A Darker Shade of Sorcery - - (leveled readers .txt) 📗

thought she heard Daggenite roar mournfully.

Brooke made to turn back to Lok and screamed.

Before either of them could move, the demon behind him smashed its boulder-like fist into Lok's head.

The Arch-Realmer was thrown to the floor, instantly unconscious.

No, I thought they were all gone.

This newest demon was terrible to behold. A Cyclops with one terrible eye, black spikes for hair and giant hands carved out of rock.

As Brooke staggered away, she saw two more demons pull themselves through the hole in the roof.

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The monster swung at her with astonishing violence, no doubt trying to take her head clean off. Brooke managed to duck his strike, but tripped over her own feet doing so.

The Cyclops stamped on her leg, pinning her to the floor. As Brooke screamed in agony the monster seized her neck with one of his stone hands and squeezed. Her air supply was cut off instantly. It felt like her whole face was swelling up and her eyes were going to pop out of her head.

The other two demons chortled as she punched their companions' massive body desperately. Her frantic blows had no effect whatsoever. Her vision was going black at the edges. This was it, a few seconds more and she'd have been choked to death.

Faintly, Brooke felt the stinging pain in her forearm resurface.

From the corner of her eye she saw one of the veins in her arm had gone black, weirder still this vein was pushing itself towards her wrist.

She felt only a burning itch as the vein forced itself out through the palm of her hand, separating into a curling black mist. Waves of shock matched the pressure of being choked as the black mist contorted itself into the shape of a dagger.

Brooke had no time to question this phenomenon as her life was on the line.

Instinctively, she snapped her hand up and drove the black dagger into the demon's one massive eye.

As the monster roared in horror, his body was sucked into the shadow knife.

Brooke spluttered and coughed, her body convulsing as it tried to retrieve all the oxygen it had lost.

For the first time, Brooke witnessed fear in a demon's face as she stood. The two remaining monsters stared at her shadow dagger in utter terror. The knife snaked forward of its own volition, dragging Brooke behind it as it plunged itself into the

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nearest demon's stomach. This demon too was sucked into the dagger, the dagger that was still using her palm as a sheath.

The third demon tried to run, but Brooke's shadow weapon caused her to slash lightning quick, slashing the monster's throat.

The minion’s blood was sucked into the blade first, and then his body followed, as if her shadow knife was a magnet.

As this final demon was destroyed the blade flew out of her palm completely, levitating in the air instead.

Brooke watched in astonishment as the blade contorted into a dark swirling portal before vanishing from existence.

She looked down at her hand, but there wasn’t even a scratch.

“By Rueda!”

Brooke whirled at the sound of the voice and saw Tarensen behind her.

*

Evan fought to find words, “Cera, wha- what's going on?”

“He's not just pathetic, he's rather stupid too, master.” Cera grinned up at Kurrlan.

“Demon magic is wasted on him,” she snarled.

It felt like a hand had gripped Evan's heart and was throwing it repeatedly at his ribcage. He felt sick. This couldn't be happening. This couldn’t be real. Not her!

“You didn't really think a girl as hot as me would be interested in an ugly loser like you, did you?” Cera giggled. “Oh Evan, that's tragic.”

“Why?” Was all Evan could say.

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“I couldn't do magic,” Cera's face contorted as she seethed. “No matter how many experiments my father did, I just couldn't do it. It's rare for someone, even with two Venator parents, to just be a normal human, but it happened to me. My father couldn't stand it. I couldn't stand it. But thanks to Lord Kurrlan I can. He gave me the gift of sorcery.” She grinned maniacally. “All I needed to do, to keep my magic forever, was betray the Fortress. I had to get close to you, Kurrlan said you needed to trust me completely, you’re all he wants. But we can still be together, Evan, you can even share your demon sorcery with me too, I don't mind. I want it.” Madness glittered in her eyes. “Demon magic is just so strong, why don't you give me some? We can be unbelievably powerful together…please,” she pleaded.

Evan couldn't comprehend that this was Cera in front of him. This had to be a trick, some illusion. Cera was a kind, sweet girl, not a power-obsessed lunatic who’d betray Veneseron.

“Now, now, my dear, don't get ahead of yourself,” Kurrlan hissed.

“You, you must've possessed her,” Evan stammered, “or one of your servants has just shifted to look like Cera.”

Kurrlan laughed, a deep and terrible sound. “No boy. Cera has become one of my most loyal servants. The idiot elf Falawn was a helpful soldier, but he obeyed my commands through Cera. I needed her to make sure I got you.”

“It was so annoying,” Cera sounded so different, like a petulant child. “After the demon I led into your bedroom failed, I had to attack you myself. I was going to choke you until you collapsed, then bring you to Kurrlan. But then those Realmers entered the passage and I had to run.”

“No, that couldn't have been you,” Evan cried.

