At the Gates of Darkness (23 page)

“The demons that we conjure are from what can be called the outer precinct of hell, a region of sheer chaos and confusion. There, life is a nonstop struggle for dominance.

“But, if you think of the Fifth Circle as a disk, and the outer precinct as the rim, the farther toward the center you move the more organized it gets.” He paused. “It’s hard to describe, because if I make it sound as if demonkind resembles us in any way it’s a false comparison. But we lack the understanding of their nature to truly describe their society.

“They have a King, or several, and a High King, whose name is not known, but under him reign Kings in each region. The King that we thought we faced was called Maarg, a being almost certainly gone, but whose legend someone keeps alive to keep some element of that outer precinct in a semblance of order.

“He may have been replaced by Dahun, the demon my brother and his mad followers seem to worship, or Dahun may be the ruler of a different region of hell.

“There are a thousand more questions than we have answers, but two have come to the fore: why are the demons fighting among themselves, and how can some of them exist in this realm without magic protection?”

Sandreena said, “I thought the act of summoning gave them the protection they required?”

“Yes, the circle of confinement is also a circle of protection and when they bow to our will, we protect them from quickly succumbing to this environment. But what of those demons we didn’t summon?

“Pug told me of the demon he faced, who replaced the Emerald Queen—”

Sandreena interrupted. “The temple has long had dealings with demon possessions, Amirantha.”

“Yes, discorporate demon spirits, but they are simply another type of demon, a minor creature of the mind that can take over a weak individual. But even that tenure is brief.

“No, this demon Jakan didn’t possess the Emerald Queen; he killed her and took her place, with a conjured seeming, a likeness that even those closest to her couldn’t penetrate.”

“Impressive.”

“Laromendis is considered a great Conjurer among the Star Elves and he says he could not do this for long. He said the ability to maintain the illusion for…months is a feat beyond imagining!

“Who was this Jakan? A weak spirit demon who preyed on weaker souls when he first came into this world and worked up to having the strength to do what he did? Or was he something else?”

“You love questions, don’t you?” She spoke softly and there was a resignation in her voice.

He smiled. “And you seek answers.”

There was a faint smile, then suddenly her eyes narrowed and the moment was gone. “Demons,” she insisted.

Amirantha stood up and said, “It’s easier if I show you.” He motioned for her to accompany him.

She followed him into the keep and they passed the kitchen workers preparing a meal for those who hadn’t
eaten already. Brandos and his wife sat quietly in the corner, her head resting on his shoulder, holding hands. She had seen him go off to fight enough times that she knew there was nothing to say, apparently, so they luxuriated in the moment together in silence.

Amirantha led Sandreena up the stairs of the tower in which he had been housed, to the room set aside for his use. In the room they found Gulamendis avidly reading the volume. He looked up and smiled, the first openly friendly and genuinely excited expression either of them had seen on the elf since his first coming to the island.

“This is amazing!” he said. “Every time I reread it, I find new things about which to wonder.”

Amirantha said, “If you don’t mind, why don’t you explain to Sandreena why this book is important?”

“First, it is genuine,” said the elf. He slowly reached out and said, “Give me your hand,” to Sandreena. He gently placed it on the book and in a second she snatched it back.

“Demon,” she said. “I can feel it. It reeks.”

Like a delighted child, Gulamendis asked, “Where to begin?”

Amirantha asked, “Did you make any sense of that battle you and your brother witnessed on Telesan?”

“I think so,” said Gulamendis. “It would probably be better if I showed you.”

He moved the book over and opened the back cover, lying it flat on the desk. He carefully unfolded the last page, until a map was revealed four times the size of a normal page. The map had been drawn in a vivid style, in garish colored inks, with many illustrations of demons of all stripes along the edges, with small narratives below each drawing telling something about that creature.

But Sandreena was instantly taken with the map itself, for it was a massive disk, divided into two circles, outer and inner, with the center circle being again divided into segments. “This outer circle is where the two of us have
plied our craft,” he said to Sandreena, while he pointed at Amirantha. “The beings we summon from here are what you most likely have faced before in your travels. The author of this work calls them the ‘lesser infernals.’”

