Page 40 of By Mistake
"More or less," Kressen said. "This is bad. Very bad. Mari has precious few weaknesses. The humans he still stupidly becomes fond of every few centuries, and the four of us. He will tear this place to the ground to get Renik free, no matter the cost to himself or anyone else."
He threw up a shield as a piece of wall came hurtling at them.
"Everyone is out but the four of you. I will take my little humans away.
You need to remain, to be here for Shimari.
You might be the only thing that can bring him back.
Assuming he wins, which is dubious, because you have him collared like a fucking dog and most of his power smothered! "
Snarling, he vanished, and then he appeared beside Greivs and Coret in turn, taking them away from the carnage at last.
"Give him back, give him back, give him back !" Shimari bellowed. "He's mine! Not yours! I will tear you asunder !"
Farthing laughed, voice rippling out in a weak imitation of the destructive resonance of Shimari's as the ballroom continued to crack and fracture around them.
He threw Shimari into a wall, then continued to strike him over and over.
"You can't do shit to me, whatever you are, especially while you're shackled. "
Andrus couldn't stand it. "Shimari of the Harvest! Save Renik at all costs! I release you from your shackles!"
A silence fell, so stark and sharp that Andrus's own breathing seemed shockingly loud.
Farthing said, "What?" in the beat before he was sent flying across the room to slam into the stairs, shattering the bottom half of them completely.
Shimari stood, human form falling away like petals from a dying flower. Darkness spilled out like ink, pooled, until only a vaguely human shape remained, like a large figure draped in a voluminous cloak, the hood drawn up so that only two glowing red eyes were visible.
The figure lifted an arm, swung it out to the side sharply, and from the shadowy folds came a boney hand.
Nothing else, just bone. It curled, bones clicking and rattling against each other, and suddenly in its grip was an enormous scythe, some nightmarish version of what farmers used to bring in the wheat.
"Give. Him. Back, " Shimari said. His voice was soft, but cut through Andrus like glass, making him clutch at his head, fight against an urge to scream, to puke, to sob hysterically.
Then Shimari moved, surging toward Farthing as he regained his feet.
Andrus looked away as the fighting resumed with a level of violence and ferocity he'd never seen before.
Kressen appeared in front of them again, throwing up shields as more debris came at them. "I'm almost impressed, child."
"Why is he so angry ?" Andrus asked. "I mean, obviously he would be upset that humans are doing something so terrible to a fellow demon. But this seems…excessive isn't the right word."
Kressen sighed, eyes locked on the fight.
"He's old, so very old. For much of that time he was alone.
He created me, eventually, when he had grown to sufficient power, though doing so cost him greatly and nearly killed him.
Much, much later, when his power had grown greater still, and he'd learned so much more, he created the other three.
He is a demon of death, not of creation, but he created us anyway, so he would not be alone anymore.
We are not his children, demons can't have children, but we are his creations, the only life he's ever made rather than taken. "
That sounded like as much a definition of children as any, but Andrus didn't say that. "No wonder you can get away with calling him Mari."
For a second, just a second, Kressen smiled in a soft, gentle way. Then it was gone, and he was once more a cold, scathing demon of blood again.
Shimari screamed, and what remained of the ceiling came crashing down, Kressen heaving the world's greatest put-upon sigh as he made certain none of it hurt the three of them.
That great scythe swung out, slicing Farthing across the chest, right through the orange light that had been protecting him until that moment. Farthing coughed up blood, clutched at his chest, the orange light flickering in and out before fading completely.
The scythe swung again, and this time the necklace around Farthing's throat flew apart, the pieces lost amidst the rubble at their feet.
The orange light returned, surging from the ring on his finger into Farthing, spilling from his open mouth, his ears and nose and eyes, the gaping wound on his chest.
After what seemed like forever and no time at all, the light vanished, and Farthing collapsed, barely caught in time by Shimari before being gently laid out. The hood slipped back, revealing a skull with red light where the eyes should be, focused entirely on Farthing's still form.
Andrus ran, through the shields, over and around rubble, stumbling and nearly falling several times, until he was not quite close enough to touch. "Shimari?"
The skeletal figure looked up sharply, then seemed to flinch, and a resonating voice said, "Andrus…"
"Are you all right? Can you…" He wasn't even sure what he wanted to ask.
A bony hand stretched out toward him, and Andrus took it without hesitation, tangling their fingers together, palm pressed to palm. There was a sound like a winter wind through bare trees, and then suddenly the boney hand grew firmer, warmer, flesh and blood once more.
The cloak of shadows slowly withdrew and folded in, red eyes fading to green as the terrible, frightening figure returned to the beautiful, almost dainty figure Andrus knew so well, the binding settling back into place as easily as that.
"Shimari!" He let go of his hand to throw himself at Shimari, holding on tight.
"Are you all right? Do you need blood? To res—"
"Shush, human," Shimari said, and kissed him, sharp and hungry, that same claiming way he had the very first time they'd kissed. Andrus shivered against him, all the terror of the past too many minutes draining away, leaving him abruptly wrung out and exhausted.
Shimari drew back, cupping his face with both hands, thumb stroking his cheekbones. "You are not scared of me at all."
"What's to be scared of?" Andrus asked, fighting a yawn and suddenly heavy eyes.
"I've seen you strut around as a bossy cat and drink overpriced wine and fuss over my clothes not being up to your standards.
" Nevermind all the kissing and fucking.
It was hard to be scared of a man who'd sucked his cock and let Oresti bend him over a table. "Are you all right?"
"I'll be fine," Shimari said softly. "Thanks to you, pet." He looked out across the ballroom and sighed. "I wish everyone had listened to me."
Kressen bent and lifted Farthing, slinging him over his shoulder. "I'll take him down to the basement and watch over him. Call if you need me, Mari." Then he was gone.
Shimari sighed again. "So much to do, so much to fix."
Oresti stepped in and cupped the back of his head. "I'm sorry. I should have argued with my sister instead of just doing what she said. We all knew this was a bad idea."
"It doesn't matter. What's done is done. At least I got Renik back. Let's go see your father and sister, and then we'll proceed from there." He took their arms, and they vanished from the ruins of the ballroom.