The Godswar Saga (Omnibus)

by Jennifer Vale

  “Jason is here.”

  Ethan swore under his breath. “How did he get here so quickly?”

  “Darius helped them move through the Garos portal. I only learned about it this morning, and I just got done visiting with him.”

  “To what end?”

  “To keep him alive,” Krystia replied matter-of-factly. “The Immortal he merged with was killing him.”

  Ethan grunted. “So he wasn’t strong enough to survive Ascension after all. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about, but right now we have a bigger problem,” she said. “Elade and Sarina have mapped out a search plan for the city—they’ll track you down in no time if you keep these…creatures…here.”

  “There’s nowhere else for them to go. They can’t go near the King’s Tower, and there’s—”

  “I know,” she cut him off. “We’ll have to do this without them.”

  Ethan snorted. “We can’t do this without them—that’s the whole bloody point! Areekan has a garrison of troops protecting him inside the bowels of the tower, and even you will be powerless with the dampening crystals lacing his private chamber.”

  “Then we’ll just have to figure out something, won’t we?”

  Ethan closed his eyes and smothered his rage before he lashed out. She might have been his last and only hope in this world for vengeance, but he couldn’t remember a conversation where he hadn’t wanted to slap her at least once. “Perhaps you have yet again forgotten what is at stake here,” he whispered through clenched teeth.”

  “Think this through before your bitterness clouds your judgment,” Krystia admonished. “Jason and the others are here, and they know you are too. No matter what else happens in the tower, if we use demons people will know about it—and that means Jason will know you were involved. You won’t be able to frame the Crell for the attack if your fingerprints are all over it. Besides, he knows how bitter I am about Areekan and the Unbound Asylum…eventually he’ll put it all together.”

  There were times, Ethan mused, when he was surprised this girl was only twenty years old. She was already thinking ahead, working out contingencies for the future. Perhaps her time with General Iouna was paying off—or perhaps she was just more mature than he gave her credit for. But regardless, she still lacked his experience with war and with people, and she didn’t understand how the world really worked.

  “With the king dead, there will be chaos in the streets,” he said. “Panic makes people want two things: revenge and security. Blaming the Crell will be easy enough—no one will doubt their motive for a second. At the same time, people will be looking to you for security, not explanations. You’ll have to make quick decisions to convince them that they’re safe, but they’ll fall in line once you do.”

  “Just because that’s what happened in Galvia doesn’t mean that’s what will happen here.”

  “Of course it does. At the end of the day, all people share the same basic fears and motivations, regardless of where they come from.”

  Krystia turned and paced across the room in thought. “Regardless, Jason will know, and the Council will be more level-headed than the public. They will want answers, and by Alliance law, it is up to them to officially choose the king’s successor.”

  “Which means they won’t support you regardless and you shouldn’t worry about them,” Ethan told her. “As long as the people are reassured, the Council won’t be able to stop you. I know you Solarians believe your ‘democracy’ is this great and noble thing, but the bottom line is that the Council can’t control the country without an Ascendant.” He paused for a moment and rubbed at his eyes. “You might be right about Jason, though. For all his failings, he’s not stupid. If he learns the truth, he’ll insist on spreading it far and wide. What we need is a way to keep him distracted…or to get him out of the city entirely.”

  Krystia nodded. “I have a meeting with his Majesty tomorrow, and I should be able to get a good look at his defenses. Maybe I’ll come up with an alternative.” She pursed her lips. “Has your Crell agent made contact yet?”

  “No, but he should soon. Get me all the information you can and I’ll see what we can figure out. The invasion could come any day now.”

  “So how do you get rid of these abominations, anyway?” she asked. “Stuff them back into the Void?”

  “Not exactly,” Ethan murmured. “But I think I have an idea to keep the vaeyn off our trail.”

  “Just don’t cause a panic in the city. And make sure Elade isn’t harmed—she is Unbound, and I have great plans for her.”

  “Don’t get your hopes up. She’s still a paladin, and they’re always more trouble than they’re worth in the end.”

  Krystia snorted. “I’ll stay in touch. Try not to kill yourself before then.”

  She slipped out of the chamber, and Ethan glared at the door a long moment before swearing under his breath. Whether he liked it or not, his fate—Galvia’s fate—rested in the hands of a spoiled Solarian priestess. The very thought made him sick to his stomach. But he had suffered worse indignities before, and if he had to swear fealty to her in order to get his powers back, then so be it.

  “Foolish child,” he rasped.

  “I could kill her, master,” one of the demons whispered into his ear. “I would so very much like to taste her…”

  “I have other plans for you,” Ethan said “You will draw out the shadow knight and confront her. If you’re strong enough, you’ll get to taste her instead.”

  The creatures hissed in obvious glee. He almost pitied them—they should have been afraid of a paladin, especially a vaeyn, but perhaps together they could destroy her. If not, it didn’t really matter. He just needed them to sew enough chaos to keep her occupied. He didn’t really care how—if they had to burn down the city to get her attention, then so be it.

  Ethan smiled. He just needed to remind himself that victory was nearly upon him. One way or another, Galvia would be free.

