“What will you offer me next, I wonder?” I paused, fingering my necklet. “Is it to be gold and vast riches, sumptuous clothes or rare treasures? Perhaps you’ll wax subtle and try to seduce me with gifts of knowledge, power or dominion over a thousand, thousand worlds? Can you make me invulnerable perhaps, or all-knowing, or a wielder of great magicks? Reveal my next challenge, my Lord Druj!”
Isn’t this rather a dangerous game? Zenni asked.
“Very dangerous.” The archdemon’s smile was as tender as any lover, as full of mischief as any imp. “All I have for you is one question—what is your heart’s desire, Anna-Marie?”
I shivered then, tasting peril, knowing there was only one way to play this part; kick out all the boundaries and tilt at the moon. “I want to be immortal and I want vast power! I want to be a goddess—grant me that!”
Druj laughed in earnest then, fit to split his sides, rolling in his seat until tears tracked down his pale cheeks, until he panted for breath. “By the Fire, Anna! You dare even that? Girl, you’re priceless!”
How I avoided being caught up in his laughter I don’t know, yet I kept my face serious. “Then grant me my wish.”
“Alas, I cannot.” He produced an enormous handkerchief, a starfield on inky black, to wipe away his tears. “Such a thing is beyond my scope, much to my regret. Such barefaced cheek cries out for just reward, although after an eternity of joyless divinity, you’d come to curse the gift. Ask again, Anna, but be a little more conservative!”
Tired of playtime, I felt it should come to an end. “How many more tests do I have to pass? You know what I’ve come back for.”
His joy mutated swiftly into annoyance. “Why must you spoil the game? Why am I always disappointed when I deal with mortals? Why must they blunder roughshod over everything and come straight to the point? I had great hopes for you, and now you show your true colours, pale, pasty conformity, the same as all of the rest. Why can’t you sacrifice a little time and effort to humour me?”
“To me, life and death aren’t a game.”
“And that’s what makes you mortal.” His voice took on a sad lilt and his eyes echoed the misery; the effect was so authentic that I wanted to hold him close and comfort him like a frightened child. “If you could appreciate what it is to exist for an eternity, if you could only understand that, then you’d see why the intricacies of the game are so important to me. The rules are mine, Anna-Marie, and you’ll play by them—I give you no choice. First I choose to grant you a boon, then we shall speak of the three captive souls.”
What did I have to bargain with? We both knew that my hands were empty. “Okay, if you must play fairy-godmother, a role in my opinion for which you’re singularly unfit, I’ll take the traditional three wishes.”
“That’s better.” The amiability crept back into his face. “The first?”
“The bombs set by Draoi’s anti-technology cult, do you know of them?”
“Ahriman watches over that little group for me and carries their tittle-tattle back, so I’m aware of their petty plans.”
“The authorities may not find all of the devices in time. I don’t want any of them to explode.”
He shut his lilac eyes for a moment. “It’s done. All are deactivated.”
I didn’t doubt him—I’d seen the sudden flash of power wink in his aura. Such a little thing, and so many Tambou would live instead of die.
Druj saw my shudder, sampled my awe and smiled. “Your second wish?”
“I want you to erase all memory of me from the mind of Nansi Ruhanna.”
“But that’s such a small thing!” he exclaimed. “You could do it yourself, so very easily. Don’t waste a wish on that—think what you could have instead!”
“Do you refuse me?”
Druj frowned. “No. By my own rules I can’t very well do that, can I? If that’s your will it shall be done, but not yet. I know you fear the Sisterhood of Grace, but they’re just insects, silly black ants, running about, biting people, having the gall to believe that the destiny of the universe is in their hands. Deluded cultists who worship a false goddess—pah! Such fools could never be the instrument of your death. Now, Anna, you’ve squandered two golden opportunities. Think well before you decide on your final wish.”
“I’ve decided. Your pawn Draoi is using his borrowed power to stir up a great deal of trouble. I want him stopped.”
“You wish me to kill him?”
“No!” I said quickly. “Nothing so drastic! Just remove the source of his magic. When he makes a fool out of himself in front of his followers, they’ll soon lose faith in him.”
