by Phil Tucker
“I would help you,” said Jarek, his voice shaking with emotion. “But my Sky Hammer is gone. The divine fire that sustained me all these years is gone, stripped from me by the ritual.”
“I will do what I can,” said Sisu. “I’ll marshal what forces are available to me and march upon the God’s Mountain. Though even now I can feel the legions of the dead collapsing around Uros. I’ve not the power to sustain such an army. And in Rekkidu, the other cities - I have enough power to sense their collapse, but not enough to forestall it.”
“There is one thing we can do,” said Acharsis, and turned to consider the blazing soulstone.
Everyone else followed his gaze.
“Anscythia’s power?” asked Kish.
“Captured when she was destroyed,” said Acharsis. “The sum total of her own demonic abilities, of every demon she summoned, and those of every godsblood that was sacrificed here tonight. Enough to crush Irella. Enough to have brought the world to the edge of dissolution.”
Nobody spoke. Everyone considered the blazing gem.
“Could…” Jarek’s voice faltered. He tried again. “Could that return us our immortal spark?”
“I’ve no earthly clue,” said Acharsis. “But I know what can. The healthy apple. Sisu, do you know where Irella put it?”
Sisu nodded. “I do. Would it - can it restore your divinity?”
“I think it can,” said Acharsis, speaking slowly as hesitation seized him by the throat. “But… one apple. One person.”
Acharsis eyed Kish and Jarek. The three of them were stripped of their powers. Nothing but common mortals now.
“It’s yours if you want it,” said Jarek, voice soft.
“Old friend,” said Acharsis, tears coming to his eyes.
“I - but—” Kish’s jaw trembled. “Yes, all right. I agree. It’s yours if you want it, Acharsis.”
“If you took the apple,” said Jarek slowly. “You could also take Anscythia’s power.”
“No, that’s all right, I’ll take the power,” said Sisuthros.
“I know you’d take it,” said Acharsis. “That goes without saying. Young men are always eager for more.”
“As are the old, apparently,” snapped Sisu. “But yes. With that, I could pick up where my mother left off. Raise the dead. Bring order to the collapsing River Cities—”
“Open a portal to the netherworld?” asked Acharsis.
A variety of emotions flashed across Sisu’s face, the most dangerous of them lighting up his eyes, but then he sighed and shook his head. “Once, maybe. But after all I’ve seen? Been through? No.”
“Not sure I believe you,” said Acharsis. “That’s exactly what you know I’d want to hear.”
“To be honest,” said Sisu, tone hardening. “How, in your current condition, would you stop me if I chose to take it?”
“See?” Acharsis tried for a smile and failed. “That’s much more in line with what I’d expect. I almost feel comforted.”
“Stop it, Sisu,” said Kish. “What would Ishi say if she heard you speak like that?”
Sisu ducked his head. “My point is that Acharsis can’t go around pretending he’s still in control. The apple is in my possession. If anything—”
“Sisu.” Kish stepped away from Jarek. “You know better.”
“Look, I’m the closest to a god-like being out of all of us right now—”
“Sisu!”
“Fine, fine, whatever,” said Sisu, looking down and away. “Let’s all just pretend I’m not the heir of the entire River Cities and vastly more powerful now than ever before and—”
“It’s yours,” said Acharsis.
Sisu froze. “What?”
“The soulstone.” He felt old. Drained. Worn out through and through. “Yours. I trust you. What’s more, who else could truly wield its power effectively? The son of a dead god like Jarek or I? What would I do with that power? March alone upon the demon horde? No. It’s yours, Sisu. You must complete your mother’s task. You must raise the dead, infuse them with what dread vitality you can, and then together we’ll seek common cause with Magan against the demons. Unlike your mother, you’ll rule with diplomacy and not an iron fist. You’ll unite with the powers of Khartis, Dilman, every other nation. Prove to them that the threat is real, and then you shall hunt down the last of the demons, lock them in the Valley of Gog and Magog if possible, and end forever this threat against our world.”
Sisu’s eyes were wide. “And you? Will you take the apple, at least? Advise me?”
“Me?” Acharsis laughed, a broken, scratchy sound. He turned, looked past his weathered, broken friends, out beyond the burning temple to Nekuul, beyond the carpet of fallen dead, down the tiered slopes of the ziggurat, out over Uros, to the screaming crowds that streamed into the streets beyond, the toppled banners, the flickers of flames, the chaos and panic.
“There’s a lot left to do. A new war to be fought. New tales to be told. I’ll leave that to Jarek and Kish.” He looked sidelong at Jarek. “You’re going to need all the energy you can get if you’re going to keep up with this one, old friend. Otherwise she’ll wear you out within the year.”
Kish’s eyes lit up and she grabbed hold of Jarek’s arm, giving it a tight squeeze.
“You sure?” asked Jarek.
“I - yes. Let this glory fall upon the shoulders of the young. I’ve done my part. My divine spark is gone.”
He looked up to where Irella lay, twisted and still, and felt a pang of tearing, roiling grief.
“My foes are dead,” he said. “The River Cities saved. I’ve a son to tend to. A wife to love. A new life to live.”
