Chapter 8
Ash sat on a stool in the basement of the Church of Taran, shaking her right fist. Before, she had been shaking it and concentrating. Now, she was shaking it in frustration.
"Why!?" Ash screamed. "Why can't I do it!?"
Kwi'fang'fang tittered in an odd girlish manner. "Artificially accelerating it is an impossibility. Transformation must occur repeatedly until the goal is achieved!"
"There has to be a better way than this! It is taking too long!" Ash stood and kicked the stool she had been sitting on.
Ash had realized that she would have to practice simulating injuries if she were to fool the king on the night of his planned assassination. While she was having success in creating believable cuts and scars, the process of doing so was taking too long for her tastes. Ash was fearful that her plan would fail if she could not complete the transformation quickly and accurately.
The demon idly flicked his long tail in contemplation. After a long moment he stated, "I know a blok'sami who can change her skin like you desire. I could speak to her on your behalf, but her assistance would be... costly."
Ash smirked. "How many soulstones would I need?"
The demon was quick to reply. "Dozens," he casually remarked. "Perhaps hundreds. Can you produce such payment?"
"I will do anything for this power," Ash sternly stated.
Kwi'fang'fang laughed maniacally. "That's a lot of souls, serpent child!"
"I'll have them come tomorrow at dusk," Ash plainly stated.
The demon cackled with delight. "Very well! Good, good!" He ceased his joviality, and his voice hardened into a more serious tone. "You know what the consequences are if you fail to produce payment. Not all demonkind are as...", he paused and coolly whispered, "...patient as I am."
Ash resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"By the way," Kwi'fang'fang continued, "I am to commune with the Serpent God once I return home. Shall I bring him tidings on your behalf?"
Ash produced a green soulstone and offered it to the demon. "Yes, tell him all is proceeding as planned."
The demon accepted the gem and held his arms wide, gesturing around the room. "And what of this facade?"
"So far, only my sisters and I know the truth," answered Ash.
Kwi'fang'fang snickered. "You are aware that our liege would prefer to be worshipped… properly."
"Once we have control of the government, we will have the authority to enforce the worship of our lord as part of the state religion."
Kwi'fang'fang stared at her blankly, but Ash kept talking. "You know there was too much stigma attached to the name of Sethd; we would have never gained such a following as we have now without using false pretenses."
"Some of your congregation may disapprove of this deception," Kwi'fang'fang commented.
"It doesn't matter," Ash said. "They're expendable."
"Yes, of course," the demon purred. "You nagas are indeed cunning and guileful. I wonder if there isn't some demon blood in you!" Kwi'fang'fang suddenly clawed at the air, and a swirling black portal appeared as his hands moved away. "Tomorrow at sundown, girl! Do not be tardy!" The demon leapt through the rift, vanishing from sight.
Ash stared hard at the door in the basement wall that led to the Church's undercroft where the clergy lived. Since the nagas appeared to be so young, they had taken to recruiting adult clerics to serve in positions of leadership so as not to arouse suspicion about the church. Trail and many other nagas operated under the auspices of being underpriestesses, subservient to the adult leadership. Of course, in reality, the nagas were clandestinely running the whole organization. Once Ash had had a good long look, she ascended the stairs to the ground floor of the Church.
"We need a lot of soulstones," Ash said to Trail. "Summon a few lesser fiends to help, and lock the doors. I'll fetch some more of our sisters. We'll harvest them tonight."