They came to the fortress in plain sight, priest in tow and wings flared (much to Levi’el’s displeasure), and he sensed that while the intended effect of scaring the guards off was a success, there was also a brimming curiosity in the air as the townspeople’s gazes became transfixed upon them.

  In this manner they made their way to the main gate, Eben’el at the fore staring daggers at those who came near, and the others trailing behind puffed with all the prideful confidence they could muster. Father Torren stood at their center; now having calmed from his initial excitement he stood upright and steady. He had swapped his garments for clean ones and taken with him a copy of the Scripture, bound in clean whitened leather with gold trimmings; dressed with new cloth and new posture he was a far more dignified figure, so that even Levi’el felt he must be quite wise, though he had seemed so flippant just before.

  No one came against them; some few brave souls would steel themselves at a distance, but a closer glance at the marching solars quickly sent them off scampering like startled deer. They then came to the fortress at the center and stood at attention some forty meters from its gate, which was a large wooden structure. The guards posted there began to speak heatedly with one another, in particular toward one at the center who seemed rather more decorated than the others. They paced and pointed and waved as they spoke, and though parts of their conversation drifted over they spoke so many at a time Levi’el could make little of it except that they were clearly panicked.

  “Kai’a,” said Eben’el, “Can you give strength to my voice?”

  Kai’a nodded. “Like the roaring waves, should you need it.” she said.

  “I shall need it,” said Eben’el, “and once it is given, extend your mind over the fortress with care, and as I speak observe if any presence awakens or becomes overly fearful.”

  Kai’a mumbled a Prayer and said, “It is done.” She then shut her eyes halfway and seemed to begin concentrating intently on her thoughts. The others kept their minds closely linked to hers; should there be a mental attack from the enemy, she would be their best defense from it.

  When Eben’el next spoke his voice boomed with such force that the earth trembled beneath them, and it took all of Levi’el’s will not to cover his own ears. He said, “Let it be known to Lord Mayor Lammond of Cabil, and all to him sworn and in fealty: there has come unto thy house a suspicion of demonic workings. If it be unwillingly and by coercion, lay down thy arms and thou shalt be saved, for as it is said, ‘the wrath of Heaven comes not upon the coerced, and the servant suffereth not the sins of his lord’. Yea even if it be willing, give thy surrender and forgo the defense of evil, and no harm shall come to you; but if ye resist the arbitration of the Lord’s Justice which cometh mercifully from Heaven, ye shall find the fires at thy hearts, and our blades at thy necks.”

  Even as he spoke, many of the soldiers dropped their arms and ran. Some stood rooted and motionless, frozen with fear, and some fell over and sat dumbly where they were. The man of good decoration looked about himself in a fury, and after a moment of yelling and swearing seemed to become suddenly panicked and ran to them.

  Levi’el nervously motioned for his blade, but Pera’va said, “Wait. He will not fight.”

  “That is Captain Lautus of the palace guard,” informed Torren, “an honest man, but hard set to his lordship’s family.”

  As the man came near Levi’el began to make out his features; he had a darker complexion than Torren, a wide and squarish face packed tight with muscle so that it seemed almost like rough bark, and a broad nose. He was short and squat, and Levi’el wondered by his size and features if he was not half-dwarf. At last his shouts rose above the others and Levi’el could make out his words; to his surprise the man was shouting “Help us! They’ll kill them, Lord, save us!”

  At the same time Kai’a seemed to startle awake and said, “I sense a half-dozen, sir - like before, not full-fledged demons. The humans are panicked and trying to flee, but two of those rats are at the gates. There might be conflict.”

  The man came up to them and fell before them, and clasping his hands he said, “Please, sirs, they’ll kill my men. We could not stray sir, once they had arrived, trapped like hens in the coop with a cayot. My men, they-”

  Without giving him a reply, Eben’el turned towards the others, saying, “Kai’a, get us through. You have my permission to use the Second Order. Use shortened recitations if you need to once we’re inside. Levi’el, stick close to me as I charge in. Pera’va, stand behind until Kai’a is ready to advance and protect Torren. Attack anyone hostile. Clear?”

  They affirmed with an “Aye, sir” and Kai’a dashed ahead, the others following suit.

  Levi’el watched attentively, his heart fluttering with anticipation. The Prayers were Sacraments of the First Order. There were no Prayers that could kill directly, but they could be used to kill indirectly; a prayer to light a fire, a prayer to summon water, a prayer for a strong breeze, all could be used with malice and all could take a life under the right conditions.

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  Sacraments of the Second Order, on the other hand, were sanctified with lines from other parts of the Sunlit Scripture and were more powerful; such magic required special training and the permission of an archangel like Eben’el to use in the field. He had seen them demonstrated only on rare occasions during lessons.

