Order of the Fire Box Set

by P. E. Padilla

  After describing to them what had happened to her and the mission to Faerdham, she told them about Molara and her own mission. Grumbles and concerned looks greeted the news. Everyone was fond of Molara, and not one of those present would underestimate her value to the Infirium. She finished up by giving details about the upcoming day of the glory of darkness. She read the prophecy to them.

  “So, Peiros and Molara translated the passage I just read. It seems clear that the time started when Thozrixith the demon lord and his vassal, Arkith the demon mage, were killed. That would put the day of the great battle only four days from the present day, on the new moon. We do not know when it will be. At night, when the new moon rises, or sometime that day?

  “We also do not know what the weapon is referred to in the passage. It could be the Order itself, or something else. What is clear is that the demons will somehow use our own weapon against us. If you have any ideas on this, please make them known.”

  She waited for a moment, but no one commented. She opened her mouth to continue but was interrupted by someone in the back of the group.

  “Could it perhaps be the firestones?” the voice said.

  “Pardon,” Kate responded. “I didn’t hear all of that. Could you repeat it?”

  A tall, lanky man with sandy blond hair stepped up between the others. “I was thinking maybe it could be the firestones? The weapon that is of the enemy and by the enemy could be the stones, either the ones we use individually or the larger ones.”

  Kate recognized the speaker. His name was Casto Simoni. She hadn’t worked with him, but she had met and spoken with him several times.

  “We hadn’t thought of that, Casto. Very good. Thank you. How would they use them against us?”

  The man shrugged, making him look somewhat like a stork. “The demon mage created stones that could negate our firestones. Perhaps another mage has created something to turn our stones into a weapon for them, something to harm us.”

  Peiros scratched furiously on a piece of paper, making humming noises to himself.

  “Though I fear to think of it, you may have a point,” she said to Casto. “We will discuss this more later. Any other ideas?”

  There were none.

  “We have a short time to try to save the Order and all humankind. It is clear that there are enemies within the Order, perhaps at the highest levels. Yet, during all of this, we have heard nothing from the supreme commander.

  “My first thought would be that he has been killed, but we have seen him occasionally in the last few weeks. A prisoner, then? Or is it something else entirely? I suggest our next actions consist of getting to him to see if he can stop what is happening.”

  “We’ve been trying to get to him,” Koren said. “Even Phrixus couldn’t get in to see him. What do you expect us to do, break into his rooms?”

  Kate leveled a stare at the grizzled hero of the Black. “That is exactly what I intend.”

  29

  The room erupted into discussion over Kate’s bold claim. Once it settled down, she agreed to discuss specifics more with them later and encouraged them to think on how they could gain access to the supreme commander.

  She changed subjects and told them about the glasses Molara had created and how she and Wilfred had used them to search different parts of the fortress for evidence of demon presence.

  “We have found quite a few areas where demons seem to pass often,” she said. “One of those places, not surprisingly, is the Command Center. Though we have not seen any demons, there is more than ample evidence that they are here and are moving about.

  “But how? Where did they come from, by what route? More importantly, what are they doing? We haven’t figured any of that out yet. To that end, I have three more sets of Molara’s spectral peeps—that’s the name she gave the things—and I would like to put them to use. I will ask for volunteers. If you believe you will be able to make use of them in the next four days, and you will have opportunity to report your findings, let me know and I will give a pair to you to use.”

  Kate glanced at Peiros and raised an eyebrow. He shook his head. She looked to Wilfred and he did the same. They had nothing else to bring up.

  “Very well. We have few days until the fate of everyone we know is decided. Until then, we must appear to be doing as everyone else in the Order. Come the day of the new moon, however, I for one intend to drop all pretenses and fight with everything I have to save the Order and humankind. The choice, of course, is yours. Do as you feel you must. Regardless of other duties assigned you, if you choose to fight, meet here in the morning of that day.”

  Her statement was greeted with somber silence. She wished Jurdan was still alive. One of his jokes would be welcome.

  The others eventually filtered out after three of them stepped up to claim a pair of the glasses. Surprisingly, one of them was Koren. He simply shrugged, muttered something that sounded like “might as well,” took the pair, and left.

  Kate was left with only Peiros and Wilfred.

  “Do you think they realized I don’t know what I’m doing at all?” she asked.

  Peiros nodded. “They are of the Black. They know the situation we are in. It is in these circumstances they—we—thrive. If ever there was a time for the Black, now is it.”

  The next night, Kate, Koren Merklen, and Visimar Torten skittered through the darkened city, making their way to the Command Center. They wore their Black uniforms—something they would be punished for if they were found—because they were simply the best option for stealth.

  Visimar had found Kate in the secret section of the library earlier that day, asking about what he had missed. He had been on duty with the Red squad he now belonged to and couldn’t get to the meeting with the others. When she explained it, he stated he would try to get to the supreme commander that night.

  “We don’t have much time left,” he said. “Now is the time to shatter all restrictions.”

