The Court of Souls?_Volume 2_Agent of the Realm?

by Andur

  The older-looking guy from earlier who got handed all the responsibility decides to comment on my explanation. “To put it in other words... not even death frees us from our servitude to our king.”

  Another random crew-member turns away from his console. “But if you die in battle for the nation, you are guaranteed to get a new body with your memories as intact as possible. Though I don't really like the dying part and think that there should be a bonus included!”

  “Don't complain about our system! Be glad that Elona decided to reward you worthless bunch in case of death! If it had been up to me, I would only revive exceptionally loyal individuals! What are a few deaths for the crown? A good subject would come back on his or her own. You guys should feel ashamed that you need help at remembering your previous lives!”

  Marcus's speechless gaze travels from me, to my father and then to the other crew-members. “It's not a joke, is it?”

  “Sometimes I wish it was,” I sigh. “Anyway, should we go and get some answers from Moonray?”

  “Good idea!” My father teleports without further comment.

  I huff and open my senses to his aura in order to follow him. He must've dropped off Moonray somewhere safe before he returned to the bridge, so he can't be far.

  One moment before I teleport to follow my father, Marcus grabs my shoulder. ““Ah, ah, ah! Not again! You won't run off twice in a single day, leaving me behind! Or are you unable to take two people with you through the teleportation? The last time I had to follow you, I landed right in the middle of a battle.”

  “That couldn't be helped. And you should train teleportation if you land so far away from me. You were almost on the other end of the hall when you arrived,” I nag, but I get his reasons. Even back then when we had the pathways it was considered rude to simply teleport away while having a conversation with another person. I lean closer and hug his chest to include him in my spell matrix. “Or do you simply want more skinship with me?”

  He scoffs, “Do you want to say that you can't teleport another person without sticking close?”

  “You shouldn't have said that while I am still in spirit form!” Growling, I wrap my legs, wings and tail around him, sealing his movements completely. “That's what I call the 'teleportation-hug'!”

  Then I teleport the both of us.

  We don't land where I expected us to. I assumed that Shade must've taken Moonray to the citadel's interrogation facility. Instead, he took him to our private quarters in our capital city while I was having my little chit chat with Marcus.

  Excluding Moonray, there are several people in the large room. Almost the whole family! If it weren't for the serious expressions, I would have joked that we were having a big, happy family reunion. I wonder how Dad managed to assemble everyone so fast, but then again, all it probably took was a short mental call and they dropped whatever they were doing to join the event.

  “I think I wasn't introduced...” Marcus mumbles as the attention switches from Moonray to him.

  Okay, being wrapped around him like a slut may not be the best way to introduce Marcus to my old-fashioned grandparents. Though two of them might like that.

  I make a show of clearing my throat and pointing out people. First the woman with the flaming hair and the red, glowing eyes. She grins and reveals a set of pointy, sharp teeth when I gesture at her. “That's Grandma Tisha, empusa. Moonray sold her into slavery and destroyed her clan.”

  Then the huge, white man who is towering above her, his blue eyes are as cold as ice. “Grandpa Ishaan, ice titan and probably Moonray's worst enemy.”

  It goes on to the white haired beauty who has claws as fingernails and looks as if she is about to rip someone to pieces. “Great Grandma Doreen, fury. Betrayed by Moonray and almost one of his victims.”

  I already introduced Mom, so I decide to skip her and go on to the last two. “Grandma Chloe, succubus and Moonray's daughter, who got abandoned and almost killed by his machinations. And her husband, Shawn, ogre.”

  I untangle myself as decently as possible to present my boyfriend. Shoving Marcus, I nudge him a little further toward the assembly. “This is Marcus, my husband!” Not the perfect timing to introduce him, but I suppose there is no other choice now.

  Marcus insecurely raises a hand in greeting. “Nice to meet all of you.” Then he laughs. “I suppose that we will have to make a line and take turns with Moonray?”

  Ishaan moves his shoulders and tilts his head, crunching his joints. “I'll go last,otherwise you guys would only have a few shards of frozen flame to play with.”

  55. ~Queue up.~

  “Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies on to make its every move.”

  The Journey to the Afterlife

  Kingdom Newerth, Capital City

  Marcus

  They really went and did it! I intended it as a joke, but they really queued up to settle their issues with Moonray. The general rule was that everyone has half an hour. And I had to get in line too...

  At first I thought that I wouldn't have to trouble myself with doing my part. It didn't even seem likely that Moonray would survive until it's my turn. Hell, Doreen did her best to silence him permanently! But being a phoenix makes him a really tough bastard. He managed it halfway through Doreen's turn without saying a word. Then he started spilling his guts. Metaphorically and physically.

  When it was Tisha's turn, Moonray probably already had given us all the information he had. But the scary woman made a point of hurting him until the shredded skin on his body looked like a torn piece of bloody cloth.

  And then the others had their turn.

  According to Moonray, he and his men succeeded with their plan. They managed to arrive in Moonray's realm. That's when their plans went to hell. What Moonray remembered as a paradise was turned into a twisted version of Dedessia, barren and overrun by spirits. The natives of his realm lost their battle against the invaders at some point during Moonray's absence. He had no idea that all his carefully crafted plans were in vain.

