No, my father was honorable.
“And now you know another lie. That humans have not remained on Monda for your entire existence. That, in fact, your people have traveled to these other planets.”
“Why?”
“How should I know?” Typhos said dismissively. “Greed? Self-preservation? All of the things your race does when it sees an opportunity or anticipates danger? The why doesn’t matter. The what does, since depending on the level of sophistication on those planets, my arrival may be as easy as a single spell, or require a war. But how easy would that war be if I had your help?”
“I don’t believe you,” Celeste said suddenly.
She turned away, refusing to look at him. My father would’ve told me everything. We never kept secrets in our family. He told me about Mom. He was real with me on that.
She felt the cold, non-scarred hand of Typhos on her shoulder. She pushed it away, but Typhos reapplied it firmly.
“I know what it feels like to have parents who lied to you,” he said, his voice far more emotional than Celeste had expected. “It’s a terrible feeling. Even I would not wish that on anyone.”
“How?” Celeste said, turning to face her captor. His head seemed to hang a bit lower than normal, and his grip softened as he spoke.
“It doesn’t matter,” Typhos said. “What does matter is that you can move past that. Use conquering these worlds as a way to get past the deceit.”
Woah.
It all began to click for Celeste.
“You can control these worlds however you want. You can use diplomacy, though I suggest not. It’s too slow of a process, and we have all the leverage as Kastori. I recommend you annihilate anyone who turns against you, and encourage the enemy to give up their cause and join you.”
Celeste, much to her dismay, felt confusion. He’ll let me do it my way. I know how to do it diplomatically. Cyrus and Crystil liking each other proves that.
But he’s just going to destroy the planet eventually. Everyone will die.
“Is there any way you can take the power of the planet without destroying it?”
Typhos disgustedly snorted at the seemingly stupid question.
“You could, but you wouldn’t take all of its power. I don’t understand why you’d get to that point and not take it all.”
“Because the planet isn’t yours, and there would be people there?”
“Nothing but pawns to use or get rid of.”
No, no way.
But… you could play along. Find out more. Dig deeper into him.
“And what do I get out of this?” Celeste asked.
“You can have whatever you want, and I will give you whatever you need to get what you want,” Typhos said, and he extended his hand. “Join me, Celeste.”
He became disturbingly calm as he offered an oddly warm request.
“Please?”
This is your chance. Ask for something back from him. What gnaws at him? Learn more…
I know.
“I will if you answer me one question,” she said, causing Typhos to withdraw his hand. “Why do you hate Erda so much?”
She heard the heavy breathing from behind his mask and noticed his hands ball up tightly. She braced herself for a punch from him as she sucked her gut.
“That woman should mean nothing to you,” he said.
“She’s like a mother to me,” Celeste said, and suddenly, Typhos froze. He was in shock, as he didn’t move and his breathing became shallow.
“You want to know why I despise her so?” Typhos murmured, his voice almost a whisper. “She is a liar. And not just a liar of twisting the truth, but omitting it.”
He quickly brought the five planets to the forefront and changed the topic.
“You know what the offer is, and what your specific task will be, Celeste. You can take these new worlds however you want. But—”
He paused and walked over, putting his hand on her head and digging in.
“Get this through your head, Celeste. This offer will not last forever. Your questioning is aggravating, and your indecision is annoying. You are far closer to me deciding you are not worth it. Make a decision soon,” he said, shoving her to the floor in frustration. “Or I will make it for you.”
40
Is she really worth it, Typhos?
You know who she is. You know what this means. Could you tolerate having her around you forever?
The girl is incredibly powerful. She is fearless, despite her outward appearance. She has guts I only wish the guardians would have. If I turn her…
You won’t turn her. You have to kill her before she escapes. You want to deal with that power when it’s trained and ready for you?
I don’t really need that power. But if I had it…
Typhos entered his throne room unable to come to a conclusion. He paced the room, so distracted he barely kept the storm outside going. Celeste’s question had roared him to the past and everything he’d had to deal with in Erda. I never escape it. It always comes back.
And it’s because I can’t kill her.
Or the girl, it seems. But at least she has potential.
No, she needs to be killed. If you can’t escape the pain before, how are you going to do it with that girl around?
I need a break. This is too much.
Guardians!
He didn’t bother to hide himself as the five guardians entered the room hastily, all bowing to one knee before him. He clasped his hands behind his back, looking at the thundering storm.
“The time has come for us to conquer our new world,” he said, trying to steady his voice. “Our target is the desert planet of Nubia, the planet with the strongest concentration of black magic. Unfortunately, the girl is not a willing participant, so she will not be coming with us. Gaius, I trust you to watch her and the temple. The rest of you need to round up at least a dozen of your Kastori in your respective magic types—I sense many humans on Nubia, but I do not know what weapons they have. We need to overwhelm them.”
“Yes, Lord Typhos,” the guardians all said in unison.
“Gaius, you are dismissed. Head to the girl’s cell.”
Gaius stood up, bowed once, and quickly exited.
