by Joe Jackson
“Then give me a good luck kiss and let’s be off.”
Tarra turned to Sharyn. The werewolf smiled and said, “He’s a good man. He could definitely use a woman’s touch, but he’s a good man.”
The elestram woman turned back to Erik and they shared a quick kiss, mindful of the many other beshathans watching. Whatever Sharyn may have thought and said, her feelings were certainly not shared by the king’s courtiers. Erik shrugged it off. Like Sharyn had said, they weren’t part of the relationship, or even Erik’s life, so he didn’t bother caring what they might think.
Instead, he basked in the feeling of Tarra’s soft, furred hand as it grasped his and they walked, hand-in-hand, toward freedom…
…and home.
Chapter XV – Retribution
Kari arrived on Mehr’Durillia alone for the first time. She was convinced that she didn’t have the power within her. Instead, it was the child in her mind that possessed the power, one she found she could borrow now. The feel of a soft, furry little hand holding onto her fingers as they traversed the cosmos left tears in her eyes, but those dried quickly in the arid, angry red air of Anthraxis. Just as quickly as the tears evaporated, Kari shooed off the child in her mind, telling him in no uncertain terms that it was time for her to work, and for him to hide.
Her hands absently traced the hilts of her scimitars, as if she was reassuring herself that they were there. She had made a decision to come here and aid her friends and family in their efforts to rescue Erik, but after her encounter with Emma, she’d changed her mind. Now she was here with ill intent, and she didn’t care who knew. She had been in a subtle state of war with the kings of Mehr’Durillia for years, but now they had made it personal.
They had burned her home to the ground. They’d abducted her brother-in-law. And now they had beaten a slave half to death – all to send Kari a message. She was going to send them one right back. Kari strode over to the elestram administrators seated behind their counter, and met the cold golden eyes of the one in the middle with an icy glare of her own.
“Identity and destination?”
“Lady Karian Vanador, Avatar of Vengeance. I’m here to kill Arku.”
There was silence for a few moments as all eyes fell upon Kari, and then the beshathan clerks began to snicker, if not laugh outright. “Enjoy the last days of your life, fool.”
“That’s what Amnastru said before I cut his head off,” Kari returned coldly. This time, there was no laughter to break the silence. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to intercept Arku before he makes it to your master’s realm, where I won’t legally be able to touch him.”
Though her facial expression didn’t change, there was a distinct shift to the light in the elestram clerk’s eyes. “Do not let us delay you,” was all she offered, gesturing toward the exit.
Kari wasted no time. She had no idea if she’d be apprehended before leaving the city just for suggesting she was going after Arku. But the reactions of the elestram clerks suggested they – and the Overking, by extension – were all too happy to let Kari kill Arku or die trying. More than likely the latter.
The streets of the city contained light traffic, but enough that it was obvious the council would be coming into session soon. Scribes, retainers, and other advanced assistants to the kings were already in the city, preparing whatever it was the kings needed to hold the week-long moot. Fortunately, they were consumed with their business and had little time or attention to spare on Kari, and even as a terra-dracon, she didn’t stand out too badly among the traffic.
The erestram guards at the north gate let appraising stares linger on her back, but Kari paid them little heed, making her way northwest toward Tess’Vorg. She had limited knowledge of Mehr’Durillia’s layout, but what she knew pointed to Arku coming down the road between Tess’Vorg and Pataria to reach the Overking’s realm. That road might technically be neutral ground, but Kari didn’t much care at this point, and figured she’d be far enough from Anthraxis that little could be done if she assaulted Arku there.
Her first instinct was to visit her friends in Moskarre, but she knew that would only make matters more complicated. It would delay her for one thing, and she was mindful of them being blamed or at least used as collateral damage to repay what she was about to do. It was much better if she was to go straight after Arku and not stop to see or speak to anyone along the way. There would be plenty of time for talk when the deed was done, and she imagined a lot more people would then be willing to listen.