  Even if that meant leaving Solaria in ashes.

  ***

  Elade idled at the side of the street next to a clean but vacant alleyway. She kept her back to the passers-by going about their daily routines and fussed with a piece of parchment, trying to maintain the illusion she was reading a map rather than stalking a particular man. The citizens of Celenest were remarkably friendly, though, even to hooded, scarf-wearing travelers concealing their faces, and she was concerned someone might actually offer to help her find whatever she was looking for. Once they got a closer look at her eyes and skin, her little ruse would be over.

  But thankfully no one tried to initiate a conversation with her, and after a few more minutes of waiting, she finally heard the rhythmic clicking of her target’s horse trotting up behind her.

  “Belek!” she blurted out before abruptly steering her own horse into the alleyway. This was a big risk, she knew, but after spending all last night and most of today scouring the city for demons, the cold, hard reality of the situation had finally set in: if she wanted to find Ethan Moore, she was going to need help.

  A few moments later she heard the young knight turn into the alley behind her. She kept her back turned, but once he drew closer she slid off her right gauntlet and held her gray-blue hand up next to her head where he could see it. He immediately gasped in recognition.

  “Dame Devarath!” Belek Talroy stammered. “What are you doing here?”

  Elade turned towards him as their horses nuzzled each other, pulling down her scarf so he could at least get a glimpse of her face. “Hello, Squire. I’m glad you’re here.”

  He smiled warmly, and his cherubic face was every bit as bright as the last time she had spoken with him. It felt like months since she had sparred with him on the Citadel’s balcony, but in reality it had only been a few weeks.

  “You’re in grave danger, my lady,” he told her after a moment. “Lord Alric has all the knights on alert—if we find you, we’re supposed to br
ing you back to the Citadel immediately.”

  “I know.”

  He frowned. “How? He ordered us not to speak with you through Maeleon’s link.”

  “The ‘how’ isn’t important,” Elade said. “What matters is that I need your help.”

  “I…I can’t do that, my lady,” Talroy whispered. “If Lord Alric found out…”

  “You haven’t warned them about me, have you? Just now?”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “Good. Listen, Belek: I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  He looked her up and down. “The Conclave says that you’re Unbound. The Code forbids your kind serving in the knighthood.”

  “The Code is wrong,” Elade snapped more harshly than she’d intended. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “But I’m not here to debate that with you. I’m here because I managed to track down the source of the demons infesting Lyebel. The warlock is hiding out somewhere here in Celenest.”

  “A warlock?” Talroy gasped just a bit too loudly. “Why would he come here?”

  “Keep your voice down,” she admonished. “I’m not sure yet, but I intend to find out. I want you to help me search for him, but the other knights can’t know about it.”

  “Why? There are seven of us in the city now. We could spread out and track him down easily—”

  “No,” Elade cut him off, glancing about to make sure they weren’t drawing undue attention. “This warlock has allies in the Lord’s Council, and maybe even within the Dawn. If word gets out we’re looking for him, he’ll disappear. I want to catch him off-guard, but I can’t do it alone. I’m not sure how long he’ll be here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he packs up and leaves soon. I can’t cover the whole city by myself in that time, especially areas near the King’s Tower.”

  Talroy pursed his lips and mulled it over. “Lord Alric hasn’t given me much to do. He mostly just wants me to trot around the city ‘reassuring the common folk with my presence.’”

  “Perfect. Here, I made markings on this map of the city—these are the areas I don’t think I’ll be able to cover.”

  He took the map and eyed it for a moment before looking back at her. “What happens if I locate him? Contacting you telepathically might be dangerous. It could alert the others.”

  “I’ll stop by this alley every eight hours starting at noon today. Let me know where you find him and I’ll take care of the rest.”

  Talroy grimaced. He obviously wanted to help her, but he just as obviously didn’t want to end up banished from the knighthood for doing so. Elade just hoped he was the man she thought he was. Otherwise…

  “If they find out that I spoke to you, Lord Alric will have my sword,” the young man whispered. “I will lose everything.”

  “I know,” Elade said. “But whether or not you believe an Unbound should be trained as a paladin, I hope you don’t believe I am evil.”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “All I want to is to track down this warlock before he can do any harm to the people of this city. If you help me, I’ll disappear again and no one will be the wiser.”

  For a moment, Elade actually wondered if he might refuse. His face had drained of color, and his fingers were fidgeting inside his gauntlets. But eventually he swallowed heavily and nodded.

  “All right,” Talroy said. “I’ll help.”

  “Thank you,” she said, smiling. “I knew I could count on you.”

  His expression remained solemn, and his eyes flicked downward. “You probably haven’t heard, but Highlord Dracian…he resigned.”

  Elade’s stomach instantly sank. “Why? What happened?”

  “According to Lord Alric, Tevek underwent the Binding Ritual, but nothing happened. The Conclave believes Maeleon has denounced him, and they asked for his resignation.”

