The Labyrinth of Destiny (38 page)

Cha-sak was not one to pace.

The useless motion showed weakness.
It made it seem like one was ill at ease. He always stood still, exuding
strength and surety regardless of what he was feeling at the moment.

Even now.

If he were a weaker person he would
have been pacing the length of his tent, staring at the black fabric of the
walls. Instead, he stood like a black pillar of stone. Nothing could have moved
him from that spot before he was willing.

His ruby eyes turned to Basha’s
immobile form, the only other living thing in the tent with him. She was
carefully seated on a throne-like chair, positioned to look as though she were
meditating.

In truth, her soul had long ago
departed from her body. Everything that had made Basha who she was had been absorbed
by Cha-sak. All that was left was a faintly beating heart and a body that was
alive only by technical definitions.

Basha’s final—likely
unwilling—service to the demon had been to ensure that no one, not even an
Immortal, could banish him back to his prison.

Cha-sak would have smiled, if he
had a mouth. The air chilled with his dark pleasure.

He knew that he would conquer this
world. He
knew
it. His plan was a perfect one, and humans were the ideal
mortals to carry out his wishes. They were weak and greedy, and they did not
balk in the face of violence.

Oh, yes.

Humans were perfect for what he had
in mind.

It was true that he had a small
handful of enemies that opposed him, but it was only a matter of time before he
crushed them. After all, they were few in number and they had little by way of
resources. How could they possibly stand in his way for long?

But then the satisfaction Cha-sak
felt began to fade.

He did not need to search to find
its source of his discontent. He knew exactly when it had begun: when he had
sensed the powerful surge of
vyala
to the north.

Cha-sak had not felt such power
since…

He had told himself that it was
unlikely that Adesina had been the source of the power. After all, the Ancients
had not taken part in the Great Wars. Why would they choose to get involved
now?

Adesina claimed to be the Threshold
Child. Cha’sak knew the Immortals’ prophecies concerning the Threshold Child,
and it seemed unlikely that the Immortal Council would support her if they did
not believe her claims. And, if Adesina was the Threshold Child…

No, that could not be true.

The tale of the Threshold Child was
nothing more than a way to comfort those too weak to embrace the Darkness. The
Immortal Council must be using the human girl for its own purposes. That was
the only reasonable explanation.

Yet the doubts in Cha-sak’s mind
did not go away.

The opening to his tent parted and
a squarish woman walked in. Her name was Velia, and she had stepped into
Breyen’s place after he had disappeared.

Her sharp, cold gaze swept the
tent, resting briefly on Basha before hurriedly moving on.

Cha-sak felt a hint of amusement at
her apparent discomfort. Basha’s presence often had that effect on those who
came into the tent. The demon thought it served as a good reminder that their
small lives meant nothing when compared to his power.

Cha-sak allowed himself to be seen
by the assassin, and she dropped to her knees with her head bowed.

“My Lord Cha-sak, a group of the
True Scepter are here and request an audience.”

Velia’s voice was carefully
controlled, but Cha-sak could still detect the scorn in her tone. The True
Scepter of Cha-sak was a collection of extremely devoted humans who had
separated themselves from the rest of his servants. They hated the mercenaries
for their lack of loyalty and they envied the so-called Shimat for their
superior positions in Cha-sak’s army.

The fanatics had declared
themselves as the only true followers of the demon.

Cha-sak felt another wave of
amusement. Humans were truly such useful creatures, and fanatics were the most
useful of all. He could ask anything of them, and they would carry it out
without question. They would sacrifice their very existence if he felt inclined
to ask them to do so.

“They may enter,” Cha-sak rasped.

Velia backed out of the tent with
her head still lowered, and he could hear her speaking to the humans waiting
outside.

One by one, the members of the True
Scepter crawled into the tent in abject humility. They kept as low to the
ground as possible, not even allowing their faces to point upward.

