Cherubael snorted with glee and clapped its hands. The deck quaked and the crack closed again, like a vice.
Heldane screamed. He screamed the terrible howl of the damned. He was pinned into the deck by his crushed leg. Cherubael advanced.
Heldane slashed with his sword in terror. The blade melted. The inquisitor's clothes caught fire. Ablaze from head to foot with green flames, he screamed again. On fire, upright, fixed to the spot, he looked just like a heretic burning at the stake.
Cherubael looked away from his prey, bored with it now it was dying. It surged forward and floated towards me. Eleena let out a sobbing whimper.
'Stay close!' I told her.
'Hello, Gregor/ said Cherubael. Its voice was hoarse and impaired. The astropath it inhabited hadn't spoken for many years and the voice organs had partially atrophied.
'Don't we have fun together, Gregor?' it went on, its blank eyes fixed on me. It was smiling, but there was nothing warm in those vacant orbs. Nothing at all, in fact, except evil.
'It's always such a delight to play these games with you. But this game must be a bit of surprise, eh? Didn't expect to see me, did you? It wasn't you that called me this time.'
It came closer. I could feel, not heat, but burning cold emanating from it. I was still ripping through the pages of the book to find what I was looking for.
'Here's another surprise for you/ it added, dropping its voice to a whisper. This is the last time we play. I've had enough of the way you make up all the games. You see what I did to that horse-faced idiot? I won't do that to you, old friend. I'll do something that really, really hurts.'
It lunged forward but then backed off slightly, as if stung. It had touched the psychic deadzone around Eleena. Cherubael turned his attention down towards her.
'Hello. Aren't you a sweet little thing? What a pretty face! Shame I'm going to ruin it.'
'Mmmh!' Eleena sobbed.
You're a clever old stick, Gregor. Always careful enough to have an untouchable at your side when you meet with me. This isn't the regular one, though, is it? What happened to her?'
I wrenched the book open.
'She won't save you, mind,' said Cherabael, reaching out with hands that were sprouting thick, ugly talons.
I thrust the book up and held it in front of his eyes with both hands, clamping the pages open so that the daemonhost could clearly see.
It was diagrams of the four chief runes of banishment. They wouldn't banish Cherubael, because they hadn't been properly invoked. But I was pretty sure just reading them would hurt.