Legacy of the Devil Queen (Eve of Redemption Book 4)

by Joe Jackson

  Aeligos chuckled bitterly. “That’s the thing: I don’t hate you,” he said. “As much as I want to, and as much as I probably should, I don’t. I must be a special kind of fool, because as much reason as I have to hate all of you, I don’t. You aggravate me, and I want to slap you a lot of the time, but I love you. You’re my family, and always will be. And I’ll die for you, if that’s what it takes.”

  There was a brief silence before Aeligos added, “Now, if we’re finally done with this family reunion, we’ve got work to do.”

  Erik watched his brother walk back to the campfire, and didn’t miss the smile that passed between the rogue and Serenjols. Erik couldn’t help but wonder if Jol had always known what had only just been explained, and what part all of that may have played in his elder brother’s shy and quiet demeanor for so many years. At the same time, watching how quickly Aeligos’ mood changed when he returned to the others left Erik wondering if what he’d just seen and heard was an act. His brother was adept at wearing so many masks that Erik wasn’t sure he even knew who Aeligos was anymore – or if he ever had. With a manipulator, it was hard to figure out.

  Erik turned and looked at his father, and Corbanis hadn’t unfolded his arms from across his chest. “Did I ever go too far with either of you?” he asked, uncertainty causing his usually confident voice to waver a bit.

  Sonja answered before Erik could. “Certainly not with me,” she said.

  Erik nearly chuckled, despite the somber mood. Their father had hardly ever had to discipline Sonja, and even when he did, he was always much more lenient with her. To Erik, it was just further positive proof of how much character his sister had, because she’d had all the opportunity to take advantage of their father’s heart and never did. He had doted on her – not to the extent that most fathers might, but he had. Enough so that Erik had even gotten jealous of her at times, which only accentuated the issue between their father and Aeligos.

  “I never thought you were a bad father,” Erik said at last. “But there’s no getting around this, dad: you screwed up. I hope it turns out Aeligos’ problem isn’t because of you, but whether it is or it isn’t, it’s going to take a lot for you to fix whatever relationship you have left.”

  Corbanis nodded, looking past Erik and Sonja toward Aeligos’ back. The rogue was sitting with Gabrius, Katarina, and Serenjols, and though the mood had been quite sour just a few moments ago, Aeligos was chatting with them as though nothing had happened. “That seems to be the case for every relationship in my life,” the elder demonhunter said. “There are times I sit and wonder if this career has been worth everything I’ve lost or pushed away to pursue it. So if I can give you one piece of advice, son: don’t make the same mistakes I have.”

  He could’ve punched Erik across the chin and it wouldn’t have landed as squarely as that comment. Considering how poignantly it brought back Kari’s own words on the same subject when they were on Tsalbrin, it was a brutal combination to his mind. Erik considered, briefly, what his life might be like if he wasn’t half-guardian; had he been born human or rir, would he now be regretting his career choice, staring down the age of forty with no wife or children? It was such an alien train of thought to him, and Jol’s teasing about how Erik only asked if his brothers’ love interests had sisters struck home, a third blow.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Erik said at last, and he walked with his father and sister to rejoin the others.

  Though the argument had dampened the mood a little bit, the party packed their things up and prepared to get underway again. Sonja used her eagle eye enchantment once more, scanning for any signs of the Tilcimer or its passing, but the trail of destruction had given way to pure flight. The demon was running from them, she and Gabrius were almost certain of it. The thing that concerned Erik and his father was the fact that Sonja couldn’t locate Sherman and Sharyn. Erik was worried that something may have befallen them, but he didn’t have the time to stop and figure it out. At the least, they were certain the Tilcimer had not doubled back to attack their companions.

