Halls of Power (Ancient Dreams Book 3)

by Benjamin Medrano

  The goddess extended her hand, and her forgotten sword blazed to life and flipped through the air into her hand. Raising it, she slammed it into the brilliant light connecting her to Irethiel, and a sound like a gong resounded through the cavern.

  “You cannot break the brand, you foolish woman! That brand is part of your body and soul, and it cannot be removed,” Irethiel spat, taking a step forward, only to have Tyria grin back at her.

  “Perhaps it cannot be broken, but I can choose an owner of my own. Sistina! I accept thy offer, and submit to your power!” Tyria’s voice was loud, and with a resounding crash she brought down her sword on the link, which shuddered, frayed, and split before Phynis’ eyes.

  Irethiel recoiled as the link broke, the lash in her hand vanishing back into her body, but the other end didn’t vanish. Instead it lanced out, twisting around past the demon lord and to Sistina’s tree. Merging with the tree, the link turned brilliant gold, threaded through with vibrant green, and Tyria straightened, her eyes flashing as she smiled at Irethiel, sending a surge of hope through Phynis once more. Slowly the brand and line vanished from sight, but Phynis had no doubt about what had just happened.

  “Your hold over me is broken, Irethiel!” Tyria told her, sword in hand as all traces of agony vanished from her face. “You had no right to me, and for daring to try to hold me, you will suffer the consequences.”

  “Your arrogance astounds me… how you managed to resist this long is a miracle, but that miracle will not last,” Irethiel hissed, and lunged at the goddess.

  The resulting fight was a blur that Phynis couldn’t follow, as sparks flew and purple and black flames clashed in a whirlwind, as did the sounds of metal striking metal. Only a few seconds later the two had separated, with Tyria between the demon lord and the tree. Neither looked injured, but a moment later Phynis’ concern spiked as she saw that Tyria’s face was flushed.

  “What… have you done to me?” Tyria asked, her voice shaking.

  “Let me guess… your limbs feel leaden, your body feels like it’s on fire, and there’s an ache, an utter need for someone to touch you?” Irethiel replied, grinning as she shook her head. “Distracting, isn’t it? It isn’t what I did just now, Tyria, but what was done before. After you were branded, succubus blood was injected into you as well, dormant but helping you adapt to your servitude. When you broke the link between us, you woke that blood, and succubi love virgins. They love deflowering them, that is. So now your own blood is fighting you. Do you think you can beat both myself and your own desires at the same time?”

  “You…!” Tyria’s voice caught, and Phynis’ terror grew as she continued, her teeth grinding. “I am willing to try!”

  “What can we do?” Topaz’s voice was soft, and Diamond shook her head.

  “There’s nothing we can do. She’s too fast, and if she actually attacks us, we can’t defend against her,” the older priestess cautioned, her words heavy. “We have to hope that Tyria can hold out.”

  “I… I know Sistina said something about a last resort…” Phynis murmured, and swallowed hard as the demigoddess and demon lord engaged in battle once more. “If she’s going to do so, I think now’s the time.”

  The others looked at her in surprise, and a moment later Amethyst spoke, her voice determined. “I’m sure she will.”

  Phynis felt better as she saw each of the others nod their agreement, and internally she prayed that Sistina would. After all, she hadn’t done anything since her body had been thrown backward like a broken doll.

  Sistina tried not to pay attention to the two titans clashing near her tree. The shield around it could hold either one of them for at least a few minutes, which was all the time she would need. The problem was that she’d anticipated at least another hour to try to claim Tyria’s brand before anyone could interfere, and that hadn’t happened. The goddess’ willing defection had been a welcome relief for her, but it simply delayed the inevitable.

  As the clash continued, one of her roots burrowed up through the cracks in the original palace of Everium, toward the circle she’d inscribed around the two deities. The clash near her tree echoed the one from so long ago, but she was determined not to let it play out the same way. But first she had to get to the circle.

  It took only a little time, but that time was almost too much. Tyria took a blow that caved in part of the armor over her stomach as Sistina’s root reached the circle. There was no time to test the circle. No time to ponder the consequences. Sistina simply mentally whispered a prayer to Fate and activated the charged circle.

