"We cannot die, we are immortal!" Set shouts over the uproar. "You have gone mad."
Baldur stands beside Isis, and his eyes are as sea-coloured as they ever were. He wears the silver amulet on his wrist, a gift that Zeus-Ra has returned. "Beware the end of the Game - that is the message I bring to you from one who is older and more powerful than Zeus-Ra. We are all going to die - so the Pythia tells us. The last flood drowns kings and paupers alike. So let us not rush blindly on in the belief that we ourselves - here in Asgard - are above death and destruction. We must not sweep the board."
"And who," hissed Ereshkigal, "who is to destroy us? We are as gods - the highest form of life there is. Who can challenge us!"
"We are no more gods than the humans we play with. We ourselves are tokens, in a Game played by others. For all we know they look down upon us as we look down upon mortals - without mercy."
"For all you know. How do you know, traitor?" Set points his finger at Baldur, and strides to stand on the left hand of the high seat, overshadowing Isis. Isis looks neither left nor right, but gazes straight ahead down the long table, unafraid.
"Let him be. You all know this to be true." Isis sweeps one hand to the side, and Set is back in his appointed seat, swatted like a child. "We would be foolish to ignore the warnings - even if we choose not to believe the Pythia. The path of reason is to leave the mortals be. If the warnings are real - we save our lives. If they are not, we lose nothing - a game. And after all, it is only a game. You all know this."
"Sweep the board," says Baldur, "and we all die. I have spoken with the Pythia. And I understand the meaning of the wildcard, for she is mine."
"It is a new era," Isis said, gentle as the tide, "and we must put our own house in order, and leave those below to order their own lives as they see fit. We have been slave owners too long - if we cannot survive their freedom, we do not deserve to survive at all."
There is a new ruler in Asgard, and the Game is over. But Set does not accept the authority of the new Queen. For the first time in millennia, war has broken out among the immortals, and this time, it will be fought to the death.
Against this background, a prophecy has foretold that with the end of the Game, not only humans but also gods will face destruction. To have any hope of survival, Baldur and Green need to find the ancient power that lies beyond both gods and men. But what does She want, and will She help?
Buy Game's End
About the author
Fallacious Rose lives in rural Australia. There's nothing she likes more than to wake up and watch the wallabies munching away on the front lawn, and sometimes she's lucky enough to see an echidna waddling away to its daytime hideout. Also in the picture is the love of her life, Coffee the Mutt.
Her books include Deeper, a dark fairytale, Oh and That's Another Thing: What Buddha Forgot to Say, a humorous foray into the personal transformation genre, Diablo and Bad Dog, both books for kids, and two collections of short stories.
Fallacious Rose also blogs at ButImBeautiful (which she likes to pronounce as But Oim Beaoodiful! The title - in case you're wondering - comes from a scene in Muriel's Wedding.
For more about Fallacious Rose & her books, visit www.fallaciousrose.com.au
The Wildcard Page 21
