The Devil's Deuce (The Barrier War)

by Brian J Moses

  Garnet and Danner quickly stood, saluted to show a respect they did not feel, then followed Birch.

  “Good, you followed me,” Birch said as they walked into the hallway. The Gray paladin was standing calmly in the middle of the hallway. His arms were crossed, and despite the customary sternness etched into his face, Birch looked for all the world like a man completely at his ease and not someone who’d thrown a flaming sword across the room two minutes before.

  “We need to talk immediately,” Birch said. “There are things going on within me I obviously can’t explain to the Council, and some things I’m beginning to suspect that I most certainly can’t tell the Council outright.”

  “Let’s go to the Shadow Company camp,” Garnet said. “They’ll make sure we’re not interrupted, and whatever this is, I have the feeling I’m going to want Marc’s input.”

  “Very well,” Birch replied, now showing an impatience Danner had never seen in his uncle. His voice didn’t even seem the same. “Summon your father and the other paladins of his jintaal, as well.”

  A sudden suspicion dawned on Danner.

  “Are you still my uncle?” he asked.

  “In a manner of speaking,” Birch replied, and now his voice was totally alien. “For the moment, I’m something much more than just your uncle, but he has knowledge to impart, and our time is limited. So don’t dawdle, mortal.”

  - 2 -

  When they were all assembled in the denarae camp, Birch immediately took control of the meeting. Present were Trebor and the paladin officers of Shadow Company, plus James, Garet, Nuse, and Perklet, the surviving members of the jintaal that had accompanied Birch to hunt The Three. Birch had also asked that Moreen and Hoil be present, and they sat between the two sets of paladins. Birch’s brother and Moreen had been helping to keep the soldiers fed and their wounds cared for.

  The denarae had secured the surrounding block of buildings in every direction, and they were actively probing the night with their kything talents to ensure no one came within earshot of the meeting. Night was falling, casting long shadows held at bay only by several campfires and torches scattered about the area. Sin shone alone in the sky, its first night on a waning decline following the previous evening’s full Ice Moon. San was just beginning to wax from a new moon and was nowhere in sight.

  “First off, I will tell you I am still the same man whom you have all come to know, but rather not only myself,” Birch said, thankfully in his own voice. “The apparition you saw earlier, Trebor and Danner, was a manifestation of the demon Kaelus, who has been living inside of me since before I returned from Hell. Over the past months, I’ve felt his presence within me intensifying, I just didn’t know what was happening to me. My strength, my awareness and perceptions, and I’m certain I can understand the immortal tongue… all things you have no doubt experienced yourself in one form or another, Danner, with your mixed heritage of mortal and immortal blood.”

  Birch paused and took a deep breath, sorting his thoughts.

  “Right now, Kaelus’s awareness is merged with mine, so I must apologize for any strange behavior you may see. His thoughts and nature are alien to me, and it’s more confusing than you could ever know to keep things straight,” Birch said. “That explosion of temper was more from him than me, but be assured, he means no harm to any of us, least of all me, upon whom he has depended for his very survival and his liberation.” Birch breathed deeply and closed his eyes for a moment, then he looked at them and resumed speaking.

  “Like me, Kaelus was a prisoner in Hell, but he has been incarcerated there since the days following the Great Schism and the dawn of Lokka’s creation. The immortals originally had only a discarnate existence, some with greater power and awareness than others. Slowly the immortals took physical form based on their natures, and Kaelus had the misfortune of being created similar to those who would call themselves demons. The two coexisted peacefully for an immeasurable time, but when the Great Schism began, Kaelus was drawn in with the other demons. We might call them his kin, but such words have little meaning in their existence. Like his fellows, he created and altered his body to its current demon-like appearance, but unlike them, he did not turn his heart toward evil and Satan.

