Rich Boy: Awakening - 27. Chapter 27

“Jesus fucking Christ!” The voice rang out through the speakers on Worthington’s helmet and he winced at the volume. “My foot’s about to freeze off!”

“Who is that?” Brandon’s voice called out over the radio. This had been his idea, and he had ransacked every store selling the proper type of helmets, and gotten two technicians to install them and make sure they worked. The radios had a rather limited range, but with the patrol patterns he’d devised with Barry’s help, no one was ever out of range of any of the other patrol groups. “This is MR 11, who was that?”

“It was MR 6.” Another voice said around laughter. “Chad just dropped his bike, but my foot feels like it’s about to freeze too.”

“Fucking thanks for the support, MR 9.” Chad, who was MR 6 and was riding with Dave, MR 9, said with a voice filled with embarrassment. “It’s not as cold now, and I’m okay but I broke the mirror off my bike.”

“What’s your position, MR 6?” Brandon’s voice held his own amusement as he maneuvered his bike alongside Worthington’s while they took a right turn.

“Grid 9, westbound.” MR 6 replied. “It felt like it was heading east, no I mean west too, but I can’t be sure.”

“I can.” MR 9 added. “It was definitely headed west.”

“Okay, MR 2 and MR 1, you should be sensing it next.” Brandon said confidently. That was Barry and Jim, who were covering the final stretch. Worthington took the next left and began to accelerate, while Brandon kept pace. It was their first reading of the night, and he had been right. The time was just after midnight.

He was nervous even as a part of him was aware that miles away Jamie was turning his bike, with Carl on the seat behind him, and Rob was trying to keep from falling off his own bike. Rob was still not the best of riders, but he was progressing. Jamie was already linked with Carl, and at the same time they were still connected by their recent joining, so he could vaguely feel the excitement that Carl was feeling. Worthington was happy the things going on excited the boy, although he wondered if it was just the excitement of being up so late more than anything else.

Brandon and he were linked as well, and all he could feel coming from Brandon was icy determination that he would not fail Worthington. So far things had been going smoothly which was a fete in and of itself. Brandon was becoming quite the capable planner, a good aide for Worthington. It’d be interesting to see how they developed and matured over the next twenty years as they worked on all the different things that would come up for them in life.

“God Damn!” MR 1’s voice came through loud and clear. “They weren’t fucking kidding, my foot’s about to freeze off!”

“It’s what we expected.” Worthington reminded everyone on the circuit. “He isn’t going to make this appearance alone. He’ll have friends with him. Keep your distance.”

“We’re keeping our distance MR 4.” MR 1 said confidently. “They’re heading right for the trailer park, taking off across the field. You can see the dirt they’re kicking up, and the air’s sort of rippling there.”

“They’re warned.” Jamie’s voice came over the circuit, although the signal was weak. Worthington was opening up the throttle on his bike with a flick of his wrist, and shifted into a higher gear as the bike’s engine took on a higher pitched roar. Brandon’s bike was having no problem keeping up with him. The assurance from his brother was comforting. The people in the trailer park had received his warning and were ready.

The Demon Lord was being too predictable. It worried Worthington a bit. What if he was actually falling into a trap of the Demon Lord? Once he knew that the Demon Lord had been getting information from Roger, he’d been assured of the demon’s target tonight. He’d gambled everything and planned the demon would be doing exactly what he was doing.

What if he was wrong again?

“They’re at the trailer park!” MR 1’s voice was excited now. “Fuck, there’s like twenty of them there! Uh, one real big mother fucker, about six of those green-skin jobs, and the rest of them are all orange.”

“Make that seven green skins.” MR 2 said. “Some people can’t count.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Barry, MR 1 growled.

“Clear the circuit.” Brandon’s voice ordered.

“Okay, Riders, you did a good job tonight.” Worthington said over the radio. “You’ve done everything you could be expected to do, and more. If you want to see the fireworks, you know the rally point. Otherwise, head home. We’ve got school in the morning.”