Sisu’s brows rose sharply. “You’re - you’re not going to come with me to the God’s Mountain? Not going to try and revive Ekillos?”
Acharsis gave himself a shake, then smiled at the young Nekuulite, clapped him on the shoulder. “I thought you’d be glad to be rid of me. But no. You’ll do fine without me. Jarek will keep you in line. And Ekillos - well. If you remove Irella’s ban, then worship should slowly spark back up. He’ll return in good time.”
“You sure?” asked Jarek, voice low, gravelly.
“Look!” Kishtar knelt beside the fallen Cinder -whose plumage was beginning to stir as faint flames licked up around it, causing the air above its little body to twist and roil. “He’s…”
The flames flickered up, higher and higher, until Cinder was lost within a small pyre of its own devising. Everyone stepped back as a flash of heat pulsed out from its core, and when Acharsis lowered his hand from his eyes he saw Cinder standing renewed atop the ashes of his former self, alive and vibrant as before.
“How…?” asked Sisu. “He defies Nekuul…?”
Cinder let out a chirp and leaped into the air with a flurry of wings, to whip around Kish and then sit on her shoulder. He chirped once more, fluffed out his feathers, and then settled down.
Acharsis couldn’t help it. The very sight lifted his soul, and he laughed, a helpless, surprised sound. “Yes,” he said, answering his old friend’s question. “I’m sure. How’s that sound to you?”
Jarek took Kish’s hand in his own. “Good.”
“Then let’s get that soulstone down,” said Acharsis, marveling still at Cinder’s fiery little presence. “I’ve many miles to go before I find the woman I love.”
It took them half an hour to secure the soulstone and calm the other godsbloods who protested their right to its power. They made no attempt to calm the chaos below, but instead focused their energies on securing that might, the power equal to a god’s, so that finally when it rested in Sisu’s palm they stood about him in a circle, waiting with bated breath.
“What do I do?” asked Sisu, voice little more than a whisper.
“Take the power into yourself,” said Acharsis. “Will it to be yours.”
Sisu nodded, raised the blazing gem up with both hands, and closed his eyes. A moment as he simply stood there, and then the gem flickered and died.<
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Sisu’s eyes snapped open, and they blazed with power. His hair streamed back as if blasted by a terrible wind, and he spread his arms as he rose a foot up into the air.
“A boon,” he said, voice vibrating with power. “Now, Acharsis, while I am at my most powerful. What would you have from me as thanks for toils?”
Acharsis’ mouth went dry and for a moment he couldn’t speak. But then the answer came to him, obvious, definite, something so precious he couldn’t dream of anything else.
“Passage back to Annara,” he whispered.
Sisu smiled. “So be it.” He extended his palm, and a wave of power flowed from him to swirl into a portal. An ebon disc of flowing might.
“Is that…?” Acharsis didn’t dare believe.
“It is,” said Sisu. “I hope to see you again, Acharsis, son of Ekillos.”
Acharsis laughed, exhilarated and light headed. “Oh, I’m sure you will. Good bye, Sisuthros. May your reign prove just!”
Jarek and Kish stepped up to him, and for a moment Acharsis simply regarded them both, pain and joy and love moving through him like great waters, and then they embraced. Held each other tight, until at last Acharsis pulled back, surprised to find tears in his eyes.
“You treat him right,” he said to Kish.
She hugged Jarek tightly. “I intend to.”
“Good luck, brother,” said Jarek, taking hold of Acharsis’ arm and squeezing it tight. “Tell Annara and Elu we send our love.”
“I will,” said Acharsis, and then stepped back. He cast one last look around the ruin and chaos that engulfed Uros below. “And good hunting, all of you. Make those demons pay.”
His friends raised their hands in parting, and with Cinder on his shoulder, Acharsis gave a final wave, and stepped into the portal and was gone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Acharsis emerged into a luxurious bedroom decorated in the unmistakable Maganian manner. Braziers cast a subtle light over a bed large enough for five, and caused the rippling reflections from a private pool that dominated one half of the quarters to undulate across the ceiling in endless bands of shimmering white. Tiger skins were spread underfoot, and the walls were covered in beautiful works of art.
His gaze, however, was locked on Annara where she stood on a broad balcony, leaning on her forearms as she stared out over Magan, past the great dark river, and to the lamassu’s temple and desert beyond.
Acharsis moved forward, feeling as if he were within a dream. His footsteps made no sounds on the animal skins, and it was only when he stepped out onto the balcony that she heard him and turned, eyes widening in surprise as he moved forward to encircle her with his arms.
“Annara,” he breathed.
She pressed a palm to his chest and shook her head. “Acharsis? How? You can’t be -”
He leaned in and kissed her.
Her protests stilled and she simply stood, frozen, until at long last she moaned and kissed him back, not with ardor but with something he dared hope was deeper, broader; something he hoped she might herself call love.
When he finally broke their kiss and stepped back, he couldn’t help but grin. “Miss me?”
She slapped him.
“Hey!” He put his hand to his stinging cheek. “If I’d know that was the reception I’d get -”
She grabbed hold of him and hugged him tightly, then pushed him away again to punch him in the shoulder. “Do you know what I’ve been through since you left? How close Elu and I came to dying, the - “
“What?” he asked, as she stopped to search his face with her gaze. “What is it?”
