The Inner Circle: Holy Spirit (30 page)

‘
Where are the
others?’ El-i-miir squirmed away from him. ‘Is everyone okay? I saw
the mess left by yesterday’s battle and to be honest, I feared the
worst.’

‘
Seteal and Briel and
Fes and Ieane.’ Seeol bobbed his head excitedly.

‘
Yes?’ El-i-miir
encouraged. ‘What about them?’

‘
They is fine,’ Seeol
replied, thinking it obvious. ‘We are so taking Seteal
home.’

‘
She’s returning to
Elmsville?’ El-i-miir said in astonishment. ‘Where is she? I need
to see her right away.’

*

‘
Seteal,’ El-i-miir’s
voice carved into Seteal’s unconsciousness and drove her into the
waking world.

‘
El-i-miir?’ Seteal
replied groggily, rolling over and lifting her head. Her stomach
weighed so much that she felt the need to drag it into a sitting
position as she went. ‘What’re you doing here? Did you find
Ilgrin?’ Seteal cast her eyes about in search of the
demon.

‘
No,’ El-i-miir
replied. ‘I mean yes, but he’s not here.’

‘
Where is
he?’

‘
It doesn’t matter,’
El-i-miir said irritably. ‘You’re going home?’

‘
Yes, I am.’ Seteal
sighed, quickly losing patience with El-i-miir’s authoritative
tone. ‘Briel and Fes have offered to help me.’ She nodded toward
the two Merry Islanders as they stood tiredly in the early morning
light.

‘
You can’t go home,’
El-i-miir snapped. ‘There’s a war going on. Ilgrin has pronounced
war on the Elglair.’

‘
Ilgrin?’ Ieane made
her presence known, her face showing confusion. ‘Who’s
Ilgrin?’

‘
He’s the Devil,’
El-i-miir acknowledged reluctantly.

‘
Ilgrin?’ Briel shook
his head. ‘He’s nah the Devil.’

‘
He is,’ El-i-miir
insisted. ‘It’s a long story, but apparently he’s the descendent of
Sa’Tan and the rightful heir to the throne. That’s why the previous
Devil’s people were trying to assassinate him.’

‘
And Ilgrin
ha
s decided to keep this war going?’
Seteal asked, although admittedly she wasn’t entirely
surprised.

‘
Yes,’ El-i-miir said
heatedly. ‘He told me he wants to wage war on the
Elglair.’

‘
El-i-miir . .
.’ Seteal shook her head, slowly clambering to her feet. ‘You’ve
got it backward. The Elglair waged war on Old World. If Ilgrin is
the Devil, he likely feels responsible for defending his people.
He
is
one of them, you know.’

‘
Whatever.’ El-i-miir
gritted her teeth. ‘Maybe you could talk some sense into
him.’

‘
Me?’ Seteal
recoiled. ‘Forget it. I’m done with this mess.’

‘
Home.’ Seeol bobbed
his head enthusiastically before fluttering up and slithering his
way into Seteal’s collar.

‘
Look,’ Seteal’s
voice softened as she watched El-i-miir’s face fall, ‘there’s
nothing more we can do. I’m not sure there ever really
was.’

‘
You’re powerful,’
El-i-miir threw out her hands in frustration. ‘You can stop
it.’

‘
I’m not powerful,’
Seteal snapped back. ‘Far-a-mael embedded my aura with an anchor. I
doubt I could have so much as a knowing, let alone project my
soul.’

‘
What happened to
you?’ El-i-miir narrowed her eyes as she peered into Seteal’s aura,
her lip shaking fearfully. ‘The child!’

‘
Unless you can
remove the anchor, I have nothing more to say.’ Seteal turned
aggressively, refusing to speak about the baby’s whisp-affected
condition.

‘
I can’t remove
this.’ El-i-miir squinted. ‘It’s moving constantly and embedded so
deep that I doubt even Far-a-mael could pick it out.’

‘
Then there’s nothing
more I can do,’ Seteal said plainly. ‘The world will be all but
destroyed and I have to give my child the best chance at life I
can.’

‘
The world will be
destroyed?’ El-i-miir said in disgust. ‘You’re such a
defeatist.’

