Fire Angels

Chapter 2 part 1 Parrus

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Trust Parrus to pick this highly inconvenient moment to show up.

Parrus Lavelle was the son of the local noble family, employed much against his will overseeing his family's estates while the rest of them lived in the city currying favor with the Duke of Gallia. He was also a mage and since I was the only other magic user in the district we had naturally been drawn together, with perhaps predictable results. There had been a time when I could have become seriously in love with Parrus. It had been Parrus himself who had put a stop to that. He made sure I knew that there was no future in our relationship, that it was just a physical thing. For the best really. I couldn't see any relationship surviving the fact that I had once loved and possibly still loved a demon.

For all that, our relationship had lasted for over a year. We had a kind of teasing friendship with an extra element of passion thrown in. Parrus must have at least wished me well for he was very discreet about our relationship. When I had first become involved with him I had not considered that such a course of action might lead to my disgrace and dismissal. To be a male sower of wild oats is a very fine thing, but Cardun is like every other place in this world in that the female half of this crop sowing is regarded as a scandalous whore. Fortunately - though I suspect our involvement was well known in many quarters - as long as we weren't too obvious, most eyes resolutely turned the other way.

Parrus was tall and slim and although he was a little stooped, very good looking in a rather cool way. He was wearing a new set of blue mages robes which set off his dark hair and eyes admirably. He looked startled at my reaction.

"Is something wrong?" he cried. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Oh Parrus. Yes, Yes. No. Nothing's wrong."

I made it a rule never to tell Parrus anything important, but at this point I was too churned up to be silent.

"Just a letter. Parrus, you've just been to Gallia. Is it true what they say? That the Morian Burning Light has given themselves over to necromancy?"

He looked even more surprised at this. "By the Seven, who's been writing to you?"

"Just a friend." I crushed the letter into my pocket. "So it's true then?"

Parrus shrugged. "They do say so, but as far as anyone could tell in the College of Mages it more to do with religion than magic. Perhaps you've heard of Hierarch Jarraz and how he has a statue of Karana that sends him visions and messages from God? Well you know how the church is always suspicions lest such things come from demons or evil spirits deceiving the Holy. It seems the Patriarch has decided that Hierarch Jarraz's Karana is an evil necromantic spirit."

"That's all it is? There's nothing else."

"You're so pretty when you're serious, Dion."

"Parrus!" I pushed him away.

He shrugged.

"I don't think so; though I did hear all kinds of wild rumors about Hierarchs fleeing the country, people being killed by necromancers and fiery angels battling demons over the sea for the souls of the Burning Light. I called on some fellows in the college while I was there. The White College doesn't seem overly concerned, though of course they are sending regiments of mages with this invasion force. It's just politics, Dion. Hierarch Jarraz has been making very critical prophesies about the Patriarch. The Patriarch might be sympathetic to the Burning Light's desire to reform the church, but he cannot be seen tolerate it when they go so far as to criticize him personally."