Chapter Seventy-Nine: Epilogue

Misaq leaned against his bar, swirling the clear golden liquid in his crystal decanter with the lazy motion of a man with all the time in the world and in no hurry to spend it. He looked at a small mirror he had leaned somewhat carelessly against a bottle of Macallan Valerio Adami.

It was one of the most expensive bottles of whiskey ever sold, and Misaq had considered the price a steal. What was human money to him, anyway? He smiled, revealing a single fang, and willed his mirror to scry out Ambrose. The surface rippled and showed him the red-haired warrior giving a speech at a funeral gathering.

Ah, the man Darren must have died, Misaq realized. It wasn’t hard to put together, given the way his spawn was concealing her grief.

Misaq shrugged, dismissing the scene with a lazy wave.

“Nothing good is ever on. Let’s replay the good stuff.”

A twirl of his finger, a ripple of the mirror’s surface, and a scene from not so long ago began to play out. Misaq himself was addressing Eric in his earthly office before the Systems arrival, but after he had become a forerunner,

“Oh, it’s simple. Do this little thing for me, and I’ll give you a bunch of SC to get you started.”

Eric Delorsa steepled his fingers in front of his face as he leaned forward,

“What you ask me to do will provoke a dangerous man, devil. How is this worth it?”

Misaq waved a dismissive hand, grinning,

“Let us not pretend you don’t already want to do it, mortal. We both know you do. SC is a valuable resource for the newly integrated. It’ll help you get started, bring people to your settlement, and when you get access to a merchant?” Misaq beamed,

“It’s like winning the earthly lottery or whatever.”

Eric rubbed his hands, narrowing his eyes.

“Why do you want this to happen? I don’t think you understand the type of man you’re dealing with here. Ambrose Severen is one of the more dangerous men I’ve ever interacted with. We used to call him the Irish Reaper as an edgy joke. He is a man of singular focus and will. You’re asking me to point that kind of man right at me.”

Misaq tsked.

“You’re a forerunner with a powerful and unique skill, my friend. Surely, there’s no reason to be afraid of such a man.”

In truth, Misaq didn’t care one way or the other. Delrosa was merely trying to get more out of the deal. He had already decided. The devil could tell from the subtle glint in his eye and the slight shudder of pleasure running through his hands at the thought.

Misaq was ancient; reading these mortals was trivial.

Eric made a non-committal sound in his throat.

“Maybe. I think you need to sweeten the pot. Make one of my men a merchant.”

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Misaq made a show of rubbing his chin, shifting his leg over one knee, thinking.

“Hmm. A big ask, but fine. Name the man, and you will have your merchant and a huge amount of SC to start. Shall we hash out the details?”

Eric’s ugly brown eyes heated up like an unpleasant brown stain on asphalt during a hot summer day.

“Let’s.”

The image shifted, and this time it showed a little raven-haired girl, Jenny. She was watching her father die. Beside her was a shadow, an invisible form of Misaq. He was whispering into her ear. Dark, poisonous thoughts.

A few well-placed sentences were all it took, and viola! The girl was poisoned against Ambrose. Delicious.

The scene faded, Misaq chuckling to himself. He had always loved re-living his greatest hits. He had gotten a good chunk of experience from the deal, too. After all, making deals was the only way he could level up his profession and class.

Smiling merrily, he waved a hand, and a red line split the air, opening wider to reveal a chamber of polished stone kissed by midnight’s pure darkness. Misaq stepped through, beaming at the woman before him.

Her hair was wildfires and sunset on a dying day. Her face was the exotic beauty of the wild fae, as lovely as the full moon, and her skin was barely touched by twilight. Her eyes were the golden green of an ocean on a calm day, holding their depths’ ancientness.

Sparks kindled embers of an old, tired anger.

Wings were folded behind her back. They were crushed pearl, silver starlight, and blood red on snow. She wasn’t tall, but neither was she short. No, she was precisely the right height, Misaq chuckled to himself. Runes were engraved onto the stone, surrounding her in a circle. They shifted; every color of the rainbow could be found within them.

Their light cascaded like a waterfall across the stone room, creating strange, flickering shadows. Misaq waved excitedly at her.

“Ah, hello there Siggy! What, not happy to see little ol’ me? Never fear, I have enough joy for the both of us.”

The woman within the circle looked at him with such malice, such living hatred, that Misaq almost wondered if he would melt right there. He tsked at her, shaking a finger as he sipped his drink.

“Now, now. Is that any way to greet a visitor? Without me, you might have gone mad by now. Besides, don’t you want news of your darling boy?”

Longing appeared within the depths of her eyes, and her wings ruffled. Her hands balled into fists, her jaw twitching. Misaq grinned,

“How about a deal, mm? Tell me where the final seal can be found, and I’ll release you! Quick as a blink! You’ll be free to go to him then.”

Her voice was a whisper on the wind, but somehow, it was as clear as the crystal decanter he held.

“You’ll never let me go, Rumple. Even if I told you that”

Misaq lifted a hand, pushing his shoulder upward at the same time.

“What do you have to lose?”

She snorted,

“My life for starters. Go away, Rumple. I’m too tired to deal with your mocking tonight.”

There were bags under her eyes, but the sight was a balm for him.

“Oh, my dear. You speak as if you have a choice in the matter. There is always time for mocking. Shall I give you a freebie, then? Why not, for old time’s sake.”

Misaq tapped his chin, swirling the liquid in his decanter.

“Mmm. Where to start? I suppose you would like to know that you had a grandchild.”

Her eyes watered, her mouth opening in a little ‘O.’ A tiny light of joy twinkled in her eye.

“The operative word there being had, dear. I’m afraid your grandchild, along with her mother, suffered from a case of too many bullet holes.”

Ah, there they were. The sweet tears as she began to weep silently, the little joy in her eyes extinguished. Misaq stretched like a satisfied cat.

“As fun as it is to torture you, my dear, it can end, you know. All you need do is provide me with the location of the final seal. Give me that, and at the very least, you shall find surcease in the void of the great beyond.”

She shook her head, eyes downcast as her tears stained the black stone. She kept her face turned away from him, shoulder slumped, her body free from tension. She was an utterly defeated creature.

Misaq let out a dramatic, weary sigh.

“Oh well, my dear. It’s a shame. I have Lancelot, you know. That’s another seal soon to be broken. Soon enough, I shall break another once sixty-six evil souls have been imparted to the tree of Avalon. You will give me the location of the final seal at some point, dear. It’s merely a matter of time, which I have so much of. Thanks, in part, to you.”

With a flourish and a bow, Misaq left the fallen warrior to her weeping.

Soon, he thought. Soon.

THE END OF RISE OF THE INFERNAL PALADIN BOOK ONE