by C G Gaudet
Maybe that’s why Kesarre never told us. He knew we’d try to run if we had any idea what he had planned.
“A brilliant idea.” Freddie pinches the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “Why didn't I think of trying to stop her?” He sighs, deciding to let it go and brings back his smile. “Lucky for you, before I was caught and sent to these cells, I was able to collect some valuable information on the goddess' weakness. I can help you break her hold over this land and make it so the other gods can once more walk within the city. We might not have a chance to stop her, but once they’re able to come in, I’m sure they’ll take matters into their own hands.”
“If she's allowed to keep going,” Willow says to me as though she knows I need more convincing to be involved than Freddie’s assurance all will be well, “there will be nowhere to hide. No one will be safe unless they bow down to her and even then, who knows how long that will keep her happy once the other gods are too weak to fight back.”
She’s right. I know she is. That doesn’t make the idea of fighting against a god any more appealing. This doesn’t feel like the sort of mission a god sends their favorite champions on. This is one for the dispensable people he couldn’t care less about whether they survive. Maybe that’s why Jameson wasn’t down here with us. Kesarre warned him not to get involved and to stay alive.
I knew I wasn’t his favorite. I’m not such a fool as to think a god thought of me as anything more than a tool for his own plans. But I have to believe he thought I was capable of doing some good. Why else would he spend his power making me a champion and give me my scythe?
Why had he chosen me? A plain girl stares back at me from the reflection of the blade. Dirty hair, ashy skin, and so small I’m practically the size of a child. Yet, here I am with one of the strongest weapons in the world. So powerful it’s listed in Willow’s magical book. All because Kesarre chose me. No one else has ever done that before. No one thought I was capable of being anything more than a shop assistant, and yet here I am.
I nod at Willow to let her know I agree with her. Her face lights up, and I can see she was worried I would want to run away. She must have concluded we’re here for a reason as well.
“What do we need to do?” I asked Freddie.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Powers Undone
“The bond of two gives power true,” Freddie recites as he exits his unlocked cage and presses in on an innocuous stone. The stone pushes in like a button and causes a section of the wall to fold in on itself and reveal a dark entrance. “The power of one can be undone,” he finishes proudly.
I glance around to make sure no other champions are paying attention to us, but they all continue to stand in their uncomfortable stupor.
“I didn't ask for a poem.” I’m not paying enough attention to what Freddie’s going on about to be able to comment as he clearly is expecting us to do. “Tell us what needs to be done in simple terms.”
He clears his throat as though the idea of not singing his thoughts is an impossible task, but he continues regardless.
“I'm sure you've seen the statue within the city of the goddess.”
“Hard to miss,” I say.
“Indeed.” He stops at what appears to be another normal wall, and the end of this corridor. After what he did last time, I’m not overly surprised when he twists a latch hidden in the shadows of the stones. The wall opens to a landing on a well-lit stairwell. He leads us down.
“You know this place well,” Willow comments without a hint of the suspicion I'm feeling for him. It was clear abilities with illusion were strong at work here. I would not be pleased if we got this far and he was working for the goddess all along.
Though we were already in a dungeon. It seems excessive to take us from that one to another.
“I'm very good at gathering stories,” he says is though that explains everything. “As you might have guessed, the statue is used as both a tool of magic by spreading forced love for the goddess throughout the city as well as acting as a marker for the central point of her consecrated land.”
“You're saying if we destroy the statue, the land will be free for the gods to enter?” Talie puts her hands to her throat to touch a tiny silver chain with a symbol of her goddess attached.
“Precisely.” Freddie nods.
“I don't mean to question you.” Frajha’s timid words are nearly lost in the creaks of one of the steps. “I know you're probably going to explain this, and I should just wait a moment, but I've seen the statue, as I'm sure we all have. How are we supposed to destroy something so large?”
“An excellent question, my dear.” Freddie smiles, causing Frejha’s face to turn an alarming shade of red, which she covers by ducking her head down and allowing her hair to fall over her face. “Beyond the massive size of the statue, the true issue is the magic protecting it. But as you might have guessed, placing magic on something so large would be near impossible, even for a goddess. It's much easier to apply magic on a smaller object that represents the larger, and together their power will become nearly invincible.”
We reach the end of the stairs where a large red wooden door with dark gold decorative hinges and bars over its surface looms over us. It's an impressive size, large enough for Olerra to step through without ducking. Now that I think about it, that’s probably why it was made so big in the first place.
“If you would.”
