“Fara,” he greeted her. “Taras indicates they will be here in thirty minutes. Be ready.”
He didn’t give her any orders. She assumed that was because he thought highly of her.
There were less than thirty infernals present. Rys had summoned more demons to help Grigor, including a few more noble demons, but they were still massively outnumbered.
Six Ashen grizzled beneath a tree. Fara half-expected them to use magic to smoke, but they obeyed orders. Any use of magic could tip off Robert. He still might sense the demons if he was expecting them, but without any active use of magical energy, it was much harder until he got close.
Close enough to spring an ambush.
Minutes passed. The rain made a tinny sound as it pattered against the weapons and armor of the demons. Water dripped from Fara’s sodden ears. She looked forward to the long bath she’d take when she returned to Castle Aion.
Despite the awful weather, Fara felt in better spirits than she had for years. If she closed her eyes, she imagined herself back in Pharos. She wasn’t preparing to ambush a caravan of mercenaries, but a group of monsters. This wasn’t a forest in the lowlands of Kavolara, but the dry plains of Hellgate.
And she wasn’t surrounded by the very monsters she had been trained to kill, but instead other mystic foxes.
Fara let out a sigh and steeled herself. One of the Ashen gave her a salute when their eyes met, and the rest raised their hands in greeting. Shortly afterward, something moved above her and she heard Grigor stir.
“Five minutes,” Taras’s voice murmured into her head.
The patter of hooves cut through the sound of the rain. Grigor raised his arm high, and every infernal fell silent. Horses whinnied as the Compagnon caravan approached.
The advance riders rode into the clearing. A few of them appeared to be battlemages, using magic to keep cigarettes lit or the rain off them with protective bubbles. Other mercenaries glared at the mages while rain poured down their coats and helmets.
They were completely oblivious to the infernals lurking in the shadows. Chatter reached Fara’s ears, some of it in an unfamiliar language. A few of these men and women had come from very far away.
Not far behind the riders came the first of the remaining guards. Fara counted maybe thirty riders, and perhaps fifty soldiers in front of the caravan. She relayed these numbers to Taras, who would tell Grigor.
Behind the soldiers came the caravan itself. It moved slower now, as there wasn’t really a path, so much as a suggestion of where to go. Robert had chosen to go this way to avoid an ambush.
A shame he didn’t know about the invisible Malakin lurking in his ceiling when he discussed this in secret.
Speaking of Robert, Fara spotted him sitting on one of the wagons. He didn’t waste energy protecting himself from rain, but he didn’t walk with his mercenaries, and the roof of the wagon kept him drier than most.
The mage had a grim expression on his face. He looked to the side, troubled by something.
He was very close to them. Did he…?
Robert’s eyes widened. Fara mindspoke with Taras to warn Grigor. Robert shot up, one hand crackling with energy.
Grigor roared.
That was the signal to attack.
Fire rippled along both sides of the caravan as the Ashen summoned hellfire into their hands. The demons charged forward, brandishing their weapons but remaining silent. Screaming in the dark would give away their position.
Fara cast two quick arrays, enhancing her strength and speed. Then she darted forward, making a beeline for Robert.
A monstrous mass of darkness flew through the air. It crashed down in front of the caravan. A moment later, Grigor’s axe slammed into the ground and Fara felt a surge of magic tear the ground asunder.
Massive spikes of earth burst from the ground in front of Grigor for well over a hundred feet. Men and horses were sent flying or were torn to pieces. Caravans exploded, sending their contents everywhere.
The clearing filled with screams and shouts as Grigor split the battlefield in half in one go.
That had been another one of his Gifts. The demon prince had gathered several in his long life, Fara had learned. This one allowed him to conjure a line of earth spikes in front of him.
“Demons!” somebody screamed. “They’re fucking monsters! Run!”
The panic grew. Many of the mercenaries didn’t try to fight. They simply ran. Horses charged off into the forest. Many of them slammed into trees or tripped over on the brush.