“Fuck school.” Was the nicest answer Worthington heard and he smiled inside his helmet. His smile turned into a grimace as the horizon lit up with a flash of white light, and he nearly lost control of his bike as the warding spells he’d set around the trailer park were slashed apart in a single blow.

He should have expected that, as soon as he heard how many demons were in the group, but he hadn’t thought that the powerful wards he’d spun out would have fallen so quickly. At least the late hour meant traffic was light on the surface streets, so he accelerated his bike some more, adding more speed to his race towards the trailer park and the battle that was now beginning there.

His mind reeled again as the stronger wards on the trailer Jeremy lived in with his parents was attacked. Most of his protections failed as the other wards had, but this time some held against the first blow of the demons. Moments later he could feel vague alarm from Jamie as the wards he’d placed on Carl’s family’s trailer were attacked. That was why the attack on Jeremy’s trailer was less powerful. They were attacking both targets in the park at the same time.

More flashes of light lit up the night sky as the attacks continued, and Worthington was glad they’d prepared for this eventuality. Kendrick was already in place at the Regional Disaster Center, and using the spells they’d placed on key people to direct the responses to the flashes of light. She would be able to use the police and fire services, as well as emergency medical services to create a barrier around the trailer park that would keep non-combatants away. There were even representatives of local power companies on hand to explain a surge in the grid had blown several key transformers, and they were working to fix the problem.

There would be no explanation of terror attacks this time.

All the healers who had positions within the medical community would be on standby as well with the emergency medical providers nearest the scene. If casualties happened, they could rush in, protected by mages assigned to defend them, and get the wounded out. They had spent a lot of time figuring out these precautions, and Worthington hoped that they would be worth it in the end.

The final wards on the two trailers had not yet fallen despite repeated demon attacks by the time that the entrance of the trailer park came into view. Worthington and Brandon both slammed on the brakes, bringing their bikes to a complete stop just outside the entrance. Neither of them had any desire to speed into a trap and lose more bikes after having just replaced the ones they lost a few days ago.

“This is it guys, we’re going in and will be off the circuit.” Brandon said as he shut of his bike and began to remove his helmet.

“Kick some ass.” Barry’s voice was vehement, as were some of the others who gave them similar comments. Worthington had a grim smile on his face as he took off his helmet and gloves. They put the items on their bikes that were now ticking with the noises of warm engines settling down after being turned off. Brandon’s face was grim, but he was smiling as well, and it made an interesting contrast. For his part, Worthington smiled at his soul-bound friend and opened the link between them as wide as it would go.

Brandon sighed as power poured from him and into Worthington. Already he was leaching power from the life around him, putting it into the pool that he held ready for when Worthington needed it. As Worthington moved towards the entrance, Brandon fell into step right behind him and slightly to the right.

It was fitting that they were both wearing almost all-black riding leathers for this night. The first spell that Worthington readied and cast was pure Dark magic, and sprang out from outstretched hands like a wave of darkness settling in a dome over the trailer park. The demons had to have felt that, but he had no illusions that they were not expecting him, or did not already know he was here. His gang wouldn’t be disappointed at the lack of fireworks, because Worthington expanded the perimeter in case the fight spilled out of the confines of the trailer park. They deserved to have warning if the fighting got to close to them, especially since they had let him open the channels between them to their fullest extent.

If he needed it, he could draw almost enough power to send them into catatonic states, but he intended to leave them just enough strength to flee on their bikes if things went that bad. They would need to be able to see what was happening in order to flee. For people outside that boundary though, the night sky would not light up any more.

When he began walking into the entrance of the trailer park, Worthington was ready with his personal shields set wide enough to include Brandon who was literally walking so close to him that he could feel Brandon touching him as they moved. He had expected the wire strung up over the entrance at just the right height to decapitate him. They’d tried that once before and it had almost worked.

He also expected the barrier that formed to keep him out. On a speeding bike he’d have had a difficult time reacting to it quickly, but on foot he punched a hole through it with a blinding blast of pale fire. The two orange-skinned demons lurking behind the nearest trailer began to fling their bolts of power at him even as they turned to run, and he let his shields absorb both blasts while he spun his own spells.

