by Ramy Vance
Abby realized the lich was no longer talking to them, but she knew to listen. She closed her eyes and focused, letting her body give up whatever energy Rasputina needed.
Her energy was sucked out of her in an instant. It felt like having the wind knocked out of her. She fell over on her side, gasping for breath. Anabelle and Terra hit the ground beside her. When Abby tried to move, she found she had no strength. The most she could do was twitch as she watched Rasputina.
Rasputina reached up as if she were trying to grasp something, her hands wrapped around an invisible shape. The ceiling above her split down the middle, revealing a cyclone of flames above—millions of souls caught in a sort of limbo. A lash of flame wrapped around Rasputina's arm and she wrapped it again quickly, winding it up her forearm and pulling as hard as she could. The skin of her arm burst into flames, searing down to the bone.
Rasputina did not stop pulling. Bones stretched up from the ground and latched onto her feet and knees, anchoring her to the ground as the flaming spirit above tried to escape. Arcane words spewed from her mouth, a dark incantation that yanked the soul from the sky and slammed it on the ground.
The lich dove forward and grabbed the soul, rolling it in her hand until it was like dough and shoving it into her mouth. She pressed her lips to Grok's as her hands grabbed at the little bit of bone exposed in the orc’s severed neck. The lich’s fingers worked as if they were a spider’s hind legs, knitting new bone from her own fingers.
A scream escaped the lich as she leaned forward, her hands gone, only the nubs of her bones left. She closed her eyes, rocking back and forth as her hands rapidly grew back. Then she went to work again, bone arms ripping from her back, continuing the work along with her other hands, building Grok's skeleton.
Once the bones were all in place, Rasputina pressed her hands to the orc’s sternum and let out a whimper as all of her skin and muscle unraveled and attached to the bones, building new muscle and skin.
Rasputina's bones crumpled to the ground as a small spark floated from her open jaws and settled on Grok's lips.
Grok's eyes snapped open and she jerked up. "The Dark One, he's here. The Dark One!" She looked around, trying to piece together what had happened. Her eyes fell on Rasputina's bones. "No!" she shouted as she fell next to Rasputina's head.
Rasputina's green eyes burned brightly in the hollow of her skull as the jaw fell open. "I will not let him take you away. Not here."
The ground beneath Rasputina erupted and covered the bones in the Dark Melody, which formed into a new skin.
Rasputina slowly got to her feet, setting her jaw as the last bit of skin grew over the bones.
Abby felt her strength come back to her. She sat up as the bone wall between the Dark One's avatar and the DGA agents disappeared.
Rasputina ran her hand over her naked body, creating a black cloak that draped over her head. "Who dares disturb my domain?"
The child with the deer mask let out a cynical laugh. "Your domain? The recently crowned queen of hell?"
The child floated into the air, his body as limp as a doll's as he swayed. "This monument to your hubris, your broken mortality…this is your domain?" He fell back to the ground, digging his hands into the fabric of the place and pulling at it as he stood. "It barely holds together."
Rasputina's eyes flashed. "State your name and purpose or be banished. Your true name."
"Can you not tell? I'm the Dark One."
Once the words were out of the child's mouth, the skin of his back tore open, caught in a heavy gust that threatened to tear him away from this plane of existence.
The wind disappeared, and the child fell forward. He slowly got to his feet.
Rasputina smiled. "This is my domain, and you will be held to my rules here. Now, your name. Your true name. And your purpose."
The child lifted his mask, and a sound came from underneath, an obscene jumble of low notes that seemed to come from hell, burning and boiling within Abby's mind. It was a cacophony of malice and violence with no limits; the sound of his name made her want to run screaming into the whiteness of the Citadel.
Abby looked off to her side and saw that Anabelle and Terra were affected the same way.
The child returned his mask to his face. "Grimnir, for you mortals. And my purpose is to make a deal. It seems we have come across the same enemy, the Light One. I believe we might be able to help each other if we put aside our past differences."