“The rest of you have clear instructions. Be back here within half an hour. I want to be back to sleep this night if the humans are weak. If they are strong… we will fight until they all die.”
“Yes, Lord Typhos.”
Typhos dismissed the guardians and they hurried outside. Typhos sensed them putting calls out to the other Kastori. Monda would not have much in the way of reinforcements, but what did it need protection from? Gaius will sense Erda coming and alert me. No one else would threaten me.
But that girl…
Just thinking about her disgusted him. He needed to vent his rage. Taking it out with a storm or on one of his weak Kastori would not do enough.
He marched back toward Celeste’s cell.
41
The footsteps, slamming on the cracked ground, warned Celeste of her captor’s furious arrival. She stood, ignored the terrible gut feeling, and mentally prepared herself for a fight, both physical and psychological.
He’s going to torture you. You angered him. You knew this would come. Stay strong.
The door swung open with such force it would have knocked over all in its way. Typhos stood with his leg dropping from his powerful kick.
“You have no idea how much of an aggravation you are,” Typhos roared. “I have given you every chance to join me, and yet you choose to defy me, refuse me, and offend me.”
There’s no calming him now. If you’re going to push back, make him think about it. Plant it and let it catch him later.
“I will tell you right now, Celeste, you bother me so much that I need to get away from you. Your presence upsets me and reminds me of things from the past I have no desire to ever think about. I am going to Nubia soon, and when I return, you will either die or join me. But that is not a de
cision to be made then. You make that decision now. So, what will it be?”
Nothing’s going to change.
“You know my answer,” she said defiantly, glancing at Typhos’ arms shaking and his shoulders rising in anger. “And you know why, Typhos? It’s because I don’t think you’re an effective leader.”
Celeste braced herself for the attack as she sucked her gut in and retreated, but the man stood still. Delaying the action. Trying to lull me to complacency.
“And what on Anatolus makes you think that?” he said.
“I know what a strong leader looks like. I followed one to Anatolus with nothing but hope and a possibility. I followed her through the dangers of Calypsius, the threat of running out of water and food, and conflict so bad between my brother, her and I that all of us cracked and failed at different times. But she never ruled by brute force, and if she slipped into it, she apologized. She—”
“Child, really?” Typhos interrupted, the coldness in his voice chillier than a Monda winter. “A lecture?”
Typhos folded his arms and said nothing more, as close to permission to proceed as Celeste would get.
“She led by example. She supported us and did not want to suppress us. She knew her limits, both ethically and physically. In respecting those boundaries, she became someone my brother and I would die for. What about you, Typhos? You use force to kill my father and strike fear in Monda. You have such hate for… her,” she said, not wanting to inflame Typhos further. “That it affects your judgment. Maybe the humans can’t kill you. But who’s to say other planets won’t have beings capable of fighting back? Or that your own people would rebel against you?”
Typhos laughed in a dramatic tone.
“They call me Lord, for I am their god. They would not defy me.”
“I can call you Lord and I wouldn’t believe it.”
You have to go for it. Get to the Erda bit.
“Listen, I don’t know why you hate her. I don’t know what happened in the past. In a way, from everything I’ve heard, maybe it was a good thing that you overthrew the chief and the council on Anatolus.”
His shoulders visibly relaxed and his breathing stabilized. Even Typhos’ arms dropped to the side, with his fingers unclenched.
“One thing I know you’re not is stupid. But you should realize that killing everyone isn’t going to make you a better leader and a more trusted, secure leader. Or, for that matter, help with whatever you’re dealing with.”
Celeste noticed her voice softening, becoming less defiant and more sympathetic. She could sense unease in Typhos from the sort of deep, internal questioning that is only experienced through rigorous self-analysis.
“I followed in Crystil’s path because of her leadership and way of guiding us. I know you are littered with the blood of your victims. But if you changed… I could help you, Typhos. I can help you here.”
Typhos dropped his head, even deeper in thought.
Then Celeste slipped the one phrase she wished she could pull back.
“I could help you move on from her, and rule with you.”
“With? With me?!?” he said, his voice rising.
Celeste braced herself as the room became a void and Typhos lifted her in the air with his magic. He crushed her windpipe.
“No one will ever rule with me,” he said as he tossed her through the air and against an invisible wall, drawing a horrible cry from the young girl. “No one! Do you understand? Your little ploy to throw me over is no more.”
Typhos brought the girl back to him, dropping her to the ground and on her knees. Celeste looked up at the towering man, seemingly just waiting for an excuse to hurt her further. You lost. Might as well fight dying.
“No wonder you hate Erda so much. She stands for what is good and just!”
The roar that came from Typhos was unlike anything Celeste had ever heard from any human or Kastori.
“You know nothing of Erda! Nothing! She has filled your head with lies!”
He wrapped his scarred, bony hand around her neck and choked her. Her vision blurred, her hearing faded, and she went limp. This… is it. The end. Cyrus… love you. Crystil… strong.
