The Heavenly Host (Demons of Astlan Book 2) (17 page)

“Just checking in to make sure you found your quarters and are getting settled,” Trevin said, smiling at Gastropé.

“I am, thank you,” Gastropé politely replied.

“You had enough to eat at dinner, I trust?” Trevin asked.

“It was very good.” Gastropé nodded with a smile. They had been served beef stew, cheese and bread in the great hall shortly after arriving.

Trevin nodded, apparently satisfied. “It was nothing fancy, just keep food. Tomorrow night, though, we shall have a true meal. We are going to have a combined welcome and farewell feast to celebrate this rather ad hoc adventure.” She smiled. “There will be a number of delicacies humans rarely get to sample, along with satyr beer and honey wine, as well as alvaren frost wine. You’ll want to eat and drink fully; it may be the last feast we get for quite some time.”

“Sounds good.” Gastropé nodded to her, his eyes trying to keep contact with hers as she slid into the room to rest her hand on his shoulder. “I’m looking forward to seeing the Grove,” Gastropé said nervously, trying to eye her hand.

She gave his shoulder a squeeze. I’m sure you’ll find it quite… provocative.” The enchantress was really standing a bit too close for comfort; Gastropé was getting a very strong dose of her perfume. He smiled and tried to scoot away slightly. This only caused the councilor’s gnarled hand to slide down over his right deltoid and grasp his bicep firmly. He felt a small bit of panic as he realized that his movement could have been interpreted as making room for her to sit down beside him. He glanced to the bed beside him and then back to her, hoping she was not taking the wrong kind of hint.

She simply grinned at him, sliding her hand down his bare bicep a bit more. Her gaze moved to what appeared to be a few inches in front of his chest, or was it his lap she was looking at? She got a slightly puzzled look for a moment and then a bright smile as she tightened her grip slightly on his bicep.

“Very impressive,” she said.

Gastropé got a panicked look on his face and turned pale, glancing down to make sure he was not showing anything in his lap. The old woman could not be that crude, could she?

“I imagine that very few young wizards your age, fairly fresh out of school, have the skill and ability to locate and bind a fiend. A rather powerful one at that, it appears. That binding could probably hold a major demon,” the enchantress said, still staring in front of him.

What was she talking about? Gastropé wondered if she had lost her mind. He was at a loss for words until he remembered that he had told people in Freehold that Tizzy was his bound demon. She must be referring to that. He relaxed a bit.

“Ah, so you saw my demon in Freehold?” Gastropé asked.

Trevin blinked and shook her head, looking him in the eyes again. “Uhm, no, afraid I didn’t. I was just noticing the binding link you had extending off into the nether regions and into the Abyss. Very skillfully crafted, I must say. I can honestly say, I am impressed.” She grinned at him. “In any event, sleep well tonight. We’ll be rising early, before dawn. A servant will wake you in time to do your morning ablutions before we break our fast with some fruit and bread. We will then take the lift up the cliff side. Unfortunately, the view won’t be ideal in the predawn light, particularly on this side of the mountains, but for some that’s a blessing.” She tilted her head. “Being a fellow Turelanean, however, I’m sure you are comfortable on carpets, so heights won’t be a problem?”

“Uhm, no, no problem,” Gastropé replied, still quite nervous and reeling from her statement about a binding link extending from him to the Abyss. What was she talking about? He had never, would never, put any sort of binding spell on Tizzy!

“Excellent then.” Trevin let go of his bicep and patted his shoulder again, before spinning away to exit the room. “Sleep well!” she said as she glided from the room.

Gastropé shook his head slightly as if to clear it. He quickly spoke the words necessary to invoke his wizard sight and stared down to his chest. He had to focus it a bit, but the enchantress had been right! There was some sort of link spell emanating from his chest and extending off into the aether.

He probed it, trying to determine what exactly it was and where it was going. He frowned; it was clearly a binding spell, from him to someone else. He was on the controlling end and the link clearly went off plane. Gently touching the translucent black cord, he suddenly got a whiff of unusual smoke. A very identifiable smoke; it was the same smoke he smelled when Tizzy was puffing on his pipe. He did not recognize the exact binding—it seemed a bit archaic—but it was very clearly a lower third-order binding from a conjuror to an enslaved demon.

