Hero of Fire

by P. E. Padilla

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” Koren said. “We’ll need to keep keen watch. There are some types of demons that are more suited to stalking and sneaking up on people than others. No good for us to be hunted while we’re hunting them.”

  It occurred to Kate that Thozrixith’s aims were much like her own and those of her team. Weren’t they all trying to eliminate the enemy through trickery and assassination? She didn’t like the feeling that she could so easily compare her motives to the demon lord’s, but there was no denying the similarities.

  “Perhaps we should head for the gate as quickly as we can and forego trying to kill demons on the way out,” she said. “Once we get Jurdan back and healed, we can always attack demons later.”

  Koren gave Kate the side-eye as they walked. “I would have thought it was already your top priority to get back to Gateskeep as soon as possible. No use killing demons when the entire Order needs to be warned about things only we know of.”

  Kate looked at the ground as she walked, accepting it as a rebuke.

  “That’s what Kate said,” Visimar said. “We pretty much begged her to allow us to kill some of them on the way out. She relented but said our primary responsibility was to get back, just like you said.”

  “Hmm,” Koren said, but his appraising look seemed to change to one of approval instantly.

  Kate was grateful to Visimar for standing up for her. A smile tried to force its way onto her mouth, but she refused to show any joy. Koren was testing her, she figured, and showing happiness would only result in him thinking less of her.

  But she smiled on the inside.

  As they traveled, Kate ruminated over her situation. She had been ordered to kill the demon lord. That was the sole purpose of the mission. Now, they were heading back to the gate to supposedly complete a more important task, one that Koren said fulfilled the spirit of the mission.

  She wasn’t so sure.

  It didn’t feel right, somehow, though it made perfect sense. It continued to cause her discomfort, a thistle lodged in her clothing where she couldn’t find it but could feel it rubbing, pricking, irritating.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Koren said later that day. At least, Kate thought it was the same day. They hadn’t slept yet, so she would assume it was still day…and the same day.

  “About what?” she asked him.

  “He has my firestone.”

  “Who does?”

  “Arkith,” Koren said.

  “That has been established,” Kate answered. “You told us that. As you said earlier, if you stay close, you should still be able to harm the demons, and then when we get back to Gateskeep, Molara can make you another one.”

  “He’s using it in research to finish his weapon that nullifies our most potent weapon, the only thing that allows us to hurt the demons.”

  Kate stopped walking and turned to Koren. “We have been over all of this. Is there a point to rehashing it?”

  “We need to go after Arkith.”

  Kate blinked. “We…what?”

  “We have to get my firestone back or kill Arkith before he can finish his research.”

  “Weren’t you just arguing that we needed to go straight back to Gateskeep to tell everyone what is happening?”

  Koren simply looked at her without any discernible emotion.

  “He may be correct, Kate,” Peiros said. “Our mission was to kill Thozrixith, but the core reason was to stop the invasion. If Arkith discovers a way to counteract the firestones, even killing the demon lord will not stop the plan. We are here, and there is no one else who can do the job.”

  Kate closed her eyes. Think, Kate, think. Breathe and focus. She did so for a half a minute, taking long, slow breaths, before speaking.

  “I see your point. I’m not happy about it, but I have to agree. But you are suggesting we trade Jurdan’s life for a chance at finding your firestone and possibly stopping the demon mage.”

  “Yes,” Koren said.

  His blunt answer made her blink at him. Twice. At least he wasn’t mincing words.

  “He does have a point,” Jurdan said, catching up to them.

  “He does,” said Peiros, who had come back to them when they had halted.

  The other three gathered around them as well, all nodding.

  Kate muttered under her breath. Even she wasn’t sure what she said. Probably nonsense words to relieve some tension.

  “Kate,” Jurdan said. “It’s the right thing to do. I’ll hold on as long as I can, but if there is even a remote chance of getting the stone and making sure Arkith can’t finish this new weapon of his, it’s worth any of our lives. All of our lives. We’re talking about the survival of the entire human race, here. One man or a handful of people is a small price to pay.”

  She directed a pleading look at the blond man, remembering his generally jovial attitude, his penchant for rambling on just to hear himself speak, the help and support he had given her. She didn’t want to make the decision.

  “We have to,” he said, his own tone pleading with her.

  Kate squeezed her eyes shut again.

  “Killing Arkith would fulfill the spirit of the mission more fully,” Koren said. “If we eliminate the possibility of them making something that could mean the end of all humans, I say that’s more important than the other two things.”

  Kate squeezed her hands together, mainly to keep from trying to squeeze Koren’s neck. And to bleed out energy she really wanted to use to scream.

  The original mission was to kill Thozrixith to prevent him from carrying out his plan, whatever that was. The captain knew the demon lord was going to implement an attack on a massive scale once he had something he was waiting for. At the time, they didn’t know he was waiting for magic that would defeat firestones.

  Now they did.

  Okay, so she could buy that the original intent was to keep Thozrixith from using what he was waiting for—the new magic—by killing him, thus preventing him from rallying all the troops.