‘
No,’ Seteal snapped.
‘I’m a mother.’

‘
Maker damn it,’
El-i-miir turned her back and remained silent for a long time.
Finally, her shoulders slumped and she turned around. ‘You’re
right.’

‘
Excuse me?’ Seteal
asked, hardly able to believe her ears.

‘
You’re right,’
El-i-miir repeated softly. ‘I’ve recently learnt of horrible things
. . . horrible things that the Elglair have done to angels. Ilgrin
has every right to be angry. I just wish there was another way:
something we could do, but there’s nothing, is there?’

‘
Come with us, dear.’
Fes put an arm around the young woman’s shoulders.

El-i-miir’s eyes filled with tears and
she nodded woefully. ‘I thought he was one of us.’

‘
Ilgrin has ta da
what he be thinkin’ is best,’ Fes said softly. ‘We all
da.’

*

‘
Quickly,’ Far-a-mael
ordered as he limped across the battlefield looking for signs of
life. ‘You have to make sure every last one of them is dead or else
they’ll all start coming back. Sever the heads with your silver
blades,’ he ordered the an’hadoans.

‘
What do you intend
we do now?’ Tim-a-nie approached Far-a-mael nervously as the War
Elder fished a tooth out of his mouth and spat it into the dirt.
‘Do we still go on knowing as little as we do?’

‘
Tim-a-nie, my good
man,’ Far-a-mael barked. ‘I will ride north to gather
reinforcements. You must carry on south with the armies of New
World. If all goes accordingly, you’ll have conquered Hel by the
time of my return.’

‘
Are you certain?’
Tim-a-nie asked through narrowed eyes. ‘There may be legions other
than those in Hel.’

‘
If that’s the case,
simply wait for my return,’ Far-a-mael grumbled. ‘Maintain your
hold on Hel until I get there. I have faith in you.’

As Far-a-mael galloped into the
distance, he turned his attention to the whisp-darkened skies. He
hadn’t simply imagined it. The great cloud had moved north, but he
couldn’t make sense as to why. It’d remained in place for thousands
of years. Why start moving now?

‘
Please,’ a young
silt gargled, dark blue blood trickling from his mouth. ‘Help
me.’

‘
A live one,’
Far-a-mael murmured, making his way over to the creature. ‘I’m sure
you fought bravely,’ he uttered, pushing his blade into the
creature’s neck until he was satisfied that it was dead.

*

The royal gowns billowed about Ilgrin’s
feet as he paced his private quarters in contemplation of his next
move. He needed to ensure the inhabitants of Hades wouldn’t cast
him aside as a simple farmer’s boy. He had to make an
impression.

‘
So you’re telling me
Hel is the largest legion in all of Hades?’

‘
That’s correct,’
General Li’John replied. ‘Lesser legions such as Sodom and Gomorrah
are still standing strong, but the likes of Gahanna were completely
overrun by whisp infestation some twenty years ago. Anyone left
alive fled to Hades as refugees.’

‘
Did you know about
this?’ Ilgrin turned to Jakob.

‘
Of course.’ Jakob
shrugged. ‘But I also knew it was irrelevant. Demons are superior
to humans in strength and in many other ways. With help from the
lesser legions, we’ll defeat New World with ease.’

‘
Not with angelic
protection,’ Ilgrin growled. ‘Anyway, it’s not New World I wish to
conquer. It’s the Elglair.’

‘
And?’ John tilted
his head.

‘
Jakob.’ Ilgrin
turned to the human. ‘I want every last Sa’Tanist spy we’ve got to
get close to the Elglair. I want to know what they’re doing before
they do it. When the time is right, we’ll attack with everything we
have. And I want those angels freed and back on our
side.’

‘
Certainly,
Sa’Enoch.’ Jakob scurried out of the room obediently.

‘
But it was us who
betrayed the angels,’ John stated sceptically.

‘
They will answer to
their Devil,’ Ilgrin replied with more confidence than he
felt.

CHAPTER
Twenty-Two

A Turn for the Worst

The sun bit into Seteal’s flesh as she
forced one heavy leg in front of the other. Sweat trailed down her
forehead and into her eyes as the sunlight became ever brighter.
The piercing blue sky twisted above her at a sickening pace and
Seteal hit the ground with a thud.

