The Chronicles of Heaven's War: Burning Phoenix (52 page)

“The power of this man is diminished...”
Lowenah interrupted, disgusted. “Long ago it was taken from him by
the very Ones giving it to him. ‘
To the person deserving more
shall be given, but to the treacherous one shall it all be taken
away
.’ Your own AsreHalom penned those words once, long ago,
and for you so true has that statement become.”

Crimson-faced, raging in anger, Asotos
assailed Lowenah. “Lies! All lies! My power is even greater since I
have not had to
whore
myself in
your
bed! Stay out of
this,
hag
!
My business is with this abused child, one
you have cast into eternal damnation because of your selfishness
and evil intent. I can provide her a cure for
all
her ills,
even the ones you have kept hidden in secret places.”

Lowenah sadly replied, her voice quietly
subdued, “I have spoken the truth… Still, this is not my night to
do battle. My child is grown, and can decide good and ill for
herself. It is her choice, her will.”

Asotos sinisterly grinned. Now that he had
Erithia’s promise to no longer interfere, it would only be a matter
of little time before this distraught creature was being whisked
away to more private places. Already he was fantasizing over what
the next several hours might deliver.

At that, Asotos drew close to Darla, cooing
softly in her ear, “It is time, my lovely one, for you to receive
your reward that has for so long been hidden from you. Come, let us
depart to better places so that you, too, may receive what you so
much deserve.”

Darla slowly lifted her head, her gaze first
falling on Asotos and then on Lowenah. The woman’s tear-filled,
reddened eyes silently begged,
‘Why have you been unfaithful to
your little child? I trusted you, asking nothing in return. The
truth...the truth was all I ever asked for. Deceit! Is that my
portion for my devotion? You, too? You, too...? Have you also
betrayed your little brattling misfit? Shall I go away, and will
that leave you, too, in peace? Cracked and broken I came in to this
world. Cracked and broken I shall leave it...
’

Lowenah silently stared down into her
daughter’s distraught face, attempting no reply. Would her Rachel
surrender to the wiles of this man, to the sweetness of an empty
tongue uttering impotent promises? Too much she had asked of her
child. No one should need to endure such trials, but what else was
she to do? This hour was destined to come, must come. Through Death
must Life be renewed.

Tonight her Rachel must die, or at least
wish for death. It was the beginning of her healing. Yet, soon she
must pass through Death’s door. To do so, the girl would have to
experience the Dream of Dreams. It was the trigger - of that
Lowenah was now sure. Yet, this decrepit man confronting Rachel
could not give her those dreams, and those dreams she must have in
order to pass through Death and enter back into Life.

Asotos went on to charm the girl with sweet
prose and gentle speech, continually describing to her the joys of
the Dream of Dreams. What he did not wish to understand, or was
unable to understand, was that Darla wept not over dreams lost, but
over a deep feeling of betrayal. Few were those of her kindred that
she fully trusted. Even Mihai and Euroaquilo were kept at arm’s
distance. But Mother - the only person the girl trusted to the full
depth of her heart - was she also a beguiler of false hope?

It was the emptiness of the heart, the total
loss of trust that caused convulsive actions to rage within the
child, the Dream of Dreams merely the catalyst creating this
eruption of emotional anguish. Forever was that hope gone, that she
knew. Now what was she to do? Whether this man could give the
dreams was doubtful but, for her, an impossibility. He was her
enemy and would remain so, forever. Never would she go to him for
any favor or cure. If it meant eternal damnation, she would refuse.
She paused in thought, looking up at the moon. Damnation...yes,
damnation. There was another road to be considered.

Asotos was becoming impatient, the
persistent night chill quite uncomfortable. “Come, my child. We
must leave soon. The night is well along and the day begs we be
departed from here.” He extended a hand in offer. “Here, let me
help you and we shall be gone.”

Darla looked up at Asotos, threateningly.
Taken aback, he hesitated before asking again. “Shall we go? The
hour is late and you are in need of my love. Come, let us go.”

