Meta Gods War 2

by B N Miles

  “You’ve been trying to get my attention since the day we showed up here,” Cam said. “And that day in the baths—”

  “Oh, so now it’s my fault you can’t control your wandering eye?” she asked.

  Cam opened his mouth then shut it again as she laughed.

  “I’m just teasing,” she said. “I know what I’ve been doing. Truth is, since the moment you showed up here, I’ve been planning this.”

  “But why?” he asked. “I don’t understand. Why me?”

  “I saw something in you out there on the plateau,” she said. “It was the way the men looked at you, like they respected you and would follow you anywhere. Then I began to hear the stories about what you all went through to reach the Mansion, about your power, and I saw you on the council fighting against the other Elders day in and day out. I knew you had potential, and so I started to court your attention.”

  “So that you could marry me?”

  She held her hands out, palms up, and shook her head. “Not at first,” she said. “I didn’t decide we’d get married until that day in the baths.” She dropped her hands and stepped closer to him. Cam almost took a step back, but he held his ground. Her body was close, and her eyes stared up into his, her plump, pretty lips hanging open just enough to show her straight white teeth. “Think about it, Cam. With my help, you can end up running this Mansion. You can be the leader we all need, the leader that can fight back the wolves. My father will hide inside these caves until the day the wolves come and pry him out of it, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.”

  “Unless we get married,” Cam said.

  “Unless we get married,” she echoed.

  He stared down at her and felt his heart beating fast. A bead of sweat rolled down his back.

  He felt like he had a choice. On the one hand, Galla made some good points. Her father was weak, and Cam knew it, had known it since that first meeting. Lord Remorn wasn’t going to win against the wolves, but Cam had experience, had already fought against them. And he had Felin to help steer him in the right direction.

  But on the other hand, he didn’t know Galla. And he couldn’t marry her, not without the permission of his girlfriends. He didn’t know how they’d react to this, and he really wasn’t sure he wanted to find out.

  Cam reached out and took Galla’s hands in his own. He held them and stared down at her, desire coursing through his skin.

  “You’re a beautiful girl,” he said. “And you’re a little terrifying. But I can’t just marry you.”

  “You can,” she said. “My father might not like it, but I do have a choice. And the Elders will back us up.”

  He tilted his head. “You already asked?”

  “I suggested it,” she said with a sly smile.

  Cam sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. He squeezed her hands then relaxed his grip.

  “Please, don’t do that,” he said. “I’m not saying no, but I have to speak with the girls first. I can’t make this kind of decision without them.”

  “Of course,” she said with a huge smile. “I want to be a part of your little relationship, Cam. Even if we never feel that way about each other, we can still work together. And who knows, maybe you’ll grow to love me.” She stepped closer and he felt her breasts press up against him. “I can be very persuasive.”

  He held her there for three long breaths before he tore himself away. He released her hands and turned his back on her, his boots echoing in the empty stone room. He gripped the hilt of his sword with one hand and ran the other through his hair.

  “I’ll speak with the girls,” he said.

  “Good,” she said. “Think about it. I know this is a lot, and I know it might not be what you wanted when you came here, but we can do good together, Cam.”

  He laughed and shook his head as he turned to face her again.

  “But what about your father?” he asked. “You seem to think we can just toss him aside.”

  “With the backing of the Elders and the loyalty of the army, we’ll be able to do whatever we want, regardless of what my father wants.” She took a deep breath and shook her head. “I love him, Cam, but he’s weak. If you marry me and we do this, I’ll make sure he’s taken care of and remains in a position of power, but not one that will drag the rest of us down with him.”

  Cam stared at her and for the first time since they met, he thought he was really seeing the Galla behind the smiles, the low-cut dresses, the flirtations. She was smart, much smarter than anyone gave her credit for, and he wondered if there was a single person in the entire Mansion that had any idea what she was capable of.

  She had already set a coup into motion, and Cam had a feeling she would see it through regardless of his decision.

