All that was left was to bring Sigrant to justice and, watching with his vision of the gods, Seth tracked the foreign king and his own wife via their bloated auras of power.
Chapter Seventeen
Sara could not believe she had missed him. He had been mere yards away from her and yet had manage to duck her attack and escape. Now she was forced to give chase. It would have been easier, if Sigrant had chosen to run a straight line back home. It would have been easier if he had chosen an open path to tread, instead of running through and jumping over the masses of fleeing troops. Anything would have been easier, honestly.
So instead of simply charging him in an attempt to run him down, Sara was cautious. She wove like he wove among the fleeing troops, slowing to better be able to maneuver. She jumped over the obstacles he jumped, all the while trying to gain some ground. And she did. Until at least he broke free of his fleeing army and raced through the mass of Seth’s troops, darting and weaving a path of death in his wake.
It was odd that at such speeds, Sigrant could kill someone without them even knowing they were injured until it was too late. It was sickening that in just seconds he managed to kill nearly two hundred of Seth newest and youngest soldiers. Snatching up a pair of short blades from those Sigrant had felled while she ran, she maneuvered to force his direction. She did her best to press him out of the ranks of troops, which he complied to by striking down a pair of blessed dwarves and a giant wolf before he turned once again and fled the field of battle.
Sara knew this was her opportunity and she did not hesitate to pick up speed. Out across the field her opponent ran, kicking up a trail of dust and dead grass as he pushed his legs to their limit. At first it appeared that he planned to flee the city, but unexpectedly he changed course back towards the battle. Sara was forced to slow and take a wider turn in order to follow.
She didn’t dare let him enter the battlefield again to do more damage and kill more innocents, so instead she sped up, running almost parallel to him in a course to intercept or drive him away from the battle. Her trick worked and he veered off in an attempt to skirt the city. Sara gave chase. Together they eased around the north east corner of the city, Sara hot on his trail, though her turn did take a much wider arc than Sigrant’s. Then it was an all-out run, Sara gaining speed over the miles they ran westward along the northern perimeter of the city. But yet another corner approached, and Sara knew she had to act now or fall behind once again in a turn.
Doing her best to judge their speed and the distance she would need to lead him, she threw the first blade and then the second, hoping at least one would make their mark and slow him enough for her to overtake him. So fast the blades flew through the air, she was amazed when the first struck his shoulder, folding him over slightly as he reached the corner of the city. The second blade soared past his now lowered ear, glancing off his shoulder, changing its trajectory to find its target coming around the corner from the opposite direction.
There was nothing for Sara to do at her speed but leap. As Sigrant plowed into the unexpected white warhorse, his body tore clear through its ribcage and side, taking the rider’s right leg with him. The blade that had grazed his shoulder cleaved into two the head of the beauty that Sara recognized just as her features were destroyed. Sara knew in that instant that nothing would ever be the same in Valdadore, but she knew too that she still had a duty to uphold.
Clearing the mangled horse and rider, she was surprised to find that the impact had slowed Sigrant enough that she bore down directly upon him. From above she twisted her body and landed on the invading king, just as the deep booming howl exploded from somewhere behind and above her. She recognized the anguished voice of Garret as she drove Sigrant to the ground.
Riding the invading king down to the earth, she thrust her hand between his ribs, listening to the crack as he screamed sickeningly. Grasping his beating heart in her small hand, she wrenched her arm upwards and tore it out, ripping through each of his ribs and shoulder before extracting her arm near his neck. With one hand she wrenched back his head, thrusting the heart in his mouth with the other, before clamping his mouth closed by grasping his chin and yanking upwards. His head tore free of his body with ease, his scream ceasing with a gurgle as his eyes stared on into eternity, the glow in them fading quickly.
Garret still screamed in rage from atop the wall, but Sara knew that there was nothing she could do to save Linaya. The woman was dead before she hit the ground. There was nothing left to save.
* * * * *
Seth watched Sara chasing the enemy around the battlefield and then the city, and tracked their progress. He watched as another aura familiar to him collided with those he tracked. Then he watched it dissipate. Linaya was dead. Sara was involved. Garret was there too. Seth hoped beyond hope that Linaya had not fallen to Sara.
Taking to the air once more, he climbed more quickly than ever before, motioning for Borrik to stay. Flapping furiously, he turned and flew the direction of his wife, and witnessed as Sigrant was brought to an end through his god vision. The war was over. The enemy king destroyed. His army in custody. Even so, there was little to rejoice at.
* * * * *
Garret watched Linaya slowing as she neared the corner of the city, her mount maneuvering into the turn. One second she was there, atop her mount. The next her mount was destroyed as if it had exploded, and as it fell a broken and destroyed Linaya crumpled to the ground, a portion of her head bouncing away from her body twice before coming to rest. At first there was no sign as to what had caused the damage. There was only gut wrenching loss.
Linaya was all that Garret had left. All that he looked forward to. She was all that he had that was not tainted by evil. She was the one light in a world filled with darkness and now she had been snuffed out. Garret roared at the top of his lungs, anguished. Then he saw them.
