The priests moved off amongst the trees, but stood watching. The archers trained their arrows on them.
Lannon glanced at Taris for instructions, but Taris simply motioned him toward the demon man. Slowly, Lannon dismounted and approached him, until the two foes stood about five feet apart in the rain. The demon man held up his gauntlet, so the two blue stones were facing Lannon. The light that the stones emitted was cold, but the air suddenly felt warped with heat. The Eye of Divinity revealed that the Fire Reach was an appropriate name, for the soil and air were infested with a fiery type of dark sorcery. These flames of evil were drawn into the gauntlet, enhancing its power. The demon man's face displayed a leer of supreme confidence-like the hideous faces sculpted on the pillars of the shrine.
The rain hissed as it made contact with the demon man, steam rising from his flesh. The air grew so hot the others-save for Taris-moved back a bit, protecting their faces. Lannon used the Eye of Divinity like a shield against the heat. Flames rose from the blackened earth, and the shrine pillars grew red hot.
"So this is where it ends," said the demon man. "You should never have been brought to Dremlock. You are not even a grown man yet. I hate to have to slay a child. It is rather unbecoming of a warrior like me. But I am left with no choice. The Knights, however, are to blame for your death."
Lannon said nothing, struggling to stay focused and block out the raging heat. He had no idea how Taris was able to withstand it, but the sorcerer sat rigidly in the saddle, stone dagger in hand. The scarred region of Taris' face seemed darkened by shadow, with his left eye gleaming yellow.
The demon man licked his lips. "The Eye of Divinity versus The Hand of Tharnin. What a grand duel that would be, were you not a pathetic and unskilled lad who was never fit to be a Knight to begin with."
Lannon realized the demon man might be trying to tire him, as Lannon had to keep protecting himself from the heat. The demon man undoubtedly expected Lannon to keep listening to his boasts and wait for him to make the first move.
"Your death will very painful," the demon man went on. "You will be roasted alive. Before all is said and done-"
Lannon seized him with Eye of Divinity, squeezing with all his might. He hoped to catch the demon man off guard and simply crush him-and be done with the whole affair. He hated the thought of killing a man (even a man as vile as this) but he was desperate to end the duel quickly. And for an instant he thought he was succeeding brilliantly. The demon man's eyes sprang open wide and his flesh gave way beneath the power of the Eye. But then the blue stones in the gauntlet shone brighter, and the Eye was pushed back.
The demon man snarled in rage and the heat grew more intense. Lannon thought his clothes and hair might burst into flames. The metal glove turned red hot, with the blue stones contrasting it. Slowly, the demon man began to move toward Lannon, the gauntlet turning and the fingers opening like claws. The smell of scorching iron was strong in Lannon's nostrils.
Lannon fought back fiercely, but his panic began to disrupt his focus. He could only watch in horror as the fingers reached for his throat. Then the Eye seemed to strengthen, and he shoved the demon man away.
With a snarl, the demon man lifted a rock with the gauntlet and flung it at Jace. The projectile nearly caught Jace off guard, but he ducked at the last instant and it missed his head by inches.
"The duel is broken!" Taris cried.
The demon man charged at Lannon, but again the Squire seized him with the Eye and froze him, while intense heat again threatened to overcome Lannon. And then a dark blade hurtled past Lannon and stuck in the demon man's shoulder-Vorden's spider sword, thrown like a spear. With a howl, the demon man staggered, clutching at the weapon. The flames and heat died down.
Weakened, Lannon fell to one knee. Taris jumped from his horse and attacked the demon man with his burning dagger, but the demon man knocked the weapon aside with his gauntlet and shoved Taris into a tree. The sorcerer fell to the ground and lay still, clutching his head with both hands.
The demon man hurled Vorden's sword aside, and then three arrows from the archers struck him-but the arrows glanced off an invisible shield. Hissing in fury, the demon man hurled a fireball from his gauntlet at the archers, scattering them. Timlin rode off to one side, preparing to shoot, and the demon man turned to face him. Timlin fired two arrows with astounding speed, but both were deflected as if they were simply annoying twigs.
Then Jace leapt from his horse and charged the demon man. When the demon man glimpsed the fact that Jace was unarmed, he sneered in contempt, not bothering to guard himself. Jace smashed his hand down on the fellow's head. The demon man stared at Jace, looking dazed. Jace smashed him twice more on the skull, and this time the demon man's eyes rolled back. He grabbed Jace with the gauntlet and hurled the huge man onto some rocks.
Thrake charged the demon man from horseback, slamming his smoldering axe down for the kill. But the demon man smashed the powerful axe aside with his gauntlet, causing an explosion of fire and sparks, and Thrake was thrown from his horse. The Red Knight landed with a clatter of armor.
The demon man turned back toward Lannon, deflecting more arrows and flame from Aldreya's dagger. But he couldn't seem to focus. He staggered, his eyes still showing their whites from the blows Jace had inflicted.
Lannon managed to regain some of his strength, and once again he seized the demon man with the Eye of Divinity. This time he squeezed the man's throat-and found little resistance. He easily choked the man until he was unconscious, and then quickly released him, hoping he hadn't killed him. But the Eye revealed that Lannon's foe was alive and not critically wounded.
Groaning, Jace rose from the rocks and rolled the demon man over. "Vorden, fetch the coil of Birlote rope from my horse."
The archers leapt down from their horses to tend to the fallen Knights. Thrake stood up on his own, having suffered a small gash to the head, but Taris was unconscious and had to be awakened and helped up.
Once Jace had bound the demon man securely, his face broke into a grin. "We've got him now, my friends! This Birlote rope cannot be burned and is immensely strong-stronger than iron. Soon the mysteries of this Hand of Tharnin will be solved!"
As Taris was helped onto his horse, the ever-alert Tower Master mumbled, "Beware of those two priests, who are still lurking nearby."
But the priests never showed themselves.
Chapter 7: Kingdom Under Siege
The company rode quickly for Dremlock, refusing to camp-though they stopped to rest now and then. The weather cleared during the afternoon, the clouds parting to reveal blue sky. As evening fell across the land, a few bright stars were visible, along with the pale moon. They encountered no more ambushes. The demon man remained unconscious and slumped over a saddle, bound securely in the Birlote rope. Lannon kept glancing at him, amazed they had succeeded in defeating him and wondering if the rope could really hold him should he happen to awaken.
At one point, Taris ordered the company to halt so they could discuss the situation. "I had a bit of time to think about this," said Taris, "and it may be in our best interests to try to remove the gauntlet while the demon man is unconscious and sink it deep into a bog somewhere-to be rid of it forever."
"But don't we need to study the device?" said Jace, looking dismayed at Taris' suggestion. "Imagine the secrets we can learn about the Deep Shadow from it. Furthermore, you have an illness that might never be cured unless we unlock the mysteries of this Hand of Tharnin. Your life may depend on it."
"My life means nothing," said Taris, "when all of Dremlock is at stake. I am willing to take my chances with my illness, just to be rid of the device. Of course, it would be very dangerous to try to free the gauntlet on such short notice, without having our blacksmiths study it."