Eve of Redemption Omnibus: Volumes 1-3

by Joe Jackson

  “I never doubted that would be the case,” Kari said evenly, and Aeligos half-smiled.

  Amastri nodded. “Good. Now, first things first: have you already obtained some form of transportation to the underworld?”

  Kari shook her head. “No. Master Maelstrom doesn’t have the spells necessary to send us there. I’m trying to get in contact with another archmage that can.”

  “Very good,” Amastri said. “Of course, I can send you there myself, I simply thought you might trust one of your own kind more. You may still…I would hardly blame you if that was the case.”

  The demonhunter tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “So you can summon your people here, too?” she demanded.

  Amastri waved off the question. “No, and that was part of why your predecessor allowed me to stay here,” she answered. “I can send things from one place to another, but I cannot call them the same way. It would take a while to explain fully, but I cannot perform the type of summoning that would bring my people across your world’s barriers. However, as I said, I can take or send things from your world to mine, and I can do that for you.”

  “We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Kari interrupted. “It doesn’t matter where I’m going or how I’m getting there if we can't find Se'sasha or Sekassus isn’t willing to negotiate. I need to know where she is, whether Sekassus can be negotiated with if he's holding her, and what he’s going to want before I think about going down there to meet him.”

  Again there was that muted, amused expression when Kari referred to the underworld or ‘going down there.’ Amastri chuckled lightly. “Yes, you are quite correct, Lady Vanador. Let me start from the beginning, then. Se'sasha is being held in the palace of King Sekassus, in his capital city of Sorelizar. This is established fact. Normally, I would tell you that your chances of negotiating her release – particularly as a demonhunter who has slain one of King Sekassus' sons – are very slim; however, my king believes she knows of something that will force his hand, even if you go to him personally. Shall I continue?”

  Kari nodded, and Amastri crossed one ankle over the other, getting comfortable. “This plan of Her Majesty's is fairly complicated, so feel free to interrupt should you not understand,” the half-elf said. “The catch to all of this is that the thing you will need to negotiate Se'sasha's release is not in Her Majesty's possession. It is in the possession of King Morduri Irrasitus, and so Her Majesty has opted to include him in this plan.”

  Amastri paused, so Kari took the cue to interrupt as the woman apparently expected. “What can you tell me about him, and what price is he going to ask for his help?” Kari asked.

  “Ah, you have much to learn when it comes to underworld barter,” the part-elven woman returned. “You need not provide anything to secure King Morduri's help. Acquiring his help is part of the price you have agreed to pay to Her Majesty, and again: she does this for her ends and not yours, so you need not concern yourself with the why of things.”

  Kari glanced at Aeligos and she could see he was suspicious as well. Suddenly the value of the sword seemed like it might be much higher than Kari had anticipated. More than that, though, she understood that a demon – or whatever Amastri really was – insisting Kari didn’t need to know the why of things meant she absolutely did need to know. She decided to let the matter pass for now, though, and said, “So tell me about Morduri, then.”

  Amastri didn't answer right away. She stared at Kari as though she'd said something offensive. “Lady Vanador, allow me to give you a warning: should you refer to any of the kings so casually in their presence, the consequences will be dire. Whether you respect them or not, you would do well to always address them as King.” Kari acceded to the point with a nod rather than argue. “King Morduri is one of the youngest of the kings, but he is still very powerful and influential, and he holds a high rank despite his youth. I know little of him personally, other than that he was a hunter and a wanderer, and since ascending to the throne, apparently neither of those things has changed.”

  “Can I trust him, though?” Kari asked.

  “You may trust Her Majesty's judgment, and that King Morduri would be foolish to go against her wishes in this matter,” Amastri said.

