“Regina’s is the face that will compel armies to march.”
“Broken nose and all.”
“It adds character.”
“I envy you,” Ketra said, looking over at the guardians as we passed underneath them. “Truly.”
“Do you?”
“I had a fiancé before the massacre. I thought he loved me, but when Whitehall was destroyed, I found out he was the first to denounce me.”
“Perhaps he feared for his life.”
“Then he was a coward. Death or dishonor is a poor choice, but it’s still a choice.”
She had a point there. It didn’t mean that mercy was not an option, though. “Regina doesn’t believe in honor.”
“No, she simply lives it. What do you think about honor?”
“I think honor is less important than good but it is easy to be the latter without having the courage of your convictions.”
“Are you a man of honor?”
“I am a man of conviction. Honor is something determined by society. It can be taken away by others. Good cannot.”
“And who determines good?”
“I do. So do you. It is the responsibility the beings above the Gods Above, Between, and Below give us all. That each of us chooses what is good and bad from our own minds.”
“That is going in the book,” Regina said, behind me.
Regina was wearing a fur-trim white coat and a pair of thick linen pants with Starlight sheathed beside her, its scabbard a great deal less ornate than usual. Regina was dressing down for the occasion but little could do to disguise her impressive beauty. Or maybe, as Ketra seemed to think, I was letting my feelings for her influence my decision.
“When did you come in?” I asked.
“Enough to hear my broken nose adds character.”
“Ah.”
“Also that I could compel armies to march.” Regina took her place by my side. “Have you seen Serah?”
“No,” I said. “I’ve just been enjoying the company of your cousin.”
“You had best keep the King Blow on a short leash,” Ketra said. “The negotiations with Winterholme’s nobility will be delicate.”
Regina gazed down, her voice low. “Learn manners when speaking to those you ask favors.”
Ketra looked stricken.
We passed through a pair of mountainous cliffs, each covered in thousands upon thousands of carved names. They were the Cliffs of Heroes, containing the names of all those who had died fighting for Kerifas against the King Below’s forces. They were sacred and yet, after each war, the King Below had obliterated them only for new names to be carved in their place. Candles and offerings were at the base of the monument, many altars erected to the Lawgiver and shrines.
And yet, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of emptiness and loss radiating from them.
As if the honor accorded to such a symbol no longer meant as much as it should.
The Ghostly Runner continued to pull past many other ships, past a giant chain attached to huge arcane mechanisms that could block off the harbor from being fled. There were many towers of watchmen rising from the harbor and cannon positions. I’d thought the empire’s paranoia about the city was excessive from a distance.
Now I knew they intended to kill this city.
They were just waiting for the command.
Chapter Seventeen
The smell of the harbor assaulted the senses and I took a moment to enjoy the scent of being amongst human civilization once more. There was the smell of rotting fish, offal thrown from buildings not connected to the town’s sewer system, sweat, and a hundred other unpleasant smells which, nevertheless, felt more comforting to me than the sterile pleasantness of the Far North.
A quick look at them told me the populace was angry, resentful, and heavily armed. Surveying the docks, I saw three fights about to break out, two in progress, and a man bleeding from a stab wound in an alleyway. The humans were divided into G’Tay, Winterholme, Imperials, Gael, and Indaras. There were even a few merchant-caste Natariss wearing their queer robes, exotic body art, and shaved heads. None of them were intermixing, which was odd in a port city as established as Kerifas.
The situation got worse when Captain Vass went ashore and almost drew his sword due to the harbormaster wanting him to dock elsewhere due to this being human territory. I was going to intervene, but the issue was swiftly resolved with an exchange of silver. Racism and xenophobia were truisms throughout the Four Continents, but there were few forces stronger than greed.
“Not a terribly cosmopolitan city, is it?” Regina said, looking it over.
“The refugee situation hasn’t been helping it,” Ketra said, staring outward. “Many people are being relocated and moved to different parts of the continent. It’s meant to break down the national barriers and restructure things so they identify as Imperials rather than one of the twelve Southern Kingdoms.”
“It was forty-eight in my day,” I said, staring. “Relocation will not lead to peace, though, or a breaking down of barriers. All it means is that the people horrifically wronged by the government who believe they have lost their rightful lands are now concentrated together.”
“You’re right. The Golden Arrow kills a hundred Imperials a week in Fireforge,” Captain Vass said, returning to the deck. “‘Drive the humans from the Motherland!’ ‘Fireforge is for Fir Bolg!’ So many stupid slogans. Never mind the Imperials have been there for two centuries and aren’t leaving anytime soon.”
“There are far more soldiers here than peacekeeping requires,” Regina said, watching a patrol of gold-and-red-armored soldiers march by. “They’re also wrongly positioned for defending the city from invasion.”
“Perhaps they are preparing to invade the North,” Captain Vass suggested. “If so, the empire will impress tens of thousands of workers, soldiers, and sailors like they have done in so many other lands. They may fear riots.”
I have a more disturbing theory, Serah’s voice said in my mind. Above our heads a raven circled before setting down beside us. It transformed into a living shadow that morphed into the beautiful form of my wife.
