Death

by Rosie Scott

  “I have work to do,” I replied.

  “You always have work to do,” Cerin argued lightly, smiling mischievously as he tugged me closer to him. I finally gave in and turned to face him.

  “I'm sorry I've been neglecting you,” I murmured.

  “You haven't been,” Cerin replied, grazing one finger up and down my arm beneath the blankets between us. “I get that you're busy. Things are slowing down, anyway.”

  “Well, the more people I have working for me, the more that can be done,” I mused. “I haven't even had to worry about the trading routes. Chance took care of everything. That saved me days of time.”

  “He asked for your final say, right?” Cerin asked.

  “Yes. On everything. Had a meeting a few days ago with Chance, Hasani, Calder, and Cyrus. I told Chance to keep his aura from affecting them, but otherwise, I let him handle it. Chance suggested everything I was going to and then some. He seems legitimately interested in making things work.”

  “I was just shocked to meet a friendly god,” Cerin commented. I gave him a face and pointed at myself, and he chuckled roughly. “Well, you're friendly too. To me. But I don't think of you as a god most of the time. You're my Kai.”

  I smirked at his wording. “You can be as lovable as you want to be, and I'll still have to get up.”

  Cerin smiled charmingly. “I know. I won't keep you here long. I've just been enjoying waking up with you in such a lavish bedroom after so many years without a home. I could get used to this.”

  “You will have to get used to it,” I said dryly. “You must put up with me forever if we stay on the path we're on.”

  “I'm up to the challenge,” Cerin replied, and I chuckled.

  “How's teaching been going?” I asked. Cerin offered to teach our recruits life and death magic when Azazel had looked for trainers. Given how many people were clamoring to learn magic, it had kept him busy.

  “Really well,” Cerin said. “I have a few necromancers who don't want to test their magic on the field yet because they still aren't comfortable with it. I had one life mage who asked me if he had permission to use his magic even after he'd learned it. The people understand that you're changing things, but they can't bring themselves to believe it. One healer broke down in tears and said she wishes so badly she'd known life magic years ago. She lost her lover due to simple work injuries. Apparently, they went to Sera together and requested an audience with Sirius.”

  “Sirius rejected the request for healing?”

  “No, he never heard it. The healer told me that they had to fill out some forms and wait a few days. After going back, she found out Sirius rejected them due to financial concerns. She said they tried getting rid of the infection with potions, but they only held it at bay for a few weeks before her lover finally passed. She told me all of this before she requested to meet you.”

  “I'll have to stop by,” I murmured, even as I tried to imagine when I could.

  “We'll plan a day, maybe,” Cerin suggested. “I don't want you to worry that you're letting anyone down. You're not. There are many who want to meet you, but like any other leader, you can't possibly fulfill every request.”

  “Do you need anything? For the school?” I asked.

  “We have more recruits than space, but that's to be expected.” Cerin reached out to graze his hand down my jawline. “If we do need something, I'll get it myself. I won't bother you. I think it would be nice to expand Comercio so it has its own permanent magic school, but that's years away.”

  “You don't bother me, Cerin,” I said. “Don't let your work suffer because you don't want to inconvenience me.”

  “I won't,” Cerin promised. “I'll just bother Azazel instead.”

  I chuckled softly. “Okay, fine. Pester Azazel. He's the only one of us who's entirely unfazed over this chaos.” I dragged myself out of bed, for I knew the archer was probably already waiting for me in the entrance hall below.

  “Because he doesn't sleep, Kai,” Cerin jested after me as I grabbed my gear and went about pulling it on. After I laughed, Cerin went on, “Seriously, have you ever seen Azazel sleep? I'm convinced he doesn't.”

  I grinned. “He goes to bed late and wakes up early.”

  “Pfft,” Cerin blurted. “Lies. It's all a facade.”

  I snorted a laugh as I put on my boots. “For what? What could he possibly be hiding?”

  “The fact that he doesn't sleep.”

  “You haven't thought this through,” I mused.

  “Nope.” Cerin chuckled and got out of bed. “I'm just suspicious of anyone who wakes up earlier than the sun.”

