Silence. Blessed silence.

For the first time in his life, the cacophony of voices in Jeremy’s mind stilled. There were no demands, no threats, no tempting offers.

He could hear himself think. He was hearing himself think!

The wizard froze, trying to make sense of the situation.

The world around him seemed to fade — becoming less important or less immediate. Jeremy knew it was because of the silence. However, in the back of his mind — the wizard could not discount that the silence could be some sort of trap.

It wasn’t.

Jeremy’s mind opened to a presence. It was the demon lord Davos — the singularity, the core of the hive. This was his territory. In this place, his voice erased everyone else’s.

The demon was different from the others. There were no threats or compulsions — only a promise of contentment.

He would be accepted, given a vital task, and he would not want for anything. The hive would take care of everything.

He would own nothing — and he would be happy. There would be no sense of self or privacy — but there would be acceptance and cohesion. In the world of Davos, every being was equal, all of them parts of a unified whole.

Jeremy savored the voice. One voice was so much better than a multitude. The temptation was overwhelming — but probably not in the way the demon expected it to be.

The prospect of living a comfortable drone-like experience would probably sway weaker minds who only wanted to get by — however, Jeremy was as selfish as they came.

Working with a group for a cause other than his own made little sense to him — as was spending eternity in Tartrasil.

Would he live in some sort of hive — with bug buddies?

Hell no. Bugs and their green blood were icky — and they were full of jerms.

Still, he gave Davos free reign inside his mind — relishing the experience of only having one irritating voice instead of a cacophony.

He wondered if there was a way to replicate it — perhaps with a more tolerable demon lord. Living the rest of his days in relative silence was a tempting prospect. Tempting enough to trade —

Jeremy smiled — one of sadness and acceptance. If he was to let one demon lord in just to silence the rest — his mind, soul, or existence would probably take it as a form of surrender.

Sure, he could probably stave off the possession for years or even decades — but the thought of losing his will to another didn’t sit well with him.

He felt Davos grow weary of his vacillation. The demon lord pressed its will into his mind, attempting to influence or even subdue his mind.

It was amusing, to say the least.

Hordes of demons have attempted what Davos was doing every day of the wizard’s life — decades of temptation, pressure, and threats proving ineffective.

The demon lord was like a child banging on a wall. It was just that its banging kept the other children away.

The wizard steeled his resolve. It was time to come back to reality.

Silence gave way to a din of voices. Most of them were angry, thinking that he found a way to sever their contact with his soul. However, there were a handful of demon lords who seemed genuinely relieved that he was back and safe.

Those were the demon lords to watch out for.

Jeremy took a second to adjust to the surge of voices and the familiar malevolence that came with them. He briefly lamented the loss of his stint of silence as he raised his head to survey the situation.

He exhaled sharply.

“That was certainly different. What did I miss?”

***

That damned wizard! He could have dealt with those bugs anytime he wanted — but he waited until all but one of my men were dead before taking action. He was probably hoping those insects would get to me — shut me up for all the gems he stole!

Norwin fumed as he walked. The wizard’s talk of opening a portal in a specific location seemed suspicious — especially since their detour put their lives in danger.

Mortal danger, since three of his men were dead.

Their arduous journey wasn’t the only thing that bothered him. The gaps in his memory were also very alarming.

The wizard could have erased vital information or worse — planted compulsions in his mind.

As far as he knew, he could have discovered the location of a hidden treasure trove or a way to win the war against the Ice and bring glory to his family.

Now, he was a walking powderkeg that the wizard could blow up anytime. Was he aiming for his family, a lord close to them, or maybe even a prince — or the King himself!

He imagined planting a dagger on the King’s back, prompted by a word from the wizard.

Norwin shivered. He would need to summon his family’s mages to check and make sure the wizard didn’t perform any enchantments — no, to get rid of the enchantments that were probably already there.

He flexed his hands, unconsciously going for the sword at his side and finding nothing.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

The captain even took away his sword to make sure he was defenseless. Wait — he didn’t even remember having his sword taken! The captain was in on it!

The two were probably spies sent by another kingdom — or agents of the Ice!

“We’re here.”

Norwin stared at the wizard. What was he planning now?

The usual portal looked like a tear in the fabric of reality — like a painting that was being cut and ripped into two. The wizard’s portal was different. It looked as if he was burning the air — the fire spreading into a ten-foot disc and revealing the other side.

Brick walls.

It was dark, but Norwin could make out brick walls and the familiar sound of soldiers and people going about their routine. They had finally reached Evergreen.

He made his way to the portal — barging into the captain and pushing him to the side. The captain barely moved, but Norwin believed he got the point.

He took one step, glad to be away from the vile wizard and the traitorous captain.

Norwin fell.

There was a splash followed by a sharp pain on his head before darkness overwhelmed him.

At least no one would notice my stained breeches.

***

Jeremy floated out of a well, surprising a few folks.

They arrived mere seconds after the soldiers. Jeremy could still see the lingering signs of one of his gates — notably the confused travelers and the smell of sulfur.