  Kari hardly found that comforting, but she decided to just take everything at face value for now. If everything being presented to her was just a trap, Aeligos would likely sniff it out. If it turned out it wasn't a trap, Kari would learn who she could trust – relatively speaking, anyway – among the kings of the underworld. Kari may have had no reason whatsoever to trust King Koursturaux, but if the demon king was willing to aid in Kari's plans simply to humiliate and harass King Sekassus, she could at least take advantage of that. The thing that Kari was left to wonder, though, was whether King Koursturaux had any real goal other than embarrassing or aggravating King Sekassus and their peers.

  “I guess that's as much as I can expect from the kings,” Kari mused.

  Amastri chuckled. “Now then, whether you secure your own transportation to my world or ask me to send you there, you will want to arrive there in exactly eleven days,” she continued. “All visitors to our world are funneled to the grand city of Anthraxis, the seat of the Overking's power, to prevent spies and invaders from coming and going as they please. Do not be alarmed, Lady Vanador. Your arrival will coincide with the summer gathering of the Council, so your arrival will not seem at all out of place or garner much in the way of attention. Once you have arrived in the city, you should request a meeting with King Morduri. It may be necessary for him to ignore your request for a few days, depending on how the Council session progresses, but eventually he will meet with you. From there, he will direct you on whether it is you who will acquire the item you will be using to barter with King Sekassus, and where.”

  “So you don't even know where we'll be going?” Kari asked. “Or will we be heading straight to Sorelizar from Anthraxis?”

  “I am not certain,” Amastri admitted, but she held up a hand to stave off any protest. “As I said earlier, Lady Vanador, all this information has been put together on less than a day's notice. The plan will not be fully realized until Her Majesty has had time to speak directly to King Morduri at the Overking's palace. You may rest assured that the pieces will fall into place before you meet with King Morduri, for if they do not, then you will be freed from your end of this bargain, and free to go your own way without debt. So I cannot tell you exactly where King Morduri will take you, or even what it is he will be giving you to barter with King Sekassus. I can, however, tell you what to expect once you have crossed out of Pataria and–”

  “Pataria is King Morduri's realm?” Kari interrupted.

  “Correct. Pataria, the Eastern Meadows, is the realm of King Morduri Irrasitus, the tenth of the Council of Anthraxis and the last of the Major Kings,” the part-elven woman explained, though Kari really only understood in the most basic sense. “Pataria is what your kind might go so far as to describe as free country when compared to the other realms. King Morduri rules over his people, but he is not a tyrant like King Sekassus or most of the other kings. If you are cautious and do not draw attention to yourselves, you should be able to pass through Pataria with little notice, especially if no one knows you are coming – which I will get to shortly. You will not want to let on that you are a demonhunter, but even if they find out that you are, they should leave you be unless you give them reason not to.”

  Amastri reversed the crossing of her ankles and got comfortable in her seat. “Pataria is a few weeks from the border of Sorelizar by foot. You will need to cross the realm of Tess’Vorg to reach Sorelizar. Tess’Vorg, also called the Fields of Gold, is the realm of King Emanitar Te’Mordrin, who in many respects is like King Morduri. King Emanitar is the eleventh of the Council, but is one of the oldest of the kings: do not mistake his rank for weakness. As with Pataria, if you do not cause trouble within King Emanitar’s realm, he is likely to ignore your presence, so your travel from Pataria to Sorelizar shou
ld be relatively free of danger.”

  “Relatively?” Kari repeated. “What kind of trouble should we expect?”

  Amastri shrugged and gestured lightly with her hands. “Well, Lady Vanador, our world has its dangers, just as yours does: inclement weather, banditry, wild animals. Fortunately for you, things are quiet in the underworld these days, so you will not cross through battlefields or encounter armies in your travels. You will, however, need to be on guard and well prepared, just as though you were travelling across your own lands here. The people of my homeworld may be much different than yours, but the world itself is full of many of the same dangers.”

