Chapter Seven

Demonic

Blackdale

The Remnant Cavern

Rush felt his feet taking him away from the incoming monster just as Emma managed to intercept it along with Torgal. The demon howled with rage as it slammed its staff into the ground causing fire to spread out. From the flames smaller beasts emerged. They looked like they were made from rock but their cold dark eyes jutted out from their faces. David and Pagus made a break to intercept the rock beast while Rush made a move to join them. He caught sight of Wagner standing next to Irina and Jager looked like he was enjoying this battle. He glared at Rush with vehemence, not bothering to hide the fact that he wanted the boy to fall in this battle.

Gripping his jewel for luck Rush raised his sword in one hand then turned it to channel a Wind Shear attack at one of the rock beasts. The creature screamed as it was sliced by the force of the attack, blood pooled around its body while Pagus finished it off with an attack from his staff. Emma was locked in direct combat with the demon while Torgal provided cover for her as best he could. David engaged the next rock beast head on causing his squad to attack any others that were close by. Rush ducked when a thick arm swiped at his head causing him to fall to the ground. He parried the blow and gained his footing again.

Emma cried out when a thick jet of fire landed at her feet. The demon sprayed the area around her making her unable to move away from the deadlock she was in. Torgal hissed as the fire blocked his view; his brought up one arm to shield his eyes from the harsh glare. Pagus managed to terminate another enemy unit but they still couldn't reach Wagner. The demon was standing guard near the robed man making sure no one could harm its master. Emma gritted her teeth as she tossed an herb to cleanse her wounds.

With her recent burns she knew it would be madness to attack the demon now so she waited, her eyes fixed firmly on her target, her grip of her blades never wavering. Torgal cut through another unit of beasts in an attempt to find a way past the flames. He noticed that the fire was beginning to die out. Hopefully it would vanish completely so he could lend Emma assistance. Rush dodged another attack and managed to counterattack this time, slicing the head from the body in one clean cut.

David used a Restore spell on his troop allowing them to finish off the enemy unit that the demon had summoned. Leaving his men to finish it off the blond Marquis noticed that the fire had died completely and Torgal was already by Emma's side, his quad blades cutting into the thick lava flesh of the monster. It screamed again causing the nearby warriors to cringe from the sound alone. Pagus turned his staff towards Torgal's troop and used a Double Time spell granting him more time to attack.

It wasn't much but at least he had a small advantage now. David stood alongside Emma who had now recovered from her burn wound enough to attack the demon again. Rush caught sight of Wagner and scowled. The man was smiling with a look of utter enjoyment upon his face. Rush wanted to tear the look away more than anything. Turning back towards the fight he felt his heart stop when the weapon the creature was holding came towards David's exposed back.

The blond was fighting off some spiders that had come into the chamber. He didn't even see the blow coming. Rush wouldn't make it in time. He wouldn't be able to save David before the weapon connected with his body. No…he wouldn't let his friend get hurt! Not when he could help it. He pushed his body towards the demon, his arms pumping for speed, his breath coming in short gasps as he struggled to make it in time. He needed to save David! He had to!

He didn't even notice when his Remnant started to glow brightly against his heaving chest. To him it was like the world started to slow down, the movements of his allies and enemies seemed to halt entirely. Rush charged forward with all the strength he had left and shot his arm against the staff. Time resumed normally when the weapon collided with his arm, shattering on impact and falling to the ground. All movement seemed to stop now.

"Rush?" David breathed when he saw what the brunet did.

"Are you ok?" steel eyes locked with sapphire ones. David could only stare at the boy who had saved his life.

"So the boy possesses power." Wagner murmured with fascination. "Our lord must know of this."

"Pagus, Blocter come to me!" Emma yelled when the demon attacked with its claws this time.

"Eat this!" Blocter drove his axe into the torso. He was rewarded with a shrill scream.

"Finish him now!" Emma commanded as she lunged at a spider.

"Watch and learn." Torgal smirked when he used his quad blades to cut the creature in half.

"Rush!" David grabbed hold of the teenager when he collapsed. Pagus used a Restore spell on the brunet. "Are you ok?"

"Oh man, now I feel tired." He moaned. When he moved his arm Wagner caught sight of the markings.

"The marks of his arm…" he drew in a sharp breath. "The Words of the Ancients."

"What does that mean?" Jager muttered. He hated being kept out of the loop.

"It means this boy is a bigger threat than we first thought." Wagner grabbed hold of Irina. "We are leaving now." He released the Enthrall spell he had on the girl so he could begin summoning up an ice portal.

"You're not going anywhere." Blocter growled angrily.

"Rush, can you stand?" David murmured as he helped the brunet up.

