The Godlost Land (29 page)

Still there was one thing he could do, and while it might not protect him, it would bring him some comfort. He knew the face of the man who had killed Alenda Goldeneyes. He had his image clear in his mind. A huge man, a wild eyed warrior of some sort who had swung a massive sword through the air and through her neck. A barbarian of some sort. That man had to die for what he'd done.

“Send for my spies!”

Terellion bellowed at the soldiers standing guard just outside the door to his chamber, determined to do at least one thing before he retired for the evening to recover. He would have his spies find this man and then he would kill him. But it would not be an easy death. For threatening his life the man had to
suffer
first. He had to know his wrath. And there was only one type of assassin who could kill him properly.

“And send for Varrious!” He bellowed the order after the soldiers who were already running down the hall to carry out his first one. “Tell him to bring his pet!”

It wasn't long before his spy master was standing before him and he was informing the man of what had happened and of the wild eyed barbarian behind it all. Giving him a detailed description of the savage. And before he'd finished the demon king's first thrall had arrived with his fury in tow. He'd obviously hurried from the harried look in his eyes, guessing that something was very wrong. Maybe Xin had told him of the wizard's passing. The demon king too would have felt it. Maybe his demon head hurt as badly as his? Terellion could but hope.

Naturally the man wasn't pleased about having to bring his fury. Despite having been given command of the beast by his demonic lord, he was clearly frightened of her. That was part of the pleasure Terellion found in forcing him to attend him with her every so often. But only part of it.

Terellion wasn't frightened of the creature. In fact he liked the fury. He liked all the furies. They were the only creatures among the demon king's armies that he did like. It wasn't because of their looks, although they were coldly beautiful, in an austere, terrifying sort of way. But that beauty was completely overwhelmed by their snake like nature. The vipers for hair and the huge venomous fangs in their mouths transformed beauty into terror. And it was because they were utterly terrifying that he liked them. That terror was the very beauty he loved in them. It was seductive. Most of all he loved to imagine his enemies dying at their fangs.

As he always did when the man brought his pet before him, Terellion stepped up to her and rubbed the chimera's cheek gently. The soldiers might have gasped as he did it, but he knew he was safe. He was the only one in the room truly safe from her. Xin could never afford for him to be killed, and his thrall knew the same. So Varrious was controlling her tightly. Putting his every scrap of will into the bond Xin had given him, keeping her calm. And probably praying intently to his demon lord. That was part of what Terellion found enjoyable about the act.

He had started doing it first as a challenge. As a way of thrilling himself just a little bit by the nearness of death. And as a way of tormenting Varrious. But in time he had come to enjoy the act simply for itself.

She was a beauty Terellion thought. The soft skin of her face and the stiletto like daggers in her mouth. The vipers hanging down like hair all the way to her waist but so much more lovely than human hair. The intensity of those snake eyes as they gazed upon him. He liked her very much. And he liked the look of defiance in her yellow eyes. Not true defiance, her master wouldn't have allowed her to have such freedom.  But just enough to show she hated him before she yielded to his touch. It was like breaking a horse in he thought. You just kept doing the same things over and over again, letting them get to know you. And each time they accepted your mastery you pushed them a little further.

This time he decided to push her a lot further, letting his hand wander down her neck and to her chest. Then he stroked her lightly on the breast while all around him the soldiers and Varrious especially looked on, horrified. He enjoyed their reaction. The soldiers because he knew they admired him for his courage in standing so close to such a deadly creature. Varrious because he knew that every move he made frightened the man down to his toe nails. And he enjoyed the feel of the fury's breast in his hand too. It was so very normal in some ways, but magnificent in others.

When he had his immortality he decided, when he could no longer be harmed by the furies in any way, he would bed a few of them just to see what they were like. This one first. And if she was as good as he thought, he would bed the rest of them. As it was he suddenly wanted to bed her there and then. If only his flesh would allow him that pleasure.

He was also keen to find out if there could be any offspring from such a union. He had always been curious about such things. Especially when he still had no idea how the demon king had created his armies of chimera. Was he breeding beasts and women somehow? Terellion didn't know and the demon king's thralls would not say.