“Lesser?” Sandreena shook her head in disbelief. “I’ve confronted some very big and nasty demons in my time.”

Gulamendis nodded slightly and said, “As have we all. No, lesser doesn’t mean strength or magic power, I am certain. It’s about organization, or rather lack of organization. It’s a demon-eat-demon realm.”

Sandreena put her hand near the map, just outside the border, and said, “What’s here, beyond the edge?”

Gulamendis looked annoyed at the interruption, but it was Amirantha who spoke. “Consider this something of a metaphor. The Fifth Circle is no more a disk than it is a circle. It’s a region, and I’m sure it has boundaries and what’s beyond those boundaries…? The void perhaps, or some other realm we do not know of, or perhaps it is the boundary with the Fourth Circle or the Sixth. In any event, it is this realm with which we are concerned, O seeker of answers.” The last was said in a friendly manner, but Sandreena’s dark look told the Warlock she wasn’t in the mood for banter.

“May I continue?” asked the elf.

“Please,” said Amirantha before Sandreena could ask another question.

“It’s in this inner realm where all our answers lie.” His finger stabbed around and he said, “It appears that chaos is something of the demonic nature, but at least in the inner circle, the circle of the greater demons, some semblance of order has emerged over the ages; these areas, what the author of this work calls ‘cantons,’ are each ruled by a demon lord, a self-anointed king, archduke, or some other like title.”

“Maarg?” asked Sandreena, having heard from Pug of the Demon King’s corpse being found on the Saaur world of Shila.

“He ruled the outer ring, as best I can tell,” said Gu
lamendis. “It is an every-demon-for-himself sort of place, and he literally clawed and bullied his way to the top. As best we can tell from this, Amirantha and I feel that what we had discerned about demons before all this began was in the main true, demons have a loose organization of alliances and services. You either destroyed your rivals, absorbing their power, or you found service. Those who were weaker than you found a stronger demon to serve in exchange for protection, and the stronger demon had a retinue ready to aid him in conflicts with his rivals. A lot of rising and falling among the demons of the outer circle was the result of betrayal, ambush, and treachery. And it always raised the question in my mind of how anything remotely like a society could arise from this chaos. How could they evolve beyond animal states, to have a language and magic?

“But here,” he said, indicating the inner circle, “is the answer. Each canton has its own society, apparently an army, and a ruler. Demons who somehow evolve enough to escape the outer circle but who don’t contest for domination, they find their way to one of these cantons and…” He shrugged. “I’m not certain. Service? Slavery? Freedom?

“We struggle to apply mortal concepts to a race more alien than anything we’ve encountered, even trolls and goblins.”

“Certainly true,” said Amirantha. “The author of this work labeled these cantons with a variety of colorful names, ‘Pandemonia,’ ‘Discordia,’ ‘Despair,’ ‘the Miasma,’ and ‘the Fallen.’ We have no way to know what the demons themselves call these cantons, or even if the number of five is correct, or much about them.”

“He writes a great deal on experiences here on Midkemia with demons, and the rest is inference as well as specifics about this place.” Gulamendis sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Putting aside colorful embellishment, at the heart of this work stands this truth: there exists a realm that is threatening ours, at the heart of which stands
a society or societies about which we know almost nothing. In fact, one about which we were ignorant until recently.” With no vanity, he pointed to Amirantha and said, “And we are, most likely, as expert on the subject as any two beings you might find in this world today.”

“Speaking of ‘at the heart,’” said Sandreena, pointing to a dark spot in the middle of the map. “What is that?”

Gulamendis shrugged. “Another tiny realm perhaps? All I can say is it is marked with a single word, ‘Void,’ and about it nothing is written anywhere.”

Laromendis arrived at the door and said, “Ah, there you are. Time to gather below. We are leaving.”

Sandreena, Amirantha, and Gulamendis all looked out the window and saw the sun hanging low in the western sky. Without further discussion, they hurried down to the marshaling yard.

K
aspar signaled.

