Serpents Rising (Eve of Redemption Book 3)

by Joe Jackson

  There were two clear reactions from the syrinthians: once when Kari mentioned having killed one of them in her house, and another when she mentioned having killed Ressallk. The captives spared each other glances, but they seemed too terrified to give voice to their thoughts. Lord Allerius apparently caught the reactions as well, but he seemed just as puzzled as Kari as to what the reactions actually meant. Kari assumed the syrinthians were even more terrified now that they knew it was Kari who slew one of their princes. She imagined that they were making their peace with what was to come.

  “Good thinking,” Allerius said at last. “I understand you wish to talk with the prisoners before we do anything with them. My gut tells me to simply execute them and be done with it, but my heart tells me to let you handle this. After all, you are the one who was attacked in your own home. I am curious as to your thoughts on this, especially in light of your work in Barcon.”

  Kari glanced over the prisoners again. They looked similar to Turillia, but these were purebred syrinthians, and lacked the pale coloration or abundant sexual charm that the half-succubus had possessed. Their features were angular, they had wide, slit-pupiled eyes that were wild to behold, and their scales were tannish with a deeper green tint underneath. Like with Turillia, their scales were so fine that they appeared to have skin like a human, and from the corner of the eye or at a distance, Kari imagined they could pass for human. Their noses and the upturned, slotted nostrils helped to betray them, but when their gazes were tilted down, it was hard to tell them apart from a human at first glance. Most curious were their tails, which Turillia had lacked. The tails were fairly thick, and appeared almost like the body of a snake hanging down from their lower spines.

  Most of these before Kari appeared to be young, though Kari wasn’t sure how much a syrinthian showed its age. Had they been human, she’d have guessed they had seen less than twenty summers. They were lithe, and even the males lacked bulky musculature, but Kari understood that they must still be fine physical specimens to be passing the rugged portions of the demonhunter training. Kari assumed that like Turillia, the syrinthians depended more on agility and graceful movements than brute force when it came to physical challenges, and that they were likely very difficult to hit in sparring exercises.

  Kari sighed. “I think we need to meet with the Council before we make any decision regarding these,” she said with a gesture toward the prisoners. “A lot of information has come to my attention since I left for Barcon. For now, I’d say move them to the warded prison, all except for…that girl there.”

  Kari pointed out the youngest-looking syrinthian female, and the girl’s eyes went wider than normal as she was singled out. “You leave her alone!” one of the males beside her shouted.

  Typhonix stepped forward with his axe and let the head fall into the dirt before the male who’d spoken. “I’d keep my mouth shut if I were you,” he said with a scowl.

  “Ease off, hunter,” Lord Allerius commanded softly, and Typhonix nodded respectfully and retreated to his place. “I’m glad I waited to speak to you first, Lady Vanador. We will have the prisoners taken to the warded cells, but what shall we do with this other one?”

  “Take her up to the conference room and keep her apart from the others,” Kari said, though she didn’t look at Allerius as she spoke. She kept her eyes locked on those of the male who’d yelled at her, and she could see he was anxious about having the young girl split apart from her comrades. Once she was satisfied that the syrinthians found it alarming, Kari turned back to Allerius and finished, “I want to speak with her privately once we meet with the Council.” Lord Allerius nodded and gestured for Typhonix and some of the other hunters to lead the prisoners away to the warded cells.

  Kari approached the lone girl left kneeling before her and Lord Allerius. “Stand up, please,” Kari said. It was obvious by the girl’s reaction and those of the hunters around them that such politeness was unexpected. The girl got to her feet. She was tall and lanky, standing a bit taller than Kari, but with that typical litheness to her body. Her hips were barely wider than the rest of her, and Kari wondered at the skinny builds of the snake-folk. “What’s your name?”

  The girl lifted her eyes to meet Kari’s gaze, but she kept her face downturned in a display of submission. “Liria, ma’am,” she answered timidly. It was interesting that she still referred to Kari as ma’am despite the fact that her status as a cadet had been stripped away.

