The Demon's Game (10 page)

I laughed. “If there was even a chance you could hurt
me, do you think I would be standing here threatening you?” He hesitated, and
that doubt in him was exactly why I was in control. That was, until I felt my
world tip.

My vision blurred and grew dark while bright white
shadows grew and shrunk. My head pounded so hard all I could hear was my
heartbeat and some kind of static. I couldn’t breathe. I could feel the man’s
panic in the back of my mind, which was all that was left of my awareness. I
felt him pull the trigger, the sound of the gun, and the pain of the bullet
shredding my flesh and organs… but at the same instant, it didn’t happen. It
was going to happen, was happening, and had already happened all at the same
time… or maybe time was the problem. There was no time.

My vision cleared, but it was not an angry man in a
hospital room I faced. I was now in a dark lab of some kind. The place wasn’t a
dungeon by any means; it was clean and I saw no rats or exposed pipes, but it
certainly wasn’t sanitary. Hail was chained to a wall, dirty, sweaty, and
barely conscious, but I couldn’t see any actual injuries. Ron was strapped to a
bed, unconscious and looking so small in the twin bed. Their clothes were the
same they were wearing for our day out.

I couldn’t seem to move, so I reached out with my
magic for the chains and disintegrated them. They vanished so readily that I
had a second to feel suspicious before they reappeared just as easily. I took
in every detail I could from the room, including the number above the door
before my vision blurred again.

*          *          *

I was back at the hospital. The man stood before me
still, but without any shock or fear. In fact, he didn’t even breathe. Looking
between him and my mother, I realized they were both frozen. I walked around my
mother’s husband and left the room, only to find every nurse, doctor, visitor,
and patient the same. Everyone in the hospital, including every newborn, was
still as statues.

“Mordon?”

I waited, but received no response. If Mordon wasn’t
able to answer me, something was seriously wrong, and I was afraid it had
something to do with my sons being held captive in some kind of lab. I could
have flashed to him, but if I was doing something to freeze everyone in the
hospital, I didn’t want to accidentally spread it.

Time was dangerous, unpredictable, and unstable for
the most part; unfortunately, this wasn’t a fracture in time. Every person was
entirely still, but the machines still ran and when I checked the water
fountain, it was working fine.

So why has everyone stopped?
“Vretial?” I
asked aloud.

For some reason, as creepy as it was, the gods all
seemed to hear their names when I called. When I received no response, I got
irritated. Whatever sense of control I got from Mordon was gone and the silence
of the hospital was nerve wracking.

“Why do you always come to me for help, young
Noquodi?” Vretial asked suddenly from behind me.

I whirled, nearly tripping, but managed to catch
myself. The first time I faced the god, I had been told he was evil and insane.
I knew better now; he wasn’t evil. Vretial was eccentric and overwhelmingly
powerful, but I understood him in more ways than I cared to think about. He
would never be a friend, but since the mystery of his past had been solved, I
found myself seeking him for advice.

“Because you give me the answers I need.”

“I lie to you as often as anyone else.”

When I met the god, he had no flesh form, only an
illusion of his being created with energy. His touch was cold and creepy either
because that was who he was or because that was who I thought he was. The power
that surrounded him was nauseating.

Since he took a mortal form, however, he was
different. Although he still emanated extreme power, his hands were warm, he
breathed, and his heart was beating. The god wore a black button-up shirt and
black pants with a black trench coat.

“I know. But you still give me the answers I need.”

“Then here’re your answers; you, no, and I don’t
know.”

“No, you’re right; I should have called Regivus.
Regivus is much better at this than you. Just tell me what’s going on here. Why
is everyone frozen solid, is it hurting them, and how do I stop it? Oh… Damn,
you’re good. I thought you couldn’t read the future well.”

“I can’t see my own future well. As it happens, I
just know you that well.”

“But you don’t know how I can stop it?”

“Your power is still developing. I don’t know what
you are, but I really hope I figure it out before your mate does.”

“What does Divina have to do with it?” I asked.

