The Spirit Eater

CHAPTER 18

The Heart’s scream reverberated through the air. Nico fell to her knees, slamming her hands over her ears as it hit her. Eli was down as well. She could see his lips moving as he shouted something, but she couldn’t hear anything except the enormous roar of the Heart of War as Sted’s claws dug into the black metal. Then, as quickly as it started, the sound stopped.

Nico looked up just in time to catch Sted’s surprised expression before the Heart of War erupted in a blinding flash of light. The blade did not change. It was still the same black, dented metal, and yet it shone like noon sun on fresh snow. Even as she saw the light, Nico heard another sound, like a whip snapping, and Sted flew backward. He rocketed through the air, blown backward by the Heart’s will, and landed with a bone-cracking crunch on the edge of the arena. The Heart was blown backward as well. It flipped through the air, whistling gracefully, its light fading to a warm glow as it landed perfectly in Josef’s outstretched hand.

The second the Heart was in his grip, Josef rushed at Sted, who was still lying stunned at the arena’s edge. He moved so fast Nico’s eyes could barely keep pace, but when he struck, Sted was no longer there. Josef stopped his blow and whirled around just as Sted crawled out of the shadows on the other side of the arena. Nico held her breath. She couldn’t even call the thing on the ground Sted anymore. Sted had been human, at least in form. This was something that did not belong in the world. Its skin was pure black, but deeper. Looking at the thing was like staring into a void, like the shape on the ground was a hole in the world rather than the remnants of a man. What had been human arms were now sickeningly long, thin as beanpoles, and triple jointed, bending to completely circle Sted’s body. Its legs were long and powerful, tipped with claws that had sliced through what was left of Sted’s boots. But worst of all was his face. His face was a black nothing, too black to look at. The only thing Nico could make out were the rows of sharp, uneven teeth, and the eyes. Sted’s eyes floated in the void that was left of his face, enormous and golden yellow. Shapes moved behind them, horrible clawed shadows that made Nico’s skin crawl, but she could not look away. She could only watch as the creature opened its mouth in sickening slow motion, its long, black tongue sliding hungrily across its jagged, black teeth.

The demon panic hit her like a stone wall. She felt Eli seize up beside her, and even Tesset stumbled. For a moment they sat there, paralyzed, and then the world went crazy. All around them, spirits began to panic. The ground was shrieking, the sand was shrieking, the wooden arena walls were shrieking, even the blunt swords were shrieking in terrified horror. Behind them, Nico could hear the wooden buildings weeping in fear, followed by the surprised shouts of bandits as the rooftops and balconies began to twist and pull against their supports in a desperate attempt to flee. This started a human panic, and the arena crowd dissolved into pure chaos in a matter of seconds. Bandits were pouring out of collapsing buildings, crying in terror as the ground under their feet tried to run with them. Nico could hear Izo shouting from his box, but his orders were drowned out in the panic. None of the bandits so much as looked at him as they fought and clawed their way down the packed-dirt street toward the gates.

But even as the screaming bandits jostled past her, Nico didn’t look away from the arena. Despite the fear, Josef was still advancing, the Heart rock-solid and steady in his hands. The demon hissed and sank to the sand, its triple-jointed arms reaching out, claws spread, ready to strike. Josef turned the Heart to a defensive position, but the blow never came. Instead, the demon just grinned, a sickening spread of teeth, and plunged its clawed hands down into the arena sand.

The ground lurched with a horrific scream that soared above all the others. Each tiny grain of sand cried in mortal terror before snuffing out in a silence that was even more horrible as a black circle began to grow from the demon’s claws.

“Josef!” Nico screamed, lurching forward until she was almost falling into the arena. “It’s eating the spirits! You have to strike now!”

But she never knew if he heard her, for at that moment the ground erupted. Nico’s coat seized around her shoulders, yanking her back just in time as enormous stone spikes stabbed up from the arena floor. Great swords of stone charged upward with a vengeful scream, scattering sand everywhere as the awoken, angry, deep spirits of the bedrock lurched forward to crush the demon.

