Nightmare Realm Summoner

The stone sailed through the air and thunked into the demon's head, dropped to the ground, and laid at its feet. It didn't so much as flinch.

Alex picked up another rock.

"Is this a plan or are you just bored?"

"Yes," Alex replied, tossing the second stone. It bounced off the demon's chest and landed beside the first stone. "It can't move and it killed Glint. I think I'm justified in doing this. It helps me think."

He picked up another stone. Claire hesitated for a second, then picked up her own rock. She shrugged to him and they both flung their projectiles. It was a good way to jog the brain juices. It increased blood flow — or something like that.

The Demon remained in place as they pelted it with stones. They were well out of reach of its chains and it couldn't move even if it wanted to. He was surprised to find that assaulting the monster with a hail of stones was actually somewhat therapeutic.

He wasn't sure how long he and Claire threw stones, but they soon cleared the front of the mountain pass out from every single loose stone and relocated them to piles around the demon.

"We're running out," Claire observed.

"It's fine. It's a big mountain. There are more stones. I think I might figure something out pretty soon."

"Really?"

"No, but I don't have a better idea right now. I'm kind of banking on the mounting dread building up until the point where I have no choice but to figure a way out of this. Until then, I'm throwing rocks."

Alex turned to walk down the slope a bit and pick up another rock — and from behind him, he heard a heavy groan and a gravelly voice.

"If I were not chained here, I would pitch the pair of you off this mountain and memorize your screams."

He spun back toward the demon, then shot a wide-eyed look at Claire.

"You heard that, right?" Alex asked.

"Yeah," Claire said, swallowing. "It moved."

"More than moved. It said something!"

"What are you talking about?" Claire's brow furrowed. "It didn't say anything, but I definitely heard its grunting."

"No, it spoke," Alex insisted. He locked eyes with the demon. "I am not nearly insane enough to start hallucinating that badly. You said something, didn't you?"

The demon's head slowly tilted to the side, an unnatural movement that somehow froze the rest of its body perfectly in place until its neck was at a perfect ninety-degree angle.

"You… heard me?"

"There!" Alex exclaimed. He thrust a finger in the demon's direction and sent a wild look at Claire. "You heard it, right?"

She shook her head. "I — no. It's just grunting and growling, Alex. Is it using some form of telepathy?"

"Impossible," the demon said. It leaned forward and the chains went taut, preventing it from moving any farther. "You understand me?"

"Yes, I understand you," Alex said. "What the hell gives? You could speak this whole time? Why haven't you said anything? We wasted so much time flinging shit at your head!"

"A human that knows Wayspeak. Curious." the demon asked, his head tilting to the side in apparent curiosity. The chains creaked and it leaned back, returning to its relaxed position, resting its palms on its knees, and studying Alex with its burning eyes.

Alex's brow furrowed. He sent another glance at Claire, who shook her head helplessly. He looked back to the demon. "I have no clue what you're talking about. Aren't you speaking English?"

"No," the demon replied. "You speak in common, but I reply in Wayspeak."

"What is Wayspeak?" Alex asked hesitantly. If the demon could talk, then it could reason. There was a chance they could convince it to let them use the portal behind it.

"The language of the Mirrorlands. One known only by its inhabitants. So how would you have come to learn it?" Chains creaked as the demon shifted its position to observe Alex better. "You could not have made it here through the normal routes. I smell the weakness on your breath like carrion. You don't belong here, boy. But what gave you comprehension? A rare class, perhaps? A Title?"

Holy shit. He figured it out fast.

"Does it matter?" Alex asked, choosing his words carefully. He had absolutely no idea if anything he'd come to learn about demons back on Earth was true, but any information was better than nothing.

I think demons were supposed to be sly. Arrogant too. Really self-important, and possibly big fans of contracts. I don't think they usually straight up lie, though. I might be able to trust the demon's word if it actually gives it to me — or was it devils that liked contracts and didn't outright lie? Is there even a difference? Gah. Either way, I should be careful with what I agree to and what information I give up.

A low chuckle slipped from the demons lips. "No. It does not. A human child that knows Wayspeak arriving to be a bothersome pest — you are an Anomaly."