Anabelle laughed loudly. "You're fucking kidding, right? Your idea of beginning negotiations is killing our friend?"
Grok looked at Anabelle, who blushed before clearing her throat and returning her gaze to Grimnir, the Dark One's avatar.
His mask turned up in a caustic parody of a smile. "It was necessary to get your attention. And to let you know I am quite serious."
Abby wracked her mind, trying to see what didn't add up. She could have sworn she'd heard about this small avatar of the Dark One before, but he’d had a different name.
And he hadn't been aggressive.
Suddenly, Abby remembered. She'd heard about the Dark One's masked avatar from reading Boundless’ reports, the dragonriders. Alex had encountered the avatar within the meteorite that had almost destroyed Middang3ard.
But this avatar was nothing like that one. He had helped Alex.
Even if Grimnir looked like whatever Alex had seen, there was a good chance this was simply another trick.
Terra took a step forward. "Obviously, your shit must have gotten more fucked up than we realized if you think we'd want to make a deal with you."
Grimnir's masked smile faded. "Hardly. By now, you must have found out what the Light One is. It does not care about your noble battle to destroy me and bring peace to your realm. Balance is all the Light One cares about, and if you are on the wrong side of that balance, you will end up dead, along with anything else it deems worthy of that fate."
The DGA agents looked at Rasputina, who still hadn't taken her eyes off Grimnir. "What do you propose?" the lich asked.
The mask’s smile returned as he casually paced, his toes barely touching the ground. "You swear loyalty to me—"
Terra snorted derisively. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. That line again?"
The boy waved his hand, and Terra went flying.
Anabelle and Abby prepared to rush forward, but Rasputina held out her hand. "You know the rules of my court. Another slip-up, and you will be banished."
Grimnir's mask sneered. "You can risk me being taken out of here, along with my offer?"
Rasputina didn't reply.
Terra picked herself up off the ground and wiped the blood from her nose as she returned to the group, grumbling under her breath
Grimnir continued, "The valve in hell was never your problem. The one in the Netherverse, of which I have complete control, is all that will save you now. My armies guard it, so any attempt to take control will be met with overwhelming force. If I were to have your loyalty, I would reopen the valve in the Netherverse. I would also allow the souls of the dead into my domain. That, and only that, will satisfy the Light One's desire for balance, and by extension, save your lives and the lives of those who reside in your precious Nine Realms."
Anabelle crossed her arms. "What's in it for us?"
Abby couldn't believe what she'd just heard come out of Anabelle's mouth. Was the elf thinking about trusting the Dark One?
The mask’s smile widened. "Aren’t the lives of everyone in the Nine Realms enough?"
Anabelle shook her head. "Not if it means being in your service."
Grimnir couldn’t hide his frustration. “Very well, then, I leave this universe and never come back. All of the Nine Realms and anything else that happens to exist in this universe will be safe from me. As for your loyalty to me, let us say that I am not a very demanding master."
Anabelle shook her head. "But you would be free to do whatever you want in the other universes? And with us loyal to you, the Nine Realms will b
e under your control by proxy? Is that the game?"
“Your loyalty is merely a convenience, so the other lords of the Netherverse do not think they have a chance against me. I tire of killing them. I would much rather have their subservience, which is why I need a public show of your loyalty. That, and nothing more. Once I have it, you and yours will never hear from me again.”
Anabelle crossed her arms. “Funny how I don’t feel comfortable just taking your word for it.”
Grimnir placed his feet back on the ground. Then, putting his hand up as if he were a Boy Scout swearing an oath, he said, "I vow on my existence that I will not betray my word. I do believe Rasputina's realm is particularly partial to vows of this sort, correct?"
The lich shot a furtive look at Anabelle. "True. Vows hold power over life and death here. If he were to break it, even after leaving hell, it would kill him."
Grimnir's head shook. "Believe me, there is a reason the Light One came to you, searching for me. Even the light is afraid to come for me. You may have defeated me once, but you will not do so again. The light knows how strong I am. That is why it hides, waiting for you to do its bidding. I offer you a way out, do I not?"