The creature dodged effortlessly. It slipped through the shadows faster than even Nico had once been able to, snickering as the stone spikes crashed and broke when they tried to give chase. But Nico wasn’t even watching the demon anymore. Her eyes were glued to the tiny figure flying through the air, launched upward when the ground exploded below his feet.

“JOSEF!”

Josef tumbled as he flew, his body going slack. Nico sucked in a breath as the Heart left his hand. He landed with a crash in a building two blocks away from the arena. The roof shattered when he hit, sending wood raining down through the hole he left behind. The Heart landed in the next building over, crashing through a shuttered window like a sledgehammer through paper.

The crash rang out over the din of the panicked spirits, and Nico shot up before she knew what she was doing. But as she started to run to Josef, she was yanked off her feet. Her breath slammed out of her as she landed on her back. She coughed and retched, staring hatefully at Tesset, who was standing over her, holding the rope that was tied to the manacle at her neck.

She bared her teeth at him like an animal. “Let me go!”

Tesset gave her a dry look and opened his mouth. But whatever he was going to say, he never got it out, for at that moment something extraordinary happened. All around the arena, white lines began to appear. They cut down through empty space, first five, then ten, then twenty, all shining the same brilliant white. The lines hung in the air, shimmering for a split second, and then men in black coats began to step through.

They came out with swords drawn, surrounding the arena in a loose circle. The moment their feet were on the ground, half of them opened their spirits, pressing the panicking landscape into submission. The other half kept their focus on Sted, who was clinging to the edge of one of the stone spikes with his claws. The demon hissed and dug its claws into the screaming stone, ready to pounce, when another white line opened in the air not a foot from Nico’s head. Nico scrambled sideways just before a man stepped through. He was dressed in the same black coat as all the others, but he had an undeniable air of competence and command. He had a thin, intelligent face and a slender, golden-hilted sword that, unlike the others, was still sheathed. Though he’d nearly stepped on her, he didn’t even look at Nico. He simply walked to the edge of the arena and held out his hand, his long fingers pointing directly at Sted.

Don’t move.

The words slammed down like a boulder. Nico could feel the weight of them pressing on every inch of skin that wasn’t protected by her coat, but for Sted, things were much worse. The moment the man spoke, the demon howled and fell. It toppled from the stone spikes and slammed into what was left of the arena floor below, shrieking in that horrible dual-tone voice as it fought against the weight.

Nodding, the man lowered his arm and glanced over his shoulder, looking straight at Nico. She shrank into her coat, clutching her transformed arm against her chest. But the man said nothing. After several awkward seconds, Sparrow broke the silence.

“Hello, Alric,” he said, dusting himself off. “Fantastic timing.”

Alric gave him a blistering look. “Shut up, Sparrow. I don’t have time for whatever games your mistress is playing.” He reached down and grabbed Nico’s rope, dragging her to her feet. Once she was up, he turned and grabbed Eli before the thief could object, nearly throwing him into Sparrow. “I have no idea how you caught Eli Monpress,” he said. “Frankly, I don’t care. If he’s stupid enough to get himself caught, then that’s none of my affair, but I want these two out of here now.”

Sparrow arched an eyebrow. “But you seem to have the situation well—”

He was cut off by an enormous roar as Sted began to thrash. Several League members threw out their hands, shouting commands to the spirits as the demon fought to get to its feet.

“Go!” Alric shouted, his hand going for his sword as he jumped down into the arena.

“You heard the man,” Sparrow said, grabbing Eli.

Eli pried Sparrow’s hands off him. “Now wait just a—”

His words cut off as Sparrow grabbed the length of rope Eli had slipped out of earlier and flung it around the thief’s neck. “Let’s go,” he said, yanking the rope so tight Eli’s face began to turn red.

Tesset nodded. He reached down and scooped Nico up, tossing her over his shoulder like an oat sack.

“No!” Nico screamed, writhing against his grasp. “We can’t leave Josef! He’ll die without the Heart!”

