by Bryant Reil
“Where? Why? What happened? Where’s Eunoe and Aspen?”
“At the wedding. Come on.”
Sophrosyne pulled Kyla toward the chained gate, but Kyla twisted her arm free and pulled away. “The wedding? It’s still happening?”
“Yes. Ukko cares more about consolidating power than Calam’s innocence or guilt. I’d have told you, if you’d bother to consult me. Or take off that stupid necklace so I can see what you’re doing.”
Kyla’s mouth moved as it sought for words, but finding nothing, she clamped it shut and stared at Sophrosyne to await further instruction.
The goddess of night walked toward the chained gate and peered at the lock. She turned to Zen. “Why don’t you work on getting that open?”
Zen nodded and reached for a small pouch at his waist, from which he drew a pair of small metal prods and knelt in front of the gate.
Sophrosyne turned back to Kyla. “Sventali has ordered his reserves to return home. No one I’ve encountered knows why, but you will need to hurry to Ja’ava to recover the final stone before it is overrun with troops.”
“Who? What?”
“There is a stone in Ja’ava, the demons’ capital city. It will be easier to retrieve now than after the reserves return home.”
Kyla’s head raced as it tried to piece together Sophrosyne’s words. She had heard of Ja’ava but had no idea where it was.
Herleif stepped forward. “She can’t come with me. I shall find the stone.”
“No. You’ll need her. Zen, too.”
Zen turned back from his work with a gasp.
Kyla, still in her bridesmaid’s dress, which she doubted would ever be clean again, stretched her arms behind her until she felt a comforting pop. “Why do we need it? We have enough. No one can put them back together. It’s better if they don’t get back together, if you ask me. No one can re-create the spell.”
“Exactly. But remember the spell works both ways. What if someone finds another way to awaken Chaos? You can bet there are angry Avowed working on it. I need the spell to put him back to sleep.”
There was a clank, and Kyla spun to see the lock on the ground and the gate slowly creak open. Zen stood and stretched his arms behind his back before tucking his tools back in his belt.
“Herleif knows the way. The stone is somewhere in Sventali’s palace. I shall return to Aeolis. I have as yet been unable to wipe Calam or Ukko’s mind of your outburst, and word of what you did is spreading. I may not be able to contain it.”
Kyla jumped as she saw Sophrosyne evanesce into a blue-white smoke that dissipated into the air. The smell of moonflowers was even stronger than before, and for a few precious seconds overpowered the stench, though she had little time to enjoy it before her nostrils recaptured the vile essence of sewage. Herleif tipped his hat and waved for her and Zen to follow him out of the gate.
***
A gust of wind whipped Marik’s scarf over his shoulder and blasted dust and dirt into the air as Calam materialized.
“How was the wedding?” Marik smiled and extended his wrist, but Calam did not accept it. Marik had never met Calam. He knew him only by name. It was a brilliant stroke of luck the air spirit had married Aura, else Marik would never have tracked him down.
He didn’t seem to want to talk about the wedding. “My stone was stolen. Kyla Nim has it. I hear you know the elf. I shall pay for her head.”
“I can get you the stone. I’m not inclined to take her head. Friend of her family, you see. But there is another stone. I’m sure she’ll go after it, so I’ll need to retrieve it before she does.”
“Is she collecting them?”
“She has been, yes.”
“Then I certainly want her dead. I shall have her killed regardless of your affiliation. Don’t get in my way.”
Marik held up his hands, palms out. “Hey, family friend or not, I can negotiate.”
“Why do you seek it?”
“You must be new at this. Secret meetings tend to have a no-questions-asked policy.”
Wind whirled around Calam’s legless form. “Very well. It is in the Palace in Ja’ava. Lord Sventali protected the stone. I do not know if he still has it. I shall pay you four thousand crowns for Kyla’s stone, and another six thousand for Sventali’s, as I imagine it will be the more difficult to claim. You are aware Sventali has declared martial law?”
