Hunted Sorcery (Jon Oklar Book 2), B.T. Narro [digital book reader txt] 📗

“He is just testing us,” said the woman. “He is still here. I can feel him in the dvinia of the forest.”

I felt a chill down my back as I approached the woman. “Souriff?” I asked, identifying the demigod of dvinia.

She nodded as she gestured for me to get back. I had a feeling that she had no idea what I was capable of and she thought I might just get in the way. But I wasn’t going to let her fight alone…and I didn’t imagine this would end in any other way.

“Basael is gone, Souriff,” said Pearson.

“You just can’t feel him anymore because you lost touch many years ago, but even you must have some idea he’s watching. Why else would you not kill these humans directly with dteria? You fear our father will punish you.”

“There is no discussion to be had. Just leave,” Pearson demanded.

“I will after that man dies.” She pointed to Cason.

“Now who’s the one interfering?” Pearson asked rhetorically.

I noticed Cason staring at me, rage in his eyes. It was as if these demigods didn’t exist, and he was already plotting my demise. Perhaps he was still enraged from what we’d done to him while he was in a prison cell.

“I am not interfering,” Souriff said. “He was to be executed by the humans and you interfered. I am only correcting the issue you caused.”

The demigods stared at each other. There seemed to be something unspoken between them.

“I’m more powerful than you now,” Pearson told her.

“You might be, but you are still not strong enough to kill me without waking our brother.”

She must be referring to Airinold. So the stories are true.

Airinold was the creator of dteria, but he was later imprisoned by his father, Basael, for his terrible creation. However, after the Day of Death, when much of the forest was destroyed in a fiery explosion, Basael disappeared. Airinold then broke out of imprisonment. More powerful than the rest of his siblings, he planned to hunt them down and kill them. He transformed himself into Gourfist, a massive winged creature, to aid in his search for the other demigods. Over the years, the creature—or perhaps the dteria—took over Airinold’s mind. He lost his intellect to the savage instincts of the beast. Now he lay dormant in Curdith Forest and only awoke for a few days every few decades.

But his waking did not seem to be random anymore. Based on what Souriff had said, it seemed that he was still in touch with the sorcery of his siblings. He could feel when one of the demigods used too much power. That’s when he would wake and search for them, and it was the fear of this that prevented Pearson from using his full strength.

“You saw what dteria did to Airinold,” Souriff said. “The same thing will happen to you.”

I could see from Pearson’s frustrated expression, however, that her words were not getting through.

“We are leaving,” he stated.

“You are not leaving with that man. I don’t know who he is, but I can only assume he’s valuable to you because of his strength with dteria.”

“He was the leader of the dark mages,” I explained. “Until we found out Pearson was really in charge. His name is Cason Clay, and he was going to be executed. You’re right. He’s killed many people and should not go free.”

“If you try to follow us,” Pearson told Souriff, “I won’t hesitate to kill you. If it wakes our brother, it wakes him.”

“We made an oath!” she shouted as she made two claws out of her hands, surrounding Cason with dvinia that I could feel as if it were fire. “Kill him, human,” she told me as she raised her hand, and Cason lifted from the ground.

I didn’t hesitate, drawing my weapon and charging Cason. But Pearson clutched me with dteria and hoisted me up.

“I can hold yours much longer than you can hold mine,” he said. “Let him down. Then I will take Cason and be off. Or I can kill you. Make your choice.”

“I’m alert enough to get myself out of these mountains,” Cason said as he struggled against the dvinia, his hands pushing against the rippling clear energy around his waist. “Just get her to drop me.”

Pearson let me go and hit his sister with a blast of dteria. Her body whipped back, but she stopped midair—the demigod catching herself with dvinia—and soared straight at Cason.

She tackled him as he started to get dteria around himself, the two of them rolling toward the edge.

I was running there as they tumbled, but so was Pearson. He swatted me away with dteria, sending me spiraling through the air.

I landed on the grass and rolled a while before coming to a stop. One of my fingers seemed to be badly dislocated.

I healed myself, then ran back toward the fight. I watched Souriff pin down Cason physically as she hoisted Pearson up with dvinia.

But her success at stopping both of them was short-lived.

A quick back and forth broke out as the siblings hit each other with mana. Most of their battle took place in the air. Souriff was the busier of the two as she tried to keep Cason pinned down with dvinia while keeping herself from flying off too far every time Pearson struck her with dteria.

I was just about there when Pearson struck her so hard with dteria that she couldn’t seem to stop herself. She spiraled a hundred yards off the cliff and out toward the sea below.

I made it there and grabbed Cason’s dteria with my three octaves of G as he tried to lift himself. I was more ready for it this time, preparing my mind for the strain as he tried to take off.

An incredible pain went through my head, but it didn’t take me down to my knees. Cason lifted about a foot before he fell forward.

But then Pearson grabbed him with energy, and there was nothing I could hope to do.

Cason shot