by Rosie Scott
“Terran showed up to Hallmar with his reinforcements,” Hasani began, his normally jovial voice just as serious as I remembered it being when considering our odds before the Battle of the Dead. “Intel I received said his army was massive then. How did you manage to defeat it during a takeover?”
“I went by myself,” I replied.
“Just your army?” Hasani questioned.
“No,” I said. “Just me.”
“You defeated his entire army by yourself?” Hasani asked, bewildered.
“No, but by using various strategies I split his army up, depleted its numbers, raised legions of his men from the dead, and bested one of his godly allies. Azazel led our army to support me when I called for it, and Calder brought his beastmen over later. The morale of Terran's men plummeted due to my prowess, but over time the dead also outnumbered them.”
“Have you seen Kai during one of her rages?” Azazel asked the king.
Hasani hesitated. “I have seen her fight many times,” he answered. “I don't know if I've ever seen her in a rage.”
“You haven't,” I told him. “Not unless you witnessed my fight with Uriel when I was under Amora's control.”
Hasani shook his head. “I was gathering my arbalests, sister. I only saw you next to Azazel after my men warned me that something was wrong.”
“Kai's rages turn the tide of battles,” Azazel told him. “Morale of the enemy plummets when they are witness. She causes mass devastation within minutes, sometimes seconds. She seeks a high with necromancy and maintains it while damaging armies and land with magic of apocalyptic levels. Kai doesn't stop until her foes are killed or her goals are realized, and all the while, the blood of the gods affects her screams and makes her sound inhuman. It strikes fear in the enemy; many foes fled near Hallmar. If Kai can fall into a rage for our next battle, this will be an obvious asset to us.”
“Clearly,” Hasani murmured, watching me with further intrigue. “If you have access to such power, sister, why not call upon it more often?”
“Such power is devastating, and I cannot always control its reaches,” I replied. “I drastically altered the landscape of northeastern Chairel in a rage.” I swallowed hard and let my eyes settle on the lowest sparking tinder of the fire pit. “One of my over-powered spells killed Jakan in Eteri, and I wasn't even in a rage at the time.”
Hasani's face sobered with sympathy at my admission. Though he knew Jakan and Anto were dead, I'd never elaborated on the details of their deaths. “Gods, sister. I'm so sorry. I didn't know.”
“I don't like to speak of it,” I replied. I avoided his gaze as I went on, “I fell into a rage after Anto's subsequent death. A single tornado shattered the remaining Icilic Army of fifteen thousand.”
Hasani nodded. “I heard the gossip. The largest twister in Arrayis's history, so they're saying.” He hesitated. “So...you need a reason for these rages, essentially. How did you manage it in Hallmar?”
“I thought of Terran's insistence on hunting Cerin down to kill him,” I replied, lifting my face from Azazel's shoulder to glance back at where Cerin slept on a bedroll. The necromancer looked so peaceful, his pale skin glimmering in the moonlight. Long locks of his black hair tangled over his face, insisting on hiding it mysteriously from view even during his rest. The need to protect Cerin was so paramount to me that my chest felt clogged and thick with it.
“Will that work here?” Hasani questioned next, and I turned back to the fire.
“It'd better,” I replied, resting my head back on Azazel's arm.
“We are making good time,” Hasani said, leaning toward the fire for warmth. “Even so, I keep having flashes of finding my cavalry devastated. We'll arrive too late, sister.”
“Is this one of your religious premonitions?” I questioned.
“No,” Hasani replied with a shake of his head. “I have faith, but I am not ruled by it. These flashes only come into my head because I find it in my heart to be true.”
“Then I will trust your intuition as I do my own,” I replied. “I am sorry for your losses, and I will make it up to you in any way I can.”
Hasani exhaled so hard it whistled between his lips. “Stop thinking you have to make things up to me. I will forever be indebted to you. I will mourn my men and give them the honor they deserve, but their deaths are on my hands, not yours.”
“You did well in gathering a cavalry unit as quickly as you did,” Uriel complimented the king from across the fire. “Kai's assistance may have given Nahara its foundation to grow, but it takes the right leader to take that potential and let it thrive.”
