Life

by Rosie Scott

  Kirek said nothing, though she did take the time to cross her arms over her chest.

  “Anto was one of my friends who you insulted posthumously in Mistral,” I went on since Kirek seemed open to talking and it still bothered me.

  “I cannot insult a dead man, Kai. If you found my words insulting it was because it was you who was insulted.” Kirek tilted her head to the side. “I do not believe in superstition. The promises the gods have made to the mortals over the centuries are empty. I do not believe Anto could hear me from the grave, and even if he could, I doubt it would disturb his rest.”

  I swallowed hard to keep the thick emotion which bubbled up from my gut from exposing itself. “You know what? I agree with you.”

  Kirek's face relaxed just a bit. “Do you? If that's so, I find your resistance to my words most baffling.”

  “You are not religious,” I told her. “You've made that clear since the day I first met you. Neither am I. I know you don't like that I have god blood running through me, but I can't help that. I can only live my life as I wish to with no regard for my blood. I have never believed in an afterlife, and that belief was only set further in stone when I found out my true heritage. I am a god, Kirek. If I have no damn clue why we're here on Arrayis or what happens to us when we die, who would?”

  Kirek was quiet. I could only hope that meant she understood where I was coming from.

  “I don't believe Anto is still floating around looking down on me,” I continued. “I don't think your words would disturb him at all even if he were. Anto was so used to being insulted and disliked simply because of his appearance that it barely fazed him. As far as my beliefs go, Kirek, Anto's last day on Arrayis in Red Moon of 422 was his last day of existence. You're right. Your words insulted me. They bothered me. Because I believe that the last thing I ever did for Anto was fail him, and my way of making amends was to give him a burial in the one place he'd always wanted to visit and couldn't because he was fighting for Eteri. You took that decision of mine, and the pain and trauma that led up to it, and you discounted it all like the only thing I wanted to do was halt this war for selfishness. I spent over five years of my life in Eteri fighting to aid it in this war and protect it from destruction. During this time, I buried friends there who did the same. Your suggestion that giving them a burial was somehow so terrible that it cost Eteri time in the war? Yes. That insults me.”

  I hadn't meant to rant. I hadn't intended to let that much pain through to my voice. I felt a wave of painful embarrassment flood through me as I realized our conversation was now being watched by a few others. Cerin, Azazel, and Nyx all looked as if they wanted to jump in to defend me, and Altan was hesitant just to the side as if he wasn't sure what would happen next, but he wanted to be prepared for anything.

  Kirek appeared contemplative. My heart beat hard against my chest, preparing for her response. I was so confused by this woman most of the time that I had no idea how she would react.

  “Kai,” Kirek finally said, her voice lower than normal. She met my gaze, just as confident as ever. “My words to you in Mistral were harsh. I did not intend for them to be insulting. I intended them to be challenging.”

  “You have a hatred for me I do not understand,” I replied, my voice shaking so badly my teeth rattled between words. “If I have ever wronged you, I plead you to let me know. I don't pride myself on making enemies.”

  Kirek exhaled heavily through flared nostrils. “I do not judge people based on how much I like them, Kai, but how much I respect them. And I respect you a great deal.”

  That information swirled through my head a couple of times as I became further confused by it. “You have a really odd way of showing it, Kirek.”

  “You are the most powerful person I have ever met,” Kirek stated then. As if this entire conversation hadn't been a shock to my senses already, that made my jaw go slack with surprise. “You are also extremely intelligent. You are a god and a necromancer. You not only get people to follow you based on your powers, skills, and race, but you befriend people with your charm and readiness to compromise. When I first met you, I was unimpressed. As I told you at the time, you'd only negotiated a deal with the Naharans and then were lost for a number of years. In reality? In the span of four years, you had traveled half the world, formed three alliances, and gained territory. It has been another six years, and the only reason you are not ruling Chairel now is because your alliance with Eteri has held you back.”

  It was my turn to be silent. I said nothing, waiting for Kirek to finish her point.

