The Last Goddess
Page 77
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Rook craned his neck to get a better glimpse of the plaza below and immediately wished he hadn’t. The swirling vortex of dark power above the prince seemed like it might consume the entire plaza, and the wall of black-armored Faceless scythed their way through the crowd. The civilians tried desperately to scurry away in any direction, but Faceless weren’t known as precision instruments—in their quest to cut down any foreign diplomats and guardsmen in sight, they hacked apart anything and anyone that got in their way
It was the new face of the Darenthi Republic. It was the new face of evil.
“Sir, we can’t…” Thorne’s voice choked off as she too looked down upon the carnage below. The foreign guardsmen had formed together on the steps of the assembly to stand against the Faceless horde, but they would be no match for its unrelenting might. And even if they somehow succeeded, they would assuredly be consumed by the billowing tempest of death looming over the stage.
Rook turned his eyes to Bremen. The general and his aide had returned not long ago and spoken plainly of his victory over Senator Veltar. He had even shifted Rook’s bonds to give him a better perspective on the celebration without tying him up to a rack.
It solidified the belief Rook had been harboring since Jehalai—General Bremen, the butcher of Turesk, was not his enemy. Or at least, not compared to what else they were facing. He had been testing the man’s loyalties for days every chance he got, and apparently it had worked at least a little. Veltar was dead, but Kastrius was still out there, standing at the eye of the storm. If Rook kept pushing, perhaps he could still get himself free…
It wasn’t much of a hope, but it was better than nothing. And it might have been Haven’s only chance.
“This is the legacy of your new Emperor, General,” Rook said. “And you know the moment he’s done here, he’ll be coming after you. I could see it in his eyes before he left today.”
Bremen didn’t reply. He sat there in silence staring down at the plaza, his fingers rubbing idly across the tattoos upon his head. They eventually settled on the symbol of Abalor.
“You really think this is what your god wants?” Rook pressed. “Do you worship a being who cares only for destruction?”
“The prince wields the power of Our Lord,” Bremen said softly. “The power to cleanse the wicked and Consecrate the Fane. The power to expose the lies of the Betrayer and the curse she has left on our world.”
Thorne stared at him, her hands shaking. Rook could see the battle raging behind her eyes, too, but he knew she would ultimately side with her commander no matter what. Rook would have to get to Bremen himself…
An explosion echoed up the tower, followed quickly by a warning shout from one of their soldiers below. Bremen instantly turned to face Rook.
“It seems your friends have found us.”
“It doesn’t have to be this way, General,” Rook told him. “Let me go, and we can all stop Kastrius together.”
They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, and finally Major Thorne put a hand upon Bremen’s shoulder.
“What are your orders, sir?”
The general’s lip twitched. “Kill them.”