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

by Joe Jackson

  The half-brys paladin met Erik’s stare intently, but he didn’t appear angry. “My father and I never spoke,” he answered. “We never had any relationship.”

  “Ah, sorry,” Erik said, thinking back to what Katarina had said to Aeligos on the road.

  “No need to apologize, your line of thinking was appropriate and astute,” Gabrius replied. “Had I any relationship with him, I may have inherited many of his memories upon his passing, because he was one of the lords. Regrettably, all such knowledge was put to waste, ironically, by my own blade.” He let out a harrumph. “As it turns out, though, we have a very good source of information locked away upstairs, one that was very close to Seril for some time.”

  “Exactly,” Corbanis said, and when he met Erik’s eyes, they both nodded to each other.

  “Shall we move along? There is no telling how deep this complex will run,” Gabrius said, gesturing farther down the stairway.

  “Yea, let’s,” Erik said, gesturing for them to get underway again.

  They continued through the room and down the stairway once again, and the rough-hewn rock wall on the right side fell away into darkness. They could see that the stairway began to spiral, descending down hundreds of feet, and the smell of stagnant water was stronger here. Far below, there was a light source of some kind, and despite the steepness of the stairs and the lack of an inner railing, they quickened their pace.

  Doorways marked landings every so often as they descended, but quick examinations revealed only unfurnished rooms, likely intended to be dormitories. They ignored these and continued on their way. After nearly ten minutes, they reached the lower levels where the light was coming from, and found an open room with a shallow pool. The presence of bones in the depths, some poking out from the surface of the water, made the reason for the smell obvious. The pool took up much of the open space, and looked to Erik’s eyes to have once served as a bath. He glanced at the others and could tell they had come to similar conclusions.

  An archway on the far wall led into a corridor, wider and higher than the stairway they had descended. This seemed more like the beginning of a true complex, a smooth-cut expanse of rock forming a hallway that was lit by an arcane source that wasn’t immediately apparent. There were no rooms or side passages off of the main corridor – at least not any obvious ones – and Gabrius picked up his pace down the well-lit, straight hallway.

  They reached another archway, this one opening into a massive cavern with a stairway winding its way down to the floor. The ceiling was several hundred feet up, hidden away in darkness even with the ever-present light source that made Sonja’s conjured globe unnecessary. The walls here, like farther up, were rough-hewn, almost like a natural cave, though Erik knew just enough about geology to know that caves like this didn’t just form on their own.

  The floor of the cavern was interesting: it looked like an arena, roughly oval in shape with numerous column-like rock formations set at unspecific intervals. Old, dark stains seemed to suggest that it had been used as an arena. There was a stone door on the far side of the room, but even as Erik started to point toward it, a figure emerged from behind one of the columns. It was rir in shape and size, but had dark brown skin, green eyes that glowed even with the magical lighting, and a row of ivory horns that ran back from its snout to the base of its skull. It wore only a loincloth, soiled with blood, and its fingers ended in long, hooked claws.

  “That’s it. Stay close; don’t spread out, don’t let it separate us. Aim low, try to slow it down, and it’ll be a lot easier to kill,” Corbanis reminded them.

  They made their way down the stairs but slowly, wary of the creature’s blinding speed, and intent on staying in formation. The creature watched them intently, and when they reached the cavern floor, it clacked its front teeth together eerily before it spoke. “You are trespassing on royal ground,” it said in a hissing voice.

  Corbanis stepped forward, his shield in front of him defensively. “Come on, then, let’s finish what we started,” he growled.

  The Tilcimer hissed and splayed its claws, but then suddenly stood up straight and wagged a finger at them. “You are trespassing on royal ground,” it repeated. “I shall simply wait and watch the king kill you.”

  “What king?” Erik asked.

  “Don’t bother talking to it, these things are insane,” Corbanis said. “Come; move with me, stay close in formation.”

