Demonstorm

'Another bloody nose, eh Daniel?'

'Yes, my lord,' agreed Daniel.

But Blackthorne could see in Daniel's eyes the futility of their actions. He wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulder and walked with him back towards the kitchens, the only place they were truly safe.

'Don't lose faith, youngster. We have very determined friends out there. They won't let us down.'

It wasn't much of a cave but they could at least get out of the worst of the chill sweeping across the land. The space was dank, dark and cold but sitting close together they shared warmth. The indent in the crag that Auum had found went back no more than ten feet but was overhung by a further six, making it reasonably defensible from air attack. He and Evunn stood just in shadow at the entrance, looking out over the bleak landscape and searching the sky for evidence that they had been discovered.

Just within earshot and above the wailing of the wind, they could hear the low rumble of demon activity. It was the sounds of calls and orders mixed with the whip of thousands of wings and the tramp of innumerable feet.

'So he did get us close then,' said Hirad.

'Very,' said Rebraal. He smiled. 'He did well.'

'Except we all smell absolutely terrible.'

'Makes a change from it just being you, doesn't it, Hirad?'

'My, my, Xetesk-man, I admire you for still trying. But like I said to Ilkar, you have a long way still to go.'

Under his right arm, Erienne was shaking. 'Still cold?'

Erienne snorted. 'No, Hirad,' she managed. 'It tickled me, that's all. I think Ilkar would have been proud of that one. Remember those furs you used to wear?'

Hirad nodded. 'They weren't the most fragrant.'

The Raven laughed.                              

'All right,' said The Unknown. 'Let's get serious. We need to do several tilings. Hirad, you have to contact Sha-Kaan, bring him here as soon as you can. Eilaan, confirm that the mana is concentrated where we think it is. Denser, do what you do best and warm this place up a little, would you? We might as well be comfortable. Thraun, Ark, see about preparing some food. Erienne, get yourself some sleep when the temperature goes up. We're going to need you.'

She looked up at him and all the doubt was back in her eyes. 'I hope I don't let you down.'

'No chance,' said The Unknown. 'Now listen, everyone, we seem to have been fortunate up until now but if there's one thing guaranteed to bring on demons, it's spell casting. I don't see there's any harm them knowing we're here. A ForceCone will keep fiiem out of the cave until the dragons arrive. But if any of you want to empty bowels and bladder, I suggest you do it now. We don't know what length of wait we'll have. Denser will pause until you get back. Any thoughts?'

There were no dissenters.

'Good, then let's get to it.'

The group broke up and immediately the biting cold returned. The Unknown put his back to a wall and beckoned Erienne over. He held his arms out and she moved gratefully into his embrace.

'Gods falling, but I hope people aren't too long taking a leak,' she said.

'You don't feel the need?'

'Too cold to be out there,' she said, snuggling in closer. 'Good job my husband's not the jealous type.'

'How do you know he's not?' Denser's voice carried back to them from just outside the cave.

 

'It's just the impression I get.'

'I see.' Denser buttoned his fly back up and walked back inside. 'Convenient how The Unknown organises everyone else to work and leaves himself free to get fresh with you.'

'Perk of the job,' said The Unknown.

Denser chuckled. 'I'll set about this spell then. Make yourselves comfortable. Don't think to help or anything.'

'We won't,' said Erienne.

The Unknown watched Denser collecting stones from outside and arranging them in the centre of the cave. He was very precise in the shapes and sizes he chose and in the way they were arranged.

'It's all about reflecting the heat from the spell,' said Erienne in answer to his question. 'The mana will bounce around for longer if the stones are placed right. Keep the heat in for longer, you know.'

T see.' He paused. 'How are you feeling?'

'Warming up.'

'That isn't what I asked.'

'I know.' She sighed. 'Look, Unknown, I know I can do it. In the playhouse, I had no doubt. But look how many of us there were and how relatively few of them. We could afford a mistake and so I didn't make one. Now the stakes are higher. One slip and it isn't just us that's gone, it's everyone. That's a burden.'

T understand. Look, if it's any help, we're all scared about who we'll let down if we fail. But that's how it's always been, hasn't it? The Raven united does what it has to despite how we feel individually. Draw strength from us.'

'I'll try. Thank you. Hmm. Can't really imagine Hirad being scared.' They looked across at him, seated with his hands in his lap, searching for his dragon. 'And you . . .' Erienne trailed off and The Unknown felt her shoulders sag. 'Oh, Unknown, you poor soul.'

The Unknown knew what she was talking about. He smiled grimly and shifted in his position, swallowing hard. 'We have all had to make sacrifices.'

'But you're the only one of us for whom family waits on your return.'

'Diera knew this time I was unlikely to come home.'

'And this time you knew all along, didn't you?'

The Unknown nodded. 'We all did, didn't we? When we thought

about it in the quiet of the night, there was never any chance of US surviving what we have to do.'

'There's always hope,' said Erienne.

'You listen to Hirad too much. The hope we have is for the survival of our dimension, not for ourselves.'

'And are you handling it all right?'

The Unknown blinked away the moisture in his eyes. 'Erienne, it guts me every time I think about it. The last things I said to my family were lies. How long will it be before Diera finally gives up hope of me ever coming home? How long will she be forced to grieve?'

'Then do what you would have me do. Focus on The Raven and our strength. Know that what we do now will mean that your family has a future even if it is without you. When the grief has faded, they will rejoice they had you for as long as they did. Believe me, I know.1

'Thank the Gods you're here, Erienne.'

'That we're all here.'

'All right, I'm ready,' said Denser. 'All of you done the necessary?'

The Unknown jogged out of the cave briefly but could hear Denser speak.

'Eilaan, as soon as I begin to prepare, we can assume the demons will be onto us. We need a flattened Cone ready right away. You up for it?'

T know what to do.'

'Good. Well, it may bring the hordes down on our heads but at least we'll be warm and dry. Unknown, may I?'

'Be my guest.'

Denser closed his eyes and developed the FlamePalm construct. The simple casting was complete in moments and he played the flame over the stones in a circular motion. They began to emit heat. Smoke curled lazily upwards. The blue of Denser's spell played over their exposed surfaces and took on a cycle of its own, bouncing and reflecting as Erienne had described. The warmth began to fill the shallow cave.

But from all around them, the sounds of the demons changed and a new call grew. It was a call of fury and it was taken up by myriad throats, gaining quickly as it neared.

The demons had found them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 43

 

'1 have your signature, my Dragonene. We are coming.'

Sha-Kaan broke the contact with Hirad Coldheart and wheeled in the air. In the day since their last contact, he had probed the human's mind and found it stressed and active, denying him safe access. And during that same time the damaging battle in the skies of Beshara had finally burned itself out but the cost to the dragon population and that able to travel with him had been severe.