Peter Brett - The Daylight War

Only to find her targets seeking her. The eyes of every demon in the field had turned to lock on her, like a thousand cats staring at a single mouse.

Rojer looked on in amazement as Renna drew a ward in the air, and the demons that had tried to kill him exploded into flames, shrieking as they fell to the ground, blackened and smoking. From the look on her face, she was as surprised as he was.

Hope came alive in him for an instant, remembering the power Arlen had wielded the night before. But then he saw the young woman stagger, and heard Arlen speak in his head. Ent no such thing as a Deliverer, Rojer. Folk want to be saved, they’re gonna have to learn to save themselves.

Renna seemed to realize it, too, giving up on the magic and charging into the night, cutting a path through the chaos much as Arlen had in the Battle of Cutter’s Hollow, taking down a rock demon while he still gaped from behind the embankment where he and his wives had taken cover.

Kaval led his warriors in Renna’s wake, and for once Rojer was thankful for the presence of the brutal drillmaster and Sharum . Where the Haveners mostly shook with fear and indecision, the Krasians moved as a tight unit, shields locked together, protecting their brothers. They thrust their spears as one, mowing down field demons like hay before the scythe.

It seemed the battle might turn if they could take out the rock demons, but then something terrifying happened. The demons all locked gazes on Renna, ignoring every other target to charge her. Even the rock demons dropped their missiles, leaping for the girl with their giant talons leading.

Renna lasted a few seconds, literally running across the backs of field demons with the grace of a dancing master. A snow demon spat at her, but she dodged aside and the coldspit struck the leg of a rock demon instead. The spot turned white with rime, and she gave a well-placed kick that shattered the demon’s leg. It fell into the press, adding to the chaos.

But then a wood demon hurled a section of trunk at her, clipping her with enough force to throw her several yards before she struck the ground. Renna put her hands under her, struggling to rise, but the opening was all the demons needed. Their teeth and claws found little purchase as her blackstem wards flared, but here and there they found gaps and dug in. She bled freely, and soon her wards would be marred and useless.

Kaval cried out and the Sharum made a valiant effort to save her, but one of the demons before them reared up, its body elongating to tower over them as it grew a long, horned tentacle that it used to slash over the tops of their shields. The warriors wore metal helms under their turbans, fine warded steel, but the demon slashed through them like fruit, killing several of the warriors instantly.

Kaval gave a shrill whistle and the Sharum broke formation and reassembled in a new configuration, surrounding the demon, which could only be the mimic Arlen and Leesha spoke of. It was a tactic Rojer had seen before. They would wait for the demon to strike, those in front locking shields defensively while those behind struck.

But the mimic demon was like nothing they had ever faced. It twisted impossibly as they tried to get behind it, and when that was not enough it grew eyes all around its head and additional tentacles until it faced every warrior at once. Tentacles snatched up fallen warriors by their legs and swung them like clubs to knock others aside. Even when the Sharum were lucky enough to strike a blow, their spears seemed to pass through with a puff of smoke, leaving the demon unharmed when they withdrew. Arrows rained in on the creature, but they, too, fell to the ground having done no harm.

Again and again, Sharum fell to the mimic’s return blows, but they came on fearlessly. This was the sort of death Krasian warriors prayed for, though Rojer could not understand the notion. Kaval leapt forward, and the demon knocked the shield from his grasp. The drillmaster seemed unfazed, spinning his spear faster than Rojer could see as he parried tentacles, buying his warriors time to strike.

But then the demon’s maw grew several times its size, and it bit Drillmaster Kaval in half, swallowing his head and torso before his legs and abdomen even knew to fall.

The sight shocked Rojer from his daze, and he saw Renna still struggling, caught in the grip of several wood demons attempting to carry her off.

They want her alive , he realized.

He was playing before he knew it, stepping out of cover and moving for the fray. He was dimly aware of Amanvah, Sikvah, and Enkido following him as he headed for the edge of the wardnet, but he ignored them, ignored everything but the music as he stepped out into the naked night. He made no effort to mask his presence. Quite the contrary, he drew the attention of every demon in earshot, causing them to lock in on him much as they had on Renna a few moments earlier.

Freeze , he told them. Prey approaches. Be ready to pounce.

They did, talons tearing at the soil as they tamped down powerful limbs, preparing to spring. Even the demons trying to steal away with Renna stopped in their tracks, as he had intended.

Only the mimic demon was unaffected, leaping out of the ring of Sharum and charging at him like a nightmare come to life.

Rojer allowed himself a smile, and filled the night with pain, the lure of his magic turning to harsh discordance that had the demons shrieking and clawing at their own heads. Even the mimic felt it, pulling up short with a bone-chilling cry.

Amanvah and Sikvah added their voices to his power, the three of them reaching new heights of union in their disharmony, hora magic making the screeching sounds pierce the night for miles. Lesser demons fled the sound, but Rojer and his wives circled the mimic, building on its pain. Rojer experimented, learning more of what hurt the creature the longer he played.

The demon writhed in pain, tentacles pressing against its head as it melted and shifted, becoming a roaring rock demon, and then a howling wood. A shrieking wind demon and even a screaming human man. Again and again it changed form, but Rojer and his wives changed their sounds to match, giving no respite. The shifts became erratic, the mimic’s flesh bubbling and sloughing off into a growing puddle of goo at its feet.

Got you now, you son of the Core. Rojer’s smile was grim as he pressed in for the kill.

But when he did, the demon seemed to perk up, slightly. It looked at him with what almost seemed a smile as its ears melted away entirely, leaving only smooth scales along its skull.

Rojer had no time to dodge as it swept a tentacle at him, but there was a shout and Enkido hurled himself between them, taking the blow meant for him. Sikvah shrieked as the eunuch was disembowelled, but he managed to throw his spear even as he leapt. It stuck from the demon, flaring brightly with magic, but Rojer knew it would not be enough to kill the beast, and his music now held no power over it.

The mimic reared again, and Rojer’s bow slipped from the strings as he dived into a roll, barely dodging the lash of its tentacle. The demon drew back to swing at him again, and Rojer flinched, knowing he could not dodge aside in time.

The appendage whipped forward, but instead of the sharp horns along its length, Rojer was struck by a spray of ichor from the severed limb. He looked and saw Renna standing there, ichor-stained knife in hand. She dropped the length of tentacle to the dirt where it melted into slime as she leapt forward, blade leading.

The demon turned to meet her charge, but this time Amanvah stepped forward, reaching into the hora pouch at her waist. She pulled forth a blackened lump of demon bone, pointing it at the mimic as her fingers manipulated the wards carved into its surface.