142: Shackles of the Past (Patreon)

When Vir entered the Tribunal’s audience chambers, he expected he’d be alone. Instead, all twenty of the raiders from last night’s raid stood in a row, hands clasped behind their back. His first reaction was to panic seeing so many exposed demons.

They’ll be discovered!

No longer in disguise, they wore a variety of casual clothing and showed off their red skin. Then Vir suddenly remembered where he was, and the panic washed away, replaced by relief and pride.

These are the demons who saved fifty souls last night.

Lord Reth, Disanna, and Zora all stood at the foot of the stairs of the audience chamber—not at the top. As if signaling that they were all equals here.

“Welcome, brothers and sisters,” Disanna said with a genuine smile. “You’ll be pleased to know that the fifty you saved are settling in well to their new lives. As usual, several refused to believe the Order’s true nature and tried to break out. After some soothing and a hot meal, they’ve come around as well. I fear our front works too well at times.”

Several demons chuckled, while others shook their heads in exasperation.

“You’ve done them all a great service. Many were bound for a life of slavery. Others, death. But now, they have a new lease on life. A chance to live normal lives. Or as normal as citizens of the Undercity can lead, anyway.”

“One day,” Zora said in her gravelly voice, “all demons will know the light of the sun on their skin. Without paint or disguise. One day soon.”

“Hear hear!” Badal said, pumping his fist, prompting others to do the same.

Vir nearly raised his fist alongside them. Then he thought about the coup. One that would be anything but bloodless. The Order that came after would not recognize humans as equals. None of that sit right with Vir.

Despite this, he found himself empathizing with their plight. Rescuing demons and giving them a better life was a cause worth fighting for. Of that, he was sure.

“As per usual, we will compensate each of you handsomely for your accomplishments. And let us not forget the deeds of our newcomer, rescuing fifteen prisoners on his own! We are proud to welcome him to our Order.”

A round of clapping and hoots echoed through the hall, and Vir nodded awkwardly to everyone who looked his way, surprised to suddenly be put on the spot.

It wasn’t just his bashfulness—while he’d rescued those prisoners, he couldn’t have done it without Badal’s help. Not to mention he vouched for the princess and she ended up turning on him. The events of last night weighed heavily on his back.

But if the raiders bore him ill will, they certainly didn’t show it. Somehow, that only made the sting of losing Tia even worse.

“Go rest now, all of you. Ah, but Vir, would you mind staying back a moment? We have much to discuss.”

Here it comes, Vir thought. Instinct told him bad news was headed his way. Instinct, and that strained smile Reth had given him earlier.

Several demons clapped his shoulders or nodded toward him as they filtered out, and Vir found himself reciprocating. It felt so right being here, amongst friends.

The warmth in his chest only bolstered his confidence that he was making the right decision, staying on with them.

Disanna spoke up once the others had filtered out, and when she did, it was in a softer voice than the one she’d used with the crowed.

“I know you must be worried about the one who betrayed you during the raid. Princess Tiyana Matali. To think we had a Matali royal in our very own capital…”

“I’m sorry,” Vir said, lowering his head. “I vouched for them, and yet… I mean, I knew Tia bore no love for demons. I just never thought she’d react so violently. I have no excuses.”

“No need, friend,” Disanna replied, gently lifting his chin. “As a royal, she’d have been privy to our true nature eventually. Besides, we had little recourse. Killing her would’ve complicated matters for us. Perhaps this was the best outcome. Better than having her snooping within our ranks.”

“The reason we’ve summoned you is to invite you into our ranks,” Lord Reth said. “You have been with us only a week, and already you’ve contributed more than most do. We would be honored to have you.”

That much was expected, Vir thought. He’d given the decision a great deal of consideration, so there was no hesitation in his response.

“I accept—”

“But,” Lord Reth said, cutting him off. “We feel that, in good faith, we ought to warn you before you reply.”

“Warn me? Of what?”

“The Pagan Order’s intelligence network runs deep and wide. We have operatives in every country in the Known World, feeding us information daily. Including Hiranya.”

Vir had a bad feeling about this.

“I’m afraid you have a hunting party on your tail, brother. A Mejai of Realms and his entire retinue, accompanied by what we suspect is a demon who’s been brainwashed or coerced into their service. A powerful giant, by the looks of it. Exceedingly powerful.”

Vir’s stomach dropped.

“We’ll not lie to you, Vir,” Disanna said. “They are an unparalleled force. For Hiranya to send such a strong party across borders, they must truly want you dead.”

Vir opened his mouth to reply, but Disanna continued before he could.

“It is not our way to pry into our citizens’ affairs. It is our way, however, to defend our own.”

“Your own…” Vir replied, understanding her meaning.

“We must know that you are committed to the Order. We will fight these hunters, Vir, but we must ask that, in return, you agree to stay here. With us.”

“That’s…” Vir was planning on staying, though this new information threatened to shatter his plans. “Lives will be lost, won’t they?” Vir asked.

“They most certainly will. Even without magic, our Ghael eyes have confirmed Talent wielders among them. Strong ones. Not to mention the demon, whose prana is stronger than any being we’ve ever laid eyes on. We suspect that demon’s Balar Rank may even exceed 700.”

Vir paled at that figure. Wouldn’t that make the demon the strongest being in the Known World? Hiranya had such a hidden weapon?

When Riyan ordered Vir to assassinate Mina, he’d feared this exact situation. He feared that nowhere in the Known World would be safe, despite Riyan’s assurances.

And now Riyan was gone—likely dead—and Vir was on his own.

