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in the walls. He could hear the hammers of artisans demon and soul alike as they
brought the wounded friezes back to life. Even now, he could see the barges heavy with
native stone as they docked, manned by souls who wanted to work rather than had to. It
was a new time in Hell.
The Rebellion was over and yet it continued on in its new reforms. While he was aware of
the changes in those wards and cities that had been closest to the battles and survived, he
also knew that there were many regions as yet unaffected. This, he thought, would take
time. Already there were some who did not fully understand Sargatanas' gift, who
thought to simply take up arms and indiscriminately rid Hell of their own concept of evil.
Theirs would be a long path.
As he thought of these changes, he also thought of Lilith and wondered where she might
be. Somewhere, wandering the distant Wastes, undoubtedly. He had watched her leave
the city, watched her as she and her handmaiden had boarded a barge on the Acheron,
and watched, too, as the ship had disappeared into the ashy distance. And on his ascent
up the Rule and back to his chambers he had thought about his lord, Sargatanas. It had
all begun, the discontent and the dream, at the massive statue that still stood not too far
from where he climbed.
Eligor sighed and straightened the stack of parchment leaves, placing the beautiful
statuette of Sargatanas and the cruder one of Lilith atop them and donning his cloaks,
and left his chambers to descend through the palace and out onto the Rule. The avenue
was growing more crowded each day with a steady flow of workers and artisans, but it
was not yet as bustling as it had once been. While there were very few buildings left, he
walked the Rule out of habit, not necessity; only the sidewalks remained and he could
have easily walked a more direct route, but he liked to see the city's progress. He stopped
a few times to observe the foundations of some new buildings being laid by souls and
demons alike, but, distracted, he focused on the giant cruciform statue and headed
toward it. When the city was at its height there would have been no chance of seeing its
relatively low base, but now, with few buildings standing, he could see it still survived, an
anomalous soul-brick structure in a city now growing only with native stone. Why, he
wondered, had it not been taken down?
He walked steadily until he arrived at the foot of the stepped plinth. For just a moment he
thought of that other plinth, the one from the Black Dome that he had had brought back
to Adamantinarx and enshrined.
Slowly, he paced the base's periphery until he came upon that which he had hoped to
find. He put his hand upon the rugose brick and felt its warmth and then, suddenly, it
opened a piercingly blue eye and stared up at him. For a moment their gaze met and then
he sighed and stood up. He looked into the heavens and saw the equally blue star the
star they called Zimiah, the Gate and knew what he would have to do. The statue would
have to come down and the bricks of its base this brick in particular would have to be
resurrected. That much, he knew, he owed his lord.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either
products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
GOD'S DEMON
Copyright © 2007 by Wayne Barlowe
Jacket and interior graphics copyright © 2007 by Wayne Barlowe
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Barlowe, Wayne Douglas.
God's demon / Wayne Barlowe. 1st ed.
p. cm.
"A Tom Doherty Associates Book."
ISBN-13:978-0-7653-0985-3
ISBN-10:0-7653-0985-8
1. Hell Fiction. 2. Devil Fiction. 3. Angels Fiction. 4. Demons Fiction. I. Title.
PS3602.A775626G63 2007
813'.6 dc22
2007021074
First Edition: October 2007
Printed in the United States of America
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