by Aaron Oster
Grace watched in awe as Lumia landed back on the ground amidst a sea of glowing molten stone. The colors that reflected off her scales were intense, the crimson glow making her appear to be covered in blood. Before either of them could say anything, a loud hiss sounded throughout the cavern. It sounded so terrible and ancient, that Grace found her muscles locked up, and her body was unable to so much as twitch.
The effects only lasted as long as the sound, though even after it faded and she could move once again, the feeling it invoked would haunt her for weeks to come.
“We need to get out of here,” Lumia said, shrinking down to her hybrid form and flapping toward her. “Come on.”
Before Grace could say anything, Lumia scooped her off her feet, pulling her tight to her chest and rocketing down the tunnel they’d just come down. Though she knew they weren’t in the clear just yet, Grace couldn’t help but feel a bit safer. Lumia’s presence was calming, and the fact that she was here with her was a huge relief. Dealing with cultists and World Beasts was terrifying enough, but having to do so alone would have been more than she could handle.
She pulled herself closer, pressing her face into Lumia’s scaley chest and closing her eyes. There was no way she’d be able to sleep, but simply feeling the warmth of her body, the strength of her arms and the rush of wind through her hair, worked to soothe her frayed nerves. Soon enough, they would be out of here, and then, they could resume their search for Morgan.
***
“Watch your left!” Katherine yelled to one of the soldiers.
The soldier whirled left, swinging out with a massive cleaver and shearing the snarling monster in two. However, even as both halves landed, it continued to claw its way toward him. That was, until Katherine smashed her mace into its head, splattering it all over the ramparts.
“Thank you,” the soldier panted, his voice muffled through the cloth covering his nose and mouth.
“Thank me when this is over,” Katherine replied, whirling and running toward another group.
The sandstorm raged about them, tearing at any bit of exposed skin and rubbing it raw in a matter of minutes. The face coverings were necessary to even breathe, and visibility – at least for those under a certain rank – was limited to just a couple of feet. A twisted monster that was covered in patches of tan scaley skin and had eyes slitted like a reptile’s pulled itself onto the wall before her.
It hissed, leaping to its feet and running at her with shocking speed. While the premise of how the Pinnacle Kings operated might have been the same, everything else was completely different. The sandstorm, while not particularly worse than a blizzard, posed its own unique set of problems. While it wasn’t unbearably cold and bitter, the cloying thirst that the sandstorm’s very presence seemed to provoke was tortuous. They had reserve soldiers running up and down, bringing as much water as they could manage, yet it still wasn’t enough.
The monsters were different, as well. These had tan skin and scaley hides instead of fur. Their fingers were tipped with short claws, and some even had tails, though all of them were horribly disfigured. Katherine knew that somewhere out there were monsters who were not. There were monsters who’d retained their intelligence and would have gained new strength, comparable to that of some of the strongest fighters in the world.
Her mace flashed out, catching the monster in the head and sending it flying off the wall. She didn’t even break stride, continuing on. Her weapon danced in her hand, somehow landing with uncanny accuracy and batting only the heads of the monsters as she passed. Katherine saw a soldier go down up ahead, his friend too late to save him.
The monster was pulled off of him, its head smashed in, and the body hurled from the wall. Although the soldier was still alive, Katherine knew it was too late. She strode forward and saw the looks of horror the others were giving the man. They all knew what had to be done, though none of them seemed to have the courage to do so.
“Thank you for your service. Your family will be well-cared for,” Katherine said, stopping before the man.
He only gave her a pained smile in response, then closed his eyes. The death was quick. Katherine doubted he even felt a thing, as his head, severed by her summoned Reality Blade, slipped from his shoulders. The others stared at her in shock, and Katherine stared right back.
“What are you all looking at? Do you want more of your comrades to die?”
That seemed to snap them from their stupors, and they quickly shook their heads, turning back to face the seething horde of monsters. The fight had been going on for several hours now, and though there had been a few close calls, they’d managed to keep them out of the city. The problem wasn’t only the humanoid monsters, though. If it had been, this fight likely would have been over. There were also several powerful beasts mixed in among them, their strong jaws and forceful claws claiming more than one life.
As Katherine turned to face another group, she felt a light buzzing in the back of her mind. Just from the feeling, she knew it was Morgan who was trying to reach her, and as much as she hated ignoring his attempts to reach her, she had little choice but to not answer the communication. Once this fight was over, she would reach out to him. The Pinnacle King needed to be stopped, and he was the only one she knew who had the power to do so.
Of course, it had been several years since they’d faced the last Pinnacle King, and she’d grown quite a bit in that time. However, from all counts, Pinnacle Kings were in a league of their own, and there was no way she was going to risk going into a fight without Morgan by her side. A dull roar reached her ears, sounding more like a horn than anything else and blasting through the sandstorm with enough power to make the entire wall vibrate.
“Oh, shit!” Katherine cursed as a towering shadow loomed before them, twin pinpricks of red light glowing several feet above the lip of the wall.
“You can say that again,” Le’vine replied, materializing by her side. “Think we can take it?”
