The Prison of Angels

6

Calm as King Antonil seemed, Tarlak thought he surely must have ice in his blood. How else did he remain so composed when staring at the army, ten thousand strong, that guarded the Bloodbrick Bridge?

“Well Tarlak, I can see you fidgeting over there,” Antonil said as the two rode at the forefront of their army. “You’re my advisor. Care to advise me?”

“I’m not sure there’s any other way to explain it,” Tarlak said. “He doesn’t plan on letting us cross.”

“I outnumber him three to one. Trying to stop us is madness.”

“Bram hasn’t always struck me as the most rational of men.”

“Nonsense,” Antonil said. “He’s the most rational man I know. That’s why he’s so frustrating to the rest of us.”

Tarlak shrugged.

“However you want to explain it, it still worries me. Is he playing with us, or does he really think a war is best for anyone? Games or madness, neither one I’d want to be involved with.”

“Could you form a crossing for us if he refuses, perhaps farther north?”

Tarlak rubbed his chin as he stared at the river.

“Damming it wouldn’t do much,” he said. “River’s too large, too deep. Levitating thirty thousand men over the water isn’t going to happen, either. Best I could do is try to freeze the top, forming a bridge while letting the river continue to pass beneath. It’d take a lot of concentration, though, and I’d prefer we just walk across the stone bridge the idiot king is guarding.”

“Duly noted. Bring me my generals. Until we see reason otherwise, we’ll pretend Bram has every intention of letting us cross. I don’t want to show up brimming for a fight.”

“There’s thirty thousand of us wearing armor and carrying swords, not counting the angels accompanying us,” Tarlak said. “Unless we approach naked, we’ll look prepared for a fight. But yes, keeping everyone calm is probably best.”

Tarlak turned his horse about, found the nearest general, and relayed Antonil’s request for a meeting. That done, he returned to the front, putting himself at the far corner of the vanguard so he could not see or hear the discussion. So far the generals had shown significant mistrust of him and his yellow robes. Given the absolute destruction various spellcasters had rent upon the land during the Gods’ War, he didn’t blame them. Much.

As Antonil talked, Tarlak scanned King Bram’s army. Ten thousand approximately, all appearing well-armed and well-trained. They ran about like ants upon seeing their approach, but Tarlak sensed they weren’t there for war. The bridge had no defenses placed upon it, no barricades or spear walls. The same went for the men on the far side. They had built no ballista or catapults, weapons that could have devastated Antonil’s army while they struggled to cross the bridge. No, either they planned an ambush, or a show of force. If it was a show of force, it was a hollow one. Antonil hadn’t the slightest desire to invade Ker, not with his homeland still occupied by orcs. If it was an ambush…

He snapped his fingers, and fire sparked from his fingertips. If it was an ambush, they’d get to see just how much destruction a spellcaster could wreak.

“The king requests your presence,” one of the fatter generals said, disturbing Tarlak and his thoughts.

“Very well,” Tarlak said, nodding his head and then tugging on the reins of his horse. The Bloodbrick was less than a quarter mile away, and despite Antonil’s assurances, Tarlak felt unease spreading through the men. He felt unease as well, but for a different reason. Something about the distant army felt vaguely…familiar, like a thorn in his mind.

“I want you at my side when we request passage,” Antonil said as Tarlak rejoined him.

“I was thinking I presented greater tactical value elsewhere.”

“And where’s that?”

Tarlak gestured behind him.

“All the way in the back. If there’s to be a fight, I’d prefer thirty thousand men be between me and it.”

The laughter helped ease their tensions. Closer and closer loomed the bridge, until at last Tarlak and Antonil rode together toward Bram’s army, a token guard on either side of them. Riding out to meet them was Lord Bram and his own personal squad of knights. Banners for either side flying high, Tarlak held his breath as his liege spoke.

“Greetings, King Bram,” Antonil said. “My friend. My ally. Once again I march to my homeland, to retake what the orcs have desecrated with their presence. Have you raised an army to join me in this quest?”

Bram shook his head, laughing.

“After how your last crusade went? No, Antonil, I prefer my soldiers alive, not dead.”

