Eve of Redemption Omnibus: Volumes 1-3

by Joe Jackson

  The door of the bathhouse opened, and Kari pulled down her towel and began to dry herself off. Once she’d dried her hair a bit, she began toweling the rest of her body and looked across the bathhouse. Her brother-in-law and fellow demonhunter Erijinkor approached, and though he’d seen Kari naked many times before – nudity was not taboo to Kari's kind, as it was to humans and even her half-guardian in-laws – he still stopped a respectful distance away from her shower stall. Erik was tall and muscular, a massive man with an imposing countenance accented by a broad snout and strong chin. Erik could be arrogant and bull-headed at times, but he was changing, becoming more of a leader and less of a boss to those who served below him. His blue eyes were warm as he smiled at his sister-in-law.

  “We’ve got them all,” he said. “Lord Allerius is waiting for you in the central yard.”

  “Let me just get dressed,” she said, and Erik moved to take down her hanging garments and hand them to her. “How many of them did we discover?”

  Erik didn’t respond immediately, and when Kari glanced at him, she saw that his gaze was drawn downward. It seemed unusual, but Kari realized he was looking at her dog tags: the turquoise border around the platinum tags was all it took for Erik to realize she’d been promoted. His eyes came up to meet hers after a few more moments, and there was a light in them that Kari seldom saw in her brother-in-law’s gaze. He smiled a true, beaming, prideful smile, but didn’t give voice to his thoughts regarding the tags. “Eleven altogether,” he answered finally, and he nodded at Kari’s surprised expression. “Master Maelstrom was able to root out a couple of them that were on patrol around the city, and they were taken into custody and brought back, too.”

  “One other thing I was thinking about,” Kari began, “was that if this plan of Sekassus’ was put into motion after we killed Ressallk, then there might be other syrinthians already among us from previous years. Anyone who’s been graduated and put into service since we got back from Tsalbrin could be a syrinthian spy. We’re going to need a list of graduates and assignments for the last three or so years, and those initiates are going to need to be called back.”

  “That’s a good point,” Erik said after some thought. “You get dressed and go meet with Lord Allerius. I’ll head over to the offices and have the administrators start putting together a list. How are you holding up?”

  Kari glanced at him and held his stare for a minute, but she decided she didn’t want to talk things through yet. “I’ll be fine once your mother renews those wards around the house,” she said. “I guess we’re going to have to be a lot more careful about who we invite in.”

  “You’re going to have to tell me all about this elestram that got in the house,” he said, but he waved away his own words. “Some other time when we have a minute to breathe. I’ll see you out on the courtyard shortly.”

  Kari dressed herself in her undergarments, padded clothes, and her paluric armor. The padded clothes weren’t all that necessary if she wasn’t expecting to be in combat, but the light-weight armor didn’t absorb blunt-force blows very well, so Kari made it a habit to always have the padded clothes on underneath. They needed a washing as much as she had, but she pushed the thoughts aside. She belted on her twin scimitars, a matching pair that had been crafted by a master harmauth smith called Terx; they were Kari’s pride and joy as a fighter. She had used the blades throughout most of her career, and they’d been an integral reason why she’d met and trained with the amazing King Suler Tumureldi, who’d taught her his fighting style. Fully armed and armored, Kari made her way from the bathhouse and out to the campus’ main square.

  Normally there were squads of recruits training in the main square, but now trainees and journeyman hunters alike were gathered about the square in a crowd. They formed a wide circle around Lord Allerius, Kari’s brother-in-law Typhonix, and the Archmage Gareth Maelstrom and his two children. Kneeling in a line before the five were eleven syrinthians, their shape-changing magic dispelled to reveal the snake-people for what they were. There were eight males and three females, and they were all on their knees, their hands bound behind their backs and their gazes on the dusty ground before them.