  The circle roared to life instantly, and it upset the balance between Demasa and Kylrius’ power. The entire mountain began to shake around them, as the still-immense power of two dead gods rippled through reality as time finally caught up to their corpses, and the bodies frozen in time collapsed into dust. Yet the circle contained and channeled the power down the one avenue Sistina had left for it. Directly into herself. Sistina almost screamed as the power struck her fully, light and shadow warring within her body and soul. For a moment she feared that she’d miscalculated.

  Then a figure that she’d almost forgotten shuddered and opened its eyes. Avendrial woke, her eyes those of pure darkness, and smiled as she began to devour Kylrius’ power. Sistina paused, dazed, as an ancient aspect of her mind woke, seemingly part of her, yet separate.

  It worried her, but Sistina didn’t have time for that, and Avendrial flowed toward the broken shell of the body abandoned by her roots as another self roused itself from Sistina’s memories.

  Chapter 48

  When the mountain began to tremble, Phynis just thought it was the beacon firing again at first. It made her fear what was coming next as she clutched Sapphire in a tight, almost desperate hug.

  Tyria was panting, her light and power dimming as she fought Irethiel. The demon was savage and dangerous, her mace having partially collapsed several plates of Tyria’s armor.

  “I remade your armor, you know. Every last plate… so I know all the weaknesses. Same with your sword, little goddess. How long do you think you can hold out against me?” Irethiel taunted, grinning as she stared at the goddess. She’d only received a handful of nicks in her armor in return, which made Phynis’ fear grow as the demon continued. “Come now… submit again and your torment will end.”

  Tyria just scowled, holding her sword in both hands and about to retort when the shaking intensified, the rumbling of the mountain growing audible as it shook and a wave of immense power flooded the chamber. Everyone looked around, but when Phynis looked at Sistina’s tree, she felt herself smiling.

  The tree, always glowing softly, was now blazing with brilliant silver light. Every seam of the bark was outlined brightly, every ruby glittering with an intense, immense power that somehow didn’t touch Phynis or the Jewels.

  “It’s about time, Sistina,” Phynis called out, letting go of Sapphire and shaking her head. “I was starting to get worried!”

  “What have you done, you foolish dungeon? That power… where did you get it? And do you really believe it will save you?” Irethiel asked, her voice dark as she glowered at the tree, keeping an eye on Tyria.

  “Yes, it will.” The voice that responded was much calmer, smokier somehow, but it was still Sistina’s, and it came from the body that Irethiel had sent flying only minutes before.

  The figure was standing up, and as it did, the body changed its shape. Sistina’s skin gained a pink tinge, and the wood pattern to it vanished as it became a near-ivory white. From the brow of her head grew a pair of almost delicate black horns, just below the hairline and swept backward, as her injuries vanished like they’d never existed. Her eyes slowly shifted to a deep violet with vertical pupils and her lips darkened even as she smiled. The tail and the bat-like wings that mirrored Irethiel’s own body grew rapidly as well, and the strange woman, who Phynis couldn’t quite think of as Sistina, stretched with a sound of pleasure, her back popping as black bone slid out to sheathe he
r in armor.

  “Irethiel, it’s been a long time… hasn’t it?” the woman purred, and Phynis looked on in surprise as the demon lord actually paled.

  “Avendrial?” Irethiel asked, taking a step back. “How is this possible? And that aura… that isn’t possible, for you to have grown so powerful! I made certain of it!”

  “Yes, yes… you were the one who told Gauros I’d betrayed him and sabotaged my efforts to carry out Kathyria’s orders. You were also the one who decided to give him the spell he used to trap me.” Avendrial smiled broadly, buffing her nails as an aura of cold completely at odds with the light around Sistina’s tree enveloped her. “You know, I do rather hold a grudge about that.”

  “You’re the one who taught me to take control if I could! That it was the place of a demon to strive for power!” Irethiel spat, glowering. “You should have died three millennia ago! How is this even possible?”

