Bloodcrete (The Weirkey Chronicles Book 6), page 24
Even with all three of them working together, it was closer than Nauda would have wanted. Several times the titan nearly caught hold of her or Krikree. But in the end, after the demon had been bombarded and cut from all sides, it staggered and fell. All of them needed a moment to catch their breath, but they hadn't been injured.
"How did you get here?" Theo asked.
"I couldn't use the Fithan weirkey, but Nanjuma could take me to someone who could. I'd have been back before the battle if I hadn't had to fly all the way here." Nauda quickly brushed aside all future questions and pointed out into the dust. "What is Fiyu doing?"
Theo rapidly explained the stakes of the battle to her as they watched for further attacks from the main body of the fighting. There were some demons reaching the battlefield now, but they were largely being annihilated by Rulers. Only a single titan had attempted to attack any of the soulcrafters there, which she thought boded ill given how many they could summon.
It seemed their best hope was to buy time for Fiyu and her relative to find the artifact summoning the demons. Theo suspected that the Order of the Deepest Blue knew about it and was trying to prevent its destruction, which struck her as plausible. The only soulcrafters to leave the battle to come toward them were all blue-robed, but the three of them combined could fight them off.
"Their leader is tougher," Theo said during a brief lull. "You can't miss him; he wears blue metal bands. I don't suggest fighting him directly: Homez tried to go hand-to-hand and was overpowered."
"Homez is here too?"
"We got separated while fighting that Authority."
Nauda hoped that Homez was alright, but really she should have been concerned for herself. Multiple Strongholds were clashing within the storm clouds overhead, their power lighting them up in a lurid storm. Most of their power was focused on one another, but at one point a crimson sphere escaped and obliterated one of the plateaus, consuming an entire company of Asplundat soulcrafters.
If even one of them had come to eliminate the titans, they could have ended the demon threat immediately... but of course none of them would be willing to give an inch for the common good.
The primary battle was between Wiltur and the Asplundat Stronghold hidden within an enormous stone sphere. It seemed impervious to all blasts, but as Nauda watched, crimson hooks bit deep into the sides and pushed it down beneath the clouds.
When the Asplundat Stronghold retaliated, her blasts tore apart the clouds and briefly revealed the sky. Wiltur hovered in the gap, far smaller than the stone sphere but surrounded by more cantae. He continued dodging the blasts, firing more bright hooks into the stone sphere. They seemed to do little good, yet they must be leading toward something.
Then he clenched a fist and the hooks began straining in opposite directions. The stone sphere shuddered, its retaliation briefly stopping as it tried to resist. Wiltur swung his other hand overhead, sweeping one finger like a blade. A crimson beam struck the stone sphere, and this time it gave way. The sphere broke into two halves and the beam sliced directly through the center. Nauda felt a dense core of cantae within flicker out.
As the fragments of stone rained down, the battle below was entirely transformed. Authorities needed to weave around the falling pieces, and some used them as projectiles. Soulcrafters limited to the land either fled or retreated to allies who could put up defenses. Many among the Ruling Cities let out cheers even as the fragments threatened them.
Too soon. Another sphere of stone rose from the Asplundat side.
It flew with startling speed and smashed into Wiltur. Even though he put a Stronghold's full power into stopping it, he was pushed backward, streaking into the clouds surrounded by smoke. Nauda's mind only engaged after it was over: neither sphere had ever contained the Asplundat Stronghold, she was only controlling them.
Apparently Wiltur had reached the same conclusion, because he next summoned a crimson orb to strike the Asplundat base camp indiscriminately. But now the sphere moved defensively, and when he attempted to use the crimson hooks again, it spun to deflect them.
There were more soulcrafters from the Order ready to attack them, but they never got the chance. Power exploded from the dust behind Nauda and she turned just in time to see Fiyu and Guchiro streak skyward. They rose unusually high, almost to the level of the Strongholds.
"This battle began under false pretexts." Guchiro couldn't enhance his voice enough to drown out the entire battle, but it reached many of those fighting. "This artifact was planted to raise demons in the region."
