King of Shards

by Matthew Kressel

  It is you, Koko, Caleb thought. You’ve come.

  Horns blasted, and the people stirred. Ranks of soldiers rushed to the southern flank, where Lord Elizel waited at their helm. A wave of sand hoisted the Bedu up above the desert. The southern horizon was one long and massive cloud of dust. Beyond its murk walked thousands of colored specs, growing closer. The Legion waited.

  In the valley below stood a giraffe-shaped demon with a vicious rat’s face and spiraling ram’s horns, his white fur stark against the orange sand. His pelagic eyes, blue within blue, were bottomless, cold and inviting.

  Koko, Caleb thought. Oh, Kokabiel. How I’ve missed you!

  Soldiers raised knives, swords, and slingshots. Camelry mounted animals by the hundredfold. They tightened their leather armor and raised bronze shields. They pulled scythes and daggers and powders from their belts. The priests chanted preparatory spells, and children lifted stones for slinging. And all this while they continued to walk north, propelled by the rolling waves.

  Once, Kokabiel had been Caleb’s most trusted general. No secret did Caleb have that Koko did not share. He remembered the vanilla scent of his fur. The sweet musk of his sex.

  But Mashit promised you more, hasn’t she? he thought. And so you shift beds like the suns of Sheol swap positions in the sky. He couldn’t fault Koko for lack of ambition. But Koko had chosen the wrong side, and Caleb would remember this day.

  Kokabiel’s keen eyes spotted him chained to the log. He bowed his long neck in deference, while the Bedu raised their shields.

  Once they had made the stars jealous with the heat of their passions. Was this bow all Caleb would receive for a century or two of bliss? Only for those sweet memories did Caleb bow back to his old lover now.

  In a stentorian voice that still stirred Caleb’s sex, the demon shouted to the scrambling Bedu, “I am Kokabiel, Second General of the Legion of the First.”

  Only Second General? Caleb thought. You disappoint me, Koko.

  “I come with a message,” Kokabiel shouted. “Heed it, and you shall live. Give us Ashmedai, the Traitor King, and Daniel Fisher, the Cosmic Pillar, and the Quog Bedu shall live to walk Gehinnom another day. Resist us, and your days end here.”

  Kokabiel’s ocean-blue eyes scanned the Bedu ranks, marking their numbers, their weapons, while his hind leg scraped the sand haphazardly. By the black waters of Lake Hali, was Koko bored? When you’ve conquered entire Shards, a few thousand humans might seem minuscule by comparison. But the Koko Caleb had known would never let down his guard, not even for a gnat.

  “You have until the sun touches the horizon,” Kokabiel said. “Tarry a moment longer and you shall be effaced from this land forever, and your name shall be a curse among the living for fifty generations.” He strutted away on his towering legs as a sand wave rose to obscure him from view.

  Why does the Legion wait? Caleb thought. They could easily march in and take them all. Never in his long rule would he have let the Legion set terms with the enemy! They would take what they wanted and destroy the rest. Why was Mashit playing coy?

  From the south, a regiment of twenty soldiers rushed down the rolling hill toward Caleb and the others. Square-bearded Otto helmed their rank. A long sword dangled from his belt, its bedizened pommel polished to a vulgar shine. His dented bronze shield was engraved with a lion devouring a lamb, as were his leather bracers and greaves.

  “By order of our sovereign, Lord Elizel,” General Otto said to the guards, “I am commanded to release the prisoners into the hands of the demon horde at once. Stand aside!” Sweat poured down his face and drizzled from his beard.

  “I thought Lord Elizel didn’t want to help this demon army?” Caleb said.

  “He’s changed his mind.”

  Has he? Caleb thought.

  Avra said in a trembling voice, “By all means! I’m happy to be rid of their lot.” He lifted a key from around his neck, and Otto’s soldiers quickly unlocked their manacles. The ear-stuffed guards watched with bemused interest.

  Caleb rubbed his wrists. It felt wonderful to be free of chains. Rana’s eyes fluttered as a man tossed her body onto his shoulder. When all of them were unchained, his men ordered the prisoners to disrobe, which was not easy to do while the ground was shifting beneath them. Otto had four of the ear-stuffed soldiers put on their discarded clothes, and when all were dressed, Otto’s men chained the soldiers to the log in their place. These new prisoners seemed quite troubled at the turn of events.