“Something’s changed,” she said. “What happened to you?”
“I don’t look that bad, but sure, I could use a bath -”
“No, you foolish man.” She took his chin in her hands and turned his face from one side to the other. “You’ve lost something. Something… something’s changed.”
A weight fell upon his shoulders, and he sighed. “A lot has happened, Annara.”
“Yes.” She reached up to run her hand through his hair then caress his cheek with the back of her fingers. “Oh, how I’ve missed you, you infuriating, devil of a man. The number of times I’ve cursed your memory…”
Acharsis laughed. “Lies! You’ve been standing here all along, pining for me, asking for musicians to play sad songs so you could enjoy your loneliness all the more -”
Annara’s hand dropped to a knife she was wearing at her hip.
“ - aaand I take that back. No music at all. No pining? Not even a little pining?”
Again, her frown smoothed away and became a smile. “How do you do it? One minute I’m furious, the next…?”
“You said that to me the night we first met,” he said, taking her hand. “Remember? When I stole into your tent with a bottle of wine and one glass?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“That was quite the night.” He pulled her closer. “Who would have thought it would lead to this long life we’ve lived together.”
“That was quite the night,” she whispered, smiling up at him.
“A delicious bottle of wine.”
“Mmmhmm.”
“And I remember…”
“Yes?”
He smiled and pulled her away from the balcony, back inside. “Let me remind you.”
Later, as they lay intertwined together in her bed, he listened as she told him of all that had happened during the weeks he’d been gone. Weeks? He’d never paused to wonder how much time they’d lost in the netherworld, but was wise enough to simply listen, to allow her to share her fears, her desperate adventures, and final confrontation with Nethena.
When she was finally done he kissed her. “You are the most wonderful woman I’ve ever had the honor to know,” he said.
She smiled. “You said that on our first night, as well.”
“I meant it then, and I mean it now. Forgive me for having left your side. Forgive me for not having been with you through these past weeks. I mean to never leave again.”
“Hmm,” she said, curling a lock of his hair between her fingers. “You assume I want you to stick around.”
He propped himself up on one elbow. “You don’t?”
“I’ll think about it. Let’s just say it’s under serious consideration.”
He laughed and kissed her again. “Too late, Annara. I’ve given everything else up. I want nothing in the world but to be with you and Elu.”
She studied him. “What of reviving your father? Conquering your home city?”
“Not for me. No longer.” And then it was his turn to tell her, of his journey through the netherworld, his meeting with his father, how he’d climbed God’s Mountain and acquired the apple, descended to Uros and defeated Irella and Anscythia both, staving off the doom that had imperiled the world and buying Sisu time to hunt down the last of the demons.
Annara was sitting, arms around her knees, listening spellbound by the time he was done. “You’re serious? All that truly happened?”
Acharsis lay back with a sigh. “I may have embellished how well I fought here and there, but yes. I’m just a mortal man now. Normal as can be. I mean, yes, I’m almost unforgivably handsome, and my wit is as brilliant as ever -”
“Acharsis.” Something in her voice stilled his words. “You gave up your divinity?”
He turned to prop his head on his hand and look up at her. “Yes.”
“I -” she shook her head. “But…”
A flicker of flame flitted through the air to land on her knee. Cinder. He peered up at her, ruffled his feathers so that a puff of smoke rose up, and then let out a cheep.
“See?” He grinned. “Cinder’s proof. My last connection to my father. I think on some level he came back to keep me company. A small memento of my life when I was… other than I am now.”
Annara’s eyes filled with tears. “You gave up that life? For me?”
“For both of you,” said Acharsis, rising to h
is knees and taking her hands within his own. “For you and Elu. For our family. I’m done with heroics, with desperate plans and struggling against impossible odds. I thought at first it was because I was growing old, but no. Being with you now I’ve never felt more full of life. And I finally understand. I want to live a life with you, not as your better due to my blood, but as your equal.”
Annara smiled fondly and cupped his cheek. “Oh Acharsis. You were never my better.”
“All right. Yes. Sorry about that. Old habit. One I’m going to have to shake.” He winced apologetically at her. “But I gave it all up, Annara, because I realized that I had finally played my part, and earned my reward.”
“Your reward.” One eyebrow rose skeptically. “And what’s that? Fair warning: be very, very careful with your next words.”
“My reward is a lifetime of watching sunrises and sunsets with you. Of helping Elu grow into the best man and ruler he can be. Of simply having you by my side, and knowing there’s no luckier man out there than this old bastard. Of being with you, Annara. If you’ll have me.”
Annara’s eyes filled with tears, and this time she didn’t brush them away.
“Yes,” she whispered, and leaned in close to kiss him. “Yes.”
THE END
Glossary
God
Domain
Demigod
City
Cerash
Heaven/Firmament
Amelagar
Kasha
Iritak
Air
Ahsera
Namtar
Ekillos
Male Fertility/Knowledge
Acharsis
Narubtum
Nekuul
Netherworld
Irella
Uros
Scythia