  “I respect you,” Kirek went on after a moment. “Moreso than most people, in fact. You are one of the few war generals and leaders who may change history severely enough that it will affect the way this world develops centuries from now. And that is why I feel I must challenge you. I do not hate you. I fear you, and I do not trust you. I view you as the greatest threat that exists during my lifetime.”

  I let all of that information sink in. “Then why are you aiding me?” I asked softly.

  “Because I have no choice,” Kirek replied. “These are my orders. I believe my queen made a great mistake when she allied with you. You will bring Eteri great triumphs, but then you will bring us grave ruin.”

  “I have no desire to ruin Eteri,” I said. “I only wish to take Chairel.”

  “And you will,” Kirek agreed. “I've no doubt of that. But in your mission to change Chairel, you have left a trail of irreversible effects on the world that are spreading like wildfire. With you leading Chairel, it will become a nation of power-hungry immortals. Eteri will be forced to follow in your misguided footsteps, lest we are left behind.”

  “Eteri does not have to change because of the policies I will implement in Chairel,” I argued.

  “Yes, it will. Otherwise, our army will not be competitive.” Kirek hesitated a moment. “I went to Nahara years ago to aid your brother Hasani, Kai. I arrived there feeling as if it were an inconvenience. I felt like a mother trying to pull a child out of a bad situation it tiptoed into. Then I found that Nahara was holding its own against a much larger army. Nahara was holding its own against Chairel. That would have been unheard of just a few years before. The more time goes on and the further necromancy spreads, the more Chairel will slip down the ranks of the pecking order of Arrayis. It is inevitable. Necromancy is the most powerful magic to exist. Its unregulated use has already spread across the world like a plague. It will be impossible to exist as a country on Arrayis decades from now without succumbing to it. For that reason, I fear you. And for that reason, I curse you.”

  “I appreciate your honesty,” I stated. “But I will not apologize for waging this war, whether for my reasons or my methods.”

  “I did not and would not expect you to,” Kirek replied matter-of-factly. “You have not accomplished more than any other figure of history in a few short years by apologizing. Apologies will not mend the rifts you've created. They would be useless to me even if you gave them.”

  I returned Kirek's stare with one just as confident. “I don't think we'll ever come to terms with each other,” I surmised, “and that disappoints me. Are you at least willing to work with me amicably?”

  “I will continue working with you as I have been,” Kirek affirmed. “I will do my best to stay professional.” She backed up a step, then two, preparing to retreat from the conversation for good. “Thank you for teaching me your spell, Kai.”

  “You're welcome.” With my response, Kirek turned and left, taking most of the tense energy in the air with her.

  “Kirek said she would do her best to stay professional,” Altan commented, coming to stand beside me, “and I'd like to thank you for doing the same without needing to proclaim it. I nearly thought I was gonna have to come over here and separate you two like I did in Mistral.”

  “Dear gods,” Nyx huffed from just feet away. “The more I hear Kirek speak, the more I think, 'eardrums? Who needs 'em?'” She made a stabbing motion beside one of
her ears. “And what the hell was she talking about, Kai? About Anto? You said she insulted him?”

  I exhaled heavily. “I'd rather not say, Nyx.”

  “You're afraid I might do something,” Nyx muttered.

  “Yes, actually. Because I nearly did. Just know that she said something rude, but her opinion matters little.”

  “Should've told her that,” Nyx retorted lightly.

  “Even if I had, she wouldn't have cared,” I replied.

  The sun slowly set over the Griswald Forest, darkening the bright yellow rays of sunlight into a coral-red before shadows began to fight for dominance. I spent most of my time collecting my soldiers and ensuring we were prepared to start our trek to Olympia. We'd brought a small army of Alderi with us that were going to stay with Altan and the others rather than come with me; their superior ears and eyes were needed to protect the others as they camped in one location for a fortnight. Cerin stayed near me throughout the evening, unwilling to leave my side while he still could be close. He was the only Renegade that would be left behind with Altan. Nyx and Azazel would be coming with me, while Maggie and Holter were with Calder's group on the seas.

