by K R Leikvoll
The throne room of the sacred, ancient palace had likely not seen such a large gathering of subjects in hundreds of years. Every survivor was crammed into the open space, some even stuck in the entryway as they could not all fit. I was seated on the high throne with Raven at my side. Leora was bound by one of the smaller demons I was using to maintain order.
The survivors were too groggy to fight much, many dazed beyond realizing they were captured. I did not know the details of all of Pestilence’s abilities, but Raven’s curse made them as clueless as animals awaiting slaughter. I took the time to sacrifice several of them to soothe my burning as they were filed in. When my debts were sufficiently satisfied in the eyes of Lord Nakarius, I gorged myself in wine. I was not in any hurry to move things along.
Rather, I was exhausted and wanted a long rest – perhaps to drift away to the Void and forget the war I needed to win, but my demonic brother was not in such a mood. He was testy. It took my forceful grasp to keep him at my side instead of allowing him to eat and murder them all.
“Please,” Leora groaned where she was placed on the floor with a collar around her throat. The gargoyle holding her prisoner was delighted by her sounds of anxiety, as I am sure it made it hungry. Her whining had been consistent for hours and it was almost enough to tempt me into killing her, just for the silence – but I couldn’t, for she had more of a purpose to play than being my next meal.
I paced in front of her and cupped her cheek in my hands with intense curiosity I could not help. She was highly agitated and tried to writhe out of my grasp, but naturally, it was useless.
“What do you plead for? Release? Death?” I trailed off, lost in her emotions. “Or is it mercy you desire? There was only one fate you left your people. Perhaps it would be befitting for you to observe it.”
“No,” she said immediately before she began to have trouble breathing. The weight of her situation was becoming clearer, it seemed.
“But you are far too valuable to waste!” I jeered with a satisfied smile. “I am no fool; I know Aresius would never go the same route as the refugees… it would be much too risky. I am more merciful than your Emperor, however, so I give you a choice: tell me what direction he went, or watch your people perish one by one.”
Leora finally met my gaze with the most loathsome glare she could muster. She spat in my face, and screamed out, “I will never betray my Emperor. You will have to kill me, demon!”
I wiped off her spit and laughed at her words. She was giving me permission to unify her people all for the sake of that wretched boy King. It was amusing to me, and still is, that so many would let honor come before innocence – the lives of those deemed holy over any other. It proved they were as guilty of being as vile as everyone else was, despite what they may have told themselves.
The first warrior I chose to sacrifice to the Void was one of the most fearsome during the siege. Though I had not come into contact with him before, I had seen the wreckage of his abilities. He had likely stayed behind because he was considered formidable among his own people. I bit into my thumb and pressed it to his forehead.
“For every moment of my time you waste, Dys receives a new soul,” I declared clearly so she could understand the consequences of noncompliance.
She struggled, denying to answer when Raven crept behind her and licked her ear.
“What will it be, Guardian?” he hissed with delight at the thought of her refusal.
Leora turned her face away.
I felt no pity, for it was her choice after all.
“Aeterne Inanis.”
The warrior let out a cry through his tranquilized state, falling to his knees as his body began to twist and contort. Leora tried to fight watching, but Raven forcefully held her face. The beast the warrior changed into was black with a fanged, skull head. It let out a roar loud enough to make the room rumble.
Of course, I was instantly entranced by my new summoned child. I wished to embrace it – to indulge in my fresh blood bond. Reluctantly, there was no time. I glanced up to see Leora was disturbed, perhaps even horrified, but she still did not speak.
And, on like that it went. Zaarian warrior after warrior was sacrificed to Heresy and transformed into a new demon to be used on our plane. I expected Leora to cave long before she did. It was clear she didn’t care if every single one of them became a demon to save Aresius’ life. She had gotten sick on herself, lost consciousness a few times, but nothing would make her cave. Only a quarter of the survivors remained. I thought they would all perish.
