by Sarah Hawke
Kaseya and I pressed our advantage, and as we grew more coordinated and more confident we soon had Ayrael completely on the defensive. Despite her superior strength and speed—despite her seemingly infinite Senosi power—she couldn’t handle both of us at once. The Aether flowed through our bond, bolstering our attacks and perfectly synchronizing our movements. We eventually drove the Hand of the Inquisitrix all the way back to the temple steps, and she lost her balance on one of the slick stones. The stumble only cost her a fraction of a second, but it was more than enough. Kaseya lunged forward and exploited the brief opening, kicking Ayrael flat against the steps and then battering the blade from her grip. The sword speared into the soft ground a few yards away.
“It’s over, sister,” Kaseya said, placing the tip of her blade at the other woman’s throat.
Ayrael continued breathing heavily for several seconds before she finally grunted and smiled. “Apparently the old man wasn’t useless after all. At least he taught you something before he died.”
“Please…don’t make me kill you. There must be another way!”
“There isn’t,” Ayrael spat. “Look around, Kaseya. Nol Krovos is already lost. The moshalim drown in the sea and there is nothing you can do about it.”
“Call off the attack,” Kaseya said. “Stop this madness before it’s too late.”
Ayrael sighed and slowly shook her head. “I never would have thought it possible. You know the truth, but you refuse to acknowledge it. The Matriarch and the Mosh’Dalar do not deserve your loyalty, sister. They used us! They manipulated us!”
“You don’t think the Inquisitrix is manipulating you?” Valuri asked as she crawled to her feet. Her tattoos were still glowing red, but she seemed to have regained a small semblance of control. “Her crusade against magic has been a lie right from the beginning. She’s a bloody sorceress! This is about power, pure and simple.”
“Yes, it is,” Ayrael said. “Power for the right people. People for our people.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” I said. “Destroying the Fount won’t make sorcerers any less corrupt. It will just rid the world of priests and wizards.”
“Who said anything about destroying the Fount?” Ayrael scoffed and shook her head. “Zalheer might have recognized the Matriarch’s corruption, but he was still an old fool. My mistress explored the world just as he did. She studied every channeling tradition from the Dragon Brides of Narthil to the wizard-kings of Ram’Kahen. But no matter where she went, no matter how far she traveled, she realized there was one inescapable truth: wherever men wield power, they abuse it. Their tyranny must come to an end.”
My throat went dry. “The Inquisitrix doesn’t just want to collapse the Three Corridors. She thinks she can become them.”
Kaseya shook her head. “I do not understand.”
“She wants to become the only source of power—one universal Corridor through which every priest and wizard in the world will have to draw from the Aether.”
“In other words,” Valuri whispered, “she wants to become a god.”
Ayrael smiled. “Like I said, you battle forces you do not comprehend. For Nol Krovos to live, the moshalim must die. I will start by purging yours.”
I felt a surge in the Aether a split second before the ground trembled from a distant explosion. I lost my balance, and in that instant Ayrael struck. She kicked Kaseya in the chest, knocking her halfway across the platform, and then plucked a small throwing knife from the small scabbard on her leg. Ayrael hurled the tiny blade at me before I could react. The vatari-coated steel pierced my magical defenses with ease, and it sliced through my left shoulder just a few inches above my heart. The pain was so instantaneous and so overwhelming I was surprised I didn’t lose consciousness. The force of the impact knocked me flat on my back, and my skull cracked the stone so hard I nearly blacked out.
“Jorem!”
I felt more than heard Kaesya launch herself at Ayrael. Their swords clashed as loudly as the rolling thunder, and even as my strength waned I focused all my remaining energy through our bond. At this point I didn’t even care if the pain overwhelmed me. All that mattered as helping Kaseya survive.
Mas’Kari.