Just before she passed out, Typhos dropped her again to the ground, and she crumpled on her shins.
“Do you think this is where I kill you?” Typhos said, an odd tone of sadness in his voice.
An awkward pause came as Celeste tried to recapture her senses and Typhos debated his next move. It took many seconds before Celeste no longer felt his bones pressed against her throat.
“I will not particularly enjoy your death, knowing what you could have been,” he said in a melancholy tone. “But on the other hand, knowing what you have been, it will give me great relief to have you erased from existence. You only have a few days left to live, child—perhaps even less if I make short work of Nubia. And when I return, you will die many times over. I will shatter your will like I did the spirit of Anatolus and Monda. I will break you in half and splinter you like I splintered your father’s body with my sword. And then, I will kill you and your blood will drip on my robes, an eternal reminder that no one can stand in my way.”
Celeste looked up at the enemy who seemed anything but certain of following through on his threats.
“What do you mean, ‘what you have been?’”
Typhos sighed, in an almost sympathetic manner.
“I will tell you before I kill you. I suppose it won’t matter at that point.”
He dispelled the void and headed to the door. He had it half shut before he turned back to her.
“You are a tragedy, Celeste. I truly hoped that you could help me. Instead, your stubbornness to change and refusal to accept my salvation for you has led to your death.”
He slammed the door, but before he left, he spoke to someone else on the other side. Celeste could not make out what was said. But someone new. Maybe they can be persuaded?
It’s my only shot.
Typhos’ footsteps became a quieting echo, much like the fading hope Celeste held on to.
42
When he got back to his throne room, Typhos unsheathed his sword and threw it as hard as he could against the wall, screaming as it clattered off the impervious surface.
But the thoughts did not reflect an angry man, but a jealous, sad man.
Why couldn’t I have had what she had? What’s so different about me that I had to have this upbringing, this life like this?
She didn’t lose her father young. She didn’t have to suffer the indignity of lies about death. She knew it was coming as soon as she saw the ship. I never got that.
She didn’t have to lose her mother at an older age through a series of lies. She lost her at birth, never having to think about it.
She gets the good life. I get cursed with this miserable existence, with nothing soothing my pain.
Destroying the chief and council didn’t. Bringing the end of Erda’s power on Anatolus didn’t. Destroying this planet didn’t. I don’t feel it trying to break this girl.
What will it take?!? What?!?
Typhos screamed once more.
“I hate you Adanus!” he yelled. “All of you on Anatolus! I’m glad you are all dead!”
The rage became too much. Tears threatened to form. No, no, no. We are going to focus on what lies ahead. We are going to destroy Nubia. We are not just going to conquer Nubia. We are going to devastate the place. Wipe all the people out, take its magic, and erase it from existence.
“Guardians!” he screamed, so loudly that the entire planet heard him. Everyone, including Gaius, rushed in, bowing on their left knee. “Gaius! Go back to the girl!”
Gaius got up without a word, hastening to avoid the wrath of Typhos. Typhos looked at his remaining four guardians and walked past them with one simple command.
“Follow me, now.”
He marched down the two flights of stairs, his hands clenching and his teeth gritting behind his mask. His head throbbed with agony as
his past consumed him. Memories of his father and mother entrenched themselves in his mind, and he could not shake them, even with his most powerful magic.
I could ask Gaius or Carticus to remove my past.
No. You are their Lord. A Lord does not need his followers for help.
The storm outside matched his temper and pain, but he barely noticed the rain. He looked at the Kastori the guardians had amassed—a few dozen, with more coming. This will do. This will suffice.
He turned to his guardians, who had resumed their prostrating at the top of the last flight of steps to the ground.
“Kastori!” he shouted, his voice full of resolute hatred for a world he hadn’t even touched yet. “Annihilate anything alive on Nubia! No one lives, and no one gets a chance to defend themselves! Destroy! Destroy! Destroy!”
The Kastori cheered as Typhos opened a portal after a few seconds of intense concentration. The Kastori quickly piled in, with Typhos going last. Before he walked through, he turned back and looked at the area where that girl remained captive.
He spat in disgust and cast a massive fire spell before he even entered the portal.
43
“Hi, Cyrus,” Celeste said, her voice recognizable in sound but not in tone and meaning. It had gone as cold as the wind chill near the cave, with none of the sibling love that she always had.
“Celeste? What?”
Cyrus had completely forgotten he was in an illusion. Everything about the scene made him believe it was real, from the way she smelled to her body posture.
“What, what? I have seen the light. Typhos showed me many things in our encounters, things I never would have understood if not for him. Our father lied to us, Cyrus. He lied to us about many things. Crystil lied to us about many things. Humans can’t be trusted, Cyrus. We have to embrace our Kastori side, and get rid of traitors like the humans and Erda.”
“Celeste, you’re not… Typhos…”
“Is a great man, indeed,” Celeste said with disturbing warmth to his name. “Unfortunately for you, he asked that I handle traitors, and I have.”
Kastori Devastations (The Kastori Chronicles Book 2) Page 15