“How can you stand to be married to someone who never
gives you the answers you need. Not only does she not give you answers, but she
acts against you to hide them from you.”

“You mean how she’s keeping the Sight from me?” I
asked. His eyes widened in surprise and I scoffed. “Oh, please. I figured that
out ages ago. You don’t really think I’m that thick, do you? I can tell the
difference between the Guardian warning dreams and the Sight. I saw Earth
destroyed when the gates opened. I saw Nila die. Thank you, by the way. I know
you were the one who blocked her power. Without you, I couldn’t have saved
him.”

“Damn, you’re better. I pray your son turns out like
his mother instead of you or we’re all doomed.”

“He’ll be even better. Give him half a chance and
he’ll rule the universe before Raktusha can be built. But that has nothing to
do with this. You said you didn’t know how to stop this frozen thing, whatever
it is.”

“I don’t. Whatever you did, you have to figure it out
and stop it yourself. Shouldn’t be too hard for you. Did your wife tell you
what she’s been doing the last few days?”

“No.”

“Did she ask you why you chose this town out of every
possible town on Earth?”

“No.”

“Did she ever explain what the Iadnah are to you?”

I paused this time. “The Iadnah are gods. A race of
beings older and more powerful than any other in this entire universe. She
explained you were all siblings and that you took over this universe shortly
after it was born, when your father destroyed the rest of your race and the
Land of the Iadnah.”

“She certainly told you a lot. She must have
explained why we are more powerful.”

“Because Iadnah energy is superior to nominal energy
and the gods are old enough to have mastered their powers.”

He laughed, but it wasn’t a hollow or snide sound.
The “dark” god was clutching his sides, tears streaming from his eyes as he
laughed so hard he could barely stand. Finally, after several minutes, he
pulled himself together.

“You are hilarious. That is the funniest excuse I’ve
heard in a long time. Iadnah energy is not superior to nominal energy. You
believe Iadnah energy is more powerful than nominal energy because you can do
more than with it. This is not true. In fact, the fabric of the universe is
built with nominal energy. The energy that gods create is easier to use if you
can
use it, and the amount of energy you can produce is infinite, but nominal
energy must be practiced and the user must strengthen himself. You can do just
as much with nominal energy, and though it may take thousands of years of
rigorous training to gain the ability that comes naturally with Iadnah energy,
it can be worth it. Nominal energy is the most basic element of the balance,
and every universe that exists. Therefore, it works with the balance, while
Iadnah energy works against it.”

“Does Tiamat know this, or is she just arrogant.”

“We are all very arrogant. My siblings refuse to
acknowledge our limits. We are the Iadnah; we are more powerful than any living
person, creature, or demon, but we are not more powerful than the void or the
universe itself. Compared to what our race once was, we are each ignorant
children. I learned about our powers and people from my father. However, it was
during a time when war and power was the only thing anyone talked about. I have
tried to teach my siblings what I spent my entire existence learning to
understand, but they are very stubborn.

“We are a race without life, yet we can create life.
That doesn’t make us superior to life. We were the first race, to our
knowledge, but what created us? I shudder to think, because whatever it was
that created the Iadnah could only have been a creature of the void. Life is
born of us, but we are born of the void. The death of us, of souls, and of
everything alive feeds the void.”

“So it’s a strange cycle between life, death, and the
Iadnah.”

“I once believed so. Now, however, I’m beginning to
think we are all just a side effect. We are bodies of energy and are actually
part of a greater cycle between nominal, Iadnah, and void energy. I cannot
prove this, and I would never suggest it to the others.”

“But you tell me.”

“Because you give me the answers I need,” he said
with a smirk. “I want you to wonder, too, because we are very much the same in
one aspect. An unsolved mystery hurts, doesn’t it? It’s not just a headache but
a deep ache throughout your entire body to figure out the unknown.”

“Having no answers to my questions burns like a slow
fire crawling around under my skin,” I agreed.

“And Ron is the same. Between the three of us, we can
figure it out.”

“Why do you need me?”

