Death

by Rosie Scott

  “Four trees down in a straight line from here. Has an elevator on the left side and a covered bridge on the other. He lives on floor 123, but he was waiting out the battle much farther down. I don't know which floor.”

  “Why isn't he fighting?” I questioned.

  Thorn's handsome face brightened with an exasperated, sarcastic smile. “Because he refused to. He wanted to take you up on your offer. If Celendar is independent again that will make him king.”

  I raised an eyebrow, finding that news both relieving and fascinating. “And Vipin was willing to let his own family die in this fight against me.”

  “He urged us not to fight,” Thorn replied, “but most of the other royalty were against him. Father and I thought we could repel you from Celendar. Especially since Queen Edrys sent us support.”

  “Do you think Vipin will still cooperate with me now that I've attacked?” I asked him.

  Thorn laughed humorlessly. “Oh, yes. Even more so now that you've wiped out most of our royalty. His rule will be uncontested. He's as power-hungry as your sorry ass. He just goes about it in a different way.”

  “This bitch is annoying even when he's charmed,” Nyx lamented tiredly from beside me, visible now that she'd dispelled her illusion.

  A few questions later, Thorn fell out of the influence of my magic. He struggled futilely in Azazel's grasp, spitting curses at all three of us.

  Azazel glanced over at me during the Celd's struggle and asked quickly, “Did you ask everything you needed to?”

  “I did.”

  Azazel shoved Thorn back into the bark again and grabbed both karambit handles with flicks of his wrists. As the Celd tried to pull himself off the tree, Azazel jammed his right blade up underneath Thorn's exposed throat, ripping through the soft flesh under the chin and into his mouth. Thorn spit blood over his perfect facial hair, parted teeth revealing the karambit curved toward his inner lips after splitting his tongue. Blood and saliva drained over Azazel's arm from the wound before he punctured Thorn's throat with the other karambit, tearing through veins and tendons as he roughly gouged it out. The resulting gore splattered over my boots before Azazel removed the karambit from Thorn's chin, letting the body fall in a leaking lump.

  “Hell,” Nyx cursed, her eyebrows raised at the move. Azazel turned from Thorn's body, newly drenched in blood with fatigued and angered eyes. After committing such violent acts myself after being angered by particular foes, I understood all too well why Azazel had killed Thorn so brutally. All three of us had brushes with death from him after he'd given us nothing but mockery.

  “I shut him up,” Azazel finally said to Nyx, his voice quavering with ire. He shook his karambits to free them of some blood and added, “As you so politely requested earlier.”

  Nyx laughed, still favoring one side where Thorn's metal shard pierced through to her lung. I prepared to heal both of my friends, noticing Azazel watching me hesitantly as if worried I would think less of him for his display.

  “As with anything else, you shut him up perfectly,” I told him lightly, motioning for Nyx to lie down so I could heal her lung. “You severed both his tongue and his larynx.”

  Azazel huffed at my unexpected humor and immediately relaxed, watching over us with his bow as I mended the wounds we'd all suffered. The fight wasn't yet over, but thanks to Thorn's intel, I knew exactly what to do to finish it.

  Eleven

  Azazel and Nyx were both completely healed, and though my elbow was back in its socket, I'd waited too long to mend it. It throbbed incessantly and was purple with bruising and puffy with swelling. Azazel insisted on wrapping it with some of the cloth he kept in his satchel with which to dry and keep alchemy ingredients, and I'd appeased him so his mind would be clear for the rest of the battle.

  The three of us were halfway across the bridge to find the others when Sedge rushed up the same stairway we'd come through earlier, carrying his one-handed sword. The knight's heavy armor was dented in multiple places from Maggie's war hammer, but she wasn't anywhere in sight. Concern for her permeated my thoughts. It was apparent by Sedge's appearance that there had been a long battle between him and the other Seran Renegades, for he was worn down, and between the dents in his armor were streaks of blood that hardened and dried over steel from where Cerin's scythe had slipped through metal plates. Sedge no longer carried his two-handed sword, leading me to believe that Holter had disintegrated it. A fresh shield and ward surrounded the knight, but he appeared on the edge of passing out from exhaustion.

