Chapter Twenty-Eight
Keo struggled against his ropes again, but they were as solid and immovable as ever. He looked up at Nesma, trying to see any mercy in her eyes, but he saw none. She was willing to do what Love of Light asked her no matter what.
Yet Keo nonetheless said, “Nesma, this is insane. We're friends, remember? You aren't seriously going to listen to him and kill me, are you?”
“I am,” said Nesma. She sounded utterly certain of that. “I would rather not, because you are my friend, but … well, sometimes you have to do things you don't want to for the greater good.”
All of the hope in Keo's heart dropped when he heard that. He strained against the ropes harder than ever now, but soon gave up and said, “Please, Nesma, don't kill me. If you do, you'll never be able to live with yourself again after this.”
“Maybe, but my own mental well-being isn't the only thing at stake here,” said Nesma. “I also have to think about the greater good of our people and of humanity in general. And if you are a threat to that greater good—if you just want to retain the status quo—then I am afraid that I am going to have to do this.”
“Love of Light is manipulating you,” said Keo. Sweat was starting to run down his face, but he ignored it in order to focus on Nesma. “He's a liar. He doesn't care about you or about humanity. He's just making you do this because he sees me as a threat to his own evil plans.”
“Evil?” Nesma repeated. “What is so evil about wanting to be free? What is so evil about wanting the best for your people? Trust me, Keo, Love of Light is a good being. He would not ask me to do something if it was truly evil.”
“Then you are naïve,” said Keo. “But you still have a choice, Nesma. You can still say no and set me free and we can tell the rest of the Council about the—”
A flame launched from Nesma's fingertips and struck Keo in the side of the face. He let out a yell of pain as the hot flame burned his face, causing his eyes to water and his skin to burn. The flame died quickly, but it still left an awful pain where it had hit.
Barely able to focus, Keo nonetheless looked up at Nesma again. She was trembling now, tears welling in her eyes, tears that she was wiping away with the sleeves of her robes.
“I can't believe this, Keo,” said Nesma with a sniffle. “I never believed that I would ever have to kill you for doing such awful things. I thought you might at least be open to reason, but it is obvious now that you are not.”
The flames dancing along Nesma's fingertips became hotter and larger. Keo knew that he had only seconds now before he would die. He didn't want to believe that Nesma would kill him, but he saw in her eyes that she had gone over the edge. She was willing to do anything that Love of Light told her, even if that meant killing her best friend in the world.
And even worse, there was no way Keo could escape in time. The ropes holding him down to the chair were tied so tightly around his limbs that he believed that Nesma must have cast a spell to make them unbreakable. And the chair itself felt solid under his body, too solid for him to rock over.
So Keo could only watch as his former best friend in the world conjured a larger and larger fire ball in her hand. He said nothing because there was nothing to say.
At that moment, however, just when Nesma looked like she was about to finally burn him alive, the door to Nesma's office burst open. Surprised, Nesma looked over to the door to see who had entered, as did Keo.
Much to Keo's shock, it was Dlaine. The older man looked like he had run a mile, but he also looked like he was ready to fight. He smirked when he saw Keo and Nesma.
“Hey, Keo,” said Dlaine, waving at him like he was passing Keo on the street on his way to work. “Looks like I've got to save your life … again.”
“Dlaine?” said Keo. “What are you doing here? How did you even find me?”
Dlaine opened his mouth to answer, but then Nesma shrieked, “Die!” and hurled a fireball over Keo's head at Dlaine. But then the fireball exploded in midair halfway between Keo and Dlaine, the sparks landing on the carpet and making it smoke where they landed.
“What?” said Nesma, taking a step back. “Impossible. How did an ordinary person like you negate my spell?”
Dlaine shook his head. “Not by myself, that's for certain. But I don't think I'm under any obligation to reveal any of my secrets to you, considering how you Magicians don't share your secrets with us.”
With that, Dlaine whipped out a blowpipe from his pocket, raised it to his mouth, and blew into it. A red dart flew out of the blowpipe, flew so fast that Keo could not follow it, and struck Nesma in the neck.
Nesma gasped. She slammed one hand over the dart on her neck, but it was the last action she took before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed onto the chair behind her. Her arms hung limply, while her head lolled to her left shoulder, making her look dead, although she was clearly just unconscious.
