by Томас Рейд
Only Tauran never looked up to meet her stare.
It did not take long for the councilors to come to a consensus. They reappeared and instructed the guards to bring the defendants before them once more.
The acting High Councilor addressed the group. "Through these hearings, it has become apparent to this court that you stand before us not as conspirators, nor as allies. You simply acted in accordance with your own beliefs and did what you thought at the time to be right. Some of your choices seem questionable in hindsight. Some might have turned out better had others listened to you more closely. Your hearts may have been in the right place, but you failed to uphold the laws of the Court and the House, and sentence must, by law, be meted out."
Aliisza closed her eyes. They're really going to go through with it, she thought. Even after all that's happened, they can't get out of their own way enough to see the folly. Damn them!
The High Councilor continued. "It is therefore the decision of this body that each of you be sentenced, according to your role in this fiasco, as follows:
"Eirwyn, in accordance with your previous pardon, you are free to pursue your personal agendas and keep your own
counsel, provided you make no further effort to aid and abet any of your co-defendants."
Aliisza looked at the angel and saw her shaking her head, frowning.
"Kael, you will be remanded into the care and custody of a suitable representative of Torm, where you will continue your studies under a new tutor."
Kael flinched and closed his eyes, and Aliisza's heart broke for him.
"Pharaun Mizzrym, you occupy a body given to you by those who had no right to offer it. Furthermore, as has already been discussed with you, we have determined that the Vessel into which you entered was imperfectly formed and is deteriorating. You cannot survive in such a fashion for long, and based on your life's achievements, we do not see fit to grant you succor here. Therefore, this court sees no alternative but to banish you from this Vessel and send you back from where you came."
Aliisza saw Pharaun grimace the slightest bit, but that smug smile soon replaced it. "I think we can all agree that I should have seen that coming," he said. His voice was unusually soft.
Damn you all, she thought. There's more compassion in him than in the lot of you put together.
"Aliisza," the High Councilor continued.
The alu swallowed hard and braced herself. Do it, she thought, directing all her anger at the speaker. I don't care anymore. May you all rot in the Abyss!
"Your time spent with us in the Court has proven to be… chaotic. While we cannot in good conscience find fault in your actions these last days" — How noble of you, the alu
thought, feeling no pride in such a revelation—"we also cannot comfortably justify permitting you to remain within the Court or the House. Therefore, we are banishing you from this plane forevermore. You will be returned to your homeland immediately."
Aliisza felt numb. She supposed it was the best that she could have expected, but they had still punished her more cruelly than imprisoning her forever could have. Her friends, her family, had been stripped away from her. Forever. And she had nothing to return to. She felt like a vagabond.
Finally, the acting High Councilor turned to Tauran. "Your exemplary record is long and storied," she said. "And your heart, as it has been revealed to us, is true. Your actions were indeed those of one who believed he was working in the best interests of the Court, and of the House. However, your judgment is now what is under question. You deliberately chose to disobey this council on several occasions, you attacked your fellow devas in order to thwart them in their own duties, and you have repeatedly called into question the Tightness and righteousness of Tyr and his decisions. Most importantly, you seem unrepentant. Do you deny this?"
Tauran drew a deep breath before answering. "I do not," he said, his voice clear. "I stand by my judgment."
Aliisza could see, though, that the accused angel's hands shook. She clenched her own into fists to keep them from doing the same.
The High Councilor frowned. "I see. You leave us no choice, then."
What? Aliisza thought. There might have been a choice? Tauran, repent! she silently screamed at him. Beg Tyr's forgiveness! He will embrace you again!
But the alu knew what was in Tauran's heart.
The High Councilor continued. "I therefore sentence you to be stripped of your divinity and your immortality forever. You are banned from the House of the Triad."
Tauran bowed his head and said nothing.
The only sound filling the chamber was Aliisza's sobbing.
Chapter Fourteen
Vhok's foul mood soured any enjoyment he might have gotten out of inspecting his troops. The demons that stood before him, shuffling about in uneven lines, with their mismatched weapons and undisciplined demeanors, only infuriated him more. They stank, scuffled, and didn't seem to care one whit that they were supposed to be standing at attention.
"These wretches aren't fit to slop latrines," he snapped at Vhissilka, who slithered along beside the cambion.
"I'll be certain to inform Lord Axithar you said so," the marilith replied.
Vhok grimaced but said nothing further as he continued down the line. Finding out that morning that he would answer to Vhissilka during the coming battle had not improved his mood.
All the women in my life have brought me nothing but misery, he fumed. Mariliths in particular find such creative ways to spoil my fun. But it was Aliisza's face that would not leave his mind's eye.
He had retired to his opulent quarters as Lord Axithar's guest the night before, eager to partake of the luxuries the balor had provided him. The feast was delectable enough, more food than he could have eaten in ten meals, and enough wine to pickle a dragon. In truth, it wasn't the best Vhok had ever enjoyed, but he could hardly complain after the trail fare he had dined on for far too long previously.
Then musicians, entertainers, even willing concubines had come to his chambers, all desperately eager to please him. Vhok tried to ignore the haunted looks in most of their eyes as he partook of the sights and sounds.