"You say that in a way that makes me think it means more than I understand."

"Most things do," the demon said. It leaned forward once more. "How refreshing. I haven't had a conversation in years. If only you had chosen a better opener. Tell me, Anomaly, why is it that you have come to bother me? Do you long for early death so badly? Step closer and I can grant it."

"Actually, I'd much prefer if you just got out of the way," Alex said. He nodded to the spatial rift humming behind the demon. "I'm trying to get over there, and given what you did to my summoned companion, I'm not keen on getting anywhere near you."

"You are in no position to make demands of me."

Alex walked back over to the edge of the path, picked up a rock, and returned to stand where he had been before. He sent it a pointed look.

"A threat?" The demon's voice was incredulous. "You threaten me with a rock? Did you not see how effective the last hundred you threw were?"

"I can't hurt you," Alex agreed. "But I can stand here and fling shit at your head for hours on end."

"Is that so? You are dry. Not long for this world, I suspect." The demon's glassy lips curled up in a smirk. "A few hours would be nothing more than a blip in my memory."

"Eh. Fair enough." Alex shrugged and tossed his rock to the side. He turned to Claire and nodded back in the direction that they'd come. "Oh well. Let's get going. He's not going to let us pass."

It looked like Claire wanted to ask a thousand questions, but they died on her lips as she inclined her head and fell in step behind Alex.

"It won't work," the demon said, its voice rushing down the mountain peak like a cold gale. "Even if you managed to survive the other inhabitants of the Mirrorlands, you would die long before you reached another portal. There are none within the shadow of the mountain."

Alex paused to look over his shoulder at the demon. "Then I'll find that out for myself, won't I? If you aren't going to let me use your portal, I'll find another one. There's always a different way. Why should I waste my time here? Sit and rot."

A bark of laughter escaped the demon's mouth. The chains groaned and shuddered as they fought to keep the enormous monster held down to the ground. "Such passion. When did I say you couldn't use my portal? It is mine, mind you."

"You squashed my companion. And if you've got a portal, why don't you use it?"

"Your companion was a buzzing little insect without consciousness. I have squashed a countless number of its ilk." The demon nodded down toward the crooked city beyond the forest at the base of the mountain. "The bugs provide no entertainment."

A chill raced down the back of Alex's neck and wrapped around his arms. The enormous City-Eater Centipedes, so powerful that he couldn't even make out their strength, were just as worthless as Glint in the demon's eyes.

What kind of monster is this? How do I get that powerful?

"Does that imply that I do?" Alex asked.

"I will not impair your path to the portal," the demon said, his words rolling out like the purr of a cat and setting all of Alex's hair on end. Malice positively dripped from every word he spoke. "Should you be brave enough to approach it, that is. If you wish to leave, then leave."

Alex's lips peeled back in something between a snarl and a smile. If that was the game the demon wanted to play, then he'd play. Something told him that the line about there being no more portals was true. He hadn't seen any more back in the city.

The one before them might be the only chance they had, and he'd be damned if he got scared out of taking it.

"Wait here," Alex told Claire.

"Hold on." Claire sent a concerned glance back at the demon. "I don't really get what's going on. I can only hear half a conversation. If you're going to do something stupid, then I'm coming too. I don't want to get stuck here alone again."

"No, I need you to stay back. If the demon kills me, fling rocks at his head," Alex replied, setting his jaw and spinning back to the demon. He strode toward it.

"Oh? You're approaching me?" the demon's laughter echoed through the mountain peak.

There's no way that was a — ah, fuck it.

"I can't use your portal unless I come closer," Alex replied, locking eyes with the demon. His heart bucked in terror, but the excitement and adrenaline pumping through his body strangled its fear. "Or are you so much of a coward that you have to lie to someone weaker than you?"

"Come find out, boy."

Alex stepped into the demon's range.

***

Berith watched the boy approach with an emotion that could have only been described as piddling amusement. That was an ill omen. He'd been trapped on this cursed mountaintop for so long that he'd actually gotten to the point where a whelp of an Anomaly could hold his interest for a flicker of an instant.

Anything was better than the delirium of silence. There had been a short period of a few millennia when Berith had gotten used to it. Then he'd gotten bored. More than anything else, he wanted to find something to kill.