Before Keo could even think to ask what just happened, Dlaine was at his side. Drawing a sharp, serrated knife from his side, Dlaine immediately started cutting Keo's ropes, though they were very thick and strong and so took him a little time to cut through.
“I don't understand,” said Keo, staring at Dlaine uncomprehendingly. “Why are you here? Why did you attack Nesma?”
“Questions, questions, questions,” said Dlaine as he finished cutting the ropes holding down Keo's left arm, immediately moving to Keo's right arm afterward. “Aren't you just grateful that Nesma didn't get a chance to turn you into burnt flesh?”
“I am grateful that you saved me,” said Keo, raising his freed left arm and turning it to make sure that it was all right. “But I just didn't expect you to, which is why I am asking you these questions.”
“Fair enough,” said Dlaine, his focus on the ropes on Keo's right arm, which was he still cutting through. “But I will have to answer those questions on our way out. I really don't want to be here when one of Nesma's assistants comes by and finds her corpse.”
“Her corpse?” said Keo in shock. He looked at Nesma, who was still breathing. “You mean you tried to kill her?”
“Unless she gets medical attention, and fast, she will die,” said Dlaine. “That was some pretty potent poison I put in that dart. Hasfarian blue spice, actually. Said to be the deadliest poison in the world, which is why I bought it in the first place.”
Dlaine finished cutting through the ropes wrapped around Keo's right arm and then immediately started work on the ones binding Keo's legs to the chair. He managed to cut through those much more quickly than the other two and then stood up and stepped back, allowing Keo to rise from the chair, rubbing his wrists as he looked at Dlaine in shock and horror.
“Why?” said Keo. “Why did you try to kill her? I don't understand. I thought you were here to save your daughter's life.”
Dlaine sheathed his knife and chuckled. “Oh, right. My nonexistent daughter. I forgot how naïve you could be.”
“Nonexistent?” Keo repeated. “What are you even talking about?”
“I'll explain on the way out,” said Dlaine, turning and walking toward the open door. “Right now, we need to get out of here, and fast.”
Keo looked back at Nesma, who was looking even paler than usual, and then turned and walked after Dlaine. He glanced around the room for Jola, but as usual, she was nowhere to be seen. He did, however, grab Gildshine on his way out, attaching its sheath to his belt where it belonged.
The two of them stepped out into the hallway of the Inner Chambers. By the door lay Gers, who appeared to be completely unconscious, but there was no one else in the hallway, thankfully.
“This way,” said Dlaine, pointing to the left. “Quickly. Don't want to be seen.”
Dlaine immediately started walking down the left side of the hallway, with Keo following as closely as he could.
“I still don't understand,” said Keo, glancing over his shoulder every now and then to make sure that no one was following them. “Your daughter
doesn't exist?”
“That's because I don't even have a daughter,” said Dlaine as they passed closed door after closed door. “It was a lie I made up because I was supposed to keep my real mission a secret. Technically, I'm not even supposed to save you. I was just supposed to go in, kill Nesma, and leave, with Jola's help, of course.”
“But why?” said Keo. “And who even gave you this mission in the first place?”
“The Rebel Leader, obviously,” said Dlaine, his pace quick for a man his age. “Gave me orders to kill Nesma and create chaos and confusion in the Magical Council's ranks.”
“But I thought you didn't like the Rebels and wanted nothing to do with them,” said Keo in shock.
“Another lie,” said Dlaine as they turned a corner, which meant that they were far deeper in the Inner Chambers than Keo had thought. “Although I will admit that I find most of my fellow Rebels to be idiots, but you can't always choose your allies unfortunately and I still believe in the Rebel cause anyway.”
“So the whole reason you wanted to go to Capitika was to kill Nesma?” said Keo. “Did you even know that she's the one who has been manipulated by the demons?”
“Kid, I didn't even believe the demons were real until I met you,” said Dlaine. “The fact that she's a member of the Magical Council—and an important one, too, by all accounts—is reason enough to target her. But if she's also the one who sent that demon after us back in the secret passageway, that just makes her inevitable death all the sweeter.”