“Because I already figured the first part out. When
we met, I was a mystery you had to solve. Once you did, I was no longer of
value to you, but I’ve come to realize you are an even bigger mystery to me.
You make no sense, Dylan. You are as powerful as you ever need to be. I have no
doubt if I tried to kill you, you would suddenly have the power to destroy me.
I’ve come to the very resounding realization that the answer to the universe
lies in you.”

“Me? I don’t have the answer.”

“You are the answer. When I figure out what you are,
I’ll figure out the mysteries that even the Iadnah don’t want to think about.
And when I do, I’ll tell you what your wife is.”

“We’re standing in a hospital of frozen people. There
are newborns completely still. I know that doesn’t mean much to you, but it
freaks me out. Just tell me what I can do to stop this.”

“I don’t know what you did to freeze them.”

“Then how do you know I did it?”

“Because only you are powerful enough to freeze
everyone in this town. It’s not just the hospital, Dylan.”

“A god couldn’t do it?”

“I can stop time in a bubble, I can make people stop
moving, I can even kill everyone on this planet with a slight thought, but I
cannot make an entire population just stop. Nobody is breathing, no hearts are
beating. They are no longer aging. They are neither alive, nor dead, and that
is beyond Iadnah power. It’s like time stopped, but time is fine; it’s them. A
god can create life and take it away, but we can’t… do this.”

“Help me stop it, then.”

“I think stopping it was the problem. I think you
wanted something to stop, and for some reason, everyone in town did. The
animals are even fine. It’s just people that have stopped.”

“Is Mordon okay?”

He sighed. “If he’s frozen or if he isn’t, he’s safe
for the time being. The people will not need food or water in this state. If he
is frozen, it means your power is greater than that of the balance. If he
isn’t, it means the balance between you two is greater.”

“What about my sons?”

“I don’t know. Their minds are blocked to me, so I
cannot see if they are under this enchantment or not. It’s so quiet without the
people’s thoughts bombarding me.”

“Help me.”

“I don’t know how to undo your magic. My father could
have helped you, but I don’t know what you did.”

“If I stopped the people, I should be able to start
them again,” I growled at him. He gripped me roughly by the shoulders, his face
grave. He was the only god other than my wife who didn’t seem bothered by
touching me. Oddly enough, it always felt like he was treating me as his kid
brother when he did.

“And if you screw up, they all die, including those
babies you adore,” he warned. “If that happens, I can’t stop you, and you’ll
forever blame me.”

“Why do you care if I blame you?”

“I’m not stupid enough to want you as an enemy.”

“You helped Ron and Hail. Until you prove otherwise,
you are not my enemy. Help me. You advise Ron and Hail all the time.”

“This is your doing.”

“I understand that, so help me.”

“I
am
helping you. I can’t stop you. You can’t
even stop yourself. Your magic is out of control; anywhere you go, people will
stop because of your magic.” He looked at me like I was entirely stupid.

“So… I’ll go somewhere where there aren’t any people.
I’ll go to the Land of the Iadnah or something.”

He nodded and finally let go of my shoulders. “That’s
brilliant, and very responsible of you. You go there and stay there, because
you will never be able to return without stopping everyone. Brave of you to
sacrifice yourself. I’ll let your mate know your last act was to save the
pathetic little mortals.”

“Wait, shut up,” I said, my mind searching. I knew
something, something that was staring me in the face. I needed to stop my
power… “I know something… I’m so stupid! Nila. He’s a void!”

Before Vretial could say another word, I flashed to
Dios. Nila stood before me, bruised and bloody. The High King was at least
thirty, but he looked to be barely twenty. His normally shiny blond hair was
matted with blood and his bright blue eyes held the shadow of desperation. It
wasn’t Nano by his side or a horde of guards but one solo goblin, armed to the
teeth and just as disheveled as my friend.

Dressed in black like ninjas, the seven men who faced
the king froze with looks of shock on their faces, as did the guard. Nano,
however, turned to me. “You shouldn’t have come here, Dylan,” he said.