Richard Tuttle - Army of the Dead

“Perfectly,” Premer Tzargo replied quickly as he bowed low to the Emperor.

Tzargo remained bowed low as he waited for the Emperor’s anger to subside. Several minutes passed before the Emperor spoke again.

“What about the dragon?” Vand asked the Premer. “Have there been any sightings of the foul beast?”

Premer Tzargo glanced towards the dark corner of the room as a loud hissing emanated from it when the word dragon was mentioned. He tore his eyes from the dark corner and gazed at the Emperor.

“There has been no mention of a dragon since the battles in Khadora,” answered the Premer.

“Zarapeto,” called the Emperor. “Come out of the darkness and stand before me.”

Premer Tzargo gulped air as the huge demon strode out of the corner. The premer backed slowly away as the black creature made its way to stand before the Emperor. The loud clicking upon the stone floor reverberated through the nearly empty chamber as the demon halted in front of the throne.

“Your command?” asked the demon with a low guttural voice.

“I want you to head to the east,” Vand ordered the demon. “I want you to find either Angragar or Premer Cardijja and then report back to me.”

“As you command,” nodded the demon.

“You will take Xero and Yunga with you,” declared the Emperor.

“Three demons are not necessary for so simple a task,” frowned the demon.

“I will take no chances while the dragon’s location is unknown,” Vand responded. “I know you are concerned with missing the battle, but you need not be. It will take at least a couple of days for the Khadorans to get here. If you have not found Angragar or Cardijja within two days, return here.”

Zarapeto nodded and skulked off without a reply.

“Why is the dragon so important to the demons?” asked Premer Tzargo. “Zarapeto appeared offended that you are sending others with him.”

“He is greatly offended,” shrugged the Emperor with disregard for Zarapeto’s feelings. “A dragon is the only beast that can kill a demon, and I will not risk losing Zarapeto because of his foolish pride. A dragon can possibly beat a lone demon, but it has no chance against more than one. My demons will remain grouped in threes until the dragon is destroyed.”

“Nothing else can destroy a demon?” asked Tzargo.

“Nothing,” smiled Vand. “Perhaps now you can understand my distaste for your whining. Let the Torak bring whatever armies he wants against me. The more he brings; the more we will kill. In just a few days, the world will be delivered to me as promised by Dobuk so long ago.”

The two mages stood on the open plain, a wasteland blasted to infertility ages ago. It was this area, north of Lake Jabul, that the Chula shamans had not gotten to when they set out to restore life to Fakara’s barrenness. While the rest of Fakara was in various stages of regrowth, the land around the Temple of Vandegar still resembled the harshness of salted earth. Having abandoned their horses at the edge of the new forest a day ago, the mages had walked across the barren openness, but they had not been seen by anyone. The shimmering hue of an illusion surrounded the duo, obscuring their approach from the eyes of the enemy. They halted, just a half-hour’s stroll from the ancient temple fortress.

“What do you see?” Lady Mystic asked impatiently.

Xavo did not answer as he stood peering at the distant temple. His head shook dismissively as his attention remained intent on the throng of distant Motangans.

“This illusion does nothing to shield us from the sun,” warned Vand’s daughter. “It is already climbing into the sky, and I am not about to stand out here and bake while you ignore me. What are you looking at?”

Xavo sighed and dropped his hands to his side.

“It was not what I was watching,” he explained softly, “it was what I was listening to. We are too far away to see much of anything other than thousands of Motangans milling about.”

“Fine,” snapped Lady Mystic. “What were you listening to?”

“Pakar is leaving the temple,” smiled Xavo. “He is taking his mages with him. I suspect that Vand is sending them somewhere, and they are not too happy with the order.”

“All of the mages?” brightened Lady Mystic.

“Yes,” smiled Xavo. “Our greatest worry about approaching the temple is no worry at all. With Vand’s mages away from Vandegar, we can easily slip into the temple unseen.”

“Praise Kaltara,” exclaimed Vand’s daughter.

Xavo turned and stared at his partner in disbelief.

“What did you say?” he asked. “I thought you did not believe in god?”

Lady Mystic blushed profusely and shrugged.

“Times change,” Lady Mystic offered meekly. “Think about it for a moment. Although we have both tried to deny His existence, we readily accept that Dobuk is guiding Vand’s every step. How can we possibly believe in the Great Demon without acknowledging that his counterpart must also exist? Face it, Xavo, we were wrong. Kaltara not only exists, but He is driving us towards our destiny.”

“I thought we were walking,” Xavo grumbled sarcastically.

“Say what you will, Master Magician,” smiled Lady Mystic, “but I know your thoughts well enough. You have already accepted the truth, but you are too stubborn to admit it. As the father of the Star of Sakova, you should have been among the first to understand what is going on in this world.”

“I should have been among the first,” Xavo sighed in defeat, “but I was not. I still cannot forgive myself for the troubles I caused Lyra. It all seems so long ago.”

“Much has transpired since then,” consoled Lady Mystic. “You are no longer Aakuta, and Malafar is a distant memory. You have changed, and I mean more than just your appearance. Lyra would be proud of you now.”

“My daughter would not even recognize me,” chuckled Xavo.

“There is that, too,” Lady Mystic frowned. “You do realize that we will be in Vandegar when the armies of the Torak attack? It is very likely that the friends of your daughter will kill us when they arrive. No one knows that we are heading here.”

“Does it matter if we are slain by my daughter or by your father?” shrugged Xavo. “No one lives forever. Let’s get out of this sun and find a place to hide in the temple while we think of a plan to defeat Dobuk.”

Lady Mystic smiled and reached for her lover’s hand. They had not walked but a few steps before Lady Mystic stiffened and clamped Xavo’s hand in fear. Xavo turned to look at his partner and saw her staring upward. His own eyes rose and scanned the sky. His mouth hung open as he watched the huge black shape flap its wings. Two other black shapes launched themselves from the roof of the temple and sped after the first.

“Demons,” Lady Mystic hissed under her breath. “Do not move. Our illusion is not strong enough to withstand their scrutiny.”

Xavo continued to stare skyward as the huge beasts flapped their wings in long, slow, powerful beats. The two trailing demons raced to get ahead of the first as all three soared higher into the sky. The first demon snarled at his pursuers as if daring them to question his supremacy. In moments they were too high up to distinguish, and Xavo felt Lady Mystic’s grip relax.

“They are so full of themselves,” Lady Mystic sighed in relief. “If any one of them had been paying attention, we would no longer exist.”

“We could have given them a fight,” Xavo shrugged boastfully.

“No, Xavo,” Lady Mystic corrected seriously. “Our magic is useless against them.”

“Useless?” balked Xavo. “They are physical creatures. Nothing is indestructible. It would just be a matter of finding their weakness.”