“What about the rest of the Magical Council?” said Keo. “Are you going after them, too?”
“By the ancestors, no,” said Dlaine, shaking his head. “I was given one target and that was Nesma. Besides, the rest of the Council is being guarded by the Enforcers because of Maryal's earlier stupid attack on the Citadel, so I couldn't reach 'em even if I wanted to.”
“How is Maryal?” said Keo. “Is she aware that you're here?”
“I doubt it,” said Dlaine. “I just took advantage of her stupid distraction to get in here before the Enforcers got everything under control. Say what you will about the girl, but she's really good at making a scene when she wants to.”
Two Enforcers suddenly stepped out of a doorway on the left side of the hall near the end. When they spotted Keo and Dlaine approaching, one of the Enforcers shouted, “Halt! Identify yourself immediately or—”
Dlaine snapped his fingers and the two Enforcers suddenly slammed into each other like dolls. They collapsed to the floor unconscious as Keo and Dlaine passed them, Dlaine smirking, Keo looking back at them over his shoulder with some concern.
“That was Jola,” said Dlaine, in answer to Keo's puzzled look. “It's a little trick I like to do sometimes, snapping my fingers to make Jola do something. And she always comes up with the most inventive magical tricks, too, but sometimes she goes straight for practicality, like she did now.”
“Okay,” said Keo. “So where are we going, then?”
“As far from Capitika as we can get,” said Dlaine as they stopped in front of the golden door that Keo recognized as being the entrance to the lobby. “Because once the rest of the Council finds out that Nesma is dead, they'll shut down the whole city, which will make escape almost impossible.”
Dlaine pulled open the door and stepped through it into the Citadel's lobby, with Keo following closely behind. As they entered the lobby, Keo looked around at their surroundings, just to make sure that no one was there, but the lobby was almost totally empty.
“Where is everyone?” said Keo. “The lobby was full earlier.”
“They evacuated all of the visitors after Maryal's distraction because they didn't know if there was anyone else in here who was working with her,” said Dlaine. “Anyway, enough talking. We have to get out of here before—”
Dlaine was interrupted by a sudden shadow appearing across the glass ceiling above. The shadow then fell to the floor like lightning, but it made no sound as it fell and was completely silent when it hit the floor in front of the statue of the old man, where it splashed like a blob.
Keo and Dlaine stopped right in front of the door they had just exited from, staring at the shadowy blob as it gurgled. Before their startled eyes, the shadowy blob started to take shape. A large mouth formed in its body, followed by arms and legs and eyes, until soon Keo and Dlaine were staring at the frog demon from the secret passageway once more.
“That thing again?” said Dlaine in surprise. “What the hell is it doing here?”
“It must have sensed you attack Nesma,” said Keo. He drew Gildshine from its sheath and held it before him defensively. “The demons are working with her, so it's probably came to avenge her death and keep us from telling everyone about the demons.”
“Can you kill it?” said Dlaine, looking between Keo and the frog demon worriedly.
“If I can hit it with Gildshine's ability,” said Keo. “But if I use its power, I'll be too weak to run on my own. So I'll need your and Jola's help to get it into position.”
“And just when I thought we'd make a clean escape,” said Dlaine with a sigh. “Oh, well. Just tell us what to do and we'll get on it.”
Keo nodded, but before he could say anything, the frog demon let out a croak that was almost a growl and charged toward them. Keo and Dlaine immediately separated, Keo running to the right, Dlaine to the left, but the frog demon was not confused by this tactic. It went after Keo, shooting its tongue from its mouth toward him, but Keo just barely managed to dodge it. He whirled around to face the frog demon, its eyes angry and glowing red hot as it approached, clicking its claws together rapidly.
Jola, are you there? Keo thought as he walked backwards, doing his best to keep out of the frog demon's reach.
He wasn't sure that Jola would hear him, but then he heard her familiar feminine voice in his head say, I am. What do you need Dlaine and me to do?
I need you to distract the frog demon, Keo said. Or at least stun it long enough for me to hit it with Gildshine. I just need to slash it once and it should go down instantly.
Stun the frog demon, Jola repeated. Got it.
Then Jola went silent, but Keo knew he could count on her to do her part. He would just need to survive long enough for Jola to do it.
