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Chapter 17

Late into the night, Rada studied. Servants refreshed the oil in her lanterns so that she could keep reading and she barely even noticed them come and go. Even with her fine glass lenses her eyes ached from all the strain. Her days were consumed by the tedium of governance, so nights were when she devoted herself into poring over the ancient scrolls, books, and tablets that the scholarly Orders had gathered here.

The room set aside for this endeavor was one of the larger ones that the Astronomers had available, and it had been absolutely filled with materials. Most hours it was crowded with intelligent, hardworking scholars, who were busy doing the same thing she was—searching for any information which might aid them against the demons—only they were all asleep now. She was the only one foolish enough to keep killing herself over an endeavor that had thus far proven futile. Rada knew there might not be any answers to be had in this ancient mess, only confusion and more questions. There was no great secret to be revealed or edge to be had against the demons. The battle would be fought with what Devedas could gather to Vadal City before the demons appeared, nothing more, and there wasn’t a damned thing Rada could do to help them.

Such helplessness infuriated her, but it kept her motivated.

The warrior Kumudesh brought her a tray with bits of fruit and cheese on it and set it on the table next to her. She barely noticed, as she was deep into a rereading of Indraneela’s Comprehensive Biology of Sea Demons. It was a useful compendium of how to butcher demon corpses in order to harvest the most magic from the pieces, but Indraneela didn’t really know much about making the demons dead to begin with. His case studies consisted of finding bodies washed up on shore, or throwing fifty warriors at a single demon and hoping for the best.

“You should eat something, Maharani.”

“I will,” she assured her bodyguard.

He snorted at that.

Such disrespect! “What was that noise meant to mean, warrior?”

“I mean no offense. Your husband told me to keep you safe from harm. I thought that would mean watching out for assassins, not reminding you not to starve because you’re too dedicated to your obligation to eat. Please.” He looked around the room conspiratorially, but the only others present were more of her Garo guardians, before he whispered, “When a woman is with child she needs to eat more.”

Rada frowned at that, for only her maids knew about that secret, and she was certain none of them had talked. If the courts found out she was pregnant, some might leverage her condition against her. Devedas’ rule was tenuous enough as it was without anyone insinuating the woman he had left in charge was too weak or distracted to handle her obligation.

“What are you talking about?”

“I watch over you all day and my wife has given me five children, Maharani. It’s not like I’m blind to the signs.” Kumudesh pushed the plate toward her with his good arm. “Please at least eat the cheese.”

“I suppose it is your job to pay attention.” Rada sighed. “Here I was thinking I could simply wear more voluminous robes in the hopes no one would notice.”

“Most of the First only see you in court, so they probably won’t notice for a while, and by the time they do, your husband will be victorious, so it won’t matter. In the meantime, humor a poor warrior who is just trying to do right by his charge.”

She relented and took some cheese from the plate. It turned out to be rather good, a small reminder that there was simple joy to be found in the world outside of politics or study…But then she immediately went back to reading because the fate of the world was at stake. Kumudesh, seeming satisfied with that small victory, went back to his chair by the door.

A few minutes later, someone pulled out the seat across the table from her and sat down. Rada looked up to see a man she didn’t recognize. He was exceedingly handsome, about her age, lean and stern as a warrior, yet from his haughty demeanor she immediately knew he was of the first caste. The stranger was dressed entirely in black, from robes to sash, and even gloves of silk.

For the life of her, Rada couldn’t figure out how he’d made it past her many guards unannounced.

“May I join you?” His tone was polite, but there was an air of menace about him.

Rada looked toward the door, where Kumudesh still sat, yet the warrior showed no reaction to the stranger’s presence. Neither did the other guards, who seemed perfectly alert, yet their glances her direction seemed to slide past this man without notice.

“This conversation is not for their ears, Radamantha. This face is not for their eyes.”

It was in that moment that Rada experienced something she’d not felt since her adventures in Vadal, as the Asura’s Mirror warned her that she was in the presence of an exceedingly great danger.

The stranger shivered as Rada received that warning, as if he had heard it as well. “So you have the device on your person? Of course you would.” He closed his eyes and inhaled through his nostrils, as if he was appreciating the fragrance of a fine perfume. “The mirror is a wonderful example of the ancients’ craft. Such devices were common once. This is the last of its kind. A pity.”

As its bearer, she never went anywhere without the artifact, and it sat in the decorated satchel at her feet. Even if Vikram had asked for it back she would’ve denied him, as she felt after calling down fire from the moon with the thing it was clearly her responsibility now, but thankfully the Historian had the wisdom to not ask.