  “If it were up to you, you'd sleep until it set,” I commented, standing up to leave.

  Cerin came over and grabbed me into a quick hug, landing a noisy kiss in my hair. “Sometimes I like being lazy,” he said like an excuse, before letting me go. “But I won't be today. Before long, we'll have a whole defense force of necromancers for Comercio when we leave for Narangar.” Just as I opened the door to the hallway, he asked, “Did Holter return yet?”

  “Not yet, but we're expecting him soon,” I replied. I took a step out into the hall and glanced back at Cerin flirtatiously. “Don't work yourself too hard. Save some energy for me tonight.”

  An excited half-smile lifted his lips. “Ditto.”

  I closed the bedroom door behind me and hurried through the castle hall and to the twelfth-floor landing. With a simple glance over its railing, I saw a few of my allies talking and preparing for the day in the entrance hall. Azazel leaned against the wall beside the newly upgraded double doors, holding a covered mug of hot tea. Speaking with him was Hasani, the gold of his armor glimmering in the chandelier's firelight. Maggie and Mirrikh chatted up a storm together as they exited the castle, letting in a gust of wind and snow flurries before the door closed behind them. Calder lounged on a plush chair to the side of the hall, a mug of ale beside him on a table as he smoked from the pipe I'd bought him in Celendar. Sitting in a chair across the table from him was Dax, rolling ferris cigarettes using a pile of herbs and a stack of rolling papers.

  I passed Hakan as I jogged down the stairs, and he said a groggy greeting while finger-combing his fiery hair. As soon as I reached the third-floor landing, Hasani noticed my arrival and announced, “There you are, sister! You missed all the fun last night.”

  “What fun?” I asked, quickly greeting Calder and Dax.

  “I'll show you in a minute,” Azazel offered, before glancing at Hasani. “Kai and Cerin are really heavy sleepers.”

  “I guess so,” Hasani said with a grin. “I was convinced the roof was caving in, myself.” The king watched as I came to a stop beside Azazel and said, “The orcs were being ornery.”

  “Oh, no,” I breathed. “What'd they do?”

  Hasani chuckled. “Don't worry, they didn't do anything. A few of them took one of my hyenas off its post last evening and were preparing to slaughter it, but your friend Marcus heard the ruckus and put a stop to it. Don't know if they mistook it for a horse or what.”

  “Marcus told Rek the hyenas are off-limits,” Azazel assured me. “Wild animals are avoiding the plains since the weather's so harsh, so I think the orcs are just running out of things to hunt. I'll figure out a schedule to send them venison so it doesn't happen again.”

  “You know,” Hasani began, “the first time I ever saw an orc was when Anto was sold into slavery up on that stage in T'ahal. Later, you invited him into your group like you weren't the least concerned. Now, here we are, fighting alongside orcs on a battlefield. Never thought I'd see the day.”

  “The enemy of my enemy is my friend, brother,” I replied.

  Hasani chuckled. “Absolutely. They swayed that last battle in our favor, for sure. It was a good deal if all you have to give them is venison.” He reached out and patted me on the shoulder. “I have to get going, sister. In the meantime, give this man a raise, will you?” Hasani jerked a thumb to Azazel.

  “I keep t
rying,” I replied, feigning irritation as Hasani laughed. The king grabbed a thick fur and leather coat from the nearby table and pulled it on before risking to venture into the blizzard.

  Azazel held the mug of hot tea out to me. “Morning. Drink some of this before we leave.”

  I smirked in response and took the glass. “You made me tea? That's normally Cerin's job.”

  “Yes, but you made it through half the day yesterday before almost passing out from dehydration because you forget to take care of yourself.” Azazel nodded toward the mug. “Don't worry, I made it the way you like it. Golden-brown with lots of sugar.”

  I chuckled. “How could you know that?”

  “I pay attention.” As I took a few drinks of tea, Azazel grabbed my thick royal green cloak from a coat rack near the door. “You'll need this. It's been snowing all night. Most snow I've ever seen in my life.”

  I noticed the tone of awe to his voice and asked, “Do you like it?”