  “Now, that being said, the realm of Sorelizar is quite different than either Pataria or Tess’Vorg. King Sekassus affords citizens and visitors to his realm few, if any, of the freedoms they might enjoy in the neighboring kingdoms. Accordingly, you will need to be on your best behavior while crossing Sorelizar: if you offend or break the laws of Sorelizar in even the slightest way, your life will likely be forfeit. Fortunately, the simple act of traveling through Sorelizar should not result in the breaking of its laws unless you do something extraordinarily foolish, such as hunting or nosing around in the business of others, particularly the king.”

  Kari nodded and Amastri bobbed her head appreciatively. “So let us get to the heart of the matter: once you have crossed Tess'Vorg, you will arrive at the city of Saristor, on the border of Sorelizar and Tess’Vorg. There, you may meet with either the resident prince, Vassiras, or one of his servants to announce that you are taking tribute to the king to negotiate an exchange. Once you have done this, then by the Overking's Law you will be protected for some time – it is referred to as the Seven Days’ Grace – allowing you to reach King Sekassus and make the offer. Vassiras is King Sekassus’ youngest son, calculating just like his father, but he is a politician, and does his fighting with words far more often than with violence.”

  “So he can be negotiated with, too,” Kari said, and Amastri nodded. “I take it your king will also arrange something with him?”

  “Not necessary,” Amastri returned with a wave of her delicate hand. “You may speak with the prince all you like, but if you go to negotiate with his father, there will be little he can do about it. Even detaining you for too long will likely draw the ire of his father, so it is most unlikely he will even waste your time when you pass through his city. From Saristor, there is a long but straight road to the capital city, Sorelizar, wherein King Sekassus makes his home.”

  “So what is this thing I’d be offering him, anyhow?” Kari asked.

  “That, Lady Vanador, I do not know,” Amastri said. “Whatever it is, you may assume it is of great value, and that its procurement is well worth the price you have agreed to. However, it is something I am ignorant to. Her Majesty said that King Morduri has it and will hand it over willingly once bartered with, and that is all you need concern yourself with.”

  Kari shook her head lightly; again, Amastri was suggesting she shouldn’t ask the why of a situation, which clearly told Kari that she should. Ultimately, she decided once again to take the plan at face value for the time being. In the case of bringing barter before King Sekassus, if it was demons harming demons, that was a small price to pay for Se’sasha’s freedom. Amastri was being thorough; Kari had to give her that. Still, there was one big question that nagged at Kari. “What’s to stop Sekassus from killing me after I give him what he wants?” she asked. “I have to know I’m not going to hand him something and then be tossed into his dungeon or just killed.”

  Amastri nodded, following and understanding Kari’s concerns. “This may sound absurd to you, demonhunter, but there are rules for living under the Overking,” she said. “Such is the basis of the Seven Days’ Grace I told you of. Most of the kings may be at war with each other on some level, but there are rules to ambassadorships and how emissaries must be treated. If you go there to negotiate in good faith, you are supposed to be protected by those same laws. To be completely honest, the fact that you are an outsider – and a demonhunter at that – means virtually no one would mourn your death or rush to hold King Sekassus responsible if he did decide to take your life.” Kari was doubtful, and was sure her expression showed it. “Consider, however, that this is why your Turik Jalar was able to do what he did and not lose his head in moments. There is no other way to put this, Lady Vanador: either you trust in those same laws to some degree, or do not set foot upon my world. It will not, cannot be your strength of arms that keeps you safe while on the Overking’s world.”

  Kari grunted. It was a lot to swallow, but she had to admit to herself that going to the underworld was dangerous whether there were laws to protect her or not. Just finding out there were such laws was already an improvement from what she was expecting, so to distrust those laws didn’t make things seem any worse in the end. Kari was never one for politics, so the laws of the Overking made little sense to her on the surface. She was sure Aeligos could probably give her a good indication of why the Overking might have such laws, but she resolved to ask him about it later.