Fiyu floated beside him, holding what appeared to be a metal and glass cylinder overhead. Something malicious pulsed within it, a twisted heart that slammed against the walls with each moment. That should have been their moment of victory, yet Fiyu appeared desperate.
Theo was looking backwards too, and though Nauda didn't have his senses, she did the same. Deeper within the rivers of dust between canyons, she saw multiple titans. Not marching toward the battle, but turning toward one another.
No, not multiple titans: exactly six. Their bodies began dissolving as they sacrificed themselves to summon something even worse.
Chapter 23
Thoughts passed through Theo's mind, clinically and distantly. After demons sacrificed a sufficient number of their own, the summoned demon was formed from their matter. During the time it took shape, it had physical presence but lacked its full characteristics, thus it was vulnerable. Second stage demons summoning a titan were no less durable than ordinary second stages, so the mass forming in the center of the titans wouldn't die easily. It was likely beyond his strength to kill in a single blow, so the wisest decision would be to force the Strongholds to act.
He didn't feel any of those thoughts. Instead he stared at the emerging demon and trembled.
Higher stage demons grew in size up to titans, but the mass of the six was flowing downward, as if it was all condensing into a smaller body. Current of air began to flow so intensely around it that all of the nearby dust was swept away, which made it all too easy to watch.
Even before he saw them, he knew what to expect: the new demon had massive curved horns. The tips of those horns had stabbed Eratius right through the chest. A demon just like the one he saw forming had burned Khaluu alive and slain Brigana and nearly killed him. It was coming for him again.
"Enough of this." The depths Fithan spoke from the edge of the battlefield and cantae flowed through the storm overhead. An unnatural bolt of purple lightning arced through the clouds and then slammed down through the emerging demon's chest.
It caught the bolt. As the demon raised its head, light resolving into a concrete form, Theo saw the fires begin to kindle in its maw.
Gray stone erupted from underneath the demon, spearing through its body. And yet it didn't let go of the bolt of cantae, and it opened its mouth. It was silent at first, then Theo almost heard the roar he remembered before a sphere of crimson dropped onto the demon. The lightning bolt finally broke free of its hands and the power of three Strongholds tore it apart before it could fully form.
Dust expanded in all directions from the smoking crater. Even those who couldn't see what had happened stood silent, because all three Strongholds on the battlefield had acted in concert.
And it almost hadn't been enough. Theo realized that his hands were trembling and he couldn't stop them.
None of the Strongholds acted again, and their silence reigned over the battlefield. Theo couldn't see the Asplundat Stronghold, but the depths Fithan looked disturbed, and Wiltur appeared frustrated. No doubt he hadn't wanted to act at all, but the extreme threat had forced his hand.
If they had been a little late, events might have gone very differently. Theo realized that Fiyu and her relative might have just prevented the worst outcome, yet very few would recognize that. With them floating overhead holding an unknown device, they would be a target for everyone. He needed to act to help them, and he wasn't sure if he could.
"Do you see now?" Guchiro spoke in the silence and raised the cylinder over his head. Theo realized that Fiyu was missing and theorized that she had hidden herself. "Both sides have been deceived."
"Give that to us." The Asplundat Stronghold's voice echoed over the battlefield. "If the Ruling Cities are truly guiltless in this matter, you will have no objections to us examining that artifact."
"You just want to take the evidence!" someone shouted from a minor House's defensive position.
"This is a distraction!" one of the Deepest Blue soulcrafters yelled. "The outsiders are the ones who planted that artifact!"
"All of you, calm down." Wiltur attempted to dominate the battlefield, but even his cantae couldn't contain the rising furor.
"Theo, are you alright?" Nauda appeared beside him and he almost jumped. She rubbed his back and pulled him closer to her. "I can't sense any cantae, but did something hit you?"
