by Rosie Scott
Sedge's face was unreadable as he finally spoke to me. “Kai Sera. We gave you our terms. You rejected them. What makes you think we would compromise with you?”
“Celendar gave me terms which insulted me,” I replied evenly. “The same intelligence within me that seeks to avoid casualties here today can sniff out a trap, particularly when your terms are so dramatically in your favor. I would not walk into Celendar without my armies just as I would expect you to reject an offer for the royal families to walk out without theirs.”
“You cannot expect to come into our home with your necromancers freely,” Sedge replied. “Celendar considers your arrival here an act of war.”
“I consider Celendar's refusal to leave Chairel's territory to be an act of war,” I said. “Keep your people and your forest safe, Sedge. As queen of Chairel, I will offer Celendar independence.”
“I know full well of your offer from reports of the Battle of the Southern Plains,” Sedge conceded. “I simply don't believe you will hold true to your word. You are a necromancer and a god, Kai Sera. Such a dangerous mixture has allowed you to rampage through every country of Arrayis as if you alone can tame it to your will. Left unchallenged, your power could grow to unprecedented levels.”
“Thousands have challenged me, Sedge,” I replied. “Thousands have failed. I do not expect Celendar to hold me in high regard for my beliefs or my methods, but if Celendar challenges me, I will leave you weakened. Work with me, and I will leave you in peace.”
“How are we supposed to know this is true?” Sedge argued. “You could offer this now so we don't respond to Chairel's requests for support. As soon as you have what you want, you could come back to claim Celendar as your own.”
“Why would I want to?” I questioned openly. “Any benefits Celendar offers me may be had in trade. The last thing Celendar wants is to go to war for a necromancer. Look at how hostile you are to me when all I've done is offer you peace.” I turned to Silas. “Silas Galan has no love for necromancy, but he and I worked together to figure out a plan to keep Celendar and its forest safe. He knows my intentions and will relay them to you as our mediator.”
“And you will turn him over to us,” Sedge said.
“If we come to a peaceful agreement, Silas is free to stay in Celendar,” I agreed. “This is his home. He doesn't want a place with me.”
Sedge turned to look across the clearing to where Thorn still smoked his pipe. The two men exchanged glances in silence for a few moments before Sedge returned his gaze to me. “Very well. Send Silas in. We will hear what he has to say.”
I dug a hand around in my satchel, pulling out the key to Silas's shackles. My ex-lover and I faced one another as I took his hands, preparing to free them. I noticed he was shaking. I hesitated my actions for a moment to look up into his green eyes.
“Are you going to be okay?” I questioned softly.
“If this goes smoothly, yes,” Silas replied quietly. “But I have the feeling that with as much resistance as they are giving you, my words will not fare much better.”
“Would you like me to make different arrangements?” I asked.
“Too much is on the line, Kai,” Silas murmured. “I have already dedicated myself to this task. Firth sought redemption by fighting against you; I seek redemption by trying to keep peace in Celendar. I can only pray that the gods favor my intentions more than his.”
“I also hope that is the case,” I replied, turning my attention back to his shackles. “Thank you for doing this.”
“Kai.” Sedge's voice met my ears just as the key slipped into its hole. “Leave Silas secured.”
I frowned and glanced up at the knight. “I am turning him over to you, and I have the key to his release.”
Sedge nodded. “And if we come to a peaceful agreement, we can borrow that key for the few seconds it takes to release him. For now, I do not trust that he will be coming to us without underlying intentions, and the level of trust between us is low enough as it is.”
“They weren't keen on giving me the benefit of the doubt before I left, either,” Silas murmured. “Just do as he says.”
“Very well.” I pulled the key from the shackles and stepped out of the way. Silas slowly walked out into the clearing alone.
“Thorn.” Sedge pointed to Silas. “Go fetch him. Bring him to me. We will talk here, away from prying ears.” He motioned to the covered bridge around him as Thorn left his own overpass to make his way down to the forest floor.