  Typhonix had his axe out, hanging somewhat limply from his hand to rest on the ground, but he hefted the massive decapitator and rested it on his shoulder when Kari came through the crowd. The blonde half-guardian was a burly and often ill-tempered man, and it was clear from the way Ty held his axe and grinned at Kari that he was looking forward to killing the syrinthians. There were many different types of demonhunters among the Order, and though Typhonix wasn’t the crusading or protective type, Kari still appreciated that he was the one to always do what was necessary, regardless of what others might think or feel. He wasn’t a merciful hunter, but Kari and the other heads of the Order understood that at times, men like Typhonix were exactly what were required to get a job done.

  Kari nodded respectfully to the Archmage Gareth Maelstrom as he turned his head to regard her. She’d heard many stories of DarkWind’s resident archmage, but this was the first time she’d actually seen him face-to-face. The terra-rir male still had a rugged handsomeness to him, despite the fact that he was over two centuries old and had several nasty scars that appeared to be new, as though he’d suffered them during the Apocalypse. He was tall and noble-looking, with a narrow snout, conservatively short black hair, and pale green eyes. Unlike many of the wizards Kari had met over the course of her lives, Maelstrom didn’t wear a fancy robe or anything else to denote his status as an archmage: he wore simple brown trousers and a similarly-colored tunic, and leather boots. He seemed to take account of Kari as though he had likewise heard much about her and was trying to reconcile what she looked like with what he’d imagined. After a few moments, he smiled softly and returned her polite nod.

  “Lady Vanador, I’m sure you know Archmage Gareth Maelstrom,” Lord Allerius said, and with that cue, Kari extended her hand and shook with the wizard.

  “This is my son Reese, and my daughter Andrea,” the elder wizard said, introducing his two children behind him. They nodded respectfully to Kari but didn’t come forward to shake her hand. They looked astonishingly like their father, which left Kari to wonder what had happened to their mother, and what she may have looked like.

  Kari turned to Lord Allerius, a middle-aged terra-rir who was still in great physical shape, a testament to the training he’d pushed himself through all his life as a demonhunter. His stark white hair was fairly long in the tradition of warriors, but Kari knew he had a habit of trimming it every so often since he was rarely out in the field fighting anymore. His green eyes were still full of life and the fire of his position as head of the Order, but in their depths Kari could also see a bit of hesitation: he clearly wanted her input on what to do with the syrinthians.

  “I sent Erik over to the offices to get a comp…rehensive list of all the hunters that have graduated and been sent out on assignment since we got back from Tsalbrin,” Kari informed Lord Allerius. “It occurred to me that these ones we’ve captured and the one I killed in my house may only be the most recent spies; they may have been coming here to infiltrate the Academy since I killed Ressallk.”

  There were two clear reactions from the syrinthians: once when Kari mentioned having killed one of them in her house, and another when she mentioned having killed Ressallk. The captives spared each other glances, but they seemed too terrified to give voice to their thoughts. Lord Allerius apparently caught the reactions as well, but he seemed just as puzzled as Kari as to what the reactions actually meant. Kari assumed the syrinthians were even more terrified now that they knew it was Kari who slew one of their princes. She imagined that they were making their peace with what was to come.

  “Good thinking,” Allerius said at last. “I understand you wish to talk with the prisoners before we do anything with them. My gut tells me to simply execute them and be done with it, but my heart tells me to let you handle this. After all, you are the one who was attac
ked in your own home. I am curious as to your thoughts on this, especially in light of your work in Barcon.”

  Kari glanced over the prisoners again. They looked similar to Turillia, but these were purebred syrinthians, and lacked the pale coloration or abundant sexual charm that the half-succubus had possessed. Their features were angular, they had wide, slit-pupiled eyes that were wild to behold, and their scales were tannish with a deeper green tint underneath. Like with Turillia, their scales were so fine that they appeared to have skin like a human, and from the corner of the eye or at a distance, Kari imagined they could pass for human. Their noses and the upturned, slotted nostrils helped to betray them, but when their gazes were tilted down, it was hard to tell them apart from a human at first glance. Most curious were their tails, which Turillia had lacked. The tails were fairly thick, and appeared almost like the body of a snake hanging down from their lower spines.

