The alu saw Tauran's hands clench. He stood confronting his counterpart, his back to her, an unlikely champion in her eyes, shielding Aliisza and her two half-fiend companions from the other angel's ire. "Nor is it a cudgel, existing solely to pummel everything within reach, my old friend," he said, his voice softer but hinting at anger just the same.
That was it, Aliisza realized. An old friend. She remembered the celestial from her first day within the House of the Triad. Tauran had named him Micus then.
At any other time, Aliisza might have marveled at her good fortune, serving as witness to two angels bickering. It was not often that celestial beings disagreed so vehemently, and rarer still that they did so in front of others. Despite the privilege, Aliisza did not celebrate her luck. A warm, intense radiance surrounded the two angels, a glow of divine power that pained the alu to her demonic core. She blinked repeatedly, wanting to look away, but she forced her gaze to remain fixed upon them.
Her very life depended on the outcome.
"Not all justice is equal, Micus," Tauran said in more gentle tones. "You more than most should understand that."
The other deva's eyes narrowed in accusation. "You sound like one of Helm's apologists. Are you straying, my friend? Have you lost your way? Tyr's Court has no more room within it for a wavering, stumbling soul than it does for the likes of these craven wretches."
Beside her, Kaanyr Vhok, Aliisza's lover and commander, issued a low growl and reached for Burnblood, the enchanted blade sheathed at his left hip. The cambion's mouth curled in a faint sneer. His olive skin and white hair held a peculiar tint in the combined light of the strange, surreal chamber in which they stood and the purplish storm beyond its open-air periphery.
At Kaanyr's threatening move, the two celestial creatures flanking Micus grew restless. Their forearms transformed into long, formidable blades that blazed with fire. The cool, damp air of the templelike chamber rippled with the heat. Muted thunder rumbled within the endless storm that roiled beyond the edges of the marbled floor, echoing the strained emotions within.
Though Aliisza often considered Kaanyr's good looks and roguish attitudes irresistible, at that moment her simmering anger with the half-fiend made him come off as more churlish than charming.
Playing the indignant, entitled boor again, Aliisza thought.
She reached out to Kaanyr to halt his petulant behavior, but Kael was already there, placing a restraining hand on his sword arm. Aliisza's half-fiend, half-drow son leaned near Vhok's ear and whispered something. The cambion's eyebrows arched up in surprise and anger, but he stayed his hand before shrugging off Kael's grasp. That charcoal-skinned face never changed expression. Kael stepped back again, clasping his hands together atop the greatsword he held point down before himself.
At a soft word from Micus, the archons relaxed slightly, and the flaming swords winked out, becoming forearms once more.
Aliisza wondered how her son had come by such a blade, as well as the glimmering plate armor that adorned his body. He had donned it shortly after she had awakened, during the moments between Tauran's cryptic plea and Micus's unexpected arrival.
So much had happened in those few moments. Aliisza had been surprised to awaken at all, for tempting a celestial storm dragon to swallow her whole had seemed an addle-brained course at best. Doing so to rescue a lover who had tricked her into the convoluted scheme in the first place was pure idiocy. Even afterward, she had expected Tauran to condemn her for her acts, but instead he had asked for their help. None of it made any sense, and Micus and his twin bodyguards had arrived before Tauran could explain anything further.
So many questions, Aliisza thought, turning her attention toward Tauran once more. And he's the only one with answers.
Tauran spoke, answering Micus's question. "I stray no more than any open-minded member of the Court," he said. "Though I may be a loyal servant of Tyr, were I to refuse to examine all sides of a debate out of blind loyalty, I would be a poor one." Aliisza saw Micus bristle, but he said nothing as Tauran continued. "Though Helm and Tyr disagree, each of their arguments must have some merit. When their feud has ended, I fully expect there will be compromise, with parts taken from each to make the whole. Until then, I show respect to all parties by refraining from premature judgments."