  Sedge's intelligent hazel eyes scanned the area and finally fell on me. He continued stalking toward us from the stairs, but we stopped our tracks on the bridge. Sedge noticed our hesitation and called out, “Where is Thorn?”

  Azazel took a step before me and motioned toward the dried blood that stained his torso armor a deep reddish-brown. “Here, mostly.”

  I knew why Azazel had called attention to himself; he sought to keep Sedge's wrath away from me while I was injured and anger the knight so he would make stupid mistakes in battle. Nonetheless, my chest seized with panic for the archer as Sedge roared with sudden fury and rampaged toward us. My reserves were low from healing multiple severe wounds, but neither Azazel nor Nyx were well-equipped to go against Sedge in battle, particularly when he had magical protections. I grimaced with pain as I lifted both arms up, growing a boulder between my palms with my own life force. Just as I thrust it forward, Cerin appeared at the top of the stairway running after the knight, his bloodied scythe in both hands.

  The boulder smashed into the top half of Sedge's life shield, weakening it and staggering him. Cerin caught up to the knight, throwing all of his strength into the guard protecting his armored back. The scythe broke through the magic and clanged off a plate of armor beneath. Newly alerted to his pursuer, Sedge spun to meet Cerin's next hit with his own blade. The clash of steel echoed sharply through the forest. Sedge pulled his sword back and went for another swing, and Cerin deflected it. As the two men danced with death, Holter rushed up the steps behind them, immediately closing the distance to Sedge and leeching from the knight's ward with two funnels.

  “Where the hell is Maggie?” Nyx questioned with concern as we hurried toward the fight.

  “That's what I'm wondering,” I admitted.

  Holter's leeching funnels finally weakened Sedge's ward until it broke. The scout wasted no time in dispelling death magic and summoning earth. Holter thrust the clear energy at Sedge's torso, and as Cerin and the knight exchanged blows, the heavy Celdic armor disintegrated into sand.

  It was clear that Holter and Cerin had tried this method before without successful results, because as metal sand rained down to the wood planks below and slipped through the cracks, the two looked surprised and relieved. Sedge didn't regenerate his protections, but he didn't have the energy to. Fatigued and wheezing breaths echoed out of his steel helmet, and his sword swings slowly turned from offensive to defensive as Cerin relentlessly attacked, his silver eyes energized with a high. When Sedge's torso armor was fully gone, Holter leeched from the knight's back as Cerin kept fighting him.

  Finally, Sedge weakened. His sword was held defensively to block Cerin's incoming hit, but when the scythe whipped into the metal, the knight lost his grip on his weapon. The sword clattered to the wood planks below. Holter continued leeching, and as Cerin pulled back his scythe for a final swing, Sedge fell debilitated to his knees, his eyes portraying regret and defeat.

  “Aggh!” Cerin's cry of exertion was accompanied by the shing of steel as the acute tip of the scythe punctured through the shredded pieces of armored padding over Sedge's heart. Without steel to stop it, the blade sunk through the chest cavity and to the organ. Cerin yanked the weapon back from its wound, and a stream of blood spewed out to chase the steel just before Sedge fell forward, dead.

  “Good job,” Holter complimented Cerin, breathing hard with adrenaline.

  Cerin smiled at the younger man before he offered, “You, too.”


  “Where is Maggie?” Both men glanced up at my question.

  “On her way,” Cerin replied, lifting up an arm to wipe blood splatter from his face when he felt the liquid drip. He walked over to the stairway as we followed him and pointed a finger down toward the next level.

  Maggie glanced up as she felt our stares. The engineer was slowly making her way up the steps one at a time at the mercy of her awkward metal leg. She grinned at us when she realized the fight with Sedge was over. “Stairs, Kai,” she lamented, motioning toward them. “That's what'll defeat me.”

  I chuckled softly. “I'm glad to see you're safe.”

  “More than can be said for you,” Maggie retorted lightly, nodding toward my wrapped arm.

  “Did you get Vipin's location?” Holter asked me, staring across the bridge to where Thorn's corpse was beneath a smear of blood on pearl-white bark.

  “We did.” I pointed farther into Celendar at the tree in question. “The sooner we get to him, the quicker this fight will end.”