“Where have you been?” I asked. “Also, what’s your theory?”
“I’ve been scouting the city for the past hour. I decided to go on ahead to make sure everything was safe.” Serah kept her gaze from Regina and instead looked directly at me. “Things are not well in the city. I believe the Imperials may be planning to trigger an uprising in the city.”
I stared. “What?”
Captain Vass gazed appreciatively at Serah’s form before shaking his head. “I am no stranger to Imperial tyranny, but I have never thought the Nine to be insane. Killing their own people for no reason is a bit beyond them. They are fanatics and religious lunatics, a kind I know well, but even they tend to draw the line at senseless slaughter. At least of those they haven’t judged infidels.”
“They are smuggling weapons into the city,” Serah said, frowning. “Quite a lot of them, and I’ve read the minds of many people. They have been spreading propaganda that the Black Sun and his queens will come and liberate this city.”
I looked at Ketra. “Your doing?”
“Yes,” Ketra said. “But they—”
“The Imperials know,” Serah said, frowning. “I have read it in the minds of the guardsmen. They don’t know much but they have been told to let it fester. I believe they are going to massacre this city, blame it on us, and use it as casus belli.”
“Excuse me?” Vass said.
“An Old Human word from the Terralan’s surviving tomes,” I said. “It means a reason for provoking or causing a war.”
“Why would the Imperials need a reason for war against us?” Regina asked, blinking. “We’re the…well, the villains.”
Ketra and Serah sniggered a bit at her terminology. I understood her thinking, though. We were, after all, the heads of the Shadowkind races. The Lightborn species had been trying to wipe them out and vice versa since t
he death of the Gods Between.
“To the majority of the world, the King Below is dead and is staying that way,” Serah said. “The threat of the North is coinage with no value. There are few ways of uniting a divided set of nations than through a common threat, though. If Jacob will not invade the South then perhaps they believe they need to give him a push.”
Captain Vass laughed. It was a deep, throaty belly laugh. “You’re not evil enough for your enemies! Gorgeous.”
“I’m glad you’re amused.” I looked between them. “Well, aren’t they in for a surprise when I do invade. Playing right into their hands.”
Serah looked guilty. “It seems I may not be quite as good at the games of kings as I thought I was.”
“I’m a game piece in this?” Ketra asked, stunned. “They’ve been using our rebellion?” She looked like someone had punched her.
“In politics, you are always either player or piece,” Regina echoed my thoughts. “Do we have much time until the city explodes into violence?”
“No,” Serah said. “The question is now whether this meeting should still take place given we know it’s just a set up for the Nine to eliminate their enemies.”
“Never overestimate your enemies any more than you underestimate them,” I said, rubbing my chin. “I sincerely doubt they expected the actual King Below to get involved in their plot and the assassination of Ketra for trying to do so was sincere. We’re also assuming a great deal. I wouldn’t be surprised if the plans of the Nine are less…evil.”
“Now who’s overestimating them?” Serah said, sighing. “We need to decide what our next move is.”
“It seems obvious to me,” Regina said. “Save the city from destruction.”
Serah laughed then realized Regina was serious. “Oh Gods Below…”
“I agree with Regina. We must not allow ourselves to become the monsters they wish to turn us into.”
One of the things I’d discovered about the King Below and King Above’s relationship was that the former had ever been loyal to the latter. He’d served as a catspaw and lightning rod to force the various nations to unite against his evils.
People prayed harder if there was a physical embodiment of evil to contrast the Lawgiver against. I didn’t know how this event related to Morrigan the Lesser’s prophecy but I couldn’t help but think they were better prepared for this war than I was.
Of course they are, the Trickster said. The Lawgiver and his minions truly believe a utopia can be achieved and are willing to burn the world to ashes to do so. The sooner you accept your enemies are more ruthless than you, the better.
And if I did, what would your solution be?
Become more ruthless, the Trickster replied. Because you can survive being a monster. The dead tell no tales.
I am unliving proof to the contrary.
“You still want to meet with the Jarls?” Ketra asked, her expression uneven. “Gewain is trustworthy; you must believe me.”
“I do,” I said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Regina could never love someone who was not good at heart.”
Serah made a noncommittal noise behind me.
I shot her a glare.
“We will meet with the Jarls as well as those who want the city to spill out into violence,” I said, a plan forming in my head.
“Then what?” Regina said.
“You do what you do best and take control over them,” I said, pointing to the dragons flying above. “We take care of those and then kill every Imperial soldier in the city who resists. We make the streets run red with blood and we give them the war they think they wanted…before winning it with mercy.”
This was where my plan would become a hard sell.
“You lost me at the last bit,” Vass said.
Serah and Regina, though, were paying attention.
“You don’t treat captured soldiers with respect because you are good but so the other side is inclined to do the same,” I said, explaining basic military logic. “If we show the world we are not demons then we can break the enemy’s will to fight and finally cause the Nine to fall to their doom.”
“I object to any battle strategy that begins with the premise of winning through peace and love,” Serah said, pausing. “But I know the alternative.”