  “I say heart, but even that is insufficient,” Birch said, frowning. “In the beginning, all of existence consisted of that which was from God and that which was from His opposite. Even born of the stuff of Satan, it was Kaelus’s entire nature, what the immortals call their āyus,[29] which rejected the evilness of his companions. But being so surrounded, he hesitated to confront his fellows and openly reject their ways. Another who was like him, Abdiel, did speak up and was immediately destroyed by those who had once been his companions. Despite his power, Kaelus held his peace, waiting for a time to flee and rejoin those who had aligned themselves under God.

  “When Heaven and Hell were created as separate divisions of the original whole of the immortal plane, he tried at the last moment to break free and cross back to Heaven, but it was too late, and then his true nature was revealed. He was imprisoned by the King of Hell and held there for millennia.”

  They stared at Birch-Kaelus in amazement, stunned at what they were hearing. That Kaelus was a demon was admitted. But a good demon? The concept ran against everything they thought natural in the world.

  If a demon can be good, can an angel be evil? Danner thought to himself.

  “I’m still having trouble remembering everything,” Birch said, frowning in frustration. “Some of this is so clear, but for the rest it’s like trying to remember the placement of grains of sand on a beach. I know now that Kaelus was freed by someone, and somehow he was placed inside of me, and that this whole thing was somehow a condition and piece of my own escape. But I can’t remember…”

  “Birch,” James said softly. “I think perhaps I can help you. Give me your deck of Dividha cards.”

  “My cards? Why?” Birch asked.

  “Just do it.”

  Birch retrieved his deck of cards from the bottom of a sack of clothes and bedding Moreen had brought for him. He handed the deck to James, who quickly shuffled through until he’d removed several cards.

  “Who is this?” James asked, flipping over one card. It was one of the three sixes of the Hell suite; one of The Three. James’s thumb was conveniently covering up the name under the picture, but Danner already knew the answer before Birch replied, even as he knew the card would be physically identical to the other two like it. The picture was a perfect replica of the true form of The Three, which Danner had seen twice before at the two deaths he’d witnessed. The smooth, bark-like skin was rendered in excruciatingly accurate detail, and having faced two of the demons already, Danner was unnerved by the thought that the tiny drawing might suddenly leap off the card and attack him.

  “That is Ran,” Birch said. James moved his thumb and revealed he was correct.

  “And this?” James asked, flipping over the two of Hell: The Devil’s Deuce.

  “That’s Kaelus,” Birch said in a whisper. The picture was a life-like representation of what the spectral demon Danner had seen would undoubtedly look like if it was given flesh. The face, the bull’s horns, the broken and blackened shackles on his wrists, the fiery eyes… all were identical to the figure Danner had seen earlier that day issuing from his uncle’s mouth.

  And now Danner knew where he’d seen the demon before. Months ago, he’d played Dividha with his uncle while they were on the road to Demar after they’d first fled from the Men for Mankind Coalition in Marash. What seemed like a lifetime ago, Birch had been dealt the Devil’s Deuce on their final hand of the game.

  “What is this?” Garet asked.

  “Just a moment,” James replied. “Now I’d be willing to bet that each and every one of these cards looks exactly like the immortal demon, or angel for that matter, which it’s supposed to represent. The King of Hell no doubt looks exactly like he does on this card,” James said, flipping the card over and causing
Birch to flinch slightly, “except that his face is obscured. And despite the lack of distinction, Birch was able to correctly identify which of The Three I’d shown him. There’s something special about this deck, which is unlike any other I’ve seen. No deck represents Kaelus thus bound,” he said, pointing to the shackles on the demon image’s wrists.

  “So what does this mean?” Hoil asked. “What’s this got to do with my brother?”

  “This,” James said, and turned the last card he’d removed from the deck. He didn’t flip it in his hand, but instead flung it to the ground face-up as though loathe to touch it. The card spun and drifted lazily until it innocuously settled face-up and lay perfectly flat on the ground. Birch recoiled from the card as though struck, then settled down but refused to look at the card. Moreen immediately went to his side and spoke to him in a low voice. The rest of them peered closely until they read the name emblazoned beneath the terribly vivid picture.