Where the hell had it came from? He knew for a fact he had never cast any spell on Tizzy. There was no way he could have —he didn’t even know the demon’s true name. How long had it been there? Who had put it there? Was it even possible for a third party to create a binding linking between a conjuror and a demon? He had never heard of such a thing. It really should not be possible. Something very strange was going on, and once again it felt like things were spinning out of his control.

DOF +2

Predawn 15-19-440

Hilda glided unnoticed down the street in the dark predawn hours, Danyel softly sleeping back at the Inn, no one the wiser that she had even left the building. She was more than happy to not be wearing her normal saint attire on these muck-filled streets. One would think that such a modern city of such learning and wealth could have cleaner streets. Clearly, she had been spoiled by her afterlife and the tidiness of the Outer Realms. Objectively, Freehold was nicer than the villages and cities she had known during her mortal existence, but once one had seen the lights of Heaven, it was hard to settle back into the mundane world.

Nonetheless, she had her duty. During her bath, she had finally gotten enough relief from the headache to get a feel for the city. There had been no temple of Tiernon in Freehold for centuries, but there was a chapel, and that would have to do. Actually, it was probably better for her purposes. Security at a true temple would be much higher. She needed to get in and out unnoticed; hence, the after-hours visit.

“Alms… alms for a poor blind beggar!” A hand suddenly shot out from a doorway to brush her own hand. Hilda stopped in shock; it was amazing that a beggar could pierce her spells. She glanced at the beggar, a man of about thirty years with a pockmarked face and the milky gaze of a blind man. His hands were dirty, dry and scaly and covered in rather nasty boils and pockmarks.

Hilda did a quick reading of the man. Yes, definitely blind, rather lice ridden, some nasty skin conditions and some fluid congestion in his lungs, but otherwise able-bodied. He was also, she noted, of Etonian faith; weak faith admittedly, but he had been dedicated to Namora at some point, most likely as a sailor.

“Thank you, mistress. Thank you for stopping. Can you spare a few coins so that I might get some soup?” the beggar pleaded with a strong whiff of cheap beer on his breath. Hilda shook her head. She had no problem with drinking beer, but drinking cheap beer was pretty much the definition of a sin. However, she supposed beggars could not afford anything else.

Hilda thought for a moment. She knew most beggars in large cities were actually professionals, and there were, in fact, beggar guilds. Perhaps his ability to spot her was a sign that his life was at a turning point. “I shall do better than that!” Hilda beamed at the blind man, who of course could not see her smile, but his head did tilt, perhaps at the melodic sound of her voice as she ramped her aura up.

“Take my hands,” Hilda instructed, sticking both hands out towards his, practically in his face. Uncertain and puzzled, the beggar lifted his hands upward and Hilda grasped them. The man flinched at her touch, clearly sensing something unusual. He started to pull away, but Hilda would not let go.

“Sorry for bothering you, mistress. I should go now,” the beggar pleaded with her.

“Nonsense, my good man. I can sense the spirit of Namora on you. Clearly, you have fallen on hard times in this distant land. Namora’s brother, Tiernon, believes in helping all true Etonian kin. Allow the power and might of Tiernon to lift you and guide you!” Hilda began pulling from her illuminaries; she would not need to go upstream for this. “May the power and blessing of Tiernon be upon you now and for all your days!” Hilda sent the power of Tiernon’s healing blessing down her hands and into the beggar’s.

The man gasped as the divine rapture of Tiernon filled his body. Given that she could see fine in the dark, she could easily see the milky film fade from the man’s eyes and the corrupted skin peel from the man’s hands and face as fresh new skin replaced it.

The man suddenly went rigid and then limp as the healing finished. He collapsed back into the doorway gasping for breath, inhaling more deeply than he had probably been able to in a few years. He stared at her, seeing another face for the first time in who knew how long.

Hilda gave him her most beatific smile. “May the blessings of Tiernon and his sister Namora be upon you as we part in peace!”

