Preludes to War (Eve of Redemption Book 6)

by Joe Jackson

  Kari wondered if she should mention Seanada and her family, but quickly decided it was best if she didn’t disclose any of the Ashen Fangs’ activities. If Morduri already knew, that was one thing, but Kari didn’t want to be the one to let it slip. “I heard mention of it from Amastri.”

  “I might have guessed, though I doubt she gave you much more than the most basic of information. I know more than she does in this situation, I’d wager. One thing you may not know, Lady Vanador, is that while the mallasti people may bear many surnames, their clans are still all close and connected – even across the realms’ borders. What happens to the Te’Montasi clan of southern Sorelizar resonates among the Te’Dastras of Tess’Vorg, and even the Te’Strikk clan here in Moskarre.”

  Kari glanced briefly at Uldriana’s parents. Cestriana and Amalikor Te’Strikk, she thought, trying to impress their full and proper names into her memory. “No, I wasn’t aware of that,” she confirmed when he paused.

  “News can spread quickly between the mallasti clans, even across borders, and so I have been hearing things that those kings not so close to their people may not be privy to. Foremost being the fact that the unrest in Sorelizar is not simply grumbling. The mallasti there are close to rioting, or openly rebelling against King Sekassus.”

  “But they’ll be killed easily, won’t they, Your Majesty?” Kari asked. “I hope you’re not going to suggest that I go lead them against their king.”

  Morduri cracked a humorless smile. “Perceptive, but not entirely accurate. No, though I suspect you might have the strength to at least challenge King Sekassus with your newly-granted power as an Avatar of Vengeance, such an attack would be far too great a thing to ask in return even for the life of one of my people. Throwing your world into chaos and drawing the attention of all of my peers onto you and yours is not my intention. However, what I will ask of you will yet gain their attention – but possibly also their respect, if they do not fear you outright.”

  “So you do want me to go to Sorelizar, then,” Kari prompted.

  The elestram king sighed and folded his arms across his chest. “Indeed. I understand our mutual enemy well enough to expect that he will not move to crush any rioting or open rebellion personally. The mallasti are not worth his time or effort. I expect he will instead send his crown prince, his firstborn son, Amnastru. And my task for you, Lady Vanador, is to kill Amnastru when he is away from the safety of his father’s palace and presence.”

  Kari recalled being slapped across the face by the serpentine demon prince. Amnastru was incredibly strong, and not just physically. He was old for a prince, and though the Codex of the Council didn’t list his specific age, Kari suspected he was probably old enough to begin the process of becoming a king himself, if his father and the Overking would permit it. To go against Amnastru in battle would prove the greatest test of Kari’s faith and martial prowess. In a way, it amused her to think that was the case for every task she was given these days.

  “What’s your stake in this?” Kari asked, drawing his curious gaze. “Be honest with me, Your Majesty: what do you stand to gain from this? I know you want to help your people here, but how does this request help them at all?”

  “He takes their children, so we will take one of his. Or, I suppose in your case, a second of his. I’d have thought that would be more than obvious, Lady Vanador.”

  “It is more than obvious, that’s why I don’t believe it’s the truth,” she said. “Not the whole of it, anyway. I’ll grant that you were right: this definitely doesn’t go against my nature, and it’s something I’m very much interested in looking into. But unless you tell me everything, I’ll refuse. You owe me the truth, at least.”

  Morduri smiled and laughed briefly, but the humor fell from his face quickly. “Come,” he said, gesturing for her to follow. It was odd that he would speak so openly of his desires in the presence of his people, but he must have hoped the noise from the game would keep most from overhearing. Now, though, he led Kari up the eastern hillside to a private point where there weren’t any guards or villagers to eavesdrop.

  “This has something to do with Emma, doesn’t it, Your Majesty?” Kari asked before he could say another word. He didn’t even bother to hide his shock. “Is she from southeastern Sorelizar? Maybe she was a Te’Montasi before she was sold into slavery?”