  Cerin and I held each other tight when it finally came time to separate. We'd been through this so many times, but it wasn't like it made a difference. Death was often quick and inconvenient, and any battle could be our last. But I found myself mostly hopeful.

  “I have déjà vu,” Azazel commented as Cerin and I pulled apart. The archer was smiling as he remembered our reluctance to leave each other before Hazarmaveth.

  “Let's hope that feeling passes on into the battle so we win it, then,” Cerin replied, wiggling one finger between Azazel and I. “Take care of each other.”

  “Always,” Azazel replied, reaching out to pat Cerin on the arm in reassurance.

  “And try not to destroy everything,” Cerin added, looking back at me. “We need some of those siege weapons for Chairel.”

  I chuckled. “I know.”

  “You'll be taking the siege weapons?” Altan's voice sounded playful as he came up to say his goodbyes. “Nonsense! I want those beautiful bastards for myself.”

  “Unfortunately for you,” I began, “the fact that I'm allowed to take a percentage of them is written in our agreement.”

  “Pfft. I never read the fine print,” Altan joked, punching me lightly in the arm. “Do the usual in Olympia, Kai.”

  “The usual?”

  “Kicking ass. Taking names,” the Sentinel replied.

  “That's your job,” I retorted.

  “Yeah,” Altan agreed light-heartedly. “And I love it, too. I'll be just one war horn call away, friend! Don't keep me waiting. I've been looking forward to this battle for centuries.”

  With my army gathered and prepared to follow me into battle, I took one last look at my allies, enhancing my vision with magic so I could see them clearly in the darkness of the early night. This would not be the last time I saw Cerin, Altan, Zephyr, or Kirek, I told myself. We would prevail.

  The sharp gazes of a few thousand Alderi were on me as I used invisibility on myself. Within seconds, the entire army vanished, leaving nothing but our allies and the surrounding trees as if we weren't here at all. Azazel waited beside me, still able to see me given his own eyesight.

  “Are you ready?” I asked him.

  “Ready,” he replied.

  Bilda te fasad. I transferred the magic to Azazel, and his image flickered out.

  “This is...disorienting,” he admitted, seemingly from thin air, before chuckling lightly.

  “You get used to it,” I replied, then adding, “and you of all people shouldn't complain. You're one of the few who can still see yourself through the magic.”

  “Then I won't complain,” Azazel said teasingly.

  The Griswald Forest fell into an eerie silence. With an anxious heart, I turned away from Cerin and the others and faced south. I walked forward, my enhanced vision from the earlier spell separating shadows from shadows. Other than some soft crunching of pine needles behind me, I would have had no idea that thousands followed.

  Within a half hour of leaving the others, we arrived at the line which married the forest with the small strip of grasslands before the Border Mounts. The last sprinkling of dead pine needles was soft like a woven rug beneath my boots as my eyes fell upon Olympia for the first time. I stopped in awe to both admire and study it.

  Before us, the forests and mountains pinched the plains like a belt, requiring only a night of travel. Straight ahead, the massive Border Mounts rose like a blockade. My previous studies of the layout of Hammerton's land connected the mountain right ahead as the one farthest north of the range, cutting into the center of the nation like an arrow. The mountains between the one we'd be traversing and the coast dipped south like a protective cove around the prosperous city of Olympia. There were a lake and river between us and our destination, but I couldn't yet see them.

  Olympia itself was days away, and yet its beauty was still visible. It claimed three whole mountainsides, the firelight of a multitude of lamps and stone and iron braziers keeping the city well-lit even at night. Olympia was full of buildings made of solid stone but adorned with pure gold, and it appeared they relied heavily on metal for their architecture. Iron gates and decorations were dark against gray rock.

