The Secret of the Golden Gods Omnibus Edition

by Pedro Urvi

  “Thanks.”

  She stared at the city, bathed in the brilliance of the flames. “So, what now?”

  Ikai gestured towards the city. “Now we finish what we started.”

  Chapter 35

  Night had fallen over the battlefield. The surviving rebels had retreated to the river, taking the wounded, leaving behind them on the plain the thousands of their companions who had fallen in the fight. Hundreds of small fires illuminated the riverside; around them the Senoca tended to their wounded and tried to recover from the nightmare they had been through. The moans of pain from the dying intoned a litany to Girlai, Father Moon, who watched them from the sky with eyes filled with tears.

  Around one of the fires, the Heroes and surviving leaders were eating and recovering their strength and cheer.

  “How many?” Ikai asked.

  Liriana sighed. “There are fifteen thousand left of the reinforcements Kyra brought, plus twenty thousand survivors. The rest are either wounded, crippled or dying.”

  “And they’re afraid,” said Albana. “Now they know the horrors of war, they’re very much afraid.”

  Ikai shook his head. “I can’t blame them. It was appalling.”

  Kyra clenched her fist tightly.

  “That’s exactly why we can’t give up now. Tens of thousands have sacrificed themselves. We have to fight to the end.”

  “We’re with you,” Camptos said, and glanced towards Pasmal, who nodded. “We share your feelings. We’ve lost too many lives. We can’t give up now.”

  “What about Rutus?” Liriana asked.

  “Idana’s taking care of him,” said Romen, who was sitting beside her. “He’s badly wounded. I’m not sure he’ll survive.”

  “And Maruk?” she asked uneasily.

  “He’s gone for supplies with a hundred men. We need food and medicines: there are hundreds of wounded. He’ll be back at dawn with everything he can find in the villages around.”

  Ikai’s gaze turned to the city in the background. Torches were burning on the battlements.

  “It won’t be easy to take the city. Those walls are a massive obstacle…”

  “We’ll do it,” Kyra said with conviction. “Even if I have to bang my head on the walls to bring them down.”

  Albana burst out laughing. “I’d gladly pay to see that! I really would!”

  “Well, that head of yours is certainly stubborn enough to make a success of it!” Ikai said.

  Kyra blushed, and they all laughed. And for a moment that nightmarish day became a little less hard to bear in their saddened hearts.

  Ikai was looking thoughtful, and Liriana noticed this.

  “What’s going on in that clever head of yours?” she asked.

  “Well… we don’t have much time, we’re out of supplies, and there are a lot of mouths to feed here and tend to. Whereas they can hold out in the city ‒ even in a long siege ‒ much longer than we can out here.”

  “True.”

  “These are peasants, not warriors,” Albana said. “They won’t be able to last out a siege, they’ll want to go back to their own people. Even more so after what they’ve been through.”

  Ikai nodded. “And nobody could blame them. Once again we’re faced with all or nothing. We’ve got to take the city, before our people start to despair… Liriana, what forces can Sesmok count on now?”

  “Now then, let me think…We’ve got rid of the whole Guard: the ones in the capital, in the two formations at the gates, and the ones who controlled the counties, the two armies that came to capture us and that Kyra saved us from. That leaves him with… his personal guard: about two thousand men, but they’re the elite. Osvan and his Hunters: about a hundred and fifty men, very tough and skilled fighters, as you know perfectly well. And a hundred or so Enforcers who control the capital.”

  “We can beat them! There aren’t so many of them!” Kyra said enthusiastically.

  “The problem is,” Ikai said. they’re all very good fighters. And they have the advantage of their position”

  “That’s right,” Albana said. “We could beat them in the open field, but with them on the battlements…”

  “In fact it’s going to be extremely difficult to take the city,” said Liriana.

  “And… the Gods,” said Pasmal. “Won’t they come to kill us? They must know about our rebellion…”

  There was a silence. They were all thinking the same question, but dared not say it aloud.

