Delver Magic: Book 06 - Pure Choice (48 page)

"And that is the danger. With
all of your power, you should be aware of the travels of the soul."

"Now you'll tell me about
some higher plane of existence? Spare me that as well. It is nothing more than
a fanciful refuge for those that will not take the step into higher existence
themselves."

"Don't you see?" Enin
almost pleaded. "That's what Dzeb tried to tell you. You are not headed
toward a higher existence. You don't even..."

"Don't try to save me,"
Ansas interrupted. "I don't need to be saved."

"But you do, we all do. If
you put all of your faith in only yourself, you're going to be
disappointed."

"And now you wish to teach me
about... what? ...some ridiculous myth created by people unwilling to see the
truth? Save it for the giant. These miniscule people that pray to their small
gods, they have no idea. Their pathetic illusions are no match for the infinity
of what is inside me. My thoughts can create spectacles beyond the grandest
descriptions of their meaningless and so-called divine legends."

"You're being arrogant and
ignorant. This may be your last chance. Try to understand before it's too late.
I do believe you understand evil in its base form, but you're disregarding the
influence of a greater power. It's bad enough that you set this path for yourself,
but you have endeavored to bring others with you. You are pulling them away
from hope as well, and that is a grave mistake in judgment."

"Wonderful. Another
sermon."

"Call it what you wish, but
Dzeb is correct. You no longer cast black magic. The energy within you has
turned into a lie. It is a deceit that will bring you to a very bad end."

"So says the wizard that
understands he can no longer win. I, on the other hand, will see this to its
conclusion."

Ansas then looked to all those
gathered around Enin, even gave a passing glance to the spell casters that
carried his energy within them.

"For those who don't
understand what that means, let me be clear. I will make my stand here on this
high ground. If any of you think you can change my plans, you are mistaken. The
arasaps will remain in the woman immune to magic. I will continue to use her to
purify others. She will go mad in time, but that is irrelevant. The purity of
magic and the advancement of those that recognize it are far more important. I
will replace the pathetic elf that failed my expectations, and I will find new
spell casters that are adept in other hues. There should be no mystery about
what I intend to do."

As Ansas continued to reveal his
purpose, it was his own allies that showed the most interest. They had
previously heard his explanations, but all of them—particularly Neltus—held to
their suspicions. They did not believe the sorcerer offered up his own energy
just to prove a point, and it certainly wasn't out of a desire to be generous and
benevolent, a suspicion that Ansas confirmed with his next statement.

"I have not shared power for
the sake of simply giving it away. I will use my energy to cross dimensions and
gather strength. By bringing others into the folds of my being, I will prove
that the purity of a single hue is the path to a higher existence. Those that
are gifted with the proper abilities will learn that, through me, they can
release the shackles that have been passed down to them. They will grow, and
more importantly, I will grow with them. The energy that courses through me
will be the common link, and their abilities will expand mine. I will never
have to stain the purity of my magic, and yet I will have access to power
beyond imagination."

"There are limits you should
not... cannot cross," Enin warned.

"Limits? And what limits are
those? The ones held by the weak grasping on to their myths and legends? The
ones too scared and confused to realize that we control what we can
become?"

"Ansas, it is
you
who is no longer in control. You are
spiraling into an abyss. This might be your last chance. The ebony
magic..."

"Don't bother with your
ridiculous attempts to fool me. I know what power rests within me. It has
always been pure and it remains so. I will use it to purify others, just as I
will use the human woman."

"I can't allow that to
happen," Enin said sadly, realizing Ansas had chosen his path and it was
one that would indeed lead to a terrible tragedy.

The sorcerer, however, found only
anger in hearing the wizard's tone.

"Allow? What? You think you
can snap your fingers and my will no longer matters? You think it's that
easy?"

"Easy? It's not a matter of
hard or easy. It is a matter of necessity. You must be defeated. I know that,
and so does Ryson. I have no intention of humoring you with some kind of
wizard's duel. Just as Holli has said, I have nothing to prove, but the delver
has several important issues with you."