The demons didn’t care. They cut through every enemy in their path. Their runic weapons sliced through steel plate like butchers’ knives cutting up meat. Hellfire gave the forest an eerie red glow as the Ashen lit everything up.
Fara felt a snap of magic. A spiral of golden light split the air a second later, flying toward Grigor. Fire and ash split apart in the path of the magical blast.
The demon prince raised his axe. The blast slammed into it and exploded.
Looking for the source, Fara saw Robert standing on top of a burning wagon. The mage’s robe was charred and burned, along with his beard. Magic crackled along his arms and his eyes glowed with fury. Several heavily armored knights stood around him, weapons raised in defensive stances.
Fara’s tails moved. All four of them. The number of tails she used to cast an array determined its strength. The power rippling off Robert indicated that she needed to make this count.
Instantly, the mage spotted her. His eyes widened and he scowled.
“Retreat,” Robert shouted. He leaped down from the caravan, then darted away several times faster than any human could possibly run.
His guards attempted to follow him, but he rapidly outpaced them. Fara caught them within seconds. She brought them all down with a series of quick blows, shattering bones and armor alike.
Her array finished, and she sighted Robert in the distance. Focusing her attention, she fired her spell at him.
Again, the mage sensed her magic. He turned at the last second. Her force blast struck him at the same moment that a spiral of magic burst forth.
Fara had a moment to react before the spiral struck her. She dove to one side. Her tails tried desperately to deflect the spell. Pain blossomed in her side as the blast shredded her side, as she only stopped the worst of it.
In the distance, Robert bent over double. He vomited up blood and the contents of his stomach. Fara had hit him with a solid blast of force, capable of shattering steel and turning stone blocks into dust.
But the mage rose despite how bad his internal injuries must be.
Fara grabbed her side. It felt warm. Blood, she confirmed. Lots of it. But she was good enough to keep fighting.
A crash behind her.
Looking up, Fara saw Grigor standing over her. His axe practically glowed with blood. As did his entire body. He was a vision of death, standing in front of burning wagons and dozens of corpses.
“Fara, you are hurt,” Grigor said. His maw twisted.
“I’m fine,” she said. “He’s a combat magister. I’ll need to disrupt his magic, then take him out.”
“I am done here,” Grigor said, clearly referring to the caravan. “We shall finish him together.”
His tone brooked no compromise.
Robert ran into the forest. His expression was one of pure determination. He refused to die here and had the strength to nearly pull it off.
Fara raced behind him and watched as Grigor leaped across the trees. Branches exploded as he crashed into them. The demon prince swung using the trunks themselves, as nothing else could reliably support his weight. Grigor didn’t need to use magic to run really fast if he could leap hundreds of feet at a time.
The worst part was the silence. Grigor didn’t scream or roar. His four eyes glowed beneath his mask as he relentlessly pursued his prey.
Not for the first time, Fara was reminded of the immense power that Rys had under his command. Grigor followed Rys without question, and the
two were thick as thieves.
Grigor got close enough, so Fara began casting an array. This one was a disruption array, which was one of the specialties of black-tailed foxes. Disruption magic interfered with the magical energy of other spellcasters. It was one of the few things that Fara felt she was genuinely talented at.
With a truly massive leap, Grigor flung himself at Robert. As before, the mage sensed Grigor and turned.
Robert’s magical senses were frustratingly sharp, but that wouldn’t matter this time.
Grigor hurled his axe at Robert as he descended. Robert let out a bloodcurdling shout and slammed his fist into the axe. A blast of golden light nearly blinded Fara and knocked the axe aside. Robert’s hand exploded in a shower of gore despite his spell, causing him to scream in pain.
Then Grigor landed just short of Robert. The mage turned and tried to run, but Fara’s spell snapped into place. The mage ran, but at normal speed as his physical empowerment failed. He tripped, expecting to move far faster than he did.
