The Heavenly Host (Demons of Astlan Book 2) (14 page)

His captor laughed again. “You will not believe this. You remember my friend Reggie, the one who gave me the joint?”

“Uhm, yeah?”

“This is him!” His captor pointed at the new demon. “This is my buddy, Reggie! Turns out he had an extra joint and tried it himself and got bound as an incubus!” Talarius frowned. An incubus? He turned his gaze back on the demon that was fondling itself. Well, that at least explained its perverted nature. However, the rest of this discussion was lost on him. Apparently, after ripping limbs from their victims, they liked to pass around the joints to eat and this made them susceptible to binding spells? It made no sense, but that was what it sounded like his captor was saying.

“Holy smokes!” Boggy stared at the new demon.

“You mean unholy smokes, don’t you?” His captor laughed uproariously. Boggy laughed along while the new demon frowned, looking back and forth between Boggy and Talarius’s captor. Rupert seemed about as puzzled as Talarius was, Estrebrius was looking nervous, and the octopod was looking very peeved for some reason. It probably did not like the attention that the new demon was getting. That thing seemed to like to be the center of attention.

His captor suddenly noticed Estrebrius. “Who’s your friend?” The short demon visibly swallowed.

Boggy lightly smacked his forehead, avoiding his horns. “Dearie me, where are my manners? This is my longtime chum, Estrebrius!”

His captor stuck out a giant claw towards the little demon, who cautiously shook it.

“Uhm, pleasure to meet you, Your Lordship!” the little demon piped up, sounding a bit more high-pitched than it had earlier.

His captor laughed. “Just call me Tom.”

Talarius shook his head slightly inside his helmet. His captor’s behavior was quite bizarre. He did not act like a demon should. Talarius wished he could figure out the demon’s ruse. For one thing, what sort of name was “Tom” for a demon? It was excessively informal. He had heard his captor referred to by that name but had been ignoring it. The ignobility of being captured by a demon named simply “Tom” was rather galling. It sounded like some sort of peasant demon, not an archfiend capable of defeating a Knight Rampant of Tiernon!

Talarius gritted his teeth; he needed to get his pride in check. A
failed
Knight Rampant of Tiernon, he corrected himself. Clearly, his defeat was a sign of his own moral failings. If he had only been more virtuous, more devoted, he would surely have prevailed. His downfall was of his own doing. Perhaps it was his hubris? That was often the downfall of a knight. Hubris, vanity, greed, lust, any of the cardinal sins could have been responsible. He needed to take inventory of his failings and determine which had caused his defeat. He shook his head. Now was not the time for this; the demons were discussing their plans and he was not paying attention. Perhaps inattentiveness had been his failing?

~

“So let me get this straight,” Tom asked Estrebrius, “your accursed master wants to meet me? He says he has something of value to offer me? And you are tasked with arranging a meeting?”

“Yes, My Lord.” The small chubby demon bowed.

“Again, just Tom. I’m no lord of anything or anyone.” Tom shook his head. “So is this some sort of weird trap or is your master simply insane?”

Estrebrius shook violently and fell down on his knees. “I swear it is no trap, My Lord. He is a good, honest accursed master, as they go. He is also nowhere near skilled enough to trap someone of your power. He just wants to make a deal with you. I have no idea what it is, or why. I really do think he may have taken leave of his senses, but this is what he’s commanded me.”

Tom shook his head and looked to Boggy. “What do you think?”

Boggy scratched his chin. “Well, I’ve known Estrebrius for several centuries; he’s certainly honest and reliable.” Talarius made a choking noise; Tom gave him a quick glare. “He’s spoken quite highly of this accursed master on numerous occasions. Honestly, I’ve tried to dissuade Estrebrius on his master’s apparent decency, but he’s stuck by it for several years now.”

“How long have you had this accursed master?” Tom asked Estrebrius.

“Only about six years, sir. I was his first bound demon out of conjury school.”

“So he’s not super-experienced? Compared with say, the Council of Wizardry?”

Estrebrius shook his head. “Not at all. He’s a very competent wizard, but he’s not involved in politics. He’s not famous or renowned; he’s just out to make a living in the city.”

