can. Always up to the point of no return but never further. Tour mind will tell you. Trust your mind. Always trust your mind.
With the words running round her head, Erienne allowed the One power into the construct and held it there while it grew, clinging on with her mind. And all the time, the entity was whispering in her ear that she should feed in more, that to let go would be to win. This was her demon and she could not allow it free rein.
She could see the lines of elemental force all around her bend and reach towards her. The One sucked it in voraciously, using her body as a conduit while she kept iron control of her mind to stop from being washed away. The construct pulsed bright under the power flowing through her. A moan escaped her lips. The mesh glowed and then burst into a fine mist, every minuscule droplet still bound to every other.
She released the spell and it flooded out from her, covering everything around her, floating into the sky and across the ground, behind and in front. It washed past The Raven and it engulfed the
demons moving to attack. She saw its result and knew they would not even know what had happened until the first blow was struck.
The mist soaked into them, penetrating deep into their skins where it simply dissolved the linkage that bound the mana to them. Immediately, Erienne could see the mana sloughing from the demons. Tiny particles glimmering in the mass of energy trails. Undetectable to everyone except her but, if she was right, absolutely deadly.
Dimly, she heard the thump of a sword point on the ground, rhythmic and sure.
Thraun was desperate to run faster. Demons were after him. Swooping low, raking at his back with claws and talons. Biting down on his body, slashing at him with sharpened tails. He wove this way and that, ran through thick vegetation, slewed through streams and leaped hedge and fence to enter the farm lands of Blackthorne.
His howling had brought them on as he had desired but their stench had gripped him and he was afraid. His heart was pounding and there was a shudder along his flanks that threatened the rhythm of his legs.
He dared not look around or up, instead he ploughed on. Men and women, their expressions cold, stared at him. Children with dark eyes pointed or ran. A few animals scattered but they need not have feared him. He was not hunting. He was hunted.
A demon's jaws snapped shut just above his head. He felt a deep chill and sudden pain flared in his ear. The beast climbed high into the sky. In front of him, another dived, arms outstretched, taloned hands grasping. He did not flinch but veered at the last instant as he would from a man holding a weapon. Behind him, the demon screeched its anger.
He was past the last people now and the dwellings he ran by were silent and empty. The streets were deserted and the smell of life was gone from the ground and weak in the air. But ahead he could hear shouting, rising in volume. The sound of weapons clashing and the vibration of feet on packed earth came to him too. He pushed harder and the demons behind him did the same.
Thraun felt a tap at his hind leg and almost lost his balance. He half sprawled but maintained his momentum while the reek of demon filed his head and dragged desperate barks from his throat. From either side
of the road he ran, demons closed in. So many of them, crowding his way. He howled again and ran at them, eyes open, terror pulsing in his neck.
He darted this way and that, slewed almost to a standstill, jumped away, ran headlong. And ever more, those claws and teeth grabbed at him, looking to bring him down.
At the very last, one of the beasts clamped jaws on his back. Thraun tumbled, rolling in the dirt with the demon. The cold fired through his body. He convulsed but his speed carried him on. His vision clouded and he barked again, weaker this time.
The shouts were around him then, the ring of steel harsh and loud. He heard a squeal and the pressure on his back was lifted. He shivered and lay in the dirt while men ran past him to hold a position at the edge of a row of dwellings. One man shouted louder than the rest. His voice was close.
Thraun picked his head up to look round. He could feel the breath ragged in his throat and the cold of the bite ate at his flesh. A human squatted in front of him. Dark-haired, strong, and with the scent of a leader just as he had remembered.
The man looked at him, his frown turning to comprehension. He said something to Thraun but the wolf had no ear for what men said. The man stood, shouted. Other men ran. And then he knelt once again and rubbed warm hands across Thraun's heaving flanks.
He spoke once more but Thraun did not hear him. And deep, deep inside, his humanity prayed that he had done enough.
Chapter 18
The Raven lengthened their stride with the demons screaming in. The Unknown's sword thumped onto the ground, keeping time with their footfalls, chinking on shale. Beside him, Hirad readied himself, circling his arms, sword in his right hand, its weight feeling good for the fight. It had been too long.
'On my mark, Raven!' he shouted. 'Denser, you have Erienne.'
Fifty yards distant and the demons dispersed, scattering into the sky and making flanking moves. A core of eight came straight on. Immediately the elves responded, falling back to protect the mages.
'Looking, Raven. Mages, targets and hold.'
Hirad's voice sounded above the calls of the demons and the rush of wings. He could see three coming directly for him, another trio just to the left moving hard at The Unknown.
Twenty-five yards and closing.
'Brace and hold. Let's take these bastards down.'
Elven arrows streaked out. Hirad didn't see them strike but he heard the squeals of pain and surprise. He smiled. Deep blue and bright yellow flashes lit the sky. FlameOrb and Ice Wind scoured the air. Demons screeched. Hirad focused ahead. The Unknown's blade struck the ground twice more and the demons were on them.
Hirad knew the impact would be hard. He half-crouched. Watching the trio closing. Their speed had tempered after they watched others pierced by arrows that should have had no effect. But still they were confident. Mottled green and with vein-etched wings they attacked, claws outstretched and jaws agape, calling their fury.
Left side was on him too early. Hirad ducked and struck, feeling his blade bite deep. Dark fluid gushed from the wound and the demon yelped and spiralled away. Centre and right were in concert and he was barely ready for them. One came in, reversing its body to
aim its feet at his chest. The other cocked its hands to slash on impact. Hirad ignored it for the moment, concentrating on the other. He squatted and rolled, feeling the creature part his braids, and was up in the same movement, swiping at empty air. The other demon lashed out a claw, snagging his armour and half turning him round.
Both beasts climbed to turn back to the attack and it gave Hirad a moment to orient himself. He was facing The Raven now. The air seemed full of the deep-coloured shapes of demons. His ears rang from their calls. To his left, Auum and Duele wove death at great speed, their backs to Erienne and Denser. Auum faced two. He lashed a roundhouse kick into the first's chest, sending it sprawling. He continued his spin, short blade flashing in the sunlight and carving into the second's neck. It howled and dropped, fluid sluicing into the dry earth.
Right by Hirad, Darrick and The Unknown fared well. The General fenced with a single assailant who was already bleeding from several cuts and weakening fast. The Unknown had one by the throat at arm's length and, with Hirad watching, drew back his blade and plunged it into the creature's stomach, casting the corpse aside.
Hirad's two demons rushed back to the attack, one from either side. He took a two-handed grip on his sword and waited, seeing both close from steep angles. They had reached the point of no return when he spun on his right leg and carved the air above his head, turning two revolutions. His blade cut into the face of one and took the arm from the other at the elbow. Both thundered into him, bowling him from his feet.
Half-dazed, he struggled to strike again. One of the demons was on top of him. He could taste the rank stench and feel its blood running across his armour. He scrabbled backwards, keeping hold of his sword, and tried to shovel the beast from his legs. From nowhere, a claw whipped into his face. He reacted fast but the nails dragged
