“One day,” Zora said in her gravelly voice, “all demons will know the light of the sun on their skin. Needing neither paint nor disguise. One day soon.”
“Hear, hear!” Badal said, pumping his fist, prompting others to do the same.
Vir nearly raised his fist alongside them, but remembered their talk of the purge. He doubted it would be peaceful, and he doubted the Order would care. Would the nation of Zora’s dreams recognize humans as equals? None of it sat right with Vir, roiling like a snake in the pit of his stomach.
On the other hand, he did agree with the raids. Rescuing demons and giving them a better life was a cause worth fighting for. Of that, he was sure.
“As per usual, we will compensate each of you handsomely for your accomplishments. And let us not forget the deeds of our newcomer, rescuing fifteen prisoners on his own! We are proud to welcome him to our Order,” Disanna said.
A round of clapping and hoots echoed through the hall, and Vir nodded awkwardly to everyone who looked his way, surprised to be put on the spot.
It wasn’t just on account of bashfulness—while he’d rescued those prisoners, he couldn’t have done it without the demons’ help. He’d botched his role, and the events of last night weighed heavily on his back.
If the raiders bore him ill will, though, they certainly didn’t show it.
“Go rest now, all of you. Ah, but Vir, would you mind staying back a moment? We have much to discuss,” Reth said.
Here it comes, Vir thought. Instinct told him bad news was headed his way. Instinct, and that strained smile Reth had given him earlier.
Several demons clapped his shoulder or nodded at him as they filtered out, and Vir found himself reciprocating. It felt so right being here, amongst friends.
The warmth in his chest only bolstered his confidence that he was making the right decision, staying on with the Order. With time, he’d convince them that demons could coexist with humans. He’d failed to do so with Tia, but it was not a mistake he’d make again. He’d be smarter this time.
Disanna spoke up once the others had filtered out, and when she did, it was in a softer voice than the one she’d used with the crowd.
“I know you must be worried about the one who betrayed you during the raid. Princess Tiyana Matali.”
“I’m sorry,” Vir said, lowering his head. “I told her who I was. I nearly gave away the Order’s secret. I knew Tia bore no love for demons, I just never thought she’d react so violently. I have no excuses.”
“No need, friend,” Disanna replied, gently lifting his chin. “You could not have known she would be there. As a royal, she’d have been privy to our true nature, eventually, and your friend, Maiya, has seen that Prince Erhan will keep Princess Tiyana in check. Rather, despite facing such adversity, you still brought those demons home.”
“Only with a lot of help,” Vir said in anguish. “Badal was running into a lot of resistance, so he had me go ahead. I wasn’t supposed to break them out, but I saw the chance and took it. Just didn’t expect to run into her there.”
“No operation is without its snags, Vir,” Reth said. “If the Pagan Order’s secret were so easily learned, we’d have been made a long time ago. Nations around the world work with us to disseminate our propaganda. A few voices here and there spilling the truth will never pose a threat. Well, not unless the words come from a princess’ mouth, but as Disanna said, Crown Prince Erhan Matali will keep his sister in check.”
“Now, let us discuss the reason we summoned you,” Disanna said.
“We wish to invite you into our ranks,” Reth continued. “You’ve hardly known us a week, and you’ve already contributed more than most. We would be honored to have you.”
That much was expected, Vir thought. He’d figured they would extend an invitation at some point, and he’d given the decision a great deal of consideration. He already had his answer, but first, he wanted a few clarifications.
“Why me?” Vir asked. “You flew me here on an Acira. You showed me the Undercity. You even showed me your Prana Siphon! Why take such a risk?”
Vir initially suspected they might do something similar for everyone they recruited, but after seeing the scale of their operations, after seeing the Undercity, that simply wasn’t true. He’d been given preferential treatment.
“No one knows how demons ended up in this realm,” Reth said. “Some say they were here when the Age of Gods ended and have simply been hunted ever since. Others say there were never any demons here to begin with, and that our ancestors came through the Ash, back when it was smaller and less deadly. We know precious little about the Demon Realm. We do, however, have some tales, passed down through generations of demons.”
“What do they say?” Vir asked.
Zora spoke up. “They speak of one who carries the prana of Ash Beasts,” she rasped. “A being of great power who will usher in a new era for demonkind.”
Vir waited for more, but the Ghael fell silent.
“That’s it?”
“Perhaps the details have been lost to time,” Reth said. “Perhaps they are nothing more than rumors. However, I’m of the belief that if there’s even a one percent chance of it being true, then we ought to heed it.”
“You think I’m this being from your tales,” Vir said.
“Vir, you are the only demon in our recorded history to have an Ash prana Affinity. An Apex Ash Affinity,” Disanna said.
Vir had wondered if they’d known about his identity as the reincarnation of the Primordial. It was either that, or they simply saw his prana as exotic. The truth was somewhere in between.
They know I’m someone special, but they don’t know of the Primordial. That’s interesting, though. So, the Primordial is someone who’ll usher in a new era for demonkind?
That was news to Vir, but it made sense why they were willing to go to such lengths for him now.
Vir took a deep breath. “There’s something else you should know,” he said. “There might be some merit to those rumors, after all.”
Vir spent the next hour narrating his experience as a prana scorned, telling them about the Hiranyan Knights and his training at Riyan’s, and finished with his meeting with Janak at Valaka Amara and his attempted assassination of Princess Mina.
“Our operatives had suspected you were behind Head Priest Harak’s death, but to think you made an attempt on Mina herself!” Disanna said. “Well, you might not have killed her, but the state you left her in is almost worse.”
“That was Riyan, not me,” Vir said, shaking his head.
“Forget the princess! Vir met Lord Janak himself!” Reth said in awe. “Do you understand what this means?”
Reth exchanged a glance with Disanna and Zora, and all three nodded, as if they’d had some unspoken conversation.
“Vir, about our invitation…” Disanna said.
“I accept—”
“Hold,” Lord Reth said, cutting him off. “We feel that, in good faith, we must warn you before you reply.”
“Warn me? Of what?”
“The Pagan Order’s intelligence network runs deep and wide. We have operatives in every country in the Known World, feeding us information daily. Including Rani.”
Vir had a bad feeling about this.
“I’m afraid you have a hunting party on your tail, brother. A Mejai of Realms and his entire retinue, accompanied by what we suspect is a demon who’s been brainwashed or coerced into their service. A powerful giant, by the looks of it. Exceedingly powerful.”
Vir’s stomach dropped.
“We’ll not lie to you, Vir,” Disanna said. “They are an unparalleled force.”
“Mina,” Vir said, his expression darkening.
“After what you have told us, yes, that would make sense. For Hiranya to send such a strong party across borders, Princess Mina truly wants you dead.”