Magic restored and full of pizza, Conryu willed the library back to the Land of the Night Princes to pick up Talon. With Melina and her team working on the Solar Orb issue, it was up to him to try and figure out how to free the vampires from the Pale Princess’s control. The only way to do that was to grab one of them and experiment. Hopefully Talon had overestimated how total her control over them was.
And if he hadn’t overestimated, at least Conryu could remove a few of them from the danger zone.
“I found Talon, Chosen.” Kai sat in front of a crystal ball that let her see outside the library.
“Thanks.” At his command the doors opened at the site captured in the ball.
Talon and his six fellows were sitting in the grass staring up at the stars. Was this how vampires normally spent their evenings? He’d never thought about it, but they didn’t have jobs or anything so maybe. It looked peaceful and he hated to bother them, but business waited for no man, or vampire.
“Ready to get back at it?” Conryu asked.
They stood and Talon said, “Yes. What’s the plan?”
Conryu and Kai left the library and he sealed it. “I’ve got some of my people looking into another Solar Orb. For now, I figure we’ll focus on seeing if we can free one of the enslaved vampires. If possible I’d like to grab Sasha. She’s already shown that she can fight the Pale Princess’s control, so we should have the best chance of freeing her. If we fail, then the odds of helping any of the others while she’s still alive suck.”
“A reasonable plan, though I hold out no great hopes for our success. Still, it’s better than doing nothing while we wait.”
Not exactly the level of optimism he’d been hoping for, but whatever. To him the enemy was just another hellpriest, but to Talon she was some kind of ancient legend come to life. Expecting him to push past that might be too much to hope for, at least until Conryu proved she wasn’t invincible.
He opened a hell portal and willed them to Kanna. They found her standing, hands clasped behind her back, looking through his viewing portal. He sensed some of the other ninjas nearby, but none of them put in an appearance.
Kanna shifted her gaze to him and bowed. “The enemy has reached one of the villages we emptied. She was not well pleased with the discovery.”
Conryu grinned. “Good. The less pleased she is, the happier it makes me. You know you can rotate and take breaks. I don’t expect you to watch the portal nonstop by yourself.”
“I’m fine, Chosen, but thank you for your concern. Do you have orders for us?”
“Not at the moment. We’re planning to grab Sasha and see if we can free her mind. The trick will be getting her by herself.”
“That may be less of a problem than you think, Chosen.” Kai had taken over watching the portal while he talked with Kanna. “The vampires have spilt off and are moving away from the town. They appear to be hunting.”
Conryu moved to stand beside her and pictured Sasha as he last saw her. The image shifted just as she leapt on some furry little animal and tore its throat out.
He grimaced. She was filthy, her dress torn, and her skin covered in dirt. Day-old blood stood out here and there on her neck and face. Assuming they freed her, she’d need a bath before a reunion with Anya.
Sasha tossed the animal away.
Conryu chose that moment to act.
He opened a portal under her and Sasha appeared a few feet from him in Hell. Chains of dark energy wrapped her from head to toe.
She hissed and thrashed, showing no sign of recognizing him or anyone else. She seemed more pathetic than frightening.
He tightened the chains enough that she couldn’t move. “Talon?”
The vampire lord flew so he was only a foot from Sasha. “What has she done to you, my poor, sweet child?”
Sasha hissed, spraying Talon with a mix of spittle and blood.
He wiped it off, looking more sad than angry. “I’ll do what I can.”
His eyes flashed bright red and he went perfectly still. They both did.
Conryu wished them a silent good luck.
Entering the mind of one of his clan took no particular effort. They all shared, whether directly or indirectly, Talon’s blood. What he found as his consciousness flew through her mindscape shook him to the bone.
Normally vibrant scenes of night were reduced to little more than dark blobs. No sign of Anya appeared anywhere. Lightning flashed and thunder cracked, representing her wrath and desire to destroy. All vampires struggled with that side of their nature. Talon had done everything he could to help his people grow and become more than the sum of their hunger. It looked like the Pale Princess did exactly the opposite. She suppressed their human emotions, making them little more than feral animals.
Of all the things she might have done, this twisted transformation hurt him the most.
Was Sasha even aware of what had been done to her? He hoped not. After Anya escaped he prayed she remembered nothing.