Coils of mage power leaped from the ground and wrapped around the two demons, pinning them in place between two trailers. On cue, the back door of one trailer and the front door of the other opened and two groups of people stepped out. One was a group of three, a man, his wife, and his brother-in-law, all Light mages and all linked together. The other was a group of four, a man, his wife, and two sons both of whom were in their early twenties.

Both demons screamed as pure white fire leaped from inside of them, burning its way out in hundreds of holes they created. Within seconds both of the demons were nothing but piles of ash, and Worthington let his spells go since there was nothing left for the coils to hold. He nodded at the two groups of linked mages and they fell in behind him as he moved deeper in the trailer park.

If there had been any doubt in his mind that Roger was working with the demons, whatever his motivations, it was now dead. He’d no sooner gone around a corner before he ran into another group of demons that were accompanied by a beast he’d only heard about in lessons. The grasist, a creature that mostly resembled a large mastiff with scales and a mouthful of fangs let out a howl as it spotted him and began to run. The green-skinned Oska demon barked orders to the two orange-skinned demons with him, and they cast magic at Worthington that he’d never seen before.

Whatever the spell was meant to do, he blasted it apart before it could reach him with a burst of pure, raw energy. More coils sprang around the grasist creature before it had covered half the distance between them. It surprised him though when it took a coil of mage energy in its mouth and absorbed it. While deflecting another blast of energy from the three demons, Worthington sent a frostbolt at the creature. The magical energy hit the creature, knocked it down, but it got up and shook itself before loping towards him again.

Then the groups of mages behind him joined the fight, sending their own magic hurtling into the fray. White Fire took a lot of energy, and only the stronger of the two groups cast it again, taking out the Oska demon first. The other group cast a force bolt that hit the grasist, breaking every bone in its body. When the two orange-skinned demons howled in fear, Worthington smiled and cast powerful frost bolts that hit both of them before they’d done more than begin to turn around. No sooner had they fallen to the ground, dead, then blasts of power rang out from behind them, hitting their shields with enough force to send the group of three to the ground, and make Worthington’s knees begin to buckle.

A force bolt took another grasist right as it leaped into the air to pounce Brandon who was now lying two feet from Worthington, shaking his head. Two Oska demons were leading four lesser demons in another attack, while two more Oskas appeared from the direction Worthington had been heading. He had no chance to go on the attack, and poured all his power into defense as the two groups of demons focused their attacks on him while another grasist leaped for the fallen group of Light mages.

Three more groups of light mages appeared from the trailers around them, and the feeling of power being flung around could be felt all around the park as the rest of the Light mages Worthington had hidden in the trailer park began the battle in earnest. The attacks against Worthington subsided as the reinforcements took out the grasist before it had done more than sink its fangs into the arm of one of the fallen male mages. Another group of reinforcements took on the group of demons that had attacked from behind, and Worthington turned to face the two Oska demons that were left.

Awareness of everything else in the battle faded from his mind as Worthington focused on facing two opponents who were quite skilled, and quite powerful. Not even the last of his wards on Jeremy’s trailer breaking distracted him from the duel he was now involved in with the demons. After only a few exchanges of fire bolts against his frost bolts, he understood that brute force and power alone would not win this fight. The practice duel he’d had with Elizabeth flashed across his mind and he smiled while shifting gears a bit.

The two demons were not unfamiliar with working together, and did so quite effectively. One focused mostly on defending the demons against his attacks, while the others poured power into a variety of attack spells. Even as he shrugged off a Vise of Power, the demon was throwing fire at him, while the defending demon began to cast small, distracting spells meant to pull his attention away at a critical moment. He was linked with Brandon, but Brandon was not really a mage on his own. All he provided was power to Worthington, and more than raw power was needed here.

