Red Queen

by Jolie Jaquinta

  Chapter 31

  Paragon

  “Are you very sure?” asked Queen Jesca of her Spymaster. They sat in her smallest receiving room. The appointments were comfortable, but minimal. The magical security was intense, however. Jesca could feel it in her bones, resonating with the many magical contingencies she was required to carry by her position. She had no public engagements that morning and just wore a close fitting tunic in the red that favored her hair.

  He paused, considered, and nodded. “Their stories are consistent in the right details for them to be accurate.” He sat opposite her at the small table. A piece of parchment with summarized information rolled out. He wore his usual muted earth tones and looked at her directly, from tired eyes. “Normally I'd consider that suspect. A setup. But their confessions are corroborated independently by other information I've managed to find.”

  Jesca started intently at the parchment. “This is why they never made mistakes.” Her world had spun ninety degrees after reading this parchment. Like a dirty mirror that was freshly wiped. She felt she was now seeing things for what they truly were.

  “Yes”, said Jack. “They brought a wizard into their faction who was willing to summon a paragon for the price they offered.”

  “A paragon”, said Jesca, re-reading a section. “A demon specialist. Obsessively focused on a specific skill. A perfect artisan.” Perfection. They really did just do everything right. No super weapon. No hidden spell. Just perfect use of the meager resources they had to maximum result.

  “My conjecture”, said Jack “is that a paragon is an aggregate entity made up of the souls of experts.”

  “So they summoned a War Paragon to counter Scioni.” She placed both hands on the table taking it in. “I'd not be surprised if all the best generals of history are in hell.” That's how they outsmarted The General, and ran rings around her. The best minds in warfare. Solely focused on their demise.

  “A general without morals. Whose only real objective is to prolong the game as long as possible.” He shook his head. “It seemed to be running the show more than their council was in the end.”

  “You sound almost sorry for them,” said Jesca. “That's quite unlike you.” She had never detected a trace of sentiment in Jack before. No matter the atrocity he was analyzing. If his guard was this far down he must be really tired.

  “Yes”, admitted Jack. “They're broken. They confessed fully and readily. I think they were somewhat relieved that it was over.”

  “Many atrocities have been committed for their vanity”, Jesca said firmly. “It has to end. Now.” The mirror was clear. She saw everything she was ever going to see in it. Now that the past was understood and the present perfectly explained, it was time to forge the future.

  Jack sighed deeply. “It will be hard. We now know what we're up against. The collective knowledge it has and ability it has shown... Even Scioni...”

  She thrust a finger at the parchment. “You say we do not know which paragon was summoned. We can't isolate the individual demon. But we do know what satrap it is from, yes?” They had been at war with the wrong enemy. It was time to correct that.

  “Yes”, said Jack. “The demonologist they recruited specialized in summoning from the Halphas satrapy. its domain is indicated...”

  “How accurate is this map?” asked Jesca.

  “I think it is fanciful at best. I included it only to represent a general political standing of the demons. The sources I examined are consistent, but most likely because they all have a common origin.”

  “Good enough”, said Jesca. “As long as we can get to the right satrapy.”

  Jack looked at her with growing alarm. “What are you thinking?”

  “We have a policy. We have plans to support that policy. It's time to use them.”

  “You're speaking of our war with the gods?” asked Jack.

  “I'm talking about our plans to take the war to the gods”, she said, running her finger over the map of hell. It didn't matter how fanciful it was. If it really did reflect the political relationships, that's what was important. Friends close, enemies closer. “Have you got a larger version of this?”

  “We're not ready yet to take the war to the gods”, said Jack.

  “Absolutely correct”, said Jesca. She looked up at him. “But I think we're ready to take the war to the demons. They're smaller, fractious, no collective pantheons, and their particular practice of soul enslavement is even more despicable than the gods.” She smiled at him. “We should have thought of this years ago.” After all the worry, the tension, the stress, she finally had a clear path. It felt good. She wanted to laugh, to cheer, but that might push Jack over the edge.

  Jack looked from the parchment to her and back. “We've never engaged our forces in a different dimension.”

  “No, but everything we've done leads up to that”, said Jesca, starting to pace. “All the equipment we've researched tactics we've developed, the gates, the swords; our whole army is designed with that in mind. This is just a stepping stone in our war with the gods. And: bonus, it solves the war we've been bogged down in here.”

  “Will our magic work to reach the demon's dimension?” asked Jack.

  “It should, from what I understand”, said Jesca. “I'll confirm that with the mages. That's the next step. Then the generals. Then we strike.” She stopped and looked at him with her full attention. “Jack. Thank you.” She meant it from the bottom of her heart.

  “It is my duty, Majestus”, he said, after a pause, and bowed.

  “I have received a lot of criticism for retaining you after you let a copy of the Biblica Hexapla slip out of our hands”, she started.

  “Not an hour passes where I do not seek to amend that”, interrupted Jack.

  “I know” Jesca said, cutting across him. “This is why I do not accede to my critics. It was your mistake. But you are also our best chance of getting it back before it gets disseminated. I know you understand it may be what's between us and a second cataclysm.” He looked at her grimly. “But you have done your duty, and you have given Romitu the information it needs to progress its agenda. Right now that is much more important to me.”

  “I am Romitu's servant”, he said, quietly. “I will get the map you need, and my other sources on the demons.”

  “No”, said Jesca, holding up her hand. “You have done your duty. It is time for me to do mine. If our enemy has the wisdom of every damned general of history, then we have to assume he can second guess our every move. It will always surpass us at strategic planning. The longer we take to assimilate this information the more we play into its hands. We have to act. We have to act now.” She slammed her fist into her hand. Then she dropped her hands and smiled back at him. “Get some sleep, Jack. You look like you need it. On your way out send in my herald. I need the mages and generals assembled as fast as possible.” Jack bowed once deeply and left.