“We are to lose magic?” Gymal asked.
“Mankind has thoroughly proven that it is not ready for such power. Someday, perhaps, when men are wiser and more inclined to peace, I will teach you to spell-cast, but not for many years yet. It was this subject that led to Shivara’s downfall. She was greedy, and impatient, and had she been wiser, she may have discerned that Rasheera had already given her the very thing she sought, but her selfishness blinded her and brought centuries of darkness.”
“Your return was foretold, Divine Mother,” Irvis suddenly cut in. “Will you not remain with us to usher in the age of the infinite?”
Kairah’s smile widened as she looked upon the chubby, round faced man. “Gentle Irvis, that time will come, when humankind proves itself worthy. Until then, I must leave Shaelar.”
“Why?” Irvis sounded on the edge of panic.
“For the same reason Rasheera planned to leave. So mankind can learn to live on his own. Is it not so with every child when they come of age?”
“I suppose.” Irvis nodded to himself.
Kairah’s eyes unfocused and she looked to the side, staring at empty air. “Also, there is a nefarious force hiding among the ascended beings of the cosmos. I must find him, and stop him from ruining other worlds as he tried to ruin Shaelar. For I fear his designs are far direr than simply slaying other gods. He is working toward something; a goal I do not know.”
How could a divinity not know something? For some reason Maely felt a smug satisfaction at the idea that Kairah, although now a goddess, still wasn’t perfect. It was petty, but, well Maely was still a little petty. Kairah glanced at her with a knowing look in her eyes.
Dammit! Reading someone’s thoughts just wasn’t fair.
“But you will return?” Irvis pled.
Kairah nodded. “But it may not be for centuries. Time for you operates differently than time for me now, I am afraid. However, regardless of whether you live to see it, we will one day be reunited. In death, man can come to possess the very powers Shivara and her disciples coveted, if you prove worthy of them. You have seen it in the intervention of spirits called by the gift of the Vorakk shaman.”
Irvis nodded. “I will devote my life to spreading your word, Divine Mother!”
Kairah laughed and, despite Maely’s determination to cling to her childish jealousy, the sound melted away the remaining bitterness she’d harbored toward Kairah. Was that some kind of good compulsion? If so, it was poetic irony that Kairah had used it on Maely.
“Gentle Irvis, you have something different to devote your life to now. Cherish this woman, and together build a life. Alone each of you are broken, but together you are made whole. That is what Mother intended for you when she answered your prayer.”
Irvis smiled at Graelle and pulled her close to him. “Yes, Divine Mother.”
“Tyrus Gymal,” Kairah said. And the weaselly little lord bowed himself so low that his forehead touched the floor. “Rise, Tyrus.”
Gymal lifted his head and waited expectantly.
“Your beloved cousin, Kybon, bade me give you a message.”
Was Gymal crying? Maely didn’t think the loathsome little man had a heart.
“Kybon wishes you to know that he is grateful for what you have done to honor his life. But he wants you to stop living in the shadow of his death. He said he desires you to move and become the great scholar he always knew you could be.”
Gymal bobbed his head and choked out, “Thank you.”
“Kairah.” Maely was not about to start fawning and groveling before the woman, no matter how much power she held. She glanced at Jek’s lifeless body. “Can you bring him back to me?” Her voice caught.
Kairah’s smile faded. “What you ask is not an easy thing.”
“You’re the goddess now.” Tears streamed down Maely’s cheeks. “You healed us. Can’t you heal him?”
“It is within my power, but…” Kairah shook her head, and her shining silver hair fluttered as though it were under water. “He does not wish to return to mortality.”
“Why?” Maely bit her lip to stave off a sob. It didn’t work.
Kairah floated down and landed in front of Maely. She smiled and drew Maely into a hug. Maely gasped as warmth suffused her entire being, both calming and comforting her.
“Because he desires to come with me. To help me find and stop the one who threatens the entirety of the cosmos.”
“Idiot boy,” Maely sobbed.
