by Joe Jackson
“No, I don’t,” the Earl said, prompting his interrogator to cease his questioning. The interrogators stepped out of the room along with the innkeeper for a few minutes so their superiors could question Black privately. Once they were gone, Lord Black continued, “I saw her at the inn: she was the one who killed the members of the Blood Order, as your friend so astutely pointed out. I don’t know who she is or what she wanted, but I suspect she may be the very killer I came here to ask your assistance with.”
That was not what Kari wanted to hear; she wanted answers, not more questions. The fact that the Earl was obnoxious did nothing to improve her disposition, and she was barely able to suppress a growl. “Why should we believe you?” Kari asked. Aeligos laid his hand on her shoulder to stop her from getting more confrontational. She regarded him for a moment and nodded to let him know he was within his rights to ask questions. Her gesture received no protest from Lord Allerius.
“Why shouldn’t you?” Lord Black answered before Aeligos could begin his own line of questions. “Why would I come here and kill members of a Guild that already wants to see me dead? Do I look so stupid as to walk into hostile territory and start a war with an assassin’s guild when I am on my own? This…snake-woman is your killer. Ask her how she managed to kill three Guild members on her own. I suspect the same way she nearly decapitated your captain of the guard and kept you and that other young hunter in check.”
Lord Allerius regarded Kari for a moment but said nothing. “So you’re saying you didn’t kill the Guild member that was at the bottom of the stairs, either?” Aeligos pressed.
Kaelin Black shook his head, but there was something in his expression that even Aeligos couldn’t seem to read. “I didn’t kill anyone. Had your captain made it here safely, she would have told you that I told her as much. I came down from my room when I heard a commotion in the commons. My presence on the stairs distracted the third Guild member, but I had no hand in his death. You saw the wounds; I don’t carry the type of weapons that deal those wounds.”
“What do you know of the burns around some of the wounds?” the rogue continued.
“The assassin must’ve used some sort of poison or acid, but I didn’t see her apply anything to her weapons,” Black answered, and from his mannerisms he had either rehearsed the responses to the questions he expected or he was telling the truth. He seemed exasperated more than anything, as if he, too, was flustered by the turn of events and wanted nothing more than to return home before they met the syrinthian woman a second time. “Ask your questions quickly, my time in this city is at an end. I must get back to my own city before this assassin draws any more of the Guild’s attention to me.”
“How long have you known Emma?” Aeligos asked, and both Albrecht and Kari fixed him with surprised gazes. The rogue ignored their stares, but Kari could tell that he was merely fishing for a response. She had seen him use the same tactic many times before, particularly with his siblings. Whether it was an innocuous question dropped during a game of cards or what seemed a harmless inquiry over dinner, Aeligos was a master at digging up secrets – though he usually only did it in good fun with his siblings.
Black’s impassive stare didn’t waver for even an instant. “I have no idea who you are talking about,” he said flatly.
“But you’ve aggravated someone from the underworld; why would you be targeted by a snake assassin?” Aeligos challenged him.
“Other than the lawyers from Achirun’s church, I have little dealing with the underworld or its lords,” Black stated in a genuine tone. “I am not interested in my city or county being enslaved or subservient to the whims of some dimwitted demon lord bent on destruction; nobody ever got rich from the world being enslaved or destroyed. If anything, it might be my refusal to work with anyone or anything from the underworld that has led to my being targeted.”
“So you’ve been propositioned in the past, then?” Allerius asked, and Kari didn’t miss the proud little smile that crossed Aeligos’ face momentarily.
Kaelin took in a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh as he glanced around at all the demonhunters and priests in the room. “Many, many times,” he answered finally, settling his gaze back on the two heads of the Order. “When you’ve lived as long as I have, amassed as much wealth and power as I have, and run a city and county with a substantial amount of both land and people, everything wants to wriggle its tendrils into your power base. I use Achirun’s priests and their expertise at law…”
“At twisting the law,” Kari interjected, but Black simply rolled his eyes.
