"If I don't get your promise, 1 can't let you eat," the deva said. "I know you must be very angry right now, but there's no point in refusing our food. I have nothing personal against you, half-fiend-beside the obvious issue of your base nature, of course-but you have broken the laws of the Court, and I have a job to complete. Now, do you want to eat or not?"
Nothing personal indeed, Kaanyr thought. If I wasn't wearing all this iron, I'd wipe that self-important grin off your face. He still made no effort to convey an answer.
"Very well," the angel said, rising. "I'll leave the food right over here and you can think about it." He walked off then, followed by the archon who had brought the tray. Kaanyr watched the two of them go and sniffed loudly to express his disdain. His two guards paid no attention to him, so Kaanyr went back to studying the ground in front of him.
Though he tried to ignore it, the smell of the roasted meat haunted him, and when the angel returned a little while later, Kaanyr began to have second thoughts about his stoic resistance.
What difference does it make if I eat? he asked himself. It doesn't change anything.
The angel paused. "Having a change of heart?" he asked.
Kaanyr nodded, albeit reluctantly.
"Very well," the angel said, smiling. "I have your promise that you won't say anything if I remove the harness?"
Again Kaanyr nodded.
"Good, good. Now, if you decide to break your vow, I'll be forced to speak the divine word of power we used before to subdue you, and I really don't want to have to do that. So please be agreeable."
Kaanyr sighed in resignation and nodded a third time.
"Now," the angel said as he reached around behind the cambion, "I'm going to have to feed this to you, because we just can't risk freeing your hands." Kaanyr could feel and hear a click as the harness loosened. The deva pulled the vile metal from Kaanyr's mouth. As he did so, the two guards went a little stiffer, warier, watching him.
The cambion ignored them as the angel held out the meat. Kaanyr eyed the beef, juicy and lean, but he hated having to be fed like a helpless child. He grimaced and hesitated.
"I know this must be demeaning, I really do," the angel said in a sincere tone. "But this is the price you pay for your choices in life. Now, go ahead."
There will be a price for you to pay, too, Kaanyr thought.
He leaned forward and grudgingly took a bite from the meat. It practically melted in his mouth, it was so lean and tender. The cambion began to tear huge bites from the well-seasoned beef, gulping it down. Bits of gravy and juice ran down his chin, but he didn't care. In no time at all, he had finished the meat.
The angel grabbed up the cheese and the bread, holding one in each hand. Kaanyr no longer cared how shameful he looked. He tore into the food with a ravenous hunger.
How long has it been since I've had such a good meal? he asked himself. The spreads we had within the magical mansion, he realized. Too long.
The thought crossed his mind that the food might be poisoned in some way, but he dismissed that notion quickly.
If they wanted to slay me, they wouldn't have gone to all the trouble to bind me in this manner. Besides, angels don't do that sort of thing. Then the idea occurred to Kaanyr that they might not try to kill him but make him more compliant. A truth serum or suggestive magic, he realized. He stopped chewing as the cold thought washed over him. You're a fool, Kaanyr Vhok.
"What is it?" the angel asked, puzzled. "Full already? Head movements only, please."
Kaanyr wanted to spit the tainted food out, spit it right at the angel. Instead, he just grimaced.
"Don't want to answer? Very well, if you're done…" The angel replaced the remnants of the bread and cheese on the tray. "I guess we'll save the rest of this for later, then." He set the food aside and picked up the brank harness. "This has to go on, though, my friend. No arguments."
Kaanyr glowered at the angel, but the threat of divine magic was real enough, so with an exasperated sigh, the cambion opened his mouth and allowed the hated thing to gag him once more. When the angel had secured it behind Kaanyr's head, he stood.
"You cooperated very nicely, Vhok," the deva said. "I'm sorry it has to be this way, I truly am. I will mention this to Micus when he returns. Maybe it will reflect favorably upon you when it comes time to bring you before the High Council. But that is not for me to promise."
The angel turned to stride away, but at that moment, a commotion erupted from just behind Kaanyr.