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“Sure was,” Cera beamed. “When I took you to the forest I was sure I'd succeeded.

I told the demons to make it look real when they attacked me too, but then Tarensen and that damn Elfpire intervened.”

“It's okay, child,” Kurrlan cooed, “tonight you led him straight to Arok, your job is complete.”

“But…your family, I went to your house,” said Evan.

“Oh, they just wanted to see the demon-child I was delivering to our master. Father wanted to kill Jed and take you to Kurrlan right then, but mother convinced him it was too dangerous, people on the streets may have heard something.”

Evan continued to stare at her, appalled.

Cera smiled meekly back at him. “I told you before, someone like me shouldn’t be magically barren. I had to do something to get sorcery of my own. My family and I were desperate.”

“Enough,” Kurrlan snapped. “We must check our efforts were not in vain.”

“He does possess demon magic,” Cera said, eager to please. “He almost used it in the forest attack. He had no idea of course.”

Kurrlan nodded, his eyes burning with iniquitous intent.

“Let’s see if we can bring it out of him.” The Dread Lord descended from his throne to where Evan huddled. He stretched out one rotting grey hand and black tendrils seeped up from the ground.

“You can only fight demon magic with demon magic,” Kurrlan purred, his atrocity of a mouth widening in glee as the tendrils snaked around Evan.

PAIN. The most unendurable, unimaginable pain he’d ever felt surged through his body, through his blood, through his soul.

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“Your soul shall be ripped from your body if you do not combat it.” Kurrlan rasped sickeningly, “FIGHT ME, BOY.”

Evan broke.

Magic flooded through him, not the sorcery he'd been taught at Veneseron, but the dark magic he had no idea how to control.

The wisps of shadow that bound and leeched into him snapped as Evan's sorcery ripped it apart. What looked like an army of black snakes battled one another around his pain wracked body.

“YES,” Kurrlan crooned ecstatically, “after years of searching. I had all my sensors out, just waiting for you. A flicker of your demon magic meant I could pinpoint your location. I have you now. You’re the one, aren’t you? You are mine.”

Suddenly the magic was gone, the pain evaporated.

Evan thought back to one of Ollie's more brutal beat-downs. It was the first time he’d seen the black mist. That must've been when Kurrlan started the hunt for him.

He laid on the cold stone, panting erratically, the memory of the pain tormenting him.

Kurrlan sat back on his throne. “You shall be rewarded, Arok, for you have brought the one I seek. With him, my powers can at last come to fruition.”

Arok bowed his head solemnly at his master’s words. Evan’s sight was blurring from the aftershock of the pain, perhaps now he would get his wish and be consumed by the darkness forever.

“You too, my dear, I'll make sure you possess sorcery until the day you die.”

“Oh thank you, my lord,” Cera gushed.

“Now go, inform your family our deal is done.”

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Cera giggled as she left the hall, pausing to pet the head of a ferret demon affectionately.

“Bring him to his feet,” Kurrlan hissed.

Arok obliged, hefting Evan to his feet once again and propping him up.

Evan’s head sagged as he struggled to stay awake. Arok seized his head and held it in place, leaving Evan no choice but to stare at the atrocity lounging in his throne.

“You have no idea just how important you are, do you?” Kurrlan said. “I thought you were lost forever. I thought none of your kind existed anymore. Oh, you can only imagine the desire I felt when I heard that you were still out there. You are the key. I don't know how many of you Akirandon managed to create in the end, but I only need one to gain the power I've always dreamed of. And she has no idea,” Kurrlan cackled.

“With you I will be able to overthrow her. Claim Velkarath as my own and go on to rule all the realms.” Kurrlan’s smile slipped. “But Akirandon may have more like you at Velkarath. I might have to find your kin before I can destroy her. Hmmm, but you will lead me to the others, won't you? Yes, two more should do.

With you at my side, my power shall become unimaginable. Time itself will bend to my will, space shall be my servant. I shall be second only to the Dark God himself.”

Evan hardly registered Kurrlan’s speech. He was in too much pain and barely anything he'd said made any sense.

His eyes wandered the demon decorated room of their own accord, no longer caring what happened to him, wishing only for release.

As he watched still more demons crawled through the windows into the room, clambering over one anothers abominable bodies to get closer to the human flesh lying tantalisingly before them. A winged snake-like demon flew through one

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window, followed by a grotesque monkey-like amalgamation with vibrant eyes of brilliant silver. Evan noticed the monkey demon was not laughing at his fate like the others, he moved silently, weaving his way amongst the horde of fiends between them both. His silky golden coat contrasting with his amazingly silver eyes.

“Years ago Akirandon used me to spy on the other Dread Lords, but I spied on her too.” Kurrlan continued. “I learned of her secret, she’d succeeded in creating several demon-spawn. Then I learned they all died in the