“I’m all for this plan,” Regina said, patting the pommel of her sword. “I’m also not going to abandon Gewain in his hour of need. There’s nothing in this city I fear.”
“I’m actually terrified of dragons when they’re trying to kill me,” Serah said, pausing. “But I’ll do anything to earn your forgiveness.”
“Don’t fuck up again,” Regina said, her gaze hard then softening. “I’ve lost too many to lose you, too.”
“Done,” Serah replied, before walking over and kissing her.
Regina kissed back, the two holding on to one another in a passionate embrace.
Ketra grimaced while Vass grinned.
“So where are we meet to with Gewain and the nobles he’s arranged for us to see?” I asked, feeling uneasy about this whole thing. If they hadn’t intended for Ketra to fetch us, it meant we were a new player in their game. Hellsword and Redhand would probably accelerate their plans here, whatever they were.
Then again, dead was dead, soon or long term.
“Rose has instructions to watch the harbor for our arrival,” Ketra said, sighing. “I wasn’t expected to leave on a stolen dragon after all. If not we’re going to meet him and the Golden Arrow leader, Kana, at the Wild Goat Inn.”
“Kana Shattershield?” Vass interrupted.
“Yes,” Ketra said, blinking. “Do you know her?”
Vass looked between me, Serah, and Regina. The latter two of which had finally stopped kissing.
“She is dangerous like a viper,” Vass said, his voice low. “Beautiful like the fallen snow but deadly like a blizzard. Do not let honeyed words sway you to actions you…will regret.”
“I have enough regret for a thousand lifetimes,” I said, now understanding how he knew so much about the Golden Arrow.
“Do not forget you are a god of hope now,” Regina said, walking over. “Come on, let us go speak with my cousin.”
“That may be difficult,” a voice spoke from the side of the docks and I worried we’d been perhaps a bit too indiscreet with our conversations.
At the side of the Ghostly Runner was a curious-looking pair. The first was a handsome man with the features of a High Human of old like Serah. He had a shaved head but a well-trimmed goatee, sparkling black eyes, rich-chocolate skin, and a square heroic jawline. The man was dressed in a luxurious fashion with dragonskin shoes, blue silk pants, a purple tunic of shimmer-thread covered in an illusion pattern of dragons fighting, and a wide-brimmed purple hat with a gryphon feather. Noticeably, he was unarmed, which seemed unwise in this sort of environment, especially along with his prominent display of wealth.
The second figure was a statuesque Fir Bolg woman with light-blue skin, silver-white hair, angular eyes like Midori’s, and standing just over six feet in height. Because she was a woman, she lacked the horns of a Fir Bolg male, but instead had doe-like ears that were cute rather than off-putting. The woman was the very opposite of a religious fundamentalist in appearance, given her breasts were barely bound in a white wrap that left a plunging neckline down past her bellybutton before joining with a too-short leather skirt. In her right hand was a charm- and feather-covered staff with a tiny rabbit’s skull on the top, marking her as a priestess of the Gods Between.
I snorted at their appearance. “Revolutions must be waged differently in this time than when I was alive. In my day, their participants went out of their way to not draw attention.”
“They have a cloaking spell,” Serah said. “But it doesn’t excuse the harlot attire for the Fir Bolg.”
“I like it,” Regina said.
“Rose, Kana!” Ketra said, rushing up to them and giving them both a hug. For all her disapproval of the former’s re
lationship to her brother, she still seemed to think of them with great affection. “I have much to say, both good and bad, and what do you mean that would be difficult?”
Captain Vass’s crew lowered a gangplank for Rose and Kana to come up. Captain Vass climbed down a ladder into the cargo hold, avoiding being seen by the latter.
“I fear Lord Gewain has been taken in for questioning by the Mysterium,” Rose said, frowning.
“What?” Regina said, her eyes widening. Her voice became soft and she covered her mouth. “No.”
Rose lifted his hands. “It’s all right. Believe me, I’m more worried than anyone, but it’s all right.”
“What do you mean it’s all right?” Ketra said, staring.
“They do this all the time,” Rose said, shaking his head. “They like putting the scare into the local but they don’t suspect he’s anything more than a disabled knight from the Riverlands with a lot of friends. They don’t know about his role in the resistance.”
Ketra looked positively panicked. Grabbing his hands, she stared up into his eyes. “The Imperials know about our plans, Rose.”
Rose closed his eyes, an unreadable look crossing his face. That was when temple bells began ringing throughout the city.
“What’s that?” Regina asked.
“The bells for public executions,” Rose said, taking a deep breath. “They occur every few days now.”
“Gewain,” Regina said, starting to run down the gangplank and onto the pier.
I followed.
Chapter Eighteen
I could barely keep up with Regina as she ran down the crowded streets of Kerifas. The city was divided into numerous cordoned-off districts that were guarded heavily at every entrance by Imperial troops. Thankfully, due to the public executions, they were letting everyone through regardless of whether they had little scraps of paper I saw several citizens trying to flash. It allowed me a kind of perverse tour of the city as I jogged, giving me a sense of how Kerifas had changed over the centuries as well as how the city was being managed.
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