Imruphel said:
ltclnlbrain,
I just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed reading this story hour! It's taken me a couple of sittings, thanks to the intrusions of real life, but I've really enjoyed it. Thanks for posting!
Thanks for reading! I love hearing that others are enjoying my work. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Chapter 43
The scream echoed down the hall, awakening Serrila and Terenon in an instant. The aasimar sat bolt upright in the bed, golden eyes wide with terror. "That scream came from Lisa's room!" she cried.
Terenon was already on his feet, running down the hall. The night air was cold on his naked body, but he barely noticed as he burst into the guest room, into a waking nightmare.
The bed was stained bright red with blood. Lisa's corpse laid sprawled across it, a bloody hole in her chest, her face contorted in an endless scream. Over the body stood Felespar, the ice devil Terenon had faced months earlier in Baldur's Gate, its spear tip drenched with gore. The devil turned as the mage appeared in the room and it clicked its mandibles together in what almost seemed like glee. "I come with a warning from the white wyrm Acessiwal. Cease your meddling, or this girl will only be the first to suffer. One by one, your loved ones will be slaughtered."
Terenon did not waste time with words, launching into the words and gestures of a spell. Magical energies washed over the gelugon, apparently to no effect. The fiend laughed hollowly. "It is a fight you want, mage? I have been looking forward to this rematch for some time." It hefted its spear in anticipation.
Terenon heard a gasp behind him, and turned to see Serrila standing in the doorway in a state of shock. "Serrila!" he cried. "Get out of here!" The mage wove a quick spell, and numerous illusory doubles appeared of him, moving and weaving about in an intricate dance.
The aasimar swallowed down her bile, but resolutely shook her head, weaving a spell of her own. "You can't take it alone! I can help!" Likewise protected by mirror images, she strode to her lover's side.
"Your illusions will only delay the inevitable," Felespar called as it lashed out with spear and tail. The weapons pierced several of Terenon's and Serrila's images, causing them to wink out of existence.
The mages again work in synchronization, casting the same spell and further warding themselves with displacement effects. Forced to fight without equipment or even clothing, the two would have to rely on their spells and luck to survive. The devil snarled and focused its ire on Terenon, furiously tearing apart mirror image after mirror image. "You've got to be one of them!" it spat.
"Right here," Terenon growled, gathering necromantic energies to his hand and blasting the fiend with a ray of enervation. The devil snarled as its life force was suppressed. Before it could retaliate, Serrila lent her own magic to the battle, firing off a powerful bolt of lightning at Felespar. The devil turned aside, avoiding the brunt of the blast, and the bolt continued on and punched a hole in the wall behind it. The electricity crackled out into the night sky before dissipating.
Already, the burns from the lightning bolt were beginning to regenerate. Felespar knocked out Terenon's last mirror image, then cackled as he laid into the mage with his spear--or so he thought. By some small miracle, each of the fiend's attacks hit not the mage, but his magically displaced image! The cackle turned into a shriek of frustration.
Terenon seized on the advantage, sending another enervation ray at the devil. Serrila launched another lightning bolt, and hampered by the negative energy, the fiend caught it full in the chest, scorching its carapace and filling the room with the stench of ozone and charred flesh.
Reeling a bit, Felespar took a few steps back and took one hand from its longspear, thrusting it forward. A spiraling barrage of cold and ice assaulted the two mages, freezing their skin and tearing at their flesh. Serrila took the blast much harder than Terenon; she was forcibly knocked back against the wall, numerous lacerations appearing on her body.
Seeing Serrila hurt, Terenon felt a rush of emotion surging up inside him: concern, fear, anger. He had to end this quickly. Focusing on another spell, the mage took a gamble. He hoped that the enervation had eroded the fiend's will enough for the spell to be successful.
Felespar raised its hand to send another chilling blast at the mages, when suddenly it locked rigidly in place. Its eyes burned with inner fire, but it could no longer move. "Serrila!" Terenon said. "Get my dagger to finish him off!" The aasimar raced out of the room, but even as she did, the devil's mocking laughter echoed in Terenon's mind.
"You may have bested me, but you are too late to save the girl's soul. Remember the warning well." There was a blinding flash of light, and when it clears, the devil was gone.
Terenon's skin showed red despite the blast of cold he had suffered. The rage he felt was immense. He paced back and forth in the small room. A scream of anguish escaped his lips as his fists slammed against the wall. "NO! No, no, no, no!" His fury had no vessel. He could only rage against the empty air.
After a time, he became aware that Serrila had returned. The aasimar was on her knees, sobbing. His arms wrapped around her as he held her close. He began to cry. For the first time since he was a child, he cried. For what seemed like forever, he let the grief overwhelm him. How petty he was to think the thoughts he did earlier in the evening.
Felespar's words echoed in his head.
"I come with a warning from the white wyrm Acessiwal. Cease your meddling, or this girl will only be the first to suffer. One by one, your loved ones will be slaughtered."
Hours passed. Sunlight streamed in through the wall in Lisa's room, but it brought no warmth.