The Godswar Saga (Omnibus)

by Jennifer Vale

  “Call it a hunch, but I’m starting to think that Gor doesn’t particularly like chatting with strangers,” Tam muttered as he propped his head up on a pillow. “It’s a crazy theory, I know.”

  Sarina rolled her eyes as she pounded her bunk into shape. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I always remembered him as the life of the party.”

  Jason waved a dismissive hand. “Hey, as long as he behaves himself I consider it a blessing. If he wants to stand guard all night, that’s fine with me. At least we won’t have to listen to him complain.”

  He leaned back in his own bunk and tried to get comfortable, but it wasn’t easy. Calling the room ‘cramped’ would have been a woeful understatement; he imagined this is what groll must have felt like when they were stuffed inside Crell siege crates. There were two old bunks inside, and he and Tam had already claimed the lower beds, much to Sarina’s chagrin. The rest of the narrow floor space was empty, and Jason could only assume that the rebels stuffed people in here on a completely ad hoc basis.

  Still, at least they were indoors and surrounded by a veritable army of mostly allies. The Crell would have one hell of a fight on their hands if they decided to crash in through the window. Of course, at this point Jason was almost more concerned about Ria and the other rebels…

  “Are you really going to make Sel sleep on the top bunk, Jace?” Tam asked after a moment. “She’s an old woman, you know.”

  Sarina leaned down over the edge and glared down at him. “I don’t see you volunteering.”

  “Hey, I staked out my claim early for a reason, and no one’s going to take it away from me.”

  “I could hurt you.”

  “Yea, well I could burn you.”

  “Children, please,” Jason interrupted, trying his best not to smile. “We adults need to—”

  Someone knocked on the door, and a moment later Tevek’s vaeyn sidekick slipped into the room. “I hope I’m not disturbing you,” she said.

  “Would you leave if we said you were?” Sarina asked.

  “Hey now, no reason to be rude to a lady,” Tam said, abruptly sitting up. “Not that you’d know anything about that, of course…”

  Sarina’s face twitch. “I will choke you, little man—”

  “Don’t mind them,” Jason said with a grunt. “They start acting like siblings when we have to be on the road for a few days.”

  “I see,” Elade replied. Her face was largely unreadable, but he thought he saw a ghost of a smile tug at her lips. “Highlord Dracian asked me to watch over you this evening.”

  “That’s…very kind of you,” Jason said as diplomatically as he could manage, “but we can handle ourselves.”

  “I’m sure you can, but he wished me to protect you in case the Zarul decides to make a move. I require less rest than you do, as I’m sure you know from your druid companion.”

  “Where is Sel, anyway?” Tam asked. “I figured she and the big man could have caught up by now.”

  “The Highlord asked for some privacy,” Elade said. This time her smile was unmistakable. “I don’t believe you’ll see your friend again until morning.”

  Tam blinked. “Wait what—ow!” he yelped as he sat up and banged his head on the bunk. “Dammit.”

  “I knew they were always close,” Jason murmured. “I guess I just didn’t know how close…”

  “Well, good for her,” Tam said, rubbing his head. “She really needs it.”

  Jason smacked his forehead, and Sarina shook her head. “You really are an idiot, do you know that?” she said.

  Tam shrugged. “What? I’m just saying she could use—”

  “Anyway, you’re welcome to stay here if you like,” Jason cut in, turning back to Elade. “But if you value your sanity, you might want to come back once Captain Loudmouth has fallen asleep.”

  “It’s all right,” Elade assured him, taking off her traveling cloak. She had apparently already bathed elsewhere given her wet hair and change of clothing. “I would feel intruded upon if I were in your situation. Your group is obviously…close.”

  “Not that close,” Sarina muttered as she leaned back on her bunk and vanished from Jason’s immediate sight. “Is Gor still lurking outside?”

  Elade nodded. “Yes. Adar didn’t seem particularly happy about him skulking about the nearby streets, but I doubt he wished to argue with a chagari.”

