Black and red flesh convulses. Screams rise in a ragged chorus of woe.
Nergal shudders and catches hold of a nearby horn of rock to steady himself, gasping at the pain.
The Lord to Come of All Deep Hell bounds into the air, tentacles become mighty wings, arms spread in welcome.
The bolt that shocks out of the Simbul is so fierce that it plucks her from her feet and hurls her backward. As she falls, she sends her will riding along the beam, to pierce the mind of her foe even as the bright lance of her silver fire stabs him.
[In a brief glimpse across Avernus, a lone human female rises into the air like a beacon, her hair a halo of flame around her. Devils everywhere wince and roar and cringe. Distant mountains erupt in smoke and flame.]
Silver fire crashes into hot darkness, roiling…
*El, I am come.*
[amusement] *But of course.*
Nergal, roaring in torment at the fire raging in him, the Simbul ruthless in her scorching and searing, leaving him a broken as Hell that lives only because her Elminster is trapped within it, only to fade as her fire does, fade away…
[Nergal summons all of his power, a black-and-red wave, dark and swift enough to shatter even the Simbul's fury. He
[Red-and-black bolts howl out of the great winged devil, cleaving the blood-red sky like reaching fingers.]
Crash, stagger, bright beauty still standing…
Bloody lips twist. 'Is that the best you can do, devil?' Slender fingers point, and fire surges forth, a little wearily now…
Burst of blue-white fire, Nergal screaming…
[frantic red lightning, and flight]
[mind bolt, dark and huge, sent to slay, roaring through the vaults…]
[… and rebounding back through the darkness to slap down Nergal]
Sobbing and convulsing, the tentacled devil rolled in darkness, his chain melting away.
'Sorry,' said the naked, filthy man beside him. He waved stumps that were his arms. 'We're too closely linked now, devil, for
With a sudden, furtive movement, Elminster raised one arm to touch what was tangled in his hair. He said in his mind, cold and crisp and hard,
Nergal had just time to dart a look at his mind-slave before the bone fragments in him expanded into duplicates of the larger bones they'd been a part of-and the archdevil's body burst apart with a deep, wet roar.
[song, mad music wild and screaming, red fire and staring, disbelieving diabolic eyes, fading to darkness… oblivion]
Alone and maimed in a cavern deep in Avemus, Elminster went to his knees and sobbed bitterly. The mind that had ridden his for a seeming eternity was stilled and gone…
It's a dark thing to lose any being one knows so well.
[red, writhing pain, drifting back so slowly through torment, at last to the light…]
'Fires take all,' Nergal muttered, as weak and sick as he always was when coalescing back from tattered smoke and essence to solidity once more. He glared around blearily at the offal-choked cavern and the small, round black stone that was always there when he cheated death. More mighty contingency magic spent, wasted because of carelessness.
'That was a near one,' he whispered, not yet strong enough to growl. 'I'll never reign in Hell if I go on underestimating humans.'
'Too true,' a voice said sweedy, from behind him.
Nergal, rightful Prince of Hell, whirled around as quickly as he could on rubbery limbs. He stared into the smiling face of the Witch-Queen of Aglarond, who floated less than an arm's-reach away.
Her smile was as wide as that of a wolf, and her eyes were two dark flames.
'Go down forever, devil,' she hissed-and spread her hands. Holy water that was afire with blue-white and silver flames burst over him in a torrent. The last thing Nergal ever heard was the Simbul snarling,'For what you did to the one I love, I just wish I could slay you again and again!'
A dark, scaled hand set down a goblet that smoked and bubbled green in the gloom. 'How amusing,' Asmodeus observed from his throne of linked, living she-devils, and meant it.
Idly the Lord of Nessus reached out. Slaying magic built and snarled darkly up his arm and filled his cupped hand.
Asmodeus started to smile. Ah, sweet irony…
***
In a void of drifting stars, Mystra drew the howling man from her breast. She held Halaster out to face a whirling vision-the greatest devil of all smiling as dark fire filled, his hand. She whispered urgently,'Now!'
Halaster Blackcloak broke off a slobbering sound that was half-howl and half-giggle, drew himself up with dark eyes blazing, and snapped, 'Asmodeus! Bow
The Lord of Hell turned his head in astonishment- and across the voids and spheres and drifting chaos, their eyes met.
With a crooked smile Halaster Blackcloak said the word of the spell Mystra had taught him. All his raving madness roared out into Asmodeus, jolting that elegant body.
Those amused and sinister eyes rolled up and leaked golden fire. That quirked mouth parted in a cry of astonished agony.The fire of that titanic spell raged through the devil's mind.
As Mystra firmly dosed the link between void and Nessus Asmodeus blinked at the gloom all around and took another sip from his goblet. Now, what was it he'd been going to do? Something amusing…
***
Mystra laid down the black-robed wizard like a little doll on his own bed deep in Undermountain, patted the heads of his guardian deep dragons, and turned back to the void and the waiting arms of Azuth.
As they floated together, she sighed, smiled, and said, 'I
Before he kissed her, Azuth frowned and said gently, 'That might well prove a problem in the future.'
***
