It was shocking that he would be so open with Kari; why would he tell her such a thing? What advantage he could gain by sharing such information with anyone, let alone a high-ranking demonhunter? It was a huge risk for the earl to take, and after several long, uncomfortably silent moments, it dawned on Kari that he was trying to get her to trust him, for whatever reason. Kari had little doubt he respected her after their first true meeting, but she never felt as though the rift between Lord Black and her Order had been patched by her work here—until now.
“I appreciate that you trust me enough to tell me that,” she said at last.
“It has nothing to do with trusting you,” he countered. “It has to do with getting you to trust me. You see, I know something about you, something you don’t want anyone to know.”
Kari’s throat tightened, and she had to fight to keep her breathing and voice steady. “And what might that be?”
Just tell me the demon didn’t learn anything while it had me under its charm…
“That you’re Salvation’s Dawn,” the earl whispered.
“No,” Kari blurted. “Damnit, how could you possibly know that?!”
Kaelin Black held up his hand and hushed her. “Don’t be alarmed. Dominick Harrington told me this morning, so the demon wasn’t aware of it. And please, don’t be angry with Mister Harrington. He is one of my subjects and owes his loyalty to me before you or your Order. He told me he’d detected it the moment his arcane seal passed over you. Mister Harrington spent many years researching the Temple of Archons and was quite surprised to find Salvation’s Dawn on his doorstep.”
“What do you know about any of this?” Kari pressed, a little calmer now.
Lord Black waved a hand casually. “Not much, aside from what seems to be common knowledge. But there is one thing I know that no one else does. You see, when my father died, I inherited some of his memories, along with his power and the right to challenge Kaelariel for lordship over the serilian demons. My father didn’t know what was in the Temple, but whatever it was, it made Seril extremely angry. Whatever is inside that Temple, Lady Vanador, Seril hated it with every fiber of her being. My father believed it may have been the reason Gori Sensullu and Seril spent so many millennia fighting, but as to what it actually was, even he had no idea—and he served Seril for centuries.”
He continued, “Just understand, I told you one of my secrets so you’d know you can trust me to keep yours. I know what the demons can do with this knowledge, and I assure you, I’m not interested in any demon lords—let alone demon kings—coming to our world.”
“That makes two of us,” Kari muttered. She looked at Kaelin Black in a different light now. He was still far from anything like a close friend, but for him to divulge his biggest secret to her was a telling gesture. He could have used the knowledge that Kari was Salvation’s Dawn to his own advantage, selling it to demons for money, power, or anything else the demons or their lords might be able to provide. Instead he’d handed over his leverage to keep things even between them. “Well, I won’t tell a soul what you’ve told me about yourself.”
“And I will not tell a soul that you are Salvation’s Dawn, until such time as we both know a bit more about what role you are to play, if any,” the earl said. He offered his hand to her and they shook over their oaths. “I’ve already instructed Mister Harrington to keep this bit of information to himself, but I have given him free rein to research the Temple further, to see if your resurrection and appearance as Salvation’s Dawn holds more than typical significance.”
“And you’ll let me know if the two of you find anything?”
“Of course,” he said. “In the meantime, I would advise you to avoid hunting any highly-trained succubus assassins from the underworld, until we find out what this all means.”
There was an ever-so-slight smile on his face, and Kari couldn’t help but chuckle. “If I ever see another one of those again, it’ll be too soon,” she joked, and the earl actually joined her in a laugh. “Thank you for all of your help in my hunt, Lord Black. I know you and my Order have been at odds for a long time, but you’ve more than earned my respect.”
“You earned mine in your previous life, and that has not changed,” the earl returned. “When you return to DarkWind, I’d like you to tell your Order that they are welcome to keep a few demonhunters within my city going forward, and that they are free to pass through at their leisure when hunting here in the south. I am also going to reward you with a substantial amount of money that you may keep for yourself or give to your Order to aid in their work.”
“I’m sure they’ll appreciate that. I certainly do,” Kari said, but then she dismissed the latter portion of his offer. “Keep the money, though. Give it to Kaelariel’s church. They’re going to have a good number of widows and orphans to tend to after Turillia’s spree.”
“Ha! Quite right, good lady,” he said with that barest of smiles again. “I shall double it, then, and let them know that it is a gift from you.”
“Kaelin Black, are you in danger of becoming a nice guy?”
“As it stands, Lady Vanador, it’s going to take me a long time to figure out what I’ve done and what BlackWing did over the last fifty-seven years,” he grumbled. “I don’t think anyone will be mistaking me for a good man any time soon. But that brings me to one last thing I wanted to say to you. Apparently, when the demon was in me, I was… dormant, I guess you could say. But when the demon needed information from me, it had to wake me up, as it were, and the deeper in my memories that information lay, the closer to the surface I was.”
“What are you saying?” Kari prodded when he paused.
“The demon insulted you when you spoke with it last evening. I want to make sure you know it was the demon and not me. You may not be well-educated, Lady Vanador, but you are clever and adaptable, and those are two traits that cannot be learned. The demon underestimated you, and that cost it everything in the end. Never, and I mean never, let anyone call you stupid. You may be one of the brightest people I’ve ever met, and I mean that.”
Kari wasn’t sure what to say, but the answer came to her a moment later. “Thank you. That may be one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me.”
“I find that to be a shame,” he returned.
Kari almost frowned, but instead she chuckled again. “Farewell, Lord Black. Get well, and if the shadow demon or anything else threatens your city, send word to us immediately.” He agreed with a bow of his head, then shook her hand again, though he apologized for not being able to get on his feet and give her a proper farewell.
On her way out, Kari bid Master Vlad farewell, and he was sorry to see her go as well.
Kari stopped in to bid the priests of Kaelariel farewell. She thanked them for their aid, which had proven instrumental in helping Kari figure out what Turillia had truly been up to. The priests were just as thankful to Kari for aiding the people of their city and helping them serve Kaelariel’s justice to the undead and the demons alike.
Kari let them know to expect a stipend from the earl to help care for the widows and orphans left behind. The half-elite priests expressed great gratitude for Kari’s intervention on the matter. Before she left, she asked them to pass along word to Kaelariel that she wanted to speak with Trigonh, and they agreed. Kari wasn't sure what the erestram was up to these days, but she hoped he might find the time to come see her.