“As I was saying, I use them to my own ends, but of course they want me to bow to their master. I’m not interested in serving him. I have seen many examples of people that sign on with underworld powers, and it always ends the same way. I’m not interested in being used, and that is the best you can hope for when you sell yourself out to demons and their ilk. I’ve never received any sort of proposition from an actual demon king, but their vassals – like Achirun – are always trying to lure me into their service. Rest assured, that will never come to pass.”
Kari started to speak but Lord Allerius stopped her. She made a gesture to assure him she wasn’t going to make any snide comments, though, and asked, “If you had to venture a guess, which demon lord do you suppose sent this assassin after you?”
“My first guess would be Sekassus simply based on the fact that she was a snake,” the Earl said with a shrug. “But you’re the demonhunters, it’s your job to figure that out and send the bitch back where she came from.”
Kari wasn’t sure what surprised her more: the fact that Kaelin Black knew enough of Sekassus the Calculating to suspect him, or that he had used the word bitch to describe a woman, which was rare enough among commoners, let alone nobility. Kari and Albrecht exchanged glances, but the head of the Order then looked to Aeligos to see if the rogue had any more questions. Aeligos shook his head, and Lord Allerius glanced once more at Kari before settling a measured gaze on Black. He folded his arms across his chest, something Kari could attest to rarely seeing except when he was mightily upset, but Albrecht kept his voice steady and even as he addressed their ‘guest.’
“You may return to your city at your leisure, your lordship. I would recommend you do so now, to avoid provoking the wrath of the Blood Order,” Lord Allerius said. “We will send a sufficient detail to your city to aid in ridding you of this assassin. They will likely arrive in two to three weeks, so please see to it that you take every initiative and effort to keep your people safe until our help arrives. Understand, however, that should we find you’ve lied to us and you did either initiate the fight with the Guild members or, at the very least, helped kill them, we will issue a warrant for your arrest regardless of your title and position. Am I clear?”
Kaelin Black rose to his feet, towering over the others in the room, and despite how much it appeared he wanted to respond to Lord Allerius’ challenge, instead he simply bowed his head. “I will appreciate whatever help you can send. I do recommend, however, that you send your best,” he said, eyeing Kari briefly. “That assassin was no common killer.” Before anyone could respond, he closed his eyes, concentrated for a moment, and then disappeared with a pop as the air rushed to fill the place where he’d stood a moment before.
Albrecht Allerius looked at Kari, but she simply shook her head. “I’ll have my answer for you by morning,” she said. He bid her good night, and she and Aeligos made their egress.
*****
Kari lay beside Grakin in their bed, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking. She could feel the rush of blood through her veins and the soft, fuzzy feeling below her skin, and she refused to allow her preoccupation with Kaelin Black to dull the pleasure. The house was silent around them: Kyrie had gone to comfort her son at Tigron’s temple after Kari delivered the news; Aeligos was spending the night with Eryn; Sonja hadn’t come home from her studies under Maelstrom; and even Typhonix was out, probably at one of the taverns dr
inking and relaxing. Little Gray was fast asleep in his bed, and as the deeper night settled in around them, Kari met her mate’s ebon gaze in the darkness of their bedroom.
Grakin didn’t want Kari to go to Barcon, but at the same time he made it quite clear that he would respect her decision either way. He loved and appreciated her as a demonhunter only slightly less than he did as a mate and the mother of his child. While he wanted her to be safe and stay close to their small family, he also wanted her to be happy, and he knew that her work was something she found an incredible amount of fulfillment in. He was the first to encourage her to return to work when Little Gray was old enough to go extended periods without her. He never wanted Kari to feel trapped by her home life, and he made sure she knew that.