But in the end, it had been Aliisza that had dominated his thoughts. The harder he tried to dismiss her from his mind, the more she lingered there, taunting him. She would never leave him be.
I should have killed you when I had the chance, he thought. But you'll be dead soon enough. If magic doesn't kill you, an enemy will. Now get out of my head!
"Your heart doesn't seem to be in this," Vhissilka said. "Perhaps I should request a different captain for my banner guard."
Vhok forced himself to return to the moment. "Staring at them for hours won't make them better soldiers," he grumbled. "I have no more use for this."
"I agree," the marilith said. "Instead, let's return to Lord Axithar's keep. I have a surprise for you there."
Vhok gave the demon a sidelong glance. Any time a demon speaks of surprises, it's usually unpleasant. What is she conspiring to do to me? But she had already turned away and was gliding toward the towering fortress. Shrugging, the cambion followed her.
Once inside the massive keep, Vhissilka led Vhok to a large courtyard with a parapet that overlooked the assembled hordes under Axithar's command. The gathering of demons stretched as far as the smoke drifting across the broken plain would allow him to see. It was an impressive army.
We'll need every bit of it to overthrow the angels.
Vhissilka drew Vhok's attention toward a small side area. A swarm of demons moved around something large, but the cambion could not get a clear look at it. Then, as they drew closer, a great, howling cry rose up and some of the demons scattered.
Enclosed within a stout iron cage, slamming against his prison in a rage, stood the abomination that had once been Micus and Myshik. He issued a piercing scream and lunged at one end of his prison, trying catch a dretch that had drawn too close. The abomination caught hold of the demon's arm and ripped it completely off the hapless
creature's body.
The dretch jabbered in pain and staggered away, spouting black blood everywhere. Two other demons pounced and rended it, feasting on its flesh. Others swarmed over it too, until Vhok could no longer even see the carcass.
"You!" Micus screamed upon spotting the cambion. "Traitor!" He threw his misshapen body against the bars of his prison frantically, over and over again, trying to get at Vhok.
The half-fiend stepped closer to get a good look at the captured thing. Time, torment, or both had warped Micus further. He no longer bore any resemblance to an angel. If Vhok had not seen Micus before his transformation, he would not have guessed at his celestial origin.
Micus's skin had turned a mottled purple color and had begun to fleck off in places, leaving gaping wounds that
festered a yellowish green color. His face bulged in odd places, and his eyes, once such an intense black color, gleamed red in the shadows of the cage. His dark hair had grown long and unruly and dripped with sweat as he thrashed around inside his cage.
At the level of his gut, Myshik's beady gaze still fixated on him, with its maw opening and snapping shut eagerly over and over again. Vhok saw no sign of anything greater than animal instinct in that stare. For a moment, he imagined what it must have been like for the angel to discover he had been fused with the half-dragon. He suppressed a shudder.
"We caught him shortly after you and your companions became my guests," Vhissilka said. "He has gone mad with rage. He shouts your name from time to time, even though this is the first moment he's set eyes on you since we seized him."
"He blames us — me, in particular — for his condition. He thinks I led him into a trap just so he could be transformed into such a thing."
"His mind is nearly gone," the marilith said. "We have made much sport with him and broken whatever celestial part of him might have remained. Now he only wants to kill."
Vhok had a sudden, titillating thought. "It is unfortunate that he appears so uncontrollable. What a nice, ironic surprise it would be to spring him on our foes today."
"That's precisely why I brought you here," Vhissilka said. "You knew him before. Could he lead us to where the angels' defenses will be weakest today?"
Oh, you clever girl, Vhok thought. "If his memory of the place is intact," he said. "But the question of control remains. How could we possibly force him to attack the celestials instead of our own troops?"
Vhissilka smiled. "If you look closely, you will see that the creature now bears a steel collar."
Vhok tilted his head down and spied the circlet of metal surrounding Micus's throat.
"This," the marilith said, holding up a bracelet that matched the collar, "is the means to dominate the creature before you. However," she added with caution, "once I place it on your arm, you cannot remove it save severing the limb, unless the abomination dies."
Vhok took the bracelet from Vhissilka and examined it. It was a simple length of metal that appeared to have been crudely hammered into a rounded shape. The ends did not quite meet, providing just enough room for someone to slip the item over a hand. He held it up to the angry red light of the sky and considered.
"Are you offering this to me?" he asked. "A secret weapon in addition to leading your honor guard?"
The marilith smirked. "It is Lord Axithar's wish that you command the creature. He thought it fitting, given how much the creature hates you and how the very heavens from which he came will find him anathema."
Vhok chuckled. He already had another idea, an even better way to make use of Micus. "I accept," he said, and he slipped the bracelet over his arm.
The band of metal closed, tightening itself and reforming its shape until it gripped the cambion's wrist snugly. When it stopped altering, it was tight but not uncomfortable.
Vhok could feel the link between himself and Micus that had formed. He felt the hostility from the ruined angel, the rage and despair battering against his mind, but the link held the forces at bay. The cambion sent a mental command to
Micus to quiet down and, even though he felt the resentment, the abomination stopped outwardly raging, standing still and easy within the confines of his cage.
