Wraith Lord

by Phipps, C. T.

  Regina took my arm.

  I nodded. We needed to kill them both now.

  “How lovely it must be to have the moral superiority of being a murderer while not being a hypocrite. You have opened my eyes to a new way of thinking with your ancient wisdom.” Hellsword sighed and took a step back from the smoke. “Whatever the case, the Triumvirate is here. I want you to finish your purge and either kill them or distract them long enough for me to get the guardians working. I must take my leave of you, Thermic, to go speak with our most important prisoner. Perhaps he might still be of some use in leverage against the Unicorn. Gewain still might serve as leverage, even if our plan to send him back as a Traitor’s Goat is now impossible.”

  Redhand chuckled. “I don’t think you’ll be able to get much out of him. My boys and I got a little…excessive…with him. He won’t be lasting much longer. I had him dragged to your lab to see if your apprentices could fix him. From the way he was looking when I left him, I don’t think they’ll be able to do much.”

  Hellsword looked like he wanted to strangle his associate.

  Turning around, I saw Regina was already rushing to the door and out of it in the second after that.

  She wasn’t going after Hellsword and Redhand, though, but running to the dungeons.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Regina rushed down the halls, slammed through the door of Hellsword’s lab, and drew her sword without any thought to the consequences. I followed, aware our situation was about to go to hell but unwilling to stop her trying to rescue her cousin.

  Regina stopped three feet past the door and when I caught up to her, so did I. Hellsword’s laboratory was magnificent.

  Terrible but magnificent.

  Formerly the Governor’s Palace ballroom, Hellsword had cleared out the three-story chamber and filled it to the rim with alchemical and electrical equipment. Much of it was from Lakeland, that advanced nation of thinkers and merchants, but I recognized as other parts as cribbed from both Tharadon’s workshop and my own inventions in Everfrost.

  Twelve gigantic generators were connected around the chamber, mystical dynamos that seemed tapped into the floor where I saw all the reservoir’s energy was designed to be accumulated by complicated sigils carved into the floor and walls. The eldritch machines hummed even as green lightning was exchanged between pylons on their top.

  The chamber was more than just the focus of all the blood magic sacrifices being worked in the city but also a place of experimentation. Seven-foot-tall glass tubes were scattered about the chamber, each filled with horrifically mutated test subjects free-floating in an orange-gold liquid. There were several tables with bodies on them, their remains having been dissected and jars of organs spread around them. All the bodies were covered in tumors, strange growths, and signs of severe magical mutation. The kind brought about by exposure to the Terrible Weapons. There were workers all around, Hellsword’s apprentices, carrying out various labors, scientific as well as custodial.

  I wish I could say the sight horrified me but I was too overwhelmed by the sheer breadth of science on display. I had been working for years on adapting the magitech of the King Below with that of the Southern Kingdoms, but it seemed Hellsword had one-upped me and then some. Even more so, he’d taken the still-underdeveloped science of blood magic to a level that was equal to or better than what current alchemists could achieve with the most well trodden disciplines.

  Regina, of course, was less impressed. “Murderers! Scum! Brigands! I come to bring justice for your crimes! This monstrous abomination against the gods must be torn down stone by stone! Tool by tool!”

  So much for surprise.

  Close to a dozen apprentices, all dressed in a less-ornate version of Hellsword’s attire, turned to look at us. They were a mixture of sidhe- and human-descent with the majority of the latter being Natariss of various caste marks. There was also an eight-foot-tall steel golem forged in the image of a Imperial centurion with a set of magitech arms that seemed to carry a variety of advanced built-in weapons. Its arms transformed into a pair of cannons outfitted with glowing runes on its sides.

  “Down!” I shouted, grabbing Regina and throwing myself on her. The blasts that shot out of the cannons were pure eldritch energy and exploded against the back of the wall, causing a good portion of it to collapse.

  A hideous screeching noise blared throughout the chamber, which would have caused my ears to bleed if they weren’t magically generated. Hellsword had covered his laboratory with alarm wards and we’d somehow triggered them. It wouldn’t be long before Hellsword, Redhand, and whatever reinforcements decided to show up arrived.

  “You keep Hellsword and Redhand away!” Regina said, getting up. “I’ll take care of these fools!”

  “Any ideas how I’m supposed to do that?”

  “You’re the God of Evil! Figure something out!”

  I sighed, wondering how this always ended up falling on me. Then I saw Regina knock away a blast of the golem with her sword and then another before swinging her blade and releasing a galestorm of flame that consumed five of the apprentices at once. If she could pull that off, then I almost certainly could do something similar.

  Stumbling back to the damaged entrance, I dodged out of the way of a series of fireballs and bolts of lightning hurled by the apprentices from wands. They were ill practiced in the use of such things and the enchantments woven into my armor gave me the strength to move quicker than them as well redirect the closest of attacks. Each packed quite a punch, though, and I could feel my defenses weakening.

