Way of the Djinn by David Papa-Adams
Chapter III
The Rageon
After seeing Gabriel and Uziel off, and with a heavy heart Arzealous descended down cold hard steps. The hollow echo of his laboured footfall, a reminder to him that he had not had a good night's rest since they had arrived from Turtle Island, and even though he had been well fed his stomach still felt tight. At least the Codex of Death was in Raphael’s trusted hands, and there were no signs of Azazel or any of his acolytes. Though to be sure, there was also no sign of Raphael and he needed to be found, and with their departure delayed, so that they might aid the Byzantines in their hour of need, the situation had become more problematic than ever. And even though he knew that time was in the most part irrelevant, the pause still did give the Dragon an advantage. And if they were to encounter Moloch again, they would have need of the services of Raphael. Entering the courtyard Arzealous stared up at the sky, the stars were out, so at least it was clear for the time being, and the wind had got up, which meant that Gabriel and Uziel in the guise of Adamous and Germanicus were safe for the moment. As he passed out from the barracks precinct and onto the roadway, two Stratiotai appeared from the gate house and quickly followed on behind him. He had a meeting with the Emperor and he was already late.
Hopefully Callinicus who had been in the apothecary all day, had news of how to bind the Rageon. His pace quickened at the thought of the creature. Since its first attack, people had fallen prey to it throughout the city, murmurs had sprung up that plague threatened to consume them and this had spread disquiet among the populace, even worse than that thought, rumours had been voiced that an ancient malice was at large.
Soon he entered a long boulevard that led to the palace, the night was fresh, and a cool breeze had captured the Herb Garden of Byzantium and wafted the soft fragrance toward them. The lamp light guided their passage, as they made their approach to the most magnificently crafted gates history had ever known, great Yew trees shadowed their every movement like giant columns as they walked past the Milion. The Chalke Gate had bronze porticoes and tiles covering its roof. Statues of former Emperors and mythic creatures imposingly gazed down at Arzealous and his Stratiotai guard, as they filed passed. When they reached the palace, guards stood to attention and opened the gates. Within were lavish marble pillars and mosaics of gold, silver and jade; they were of such beauty that you could well believe they were not from Terra Azure. The Viglator had been waiting for his arrival, he was a man of great stature with pale eyes that swallowed up everything they were set upon, his hair was dark and cropped, and his burnished armour reflected the opulence that surrounded them. His cloak was a powerful deep mauve and hung from his broad shoulders, his breeches were brown and loosely stretched down to his dark leather shoes: as Arzealous approached him he handed him a parchment.
“What’s this?” asked Arzealous grimly taking hold of the scroll.
“News has just reached us from Thebes, disturbing too; if the reports are to be believed, and with the strange things going on around here recently, I wouldn't be surprised if they were true, it does appear that they’ve made a pact with the devil. I guess having the Saracens in their backyard was too much for them.”
“What have they gone and done?” said Arzealous cautiously.
“It appears they are under the thrall or protection of a Sorcerer.”
“A Sorcerer, surely there are none left that are so powerful that they can hold sway over such a city? It’s probably a rumour spread by our guests out there, or simply gossip grown out of fear. You know how they get started, one bad harvest and it has to be down to some malevolent demon, but nevertheless we should check it out: I've been thinking for some time that we need to know how the rest of the empire is fairing, so you’d better dispatch the Mantador and his guard to find out the truth of this.”
“I thought you’d ask that, they’re ready and will leave within the hour.”
Arzealous smiled, “Good work; now let us see what the Emperor has in mind.”
With the guards left at the gate, the two strode off into the main atrium and down the long corridor of walled paintings, frescos and tapestries, from the high ceiling hung three delicate chandeliers, their light spread in all directions, they appeared soft, as though they were nothing more than wisps of web that glistened in the morning dew. Long silver Candelabra stands arranged at intervals flanked either side of them as they walked. Further away attendants waited patiently by ornately carved doors. As they neared the entrance, doors were flung open, and they stepped into a large open chamber and stood as tradition would have it, and patiently waited to be called by the Emperor. More lavishly decorated than any room they had been in before. Grand Pillars, as thick as mighty oaken trunks held the ceiling aloft. A long table stretched from end to end; tapestries and paintings on a much larger scale than those in the hallway dominated the walls; from the ceiling hung standards of the many imperial themes of Byzantium, and of course there were worn frayed ones that had stood the test of time, and were a testament to how ancient the empire was.
