would cleave him in two. He felt his skin bubble and the pungent smell of his burnt hair assaulted his senses.
Jonas closed his eyes and drew on his cognivant powers again. Using these powers was always tricky. He had to balance the need against the power of his opponent and the energy he would expend in using it. Against a powerful opponent like the one he faced now, he risked incapacitating himself. But if there was a time to use those powers, it was now. He called on the energy around him and wrapped it around the demon prince. Instantly the flames went away and Jonas used his mind to lift the demon in the air and throw him across the room to smash again into the wall of the tent.
Jonas stumbled from the agony, trying to open his eyes. The pain was immense. He had been burned so badly that his eyes were sealed. His head pounded from the cognitive energy used to fling the powerful demon against the wall.
From a distance, Jonas heard the demon laugh as he struggled to maintain his balance. His heart beat quickly as he fought to get control of himself through the pain and fear. Jonas could heal himself but he didn’t know if he had time before the demon attacked again.
Then he heard Shyann’s voice in his head and all fear went away. “Hold tight Jonas. Do not fear. I am here with you. Use your mind.”
Jonas’s mind cleared and all fear evaporated in a rush of energy. He opened up his mind and used his powers as a cognivant to see the area around him. In his mind’s eye he could make out the particles of everything around him, including the demon prince who was now just before him with his sword raised above his head. Everything shone with different hues of light but it was enough to give Jonas an idea of distance, size, and shape.
Prince Nelstrom smiled wickedly as he brought his fire blade down with all his strength at the blinded cavalier. But the blade struck the ground hard as Jonas had moved aside with impossible speed and agility.
The prince tried to get his blade up but the cavalier was too fast. As Jonas sidestepped the powerful swing, he swung his right hand blade down onto the exposed arm of the demon, slicing easily through its flesh. As the demon’s sword arm fell to the ground, he watched in horror as the cavalier spun like a dancer, the momentum of the spin sending his left sword whirling by his face, slicing through his throat. The prince’s neck parted easily on Jonas’s blade, and he stumbled backwards from the blow.
Jonas, his eyes still burned shut, saw the demon prince move backwards holding onto his slit throat with his one good arm. But he would not be so easily killed. In his mind’s eye, Jonas saw the demon work some dark magic. Two bolts of energy shot forth from the demon’s hand but the bolts did not hit the cavalier. Instead they landed on either side of him creating two huge spiders from the crackling energy. Jonas could not see the spiders perfectly but he could make out their shape and size. They were as big as a man, similar to the spider that Taleen had fought on the battlefield.
Both spiders instantly attacked him. They leaped with incredible speed and slammed into the invisible wall that Jonas had quickly formed with his mind. One landed heavily on its back while the other maintained its footing, sending long clawed legs into the barrier as it tried to reach the retreating cavalier.
Jonas asked for Shyann’s help and brought forth burning blue flames that erupted from his right sword. He pointed the blade at the spider that was attacking the invisible barrier and sent a column of flame into the hideous beast. He had to drop the wall to let the flames out and he hoped that the spider on its back would take a few moments to recover.
The flames struck the spider with a flash, quickly incinerating it. Its squeal of pain was quickly extinguished as it was transformed to a smoldering pile of ash.
The second spider was quicker than he had expected, attacking Jonas simultaneously with four spiked claws. He stumbled backwards and used his right sword to deflect the first three attacks, but the last lightening quick claw shot through his defenses piercing his thigh just below the metal skirt