by Joe Jackson
“You are expected upstairs to see Lord Morduri,” she said in that interestingly-accented voice. “This one is tasked with showing you the way to Lord Morduri's personal chambers.”
“How's your side?” Kari asked.
The question clearly caught Emma off-guard, and she tilted her head before answering. “This one has healed well despite the grievous nature of the wound.”
“How have you been, Emma? It's been ages,” Danilynn said quietly, as if afraid the incubi might take exception to their conversation.
“This one is not here to exchange pleasantries, but to deliver Lady Vanador into Lord Morduri's presence. As it stands, you are wasting his time, and what time he has afforded you.”
“Lead on, then,” Kari said.
Emma turned to go, but then whirled back to face them all. “Lady Vanador is the only one invited to see Lord Morduri,” she instructed. “The rest of you would do well to find other places to be.”
Kari nodded to the silent questions of her friends. “Go get some breakfast, then get back to what you were doing. I'll go meet with Lord Morduri and see where we stand.”
Once the others had left, Emma met Kari's eyes and then turned to lead her around to the back side of the tower's entry level. Kari had to remind herself that she was standing on the demons' home world, in the palace of their Overking, to keep from wanting to grab two fistfuls of the mallasti girl's robe and start shaking answers out of her. It made Kari wonder if that very urge was the reason Emma had been chosen to show Kari the way to Morduri's chambers, and if such meant that the Overking, among others, was privy to Kari's intentions. She thought back to what Eliza had said about the kings being just as interested in her as she was in them, and that they would be taking advantage of any opportunities to learn more about Kari and her Order.
Around the back side of the entry level was an intricate stone dais with an odd glyph carved into its surface. Kari thought it might be a word in infernal, but when she recalled Aeligos mentioning an alphabet, she wondered: did the infernal language also have one-symbol calligraphy like the rir and some of the human languages? Emma watched as Kari hesitated, and the mallasti stepped up onto the dais first and gestured for Kari to join her. No sooner had Kari stepped up next to the mallasti then they were whisked away through the distance, to arrive on a similar pad in an enclosed, circular room. Kari was pretty sure her stomach was still on the entry level somewhere.
“The Overking's servant, Emmalikas, bringing a guest by Lord Morduri's order,” Emma said, and one of the walls slid aside to allow access to a sprawling, semi-circular bedroom.
Kari stepped into the bedroom behind the mallasti female, and her mind barely registered that she had just entered the bedroom of a demon king, overwhelmed as she was by the décor. A bed that was larger than the one Kari shared with Grakin stood against the left-side wall, flanked by nightstands and bookshelves stacked deep with literature. There was no sign of the demon king the room belonged to, and Kari's eyes were drawn to the bright morning sun streaming in through a broad glass doorway that led out onto a balcony. The sunlight spilled onto the straight right-hand wall, where it drew attention to the numerous portraits and drawings. These, Kari saw instantly, were far more personal to the demon king: some of these were nudes, while others were obvious pictures of his parents or close family.
Emma didn't pause, passing through toward the back of the bedroom to a doorway on the inner wall. Once Kari caught up to her, the mallasti knocked on the door and waited until told to enter before she ushered Kari through. This room was a bath chamber, though when Kari's eyes took in the size of the bath itself, it seemed more like an indoor pool. At the end near Kari and Emma was a gurgling whirlpool sucking the water down into the floor, while at the far end, the pool was fed by a waterfall cascading from an unseen source in the ceiling. Kari glanced from source to drain and wondered if the water was coming from someone else's bath chamber above. Such a thing would certainly remind the kings of who was above them, to Kari’s thinking.
From out of the cascading water stepped the purple-eyed elestram king, and Emma bowed deeply to him when he made his appearance. Kari wasn't sure how deep the water was, but Morduri was submerged up to mid-belly, and Kari knew that he had to be easily seven feet tall, not counting those long, pointed ears. Standing before her, clothed only in the modest waters, Kari could see that Morduri was lean but muscular, an obvious hunter and athlete as he was reputed to be. He wore no jewelry – at least not in the bath – and had no distinctive marks, such as tattoos or brands, upon his person. Despite Kari's prejudices against demons, he was a fine-looking elestram male.