This time, their movements were less of a dance than a frantic, furious blur of movement. Kaseya seemed twice as fast as before, and her Dal’Rethi techniques evened the odds. Once again she put Ayrael on the defensive, and once again she drove her sister back to the steps…
But this time, Kaseya was the one to stumble. My heart froze in my chest as she slipped down to a knee, and every millisecond passed like an eternity as Ayrael’s sword swept in for the kill. A scream left my lips in anticipation of blood—
And then a crossbow bolt struck Ayrael in the arm. She shrieked in surprise as her swing arced wide of its target, and her blue eyes gaped in horror at the quarrel jutting out of her bicep. She had just enough time to turn and scowl at Valuri before Kaseya regained her balance and plunged her sword through her sister’s chest.
They landed on top of each other on the steps, their faces less than an inch apart. Blood hemorrhaged from Ayrael’s lips, and the flames of the burning temple reflected in her glassy eyes. She placed her hand on her sister’s cheek, smiled through the blood, and whispered something I couldn’t hear.
And then she was gone.
I laid there frozen, the rain pummeling the stones around me, unable to even muster the energy to heal myself until I felt Valuri’s hand on my arm. She applied pressure to stop the bleeding while I channeled a burst of restorative magic into the wound. Kaseya still hadn’t moved by the time I had numbed the worst of the pain.
“We need to get to the Fount,” I said, dragging myself to a knee. “I don’t think we have much time.”
Kaseya ran a hand through her sister’s blonde hair. I could see her fingers trembling, and the flood of emotions rushing through our bond was so intense I feared I would be dragged under with them. But rather than deactivate the ring I decided to stand my ground and try to help her instead. She needed me more than ever right now.
“An shari la ,” Kaseya whispered, kissing Ayrael’s forehead and then leaning the body on the steps. She glanced up at the temple as the blaze intensified despite the rain. At this point, there was nothing anyone could do to stop the devastation.
“Come on, Red,” Valuri said, touching the amazon’s shoulder. Her voice was as soft as I had ever heard it. “We still have work to do.”
Kaseya slowly stood and stared down at the pommel of the sword still jutting out of her sister. Rather than remove the blade, she leaned down and retrieved Ayrael’s instead.
“This way,” Kaseya whispered. “It is time to finish this.”
7
Kaseya silently led us towards the shore as if she were in a trance. I didn’t dare speak, and neither did Val. What could we have possibly said? What could we have possibly done?
I tried to keep myself focused on the task at hand. Even from our vantage point along the hills at the edge of the city, I couldn’t tell whether or not the amazons were holding their own against the Vorsalosian fleet. All I knew for certain was that the smoke and fog were nearly impenetrable, and I still heard the roar of the occasional wyvern in the darkness.
How many people are out there dying right now? How many more will die before this is over?
Of all the scenarios we had imagined on our long trip from Highwind, I had never once considered that the Inquisitrix would dare lead this attack herself. Then again, we had been so utterly wrong about everything that it probably shouldn’t have been much of a surprise.
“The entrance should be on the other side of this hill,” Kaseya said, finally breaking the long silence.
“Do you sense any Senosi?” Valuri asked.
“I cannot sense anything besides the Fount. Its power shrouds everything.”
I nodded grimly. I could feel it too even without concentrating on our bond. I could channel so much power right now that the wo
und in my shoulder—a nasty gash that should have taken days to fully mend even with magic—had already been reduced to a tiny, painless scar. I honestly wondered if it was even possible for me to overchannel in such a place. I would have been a lot more enamored by the prospect if it didn’t mean that our enemy would be bolstered as well.
“I’d bet anything the Inquisitrix is already inside,” Valuri said. “I wish we had a plan.”
“The plan is to stop her,” Kaseya said. “At any cost.”
“Sorry, I meant I wish we had a real plan.” Val sighed and glanced down at her crossbow. “I’ll be completely worthless to you in there. The Inquisitrix will be able to paralyze me with a flick of her wrist. And no offense, Red, but you’ll never get close enough to her to use that sword of yours.”
Kaseya squeezed the grip of Ayrael’s immaculate blade. “We shall see.”
We reached the entrance less than a minute later, and I paused for a moment when I realized it was the exact same haunting visage I had seen in the dreamscape. The ancient stones, the buried path, the shroud of eerie blue light…
And most disturbingly of all, the bodies.
