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I am responsible for them, more so than I have ever been. I’ve worked hard to protect those in my charge, but guiding them to a new home is a step I never thought I would get the chance to take.
And it’s time I give them the answers they so eagerly seek, lest they find them on their own. This is my chance.
I draw myself up to my full height, straightening my shoulders. My face is shrouded by my hood, which I pulled up to protect myself from the onslaught in the sky before we entered the portal, and for that I’m grateful.
“I am your King,” I announce with as much authority as I can muster. Scanning each face, I see not an ounce of recognition as they nod along. Good. “I’ve brought you here to escape our ravaged planet. I have saved you from the environmental annihilation of our home.”
As the nod, I start to pace, my voice picking up in volume. They truly remember nothing, and because of that, I will tell them everything they need to know.
“Our planet has been lost to us.” I realize how wounded some of them look, and try to circumvent any follow-up questions by adding, “We survived the final attacks that the world dared to rain down on us, and now we are what’s left of our race. For our strength and courage, the gods have blessed us.”
I turn, sweeping my arm toward the city. “Welcome to Galmoleth, our new home. A gift from the Seven for all that we have endured in their name – and we will treat it as such.”
With my proclamation, excitement runs through the crowd. Murmurs grow until they turn into cheers – for me or the gods, that I do not know. All I know is that they are starting to come back to life, and they are eager to see this new world I’ve promised.
I step back, ushering them toward their new home, as the skin along my back prickles. It feels almost like I’m being watched, all the muscles in my body going tense.
A chill races up my spine, and a cold sweat breaks out across my skin.
“Very clever,” a deep voice rumbles in my ear, and I turn my head, checking behind me in my peripheral vision. But just as I suspected, no one is there.
In fact, it almost feels like that voice came from inside of my head. I’m trying not to spin all the way around so as not to draw attention to myself. The last thing I need is any other demons noticing my behavior.
But then the necklace resting against the dip between my collarbones starts to warm, and it hits me all at once. That voice is inside my head – and for good reason. I gulp as I realize the kind of scrutiny I am under.
Especially as he whispers, “Now let’s see how long you can keep this up.”
His vicious laughter fills my head and frays my nerves until that’s all I can hear.
And his question continues to echo through my mind long after the presence leaves me.
How long can I keep this up?
139
ASMODEUS
I stand frozen as the walls and floor beneath me shake. I know if I feel it here, on one of the top floors of the castle, it must have been bad.
But I don’t know why I’d expect anything less. They’ve been growing stronger with each passing day, and I can only ignore it for so long.
Others are starting to take note. More than once, the concern has been raised to me. It seems that people don’t take kindly to a floating island shaking as if it is going to drop out of the sky.
I have yet to tell anyone that is exactly what will happen.
Finally, the ground stops trembling, and my stomach churns as I feel the building lurch beneath me. It has been resettling with every shift of the planet, and I’m not sure how much longer my home will remain in one piece.
I stare at the altar before me. There’s a table upon the raised dias, lit candles scattered around an onyx bowl filled with water. All the thick, black curtains are drawn so that the only light comes from the flames and where they reflect off the water.
Mounted to the wall above the altar is the same symbol tied around my neck: an obsidian tree, bare branches and exposed roots. The sign of Oltyx, the god of the earth.
I don’t know if he made this island specifically for us or if he just showed me the pathway, but either way, he brought me here. And now, he seems to no longer be feeling so generous.
“I don’t know what to do!” I shout out as I hit my knees.
Praying doesn’t work. Nor does my magic or the combined power of all my soz’garoth demons, who should be the best magic-wielders on the island.
I haven’t missed a single sacrifice, and yet the island’s place in the sky is tumultuous at the best. And my hold on my people has been diminishing with its power…