  Mounted and on foot, the companions set out westward. Katarina rode up beside Aeligos, and the rogue regarded her. “Forgive me if I overstep my bounds, Aeligos, but there’s one thing I wanted to say with regard to what you and your father are dealing with,” she said. He nodded and motioned for her to speak freely, but the paladin took a deep breath. She glanced at Corbanis briefly, and then looked down at the rogue. “Whatever you’ve been through, try to love and forgive each other. Be thankful that you have parents that love and care for you, even if they make mistakes, because there are plenty of people out there who don’t, for one reason or another. I never had the luxury of knowing my parents, and trying to find out anything about them in the last few years has proven fruitless. I’ll always have my friends back on Salkorum, whom I love, but the absence of parents…it’s a hole that I can never really fill.”

  “Aye,” Gabrius said with a nod.

  Aeligos half-smiled and patted Katarina’s knee, but he didn’t look at his father in the wake of the paladin’s words. Erik was satisfied with what Katarina had said, though, and the fact that Aeligos had an extremely retentive memory and staggering intellect left little doubt that the rogue would figure things out in time. Erik simply hoped as his father did: that the injuries Corbanis had dealt to Aeligos weren’t the cause of his issues, and that one day, the two would find reconciliation.

  He caught Corbanis staring at Katarina while they walked, and it occurred to Erik that he knew little of his own parents’ childhoods. Both of his grandfathers were guardian demons, and Erik doubted either had been a full-time parent, let alone a good parent. In light of that, he had to believe Katarina’s words would strike a chord with both father and son. When he was finally able to establish eye contact with Katarina, Erik gave her a thankful nod, and she returned a polite smile.

  *****

  The campus was abuzz. Kari would have gone to the docks to meet with her friends and the returning hunter, but walking long distances was becoming too much work. She made her way to the administrative building to debrief the party in the conference room, and the trek from her home to the campus was strenuous enough. She realized she was going to have to go on leave soon, but then she wondered if she was supposed to suspend herself or if the Council would put her on leave directly.

  The administrators greeted Kari warmly when she entered the building, and she saluted them despite the fact that they weren’t officially part of the Order. The gesture always seemed to make them a little happier, and work a little harder, and Kari was glad to set an example for her other hunters that everyone working for the Order was due that same respect. One never knew when a clerical worker’s diligence might end up saving their life down the line. The Order was a whole, one with many parts that, while varied, were all important.

  Kari approached Virginia’s desk. The elder human woman handled death notifications for the Order, and Kari understood that one of her hunters had been lost in the ambush she’d sent her friends into. “What are the details on the hunter we lost?” Kari asked.

  “Reece Ellington, ma’am,” the human returned. “According to the accounts of the others present, he was killed by an erestram in combat. I believe your friends said they were going to give him a hunter’s funeral, but instead, he was interred in Gnarr, as that’s where his family was from anyway. Notification was delivered by Danilynn Stahlorr and Elias Sorivar, as well as Paula Devries, a Justiciar on assignment in Gnarr. Geraldine is handling the paperwork for the death pension.”

  “Thank you,” Kari said, and she gestured to the back. “Is everyone in the conference room already?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Virginia returned.

  “Make sure no one disturbs us except for Lord Allerius or any of the Council.”

  Kari walked to the rear and entered the conference room without knocking. There her two friends sat with their half-mallasti companion, the syrinthian turncoat, and the human hunter that h
ad been sent with them. That first brief glance brought so much relief to Kari, but in those seconds, she saw so much detail. Tor’s fur was still singed in a few spots; Danilynn and Liria both looked no worse for the wear; Eli’s left arm was bandaged, the forearm in a splint; and Alonso’s left arm was missing from the elbow down. Kari couldn’t help but add the thought of Reece being laid to rest to the picture in front of her, but as she considered they’d tangled with an erestram, this was an unbelievably fortuitous result.

  None of the usual priests and hunters were present to debrief the group; Kari had left strict orders that no one was to talk to them when they returned. She closed the door behind her, but only a moment later, there was a knock. Kari let Lord Allerius in, and then she and her second-in-command took seats across from the group. Kari glanced at Allerius, but he seemed content to let her do the talking. She briefly entertained the idea of ordering him to handle the debriefing, but she pushed it aside and tried to hide a smile.

