Awaken Online: Inferno (Tarot #3)

by Travis Bagwell

  That combination of variables might explain why Bilel hadn’t managed to entirely wipe out the Khamsin.

  The group turned a corner, and the passage opened into a massive chamber. The cavern spiraled upward for nearly fifty feet, a network of tunnels branching off the main chamber and stone walkways crisscrossing the air above him. Algae clung to the walls and ceiling, letting off a soft glow that lit the underground cavern in a pale light. Finn slowed to a stop, his mouth opening slightly in shock.

  “They call this colony The Hive,” Kyyle offered with a grin at Finn’s dumbstruck expression. I’ll give you three guesses why.”

  “Not that you’ll need more than one,” Julia interjected.

  “The Khamsin created this?” Finn asked in awe. It seemed like an incredible feat. But more than that, the walls lacked the usual uniformity or symmetry of a human building.

  “Not exactly,” his daughter replied, gesturing for them to keep moving as they followed Aerys. “These rock islands are home to several indigenous insect species – like the ants we discovered back in the Abyss. The Khamsin clear out the bugs and then move in, expanding the tunnels as the community grows. These rock islands also tend to be rich in metals, so the desert folk mine those materials and trade them in Lahab.”

  Finn shot her a surprised glance.

  “What? Where did you think the merchants got the ore to craft that fancy gear? It isn’t all looting and pillaging around here,” she replied with a small smile.

  They passed a group of Khamsin bickering over a pallet of goods emblazoned with the mark of the merchant guild. The desert folk quieted as they saw Finn and stared after him with unblinking eyes. “Well, not entirely anyway,” Julia amended. “We trade the merchants the materials, they forge the equipment, and then we steal the end product.”

  “Screwing them on both ends,” Kyyle observed with a chuckle.

  “Hmph, clever,” Finn said softly. “So, the islands make for ready-made cities, they’re difficult to locate, they’re easy to defend, and they’re rich in natural resources.” He paused, observing the residents within the massive chamber and those that tread the walkways that hovered above him. “But there are just so many people,” Finn murmured in reply. “I wasn’t expecting that. At most, I thought the Khamsin could muster a few hundred.”

  Indeed, there appeared to be that many living in The Hive alone.

  Finn had made a rough tally of the number of Khamsin they passed in the cramped tunnels. And they weren’t just fighting-aged men and women. Finn saw older folk and children among the residents. There were generations of Khamsin inhabiting this colony. As that realization occurred to him, Finn began to understand what Aerys had been saying before about hate and hope.

  How would these people react in the face of decades of persecution?

  Julia nodded, following his gaze. “And this is just one colony. The Khamsin are spread across the desert, creating semi-autonomous underground cities. They are independent and wary by nature. Thus, our cold reception.” This earned her a snicker from Kyyle at the pun.

  Finn just grunted in reply, rubbing at his left arm in a vain attempt to blunt the burning ache there. He still hadn’t forgotten the welcome party Aerys had thrown for him.

  “Say what you want about Aerys’ methods, but she’s right about one thing,” Julia continued. “Uniting these people is going to be tough.”

  Finn could see the thread of truth in Julia’s words. It was in the way that some of the Khamsin glared at him with unblinking eyes. He could see the anger there. Perhaps they blamed anyone capable of utilizing magic for their plight. But even those people could likely be swayed. That anger could be harnessed – targeted. At their core, they all wanted one thing. They yearned for freedom. To be able to leave these cramped halls.

  And the eyes of many, many more shone with hope.

  Residents stopped to stare at Finn or pressed themselves against the walls to let their group pass. Their fingers plucked at his robes as he neared, as though Finn were something holy – that some of his power would pass to them with just a faint brush. He heard the same words repeated over and over, murmured in hushed voices filled with desperation and longing that echoed faintly off the stone walls of The Hive.

  The Najmat Alhidad. The Prophet of the Flame.

