Ashiyn summoned all his magic and used it to slam Harm up against the wall. When Ember tried to come to her assistance, Ashiyn shot a blast of magic at his son and knocked him out the door. Then he slammed the door and used his magic to hold it shut. He put a hand around Harm’s neck, choking her. “Listen, woman. I’ve put up with your hatred for thousands of years now. You seduced me, remember? You wanted Ember. You need to stop blaming me for giving you what you wanted. Stop blaming our son for turning out like me. I am tired of this feud.”
Harm gripped his wrist, trying her best to pull his hand away from her neck as she struggled. She wasn’t strong enough.
Ashiyn waited until she almost lost consciousness, then released her neck so she could gasp for air. “Where is Soryn? Take me to him and I might spare you one more time, depending on what you’ve done to him.”
All color drained from Harm’s already pale skin, but she narrowed her cold grey eyes at him and spat in his face. “He’s dead.”
“You’re lying,” Ashiyn said, annoyed. “Take me to him, or I will crush your entire kingdom into dust and feed your people to the god-dragon.”
The threat to her people seemed to get through to Harm more than any threat against her ever could have. Dusting herself off with as much dignity as she could manage, she marched to the door.
Ashiyn released the door and flung it open as she reached it. There was no sign of Ember now. Not surprising, his son had a cowardly streak. No doubt Ember had scrambled into a hole like a little rat.
Ashiyn followed Harm down the stone corridors. He hadn’t realized the elves kept such a large dungeon. The deeper they went, the worse the cells became. They were filled with devices of torture for which even Ashiyn could not the imagination the use of. A knot started to form in Ashiyn’s stomach. He knew Soryn had been tortured before they came to the room.
Soryn hung spread-eagled upside down from chains on the ceiling. The elves had used something to display his true celestial form, and his beautiful wings were broken and tattered. His skin deathly pale and Ashiyn couldn’t see him breathing.
Ashiyn didn’t even spare Harm a glance. He shoved her out of the way and used his magic to snap the chains holding Soryn just as he reached his friend, so he could gently lower Soryn to the ground. When Ashiyn’s magic picked up a faint heartbeat, he rested Soryn on the floor and stood up.
Harm saw her death in his eyes. She turned and tried to run. She didn’t get far before she screamed and fell to her knees. Ashiyn used his magic to turn her inside out. Her tortured screams rang in his ears long after she had collapsed in a bloody pile of gore. Even that didn’t feel like she’d suffered enough for what she had done.
“Ashiyn?” Soryn croaked, his voice breaking. That was all he managed before drifting back to unconsciousness.
Ashiyn turned back to his friend, then knelt to pick him up. Magical transportation was very costly and normally not worth the effort, but in this case, Ashiyn did not hesitate to use it. Without a word, he summoned magic to teleport them to Sia’s cave and carried Soryn inside. Once again, he flung books off the desk with his magic, and laid the dying magus there instead. “Sia!”
“You have to stop doing this,” Sia grumbled as he floated through the air to them. Even he seemed shocked at the extent of Soryn’s injuries, too shocked to do anything but react and immediately use his magic to heal.
Once Soryn was in stable condition, Sia floated around the desk to hover in front of Ashiyn. “You should release me and take me with you, My Lord. My magic would be useful in your battles.”
Ashiyn crossed his arms. He considered it. Having a healing ghost following them might be useful. “Did you find anything out while we were gone?”
“There is only one way to defeat Sihtaar, my lord,” Sia said, his voice low as he beckoned Ashiyn away from Soryn.
Ashiyn followed the ghost across the library with a frown. He had to dodge stacks of books that the ghost just hovered right through. “Well, defeat is the wrong word. Sihtaar can only be contained. Soryn must make a portal to the world in between and the two of you must battle him there.” Sia said as he summoned a book to the air in front of them and flipped pages to show Ashiyn depictions of a great battle with the god-dragon. “When he is weakened, you must retreat and trap him there.”
