Rune Mage [Fantasy/Adventure | Book 1 +2 | Complete]

CHAOS MAGE Chapter 32: Cazadia Delnargin

The doors opened into an auditorium with a domed ceiling. What made it eerie was not the blinding yellow Tophalite from above nor the sudden dip in temperature as soon as Seiren stepped foot within, but the hundreds of statues standing in circles on steps descending into the centre, lining the outside of the chamber. The faces were all Hannans, their features sharp and chiselled and their eyes blank. The details on their bodies were breathtaking. Seiren half-expected their heads to turn and detect the foreign trespassers to put them down, but they all stayed perfectly still, staring straight ahead. It was an army of stone men, built as if they were to keep people out – or to keep someone in.

Seiren and Madeleine slid in and stuck to the shadows behind the statues. A single, human-sized rock tomb – the sarcophagus, covered with intricate etchings and delicate minerals in all the colours of the runes – sat in the middle of the room. All around, the walls reached up to the skies in all their decorated, glistening glory. At the top sat a circular, black window surrounded by dazzling iridescent stones emitting brighter light than any of the others had thus far. The glow from above threw shadows that rippled as the sediment on the ground moved with the draught, like waves of desert sand. Stone steps descended into the centre, which was bathed in the rainbow lights from above. A heaviness hung in the air, almost stifling, making Seiren's fingertips tingle with magic. Making their way across were five figures – and one of them was the plump, cloaked outline Seiren knew well. Kristen. Seeing her sent chills down Seiren's spine. Her intuition was right. Kristen was after Hanna's corpse – and it was right there. One of the remaining four must be Fautos Tophalis, which meant the other three were the Daemonium members.

Waves of anxious nausea swept over Seiren as she scanned for the other two. Nobody pounced on them when they snuck through the doors earlier and Magus Tophalis continued his silent approach further down the steps unhindered. Where were the last two members of the Daemonium?

The tiniest whisper came from directly above. Seiren had half-anticipated another sneak attack like before. She shoved at Madeleine, throwing herself in the other direction. A whistle through the air told her she'd just avoided the attack. She crashed onto the ground and rolled, her shoulder throbbing from the impact. Across from her, Madeleine scrambled to her feet, arms raised for burst magic. Seiren's head snapped up, one hand held out to halt Madeleine and scanning at the carvings and statues protruding from the walls for that tell-tale ripple. Sure enough, a shape bearing the same pattern as the wall behind it shifted ever so slightly. If she squinted hard enough, she could make out a slim human body behind the bulk of the daemon's body, both of them camouflaged.

Magic coursed down Seiren's arm. Fury erupted within her body, mixing with the energy from her core. She threw her hands before her and clapped her hands. Flash magic exploded from her fingertips and smashed into where the Daemonium member and his daemon sat on the wall.

The resulting boom sent cracks shooting across the vertical surface and dust cascading from above. The daemon became visible, protuberant eyes twitching independently, his summoner dangling precariously from its crown. It was the same young boy who had struck Seiren and Madeleine with his daemon's paralysing poison back at the palace. He kicked his legs beneath his dark blue Daemonium robes, which parted from the hips. His long sleeves fell back, exposing skinny arms and a fresh, scarlet score down his left wrist. Panicking pale eyes glanced down and widened even more when he realised how far he had to fall.

Seiren didn't give him a chance to recover. Picking up a piece of dislodged rock, she sketched a circle. There was another tiny whisper and she leapt out of the way again. The daemon's tongue lashed at the spot where she stood and withdrew. Heat poured off her in waves. Her robe stuck to her back and armpits. It took another three rounds of rushing in, adding to her sketch, and dodging the daemon's tongue from above before the rune was complete – just in time for the boy to secure a foothold and pull himself onto his daemon's back.

The boy stilled. Seiren couldn't see the tongue lashing out, for the movement was so quick. She threw herself to the side again, crashing into one of the statues. Stars exploded before her eyes. She cursed, pulling her torso up. The daemon's tongue struck her across the face. Tiny, hard prickles swept across her cheek as though she were being rubbed with a scrubbing brush. A tingle spread across her skin. She gasped – and then the tongue was gone.

The dark-haired boy on the wall shook his head in apology, appearing forlorn. His daemon crept down, one delicate, spindly leg before the other. Numbness spread across Seiren's face. Saliva oozed out from beneath her tongue and dribbled out of the corner of her mouth. One eyelid lagged down. The peculiar sensation crept down her neck, relaxing the muscles so that her head tilted back. Her body slid down until she lay on the ground, staring helplessly at the approaching Daemonium member and his deadly creature.

The paralysis spread over her shoulders and down her arms, stopping at the elbow. Her chest continued to rise and fall, albeit slowly. Her feet struck the floor repeatedly, struggling to push her flaccid upper body back up. Panicked eyes darted to the boy, who frowned, confused, before glancing down at the ground. The daemon paused, reading some invisible command.

Seiren narrowed her eyes and calmed her mind again. She kicked out. Erratic wind whooshed over her head and swept the boy's black hair back. He flinched, stepping back, hand raised to protect his face. It didn't do any damage – but Seiren wasn't seeking to hurt him.

She snapped her clumsy fingers. The violet rune glowed beneath his feet. With a yelp, the boy and his daemon sunk into the stone ground. His voice echoed around the large, mostly empty chamber. Flailing arms and legs struggled against the softened floor to no avail and he found himself buried up to his knees – and his daemon with all four limbs rooted to the spot.

Seiren's skin throbbed, hot and cold all over. Blinking cold sweat that had dripped into her eyes from her hairline, she forced herself onto her front and commanded weak, trembling hands to push her body up into a sitting position.

"You shouldn't be here," said the boy in a hoarse voice. There was no fear in that young face, merely despair. "The others—"

Numb fingers gripping her makeshift chalk, Seiren sketched, with an awkward arm, a second rune, one Halen Ashworth had sealed into her memory months past. Seiren's breaths came in sharp gasps. Shouts of approaching reinforcement came from the direction of Kristen. She didn't have much time left before more daemons arrive to rip her to shreds. Her rune could be smoother, but it should do the job.

She scuttled back, sensation returning somewhat, and snapped her fingers again. The boy shrieked, arching his back as bursts of electricity ripped through his body. Saliva frothed at his mouth and his eyes rolled back. His black hair stood up on end, crackling. With his muscles seizing, his attention broke, just as Seiren had hoped. With a poof, his camouflaging daemon disappeared back to whatever place it had been conjured from. The boy hit the ground, feet still stuck in the ground, his eyes rolling.

"I wish my ass wasn't here either, but it's not like I had a choice!" Seiren said to his unconscious body.

Heaving a breath, Seiren looked up to see Madeleine engaged in battle with a tall, broad-shouldered, and muscular Daemonium member she didn't recognise, wielding a wagon-sized daemon with a chunky torso, thick arms, and large, paddle-like feet. Its large mouth opened wide, showing a forked tongue and no teeth. Thick muscle rippled beneath leathery skin. Like the boy Seiren had downed, the man relied on his daemon's strength and not his own muscles, controlling his creature whilst standing as still as the statues surrounding them. Madeleine threw blast after blast of burst magic to keep the large-mouthed creature at bay, but she couldn't get close to that man, nor could she inflict significant damage. The daemon darted forward with agility surprising for its build, its jaw snapping dangerously close each time, forcing Madeleine to hop back.