The Sin War Box Set: Birthright, Scales of the Serpent, and The Veiled Prophet

by Richard A. Knaak

  She teetered. Uldyssian quickly supported her. Serenthia put an arm around his waist, her eyes yet seeking the man she loved.

  “Why won’t he answer me? Why’s he hiding?”

  “He’s not. He ran off when others entered. Serry, I think he’s afraid that you’ll be repulsed by what he’s become.”

  Serenthia gave him an incredulous look. “Why? He’s Achilios!”

  “And he should be dead. Dead. We buried him, remember?” Before she could suggest the obvious, Uldyssian continued, “There was no mistake! The shaft went through his throat! He should be dead!”

  He felt her shiver, but realized that it was not out of fear. “How horrible,” Serenthia murmured, eyeing empty air. “How horrible for him…”

  As she said it, Uldyssian had to admit that a part of him felt the same for his childhood friend. Achilios had obviously been tracking them for some time, perhaps even within days of his killing. Had he meant them any harm, he could have struck several times over. Thus far, Achilios had only acted like the Achilios of old, ever protective of those for whom he cared.

  Especially Serenthia.

  “I’ve got to find him,” she abruptly declared. “I’ve got to find Achilios! He’s all alone out there, fearful to be even with me!”

  “Serry, he may have good reason—”

  Her voice grew sharp. “That’s ridiculous! There’s no good reason for us to be apart. I won’t be deterred. I’m going to find him.”

  Her determination in the face of such drastic events touched Uldyssian deeply. “I’ll stand with you, then, Serry. You have the right of it; Achilios has always been there for us…even now. Whatever he must overcome, we should be there for him, too.”

  That made her finally smile. “Thank you…”

  With his continued assistance, she was finally able to leave the sinister building. Outside, they were immediately surrounded by others, Saron among them. Behind the Torajian stood a group of edyrem who were apparently acting as guards to a small, surly group.

  Their prisoners were the last remnants of those turned by Lilith. They were but a handful, the rest having been sacrificed to the demoness’s madness. Uldyssian recognized all but two and assumed those to be Hashiri. In addition to having the bodies removed, Uldyssian had through his powers secretly passed word to those he felt certain he could trust to locate the guards Lilith had left at the edge of the encampment. From his count, his followers had managed to round up all of them.

  “What shall we do with them, master?” asked Saron. His dark expression gave easy indication of what he would have liked. To the mind of most of the edyrem present, the turned were the foulest of traitors…even if their fall from grace was due to Lilith’s seductions.

  Uldyssian had been unable to save Romus or any of those inside, but he still hoped to salvage these souls. He was already sick of the rising number of dead.

  Then, he recalled Serenthia. However, before he could speak, she whispered, “Go ahead. This must not wait, not even for me…”

  With that, she pulled away so as to give him room. Uldyssian signaled two of his followers to bring the first of the turned to him. As they approached, he sensed the other edyrem managing to keep the power of the prisoner in check. He was impressed by their action, something that they had not been taught by him.

  The man, a Torajian, scowled as Uldyssian leaned into him. He looked ready to spit into his former leader’s face, but evidently thought better of it.

  For what he planned, Uldyssian knew that he would have to touch the prisoner. That would mean more direct contact with Lilith’s taint, but there was nothing that he could do to avoid that if he hoped to save the Torajian.

  With a deep breath, he brought his hands up to each side of the prisoner’s head. The Torajian tried to shake loose, then settled down, glaring.

  Meeting that evil gaze, Uldyssian delved within. He sensed the core of what was the Torajian and how it tied to his power.

  It took him no time at all to find the blackness that the demoness had stirred to raging life. It was so evil that a stunned Uldyssian nearly retreated out of repulsion. Yet, to do so would be to abandon all hope for the man before him.

