The Veil (35 page)

Like in Crow’s Nest back at the Warren, several grey-robed technicians were working from a network of electronic devices that weren’t all that dissimilar to modern day human computers. The room was filled with the subtle hum of their internal workings.
I guess the trading of new technology goes both ways.
The technicians were apparently assessing the vast damage to Fenodara by using infrared sensors placed all over the city to help Lightwardens search for survivors among the crumbled ruins. So far they weren’t having much luck. 

“So who exactly is the Scorched Knight?” I asked Aegis.

The Lightwarden glanced up at me from the map. “Her real name is Lilith. The Scorched Knight is the title she earned through her looks and her deeds. She’s a demi-demon and the bastard child of Hades, born after he raped a Succubus servant.”

“I thought Demons never mated with those outside of their direct species.”

“They usually don’t, in order to keep their blood pure. But Hades is among many things a hypocrite. In addition, the purity of blood isn’t just an arrogance thing. Demon blood is formed of unique properties that genuinely don’t mix well with other blood…the result is always poor to say the least, just as it was in this case. The pregnancy killed Lilith’s mother, but somehow Lilith herself survived. They say she was a twisted, disfigured thing, constantly burning from the fire blood that coursed through her veins. If Hades had a shred of goodness in his heart, he would have put her to the blade the moment she was born. However, as the rumours go, he took great pleasure in watching the pained creature grow, enjoyed watching her struggle to survive. He had a casing built for her that would inject enough Succubi blood into her body to keep her alive. As she grew, the casing evolved into a suit of armour – it still gives her what she needs to survive, but not so much that it would purify her blood and relieve her symptoms. They say she is in constant agony.”

“That’s so cruel,” gasped Scarlett, her mouth open.

“That is the way of Hades,” said Aegis flatly. “His cruelty knows no limits. That he would force his own child to endure that horror – regardless of the fact that she was illegitimate, defines his very nature.” He took a deep breath. “Growing up as an abomination of nature not meant for this world gradually took its toll on Lilith’s mind as well as her body. She became as deranged as her father, constantly seeking to impress him, even though he could not care less about her. It is said however, that he was impressed by her penchant for cruelty. For example,” he pointed down at a dark structure on the map,
“
This is the Citadel of Blackened Bones. She had this towering structure built at the edge of the Darklands by thousands of Umbra peasants and then had them all cast on giant pyres once they were finished – using their scorched bones to encase the entire building.”

Jesus, she’s a maniac,
I thought.

“Her proclivity is to burn people, I suppose as some sinister homage to the fire-like blood that courses within her own veins. That is why her suit glows, it is the royal blood breaking through to the surface of her skin – and it is that spectacle along with her deeds that earned her the apt title of Scorched Knight. Even her own soldiers – the Quiet Ones – have had their mouths burned closed – the rumour being so that they cannot tell anyone of her vicious acts. It was this capacity for cruelty that made Hades promote her to the position of Highguard four human centuries ago. I cannot fathom Lilith’s unwavering dedication to someone who would not think twice about slaying her if he was in a foul mood. But then I guess the love a child has for their parent knows few boundaries.”

“Great. So this psychopath has hold of Gabriella, Troy and Grey.” I ran a hand down my face. “Will she do it if we don’t get to them in time…will she actually kill them?”

Aegis stared right at me. “Without a doubt.”

“Christ.” I closed my eyes for a second and then gestured down at the map. “So tell us how we get to her and Hades.”

Aegis nodded. “Pandemonia is formed of three main continents.” He pressed a finger down on the electronic map and highlighted a large section that was roughly rectangular – save for several grooves running down one side and a curved, jagged inlet on the other, as if some celestial being had taken a bite out of it. “This is Idisa, the continent that Fenodara sits closest to, and the area where the Luminar have the most presence and control.” He highlighted a long, straight line that extended from the top of the land at the uppermost section of the continent. “This is the Bridge of Departed Souls – it is equivalent to three hundred of your miles long and was built across the northern Chaos Seas when the Umbra first came to our land.”

He slid his finger up and highlighted the next section of landmass at the uppermost section of the map. It covered a larger area than Idisa, but it was thinner, spreading around and down towards its neighbouring continent in a rough horseshoe shape. “This is Yornheim, the continent almost entirely under Umbra control – they have cities, fortresses and settlements everywhere. Yornheim is also the continent where you will find Shadowrise and the Abyss, two of the three Umbra colosseums. They were built millennia ago by the Umbra people as a gift to their King Azrael, places where Umbra champions would go to fight for the honour the king. When Hades became king, he gave them to his three Highguards, but in a capricious moment later reclaimed them all for himself and turned them into a hybrid of prisons and entertainment arenas, where he sends those the Umbra catch…or anyone else who displeases him.”

“So I’m guessing they’re pretty full then?” said Scarlett, her narrow silver eyes studying the map intently.

“Sadly yes,” replied the Highwarden. “Anyway, Yornheim is also home to Vangarr, the Fortress City – a colossal fortress ringed with almost impenetrable defenses.” He tapped a large black mass at the northernmost section of the land with a hint of aggression, and it turned into an isometric view of a large citadel-like building. “This is where Hades rules from.”

My thoughts slipped back to my first Mind Merge with Sage Faru, back when I’d met him in the temple after I’d had my Awakening. I remembered the moment when he had taken me through the Veil, when I’d witnessed the hulking structure in the distance – its many twisted towers stretching high into the bruised sky.
That was Vangarr I saw then, I’m sure of it.
“How do we get to it?” I asked.

