The air was charged with something fierce and dangerous as the members of The Order coped with the knowledge that there was yet another failure for them to accept. The five demons sat back in their seats quietly, each considering the next strike. They were wrong to send the Belial demon first; it left too much room and too much time for him to switch sides. Now that he had, he had to pay for his betrayal and the considerable amount of trouble he'd put them through.
Astaroth looked about the cave-like walls of the summoning chamber as he thought of the next step. "So it seems that three hundred Vartek aren't enough to even slow the demon down." His pride and reputation as the most feared demon in the underworld had taken a fierce beating. It was only a matter of time before over-ambitious underlings began to believe that they had what it took to overthrow him. The thought alone put him in a rage. "Tell me, how do you kill a demon who proves to be invincible?"
"We separate him from his armor." Moloch, usually the quiet, calculated member of The Order waited for Astaroth's signal to continue before he spoke. "It is quite obvious that he has sought refuge with The Brethren. Together, they are virtually unstoppable."
"But we tried to take him from them already," Nebiros reminded the second commander.
"Exactly," Moloch said as he rubbed his webbed hands together, "We tried to take Andraemalek. We did nothing to take his protection from him."
Astaroth sat back as he considered the weight of Moloch's words. "You suggest we attack the other members of The Brethren?"
"If we attack or preferably kill enough of them, he'll do what it takes to protect the rest."
"Including killing the human," Botis added, "Ingenious." He looked to Astaroth as he asked, "Which do we attack first?"
"We target the ones who choose to isolate themselves." Moloch stared at the tabletop as he continued to formulate a plan. "They will regroup, allowing us the chance to strike hard with a massive attack."
"And by the time they realize that we're behind it, they will have already been weakened." Botis ran a hand over his large stomach as he smiled in anticipation. "He would gladly hand over the human."
"After you went after my brothers, no." Andraemalek sauntered into the summoning chamber slowly as he wiped off the Blade of Abraxis. He looked at Astaroth as he said, "You might want to start interviewing for new sentries... They put up a pretty good fight, but they were hardly skilled enough to protect someone of your importance."
Astaroth stood up, fully prepared to launch an attack on the treacherous demon but stopped when the Belial casually leaned against the wall. He wasn't here to fight. "What do you want, Andraemalek?"
"World peace would be nice, but I'm a demon. What would I care about that?"
"It would no doubt make your human happy," Botis muttered. It annoyed him that the demon had the gall to breach their security after everything he'd done. And the fact that he did it in human form... "Unless you are here to tell us that you have killed her to that you would like us to kill you both, you are wasting your time."
Andraemalek looked at Astaroth as he said, "I'm here to make a deal."
"A deal like the one you made with us before?" Nebiros asked.
"Even better," Andraemalek replied, "I give you the woman alive and you can do to her what you wish."
Astaroth didn't believe that for a minute. "After all you've done to protect her, you would simply hand her over?"
Andraemalek thought his words over carefully before he spoke. "I thought she was different from the other humans. Strong. Resourceful. She only disappoints me with her fear and detachment." And her refusal to stay with him, he neglected to add.
"You mean she doesn't want you," Botis sneered, "Like I always said, humans are good for nothing but hunting."
"I want The Brethren left out of this."
"And what about you?" Astaroth asked. He glanced at Andraemalek before looking at the other demons in the room. "Are we to simply forget your double-crossing and allow you to walk away alive?"
"It's either I walk away and you get the human, or you can continue to hunt me and fail." As he crossed his arms over his chest he added, "And if you even think of touching my brothers, my double-crossing will be the least of your problems." He gave them a minute to consider his words before pulling his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and quickly lighting one up. "I'll be waiting at the old glass factory. Tomorrow night. Be there before midnight."
"You expect us to walk into an obvious trap?" Moloch asked.
"I expect you to do what you have to do to keep your rank uncompromised." Andraemalek took a long drag from his cigarette as he looked at the confused members of The Order. "Those are my terms. Take them or leave them."
Astaroth smiled cynically as he said, "You would have made a fine member of The Order. I accept your terms." He held his hand up for silence when the other members began to protest. "We'll take the woman, but you must never show yourself. You must live in exile."
"That was the plan," was all Andraemalek said before he walked out of the chamber. He'd just taken the biggest risk of his life. It would not do to fail.
In the summoning chamber, Astaroth sat back in his seat with an evil smile that screamed revenge. "He is a very calculated half breed."
"Yes, one of the reasons we wanted him to join The Order," Botis replied. He was still in shock that his leader would willingly walk into a trap. "My liege, why did you accept his terms?"
"Because he gave us the opening we needed to ensure our victory."
"My liege-"
Astaroth silenced Nebiros as she said, "Leave me. I have arrangements to make."
* * * * *