They had ventured down the first trail, taking them to the rim of the valley, where they would begin the tedious descent down the switchback trails unless Pug decided he and Magnus needed to get everyone down in a hurry. All the magic-users had been cautioned to not use magic in any form, active or passive, unless they were attacked, as the defenders might have wards up to detect it. Looking at the long trail downward, and more trail beyond the distant rim, Amirantha turned to Gulamendis and said, “At least we should have a quick exit. I’d hate to have to run back up those trails.”

The elf nodded. “Some of my people are hardy, able to do this for days. I am not one of them.”

They had discussed this plan in detail, but arriving on the rim of the valley, where they could first see the construction, had caused them all to stop. “My gods,” said Kaspar. “What is it?”

The construction apparently was finished. The four large arching towers now pointed to a center point above the vast open area in the center of the wall structure.

Pug said, “It looks something like the portal used by the Dasati when they invaded Kelewan, though they punched that through from the other side and didn’t have all this construction around it. They used a magic shield that was very difficult to breach and expanded it as they sent more and more of their Deathknights through.”

Sandreena said, “Where are all the laborers?” She pointed and said, “There were hundreds of them working, after sunset, and demon overseers patrolling the walls.”

Pug said, “We need to get closer. I can see some movement in the distance, but it’s too far to make out who it is.”

Kaspar said, “Sandreena, lead us to that gully, please.”

His band had worked their way down the switchback trails cautiously, Sandreena at his side, until they reached the gully she had used to circumvent the guard post at the bottom of the slope. In single file they followed her to the rim of the dry river basin, and after motioning for the others to wait, Kaspar and Sandreena crawled on their bellies up to the rim and looked over.

“It’s quiet,” whispered Kaspar.

“On the wall,” said Sandreena.

Sentries could be seen walking the battlements, but between the basin and the wall was only empty ground. “It’s going to be difficult to get close,” said Kaspar.

“We should approach from the back,” said Sandreena. “There’s a dry river basin that flows close to the wall.” She pointed off to their left.

Kaspar motioned for Pug to come join them and when he did, Kaspar said, “Are you going to be safe using magic?”

Pug said, “Magnus and I have been testing as gently as possible, and we don’t sense anything unexpected.” He looked at the massive construction ahead of them and said, “Something in there is very powerful, but it’s dormant for the moment. There are a few wards to detect scrying, but they’re basic, nothing we can’t avoid.” He looked at the five crouching figures down in the basin behind and said, “I think we stick to the original plan.”

Kaspar nodded. “Wait ten minutes until we have worked our way around to the back of this fortress and then do what you think is best. If we hear any sounds of alarm from your group, we will have Magnus take us back up to the plateau above.

“If you hear any trouble on our part, do what you think best.”

Pug and Magnus, along with Amirantha, provided a formidable magic force, and might make the difference between the others getting back alive or not; after a long argument, Kaspar had relented as Pug insisted that he should be the one to decide if he should come to Kaspar’s aid or not. Kaspar was secretly relieved.

Sandreena followed Kaspar, Laromendis, Magnus, and Jim Dasher up the dry riverbed, while Pug rejoined Brandos, Amirantha, and Gulamendis. They slowly counted ten minutes, then Pug said, “Laromendis, be ready to make us look like a pile of dirt.”

The elf smiled slightly and said, “That should be no problem, assuming no one is looking very hard at our pile of dirt and we don’t have to be dirt for too long.”

Brandos chuckled, then turned to listen. “Someone’s coming,” he whispered and they all scooted close to the face of the basin, looking upward.

A demon sentry walked close to the edge and glanced downward, blinking for a moment. He had a bovine head with massive red eyes and a prodigious pair of horns that swept up and out. He grunted once, blinked, then moved on.

When he was away, Pug turned and asked the elf, “Dirt?”

“Dirt,” answered Laromendis. “Next time, try to get me a little more warning.”

“Those cattle heads tend to be fairly stupid,” said Amirantha.

“It also helps they’re nearsighted,” said Brandos. “That fact alone has saved my head more than once.”