  “I wish it were that simple, but no,” he answered, looking out over the grassy knolls of his realm. The sky was patchy with clouds, laying strips of shadow across the otherwise sun-drenched hills, and Kari took the silent moment to observe the beauty of this place. “There is no sense in hiding my feelings for Emma from you; you have nearly the whole of it without either of us even telling you a thing. She is not just someone I enjoy making love to, Lady Vanador: I feel as though she is my soulmate, but one I have no possible way of claiming as my own. This does not change how we feel about each other, though.”

  “Amnastru murdered Emma’s sister many, many years ago. I do not have all of the facts at hand, but you know what King Sekassus is like. You know his son is just as vicious, and far less subtle in that viciousness. The death of Amnastru would be a boon to every being on this entire world with the exception of King Sekassus himself – though I expect not having to rein his son in constantly might just be a boon he doesn’t recognize as such.”

  Kari found herself quite intrigued. “Emma had a sister?”

  The elestram demon king nodded. “Yes, though her lineage is still something she will not share with me. Her sister wasn’t a slave, as I understand it, but was murdered by Amnastru some centuries ago. Would you not do the same, if you were in my place? Would you not seek to kill the man who murdered your mate’s sibling?”

  Kari had only to think of Taesenus to answer that question in her mind. “Do you have any sort of plan yet?”

  “My hope was that you would proceed toward the border of Sorelizar, even if you had to stay in Tess’Vorg for a time. I have little doubt that when this unrest reaches its closest to an outright frenzy, the Ashen Fangs may make their appearance. Normally, they wouldn’t deign to strike at a prince, but if you are there, that may convince them they have the opportunity. I’m not even sure whether or not you’ll have to directly engage him, Lady Vanador. It may well be that you need only direct and encourage the Ashen Fangs to make the attempt themselves. Either way, if Amnastru dies, I will hold you free from our debt.”

  She kept her mouth shut regarding Seanada. The half-syrinthian might be just the liaison Kari needed to the mallasti and the Ashen Fangs alike. “You realize you’re still asking far too much of me in return for what you gave.”

  “One of my people gave her life to aid you,” he insisted, jabbing a clawed finger at Kari.

  “I understand that, but I put my life on the line at the same time, and was nearly killed or at least captured trying to escape. Now you’re asking me to risk my life again by going to a place where I’m already wanted dead or alive. I’m not saying I won’t help you, Morduri, but this is hardly an…equitable trade.”

  He seemed a bit put off by her casual calling of his first name, but said nothing of it. “So we are negotiating?” he scoffed, and folded his arms across his chest again. “Very well, then. State your demands.”

  “You’re going to put your own ass on the line.”

  The elestram balked. “Come again?”

  “You want me to risk my life trying to kill Amnastru? Fine. But you’re going to help me. I already know you visit King Emanitar now and then. So it won’t be a surprise to anyone if you go to his realm and spend some time there. Let’s make a basic plan that involves me aggravating and insulting Amnastru so much that he’ll chase me – even across the border into Tess’Vorg. And once he’s there, he’s fair game to kill, right? So you’ll help me kill him. And then we’ll both have paid our debt to these people,” Kari said, gesturing at the mallasti village.

  Morduri considered her, holding her in silence with those amethyst eyes for a minute.
“I may have misjudged you. You may just have a heart like the Celestial Queen herself. I’m not certain this scheme of yours will work, but even if it doesn’t, we both may still get the immediate result we want, yes? Let me confer with Emanitar on this; if I kill Amnastru in his realm, it may bring him no end of grief from the Overking. Though I doubt he will care in light of what Sekassus did to him.”

  Kari remembered the tale of Sekassus trying to murder the mallasti king some time ago. She wondered if Emanitar might be willing to get involved with the plan. Against Kari, King Emanitar, and King Morduri, she had to believe Prince Amnastru would have absolutely no chance of surviving. She held out her hand. “Then we have a deal.”