“I don’t see how we have much choice,” Katherine replied, tightening her grip on her mace and Reality Blade at the same time.
“No need to sound so down about it,” Le’vine said, patting her on the shoulder. “This would hardly be any fun at all if it were easy!”
Katherine let out a long sigh, the cloth tied around her mouth and nose billowing out as she did. If she had it her way, none of this would be happening at all. They had enough to worry about as it was, what with Faeland’s invasion and all. Adding a Pinnacle King to the mix was the very last thing they needed. But it wasn’t like she could alter reality to suit her needs. She’d long ago accepted that there were things that were out of her control.
Killing beasts, though, was something she could do, and if Katherine was good at anything, it was slaughtering monsters.
***
Elyssa watched Morgan come into her special meeting room, his eyes flicking around as he examined every facet and crevice of the marvel of engineering. She was glad to see that he’d cleaned himself up a bit and was now dressed in a set of well-fitting armor that radiated strength and showed off his impressive physique. She knew from experience that the armor was just for show in his case.
His real armor, the thing that kept him from receiving injuries, was underneath. His skin, muscles and bones, all many times stronger than steel, were what would keep him safe.
“I’m sorry it took so long,” Elyssa said as she gestured to a seat next to her.
It wasn’t nearly as comfortable or regal as the throne she was in, but it was all that could be brought in on such short notice. She hoped he hadn’t been insulted by his accommodations, but she didn’t want to parade him through her palace just yet. At least, not until their engagement was official.
Morgan shrugged, moving to sit where he was prompted.
“I took a nap,” he replied, sliding into the seat.
She noticed that he didn’t slump when he did, his back remaining straight and his shoulders tall. The way the chair creaked beneat
h his weight told her that he was far heavier than he appeared, though from what Gilderon had told her, she’d already known as much. Though she appeared to be slight – at least, by the standards of humans – Elyssa was actually quite heavy.
She wasn’t too heavy that the weight would show in any way, but it was a good forty pounds more than her build would suggest. Morgan’s eyes continued to scan the room, taking in the protrusions of crystal, as well as the open space before them. As he looked, Elyssa took the chance to look him over once more.
She’d seen the other human, the girl, and wondered if the males were just naturally much bigger. Then again, from the way the girl had acted, she was probably quite a bit younger. There was something else that she noticed as well, which really stood out in her mind – the fact that the humans and gods seemed to look quite similar.
Elyssa glanced down at herself as she remembered one in particular. The one with the massive chest. She wondered if human women were similarly proportioned, and if so, how Morgan would view her. In the end, she decided that it wouldn’t really matter what either of them thought. This was a temporary arrangement, one that would end once the gods were out of the way and he’d given her an heir.
Her eyes drifted back to him and were inevitably drawn down to his waist as the thought of children flitted through her mind. As a noble, she had exactly no experience in that department, and she wondered if he did. He seemed confident enough, but what if…?
Elyssa shook herself mentally, banishing all thoughts of childbearing and the act leading up to it from her mind. She was about to go into a meeting with all the rulers of Faeland and could not afford to have her mind clouded with such silly thoughts.
“Have you managed to procure a ring?”
Truthfully, Elyssa didn’t expect him to and had come prepared with one of her own. However, she had wanted to see how resourceful he was and if he’d put in the effort.
“Oh, yes,” Morgan said, reaching for his waist. “I almost forgot.”
Elyssa received the shock of her life as he removed one of the most stunning rings she had ever seen. It wasn’t only the craftsmanship – from the dozen of small diamonds set in a flower pattern, to the gleaming platinum band – but the sheer size of the diamond in question. It made the ring she had stashed look like a joke, and it had cost well over a million in high-quality beast cores.
“I hope it fits,” he said, trying to hand it over.
Getting over her shock, Elyssa held up her left hand and daintily extended her ring finger for him to put it on for her.
“Where did you manage to even get something like this?” she asked, noting as he slid the band on that it was too large.
Perhaps it had been intended for someone else, and he just happened to have it on him?
“I made it,” Morgan replied, tilting his head and frowning a bit. “Let me know when it feels comfortable.”
Before Elyssa could express her shock, she felt the band around her finger tighten, the metal flowing inward and compressing around her finger.
“That’s good,” she quickly said as she felt the ring become snug.
Morgan nodded, then released his grip on the ring and turned back to continue examining the room.
Elyssa was far too busy looking at the piece of art that was now gracing her ring finger. It felt a bit strange, seeing the glittering stone there and knowing what it represented. But, at the same time, she could hardly contain her excitement. The ring was an absolute knockout, larger and more elaborate than anything available in Faeland. She would likely set a new standard, and when a couple of the other rulers saw it, they’d probably be looking to get their spouses new ones as well.
She honestly couldn’t believe he’d made it. She held her hand up and examined the ring. She tilted it one way, then the other, admiring how it sat on her hand and how big it looked. She would have to find out how he made it and would be grilling him in detail once this meeting was over.
There was a flash of light, and a ghostly image of Ragnar appeared in the center of the room, causing Morgan to tense. When Elyssa didn’t react adversely, he relaxed. She’d set the meeting up, telling each ruler a different time so that she could speak to the ones who were more friendly first, fill them in, and then deal with the opposition.