Worthington found the answer in illusion, and smiled as he cast illusion over the defending demon. Because it was not necessarily an attack, the illusion wasn’t blocked, and so the attacking demon saw his partner turned into ash by white fire. Without thinking he switched to defense before his partner broke the illusion. By then it was too late, and Worthington was on the attack, hammering both of them with bolts of frost fire so powerful that one of the two demons found himself flat on his back, encased in ice before he knew what was happening. Even as Worthington felt the attacks on the protective anklets of those inside Jeremy’s trailer, he managed to fell the other demon with a force bolt that shattered everything inside the demon’s body.

Biting down a stab of fear for those he was sworn to protect, Worthington turned to face the battle still raging behind him. He was in time to see the massed group of Light mages finish off the last of the attacking demons. There were several wounded mages, and while he wanted to rush further in, he gave them the time needed to check on the wounded. In addition to the mage with the mauled arm, two more mages had been hit in the fight and were quickly stabilized by another Light mage who was good at healing. Calls were made to the waiting healers, and word was verified that they were on the way.

Of the five groups of Light mages, only two were fit to continue in the fight. Worthington gave short commands to them to reorganize into two linked groups that would be of almost equal power. The rest who were exhausted but not injured he charged with guarding the injured and the healers when they arrived. Then they would all pull out of the combat area.

“Let’s go.” He told the rest when the arrangements were made. The two groups, one with six mages and the other with four formed up behind him and Brandon. The dark-haired Channel was slightly stunned still, but in decent enough shape to follow closely behind Worthington. As long as he lived, Worthington could draw power from him, but it was better at the moment to keep him close by, and conscious.

Most of the mage/demon fights were grinding down to a halt, and the surprised demons were being routed. He could feel that not all Light mages had escaped with merely being wounded, but he had hope that not too many had died. The demons, who had not expected the Light mages to be actually inside the park had been surprised, and were not fairing nearly as well.

Worthington had purposely deceived Roger about his plans, and then structured the plans in such a way that the information would appear to be accurate. Before sunset, mages had descended on the trailer park and used magic to convince the occupants to leave their homes. For the few elderly who needed assistance, that had been provided too, along with plenty of money from Worthington’s bank accounts so they would be able to stay in hotels for a couple of days. In the morning, they would wake and remember that they had fled their homes from whatever news story was generated on the morning’s news programs about what had happened. It had taken some planning with the spells, but the Light mages had been able to pull it off without a hitch.

When they reached the section where Jeremy’s trailer had stood, Worthington’s heart nearly stopped. Surrounding the trailer’s spot were five more demons, all of them green-skinned Oskas. Behind them was the Demon Lord, towering several feet over their tall bodies, and with the flames running up and down his skin in a furious pattern. In front of the demons was a pile of bodies, and that was what was causing Worthington so much concern.

Had his plan failed after all?

“They live, Sinclair.” The Demon Lord laughed at the sight of Worthington’s face. There was the shimmer of a shield around him and his demons, but no one attacked right away. With a sigh Worthington gave the mental signal, and thought he could imagine the sound of a motorcycle engine roaring to life. No, they were too far away for him to hear, it was just his imagination.

“This game is over, demon.” Worthington growled as the two groups of mages supporting him cast their own combined shields between them and the demon.

“No, it is not.” The Demon Lord growled. “Did you think to fool me with your little tricks? Watch.”

The pile of humans lying in front of the demons shifted, and the illusions around them vanished. Instead of Jeremy and his family, lying there were the members of the Mage Council, along with Darren Parks in the place of his wife. Worthington frowned slightly but showed no other reaction.

“Clumsy move, Sinclair.” The Demon Lord scoffed. “Still, it might have worked, if I had not remembered Lyon. We are still unable to enter that place, or at least the boundaries it had when we were tricked.”

“It was worth a try.” Worthington shrugged and licked his lips, tasting the salty sweat that beaded there, as well as on his forehead. He was soaked in sweat, mostly from all the magic he’d been throwing around, and still held at the ready.

“What shall I do with them, Sinclair?” The demon chuckled. “You will not trick me into making them a sacrifice. Maybe I shall take them back with me when I leave this plane. They will enjoy an eternity there.”