But the two men kept going, Tesset carrying her, Sparrow dragging Eli, who was digging in his heels as best he could with a rope crushing his windpipe. They ran through the collapsing city. Bandits were good at running away, and the dirt streets were nearly empty now, save for a few stragglers and those unfortunate enough to have been trampled in the panic. The buildings groaned and twitched around them, collapsing as they watched, and Sparrow began to push them faster, cursing loudly as he fought to drag a still-struggling Eli behind him.

“Want me to knock him out?” Tesset said, looking over his shoulder.

“No,” Sparrow grunted, yanking the rope tighter. “Sara would kill us if we injured him. What is it about this damn thief, anyway? First Sara goes crazy for him, and now the great Alric himself stoops to giving me the time of day just to tell me to get him out of town?”

Tesset shrugged and got a tighter hold on Nico, who was trying to claw his face while kicking him in the chest as hard as she could. It did no good, of course. Hitting Tesset was like trying to beat a rock into submission. But she kept trying. Dumped over his shoulder as she was, she could see the great cloud of dust rising from the arena as Sted’s roar echoed through the box canyon. Nico bared her teeth and fought harder. She couldn’t even see the roof Josef had crashed through anymore, but she was certain he wasn’t up yet, not without the Heart. He was defenseless, unconscious, and alone. If the panicked spirits didn’t kill Josef on accident, Sted would for sure. She had to get to him.

“Stop it,” Tesset said, thwacking her across the back. “You’re slowing us down.”

“Then leave me!” she shouted.

“Calm down,” he said softly. “You can’t win. Don’t make me hurt you.”

“No!” Nico shrieked. She bent her neck back as far as it would go, staring him in the eyes. “If he dies, I can never repay him. He gave me my life as I know it. He taught me everything. If that story you told me was true, then you know what it’s like to owe your rebirth to someone. I can’t just let him die. You have to let me go!”

“Don’t be stupid,” Sparrow said. “That’s the League back there, sweetheart. Have you forgotten what you are? I don’t know why Alric spared you, but I wouldn’t count on him to do it again. You go back, and they’ll have two seeds to bring home to Papa Storm instead of one. You’re much better off going home to Sara and seeing what she can make of you. I’m sure she’d like a demonseed of her own.”

Nico beat her human fist uselessly against Tesset’s back as the arena fell farther and farther behind. Hot, frustrated tears streamed down her cheeks. Josef was dying, and she could do nothing. She’d never felt so useless in her entire life.

That’s because you are useless. The Master’s voice was nearly cackling with laughter. Sted didn’t even have a proper transformation, the deaf idiot, and he’s got nearly twenty League men fighting tooth and nail just to contain him. You can’t even beat one man to save your precious swordsman’s life.

“No.” Nico sobbed.

Yes, the Master said. And you have no one to blame but yourself, you miserable, pathetic failure.

Nico slumped against Tesset’s shoulder. The Master was right; he was always right. It didn’t matter how hard she tried or how much she fought, she was weak. Weak and pathetic and worthless and untrustworthy and a failure and—

Her thoughts stopped as something brushed against her cheek. She looked up in alarm before she saw it was her coat. The black fabric had wrapped itself up nearly to her head, coiling itself like a snake ready to strike. It knew she was upset, she realized, and it was reacting to her, trying to protect her just as Slorn had told it to. Suddenly, she had an idea.

She bent her head down and pressed her lips into the fabric. In all her life, even the parts she couldn’t remember, she was sure she’d never tried what she was about to do, but at this point, she didn’t care.

I wouldn’t try it, the Master said sadly. It won’t work. Failures like you shouldn’t waste other people’s time on wild shots.

So what, she thought fiercely. It’s not like I have anything left to lose.

The voice laughed and said something back, but Nico didn’t hear it. All she could hear was the memory of Josef’s voice in her ears telling her that even if she failed, she could not stop trying. You were only a failure once you stopped trying.

Holding his voice in her mind, she took a deep breath, and, for the first time in her life, began to talk to the spirit of her coat not as a seed, but as a wizard.

