Serpents Rising (Eve of Redemption Book 3)

by Joe Jackson

  He hardly acknowledged her apology, but followed her into his bedroom and across to the balcony. Kari stepped out onto the sun-soaked terrace, bright and hot under the risen, blazing sun. Anthraxis was arid, and within moments of stepping out on the balcony, Kari could already feel the water beginning to evaporate from her skin, cooling her down a bit even in the sun. She stepped to the railing and looked over, and her hands gripped the rail in surprise. Morduri’s floor had to be almost two-thirds of the way up the tower, and the ground was far below them. Kari had looked out from such heights fairly often during the War, when her unit was stationed up in the Barrier Mountains, but to look down from a balcony on a tower from such a height was something entirely different. The diminutive forms of demons walking down below was surreal.

  Morduri sat in a carved stone chair and gestured for Kari to do likewise if she wished. She was dry after only minutes of standing in the sun and the arid heat, but the elestram king looked as though his fur might take a while. He leaned back and put his feet up on the railing, showing off his long, lean, muscular legs. Kari got the impression he could probably run for hours without stopping, making any hope of escaping the hunter slim at best. In the back of her mind, she wondered if it was only animals and game that he hunted, but despite the openness of their conversation thus far, Kari didn’t dare give voice to that curiosity.

  “What’s your home like…Pataria, did you say it was?” Kari ventured after a few silent minutes passed between them. She was nervous being in the presence of a demon king, but only a little bit, now that she had the impression that Morduri wasn’t psychotic. Still, she felt out of place, and the longer and deeper the silence grew between them, the more Kari suspected she was overstaying her welcome.

  The elestram turned his purple gaze to her after a moment, and the slight flick of his head to the side gave Kari the impression he was trying to figure out if she was really interested or just asking to have something to say. “As realms go, it’s fairly small; one can cross its length or breadth in little more than one of your weeks. Still, its terrain varies from corner to corner: the northwest, near Lord Arku’s realm of Si’Dorra, is hilly and covered in pines; the northeast is flat plain but begins to climb into steep hills as it approaches Lord Lestanaek’s realm of Ekkristis; the southeast is rolling, grassy hills and river valleys; and the southwest is open plains, mostly used as farmland.”

  Farmland? Kari thought, stifling a laugh. She supposed again that it made sense that the demons would have to raise crops; if not for their own consumption, then for that of their food animals. Still, she tried to imagine any of the elestram, erestram, mallasti, valirasi, syrinthians, or even succubi that she had fought over the course of her career being farmers, and the corner of her mouth curled up in a laugh despite her efforts. Already she was learning so much, and with the new knowledge came a change in perspective: though they might be demons, these creatures had many of the same weaknesses and dependencies that the people of Citaria had. And all of that could one day prove quite useful, as common and seemingly unimportant as it might be to the “people” of Mehr’Durillia themselves.

  “Are there any big cities in your realm?” she prodded, far more interested than her light tone hopefully made it seem.

  “Only the capital city of Ruceria, where my father’s castle is,” Morduri answered with an airy gesture, as though he didn’t want to get into too many details. “I have not visited there since I inherited his throne some years ago. My mother does a sufficient job running the day to day affairs of the throne, leaving me to be a king among the people, rather than over the people.”

  “Your mother’s still alive?” Kari asked. “But wouldn’t that mean–”

  “There are no demon queens, Kari,” he interrupted. “Lady Koursturaux and,” he paused and coughed deliberately, “Lady Darkstorm did not inherit their thrones, or acquire them through marriage. They are kings, and you would do well to always remember that when you address or speak of either of them. If Lady Koursturaux takes a liking to you, you may be allowed to refer to her as The Crimson Queen, but if you make the mistake of referring to her as a queen in any other way or circumstance…well, let us just say it’s a mistake you’ll likely only make once, and certainly not more than twice.”

  Kari made a mental note of the warning. “So your mother serves you?”

  Morduri rose to his feet, and Kari got the distinct impression she had asked one question too many. “Yes. Despite being my mother, she is my subject, and she serves my court the same way she served my father’s. Now, I must ask you to leave so I may get ready for the day’s session. Touch the wall of the lift, and it will admit you. You needn’t do or say anything once inside; it will take you to the foyer on its own.”

