The Huntresses' Game

by Joe Jackson

  As the evening began to wind down and the dances became slower and closer, Kari sat beside the demon king on a bench to the left of her throne. There was a serenity about the demon king, and though it was hard to see where those black eyes were truly looking, Kari was pretty sure she was gazing over her romancing staff. “Why didn’t you invite Celigus to come?” she prodded her host.

  Koursturaux regarded her from the corner of a glistening black eye. “I would not have spent much time in your company were my kast’wa here,” she returned flatly. “I had hoped your mate would come with you. I put together this romantic ball for exactly that reason, that you and your mate would enjoy a final night here before you make your way home. I regret that he did not come with you, and that you have spent this time apart when he is in failing health.”

  Kari nodded, took a deep breath, and let it out in a long but quiet sigh. “I think if we knew what this visit would be like, he’d have been more likely to come.”

  The demon king chuckled. “You expected me to be less hospitable, hmmm?”

  “Despite everything Amastri and Celigus told me, I had no idea what to expect,” Kari returned honestly. “I wasn’t sure if my response to your letter was going to make this a long and uncomfortable week. And I really had no solid reason to believe this wasn’t a giant trap of some kind. You know I can’t trust you, not completely, no matter how well I know your kast’wa and how well he speaks of you.”

  “Because you have the wisdom of experience. Just remember, Lady Vanador, as Amastri told you – and I say this not to sound like a threat – but if I wanted you dead, I would not be subtle about it. When I call upon you to come speak with me, that is what I desire.” Kari nodded to the demon king’s words. “Have you given further consideration to my offer?”

  “I’ll think about it,” the demonhunter answered. “I can’t give you a real answer until I’ve spoken with my masters and maybe even my deity about this. I can’t speak for our entire world, especially when I don’t even know what’s in that Temple that you’re so interested in getting your hands on. If you’d tell me that, at least, I’d have something to go on when I explain all of this to my Order’s priests.”

  Koursturaux waved a hand gently. “I cannot tell you that, other than to assure you of what I already have. It holds the means to my vengeance, and in exchange for such, I will ensure that no further attacks come to your world from Mehr’Durillia, myself included. It is the best offer you are going to receive from any of my peers capable of seeing it through.”

  Koursturaux looked around the ballroom, and gestured toward the romancing couples, the decorations, the splendor of it all. “Look about you, Lady Vanador. I understand you do not trust me as a demon king; I will grant you that you are wise to feel this way. However, you have seen the fruits of the Overking’s rule, and you can see the fruits of mine. If you had to choose one of us to rule your world, which would it be?”

  “That’s not exactly a good way to pose such a question.”

  “Oh, come now. Answer me, honestly.”

  “I can’t,” Kari said with a shake of her head. “I don’t want either of you to rule my world. And I’ll fight both of you to my dying breath. That’s the truth you need to learn to accept. My people will never end up like these people; we’d rather die than submit to you and your fellow kings.”

  Koursturaux fixed Kari with those black eyes, and the demonhunter was sure a sharp rebuke was coming. The demon king leaned in slowly, though, and whispered, “That’s what they said before we conquered them.” She leaned back then, and gestured toward her other guests. “Look at them now. They love. They mate. They raise families. They are subjects of mine, but are their lives so different than yours? What freedom do you have that you suspect they are missing?”

  Kari reached down inside her dress, pulled up the symbol of the Great Mother, and laid it over her chest. “How about the freedom to wear something like this?”

  Fury. It was the only word that could describe the demon king’s reaction. Koursturaux’ hand came up in the span of a heartbeat and gripped Kari by the throat. “You stupid, insolent little woman,” Koursturaux spat, showing those sharp, cat-like fangs. She tore the symbol from around Kari’s neck, crushed it in her palm, and threw the pieces away across the floor. The others in the room stared wide-eyed at the two, and under Durisha and Surisha’s direction, they began filing out of the ballroom.

  Koursturaux squeezed, and even with just one hand, Kari was pretty sure the demon king was going to break her neck. She could scarcely believe the strength in those delicate-looking hands. Koursturaux turned and threw Kari halfway across the room, skidding across the floor. The room was quickly emptied, and Kari only briefly caught Durisha’s wide-eyed stare as she closed the doors to the audience chamber behind her when she left. Kari turned back to the approaching demon king, and the words of Eli rang in her ears as she looked into those obsidian pools. Like looking into death itself.

  Kari started to scramble away, but Koursturaux was on her in an instant, and caught her in that bone-crushing grip again. “You fool. Ten thousand years I have plotted my revenge, I will not see it go to waste because of the impudence of a single girl. If you wish to throw your life away, so be it, but you will not do it in my household, nor my realm, nor will you make me the instrument of your death.”

  She lifted Kari clear off the floor, carried her toward the throne, and threw her to the ground before the dais. The demon king then walked up the steps and sat upon the symbol of authority. “You know, by law, I should kill you for simply wearing such a symbol, much less taunting me with it?” she said, more calmly now.

