“Now that we have your attention,” Adrian began once everyone was silent, “I would like to clear a few things up about some of the rumors and tall tales that have been flying around lately. First and foremost, I am not dead, as you have all plainly seen. I was not killed by my brother, no matter what the stories say. He has not been banished. There is, however, a civil war brewing, and I will not tolerate that. I know there are many of you gathered here who think I should not rule, or that Vincent here is not welcome among you. To both of those horrendous things, I offer this one chance for peace. I offer everyone in favor of the war and my being deposed this: Give up your claims to any form of political power, make no more attempts on my kingdom’s health and prosperity, and continue to live a moderately comfortable life. If you would rather be banished or sent to the Pits, simply keep going on your present course. You will be met by myself and my brother, and you will be individually offered a chance to lay down your arms and continue living your life, minus real power. For those who wish to expedite the process, you may form a line starting in front of me. I have all of your names, so do not doubt that I will be speaking with you very soon.”
Silence fell over the crowd and many of the gathered demons and devils looked to one another in confusion or fear. Eventually, under the keen eyed glare of the new king, a small group split off of the main one and approached the throne in a single file line. A few more joined them until thirty demons and devils lined up directly in front of Adrian, who stood to address them. Several of his advisors stood among them.
“Let it be known that I am not without mercy,” he shouted to the crowd. A ripple of fear cascaded through the gathering. He could see angry and fearful glances being exchanged amongst the people. “Treason is a crime punishable by death, and I have often been the one sent to execute the guilty. However, if you all bow to me now, and accept my terms, you will be spared and given one last chance. You will, of course be stripped of any and all authority you once held, and you will be banned from ever entering this tower and Laarsa again, but you will live. Who among you accept these terms?” Of the thirty in the line, only five remained standing, and Adrian smiled grimly. “Then, you five shall be the example for others to learn from.” He unclipped the glove from his right hand and let the garment slip off of his bones. There was a gasp as the skeletal arm was revealed, and Adrian entertained the notion that his people would be terrified of him now. It was an unfortunate necessity in order to restore peace. He raised his bony hand and shot a lance of pure, black energy through the five standing demons’ chests. They fell to their knees as their souls were ripped from their bodies. In a flash, the souls were sucked into the giant red crystals on the ceiling, temporary holding cells until they could be transported to the Pits. This power had been used by each and every king of Hell upon those guilty of crimes that mandated they be given a harsher punishment than death. It was one of the various powers granted to a king of Hell, and all in attendance knew it. There was no question about it anymore; Adrian was king of Hell, and would be until his death.
With the physical deaths of the five demons, those who bowed down stared in horror at the new king. Adrian looked down upon them from his throne and motioned with his skeletal hand for them to rise. “From today on, you will be allowed to live, until such time as you decide to commit treason again. If that time ever comes, know that I will hunt you down and treat you to the same fate as these people. Now leave my tower.” The demons stood and rushed out of the audience hall and left with their supporters in tow. The king and his brother watched them leave, knowing that they would eventually get to the rest of the dissenters.
“Everyone else,” Adrian addressed the remaining demons and devils, “those who are loyal to me can rest assured that I hold your welfare in the highest regard and I plan to finish this war as bloodlessly as possible. I will still maintain a standing army, but only to defend our home against those who would see us dead.”
“And what about those of us who live outside the city walls?” one voice rang out.
Smiling, Adrian said, “I will be dispatching small groups of soldiers and scouts to each farm loyal to the throne. They will be given their own supplies to keep you comfortable and undisturbed. The scouts will keep a vigilant watch over your homes and will report to the soldiers if anything should happen. They will assess the situation and, if needed, will evacuate you and escort you to Laarsa. I will make the homes of those who just left available in case such an instance occurs. I will take care of my people as best I can.”
“And what if they storm the city?”
Adrian spread his arms wide and said, “Then I will lead the charge myself to defend our home. Those who wish to see us dead will have to claw their way out of the Pits themselves in order to win. I will not let that happen!” His voice was drowned out by the cheers ringing out from the people, and the new king smiled all the wider. He turned his eyes toward Vincent and the two shared a confident look. They both knew that Adrian would keep his promise to his people. Adrian stood, waved to the crowd and left the hall. He and Vincent went to the war room with the two remaining advisors and Staci, and they sat down to discuss their plans.
“That was quite the demonstration,” Kizrack said. “The people know that only the true king of Hell could pull that off. Our enemies are sure to be rethinking their allegiance.”