  The Order needed to know that the demon lord had somehow known he was being followed. That, along with a few other occurrences that happened to put the demons in a much better position, pointed to traitors. But knowing about traitors would not help them in a massive battle, only to find and destroy the traitors when there was time.

  On the other hand, taking back Koren’s firestone before Arkith finished, or killing the mage, would prevent the demon army from overrunning Gateskeep. It would prevent invincible demons from slaughtering every human in sight. The Order didn’t have great magics, only ones that helped them to do what they did best, kill demons with weapons.

  “It’s your decision, of course,” Koren said. “Phrixus put you in charge. What will you have us do?”

  Kate choked back several unladylike curses. “We go find the damn stone and that bastard mage.”

  The legend of the Black simply nodded.

  30

  “I may be able to help guide us,” Koren Merklen said. “I can feel a slight tugging from my firestone. I noticed it when Arkith was performing tests on it both at the prison and in his own fortress. I didn’t recognize it at first, but if there was one thing I had, it was time. I finally realized that since the firestone was made with my blood and is linked to me, I can sense where it is if I focus on it.”

  “That is helpful,” Peiros said. “It is too bad we haven’t developed a link like that with the ones at Gateskeep.” He chuckled as he said it.

  Koren stared at him, straight-faced. Peiros met his gaze at first, but then looked away.

  “How do you think I always found my way out of Hell when I went on extended missions?”

  Peiros’s mouth dropped open. “You mean, you…”

  “Yep,” Koren said. “I had already figured out that I could sense the large firestones, though of course I didn’t know it worked with my own since I was always wearing it. Like I said before, it takes some time to get used to the feeling and to recognize it, but once you do, i
t’s a beacon, though a weak one. I’ve spent so many years at Gateskeep, I have a connection to it, whether to the firestones or just the place itself. I’m betting once we have finished with Arkith, I can help us get to the gate, too.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Kate said, though she didn’t sound entirely happy about it. “But first things first. Which way do we go to find your firestone?”

  “This way.” Koren started walking and the others went into motion as well, Peiros taking the lead with his friend and the others filing in behind them. Kate dropped back to keep Jurdan company and to observe how he was getting along.

  Twice during their journey they encountered demon patrols. Peiros sensed them—or rather, heard their thoughts—long before the demons found the humans. They were not specifically hunting Kate and her team, but the second patrol was aware of the orders from the demon lord to immediately report a group of humans in Hell. It was enough to confirm what Koren said. As if they needed that. He was Koren Merklen, a Black brother and a legend in his own time. His actions were unquestionable.

  The terrain changed again, to massive sheets of stone either lying flat or, in some cases, projecting upward from the ground. It was a hard, dense rock, something like granite in their own world.

  “We’re getting close now,” Koren said. “I remember seeing this type of rock when I was in Arkith’s fortress. For some reason, the feeling of the firestone isn’t any stronger than it has been, but it will still lead us to where we need to go.”

  Later that day, they crossed over a rise and looked upon a fortress that seemed carved from the solid rock of the hill it stood on.

  It was the strangest structure Kate had ever seen. Five tall spires spiraled out from a central, circular building, the ones nearer the center taller than the next outward tower. They were attached by what appeared to be a set of corridors, four times wide enough to allow a cart to pass through within them. She saw no doors in between the towers, only the solid stone walls of tunnels connecting them.

  One would have to pass through all the other tower buildings to get to the center. That would be very inefficient, she thought, but it would also be very difficult to assault.

  The walls surrounding the spiraling structure were not more than twenty feet high, though they were made of thick stone blocks ten feet thick. All in all, it was an impressive structure, one she hoped they didn’t have to infiltrate.

  “Is that the mage’s fortress?” she asked Koren.

  “No.” He was looking thoughtfully at the terrain in front of them. “The six spires…that architecture is reserved for demon lords only. If another demon tried to build a fortress with that design, they would be destroyed for their impertinence before the structure was finished. I think this might be Thozrixith’s fortress.”

  Kate’s eyes lit up. “So, we might find your firestone and the demon lord in the same place? How fortuitous.”

  “I don’t think so,” the grizzled survivor said. “I feel the stone tugging me from beyond those walls, in another direction. It just so happens that Thozrixith’s home is between us and where we are headed.”

  “It is still a stroke of luck. Without going out of our way, we can fulfill the original mission and kill the demon lord.”

  Koren cocked his head at her, then looked toward Peiros with an expression that seemed to say Is she being serious? Peiros shrugged.

  Kate frowned. “Koren, I know you think we should skip to getting your firestone or killing Arkith, but I am still not letting go of our original orders. I agree that it may be more important to kill the mage and end the threat of the demons’ new weapon, but if Thozrixith found one mage to work on his project, he can find another. It is important to remove that threat as well. Since we are here and have the opportunity, I’ll not let it pass by.”

  Koren chuckled. “I can see why Phrixus put you in charge. Very well, Kate. It’s your command and even if not, I still owe you for rescuing me, so I’m with you, whatever you decide. What would you have us do?”

  Kate’s heart fluttered. A living legend had just said that he was at her disposal, that he would follow her orders. How did she get to this place from where she began, a duke’s daughter who couldn’t even fit in with the normal Red soldiers?