“There is something you are not telling me.” Ashiyn grabbed the book and flipped the pages. The drawings depicted a celestial locked in battle forever with Sihtaar. “Soryn has to stay there and fight him forever?” Ashiyn slammed the book shut and threw it at the ghost. “No!”
Sia scowled as the book went through his ghostly form, then shook a finger at Ashiyn. “It is the only way.”
“It is the only way they tried that worked. That doesn’t mean they tried everything.” Ashiyn glanced back at Soryn sleeping on the desk. “I won’t sacrifice him. That was the point of this entire apocalypse. I caused it to save his life.”
Sia floated in silence with a thoughtful look on his face. It took him a few moments to respond. “You love him. Finally, you understand the pain you have caused so many others. You will have to sacrifice the only thing that is important to you to save the world.”
“I will not. I’m not an unselfish hero. The world can burn as far as I care. They deserve to die. All of them,” Ashiyn snarled.
“So, what will you do then? You will go hide in your castle with Soryn until the god-dragon devours the entire world and comes for you? Then what? Sihtaar won’t spare you, even if you feed him every other soul here. You might be eternal, but I promise you our world is not immortal. It can be damaged, and it can die,” Sia scolded, his ethereal arms crossed. “It will be very awkward for you to try to survive in a dragon’s belly on a dead world, and Soryn does not have the form of immortality that would allow him to join you there.”
“Then the world had better hope that you find a different way before Sihtaar devours everything,” Ashiyn spat. He turned and stalked over to pick Soryn up, then without another word to Sia, he used his magic to teleport them back to the castle. The effort cost him, and he instantly felt exhausted from overusing so much magic in such a short time.
Ashiyn carried Soryn into his bed chambers and laid Soryn on the bed. He ordered the Nthir to fix a meal, they weren’t quite as good at it as Soryn was, but they’d make something. Then he sat down on the bed next to Soryn and waited for his friend to wake up.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Ashiyn paced the room. Soryn still slept on the bed nearby. Three days had passed, and Soryn had not regained consciousness. After the first day, Ashiyn had retreated to his library and scoured it for some solution to the god-dragon’s destruction that did not involve trapping his only friend for eternity in an exhaustive, dangerous battle. No solutions presented themselves in his research. The silence from Sia meant the ghost had not found anything either.
It took Ashiyn a while to realize he was being watched. He turned to the bed to find Soryn’s dark gaze locked on him. Soryn lay there on the bed still in tattered clothing that revealed his thin frame. His majestic wings had faded from sight leaving Soryn looking more like a battered mortal. “There is food. You should eat. It has been three days,” Ashiyn said, as he gestured to the tray next to the bed.
Soryn glanced disinterestedly at the food. Then he sat up. The movement was slow and clearly painful, but he managed to sit on the edge of the bed. “You shouldn’t concern yourself so much. I have the magic of the celestials. I draw sustenance from the universe itself. I won’t die from starvation. Besides your Nthir are terrible cooks.”
Ashiyn stopped his pacing to watch Soryn. He did not care for the emotions trying to rage through him. Fear, panic, despair. These were not things he allowed himself to feel. His lips curled into a scowl as he fought them off. He should not care so much about Soryn either. “You have been through much because you are at my side. Perhaps we should part ways.”
First shock crossed Soryn’s face, then devastation. “You are going to
send me away? That is your attempt to protect me? There is nowhere I would rather be than at your side.”
Ashiyn turned away and stormed to the window. He crossed his arms and stared out at the dark sky as clouds crossed the moon and blocked its light. “They tortured you to hurt me, Soryn. It is too dangerous to be my friend. You need to go and hide until I find a way to destroy Sihtaar.”
Soryn rose from the bed, though he wobbled a bit, clearly still weak from his ordeal. He gripped the nearest post on the bed to hold himself up as he narrowed his eyes. “I will not run and hide like a coward and leave you to this fate alone.”
