Eve of Redemption Omnibus: Volumes 1-3

by Joe Jackson

  Reaching the Mortal Quarter took only minutes, and Eliza pointed out that the quarter's borders reached the edge of the wide, circular plaza housing the Overking's palatial tower. The half-succubus pointed the group just down a road that stretched into the heart of the quarter, toward a modest inn that was within a stone's throw of the palatial plaza. “I'll meet you at the Overking's Keep when you get settled in,” she assured them, and gestured for them to head to the inn. As soon as Kari and her companions left the circular plaza, Eliza turned and headed up the steps to the tower.

  Kari watched Eliza walk away only briefly. She steeled herself and led her companions toward the inn. She reminded herself that all too soon, she and her companions would be on their own without Eliza to guide them around, so she'd better get used to moving amongst the demons and their cities without that layer of protection. Some of that resolve crumbled the minute she laid eyes on the inn's little sign, though: written there in the Citarian common tongue, as well as three other languages she couldn't read, was the name Hope's End.

  Eli started chuckling when he saw the sign. Kari glanced at Aeligos, and he smirked and shrugged. Sonja and Danilynn appeared to study the sign closely, but neither said anything about the other strange languages inscribed upon it. Kari stepped forward and pushed open the door, and she ushered her friends through despite Eli and Aeligos' attempts to hold the door for her. Danilynn pointed at one of the other languages on the sign as she stepped inside, but whatever she wanted to say had to wait. Once all four of her companions were in, Kari entered behind them and her brows rose in surprise.

  The inside of Hope's End was designed and decorated to look just like a tavern back home on Citaria might. Its walls were covered on the inside with plaster and wood, with beams added to the ceiling to give the impression the place wasn't completely crafted from black glass like the rest of the city. Bright, cheery chandeliers dispelled the deep shadows that tried to claim supremacy in the absence of windows, and streamers, mounted taxidermy, and other homey effects actually gave the inn a little bit of charm. Its name still lingered when Kari thought the last, but she had to admit this was more than she had expected.

  Only a few pairs of eyes glanced at the newest guests standing inside the doorway, and Kari gestured her friends to one of the larger tables that had room for all of them. She noted the races of the other customers: a pair of syrinthians having a quick but quiet conversation in their sibilant language; a couple of kwarrasti enjoying a meal of long, stringy meats; and a circular gaming table had a trio of humans around it, involved in a game of cards. The only other people were the apparent hostess and the bartender, a couple of humans with wide-set eyes, dark hair, and rounded features. The man behind the bar bowed his head politely to Kari when their gazes met, and then the woman came over toward the table.

  The human woman tried a couple of languages before speaking the Citarian common tongue, and she smiled when she found the appropriate words. “Welcome to Hope's End,” she greeted her guests. “Are you here for food, lodgings, or both?”

  “How large are your rooms?” Aeligos asked before Kari could say anything.

  “Large enough for three, should one sleep on the floor,” their hostess said.

  Aeligos nodded slightly to Kari, then turned back to the human woman. “Two rooms should do, then,” he said. “We'll be in the city for at least a couple of days, but depending on how things go with the Council session, we could be here for a while. Can you spare two rooms and food to go with them for a few weeks?”

  “Very good sir, yes,” the hostess replied. “Once the Council completes its session, we are typically light on guests until trade season. We will prepare two rooms for you with spare blankets in one; shall I go and get you some food now?”

  “We're expected at the palace,” Kari said, waving off the offer. “If you can just hold the rooms for us, we should be back in a little while.”

  “Very good, my lady,” the hostess said. “I am Qin Lixiao, and will be happy to be of service when you return.”

  Kari couldn't help being put on guard by the unexpected pleasantness so soon after their arrival, but she smiled and nodded thankfully before they rose and departed. She worked hard not to get too anxious, but she couldn't shake the feeling that all the pleasantness of the inn and possibly the entire Mortal Quarter was meant to put her off-guard. Just when she thought she could relax for a minute, she expected the Overking's all-powerful arm could very easily swoop in and pluck her right out of the “safe” area and cast her headlong into a dungeon, or worse. It would be nice to have a fairly pleasant place to stay the nights, but Kari stayed alert.