I crouched beside an older boy. He was a bit too young to have been left behind on orders. I guessed he was a child of one of the other warriors that decided to stay. Nonetheless, he still held a spear and was tattooed with the mark of Ortos. I tussled his hair and glanced at Leora over my shoulder.
“Are the children of Zaar just as worthless to you?” I asked with mild disgust. Enemies or not, her lack of empathy for those taken to be tortured for eternity was staggering to me. All politicians and beings of authority were corrupted beyond redemption.
“Please… enough,” she finally blurted out, her voice echoing off the stone walls.
I crossed the room to her side while Raven brought over a map and ink. We pushed it in front of her when she hesitated to pick up the quill. Her eyes scanned some of the demons remaining in the room and those that had not been changed yet. The loss was written on her face. I did not know what she expected! Perhaps she thought I was one to bluff or not follow through.
“If I show you… you won't sacrifice any more of them?” she asked to clarify. Raven had spent the better part of an hour whispering to her about all of the pleasures of Dys they would be invited to attend. Sparing the boy must have been her final shred of morality screaming out.
“I stay true to my word, but beware, I will know if you are lying to me,” I replied, nodding to Raven. Leora shook her head for a moment, bursting into tears before she had the strength to draw a line in the direction Aresius fled. I snatched up the map with greedy hands to study it.
The Emperor and his guard had gone west toward the Femoran border, heading for the north as those fleeing my forces had on the opposite side. It was a clever idea, as it was a vast amount of distance to divert everyone to follow him. The regime might have not been able to move as fast as he was, but I only needed Morgan and a few members of the Infernal Army to catch him. I wanted so deeply to chase him that very moment. Unfortunately, he would have a couple more weeks of breath.
An emerald, acidic smoke rose from nothingness at Raven’s feet. The deadwood base of his scythe appeared in his hands and he pointed it out over the heads of the remaining Zaarians.
“What are you doing?!” Leora called to us. “You said my people would not be sacrificed if I told you!”
“Indeed, Guardian. They will not be sacrificed,” I guaranteed her.
The sound of shards cutting into their flesh, along with their gurgles, were not louder than Leora’s screams. After they had succumbed to their wounds, Raven commanded them to rise from their grave in assistance with the Void. The mass crawled to their feet. The fiery violet of their eyes was the same beautiful shade as his.
“I have more use for them on Praetis than Dys.” I smiled at her discontent. “Rest assured, they are still here, trapped in their bodies as you requested.”
I waved to the demons surrounding me to take her away, somewhere out of my sight. I would keep her alive so she could see the fall of Aresius and know she failed. It was punishment for how callously she allowed her people to die. I would have killed them all despite her actions, but I was not going to work mercifully now. Some Empire they held… it was weak with a poor, suffering infrastructure. Their lawlessness was what kept them in control of most of Kaeda for centuries. After they began to starve, however, it felt rather easy to pick them off.
Raven was sent to bring Yuelle from the dungeons so I could collapse back on the throne in utter exhaustion. Transferring one demon from th
e Void was a tiring task – seventy-three would have killed a normal greater demon. It was worth every bit of effort, however. The number under my sway was steadily growing, I just needed to continue to focus on my end goal of total destruction. It was easy to forget in the heat of the moment – when I was exercising wrath on my victims. Beyond that, I could hardly think of how I would deal with my Master when it came time to return home.
Vince was very clear about his wishes for me to incinerate them all, but it was another manipulation tactic. If I simply killed all of the Zaarians without sacrificing them or turning them into undead, I would not have an army. It was obvious what he was trying to prevent by demanding they be annihilated. He undoubtedly wished to cripple me to maintain his hierarchy. It might have been obvious to some that he was a full-blooded traitor of Naazvaba, but at the time, I still thought it was in a futile attempt to keep me from ruling Praetis.
Yuelle was rather frightened when she was brought before me. Raven removed her shackles, and to her surprise, he left her so he could sit near my feet on the steps of the throne. She glanced around at the few demons and the shuffling dead remaining in the room with uneasiness. Most had never seen such monsters before, so her craven behavior was understandable.
