7.4

After Dirk went back to his tent, Zyrdicia struggled make sense of the events from her dreamworld in her mind. She tried to find meaning in Azriok's cryptic warning. If he and Zyr were at war, she would have to find a way to make sure they both lost. She felt more alone in the universe than she ever had.

Outside, the army was already stirring in the late afternoon fading sunlight. They would move out at nightfall and descend on Castle Tronin. Zyrdicia hadn't laid siege to a castle in decades. It would be a pleasant diversion. Any activity that kept her from dwelling on Azriok was a useful right now.

She dressed for battle and packed up her belongings in the enchanted pouch. She closed the protective circles and deconsecrated their magic in a quick series of mechanical movements. She cursed inwardly at her naivete in summoning the Howler, in letting it sing her to sleep. Most of all she cursed herself for letting Azriok into her dreamworld. There was no way to undo the mistake.

The prince had told her to come to the command tent when she was ready to depart.

It would still be a while before the army was ready to move. She took a walk through the camp on the way to his tent, trying to clear her mind. The warm weather was a relief. Outside of the valley, away from the mountains, she hoped it would be even warmer. She loved the heat. Fire was her element in every sense. Warm, balmy nights in Lyr were one of summer's simple pleasures. There the sultry sea breezes moved the heavy air so that it felt like a thousand fingers caressing her skin.

She returned to the area where the torture troopers had been executing prisoners earlier in the day. She stepped around a pile of amputated hands and feet so that she could lean over the edge of her magical pit. In it, she observed the pitiful mass of bodies the soldiers had left for her. They had followed her orders perfectly. She gathered up the edges of the enchanted cloth and folded it up. Her prey would keep indefinitely inside the magic space.

The northern soldiers she passed bowed their heads and chanted, "Strength to the faithful!" Her deification moved like a virus among them. She didn't feel very goddess-like right now, though. Perhaps she should have, given the entity with whom she cavorted. She shook her head at the absurdity of it. She had just had sex with one of the most powerful beings in the cosmos, a being who so adored her that he wanted to keep her with him in Hell for eternity. Instead of feeling omnipotent, she escaped from the encounter feeling miserable and lonely. She hated that feeling.

The guards outside the command tent announced her. She found the formality bizarre for a battlefield. "COME!" the prince's voice responded.

He was alone. He stood in front of a mirror shaving. He was dressed in his usual black leather and looked considerably more awake than he had when she last saw him. Their eyes met in the mirror. "Hi. I'm almost done. There's breakfast on the table. Please help yourself."

She nodded silently and sat down. She watched the blade move over his chin and throat. She could have killed him without moving a muscle. A minor telepathic wave could have moved the blade into his carotid artery. It would just be one more death to add to her growing tally here. She looked away quickly, surprised that her need to kill raised its vicious head so soon.

"Feeling better?" He looked at her through the mirror.

"I'm fine," she lied. She wasn't sure how much better it could ever be, given the difficulty of the situation.

He finished shaving and rinsed his face. "You shouldn't have lied to me about your servant's return."

"She was delayed unexpectedly."

His facial expression told her he didn't believe her. He moved to the table and sat down across from her. "I'm well acquainted with nightmares. I've been plagued by them since childhood. Sometimes I suspect Vector conjures them."

"This wasn't a nightmare. It was much more dangerous. A demon came and put me to sleep to get me into my dreamworld."

"I remember you mentioned unpleasant visitors. Demons torment you in your sleep?"

"Usually. The dream fiends are bad enough." Her brow furrowed slightly. "But this time it was worse." She looked even paler than usual.

His eyes revealed his curiosity. She knew he was trying to decide whether to ask. Zyr had thrust him into the middle of whatever was going on. Through his dream, his intervention, he had unwittingly become involved in it. "Azriok, my former...mentor... used my dreamworld to escape his exile in Hell."

"I take it you weren't happy to see him."

"From my dreamworld, he tried to trapped me in Hell with him. If you hadn't awakened me, he would have succeeded."

Dirk smiled smugly. "I'm pleased that I rescued you from the devil's clutches then."

Half a smile escaped Zyrdicia's lips. "Rescuing damsels in distress will undermine your credibility as cruel warlord."

"Not when the damsel is one such as you. You should be grateful that you escaped."

She knew the dark angel wouldn't relinquish her so easily. "I haven't really. This will never be over. Every time I fall asleep alone he'll be waiting."

"Then we'll have to see that you don't fall asleep alone." Their eyes met.

"I don't intend to." She looked away. "How long 'til we leave? I need to kill again."

"Already?"

She nodded. It was the effect of seeing Azriok, of her world continuing to careen out of control. Violence would sooth her. She needed it.

"Soon. There are three villages between here and the castle. We'll raze them along the way. We should arrive at the castle by midnight."

She suddenly remembered the fleeing band of troops who had gotten past her the previous night. "The villages will expect us. About a dozen southern soldiers got through before I erected the walls last night. They'll have taken warnings with them."

"But that's perfect. They'll carry news of the devastation of the southern army to the King Tronin. It will make his surrender much more likely. I shall demand it of him personally when I arrive."

"Why not just kill him?"

"We aren't barbarians. The rules of war require he be given an opportunity to surrender before a siege."

"Make your own rules."

"Watching him squirm will be pleasant."

"Speaking of watching someone squirm, I had an interesting encounter with one of your barons before I fell asleep."

Dirk arched an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"Baron Erowyn Dagonet. I assume you know him?"

"Of course. He is my cousin."

"He probably won't be much longer."

Dirk's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"He also goes by the name 'Duke.'"

Dirk recognized the code name immediately. "Surely he isn't so stupid."

Zyrdicia smiled mischievously. "I explored his mind for a few minutes. He is not only part of the rebellion, but he is instrumental in organizing it. He thinks the goddess has come to free Karteia from the parasite that rules it. Perhaps your rebels will expect me to lead the nation against you."

"What a pity that you'll have to disappoint them."

"Your country's political affairs are of no consequence to me. I do, however, believe that strength and domination are the world's only real form of political legitimacy. Principles like social justice permit the impotent to rationalize their inadequacy. Your cousin is the sort of idealistic, moralizing weakling I live to crush."

His eyes bored into her. Her merciless political theories spoke straight to his heart. The cold simplicity of her axiomatic beliefs captivated him. "I don't think I've ever heard such a rational philosophy of power from the mouth of a woman."

"Of course not. One has to be well acquainted with might to understand its effect and value. I would presume women in your world are too feeble to grasp it. Victims rarely perceive the virtue of their oppressors."

"What did you tell Erowyn?"

"Nothing, of course. He has no idea that I was in his mind. I didn't kill him because I assume that you will want to deal with him yourself. Given your less than congenial reaction to the deaths of the would-be assassins in Grogan..."

"You were hardly in a particularly affable mood yourself that night," he interrupted defensively. His deep blue eyes held hers. "Your usefulness to me grows by the hour."