She assumed that he was under the effects of some attack, which was reasonable. It was stupid that he was stunned by something that was just inside his head, but Theo couldn't answer. After so many times reliving the memories of his friends dying to that demon, he had thought all the horror had been wrung from it, but now it felt like he had fallen into the chasms formed by that retreading.
A wall of cantae passed over them gently as Fiyu encompassed them with her sphere. "Theo?" She took a step closer, her senses sliding over him. "You do not need to be concerned. The demon is dead. We are here with you."
"I'm fine," Theo said gruffly. "That demon... it looked just like the one that tried to kill me before. Apparently I had some trauma that I needed to work through. I'll deal with it soon."
Fiyu frowned and Nauda squeezed his back. He didn't push either of them away.
Outside, the debate continued, all sides still burning cantae as if ready to resume the battle. The depths Fithan Stronghold left in disgust, condemning all sides, which would have been welcome before but now left the battlefield even more precarious. Guchiro set down the device on an empty plateau a roughly even distance from all sides and retreated, which was probably the wisest choice.
He headed toward their position, though Theo noted that even he didn't seem able to pinpoint Fiyu through her technique. Krikree was cleaning her antennae and searching for them as well. By the time Fiyu released her bubble of stealth, Theo had pulled himself together.
"I've never seen demons emerge that quickly," Nauda said. "Was the device that powerful?"
"Not alone," Guchiro said. "Demons are drawn to soulcrafters, and the presence of so many drew more through the cracks it opened. This is one of the reasons that higher tier soulcrafters hold back until their power is necessary."
Fiyu nodded in understanding. "Guchiro, was that one of the threats beyond Dominion that you're concerned about?"
"No, that was only a fourth stage humanoid demon. A fight between one of them and a Dominion is... difficult and uncertain. But you are familiar with the other breeds, I trust. The bestial demons are stronger even at the first stage, so their fourth stage is impossible for any Dominion to defeat."
He didn't say anything about fourth stage insectoid demons, but Theo had to assume that one would be an immense threat as well. Based on scattered clues, he thought that Fiyu might have had a traumatizing experience with one when she was younger, and thus her relative avoided mentioning it. For some reason Theo didn't think about, that helped him focus better.
"We need to get rid of it," he said to the group. "It would be best to destroy the device, but that would bring suspicion down on us. So we need to convince them to make a compromise that will prevent the battle from resuming."
"I don't know how easy that will be," Nauda said. "I think too many of the people left are basically looking for a reason to go to war."
"I was thinking we should suggest that it be placed in the custody of the local Fithans. The Asplundat Movement would have a hard time denying that, and disagreeing would make Wiltur look bad."
"That's a good idea. It just might work, if we-"
"It will never work."
Theo recognized Tythes by his voice, but when he turned he was surprised to see the Fithan half-breed striding out of what looked like a gate. The shock of seeing the demon had disrupted his senses, but he was fairly certain that there had been no mass there until that moment. Instead of an arch of stone, the gate looked like an unstable white rainbow. Tythes himself showed none of his usual flippancy.
"You think this is finished?" Tythes jabbed a thumb over his shoulder toward Wiltur. "My father wants that artifact, and he wants it bad. He has a new army, paid for with death, and he's going to use it any second. Then this will get much, much worse."
"Why are you here?" Nauda asked. "You want to recruit us into a plan to stop it?"
"Oh no, it's ideal for me if he goes through with it. This is my best chance to hurt him in years." Tythes raised two fingers sharply. "Two reasons. First, I want more people aware of what he's doing so that his plans fail. Second, I'm willing to bend my plans slightly, if they're compatible with yours."
The group glanced at one another. Fiyu and Guchiro clearly considered this offer too suspicious to countenance, and Nauda distrusted Tythes deeply. Theo wouldn't say that he trusted him either, but they needed to play this game if they were going to get any advantage from it.
"House Blacksilver is going to support the local Fithans as a neutral force," he said. Hopefully there was nothing Tythes could do to use that against them. "We want this to end with their survival so they can serve as a buffer zone between the two superpowers."