“I wasn’t. No matter. Might work to my advantage.” Marik grinned. There was no way Calam would pay as much as he had offered, which meant he intended to kill Marik when the job was over. “Do you know where in the palace I might find the stone?”
“I do not. I met Sventali only once, and I have never been to Ja’ava. I was not privy to his business, nor he to mine.”
“Maybe a map?”
“That will cost.”
“Never mind, then. How do I contact you when I find it?”
“I will contact you.”
Marik smiled and bowed. “Very well. I suppose I should head out. Don’t care to have anyone see us together.”
***
“Bremnos, come with me.”
Bremnos stood at attention as Oberon zapped into the library. His heart beat, as his present thoughts were evaluating his own loyalty to the King.
Bremnos followed as the King waved him out the door. Oberon grew to his full size, which he seldom did, and handed Bremnos an axe. The wooded haft was supple and strong, and supported with metal rings to reduce splitting. The head was gold with a black edge.
“A gift,” Oberon said as he handed the axe to Bremnos. “For services about to be rendered.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. For what—”
“Don’t thank me. You haven’t heard what I need. You are to tell no one what happens, and once it is over, you are released from your service to High Haven. Your belongings are already back in Kulgoth.”
“But—”
“Now hold still.”
Bremnos had no opportunity to object as Oberon placed a hand on his shoulder. The world tightened and Bremnos found himself hurtling through whatever magical medium the fairies used for their teleportation magic. It expanded again with a bounce. Always disorienting.
They were underground, in front of a channel of magma. Burning refuse floated along the surface of the molten rock, which gurgled and bubbled as it eased its way through the underbelly of whatever demon city they were currently beneath.
“I need to retrieve something from the bottom of this channel,” Oberon said. “It will take all my magic to survive, but I will be gravely hurt. You need to cut my head off once I have accomplished this.”
“What!” Bremnos bellowed. “Are you mad? No offense, Your Majesty.”
“Perhaps I am, but I am not ignorant of your skepticism to my actions lately. Skepticism that is well-placed. The High Seer has sent me on a path, and I have chosen to take it. This is my final command, though I also leave you with a piece of advice: arm your people and prepare for the worst. High Haven will be your ally no longer.”
Bremnos stepped back. “You are not Oberon! He would never break ties with the Kulgoth! Who are you, foul thing?”
“It is me, Bremnos. And I do not break ties but warn you they need to be broken. The world is nearing its breaking point and I do what I must to preserve it. So does Titania, though she does not know that I have seen her end. We both sacrifice to save the world we have fought to preserve. But there will be devastation, for a time, and you need to prepare your people.”
Bremnos’ legs shook, and he had to sit on the stone walkway along the channel. “Kill you? For what? I need answers!”
Oberon shook his head. “I have few to offer. I act in trust of the High Seer, who has searched for years for a better solution. He has found none, and time grows short. The axe will teleport you out of here when we are done. Think of the place you wish to go and say ‘Kulgoth masalka’. Now be ready.”
Bremnos continued to tremble and watched in horror as the King dove in
to the magma. Blue sparks circled his body as he dropped into the searing molten rock. His blue and black wings burned off and fell flat on the surface, twirling in an eddy in the corner.
After a few seconds he surface. His hair was gone, and skin looked like it was melting. He threw a small black marble onto the stone.
“Leave it there!” he gurgled. “Kill me now!”
Bremnos’ soldier instincts carried him to his feet. This was madness. How could he kill his own King?
But Oberon, were this truly he, was going to die anyway. Why had he gotten Bremnos involved in this mess?
“Now!” Oberon shouted, and a spark of blue lightning spurred Bremnos into action.
Bremnos swung, and he felt his heart, his mind, his soul rip as the King’s head flew from his shoulders and landed in the molten soup. Blood sizzled as it gushed onto the surface of the rolling magma.
He stood silently for several minutes, his head bowed and body dripping with sweat. He momentarily thought of throwing himself into the magma, for it seemed a suitable punishment for one who killed his King, but instead he chose to follow Oberon’s final orders. He gripped the axe and muttered the words he had been taught.