“But what about those left alive?” the other advisor, Zudas, asked. “You may have scared them into walking away today, but we can’t expect them to just lay their plans aside.”
Adrian nodded. “You’re absolutely right, Zudas,” he replied. “That’s why I’m not letting them out of my sight. My lieutenant, Zhun, has already dispatched some of my assassins to follow the leaders of the rebellion. They have orders to kill them at the first sign of treason. Their deaths will look accidental, unless they try to openly recruit people to their side. If they try to go to the public to dethrone me, they will die then and there, to send another message to those who think they can commit treason in my kingdom.”
Zudas sat back in his seat, considering the plan. “And if the people decide that these tactics are too despotic and tyrannical?”
“Then I will endeavor to regain their favor. If I don’t have the hearts and minds of my people, being their king will be much more difficult. I want them to know they can come to me with their problems, and I will do everything within my power to help them. These rebels want to wage war to claim the throne for themselves. They’ll sacrifice whoever they can to win. I won’t. I’ll defend my people with my army, with Vincent in command, but I will not send them out to fight if it is not needed.”
“You will allow this city to fall under siege, then?” Zudas implored. His calm tone indicated to Adrian that he was simply trying to plan for any outcome, rather than to argue the futility of the civil war.
“These walls have never been breached,” Vincent interjected. “But, if needed, we can open the channels around the outer walls and let the lava flow from the volcano create a protective moat around the city.” He summoned a translucent image of the city and showed where the volcano’s lava would flow. “Thousands of years ago, tunnels were bored through the rock to allow the magma to flow away from the city and exit far from here, to ensure there is no excess pressure building under our feet. We can block the flow here, here, and here to divert the flow to the area around the city. That should keep an invading army out.”
Zudas looked impressed and scanned the image. “What about flyers?”
“There aren’t enough flying demons or devils in all of Hell to storm the city,” Vincent said. “We’ll post archers and spell casters on the walls to pick them out of the sky if they decide to make the attempt.”
“And burrowers?”
“That’ll be harder to track, therefore harder to defend against,” Vincent sighed. He waved his hand and yellow lines appeared under the image of the city, forming a tangled web. “Caves and tunnels already exist under us, so it would be simple
for our enemies to use them against us. However, there are ways we can deal with that. We can either collapse the tunnels, or flood them with lava.”
“Let’s keep some open in case we need to evacuate the people or let more in,” Adrian suggested. “We can go ahead and collapse the tunnel entrances we don’t need or want open, then control the few we do. That way, we can get refugees inside the walls without opening the gates once we flood the plains with lava. Then, if the need to escape arises, we can leave through other tunnels.”
Vincent and Zudas nodded in agreement, and some of the yellow lines turned red and three others turned blue. “We collapse those tunnels in red, then patrol those in blue,” the angel explained. “Just in case, we set up some wards to collapse the tunnels if we lose control of them.”
“What about the rebels who are still in the city?” Staci asked. “There are sure to be some still here, and we can’t think they’ll leave just because we asked them to.”
Adrian realized he had not thought of that, and nodded. “That’s a good point.” He looked at Vincent and the advisors, who looked at him as if he should have thought about that possibility. Slightly embarrassed, he said, “Those in the city will be more careful with their movements and planning. I’ll send out some of my people to locate them and determine how best to deal with the rebels. I can’t have my plans collapse from the inside.”
“It’ll be a delicate situation to deal with the rebels within the city,” Staci stated. “If they’re killed in the streets, there’ll be riots and more rebels will arise among the people. We can’t make them martyrs.”
“They were given their options already,” Adrian said. “If they stand among the people and profess against the throne, they invite the penalty coming to them. By now, I’m sure word is spreading throughout the kingdom of what happened.”
“Not everyone enjoyed how you dealt with the rebels in the court,” Staci reminded. “I just want you to be aware that some of the people, even those who are loyal to you, might not approve of your methods. You don’t want them thinking you’re a tyrant.”
“True,” Adrian nodded. “I’ll reserve the public executions for after a trial, then. Once the rebels have been found guilty, then they will be given the proper punishment.”
Satisfied with that answer, Staci nodded and smiled at her son.
“Either way,” Adrian continued, “I will not tolerate rebels taking action in my home. Let them speak, let them cry, and let them be angry. As soon as they start turning their words into actions, then we act. Outwardly, and as far as the people know, we will be on the defense. Behind that veil, my assassins will get to work determining what needs to be done. The major leaders are the priority, and they will be killed for what they have already done. We’ll deal with anything else that comes up with whatever contingency we have in place for it.”