“Escar’s mercy,” Valuri breathed.
Yet again I nearly choked on the bile in my throat. Unlike in my vision, the faces of the dead weren’t shrouded in shadow. I recognized most of the women from our brief visit to the throne room—they were the Matriarch’s golden-armored guardians. Their spears were shattered, their shields were broken, and their throats were slashed open like they had been mauled by wild beasts. I might have even believed that if the bodies of the nearby moshalim weren’t riddled with crossbow bolts.
“Wait,” Valuri warned, throwing an arm across my chest. “There are more Senosi hiding here somewhere. They’ll be waiting for reinforcements.”
I paused and squinted back down at the cave mouth. There weren’t many places to hide along the shoreline aside from a few boulders and rock piles, but she was probably right. The Senosi wouldn’t just leave their mistress unguarded.
“If we draw them out, Kaseya and I can handle them,” I said. “If anything, the Fount’s power will—”
Another tremor shook the island, and this time it lasted long enough that I actually fell to a knee. When I closed my eyes, I could feel the waves of Aetheric power rippling out of the cave.
“We don’t have time for another fight,” Valuri said, pursing her lips. “You two head inside and see what you can do. I’ll stay out here and give you cover.”
I shook my head. “If we’re doing this, we’re doing it as a team.”
“Don’t be stupid,” she chided. “I already told you I’ll be useless in there, but I can hold my own again other Senosi.”
“For all we know there could be a dozen Huntresses hiding around here!”
“There’s nowhere for that many of them to hide. Besides, horrible odds will just make things more interesting.” She forced a tight smile and squeezed my arm. “You know I’d love to help you take that bitch down more than anyone, but I’m smart enough to realize I’d only be a liability. Go—I’ll be fine.”
I looked deep into her green eyes. Intellectually, I knew she was right. Emotionally, on the other hand…
“Don’t do anything stupid,” I said, squeezing her hand. “Retreat back along the shore if you have to—Hestiah should be coming with reinforcements at some point.”
“I’ll be fine,” Valuri promised. She planted a kiss on my lips, then leaned over and did the same with Kaseya. “Now go and pull of some more of your Maskari bullshit before I change my mind.”
Drawing her crossbows, she turned and raced down the hill. No one shot at her right away, but she made herself as tempting a target as possible.
“All right,” I said, taking a deep breath and wrapping myself in a protective barrier. “Here goes nothing.”
We rushed down the other side of the hill towards the cave mouth, and by the time we reached the entrance I heard the click of crossbow bolts followed by the screams of battle. Every fiber in my being was telling me to go and help Valuri, but every second we wasted here could literally determine the fate of the world as we knew it.
No pressure.
We dashed inside. The cavern was deep, but mercifully the passageways weren’t littered with more bodies or guarded by more Senosi. Every time we turned a corner I expected a dozen Huntresses to leap out at us, but the otherworldly hum of the crystals embedded in the wall was almost as disturbing. Once again, everything was identical to my vision in the dreamscape…and once again, the similarities filled me with dread.
We had almost reached the central chamber by the time voices started echoing down the passageway. Kaseya clutched her sword more tightly, and I reached out through our bond and further bolstered our defenses. Just like I’d expected, the Aether was so strong here that I didn’t feel the slightest tingle from overchanneling. If I’d had this kind of power back at Icewatch, I could have taken out the whole bloody Roskarim army myself…
When we finally rounded the last corner, I braced myself even though the dreamscape had already told me exactly what we were going to see: a “forest” of enormous glowing crystals, a shallow pool of shimmering liquid, and a tall, statuesque figure I had mistakenly confused for Ayrael in my vision.
The Inquisitrix.
I swallowed and clutched my hands at my side. I had only ever seen this woman from a distance in Vorsalos, but her sleek, blade-covered battle-robe was even more intimidating in person. As always, her face was concealed behind a featureless silver mask, and the white streaks in her red hair were the only clues hinting at her true age. She was unarmed aside from the dagger-like claws protruding from the fingers of her gauntlets, but I could sense her power burning in the Aether.