On the ground below, where previously no one had been, Sara landed stark naked atop a man covered in gore whom she viciously slaughtered, ripping off his head. Garret did not need the details. He did not want them. All he knew was that Sara had a part to play in Linaya’s murder. He roared again, this time in hatred as Sara rose nimbly as if nothing had happened and spun as if to show off her nude body to him. She disgusted him. What she was disgusted him. What she had done made him hate her. He would see her pay for Linaya’s death if he had to strike her down himself. But first he would see to the woman he adored.
Turning, the broken giant of a man strode down the wall in search of the stairs that he knew would lead him down to the ground level.
* * * * *
Sara was torn as to what she should do. She did not want to flee the scene as it could appear to Garret a betrayal. But then again, what betrayal could be greater than killing the woman the king loved? Scooping up the blade that had felled the foreign king, Sara was filled with guilt, but knew there was nothing she could do about it. She still had duties to attend to, and in the big picture she should not wait to do them. She would leave the fallen woman and Garret to be alone with her, and come to him later to give her condolences and apologies.
Decided, Sara sprang into action and raced towards the wall of the city. With a powerful leap she cleared the side and fell again to land lithely upon the cobblestone road beyond. Turning, she raced down the city street, careful to avoid those humans and her kind that inhabited the streets. Just one more task and the battle would be won.
Racing towards the center of the city, she slowed as she neared temple row, and her eyes fell upon the torture implement the old woman was trapped inside.
Dropping Sigrant’s head, she approached the device and kicked the giant steel object, rolling it over. The locks and cranks that were designed to keep the prisoner within were still intact. The old woman was still inside. Sara needed only to kill the woman, and the rest of the infected Valdadorians would be cured of the plague she carried. The only problem was that her original plan would not work.
She had hoped to simply build a
fire around the giant metal sarcophagus, but she knew the woman would survive the fire. Her heart had to be destroyed. Nude, and with naught but an invading king’s severed head and a short blade she did not remember collecting, Sara had no idea how to approach dispatching the woman. She dared not open the device, even for a moment. There was no telling how powerful the old woman had become. Sara only received a portion of her power and it could be argued that she was the most powerful person upon Thurr. Granny in the box was undoubtedly much, much more powerful.
Without a solution at hand, it was not until the wings flapped from above her that she knew her husband had come to the rescue as usual. Too bad she couldn’t speak to him. Instead she simply stood still, and threw up her arms as he landed, a show of her dismay. He smiled knowingly, and removed his tattered but serviceable cloak and handed it to her to cover her nude body.
With no other means of communication, after donning the cloak Sara pointed to the torture device and drew an “X” over her heart. Seth nodded and placed his hand over the metal above where the heart of the inhabitant would be. The metal below his hand moved and flowed like fluid, creating a hole straight down to the old woman’s chest.
“Now you may do it,” Seth said, though to Sara it really took him an unnaturally long time, like several minutes, to complete the sentence.
Plunging her hand into the device she extracted a bloody heart and dropped it to the ground before she stomped upon it. Instantly the streets of the city quieted. Seth smiled then and Sara watched him come.
Gingerly, and carefully Seth pulled her into his arms. His touch felt so light it reminded Sara of spider webs. Tears streamed down her face, knowing not only that it was over, but also that she had done many a terrible thing. Redemption was beyond her grasp, of that she was certain. The king would never forgive her. Seth could never truly love her in this condition, and they could not even communicate properly. There was only one thing she could do. Lives and collisions.
Pulling back carefully she placed the handle of the short sword she carried in Seth’s hand and closed his fingers around it. Then moving quickly, as only she could do, she reached out with her free arm and pulled him to her as carefully as possible. She only winced slightly as the blade slid into her abdomen and up into her heart and lung. She clung to Seth, listening to his heart beat unnaturally slow, refusing to let him go against his struggles. There they sobbed, together, until the deed was finished.
* * * * *
Borrik and Zorbin saw to the prisoners. Without orders they knew not what to do with the tens of thousands of soldiers. Being that there was already a structure in place, they made the surrendered troops restore their camp, and there the blessed dwarves and Seth’s rat soldiers created a perimeter to keep them contained. The dire wolves, apparently deciding they were no longer in the debt of the dwarves, turned and sauntered off the field of battle.
Seeing their work done, the two decided to seek out their respective masters and see what orders they might be given. Together the Dwarven warrior and the leader of the wolf men walked back to the city they called home.
Chapter Eighteen
In the throne room of the palace inside the once beautiful city of Valdadore, King Garret Valdadore, so named after his kingdom, sat upon the throne, the broken corpse of the no longer beautiful Linaya splayed across his lap. With her death her beauty had faded, leaving behind a plain and common shadow of the vision she had been in life. Garret clung to her body and sobbed there uncontrollably, all doors to his location thrown wide and left open, a small trail of blood the only witness to his passage.
Though his heart was broken and all emotion within him was drained, one yet remained and filled him so completely that his vision saw only in shades of red. Staring ahead blankly, his tears having dried up long before his sobbing ceased, he saw movement ahead and willed his eyes to focus better through the haze that sought to shelter him from painful truth.
