“Uhm, well…” Talarius said, trying to remember.
“There was bloodshed, murder, and yes, rape, on a truly epic scale,” Sekhmekt said. She gestured to the air above the table, and suddenly a vision of soldiers wearing centuries-old Rod uniforms appeared above the table. They were breaching the walls of a large city. And there was, as Sekhmekt had said, bloodshed and violence.
Within moments, the visions of battle spread from the table into the minds of those in the room. They were all suddenly there in Memphis, each person in the room sharing memories of someone who had been in the city when the Rod had attacked. Each viewer suddenly knew what the person whose memory they shared knew. They could remember the events of the last several days — the fear, the siege. They saw firsthand the soldiers of the Rod swarming through the city, slaying all those who stood against them. Time shifted and it was a few days later; tribunals, executions, conversions… all of the horror.
Suddenly the memories stopped and all in the dining room were left gasping. Sekhmekt, standing at her chair, shook her head, realizing that she had overshared. She sat down suddenly. “I am truly sorry; that was uncalled for.”
Phaestus rested his right hand on Sekhmekt’s shoulder. “It’s okay. I know it is hard.”
The goddess’s eyes were moist and it took her a moment to regain her composure.
“Again, my apologies. I have had too much beer. I had meant to simply display a two-dimensional image of the memories I have in my trust, but the memories spun out of control. They are still too fresh.”
Reggie shook his head, trying to recover and reorient himself to the present. “So that happened in Memphis?”
“Those memories were from people in Memphis,” Phaestus replied, “but similar battles took place all over our lands in Astlan, as well as the rest of the localverse and some other parts of the multiverse. It was a very coordinated attack on our land and people roughly a thousand years ago.”
“It started out innocently on most planes,” Sekhmekt said. “We have no problems with people of other faiths living around and about our lands; thus we were not prepared for the uprisings, the hidden armies that seemed to come from nowhere.”
“By the time we, the Nyjyr Ennead, were fully aware of what was happening and that it was happening on multiple planes at nearly the same time, our mortal forces were already nearly overwhelmed,” Phaestus added.
“But enough; I think it best if my husband and I retire for the evening. Again, my apologies. None of you deserved that.” Sekhmekt looked around at the others and nodded in particular at Talarius, who was sitting in stunned silence like many of the others.
Tom trudged down the corridor towards his suite. He was exhausted. The battle, the second allegiance ceremony, and getting the newly sworn demons (and their detached body parts) safely inside Doom and quartered had made it a long day. The majority of Lilith’s old forces had all sworn to him and he had links to each, but trust still needed to be earned, so they were all on probation.
He had assigned Delg Narmoloth, his D’Orc commander from Earth, and his D’Orcs to keep an eye on their new recruits. He figured if Delg could lead orcs against the Æsir during Ragnarök, then keeping an eye on fewer than two thousand demons should not be a problem.
He had checked on Vaselle and the rest of his people in Astlan shortly before swearing in the new recruits and shown them the balling of the battle over their campfire. They were camping outside of Murgatroy to avoid having to stable Schwarzenfürze in the wargtown and cause further problems.
He had also shared memories with Vaselle so they could fully recap what the other had been up to. Tom had to admit that sharing his memories of the battle and Vaselle’s conversations with the others regarding what Gastropé had told them was extremely efficient. It was much faster and far richer than speaking; it would just take some learning not to accidentally overshare.
Tom entered his suite, noting that both Rupert’s and Talarius’s doors were closed. Well, in Talarius’s case, probably closed and blocked by a wardrobe, he thought to himself with a chuckle. He entered his own bedroom, closing the double doors behind him and fell face first on his bed, the Rod of Tommus still clutched in his hand.
He really needed to sleep and recharge. He had returned the DoomNet’s mana absorption levels to normal so that people could regenerate. He had also returned the portal to Fire to its normal active state, and temperatures were returning to normal across the DoomNet. The outer regions were still quite chilly for the Abyss, about forty degrees Fahrenheit; however, inside the temperature was back up to about 120. Rather comfortable for sleeping, Tom reflected.
Chapter 119
“So, I guess we know who you are having for lunch,” Asmodeus stated, taking a sip of his Baby’s Blood Tea as the door shut behind the first returning soldier from Mount Doom. Lilith said nothing; she simply sat staring at the door, seething in silence.
Asmodeus shrugged and said, “I imagine the Baron will not be pleased.” Again, Lilith said nothing. Asmodeus raised an eyebrow at her odd behavior. Restrained silence in the face of defeat was not an expected behavior for Lilith. In fact, he was not sure he could recall the last time she had behaved this way. Certainly, it would have to have been before Orcus’s passing.
Asmodeus took another sip of tea, and noticed a small twinge in his stomach. He was not sure what it was; perhaps pity for the returning demons? It would not be pleasant for them. Not in the least. He suspected they would all be eaten alive, leaving just enough vital organs so that they could be forcibly regenerated and consumed again and again. That is, if they were lucky.
“You are correct. The Baron will not be pleased,” Lilith finally said after several more minutes of raging silence.
It came as a bit of relief to Asmodeus, in particular the calm and objective tone. He had been worried that the silence had been but a buildup to an unspeakably violent outburst. Of course, he had no idea what her current calm demeanor indicated. It was so very out of character for her.
“So have you decided on punishment for those who failed you?” Asmodeus asked.
“The ones who have returned? The ones who have fled? Or the traitors?” Lilith asked, once more uncharacteristically calm.
“Exactly.”
Lilith pursed her lips. “Those who fled shall be hunted down, tortured for a few hundred years in the dungeon and then executed. Those who returned will face no punishment. Naturally, I will not tell them this — I will let them stew in fear of future punishment for failure, but I will not punish them. The traitors?” She gave a brief, sharp chuckle. “That will take some delicious planning on my part.” She went silent again.
Asmodeus frowned. This was starting to get disturbing. No punishment other than fear of punishment for those that returned? That was very unusual. Obviously, graduated punishment for different levels of infraction made sense, but the returning demons were getting off extremely easily.
Or perhaps not, he reflected. Lilith’s punishments were legendary. Living with the belief that such a punishment was definitely coming and was, in fact, deserved, could be an exquisite form of mental torture. Rather subtle for Lilith; more like something he would do. Asmodeus shrugged and took another sip of tea.