  Most of these before Kari appeared to be young, though Kari wasn’t sure how much a syrinthian showed its age. Had they been human, she’d have guessed they had seen less than twenty summers. They were lithe, and even the males lacked bulky musculature, but Kari understood that they must still be fine physical specimens to be passing the rugged portions of the demonhunter training. Kari assumed that like Turillia, the syrinthians depended more on agility and graceful movements than brute force when it came to physical challenges, and that they were likely very difficult to hit in sparring exercises.

  Kari sighed. “I think we need to meet with the Council before we make any decision regarding these,” she said with a gesture toward the prisoners. “A lot of information has come to my attention since I left for Barcon. For now, I’d say move them to the warded prison, all except for…that girl there.”

  Kari pointed out the youngest-looking syrinthian female, and the girl’s eyes went wider than normal as she was singled out. “You leave her alone!” one of the males beside her shouted.

  Typhonix stepped forward with his axe and let the head fall into the dirt before the male who’d spoken. “I’d keep my mouth shut if I were you,” he said with a scowl.

  “Ease off, hunter,” Lord Allerius commanded softly, and Typhonix nodded respectfully and retreated to his place. “I’m glad I waited to speak to you first, Lady Vanador. We will have the prisoners taken to the warded cells, but what shall we do with this other one?”

  “Take her up to the conference room and keep her apart from the others,” Kari said, though she didn’t look at Allerius as she spoke. She kept her eyes locked on those of the male who’d yelled at her, and she could see he was anxious about having the young girl split apart from her comrades. Once she was satisfied that the syrinthians found it alarming, Kari turned back to Allerius and finished, “I want to speak with her privately once we meet with the Council.” Lord Allerius nodded and gestured for Typhonix and some of the other hunters to lead the prisoners away to the warded cells.

  Kari approached the lone girl left kneeling before her and Lord Allerius. “Stand up, please,” Kari said. It was obvious by the girl’s reaction and those of the hunters around them that such politeness was unexpected. The girl got to her feet. She was tall and lanky, standing a bit taller than Kari, but with that typical litheness to her body. Her hips were barely wider than the rest of her, and Kari wondered at the skinny builds of the snake-folk. “What’s your name?”

  The girl lifted her eyes to meet Kari’s gaze, but she kept her face downturned in a display of submission. “Liria, ma’am,” she answered timidly. It was interesting that she still referred to Kari as ma’am despite the fact that her status as a cadet had been stripped away.

  “Your full name,” Kari clarified, and the girl’s expression betrayed her surprise.

  “Se’lucia Liria Alaristis,” the syrinthian girl amended.

  “And do you know who I am?” Kari asked.

  “You are Lady Karian Vanador, Sword of the Heavens, co-leader of the Demonhunter Order,” the girl said.

  What Kari found interesting was the lack of mention of Salvation’s Dawn. She hoped that meant the syrinthians’ presence was completely unrelated to the Temple of Archons or to the fact that Kari was Salvation’s Dawn – a part of the key to the ancient Temple. Kari waited until the others were led away, and it was obvious by the way a couple of the males kept looking back that they were genuinely concerned for their companion. Kari had to wonder if perhaps Liria was mated to one of the males, but she had not gotten to know this new class of cadets as well as she might normally have, so she wasn’t sure offhand. She supposed it wasn’t all that important at that moment. Once the others were well out of earshot, Kari turned back to the girl. Liria’s face and eyes were downturned now, and in her quiet but quickened breathing, Kari could tell the girl was terrified of being alone.

  Kari regarded Lord Allerius, who was waiting patiently for her next move, and she made the barest of nods toward the syrinthian girl. Kari turned back to the girl and said, “Se’sasha.”