  “I’ll talk to the girls,” he said. “I just need some time to think first.”

  “Think all you’d like.” She turned and walked back toward the door, hips swaying. He knew she was doing that just to get his attention, and he hated himself for letting it work. “But don’t think too long, Cam. We don’t have a lot of time left. The wolves are coming, and the army needs leadership, now more than ever.”

  She gave him a smile before picking up her lamp and leaving in a swish of skirts and receding light.

  Cam stood there alone in the training room and stared up at the rough ceiling. He could almost taste the centuries of dirt and dust that had circulated through this space. The floors were smooth from use and he wondered how many men and women had learned to fight right here on these stones.

  And how many had been cut down in the process.

  Cam shook his head and picked up his own lamp. He thought about returning to his rooms, but he needed to think before he spoke with the girls. He headed out into the hall and began to look for somewhere he could truly meditate.

  39

  Cam walked through the tunnels of the Mansion and found himself in a more populated wing. Men and women lounged in the tunnels with lamps hanging from chains bolted into the ceiling. They wove baskets, stitched tunics, whittled wood, polished armor. Some of them nodded to Cam as he passed, and others stood and shook his hand.

  He didn’t recognize any of them in particular, but he saw how thin they were, how their clothes hung off their bodies. They had haunted looks and dark circles under their eyes, and he knew without a doubt that they were the former prisoners.

  He stopped to speak with some of them, asked how they fared, how the Mansion treated them.

  “We need more food,” a young woman spoke. Two small children hid behind her, one with a nasty bruise that was fading to yellow under his right eye. “The Mansion provides, but it’s not enough. We were starved for so long.”

  Cam nodded. “I can speak with the Lord about that. But I don’t know how much the Mansion has in its coffers.”

  “Thank you,” she said and put a hand on Cam’s arm.

  He stood and walked past them. Their rooms were small, and some were without any lamps at all, the only light coming from the lamps suspended in the halls. Some smelled like Human waste and decay, and he wondered if these halls were cleaned and maintained by the Wardens, or if they were ignored entirely.

  As he walked deeper into the Mansion, his unease grew until he descended a set of wide, steep steps that ended with a large, circular door hacked into a wall of pure limestone. He hesitated outside of the door and stared at the symbol carved into the front, the same symbol etched into the ground that he had followed to find this place.

  It was a circle, bisected with straight lines horizontally and vertically. Each line ended in an arrowhead, and in the center where the two lines met was another smaller circle.

  Cam grew up with that symbol. It marked most houses in his village, and it had become almost invisible to him. It was the symbol of the Urspirit, of the great divine, a visual representation of its dual nature, of its existence in all things. Cam had never paid much attention to it before, but now he reached out and touched it, ran his fingers through th
e deep grooves in the wood.

  He let out a breath then pulled open the door. It gave a long, low groan, but came free with ease. He slipped inside, holding his lamp aloft, and let his eyes adjust for a moment.

  The space was large, with a high, cavernous ceiling. While most spaces in the Mansion has been smoothed and made even, this room seemed almost entirely natural. Stalagmites and stalactites lined the floor and the ceiling, and the rough floor was uneven in places and worn smooth in others. There were lamps hung from the stalactites, and they swayed slightly in some invisible breeze. Cam marveled at them for a moment and at the shadows cast by the stalagmites and the flowstone, flickering and dancing through the room.

  Cam walked forward along a path cleared of obstructions. It led toward a small alter in the center, lit by more lamps. It was the only man-made thing in the space and stood on a raised platform four feet in the air, accessible by stairs. The altar was a tall obelisk of dark gray with mottled white markings, nearly tall enough to reach the ceiling. Cam walked toward it and stopped at the bottom step. He stared up at the obelisk and wondered how it had gotten down into the pit of the Mansion, if it had been carved there or carried down.