She turned abruptly, releasing her built-up aura, and started down the street once more. “Wait! Wait!” The beggar called out from behind her. “I can see! I’m healthy!” Hilda smiled to herself, pleased. “You just took away my livelihood! Do you have any idea how hard it is out here for a healthy beggar?” The man sounded almost angry.

Hilda shook her head. “What am I supposed to do?”

The beggar whined some more.

Frustrated, Hilda called back, “I don’t care, How about getting another job and earning your money from work? Return to the sea—you were a sailor at some point, yes?”

“Uh, yeah… uh…” the beggar spluttered. Hilda simply shook her head. Whatever happened to people wanting to get a miracle? Seriously, this current generation; never satisfied with what they had. She laughed softly. Yes, it was annoying, but she had pretty much expected something like this. He had been a professional guild beggar; she was now certain of that.

She supposed it would be awkward to return to the guildhall both empty-handed and healed. Not her problem though; as a saint, it was her job to help people, whether they wanted it or not. Tiernon would also be pleased. While he certainly believed in charity and assistance to those in need, he had no patience for slackers and societal parasites. She laughed to herself once more, pleased with her side mission tonight.

~

The chapel priest had been sound asleep in his bed.  His assistant, sleeping near the chapel’s front door to assist with late night supplicants, was asleep as well. Both as Hilda had hoped. She had deepened their sleep and then magically barred the doors to the chapel to keep any other late-night visitors from intruding.

It felt so nice in the chapel. The consecrated space acted as a buffer to the unpleasant sensation of the wards. As she had hoped, it allowed her to focus and concentrate better than at any point since she had entered the city. She headed to the altar, noting the bowl of holy water nearby. Excellent—she would need both to complete the ritual. She pulled the small sapphire amulet from her pocket. Calling it a sapphire amulet was a bit strong; it was more of a small sapphire pendant on a silver chain. However, it should do just fine.

She needed to fashion something to hold the spells to keep the wards at bay so she did not have to actively keep the ritual going herself. This would be only her third holy artifact since she had graduated from saint school, but she felt confident that she would have no problems. Once the necklace was working, she could, with luck, also use the chapel’s sanctity to boost her ability to contact the archons off plane and file her report. These stupid wards were a huge pain in the butt.

~

“Decisions, too many decisions!” Tom complained. He was sitting on his chair. He felt bad that he did not have furniture for anyone else, but he had never expected to have so much company. Nor had he really had time to build more. He had offered to let anyone who wanted to sit in his single chair, but it was really too big for anyone, including Reggie and Boggy.

“That’s not a common demon problem,” Boggy observed.

Tizzy nodded emphatically up and down while chewing on the stem of his pipe.

“Well, let’s see,” Antefalken mused. The bard had returned a few hours ago from the Courts and brought them up to speed on the reactions there. Tom had introduced him to Reggie as an old friend who had shown up when he had heard about the commotion in Astlan. Boggy then introduced Estrebrius to Antefalken and explained Vaselle’s request for a meeting.

“We’ve got an invitation from Lilith to stay with her at the Courts, and you’ve got a business proposal from Estrebrius’s accursed master, but we don’t yet know what that proposal is. Further, as I said, I think half the Abyss is looking for you and your guest,” Antefalken said, pointing to Talarius.

“I suspect a lot of people will be coming out of the woodwork to be your friend,” Boggy noted.

“Or to kill him permanently,” Tizzy added. Tom glared at the octopodal demon.

“Clearly, Lilith wants you to come to her, and she can protect you from other demons, but she’ll also have you all to herself at that point,” Antefalken said.

“This Lilith, who exactly is she?” asked Tom. “From what you have said, and what I read in Freehold, she sounds like she’s pretty important. I know the name, but they cannot be the same person. Different mythologies.” He made a shrugging motion.

Talarius seemed to shuffle in his armor over in the corner, where he was sitting and listening to them. Tom assumed the knight had also heard her name. Antefalken gave him a puzzled look, apparently wondering if Tom had been living in a cave, given that he did not know who Lilith was. Fortunately, Tom felt their current environment was sufficient evidence that he had, in fact, been living in a cave. Tom would just have to live with that lapse; he was not up to revealing his story to everyone today. Not with Rupert here, in particular.

