Following Hunter’s, for lack of a better term, nose to each of the runes set by Samuel, Eric was able to take out three without having to encounter an Infernal. He found himself hoping that would be enough. The runes in question had to cover an area nearly a quarter-mile wide, after all. But, after waiting five minutes, he heard no sound of soldiers appearing. Maybe they wouldn’t even teleport underground, he thought. It was a good tactical decision, but it wasn’t the only one.

He pushed the doubt away, sure that Ehran wouldn’t leave him alone down here. Sooner or later, one of the Infernals above would notice what he was doing, and send people down to intercept him. There were probably some on the way already, he reasoned. All the more reason to keep moving. If he didn’t stay still, he’d be harder to locate. He moved on again.

He reached the fourth rune without difficulty as well and took in a large breath before hacking at them. The runes were all tucked into inconspicuous places to avoid notice, only visible if you were looking for them specifically as he was, and they were incredibly strong. Even at his own strength, he took several hits before he could make the smallest scratch in the etchings, which would cancel them out. Take out enough of them, he reminded himself, and he’d create a gap in the protective circle that allowed the waiting mages to teleport in more soldiers.

He finally succeeded in striking a shallow groove in the stone on which the rune was etched. Even that minuscule damage in its design was enough to cancel it completely, runery’s greatest weakness. Still, it felt like he was trying to scratch diamond each time. Damn Samuel’s strength, he thought. Even after he was dead, his protections were nearly impossible to undo. It would have been comforting knowledge if it weren’t working against him at the moment.

“Down here!” A voice shouted. By the sound of it, it was just around the corner. Then came the clattering of footsteps. Definitely more than one person, he thought. “Spread out and search for them!”

“How did they get down here from the palace without being noticed?” Another voice, this one female, answered him. “I thought we had guards stationed at the gates!”

“We do!” The voice replied, moving closer. “But he must have slipped by somehow!”

So they weren’t truly aware of how Ancient magic worked, he thought. At least, they didn’t know about World Shift. Of course, he didn’t know that it was a spell created long after the Infernals had been sealed away, back when Samuel had just gained his Ancient powers. All he knew was that his entry hadn’t been expected, so the enemy was surely expecting more than just one person.

“We can use that to our advantage,” he said quietly, keeping his voice just above a whisper. “Let’s take them down as quickly as possible, Hunter.”

“Let me do some scouting,” the wolf said. Then, a second later, Eric felt his spirit jerking out of his body. It seemed that Hunter had pulled him along. They raced out of the room and into the corridor, seeing three Infernals, two controlled by their human partners. The Infernals gave a shout of surprise as they saw the wolf charging them down. One, the female human, unleashed a firebolt in an instant.

It singed against Hunter’s hide but did no damage, and he barreled headfirst into her, sending her flying back into her ally behind, knocking both prone. The third, wielding a spear, ducked low as Hunter swiped at him, then brought up his weapon in a vicious slash. It was a direct hit and would have sliced open the beast’s stomach if it had a physical body. Instead, the connection to his sight was cut, and Eric found himself back in his own mind.

“What was that?” He asked, bewildered. “You just got cut-”

“It was a projection,” Hunter explained hastily. “That is what will happen if I attack in that way. So now we know the worst option and their numbers. Go!”

Eric leaped out, spurred by Hunter’s growl. When he broke clear of the room, he found the same three Infernals facing him. As before, the woman began by unleashing a bolt of fire at him. He dashed it to the side, then parried the spear thrust from the other human. He stumbled forward at the lack of resistance, unable to recover quickly enough to block Eric’s counterattack, which took him at the base of the back of his neck. He fell to the stone floor without a sound.

It was time magic, Eric realized. Hunter had been affected by their interaction with Oras, and had manifested that particular power into his own. He’d read ahead in the battle for a second, identifying Eric’s greatest threat, and allowing him to react swiftly. He felt himself grinning as he charged forward again, barreling towards the woman as she conjured a barrier.

“Get around it!” He shouted. Hunter knew what he meant at once, and leapt out of his body. He hit the stone wall first, then bounced off of it and slammed into the woman, smashing her into the stone wall of the passage. With the same movement, he blocked whatever spell the Infernal in the back had launched. Eric jumped over the wolf and slashed, opening a deep wound in the Infernal’s forearm, forcing him to switch places with his human counterpart and leap back.

He hit the ground, rolled to absorb the shock, then came up with a powerful thrust, his swords biting deep into the half-orc man’s body that had just appeared. He had enough force to ram the man into the wall behind him, but he didn’t stop, withdrawing his swords and slashing again. He heard the half-orc’s head hit the ground, a half second later than his body.

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“That’s a useful talent,” he said, breathing heavily. “I wonder what other talents you’ve picked up!”

“I’m still learning my abilities myself,” Hunter said as he leaped back to Eric, fading into his host without a sound. “But we cannot afford to waste time. The next rune is eighty yards in that direction.”

Eric raced off in that direction, finding the fifth rune without further interruption. He wagered that he had at least half a minute before more reinforcements came. It took him nearly that long to destroy the rune. As its light faded, he felt a chill run over his body, as if the escaping energy of the rune was more potent than its neighbors. Yet he was sure it wasn’t connected to the runes at all.