  Morduri shook firmly but gently, which surprised her. “Then come; let us eat and rest, and then on the morrow, we will head to Rulaj.”

  “And take in a game of football?” Kari asked, wondering if the city’s excellent football squad, the Rulaj Reds, would be there.

  “You are a strange person, Kari,” he said.

  “You’re not exactly typical for a demon king, Morduri.”

  He smiled and led her down toward the village again.

  *****

  Cestriana and her family asked that Kari stay with them for the duration of her visit. It was apparent King Morduri had expected Kari to stay with him, but he was agreeable to letting her stay with the mallasti family. The demonhunter wasn’t sure what exactly to make of the demon king, but he seemed to like her well enough. He made no effort to hide the fact that he was pleased that Kari had developed any sort of relationship with Uldriana’s family. Kari had to figure that made him hopeful that what they were planning to do would be acceptable as payment to these people.

  By the time supper was finished, Kari had learned dozens of new sentences in beshathan, and was slowly learning the individual words. Learning to speak it properly and conjugate verbs on the fly would take a lot more time and effort, but simply being able to communicate with the hyena-folk without using the hated infernal tongue was an improvement. They had used infernal for the most part as a bridge between their languages, though thankfully, they refrained from the usual spitting that accompanied what they described as the “language of evil.”

  The dinner conversation revolved mostly around Kari’s children. Cestriana in particular asked after Kari’s daughter, interested in how quickly she was growing and learning. Kari supposed that in the back of her mind, that had always been part of her intention: for the grieving mallasti parents to see her daughter as a surrogate of sorts. Nothing could ever replace Cestriana and Amalikor’s daughter, but in naming her own child after her, Kari hoped the memory of their daughter would live on.

  Kari was interested to find that there were several generations of family living in the one tent, though it was less crowded since the latest conscriptions. Cestriana was the youngest of the breeding females, and counted her mother, grandmother, and even great-grandmother among the other females living with her. Cestriana was nearly eight centuries of age, considered somewhat young for the long-lived hyena-folk, and her great-grandmother was still only “middle-aged” by mallasti standards.

  It made Kari think about Kris’ suspicions. Was it possible she had been altered to live nearly as long as Trigonh? Was the fatigue and bodily aches more just a product of becoming a mother, and not at all related to her age? The fact that so many people constantly told her that she didn’t look older than about twenty-five did lead her to wonder. And then there were the other, smaller signs that most people didn’t even see, such as the scar under her chin where Turillia had nearly split her snout in two. It was gone just weeks after she’d received it; was that a product of any such boon from Trigonh, or something else entirely?

  There was that pang of guilt that she was thinking of Kris, even though it was something he said. She had somehow been readier to say goodbye to Grakin than she’d expected. His death had hit her harder than she could have ever imagined, but she’d come to terms with it and made her peace with it, quickly enough that she had ended up comforting the rest of her family more than they did in return. She had his echoes in Little Gray and Uldriana, but his final words to her in the letter resonated through her soul. He’d seen the end coming, and his final thoughts were of Kari – and not just his love for her, but his desire for her to be happy.

  Remember always that I love you, but if you should find the opportunity to remarry, do not hesitate. I know that you still have feelings for Kris Jir’tana. Should your paths cross again, know that I want you to be happy, and if that means being with him, then do so.

  The quiet sigh of the evening wind across the hilltop harmonized with Kari’s own as she thought of her selfless husband. She wasn’t sure others would understand – not even all of her family, though some of them certainly would – but remarrying and giving her children a proper father was one of the ways she could honor Grakin’s memory and final wishes. He knew of Kari’s feelings for Kris Jir’tana, and not only had that never come between them, but in his last days, he had encouraged Kari to pursue those feelings rather than grieve for the rest of her days.

  Kari couldn’t stop the tears from flowing as she looked around the tent at the sleeping women all around her. Only Cestriana still had a mate to sleep with; had all of the others lost their husbands and mates to the Overking’s war? How many of the other tents in this village looked the same way? Kari knew many females had been conscripted as well, but the majority of those missing now were the males. She was far from alone in this tent with regard to having lost her husband, and she found yet another thread that bound her to these people.