“They chose their fate going into this.” Worthington shrugged again. “All of them understood the risks. I will do my best to prevent you from taking them, but whatever happens will happen. You cannot hold them over my head.”

“No, I cannot.” The demon laughed again. “You are a Sinclair, alright. Your kind was always willing to sacrifice the Light-blinded idiots that you tricked into following you. It is obvious that the Sinclairs teach their whelps their history. Do you know the full history, though? What of these others? Do they know it was your ancestor, a Sinclair that refined summoning us into an art? Do they understand that it was only because I took control of one of his lieutenants that he was overthrown? What will they do, Sinclair, when we reach an agreement that excludes them?”

“Don’t fool yourself, Zaroc.” Worthington chuckled as bravely as he could. The Demon Lord had just told him his name, and given him some power of him. He could remember hearing of this Demon Lord from his father’s whispered stories of the fall of the Sinclair family from greatness, its betrayal at the hands of a trusted advisor, and the Demon Lord Zaroc. When the demon flinched, he knew he was right.

“It matters not that you know me.” Zaroc grumbled. “I had thought to take the boy you seem to care for and trade his life for some bargain between us. This world is a grand place, is it not? The wonders you humans have built, the weapons. We can make a grand home here, in this age. Already corruptions fill it, and it stands ripe for the plucking by those with the power and the wit to take it. You Sinclairs have always been greedy for power. Is that enough for you? I will make you strong enough to do what your grandsire dreamed of accomplishing. Mage and demon, ruling this world together. What does it matter that humans outnumber us? United we can teach them who their true masters are. Truth, we can do it without you, but it will be easier.”

“Your offer holds no temptation for me.” Worthington said casually. Now he could hear the sounds of the motorcycle approaching and readied himself even as both Stacy and Elizabeth started moaning.

“Ah, those two must be the woman-lovers you reside with.” Zaroc said as the women’s moans sounded weakly. “Well?”

“Your sources of information are quite impressive, Zaroc.” Worthington smiled calmly at the demon even as the motorcycle pulled up behind him. “Those wards can hold, though, long enough for two Adepts to take you out.”

“No!” The demon roared, sending a bolt of fire towards Worthington just as Jamie’s motorcycle came to a stop right behind him. Both of the guys on the bike leaped off even as the fire bolt hit the shields raised by the two groups of Light mages. At least they had not been so shocked by the Demon Lord’s discussion of ancient history that they failed to protect Worthington and the new arrivals.

In his mind, he felt Jamie’s heart racing once again as battle was joined, and for a moment he felt disoriented, like he was in two places at once. Then he was raising his power inside himself, pulling deeply on power from Brandon, and opening the channels to his human gang as wide as they could safely go before he spun out his first attack.

Jamie was off his bike now, and raining down blasts of lightning and frost bolts on the Oska demons, even as Worthington spun out a web of intense cold to settle over the shield established by the demons guarding Zaroc. Both of them were dizzy from the effects of the recent joining, that made it seem like they were in two places at once, two halves of a whole in two separate fights. As the Light mages quelled the demon fire, the five green-skinned Oskas with him let out roars and ran towards Worthington and his group of supporting mages while Zaroc cast more bolts of power to keep the mages tied down.

The helmeted figure behind Worthington pulled a large revolver from the small of his back even as the smaller guy next to him pulled a similar gun. Both of them opened fire, and hit three of the demons rushing towards them. All three demons fell to the ground even as one of the two groups of Light mages switched to offense, pouring bolts of force against one of the demons. Worthington changed his own tactics, letting go of the spell he’d been about to cast and instead shattering the bones in the fifth demon’s body with a massive force bolt.

The three demons that had been shot got up off the ground, laughing at the lack of effect the guns had had on them. Like swords, mundane handguns had little effect on demons, and Worthington doubted even a high-powered rifle would penetrate their hides. The guns had just been to buy time though, because the mage on Jamie’s bike was not Jamie, and he threw down the handgun, ripped off his helmet and brought up his hands to begin casting frost bolts at one of the laughing demons.