  Finn was distracted from his thoughts as a child raced out from beneath his mother’s arms and ran toward Finn. Immediately, the Khamsin guards surrounded the group, their hands moving toward their weapons. But Finn waved them off. What threat could a child pose?

  The boy tugged at Finn’s sleeve, looking up at him with large eyes. He couldn’t have been older than four or five. “Are you the prophet?” the child asked quietly. With the other Khamsin going deadly silent, his voice carried far in the large chamber. Dozens of robed figures watched the exchange with impassive expressions, waiting to see how Finn would respond.

  Finn fought back the grimace that threatened to cross his face as he looked down at the child. In some ways, anger was easier. There was no expectation there. Or if there was, it wasn’t a burden. There was little challenge in the expectation of failure. Yet for many others – such as this child – they had pinned their dreams on a faded and aging prophecy. On a broken, old man playing a videogame. It wasn’t real – he knew that. Yet he could still feel something inside himself respond to that look in the child’s gaze.

  He wanted to help these people, he suddenly realized.

  Not just because of the stakes for himself. But because he knew that he stood the best chance of uniting them. Of focusing their desperation and rage in the right direction.

  And he knew that was what Rachael would have wanted.

  Finn knelt and met the boy’s gaze. “I suppose I am.”

  The child seemed cautious, picking his words carefully. Finn saw the dirt along his arms, the threadbare cloth of his shirt, limbs that were wasted and thin from malnutrition. These people might have raw ore, but the Khamsin couldn’t eat iron, and little grew out here in the desert. Thin white scars riddled the boy’s forearms. They looked like knife wounds. He saw more experience reflected in the child’s gaze than he should… a maturity born of necessity and hardship. And as he switched to his Mana Sight, he also saw mana glimmering through the boy’s body. The son hadn’t inherited the curse of his mother. New generations of Khamsin were apparently born with their magic intact.

  “My mother says you’ve come to save us. That you’ll bring down the goddess’ wrath and defeat the Emir,” the boy said, his gaze unwavering despite the thread of fear and doubt Finn saw curl through his mana.

  Finn hesitated at that, uncertain how to respond. He glanced up at the boy’s mother. She tried to control her expression, but he still saw her tension in the way she gripped her basket, bending the flimsy reeds. More of the Khamsin stood around them, silent and watching. Not only had they pinned their hopes on Finn – they had placed that hope in the Goddess as well. It was misguided. The Seer pursued her own agenda.

  They were on their own.

  And Finn knew that firsthand. No one had come to save him in his time of hardship. No one had brought back Rachael. No one had stopped the rollout of those autonomous vehicles. Even Julia had only given him a nudge back onto the path. He had been forced to keep pressing forward himself. And he’d learned a valuable lesson in the process. He had to own his mistakes and then work to solve them. Expecting others to come to your rescue was a weakness. Strength came from acknowledging your problems and working to fix them with your own two hands.

  He met the boy’s eyes and suddenly knew what to say. “No one is coming to save you – any of you,” Finn said, raising his voice and addressing the crowd. “Not me and not the goddess.”

  The Khamsin shifted uncomfortably at his words, their eyes widening slightly in surprise, and a sudden tension filled the large cavern.

  “Nor should they. We’re each responsible for carving our own path – creating our own destiny. We do not need gods or pro
phecy. We will save ourselves.” Finn said these words forcefully, his mana responding automatically and fire flaring through the metal of his eyes. He turned his gaze back to the boy. “Your – our – people already have the strength we need; we only need to learn to use it. We will take back our home with our own hands and our own blades.”

  “I—I understand,” the boy said quietly, staring at Finn with a determination that felt out of place on such a young child’s face. He placed a tiny fist to his chest. Then he ran back to his mother, and she wrapped her arms around him.

  As Finn rose to his feet, he saw the Khamsin around them make the same gesture – a fist to their chest. He could hear the soft thump of skin striking cloth and the low buzzing murmur that drifted from dozens of lips and echoed off the walls and walkways of the cavern.

  Najmat Alhidad, they whispered.