  After brief consideration, Uldyssian determined that his best chance lay in trying to smother or even remove the darkness. He imagined it like a solid object and used his mind to try to encase it. If it could be forced out—

  Without warning, the blackness erupted into pure, monstrous fury. Uldyssian barely had a chance to withdraw his mind—

  —and no opportunity at all to prevent the prisoner from tearing free from his guards as if they were nothing and clamping his hands around Uldyssian’s throat.

  Sharp agony filled Uldyssian as the Torajian squeezed. Intense heat wracked his throat, the escaped prisoner using his own edyrem powers in addition to his brute strength. If not for the son of Diomedes having already had some protections up, he would have been dead already.

  “I will rip out your throat and drink your blood!” snarled the Torajian madly. His face distorted, his eyes bulging as if about to pop out and his mouth stretching wide. His teeth grew sharper and his tongue—now forked—darted in and out like a wild snake. “I will—”

  He screamed, his hands releasing Uldyssian’s throat at the same time. The Torajian took a step back, his body blazing. He attempted once to douse the mysterious but voracious flames…and then burned away into a pile of black ash.

  From behind him, Uldyssian heard Serenthia’s weary voice. “I had—to—do it. There was nothing—nothing left to save, Uldyssian.”

  He nodded wordlessly, then, rubbing his throat, surveyed the rest of the prisoners. They did not look at all fearful, but rather full of malice. Uldyssian contemplated searching deeper in the hope of finding some chance for their redemption, but recalled too well what had just happened. Lilith had taken into account that someone, perhaps even him, might seek to save those she had turned. The demoness had made that impossible.

  Which left Uldyssian with only one bitter choice.

  “Stand away from them,” he commanded their guards.

  Saron quickly protested. “Master, it might not be safe to do—”

  “Stand away from them.”

  They obeyed, but still used their combined might to keep the prisoners at bay. Unfortunately, Uldyssian could not permit them to continue to do that, either, for fear that they might be harmed by what he planned.

  “Release them,” he ordered. Before Saron could speak anew, Uldyssian added, “I’ll deal with the problem. Do as I say.”

  He sensed the moment that they obeyed and then the one when the prisoners realized that their power was theirs again. Yet, before any of them could become a threat, Uldyssian concentrated.

  The turned edyrem froze. Even then, though, he could feel their evil struggles.

  “Away with you,” Uldyssian grimly uttered.

  A wind picked up around the turned, a fierce wind that touched only them.

  As if made of sand, Lilith’s creatures literally blew away. The wind ripped up the particles and flung them high, high into the night. Uldyssian did not let his concentration falter as he made that gust throw what had once been men far from his followers. If any trace of the demoness’s taint remained, he did not want it to affect anyone else.

  Finally, after what he felt a safe interval and distance, he dismissed the wind. Somewhere to the west, far from where any of the edyrem would have reason to go, he let the dust finally scatter.

  Would that it could be so easy with Lilith. But his treacherous lover had protected herself against him, and although he would not admit it to the others, this sort of spell, so akin to what he had done to Lucion, took much, much out of him.

  So much so, in fact, that now he began to teeter.

  “Catch him!” someone called. More than one pair of hands obeyed, Serenthia’s among them.

  “I’m—I’m good,” he managed, straightening again. Ignoring the awed stares of the others, he
turned to Serenthia. “We can—we can go after Achilios now.”

  “No. Neither of us is strong enough for that, no matter how much I deeply want to. He’s followed us this long, Uldyssian; he’ll surely be in the vicinity still.”

  That made sense to him, too. Achilios appeared unwilling to give up on his friends.

  “For now,” Serenthia continued, “we need rest.” She looked down, and in a voice so soft that only he could hear it, added, “I also need…I need to sleep near you. Just sleep. I—I have to.”

  “I understand.” She would have nightmares, Uldyssian knew, nightmares of all the things Lilith had done with and through her. From him, Serenthia sought some comfort to get her through those nightmares.

  Uldyssian would gladly give her that comfort, too, and not for any other reason than that she was his friend and had been through a terrifying ordeal. More to the point, having seen Achilios reminded him of who Serenthia actually loved. What he had believed to be growing between him and her had merely been again the demoness’s seductions. Small wonder that Uldyssian had fallen into the trap so easily.

