Angels Ascending - 16. Part Sixteen

Chapter Thirty-Two

Hidden Enemy, Hidden Friend

While the war between Domus and the Federation was now at an end, on the other side of the continent another war was just starting. The Eastern Confederacy had pressed deep into Qul Tosian territory. They invaded from the kingdoms of Huron in the north and Tal Sith to the east. As the Centurions fell back the two armies joined at the wall of the besieged lake city of Qul Hoth. Still, their forces faced the constant harassment of the Eastern Centurion cavalry.

To hinder the enemy the Centurions practiced a scorched earth policy. Anything that could be used by the enemy and not sent to the capital was burned or destroyed, to be made unusable by the enemy. Half the bridges in the kingdom had been torn down, as well as most of the road signs. By making sure there was no place for the invaders to restock supplies, the enemy had become totally dependent on a long line of supply wagons that stretched halfway across the kingdom, prime targets for Centurion raiders.

This, combined with Centurion fortifications in every town, made the progress of the enemy down to a near crawl. Every day of delay gave Varrus time to move the civilian population to safer areas of the kingdom.

That did not mean there were no problems. Many of the old nobles looked at the invasion of their old Confederacy allies as their liberators. They not only provided the enemy with men and supplies, but also showed them where to fords over rivers, and paths to lead them past Centurion outposts.

The majorities of nobles, though, remembering how badly the Confederacy did during tis last war against the Eastern Centurion Army, sided with King Jason. When he won they hoped to gain a favorable position after the war. They did add men to the army, but gave Varrus information on the activity of the nobles who had sided with the enemy.

In the first few weeks of the war, Jason made public appearances to calm the people. When Philip finally told him that the Tosians needed to be evacuated from the capital, Jason insisted on guiding the people personally to the refugee camps the Centurions had set up, before flying back to the capital. With that act alone, Jason's title of Holy King of Qul Tos became cemented in the minds of his people.

For the Tosian Famulus this war was not seen as much as a fight between nobles and kings as it was about religious belief. Due to Varrus' freeing of the serfs in Jason's name, Jason was looked upon as a divine liberator. The Eastern Confederacy, made up of member states where the practice of serfdom served as the basis of their economies, was seen as a demonic system coming down to enslave the people again.

It was not long into the war that word came from the refugee camps that the Tosians wanted to be armed and join the fight against the East. Most of the Centurion commanders were heavily opposed to this idea, as was Philip, but Varrus was able to persuade Jason that arming the free serfs would be the final step in showing that they were indeed free. That argument alone convinced Jason to give the go ahead, on the condition that the armed Tosians only be used to raid supply trains or sabotage bridges and road signs. They were not to fight directly against the Confederacy army where large casualties could be expected.

Once armed it did not take long for the Famulus to make a new demand. Many of the Tosians had heard about Jason's winged personal bodyguards. They also knew that they were made up only of Centurions. Now that they had weapons, the freed serfs did not see why they, too, couldn't be members of Jason's personal guard since he was becoming their god."

This request led to another heated debate between Varrus and Philip. Varrus saw no problem if a hundred or so Tosians wore the white wings of Jason's guard. Philip, though, saw it as a chance for turncoat nobles to slip in an assassin. After long arguments, a compromise was reached. Both Philip and Varrus agreed that a Famulus bonded to Jason would not willingly betray him. The Tosians could join Jason's guard, but only if Jason was willing to make them Saints. In this way both Varrus and Philip would get what they wanted. Varrus would raise the morale of the commoners and Philip would finally get the Saints he felt were necessary to help control his growing army of Demon Spawn.

It did put Jason on the spot, though. He now had both Varrus and Philip pressing him to bond more people. He made one requirement, however. Jason insisted that he get to know each of the candidates before bonding them, as he felt he needed an emotional connection before he could give someone his anima.

So, as it happened, Jason had not bonded a single Tosian when an attempt against his life was made. A knight from Ingral, a province not known for its loyalty to the crown, had slipped into one of the refugee camps and signed up for the army. After leading the men through a series of successful raids, his skills were noticed by the Tosian elders. Seeing him as a prime candidate to be one of the first men to join Jason's winged guards, he was sent to the capital.