“You are free, as I told you,” I said, gesturing to the door. “Run back to Evya if you wish.”
She hesitated.
“What are these creatures?”
“My unholy kin sent from the realm of my Gods to ensure the success of their crusade.”
“You look different than I remember.”
I chuckled and held my goblet out toward her.
“You as well, darling.”
She nervously ran a hand up her arm that was so slight I could see the definition of each bone. The duration she spent left to starve to death made her appear as though she might collapse at any moment. I was willing to bet that time outside of her cell was the most freedom she had in over a year or more.
“I can get you a katoma. Faera has fallen since you were taken, but Ambryss has set up ways to cross the channel. I’m sure they would be more than pleased to have you home.”
Yuelle ripped her eyes from the largest hellbeast in the room and took a deep breath.
“I don’t want to return home, Lazarus. I have been left to rot for so long, they all probably think I’m dead,” she began, somewhat emotional from the thought. “Besides… nobody tried to save me. No one –” tears rolled down her face. Her emotions were strong enough to almost make her crack, likely in relief of being released.
“Then where do you wish to go, Yuelle?” I asked in response in a calm, patient tone. She bit her lip, unsure as she stared up at me and Raven.
“I wish to serve you,” she declared, kneeling. “I understand your loyalty to Duskwraith. There is nobody waiting for me – nobody that cared. Only you.”
That intrigued me. I hadn’t expected her to make such a proclamation. I will admit that I privately hoped she would make the decision to stay, but I never dreamed she actually would. Though she was tattered and disheveled, she reminded me so much of Alexandra my heart ached. Her tired, golden Evyan eyes may have differed, but I could see the same desire to fight until the bitter end within them.
“You wish to serve demons?” Raven asked, standing with an amorous air about him. “Many don’t survive such a thing.”
“I don’t care,” Yuelle replied without hesitation. “I would have died in those cellars, anyway. I would rather die standing for something than nothing at all.”
Raven peeked at me with an evil smile on his face. “You hear that? She doesn’t care.”
He approached her and helped her back to her feet. She was somewhat cautious about touching him, which was not odd. Undead were always a bit unfamiliar to mortals. I could tell at once Raven was still craving more sacrifice, though Yuelle was unaware.
“Swear yourself to me then,” I demanded, moving to his side to keep him from eating her. “Swear yourself to a dark infinity. Perhaps my Gods will hear you.” I reached out a clawed finger and wiped her residual tears away from her cheeks.
“I will serve you until I die, Lazarus,” she replied. Her arm was shaking, but she brought it to her chest in the traditional Duskwraith salute.
“That’s Queen Lazarus to you now, girl,” Raven snapped, making her bow her head in clear embarrassment. He was toying with her. Perhaps making her uncomfortable was his way of playing with his food.
“Behave,” I hissed at Raven before taking Yuelle’s hands in mine.
“My apologies,” she whispered, staring at the ground where her eyes should have been in the first place.
“You will attend to whatever I need. I have no space for those that show anything other than absolute loyalty. Is that understood?”
“It is.”
I smiled with true happiness for the first time in forever. Not all were without rationality, it seemed.
“I need to speak to the Warden alone, please,” a loud voice roused me from my peaceful sleep. When I stirred and opened my eyes, I had almost forgotten where I was.
The Emperor’s quarters were overly lavish, though not as beautiful as my home in Duskwraith. Only a fool would waste the opportunity to briefly use a bed when they had the chance in the midst of a war. I pulled Yuelle’s nude form into my arms and refused to make eye contact with my angry child standing in the door’s threshold.
“So early?” Raven groaned from Yuelle’s other side and covered his face.
“It’s almost evening, Lord Raven,” Varnoc replied curtly as he approached the bed with a foul look on his face.
My brother shot me a frown directed at the fact that I did not correct Varnoc’s attitude. He did not like being told what to do; he had to have picked up on some of Vincent’s behavior after however many hundreds of years he was surrounded by him. He brushed Yuelle’s face with a frigid hand to wake her.
