Kari led Eli to Zalkar’s temple, the second one on the right, and he followed her inside without hesitation. It was still early in the afternoon, so the church was empty but for the few acolytes reciting prayers or cleaning. Kari pulled out her dog tags and approached the altar, and one of the acolytes nodded and entered the back room.
She drew her swords and placed them tip down to the floor before she bowed to Zalkar’s altar. Kari stayed on her knees longer than she ever had before, suddenly so much more thankful to be a high-ranking servant of the god of law and patron of demonhunters. Her relationship with him had changed a great deal during this mission, and she made a conscious effort to show him that. She glanced at Eli as she rose, and he bowed his head toward the deity’s altar.
Attir Surallis emerged from his office and dismissed the acolytes with a gesture. He looked just like Kari remembered him, a handsome, middle-aged human with the crew cut that was so popular among Zalkar’s priests. He was wearing a white robe trimmed in light blue. Attir approached and studied Eli, but once he stood before Kari, he waited while she saluted him, and then he offered a handshake.
“Karian Vanador, or I should say Lady Karian Vanador,” he said in greeting. “It is good to see you again.”
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, too, Master,” Kari returned.
The high priest turned toward Eli. “And this must be Elias Sorivar, Jason Bosimar’s man,” he said, offering a handshake to the half-corlyps. Eli shook the high priest’s hand. “We lost track of you during the Apocalypse, and with Jason’s death, the Order as a whole lost contact with a lot of its former helpers. Master Sanstrom informed me through the Unyielding that you were quite a help to Lady Vanador in Barcon.”
Eli looked at Kari for a few moments, and she wondered what he was thinking. He turned back to Attir Surallis and said, “From the first time I talked to her, I knew I’d met another hunter like Jason. I think I’d follow this woman into hell itself.”
Kari chuckled, but Attir nodded. “Indeed, as would many in the Order and Zalkar’s priesthood. There is already a lot of talk of her ascension to the position of Avatar of Vengeance, though the Unyielding still requires more before that promotion becomes a reality.” He turned back to Kari. “I understand you swore and fulfilled another Blood Oath?”
Kari wasn’t sure what to make of his tone. Perhaps he was shocked that she had sworn a Blood Oath, like she was abusing the power or calling upon it too often? After all, she had now used it in two consecutive hunts; was that a bad thing? Kari didn’t feel as though she was using the power frivolously, but her doubts about her motivations began to creep up on her again after the high priest made his query.
“Yes, Master; was there a problem with it?”
“A problem? No, of course not,” he answered. He gestured for his guests to take seats. Kari and Eli sat beside each other on one of the benches, and Master Surallis sat facing them. “I wanted to ask how you felt when you swore this one. Did it feel different at all?”
Kari hesitated, but then she remembered how she’d felt the night she’d sworn the Oath in front of Grakin. “It did. I felt like… like I needed it. Like it had been missing from my life for too long. Is the Unyielding displeased?”
Master Surallis shook his head. “No, Lady Vanador; quite the opposite. There is a fire that burns in you that we rarely see these days. The Unyielding tells me this fire has burned in you since the first time you walked this world. He said had you not died so young, he believes that you and Turik Jalar would have held the rank of Avatar of Vengeance at the same time.”
“At the same time?” Kari repeated. “I didn’t think that was possible. That hasn’t ever happened, has it?”
“No. Though it is not because it is impossible, but it is just that difficult to find two people in the same generation in whom the fire burns that brightly. That fire burned in Turik Jalar, just as it burned in Jason Bosimar—and now it is showing that it burns in you, more so with each day and each mission that passes. The Unyielding still believes you will be Avatar of Vengeance; the passion with which you swear the Oath to him, and the focus you possess to see it through, leave him with no doubts.”
“I told you,” Eli said.
Kari shoved his shoulder lightly but turned back to the high priest. “I have to be honest with you about something, though, Master.” She tried not to bite her lip. “My mate… is dying. He has Dracon’s Bane, just like I did when I was a young woman. I was planning to have another baby with him before the disease advances too much further and–”
Attir Surallis put his hand on top of Kari’s own. “Then do as your heart bids you,” he said. “Do not take my words or the Unyielding’s faith as a demand or an ultimatum. You are still a fairly young woman, and you are an asset to our lord and his Order, whether on the battlefield or as an administrator. When your children are a little older, you may find your inner fire burns even brighter.”
“I’m already finding it does,” Kari said.
“I had something made for you when Master Sanstrom passed along word of your success and the fact that you would be paying me a visit,” the high priest said. He called for one of the acolytes to bring him something, and the young man came and handed a wooden box to the high priest. Attir rose and gestured for Kari to do the same. When Kari stood up, the high priest opened the box, and Kari saw there was a brand-new set of dog tags within.
These were different. They were platinum, and their outer edge was ringed with solid turquoise, its light blue indicative of the deity who blessed them. “Karian Vanador, by the grace of the Unyielding, I hereby promote you to the rank of Hand of Zalkar. With this promotion and rank, you are now the highest ranking demonhunter, and therefore, you are now the head of Zalkar’s Demonhunter Order. The entirety of the Order’s staff is now at your command and disposal, and you will answer only to me or the council of the Order. Congratulations.”
Eli stood and squeezed Kari’s shoulder. “I told you,” he said again.
Kari was speechless. After everything Attir Surallis had said about Zalkar’s faith in her, and now with the promotion, she felt like she was dreaming. Kari had always dreamt of being the Avatar of Vengeance, but even after her resurrection, she’d wondered how long and how much work it would take to reach that rank. She was now a Hand of Zalkar, only two ranks below the coveted rank of Avatar, and she’d been promoted by the high priest of Zalkar. She wasn’t sure if the council of the Order had been consulted in the matter, but to be promoted by Attir Surallis was second only to a personal visit from Zalkar to do so - something that had understandably never happened before.
“By his grace and my will, I shall serve the Order all my days,” Kari said with a salute.
“Go home, relax, and have another child with your mate if that is what your heart desires,” Master Surallis said. “You have more than earned a rest.”
“Thank you, Master,” Kari said, and she had to stifle the urge to cry. She took off her old dog tags and handed them to the high priest. She then bowed her head so he could put the new ones on her, and she flicked her hair over the platinum chain so they would settle. She held them up and read the inscription: Lady Karian Vanador, Hand of Zalkar, T03172849. Just a few years before, seeing herself summed up so simply on her dog tags had made her question her worth. Now, though, she looked at the tags and understood that they said more than what was engraved: This is my servant, my right hand, who delivers my justice and my mercy in equal measure.