Jason had been talking to the knight, by the name of Geoff, in the garden when he made his move. For the past week Geoff had found his desire to kill Jason fading. He feared that Jason was putting some sort of spell over him, weakening his resolve. That is why, when he saw his chance, he reached for his dagger and made to stab Jason in the chest. The dagger did strike home but only made it a centimeter into Jason's flesh before hitting something harder than steel.

Seeing his attack fail, Geoff dropped the knife and tried to run away, only to be grabbed by a black and red-skinned man with black hair and white glowing eyes. Holding Geoff by the throat, the Demon Spawn carried the assassin back to Jason.

Jason stood, holding the dagger in his hands, a look of surprise and sadness on his face. The cut was already half healed. "Why did you try to kill me?"

At a nod from Jason, the Demon Spawn dropped Geoff on the ground. "My lord ordered me to," the knight replied.

"But what did I do to your lord?"

"You freed his serfs, stole his crops, seized his silver mines, and burned his fields so the enemy could not have them."

"I did those things to help my people," Jason said, confused.

"Those decisions hurt my lord, though. As one of his knights it is my duty to protect my lord from his enemies," Geoff replied.

"Did you really want me to die?" Jason asked concerned.

"I was finding that I didn't want to. That is why I attacked the way I did. I feared I would fail my lord if I didn’t act soon."

"I don't want you to die either." Jason nodded, looking at the menacing Demon Spawn with concern. He had not known that Philip had sent his Spawn to watch over him.

"I deserve to die... an attempt to kill the king is punishable by death."

"I know... but I was never in any danger... you can't really hurt me, as you can see," Jason said as he pointed at the already healed cut of his chest.

"I am still guilty."

"But I don't want you to die," Jason replied.

"It is my fate," Geoff said with a weak smile, trying to comfort the younger man. He could already hear the sound of heavy, armored feet banging on the stone trail in the garden.

"Then let me change your fate for you," Jason said, a sudden calm coming over him as he reached over and kissed Geoff on the lips.

Geoff soon felt the same calm Jason had on his face overtake him. Jason wrapped his arms around the man's waist while his wings embraced him. Jason lowered him to the ground as the purple anima entered Geoff’s body.

When the kiss finally ended, Geoff' felt that his groin was wet. Now, Jason... the Holy King of Qul Tos, was the man Geoff would serve for life. He would start that service by returning to his old lord and killing him. What an irony that would be, for him to kill his own lord but, unlike the king, the man deserved it for wanting Jason dead.

Geoff was deep in those thoughts when he felt Jason lift off him and he was once again grabbed by the throat and held up in the air. This time, however, it was the Demon, Philip himself, who had held his life in his hands."

"Why did you bond to him, Jason?" Philip demanded. "He tried to kill you!"

"He was only doing what he was ordered to do," Jason insisted.

"And how do you know he will not try again?"

"He is a part of me now... to kill me he would have to kill himself," Jason explained.

"I must ask you again... how do you know he won't betray you!" Philip growled while looking at Geoff with pure hatred.

"Because I trust him. I ask you to do the same," Jason pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Jason... I can't do that. Anyone who would try to kill you deserves to face a most painful death."

"Please, let him live..."

After a long awkward silence Philip spoke again. "For you I will, but you are never to be alone with him again."

"I wasn't alone with him. One of your Spawn was watching over me."

"And a good thing he was," Philip grunted.

"Please let him go," Jason begged, looking at the now unconscious Geoff.

"Fine," Philip agreed, letting Geoff fall down to the ground. "But I must ask one more thing of you."

"Yes," Jason nodded.

"There is someone I want you to bond."

"I need to know him first."

"Don't worry. You already know him. You can join us, Logan," Philip called back to the entrance to the garden.

In stepped the physically built weapon smith Jason had met right before going to the Academy. He had made him his gold staff. It had been his favorite weapon before losing it when they had to swim through the underwater cave. In Logan's arm was, in fact, another staff... a silver one with angels carved on it.

"This is for you...your majesty." Logan bowed.

"Thank you." Jason smiled as he took the staff in his hands... appreciating the perfect balance of the weapon. "How did you escape Domus?"