“Kulgoth masalka.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Magmanimous
Red light ebbed over the streets of Ja’ava from canals of magma throughout the city. It offered an eerie visibility, as well as welcome warmth, as the subterranean depths felt otherwise chilly.
Saul saw pedestrians dump waste into the channels, which hissed and burned. A handy incinerator. Some of them glared at him. He doubted they saw many visitors here.
The city was well-planned on a simple concentric grid with the great palace at the center. The engineer in Saul appreciated the symmetry and efficiency of the design, but the artist in him found it cliché.
The buildings were narrow and tall, reaching through the darkness above. Saul had no idea how far up they went. The distant ceiling over the city served as a starless sky and made Ja’ava feel infinitely large.
Lili walked stiffly beside him. She was often angry, and usually depressed, but Saul had seldom seen her as sad as on the trip down to her home city. She hadn’t even commented on the armor he had made from Eunoe’s donated chitin.
“You know what?” he said as he tapped the armpiece. “I bet I could make some of this for your whole unit. Lighter than metal, and more comfortable. Tough to work but I bet Eunoe could customize the sizes for any interested parties. And you have to admit I know how to make it look awesome.”
Lili’s only response was a brief sideways glance.
“I could probably join your unit as a contractor. I’m no soldier but the army needs engineers and strategists, right?” Of course, he didn’t know exactly who the demons were fighting yet, but he supposed it didn’t matter. Who did he have in his life to worry about aside from Lili?
“Here.” Lili finally spoke, pointing to a metal gate. Two demons stood at attention on either side. They nodded at Lili, but their eyes fixed on Saul and never left him.
“This is your folks’ place?” Saul asked. “How…industrial. And fortified. Safe place to raise children.”
“Barracks,” she replied as she walked past the guards and pushed open the metal gate. “I have to report in.”
Saul nodded. As they stepped inside the dim lighting served to make the chiselled faces staring at him even more horrifying.
“Nice day, all!” he waved.
Lili smacked him in the side with the back of her hand.
A demoness at a desk stood as Lili approached. “Hakov wo’a denadrin?” Her voice crackled and smelled of brimstone.
“I am Linima Goj, daughter of Hiv Goj and Asz, daughter of Kilit. This is Saul. He’ll be, uh, staying with my parents.”
The demoness looked back and forth between Saul and Lili. “Your parents have permitted this?”
“Well, not yet. They will. Why not?”
Saul caught a hint of tremor in Lili’s voice.
The demoness at the desk frowned. “He cannot stay with your parents. Please wait.” She glanced at the guards and gave a subtle nod. They nodded in reply and stood to block the exit. Saul hadn’t even noticed them follow him inside.
Tension closed in like brick walls. Saul offered the guards a grin. “So, you like working here?”
Neither replied.
“I’m…uh, I’ve never been here before. Nice city. Surprised there aren’t more tourists. Gem of the Underground, they should call it. Sapphire of the Underworld. No, ruby. Duh. Because all the magma gives it that red glow, am I right? Not eerie at all.”
Lili’s tail wrapped around his lower left leg and her voice snapped. “Saul, shut up.”
He nodded.
After a few minutes the demoness returned. Her lips were stretched across her face, but her eyes were expressionless. Saul had both seen and crafted enough fake smiles to recognize this one.
“Linima, you are to report to Commander Gat. Your, uh, boyfriend? will be escorted to special housing. Outsiders may not wander until the containment order is rescinded.”
Lili exhaled and nodded. “Okay. Sure. How long do you expect that to take?”
“Report to the Commander.”
“I will, but where—”
“The Commander is waiting for you. The satyr will be escorted to his quarters.”
Lili, her face stern but legs shaking, smiled and gave Saul a tender caress with her tail as she followed the demoness’ direction through a door on the wall on the right. A heavy hand fell on Saul’s shoulder.
“Come.”
The guard’s breath was sour. Saul passed along a fake smile. “I have a feeling I’m not getting the special guest treatment, am I?”