  As they spoke, Phynis’ eyes glanced back to Sistina’s tree and stopped, almost breathless. Superimposed over her tree was another figure, this one an elven woman with walnut brown hair, deep blue eyes, pale skin and angelic wings. The figure’s lips were moving, but Phynis got the distinct impression that no one else could see her, as she wove strands of gleaming silver light in the air.

  “Oh good. I wasn’t actually certain that you’d done it, I just wanted confirmation,” the other demon replied, walking up to Tyria and smiling at her, clicking her tongue softly. “Tsk. You really should do something about that problem of yours, Tyria. One moment, I need to borrow this. I have an errant student to deal with.”

  Phynis didn’t know when the demon took Tyria’s sword, and from the look on the goddess’ face, neither did Tyria. Avendrial flipped the sword in one hand and smiled broadly. “To answer your question, my rebellious student… I was stubborn. Even with my Name erased, I didn’t want to die, and I made new memories within the gemstone where I was trapped, until eventually I was accidentally released, just in time for a certain seed to absorb my spirit. But as for me? Oh, I’ve been a mere fragment of memory and resentment. If you hadn’t shown up, why… I may never have awoken. Sistina’s will is much stronger than my own. Even with your presence, I didn’t have the power to do anything, but fortunately you pushed her to the most desperate measures possible.”

  As she spoke, Irethiel lunged forward suddenly and swung her mace, prompting an instant of panic from Phynis. The panic vanished as Avendrial raised her sword and blocked the mace, not quite effortlessly but close to it, while her armored tail deflected the demon lord’s into the ground, spraying rock and gravel everywhere.

  “This… isn’t possible!” Irethiel growled, straining as her flaming halo grew brighter, fire bursting from her armor as well.

  “You would be right, normally. I’m the shattered fragments of an ancient demon, and you’re a demon lord. You should be able to overpower me easily. Unfortunately, those desperate measures are at work,” her opponent replied with a laugh, kicking Irethiel backward and grinning. “Tell me, Phynis… what happened here, in Everium? What happened six thousand years ago?”

  “Umm, me?” Phynis squeaked, her eyes wide as she shifted back a step, then swallowed and answered. “The Godsrage? I mean… something buried the capital, though we don’t know what.”

  “Indeed. In fact, Demasa and Kylrius had their little showdown beneath our very feet, Irethiel. Even more interestingly, they managed to kill each other at the same time.” Avendrial’s voice was a soft purr, and she circled around Irethiel as the demon lord stepped forward uncertainly. “Because of that… time stopped. Their power froze around them, and remained there… still fighting. Until you forced Sistina to absorb their power.”

  “You’re crazy, and I’ll prove it! No dungeon, not even the world tree itself, could absorb the power of two opposed gods and survive!” Irethiel snarled, her fires growing still brighter as she continued. “I held back to keep from destroying the city and all its potential slaves, but that no longer matters! You can all die!”

  Irethiel’s halo blazed even brighter and wreathed her in an immense circle of flames that grew so brilliant that Phynis had no choice but to look away. But oddly she felt no fear, for when Phynis looked at Sistina’s tree, the light from the immaterial angel shone even brighter, and a curtain of silver flickered out from her hands to surround Irethiel in an instant, seemingly formed from the branches of a willow tree.

  The fire within the curtain exploded with a force that could have collapsed the mountain on top of Phynis and the others, and she heard Diamond swear softly as they flinched. Yet no blast of hot air reached them, no sound of shattering stone. Only the sound of Avendrial’s laughter.

  “Go ahead and try, Irethiel! Sistina, no, Marin took Demasa’s power, and the entire time we were talking, she was weaving defenses to keep you from killing those she loves. See, Marin is a protector.” Avendrial mocked the other demon, stepping into the barrier as the flame vanished around the stunned demon lord, leaving behind only the scorched earth and charred stumps within the barrier. “But while she is a protector, she also agrees with me on one tiny thing. We both want you dead.”

  “Then what are you?” Irethiel asked, retreating slowly until she was almost against the curtain.