“You are dismissed,” he said evenly to Emma in the Citarian trade language, and the mallasti female bowed without a word, and departed the chamber. Once he and Kari were alone, Morduri gestured toward Kari and then the water. When she hesitated, he blew a wispy chuckle through his nose and said, “Worry not, Lady Vanador, I have no intentions of taking advantage of you. This bath chamber is one of the only places in this city where you and I can talk without being overheard by anyone. Join me and enjoy a bath while we speak; it may be your only opportunity to do so while visiting Anthraxis.”
His words brought to mind the wash basin at the inn and the fact that Kari and her friends hadn't been offered a bath. Was water perhaps a precious commodity here, flaunted by the kings while the rest of the population languished? She supposed it was entirely possible, if not outright probable. Without hesitating too much longer and possibly insulting her host, Kari removed her armor and her clothes and slipped easily into the water. The floor of the pool was graded in steps to accommodate the short and the tall alike, and Kari stepped out into the center so she was submerged above the breasts, maintaining some small semblance of modesty.
Morduri beheld her with those purple eyes, a hair shy of glowing even in the bath chamber, flooded with light as it was by the enchanted ceiling. He seemed neither amused nor desirous, as though the only thing on his mind at that moment was the pending agreement between them. After studying her for what felt like a solid minute, the elestram king moved over to the side, retrieved a bar of soap, and tossed it casually to Kari. She caught it and smelled it; it lacked any of the typical fruity scents the soaps back home had, but she figured demons probably didn't like smelling like a fruit salad. Its scent was neutral, but soap was soap, so Kari began to wash herself while she waited for Morduri to speak.
“I spoke with Lady Koursturaux last night regarding what you want, what she wants, and what I can expect to receive in return,” he said plainly. He lacked the accent that either Emma or the Wraith had; he definitely didn't speak like a Citarian, but his voice came across as neutral and that of a practiced speaker. “I have to say, I am not satisfied with this arrangement at all. I am asked to give up something and receive little in return at all but the pleasure of seeing Lady Koursturaux enjoy the fruits of my sacrifice and your labor? Ketava, to think I already have a reputation for being this much of a pushover.”
“I was afraid you were going to say something like that,” Kari said. His brow came low, and Kari wondered if she had spoken out of turn or simply too casually to the king. She started to try to find words of apology, but after a moment, he gestured for her to speak freely. “With all due respect, your majesty…your lordship…I'm not sure what I'm supposed to call you here…I have no reason to trust Lady Koursturaux, or you, or Lord Emanitar, whose realm I might have to cross to accomplish this task of ours. I don't imagine you have any more reason than I do to trust your fellow kings.”
He chuckled, but it sounded only partially amused. “You may well understand the way of our world better than I was led to believe,” he said. “To answer your question, while we are here in this chamber, you may simply call me Morduri; we will save worrying about Lord and King when we are outside among others. In this city, Lord Irrasitus or Your Lordship will suffice; among my people, you should call me Your Majesty to maintain decorum. I have not been a
king for long, Lady Vanador–”
“Kari,” she interrupted, then gave an apologetic nod.
“Kari, then…as I was saying, I don't generally stand on ceremony except when I must to maintain decorum. And you are quite right, I have no more reason to put my trust in Lady Koursturaux than you do, or to go out of my way to make her happy. I am far too lowly in rank for her to get her hands dirty trying to murder me, and our lands do not border each other, so she has little means to harass me. I fail to see any reason I should do as she has demanded, but for one: you.”
“I don't understand,” Kari said.