  Azazel smiled. “It's beautiful. The world is so much simpler when painted over in one color. It's a little inconvenient, though.” He tapped one boot on the ground, calling my attention to the melting snow he'd tracked in.

  We traded the tea for the cloak so I could prepare for the cold, and only once I pulled the hood over my head did I take the hot mug once more. “Show me this fun Hasani was talking about,” I requested.

  Azazel pushed through the door, holding it open for me as I faced an onslaught of flurries. The cobblestone square ahead had disappeared under inches of glistening snow, and the fountain was frozen over, hanging icicles from stone bowls. A brisk breeze stole my breath as I followed Azazel to the bottom of the northeastern guard tower, being careful to walk in his steps to avoid having to trudge through piles of undisturbed snow.

  The wind howled so loudly in my ears as we walked through Comercio's streets that it felt like something was missing once Azazel led me through the door of the guard tower and the sound ceased. My skin burned in the heat after bearing freezing temperatures, and I took a few more drinks of the hot tea to warm me further. I noticed Azazel shivering, but he wasn't nearly as bothered by the cold as I was.

  “Years and years ago,” Azazel began, as he started up the steps of the tower with me on his heels, “you told me you and the others were attacked by the Twelve near Caravaneer Road before you reached Comercio. Why the Twelve and not horse cavalry?”

  “I'm assuming Sirius sent the Twelve because they could catch up to us quickly and quietly and he thought they would easily kill me,” I replied. “Sera doesn't have a small unit of horse cavalry it can gather so hastily.”

  “So the Twelve are hunters?” Azazel questioned, ramming his shoulder into the upper door of the tower which would lead to the top of the eastern wall when it refused to budge.

  “Well, they work primarily as a reconnaissance unit, but each of them are warriors,” I replied. Azazel finally got the door to open, and it scraped through inches of a snow blockage. Frigid cold air blew in before I followed him outside. “Why?”

  Azazel led me down the wall for a few moments before he stopped and pointed into the city. I followed his direction until the roof of Comercio's castle came into view. Most of the peak was bright white with snow. Near the rear, however, was a green-clad body that was only barely visible through the white precipitation. Sticking out of a frozen, upturned face was a carbon arrow. The snow couldn't mask the obscene amount of blood that had rolled down the roof before it cooled hours ago, nor the broken bones that stuck up out of the mess like spikes. The arrow had killed this member of the Twelve, but the force of a really long fall exploded the body after death.

  “Damn,” I finally commented. “Nice shot.”

  Azazel huffed with amusement beside me. “Well, thank you, but we need to know why he was here. To assassinate you?”

  “No wonder it woke nearly everyone up; that was a hard fall.”

  “He was extremely high up in the sky,” Azazel replied. “I'm just glad it didn't break the roof.”

  “It broke everything else,” I mused dryly.

  Azazel chuckled at my carefree attitude and insisted, “Kai.”

  “I wouldn't worry about it, Azazel. Sirius is using the Twelve as messengers, maybe scouts.” I gestured toward the body. “He was alone?”

  “Yes.”

  I laughed with amusement. “What the hell do they think they're going to do while alone?”

  “Stealthily gather intel, perhaps,” Azazel suggested.

  “Not with you on guard,” I replied, patting him on the arm before hesitating. “Why were you on guard? I thought you went to bed at the same time I did last night.”

  Azazel shrugged lightly. “Couldn't sleep.”

  The conversation with Cerin earlier that morning came to mind, and I smirked. “Do you sleep? Ever?”

  Azazel glanced over at me with one raised eyebrow, appearing amused. “What kind of question is that?”

  “One Cerin asked me this morning.”

  “Cerin sleeps enough for all of us,” Azazel retorted, and I chuckled. He motioned around us at the wall and went on, “I asked Maggie this morning if she could build dwarven weapons like the ones used against us in Griswald. They'll be useful to have up here if Chairel attacks, and the repeater crossbows in particular will be helpful against the griffons if they send more.”

  “And she can?”

  “Yes, she has a whole book of schematics from weapons there.”

  “A book of what?”

