Chapter 6: Lies Within Lies
Lawin went into the cavern-home of Anash, an ancient. He wanted answers to what happened to him those past few days. The place could only be opened by an incantation. Anash was Rukash's exact opposite. She was not cynical; she was a humanist and had never asked Lawin to do anything unscrupulous.
When Lawin had been recruited by the Ancients, she was one of those that gave him a fair shake. He always appreciated that single act of trust.
"Ana," he called. "Are you here? Are you awake? Are you alive?"
"Don't toy with an old woman, boy!" The person that came into view looked like she was in her late sixties, clothed in something like leather jerkins.
"Anash, Don't say that. You're only around five thousand years. Besides you're getting younger and younger every day."
The older woman snorted. "Sit. Sit. Before you kill yourself."
"Ana," Lawin became somber as he sat down. "Someone's attacked me while I was watching the abomination. I think it might have been Urkonn or Rukash or their lackeys." Lawin decided to hide his encounter with the guy that claimed he worked for the powers for now.
"Straight to the point, eh? That's what I've always liked about your bloodline, no tongue in the hole. Well, to answer your question. It's not Rukash or any ancient. We've sworn that no harm will come to you from us. Didn't we sign that pact in blood?"
"I think Rukash has a liberal interpretation of that promise."
"Now listen! Rukash or his dogs will not risk killing you! If you died with clear indication of treachery, they would be the logical suspects. And right now Rukash will not risk his power for a little hotheaded fool like you."
Lawin pretended that the answer was enough. He wanted to pretend that the attack had come from other sources, but he knew otherwise. They knew exactly where he was. They knew when best to strike. It might not have been Rukash… maybe. But someone had intel from the inside.
"I suppose so. But something happened that shouldn't have happened back during my mission."
"Demons have eyes and ears everywhere, Lawin. They have oracles. If some foul play was done we would know.
"But you already knew about what happened didn't you?"
"Yes, Hyall told me. The abomination, Connor was trying to find what happened to his father. Guilt perhaps or something resembling guilt. Who knows what's inside that twisted demon's head. Oh and by the way… There will be another meeting in a few days. I think the others have found a new spell that could help extract the Scion. Oh look at you smile, like a little pimple."
Lawin smiled, looked down and then decided to changed the subject. Talk about a cure for the Scion always happened but whenever it would come in, the cure turns out to be another dud. He didn't want to get his hopes up. "Do you remember Yolande? I mean do you sometimes think about her?" Yolande was the ancient who gave Buffy Summers the scythe that bound the Slayer line.
Anash was caught off balance. "Only sometimes. Her death was unfortunately necessary. She knew that she was not coming back. Why this sudden interest?"
"I was just thinking. When… When the demons first left. What happened… the great war I mean? You were there right, eons ago. Right alongside Amazarak."
"Yes. Yes, I was. Why the sudden interest? I thought we already told you what happened. We fought the demons, banished them from this plane of reality and forged the…"
"Energies that would bind as protection for this world." Lawin mimicked Anash's words verbatim. "I know. I know. Never doubted that. What I want to know is… Um… Were there other demons involved. You know other hell gods other than the ones you fought."
Anash raised a curious brow. "What do you mean?"
"Well. It's like you know…ah… They're the mafia, the ones you drove out. And the ones that drove them out are triad Russians or something. And the Ancients are the CIA and the FBI."
"What?"
"Let me put it this way. Were the demons fighting amongst themselves when the Ancients banded together to drive them back?"
"Ahhhh. So that's what you're saying."
"Yeah, kinda."
"And where did you get this idea?"
"Rumors and Stories from the Deeper Well. Hell gods buried there were supposed to have fought each other before their armies were driven and decimated by you. Illyria, for example." He looked down sheepishly. "I've studied Drognyn," he lied.
"Hmmm. Yes, before that traitorous scum, Angel, killed him, yes?" She did not believe him.
"Angel was a servant of the powers that be."
"Powers that would kill one of their own. Powers that are careless of the people and lives that must be constantly paid. Ah, but I forget myself. Why are you concerned about this? The powers that be have nothing to do with the Scion or the Ancients."
"No. But I've a special interest in hidden history. Some things are happening that you're not telling me but I know how to read the signs. Ana, were they fighting each other? And if so, did you side with one of them to get rid of the other?"