“You are a demonhunter, and one of a rather high rank,” he said, putting emphasis on her profession. “I may have use for you in the future, but at the same time, I think I know what reaction I can expect for suggesting you put yourself in my debt. As I already said, I am not satisfied with the terms presented by Lady Koursturaux, and will not aid either of you in this endeavor under those terms. If, however, you will agree to perform a service for me in the future, I will do as you ask.”
“What kind of service?” Kari asked suspiciously. That semi-amused expression crossed his face again, but Kari tried to deflect whatever offense she may have caused before he could reply. “I can't be in your debt if you're going to end up asking me to kill people on my world, or help you come across to kill people yourself.”
Morduri seemed surprised by her addendum, and his ears angled outward sharply with his brow coming low as he considered her. “Please don’t pretend to understand my wants or my motivations,” he said evenly, and Kari bowed her head deferentially. “All I will say in regard to the service I would ask of you is that it will not be something that goes against your nature. If I know your kind at all, I doubt the word of a demon king is going to ease your tension, but if you consider what it is you came here for, you’ll realize you are already taking several of us at our word.”
Kari nodded. “Why, though? Why do you need me to do something for you? You’re a high-ranking king, you must have people better suited to doing your bidding than me.”
Morduri scoffed. “High-ranking,” he muttered. “Ketava, you have no idea what it’s like to be a Middling. Too low in rank to stand up to the Ancient Ones, too high in rank to rest easy around the Minor Kings. I thought I made it rather clear that all the benefits of this plan of Lady Koursturaux’ go to her and to you. I would get nothing out of this deal except the opportunity to wedge my nose under her tail in exchange for her good will.”
Kari had to make an effort not to laugh; the comment reminded her of something Ty or Eli would say, if a little less crudely. “But if I promise you a service...?”
“I will still hate this deal, but I will honor it,” he said with a sigh.
Kari tilted her head to the side; there was still one thing that she found odd about all of this, and she wondered if she should give voice to it. “With all due respect, I can hardly believe I’m standing here negotiating with a demon king as if I’m his equal,” she dared.
The demon king let out a single, short, grunting laugh. “As I've said, I don't typically stand on ceremony,” he returned. “The kings and nobles you expected – indeed, that you're probably accustomed to on your own world – for everything they gain in power, they lose in control. Oh, certainly, Lady Koursturaux and Lord Baal have iron-fisted control over their realms, but they don't hold the hearts and minds of their people, only their lives. I'm sure you have already heard many things about me…that I am a cowardly wanderer, afraid to sit the throne; perhaps that I am queer; that in over a thousand years I still haven't matured enough to understand my role or my possible destiny; or that I am only a shadow of my father.”
“Only the last of those things is true, Kari: I am not the man my father was. He was a great king, a proud and fearless leader that built up a relatively small realm into a kingdom of prosperity and security. As his sole heir and prince, I traveled the lands of Pataria, keeping track of and watch over my father’s people. In those many, long years, I learned that what I just said with regard to my peers on the Council was ultimately true for my father as well. While he had the lives of the people in his hands, their hearts and minds belonged to me.”
“I have traveled among the people of Pataria for centuries. I have seen them give birth and take each other in marriage; I have seen them at war and at peace; I have seen them in times of famine and in times of abundance; in times of joy and in times of sorrow; I have seen them cremate an elder of four eras, and seen them welcome a child with limitless potential. Their hearts and their minds belong to me now, Kari; they will fight for me, and they will die for me, not because I am their king or they are afraid of me, but because I am one of them.”
Kari beheld the demon king, utterly fascinated. His words showed not only unexpected depth to his own character, but to that of his people as well. Even Kris Jir’tana, who was the prince of Askies in title if not in practice, who had fought so hard and so long during the War for the freedom and prosperity of his people, would be hard pressed to lay such a claim as the one Morduri just had. That being said, however, Kari understood there was a deeper point the demon king had yet to make. “I don’t understand why you’re telling me this,” she prompted him.
