by John Hook
“Howdy, boss. Didn't want to start the party without you.”
I turned to the larger demon, obviously a king demon for this race. He opened his mouth, showing his multiple rows of needle-like teeth. His words, as expected, were from inside my head.
“As you can see, if you want to save your people, you will surrender now.”
“What do you plan to do with us?” I asked.
“We have been told the Angels want you.”
“Oh, well, don't worry then. We are on our way to see them.”
“I will not fall for your tricks.”
“Oh, you must be the smart one.”
“Yes, I am. You will surrender to me and I will let these other worthless ones go. If not, we will kill you all.”
“Surrender to you?”
“Yes, we have heard you are very powerful, but I am big. That is why I am the king of these demons.”
“Of course.”
I walked up in front of the demon king and sat down cross-legged opposite him. I could feel his tentacle slip around me with a crushing grip, followed by the buzzing of the mild paralytic effect. However, most of my attention was being directed inward. I reached out with my energy, as had become almost automatic for me. I found the demon king's energy. It was dark and thick, having very little movement. I began to wrap it with my energy and as I did, it started flowing, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Several times I sensed the demon king saying something in my head, but I didn't pay attention. I focused on the energy. Finally, both patterns of energy had complementary harmonics.
I thought about the island with the torn sky and, suddenly, I and the sea demon king were sitting there across from each other. His eyes bulged in fear as glowing matter spewed down from the gap in the sky above us.
“Wh–where are we? What have you done?”
“You serve the Angels. I thought you might like to see where they live.”
“What is that in the sky?”
“Ah, that. See, they can't really live in this world, so they’re tearing it apart.”
“But what will happen to us?”
“What do you think will happen to you if they tear apart the world?”
“The Angel said we would be rewarded.”
I shrugged. “What do you expect the Angel to tell you? Of course she lied. But look! The gap in the sky doesn't lie.”
I had to work hard not to laugh. The demon king was in a full-out panic. He never once questioned his senses or what role I might have had in his perceptions.
“What can we do?”
“I can stop the Angel. I am your only hope.”
“No. The Angel said I have to keep you a prisoner.”
“That's no longer a choice for you.” I started to fade from his view like a ghost. His panic increased. “I can simply leave you here to explain to the Angel how you let me get away.”
“No, wait, stop! Don't leave me here.”
I faded back in.
“Then free my people and leave my boat. I can stop the Angel, but we don't have much time.
Sea demons were no different than the other tribes. Watching them try to think through a problem was painful.
“Do it now or it will be too late!” I barked. Authority the demons understood. We were back in Kate's cabin. All the demons had let go of us and were following the king up the stairs and over the side into the water. We could hear the splashes as they slid down the side of the hull into the water. They weren't big splashes, more like they were simply swallowed up by the water.
We watched from the deck as they swam away.
“What happened?” Blaise asked. “It looked like the two of you just had a stare-down and suddenly he bolts.”
“I used the dreaming to show him a different reality, one that scared him.”
Saripha put her hand on my shoulder.
“Be careful, Quentin. Your power has very nearly fully awakened. It's a dangerous power because it can change reality.”
“Or just scare demons.”
“Just be careful. Please.”
“I promise, Saripha. I don't take this lightly and it still makes me uncomfortable.”
It took a short period of time and some of Saripha’s potions to work off the paralytic influence of the demon’s tentacles. We then turned our attention fully to getting back. We hauled up and secured the lifeboat and worked the sails, watching them fill with wind. Kate had kept careful track of how we had gotten here and steered us back. She knew the stretch of deserted beach between the Mountain and the fishing village so we wouldn't have to deal with the villagers again. It did mean we had to jump into the surf because she couldn't bring the ship in far enough and without a crew she couldn't retrieve the lifeboat if we took it. We offered to stay with her while she found a new crew, but she told us she would be fine and we believed her. She offered again to give back the short sword, but I told her she had earned it.
From the beach we could see the top of the Mountain and used that as a landmark for where we wanted to go. We decided that first we needed to return to Zaccora. We would need our forces there again for the siege of Antanaria. I would then have to make a side trip to Chadikar. I felt strongly that what Guido had referred to as his army was important, even if I hadn't figured out what that meant. Then again, it could have been just part of a fever dream as Adaxa opened my power. However, I was going to continue to treat it as important and, when I did find this “army,” I assumed things would happen fast. Hence, wanting to have Roland and Kyo ready to go first.
The trip to Zaccora was long, if uneventful. When we arrived, we found Roland at his usual watch point across from the other half of Zaccora.
“Miss me?”
Roland looked at me. “You had Blaise and Kyo with you. Of course I missed you.”
“Anything happen we should know about?”
“Not as far as I can tell. I've had a regular rotation of scouts keeping their eyes on Antanaria. They certainly turned up the heat there, looking for Adaxa and Lazitar. They must have tossed every dwelling and casino in the city. They didn't find her, but then things just quieted down again. They left guards in the street to keep watch.”