This all hinges on you being with me, Kari thought, directing her prayers not just to her own deity, Zalkar, but also to her adoptive father Sakkrass, and even to the “sleeping” Great Mother, Be’shatha. I have wielded all three of your powers before, and now I need them again. It’s time to stop killing pawns. Tomorrow, with your aid, I kill a king, and this “game” begins in earnest.
Kari felt no tingle in her brain, no warmth or other physical or mental manifestation of the approval of her divine patrons, but that wasn’t unusual. Mehr’Durillia was the realm of their enemies now, and what influence the deities could extend had to be reserved for action and not mere encouragement. They were with her; Kari knew this, believed it, and counted on it. Their power would be in her, and she would fight not just as the head of the Demonhunter Order, but as a champion of many deities. There was no sign of approval needed anymore.
Kari slept under the stars and a simple blanket, not even worried about being attacked in the Overking’s realm. It was possible she could be abducted or killed the same way Erik had, but she suspected she would be warned before anyone got close enough. If her divine patrons didn’t alert her, she imagined the mallestrem child would. And if it came down to it, she could escape back to Citaria with the child’s help.
That thought evoked a playful, confirming laugh in her mind. Still, she shooed him into the recesses while she worked.
It took longer to reach the road between Pataria and Tess’Vorg versus simply going to Moskarre, but Kari made brilliant time, unencumbered by a long stay’s worth of provisions or gear, or by friends and family, or anything else. She moved with the conviction that had driven her across Terrassia time and again in her prior life, and with the certitude of knowing that what she had come to do was right, just, and going to make a world of difference.
She hadn’t encountered Arku along the way, which told her that she made it in time. It seemed unlikely he would’ve gone to Anthraxis even a moment earlier than necessary when he was expecting to capture Kari and her friends in his trap. No, if anything, he’d risk the wrath of the Overking to be late, that he might be in Si’Dorra when the Silver Blades were apprehended trying to rescue Erik. And she could only imagine the gloating the beast would do to his peers if that turned out to be the case.
Gods, if he captured Kris… he might advance several ranks up the council just by virtue of having done that…
Where that would leave Arku with respect to his uncle, Kari couldn’t say, but she doubted he would really care. Arku had some of the strength of Celigus, but none of the poise or charisma. One was refined, the other was a violent beast. It was strange for Kari to think that the demon king who “swallowed souls” was the less vicious or bestial of the two, but that was the truth. And because of her inquisitive nature, it made Kari wonder what Celigus’ brother – Arku’s father, Sherkenn – had been like. How much different than Celigus could his twin brother have been?
Kari continued putting one foot in front of the other, heading straight north to Si’Dorra along the road. At worst, she would reach the border before she encountered him, a few days from now. If she were to kill him in front of his own subjects at the border – or perhaps in front of some of Emanitar and Morduri’s people along the road – it would only multiply her legend.
If I win, she thought. Which I will.
It wasn’t long after she’d stopped for some trail rations and to see to her needs that she heard the distant rumbling. The road between Tess’
Vorg and Pataria saw very little traffic in her experience, and she prepared to meet Arku in battle here and now. She stood firm in the center of the road, but the carriage was still out of sight, only the dust kicked up by the hooves of Arku’s mousivas accompanying the rumble.
Kari stretched out, flexing her back and her wings specifically. All of the fatigue and soreness that had dogged her since the night Arku’s people attacked her home city were gone. She felt reborn, as pure and healthy as she had the moment she’d appeared naked in front of Trigonh, returned to Citaria after a two hundred year rest. She felt like a new woman, like the Avatar of Vengeance, like Salvation’s Dawn. She felt like the woman Kris dreamed about, the one that had inspired Albrecht Allerius to become a demonhunter, the one that was going to open the Temple of Archons and put an end to the Overking and his machinations.
And it all started here, with one step.
“Come and get me, you son of a bitch,” Kari growled. She didn’t draw her weapons yet, but her blood was already beginning to simmer as she remembered her slain friend. An image of Lord Allerius’ typical tight-lipped smile as he taught Kari to run the Order popped into her mind, and she recalled his son’s words.