  “Satan!” Danner exclaimed.

  They stared at the card in an awful silence, confused and afraid of what James could possibly mean.

  “I don’t understand,” Moreen said at last.

  “Birch does now,” James said. “Don’t you, Birch? Before, when we were sailing toward Den-Furral and Wein asked you whether or not you saw the face of your ‘mysterious benefactor,’ whoever it was who set you free and healed you, you said you didn’t remember who it was. You said you made a deal, which you knew was not unconscionable but you still didn’t know the details. And then I looked in your eyes. You remember?”

  “I remember,” Birch whispered.

  “I saw something there,” James said, and he shuddered at the memory. “I looked into your eyes and saw not just the Hellish torments we usually see when we look in, but I saw a face there, because you were thinking of it and remembering it on an inner level of thought, or perhaps Kaelus was remembering it, and it was through his eyes I saw. Regardless, I saw a face there, and I knew it was the face of whoever had rescued you. And it scared me.

  “You can only imagine my shock and terror when I borrowed your deck of cards to play a game with Vander, and I was dealt that card and recognized the image thereon. I also discovered that you can’t remember what the face looks like the instant after you take your eyes from the card, just like I couldn’t remember what I’d seen in your eyes a moment after it happened.”

  Danner looked away from the card and found this was true. The image from the card was only a vague impression in his mind with no significant details. He could no more describe the picture to someone else than he could tell that same person the weight of the world. He looked at the card again and shuddered at the vivid detail it contained, then looked away and couldn’t even remember what colors were on the card.

  “But when I saw the card, I knew,” James said, continuing. “I remembered, and I put a name to the face. It was Satan, Birch. It was Satan who helped you, and Satan with whom you made a deal to escape from Hell.”

  And now Birch did remember, at least in part. He remembered a dream - a memory - he’d had months ago, a dream that had left him trembling in a cold sweat and feeling haunted by a lingering sensation of horror. He remembered now with terrifying detail.

  - 3 -

  “Is it agreed?” the Voice asked.

  He probed the darkness only he could see. For the third time in a month, they had cut his eyes with their demonic claws, blood seeping from each socket after an agonizing descent into darkness. Twice before he had stubbornly prayed and received healing for his destroyed eyes, and twice again they had blinded him.

  He took comfort in the darkness for a time until he summoned the strength to heal himself again. That comfort had disappeared with the sudden presence of the Voice and the promises it made him. The Voice was somehow familiar, and he had the wild idea they might have spoken before, if he could just place it…

  “You promise to free me?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “You will heal me?”

  “Completely.”

  “You will help me to escape?”

  “No one will know of your disappearance until it is too late to stop you, and I will look after you every step of the way,” the Voice replied. “The path out will still be arduous and long, but I promise you will survive. You’re of no use to me dead.” The words were liquid and velvety in his ears, with promises hidden between promises and words within words. His head spun, but he fought to maintain an even mind amidst the smooth words.

  “Why are you helping me? Who are you?”

  “There is a balance to be maintained, mortal, and you will help bring about that balance,” the Voice replied after a moment’s pause. “You will serve me. You are being given a special trust, which you will not remember or understand until it is time. When that time comes, when life itself lies in the balance and you must choose, then perhaps you will understand.”

  The Voice stopped, and he wondered for a moment if he was alone. He twisted awkwardly on the hard surface on which he lay, suddenly terrified of being alone. He nearly sighed in relief when the Voice continued.

  “As for who I am, you will know in due time. Now, will you do as I have asked? Do we have a deal?”

  Though still blind, his eyes closed in concentration as he fought to hold on to the words being spoken to him, to hold their meaning and stop the spinning they created in his head. Whatever else was true here, this was a denizen of Hell he was speaking with.

  “You know I will not break my oaths,” he said.

  “You cannot,” the Voice corrected him.