  The Tilcimer moved away from them, disappearing around a column in a blur that nearly made Erik’s blood freeze. It was almost impossible to even follow; Erik felt like what he saw was a trail left behind by the creature, so quickly had it moved. Just as Gabrius had suggested when observing its tracks, it took short steps in incredibly quick bursts, moving like a surprised spider. Then, just as suddenly, it reemerged from behind a column on the far side of the cavern in the span of seconds. Corbanis was the only one not surprised; when Erik looked at Gabrius, Aeligos, and Serenjols, he could see that the three of them were just as perturbed as he felt.

  “Dad?” Erik asked, uncertain in the face of battle for probably the first time he could really remember.

  Corbanis was looking around the cavern, and he swore under his breath. “Your sister would be able to rearrange this room to suit our needs,” he said. “We need to lure it into a place where its maneuverability is hampered.”

  “Oh, you will not want to do that, not this time,” the Tilcimer rasped.

  “And why’s that?” Corbanis challenged, despite his words just moments before.

  One of the Tilcimer’s green eyes turned to look to its right, while the other stayed fixed on the Silver Blades. Erik turned, along with the others, as another figure emerged from behind one of the columns. First, there was only a flash of silver, a katana clenched in each of the dark figure’s hands. And then he came fully into sight, and growls escaped Aeligos, Gabrius, and Corbanis.

  The man was serilian-rir, but he lacked wings. He was wearing a set of paluric armor that seemed incomplete, but it protected enough of him to mean trouble. Visible through the collar of the armor were the tattoos – or birthmarks – that gave him the appearance of being ablaze with hellfire. A long black mane of hair ran down his back, nearly reaching the base of his tail. His baleful red eyes burned with a seething hatred that somehow did not extend to any other part of his face or body.

  “Taesenus!” Corbanis spat. “Oh, this will be glorious. We’ll bury you and this insane abomination of your mother’s right here, where you belong.”

  “Boldly spoken, demonhunter, but you have walked into my mother’s abode, where we two are at the height of our power. No, I’m afraid it is you who will be buried here, but worry not: there won’t be anyone left to mourn you when I’m finished. I’ll start with that whore you call a wife, and then send every member of your family to join you – even the ones you know nothing about. But at least you will die with some of your children and this…thing,” the Demon Prince said coldly, directing the last at Gabrius.

  Gabrius actually laughed. “You, of all people, are going to compare lineages with me?”

  “What do you think, dad?” Erik asked. “Gabrius and Aeligos on the Demon Prince, the rest of us on the Tilcimer?”

  “Sounds good to me,” Corbanis said.

  “I’ll do my best,” Aeligos said with a shake of his head. “But he’s deadly. Saw enough of him when Kari fought him to know.”

  Erik grunted, but hoped his brother and the paladin could at least keep Taesenus busy until the Tilcimer was dispatched. He noticed the stares of Taesenus and the Tilcimer were drawn up the stairs, and though Erik was hesitant to possibly fall for a trick, he looked back. At the top of the winding steps, holding two long, straight blades, was an elestram, its silhouette against the upper corridor like a cold, black shadow. After pausing for a moment, the creature appeared to smile, and then it began a slow, purposeful descent, twirling its swords as it walked.

  “Oh, this is not good,” Erik said.

&nbs
p; Chapter XVI – The Expected and the Unexpected

  Kari sat on the porch swing in the warm evening, rocking gently back and forth while she hummed a quiet tune to her coming child. Grakin and Little Gray were both upstairs, fast asleep even in the early evening. Kari had a feeling she would be receiving a visit from Gil either this night or the next, and she wanted some small degree of privacy. She simply hoped the werewolf didn’t decide to prowl through the city in her hybrid form and cause a stir before she came to see Kari again. Kari didn’t want to have their meeting in the constabulary or, worse, with Damansha or even the Duke present.