A half a dozen entered the tent in
total, and they remained prostrate in Cha-sak’s presence. The demon allowed
himself to feel pleasure at their adoration. It was fitting that humans should
treat Immortals with the proper respect, instead of presuming to be equals.

“I have given you permission to
enter my presence,” Cha-sak said in a low voice. “Why do you dare venture for
such favor?”

“Oh, Great Cha-sak, Lord of All! We
are worms in your presence. We are lower than worms! We are less than the dust
beneath your mighty feet.”

It was the leader that spoke.
Cha-sak had never learned his name, nor the names of the other members of the
True Scepter. They never offered the information, and Cha-sak didn’t care
enough to ask.

“You are correct, and it is good
for you to be aware of your place,” purred Cha-sak.

The groveling fanatics tried to
lower themselves even more.

“Why have you come?” demanded the
demon.

The leader spoke for the group.
“Lord Cha-sak, Purveyor of Wonder, we humbly beg that we be allowed to serve
you. For though we are nothing compared to you, we would gladly give our lives
in your service.”

Cha-sak surveyed them thoughtfully.
“How would you wish to serve?”

There was a slight pause.

“My Lord, in the last battle we
were required to fight in the groups that were determined when we volunteered
to join the army. The members of the True Scepter were scattered among
the…other…soldiers. We wish to be a division unto ourselves, so that we may
fight among those who share our ideals.”

“Is there not to be unity among my
servants?” asked the Shimat demon harshly.

The fanatics flinched.

“That is not my intent, Mighty
One,” the leader amended hurriedly. “I just wish for there to be greater unity
among your most devoted servants. The mercenaries do not care with whom they
fight alongside, and the Shimat assassins are scattered throughout the army. We
would like to take up arms with those whom we call our brothers and sisters.”

Cha-sak allowed a heavy silence to
fall.

In truth, it did not matter to the
demon. His goals would be accomplished no matter the groupings of his army. He
simply didn’t want his servants to think that he was easily persuaded to do
anything they requested.

Also, he enjoyed the fear that
radiated from their puny bodies.

“Very well,” he said finally. “You
many form your own division.”

Their relief was palpable.

“Thank you, Great One,” gasped the
leader. “We are humbled by your benevolence.”

A sudden idea came to Cha-sak, and
his eyes narrowed with sadistic glee. “The True Scepter of Cha-sak shall be
given a task that the rest of my army shall not share.”

The fanatics had been preparing to
crawl backwards out of the tent, but they all froze in expectation.

“There is a woman among my enemies
who is more dangerous to our cause than any other. She is the symbol of hope
for those who oppose me, and I would have her eliminated.”

“Of course, Lord Cha-sak,” blurted
the fanatic leader, eager to accept any bidding from the Shimat demon.

“The True Scepter of Cha-sak will
make it their priority to find and destroy that woman.”

There was a tentative pause before
the groveling man spoke again. “How will we know her, Mighty Cha-sak?”

“Fools,” barked the demon, and the
fanatics flinched and moaned in terror. “All of my servants should know the
face of Adesina. You have faced her in battle and seen her fight to end our
cause.”

There was a sense of panic in the
air as the prostrate humans scoured their memories for the answer.

“The woman with the purple cape,”
supplied a small figure in the back.

“Yes,” purred Cha-sak. “Finally, a
capable servant among you. Come forward.”

The figure crawled forward, her
face still pointed toward the ground. Cha-sak pointed at the woman and whipped
his
vyala
in her direction. The woman screamed in agony and she was
lifted into the air.

An intricate design began to glow
on her face. It had the appearance of a pair of feathered wings exploding
outward, the feathers turning into bolts of lightning.

The design glowed brighter and
brighter, and the woman’s screams grew louder. The smell of burnt flesh began
to fill the tent as the glowing design marked her face permanently.

When it was all over, the woman was
dropped on the ground where she lay sobbing quietly.

“You have been marked with my
favor,” Cha-sak drawled lazily.

The woman stopped crying suddenly
as she heard his words. “My Lord?” she questioned.