“You and Lady Koursturaux have asked me to take something from my people and offer it freely to you,” he said. “I want you to understand that I do not do so lightly, and the reason why I ask something of you in return. I will give you the thing you have asked of me, but what you give in return will be something for my people, not just for me.”
Kari got no sense that he was lying. A part of her assumed he was, and warned her not to take him or any of his peers at their word, but the better part of her wondered if it could all be true. Was it possible to find grace, honesty, loyalty, and even love in the heart of a demon, let alone a demon king? Hadn’t they already, to an extent, in Celigus Chinchala? If Morduri’s words were true, Kari would feel better about performing a nameless service for him in the future – not completely satisfied, but certainly curious what he would ask on behalf of his people for whatever item they were asked to give up. At last, that curiosity got the better of her. “When would you call upon me for this service?” she asked.
“When you become the Avatar of Vengeance,” Morduri answered immediately. Kari’s brows rose, and the demon king chuckled and added, “So you see, even I will have a vested interest in your success, if you should agree to my terms.”
“Are you going to get in trouble with Lady Koursturaux for changing the agreement, though?” Kari pressed.
Morduri turned and waded back toward the waterfall, where he rinsed off again and stared out at Kari from beneath the cascade with those purple eyes. “Undoubtedly, but the Lady’s anger waxes and wanes, and in time she will understand and, presumably, accept the reasoning for my addendum. In any case, that is not for you to concern yourself with. What you have been offered gives you the means to accomplish your goals in relative safety, with only a small price to be paid overall.”
Kari nodded; Morduri’s demand only changed things slightly. Considering how wary she was of getting caught up in Koursturaux’ future schemes, she had to give Morduri credit for making it clear he wanted something ahead of time. “Will you take offense if I ask for some time to consider your terms?” she asked.
“You may take the next seven days to do so,” he answered, coming back out from under the water and shaking his head vigorously. The effect on the fur of his ears was amusing, but Kari made sure to keep her mirth in check. “When I leave the city at the end of this Council session, you will either accompany me, or I will assume you’ve turned down my offer.”
Kari bowed her head politely. “Thank you,” she said, and she made her way to the edge of the pool and started to climb out. She didn’t see any towels nearby, and when she turned to ask the demon king where she might find one, she found he was taking in a double eyeful of her naked form. Normally, being seen naked wouldn’t eve
n faze her as a rir, but the fact that her observer was a demon king certainly changed her perceptions. Still, his gaze, while intrusive, seemed more curious than lusty. “Erm, where are the towels?”
One of his cheeks twitched in amusement, and he made his way to the edge of the bath and climbed out himself. Kari’s instincts about his size were accurate: he was at least as tall as her brother-in-law Serenjols, even before taking the long ears into account. His shoulders were broad and muscular, testament to his gamesmanship and hunting, but the rest of him was lean. He had no marks, brands, tattoos, or shaved areas anywhere else upon him now that she could see his entire body, and his genitals were tucked away in an efficient and fairly modest sheath.
He seemed to take her naked form in more carefully up close, but only for a few moments before his gaze came back up to meet hers. “I usually sit out on the balcony to dry off,” he said.
“Where everyone can see you?” she queried.
Morduri chuckled aloud this time. “The only people who would see us this high up are nosey valirasi, and I keep my bow out on the balcony for just such an occasion,” he said, and though he had laughed before he said it, his expression and tone told Kari it was no joke.
He gestured toward the door exiting back to the bedroom, but Kari pointed at another door directly across the way. “Where does that door go?” she asked.
“To Lord Emanitar’s room,” he answered. He nodded to Kari’s unspoken question and added, “We share floors, usually with another king we can get along with. That’s a difficult thing to manage when it comes to some of my peers.”
“And Emanitar is sort of like an uncle to you?” Kari prodded.
“Lord Emanitar, and yes,” he said. “Take care that our casual conversation does not lead you to insult one of the other kings, Kari.”
“Of course. Sorry,” she said.