Angels Ascending - 17. Part Seventeen

Chapter Thirty-Four

The Traitor

So, Lord Rondus... Prince Calebos still lives and you want us to hand the throne to him on a Tosian silver platter," the oily Count Sirrus of Huron snickered.

"Only because I will deliver the heads of the Centurion usurpers over to you on the tip of a bloody pike," Rondus grunted.

"Tell me, Lord Rondus... was it your prince who sent you here or are you doing this on your own initiative?" Sirrus asked, playing with his long black mustache.

The way he said "lord" with such mockery, Rondus had to control his face from turning red with anger. "His majesty is still a young whelp who does not know what is good for him or his people."

"Good... so if we do place Calebos back on the throne, you would not mind if we left a few advisors behind to guide him to make better decisions in the future."

"Qul Tos is a free and independent kingdom!" Rondus shouted, his temper getting away from him.

"Not at the moment, is it? Right now, it is a protectorate of the Domus Empire," Sirrus took pleasure in pointing out.

"Yes..." Rondus sighed, embarrassed at having to admit that fact.

Seeing that he had won, Sirrus turned to more important business, mainly what was Rondus going to offer the Confederacy that would guarantee their victory. "Now tell me, how will we defeat the Labyrinth?"

"Well, first you need to know that it is no longer a tower but a full fortress, which makes it an even more formable target than before."

"But..." Sirrus asked, leaning in with anticipation.

Rondus also smiled and moved closer to the count. "But... in their rush to make the fortress unbeatable they have added two weaknesses to it..."

"And they are?"

"First, they have built an aqueduct that connects directly to the fortress."

"Are you suggesting we poison their water supply?" Sirrus smiled evilly.

"No, you fool... Centurions are immune to most poisons. You can't win that way."

"Then what are you suggesting?" Sirrus demanded, getting annoyed with the old mountain man.

"What I am suggesting is that I lead your army to where the aqueduct connects to a mountain lake. You can then use the aqueduct as a road that will take your men right to the fortress. I only suggest you pick men who are not afraid of heights."

"There is no way I can march the thousands of men needed to take the keep along such a narrow path!" Sirrus shouted, angry that his time was being wasted like this.

"I said that was one of two ways!"

"Then what is this second way... and it better be good" Sirrus said, not hiding the fact that if it proved just as useless, he would make Lord Rondus pay for wasting his time with his life.

It is... in addition to the aqueduct the Centurions are working on, a tunnel that will reach the far side of the mountains. You could send your thousands of men through it."

"Why would the Centurions create such a weakness?" Sirrus asked suspiciously.

"Because they believe no one can capture it. The entrance to the tunnel will be over sixty feet up on the shear side of a cliff. The only way to reach it from that side would be by rope or elevator."

"Then HOW will we be able to use it!" Sirrus said, clearly frustrated.

"That is what the aquifer road is for, you fool!" Rondus shouted back. "You send a dozen elite men to sneak in using the aquifer and take over the tunnel while your army captures the valley floor. Then, before the Centurions know what is happening, you lift the rest of your men up to the top of the tunnel and capture the fortress."

"I see." Sirrus grinned, realizing the possibilities. "It does depend on capturing the tunnel and holding it until we can get reinforcements, but it could work. Now... how do you plan to get the army past all the saboteurs we have been facing."

"Simple... I will tell you where they are all camped. I will also give you a detailed map of the fords that will let your men cross the rivers faster where the bridges are gone," Rondus said as he took out a parchment.

"Good... you made the right decision in coming to us, Lord Rondus. Calebos indeed has a loyal servant in you," Sirrus said with none of the sarcasm as before.

"You just keep your end of the bargain," Rondus grunted, having to work hard to convince himself that he had indeed made the right choice.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Fatal Mistake

The nature of the war in Qul Tos had changed dramatically in the early months of spring. The success of the Tosian raids against the invading troops had dropped dramatically with many of the raider camps Philip had set up tracked down and eliminated. The Confederacy Army was also moving at a much faster rate than they had at the start of the war and were now only a few days' march from the capital.

