Shadowblade (13 page)

Cannath smiled at the thought of beating back Arnathian troops with Cklathish men. And he had a special plan for Craxis, should he ever get his hands on the old fool. Concerns over Hugh forgotten, Cannath returned to his work as the figurehead ruler of Hybrand and perused orders that had already been signed for him and various writs and papers already written for him. His mind was not on these tasks, though.

The elf, Gavinos, had paid Prince Cannath a visit earlier and he had brought excellent news. The liberation of Hybrand was at hand.

C H A P T E R

6

Devoricus.

Devoricus sauntered across the Temple Courtyard. He was enjoying abusing his new host and decided he would engage in a little unseemly behavior, just to irritate Prince Cannath. So, on his way to the main temple, which was a significant distance in the massive compound that housed the Temple of Qra’z, Devoricus leered at and groped several women and knocked an elderly man to the ground. Then, he taunted the old man and showed him his host’s rear for good measure before walking away. He enjoyed being a horse’s ass when he was inhabiting a mortal host, only he would have enjoyed it more had he injured the old man. As it was, the old man returned a rude gesture of his own involving the exposure of something better left unexposed, much to the chagrin of the other temple-goers who had not seen the initial offense.

Devoricus laughed aloud, that little bit of scandalous mischief alone was worth the lack of physical injury to the old man. He continued to the main temple and entered the sanctuary where he knew Bishop Darius was awaiting him.

“Having fun, Devoricus?” asked the bishop caustically, leading the Cjii to a private office.

“Always, O Holy Bishop of Bishops!” returned the immortal. “We should come up with a new title for you.”

“Forget it!” hissed the bishop, fully aware of the immortal’s propensity for sarcasm and practical jokes. “We do not have the time. What is that fool prince’s plan?”

“The prince is on his way here with a platoon of crack soldiers; the Royal Guard, I believe. They will be here in minutes. No doubt you should run and hide somewhere.”

If it weren’t for the immortal’s mocking tone, the bishop might have believed the immortal’s story. “Immortal Devoricus,” said the bishop angrily, “do not trade jibes with me. I
can
kill you while you inhabit that form. Lest you forget, you need
me
to release you from that mortal prison.”

“You’re such a bore, Bishop Darius. You need to find one of your whores and relax a little.” Seeing that the bishop would not take his bait, he went on. “Darius, this mission has been extraordinarily trying. Umber has cloaked his Cjii so well I cannot find them anywhere. You know the risk I am taking.”

“Bah,” scowled the bishop.

“Bah yourself. The code of the Cjii is very specific. We can take no action in the affairs of mortals other than guiding, advising, and ‘prodding.’ Unless other Cjii have already done so, or we are summoned by a mortal and offer an exchange of services. There are no exceptions.”

“Yes. You did some prodding today, didn’t you?” the Cjii shot him a dark look. “And you wouldn’t want the Hierarchy to learn of this, would you?”

“No need for threats, Darius. I am merely stating that this is not an easy task. I’ve bent quite a few rules to get the information I am about to give you. First: Prince Cannath has entered into an agreement with one Shalthazar, an elf wizard of some renown. Shalthazar has led an army across the northern continent and has, at this moment, conquered nearly half of it. All in the name of the brother of our glorious Qra’z.”

“Umber’s minions want to take over Hybrand,” reasoned the bishop.

“No.”

“Do not toy with me, Devoricus,” warned the bishop, displaying a wand that no doubt possessed a few nasty spells. “My patience is at an end.”

“Calm yourself, Bishop!” returned the Cjii angrily. With the flick of a finger, the bishop’s wand burst into flames causing the old man to drop it on the floor. “I still possess my powers and
I
can kill
you.
So let’s get back to the point. Shall we?

“Good. Shalthazar is going to supply Cannath with the troops he needs to rise up and crush their Arnathian oppressors.”

“That is unlikely,” scoffed the bishop.

“Be that as it may, support in the form of warships and troops are on their way here. We can expect their arrival within days.”

“Warships,” repeated the bishop. “Even if our navy returned with reinforcements, they couldn’t get here in time to defend against an attack. This Shalthazar will have the defender’s advantage at sea.”

“He has placed the charge of securing Hybrand’s freedom in the hands of one ‘Commander Coronus.’ Apparently that name is supposed to strike fear in the hearts of mortals.”

The bishop ignored the immortal being’s sarcasm. He was wondering if that name should sound familiar. Then it struck him, “Frost Elf!”

Devoricus was silent. Frost Elves inhabited societies existing in the colder reaches of the world. Yet at times they would strike out in the world, laying waste to countries and destroying entire civilizations. In centuries past, the Frost Elves had even set their sights on Arnathia. They landed on the coast, not far from Hybrand, and spread across the Arnathian Empire leaving a swath of destruction in their wake, until they reached the capital. Entire divisions of Arnathian infantry had been destroyed by the powerful elves until finally, the might that was Arnathia, crushed the elves in the capital city. The bishop shook his head.

“An army of Frost Elves would blaze through Hybrand and into Arnathia with little resistance. With the fragile state of our empire right now, they could topple the crown.” Bishop Darius trembled at the thought of the Frost Elves arriving on the shores of Hybrand, and so soon. He decided it would be best to leave this province before the murderous elves arrived.