Pug shook his head. “A nearsighted sentry?”

Brandos whispered, “It makes them nervous. They jump at any motion they detect. If we stay in the dark and don’t move, they’ll probably miss us even without the spell of seeming that brother elf just cast.”

Pug said, “Let’s go that way,” indicating the direction from which the sentry had walked. They crouched low and moved up out of the basin, keeping low along the edge of the depression.

They reached the road that led to the switchbacks up the hill, and the sentry post Sandreena had described was gone. Pug assumed they cleared everything from the perimeter once the gates and wall were finished, keeping the area around the walls free of any possible concealment.

Into the darkness on the opposite side of the road they crept, finding another depression behind which they could crouch. Slowly they moved away from Kaspar’s group.

Sandreena held up a balled fist, indicating those behind her should stop. Kaspar gently put his hand on her shoulder, letting her know he was coming up behind her so as not to startle her. She signaled there were sentries ahead, indicating two of them. He slowly rose up to peer over the edge of the dried riverbank and saw two demons walking a patrol before a small gate. They had traversed the perimeter halfway around the structure and had yet to see a safe approach. The fortification looked as if it were able to withstand attacks for a short time, but not able to withstand a
long siege. There was no central structure beyond the walls, so any storage and quarters were either in small buildings nestled inside the walls, or nonexistent.

Kaspar indicated they should move away and when they were safely distant from the gate, he whispered, “I don’t know what this place is, but it’s like nothing I’ve encountered. It’s easily defensible with a hundred soldiers, damn near impregnable with twice that, but I’ll be damned if I see much sense to it otherwise.”

“My best guess,” said Sandreena, “is they built this to defend for a short while in case someone tumbled to what they were doing and tried to stop it. I see no close-by water source, no decent supply route, and no quarters for any garrison. It’s as if they are willing to walk away from this place once they’ve accomplished whatever it is they plan on doing here.”

“My thoughts as well,” said Kaspar. He turned and motioned for Magnus to come close. Whispering, he said, “Do you have any sense of what this place is for?”

Magnus’s expression was grave. “There is some very dark magic occurring within those walls. It’s…muted, waiting for something to be unleashed, but it’s there.”

Suddenly a fine silver netting appeared out of the darkness and landed upon the white-haired magician. Magnus stiffened, then his eyes rolled up into his head as if he had been struck from behind by a massive blow. Kaspar and Sandreena crouched low and drew weapons as figures apparently rose up out of the soil of the plateau before them. Sandreena turned toward Laromendis and Jim Dasher, only to see them gone, and as she raised her mace and Kaspar his sword, a pair of finely woven silver nets descended over them.

Sandreena felt a shock course through her body, and her mind became a tumbling cascade of thoughts and images. Part of her knew she was under attack, but years of training, both martial and magic, wilted under the effect of that
net. Her defensive spells refused to coalesce in her thoughts; moves as basic as raising a shield or hefting her mace, ingrained in her body’s memory as much as her mind, became spastic jerking attempts to control herself.

Kaspar was likewise overcome, jerking and twisting as he sought to command his body by force of will to meet the coming attack. But like Sandreena and Magnus, he quickly fell to the ground.

Looking up they could see three figures covered in suits of fine cloth from head to toe, with only the smallest slits for eyes. The cloth was the same color as the dirt that had hidden them and they must have been lying in ambush for quite some time, perhaps hours, waiting for the intruders to get close enough to render them powerless.

Another figure appeared a moment later, a grinning bearded man who looked down at the three prone bodies and said, “Bring them!”

As he turned away, Sandreena managed to whisper, “Belasco!” She didn’t know if Magnus or Kaspar could hear her.

Pain coursed through her body when she tried to move, but if she remained motionless, the pain faded. Her thoughts were still chaotic but she witnessed enough and remembered enough to have a sense of time passing as she and her companions were lifted and carried toward a small rear gate in the wall.

Then she found her thoughts fleeing, then came darkness.