  Kari nodded. “Thank you for your time, Your Lordship,” she said formally, trying to end their meeting on the best possible terms.

  Morduri didn’t extend any of the same niceties, but there was a graciousness in the way he bowed his head. Kari got dressed quickly and returned to the lift. Just as he had instructed, she opened it, and had no sooner stepped on the glyphed pad than she found herself in the foyer. She immediately cast her glance toward the staircases, intending to find her friends and go get something to eat, but a pair of nearly-glowing orange eyes caught her attention from across the opening in the floor.

  Emma was across the way, speaking with what appeared to be an elf, but Kari knew that whatever the creature appeared to be, it was an incubus. Emma didn’t look directly at Kari, but the demonhunter had little doubt the mallasti saw her, and Kari wondered if the mallasti slave girl would try to avoid her. Despite her hunger and her desire to go over what she’d learned with her friends, Kari circled the open floor and made her way to Emma. As Kari drew near to her, the mallasti finally looked up, and the incubus, after glancing at Kari, took his leave.

  Kari stepped before Emma, and her mind worked to reconcile the fact that Emma was taller than she was. For some reason, whenever Kari thought of the mallasti girl, she thought of her being small and insignificant in some way that was difficult to define. Kari knew that Emma was incredibly powerful, and that the strange perception she left in the minds of others might be some trick to conceal and thus intensify her power. Whatever the case, the mallasti girl stood straight when Kari faced her, folding her clawed, furry hands before her and then bowing her head ever so slightly.

  “How may the Overking’s servant be of service?” Emma asked.

  You know damned well how you can be of service, Kari thought, but she didn’t put it into those words. She remembered that Emma was telepathic to a degree, but there was no change in the stoic demeanor of the mallasti girl, so Kari wasn’t sure if Emma heard her thoughts. She decided to be tactful, and asked, “Why did you run away when I wanted to talk to you?”

  Is this a conversation you want to have here and now? came the soft but still oddly-accented voice of the mallasti girl into Kari’s thoughts.

  Just answer the question, Kari thought back, unsure if Emma would even “hear” her.

  “This one is here to serve visitors to the Overking’s palace, not to answer questions,” Emma answered evenly. “Is there somewhere this one may guide or direct you to, or would you like to request a personal audience with His Majesty?”

  “Is Lord Chinchala around?” Kari asked, suppressing a sigh.

  Emma blinked slowly, though her facial expression didn’t change. “You will find it impossible to gain the attention of any of the kings so close to the start of the day’s session,” she said. “This one is otherwise unaware of the schedules or desires of the kings; she can arrange an audience only with her own Master.”

  You’re beginning to really aggravate me, Kari thought.

  Only just now? came Emma’s silent reply, and it was all Kari could do to not chortle and give away their private conversation.

  “Well, what time does the session end?” Kari asked, trying to mask their telepathic chat to anyone paying attention. T
he foyer was mostly clear when Kari had returned from Morduri’s chambers, but now, the various retainers and scribes of the kings were filtering in, preparing to watch the meeting from above. And when and where can you and I talk?

  “The session typically is brought to a close when the kings share the evening meal,” Emma answered in polite tones. “Many of them retire to their personal quarters after supper, but sometimes one can request a private meeting if the kings remain behind to play chess, to speak among themselves, or otherwise choose to stay on the meeting hall floor.”

  Kari turned, walked over to the railing, and looked down onto the floor of the Meeting Hall. Morduri had made his way to the grand table in the short time since Kari had left him in his chambers, though he was the only king there so far. Kari’s thoughts were interrupted when Emma turned and walked away, but her reply finally came in typically silent fashion.

  Lady Vanador, this one is not certain what you expect should we talk. The Master’s wants and desires are not things this one can or will share with you, and the answer to your initial question should be more than obvious. This one has a task to complete, and your own task is to stop her at all costs. The prospect of being captured means this one will do anything she must to remain free from you and your Order, just as you should be willing to do the same to remain free from the kings.

