“No,” he said, voice echoing softly. “The Avatars sent you to me for a purpose. I gave you back your life out of love for them. You have a choice to make, siren.”
She inclined her head, knowing what he would ask now, and already knowing her answer.
“You may stay and become one of my subjects or go out into the world, free to do as you choose.”
“Thank you wise one. I am honored by the choice.”
He gave her a slight nod in acknowledgement and then with a flick of his wrist he pulled her trident out of the air; whole and unblemished—its internal song resonating deep inside her. He released it and she snatched it out of the air before it hit the water.
“Take as long as you like to decide what path your life will take.”
The siren bowed. “Once again, I thank you. But it will not be necessary. My path leads out into the world. There is something I must finish, a debt still to be paid.”
Death nodded, his solemn expression unwavering, but she felt his thoughts brush hers, felt a tendril of his contentment. He already knew her new quest and was well pleased with her choice.
She smiled, he’d likely known her decision before she herself did.
“Go with the Light’s blessing, Tethys.” She felt his power swirl around her. “May your hunt go well and your debt be paid in full.”
With his words fading into a faint echo, his power surged and she was pulled from the pool. Her mind and senses blurred and she didn’t know how far she’d travelled. She may have been sent halfway across the Magic Realm for all she knew.
The open ocean, and the voices of the other oceanids called to her and she went.
****
It didn’t take her long to travel the rest of the way to her intended destination. She sang as she swam, summoning all the oceanids to her. And her siren daughters came, welcoming her with joyous song.
Far inland from the shore, a range of black mountains rose high into the sky. On the leeward side of the tallest mountain sat a temple equal in grandeur and size to Lord Death’s, though this one was cold, hard, and devoid of all warmth and beauty. Tethys studied the structure, the place where the Lady of Battles ruled her domain, a strange mix of prison and seat of power.
Tethys looked away, for the temple held no more interest for her. It was not her target, after all. Her gaze followed the path of a glacially fed river; its cold, clear waters cascading down the mountainside until it finally emptied into a wide-mouthed estuary.
She scanned the shoreline, pleased to see how the shoulders of the mountain came right down to the water, its foothills flanking the river so conveniently.
Lining the sandy beach along the bay, just on the outskirts of the Battle Goddess’s domain, a mass of bodies congregated at the river’s mouth—a Riven army poised to march upon the Sorceress’s hamadryad.
It was clear they planned to travel the gentler slopes of the river valley instead of climbing the tall, craggy cliff bordering the temple. Tethys smiled and began to sing. Other voices joined her song, but the power for the spell came from her alone. She had innocent blood on her hands and it might take an age to redeem herself, but she would start with this debt. It was hers alone to pay.
Her daughters merely came to witness as she’d asked.
Power gathered in the ocean water surrounding her, answering her lilting summons. The slowly rolling waves grew in height and frequency as her song stretched out, away from her.
For leagues around the ocean stirred to her call, and she absorbed the magic into her body. Her song increased in volume, the gentle melody becoming something harder and darker. The ocean reared up, great waves coming toward her, and then racing onward toward shore. She held up one webbed hand, palm out, facing the massive incoming wave. Its forward momentum froze, but the press of water behind the wave continued forward, forcing the wave to rise up, the only direction she allowed.
Magic continued to flow into her body, faster now. Her body began to glow, illuminating the ocean with a pure white light. Above, the grey-tinted sky grew darker, the clouds amassing to the east, hurrying to her call as well. Warm, magic-laden air met with the cold low pressure front and flashes of lightning, and a power more than lightning, bled between the clouds.
She sang, her voice rising above the crash of the stormy seas and the equally turbulent winds. Her body brimmed with magic, her bones ached with it and still she sang and absorbed the bounty of the ocean.
Far away on shore, she felt the dark army’s attention swing out to the ocean, sensing her and the threat she called down upon them. The Riven began to stir, seeking to toss up defenses or use their demon blades to shift to another location, but the power of her song washed away their dark power, swirling, shattering, and cleansing.