  “Your full name,” Kari clarified, and the girl’s expression betrayed her surprise.

  “Se’lucia Liria Alaristis,” the syrinthian girl amended.

  “And do you know who I am?” Kari asked.

  “You are Lady Karian Vanador, Sword of the Heavens, co-leader of the Demonhunter Order,” the girl said.

  What Kari found interesting was the lack of mention of Salvation’s Dawn. She hoped that meant the syrinthians’ presence was completely unrelated to the Temple of Archons or to the fact that Kari was Salvation’s Dawn – a part of the key to the ancient Temple. Kari waited until the others were led away, and it was obvious by the way a couple of the males kept looking back that they were genuinely concerned for their companion. Kari had to wonder if perhaps Liria was mated to one of the males, but she had not gotten to know this new class of cadets as well as she might normally have, so she wasn’t sure offhand. She supposed it wasn’t all that important at that moment. Once the others were well out of earshot, Kari turned back to the girl. Liria’s face and eyes were downturned now, and in her quiet but quickened breathing, Kari could tell the girl was terrified of being alone.

  Kari regarded Lord Allerius, who was waiting patiently for her next move, and she made the barest of nods toward the syrinthian girl. Kari turned back to the girl and said, “Se’sasha.”

  Liria’s eyes came up immediately, exactly the reaction Kari had hoped for. The other hunters and even Lord Allerius had no idea what the word meant or why Kari had said it, but there was no missing the shock it had evoked in the syrinthian girl. Kari gestured for a couple of hunters to do as instructed and escort Liria to the conference room. The girl glanced at Kari over her shoulder several times as she was led away, and Kari could see that though Liria was less terrified now, she was still nervous about being split apart from her comrades. It was good, and exactly what Kari wanted.

  “We have a lot to talk about,” Kari said to Lord Allerius after the girl was led away. “A lot has changed since I went to Barcon. But it’s best if I tell you and the Council all together.”

  “Cadet, go to the temple and give notice that we need to meet with the Council at their earliest convenience,” Allerius ordered one of the nearby recruits. He turned back to Kari. “We received word from Master Sanstrom in Barcon that you’d succeeded in your hunt, but he said there was a lot you would need to divulge personally. This attack in your home and the presence of all these syrinthians certainly points to a much bigger, darker plot than a simple serial killer.”

  “Plots,” Kari corrected. “And the thing is: I don’t even know if they’re all connected.”

  Allerius dismissed the other hunters and cadets with a glance and a nod, and he folded his hands behind his back and fidgeted a little while the others dispersed. It was unusual behavior for him, and Kari wondered what was on his mind. The Archmage started to leave as well, but Kari asked him to wait so she could ask him something. He directed his children to return to their tower, and waited on Kari. Once it was just Kari, Allerius, and Master Maelstrom in the central square, a smile creased Albrecht’s face. “Rumors have been gaining momentum that you’ve been promoted again,” he said.

  Kari glanced around and allowed herself a bit of a smile, and she shrugged sheepishly as she met her friend’s gaze again. “I didn’t want to say anything when we had a crisis on our hands,” she said. “You’re much better at leading this lot than I think I will be.”

  “Oh, hogwash,” he said with a playful, dismissive wave. “You have the respect of every hunt
er on this campus. They want to be led by you. It’s a role you’ll easily grow into because of that. And I know that you have it in you to lead the Order, that’s why I’ve tried to let you in on my decision-making as much as possible. I’m unlikely to be getting promoted again in this lifetime. Can I see your tags? I’ve not seen Hand of Zalkar tags since Jason Bosimar himself was rising through the ranks.”

  Kari drew out her tags and let Albrecht inspect them, but she considered his words while he did so. He wasn’t much older than Kari was, but he seemed resigned to never going out on the front lines to hunt again. It left Kari to wonder how many years she had left, considering her own thoughts just a short time before. It was a strange thing: she had lived across two different lifetimes, and she wasn’t entirely sure just how old she truly was. There were days when people told her she didn’t look a day over twenty-five, and indeed she felt it was so, but other times –such as today – when she felt like she was getting too old for the hunter’s life. She resolved to see this attempted rescue of Se’sasha through, should everything work out correctly, and then see how she felt after that.