The frog demon lashed out at him again with its tongue, but Keo knocked it aside with Gildshine. The frog demon's tongue slipped back into its mouth, but then the frog demon itself jumped at Keo with surprising speed. It landed before him and swiped at him with its claws, but Keo blocked them with Gildshine, although the frog demon continued to push down against him, making it impossible to escape.
Then, without warning, the frog demon's legs froze, causing it to roar in pain and surprise. This caused its pressure on Keo to lift, which he took advantage of to push hard against the frog demon, knocking it flat on its back.
Before the frog demon could rise again, Keo concentrated, telling Gildshine to take half his energy in order to cut through anything. And, as always, Keo felt Gildshine comply with his demand, felt his energy flow from his hands into the sword's blade, and without further ado, slammed Gildshine's tip directly into the frog demon's mouth.
The demon made a choking sound, flailed its arms about for a couple of seconds, and then went still. Its body immediately crumbled into a large pile of dust, which then sank into the floor, never to be seen again.
As soon as that was over, Keo gasped in exhaustion and leaned against Gildshine. It was almost impossible to retain consciousness now, because the after effect of Gildshine's ability had taken half of his energy. Still, he forced himself to remain awake because he did not want Dlaine and Jola to have to drag him out of the Citadel on their own.
Then Dlaine ran up to Keo, looking both relieved and surprised. “Wow. That was quick.”
“Yeah … it … was,” said Keo. He struggled to get out each word. “Jola … helped …”
“I saw that,” said Dlaine. “Anyway, let's get you out of here. No point in sticki
ng around any longer.”
“Agreed,” said Keo.
“Leaving already?” said a new voice suddenly, one that was completely unfamiliar to Keo. “Oh, where's the fun in that?”
Keo and Dlaine looked around the lobby, trying to spot the owner of the voice, but aside from themselves and Jola, the Citadel's lobby was completely empty. Yet Keo was absolutely certain he had heard someone else besides them speak just then.
“Who's there?” said Dlaine. “Are you an Enforcer or a member of the Magical Council?”
“Neither, but thanks for asking,” said the voice, which sounded amused. “And you can't guess who I am, either, because none of you three have even met me before. That doesn't change the fact, of course, that I can kill all three of you just the same.”
“Then why don't you show yourself, like a real man?” said Dlaine. “Or are you just going to hide from us like a coward?”
“Showing myself 'like a real man' is hard to do, considering I'm not even human,” said the voice. “But I will show myself anyway, because I feel that every being deserves to see the cause of their death before it kills them.”
Then, in the center of the lobby, the statue of the old man rose from its throne.
But then Keo blinked and realized that the statue hadn't moved at all. Instead, a being had somehow risen from within it. The being stepped off of the dais upon which the statue had been built and then turned to face Keo and Dlaine.
The being had deathly pale skin and snow-white hair. He looked like a human being, except for the sharpened teeth and the red eyes that reminded Keo of death. He was tall and skinny, but exuded a power that Keo had not sensed in any of the prior demons. Feathery, raven-like wings sprouted from his back, while his hands resembled metallic falcon claws.
The being grinned at their surprise. “Why are you so shocked? Did you truly believe that Smog of Wrath was the only demon in Capitika? Or have you already forgotten about Love of Light?”
Keo's eyes widened as he recalled what Nesma had told him earlier. “You …”
“Me,” said Love of Light. “Though in truth, my real name is Plague of Envy, but that doesn't particularly matter. I've decided to step in and finish you three myself, seeing as I can't have you running around knowing about my existence.”
“Who?” said Dlaine.
“The demon who … who manipulated Nesma,” said Keo. He didn't want to talk, but he wanted to make sure Dlaine understood who they were fighting. “Claimed to be an angel named Love of Light.”
“So he's the bastard behind all of our trouble, then,” said Dlaine, glaring at Plague.
The demon held up his hands. “I am guilty as charged. You may arrest me and judge me before your silly little human courts and then let the ancient laws of the land determine my fate. Truly, justice shall prevail this day.”
“And he's sarcastic, too,” said Dlaine, slapping his forehead. “How wonderful.”
