Mark of the Fool

“I’ll be takin’ the last one’s head!” Cedric shouted, flying toward the demon, his spear blazing with Uldar’s divinity.

Alex raised his staff.

But a slight doubt kept nagging at the back of his mind.

They’d come to the hells with a lot of power and they’d hit the trio in ways the demons hadn’t expected. It should have been easy…but something still bothered him. As he watched Cedric streak toward the last son, he knew they’d made sound tactical decisions: capitalising on their advantage while they could.

Looking to end the fight clean and fast.

But, he remembered Baelin’s warnings about overconfidence.

And that demons were unpredictable.

He raised his staff, ready to direct mana draining magic at the towering fiend.

But in response, that hyena-like maw opened.

And the demon laughed.

Agony slammed Alex’s ears. His companions screamed, while Cedric froze in mid-air, both hands clamped over his ears. Pain contorted Alex’s form, his eardrums pounded like they were about to explode. Confusion raked his mind.

‘Father…!’ Claygon cried. He was the only one unaffected by the great demon’s laughter. ‘What’s…wron—Look out!’

The golem raised his fire-gems, blasting a wave of demons springing at the pain-wracked party.

‘Father! Can you hear me?’ Claygon cried in desperation, flying to Alex’s side, his war-spear cutting through swarms of demons in his way.

‘It hurts so much!’ Alex’s thoughts screamed. ‘The book said their laugh causes pain but…! I feel like my head’s splitting—’

His darting eyes fell on the staff clutched in his hand.

Realisation struck.

He’d placed sensory enhancement magic on his team members, heightening their senses, making their hearing ripe for assault from the demon’s sonic weapon; its laughter. The auditory sensation was pure torment, pitch and volume intensified beyond reason, distorting sound waves, ripping through theirheads.

‘Got to…’ he raised his staff weakly. ‘Got to…drain mana…Claygon, I— ’

The thought died when a shadow shot from beneath a throne, racing for Cedric while the Chosen of Uldar curled up in agony.

“Wh-what the hell…?” Alex choked out, pushing against the torture in his head, trying to gain enough clarity and will to power the staff.

But, before he could, the shadow fell on Cedric.

“Get back y’bloody…!” The Chosen cursed at the threatening shadow, lifting his spear as if in slow motion.

Even if Cedric wasn’t weakened, the creature was devilishly quick, sweeping past his spear, and diving for his chest.

No…

…diving inside his chest.

“Wh…?” Cedric gasped as the shadow sank beneath his skin.

“What?” Alex cried.

For a breath, the Chosen’s unbelieving eyes stared at shining scales on his chest—where the demon had vanished just an instant before—and gingerly reached for the spot.

“What’s happeni—Aaaaaargh!” He cried, dropping his weapon, both hands desperately clawing at his temples. “I feels it in me! Tryin’ t’take o…ver!”

“Cedric!” Isolde and Alex groaned.

The Chosen fought back with all his will, holding the demon at bay.

Horror mingled with pain in the young Thameish wizard.

Possession: in demonology, it was a fiendish power where certain demons had the power to possess a mortal body, taking over its will.

If the Chosen of Uldar became controlled by a demon…while the rest of them were paralysed by pain…

‘We’ll all…die! Claygon!’ He thought, glancing at the golem as he blasted an oncoming horde of demons.

‘Father!’ Claygon cried.

Alex’s thoughts raced. He couldn’t shoot the demon within Cedric…but he could stop that laughter.

‘We’ve got to shut…that demon up! Stop it from laughing!’ Alex thought in desperation.

‘But…father!’ Claygon’s fist crushed a pazuzite. His war-spear slashed through a group of tiashivas. Fire-beams lanced the demon horde, blasting all those working to bring their magic to bear. ‘You’ll be…swarmed if I turn away!’

“Please…just…do it!” Alex grunted, calling his Wizard’s Hands to him.

In that instant, Claygon turned from the hordes, unleashing a fire-beam at the remaining triplet’s laughing face.

Ikharrash’s third son, his laughter booming through the chamber, abruptly yelped and sprang aside. But his bulk wasn’t completely spared, the beam clipped him, exploding in flame. The yelp turned to a scream of rage. “Kill them! Kill them all!”

