The Deceiver's Path - Chapter 104 - The Best Laid Plans of Mayors and Demons (Patreon)

Piper took a stumbling step backward, her hand already raised to cast a spell. She would lead with [Void Silence] and then follow it up with [Pit Chains]. If those spells failed, she should have enough mana left for at least one summon with her [Subjugator] skill.

She grimaced as she realized two of her demons had been slain in the manor. What if she couldn’t call upon them again? Or what if they needed more time to recuperate in the Infernal Realm? She really needed to learn more about her skills.

Eamon raised his hand, half rising from his chair. “Before you start damaging my office again, Lord Mayor Constantine has a proposition for you.”

“He does?” Piper asked slowly. She turned her gaze to the older man, who was nodding his head. Meanwhile, the armed adventurers behind him had drawn their weapons. They looked ready to spring into action at the first hint of spellcasting.

“Please,” Eamon said, gesturing broadly at an empty chair. “Take a seat, and I’ll send for some wine.”

“How could you betray me?” Piper blurted out. Now that her life didn’t seem to be in immediate danger, she felt anger welling up inside. “You shouldn’t have told anyone without asking me first!”

The guild master steepled his fingers and looked at her coolly. “Unfortunately, time was of the essence, and I didn’t think you would object when you learned of our proposal. Now, take your seat and tell me what type of wine you’d prefer.”

“I’d rather have juice or water.” Piper settled down warily, waiting for a trap to spring. But as she leaned back, the mayor’s guards seemed to relax. While they didn’t sheathe their weapons, they also didn’t look coiled like springs any longer.

“As you wish.” Eamon raised a scroll, and the writing burned with magic. He spoke softly into it before the glow faded. After he’d finished speaking, he rolled it back up and placed it aside on the desk.

“Now, as I was saying, we have a proposal for you.”

“I’ll handle this, Eamon.” Constantine leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs, as his eyes narrowed slightly. “By the Undying Emperor, I’ve never seen a false class so perfect. How did you detect it?” When Eamon opened his mouth to reply, the mayor waved him off. “No matter. Right now, we have more important things to discuss.”

“You’re not going to arrest me?”

Constantine chuckled. “In normal times, perhaps. While I have nothing personal against anyone with classes from the Ascendant Realms, they tend to cause trouble; that being the last thing I need in my city.”

“I see.” Piper had no idea how else to reply. She would just have to see how things played out before reacting.

The old man leaned back slightly and exhaled deeply. Suddenly, he looked very much his age; his eyes dimming slightly. “That zealot leading the Dawnward Host is tearing the fabric of my city apart. Now, I’d like to be blunt with you; I want her dead.”

At those words, both men waited for her reply.

She tried to hide the shock on her face. But as usual, she probably failed miserably. Her mother had always said she had a guilty face. And it probably looked incredibly guilty right now.

“Who says I want to kill the nun?”

Constantine drummed his fingers against the arm of the chair, as if his patience was leaking out. “If I’m to be blunt with you, then I expect the same in return. I know she’s captured your cult, or whatever you’re choosing to call it. The truth of the matter is they may only be people who were unlucky enough to cross your path. However, I also suspect you’re planning to save them.”

“Can you help me free them?”

“Not directly.” He exhaled through his nose. Turning slightly, he motioned for his guards to leave the room. The men continued to cast their frowns at her as they filed out of the room. The moment the door had closed, Constantine continued. “I’ll declare an emergency tomorrow. Something about the undead breaking through the front lines and all adventurers and wayfarers being conscripted to save the city. The entire thing will be a lie, of course. However, it should considerably thin the ranks of those defending the public burning.”

“I need more than that,” Piper insisted. “I want the aspirants gone as well. Otherwise, a lot of them might die.”

Constantine chuckled as he turned toward Eamon. “An infernal caster with a conscience? Who knew such a thing existed?” Turning back, he regarded Piper for a minute before continuing. “I’ll see what I can do, but no promises. In the end, they are nothing more than aspirants. A good thinning of their ranks would take a lot of pressure off the city. Most of them are little more than beggars, as you most likely know.”

“They are good people trying to defend your city,” she said, her voice rising slightly. “And they’d be doing a better job if you gave them some resources.”

“The entire lot is nothing more than peasants, vagabonds, and malcontents. Every one of them could die tomorrow, and nothing would change for the worse.”

Piper took a deep breath, deciding not to argue with the most powerful man in the city. “If I kill the nun, what do I get?”

Constantine raised his line brow. “What makes you think you have any bargaining power?”

Piper shrugged her shoulders as she played with the fabric of her dress. “If I disappear, the nuns would continue to terrorize your city. If I really wanted to, I could even come back occasionally to cast demon illusions and really rile things up.”

“Watch yourself,” Constantine said, his brows pinching together. “I am speaking to you as an equal, when we are anything but. I could have you slain before you step foot out of this room.”

“More powerful people have tried,” she said in a steely tone.

Rage briefly clouded the mayor’s features before he relaxed and laughed. “I think I like her, Eamon.”

“As do I,” the guild master said dryly. “I believe she has a great future in my organization.”

“Fine,” Constantine said, settling back in his chair. “Name your price.”

“I want my name and my friend’s names cleared. When this is all over, I want all of us to be aspirants in the city again.”

