Hell's Ascendant (Mantles of Power Book 3) Read online

  “You what?” Janel asked, the shocked expression on her face turning to disbelief as she folded her arms and set her jaw. “Why should I listen to a word you have to say? Anyone could claim that.”

  Isalla bit back the urge to retort, and instead pulled out the letter from Anathiel and tossed it onto Janel’s desk. When she spoke, she forced her voice to be cool and relatively calm. “How many of them could bring a letter from Anathiel? She gave it to me in part to make reaching you easier. As an aside, the answer is no, she will not grant you an audience. She doesn’t have the time to grant everyone who wants to meet with her audiences, and she’s not going to play favorites.”

  Scowling, Janel snatched up the letter and broke the seal, her eyes moving back and forth as she read the letter, while her scowl grew even more pronounced with every passing moment. Normally Isalla would have grown more worried at the reaction, but at the moment she couldn’t find the motivation to care that much, not after the insults Janel had thrown her way. Worse, the insults had also been indirectly criticizing Rose’s judgment, and after she’d been injured Isalla wasn’t going to tolerate that.

  Finally, Janel threw the letter onto the desk, her expression dark as she glared at Isalla, almost spitting as she spoke. “Fine, you at least were telling the truth about that. What do you want, that you used an archangel to reach me? Speak quickly or get out.”

  “Fine. I wasn’t kicked out of the Order of the Phoenix; I was ordered to take a position investigating crimes in the Evergardens. I noticed some strange meetings by members of the Holy Council and started investigating, and for that a woman drew me into an ambush, cut my wings off, and dumped me in the hells,” Isalla said flatly, taking a certain amount of pleasure in how the woman flinched, but continued bluntly. “I was rescued by a reasonably friendly demon, but at the same time they decided that since I’d sent a letter with my suspicions to Rose, they’d eliminate her as well. That’s how she ended up disappearing, and I helped rescue her in the hells. Not that she really needed it at the time, but that part doesn’t matter.

  “If that weren’t enough, they sent a group of angels to kill us. They failed, but it was a near thing in the end. We managed to get further information and went to the Forest of Sighs… which I’m certain you’ve heard a bit about,” Isalla said, her tone biting by this point, and she avoided looking at Janel at all, not wanting to see the incredulousness in her gaze anymore. “We helped Alserah fight the angels controlling the monsters, as well as killing the monsters themselves. Even so, we learned that a member of the conspiracy was here, so we tried to travel in secret. Rose was certain she could get help from you, so she suggested we meet with you once we got here. Unfortunately, just a couple of days outside the city our enemies struck again, and she was nearly killed. If it weren’t for Lady Anathiel, Rose would have died long before we could have received help and is still healing.”

  Janel didn’t reply immediately, simply staring at her instead, and it was all Isalla could do to keep from sighing in frustration. The skepticism in her gaze was obvious, and Isalla was quickly coming to realize that it would be hard to convince the woman of anything.

  “Now, why in the name of the endless skies of heaven would they be doing all that?” Janel asked, her voice practically dripping with sarcasm.

  “Based on what the captive we turned told us, it’s because they want to wipe out the hells, and think the Holy Council is corrupt. They want to reignite the war, and that’s why they tried to pin the attack on the Forest of Sighs on the hells,” Isalla replied, trying to suppress the urge to yell at the woman. That certainly wouldn’t help, and she gritted her teeth, then asked, “Would truthtelling magic help at all?”

  “No, I don’t want to pollute the ears of anyone else with this ridiculousness,” Janel replied caustically, shaking her head in disgust. “Who did you think was a member of this conspiracy?”

  “Rathien, the head of the Order of the Dragon here,” Isalla said, dearly hoping she wasn’t making a mistake.

  Janel snorted again, turning away, and Isalla saw that her hands were clenched in fists, almost looking bone-white due to how tight they were. It worried her, but she didn’t say anything, instead bracing herself for the possibility that Janel would call for the guards to imprison her.