  Liria’s eyes came up immediately, exactly the reaction Kari had hoped for. The other hunters and even Lord Allerius had no idea what the word meant or why Kari had said it, but there was no missing the shock it had evoked in the syrinthian girl. Kari gestured for a couple of hunters to do as instructed and escort Liria to the conference room. The girl glanced at Kari over her shoulder several times as she was led away, and Kari could see that though Liria was less terrified now, she was still nervous about being split apart from her comrades. It was good, and exactly what Kari wanted.

  “We have a lot to talk about,” Kari said to Lord Allerius after the girl was led away. “A lot has changed since I went to Barcon. But it’s best if I tell you and the Council all together.”

  “Cadet, go to the temple and give notice that we need to meet with the Council at their earliest convenience,” Allerius ordered one of the nearby recruits. He turned back to Kari. “We received word from Master Sanstrom in Barcon that you’d succeeded in your hunt, but he said there was a lot you would need to divulge personally. This attack in your home and the presence of all these syrinthians certainly points to a much bigger, darker plot than a simple serial killer.”

  “Plots,” Kari corrected. “And the thing is: I don’t even know if they’re all connected.”

  Allerius dismissed the other hunters and cadets with a glance and a nod, and he folded his hands behind his back and fidgeted a little while the others dispersed. It was unusual behavior for him, and Kari wondered what was on his mind. The Archmage started to leave as well, but Kari asked him to wait so she could ask him something. He directed his children to return to their tower, and waited on Kari. Once it was just Kari, Allerius, and Master Maelstrom in the central square, a smile creased Albrecht’s face. “Rumors have been gaining momentum that you’ve been promoted again,” he said.

  Kari glanced around and allowed herself a bit of a smile, and she shrugged sheepishly as she met her friend’s gaze again. “I didn’t want to say anything when we had a crisis on our hands,” she said. “You’re much better at leading this lot than I think I will be.”

  “Oh, hogwash,” he said with a playful, dismissive wave. “You have the respect of every hunter on this campus. They want to be led by you. It’s a role you’ll easily grow into because of that. And I know that you have it in you to lead the Order, that’s why I’ve tried to let you in on my decision-making as much as possible. I’m unlikely to be getting promoted again in this lifetime. Can I see your tags? I’ve not seen Hand of Zalkar tags since Jason Bosimar himself was rising through the ranks.”

  Kari drew out her tags and let Albrecht inspect them, but she considered his words while he did so. He wasn’t much older than Kari was, but he seemed resigned to never going out on the front lines to hunt again. It left Kari to wonder how many years she had left, considering her own thoughts just a short time before. It was a strange thing: she had lived across two different lifetimes, and she wasn’t entirely sure just how old she truly was. There were days when
people told her she didn’t look a day over twenty-five, and indeed she felt it was so, but other times –such as today – when she felt like she was getting too old for the hunter’s life. She resolved to see this attempted rescue of Se’sasha through, should everything work out correctly, and then see how she felt after that.

  “Amazing,” Allerius said at length. “Congratulations, my friend; it is an honor well-deserved. So, who should we go speak with first?”

  “The Council,” Kari answered. “I need to fill you all in on some of what I've learned in Barcon, and then I'll go speak with Liria alone. But I want her to stew for a little while before I start questioning her. Capturing these syrinthians…Sekassus really exposed himself. I know he doesn’t care if these people live or die, but if they’ll talk…”

  Lord Allerius nodded. “Indeed,” he agreed. “It seems uncharacteristic of one who is called The Calculating, though; perhaps it is a trap within a trap.”

  “Maybe,” Kari said. “But from what I’ve learned in the last few weeks…he may not be as smart as he thinks he is. Head to the temple; I'll be there shortly, and then we can speak with the Council, and I’ll clear all this up.”

  Allerius nodded respectfully and made his way toward the campus' temple, and Kari turned and guided the Archmage away from the cadets training nearby. “I need to ask you to do something for me, but I need you to keep it quiet. Are you willing to do that for me?” she asked him once they were away from the others.