The steps of the palace were marble, each one a different shade of gray, running from black at the bottom to pure white at the very top. Their beauty was sullied by the demons rushing down them, though their numbers were starting to subside. One almost ran straight into me, and I knocked it aside with a swing of both my weapons that tore a great chunk from its black-furred chest. I dashed up the steps, taking them two at a time, weaving through the last of the oncoming horde and up to the top.
I spun behind a pillar as another wave of demons stormed from the entrance hall and down the palace steps.
This chamber had been turned into a shrine. A statue stood at the far end, granite carved into the shape of a hugely muscled demon. Embedded in its chest was a swirling portal, a miasma of black and red currents. Horned and scaled monsters poured out of the magical gateway, crossed the entrance hall, and moved past me to the palace steps.
In front of the statue was an altar with large urns of incense sticks smoldering at each end. The room was full of their smoke, deep and earthy but with something rotten underneath, and I had to steady myself as the fumes made my head spin. In front of the altar knelt a figure in a yellow cloak, their back to me and their hands folded in their lap, apparently deep in meditation.
Saruqin. I’d found the man responsible for all the horrors in Hyng’ohr.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Even with his back to me, Saruqin radiated power. It was in the air all around us, a magical presence like that in my spirit weapons, yet somehow more intense and unrestrained.
I advanced slowly toward the altar, the weapons glowing in my hands, and the air between us crackled with Vigor. I noticed that the ground beneath my feet was not tiled or made of stone, but packed earth. Powerful Augmenters could probably use Hidden Burrow on tilted ground, but it would certainly be easier to use packed earth.
So, this shrine was Saruqin’s playground, a sanctuary where he could use his earth techniques at their most effective.
Even so, I had earth abilities of my own now.
As I crept toward him, I kept my eyes on the portal, but it seemed that there were timed gaps between demonic waves. Unless I wanted to fight against Saruqin and a demonic horde, I’d have to deal with him quickly.
“Ah, the would-be Immortal Swordslinger,” Saruqin said without moving. “Tell me; how are you finding Gonki Province?”
“Get up, turn around, and face me, you coward.” I tightened my grip on my weapons. “I’ll show you just how much I’m enjoying it.”
Saruqin laughed. His shoulders shook, making the yellow cloak tremble down his back. That back remained turned to me, despite the weapons in my hands and the threat I so clearly represented. This wasn’t a man who was easily perturbed.
“You killed Horix,” Saruqin said. “A rather impressive feat for one so young and impetuous. How are you finding Nydarth and Yono? Are they good servants?”
That drew an angry snarl from the spirits of both weapons—low, aggressive noises that echoed within the chamber of my mind. I couldn’t help but react, even though his back was to me. I lunged at Saruqin and stabbed with both weapons, but they struck empty air. He’d vanished into the ground, using Hidden Burrow to escape.
Laughter came from behind me, with a waft of that exaggerated body odor. I spun around and saw Saruqin standing there, with his hands clasped behind his back. He was around six feet tall and dressed from head to foot in ragged yellow robes. Strips of torn cloth the color of turmeric swathed his hands and feet. The only part of him not covered with that ragged material was his face, which was concealed behind a pale metal mask, its only features holes for the eyes and mouth. He radiated authority, the kind of casual calm that came from knowing that his power was absolute and that, in this place at least, no one could challenge him and live to tell the tale.
The anger of Yono and Nydarth was powerful. They hated this place, hated this man, hated the dark magic being perpetrated here. They wanted nothing more than to tear him apart.
“They speak to you, don’t they?” Saruqin asked. “Whisper in your ear and tell you how important and powerful you are? Did they ever tell you what they have to gain from your growth in power? What can be won by simply using an Elemental Core as it was intended to be used?”
“For demonic purposes?” I asked.
“No,” the cultist said. “To grow stronger. As Augmenters are meant to be. Why share out the rewards among the many? Why toil by slaying beast after beast when you can simply have all their powers at once?”
Saruqin’s lies had been tearing the Gonki Valley apart, and I wasn’t going to let them get into my head.
I sheathed the Sundered Heart, but if Saruqin mistook that for a gesture of peace, then he was sadly mistaken. I flung up my free hand and channeled. A ball of intense flames appeared in my palm as I summoned the Untamed Torch before I flung it at him.
Saruqin waved his hand, and the flame vanished. Behind his mask, his face was completely hidden. I had no idea how close I had come to harming him. Was he