Ragnar stared around for a moment. His eyes went wide when he saw the human, but Elyssa quickly grabbed his attention.
“Uncle Ragnar!” she exclaimed, practically beaming as she extended her hand forward, showing off the ring. “I’m engaged!”
27
“That is a lot to take in,” the King of the Dwarves said as he leaned back in his throne.
At first, Morgan hadn’t been sure what to make of him. It didn’t help that this strange way of communication was completely foreign to him and that he’d been too surprised to utter so much as a word at first. However, Elyssa’s excited chatter about the engagement and how this could be the end of the war gave him time to regroup and refocus.
Ragnar, much to his credit, had listened to Elyssa’s plan all the way through and had made sure not to interrupt her. If the fact that she’d called him ‘Uncle Ragnar’ hadn’t given away the fact that they were close, that alone would have told him that the dwarves were likely the elves’ closest allies. He also couldn’t help but notice that none of the other rulers had appeared, which told him that Elyssa had probably planned it this way.
After hearing her out, Ragnar had spoken with him directly. Just a few minutes of talking had really warmed Morgan up to the dwarven ruler. He was blunt, straightforward and didn’t shy away from asking what others might consider to be rude questions. He’d asked about the humans, Morgan’s intentions with his niece, the plans for marriage and several others about Elyssa.
Oddly enough, he didn’t ask a single question about stopping the war. It was apparent that he trusted Elyssa’s judgment on that front. The single area where he seemed most concerned had to do with Morgan and his plans of marriage to her.
“Yes, it’s a lot to take in,” Elyssa agreed. “But it’s necessary if we want to prevent this war from happening. Too many lives have already been lost, and, if these gods have anything to say about it, hundreds of thousands more will perish before this is all over and done with.”
“Oh, on that point, I definitely agree,” Ragnar said, stroking his beard. “What’s hard to take in is the fact that you’re going to be marrying a human, but as far as those go, I don’t think you could have picked better.”
“No,” Elyssa said, placing a hand on one of Morgan’s biceps. “I don’t think I could.”
Though he felt distinctly uncomfortable at the attention, Morgan didn’t show it. He made sure to keep his expression blank, his arms folded over his chest and eyes locked on the dwarf king. Something was strange here. It wasn’t that he thought they’d betray him, but the way Ragnar was talking to Elyssa made it seem as though he were talking down to her. He spoke slower to her, carefully annunciating his words.
And, while Elyssa was explaining herself quite well, her voice had clearly gone a couple of pitches higher. She spoke in an airy tone that sounded nothing like her earlier voice, and she used a lot of wild gestures. She also spoke faster, often running herself out of breath and forcing her to pause to refill her lungs.
If Morgan didn’t know better, he’d have thought she was less intelligent than she actually was. She sounded like an excited girl who was on par with an average twelve-year-old. But, seeing as Ragnar had so readily accepted this personality, he assumed that this was how she was generally known. He needed to talk with her when this was all over, to try and figure out why she was acting this way.
“Alright, then. So, when are you planning the wedding?”
“Malachi will be on any second now,” Elyssa said. “Besides, I wanna give everyone the wedding news at the same time, so I don’t have to repeat it. Also, can you just tell everyone that it was your idea to try and call a ceasefire? I just wanted to marry him because he
was so…hot.”
Elyssa blushed at this and tucked a strand of hair behind one of her ears, her eyes downcast.
Though Ragnar’s brows furrowed a bit, he nodded all the same.
“Alright. But I’m sending Ham over to watch you. As much as I want to trust you, Morgan, you are still a human. I’ll only be comfortable once you’re married and have signed documents from the other rulers of your respective countries.”
“Those shouldn’t be too hard to get,” Morgan replied. “None of them want a war. We have our own problems to deal with right now.”
“Shhh!” Elyssa said, waving a hand before him. “Let’s not talk about that right now. Let’s talk about…Malachi! So glad you could join us!”
Morgan turned as another flash of light revealed a powerfully built man with large furry ears and sharp features. He looked kind of what Morgan imagined he might look like, were he to ever reach the pinnacle of power.
The beastman’s eyes flicked between Morgan and Elyssa, then to the almost casual way in which she was extending her hand. The one with the engagement ring.
It was only once Morgan saw that, that he finally understood what was going on. Elyssa was purposefully hiding her intelligence. She was putting on a facade of a dim-witted girl to make everyone underestimate her. It only made him more curious as to why she was putting on this sort of show. These people were supposed to be her allies. So why the theatrics?
“Well, this is quite the surprise,” Malachi said. “Anyone care to explain?”
“That was completely exhausting,” Elyssa said, stretching her arms high above her head and letting out a soft groan.
It was nearly three hours later, and the meeting was finally over. Just as Morgan had hoped, Malachi had agreed with Elyssa and Ragnar about preventing the war. However, the trouble began when the troll ruler, Tork, made an appearance. He seemed skeptical and said he would reserve judgment for when the gnomes showed up. It was there where they hit their roadblock.