Something worth killing.

An Anomaly that had been born no more than a few days ago was far from that. The mere effort it would take Berith to kill him wasn't worth sacrificing the entertainment — no matter how piddling or pathetic it was — that he was about to get. A grinding rattle filled the air as Berith shifted. The boy stiffened, but he didn't miss a step as he continued his advance. Berith's neck twisted one hundred and eighty degrees so he could continue to trace the boy as he walked right up to the rift.

I'll give the human one thing. He's bolder than most. There aren't many brave or stupid enough to stride right past me, even with my word protecting them. Oh well. Unfortunate for him. It's been a while since I've seen something pop.

"Go on," Berith said, unable to keep the grin from his tone. "Have I not kept my word? The portal is all yours."

The boy didn't have to be told twice. He reached up to touch the swirling magic — and a bolt of energy threw his hand back, burning his palm. He stumbled and almost tripped over his own feet, yelping in pain and shaking his hand off furiously.

Berith roared with laughter and the boy spun toward him, cradling his burnt hand. Accusation burned in his eyes as he thrust his unhurt hand toward Berith. "You said I could use the portal!"

"I am not stopping you," Berith replied through his mirth. "That would be your own lack of power. The portal is perfectly functional. You have nothing to blame but your weakness if you can't use it."

He tried not to think too much about how far he'd fallen to find something this pathetic entertaining. There was just nothing better to do in this barren wasteland. Even a droplet of moisture was an ocean to a man trapped in the desert. It was actually somewhat impressive the boy hadn't been turned to a charred mark on the ground just from touching the rift.

The boy looked from Berith to the portal. Then he set his jaw. A flicker of surprise passed through the demon.

Is he an idiot? He couldn't possibly be thinking of —

With a cry, the boy drove his hand into the portal. A flicker of energy crackled within it. Berith blinked. A loud snap split the air and a wave of purple magic ripped out of the portal and slammed into the boy like a hammer. It picked him off his feet and launched him back, sending him tumbling across the ground in a flail of limbs until he slammed into a large stone.

Smoke curled up from the boy's clothes as he let out a pained cough, driving a fist into the ground and staggering back to his feet. He wiped his face with the back of a hand and strode back toward the portal.

Did I just see the portal react to him? No, of course not. I have grown addled sitting here for so long. The boy does not have Mirrorlands blood in his veins. He's nothing but an Anomaly. The portal will not open for him.

The boy let out a furious cry as he drove his fist into the portal once more. Energy screamed out and drove into him, but he dug his feet into the ground and pushed even harder. A deep thrum rolled across the mountaintop. The portal started to bend. Crackles of energy raced out within the portal like a spiderweb. Berith's eyes widened.

Is he resistant to the rift energy?

A second loud snap tore through the air. Energy whipped into him and picked him off his feet, sending him hurtling through the air for the second time. The Dhampir he'd come with dashed forward into Berith's shadow, bracing her feet and catching him before he could slam into the rocks for a second time.

They both skidded back several feet and the smell of burnt flesh and hair drifted into the air before the winds ripped it away. Smoke drifted off charred skin, but Berith was surprised to realize that the boy's hand was fairly intact aside from some cosmetic damage.

"Alex!" the Dhampir exclaimed, steadying him. "Are you okay? What are you—"

"I'm fine. Thanks for the catch," the boy said through a gritted jaw, pushing back to his feet. "One more time. I felt it. I almost had it that time."

The boy strode forward once more, coming to a stop before the portal while the Dhampir watched him with a mixture of awe and concern. It was as if he'd completely forgotten the rest of them were there.

Berith found himself leaning forward, the interest in him starting to build to something beyond just a hint of curiosity. This was not normal.

A roar of defiance split the air. Alex drove his fist forward. It slammed into the portal for the fourth time. Power hummed and churned, dancing around him like a miniature hurricane as he pressed his hand deeper into the portal.

The churning energy bent. Then it began to give way. It should have been impossible, but he could deny it no longer. The human was going to open the portal on his own.

Berith's eyes widened.

He's no mere Anomaly. The boy is an Incarnation.

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