"Yeah…I'm fine now." Rush nodded his head.

"Let the girl go Wagner." Emma stepped forward. "You're coming to Athlum with us."

"That creature was simply a warm up. Here's the real challenge." He was about to slam his fan into the ground when Irina grabbed his arm.

"Run! Get out of here! You have to warn my family about…" she was cut off when Jager hit her on the back of the head.

"Hey!" Rush made a move to attack when he felt a hand wrap around his wrist.

"Irina is right. We cannot win against him yet." David pulled Rush towards the chamber entrance.

"Please…run…" Irina moaned before she collapsed against Jager.

The cavern began to shake violently causing rocks to plummet to the ground. Rush caught sight of Wagner and Jager disappearing into a portal along with Irina. The cavern continued to shake forcing the groups to move out of the chamber. They ran from the chamber and back through the tunnels until they reached the narrow pathway.

Not bothering to stave off the attacks from the approaching spiders the groups made it into the next tunnel and out into the valley. Once they were clear from the Blackdale cave system David took a deep breath then made sure the others were safe. Aside from some cuts and bruises the warriors where fine. Emma would need to be treated for her burn wounds but she was well enough to travel back to Athlum. No doubt the representative from Celapelis would want a report on what happened here.

"Now what do we do?" Blocter asked.

"For now we need to get back to Athlum. We need to gather information on Wagner." David answered.

"I agree but what about Irina?" Emma pointed out. "She wants us to find her parents."

"She tried to say something…we need to find her fast." Torgal frowned.

"You are correct but let us return to Athlum." Pagus hopped towards Rush. "And it seems we have something else to consider."

"Rush…" the blond swordsman turned to his friend. "We won't ask you now but later…could you explain what happened in there?"

"I wish I could tell you guys what happened. I didn't even know I was indestructible." He gave out a soft laugh.

"Everyone, get your strength back. We're going home." David called to the others. They had a lot to think about.


Athlum

Athlum Castle

Two weeks passed after the incident in Blackdale and as David suspected the qsiti from Celapelis was angered by their lack of progress. What the small creature was unsure was that David had omitted certain things from his report. He had only told the qsiti that he and his troops had chased Jager into the cave but the man had escaped with some help. When the enraged qsiti left after insulting David his generals demanded to know just what he was up to. The blond man only smiled and it was Torgal who caught on first.

His lord suspected that the people in the Academy were involved in whatever was going on with the Remnants and Irina's abduction. Wagner was part of the Academy so there was the possibility that he had followers in Elysion. For the moment David wanted to keep this information within his inner circle. He also wanted to keep the revelations about Rush a secret. If the Academy found out about his abilities Rush would be taken to Elysion and locked away before he could explain himself.

"Lord David we have received word that Congress is forming in Elysion. You are requested to attend the assembly." Pagus entered the throne room.

"Very well Pagus. Prepare to leave immediately. When is the date set?" the blond stood up.

"Congress will convene in three weeks." The small creature replied.

"If we leave now we'll have a week to spare. I'll inform Rush." He left before the generals could say anything else.

He knew where the brunet would be at this hour. He had returned from his shift at the pub an hour ago and was allowed free reign throughout the castle. Lately Rush would go to the garden when he wanted to be alone or practice. David made his way there, his mind a whirl of questions for the brunet. He couldn't deny that a part of him wanted Rush to use his power for Athlum but at the same time David was worried about him. His skin couldn't be pierced by a weapon and those marks on his arms still couldn't be read.

The blond stopped when he entered the garden and he could feel his mouth part in shock. Rush was in the centre of the garden with a small dagger in one hand as he danced. He was using a low level Wind spell to make the petals float around his body as he twirled on the spot. All different petals floated around him creating a kaleidoscope of color, his face turned upwards with a carefree smile on his face. Even with the dagger in his gloved hand he looked…divine.

"R-Rush?" David mentally cursed his stutter. The boy stopped dancing as his face turned red.

"Hi Dave! Ahh, can I help you?" he rubbed his face.

"We have to depart for Elysion. I was wondering if you would like to come." David asked hopefully.

"Sure! I mean I wanna help that Irina girl and Elysion is like the capital of the continent right? So maybe someone there can read these symbols." Rush pointed out.

"You have a point." David smiled. He cleared his throat. "So…that was good dancing just now." He could feel his face go red with that comment.

"Oh thanks Dave! It passes the time." Rush grinned sheepishly. "So when do we leave?"

"As soon as possible. It will take us two weeks to get there. Make sure you have all you supplies before you leave." David turned and left the garden wondering all the while why his heart pounded when he saw Rush dance.