She stared at him.
“I’m Talarys. You would have heard of me if we were in my time period, but I doubt that’s the case now,” Talarys said. “Call me Rys for short. I was a general in the Infernal Empire, before it went pop along with all the infernals.”
“Talarys,” Vallis said, sounding out the name. “You know, I actually do recognize the name. I come from a family of merchants and studied history. You’re named after a city.” She paused and her eyes lit up. “Or a city was named after you, actually.”
“Yes. That,” Rys said. “You mentioned we’re on an archipelago. Which archipelago?”
“The Tolaran Archipelago.” Vallis grimaced. “You, uh, probably haven’t heard of it. It was only discovered a century ago. It’s in the middle of nowhere.”
“Northern or southern hemisphere?” Rys asked. She was right. He hadn’t heard of it.
“Northern. East of Pharos, north of Gauron,” she answered.
Pharos and Gauron were the two remaining continents on Harrium, which was the name of this world. Rys had grown up on Gauron, and it had been ruled by the Infernal Empire for most of his life. It was in the southern hemisphere. By contrast, Pharos was in the northern hemisphere and was a much different country. A lot more rice, for one thing.
But knowing the rough location of the archipelago only told Rys he was very far from home. He gestured for Vallis to follow him as his mind churned.
Rys walked toward the castle entrance, or what was left of it. The entire front of the keep had caved in long before he had awoken. Outside stood a grassy meadow lush with unkept greenery. There were few trees in sight, but Rys doubted anybody lived nearby given the state of the meadow. Mountaintops were visible in the distance, along with clouds.
They were high-up. The castle must be up in the mountains.
Vallis followed behind him as he approached that meadow.
“I think we can help each other,” Rys said, keeping his stance relaxed and hands behind his back as he walked.
“Planning to take over the world?” Vallis asked glibly.
“No. That attracts unsavory interest. My aims are simpler for the moment,” he said. “But I don’t like doing things without a power base. You remain free by being strong enough. Right now, I’m alone. Given what nearly happened to you, you don’t seem any better off.”
Vallis scratched the back of her head and looked away with a wince. “I’m surprised you’re asking for my help after what you saw.” Her eyes lingered on the spot where the debt collectors had been vaporized by Rys.
“Sometimes we have to work with what we have,” Rys said drily. “And I consider myself a fairly good judge of character.”
“Do you consider yourself bad at anything?” Vallis asked, before her expression froze. “Uhhh…”
Rys rolled his eyes. “Punishing the insubordinate. I was the ‘soft one’ by infernal standards.”
“You catch more flies with honey?” Vallis smiled.
“No. You deal with the fly problem by training spiders to eat them for you and to stay in their corner, because there are bigger spiders that will happily eat them if they don’t,” Rys said with a smile.
Vallis’s smile stiffened, then relaxed. “Yeah, okay. I can work with that. Worse things get done for stupider reasons. My family history is full of that. My grandfather came here to try to rebuild the family fortune after it was lost due to annoying the wrong people.”
Rys opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted as he slammed into something solid as steel. He swore as pain flared in his head, even though it vanished just as quickly.
“Are you alright? Did you hit a piece of rubble?” Vallis asked, looking at the air and scratching her cheek in confusion.
Rys looked at the place where he had ran into something. His eyes saw nothing. Only empty space. But his hand touched something solid.
Once again, Orthrus made himself known. The glowing orb had followed him. “Your seal is not fully broken. Your powers are sealed away and your movements are restricted to this castle.” The orb’s voice lowered, and he hissed, “We need to speak of important matters. Worry about your schemes for power later.”
Rys waved Vallis off, trying to hide his annoyance at Orthrus’s attempt to order him around. “Wait here. I need to…” Rys trailed off, fumbling for an excuse to find some privacy. “Just wait here. I’ll be back in a second.”
“Forget something in your coffin?” Vallis asked with a crooked smile.