The smaller, mundane rider who had ridden in with Rob for the crucial deception opened fire again with his handgun, putting two more rounds into a demon before he began to reload. Like before, the force of the bullets knocked the demon to the ground, but had little other effect.

Magic flared as more spells were cast back and forth. Zaroc managed to get a blast of magic past the shields of one group of Light mages, killing at least one of them and seriously wounding the others. Even as Rob and Worthington worked together to take care of the remaining Oska demons, Worthington could feel the last group of Light mages supporting him weaken.

The last two demons fell to a combined attack of him and Rob while the Light mages gave the last of their strength to blocking one more scouring attack by Zaroc. Even as the flare of magic faded in the night, and the two sides faced off against each other, Worthington knew the battle here was almost done. As the magic faded, he could see Zaroc panting in near-exhaustion. He was exhausted himself, and the link with Brandon would only last a little longer before he risked the boy’s life. Still, Rob was fairly fresh, and eager for more combat as he squared off against the Demon Lord, leaving the Light mages to tend to the wounded in the other group. They had been lucky.

Jamie had no such luck.

Worthington’s plan was a good one, based on knowing of the betrayal by the Light mage Roger, and understanding how demons thought. Jeremy, his three brothers, and their parents were safely ensconced in Jamie’s childhood home, where Jamie had waited the summons. When it came, he’d gotten on his bike with Carl and sped off, heading towards Jeremy’s trailer park.

As soon as he was down the hill, and past the range of eyes that Worthington had been sure would be watching the home, Jamie sped his bike up, and took several side streets until he reached his destination. From the vantage spot near the base of the hill it was easy to observe his house in the distance.

He was relieved to note that the sky above them was fairly thick with clouds. It would make things easier, later on. He’d summoned lightning before without clouds in the sky, but it was easier with them there, and easier to explain away. As they sat and waited on his bike, he felt Carl move against his back and sent a mental wave of calm at the boy.

Carl wasn’t a trained Channel like Brandon, nor was he soul-bound to Jamie the way Brandon was soul-bound to Worthington. The boy knew the basics though, and could provide more power to Jamie than he would be able to use on his own. If Carl was injured, or lost consciousness, Jamie would lose the power he was currently getting from Carl. Worse, if they were not careful, he could easily draw more through Carl than was safe, and he would risk permanently harming, or even killing Carl. That was a risk he didn’t want to take, but he also knew that not using him at all would risk losing the fight tonight.

All the mages who could fight were already in position, and had other tasks. This was to be Jamie’s task, to preserve Worthington’s ability to act without fear for the mundane Jeremy. For that matter, Jamie cared about Jeremy as much as Worthington did.

While he watched for movement around the hill, he monitored Worthington’s progress through the trailer park. The sheer amount of power that Worthington had at his beck and call was staggering to feel. It hurt to admit how envious he was of his brother’s ability to pull that much power through Brandon. No matter how well trained Carl became, he’d never get that much power from Carl.

Not unless he soul-bonded the boy the way Worthington had bonded Brandon. Oh, he could do it of course. He knew the procedure as well as Worthington had known it from the use of the joining spell. Jamie had seen how Worthington had done it to Brandon, and he knew deep down that he could do it to Carl. In a way he’d already done something just as bad to Carl.

No. Jamie reaffirmed to himself softly. He may be fallen from the Light, he might use Dark magic on occasion, but he was not a Dark mage. There would be no taking of Carl’s soul, binding the boy to him forever. Carl would grow into his own person, with his own life. Jamie hoped they would be friends for all of that life. He hoped they would work together as mage and channel, but he would not force the bond on Carl.

“What’s that?” Carl’s voice was still breaking a bit as he looked over Jamie’s shoulder and pointed.

“I almost missed it.” Jamie said through his helmet with a slightly raised voice. Carl tightened his grip against Jamie, and the bike roared as Jamie gunned the throttle. Already the green-skinned Oska demons that had been summoned right there, at the foot of the hill were running upwards. Blasts of power flung from their hands and struck the house in bright flashes of light, and Jamie summoned down the lightning from the clouds.

