Ajacii and Demons: The Ingenairii Series (28 page)

He felt Bauer’s blood begin to enter his body, and he felt the horrible taint of evil that was within him start to poison his own system, even though there was something oddly familiar beyond the venomous taint, as though a lovely scent was covered by a foul stench in the garden. Alec felt himself beginning to go into convulsions from the unexpected pain of the contamination, and he realized that the two of them were starting to fall sideways, fall out of the saddle towards the ground.

“
What’s wrong?” Bauer said in panic. Alec reached their joined arms together to seize the front of the saddle to keep them upright, and prayed for the pain to pass. He pulled the reins with his free hand, and then leaned forward into the back of Bauer, forcing him to lean into the saddle until Alec could accept the waves of pain within him and still stay in the saddle.

Bauer’s blood was pumping more agony into him with every second. There seemed to be no end to the amount of blood the boy had, and every drop carried within it the same foulness that existed in the blood of the demons themselves, as far as he could tell. Alec was vaguely aware of a rider on another horse coming alongside and pushing him upright. There were shouts, and the motion of the horse ceased, but the painful bloody transaction continued. He felt Bauer’s blood urging him to become violent, to unleash destruction, to find someone, anyone to hate, and then to give vent to the hatred through action, even while underneath there was a very faint sense of commonality; Alec wondered for just a second at that similarity, then felt the pain again wash through him.

“
Alec, are you alright? What is happening to you two? Are you okay?” someone was grabbing his shoulder, speaking loudly to him.

“
Let us be,” Alec tried to say aloud. “We will work this out.”

The pain was lightening, dramatically. He felt it dissipating, after an unknown length of time. The horse was walking again, and they were still in the saddle, with a rider, Ofelia, right next to them, protecting them so closely that the horses were bumping one another.

Alec opened his eyes. Bauer was unconscious, his head turned to the side as he leaned back against Alec’s chest. He felt his fingers still grasping the boy’s, and raised his hand to see their arms still wearing the grafted connection that was exchanging their blood with every beat of their hearts. He closed his eyes again and focused his Healer powers, slowing the youngster’s heartbeat so that it was synchronized with his, smoothing out the flow of the blood through their bodies.

He contemplated the boy’s state. He would have to await his awakening before he could begin the work he contemplated. Whatever their two bodies had felt during the exchange of blood had been unexpected, something shocking and disturbing. He hoped that Bauer’s experience in receiving his blood had been less harrowing than his reception of the demon-tainted blood had turned out to be.

He closed his eyes and felt the warm sunshine on his face, and sat in a lazy stupor, as the horse carried them across the fields they were using to find a path around the second rebel camp. His mind wandered idly through his own memories, then his Healer powers began to range through the boy’s body, noting and treating every small or minute ache or blemish he could find – sore muscles, a small boil, a digestive problem with milk – though there was no sign of disturbance from the entry of his blood that had coursed through Bauer’s body.

The horse was coming to a stop, he realized. He opened his eyes and saw that they were in the yard of an empty farmhouse, and the others were dismounting.
Wake up, Bauer. We need to eat some lunch,
he told his passenger. Alec contemplated dismounting from the horse while their arms were joined, and then thought about trying to regain the saddle in unison, and decided against leaving the horse.

“
What’s happening?” the boy woke up and asked. He craned his neck around to look at Alec.

“
We’ve stopped for lunch. How do you feel?” he asked.

“
I’ve never felt better!” the sorcerer answered. “I felt so good when your blood started flowing in my arm I must have passed out. You made me feel so fresh and clean; it’s not like anything I’ve ever felt before. Was it supposed to be that way?

“
How did my blood feel to you?” he asked.

“
This was different from the other two times I’ve done the blood transfusion,” Alec said cautiously, contemplating the unexpected cleansing he had in advertently accomplished by removing the demonic elements from Bauer’s blood. “I’m glad it was so positive for you. Let’s have a bite to eat, and then I want to start on the real work I have planned for us.” He reached down to accept some food offered by one of the others, and shared it with Bauer.

Once the break was over and the squad was on the move again, Alec began the first session.
I want to show you what my God is like, and what I’ve seen of the demons,
Alec communicated to Bauer.
Then I’d like to see what you know about the demons and how they are called forth.

Go ahead,
Bauer replied silently
. Did you hear that?
He asked.

I did
, Alec affirmed.

I did it! I spoke to you with my mind! That is wonderful!
The boy crowed.

Alec wondered if his broadcast of his thoughts was just the coincidence of learning how to do so now, or if the cleansing of the blood had opened up his potential to do so.

Now, relax, and let me show you some of the stories of my life,
Alec said as he began his testimonial. For his first story, he decided to show his work in healing the Duke of Goldenfields, calling in the priests to chant and pray as he worked through his medicines and efforts. Alec wanted to build a compelling case to demonstrate to Bauer the goodness in life he had witnessed because of God’s love, and the Duke’s healing was the first time he remembered miraculous events caused by faith.

He took the boy to his memories of the cave in Bondell where he had first met John Mark’s spirit, and shared his own healing with his sorcerer companion, then moved on to Oyster Bay when he had carried out the ceremony to bind the armies of the Dominion to himself, letting the mysterious spark of energy hone the blades of those who had pledged their loyalty to him. Next he showed the scene when he had healed Rosebay, the lacerta leader who had become his friend during the war between Goldenfields and the lacertii.

