by Ramy Vance
Anabelle looked at Rasputina. "What do you mean?"
"There are ways to live forever. Granted, you as an elf will go on living for hundreds more years. Terra's life will be expanded because of her tie to Cire and his lichness."
Terra sat bolt upright, her eyes bright and a huge smile on her face. "Wait, what? No one told me that!" She jumped out of her seat and did a bizarre jig, jumping on one foot while holding her palm to her head. "Extra human life," she sang to herself. When she was done, she sat down with an unbelievable amount of dignity.
The lich cleared her throat, ignoring Terra's outburst, and continued, "But you may need more time. I could show you how to become liches. It is a difficult path to walk, one I believe most liches have misunderstood for a long time. But having found that orcs have a tradition of long-lived moral liches, it is a possibility. When the time draws nearer..."
The DGA agents thought it over for some time before Anabelle answered, "Like you said, death is part of existence. If I have to give the next five hundred years of my life to fighting the Dark One, so be it. We'll train a generation to fight under us, and when we die, they’ll be there to carry on."
Terra pointed her dagger at Anabelle. "Yeah, what she said." Across the table, Abby nodded in agreement.
Grok smiled, her teeth glinting. "I never would have assumed any of you were warriors of this caliber when we first fought." She stood. "It would be my honor to fight alongside you against the Dark One until we breathe our final breaths."
"Ah shit, Grok's finally finished her Goku/Vegeta story arc." Terra smirked as she looked at Abby.
Rasputina conjured a paper and quill pen. "Then it is decided. Let us draft the agreement."
"And prepare for one hell of a fight," Anabelle added.
Chapter Nineteen
As Rasputina scribbled symbols and sigils on the paper, the Citadel around her began changing. The walls broke apart into boxes, shifting around each other as colors poured from the blank space as if the Citadel was bleeding. The space the DGA occupied turned into a glass prism.
Abby could see outside where the demons walked around living their lives, the populace unaware of what transpired in the crystal spire Rasputina had built.
The spire continued to mutate, shifting in space and rising above the rest of the Citadel, floating through the air as the lich continued to work.
The rest of the DGA stood and wandered around with Grok, watching the changes happening throughout the spire. Abby stayed and watched Rasputina work. Some of the symbols and sigils the lich used were familiar to Abby.
Rasputina looked up, noticing Abby watching her. "I see your interest in magic is more than general curiosity."
Abby pulled her seat closer to her. "May I?"
The lich pushed the paper closer to Abby to allow the human to get a better view. "Each of these symbols is tied to the world around us. It's one of the more complicated ways for me to manipulate the Dark Melody in here. But they are also tied to the contract, the language of what I'm creating. This whole place is built from my vows, my promises to the people here, to Grok, and to myself. Anytime one of them is broken, the thing I've created disappears. That makes the creation of vows complicated."
"What do you mean?"
"If I know a vow is going to be broken, there's only so much I can create. I have to make something I understand will eventually go away, that no one here will depend on or need. It only requires mindfulness. Take this one, for example..."
Rasputina waved her hand, and a statue of a golden pig rose from the table's surface. "This was my first attempt at a creation meant to be broken. Naturally, no one would miss this. But as the stakes grow higher, the language becomes more demanding, and the constructions must grow more complicated. It can be a time-consuming process, but we have a little bit of time. A full day until we meet him again."
Abby continued to watch her work. "There are a lot of rules to magic."
The lich nodded as she traced runes on the paper. "For this kind of magic, yes. There's no heart in it, not like the elemental magic Anabelle uses, only structure. You find the creativity in that."
"What if you built a trap?"
Rasputina raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"If you're building something that is going to fall apart when it's broken, what if you built something that fell apart in a way that would hurt the Dark One? The same way you're thinking about creating something unneeded, what if you created something that caused another effect by not existing?"
Rasputina smiled deviously. "You will make an excellent sigil worker. I see you have the creativity in you. Once you get the sigils down, you might be a force to be reckoned with."
Abby laughed softly. "Doubtful."
Rasputina scratched at the back of her head, insanity creeping into her eyes for a moment before receding. "No. You have a hunger for knowledge. I can see it. You're not much different than I used to be. Except for your methodology. And maybe your heart."
The sadness in Rasputina's eyes made Abby want to move away, but she stayed. "You're strong," the lich continued. "And you have strong friends. Remember them while you walk your path."
"What are you talking about?"
The lich returned to her writing. "There are many ways one may become a lich. Not all of them are intentional."
Abby nodded slowly as she took in her words. There was no malice in them. It seemed like a genuine warning. "What do you mean?"
"There is an interesting dichotomy in magic. We lose a little bit of ourselves with every use. You see it most among the spell weavers. I trust you've seen the magical veins running through Myrddin's skin."
Abby thought back to the thinness of Myrddin’s skin and the electric-blue veins that shone through. "Yeah, I have."
"They grow back what magic takes. Over time, everyone does. But your mortality is necessary for growth. Once you lose that, you start taking from something you can't replenish."
Abby looked down at her robotic arm. "You think they're the same thing? Our growing lack of humanity?"