Tarlak noticed neither made mention of crossing the bridge. No doubt Antonil wanted Bram to offer it freely, and Bram wanted Antonil to ask no matter the answer he planned to give. The wizard let out a sigh. Politics. He hated it.

“Forgive me for my abruptness, but my time is short, and I have need of your bridge,” Antonil said. “Would you grant my men and I permission to cross?”

“No. I will not.”

Bram answered so smoothly, so quickly, that Tarlak could hardly believe it. He grabbed the side of Antonil’s cloak and tugged as the simple answer echoed throughout the camps.

“He’s lying,” Tarlak said softly, so no one else would hear.

“How do you know?”

Behind them, Antonil’s army was stirring, all of them expecting war, or at least some sort of skirmish for such blatant disrespect. Tarlak’s mind whirled.

“He’s too pleased with himself,” Tarlak insisted. “He’s testing you. He wants to know how you’ll respond.”

“How I’ll respond? So be it.” Antonil drew his sword, and he called out to Bram. “We are crossing, Bram. You have no stake in this, no right to deny me passage. I ride with thirty thousand, and if I must I can call forth a legion of angels. Do you still refuse?”

“I have the right of a sovereign lord to protect my borders,” shouted Bram. “But I see even after all this time you will never consider me as such. Move quickly through my lands, Antonil. Do not consider me friend or ally. You war against the orcs on your own.”

Bram turned about and barked a command. His army shifted so that the road between was clear. Without another word, the king rode over the bridge and vanished into the thick crowd of soldiers.

“Not very diplomatic of you,” Tarlak muttered as the generals readied their army to march.

“I’m sick of this,” Antonil said. “Here, back home, everywhere posturing and politics and betrayal. If he would refuse me, then fight me. If not, then don’t waste my time. I will not play his game.”

Man after my own heart, thought Tarlak.

As they rode across the Bloodbrick, Tarlak didn’t bother to tell his king that he had played along, whether he’d wanted to or not. Bram had his answer, knew exactly how Antonil viewed his army and his borders. And of course, he just had to mention the angels.

Stepping off the bridge and into Ker, Tarlak felt the tingling in his mind grow stronger. He glanced about, unsure of what exactly he was searching for but convinced he’d know it if he saw it. And then, to his left, he spotted the large dark eyes that belonged to only one woman in all of Dezrel. He stiffened atop his horse, their eyes met, and Tarlak felt a shiver run through him as Tessanna offered him the slightest of smiles. A distant part of his mind realized Qurrah stood behind her, face downcast, unwilling to meet his gaze.

Why are they here? Tarlak wondered. Have they turned against the angels after all?

Sadly he knew he would get no answer. So onward he rode, the hour passing as Antonil’s army slowly crossed into the land of Ker.

Bram returned to his tent, furious at the series of events, though his pride dictated he hide it. Antonil had done his best to humiliate him, prove him the weaker. The only way to save face was to pretend the challenge beneath him, and showing frustration would only reveal it for the lie it was. Stepping inside his tent, he let out a sigh, set down his sword.

“I swear, Loreina, things were simpler when we fought armies of demons,” he said. “And men were smarter, too.”

Rising from the cot, her brown hair braided down to her waist, was his wife. She put her hands around his neck, kissed his lips, then smiled. It dimpled her face, making her look as young as she was when he first married her. The intelligence in her eyes, the fiery ambition, was there now as it had always been. With the encroachment of the angels it had only gotten brighter, so much she demanded to come with him instead of remaining behind in Angkar where it was safer.

“I heard Antonil’s words with my own ears,” she said. “He would deny your basic right to control your borders. He would deny your sovereignty. Do you believe me now?”

Bram swore, flung off his pauldrons so they fell in a clattering display. Loreina stepped back, gave him his space to brood.

“They won’t invade,” he said, shaking his head. “Stubborn and foolish as Antonil is, his eyes are only for his former kingdom. He is no threat, not if we stay out of the way of his hopeless crusades.”

“It’s not Antonil I fear,” Loreina said. “It’s his replacement.”

