Serpents Rising (Eve of Redemption Book 3)

by Joe Jackson

  They approached the massive black pyramid, and standing closer to it, even Kari could feel the arcane power that roiled off of it like waves rippling through the very air. At each corner of the structure was a spire that curved over that corner, and the spires glowed with a dark and sinister purple light. It dawned on Kari after a minute that it was going to be very hot inside the pyramid, just as the snake-folk preferred it, thanks to its black surface and the strong sunshine of Sorelizar’s arid center. She tapped Uldriana’s shoulder and gestured toward the spires.

  The mallasti girl thought to herself. “I believe you would call them anti-magic wards,” she said. “Only the king and his servants will be properly attuned with them to allow the use of arcane power within the palace. It is an extra layer of protection for the king and his family and servants, and also to help ensure prisoners cannot escape or be extracted through arcane means.”

  “What of the divine?” Danilynn asked.

  “It should hold true of divine power as well; your gods hold little, if any, power here,” she returned. Uldriana sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “You would not want to risk using either in the presence of the king, regardless.”

  “Quite right,” the syrinthian courtier said in warning tones, glaring at the two rir women over his shoulder.

  He said nothing more, and led the four women to the entrance to the pyramid, a wide archway that opened to a ramp ascending into the structure. Two massive sylinths guarded the archway, one to either side, and their bladed spears were serrated and deadly-looking. They wore white tunics and skirts embroidered with heraldry that must have denoted them as palace guards. Their discipline was such that they didn’t even turn their heads or eyes to look at the white-coated mallasti or the three rir women.

  The courtier led the four women up the ramp, and within minutes, Kari’s legs started to cramp up. The pyramid was huge, and though the ramps were easy to keep one’s footing on, they were still rather steep. The courtier and his erestram guards led the four women up ramp after ramp, which doubled back on themselves again and again leading higher and higher toward the pyramid’s summit. It seemed Sekassus’ throne room was at the top, and the figurative and literal meanings of that were not lost on Kari.

  The final ramp up to the throne room was much shorter, and Kari worked to keep her breathing steady as she approached the very throne of a demon king. Sonja and Danilynn both had looks of determination on their faces, and Kari was glad to see their veteran status holding fast. Uldriana was doing all right herself, but Kari reached over and laid her hand on the girl’s shoulder anyway. The mallasti girl turned and met Kari’s gaze, and she gave a thankful nod for the demonhunter’s attempt to lend her comfort.

  The inside of the throne room was decorated to look more like a clearing in the center of a rainforest. Its edges were lined with plants and stunted trees that reached up toward the peak of the pyramid, which was transparent from the inside and allowed strong, steady sunshine to enter. Under the shade of the trees, on benches and lounge chairs, sat other courtiers of both syrinthian and sylinthian varieties, and to either side of the door, just as at the entrance, stood a pair of the large, disciplined sylinth guards. A harmauth stood with its arms folded across its chest to the left of the doorway, and the ram demon snorted when the four females entered behind the syrinthian courtier. The erestram took up positions beside the sylinth guards, and the courtier approached the throne.

  And so we’re trapped, Kari thought soberly. She had to trust in the laws that supposedly kept them safe. If Sekassus did anything to violate those laws, it would cost him in the end, she was sure: Koursturaux and Morduri would make sure of that. It would be little consolation to Kari and her friends, and even less to their families, but again, she reminded herself to trust in the punishments that awaited Sekassus if he betrayed them, if nothing else. And, of course, that was to say nothing of the body count Kari would try to amass before she was killed herself. She and her companions stepped forward at the direction of the courtier, and soon they stood but scant yards from the throne of King Sekassus the Calculating.