I did not so much escape Domus, as I did Aquanos. I had been sent there to help restore the iron gates, nothing that required the skill of a weapons smith, but a job that needed to get done. I had only half fixed the gates to the governor's mansion when the Jadoorians came sailing back in and retook the city. I guess I could have returned to the capital, but, after seeing how Field Marshal Xavier was treating the Legatio, I thought it would be not long before the Famulus would be treated the same. I had heard rumors that a few thousand Famulus and Legatio had fled here, so here I came.

"And Philip has told you about bonding?"

"Yes. He first offered to make me a Demon Spawn but after seeing them, I was sure that I didn't want to be like them. So I talked to Caleb. He seemed much calmer and down to earth than I remembered. Philip told me you were having problems picking out people to bond to. As we had met before, he thought you might find it easier to bond to me than with a stranger."

"And do you want to become a Saint?"

"Well, let me just say... now that you have grown a little... I could think of worse things than serving you," Logan said with a wicked grin just before he peeled off his shirt to show his massive and hairy chest.

"I really need to spend some time with Geoff." Jason blushed. With Philip as a lover it was not a surprise that Jason had a weakness for large men. Jason was sure that Philip knew this and that this was one of the reasons he had picked the weapons smith as a possible candidate. The way that Logan was grinning at him, Jason was sure that Logan knew what effect he was having on him as well.

"May I recommend you two retire to one of the palace bedrooms?" Philip chuckled.

"That would be an excellent idea," Logan agreed when Jason did not respond.

While Jason was now taller than the weapons smith, he was nowhere as broad. Logan, with his blacksmith arms, was able to lift Jason up easily and follow Philip back to the palace and to Jason's private quarters. After seeing Jason and Logan into bed, Philip left them to get to know each other better.

Logan knew that his strength and bear-like appearance seemed intimidating. He had used this to earn the respect of the Centurions for whom he had made his weapons. Philip, though, had seen right through the act and saw a chance for Jason to gain a new friend.

Yes. Philip knew that Jason was a bit of a pushover but, with Logan as one of his Saints, he would have someone who would be less inclined to bully Jason and more willing to push around the people who tried to bully his Angel, which is something he needed. Logan was to be the big brother, a role that Philip had once held before they became lovers.

Already, behind the door, Philip could hear both men laughing. The temptation for him to turn around, open the door a crack, and peek in to see what was happening was strong, but he knew he would look ridiculous. Still, when he started hearing the slapping of flesh and a few yelps of pain, Philip could not stop himself from running back in to see what was going on.

There, in the bedroom was Jason, leaning against one of the marble pillars while Logan was slapping his ass with an open palm.

"What do you think you are doing?" Philip demanded.

"It is a belated twenty-first birthday present." Logan grinned.

"It is?" Philip said in surprise.

"Yes..." Jason blushed.

"Then you do deserve a good whipping... it being your belated birthday and you not telling me." Philip laughed, swishing out his tail playfully.

"Oh no..." Jason smiled nervously, unable to take his eyes off the tail.

"Don't worry, love... I will be very gentle, but first I must teach Logan what he can and cannot do with you."

"Hey now..." Logan laughed nervously, as he tried to step back from Philip, only to be stopped by a wall.

"Turn around now, Logan, and show me that nice ass of yours..." Philip grinned as he wrapped his tail around Logan's waist.

"Yes, Centurion..." Logan said submissively.

"Oh, I'm no Centurion, Logan... I'm a Demon." Philip grinned, once Logan was facing him, showing off his fangs.

"I can see that." Logan gulped nervously.

"Don't worry,... none of my Demon Spawn have ever complained about my tail."

"That's because they're a bunch of masochists."

"Not with Jason though..." Philip said in a warning voice. "I never hurt him and I don't want you hurting him either."

"It was just a little fun," Logan defended himself.

"I know... the two of you were just playing. Just be sure it stays that way. I don't want to find the King of Qul Tos calling his blacksmith sir or master. Do I make myself clear?" Philip grinned as he moved the tip of his tail close to Logan's ass.

"Of course, sir." Logan nodded just as he felt the forked tip push inside him.

"There you go..." Philip purred as he used his tail to enter Logan's ass.

Philip did not know why his tail had this effect on men but he found that most Centurions and Demon Spawn preferred being penetrated by his tail than his cock. Logan seemed to be no exception as the man turned around so he could bend over against the wall.