  “Me? I’m vengeance incarnate. And I consumed the power of Kylrius.” Avendrial’s laughter vanished, and her eyes went dark as she tossed the sword aside, sending it spinning through the air for a moment, then plunging blade-first into the ground before Tyria, her voice as cold as a winter storm. “I don’t want to live. I died twelve thousand or more years past, and all I want is to destroy the one who killed Kathyria. Thank you for coming here, Irethiel… it gives me a chance to make things right.”

  Irethiel didn’t reply; the demon lord instead attacked. Her mace slammed into Avendrial’s left arm with incredible force, shattering the armor and mangling the arm beneath it. As her opponent began to smile, Avendrial grabbed Irethiel by the throat, a smile on her face. Irethiel’s face paled again, and she began to struggle, spitting out, “What are you doing?”

  “What am I doing?” Avendrial laughed, grinning. “You’re about to find out. Goodbye, Irethiel.”

  Darkness seemed to billow out of the demon’s body like fog, and Irethiel swung for her head just as Phynis’ vision was obscured by the spreading shadows. No sound came from within, nothing but a half-sphere of darkness so deep that it gave Phynis chills to stare at it.

  “What is that?” Phynis asked after a long moment, staring at the darkness.

  “I have no idea…” Diamond whispered, swallowing hard before murmuring, “T-Tyria? Do you?”

  “The greater gods have been forbidden from this world for a reason. That was one of the powers of Kylrius himself, called the Consuming Darkness. If Sistina had not contained it, the shadows would have frozen everything within a dozen miles, draining the essence of the living to power its spread.” Tyria spoke softly, her eyes wide as she took a deep, pained breath, bowing her head at the tree as she continued. “It appears that I chose wisely.”

  Slowly the darkness began to vanish, and the interior of the curtain was very different than it had been before. The lingering fires had been extinguished and the ground was covered in a sheet of ice, along with everything else. Even Avendrial and Irethiel were covered in ice, but the halo which had crowned the demon lord’s head was gone. The barrier of light vanished, leaving behind the scene of frozen death, Irethiel’s mace pulled back for a second swing, and Avendrial’s head covered in frozen blood.

  With a crunch, Avendrial’s arm shattered, and Irethiel’s body fell. On hitting the ground she shattered into thousands of shards. The other demon toppled in turn, and Phynis could only watch, her mouth open in shock as she watched the two bodies evaporate into nothing at all.

  The angelic figure that was seemingly part of Sistina’s tree dissolved as well, coalescing into an orb of silver light that left the tree diminished. It drifted gently over to where the two bodie
s had stood and hovered there for a long, long moment. Then it took the shape of an elf, and with a flash of light Sistina stood there once more, looking down on the spots with an odd sadness to her expression.

  “S-Sistina?” Phynis murmured, stepping close to her beloved, her emotions in knots from the eventful last handful of minutes. Nothing could have prepared her for what had just occurred.

  “Phynis. My beloved.” Sistina’s voice was soft and measured, but she turned her head and smiled at Phynis. “It is done.”

  “Yes. Yes it is… except for Sorvos. But now without his slaves,” Phynis replied softly, taking another step closer, then smiling nervously. “The question is, do we have two goddesses on our side now?”

  “No. Demasa and Kylrius… their power was a shadow. The last remnants of their divine wrath,” the dryad demurred, shaking her head and looking at her hand. “I used the last of it. Made a new body, of flesh and blood. They are now gone in truth.”

  “I see. I wish… I wish I could say I was sorry about that. But I like you as you are,” Phynis replied, smiling in relief as she stepped in and the dryad pulled her into a hug.

  “I have a question. What is it that you intend for me?” Tyria asked, frowning. “I am beginning to remember things from before, but they are muddled, and with how my body feels, I fear that Irethiel was telling the truth.”

  “Do as you will. Try to remember, and choose what is right,” Sistina replied, smiling. “Any other questions? I am… tired.”

  “I can’t imagine why.” Ruby’s voice was dry but eager, and she grinned as she asked, “I did have to ask, though. You’re the world tree?”

  Sistina shrugged and gave a small, gentle smile. “Apparently?”

  Phynis giggled, shaking her head and teasing. “You didn’t say ‘yes’.”