by Joe Jackson
Kari didn’t wait for a response, which was just as well, since none came. At last she made her way to stand before the Overking. She was surprised at the speed and fluidity of motion as Koursturaux sprang to her feet and barred Kari’s path with that beautiful greatsword. The Crimson Huntress’ face was a mask of barely restrained fury Kari could well understand.
“You will approach no closer,” Koursturaux managed through her teeth.
“I believe this belongs to you,” Kari said, reaching to pull one of Taesenus’ swords out. Her blood nearly froze at the reaction. All fifteen subordinate kings were on their feet in the blink of an eye, hands on hilts of weapons or else prepared to unleash their power. Kari moved very slowly, and turned the sword around in her grip to offer it hilt-first to Koursturaux. The demon king yanked it from Kari’s hand, only the paluric gauntlets keeping the demonhunter’s fingers attached.
“What a waste. Did I not warn you against just such foolishness?” Koursturaux’ voice boomed through the chamber. The other kings all sat again. Only then did Kari become aware of the press of onlookers above, desperate to get a glimpse of something they would likely never see again. “It would seem, my king, that we must prepare to find another Salvation’s Dawn.”
“So it would seem,” the Overking sighed.
“Too bad there isn’t one,” Kari countered. “Nor will there be. It’s not something that gets passed down or around; it’s something I volunteered to carry – when I was dead. Seems you’re stuck with me for the time being. So, let me get to the reason I’m here.”
Kari met the Overking’s piercing gaze as best she could. It wasn’t easy, and she found her will being sapped just staring at him. That had to be a large part of what allowed him to control his vassals; there wasn’t anything overly majestic about him, aside from the preternatural allure, the same kind Koursturaux had. But there was something there that commanded respect and obedience, something Kari was having to fight with every ounce of her being.
“I’ve come to deliver a message, and a warning.”
“Kari,” Celigus called from behind her. “Don’t do this.”
Koursturaux flashed an angry glare at her kast’wa, but said nothing.
That’s going to be a cold relationship for a while, Kari thought.
“The warning you’ve heard before, I think,” the demonhunter said, ignoring him. “It’s the same one Turik Jalar offered when he did this very thing, unless the tales have been greatly exaggerated: Stay away from Citaria. Keep your people and your servants off my world.”
“And what, pray tell, is the message?” the Overking asked, the slightest twinge at the corner of his mouth hinting that he was amused more than irritated by Kari’s performance.
Kari set her pack down on the table slowly, wary of drawing the kings to the defense of the Overking or getting slammed with Koursturaux’ sword should she make a sudden move. She flipped open the top, loosened the drawstring, and then pulled Arku’s head out of the bag by his long, ebon hair. She rose to her feet and held it up before the Overking, and savored every second of unmasked shock on his features.
“The same message I just delivered to Sekassus,” Kari spat. “Come to my world and hurt my people, I’m going to keep delivering heads to you until I finally take yours.”
She dropped the head on the Overking’s dinner plate for emphasis. Koursturaux drew her sword back for a strike, but the Overking stopped her with a short gesture. Instead, he rose to his feet, brushed the debris from his plate off of his robe, and began to pace around the table.
“Do you see now the results of foolishness?” he asked. “All of you were instructed quite clearly that we have designs for this woman and her world, and that any excursions thereupon must be subtle. Arku violated that – several times – and has thus paid the price. We will tell all of you now, in her very presence, that you are not to have any dealings with this woman. Do not entice her to make deals with you, do not attack her home or her people, and do not make any attempts on her life. Do not invite her here, and do not bring her here.”
“Our plans for the other worlds do not involve the schemes of any of you, which is why you remain here, and are not sent to command our legions upon Irrathmor. Be patient, as we have ever told you; the time is coming when there will be several other worlds for us to divide amongst ourselves as we wish. The first of those worlds was to be Irrathmor, but Lady Vanador’s foolishness must be answered, must it not?”
