They continued on together. At the mouth of the tunnel Damien conjured a globe of light without breaking stride. He winced at the stench of rot and corruption. He hadn’t expected a goblin lair to smell of perfume, but this was nasty.
They turned down the short branch to the sleeping chamber. It looked the same as they’d seen through his bug’s eyes.
“Thanks for helping Talon. He might be a jerk, but he’s a good soldier.”
Damien turned back toward the main corridor. “I’m glad I could do something. If John were here he’d have purged that wound and had Talon sealed up in ten minutes.”
“Could he have handled the demon too?”
Damien headed toward the central chamber. “Probably not. The best healers rarely have dense soul force. It lets them refine their power enough to affect a body on the cellular level, but that sort of control doesn’t help much in a fight.”
“If we stumbled on this place alone, could my squad have beaten that demon?”
“Maybe.”
She grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. “Tell me the truth.”
Damien looked into his sister’s eyes and saw something he never thought he’d see, doubt and fear. The battle with the demon had shaken her more than he realized. “No, I don’t think so. The sorcerer would have cut you to pieces while you tried not to get killed by the demon. The goblins, even corrupted as they were, you could have managed. But the demon and sorcerer, with their ability to use external soul force, no.”
Her lips trembled and he thought she might cry. “My decision to attack might have gotten them all killed, might have gotten me killed.”
Damien covered her hand with his. “We’re all okay. The goblins are dead and no longer a threat to the people. You held your own against a demon. Things could have been much worse.”
“Thanks, little brother.”
The central chamber, like every other chamber in the place, was a mess. Damien’s explosion hadn’t helped any. Bits of broken wood mixed with rotted flesh and strips of skin. Damien ignored most of that and went right up to the throne.
It was a crude thing, roughly built from scraps of wood and bound with leather thongs. It was a wonder it supported the demon’s weight. At its base was a stone slab.
Damien leaned in for a closer look. On the edge of the slab it looked like someone had engraved runes. He conjured a blast of energy to smash the throne off the slab. On the top of the altar was a carving of a horned skull.
“What is that?” Jen asked.
“A sacrificial altar. A cult of the Horned One must have operated here at one time. The goblins built their lair around the altar. The question is, did the cult summon the demon or did it enter the area on its own?”
“How would you know?”
“I wouldn’t, but there are sorcerers who specialize in this sort of thing. I’ll report what we found and they’ll send someone out to investigate. But first I have to ward this place so no one wanders in.”
Damien conjured a ball of energy and left it floating in the central chamber. As they walked back out, he put a similar ball in each chamber they passed, linking them together with strands of energy. When they reached the exit he put up a barrier so no one could enter.
“There. Can you guys make it back to The Citadel on your own?”
Rhys had Talon bandaged up and Edward and Alec were putting the finishing touches on a stretcher. Jen nodded. “We’ll make camp and head back in the morning. Will you return for the festival tomorrow?”
“Depends what the masters have to say, but I’ll try.” Damien leapt into the sky and flew back towards the tower to report.
The sun had set when Damien landed in the empty yard outside the tower. He hoped the headmaster would still be in his office as he had no way to get in touch with the high sorcerers on the top floor. The doors opened at his approach; he’d gotten in the habit of opening them unconsciously using his power.
He turned down the left-hand corridor and found the headmaster’s door closed. He knocked and when there was no response tried the handle and found it locked.
Damn it! Where could he be?
He left the administrative area and headed upstairs to the dining room. Perhaps the old man was getting something to eat. He pushed through the double doors and looked around the room. Nothing but students.
He ground his teeth in frustration. Where else? Ann would know, if he could find her.
Damien made his way up to the third floor but when he reached her training room found it empty. Cursing the universe in general and teachers in particular, Damien went up to the sixth floor to try her apartment. He knocked on the closed door and after a few seconds, to his immense relief, it opened.
“Damien?” Ann stood in the doorway, dark hair dripping, wearing a short robe that left her legs bare. “I thought you went to see your family.”
“I did. I helped Jen and her squad track down some goblins. Turns out they were led by a demon. We killed it, but inside their lair I found an altar to the Horned One. I couldn’t tell if the demon was summoned there or not, so I came back to report after I warded the lair against intruders.”
“Slow down. You killed a demon? By yourself?”
“Jen helped.”
“Really?”
“A little.”
Ann stepped away from the door. “Come in. I need to get dressed then we have to go talk to Thomas.”
Half an hour later found Damien and Ann seated at the headmaster’s coffee table, warm cups of tea in their hands, and Damien repeating his story for the second time. When he finished the headmaster said, “This is troubling news. We’ve seen nothing from the Horned One’s cult in years. I’ll send a team to investigate first thing in the morning.”
Chapter 22
Damien walked