  As Cam stared up, he heard a noise behind him. He turned, swinging his lamp around. He spotted a man leaning against a pile of flowstone, surrounded by stalagmites, a dark brown, patched cloak wrapped around him, the hood pulled up over his head. The man shifted and stood, pulling back the hood to reveal a familiar face.

  “Kraed?” Cam asked.

  Kraed bowed slightly, his crooked smile almost terrible in the lamp light. “The one and only,” he said.

  The former Elder of Cam’s village walked over to the obelisk, climbed up a few steps, and sat down with a sigh. Cam hadn’t seen Kraed since they made it to the Mansion, and he halfway suspected the man had killed himself with drink. Kraed had renounced his rights to the Medlar village Elder position, essentially ceding full control over to Dagan, then disappeared.

  Cam was right about the drinking at least. He suppressed a smile as the old man brought a skin of something pungent to his lips and took a long drink.

  “What are you doing down here?”

  “You didn’t know?” Kraed tilted his head and gestured around him. “I’m a priest of the Ur, young Camrus. As a priest, this is where I belong.”

  Cam snorted and sat down. Kraed offered him the skin but Cam turned it down with a polite gesture.

  “I thought you gave that up,” Cam said.

  Kraed snorted and sipped the alcohol. “I did too,” he said. “But when I did that ceremony for the fallen, after the wolves attacked back on the road, I felt it come over me again. I know it must sound absurd to you, but I knew I couldn’t turn my back on the Ur any longer.”

  Cam let out a breath. “It doesn’t sound absurd, Kraed.”

  “What are you doing down here?” he asked. “I haven’t gotten many visitors lately. Seems everyone loves the Ur until they actually have to come and pray.”

  “I was looking for a place to think,” Cam said. “And I thought I might seek guidance here.”

  Kraed laughed and gestured at the obelisk. “It doesn’t speak,” he said. “Trust me, I’ve tried.”

  Cam smiled a little. “I didn’t expect it to. But I thought it might be a good spot to meditate.”

  “Ah,” Kraed said. “And what do you need to meditate about?”

  Cam hesitated. He looked at Kraed and took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure if this was something he should talk about, but he didn’t think Kraed could do much harm from his little cavern.

  “Galla Remorn,” he said.

  Kraed didn’t react. He sipped his skin and coughed before lounging back on one elbow. “Now that’s something worth meditating about.”

  “What do about know about her?” Cam asked.

  “Daughter of the lord. Playing this place like a drum.” He cocked his head and his eyes seemed to gleam. “How involved with her are you, young Cam?”

  “Not too involved. Not yet, at least,” Cam said. “But that’s the question. What do you mean, she’s playing this place?”

  “I admit, I haven’t gotten out much since we arrived, but I’ve seen her around. She even visited me down here once and wanted to talk about the village. Asked about you, actually.”

  “What did she want to know?”

  “She didn’t come right out and ask that,” Kraed said. “She hinted at what she was thinking. Asked little things, about what the people were like, who was friends with who, that sort of thing. But I got the impression she was searching out how loyal the Medlar people are to you.”

  Cam leaned back and felt his pulse pick up. “I shouldn’t be surprised,” he said. “Last time we spoke, she said she’d try and convince the other Elders to be on my side.”

  Kraed grunted and took another sip. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and looked up at the cavern’s ceiling, the stalactites hanging down like spikes.

  “I’ve met people like her before,” Kraed said. “She likes to understand people, likes to use that against them. She’s a smart woman, not someone you want to get on the bad side of.”

  “But what about the good side?” Cam asked.

  “She’d be a powerful ally.” He laughed a little. “Is that something you need?”

  “Might be.” Cam let out a breath. “Truth is, I don’t know what I need right now. Or what I really want.”

  Kraed grunted again and leaned forward, sitting his elbows on his knees, his back hunched.

  “The world’s breaking down, Cam,” Kraed said. “We can hide in this mountain all we want, but out there, the wolves are spilling all across the world. They’re going to conquer everything unless someone stands up to them.”

