“How will you summon Izenros?” Hellstorm asked.
They were now sitting around a table in a dimly lit room Hellstorm suspected to be the ritual room. Even in hiding, a Vessel was still a Vessel, and they would need a ritual room where they could do all their sinister demonic shit. Black symbols of various designs populated the walls of the room. Hellstorm recognized some of the symbols as protective and fortification runes. Some of these protective runes were also visible on Ziegler’s neck and arms.
“I can’t risk a physical or astral summon,” said Ziegler. “Prince Izenros is too strong, and I don’t have any ancient relic to boost my power. Bezvaros’s Crystal is gone. You people made sure of it.”
“So what do you have in mind?” asked Hellstorm, ignoring Ziegler’s accusatory tone.
“That leaves us with the third and easiest option,” said Ziegler. “A medium summon. I can only summon Prince Izenros to possess me. It’s all I can do. If you want him here physically, then I can’t help you.”
“That’s more than enough. Go ahead.”
“Why do you want him so badly? People ran from the Septos… what could be so important that you would risk everything just to meet the last prince of the Septos?”
Hellstorm balled his fist and then in a hardened tone, he said, “Get to work, Ziegler.”
Why he wanted Izenros was no one’s business. Now that the Order was looking for him, he had to do whatever he could to keep them from finding out. It was the only way to protect his family.
“A medium summon may be easier to do, but this is no ordinary demon we are summoning,” said Ziegler. Did Hellstorm have to slap the Vessel in the face to stop him from wasting his time? “I need you as an anchor.” Ziegler looked at him sternly.
“What does that mean?”
Ziegler grabbed both of Hellstorm’s hands in a tight grip. “It means don’t let go of my hands no matter what. I will sever the connection with Prince Izenros if you do. Without the power I draw from you, I won’t be able to hold the possession even if I succeed in summoning the prince. So don’t break the contact, do you understand?”
“How long will this take?”
“About an hour. Royal demons require complex spells.”
An hour. That should be enough time. Those fuckers had put an energy tracer on him. He had managed to replicate his location to confuse them for a while. Hopefully, Ziegler would be done before the vanquishers arrived. If the vanquishers found him in a Vessel’s home while attempting a summoning, it would make his case even worse. Whatever. He had no other choice.
“You only need the contact. Which means as long as I keep touching you, you can keep doing the spell, right?” asked Hellstorm.
“Well, yes.”
Hellstorm freed his hands from Ziegler’s grip and instead, rested one hand on the Vessel’s palm. “Now that’s better.”
“You don’t trust me.”
“Says the man who tried to kill me.”
“Fair enough.”
“Get on with it. And don’t try to be slick. I won’t hesitate to end you.”
“No need for that.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Ziegler began to chant in a strange language. As he did so, his hazel eyes grew lighter, until only the whites of his eyes remained. He seemed lost in his trance, and even when Hellstorm waved his free hand in Ziegler’s face, the Vessel did not blink. Ziegler’s voice got louder and more frenzied. A whooshing sound filled the room, and a gale came out of nowhere. Hellstorm tightened his grip around Ziegler’s hand. Was this going to go on for half an hour?
Several minutes later, Ziegler’s entire body began to tremble violently. The gale was now strong enough to destroy a building, however, everything stood in its place without moving, unperturbed by the wind. It must be the protection runes, Hellstorm thought.
Through the loud gushing of the wind, Hellstorm sensed something strange. He frowned. It wasn’t the wind. The tortures he endured in Bezvar had heightened his senses so he knew there was indeed something else in the house. The new presence had concealed itself incredibly well, and had Hellstorm been his previous self, he might never have sensed it.
Shit. How did they find him so quickly? It seemed he had underestimated how badly the Order wanted him. Then again, he’d heard that Pheleraz Zoleris had been put in charge of this mission, so it wasn’t even that surprising. Unfortunately, Hellstorm could not break the connection with Ziegler. He wasn’t leaving this place until he spoke to the demon prince. Izenros was the only one on earth right now who could give him the answers he needed.
“Come on Ziegler. Hurry up.”
Then the doors burst open and scores of vanquishers broke into the room and surrounded Hellstorm and Ziegler.
Fuck.
“Step away from the Vessel, Hellstorm,” one of the vanquishers commanded. It wasn’t someone Hellstorm recognized. Where was Pheleraz? Typical of him to not show up. But at least, Pheleraz was smart enough to send seasoned vanquishers after him. Every single vanquisher in the room was at least a class two vanquisher.
“Stay back,” he snarled at the vanquishers. Meeting Izenros was too important. “All of you.” But the vanquishers did not listen. They moved closer, brandishing their vaz.
“You’re under arrest, Hellstorm of Draghein School,” said the man who had spoken earlier. He must be the captain of this team. “If you resist, we’ll be forced to kill you.”
With what exactly? Your vaz or your bare hands? “I’m not leaving here until I get what I came for.”
“Stop the Vessel,” the captain ordered.
A man holding a holy chain stepped behind Ziegler. “No,” Hellstorm growled. With his right hand firmly holding Ziegler, he jumped on the table. Supporting his weight with his other hand, he sent a swift kick into the vanquisher’s face. Without breaking the contact, Hellstorm put his hand on Ziegler’s shoulder and stood behind him. He glared at the vanquishers. “I told you, I’m not leaving until I get what I came for. I don’t want to fight you. But I will beat the shit out of all of you with one hand if you insist.”
The vanquishers glanced at their captain in uncertainty.
“You know your vaz won’t work on me, right? I’m a vanquisher just like you.”
“You’re also a demon now.”
Hellstorm narrowed his eyes. They must be talking about his demonic portal. Dammit, things were not going as planned. Ziegler was still doing the spell. How fucking long was it anyway? Besides, if Ziegler managed to summon Izenros, Hellstorm couldn’t possibly talk to him in front of everyone. No one must know what he was planning to do. Not the Order, and definitely not Bezvaros.
The life of his family depended on it. Right now, there was nothing he could do to stop the Order from coming after him. He had already captured seven royal demons from the Order, and they would do everything to get him to answer for his actions. He more than anyone knew how relentless the Ancient Order of Vanquishers was.
Honestly, this was all one big joke. He almost died serving the Order and now that he was back, they were trying to arrest him. Was Ziegler right? Had someone in the Order really planned the whole thing to get rid of him? No, he couldn’t trust someone as crafty and slick as Ziegler. But even if he didn’t trust Ziegler, it was true that there were people in the Draghein Family who openly hated Hellstorm. To them, Hellstorm would always be an outsider. If these vanquishers arrested him, they would take him back to Rhodine, and he would have to stand trial. Hellstorm was not afraid of standing trial. He had done nothing but serve the Order until they turned on him.
Did they turn on me?
Whether they did or did not, it was only a matter of time until the Order learned the whole truth. And once they knew the truth, they would definitely turn on him. In the meantime, he would have to shape that truth to keep his family safe. He thought he could keep his little princess out of this, but not anymore.
Forgive me for the detour, my love. I need to protect our baby. If he gave the Order a plausible reason for capturing all those royal demons, they would release him. He was Hellstorm after all — he still had a lot of influence in the Ancient Order of Vanquishers. With a heavy heart, Hellstorm released Ziegler.