Ashiyn turned to face him. “If you do not, there is no chance I will not spend eternity alone, Soryn. You must go and hide. Trust me.”
“You know something. Stop trying to protect me,” Soryn whispered, his tone harsh. “Tell me.”
“I will not. If you care for me, you will do as I say.” Ashiyn shook his head. “Use your magic to portal away from this place. You are a celestial. Surf the cosmos. Find a different world that is safer. Return when I am victorious.”
Soryn pushed away from the bed and took unsteady steps to close the distance between them. After searching Ashiyn’s eyes he gently reached to brush his fingers across Ashiyn’s cheek in a comforting gesture. “I will not abandon you. Not after all we have been through. You cannot bear this burden alone, Ashiyn. I am here to support you.”
Ashiyn stiffened and pulled back from the touch. He stepped back to put space between them, his tone quivering with rage when he finally spoke, “They sent you here to sacrifice yourself for this pathetic world. I won’t have it. I am not some righteous hero willing to give up everything for the good of the world. I am a selfish villain. You are mine. They can’t have you. I will let this world burn to the ground before I allow it.”
Soryn dropped his gaze to the floor. He shifted his weight from foot to foot. “That is the problem, my beloved Ashiyn. You are the villain. I am the hero. The very last hero this world has. I am its only hope.”
“Then let it die,” Ashiyn growled and grabbed Soryn’s arm. “This pathetic world is not worth the sacrifice. Find somewhere else to go, Soryn.”
“And leave you? I can’t do that, Ashiyn. Don’t you understand? My sole reason for surviving this long and enduring everything was to save you, as you saved me,” Soryn whispered. “You and this world are meant to survive. I am meant to save you.”
“You can’t do this, Soryn. I won’t allow it. Sia wants you to take Sihtaar to the between world and trap him there. The only way you can achieve that is to battle him for eternity, so he never has a chance to escape.” Ashiyn went back to pacing across the room, his hands clenching. “Don’t you understand? You will be leaving me. You will be trapped forever in the elseworld, locked in an eternal exhaustive battle with Sihtaar.”
“You will be safe. This world will be safe. You can rebuild it as its king. You will be like a god to the people here. You can shape this world in whatever image you desire. You can make it prosper. I’ve seen the world you can make, Ashiyn. It is worth it. But it will take my sacrifice to change you enough for you to be able to do it,” Soryn whispered.
“You have known? This entire time?” Ashiyn turned to Soryn. No, he would not lose Soryn again. He shook his head and crossed the room to take Soryn’s face in his hands. “You are not just my friend, Soryn.”
“Be careful what you ask of me, Ashiyn. I cannot tell you no,” Soryn pleaded, his voice soft.
Ashiyn pushed Soryn back toward his bed. “You are the only thing on this world that I love besides Illusion. I will not lose you again. Destiny, fate, prophecy, they are lies, Soryn. We make our own choices. Let this world burn and stay with me.”
Tears fell from Soryn’s eyes as he watched Ashiyn slowly undress him. “You always knew there was no other choice for me. That is why you love me. It is impossible for me to betray you.”
Ashiyn helped Soryn back to the bed then removed his own clothes. He would not let Soryn escape and the best way to keep him here was to give Soryn what he had always wanted.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Ashiyn made it a point to keep Soryn exhausted to the point the celestial could not trot happily off to his terrible fate. It was not difficult really. Soryn was still recovering and the intensity of their relationship seemed to wear on him as well.
As Soryn slept, Ashiyn glared out of the window of his bedroom. Sihtaar had grown so large that the dragon’s massive body was all that was visible beyond the cliffs. Ashiyn’s magic told him the world was dying. There were few left for Sihtaar to drain, so now the dragon was draining the life from the planet instead.