A wave of demons fell on the party.

Isolde was first to go: an agwiagma swooped down on her, its poisoned tentacles striking from behind; her greater force armour held, but its demon kindred piled on, swallowing her in a cloud of fish-like monsters.

Next to vanish was Grimloch, struck by scores of crimson lightning bolts at once, while Brutus vanished when b'alamxibas overwhelmed him in a coordinated attack.

More monsters swarmed Khalik, then Drestra.

Alex cursed, recovering from the overpowering laughter.

Most of their team—and spell power—was gone in heartbeats.

And now, the horde was coming for him.

Whirling his staff around in an arc, he called his forceballs to him, trying to deflect dozens of claws. A flash at the corner of his vision warned him crimson lightning was streaking across the chamber, he dove to the side, saving himself.

Meanwhile, he was pouring everything he could into the staff, readying its power. Wizard’s Hands clamped down on Alex’s ears, protecting him from any laughter the demon might try.

‘If I drain mana from Cedric’s body,’ he thought. ‘Maybe that’ll drive the demon out when its mana starts draining too! Come on!”

Cedric screamed, battling the demon’s influence on his mind and body. Thundar, Theresa and Hart fought back-to-back with Claygon, striking down the tide of demons trying to eliminate them.

Alex’s mana coursed through the staff.

The hyena-headed demon beat flames away, beginning to recover.

And Cedric screamed.

…abruptly stopping.

‘Oh no,’ the Thameish wizard’s fear spiked, dread filled the glance he risked at the Chosen. He expected a demon would now be in control of one of the most powerful warriors in all of Thameland

…instead, the shadowy demon floated in midair, looking around frantically for the host body it was in instants before.

‘The spell-mark!’ Alex thought. ‘It must’ve taken Cedric away before that demon completely possessed him!’

Another glance, this one toward the hyena-headed demon made his blood chill.

The creature was all smiles.

“Possess them!” The towering monster cried.

He inhaled like a massive bellows, readying his laugh.

“No!” Alex levelled his staff at the titanic fiend.

The aeld branch emitted a wave of defiance as power poured from it, releasing a swarm of magic.

“This nonsense can’t help you—” the demon snapped in the common tongue as the spells swirled around its body, painting Elder Blodeuwedd’s symbols across its skin. “What’re you—Aaaaaargh!”

The demon screamed.

Mana poured from it like a fountain, washing away in every direction.

Around it, its underlings paused, gaping at their enormous commander’s reactions. Some seemed pleased at his suffering, smirking quietly, but their focus never wavered from the intruders.

The shadowy demon…flanked by two more that had shot from beneath the thrones, flew for the warriors, eager to possess them, but Alex levelled his staff, unleashing more mana-draining magics.

Symbols appeared across their essences, their forms wavering as mana flowed from them.

“The hells with this, bring down the big one! We’re about to fall!” Theresa shouted. “We’ve got—”

There was a splash and a wave of mucus flew across the room, striking the huntress.

“Theresa!” Alex cried as she struggled against the hardening substance.

She never got a chance to break free. In a blink, demons were on her, blasting her with crimson lightning.

Then, she was gone, whisked away by her spell-mark.

Hart struck all around him, laughing maniacally as bodies fell.

“Stop laughing, you maniac! I’ve had enough crazy laughter for one day!” Thundar roared. “We’re about to be wiped out!”

“I know!” Hart laughed harder, his blade cutting down half a dozen tiashivas at once. “Don’t that get your blood pumping?”

“No!” Thundar snapped, shooting a group of agwiagmas from the air with a wave of force missiles.

Alex took in the situation at a glance: the floor was littered with dead demons, but more still poured into the chamber from all entrances. Around him, the swarm thickened—it was taking everything he had to dodge and deflect them—and if any more of those shadow demons were to appear, he’d be done for. Only Claygon’s unstoppable power was preventing them from being completely overwhelmed, though even he was having trouble keeping back the ever renewing demon numbers.

The three shadowy demons were growing weaker as their mana flickered away—yet they kept crawling forward —while the towering son of Ikharrash stalked toward the mortals, his teeth grinding in rage.