He made it a point to add notes regarding the time dilation in Tartrasil — which was roughly two hours for every ten seconds. Unless Darkmaw or the previous hell contracted time.

If only he could find a plane where dilation was in the extreme scale — say one day to an hour. He could build homes for his workers and have them rest hours there to increase efficiency. He could even provide vacation trips if there was a plane with longer dilations.

Spend two days in paradise — and only miss one hour of your life! That would be hitting gold.

Of course, the places he had access to weren’t exactly hospitable — but maybe there was an abandoned hell out there somewhere that would fit his needs.

Jeremy was quite thankful to Lord Norwin. He always made sure to have somebody else enter his portals, just to see if they were safe. Opening one inside a well was unfortunate — but the good lordling made sure that everyone was well aware of that fact by falling and making a big splash.

The captain and the other soldier went down after him. He really didn’t care. The orders were to bring him back alive to Evergreen — and he was alive when he crossed the portal. What happened afterward was out of his control.

He walked to the group of soldiers, hailing the vanguard and telling Lord Norwin’s men that their employer was drowning in the well — probably dead or dying. They should get to him soon to find out.

Jeremy longed for sleep. Now that he knew what it was like, he wanted the silence — even if it was just in his dreams.

***

The inquiry happened within two days of their return.

Jeremy expected Lord Norwin would complain — but the ingrate lobbed charges of theft, murder, and mind manipulation at him.

His father wanted to intervene, but he managed to dissuade him. He was there as the Blackstaff’s agent and a soldier of the vanguard — not the son of one of the King’s most favored noble.

The inquiry would be a test for Evergreen and its rulers. His father could always bail him out in the end and tattle to the King if things didn’t go his way.

The council entered. Most of them were mages — none stronger than his father, but a handful were stronger than him.

Sure, he had unlimited mana — but he could only contain a portion of it. His was like a cup compared to his father’s bucket. A few mages in front of him had very big cups.

One of them took to the center, standing in front of Jeremy as he sat behind a podium. His robes were a brilliant green. He was probably called the Emerald Enchanter or some other flashy name.

“You were sent to rescue Lord Norwin and his men —“

“Which I did — and rather well at that.”

“Let it be known that Lord Norwin was indeed returned safely to the citadel, as were his men,” another council member spoke. Less mana, more scars — probably a veteran, at least a captain.

“Yes, he was,” Emerald hissed. “But the inquiry is regarding the way he was returned and the incidents that happened before their return to Evergreen.”

Jeremy shrugged. He had nothing to hide — aside from the shortcut to hell, or two hells.

“Lord Norwin said you stole from him. Is that true?”

“If it’s those gems, then yes,” Jeremy rolled his eyes. “I didn’t want them in his hands or his men — so I bound them with a spell and Captain Cicero took it from them.”

“You took it from them? Forcefully?”

“Yes! I wanted to hit them in the head to knock them out, but the captain convinced me to take a gentler approach.”

“The gems were dangerous,” Jeremy explained, “especially in the hands of a weak lordling. I did them a favor by taking them.”

“So you admit to the theft?”

“Theft?” Jeremy was extremely confused. “What theft? I was saving them.”

“Lord Richter, If I may?” the veteran asked.

Richter — the name was unfamiliar to Jeremy, but at least he now had a name for emerald. The veteran seemed like he was on his side — now if only someone else could mention his name.

“You said the gems were dangerous. Can you explain why?”

“The lord and his men were just too weak to keep them. Having them on their person would only bring disaster.”

The veteran slumped as if hit by an enervation spell.

“His men said Norwin and the other soldiers were unaware of an incoming danger,” the veteran pressed. “Can you tell the council why this was so?”

“Oh, that!” Jeremy brightened. “The gems made them docile — like sheep. They made them think everything was fine and not to mind the cloud of teeth that was coming to eat them.”

“A cloud of teeth?”

Jeremy could hear the doubt in Richter’s raised voice.

“Something like that,” he explained. “I never stayed too long to find out.”

“Given that it wasn’t theft if the Scourge’s account of the gems was true,” Richter started. “He still put the lord in harm’s way by not opening a portal straight to Evergreen.”

“My portals just don’t work that way,” Jeremy shrugged. “And there was no danger until the lord decided to disregard the captain’s warnings.”

“And the torture?”

“The healing, you mean?”

Richter squinted his eyes as he stared at Jeremy. “Lord Norwin said you tortured him with your staff.”

“I healed him,” Jeremy explained. “My staff is just painful. I call it the Painful Staff of Pain.”

“You’re staff is painful?”

“Yes.”

“Does it have to be?”

“You know, you’re not the first person to ask that question.”

Richter paused, calming his nerves.

“Does your staff need to inflict pain?”

“It doesn’t”

“So you needlessly inflicted pain on the lord?”

“My staff doesn’t need to inflict pain,” Jeremy sighed. “It just does.”

He struggled to explain the nuances and thought processes involved in making his staff. Healing was not one of its core features — torture was. How could he have known that he would be thrust into the middle of a battlefield where healing was essential?

“You can hold it if you want.” Jeremy smiled.