Darla slowly began to rise, a queer disquiet
growing on her face. The woman silently stood, staring back and
forth at Asotos and Lowenah, a wild look smoldering in her eyes.
Something was peculiar about her, strangely disturbing, filling the
hearts of those watching with unease. Lowenah noticed, too.
Something was up, something she was not expecting. ‘Stay alert you
must!’

Asotos believed the events of the night had
driven the girl mad - weak constitution, you know - but have her
now he must. His heart ached to possess her forever. He needed to
discover the secrets hidden deep within her mind. In a hurried
voice, he called for Darla to join him. “Come now. The hour is late
and we must be going.”

At that instant, Asotos’ ears picked up a
growing, guttural, staccato sound coming from Darla’s throat. He
stepped back, wondering.

Darla clenched her fists, looking up at the
moon, howling out angrily to the sky, “
Kra·Ka·Tuu! Kra·Ka·Tuu!
Kra·Ka·Tuu! Sab·Bee·Nee! Sab·Bee·Nee! Sab·Bee·Nee!
(meaning:
‘
So it shall be! So it shall be! So it shall be! It has come! It
has come! It has come!’)

At that instant, a shadow flashed across the
moon and the fires of the burning sentinels vanished, leaving the
plain empty and cold. Lowenah puzzled, disturbed. This was
unexpected
, and what her daughter was doing
unexpected
. Something was up, and she must remain
vigilant.

Darla turned toward Asotos, arm
outstretched, finger pointing, shouting in her monster’s’ deep,
guttural voice,
“The love songs of the Wastepipe stink like
running dung from rotting maggots! His manhood is a withered
dream!”

Asotos stepped back aghast, angrily
accosting Darla. “Who are you to speak the vile language of
extinguished times?! How dare you! How dare you threaten me with
such contemptible speech, the
rightful
ruler of these
worlds!
How dare you!”

“How
dare
I?!” Darla screamed. “Does
the demon call the demon-chaser foul? Call to your cowering
chieftains. They know well the
god
you are witnessing!”

Not taking his eyes off this raving monster,
Asotos shouted for Legion and Godenn. Slowly, cautiously, the two
men approached. He turned to them, pointing at Darla. “Who is this…
this
creature
? Tell me if you know, or die!”

Legion shook his head in trepidation as he
stared into Darla’s glowing, fiery-red eyes while listening to her
raspy breathing. “I know it not. Never have I seen or heard of such
a beast!
Never!”

Asotos grabbed Godenn by the nap of his
shirt, yanking him forward.
“Tell me! Who is this
creature?”

Godenn stared in fearful wonder, also
shaking his head. “I… I have never seen such a beast before.”

Darla roared. “Oh, really?! You remember me,
dung meat, surely do.” She hunched her back, spreading her feet,
and lifting a fist, cried out in rage,
“Ar… Go…
Toth!”

Now Godenn remembered. Letting out a
blood-curdling cry of despair, clutching his head, he screamed in
panic,
“Therioskotia! Therioskotia! Therioskotia!”
Here was
the demon from his worst nightmares, alive and staring at him. Well
he remembered now, standing near the Gates of Argototh with his
bodyguards when a demon rose from the darkness of the field of
slain, its face smeared with bloody filth, entrails hanging from
its belly. In seconds, it was upon them, tearing his guards asunder
with its magic spear. And then it attacked him, driving the evil
blade deep into his shoulder. Only by his greatest skill (luck,
really), he managed an escape, harboring a sick wound for many
months to come.

Without hesitating, even for fear of Asotos’
wrath, Godenn turned about and took off on a waddling run, all the
while clutching his head, screaming out the monster’s name,
“Therioskotia! Therioskotia! Therioskotia!”

After watching his
brave commander
rush off in a panic, never stopping until he reached the safety of
a nearby ship, Asotos looked back at Darla, concerned but curious.
This Therioskotia he had heard about, along with countless other
gods and demigods that had been invented by the weak minds of lost
souls. It started with Stasis Pirates and slowly filtered into the
camps of the Pseudes (
common man
), his lowly soldiers. It
seemed to him that this world was now filled with nearly as many
fearful gods and demons as infected the worlds below. What was he
to do, anyway, with such simple minds? But there was business to
conclude.

As he looked about at his other officers,
trepidation ever growing in their hearts, he asked Legion, “Why do
they fear so?”

