Chapter 45
A solitary tower stood in a swamp on the island of Kavolara. It was dozens of stories tall and looked to be crafted from a single piece of stone, so smooth were its edges. It had a single door and outside it were gaping pits in the ground.
Nothing moved in its vicinity. To a passing observer, the tower would appear abandoned. Not that anybody came here.
On one of the upper levels, a man worked away at a magitech console that spanned half the width of an entire story. The console was filled with various crystals, wires, pieces of various metals, and at least a hundred different runes.
Above it hung a glowing crystalline monstrosity the size of a small house. Thousands of jagged edges ringed it, and it had no describable shape. Ostensibly, it was blue. In truth, it seemed to suck up all light around it and allow none out.
The room itself glowed with the same blue light—the ceiling, the walls, and even the floor had glowing lines of light inscribed into them.
One either end of the room were two staircases, one down and one up. The floor consisted of a single chamber, with no doors. The crystal was so large that it allowed nothing else to exist on the same story.
Curiously, nine pedestals lined the walls of the room. On each one was an exact replica of the armor that the man wore.
The man himself continued to work away at the magitech console in silence. His armor covered him from head to toe in overlapping black steel plates. A white ceramic mask covered his face, and he wore a thick black coat and hood. His gloves, coat, and hood glowed with simple human runes that had been woven into them.
Not a single square inch of skin could be seen, as it was all covered. His mask had two holes for his eyes, but all that escaped through them was a blue glow.
“That should stabilize the field long enough,” Varian said, his voice cold and artificial. It was projected a good foot in front of his face as well, rather than being spoken by his body.
He stood up and walked downstairs.
Carefully, he drew up an infernal summoning circle. It consisted of multiple concentric circles, countless infernal runes, and had other magical circles protecting it. For good measure, Varian drew a protective circle around himself with a snap of his gloved fingers.
Then he activated the summoning circle.
The room flashed with red light and shadow obscured his vision.
Two knowledge devils appeared. At first glance, they looked like ordinary Calosceme knowledge devils. Lavender hair, slim frames, and youthful bodies.
But they held an ethereal beauty that outstripped any other knowledge devil that Varian had ever seen. And he had seen many, many knowledge devils. His friend, Elias, had summoned well over a hundred back in the day.
Varian nearly fell back into reminiscence at the thought of his old friend. He snapped out of it.
Only a fool would forget to pay attention to this pair of knowledge devils. Their frilly dresses belied their power. During the Golden Age, a mage had summoned them without the appropriate protections and destroyed his entire tower.
After all, this pair were the Darus Twins. Although they weren’t well known to most mages, Elias was an infernalist without peer. He had learned that Darus was considered the greatest of all knowledge devils.
“Oh, it’s you,” Darus spat, speaking as one mind with two bodies. “I thought I told you not to summon me again? Where is the rest of your little coterie, anyway?”
“Believe me, I wouldn’t summon you if I had a choice. Not after you badly misled us, and especially Elias,” Varian said, but there was no emotion in his voice.
Darus giggled and linked their hands together. But they still glared at him.
“As for my ‘coterie,’ I’m afraid that it is only me,” Varian continued.
“Oh? A pity. Even that little girl who thought she could control time is gone?” Darus asked.
“Especially her.”
The devils looked around, suddenly confused. “This isn’t Gauron. You’ve changed things up quite a lot since we last met. No friends, lots of magical power, a really crappy summoning ritual, and not even summoning me on the same continent.”
“It has been over a century, after all,” he said.
“True. I forget how quickly time passes for you measly mortals. Where is this, anyway?”
Knowledge was power for devils, but he needed to keep Darus happy. She was a moody devil, and would refuse to work with him if he annoyed her.
“The Tolaran Archipelago. The perfect residence for someone who does not wish to be found,” Varian answered.
Darus’s four eyes glazed over. He imagined that she was consulting her knowledge Gift.
Elias had explained to him once that infernals relied on Gifts that granted them power, and knowledge devils had specialized Gifts they used for information. They had once granted them to humans, elves, and other races in the past. Supposedly, they still handed them out to other infernals.
Perhaps she knew something about the archipelago that he didn’t, and that other knowledge devils hadn’t told him about in the past. He waited patiently for her to return to her senses.
Suddenly, Darus seized up. Her eyes widened in shock and her breathing quickened. Had she found something in her knowledge Gift?
Both of her bodies pressed against each other, and they rubbed their cheeks together. Their breathing continued to increase in speed. Soon, Darus was hyperventilating.
Varian watched in wonder, but said nothing. He was quite certain that infernals didn’t need to breathe, after all.
“He’s back,” Darus gasped out from both mouths.
Who?
Then she remembered where she was. She schooled her expression and separated.
Her fingers continued to be linked, and they drummed against each of their hands.
“What did you want to ask me? I’m assuming you summoned me here for knowledge?” Darus asked, all playfulness gone and suddenly skipping to business. “I’ll name my price commensurate to your request.”
That suited him just fine. If he didn’t need to keep her happy, his life was far easier.
“It’s a simple request,” he said.
“Name it. I will judge it.”
So businesslike all of a sudden.
“I want to know everything about infernal pacts,” he said. “How to create them, maintain them, efficient means to summon powerful infernals. I’m sure you can imagine the breadth of my request.”
“Done,” Darus said, without even negotiating or wordsmithing anything.
Varian might have blinked, but his eyes merely continued to glow as he stared at the devils. This was deeply unusual.
“Now the price,” Darus said, and a grin crossed the faces of both her bodies. “You will tell me everything you know about a man named Talarys. He might be on the archipelago, or perhaps he already left. If you don’t know anything, you will find out everything you can.”
The knowledge devils began to giggle.
After 1500 years of waiting, their darling had finally returned.
END OF BOOK 2
If you enjoyed Demon’s Throne,
Leave a Review on Amazon
Sign up to my newsletter and you’ll be notified when I release my next book.