I heard legends about monsters like that! You were kind to it; you saved it?
Bauer interrupted him for the first time.

They look different, but they aren’t monsters,
Alec replied, and he showed his memory of standing in the court of the lacertii king, biting Rosebay in a ceremony, then kissing her.

Then he showed the restoration of his powers in John Mark’s cave, and his subsequent foolish effort to try to heal the body of Christ. That experience had led him into a visit of sorts to Hell, and a subsequent salvation through Christ, all of which he gave to Bauer.

That’s something like what they’ve told us it is like where the demoms come from
, Bauer admitted.

That led to an exploration of Alec’s battles with demons, as he showed the demon who he had carried in battle to John Mark’s cave, the demon that had carried Alec towards its home of disgust and pain and horror until Christ had literally rescued him from Hell. Then Alec showed the battle with three demons when he had saved Jeswyne by relying on his Spiritual powers, broadcast through the stigmata on his hand, with the truth of Christ’s reconciliation, with love triumphing over hatred. The demons had been destroyed by the exposure to the truth.

This is the world I have seen in my life, and the God I have known,
Alec told Bauer.
What do you think about all of this?

There was a sense of wonderment in the young boy’s soul.
It is like the things they have told me, but everything is seen differently. You’ve fought so many demons, and you’ve won; you’ve beaten them all. Are you the Demonslayer from the old world? How ancient are you?
he responded.

“
Alec? Sir?” a voice interrupted them. Alec opened his eyes as he shook his head. The sky above them was growing dark and threatening rain.

“
Where are we?” Alec asked, trying to wrench his mind back to the world around him.

“
We’re south of the second camp, and east of it. That’s all I know for sure,” Claudia told Alec.

“
We need to find shelter,” Claudia said.  “What do you think about visiting a working farm to stay in their barn?  I don’t think we’ll find any other shelter,” she gestured towards a small twinkling light set among gently rolling hills off to the right.

“
Let’s head that way,” Alec agreed.  “What can we offer to the farmer as payment?”

“
We’ve got a bit of money, but not much,” Claudia answered.  She looked at Alec with a hopeful expression, and Alec realized the rest of the squad wanted to finish the day’s ride.

Alec closed his eyes and extended his Spiritual senses, trying to determine whether there was any hint of hostility or dissatisfaction coming from the homestead.  There was clearly life at the home, but no outstanding emotional storms came to his senses as he only weakly perceived the distant farm.

“
That sounds satisfactory.  Perhaps by tomorrow Bauer and I will be finished and able to separate, so that I can offer some medical care to anyone there,” Alec decided, sending Claudia to lead the squad towards the barn before the rains came.

“
I felt something odd,” Bauer spoke.  “I felt you doing something, looking with your spirit at that house over there.  How do you do that?”

“
It is part of the gift I have, the gift I’ve used to share my spirit with you,” Alec answered.  “The real purpose of the energy is to attain the peace of God.  The energy can be used in many ways – to detect truth, to detect emotional turmoil, to enhance the power of prayers and messages.  I’ve use it to allow my spirit to speak to the spirit of others, the way we’ve been doing today.”

Now, I want to understand you better,” he changed the topic.  “I’ve tried to show you as much as possible about my life and experiences.  I want you to trust me and understand me.  I’m going to ask you to do the same for me.”

“
Tell me about your life as a sorcerer, and the demons you call,” Alec asked. “I want to understand what you do, and why you do it.”

You disapprove of sorcery. You are ready to judge me; what is the point of this?
he asked defensively
. I
understand what you see in your own religion; isn’t that enough?

I don’t understand sorcery, but I see the results that are evident to the world – death and evil. Show me why these things are needed; show me where they came from. Perhaps I will understand
, Alec told him.

Bauer showed him an image of a woman looking down at him, and Alec realized it was the childhood perspective of an adult. “This is our power. This is our legacy. It is what we have from the days when we were powerful in our old country, before the Demonslayer killed our people and destroyed our homes and made us flee,” the woman was telling young Bauer.

The woman was handsome in a hardened fashion. Her hair was long and very straight, so blond that it was almost white, and its length accentuated the long face, with its aristocratic nose and deep set blue eyes. “The power we have gives us a connection to powers that no other humans can control. Our sorcery makes us powerful. It protects us from our enemies.”

“
But not from the Demonslayer?” the young Bauer asked.

“
It could not protect us from the Demonslayer. He had horrible powers of his own, and he used them to wreck everything we had built in Michian, where we made the empire strong and unified,” the teacher said. Alec felt the young child’s adoration for the teacher; he absolutely trusted the woman, would not question anything she said.

Who was your teacher?
Alec asked.

That was my mother. She was the head of our settlement’s sorcerers,
Bauer answered.

Thank you. Show me more,
Alec requested.

“
This is the way we make the daily sacrifice,” her mother was telling Bauer and another young girl. They must have been older than before, because the mother’s face was not nearly so far above them. They were standing over a stuffed dummy, clothing filled with straw. “We must harvest the life energy from the sacrifice, so that we have the energy we need to pull the demon from the netherplace into our world, and so that we have the energy to make it obey our commands.

“
When you make the sacrifice, do it quickly so that there is no pointless pain or thrashing. A clean death is a virtuous way to meet your sacrifice and to assume their energy,” the blond sorceress explained. “Now,” she held out a wooden knife, “let’s see you practice your stroke.”