  “I will not go against God,” he continued, ignoring the interruption lest it break his concentration. “I will not violate my conscience. I will not serve you at another’s expense.”

  “Mortal, if you were willing to do any of these things, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” the Voice replied.

  He hung in a void of indecision, fear battling with a spark of hope that he might escape and win free of his torment. In the end, it was an image that was burned into his mind in perfect detail that made the decision for him.

  “Moreen,” he murmured softly.

  “Say again?” the Voice asked. “Do we have a deal?”

  “Yes,” he replied, his voice regaining strength from some hidden reserve. “I will take with me the one you ask and escape. Where is he?”

  “One thing at a time, mortal,” the Voice replied in a satisfied purr, “and don’t worry about him. He’ll be with you every step of the way.”

  Before he could speak, fire erupted in his head, and it felt as though a raging inferno was being forcibly sent down his throat. He screamed, the agony too much for his body; the body that had grown so used to rending torture that the lack of it brought pain. And then it was over, and he breathed the sweet relief of cool air.

  “Open your eyes, paladin,” the Voice said softly.

  Only then did he realize his eyes were closed. He opened them slowly and found his face buried in his hands, his fingers clutching his cheeks. He looked up and saw for the first time his savior.

  Dressed in a black robe and cowl, there was nothing to give identity to the figure that stood before him. Whatever hands or claws the apparition possessed were folded carefully in the sleeves of the robe. A black mist seemed to emanate from the hood of the cloak, obscuring the face within.

  Without thinking, he reached a hand forward to push back the cowl. As his fingers brushed the black cloth, the Voice within whispered, “Now forget, paladin. Forget.

  “Forget.”

  His eyes drooped, but still he stretched forward and lifted the hood, and finally he saw the face within.

  “My God,” he whispered, and then darkness overtook him.

  “Yes…”

  Chapter 33

  Show me a righteous man and I will make him a self-righteous one. Show me a loving man and I will make him covetous and obsessive. Show me a pious man and I will make him a zealot. I make the brave brazen, the wise
uncaring elitists, and the temperate anhedonic and impotent. Of what concern is a sinner to me or a righteous man to God? If already an avowed sinner, my work is done. I reward the righteous to tempt and corrupt, while God punishes the wicked to instruct and redeem. The men in between endure the whims of us both.

  - Satan,

  “Dialogues with Satan” (1013 AM)

  (from the secret memoirs of Birch de’Valderat)

  - 1 -

  As the horrifying memory faded from Birch’s mind, he felt the dual presence of Kaelus slipping quickly from him. He fought to hang on, but he didn’t know what was happening or how to stop it, and within moments the demon had withdrawn his awareness and was once more buried dormant within Birch.

  “If Satan helped you escape, and apparently Kaelus as well, he must have given you some information, something that can help us,” Garnet mused. “Can you tell us anything about Hell’s plans for this war?”

  Birch shook his head.

  “He’s gone,” he said. “I can’t remember anything that was in his head.”

  “What do you mean he’s gone?” Danner asked. “He’s not inside you anymore?”

  “No, he’s still there,” Birch said, holding up a hand so he could see the glow from his eyes shining on his own skin. “I don’t think he had any more control over it than I did. I get the feeling he wasn’t even supposed to have shown himself yet.”

  “How is he even inside you in the first place?” Garnet asked. “The Council just admitted they performed an exorcism on you.”

  “Exorcisms only expel demons that were not willingly accepted,” Marc offered up. “If Birch willingly accepted Kaelus within him as a condition of his release, it wouldn’t have worked as long as his presence was consensual.”

  “And my memory of that acceptance was suppressed,” Birch realized aloud, “probably to prevent me from inadvertently revealing his presence. The Council intimated that was part of their goal in interviewing me, was to ensure I had not willingly become corrupted. With no memory of the bargain, I couldn’t betray it to them. A neat trick to ensure he stayed free and undetected.”