"Be careful."
Rasputina toiled long into the night, leaving the DGA agents and Grok with time to kill until the next meeting with the Dark One and the lords of death. According to Rasputina, the lords had to be present. It also would work as a show of power for the DGA and Rasputina's coalition.
So, Terra, Anabelle, and Grok walked throughout the spire while Abby stayed with Rasputina to learn.
Back in the Nine Realms, Creon watched Sarah from behind a sheet of thick glass. A handful of Abby's drones were taking readings on her.
After Sarah had communicated with the Light One, she'd come along quietly, her eyes burning with the same light as the Light One's sphere. She hadn’t said much, simply repeated her desire to speak with the Dark One.
What Creon was seeing now was astonishing. Sarah's body was radiating with the Light One's unique energy. It was as if she wasn’t just possessed by it.
She was the Light One.
Creon sighed. He wished Abby was here with him. Her razor-sharp mind would have been appreciated, even if it was just to cut down on Martin's sarcastic commentary. It also would have been nice to share such a massive discovery with someone who understood the implications.
Which were only starting to dawn upon Creon.
Sarah sat silently in the glass room. She looked as if she had been frozen in time. She rarely blinked, but when she did, all the power in the room went out for a moment.
Within her, the Light One waited.
Of that, Creon was sure.
Chapter Twenty
The Lords of Death arrived first, wearing sweeping gowns and robes, dressed in the finest clothes of their societies and cultures, appearing like dreams in the pearly-white confines of the spire's courtroom.
The room was a new and beautiful marvel of Rasputina's imagination. The walls seemed to have been formed from conch shells, their smooth silvery-pink glimmer catching the light from the cand
les in the room and casting it in new and interesting configurations.
The lords of death sat on elevated chairs that floated near a circular table. Around the table were six seats, five for the DGA, Rasputina, and Grok.
Another single chair faced the triangular double doors. That was where the Dark One would sit.
Terra and the rest of the DGA had arrived a little after Rasputina. The lich’s butler Bennington had personally come to collect Terra and led her to the rooms of the rest of the DGA agents. They woke them up one at a time and brought them to the main chamber.
Bennington had seemed sullen to Terra, although he was hard to read. She was surprised the butler was back in Rasputina’s service. The last time she'd seen him, he was obstinate about keeping Grok away from Rasputina. Whatever problem had existed must have been put aside for the current situation.
Once the DGA had been led to the chamber, Bennington busied himself taking care of the lords, providing them with exquisite food he pulled out of the ether.
Rasputina had leaned over to explain it was customary in hell to show respect to the lords. Even if this wasn't their domain, they were still considered a form of astral royalty there.
When Bennington was done serving the lords, he moved on to serving the DGA while Hades cracked jokes about not eating any of the food.
Terra stared uneasily at the delicious-looking plate of fresh fruit in front of her. "What's he talking about?" she asked
Rasputina waved away Terra's concerns. "An old joke among gods."
Abby picked up a grape and plopped it into her mouth. "Hades tricked his wife into getting stuck in the Underworld by giving her food. Her name was Persephone."
Rasputina took a piece of bread and spread butter on it. "Those rules do not apply here, so enjoy. This may be our last meal, after all." She chuckled.
No one else did.
The doors of the chamber opened and Grimnir stepped in, his mask devoid of any facial expression.
Bennington rushed over to him and bowed politely before guiding the small child to his chair, which lowered and then raised of its own accord to accommodate his stature.
Anubis stood and raised his hands. "Now that the Grimnir is present, we can begin."
One of the lords at Anubis' side, a cloaked figure with the rotting head of an ox, snickered. "The best the Dark One can do is to send one of his avatars? He doesn’t even have the respect to show up in person?"
A smile spread across Grimnir's mask. "Are you challenging me, Nous?"
The god Nous leaned forward and grinned. "What does it sound like to you?"
"Unlike you, my form is far too powerful to be held within one vessel. It would be indecent for me to present myself as such in front of you, but if you have any doubts about my power..."
The boy casually slapped the air in front of him. Across the room, an invisible force struck Nous' head, cracking it on the table in front of him. His skull shattered, sending the insides splattering across his plate.
Nous lay dead on the table.
Rasputina sighed and shook her head. "Bennington, would you please attend to that?" Then she turned to the DGA, who were aghast at what had happened and said, "Old law of hell. If anyone issues a formal challenge of power, the challenger and the challenged have a right to settle the matter to the death. Nous was probably hoping to end this quickly and go back to whatever he had planned for the day. Now he’s dead, and unless he has a strong group of followers to resurrect him, we have lost a lord today."
Anubis cast an indifferent glance at Nous' corpse while Bennington cleaned up the mess. "As we all know, we are gathered today to speak of the potential vow between the mortals and the Dark One. Have you read through the articles of the vow, Grimnir?"
Grimnir shook his head. "No, not yet."
Rasputina waved her hand and conjured the document in front of Grimnir, who leaned forward to read it.
Grimnir nodded and leaned back in his chair. "It all seems to be in order. My only issue is that I feel we haven’t exhausted all of our options. I suggest we bring the Light One into this."