“I’ll deal with Draoi—consider it done.” Druj shook his head. “That’s the sum of your wishes, all wasted, all thrown away on trifles. So much compassion, Anna! You should fear it, since it’s already harmed you and will do so again. Is it a normal trait in human females, or did you learn it from Her?”
The way he’d spoken that last word added a capital letter. “Who do you mean?”
“A tall woman, habitually dark-haired and green-eyed. She wanders the galaxy in the guise of a healer, I believe. You’ve met her, I can tell. She always leaves a certain taint on her victims.” There was contempt, even hatred, in his voice.
Caution didn’t fit me well, but I put it on. “What’s your interest in her?”
“We are kin, she and I, distant cousins, although there can never be any true blood ties between us. Our race is old and strange, long-forgotten now, and there are few of us left.” He sighed. “Once the universe was ours, an empire, a playground, and we flew across it at a whim, worshipped and feared on an infinite number of worlds! Now we have dwindled and are known only as charlatans, shamans and demons—such are the tangled ways of fate! If you did meet Thea, my dear, then beware! More have perished following her advice than ever I slew. She is far more dangerous than I.”
“You lie.” I accused pleasantly.
“You named me the Lord of Lies!” Druj chuckled.
If he shares the attributes of your Lysseyan healer... I felt Zenni’s anguish. You said she had the powers of a deity. What hope do we have of standing against that?
Little enough, but a shred of it will have to do.
“Now comes the time of our bargain, the last set of the match,” Druj said. “You want the souls of your companions—what will you give me in return?”
“What can I give you?” I was genuinely at a loss. “You have this fortress, servants, vast power. You can possess anything you desire. I can’t think of one thing you lack that I can supply.”
“Then I’ll name my own price.” His violet eyes glowed with satisfaction. “For three souls, three items. What could be simpler? For little Meeka Jansen, the young woman you hate, I will have that string of crystal in your hair.”
“This? It’s glass, quite worthless!”
“Are you unwilling to pay the price?”
“I’ll pay.” I unwound the beads, letting down my hair and dropping the trinket on the table. He made no move to pick it up.
“I know that Lyall means more to you, as a colleague and a friend.” Druj grinned savagely. “For his soul, the sapphire necklace.”
“It was my mother’s!”
“I know that,” he said, all smugness.
I unclasped the jewels and let them trickle through my fingers. Lewis had given them to Jeanne on the day I was born. Family heirlooms, tokens of love, but for all that, only things. I laid them on the table. “And the final item?”
“Ah, yes.” He leaned back in his seat, watching me closely. The evil in his aura leered at me. “Chandre is very dear to you. Perhaps I set too high a value on her, but I feel that you care for her very deeply, that you see in her all the qualities of a surrogate mother. I think that a fair price for her return would be your own soul.”
Up until that moment our conversation had been so genial and civilised that I’d been lulled into a false sense of security; now it came home to me just what I was try
ing to bargain with. I might not know this being’s true nature, but I knew the full magnitude of its power. It could do anything it pleased to me here in the crystal heart of its lair, without fear of discovery or reprisal. None of my attacks would so much as scratch the adamant of its mental wards and none of my defences would protect me—I felt like a worm trying to combat a bulldozer. All hope ebbed out of me, replaced by the dull numbness that had dogged my heels ever since I left Earth.
“Well, Anna?” Druj prompted.
“If I give you all three gifts, can I be sure that my friends will be restored to full health, all as they were before Ahriman attacked us?”
“You have my word they will recover.”
“And what’s your word worth?” I sneered. “A brass farthing?”
Slow contentment spread over his fallen-angel’s face, like butter melting over hot toast. “That, my dear girl, is the crux of our game, your gamble against me, your good judgement and the test of it. If you agree to pay the full price, you’ll never know which of us has won—a cosmic irony, don’t you agree?”
“How can you rejoice in manipulating me like this? It’s obscene!”
“The eons are empty and I use these games to fill their sterile wastes. Cast your lot, make your move. The choice is yours.”
Zenni? I reached along the link for help.