  The demon king was certainly imposing. Even seated, he was nearly as tall as Kari or any of her friends, including Sonja. Kari guessed he had to be close to nine feet tall, or perhaps a little more than that when standing upright. He had legs, unlike the many sylinths that served him, and in a haunting way, he resembled the cobra-man that Kari had seen in her dreams in Lajere a couple of months earlier. When she considered his appearance and that of Sakkrass, a part of her wondered if they were somehow related. Despite all the animosity she felt toward him and the fact that he was a thoroughly evil and vicious demon king, he was handsome in a serpentine fashion. His features and his grass-green scales were smooth, his golden eyes were intense and discerning, and he held himself with the dignity and poise that was the trademark of royalty. Perched on the right arm of his throne, clenched between two clawed fingers, was a glass of wine, and only then did Kari notice there was another man standing beside the throne.

  The other, almost assuredly one of Sekassus’ princes, was nearly the image of his father, but for the darker hue of his scales and the scowl upon his features. In that scowl, Kari could see the murderous nature of the demon king unmasked. She tried to recall the name of Sekassus’ firstborn son from her trip to Tsalbrin, and she remembered his name was Amnastru. He may have been his father’s firstborn and quite powerful, but whatever he had in power, he lacked the poise and the calculating look of his sire. There was no subtlety to his evil.

  “Karian Vanador,” Sekassus said, his voice strong but oddly unaccented. The courtier beckoned Kari forward. Kari moved up to stand before the demon king, and her mind and her heart debated only briefly on whether or not she should bow. She did so graciously, if not quite genuinely, and the demon king turned his head slightly to the side in surprise. “I must say, I never expected I would meet you here, in my own home, after you dispatched one of my sons.”

  There it is, Kari thought. She had no delusions that Sekassus would forgive or forget, but she had held out a sliver of hope that it might not be brought up in this situation. “That makes two of us…Your Majesty,” Kari said, amending her blunt humor with his title of respect. There was no point to provoking him by being disrespectful; in his realm and especially his court and throne room, Sekassus was the king, and Kari knew she had to treat him with the respect that position deserved.

  There were scant chuckles among his courtiers, and the serpentine demon king glanced at them with what seemed to be the barest of smiles. “Indeed,” he agreed, opening his mouth just enough to show his fangs, the centerpiece of his serpentine grin. “So then, Lady Vanador, you have brought to me a vulkinastra to negotiate something in good faith; as is the law of the Overking, I grant to you the rights and privileges of an ambassador. So tell me: what is it you ask in trade for this vulkinastra? Or is this your apology for the slaying of my son?”

  Kari had to make a conscious effort not to scoff or laugh at the last, and instead she folded her arms across her chest. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, your son got what was coming to him,” Kari dared. She wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or unnerved when the demon king smiled; it was quite possible he felt the same way, given Ressallk’s failure, but that didn’t mean he was thankful to Kari, obviously. “We come to offer this…vulkinastra, Uldriana, in exchange for the release and unconditional freedom of Se’sasha Solaristis. She will be accompanying us out of your realm and your service, should you agree to this bargain.”

  The prince at the arm of the king’s throne scoffed so hard he nearly spat. “No bargains will be struck with you, bitch,” Amnastru hissed. He unfolded his arms and clenched his fists as if ready to rush forward and assault the demonhunter.

  “Mind your place, young prince,” Sekassus said with hardly a change in tone. “These are our guests, and we will afford them that distinction as long as required by the Overking’s laws.”

  Kari didn’t lik
e the sound of that, despite what it appeared to mean on the surface. She knew her life and those of her friends were going to be in danger no longer than six days after they left the palace. Still, there was something to be learned from the brief exchange between father and son: Amnastru was volatile, and lacked whatever grace and poise Sekassus seemed to possess. It was pleasing to Kari to find that the kings and their own princes weren’t necessarily alike or in agreement on the way to run the kingdoms; any dissent among the royals and nobles could only work in her favor in the future. Kari kept her thoughts to herself, though, and waited on the demon king’s attention.

  Sekassus held the demonhunter and her companions under a stern gaze for several long, silent minutes before he said, “This offer makes me think perhaps Aesiasi is more valuable to me than I had imagined. For what purpose do you seek her release?”