  The homes and stores of Olympia were elaborate in both their size and form. Buildings many stories high appeared to be connected to others via pathways or tunnels. There were dozens of wide main streets leading to hundreds of side streets. Overhead of these avenues were crisscrossing bridges. As if the city wasn't massive enough already, the dwarves had sought to build farther up even when they didn't have the land for further construction.

  Between the three mountains of the city were bridges allowing civilians to travel from one to the other without walking all of the way to the base of the Mounts. Even more intriguing, dozens of what looked like mine carts were moving slowly through the air between the mountains, delivering both cargo and people from one section of Olympia to the other. It was too dark to see how these worked for sure, but I knew they could be a problem. Our enemies having visibility from above us was always something we needed to avoid.

  The face of each mountain over the city was carved into the likeness of a dwarf, each of them holding a two-handed weapon by its handle as the blade was at the center of his or her feet. Each carving must have taken decades to complete, for the details were discernible from here, proving that the art spanned the entire upper caps of the landmarks. Just beneath the feet of these stone dwarves were wide openings into the mountains themselves, at least partially proving my theory correct about the tunnels leading throughout the city.

  Olympia was not only set up on the mountainsides, but it stretched over much of the grasslands below. It reminded me much of Sera, for the most prestigious buildings were in the top tier of the city. At the base of the mountains, the architecture was still impressive and hardy and laden with gold, but the buildings were smaller and more personal. If there was any agriculture, I assumed it was on the plains and out of sight, for a large and intimidating stone wall rose high over the grass to our left, keeping the majority of the lower city out of our view. The wall ran from the base of the mountains before us and out of sight to the east, where I supposed it kept safe the majority of Olympia's harbor.

  “Azazel,” I whispered since I couldn't see him.

  “I'm here.” I felt a soft tug on my left arm as Azazel let me know where he stood. “I will stay on this side of you at all times unless something happens, Kai. I promise.”

  I nodded, though I wasn't sure if he saw it. “Good idea.” I thought of the blind spot of his right eye and was grateful I'd be able to guard it. “The wall stretches past the lake, doesn't it?”

  I heard a lengthy exhale. “Yes.”

  “Then we'll need to breach the wall to get in the city, and that poses so many problems I don't even know where to begin,” I murmured
.

  “Kai.” This time, it was Nyx who spoke. I heard her voice just beside my right ear. “There are more ways than through the wall to get into this city. Trust me.”

  “How do you know this?” I questioned.

  “I don't know. For sure. But there are always ways to get into a secured city without breaching its defenses.” Nyx hesitated. “Take Sera, for example. Sera has a wall. A damn high and sturdy one, at that. I never used the gates until after you freed me from the dungeon, and I'd been to Sera plenty of times.”

  “Did you always take the water tunnel?” I asked, remembering the tunnel we'd breached to get Cerin out of captivity.

  “No. That was just one way in and out,” Nyx replied. “Sera had its guards who were willing to look the other way for gold or sexual favors. Some people had tunnels leading from their basements to the exterior city.”

  I frowned. “Why?”

  “Because if you're smuggling rempka, you don't exactly want to be skipping straight through the front gate with it,” Nyx said. “That's what I think we'll find here. This city is fucking rich, Kai. Look at all that gold. What happens when you have so much gold you don't know what to do with it?”

  “I...don't know,” I admitted.

  “You seek excitement out of the more deleterious pleasures of life, friend,” Nyx said. “Trust me. Olympia is full of rich people. With gold comes greed. Greed encourages risk-taking. There are drug dealers in this city, I'd bet on it. And they're not going to be smuggling through that wall. They've got paths into the city that aren't visible to the naked eye.”

  “Visible to the Alderi,” Azazel said on my other side. “Demiz is below our feet, Kai. Calder recruited thousands of assassins to his army, some of which you're leading now. Perhaps there are some with us who have seen these routes for themselves.”

  “Oh, if the paths exist, they've seen them,” Nyx agreed. “Dwarves were hiring assassins to kill all of us in Eteri, but there are always familial and business squabbles that work their way into the mix. Someone here will know that path because they will have traveled it to fulfill a contract.”