“You know Sihtaar will eat all three of us if you do not figure out something,” Sia said as he appeared behind Ashiyn. The ghost seemed a bit startled by the fact Ashiyn was wearing nothing but simply adjusted his spectacles and looked away. Then he seemed to realize what was visible of Soryn was bare as well. “My King, you cannot keep the savior of the world trapped in your bed.”
“I can, and I will,” Ashiyn replied coolly. “Soryn’s sacrifice is not allowed. Find a different way.”
“The only other way is to abandon this world and have Soryn take the three of us to another,” Sia grumbled as he glanced out the window too. “Which is the only real option now.”
Ashiyn raised a brow. “Soryn can do that? I know he destroyed Rhadamanthus’s hiding place in the between.”
“In theory, Soryn can do that. The magic of the celestials allows him to travel between planes and walk into others. You and I are not celestials and do not have that power. He would have to figure out how to take us with him,” Sia mumbled.
“Us?” Ashiyn looked the ghost over. “Who invited you?”
Soryn rolled over to look at them, resting his chin on his arms. “You two are speaking rather loudly for me to sleep.” He sighed and glanced at Sia. “I know I can’t take you with me, Sia. You’re a spirit.”
Sia looked disturbed as he floated there.
“What is holding you here, Sia?” Soryn asked as he sat up. “I don’t want to leave you to oblivion. You should have passed on to be with those you love.”
Sia wrung his ghostly hands. “That is why I cannot pass on. The one I love was not able to. He was destroyed, even down to his spirit. Every part of him shattered and died.”
Soryn discreetly rose and pulled some clothes on. He eyed Ashiyn then threw a pair of pants to him, ignoring the smirk Ashiyn gave him. “I don’t think that’s possible, Sia. Do you have anything left from him?”
“Yes,” Sia said eagerly, as he vanished.
Ashiyn took the opportunity to get dressed, but he watched Soryn curiously. “What are you doing?”
Soryn finished dressing then closed is eyes and drew his magic. His wings unfurled behind him and his hands started to glow. “No one disappears completely. I’m going to help Sia before we leave.”
“We are leaving?” Ashiyn asked as he raised a brow.
“Yes. But we will never be able to come back. You will lose all of this,” Soryn said, waving to indicate the castle. “If you stay and refuse to let me save this world, you will be an immortal king of a world full of corpses.”
“Where will we go?” Ashiyn scowled as he thought about it. Soryn had a point. Being King of a dead world did not have strong appeal.
“There are other worlds. I will show you. But first I must help Sia. I will not abandon him. He has saved me several times,” Soryn said as he waited for Sia to return.
When Sia reappeared, he dropped an old, tarnished ring into Soryn’s hands. “That was his.”
Soryn turned the bloodied ring around in his hands as they started to glow. “Oh, Sia. You’ve been alone a very long time.”
Sia adjusted his spectacles then shrugged. “Time is different when you are a spirit, but I have missed him. I was told there’s nothing left of him.”
Soryn smiled gently and closed his hand around the ring. Then he held out a h
and to Sia. “Take my hand, Sia. I will send you to him.”
Sia’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Truly? You are wonderful. I have waited so long!” Sia placed his hand on Soryn’s and instantly dissipated in a shower of magical sparks.
Ashiyn walked over to brush away the tears that started to fall down Soryn’s face. “It was a kinder fate than Sihtaar. You showed him mercy. Now he is at peace.”
Soryn set the ring down on the table next to Ashiyn’s bed, choking back a sob. “I want to leave this place. I have to give you some of my magic for you to be able to travel between worlds with me.” He held out his hands to Ashiyn.
“What about Illusion?” Ashiyn hesitated. The thought of leaving Illusion behind to be devoured by Sihtaar made him feel sick to his stomach.
Soryn considered the question. “He is bound to you. He exists more as a part of your magic than he does as a mortal creature. I am fairly certain you will be able to summon him no matter where we go, but only if we hurry. If he dies here to Sihtaar there will be no way to save him.”
The Darkest Sword Page 21