No one answered.
The boy snickered. "Perhaps you would like time to speak among yourselves. See how much you value your precious universe when compared to the fates of others."
He turned, and the air in front of him folded in on itself before splitting down the middle and swallowing Grimnir.
Rasputina slumped and ran her hands through her hair. "No, no, no."
Grok knelt beside her. "Rasputina, I need you to stay here with me. We have to figure this out."
Terra raised an eyebrow as she smirked. "Wait, you guys are actually thinking about this? That's fucking crazy. There's no way we can trust him, and even if we did—"
Abby cut Terra off. "We'd be releasing him on every other universe and reality to do as he pleases. We can't do that, right?"
Anabelle wouldn't meet Abby's eyes. "I don't know what we can do."
The words hung heavy in Abby's heart. She could hear the truth in the elf’s voice.
Chapter Eighteen
A magical projection of the Nine Realms appeared in front of the DGA. They were stacked on top of each other, floating in the middle of the table before them.
Terra took a seat and grumbled, "Do you think we really need this visual representation?"
Rasputina ignored Terra as she scanned the display of the Nine Realms. "He can't lie to me here. My magic would alert me. Surprisingly, of all the things you can't do in hell, lying and breaking vows are highest among them."
Terra gave Rasputina a doubtful look.
The lich rubbed her face, looking tired and frustrated. "The only reason the lords of death agreed to help me was because of an old vow between them and the Dark One. He made a deal with many of the older lords that they would stand by his side as long as he remained undefeated. Because of you, that vow was broken."
Anabelle shook her head in disgust. "So, what? He suffers one defeat, and everything they swore is null and void? "
Rasputina nodded. "But there’s more to it. The lords are responsible for things incomprehensible to mortals. Things that are essential for balance.”
“Blah, blah, blah, balance. Who can I hit? That’s all I want to know,” Terra said.
Rasputina’s voice was hard as she ignored the human gladiator. “Things necessary for all of existence. Mortal Death and the places where their souls go is chief among them. As cold and heartless as it sounds, all things—animals, plants, people, worlds, even—must all die. Nothing can go on living forever. If it does, it becomes corrupted. Evil. Like me. Or worse, like the Dark One. And the lords are an essential part of the natural order of things, of the balance."
“Makes sense,” Anabelle said. “Live as best you can. Prepare yourself for what comes next. The Path of the Traveler teaches that.”
The elf reached out and touched the realm projection. "So, what do we do? Decide to preserve our own lives, thus damning the other universes, or let the Light One wipe us out? Wait, why are we assuming that's what the Light One is going to do? All it said before was it wanted to speak to the Dark One. It didn't say anything about wiping us out of existence. Granted, it did unleash zombies across all the realms."
Rasputina frowned and nodded. "The Dark One is first and foremost a creature of manipulation and lies. Grimnir is no different. The mask hides what he thinks, what he feels. That's probably why he was the avatar the Dark One sent to speak with us. He could be bluffing, trying to con us into making a decision before we understand everything that is going on."
Terra ran her hand over her shaved head. "Ugh. I am so not down for mind games. Why can't we just beat the snot out of the little shit? He was hardly bigger than—"
Grok interrupted Terra. "He ripped my head off without so much as a thought."
Terra crossed her arms and nodded. "Righto, mate. Guess you got a pretty good point there. Strong and moderately smart. I'm still not going to buy into this whole ‘the Dark One is trying to pull the wool over our eyes.’ His plans haven't been the smartest. They all basically boil down to ‘throw as many troops at something as possible.’ He's probably scrambling as much as we are. Maybe even hoping we make a mistake and fuck ourselves by assuming he’s got a James Bond villain level of cunning."
Grok grunted in response. "That holds. But it's always a mistake to underestimate your enemy. It could easily end with our deaths. On the off-chance he is smarter than he looks, we end up dead."
