The guards are locked in place, frozen. A thin coat of ice covers their armor.
What the goddess has Bax done?
I thank the goddesses for whatever power they’ve bestowed on him, and quickly glance at the contenders fighting Krewl and Collar to the mercury-covered ground. They’ve made their stand. Only Carnage and Metal Mouth are fighting for the freedom ring. Carnage will soon be defeated, and Metal Mouth—I know Lilly will save him.
The crowd has stopped cheering. The stadium is motionless as the Otherworlders’ vacant eyes stare at the Cage. The silence fills me, and the darkness seeps into my head. Once the priest falls, I pray their minds will be released from Bale’s control.
And that Bale’s voice will be permanently severed from mine.
Before I take off toward the priest’s chamber, I catch Caben’s sword coming down on Carnage from the corner of my eye. “Caben! Don’t kill—”
The words die on my tongue as Caben slices Carnage’s neck. Crimson runs down the blade, drips onto Caben’s forearm. His chest heaves, and he drives his sword into the earth near the slain body. A sickness wells in my stomach. I choke it back.
Caben wipes the blood from his face and turns toward me. He’s shaking, and I reach out across the Cage as if I can touch him. Two glowing blue moonstones light his cuff. I have to end this now.
He clears the rest of the blood and sweat from his brow and starts in my direction, but I hold my hand up. He halts.
I grab a discarded sword and stake the ground. Reaching into my tunic, I pull out his ring. His eyes widen, hurt and confusion crossing his face, as I set it atop the pommel of the sword.
My lips form the words that I never thought I’d say to a man: I love you.
Then I race toward the dark priest’s chamber.
The priest holds Bax suspended above the risers with an invisible clutch, his robed arm held high, his eyes hollow black sockets. He looks down at the defiant contenders in the Cage. “You will bow to Bale!”
Bax flails in the air, his eyes flickering with the lightning and black lights as he struggles to overpower his father.
Lifting his free hand, the dark priest presses his pale palm flat and chants under his breath. The ground rumbles. The black dirt sinks into a corner of the Cage as the earth slides away and the ground yawns open.
A piercing shriek cracks the silence.
From the opening, a black talon spikes the ground, and a beast enters the Cage.
The Grimmal.
Its wiry legs bend at odd angles as it pulls its scaly body free of the void. It stomps the ground, kicking beads of silver up into the air with sharp claws, as its body slithers against the wet earth.
“Bax!” I shout. I sprint toward the middle of the risers, my feet taking two bleachers at a time. Before I reach the chamber, I glance behind me once, just long enough to see the contenders gathering against the Grimmal.
The mutated monster fills a quarter of the Cage, its black hairy legs built like a devil spider, its face a silver snake’s. Scaled flesh curves around its massive, narrow head. It flicks a forked tongue at Whip, and she swipes her sword and nicks the beast, but it’s not enough to harm it.
Lilly and Kai take up the back, their weapons coming down and lashing at the serpent tail as it sweeps the ground.
Goddesses, save them.
Then my eyes are back on the power match happening in the priest’s chamber not feet before me. I try to process what the Grimmal might mean—I didn’t factor the monster into our plan. I’m running out of time.
The Grimmal is drawing blood. It’s feeding the ground and Bale, mixing with the conduit. I don’t know if ending the priest will count as a win. I can’t think past my goal. If the Goddesses are truly with me, then Bale will not be summoned once I stop the dark priest.
But Caben . . . damn his pride! Why did he do this? I pray that if he makes the killing blow to the Grimmal, it won’t summon Bale. That the monster will not count. But my heart tells me it doesn’t matter what type of death . . . Bale just needs death—a sacrifice. Caben’s two lights flash before my eyes as I come up behind the dark priest.
“Protector,” Bax chokes out.
I launch my body over a metal bench and crash into the priest’s back. He tumbles forward and his mental hold on Bax wavers. Bax drops to a seat, gasping for air.
“Can you stop the Grimmal?” I shout to Bax, while the priest is righting himself.