The angel turned back that way and his eyes widened the slightest bit. "Micus," he said, standing a bit straighten "What news?"
"We have all three of them in custody," Micus said, flying into view and settling to the ground. He looked down at Kaanyr. "They're being taken back to the Court now. I want to take him there as soon as possible."
The other angel looked confused. "But you said that we-"
"I know what I said before! Things have changed! They tried to ambush us near the entrance to the World Tree. They didn't realize we knew they were there, so we were ready for them. I want to get them all back to the High Council, get this distasteful job finished as quickly as possible. Now, get him unchained so I can take him with me! Don't bother with that gag, just get him free of the post."
"Of course, Micus," the other angel said. He reached down and began to fidget with the lock keeping the chain on Kaanyr's neck. "Shall I send an escort with you?" he asked Micus as he unlocked the restraint. "Or do you have some other means of transporting him?"
"Is he still wearing the dimensional shackles?"
"He is," the angel answered.
"Remove them," Micus said.
The other angel paused. "You said we should not remove those shackles under any circumstances," he said, suspicion plain on his face. "What is going on, Micus?"
"By Tyr, do I have to do everything myself?" Micus said in exasperation. He stalked toward Kaanyr and grabbed at the cambion's wrists. "I said I wanted to move fast. Don't you listen?"
"Don't let him do that!" the other angel ordered. "That's not Micus!"
Kaanyr gave the other deva an incredulous look, and then peered at Micus. The deva's eyes were wide, looking right at him. They had a familiar shape to them.
Aliisza!
Kaanyr thrust his shackled hands toward the disguised alu. Over her shoulder, he could see the two archons hesitating, unsure what to do.
Aliisza reached down and took hold of the clasps of the shackles and snapped them open. At the same time, the other angel lunged toward them, trying to grab hold of the false Micus. When the shackles came free, the alu wrenched them from Kaanyr's waist and let them drop to the ground. Then she kicked backward with one leg, catching the deva squarely in the chest. The force of the blow sent her forward, right into Kaanyr, and knocked him backward.
The cambion expected to crack his head upon the bole of the tree he had been chained to, but instead, he found himself falling through a magical portal. Both he and Aliisza tumbled through the doorway, but the two hound archons were a step too slow.
The portal winked out, leaving his guards and the angel behind.
"Hurry!" Aliisza hissed softly, scrambling to her feet. She shifted from the image of Micus back into her natural form as other hands struggled with the bonds that still held Kaanyr.
The cambion looked up to see Tauran and Kael crouching over him, working frantically to free him. He saw that the four of them were in a small hollow surrounded by short but steep ridges. The moonlight made the still-heavy mist glow, creating a veiled backdrop to their hiding place.
When Tauran managed to slip the brank harness from Kaanyr's mouth, the cambion let out a soft groan. "Thanks," he said, and he meant it. "Throw that thing far, far away."
"Keep your voice down," Kael said, working to slip one of the leather bags free of Kaanyr's hand. "Micus and his coterie are not far off."
The cambion nodded. "I'm surprised you came back for me," he whispered. "That was a big risk, by all of
you." He shifted his gaze from one face to the next. "Why?"
Tauran cocked his head to one side. "I gave you my word," he whispered back. "It was the only thing to do."
Kaanyr thought on that for a moment. It was hard to wrap his mind around. He shrugged and nodded. "Well then, I thank you for keeping your word. I'm not so used to people doing that."
Tauran gave him a quick nod in return.
When the other three finally had him unbound, he sat up and stretched aching muscles. "What's the plan?" he asked, rising to his knees. "Where now?"
Tauran pointed to something out of sight beyond the nearest ridge. "Micus and a patrol are guarding the passage through to the World Tree just over there," he said. "They are hiding, setting up an ambush. Of course, the camp will get word to them very quickly that we've managed to free you, so we have to get through there now, before they're alerted."
"How do you propose we slip past them?" the cambion asked as the four of them crept to the crest of the ridge and peered over. Kaanyr could see nothing but trees and mist.
"The same way we got you out of there," Aliisza whispered.