  “You are accusing a Heavenly Wing of another order of high treason. Without any evidence, based on what I’ve heard, but merely hearsay,” Janel said, her voice taut. Isalla opened her mouth, but the angel spun and pointed at her, snapping out. “Don’t you even start! I don’t care that you claim to have a witness, or a captive, or anything else. You have caused more problems than I care to consider, and the only reason I’m not having you thrown in the dungeon to be put on trial for desertion is Anathiel and Roselynn! I don’t believe you, put bluntly, but the archangel’s letter gives you at least a shred of legitimacy. More than you deserve, really. Now, you can come back with either Anathiel or Roselynn and I’ll consider what you have to say, but if you show your face again without them, I’m going to throw your arrogant ass in prison.”

  Isalla just stood there for a moment, stunned that Janel wasn’t even stopping to ask proper questions. It was unbelievable to her, and yet, the expression on the woman’s face made it clear that she wasn’t going to listen to any protests. Instead, Isalla gritted her teeth and took a moment to bow slightly.

  “If that’s how you feel, then so be it. I’ll let Lady Anathiel and Rose know, at least once Rose is awake. In the meantime, I do hope you’ll at least keep a slightly closer eye out for any other traitors. In any case, good day to you,” Isalla replied, straightening and turning to leave the room. She ignored the soft growl from Janel.

  When she opened the door, Isalla almost stopped as she saw Anteroth standing across the hall, his arms behind his back. Suddenly she desperately hoped that he hadn’t heard anything, as otherwise it’d be a disaster. Still, the door closing bumped her forward as well as jarring her wings, and Isalla took a step into the hall.

  “I do hope the meeting went well for you,” Anteroth said, his happy, easy tone putting Isalla more at ease, since she doubted anyone would have that tone if they’d overheard how Janel had been talking.

  Isalla shook her head as she chuckled darkly, then murmured, “I’m afraid it could have gone much, much better. I don’t think she likes me.”

  “That… is unfortunate. You have my sympathies, as the Heavenly Wing has a sharp tongue,” Anteroth said, wincing sympathetically. Nodding toward the hall, he continued. “In any case, I’m here to escort you out. If you’d follow me?”

  “As you say, Sir Anteroth. Thank you,” Isalla replied, following as he began leading the way. Not that she really needed a guide, but she wasn’t going to complain.

  Now she just had to figure out how to explain the meeting to everyone else.

  Aserial paused on opening the crate, frowning at the three bags inside it. She’d received the coded letter from the Society of Golden Dawn’s leadership, and while she worried about the chaos it would cause, she wasn’t going to object. Their goals were hers, in the end, and the letter had directed her here. However, it hadn’t exactly led her to expect three bags inside the crate.

  Reaching down, she opened one of the bags and her eyebrows rose slightly, startled by the sight of a dozen incineration stones inside it. Hesitating only a moment, she checked the other two bags, which each had an equal number of stones. She scratched her head, then shrugged.

  “Well, I suppose they must know what they’re doing, even if this is a lot of explosives,” Aserial murmured, and she quickly grabbed all three bags before putting the lid back on the chest.

  If she was going to plant the stones in the Holy Council’s chambers, her best chance of doing so without being caught was in less than an hour.

  “What the… did they make a mistake?” Isaiah asked, blinking as he looked into the empty crate. He’d been supposed to get some explosives to deal with some of the high-ranking officers of the
Order of the Eagle here, only to find an empty crate.

  The angel scratched his head, looking around the room, then shrugged and put the lid back on the crate, murmuring, “Maybe one of the other crates…?”

  Isaiah checked all the crates, but none of them had the explosives he was looking for. In the end he gave up, planning to send a message to let his superiors know that he couldn’t carry out their orders. He’d ask for replacement explosives, but there simply wasn’t time for them to arrive.

  Little did Isaiah know, nor the other agent who showed up still later, but the letter to Aserial had neglected to inform her she was only supposed to take one sack of incineration stones.

  Chapter 35

  “I can’t say that I’m surprised,” Kitania said, sitting back in her chair as she sipped the cup of wine, her eyes half-closed as she enjoyed the bouquet and flavors. They lingered in her mouth and made her feel much better about where they were.

