The Heavenly Host (Demons of Astlan Book 2) (25 page)

“I’m not used to seeing you in non-Turelanean garb. Or non-djinn garb, as the case may be.” Randolf smiled.

“Or non-ungarbed?” Crispin winked at him playfully.

“So when are you coming back?”

“I am sure this copy of the ball will cause every bit the consternation in Djinnistan as it has here. I’ll get besieged by an unending stream of questions, to which I’ll have little answer other than this.” Crispin held up his left hand containing a crystal ball with a copy of the battle. “I probably won’t escape tonight, so hopefully sometime tomorrow. What will you be up to?”

“I hope to get a copy of the plans that Lenamare gave his team for modifying the wards. My messenger should be by later this afternoon.”

“Those wards are impressive, and the information on how he was able to expel archdemons could be critical for the ‘thing.’ ” Crispin made air quotes as best he could with a crystal ball in one hand.

“What pushes one out, should be able to keep one in,” Randolf stated, and Crispin nodded.

~

Hilda turned to see one of the most unusual, if not
the
most unusual individual she had ever encountered. Her first thought was that it was a metal golem. However, closer inspection revealed a being of such amazing artisanship that, if a golem, it was a true masterpiece beyond the scope of any normal priest or wizard. This golem-like creature was pure metal, and almost every edge was razor sharp. Its arms and legs were curved with trailing razor edges along what would be the outer edge of a human arm or leg. Its fingers seemed to have retractable blades, as did the edge of the golem’s palms.

“Hello!” Hilda beamed at the golem.

“I would interview you,” the golem said.

“Very well. Why don’t we go somewhere more private?” Hilda asked, gesturing to a nearby exiting corridor.

“As you wish,” the golem stated.

Hilda motioned for Danyel to stay put; this golem appeared exceedingly dangerous for living creatures. She shepherded it along the corridor to a small storage room, currently commandeered for bandages and other medical supplies. She opened the door and let it in, then entered and closed the door behind her.

“So, who might you be, and how can I help you?” Hilda asked.

“I am Ruiden, Sword of Talarius,” the golem stated. “I wish to interview you about his kidnapping.”

Hilda blinked. She had never been interviewed by a sword. She had never actually spoken to a sword. In fact, while not an expert she was reasonably confident that swords were not normally ambulatory. “Well, I’m afraid I can’t help you much. I was out of town when he was kidnapped and did not return until later.”

“You are an avatar of Tiernon. You are here investigating the demon that kidnapped Talarius,” Ruiden stated rather than asked.

“Again, I am afraid I don’t know what you are talking about.” Hilda did not like this. This golem saw right through her.

“Lies do not become a servant of Tiernon.” Ruiden said.

Hilda sighed. “Okay, I am Hilda of Rivenrock and yes, I have been sent here to gather information as to the very strange goings-on here.” She put her hands on her hips. “So how did you find me?”

“I followed Iskerus and Barabus into the city and saw them talking to you,” Ruiden said.

“So you are working with them?” Hilda asked.

“I am working to find and retrieve Talarius, as they were proving inefficient. I have started my own investigation.”

“So you do not report to them?”

“I do not. I am autonomous. My only loyalty is to Talarius,” Ruiden said.

“Do they know that I am an avatar?” Hilda asked.

“They did not seem aware of it. However, they are aware of healers of Tiernon who are in the city accosting beggars,” Ruiden said.

“Dung beetles,” Hilda cursed. “If I agree to help you, will you agree not to tell them I am an avatar?”

Ruiden paused for a moment. “I do not lie. However, if I am not directly asked, I do not have to volunteer information.”

Hilda shrugged. “Well, I suppose that is good enough.” She shook her head. “My investigation is still quite preliminary; I am working undercover among the wizards to understand how the situation that resulted in Talarius’s loss came about. In particular, I am seeking information about the demon that has kidnapped Talarius. I hope to interview multiple individuals directly responsible for the demons that were in the city.”

“But you have not done so yet?” Ruiden asked.