Legion put on a bold face, all the while
dreading that the monster might attack. He leaned close to Asotos’
ear, whispering, “It is the tale oft told of a demon monster that
haunts the fields of battle, seeking the blood of the slain to
quench its insatiable thirst. Seen first during the Ancepities War,
accompanied at that time by a monster giant, it has been witnessed
across the worlds of combat. The crazed Stasis claim that it killed
and ate several of its leaders when they captured it once.”

“No...” Legion shook his head. “I doubt the
stories to be more than tales, but Godenn’s bodyguards were torn
asunder, their innards ripped from their bodies, and hearts
removed. That I personally witnessed in the aftermath of that
battle.” He shrugged, “But wild wolves or feral hogs may have done
that to them. It happens, you know.”

Asotos scoffed, uneasy, “The coward must
have been too deep into the wine.” The two men laughed timorously.
He added, “This might be Erithia’s greatest secret, her protective
guardian kept to secure the well-being of the others in case things
went badly for her this day. It is fortuitous that I have
discovered the truth. It will serve us well to know the deceitful
weapons of our enemy.”

But it was too late for Asotos to abandon
the chase. His passionate desire for this
whatever
it might
be was consuming him. He not only wanted to probe its mind to
discover what was hidden within, he wanted to have intercourse with
it, to dream his dreams of being with the girl he had so much
desired. He must have this Darla creature for his own.

Reaching toward the beast-woman with a hand,
Asotos called out encouragingly, “Come, my child. I have made a
promise to you. Unlike the untrustworthy, I will keep it. Remember,
the Dream of Dreams is yours for the taking. Let us be gone.”

“
Go away, filth!”
Darla screamed.
“I’ll not be a slave to man or demon!”

In a flash, she gripped her long knife,
yanking it from its sheath, holding it high in front of her. As she
gripped it with her other hand, the blade burst forth in a
blinding, white light. “
Sab·Bee·Nee
! (
So it shall
be!
)” She cried, plunging the weapon down toward her heart.
Just before the blade pierced the woman’s flesh, she cried out in
anguish, the knife tumbling from her hands as she stumbled
backward, falling as though dead into the sand. Everyone stood
there in shocked silence, staring upon the form sprawled upon the
ground, watching while the knife blade’s blazing light faded
away.

Asotos stared dumbly at the woman on the
ground, and then up at Lowenah. Looking at him, she sighed,
resigned, “The contest was to be waged with but two weapons. I fear
that by default you have won this leg of the race. Take your
treasures of victory with you and go, and I shall take the defeated
with me.” She called to Ardon and others with him to gather the
woman up and take her back to camp.

So much Asotos wanted to demand the girl be
given to him, but he could see that it was not to be, and that any
argument otherwise might prove unpleasant. After the woman had been
gathered up to be returned to camp, he addressed Erithia. “Remember
well your oath of promise: no more of those
monkey-children
from the Lower Worlds, and… and you will stay out of all future
events in this world.”

He then snapped his fingers, smiling. “Oh
yes, I do have one other little bit of business, or should I say
information.”

At that, he motioned to some people standing
back in the shadows. In short order, a dark-haired woman officer
being accompanied by two male officers of similar rank stepped up
beside Asotos.

“You do remember Ilaniya, your sweet
flower?” Asotos asked so innocently. He grinned. “Sure you
do...”

Lowenah said nothing. Expressionless, she
looked down at her much beloved child.

“Captain Ilaniya has decided to join the
League of Brothers, she tiring of your insolent ways, and the evil
done against other innocents by the Children’s Empire.” He smugly
adding, “Her loyalty is now with me.”

Lowenah asked, staring into Ilaniya’s
distraught, guilt-ridden eyes. “Is it so that you are staying with
this man?” She could feel the grief in Ilaniya’s heart,
understanding well the shame the woman must be feeling for
believing her failure to endure Asotos’ tortures warranted no
forgiveness. Lowenah could provide a rescue, but her daughter’s
heart would never heal should that be done. No, the cure must come
in its own hour at whatever the cost to her child.

Ilaniya slowly nodded. “It is so...the
better for it.”