The lords all looked at each other. "How do you propose we summon one of the most powerful entities in existence?"
Grimnir jumped out of his seat. "Here I was, thinking you would never ask. Allow me."
Rasputina tensed in her seat. "He can't bring her here. There's no way."
Most of the arcane subtleties were lost on Terra, but she knew the Light One hadn't been able to summon the Dark One. Was he strong enough to summon her?
Grimnir got out of his chair and took a few steps forward. He traced a circle in the air before rapidly scrawling a series of sigils, fire appearing in the lines. When he was done, he pressed his hand to the middle of the circle, and the foundations of the Citadel trembled. There was a bright flash of light.
Sarah stood before the council. Her eyes were bright and flashing with the power of the Light One, and her hair was swirling as if it were made of flames.
Anabelle jumped to her feet. "What is Sarah—"
Sarah turned to face Grimnir. "I am here to speak to the Dark One."
Anabelle slowly sat back down. “I'm not going to act like I understand what's happening."
Grimnir slightly bowed his head. "I figured since we're discussing things that concern you, we might as well have you in the room. Long time, no see. How have you been enjoying nearly infinite power?"
Sarah whirled to face Grimnir, white fire burning from her hands. "You have created a severe imbalance by cutting off the valve of the Netherverse, and do not try to blame the mortals for turning the valve in hell. That was hardly a—"
Grimnir raised his hands. "Understood. But that is not the topic currently at hand."
The fire in Sarah's eyes cooled. "Speak. Quickly."
"The ladies and I have come to an agreement. They will swear loyalty to me, and I will turn the valve back on. Then I will leave this universe for good. You'll finally get your precious balance back. How does that sound?"
"I do not care how it is done," Sarah growled, her voice growing deeper as she spoke. "Fix it."
Terra was on her feet before she realized it. Rasputina glared at her, but then her face softened. "Uh, excuse me," Terra started. "Sarah, or the Light One. What if we opened the valve?"
Sarah turned around as Grimnir hissed. "Speak."
"We were going to make a vow with the Dark One to save our universe, but only because we couldn't talk to you. But now you're here, and we've done the whole Netherverse thing before, and we could do it again. Our only problem is that asshole standing behind you. What if we made a vow that was something like, we turn the valve back on, fix the problem, and you vow to keep the Dark One out of our universe and any other universes he wants to conquer?"
Grimnir stepped forward to say something, but the Light One raised her hand. Surprisingly, the boy stopped in his tracks, looking up at the Light One before stepping back.
"Interesting," the Light One said. "There is a problem, though. Starting the valve requires a level of pain tolerance I do not believe many mortals are capable of, much like holding my power. This vessel is the only one I have seen thus far. Perhaps it would work if you could find mortals who are trained in the Path of Pain. They should—"
Terra's eyes widened with surprise. "Are you serious? We totally already have that down. Three of us know the Path of the Lost. Check it out." She flexed, her eyes blazing white as she slipped into the Path of the Lost. "If Sarah could learn it, we can too. Probably wouldn't take much time."
The Light One stroked her chin as she thought. "That would be a more convenient vow, and I could deal with this mischievous imp once and for all. You are aware of how vows in this plane work, correct? If you were to fail, I would have no choice but to rip out your universe to maintain balance."
Terra looked at Anabelle and Rasputina, who nodded. "Yeah, we got a pretty good handle on how these things work."
"And what of the Dark One?"
> Anabelle cleared her throat. "You're pretty powerful. Could you keep him off of our backs until we finish the job?"
The Light One glanced at the boy. "I believe I will be able to keep the imp entertained. Stay. I will not tolerate your tricks today, Grimnir."
Grimnir crossed his arms and sat back in his seat.
The Light One approached the DGA. "Let us work out the final details."
Abby slipped Terra a high five under the table. "That was some quick thinking."
Terra winked at Abby. "Gotta try and keep up with the rest of you nerds."
Anabelle stood as the Light One approached. "Consider yourself kept up. I'm interested to know what this new Path is as well."
Before the Light One could reach the table, a high-pitched scream broke the silence. The Light One looked over her shoulder at the source.
Grimnir had fallen forward, and he was clutching his neck as blood spurted from it. The wound was glowing with a golden aura. He crawled forward, his mask clattering on the ground. Behind Grimnir stood Bennington, holding one of Rasputina's bone daggers.
The Light One whirled back around. "What is the meaning of this?"
Rasputina was on her feet as the lords of death opened a portal and fled. "That was not our doing!" the lich shouted.
As she approached Bennington, the husk of flesh threw up a magical barrier before grabbing Grimnir and jamming the blade farther into the child's body. He pulled at the flesh, separating the wound and tearing it wider. He shoved his arm down into Grimnir's body.
"NO!" the lich shouted.
The magical barrier exploded, throwing Rasputina backward and knocking the Light One over.
Bennington forced his whole arm into Grimnir's body, the pale child's form expanding to make room, Bennington's fingers and knuckles visible through the child's skin.
Grimnir tried to crawl forward as Bennington continued to tear into him, shoving more and more of his body into the boy’s.