  “What all this about?” Avra asked.

  “Elizel’s orders.”

  “You mean Lord Elizel?” Avra said, skeptically.

  Otto ignored him and forced Caleb and the others into priests’ white habits, even Rana. As they struggled to put the robes on, Avra shook his head and said, “Why does Lord Elizel want us to dress these monsters in our holy linen?”

  “Does it surprise you, priest?” Otto said. “Our lord has no qualms against taboo.”

  “This makes no sense at all.”

  “We live in nonsensical times.”

  “This is not Lord Elizel’s order, is it Otto?” Avra said.

  Otto’s face grew as red as Sheol’s stars. “The Bedu do not aid demons!” he shouted, spittle flying from his lips.

  “But this is treason!”

  “Yes, and Elizel is the traitor. He betrayed us when he sheltered these abominations. Now I shall set things right.”

  “No,” Avra said. “Lord Elizel must know what you’ve done.”

  “For a learned man, Avra, you’re a fool.” Otto stepped up to Avra, and with a swift jerk, thrusted his sword into Avra’s gut. Otto’s men grabbed the bleeding man before he fell. Blood poured from his belly and mouth, leaving a red trail behind them in the flowing sands.

  “Unplug your ears!” Otto commanded, gesturing to the ear-stuffed soldiers. The soldiers looked at each other concernedly before removing their ear coverings.

  “Hear me, valiant of the Bedu!” Otto said.

  The soldiers’ eyes flitted from Otto to the dying man.

  “Elizel has betrayed you. These creatures are demons. They have supped in our tents, defiled our people, and yet Elizel would have us bring them to safety. Treachery is a plague of his house, for did not his father consort with Chialdra? And look to the south! A legion of hell threatens our destruction, but our leader tarries like an old man! The Bedu cannot afford to suffer the whims of a senile codger. Our existence is at stake! Stand with me, brothers, and I shall send these abominations back to the hell from which they came, and after we shall make the Bedu proud again. What say you, men?”

  After a few looks at one another for affirmation, the soldiers nodded. “We serve Lord Otto!” one shouted. “Chieftain of the Quog Bedu!” The others joined his salute.

  Otto smiled and said to Elyam, “What say you, priest?”

  “I—I serve Lord Otto,” Elyam said, his cheeks wet with tears.

  “Good.” Then to his men, he said, “Bind the bleeding man to the log. We will make it look as if the prisoners are still bound. We will free these men later, when all is done.”

  They stripped Avra of his bloody clothes and fastened him to the log, while Elyam winced and averted his eyes. The ruse set, Otto and his men marched Caleb and the others toward the southwestern flank, where the soldiers’ ranks were thinnest.

  “Are they going to kill us?” Daniel whispered in English.

  “No,” Caleb said, “Otto wants to hand us over to the Legion.”

  “Hush!” Otto snapped. “If you so much as fart, I’ll slay every one of you!”

  The mass of Bedu folk took little notice of them as they walked across the bustling scene. They were but another group of priests and soldiers readying for battle. But the log with the iron chains was another matter. As they walked across the sands people were speaking concernedly about it. Some had noticed the shift of prisoners.

  “Who is that new person tied to the log?”

  “Have the prisoners chan
ged?”

  “Yes, they seem different.”

  Otto was foolish to think he could deceive the sharp Bedu eye.

  Someone shouted as Elyam, who had been walking with them, sprinted away.

  “Go!” Otto shouted. “After him! Don’t let him go!”

  But the stocky priest was unusually agile, aided by magic. Bedu turned to watch the priest as he darted across the camp.

  “Damn him!” Otto said. “I should have slain that craven lizard. Never mind. Just go!” His men hastened them toward the flanks, while Otto shouted, “The Bedu do not flee like sparrows! Elizel would have us skip into the Jeen like frightened lambs. But we are lions!”

  “Hear, hear!” his men said, tapping swords on shields.

  “There will be a signal,” Otto said. “It will come from the north with the next dune rising. Wait for the yellow smoke, then march these demons onto open sand. We will cast these monsters out into the desert like the Betrayer’s Goat. The demon army will take them back to hell, and we will be hailed as heroes.”

  His men cheered, when a soldier blurted, “Lord Otto, look!”

