Then die like a true servant of the Loyal Fury.
A peace settled over Kael in that instant, the thought filling him that he would represent his god in the best way he could, even without the deity's comforting presence to guide him. No one would know, perhaps, but he needed to prove to himself, one last time, that he was worthy of Tauran's trust in him. In grim resolve, Kael began a prayer to Torm, asking the deity for the strength and discipline to face the demon, no longer terrified that he would not be answered.
The gorilla-demon loomed over Kael again, raising both fists high, clenched together, ready to bring them down in a final, crushing blow. Kael realized he would not complete his prayer in time. He did not want to die, but he braced himself for it and hoped it would be with honor.
A flash of blue light filled one corner of the room.
Aliisza stepped through a magic doorway, her slender long sword in hand.
'Hey!' she shouted. 'Get away from my son!'
It took Kaanyr quite a while to find his way back to the small chamber where he and Aliisza had left their other companions. In the confusion and thrill of battle, he had become turned around in the catacombs, and he couldn't remember which route to take.
Along the way, he encountered a few other knots of demons and devils doing battle, but the invasion appeared to have been thwarted and the diabolical fiends were being destroyed or were fleeing. Kaanyr was pleased. He did not relish the idea of having to negotiate with devils, even though they were more willing to stick to their bargains than chaotic demons. He had double-crossed more than a few of them in his time, and he feared that his reputation might precede him in any dealings.
Kaanyr reached a series of tunnels that looked more familiar to him, and he followed the one he believed led back to the cave. He hurried down it, checking his wounded arm as he did so. The poisoned cut had turned a nasty shade of purple, and his entire arm was swollen and stiff. Whatever had coated the half-devil's scimitar, it was not treating him nicely at all.
As he drew closer, he could hear the sounds of fighting.
Not yet, he thought, increasing his pace. Don't kill the angel yet. I still need him.
Then another thought crossed his mind.
If I am too late, at least I would be free of his confounded geas upon me. The thought both pleased Kaanyr and forced him to sprint. He would not mind at all escaping the compulsion magic, but it would be by his own hand. The celestial bond required him to attempt to save Tauran.
Kaanyr turned the last corner and dashed into the chamber in time to see a huge, brutish bar-lgura with its back to him, flailing at some target he could not see. To one side, Zasian cowered against the wall, the illumination that surrounded him providing the only light in the cave. Next to the priest, Kael struggled to rise to his hands and knees, but the knight appeared woozy and was having trouble staying upright. On the opposite side of the chamber, Tauran also tried to move, but the angel, bound as he was, could not do much more than thrash around on the hard stone floor.
Kaanyr ran to Tauran. 'Can you heal this?' he asked, thrusting his wounded arm in the angel's face. 'I've been poisoned by a devil's blade.'
The deva blinked and stared at both the wound and Kaanyr's face. 'Help Aliisza,' he croaked, his voice hoarse. 'Hurry!'
Kaanyr saw that Aliisza was the object of the big ape-demon's wrath. She brandished her weapon but could do little more than poke and prod defensively at her foe's ferocious punches and swipes. Kaanyr grinned and felt an old, familiar stirring at the thought of fighting alongside her. Watching her lithe, black-clad body glide so smoothly from one battle stance to another always thrilled him. But his wound was pulsing in time with his heartbeat.
'I can fight better with both arms healthy. Can you do it?'
Tauran shook his head. 'Not bound like this,' he said, and his voice cracked. 'But there's no time to free me. Aid her first!'
Sighing in exasperation, Kaanyr rose to his feet and slid Spitefang free. He swished the blade through the air and then closed the gap with the crazed demon. He tried to ignore his throbbing arm as he swung the blade with all his might, aiming toward the bar-lgura's flank.
The blade bit deep into the demon's flesh and sent crackling purple energy crisscrossing over the beast's body. The demon howled and spun away from Aliisza, turning its glittering red eyes on Kaanyr. With a roar, it tried to smash Kaanyr with one of its fists. Kaanyr stepped neatly out of the way and sliced at the wrist of the creature. Once more, the keen edge of his sword sliced deeply into demon flesh, and the malevolent magic of the blade scoured the demon.
The ape-thing yelped, but before it had time to react, Aliisza stabbed her own sword into its shoulder, then she flung a handful of glowing, magical missiles at it. As the familiar azure glow erupted around the alu, her whistling blue darts hit it in the head, and the creature dropped to the ground and writhed in death throes. Kaanyr finished it off with a quick thrust into its chest, directly into the demon's black heart.
When it was clear the fight was finished, Kael said, 'That was fortuitous timing, Vhok.' He attempted to rise on unsteady feet that were still restricted by steel. 'I thought we would all meet our end here.'
Kaanyr nodded, catching his own breath. 'Glad I could be of service,' he said absently, not even mocking the knight. His arm burned with an inner fire. He turned to Tauran. 'My arm is about to fall off. Do you think you could possibly take care of it now?'
The angel closed his eyes as though in pain, but he nodded. 'Yes,' he said. 'I will heal you with what little power I have left.'
'No,' Kael said.
Kaanyr spun to face him, angry. 'What?' he asked. 'Why not?'
'Let Zasian try, first,' Kael said, pointing at the priest. 'He has a healer's touch and isn't suffering the effects of this place like Tauran is.'
Kaanyr smirked, but he didn't argue. He moved over to where the priest sat, a vacant look upon his face. 'Can you leech the poison out of my wound and heal me?' he asked. When Zasian didn't answer, Kaanyr squatted down in front of him. 'Hey, you!' he said, raising his voice. 'Can you hear me?'
Zasian finally turned his gaze toward Kaanyr, but there was little recognition there. Kaanyr sighed but held his arm out in the hope that perhaps the man who had once been his adversary might understand. The priest looked at the wound and finally, some sense of awareness blossomed in his eyes.
'You're hurt,' he said, reaching out to touch the open sore, which by then had become a festering gash oozing greenish pus. The touch sent fiery pain shooting through Kaanyr's arm, which was otherwise growing numb.
'Yes,' Kaanyr said, trying to remain patient. 'I've been poisoned. Can you do something about it?'
Zasian did not answer, but he dabbed at the infected cut with the tip of his finger. The cambion clenched his teeth and tried not to wince.
Zasian closed his eyes and let his fingers caress the wound. Where he touched, Kaanyr felt cooling sensations, and the swelling seemed to go down the slightest bit, while color returned to the skin. Kaanyr let out a deep, satisfied sigh, not realizing until it was made better just how bad his arm had felt.
Zasian continued to work for a few moments more, magically leeching all of the poison and infection from Kaanyr's arm. When he was finished, the priest smiled vaguely up at the cambion, then turned his gaze away again, lost in his own stare.
Kaanyr stared at the place where the wound had been. His arm felt perfect, and there was nothing to denote that he had been injured at all other than a very narrow white scar that was already fading. The cambion flexed his arm a few times, testing its mobility. Satisfied, he rose to his feet and turned toward the others.
It was only then that he realized what a sorry state Aliisza was in.
Her body looked beaten and battered, and blood poured from several wounds. She had balled herself into a knot and was retching blood. She gasped for breath as she writhed on the hard stone ground, even as the blue glow around her faded.
Kneeling down beside her, Kaanyr said, 'You look like death warmed over. Do not tell me you aren't hurt.'