The Overking rounded the end of the table, and ran his hand along the top of Arku’s empty chair as he passed by it. “Now, Lady Vanador, you have drawn our attention. You have fattened up on successes against the likes of Arku and Sekassus’ princes. Now, you are ripe for the slaughter. Let us see how you fare when under direct scrutiny from us.”
“Think twice about it,” Kari said.
“Twice?” the Overking echoed as he passed behind Koursturaux. “We have thought this through thousands of times, little speck. We crafted this plan before your world was created, and we will continue to see it through long after you are barely a memory. When we wrest open the doors of that temple and claim our divine right, you will be there to witness it, knowing that it was you that made it possible: The demise of your people and your world as you know it. And all for what? The short-lived amusement of walking upon our dinner table and mocking us?”
“You think I’m amused?” Kari asked. She snorted. “I suspect you wouldn’t understand what I’ve been through in the last four years. I’m far from amused. What I am… is fed up. Fed up with fending off the attacks of these morons you call vassals. Arku crossed a line I couldn’t let him get away with crossing, and that’s the result right there. I’m not here to gloat or mock you, Your Majesty. I came here to deliver a warning, like I said. I don’t want to fight, but I will, to my dying breath.”
“Which will come sooner than you expect,” Sekassus hissed.
“Not at your hands, wretched kaeshmor,” Kari muttered.
“That does it!” Sekassus yelled, throwing his chair out behind him as he got to his feet and pulled his sword forth.
Kari didn’t miss the collective gasps and groans, even some of the demon kings looking a bit mortified. She decided that was a word she’d best brush out of her vocabulary if it was bad enough to offend demon kings.
“Leave the floor,” the Overking ordered as he took his seat. Kari realized he was talking to Sekassus, not her, but her attention was drawn past the Overking at the sound of a timid voice.
“Let him stay for the moment, Your Majesty.”
The titanic, bestial form of Baal rose in an instant, and he shouted in infernal, “What is this? A slave on the meeting hall floor unbidden! And after she was told not to attend this meeting at all. Allow me the honor of disemboweling her for you, Majesty.”
Suddenly, Kari wasn’t the center of attention. All eyes were upon Emma as the meek mallasti girl strode to stand beside her master’s throne. The Overking turned his gaze upon her, showing her the same intrigue as he’d shown Kari, but with a merciless twinge behind it.
“Emmalikas, explain yourself while you have the opportunity,” the Overking ordered.
Emma turned her head to meet his stare. It was something he obviously didn’t expect or appreciate, but before he could so much as utter another word, she reached up and took hold of the collar about her neck. There were epithets from all corners of the table and the overlook above as the mallasti girl unclasped the slave collar and dropped it on the table before the Overking. Kari expected Emma to make some taunt or explanation, but she walked away from her master without a word.
The mallasti girl strode down the side of the table until she reached the seat of King Emanitar. He stood up and faced her, and then he smiled the same way he had when Kari restored his faith. “Is it time, then, my daughter?” he asked.
“It is time, Father. You have earned your rest. Go now to it, and leave your cares in my hands,” Emma returned. Emanitar bowed his head,
and Emma held up one clawed hand over his forehead. There was a surge of power, and Kari saw that same haunting purple aura she recalled from the graveyard in Barcon – the one that allowed Emma to raise an entire cemetery’s worth of corpses all at once.
Emanitar opened the front of his robe and looked down at his side. Even from her place near the Overking, Kari could see the unhealed wound in his side, which began to drip blood until there was a steady stream running down his leg. “It never healed,” he said. “I had always suspected it was you…”
“Hush now, Father; go to your rest,” Emma cooed.
Kari’s jaw dropped open as she saw the mallasti king disintegrate before her eyes, his ash forming into a vortex around Emma. The mallasti girl then absorbed him in some fashion before she waved her hand down her body. Her tattered, blood-stained traveling robe was replaced by the brilliant one in red, white, and black that she wore in the Overking’s presence. Without so much as a word or glance at any of the others, she took Emanitar’s seat.