"You would have made an excellent Demon Spawn. Are you sure you don't want me to make you one?" Philip cooed into Logan's ear as he continued to play with Logan's ass with his tail.

"Jason, you'd better come over here and bond me or else I will take Philip up on his offer." Logan moaned as more and more of Philip's tail entered him.

Jason walked over to Logan and turned his head to face him. Looking at the blacksmith fondly, Jason pressed his lips against him and passed him his bond. So it was between the two lovers that Logan was brought into the family. He did grow until he was 6'6", two inches taller than Jason. His eyes were now blue and his hair was a mix of black and white. While he remained very broad, his waist slimed down.

Logan stood up and walked away from Philip, letting the tail fall out of him. Next, he lifted Jason into his arms and took him back to the bed were he lay on top of Jason's body while his cock humped against Jason's inner thigh.

Seeing that Logan was now completely focused on Jason, Philip sighed and left them alone. Sometimes he wished his Demon Spawn would act tender toward him like Jason's children did. But then, a Demon was not supposed to need any tenderness outside the love given to him by his Angel. What Philip got from his Spawn was passion in its most raw form. While there was little kissing and nuzzling there was plenty of scratching, and biting, pain and pleasure mixed into one.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Battle Plans

When Varrus finally came for Jason, he found him lying on top of Logan, contented smiles on both faces. "Come now, Jason... it's time for your bath and dinner before bed."

"Can't you just wheel dinner in?" Logan grunted. He didn't want to lose his Angel so soon.

"No...we need to talk to Jason about the war," Varrus explained.

"It's alright, Logan... I will see you tomorrow." Jason smiled, giving the man a final kiss on the nose before climbing off the bed.

Logan watched Jason as he was helped by Varrus to slip on a white robe that had slits in the back for his wings. This gave Logan an idea for something to work on later. As soon as Jason and Varrus were gone, Logan dressed and made his way to the smithy, which was busy with the activity of other Famulus blacksmiths. It took some doing but Logan was able to find a workspace for himself. It would take him several days to make his gift for Jason but he was sure his Angel would love it.

At the Labyrinth Keep, Jason was led to the heart of the fortress. There, under the heavy guard of Demon Spawn, he ate, slept, and held meetings with the members of his government. At the table that night were Field Marshal Darius, Gideon, who was now Captain of Jason's winged guards, Varrus, his High Chancellor, Caleb, who acted as personal secretary, and of course Philip, who would soon be declared the king's royal consort.

At that night's meeting, Darius did most of the talking, reporting on the movement of enemy forces as well as that of his own men. During the long report, everyone took the chance to eat their dinner. Philip had a large rare steak covered with mushrooms, a roasted chicken, and to finish it off, several bottles of red wine. Jason and his Saints had developed more delicate tastes. Over the past several months, Jason had found he could no longer stomach beef, pork, or chicken, but had an endless hunger for fish, grains, and fresh vegetables. He and his children dined that night on fresh lake trout, tomato soup, and loaves of hot sourdough bread topped off with a glass of white wine from Huron.

After Darius had finished updating everyone on the war, he took his seat and started digging into his own dinner, which happened to be the same as Philip's.

"So... the enemy is making its way here," Caleb sighed.

"That was the plan... make them pay for every inch so, when they finally reach Qul Tos, they will be too weak to maintain a long siege." Varrus nodded before serving himself a glass of water, finding the wine a little too sweet.

"Still, I would have hoped that the enemy would have given up by now. It's been over a month and they have only made it halfway here," Gideon commented. He was grateful that Jason had insisted that he be named his chief bodyguard and, therefore, allowed into the war meetings.

"The Confederacy is not like the Federation. The Federation has the advantage that the Jadoorian generals have control over all the allied armies, allowing them to act as one. The Eastern Confederacy is made up of so many conflicting interests I am surprised that they have not started fighting each other yet," Caleb pointed out.

"Well, that is Rondus' job." Varrus laughed. "The old man seems to have the knack at getting people to fight. Any word from him?"

"The last message he sent said he was behind enemy lines. I don't expect we will hear from him until whatever he sets in motion happens," said Caleb.