  When the man couldn’t be talked out of it, Kate decided to go along with him. Koren had come in at the end of the conversation and heard their plan.

  “I better go along, too,” he said. “Damn fool kids will end up getting caught, and then where would we be?”

  So there they were, slinking through the shadows, avoiding any who were walking—or guarding—in the night. It was simple enough. There were no rotating guard patrols or other defenses set in place. Who would try to break into Gateskeep when the only enemies the Order had were demons?

  The Command Center was a massive, three-story building in the center of Gateskeep. The lower floor held offices, the second was mostly meeting rooms, and the top provided living quarters for the highest officers, including Supreme Commander Berart de Maligny.

  His rooms were on the southeastern corner of the building. The entire structure was made of stone block with a wooden roof covered with shale. It was a formidable structure to infiltrate, though not for the skills of the Black.

  Kate had trained a little in reconnaissance and entry, but she was not as skilled as she would have liked. When they discussed their plans earlier in the day, she accepted the men’s recommendation that she stay on the ground level and act as a lookout as the other two scaled the wall to get into the supreme commander’s room.

  A large street bordered the southern face of the building. Lamps along the street illuminated the roadway. The eastern side, however, fronted an alley that had one lamp at the corner but none farther in. It was mostly cloaked in shadow.

  The two men would scale the wall deep in the alley, where the shadows were darkest. Once they got to the third level, they would traverse the length of the building, traveling from window to window, until they arrived at the supreme commander’s room. Once there, they would disable the window latch and enter.

  Hopefully they wouldn’t be court-martialed for breaking into Maligny’s personal rooms. It was a chance they were willing to take.

  Kate scanned the area from a deep pocket of darkness on the ot
her side of the alley, checking on Koren’s and Visimar’s progress every few seconds. So far, things were happening exactly as they should have been. The occasional person or small group would pass the alley on the larger street, but none of them even glanced toward the smaller pathway. With their dark-vision ruined by the lamp light, they wouldn’t see anything anyway.

  While waiting for her comrades to reach the third floor, Kate decided to slip on her glasses to see if there were any new demon tracks about. She had walked through the areas around the Command Center, scanning them with her glasses in short intervals so as to keep from being seen, but she had not done a thorough survey. She did so now.

  As soon as the glasses were in place, glowing purple tracks sprang into her vision. She barely stopped a gasp from exiting her lips. The intensity of the glow was staggering. What she saw had to represent dozens of travels back and forth in the alley.

  She identified at least three different sets of tracks. They were similar, claws that were common in demons of all types, but the shapes and sizes varied. A glance out toward the street revealed only a few tracks. What was so special about this alley?

  Casting her glance upward to check on the process of the men, she understood.

  There, crisscrossing the entire face of the wall, were multiple tracks and shimmering pillars. Demons had been using the same path Koren and Visimar were taking. Most of the tracks went through the window her friends were heading toward. The demons had been going in and out of the supreme commander’s rooms.

  She waved her arms, trying to get their attention. She was about to hiss at them, but was afraid she would call the attention of others and ruin the mission. They inched closer to the window. What if the demons were inside the room at that very moment?

  Kate continued to watch for any sign they had been spotted, but everything seemed calm outside the rapid beating of her heart. The men were only one window over from the one they planned on entering.

  What could she do? She swung her gaze around the alley, the street, and the wall the two men clung to. They had just arrived at their destination, Koren clasping the ledge of the window to swing over in front of it.

  Kate stepped toward them, as if that would force them to look down to her. As she did, a pebble shifted under her boot. Not thinking about the consequences, she picked up the small stone, cocked her arm back, and threw it.

  The little rock struck Koren in the leg, making him lose his footing. His left foot slid, but he held himself up with his other limbs. He glared down at her, and she waved her arms frantically. She couldn’t see his face in the shadows, but he cocked his head. Good—at least he was considering what she was trying to tell him.

  Kate drew her hand exaggeratedly across her throat several times. Her heart, feeling as if it would burst, relaxed as the man nodded sharply and turned toward Visimar, who had been motionlessly watching the exchange.

  Koren placed his foot onto another crease in the stone.

  Just then, a bright yellow light flared within the room, blazing out of the window like a signal fire. Koren lost grip with his other foot. This time, his whole body dropped several inches, his arms the only thing preventing him from plunging to the alley below.

  Kate did gasp this time, but Koren didn’t fall. He jerked his head toward Visimar, and the other man scrabbled back toward the deeper shadows. Koren righted himself and followed after.

  It was quick work for the two to make it deeper into the alley and then down the face of the building. They were soon gathered with Kate at the end of the alley, in a darkness so black, none would be able to see them from the street or above.

  “What the Hell was that about? Throwing a rock at me?” Koren whispered harshly to her.

  “Put your glasses on,” she said.

  “What?”

  “Your spectral peeps. Put them on.” As she said it, she handed her pair to Visimar.

  Both men did as she asked, and both reacted similarly.

  “Oh, Hell,” Visimar said.

