Jeff Inlo - Chain of Bargains

"True, but it's no longer completely within me, either."

"I'm aware of that, but now you're aware that nothing will leave this space without my approval."

"And what's to stop me from returning to my realm and then coming back here again?"

"Give me a little credit. You are a full demon, as is your brother. Your entrance into this world is not as easy as other dark creatures. You can open portals, but passing through them is another matter. It can be done, but not without cost. As a demon, you can wait at the edges of existence, even in the space between life and death, but once you pass through into the physical plane and force your will upon this existence-as you have already done-your reality changes. You won't be able to come back. You know that as well as I do."

"You know much for a human."

"I know that you can't win."

"I can… if you let me."

It was almost comical, the sentiment, and Enin might have laughed had it not been for the tone of the demon's voice. The demon towered over the wizard in physical presence, but in magical ability, the draevol was but a dust speck in comparison. Still, there was something more than confidence in the draevol's words, something very sinister. Rather than simply discount the ludicrous proposal, Enin questioned its plausibility.

"Why would I let you win when victory would allow you to release a plague that would kill scores of innocent people?"

"No one is innocent."

"Let's not debate that. You know what I mean."

"Because your choice is not as obvious as it might seem. There are several ways you can deal with me that would be to your liking. I can't deny that. You can open your own portal and force me back to the depths of the dark lands. I could fight you, but it would be futile."

"That's why I'm recommending you leave this realm… on your own," Enin stated harshly. He was growing weary of the draevol, wondering if the demon was stalling in hopes of gaining an advantage.

"I will not leave of my own."

Enin shook his head in disgust and revealed a simple truth.

"That is the only choice I'm giving you. I'm also getting tired of talking to your back."

"Turning to face you only gives you what you want, not what I want."

"You think I won't strike because you're turned away from me? That would be a foolish consideration."

"I think nothing of the sort. I'm fully aware of that option as well. If you decide trying to force me through a portal might be too dangerous, you could simply annihilate me where I stand, but I don't think you will choose that alternative. Not because my back is turned to you, but because it conflicts with your views on balance and interference. You would prefer to see my existence determined by some other fate. If you were to be honest, you want me to make my own choice."

"Don't fool yourself on that end, either. I would destroy you in an instant if I thought you had the means to reach your goal. I won't let you spread your plague."

At that, the demon chuckled.

"Actually, that is the real question. It is not whether or not I spread the plague, but if you allow it to spread. I know, I know. It's an absurd thought, but only because you don't understand all the facts yet."

The consideration was beyond absurd. Under no circumstance would Enin let the plague leave the mine shaft. The demon was playing a game, and the wizard decided to make the situation clear… as he understood it.

"I know you have consumed a great deal of magic, that you're a draevol with the ability to cast a powerful plague, and you have already begun to do so. A good deal of your casting is already placed upon that corpse. Those are the facts. You have nothing with which to bargain. It is only you and me within this tunnel. You-and the plague-will either return to the condemned realm you came from or you both will be destroyed here."

"And yet you continue to disregard the third choice. I believe you will release the magical seal on this tunnel and allow me to leave. You will let this form leave as well and allow fate to determine how far the plague will reach."

"That's not an alternative."

The demon did not agree.

"I told you you didn't know all the facts. Let me point you in the right direction. Where do you think I got this corpse? From the town above? That would have been too easy."

Enin grimaced. His focus had been placed on the draevol, the magic, and the tunnel. He had disregarded the corpse as a simple vessel for the plague spell. He quickly realized it was an error in judgment.

He could not see the face of the body, but his magical senses went beyond sight. He reached out to the form lying on the rock ground and immediately recognized the strong residue of magic within.

"Heteera?" he whispered.

The draevol ceased its magical connection with the corpse before it, and finally turned around. Its pale face glowed with a sinister smile.

"That is why I showed you my back. I didn't want to give myself away. I find this all very amusing."

The demon stepped to the side and let the body of Heteera rise on its own. It staggered to its feet, but it did stand of its own power. No voice spoke. An expression of emptiness filled the face of the sorceress as the vacant eyes stared off into the distance.

"Now you know all the facts," the demon stated with a satisfied tone.

Enin did not ask why or how. He didn't care. All he could do was stare back into Heteera's face. He had grown accustomed to that look. It was lifeless, but it was the expression she wore for a very long time. It haunted him.

Despite the lack of questions from the wizard, the demon joyfully revealed the logic behind his decision.

"I never trust my brother. Never. I noticed the upheaval in the magic long before I contacted him. I have my own ways of obtaining information. Do you remember the human Prilgrat?"

Enin did not answer. He didn't care about Prilgrat, or about the draevol twins. His mind was overwrought by the vision of Heteera's body standing before him, her eyes looking right through him.

The demon continued despite the wizard's indifference to its explanation.

"That weak leader of the humans did not simply have a deal with my brother. It was binding to us both. I had a connection to his corrupt soul and I used it. I saw and heard what happened in his room. Not everything. Actually, very little, but I saw the care you took to send away the sorceress. You wanted to protect her. You even sent her to a dimensional crossroad to place her out of harm. I made sure I followed the trail of that spell when you cast it. I can, of course. After all, I'm a demon. A very fortunate decision."

Enin slowly shook off the numbness that shrouded his mind. He broke his gaze away from the body of Heteera and glared at the draevol with fury.

"Why would you disturb her?"

"To protect myself," the demon offered, as if the answer was obvious. "It wasn't simply to annoy you. I did speak with my brother after the goblins had been torn away from this realm. His explanation regarding the magic over his city smelled of a half-truth, and like I said, I never trust my brother. I absorbed the magic over this human town, just as my brother requested, but before I began casting the plague, I cast a spell of retrieval. I wanted to use the body of the sorceress for which you showed so much care."

"And you think this will protect you?!"

"I think it gives me a chance. I knew you were coming for me. I expected that much from my brother. I would have done the same thing if I were him."

"You have no chance!"

"But you have a choice, and that is my chance."

"What are you talking about?!" Enin demanded. He saw no choice, he saw only the deliberate defiling of a corpse… of the memory of a brave soul.

"The option I spoke of before," the demon answered in a harsh voice after a brief pause. "Remove the magical seal in this tunnel. Allow me to leave. Let the sorceress exit out the tunnel and…"