“The Frost Elves would be a scourge of shadows across our empire,” agreed the Cjii soberly. Even the Cjii possessed a healthy respect for the mighty Frost Elves.

“Shalthazar is also known as the Holy Prophet-General of Ilian Nah.
That
is the name by which the bastard Umber is known across the great sea. Ironically, in the land also known as Ilian Nah, Umber is seen as a god of justice and might.”

“A clever ruse,” said the bishop, quietly pondering. “Taking the guise of the mighty Qra’z. It is little wonder there are no temples to Qra’z in Old Ilian Nah.”

“Indeed. His followers are fools, yet they are powerful fools and a force to be reckoned with.”

“What do you know of this Shalthazar?”

“Very little. He is a mighty wizard from another world although he bears the appearance of a Llarsian of Keneerie decent,” began the Cjii, enjoying the bishop’s scowl. High ranking church members knew that there were other worlds in the universe beside Llars, but they preferred to keep that knowledge secret. “From what my own informants tell me, Shalthazar entered into an agreement with Umber, the Lord of Darkness.”

“A bargain for power,” stated the bishop.

“Indeed. Shalthazar is now a master of the Shadow Sigil and has trained a number of followers in its use.”

“A Shadow Sigilist,” repeated the bishop numbly. “There hasn’t been one of those in a very, very, long time.”

“Aside from those few who already know the secrets of the Shadow Sigil, Shalthazar has recruited an army of disciples whom he is training in the use of the Shadow Sigil. He has also revived the orders devoted to the dark prophets of the past and created a corps of binder-mages.”

“Qra’z protect us,” whispered the bishop.

“Unlikely,” the Cjii said with a yawn. “He has his own problems.”

“Such as?”

“Such as...the ones I am not permitted to discuss with
you
,” said the Cjii, hoping to provoke his mortal counterpart. “What will you do now O’ Wise and Brilliant Bishop?”

“That depends on the wishes of our master, Qra’z.”

The Cjii became sober, then spoke in a low voice. “I am going to tell you what the plans of the great Qra’z happen to be, so save yourself some trouble.”

The bishop looked at the immortal shrewdly, noticing that flies were beginning to gather around the body of the host. The immortal could not possess a mortal body for very long, and the presence of the flies were a sure sign that this one was reaching its limit.

“Qra’z wants to make a bargain with Umber.”

“You can’t be serious!” he exclaimed. “That’s absurd. Emperor-”

“Will do what Qra’z wants him to do. And that is to make an alliance with Shalthazar and Umber. The old fool, Zuhr, thinks He can simply do away with the churches of men and convert the followers of the gods to his own,” scoffed the Cjii. “He will soon find out that his children will not be so easily turned.”

“That is hard news, Devoricus. Our empire is so fragile now with all the uprisings that it would take very little for it to topple.”

“Would that be so bad?” asked the Cjii, goading the bishop.

“It would indeed be bad. The Church of Qra’z has been one with the Arnathian Empire for over a thousand years. If one fails, so does the other.”

“And what would be the end result?” prodded the Cjii. “A loss of central control over the church body could lead to the formation of a number of local churches, each ruled by an Arch Bishop or High Mucky Muck or what have you. With no one above them to pull strings or issue ridiculous edicts, the potential for power would be great.”

“You raise a very interesting point. However, the empire has not fallen and we are still in Hybrand on the brink of an invasion. Should I flee to the capital?”

“I care not,” said the Cjii simply. “I have done my duty.”

The bishop held his nose as the stench from the rotting corpse grew suddenly worse, fluids began to ooze from its ears and its pores.

“Be gone with you!” he hissed at the Cjii, holding his arm over his face. “You stink!”

“You
will
bring the Patriarch of Arnathia this news. The emperor is to make peace with the Prophet-General and cede his claims over Hybrand to these Nashians as a show of good faith,” hissed the immortal, enjoying the bishop’s discomfiture.

“Yes, yes,” growled the bishop impatiently. He was beginning to take ill from the fumes. “Now go!”

“But Bishop Darius,” said the Cjii reverently, “I need you to release me from this prison.”

The bishop scowled as he walked to his desk and retrieved another wand. He pointed it at the Cjii and whispered a prayer to Qra’z, a small jet of flame erupted from the tip and propelled the immortal backwards and out of the bishop’s office. He continued to batter and prod the Cjii with jets of flame until the immortal was standing outside.

Darius forced the man into the center of Temple Square, whispering holy words of power and burning the Cjii’s host body with jets of flame. A few darts of magical light were returned by the Cjii but the bishop’s own magic dispelled them easily enough. A throng of onlookers had gathered and many of them made the sign of the golden dragon as the bishop shouted claims of heresy. Finally, when enough fearful onlookers had gathered, he engulfed the Cjii’s avatar in gouts of flame and turned the mortal host to ashes even as he released the immortal spirit to continue its diabolical work. He knew he must ensure the body was burnt beyond recognition, for if the soon-to-be thayne were to discover that his advisor and friend had been killed by Darius it could jeopardize any plans Qra’z had for an alliance with Shalthazar.