  You know what I am? Kari prodded before the mallasti girl could get too far away.

  This one knows that you are Salvation’s Dawn, came Emma’s reply. The question, Lady Vanador, is whether you truly understand what that means.

  What do you mean? Kari asked, but this time there was no response. Emma disappeared around the far side of the foyer, and soon reappeared down below on the meeting hall floor, alongside a creature that made Kari’s breath catch.

  In Kari’s mind, he immediately registered as a male version of King Koursturaux, but at the same time, she understood that he was so much more. This was undoubtedly the Overking, Emma’s master and the undisputed ruler of all of Mehr’Durillia. An imposing, stalwart figure of about eight feet in height, he looked much like Koursturaux, though his features were more angular, his horns rose upward instead of curving back, and his face was long and comprised of striking lines and deep-set golden eyes, and not black pools like those of his female counterpart. In the sureness and evenness of his stride, there was a majesty and a confidence that demanded Kari’s respect, and for some odd reason, she found herself nearly hypnotized by the sway of his ebon robe. It was all she could do to not drop to a knee just looking at him from a distance, and from the corner of her eye, she saw many around the perimeter genuflect toward him; apparently, it wasn’t just her.

  If he was at all aware of Kari’s presence, he gave no indication, speaking tersely to the mallasti servant that followed him one pace behind and to his left. Kari could barely tell that they were speaking, let alone hear what they were saying, but she assumed they were speaking in infernal anyway. Kari simply hoped Emma wasn’t telling her master that Kari was there, what they had spoken about, or – worse yet – that Kari had gone to see Morduri. As she thought the last, though, Kari realized that if Emma had been sent to escort her to Morduri’s chamber, it was more than likely she had done so by the Overking’s order. Kari was about to leave to go find the others when her sponsor made their appearance on the meeting hall floor.

  Just as Kari had thought only moments before, Koursturaux was clearly the same species as the Overking, and far more impressive to behold in person than either Eli’s description or Morduri’s drawing suggested. She was at once softer and yet harder than her male counterpart, all graceful curves and barely-restrained sexual allure, and yet the modesty of her ebon clothing and the sheer beauty of the greatsword across her back said that this was no consort to be trifled with. Her eight-foot frame made her appear lanky, but Kari could tell that there was a lean strength there that the long muscles belied. Her horns curved gracefully back from her brow just as in Morduri’s astonishing rendition, and she had long raven hair that had been set back in four even braids. In the back of Kari’s mind, the image of a tigress manifested itself in connection with Koursturaux: a beautiful yet powerful killer.

  Kari was surprised when the female demon king drew up beside the Overking and, after saying something to him, kissed him on the cheek. Several other kings filtered into the meeting hall from the teleportation dais, and it was not lost on Kari when Koursturaux turned to watch them file past her without taking her seat. First among them was a golden-eyed mallasti male that had to be King Emanitar. He was rather nondescript for a king, looking like a fairly typical member of his species, if perhaps a bit taller. His robe was casual, and he greeted Koursturaux politely before passing by to seat himself in the fifth seat on Koursturaux’ side.

  Next came a sight that nearly made Kari’s head spin: Celigus and another king who was so perfectly identical to him that only the difference in their attire and the well-known black sword across Celigus’ back let Kari tell them apart. The other, Kari remembered from her perusals of the Anthraxis Council Codex, had to be King Arlerase Chinchala, who was either Celigus’ cousin or his son, depending on who one asked. Even the Codex wasn’t sure which was the truth of it, but staring at the two walking side by side and speaking quietly, Kari got the impression they must be father and son. Even still, how Celigus had sired a child that looked identical to him was a mystery, unless he had a mistress or kast’wa somewhere that also looked just like him. Celigus and Arlerase both greeted the Overking and Koursturaux respectfully, and then Celigus took the third seat on Koursturaux’ side while Arlerase continued to the last on that same side.