Just as Jure had done, Enin turned
his back on the sorcerer as he looked to his friend. The great wizard began to
see everything unfold, and he understood who was meant to battle the sorcerer.

"A person fighting for
something they believe in is far stronger than a person fighting for their own
glory," Enin reminded the delver. "It is your task to battle the sorcerer."

Ryson was shocked. He had no
misgivings about making the sorcerer remove the arasaps from Linda, but he was
surprised at the sudden turn of events.

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me on this, you are
the one who must do this. Most important, it is within you to save your wife,
and you must do so now. Remember what I have said. Do not think so much about
defeating Ansas, he is not a threat to you. He can only hurt you if you let
him. Think more about saving Linda, there is a difference."

Not needing to hear more, the
delver did not hesitate to act. He said nothing further to Enin. He didn't even
pause to consider his surroundings or his tactics. His life revolved around
speed, and it would be with speed he would assault the sorcerer.

Disregarding all others, Ryson
bounded toward Ansas and was upon the sorcerer in an instant. The delver did
not draw a weapon... not the two war blades at his hips or the Sword of Decree
from the sheath across his back. He struck Ansas with his bare hands and in
rapid succession to completely demoralize the sorcerer. Ryson wanted Ansas to
realize that he could strike at will and there was nothing that could stop him.

Not wishing to render the sorcerer
unconscious, Ryson targeted areas that would cause the most severe and jolting
pain. He hit Ansas in the spine, the neck, the ears, every joint, and under the
ribs. He used an open hand, struck with the base of his palm, and hit certain
spots several times to elevate the level of punishment.

Never giving the sorcerer a chance
to react, he continued moving, twisting and turning in random fashion. He
ducked, then sprang upwards. He altered his pace, never allowing himself to
become a target. He pounded away fiercely, but with just enough control to keep
Ansas from passing out.

It was difficult for him to remain
focused on his objective. Enin told him to think about saving Linda, and that
was paramount, but punishing Ansas and unleashing his own anger quickly crept
into his consciousness. Each time he felt his hand crash into Ansas' body, his
emotions leapt ever higher. He did not want to believe he took enjoyment out of
the attack, but he could not deny the growing stimulation that washed over his
being. He wanted to hurt the sorcerer, make him pay for what he did in such a
way that Ansas would never consider assaulting Linda again.

Ansas was overwhelmed. He did not
expect the sudden battering. He tried to bring a spell to his lips, but with
each smashing blow from the delver, a flash of pain burst his concentration.
His muscular body and the burning will of his overriding conceit kept him from
bowing to the barrage, but there was little else he could do. He remained
upright and on his feet. Believing his physical attributes were capable of
handling his opponent, he tried to swing at Ryson, but he could not connect
against the swift moving delver. He grunted with each stab of pain, but issued
no other cry or plea.

The others upon the plateau, all
save Linda, watched the mauling in dumbfounded amazement. Ansas' spell casters
stood very near to the assault, could even feel the wind from the force of many
of the blows, but they remained too stunned to assist in any way. The two
figures became a twisted mass of confusion, and even if they could manage to
stifle their shock, they wouldn't have had a clear target.

Those across the plateau were
startled by Ryson's pure aggression. Most knew Ryson very well, and the
viciousness of the attack bristled against their understanding of the delver's
nature. In that moment of pure violence, they did not see the individual who
cared deeply about life—the delver that would avoid bringing pain and injury
even to goblins that wanted to slay him. They saw something very different.
They saw the unhinged fury of an individual pushed to the limit of his
tolerance. To their astonishment, they saw a ruthless delver using his gifts in
a savage attack against a foe who chose to strike at the person Ryson cherished
the most.