Plague lowered his hands. “Your own sarcasm is hardly much better, Dlaine of the Fist. But it doesn't matter. Either way, I will end your lives here.”
“Why not just let us go?” said Dlaine. “I mean, sure, you hate us and have had your friends try to kill us several times already, but maybe that's just destiny's way of saying that you aren't supposed to kill us. Ever think of that?”
“I don't believe in destiny,” said Plague. “And isn't it obvious why I want to kill you? I don't want you humans going around telling your friends that the Magical Council is controlled by demons. Otherwise, that would ruin my plans, and I can't very well have that, now can I? I only waited until you killed my rather dimwitted comrade because I didn't want to be killed by your sword.”
“I see,” said Dlaine. “So you waited to attack us until we were at our weakest. Scumbag.”
Plague shrugged. “I prefer to think of it as pragmatism. In war, there is no such thing as a 'cheap' tactic, only a practical one, and attacking your opponent when they are at their weakest is certainly a practical tactic, wouldn't you agree?”
Dlaine clenched his teeth. “Well, you can try to kill us, but we're not going to let you. We've already killed three of your friends. Won't take much more to take you down.”
Plague chuckled. “You really have no idea what I am, do you? I'm not a mere demon like those three. You see, we demons can be divided into several different classes based upon our strengths and abilities. The three demons you killed? They are considered to be one class above the weakest class. Which is to say that they are not very powerful or smart in themselves.”
“What's your class, then?” said Dlaine. “Do you belong to the weakest one?”
Plague smiled. He gestured at his chest “Actually, I belong to the Superior Class, which makes me one of the strongest demons around. You see, the King of Demons put me in charge of the mission to ensure the return of the demons because of my strength and intelligence. And I will ensure that it is completed, no matter what.”
Dlaine gulped, while Keo tried his best not to look afraid, although he wasn't sure how successful he was there. If Plague really was as powerful as he made himself out to be, then there was likely nothing that Dlaine or Keo could do to stop him. But neither could they run, because Keo was too weak to run or even walk.
Dlaine, who was apparently trying to buy time, said, “Well, if you demons are so strong, then why haven't you broken the seal yet? What's stopping you from doing that?”
“Nothing,” said Plague, shaking his head. “But it is starting to weaken, primarily thanks to the death of that human king, the one you call Riuno. Because he was of the lineage of the Good King, his life was what kept the seal in tact for a while, but ever since his death, it has been slowly but surely starting to weaken. Soon it will shatter entirely, along with all of Lamaira.”
So that's why the demons are rising again, Keo thought. Does that mean that, if we could get a new King of Lamaira, that it might restore the seal?
But Keo was too weak to say that aloud. Instead, it was Dlaine who said, “If that's the case, then why are you even bothering to take over the Council? The Magical Council doesn't have much to do with King Riuno or the Good King, you know.”
“Because there is always a possibility, however slight, that you humans may find another way to reinforce the seal—perhaps the legendary Rightful Heir said to have survived Riuno's death—and stop us before we can rise again,” said Plague. “Besides, it is always more fun to hunt a target that is unaware that it is being hunted than one that is.”
Dlaine and Keo exchanged worried looks, but neither one of them said anything in response to that. After all, what was there to say to a demon that clearly had no desire to reason with them?
“Now, then,” said Plague. He held up his clawed hands, a wicked grin on his face. “I am done talking. Time to die.”
One second, Plague was standing by the statue of the old man. When Keo blinked a second later, however, Plague was standing before Dlaine and him, smiling wickedly down at them both.
Dlaine raised his fists, but Plague slapped him with the back of his claw. The blow sent Dlaine flying into the wall, who then fell down onto the floor, and did not move again.
“Dlaine!” Keo shouted. “Dlaine! No!”
A sudden burst of flame exploded out of thin air and struck Plague in the side. But the flames didn't even make Plague stagger. He just stood there, half of his body burning, before whirling to the side and striking at nothing, but Keo quite clearly heard Plague's claws slam into something and also heard this same thing—which he realized was Jola—go flying somewhere. Unfortunately, he did not see where she landed due to her invisibility.
