Fire Angels

Chapter 25 Part 1 My Queen

The evil man came to her room. He grabbed her hand and wanted to take her somewhere. At first she refused to go. She remembered this time why she called him evil. Then she saw Zorzar lurking at the door of the room and guessed that if she did not go with the evil man, he would make Zorzar force her to go. So she let him lead her out through the shadowy rooms. She kept the man between her and Zorzar in a way which made both of them laugh.

"What have you done to that poor man," she snapped at them angrily. Are you still torturing him?"

The evil man looked half amused and half inquisitive at this.

"So you don't know what has happened to him?"

"You don't really think she killed him?" said Zorzar.

"I wondered if she had something to do with it. Smazor says there have been rogue demons about. I wondered if they have been courting her."

"Rogue demons," scoffed Zorzar. "If you ask me, you should be looking a bit closer to home. There's something very untrustworthy about them demons. They seem to do just as they please."

"Demons always seem that," said the evil man serenely. "We have the minds of lawyers. We are always finding some loophole to the rules. But I doubt my crew would be helping her. They know they have nothing to gain from it. Demons understand politics better than that. I feed them and so they will not offend me lest I banish them."

"I wish I had your confidence, Stalker. Any demon's a dangerous tool and five demons..."

"Stop complaining," said Stalker calmly. "You have your fun."

They had come to a great carved door, she had never seen before. A dark red glow came from within it.

The evil man, Stalker, turned and bowed mockingly to her.

"My Queen," he said, "I present your empire to you. May it give you joy."

They passed through the door. The reddish glow shone from out of a huge pit. Heat steamed out of it and the whole place smelt foully of rotting meat. There was a walkway along the side of the pit and on the other side of it you could see a towering stone wall. It was the wall of the great cathedral, she realized.

Her thoughts seemed less confused today.

The wall of the cathedral shone with a kind of slime and all over it were oval whitish lumps, like hairy ulcers on the stone. As she watched one of them broke open with a ripping sound and she realized that they were some kind of cocoon. A shiny brown lump slid out of the cocoon and as it did, a tremendous howling arose from beneath them. She could not resist peering over the edge of the walkway, though she was sorry almost immediately. For the pit below was filled with white bones and lumps of red meat through which broken bone showed. The smell was terrible. Down among those bones scrambled creatures, shaped like people, but bigger and covered in rough grayish hair. Their faces were like the faces of savage dogs with snouts and drooling fangs. She had seen statues of these creatures, but in the flesh they were much more horrible.

Some of the creatures squatted on all fours gnawing at the bones, but others scrambled over the bones to the sticky brownish lump from the cocoon and were poking and ripping at its jelly-like covering. A small damp version of these creatures was quickly revealed.

"These are my watchdogs," said Stalker instructively. "Those who know enough would recognize them as blood beasts although few on this innocent peninsula know enough. I make them. Is it not delightful? I make them out of dead bones ground with the entrails of a dog and a little magic. They have a tremendous hunger for rotting flesh. They are grave beasts, but they will still hunt you down and rip you apart if you try to flee. Just remember that." He took her hand in one of his smooth soft ones. "Now come my dear come with me and meet you subjects."

At the end of the walkway there was an earth ramp and suddenly they were outside. It was night, but everywhere there were torches and huge fires. Behind them the great bulk of the cathedral rose jagged against a cold starry sky. Occasional fireballs shot across the sky and there was the sound of distant shouting.

Before them, she could see enormous earthworks. Women and even children were dragging stones along and men with pulleys were hauling the stones up onto the high walls which were being built around the earthworks.

Stalker gestured with mocking grandeur.

"Your palace, my queen," he said.

But she hardly heard him speak for her eyes were drawn with a kind of creeping horror to the people toiling below them. They wore only rags and their bare flesh shone with sweaty filth in the torch light. Their faces were thin and exhausted, their movements sagging. Sometimes they sagged into a heap on the dirt.

Men with cruel faces and black armour like Zorzar's roamed around beating the people with whips and blows and lashing them to their feet when they fell.

"How can you make these people work like this? It's night. Time to sleep. These people need rest."

"You're so soft hearted," he said. "How very promising."

"If I am Queen as you call me, then I order that these people be allowed to rest," she said angrily.

Both Stalker and Zorzar found this very amusing. She felt a vicious streak of hatred pass through her, but before she could do anything about it, Stalker reached out and took her chin in his hand again and said,

"You might be the Queen my pet, but I am the King. King of Sanctuary, King of the Demons, and King of you. What I say here goes. Come now my Queen. It is time for you, at least, to rest. Tomorrow will be our wedding day.