  “Amazing,” Allerius said at length. “Congratulations, my friend; it is an honor well-deserved. So, who should we go speak with first?”

  “The Council,” Kari answered. “I need to fill you all in on some of what I've learned in Barcon, and then I'll go speak with Liria alone. But I want her to stew for a little while before I start questioning her. Capturing these syrinthians…Sekassus really exposed himself. I know he doesn’t care if these people live or die, but if they’ll talk…”

  Lord Allerius nodded. “Indeed,” he agreed. “It seems uncharacteristic of one who is called The Calculating, though; perhaps it is a trap within a trap.”

  “Maybe,” Kari said. “But from what I’ve learned in the last few weeks…he may not be as smart as he thinks he is. Head to the temple; I'll be there shortly, and then we can speak with the Council, and I’ll clear all this up.”

  Allerius nodded respectfully and made his way toward the campus' temple, and Kari turned and guided the Archmage away from the cadets training nearby. “I need to ask you to do something for me, but I need you to keep it quiet. Are you willing to do that for me?” she asked him once they were away from the others.

  Maelstrom chuckled lightly. “You will hardly be the first or the last head of the Order to ask me such a thing,” he said. “What is it I can do for you, Hand of Zalkar?”

  “Can you take me and a few others to the underworld if we decide to go?” she asked him evenly. She had laid her cards on the table: it was possible he would mention her request to the Council, but if that was the case, it would at least relieve her of the burden of trying to sneak around gathering information about going to her enemies' homeland. If he decided to trust her and do as she asked, then she might be able to take what companions she wanted and go without having to spend days or even weeks justifying her plan to her family and the Council. In the back of her mind, Kari suddenly realized just why Jason Bosimar, the former head of the Order, had left out so many details in his journals.

  Maelstrom thought to himself briefly. “No, I am afraid I cannot,” he said. “Despite the many years I have spent mastering the arcane, inter-dimensional travel has never been an area I have put much research into. However, as I still have ties with the High Council of Wizardry, I could put your request before Eliza Chinchala. Having lived on both worlds, she is quite adept at passing to and fro, and I believe she is well respected among both her peoples and ours.”

  Kari thought on that for a minute. Eliza was the daughter of King Celigus Chinchala, a demon king who had turned coat to serve the pantheon, and now lived on Citaria. If Eliza was able to go back and forth between Citaria and the underworld, and was respected by the people of both, then she might be the perfect “person” to recruit for such an undertaking. It left Kari to wonder how many others would become aware of her plans if she involved Eliza, but again, she was only trying to avoid argument by doing things in a somewhat-underhanded way. If her plans came to light, she would still insist on going through with them.

  “Would you pass along my request?” Kari asked, and Maelstrom nodded. “Please tell her this is to be kept extremely quiet, and if she comes here, she'll need to use…discretion.”

  “As you wish,” he said. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Lady Vanador?”

  “How's Sonja doing with her studies?” Kari asked curiously.

  The Archmage's expression became one between a smile and a grimace. “Sonja pushes herself too hard,” he said. “Mastery of the arcane takes decades in most cases. She is simply never satisfied with what she can do, instead becoming frustrated by what she cannot yet do. For instance, she is extremely advanced in the use of shields and protective abjurations, but that means little to her next to her shortcomings with invocations and transportation. It is one of the stranger facets of her personality. In any case, I will contact Eliza and see how she feels on this inquiry of yours. I am certain she will at least come and speak to you, whether her response is affirmative or negative.”

  “Thank you, Master Maelstrom,” Kari said. He nodded courteously and then began to leave the campus grounds, so Kari turned and made her way to the temple. She realized it was going to be tricky telling the Council and Lord Allerius what she'd found without tipping her hand to them. She tried to get her thoughts in order and decide how much to tell them while she made her way across the central courtyard.