Rys rolled his eyes, but took the excuse. The merchant’s eyes watched him like a hawk. She leaned against a wall, her arms crossed beneath her impressive chest.
The moment she thought he wasn’t watching, she slumped against the wall and closed her eyes. Her body shook, despite her earlier efforts to hide her fear.
Rys decided to ignore her. If she ran off, then he’d make do without her. While a local merchant was useful, a lot had changed in the space of a minute.
Mostly because he was now trapped inside this stupid castle. The idea of taking over the neighboring lands and building a kingdom became less appealing.
Once convinced he was deep enough in the hall that he couldn’t be heard, Rys took additional measures. He drew a ritual circle around himself to block out sound. He then turned to face the wisp, which remained inside the circle.
“Talk,” he said.
“Quite the impertinent one, aren’t you?” Orthrus said, before making a clicking noise. “But I can work with that. As I said earlier, I am Orthrus. I am sealed here, the same as you are. Ever since I regained my awareness, I have been eroding your seal in the hopes that I might give you enough autonomy to free the both of us. That objective is within reach now, after far too many centuries.”
“And what exactly are you, Orthrus?” Rys asked, crossing his arms.
“I do not know,” Orthrus responded. Before Rys objected, the wisp continued, “Surely you’ve noticed the gaps in your own memory by now? The seals actively prevent us from escaping. That includes removing memories that would make it easier for us to escape.”
Rys frowned. He had noticed a few gaps. The most notable being that he didn’t remember how he wound up here. To say nothing of his inability to recall what he had been doing in Basette.
And it wasn’t as though he could simply comb his memories and find the holes. Trying to remember what he couldn’t remember was nonsense.
“I take it you know how to break the seal?” Rys asked.
“In general terms.” The wisp floated around, as if attempting to wave a non-existent hand in the air. “There are two seals. Each is powered by three power conduits within a Labyrinth beneath the archipelago. That Labyrinth is connected to this castle, which is known to most as Castle Aion and is older than you can possibly imagine.”
“I can imagine a lot,” Rys said. Then he frowned. “Are you talking pre-Emergence?”
Orthrus chuckled. It was a strange, hollow sound that gave the impression of bones clacking together. “Sharp, aren’t we? Yes. The Creator of this castle and Labyrinth is beyond ancient. Truly pre-historic. He predates the Emergence of the angels, infernals, and other beings that your memories are so full of. That makes this place special, but also immensely dangerous.”
“Right. So I need to dive into one of the oldest, most dangerous places that exists on the planet, destroy three power conduits, then shatter both of our magical seals. Then I’ll be free to roam the world again and have all of my power back?” Rys smirked. “I know you tried to make this sound hard, but you don’t know the things I’ve done.”
Another chuckle from Orthrus. “True. I look forward to our alliance, young Talarys. There are things I need to show you. But first, I think you need to deal with your ally. Although I don’t see the purpose in wasting time on her.”
“If I’m stuck in this place, then she might prove useful,” Rys said.
As if he cared about the approval of the glowing orb. This entire situation was strange. Why could
Rys break the seals from within them? How did Orthrus know so much about the seals but nothing about himself?
Only an idiot would trust this orb further than he could throw it. And given the orb was intangible, that wasn’t very far. Rys needed to tread carefully around Orthrus.
“Wait, he said to give him some privacy,” Vallis shouted from the castle entrance.
Rys looked over to see Vallis and another woman walking toward him.
That woman looked nothing like anyone Rys had seen in his long life. She had four massive black fox tails, a pair of fox ears on top of her head, and wore a tight-fitting black and white outfit that looked like something from the rice-growing continent of Pharos.
She stopped short of Rys and glared at the magical circle around his feet. Her jet-black hair fell down to her shoulders and her piercing blue eyes burned into him with unexpected fire. Her outfit was short enough to reveal muscly pale-skinned thighs. Thick black-leather combat boots covered her calves, and a pair of black socks extended farther over her knees. She’d be intimidating if Rys didn’t have a foot on her.
