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\u201cYou look worse every time I see you,\u201d de Avaram remarked.<\/p>\n
Beringer could not disagree. His face was a mess, his broken finger splinted. Even now there was still a slight buzzing in his ears. Beringer rubbed his tired eyes and said, \u201cIt is done.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found the target?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDone?\u201d Behind his table De Avaram froze. He blinked. And set his palms on the table. \u201cYou. Banished. A Greater Demon. By yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot me. The Creator through me.\u201d<\/p>\n
De Avaram blinked again. \u201cYou are too modest, Voidguard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beringer shrugged. \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did you find him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tracked him to a tenement block in the slums three days ago.\u201d Beringer lifted a stack of paper on the desk. \u201cFull details in my report.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou went after him alone?\u201d<\/p>\n
Beringer grimaced. \u201cOur pet demon suggested where he could be found. I was checking out likely hiding places when he, well, ambushed me. I took cover inside a building, which turned out to be his lair. By the time I discovered that, the only way out was through him.\u201d<\/p>\n
De Avaram winced. \u201cYou\u2019re lucky to be alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely.\u201d He sighed. \u201cGlad it\u2019s over. It is over, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t seen any more demonic incidents. I think this case is closed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo soon? We are talking about a Greater Demon here.\u201d<\/p>\n
De Avaram fidgeted. \u201cWhat about one?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually they don\u2019t walk the earth unless someone summons them. The summoner is still at large.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAh. Yes. About that. Do you have any leads?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI questioned the demon before banishing him. He said it was you.\u201d<\/p>\n
De Avaram paled. He looked away, chuckling. \u201cCome now, you can\u2019t seriously believe the words of a demon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beringer laughed too. \u201cLudicrous, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly. And he serves the Prince of Lies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beringer nodded. \u201cYup. So I did some other checking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s odd. Most people who summon demons tend to fall into three camps.\u201d He raised a finger. \u201cOne, they want power. Summoners like this inevitably merge with the demon, willingly or otherwise, becoming an unholy monster.\u201d He raised a second finger. \u201cTwo, they want the demon to destroy or ruin a specific target. In which case the demon will pursue that target, and only that target.\u201d He raised a third finger. \u201cThree, they want to work with the demon to pursue a specific objective.\u201d Beringer paused. \u201cBut this specific case does not fit any of these profiles.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re missing a fourth case: the summoner lost control.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we\u2019re talking ordinary Voidspawn, yes. They would consume the summoner, then either return to the Void or destroy the surrounding area. But this is a Greater Demon. They do not answer just any summoner, only the really powerful ones. The ones who do not tend to lose control.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been many cases of summoners trying to summon a Greater Demon, and paying the price of their failures.\u201d
\n\u201cYes, but in those cases, the Greater Demon simply devours the summoner and returns to the Void, or corrupts him. In the latter case we\u2019ll see a spike in heresies and the birth of a new cult. The Intelligence section confirmed that the latter did not occur. So the summoning did work. After a fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps Simon wasn\u2019t a Greater Demon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNope. He identified himself as an Archon in the Abyssal Palace, and our special intelligence resource confirmed as much. And Archons are busy managing the armies of the Void. If they find a summoner unworthy they devour and return home to their regular schedule. They don\u2019t stick around, period.\u201d<\/p>\n
De Avaram furrowed his eyebrows. \u201cSo what are you driving at?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Greater Demon was here on a mission. I looked at what he did. He attacked a small church, yes. He invaded and haunted the necropolis, abducted and corrupted people off the streets, but it\u2019s all penny ante stuff. He didn\u2019t start a cult or wreak mass havoc. He did cause panic, yes, but it will not cause any significant societal disruption. Quite unlike how a Greater Demon thinks and acts.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever. The High Synod will be convening soon, and among other things they will discuss the direction and funding of the Voidguard. If word were to get out that a Greater Demon were found and destroyed in Amarantopolis, that it was on a quest to destroy the Synod and was stopped at the last minute only by the valiant efforts of the Voidguard, the public will be incensed. They will demand that the High Synod expand the budget and the powers of the Voidguard. And the Catholicos will comply.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s…\u201d<\/p>\n
Beringer smiled, shaking his head. \u201cAbsurd? No. Greater Demons always have an agenda. So I asked myself, who benefits from these attacks? It\u2019s not the Void, so it must be us. You, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cold sweat popped from de Avaram\u2019s brow. \u201cYou\u2019re mad! Simon is trying to divide us! Don\u2019t you see?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe so, but an accusation just before being banished? That\u2019s just something a lesser demon will do. A Greater Demon would not bother with such theatrics. If he truly wanted to divide us, he corrupt the Voidguard and plant false evidence. Something that no one can deny.\u201d<\/p>\n
De Avaram licked his lip. \u201cYou still think I did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you did it. I know you summoned the demon, removed the paling-stones and sent him on his merry way.\u201d<\/p>\n
He jutted his chin. \u201cWhere\u2019s your evidence?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou called him Simon,\u201d Beringer said simply.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if you had actually read my reports, nowhere in them did I use the word \u2018Simon\u2019. All I wrote was that his name was unhearable and unpronounceable, and that our informant called him the Archon of Decay.\u201d<\/p>\n