  “Maggie's words, not mine,” Azazel replied with a grin.

  “Did the griffon escape?” I questioned, noting the lack of its corpse.

  “It flew over to where Zephyr keeps the others on its own,” he replied, motioning to the grasslands. “We gained a griffon out of the ordeal.”

  “Regardless, in a matter of weeks, Sirius will know I took Comercio when this soldier does not return,” I told Azazel. “Tell Maggie to focus defenses on the northern wall first, then the west. Until Holter gets back, I want Zephyr and the other griffon riders to scout the plains between here and Sera. I doubt Sera will send its forces until better weather conditions, but we need to prepare. Sirius may become desperate once he realizes he is now king and must defend his new throne.” I turned from the view of the city and headed back to the warmth of the tower. “May his reign be short and fraught with difficulties.”

  *

  The 29th of Dark Star was a clear and crisp day like the heavens were offering apologies for their blizzard tantrums which had plagued us for weeks. Comercio's streets were being cleared one shovelful at a time by Fremont soldiers who simply seemed happy to be warm from their exertions. Tents cluttered around campfires as soldiers huddled around their heat. As I headed north to check up on the progress of the wall defenses, Chance caught my eye and jogged over to me.

  “Good afternoon, Kai,” he greeted, the words accompanied by puffs of smoke in the brisk air. “We need to discuss food shortages.”

  “My favorite topic in all the world,” I replied in monotone, and the other god laughed.

  Chance dodged passing soldiers as he kept up the pace beside me. “We have no issues yet. They kept Comercio well-stocked, but their massive armies took from those reserves before you even got here. Those logs you found in the castle mention that they rely on Kilgor for imported agricultural goods. We need Kilgor to supply us, particularly if Narangar doesn't go as planned.”

  “I can't take Kilgor until I'm ready to move on to Sera,” I replied. “When I go there, I'll want to recruit and teach magic as well. I can't risk that unless I can be sure Sirius won't raze it when he finds out they've become traitors.”

  “Then how will we feed the soldiers?” Chance asked.

  “How much longer will our stores last?”

  “If we add nothing to them? Mid-New Moon of next year,” Chance replied. “And we're adding little to them now. The fishers won't go out to the lake for fear of being near the orcs. Trading caravans from Nahar
a won't make it here until early-High Star. Those sent to Fremont will take even longer.”

  “You sent traders to Celendar as well?” I asked.

  “Yes, as you asked me to weeks ago,” Chance answered. “We can't expect a route to be established until High Star next year.”

  “The fishers need to go out to Tieren Lake,” I told Chance. “I don't care if they fear the orcs; that can't keep them from doing their jobs. Send a group of soldiers out there with them if you need to. Give them a financial incentive for each crate of fish they bring back. Whatever it takes. When we leave for Narangar, we'll be taking most of these men with us. The hunters can restock Comercio while we're out of it. Narangar has a gigantic harbor. That city has food stores of its own, and once we take it, we'll reestablish a route between the two.”

  “You talk like you will take Narangar for sure,” Chance pointed out, “when we can't be certain. I heard rumors about Narangar before you got here. Chairel seems confident they will destroy you there.”

  “Chairel was confident they would destroy me here,” I argued lightly.

  A bright smile broke out on Chance's face. “We haven't worked together for very long yet, Kai, but already I see why the most persistent rumor of you says that you are unstoppable. You think that you are.”

  “If I wanted to lose this war, Chance, I could have a long time ago. But I'm in it to win it. Narangar will be mine by High Star.” I stopped in the street, and the other god halted beside me, still looking amused. “Would you like to bet on it?”

  Chance grinned. “Sure.”

  “How much?”

  Chance pondered this. “One hundred gold.”

  “One hundred gold for the fate of an entire city?” I retorted in jest. “I expected a higher wager from the god of fortune.”

  “Need I remind you that I am currently working for free?” Chance replied, and I laughed.

  “If you still have Comercio running smoothly when I get back from Narangar, I will reward you then. You've been working too hard not to be recognized.”

  “Ah,” Chance began, “so you're enjoying this partnership as much as I am.”