The Road to Magic (Book 1 of the Way of the Demon Series) by Alexey Glushanovsky Page B
Authors: Alexey Glushanovsky
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health didn’t concern Oleg in the least. Gleefully baring his fangs, he grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up above his head.
And then Oleg fell to thinking. Two thoughts were broiling in his brains drunk on rage, and neither of them befitted a human. Firstly, the demon Oleg was seriously considering the possibility of squashing the wizard against the wall. It was only the thought of how labour-intensive this would be that held him back, and that in the smearing process the wizard would die swiftly without feeling the full depth of his wrath. The second thought was to pluck out his arms and legs and leave him like that, to die from the shock of pain and loss of blood. It was this second thought which Oleg found more attractive.
At that point he became aware that someone was carefully trying to loosen his claws, which were holding the wizard’s neck in a deadly grip. All the while that “someone” was calling out in a thin, girlish voice: ‘No, please, don’t do it! It’s not his fault, it’s all because of me! Have mercy on him!’
These cries, full of terror and pleading, brought Oleg to his senses. He slowly turned his gaze on the hysterical girl, drenched with impotent tears, aware of the futility of all her attempts, then he took another look at the wizard, now beginning to turn blue, and stopped in his tracks.
The two parts of his being were at loggerheads within him. On the one hand, Oleg-the-student, a jolly, civilized chap, lover of pretty girls and beer who tried not to harm anyone, was loudly crying out: ‘What are you doing? Do you really intend to kill him? What are you turning into? He’s still a just a kid after all! OK, so he made a mistake, but there’s no need to punish him so cruelly…’
And on the other hand, the new-born demon was roaring in him thunderously: ‘A kid? Then he should be playing quietly in his sand pit not trying to enslave demons. What would have happened if you hadn’t remembered Heliona’s advice? How long before the pain knocked you unconscious and you’d become this “kid’s” slave for evermore? And where’s the guarantee that if you let him go, he won’t start it all over again once he’s had a good rest, but with better success this time, and make someone else his slave? Like Younger One—she’s going to start to roam around various worlds any time now, not caring a jot for anyone.’
At that thought, the demon Oleg’s fingers began closing by themselves, blocking the wizard’s last molecules of oxygen. But the former Oleg came up with one last desperate attempt to save the life of the half-pint wizard: ‘OK, I agree, he’s a bastard, worthy of annihilation, but before you kill him, you should give him the chance to try and justify himself. Maybe he can explain his actions.’
This reasoning seemed convincing enough and Oleg slackened his claws slightly allowing his captive to swallow some air.
The lad breathed in noisily. His face gradually took on its normal hue. The girl, seeing the result but not knowing the reason, increased both her cries and her efforts on Oleg’s fingers threefold.
The wizard panted and began coming round.
‘Be quiet!’ Oleg barked and scraped the claws of his free hand against the wall menacingly. There was a terrible screech, dust fell and the wall was “decorated” with four deep scratches. The girl’s cries were silenced at once, and even the wizard did his best to pant more quietly.
Oleg went on: ‘First of all we introduce ourselves. My name is…’ But here he remembered that in many myths when a wizard learns a demon’s or another wizard’s real name, he has power over him, so he thought for a split second and then went on, taking for himself the name of a demon in an English fantasy story which he had sometimes used as a nickname: ‘…Arioch.’
Seeing the gleeful glint in the wizard’s eyes, Oleg was convinced he had acted quite rightly by not giving his real name. Just in case, he squeezed
And then Oleg fell to thinking. Two thoughts were broiling in his brains drunk on rage, and neither of them befitted a human. Firstly, the demon Oleg was seriously considering the possibility of squashing the wizard against the wall. It was only the thought of how labour-intensive this would be that held him back, and that in the smearing process the wizard would die swiftly without feeling the full depth of his wrath. The second thought was to pluck out his arms and legs and leave him like that, to die from the shock of pain and loss of blood. It was this second thought which Oleg found more attractive.
At that point he became aware that someone was carefully trying to loosen his claws, which were holding the wizard’s neck in a deadly grip. All the while that “someone” was calling out in a thin, girlish voice: ‘No, please, don’t do it! It’s not his fault, it’s all because of me! Have mercy on him!’
These cries, full of terror and pleading, brought Oleg to his senses. He slowly turned his gaze on the hysterical girl, drenched with impotent tears, aware of the futility of all her attempts, then he took another look at the wizard, now beginning to turn blue, and stopped in his tracks.
The two parts of his being were at loggerheads within him. On the one hand, Oleg-the-student, a jolly, civilized chap, lover of pretty girls and beer who tried not to harm anyone, was loudly crying out: ‘What are you doing? Do you really intend to kill him? What are you turning into? He’s still a just a kid after all! OK, so he made a mistake, but there’s no need to punish him so cruelly…’
And on the other hand, the new-born demon was roaring in him thunderously: ‘A kid? Then he should be playing quietly in his sand pit not trying to enslave demons. What would have happened if you hadn’t remembered Heliona’s advice? How long before the pain knocked you unconscious and you’d become this “kid’s” slave for evermore? And where’s the guarantee that if you let him go, he won’t start it all over again once he’s had a good rest, but with better success this time, and make someone else his slave? Like Younger One—she’s going to start to roam around various worlds any time now, not caring a jot for anyone.’
At that thought, the demon Oleg’s fingers began closing by themselves, blocking the wizard’s last molecules of oxygen. But the former Oleg came up with one last desperate attempt to save the life of the half-pint wizard: ‘OK, I agree, he’s a bastard, worthy of annihilation, but before you kill him, you should give him the chance to try and justify himself. Maybe he can explain his actions.’
This reasoning seemed convincing enough and Oleg slackened his claws slightly allowing his captive to swallow some air.
The lad breathed in noisily. His face gradually took on its normal hue. The girl, seeing the result but not knowing the reason, increased both her cries and her efforts on Oleg’s fingers threefold.
The wizard panted and began coming round.
‘Be quiet!’ Oleg barked and scraped the claws of his free hand against the wall menacingly. There was a terrible screech, dust fell and the wall was “decorated” with four deep scratches. The girl’s cries were silenced at once, and even the wizard did his best to pant more quietly.
Oleg went on: ‘First of all we introduce ourselves. My name is…’ But here he remembered that in many myths when a wizard learns a demon’s or another wizard’s real name, he has power over him, so he thought for a split second and then went on, taking for himself the name of a demon in an English fantasy story which he had sometimes used as a nickname: ‘…Arioch.’
Seeing the gleeful glint in the wizard’s eyes, Oleg was convinced he had acted quite rightly by not giving his real name. Just in case, he squeezed
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