Silent incredulity still claimed the majority of the table and the entirety of the gallery above, but the Overking seemed less shocked than amazed. “Masterfully played, Emmalikas,” he said without a trace of anger or shock in his voice. “Emmalikas Te’Mordrin, King of Tess’Vorg.”
Emma bowed her head to the Overking, but then she turned a cold gaze upon Sekassus. “As for you, murderer, you will find my efforts far more difficult to resist than my father’s.”
Kari ignored Sekassus’ reaction, and instead turned and stared hard at Morduri. He was the most surprised of any king sitting at the table.
When Kari turned back to Emma, the mallasti king narrowed her eyes. “Lady Vanador, if you would vacate the floor, it is impolite for guests to stand upon the table during supper.”
“Indeed. We have much to discuss,” the Overking said, knocking Kari from the table with a gesture. She got to her feet hastily and slipped out from between the thrones of Abaddon and Koursturaux, both of whom now regarded her like a dog. The Overking lifted up Emma’s slave collar and waved it in Kari’s direction casually. “See yourself out before we see fit to put this on you, little speck.”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” Kari said, feeling quite out of place now. “May I take Arku’s head with me?”
The Overking blinked slowly and wrinkled his nose. “Please do.”
Kari approached slowly, making no sudden moves as she started for Arku’s head, wary of any coming retribution from the Overking. Instead, she found herself caught in Koursturaux’ grip. The Crimson Huntress squeezed Kari’s throat even through the paluric armor and lifted her clear off the floor, just as she had in Mas’tolinor. “Do not think this turn of events has excused your behavior,” the demoness hissed. “You have called down the very wrath of the master, and it will be delivered unto you, make no mistake.”
“Let her go, Koursturaux,” the Overking commanded offhandedly. “We have important things to discuss, and she is of little enough concern.”
Kari was released, and she took Arku’s head without so much as giving Koursturaux a dirty look. She bowed to the Overking – not even mockingly – and he turned a surprised gaze her way before she made to leave the chamber. She knew of the glyphed dais at the rear of the chamber and, as expected, upon setting foot on it, she found herself up on the entry level.
The retainers, scribes, and attendants moved out of Kari’s way, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Even her friends had no response to what they’d witnessed, and she led them outside.
“Now, Sonja, you’d best get us home,” Kari said. “It’s time to go prepare for war.”
Chapter XVIII – Sign of the Times
Sonja brought them straight to the campus of the Demonhunter Order. As soon as Kari got her wits about her, she sent out the mental call for the Order’s council to convene. The afternoon classes halted and took stock of the arrivals, but Kari’s presence swept aside any concern on their part. It wasn’t until Darius Red Eagle approached that anyone made any move to welcome the returnees home, as if they were afraid they might have failed.
“Lady Vanador,” Red Eagle said with a salute. “Thank the gods, I see you succeeded. Welcome home, Erijinkor, and all of you.”
“Thank you,” Kari said. “Darius, I need you to take care of two things: Gather all the headmasters in the assembly chamber, and then have the entire Order gathered on the central square by the time our meeting is finished.”
“The entire Order?” he echoed.
“The entire Order,” she repeated. “Get to it. We don’t have a moment to lose. The rest of you, head up to the temple. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Yes ma’am,” Eli said, and the others chuckled as they did as she told them.
“Do you need my assistance, ma’am?” Liria asked, but Kari shook her head and gestured for the girl to follow the others.
“I need three cadets to run errands for me,” Kari told the class practicing on the square. She had twenty volunteers in the first second. She selected three, and pointed to each as she gave them their orders. “I need you go to go fetch Kyrie Kyleah, and ask her to bring the other high priests of the temples here to the square. You, head to the home of Eli Sorivar – it’s the one next to the temple district orphanage – and gather the rest of my family and friends here as soon as possible. And you, find out if Karinda Bakhor is still in the city. Whether she is or not, have Archmage Gareth Maelstrom and any of the other archmages still present meet us here on the square. Get to it, gentlemen, we’re pressed for time.”