Her race was unfamiliar to Rys. Maybe it had something to do with why she glared at him so ferociously. Her exotic beauty shined through despite her attitude, and he felt a strange urge to plunge his hands into those massive fluffy tails of hers.
The fox-lady prevented Vallis from getting close to Rys by physically holding her back.
“You told me he was an infernalist, Vallis. Not a literal infernal. Who and what are you, devil?” the fox-lady spat, glaring at Rys as blue flames flickered along her fingertips.
Chapter 2
“If you have a bodyguard like her, how did you nearly get killed by thugs?” Rys asked Vallis, ignoring the implied threat from the fox-lady in front of him.
Vallis winced and rubbed the back of her neck. She had cleaned out the grass and twigs from her hair since they last spoke.
“Don’t ignore me,” the fox-lady said, her black fox ears twitching. The flames in her fingers grew, covering most of her hands.
Rys frowned, realizing that whatever relationship Vallis shared with the fox, it wasn’t a subordinate one.
He still didn’t know what she was. The flames in her hands were magical, but they weren’t the sort of magic that most races could use. Unlike the horned humans from earlier, her body exuded magic, particularly those big balls of fluff sticking out from her ass.
“I’m not an infernal. I’m human, in fact. I’m Rys. Are you going to introduce yourself or continue to threaten the person who saved Vallis’s life?” Rys said.
The fox winced and looked away. The flames vanished a moment later.
“Fara, Rys saved my life,” Vallis said with a huff. “Try to be a little nicer.”
“Your life wouldn’t have needed saving if you let me protect you,” the fox, Fara, growled as her fierce gaze turned on Vallis. “I swore to protect your family after your grandfather saved my life. You can run around and turn yourself into this infernal’s pet in a few years, after I get my fifth tail, but until then I’d prefer if you were less of a brat.”
Vallis glared back at Fara. Both women showed no signs of backing down. When Vallis remembered Rys’s presence, she even walked around Fara and stood next to him.
“This is an opportunity,” Vallis said, puffing out her chest. “I’ve spent my entire adult life buried under my father’s debts. Rys incinerated those debt collectors. You should have felt his power.”
“I can feel his power,” Fara muttered, her eyes flickering between Vallis and Rys. “That’s the problem.”
Vallis faltered for a moment, before looking up at Rys. She licked her lips, then stared back at Fara in defiance.
“You still haven’t told me your name,” Rys said, aware that he’d overheard Fara’s name.
The fox rolled her eyes. “My name is Fara, as Vallis said. And I’m unconvinced that you’re human. I can sense your soul and the horrendous state it is in. Plenty of infernalists have come to the archipelago over the decades, and none have felt as tainted as you.”
“You explained my background, didn’t you, Vallis?” Rys said with a raised eyebrow.
Fara interrupted before Vallis said anything, “She did, and it makes no sense.”
“Then humor me,” Rys said.
Frowning, Fara fell silent.
“Well, uh, how about we talk about the current situation?” Vallis said with a cough. “You walked off earlier.”
Fara raised an eyebrow but said nothing. She merely crossed her arms.
“We were talking about working together. It sounds like you’re interested,” Rys said.
Vallis frowned. She opened her mouth to say something, before closing it. A regretful expression crossed her face, before changing to resignation.
Her earlier spat with Fara had given away Vallis’s intentions. A good merchant wouldn’t show her hand so early, and it did make Rys hesitant about a deal.
On the other hand, he found himself lacking options. The seal bound him to the castle. If he refused Vallis, he might not receive friendly help from a local for a long time.
Or friendly-ish help, in the case of Fara.
“I am interested,” Vallis admitted after a long pause. “I have investments and a business, but they are…”
“Collateral for a debt?” Rys suggested.
“Yes.” Vallis said. “As I said earlier, my grandfather came here to rebuild the family fortune. He succeeded, but my father inherited the family stupidity. Now I’m trying to dig myself out of a hole I was thrown into. Fara usually deters the violent debt collectors, as mystic foxes terrify most people.”