"We don't have much time," Tauran said. "Once that doorway opens on their end, they're going to know what we're trying to do. They will do everything they can to block us from escaping. You and Aliisza are more vulnerable to Micus's divine magic, so you're first. Don't look back, just run."
Kaanyr opened his mouth to query the angel on a few more points, but a light appeared in the misty gloom a stone's throw away.
"Lantern archon," Tauran said, "coming to inform them. Time to go."
Nodding, Kaanyr saw Aliisza turn and summon one of the red-tinged doorways directly in front of them. A shout arose from the direction of the enemy before Kaanyr even had a chance to step through it.
"They see the other end!" Tauran said. "Go!"
Kaanyr reached for Burnblood and the Scepter Malevolous as he stepped through. He only realized once he was on the other side that he no longer had his enchanted weapons. Lamenting their loss, he took a couple of paces forward and spotted a narrow tunnel directly ahead of him. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder and saw Aliisza come through the doorway right behind him. Beyond her doorway, past the mouth of the tight canyon in which they stood, he could see the glow of lights and could hear more shouting.
"Go!" Aliisza urged him, pushing him forward. "Into the tunnel!"
Kaanyr hated leaving his treasures behind, but he knew it was a fool's errand to try to retrieve them at that point.
I'll be back for them, he vowed, then he ducked into the cramped tunnel and fled.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Micus stood in the middle of the clearing, surveying the area. The archons had performed suitable funeral rites upon the bodies of the elves and ghaeles and were almost finished freeing Tekthyrios's corpse from the jagged tree. The angel watched it all, his heart heavy.
"Explain what happened, Garin," he said.
The other angel standing beside him exhaled. "She came in disguise, appearing as you," he said. "She acted a bit peculiar, but not so much that I was suspicious, at least not at first. When she insisted that you had caught the other three and were ready to take them all back to the Court, I freed him enough to allow her to escape with him. By the time I realized what was going on, it was too late to stop them. I'm sorry, Micus."
"No, my friend," Micus said. "Do not apologize. The fault is mine. I should have expected some trickery from them." Then he added, half to himself, "Even from Tauran." The angel scuffed his foot in the dirt. "He has fallen so far in such a short time. I should never assume that any part of our doctrine is still sacred to him. I was the fool."
"What are you going to do now?"
"That is not for me to decide. I must report my failure to the High Council."
"Your heart is heavy, Micus," Garin said. "You have experienced setbacks before in your quest to bring goodness to the cosmos, and I've never seen you so grim. What is troubling you?"
Micus sighed and weighed his next words carefully. "There is a part of me that regrets all of this, Garin," he said. "There is a part of me that thinks Tauran might be right, and that he's the only one who can see the truth of the matter."
"Truly?" the other angel asked, surprise clear in his voice. "You honestly believe that?"
"It doesn't change a thing," Micus said. "I still have my duties. But yes, I suspect we're all in for much more grief."
"And that's why you're sad?" Garin asked. "Because you dread what is to come?"
"Partially," Micus answered. "But also because, even if he's proven right, Tauran is lost to us. He has betrayed everything we stand for. And I grieve for him when he realizes it."
"How are you certain Zasian came this way?" Kaanyr asked. The cambion trudged along behind Tauran, who was leading the group. Aliisza followed Kaanyr, and Kael brought up the rear.
As they hiked, the alu surveyed the surrounding terrain. To her, it seemed like they followed the crest of a great ridge that stretched on indefinitely in each direction, swallowed up in the odd, silvery haze that surrounded them. To either side, the ridge became a gentle slope dropping away. The path they followed passed through largely open ground, spotted in places with the occasional copse of trees or scrub. No sky showed through, nor any sense of the direction of the sun. Everything seemed isolated, enclosed in the mist.
"There are really only two ways they could have gone," the angel said over his shoulder. "And this path leads to other places. If we had followed the other direction, we would eventually find ourselves on the tip of this great branch, at a dead end."