  Kyrie was inside reading by the fire, stewing over the many things she and Kari had discussed. She’d had so many questions, as much as she tried not to dredge up too many bad memories for Kari. Ultimately, Kari had few answers for the woman, at least few of the sort that were helpful. Kari’s fight with Dracon’s Bane had progressed much differently than Grakin’s had, much differently even than the description the priests had given her the other night. Kari couldn’t recall any period of healing during her life; she had been sick almost constantly from the day she hit puberty until the day she died.

  She shook off the feelings of melancholy that thinking about it brought. She had time with her mate; he would live long enough to see their second child brought into the world, and he might even live to see one or both of them take a mate of their own. But even if he didn’t, he was a part of Kari, and now she could see and hear him in their son so much more than before. She put her hand to her lower belly and closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath and finding that calm place in her mind where Sakkrass made his presence known. Things would not work out perfectly, but Kari realized that if she was given the choice to do it all again or change something in her life, she would be right back in this same spot, time and again.

  “You seem introspective,” her voice came from the other end of the porch.

  Kari looked in that direction, and there was Gil, standing at the top of the steps as though the place had an anti-werewolf ward around it. For the briefest moment, Kari wondered if it did, but then Gil came forward. “I was hoping I’d see you again before midsummer,” Kari said.

  “I figured I’d better come see you, rather than just show up on the Order’s grounds,” the girl returned. “Seems like all the fuss about my appearance has died down; I walked past a few guard patrols, and none of them recognized me. I’ve still seen some posters about capturing the werewolf around, but they don’t look like anyone really pays attention to them anymore. And no one took any notice of me the whole way here.”

  “Good. Did you finish whatever work you had to take care of?”

  Gil gestured toward one of the other chairs, and Kari nodded. The girl sat down in one quick, fluid motion, all without taking her hands out of her pockets. “Yes. Things are going to change around here, but not for a while yet. I wish I could just tell you what I was doing, but that would spoil the surprise, so to speak. Considering all the trouble I’ve heard you had with a mole in your Order, I’m sure you can understand.”

  Kari nodded darkly. “You don’t eat people, do you?”

  Gil laughed despite Kari’s serious tone. “Absolutely not. People are disgusting.”

  That broke through Kari’s mood, and she joined the werewolf in her mirth. “Well, I suppose my prisoner doesn’t know that. Assuming the Council doesn’t demand you be thrown out of the city, maybe you can help me interrogate my mole afterwards.”

  “Oh, so you caught him? And you want me to threaten to eat him? I suppose I can do that,” Gil answered with a shrug. “Just the prospect of being shredded and chewed up should get his cooperation whether I threaten to eat him or not. Hmmm…but is that sort of torture allowed under your whole ‘do mercy’ rule?”

  “I showed him mercy by not cutting his head off yet,” Kari sighed. “I probably still should.”

  Gil shook her head. “Don’t cut peoples’ heads off. It’s a very personal and vindictive way to kill someone. There’s plenty of other ways to get the deed done without debasing them.”

  Kari stared at the girl for a few moments, wondering if she was kidding. Here was Kari, a veteran of the Demonhunter Order for almost twenty years, being educated on mercies by a werewolf. Gil didn’t laugh, and her expression spelled out her sincerity all too well. There was something in the girl’s eyes that made Kari wonder if she’d seen friends or loved ones – perhaps fellow werewolves – with their heads removed. In the span of moments, all the times Kari had decapitated her enemies flashed by her mind’s eye, and she wondered if that was a subconscious sign that she took things too personally. And in that moment, she couldn’t help but think of Taesenus, and how Kari never wanted to be compared to him in any respect.

  “You’re right,” she said eventually. “But hopefully you can get some information out of him. He’s responsible for the deaths of possibly dozens or more of my hunters, and I need to know just how far his betrayal went. There could still be a number of agents of the demon kings in the city, and he might know who many of them are. So far, we only know about Amastri; he might be able to point us to Sekassus’ agent, and perhaps more.”

  “You don’t have to convince me, I already said I’d help.”

  “Any second thoughts about revealing yourself to the Council?” Kari prodded, getting back to the real matter at hand.