It was true, of course. The whispering winds of politics blew south, and they whispered with greater certainty Antonil’s fate. His grip on Mordan was slipping away with each passing month. Whether through death in battle, betrayal in court, or a full blown uprising of nobles, his time as king approached its end.

“What more can we do?” Bram asked. “His army is the greater, doubly so if you include his angels. Open warfare against Mordan would destroy us all, and that cannot happen. If we fall, then the last hope of there being a free nation in all of Dezrel, at least one not ruled by monsters, falls with us.”

Loreina slipped closer, put her hands around his waist.

“Patience,” she said. “It is not the same as doing nothing. We keep our eyes open. There will come a time when Antonil is weak, when the angels no longer fly above him. It is in that moment we will refuse to bow our knee. It is in that moment we will show the world we will not be mocked or ignored. We are a sovereign nation, not a footstool.”

She was on her knees now, her hands drifting down to his belt.

“And remember,” she said to him. “You must remain calm around your men. Don’t worry. I’ll help you with that.”

Bram swallowed, close his eyes, and then mentally swore a hundred times when he heard someone call his name from outside the tent. He recognized the voice, too. It was Sir Ian Millar, his most trusted knight and commander of his armies. The man’s service had been invaluable during the Gods’ War.

“Yes?” Bram asked through the fabric of the tent.

“Milord, I would seek your advice.”

“Can it wait?”

“I fear it cannot.”

Bram let out a sigh, pushed back his wife.

“Later,” he told her.

“I have duties I must attend,” she said, rising from her knees.

“Then much later.”

His mood now even worse, Bram stormed out of his tent, still tightening his belt.

“What is it?” he asked Ian. The knight saluted, and the worry in his eyes dispelled Bram’s immature mood.

“If you would, please follow me while I explain,” the knight said, spinning on his heels and marching toward the bridge.

“Has there been trouble with Antonil’s men during the crossing?” Bram asked.

“Nothing beyond the ordinary. It isn’t Antonil’s men I’m unsure of how to deal with. Watch your step, and then look to the sky.”

Bram’s stomach tightened, and he knew what he’d see before he ever looked skyward. Flying in v-formations were several dozen angels. Golden-hued armor glinted in the sunlight, and in their hands were the unmistakable shapes of swords, shields, and spears.

“Do they accompany Antonil’s men, or are they merely seeing them off?” Bram asked, lifting a hand to shade his eyes as he looked.

“So far they have not crossed the border,” Ian said. “They’re merely circling their current position. I’ve ordered our archers ready just in case.”

“In case what? You would spark war while Antonil’s army marches through the very center of our camp?”

Beside him, Ian stiffened.

“Their kind has been banned from Ker,” he said. “Forgive me if I erred in preparing to enforce your laws.”

“We gave Antonil’s army freedom to pass,” Bram said. “One might consider the angels part of that army.”

“Then they should have stated as much. I do not care what any one person might say. What do you say, milord?”

Bram stared at the angels, his stomach continuing to twist. It felt like there were stones grinding within him. Just the sight of the creatures was enough to make him feel a flutter of fear. Their size, their speed, their ability to circumvent any standard defensive formation or benefit of terrain…they were so clearly not of Dezrel. The hairs on his neck lifted.

“If they try to fly over, let loose our arrows,” Bram said.

“If they remain as high as they are, we won’t hit them.”

“I’m counting on it. Send them a message, and make it as clear as the message Antonil sent me.”

Together they watched as the remainder of Antonil’s army slowly crossed over the bridge, through the camp, and into the heart of Ker, a great train of wagons marking the last of their passing. It took the greater part of an hour, and all the while the angels circled.

“Do they ever get tired?” Ian asked, still on edge.

“Apparently not.”

So far the angels showed no inclination of following Antonil into Ker. As much as Bram wanted a chance to save face, he felt himself beginning to relax.

“Even if they don’t pass now, they might wait until dark, or perhaps fly farther north beforehand,” Ian suggested while rubbing his neck, which was no doubt sore from spending so much time staring up at the sky. “Bridges mean nothing to their kind.”

“No,” Bram said. “I know them too well. To cross in secret would mean admitting they know what they do is wrong, or should be hidden. If they’re to spit in the face of my laws, they’ll do it here, now.”