‘
Ma’am?’ a voice
enquired softly before two large hands shook her.

‘
What?’ Seteal
moaned, acknowledging the uncomfortable feeling of dirt on the side
of her face. As she lifted her head and turned around the world
swam back into focus. Seteal screamed. A grizzled old farmer filled
her vision.

‘
Don’t be like that.’
The man put a hand around her arm. ‘I just want to help you. It’s
no bother.’

‘
No!’ Seteal heard
herself cry out at the eerily familiar words. ‘Get away from me!’
She tore free of Fasil’s grip. ‘Get off me! Get off me! Get off
me!’ Seteal shrieked, struggling against the man’s grip, fearing a
fate worse than death. But the stranger hadn’t been Master Fasil at
all and he’d released her immediately.

The old man stumbled backward, an
expression of disbelief on his face. ‘You deal with her,’ he spat
defensively when Briel approached. ‘There’s something wrong with
the girl.’

‘
Seteal.’ Briel put a
hand on her shoulder. ‘I’ll be helpin’ ye get up now,
okay?’

‘
What happened?’
Seteal shuddered nervously as Briel lifted her to a sitting
position.

‘
Ye fell down.’ He
patted her back. ‘Do ye nah remember?’

Seteal ignored him and took in her
surroundings. The city was bustling. They’d arrived in Kintor. The
day’s heat was blistering. ‘Might we find a place to rest?’

‘
Rest?’ An elderly
voice pierced the air as an old woman approached. ‘You’re fit to do
nothing but rest until that baby gets here. You all should be
ashamed of yourselves.’ She glared at the others and waggled a
finger under Seteal’s nose. ‘Where’s your husband? I’d quite like a
word with him.’

‘
He died in
battle,
’ Seteal mumbled with her eyes
lowered, unable to admit the truth.

‘
I see,’ replied the
old woman. ‘Well, you’d best come and stay with me and I won’t take
no for an answer.’

‘
That be all right.’
Briel raised his hands to reject the offer. ‘We’ll just be stayin’
at the inn.’

‘
For a month or so?’
The old woman cackled. ‘I’m sorry, sir, but you don’t look like
you’re worth that much. My house needs some fixing up. You can
repay me in that way, but please let this poor girl have some
rest.’

‘
Nah,’ Briel said
firmly.

‘
Briel,’ Fes uttered.
‘We’ve nah got money.’

‘
It’s settled, then,’
the bony old lady nodded in satisfaction. ‘I’m Mistress Daorey.
This way.’ She turned and headed along the street without a
backward glance.

‘
Come on, dearie.’
Fes helped Seteal to her feet and offered a shoulder for support
before following after the forceful woman.

It wasn’t long before Seteal found
herself once again feeling too dizzy to move and Briel had to all
but carry her. A cold hand squeezed her arm and Seteal looked
around to see El-i-miir smiling reassuringly. Why was her hand so
cold? Surely she had to have been feeling the heat. She was from
the Frozen Lands for Maker’s sake. A glance about the street
revealed countless strangers going about their day dressed in
flowing gowns and warm cloaks. Seteal was astounded. What was wrong
with them? The heat was insufferable.

Seteal’s legs buckled beneath her
and Briel grunted as he moved to compensate. Head rolling forward,
Seteal watched her feet being dragged along the ground. She giggled
and sniffled her runny nose. A strange taste filled her mouth. A
droplet fell away to make the dirt red where it landed. Seteal
lifted her hand, uneasily touching her nose, only to pull it away
covered in blood.

A door opened and the air became
cooler. Seteal’s head hit the wall as Briel stumbled. Fes
reprimanded him harshly, but Seteal had scarcely noticed the
impact. There was a bed beneath her and someone removed her shoes.
A moment later El-i-miir used a towel to clean Seteal’s nose, her
face full of concern. Seteal wanted to tell her not to worry but
she couldn’t find the strength to speak.

Master Fasil smiled and winked at her
from his place leaning against the doorframe. ‘It’s all because you
couldn’t keep your legs together,’ he laughed eerily.