“Yes. At times.”
“You watched me aid in the deaths of hundreds.”
Jerico nodded. “I did.”
“Yet I’m still alive.”
Now the paladin had no answer.
“No one is as good as they claim,” Qurrah said, standing. “But you’ve never claimed to be perfect, Jerico, only that you desire to be. Your failure does not deny that perfection. The fact that you haven’t killed me is proof enough. But I think I know what it is Tessanna desired from you. What she’d never have gotten from me, for I’d never felt it myself.”
“And what is that?” Jerico asked.
“Forgiveness. For Aullienna. It haunts her. Now Velixar’s got her, he’s twisting her, trying to break her like he tried to break you. Should I ever see her again, what will be left of her? A shattered thing? Will I even know her?”
Jerico clapped Qurrah on the shoulder.
“Come on,” he said. “I’m hungry, and this hill makes for poor sleeping. Our friends await.”
“I have no friends,” Qurrah said.
“Don’t be so melodramatic. Your family, then.”
He offered his hand, and Qurrah took it.
“All right, but if anyone tries to kill me, you better protect me.”
Jerico winked.
“We’ll see.”
They returned to the city.
T he feast was meager, but Harruq was still thankful. It seemed like it’d been ages since he’d eaten in a chair at a table. They gathered in the great hall of the castle, with six long tables, three of them empty. Antonil and Theo sat opposite each other, with a few knights and angels between them and the Eschaton. Harruq absently chewed on some bread far too stale for his liking and watched the two kings talk.
“What are we missing out on?” he asked.
“Since when did politics interest you?” Tarlak countered.
“It might affect his food,” Aurelia said. “That keeps him interested.”
“I’m serious,” Harruq said, clearly insulted. “We’ve marched in here expecting to fight, and instead find troops of some king that I sure don’t know.”
“You’ve barely been outside of Veldaren,” Aurelia said. “Of course you don’t know anyone.”
“I recognize the name,” Tarlak said. “That Pensely guy said that a baron named Gregor White was expected to become king, but then he died with no clear heir between his two sons.”
“Sounds like Theo was the stronger of the sons,” Aurelia said. She pushed away her plate, having no appetite for the light meal. “I wonder where the other son is. Dead, perhaps? Hanging from a branch by a rope? Maybe just jailed in a tower somewhere.”
“Careful,” said Tarlak. “You might be discussing a deep dark secret of this majestic White empire sure to rise in these final days.”
Harruq rolled his eyes.
“Master of sarcasm, you are not.”
“Better than you, oh master of the subtle.”
Further down the table, Ahaesarus excused himself, stood, and then moved to sit with the Eschaton.
“I saw your stares,” he said as he folded in his wings so they wouldn’t brush against Tarlak. “I assure you, the plans being made are far less interesting than you might assume.”
“Tell us anyway,” said Aurelia.
Ahaesarus leaned back and crossed his arms as he thought over everything the two kings had said.
“We will remain here for a time,” he said, figuring to start with the most certain. “I’ll have angels patrolling all across the Kingstrip. Thulos and his troops won’t get within a hundred miles of here without us knowing. Until then, we’ll gather what soldiers we can and train them. As for what we do once the demons make their move…”
He gestured to where Antonil and Theo argued, their conversation having grown rather heated.
“That is still uncertain. I fear King White’s desires are too fatalistic. He is convinced the world is coming to an end, and he seeks glory and blood to be his burial shroud.”
“Who is this guy, anyway?” Harruq asked. “No one’s told me anything. How’d he become king? How’d they retake this castle?”
“Did he defeat his brother after the city fell?” Aurelia asked.
“No,” said the angel. “His brother was here when Karak’s troops slaughtered everyone. Evidently only a token force garrisoned the walls. Once the barons discovered the destruction, they began mustering troops. The demons were careless, and instead of consolidating power they continued after us.”
“Velixar wanted all of you dead,” said Qurrah as he sat beside his brother. The table quieted immediately, broken only by Jerico’s chuckle as he took a seat opposite him.
“Save the awkwardness for later,” the paladin said. “Qurrah’s information here is vital to our decision making.”
“Go ahead then,” said Tarlak, keeping his eyes on everyone but Qurrah. “Enlighten us.”
“The demons were led by one named Ulamn. Velixar pressed him, kept him moving when he might have otherwise slowed. Both believed their supply of war demons limitless, and hoped to crush Mordan before they received warning they were even in danger. If the queen had time to gather her troops, the siege would have been far more dangerous.”
“That rush left Kinamn here lightly guarded,” Ahaesarus said. “And it also left the barons to prepare without danger or harassment. So months later, when the demons fled the other way, chased by us, Theo White gathered everyone under his banner. His army is the strongest, his command the wisest, and without his brother to compete for inheritance, he was an obvious choice for leadership. They stormed the walls only weeks ago, defeating the few demons stationed here. At the very least, Omn is now free of the demons’ presence.”
“But for how long?” Tarlak asked. He pointed a finger at Ahaesarus. “You know they’re coming, and this time with a god on their side. Theo can’t possibly think these walls will matter, or that we can hold them.”
The angel shook his head.
“No, he doesn’t,” he said. “But his preferred defense for his country…it is careless. Dangerous. I hope in my heart your king Antonil can persuade him off such a course. I fear he won’t. Until then, though, we must prepare. We do not know what Thulos will do, but I doubt he will come as quickly or as recklessly.”
“He can’t,” Aurelia said. “The portal’s closed. His demons are now limited, and with every death he grows weaker. He’ll need men. Lots of men.”
“That is Theo’s thinking,” said Ahaesarus. “Felwood Castle and Angelport are the two most likely places. It will take time to reach either of them.”
“Will Thulos get them to switch?” Harruq asked. “Conquer them, make them serve his rule?”
Ahaesarus sighed.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Time will tell. I have little hope, though.”
“Isn’t that what your kind is for, hope?” asked Aurelia.
The angel smiled, but sadness hid in his eyes.
“I am here for this,” he said, patting the sword at his side. “Nothing else. Come the battle, I will slay the enemies of Ashhur to protect the lives of this world, and will do so until my last mortal breath. I know of nothing else.”
Harruq took a drink as the conversation quieted, worried by the strange chill that danced down his spine.
7