Bram’s words caught in his throat. As if they could hear him, one of the angel formations suddenly dipped lower, curling around to fly directly over the bridge. Ian saw it, immediately began running about shouting orders. Bram watched their approach, did his best to calculate the angle. Despite his fury for their insolence, he felt a sudden spike of panic. They were coming in far too low, and would fly within the reach of his archers.

“Belay that order!” Bram shouted, but it was too late. The angels were streaking in at inhuman speeds, and for the past hour the archers had been given a single, specific command: if the angels flew over, let loose with all they had.

Up into the air sailed hundreds of arrows, rising together like an inverse rain. The group of angels, seven in all, flared their wings and tried to rise. It didn’t matter. Bram saw the arrows climb, saw war ready to spill forth before him. News of a dead angel, let alone seven, would be all it’d take for those watching his nation with hungry eyes to put their plans in motion.

And then a shadow tore open in the air, spreading wide like a shield. Within it were a legion of six-fingered hands, their skin shining a translucent purple. They batted at the arrows, snapping them with a mere touch, as above the seven angels beat their wings and lifted higher into the air. The other formations circled close, and Bram could almost taste the tension spreading. When the last of the arrows was a cloud of splinters falling back to Dezrel, the dark collection of hands vanished as if they had never been.

“What in Karak’s name was that?” Ian asked, rejoining his king’s side.

“An undeserved gift,” Bram said. He nodded to the angels. “What do they wait for?”

“They’re discussing,” Ian said, having watched them closely.

“Prepare the archers just in case. I was a fool, but not this time. If they swoop in again, they’ll be coming for blood. If we’re lucky we’ll have them dead before Antonil’s men find out and try to return the favor.”

Before Ian could carry out the order, the angels gathered together into one large formation, turned north, and flew away. Bram closed his eyes, let out a sigh of relief. His army’s presence at the Bloodbrick was meant as a message, a warning. The last thing he truly wanted was war.

“Where are our two guests?” he asked.

“I’ll lead you to them.”

Deep within their camp, the half-orc and his sorceress had been surrounded by his soldiers. So far none of his men had drawn blades or made any threatening motion. Bram understood their confusion. The spell they’d cast had countered an order given by their king, but Bram had also held private conversations with the two prior to Antonil’s arrival. Ian called for them to make way, and realizing their king had arrived, they quickly parted.

“Your archers have terrible aim,” Qurrah said before Bram could open his mouth. “I dare say you frightened them far more than you intended.”

The half-orc was giving him an out, and Bram gladly took it.

“The fault is mine for not giving proper orders, but your magic will frighten them more than my arrows. Move freely through my lands, half-orc, and know you will always be considered a close ally and friend.”

Bram meant it, too. Qurrah had read the circumstances and events correctly and then acted to prevent a war Bram himself had admitted he didn’t want. Such a powerful ally, he thought. If only he could somehow convince the half-orc and his strange bride to stay at his side, to use their intelligence and power for something greater than themselves.

“Your kindness is overwhelming,” Tessanna said. Her hands were wrapped around Qurrah’s arm, hugging him tightly. Bram sensed sarcasm in her words. There was no way for him to know their reasons for protecting the angels, not fully, so he let the matter drop. Instead he tilted his head the tiniest amount to show his respect, then marched away.

“What now?” Ian asked him.

“Now we plan,” he said, heading for his tent. “Word of what just happened will spread through Mordan quickly enough, and whatever the aftermath, we must be ready.”

He glanced to the sky, where the angels were but distant specks.

“Their brashness grows. War is coming, Ian, whether we want it or not. One god has fallen from this land, and the other hungers to possess the rest. How long until they deem our entire nation full of sinners needing repentance by sword?”

“They won’t go that far,” Ian quietly insisted. “I spoke with many angels during the war. We fought alongside them, and they were selfless allies. They cherish life. They embrace peace, and seek only to protect the innocent.”

“That was when we warred against demons,” Bram said, shaking his head. “That was when they knew their purpose. Five years is a long time, Ian. Long enough to forget the past. Long enough to become all too human.”

Bram looked once more to the sky, shook his head and turned away.