“Thoughts?” Tom looked around at his companions. It might have been nice to have Antefalken around, but the bard was still in the Courts. Tom glanced at Tizzy, who was apparently picking his nose and examining the results; no help there. Reggie shrugged; of course he wouldn’t know anything.

“What else do we have to do?” Rupert asked when Tom looked at him.

Tom shrugged. That was a very compelling point. He turned to Estrebrius. “When is your master next summoning you?”

“He said he’d summon me the next morning, which would be in maybe another twelve Astlanian hours or so.”

Tom nodded. “That will work. Reggie is going to want to sleep for most of that time. I am thinking that in the event your master pulls any funny business, we want everyone at full strength. I’m not sure I want to take any more chances on Astlanians not doing stupid stuff.”

DOF +1

Evening 15-18-440

Hilda collapsed in the overstuffed chair in the suite she had rented at the Havestan Gardens Inn. The rates were completely ridiculous, but she needed someplace decent to stay in the event anyone came calling. Technically, according to her story, she lived in the city; however, she was not about to go house shopping at this point. Not to mention furnishing, staff and all the rest. For one thing, it would be way over budget and hard to justify. So she had settled on a story of her home being repaired and updated while she was at the wedding and the contractors had not finished on time, so she had been forced to rent rooms at this inn.

Since she was supposed to be an animage and healer, perhaps she was adding an improved hospital ward to her house, better medical facilities. That sounded better than simply redecorating or personal improvements. That sort of story seemed just too self-centered to fit with her assumed persona. It was also against her real nature. While she undeniably enjoyed the small comforts of life, and afterlife, she really was not hung up on frilly or fancy trappings. Quality was important, but so was pragmatic value, utility and durability.

Yes, perhaps this suite might seem a bit much, with a bedroom for her, a small bedroom for Danyel, a parlor and a private bath with running hot water. However, she could claim need of the parlor for seeing patients; similarly for the bath; and clearly, Danyel would need his own room for propriety’s sake. The fact that the Inn’s tavern was rumored to have the best wine cellar in the city? Well, that was simply a nice coincidence. And that being rumored and not proven, she would add it to her list of things to investigate.

She had paid for a week in advance with an option to renew. She was not sure how long she needed, but better safe than sorry. A week seemed reasonable, in particular due to the fact that she would need to go back to the quartermaster to get more coins for a second week. They had stopped by a jewelry shop and she had bought a small sapphire pendant that she felt suitable for enchantment. Between that rather expensive purchase and the room at the inn, her coin purse was left feeling hungry.

One did not need coins in Tierhallon; everyone used credit rings linked to their bank account. It had been a bit odd to discover that one needed a bank account in the afterlife, but that was how one was rewarded. No one really had “living expenses,” of course, since no one was technically living, but she did get a small token payment for her services on behalf of Tiernon, and with that she could acquire the luxuries she needed to make after life more comfortable.

Danyel had finally finished unpacking her bags. She had been about to unpack them herself, but the lad had insisted that he should do it. Normally, she would have politely refused, but her head was nearing an explosion point. She needed to come up with something to provide extra shielding.

“Danyel, I’m thinking a few small sandwiches for the evening, perhaps a cup of soup as well if they have something interesting? Unless you want something more? If so, feel free to order what you would like. Could you perhaps go down and arrange something for later this evening, and also if they have a list of wines that they could recommend with the sandwiches, could you bring that back for us to go over? We’ll then choose something appropriate that we’ll both enjoy.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.” Danyel nodded.

“Danyel?” Hilda gave a disapproving look. “Do not use that term, simply call me Hilda. Understand?”

Danyel blushed and grimaced, bowing slightly. “I’m sorry… Hilda.”

Hilda beamed at him and his own smile returned of its own accord. Much better. While you’re gone, I’m going to enjoy a nice bath and try to get rid of this headache!” She stood and made her way to the bathing room.

~

“Ugh,” Jenn moaned to herself as she collected the last of her belongings. She had taken a nap after Hilda had left. The wine had gone straight to her head. Now, a few hours later, she was coming down, and not gracefully. Jenn was quite cross with herself; she normally did not imbibe like that, but that Hilda was just so charming and warm and confiding. What a truly likable woman! She had noted that Trisfelt and Hilda seemed to really hit it off. Who knew , perhaps there were sparks of romance?

