Apostles of Doom

“Amadeus. I would have a private conversation with my visitors. Would you and Miss ❦₣₧☑℮©₡ᾞᾤᾷΊῌ please wait outside?” the voice asked.

“Certainly, my lady!” the majordomo demon, Amadeus, replied. He and the handmaiden with the unpronounceable name backed out of the room, closing the door behind them.

“So, I have visitors. Finally, after all these years, visitors from Astlan!” The voice sounded somewhat sarcastic and more than a little bitter. “Sir Samwell, I am afraid I do not know you. But I thank you for visiting me.”

“So, there is someone in the Abyss that you do not know?” Sir Lady Serah whispered to Sir Samwell with a smile. He grinned back at her.

“Yes — that quick, sharp sense of humor, Sir Lady Serah. I remember it well,” the woman said.

That statement caused the faces of the three Knights Rampant to go pale, their jaws dropping.

“And of course, the salt and pepper of Knights Rampant, Sir Gaius and Sir Gadius. What a fine reunion we are having.” The voice chuckled, although it did not sound amused.

“I am sorry, my lady, but do we know you?” Sir Gaius asked, puzzled. “You certainly seem to know us.”

“What? Dear Gaius, have you forgotten me so quickly?” the voice asked. She made a tutting noise with her mouth. “It has only been a decade and you all forget me! I would have thought myself more memorable!”

“I’m sorry, my lady, but we have no idea who you are,” Sir Lady Serah said.

“What? Do the Knights Rampant damn so many of those they’ve sworn to protect to the predations of the Unlife that they forget even their closest friends? The beloved lady of the ever-so-gallant Sir Talarius?”

The throne suddenly spun around, revealing a very gorgeous human woman with long flowing red hair, alabaster skin, and an hourglass figure in a skintight white dress and white fur stole. “Is it not enough that you all forsook me and my flock — damned us all to hell — that you must also forget me?”

“Melissance…” Sir Lady Serah breathed softly. There was a buckling noise as Sir Gadius collapsed to the floor in shock. Gaius quickly bent to help him back up.

“Well, at least he knows how to behave in the presence of a lady,” Melissance noted, looking at the fallen Sir Gadius.

Chapter 139

Courts of Chaos: Late Fourth Period

Bang, Bang, Bang! Someone was pounding on her study door. This was quite annoying. “If you want to come in, you better have a damn good reason for pounding on my door!” Lilith yelled.

The door opened and in marched Asmodeus with his favorite majordomo, Amadeus.

What a very odd way of entering, Lilith thought to herself. “What is up with the overly dramatic entrance?” she asked rather archly. She was no longer angry or annoyed, so much as puzzled.

“The trap has been sprung!” Asmodeus practically screamed. Which, for Asmodeus, meant he was speaking at a volume level suitable for public speaking. He was not exactly the excitable type.

Lilith shook her head. “The trap? You mean with the knight’s ghoul trollop?” She gave them a very puzzled look. “We haven’t even set it yet.”

“Yes, but the fortress is under heavy attack as of a few hours ago. All forces are engaged to battle this really bizarre, flying nuclear submarine thing that is highly resistant to the spells Hesseforthalus and his team are throwing at it!”

“Who has a flying nuclear submarine? That doesn’t even make sense!” Lilith exclaimed.

“Well, that’s the vexing part. The submarine attack was a diversion. Four knights, three of whom are Knights Rampant of Tiernon, snuck into the fortress during the attack, looking for someone they thought was Talarius.”

Lilith did a double take. “Three Knights Rampant of Tiernon, in the Abyss, in a flying submarine, thought Talarius was in our glass cage?” She blinked a few times in surprise. In fact, part of her surprise was her surprise; she had not seen this coming.

“Wait. You said there was a fourth knight? This one was not a knight of Tiernon?” Lilith asked.

Asmodeus gave her a very grim grin. “No, it was a certain former First Knight of High Justice and Sworn Champion of the Keeper of Law, Ponchas the Third of Oorstemoth.”

Lilith groaned and sank back in her chair. “That son of a black hole!” She shook her head. “So this is some scheme of his.”

“Your Infinite Wisdomness?” Amadeus enquired gently.

“Yes, Amadeus?” Lilith responded wearily.

“The other three knights are not aware of who he is,” Amadeus offered.

“One should hope not. Not if they want to remain in good standing with Tiernon.” Lilith shook her head.