  Moonray tried to open the gate again, but with just his men at his side he didn't have enough resources to succeed. In his desperation he tried to open an uncontrolled gate in order to escape, only to draw the spirit's attention. Moonray and his men were caught, overwhelmed, and brought in front of the person who they call the 'Great One'. Then they had to swear fealty to their new overlord.

  If he didn't manage to lie during several hours of interrogation, then even Moonray doesn't know who the One is. He only knows that the person in question paid irregular visits to the pyramid. Sometimes months went by without a word from their master. Then he would suddenly appear and give instructions to attack certain realms or to relocate the base.

  It was clear that the pyramid's crew was just there to provide a controlling element to the otherwise fully automatic pyramid. The huge artefact would automatically deploy spirits to every location where it detected a portal. In addition, the pyramid functioned as a base of operation for the One's trusted agents. They came and went through personal portals to update the pyramid on their progress.

  And while the agents always gave updates about their missions, the One never stayed for long enough for anyone to learn anything about him. He was always dressed in his dark cloak and a golden mask, always whispering as if even his voice is a big secret.

  “Go on! I can't wait to have my turn. Or are you too squeamish to take your revenge?” Ishaan grumbles from behind me, entirely too close. He is violating my comfort zone and his chilly aura causes the hairs on my neck to stand, but I don't dare to turn around and face him. There is no way that I'll start a fight with Seria's grandpa in front of the whole family.

  My eyes stay stuck on the naked, sobbing mess on the floor. Shade somehow managed to preserve Moonray's outrageous healing ability while blocking all his other powers. That results in the fact that his body looks completely fine, even though I know that he has been through hell and back. Somehow I feel pity fo
r him. I know. One could argue that he had a part in what happened to my people. Thousands are dead, no, more. The pyramid launched attacks all over the multiverse. There is no way to ever count the loss of life.

  Nonetheless, he didn't do anything to me or mine directly. He was just a part of the machine like so many others. Wouldn't it be petty of me to punish him any differently than the other prisoners? They are just sitting in their cells while Moonray is here. I know that he is a scumbag who definitely deserved what he got today. But while everyone else in this room has one or the other reason to hurt him, I have no personal feud with him. Just joining them for the sake of being part of the group would be wrong and not any different than what Moonray ended up doing.

  “He burned me with that fire of his. It hurt, you know?” Seria breaks the silence with her melodious voice.

  Before I know it, I've summoned an axe and hacked off Moonray's foot, severing it at the ankle. Then I shove it down his screaming throat, silencing his squeals as I use a summoned hammer to force the severed limb further down. Moonray stops struggling soon afterwards, dying because of the lack of blood and air. Soon afterwards his regeneration ability kicks in and he goes up in flames. It already happened several times while I watched the others at work. The flames don't actually burn anything, but they leave a completely healthy and regenerated Moonray behind.

  Only then I realize that I just threw all my moral considerations over board. And all it took was my wife mentioning that he hurt her, whatever the circumstance.

  Ishaan pats my shoulder with one of his huge hands. “Now you are a part of the clan. The method was crude, but the execution was fine, even if it took you a while to get going.”

  “Thanks, Sir?” Damn! Was this a test? Some kind of initiation ritual? And my words came out like a question. I step back from Moonray, making way for Ishaan. “He is all yours. My quarrel with him doesn't lie as deep as yours.” Holding my breath, I pray to all the gods that I found the right words for Ishaan. Somehow the fellow is even more intimidating than Shade.

  Shade can be pretty scary when he wants to. But there is a definite difference between him and his father. When Shade looks at you, you feel like a bug in front of his foot. When Ishaan looks at you, you can feel the malevolence he is harbouring. You simply know that you are unwelcome. It's like a finely tuned skill which he trained for years.

  Ishaan grabs the much weaker looking Moonray and lifts him like a doll, which doesn't mean that Moonray looks weak. He has an athletic built which is similar to mine, much like a swimmer. Ishaan on the other hand is one of those Norse guys who look like they started bench pressing their Moms at the age of nine. And he is huge.

  The ice titan tilts Moonray on his back and brings him down on his knee, which is accompanied by the resounding crack of a spine-bone. I look away, more for my own sake as for anything else. I don't want to see any more twisted joints today... and from the sound of it that's exactly what Ishaan is doing to Moonray right now.

  Seria hooks arms with me, smiling. “That wasn't so bad, was it? And we learned a lot. I am sure that my father will find the other pyramids. Their operation was large, but there have to be other similar installations.”

  I take her hand and intertwine my fingers with hers. “Yeah. How about hiding somewhere to...” I decide to leave the rest to her imagination. A little distraction would be very welcome right now.

  She grins, but instead of steering me towards the door, she makes a short stop at Elona's side, whispering, “Do you think it would be possible to search this for any DNA other than Dad's and mine?” Seria reaches into her pocket and gives a piece of black cloth to her mother. It's wrapped in plastic now, but I recognize it as the piece of material which Shade ripped out of the One's cloak.

  Elona takes the presented item and raises an eyebrow. “This is?”

