A Clash of Demons

by Aleks Canard

  Trix leaned on the wingback chair. Her eyes were drawn to the fire. She was missing something. The advocate’s identity played on her mind. Trix had paid close attention to everyone she’d met since arriving on Zilvia. None bore markings like those illustrated in Monsters & Other Beasts.

  But Gauthier’s no ordinary demon, Trix thought. His mark will be different. Maybe even something ordinary. After all, he doesn’t walk around with horns or a tail. His mark may be subtler.

  ‘The challenge is irrelevant right now. We need to know how he can be freed.’

  ‘No one knows,’ Faedra said. Her voice was quiet.

  ‘I bet the advocate does,’ Valentine said.

  ‘Why would they know? In a devil’s threesome, the devil remains separate from the advocate and summoner until he comes to collect. The devil doesn’t help the advocate any more than telling them what wishes need to be granted. He’s not permitted.’

  Valentine stopped admiring the bookshelves and sat in the wingback chair opposite Trix. Its high backrest flanked the author’s face. Shadows split his features in half, wavering in time with the crackling fire. Faedra resumed her sitting position. Trix stood beside her. Altayr faced Valentine.

  ‘But we’re not dealing with a typical monster. If we were then we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. Trix would separate Gauthier’s head from his shoulders and that’d be the end of it. We’re dealing with fairy tales. Dark ones meant to frighten adults, make them terrified of lonesome roads and baleful woods where eyes illuminate the night. Gauthier wants freedom from whatever bizarre power that keeps him from absorbing souls at random, and he has convinced you,’ Valentine pointed to Faedra, ‘to wish for it. From what Trix has said, I’m going to continue assuming that he wouldn’t have wished for freedom if it was impossible, because Gauthier doesn’t want to be left out of pocket, so to speak.’

  ‘What’s your point?’ Trix said.

  ‘Gauthier wants these wishes granted. And they’re more than your typical “give me riches beyond measure, drown me in pussy for pleasure, and infinite time to enjoy at my leisure” kind of wishes. I reckon he’s told the advocate exactly how to free him, which means that he may already be free, waiting on Faedra’s parents to be risen from the dead until he feeds on what soul you have and romps around the galaxy, gorging himself.’

  ‘That still doesn’t help us if we don’t know the advocate’s identity. And we only have four hours before Nadira wants an estimate of when we’ll reach Orix. And that estimate will have to fall within 24 hours. Did you have a plan for discovering the advocate in that amount of time?’

  ‘We don’t need one,’ Valentine said, folding his legs. ‘We roll a dice and hope Gauthier’s freedom has already been assured. Then all we need to do is raise two people from the dead. An impossible task on any other day, though I would argue freeing a crossroad demon is more impossible.’

  Trix: ‘That’s too risky. Faedra, do you even know where your parents are buried?’

  ‘They were said to have died when I was a small child.’

  ‘Any chance of necromancy working is non-existent. The decay will be irreversible,’ Altayr interjected.

  Faedra looked at Trix. It wasn’t fear that coloured her face, but disbelief. She hadn’t even heard Altayr. ‘Wait, did you say we had to reach Orix?’

  ‘Yes. You’re not the only one after the mirrors. Don’t worry about that.’ Trix flicked a look at Altayr which told him to keep his mouth shut. If Faedra knew of their plan, she could still be a threat. ‘It’s not your concern. Why are you curious about Orix?’

  ‘Because that’s where my parents were rumoured to be buried, though I don’t know the exact location. I thought maybe the mirrors could help me find them. I’ve used locks of hair to enhance tracking spells, but nothing’s worked. I don’t know who buried them either. When I heard about the mirrors, and their teleportation possibilities, I decided it was worth trying. If they can’t take me to the plane beyond this one where the dead roam lost highways, then finding their corpses would be a compromise.’

  Something clicked in Valentine’s head.

  Faedra kept speaking. She clocked her head at Altayr.

  ‘And perhaps you can’t perform necromancy on bones, but I can.’

  ‘That defies everything that’s known about the art.’

  ‘Maybe you would know more advanced techniques if you spent more time practicing.’

  ‘Everyone shut up,’ Valentine said. He stood up so fast his back screamed with pain. He grunted. His eyes searched for a whiskey bottle. There weren’t any.