  “So the plan was a success, to some degree,” Kari began, and she was met with nods from all of those before her. “Though it sounds like our enemies were still one step ahead of us. Would anyone like to go first and explain?”

  “Four elestram, a mallasti, and an erestram,” Eli said to sum things up. “They had to know it was a trap. I just don’t understand how. Unless they knew Danilynn, Tor, and I were going to be tagging along, there was no reason to send so much muscle to take out two hunters and a syrinthian priestess.”

  “As I said after the battle, I’m not sure how seriously they would have taken Se’sasha as a threat,” Liria put in. “But I know the erestram are very resistant to arcane and divine power, and that an erestram alone would have been sufficient to subdue only three enemies.”

  “I’m more concerned that someone was able to get so many Mehr’Durillian soldiers here for this ambush,” Danilynn said.

  Kari nodded. “Yes, we’re going to have to figure out how they got such a large force across the barriers so quickly and easily. Why don’t you walk me through the fight?”

  “Danilynn and I killed two elestram and a mallasti; Eli, Alonso, and Liria killed two elestram; and all together, we managed to kill the erestram,” Tor said.

  “I’m not asking for marks, Sergeant. I need to know what happened on that battlefield. Did they prioritize trying to kill Liria, thinking she was Se’sasha? Did you get any indication of why they sent so many soldiers other than that they must have known how many of you were going to be there?”

  Tor seemed a little sheepish after Kari’s quick retort, but he nodded to her words and deferred to Danilynn or the others to answer.

  “They didn’t seem to go after Liria specifically. In fact, they didn’t seem to pay her much mind at all until the rest of us were out of the way,” Eli said, glancing at the syrinthian girl sidelong.

  “Like maybe they expected her to join them?” Kari asked, though she didn’t think Liria would have been wrapped up in any sort of treachery. There was too much at stake for the syrinthian girl.

  “Perhaps they did?” Liria answered in questioning tones. “I’m not certain. They did ignore me for the most part until Alonso and Elias were injured or down.”

  “I can’t help thinking this was a deliberately overwhelming assault aimed at sending us a message,” Alonso said.

  “My thinking exactly,” Danilynn agreed. “I think as hard as we tried to keep everything secret, word got out to our enemies beforehand, and they knew what to expect, and that Se’sasha was not going to be with us.”

  “Which confirms that the mole is someone in the upper ranks, or close to me,” Kari mused, and then it hit her. She glanced around at the group and Lord Allerius. “Albrecht, send word to the watch that we’d like reports on any and all disappearances or murders since the ambush. Let’s do some investigating of our own, and we’ll see if we can narrow down whether or not our agent of Sekassus was recalled or killed.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, and he rose and left the room.

  Kari looked across at Danilynn and Eli. She nodded her head toward Liria, and asked, “Did she uphold her end of all this? Was she a help to you?”

  “She helped save my life,” Alonso answered before anyone else could.

  “And mine,” Eli said. “She definitely held up her end of the bargain. Went above and beyond, really. She could still be a spy and a traitor, but if she is, she’s a damned good one. Put her life on the line again and again, and against an erestram, no less.”

  Liria looked concerned, despite the warm praise. “You thought I was going to betray you?” she asked Kari.

  “I didn’t know what to expect, Liria. I still don’t. I hope your people really have turned to serving Ashakku through Se’sasha, but you had me and my Order fooled for years. It’s not much of a stretch to think you might just have us and Se’sasha fooled now. It’s not easy to ever trust an assassin, I hope you understand that,” Kari said, trying not to consider that she trusted Eryn Olgaryn.

  “But I’m not an assassin,” the syrinthian girl protested quietly. Her eyes darted from side to side as she thought to herself under the scrutiny of the other five people in the room. When her golden stare finally came back up to meet Kari’s gaze, there was a longing in them that the demonhunter couldn’t immediately place. “I was a seamstress before King Sekassus sent us here. I was apprenticed to my mother, making fine clothes and traveling accessories in the city of Ahrue-Silillue. I was chosen because I was athletic for one of my people, and my family had drawn the ire of the local prince. I agreed to come here only to safeguard my family and friends, Lady Vanador, not to hurt you or yours. And as I explained to you before, we were sent only to observe and report, not to murder; what Irressa did, she did of her own accord or under different orders than the rest of us.”