"Perhaps your wisdom is unmatched in such troubling times," Micus admitted-grudgingly, it seemed to Aliisza, "but Tyr's law on this matter is clear and not subject to interpretation. These… these intruders," he said, gesturing at Aliisza and Vhok, his distaste punctuating every word he spoke, "have broken those laws by their very presence here! Justice is absolute in this case, and there is no room for debate. Were Helm able to perform his duties properly, you and I would not even have need to discuss this. Justice already would have been meted out."
"And yet he cannot," Tauran countered, "and I suggest that it is by corrupt design. I dare not speak more here, but I ask you to trust me. Extenuating circumstances exist with regard to their intrusion and should be weighed before judgment is rendered. Let their story be heard, Micus."
The other deva grimaced. "I've known you and called you friend from time immemorial, Tauran, but I think you tread in dangerous places now. I fear your wisdom is lacking in this instance, but because you have asked it of me, I give you my trust. I pray you do not suffer for it."
With that, the deva gave a curt nod in the direction of the three half-fiends and turned away. With one graceful leap, he took flight, launching himself out into the raging storm beyond the perimeter of the mystical place where the rest of them stood. The other two creatures, as if sensing his intentions, kicked themselves aloft in mirrored motion, following behind Micus. The trio disappeared into the churning, purple clouds.
The moment the three interlopers had gone, Kaanyr spun to stare Kael down. "Don't you ever lay a hand on me again, you son of a mongrel. I will slice it from your arm if you do."
The half-drow blinked his garnet-hued eyes once and said in an even tone, "Please try. So much good would come of ridding the world of you. I welcome the opportunity."
"Kael," Tauran said, moving between them. "Vhok still has a part to play in this. Reign in your killing lust for the moment, please."
The half-drow stepped away and returned his attention to adjusting the straps of his armor.
"And you," Tauran continued, turning to face the cambion, "you would do well to remember to hold your temper in check while visiting the Court of Tyr. Don't make it more difficult than it already is for me to maintain your status as a guest here. Until we can convince them otherwise, most citizens of the Court, like Micus, will perceive you as an invader."
Kaanyr scowled. " 'We'? I have no intention of convincing anyone of anything. That's your game, not mine. When you were bargaining with Micus, you forgot to consult with the bargaining chip. I never agreed to go anywhere with you or tell anyone my 'story.' "
Tauran nodded. "Of course. Forgive me. I should not have presumed." He turned and began to pace, clasping his hands behind his back in a studious manner. "Based on your stance, then, I trust that you would prefer to be considered a deadly intruder to be slain on sight. Is that correct? Please let me know in no uncertain terms how you wish to be treated, so that I might inform the folk of the realm. Once they hear of your unwelcome entry into our Court, they most likely will be lining up for the chance to slay you." He turned back to Vhok and gave the half-fiend a level stare. "So? What say you? Bargaining chip or outlaw? The choice is yours."
Vhok's eyes narrowed, and Aliisza saw his hand twitch, hovering over Burnblood. When Tauran didn't react, Kaanyr relaxed his posture and folded his arms across his chest. "Entice me," he said with that same smug sneer Aliisza was growing tired of. "What do you have to offer me besides your supposed protection from harm, in return for my cooperation?"
"Why, your freedom to return home, of course," Tauran replied with all sincerity. "The portal through which you traveled here has flown away, it would seem, and you will not
get far hunting for another." Vhok's expression changed only subtly, but Aliisza could tell he was admitting to the veracity of the angel's comment. "All I ask for in return is that you travel with me back to the Court and explain in exacting detail everything you know about Zasian, his intentions… all of it."
Kaanyr scowled at the mention of the priest's name. "Not as much as I believed, obviously," the cambion muttered half to himself. "His deception was thorough." Vhok straightened again. "But your offer is not strong enough to convince me to admit as much before a court of sniveling wretches such as yourself." He stepped closer to Aliisza. "I think we'd rather take our chances finding our own way home, without aid from you."
Aliisza sidestepped away from Kaanyr and turned to face him. "Remember what you just said about bargaining chips, and the follies of not consulting with them?" she asked.