Well, not on my own, exactly, he thought, thinking of the respect the raiding demons had given him. He’d no doubt they would give their lives to protect him. That was exactly the problem.

Can I accept that?

Was it fair for them to sacrifice themselves for his botched assassination? How many demons would he have to save to balance that scale?

Vir shook his head. It was impossible to weigh lives so mathematically. Rather, he refused to. People were precious. Invaluable. He had no right to put the Order’s demons in that position.

“Can I have some time to think about this?”

“Of course, but know that your pursuers are in Avi. They are heading here as we speak, via Ash’va. It will be some days before they arrive, but the earlier you decide, the better prepared we can be for them.”

“I understand,” Vir replied. “I’ll have my answer by this evening.”

In the course of a few moments, with just a few words, the future that had nearly been etched in stone was now once again nebulous and fraught with peril.

“One last thing,” Vir said. “May I show Maiya the Undercity? I know I said this about Tia, but I truly do vouch for her. She’s known I was a demon, or Ashborn, ever since I was little. She defended me when others sought to do me harm. I swear on my life that she can be trusted.”

The Tribunal glanced at each other, exchanging unsaid comments, before replying.

“If that is your wish, we are amenable. We interviewed your friend when she arrived. Still, she must take an oath of secrecy. If she does prove an enemy of our people, there will be no escape for her. We have operatives in all countries. Even in the courts of Kin’jal. You understand?”

Vir nodded. “I understand.” The implications were dire, but he wasn’t worried. Maiya was different from Tia. She’d never betray the Order. Not as long as they were on his side.

It wasn’t her he was worried about. It was what the Mejai of Realms would do once they arrived at Balindam. Time was running out, and he had a decision to make. One that would alter his fate forever.

— —

Vir walked out of the audience chamber to find Maiya leaning against a stone wall with her arms crossed, and Neel sitting on his haunches, looking up at her.

“You look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” she said.

“I may very well have,” Vir replied tiredly, kneeling to pet Neel.

“Thought they’d summoned you for accolades. What happened?”

“Well, they did. But there was more. Walk with me?” Vir said, beckoning Maiya to follow.

“Sure.”

“It’s princess Mina,” Vir said in a low voice as they walked the castle’s narrow halls. “She’s sending a hunting party after me. A Mejai of Realms with a retinue of mejai. And a powerful demon. Really powerful. Like Balar 700, if they’re to be believed.”

“That’s not possible, Vir. Emperor Andros Kin’jal’s supposed to be the most powerful person in the Known World. And he’s 650! How can Hiranya have anyone stronger than him? The world would’ve known! Kin’jal would’ve known! Unless… The Altani’s helping them keep this hidden, aren’t they?”

“I don’t know, Maiya. I don’t know. But they sound like a real force to be reckoned with. Depending on their size and strength, I could be looking at a combined Balar rank of anywhere from 1500 to 5000.”

“Less, here in the Voidlands,” Maiya said. “Maybe you ought to just wait for them to come here? Those mejai will be powerless. Trust me, it feels horrible to be here. I feel naked.”

Vir shook his head. “They have Talent wielders too, apparently. And that demon alone is enough to end me. I struggled against the Brood Matron, and I had a party to back me up. That monster was ‘only’ Balar 400 or so. I can’t fight them, Maiya.”

“But the Order would defend you, right?”

“They would. If I agree to stay here, which I’d planned to, anyway. That’s exactly the problem,” Vir said, entering the elevator shaft. He nodded to the operators, who began priming the lift’s mechanism to lower them.

“Where are we going?” Maiya asked as they stepped onto the lift. Neel planted his butt down and looked around with enthusiasm, tail wagging.

“You’ll see,” Vir said with a smirk. “But first, I need you to swear to secrecy, with these demons here as your witness. What you see cannot be revealed to anyone. Let alone princess Ira, is that understood?”

Sensing his change in tone, Maiya stiffened up and nodded. “I’d never betray you. You know that. Kin’jal pays me well, but I’m certainly not divulging all my secrets to them. I swear on my parents' names that I won't share what I see today to anyone.”

“Does that suffice?” Vir asked the demon guards, who nodded back.

“We hear and accept your oath. We shall record this in our tomes, along with the names of all who have served as witnesses here today.“

The lift began to descend, plunging them into darkness. Maiya subconsciously huddled closer to Vir—something she’d always done when she was afraid.

“The Order would defend me,” Vir said softly, mainly to keep Maiya distracted from the darkness, “but they’d lose many lives doing so.”

“I see. Yeah, that… would be hard to live with. Wait. Just come back with me, then!” Maiya said, grasping Vir’s forearm. “Come with me to Kin’jal. Doesn’t matter how powerful this force is, Hiranya wouldn’t dare lift a finger against Kin’jal. And if they do, we’ll crush them to dust.”

Yep. Kin’jal’s been rubbing off on her, alright. Not that it’s a bad thing, Vir thought with a smile. It was a kind thought, but the force followed him precisely because they could claim they had no relations to Hiranya. Why wouldn’t they follow him to Kin’jal when they’ve followed him halfway across the Known World?

Fleeing would just delay the inevitable, bringing even more people into their crosshairs.

“Well, perhaps when you see this,” he said, gesturing at the dizzying array of lights that suddenly appeared under them, “maybe you’ll understand why I like the Pagan Order so much.”

“Wha-wha-wha what is this!?” Maiya cried as she stared at the underground city that loomed below them. She stumbled, but Vir caught her before she fell.

“Welcome to the Undercity. The true face of the Pagan Order.”