“Jekaran is a hero. Does he not deserve a hero’s reward? To return him to his old life would diminish his sacrifice.”
“What does that matter?” Maely leaned her head into Kairah’s chest and wept.
“You cannot see it now, Maely, but our deeds have great effect. The very fabric of fate is built upon the choices people make. The selfish harm the cosmos, while people like Jekaran heal it. Our actions shape the nature of reality itself.”
“That’s stupid.”
Kairah laughed and released Maely. “Someday you will understand.”
Maely scrubbed her eyes with the back of her wrist.
“Jekaran does wish me to tell you that you are, and always will be, his friends.” Kairah smiled and looked down at Gymal. “He says, even you, Gymal.”
Gymal wiped his nose on his sleeve and laughed.
“I have purged Allose of Moriora. Those that wielded it have been returned to their natural state, as have all Allosians. Now you are one people.” Kairah rose into the air. “Shaelar belongs to you now. Go, and do not just rebuild this world, but make of it a better one.”
The white light outlining Kairah flared. A similar aura appeared around Jekaran’s body, and both continued to grow brighter in tandem with one another. The light shone until it was too bright for Maely to stand and she had to cover her eyes.
Be happy, Maely. You deserve it, Kairah whispered to her mind.
And then the light and Kairah were gone, as was Jekaran’s body.
Jekaran sucked in a breath. He hadn’t really missed breathing in his brief time being dead, but doing it again felt good. He looked over himself. His wounds were gone, and his body was in better condition than it ever had been. Lean, corded muscle wrapped his arms, and his chest was defined like that of a veteran soldier.
He was also naked.
But as soon as the desire for clothes entered his mind, a white light appeared to obscure his nudity and then resolved into a white robe fitted perfectly to his new frame.
Jekaran took in his surroundings. He stood high above a gigantic, mostly blue sphere set against a backdrop of black speckled with stars. “I’ll be damned. The world is round.”
“Golden hair suits you, my courageous protector.”
Jekaran looked to his right where Kairah flashed into existence. He ran a hand through hair that was no longer black, but the color of burnished gold. Kairah smiled and floated over to him. He reached out a hand and gently touched her silver hair.
“And silver hair suits you, my lady.”
Kairah laughed and kissed him.
“It’s nicer when that doesn’t blister my lips.” Jekaran looked down at the world below them, and a pang of sorrow stung his chest. “How did they take it?”
“As well as could be expected. Are you sure you do not want to say your farewells in person?”
Jekaran shook his golden head. “I’ll come to each of them in their dreams. It’ll make it easier for them… and for me.”
Kairah took his hand, and they turned together to gaze upon the ocean of stars. “Boulos, Shivara called him.”
“Do you think that’s his real name?”
“Doubtful. But it is all we have to go on.”
Jekaran squeezed Kairah’s hand. “Are you sure you’re ready? Do you need more time to recover from making me… um…”
Kairah shot him a sidelong glance. “A god?”
Jekaran chuckled nervously. Were gods supposed to chuckle nervously? “Yeah. I guess.”
“I have
already recovered, and my power will only continue to grow. You on the other hand, will be weak for a time. So you will need to stay near me.”
“Have I ever been able to stay away?”
Kairah favored him with one of her thoughtful smiles, and although Jekaran felt better than he’d ever felt before, that smile made him positively euphoric.
“You will also need to learn spell-casting.”
That wilted him a little. It wasn’t fair that perfect omniscience hadn’t come with his godhood. “Shouldn’t we wait to go after this Boulos until I am able to protect you?”
Kairah squeezed his hand again. “I do not know that we can spare any time.”
“Aren’t we eternal now? Doesn’t that mean we have all the time, well, ever?”
Kairah laughed and the musical sound was like a kiss to Jekaran’s ears. “How about you let me do the protecting for once?”
The two stared into the endless expanse of stars.
“Shall we go, then?”
