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" Keldwyn put his temple against the side of Uthe's neck and jaw, then positioned his head on Uthe's shoulder in a resting position again. "I'll sleep now to complete the rejuvenation process. Perhaps your horse can keep to this pace to aid my repose until we come up against something that requires us both to be awake. Like an army of dragons. Any single beasts I'm sure you can handle yourself."
"Your confidence is fortifying, my lord."
Chapter Fifteen
Endless red trees. In time, they became purple like velvety pansies, then green, but not the green seen on trees in Uthe's world. This was the neon glow of the lime-flavored drinks Carola favored from the local Taco Bell in Savannah. Her servant brought one to her almost daily when she was there for meetings.
The wind, the birds, the breathing and rustlings of the earth so ever present that it was only by their absence that they could be noticed, didn't exist in the Shattered World. However, the hum of the blood link connection had strengthened, stabilized. In time, the demon decided it was in the mood for conversation. Because he thought it would aid in locating the head, Uthe did not mute or block the creature now, though he shortly debated the wisdom of that.
"You think using the sorceress's magic will resolve things," he spoke in Uthe's head. "Why do you care about the Baptist getting to Heaven? They could have helped him at any time and they didn't. They waited on a vampire and generations of sorceresses to find a way they already knew to attempt to send me to back. How would you know the difference between me being loosed on the world and the way the world is now?"
Blood flashed in Uthe's mind, the scream of a child. Uthe blocked it, but that snapshot had provoked the response the demon wanted, a wave of guilt and sorrow. "See? How could things be worse than that?"
That question is an invitation to discord and chaos, Uthe responded. This world, for all the evil it has, also nurtures good, compassion and love. He drew a deep breath, enjoying how it enhanced the weight and impression of Keldwyn sleeping against his back. Was there anything as humbling as a lover trusting him enough to sleep in his presence? In your world, none of that would exist.
"If you succeed in returning to your world, what you express for one another here will not exist." The demon scoffed, an ugly sound like a phlegm-filled cough. "Reghan paid for that transgression with his life. You truly think your pretty fairy would face those consequences for you? You are a curiosity to him. You have the intelligence to match a Fae, so his lust has confused you with one. But in the end, you are his inferior, and he knows it. His world would never tolerate your pairing. They have laws forbidding it. So there goes another thing that makes your life worth living. Except you're not going to remember your life for much longer, are you?"
No, I am not. Uthe made himself say it firmly, without trepidation. It was what it was, right? So there is no harm in enjoying my time with him, no matter what he has to do to protect himself later. Why do you reject being sent back to your home, demon? If it is such a boon to serve the purposes of evil, why would you not want to be back at the source of all that vileness? We all gravitate toward home, if it's a home worth having.
"Our mission is to spread chaos. My part of Hell is already chaos. I am redundant there. Who desires to be redundant?"
His cleverness was capable of making Uthe smile, as much as his crueler words could be painful to the heart and soul. As he tilted his head to brush it against Kel's in affection, he put a temporary mute on the demon's dialogue so it was a malevolent mumble. He had no choice but to enjoy each moment fully. Agonizing over the sands falling through that hourglass, not knowing when he'd lose awareness of the passage of time, let alone anything else, was pointless. Worlds like this, where time had such little meaning, made that even clearer.
He'd not yet experienced the surges of uncontrolled bloodlust and loss of impulse control that he'd seen in other Ennui victims, as if they'd been transformed into a different, more sociopathic version of their fledgling selves. However, in this world, channeling such violence might prove to be useful. Like perhaps now.
The world of crayons had come to an end. Ahead there was only billowing gray fog. Nexus shifted uneasily. "Kel," Uthe said, a warning. The Fae's head was already lifting.
"I see it."
"Anything?"
A pause, then Kel shook his head. "Forward or not?"
Uthe patted Nexus's muscled neck. "That's the direction I sense we need to go. So unless my mind is playing tricks on me or the Shattered World is, I think we must go through."
"Very well." Keldwyn drew his sword and slid to the ground, taking a firm hold of Uthe's boot. "You prepare to defend high, I will defend low, and Nexus will choose the elevation that best suits him."
"Agreed." Uthe pulled out his sword and held it at the ready against his thigh. Nexus snorted at the cue. His forward gait became more deliberate, his ears swept back, listening for Uthe's commands, the horse prepared for attack.