“Not yet, but subterfuge is not something those of us from Tierhallon are experienced with. I am moving carefully.”

“Every day that Talarius is in the Abyss is a day of agonizing torture for him. He must be rescued soon.” Ruiden said. “Humans have a very low threshold for agonizing pain.”

Hilda nodded. “I understand. I will tell you what I know so far, and will keep you up to date with everything I discover. Is that acceptable?”

Ruiden nodded. “As long as you do not take too much time; otherwise I will need to escalate.”

Hilda sighed.

~

Every moment I sit here listening to these insane demons is pure torture
, Talarius thought to himself. He was, of course, being melodramatic. True demonic torture would be far worse; he had been well schooled in their foul techniques. He had read stories of demons peeling the flesh from their victims, rubbing salt on the muscle tissue and then replacing the skin and massaging them. Talarius shuddered. Only the foulest of dark fiends would even think of such things.

Yet the whiny rantings of the unstable octopod were grating. His captor seemed to seek way too much advice from his ineffectual toadies. True, the bard demon did seem to have good information, but the others? Their obtuse and pointless discourse, atrocious non-sequiturs, unhinged speculation and absolutely asinine assertions were infuriating.

Talarius stood up to go out on the ledge; he needed to get away for a few minutes. Even his captor had needed to seek some solitude a short while ago.

“Where you off to?” Rupert asked.

“Where do you think? The ledge. I can’t go anywhere else without more contusions,” Talarius replied, heading up the tunnel.

“I’ll come too,” Rupert said.

Talarius just shook his head inside his helmet. So much for some solitude. He went out, stood on the edge of the ledge, and sighed.

Rupert came up behind him and took a position to his left. “The cave is pretty boring, isn’t it?” he asked.

“It is, but such is the lot of a hostage,” Talarius replied.

Rupert shrugged. “In some ways, we are all hostages here.”

“I am the hostage; you demons are free to go about your business.”

“What business do you think I have? I’m a kid. I have only been here a few times. This is the longest I have ever been in the Abyss. Trust me, I enjoy listening to Tizzy talk to himself no more than you do.”

“You have only been to this cave a few times? Where do you normally live in the Abyss?” Talarius asked. Perhaps he could get better insight into the true nature of his captor.

Rupert shook his head. “No, I’ve only been to the Abyss a few times, and never for very long. I grew up in Astlan.”

It was Talarius’s turn to shake his head. “What do you mean, you grew up in Astlan? Demons do not live naturally in Astlan.”

Rupert frowned, or Talarius assumed that was what he was doing. “They do if they were born there. I am a half demon. Tom is my father; my mother was human.”

Talarius blinked and stared at Rupert. “Your mother was human? Tom raped your mother, who then begat you?”

“Well, it wasn’t rape. They were lovers, but he had to flee before I was born,” Rupert explained.

“So then you were born and your mother died in child birth—”

Rupert shook his head. “No. What’s up with you?”

Talarius gestured at Rupert. “You think a mortal woman could survive giving birth to you?”

Rupert rolled his eyes and shook his head from side to side, and suddenly there was a naked human boy standing before Talarius.

“I looked like this my entire life—well, smaller and younger, of course—up until my father rescued me from Exador’s troops,” Rupert said.

“You are saying you looked like that, or younger versions of that?” Talarius said.

“Yes,” Rupert said firmly, as if talking to an idiot. “I looked like a normal human, and grew up like one until I was about ten, when I started growing horns and such. I suppressed them to stay looking like this. However, I was exposed and the others in the village stoned and killed my mother, so I fled.”

Talarius was silent, staring at Rupert. “So then how did you meet your father?”

Rupert shrugged and looked out over the valley. “I made my way to Lenamare’s Academy, where I passed the entrance exams and enrolled as a student. My potential for conjury was sufficiently high that Lenamare granted me a scholarship.”

“You enrolled to be a conjuror? To summon and bind demons?” Talarius said, shaking his head. “Yet you knew you were a demon?”