  “Nope,” Gil said. “Just understand, if they try to apprehend me or hurt me–”

  “You don’t have to worry about that,” Kari interrupted.

  “Let me finish,” Gil countered. “If they try to harm or arrest me, Kari, there’s something I’m going to reveal to them that’s probably going to make you upset. It’s all related to what I’ve been doing for the last couple of months, but again, you can trust me. I’m working with you, not against you, I just have to do what I’m doing in the shadows for more than one reason. You’ll find all of it out eventually, I’d just prefer it’s not until the proper time. If I have to reveal more than just my feral side to your Council, it could ruin everything else I’ve been working towards.”

  “I understand,” Kari said with a placating gesture. “I won’t let them try to arrest you, and no one will lift a hand or a weapon against you while I’m in charge. Not even the Duke. And that’s a promise.”

  Something passed behind the girl’s eyes, but she simply nodded. “When’s your baby due? Looks like fairly soon.”

  Kari wondered if Gil’s reaction may have been a tip of her hand that she worked for the Duke in some underhanded manner. Still, the girl wasn’t going to say any more than she wanted to, and Kari was in no mood or position to press the issue. “In a month or so,” Kari answered, patting her lower belly again.

  “Big changes coming,” Gil said with a smile. A soft breeze blew across the porch as if on cue, and the profile of the werewolf girl turning her head and sniffing the air while her hair blew out left quite an impression in Kari’s mind. “So many of them.”

  Kari compared that soft breeze to the one she often felt in her mind when Sakkrass made his presence felt. She reminded herself that she didn’t entirely believe in coincidences, and she wondered if this girl had been brought into her life for more than one reason. That brought something else to mind, but she decided to prod while she could. “No doubt. What about you? Any love interests or plans to have children?”

  Gil scoffed. “Haven’t really thought about it,” she said. “I only turned nineteen just a few months ago. And work keeps me really busy. But I’ve heard whispers that there’s going to be a big wedding soon, and most of them point to you. You and Grakin are getting hitched?”

  Kari tilted her head slightly; she’d never heard that euphemism before. “That’s the plan, though it’s on hold now because…”

  “He got hurt?” the werewolf finished. “I hear bits and pieces, but don’t talk about it if it’s something private. Tell me about the wedding.”

  Kari took in a deep breath and tried to let he
r tensions over Grakin go with a long, quiet sigh. She focused on the wedding, and a smile managed its way to her face. “We were going to have it in the autumn, after the baby is born,” she said. “I think now we’re going to move things up, and have it when my mate’s siblings return home. My mother-in-law will be performing the ceremony, but we haven’t decided whether to have it in Kaelariel’s church or on the grounds of the Order before Zalkar’s temple.”

  “Ah, the joys of a multi-faith wedding,” Gil said with a smirk.

  “It really makes no difference to me,” Kari countered. “If I said I’d prefer to do it on the grounds of the Order, it’d only be because so many of my fellow hunters might want to be there for the ceremony. Kaelariel’s temple is big, but not big enough for several hundred guests. And Zalkar certainly won’t have a problem with a priest of Kaelariel performing a wedding on the steps of his temple. What makes you say that about multi-faith weddings?”

  Gil waved off the question. “I’ll tell you about it sometime, but not today.”

  “Secretive brat,” Kari muttered, and the werewolf chuckled. “I suppose I’ll have to invite some of your packmates if the Council is agreeable to letting you work with the Order. As it stands, no one will know they’re werewolves unless they say or do something.”

  “Better not serve too much red meat, then,” Gil said with another laugh. She smirked again, and there was a brief silence before she added, “How are things going in the south? I’d heard about some attacks down that way, but I was told to keep clear of whatever happened.”

  “Demon attack,” Kari answered. “Something strange we’ve only seen once before, and know very little about. My mate’s siblings seem to have it cornered, but that doesn’t mean things will turn out the way we like. You know, there may be something you can help me with, if you’re free to do a little traveling.”

  “What’s that?” Gil asked, obviously intrigued.