He’s right—the choice is yours. I can’t help you with this. My partner sounded bitter. I’m as helpless now as my fear made me before. I fail you again!
No chance. I declared warmly, then raised my eyes to look the archdevil full in the face. “I made my choice when I came back to Tambouret, even before I left Earth, although I was ignorant of the stakes then. I pay your price willingly, win or lose. There is no other way.”
“Such assurance, such inflexibility!” Druj said kindly. “I almost envy it! You’re so young, too young to have learned doubt.”
“I have doubts in plenty, be sure of that.”
“Then you’re either very foolish or close to discovering true wisdom.” He reached forwards to take a sweet from the platter and his hand brushed my skin in the briefest of contacts, so deliberate, so obviously contrived. The touch bit like a static spark and I twitched involuntarily, imagining the missing crackle. In that instant I glimpsed the full depth and breadth of his power, no mere sorcery or magic, just honest, straightforward psi and that in spades. There was no authentic humanity in him. He wore this body as casually as I did clothing, and the creature beneath was dark and alien, unknown.
Nothing altered in Druj’s expression, yet such were my empathic skills that I divined the flash of emotion our fleeting contact called up in him. I saw it pass and tried to pin a name to it; was it surprise maybe, or fear? He cast it swiftly behind him. Resolve gelled in his violet eyes and his lips compressed in a slight, sly smile. “You’re absolutely sure?”
“Do you accept payment?” I demanded roughly.
“Certainly. Here are your lost souls.” He spread his hands and three gemstones appeared in mid-air. A leather pouch materialised under them and before I got a good look at them, they dropped out of sight inside. “These are only symbols, of course, since spirits are insubstantial. The gems are merely vessels containing the essence of your friends. Manipulate them with telekinesis alone. Don’t touch them, don’t let them come into contact with anything except this magical pouch, especially water, metal or living creatures. Any mistakes will destroy the souls within, but take good care of them and they’ll remain safe until you get back to Earth.”
“Back to Earth?” I echoed dumbly. “When do I pay your price? When will you steal my soul?”
“I can’t take it,” Druj said wistfully. “As much as I desire your diverting company for the rest of eternity, I can’t keep you here. In the end, Anna-Marie, we’re both losers in this game.”
“Then I’m safe?” Wild elation drowned me for a moment, all of the self-doubt, terror and agony I’d experienced over the past weeks released and swept away. In their wake came a hot, red tide of fury, that everything I’d been through had been for nothing, empty suffering. I made a heroic effort to stay calm, but I was almost screaming by the last words. “Are you telling me that this whole thing was a bluff, demon? Did you put me through all of this fucking charade knowing that you couldn’t lay a finger on my soul? Did you?”
“Really, my dear, such a fierce temper!” He flicked a finger and the jug rose from the table to pour thick, sepia wine into one of the goblets, which floated to his hand, a shoddy party trick—I could do the same. Druj sipped at the liquid slowly, watching me seethe. “Let me make a confession to you, Anna—no, I didn’t know. I was unsure of your nature. I had my suspicions, but I needed to see you in the flesh to be absolutely certain. Now I know the truth of it—your spirit lies beyond my grasp. You can’t give me what isn’t yours, although you were unaware of that fact and offered the prize in good faith, and because of that I’ll allow our bargain to stand. Take your companions’ essences and consider your debts paid in full.”
“My soul isn’t mine?” My fear revived with a vengeance. “What new riddle is this? Am I damned already?”
“Only if you choose to be.” Infinite sadness bloomed in his eyes, there and gone in an instant. “You’ll discover the truth, in time. It isn’t my place to give you reasons; those you must seek out on your own. Now, my dear, our bargain is concluded. It’s been a great pleasure doing business with you. You have a certain style, for a mortal. I regret to say that I don’t foresee our paths crossing again in your present lifetime.” He raised the goblet. “Your health.”
“Sorry I can’t return the toast.” I became aware of the pouch in my left hand; I was clutching it as if it was my last thread to life. I relaxed my grip a fraction.