Vhok's face darkened in anger. "You would betray me for this… this angel?" he snarled, waving his hand toward Tauran dismissively. "That is not the Aliisza I know. Perhaps Zasian's spells of shielding did not work as well as he promised. The simpering celestial's magical coercion has changed you after all." The cambion adopted a dismayed expression. "He lied about everything else, why should I have expected him to be truthful in this?"
Aliisza ignored Kaanyr's shallow tactic. "He's not the only liar," she shot back, letting that simmering anger erupt at last. "You deceived me, you bastard," she said, shoving her chin up a bit in defiance. "You let him weave spells upon me, let me become hunted and caught, let me suffer an angel's 'healing ministrations,' all for your own gain! You put my child, a child I didn't even realize I bore, in danger!" She gestured toward Kael, who had stopped studiously ignoring the whole proceeding and was now watching the two fight with an implacable stare.
Kaanyr snorted in derision. "A child that was not mine!" he said. "The moment I'm out of your sight, you're tumbling between the sheets with a drow wizard and who knows what else!"
Aliisza rolled her eyes. "Don't play indignant with me," she said with equal coldness. "You've shared many another maiden's bed in your time, too. We both know that we do what we do. It's beside the point." The alu waved her hand to dismiss his argument. "You thought the child was yours when you hatched this scheme. You believed you were sending your own son into harm's way, and me along with him, for your personal gain."
"It worked, didn't it?" Kaanyr asked. "You and I are both standing here, at the other end of the journey, aren't we? Why are you whimpering about it?"
"I'm not," the alu retorted through clenched teeth. His ability to change the argument around never failed to annoy her. "As I said, we do what we do, and I shouldn't expect anything different from you." She stepped back, joining with Tauran and Kael, leaving the cambion by himself. "Just don't expect me to 'take my chances' with you when there are better offers on the table."
And don't expect me to leave my son just because he's not your child, she silently added.
Kaanyr stood glaring at the alu for a long moment, as if sizing her up. Finally, shaking his head almost in disgust, he shrugged. "Very well," he said, turning to Tauran. "Let's negotiate."
"My offer still stands," the angel said. "Your freedom to return home in exchange for your testimony before an assemblage of high members of the Court. Everything you can recall concerning Zasian in exchange for free passage from this place with your health intact."
"A fine bargain for most, I'm sure," Kaanyr replied, folding his arms across his chest once more and beginning to pace, "but I require something more."
"The reason you came here in the first place," Tauran said. "It must be a great prize, if you were willing to risk your lover, your child, and your own life in order to claim it."
Kaanyr nodded. "Indeed. And I will have it before I return to claim Sundabar as my own. But it is a trifling thing for you to grant, I think, and thus not something that should cost overly much." He drew a deep breath and said in the most casual, off-hand way, "I wish to bathe in the Lifespring, to partake of its influences."
"I see," Tauran said, sounding doubtful.
"As I said, a simple request, easily granted. And in exchange, I will happily provide you and your assemblage the most exacting, detailed tale of Zasian Menz I can muster."
Tauran shook his head. "Alas, it cannot be, Vhok, for that is a sacred pool, and you are not worthy to enjoy its soothing, healing embrace. It is, after all, the very potency of godhood."
"I will have its energies," Kaanyr said. "Even if I must slay every one of you stinking, self-righteous poofs to get to it."
The sharp ring of sword on marble was the only indication to Aliisza that Kael had moved, but almost instantly he was standing between Vhok and the other two. "Me first," he said, assuming a defensive stance. "Whenever you're ready."
Kaanyr pulled Burnblood free and dropped into a crouch of his own. "I see you inherited your father's bluster," the cambion said, beginning to circle. "And it seems you are also destined to inherit his method of demise-at the hands of demons." He feinted a strike at Kael's leading knee, but the half-drow slid his much larger blade into place to block the blow with a mere flick of his wrists.
Later, Aliisza would find it difficult to recall the word that Tauran muttered. The instant after he did so, however, a thundering, concussive roar and a blinding flash of light slammed against her, knocking her to the marble floor in a daze. As the world around her tilted askew, she curled into a fetal ball and clamped her hands over her ears, fighting to regain her equilibrium and sight.