De Avaram\u2019s face turned completely white. Beringer smiled lightly, leaning forward. \u201cYou covenanted with a Greater Demon, did you not?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bureau Chief sighed. Stood. \u201cAnd what if I did? I had the interests of the Church at heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo explain.\u201d<\/p>\n
De Avaram walked to his window, looking out. \u201cAmarantopolis was once the heart of a great empire, and the bedrock of our faith. Now…now secularism is sweeping the world. The masses are leaving the church in droves. The Faith is under fire, and now even the secularists claim they no longer need the Voidguard to hold back the Void. We are entering an age of spiritual malaise, and only the Church can reverse that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s all?\u201d<\/p>\n
De Avaram spun around, his eyes aglow. \u201cThat\u2019s all? That\u2019s everything! Out there, the slums cover an area at least as large as the City Eternal. Over half of the city\u2019s inhabitants say they have left or no longer believe in the Faith. Churchmen are fornicating with children. Atheists and infidels bargaining with the forces of the Void. The Church is facing the greatest crisis of our times!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you had to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI could not stand by and let this continue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beringer nodded. \u201cVery well then.\u201d<\/p>\n
A tense silence spun out between them.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo,\u201d De Avaram said. \u201cYou know the truth. What are you going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMe? Nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d Beringer stood, removing his telecrystal from his pocket. \u201cOn the other hand, I have an open line here with the Inquisition. In fact…\u201d<\/p>\n
Four men in black suits barged into the office.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d De Avaram demanded.<\/p>\n
The leader held up a graven silver hexagram. \u201cInquisitor Second Grade Stephan Papakostas, Supreme Sacred Office of the Universal Inquisition. You, Miles de Avaram, are under arrest for heresy and unsanctioned trafficking with the Void. You are coming with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Void surged through de Avaram. \u201cNo. You can\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTheos nikao<\/em>,\u201d Papakostas said.<\/p>\n The hexagram flashed white. The Void dispersed. De Avaram, stunned, dropped to his knees. The Inquisitors swooped in, cuffing his hands and picking him up by his elbows. Beringer gave them room to work. As they left, Papakostas nodded at Beringer.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks for your tip.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo problem.\u201d<\/p>\n Beringer left the office, ignoring the stares, the whispers, the lone woman who shouted his name. He took the elevator down to the ground floor, wandering over to the visitor\u2019s wing. The Voidguard kept a museum here, chronicling the history of the organization. Within the museum was a small cafe. He wended his way through the tables and chairs, and sat across a blond woman with intense green eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Kentaris nodded, unconsciously adjusting her wig. \u201cWhat will happen to de Avaram?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe will be given a fair trial. With the confession, it would be a short one. If he\u2019s found guilty it would be life in penance. Or the firing squad.\u201d<\/p>\n Kentaris chuckled. \u201cSo lenient? I remember a time when witches were burned at the stake.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTimes have changed.\u201d He sniffed. \u201cAlso, aetherium is too expensive to be spent so extravagantly.\u201d<\/p>\n She sipped at her coffee. \u201cFigures.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour mission here is complete?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. And, yes, before you ask, I\u2019ll be catching the first airship out of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n Kentaris smirked. \u201cCome on, Voidguard. I like you, but not that much.\u201d<\/p>\n He chuckled. \u201cCan\u2019t blame a man for trying.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHah. Well, it is good enough for you, right?\u201d<\/p>\n Beringer nodded. \u201cI don\u2019t feel like killing anybody else anytime soon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood to know.\u201d She drained her cup. \u201cSo, what\u2019s next for you? A promotion?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wish. More likely a transfer. Or a quiet resignation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat? Why?\u201d<\/p>\n He smiled sadly. \u201cI took down a bureau chief, and I ratted him out to the Inquisition.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou saved the High Synod and the city.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I betrayed a Voidguard. That means I\u2019m a rat. Nobody will want me in their bureau. If I\u2019m lucky, I\u2019ll merely be shuffled to somewhere quiet, or transferred to a bureau where nobody knows my name. If not, they may discover I am excess to manpower requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n Kentaris shook her head. \u201cThat\u2019s…that\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the nature of the beast.\u201d He shrugged. \u201cWe may yet cross paths again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf it happens, it happens.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou still have my number.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo, what, call you maybe?\u201d She laughed. \u201cI\u2019ll think on that.\u201d<\/p>\n He laughed too. She paid the bill, and he escorted her out the cafe. Out the building. At the taxi stand she called for a taxi, and they waited together in companionable silence. It didn\u2019t take long for her cab to arrive.<\/p>\n \u201cMay you find peace in the All,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n She smiled. \u201cAnd may you walk in the light of the Creator for all your days.\u201d<\/p>\n As she turned to go, she paused. Grinned. And extended her hand. \u201cEnemies?\u201d<\/p>\n He laughed. \u201cEnemies.\u201d<\/p>\n They shook.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Previous parts:\u00a01<\/a>,\u00a02<\/a>,\u00a03<\/a>,\u00a04<\/a>,\u00a05<\/a>,\u00a06<\/a>,\u00a07<\/a>,\u00a08<\/a>,\u00a09<\/a><\/p>\n If this story looks familiar, it’s the original concept of my Covenant Chronicles series. To see how it really turned out, check out my latest novel\u00a0HAMMER OF THE WITCHES<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Cheah](\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/0x0\/https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmcSX4MiYdPvqUChc7eBRiaSvNLAb2vT71wFubG75cArg8\/Cheah%20Git%20San%20Red.jpg\")
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