The guard’s face didn’t break. “You’re still alive. That’s as special as it gets.”
***
Kyla had experience being underground, and as dull and closed-in as it was, she was becoming accustomed. Yet Herleif wouldn’t let her use her light orb for fear of them being spotted, so they walked along a river of magma, keeping behind the jagged rocks that loomed precariously over the roiling flow.
“I don’t see why we couldn’t just take a boat,” Kyla groaned. “I’ve taken magma boats before. They’re not that bad.”
Herleif looked back over his shoulder. “We need to remain hidden. But you are right. We don’t have time to make the journey on foot.”
“Are you sure we couldn’t just take a portal? Could’ve snuck in.”
“We don’t have the address to Ja’ava.”
“Sophrosyne could have read someone’s mind and got it.”
Herleif stopped and whipped around. “Well, she didn’t, so stop whining. Besides, do you think the portals of Ja’ava are unguarded? You’d be run through as soon as you emerged.”
Zen, himself looking weary from the march, stopped and stretched and smiled. His hair was strung about every-which-way, and in parts clung to his sleeves. It was like he had just rolled out of bed.
She would enjoy seeing that, she thought, before reprimanding herself. Focus. Sophrosyne planted him here.
“I think we could get ourselves a boat easily enough,” Kyla suggested. “Next one passes, Herleif can freeze them and we take over. Sail down as far as it’s safe.”
Herleif peered out from an outcropping and looked up and down the river of magma. “Yes. We’ll need to keep a careful eye for checkpoints. Bound to be guarded.”
Kyla sat on the flattest stone she could find. “Can’t you just freeze any guards when we pass by?”
“Yes, but if they see us before I’m in range, they’ll raise the alarm. They may also raise the alarm if the boat we steal doesn’t arrive on time.”
Kyla ran her hand through her purse, but sadly, no food had magically appeared since her last look. “We could…um…not freeze one of the crew. You know. Make him help us.”
“Why would he help us? Cost him his life, if he were found out.”
>
“Well, we just need to make him more scared of us than he is of that.”
Herleif stared at her silently before speaking. “You wouldn’t kill bandits, but you want to torture some shipman?”
“No! I never said torture. We don’t have to hurt him. Just, you know, convince him to help us.”
Herleif shook his head. Kyla’s stomach churned at the familiar look of someone who didn’t take her seriously. She leaped to her feet.
“Look, hurting people isn’t the only way to get what you want, you know? I saved the world, you know, and I hardly had to hurt anybody. I mean, I hurt Linkin, a little. Dunkin, too, but actually that was the pig. I guess I left him wounded, but he was trying to kill me. I guess I did drop that metal thing on his head in the Withers’ shed. Oh, and I kicked a human’s knee out, but he was coming at me. But mostly, I haven’t hurt anyone!” She held back that she had wanted to kill Mokosh, and only didn’t because Heff beat her to it.
“You destroyed the Digan chief and usurped the throne of the ciguapa queen.”
“Well, yeah. I don’t think I hurt the chief, though, just took him apart. And a fire spirit killed the queen.”
“You benefitted from violence, whether you committed it or not. You are complicit.”
Kyla looked at Zen for help, but he just held up his hands. “I’m not judging, and I’m happy to try it your way. We’ll keep one of the crew unfrozen. The friendliest one.”
“Fools,” Handrin muttered. “Do as you will. After this mission, I’m rid of both of you.”
Kyla, feeling victorious, clambered up a rock and lay on her stomach, her eyes fixed up river. “I’ll take first watch.”
***
Aspen extended her stride to keep up with Eunoe, who in turn was struggling to keep up with Aura who was leaving the wedding with cold determination and without, notably, the groom. Aspen kept her eyes on the floor ahead, as Eunoe wasn’t watching and they were apt to run out of floor soon.
“It doesn’t have to be now. After the honeymoon. Just come on over.” Eunoe’s voice was sharp.
Aura’s voice was cold. “I do not know when I will be able to see you. Leave me be.”
