The Labyrinth of Destiny

by Callie Kanno

  “Next, refugees. Entire villages will be fleeing to the north away from the Scepter of Cha-sak. Not all of them will come to us, but there will be many who do. We need to prepare for their arrival.”

  “What of the refugees that are already here?” suggested Sitara. “Most of them have declined joining in the fight, but they can still be of use to us. Put them in charge of settling all of the newcomers.”

  L’iam rubbed his chin. “Yes, I think that would work well.”

  “We need to be careful of Shimat spies,” warned Adesina. “I would be surprised if they did not try to hide assassins among the refugees.”

  L’iam pointed to Ri’sel. “Gather a committee of Readers to screen all of the newcomers, and find some soldiers who are able to restrain anyone suspicious. If there are any with ill intentions, they will not be allowed to enter our camps.”

  “Yes, your Majesty.”

  The king of the L’avan glanced at his wife. “That leaves only the problem of supplies.”

  “I think we can solve that,” said Ravi.

  Adesina sensed through their Joining that his thoughts were once more far away. This time she followed his mind to see what he was seeing.

  At the northern tip of the ocean, beyond Pevothem’s protective cliffs, a presence both strange and familiar was approaching. Adesina could sense traces of her own vyala, like wisps of smoke coming off of embers.

  It took her a moment to recognize the creature swimming through the water, but Adesina smiled as soon as she did.

  “Kai.”

  L’iam frowned in confusion. “Kai?”

  Adesina gave him a playful grin. “Would you like to take a small trip with me?”

  “I would like to come as well,” interjected Ruon unexpectedly.

  L’iam looked at the two of them, still bewildered. “I suppose…”

  “Can you carry both of them while flying?” asked Sitara.

  Adesina assented after a moment of thought. “I believe so.”

  “Trust your vyala,” advised the experienced Serraf. “You are more powerful than you know.”

  The L’avan king looked around at his advisors. “Well, it looks as though we all have much work to do. We will meet again this evening to discuss what needs to be done. Until then, let us make all of the preparations we can.”

  He took his wife’s hand and allowed her to lead him outside of the tent.

  “Where are we going?”

  “North,” Adesina answered vaguely.

  She beckoned her vyala and let it flow freely, wrapping it around L’iam and Ruon. Then she lifted them and herself into the air, speeding toward the cliffs on the northern shores of Pevothem.

  Adesina found that Sitara was correct. Her vyala held all of them easily now that she knew what she was doing. Adesina felt a though she could do anything she wanted, and the feeling was exhilarating.

  Ravi watched their progress through Adesina’s eyes, and when they landed he transported himself to join them. L’iam watched him appear with an expression of shock on his face.

  “How…?”

  “It is one of the benefits of our Joining,” Ravi explained briefly. “A Rashad can transport to any location they can see, and I can see what Adesina sees.”

  Ruon ignored this exchange and walked to the edge of the cliff, gazing down into the water.

  Adesina had brought them to the lowest portion of the cliffs, but they were still a good distance from the surface of the ocean. The water looked black and still from where they stood.

  “There,” Ruon pointed to a white line of disturbed water heading in their direction.

  How does she know where we are? wondered Adesina.

  Just as I was able to track her progress here, Ravi thought back. She recognizes your vyala, even from a distance.

  As Kai approached, her great head rose from beneath the water. L’iam gasped next to Adesina, and she smiled as she guessed what he must be thinking.

  Kai was an awe-inspiring sight, even to those who knew she was no longer dangerous. Her scales glinted a deep metallic blue in the sunlight and the spiny fins that surrounded her arrow-shaped head gave her a menacing appearance.

  “What is that?” whispered L’iam.

  “She is an Aekuor,” snapped Ruon as he began climbing down the cliff’s edge.

  Adesina and L’iam followed his lead. There was a narrow ledge several feet down, which brought them closer to Kai’s enormous head. The Aekuor had lifted herself as far as she could out of the water, but they could still not quite see eye to eye.

  “Lady Adesina, Lord Ruon, I am glad to see you again,” said Kai in a gentle voice.

  “We are glad to see you, too, Kai,” said Adesina. She gestured to L’iam. “This is my husband, King L’iam of the L’avan.”

  L’iam stammered a greeting and Kai inclined her head toward him.

  “I am pleased to meet you, honored consort of Lady Adesina.”

  Adesina hid a smile and turned back to the Aekuor. “I thought you were going to stay with the Zephyr. Why have you come this way?”

  “Your friends made it safely to their destination, but the waters were dangerous for me. There are too many humans throwing nets into the sea. There was great risk that I would be discovered, so I decided to come find you. I hope this decision does not anger you.”

  Adesina shook her head. “On the contrary, I am glad you are here. You can be of great help to us.”

  Kai’s face was difficult to read, but she appeared pleased at the prospect of helping Adesina. “I would be honored, Lady Adesina.”

  The young queen reached into a pouch on her belt and pulled out a necklace with a thin silver chain and an oval pendant. It had been a gift from Captain Zulimar as part of a pledge that he owed her a great debt.

  The time had come to call for repayment.

  “I need you to deliver a message for me, Kai.”