Tesset stopped running, slamming his feet into the hard-packed dirt. Sparrow skidded to a stop a second later, turning just in time to see Tesset whip Nico off his shoulder and hold her out in front of him like an ill-behaved child.

“What are you doing?” he said. “You’ve been muttering for nearly a minute now.”

Nico just stared at him, her lips drawn tight.

“Powers, Tesset!” Sparrow said, bracing himself against Eli, who was now blue, but still kicking. “You stopped us for some muttering? Knock her out and let’s go.”

Sparrow reached to bash Nico across the back of her head, but his hand hit nothing but air. At that moment, Nico’s coat unraveled, and she dropped out of Tesset’s hands.

Tesset grabbed for her as she fell, but the threads of the coat wrapped around his arms, spoiling his aim. Nico landed on her feet and rolled away, coming up just out of reach with her arms out, ready to block whatever came next.

But nothing came. Tesset just stood there, watching her as he calmly tested the massive tangle of black thread that tied his arms together. He was alone in his calm, however. Beside him, Eli and Sparrow were staring at her like she’d grown another head.

“Powers, child,” Sparrow said. “What happened to your arm?”

Nico lowered her eyes, carefully avoiding Eli’s horrified stare. “None of your business. Give me the thief.”

Sparrow started to laugh. “Are you joking? If you’re going to run, then run. I’m sick of your trouble, but the thief stays. There is no way I’m leaving this bollixed-up pit empty-handed.”

Nico shifted her stance. Without her coat, she could feel the spirits around her, already awake and on the verge of panic, start to lose control. The voice in her head was silent, but she could feel him waiting, watching in anticipation. “Give Eli to me, or else,” she said.

“Or else what?” Sparrow rolled his eyes. “This is taking too long. Tesset, let’s go.”

Tesset looked at him. “You sure? Alric said to get her to safety.”

“Hang Alric!” Sparrow said, pulling Eli’s rope taut. “Since when are we League? There isn’t enough cash in the world to make me put up with this.”

As he spoke, Nico flexed her demon claw. She couldn’t take Tesset, but Sparrow was another story. She tried one last time. “Let him go.”

Sparrow sneered and started to turn away. Nico raised her claw with a snarl, but just as she launched herself forward, an enormous whistling scream cut through the air as something shot overhead. It exploded through the buildings, including the one right next to them, and landed with an enormous crash in the arena behind them.

For one long second, everything seemed to stop. Tesset’s mouth opened, shouting a warning that he never quite got out. Beside him, Sparrow was staring up as the enormous wall of the building above them, broken by whatever it was that had crashed through the town, broke free of its supports and began to fall forward. Even Eli had stopped struggling. He was also watching the wall as it fell toward them, his bound hands coming up to cover his head. And in that long, slow moment, Nico decided what she would do.

She spun in midair, turning the demon arm away from Sparrow. The creature inside her snarled in frustration, but Nico ignored it, focusing all of her attention on her other fist, her striking fist, just as Josef had taught her. Sparrow was wide open as Nico’s human fist slammed into his jaw, knocking him back. He stumbled in surprise, and his hands let go of the rope around Eli’s neck just as Nico caught the thief’s shoulder. The moment she had him, Nico changed directions, kicking off the ground and throwing herself toward the collapsing wall. She glanced up and found what she was looking for, a glass window. She stepped into position and forced Eli down, covering him with her body as the wall crashed around them.

The glass broke over her shoulders, and Nico grunted in pain as the shards sliced her skin. The ground shook under her feet as the wall landed, and then, quickly as it had happened, it was over. Nico cracked her eyes open. She was standing perfectly in the center of the window, surrounded by broken glass. Eli was choking and panting beneath her, grabbing his throat, which was bright red where the rope had cut in. Right beside his knee, buried by the broken glass, she could see Tesset’s hand, still wrapped in the threads of her coat. The rest of him was lost beneath the collapsed wooden beams.

She reached down and helped Eli to his feet. “Are you all right?”