Druj drained the glass, then hurled it to the floor. I winced as it shattered. The fragments began to crawl through the grass and melt into the chamber’s crystal wall. I was so absorbed in the phenomenum that I missed the exit of the lawn, the rose-tree and the garden furniture, nor did I hear the demon approach. The only warning was a slight tingle in my scalp, and when I pulled my gaze away from the creeping glass to find Druj’s radiant face only inches from my own, I all but leapt out of my skin.
“No need to fear me now.” He laid a hand on my shoulder, the touch no more than human. “Goodbye, little miss.”
His lips brushed my left cheek in a kiss that burnt like ice and fire, love and death intermingled. I cried out, but the gesture was no threat, merely more of his dramatic brand of magic. The final spell.
I blinked and I was back in Lowkrys, in Draoi’s octagonal chamber.
Chapter Fifteen: Our Lady of the Long Hand
The black candle burned solemnly in the centre of the pentacle as if it had never been disturbed. I was seated with my back to the door, crosslegged, within the magic circle. The magician was on the far side of the steady flame, facedown, sprawled on the floor. My hair was loose, my neck bare and the sapphire necklace gone, but the pouch was still in my hand, soft leather bunched up around a hard core, the stony treasure of its contents. I knotted it securely to my belt, where it nestled in the hollow of my hip. In spite of this solid evidence, my encounter with the demon-lord was already taking on the aspect of a dream.
He isn’t dead. The silvered flux of Zenni’s rapid scan ran through my head, displacing the last tatters of my enchantment. Unconscious and in shock, consistent with serious injury.
Injury? I went to the fallen messiah’s side and lifted the man’s wrist, finding a slow, thready pulse. Who’s been here to injure him?
According to my sensors, no-one entered or left the chamber while you were with the archdemon.
I ran my hand along Draoi’s arm, checking for breaks in the bone, finding none. His other limbs were just as whole, there were no contusions on his neck or the back of his skull, under the fiery mane, and no damage was apparent on the pale, freckled skin of his back. I put one hand down to steady myself and found the floor we
t under my fingers. What I had taken to be the gloss on the polished marble was spilt liquid, an alarmingly large pool of the stuff. Gingerly I turned Draoi over, using TK to manoeuvre his limp weight. The left side of his body was slick with fresh blood.
Med-kit! I bit down on nausea and materialised the case, pulling out a handful of wadding to wipe away the gore. Draoi’s left eye was missing, its lid slack and empty within the bruised purple circle of its socket. Blood and slime seeped from the swollen edges of his eyelid, matting its scarlet lace of lashes. The left side of his face was patterned with cuts, each unerringly straight and placed a precise quarter-inch from its neighbours, a hideous set of diagonal stripes carved down to the bone. The front of his body mirrored his face, the slashes there half-an-inch apart and ending exactly at the midline. The right side of his body was cruelly unblemished and Zenni echoed my poor prognosis. Whatever the quality of medical treatment he received, these wounds would disfigure him for life.
“So this is the way you chose to deal with him!” I said bitterly, loading our strongest painkiller into the impact-syringe and emptying it into the intact side of his neck. “How clever of you, my Lord Demon, to devise such a perfect way to turn all of his followers against him! You warned me against compassion, and you were right. He’d have been better off dead, anything other than this... this foul maiming!” I broke off, blinking uncalled-for tears out of my eyes, clearing them to see where to aim my cleansing spray. “You bastard, Druj, you thrice be-damned bastard!”
I fancied that I heard distant laughter, the fierce exultation of a master-player caught up in the savage joy of his endless game. Draoi was only a pawn, just as I was, worthless pieces that might be sacrificed if strategy demanded it; the broken toys of a bored and lonely child countless thousands of years old.
Guilt made me do my best for Draoi. I’d asked that the deed be done and must share some of the responsibility. I cleaned his wounds, staunched the flow of blood, then covered the mess with spray-on dressing, paying particular attention to his face, where I trailed skin-glue into the wounds, aligned the skin carefully and practically willed the flesh to heal. It helped to some extent and perhaps the scarring wouldn’t be too bad, but I couldn’t replace the absent eye.
The Beauty of Our Weapons Page 29