  What kind of establishment are these mages running? He thought absently.

  ‘Sif.’

  ‘Yes, Valentine?’ the AI said.

  ‘Send me the coordinates Nadira sent to Trix.’

  ‘Trix?’

  ‘Go on.’

  Valentine received the coordinates. Brought up a holographic globe of Orix. The coordinates were marked by a pinging dot.

  ‘Does this location mean anything to you?’

  ‘Not particularly,’ Faedra said, wondering what had gotten into the drunken soldier.

  ‘Sif,’ Trix said, ‘what’s there?’

  ‘According the Orix database, there’s nothing but an unnamed, low lying region which exists between two knife ridges.’

  ‘Fuck it all,’ Valentine said, closing his hologram. ‘Sorcerer, where’s the mirror?’

  Altayr moved past the fire. Brought the mirror out from behind a bookshelf. Valentine peered into the concave dish. He brushed his fingers over the rune carvings.

  Valentine: ‘Fuck me. I have a hunch. Again, I’m rolling a dice, but I think I know who the advocate is.’

  Valentine drew his obsidian knife. Walked to a wooden counter which stood before the bookshelf to his right. He slammed the knife into the wood. Began carving in rough chunks.

  When he was done, there was a crude shape resembling what might’ve been an ancient zirean rune.

  ‘What does this mean?’

  Altayr and Faedra approached Valentine’s carving.

  ‘Where did you see this?’ Altayr said.

  ‘On Nadira Vega.’

  That caught Trix’s interest. She came between the two mages. Valentine had definitely drawn a zirean rune, even if it was a poor imitation. It sort of looked like a question mark with a solid dot in the centre of its crook. It looped down. Ended in an almost curved arrowhead. There was an offshoot on the right side. It looked like a stylised flower bud to Trix.

  ‘Where on her?’ said the machina.

  ‘It was by the top of her left thigh,’ Valentine demonstrated by pointing to an area near his crotch, ‘and it came up almost to her belly button. It looked like a tattoo. Obviously smoother than what I’ve done here.’

  Faedra: ‘It’s almost as though three runes have been combined into one. I don’t know what it is, but it’s not zirean.’

  ‘You’re right,’ Altayr said. ‘See here, the crook with the black spot? The crook by itself with a circle instead of a spot represents “time” in ancient zirean. Are you sure the circle was solid on Nadira’s tattoo?’ Altayr said to Valentine.

  ‘I spent a lot of time down there. I’m sure.’

  Altayr was so fevered he barely noticed Valentine’s crudeness.

  ‘That would mean a deficit of time. Possibly a countdown. Then here, the base. That arrowhead normally faces upwards and is used in reference to gods. At the time these runes were created, the gods would’ve been dragons, hence the way it is akin to the nigh on spearheaded tip of a dragon’s tail.’

  Trix: ‘And this one’s pointing down. Which can only mean demons.’

  ‘Precisely. Or some other malevolent force. Finally there’s the offshoot on the right side. Such an offshoot also occurs on the ancient zirean rune for poison.’

  ‘And, do these have some kind of coherent meaning, Big Red?’

  ‘I believe so. I won’t bore you with the details, but if I had to a
scertain an overall meaning for this rune, there could only be one word.’

  Altayr Van Eldric waved his hand over the wood. BOUND was written in block letters above Valentine’s rune.

  Trix scowled. That was the very same meaning other crossroad demons branded on their advocates, to remind them of their jobs. They were owned by the demon until their tasks were completed. Supposedly in this life and the next.

  ‘Valentine, are you sure this is the rune you saw on Nadira?’

  ‘Yes I’m sure. How many times do I need to say it? It wasn’t scarification like the corrachs, or a fire brand. Just a regular tattoo. That’s why it didn’t even cross my mind when you were speaking about demons.’

  Altayr: ‘Trix, you know Nadira better than any of us. How likely is it that she’s in league with Gauthier?’

  ‘Her primary business is information. Dark’s Hide and arms dealing is just a front for one of the Milky Way’s vastest spy networks. However, her emporium specialises in exotic goods. Maybe not as rare as the ones Eisenheim Angier peddles, but you’d be hard pressed to find a better selection of rarities. It’s possible that she not only heard whispers about the mirrors, but also of Gauthier’s existence… shit. I think I know what she wants.’