“In case she's hiding.”
“Sure. They figure, if she is, she has to come out sometime.”
“What kind of guards in the streets?”
“Mostly Shirks.”
“Tells me they know they are probably gone.”
“Hard to depend on Shirks, from what I've seen.”
“Anything new from Zaraboro?”
“As predicted, they are keeping to themselves. Haven't seen anything of their Shade, Zara.”
“She may be in Chadikar, which could be my next problem. I'll worry about that later.”
“So what exactly are we doing?”
“Kind of the same plan as before. I have a way to free Guido. I think.”
“You think?” Roland looked skeptical.
“Well, I've been told I have the power to do it.”
“Did they tell you how?”
“Not exactly. I'll have to figure it out when I get there.”
“You mean, like when we attacked the demon king?”
“And look how well that went.”
Roland looked at Kyo.
Kyo gave him a shrug. “It's a little late to decide not to follow Quentin's lead at this point. We're probably all at risk. We might as well be in the middle of it.”
Roland then looked at Saripha. “We're rescuing Guido. I'm the wrong person to ask to talk us out of it.”
“You think he can do this. Dumb luck or not, I don't think any of you would go along with this if you didn't think there was a reasonable chance of success.”
Izzy stepped in. “It's magic. Like me, Roland, you’re more confident with science and engineering where you have firm rules of evidence. However, the people who know magic—Adaxa, Saripha and Azar—think he can do it. I've seen enough, I'm willing to go along with it even if I am out
of my element.”
'We don't have much time,” I broke in. “I need to free Guido because the sword is almost completed.”
“What happens then?”
“Roland, I don't know. I have to stop either my girlfriend or the Angel from using it. Other than that, I don't know. I just know I need to free Guido first.”
Roland nodded.
“Okay, no point in talking this to death when we know we’re going to end up trusting you. Kyo, pull your troops together and I'll pull mine. Blaise, I'd like to leave you and Taka in charge of the small force we'll leave here.”
“Saripha, do you want to travel with us?” Kyo asked.
“I'm staying with Quentin in case I can be of any help freeing Kanarchan.”
Izzy gave Anika a hug and a kiss. “I'm staying with Quentin, too. You go with Kyo.”
We watched the others depart to take up their tasks. The two columns of troops, Roland’s Zaccorans and Kyo's Rockvale force, would make their way to the desert and take up positions outside Antanaria. I had never seen any evidence that the flying horsemen took note of anything outside the city. The troops would be careful about getting too close and would use scouts to keep an eye on things. Once they saw any sign that Guido had been freed, they would then rush in and secure the city.
“So we're off to Chadikar?” Izzy strapped his arrows a bit tighter.
“That's the underground city you told me about?” Saripha asked.
“The one we got to by falling down a huge mine shaft,” Izzy added.
“That would be the one.”
“Do we actually know how to get there?”
I grinned. “No, but we know someone who does.”
18.
We landed in the large square in the middle of Chadikar. We had been transported by Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Half the time we never knew where the Azaroti were keeping themselves, but they had a habit of popping up when we needed them. Since they had spent time here before, we figured they would know how to teleport here.
“How come I can't do that with all this dreaming power I have?”
The Azaroti just stared back at me blankly as they always did.
“You don't actually know that you can't,” Izzy commented.
“I guess. They forgot to leave instruction manuals with the platforms.”
“You never read the manual anyway.”
“I never cared for nonfiction.”
The plaza suddenly lit up in an orange glow. Yarwalli, the fire monkey demons, poured in from all directions. And I do mean all directions. They not only came in numbers down every street and alley, they also jumped down from rooftops and out of windows for those buildings that had more than one floor. They were excited, chittering and whooping as they always did, but they made no moves that seemed aggressive. On the other hand, they had us surrounded and handily outnumbered. They stopped just short of us in all directions, and the lead Yarwalli tilted their heads slightly, staring at us.
I turned to ask Tweedledum and Tweedledee if they could transport us past the Yarwalli, but they had already vanished. I turned back to the monkey demons. They were such odd creatures that it was hard not to stare back. They seemed to be made entirely of fire, but whatever kind of fire it was, it didn't generate a lot of heat even when so many stood together. Their bodies were translucent. You could see their organs, although they were also semi-translucent, and you could see whatever was on the other side of them. Although they were at times as playful as the monkeys they physically resembled, they could also be formidable. First, they swarmed in such numbers that it was difficult to fight them. We had watched Knightshade try. Second, as we also observed in that battle, if you damaged them, they were as likely to split into two demons. It was a very odd variation of turning into a proto. Each segment of the monkey could turn into a new monkey.
I looked at the Yarwalli nearest me. They were all just staring. None of them projected words into our heads.
“Can we enter the city?”
“That's a question you'll have to ask me.”