Anash was suddenly furious. "Lawin, boy. You're like my own son. You are my son. Gods know that you've done your share in fixing Amazarak's treachery. Gods know you have done more than enough in helping make this world a safer place. So believe me when I say, yes. The demons were destroying each other. You know that all too well. But we have never, ever sided with demons. We fought them with our blood staining the ground and hands gripping the weapons that would fight them. The powers did nothing. We, humanity's guardians, did all that. Yes, we fought them one by one but we have never sided with them! So don't even think that we would consort with our enemies."
Lawin's answer was short and accusatory. "The Slayer line. The Scion…"
"The Slayer line and the Scion are demonic sorceries, yes. But we stole them. We did not negotiate for them."
Lawin looked down, somewhat ashamed but still unconvinced. "Thanks, Ana."
"One thing for certain, though, there are traitors in our midst."
"Rukash and his advocates?"
"I don't know, Lawin. I don't know. The Horde is returning but you already know that don't you? You sly little liar. The Ancients are banding together again as we have in eons past. There are traitors everywhere. But even they will not stop us in preventing Horde from returning. We have done this before and we will do it again. Don't look so forlorn it makes you look old.
"I will speak in council tomorrow. Perhaps we will let you in on the discussion about our latest end of the world. I'll make sure the Scion cure will be on the agenda."
The 'Scion cure agenda' was a lie. Rukash would always delay the topic, Lawin knew, but he appreciated the comfort, nonetheless. "Thanks, Ana."
Five minutes later, Lawin stepped out of the cavern feeling unsure of what to think. She wasn't giving the entire story just as she knew he wasn't giving her the entire story. The Ancients were a difficult bunch. They rarely met, and most of the time they were holed up in little sanctuaries like Anash's - just sitting, fundamentally no longer human. But word was passing around that they were going to climb out of their holes and turn themselves into an army, an army of mages to resist the coming of the Horde, a vast demonic army that was the conglomeration of several demonic factions that once ruled this world.
"But why did they return?" Lawin asked the sky. "Why now?"
A war was brewing. One side, vastly demonic. On the other side, the Ancients led by Rukash and his faction. In the end, he hoped that sorcery would be enough to drive them back. But there was nagging feeling that kept saying that this big war was just the tip of the iceberg.
And suddenly, for no reason, Lawin felt that he needed to find Spike, just to assure himself that nothing was off.
The hall was small and looked extremely old; its distinctive features were mostly pillars of sandstone and floors of petrified wood. Anash walked up to the council hall, at the center of the cavern. It was attended by fifteen other Ancients. One of them, a wizened old man with leathery skin and graying hair, looked at her with disapproval. The man may have been in his sixties or seventies but from the looks of him he could still put up a fight.
Anash spoke first when she reached the main hall where all the Ancients were meeting. "I know the others refuse to come here, but here we are. And we should start now, rather than postpone it again until we get a unanimous quorum."
The wizened old man spoke. "Really, Anash? Perhaps you'd like to invite the young renegade as well."
"Lawin has his own priorities as I'm sure Urkonn does as well."
Vrill interrupted and spoke in a diplomatic tone. "Please, Rukash. This is hardly the place or time. Anash we are grateful that you came. Hyall was just discussing to us the nature of the corruption."
As if on cue another old woman walked into the scene. She looked at both Rukash and Anash, she was definitely aligned with the latter. "Yes, we have confirmed that the corruption is quite indeed mystical. And what's more its nature is based on the Horde's energies. We must be open to the possibility of a demonic incursion."
Someone piped up from somewhere from behind. "This is ludicrous. The Horde had many powers. Remnant demonic factions use them all the time to create a ruckus. This is not even worthy of discussion. To assume that the Horde or the Kluthu are returning makes no sense at all. None. They have nothing to gain by returning."
"There's always destruction. Vengeance." Another one said.
And then another. "But the corruption is targeting Slayers. Our Slayers. Our creations. Vorathon or not. They know about us and they are targeting us!"
"What do we really know about the Slayer line? We stole it from demons, remember!"
And another. "The Slayers are being affected by the disease because of the new bindings caused by the scythe. We started this, not the demons. Hyall, you are just being paranoid."