“I will listen,” Azazel whispered just to my left so only a select few allies could hear. “Kai, a Celdic ambush is prepared.”
I didn't let the shock of anxiety from his statement reach my expression. My gaze followed Silas's retreating back as Thorn led him through the clearing and up the twirling staircase surrounding a tree trunk. As if Azazel knew I didn't want to risk asking for clarification, he finally spoke again when he felt it was safe.
“Thousands lie in wait. On walkways and further in the city. Not all elves. Possibly reinforced.” My eyes traveled to the places Azazel warned me about, but other than a few guarding archers, I saw nothing. “Kacela's spell,” Azazel went on. “It does not reflect light.”
Though Azazel's warnings were segmented and seemingly random, I understood clearly. The Celdic Army was in masses before us in the city, but such a gigantic settlement had to have had hundreds of thousands of people. The Celds hated war, but they loved their forest; surely even the most peaceful of them would pick up a weapon to defend it. It was possible that the elves here had access to Kacela's spell because she had given it to them before her death. Camouflage did not reflect light like invisibility, so Celendar's reliance on magical light and bioluminescence would not be a disadvantage to their stealth. Their use of illusion magic here led me to believe that Celendar, if not all of Chairel, was relaxing their own rules about using the lesser magics in battle.
With my mind on Chairel, I wondered if Azazel was correct about them sending support to Celendar. If there were humans in the city prepared to defend Celendar, there had to be a support force sent by Queen Edrys in Comercio. Humans were the weakest race on Arrayis in terms of lifespans, but as I'd learned during my time teaching the human prisoners of war magic since the Battle of Hallmar, they were also the most magically diverse. Most races had their magical predispositions. The Alderi were most likely to know water and death, the Vhiri were predisposed to earth and fire, the Icilic were most successful with air, life, and death, and the Celds were best with earth, water, air, and life. Humans were much more elementally diverse. The dark-complected Naharans learned death and earth the easiest, but there had been far more exceptions to that rule than usual that I'd found when building the magical school in Nahara. When it came to teaching the Chairel humans elemental magic, I couldn't pinpoint any predispositions at all. Because of this, during our campaign in Chairel we had to be prepared to face all six elements. If humans were in Celendar that need started today.
“Warn the others,” I murmured to Azazel, so low my words muffled and merged together. “Numbers. Illusion. Location.”
Azazel didn't nod or give me any indication he heard me, but he did and understood my intentions. He slowly backed away from the frontlines to heed my request. Thankfully, while all the Seran Renegades had rings showcasing their ranks and positions, each of us still wore our own armor. Azazel's black armor from the underground did not give away his importance or rank to the Celds who may have seen his movement. To them, he was just another soldier.
Far above us and across the clearing, Thorn finally led Silas onto the covered bridge connecting the tenth story of two giant trees. Sedge still waited halfway across, and he was unmoving and quiet as the two men neared him. Behind Sedge was a small group of other Celdic royalty who had come forth since our verbal exchange. I could not differentiate the emblems on their armor from here, but it was clear enough that there were members of each royal family due to their varied appearances. The Elwoods were dark-hair
ed and had a propensity for melee weapons. The blonde-haired members shared features with Aysel Rainger, and many of them appeared to favor bows and magic. The rest were chestnut-haired and equipped to fight from afar. I figured these members to belong to the Fawn family that had won the favor the Galans lost.
Sedge spoke quietly to Silas, and my ex-lover's mouth moved as he gave a reply. I could hear nothing from this distance. I glanced to my left, checking for Azazel. He was still delivering my warning, but I caught Cyrus's gaze instead from yards away. The king gave a shake of his head that was so subtle I nearly missed it, but I understood his meaning. He was as distrustful of this situation as I was. One golden-hued hand grazed by the sheath of a katar on his belt.