  “Oh?” Cerin inquired.

  I filled the others in on our gathered intel as we moved as quickly as we could toward our final destination. Beneath us on the forest floor, our allies had made great progress. Marcus and the giants had destroyed just enough architecture to encourage many of the Celds to surrender rather than fight. Calder and many of his beastmen had moved from the ground level to the walkways as the armies of Cyrus, Uriel, and Dax moved forward as a collective mass. Zephyr led her army to be with Calder's, aiding the beastmen with the elements and healing their injured. Ahead, most of Celendar still awaited. We'd had far more casualties than I could have ever anticipated in this fight I never wanted and hadn't expected, but I hoped that finding Vipin would end our struggle.

  When we reached the tree Thorn had so helpfully pointed out to us under duress, finding Vipin wasn't nearly as difficult as we had expected it to be. The royal Celd leaned on a railing a few levels above us, surrounded by two magic protections and dozens of Celdic soldiers. Vipin stood tall at seven feet, and though he had to have been almost six hundred years old, he didn't look it. Other than a few crow's feet that etched the skin beside his eyes, the Celd was dangerously handsome with a perfectly angled jaw and flawless fair skin. He had hazel eyes that matched Sedge's, and his dark hair was the spitting image of Thorn's. Vipin exuded intelligence and self-control, and when we exchanged gazes, he showed no fear or hostility.

  “Kai Sera.” Vipin's voice was calm, calculating. “The rumors say you fight first and ask questions later, but...” he motioned to where I stood on the walkway just a few levels below him. “Here you are, within magic's reach of the regent who stands in your way, and I sense no enmity from you.”

  “I offered Celendar peace,” I replied, swooping my arm back toward the battle still raging in the outskirts of the city. “Sedge responded with distrust and executed my mediator. My plan was to find you and kill you to remove Celendar's regent, but speaking with Thorn gives me reason to believe there is hope for us yet.”

  Vipin nodded, and his gaze lifted up to the battle behind me. “Sedge and Thorn are dead, I presume.”

  “They are.”

  “I told them this would happen.” Vipin's eyes moved back to mine. “Your offers to our general in the Battle of the Southern Plains—do they still stand?”

  “They do,” I replied, “though I'm sure you'll understand when I say I can no longer be as lenient with my offers. Celendar's aggression toward me and my casualties sustained have consequences.”

  Vipin hesitated, thinking over this. “While I do understand your position and your frustrations, let me be clear: does your offer of independence for Celendar if you take Chairel stand true?”

  “It does.”

  “Then I see no reason to fight any longer,” Vipin replied evenly. “Let's call off our armies and end this. It seems we have much to discuss.”

  Vipin's message of truce spread throughout Celendar via hunters who ran through upper walkways to deliver it to the war-torn sections of the city, and I sounded out my war horn for my allies. Cyrus and his army soon found us from the ground level far below where he walked carefully past Celds who no longer fought to listen to my request.

  “The battle is over,” I called down to Cyrus. “Vipin Elwood and I will discuss armistice. Spread the message and find Calder. I'd like you and him to be with me for these talks.”

  “Who are these men?” Vipin asked behind me, overhearing my direction.

  “Kings of the underground and Fremont. My allies,” I replied. “You have no issue with them being present?”

  “Bring anyone you'd like,” Vipin said openly. “You have proven to me that your offers are truthful. I'd like to show you the same.”

  “Stay guarded,” Azazel murmured by my ear.

  “Do you sense something I do not?” I questioned.

  “No,” he replied honestly. “I'm just being cautious.”

  Cyrus and Calder made their way up to our level as soon as they could. Cyrus brought a handful of Vhiri soldiers as a personal guard, and Calder brought Mirrikh and a few assassins. Both Calder and Mirrikh were completely nude and covered in blood. Vipin seemed particularly interested in the two and called down, “Men who can turn into beasts, I presume?”

  Calder glanced up at the regent. “We are. Our clothes are all the way back with our supplies. Didn't want to keep you waiting. Besides, our friend here usually carries a change of clothes with him.” Calder motioned to Holter.

  Holter shook his head. “I only have one pair of pants in here.” The scout patted his satchel.