Rolling over, Robert tried to gather energy for another spell. Fara batted that aside as well.
She watched as Grigor stepped up to Robert and turned him into a stain on the ground with his bare fists. Afterward, the demon prince straightened up and let out a long sigh.
Rain drizzled down Grigor’s body and mask. It intermingled with the blood covering him.
Fara left him alone for a few moments. Then she approached him, her muscles straining as she carried his axe. Her magic helped her, but it was still obscenely heavy.
“You dropped this,” she said, holding it up.
Grigor looked down at her for a moment. She tried not to feel small.
“Thank you,” he said. He reached down and hefted it over his shoulder. “We need to report our success to Rys.” He began to walk away.
Fara bit her lip. “Grigor, I’m sorry.”
“For?”
“I didn’t help much this time,” she blurted out. “You even had to kill Robert.”
Grigor turned and faced her. He stared at her for several long seconds.
“I chose to help you defeat him. But I have faith that you would have succeeded,” he said. “It was your disruption magic that allowed me to defeat him without a scratch.”
Fara looked away. Were those platitudes? She’d waited for the chance to finally fight, and it had come, but was she really necessary?
“Victories should be celebrated,” Grigor said, standing right in front of her. “Perhaps we should join Rys for a drink when we return. He will enjoy hearing you tell him about this.”
Fara blinked. That was a first. Grigor and Rys always drank together, but never with others.
Before she could answer, the demon prince strode away, carrying his axe over his shoulder. The caravan burned in the distance, smoke and steam rising into the air. The cheering of the infernals filled the night.
Maybe they weren’t her kin and this wasn’t Pharos, but Fara supposed she could get used to this.
She ran to catch up to Grigor, and they walked back to the rest of the group. Once they returned to Castle Aion, she had some drinks with Rys and Grigor. Too many, in fact.
But she refused to tell anybody that Rys carried her to bed that night, or that she remembered it. Vallis would never let her hear the end of it.
Chapter 18
“I feel this is becoming a habit,” Maria said as she greeted Rys in front of the manor. “Perhaps I should move in after this is over.”
She arrived in her carriage this time, but Barul was still absent. No nonsense about going off on a ride and running into Rys. She had simply left her fiance behind and come here.
The increase in her confidence was an improvement. If Maria had still been unwilling to push back against Barul, it might make Rys question his choices.
They stepped inside the manor. The guards joined them, but were led to a break room by one of the Ashen. Same guards as last time, Rys noted. They accepted cigarettes from the Ashen and made small talk as they walked away.
Rys led Maria to the war room this time. They spoke on the way.
“I knew you worked fast, but this is beyond all of my expectations,” she said. “I’m receiving word that most of Compagnon’s holdings east of Anceston have been freed. And there is panic to the west, although they never held much there in the first place.”
“They never had much reason to control Port Mayfield, so we’re lucky there,” Rys said. “But they still have a lot of territory remaining. This is only the beginning. We’ve stirred up the hornet’s nest, so to speak.”
Maria shrugged and beamed at him. “They are still the greatest victories since Compagnon arrived. And the rumors certainly emphasize their greatness. An enormous magical inferno consumed a manor fortified by former adventurers. Hulking beasts have torn apart Compagnon’s caravans. Shadows stalk those loyal to Compagnon and cut them down when they’re alone.”
Her eyes bore into Rys, but he ignored her. Those stories were true.
But it spoke volumes about Compagnon’s control that he needed to go this far. He had thought that the region was a tiny one, and he was right. But even a small region had dozens of towns, forts, and important villages. Every time he sent somebody to strike down one of Compagnon’s lackeys, they found another.
“I am curious where you found the strength to do so much damage to Compagnon so quickly,” she continued. “I had assumed you had your own elite company of soldiers, but the speed that you strike at suggests something far more powerful.”
She was fishing. Her eyes glittered as she waited for a response.