  “If I may?” Danilynn offered from several paces behind Kari. King Sekassus turned his attention to the fures-rir woman and waved her forward casually. There was no missing how relaxed he was, which came as little surprise in his own throne room, but to Kari it spoke of how content he was with his own power. Where kings like Arku were vicious and had to lash out at those around them to demonstrate their power, a king like Sekassus demonstrated it by treating others as if they were of little threat or concern to him. He took a sip of wine while Danilynn approached, and the king settled that unblinking, yellow-eyed stare on the priestess. Danilynn said, “Lady Vanador was kind enough to accompany me here, Your Majesty, but it is I who seeks Se’sasha’s release, to fulfill a promise made…to her mother.”

  Oh gods, that was a stupid thing to say, Kari thought. She had to resist the temptation to close her eyes and sigh or put her hand to her head in exasperation. It was already enough of an issue that Kari had killed one of Sekassus’ sons; for Danilynn to admit to ruining one of his plans and causing the deaths of possibly a hundred or more of his servants was not going to help.

  “Who are you, little woman?” Sekassus asked Danilynn evenly, his expression barely betraying the anger Kari was pretty sure had just flared up below the surface. His Calculating title seemed quite fitting: where his son seemed full of rage before anyone had even spoken, the king kept his emotions and even his power carefully in check.

  “My name is Danilynn Stahlorr, priestess of Garra Ktarra,” she returned proudly. “Your Majesty, before you ask or make any assumptions, I assure you that I am not, nor have I ever been a servant of your enemy, King Koursturaux. What I did, I did of my own accord to defend my people – from yours and hers.”

  Sekassus turned his head to the side slightly again. “Impressive,” he returned with hardly a pause. He glanced off to the side, perhaps at one of the courtiers to his left, or perhaps simply into the foliage beyond them. “Nearly all who stand before me to barter or plead for their lives do so without knowing that the enchantments on this palace prevent any from lying to me while they are within its walls. It takes a great deal of courage to stand before one such as myself and freely admit to ruining decades of planning out of some sense of nobility or heroism. I admire that courage, young woman, but understand that I care little about whether you serve my crimson bitch of a neighbor. You have stood to be counted among my enemies, something I assure you is very foolish.”

  “Be that as it may, Your Majesty, you asked why we wanted Se’sasha released, and I’ve told you, completely and honestly,” Danilynn returned. If she was at all unnerved by the demon king’s words, nothing in her demeanor showed it. It hardly surprised Kari: the woman had stood before Koursturaux and come out unscathed and as confident as ever. Kari didn’t imagine the Cobra Lord was as scary as the Crimson Huntress.

  Sekassus leaned on the arm of his throne and considered the outsiders before him, but not surprisingly, it didn’t take his son long to reach a decision. “Refuse their offer, father,” Prince Amnastru said. “Let them try to escape your realm, and I will drag them back here screaming for their lives, and then you will have all of them to do with as you please.”

  Sekassus chuckled, and that unsettled Kari; the entire plan hinged on the demon king honoring the laws of the Overking. “And if they manage to escape?” the demon king asked.

  “They won’t,” Amnastru said with no emotion, and the demon king chuckled again.

  Damnit, Kari thought. His idiot son is going to come after us, the Seven Days’ Grace be damned. I need to do something to make them think twice about it.

  A ploy occurred to Kari and she turned to Sonja, smiled, and nodded. Her sister-in-law, nervous but determined, met Kari’s gaze and simply nodded in return. It was what Kari was hoping for, if not a smile in response: anything to keep Sekassus and his son guessing. “Well, if you think that’s best, Your Majesty, I suppose you could do that,” Kari said casually. She hoped to Zalkar and all the other deities that her poker face and voice would hold up in this situation. Sekassus narrowed his eyes, sniffing the bait. Kari knew he was always suspicious of his higher-ranking neighbors, and Kari and her friends showing up uninvited had to have alarmed him. If he suspected that she might actually be there at the behest of Koursturaux or even Morduri, it might give him pause. It was really all Kari had to try to get him to keep his son in check.