  Chapter Sixteen: Puppets

  Every time the Shimat army came to a stop, a great black tent with blood red banners was erected at the furthest edge of the camp. None of the mercenaries or volunteers ever came near the tent. They knew that it housed the powerful being that acted as their patron and that was enough for them. They had no desire to see the being for themselves.

  Occasionally, one of the captains of the Scepter of Cha-sak could be seen entering or exiting the tent. None of these chosen soldiers looked particularly pleased by the honor..

  Only two humans were known to be regular occupants of the great black tent—Basha, the Honored Vessel, and Breyen, her Right Hand.

  The newest volunteers in the army had never seen Basha with their own eyes, but their more experienced comrades said that she used to give powerful speeches that told of their great purpose and the glory that they would come to know.

  Now it was whispered that Basha was no more than a shell—that her soul had been devoured by Cha-sak himself.

  Breyen, as the Right Hand, was often seen riding at the head of the army. His was the face that the volunteers associated with leadership. He was the one that issued orders to the Shimat soldiers, who were all in charge of their own company of mercenaries and volunteers.

  Newcomers suggested that Breyen was the only one in charge and that Basha and Cha-sak didn’t exist at all. This belief never lasted long. These unlucky soldiers were told by their companions to approach the black tent when Breyen was not around, but none came closer than fifty feet. The aura of evil that surrounded the tent was more than enough to convince the most stubborn skeptics.

  Cha-sak could sense their fear, and it amused him greatly. He knew everything that went on in the army he had assembled. He heard their conversations and he visited their dreams. He often walked among them, invisible to their eyes. He found the self-importance of these pathetic life forms almost laughable. They scurried about their business as if they were the sole weight that tipped the balance from failure to success.

  In reality, they were merely more bodies to litter the
battlefield.

  Yes, Cha-sak had plans for glory and conquest. There was no doubt in his mind that he would become the absolute ruler of this world. He would take control, one nation at a time. It seemed appropriate to begin with the home of the filthy half-breed offspring of the Serraf.

  There was more to his plan than mere conquest, though.

  Based off of what his mortal slaves had told him, this land was filled with many thousands of humans. Other nations had even more dense populations, resulting in a world of millions—perhaps billions—of humans.

  Though his face bore no other features to give it expression, Cha-sak’s red eyes narrowed in disgust when he thought of all those lives.

  Such an immense infestation.

  He could have simply visited all of the world’s leaders and forced them to become his slaves. Humans were easy enough to manipulate that they would have volunteered to do whatever he asked. However, Cha-sak did not want to be lord of all humans. Or, rather, he did not want millions upon millions of worthless slaves.

  The solution?

  He would take this world by force, shedding as much blood as possible in order to thin out the population.

  Cha-sak turned from where he stood overlooking his camped army and walked back to the black tent. His honor guards shuddered involuntarily as he went past them, even though they could not see him.

  Basha sat in a carved armchair in the center of the tent, staring vacantly at a fixed point on the ground. Her face was pale and wasted, and her breathing was shallow. She appeared to be on the brink of death, but Cha-sak would not allow her to die. Not yet.

  Basha was Cha-sak’s anchor to this mortal world. Their blood contract had freed him from the prison of the Threshold, and that same magic kept him safe from possible retribution. As long as she lived, Cha-sak could not be forced to return to that realm.

  That was the only purpose that Basha served anymore. Cha-sak had already exacted everything else she had to offer. He had used her position to assemble his army and to establish himself as its leader. He had drained her of her life force and free will, using it to strengthen himself.

  Now he only had to wait for a more worthy vessel to take Basha’s place. Then he would terminate the blood contract he had with her and forge a new one with the slave of his choosing.

  Cha-sak even had someone in mind.

  Adesina.

  The name rang through his mind.

  Cha-sak had access to all of Basha’s memories, and so he had seen Adesina’s childhood through her eyes. Basha may have been blind to Adesina’s surprising potential, but Cha-sak wasn’t. He saw things in the half-breed that should have been impossible for any mortal, and he was duly impressed. She was as close to his equal as any Immortal could have dreamed.

  He wanted her.

  He had seen…something…in her when they had faced each other at the Threshold. A strange spark of Life that couldn’t be explained, even to himself. Cha-sak had been intrigued by her when they first met, but hadn’t had the time to think about that strange spark. There had been more pressing matters to attend to.

  In the time since then, however, he had given it a great deal of thought. He had given her a great deal of thought.

  Not many mortals had possessed enough inner strength to resist the temptation of a blood contract with a demon. Cha-sak could only think of two other times he had been refused, and both of those foolish mortals had been under the protection of a greater power. As far as Cha-sak knew, the half-breed girl benefitted from no such protection, which made her resistance all the more impressive.

  Adesina.

  His mind caressed her name, and he greedily imagined all that he could accomplish with her as his slave.

  The tent flap was pushed aside and Breyen entered slowly.

  He was the only human allowed to enter the tent without express permission, but he always did so as if he expected to meet his end. Fear roiled off of him like a powerful stench, but his face was carefully controlled.