  But someday…someday he would make Lilith pay…

  Achilios had finally stopped running. There was at least a good mile, even two, between him and the camp. Not needing to breathe, the archer had managed the distance in astounding time, even considering the dense growth around him.

  As he paused, the same thoughts that had been swirling about his mind since he had begun running returned with a vengeance.

  She had seen him.

  Serenthia had seen him.

  There had been no manner by which he could have avoided a confrontation. The demoness had made that impossible. Achilios had sensed what she had been about and that Uldyssian had been betrayed by one he trusted. The archer felt some sympathy for Romus, but not much. Unlike Uldyssian, who generally saw the good in all men, Achilios had tended to keep a watch out for the bad, as well. True, from what he had seen through the air slit the Parthan had appeared to attempt to redeem himself, but perhaps he had merely been trying to avenge his own death. Achilios neither knew nor truly cared.

  All that mattered was that Serenthia was free of her possession…that, and that she had seen him.

  He had no idea what to do about that.

  With an unearthly groan, Achilios slumped against a tree. A small lizard near his head sought to quickly scurry away, but the hunter grabbed it without even looking. The reptile squirmed as he brought it around to view. Achilios could feel its heart beating wildly as it tried in vain to escape. It was certain it was about to be eaten.

  He savored the small creature’s life motions, realizing that he was jealous even of it. A part of Achilios suddenly wanted to crush the lizard to a pulp…but instead he set it on the tree again and let it rush to the freedom it had been certain it had lost.

  She had seen him…

  Achilios could not get that thought out of his mind. He was haunted by it.

  The archer let out a grating chuckle. He, the walking dead, was haunted.

  “It…doesn’t matter…” Achilios quietly grated. “Doesn’t matter…”

  But it did. He had taken some small comfort in being able to at least be near Serenthia, and on occasion, secretly aiding both her and Uldyssian. That would be next to impossible now.

  Yet, if not to help those nearest and dearest to him, of what use was his resurrection? Perhaps he should call and call Rathma or the dragon until one of them came and put him to rest forever…

  Despite the sense of that…Achilios uttered no sound. Even this mockery of life was something, if only because Serenthia still lived.

  You must make a choice! the archer berated himself. Either stay clear forever or show yourself to her and pray that she doesn’t go screaming in terror…

  Achilios grunted. More likely, Serenthia would deem him the abomination he was and use her new powers to do what he had just been considering asking of those who had brought him to this state.

  And that settled it for him. He would go to her, to all of them, and reveal the truth. If she and only she demanded he return to the grave, then Achilios would obey.

  He turned…and before him suddenly shone a brilliant blue light.

  Achilios backed away, an arrow already drawn. A memory once hidden from him flashed through his decaying brain, a memory preceding his collapse near Hashir.

  There had been a light there, too. He remembered now.

  But this was not the same light, that he knew immediately. However, whatever its source, Achilios had no doubt that he would not like its presence so near.

  He fired the arrow, and even as it left the bow, reached for a second.

  The shaft soared into the exact center of the unsettling glow, soared into it…and out the other side. It struck a tree beyond with a hard thud.

  Undaunted, the archer readied the second. This time, though, he waited.

  Achilios was rewarded but a moment later. A shape vaguely human appeared in the mist of the blue light. With grim satisfaction, Achilios pulled. He thought that he caught a glimpse of some armor—a silver-blue breast-plate—and adjusted his aim accordingly.

  I HAVE NEED OF YOU…

  The voice echoed throughout his entire rotting body in a manner akin and yet not akin to that of Trag’Oul. At the same time, Achilios’s grip on his weapon weakened. In fact, no part of him seemed to want to obey his commands anymore.

  Like a rag doll, the archer collapsed.

  He fell face-first, making him unable to see what was happening. Achilios listened for footsteps, but heard none. Nevertheless, when the voice spoke again, he felt as if its source now hovered over his corpse.