She was answered by three yes, ma’ams as they ran off to do as instructed. Kari stared at the rest of the recruits, who watched for any sign of what emergency she was preparing for. “I’ll be speaking to all of you soon enough, and I’ll explain everything,” she told them. “Trouble is on the way, though, so gird yourselves and redouble your efforts. This Order needs you now more than ever, and in the end, we will stand or fall on the efforts of men and women like you, not just the ranking officers like myself.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the cadets returned in unison, saluting her, and she turned away to let them get back to their training for the time being.
“Actually, I need one more message runner,” Kari said, gesturing one of them forward. “Go to the citadel and bring Sergeant Tormaar back here at once.”
The cadet saluted and ran off, and Kari finally made her way to the temple. She stopped in the chapel on the way through. She had a direct connection to her deity, but she felt somehow a little closer to him standing here in his temple. She approached and laid her hands on the altar, but kept her gaze up on his balanced forces symbol etched into the wall. It began to glow and pulse in her presence, and Kari had to bite down a laugh when the acolytes rushed to the altar to see what had happened.
“Lady Vanador!” one of them gasped. “Welcome home, Grand Commander.”
“Thank you,” Kari said with a smile. She took a deep breath and blew out a sigh. “This always feels like a home away from home for me. Thank you for caring for our lord’s temple.”
The acolytes were clearly tickled by her praise, but they answered with wordless bows and smiles. Kari took another breath, steeled herself, and then passed through into the assembly chamber at the back. A few of the headmasters rushed in behind her, saluting and greeting her hastily as they moved to attention at the front. The council was already gathered, and Kari saw Kris, Erik, Corbanis, Liria, and the elestram woman Tarra on the floor before them. Her other in-laws present were seated in the first row of the gallery, and Kari glanced only briefly over her shoulder before she took the floor as well.
“Kari, could I speak with you for a minute?” Erik said quietly. Kari strode over to him and gestured for him to speak freely, but he brought her to the corner of the open floor. “Kari, Tarra and I… we’re involved.”
“In what?” she asked. Erik blinked and squared his jaw, which was always more obvious with that strong chin. “Wait, you mean you’re involved involve
d?”
“Um, yeah.”
Kari’s jaw dropped open, and it was only by sheer willpower that she didn’t let out a loud squee of delight. “Erik, that’s wonderful!” she said, hugging him, and by the way it took him a moment to return the embrace, she figured he was surprised at her reaction. “I do have to ask, though: How well do you know her? I know what your heart says, but what does your gut say?”
“Well, she did save my life. I suppose that could have all been a ruse, but she’s also a member of the Ashen Fangs, and she seemed pretty intent on humiliating Arku. It is strange that she doesn’t seem to be a fighter at all, but she has the mark of the Ashen Fangs. I don’t know. My heart and my gut agree on this woman, Kari. I don’t know where this will lead, but I have to be honest: I’m interested in finding out.”
Kari patted the side of his face. “We can grant her asylum. The duke was deposed while you were gone, so I’m hoping I have more sway with whoever replaces him.”
“The duke…? Gods, Kari, how long was I held prisoner?”
“A few weeks or so.”
“Sounds like longer than that… like a lot has changed. But we can talk about it after this meeting. I just wanted to make sure you know Tarra and I are involved, and that we’ve… well, that I had sex with an elestram, Kari.”
“So have I,” she returned with a shrug, and she tried not to laugh at his arched brows and slack jaw. “Another long story, one better told in front of a fire with a glass of something in hand. Have you talked to Eli about…?”
“He already invited her to stay in his home,” Erik confirmed. “Sounds like his place is going to be crowded. Are they rebuilding your house?”
“It’s already well underway,” she said with a nod, but then she glanced over her shoulder at all of the people waiting on them. “More discussions for later. Come; let’s share what’s happened with everyone else.”
“This should be interesting…”