"How can you even be sure he walked?" the cambion retorted. "For all we know, Zasian magically transported himself in an instant. I've seen the kind of divine power he wields. I know his methods."
"For the same reason we can't just fly to where we want to go," Tauran replied. "It's too easy to get lost in the Astral plane if you leave the branches. The World Tree has bizarre properties; geography doesn't work on it the way you think it should. He didn't whisk himself away magically."
"We never even determined who else was with Zasian when he passed from the House," Kael said as he trudged along behind Aliisza. "Those other sets of bootprints continued right into the passageway we took to escape. I checked."
"You could see prints on the ground, in the dark, while running," Aliisza said. It was more of an incredulous statement than a question.
She could hear the half-drow chuckle softly behind her. "I inherited my father's eyes, too, you know," he said. "But the ground was very soft there, and it was easy to make out."
"So who is it?" Aliisza asked.
"That is a question that will have to wait a while," Tauran said. "Until we catch up to Zasian."
"The important thing to remember is that he has allies," Kaanyr said. "Wherever Zasian is going, he could accumulate even more. We must be on watch."
"A fine point," Tauran said. "And one that we should…" The angel's voice trailed off and he slowed to a stop, a look of unease on his face.
The rest of the group caught up to him and peered where he stared into the gloom ahead. Aliisza could not make out much, but the air was filled with a cloud of gray, something slightly darker than the surrounding silver.
"What is that?" she asked.
"I don't know," Tauran replied, still staring. "But I fear it does not bode well for us."
"We should not all approach it," Kael said. "It could be dangerous, or even a trap laid for us."
"I'll scout it out," Kaanyr said.
The offer caught Aliisza by surprise. She stole a look at her companion and noted that his expression seemed genuine. He was frowning as he stared at the smudge of blackness in the distance, but he sensed her stare and turned to look at her.
"What?" he asked. "I can avoid being seen when I wish it. You know that."
"Yes, of course. But since when have you volunteered to do anything around here?"
Kaanyr's smirk was
fleeting. "Since the three of you came back for me," he said. At Aliisza's widening eyes, he added, "I've come to figure that perhaps the best way to survive this escapade is to make sure it succeeds. Don't go thinking I'm getting all soft and caring, fool girl. I just don't want to spend the rest of my days trapped here."
Tauran studied the cambion for a moment. "Very well," he said. "Sneak up a little way and see what you can find out. But at the first sign of something dangerous, you slip away again and return. No exceptions."
Kaanyr's smirk returned. "Well, since you put it that way, I guess I have no choice, do I?" he said. "I'll be back in a moment. Make yourselves comfortable." With that, the cambion slipped away, quickly disappearing among the lush growth.
Kael led the three of them down into a partially concealed hollow surrounded by scrub brush and trees. He sat and pulled a bundle free of one of his satchels. He unpacked some dried meat from it and popped a chunk into his mouth. He held the bundle out to Tauran, but the angel just shook his head. Kael next proffered some of the meat to Aliisza. She took a couple of thick strips and nodded in thanks.
Tauran turned away and found an outcropping of rock. He plopped down on it and hunched over, placing his face in his hands. The weariness in his body made him wilt in the alu's eyes. He sat there unmoving for several moments.
"Rest, my friend," Kael said, rising to his feet again. "You've pushed yourself hard and need the respite."
"I'll be fine," Tauran mumbled. "Everyone else is tired too."
"Tauran, I mean it," Kael said. "The grief wears you down. I know. I've been there."
Aliisza started when she heard that. She looked up at her son's face. What have you grieved for? she wondered. Me, perhaps? That thought strangely comforted her.
"Please," Kael said. "You're no good to us exhausted. I'll keep watch for a while."
Tauran sighed. "Very well, but only for a few moments. Wake me when Vhok returns."
With that, the angel slid down from his rocky seat and stretched himself on the ground, using the stone for a pillow.
"I won't be far," Kael said to Aliisza softly. "I'll stay in sight. You can rest too, if you want." He turned and climbed out of the little depression and walked a few paces out from it, where he proceeded to begin circumnavigating in a casual stroll.
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