Pain bombarded her overtaxed body, it had for quite some time. With a sudden sizzling anguish, her nerves flared and died in a million tiny pin points of pain. Her body grew numb, the light brighter, the veins under her skin stood out stark and clear. Blood and magic swirled away from her dying body, but still she sang. Her spirit took up the song when her voice grew weaker.
She only had moments left, her spirit was already preparing to leave her body. With a fragment of her consciousness not focused on the destruction of the Riven army, she looked back to her daughters with her mind’s eye.
“Tell the Avatars that I paid my debt in full, and I thank them for showing me back to the Light.”
With a flick of thought toward the stormy skies, she loosed the magic-laced lightning down upon the Riven. Strike after strike pounded the beach, burning the Riven to ash and turning the sands to glass.
“With my power and sacrifice I send you back to the abyss from which you crawled,” Tethys sang from her spirit, “May you become naught, know naught, and forever be naught. Let all others forget even your memory. Go now and perish.”
Her spirit surged free of her flesh. From her position above the waves she saw her own body flash as magic ripped it asunder, becoming nothing more than flecks of light and foam on the sea.
The great wave, which had been held back by her living will, broke free and raced toward shore. Contained within, the purifying spells she’d been singing all along flowed with it. She watched with calm assurance as the wave slammed into the bay, rose up over the beach and continued deep into the mouth of the river valley, cleansing everything it touched.
Her oceanid daughters sang a lament to the sea, singing her onward to her next, and final journey.
“You did well.” Death’s voice echoed in her mind, as soothing and beautiful as the first time she’d heard it. “Go now and rest. I would carry you to the Spirit Realm as I did for the heroes of old, were I still able.”
“You honor me, my Lord. When you see the Avatars again, tell them they saved my life not once, but twice. And this debt I paid gladly.”
“I shall.” With those last whispered words, Death was gone from her consciousness, but in its place there was a gentle tug on her spirit.
With a burst of joy, she turned from the power of the ocean, and the song the other sirens sang in farewell, following that tug as she began her final journey home.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Gregory removed his hand from Lillian’s hamadryad and smiled at what the tree had shown them.
“Goodbye, Tethys. I thank you for paying the debt so rarely paid. Until we meet again in the Spirit Realm.” With a full body shake and a much lighter heart, he dropped to all fours and watched as Lillian removed her hand from the tree with a thoughtful expression.
The Riven, at least, were destroyed. There would be other enemies, and other battles, but Tethys had bought them much needed time. He promised to use that dearly bought gift wisely.
“You saw clearly what your hamadryad showed us?” he asked.
“Yes, but I hadn’t expected that. Tethys sacrificed herself. For us, for our cause. For all the humans of this world.” Lillian’s tone rang with honest bafflement.
“She was mis
guided, not evil. In the end, she found her way again.” Bumping his muzzle under Lillian’s hand, he guided her out of the glade and into the maze beyond. “Come,” he sent silently, wanting the intimacy of his thoughts touching hers, “We will rest and then on the morrow, see to all the problems this night has spawned.”
Lillian tensed, her eyes growing troubled. When he was on the verge of delving into which one of tonight’s acts caused that look, she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and nodded sharply. “You’re right. We need to rest and regroup. Tomorrow is soon enough to learn what all this night has spawned. Perhaps we will be lucky and it won’t be half as bad as I fear.” Her fingers found their way to the base of his horns and rubbed with blissful pressure. His eyes drifted closed. “But whatever comes, know I’ll always love you.”
“And I, you,” he said with a playful butt of his head to her hip. With that, they exited the maze side by side. Gregory hadn’t felt this content in days.
It wasn’t likely to last, he knew. But for the rest of this night, there would be peace.
The End
Sorceress Rising (A Gargoyle and Sorceress Tale Book 2) Page 27