Nonetheless, Keo knew she was out for the count, which meant that he would have to fight on his own. He pulled Gildshine out of the floor and tried to wield the blade like he always did. But Keo's exhaustion made Gildshine feel a thousand times heavier than it normally did. As a result, Plague was able to knock Gildshine out of his hands easily and then, in the same motion,
grab Keo by the throat and lift him off his feet.
Keo gasped for air and weakly punched Plague's arm, but his blows had no strength to them, forcing him to give up. He had only enough strength to look into Plague's red eyes, which glowed as deviously and malevolently as ever.
“Poor, pitiful human,” said Plague, his tone mocking. “Believing that you, an orphan from the middle of nowhere, could somehow unite your war-torn kingdom to stand against us … what a tragic and rich joke.”
Plague's grip around Keo's neck tightened, making it even harder for Keo to breathe. He knew he was going to die, knew that death was only seconds away, yet he still wanted to fight and win, even though there didn't seem to be a way to win.
Maybe … maybe I'm delusional, Keo thought. Maybe Plague's right. There's no way I can survive. Maybe I should just let him win …
That thought—far from draining Keo of his motivation—actually sparked something deep inside himself that he had not realized was there. It was anger, anger at coming so far only to fail, anger at Plague for manipulating Nesma, anger at how the demons had tried to kill him and his friends again and again. And anger at himself for even daring to consider dying. That infuriated him the most of all, because not even Master Tiram would have entertained such silly thoughts no matter how slim the odds of success.
A fire coursed through Keo's body, a flame that he had never known even existed. The fire burned through his veins, scorched his bones, and gave him a strength that he had never felt before, but which felt as natural as breathing.
Without warning, Keo grasped Plague's arm, earning a surprised, yet still amused, look from the demon.
“What's this?” said Plague. “Still have some fight left in you? Interesting. I thought that your sword left you a pitiable mess no stronger than a twig.”
Keo gripped Plague's arm tightly and said, in a voice not quite like his own, “I still have a few tricks up my sleeve, demon. Tricks like this.”
Keo, without thinking, twisted Plague's arm until he heard something snap.
Plague suddenly screeched in pain and let go of Keo. Keo, however, did not collapse onto the floor. He landed on both feet and watched as Plague staggered backwards, gripping his now-broken arm, a stunned look on his face.
“What … what was that?” said Plague, sounded both surprised and in pain. “No human has ever shown that sort of strength to me before. I didn't even know that humans could grow that strong.”
Keo looked down at his hands. They looked stronger now, rougher, like they were coated in some kind of thick armor. He didn't understand it, because he had never seen anything like this before, but he decided not to question it. The fire within still burned and he was not going to ignore it. The exhaustion from using Gildshine was gone, seemingly eliminated by the fire within, for the moment at least.
So Keo grabbed Gildshine's hilt and raised it off the floor. Holding Gildshine before him, Keo said to Plague, “I am going to kill you here and now, Plague, just as you deserve.”
Plague's face twisted into a snarl. “I am no weakling, Keo of the Sword. Unlike my brothers, it takes more than mere residual magic to kill me, even with your sword.”
“Who said anything about residual magic?” said Keo.
Like Keo had always done this, he channeled the fire within him into Gildshine. And then, like a miracle, golden flames exploded around Gildshine's blade, golden flames Keo had never seen before.
Plague's eyes widened so much that they looked like saucer plates now. “What kind of magic is this? I did not know you are a Magician.”
“I'm not,” said Keo. “I don't know how to explain this, but I don't need to, because I now have the power to finish you off.”
With that, Keo charged toward Plague with Gildshine still wreathed in golden flames. Plague raised his arm to block the blow, but Gildshine cut through his hand as easily as if it was butter, causing Plague to yell in pain again and leave his chest wide open for an attack.
And so Keo drove the burning Gildshine straight into Plague's chest. Golden flame melted away at Plague's chest and even his face, the flames distorting his features and even setting his hair aflame. Even with the stink of melting demon flesh now filling Keo's nostrils, he did not let up. He forced Gildshine's burning blade in deeper and deeper, until the tip of his sword broke through Plague's back.
Then Keo ripped Gildshine out of Plague's chest. Again, Plague stepped back, but he now looked far weaker than before. His chest was still burning and his left eye was completely melted shut. Black demon blood leaked from the hole in his chest, yet unlike his fellow demons, he did not turn into dust just yet.