Jim crouched down behind the smallest of rocks, his cloak pulled over him, motionless. No doubt he was likely to be discovered in a moment, but he had an instinct for when to flee and when to remain still. Right now his “bump of trouble” was telling him to get as close to the ground as humanly possible. He could hear muffled voices and sensed some movement ten yards ahead.

He had felt more than seen the ambush, and his reaction had been to leap backward, away from the fight. It was not cowardice but caution that motivated him; he wanted to be sure no one was coming up from behind. Those three steps backward and ducking low as whoever threw the net at Magnus jumped down the side of the dry riverbank, saved him from detection. Something happened to Laromendis, but he couldn’t be certain. One moment the elven magic-user had been there, the next he wasn’t.

Jim had his dagger ready, but kept still. He waited until he could hear no sound, then risked peeking out from under his cloak.

The riverbed was empty.

He had heard the brief struggle and knew the instant Magnus went down without a sound they were overmatched. Whoever waited for them expected a powerful magician; he assumed the same magic trap prevented Sandreena from using her abilities, and the nets had quickly rendered both her and Kaspar unconscious.

Pug and Kaspar had been clear in their instructions to him; he was the last link to the outside world if all else failed, and given the level of power and talent in this reconnaissance, he considered himself a desperate choice.

He crouched low, willing to risk looking out from under his cloak, but not willing to risk moving just yet. Where was that elf?

Then he saw Laromendis move and suddenly the elf was standing before him. He turned and looked down at Jim and whispered, “They’re gone.”

Jim stood up and Laromendis reached out to touch his cloak. “That is impressive.”

“I’m good,” whispered the noble-turned-thief-turned-spy, “but I’m not that good. This didn’t come cheaply. The artificer who wove it for me called it his ‘cloak of blending,’ and I suspect it uses magic similar to your own.” He looked around for any sign of lingering danger. “What just happened?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” whispered the elf. “They were lying in wait. They knew we had magic-users with us, and they were ready.”

“They knew we were coming.”

“Apparently. What troubles me is how the ambush was executed.”

Jim’s brow furrowed. “Explain.”

“We were not moving especially quickly, in fact we were very cautious. For those three ambushers to have secreted themselves in that location, in anticipation of our arrival, meant they had to be lying in those shallow depressions, covered with dirt, for quite some time, perhaps an hour or more.”

“How did they breathe?”

Laromendis nodded emphatically. “I’m thinking they didn’t breathe.”

Jim’s face became a mask of concern. “Necromancy?”

“Pug mentioned to my brother and me that one of his concerns was trying to understand how death magic and demon magic were linked, and we understood that concern, though we have had no experience with any such connection.” The elf paused, then looked at Jim. “There may be a more prosaic explanation, but if those were…reanimated dead?”

Jim was, for the first time in years, uncertain what to do next. “We need to send word to Pug, and we need to follow those captors.”

Laromendis said, “I’ll find Pug. I can stop and hide, better than you can, but I cannot track or skulk, and that cloak gives you more flexibility than my magic does.” He asked, “What should I tell Pug?”

“Tell him what you saw, nothing more. Don’t speculate unless he asks, and tell him that if I don’t find you within one hour he’s to assume I’ve been taken as well.” Jim glanced over the verge and said, “Good luck,” then he wrapped his cloak around him and almost vanished.

“Good luck,” returned Laromendis, fascinated at Jim’s subtle bit of magic. He could see Jim moving along the verge of the dried river, but only if he looked directly at him and concentrated. He knew that if he took his eyes off of the human, he’d vanish from sight. The cloak did not render him invisible, but rather let him blend in with the surrounding terrain.

Laromendis decided he’d ask more about that cloak if they ever got out of here. He glanced around to ensure he wasn’t being watched, then started back the way he had come, hoping to overtake Pug before they ran into trouble.

Pug motioned for the others to halt. They’d been making very slow progress, frustrated by the need to loop far to the northwest and then return toward the wall in tangential approaches. There was simply no good cover until they reached a point farther to the west, and from there they could hardly see anything. Kneeling behind an overhang that sheltered them from any but the keenest observation, he whispered, “This is getting us nowhere.”