  “Smart man,” Tam said, scooting to the side. “You can sit here if you want, by the way. Actually you can take the bunk if you like—I’ll move up top.”

  “Wait, what?” Sarina asked, peering back over the edge. “Just two minutes ago you said you wouldn’t move for anyone!”

  “I’m always willing to make room for a lady,” he replied with a mock bow.

  “Thank you, but I prefer to sit,” Elade said, grabbing one of the rickety chairs stacked up in the corner. “I wouldn’t be a very good guardian if I fell asleep.”

  Jason smiled. “If Tevek trusts you, that’s good enough for me. Besides, I hear you were the one who actually killed the demon earlier today.”

  “I did, yes. Fortunately it was only one of the lesser breeds; they are only as dangerous as the body they possess.”

  “You must have a great deal of experience fighting against them,” Jason commented. “As a vaeyn, I mean. Those are shadow knight tattoos on your hand, yes?”

  Elade glanced down to the glyphs etched onto the back of her right hand, her eyebrows raised in surprise. “They are, yes. Not many humans would recognize them.”

  “Jace is a big nerd,” Tam muttered. “You’ll have to forgive him.”

  “I’ve studied a fair amount of Calharan history,” Jason corrected. “Information on the vaeyn is hard to come by, but I managed to get my hands on a few accounts written by elysian scholars.”

  “The real question is if you have experience dealing with the Green Coats,” Sarina said. “They’re the ones we need to be worried about.”

  Elade shook her head. “I’ve only been to Torsia one other time during the Serogar Gate fiasco a few years ago. I’ve studied Crell tactics, of course, but I’ve never fought them before.”

  “Figures,” Sarina muttered, falling back over again. “We get the one paladin in the world who’s never fought an Imperator.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Jason said. “We’re happy for any help we can get.”

  Elade crossed her legs and shifted her eyes towards the traveling pack buried inside the covers of his bed. “Were you planning on keeping it here for now, then?”

  “I, uh… I hadn’t really decided,” Jason whispered. That was the opportune question, of course, but right now he still didn’t have an answer. The moment they’d set foot on the road to Lyebel he had known that sooner or later he would have to make a decision about whether or not to help the Resistance. His father had told him many times that his destiny was here with his people, regardless of how far he tried to run. Maybe dad had been right.

  Everyone else’s preference was obvious. Sarina wanted him to help the rebels; her experiences with the Crell in Ikara had solidified her loyalties here. Tam didn’t really care one way or another, but deep down Jason suspected his friend probably wanted him to help here as well. Galvia had been his home too, after all. Selvhara would support him no matter what he decided to do, but again she would almost certainly prefer him to give it to Adar and the others. His companions were unanimous.

  But there was another option, of course. Jason could reach into his pouch right now and try to use the damn cube and end the debate for good. Tevek had warned them that the process of Ascension could be lethal…but how many men would hesitate at the chance to become a living god? His father would have used it in a heartbeat, and Adar and the Resistance would as well. Even the Solarians would probably try to make use of its power as quickly as they could. And Jason couldn’t deny that the prospect was tempting. He had never channeled before; he had never even been able to touch or see the Aether. But if the cube rea
lly was a divine spark, he could have all of that and more…

  As a younger man, Jason had been more than a little jealous of Tam and those like him. The Unbound were born with the ability to perceive an entirely different layer of reality; to them, channeling was just another sense like smell or taste or touch. Tam wasn’t even a particularly powerful Unbound, as such things went, and yet he could still experience things that Jason never could. It wasn’t so much the power that tempted him, but the knowledge. If this spark was the lost soul of an Immortal, would he learn more about their culture? Would he learn more about the time before the Godswar? In some ways, the spark was like a giant book of history just waiting to be opened…

  “It’s not an easy decision,” he whispered into the silence. “There will be consequences either way—potentially very dangerous ones.”

  “Yes,” Elade agreed solemnly. “Though I’m afraid there will also be consequences if you do nothing. For what it’s worth, however, the Highlord believes you should consider heading into Solaria and giving the cube to the Alliance.”

