Barlowe, Wayne - God's Demon

Valefar turned the great blade in a quick shadow-parry. Heat waves from a sudden burst of blue flames caused the air around it to shimmer. "He told me that he did not want it, any more than he wanted war. But, he said, the anger had taken root and would never go away, and that war was inevitable. I took the sword from him and because he was my great friend followed him into war and, not wishing to waste such an important weapon, I wielded it in the Great Battle. Of course he had another ialpor napta, but like all the other Fallen save myself, he lost that one eventually in the Fall."

"Why did you get to keep it?" asked Eligor with genuine curiosity.

"I do not know. It lay there next to me in the crater when I awoke. At the time I thought nothing of it; I imagined that all demons had retained their weapons."

"It is odd."

"Yes, odd." Valefar spun around cleaving the sizzling air with a practiced flourish, grinned fiercely, and then, quickly placing the sword back in its box, closed the lid and sealed it with a word. "And so we have another great war at hand, Captain, a war unlike the incessant wars we have been fighting since we were sent here. Again, Sargatanas chooses to go to war, but this time, I believe, for the right reason."

Eligor looked at Valefar and knew, more then than ever, that Sargatanas had chosen his most trusted friend well.

"As do I," Eligor said. Both demons turned toward the door.

Valefar paused. "We will need him, Eligor."

"Who?"

"The Baron. As potentially dangerous as his troops are to us, we are going to have to put our trust in them and use them. And keep a very watchful eye on their fractious leader. If we keep the Baron and them in line, they will do grievous work upon the armies of the Fly."

"I understand. I will go to him now and see how his newfound solitude has affected his disposition."

Valefar began to create a series of command-glyphs in midair and then enfolded them into a hovering pyramid of light, which he sent off to Faraii. "Are you prepared for what will come?"

"Yes, Prime Minister. And yourself?"

"For Abaddon's Pit, if that is how it ends," he said with a half grin.

Valefar then turned away and Eligor opened the door. Something made him look back at the demon, who was again standing before the window, back to him, his steaming hands upon the long box. His head was bowed, his jaw seemed to be moving, and for a moment Eligor thought he might be silently praying. It was such an improbable notion that, as Eligor pulled the door quietly behind him, he shook his head slightly and then, as he started toward Faraii's quarters, began to focus on the difficult conversation that undoubtedly lay ahead.

When he arrived outside Faraii's chambers Eligor knocked upon the door, and when he heard no response he pressed his ear against its cold surface. He heard a faint rasping from within and, puzzled, pulled the knob-latch on the door. With some difficulty he pushed his way into the darkened room, smelling the tang of blood, stumbling over some unseen obstacles on the floor, and then, reflexively, invoking a glyph-of-illumination to better see his surroundings. The room and its objects were as he remembered them from his last visit, but only when he entered farther did he see the damage wrought. Every bit of furnishing, every square foot of floor and wall, was hacked and sliced as by a very sharp blade until the flesh of the bricks hung in long, bloody tatters, the floor was uneven, and the sparse furniture teetered on sword-chiseled, bony legs. And punctuating his examination was the ever-present rasping of what sounded like metal upon stone.

Eligor's eyes narrowed as he put his hand upon his sword hilt and walked slowly in the direction of the continuous sound. There is madness here. But when he actually set eyes upon the Baron, seated upon an untouched chair, Eligor was no longer certain. Faraii appeared composed, even serene, and were it not for the conditions of the surroundings and the whetting of his black sword, performed with ominous deliberateness, Eligor would have thought nothing amiss.

"Faraii, are you ... ?"

"I am fine ... Eligor."

"These chambers are not fine."

Faraii shrugged. "I was angry."

Eligor's hand stayed upon his sword hilt.

"And are you still?"

"Of course I am. I was sealed in my quarters for doing my job too efficiently. I think that would bother you as well."

Eligor saw the other demon's eyelid flutter.

"But," continued Faraii, "does that mean that I am unable to perform my sworn duty to Sargatanas?" The words hung for a moment, accompanied by the measured sound of the sword.

"Will you stop that while we talk?"

The whetting stopped.

"I just received word of the coming war along with my orders," the Baron said matter-of-factly. "My incarceration, it would seem, has ended as of your arrival. Imagine that, Eligor; my lord suddenly has need of my services and I am free."

"He does. We all do."