Satan's Gambit (The Barrier War Book 3) (11 page)

Bad enough he
was being taken away from his studies, but to be forced into it on behalf of
those dirty shads!

Unlike most of
the people in Nocka, Alister did not share in the sudden, ubiquitous acceptance
of the lesser races that had followed the conclusion of the recent Barrier War.
Alister distrusted even the most proven example of demi-humans, the elves, who
could at least be counted on to stick to themselves. Dwarves and gnomes with
their stunted bodies and twisted minds, however, tried to mingle freely with
humans, polluting everyday human life with their gadgets and tinkerings.
 
The Orange paladin only bought merchandise
from known human manufacturers, such as those from Merishank.

But worse than
these races were the accursed denarae, who looked so much like humans it would
be easy to mistake one at night, or who was wearing sufficient clothing to mask
his inhumanity. Denarae were filthy, misbegotten creatures, and Alister had made
it his life’s pursuit to prove their true historic origins, which he was
convinced were demonic. He had recently uncovered some ancient manuscripts with
disturbing implications about certain “gifts” the denarae were purported to
possess.

Mind-reading. Mind-speaking.
Even mind-control, perhaps. These were all abilities ascribed to demons. Mere
mortals should have none of these powers, and Alister was convinced they had
been granted by Satan himself as part of some sinister bargain. Perhaps in
return for delivering the human race to the Lord of Hell through some great
betrayal. Already the demon-spawned shadowmen were infiltrating the ranks of
the human military through that abominable company; winning awards and
accolades better reserved for deserving humans. Who were
they
to act
like some sort of saviors?

And they were
aided, no
captained
by paladins! These men were traitors in the eyes of
God, as far as Alister was concerned. They should be able to recognize the
demonic taint in their supposed followers, but were no doubt instead being led
down the path toward corruption and damnation. The humiliation Alister had
suffered at the hands of their commander, simply for expressing a resonable
doubt to a comrade was intolerable. Fortunately, they hadn’t known the depths
of Alister’s resentment, or else the muscle-headed paladin might well have
slain him rather than face the righteousness of his anger.

Alister ground
his teeth in frustration. And here he was, being forced to work on their
behalf, looking for any mention of another Merging in the ancient histories and
philosophical writings. As if one Merging wasn’t enough, now they wanted to go
off half-cocked searching for another one. Alister barely paid attention to the
details and reasons spouted off to him, he’d been so furious about having to
take time from his research.

The door made a
creaking noise behind him as though it had opened, but Alister was too absorbed
in his thoughts to pay it any mind.

Maybe he was
getting close! They feared his knowledge, and they were trying to separate him
from his work to keep him from the truth.
Yes!
That had to be it.

“To Hell with
them, and to Hell with their God-forsaken search,” Alister cried out loudly as
he pushed himself back from his desk. “I shall resume my studies at once and
prove to the world the truth about the demon-tainted filth that resides among
us.”

Alister reached
for a book that had fallen to the floor and frowned as he saw a shadow cast
from his arm where no shadow should be. The only lights in his office were on
his desk, and while enough illumination reached the floor to make the writing
on the book cover visible, there was no light source strong enough nor in a
position
to cause his arm to cast such a dark shadow over the book. The light would have
to be behind him, near the door.

The Orange
paladin turned and gasped as a dark, cloaked figure suddenly became visible. A
sort of dark, gray light seemed to emanate from within the heavy robes, which
shifted and rustled as though something stirred on the stranger’s back.

“Who are you?’
Alister cried. “What are you doing h….”

The words died
in his throat as the cloaked figure moved with inhuman speed, and suddenly
Alister felt intense pain in his chest. He glanced down and saw a glowing sword
of ethereal crystal slide out of his chest. Blood streamed from the wound in
pulsing gushes – although none of it stained the blade of the unearthly sword –
and the Orange paladin barely had the presence of mind to clap his hands over
the injury to apply pressure.

Alister stared
up at the silent figure. The robes shifted, allowing him to see some of the
body within, and his face blossomed into an expression of terror and horror.