“How, in the name of the Undying Emperor, would I do that?” Constantine asked. “I’m a mayor, not a granter of wishes.”

“I have an idea.” Piper raised a claw to her mouth. As she was about to chew on it, she stopped herself. “But I’ll need your help.”

“Please,” Constantine said. “I’m all ears.”

Piper began to explain her plan, watching the expressions on the men change from amused to thoughtful. It would be difficult to pull off, but with their significant resources, she might just be able to do it. And then everything could go back to normal.

*****

By the time Piper returned to the room she shared with Eleni, her eyes felt gritty from lack of sleep. Thankfully, Niko had sent a trio of adventurers to escort her to her room. If not for them, she might have spent the rest of the night blundering around the twisting hallways of the structure.

Currently, all three of them were standing guard outside. She knew they were there to watch her as much as to protect her. But she didn’t care. As long as they didn’t bother her, she wouldn’t bother them.

Sitting down on the bed, she yawned and fought down the urge to fall asleep. She still had a lot to accomplish before dawn.

Maybe I could just close my eyes for a few minutes.

Piper shook her head and rose to her feet. She didn’t dare fall asleep. Not when the lives of her friends hung in the balance. Tomorrow morning, she would put her plan into action and hopefully save all of them.

For the first time since she’d arrived, she wished that soft drinks existed in this world. Back on Earth, her parents had only ever allowed her to drink cola on special occasions, like her birthday. But she’d always loved the jolt of energy it had given her.

Courtesy of her disease, she’d always felt exhausted. But after guzzling down a delicious, fizzy drink, she buzzed with energy. Of course, the sensation quickly faded and left her feeling even more tired. Still, she could really use a jolt right about now. Her parents had always drunk coffee back home. Was coffee a thing here?

She supposed she could send for a servant and ask. But she also knew she was wasting her time. Right now, she needed to summon her demons and find out more about her spells and skills. As she prepared to use her skill [Subjugator], she prayed that the demons had been resurrected in the Infernal Realm.

With a deep breath, she used the skill and called upon Sarnyxia. A moment later, the tall demoness appeared in the room.

With a roll of her eyes, the shadeling strode over to Eleni’s bed and sat down lithely. She crossed her legs and peered across at Piper from underneath long eyelashes. “What do you want now?”

“Are you alright?” Piper asked slowly. She hadn’t realized how beautiful the demon was in the past. Did she look anywhere that mysterious when in her demon form? Somehow, she doubted it, since she was about half a meter shorter than Sarnyxia.

The demoness examined her claws. “Luckily for me, a summoned demon cannot be slain in the Mortal Realm. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to order me around anymore.” Her lips curled up in a smile, exposing her sharp canines. “Though I must admit I did enjoy gutting those mages.”

“I need your help.”

“What a completely unexpected turn of events.” The demoness’s grin grew. “Next thing you’ll say you need me to save your life again.”

“I think I saved your life last time,” Piper said indignantly. “Those mages would have vaporized you if I hadn’t cancelled out their spells.”

For the first time, Sarnyxia’s bored expression faded slightly. “How did you accomplish that, anyway? Those humans felt powerful.”

“You don’t know?” Piper wasn’t sure how much she could trust her summons. After all, she didn’t even know where the demoness went when she wasn’t here. Until she learned more, she would have to be cagey. “I’ll tell you another time.”

Once again, the demoness rolled her eyes. “Since you refuse to tell me the one tidbit about yourself I find interesting, would you mind telling me what you want? Unless your plan is to bore me to death with your conversation? In that case, you’re succeeding.”

“Are all demon’s pains in the bum like you?”

“I’m special in that way.”

“I doubt you could compete with Gorebark. But I want to ask you some questions.”

The demoness lay back on the bed, staring straight up at the ceiling. “Proceed.”

“Can you teach me any spells I don’t know?”

“Unlikely,” she replied without looking over at Piper. “I had only recently been born in the Infernal Realm when you so viciously murdered me.”

“I had no choice,” Piper said stiffly. “And you would have killed me.”

“I suppose so. As for my spells, I know Wraithskin and Veil of Lies.”

Piper frowned at the short list. Then again, she had killed the demoness when she was only level 5. That made her think of another question. “Why do you seem so powerful now? No offense, but it was pretty easy to beat you.”

“Offense taken. Offense very much taken.”

“Just answer the question.”

Sarnyxia sat up and spun around. She chewed on her lower lip and tossed back her silver hair. “I have no answer for that. Since being reborn, my levels have continued to climb. I’m nearly level 50 in my class and race. I may even gain another class in the near future. "

Piper pressed her lips together. She wasn’t sure if the demoness’s levels were increasing from combat or if something else was going on. Because she didn’t believe the shadeling would gain so many levels from their limited engagements so far. Then again, they had killed a lot of high-level adventurers.

After thinking about the battle at the manor, she pulled up her character sheet. As she skimmed down the page, she realized maybe she wouldn’t be as outmatched against the nuns as she feared. She’d gained a lot of levels in the Ares manor.

Turning back to Sarnyxia, she decided to use the rest of the night to prepare for tomorrow. When the sun rose, her fate and the fate of all those she cared about would be decided. No matter what, she couldn’t screw this up.