A flash of light caught his eyes and he flew towards it. A cage made of black iron drifted through the darkness. The light came from a glowing figure inside. It was Sasha’s intellect, trapped and unable to control her body. She looked beautiful, like an angel trapped in Hell.
The reality of what he saw hit him all at once. This was her soul. That’s how the Pale Princess controlled his people. She trapped their souls in cages, reducing them to animal instinct. No wonder it was so easy for her to control them.
“Lord Talon!” Sasha finally spotted him and waved. “Help me, please.”
He flew over. “I will try, but you need to fight as well. Grasp the bars above my hands.”
Talon took a firm grip and Sasha put her hands above his so they were just touching.
“Together.”
They pulled with all their combined psychic might.
The bars didn’t even flex. He might have been trying to move a mountain for all the good it did.
Talon slumped and Sasha hung her head.
“There’s no hope for me, is there, my lord?” She looked into his eyes and he noticed at once that her soul’s eyes didn’t glow red. “Better if you kill me than leave me like this. I don’t want to live in a body that would let me hurt my sweet Anya.”
Talon shook his head. “You won’t be hurting anyone. Conryu has your body bound and you’re currently in the Reaper’s hell with no way to escape. Alive or dead, you’re no danger. You’ll be free once we defeat the Pale Princess. Until then, I hope you can endure, because I can’t bring myself to kill you.”
“I will endure, my lord, and await news of your victory. No one can stand against you. I believe that with all my heart.”
He smiled at her confidence, but didn’t share it. He was strong, but against this enemy, he had no hope of winning. Whether his people survived or were wiped out was out of his hands and he hated it.
“I have to go and let the others know what happened. Stay strong.”
“You too, my lord.”
Talon hadn’t cried in centuries, but her faith and words of encouragement came close to bringing him to tears. He willed himself out of her mind and found Conryu and the ninjas staring at him.
“I failed. Her magic is too strong. Sasha’s soul is trapped in a cage of black iron. Not a real one of course, but the bars are unbreakable.”
“Unbreakable by you,” Conryu said. “I think it’s time I take a crack at them. But not here.”
“You are strongest here, Chosen,” Kanna argued.
“Ordinarily, yes, but not for this task. If the cage is made of dark magic, it might draw strength from this hell even if it isn’t identical to Astaroth’s. I need to take her to the library. Would you carry her, Talon? Kai, you come too. Kanna, keep an eye on things here.”
Talon took Sasha in his arms and Conryu brought them to the real world just long enough to open the library doors.
Once they were sealed again, Talon set Sasha on her feet and Conryu leveled the staff.
“Are you certain this is a good idea, Master?” Prime asked. “Destroying her would be simpler and safer.”
Talon stiffened at the suggestion, but couldn’t deny the truth of the scholomantic’s words. He knew he shouldn’t worry and Conryu confirmed why a moment later.
“Sasha is my friend and so is Anya. I refuse to kill one and make the other cry. Now be quiet, I have to concentrate.”
The tip of his staff glowed white and he touched it to Sasha’s forehead.
The light magic of his staff carried Conryu’s consciousness into Sasha’s mind. The bleak darkness felt nothing like the warm, kind woman he knew. Talon warned him of what he’d find, but that didn’t fully prepare him for the reality. This was awful.
Seeking the light in the darkness, his magic guided him deeper into her mind. Trying his best to ignore what he found, Conryu focused on a tiny speck of light in the distance.
At least nothing attacked him and soon enough he found himself in front of the cage Talon described. Inside stood the Sasha he knew. She looked so sad with her knees drawn up to her chest and her head resting on them that his heart broke a little.
“Hey, you ready to get out of there?”
She looked up and managed a shaky smile. “Did Lord Talon not tell you? The cage can’t be broken while that monster lives.”
“Oh, he told me, I just think he’s wrong. See, Talon has a mental block where the Pale Princess is concerned. Before he ever entered your mind, he believed he would fail. He thinks he can’t beat her so he can’t. I, on the other hand, am not impressed with hellpriests in general. They tend to be arrogant assholes that get off on hurting people weaker than them. At least the first one I met acted that way and this one seems little better. I figure I can beat someone like that any day of the week. Especially to save a friend. Now, let’s see what I can do.”
At his mental command, a glowing white sword made of pure light magic appeared.
