Scales of the Serpent

by Richard A. Knaak

  Or did they? Uldyssian knew the approximate location of the Peace Warders. That, in truth, was enough with which to start…

  He had no time to summon the aid of the others. Uldyssian clapped his hands together. As he had done once before, what sounded like thunder rolled forward. This thunder, though, was a sound wave so powerful that it tore the nearest trees from their roots and sent leaves and vines scattering.

  It also, he knew even without seeing, struck the first ranks of the Peace Warders with equal force.

  Once again, the blanket blew back. The Triune’s minions were revealed to him. The first row lay completely scattered, the two behind it in various levels of disarray. Yet, those farther back, those who had not fallen, only looked more determined, more ready to spill the blood of their master’s enemies. Charging past the fallen, the temple’s servants waved their weapons…

  But they would find themselves a foe more than ready for them now. He felt Serenthia, Timeon, and the other “commanders” of his army letting him know that those in their charge merely awaited his word. However, just as Uldyssian was about to give orders, he felt another presence. Rashim’s distant mind reached out to him, the Hashiri’s thoughts desperate.

  Beware, master! Rashim called. Beware! They march from the main temple! Look ahead!

  With the Peace Warders almost upon them, Uldyssian dared not take the time to question Rashim further. Instead, he tore his thoughts from the oncoming attackers to the direction in which the edyrem had been marching…the direction in which lay the supreme temple and Lilith.

  There, he saw with dread that the Hashiri had been speaking the truth. Like those who had followed the edyrem, these, too, had been expertly hidden from even his sight until now…

  There was another army—several times larger than that they were about to face—sweeping toward them, an army composed of many Peace Warders and priests, yes…but also something more terrible.

  Morlu…hundreds and hundreds of morlu…

  Twenty

  “We have lost…” Rathma uttered again. “We have lost…”

  Trag’Oul was oddly silent. The glittering stars shifted this way and that and in their centers a brooding Mendeln caught glimpses of a multitude of lives. Some were of the past, others of the present. Whether any were of the future, the dragon would not say.

  And that boded ill, too…

  Uldyssian’s brother finally had to speak. “Surely, there is something we can do! The angels have not alighted unto Sanctuary nor have the demons risen out of the black depths onto its surface! There must still be hope!”

  “I had always thought that,” returned Lilith’s son. “because I knew that the Burning Hells would do all that they could to keep the secret and thus move at a slow, deliberate pace that I could counter. I knew that my father, too, would not rush matters, for he has no desire to reveal his paradise to his brethren nor face their stern justice for his crimes.”

  “And so?”

  Rathma frowned. He suddenly looked his centuries of age. “And so, it all would have gone on as before, perhaps for a hundred lifetimes more still. Yet, now that the High Heavens are aware, there is nothing we can do.”

  Turning on Trag’Oul, Mendeln blurted, “And you think this also?”

  It is not what I think or believe, but what the Balance will demand, son of Diomedes…

  “And what does the Balance demand? Tell me!”

  The dragon re-formed. The eyes stared deep into the human’s own. It is for you to tell me…

  But all Mendeln could think about in the face of Rathma’s declarations of doom was his brother. If Sanctuary was to end, he should be there at Uldyssian’s side. They had always sworn to do that, to protect one another. They were the last of their family…

  “I want to go to my brother!” Mendeln demanded. “I want to go now!”

  He vanished.

  Rathma stood silent for a moment, then also looked up at Trag’Oul. “His choice is made.”

  As the Balance will determine…

  “We are bringing the elements together. If they can survive my mother, perhaps there is hope against my father.”

  Perhaps…your chosen successor was not even defeated by your talk about what will be if the High Heavens and Burning Hells do indeed meet in Sanctuary…

  “No…and that with me believing much of it myself, when I spoke it. In truth, Trag, this does likely mean that all is for naught.”

  If it is to be, it will be. Does that mean that you will do nothing more, as you pretended to him?

