Path of Dragons

Book 6: Chapter 93: A Helping Hand

An unidentifiable stench washed over Elijah only a moment before the scaled wolves hit him. He braced himself, catching one only seconds before its jaws snapped shut on his face. The thing was big, and it was strong enough to cause real issues as it raked its back claws into his torso. Each attack was answered by a thorn, but to Elijah’s surprise, they proved ineffective and incapable of penetrating the creature’s scales.

Without any ethera to power other abilities – like Domain of Vines – he had no choice but to fight with sheer Strength. Fortunately, he had plenty of that, which he employed to great effect when he heaved the scaled wolf across the room. It hit the wall a second later, but it was only briefly stunned.

At the same time, the rest of the wolves reached him.

If he’d been in a state to appreciate it, he might have been impressed with their fighting style. The creatures were clearly pack animals, and they likely had a history of cooperative hunting. They were well-suited to working together, and they used their instincts well when fighting against an individually superior and much larger opponent.

They never stopped moving, dashing in and ripping chunks of flesh from his legs. Meanwhile, others attacked from the front while their companions circled Elijah like the pack of wolves they resembled. And finally, the Houndmaster itself brought its abilities to bear, attacking with thrown javelins that seemed to come from nowhere.

The last attacks were decidedly weak, and Elijah could see the effects of his venom spreading through the Houndmaster’s body. It wasn’t long for the world, which meant that Elijah only needed to hold on for a little while longer before the drain on his ethera – which he assumed was based on one of its skills – disappeared.

That was easier said than done, though. The scaled wolves weren’t much faster than him, but they were incredibly tough. Elijah wasn’t sure if that was just a characteristic of their scales or if they possessed incredibly high Constitution attributes. What he did know was that his thorns were entirely incapable of delivering their toxic payload.

Blunt force worked a little better, and he battered the wolves with heavy blows that sent them skipping away across the room. They always recovered, though, and when they did, they returned to join their packmates that were, slowly but surely, tearing Elijah apart piece by piece.

The only good fortune he experienced was when the Houndmaster finally collapsed. He felt a wave of experience a moment later, but the drain on his ethera didn’t halt. Nor did the scaled wolves cease their assault. If anything, they came at him harder than ever before.

Elijah was just considering retreat, with an eye toward leading the pack back to the group, when everything changed.

A giant, bull-headed demon rushed into the room, let out a fiery roar, and immediately and repeatedly slammed its head into the wall. Elijah had no clue what it was doing or why, but it certainly went about its task with incredible fury. It wasn’t until a few seconds later that Elijah discovered the truth, announced by a small, localized explosion. The shockwave sent the demon stumbling backward, but it quickly recovered, shook its head, then attacked a different section of the wall. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

More importantly, Elijah suddenly felt the drain on his ethera weaken. It wasn’t enough to activate any of his abilities, but the change highlighted what was going on. Clearly, the room was riddled with traps – not unlike the ones Kurik had deployed against the sentry golems – and the demon was on a quest to destroy them.

Despite the feeling he got from the creature – which was far from pleasant – Elijah was more than willing to accept it as an ally. So, he maintained his defenses against the scaled wolves as the demon rammed into another part of the wall. It was then that Elijah felt the trap. It was just a pinprick of increased ethera, but when he focused on it, he felt a powerful pull that reminded him of an ethereal black hole.

A little more focus, and he could barely sense the threads of ethera flowing into it. They were so thin that, even with all of his focus, it was still easy to lose track of them. But with the amount of energy flowing through those threads, they should have been much, much bigger – at least according to his understanding. That they existed forced him to question his comprehension of how ethera worked.

Unfortunately, with every passing moment, the scaled wolves became more and more ferocious. They didn’t get any stronger or faster. Rather, they were enveloped by a level of rage Elijah could feel pulsing within them. It far exceeded anything he’d felt while in the Shape of the Guardian, reminding him of animals afflicted with rabies.

Or people who’d experienced a psychotic break.

One thing was certain was that they were a problem, and even with all his power, Elijah struggled to stop them. As a result, they ripped him to shreds, cutting through his Scales of Bark like it wasn’t even active. What, then, would those creatures be capable of against someone who couldn’t mitigate half the damage they caused? It was a sobering thought.

Still, Elijah persisted, and gradually, he regained his ethera. Once he had enough, he activated Domain of Vines. The effect wasn’t as powerful as he’d hoped. These scaled wolves were much stronger than even the empowered wraiths, and they were capable of ripping free of the vines, so long as they gave it a little effort. However, it did slow them down, which was all Elijah needed to tip the balance in his direction.

The bull-headed demon rammed into the walls over and over until it had circled the entire room. At the same time, Elijah dispatched one scaled wolf after another. Each kill came at the end of monumental effort, but he managed it all the same. By the time the drain on his ethera completely ceased, he’d killed all but three of the creatures.

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A normal pack would have long since retreated. He’d seen scaled wolves in the wild do just that when faced with defeat. However, these beasts continued to fight just as ferociously as in the very beginning.

It was only when he’d torn the pack down to a single member did he investigate what he felt within the creature. He held it at bay, using all but three facets of his Mind to bore into the sense granted by One with Nature. He felt it, then. Like someone had bored a hole through the animal’s spirit.

Something vital was missing. But he saw enough ragged edges to recognize that it wasn’t something natural. If anything, it looked like an infection that had been cut out of a gangrenous wound. It was then that it all clicked together.

That Houndmaster wasn’t like Oscar, with his Pack Leader class. With the latter, the dogs were equal and consensual partners. With the former, the alliance had been forced upon the scaled wolves.