  Ikai glanced discreetly at his sister.

  The message reached Kyra’s mind clearly. They will not interfere. They would not stoop so low. They will let Sesmok and the Enforcers deal with it.

  Kyra turned her head and nodded towards Adamis, who remained sitting in the shadows behind her wrapped in his cloak. They had all noticed the presence of Kyra’s unusual bodyguard, but nobody dared ask about him.

  “They won’t intervene. Sesmok is the one we need to worry about.”

  “Then we have to take those walls,” Liriana said. “It’s the last hurdle. We’re so close to making our dream come true. I won’t allow this to foil us. I’ll take those walls, I swear, for Gedrel! For all those who’ve given their lives for freedom!”

  Ikai nodded. “Get everything ready. Let’s take care of the wounded. We’ll attack in three days, when we’ve had time to recover.”

  “Fine,” Liriana said. “Tomorrow I’ll take half the men with me to the forest, then we’ll begin our preparations.”

  “Agreed,” Ikai said. Then he whispered in his sister’s ear: “Can we count on him?”

  Kyra sighed. “He won’t take part. If he does, he’ll be doomed. He’s only here to protect me.”

  “I understand that, but I have to ask you, there are too many lives at stake. Can we trust him? He won’t warn his people?”

  “I vouch for him, with my life.”

  “All right. Then no more needs to be said.”

  “Thank you.”

  Ikai smiled at his sister. He loved her and trusted her completely, and for some reason he knew he was not mistaken.

  “Come closer, brother, there’s a lot I need to tell you and very little time.”

  Ikai moved closer to her so nobody would be able to listen to their conversation.

  While the others ate and chatted, Kyra told her brother in a whisper everything Adamis had told her and taught her about the Power.

  “You mean to say… you can use…. it? Like Albana?”

  Kyra showed him the disc. “Yes, through this. Although someday I’ll be able to do it without the disc. And not only me, you too.”

  “Me? Don’t say that, I’m normal.”

  “No, Ikai, you’re like me. We’re the children of the same parents, and there’s Power in our blood. Yours as well as mine.”

  “I can’t believe that.”

  “Well, you need to accept it, and the sooner the better. We’re hybrids with Power. Something very unusual, like Albana. I can assure you it’s true. It’s taken me a long time to accept it, but I have, because it’s the truth.”

  Ikai shook his head. He did not want to believe it. For him Power was synonymous with Gods, and therefore of evil.

  “Would I ever lie to you?”

  “No, I know you wouldn’t, Kyra, it’s not that …”

  “You know what Mother told me. They fled the Eternal City. Father and Mother were hybrids, and that’s why we are too.”

  “You said Father. I can’t believe…”

  “He’s not the person you remember, Ikai. He’s not the Siul we adored. Now he’s a monster. A bloodthirsty monster born out of the experiments of the ruthless Gods. A soulless abomination who serves his masters blindly. He’s no longer Siul, he’s Oskas. He’d kill us without blinking an eye. Don’t be mistaken, Ikai. I’ve seen his true nature, and there’s nothing left of our father in him. Now he serves Asu like a faithful, rabid hunting dog. And he’d torture and kill us if his master snapped his fingers.”

  Ikai was hurt a
nd devastated by her words. He knew what she was telling him was the truth, but his heart refused to accept it. The memory of their father was engraved in his heart: engraved with love, respect and admiration.

  Kyra took him by the wrist, turned his hand over and put the disc on his palm.

  “Do you remember, when we were little we played a game to see who was braver?”

  Ikai smiled, remembering those good times for a moment. “Yes… I remember.”

  “Well, I dare you to make it flash.”

  “Kyra, we’re not children any longer…”

  “I know, but why don’t you try it, just for me? Or does it scare you?” She knew that phrase had always had an effect on him as a child.

