III.
The screeching of the large stripe-tailed goannas woke him before twilight. They had picked up a scent and Lucifer had to calm them by touch before heading toward the entrance. Between the lichen-covered rocks he could discern a figure. Without doubt an armed skirmisher, and Lilim, taking it from the crouched stance and distinct scent. He approached him silently, avoiding loose stones and ferns until he was behind him and rather mercifully slitting his skin, vocal cords, trachea, and esophagus with his sharp right index claw. The lightly armed demon ceased to exist almost instantly, after perforating his eyes, reaching and slicing the brain with a dagger in his left. Bubbles of air and blood were surfacing at the wound on the throat making a regurgitating sound and spilling the red liquid furtively over the leather breast plate of the warrior. A rock stopped the fall of the corpse several yards below, puddles of blood forming fast and staining the moss, as the King of Hell seized javelin and sling, taking them back to the entrance of the hideout. His fellow soldiers were still sleeping, so he remained there, standing guard. After a while he woke the decurion and informed him about the incident. They needed to move carefully from this point on.
The sturdy, horned demon extracted a map of the territory in front of them. His fingers, covered with iridescent scales, followed a small trail along a ragged edge.
"Here. This should keep us out of their usual array."
"I want somebody mixing with the usurper's army spreading information that the king's army is four twilights away. At least the clothing of the traitor could be put to good use," he growled.
"Do you want me to send a rider?" The sturdy officer studied the face of his sovereign but could not read any emotion in it.
"No. Let a youngster or a spawn perform that task. In the village down there we can use a local. It will be more credible." He adjusted his gloves. A brownish stain had appeared on the right one and he cursed himself for it.
"As you command, Sire." He bowed deeply, the many little horns placed on his skull and neck pointing towards the King of Hell. "We will resume our ride as soon as the turma is ready. I will wake and inform them that the enemy is nearby."
His lord nodded and turned towards the entrance. Light from the vortex was reaching the valley below them. Daytime was coming. Near the maelstrom it appeared similar to an overcast November day in Britain. Lucifer could distinguish two small settlements among the dwarf shrub covered area. Anything else would not grow in that place subject to frequent burning. Shrub was widely used in Hell to bind soils and prevent erosion by his order. The Devil inhaled sharply. As soon as they would leave the hills they were completely exposed unless they used the falling ash for cover. But so close to the vortex that was going to be difficult if not impossible. They would probably need to leave the animals in a village and continue on foot.
He tried to spot the enemy but could not make out any troops. Not even a small aggrupation. That did not mean they were not there. Plentiful sinkholes provided perfect hideaways, sometimes containing subterranean water. No place was as abundant in water and light as the Great Valley, but this area came pretty close at the feet of the highlands on the opposite side of the valley, which meant the Lilim would have claimed it immediately after they had learned about his abdication.
Maybe they could pass as travelling hunters.
xxxxx
After the other warriors had risen and packed, they descended the last part of the hills and entered the open landscape. The turma was not riding because of the uneven and treacherous path. At the nearest settlement they found only six elder demons and two small spawns. The other settlers had been required to serve in the Great Valley, and so the decurion paid one elderly to spread the word and send him on the way.
Between twilights, after a tactical rest in another settlement, the group managed to cover a larger distance than before, they could reach the enemy's legion in less time than anticipated if nothing unsuspected happened. As ash fell sparsely, they sang drinking songs to keep up the spirits and bond. To an outsider they would look like a common hunter party, as they kept their armoring hidden under capes or coats and the sharper weapons out of plain sight.
The equites were jovial among each other, commenting on their former hunts or fights and battles, highly anticipating the ones to come. A black scaled warrior boasted about the last bloodthirst trail and how he had slain a beast roaming around the bottomless tar lakes. The others demanded more details of his story and he continued with some details.
"The hairy creature had been attacking the villages of my kin and this was not tolerable as spawns couldn't leave the wall anymore. The beast had devoured three of them, each twilight another one, so my brother and I had decided to use our new spears on it. Unfortunately, they were not hard and sharp enough, and did not slay it, but merely infuriate it. Its fangs were almost as large as my ell and it almost fed on my brother. His shoulder still carries the scars." He looked proud of his brave sibling. "Finally, we had to fight it with our daggers, and I managed to cut its nostril off, so it wouldn't continue to catch our scent before we were able to finish it." He punched his left claw against his chest and bared his needle-sharp teeth. "In the end we had food for fifty kin."
The audience made approving sounds.
Later, another warrior told the story of how his kindred had been forced into labor by the Lilim and that he wanted to free them as no demon should be enslaved by another. His claim of freedom was seconded by the entire turma.
Lucifer Morningstar listened carefully. The lives of lower demons were straightforward and void of deception or lies. Just like with ordinary animals one got what one saw. Perhaps he had preferred the presence of the wrong kind, Lilith's children being just like her. Or, maybe, he had gotten so accustomed of the Detective's simple lifestyle over time, he could appreciate the smaller, direct things in life.
