Swords & Dark Magic - By Jonathan Strahan Page 0,90
it said. “I have your life now, for I know your secret. You have failed to restore Law to your dissipating world.”
“No doubt you are confusing me with another, Sir Monster, for when I die it will not be in the cause of Law, but in my own cause, or that of Chaos.” With casual familiarity, Elric swung the howling blade this way and that. Its black radiance met the red and flowed into it, throbbing. “But all that will depend on my luck and the Duke of Hell I serve. For my patron is Arioch of Chaos, one of Entropy’s great generals.”
“That hero died in another world. He has no power here.” There was puzzlement in the half-seen creature’s blue eyes. It’s black, flat muzzle twitched. Then it opened a scarlet mouth, glittering with luminous teeth, each sharp as a dagger. Languidly, it licked its oddly shaped lips with a long blue tongue.
“I know not by what crude sorcery your master brought you out of the Far Hell and kept you here, but I warn you, petty demon, to avoid me if you can. I am Elric and the sword I hold was forged in the flames of the burning damned to serve Chaos as I serve Duke Arioch. This blade is called Stormbringer and is quite as hungry as you are. I am very hungry, too.”
The demon squeaked again. Each time the sound grew less audible yet somehow more ominous. It flapped up towards the roof again and hung there for a moment, its dark blue frowning eyes regarding Elric’s own glittering red orbs. It shifted its gaze from Elric’s eyes to the pearls it guarded and it made a small, puzzled sound. Again it opened its mouth and licked its teeth with its blue tongue, one by one, as if counting them. Then, with a high, whistling sound, its long white fangs clashing, its eyes glaring, the thing dropped upon him. Elric whirled, trying to engage the Asquinux face-to-face, but it would not let him. Its slender claws dug through his armoured back, making it impossible for him to stab with any precision.
Eyes blazing with battle hunger, Elric lifted his head and howled.
“Arioch! Arioch! Aid me!”
Roaring the name of his patron, Elric swung the blade back over his left shoulder and there was a crack as it connected with the demon’s bones.
The Asquinux shouted suddenly, shockingly, red mouth widening, the noise filling the tower. One claw came free. A swinging cut over his head and Elric’s blade bit into the monster’s knotted flesh. There came a terrible shrieking sound as the demon dragged those claws from the metal protecting Elric’s shoulder. It flapped back into the shadows. Its white mouth was panting now and it turned its head, lapping its own foaming wounds, its blood dripping like rain.
“You are more powerful than I, it is true,” said the demon in a quiet, deadly voice. “But I must try to kill you or break my compact with Addric Heed, in which case I should perish all the more painfully. Soon his army will come and you will perish on the points of a thousand swords.”
With evident reluctance, the demon flapped down, attempting again to get purchase with its claws in Elric’s body. This time, however, Elric understood its intent and ducked, throwing up Stormbringer so that the demon fell back, yelling curses in its own tongue. Then Elric leapt forwards, stabbing, and the thing flapped further up the tower, trying to work its way around so that it could make another attack on the albino’s back, clearly its only manoeuvre. So Elric deliberately turned his back until he heard the demon begin to drop down, then whirled, swinging the great blade with all its wild momentum and striking the demon in its hip, which cracked and made the Asquinux scream and keep screaming. A flood of ichor gushed from its wound as it wheeled, its wings smacking at the crimson air.
Again Elric ducked and threw himself to one side, dodging the attack. The thing’s fluids splashed on the floor, narrowly missing the albino. He leapt this time, stabbing. The blade slipped through flesh and met bone. Now a foul stench began to fill the tower room, and black blood boiled as the demon gave its sudden attention to the two great pearls, its claws reaching for them desperately.
“You’ll not save them from me, little monster!”
Elric swung Stormbringer again. The sword wailed with pleasure as its hunger began to