Bax shakes his head. “The beast is protected by Bale’s power. It must be slain to be destroyed.”
Damnit.
“Go, then. Get them out of here.”
Bax gets to his feet and gives me a hard nod before he turns to his father. “I hope to see you again, old man. But not again in this world.” Then he punches the priest. He looks at me and gives me a crooked smile. “I’ll wait for you, but if you’re not there in time—”
“Don’t wait,” I say. “Get them out now.”
His eyes say he doesn’t believe me, but he nods. This is our pact. His family and mine escaping the Otherworld is the agreement.
“May your goddesses be with you, protector,” Bax says, then hurries down the risers toward the Cage.
The dark priest palms the bench and uses his power to propel himself to his feet. He faces me, and I take a hesitant step back. I say a prayer under my breath to Alyah, calling forth the mercury in my blood. I look down at my arm. The inky swirls illuminate, glowing like the sliver of moonlight encircling the eclipse. Alyah touched the mercury inside me for this purpose. I have to trust that this is my purpose.
Alyah, I’m yours.
The priest raises his hand and pushes an unseen blow at me. I block his strike with my arm, and the air ripples around me with blue, electrified tendrils that snap the air. His eyes widen in alarm. I can imagine what he sees: what my father saw when he took in the silver swirling around my eyes, along my flesh. Fear ignites the priest’s black irises, and I cry out and force him backward.
Feeling the power of the goddess surge though me, I reach down and clutch the priest’s head. Just as I did my father—only I don’t know what will happen this time. The darkness within him burns against my palms, but I keep my hands secured to him. His eyes ignite fire red.
A white light blooms beneath my hands. It starts dim, illuminating into a bright beam that fills my vision. I look away, and a throaty cry echoes through my mind as Bale fights to keep her hold on the dark priest. Alyah’s power rockets through me, and I’m thrown on my back.
The priest convulses, his body jerking with tremors. His mouth leaks a dark substance that smells of tar and something so vile that I gag and have to cover my nose. He gasps for fresh air, and his eyes close. He lies still.
I look down at my cuff, panic thundering through me as I wait for the third moonstone light. But a sudden calm washes over me, an awareness—a knowledge I can’t understand. But it tells me that the dark priest isn’t dead.
Alyah is healing him.
She’s healing the madness deep within the priest. I wipe the sweat seeping into my eyes with my arm and then check his vitals. He’s alive. I shakily get to my feet and look down at the unconscious priest. His skin is tinged with a cream hue, and the angles of his face aren’t as sharp.
Alyah, what have you done?
This is your power, Kaliope. The voice is powerful and sure and angelic, and it fills my being. I tremble and drop to my knees as it bathes me in an ethereal channel.
My goddess.
Closing my eyes for a moment, I gather my senses. The goddess spoke to me.
Pushing the exhilaration away, I reach over and shake the priest. He has to call off the Grimmal. But he’s completely blacked out. Panicked, I look to the Cage. The remaining contenders have the monster cornered. Bax, Lilly, and Kia are gone. Relief floods me until I spot Caben.
I curse. Of course he didn’t leave with the others. Defiant, stubborn man.
But there’s still time. The Otherworlders in the risers are aw
akening from Bale’s control, and if we can send the Grimmal back into the earth, we can end this.
I take off down the risers and bound out of the chamber.
The Grimmal raises one of its hairy legs and stabs Metal Mouth through his chest with its black talon, pinning him to the ground. Kaide hacks at the leg, severing it, and the Grimmal cries out, a shrieking blast that pieces my eardrums. Caben uses the moment to run beneath the beast.
No—
I pick up a discarded battle ax next to Dash’s fallen body. A putrid, murky-green blood drips from its end. I wipe it against the ground, using the mercury to wash the blade before raising it above my head, and charge into the fray.
I take up Lena’s side. “The dark priest is gone,” I shout.
She grunts and lunges, throwing her spear into the side of the monster. “Then I’m out of here, protector.” She bows her head to me, and says, “It was an honor to know you.” Then she breaks for the open chamber door.
