There was an audible groan from the others and Arcturus frowned apologetically. Edmund mouthed, “It’s fine,” at Arcturus and gave him a smile.
“Now, this stone in the center is the largest scrying stone ever discovered, otherwise known as the Oculus. Are you aware of what a scrying stone does?” Scipio asked, pushing between the Queensouth twins and pointing at the stone.
“Yes, sir, when a demon touches it, the stone will show everything that a demon sees,” Arcturus said, remembering his brief lesson with Obadiah Forsyth. Elaine nodded in agreement.
“Very good. It will keep showing it until the summoner breaks the connection, or until the scrying stone is touched once again. Now, Kali here will demonst—”
Before he could finish speaking, a draft ruffled the hair on Arcturus’s nape as the Felid soared over him. It landed with its paws around the stone before nudging it gently with its nose.
“Ahem … yes … well done, Kali,” Scipio said as the stone flickered with color. A moment later Arcturus was staring at a close-up of Charles’s face, for that was where Kali was looking. The detail was incredible. Arcturus could even see the pores in the boy’s nose. It was not a pretty sight.
“Felids have better eyesight than others. Most summoners prefer to use a Mite to scout the ether first, but Kali is quick enough to jump back through if there’s any trouble.”
Arcturus’s curiosity quickened as the ether was mentioned again. Jump back through what?
“And, do you know what infusion is?” Scipio asked.
“Yes, sir,” Arcturus said, still mesmerized by the image as Kali switched her gaze from one face to another.
“Good. I shall teach you how to infuse a demon next week perhaps; your demon seems well behaved enough to not distract you in lessons.”
“Thank you, sir,” Arcturus said. He felt far safer with Sacharissa by his side, and knew that if he were taught to infuse her, she would not be allowed out for most of the day. Still, he was curious about what it felt like to have the demon within him. He almost didn’t believe it was possible.
“Now, I shall use one of the keyed pentacles on the floor beside us. Who can tell me what a keyed pentacle is?”
“A keyed pentacle has a symbol on each corner of the star. They act as coordinates that will open a portal to the ether,” Baybars Saladin replied.
“Good. I shall now do so. Pay attention, everyone,” Scipio said, kneeling on the ground. He laid his hands on the floorboards, then grunted as his fingertips began to glow blue. There was a low hum in the room, and slowly but surely the lines of the pentacle Scipio was facing shone with the same electric light. The symbols on each corner pulsed. A pinprick appeared in the air, expanding slowly into a spinning orb the size of a man’s head. Still, it grew, doubling in size over and over, until it was larger than the table they stood around.
Scipio’s face was red with effort, the veins on his neck bulging. He lifted one hand, causing the pentacle to crackle, before removing a wooden spike attached to a roll of leather from his back pocket. He rammed it into the floorboards, then stood, panting, the leather strap gripped firmly in his hand. His fingertips remained blue, and Arcturus could tell he was powering the pentacle through the connection.
“There’s got to be a better way of doing this,” Scipio muttered, stepping back into his place at the table. “Kali! You know what to do.”
The Felid yowled with excitement before leaping over their heads once again. Kali landed in a crouch, then leaped into the orb, disappearing as swiftly as a disturbed wyrdlight. But Arcturus’s attention did not remain on the orb for long. The image on the stone had changed. Scipio smiled at him as his mouth dropped open.
“Welcome … to the ether.”
CHAPTER
11
ARCTURUS HAD NEVER SEEN so much green. The ground was coated in thick, sage-colored grass, with mossy tree trunks all around them. Hundreds of feet above, viridescent foliage filtered light from the sky, dappling the shadows with green-tinged radiance.
“All demons originate from the ether. Their world is shaped like a giant disk, with a desert known as the deadlands around the edges, and jungle and forests in the outer ring. The center is more mountainous and dangerous, filled with the most powerful demons, volcanoes, great expanses of water and who knows what else. Nobody has ever been more than a few miles from the area we hunt in, but if you were to fly high enough, that is what you would see.” Scipio was speaking for Arcturus’s benefit, for even Elaine seemed unsurprised by the moving images on the stone.
“Using my mind and what I see in the Oculus, or another scrying stone as the case may be, I am able to control Kali’s movements.”
Kali’s eyes twitched to the nearest tree trunk; then her claws flashed into view as they began to climb. A tiny Mite, almost as small as a normal beetle, crawled from beneath the bark. Elaine gasped as Kali impaled it with one long talon before spooning it into her mouth. The image juddered as the Felid chomped down.
“Yes, the ether is a brutal place. It’s eat or be eaten, and lesser Mites are at the bottom of the food chain. A Scarab Mite, like yours, is not though. I feed Kali well, but she does like a taste of her old diet,” Scipio joked, though Elaine’s expression remained grim and defiant.
“Stay away from Valens,” she hissed at the stone.
Kali continued her climb, occasionally glancing around to make sure the coast was clear. It seemed strange to Arcturus that such a large, powerful creature was so wary of her surroundings, and he wondered what manner of creatures could be a threat to a Felid.
He didn’t have to wait long. Kali broke through the canopy, the Oculus’s image flashing briefly as the Felid’s eyes adjusted to the new light.
The tree line seemed to stretch endlessly ahead, broken only by jagged mountains and the occasional clearing, like reefs and trenches in a sea of green. Each mountaintop smoldered, sending slow-moving pillars of smoke reaching into the sky before dissipating into a pall of ash that filled the cloudless sky. Arcturus could see no sun or moon to speak of, just an orange glow that reminded him of dusk on a summer’s day.
As Kali’s eyes adjusted further, Arcturus saw swarms of creatures, too far away to make out, forming and reforming in the sky, while larger dots hovered above them, waiting for an opportunity to strike. A Scarab Mite, its carapace cerulean blue, flitted across Kali’s vision.
In the distance, Arcturus saw a herd of creatures making their way through the trees. They had the same long necks and large bodies as giraffes but with thicker limbs and a head that reminded Arcturus of a horse’s or camel’s. Their short fur was gray and mottled with black patches.
“Looks like the Indrik herds are on the move,” Scipio said, pointing at them on the stone. “Far too big to be practical as a summoner’s demon, but I always love to see them.”
They watched for a moment longer, as the Indriks made short work of the tree line around them. Judging by the size of the trees, they must have been as tall as ten men, standing on one another’s shoulders.
“We cannot stay too long. Can anyone tell me why?” Scipio asked.
“You can never stay too long in the ether,” Edmund said confidently. “There are other demons out there that might eat your own. No matter how powerful it is, there is always something higher up on the food chain. Then there’s the fact that your mana levels are dropping every second you keep the portal open. If they run out or you lose concentration, the portal will close and you will lose your demon forever.”
Arcturus saw Zacharias roll his eyes, then whisper something to one of the twins—Josephine Queensouth. She giggled and Edmund’s face reddened.
“Very good, Edmund. You’re absolutely right, but that is not what I am getting at. Anybody else?” Scipio asked, looking around the table. There was silence, then Prince Harold put up his hand.