“What…have you done to me?” He demanded. “You know you won’t be leaving here, don’t you? No magic will sweep you away! I’ll keep you here and peel the flesh from your bones! You will know terror when I, Azzad, begin to work on you!”

“The hells with this! Claygon!” Alex shouted, pointing to the big demon. “Kill that bastard! Don’t bother about protecting me! Just get him dead!”

‘But…father!’ Claygon pleaded. ‘I…must protect you!’

“I’ll be fine!” Alex shouted. “Go! Take him!”

He felt a wave of frustration from the golem as he cut down an entire row of pazuzites.

‘Dead!’ Claygon roared in his mind, charging through rows of demons and facing their master.

Fire-beams lanced out, blasting the towering demon. Azzad howled viciously as flame magic struck him, enveloping him in a column of fire before he stepped forward to meet Claygon.

“I’ll turn you to gravel!” His eyes glowing red as he burned. “Then I’ll crush your filthy masters!”

Two large hands reached into the air, grasping with clawed fingers, and as Alex dove down to join Thundar and Hart, he felt the tingle of teleportation magic.

“Look out, Claygon!” He shouted, taking up position beside the Champion and minotaur. He ducked an axeblade and deflected a claw with his staff. “He’s calling something!”

Two somethings, as it turned out.

In a flash of crimson lightning, a pair of swords—each forged from an ominous-looking black metal—appeared in the demons’ hands, bleeding both magic, and deep red lightning.

The demon pointed at the charging golem, a dangerous sneer on his hyena-like face and with a roar, he rushed to meet Claygon.

War-spear swung.

Black swords swung.

Their clash landed with the force of a battering ram against a stone wall.

The demon grunted, jumping back and parrying a series of Claygon’s blows. He was yowling as another fire-beam ran along his flesh, yet—through immortal fortitude—he kept on fighting.

“You’re strong, creature!” The demon shouted. “But you lack the experience I’ve earned over far too many of your mortal centuries for me to count!”

To illustrate his point, he easily feinted the golem, turning aside the war-spear and striking a blow across Claygon’s torso. The heavy black blade rang like a trebuchet stone against a rock face, but failed to leave even the slightest scratch.

‘Shit,’ Alex thought. ‘It looks like we killed the other two so fast because we caught them off-guard. But they’re tough, and a lot faster than they look!’

Claygon lunged at the towering fiend, eliciting another crash of metal on metal. The demon growled, his arm shaking from the impact. “Fine, then, enough of this game,” he snorted. “Move aside. Your masters are made of much weaker stuff.”

Lips parted on the demon’s immense belly, spraying Claygon with mucus.

The golem didn’t pause, simply burning it away with his fire-beams.

“Argh! Filthy, defiant creature!” Azzad snarled. “Fine, have it your way! Dance with me! I’ll see my minions tear your masters apart!”

He barked out his terrible, magically-infused laugh.

A wave of prickling coursed through Alex’s body, though much of the demon’s power had faded—withered by mana draining magic. The creature scowled.

“Now you—” the last son paused, his eyes growing distant for a moment, then lighting up. “Well…isn’t that interesting?”

He parried another of Claygon’s blows.

“Seems that one of the patrols found an interesting portal outside the stronghold's walls…” His grin widened as a stab of panic ran through Alex.

“What?” Thundar shouted, driving away a tiashiva’s axe. “You piece of shi—”

“Theeeeere it is,” Azzad leapt out of the golem’s reach.

The war-spear crunched, cutting deep into nearby stone. Azzad kicked the golem with an elephantine leg, sending Claygon stumbling back.

“My minions have already destroyed the portal…” the fiend sneered. “Now they’re busy capturing your friends. It seems they fought fiercely, but, since shadow demons now control them…it seems they wasted their energy, maybe they can still fight fiercely…for me!” He seemed quite pleased with himself.

An image of Theresa and the others filled Alex’s mind—with no spell-marks and vulnerable—writhing in some filthy demon’s grip as it seized control of their bodies.

“No!” Alex’s panic spiked, he felt the terror-field reaching into his mind.

“Oh yes!” Azzad roared. “Submit to me now! Or I will let my minions free the flesh from their bones!”