  When Kai’a had come about ten meters from the gate she stopped and took a pigeon-toed stance, with her feet pointed inward and one foot slightly forward, and craned one arm outward. Pera’va stopped the priest and guard captain another meter behind her, while Levi’el continued his advance with Eben’el. As they ran past Kai’a she pulled out from her robes a pendant of the Holy Heptagram, kissed it gently and held it out.

  The air seemed to grow thicker as the words left her mouth, her expression now dark and serious, “Ye wicked! Are the fruits of my garden not enough?! Ye gluttonous! Do ye starve with bellies full from what I hath given you?! With swollen tongues you plead, with blackened hearts you cry; more, more, more! Thus ye shall have thy excess; for rains there shall be flood, as for warmth there shall be fire.”

  As she spoke, lines of fire etched themselves into the large fortress doors forming a complex sigil of circles and runes. Levi’el felt a rush in his head as energy gathered into the sigil. The temperature rose rapidly as she finished the incantation: “Remember what ye have asked of thy Lord; it is given!”

  A mental cue from Eben’el warned him to cover his eyes. As he did he could feel a sort of tightening in the energy gathered by the door, and then a snap; there was a sound like the crack of lightning and a flash of light, and he was nearly knocked over by a blast of hot wind. Wood debris scattered around them. Through their mental link, he could feel Kai’a breathing heavily from the physical toll of the spell. He marveled for a moment at her skill, but a mental order from Eben’el quickly brought him back into focus and he continued the charge with him through the charred doors.

  They drew their blades and dove in, using the smoke for cover and relying on their life-sight to navigate. Levi’el relied heavily on his mental link with Eben’el, who had a far better life-sense than he did; for his part he could only roughly make out the positions of the several dozen bodies around him, with his partner shining brightly among them, but through Eben’el’s sight he received far greater detail. Navigating yourself with someone else’s senses was no easy task however, and he had to shove a few bodies out of the way as he ran, giving silent apologies as the startled humans screamed and cursed.

  As soon as some of the humans realized they had an escape, they began rushing out of the gates. Kai’a’s senses were still diminished by the exhaustion from the spell, meaning Pera’va could not advance until she recovered. Levi’el could feel his mental link diminish as he focused his energy on flitting through the life-lights of the escaping bodies, trying to determine if any demons were escaping in the mix.

  Not finding any, he determined to put his faith in Pera’va for now and keep his focus forward. He continued through the smoke into the room beyond, sticking close to Eben’el. There they found the castle hall, which had two sections. The first was a simple room barely larger than the gate, and held nothing but a few benches and potted plants, which had been knocked askew by the blast. Further ahead, a half dozen steps led up into the second section, which opened out to be about 20 meters wide and slightly taller. In this second section Levi’el could see that several tables had been pushed to the walls, with silverware and other finery strewn about carelessly. The corpses of several men at arms, perhaps a dozen, lay slain throughout the room. One had fallen upon the steps in retreat and still bled, his blood cascading down the polished stones and falling into the mortared grooves in the floor below.

  Levi’el’s mouth soured at the sight of the slaughter. Anger welled up in his chest and stung at his heart; he began to rush forward and continue the pursuit, but Eben’el’s mind held upon him like a heavy hand and halted his advance.

  “Patience.” said the archangel, “Your anger is righteous, but we must be cautious, and we will need Kai’a’s support.”

  “But there might be others in danger further in!” Levi’el protested.

  “Save your anger for when the enemy is in front of you.” Eben’el remained calm, and his mind lapped upon Levi’el’s like cool water. Fighting his own impulses, he took a deep breath and let his mind clear. He admired Eben’el’s steady mind; though he could sense anger in him, his thoughts remained crisp and clear.

  Pera’va and Kai’a soon rejoined them, Torren and Lautus in tow. Lautus huffed as he came up, struggling to keep pace with the others in his armor, and said between gasping breaths, “Please… the Lord Mayor, Lammond, you must get to him. Down in the undercroft. They are using him for something, I know not what. They draw sigils in blood and speak in odd tongues. Please, he is well-meaning…”

  Kai’a placed a hand gently on his arm and said, “Thank you, good knight. You have been a blessing to us, but you would do good to flee. We cannot fight with promise of your safety.”

  He shook his head, “Let it be. Should I die by their hand or yours, no matter. The Lord’s safety is my duty.”

  “You will be of no use to your lord as a stain of blood on the floor.” said Pera’va, “Leave your notions of duty.”

  The man stood himself straight and said, “Forgive me, your brightness, but I cannot. My heart is fit to burst with worry. I must see to him.”

  “Where you go I shall go also,” said Torren, “feeble though my hand be, let it be as thy own.”

  “Put the fools to sleep, Kai’a, and let’s be on.” Pera’va said.

  “Let the captain come,” said Eben’el, “so that he may know the work of devils and his lord. Levi’el, keep him in your sights. And you, priest, come also. ‘Feeble is the hand of the good shepherd, for by his voice and his prayer are his charges moved.’”

  Without waiting for an answer, Eben’el moved on into the castle.