"Yes, we started this and whose fault was that?"
"Oh so you're saying we should have allowed the First, the dark oversoul to run free with its minions? You idiot! It was necessary to create the scythe."
"No. It was not! The scythe was unstable. It was a last ditch plan that should not have been thought of in the first place. The Slayer line was stable and now it is irreparably unleashed!"
"We should never have created the scythe. We could control the Slayer line with our powers alone."
"Oh, shut up. You know we can't!"
"Yolande was the one who gave the scythe."
"Yes, the bitch!"
"Shut up, fool! She gave her life so that the First wouldn't be sucking on your worthless hide!"
"She defied the decision!"
"Oh. And I suppose it was a good decision? A just decision? I seem to recall you cowering with fear when the mention of the First was becoming obdurate!"
"Titless, son of a whore!"
The assembly began arguing amongst themselves, yelling and cursing each other. Only Anash and Rukash looked calm and introspective. Then Anash spoke. "Everyone! Please, calm yourselves."
"Ana is right," Rukash continued. "We must have a cool head. We had no idea as to what the effects of the scythe would be. But we all knew that it would render the line vulnerable. We were desperate and we acted capriciously for our own survival. What happened… what Yolande did, however ill advised, was necessary. And now we must pay for acting out of necessity."
"But Rukash. Why couldn't we just fix the Slayer line now?"
"No!" Anash yelled. "If we do that we would only cause more damage. Any attempt to fix the line could result in the complete destruction of the Slayers. And I mean all. Besides, we would risk exposure. The Slayers already know about the three who masterminded their creation… and Yolande. No, we must leave it as it is for now. We can't afford to let them know more secrets. Our priority, now, should be to combat this alleged return of the Horde. If we can deal with this new crisis perhaps then, we might have the chance at repairing the damage we have caused."
"Repair! Ana, we could well lose the entire Slayer line," Rukash snorted. "The ones who created the line were the shadow men." Rukash was referring to the Swahili Ancients that had pioneered the adoption of the Slayer line. "And they are all dead. Killed by your new pet's ancestor! Amazarak!"
"The bastard!" Someone sneered.
Anash continued. "I appreciate your views Rukash. But the shadow men did not create the Slayer line. They copied it from demonic arcane sorcery. Thus it may explain why this latest demonic plague is targeting places where Slayers are located. I have been watching the tele… what was it oh yes, television. Yes, I have been watching the television. The cities in Nevada, California, China and Russia had Slayers in them. And that is only the beginning."
"That still doesn't explain why so many people died as well."
"I believe they're just civilian casualties. The real targets are the Slayers. You know how the Kluthu operates."
"Are we even sure that it's the Kluthu?"
"Where else could it come from? The Horde is corrupting the Slayers for their own uses and the Kluthu is killing them to deny the Horde another weapon."
"We should never have played with demonic energy." Someone said sadly. "We are losing because we are now playing their games with their rules."
Then Vrill laughed from somewhere behind. "Ah, you fool. Half of our magics come from adopted demonic sorcery. The most potent use of magic is dark magic. So stop your whining. We should be the last to complain after the rewards."
Someone made another remark then another and then another. Soon the assembly was quarrelling again. Only Rukash and Vrill and Boluz and two other Ancients were standing aside from the quarrels. They were smiling smugly. They were united.
Rukash then walked over to Anash. "You know. We could use you Anash. Why fight us? You are the last threat to my power. If you join me then we could unite and present a united front against the coming troubles. The others will follow you and none of this bickering will occur." He gestured at the quarrelsome mob. "They will only kill themselves without proper guidance."
"Your guidance, I suppose? Ah, Rukash." Anash sighed. "You are a craven, conniving politician. What you are planning! Don't think that I don't know! You represent what is worst in us all."
"Pah!" Rukash snapped. "I suppose your boy is different. You say he is not Amazarak but I tell you now, that that boy is as much a killer as his forebears, enemy or not. Watch your step with him, Anash. He will bite you when you least expect it. Oh, yes he will. Remember one thing Ana. There are no innocents in this world." Rukash and his entourage then took off.
Anash looked down and hoped that maybe Lawin might find an answer. She took a look at the quarrelsome assembly and knew she was defeated.