Seeing those who approached, he rose carefully from his throne and delicately laid Linaya upon its surface, before turning to face the open door. Summoning his blessing, the king of Valdadore exploded in size as he rushed headlong to exit the palace, smashing doorways with each passage.
* * * * *
Seth could not believe what she was doing. In his arms, Sara’s body fought to heal from the grievous wound she inflicted upon herself, yet she held fast to him, keeping the blade lodged firmly between them. For better than an hour they stood locked as such, her life draining away, expelled in the exertion of healing that could not complete. Every moment her life fled in a torrent and every moment it returned to the god she worshiped, the only god she had ever believed in.
With each passing second Seth’s power grew, but it was the power as a god received it, not the power as it was stripped from the life it belonged to. As such it was given to Seth freely, untainted, and joined with him freely, without the need to impose his will upon it.
Eventually her grip upon him slackened and he backed away quickly, drawing the blood-coated blade with him. Her injury healed in seconds, proof that she retained plenty of power.
“Thank you, love,” Sara grinned sadly. “Now we can still be together, and you can understand me.”
“How did you know when to stop?”
“Your heart told me,” Sara answered. “I’ll never forget your heartbeat.”
They hugged one another tightly, happy to have their lives to share with one another, and Seth could not help but pepper her forehead with kisses. It was some time before they released one another and spoke again, but when they did the mood was somber.
“I think something is changing in Garret,” Seth warned.
“I’ve seen it too. Especially in the way he looks at me, but I’m afraid I’ve made it worse.” Sara choked back tears.
“Do you mean Linaya?” Seth asked.
“How did you… never mind. Yes, I mean Linaya. It was an accident, but Garret has no one else to blame but me, and if it weren’t for me it would have never happened so it is all my fault!”
“What is all your fault?” a deep guttural voice came from the road behind them.
Seth watched as both Borrik and Zorbin approached from the darkness.
“Lady Linaya is dead,” Seth answered. He did not know what to do about the situation. It seemed Garret was already struggling with more than he could handle and yet here was another situation that could not be resolved easily.
After several minutes of trying to discuss options it was realized that there were none. Instead, it was Seth who had to make the call.
“We should go to Garret, and you can apologize and we can all be there to show him support,” said Seth. “He is nothing if not honorable and fair. Surely he will see that it was an accident, and he will forgive you. He must.”
So it was that the four companions walked the short distance to the palace complex where a guard was just being set, marking things as relatively back to normal. They strode through the gate to many bows and spoken titles, but Seth did not feel inclined to reply and neither were his companions in the mood for civilities.
Reaching the palace itself they were a bit surprised to find that no guards yet watched the gates, and the doors ahead stood open, directly into the chamber within. There sat the king, the broken body of Linaya upon his lap. Though they had paused briefly at the sight, Seth stepped forward again and those with him followed his lead. Garret too moved and as soon as he did, Seth knew that his intentions were not good.
Placing the maimed body of the woman upon the throne, Garret turned and charged, invoking his blessing as he smashed headlong through the walls and doors that separated Seth from his brother. Seth had no choice. He had to react.
Throwing up a wall of protective power, Seth blasted Garret in the face and chest as he broke free of the confines of the palace. Adding more and more strength to the power, he brought Garret to a seething halt just out of reach of those who cared for him the most. Still that did not stop the grievi
ng king. Instead, he drew forth his massive broadsword and attempted to put it to use against those in front of him, but Seth reacted faster.
Seeing the sword, Seth pushed harder with his power, driving the king backwards and out of range. Even so, Garret raised the sword as if to throw it, his eyes locked on Sara. Seth had no choice but to try and make Garret drop the sword.
Lightning burst forth from Seth’s hand, arcing across the distance and licking the blade of the sword. There the bolt ran up the metal to arc into the metallic flesh of the blessed king, to no avail. Angered, or perhaps hurt, the king yelled unintelligible words of rage.
Seth could do nothing but look on, and hold his adopted brother at bay with his power.
“Calm down, Garret!” he shouted. “You are not yourself. Let us grieve with you.”
“You grieve with me? asked the king. “It is you that I grieve, brother.”
Seth stared at his supposed twin, confused by his words, but it was not long he waiting for his brother’s reasoning.
“I do not know who or what you are, Seth, or what happened to the brother I grew up with, but you have been tainted by evil. You surround yourself with demons and I can stand you no longer. Be gone from my kingdom, never to return, for you are not my brother. He died upon an artillery bolt days ago. If you should enter Valdadore again, I will see you killed myself. Leave my city and take your beasts with you, for those who remain will be put in irons and tortured to learn what evil guides you. I, King Garret of Valdadore, banish you from the lands of my kingdom!”
Seth’s heart stopped beating in his chest for longer than could have been possible. It was true he had made some bad choices and paid dearly for them. Many had died because of his actions. But this… to lose his brother too… it pained him beyond measure. He had thought them inseparable. But now he was being banished. Garret was not thinking straight.
Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) Page 139