  “I’m not sure that was wise,” Aerys murmured, appearing at Finn’s elbow.

  He spared her a glance. “This was the role you wanted for me, wasn’t it?” he demanded. “Well, now, you’ve got it. It was a harsh message, but one these people needed to hear. It’s only going to get more difficult from here.”

  Aerys just grunted in response, but her eyes and body language loudly announced her disagreement. “Let’s move,” she said in a terse tone. “Before you decide to give another impromptu speech.” She immediately started back through the cavern.

  Then they were moving forward again. Except, this time, the guards pressed in tightly around Finn, pushing away the Khamsin that moved too close. It seemed that Aerys had instructed them to avoid a similar incident. Finn couldn’t help but grind his teeth at that. Their clan leader appeared to be more interested in having a puppet she could use to show off the power of her clan than in letting him fulfill his role. More evidence of politics at work.

  The reality of what was coming would sink in eventually.

  “It’s been like this ever since you arrived,” Julia said softly, watching the way the Khamsin continued to stare and murmur Finn’s title. “These people are desperate. The guilds have been stingy in buying shipments of ore lately, and our raids haven’t been as successful. What resources we have go toward buying food. And as you can see, that isn’t enough.”

  Julia hesitated, a frown tugging at her lips. “The truth is that Aerys is barely holding this place together, and the other colonies aren’t much better off. They are desperate for any source of hope. It was all she could do to keep you secluded while your body healed. Or at least, I thought that was the goal. I didn’t realize she was planning to set up some sort of deadly spectacle,” she grumbled.

  “Water under the bridge. There was little you could do under the circumstances,” Finn whispered back as they exited the chamber and tread through another winding series of passages. “Is this what you meant by things not going so well while I was gone?” He trailed off, letting the implicit question hang in the air.

  “It’s not just the colony. The news we’ve heard from Lahab… well, it’s not great – not at all,” Julia replied softly.

  His daughter paused as the group rounded a final corner, and the tunnel opened into a small cavern. “Huh. Well, I guess you’ll get to hear that news firsthand,” Julia added, her eyes focused on the far side of the chamber.

  Finn could immediately see what had captured her attention. Two familiar faces awaited them, their hands bound and flanked by Khamsin guards.

  Kalisha and Malik.

  “Oh, this is just great,” Kyyle muttered even as Julia tried to reach for a weapon that was no longer hanging from her waist.

  Kalisha ignored their reactions, her eyes settling on Finn’s face. “Hello again, Finn. Every time we meet, I seem to find myself tied up. I’m starting to wonder if you do this for all the girls,” she said with a wink. For his part, Malik didn’t say a word, the fighter’s expression stoic. The gruff man simply stared at Finn with unblinking eyes.

  A glance at the pair with his Mana Sight showed Finn that despite their cavalier attitude, they were undergoing a whirlwind of emotion, their energy fluctuating erratically throughout their bodies. And above that surface mana, a coil of darkness twisted around each of their Najima. That was fear.

  “It seems it has already begun,” a voice spoke up from behind the group. Finn turned to find that Abbad had entered the room flanked by a pair of guards.

  “What has?” Finn asked.

  Abbad gave him a measured look, his eyes drifting down to Finn’s ruined left arm before meeting his gaze. “The endgame.”

  Chapter 5 - Endgame

  “Well, as fun as this is standing here and staring at each other, why don’t we make ourselves a bit more comfortable,” Finn said, breaking the tense silence in the room. “Kyyle, you want to give us a table and some seats?”

  The earth mage nodded, and his hands began winding through a rapid series of gestures, tendrils of emerald energy wrapping around his fingers. Finn saw the guards in the room tense, but Aerys raised a staying hand. Only moments later, a sandstone table rose from the ground, encircled by simple stone chairs.

  “Have a seat,” Finn said, gesturing at Abbad, Malik, and Kalisha.

  “They should remain bound and standing,” Aerys retorted. “They are a risk to us and to the colony.”