He went on as if she hadn’t spoken.
“You now bear the mark of the Shimat demons, a great honor that few humans have
experienced. I name you the new leader of the True Scepter of Cha-sak and
command you to destroy Adesina.”

“Yes, Lord Cha-sak,” breathed the
woman. “We will not fail you.”

“You may leave,” the demon said
shortly. He did not want to hear any promises or sickening expressions of
adoration from humans.

The fanatics crawled backward out
of the tent, leaving Cha-sak alone with Basha. He turned to his “chosen vessel”
and his eyes shone with satisfaction.

“You would find this amusing,
Basha. It is unfortunate that your delightfully evil mind is gone.”

***

Kendan kept out of sight as the
members of the True Scepter of Cha-sak walked away from the tent. He had
listened to the entire exchange, and he frowned.

He had known that Adesina would be
a target, but it was quite another thing to send a group of fanatics after her.
They were volatile and unpredictable, which was a deadly combination.

Kendan kept to the shadows and
slipped away from the black tent. He would need to hurry back before he was
missed by his supposed master. Maizah had agreed to signal him if there was any
sign of trouble, but Kendan wanted to be careful anyway.

He hurried through the camp and
back toward the southern end, where all of the servants did their work. They
were kept away from the soldiers, so they could go about their business without
disturbing the mercenaries and the Shimat.

All of the laundry was done in the
same area, and Kendan made his way in that direction. The air filled with the
steam of boiling water and the smell of strong soap. None of the other servants
looked up as Kendan walked by. They were too busy with their own work to bother
with anyone else.

Maizah was patiently working alone,
scrubbing the shirts of the Shimat who had claimed them. She saw him coming and
an expression of relief flashed across her face.

“Yes, I know,” he murmured to her
as he joined her in doing laundry. “I was longer than I anticipated.”

She looked at him with questioning
eyes, and he knew what she was wondering.

“I confirmed the location of Basha,
but while I was there I overheard a conversation between the demon and some of
his fanatic followers.”

Maizah finished with the shirt she
was cleaning and picked up another. Then she turned her eyes back to Kendan,
waiting for him to continue.

“He has ordered the fanatics to
seek out Adesina and kill her,” Kendan concluded with a scowl. “She has enough
to worry about without a group of insane demon-worshippers making it their sole
purpose to end her life.”

Maizah raised her eyebrows and
gestured with one hand. Kendan understood her meaning.

“I know there is nothing we can do
about it here, but I am still worried. I wish I could send some sort of
warning.”

Maizah’s dark eyes reverted to
their natural state of expressionless neutrality. Kendan took this to mean that
she had nothing else to say on the matter.

She was right, even though it
galled Kendan. There was nothing that they could do. They could not send any
sort of message without revealing that they were spies. Their mission was more
important than any warning they could give. The fanatics may pose a threat to
Adesina during the battle to come, but she would definitely fail in her
confrontation with Cha-sak if Kendan and Maizah did not complete their
assignment.

“I hate leaving her in such
danger,” Kendan went on as he viciously scrubbed a set of undergarments. “It is
not the first time I have seen harm heading toward her and have had to ignore
it.”

Maizah quirked an eyebrow at him.

“It is not that I doubt her ability
to take care of herself,” he defended. “It is just…”

He searched for the words to
express how he felt.

“I was supposed to be her mentor.
That is the role of a Shar. Instead, I was ordered to spy on her and manipulate
her. I abandoned her when she needed me most, and I have never forgiven myself
for that. I know that she has moved on with her life and she does not need me
to protect her, but I cannot help but wish to do now what I should have done
then.”

Maizah reached over and gave his
hand a soft squeeze. Kendan smiled at the empathy in her eyes.

“Thank you,” he said sincerely,
“but you are right. We have work to do here, and we are almost ready.”

The Tracker nodded in agreement and
turned back to the laundry in her hands. Kendan did the same, but his mind
continued to mull over what was to come.