Jekaran glanced down at Shaelar. He would miss his friends, but now he could commune with them whenever he wished without even having to be on the same planet. He looked into their minds and sent them all a farewell. Except for Maely. To Maely he sent his love, and a promise that he would one day return to visit her.
Kairah smiled knowingly at him.
Jekaran grinned back. “Now I think I’m ready for another adventure.”
Balls of light appeared around them and resolved into familiar shapes: Karak, Hort, a beaming Ez, and dozens of others including a woman who could’ve been Kairah’s twin sister. And there was Jekaran’s mother and father, floating close together and smiling.
Jekaran met Kairah’s eyes, and they launched into infinity.
Raelen stood watching Maely as the others passed them. She’d stopped walking and was now staring at empty air, as though pondering some deep mystery. It lasted so long that Raelen worried something was wrong.
“Maely?”
She didn’t hear him. When tears started pouring down her face, Raelen reached out a hand and gently touched her shoulder. She jumped and looked at him.
“Are you well?”
Maely wiped the tears from her cheeks and nodded with a smile. “I am now.”
They continued following the others, walking the floor of the coliseum and then commencing their climb of one the chamber’s mountainous staircases. He should’ve been wounded and tired, but the goddess’s healing had left Raelen feeling better than he had in months. He raised his hand, flexing new fingers. Kairah had given them back to him, but it seemed a small thing compared to the burden she’d laid upon his shoulders.
King of all Shaelar.
He was named, but not crowned. That would apparently take some time, probably years, and the collapse of a world’s economy and social structure. What was happening in Haeshala and Maes Tol now that Apeira wells were gone, and talises ceased to function? Panic and chaos to be sure. What about his own kingdom? Where were his people? No, the goddess hadn’t bestowed an honor upon him, but a sentence of lifelong servitude. He wished Gryyth were still with him.
He started as a familiar voice broke into his thoughts. I am proud of you, cub. You have become the king I always knew you could be.
Raelen quickly glanced around the coliseum, nearly missing the sight of a small white ball disappearing through one of the chamber’s windows.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“Who’re you talking to?” Maely asked.
Raelen looked down at the young woman climbing stairs at his side.
She is to be my queen.
Maely raised an arm and sniffed herself. “I need a bath!”
Someday. Raelen chuckled.
He liked Maely and her blunt honesty. He even thought her pretty. But she would need a couple more years to mature into a woman before she was ready for marriage. That was fine. Raelen could wait for her. His heart hinted that theirs could be more than just a proscribed union, but a true love affair. He could fall in love with this girl.
She caught him smiling at her and blushed. Then she glanced down at her ripped dress and the scandalous view of her chest it offered and crossed her arms over her breasts. Now it was Raelen’s turn to blush.
“I wasn’t looking, I mean I-I…” he stammered.
To his surprise, Maely started laughing. This girl was brash, blunt, and unpredictable, and Raelen liked that. He started laughing, too. Then he lifted off his dirty, torn tunic, and placed it over Maely’s head. It was too big, and drowned her in fabric, but it restored her modesty.
Maely nodded. “You are the real thing, Raelen.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re a true good man.” Her eyes fell and lingered on Raelen’s naked torso. She caught herself staring and blushed again, this time so furiously that her cheeks were nearly the color of a fresh cherry.
“I had a good teacher. And you know the funny thing?”
Maely shook her head.
“He wasn’t even a man.”
They finished climbing the stairs in silence, and when they reached the top, Maely slipped her hand into Raelen’s. He looked down at her, squeezed her hand, and smiled. She smiled back and they jogged to catch up to the others.
Mulladin held Keesa’s hand as they left the coliseum. Allose was dimmer than he remembered it, its white stone construction no longer reflecting a purple glow. Pieces of stone and other debris lay scattered everywhere, and large fissures in the ground opened on rivers of molten rock. Allose, the city that was supposed to be paradise, now looked like a ruined hell.
The most glaring difference, however, wasn’t the ubiquitous destruction, but the absolute lack of jewel-colored hair among the crowds of people standing in the streets. There were hundreds of Haeshalans mixed into the crowd, but Mulladin could pick out the former Allosians by their loose white clothing, and their confused faces. It made him want to laugh.