  She swore under her breath. She had wondered all along if Kroll’s “breaking” technique was permanent, but based on what she had learned from Jason, there was a better explanation. In all likelihood, Maeleon hadn’t actually been a true Immortal—he had been one of the original Unbound, and as a result he was a vital part of the great lie that kept modern Unbound in bondage. He had specifically designed his Code to exclude potential threats to his power, and whatever spark of his power remained in the Godstone must have denied Tevek’s powers out of petty vengeance.

  Elade clamped down hard enough on her lip to draw blood. Four years ago she had convinced herself she could start a new life here—she could forget the decades of battle and death and even the forbidden lover for whom she had left it all behind. She had allowed herself to believe there could be a greater purpose in this world than mere survival, and that her power could be used for something really and truly good.

  But now, in the face of what was happening and what she had learned, it all seemed so…empty. Could the servants of a petty and bigoted “god” really be a righteous force in the world? What moral high ground could they claim when they cast down a great man for doing the right thing? The Dawn was smeared with the same bickering and political infighting that blighted every human society.

  “Alric will take over,” she whispered, mostly to herself. “He’ll sabotage everything Tevek worked for.”

  “What they’re doing is wrong,” Talroy said soberly. “I’ll help you, my lady. Maybe I can even talk to Lord Alric.”

  She glanced up to his earnest face and smiled. If nothing else, there were still good men and women in the Dawn, and this boy—this man—was one of them. Perhaps one day she could get through to them somehow and set all of this right.

  But not today.

  “Don’t bother with Alric; it will just get you into trouble,” Elade said. “I’ll figure something out eventually. Right now, as long as there are men like you in the Dawn, I still have hope.”

  His face flushed and he smiled sheepishly. “I’ll meet you here if I find anything.”

  “All right. Kuthos rem, Squire.”

  “Kuthos rem, my lady,” he replied.

  “Call me Elade,” she said, patting him on the arm. She pulled her scarf back over her face, and then nudged her mount back into an adjacent street.

  As she resumed her search pattern, her thoughts shifted back to Tevek. Over the last few days, she had managed to convince herself that the Conclave would ultimately show him mercy. He was a legendary figure, after all, a man of great renown all over the world. He had granted her an opportunity she probably didn’t even deserve, and in the end it had cost him everything.

  When it came right down to it, the bottom line was that she should have let Kroll die in that alleyway in Lyebel. At the very least, she should have killed him after her interrogation. No one would have asked any questions or had any qualms about his death. He was a murderer and a sadist. The Solarians would try to keep him locked up forever, most likely, but what if he escaped? She would be responsible for all the other people he hurt, just as right now she was responsible for her own exile and that of her closest friend.

  Four years ago, she wouldn’t have hesitated to strike him down. She wouldn’t have done much talking in that cell with him, either. Her people had no qualms about doing whatever was necessary to safeguard their home, even if that meant getting their hands bloody. Pitying an enemy was to show them respect they had not shown others, and treating an enemy with dignity only legitimized whatever travesties they had committed. Nau ka'lith whol lil verin, nau seil whol lil dusqup—no mercy for the wicked, no reprieve for the damned. The shadow knights of the Matriarch had their own code, and she had always followed it to the letter.

  Elade wrinkled her nose at the smell of a fish seller on the side of the street and let out a long sigh. She could rationalize her indecision any way she wanted, but the bigger problem was that she no longer believed those things. Tevek had taught her a different way—a better way—that didn’t rely on self-defeating justifications and an endless cycle of pain and violence. She could have killed Kroll in cold blood in that cell, bu
t she would have hated herself for it…even more than she hated herself right now. He would understand that.

  She had never wanted to talk to him more than this moment. He would know exactly what to say. He would probably apologize for insisting they lie to the Dawn in the first place; he would say he should have challenged the unfairness of the Code then, not four years later. It might have delayed her training, but perhaps eventually they would have come around. He would convince her she had done nothing wrong, even as the reality of the situation gnawed at her heart.

  For now, though, regrets about the past didn’t matter. She needed to focus on the here and now, and somewhere in this city a brilliant warlock was plotting to summon in demons on the eve of another war. Her own problems were of little consequence compared to the potential harm he could inflict, and with Talroy’s help, she would track him down.

  Taking a deep breath, Elade stretched her senses out as far as she could and continued the search for Ethan Moore.

  ***

  “You haven’t stopped leering at her since we came in here,” Sarina grumbled in between her second and third stein of mead. “I’m sure you can go talk to the barkeep and rent a room.”

  “This isn’t Lyebel or Dreen,” Tam said. “It doesn’t work that way here.”

  “What, you pay her directly?”

  He snorted. “Prostitution is illegal in Solaria. She’s a dancer, not a whore.”

  Sarina eyed the lithe, flirtatious woman flitting her way between tables. “Are you sure there’s a difference?”

  “You’re terrible,” he said, shoveling another bite of spiced potatoes into his mouth. “Though I could probably throw down enough gold to tempt a priestess at this point. Galivar knows I haven’t been able to spend any of it yet.”

  “There’s nothing worth buying in this part of the city anyway,” Gor muttered. “And this food is terrible.”

  “This is the first real Valheim honey-mead I’ve had in months,” Sarina told him. “Lyebel never received any shipments, and they’d never even heard of the stuff in Ikara.”