Shan roared, Blinking onto the fist that held Vir, desperately attacking it with his claws.
But against Imperium metal, the Ashfire Wolf was helpless.
“Shan!” Vir roared.
Another arm appeared out of nowhere, swatting Shan aside, sending him flying off into the distance.
The Automaton brought Vir up to its shoulder. In line with the madman who grinned deliriously at him.
The gray demon opened his mouth and took a deep breath.
“Oh yes! Very nice.”
59SAUNAK THE DERANGED
This… is really bad, Vir thought, struggling within the Automaton’s grip. A hopeless endeavor—this was a creation of the gods he was up against.
“You’re Saunak, aren’t you?” Vir asked, prudently omitting his full monicker; Saunak the Deranged.
“Hmmm,” the wild-haired man said. With his white coat, dark goggles draped around his neck, and wild blue eyes, the demon fit the ‘mad thaumaturge’ image to a T. He was also a gray demon like Vir, which made him feel immediately familiar. There were so few of them that Vir felt like the gray demons in Balindam shared a bond. He could only hope Saunak felt the same.
“Help us get away from the Automaton,” Vir said, nodding at Cirayus, who had retreated away from the other Automaton and was approaching quickly.
“Oh? And why would I do that, young one?”
“Because you didn’t come out all this way for nothing. You want something. And I’m guessing you want us.”
Saunak cackled. “Oh! Good. Very good! But no.”
“That can’t be true,” Vir said. “The Artifact—you’ve been using it to find us.”
Saunak frowned. “It seems you are under some misunderstanding. What I have is a beacon. A device that your Artifact uses to home in on. When close enough, my beacon alerts me of nearby presences. In your case, I needed a break, and you wandered near enough to my home that I thought an excursion warranted.”
He doesn’t sound all that deranged… Vir thought. On the contrary, Saunak spoke quite coherently. Logically, even. Yet, out of all the words the demon said, one stuck out to Vir in particular.
“Your home?” Vir asked. “You live here?”
Saunak cocked a brow. “Surprising the brute never mentioned it. Hmm. I see! I see how it is.”
“Look, if you help us escape…”
“Yes?” Saunak asked, a wild grin plastered on his face. “What will you do for this old demon, hmm?”
“We… Could bring you back to the Demon Realm?” Vir said, trying not to think about how easily Saunak could order the machine to crush him to death. His life was—quite literally—in its hand.
Saunak said nothing, simply staring. Not at Vir, but at Shan.
Then he burst out in maniacal laughter. The laughter continued… and continued, and Vir began to wonder if the researcher’s sanity was nothing but a thin veneer.
The mad demon laughed for a good twenty seconds as Vir’s anxiousness grew. He kept glancing at the other Automaton, which pursued Cirayus as he fled back to Vir and Saunak.
“Look, I don’t know what’s funny, but there’s an Automaton heading right for us,” he said, attempting to end the demon’s fit of laughter.
“Oh, yes! Would you look at that? Good! Saves me the hassle!” Saunak replied in between fits of giggles.
Then Cirayus arrived, and Balancer of Scales activated.
Saunak didn’t kneel as much as crumple. The demon was crushed on the Automaton’s shoulder, yet the Imperium creation didn’t react at all. Whatever mechanism Saunak was using to control the Automaton didn’t seem to be actively controlled.
Lines of prana arced from the Imperium metal tablet Saunak clutched. Ash prana.
“Unhand him,” Cirayus said, watching Saunak squirm. There was no trace of anger in his demand. Only a cold promise of death. That, and Sikandar’s blade against the demon’s neck, which promised much of the same thing.
“Now, you see, that’s no way to greet someone. Let alone an old friend,” Saunak said calmly. Though the increased gravity would’ve made speech difficult, Saunak showed no signs of panic. It certainly wasn’t the attitude Vir would have when facing such overwhelming force.
Is he hiding his strength? Vir wondered. He refused to underestimate anyone who had wrangled control of an Imperium machine.
“Cirayus! Long time!” Saunak said, despite his obvious pain. “How’s the wife? Ah, pardon. Wives. I’ve quite lost count at this point. How are the kids? Ah, silly me. You couldn’t know, what with the dozens of them running around. Do you even remember their names?”
Cirayus had mentioned he’d known Saunak, so the demon’s words didn’t come as much of a surprise to Vir. What did, however, was the revelation about Cirayus’ family.
Wife? Kids? Vir had never even considered Cirayus would’ve been married, let alone have fathered kids. Though as Vir thought more about it, the less likely it was that Cirayus wouldn’t.
“Test me, Saunak, and it will be the last thing you do. Release the boy. Now. Then we talk.”
Saunak grinned at Cirayus, and it seemed to Vir he was contemplating some witty remark.
“Fine. Fine,” Saunak said at last. “But you’ll have to release Balancer of Scales so I can use my control tablet.”
This is it. This is where Saunak will show his true power. Vir braced himself, though there was little he could do in the Automaton’s grasp. His arms were pinned, preventing him from using his chakram—the only weapon capable of dealing damage to an Imperium creation. He’d already tried blasting his Ash prana out, but the Automaton hadn’t even noticed. His prana simply dissipated into its metal hand.
Still lying flat against the Automaton’s shoulder, Saunak placed his palm on his pure white tablet… And the creation’s hand opened, dropping its contents.
Vir plummeted to the ground, but not before seeing a surge of prana pulses travel from Saunak’s tablet into the air, and then into the Automaton at a half dozen locations.
Light Step slowed Vir’s fall, and Leap brought him back up to the Automaton’s enormous shoulder, where Cirayus and Saunak argued.
“Why are you here?” Cirayus demanded—Sikandar still placed against Saunak’s neck.
“Uh, guys?” Vir said. “How about we chat after that Automaton’s been taken care of? It’s headed right for us?”
“Saunak,” Cirayus roared. “Do something about this. Lest you kill us all!”
Saunak shrugged, grinning wanly. “Give this old man a break. I’ve just been subjected to arduous torture. I should like a moment to recover.”
“We don’t have a moment…” Vir’s voice trailed off, his eyes darting between the slowly approaching Automaton and the bickering demons. For whatever reason, the Automaton was taking its time. Perhaps it was unsure whether to strike an ally, or maybe it knew Saunak’s Automaton was under enemy control. Regardless, it was barely two hundred paces away and closing.
“Saunak!” Vir shouted, desperation bleeding into his voice. Their enemy was a machination of the gods. If they hoped to flee, they had to leave now. “Can you stop it?”
“Why, of course!” the mad thaumaturge replied.
“What do you want?” Vir said.
“See, Cirayus? Here’s a demon who appreciates the value of those with power! You could learn a thing or two from him.”
Cirayus seethed, pressing Sikandar against the demon’s throat. “If you don’t stop that Automaton right now, I swear to Vera, I will cut off your head and bring it to the Demon Realm for all to witness!”