Page 99 of Kiss of Magic

She climbed onto the stone and lay on her back. She didn’t let go of Blake’s hand for a second, scared that if she did her courage would desert her.

Around the edge of the stone circle, the witches raised their arms. The ritual began.

Forty Six

Nush’aldaam

The demons swarmed. Through the fields of Mirador, the forests of Feyir, the valleys of Nurhan, across the coastal plains and into the borderlands with Palissandra, they plundered and ravaged.

The people were better prepared than five thousand years ago. This time they didn’t flee and hide, leaving the warfare to the nobles. This time they formed civilian army units, each under the command of a seasoned military officer, and each with their own thermal weapons.

They dug in bravely and faced off against the twisted, misshapen enemies of old. Sometimes they won. More often they lost. But they fought. Everywhere, they fought.

Another dawn came.

In Nurhan, Shade battled to defend Castle Elumina from scores of demons trying to breach the walls. He flew high overhead, razing them with fire from a thermal gun. There were Vulcani on the ground below using their own fire-power and between them they had some tactical success. The air filled with the stink of smoke and burning flesh.

But for each demon they dispatched, five more were right behind it. And the creatures were learning to evade their weapons. Gradually, they were ripping through Nurhan’s defences as if they were nothing more than tissue paper.

Exhausted, Shade alighted on the ramparts. His soldiers continued to fire but Shade knew their ammunition was low. It was only a matter of time now before they were overrun. Hewatched the demons advance and thought of Raya. He wished he had stayed by her side. At least then they would have been together.

In Valkar, Salaq stared coldly at the demons bounding and shimmering towards them. The first line of his soldiers on the outskirts of the city had been overwhelmed and now lay dead, their weapons smashed and broken beyond repair.

The second line of defence had been more successful, positioned as they were in gantries and turrets just outside the castle gates. But the demons moved fast and though their numbers had been thinned, far too many of them remained.

They were now inside the castle grounds and moments away from breaching the final line of fire.

Salaq turned to his daughter.

“Morenna, I want you to take the women and children and lock yourselves in the dungeons.”

“I’m not leaving you, father.”

“It’s not a request. I’m giving you an order.”

Ren drew herself up.

“I’m not a child anymore. I’m a grown woman and in case you’d forgotten, the Empress of Nush’aldaam. I’m staying right here.”

“By the gods, stop being so obstinate!” Salaq snapped. “Staying here means certain death. The demons are almost upon us. My duty is to protect you for as long as I can. So do as I say and…”

“Father.” Ren put out a hand and touched Salaq’s shoulder. It was something she rarely did. He hated physical contact. But she wanted to get her point across. “We are Marid. We don’t run and hide. I’m staying with you.”

He stared at her for a long moment, then nodded curtly.

“Very well.” They turned to face the demons again, watching as the first of them began to scale the walls. “Your mother would be proud of you.”

It was said so quietly, Ren thought she’d imagined it.

“She would have been proud of you too, father,” she replied.

Then there was no more time for words. Salaq thrust Ren behind him as the first of the demons scaled the parapet. He aimed his weapon and fired.

From a temporary command centre on the outskirts of Arjhan, the Emperor issued his orders. He sent those Vulcani who could manifest wings to Nurhan and Valkar to provide aerial support. Armoured vehicles carrying troops and weapons were deployed to areas where casualty reports were highest.

He sent Tala with a small team to sweep Arjhan for any remaining demons, though most appeared to have left. Darian wasn’t with her – the vampire had been forced to take cover from the daylight. He should have been sleeping, but he fought his fatigue to join Kam in the bunker.

“Any word from the others?” he asked tersely.

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