  Trix was so floored by the realisation that she forgot to verbalise her hunch.

  ‘What?’ Valentine said.

  Faedra remained silent. Watching. Listening.

  ‘Nadira doesn’t care that you need magic to work the mirrors because she has no interest in them. She doesn’t want them at all. She wants what she’s owed. Fuck.’

  Trix slammed her fist onto the rune, breaking through the solid wood as if it was cheap ply.

  ‘When Gauthier said that his advocate already had someone in Xifaw, he meant me. Because Nadira was using me. Using all of us. No wonder she didn’t care about you joining me,’ Trix pointed to Altayr. ‘Your company meant me being more likely to succeed.’

  ‘But why would she pit us against Faedra knowing full well that we could’ve killed her and taken the mirror, leaving her plan in ruins,’ said the author.

  ‘I don’t know. Nadira probably knew of your history,’ Trix gestured to the mages, ‘and decided that an unlikely alliance would form, rather than all of us killing each other. No, that’s not right either. Because I would’ve gotten out if I’d known this involved a crossroad demon. So Nadira pits me against you,’ pointing to Faedra, ‘in an effort to convince me that the mirrors are only going to her. And since I trust Nadira, I don’t have any qualms about handing them over. After all, she can’t use any magic, so I just assume she’s going to sell them. I don’t give a shit, and then she gets what she wants. A wish from a crossroad demon of seemingly infinite power.’

  Trix’s mind was racing. Aside from Nadira’s tattoo, there was hardly any actual evidence.

  ‘And Nadira’s no idiot. She would’ve done her research before entering the contract. She’d know that any advocate who accepts a wish from a crossroad demon is forever tainted. And though their mark may fade, a nasty scar forms in its wake, reminding them that they’ll never be free.’

  ‘But since one of Faedra’s wishes is for Gauthier’s freedom, she must’ve assumed that Gauthier wouldn’t care about calling on her in the future, because he’d no longer be bound,’ said Valentine, his jaw hanging loosely in disbelief. They’d all been played from the beginning.

  Trix nodded. ‘Nadira will be furious if we stop this. I don’t know what she’ll have wished for, but it’ll be something she can’t attain, not with my help or anyone else’s. This may be her only shot. And we’re going to stop it.’

  ‘This just became a lot more difficult than challenging a demon, and possibly freeing him beforehand,’ Altayr said. He was distressed by the damage Trix had caused against the counter. The Lodge of Stars wouldn’t be pleased. He’d fix it later.

  Trix: ‘You have no idea. Nadira commands her own personal army. It’s not as large as Anrok Iclon’s, say, who heads the majority of kalarikian militia forces since crushing the anghenfil on Noccril. She doesn’t have any dreadnoughts, but she has a fleet of high calibre ships, and her guards are outfitted with some of the best weapons money can buy. She won’t have sent any old lackeys to Orix. She’ll be there personally along with her most elite guards who have no doubt been retrained after Dai and I crushed them during our assassination of Daquarius Farosi. Hell, with her money and influence she’s probably genetically altered them so they have a chance against apex predators.’

  ‘Machinas?’

  ‘Yes.’ Trix paused. She needed to think. If she was Nadira, what would she do? ‘I don’t think she’ll have brought her full force to Orix. Otherwise Dark’s Hide would be left unprotected. And it’s too valuable an asset to lose. But we’ll be contending with her very best.’

  Altayr: ‘We’re not totally outgunned. You’ve told me your ship is the best in the galaxy. And we have the Red Queen on our side.’

  ‘Damn right,’ the author agreed. ‘Nice of you to volunteer my services, Big Red.’

  ‘I knew you wouldn’t pass up the opportunity.’

  Valentine smiled. ‘No, sir,’ he slapped Altayr on the shoulder and squeezed. ‘No, sir.’

  ‘You’ll have to check with Serena.’

  ‘Machina, when we were in the military, we went where we were told without question. I would never want to risk Serena’s life. But she’ll tell me it’s hers to risk. And besides, I’m a selfish man. I don’t want to enter a warzone without my guardian angel.’

  ‘I don’t want to kill Nadira,’ Trix said.