Carve my dad’s name in him.
“I will,” she whispered again in answer.
The mousivas came into view soon enough, and the thundering of their hooves began to slow when Arku’s driver saw someone standing in the center of the road. Only for a moment, though, until they began to pick up speed again. Arku had to have told his driver to simply run down anyone stupid enough to block his path, and she wasn’t sure why it surprised her. But then she remembered something else, and she dug into her memory and took the little mallestrem boy by the hand.
How do I calm the beasts like Seanada did? she asked him, showing him the memory of her half-syrinthian friend doing so in Haestronn.
Like this, he whispered into her mind, showing her how to manipulate the arcane instead of giving her a meaningless explanation. Then he was off to his hiding place, his ethereal laugh echoing in Kari’s soul.
The coach stormed on, headed straight for Kari, but she put her hand out before her and lowered it slowly. It was a gentle pantomime of a slap on the forehead, and the rumble lessened and then came to a stop as the beasts did so. The driver snapped the reins, but the beasts ignored him for the time being, and Kari backed up a few steps and rested her hands on her hilts.
“Did I not tell you to crush whoever it was?” came the guttural infernal snarling of Arku from the coach shortly before the door was flung open violently. The demon king paused when he saw Kari ahead on the road. He stared dumbly, but then grinned and reached into the coach. He came up with a massive black sword – perhaps not as spectacular as Celigus’ BloodFang, but it was a weapon that had a very similar nickname to its owner: The Onyx Reaver.
Arku was massive, nearly the same size and girth as Celigus Chinchala at almost eight feet tall, all muscle and fur. He looked as though he might be half-erestram, his shoulders, chest, and lower legs furry while the rest of him was gray skin like Celigus. He had a shock of long hair like his uncle, but unlike Celigus, the demon king’s mane was ebony, hence his nickname of The Black Reaver. His eyes were also blood red, lacking the motion or the entrancing qualities of his uncle’s.
Arku strode toward Kari like a bully. “Did you really think to entreat me to release your pathetic brother-in-law? Drop your weapons, and I may at least make this enjoyable for you.”
“I had no intention of asking you for anything,” Kari answered. “I know you think your trap was well laid-out, but some of your people talked, Arku. Told us right where to find Erik. So by now, my brother-in-law is on his way home, and Curlamanx is probably already buried in a shallow grave. A fate you’re going to share shortly.”
The demon king flashed a fanged grin. “Oh, that is rich! You kill some whore’s son from Sorelizar and think you stand a chance against a king?” He lifted his armored skirt to show that he wore nothing beneath it. “This is what awaits you, insolent bitch.”
Kari blinked slowly, biting back a typical response. “Want to see what awaits you?” she asked, and Arku cocked his head. Kari swept her arms out to the sides. “Epaxa chi’pri!”
A celestial light burst forth from her, rivaling the sun itself. The symbol of Zalkar blazed through her breastplate, and a golden glow emanated from her swords despite the fact that she had yet to draw them. It had the desired effect on Arku, as the demon king now regarded her warily, but even better than that, Kari pointed past him toward the coach. There, on the driver’s bench, the elestram chauffeur was on his knees, staring at Kari slack-jawed.
Arku turned back to her and scoffed. “These parlor tricks may impress peasants, but you will find I am not so easily intimidated.”
“Parlor tricks?” Kari echoed. “You don’t seem to understand: You’re outside your realm. You’re the one whose parlor tricks won’t be of any use here.”
“I do not need my realm to subdue a waif like you,” he laughed, and Kari squinted at him. “Oh, my people have done their research on you, my little chamber whore. What your father did to you will seem merciful compared to the years I will keep you chained to my bed.”
Kari laughed, and the sound clearly surprised the demon king. “Research? You mean the secrets my old assistant sold you? Things change quickly on Citaria, Arku. I hope you don’t think an asinine comment like that is going to break my will.”
“I will break far more than your will.”