  Rathma straightened. “Of course not.”

  The dragon made a sound much like a relieved sigh. And so, even in our hopelessness, there is hope…

  Here it was, then. Lilith’s plan revealed. Once again, he had underestimated her power and cunning.

  If not for Rashim’s desperate call, there would have been no hope for the edyrem. They would have focused on the Peace Warders approaching from the rear, remaining unaware of the other cloaked force until it was upon them.

  Whether the demoness desired to capture most of Uldyssian’s followers or slay them and start anew was a moot point. If it ended here one way or another for Uldyssian’s dreams, then Sanctuary was lost to either her or Inarius. They would transform Humanity to their wishes—a monstrous army for Lilith or crawling worshippers for the angel.

  Uldyssian reacted quickly to the warning, spreading the word to the others. He urged Serenthia and Timeon to him, at the same time ordering the rest to turn around to face the new danger.

  They and those with them reached him but a moment later—and barely a breath ahead of the Peace Warders Uldyssian had already confronted.

  With wild howls, the servants of the Triune leapt toward the line of edyrem. Uldyssian maintained a calm in the minds of those near him, guiding their initial efforts.

  But two of his followers suddenly collapsed, writhing in agony for brief seconds before stilling. Uldyssian sensed the spellwork of the priests and struck back at them. With grim satisfaction, he crushed their hearts from within. The three fell, already dead.

  The edyrem were not merely armed with their abilities. Uldyssian was well aware that many were not capable of continuous effort in that respect. They wielded swords, pitchforks, and whatever tool they were familiar with that could be easily turned into a weapon.

  The first line of Peace Warders collided with an invisible wall guided by Serenthia’s will. However, those that followed pressed at it and so it became necessary to add attack to defense. For the edyrem, Uldyssian first suggested the most simple of spells. A series of fireballs bombarded the breast-plated warriors. Several screamed as they attempted to douse flames that could not be doused. The Peace Warders’ advance faltered.

  Pleased by this turn, Uldyssian sought out Serenthia. She knew immediately what he wanted of her.

  Go! she encouraged him. Go! The others need you! We’ll deal with these!

  As if to emphasize her confidence, the merchant’s daughter raised her spear and threw it at an approaching foe. Fueled by her power, it not only impaled the Peace Warder, but dragged his body back until it reached a second warrior who, although wearing a breastplate just as the first had, died much the same. The two bodies tumbled down.

  Serenthia held out her hand and the spear dislodged itself, then flew back to her grip.

  Go! she repeated with a smile.

  Nodding, he turned and ran to where Saron and others had already arranged the most powerful of their edyrem for maximum effect and protection. In the center of the camp stood the youngest and the weakest, but as always, Uldyssian had not left them unprotected. Not only did those among them that had the ability work to shield all, but stronger edyrem stil kept watch, too. Uldyssian did not want the priests’ spells striking at those least able to defend themselves.

  Saron looked very grateful for his arrival. “Master Uldyssian! We have tried and we have tried but we cannot sense those you say approach! Is it possible that Rashim is wr
ong? He is so far away!”

  Uldyssian had not had time to consider the last point, especially since the warning had proven accurate. “They’re coming all right, Saron! Everyone needs to be prepared! There are many morlu among them and they will be harder to stop than Peace Warders…”

  The Torajian turned bitter. “Yes, Master Uldyssian. I know. It was one of those fiends who slew Tomo.”

  Having never heard exactly what had happened to Saron’s cousin, Uldyssian was momentarily at a loss for words. Then, he suddenly felt the wave of unnatural evil all but at the camp.

  “Make no mistake, Saron; they’re almost upon us!” Uldyssian sent out the warning to the others, then positioned himself near the lead. He spread his arms, ready to do as he had against the other attackers.

  But before he could, there came a sinister buzzing. Several in the lines looked up in puzzlement. Too late Uldyssian remembered what that ominous sound presaged.

  “Keep your shields strong!” he warned.