  ‘I agree it will be a shame to see someone so fine go to waste,’ Valentine said, leaning against the bookshelf. ‘but what other choice do we have? She’ll want blood when we take her wish away.’

  ‘We might be able to make her stand down.’

  ‘And how do you propose we do that?’

  Trix picked up a splintered piece of wood. Danced it between her fingers before snapping it in half. ‘We take away what she loves most.’

  ‘You’d blow up Dark’s Hide?’ Valentine sighed. ‘I love that place.’

  ‘No, we don’t blow it up. It’s too valuable as an outpost. And it enabled me to survive after I was banished from Zilvia. In some ways, it’s also the Dying Star Nexus’ last line of defence from Anrok Iclon’s Noccril forces.’

  Altayr: ‘We’ve discussed that in Conclave meetings. He’s amassing quite an army. More followers flock to him every day. They’re making solid progress on rebuilding the anghenfil cities. But we’re not concerned with the warlord just yet. What we are concerned about is the amount of anghenfil fleeing the planet. They’ve simply given up fighting. The displacement numbers are estimated to be in the tens of millions and climbing as Anrok’s forces expand.’

  Trix thought about how she’d aided Anrok to help Yvach, and — even though it was done unwittingly at the time — save Princess Iglessia Vialle. If she hadn’t liberated a Riven Star Cannon from an anghenfil mountain base, Anrok would be dead. Then again, so would the princess. It was hard to tell which scenario would prove to be better in the long run.

  Often we can’t see the ripples we cause until they turn to waves and break against the shore, Trix thought.

  Altayr continued. ‘The Bastion is more concerned about large scale anghenfil retaliation at present and more importantly, where they’ll settle.’

  Faedra had returned to her seat. She rested her hand on her cheek. Looked at the fire. This was not how she imagined everything panning out. Still, there was a chance for her to come out of this with the mirrors. Trix didn’t want to kill Nadira, but Faedra had other ideas. If she possessed the mirrors she’d be more than happy to let Altayr study them if he forwent his Conclave duties.

  However, she suspected that his love of research wouldn’t triumph over the power Conclave membership afforded him. Nevertheless, she continued to listen to the trio’s conversation. She’d need them if she was to escape with the mirrors. How�
�d that saying go? Give a little, take a lot?

  Valentine: ‘If we’re not blowing up Dark’s Hide, what’re we going to do with it?’

  ‘I have an idea, and it involves Serena staying out of harm’s way. Well, trading one dangerous situation for another that’s less risky.’

  Valentine was all ears. Trix continued.

  ‘She flies the Red Queen into Dark’s Hide’s docks and waits. Then we tell Nadira that there’s an armed thermobaric bomb in Dark’s Hide, ready to destroy everything she owns at a moment’s notice.’

  A thermobaric bomb was the third most devastating weapon in the galaxy, only trumped by nuclear warheads, and large scale Riven star cannons of which, thankfully, there were few. Thermobaric bombs essentially vaporised a small area then created a vacuum so powerful it was said that a person’s lungs could be wrenched from their mouth. The effects would be disastrous on a space station.

  ‘Small problem,’ the poet raised his finger. ‘We don’t have a thermobaric bomb. Her scanners will easily be able to detect its absence. She’ll call our bluff, some reinforcements, and then our corpses will become the only distinguishing feature for miles.’

  ‘There’re hundreds of ships in Dark’s Hide, not to mention all of its levels and illegal weapon stockpiles. It’ll take her several minutes to scan the entire station since her scanners are so sophisticated. And that will give us enough time to escape.’

  ‘She won’t let us leave before the scan’s complete,’ Altayr said. ‘From the way you speak about her, she sounds as though she’s accounted for nearly every scenario.’

  ‘Which is why we have a backup plan in case she has us at her air force’s mercy. Sif can create a fake signature which will give the appearance of a thermobaric bomb on scanners.’

  Sif: ‘Sure can. Only problem is that without me there to stop the hack, Nadira’s technicians will be able to expose it. And if they somehow believe the bomb is real, all of Dark’s Hide’s security will be mobilised towards the Red Queen.’

  ‘Wouldn’t my ship be put to better use on Orix rather than acting as a decoy?’

  ‘The Fox can handle more than a few pursuers.’