Kari was glad for the love and support of her mate. She didn’t particularly want to go far from home, certainly not to aid someone like Kaelin Black, but at the same time, a part of her was growing increasingly restless as the years away from the front lines passed. Since the age of twenty-one she had always been on one long, never-ending adventure, and after her resurrection, the Apocalypse and the near-war on Tsalbrin had continued that trend. Her fire and drive were not dulled at all by her pregnancy or giving birth to Little Gray, and they scratched and clawed at her mind more and more each day as she felt the years go by. Kari loved her son and her mate very much and wanted to be there for them, but she couldn’t deny that there was a calling deep inside her telling her that the world as a whole needed her, too.
She couldn’t help thinking of Jol and the pain her brother-in-law was so obviously going through on account of Black and the assassin that followed him. As much as she wanted to help the people of Barcon, there was a part of her that wanted to hurt Black in some way, and kill off the syrinthian assassin she’d fought in the streets. She bit back the feelings, though: Kari never wanted to be motivated by hatred or revenge. She was a protector, someone who had become a demonhunter not because she thought the demons needed to pay, but simply because the people needed to be protected. She remembered when Erik asked her on Tsalbrin if she hunted demons because they’d hurt her or her family personally. Thankfully, such was not the case – until now.
“Trust your instincts,” Grakin told her, and he propped himself up on his elbow when she regarded him. “You are one of the greatest demonhunters in the history of the Order, and your instincts are a large part of that. I want you to stay home with us, Kari, but if you feel you must see to this yourself, then I want you to do that. You must do as your heart commands.”
“If you could’ve seen Jol’s face…,” she said, and she bit her lower lip. Grakin stroked her face and then her hair affectionately as she composed herself, and she continued, “I just think of all the other people dealing with the same thing and I have a hard time putting that in someone else’s hands. That assassin…I’ve never seen someone move like that before. I don’t even know what she is, but she’s deadly, and I don’t trust her or Kaelin Black. I feel like her being here has something to do with Tsalbrin and whatever Sekassus was up to. I want to go see for myself.”
Grakin kissed her forehead. “Then go,” he said. “Just do as Lord Allerius has bid you and take some strong help with you. Do not agonize over this. I trust your instincts and will respect your decision.”
“I’m just afraid I might be letting my feelings cloud my judgment,” she said, and Grakin tried to hush her and wave off her concerns. “I’ve been on administrative duties for years, and I know how it might look to the others if I suddenly return to front-line duty because my brother-in-law’s girlfriend got hurt.”
“No one will harbor such feelings, certainly not about you,” Grakin countered.
“I might,” she said. “Why did something like this have to happen to rekindle the fire?”
The priest shook his head and waved a hand dismissively. “The fire never went out,” Grakin said. “Kari, you were already getting your body back into fighting form days after you gave birth to our son! You paced the floors of this house, itching to return to your work not long after that. The fire was never extinguished, you simply found another that burned brighter.”
Grakin leaned in and kissed her as she bit her lower lip again, and he continued, “You told me once that I spend so much of my time caring for others that I often overlook myself. The same can be said of you. You worry so much about being there for everyone, and you take too much of the world’s weight on your shoulders. So much so that you now feel guilty for taking a few years away from being a hero to raise your child well. You are a hero, Kari: to the world, to me, and especially to your son. You should not question your own motivations.”
“So you want me to go, then?” she asked.
“No,” he answered truthfully. “But I believe you need to, and I will not stand in the way of that. Indeed, I will stand behind you, as is my place as your mate.”
Grakin sat up in the bed as Kari rose and crossed the room to the wardrobe. She drew her blades from their scabbards and approached the west-facing window, and she opened the drapes so that the floor was bathed in the strong light of the two bright moons. With Grakin watching, she knelt down and touched the tips of the swords to the floor. She took in a deep breath and let it out in a long, calming sigh as she closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind.
“Zalkar, I ask of you the right to vengeance,” she prayed aloud. “I ask this of you on behalf of my brother-in-law, and on behalf of all those this demoness has hurt. If you find my cause just and righteous, fill me with your strength and make me an instrument of justice. Grant me the power of your avatar that I may strike down the demon that caused these people harm.”