  Eziel and Maura had been thoughtful enough to get food on their way back, some type of baked pastry with a spicy filling of meat and tomato sauce, among other things, and Kitania found herself very intrigued by how it’d been made. If it weren’t so hard to get flour and tomatoes in the hells, she might have been tempted to experiment with copying the pastry back home. The thought sent a pang of regret through her, as she found herself thinking of the house she’d likely never see again. That was depressing.

  Regardless, everyone was there but Rose and Vinara, since the succubus was keeping an eye on the angel while she healed. Vinara was also catching up on her knitting, which had shocked Kitania a little, that her friend knitted to pass the time, but Vinara had said something about it helping with her precision.

  “You aren’t surprised?” Yain asked, her eyebrows rising as she paused to nibble on her pastry for a moment. “Did you know this Janel would ignore Isalla?”

  “Oh, of course not. It’s just that, now that I’ve heard Isalla’s explanation, it makes sense that she wouldn’t be likely to believe her,” Kitania said, setting down her cup, thankful that they were allowed to meet on the temple grounds. The garden they were in was essentially deserted, which made it easier to discuss things like they were. She considered, then continued a bit more soberly. “Oh, I expected any explanation to be a difficult sell to begin with, don’t get me wrong. Telling an angelic commander that a conspiracy in the heavens is trying to restart the war with the hells and has betrayed the Holy Council… you don’t think that it would be met with at least a raised eyebrow?”

  “True enough,” Isalla admitted unhappily, having barely touched her food so far. “Even in the heavens we have a tendency to think the best of people on the whole. Sometimes even ignoring flaws because it isn’t proper to pay attention to them.”

  “Mm, now consider this. If it’s something you’re already going to be skeptical about, and one of the people you dislike most in the world walked in to make the claim to you, would you be inclined to listen?” Kitania asked, her eyebrows rising slightly as she looked at Isalla, who looked distinctly uneasy. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d been thrown in prison even with Lady Anna sending you there.”

  “I think you’re right, as much as I hate to admit it,” Isalla said, letting out a heavy sigh as she shook her head. “I didn’t realize someone would bear a grudge against me, but… what angers me the most is that she seemed to ignore that it was what Rose wanted, too! Rose and I went into things knowing that it could cause problems, and she deliberately didn’t defend herself to try to protect me. I didn’t want that, but it was Rose’s choice. How could she disrespect her like that?”

  “Some people get jealous and wish to blame a single person for everything ill,” Maura murmured, letting out a soft sigh. “Still, does this really matter right now? At the current rate, I’m not sure how much good we’re going to do, and every day gives the people we’re hunting more time to carry out their plans.”

  “There isn’t much we can do. Not unless Lady Kitania wishes me to unmask myself and use myself as bait to draw out our enemies,” Eziel said calmly, taking a sip from her cup as she frowned. “My one concern is that it might lead them to destroy any evidence we might be able to find.”

  “No,” Kitania said flatly, just as Yain was opening her mouth, and the elf shut her mouth, looking a bit guilty. She’d probably been about to suggest they take Eziel’s offer, but Kitania wasn’t going to allow that. It was too dangerous, and disrespectful to Eziel. After a moment Kitania continued, her voice calm as could be as she met Eziel’s surprised gaze. “Yes, you were part of the Society of Golden Dawn, but that was before you met my mother. As far as I’m concerned, that was a different person entirely, and I will not sacrifice a perfectly good person just for simple expedience. Besides, it wouldn’t necessarily work, and that would be a tragedy.”

  “As you wish, Lady Kitania,” Eziel conceded, bowing her head slightly. “I simply thought it was an option.”

  “Yes, but not one we should seriously consider,” Isalla said. Kitania did notice that the subtle dislike Isalla had possessed where Eziel was concerned had eased since Sorm’s ambush, which was reassuring.

  “Entirely fair. So, what do we do in the meantime?” Maura asked, eying Isalla’s pastry speculatively. Isalla seemed to notice, as the angel snatched it up and began eating at last.