She was startled and sat up, she too forgetting her location. It was only momentary until she recognized me again, but she was uneasy at Varnoc’s presence. He was a demonic Zaarian – I am sure anyone in her situation would be mildly frightful of them.
“Let’s have a bath, sweet lamb,” Raven told our new companion, taking her hand in his. She was reluctant to leave her covering around Varnoc as he was a stranger, but she still did as she was told. They were coated in enough blood to ruin any robes they wore, so Raven chose the Emperor’s most grand clothing for them to slip on for the walk to the bath. He held a glare on his face until he exited, slamming the door behind them. He must have been just as exhausted as I with how irritable his demeanor was.
“What is it?” I asked when Varnoc and I were alone. I busied myself with wiping the blood from my skin with a wet cloth. It was a mixture of pale red and solid black; a perfect collage of my lovers from the previous day.
“You already know what I am going to say, Lazarus,” he muttered, so filled with anger he almost could not speak. The truth was, I did know why he was frustrated and my anything-but-empathetic attitude was agonizing to him. “Your lack of care for your own life could cost us the entire war. If it hadn’t been for Lord Raven’s rescue, you would have been torn to pieces.”
I did not respond; he was correct, but I didn’t want him to have the satisfaction. He crossed to my side and grabbed me sharply by my shoulder to get my attention. After our scuffle on our first night rooming together, he had never laid a forceful grasp on me. Normally, I would have removed the hands of any person attempting to push me around. That time, however, I was stunned and brought to focus by it. He kneeled beside the bed.
“Commander Typhlon is unhappy. The retreat cost us numbers. I can’t say whether it would have been any better had they remained, but I could have stayed by your side. What can Lord Raven provide that I can’t?” he inquired, clearly bothered by not being my favorite. I will admit it was difficult to avoid becoming entirely racist of Zaarians after what I was being forced to do.
“You would hav
e been killed,” I finally replied. “Raven holds Pestilence and controls my undead forces. Where one army fails, the other is there to pick up the pieces. Do not fret anymore – Uxe is won.”
“Your desire to be in the worst of the conflict is selfish. If you want to defeat the rest of them, we must plan it and follow those plans without any diversion,” Varnoc advised. “Leora may be accounted for, but Gradelkine is known far beyond Zaar for his abilities.”
I flexed my new arm at his words. It was fresh and unscarred like most of my other limbs since it was regrown. An arm was not anything close to my life, as I had almost lost. My mocking and desperate behavior during the ordeal was rather unacceptable, I was able to note in retrospect. Had the boy Emperor listened to me, my head would have been sent rolling at my own request. I reasoned, and still do, that it is War’s bloodthirst that causes me to act that way, as I have done on many occasions. I wish so badly to bring death and ruin, any pause in my ability to do so makes me unconsciously suicidal. The blades would consume my soul easily if they were not properly maintained and fed as they demanded.
“The wizard must perish quickly. He is the biggest threat,” I agreed while I put on new robes. “If we could extinguish them in masses it would be much faster.”
“What of… Levia?”
At the mention of the fire-breathing monster from space, I turned abruptly to him. Even after becoming a demon and being presented with my dark Gods face to face, I still feared the wretched serpent that was responsible for destroying my home. Every possibility of her assistance flashed in my mind.
“Her lair is at the northern border of Zaar and Duskwraith; she would be close enough to torch Remula,” Varnoc continued, trying to lure me into the idea of using her abilities.
“I doubt our Master would be pleased about us using his pet for our means of war. If it was permitted, I think she would have been here the entire time.”
“What is the difference between a dragon defending its nest and a dragon attacking a city near its nest?” He was trying to get me to agree to go behind Vince’s back without saying it outright. It was the only safe way to discuss Vince in most situations. “We don’t have to mention that we called for her aid. Perhaps she joined when the fighting interrupted one of her naps.”