“The ancients named these creations of theirs the Asura, after a belief that predated even that world. Each Asura was an independent intelligence, assigned to assist the lord of a particular realm. The purpose of the one you toy ineffectually with now was to oversee the defense of this land from outside invaders, but it was connected to all the others so they could share knowledge.”

“Who are you?”

“Though our paths crossed in the Capitol, and I knew your father, I do not believe we were ever formally introduced. Perhaps this will be more familiar to you.” One hand had been hidden beneath the table, and it came up holding a golden mask. He gently placed it on the table before him, then slid it toward her. When he took his gloved hand away, the lantern light flickered across the cruel face of the Law.

“That mask belongs to the Grand Inquisitor.”

“It does.”

To avoid the attention of her guards so blatantly, clearly she was dealing with a powerful wizard of some kind. Despite the mirror screaming into her mind to not provoke this unknown menace, she said, “There is a price on Omand Vokkan’s head. Is this mask proof of his demise, displayed to collect your reward?”

The handsome man smiled, but that gesture did not reach his eyes. The show of teeth was as mirthless as a demon’s expression. “That reward will go uncollected forever, because forever is how long Omand Vokkan will live.”

“A bold claim.”

“I know this because I am him.”

The mirror let her know this was true, and the blood in her veins turned to ice.

“From your sudden pallor I take it the black steel has confirmed my words,” Omand said.

“Guards!”

The spell broken, Kumudesh and his men all looked her way.

“I wish you had not done that.” As the warriors reached for their swords, Omand waved one hand dismissively.

The room shuddered. Shadows surged from corners. Men died horribly.

By the time Rada blinked, the shadows had retreated, leaving behind splintered bones and mangled bodies. Five Garo had perished in the span between heartbeats. Blood dripped from the ceiling to spatter on the ancient manuscripts. The shadows were just shadows again, places where the flickering lantern did not reach, once more without murderous substance.

Omand had never taken his eyes off her during the slaughter. “Scream louder if you want. Summon more guards. I will gladly paint the entire desert red…Or we can continue our polite conversation as reasonable members of our caste.”

Her warriors lay in still twitching pieces, but Rada fought off the terror, because her wits were all she had, so she could not afford to lose them. She was trembling uncontrollably, yet she met Omand’s gaze and did not flinch away. She understood there was only one reason Omand would reveal his true face to her and that was because he wasn’t worried about her ever recognizing him again.

“I am listening.”

Omand made a display of looking at what she’d been reading, and then gave a derisive chuckle. “I see that you search desperately for something to defeat the demons. Alas, there are no easy answers for that question. The ancients in all their might tried, yet they still fell. To be fair to our illustrious forebearers they were bombarded with millions of demons, armed with destructive magics the likes of which the army of hell can no longer produce. What we face today is nothing but the dying remnant of that distorted race, risen from the sea in a desperate last-ditch attempt to save themselves from extinction. As our numbers have grown, theirs have remained stagnant, for demons are built, not born.”

Even facing death, Rada was ever the scholar. “That isn’t in the books. How do you know this?”

“The source of all magic revealed it to me. Both of our races today are but pale phantoms of what we once were, and what we are capable of becoming once again. The Age of Kings was in truth an age of stalemate. The era of greatness has passed for both races, but with the other one dead, then the victor might be able to rise once more.”

“We will beat them.”

“Perhaps. I truly hope man does triumph, so that I may rule over the survivors. The ancients made a plan for this day. A plan which they knew would take many generations to develop, but which would eventually be capable of eradicating the demons once and for all. This plan requires the king of hell himself to leave the safety of the depths and venture onto land. I do not yet fully understand this plan, for access to that information was stolen from me.” Omand uttered that last part with great bitterness. “It is for this understanding I still search.”

“I will never help the likes of you.”

“I was not asking for your help. Your scholarship is not what has brought me here. As heir to the ancients’ systems, I have come to claim what is rightfully my property.” He gestured toward where the mirror lay beneath the table. “Then while I am here, I will deprive Devedas of something he loves, as punishment for stripping from me the Order of Inquisition which I worked so very hard to grow. The Inquisition was one of the few things I cared about, and he took it from me. Devedas has surprisingly few things he cares about. You are one of them.”

“You intend to kill me?”

“Yes.”

Devedas had written to her of his encounter with Omand in Vadal, and she had been searching the texts for references to defeating dark wizards who had so much power they could mimic a fanatic’s god, but she had found nothing.

“Unlike you, Devedas is a good ruler. He cares for the people.”