There was of course another reason for trying the experiment. A more practical one. If he could breed some of the chimera he could start raising his own armies. Ones the demon king didn't control. Maybe he could even create an army of his own offspring. Part wizard, part fury. By the gods they would be a terror to the world! A plague unleashed. They would be the monsters of his own flesh.

But for the moment that was but a pleasant dream. For now the one thing Terellion did know was that the damned furies hadn't been doing enough work killing his enemies lately. He hadn't yet sent them into Inel Ison or Pariton. There was no point when the dryads didn't have nobles or kings. They were assassins but the dryads did not have any targets worthy of assassination. What sort of people didn't have kings? He also hadn't sent them after the High Priestess either, even though he truly wanted her dead. There was no point. He knew where she was. He knew that if she died all his troubles would end. But he also knew she was protected by hundreds of griffins. On the ground or in the air the furies would be torn apart by them long before they reached her.

So the furies had been sitting around in their cages getting fat. It was time that that changed. It was time that the furies finally had someone to hunt.

“My dear.” He spoke to the fury softly, letting his hand run across her front until he found the other breast and began stroking it gently. Enjoying the feel of the nipple as it hardened under his touch. Enjoying too the nervousness of her master as he desperately tried to keep his pet calm. That just added to the enjoyment. “I have a task for you. A man who you have to kill. And in doing so I want you to make sure he suffers extreme pain. Can you do that for me?”

The fury nodded. They were the brightest of the chimera. They didn't speak but they understood a few words and some simple gestures. And they understood being told to kill someone.

“Good. Kill him and soon my dear I'll reward you properly. I promise you. I will have my immortality and you and I will spend some time together in the bedchamber. Maybe –.” He let his hand wander a little lower to rub her flat belly and then on down again until he had her womanhood in it. “ – We'll even be able to fill that lovely belly of yours with some babies. Would you like that?”

There was a shocked gasp from one of the soldiers, and the thrall suddenly turned pale, but those things only added to his enjoyment. The attendants of course said nothing – they would think it was a wonderful idea. They thought every idea of his was wonderful. But the only thing he cared about just then was the look in the eyes of the fury. And her yellow snake eyes he thought, weren't saying no. In fact he thought he saw the faintest of nods. And as he stroked her gently he thought he could see the slightest trace of excitement in her eyes.

She would like that. Unlike other women she was a killer. A beautiful predator. She understood power. And she understood that he was the same. And she respected him. Not because he was a king or a wizard. But simply because he was man enough to command her. Unlike the others he had no fear. She would welcome his seed in time. And he would give it to her.

The sooner he had his immortality he thought, the better!

Chapter Twenty

Midland Heights still stood and Erislee was getting tired of seeing it each morning when she awoke. It was a constant reminder to her of all she still had to do and yet hadn't. But she understood why it still stood – the problem it posed. It was a huge fortified city. It would take a properly equipped army and war machines to bring it to its knees. And when the walls finally came down they didn't really know what awaited them within the city. Except of course that there was one Circle Wizard still inside. The escapees from the city were all clear on that. Maynard the Mad was still there. Wandering the streets, talking to himself, and endlessly summoning cats.

At least Alenda Goldeneyes was gone. Erislee was glad at least of that though she still didn't know when the Circle wizard had escaped the city or how she'd got through their blockade
in Cut Valley Holding
. Unless of course she'd climbed the mountains. But still she was dead. The first of the twelve was gone. That seemed like a big step in the hunt to her. Even if all the reports said she'd somehow exploded and then nearly destroyed a fort when she'd died.

Erislee didn't understand why that had happened. She knew that wizards burnt when they died. That sometimes they exploded. That their magic was released, often violently. Everyone knew that. Just as everyone knew that the more powerful the wizard the worse it would be. And she remembered Nyma saying that Rickarial's death had knocked down a wall. That it was how the wizard warrior Harl had survived. The explosion had thrown him clear of the city. But what had happened in Whitebrook was something else.

The reports spoke about craters. About shattered walls and broken buildings. About the land being scorched and storms. And then as if that wasn't enough, the entire sky had turned black and blood red before something had torn a huge bloody tear right across it. Erislee wasn't quite sure whether to believe the last or not. And if it had happened she didn't know what it meant. It seemed just too much even for the most powerful of wizards. But she guessed they'd find out when Maynard the Irrepressible was taken down.