Sasha hissed and flinched away. “It burns.”
“Sorry, but I need to use light magic to counter the dark. Try to bear it a little bit longer.”
He swung hard and the edge of his construct bit into the cage. Just as he figured, he could cut the cage open.
If his father had seen his technique, Conryu would have earned a tongue lashing. His swings were all power and no skill, but ten hard blows smashed the cage to bits and it finally dissolved completely.
He let his sword vanish. “How do you feel?”
“Free!” She flew over and wrapped her arms around his neck. “How can I ever thank you?”
Conryu hugged her back. “No thanks needed. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
All around them the darkness receded revealing a beautiful night sky. As the stars began to appear, he willed himself back to his body.
The sudden weight surprised him, but Kai put a steadying hand on his shoulder. At least the magic hadn’t drained him too badly.
“Thanks, Kai, I’m okay now.”
“How did it go?” Talon asked.
Conryu released the bindings holding Sasha. She slumped but didn’t attack. “Does that answer your question?”
Talon hurried over to her. “Sasha? Are you well?”
She offered an exceedingly weak smile. “I’m free. It’s a miracle.”
“Nope,” Conryu said. “Just magic. Want to go say hi to Anya?”
“I…” Sasha looked away from them. “I can’t face her like this. In our apartment I nearly killed her. I can’t stand the idea that she might look at me with fear in her eyes.”
“She won’t,” Conryu said. “Anya knows it wasn’t your fault. She loves you and I’m sure she’d like to see that you’re back to normal.”
“I’m such a mess.” Sasha looked down at her filthy, torn dress.
Conryu leveled the staff and a moment later the dirt had vanished and her dress appeared fully mended. “Maria taught me that one. Cool, right?”
Sasha smiled a thousand-watt smile. “Very. Okay, take me to my daughter.”
“Can you find her for me, Kai? I know she’s still at the Academy, but I have no idea in which room.”
Kai made her way over to the crystal ball and Conryu shifted the library through the Academy wards.
“I have her, Chosen, and she’s alone.”
“Perfect.” He adjusted their position and opened the door into a familiar hall. “I’ll be back in a sec.”
He hopped down and knocked.
Anya opened the door. Her eyes widened then she smiled. She’d changed into a brown earth magic user’s robe that did nothing to hide how beautiful she was.
“Conryu. This is a surprise. I didn’t expect to see you again so soon. Is everything okay?”
“Not everything, but Talon and I did rescue your mother. Do you want to see her?”
Anya trembled and tears ran down her face. “She’s okay now? Back to normal?”
He nodded. “Now that I know how, I can free the others as well, assuming I can get them away from the hellpriest. That’s the trickier part of the job.”
The library doors appeared and he ushered Anya through.
Before Conryu had closed them again, mother and daughter were enjoying a tearful hug.
He eased over beside Kai. “This is why we fight. Not for the Reaper, or the Goddess, or any of the other powers. We fight for moments like this.”
“It is a moving scene, Chosen. What will we do next?”
“That’s the hard bit. I fear more tears are in our future and not happy ones.”
Sasha and Anya finally separated.
“What happens now?” Anya asked.
“That’s an excellent question,” Talon said. “I fear Sasha will have to stay somewhere the hellpriest can’t reach her.”
“And I need to stay with the girls,” Anya said. “At least until we get settled somewhere permanent.”
“Maria and Kelsie are working on that,” Conryu said.
Sasha kissed Anya’s cheek. “I’m so proud of you, Kiska, looking after everyone.”
Anya looked at Conryu who shook his head. “Don’t look at me. I only helped a little. You’re the one they trust.”
“When this is over, we’ll have a proper celebration,” Talon said. “Until then, is there somewhere the Pale Princess can’t reach?”
“I figured I’d take her to one of the floating islands,” Conryu said. “There’s plenty of game and I can make a coffin easily enough. If we free any of the others, they can stay there as well.”
“Anywhere will be fine as long as that monster can’t find me.” Sasha shuddered.
“I should get back,” Anya said. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
After a final hug, Conryu let her out of the library.
Anya grabbed his arm. “I can never thank you enough for saving her.”
“You’re my friends. How could I do any less?”
She kissed him on the cheek and he returned to the library. With that pleasant interlude behind him, it was time to get back to the fight.