  Traffic into the tower had slowed to a trickle when they returned to the central plaza, and the two harmauth guards opened the double doors for Kari and her companions. She tried to be conscious to not look like a tourist or act bewildered every time something of the sort occurred, and she hoped her friends had the same presence of mind. They filed into the tower, assaulted immediately by many conversations on every side, almost all in the infernal tongue. Danilynn and Sonja may have both been able to understand the infernal tongue, but Kari doubted they'd be able to pick out any single conversation amongst the cacophony.

  The entire interior of the tower was an assault on the senses. In addition to the numerous conversations, there was the sound of a piano being played somewhere nearby. Kari's eyes were drawn here and there, taking in the many elestram, erestram, mallasti, syrinthian, and other retainers, servants, and visitors crowding the entry level. The entry level was bright, the walls of the tower enchanted somehow so that they let in light from outside without being transparent. Of greater interest to Kari was a wide, circular opening to the level below, lined with a railing short enough for guests to watch over. Two wide spiral staircases led up to the next level, from which the distant piano playing seemed to come. Kari couldn't see any of the kings – at least none that stood out, or that she recognized – and she wondered where to go first.

  The circular opening to the level below piqued her interest most, so she glanced at her companions and then made her way to the railing. The demons in the way cast only cursory glances at her and her companions as they edged past, and soon Kari laid her hands on the railing and looked over the side. The level below was dominated in the center by a sprawling table that could seat close to fifty people or, based on the size of the chairs that accompanied it, nearly a dozen and a half demon kings. The floor, like everything else in the tower and the city, was made of the black glass, which made the wooden table stand out all the more.

  The table itself looked to be set for dinner, with fancy plates and silver- and gold-wear across its polished surface. Around the perimeter were seventeen chairs, with one at the head and eight per side. Each of these impressive chairs appeared to be unique to the king who sat in them, from the gilded black throne at the head of the table – doubtless for the Overking – to the simple one of wood and furs that sat at the far right corner from the Overking's seat. A few of the seats appeared to be made from bones, while others were crafted from granite, obsidian like the Overking's, or gilded wood.

  Only one of the seats was currently occupied, and Kari studied the form of the demon king while its attention was elsewhere. She was fairly certain she had already located Morduri Irrasitus, the tall, lean elestram covered in tan fur that was highlighted in places by darker browns or even black. Most curious were his eyes, a glowing shade of violet that Kari had only ever seen among the seterra-rir of the Salkorum Islands. She had seen elestram with orange, golden, green, or brown eyes before, but never one with the shade Morduri had. He was dressed in a smart but well-worn set of hunter's garb, suggesting he hadn’t changed upon arriving in the city. Leaning to the side in his high-backed wooden throne with one leg crossed atop the other, he was balancing a sheet of metal covered with paper between his lap and the edge of the table, and appeared to be drawing something.

  “That's him,” came the low voice of Eliza as she
drew up beside Kari. The others were all watching the elestram king with interest as well, but Kari turned to face the half-succubus squarely. “I've already let the Overking's servants know that he has requested a meeting with you, so when he makes it known that he is available to the public, you should be contacted with all due haste.”

  Kari glanced back down at the elestram king, in his own little world while he worked at whatever he was doing, with the entire lower level to himself. “I don't suppose we could go down and just speak to him now?” she asked, expecting the obvious answer.

  “Ah, no,” Eliza said. “No one but the kings or summoned servants may set foot upon the floor of their meeting hall. Violations carry an instant and irrevocable death sentence. As far as I have heard, only one person has ever set foot upon that floor without permission and survived, and he was a member of your Order.”

  “Turik Jalar,” Kari muttered, but she thought better of asking more when surrounded by so many large, sensitive, canine-like ears. “What's Lord Morduri drawing? Is he an artist?”