  Dark shapes the size of birds of prey flew out of the shadowy jungle. The buzzing came from them, growing louder and more frightening with nearness.

  One man screamed as one of the shapes collided with his chest. The angular object had buried itself deep. Two others also fell, struck down as if by lightning. Uldyssian recognized the vicious weapons that the Peace Warders had once tried to use to assassinate him. The toothlike blades on the edges were designed for maximum carnage. Blood soaked the bodies of the victims.

  But most of the remaining weapons in flight collided with air, then went spinning harmlessly away. Still, Uldyssian could sense how unnerved many around him had become. Lilith was doing all she could to undermine their confidence and, thus, their powers.

  No sooner had the bladed weapons come flying than Uldyssian sensed the attackers flow forward. At the very last moment, as they surged within striking distance, the spell keeping them unseen fell away.

  A gasp arose from many in the forefront as the edyrem beheld the awful sight. More than one of Uldyssian’s followers fell back in fear. Uldyssian tried to boost their confidence with his own, but it was a difficult task in the face of such monstrous foes.

  The Peace Warders made up the Triune’s first lines, but they were not the bulk of the threat. That fell to the morlu, seen in such numbers as even Uldyssian could not have believed. He could not say what was worse, that so many existed or that they all looked and moved like the same beast replicated hundreds of times over. Even more than the Peace Warders, the unliving warriors were driven by one urge…to soak their weapons in the blood of their victims.

  But neither they nor the Peace Warders were the first to strike. That dark honor went to the priests. Uldyssian sensed their spells and gave warning, but even then, some of his people were not strong enough. Their wills—and thus their shields—were broken. Peace Warders, obviously alerted by the priests, immediately leapt at those vulnerable. For the first time came the clash of arms.

  Uldyssian sighted two Peace Warders who had broken through the wall of edyrem. At his command, the first warrior’s weapon turned on its wielder, gutting the man. Uldyssian sent his second foe flying back over his followers and into the vicious throng from which he had come, using the Peace Warder as an effective missile that bowled over a dozen other fighters.

  The edyrem were being assailed on all sides, but they were, for the most part, holding their own. The morlu had yet to join the combat, but would so very soon. Still, Uldyssian had expected more from Lilith—

  And at that moment, the ground to his left erupted in a mass of horrific tentacles that reached out and grabbed people in every direction. Two of the victims were immediately squeezed to death with such force that they nearly snapped in two. Another was raised up and thrust hard to the ground again, his bones cracking audibly.

  Cursing, Uldyssian had to abandon the front lines. He knew that he played into Lilith’s hands, but had no choice. He was not even certain himself how to handle the beast, but his powers were the best hope of defeating it before it killed again.

  Rather than seek to deal with every individual tentacle, Uldyssian focused on the area from which they had sprouted. The demon—for what else could it be?—had to lurk just below the surface. He could not imagine its size based on all the tentacles and their length, but it had to be enormous.

  Lilith had outplayed him yet again. Each of her attacks had been shrouded well. The effort had surely cost her and the priests, but it had served her. He had noticed the one, been warned of the other…but those two had kept him from ever conceiving of an attack from underneath.

  Uldyssian had no notion as to the demon’s weaknesses, but he attacked with the one most sensible. Raging flame suddenly burst at the point nearest to where he thought the tentacles originated. The fire burned not only above the surface, but also directly below.

  It had effect. The sinewy appendages flailed, flinging the creature’s victims everywhere. Uldyssian instantly spread his powers as wide as he could, creating an invisible net that caught each and every one of them. The effort left Uldyssian panting. Sweat poured over his body as he sought to lower the edyrem to safety.

  Just as he was nearly able to accomplish that, something jerked him from his feet. Uldyssian yet managed to keep his net working until he was certain that his followers would not be injured by the remaining drop, then ceased that spell.

  One tentacle had his left leg, another seized his waist.

  In his head, he heard Lilith.