Well, Rys decided to give her one. He reached out to Tyrisa using mindspeak and asked her to take care of something.
Then he took Maria on a small detour. If she noticed, she didn’t let on.
When they finally reached the war room, Rys opened the door. “Ladies first.”
After giving him a look, she stepped inside. Then froze in the doorway.
“I knew it,” she whispered.
She what?
Rys checked that everything had gone to plan. Terry stood next to Grigor in the war room. While Grigor was in his human form, Terry was not. Vallis and Fara lounged on a sofa, ignoring the glare that Tyrisa gave them. The knowledge devil’s bat wings had returned, although they vanished in a burst of light after a glare from Rys.
“Heh. Letting her in on the secret, boss?” Terry asked. “Should I head back down?”
“No, you’re the head of security. Stay,” Rys said. He turned to Maria. “You don’t seem surprised.”
Maria regained her composure and stepped inside. Rys closed the door behind her and walked up to the table.
“What little Barul told me about the castle’s past was that the original master was a creator of monsters—namely the Labyrinth’s,” Maria said. “You built this mansion so quickly and Barul hated you so much that I knew you were special. You’re connected to the Creator of this mansion, aren’t you? Was he some sort of archdevil?”
Rys stared at her. She’d become suspicious of him for an entirely unrelated reason?
On the plus side, her gaze filled with awe as she looked up at him. That was nice.
“No,” he said. She blinked in surprise. “I don’t even think infernals have ever been here before the continents discovered the archipelago a century ago.”
“Then… who are you? What are you?” Maria asked, blinking rapidly in confusion.
“A fossil,” Fara said from the far side of the room.
“Thank you, Fara,” Rys said. “But she’s right. I’m from the Infernal Empire and was sealed away here. Summoning a demon prince like Grigor is trivial for me, and the same goes for using infernal sorcery.”
Maria’s eyes widen and she stares at Grigor. “Oh.”
“That’s right. Rys was one of the most powerful officials in the Infernal Empire,” Tyrisa said, puffing out her chest as if she was talking about her own accomplishments. “He even fought in t
he Cataclysm.”
Several minutes passed as they got Maria up to speed and calmed her down. The contract prevented her from telling others about this, so the secret was safe. But he hadn’t been sure she would react positively until she teased him about his victories against Compagnon.
With that dealt with, Rys drew everybody to the table.
“Our initial push has gone well,” Rys explained. “Most of Compagnon’s allies are either dead or fleeing. They’ve expended a lot of resources trying to hold on to their territory. The artifact trade is also in turmoil, as we’ve stopped every caravan going to Aretiers. But our next three steps are more complicated.”
Grigor folded his arms and nodded. “Indeed. We must capitalize on their weakness and strike at their heart when the time is right. But they still have considerable resources. Their next bastion is a large town called Harpiscon. Most of their mercenaries are massing there.”
“That’s a problem, but only one issue,” Rys said. “The other two steps are to establish a proper nation and to deal with the Kinadain elders.”
“Do we really want to get involved with the Kinadain?” Vallis asked. She tapped on the mountains. “They have a lot of warriors. Once we take back the artifact trade, they won’t be a threat. We can bully them about the shit they pulled, but I don’t know why we’d pick a fight with them. Er, with respect.” She blushed at the looks she received.
“No, you’re right to question me,” Rys said. Maria and Tyrisa looked at him in surprise. “The reason is that I have a plan to deal with the elders without pissing off the Kinadain themselves.”
He briefly explained his plan to duel Barul.
Fara scowled. “Forget respect, have you gone insane? Barul’s far more powerful than you know. The Slayers are genuine monsters themselves. He can’t take Grigor, but I’d need another tail before I even thought about fighting him.”
“Then I’ll become more powerful,” Rys said. He crossed his arms. “Luckily for me, my adviser has found something that will help me in the Labyrinth.”
Maria stared at him in confusion. She clicked her tongue when she noticed everybody else knew what he was talking about.
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