Elijah was disgusted, and he wanted to pull the creature back, to repair the damage that had been done. But despite the depth of his pity, he knew the damage was done. The scaled wolf was irrevocably changed, and there was nothing he could do but put it out of its rage-filled misery.

So, when the opportunity presented itself, he didn’t hesitate to grab it around the neck and twist. Its neck snapped, and, after only a brief struggle for life, it died. Afterward, Elijah just stared down at the creature, unsure of what he should have felt. The wave of experience from the scaled wolves and the Houndmaster had pushed him into the next level, but he couldn’t feel good about it.

“That was pretty close,” came an expected voice.

Elijah didn’t have to look up to know that Benedict had come. The demon wasn’t the same as the one he’d seen back in the Citadel of Innovation, and it certainly wasn’t an imp. But Elijah had known from the very beginning who held its leash.

It did beg the question of whether or not Benedict’s abilities put him into a similar position to the one enjoyed by the Houndmaster. The answer wasn’t difficult to discover. It only took a little focus on One with Nature for him to determine that the demon wasn’t a true beast. Rather, it was, for lack of a better word, a manifestation. In short, it hadn’t existed before Benedict had summoned it.

Elijah finally looked up and what he saw took him aback. Benedict was in rough shape. One arm hung limp, while a coat of blood covered his hip. His hair clung to his scalp, and a ragged wound stretched from his ear, down his jaw, and almost to the corner of his mouth.

After Elijah let Shape of Thorn fall away, he cast Soothe, then asked, “What happened to you?”

As Elijah’s healing spell hit, Benedict visibly relaxed. “So glad that was you,” he said. “I felt like it was, but there was no telling for sure. Is that a new form?”

Elijah nodded. “You were with Oscar, right?”

“For a while. We got separated,” Benedict answered. “How do you know that? Did you find him? Is he okay?”

It was odd, seeing concern from Benedict. In previous interactions, he’d seemed mostly self-interested. But Elijah would be the first to acknowledge that people could be complicated.

“He lost one of the dogs.”

Benedict’s shoulders sagged. “Oh. I…I thought that maybe…but I wasn’t sure. It broke him, didn’t it?”

“Something like that. I think he can get better, but…”

“But probably not in here,” the Warlock said. He pushed a strand of blood-soaked hair out of his eyes, saying, “I suppose we don’t have much of a choice, do we? What happened to the Nexus?”

As Elijah explained everything he knew, he continued to heal Benedict. He did keep an eye on the demon, though. The thing was enormous – even more so from his human-sized perspective – with great, sweeping horns that made it look like a demonic minotaur. The red coloring probably reinforced that notion.

“So we don’t know how many survived?” asked Benedict.

Elijah shrugged. “I’m sure they have a good idea by now. But honestly, I didn’t think you cared so much. I know how you summon those demons.”

“You think you have a right to judge me?”

“It depends on whether or not you sacrificed innocents.”

“Honestly? Probably,” Benedict acknowledged. “This big guy came from sacrificing wraiths. I’m sure some of them didn’t ask for what happened to them. But if you’re talking about humans, I only kill people who threaten me. Bullies, mostly. People who think they can dominate me.”

“As long as you keep it that way, we can coexist.”

“And if not?”

Elijah shrugged, saying, “Usually, this is when I threaten people. Do what I say, or we’ll have a problem. That sort of thing.”

“But not this time?”

“I don’t know, man,” Elijah admitted. “I think you know the answer to that question. You can’t go around killing innocent people and expect me not to respond. I’m not here to police the world, but if I catch wind –”

“I get it,” Benedict said, holding up his bloody hands. “For what it’s worth, I don’t want a fight. I just want to live my life. So long as people leave me alone, I’m content with coexistence. But if not…”

“Hopefully it won’t come to that. As far as the others are concerned, I don’t know how they’ll react to your presence. Sadie, at the very least, will be a problem.”

“Not much to be done about that. I’m not so naïve as to believe I can survive much longer on my own. This place is crawling with enemies, and they’re not all weak. Some are real soldiers. A few that I’ve…interrogated spoke of a General. And there’s the Lightning Emperor to worry about as well. I think we need to work together,” Benedict said.

Elijah believed that as well. The group was already weaker after what had happened with Ikan and his people, and Benedict would go a long way to filling that gap. Elijah had seen what the Warlock could do, and he had to admit that he wanted the man on his side. It wasn’t just for the benefits he offered, either. Something in the back of Elijah’s mind told him that, left to his own devices, Benedict could go down a very bad path. In the interest of public safety, he wanted to prevent that.

There were only two ways to accomplish that feat. He could kill the man, then and there, or he could try to usher him towards a better outcome. Elijah didn’t even have to think about it to choose the latter.

To that end, he asked Benedict to come back with him so they could regroup with the others. “I’ll make sure Sadie doesn’t cross any lines,” he added.

Benedict nodded and said, “I trust you.”

So, with that in mind, they spent the next hour heading back to the chamber where the others had taken up a defensive position. Along the way, they were forced to fight a few times. The ta’alaki soldiers usually came in groups of ten, and they probably would have been quite a challenge against most people. But Elijah and Benedict were among the most powerful people on Earth, and as such, they simply overwhelmed the patrols.

They’d only just returned to the chamber when Elijah felt something extremely troubling. Dat sprinted down one of the other halls, running as fast as he could while holding Helen in his arms.

He shouted, “They’re coming! A whole army! Get ready!”

The whole group took notice and erupted into motion. They barely had a chance to move before something hit Dat in the back, sending him tumbling across the floor.

“No!” Sadie screamed, running toward that entrance. She’d only taken a few steps before a veritable horde of ta’alaki rushed out to meet her.