Larissa Ione - Rogue Rider

Reseph’s sleek white steed, Conquest, is a rambunctious, good-natured animal. Before Reseph’s Seal broke, Conquest was impish, with a penchant for nipping people and running. Of all the horses, he was freed the most often (the horses exist as glyphs on the Horsemen’s skin when not in physical form). He loves rubdowns from pretty women, sweet molasses grain, and an exhilarating race with the other Horsemen’s stallions once in a while. He likes the races more than the others, because he generally wins.

The Lords of Deliverance series takes place in the Demonica world, which is filled with as many species of demons as there are animals in the human realm. In addition, the world is populated by vampires, shapeshifters, were-beasts, and angels.

But where the Demonica books focused mainly on Underworld General, the Lords of Deliverance series takes readers all over the world and underworld… even to a pub in the bowels of Sheoul called, wait for it—The Four Horsemen.

The Four Horsemen pub, located in Sheoul’s Six-River region, was founded over two thousand years ago, named because as a pub known only as “the hole,” it was the favorite hangout for the Horsemen and their groupies. Limos only made hit-and-run visits, because she couldn’t afford to be found in Sheoul lest her Prince-of-Demons fiancé caught her.

Gradually, The Four Horsemen pub expanded—financed by the Horsemen—into a less scroungy place with back rooms for pleasurable… uh… activities. It never lost its “old world” charm though, and still boasts straw on the floors, skeletons hanging from chains, and some unidentifiable black slime oozing from the walls.

The Four Horsemen is a must-see for anyone on a tour of the underworld.

Your tour might also include a layover at Limos’s Hawaiian paradise, where the party never stops. Her werewolf and wolf-shifter servants are very accommodating, and the full bar in her party house will keep the fun going. If you’re hungry, there’s usually a suckling pig roasting in a pit (though sometimes, if the guests are particularly evil, you might find a skullboar in the pit instead). Don’t miss a game of beach volleyball—there’s always one going on. But a word of caution: Never play with Oni demons. They hate to lose and are notorious for using the winners’ heads in their next match.

Another fun must-see is Ares’s Greek island in the Aegean Sea. You won’t be able to get inside his sprawling white manor, but who needs to? There are miles of beaches to enjoy, vineyards to stroll through, and hellhounds to play with. Ares is rumored to be starting up a small winery, and everyone is waiting with bated breath to see what the label will be called.

There are literally millions of sights in the supernatural world, so try not to gape if you come across some of the more fantastical settings and beings. Most people don’t know what to do with themselves when they see an angel, for example. It’s also advisable to carry an extra set of underclothes. You never know how your bowels will react when you come face-to-face with a Soulshredder.

Regions in Sheoul

Sheoul, like the human realm, is divided into hundreds of regions with their own characteristics, populations, and climates. The largest region includes Sithbludd, Dread, Six-River, and Horun. The smallest, Soyl, is a hundred-mile-long, three-hundred-mile-wide chunk of uninhabited fire swamp. The most popular is Carnage, which, with its endless stretches of black-sand beaches along the River Acheron, is a favorite vacation spot.

Weapons You Might See in Use

Gargantua-bone dagger—Very, very rare, and coveted by pretty much everyone. Once the dagger’s blade tastes the blood of an enemy, its aim is always true when used against that enemy.

Heavenly light—One of the most power weapons an angel can possess. The light shoots from an angel’s pores, destroying nearly all evil beings within a certain radius (radius depends on how powerful the angel is). While this is a very lethal weapon, it has extreme limitations. It can only be activated in Sheoul, and because it uses up most of an angel’s energy, it’s often invoked only as a last resort.

Hellfire—As nasty as it sounds. Most often used by fallen angels, hellfire can be streamed into a thin rope of molten lava, it can be hurled as a ball, or it can spray in a fan of flames. A very versatile weapon of midlevel power.

Hellhound saliva—Good luck getting a hellhound to give up his saliva, but if you can, it is one of the few known substances that can neutralize a Horseman by temporarily paralyzing him or her.

Holy fire—This is an angelic weapon, used on low-level evil only. Angels possess an arsenal of low-level weapons that vary depending on each angelic order. Battle angels, for example, are the most well armed and have the widest variety of weapons available to them.

Infernal fire—Known as “underworld napalm,” infernal fire is extremely powerful, burning everything it touches. Fire spirits infest the flames, hunting down every living thing within range of the fire’s heat. Forbidden to use in the human realm.

Qeres—Aegis potion that can be used to coat weapons for use against fallen angels. It was originally developed by the ancient Egyptians, but the recipe has been lost, and what little there is… is all there is.

Scythe—Signature weapon of Memitim angels and Thanatos. In use in Sheoul for thousands of years before it made its appearance in the human realm.

Shear-whip—This is a whip with a white-hot scourge. Angel weapon forbidden to use against another angel.

List of demons taken from the Demonica: A Demon Compendium, and updated with new demons discovered in the Demonica/Lords of Deliverance world.

Note: Most demons are invisible to humans unless they want to be seen, the humans are trained to see them, or the humans possess either magic or some inherent ability to see them. The notable exceptions to the invisibility rule are ter’taceo —demons who, by nature, look like humans, or who can take on human appearance. Seminus demons, for example, are ter’taceo.

When any non- ter’taceo demon dies in the human realm, it disintegrates within moments unless it dies in an area specially designed to prevent disintegration, an area built by demons, or some underground locales.

Most demons spend the majority of their lives in Sheoul, the demon realm deep inside the Earth. When demons die, their souls are sent to Sheoul-gra, which is, in essence, a holding tank where souls wait to be reborn. Sheoul-gra is also where evil human souls are sent to either serve demon souls waiting to be reborn, or to be reborn themselves… as demons.

All demon species and breeds can be classified by their Ufelskala score—a number ranging from one to five on the scale of evil, with a score of five being the evilest. It is important to note that the Ufelskala judges “evil” by a species or breed’s love of pain, suffering, and death, as well as on its self-awareness of its own behavior. So a demon animal that eats its prey alive, causing great suffering, may only score a two on the Ufelskala, while a demon that doesn’t kill, but instead merely torments for fun, might score a four.

Humans, for the most part, are unaware that demons walk among them, and that is the way most demons—and most humans—like it.

Acid sprite—Delicate, rat-size, moves faster than a human eye can track. Winged and colorful, they can be seen by human children who believe the sprites are fairies. They inhabit very dense, very wet European forests, where they hunt small rodents and make the most of their mischievous natures by tormenting human travelers. A favorite game is to ensure that campers and hikers become lost in the woods. While rarely fatal, an acid sprite’s bite is toxic to humans and is often mistaken for a spider bite. Ufelskala score: 2