  “Why in the hell would we do that?” Sarina snapped. “They haven’t lifted a finger to help us in years.”

  “Because one way or another, there’s a war coming,” Jason said soberly. “Another Ascendant could turn the tide in their favor.”

  Tam grunted. “I don’t see how. The Imperium has, what, six Sovereigns at least? That’s six Ascendants versus one, or two even if the Solarians used this thing. That still seems pretty lopsided to me.”

  “It’s not quite that simple,” Elade said. “The Crell have vastly more Bound, but they aren’t all connected under one ruler like the Alliance. An army might have Imperators from several different Sovereigns, which can sometimes hamper their coordination. Solarians tend to be highly organized, while the Crell tend to have superior numbers and greater channeling ability.”

  She sighed and folded her hands into her lap. “There is also the fact that King Areekan is not a young man. The Crell know this and may try to take advantage of it. That spark of yours could provide them some insurance.”

  Sarina snorted. “Insurance for what? So they can feel safe while they sit around and let the Crell slaughter us? No thanks.”

  “I’m just giving you options,” Elade said. “I’m sure the Highlord will support you in whatever you choose.”

  “I know he will.” Jason whispered. “He and my father used to argue all the time. Dad hated it when I sided with Tevek.”

  “I’ve heard about their rivalry, though I have a feeling it went deeper than just the war.” She glanced meaningfully at the empty bed above Jason.

  It took him a second to figure out what she meant, but then he nodded in understanding. “Selvhara might have been the only woman my father ever loved. He cared for my mother, don’t get me wrong, but they didn’t really…get along. She was too much like me.”

  “Tevek implied that he and Ethan used to spar for her affections, but I’ve never been able to get him to open up about it,” Elade said. “He’s a private man.”

  “So was my father,” Jason whispered. “That was always the problem with them, I think. They had a lot in common—they were both men driven by a set of ideals that they refused to compromise over for any reason.”

  Elade nodded. “Well, it’s late and you should get some sleep. But I need to get my armor if I’m going to cover guard duty all night.”

  “Need some help putting it on?” Tam asked, sitting up so quickly he hit his head on the bunk again.

  “I’ll be fine,” she assured him, smiling wryly. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Once she had slipped out of the room, Sarina popped back up and glared down at Jason. “You shouldn’t trust her,” she warned. “They can say they’ll support you all they want, but I guarantee if you give that thing to Adar they’ll protest. They might even try to take it.”

  “Paladins are many things, but they aren’t liars,” Jason told her, sliding his boots off. “And they’re not actually here for the cube.”

  “It doesn’t matter why they came here—the point is that they’re not just going to ignore a divine spark. If they believe this thing will avert or win a war for their pals the Solarians, they won’t pass up the opportunity to take it.”

  Jason leaned out from under the bed to look up into her piercing green eyes. She wasn’t actually angry—she was legitimately worried, and not for entirely bad reasons.

  “We can trust Tevek,” he assured her. “I promise.”

  She grunted under her breath and disappeared, and Jason leaned back into his pillow and closed his eyes. He was damn tired—he hadn’t gotten a real night’s sleep in a long time. Perhaps an epiphany would be waiting for him in the morning.

  “I’m not worried about Elade either, in case you cared,” Tam added into the silence. “By the way…do you think she’s single?”

  ***

  “And Jason still has the spark with him? You’re certain of this?”

  Kyle Adar nodded. He was even more nervous than usual, Ethan noticed, though he was doing his best to hide it. That was a bad sign: Adar should have been positively giddy about the news. Assuming the spark was real, it could change the course of this war. With the power of an Ascendant behind them, the Resistance could re-forge the Hands of Whitestone and become a serious threat to the Imperium.

  But Ethan sensed no excitement. That meant Adar wasn’t sure how his commander would react. Perhaps he thought Ethan would order a pack of demons to rip Jason to shreds and steal the spark or something equally devious. Had the young man’s faith in his commander waned so much in such a short period of time? Adar had never been happy about the use of demons to promote their agenda, and he had also been opposed to manipulating Krystia into overthrowing the Solarian king. Adar was a patriot, but he was also an honorable man. And unfortunately, the latter often got in the way of the former. The younger man’s confidence was shaken, and now he was legitimately worried about what Ethan would suggest.