I manage to evade the tail as it lashes the ground and meet the other contenders forming an arc before the beast. “Leave!” I shout to Whip and Kaide. “Bax is taking a convoy out of the Otherworld.”
Whip gives me a sidelong glance, but takes her chance at escape. Kaide hesitates.
“I’ll not abandon you,” he tells me. “For my brother, I’ll end this with honor.”
“Kaide . . .” I just dodge the monster’s leg as it comes down between us. I stumble back, and Kaide puts more distance between him and the Grimmal.
“Look after my friends,” I yell out to him. “That would be an honor to both your brother and me.”
He hesitates a moment longer, then bows his head to me before he follows Whip’s path past the Grimmal. I swipe my ax at the monster’s head and it retreats back. I glance once more at the contenders leaving the Cage and the Grimmal screeches. It opens its mouth and goes to strike Kaide.
I fling my battle ax at the Grimmal’s leg, calling its attention, and Kaide passes through the chamber door.
“Caben, get the hell out of here!” I fan the ax before me as I take measured steps backward. The beast advances, its spindly legs stomping the ground as its body slithers.
Caben attacks its belly, drawing green blood. He’s doing minimal damage. This is an Otherworld mutation. Something created with Bale’s power—only severing the head controlled by the dark goddess will kill it. Caben’s trying to give me time to leave. But I’m not going before he does.
Caben rushes to my side. “We go together,” he says, his breaths coming hard.
“All right,” I say, a smile forming on my face for the first time. “Together.”
He matches my smile, and we attack the beast full on, beating it back toward the hole in the Cage as we inch our way to the chamber.
The open door is right there—a few feet from Caben. “Go! I’m right behind you.”
He nods and launches his sword at the Grimmal. Then he turns to escape through the door. My heart hammers against my chest as he gets closer. I can feel the freedom—
The Grimmal lashes its tail out, knocking Caben to the ground.
“No!” I barrel toward him, my ax pressed to my body.
It lowers its head, tongue flicking at Caben, and sinks one of its fangs into his thigh.
Goddess.
Anger coils in my stomach. The mercury races through my body. A deep laugh sounds in my mind, spreading through my being as the heated tendrils snap and lash inside me. I scream as I draw my battle ax above my head.
Caben’s eyes meet mine as the Grimmal releases its bite and turns its snake head toward me. I hold his gaze a moment longer before jumping onto the beast’s back.
“Kal—No!”
Caben’s warning is muted as the rage seethes through my soul. With every bit I strength I possess, I bring the ax down and drive the blade into the Grimmal’s scaly neck. It hisses, a high-pitched rattle that thrums through my limbs.
I hack at the Grimmal’s neck again, and it slices open. A seam tears across its scales, ripping the beast’s neck in two as the head lops off. I’m flung off as its body thrashes. Green blood pools around me, and I kick backward, away from the gore floating atop the mercury.
Caben groans, and I look over as he tries to pick himself up. His eyes snap to the cuff on my wrist.
Panic flares in my chest. I look down at the three moonstones as they blink on. One for Cannon. The second for Primal. And last for the Grimmal. The stones glow a strong, shimmery blue. The ground rumbles.
“Caben,” I say, my words lost as I try to gather courage. “You have to get out of here. Find Bax—you promised to get the relic to Empress Iana.”
“You promised me!” he shouts.
“That doesn’t matter now. I swore my oath first. I kept my first vow and made sure my charge is safe.” I hold his stare, his blue eyes gleaming as the Cage dims and a blood-red hue overtakes the realm. I want his beautiful eyes to be the last thing I see before Bale possesses me. “Please,” I beg him. “Please, go now. You have to get far away from Bale.”
He drops his head in his hand and drives his fingers through his hair. Then he meets my eyes again, determination intensifying his glare.
The ground thunders. My cuff illumes brighter, the stones searing into my skin. I scream and wrap my hand around the cursed stones. “Go!” I fall back, my body craving the cold mercury covering the ground. I allow it to soothe my burning skin.
