Glass was exploding around them; demonic screams were coming from all over the palace. “Well, I guess that explains what they are going to do.” Edwyrd said. Antefalken was pure white at this point and Rupert was also looking rather Gastropéish.
“Ahh fuck!” Rupert screamed and dove over the edge of the balcony changing form even as he did so. It was fast and it was furious and he damn near hit the ground before being able to take flight, but then he got up into the air and headed out.
“I’m with him!” Antefalken stated and took off.
Edwyrd shook his head. He felt it, he felt it bad. It wasn’t as bad, yet, as it had been when he’d needed to get into the castle. He hoped Tizzy would get out OK. Yes, it was definitely building. Edwyrd flashed to flame and then to his demon form and took off after the others. The feeling was definitely growing in intensity; he was feeling nauseous at this point.
He turned and flew backwards as best he could, watching as other demons, hundreds of them burst out of windows, a few through walls and headed to the wards and out of the city. There were demons going in every direction, from almost every direction. The vast majority were coming from the palace, but there were quite a few from other parts of the city as well. Were there over a thousand?
Tom headed through the wards. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it wasn’t archers shooting down demons, or trying to. Where they failed, wizards were zapping demons with lightning bolts! It was like a demon massacre! Holy shit! The Sky Fleet and the Rod were acting in tandem to shoot demons down where they would then hack them to pieces on the ground!
This was fucking insane! Those demons hadn’t been doing anything but spying and now they were being butchered? True, they’d most likely just go back to the Abyss, but it would be very painful for them. The vast majority were type I and II demons.
Tom shook his head in dismay and looked for Antefalken and Rupert. He found Antefalken hovering high, dodging arrows, occasionally batting at one with his harp. “Hey.” Tom said as he approached.
“This really sucks.” Antefalken said sourly.
Tom nodded. “Tell me about it. It is starting to piss me off. Have you seen Rupert?”
“Not yet.”
Tom, or rather, Edwyrd had managed to get a link on to Rupert last night, fortunately. He could feel Rupert, alive on the other side. It was just a tad bit confusing, at the moment, to follow it; what with all the demons and arrows an lightning bolts.
Tom scanned trying to find Rupert visually. As he glanced back towards the city, he saw Tizzy come through the wards, sort of drifting aimlessly, staring around at all the commotion. “Tizzy!” Tom shouted.
Tizzy spotted him and flew over. “What’s going on, what’s with the party?” Tizzy asked.
“What do you mean?” Antefalken asked.
Tizzy shrugged, “I was just wandering around this morning and suddenly all these demons start screaming and heading for the wards, like there was some big party going on, and no one had told me.” He shook his head and lit his pipe, which was suddenly in one of hands.
The other two demons looked at him as if he were insane — which technically — he was, “Didn’t you feel the compulsion spell?” Tom asked.
“The anxiety, the fear?” Antefalken asked.
Tizzy blinked and thought for a moment. “Oh, that. I just thought that was a sour stomach. Ate some seriously noxious stuff last night. That and I’m pretty hung over. And, well, I’m just a little twitchy normally so... really didn’t pay it much mind.”
Antefalken shook his head. He turned to Tom and shrugged, “Well, I’ve heard that fear spells and such don’t work very well, or predictably, on the insane. Who knows?”
Tom just shook his head. Tizzy never ceased to astonish, he started to look around for Rupert again when about two thousand feet away a flying carpet with wizards came flying out of the wards. The wizards were rolling around on the carpet looking pretty sick.
“What are they doing? Coming out to observe their handy work?” Tom asked and pointed. Antefalken squinted, telescoping in on the rug.
“The one guy is Exador, Lenamare’s arch enemy.” Antefalken stated.
“Notice the one guy, in the leather straps and the two swords on his back?” Tom asked, Antefalken nodded, “Ramses,” they both stated.
“Who’s the woman?” Tom asked; Antefalken shook his head, not knowing.
Tizzy piped up. “Her name is Bess. I keep trying to get her in the sack, but she plays hard to get.” Tizzy was rubbing his first set of genitals; however not erotically, more like in pain. “Last time she used acid to burn my nuts off; took forever to grow them back.” Tizzy complained.
The other two demons shook their heads. “Well, now we know who the three archdemons are.” Antefalken stated. Tom laughed, not really amused.
“That was one hell of a spell to get rid of Archdemons, Greater Demons and a thousand or more other demons.” Antefalken shook his head. I suppose if one has to have an Accursed Master, there’s no shame in having yours, Tom.”
Tom gave him a sardonic grin. “Gee, thanks!”
Tom suddenly felt a rush of panic, he couldn’t figure out what was causing it until he realized it was coming from his link to Rupert. He quickly arrowed in on it, following it down to Rupert. “Oh shit!” Tom exclaimed.
“What is it?” The other two demons looked at him. “It’s Rupert, the Rod has got him again.” Tom shook his head and took off towards Rupert, the other two following.
Chapter 79
Tom flew towards Rupert as quickly as he could; he used his long-range vision and hearing along with the link to figure out what was happening.
Rupert was on the ground rubbing his right wing where it had apparently been shot; taking him out of the sky and into a circle of Rod members; including the big guy in the glowing armor that must be Talarius.
“So Rupert Demon,” the knight asked. “How many times am I going to have to kill you?” Talarius drew his sword.
Rupert stood up straighter and got into something like a fighting stance. “At least this time I’ll be able to put up a fight.” Rupert answered bravely.
“I don’t think it will be that much of a fight; I’ve taken your measure once before, demon.” Talarius responded very seriously.
“Well then,” Tom’s voice boomed down from above as he came in for a landing between the knight and the boy demon. “How about fighting an adult? Man to man, rather than slaughtering children for sport?”
Talarius stepped back in surprise and shock as the giant twelve-foot tall demon landed. The entire circle of priests stepped back giving them more room, the priests behind the front row getting shoved violently back.
“What lies are you spewing, demon?” Talarius asked Tom.
“First: I thought you were a Holy man, sworn to goodness? You sounded a bit smug and egotistical talking to Rupert. You know what they say: Pride goeth before the fall? Vanity is the root of all evil? And so on.”
Tom could see the knight’s eyes twitch within his helmet; he’d hit a nerve. “Second, Rupert is just a child. I don’t think it’s very honorable for a great and glorious knight to go around killing children for sport, do you?”
“That demon is no child; it’s a demon.” Talarius told Tom sternly, “and removing evil from this world is not a sport; it’s a duty. A solemn duty.”
Tom shook his head in exasperation. “What, you think demons don’t have children? You’ve seen his human form. That’s what he really looks like; that’s who he really is. And you killed him, in your own tent, for no reason other than he’d been flying overhead the night before.”