The Gathering’s master humbled gay-ooth’s pride with a reminder of his power. beh’-tsah harnessed the present magics and twisted the nature of reality, forcing the prideful, beautiful creature to shapeshift into his true form beneath his eldritch stare. The twisted creature’s angelic form melted to one more similar to his peers. gay-ooth’ resisted the turning and groaned as his skin seemed to shrivel away, taking on more demonic features, including a nasty, lipless mouth and withered skin: his true appearance.
“You would all do well to listen to me on this matter,” beh’-tsah continued. “The Holy Spirit has begun a work within our very borders. This flame must be extinguished before it grows into an inferno that could sweep across the face of our lands.”
“We all know about your theories concerning the Holy Ghost and a loophole in hay-lale’s contract. You contend that it will bring the Logos into our lands, but we all know that the way is sealed,” said keh’-sem, more politely than usual. “We do not believe that this threat is as dangerous as you claim... some think it mere political posturing.”
“Even if a threat truly exists,” claimed peh’-shah, “How can we be so certain that it is not just some new, rogue religion. Who really cares about the Luciferian Order anyhow? It is merely a tool we once used for control and an ancient methodology used to harness our energies. It is an outdated process. Besides, the Logos would never breach the borders, not after Karoz’s insertion.”
beh’-tsah knew that peh’-shah baited him; he suspected that peh’-shah was one of the demons plotting to usurp him. The rebellious demon knew how much beh’-tsah cared for his puppet religion; it was his ticket to crowning himself New Lucifer, and very few of the other lords had been able to harness the religion with any success. While beh’-tsah did not publicly link himself to his deifying goal, it was not hard to guess at it.
peh’-shah continued, “I think that this group of so called krist-chins are more likely some group that has uncovered a few scraps of truth somewhere, but certainly not from the true krist-chins: their numbers are so few and we keep a close watch on them. It could not happen unless someone purposefully gave them this information.” peh’-shah bordered on accusation that the Overlord had staged the situation.
“My contention is that they are a group of rebels, perhaps with traits to be admired, who fight against the main-stream religion for whatever reason they choose. Without having heard the Word preached, they cannot have come to a true place of indwelling by the Holy Spirit. We know that they cannot be from the Earth; the way is shut. They cannot be the product of those who have learned the Word brought by Karoz at the time of Atonement; the only missionary in years to risk venturing beyond was that fool Nhoj, and he died years ago in the dungeons of Jand, under your prophet’s direction. The Gathering watched his flesh burn just as we do with any krist-chin who leaves the community.”
peh’-shah’s accusation was a bid to draw allies closer. The veil over his call to arms for his allies to see through the demon lord’s propaganda was practically invisible at this point. Only human politics were worse and both sides tried to lure over the demons that remained neutral on the issue.
The rebel played right into beh’-tsah’s hand. He wanted the council to see peh’-shah force an ultimatum which required some kind of proof. The Overlord sneered
“Then I will do what I must to protect our entire way of life in the face of this threat. I do what I must to protect not only my power, but also that which you each hold as well,” said beh’-tsah with a false tone of martyrdom.
He appeared to give the usurpers exactly what they wanted: his absence. However, to maintain his credibility among the demons he would have to back his words up with deeds or else he would lose face. All his rhetoric about the krist-chin threat would look like a mere political gambit.
“You all heard me. I will travel to Grinden myself to put down this threat. I leave immediately and I will crush it with my own foot before this uprising can do more than merely nip at our heels. Is there any amongst us with the courage to venture with me? Who will come and see how I was right and help throw down our mutual enemies?”
A ripple of shock and surprise surged through the mutineers who’d expected a need for greater political posturing; they had not expected the Overlord to offer it so willingly. The astonishment showed especially on the faces of those who schemed against him; members of the coupe traded sagacious glances as they waited for the other shoe to drop.
gay-ooth’ tried to look straight ahead and signal to his peers with his stony face they needed to stop reacting to the news. The demon’s suddenly placid face was his undoing as his comrades each looked to him for guidance.
At the back of the hall, even eiztchkey balked at the proposed move. He panickedly looked from face to face of the obvious insurrectionists and worried for his own head. If the demon lord departed Paradise it would leave open a window of opportunity for the rebels to oust him from his throne and claim it for themselves. They could prevent his return to Paradise and easily siege him from a distance. Without the access to his throne and the power that it saturated him with, like a battery, he would eventually succumb to his enemies; a demon could only draw on so much power when away from a nexus of leylines.
beh’-tsah also noted the reactions to his proposal; in a heartbeat he’d discerned the disposition of each member on the council and knew exactly who was loyal and who was not. Knowing his gambit had paid off, he sneered—about to break the back of this coup. The plotters were the exact ones that he’d suspected: prideful gay-ooth’, the powerful keh’-sem, the ever rebellious peh’-shah, and the deceitful sheh’-ker. Amongst their number was a demon who he never believed would muster the gall to involve himself in something as ambitious as a coup: kes-eel’ the fool.
kes-eel’s eyes darted back and forth amongst each of the other members of the seditious faction, his eyes pleading for a response.