Immediately, the fog closed in. It was wet on the face, and blinded the eyes, so Uthe closed his, using the blood link and his awareness of Kel's hand on his foot to guide him. In this environment, a foe was better detected by hearing, scent and intuition. There was something in the fog. He could feel it pressing in on them. Sibilant whispers began like fitful breezes, becoming more noticeable, rising in volume. His skin crawled beneath the mail.
"Kel..."
With you still, my lord. And yes, I feel it all.
Kel had understood he needed the reinforcement, to know which was the illusion of this world and that of his own mind. Though illusion might be a misnomer, because an illusion in this world could become quite real and deadly. Like...
"Gauche," he bellowed. Nexus jerked them left, Keldwyn moving with them. A serpent's head as large as Nexus's shot past on the right, its rotting stench a powerful rolling force that accompanied it on a hot wind. Water sprayed them, salty and rank. Keldwyn's blade flashed down, cutting into brown, spotted flesh. The being shrieked, whipping away into the fog. Nexus snorted, throwing up his head as his front legs plunged down and forward. Uthe kept his seat, but he reached down and caught Keldwyn's collar to hold onto him as the horse floundered. They were in water, water quickly drawing them into its current and spinning them. There was no backing out of it, because it was impossible to tell from which way they'd come. Nexus began to swim, legs powerfully pumping. Uthe gave the horse his head, because he would smell land faster than Uthe could find it.
"Damnation, it's coming back. Hold on." Keldwyn wrested free and dove, despite Uthe's sharp protest. He couldn't see through the Fae's eyes, but he could hear the thoughts whipping through Kel's mind.
Sea serpent. He's coming this way, beneath you. Get Nexus to swim faster.
He gave Nexus the command and the horse plunged forward, thrashing. The water around them illuminated and the charge of the magic electrified his own blood as Keldwyn unleashed it. The serpent reared out of the water over Uthe, raining water down on him. The fanged mouth gaped, eyes alight with crimson fire. Uthe made himself wait for the right moment, and he didn't have long to do so. The head shot down, teeth gleaming. He swung, his reflexes and timing sure.
No matter what else he forgot, this he would never forget how to do.
He sliced off a portion of the snout and knocked out a tooth as long as his forearm. The serpent screeched and splashed back into the water. Uthe threw himself off the horse's back and onto the serpent's neck, right behind the head. Clamping his thighs around the massive column, he spun the blade and drove it through the brain, skewering the creature before it could dive.
A shriek told him the serpent wasn't alone. He shoved backwards in the water, the ripples before him exploding into froth as another monster broke the surface. He saw the green scales and golden eyes, then crackling energy shot through its throat and body, x-raying the skeleton inside. It illuminated objects he didn't want to think looked like human remains. Kel was crouched on top of the waves, his sword thrust through the thing's body, the energy in the blade
illuminating the serpent and holding him above the water in a shimmering field of fire.
"Another, Uthe. On your left." Keldwyn shouted it. Uthe yelled a warning in return, sending Keldwyn spinning around as a three-headed serpent exploded out of the water right behind the Fae Lord. The force of his appearance shot a wave over both of them. It tumbled Uthe through the churning liquid. Damn it. Vampires had no buoyancy. While he had the strength to keep himself aloft, even with the mail, it made more sense to let himself drop to the bottom and fight there. Except he had no idea how far the bottom was.
Before he could sink to any distance, a large body thudded against him, and it wasn't the serpent. Thanking God for Nexus, he grabbed the stallion's mane and pulled himself back upon him. Bless his indomitable soul, the horse was still swimming just as strongly, whinnying out a challenge.
The serpent broke the water to their left. The churning had apparently obscured its vision beneath and it was trying to locate them. It was as large as the first, with gnashing teeth and six sets of swirling eyes, venom dripping from a double row of fangs.
Being on Nexus's back gave Uthe a way to stay above water and strike at the creature. But his maneuvering ability was severely hampered in water, and the serpent knew it. He couldn't see any sign of Keldwyn or the other beast. Now his own enemy dove, and Uthe knew what was coming. He didn't take the time to imagine those gaping jaws coming up toward Nexus's vulnerable underside. Shoving off the horse's back once more, he let the mail take him down. He thudded to solid ground in a matter of several seconds. Seeing the serpent's body coiling around him, he'd never been more pleased to have his feet firmly on the bottom of an ocean floor, if that was what this was.