“Oh, shut up and get to it, then,” Kari said, drawing her blades. “You sound like the kids at the orphanage when they squabble.”
The demon king stalked toward her and began to circle when he was nearly close enough to strike with his superior range. Kari adopted the modified stance the Wraith had taught her but otherwise remained in place, her only movement to turn and keep Arku in front of her. He only had his chauffeur with him, so Kari wasn’t wary of being blindsided by anyone interfering; this was going to be a straight-up fight. And if it wasn’t, she had Tess’Vorg and Pataria within a few steps to retreat into.
Her expectation was that this would be much like fighting Amnastru, but that Arku might be much stronger, faster, and have some other tricks he could bring to bear. But the fact that she was about to fight him outside his realm made a big difference. He might still be able to wield arcane and other trickery against her, but if the land and its flora and fauna weren’t going to be Kari’s enemies, she was still fighting a single enemy. And Tumureldi and the Wraith had taught her to deal with far more than one at a time…
When the attack came, it was as brutal and straightforward as Kari expected. She fought it off, parrying hard but then turning to let the brunt of the force slide sideways off her blade to no effect. That would hardly be the whole of it, and if she was being honest with herself, he’d struck her blade a lot harder than she expected. Amnastru had been powerful, but he was only a prince; how much more power could a king put behind what was already considerable physical strength?
Kari didn’t bother trying to counterattack. Such a lazy attack had to be a feint, and Kari was well out of range dealing with the demon king’s greatsword and reach. Instead, she turned, and mirrored her original stance. Arku’s snout tilted down, his gaze lingering on her back arm, and he began to circle the other way, away from her power arc. It was the biggest advantage of being naturally ambidextrous: Both of Kari’s hands were her power hands. There was no going weak-side and hoping to stymie her into wasting time solely with jabs.
“You won’t get in trouble for being late to the meeting, will you?” Kari taunted.
“If things go as I expect, it will be worth the punishment. Particularly if I bring you before the Overking on a leash, or have you service me in front of Koursturaux.”
Kari laughed despite herself. “You might get her to break the Overking’s law and attack you on the spot. Of course, that would require you bringing me to Anthraxis. I’m afraid
it’s going to be the other way around.”
Arku growled and then snarled, showing off that impressive maw full of teeth, strands of saliva dripping and giving his already bestial appearance a terrifying new aspect. Kari started to go weak in the knees, but she recognized it for what it was and stood firm. She put her right foot behind her again, changing stance to force him to circle the other way once more. That had nearly shaken her to the core, and she could only imagine what a less-seasoned warrior might have done in the face of such an intimidating display.
“Come on, Arku. Hit me. Show me that you and your peers aren’t just idle threats.”
The demon king started to circle to his right, but then spun and put his reach advantage to good use. Kari parried hard and stepped in behind it; not toward the demon king, but toward his blade, chopping down on it and then driving it away from her, trying to wrest it from his grip. He was no whelp, though, and drew it back and overhead for a cleaving strike. This one she drove wide, and she paced casually to her left afterwards.
Arku came right in, taking the bait, and Kari turned to bring her defensive web to bear. He was fighting her where she was strong, exactly what she wanted, what the Wraith had taught her to take full advantage of. Kari feigned buckling under the weight of his strike, and despite the fact that she had successfully parried, he pressed an advantage that wasn’t there. With an overhand crescent motion, she sent his blade one way as she ducked and went the other, careful to tuck her wings to avoid losing one. All the while, her left blade went low and inside, glancing off his armored skirt but just barely missing flesh.
The demon king stepped sideways gingerly, snarling and showing his teeth. Kari avoided getting overconfident; he may not have done anything to her yet, but she expected he was just getting warmed up. They were outside his realm, but there had to be other things he could do, arcane-like uses of the kingly power he possessed. Until she got him to show her everything he could do, she was going to play this game tight and cautious. She might not hurt him, but he damn sure wouldn’t hurt her with the swordplay he had displayed thus far.