  Kari considered Liria’s words, and was strangely satisfied with them. After how brutally the syrinthian people were typically treated in their home realm, Kari had little doubt that most of them felt little loyalty to Sekassus. Se’sasha was satisfied with her peoples’ efforts to reform themselves, as it were, and the testimony of the other four people sitting before Kari was a strong weight in favor of trusting Liria. The girl had sworn an oath before her deity and High Priestess, and had put herself in mortal danger to help not just relative strangers, but an Order that was holding her prisoner and possibly endangering her family.

  Kari nodded and moved on to other matters. “I understand some brys helped you? I asked their lord, Shamus, to send some of his kin to aid you if possible, since I wasn’t able to send as much ranged support as I’d hoped.”

  Eli nodded. “Yea. One of them, Oshar, was killed. They didn’t seem to know what they were getting into when they engaged the erestram. But the other helped out as much as he could, and had the honor of the killing blow on the erestram.”

  “She’s not counting marks, Eli,” Tor huffed, but then he started chuckling.

  “Oh, shut your trap,” the half-corlyps returned with a laugh.

  “Boys,” Danilynn chimed in, suppressing a smile poorly.

  “We didn’t realize they were coming to help at first,” Eli added. “But they did help turn the tide, and let us concentrate on the erestram.”

  “The other, Gaerakk, stayed behind in Gnarr to return to Paquin’s Bridge,” Danilynn said. “The Duke of Sutherland was kind enough to allow Oshar to be interred along with your fallen hunter in the city’s cemetery. I think that meant a lot to Gaerakk, and I suspect that’s only going to improve relations with the brys.”

  “Well, that’s something, at least,” Kari said with a short gesture of approval. “I think I’ve figured out who the mole might be, but leave that to me for now. We’ll see if we can figure out whether Sekassus’ agent was recalled or killed, so you don’t need to worry about that, either. I want you all to get some rest, but please keep this as quiet as possible. It could turn out that rather than holding his agent to blame for what happened, Sekassus simply sends mo
re assassins here to target each of you.”

  The others all agreed, and Kari turned to Alonso. “You’re officially on leave, Alonso,” she told him. “You’ll still be paid, but I want you to take some time and come to a decision how or if you still want to serve the Order. Don’t make any rush judgments; this is something you’re really going to have to think about.”

  Alonso looked as though he wanted to argue, but instead he just said, “Yes, ma’am.”

  “What you can do for me before you go, though, is have Se’sasha brought over to the temple, and ask that the Council be convened,” Kari ordered. “Se’sasha wasn’t out on my land today, so I expect she’s here on the campus with her people.”

  Alonso agreed, rose, and departed. Kari dismissed the others with a nod and a gesture, and Eli, Tor, and Danilynn made their way to the door. Danilynn lagged behind, and closed the door behind the boys after they’d left. Kari beheld the fures-rir priestess curiously, and Danilynn sat down beside her and took Kari’s hands in her own. She smiled the broadest, most enchanted smile Kari had ever seen from the woman.

  “Ah, you and Eli must be mated now?” Kari stated as much as asked.

  Danilynn nodded and leaned forward, and the two women embraced. When they split apart, Danilynn took a deep breath and sighed wistfully. “After everything that happened, we agreed neither of us was getting any younger, and the way we throw ourselves into danger, we may not get many more chances.”

  “Are you planning to have children right away?”

  “We’re not sure yet. There’s still a lot of work to be done with everything that’s come up, so we’re taking things as they come,” Danilynn answered.

  “Oh, don’t be silly,” Kari said, waving the comment away impatiently. “Do what you want to; someone else will stand in the gap until you’re ready to rejoin the fight. Keep putting it off and you’ll miss your chance, like I almost did.”