  Behind them a battalion of five hundred Bedu soldiers was rushing toward them.

  “The cursed priest!” Otto said.

  Lord Elizel led the charge of five hundred men, his head a white puff of hair surrounded by glint of armor and sword. The air reeked of their sweat carried on the wind.

  “Hurry!” Otto shouted. “Make for the slope! Zebu, the signal!”

  A soldier raised a black banner with the sigil from Otto’s shield, a lion eating a lamb. A column of yellow smoke rose a moment later from the northern flank, and a thousand anxious Bedu turned to look at the new fire.

  Otto shouted, “Faster! Hurry!” His soldiers cajoled them forward.

  Marul stumbled and fell.

  “Get up, whore!” Otto said, yanking her up by the collar of her robe.

  She stood, but tripped again.

  “What are you doing?” Caleb said. “They’re about to set us free!”

  “Into the clutches of hell!” Marul said.

  “Carry the hag!” Otto ordered, and a soldier bent to lift her.

  Lord Elizel and his battalion reached them. Five hundred swords flashed in the sun. A crowd of Bedu civilians circled around the soldiers. Their feet moved like a performance of synchronized dancers, and everyone kept their positions even as the sands rose and fell beneath their feet. For Caleb, for Marul, and for Daniel, it was a constant battle just to stand.

  Lord Elizel stepped forward, his armor sagging. “General Otto, by whose order do you conceal and move the prisoners?”

  Otto shoved past his men to the front. “By mine alone! For I am the new Chieftain of the Quog Bedu.” The crowd gasped. “You have harbored demons. You have disgraced our houses. We will cast these abominations out of our midst. And you shall be tried before the Synedrium and put to sword for treason.”

  Elizel shook his head woefully. “You were my right-hand, Otto, my most trusted. The only treachery here is yours. Hear me, men of Otto’s camp. We greatly outnumber you. Lay down your swords and there will be no punishment against you. You have my word as Chieftain. You shall be forgiven for your transgressions, like a lamb that has drifted from the herd.”

  “Do you not see our banner?” Otto shouted. “Lions eat lambs! Is forgiveness all you can offer these heroes? How many times did you make unnecessary concessions with weak kingdoms? How many years did we barter like beggars instead of taking what was ours? Once the Bedu were feared. Now children of cities mock us in demonsong!”

  The crowd edged closer, murmuring as their numbers grew. They moved in to see, their feet dancing with the ever-shifting sands.

  “Hear me, my bedraggled family!” Otto said. “I am Otto ben Zadok, and I shall make our people great again. What has Elizel brought us but struggle, ruin, and disgrace? In the poems we recite to our children we speak of how mighty we are. Once that was true, but today they are lies. We have lost our glory. Because of him!”

  “I am imperfect,” Elizel said. “As all men are. I make no secret of my flaws, but instead embrace them. For a full generation I have kept the Quog Bedu free from war, disease, and curse. In twenty years our numbers have grown. Most of our children reach adulthood, and our wives no longer fear childbirth. Perhaps I have given up our marauding ways. Perhaps they were meant to be forgotten.”

  “You’d have us give up our souls!” Otto said. “Beloved Bedu, glimpse this withered man with clear eyes. Do not permit mine to do the seeing. Look! He shelters demons. Look! He cowers from battle. Look! He skitters away like a lizard. Is this the man you want for your lord?”

  “The people know who I am,” Elizel said.

  “Yes,” Otto said. “And they tire of it.” He unsheathed his sword.

  “We raced camels as boys,” Elizel said. “We drank palm wine together under the stars. Is this how you wish to end our friendship?”

  “Our friendship ended long ago.”

  Otto swung, and Elizel dove to avoid it. The sword missed his shoulder by a hair. The crowd gasped and pushed closer, while their feet skipped heel over heel, keeping up with the shift. Their swords clanged and clamored as a white-robed priest, jostling for a better view, sidled up to Caleb. With their attention diverted, Caleb grabbed Daniel’s hand and whispered in English, “Come on, Daniel. Let’s get out of here!”

  But a soldier grabbed his shoulder and shoved his blade into his lower back until it pierced flesh. “Move another step,” he said with foul breath, “and I’ll split you like an ox!”

