Chapter 8

Dark mages always take a long time to die, and this one was the strongest in the coven. He kept screaming and writhing on the floor of his bedroom, pinned to the floor with a spear. The tip, forged from seline, went through all the layers of magical protection and pierced the heart.

Aaron did not listen to the cries of the necromancer: there could be no sense in the cries of a creature whose tongue had been torn out.

But the mage couldn't stop talking. He wheezed, pulled the stumps to his killer, which had been hands in the morning, and hatred burned in his bloodshot eyes. There was no less hatred in Aron, but it was not possible to enjoy the torment of the enemy - it was disgusting to look at the necromancer, I wanted to finish everything as soon as possible.

It is a pity that nothing resembling an ax was found in the sorcerer's bedroom. The warrior himself had only two daggers behind the tops of his boots and a seline spear, which could not yet be taken out of the magician's chest. The sword with which Aaron cut off the necromancer's hand almost immediately spread into a puddle of molten metal. I did not want to cut off the head of the enemy with a dagger and get dirty in his blood, and Aaron did not know any other way to quickly kill the necromancer.

“Magicians,” he muttered, “you can’t even die like normal people…”

The necromancer, meanwhile, twitched weaker and weaker, the screams turned into wheezing, and blood began to ooze from the wounds, still weakly.

If the magician wished to die without torment, he would let go of the Threads of the elements and leave almost instantly. But the necromancer kept putting off the meeting with the Gray Lady. Perhaps he hoped for salvation, for a miracle.

But Aaron knew: there could be no miracles in this world. He realized this a few years ago, when, on his return, he saw gray ashes instead of a house, and in a cellar locked from the outside - the only thing that survived - the body of his son suffocated in smoke. Several months of fruitless searching, and Aron found what was left of his wife after the necromancer's fun - a crazy bony creature with a mop of gray hair. When in the monastery of Svetlaya Liina, the goddess of healing, his memory returned to Teri, she committed suicide ...

The necromancer was losing blood faster and faster, it spread, red, just like a person's, although she should have been as black as the soul of a magician.

Aaron was waiting.

Finally the necromancer fell silent, his bulging eyes glassy. Aaron came closer, took out a flask with combustible mixture. As long as the magician retained strength, it was impossible to burn him - in addition to necromancy, he perfectly mastered the fire element.

Just a few drops, and the dead man's clothes caught fire. Then the flame turned to flesh...

Dark magicians die for a long time, and they should be killed correctly. Only when the fire had finished eating the necromancer's body did Aaron pull his spear out of the ash heap.

The castle was empty and quiet - its now deceased owner did not favor people, although a few servants still lived here. However, Aron took care of them in advance, poisoning food and drinks. It was a good, high-quality poison, however, having dealt with the magician, Aron went around all the chambers and cut the throats of those who had not yet died. Life taught him not to leave enemies a chance.

After checking the lock, Aron went to the stairs leading to the dungeon. Usually it was there that the necromancers, who needed human sacrifices, kept captives, and some of the unfortunate people could still be saved.

The entire long flight of stairs was lit by torches. However, for Aaron this did not matter - in the dark he saw a little worse than in the light. But there were no cells with prisoners below, the steps led to massive double doors.

When Aaron pushed the doors, a spacious hall with high vaults and black columns, lit by magical lamps, opened up before him. Aaron entered cautiously, holding his weapon at the ready, listening not only to external sounds, yet absent, but also to the inner voice that always warned him of approaching danger.

Human skulls lay in numerous niches, a black altar was visible behind the columns - the necromancer turned the dungeon into a sanctuary of the Gray Lady, and the air here smelled of death. But there was something else, something strange...

Aaron went further and, when the altar ceased to obscure the far part of the hall for him, he saw a pentagram. Having intercepted the spear more comfortably, Aaron approached the magical drawing, in the center of which sat ...

- Demon…

The demon looked at him with green eyes glowing in the semi-darkness, got up from the floor and cautiously took a step back. He clearly knew what a collision with a weapon of seline threatened him. This sacred metal, the silver of the gods as it was called, was good for killing not only necromancers, but also creatures of Chaos.

- Right. The demon spoke the words clearly, almost like a human. “You see, he was captured by a magician.

“I killed him,” Aaron said indifferently. The victory brought him neither pride nor joy - all feelings had long been burned out. Everything except the thirst for revenge that drove him through the last years. However, faint glimpses of emotion still slipped through, and now he felt something akin to curiosity.

The creature in front of him belonged to the higher demons: an almost human face with delicate features and unnaturally smooth skin, eyes with huge bright green irises and a naked skull with a bone crest from forehead to occiput. Unlike the lower bestial demons, this one even wore clothes, a wide mantle almost to the floor.

What did the mage want from you? Aaron asked.

- He did not say. The demon spread his hands. He had two of them, five-fingered, and only the nails on his fingers - black and sharp - differed from human ones.

The flash of curiosity faded, and Aron began to figure out how to finish off the creature. He was embarrassed by the pentagram - above the lines glowing in the twilight, the air vibrated, creating an almost invisible wall that could blur the blow.

Why did you kill the sorcerer? Approaching the edge of the pentagram, the demon looked into Aaron's face. Perhaps he was hoping to buy time.

“He was a necromancer,” Aaron answered anyway.

The demon shook his head.

“There are many necromancers in the world. Why did you kill this one?

There was no point in talking, the creature was only trying to find his weaknesses, but Aaron felt that he wanted to answer, he wanted to explain why the bodies of a dozen bastards were cooling down above, why only ashes remained from the Dark Magician.

“He destroyed my family and friends. I took revenge.

“And now you have nothing to live for,” the demon finished for him.

Aaron was silent. The creature was right - inside he felt only emptiness. However, the matter had to be brought to an end: a demon, even locked in a pentagram, is too dangerous to live.

“I can bring your loved ones back,” the demon offered.

Aaron winced.

- It's impossible. Resurrecting the dead is not in your power.

"True," he agreed, "but I can make sure they don't die."

Aron stared at the creature, trying to understand what was meant by these words and whether there was anything in them, except for an obvious trap. However, the inner voice, which had never made a mistake before, was silent.

- What do you suggest? Aaron asked almost against his will. If the demon could really keep the promise...

“Their lives in exchange for my freedom and your spear of seline.

The demons lied as they breathed, but there was an oath that even they did not dare to break: the goddess of Death, in whose sanctuary they were, severely punished everyone who wasted her name in vain.

“Swear by the name of the Gray Lady,” said Aaron. - Swear that I will be with those I love, and we will be alive and well in body and soul.

— I swear! The demon bowed his head.

Aaron had no idea how to release the prisoner from the pentagram. However, the creature could know itself.

What help do you need from me? - he asked.

The demon sighed.

“By killing the necromancer, you inherited the power over his magic. Just tell the walls of my dungeon to disappear.

Aaron frowned - The Light magicians who gave him the weapon did not mention such a thing.

He shifted his gaze to the drawing of the pentagram, imagining the luminous lines disappearing. Nothing happened for a couple of moments, then the magical pattern faded.

- The second part of the payment! The demon took a step towards him and extended a demanding hand. It was a pity to hand over the weapon, but Aaron forced himself to open his hand. He still didn't feel threatened.

The demon smiled and extended his hand, touching Aaron's forehead. Long claws pricked the skin unpleasantly.

Then…

Then the world around began to melt, and the last thing Aaron saw was the eyes of the creature burning with burning green.

Volume 1 Chapter 2 →