"Well, hopefully, he will be able to give us some warning." Philip sighed. Trusting the old man to not cause more problems had been a risk Philip had been unwilling to take. But, with his vast knowledge of the land, had he proven to be an excellent scout as well as a raid leader. So, when Caleb had asked Philip to approve the covert operations, Philip had not been able to refuse. Still, Philip hated surprises.

"What shall I do with Geoff and Logan?" Gideon asked, just as a bowl of strawberries covered with heavy cream was placed in front of him.

"Logan will be busy in the smithy, so I don't think he will need much looking after. Geoff is another matter," Philip grunted.

"Make him a winged guard," Jason suggested. The high pitch of his voice let everyone know he doubted anyone would agree.

"You mean give the man who tried to kill you a sword and expect him to watch your back?" Darius laughed.

"He won't do that again," Jason insisted.

"He's your Saint, so it's your choice, even though I suspect that you only made him a Saint because you didn't want me to kill him," Philip said, pointing his fork at Jason.

"I didn't want him to die! It was not his fault. He was only doing what he was told to do by his lord," Jason almost pouted.

"Fine... Gideon, make him a member of your winged guard, but keep him away from Jason... do I make myself clear," Philip insisted.

"Yes, Philip," Gideon nodded.

"Good... how is our supply situation?"

"The Labyrinth’s warehouses are two-thirds complete. The aqueduct is now connected to the Keep and is filling the cisterns. The basement is being filled with water to make a new bathhouse here," Varrus listed.

"Good... I'm tired of using those cramped tubs." Darius grinned.

"Yes, but heating the water will be expensive, fuel-wise. It is good that the Labyrinth was originally dug out as a coalmine. It still provides most of our coal," Caleb said.

"Speaking of mines... how is work on the escape tunnel?" Varrus asked.

"It is only three hundred yards deep so far." Darius spoke up, as it was the Demon Spawn he supervised who were digging it.

"How much farther will it take to reach the other side of the mountain?" Jason asked.

"We are not even a third of the way through. We predict we will have to dig the tunnel at least a thousand yards before reaching the other side."

"But, when it is done, we will have a way of escaping the siege and bringing in fresh troops," Philip explained.

"As long as the enemy does not find out about it," Varrus grunted. He had been opposed to digging the secret tunnel, as it would bypass all of the Labyrinth defenses on which he had worked so hard.

"Even if the enemy finds it, the plan is for the tunnel to break open eighty feet up the cliff face. The only way to reach the entrance will be by rope ladder or by the elevator we will build there. Already, we have built a small fort on the valley floor to guard the bottom. Also, the entrance to the valley starts over thirty miles away from the capital. The enemy would have to know what they were looking for before they could find it," Caleb took pride in saying. It had been his uncle Rondus who had found the valley for them.

Philip, on seeing that Varrus was about to argue the point again, spoke up to stop him. "The fact is, that having a way to bring in more supplies and men would give us a great advantage over the enemy if they thought they could starve us out."

"I very much doubt they think they can do that. Domus tried that and look at what happened. The siege lasted over fifteen years," Varrus pointed out.

"Then, how do they think they will beat us?" Darius asked.

"All they can do is keep us trapped here while consolidating their hold over the rest of the kingdom," Varrus said.

"They could try that, but it would be hard to ignore over fifty thousand Centurions. They would need to leave at least three times that number just to keep us pinned in," said Darius.

"That is why they will have to fight. They can't ever claim they took Qul Tos without removing us from the capital," Philip agreed.

"Yes, but that means they must have a plan for defeating us here. Except by treachery the Labyrinth has never fallen," Varrus insisted.

"Then that has to be the way they will try to defeat us... by treachery," Jason said, stating what everyone had been afraid to.

"But who would betray us? We have already removed the local Qul Tos population. All that is left are us...the Centurions and the Domus Famulus," Gideon asked.

"The Legatio?" Caleb suggested, adding the group Gideon forgot.

"No offense, Caleb, but we have such a tight leash on them right now that there is no way they could do anything to hurt us." Darius laughed, triggering an embarrassed look on Caleb's face.

"No, Caleb... don't worry. If I were to name a group who would want to betray us for their own benefit, I would say the Legatio exiles as well. But the fact is that we have always known that their loyalty was in question. We have been careful not to give any of them any opportunity to betray us. No...it has to be someone else, someone close," Philip said to a dead quiet room.