“Thank you for saying it, friend,” Hasani said. “I never really looked forward to being a ruler. My father was so incompetent that I was well-loved in comparison. I knew all that would change when I became king.”
“Did it?” I questioned. “It was pretty unanimous that everyone loved you when I was in Nahara.”
Hasani chuckled softly. “Yes. People are in love with the idea of something better. When that comes along, they long for something else. I have my supporters and dissenters, Kai. Like you or anyone else. Ask one person, and you'll hear I am leading Nahara into a new age. Ask another, and I am kicking it into ruin. Listen to all the opinions, and I sound like quite the impressive man. I do so many good and bad things that I must be everywhere at once.”
I huffed in amusement.
The light ruffling of boots through long grasses whispered behind me. I watched Uriel's eyes for his reaction as they followed the approach of the unseen person. The healer appeared surprised though he kept most of it from coming through on his face.
I glanced up as a figure passed by me. I only glimpsed a black robe before Hades took a seat on an empty crate between mine and Hasani's. I felt as bewildered as Uriel looked, for I hadn't seen or heard from the other god since the night we'd spoken on the seas in Narangar.
The flickering flames reflected off of Hades's golden iris and the milky white scar tissue of his blind eye as he sat among us in silence.
“You just kind of do that, don't you?” Hasani mused aloud, one thick black eyebrow raised in amused intrigue as he looked over the god. “Appear, disappear. Lurk in the shadows.”
Hades stared at the king for a moment as the fire hissed and popped before him. “If I only lurk in the shadows, I am doing a poor job of it now.”
“I wasn't sure you noticed our departure,” I commented.
Hades turned back to the fire. “I didn't. Not right away. I noticed the lack of Alderi in the streets and realized it a few days late. You have an army of tens of thousands, half-breed. The tracks you leave are not subtle.”
“How did you catch up with us?” Hasani asked.
“By walking,” Hades replied.
The king chuckled even though the god hadn't meant it as a joke. “That's apparent, friend, but we've been stingy with letting our men rest. We only stop for six hours a night.”
“And I never stop,” Hades said. “I do not sleep.”
My curiosity piqued. I remembered Malachi had written his own suspicions that Hades didn't need sleep in the logbook still in our possession. To hear the god admit it himself answered one of the many questions I wondered about him. “At what point in your life did you stop?” I asked.
“I was two thousand years old or so,” Hades replied. “I can sleep. I just have no need. It is like eating; it can be pleasurable, but it is no longer necessary.”
“Nutrition is necessary even if you no longer need food for energy,” I told him.
Hades slowly turned to stare at me. “Is that so?”
“Yes. Perhaps your malnutrition is keeping your wounds from healing correctly,” I suggested.
“You are a few thousand years late telling me this,” Hades replied.
“I apologize. Allow me to time travel and warn you in advance.”
Uriel stifled a chuckle at my sarcasm, but Hades said nothing.
“Teach me how to summon vampires,”
I requested.
Hades wheezed. I assumed it was from amusement, for he replied, “I cannot.”
“I need as many tricks up my sleeves as I can get to win this next battle,” I told him. “You taught me enervat. Teach me this.”
“I cannot,” Hades repeated. “It is an innate power. It cannot be taught.”
“What is an innate power?” Azazel questioned.
“Every god has at least one,” Hades replied. “It is a power that can be summoned with simple desire. No spells. Simply by requesting it. Mine is summoning and controlling vampires. I cannot teach it, for it is not a spell. If I ever had children, it is possible they would inherit it.”
The air was quiet as I pondered this. “What are other examples of this power, Hades?”
“Malachi could teleport,” Hades told me. “Malgor and Ravage could regenerate their wounds.” He hesitated, thinking through the other gods I had come across during my journeys. “Judai absorbed memories from every person she touched. Ciro charged his power over time. Vertun could control the seasons. Chance has his aura. We all have at least one, Kai.”
“What was Ziarre's?” I asked.
Hades glared at me. “Why?”
“Because you just mentioned Ciro and Vertun, and you've said we can pass innate powers down. If that is so, I'm trying to find the connection between Ziarre and her children.”