“No.” Eli coughed. “I’m bruised, beaten, and bloody… and alive, thanks to you.”

Nico smiled and bent over, reaching down for the thread of her coat. It woke when she brushed it, sliding up her arm like a snake. She winced when she touched Tesset’s skin. His hand was still warm, and she felt a twinge of guilt. For all that he’d been her captor, he’d been a good man. Too good to die like this. But she couldn’t think about that now. She kept her arm down, letting her coat reweave itself across her body until she was completely covered again.

“Let’s go get Josef,” she said, standing up.

“Right,” Eli said, rubbing his neck as he looked around at the wreckage. “I don’t suppose you know what that was just now.”

“No,” Nico said, picking her way quickly through the debris. “And I don’t care. All I want to do is get to Josef.”

“Fair enough,” Eli muttered, starting after her.

Their building wasn’t the only one that had collapsed. The dirt roads were now more like tunnels through great piles of broken timber, and they had to change direction several times when the way was blocked. The air was filled with horrible sounds, mostly the demon’s horrible screaming mixed with explosions and the sound of buildings collapsing, though at this point Nico was surprised there was anything still left to collapse. But despite the horrible noises, she pressed on, letting the sounds lead her toward the center of town, where Josef was.

They were almost there when Eli broke the silence.

“Nico,” he said, quickening his pace until he was walking beside her. “Why did you do that?”

His voice was soft, but Nico flinched anyway. “What?”

“Save me.”

She took a deep breath, pushing a fallen beam out of the way. “Because Josef would have saved you. And because we’re a team.” She stopped to look at him. “Comrades don’t leave each other in the lurch. Aren’t those your words?”

Eli nodded, but his face was closed and expressionless, just as it had been during those awful three days in the cabin. Nico looked away, blinking back tears.

Did you really expect anything to change?

Nico shook her head. But then, just as she reached out to knock a broken beam out of the way, Eli grabbed her human hand. She froze, but he didn’t let her go.

“Thank you,” he said, squeezing her hand in his.

Nico looked up in surprise.

He gave her a wide, genuine smile before letting her go. Nico didn’t move. She just stood there, staring as Eli walked past her and started pulling at a fallen window frame that blocked their way.

“Are you coming?” he said, looking over his shoulder.

Grinning wide, Nico ran to help Eli tear down the last bits of debris between them and the building where Josef had landed.

The outer edges of Izo’s bandit town were completely destroyed. Great piles of wood and broken glass lay over the once orderly streets, and those buildings that were standing were little more than skeletons teetering on supports that still occasionally twitched in terror. But down on what had been the road to the canyon’s southern exit, the rubble was stirring.

Glass slid crashing to the ground as Tesset pushed himself up with a groan, tossing the splintered wood beams aside with one hand. His other hand was still on the ground, fingers dug into the dirt where he’d braced himself to make a shelter of his own body for Sparrow, who was curled in a ball on the ground, coughing and clutching his bleeding nose.

“Do you see them?” he choked out.

“No,” Tesset said, surveying the wreckage.

Sparrow began to curse loudly, tearing off his ruined coat and using the silk lining to wipe the layer of dust from his face. “This is just bleeding brilliant. No thief, no demonseed, no legendary sword, and no missing Shaper wizard. Let’s just quit now, before Sara sticks us on file duty for the rest of our lives, how about?”

“No need for that quite yet,” Tesset said. “We know where they’re going.”

“The swordsman?” Sparrow said. He wiggled his tongue around before spitting the dirt out of his mouth. “There’s no way we can beat them there, and I’m not sure I want to. Just listen.”

He hardly needed to point it out. The demon’s scream was everywhere. It reverberated through the air, horrible and unnatural. Despite his years of training to master such a basic human weakness as fear, Tesset couldn’t help the cold shudder that ran down his spine. Still, his face was bored and impassive as he stared down at Sparrow. “Do you want to be the one who explains to Sara why we’re coming back empty-handed?”