Anabelle turned to Abby, who seemed to be deep in thought. "Can you still communicate with the Light One? Maybe we can get some perspective on what the game is."
Abby shook her head. "We can barely keep in contact with Creon and HQ at the moment, and even that’s a barebones connection. We haven't received anything from them for a while." She sighed. "This feels wrong. It feels like we shouldn't even be talking about it. If we agree, he’ll be on top again. He'll be free to keep on killing and conquering. Everything we've been fighting for means absolutely nothing."
Anabelle shook her head as she stared down at her hands. "No, we've been fighting for our realms. We can't conceptualize other universes. Before this was brought to our attention, we weren’t thinking of them."
Abby's eyes watered as she slammed her hand on the table. "We've seen them! We watched thousands of versions of ourselves die in battle against the Dark One. We saw all of you dead across thousands of timelines. Even if it's not this specific universe or this specific timeline, he is going to kill."
Anabelle nodded, thinking about what the girl had said. "I understand this is hard for you, Abby. You've experienced something we could never understand. But we have to be practical. Throughout all those alternate universes, did you find anywhere the Dark One didn’t win?"
Abby shook her head.
"Exactly," Anabelle continued. “We have a chance to save at least one."
"That's not true," Abby countered. "If we die, so does the Dark One, and every other universe stays safe. They'll never experience what we have."
Silence fell over the table as they all weighed the option.
Terra groaned. "Fuck, when you put it like that, it does seem pretty selfish. I don't know if I'm ready for that, though. I've had a pretty good run, but I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet. There's got to be another way."
The lich cleared her throat, catching everyone's attention. "There is another option. We lie."
Terra threw her arms up. "Oh, my fucking God, you said we couldn't break any vows made in hell! That's the reason the Dark One wouldn't be able to attack us."
Rasputina nodded. "True, but don’t forget this is my domain. My rules. If the vow was broken, it would be of no consequence. Grimnir is hoping we are tired of the war against the Dark One and will prioritize our own existence... "The lich absentmindedly tugged her skin. "That we believe our battle against him is pointless. That it will
go on forever. He believes we’re ready to quit.”
Terra pulled a dagger from a side sheath and slammed it into the table. "I cannot express how much I am not done fighting this asshole."
Abby nodded. "Same. We would give our life if it meant destroying the Dark One and keeping others safe."
Anabelle took a long time to answer. "Shit, don't look at me like that. Of course I'd fight the Dark One to the bitter end. I'd prefer to still have some semblance of a normal life after all of this but...oh, who am I kidding? I had a normal life. A glamorous life. And it wasn't enough. I wanted in on this fight. It’s all I wanted."
Abby nodded as she relaxed into her chair, looking at the nanobots covering her hand in sleek black armor. "We started this looking for revenge. Everything was simpler back then, but we quickly saw what was at stake. Besides, we missed the whole graduating high school thing. There's no way we're going to go back for a GED and do the college route. This right here is what we are here for."
Terra picked at her teeth with her knife. "Oh, is it my turn to say something inspirational? Uh, yeah, fuck the Dark One, orcs are the shit, blah blah blah, let's fuck this asshole over."
Anabelle turned to Rasputina. "If we lie, what happens? I thought you said he’d die if he broke the contract. Why won’t we?"
"Because we will use a different bartering tool than he did,” Rasputina said. "When the contract is voided, he will be able to attack our universe."
"Which basically means we're back at square one, and we don't lose anything. Why stop there? If we break our loyalty from him, we could go to other universes and prep them for the battle ahead. One of the reasons the Nine Realms got so fucked was because we didn't see it coming. We could train his next targets. He'd be walking straight into a trap, and then we'd be there. If he tries to retaliate against our realms, we'll still be ready."
Grok scoffed. "This war of yours could go on for the rest of our lives. Are you prepared for that?"
Terra groaned. "Dude, did you not hear the speeches they gave?"
"What if it goes on beyond your mortal lives?" Rasputina asked. "Are you prepared to do what you must?"