“It's over,” said Keo, lowering Gildshine, which continued to burn in his hands. “I win. You lose.”
But much to Keo's astonishment, Plague's melted mouth twisted into the most horrifying smile he had ever seen. “Oh … really?”
With his broken arm, Plague gestured to the right. Although Keo did not trust the demon even in his weakened state, he nonetheless looked in that direction to see Nesma standing in the doorway to the Inner Chambers. She looked like she had just gotten here, her hand on the doorknob, her face even more pale and sickly than before. Keo wasn't sure how she got here, considering how the Hasfarian blue spice should have killed her, but he supposed that she was stronger than she looked.
“Love of Light?” said Nesma, staring at him in horror. “What happened to you?”
Plague smiled crookedly, but it was a sad smile. “I tried to stop him, Nesma, but I failed. Please … forgive me …”
With that, Plague gasped and coughed up more blood before his body started turning into dust. Keo could only watch, stunned, as Plague's body rapidly transformed into dust before his very eyes, starting from the demon's feet all the way up to his neck.
And right before Plague's face turned to dust, he smirked at Keo, a smirk of triumph that Keo understood completely.
A second later, all of Plague's body turned to dust and then collapsed onto the floor. And, like with the frog demon's body, Plague's dust quickly sank into the floor out of sight.
Keo immediately looked at Nesma, who was still staring at where Plague had been standing mere seconds ago.
“Love of Light ….” Nesma said, her tone heartbroken. “No …”
“Nesma, I can explain,” said Keo as the golden flames of Gildshine went out abruptly. “He—”
Nesma let out a yell of anguish and pointed at Keo. A ball of flame shot from her fingers and hurtled toward Keo, which he deflected with Gildshine.
“Hey!” said Keo, though he didn't lower Gildshine this time. “Aren't you going to listen to me? I thought we were friends.”
“Friends? We're not friends,” said Nesma, her voice full of despair and anger. “Not anymore. You killed Love of Light. You confirmed all of my worst fears. And now I am going to kill you, you son of a—”
Nesma did not get to finish her sentence, because a powerful gust of wind suddenly flew past Keo and struck her. The blow sent her flying back into the Inner Chambers, but Keo did not look to see if she was all right.
Instead, Keo looked over his shoulder and saw Maryal running toward him. She looked tired and dirty, but otherwise uninjured.
“Maryal?” said Keo. “I thought you were on the run from the Citadel's Enforcers. What are you doing back here?”
“Came back to see if you could use some help,” said Maryal as she skid to a stop before Keo. Then she glanced at Dlaine. “What's Dlaine doing here? Is Jola here, too? I thought they had abandoned us.”
“Long story, which I'll fill you in on later,” said Keo. “Anyway, we need to get out of here quickly. Nesma wants to kill me and she'll probably kill you, too, now that you've attacked her.”
“Why?” said Maryal in surprise. “I thought you two were friends. Did you at least tell her about the demons?”
Keo looked away. “I'll explain later. For now, we just need to leave.”
“Okay,” said Maryal. “But how?
We'll have to drag Dlaine with us and I don't think we can do that and still escape Nesma.”
I can do it, said Jola's voice in their heads suddenly. I can teleport all of us out of here, even outside of the city, but it will be tough and take a lot of my energy.
“Jola?” said Keo. “I didn't know you were still conscious.”
Just barely, said Jola. Anyway, you two, grab Dlaine. As soon as you do, we're out of here.
Both Keo and Maryal moved over to Dlaine, who they grabbed. Based on how warm Dlaine's body felt, Keo knew that he was still alive, which was good, although he had no idea how badly Dlaine was hurt and how long it would take him to recover from Plague's attack.
Then Nesma reappeared in the doorway, her hair and robes messed up from Maryal's attack. She spotted the two immediately and said, “Oh, no, you don't! I will destroy you all before you can escape!”
But even as Nesma shouted that threat, the Citadel's lobby disappeared around them, only to be replaced by the countryside around Capitika, with the capital city itself farther away than Keo had thought it possible for them to teleport. And Nesma was nowhere in sight.
***