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CHAPTER21
Riley and Colton followed Deruthel through the tunnel to the main cavern in the middle. One wall was glowing orange and cracks formed in the rock like orange spiderwebs. Halak stood with the demon caller in his hand and his head turned toward the fissure.
The lone surviving female nuzzled his legs and pawed at his thighs with her claws.
“Halak opened the portal?” Riley asked.
Deruthel’s claws fisted at his sides. “Not Halak. Ashkara is controlling him. Halak would not have orchestrated this stupidity. It is a gross waste of resources.”
Colton and Riley glanced at one another. This was the first sign of derision in the demon clan. She studied Halak and Deruthel, looking for anything that could help her save Colton. Humanity. “I’m not sure what you mean. I thought you had what you needed.”
The demon general pointed to the portal as the rock dropped away and the first demon emerged from the portal. He was smaller. A jackal, but he looked different from those that had traversed before him. His skin was red and his horns were smaller. He looked somewhat sickly with the clear ooze running from his nostril. “Apparently, my father wants more foot soldiers. These are a waste of resources. They are sterile and lack the strength of the first generation. They will fall like blades of grass before the shadows. Feeding them will corrupt the balance needed to maintain this world.”
Riley stared at Halak. He appeared frozen and oblivious to his surroundings. “Why would he do this?”
“There is only one reason to waste resources. My father is scared.”
“You thought he had consumed the creatures of your realm. You were wrong,” she said.
“He has consumed the soldiers. These jackals are sickly and a later generation of offspring from the females of our previous home world. Had he sent a few females to appease the soldier’s needs, I would have understood his actions. He has sent only that which he can no longer feed on. The females and soldiers are dead. These are weak, sterile children by our standards.”
“How many of these children are there?”
“Hundreds more. We must close this portal before Ashkara corrupts this ecosystem beyond my ability to maintain.”
“I don’t understand why he did this now,” she whispered.
Deruthel turned to her. “That I understand. He is sending additional forces now because the severing is imminent. One way or another, Ashkara knows these worlds will be cut off from one another. The portal must be closed before a permanent severing.”
“You said you don’t need to do that... unless.”
“My father is planning for my rebellion. With him there and me here, I can control several higher demons, but he can control dozens.”
“But he can control you, can’t he?”
“I would have said yes, but he has sent weak reinforcements, so I think he has weakened beyond his ability to enter my mind.”
“If you lock him out, then he will be trapped where he is.”
“Yes. It seems my father’s reign is about to end. We must close the portal and prepare for a severing,” Deruthel said.
“Can’t we try to sever the realms while closing the portal?” she asked.
“No. The portal must be closed and... cooled. I believe one of the reasons Ashkara opened this portal was to force me to wait. Sacrificing Colton now would not work. We must wait a few hours before we attempt to sever our worlds.”
“Dammit. This wasn’t about reinforcements then. It was buying time, so you couldn’t sever the worlds.”
Deruthel’s glowing eyes narrowed on her. “If that is his sole reason for sending these weaklings, then his position is far more precarious than I thought.”
“Let’s hope. How do we close the portal?” she asked.
Deruthel made a series of chuffing noises. Breck approached them. His eyes were wary as they roamed over Riley and Colton. “Yes, my lord.”
Deruthel pointed to an adjacent tunnel. “It’s time for my father’s reign to end. Retrieve our guest.”
Breck nodded and ran down the tunnel Deruthel had pointed to.
“I hope you’re not planning to sacrifice a...”
