She glances at the emissary, swirling impatiently, and holds my eyes. “Free us. I’m not afraid of Mordenn anymore. I, at least, am with you whether you bind me or not.” Kumiko moves to my side.
Theriss follows, and Freya. Finna, Meridiana, Callista. Etain strides to us like the warrior-queen she is.
Crispin gives me an encouraging nod.
I face the messenger. “The Artifacts have asked to be freed. I honor their wish.”
It closes a hand around Esmanth’s soul like smoke blotting out the sun. I panic all over again as her light disappears.
It’s just for now, just for the moment.
“Your bargain is struck. Free the eighth artifact, and the girl is yours.”
It disappears from the garden on a vulgar sucking sound.
“His punishment for killing Maeve was swift,” spits Theriss.
She’s not wrong, but I don’t think it’s that straightforward. “He would have taken Esmanth eventually, once the Oryllix discovered who I was.” I wonder how Iden and Mynogin are taking all of this? Probably from the cold reaches of Helheim, by now. “Do you feel different?” I ask. The women shake their heads. “Me either. So, he’s changed the rules, but not our ability to play the game.”
Etain grins. “Mistake number one.”
Crispin steps forward, and I can’t imagine him looking more godlike, more warlike than he does now. “I can tell you his second mistake…” He lays a palm on the twin lions of my cuirass. “He’s chosen his own destruction, the Pantheon’s next god of war.”
“God of what?” I ask in unison with the others. I must have heard him wrong. “My sister. My kingdom…” My reputation for showing up to lessons half-drunk and smelling like a woman. My general history of lacking dependability. I’m not especially noble, forget godly.
“No one has ever completed a temple, freed all of the imprisoned artifacts. When you have, when you achieve the culmination of their powers, and yours…”
I can’t find words to answer.
Crispin claps my shoulder. “Get your rest, Tamlir. It’s time you begin your training as my successor.”
Hey!
Here we are - installment number four! Thanks for following my serial. I appreciate your time and feedback, and respectfully ask one last favor: that you leave an honest review. Your thoughts help me write the stories you want to read, and a rating helps others find great books. (Goodreads doesn’t always cross-post, so a copy-paste to Amazon would be wonderful).
You can review it here.
Temple of Cocidius was originally intended as a five-week, five-part serial, but reader feedback agreed it was too short. So, editions have become fuller and for the sake of good storytelling, weekly deadlines were moved (which is fine, because writing this has been ridiculous fun and I wasn’t in a hurry to finish).
Huge thanks to all of you for being patient with an extra few weeks. Hopefully it was worth the wait! The fifth and final installment of our accidental hero should be out by the end of November (2018!).
Thanks again for reading. If you’d like some occasional updates about new releases, and free content including short stories, early access, and teaser chapters, please sign up for my mailing list. I don’t spam, and I try not to bug you more than 4-6 times a year. Yay.
-Maxx
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Temple of Cocidius - Book 4 Page 12