Sparrow heaved an enormous sigh and held out his hands. Tesset yanked him up, and they began to clear their way toward the arena, now hidden behind the toppled buildings.

Benehime crouched by her sphere, a wild look in her white eyes as she watched her darling boy run through the panicked city.

Just one word, she murmured, clenching her fingers against the pulse of demon-born fear reverberating through the world. Just one plea. She smiled as she saw Eli trip. Things will only get worse, darling. How much farther can you go on your own? How much more can you suffer for your pride? She pressed her lips against her orb. All you have to do is say you need me. Submit, and all the world will be yours, darling star.

But as she watched him, something blurred her vision. She blinked several times, but it was no use. A great wind was circling at the top of her sphere, deliberately obscuring her view. Scowling, Benehime crooked her little finger. The wind vanished instantly, reappearing in the nothingness beside her.

Illir, she said coldly. You had better have a good reason for making a nuisance of yourself.

The West Wind bowed deeply before her. “All apologies, Shepherdess. I knew of no other way to get your attention.”

Benehime frowned. And why does a wind need my attention?

“With all respect, White Lady,” Illir said, his enormous voice shrunk to a shaking whisper, “my winds are in a demon-driven panic. I would never presume to question your judgment, Lady, but it is hard to quiet them while you keep our protector, the Lord of Storms, blowing on the southern coasts.”

Benehime’s eyes flicked to the tropical sea where the Lord of Storms was still raging, just as she’d left him.

He disobeyed me, she said. I will not interrupt his punishment for something as small as this. Tell your winds the League will handle it.

“The winds see much, Lady,” Illir said, trembling. “It is hard to put them at ease when Alric and the spirits who have come to his aid are so clearly in over their heads.”

The Shepherdess’s hand shot out, grabbing the wind at its center. Illir screamed and began to thrash, but she held the wind tight, pulling him close until his breeze ruffled her white hair.

You are the Great Wind, she said slowly. Find a way to keep your subordinates in line, or I will find another wind who can. Understand?

“Yes, Lady,” Illir panted.

Good. Her grip tightened. Any other complaints?

“Yes, actually,” Illir said.

Benehime’s eyes widened. This had better be important.

“It is the most important question I’ve ever asked,” Illir said. “Several days ago, an old, old friend and one of your strongest spirits, the great bear, Gredit, vanished. I ordered my winds to look everywhere, but they found no trace of him, not even his body. You would be within your rights to kill me for this impertinence, Lady, but if my years of loyal service have ever pleased you, answer my question before you do. What happened to my friend?”

A slow smile spread across the Lady’s white face. She opened her hand, and the wind fell from her fingers, shuddering with relief.

You are very bold, Illir, she said. I like that. You are also loyal, and I like that even more. If you want to know, I will tell you. Gredit was an old spirit, far past his prime, given to fits of hysteria and insubordination. Even so, he was one of my flock, and so I tolerated his behavior. But then, in his delusions, he threatened one of my stars, my own favorite. Benehime grew very grave. This I could not forgive. I am a lenient mistress. I set very few rules. However, there is no place in my sphere for spirits who disobey. Am I making myself clear, West Wind?

“Very, my Lady,” Illir said. “I will go and calm my winds now. I apologize for wasting your time.”

Benehime nodded and went back to her sphere, sending the wind away with a flick of her finger. Don’t let it happen again.

The wind vanished, spinning back down to the world below. She watched for a moment, and then smiled when she saw him fall back down to reassure the lower winds. Illir was a smart spirit. He knew the limits of his place, unlike the bear. Still, she had not known they were friends, and she made a note to keep a closer eye on the wind. Satisfied, she went back to watching Eli crawl across the ruined city. She’d let things go very far this time, but it would be worth it. This time for sure, he would call her. He would fall crying into her arms, pleading for rescue, and then everything would be as she wished. She need only be patient and wait for him to beg.

Benehime smiled at this, running her white fingers gently across her sphere. Behind her, the claws began to press more fiercely on the walls of her world while, down on the ground, the demon grew larger.