“Ziarre could control the seasons,” Hades replied. “She could also wield the sun. Though she could not charge her power like Ciro, she had access to his magic.”
“Is the sun considered air magic?” I pondered.
“No,” Uriel replied. “Ciro told us it was not elemental magic at all. Air magic comprises weather patterns that come from Arrayis's atmosphere, Kai. Because the sun is a star far out of our planet's reach, it is not air magic. Ciro couldn't teach it to any of us.”
Azazel directed his next question to Hades. “What do you know of the innate powers of Ahebban, Nemesis, or Nanya?”
Hades's lips lifted in a half-smile. “All gods related to one lucky half-breed among us,” he mused. “Ahebban went berserk, much like the orcs. Saw red and became stronger and faster in combat until he destroyed his foes. I do not know Nemesis's innate power, though I suspect it had to do with the ecstasy she felt after completing each personal quest. Nemesis was so focused on vengeance that although some foes she tracked took centuries to hunt down, she refused to relent. Also, she experienced such ecstasy when enacting vengeance she became addicted to it. She was known for creating situations which would wrong her just so she could seek out that high over and over again. It was a rumor among the gods that Nemesis is the reason Malgor killed both her and Ahebban. Nemesis apparently worked on getting her son to kill Ahebban just so she would have a reason to kill him. Needless to say, that was the last plan she ever tried to formulate. As for Nanya, I'm uncertain. She was young and stayed behind the scenes. I knew little about her and didn't care to know more until I heard her mutt of a child wielded all elements.”
“It makes me wonder which parts of me are powers and which parts are simply traits,” I murmured.
“You wield all schools of magic,” Hades repeated. “There has never been another before or since. That, alone, is enough for an innate power.”
“What causes a god's voice to change?” Hasani asked.
Hades glanced over at the king. “The same thing that causes anyone's voice to elevate. Anger. Intense emotion.”
Hasani pointed at me. “Before you came over, we were talking about Kai's rages. Her voice changes, but the way Azazel explained it, it sounds like she has the same innate power as Ahebban.”
Hades turned to me. “These...rages. Can you control them?”
“Not always,” I replied. “When loved ones die, I snap. My thoughts are full of vengeance. I can't control it until I wipe out the masses. It doesn't matter if they are guilty or not; if they're near me, they die. I have been able to control my rages other times. Where the deaths I am avenging are of people I don't know well, or when I am trying to prevent loved ones from dying to people who wish them ill.”
Hades raised one eyebrow. “Perhaps Ahebban's power was passed to you, but Nemesis's blood altered it. Do you feel ecstasy when enacting vengeance?”
“No. I feel ecstasy when engaging in brutal warfare,” I replied honestly.
“Then you are just a bucketful of fun problems,” Hades mused dryly. “I do not have the answers for everything, Kai. I have seen Ahebban during his rages. If I see you in one of yours, I will be able to tell. Until then, I can only guess.”
“Assuming I can work myself into a rage when I see my brother again, you'll be able to tell fairly soon,” I said.
“Mm. Yes. Your brother,” Hades murmured. “That's why I came over here, Kai. Information. I heard you offer great sums of gold for the heads of your brother and the gods he allied with.”
“What need do you have of gold?”
“None,” came the god's answer. “I need information, as I said. Which gods are we killing next?”
For once, Hades's arrogance was welcome. His assumption that we would easily dispose of these gods boosted my own confidence and reminded me that I'd quickly accepted his aid for a reason. “I'm not entirely certain how many gods or their identities,” I told him honestly. “The only one I know who will be there is Raphael.”
“Fitting that the mortals would rely on the powers of the god of healing to be able to stand a chance against you,” Hades murmured.
“Have you fought against Raphael in the past?” I asked.
“No,” Hades replied. “He always refused to get involved in warfare. I know little of him other than his lineage.”
“Raphael regenerates his energy reserves and builds life shields that protect against physical and magical damage,” I informed the god. “If you come across him on the battlefield—”
“I will kill him,” Hades said quickly. “There is no doubt of that.”
“I do not doubt you,” I conceded, “but I would like his double-shield spell. If you kill Raphael, convince him to give the spell to you first.”