“They mean nothing to me. I gave Devedas a city. He put a knife in my back. I went off to claim the power of the gods and returned to find my name synonymous for criminal.”

“You were a bloody tyrant and a murderous fool!” If Rada was going to die, so be it, but she wouldn’t go quietly. “There was no problem your violence didn’t make worse. No truth that couldn’t be distorted by your lies. The Capitol was already dying before the demons got here, because you slit its wrists to suck out the blood like a greedy piglet on a teat. You are everything despicable about our caste. You’re nothing but a fraud, and when Devedas sends you to the endless nothing all of Lok will cheer!”

Omand smirked. “Such fire you have now. To think that only a few short years ago Sikasso cowed you into silence with naught but a threat.”

That was Rada’s greatest shame, but she would not admit it to this horrible thing.

“Yet now you goad someone with the power to do this?” Omand spread his hands wide, so she couldn’t help but take in the ruined remains of her loyal warriors whose lives had been snuffed out in an instant. “You live without fear of dying in a manner that would make the warrior caste proud. Few members of the First ever experience such freedom. It has been quite the journey for you, Librarian. Sadly, that journey must come to an end. You have no part to play in the ancients’ prophecy, so I have no reason to let you live. You are an anomaly in a system that is already too chaotic.”

Hot tears rolled down her cheeks as she accepted death. “I have tried my best to fix the mistakes I’ve made. I’ve fulfilled my obligations to my caste, Order, and family. I go to my death with honor. Will you be able to say the same, Omand?”

“I do not intend to die, so your question is irrelevant. Goodbye, Radamantha.”

Defenses active.

The shadows became solid and came for her. She screamed as she was engulfed in black.

Except there was no snapping of bones of rending of flesh as had befallen her poor Garo. The darkness passed by with a feeling like cobwebs on skin, but nothing more, and then they were gone.

Drop.

The mirror hadn’t spoken to her directly since Vadal, but she did as she was told without hesitation, flinging herself from the chair.

As Omand rose, the lantern on the table exploded. Burning oil spread across his black robes. Rada snatched up the mirror and crawled toward the wall. Omand effortlessly flipped the heavy table at her.

The wood was smashed to pieces against an invisible barrier.

Wrathful Omand stopped a few feet away and sneered at her through the flames that danced over his face. “After denying me, the black steel has chosen you as its administrator? Outrageous!

She’d not even realized that she’d pulled the mirror from the bag and was holding it in her bare hands. The black steel was ice cold, and Rada found that the Asura inside was staring back at her, and this wasn’t the faded ghost she’d seen before, but a vengeful matron made of fire and thunder. Ancient texts that had long been locked away were now tantalizingly available.

Just as had happened when the Scourge had attacked, Omand’s presence forced the Asura to act.

The Grand Inquisitor made a violent sweeping motion with one arm, causing the fire on his body to leap at her. It splashed off the mirror’s invisible barrier. That just seemed to infuriate him even more, and the stone floor shook. An inch of rock was instantly pulverized into chips and dust all about her, except for a circle immediately around Rada’s body that remained whole and unharmed. Omand curled one hand into a fist, and all the burning oil and papers were lifted from the ground and compressed into a ball. With an angry gesture, the fire launched toward her, only to spall against the mirror’s shield right in front of her face.

The mirror had done something similar for her in Vadal, and that had withstood even Upagraha’s wrath. “If a legion of demons couldn’t claw their way through, you’ll get nothing!”

“Mother Dawn robbed me, and now you taunt me with what should rightfully be mine.”

Surely the entire town must have heard that catastrophic pulverizing of stone, so Rada shouted as loud as she could. “Warriors! Wizards! Bring your magic and fight!” Would his shadow magic still be able to kill them in the presence of the angered mirror? She didn’t know, but this criminal beast had to be cast from her court. “An evil wizard is upon us!”

“I am no mere wizard.”

“I don’t care what you are, as long as you die. Begone, fiend!”

Offensive action authorized.

The Asura must have decided Omand was enough of an invader that she finally accepted Rada as her master.

“This is a complication.” Omand sneered as he picked up his golden mask. “I do not like complications. I will return for you later.”

Then he vanished.

Warriors rushed into the room with swords drawn to find the place on fire, their companions crushed and torn to pieces, and their Maharani lying on the floor in a circle of broken stone and chunks of wood. Despite their desperate attempts to help her, Rada remained focused on one singular purpose. The crack in the mirror had spread even further, but this time she would not let the Asura escape.

The mirror—and all the ancient secrets contained within—remained unlocked.


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