He is mage, and therefore his spells are very difficult to figure out. I have to know them to counter them.
The spells are reinforced by Lilith in the underworld. I can see a tether attached to him,Afanasiv told her.
That’s all to the good. The tether will draw him back if I succeed.
If she needed the spell that had brought Xavier to her territory, then he would get it for her.Stall for time. Draw him out. Flattery generally works on his kind.
“Who forced you, Aunt Olga? Who could possibly force you to do anything? You’ve always been the strongest among us.”
Invading the mind of a Lycan was extremely hazardous, but invading the mind of a high mage was suicidal. He was going to attempt it anyway. If Vasilisa could send Xavier back and seal him in the underworld, that would be one less enemy they faced. And Xavier was a dangerous opponent.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to attempt getting into his mind, Afanasiv.
Call me Siv. And maybe not, but you need the information. Stay connected to me but in the background. That way, you can pull me out if needed, and you can see the spell firsthand without me repeating it. It will require you to keep talking to Olga and Xavier simultaneously.
I won’t have any trouble unless Xavier becomes aware of you.
Afanasiv doubted if anyone had ever had the audacity to slip inside the high mage’s mind. He did so slowly, barely using any energy. It was a quiet invasion, only the slightest disturbance, a small bite of cold that had the mage shaking his head while Afanasiv quickly adjusted the temperature.
He began to sift through the mage’s memories as fast as possible, going through them at an alarming rate of speed. He needed to find the moment when Xavier had first entered the human world again and where the portal was located. He saw the rituals the demons carried out under the lashes of their mistress, Lilith. She’d taught them thelow humming notes that would cause a shift in the earth’s plates. In turn, cracks would form, large enough to release her spies.
She promised Xavier she would send him back to the Carpathian Mountains with Xaviero if he proved worthy by collecting the blood of the royals for her. She wanted them under her control. She would send him to the surface in a limited capacity in order to achieve his goal. If he failed her, he would know torment for thousands of years.
Xavier had no intention of failing. He immediately recruited Barnabas, Xaverio’s son, as well as the third triplet, Xayvion, to aid him. Barnabas was a ladies’ man, and he set out to seduce Olga, taking the image of a slightly older Lycan, a member of the Sacred Circle. He intrigued Olga, took her down a dark path sexually and began to whisper to her about how she should have been the one to rule, not the others. He kept her from sleeping, all the while taking her blood and reinforcing their dark bond with sex.
Then Barnabas gave his proposal to Olga, that if she would aid Xavier in collecting the blood of the royals, she would have her heart’s desire given to her. By that time, she had become twisted and cruel, enjoying the suffering of others while she took her pleasure. The thought of usurping the younger royals and stealing their birthright out from under them left her giddy with pleasure. She agreed immediately.
Afanasiv watched as Xavier called for a staff with a crystal in the exact center of it and a round globe at the top. Lesser demons sent by Lilith gathered around him to do his bidding. He had already chosen the one he wanted for his sacrifice. A female. Young. He had what he referred to as the horn of a unicorn, a long dagger that spiraled from hilt to point. His sacrifice was tied to the altar and he was in his robes.
He began the opening spell, chanting aloud, his hands held high over the female demon. The dagger was clutched between his two palms. He shifted his hands to the left and right, drove the pointupward toward the sky and then downward toward the earth. He made a circle with it and then plunged it into the heart of the woman, swirling it deeper and deeper into her chest in a counterclockwise manner.
By below, by above, by west, east, south and north,
I am free of the restraints of death.
I walk the earth unfettered by any other than my mistress.
I do her bidding and serve only her until she releases me.
As he spoke, he withdrew the dagger from the demon and ran his snakelike tongue around the blade before handing it to the closest demon.
Drink your sister’s blood and be sealed to me.
Each of you will do my bidding and
Any that I appoint to serve me.
The demon did as Xavier had, using his tongue to take the blood from the spiral blade. He passed the dagger to the next demon in line, who took it with a grimace but followed suit.
Afanasiv watched carefully as Xavier scooped blood from the huge hole he had made in the female demon’s chest. He dropped the blood onto the ground and began to move his hands in a complicated pattern.
Earth accept the blood of this strong one
That I may walk once more on your soil
Or burrow beneath it should I have need to do so.
He scooped blood from the cavity he had made in the woman’s chest and flung it into the air over the demons and himself. Once again, he lifted his hands and formed complicated patterns as he chanted.