  “If Sekassus releases Se’sasha, would he be willing to let her leave his realm, given she’s his high priestess?” Kari asked. “Is there any way we can negotiate to make sure she's released to our custody?”

  “With the amount of interest I am told this item will garner from him, you may likely negotiate whatever terms you wish,” Amastri answered. “If you wish her released to your custody, then you must be certain to negotiate that exactly. Do not assume anything. Spell out every detail of what you expect in trade from King Sekassus, else he will fill in the gaps for you, and you may leave with a corpse, or even the wrong person.”

  Kari nodded. That was a big relief; simply getting Se’sasha released wouldn’t serve any use whatsoever except to perhaps make Danilynn and Eli feel better. As much as Kari wanted to help them fulfill their promise, it wasn’t her priority. She needed information, and saving the life of a syrinthian priestess seemed like a very good way to get it, whether from Se'sasha or from the prisoners once Se'sasha was rescued. “How do we get home?” Kari asked, wanting to make sure she got the full picture from Amastri.

  “Once your dealings with King Sekassus are finished, you will head south and into the Overking’s realm, to the city of Anthraxis,” Amastri said. “There you can either meet with this archmage who will be providing your transport, or some other means can be arranged to bring you back here.”

  Gods, I must be out of my mind, Kari thought, trying to keep a straight face. The information she’d received was thorough and almost what she’d hoped for, and yet now the plan seemed even more foolhardy than it had when she knew nothing. She was going to walk into Sorelizar and announce her presence to a demon king who very likely wanted her dead, and then probably anger him even more by dangling some mystery item before him. And what was worse was that she was expected to trust not one, two, or three, but four different demon kings to not simply strike her down the minute she was on their world. Kari thought perhaps Celigus was right, and the entire idea of going to the underworld was foolish.

  “You may, at your discretion, take a less direct route to Sorelizar,” Amastri offered. “If you follow the southern borders of Pataria and Tess’Vorg, they both border the Overking’s realm. If, at any time, you feel you are in danger, out of your element, or even just homesick, you can head to Anthraxis and find your way home. As strange as this may sound, you will be completely and perfectly safe within the Overking’s realm and the city of Anthraxis, unless he specifically has a reason to want you dead. Despite your accomplishments and reputation, Lady Vanador, I sincerely doubt the Overking even knows who you are. You are a hero to your people, no question, but you are of little consequence to him.”

  Kari glanced at Aeligos for a moment. “How many of us should go?” Kari asked.

  Amastri seemed confused. “How many of you planned to go?” she returned. “I was under the impression it would be you and perhaps Dani
lynn.”

  Kari shook her head. “No, I was planning to take Eli and Aeligos with me as well,” she said, “and perhaps my sister-in-law, and maybe one or two others.”

  “No, Lady Vanador, that is neither possible nor advisable,” Amastri said. She sat up straighter in her chair, and Kari was surprised: the woman looked genuinely concerned by what Kari had just said. “Ketava, I forget how little you and your Order actually know of my home. I would suggest you take as few people with you as possible, to avoid drawing attention–”

  “Well, I had figured that, but I thought–”

  “…and that you do not bring males with you at all,” Amastri finished. She glanced from Kari to Aeligos and back again, then let out a subdued sigh, something Kari had not heard from her before. “To keep this as brief as possible, Lady Vanador, the Overking finds females to be weak, and this viewpoint is shared by most of the other kings. In many of the kingdoms, you will find that women are closer to being property than people. Considering this, I suggest that a small group of women traveling uninvited across the land would draw much less attention, since it is most likely others will assume that you may be the property of a noble or even the king. If you bring men with you, however, they may be mistaken for your owners or mates and be the target of violence aimed at claiming you as property.”

  Kari blinked. “Did you catch all of that?” she asked Aeligos.

  “She’s basically saying it’s safer not to travel with males,” he said. “If you travel with just women, anyone looking at you will assume you’re probably the property of someone more powerful than themselves. Is that about right?”