![]() | ![]() |
And again, the sigil was drawn. The candles were lit. The herbs were burning. Vikar stood across the wizard. Amath stood to the side, watching.
“Are you sure about this?” Yuval asked of them both.
“Yes,” Amath said.
“Without a doubt,” Vikar smiled.
Yuval sighed deeply. He uncapped the small vial of Amath’s blood. “Do it,” he told the Duke, pouring the blood over the sigil and starting to chant.
Obeying, Vikar pulled a dagger from his belt and made a cut on his hand, extending it over the sigil and letting a few drops of blood fall.
The magic, palpable, swirled around them, sending Yuval’s hair on his face. He couldn’t push it back without running the summon though, so he didn’t bother with it. He chanted and drew symbols in the air, trying to use Amath’s blood to call for his own, to locate a specific being, trying to bind it to Vikar’s blood.
The candles blew out through the room, but it remained lit by the magic the sigil was imbued with. And then it appeared. Curled up in the center of the sigil, just as this was starting to dim out.
Not a baby.
Not a child.
A young man.
His head lifted. The light disappeared fully.
Yuval held out a hand to call one of his light spheres when he heard the savage little cry. He felt someone suddenly very close to him, and then the wind as the someone was noisily brought down.
A candle went on across the room – Vikar had lit it. Yuval finished his spell and the room came into sight.
The young man, features the same as Amath’s, let another cry of anger. Amath had him pinned down with all his weight. Yuval was certain he’d botched the spell.
“Calm yourself!” Amath called, but the other thrashed. “You’re safe! Son- Son!”
Yuval stared. “Wasn’t your son a baby?”
The duke, making wide berth of the struggling demons, lit the candles around the room, but kept a curious gaze on the pair.
Amath did not answer Yuval’s question, but his call of ‘son’ seemed to hit home. The youth stopped struggling to look up at the older demon, and while he did, Yuval stared at them both.
There was no doubt he was indeed of the same world. The pointed ears were the same, the clothes similar to what Amath had worn. They were certainly blood related too. The golden gaze with the slit pupils was the same. The way the nose curved, the jawline... yes. Yes, Yuval decided, yes, this was a blood relation of his lover’s. Like a younger Amath. Perhaps just out of his teens? He idly wondered if Amath would have looked like that when he was younger.
“Give us a moment,” Amath shot back, not letting go of the youth underneath him.
Yuval nodded, leading Vikar out.
“But I-” Vikar protested as Yuval dragged him out, and closed the door behind them. “That’s really his child, hm?”
“I guess, it seems that way.” Yuval said. At Vikar’s pondering gaze, he added “Don’t get any funny ideas. At any rate, I’ve done what I had to. I will need to check the link between you if Amath can get a handle on him... but otherwise, I’m done. You’ll keep your part of the deal?”
“But of course,” Vikar smiled widely. “You’ve done a fantastic job, consider all your troubles gone, and do try not to kill anyone else in the future.”
Yuval cringed and looked away briefly. “And what about the job you offered me?”
“It’s yours if you want it still,” Vikar said. “You could move to your new house as soon as tonight, if you’ll be my particular wizard.”
“Good,” he nodded, “Amath will be able to help him transition to this world, get accustomed to it. Trust me, it’ll be easier for everyone involved.”
“I trust you know best, Yuval,” the duke agreed easily.
They remained silent for a long moment, until the door opened and Amath’s head poked out. “Alright. You can come in now.”