He had undoubtedly been seduced by empty promises. The demon had always been the puppet of other member of the Gathering and was utterly stupid. His stupidity was the only thing that kept him on the council—the fact that he was easy to manipulate and would never amount to any real threat made him the most valuable pawn on the board. Now, beh’-tsah would kill him.
beh’-tsah locked eyes with the rebellious peh’-shah. The mutineer’s pupils dilated in surprise and he and the coterie of mutinous demons traded flabbergasted looks as they recognized they’d been outed. peh’-shah’s claws slowly unsheathed.
“I think,” said beh’-tsah, “that perhaps I should bring along with me those who require verification of my goals on this matter, to show them the magnanimity of my intentions regarding this threat. I think that it would only be appropriate if peh’-shah, gay-ooth’, keh’-sem, and sheh’-ker accompany me.” He left out kes-eel’ purposefully; that fool was incapable of any action on his own.
With the threat of any coup in his absence removed he could ruin any plans the dissidents had laid; beh’-tsah would make them look like fools for questioning his methods and motives. It was all political positioning.
peh’-shah stood indignantly. Anger flared in his eyes. No single demon could stand against the power of beh’-tsah in open combat; the strength of his bitter soul sustained him far beyond any that the others could muster; he had grown strong on the languished resentments of the humans below. peh’-shah bared his fangs at his opponent and leveled a talon at him.
“How dare you think you can order me about like this!”
“Simple, PEH’-SHAH, you wanted to play this game, and so I played. Do you openly challenge me, weakling?”
One of beh’-tsah’s servants interrupted, a cloaked figure of some concealed race. He opened the door to the chamber and limped towards his master with a sense of urgency that overruled the injury. beh’-tsah held up a hand to excuse himself from conversation momentarily, silencing his peers at the table. The servant whispered words into the ear of his master—words seale
d by some cypher spell—and then it departed.
beh’-tsah grinned a wicked smile as he turned back to face his opponents. He glared back towards peh’-shah with loathing in his eyes.
“My offer stands. Do you wish to challenge?”
The demon faltered. He nearly rose to take the bait.
“I thought not. Now take your seat and bow to my wishes.” The sternness in his terrifying voice echoed through the room and made the trophies in the wings of the great hall shake like leaves.
peh’-shah traded looks with his accomplices who indicated that he should sit. He begrudgingly took his seat, trading baleful looks with the master of the Gathering.
beh’-tsah laughed at his opponent’s silent compliance, mocking his submission.
“I have good news,” beh’-tsah shared as he belittled his would-be rival. As he spoke, another servant entered the room and waited to be beckoned. “PEH’-SHAH, your castle has been laid waste by my armies, completely annihilated.”
The demon stood to his feet, shouting curses and expletives at his adversary. beh’-tsah shouted curses back and challenged him to battle. The servant’s message was urgent and he approached. beh’-tsah gave him his attention even as his enemy continued screaming. The demon wore a cheerful expression; he expected more of these messages.
“What news do you bear?”
“We are besieged, my lord,” reported the orcish commander in his guttural voice. “The compound has been surrounded and armies are moving in to attack.”
“What! Who would dare to attack? Who even has troops left to launch an offensive?”
peh’-shah leapt to his feet. He laughed as he clapped his hands together with glee.
“It is the combined armies of your opponents in Paradise,” the orc general reported. “Forces have marched on us bearing the banners of war from five of the thirteen strongholds, plus other independents.”
“Your time is at an end!” screamed the rebel, peh’-shah. “You face the combined powers of we separatists! You cannot possibly stand against us. I call for a vote,” he demanded.
“Stand now to vote and dethrone the Bitter One. Vote and perhaps you will be spared from our wrath. We are aligned with several powerful demons who’ve been denied seats on the Gathering. The armies approaching belong to gaw-nab’ the thief, kin-aw’ the envier, the covetous khaw-nab’, and wrathful kah’-as.” He listed the powerful demon chiefs that the Gathering, under beh’-tsah had repeatedly spurned: denied because of the potential threat that they could pose to his authority over the council.
kes-eel’ jumped to his cloven feet, eager to prove his alliance to those with whom he had struck a deal. keh’-sem stood next to his comrade, peh’-shah. sheh’-ker stood to his feet. gay-ooth’ stood with a dignity that was far beyond him as he put on a false air of superiority.
The demon of greed, tah-av-aw’, looked back and forth at the separatists and at those who were seated. He gave in to personal lust and stood to join the coup at the last second.
beh’-tsah’s eyes narrowed to spiteful slits.
“You fools!” shouted beh’-tsah, “I am the Gathering!”
Snarling, the powerful demon stood defiant in the face of his six opponents; his six allies remained in their seats, maintaining neutral expressions. With a bellow of rage beh’-tsah drew a giant, flaming sword out of thin air. Its red flames flashed with the heat of his vitriolic soul. He screamed and brought his sword crashing down onto the table. The impact split the immense table lengthwise. The terrified trophies and slaves that the demons brought into the meeting hall scattered for the edges of the chamber; trembling with fear, they cowered under the demon lord’s fury.
The six enemies of the Gathering’s leader all procured similarly flaming weapons. They brandished their deadly implements before him as they surrounded him.