  If you no longer desire my embrace, dear Uldyssian, perhaps you will enjoy that of the Thonos…

  She ended the comment with a throaty chuckle. Uldyssian swore at her, but the demoness had already severed contact. He felt the tentacle crushing his leg and focused on his adversary. The Thonos was obviously an instinctive thing, not a cunning being such as Lilith or her brother or even the demon Gulag. What fought with Uldyssian was truly a beast, which gave him hope that he could outthink it.

  But first, he had to free himself. As more of the savage appendages turned his way, Uldyssian noted that at least one had, at some point in the recent past, been cut off. The stub was still dangerous, but lacked the tapering end. That gave him a desperate idea. Uldyssian reached with his free hand to his side—where he kept a long knife—only to have the knife snared by a smaller tentacle. That did not stop him, though. Instead, Uldyssian’s mind seized the weapon of the dead Peace Warder, raised it high in the air, and flung it at the foremost tentacle.

  Energized by his will, the curved sword made short work of the Thonos’s limb.

  There came a deep roar and a tremor that sent both edyrem and Peace Warders toppling. Not only did the ruined tentacle go flying back below the surface, but so did the rest.

  Exhaling, Uldyssian started to rise—

  The entire area around him—nearly a quarter of the area of the encampment—exploded as a giant shape shot up from the depths. Screams arose as those nearest fled.

  The Thonos did not merely have many tentacles…it was tentacles. They all originated from an oval mass at the center, a mass equal to perhaps a dozen Uldyssians. From every part of it sprung limbs of various sizes and lengths, more than a hundred, if Uldyssian could believe his eyes.

  And in terms of eyes, the Thonos was also nightmarish. Over those parts of its body that were clear of tentacles were eyes, very human eyes. Most were larger than a man’s head and all were not only fixed upon Uldyssian, but doing so with deep malice.

  A score of limbs shot at him. Uldyssian shoved his palm forward and deflected most, then had to leap out of the way when two others nearly caught him. He summoned the Peace Warder’s sword to his hand and slashed at one, but the Thonos moved it out of reach.

  The gargantuan demon rushed him, moving swiftly on more than twenty other tentacles. From somewhere, it emitted another deep roar. Uldyssian could spot no mouth and hoped that he would never come near enough to find it.

  Lilith’s face suddenly formed before the Thonos�
��s macabre body.

  All is lost, my love…she mocked. Look about! Your precious followers are falling to my puppets! See?

  He would not have even deigned to look, for certainly it sounded as if the demoness sought to distract him further, but the Thonos stilled as if hypnotized. A simple-minded thing of destruction, it no doubt lived simply to obey what it thought was Lucion. Uldyssian wished he could have revealed to it otherwise, but even then the creature might not have ceased its rampage.

  Lilith continued to hold the Thonos in check. Uldyssian finally did as she suggested…and saw that, for once, his former lover did not lie. The Thonos’s rise to the surface had set into motion chaos among the edyrem, who thought—perhaps rightly—that they now had to fear a terrible danger looming behind them as well as the relentless threat still flowing in from the jungle.

  Serenthia’s position was the most stable, but even she was hard-pressed. He dared not distract the merchant’s daughter by contacting her, for already she fought against more than one Peace Warder herself.

  Those battling Lilith’s second army were in the most dire straits. The morlu had reached the struggle and were shoving past their living allies in their hunger for edyrem blood. In the face of such evil and aware of the terrifying fiend in their midst, the edyrem were not only losing ground, but losing faith in their own abilities. More and more were resorting strictly to physical weapons and defenses, weapons and defenses that, against morlu, put them at a severe disadvantage.

  You see? said Lilith, drawing attention back to her and the Thonos. Would I lie to you? You’ve led these poor fools to their deaths. They will be slaughtered and all because of you…unless…

  He could not help but wait for her to continue. Lilith did not disappoint him.

  You can still surrender them, my love…surrender them to me and I will call off the Triune…and my little pet, here…