Whenever that would finally be. Some days she worried that it would never happen. That she would grow old and die here waiting.

Maybe it wasn't the waiting that was so terrible. Perhaps it was the fact that she was constantly being asked to make decisions. To receive seemingly endless reports. To answer the endless questions that were being put to her. It was too much. She was a priestess not a war master. When she had first started this hunt it had been so simple. She had walked into each town with her small but growing force and hunted down the false priests and burnt their temples. It was exactly what a hunt should be. But this was also a war, and wars as she was learning, were not simple.

Now she was required to stay here in front of Midland Heights while her army was slowly being assembled and make endless, pointless decisions, while others went out and did the hunting. A dozen priests and priestesses of Artemis now led war parties across the kingdom, routing out the false priests and destroying their temples, aided by the unicorns and griffins she sent with them, while she had to stay here. How had that happened? And in only a few months too?

Of course she understood now, that it was all because what had begun as a hunt had now become a true war. And as the hunt had changed, so too did the huntress have to change with it. Maybe she wasn't a huntress any more. But neither was she a war master. She simply didn't have the knowledge. But what she had become was something far more horrible. She was a figurehead. The symbol of the rebellion.

She could not go into battle any more. Not because her skill with her weapons was insufficient or she didn't know how to fight. But because she could not be allowed to fall. If she died then the fear was that the rebellion would die with her. And she had to make pointless decisions, not because they mattered. But because she had to be seen to be making decisions. The soldiers had to believe she was in command, even if others led them and directed the war effort.

Every day since she had been trapped here in front of Midland Heights, had been frustration. She itched to be in the fight. To be hunting down the enemies of the Goddess. But instead she had to stand tall and look as though she knew what she was doing while soldiers brought her pointless problems to deal with.

This time the problems had apparently arrived in the form of Dina Windstrider who was standing in front of her, looking as dour as ever. The woman hardly ever smiled. And she hardly ever had good news. But she was always nearby.

She had reason for her attitude Erislee knew. But so did everyone else and unfortunately her story wasn't that different. She'd lost a husband and her home in the attack on Lion's Crest. And then when she'd fled east to Inel Ison and the dryads she had lost her
position
as well. She was no longer the Lady of Elan. But that had been five years ago and unlike too many from the Kingdom of the Lion she still had some family left. Many other survivors of the battle had no family at all remaining to him. Harl Elder Fire was a case in point. There was a reason he knew such anger. And he didn't always bring her such bad news. In fact according to the reports he was doing good work supporting the soldiers.

Maybe what had truly robbed Dina Windstrider's heart of its joy was to learn of the betrayal by the other Circle wizards? While that had upset many of the others, including Harl, for Dina it was likely more personal. The other Circle Wizards had been her peers. People she had known and worked with for decades. Friends and confidants. They had almost been family. And now she had discovered that those she had always trusted were in fact the enemy. That sort of betrayal cut deep.

But then again maybe it was just her nature to be dour. Erislee suspected it was.

“Dina?”

“We need to talk about the death of Maynard.”

One thing about the woman Erislee had discovered these last weeks and months, she was direct. Always straight to the point. And sometimes that was a good thing. But this time there was one obvious problem with what she was saying. The wizard wasn't dead yet. And killing him was more her concern for the moment than worrying about what came next.

“I'm sure we'll be able to kill him once we've taken the city.”

“It's not killing him that I care about. It's his death. It's what happens when he dies.”

It took Erislee a moment to understand what she was talking about. Dead was dead after all and she didn't particularly care which underworld he ended up in after that. But she quickly realised what Dina was worrying about. The man was a powerful wizard, and when he died the same thing would happen to him as had to Alenda. More or less. She wasn't completely sure what sort of magical chaos would be released when a summoner died. But they could deal with that. They could even deal with the sky turning black. They had plans for it.

“You mean he's going to explode like Alenda Goldeneyes? We know that. Everyone will know to stand clear when it happens.”

“No. That's not enough. I don't think it's going to be the same. I think it's going to be worse.”

Well of course she did Erislee thought! This was Dina Windstrider talking. It was never going to be better! That was the one thing she was beginning to understand about the wizard. She did not know what good news was.