He recalled how he had punished the human trafficker. Breaking his spine had given him great satisfaction. It was well deserved and not overly cruel, even if his human had thought otherwise. He would give the demons enough opportunity to seek revenge and grant them rightful punishment of their foes.
Time seemed to pass faster while they were telling stories and the group soon reached the other side of the valley without any sighting of the enemy.
They followed the path along a surprisingly large fern vegetation. The eye of the vortex was almost on top of them which indicated that the Great Valley lay behind those ferns. The Devil sniffed intently and yes, there were Lilim nearby.
"Careful! In fifty boar lengths we will encounter our first fight. Four sweaty Lilim. Probably heavily armed."
The decurion acknowledged the information and every equites reached for the long spear and positioned it in front of them. Lucifer pushed in front of the decurion and led the turma around the group so they could surprise them from behind. The Lilim did not expect any attack and barely defended themselves. The black scaled warrior killed the first with his spear, perforating his aorta, drenching the others in dark blood before two of them were stabbed by the small, lizard-like female warrior with daggers and instantly decapitated by her companion who had told the story of his kidnapped kin . Blood soaked the ground and the bodies were left where they fell. Their beasts would take care of them first, followed by other scavengers, attracted by the scent of fresh death. The warriors collected the precious daggers and axes before continuing on their path.
Twilight was imminent when they reached the rim of the Great Valley. The Devil could barely discern the settlements and fields in front of them, but they would soon ignite oil lamps and fireplaces. Why hadn't they encountered a cohort or at least a centuria? Did Dromos bundle his forces and Soneillon was walking into a trap? He sent a prayer to his two brothers informing them and received the same unsettling news that they had not encountered any legion so far. He passed the news to his decurion.
"Dromos of the Lilim is keeping them in one spot and we have dispersed so far that we are lacking force before the next sidereal."
The Morningstar had misjudged the situation but there was still time to cause damage where needed. His sword alone would certainly provide the required needles for the Lilim.
xxxxx
He was changing. Again. Not for the better. He had noticed it after waking up. It felt different. He felt different. He passed his hands over his skull and there he noticed. Many small protuberances on its parietal bone just along the superior temporal line, similar to the ones on his spine. He touched his face. Not much change there, only his jawline felt stronger. He looked at his claw-like hands and the nails had gotten longer and thicker. At least they still worked as hands. He could not afford to lose mobility of his thumbs. Not now!
He swallowed down his disgust and worry about becoming something horrendous and staying that way. He felt how his instincts were getting stronger and his reasoning was fighting with them. His thoughts wandered to the beautiful aventurine colored eyes and he almost drowned in them. He did not dare to think of her name but there was the smell of hot chocolate, coffee, and pancakes. He needed to focus on Dromos. He needed to end him. Soon. Before he changed further. Or forever. Before he could not go back.
The Devil pulled his hood back over his head. It was imperative to keep calm, cold hearted and controlled.
Within the next ashfalls he would strike, as would his brothers. Soneillon was on his own schedule. He could not inform him of his decisions, as unsettling as it was. Nevertheless the Lilim was a great warrior and would act accordingly.
Hannibal Barkas used a strategy of encirclement and varied attacks. This served the Carthaginian general against Barbarians and the insurgent Lilim were exactly that. Against the Romans Hannibal had also used different needle attacks in the Battle of Cannae where he diminished them by over 50,000 soldiers. Soneillon and the two fallen hosts, who had turned into mere pitiful creatures, had agreed in using a mixture of both.
He inhaled deeply in order to perceive his environment not only by sight, but by hearing and scent. Outside of the shelter smaller scavengers were looking for food around the remains of the campfire. Their own animals were quiet, resting. His equites had taken turns watching out for Lilim, but this time no enemy had approached the camp. He looked over to the two demons who were more similar to reptiles in looks and behavior than to their ancestor Lilith. They lay curled up next to each other, like a small lounge of lizards or a knot of snakes, keeping their body heat. He would have enjoyed joining them, but he could not risked being discovered yet. Lucifer reached for his wineskin and drank from it. Waiting and craving for the battle ahead.
When the decurion ordered packing, the built tension in the camp seemed to diminish. The turma was eager to confront the Lilim warrior gathering they had spotted several lengths away. They hurried and gathered their beasts, mounting them and heading uphill in order to attack. The Lilim, about twenty, were travelling by foot, lightly armed. A far too easy target, Lucifer deducted. But it did not seem a trap. They were simply not worried of being defeated. He reached for his crossbow and caught up with the decurion.
"I leave you here, leader. Keep the afanc with you. I will deal with the Lilim, and you advance further up. If we have a group of twenty, more will follow suit. I am going to open the way for you to pass safely."
Dear readers: I was trying to release this before the new season starts, but it's growing and growing and I need to research and polish more, so I guess this will mean only weekly updates from now on. I hope you will still like it and by watching the trailer I guess Lucifer will be stuck down there - at least for some episodes. (Don't you think the writers are peeking in here? The evil twin plot i.e... Well, do enjoy, and if you have any comments, they are very welcome.