  Kate continued to scan the street and the alley. “Look up at the wall where you were climbing.”

  They did so.

  Koren gulped. “It looks like most of the tracks go into and out of that window we were at. The supreme commander’s window.”

  “Exactly,” Kate said. “Which was why I was so insistent on getting your attention. The stone was all I could think of. I tried waving my hands, but you were focused on your climb. I thought better of making any sound.”

  “Fine,” Koren said, removing his glasses. Visimar continued to look around. It was the first time he’d used a pair, after all. “It wouldn’t have been my preference—you nearly made me fall—but good work anyway. You probably saved me from being seen.”

  “Were you seen?” Kate asked. “Why did they light a lamp?”

  Visimar had stopped scanning the area and fixed his gaze on Koren. “Yeah, I was wondering that, too.”

  “Coincidence,” Koren said. Just before I lost my footing that second time, Antoni Sena walked into the room with a lamp. It looked like Berart was in his bed, though I couldn’t see much more than that. It is good that I wasn’t seen, though. Especially at this time, I’m not sure what they’d do if we were caught.”

  “Probably execute us all as traitors and possible assassins,” Visimar said off-handedly, going back to swinging his head around with the glasses on. “These things are great. Can I get a pair?”

  “We’ll see.” Kate took the glasses back from him and put them on. If they were going to be sneaking around, she might as well take advantage of the situation and look for more tracks.

  They headed back toward the library. As they passed near one of the large firestones, Kate stopped the others.

  “Koren, put your glasses back on.”

  He didn’t bother asking why this time, just did as she said.

  “Over there,” she said, pointing toward the firestone.

  “Oh, no.”

  “What? What?” Visimar said. Kate handed her glasses over to him so he could look.

  Demon tracks cluttered the area all around the firestone. They didn’t go too close to the stone or its pillar, but ten feet away, a jumble of trails glowed faintly in the dim light from the lanterns nearby.

  After putting her glasses back on, she tried to analyze the glowing lines for a pattern. If anything, there were as many tracks as they had found in the alley near the Command Center.

  What’s more, she noticed for the first time that there was a pattern to how they glowed. Some were brighter, and if she followed these, she could see what path the demon took. She guessed the more recent the activity, the brighter the tracks glowed. Why hadn’t she noticed this before? Probably because she was so preoccupied with not being seen using the glasses, she hadn’t paid close attention.

  She stared at the area for a little while before they finally moved away from the firestone.

  The three made their way back to the library, each of them stopping to retrieve their normal uniforms from the place they had stashed them. It wouldn’t do for them to walk through the regular section of the library in their black uniforms.

  Once inside the secret section, they discussed what had happened.

  “So,” Koren said. “Berart is still alive, at least. I don’t know if he was in bed because he was sick or because he had turned in for the night. With demons around, though, I’m not sure how we could get to him without tipping off the enemy.”

  “Are we so sure he isn’t the enemy?” Visimar asked.

  Koren scratched his head. “No, not sure, but it wouldn’t make sense. If he was the enemy, why pretend he’s sick? I would think he would be more visible, that he would give speeches about how he’s in favor of all the changes in the Order.”

  “True, but he could be the enemy and still could be sick. One might not have anything to do with the other.”

  “Don’t confuse me with logic, Visimar. I’m trying to think. Whether he’s the enemy or not, there’
s no getting to him without alerting the demons. It’s too likely that they’re around him.”

  “To be honest,” Kate said, “I’m a bit more concerned about the firestones at the moment. Maybe, as Casto suggested, they are planning to use them against us.”

  That sobered the trio. They sat, looking at each other for a few moments.

  “We’re going to need to figure something out with them,” Koren finally said. “Maybe we should post guards of our own somehow.”

  Kate sighed. “So we need to try to contact the supreme commander, try to protect the firestones, and somehow rally the Order—if there are enough loyal remaining—to fight off what might be the largest single battle in Order history. And we have to do it in the next few days. That shouldn’t be too difficult, right?”

  “No more difficult than traveling through Hell and killing a demon lord and demon mage,” Koren said.

  30

  The next day, Kate was on duty at the gate. She expected to sense a different attitude from the few Red on guard because of how close the final battle was, but it seemed to be a day like any other. The new normal, with the Red lounging around and not taking their duties seriously. She thought of skipping her duty, not showing up for roll call, but decided it was not yet time for that. Too early, and she would end up spending humankind’s last day in the brig.

  So she stood at parade rest and thought of the many things that still needed to be done. The problem was that neither she nor any of the other Infirium could figure out how to do the necessary things. How did one prepare to fight a battle of thousands of demons with only a handful of humans?

  She fervently wished that she could do something to rally the troops, something to make them realize how dangerous a position they were in. What she needed, she finally realized, was to stop the demons from controlling peoples’ minds. But how?

  Her shift was uneventful, as normal, and in the evening she left the gate and descended the Great Stair to head back to Gateskeep. She was tired from standing in the sun all day and fatigued from trying to work out how she could keep the worst from happening.