“What makes an alliance with me special, then?” Rys asked. “I have my own ideas, but tell me yourself.”
Fara’s eyes narrowed. All eyes and ears focused on Vallis, who rubbed the back of her neck.
“I don’t know if I should believe your talk about being from a thousand years ago,” Vallis said. “I don’t think it matters. You killed the debt collectors without blinking. Your magic is at least as powerful as Fara’s, which makes you the most powerful mage for hundreds of miles.”
That fact nearly raised Rys’s eyebrows, but he maintained a neutral mask. The point was to test Vallis and see if she was more than a pretty face with a dangerous bodyguard.
“I’ve tried a lot of things to pay off these debts,” she continued. “But the people my father took loans from want me out of business. They don’t want my money. With your help, I think things will be different.”
“In other words, you want the backing of somebody powerful,” Rys said.
Fara scowled at the summary and was about to say something.
“Yes,” Vallis said, ignoring her bodyguard. Fara stared at Vallis.
“That’s smart. When the odds are stacked against you, there’s no shame in accepting help,” Rys said. “I needed a lot of help to rise to power. Nobody is weak because they received a helping hand in life.”
A smile rose on Vallis’s face. She raised a hand, palm open.
Rys stopped her. “We can shake on it after I tell you what I’m after. You might not like it. I mean, look around you. It’s not like I have a palace or anything.”
The ruined castle loomed over them. The layers of dust reminded him that nobody had been here for months, save for the debt collectors. Had they decided to use this place on a whim, knowing that nobody came here? A great place to hide a body, or some misdeeds.
“I’d be happy if you offer an awful deal,” Fara said.
Vallis jabbed the fox in the side. Fara’s tails whirled about wildly as she jumped, as if they helped her maintain her balance.
“My interest is simple: the Labyrinth. There’s power down there that I want. You can worry about outside. I’ll deal with the castle and everything below,” Rys explained. “Given the age of this place, anything we find will be worth its weight in gold.”
“More,” Vallis said, raising an eyebrow as she gave Rys a lopsided
smile. “You realize you’re trying to sell food to the hungry, don’t you? I’ve wanted to break into the artifact market for years. The Labyrinth is the most dangerous place in the archipelago, and nobles from the continents buy everything brought up from it.”
“Then why haven’t you? You have her,” he said, nodding at Fara.
“You have no idea how dangerous the Labyrinth is,” Fara said sharply.
Rys frowned. “I’ll see for myself later then. But I’m going down there.”
“I believe you,” Vallis said, before Fara sniped at him again. “Do we shake now? Because if you’re supplying me with artifacts, then this is probably the best deal I’ll make in my life.”
Fara glared at Vallis. “It might be the last deal. Shaking hands with an infernal will bind you to its will for life.”
“For the last time, I’m human,” Rys muttered.
He shook hands with Vallis. No eternal contract bound her to his will for all eternity.
Rys could have done that, but he chose not to. Fara was already suspicious of him.
“Great,” Vallis said. She jumped back and the motion did interesting things to her chest. “I’ll head into town and grab my things. This place could use some sprucing up, and I need to quell any rumors about my untimely demise.”
“We’ll be back—” Fara began to say, following the other woman.
“Fara, you stay here,” Vallis said, pushing the fox away.
Fara blinked at her in confusion. When the fox looked at Rys, he shrugged in response.
“You’re heading into the Labyrinth, aren’t you?” Vallis said with a raised eyebrow. “Take her with you.”
“You’re going back alone?” Fara growled.
“The debt collectors are gone. Nobody will touch me for a while,” Vallis said. “And I’d rather you prevent my new investment from getting lost down below. See you soon.”
Vallis ran out the front of the castle. Still in the castle, Fara fumed. Her tails fanned out behind her.
Several long moments passed. Rys waited for Fara to run after her friend, but that didn’t happen.
Demon's Throne Page 2