Trisfelt could certainly do far worse. Hilda was so kind and sympathetic, and she had given both Jenn and Gastropé the warmest hugs, wishing them all the best for a demon-free journey. Hilda was just so reassuring; she simply had a way of making people feel good. Jenn was curious as to what would happen if Hilda unleashed her charms on Jehenna. Which would win? Now that would be an interesting conversation to observe.

Gastropé knocked on her door. “You set?” he asked as he stuck his head in.

Jenn smiled weakly at him. “Other than the start of a hangover, I’m good. One nice thing about evacuating every few weeks: you don’t end up with much to pack!” She shouldered the new backpack that Damien had given her. It was really quite roomy, and at least this time there would be no confusion over whose book was whose. The council had been more than helpful in restocking their spell components. She was far better prepared for this adventure than her last one—evacuating Lenamare’s school. Gastropé was already wearing his backpack and had a new walking staff in his hand.

“I assume that’s just a normal staff , not a wizard’s staff?” Jenn asked.

“I bought top quality with the intention of wizardizing it, but I just haven’t had the time. I’m thinking that with a long journey, I might get the time. As we were discussing this afternoon, I assume we won’t be on foot or horseback.”

“There you folks are!” Maelen exclaimed as he came down the hallway. He too seemed loaded with additional equipment in a new backpack. “We are going to Elrose’s chambers to fetch him and then we are off to Councilor D’Vils suite.”

They took off down the hall towards Elrose’s apartments. “So, I get that this is a ‘get out of town’ sort of thing for Gastropé and me, but what is this expedition you and Elrose have planned with Councilor D’Vils?” Jenn asked.

Maelen chuckled. “I probably should wait until we are all together, but being the friendly sort”—he laughed at himself—“I’ll go ahead and tell you. We are hunting down a goddess.” He laughed slightly evilly.

Jenn looked at him askance, noting from the corner of her eye that, as expected, Gastropé had just gotten paler. “You are kidding, of course,” she stated.

“Not at all!” Maelen smiled. “As you may recall, Trevin noted that the dark-skinned woman on the flying carpet with Exador and Ramses looked exactly like images she’d seen of the now vanquished goddess, Bastet. Both Elrose and I have had visions linked to her name, and the goddess appears to be involved in some way. We are therefore going to seek out some of her old temples to see if we can get some sort of linkage to determine if she’s actually involved, and what she might be up to.”

“Seriously?” Gastropé was shaking his head in disbelief. “We just managed to evict a giant horde of demons and a party of archdemons, and now we’re going to try to track down and spy on a goddess?”

“Is there something they don’t teach us in school? Does too much mana use cause one to go insane?” Jenn asked, half rhetorically.

Maelen chuckled. “I understand, and trust me; my chuckling as we speak is a defense mechanism to hide my own unease.” He smiled brightly at both of them. “However, from the visions we’ve had, I think I’d be more nervous not knowing and just sitting around waiting for things to get worse, than trying to get a handle on what’s going on so that we can prepare for it, and maybe even try and nudge things in a less disastrous manner.”

“Less disastrous manner?” Gastropé asked in shock.

“Yes.” Maelen suddenly turned very somber. “The visions that we are seeing imply a rather massive conflict between gods, demons, several armies and us. And by us, I mean in general, Astlanian wizards and animages, and since we seem to be in the heart of the maelstrom, if you will, it appears specifically the Council and the three of us plus Edwyrd and Rupert.”

“Rupert? He’s still out being stupid with his cousin!” Jenn exclaimed. How had that slipped her mind? That wine was evil. “What’s going to happen to them once they return?”

“They need to be gone from Freehold as well, I’d assume,” Gastropé added.

Maelen nodded. “Trevin has assured us she’ll have a large, long-distance mirror on our vessel. When they return, Damien can contact us, and depending on the distance, hopefully be able to teleport them to us.”

Gastropé frowned. “We are going to the Southern Hemisphere. That’s thousands of leagues away. That would have to be one huge teleport spell.”

“I’m not even sure that’s possible,” Jenn said, worried.