  Daniel and Marul had swords in their backs too, but their guards’ were looking at the fight. Rana hung limp on the shoulder of a fourth, her bloody drool staining his back.

  “You—” Otto said as he swung “—don’t deserve to rule!” Otto’s muscles bulged, and his sword flew with ease.

  “And you,” Elizel said, hopping like a sparrow, “have the loyalty of a scorpion!”

  “Your father consorted with demons!” Otto said, tossing his sword from hand to hand. “Cursed blood runs in your veins!” Otto swiped and slashed off Elizel’s white beard at the chin, leaving a bloody gash. The crowd gasped and Otto smiled. “And now your blood runs without.” He picked up the bloody tuft of hair. “Wisdom is not in the length of one’s beard.” He chuckled as he tossed the hair away, and the crowd laughed uneasily with him.

  “Nor,” Elizel said, rubbing his bleeding chin. “In the sharpness of one’s sword.”

  “We were once great!” Otto said, swinging.

  “Your failure,” Elizel said as he parried, “is not seeing that we still are!”

  The hooded priest who had sidled beside Caleb whispered, “He is right. We were once great. I remember it well.”

  The voice was familiar, and it took Caleb a moment to place it. He turned to face the priest to meet his yellow candleflame eyes. Hiding under his hood was a familiar, withered face. A smiling face.

  Havig.

  In the silent language, Havig said, It’s good to see you, my lord. The desert sparrow told us you were with the Bedu, but it took time to find you. Prepare yourself, my lord.

  The swords clanked and clamored, and Elizel bled from several wounds. Otto dripped with sweat, but didn’t have a single scratch. The crowd gasped with every swipe and swing. Scattered among them were two dozen hooded priests, their faces shadowed and hidden, except for their eyes, which glowed with faint yellow light. While everyone watched the battle, these hooded priests gazed at Caleb. In unison, they bowed, ever so slightly.

  Caleb laughed, and Marul said, “You find this amusing?”

  “For more reasons than you know.”

  Havig slit the throat of his guard and he fell gurgling to the ground. In the same breath the other guards were slain. A few saw the blood and shouted, but most mistook the wails for jeers and kept their eyes on the fight between Elizel and Otto.

  “Hurry, my lord!” Havig said. “Put this on.” He gave C
aleb a silver chain. The Mikulalim sigil shone from its pendant, just like the necklace he had given Rana in Yarrow. “We have enough for all of you.”

  A ram’s horn blew as a dune rolled beneath them to reveal the southern horizon. Kokabiel was galloping toward them, a hundred paces beyond the southern flank. He roared, revealing rows of sharp teeth.

  Behind Kokabiel loomed rageful Hemah, tall as twenty men, wrapped in black and red chains that were consumed in flames. The chains dangled in her hands, ready to strike.

  Beside her stomped Af, the nine-headed elephant, whose tusks probed like snake tongues. Beside Af ran Abezethibou, the one-winged demon. Beside him, Baalberith the mammoth fly. And Naamah, who carried her harp made from the tendons of the slain. And Roeled, and Ieropael, and Buldumech, and Nefthada. And behind them were ten thousand more, the Legion of the First, the army of Sheol, once Caleb’s to command, now charging toward them.

  There was a pregnant pause. The Bedu held their breath. A baby cried in the distance.

  Kokabiel lifted his neck high and, like a pendulum, swung his head down. His horns slammed into dozens of soldiers. They flew in long arcs and crashed on the sand. The screams began.

  Koko broke his own word. This was nothing new. But why now? Caleb thought. Did he think we were going to be slain?

  “Cover the south flank!” Lord Elizel ordered. “Ready the attack spells! Prepare the—”

  Otto shoved his sword deep into Elizel’s stomach. A woman shrieked.

  “Your time has ended,” Otto said, twisting the blade.

  Elizel whimpered as blood fell from his mouth.

  “Today the new Bedu are born!” Otto shouted. He yanked out his sword, holding it up high, while Elizel’s bowels spilled onto the sand. Elizel tried futilely to stuff them back in, before he fell forward, dead. The moving sands took him away, and a crowd of people went with him.

  “Bastard!” Marul cried. Scores of Bedu bleated like frightened sheep and ran to their fallen leader. In the same moment a dozen soldiers from Elizel’s camp rushed Otto. They shredded the traitor in seconds.