  Vipin chuckled from his perch. “Let's not put off peace over a simple change of clothes.” The regent turned to a soldier nearby and said, “Get them new clothes. Shirts, trousers, boots.” The soldier hesitated to note Calder and Mirrikh's body types before she hurried off to do as asked. Vipin turned his attention back to Calder and said, “Until she gets back, we can bring you inside to wait and save you from subjection.”

  “Don't worry; we're used to it,” Calder assured him, while Mirrikh nodded jerkily with agreement.

  Not long after they brought the new clothes to us, Vipin came down to our level with his own personal entourage. The regent noted my injured right arm, so he shook my left hand firmly and stated, “After everything I've heard of you, I expected you to be taller.”

  I couldn't help but huff in humor at that. Vipin was almost a full two feet taller than me. “I am half-human,” I told him, “and my goddess mother appeared human as well. Height is not my strongest feature.”

  “No, I suppose it wouldn't be.” Vipin shook hands with the other Renegades, taking a particular interest in Cerin before exchanging introductions with Cyrus and Calder. Finally, he motioned down the northwestern walkway and said, “Come. We will take the elevator up to the canopies and discuss how we may help one another.”

  We followed Vipin down the unblemished soft green walkway, passing by groups of hesitant Celds who watched us with looks of distrust and distaste. Even though a truce was called, the city remained guarded and was eerily quiet. The wildlife had fled at the outbreak of battle, so I could hear nothing but the distant hum of injured soldiers and battle clean-up. Vipin led us up a few stairways with railings that were so covered in vines it was as if they'd never been made of wood at all, and then to the twentieth-floor which had a giant elevator waiting beside an outstretched platform.

  I was distrustful of the lift since I'd watched one fall earlier in battle, but Vipin and his men entered it without fear, and we followed. The giant wood platform had sturdy railings, but I stood near its center to avoid dizziness. An operator standing near a thick lever pushed it toward one side, and with a mechanical groan accompanied by sudden vibrations, we started to rise.

  “Who built these?” Maggie questioned, meandering around the floor of the lift and studying its structure.

  “Our architects,” Vipin replied, eyeing Maggie's steel leg with fascination as sh
e continued to move around.

  “None a'this was dwarven designed?” Maggie inquired, glancing back at him.

  Vipin eyed the ropes above the elevator and replied, “The design of lifts was invented by the dwarves long ago. Like anything else, our proximity to Hammerton ensured that we soon learned about the dwarven methods of engineering. The dwarves use gears, metals, steam technology. In Celendar, metal is rare because digging in the forest is heavily restricted. So while we learned how to build lifts from the dwarves, Celds designed how to power them with water.”

  Maggie nodded at his explanation. “I just never saw such a thing before. It's a good design, if easily exploited in battle.”

  Vipin raised an eyebrow. “I suppose that's true. I heard some of our architecture collapse during the fight.” After a hesitation, he asked Maggie, “Forgive my ignorance, but what are you?”

  Maggie laughed joyously at the blunt question. “A half-breed, love. Dwarf and giant.”

  “Ah. What an odd combination,” Vipin mused. “I'd never seen a giant before you all came here, and now that I have, I certainly wouldn't have expected one to breed with a dwarf.”

  “My dwarven ma lived by the motto, 'what doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger,'” Maggie quipped. A few of the Celds chuckled under their breaths at her unexpected humor.

  As the elevator continued to rise, Vipin made small talk with us. Despite Thorn's insistence that his grandfather was cowardly and power-hungry, I couldn't help but feel differently. He'd been open and accepting of us thus far. It was possible Vipin had simply been outnumbered in his desire to compromise with me so he'd waited out the fight until he could regain control of the situation. Some may have found that cowardly; I found it smart.

  Our ears popped with the extreme altitude as the lift continued to rise above the lowest canopy. Instead of open air and a view of the armies over the forest floor below, now we were surrounded by green foliage that was kept trimmed back from the elevator's highest levels. Rays of afternoon sunlight filtered through the greenery above, casting the lift in spots of yellow light and warming the temperature considerably. Calder and Mirrikh kept their gazes downward to avoid most of the sun's glare. The Celdic clothes given to them did not have protective hoods.