  “Oh yes, and a fantastic one at that. Largely considered one of the best on Mehr'Durillia, though great artistry seems to come naturally to the elestram. Come, let me show you,” Eliza said, and she gestured for Kari and her companions to follow. The half-succubus led them to one of the spiral staircases leading up, but before she started to ascend, she turned back to them. “I suppose I should give you a brief description of the layout of the tower, so you can avoid any mishaps. The lower level, as you saw, is the Royal Meeting Hall. The entry level here is for servants and retainers to keep watch over the sessions, and for the ushers to meet and guide visitors to the appropriate destinations. The second floor is the library, where we're headed now. The third floor is the Royal Throne Room; you only go there by summons from the Overking himself, so if you're lucky, you won't see it. The fourth floor, I am told, is the harem. The fifth through ninth floors are guest quarters for those here by the Overking's invitation. The tenth through thirty-ninth floors are reserved for the kings, though many of them have been empty for centuries. And the top floor, naturally, belongs to the Overking himself.”

  Forty floors? Kari thought, but she kept her feelings silent and instead followed Eliza up to the library. The piano playing was louder here, but Kari couldn't see where it was coming from with all of the bookshelves set at intervals throughout the cavernous room. The entire outer wall was free of shelves to allow sunlight to stream through the enchanted black glass, and the intervening shelves were set up such that sunlight managed to find its way to most of the room. What areas could not be illuminated this way instead had chandeliers alight by means of magic, rather than standard lighting. Seated in deep, high-armed, and soft-looking chairs around the room were elestram and mallasti perusing the library's many works, which all appeared to be written in infernal.

  Eliza led Kari and her companions to the back wall, opposite the side of the tower where the front doors were. Stretched across the wall there, backlit perfectly by the translucent walls letting the sun through, were numerous pencil drawings of incredible beauty. Some of them appeared to be of elestram or mallasti, but Kari's eyes – along with the rest of her friends' – were drawn to the center, to a painstakingly detailed drawing of a horned woman. Morduri seemed to capture every nuance of the woman's expression, from the barely-noticeable dimples to the soft folds of her lips; from the high cheekbones to the slender, delicate nose; from the intricate earrings that hung from pointed lobes to the thin eyebrows that arched gracefully over pools of solid black. The woman was gorgeous, and yet under that beauty was the quiet confidence of great power, and Kari knew instinctively who she was looking at.

  “That's her,” Eli answered in confirmation of Kari's thoughts. “King Koursturaux.”

  “Lady Koursturaux, or Lady S'Bakthra,” Eliza corrected quietly. “But only while in this city. Remember that.”

  “Lord Morduri drew this?” Kari asked, stunned that something so beautiful was crafted by a demon.

  “Oh yes,” the half-succubus answered. “He presented it to her as a gift, but she opted to have it displayed here for all to see.”

  “Who are all these others? Anyone in particular?”

  “I'm not certain about most of them,” Eliza said, “though that one there is Emmalikas. She is often called to stand beside the Overking during meetings, and I believe Lord Morduri finds her a pleasant break from drawing his peers on the Council.”

  Kari chuckled. “I see there's no drawings of your father.”

  Eliza made a face, then gave a light shrug. “My father and Lord Morduri do not get on well. Father thinks Lord Irrasitus is a little queer.”

  There was a brief silence. “Queer like strange, or as in he likes other men?” Eli prodded.

  “Both,” the half-succubus answered. “I can't speak to either, myself. Many of the other kings think Lord Morduri is a little strange, too. Mostly it is the fact that he ascended his father's throne but still chooses to wander rather than actively sit as king, and because he has no mate, kast'wa, or harem of his own.”

  “That hardly proves anything,” Aeligos said quietly, which drew nods of agreement from Eliza, Sonja, and Danilynn.

  “Considering how many unmated brothers I have, there must be more to it,” Eliza agreed.

  “Where is your father?” Kari asked.