They discussed the plans further, adding details and filling holes for hours into the night. By the time they were finished, everyone was exhausted and wanted to be gone. Adrian made his way through the tower to his headquarters, still not comfortable with the thought of living in the royal chambers. Besides, he did not want to force his mother out to live in another room in the tower. It did not feel right to him. He walked into the headquarters and slumped onto the couch in the common room. Zhun came in an hour later and cozied up to Adrian, also worn out from her long day. She nuzzled his chest and was soon purring in contentment.
“Kill anybody interesting today?” Adrian asked softly.
“Not really,” she replied with an exaggerated sigh. “Just a few rebel leaders.”
“Each leader dealt with is one step closer to peace, then we can relax.”
Zhun continued to purr as she rested in Adrian’s arms. “I’m pretty relaxed right now.”
Adrian smiled at her, but the expression was tinged with worry and heavy thoughts. His mind wandered back to the thoughts he had while he was in bed that morning with Zhun. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words were stuck in his throat.
“You don’t have a heartbeat, but I can still hear the intake of breath when you start to say something,” Zhun muttered. “What’s on your mind?”
Again, Adrian began to speak, but the words refused to come out. After a deep, steadying breath, he finally asked, “How would you feel about being queen and ruling by my side?”
Zhun’s head shot up and she stared at Adrian with wide eyes. “Why would you ask that?” she asked nervously.
“Well, I’m king now,” Adrian explained. “A king must have a queen, and you’ve been the only woman I’ve ever loved.”
Zhun’s eyes lost their nervous energy, but held a warm, happy light. “You know, that’s the first time you’ve admitted to loving me?”
Adrian’s face split into a sheepish grin. “Well, with our line of work, I felt the understanding was all we could afford to have.”
Zhun nodded in agreement, and moved so she was sitting up and looking right into his eyes. “So, with this new admission of feelings for me, what do you plan to do?”
“With your permission, I would like to name you queen of Hell after this civil war is over.”
“And?”
“And, with that title would come others.”
“Such as?”
“Wife?”
Zhun grinned and threw one leg over Adrian’s legs, pulling herself up and over to straddle him and sit in his lap, facing him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “Is that really how you planned to propose?” she teased. “I suppose there are certain duties that come with both of those titles?” she asked.
Adrian nodded. “As my wife, you will have to honor and obey me,” he quipped.
Zhun feigned a grimace and shook her head. “Not my style,” she joked. “What about my queenly duties?”
“The people would expect the queen to bear an heir for the throne,” Adrian said slowly, trying to gauge Zhun’s response. He was nervous to bring it up at all.
Zhun’s mirthful grin faded somewhat and she became more serious. After some thought, she said, “If I were to be anyone’s wife, I would be yours. If I were to bear anyone’s children, they would be yours. I would give up this life of death and intrigue at a moment’s notice to be your wife and the mother of your children.”
Adrian smiled warmly at her and pulled her close for a kiss. After being together for nearly twenty years, this was the first time they had had this discussion, and it was wonderful for him to hear her say those words. He had never thought he would be in this position, nor did he expect their relationship to progress to this level. Their kiss was sweeter and more tender than it had ever been before, and Adrian knew that this new path he was about to embark upon was going to be blissful and exciting. Suddenly, being king of Hell was not looking so bad.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Ariel fished her keys out of her pocket and unlocked her apartment door. She had been away longer than she wanted, attending to some of her other duties in Heaven. There were meetings and debriefings to attend, as well as various other annoyances. The council in Heaven wasted her time with requests to rejoin them. After the war, however, she had given up her rank and her seat on the council. Being on the council just did not sit well with her since her father had died, and the rank of archangel was something she never wanted. She was made an archangel when her father left heaven, taking his place in the army. As far as she was concerned, Ariel was best used as a free agent, able to move more freely around Earth and Heaven without anyone breathing down her neck. On Earth, she was free to do as she pleased in relation to her mission, and her apartment was her safe space. Inside, she found the dwelling empty, a sight she was not expecting. She had expected Adrian and Vincent to be there, laying low. The emptiness gnawed at her, leaving her uncomfortable. Something was not right. She shut the door and moved to her bedroom, pulling the sheet off of the mirror in the corner. It had been many years since she had used this mirror, but it seemed necessary now.
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