“Well, don’t be too sure of that.” Tizzy chuckled. “She’s multiversally famous. Nearly every religion features some version of her.”

“Bad breakups will do that.” Boggy nodded.

“Yeah, and this one was bad.” Tizzy puffed out some smoke. “Really an epic breakup.”

“And of course, she came out looking bad,” Boggy said. “Women often do. Even if it’s the man’s fault, the ex-wife always ends up with the bad reputation.”

“I will refrain from joining this discussion,” Antefalken said.

“Are you still sleeping with her?” Boggy asked.

Antefalken gave him a surly look. “I’m not joining this discussion, and not discussing my love life.”

“Okay, I’m not that interested in her past. I am more concerned about the present. Who exactly is she today? If she’s so powerful that everyone knows who she is, is it safe to turn down her invitation?” Tom asked.

Antefalken shrugged. “To be completely honest, I don’t know which is more dangerous: accepting her invitation or declining it.”

“So who is she?” Reggie interrupted.

Tizzy shook his head. “She’s the Empress of the Damned, of course.”

“The Empress of the Damned?” Tom asked.

“She is about as close to being a ruler as the Abyss gets.” Boggy shrugged.

Antefalken continued, “She is one of the two Co-Factors, she and her consort, Sammael. They are the two most powerful demons in the Abyss, after the Concordenax.”

Reggie asked, “The Concordenax?”

“The Demon Father, the creator of all demons,” Estrebrius chimed in.

Tizzy suddenly started coughing loudly, pulling the pipe from his mouth and billowing out clouds of smoke. He looked up, realizing everyone was staring at him. “Sorry, inhaled the wrong way!”

“And where is he in all this?” Tom asked. “I read about him in a treatise, but it says he’s been missing for some time.”

Antefalken shrugged. “No one knows. Other than Lilith and Sammael, I do not know anyone who has ever claimed to have met him, or so much as seen him. And Lilith has no idea where he went, but he’s been gone for an extremely long time, even by demon standards.”

“This is all getting much more complicated than I’d expected.” Tom sighed.

Tizzy made a harrumphing sound.

“You think this is complicated, wait until Tiernon’s folks show up on your ledge with an arrest warrant!” Talarius chuckled, apparently with glee.

“I don’t think they’re going to come down into the Abyss.” Antefalken shook his head.

“That would be considered a broach of détente.” Boggy was nodding.

“But it would be kinda interesting,” Tizzy whined.

Estrebrius was shaking his head, clearly wanting no part of such an invasion.

“Yes, but more important, I’m not sure if they’d have access to all their resources here,” Antefalken said.

“What do you mean?” Tom asked.

“Well, look at our friend over there.” He pointed to Talarius. “You can’t feel your deity right now, can you?” Antefalken asked.

The knight simply glared at the bard. Antefalken continued after a moment of the knight’s silence. “I mentioned this earlier; clerics tend to get disconnected from their gods here, and no souls can escape without being intentionally released somehow. From what I have seen, and what Lilith has said, clerics can only do minor rituals here that draw on their own mana, or the mana from any followers in their immediate party. Those links they have to the higher planes don’t work here.”

“So his agents would be cut off from him?” Tom asked.

Antefalken shrugged. “That’s what I’m thinking.”

“And that’s why it would be interesting!” Tizzy exclaimed, pounding one of his fists into its opposing palm. “We could capture them, torture them, eat them!” He got a slightly wild look in his eye. “All that super-sweet angel mana!” He closed his eyes. “I bet their souls are really tasty!”

“You foul beast!” Talarius spat at Tizzy.

Tizzy turned and grinned at him. “I bet they’re even tastier than Paladins!”

The knight shrugged. “I’m not a Paladin, I’m a Knight Rampant, and so your ignorant point is wasted.”

“Enough!” Tom said. “No one is eating anyone, and we aren’t going to worry yet about Tiernon’s people coming for a visit. We take this one day at a time!” Tom was really starting to stress out. He was definitely in over his head. He sighed. “I think we need to consider this Lilith thing a bit more. How about Estrebrius’s accursed master? Do I take this meeting?”