Quillblade by Ben Chandler Page B

‘It is an Onishu. Demon Lord.’
    Lenis jumped. He had heard Tenjin clearly. The field below had fallen quiet. The Demons melted away from their Lord, retreating into the Wastelands. The defenders of Gesshoku stood and stared. None of them had seen a Demon like this before. As far as Lenis knew, no one had.
    The Demon Lord towered above the combatants, twice as tall as the walls of Gesshoku. His feet were clawed like a bird’s; he had a serpentine tail and two sets of great bat wings sprouted from his back. His chest and limbs were otherwise like a man’s, but his face was that of a bull and he had a woolly mane. Ram’s horns crowned his temples. His eyes were small blue flames flickering in otherwise empty socketsand his breath, hot and tainted with the stench of the Wastelands, reached the walls. In one hand he carried a tree-length spear.
    Lenis stared. They all did. The Demon Lord stood before them, and Lenis could feel the satisfaction it felt at their reaction.
    The horrible creature shook its mane. ‘I am Shamutar, Lord of Destruction. Submit to me!’
    This was what Lenis had sensed lurking behind the Demon horde.
    The Demon Lord swung his spear down and pointed it at Gesshoku.
    Tenjin had pulled a thick book from somewhere within the folds of his robe and was running a finger down one page. Suddenly he looked up and slammed the book shut. He raised one hand above his head and called out over the battlefield, ‘I summon forth the Guardian Storm!’
    Lenis looked to his sister, who shrugged and pointed back to the Demon Lord. Far above his head, dark clouds had begun to gather out of the otherwise clear sky. Shamutar threw his arms wide and roared into the growing darkness. Great balls of orange flame erupted from his mouth and flew into the cloudbank. There was a moment when the whole underside of it turned red, and then it darkened again.
    Shamutar folded in on himself and then straightened, howling louder, sending larger, brighter balls of flame into the cloud.
    Tenjin fell back and covered his eyes with his hand for a moment. ‘I am not strong enough.’ His voice was haggard. He opened his eyes and clutched Missy’s arm. ‘But you could do it.’
    Missy tried to pull away, but the old man must have had a strong grip because no matter how she struggled, she couldn’t shake him off.
    â€˜Hey!’ Lenis grabbed Tenjin’s arm and tried to prise his grip loose.
    The old man suddenly let go, and Missy fell back against the parapet. ‘Listen to me, both of you! There isn’t much time. The only being powerful enough to defeat a Demon Lord is a Totem. Lord Raikô is our only chance. You must summon him!’
    Lenis looked from Tenjin to Missy. His sister was frowning, but he could tell from the way she had drawn her brows together that she was thinking.
    â€˜Lord Raikô?’ she said.
    The fiery glow from the battlefield grew more intense and the cacophony coming from the Demons began to drown out the battle cries of the defenders of Gesshoku. ‘I am too old,’ Tenjin went on. ‘I no longer have the strength, but you could do it, Misericordia Clemens. You have the Quillblade. Lady Iki came to your aid back in Itsû. She recognised your bond with the avian Bestia who serve Lord Raikô. You can use that bond to summon him to fight this Demon Lord.’
    Lenis gasped. What was the old man rambling about? Summon a Totem? Did they even exist? And the Quillblade! Lenis didn’t like that thing one bit. If just holding it had taken Missy’s fear from her, what would using it to summon a creature as powerful as a Demon Lord do to her?
    But Missy nodded. Her frown vanished, replaced by a look of determination Lenis knew was a mirror of his own. ‘All right. What do I have to do?’
    â€˜Missy!’
    â€˜I can do it, little brother.’
    Tenjin’s relief was palpable. Lenis felt it pushing back the spirit of the