Kari waited to see if her prayer was answered, and she glanced up at the two bright moons in the sky as though they were another set of eyes watching her. At first she felt nothing, but then there was a distinct change. Like Jol quenching orange-hot metal in water, the longing in her heart was suddenly silenced. Kari assumed that Zalkar had denied her request and was telling her to remain home and be a mother to her child. When she saw the light blue glow on the wall below the window, though, her heart skipped a beat, and her deity’s symbol drew itself upon her chest, pulsed once, and then disappeared. She heard Grakin gasp behind her, and at the same time she felt something she couldn’t immediately explain.
It took only a few moments and a glance to her proud mate for Kari to realize what it was she felt: relief. She felt the surge of her deity’s power flow through her body momentarily as he answered her request, and she felt as though a deep, insatiable hunger was satisfied. It took only seconds for her body to respond, and she remembered what it had felt like to wield his strength in combat, to carry the hope of an entire people on her shoulders, and to bring glory to her lord. Kari closed her eyes and tears ran from them as she remembered what it felt like when she’d fulfilled her previous Blood Oath and Zalkar’s power had left her: she had felt empty, needful, and even desperate to feel it again. His power filled her with the need to feel the tender, yet empowering touch that tickled her core so much like Grakin’s love did, and yet so differently. With Zalkar’s power in her, Kari felt whole again.
More importantly, she felt vindicated. Any doubts she’d had as to her motivations or her decision to take time to start a family were washed away in the tide of her deity’s power flowing through her veins. In those brief moments, she felt the fire that had seemed absent from her life of administrative duties for the previous few years smoldering deep within her core. She felt the rush of righteous fury as her heart demanded justice for the assassin, and the very god of law and justice answered with a resounding agreement. Once again, Kari felt the hope of reaching that coveted position of Avatar of Vengeance, wherein she would become the very right hand of Zalkar, and find the fulfillment of her life’s work.
The feeling lasted only moments, yet it left what felt like a lifetime of impact on Kari’s heart and soul. She rose to her feet and turned to face her mate, and in his eye
s she found further comfort and fulfillment. “Zalkar trusts your instincts as well,” Grakin said with his warm smile.
Kari sighed as reality sank in. “How are we going to explain this to Little Gray?”
Grakin chuckled. “Perhaps we can enlist the aid of the Fuzzy Man in that,” he joked, and the two laughed before Kari put her swords away and joined him under the covers again.
Chapter IV – Remnants
“It’s a trap,” Aeligos stated flatly, which prompted murmurs amongst the Council.
It was unusual for common citizens to stand before the Council of the Order when they were making a decision, but Aeligos had tagged along with Kari to tell them more about what he’d seen the night before. Kari still had yet to reveal that she’d come to a decision or sworn a Blood Oath to accompany that decision, wanting to hear what Aeligos had to say first. She was as surprised by his declaration as the members of the Council, and though his demeanor typically hid it well, Lord Allerius was also shocked. All of the demonhunters and priests of Zalkar beheld the rogue curiously, waiting for him to continue.
“Please, explain your findings,” Master Bennet prompted, sensing the rogue was awaiting permission to speak further.
As he began to gesture softly in preparation to speak, Kari studied Aeligos and recalled the tales of his diplomatic skill during their mission on Tsalbrin. The Moreville twins and his sister Sonja had spoken very highly of his abilities, though with the charm and charisma Aeligos possessed, Kari was hardly surprised by the results he’d gotten. The rogue had convinced not one, but two prominent military powers on Tsalbrin to back his plan to depose the warlord Braxus Gaswell, and by all accounts had done so easily. It made Kari smile, and she expected he was about to enlighten not only the Council but she herself as to what was truly going on with Kaelin Black and the assassin. At this point, Kari figured a little clarity would go a long way.