“Worse? How much worse? And why?”

“Because I've studied the reports from the soldiers who were at Whitebrook, and they all say the same thing. Alenda's death throws were in two stages. The first was when she died and her magic burst forth from her. That was the fire that blasted everyone. That's normal when a wizard dies. Especially a mistress of fire. But then there was a second stage, the hail and the shaking of the ground. The sky turning dark. That part had nothing to do with her death. That was to do with what her death caused; the breaking of the deal with the demon king.”

“Harl said something similar.”

Erislee had read the reports too, though honestly it hadn't troubled her nearly as much as it seemed to trouble the wizard. Surely they could just give the man a wide berth when the time came? That was the current thinking of the war masters. Kill him and run. Better yet use a longbow to kill him. It was a simple strategy.

“He was always a clever boy. But in this case not clever enough. He thinks this is a deal. Or a handshake and twelve deals made as one with one demon. But I don't think it is. I think this is a binding. One binding holding all twelve wizards and the demon captive to it. And if I'm right each successive death will unleash a worse explosion of magical fury than the one before. The last one could be cataclysmic.”

“Cataclysmic?” That didn't sound good. But what was the alternative? That they let the Circle wizards live? Live to carry on their murderous ways? Erislee asked, almost fearing the answer.

“No!” Dina very nearly yelled at her in shock. “We can't let one of these traitors live even a second longer than they must! They have to die! And we can't stop the explosions that will be unleashed when they pass from the world and the binding is broken again.”

“However.” Dina continued on a more calm note, “there is one way we can make sure that the explosion doesn't harm anyone. No one in this world at least.”

“This world?” 

“If we can banish the wizards one by one to the demon realm, they will be killed there and the devastation will happen to Tartarus.”

“Banishment? To Tartarus?” It was an interesting idea, but aside from the difficulty in doing it to an angry wizard who didn't want to be sent there, there was one obvious problem with it. “You would send the wizards to the safety of their allies? Perhaps to return later?”

“There is no safety in the demon realm. Demons eat one another. And they are starving. Any wizards we send there will be dead within seconds. Eaten by their allies. And Xin would be unable to prevent that – even if he wanted to. Besides, demons do not generally survive well in our world; why should we do any better in theirs?”

“But these are powerful wizards.”

“Who will be surrounded by thousands or millions of hungry demons. Possibly they won't even be able to breathe the air. They will survive at best a matter of heartbeats.”

It made sense Erislee supposed – if she was right. She had heard that the demon realm was like that – though of course she'd never been to Tartarus to see for herself. Anyone who had had likely died soon after. Actually they would have been dead before. Tartarus was part of the realm of the dead. Besides, even if the wizards had lived, no one returned from Hades. Not without the gods' help. And Tartarus was the deepest and darkest part of Hades. Home to the most vile of sinners and their tormentors, the demons. That was their purpose after all.

According to the priests of Pluto, God of the Underworld, the demon realm was like a jungle. But instead of animals they had demons. Endless demons of every size and shape. And all of them shared one trait; hunger. Savage, unrelenting hunger. They killed and ate one another and only the strongest survived. All of them would have come to the world to feed had it been possible for them or had the world been safe for them. Thankfully it wasn't. So instead they came when summoned, though for the most part they did not come in person, sending instead their words and their servants. Only a few could remain in the world for any length of time. It was one of the ways in which the world of the dead and that of the living were kept apart. People could not survive in Hades, and demons could not survive outside of it. Which was fortunate, for if the demons could survive in the living realm, they would quickly destroy it. No one could stop them.

Est of course was one of the few that could survive for a time here. She could be summoned and then remain in the living realm for a time. And she could use her demonic abilities here as well. That was part of the reason that she made such a good assassin and teacher of assassins. It was no doubt why her students had become Erislee's gaolers. She'd taught them well. Est was far from the most powerful of her kind, but her ability to linger in the living realm gave her an advantage others didn't have.

Most demons though made their deals through portals and gates and accepted their payments the same ways. Sometimes that payment was bone and blood. Sometimes it was life and death. Whatever they could feed on. In the demon king's case it was the life essence that he craved. They guessed that that was why the deal had been made as it had.