“I know you,”
Alister gasped. “But how? Why?”

“Because it is
necessary,” came the ominous response. Then the crystal sword rose again, and
Alister had a the barest instant of pain before darkness swallowed him.

- 3 -

Despite Garnet’s
insistence on deploying immediately, it was nearly two hours before Shadow
Company moved out. Many of the denarae had been on temporary leave, moving
through the city on their own duty to avoid trouble and stay sober. These were
summoned back by the denarae with the broadest kything range. Even though
Shadow Company was about to move into the city and could very well have met up
with the stragglers, Garnet refused to get into the practice of sending out his
men in any state other than total readiness.

Flasch wondered
about the feasibility of planting denarae supporters at strategic intervals
around the city, enabling news and messages to be passed across the city at the
speed of thought. Before he could approach Garnet with the idea, however, the
last of the denarae reported in and they were all ordered to disperse to their
assigned tasks.

Danner came
downstairs rubbing sleep from his eyes. All of Danner’s soldiers were already
present and accounted for, so he’d gone upstairs to catch a quick nap until
everyone else was ready to go. From the looks of things, it hadn’t been very
restful or refreshing.

“You look like
Hell, Danner,” Brican said.

“So do you, but
at least I’ll look better when I get some sleep,” Danner retorted irritably. “
If
I ever get any decent sleep. I swear, I get up feeling more worn out than when
I lay down in the first place.”

Garnet frowned.

“Do you need to
stay behind and rest, Danner?” he asked. “I’ll understand if you say yes.”

Danner shook his
head, scowling. “I’ll be fine. Just have someone pour me a cup of hot cahve,
will you?”

“Already done,
love,” Alicia said, crossing the room with a steaming mug in her hand. Danner
smiled gratefully and kissed her gently before accepting the drink and taking a
deep gulp. Alicia squeezed his free hand, then disappeared back into the
kitchen.

Flasch smiled at
the two. Even though they’d really only known each other for a half-year or so,
they already acted like a couple who’d been married
for years. Flasch wondered when and if he’d reach that same stage with the
passionate Deeta, who’d been his companion for almost as long.

Deeta was a
thrill and a wonder to be with, especially in a physical sense, but there were
times when Flasch wondered if something was missing between them. Neither of
them had said the “love” word to each other yet, and he wasn’t sure if either
of them felt it. Why didn’t they have that same sort of companionability that
Danner and Alicia seemed to share? Marc and Janice had the same sort of
closeness, but they’d been together unofficially for years.

Flasch chased
his own thoughts for a few minutes, then patiently put them aside yet again. He
could examine his feelings and self-pity later. For now, there was work to do.

A brief
commotion near the door drew Flasch’s attention. A young man wearing a
breastplate and the blue cloak of a paladin had just come in and immediately
stumbled into one of the denarae housekeepers carrying a bucket of soapy water.
She managed to save most of the liquid, but while trying to move away, the
paladin slipped on a patch of the spilled, soapy water and crashed to the
floor.

As he got sheepishly
to his feet, they finally got a look at who had arrived. Flasch recognized him
as being from the same training group as the Shadow Company paladins, but
couldn’t put a name to the face.

“Maki?” Marc
called.

“Marc,” the Blue
paladin replied, “good to see you.”

“What’re you
doing here?” Marc asked, crossing the room to clasp hands with their old
training companion. “Not that it isn’t a pleasant surprise, but, well, it’s
still a surprise.”

“One of the
Greens asked me to deliver a message to Garnet,” Maki replied, looking around
the room for the Red paladin’s mountainous form. Marc grinned and pointed to a
table only a few feet away, where Garnet was watching the two of them with an
amused smile.

“Garnet,” Maki
said. He quickly walked over and handed a folded and sealed piece of paper to
the Shadow Company commander. “It’s from Perklet, something about the dead
paladins they brought in earlier.”

Garnet nodded
and walked away, silently scanning the contents of the letter. Flasch saw him
frown and glance meaningfully at Michael, who had intently followed Garnet with
his eyes. Flasch wondered what the two of them weren’t telling the rest of
them.