Even if she knew that Ryson was
attacking the sorcerer for her sake, Linda ignored the entire scene. She stared
at the lifeless rocks by her feet. She showed not the slightest interest in the
conflict that would decide her own fate. She felt nothing inside, her emotions
cut off from her consciousness by the arasaps that invaded her body.

As Ryson continued to batter the
helpless sorcerer, he allowed himself one glance toward Linda. He saw the
emptiness of her expression, and though it only compounded his anger, he
finally heeded Enin's initial advice. He placed all of his attention on saving
his wife.

The delver stopped striking at
Ansas. With the last two flashes of movement, he grabbed hold of the sorcerer's
hands just above the wrists and turned them at angles that would create
sufficient pain with the proper pressure.

Ansas, though more muscular and
stronger than the delver, could not break the hold without risking severe
injury. He was, however, finally able to clear his head. He eyed the delver
with clear hostility, but with surprising patience, he waited for Ryson to make
the next move.

Ryson twisted one of the
sorcerer's wrists just enough to get his point across.

"You're going to remove the
arasaps. Now!"

Ansas let out a heavy gasp,
grunted at the pain that continued to remind him of the beating he had taken.
He cast a defiant stare into the delver's eyes.

"And if I don't? What? You
will break my wrists? Do you somehow believe I will not be able to cast any
spells in that condition? You don't understand anything. That might hinder
inferior spell casters, but that will not stop me. You could cut off my arms
and I could still cast spells. Concentration is all that is required. The
movement of the arms simply assists in focus for someone like me."

"It's you who doesn't
understand. This is about the pain I can cause you. Breaking your wrists would
just be the start."

"I see," Ansas offered
and he paused to consider the situation. He inhaled again and flinched at
another stab of pain. As if the throbbing aches helped convince him, he
capitulated without further argument. "Then I will cast the spell that will
remove the arasaps. You don't even have to release my arms."

Ansas looked toward Linda and
quickly whispered several words. He never raised his hands, never needed to. A
circle of dark magic rotated around his body. As it did, it began to carry him
off the ground.

Caught off guard, Ryson tried to
gain a better grip of the sorcerer. He released Ansas' hands and tried to throw
his arms around the sorcerer's waist. The delver struggled to steady himself,
but he lost his balance as his feet were pulled from the ground. Without a firm
footing, he could not keep the sorcerer from taking flight.

Unwilling to leave himself
vulnerable in the air and unable to restrain Ansas, Ryson released his hold and
dropped back to the hard ground of the plateau. He kept his eyes on Ansas as he
darted toward the center of the high plain. There was plenty of room to
maneuver and few obstacles, but he was stuck on open ground without cover
whereas the sorcerer could obviously fly and remain out of reach.

The sorcerer took the opportunity
to scan the entire reaches of his sanctuary. He was free of the delver and
believed he had Ryson Acumen at his mercy, but he remained wary of the wizard.
He could not believe that Enin would allow the delver to be annihilated, which
was exactly what Ansas planned to do. He looked over to the wizard, but saw
that Enin made no move to interfere.

Holli realized the full danger of
the moment. She attempted to act. She pulled the bow from her shoulder and was
about to take an arrow from her quiver when she felt Enin's hand on her back.

"There is no need for
that," Enin whispered.

"You are going to stop
this?" the elf questioned.

"I couldn't stop it if I
wanted to," the wizard revealed, "but I assure you, Ryson is in no
danger."

Holli couldn't understand. To her,
the delver's peril was clear.

"No danger? The sorcerer
remains out of reach and can dispose of Ryson at will."

"No, he can't. Dzeb was
right. Ansas no longer casts ebony magic. The power within him cannot harm
Ryson any more than it can harm the cliff behemoth... and as Dzeb stated, cliff
behemoths do not lie."

"What should we do?"

"Allow Ryson to save his
wife."

And that was exactly what the
delver intended to do. He had made a mistake and allowed the sorcerer to
connive his way from the delver's hold. Ryson was at a clear disadvantage, but
he would not fail Linda.