  “Thank you,” she said. “We’ll infiltrate the fortress, find Thozrixith, and kill him. Then we can go find your firestone.”

  “Just like that?” Koren said.

  “Pretty much like that,” she agreed. “Peiros, have you seen any movement? You’ve been scanning the fortress since it came into view.”

  Peiros started slightly when she addressed him. He had been gazing intently at the walls and structures in front of him. “No. It seems abandoned, much like the prison.”

  “I thought as much. Thozrixith probably isn’t even here. We need to look, though, and hope.”

  They came down off the hill, trying to use some of the scattered rock formations as cover. Any one of the towers could hold watchers, and it only took one to sound an alarm. It wasn’t ideal, but it was what it was.

  Surprisingly, they made it to the walls without being attacked and without seeing any movement.

  “They may be waiting to spring a trap on us,” Benedict said, as if he’d read Kate’s mind. Always the optimist, that one.

  Jurdan stumbled as he stepped up to the rest of them. He looked like he would topple at any moment. Benedict put a hand out and steadied the other man.

  “Are you all right, Jurdan?” Benedict asked.

  “As if you care about anyone else,” Visimar spat. He had been getting progressively more irritated, for some reason.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Benedict said as he glared at his former best friend.

  “The only thing important to you is yourself. You’ve proven that beyond doubt.”

  Benedict gritted his teeth and hissed a breath. He started shaking slightly, as if he was locking his muscles to prevent his body from doing something his mind would regret.

  Then he launched himself at Visimar.

  Aurel reacted faster than anyone else. He caught the man in mid-stride, wrapping his massive arms around him and stopping his forward movement immediately. “Let it go, Ben,” he said casually, as if he weren’t restraining a full-grown man who had murder in his eyes.

  Visimar turned his back to the attacker and took three steps up to the wall. He started inspecting the stone, completely ignoring the struggling man behind him.

  “Benedict,” Kate said, “calm down. That’s an order.”

  He did so, going limp in Aurel’s arms. After a few seconds, the big man released him.

  “Still at it,” Koren said. “After all these years.” He shook his head.

  “You need to resolve this,” Kate said to Benedict. “Soon. You do it or I will.”

  Benedict’s eyes flashed, and it seemed for a moment that he would argue, but then his shoulders slumped and he nodded.

  “How are we to get in?” Kate asked. “Did anyone bring rope and grapnels? Does anyone have a skill at scaling walls such as this?”

  “I think we will not need either of those,” Peiros said from a few feet away. The section of wall next to him looked different than the stone around it. Kate couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was, though.

  Peiros reached out and put his fingers into a small crack in front of him, then pulled toward himself. A portion of the wall five feet wide and almost twice that tall swung out.

  “They left their sally port ajar,” the team’s spy said. “Careless of them.”

  “Either that, or they knew it would make a perfect invitation to a trap,” Koren said.

  “Or that,” Peiros agreed.

  Kate didn’t like it. It seemed too easy, too convenient. “Do you sense any demon thoughts, Peiros?”

  “No. I have sensed nothing at all in this place. It does not mean there are no demons here, however. It is a big place, and demons do not always talk.”

  “Any arguments again
st using the door we found?” Kate asked them. No one responded. “Very well, then. Let’s see what is within.”

  Peiros stepped through the door, ghosting ahead of them, always the consummate scout. Kate went next, glancing back to see Koren following her closely, Visimar, Aurel, Benedict, and finally Jurdan. The blond man was looking worse and worse, his skin becoming paler and the dark circles under his eyes increasing in size. Kate wished she could do something to help him, but for now, there was nothing except to try to make sure they got to Gateskeep as soon as possible.

  It took them half the day to go through the fortress. As it had appeared, the only way to get to the center of the spiral was to go through all the other towers. If there were secret doors that let someone bypass the arduous journey, they couldn’t find them.

  They encountered a few scattered demons, most of them less powerful even than the normal grunt demons they fought at the wall. They must have been some type of servant demon. In ones or twos, they were no match for the seasoned fighters. Peiros killed most of them as he scouted, long before the others arrived.

  So they weren’t ambushed on the way out, the group scaled every tower to the top, exploring to check for demons or items that might be useful. In these cases, Jurdan would stay at the bottom, usually with one or two others, to conserve his strength. Uselessly climbing six sets of spiraling stone stairs would not do him any good.

  When Kate, Peiros, Koren, and Aurel reached the top of the fifth tower, Koren’s eyes widened and he exclaimed, “I know this room.”

  “You know rooms like it, or this particular room?” Kate asked.

  “This room.” He moved quickly through the door to the room next to it, and then into the third. “I thought this was in Arkith’s tower, but it was here. I have been here. It was the start of my torture.”

  That sobered Kate’s excitement a bit, hearing the word torture. She followed his voice through the second room—some type of bed chamber—and into the third. Koren was standing over a table much like the one they found him strapped to.

  “I’m assuming that Arkith was granted rooms here in Thozrixith’s fortress to carry on some of his work. I got the sense that Arkith was the demon lord’s official mage or something. I think this proves it.”