Rupert looked back at him for a moment and then said, “I know it sounds weird, but I wanted to learn to conjure my father. However, Lenamare managed to do that for me. So all is well and good.”

“Uh huh,” Talarius said. What a bizarre story. It was however, consistent with other things the boy and his captor had said. It was strange; why would these demons make up such a convoluted and implausible set of lies?

Talarius suppressed a chuckle. He had to admit, their crazy background lies at least fit well with the rest of the nonsensical discussions they had. Again, consistency was the key to good lies. This demon captor of his had spun one amazing story.

Talarius frowned, noting motion on the side of a mountain across the valley. He quickly adjusted his visor to telescope in on it. There was a man standing on the side of the mountain. A human man in hiking gear with red hair and a short beard. This would be that Sam character that his captor had met. He was on the far side of the valley and appeared to be surveilling the cave.

Why would a demon that Tom had just met be spying on them? “Let’s go inside. I think I’ve had enough fresh air.” Talarius gestured for Rupert to go first. Rupert looked at him oddly and headed inside. Talarius did not like this red-haired demon. Something about him seemed off. He seemed like a stalker or a spy. Perhaps the insane octopod had been correct. Perhaps his captor should not trust this Sam demon.

~

“Hilda! What a surprise!”

Hilda looked up from her most recent client to see Trisfelt coming across the large hall with three rather sour-looking wizards in tow. She gestured to Danyel to finish cleaning up the dried blood on the now healed patient as she stood, wiping her hands. She was glad the sword had gone off elsewhere in its investigation; a walking, talking sword would be quite hard to explain.

“Master Trisfelt! As always, a true pleasure!” Hilda beamed as Trisfelt made his way over. Following him were two men, one bald with only a small beard and mustache, the other rather pale and slightly greying at the temples. The third wizard was a woman dressed rather extravagantly for daytime and who seemed to be trying to stay as far away from away from the cots of wounded as she could.

The two shook hands and Trisfelt stepped sideways to reveal his colleagues and introduce them. “This is my employer, Councilor Lenamare”—he gestured to the greying wizard, who nodded slightly in response to Hilda’s nod—“and this is Councilor Jehenna.”

The woman gave her an appraising gaze as Hilda nodded at her.

“And this,” continued Trisfelt, “is Master Hortwell of our school.”

“An honor to meet you all,” said Hilda, beaming at them. “I’ve heard so much about you from Master Trisfelt.  And of course, the entire city owes an incredible debt of gratitude to Councilor Lenamare. Everyone in the city is talking about his singular historic achievement.” Hilda made a gesture indicating her amazement. “To single-handedly drive three archdemons and thousands of lesser demons from the city with a single spell, is… is… truly awe inspiring.” Hilda shook her head and gave Lenamare a gaze full of such admiration that he could not help but stand up straighter and work to suppress a smile.

“It is a pleasure to meet you… Hilda, is it?” Lenamare reached out a hand in greeting.

Hilda smiled and curtsied slightly as she shook his hand. “The honor is mine. I am but a local healer here in the city, and I was simply offering my assistance to those here in the palace.”

“Well, it is quite nice to meet you,” Lenamare said. “Isn’t it, Jehenna?”

The woman looked at Lenamare out the side of her eyes and finally said, “Yes, a pleasure.”

Hilda laughed self-consciously. “Well, it certainly is for me. I am but an animage and unschooled in conjury and the traditional wizardly arts, but every time I look at those wards, I am amazed by their complexity and skill. I should think if the Rod were to send Tiernon’s own Host against them, they would surely give it pause and likely stop it in its tracks. The strand weaving is so intricate, the power channels so strong and deep, well, it’s beyond my ability to follow, but clearly it is an unparalleled work of warding in the history of wizardry.” Hilda squinted and tilted her head as if looking through the ceiling at the wards. “I swear, a work of art as much as work of engineering.” She sighed and then shook her head as if coming to. “I’m sorry. I know you must get tired of fawning admiration like this, but I just get a bit overtaken when I see great works of mana manipulation.”