  Reaching the still-standing door next to a large collection of rubble beside it, I sensed dozens of powerful spells woven into the defenses of the laboratory. Hellsword had made it virtually impregnable but had made the simple mistake of assuming he’d have the opportunity to lock it. The spells were set to only be utilized by Hellsword or his apprentices and I didn’t have time to work around it.

  Holding out my right hand, I telekinetically dragged one of the dead apprentices at Regina’s feet, re-animated his corpse, and had the creature cough up a disgusting command word that caused the laboratory’s glowstones to emit a bright shade of red.

  “Garrhhhh!” the undead burnt face of the apprentice yowled beneath me. I snapped its neck and got up.

  By the time I got up, almost all the apprentices were dead, a good portion of the lab equipment was destroyed, the scent of formaldehyde was everywhere, and Regina was in a battle with the steel golem. The creature wielded two electrified swords that moved faster and with more force than any human was capable of. The machine was also significantly more graceful than it should have been, more like a dancer than a gigantic lumbering hunk of metal. Regina conjured a glowing shield to block two of its blows then stabbed it in the chest with her blade.

  “Shatter,” Regina commanded.

  The steel golem promptly exploded into a dozen pieces across the ground. The scent of formaldehyde was joined by one of oil and smoke. Tiny mechanisms were everywhere and a few of the parts continued to move despite the machine’s destruction.

  I sighed. “I liked these things better before they were made from clockwork.”

  “Clockwork? Where have you been for the past two centuries?” Regina asked, looking back.

  “Enslaved.”

  One of the apprentices, who had been playing dead, lifted a wand behind her. Regina spun around to block the lightning with her shield then brought down her foot on the woman’s face. What ensued was not pleasant.

  “How much time do we have?” Regina called over.

  I could already hear Hellsword tearing down the spells outside of the door. Looking at the complicated series of wards and glyphs, I drew Chill’s Fury and slammed it into one of the connecting runes. That would prevent Hellsword from simply invoking his power to bring down the barrier, in effect ‘breaking’ the spell by leaving it up.

  “Not long,” I said, looking up. “Still, we’re benefiting from the fact that the more
complex the spell, the easier it is to ruin.”

  “I sense my cousin’s presence here,” Regina said, looking around the chamber. “Gods Above and Below…”

  “Allow me to help.”

  “No,” Regina said, shaking her head. “I don’t know enough about any of this to know what Hellsword has been doing. I can sense it’s the heart of his plan. Go…smash it up or something.”

  I stared at her, wondering if she wanted me to literally do that or just needed to do this alone. “As you wish.”

  Walking over to one of the corpses, I leaned down and placed my hand on their foreheads before drawing as much knowledge as I could from the deceased apprentice. It was only a flash of insight here and there but told me the machines around me were channels for the resevoir of energy beneath me. Hellsword and Redhand had all but confessed to their plan to re-animate the ancient Guardians of Kerifas to destroy Everfrost—my necromancy merely confirmed it.

  It was an audacious plan, truly, making use of the relics of a culture that had been millennia more advanced in magic as well as science. It was a testament to Hellsword’s ingenuity that I believed he very likely could do it. Smashing the machines wouldn’t do anything from my limited understanding of our situation since they were designed to simply process the energy into the guardians.

  This had been in the works for months.

  Imagine the juggernauts sitting in the bay at your command, the Trickster whispered, his voice now seductive and powerful. The hundreds-foot-tall statues would intimidate any army in the world into surrender or retreat. They are immune to magic, weapons forged in this age, and all but the power of a god. Each of them can bring down death and destruction on an unprecedented scale with eyes that rain down flames as hot as the sun. You could defeat the empire in an hour and then move to G’Tay and Indras. Other worlds…

  You mock me.

  Do I?

  You want there to be a protracted war between the Nine and me.

  No, dear Jacob. My brother and I want one of you to conquer the other completely. There are worse things out there than us, and it is time to end our squabble and prepare for them.

  Liar.

  Believe as you will.

  I found an old leatherbound book next to one of the overturned tables and flipped through it, finding a good deal of the research being done on how to re-animate the guardians. The original guardians had been animated and controlled through the use of Name magic, which was impossible to replicate since the names of the ancient statues had been lost to time. Hellsword was attempting to compensate through sheer brute force application of magic, planning to massacre thousands within the city to provide the necessary power to permanently restore them. Flipping to the final entries, I noticed they had only enough power to animate the statues for a few minutes.

  Which gave me an idea.

  Walking to the side of one of the humming machines, which I knew now to be called Eldritch Transference Devices, I pulled open a panel and saw the myriad pattern of copper wires and runes within. I adjusted several of the runes as well as created a few of my own before carefully replacing the panel. This device was the one that would carry the orders of the individual who activated the machinery. My idea would, theoretically, sabotage their efforts to control the guardians.

  I had no idea if Hellsword had any redundancies in place, though, or even if my idea would work. I just didn’t have the time to properly analyze all the material around me. The best solution would be to keep Hellsword and Redhand from activating the machines or destroying them outright but even that would do little to stop them as there was nothing that would prevent them from starting this project anew in another city or here again should we fail to take Kerifas.