  Finn just stared at her. “I can see that we’re at least a half-mile deep, they’re all unarmed, Abbad saved our lives, and these two look like they’ve been out in the sands for days. Besides, have your scouts reported any activity in the desert? Anything to indicate that Malik and Kalisha led a contingent of the Emir’s royal guard here?”

  Aerys grimaced. “No… not exactly.”

  “And do you really think these three couldn’t get free if they tried? It looks like you only bound their hands with rope,” Finn added dryly. He was growing impatient with Aerys’ bluster, especially after what happened in the arena and the encounter with the boy. She was going to have to learn the hard way that things were changing.

  Finn shot Abbad a meaningful glance, and the librarian’s fingertips twitched ever-so-slightly. Immediately, his bindings dissolved with a brief gust of wind. Malik must have also decided the ruse was pointless. Mana surged through the wards inscribed in his skin, and the rope around his wrists snapped. He then simply tugged Kalisha’s bindings free.

  The guards in the room pulled their blades in alarm, but the librarian, merchant, and fighter made no move to attack.

  “As I said, this is all pointless,” Finn said, meeting Aerys’ gaze. “Besides, this isn’t the time for posturing. We have larger issues at stake.

  “Everyone sit,” Finn said, this time more forcefully. It was no longer a request. The guards hesitated only a moment longer before they moved away and allowed the prisoners to take a seat. “Maybe bring some water as well,” Finn directed to a nearby guard. The man nodded and immediately left the room – failing to look to Aerys for approval. Finn noticed her frown deepen.

  There were also some downsides to branding me as some sort of prophet in front of the entire colony, Finn thought sourly. He could see the same realization dawning in Aerys’ eyes. And she didn’t look happy about it.

  “Okay, where should we start?” Finn asked, glancing around the table at the group facing him. His question was met with silence. They were an unlikely alliance – enemies and wary allies forced together by extenuating circumstances and a common opponent. While no longer openly hostile, their tension and suspicion was apparent in the way they side-eyed one another and shuffled in their seats.

  “Fine. Then I’ll begin with our tale,” Finn said, breaking the silence.

  He took a deep breath. “The Emir is actually a mage named Bilel. Long ago, he learned to feed on the mana of others. This process has corrupted his body over time, turning him into a demon and extending his age. I suspect he’s more than a century old now. He’s been using the Mage Guild and the purge to harvest mana from the mages to feed himself and to create a stockpile of mana crystals. He’s g
athering this power because he plans to wage war against the gods – specifically the Seer.”

  Finn saw Aerys, Malik, and Kalisha all stare at him in surprise, their eyes widening. Although, this was less of a revelation for the rest of the group. “Bilel manufactured this competition among the guilds, under the guise of finding his successor, in order to unearth the Seer’s prophet – me, I suppose. The goddess prophesized my coming, and he needed me to open the vault down in the Abyss and reclaim the other half of a powerful magical relic he possessed. Now whole, this artifact has the power to heal Bilel of the corruption that plagues his body… and perhaps even help him slay the gods themselves.”

  He gestured at Abbad. “Bilel adopted Abbad as a child and trained him as a servant. It is my belief that Abbad has been secretly leading the Mage Guild, using the current headmaster as a puppet.” There was a pause as Finn glanced at the librarian, noticing the way his energy fluctuated slightly at this statement – although, his expression gave away nothing. He gave a faint nod of acknowledgment. It seemed Finn was on the right track so far. Many of the pieces had begun to click into place since their encounter with Bilel.

  “So, this man is responsible for administering the purge?” Aerys interjected, her eyes flashing angrily. Finn saw the guards along the walls shuffle in place.

  “This man has been the slave of a demon,” Finn corrected, his voice harsh. Whatever his history with Abbad, the librarian had saved him and his companions. “Abbad has been working as a double agent. He informed me of Bilel’s past and ultimately saved my group from being destroyed by the Emir. He also knows more about our enemy than anyone else in this room. He’s a valuable asset.”