  Thankfully, there was still no need for drastic measures. Not yet.

  “Then this is the opportunity we’ve been waiting for, my friend,” Ethan said, forcing a smile. “It’s almost impossible to believe.”

  Adar smiled back, though it was equally forced. “Yes, sir.”

  “We just need to play this carefully,” Ethan assured him. “I can probably speak to Jason and convince him to let us use the spark. I’m mostly concerned about Dracian—as long as he is there, I can’t get anywhere near them. He’ll sense the demons and ruin everything.”

  “You wish to come out of hiding?”

  “Once we have the spark, there will be no need for secrets. We can let the others know exactly what is going on and formulate a new plan of attack. It will change everything.”

  Adar seemed to mull over the possibility. “You’re probably right. But if you think you can convince him, why not just release your minions right now? Sever your pacts and send these abominations back to the Void where they belong.”

  “Not just yet,” Ethan replied. “Without my demons, our position here is still precarious at best. We need the misdirection in the watch just to ensure our survival for the time being. Once the Hands are reestablished I can release control, but not before.”

  Adar sighed but nodded. He clearly didn’t like it, but he was smart enough to understand there was no point in arguing about it. “All right. Then how are you going to avoid Dracian?”

  “We’ll have to figure out a way to separate him from Jason for a time, or better yet just get him out of Lyebel altogether,” Ethan explained. “But either way, we have a bigger issue to deal with at the moment. The Zarul will come after the cube. Soon.”

  “I’ve stepped up security around the main compound for the night. If our guests wanted to stay longer, I was going to move everyone to the safe house on 29th tomorrow and leave decoys at the main base.”

  “Good idea,” Ethan said approvingly before turning to his window. “The
‘Coats have had three days to set up a team in the city to wait for Jason—that gives them an enormous lead on us.”

  Adar took a few steps into the room himself and paced in a small half-circle. “Since we brought them in through the tunnels, I can’t imagine they were tracked all the way into the city. They were only exposed for a little while.”

  “I know, but my son and his friends tend to stand out. There are maybe a dozen unshackled chagari in this city, and I guarantee that Selvhara is the only elysian these people have seen for decades. Soon enough, people will start talking. Even if they don’t, they’ll at least start thinking—and those thoughts will eventually find their way to a Shadow.”

  “You think the Crell will attack tonight?”

  “Possibly,” Ethan said gravely, “I’ll have my minions stir up some misdirection elsewhere in the docks to hopefully buy us some time, but they’ll have to keep their distance with two paladins inside the compound.”

  “We could move them now,” Adar suggested, “or at least Jason and a few of the others.”

  Ethan sighed and folded his arms over his chest. All they needed was a little bit of time. But sadly it wasn’t as simple as just madly dashing over to the compound and claiming the cube. No, they had to be measured and precise about this; they couldn’t risk jeopardizing relationships with future allies. Still, if things went well enough, he could finally detach himself from Krystia. Once he had his powers back, he wouldn’t need her assistance anymore…

  The thought was a bit premature, of course. Even if he did get a hold of the cube, they would still need Solarian support. And as much as he didn’t want to admit it, he would rather have Krystia in charge than an ailing old man. She was powerful and controllable—two major assets she had over Areekan. She also had her legs wrapped around the most hawkish Solarian general, which had plenty of other advantages. One way or another, Ethan was going to need a strong Solarian military.

  But those were details for another time. For now, the Zarul remained their top priority. His demons had always been able to handle the watch, but the Green Coats were a completely different beast. The only reason the rebels had survived this long was because the ‘Coats hadn’t intervened; they seemed content to let Sovereign Verrator fight his own battles. But with a divine spark on the line, everything would change. The Green Coats would be coming, and Ethan needed to be ready for it.