“I know very little of teleportation. Personally, I prefer to walk or ride a horse as a rule; however, Damien seems to feel it should be no problem for them to join us,” Maelen replied.

“Agh, of course. I wasn’t thinking.” Gastropé shook his head.

Jenn looked at him askance. “What do you mean, ‘of course?’ You make it sound obvious. I don’t think you know that much more than me about teleportation. That distance is clearly out of range of any standard teleportation spell.”

Gastropé got an awkward look on his face but then recovered. “Yeah, but remember, there are other ways besides just a teleport spell. According to the maps I studied here, we jumped nearly 500 leagues from Exador’s camp to Gizzor Del.”

Jenn blinked and looked back at him angrily. “That wasn’t jumping, that was traveling through the Abyss and then back to a random location in Astlan.”

Gastropé nodded. “Exactly my point, and we did it again in a more controlled manner to get to Freehold.” He nodded at Maelen to get the seer’s agreement. Maelen shrugged.

“Yes, but that means going through the demon Tom’s cave, the only place we know in the Abyss. Given what happened out there”—she gestured vaguely beyond the walls of the city—“what we saw that demon do, do you seriously think it’s safe for Edwyrd and Rupert to travel through that demon’s cave? For one thing, the demon probably has a very angry knight held hostage in his cave!” Jenn waved her hands in the air. “You seriously want Edwyrd and Rupert to walk right in on that scene?”

That seemed to stop Gastropé’s arguments. He sputtered and made all sorts of weird expressions trying to figure out something to say, but finally just remained silent, granting the wisdom of Jenn’s argument.

“I thought so.” Jenn nodded decisively, her point made. Maelen simply shook his head and shrugged.

“There you are!” Elrose’s voice came from up ahead. The wizard was backing out of his apartments pulling a very large wooden trunk that had wheels on one end and a large handle on the other. Quite interesting, Jenn thought, she had never seen anything like it. The wizard was also wearing a backpack like the rest of them.

“I see you’re traveling light.” Maelen chuckled.

Elrose did not seem to get the joke; he just looked down at the trunk and shook his head. “These are just my personal things; I’ve sent my larger apparatuses on ahead to Trevin’s lab with some valets.”

Jenn frowned. “Where did you get so much equipment? You certainly didn’t haul it with you from the school.”

Elrose smiled. “No, no, I’ve had these quarters for the last four years since I joined the Committee on Sorcery. As you know, I’ve been seeing troubling things for several months, which is why Maelen was coming to visit me, so I’ve been stockpiling things here in readiness.”

“Wait.” Jenn turned to Maelen. “You were coming to visit Master Elrose?”

Maelen smiled. “I know, very small world. I had no idea when we met that you and Elrose worked together. I must confess, my failure to See that on the ship is a bit embarrassing.”

Elrose laughed at Maelen’s admission. “That makes me feel better,” Elrose told the seer. “The way you can simply See things without going through rituals or using devices makes me quite jealous.”

Maelen grinned but shook his head. “No, trust me; it is nothing to be jealous of. It leads to a lot of bad dreams.”

Elrose chuckled as he shut his door and made the necessary gestures to magically lock it. “So, we are off to Trevin’s lab.” He grabbed the handle on his trunk and rotated it so he could pull it behind him, then gestured forward for the others to lead the way.

“Isn’t fierdset an odd time to start a journey?” Jenn asked.

Maelen laughed. “I would say so, but Trevin has her reasons. We are heading to the Grove and from what I’ve read, getting in and out of that place is non-trivial.”

“Other than Trevin, of course, Trisfelt is the only person I know of who has been there,” Elrose remarked as they walked down the hall.

“The surrounding mountains are a bit overwhelming,” Gastropé stated.

“Yes,” Elrose noted, “you’re from Turelane, which is adjacent to the Grove.”

“Yes, I’m from Freelane. I studied at Master al Bastante’s Academy, which is located about seventy leagues east and south of Freelane, nearly up against the mountain ranges. The outer range is about the same height as the mountains around Freehold, so about half a league in height; the next range in, which you can easily see at a distance, is probably twice that, and the innermost ranges are said to be another two to three times as high.”

“What? Are you saying there are mountains that are two or three leagues high?” Jenn asked incredulously.