"That's all? Boring." Tythes shrugged and glanced over his shoulder. "Well, there it is. I'd better go get ready."
He stepped back through the gate and the entire thing vanished. Theo could only speculate that he must have accomplished it via another artifact he'd stolen from the Chasm of Lamentations. It had taken him a few years to master what he'd found there, but it seemed like he was prepared with secret weapons now.
"That was Slest," Nauda said quietly. Theo realized that she was right, but he had been too focused on the politics to notice the other side of the gate. "I don't like this."
Near the central plateau, all sides had sent representatives to officially secure the demonic device. Theo saw Karchibol representing Blacksilver along with a Norro Yorthin Authority he vaguely recognized. The Asplundat Movement had sent Homez and one of their Authorities. Homez looked a bit battered, but hopefully he would be able to prevent the negotiations from getting out of hand.
Then the Asplundat Authority's head fell from his shoulders. Everyone turned in shock as a nearly invisible being lowered its sword.
For just a split second, Theo thought that it was one of the wild tribes soulcrafters. But though the body was muscular and wore various furs, he immediately knew that something was wrong. When the man - if it was a man - smiled, his jaws opened a little too wide and something glinted within. Fiyu looked even more horrified, and Guchiro spoke in a low voice.
"It's a Deuxan fleshmasker. This is a false flag operation."
Though far from the first time Theo had encountered something new in the Nine Worlds, this arrival troubled him. He had never even heard of fleshmaskers before that moment. Knowing that there were countless places he'd never traveled was one thing - being blindsided by an army like this was quite another. Theo wondered just how much of the Nine Worlds had been hidden from him and what it held in store before he realized those were the wrong questions.
Was this Wiltur's hidden army? Theo got his answer as more soulcrafters emerged from the stone all around the plateaus. Every single one of them had an unnatural soulhome and wore the skin of a Fithan wild tribes member. No other Authorities that Theo could sense, but there were a lot of them, and they had all crept around the central plateau.
The surprise made all sides hesitate for a time, but violence was inevitable. When it came, it came in a form Theo didn't expect: the blue-banded Authority from the Deepest Blue flew through the negotiators, grabbing the demonic cylinder as he went.
He nearly got past the group, but the twisted new Authority reached out, and his arm seemed to stretch, like it was just a rubber suit. The end grabbed his leg, a rope of twisted flesh instead of fingers, and slammed him to the ground. That impact triggered every other force on the battlefield and the center erupted into chaos.
Theo's allies all moved to help, but Theo hesitated a moment longer. Not in shock, but because he saw something else: there was another Stronghold rising on the battlefield, wearing a mask of flesh.
Chapter 24
Even though Fiyu had been extending her senses and preparing for the battle, she didn't even sense the arrival. The enemy rose with a terrible silvery cantae that slipped past her until it was almost too late. By the time Fiyu realized what was happening, a silver whip had cut a swath through the battlefield and another was slicing toward her.
Faster than she could react, Relative Guchiro enclosed her and her companions in a sphere of darkness and launched them backward. She reached her senses out toward him, feeling as he exerted all his power to deflect the whip, but no matter how hard she clung, they flew out of range.
When they struck another plateau, the sphere evaporated. She told herself that it was only because the technique was finished and still desperately looked for her relative. If he had thrown them backwards, that meant he wasn't confident that he could defend them. She didn't expect him to be able to fight a Stronghold, but the fact that he had pushed her away scared her.
There was no time for fear. Striving to be the adult her relative believed she was, Fiyu confirmed that all her companions were uninjured and enclosed them within her stealth technique. Friend Theo was attempting to use his senses to sort through the battle, but he would require assistance.
As she examined the plateaus around them as much as possible, Fiyu brushed over more of the new arrivals and shivered in revulsion. Each of them felt like an ordinary body, surrounded by a viscous layer of cantae with a layer of skin on top. The technique was largely spiritual, but where it overlapped with the physical it gave the sense of a person crawling within another's skin. She couldn't imagine what kind of soulhome could do such a thing, or who would even imagine it.