  The next king to make an appearance set Kari’s feet in motion. The nine-foot, green and gold cobra-like creature could be none other than Sekassus the Calculating, the very king Kari had come to negotiate with. She turned away quickly before there was any real chance for him to notice her distinctive, winged terra-dracon form at the railing, but the image of his scaled and scowling countenance stuck with her regardless. His face was so potently reminiscent of what she had seen when she dreamed about Sakkrass, and she wondered if Turillia had indeed been able to twist her dreams to try to blur her perceptions of the deity and the demon king.

  Kari made her way hastily to the library, and found her companions after only a couple of minutes of searching. Danilynn and Aeligos had their heads together, the priestess going through some writing on a map they studied. Sonja was seated in a deep chair that made her seem small even at six-foot-seven. Eli was chatting lightly with Eliza. All of them looked up when Kari reached them, but Kari motioned back toward the stairs. “We should all go get some breakfast, and I can tell you what I’ve learned so far. And you can let me know if you’ve found anything worthwhile yet.”

  The others gathered their books and returned them to their places, and then everyone but Eliza filed out of the tower, giving the circular opening to the lower level a wide berth. Once back at the inn, they were able to order some food and drinks, and Kari spent the time in between visits from their hostess filling the others in on what Morduri had told and asked of her. No one seemed all that keen on Kari accepting such a vague, open-ended proposal from the demon king, but Kari made it clear they were headed nowhere but home if she didn’t. She promised to think on it for as long as she could, but then shifted her focus to what the others had learned.

  Aeligos checked to see where their hostess was before he began, “Mostly, we’re just getting a feel for how the library is laid out. Unlike back home, history books and such don’t just get tossed away when they’re updated. So we’ve found Codices of the Kings dating back a few thousand years, to when there were over fifty of them.”

  “Fifty?” Kari repeated, and she thought to herself. “I guess that explains why there’s so many floors to the Overking’s palace.”

  “Aeligos is picking up the infernal language as fast as I can teach it,” Danilynn put in. “As you saw when you found us, we’ve been goin
g through maps to get a rough idea of the sizes of the realms and how long a journey we’re actually considering.” She paused for a minute when Qin Lixiao brought over some of their meals. “I thought Pataria and Tess’Vorg sounded like fairly large realms based on estimates of how long it would take to cross them, but…”

  She trailed off and shook her head, so Aeligos spoke up again. “But compared to some of the larger realms, they’re tiny,” he said. “King Koursturaux’ realm of Mas’tolinor looks like it would take months to cross. King Baal’s realm of Antumorgh is nearly the same size, and between them is King Abaddon’s realm of Horturris which, while not as large, is still much, much larger than Pataria or Tess’Vorg.”

  “How big is Sorelizar?” Kari asked, but they waited while their hostess delivered the rest of their meals. Kari took a moment to pray along with Danilynn, and the others did so as well.

  “It’s about twice as big as Tess’Vorg or Pataria,” Aeligos answered. “Based on what you told me, it seems like Sorelizar is set up to take advantage of the Seven Days’ Grace law. From what I can tell, it will take you almost seven days to reach its capital – also called Sorelizar – from any of its borders. I doubt that’s a coincidence.”

  Kari nodded and turned to Sonja. “Have you found anything interesting in the books?”

  “Interesting, yes. Useful, no,” Sonja said quietly. “Like Aeligos said, some of these books are older, and either irrelevant or simply wrong now. I found a book called The War of Seven Fronts, and it’s about Celigus’ rise to power, so I’m getting closer to the present-day tomes we’re looking for. But aside from finding out that Celigus apparently had a twin brother named Sherkenn, I haven’t found anything of worth.”

  “Secretive old bastard, isn’t he?” Kari muttered, and the others chuckled.

  “Not surprising, considering where he lives and how he likely came to power,” Eli said.

  “True,” Kari said. “Well, keep up the good work. I’m going to avoid the palace until the session is done; I don’t want Sekassus to see me, even if he does know I’m here and planning to meet with him. See if you can find a list of the current kings, their princes, and anything else about their realms, people, and allies or enemies. I don’t need to know about their mistresses or bathing habits, but try to get me as much information as you can about who’s in charge, who’s next in line behind them, and what they think of their fellows on the Council. That’ll give me a place to start when we get back home and try to make sense of all of this.”