“Serves those uppity creampuffs right,” Keesa muttered, almost as if she had read his thoughts.
“They’re going to have a lot to get used to. They’ll have to relearn how to eat, sleep, work, and shi…” He glanced at Maely, whose fierce stare all but dared him to finish the curse. “Um… use the privy.”
Maely’s face relaxed.
Mulladin looked down at his sweaty and torn tunic. “I need a bath.”
“I saw a large fountain not too far from here.” Keesa pulled close to him. “I could join you. After all, I did promise to help you become a man.”
“Absolutely not!” Maely snapped. “You’re not going to be bathing or doing anything else together until you’re properly married!”
“You can’t tell him what to do anymore!” Keesa retorted. “He’s a man now!”
“The hell I can’t!”
Keesa looked to Mulladin for support, but he just sighed. “Yeah, she still can.”
Before he knew it, Maely was forcing the prince–against his protests that the time for such was utterly inappropriate–to perform a hasty marriage ceremony. And though Keesa made several resentful comments about Maely’s self-righteous bullying, the light in her eyes, and irrepressible smile said she welcomed the impromptu wedding.
The prince finished the ceremony with a weary sigh, pronouncing them officially wed by the crown, and Mulladin smiled down at Keesa, took her in his arms, and kissed her. However, before they could steal away to find a private place to consummate their marriage, another spontaneous wedding commenced.
Irvis and Graelle stared dreamily into one another’s eyes as Raelen repeated the words that would also make them husband and wife. The idea of the chubby monk and the fat woman consummating their marriage helped to cool Mulladin’s eager anticipation.
It was truly a new day, complete with new beginnings. Even the sun seemed to shine brighter. Something had lifted from Shaelar, a dimness that Mulladin hadn’t ever realized was there until it was gone. He could relate.
Jove climbed out from bene
ath a slab of stone and tumbled down the side of a mountain of debris. He crashed to the ground, landing on his right leg at an unnatural angle causing the bone to snap. Jove immediately manifested a spread of green tendrils and cast them out to syphon whatever life they could find, but there was nothing.
Jove leveraged himself against a boulder-sized chunk of stone and pulled himself to his feet. As always, his injuries caused him no pain, and he didn’t bleed. He surveyed his surroundings and found that he was in the center of hundreds of ruined buildings. Though the skyline was missing several towers, Jove recognized this city. He was back in Aiested. But what had happened to the city? It looked as though a quake had shaken it into an empty ruin.
And empty it was.
Jove’s tendrils anxiously waved about him looking for people, animals, or even plants, but found nothing, not even the tiniest of insects. Something had wiped out all life here. Had it been him? No, he’d only come to feed on the Apeira well and any unfortunate people who crossed his path. The memories seemed fresh as though they were from the day before, yet the crumbling stone and absence of people bespoke much longer.
The hunger began churning inside him, a cold emptiness at his core that made his entire body tremble. He needed to eat, he needed food! He hobbled about the street in a panic, looking for anything he might consume, but the very streets of Aiested had been scrubbed of life.
His eyes found the docks and the west sea. If there was water there, then there had to be life. All he had to do was reach the ocean. He staggered forward as fast as he could while the hunger grew more intense with every step. Hair fell from his head, and he had to spit out teeth with every breath. The ocean was too far away. He’d never make it in time.
Something moved on Jove’s right periphery. He spun to find a young woman standing a dozen paces away, staring at him. He grinned and snapped out a translucent green tentacle. It was a pity he had to devour her without taking any time to enjoy her, after all she was a very pretty doll. Jove’s tendril evaporated when it touched the woman’s chest. He gaped, and then struck again and again, but his power failed to connect. A ball of light appeared in the air above Jove, floating down and resolving into another lovely doll. She was joined by more women, and then more, and then dozens. They surrounded Jove, all glaring at him with unblinking stares.
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