  I will avenge your lost daughter, she thought. And I will avenge all those the Overking has taken from you. This is my promise, my vow to you: though it cost me my life or take me to the end of my days, I will not stop until I’ve brought down the Overking.

  And Kris will be by my side as I do.

  Kari woke the next morning and stretched in the more spacious area she was afforded. On her first visit, the tent had been incredibly crowded once everyone bedded down for the night. Now, she had plenty of room with all the missing mallasti sent off to war. It was still warm, the spring night cooling off but not enough to overcome the warmth of the furred mallasti. As the first one up, Kari slipped quietly from the tent to go see to her needs, and was hardly surprised to find King Morduri already doing so in the apportioned place.

  The elestram as a whole were rather prudish about nudity and such, but Morduri shared none of their concerns from what Kari had seen. “Shall we leave after breakfast?” he asked her, turning a bit so they each had some semblance of privacy.

  “Well, Your Majesty, the sooner we get this done, the sooner I can get home to my kids. So as much as I actually enjoy it here now, I’m ready to go when you are.”

  “You didn’t meet with Emanitar on your last visit, did you?”

  Kari shook her head, then realized he wouldn’t see it. “No, though I did see him briefly at the first meeting of that Council session. We passed through Rulaj, but we weren’t there for long, and he never sent a summons or anything of the sort to stop us from leaving.”

  “No, I suspect he wouldn’t. I think he will take a great interest in you, though. One thing you should try to keep in mind is that Emanitar may be the oldest being you’ll ever meet. Some say he’s even older than King Koursturaux.”

  “Some also say that he’s long since given up resisting the Overking,” Kari said quietly.

  “What?” the elestram king blurted, his ears twitching as he turned to face her.

  Kari stood and got fully dressed again. She looked around at the hillside, devoid of any other life at this early hour. They were far from earshot of the guards. “Tell me, honestly, what you think of the Overking.”

  Morduri held her under that amethyst gaze for some time before he let forth a humorless laugh. “Are we getting delusions of grandeur already? You will be hard-pressed enough to kill a being like Prince Amnastru, Lady
Vanador. Do not make the mistake of thinking you represent any sort of threat to the Overking.”

  “Of course not,” she returned. She recalled her conversations with King Koursturaux, and the implications of the Crimson Huntresses’ words. “Not on my own. But I think I’m far from the only person who’d like to see him deposed.”

  “What you are speaking is treason, and suicide,” he returned evenly, doing up the front of his trousers. “You know that by the Overking’s law, I am expected to kill you where you stand and deliver your corpse to him along with a report on what you were planning?”

  Kari chuckled and shook her head. “By the Overking’s law, what you’re planning with me carries the same sentence, doesn’t it?” His ears went back, his brow coming low. “I know you don’t think I’m stupid, Morduri, so can we just be honest with each other? I think we want a lot of the same things, but neither of us is going to be much help to the other without honesty.”

  The demon king shook his head and sighed. “You want honesty? I should have just bedded you and left it at that. Working with you will turn my fur grey, I’m sure of it.”

  “Except I don’t sleep with other peoples’ mates, so the answer would’ve been No, not even considering the fact that I was mated at the time,” she returned.

  “Indeed,” he grunted, and walked past her back up the hill toward the village. “If you want the whole truth of things, we will speak more on the way to Rulaj. I am uncomfortable speaking of treason amongst my people, both for fear of them being brought to harm for it, and because too many ears may overhear. Particularly here, where everyone is bound to come when they awaken.”

  Kari followed him back to the village, where they had a communal breakfast so the people of Moskarre could see their king and his guest off. Cestriana and her family sat near Kari during breakfast. Once the conversations directed toward Morduri dried up, the demonhunter sighed and turned to the mallasti female. “I have something I need to tell you,” she said.