Connor couldn’t restrain his smile when he watched the energy flowing through the crystal matrix. Since he added Damien and the demon sword to his collection the energy available had more than doubled. It was a rare bit of good luck. The only way he could have used the demon sword’s power was to draw it through a human sorcerer. He stood at the apex of the cavern, the swirling darkness of the hell gate above him. On its pedestal the Soul Burn Crystal pulsed with stored energy. He ran a loving hand over the smooth blue surface. It reminded him of a giant sapphire, burning with an inner light.

“Are you going to play with it all day, or are you going to start building an army?” Connor had hung the spirit in the mirror from a jutting rock spear off to one side of the crystal chamber. In his pleasure at having collected enough power sources, he’d forgotten all about the obnoxious creature.

“I’m savoring the moment. Now be silent.”

The spirit snorted, but made no further comments. It had a point though. After all this time Connor had waited long enough. He sent his will along with a trickle of hellfire into the crystal. The ground shook and a pair of oblong crystal growths with simple protrusions that resembled facial features poked up. They were followed shortly by boxy shoulders, long arms, massive chests, and legs.

In less than a minute Connor had grown two crude humanoids out of blue crystal. Ugly things, but they should prove sufficient hosts. They didn’t need to be pretty, just strong. With the hosts complete, Connor released a portion of the collected soul force from the crystal into the hell gate. Energy swirled and crackled overhead. Two bolts of black lightning struck the crystal figures. The lattice shifted and reshaped. Crude features twisted in cruel, hate-filled sneers. Eye sockets filled with red light. Talons and spurs of razor-sharp crystal grew from their hands and feet.

“Kneel.”

Connor held his breath. For a moment he feared they might not obey, that he might have to destroy his new creations before he could use them. To his considerable relief, after a brief hesitation, the crystal warriors went down on one knee. Connor blew out the breath he’d been holding. So far so good.

The spirit cackled. “Congratulations, you can manage two of them. Let’s see you make an army.”

Connor debated for perhaps the thousandth time blasting the mirror and once again decided against it. It wasn’t that he cared about the spirit so much as that he didn’t want to smash one of King Alexious’s treasures. It felt rude. Instead, he conjured a dark globe around the mirror that muted the spirit’s grating laugh. Not as satisfying, but sufficient.

Now for the next test. He placed a finger on the side of the crystal and drew out a small ring.

“Come with me.”

He left the portal chamber and walked along the spiral path down towards the cave entrance. The crystal demons made every bit as much noise as Mikhail ever did filling him with an odd nostalgia. He never imagined missing the dimwitted knight, but the cavern seemed empty without his hulking presence.

Connor paused when he reached his newest power source. The boy glared at him with hate-filled eyes. More interesting was the simple fact that he somehow remained conscious. Remarkable durability and willpower. A trickle of blood had dried on the prisoner’s arm.

Connor stepped closer and wiped it off. “You must be more careful. If you accidentally kill yourself it will be very inconvenient for me. Please refrain from struggling in your restraints.”

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“I’m going to kill you, you pasty-faced son of a bitch,” Damien said. His gaze darted to the crystal soldiers then back to Connor. “What are those things?”

Connor thought for a moment then shrugged. What could it hurt to tell him? Besides, Connor seldom had anyone, besides Morana, to talk to who actually understood what he was doing. It might be fun to brag a bit.

“They’re demonic vessels. I grew them out of the blue crystal then animated them with a demon spirit.”

Damien raised an eyebrow. “Like golems?”

Connor smiled. He really was a clever boy. “Very similar, yes. I’m impressed you drew the parallel. Many young sorcerers wouldn’t have had a clue. You must have studied a great deal.”

Damien nodded. “Mostly when I was trying to figure out what you were up to. I read every book you read during your time at The Tower. Some pretty dark stuff.”

Connor could hardly contain his excitement. “It’s fascinating, isn’t it? Divine creatures are simply amazing in their adaptability and power. I’ve been entranced with them ever since I discovered what they were capable of. Yet for all their power they are at their most basic simply energy and that energy can be controlled by humans. To a certain extent anyway.”

“You still consider yourself human?” Damien asked.

“Not purely human, no. A warlock represents the best of both worlds. A human mind and body controlling divine soul force. We’re not so different, your protests to the side.” Connor looked from Damien to his sword. “We both control demonic soul force. And we’re both made greater by its infusion into our bodies. Do you deny it?”

“I don’t control Lizzy. She has her own will and chooses to use her power to help me for which I am grateful beyond words. You, however, are nothing but a tool for a demon lord.”

Connor shrugged. “I traded service for power. I’m no different from any human knight serving a king, it’s just that my lord is so much stronger than any mortal ruler.”

Damien sighed and shook his head. “You can believe that if it makes you feel better, but we both know it’s nonsense.”

Connor had grown bored with the conversation. In the end, the boy was no different than all the others. He simply couldn’t understand Connor’s greatness. No amount of explanation would help. It was time to resume his work.

He took a step down the ramp and Damien said, “Your cousin Giovanni says hello. He seemed quite anxious about your wellbeing.”

Connor spun. He hadn’t thought about his dear cousin in years. “Where did you see him?”

“Under Port Valcane. Your allies were about to cut his heart out as an offering to your precious lord. I talked them out of it.”

“Talked?”

Damien grinned. “Boom!”

“Is he okay?”

“Yeah. Looks like he might have missed a few meals, but other than that he seemed fine. Were you two close?”

Connor smiled at Damien’s disbelieving tone. Giovanni had always understood him better than anyone. They’d been inseparable as kids. When Connor went to The Tower and started down his true path he tried to convince Giovanni to join him, but in the end his cousin had been too pedestrian in his thinking, unable to wrap his mind around the glory Connor had offered him. Giovanni would have been a much better knight than Mikhail: more brains, less arrogance.

They went their separate ways years ago, but Connor continued to miss his dear friend. It would have been nice to find a way to save Giovanni when it came time for the final sacrifice, but Connor saw no path for that. Pity, but that was why they called them sacrifices.

“I know it doesn’t mean much coming from me, but thank you for saving him.”

Connor continued on past his unconscious prisoners and out of the cave. Morana sat on a conjured stool and was staring off into the emptiness of the haunted lands. She hopped to her feet when he drew close.

“It’s boring out here.” She looked past him at the two crystal demons. “Are those the first?”

He nodded and handed her the ring. “Here, practice commanding them. All you need to do is concentrate and they should do what you want. At the very least the ring will keep them from attacking you.”

She stared at him then down at the ring. “Are you sure?”

“Reasonably. This is all a first for me as much as it is for you. Good luck.” Connor started back inside and the crystal demons followed. He stopped and pointed to the ground in front of Morana. “Stay!”

Connor took a couple steps and when it became clear the constructs weren’t going to follow nodded once. It was time to get serious about making his army.