An impressed smirk brightened the god's face. “As you wish. What of your brother?”
“If you see him on the battlefield, kill him.”
Hades chuckled roughly. “You don't wish to kill him yourself?”
“I'd rather kill him myself, but I want him dead before he can continue to be a nuisance to me. I would rather you kill Terran than for him to get away again and kill Cerin down the line.”
“Ah,” Hades murmured, the word trailing off until it became just the weakening release of air. “Trouble with the in-laws is an issue as old as time.”
Uriel huffed in amusement at the god's wording.
“Rek defends Comercio,” I informed Hades. “The orcs are our allies there. If they try to attack you, tell them you fight for me. Please be wary of your magic hitting allies.”
“I have been around the block thousands of times, half-breed,” Hades purred. “I know what I'm doing.” A silence stretched between us for a few moments before the god added, “You and your necromancers may leech from me in battle freely.”
I listened to the fire pop a few times before I asked, “For power?”
Hades subtly turned his head. “What else?”
“Thank you,” I offered.
Hades suddenly stood from his crate, preparing to leave. “It is not a gift, Kai. It costs me nothing. I have so much power I don't know what to do with it.”
“You've said that before,” I mused.
“Then I won't say it again,” Hades replied, stalking past me and into the shadows.
Thirty-seven
54th of Red Moon, 431
The periwinkle skies retreated west, chased by the encroaching yellow-orange light of early dawn. My brain was only a mushy mixture of long-term fatigue and the anxiety of facing my brother. I watched the skies from my place between Azazel and Cerin, shivering within the pathetical
ly thin cloth of a bedroll. The sun promised me it would bring warmth, but I ignored its persuasions; the great ball of fire only irritated me with its arrival, for I had once again slept little.
Azazel stirred, and I glanced over. His eyes opened abruptly, and he stared at the sky a moment before exclaiming, “War horn!”
Our soldiers said little as they woke and prepared to march. The mood was somber as we hurried toward the rising sun. Our pace had been quick, and we would arrive in Comercio earlier than our estimate. Still, Terran was faster. The battle to recapture the capital had already begun.
Not long after Azazel's warning, the crack of cannon fire echoed through the skies, followed by the reptilian screaming of dragon-kin transforming. The sounds were all we had to form a picture in our minds of the battle playing out just beyond our reach, for the glare of the blazing sun intimidated us into keeping our eyes downcast as we traveled. Only when the light rose with the advancement of morning did Comercio finally come into view.
The capital was utterly engulfed in the chaos of a battle in the stages of infancy. Zephyr had pulled the defensive corpses closer to the city's exterior walls to allow the necromancers under her command to raise the dead to fight even though they stayed safe behind battlements. It was possible Zephyr had planned to use the Naharan hyenas to surprise attack the Chairel cavalry's flank later on, for their unit was south of Comercio. However, Terran directed his cavalry to overtake the undead, and as the horses pushed the corpses back in the east and west, they had evidently found the hyenas in hiding. Horse cavalry outnumbered the hyenas four to one, and as well as the Naharans fought, it was only a matter of time before our mounted units were wiped out entirely.
In the plains north of Comercio, an invading force of tens of thousands of infantry and mages poured forth past a line of cannons. As Chairel's cavalry blocked the undead, Terran's infantry flooded the capital easily through the rubble that had once served as its northern wall and gate. We weren't even in range to fight yet, and my brother had already breached Comercio's walls.
Overhead, seven dragon-kin soared over the masses of infantry and released onslaughts of sharp metal. Our foes launched magic, arrows, and throwing weapons at the dragons, trying to wear down one of our greatest assets. The dragons avoided one spot in the northern battlefield in particular, and I asked to use Maggie's binoculars so I could figure out why. When the view was magnified, I glimpsed fountains of blood and flying limbs. Finally, the crowd parted just long enough for me to see Rek throw a mage up in the air like she weighed nothing. The god swept his ax forward, and the woman's body split in half as gravity forced it to fall over the readied blade. Before the separate halves could land on the ground, Rek punted the torso into the crowds, knocking over a handful of foes who were quickly surrounded by orc berserkers.