"Oh, this will serve nicely," Vhok said, delighted. "I can think of many things to do with him."
"Your orders are to command him to lead us to the Houses weakest points. He will know how they will attempt to defend against us. You will force him to thwart that defense."
Vhok bowed at the marilith and said, "As you command." Silently, he added, he's going to do more than that for me. I have a Lifespring to visit.
Kael watched from the edge of the common as groups of soldiers assembled. Angels and archons, warriors all, gathered and milled upon the green, waiting. Kael waited with them, and he could sense the anticipation emanating from them. From time to time, he cast a glance up, toward the top of the mountain, to the highest tier of the fortress-city of Trueheart. There, beyond ring after ring of stout defensive walls constructed of huge stone blocks that ascended the sides of the mountain, stood the palace of Torm.
The knight's heart was glad to be there. He felt an old kinship with the fortress-city and its inhabitants that he had never quite mustered for the Court of Tyr.
I am a warrior, a servant of Torm. This is where I belong.
Chapter Fifteen
Are you sure?" Garin asked, offering a sincere yet hopeful smile. "We could really use you with us." Nilsa, whose haunted expression bespoke her struggle to come to grips with Tyr's abdication, added, "It's going to get rough today."
Eirwyn nodded and offered her own apologetic smile. "Yes," she said. "Though I know the importance of getting every possible soldier on the battlefield, I sense that I am needed elsewhere."
As if to reinforce the grimness of the moment, a band of high clouds drifted across the sun, bringing a hint of gloom. They stood on a small, high plaza, near the very top of the tallest buildings of the Court, where the breezes were fresher and unimpeded. The wind ruffled the angel's hair and carried the barest hint of an odor of smoke upon it.
Most of the angels of the Court and Trueheart had already headed toward the front, preparing for the impending onslaught of demons headed toward the House. The great hall of Tyr stood nearly empty below the trio.
"What have we come to?" Garin said softly. "The end of an age? Is this how even the gods pass?"
"Don't say that," Nilsa admonished, her sorrowful look deepening. "Tyr has chosen to walk among his people as a warrior once more. When this unpleasant business is finished, and he has cleared his head of whatever troubles him, all will be set right."
"I hope, for both your sakes, that it is so," Eirwyn said. She reached out and clasped both Garin and Nilsa on the shoulder. "I understand the pain you are feeling. I pray that your sadness, unlike mine when Helm fell, is brief and supplanted by joy again very soon." She paused and cast her gaze down at the stones between their feet. The next part was harder to say. "I want both of you to know that I bear neither of you any I’ll will. You have been loyal servants of Tyr, and now Torm, and none can fault you for fulfilling your duties."
"Thank you," Garin said, and he sounded genuinely relieved. "I'm sorry it came-to all this."
Nilsa didn't say anything, but she came toward Eirwyn and hugged her tightly.
When Eirwyn pulled back at last, she said, "We all still fight the fight of law and goodness. I am with you in spirit. But I must do this. I sense its importance."
Nilsa looked doubtful, but Garin gave one knowing nod in return. "Very well, then," he said, "You do what you must. We will miss you."
"May the blessings of Ty — of Torm be with you," Eirwyn said. "Drive them from our holy lands."
"We will," Garin said. He and Nilsa turned to go. They leaped into the air together and swooped out over the railing, leaving Eirwyn standing upon the balcony of the Court by
herself. Her eyes followed them as they soared down and away from her, until they were nothing more than tiny specks up
on the horizon.
Eirwyn fought a brief pang of guilt for not going with them to Deepbark Hollow to face the invading demons. The angels and archons there were in for a terrible fight. They would need every last able body they could muster.
You have other matters to attend to, she reminded herself. They will prevail without you.
Eirwyn fanned her wings and leaped into the sky, soaring aloft into the gray afternoon. Despite its emptiness, she felt a pall on the House, a grim foreboding of what was to come. She wondered whether Tyr still dwelt within, if the melancholy she felt emanated from the former god, radiating his sorrow.
He still commands an impressive presence, Eirwyn realized. He knows much blood will be spilled before the day is through. He laments how many celestial creatures will die today.
Many more demons will perish, she thought. The House of the Triad will stand against all evil.
With that resolute thought firmly in her mind, Eirwyn winged her way in the opposite direction of Garin and Nilsa, heading toward another part of the plane, on the far side of the great mountain of Celestia. The fresh wind blew at her back, and she quickly left the gleaming white of the Court behind her.
She couldn't say with certainty what led her in the direction she had chosen, only a divine sense, a calling that her presence was needed. That was the way of things with her divinations. She could not always explain why she felt what she did, only that the urges were invariably accurate. She felt a familiar comfort in it all.
As she flew beneath the darkening clouds, she tried to gauge where she ought to seek. She followed her instincts, altering direction more than once as she felt herself getting off course. Before long, she realized where she was headed.
The Lifespring.
That was odd. She would not expect anyone to be there,] not on that day. Everyone would be at the front, fighting '; to hold back the tide of demons who were trying to break through the weak point of the plane. Then a glimmer of an idea occurred to her.