The Highwarden gave a humourless laugh. “You don’t. Well, that is the idea anyway. Trying to access this city is quite simply impossible from the front – it is well fortified, with an army blockading the front as well as a high-powered weaponry system called the Fist of Hades, which lacks the finesse and range of the Needle but is nevertheless devastating in its effect. Anyone trying to approach without permission would be turned to dust before they got within a thousand feet – and that includes even you.”

He raised a finger. “However, I have been looking into this defense system for some time, and I believe there might be a way to gain access to the city. Vangarr connects to the Bloodsand Deserts to the west – a vast section of inhospitable land filled with numerous Fera, most of which are hostile. If you were to take a boat and sail around the west – which would be difficult in itself – you would reach Concavious, the Sunken Freeport here.” He dragged his finger around the leftmost of the water section of the map, stopping on a dark patch halfway up, which turned into a shimmering structure hidden under the water like an iceberg. “Concavious is the last melting pot of classes left in Pandemonia, and a city where almost everything is for sale or hire. For the right price, there will be mercenaries who could provide you with a navel escort to help a ship, which I will provide you with, traverse the pirating waters and reach Yornheim.”

He carried on, moving his finger up the map and stopping on the left tip of the horseshoe landmass. “Once you reach land, you can travel by Unicorn the hundred miles to reach Shinroba. This is the second most powerful Luminar city after Fenodara. Due to it being well inside Umbra territory it was once subject to constant attacks, but more recently, disruptions in the Pandemonian atmosphere have caused vicious sandstorms to surround the city, making it an undesirable place for the Umbra to try and reach, allowing it to grow in strength once again.” He sighed. “Not that they will be able to defend themselves against the impending full-scale invasion. Anyway, if you can survive all of this and reach the city, that is where you will find your Chosen allies who escaped Abyss, the colosseum located to the north of Shinroba and the closest to us. There it is up to you to try and recruit them to follow you through the desert itself, which I believe was something that the Council of Elders suggested to you during your Mind Merge, did they not?”

I nodded. “They did.”

“Then if you are able to convince them to return to the very place they escaped from, you can try and take the Abyss, to see if your friends are there.”

Something tells me that isn’t going to be an easy task.

“Is the Abyss easier to infiltrate than the Fortress City?” asked Danny, inadvertently airing my concern. He was pointing down at a part of the map that had shifted to show a huge, circular structure, complete with spiked turrets and a large canyon surrounding it.

“Yes, but not by a great deal. It will depend on your numbers and your skill.” Aegis looked up at us. “I will be honest with you. No one has ever managed to get from the outside in.”

Shit.

He paused for a moment, letting the information sink in. “Still, if by some miracle you achieve all this, then you can travel with those you free eastward into the Narrow Pass, which stretches across the Bay of Teeth – a treacherous route that is far too difficult for a large army to pass through on foot, but possible for smaller numbers. If you are lucky, from there you could sneak across and head for Shadowrise Colosseum and break out those held within to grow your forces and better your chances of survival. It will be tough going as Hades’s armies have been deployed and are marching through the desert as we speak, and I cannot guarantee that you will not encounter them on the way. However, our scouts have reported that the highest concentration of forces are located here.” He pressed a finger back down on the bridge and took a deep breath. “It seems that their main concern is to break through the front lines and perform a huge scale invasion of Idisa. They are not expecting a return invasion from the western side…where the Fist of Hades has a blind spot and thus where Vangarr is at its weakest. This is how you
might
be able to gain access to the city.”

“How long would it take to sail around to Yornheim?”

“With one of our faster battleships, three days,” said Aegis, folding his hands behind his back.

“Three days? But that’s almost half the time I have left before that crazy bitch said she would execute everyone she kidnapped!”

“That is simply the way it is I’m afraid. I cannot provide you with a Skyjet or Skyship as the Fist of Hades would tear it from the sky before you even got close.”

I swept a hand through my hair in frustration. “Where is the third colosseum?”

Aegis pointed down to the other side of the map. “It is on a vast continent island known as the Blood Isle Province. It is not a welcoming place at all, most of it home to hostile and crude places such as Henroda – the Skinshifter Mountains, which you would likely need to pass though.  Not to mention that to even get to the island you must first traverse the Darklands far to the west, past the Scorched Knight’s Citadel of Blackened Bones and across a short sea first.”

I slammed a hand down on the table, making the display crackle and distort. “Dammit!  We’ll never have time to go in both directions. I’m never going to be able to reach each colosseum in time
.”

Aegis nodded. “You are right. And that is part of The Scorched Knight’s game.  To try to go to each colosseum in succession is a fool’s errand, you would never make it in time – she wants you to gamble and choose. However, there is a way.”

I snapped my head up. “How?”

“Split up.”

His words felt like a physical blow. “You mean break the rest of Orion apart?”

He nodded. “That is the only way you will have a chance of reaching all three colosseums before your deadline is up.”

“I won’t put more of my friends at risk.”

“By even being in this world you have already put them in risk.”

I glanced around at the members of Orion.
What if one of them is the traitor? If that really is the case, then I won’t be able to do anything if they end up with the other group. I won’t be able to protect them.

I shook my head. “No, I won’t do it.”

“That isn’t your decision to make Alex,” said Scarlett. “I am second in command of Orion, and with Gabriella missing, that makes me acting Huntmaster.” I stared at her incredulously as she stepped forward and pointed to the eastern side of the map. The Bloodling turned to face the Highwarden. “So let’s say for arguments sake that we did decide to split up, and some of us went for this third colosseum located on the Blood Isle Province.”

“The Glacium,” added Aegis.

“The Glacium. How would we reach it?”

“The journey would start down here on Idisa,” said the Highwarden, pointing down at a thin vein that webbed out across the continent. “This is Death’s Backbone.”

“Sounds delightful,” said Hollie folding her arms.