At the very edge of Hell, where time flowed fairly close to normal, Conryu tossed a ball while Cerberus scrambled to fetch it. He’d been racking his brain for an idea, any idea, about what he could do next, but the truth was, until Melina got the Solar Orb, assuming one even showed up at the auction tonight, they were in a holding pattern.
At least Sasha was safe on one of the floating islands, a nice stone coffin ready to protect her from the sun.
For her part, the hellpriest had ordered her troops east and a little north and they’d been running that way ever since. Given their direction, he figured there was no chance of them reaching anything resembling civilization before dawn. Depending on what happened at the auction, he may or may not end up having to relocate a bunch more villagers.
He hoped not as the last job left him as exhausted as he’d been in a long time.
Cerberus dropped the ball in his hand and Conryu threw it again. It never ceased to amaze him just how much like a normal dog Cerberus acted sometimes. He knew Cerberus was as smart if not smarter than most people. Maybe he was just acting the way he sensed Conryu wanted him to. That made as much sense as any theory Conryu had come up with.
“This is intolerable.” Talon drifted toward Conryu. “We can’t just sit here playing. We have to do something.”
“I’m open to suggestions,” Conryu said.
Talon opened his mouth then snapped it shut with a little growl.
“I understand that you’re frustrated, but you told me we couldn’t attack without the orb. With any luck, in twelve or so hours, we’ll have one, then when the sun sets, we’ll be free to move. My father used to say that patience was one of a warrior’s best weapons. I admit it’s not one of my favorites, but right now it’s the one we need to rely on.”
“I know we do, but after you freed Sasha it gave me hope for the rest of my people. That hope makes the waiting even more intolerable.”
One of the ninjas he’d sent to scout ahead of the hellpriest appeared and bowed. “Chosen, local authorities have begun evacuating the villages in the enemy’s path.”
“Finally. I was hoping the ones we rescued would let the people in charge know what was going on. If they can keep innocent bystanders out of the way, it will make my life much easier. Thank you for the report.”
She bowed again and vanished.
“Why did you not tell them yourself?” Talon asked.
Conryu smiled. “I’m not on the best terms with the Dragon Empire, especially considering I helped you kill their emperor. Of course, whoever’s in charge now might thank me since it gave them a chance to take over. But I decided not to risk it.”
He sensed another ninja approaching, this time from the opposite direction. A moment later Melina bowed and said, “I have a message from Maria.”
“Everything still on for tonight?”
“Yes. My news comes more from her father. It seems the new ruler of the empire is preparing his army to attack the Pale Princess. He warned that any outsiders found in the empire would face the same fate as the vampires.”
“When you say army, you mean a regular one—guns and tanks, that sort of thing, right? Not like dragonborn warriors and wizards.”
“I have no details about the army’s makeup, but the warlord in charge is named Anton and Maria’s father seemed to think little good about him.”
“Nice guys don’t usually end up as warlords. Thanks, Melina. Assuming you get an orb tonight, either you or one of the others should bring it to me at once. We need this wrapped up before local forces get involved.”
“As you command, Chosen.” She rushed back the way she’d come.
“If a regular army attacks at night, my people will slaughter them by the thousands. The Pale Princess’s undead forces will grow by the same amount.”
“Yeah, I figured that too. I’m just as worried about a daylight attack. This warlord is doubtless no idiot. He’ll wait until the vampires are asleep, then blast their graves, exposing them to the sun. That will end up in a slaughter in the other direction. I’m going to have to have a chat with warlord Anton. Kanna, would you have the scouts see if they can find where the army is mustering?”
She bowed and went to give the orders.
“A face-to-face meeting might be dangerous,” Prime said. “For him more than you, but why risk it?”
“I’m not going to. It’s the middle of the night. Anton will be asleep and I can talk to him in his dreams. Safer for everyone that way.”
Conryu flew across a bleak, blasted battlefield. In the distance guns cracked and mortars exploded. This wasn’t some artificial hellscape like the one in Sasha’s mind, this madness lived in the dreaming brain of Anton the warlord. The guy even dreamed about war. That had to be a bad sign.
He moved closer to the sounds of battle and sure enough there was Anton, dressed in a green uniform covered with medals. He had on a helmet and carried a saber as he bellowed orders to the soldiers all around him. He had a huge smile plastered on his face, as if this were the most fun he’d had in ages. Across a crater-pocked no-man’s-land their enemy waited. Conryu couldn’t make them out, but assumed they were fellow humans.
Bad enough when you had to kill demons and other monsters, but dreaming about killing fellow humans was just sick.
Time for a change of scenery.
With an effort of will he transformed the battlefield into the blue sky and clouds of Heaven. Everyone save Anton vanished, though he did lose his sword and helmet.
Finally noticing Conryu he glared. “Where have you brought me?”
“Nowhere, we’re still in your dreaming mind, I just thought it would be easier to chat without all the explosions. My name is Conryu Koda and we need to discuss your plans.”
“I rule the Dragon Empire and I certainly have no need to discuss my plans with the likes of you.”
“Do you like it here?”
Anton started, clearly taken off guard by the question.
“I modeled it after Heaven. I’ve been there several times. This is a pale imitation, but as close as I can get without actually taking you there.”
“Why the foolish question? As soon as I wake up, it will all vanish. Then my army will march and wipe the worthless monsters off the face of the earth. I know a bit about you, boy. Isn’t defeating evil your job?”
“I guess you could say that. The problem is, the vampires aren’t evil, they’re being controlled by a hellpriest. I’m working on a plan to defeat her and set them free, but I need you to stay out of the way for a few more days. That’ll save the lives of a lot of your soldiers as well.”
Anton bristled. “Is that a threat?”
“Not at all. I have no desire to harm ordinary humans. The hellpriest and her undead—the ghouls, not the vampires, assuming you attack in daylight—have no such compunctions. Bullets won’t hurt them, at least not enough to say so. They’ll tear your men apart and as they die, they’ll rise again as her pawns. It’ll be a bloodbath. That’s not what either of us wants.”
“Don’t tell me what I want. I have wizards of my own along with magical weapons found in the czar’s armories. You will find my soldiers can do a great deal more than you think.”
“That is possible, but I’d just as soon not risk it. I need you to give me a few days. If you just wait here, it’ll take her at least two days to cover the distance separating you. I think that’ll be enough time.”
Anton shook his head. “Not one day. Not one minute. We march at first light. At dawn the day after that, the undead will be destroyed. And if you get in my way, you will be slain with them. I swear this on my—”
Conryu made Anton’s mouth disappear. He hated doing that. St. Seraphim had warned him not to alter another person’s dream body, but he refused to listen to the man a second longer.
“I’ve been pretty polite here, but I’m telling you, one way or another, your army isn’t going anywhere. If you promise not to advance, I’ll let you go. Otherwise, you can look forward to a three-day nap while you enjoy the peace and tranquility of Heaven. If you’re willing to give me your word not to leave, nod.”
Anton’s eyes narrowed, but he finally nodded. Conryu didn’t believe him, but figured he’d give the man a chance to do the right thing.
“Good. I really hope we never meet in the real world. You seem like a jerk and I have a low tolerance for jerks. Good night.”
Conryu returned his consciousness to his body and opened his eyes to find Kai standing over him, sword drawn and ready.
“I see no bodies, so I assume no one caused trouble.”
“No, Chosen, I saw no one. How did your meeting go?”
“About as well as you’d expect when dealing with someone that calls himself a warlord. Let’s go back, I’ve got another job for some of the girls.”
Kai cocked her head. “What kind of job?”
“Sabotage. We’ll see how Anton’s soldiers like spending the day changing tires.”