“You fall here and now,” promised peh’-shah, even as the sounds of a siege upon the walls could be heard.
“You have no idea of the powers that I wield. You will all be destroyed and your souls will rot in your everlasting bodies,” beh’-tsah shouted.
As he howled in rage his massive sword flickered furiously with lightning. He struck at lustful tah-av-aw’, the one who’d given in to the slightest temptation.
tah-av-aw’ blocked the blow with all of his strength, but was still knocked off his feet by the power of the strike.
kes-eel’ jumped into the fray, full of eagerness and howling with vainglorious fervor. His spiked mace trailed a glowing wake as he charged toward mighty beh’-tsah in a foolish and ill-timed maneuver.
As beh’-tsah thrust his sword in a defensive jab to drive back the others, he used his free hand to seize the foolish demon’s wrist. He snapped forward with his mouth and bit kes-eel’s weapon hand cleanly off at the joint.
beh’-tsah’s other hand drove the tip of his blade through the skull of the debased tah-av-aw’. His opposition reeled back as beh’-tsah stood to his full height and ruffled his wings to fill out his form and appear even larger. beh’-tsah roared and grasped the skull of the wounded kes-eel’ with his free hand. He held kes-eel’ out with an extended arm, feet dangling above the floor and appendages writhing.
Very casually, beh’-tsah dragged his weapon back toward his own feet; the scraping sound of blade tip grinding against floor shifted to the grisly sounds of dismemberment. His blade split tah-av-aw’s body into halves. kes-eel’ squirmed in the demon lord’s massive grip; beh’-tsah’s talons gouged through the fool’s eyes.
For what seemed like an eternity, the Lord of the Gathering stared down his enemies.
With a howl of fury, he whipped kes-eel’ upwards through the air as if he were a rag doll. Letting his blade dissipate, he snatched the lesser demon’s legs with his other hand and brought the helpless body crashing down, spine first, upon an up thrust knee. A sickly crunching sound and a piercing shriek shattered both air and bone. beh’-tsah flexed his mighty arms and tore the broken body into two halves. Using the downward momentum, he flung the bisected, shredded carcass at the four remaining demons who’d tried to encircle him.
The two demons on beh’-tsah’s left and his right stopped dead in their tracks as the torn body parts skittered towards them on bloody trails. Their resolve broke. Each fled from beh’-tsah’s wrath and routed for the safety of their allies outside. They’d abandoned their slaves and trophies to the wrath of the Gathering. They frenzied and scattered when they saw their masters flee. The seven demons that now remained stood and set upon them with carnivorous intent.
As soon as their terrified caterwauling was dealt with, beh’-tsah drew up a battle plan. The crescendoing sounds of the external assault crept closer.
“EXAPOREH’-OMAHEE, I want you to rally your armies and bring them here for support immediately.”
The withered demon left instantly, not needing to hear the rest of the plan. He had his orders.
“ZAW-LAL’, GAW-LAW’, proceed to your castles and gather your forces to join mine in the attacks upon the homes of gay-ooth’, keh’-sem, sheh’-ker, and kes-eel’. When those strongholds have fallen, return here and carve a line through our enemies.
“MAKH-AL-O’-KETH, take your forces and lay waste to tah-av-aw’s castle. His turning was sudden and unexpected; there should be little resistance. His decision was impulsive and arrogant. His fortress should fall easily, with no preparations.
“RAW-TSAKH’, I want you to take your troops and destroy kah’-as. He is powerful and will need an overpowering might to destroy his forces.
“SHIK-KORE’, I want you to gather replacements for the Gathering. The ones whom I have chosen to honor should be directed to wipe out the fortresses and properties of gaw-nab’, kin-aw’, and khaw-nab’. Find and assemble ter-aw-feme’, rem-ee-yaw’, ked-ay-shaw’, nid-daw’, moot-teh’, and eesh shek-o’-beth eesh. Find the last four first, they usually stay in close contact and might even be found together.”
The six
powerful demons scattered, each on their various missions, searching for their own emissaries, and evading the besieging armies. beh’-tsah returned to the throne within his fortress and gorged himself upon the energies of mankind’s sin. He would need to be strong to put down this uprising quickly enough to deal effectively with the krist-chins below. A coup within the Gathering, he could handle with ease, but he knew that the threat below was a far more dangerous thing than any of his peers took it for. The worst thing for beh’-tsah, right now, would be an extended campaign to put down his rivals in Paradise. It would consume his power and his time, allowing the Holy Spirit to grow unchecked.
As battles raged in the mockery of Heaven, other battles took place below: wars for the souls of men.
***
Jaker grimaced at his desk. Candle light rippled in the darkness and he stared at the thick, white cardstock as it shone in the flickering luminescence.
His stomach turned sour and tight with the decision he’d been forced to make; he’d already consulted with the mercenaries under his charge and knew their thoughts on the matter, but the decision to accept or refuse a job lay solely with him. The Ranger glared at the nearby message where it lay crumpled on the floor near a wastebasket. Jaker hadn’t dignified it enough to place King Rutheir’s demand on his table.
The Kakos Realm Collection Page 44