  “Jacob!” Regina called.

  Rushing over to her side, I saw she’d shattered one of the tubes containing a body and dumped its contents onto the ground. I was stunned to see the still-living form of what I presumed to be Gewain ap Whitetremor. The sight of him was enough to make me recoil, despite all the terrible and horrible things I’d already seen in this lab.

  He’d been flayed.

  I could tell he’d been subject to other tortures, what kind I couldn’t say, but the front of his chest had been sliced away to reveal the muscle beneath. Mystic runes were branded into the gory mess. It was flesh-magic designed to keep him from dying even as they did nothing to help with the healing or pain.

  Gewain’s face, which must have once been one of the most beautiful sights in Creation, was all but destroyed. They’d removed his teeth and used a brand to destroy the right side of his face as well as gouging out both of his eyes. His long white hair hung in stringy patches from his head, most of it having fallen out from whatever tortures they’d used on him. His right arm, made of bronze clockwork, was hanging uselessly at his side, having been damaged with hammers. Gewain was dying now, the tube’s contents having been preserving his life. There was nothing we could do for him now.

  “You monstrous bastards,” Regina muttered, cursing under her breath. “We’re going to help you Gewain, I promise.”

  “Regina?” Gewain said, somehow miraculously speaking despite his condition.

  “I am here. With my husband, the King Below. We have come to rescue you.”

  Gewain actually managed to give an anguished last laugh through struggled breaths. “Save the people of this city instead… Save….”

  Death was not dignified like it was in stories, and he babbled on for several more agonizing minutes as Regina tried but failed to heal him. There was no life force to steal, though, not even from the mutated twisted wretches around us. In the end, I sucked away the last of his life to give him the peaceful death he deserved.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Regina closed Gewain’s eyes with her fingers, then stood up. “This is not your doing, Jacob, but our enemies’. Did you find out what you needed to?”

  “I think so.”

  “Think so or know so?”

  “Yes.”

  Regina nodded and drew Starlight from its sheath. “Then let us show them how we in the North deal with our enemies.”

  “Yes. Let’s.”

  I lowered the barrier.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Much to my surprise, only Hellsword and Redhand entered. A group of Imperial soldiers were behind them, but after a swift look from Redhand, they exited down the hall. The reason for such was heard soon after: there were the sounds of fire and spells within the Governor’s Palace. Neither of the two Usurpers looked concerned but the attack didn’t sound like a small incident but a full-scale assault.

  “Trouble?” I asked, keeping Chill’s Fury in a ready position.

  “It would seem the death of the last dragons at the hand of your witch, aided by some of the dragon riders taking bribes from an unknown source. This has resulted in a uprising against our regime. Some idiot bard left rumors that I had taken to animating the dead to kill the citizens who revolted and it coincided with a massive attack of your creatures.” Hellsword drew Plaguebringer and held it before him. “It seems I’m going to have to have a talk with Rose.”

  “You’re not going to be able to talk with anyone ever again,” Regina said, the fury in her voice almost palpable.

  “If you say so.” Redhand gripped his great-axe tightly. “I will say it’s going to be a bloody good time putting this revolt down. It’s going to be weeks of fun before we whip this city back into shape. Well played.”

  Hellsword shot Redhand a look that could have melted steel. “Remember whose side you’re on.”

  “The Lawgiver’s,” Redhand said, smiling. “Someday I’m going to share with you what that means and why it doesn’t matter who wins today.”

  I was tempted just to attack, to use my knowledge of the guardians to turn them against the Usurpers, or toss off a spell. Seeing what they’d done to Gewain and how it was affecting Regina made me want to kill the pair. But knowing what I knew about the prophecy? Knowing how this was
all a sick, twisted, joke? I had to try. Try to keep this from escalating.

  Foolish, the Trickster said. Admirable, but foolish.

  “The conflict between us was pre-arranged by both the Lawgiver and the Trickster,” I said, keeping my eyes squarely focused on the two warriors. “The Prophecy of the Black Sun, the Great Shadow Wars, gods know how many other conflicts, they’re all frauds worked to keep the Lightborn and Shadowkind at each other’s throats.”

  Regina shot me a glance that made me wonder if she was about to attack them anyway. The look on her face was one of anger, grief, betrayal, and then, surprisingly, resignation. Regina held her attack, but I could tell it was killing her not to cut down the two individuals where they stood and avenge Gewain’s torture and murder.

  Hellsword stared at me, ignoring Regina and processing my words. A second later, he looked over at Redhand, who just chuckled, as if my figuring his father’s plans out was the most amusing thing he’d heard all day.

  “Is this true, Thermic?” Hellsword asked. “You alone know the Lawgiver’s will.”

  “Not so funny when it’s you who is being moved like a game piece, is it?” Redhand said, not even bothering to look at him. “The Old Humans became bored when they achieved omnipotence. They needed games to divert themselves. Our wars are what they do to pass the time. Good, evil, law, chaos—they’re all just colors for the players to tell each other apart.”