  “I honestly think that we have little choice except to wait,” Kitania said, shaking her head slowly as she sighed. “I doubt Anna will agree to go speak with Janel, considering what she said about drawing attention, so that leaves waiting for Rose to recover. It’ll only be about two or three more days, so it isn’t too much of a delay. If that’s too long… well, I doubt we’d be able to stop the society from doing anything drastic in that time anyway.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” Isalla said, taking a large bite of her pastry. Kitania laughed as Isalla’s eyes suddenly went wide and her cheeks reddened. The angel quickly swallowed and scrabbled for her cup, gasping loudly as laughter echoed around the table.

  “Found a spicy bit?” Kitania asked, but Isalla didn’t reply, as quickly as she was swallowing the wine.

  On the other hand, Isalla could glare just fine, even if the tears in her eyes somewhat ruined the effect.

  Chapter 36

  The night was quiet, which helped Anna relax a little, looking up to watch the stars. They weren’t quite as brilliant as she liked due to the smoke in the air over Uthren’s Throne, but that was the price of civilization. Even so, Anna loved watching the stars, as different as they were from the ones which shone in the hells. Others might not realize that many of the constellations were different in the hells, but she’d studied them often enough to know that they were.

  It’d been a day since Isalla’s unfortunate meeting with Janel, and Anna hoped that Rose would wake sometime the next day, since she seemed to be almost entirely healed at this point. Kitania was keeping an eye on Rose with Isalla’s company, so Anna had decided to give the two some privacy. She found the subtle flirtation between the two adorable and didn’t want to get in their way.

  Fortunately, Anna didn’t have to worry about Krath interrupting, as he was at some gathering among what passed for Uthren’s nobility, so she could enjoy the night properly, though she did wish she had Estalia’s company.

  On the other hand, she knew the moment that someone interrupted her solitude. While the woman was trying to be quiet, it was quite obvious that it wasn’t something she’d trained in, as her shoes scuffed gently on a flagstone and her breathing was slightly louder than most of the surroundings. While Anna didn’t think it was someone trying to attack her, she also didn’t let down her guard, instead waiting until the woman was a dozen paces away before she spoke.

  “That’s quite close enough,” Anna said at last, looking over to see a woman in the robes of Cyclone’s priesthood standing nearby, looking surprised. The woman was normal enough, with brown hair and eyes, along with a cute upturned nose, but she wasn’t exceptional in
any way. She did look a bit startled at Anna’s words, and seemed nervous as she bowed. Anna spoke after a moment, keeping her tone mild. “What is it? Does Cyclone want to speak with me again?”

  “Ah, my apologies, Your Excellency, but I’m not here on the behalf of My Lord. As a matter of fact, I’m here to speak with you about something else,” the priestess said, holding her bow. Anna’s curiosity began to stir, though she was annoyed as well. Obviously, someone had decided to try to get their audience in a very indirect manner, which was… frustrating.

  “I see. You may rise,” Anna said, keeping her tone cool as she watched the woman, turning to face her fully. “What’s your name?”

  “May, May Greer, Your Excellency!” the woman replied, straightening as she grew more enthusiastic, her eyes almost shining as she smiled, adding, “I simply have to add, it’s such an honor to meet you! Your deeds are known throughout the world and are an inspiration to all of us!”

  “I’m glad to hear that, even if that wasn’t why I performed them. Now, May… why have you approached me, if it isn’t on the behalf of Cyclone? I must assume you’re here on behalf of another, as nervous as you are,” Anna said, watching the woman steadily, trying not to let herself say too much. The woman did nod slightly at her statement, though, which was interesting.

  “That’s right. Not that there was much other choice, I should say! The people who sent me are in the heavens, and they don’t have another way to contact you safely,” May hastily explained, flushing a little as she looked to the side, admitting, “I work with a few angels who have extremely lofty goals, you see. Not that I do anything that would harm Uthren, of course. I’m just trying to help the heavens on the whole.”

  That gave Anna pause, and for a moment she couldn’t believe what she was hearing, while her suspicions grew stronger. She doubted that it would be as simple as she was thinking it might be, but could the conspiracy really have decided to contact her? It didn’t seem possible to her, and yet… at the same time she supposed it was feasible. It wasn’t like anyone knew where she’d been hiding over the millennia, so she could understand them trying to contact her. She’d led enough wars against the hells, after all.