoth asked, not even having the energy to muster up some sarcasm.
“None of them have the Origin,” Arbor replied. “Besides, if you think I’m just going to go along quietly, you’ve got another thing coming.”
“When a Demon gives an order, you obey,” Shelderoth replied. “That’s just how things around here work, and if you don’t come out on your own, you can rest assured that he’ll be coming in after you, and if he does, he’ll be less than gentle in getting you out. You can’t win, so you might as well give in to the inevitable. That’s just the way of the world.”
“Giving up might be alright with you,” Arbor said, “but so long as I’m still breathing, I don’t plan on rolling over. Besides, I don’t have to win. All I need to do is keep him distracted until the portal can be opened. Once we escape, there’s no chance he’ll be able to follow.”
“And what about all the Elementals who remain behind?” Shelderoth asked. “Nilegard will slaughter them by the thousands, likely even more, if you get away!”
“Firstly, I highly doubt that a million of your kind would simply allow themselves to be killed without putting up so much as a fight. Secondly, I think Nilegard would be too busy running for his life to do anything about it.”
“What makes you say that?” Shelderoth asked, a small note of hope now tinging his voice.
“He said it himself when he walked in here,” Arbor said with a grim smile. “He took the credit for my capture, so if I escape…”
“The Demon Lord will have his head!” Shelderoth said, excitement beginning to bubble up inside him.
Finally, Arbor could hear the hope rekindle as Shelderoth realized they weren’t doomed to die. Well, at least not yet, anyway.
“What can I do to help?” the Elemental asked.
“As soon as the fight begins, go gather up all the others. I’ll only have to distract him for a few minutes, but I’ll have to count on you to keep him busy while I get the portal open. Once I do, I’ll keep him distracted while the rest of you escape.”
“But how will you escape?” Shelderoth asked.
“Don’t worry about me,” Arbor said with a grim smile. “I’m more than fast enough to get away.”
“You’re a fool if you believe you can escape me!” Nilegard’s voice boomed from the open doorway. “I ordered you all out here, yet I see the mortal does not realize with whom he is dealing. I am a Demon Lord, the most powerful of all Demons!” he roared. “Now get out here and bow before me like the swine you are!”
“Please,” Arbor said with a small snort. “You’re no Demon Lord. In fact, I doubt you’re very powerful for a Demon at all. Why else would you have to come to deal with such a minor problem by yourself, instead of calling on your minions to do it for you?”
“What did you just say?” hissed the demon, taking a single step into the room.
“Are you hard of hearing or just plain dumb?” Arbor asked, continuing to goad the Demon – so long as they were talking, they weren’t fighting. “I can repeat it if you’d like, but if you’re as stupid as you are ugly, it would just be a waste of time.”
“No one talks to me that way!” Nilegard roared, summoning a long black-shafted polearm with a six-foot blade on one end.
“Is that supposed to intimidate me?” Arbor asked, looking to the weapon that towered above the Demon’s head. “Because there’s no way anyone can fight with a weapon that big. No matter how strong you are, a weapon like that is completely unwieldy.”
Nilegard didn’t answer, instead letting out a howl of rage and dashing toward him, wings stretching out and allowing him to continue his charge as he glided just a few inches off the ground. Arbor waited until the Demon was within striking distance, then, as he began to swing the oversized weapon, dashed inside his guard – which wasn’t all that hard – and stabbed forward with his glaive.
Origin magic flowed out of the blade just before the weapon pierced his chest, sinking in a good half a foot before unleashing its payload. A hole, nearly a foot in diameter, was blown through the Demon’s chest, the black magic tearing at the lines now visible to Arbor, thanks to his lack of control. Still, he fought through the pain and panic, slashing wide as he pulled back, and cutting the Demon’s arm from his shoulder.