As the ringing and afterimage of searing whiteness faded from her ears and eyes, the alu rose onto her knees and looked around. She saw Kaanyr sprawled nearby, his arms clamped around his own head. Burnblood lay unattended a few paces away. Then he, too, sat up, blinking and rubbing at his eyes.
"Enough," Tauran said. "You try my patience."
Beside the angel, Kael had returned to his stoic stance, greatsword point down before him. He seemed none the worse for wear from Tauran's powerful magic.
"If you wish to die trying to gain access to the Lifespring, I will not try to discourage you from it. But that was just a taste of what I and my kind can inflict upon you here within the Court, Vhok. Do not consider yourself so potent that we all would fall helplessly before your blade."
Kaanyr grimaced but said nothing.
"If such a quest is so important to you, then at least hear me out before you begin your ill-conceived rampage. I propose an expansion of our bargain. You desire to claim the powers of the Lifespring for your own. Though rare is the instance when outsiders are permitted to draw on its essences, such an act is not unheard of. In such dire circumstances as these, I believe I can bring it to fruition for you."
Kaanyr cocked his head to one side, considering. "I'm listening," he said quietly.
Tauran continued. "The price you will pay is steep. You must earn this blessing, Vhok. You must redeem yourself in some fashion, not only for your trespasses against the Court of Tyr, but for your very base nature itself. Only by serving me for a time that I choose and in a task I designate do you fulfill your end of this bargain. In exchange for that service, I will persuade the Court to permit you full access to the Lifespring."
"What type of service? What duration? I will not agree to vagaries, angel. Your terms must be explicit. I will not succumb to trickery."
Aliisza had to turn her face away to keep from letting Kaanyr see her smile. So he thinks, she thought. How little he knows.
"You must aid me in stopping whatever scheme Zasian Menz, priest of Cyric, plots within this realm. You must assist me in hunting him down, capturing him, and putting a stop to his machinations."
"That could take but a few hours or tendays on end!" Vhok exclaimed. "I do not have the luxury of limitless time to devote to this."
"Then you have no accord with me," Tauran replied with cold finality. "That is the price you must pay for claiming the benefits of the Lifespring. And know this, Vhok. I will bind you to this service once
you agree to it of your own free will. You will be coerced to comply with your end of the bargain."
Vhok rubbed his chin with his hand. "What if Zasian succeeds with whatever scheme he has developed before we catch him? What if he accomplishes his plot and returns to Toril before we can put a halt to it?"
"If we come to a point where your services are no longer beneficial, I will release you from your servitude and permit you to return unharried to your home, but you will not so much as set eyes on the Lifespring in that case."
There was a long silence then, as the angel and the cambion eyed one another, each waiting for the other to flinch, to falter and give the other the final upper hand.
"Think of it this way," Kael spoke at last. "He offers you a chance at revenge against your betrayer. I know your kind, Vhok. You'd like nothing more than to hunt Menz down and ruin his plans. That's what you do, isn't it? Disrupt and depredate?" It was the first time Aliisza had seen Kael smile. It was Pharaun's smug smirk, and it unnerved her.
Kaanyr mused a moment longer, then turned to Aliisza. "Walk with me," he said, and he took her by the elbow and led her away. They followed the edge of the pool of water, passing through the mist that wafted from its surface until they were almost out of sight of the other two. Aliisza began to wonder if Kaanyr had deemed their chances higher if they simply fled right then. She cast a glance back, at Kael in particular. She was not yet ready to abandon her son, despite the strange nature of his behavior. Whatever his upbringing, he was still her child.
"What do you think of the idiot's offer?" Kaanyr asked as he stopped and turned her to face him. "You've dealt with him before. How cagey is he being? What tricks will he try to play upon us?"
Oh, no, Aliisza thought. You must run this gauntlet on your own, just as you forced me to do. Aloud she asked, "What's so important about this bath?" It had better be damned exhilarating, she thought, to send me through all I've endured just to get yourself here. "What is this Lifespring you keep speaking of?"
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