At the far end of the table two men stood over a plan, one held aloft a candle holder while the other seemed to be pointing something out. They had not noticed Arzealous and the Viglator pausing at the doorway. Standing opposite by the large arched opened windows were praetorian guards, they were tall and their girth was matched only by the solid shields and the long swords at their sides, cloaks of mauve hung to the floor and burnished breastplates shone in the gloom, their breeches were dark, as were their tunics, and their leather shoes were so polished they reflected any light that touched them. The soft fragrant smell of laburnum permeated from the gardens, and wove its way into the palace. The cool slow calming splashing sound of fountains laboured under the sultry air.
The Emperor looked up and beckoned them forward. He rested his hands on the table, a tall broad youthful man with reddish brown hair that hung down to his neck, his beard was also thinly layered, whether that was due to the fashion of the time or just neglect one could not tell, his eyes though light in colour appeared spent, he wore a long cloak joined at the shoulder by a broche that was in the shape of a rose, beneath which was a jewel encrusted leather jerkin that rested over the top of a silken tunic and breeches, and at his hip attached to his belt was a short sword.
“The Saracens have changed their strategy, they blockade us from land and with the help of pirates, the Mediterranean is now cruelly cut off.”
“It is fortunate that for some years you saw the threat posed by the enemy and stored enough to last this siege out,” replied Arzealous.
“I’m afraid we have some bad news, there is only enough grain left in the store houses to last a further six months, if Adamous and Germanicus fail in their mission, then our situation becomes dire indeed, also I don’t trust the Francs they are just as likely to take up arms against us, as they are with us.”
“What if we turn every spare garden, every orchard, and every park, into an allotment to provide for the sustenance of the city?”
“Unfortunately we have gone beyond that point, we simply don’t have the grain to sow and feed the populace of the city, and I have decreed that I will not let people die so that others might live, so we are all on rations. Anyway, I do not feel it will come to that, I am determined to break this siege or fall in our efforts to do so. Callinicus has an idea, outlandish as it may seem, it has some merit to it.”
Callinicus stepped into the light and directed them toward the plan on the table, he picked up one of the small carved soldiers, “I believe we cannot achieve victory in a land battle, the Saracens are too formidable to overcome and I believe it is what they are hoping for, so they are prepared to meet us on the plain. It is to the sea that we must look to our salvation. In the apothecary this afternoon I was watching one of the alchemists throw a substance into a bowl and that bowl blazed uncontrollably, the fire almost got out of hand until someone picked up a siphon and pumped water over it, extinguishing it at once. It occurred to me, that we
Arzealous picked up one of the small ships and studied it a moment, “That’s an interesting idea but it’s not going to help if you burn our ships, as well as theirs in the process. Also you’ll have to get very close to engage the enemy in battle, and their ships are well armed and outnumber ours four to one, which I think we are all agreed could cause us a problem. It might be too high a risk.”
“The Emperor believes, our options in this regard are few, so it is a venture to be taken out of necessity, we’re are going to also place the same fire thrower devices on the walls of the city, once our enemy sees the result at sea, they won’t dare come near us. The Siege in effect would be over.” Callinicus smiled proudly.
“Okay, what compound are you going to use then?”
“That’s the problem the notion is sound, we just haven’t developed an appropriate substance yet, that’s stable enough to use. Nor have we designed a sufficiently secure means of delivery, but there is something in the archives that might hint of some similar weapon once used in antiquity.”
“In that case you’d better get to work and do your research, as for myself I’m still going to trust in aid reaching us from the Merovingian; I believe that Germanicus and Adamous will be successful. But we should turn our attention to the imminent threat of the Rageon?”
The Emperor looked up, his interest immediately peaked, “Callinicus told me of this thing. Could it be hiding in the catacombs beneath the city?”
Arzealous paused a moment with all he knew of the city he’d forgotten about the deep lying vaults, “Of course that must be it, it would be the perfect place.”
The Emperor gently smiled, “My friend I think it’s time you rested, the Rageon will wait until the morning, when all are refreshed; if Callinicus can spare himself for a few hours, then you, he, and the Pentarchos can go hunt it down.”
Arzealous nodded, he had not felt so tired for many a long year, also the rest would give him time to close down his mind for a while, a necessary part of the recuperating process. Callinicus being less fatigued said he would retire to the archive for a while to rummage through the older parchments and clay tablets of centuries gone by. As they exited the chamber the Emperor sat back down, gazing at the map in front of him; his chin resting on his hand, the shadowed light from the candelabra eerily fell over the plan of the city. Slowly his eyes too closed, and he fell into a disturbed sleep, where he battled ancient mythical creatures long thought dead.