There weren’t any Senosi nearby, but the Inquisitrix wasn’t alone. Hanging from the largest crystal in the water, her limbs restrained by glowing bands of Aetheric energy, was Matriarch Lysara.
“The prodigal sister returns,” the Inquisitrix said in a cold, dark voice that made my hair prickle and my skin crawl. “So strong, so fearless… so utterly ignorant.”
A cold shudder rippled down my spine. I had spent virtually my entire life being terrified of this woman, though in practice she had always been more of a specter than a real, tangible threat. I had feared the Senosi far more than their mistress, given that they were the ones who had actually chased me. But seeing her here in the flesh—and sensing her phenomenal power through the Aether—sent a petrified ripple through my entire body.
“Kaseya…?” Matriarch Lysara rasped. Her face was badly swollen, and her eyes were barely visible behind the bruises and blood. “Kaseya, is that you?”
“Your savior is here,” the Inquisitrix said. “And she wields the sword of her sister.”
Lysara laughed bitterly. “I told you she would come. The Betrayer could not stop the Vaer Tal’Shira !”
“No, she couldn’t,” Kaseya said. “Not without our help.”
The Matriarch’s smile was slowly replaced by confusion. “What?”
Kaseya visibly steeled herself and stepped into the room, Ayrael’s sword clutched tightly in a two-handed grip. “You said yourself that the Mosh’Dalar’s vision was perfectly clear: the Daughter of Destiny will return and destroy the Betrayer. But her rage is the harbinger of ruin, and her wrath shall user in a new age of despair.”
I turned and frowned, wondering where in the hell she was going with this…and then suddenly—finally —the last piece of the puzzle slid into place.
What if everyone has been misinterpreting this prophecy the whole time?
“Ayrael wasn’t the Betrayer,” I whispered, as much to myself as to anyone else. “And Kaseya…Kaseya isn’t the Daughter of Destiny.”
The Inquisitrix finally turned to face us. I could see the amused glimmer in the blue eyes beneath her mask.
“We’ve been misinterpreting this prophecy all along,” I went on, turning to the Matriarch. “Ayrael didn’t
betray your people—she was betrayed by them. She was betrayed by you. ”
“And she was not the first,” Kaseya said. “There was another: a young, gifted woman who was stabbed in the back by her best friend—a sorceress whose very existence threatened the rule of the moshalim and brought into question the entire concept of the amazon’s pledge.”
Kaseya let out a long, slow breath as she lowered her sword to the ground and stared at the woman in the silver mask standing in front of her. “You are the real Daughter of Destiny.
“Marcella.”
The name fell across the room like a shadow. The air went still, and for a moment I swore that even the crystals stopped humming.
“No…” the Matriarch rasped. “No, that’s impossible…”
The Inquisitrix remained still and silent for several long seconds before she slowly lifted her hand and removed her silver mask. The face on the other side was that of a middle-aged woman, her left cheek and forehead scarred by flame.
“Hello, Lysara,” Marcella said. “It has been a long time.”
The Matriarch’s skin became so pale she was difficult to discern from the crystal. “How…?”
“How did I survive the flames?” Marcella asked. “How did I escape this island prison? As your moshalim are so fond of saying, the power of the Aether is infinite. It shielded me when I needed it the most.” She glanced down at her mask, her eyes narrowing in contempt, before she tossed it into the shimmering pool. “They would have done the same to Ayrael, had they ever managed to catch her. They would have tied her to a raft of straw, pushed her out to sea, and rained flaming arrows down upon her. A simple pyre isn’t good enough for those of us ‘tainted’ by the Aether, you see. Even our ashes are too polluted to remain on Nol Krovos.”
“Marcella,” the Matriarch whispered. “Marcella, I—”
“No,” the Inquisitrix growled, spinning about. Lysara’s mouth clamped shut as the air rumbled with telekinetic energy. “You have spewed enough lies for a dozen lifetimes. It is time for you to listen .”