The Arrivals

Chapter 20

When Ajani looked around the pathetic little settlement masquerading as a town, he wasn’t sure whether he was relieved to have arrived there. The jerkily moving conveyance had stopped, but it had done so in Gallows. In time, he hoped to eradicate these primitive outposts. Fortunately, time was one of the things he had in excess. He hadn’t aged a day in what he’d calculated as a touch over thirty years. Each importation tired him, and the toll of them seemed worse the last few years, but exhaustion was the only real burden his body had to absorb.

Daniel had gone ahead a few minutes ago to check the security of the house. Although there were servants aplenty inside, they could sometimes be persuaded to be disloyal. Until Daniel returned, Ajani waited with the rest of his people outside.

A young man stood waiting in the street outside his lodgings. “Sir?”

One of the servants opened the door with downcast eyes. Most of the local help weren’t worth knowing. They didn’t have the same loyalty that his imports did.

As Ajani exited his chair, the boy said, “They’re in town, sir.”

“Ashley?” Ajani looked behind him. “Reconnaissance, please. Take a couple of the others.”

As soon as Daniel stepped outside and gave the all-clear sign, Ashley motioned to two of the others, and they disappeared.

Daniel stepped closer to his employer. Now that he was the highest-ranking employee here, he was tasked with being Ajani’s right hand. All of the imports knew the rules. If one was given a duty but failed to carry it out, one wouldn’t get another opportunity anytime soon. If one failed severely enough, one would forfeit eternity.

“The brethren?” Ajani asked.

“En route as ordered,” the boy who’d been awaiting him answered.

Ajani allowed himself a smile of satisfaction. He’d arranged everything perfectly. Jackson’s motley band would eliminate the brethren who’d been beckoned to meet with him, and then they’d be appeased, feeling as if they’d won something, which always made them easier to handle. There were more than enough demon-summoning monks in the Wasteland, so the death of a few of them would serve a dual purpose: thinning their numbers and making the so-called Arrivals more malleable.