The Power and the Glory

Book 3 Chapter VII: Rampant

There's a monster I caged deep behind my eyes
I can never escape, I've been running for miles
When the morning comes I know it will still be there
-- Citizen Soldier, Never Ending Nightmare

Compared to dying it was easy to think this wasn't all that bad. All right, so it was boring. Now that Abihira had withdrawn there was no one to talk to. Even so Ilaran found himself having to fight the temptation to become complacent with this situation. Wherever he was it felt like the time just before going to sleep, when he was still partly-awake but not alert enough to take an interest in what was happening. He couldn't see anything around him. In fact he wasn't sure if there was anything around him. It was very strange, yet he had to make a real effort to be upset about it.

At least the hunger was gone. In fact he didn't feel anything at all. Not even pain, though from Abihira's account that thing possessing him was doing its best to break every bone in his body.

The urge to sleep grew stronger and stronger. Ilaran forced it back. He had an unpleasant suspicion that if he did go to sleep he would never wake up, and he refused to let that happen. He'd already died once. He didn't fancy doing it again and having to explain to Death how he ended up back in her realm so soon. Anyway, he still had things to do with his life. In the first place the parasite that was possessing him was going to pay dearly for it as soon as he regained control of his body. And in the second he was going to box Abihira's ears for causing this once he dealt with the parasite.

From time to time he saw flashes of what was happening in the real world. They were very confusing and left him with more questions than answers. Apparently the parasite had very different eyesight to him. He couldn't imagine why else he saw bright red figures amidst a blurry grey background.

If that thing has permanently damaged my sight I'll tear out its eyeballs with a screwdriver, he swore.

A distant screech reached his ears. It sounded like a pig being killed.

What in the Nine Heavens is happening out there?

Ilaran tried to telepathically reach out to Abihira. He found someone's mind, but it was so full of blind panic that he couldn't tell if it was hers or not.

Without any warning he felt as if he was being shoved forwards. Suddenly he could see again. He took one look and wished he couldn't see after all.

~~~~

There were no reliable records on what happened when necromancy went wrong. Once again Abi found herself having to make things up on the spot and hope for the best. She'd done it when reanimating the mice, she'd done it when raising the corpse, and she'd done it when bringing Ilaran back. Surely she could do it again without much trouble.

The only problem was that this time there was a high chance of being killed if she didn't get it right the first time.

Her barrier wouldn't hold for much longer. Every crash against the door sent a painful reverberation through her whole body. Something wet was trickling from her mouth and nose. She brushed it away with the back of her hand and found it was blood.

"Get everyone out of the palace," she told Siarvin. To her own surprise her voice was almost completely steady. "And lock the gates."

She held the barrier in place while Siarvin and Irímé half-shooed, half-dragged Shizuki away. She channelled more magic to hold it in place when she heard the alarm go off in the main palace. Most of the other guests had already gone home after the festival so there were very few people who had to leave. She calculated how long it would take them to get out.