Green-skinned demons flew in the air as the lightning struck them, or close enough to hurl them out of the way. Jamie was almost to the end of the roadway, and let his bike come to a stop before climbing off of it. Here at the base of the hill, the road ended and there was a little wash. During the monsoon season, runoff would turn it into a river for a few hours, maybe a day, but now it was dry as a bone. The dark shapes rimmed in demon-fire were obvious even from here, and Jamie smiled as he began to summon more lightning, this time to strike the demon-summoning mages.

The demons howled even as they picked themselves up off the ground and searched for Jamie. They found him soon enough, and began to fling bolts of power at him. Most missed, but enough came close enough that he was forced to put more power into shielding. Still, his lightning found its mark and one of the demon summoners died from the blast of lightning that hit him squarely in the chest. Two of the demons howled even as a vortex appeared behind them, and they were gone from the battlefield.

The oneness with Worthington was distracting. He could not afford to split his concentration between this fight and his brother, or worry about the dim sight of his mothers lying helpless at the feet of demons. There were other people, people who were just as important to him as his mothers that would die if he did not concentrate.

A tornado touched down not far from him as the wind picked up. The demon controlling it howled with glee as it began to cut a path right towards him, and Carl screamed out in fear behind him. Jamie grappled with the air currents as wind and small rocks buffeted him. At the moment he was glad for the armored riding gear with its steel plates inside the leather, and the helmet that protected him from the small rocks and debris that were pelting him.

The tornado died before it got within twenty feet of him, but two of the demons were closer now, and he had to use something besides lightning. The effects of the lightning this close would harm him as well as Carl. Jamie raised his hands, a habit from his mother’s teachings, and began to fling force bolts at the approaching demons.

Mage coils ripped up from the ground as well, seizing them and holding them in place. They howled, and tore at the coils while flaring their shields to break them. They were standing still though for several seconds and Jamie flung some of Worthington’s frost bolts at the demons.

This time they didn’t howl as they froze, and died encased in ice. There were only two left, and these approached him a lot more cautiously. Both of them moved away from each other as they approached him slowly calling out horrific taunts that he ignored. Carl was trembling behind him, nearly ready to collapse from exhaustion. Jamie couldn’t draw power from him for much longer. Stopping that tornado had taken a lot of power from him, as had the massive frost bolts he’d thrown.

Fire streamed toward him, and he realized that two of the demon summoning mages were now free. One powerful mage had summoned these two, apparently. The demons he’d frozen had apparently freed up their summoners, and now those mages were attacking him even as the demons joined in the attack.

Pain wracked Jamie as his shields started to buckle from the onslaught. He was soaked in sweat from the heat against his shields, nearly blinded, and could feel the bit of skin at his neck that was exposed to the air begin to burn. Now Carl was crying out in pain, and the link between them began to dissolve. Grasping the last bit of power he could from Carl, Jamie reached into the sky and called down lightning in a great chain, hoping it would hit its mark.

It must have worked, because the demons howled before disappearing, and even the mage attacks stopped. With a sigh, he collapsed to the ground, unable to stand the dizziness of being in two places at once any longer, and unable to summon enough energy for anything else. Carl was stretched out on the ground already, his breathing shallow. They lay like that, hoping that someone would find them before it was too late.

Zaroc’s howl of fury was all Worthington needed as proof that the Demon Lord knew his attack on the house had failed, and all that Worthington cared about was safe. Richie and another Light mage were in the house, the last line of defense in case Jamie failed, and Worthington felt confident Jamie’s other brother would rush to his aid in time to save him. For his part, Worthington had his own fight to complete.

“You have failed, Zaroc.” Worthington said in a firm voice that sounded much stronger than he felt. His knees would be shaking if he wasn’t iron-willed in keeping that from happening. There was nothing he wanted more than to curl up and sleep for a day. Keeping his magic at the ready was taking more and more effort, and he could feel Brandon hanging on only by a thumbnail.

It was fortunate that Zaroc looked to be in much the same condition.