  Along the way, she returned the respectful nods or salutes of the other hunters and cadets, all the while lost in thought about Jason Bosimar. She wondered just what it was he had been hiding all the time he served as head of the Order. In her mind, she juxtaposed Jason hiding what he was doing with her own reasons for masking her plans, and suddenly, it dawned on her.

  *****

  The Council of the Demonhunter Order consisted of nine human priests of Zalkar, most of whom had served in the military at some point in their careers. The majority of them were elders, though a few of them, such as Master Arinotte, were barely older than Kari. Kari was now the head of the Demonhunter Order, but was answerable to the Council, who interpreted Zalkar’s will directly and advised the Order’s head on how to carry out his wishes. With their more direct connection to Zalkar, Kari assumed they might better understand the implications of her previous mission and the tales of Elias Sorivar and Danilynn Stahlorrr. She stood before them in the presence of Lord Allerius, and waited for them to bring the meeting to order.

  Kari glanced from face to face while the priests spoke in quiet tones behind their long table. Each of the nine men fulfilled a specific function on the Council: three to oversee the Order’s hunting, three to oversee the Order’s logistics, and three to oversee the Order’s administration. The three priests in charge of hunting were the ones Kari was most familiar with, and they sat at the left end of the table. Master Arinotte, the youngest of the priests, was in charge of Specific-Target Missions, where only one or two hunters were needed to investigate an issue. Master Perez, a former brigadier, was in charge of Military Integrations and Tactics, which oversaw hunters required to advise and join military units involved in battles with groups of demons. Master van Holtzer was the one most familiar to Kari: he was in charge of training and education on the Order’s campus. Though he had a reputation as a stern, no-nonsense taskmaster, Kari knew that it was because he took the failures of his graduates quite personally.

  Sitting at the right end of the table was Master Zallinger, who was in charge of Ministry Logistics, making certain that the Order was sufficiently funded to pay its hunters and help support the families of those who fell. Kari wasn’t well-versed in economics, but she knew that with what hunters were paid for their dangerous work, it would quickly drain the coffers of the Order and the entire Temple of Zalkar to pay them solely from the donations of the people. That was where Master Franklin’s responsibilities lay: he was in charge of negotiating income from t
he various nobles across the kingdom and the world, to make certain that they helped fund the Order that kept them safe. The final priest in charge of logistics was Master MacDonald, who was the Order’s General Treasurer and oversaw pay and the sale of artifacts recovered in hunts.

  The final three head priests were in charge of administration. The most prominent of these was Master Bennet, who was second only to Master Attir Surallis, Zalkar’s high priest at the grand temple in Sarchelete. Master Bennet, sitting in the center, helped run the Order as head of the Council, and his specialty lay in granting promotions to deserving hunters. To his left sat Master Goldberg, who was in charge of maintaining the Order’s history and records, and thus helped Master Bennet in deciding who to promote. And to Master Bennet’s right sat Master Rousseau, who had the important task of interpreting Zalkar’s law and amending the Order’s rules and regulations accordingly.

  “So then, Lady Vanador, please tell us your findings from your hunt in Barcon,” Master Bennet said at last, bringing the meeting to order. The elder human had the hood of his light blue robe down, as did all the others, and the lines of his face creased as he smiled at Kari. “We understand your hunt was a success, and that Earl Southwick was enthusiastic in his praise for you. So what is it you needed to speak to us about?”

  Kari hesitated a moment, trying to get her thoughts in order before she simply started babbling at the Council. There was so much to tell them, so many implications and revelations that had come up as a result of what they’d thought was a cut-and-dry hunt. Had Turillia been just a serial killer like they'd thought, then Kari would have simply hunted and killed the half-succubus and that would have been the end. The presence of a shadow demon, the possession of a ruling noble, and the involvement of the mallasti known as Emma, though, had much more serious implications. And that didn’t even take into account all of the things Kari had discovered regarding Jason Bosimar and the events of his tenure. Kari wasn’t sure where to begin trying to explain it all.