  Cha-sak faced his general with a trace of amusement. As if Breyen were worthy of being bound to Cha-sak, Demon Lord of the Shimat. Basha had been given that honor out of desperation, and it would only be given again to the perfect vessel—which was not Breyen.

  “What is it?” Cha-sak rasped harshly.

  Breyen had been granted the ability to see Cha-sak, even when others could not. He rarely made use of that gift, though. He kept his eyes fixed on the ground. “I have overseen the setup of the camp, and all is in order. We are less than a league away from a good-sized village. We can buy supplies from them, if you wish.”

  “Order a company of soldiers to take what supplies we need and then burn down the village. Kill everyone found there.”

  Breyen hesitated, and Cha-sak could sense his growing fear.

  “Please, my master, would it not be wiser to let this village stand?” Breyen almost choked on his own words. “We have destroyed every settlement we have come across, and if we continue on this pattern there will be no source for supplies we will need in the future.”

  Cha-sak would have smiled if he had a mouth. He doubted any of these soldiers would live long enough to worry about something like supplies.

  “We shall purge this world with fire and blood, Breyen. Do not worry about such lowly cares. Our great army shall move forward, taking what we need as we go. We will not be coming back this way until we have swept the entire world and made it bow to our might.”

  Cha-sak could sense that Breyen still had doubts, but he kept them to himself.

  “Yes, my master.”

  There had been a time when Breyen had been enthusiastic about this war. He had been hungry for power, and intoxicated with the idea of having a demon on his side. He had once even issued orders to Cha-sak, expecting them to be followed.

  Cha-sak had quickly corrected him of the belief that he was in charge of the situation. Cha-sak had used Basha to teach Breyen a painful lesson about staying in his place, and it was a lesson that Breyen had never forgotten.

  There were times when Cha-sak found Breyen’s cowed subservience to be grating. He had broken so easily, and the demon found that disappointing.

  Adesina would not be so pliant to his will. It would take time and skill to break her. Cha-sak looked forward to the challenge.

  “Master?”

  The demon stared coldly at Breyen, his red eyes glinting. “Yes?”

  “One of the captains suggested that we begin mandatory recruitment in the villages we pass. We can collect all of the young people within a certain age range and give them the option of joining the army or being executed.”

  Cha-sak almost chuckled in evil delight. Humans could be so creative in their cruelty.

  Cha-sak did not show any signs of approval, though. He waved a hand dismissively. “As you wish.”

  Breyen made his escape as quickly as he could without seeming too eager. Cha-sak watched him go and felt pleased with the progress of his plans. It might be simpler to kill the villagers right away, but gaining more soldiers would make for a higher heap of bodies in the end.

  This land would be gorged on blood before Cha-sak was finished, and the thought filled him with immeasurable pleasure.

  ***

  Breyen kept a measured pace as he walked away from the black tent with its blood red banners. His heart raced wildly, and in his mind was the knowledge that he had barely escaped incredible danger with his life intact.

  He always felt that way after facing Cha-sak.

  And to think that he had once thought it possible to control a demon. Now, too late, he realized the fatal flaw in such belief.

  It hadn’t been that long ago that he had devised his plan to wrest control of the Shimat organization from Signe and name himself Sharifal. He had read the ancient texts that spoke of hidden magic and powerful beings willing to align themselves with mortals. Breyen had dreamed of the unimaginable power that was only just out of his reach.

  First he had needed a paw
n—someone who was ambitious and easily manipulated.

  Basha had been an easy choice. As her former Shar, he knew her quite well. She was angry at always being second best, and she was eager to prove her worth. She was devious and unscrupulous, and intelligent enough to get the job done without being intelligent enough to be dangerous.

  Everything had been going perfectly according to plan…

  Then he made the mistake of sending Basha to the Threshold alone.

  He should have insisted on going with her. Perhaps he could have negotiated better terms before releasing a demon from its prison.

  Breyen had been saved from being turned into a lifeless husk like Basha, but he was just as much a slave to that evil creature as she had been.

  Now his only plan was to survive long enough to make his escape. Cha-sak’s rise to ultimate power was inevitable, but the world was a big place. Breyen hoped he could find some small corner where he could live out his life without attracting the notice of the demon.

  Breyen’s thoughts turned to the dark red pendant that lay hidden in a secret cave far to the west. It was a talisman that he had stolen during the overthrow of power at the Shimat fortress. It had been made with the blood of L’avan, and it shielded the wearer and those nearby from magical detection. It had been used to capture the L’avan king, and now Breyen hoped that it would help him to escape Cha-sak.

  When the time came, Breyen would make an excuse to leave the camp for a short while. He would travel to that secret cave where he had money and supplies hidden, and he would do everything in his power to disappear forever.

  There was a nagging fear in his mind that the pendant wouldn’t work to shield him from Cha-sak’s all-seeing gaze, but there was no way to test the pendant before Breyen’s planned escape. A test would alert Cha-sak to the pendant’s existence. All Breyen could do is hope that his plan would succeed.

  Breyen’s feet had led him back to the tent of his captains, where the highest-ranking Shimat were awaiting orders.

  It wouldn’t be much longer now.