Slowly, I tilted my head to look up at the nearest overpass. It was a flimsier construction than the covered bridge, with wooden planks held together by thick rope. I could see through the rope railings and between its wooden boards. It appeared empty, but now that I knew camouflaged soldiers surrounded us, I kept staring. Sure enough, within a matter of seconds, the foliage above the bridge rippled slightly as the illusion spell adjusted to its caster's movement. I noted that my magic could reach those on the overpass if need be, and then I pulled my attention back to the conversation happening between Silas and Sedge.
My chest flushed with heat as my heart picked up its pace. Silas's green eyes were wide, panicked. He was still talking, but his words came quicker now. The fair skin between his eyebrows creased, disturbed. He closed his mouth from speaking and glanced down at me. His concerned stare was like a warning.
Sedge turned his head slightly to the right, listening as another royal member from the Rainger family spoke to him. Just then, Azazel slowly returned to my side, his black eyes on the conversation happening on the bridge. A moment later, Azazel spoke, and his words mirrored those that he overheard. I connected Azazel's whispered words with each person I saw speak just milliseconds before.
“Kill him. This is a ruse.” Thorn.
“A traitor once, a traitor for life,” said a royal woman from the Fawn family.
“I swear to you, I tell you the truth,” Silas insisted. “Celendar could fall if Kai attacks it. Compromise and be safe.”
“Not all of us give in so easily to the whims of necromancers,” came Thorn's response.
“If you kill me, Kai will attack,” Silas replied. “You have heard of what happened to Narangar and Glacia. Celendar will be next if you show her resistance. Swallow your pride for the sake of the forest.”
“Some of us want to fight for our forest,” Thorn retorted.
“Quiet.” Sedge put a hand out to stop the bickering. “I have made my decision. Thorn, leave us.”
“So not only are you going to give in to a necromancer's demands, father,” Thorn began, “but you wish to insult my opinion by separating me from the rest of you?”
“Spend less time talking and more time listening to me,” Sedge retorted. Thorn pivoted on his heel and stalked to the end of the bridge, leaving Silas alone before the older man.
“What is your decision?” Silas questioned once Thorn was off of the bridge entirely.
“I will do what I should have done a long time ago,” Sedge replied, unsheathing a one-handed sword.
Now my heart was attempting to shred my ribs with its incessant pounding. Black magic was building in my palms, but only as a reaction. I could do absolutely nothing at such short notice while at such a distance.
The sword glimmered in the teal bioluminescence of its surroundings as it completed a full arc toward Silas's unguarded throat. With his hands still shackled, my ex-lover could do nothing. A look of absolute depressed resignation flashed over Silas's features before they were taken from him.
Silas's head separated so cleanly from his neck that it landed back in place for a moment before toppling over to the wood planks below. The resulting spurt of blood from his throat was black with shadow as his corpse fell to its knees before collapsing to the side. Pools of deep red flooded to the edge of the bridge before it splattered ten-stories down to the previously unmarred forest floor like heavy rain. Some of it splashed over the heads of soldiers still camouflaged, giving away the shape of their forms before the magic compensated and affected the blood as well, hiding its presence.
I released my magic into the flimsy bridge above. Dark fog exploded outward in two separate areas, seeking invisible bodies and stealing the lives within them. The rope bridge had a carpet of black energy as the bodies released their life force all at once, and then, the power of dozens bombarded me.
Foliage and trees filled my vision. I filled both hands with fire.
Nine
A previously quiet forest was full of noise. Weapons unsheathing. Orders being yelled. Footsteps moving through fallen plant debris. The sharp cracks of bone as the beastmen transformed. The cries of fearful animals. The cries of fearful men.
“Hold!” I screamed. It was a command to my army and to my allies. With two raging balls of fire growing and pulsating in my hands, they listened.
Cerin gave me a life shield, and Azazel protected me with an alteration guard that would absorb magic. The fire hovering above my palms crackled and popped with anger. The resulting heat brought tears to my eyes and beads of sweat to my skin. With a scream distorted by rage, I released the spells into the sky.