  “So I’ve heard, Your Majesty,” Kari coughed, rubbing her neck as she rose to her feet. Her appending the answer with the noble title clearly intrigued the demon king, who cocked her head. “You answered my question, though not quite in the way I expected. Would I rather have the Overking or you rule my world? The one that can rule without crushing the faith of the people. You’re not gods, and we’ll never worship you, no matter how hard you grind us under your feet. You want to know the secret to conquering my people? Look to your kast’wa. He did it, and the people embraced him. For a time, at least.”

  Koursturaux was silent for a span, and even with those black eyes, there was wonder in her gaze. “You were testing me, and I actually could not sense it,” she said, the briefest twinge in the corner of her mouth suggesting a suppressed smile. “Well done.”

  “Your Majesty, as much as I’ve appreciated your hospitality, you don’t think I came here as a friend, do you?” Kari echoed the king’s own words from days before.

  Koursturaux held Kari’s gaze intently. There was a bit of pride there for how well Kari had taken in her lessons, but also the realization that she had been played. “Very interesting,” the demon king responded after a minute. She looked off to the side and held forth her palm. The pieces of Kari’s shattered pendant flew to her hand, where they quickly reformed the symbol of the Great Mother. Koursturaux sent it to Kari with a gesture, and seemed to look through the demonhunter as she added, “Do not make the mistake of showing this symbol here again. As it stands, you now owe me the favor of your life.”

  Kari put the symbol back on and tucked it into her dress. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, I don’t,” she returned. The demon king cocked her head once more, and Kari stood at attention and folded her hands behind her back. “Read my thoughts if you want to know why.”

  Kari thought of Erik and Corbanis, and her orders to them before she left. The image of Amastri’s head rolling from her shoulders played briefly through her mind’s eye. She held still, doing her best not to fidget while she played her gambit; if this angered the demon king, she might find herself in that bone-crushing grip yet again, maybe this time without escape.

  “You are very perceptive,” Koursturaux said, but with the barest of smiles rather than a scowl. “Perhaps bringing you here was a mistake.”

  Kari scoffe
d. “If it was, I’m sure it was one you considered all the consequences of and accepted beforehand,” she said. The demonhunter looked down and brushed the last traces of dust from her dress, straightened it out, and then stood tall before the throne of the demon king. She swept into a low bow, then addressed the monarch in the infernal tongue as best she could, “Your Majesty, thank you for the honor of your hospitality this past week. Aside from the last couple of minutes, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed myself, and you’ve given me much to consider. And I will consider your offer very carefully in the weeks and months to come.”

  “As I will consider you very carefully in the days to come,” Koursturaux returned in the Citarian trade tongue. She bowed her head graciously, then waved a delicate hand with authority. “You are dismissed. Enjoy your return journey. We will speak again soon.”

  Kari bowed again and retired from the chamber. Durisha and Surisha were outside the doors, and they beheld Kari in shock before they made their way to the demon king’s side. Kari went to her chambers, where she found Mildasa nursing Uldriana, and she took over doing so.

  “Thank you very much for tending to my daughter during this visit,” Kari said, and the mallasti woman nodded. “Feel free to stay the night and share my bed again if your child is sleepy.”

  “I appreciate your offer, but I should like to return home now,” Mildasa answered. “With my service to you and my king complete, it is time I was with my family again at home. Fare you well, and be safe in your journeys, Lady Vanador.”

  Kari bolted the door once the mallasti wet nurse left, for some reason a little leery that she might receive an unwanted visitor in the night to deliver a threat. She curled up in the bed with Uldriana tucked close to her. The little girl was everything to Kari, and she considered what she would do to protect her daughter, the lengths she would go to in order to protect her children and family. Here she was, forging relationships with demon kings and perhaps even negotiating some sort of truce to protect her world and, thereby, her children.

  Despite all the evidence to the contrary, no matter how callous and vicious the demon king could seem, Kari’s gamble had worked. She found herself thankful that as much as she was willing to do to protect her two children, Koursturaux apparently felt the same way about her own child.

  Chapter VIII – Perspectives

  The trip back to Anthraxis was uneventful, which Kari was thankful for, considering how her visit with the demon king had ended. Durisha carried Kari’s bag into the city for her just as she’d done when Kari arrived, and escorted her to the customs office. Eliza wasn’t there, so after a pleasant farewell from the harmauth, Kari made her way to the Overking’s palace. The traffic in and out was light in the later afternoon, and despite the weight of the bag on her arm, at least Kari didn’t have to contend with holding Uldriana, who was tucked tight into the mallasti pup carrier.

  Kari made her way up to the library without any interference, and it didn’t take her long to find the striking figure of Eliza Chinchala. The half-succubus was seated in a chair reading a book, but she looked up as soon as Kari came into view. The demonhunter supposed it wasn’t every day that one saw a rir in Anthraxis, so she stuck out, as the humans would say, like a sore thumb. The sorceress rose quickly but gracefully and set her book down when Kari arrived.

  “Lady Vanador, good to see you again. Are you prepared to return home?” she asked.

  “Yes, but we have another guest coming with us. Will that be a problem?”

  Eliza shook her head. “No, one more certainly will not be an issue. Who is it?”