My vision swims, and the eclipsed moon wavers against the rock sky. I close my eyes as Bale speaks to me.
Thank you, my servant.
Something tugs on my arm, but I’m too drained to care. Let the ground have me.
Bale is taking over, and I have to reserve my energy to battle her. Once she fills me, I’ll use the mercury that Alyah touched to help me wage this war. Alyah spoke to me. She blessed me with power to be her hand on this plain. Bale may even be destroyed by the goddess’s divine blood coursing through me.
I pray this.
I pray this so hard.
I have to try, or else the fear will tear my mind apart. It’s splitting now. I can feel Bale’s presence invading, and my body flames. Her vileness scorches—my mind splintering.
The tug comes stronger, and I crack my eyes open. Caben kneels beside me, a metal pin in his hand. He works my cuff.
The cuff snaps open.
He rips the cuff off and latches it around his wrist. His eyes find mine. “You’re to do great things, Protector Kaliope.” Removing his ring, he slips it on my thumb. Then he kisses my palm. “And I love you more than any other.” He cries out as the fire that was consuming me now rushes his body. “Tell the empress of my wishes for my kingdom.” A sad smile mars his face. My heart breaks. “Keep your promise to me.”
“Caben,” I choke out.
He reaches out and caresses my face, his hand trembling. I rise up and cling to him. “It’s not too late. Give me the cuff—” I try to pry it from his wrist, but it’s now seared to his flesh. “You can’t fight her!”
“I know,” he says. His eyes are deep blue, resolute. “That’s why you’re going to end her before she can find the shard.” He cups one arm around my waist and leans forward, dragging something beside us. He takes my hand and rests my palm on the hilt of a sword.
“Damn you.” I glare at him through tears. “How can you ask me to do this?”
“You have to, Kal. It’s the only way. It’s been the only way from the start.” His eyes bore through me. “Did you think I was going to let you sacrifice yourself?”
I scream. “Damn your pride, Caben! There’s still time—” But there’s not. A blue light illuminates the whites of his eyes and his head flies back. His body snaps with currents, his skin sizzling with the dark goddess’s power.
Rubbing my hands together, I try to call forth whatever power saved the priest, my lips trembling as I plead to Alyah. Then I shakily place my hands on his temples. No fire. No searing. I feel nothing of the darkness, and my hands rev
eal no light. “Come on!”
Why isn’t working? Please!
Caben’s hand flies up and knocks my arms aside, breaking my hold.
“She’s—” He jerks his head sideways, fighting her control. “Here.” The blue in his eyes changes to a fierce white-hot glow.
I scramble back. “Caben?”
A slow smile curves his lips. “You have something of mine, Kal,” he says. It’s his voice, his baritone with a touch of his lilt, but the words are not his. He’s still in there somewhere. I know this, but the glint of evilness in his eyes chills my blood.
Gripping the hilt of the sword, I rise to my feet. I arc the blade before me. “Release him.”
He laughs, a low, hollow boom. “I think you value this body”—he looks over himself as he stands—“too much to harm it.”
I lift my chin. “Release him and go back into your confines or else I will cut you down. The goddesses will not allow you to exist in this realm.”
“I’m tired of hearing about them.” He raises his hand and sends a blast of power into my chest.
My body whips backward, and I land on my back hard. The mercury seeps through my tunic, its soothing chill dousing the fire spreading over me. Caben walks slowly through the silver covering the ground. It boils where his booted feet touch.
He extends his hand to deliver another blow, blue crackling from his fingertips, and I kick back just as the blast hits the ground. Rolling to the side, I escape another attack, and jump to my feet.
He’s still human. I swing my sword and slice his arm. He shouts and turns his glowing eyes on me. His chest rises and falls as he chants something, and the mercury around me bubbles into a frenzied boil.
It reaches silver tentacles toward me and latches on to my calves. Fire scorches my skin where it touches and I cry out. It burns through my pants, slithering its sterling feelers up my legs. I struggle to free myself as Caben steps closer.
Of Silver and Beasts (Goddess Wars) Page 25