2.1

Vector appeared early the next morning, just as the prince finished his morning meal. Feigning concern, the Wizard greeted him, "My lord, from the circles I see under your eyes I might hazard a guess that you didn't sleep well. Unpleasant dreams? I could offer a potion, which might--"

"--The only dream of mine with which you should concern yourself is my dream of conquest!" Dirk snapped testily, cutting off his servant's words mid-sentence. He was obviously in a foul mood. "As much as the sight of your countenance irritates me this morning, it is good you are here. I believe you have some explaining to do about our little encounter last night. Why did your spell fail?"

"She's not a demon. I had no idea, I assure you."

"You said she was a she-devil. What are you talking about?" the prince snapped.

"I said my sources confirmed she is of hellish origin. She is. In a manner of speaking."

"You just said she's not a demon."

"Which is true."

The prince slammed his fist into the table, scowling at the smaller man. "Vector, your Wizard-talk has irritated me for the last time. If you don't explain yourself, I will make good on last night's threat about ripping your beating heart from your miserable little frame!"

Vector laughed inwardly. Oh, but the prince was short-tempered today. "If Your Eminence would be so kind as to be quiet long enough for me to speak, I would be most honored to illuminate the situation in terms even your mind might comprehend!" The Wizard stifled a laugh.

He saw Dirk's face fill with rage and his hand aim the monocle.

Vector quickly offered in a more subdued tone, "Of course, if you use that, you might never find out what I know about her..." The Wizard's eyes flashed nervously. "Asking her name was a stroke of genius, my lord," he began, trying to sooth the prince's frayed nerves.

He assumed a professorial pose that seemed to suggest the prince was in for a long lecture. "Her name is a derivation of the demonic tongue she spoke to me. 'Zyr' is an archaic name for a being known in to our own demonology as Sammael or Abraxas. He is one of hell's mightiest kings. Under various names, he has been worshiped as a god of evil in past civilizations. According to the old mythology, it was Zyr who taught first taught mankind the Black Arts. He is a central figure in the creation mythology of some ancient cultures. 'Deesh', the phonetic root of the middle syllable, means 'possession' or perhaps 'creation', depending on the context. The final syllables connote that the possession is a female, a human female." Vector watched Dirk's face as the prince absorbed his words.

The Wizard continued, "According to the legends, the forces of good created humanity as an expression of love or some similar nonsense. My memory is fuzzy on the details. Some of the Tenaebran demons wanted to destroy the race soon after its inception. Zyr intervened and instead used some sort of trickery to convince the mankind's creators to permit him to give the race a handful of gifts. Some stories said it was three, others five. Free will was the first. Dark magic was the second. Hatred was the third. To these, in some versions of the story, he added pain and lust. In theory, he corrupted the docile, innocent creation mankind was supposed to be. He dazzled a few mortals with visions of power to rebel against their creators. Mankind's creators were forced to revoke the race's claim to immortality.

"Zyr's followers later claimed he was humanity's liberator, its true creator. To hear them tell it, men would have forever remained the immortal house pets of the Lords of Light had this demon god not intervened. There are thousands of variations, as I recall, but that is the main essence of the story."

The prince was silent now, thinking. Vector went on, "As for Lyr, it was one of my favorite cities, long ago. It was part of this plane of existence, across vast oceans to the south. It was once the largest city in the world, a glorious seaport. It was the vibrant home of a complex and rather brutal civilization whose existence centered upon serving Zyr. A great cataclysm separated our worlds thousands of years ago, cleaving the plane in different parts. After the cataclysm, all evidence suggested the city was utterly destroyed. She must have escaped the destruction."

Dirk's arched an eyebrow before asking, "So you are telling me she is the human, obviously female, possession of an ancient god of evil, escaped from an alternate world where wickedness reigned?" His mood was rapidly improving.

"Almost," the Wizard answered. "Remember that the syllable 'deesh' could mean possession or creation or both. I'm frankly not sure. When she stood near us I was able to discern a great deal more. There is something demonic about her- -her soul isn't entirely in her body, as it is with mortals. She has one, but at least part of it is stored elsewhere as is typical of demons. And she has a magical aura like a demon would, a very powerful demon. Think of it as the aristocracy of hell. But that aura emanates from a human body."

"Is she possessed?" Dirk wondered.

"Oh, no. The aura truly emanates from the mortal body. It's as though she is a hybrid of the two planes, a nexus of hell and earth. In fact, it would seem she is the impossible-a child of an arch-devil and a mortal."

"I thought it was forbidden for creatures from the outer planes to copulate with mortals," Dirk remarked, remembering the cosmological theories he had learned at the Royal School.

"My lord, it is not merely forbidden. It is outside the realm of conceivable thought. Had I not seen her with my own eyes, I would have never thought it could be. The two races are completely incompatible. Whereas your mortal existence is physical, earthbound, theirs is almost purely a matter of the spirit. The inability of the races to mix is an immutable cosmic law. Or perhaps it used to be. If it somehow has come to be, I would expect the result to be rather...volatile."

Volatile, Dirk thought, as though that did not describe every woman he had ever known. Still, it seemed the gods were smiling on him--even if they were ancient evil gods.

"It's a pity she doesn't seem to care whom she targets," Vector commented, laughing inwardly. "Her indiscriminate targeting of the Greystone's lands appears to have little use to you. How unfortunate."

The Wizard stopped talking abruptly. He could almost see the manipulative wheels in the dark prince's mind turning. Vector knew better than to interrupt his master when an idea was forming. He waited, pursing his lips.

Finally, Dirk's lips curled in a smile more reminiscent of a snarl. "Vector," he announced, "You may be incapable of delivering the devil woman's destructive power to me, but I assure you, I shall have it at my command. The dragon bow. Bring it to me."

"The dragon bow?" the Wizard asked incredulously. "Whatever for? Surely you do not plan to assist Greystone in hunting them from the sky?"

"Assist Greystone?" the prince responded. "Hardly. I will use her to seal his destruction. There is obviously some sort of perverse bond between the woman and the lizard. You saw the manner in which they caressed one another. Very touching. I'm sure she would be rather displeased if harm were to befall the dragon."

Dirk glared at Vector to see if his servant was able to follow the logical conclusion of the thought. Seeing no response register on the Wizard's face, he continued impatiently, "She already knows Greystone has a dragon bow. That cretin is without a doubt too incompetent to actually kill the lizard. We'll assist with that task, making sure it appears that he did it. She'll be furious, at which point we'll contact her again to offer our condolences and suggest a convenient outlet for her rage. She'll have a personal stake in crushing Greystone then."