“The forest! She will burn the forest!” The shout was also a directive. Multiple Celdic water mages prepared rain spells, and some of them released the magic before any of my meteors could fall.
“Every fucking inch of it!” I screamed, shooting two death bombs into the charging Celdic Army. I focused on recycling the lives of those who approached us into power for my allies, using death magic to take energy and life magic to give it. The cries of my empowered friends preceded the hissing of rampaging flames above the Cel Forest as the sky released its burden.
The first meteor broke through the canopies with the sound of snapping wood. White splinters and shreds of greenery fell from above like rainfall as the ball of fire continued on its path, hurtling through branches before crashing into a rope bridge over two dozen stories up. The ropes snapped on its left side, and though the bridge's occupants were camouflaged, I could see the extra weight they added to the construction as it fell. Screams echoed out from mid-air as foes succumbed to gravity. Mere seconds later, Celdic soldiers on the ground level below were crushed by invisible bodies, and a red mist arose from those who fell as their blood escaped newly burst wounds.
Another meteor hit a pearl-white tree so far up that its trunk split open nearest the sky, exposing the living spaces inside. Occupants cowered back from the break on multiple levels as it continued to grow with weakness, the crack tracing down the trunk until it finally stopped thirty stories below the canopy. The weaker side of the split leaned as it returned gravity's flirtations. A few Celds inside saved themselves by running and jumping over the gap to the stronger side of the tree.
SNAP!
The weakened side of the trunk finally cracked at the bottom edge of the break, and the pearl-white wood fell, crashing through foliage and yet another bridge on its way to the forest floor. Small belongings which had flown out from the abrupt fall kept up their pursuit before disappearing in an explosion of white bark and disturbed dirt.
A distant hum sounded out from the canopies where the rains of the Celdic water mages finally fell. Not only was the spell too late to quell many meteors, but it could do little to combat them. The canopy of the Cel Forest was so thick that the rains worked their way through the layers of greenery slowly, and when the water finally made it through, there was so little of it that the fires sprouting up around Celendar continued to rage. The Celdic water mages noticed this as much as I did and resorted to closer ranged water spells to calm the nearest flames.
The meteors stopped falling, but Celendar was already weakened. Multiple trees were cracked and broken, undoing centuries of well-tended architecture. Bridges hung uselessly
by ropes. Black streaks trailed down pearl-white bark, leading to patches of flaming brush. Hundreds were dead, subject to long falls or being crushed by falling debris. Elves panicked over their injured forest, but the members of Celdic royalty were sending their armies forth, nonetheless. As enraged as I was over Celendar's refusal to come to terms with me and Silas's abrupt execution, I didn't want the city destroyed. After all, I couldn't burn down the forest without my own armies being collateral damage. My tactic was to strike enough fear in the Celds to get them to surrender. By the looks on the faces of the oncoming soldiers, I was already on the road to success. The largest problem standing in my way was the Celdic royalty who all appeared ready to fight to the death.
Calder and his beastmen were already transformed, but they waited for my signal to charge. Calder's reptilian pupils narrowed into slits when he glanced over at me, searching my face to see if I was clear-headed. I pointed forward at the main Celdic force in the forest clearing ahead. “Send your beastmen into their frontlines, Cal. Your soldiers are now safe from my magic.”
Calder tilted his head forward once before turning to his beastmen and hissing so loudly it reverberated off the nearby trunks. Then, Calder shot two enervat spells into the masses, trembling with the resulting power just before he leapt into the crowd of silver and green. The army of beastmen was like a blockade preventing the rest of our foes from reaching us, allowing me a few moments to strategize.
“Assassins!” I swooped one finger around in the air as if to encompass them. Tens of thousands of Alderi awaited orders. Throughout the crowds were elf-sized gaps as if many of them were already invisible. I rose both arms into the air, sweeping my hands across their vision of the upper forest. “Do what you do best. Have fun, my lovelies.”