  Ikai shook his head. He knew what his sister was trying to do. He heaved a deep sigh and decided to go on with the game, just so that she would let him be.

  “How do I do it?”

  “Easy,” she lied. “Focus on the golden pip. You have to see it in your mind. Once you see it clearly in your head, you order it to flash.”

  “That’s stupid. It’d be impossible for me to…”

  “Shut up and do it, or I’ll torment you, cowardy custard.”

  Ikai shook his head again, but did what his sister had asked him. Albana, who had been watching, sat down beside them. She smiled and winked at Kyra, who smiled back.

  He tried, but without success. He tried a second and a third time, with the same result. But, something happened all the same: the pip was now engraved in his mind. He opened his eyes and shut them again and there it was, shining in his head. He tried to order it to flash, but to no avail.

  “Can you see the pip?” Albana asked.

  He nodded.

  “But you can’t manage to make it do what you want it to?”

  He nodded again.

  “It takes time to master it. Your sister conveniently forgot to tell you that.”

  “With that head of yours, I thought perhaps you’d grasp it straight away.”

  Albana laughed. “It’s not about the head. It’s about Power. It doesn’t matter how intelligent or strong you are, the Power is ruled by its presence in the blood. The more Power in your blood, in the family, the more you’ll be able to use and control it, the more skills there’ll be that can be developed. But whatever the case, to be initiated in its use takes time and effort.”

  Ikai arched his eyebrows and looked at his sister. “Time I don’t have and effort I don’t want to make.”

  “All right,” Kyra said, giving in. “Still, I had to try.”

  The second evening they gathered around the fire again. Liriana and Romen’s tired faces revealed that they had been working hard.

  “How are the preparations going?” Ikai asked.

  Liriana drank from the water-skin and replied breathlessly.

  “Well. They’re working non-stop. We’ll be ready tomorrow, as you asked.”

  “That’s good news.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want us to build a battering ram to try and bring down the city gates?” Liriana asked.

  “Sure. That’s exactly what Sesmok expects us to do, so we won’t.”

  “It’s what military logic would dictate…”

  “You told me that, Liriana, and that’s why we can’t do it.”

  “Then what?”

  “We’ll have to think of something Sesmok won’t expect.”

  Liriana smiled, and her turquoise eyes gleamed.

  “Well, there’s no-one better than you for doing that.”

  Ikai made a face. They were expecting far too much of him.

  “The main problem is the city gates. They’re closely watched, and if we don’t manage to open them, storm in and sweep them away with our superior numbers… then we’ re lost.”

  “I know the gate mechanism well,” Liriana said. “They can only be opened from inside, from the tower on the left beside the gates, by maneuvering the pulley system. The tower on the right has a second mechanism in case the first one fails.”

  “Right, that’s clear. Unfortunately, we don’t have anybody on the inside, and we can’t enter without being seen either.”

  “I can, though,” Albana said confidently.

  They all turned to her. There was concern in Ikai’s eyes.

  “It’s too risky,” he said.

  Liriana nodded. “Ikai’s right, Sesmok will expect us to try something like that. It’ll be under surveillance.”

  “I could do it,” Albana insisted. “I just need a convincing distraction. A very convincing one.”

  Ikai did not like it one little bit. He knew Albana’s skills, but even so it was insane. And there was no way he was prepared to lose her. He could not.

  “If you manage to get in,” Liriana said, “I can tell you how to cross the city without being caught.”

  Ikai shook his head. “You’re taking too much of a risk,” he said.

  “We’re all doing that.”

  There was a moment of silence. Ikai and Albana stared at each other. The others watched without daring to intervene.

  Albana had the last word. “It’s my decision. And I’ve already made it.”

  Ikai had no choice but to yield. He could not forbid her, however much he wished he could.

  “All right then,” he said through gritted teeth.

  “You’d better come up with a good plan, brother,” Kyra said.

  “Give me a day. I’ll come up with something.” He gave a deep sigh.

