So much so that he had to force his mind back to the conversation.
“What did you mean earlier? What would be awkward?” he asked, sensing there was something to Saunak’s words. The way the demon talked about his mother seemed familiar. Too familiar.
“Why, your guardian over there had the biggest crush on Shari of anyone I’ve seen! He even proposed to her, you know?”
“What a load of Ash’va shit,” Cirayus roared. “Conveniently forgetting to mention your proposals, aren’t you? All five of them?”
Vir suddenly felt his food go sour in his mouth.
Saunak was one thing—creepy, perhaps, but that fit with his character. Cirayus, though?
Vir looked at his guardian, who looked away in embarrassment.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Vir asked. He now saw Shari’s existence in a whole new light. How difficult must it have been for Cirayus? To have loved someone, only for them to choose someone else… And now she was gone. Was he angry? Guilty? Vir couldn’t know.
Cirayus shook his head, seeing Vir’s worried expression. “This is a tale of a century ago, lad. Maion was my closest friend. I was truly happy Shari chose him. Happy they had you. Besides, Shari had no end of suitors. Believe me, we certainly weren’t the only ones to approach her.”
Vir thought back to how hard his father fought to win his mother’s love. Knowing so many others had failed made it sound like so much more of a feat.
“He definitely takes after his mother,” Saunak said with a fond expression.
“Oh, he’s got plenty of Maion in him, too,” Cirayus replied warmly. “And, after our time in the Ash, myself as well, I think.”
Cirayus was one thing, but Vir didn’t know how to feel about the thaumaturge looking at him like that.
Maybe I can use this to my advantage, Vir thought. If the demon regarded him favorably, then maybe he’d also be willing to help.
“So? How did she pass?” Saunak asked. “It must have been in the line of duty, knowing her. Sacrificing her life for another.”
Vir looked at Cirayus for guidance on how to respond, but the demon had balled his fists, staring at his plate.
“In a way,” Cirayus said. “I’d rather not speak of it. Maion died fighting off the Chits, buying time to allow me to escape with young Vir here.”
“Hmm? I see,” Saunak said, eyes flitting between Cirayus and Vir.
Vir wasn’t sure what exactly the demon saw, but a part of him wondered if Saunak understood that his mother died during childbirth. He shook off the thought. It was too much of a stretch, even for a genius like him.
“So. What kind of research do you do here?” Vir asked, hoping to shift the topic. “Do you work with any Artifacts?”
Saunak flashed a broad grin. “Oho? A curious mind, I see. You get that from your mother. But, yes. I have been able to perform all manner of experiments in my time here. As for Artifacts… look around you, boy. Everything you see here is an Artifact. Now, let’s see. A boy your age… Hmm, why don’t I tell you about my airship bluepri—”
“How did you survive, Sau?” Cirayus asked, interrupting the demon’s monologue. “The Demon Realm exiled you, but everyone knew it was just a death sentence by another name. How did someone as weak as yourself come to possess this place?”
Saunak sneered at Cirayus. “Oh, please. Don’t you think I noticed everyone’s hatred of me in the years leading to my banishment? I’d planned to flee to the Ash all along, should anyone make an attempt on my life. I didn’t think you’d all band together to oust me, though. Didn’t think you lot had it in you.
“Nevertheless, I’d laid the groundwork for decades. I built safe houses. I located the least dense areas of the Ash, and used my inventions to help me survive the acclimatization process.”
“You have inventions for that?” Vir asked.
Saunak grinned. “But of course! Admittedly, even with them, the survival rate is just fifteen percent, but that’s still fifteen times better than what it normally is!”
Vir blanched. “You had a fifteen percent chance of survival?”
And most people only have a one percent chance?
Vir knew that wasn’t right. It might’ve been the case for a weaker demon, but only the strongest demons braved the Ash. The survival rate would be far higher for them.
The thaumaturge gestured to himself. “I survived. That’s really all that matters, don’t you think?
“As for how I found this tower, that was by sheer dumb luck. I only happened upon it forty years ago. Took me another twenty to figure out how to crack its secret, but few magics hold up to the pressure of time. Its secrets fell to my efforts as sure as the falling Ash.”
Vir rolled his eyes. It was an extremely verbose way of saying that he wasn’t about to divulge his secrets.
“Now! I’ve been a terrible host. How about I give you a tour and show you to your quarters?” Saunak said, winking at Vir. “Perhaps you’ll even get to see an Artifact! Or, ten.”
Cirayus rose as well, shaking his head. “No. Fix our navigation Artifact and we’ll be on our way.”
“Come now, Cirayus. Recalibrating your guidance beacon will take some time. Why don’t you enjoy my hospitality in the meantime? Besides, look at the excitement in the boy’s eyes. You’d deprive him of his happiness?”
Cirayus growled, not falling for Saunak’s bait. “Hospitality? You’re more likely to imprison us than host us.”
“How rude. Why don’t we let the boy decide?” Saunak asked.
Vir weighed the benefits against the risks. “Show us to our quarters. I’m honestly tired after everything recently, and I think Cirayus and I could both use a little rest.”
Cirayus was about to say something, but Vir spoke before he could, “After that, I think I’d like to see more of Saunak’s tower. If there’s still time.”
A grin crept upon Saunak’s face. “Excellent.”
62ARCH THAUMATURGE
When Vir stepped into his private quarters, he concluded it was the most lavish lodging he’d ever experienced. But more than the lavish two-story room, more than the plush, exotic furnishings, Vir stood transfixed by the view.
The floor-to-ceiling wall-to-wall window—which Saunak promised was Imperium metal made to resemble a window—offered a breathtaking view of the Ashen Realm beyond. Like the windows on the higher dining room floor, it too had a magnification feature, allowing Vir to zoom in on distant peaks and beasts if he concentrated, and these windows overlooked an entirely different side of the Ash. From here, an endless expanse of volcanic mountains, with innumerable valleys between them, stretched off to the horizon. The many peaks spewed ash and magma into the clouds, yet from this distance, the violent chaos appeared calm, almost serene.
The room itself was a two-story loft with a lounging area and bathroom on the first floor, and the bed on the second. The bed stood on a balcony with low railings, overlooking the first floor and the view.
Shan circled a spot near the window a few times before lying down, stretching himself, while Vir made his way to the bathing facilities. He wondered if Saunak had retrofitted them, or if they’d come with the tower, for baths were conspicuously absent in Janak’s home in Mahādi. Vir concluded at the time that the gods simply had other ways of keeping clean.
The shower was not unlike the one Riyan installed at his abode, allowing Vir to quickly grasp their method of operation.