  “It's a piece from the One's cloak. Dad ripped it off when he chased him. Depending on the result, we might have to decide on a different approach.” Seria looks at her mother, conveying something with her eyes which eludes me.

  “I understand.” Elona lets the piece of cloth disappear in her sleeve.

  Then Seria pulls me onwards towards the door and I decide to ask her about what is going on. “What was that about?”

  She smiles. “You'll probably learn sooner than you want to. Let's just savour the day before it's gone.”

  56. ~Search.~

  “A leader is one who knows the way, shows the way, and goes the way.”

  The Journey to the Afterlife

  Kingdom Newerth, Capital City

  Seria

  There are so many questions and so few answers. One could argue that our attack on the pyramid was a striking success. But by now I am not so sure any more. Our enemies simply abandoned their base without a fuss. It felt more like attacking some unimportant outpost. I browse through the reports about the battle and everything that happened afterwards.

  It’s been four days since we interrogated Moonray and welcomed Marcus into the family. I’ve been busy ever since, trying to get all my assets under control. On one hand I really had to take care of my coffee shop. On the other I had to reconnect with everyone. There is my own side of the family, but I also had to deepen the relationship with Adea, Clarity and Charles.

  To be honest, I don’t care about the latter two all that much. But they are my parents-in-law, so treating them as strangers won’t cut it.

  “Are there any news about the spirits?” Marcus asks from the sofa. We are currently relaxing in the living area of his palace, which isn’t all that strange. One could say that we are lodging in three places; my apartment, his rooms in his palace, and my rooms in my parent’s palace. I’ve a feeling that we really should try to get our own place at some point or the other.

  I summarize the situation. “Not really. The self destruct didn’t activate, but we already knew that from the citadel's second mission.” Frowning, I take a look at the next page. The area around the pyramid is still full of spirits, so our people only jumped there and returned immediately after a short peek at the situation. To our surprise, the pyramid was still there, lying dead in space.

  “The pyramid was largely left intact when we teleported from inside it. But we must have damaged something vital when we left. Or the self destruction wasn’t meant to destroy the pyramid as a whole. We are left with a dead wreck which is floating in an otherwise empty dimension. The spirits have dispersed since the pyramid was taken offline, so the citadel will do some more investigation once the area is safe.”

  “I wondered about that. Everything seemed too easy. Did the pyramid’s crew never have any training? I admit that they put up a fight, but in the end we waltzed over them. If it wasn’t for Moonray, there wouldn’t have been a real fight at all.” Marcus shifts on his seat and scratches his chin in thought. “The whole situation feels off.”

  Or you are simply underestimating the training of our troops. The spirits are a mad bunch of barbarians, while our people have the memories of several lifetimes of battles.

  I nod. “I’ve given it some thought and I came to the conclusion that it was inevitable. We aren’t fighting an enemy who is using an army in the real sense of the word. At some point we compared the spirits to drones and maybe we were closer to the truth than we thought.”

  Marcus looks at me, tilting his head. “But they definitely aren’t drones.”

  Spreading my hands, I admit that he is right. “That’s true, but does it matter? The one who is using them, is deploying them as if they were drones. They must have been doing so for quite a while and I think that they’ve gotten set in their ways. They are always using the spirits to soften-up their enemies. Once a realm’s military power is broken, they come with their army and mop up the rest. Afterwards they install their own regime. I really would like to visit a realm which is already defeated. I bet that they don’t prove much of a threat.”

  Marcus purses his lips. “So you believe that Moonray’s description
of his defeated realm can be applied to all the other realms which lost to the spirits. Their modus operandi is to wipe out every authority and to leave only a small part of the population alive. If that’s true, then that says something about their actual military power.”

  So he caught on. “Yes. I am just trying to understand how one would go about conquering a whole multiverse. The amount of needed troops would be enormous, but our enemies aren’t acting as if they have that many troops. They rely on spies, trickery and hiding in the shadows. Why would they have to keep their bases a secret? They actually go through a lot of trouble to hide all hints at their existence. I think that they don’t have that much military power, aside from controlling the spirits.”

  Marcus winces. “Which is more than enough.”

  I raise a finger at him. “Yes and no. If my deductions are correct, then they have a major weakness. Actually we’ve already proven my suspicions in a way, since our opponents simply gave up the pyramid. Hell, they are even forcing people from conquered realms to fight for them. It only shows that they are grabbing more land than they can control. It’s pretty clear to me that they haven’t many troops aside from the spirits. Oh, I am sure that they have a few seats of power with a lot of troops here and there, but we’ve to see that in relation to the whole multiverse. They surely have to fight uprisings everywhere.”

  He leans back and broods over my opinion. After a few moments he nods. “So you are saying that we need a way to locate the control bases for the spirits. Then we launch strategic strikes until their whole empire tears itself apart, assuming that there must be a limit to their control. It sounds too good to be true. The biggest problem will be to locate their bases. We’ve struck at them once and that was because the secret of their existence leaked out. I am not so sure that they will allow us to repeat such a feat. Even if we get our hands on a plan with all their bases, all they need to do is to move them.”