  “Follow me,” Kari said. She remembered her previous trip to Mehr’Durillia, when Seanada had followed – or preceded, whatever the case may have been – her and her friends to Anthraxis. Seanada had been in the Mortal Quarter, no doubt because she was half-syrinthian and could better keep out of the Overking’s sight in that section of the city. Kari led Eliza to the Mortal Quarter and had her wait at its edge, since Eliza was not even half-mortal, and thus not legally allowed to enter the area.

  Seanada was, as Kari suspected, waiting at the inn called Hope’s End. There were no words exchanged, just a nod of the head and a gesture of agreement from the half-syrinthian. Seanada followed Kari to the central plaza, where she and Eliza engaged in a staring contest for over a minute.

  “Everything all right?” Kari asked neither of them in particular.

  “I trust you know what you are doing,” Eliza said, turning to Kari.

  Kari wondered if Celigus knew the truth behind the Ashen Fangs, or if Eliza had any idea about them. She kept her thoughts carefully guarded, just in case. “I think so,” she answered with a soft sigh. “Things have gotten a lot more complicated since I last saw you. Seanada is going to help me with some of them.”

  “Seanada Te’Montasi?” Eliza queried the half-succubus, who replied with the barest of nods. “I’ll say things have gotten more complicated. Hmph. Come, join hands and let us be off.”

  “Is the Overking going to be watching us when we get back home again?” Kari asked.

  “No. We were here by invitation this time, so there should be no reason for him to be suspicious. If he wants answers, he can force them from King Koursturaux, he will not bother asking us,” she answered.

  “We were here by invitation last time, though,” Kari countered, confused.

  “Yes, but that was here in Anthraxis, right under his nose. You were conspiring within his very city; suffice to say it was different, whether it seems so to you or not.” With no further argument coming, Eliza got them underway. With a short chant and a surge of power, she pulled Kari and Seanada through a portal to Citaria, which once again felt like passing through a tunnel of warm water.

  They arrived in the central square of the demonhunter campus, and were surrounded in moments by hunters and cadets. “At ease, soldiers,” Kari ordered, and the many hunters relaxed when they saw their Grand Commander among them. “Cadet, go and ask the Council to gather. Let them know we have a visitor that they need to be introduced to. Also, send a runner to my home and let my family know I’ve–”

  “Kari!” she heard Erik bark from the back of the gathered hunters, and he made his way through the crowd. He snapped a demonhunter salute and amended his greeting, “Ma’am. Gods, who – or what – is this?”

  Seanada didn’t even react to Erik’s words. “It’s a long story, one I don’t plan to sit here and go through with cadets and trainees,” Kari said rather stiffly. The crowd began to disperse. “Would you take Uldriana home and let Grakin and the others know I’m back? I have to take Seanada before the Council, so I’ll be here a while, but we’ll be making our way home soon.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said formally with another salute. He hesitated a moment, and Kari accepted a hug from him. She handed Uldriana over to Erik, though he declined to wear the mallasti pup carrier. Then he was on his way home to deliver the good news.

  Kari turned to Eliza. “Thank you again for your help. How much would it cost to put you on retainer?”

  The archmage laughed. “My pleasure, Lady Vanador. Just contact me again if you need my help with another trip, or if Seanada needs to return home.”

  “I am home,” the half-succubus said, her eyes drawn across the square. Kari turned to see what she was looking at, but had little doubt she was staring at Liria, who was engaged in her training exercises across the way. The half-syrinthian turned back to Kari. “At least for the time being. Where you go, I go. Where you stay, I stay.”

  Eliza left in a sorceress display that was punctuated by a pop, and Kari led Seanada to the Temple of Zalkar. Kari half-expected that the assassin would hesitate to enter the temple, but she continued beside Kari as though nothing was miss. The demonhunter led her guest through the temple and to the back room, where the Council was gathering. Once they were indoors and away from the eyes of the Order’s cadets, Seanada took off her hood and followed Kari to stand before the Council.

  “Lady Vana
dor, welcome back,” Master Bennet greeted her as the meeting came to order. “Who is this you bring before us?”

  Kari gestured toward the assassin. “This is Seanada Te’Montasi,” she introduced, and Seanada lightly crossed her wrists and bowed her head. “She’s going to be staying with me for a time, helping to protect me and my family from any backlash from Mehr’Durillia.”

  “This is Turillia’s sister? The one you said hounded you all the way home when you went to rescue Se’sasha?” Master Arinotte asked.

  Kari nodded but waved a hand dismissively. “She works for the Wraith, the elestram that saved my life last year. Turillia did, too, but she turned rogue and that’s…well, why don’t I just let Seanada explain herself?”

  The half-succubus regarded Kari for a moment, but quickly found her voice. She spent some time explaining her actions in Sorelizar and on Morikk to the Council. She wouldn’t tell them how she normally went back and forth between worlds, but she held back little else. She talked about the Wraith, about her sister, and even a little about her mallasti family that lived in Sorelizar. There wasn’t much detail there, but Kari was fascinated to hear it again when she wasn’t steeped in distrust. The girl was forthcoming with almost anything asked of her, and somehow, she struck Kari as the type of woman who didn’t bother lying.

  “So, you are here to protect Lady Vanador?” Master Perez asked the woman directly.