  Sekassus hesitated yet, and Kari pounced on what she thought was an opportunity. “Honestly, Your Majesty, I’m not really happy with this trade to begin with, so if you refused, you’d actually be doing me a service.”

  “Enough of this,” Uldriana hissed. There was fury in her face and her voice, and Kari realized her fear had finally cracked, giving way to anger. She stepped up beside Kari, her face set in that uncharacteristic scowl. “We did not come here to play games with you and your son. Either accept this bargain, Your Majesty, or I will return to my people and organize the rebellion you are so afraid of.”

  Amnastru started forward but his father held him in check with an upraised hand. The Cobra Lord kept his anger well controlled, but it was still obvious in his eyes. He gestured to one of the other courtiers in the room and commanded, “Go and bring up the priestess.”

  The courtier left quickly, and Kari and her companions waited in silence, held in what felt like the crushing grip of the king and prince’s stares. The nearly unblinking vigilance of the Cobra Lord and his eldest son was nerve-wracking in a way Kari had never experienced before, but she tried to imagine that they were just members of her Order’s Council. The priests of her Order’s Council managed to give her that stern, just-shy-of-telling-her-no gaze often enough, and she was honestly a lot more concerned with what they thought than what Sekassus and his son might think. Uldriana looked at Kari now and again, and each time the demonhunter nodded, trying to keep the girl upright and strong as long as she could. The fury was still there below the surface, but as the long moments went by, it threatened to give way to the fear again.

  After a short wait that still managed to feel interminable, an erestram guard appeared and roughly shoved a syrinthian woman to the floor beside Kari and Uldriana. Se’sasha was gaunt and unkempt, someone who obviously had spent many years in a dungeon. She worked her way to her feet shakily, but kept her gaze down to the floor, not even glancing at the other people in the room. Kari had to imagine the girl probably expected she was about to be executed or tortured in some way. She smelled like she’d been in a dungeon for a while, too, and the filthy rags she was dressed in did little to help with that. It was an undignified position for a priestess to be in, let alone a syrinthian priestess, and Kari understood it was as much to hurt and humiliate the rest of the syrinthian populace as Se’sasha herself.

  “I accept your terms,” Sekassus said with little fanfare. “Our bargain is struck, then?”

  “One moment, Your Majesty,” Uldriana said, and she turned and gestured for Kari, Sonja, and Danilynn to come close. The mallasti girl closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and blew out a long sigh. When she opened her eyes again, she fixed them on Kari. “When this deal is struck, take this girl
and flee as fast as you can. You must be out of Sorelizar by the seventh day including today, or you can be assured they will apprehend you. I already said my good-byes to my family and my people, so now I say good-bye to you. For an outsider, you have been very gracious to me; there is far more to you than simply a hunter. Sonja, you show promise; keep at your study and trials, and you will master the arcane in short order. Danilynn, I did not get to know you all that well, but I can judge you by the company you keep; farewell. Do not mourn me; take this girl and do what you must.”

  “Wait, what?” Kari blurted. She tried to grab Uldriana’s shoulder as the mallasti girl turned away, but the mallasti evaded her grip.

  “The deal is struck. Do as you will,” Uldriana said.

  “Don’t you even–” Kari began, but she didn’t get to finish.

  Sekassus never even moved, but there was a sudden surge of power within the room. Kari felt it behind her eyes: a building pressure behind her face that she was sure would relieve itself by causing a nosebleed, if not worse. Her hair began to stand on end from the power, and then it did so when Uldriana let out a blood-curdling scream. The flesh of the mallasti girl’s belly split open from the crotch to her neck in an explosion of blood that splattered the demon king and his son. Uldriana was dead before her innards even began to spill out on the floor of the king’s throne room, and her body fell to the ground with a wet thud.

  Kari’s instincts nearly got the better of her, and her hands dropped to the hilts of her swords. Danilynn was suddenly in front of her, one hand grabbing Kari’s upper arm while she put the other firmly on Kari’s chest. “Don’t!” the priestess barked. “Kari, this is what he wants! If you draw your swords, he can kill you. Stand down, Kari! Stand down!”