  The gathering broke up, and they retired for the night. There was a long day ahead of them.

  Ikai lay down beside Albana. He pulled her to him and held her in his arms. Gazing into her night-black eyes, he asked. “Why do you do it? This isn’t your fight. You’re a hybrid, born in the Eternal City.”

  She gazed long into his eyes. “I’m doing it for them, and I’m doing it for you.”

  “I don’t want to lose you.”

  “Neither do I.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too, Ikai.”

  A couple of hours before dawn, on the third day after the great battle, the rebel tide began to move in silence under cover of the night. The thousands of Senoca went forward carrying rudimentary ladders made out of wood and rope. But most of them carried long tree-trunks on their shoulders, a dozen men to a trunk. They came closer stealthily, walking slowly, careful not to trip. They were approaching the walls of the city in two groups: one coming from the east, the other simultaneously from the west. When they were three hundred paces from the wall they crouched and waited for the signal.

  The city was sleeping. Albana was climbing up the north wall, clinging close to it, making use of her skills and training as a Shadow to avoid being seen by the watch. She concentrated and used her Power: a black flash ran through her body and it melted into the darkness. They would not see her as long as she made no sudden move. But they might hear her, so she took careful precautions.

  When she reached the battlements she made out two guards close to her, with three more to the east. She would have to slip through without any confrontation, or else they would realize something was afoot and give the alarm. One of the guards turned in her direction. He was less than three paces away from her. She swallowed and held her breath, flattening herself against the wall. The guard looked towards the south.

  Now. From her belt she took out a black ball and threw it high over her head. At its highest point it split in two with a hollow crack. Immediately the guards turned round and looked up in search of the strange noise. But all they saw was darkness. Albana took advantage of the distraction. With a somersault, in silence, she reached the parapet. She calculated the distance to the stairs that went down inside, concentrated her Power and called upon the darkness. A shadow shrouded her, and she vanished into it, invisible to human eyes.

  I’ve got to be quick. This skill uses too much Power, I won’t be able to keep it up for long.

  She went on carefully as far as the stone stai
rs, then made her way down into the city. But she had to stop. There was one last obstacle waiting for her: two guards at the foot of the stairs.

  That snake Sesmok has got all his men on watch duty.

  Luckily they had their backs to her. She went up to them shrouded in the darkness and called on her Power once more. From her hand emerged a thread of blue-black smoke. She directed it carefully, making it pass between their heads and then split in two. Before they could react, the thread of smoke seeped under their helmets and into their noses and mouths. Suddenly fearful, they tried to react, but it was too late. The soporific substance had already reached their lungs, and the two men lost consciousness. She took a step forward out of the darkness and held them from behind to stop them falling noisily on to the floor. She left them leaning against the wall, as if they were sleeping during their watch.

  She came out into the northern part of the city, behind Sesmok’s palace. Now she just had to cross the whole city to get to the gates.

  Piece of cake, she thought, and smiled to herself.

  Blending in with the night and with the shadows for allies, she reached a small square, and there in a corner, out of sight, she found what she was looking for. She bent and raised the trapdoor, then let herself drop inside.

  The sewers at last. And now let’s see if Liriana’s underground map leads me to where I need to go.

  The first light of dawn broke. The moment of truth had arrived. Ikai gave the order. The horns sounded to the east and west of the city, and the great Senoca tide rose up to take the walls. They broke into a run with savage yells. They ran with all their might, trying to reach the walls before they were knocked down by arrows and spears.

  The alarm sounded along the entire wall. Sesmok’s men hastened to defend the battlements. The officers shouted orders to their men to take up their formation. But just as Ikai had guessed, most of the forces were defending the gates, not the side walls. The officers ordered their men to turn, and all the available forces assembled on the ramparts to face the two Senoca tides. Thousands of arrows fell on the rebels bringing death to the brave men trying to reach the foot of the walls.