“Maki!”

Flasch turned as
Alicia emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray of broken mugs. She carefully
set the tray down, then quickly crossed the room and gave the paladin a warm
embrace. Maki’s face turned a brilliant shade of crimson, and he awkwardly
hugged her back for a moment. Then he disengaged himself with a hesitant glance
toward Danner, who was apparently still engrossed in finishing his cup of
cahve. Finally Danner put the mug down, and only then did he seem to become
aware of the new arrival.

“Danner, you
remember Maki,” Alicia said, motioning him over. “He, Jeremy, and Billy
protected me when the demons attacked the Prismatic Council.”

Flasch grimaced,
hoping Danner hadn’t seen the look on Maki’s face a few moments ago. Flasch
vaguely remembered Marc telling him about Maki’s role in protecting Alicia and
how the Blue paladin apparently had a crush on her, but it was during the war
and the details were sort of fuzzy in his head. He’d had much more important
things on his mind then, like staying alive.

Flasch really
didn’t think it would be a problem, unless Danner turned out to be the jealous
type. No one could doubt Alicia’s feelings for him, and she quite obviously
felt only friendly gratitude and affection toward Maki for his role in
protecting her, but still… you could never tell about some people.

Everything
seemed fine, however, as Danner crossed the room and clasped his fellow
paladin’s hand in greeting. They exchanged words in low, companionable tones,
and Flasch’s worries faded away.

Nothing to worry
about there.

Faith is not a tool for learning, nor a path to
knowledge. It is an experience and must always remain such.

-
Ventuveris
,
[13]

“Modern Faith” (1027 AM)

- 1 -

Danner forced
himself to smile pleasantly as he regarded the stern-faced woman before him.
She held a broom in her hands as a warrior might hold a quarterstaff, and he
found himself automatically shifting himself so he could better react if she
did attack him.

“An’ I tol’ you,
I hain’t seen nothin’,” she said fiercely, scowling at him and the denarae
behind him. “I don’ know why y’all all cain’t get it through yer thick ‘eads.”

“Ma’am,” Danner
said patiently, “the man was your husband, and he was found dead on the front
steps of your house. You can understand how we can at least hope you might have
seen or heard something more.”

“I ‘eard ‘im cry
out,” she said, “an’ I come runnin’. I opened th’ door, an’ there ‘e was, all
cut up an’ dead like. Tha’s all I seen.”

Danner withheld
a sigh. The denarae accompanying him rustled slightly and made a note on the
writing tablet he was carrying.

“Forgive me,
ma’am,” he said, “but you don’t seem overly distraught at your husband’s
death.” She glowered at him, but stayed silent. “If you don’t mind my asking,
was your husband a decent man? I know he was a soldier in the war, but that’s
about all I know of him.”

And at this
rate, that may be all I
ever
know of him
, Danner thought in
frustration.

“Aye, ‘e was a
good ‘nuff sort,” she admitted grudgingly. “Prayed regular an’ al’ays acted
nice t’ kids and such. Just didn’a ‘ave no vision, no ambitchin’, iffin you
know what I’s sayin’.”

Danner withheld
a smile that threatened to cut through his weariness and irritation.

“Are you
getting anything, Treb..Trelik?”
Danner asked mentally, stumbling over the
denarae’s name. Silently, he cursed his own thoughts and steered them away from
the sudden image of denarae in a blood-stained green cloak caught in a demon’s
claws.

“Um, well,
sir, I can tell you she really didn’t see anything,”
Trelik replied, his
mental voice hesitant. No doubt he was tiptoeing around the images he was
receiving from Danner’s mind.
“She’s apparently very bitter her husband not
only kept her in such poor quarters, but that he had the ill-grace to die and
leave her stuck here alone.”

“A model
home, huh?”
Danner thought.
“Okay. Get what you can from her thoughts.
We’re done here.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Ma’am,” Danner
said aloud, “I’d like to thank you for your cooperation and apologize for any
additional pain or grief we may have caused you. Rest assured, we’ll find out
who killed your husband and bring him to justice.”