  I HAVE NEED OF YOU…it repeated.

  And, as Achilios now also recalled what had happened last time…the archer blacked out.

  Eighteen

  They did not find him. Despite their combined efforts, Uldyssian and Serenthia discovered no trace of Achilios. Refusing to give up, Uldyssian kept his followers in the same location for two extra days. However, by the end of that period, even Serenthia felt it unwise to postpone the march any longer.

  “We have to move on. Achilios either is not around or he doesn’t wish to be found by me…at least right now,” she said morosely. “I’ve got to think it’s the second reason and that, eventually, he’ll come back to me.”

  “He can’t stay away from you. I’ve known Achilios even longer than you, Serenthia. You’ll see.”

  His companion nodded, glancing not for the first time out into the jungle. “Does he really think I’d be so terrified by him?”

  “I told you how he looked.” Uldyssian had not been graphic in his description, but he had left nothing out. Despite that, though, Serenthia’s sympathy for the archer had only grown.

  “And I’ve no doubt that I’ll probably gape and gasp when I do see him, but you say it’s still Achilios. How can I not love him, then?”

  He had no answer to that. Besides, she was correct that they had to get moving. Lilith had surely not been standing by idly; whatever new course her plot had taken, it would not do to simply wait for it to pounce upon them.

  That is, if it was not already too late.

  Saron, a Hashiri named Rashim, and the Parthan Timeon, were now the unofficial commanders of their various folk. Uldyssian had not intended each party to be divided up so, but he also did not wish to make one group seem dominant over another. It was his hope that by treating the Parthans, Hashiri, and Torajians on an equal basis, that they would further blend and eventually he could dispense with calling them anything but edyrem.

  Timeon was the cousin of Jonas, one of the first of Uldyssian’s converts. Jonas had always been among the first of the Parthans to volunteer for different tasks, but he had never shown any desire to act as one of Uldyssian’s seconds. Still, the once-scarred man assisted his cousin in organizing their remaining comrades from the town…a group particularly smaller than the others now.

  This must end soo
n, Uldyssian thought, watching those most like the people with whom he had grown up. Each time a Parthan died, more of Uldyssian’s past faded away. He had to finish his struggle before all of Jonas’s people were slain…and along with them the Hashiri and Torajians, too.

  Uldyssian had not spent all of his time on Achilios. He had also explained, in an abbreviated form, his vanishing to his followers. Naturally, he had left out such fantastic details as Trag’Oul and Rathma, feeling that now was not the right time to try to explain them.

  The edyrem marched come dawn the next day. Because of Lilith’s wicked detour, they had lost three more days in addition to those spent by him and Serenthia searching for Achilios. Three more days to give the demoness time to devise their doom…

  The jungle proved unduly quiet as they wended their way through it. A few birds could be heard in the far distance and there were always insects, but even they were less evident than normally. Uldyssian took this as an omen, but did not mention it to anyone else, not even Serenthia. Still, he kept the edyrem watchful, reminding them that their enemies were cowardly and often sprang from the shadows rather than face them directly.

  When they finally reached the river—half a day earlier than he had originally hoped—Uldyssian gave thanks. Their path was now clear again. Still, despite wanting to push on for at least another hour, he knew that he had already worn out the others too much. With reluctance, Uldyssian called for a halt.

  The lone benefit of Lilith’s vile possession of Serenthia was that the demoness had brought with her from Hashiri charts of the regions leading to the lands surrounding the main temple. The charts were old, but they were accurate enough in identifying not only the general location of Uldyssian’s adversaries, but the largest population centers between him and the Triune.

  “Yes, I know of Kalinash,” answered Rashim to his question as he pointed to where the city lay. The bushy-haired Hashiri had served as an apprentice to a merchant and had made the journey there more than once. “It is a little larger than where I am from and the temple there would be strong, so near Kehjan.” His finger slid more north. “Of Istani, I know little, save that it is smaller than Hashiri and not so rich despite its location.”