The Ruby Knight

Occuda’s iron will. He was young and ingenuous, and he had the native passion of all Arcians. Bellina could use that to her advantage. Even if Sephrenia could rid Bevier of his obsessive compulsion, what guarantee would there be that Bellina could not reimpose it upon him at any time it pleased her? Although he shrank from the idea, Sparhawk was forced to admit that the course Occuda had suggested might be the only one available to them.
    Then, quite suddenly, he was almost overcome by a sense of dread. Something overpoweringly evil was nearby. He rose from the bed, seeking his sword in the darkness. Then he went to the door and opened it.
    The hallway outside his room was dimly lit by a single torch. Kurik sat dozing in the chair outside Bevier’s room, but otherwise the hallway was empty. Then Sephrenia’s door opened, and she came hurrying out with Flute directly behind her. ‘Did you feel it too?’
    ‘Yes. Can you locate it?’
    She pointed at Bevier’s door. ‘It’s in there.’
    ‘Kurik,’ Sparhawk said, touching his squire’s shoulder.
    Kurik’s eyes came open immediately. ‘What’s the trouble?’ he asked.
    ‘Something’s in there with Bevier. Be careful.’ Sparhawk unhooked Occuda’s chain, slipped the latch and slowly pushed the door open.
    The room was filled with an eerie light. Bevier lay tossing on his bed, and over him hovered the misty, glowing shape of a naked woman. Sephrenia drew in her breath sharply. ‘Succubus,’ she whispered. She immediately began an incantation, motioning sharply to Flute. The little girl lifted her pipes and began to play a melody so complex that Sparhawk could not even begin to follow it.
    The glowing and indescribably beautiful woman at the bedside turned towards the door, drawing its lips back to reveal its dripping fangs. It hissed at them spitefully and the hiss seemed overlaid by an insect-like stridulation, but the glowing figure seemed unable to move. The spell continued, and the succubus began to shriek, clutching at its head. Flute’s song grew more stern, and Sephrenia’s incantation grew louder. The succubus began to writhe, screaming imprecations so vile that Sparhawk flinched back from them. Then Sephrenia lifted one hand and spoke, surprisingly in Elene rather than Styric. ‘Return to the place from which you came,’ she commanded, ‘and venture forth no more this night!’
    The succubus vanished with a disjointed howl of frustration, and leaving behind it the foul odour of decay and corruption.

Chapter 15

    ‘How did she get out of that tower?’ Sparhawk asked in a hushed voice. ‘There’s only one door, and Occuda’s got it chained shut.’
    ‘She didn’t get out,’ Sephrenia replied absently, her brow creased with a frown. ‘I’ve only seen this happen once before,’ she added. Then she smiled a bit wryly. ‘We’re lucky I remembered the spell.’
    ‘You’re not making any sense, Sephrenia,’ Kurik said. ‘She was right here.’
    ‘No, actually she wasn’t. The succubus is not of the flesh. It’s the spirit of the one who sends it. Bellina’s body is still confined in that tower, but her spirit roams the halls of this melancholy house, infecting everything it touches.’
    ‘Bevier’s lost then, isn’t he?’ Sparhawk asked bleakly.
    ‘No. I’ve at least partially freed him of her influence. If we move quickly enough, I can clear his mind entirely. Kurik, go find Occuda. I need to ask him some questions.’
    ‘Right away,’ the squire replied, going out of the door.
    ‘Won’t she come back tomorrow night and infect Bevier again?’ Sparhawk asked.
    ‘I think there’s a way to prevent that, but I’ve got to question Occuda to be sure. Don’t talk so much, Sparhawk. I need to think.’ She sat on the bed, rather absently laying her hand on Bevier’s forehead. He stirred restlessly. ‘Oh, stop that,’ she snapped at the sleeping man. She muttered a few words in Styric, and the young Arcian suddenly sank back into his pillow.
    Sparhawk waited nervously as the small woman pondered the situation. Several minutes later, Kurik returned with Occuda. Sephrenia rose to her feet. ‘Occuda,’ she began, but then seemed to change her mind. ‘No,’ she said, almost to herself. ‘There’s a faster way. Here’s what I want you to do. I want you to think back to the moment you opened the door in the cellar – only the moment when you opened it. Don’t dwell on what Bellina was doing.’
    ‘I don’t