  Eliza gave that slight shrug again. “Most likely up in his chambers, preparing for the dinner feast and the later evening's activities. If things go as they usually do, a brilliant game of chess between my father and Lady Koursturaux will follow the dinner hour, and you'll be hard-pressed to get close enough to the railing to watch.”

  “Now, all that being said, this library is open to any and all, so feel free to begin your research here while you wait for your meeting with Lord Morduri. All of the tomes are in the infernal script, but there's several thousand years of history here for your perusal, and you'd do well to take in as much of it as you can. Those of you who can't read the infernal script are more than welcome to come with me, and I'll give you a tour of the city.”

  Kari glanced at Sonja and Danilynn, who both silently agreed to begin the studying, but when Kari's gaze swept over Aeligos, he was perturbed. “Do you know the infernal language at all?” she asked him.

  Aeligos shook his head. “No, but if I help my sister and Danilynn, I can probably pick up on a lot of it fairly quickly. I just don't want to slow them down by pestering them for a quick study on a language. What do you two think?”

  Danilynn beheld Aeligos skeptically. “Do you really think you can pick up enough of it in a few days to let you read any of these books on your own?”

  “He'll be reading them himself by the end of the night if we help him,” Sonja commented with a proud little smile. “Kari, you and Eli go take in some of the city; you can tell us all about it over dinner back at the inn. We'll see if we can locate any relevant tomes and get a feel for how the library is laid out.”

  Eliza looked around and pointed down one of the aisles. “The incubi here are ushers and servants of the Overking; if you need any help, don't hesitate to ask them. Outside of this place, even I wouldn't trust them, but the ones here are under command of the Overking, and will help you if you ask.”

  With everyone agreed upon their roles, Kari and Eli followed Eliza downstairs and out of the tower. The day was passing quickly, the velocity of sands accelerated by the fact that the time here in Anthraxis was several hours ahead of where Kari and her friends had come from. The sun was dipping toward the horizon, and Kari imagined Eliza wouldn't have much time to show them around the city before darkness fell. Kari saw nothing along the streets resembling lamps, and she wondered how dark a city of black glass could get at night. She decided to keep her questions quiet for now, all the better to seem less like a tourist to those demons that were still out and about on the roads.

  Eliza headed toward the northeast of the city, opposite the Mortal Quarter, and it was almost
as if she'd read Kari's mind when she said, “Curfew is one hour after sundown. I'll be able to show you a couple of things here in the Trade Quarter before we have to get off the streets. The Trade Quarter is the only other area you'll probably be interested in looking around outside the Mortal Quarter; the other two are the housing and military districts, and as an outsider, you would be watched very closely if you walked the streets of either.”

  The half-succubus went quiet again as she led Kari and Eli along, so Kari took in as much of her surroundings as she could. High obsidian buildings lined the streets on both sides once they passed out of the palatial plaza and into the Trade Quarter proper, and a few of them looked like hotels to Kari's discerning eye. She found it likely the city saw hundreds or thousands of demons that came to attend to the Council sessions, either as retainers and servants of the kings or else curious spectators, and the hotels likely saw a lot of business then. She remembered the hostess at the inn mentioning a trade season, and figured the hotels probably saw a great influx of guests then as well. It all made sense, but it still struck Kari as odd when she considered that she was on a world of demons acting somewhat like mortals.

  They passed some taverns and eateries, which Kari also found fascinating in a city full of demons, though again, she had to admit to herself that it made sense. She had to ask herself what she really expected Mehr'Durillia to be like; the demons had to eat, they mated and bred like any mortal race, and their needs and desires had to be met by services much the way they would be back home on Citaria. It ultimately came down to her perceptions, and Kari bounced the word demon around her mind for a few minutes. For as long as their people had existed, the rir had long considered the serilis-rir to be demons, and yet they weren't. Despite this, the serilis-rir were so unlike the rest of the rir, the humans, or any of the other mortal races that they were, whether demon or not, just completely different in most regards. Yet here were demons on their own world acting more like mortals than the serilis-rir. It was baffling to Kari.