Chapter 49 #2
“I'm glad we are keeping this,” Solara said, stepping toward the railing to take in the view. “I always wanted to have a home in heaven.”
“I didn't, but now that I have one, I do quite like it.”
“Have you seen the library?”
“I haven't.”
She wiggled in place with excitement. “My reading list is several hundred years long at this point. A few of the girls volunteered to help me start the process of sifting through it.”
“I'm curious to hear about what you find. Your work on Seraphim Slayer and phylacteries was quite the appetizer.”
“I'm working on a new spell idea,” she teased. “I'm not ready to share, but I am ready to build suspense. Is there anything in particular you'd like me to prioritize?”
“Yes,” I answered. “I do intend to hold this land indefinitely, but protecting our home comes first. I'd like you and Abby to see if our new resources can strengthen our wards and defenses in any way. Nothing is sacred on that front. I would be perfectly happy adding a Holy barrier on top of our existing wards, for example.”
“Understood. Should we relocate all magic items to Sanctuary in the process as well?”
I used Silkmancer to loosen Solara’s toga, revealing more of her chest for me to admire. She raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.
“Podni has girls in the process of cataloging and storing anything of value,” I said. “She is starting with the armory, so that gives you time to assess the arcane resources you might want to keep. When you're ready, she'll manage the logistics of those items as well.”
“I don't mind helping.”
“I know, but packing crates is a waste of your time. Your research deserves all of your attention.”
“Okay,” Solara conceded. “Am I right to assume that we are taking the library back to Sanctuary as well?”
“Yes. Ashley is coordinating a small army of scribes to copy everything, so we can return the originals. If we want to keep what we've conquered, we can't take history away from its people. They'll never stop hating us if we do that.”
“You are a kind and gracious ruler. Speaking of kind, Purity offered to help me with the project as well.”
“Good. You're at your best when she's around.”
Solara thought. “You know, I think you're right. Why is that?”
“Her belief in you fills the cracks in your confidence. Your head is clearer, and your decisions are more sure.”
“You have a way with words. I've always liked that about you.”
We enjoyed the sights and sounds of our new city from the palace balcony for a while, neither of us seeing the need to speak. I wrapped my arm around her waist and enjoyed the feeling of her resting her head on my shoulder.
“I understand why you haven't told us the whole plan,” Solara said after a while. “With an enemy like that, no precaution is too extreme. Can I ask if it's going well, though?”
She didn't know it, but Solara was referencing Abaddon’s Bane. I hadn't revealed the plan to anyone in my life, and that decision had nothing to do with whether or not I could trust them and everything to do with my fear of Abaddon’s reach.
If there was a chance he could listen in or overhear somehow, I had to take that threat seriously. I would tell my wives all about it when this was over.
“It is going well. Picking a fight with some seraphim is the last piece. From there, we look for the right moment to strike.”
Solara laughed nervously. “Fighting the beings who could repel the King of the Abyss? That's all?”
“They will underestimate us,” I said.
“Share your certainty with me.”
I spread my arms as if presenting the whole of the plane to my wife. “If the seraphim believed we were a legitimate threat, we wouldn't have gotten this far. They would have come down on us the moment we launched our attack to prevent us from securing any kind of forward position.”
“Which is what we expected to happen, initially.”
“Indeed. Now we have to find a way to lure them out.”
Xilouis gestured at seven angeli–5 female, 2 male–seated around a banquet table in the Safina palace. Their attendants stood nervously against the wall amongst the Byron bots and silk soldiers guarding the room.
“These envoys represent the other 7 kingdoms on this plane,” she explained to Invia and me. “Like my-I mean, like your kingdom, they each guard a gate to the plane of archangeli in their capitals. They have come to hear your proposal of peace terms.”
Sense Weakness said that three of the angeli shared Xilouis’ weakness of feeling inferior. One male and one female were vulnerable to lust, and the final two were weak to greed.
“The sole goal of this campaign was to gain access to the plane of archangeli,” I explained, taking my seat at the table with my guests while Invia did the same.