  “The other Mansions tried,” Cam said. “And they failed.”

  “But they aren’t you.” Kraed looked at him. “Do you want to make a stand, Cam?”

  “Of course, I do,” he said, shaking his head. “But what can I do? Four weeks ago, I was just some kid living in a nowhere village.”

  Kraed waved that off. “None of that matters anymore,” he said. “When things fall apart, events have a way of showing who really had it all along and who never did.”

  Cam thought about that for a moment. He stared down at his boots and closed his eyes, trying to keep himself steady and centered.

  “So you think I should marry her,” Cam said.

  Kraed pulled back. “I didn’t say anything about marrying,” he said.

  Cam grimaced. “I forgot to mention that part.”

  “She wants to marry you?” Kraed laughed and ran a hand through his thinning gray hair. “I thought you were talking about an alliance. But a marriage, now that’s something different.”

  “She thinks I can lead this place, Kraed,” Cam said. “She thinks I’m the only one that can step up and bring the fight to the wolves.”

  “Is she right?” he asked.

  Cam just shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said.

  Kraed shifted and pushed himself to his feet. He took a long, hard drink from his skin, let out a breath, and tossed it on the step next to Cam. It hit the stone like a wet slap.

  “Marry the girl,” Kraed said. “If you want a chance at something bigger, she’s your ticket. No offense to you or your other, uh, girlfriends, but they’re not going to get that for you.”

  “Get what for me?” Cam asked.

  “Power,” Kraed said. “Real power. Galla Remorn was born in this place; she’s the daughter of a Lord. Bus more than that, she has one of those special gifts so few people seem to have anymore. She’s your avenue to more, Cam, and you’d better take her up on her offer if you want it.”

  Cam sat there and watched as Kraed shook his head and laughed. The old man shuffled along the path toward the wooden door.

  “Where are you going?” Cam called out.

  “Skin’s empty,” he said. “Got to find some more. Don’t worry, young Camrus, your secret’s s
afe with me. But marry the damn girl before she slips away.” He reached the door, yanked it open, and slipped out.

  Cam let out a breath as the door shut. He reached down, picked up the skin from the step, and shook it.

  Empty, sure enough.

  He tossed it aside and leaned back on an elbow, Kraed’s words running through his mind.

  The problem was, he didn’t know what he wanted. The idea of more power wasn’t appealing, not for its own sake. He’d never needed more than what he had, never needed magic, or more than one girlfriend, or command of the Medlar warriors. He’d never needed an entire army.

  But the world was falling apart. Kraed was right about that. No matter what they did, this Mansion would fall sooner or later, unless someone put together enough strength to go out and fight for it.

  That person could be him, if he wanted it.

  Cam hung his head for a moment, staring down at the rock. He ran his boot over it, kicked some dust, ran a hand through his hair. He pushed himself up to his feet then turned and stared at the huge, looming obelisk.

  It stared back down at him like he was an ant, scurrying around for scraps at its base.

  He wondered for a moment what his father would do. Galerick the Great, dead now for weeks. He wondered if his father would marry Galla or if he would find some other way.

  But Cam didn’t know another way.

  He turned away from the obelisk and followed the path toward the wooden door. He slipped back out and walked slowly toward his rooms.

  40

  Cam found Felin and Key sitting on the couch together, Key’s feet in the wolf girl’s lap. Miuri stood over near the small kitchen area and was putting together some meals. Cam lingered in the doorway for a moment and smiled to himself as Key stretched and yawned, and Felin poked at her side, making her laugh and squirm.

  “Oh, there he is,” Key said, catching his eye. “Where have you been?”

  Miuri looked over and smiled at him. “I’m making something to eat,” she said. “If you’re hungry.”

  “Starving,” he said. He took a few steps toward them then stopped himself. Felin perked up and tilted her head with a frown on her lips.