chest with his bare finger.
The line he traced came alive with fire as he completed the symbol, and he let go his hold and backed away as the demon was consumed in flames.
Renna gaped, but Arlen wasn’t finished with the lesson. He strode towards another field demon, provoking an attack. The demon obliged, roaring and coming at him with claws leading.
‘Of course, if I don’t see it coming in time to stop it …’ Arlen was knocked back several steps and grunted as the demon’s claws struck home, tearing into his abdomen.
Renna gasped as blood arced through the air. She pulled her knife and darted forward to interpose herself between Arlen and the demon.
But Arlen straightened and stopped her up short with a raised hand. The demon pounced again, but once more Arlen blew apart like smoke.
When he re-formed, there was no sign of his injury. Even his robe was mended. ‘… given a moment to catch my wits, I can heal just about anything that doesn’t kill me.’
The demon came at him a third time, but this time Arlen drew a quick warding in the air, and the demon was thrown back as if kicked by a mule before it ever got close to him. His new power seemed limitless.
But as the demon struck the ground several yards away, Arlen staggered in his bow. To Renna’s warded eyes, he had been bright with magic a moment before. Now the glow of his wards was noticeably dimmer.
Arlen caught the look she gave him, and nodded. ‘I draw wards on a demon, the coreling powers them itself. I draw them in the air, they draw their magic from me, instead.’
The demon came back at him a fourth time, but this time Arlen seized it by the throat and pinned it to the ground in a
sharusahk
hold. As he held it down, Renna could see the wards on his hands throbbing with power, and his glow began to return even as the coreling’s dimmed. The demon shrieked and thrashed, but Arlen held it as easily as a man might hold down a small child. The power in his hands built in intensity until the demon’s throat collapsed. With a flex of his muscles, Arlen tore its head clean off.
Renna caught sight of a field demon stalking her and shifted position to look dim and helpless. It wasn’t difficult. All she needed to do was recall the useless cow she had been all her life. The victim.
But that part of her had died with Harl. When the coreling pounced, it struck the forbidding like an invisible wall, and Renna pivoted in an instant, thrusting her knife into its chest. The wards along the blade flared, cutting through the demon’s armour and sending a jolt of magic into her that warmed her limbs even more than the poteen. She bulled forward, stabbing again and again, each blow sending a thrill of power through her.
When the demon hit the ground, dead, she crouched and reached out her hand, tracing a heat ward on the demon’s rough armour.
Nothing happened.
‘How come you can do it and I can’t?’ Renna called as she scanned the field for more demons. There were some still circling, but they were wary of the two humans now, and kept their distance.
‘Didn’t know myself for a long time,’ Arlen said. ‘Didn’t understand any of my powers. But when I fought that demon along the path to the Core, our minds touched, and a lot came clear. I really have become part demon.’
‘Demonshit,’ Renna said. ‘You ent evil like them.’
Arlen shrugged. ‘Most demons ent evil, either. Ent smart enough to be evil – or good, for that matter. Might as well call a wasp evil for stinging. The mind demons, though …’
‘Them bastards are more evil’n Harl,’ Renna said.
Arlen nodded. ‘By a month’s ride.’
Renna furrowed her brow. ‘So you’re saying … what? Corelings are just animals? I ent sold. Wasps don’t burst into flame when the sun comes up. Even if demons ent evil, they ent natural, either.’
‘That’s day folk talking,’ Arlen said. ‘Folk who haven’t warded their eyes. Look around you. Is magic
The line he traced came alive with fire as he completed the symbol, and he let go his hold and backed away as the demon was consumed in flames.
Renna gaped, but Arlen wasn’t finished with the lesson. He strode towards another field demon, provoking an attack. The demon obliged, roaring and coming at him with claws leading.
‘Of course, if I don’t see it coming in time to stop it …’ Arlen was knocked back several steps and grunted as the demon’s claws struck home, tearing into his abdomen.
Renna gasped as blood arced through the air. She pulled her knife and darted forward to interpose herself between Arlen and the demon.
But Arlen straightened and stopped her up short with a raised hand. The demon pounced again, but once more Arlen blew apart like smoke.
When he re-formed, there was no sign of his injury. Even his robe was mended. ‘… given a moment to catch my wits, I can heal just about anything that doesn’t kill me.’
The demon came at him a third time, but this time Arlen drew a quick warding in the air, and the demon was thrown back as if kicked by a mule before it ever got close to him. His new power seemed limitless.
But as the demon struck the ground several yards away, Arlen staggered in his bow. To Renna’s warded eyes, he had been bright with magic a moment before. Now the glow of his wards was noticeably dimmer.
Arlen caught the look she gave him, and nodded. ‘I draw wards on a demon, the coreling powers them itself. I draw them in the air, they draw their magic from me, instead.’
The demon came back at him a fourth time, but this time Arlen seized it by the throat and pinned it to the ground in a
sharusahk
hold. As he held it down, Renna could see the wards on his hands throbbing with power, and his glow began to return even as the coreling’s dimmed. The demon shrieked and thrashed, but Arlen held it as easily as a man might hold down a small child. The power in his hands built in intensity until the demon’s throat collapsed. With a flex of his muscles, Arlen tore its head clean off.
Renna caught sight of a field demon stalking her and shifted position to look dim and helpless. It wasn’t difficult. All she needed to do was recall the useless cow she had been all her life. The victim.
But that part of her had died with Harl. When the coreling pounced, it struck the forbidding like an invisible wall, and Renna pivoted in an instant, thrusting her knife into its chest. The wards along the blade flared, cutting through the demon’s armour and sending a jolt of magic into her that warmed her limbs even more than the poteen. She bulled forward, stabbing again and again, each blow sending a thrill of power through her.
When the demon hit the ground, dead, she crouched and reached out her hand, tracing a heat ward on the demon’s rough armour.
Nothing happened.
‘How come you can do it and I can’t?’ Renna called as she scanned the field for more demons. There were some still circling, but they were wary of the two humans now, and kept their distance.
‘Didn’t know myself for a long time,’ Arlen said. ‘Didn’t understand any of my powers. But when I fought that demon along the path to the Core, our minds touched, and a lot came clear. I really have become part demon.’
‘Demonshit,’ Renna said. ‘You ent evil like them.’
Arlen shrugged. ‘Most demons ent evil, either. Ent smart enough to be evil – or good, for that matter. Might as well call a wasp evil for stinging. The mind demons, though …’
‘Them bastards are more evil’n Harl,’ Renna said.
Arlen nodded. ‘By a month’s ride.’
Renna furrowed her brow. ‘So you’re saying … what? Corelings are just animals? I ent sold. Wasps don’t burst into flame when the sun comes up. Even if demons ent evil, they ent natural, either.’
‘That’s day folk talking,’ Arlen said. ‘Folk who haven’t warded their eyes. Look around you. Is magic
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