At Qul Tos, the preparations for the coming siege were almost complete. A moat dug around the city wall to prevent siege towers from getting close was near completion. The Famulus fletchers had finished making over twenty thousand arrows with hundreds more being made each day.

Jason had not been able to spend much time with his two new disciples. Gideon was under orders to keep Geoff away from him, while Logan was busy with his own project. The other reason was that, with the enemy so close, Philip had put higher security around the young king.

With bathing facilities now complete at the Keep and with most of the Qul Tos nobles gone, Philip saw no compelling reason for Jason to spend his time down at the palace, where he was more vulnerable. He also limited Jason's guests. No one except for Varrus, Gideon, Caleb, Kristen, Darius, Koltus, and himself were to be allowed in Jason's quarters, not even Philip's Demon Spawn or winged guards.

This left Jason to the tender mercy of Gideon as his constant bodyguard. Finally, Gideon had a chance to experience Philip's tail in action to his great enjoyment and pleasure. Philip found that the addition of another bedmate added a little more excitement to his own sex life, as Jason tended to be more adventuresome around one of his own peers than just by himself. In addition, Philip enjoyed having two sets of wings around him, as he usually found himself in the middle between Gideon and Jason after they had finally settled down for the night.

It was hard for Philip to admit it to himself when he lay in bed, his tail wrapped around Gideon's body, that he was falling in love with the younger man. It was a different kind of love, however, a more playful one. Gideon's energy was contagious for both Philip and Jason, as seen by the tossed pillows, clothes and sheets, and feathers littering the bedroom.

Philip almost regretted not taking Gideon when he had the chance and making him one of his Demon Spawn but then Gideon would have not have become the light and jovial spirit he was today.

Still, Philip was curious. He wondered what would happen to Gideon if he gave him his anima. Would he turn into a Demon Spawn, remain a Saint or become something else. In the end it was that curiosity that led Philip to see just "what" would happen.

Shaking Gideon awake with his tail, Philip waited for the man's bright white eyes to open. As soon as they did, Philip moved his head in and kissed Gideon, first gently but then harder until his tongue pushed inside Gideon's eager mouth. Philip could feel his life force joining with the mix of Jason's and Gideon's own life force that was inside him. Philip's tail became tighter around Gideon as the young man entered another growth spurt but instead of growing taller, Gideon began to wither. The muscles around his body tightened around his body, becoming almost skeletal. The black feathers of Gideon's wings fell off only leaving the blackened skin, looking more like the wings of a bat than that of a raven.

Panicked, and not wanting Jason to see what was happening, Philip wrapped Gideon's mummified body in a blanket and raced out of the room to the completed backdoor tunnel. By that time, Gideon felt like an empty husk in his arms, no sign that he was still alive. Philip's eyes dripped with white tears. How could he have allowed his lustful desires and curiosity to let this happen? How would he ever explain this to Jason?

Taking the elevator down to the valley below, Philip dug a grave for the boy before covering him with dirt. He then took the elevator back up to the Keep, going down to the baths filling the basement. There his heart sank as he saw Jason already there, weeping.

Diving into the warm water, Philip swam to where Jason was, in the middle of the flooded catacombs. There he took hold of Jason from behind, wrapping his tail around Jason's waist. "I am so sorry, Jason...I had no idea what I was doing."

"Gideon is not dead... he's in hell." Jason wept.

"What do you mean?" Philip asked confused.

"He's dead but he's not gone. I can still feel him inside me."

"And I buried him!" Philip said, shocked, leaving Jason's side, racing out of the pool and out of the basement.

This time Philip did not wait for the elevator to take him back down but instead, clawed down the cliff side with his hands and feet. Hurrying to where he had made the shallow grave he found that Gideon's remains had already been disturbed, a pack of wolves had dug up Gideon's mummified remains and were eating them, their lips dripping with a green glowing fluid.

Philip, filled with the emotions of rage and guilt, attacked the pack with nothing more than his clawed hands and fanged mouth, hunting down each and every one before dawn. But leaving the corpse unguarded had left a lone deer to drink the sickly green fluid dripping out of the broken body of the mummy.

By the time Philip returned, his body covered in the blood of wolves, the deer had long left and with it the tormented soul of Gideon.