I turned to see Zara landing on her carpet of fire. Saripha ran over to her and gave her a hug in greeting.
“Zara, it's good to see you. I was sorry we couldn’tsay goodbye before.”
“I like the peace of this place. I can figure out our plan to attack the Angels.”
“The Yarwalli seem very devoted to you,” I noted.
“Why are you here?”
I wasn't sure how much I wanted to tell her. I needed a lie that contained a bit of the truth.
“I'm looking for something, some clue Guido or the council might have left, that would help me free Guido.”
“I don't care about Guido. He abandoned me, too.”
Saripha interrupted us. “I care about Guido, Zara. There is nothing more important to me than this. We will not disturb you. We just need to look.”
“What do I get from helping you?”
“Zara, what is it that you want?”
“I want to join in the fight for the sword. I want to stop the Angels.”
This was sounding dangerous to me. “Zara, we don't even know yet exactly how we use the sword against the Angels. I thought you said you had trouble working with us.”
“I do. I need to be my own free agent. I have my own army now, these monkey demons, more than willing to take up the fight against the Angels. What I don't need is to have to depend on others before I can act. I will be your ally, but I will make my own decisions.”
I shook my head. “Zara, allies consult with each other before acting on their own.”
“Consult, yes. But I reserve the right to act on my own if I disagree with the course you’re taking.”
I started to object, but Saripha stopped me. She didn't say anything, obviously because Zara was listening, but it was clear she was running this negotiation.
Saripha turned back to Zara, smiling. “We will include you in our fight with the Angels and the sword. You have our word.”
“What about you, Quentin?”
“Sure,” I said, letting a little grouchiness show through.
“Sure what?” Zara demanded.
A bunch of different things rose up in my head to say, but I didn't let any of them get to my tongue. I owed Saripha to give her this one.
“We will consult with you as we move against the Angels and the sword.”
“Good, we’re clear then.”
“We are that.” I nodded. I resisted the urge to salute.
“I’ll take the Yarwalli and go prepare for the battle. And keep watch on things. Do what you need here, but remember... this city belongs to us.”
Zara floated out of the city, followed by all the Yarwalli swarming as if they were attached to Zara with strings and she was pulling them all with her. At last, Saripha, Izzy and I stood alone in the semi-darkness. There was still the glow of the lava river and a scattering of lava lamps about the city. It was enough to see without my having to illuminate my tattoos.
“Thank you, Quentin,” Saripha said with warmth. “I know that was hard.”
“I trust you, Saripha, and right now I'll do anything to help you, but I think it's a very dangerous deal we just made.”
“But we got what we wanted.”
“There is that.”
“It's really the same deal we made with her before, she just reframed the terms. She's going to do what she's going to do no matter what we want.”
“That's what I'm afraid of.”
Saripha shrugged. “We can't change that. She may do something disastrous, but maybe we can know about it a little beforehand. It's really all we can do.”
“What are we looking for now?” Izzy asked.
“We're looking for Guido's army.”
“And that isn't the monkeys?” Izzy motioned in the direction in which they fled.
“I don't think so. We've seen no reason to consider them his and the rumors are that this is a hidden army.”
“And they're here
?”
That's what Dream-Guido said to me when Adaxa was powering me up.”
“Oh, well, that's a reliable piece of information then.”
“Yeah, that's what I figured.”
“So where do we start?”
“Come on, I have an idea.”
I walked over to one of the buildings arranged along the square and went in. I recognized it from the last time we were in Chadikar. Of course, the last time, Tweedledee and Tweedledum transported us to where I was going. I walked to the back of the building and found a staircase going down. I went down and found a darker hallway. I raised the glow on my tattoos and made my way to the back. Izzy and Saripha were close behind. Finally, through an archway we stepped down into the room I traveled to once in my mind to meet with Guido.
“Doesn't look like enough room to hide an army.” Izzy looked around.
“We've been over this room many times, Quentin,” Saripha added. “I don't think we've missed anything.”
“Probably not, but I can't help thinking Guido went out of his way to point us to this place.”
“There's one place you haven't looked yet.” Izzy looked at me slyly, like he had the answer to a riddle I had been stumped by.
“What do you mean...?” And then it came to me. I walked past Izzy, giving him a pat on the shoulder, and went to the small hallway at the back of the chamber. I turned and there it was. The door. What had either Tweedledee or Tweedledum said? It was a door to everywhere. We knew now that these doors opened into a vast cavern system that formed tunnels between the ancient cities. Some were natural and some had been carved out. But what if it wasn't about where this door led but rather what was on the other side of the door?
Opening the doors was now pretty routine. I turned inward, focused on my energy, and merged it with the door. The handle turned and there was a hiss of air as the seal was broken and the door popped out. I swung the heavy door aside and stepped into the darkness. I stood, letting my eyes adjust before raising my own illumination. Izzy and Saripha joined me.