“What was that I just felt?” He asked Hunter. But he didn’t have to wait for an answer. A second later, a flood of water surged into sight, bursting into the storage room in which he’d found the rune. It was a strong current that knocked his feet out from under him, and he was thrown against the wall of the room with brutal force, slamming his head against the stone.

An Infernal appeared a moment after the surge of water, riding another, smaller wave, with frost coating his hands. Faster than Eric could blink, he was encased in solid ice, unable to move a finger. Then another Infernal appeared, holding a heavy mace. He ran toward Eric, holding the mace high, aiming for a devastating blow. He was saved by Hunter, who appeared again and clamped his jaws down on the Infernal’s arm, yanking him off-balance.

Quick as a flash, Hunter slammed the Infernal with the mace against the wall, then pounced on the one who’d created the ice. He connected perfectly, slamming his head against the wall of the corridor. The impact must have knocked him unconscious, for the ice faded, dropping Eric to the ground, sopping wet. The rest of the water crashed onto the floor with him, but he was already moving, running for the door.

“I’ll scout again,” Hunter offered. Eric paused just inside the door as Hunter rejoined him, then leaped away once more. Hunter raced down the passageway in one direction, then took the left path as he reached a fork. Nobody in sight all the way to the next run. “All clear.”

But as Eric took one step out of the room, he had to leap back almost at once. A wall of flames surged down the corridor, nearly incinerating him. He couldn’t even see who’d launched as he slammed the door to the storage room shut. Even with his reaction speed, he was still burned on one arm, and the sleeve of his tunic was smoldering. If he hadn’t been soaked beforehand, that would have been near-lethal, he thought.

“That’s a lot of fire,” he said, pointing out the obvious.

“It has to be a high Infernal,” Hunter said. “Damn!” I didn’t think there was enough time!”

“What’s a high Infernal?” Eric asked, letting out a sigh of relief as the roar of the flames finally died down. Whoever had launched that attack probably didn’t care about the other Infernals unconscious in the hallway. They were almost certainly dead now.

“It’s the highest form of bonding between an Infernal and their partner,” Hunter said. “It takes years to master!”

To his surprise, Eric found he already knew who it would be. At least, he had a strong suspicion, considering the strength of that magic. Sure enough, after a second, a voice rang out in the corridor, cold and smug, just the same as the one time he’d heard it before.

“Well, well, Master Breeden,” came the cold voice of Archmage Thunderborn, “I’m surprised you were able to find your way into the palace underground. Come out, and let me see you.”

In spite of the fact that Averin Thunderborn could easily strike him down the instant he showed his face, Eric opened the door, and, trying to hide his fear, stepped into the corridor. Thunderborn was several yards down, right at the turn of the corner. He wore dark gray robes now, chased with silver trim, and his head bore a silver circlet set with an emerald. Both he and the obvious artifact rippled with magical power so dense that even Eric could sense it.

“Tell me, how did you manage to get down here without the sentries noticing you?” Thunderborn asked. He didn’t look perturbed to find an enemy behind his lines. If anything, he looked amused at the twist to his plans. Before Eric could even think to come up with an answer, lie or otherwise, he let out a sigh of understanding. “Ah. Yes, I forgot that you are technically part Ancient. Of course, you used World Shift.”

“Guard your mind!” Hunter snarled, and not a moment too late. An invisible pressure slammed into Eric’s head, making him stagger back under its weight. Fighting back was out of the question under such a powerful grip. Thunderborn looked casual as ever as he assaulted his mind, taking a calm step forward.

“I can rush to him,” Hunter said. The wolf seemed to be suffering under the same pressure as him. Was Averin so strong that he could exert that pressure against both of them simultaneously? “But it will only be once, and you must react quickly.”

“Then rush him!” Eric growled. It was all he could do to retain his feet, but he willed himself to dart forward. Hunter appeared again, streaking forward, a white blur of magical power. As he moved, he seemed to distort some invisible wall of air, forcibly splitting it to the side. Eric’s mind was blissfully clear for a fraction of a second, and he rushed forward as well, his swords prepared to strike.

An inch away from making contact, Hunter was blasted back by a spell. He slammed back into Eric but was absorbed instead of making physical contact, and Eric, who already had considerable momentum behind his charge, couldn’t be knocked away as easily. He was in the perfect position to deal an instant telling blow. Just an inch away! He swung with all his might, aiming his blade for the Archmage’s neck.

Clang! Another blade, appearing in the hand of the Infernal who had just switched places with Averin, stopped his own, a fraction of an inch from severing the had. The strength of that block sent a shock through Eric’s body, rendering his arm half-numb. They’d switched places in less time than he could even comprehend the action! Then he felt a burning impact in his stomach as the Infernal ran another blade, a short knife, into him.

Eric broke away from the Infernal, and with Hunter’s help, put some distance between them. When he came to a rest, he put one hand on his wound and was relieved to feel that it wasn’t that deep. Still, it was bleeding heavily. He gritted his teeth, looking up at the Infernal who’d stabbed him, and felt his heart sink. He’d never met him, but his sheer presence left no doubt as to who he was. The Infernal that Averin had partnered with was perhaps the strongest of them all.

The Primeval.