“You might be worthy of the Sinclair name after all.” Zaroc’s voice held a tinge of respect in it now, but he was still glaring at Worthington, and far closer to the pile of helpless mages. “I might just take one of these and leave you to your field of victory.”

“They are mine, demon.” Worthington spat angrily. “They are sworn to my protection, as is all in this valley. None are for you, mundane or mage.”

“Do you really think this is the end of it?” Zaroc was contemptuous as he laughed now, but he wasn’t smiling. “You have won this day, mage, but there is always tomorrow.”

“Not if I destroy you here and now.” Worthington growled and he reached out, summoning power to him. The spell came to him as a dim memory, Jamie’s really, of a lesson from Stacy. The manifestation of Light appeared in his hand, shining with bright golden rays that surprised Zaroc almost as much as it surprised him.

“Impossible!” Zaroc roared. “You are not a Light mage.”

“No.” Worthington said in a voice filled with wonder. Just holding the light was wondrous, and he now understood some of what Jamie had given up to save him that night. He knew that there would be a price to pay for summoning this Light spell, for daring to use it, and he knew that the price was something he would, and could willingly pay. Why the Light had answered his spell he also knew. “I am neither Light nor Dark, demon. I am what I am, and I have sworn to protect those of the Light as well as the Dark. Do you see it here, in my hand, Zaroc?”

“I see it, mage.” Zaroc spat in fear, and Worthington could tell he was about to run. He had just enough strength left to cast a shield around the demon, blocking his escape route. If Zaroc had not been so tired already, he might have broken it with a flick of his will, but as he was, it would take just long enough to break the shield that Worthington would have time to throw the spell in his hand.

“You know what this will do to you.” Worthington continued coldly.

“My brothers will tear this world apart if you strike me with that.” Zaroc threatened, but he sounded scared and Worthington almost laughed. That cost him, as the Light in his hand flickered. Centuries of belief in it had given the Light a quasi-existence, a quasi-intelligence, and Worthington could feel how frail its patience was with the Gray mage that it allowed to use a part of it against the demon.

Use me or lose me. It warned him.

He could use it, now, and kill the Demon Lord forever. Zaroc would cease to exist once and for all, for that was the power of the spell in his hand over demons. Oska and regular demons had nothing to fear from this spell, nor did creatures like the grasist. Only Demon Lords had cause to fear this spell. Its limitations were such that even they rarely feared the spell.

For one, the caster had to throw it, physically, and the ball of Light would move like any other ball, in a straight line to where it was thrown. A Demon Lord would normally be able to avoid it easily. Zaroc though was tired, and hemmed in by Worthington’s weak shield. Another limitation was that the caster could only use it once a year. This was a manifestation of Light, and was used in traditional Light ceremonies, according to the memory of Jamie. This was how he could feel the Light’s thoughts, its opinions, and know its intentions.

He would also have to pay its price for summoning it here.

“What do you want, Sinclair?” Zaroc panted as they stared at each other for a long moment.

“This valley, from the mountains to the place called Buckeye is mine, demon.” Worthington spat. “Bother it, and its people no more. Mundane or mage, they are under my protection. You and your kind will stay away.”

“What?” Zaroc almost laughed, but it was too tired, too scared. “No conditions of not bothering other humans?”

“They refused to help.” Worthington shrugged, and felt the protest of the Light at his feelings. It did not leave him though. It knew there were people who followed it here, and they needed it now more than it despised Worthington. “They can attend to their own safety.”

“Agreed.” Zaroc said with slightly wild eyes. “No demon will trespass in your lands, and the humans we control will stay away as well.”

“Leave.” Worthington ordered as he released the shield. He still held the light even as the demon turned and began to run as fast as it could, out of the trailer park. Only when it was no longer in sight did his shoulders slump and the Light fled, leaving behind a taste of its displeasure in the form of a burn across the heel of his hand. Even as he cried out in pain, the burn faded into a pale scar, a reminder of the promise he’d made for its help.

He never even felt his head hit the pavement as he collapsed from exhaustion.