“I have achieved that and thus have no reason to continue waging war on this plane. Unless you give me cause, no more of your people or cities are in danger.”
“Or we could unite and purge our land of your corruption,” one of the male angeli said.
“Your own leaders would stop that from happening,” I replied.
“I am aware that many of you hate each other and have for centuries. Agreeing to do anything will take you ages, if it can happen at all. While you bicker, I’ll flatten whole cities.
Are all of you set on fighting me, or will you hear my proposal? ”
“He does not speak for my people,” one of the female angeli replied. “I would hear your terms.”
Most of the other angeli nodded that they agreed, but not all.
“I offer peace and ascension.”
As soon as I said that last word, every set of wings in the room stiffened. The angeli were certainly paying attention now, and that was a sign that my approach had merit.
“If your kingdom agrees to a peace treaty, I will give you and your people access to the archangeli plane. You can use my gate, or we can work together to reopen the gates in each of your lands. In either case, you may freely ascend. I don’t know all of the traditions that go with that, so I’ll leave it to your kings to decide who does and does not get to ascend, but the path will be cleared. ”
“Why?” an angeli asked bluntly.
“Your people aren’t my enemies. If my position is secure here, I can turn my eyes to my true goals, none of which require slaying more angeli. Or do you desire to protect the people who have locked you out of the heavens?”
No one present had any love for archangeli, it seemed. Not one of them protested on their behalf.
“That’s what I thought, so let me be specific.
This war can end for you if you agree to peace, which you will guarantee by entrusting me with something you value, such as a princess.
As part of that peace, you will give Sanctuary land in each of your capitals for us to build an embassy, and you will share with me everything you know about the archangeli.
Lastly, you will treat my citizens as equals, which means they are granted free passage through your nations. Humans and demons alike.”
Of all my demands, that last one was the only demand to spark outrage amongst the envoys. They seemed to agree unanimously that such a thing was outrageous.
“You ask too much of us,” one envoy protested. “Our people would never agree to debase themselves in this way.”
“You hate the archangeli because they spit on you, yes?” I asked.
The angeli nodded.
“And the archangeli hate the plane of principalities for doing the same.”
More nodding.
“A human invaded your plane because the angeli spit on me. If that treatment continues, so will my war. May I remind you that I have suffered no major casualties thus far. I’ve lost a few angeli, but my actual soldiers?
” I gestured to the constructs in the room.
“Not one of those has fallen. On your journey here, I’m sure you saw the destruction they wrought. Remember that it took us mere days.”
“I believe my queen will be amenable to your demands,” one of the female angeli said, triggering a wave of shouts and hisses from the other angeli present. Ignoring them, she continued, “She has waited a millennium to ascend. I believe the guarantee of her people’s safety would satisfy her.”
“Good,” I replied. “This is Queen Invia, the new ruler of Naos. She will see to it that you have an escort and gifts to take back to your queen.”
Invia dipped her head to me and led the first angeli out of the room.
The escort I promised was a shadow Byron with Byron bots.
If their queen accepted my terms, that shadow Byron had instructions to place the end of a gate in what was to be our embassy.
Once fortifications were complete and the gate was secured, we would pump Intoxicate+100 into the air each day to be certain the angeli remained docile.
“In my religion, good behavior is rewarded,” I explained. “Do you have more questions about what I desire, or do you have what you need to return to your kings and queens with my offer?”
One by one, the envoys stood until only one male angeli remained in his seat. With the others still present to witness, I turned to address him directly.
“When you return to your master, inform them that your shortsightedness here today has angered me. My offer of peace yet stands, but I now require a far greater tribute. If your shortsightedness is a reflection of your master’s and they decline my generous offer, I will erase your people from history.
Entirely. No one will live, and not a single structure will stand. ”
When all the envoys had gone, Xilouis dipped her head. “May I ask a question, your Grace?”
“Yes.”
“Are your offers of peace as sincere as they seem?”
“They are.”
She nodded and stepped back, her eyes downcast as if she needed to ponder that answer more deeply.