Freddie points me toward the keyhole of the door and I briefly wonder if he could have done all of this on his own if he only knew how to pick a lock. A bolted door was probably how he got caught in the first place.
As the door swings open, an impressive sense of doom pushes out from the centre of the room, making me want to run away. I brace myself and shove the feeling down so I can focus on what's inside the room. It's a boring space. No windows or doors and the only bit of furniture is a small table in the middle. On top of the table is a perfect miniature replica of the enormous statue outside, this one standing less than a foot tall with iddy-bitty little buildings surrounding it to give a sense of difference of size. The feeling of dread is coming from the table and I can tell without focusing the glowing symbol into existence that this object is extremely magical.
“The bond of two gives power true,” Freddie says. “The power of one can be undone. If we destroy this statue, it will weaken the large one. Once it’s destroyed, our gods will be free to answer our prayers and come to our aid.”
The miniature version of the goddess's statue glows as though it knows what we’re planning, and I'm sure I hear a low-pitched hum as though it’s warning not to get too close.
Not wanting to move any nearer, and since no one else is making any attempt to touch the thing, I ask, “What now?”
We all turn to the collector who's staring intently at the statue. I swear he flinches at the attention which makes me worry since he hasn't shut up since we met him.
“The bond of two gives power true,” his melody is soft as though he's trying to remember the rest of the words to the song. Some collector he is. Though too be fair, what did I expect from someone so low level. “The power of one can be undone.”
“You told us that part already,” I remind him. “How do we get from two to one?”
“Should we…” Frejha stops herself when we turn to her, all of us happy someone has a suggestion. “Never mind.”
“It's okay,” Willow urges. The amount Frajha lights up from the attention annoys me. This isn't the time to be worried about people's opinions. Just say what you came to say. Though that might explain why people seem to like Willow more than me since she has so much more patience than I do. “You can tell us what you're thinking. Any ideas are worth a try at this point.”
Frajha clears her throat to stall a little more and I swear even the humming statue is getting a little louder out of frustration.
“Can't we just break it?” Frajha asks as though it’s the most revolutionary idea we could think of.
No
ones else rolls their eyes though. They all seem to take her suggestion seriously. Talie moves closer to the statue and attempts to poke it with her sword. The metal turns red hot before it gets anywhere close to the statue. She pulls it away and frowns.
“There's an awful lot of magic protecting it,” Talie says. “I could try throwing something at it, but I don't suggest anyone touches the object.”
Frajha’s head drops down as though she's been scolded, but at least she has the nerve to continue talking anyway.
“I meant, maybe we could use magic of some kind. Perhaps a blast would break through the protection.”
I see no mark above this statue indicating it might have a defense that could be broken, but then again neither do walls and she’s proven to be pretty good at smashing holes in those.
I find everyone, including Frejha, staring at me, which is unexpected. It's as though they want my permission to act. Not sure when I became the leader of this little mess, but here we are.
I throw my hands up in hopes I’ll somehow be able to push the responsibility away.
“Do whatever,” I say. “I don't care.”
They seem to take this as a confirmation we should give her magic a try and step behind Talie, who raises her shield expertly to protect us from the blast. Freddie hums a few notes at Frajha before giving her a wink.
“To help guide your power,” he says.
Remarkably, she doesn’t flush, instead getting a look of determination as she squares off to face the statue. Light swarms the tip of her staff and I pull myself into a tight ball to be sure I’m completely covered by Talie’s shield.
We take a collective breath as her staff flashes and I cover my ears, ready for the sound of an explosion. For a moment I think I must have plugged my ears particularly effectively because I don't hear a thing. But from the looks of confusion everyone else is giving, something must have gone wrong.
Talie lowers the shield and we find a perfectly intact statue glowing in the middle of the room. Not even a speck of dust out of place to show for Frejha's effort.
“What happened?” I ask.
Frejha shakes her head in disbelief. “I cast the spell I swear, but then nothing. It’s as though the statue absorbed my power.”
“Well,” I say after several beats of silence. “That's unfortunate.”
“What do we do?” Talie asks no one in particular.
Frajha continues to stare at the statue and eventually her staff, unsure of what happened. Willow tentatively steps a little closer to examine the problem from a different angle, while Freddie does his best to impersonate the wall, ruined only by his innocent whistling.
“Perhaps a weapon forged by the gods would work to break the goddess's spell.”
Willow opens her book and begins flipping through, but unless by some miracle the book has collected other weapons on its own, there’s only one item stored within the pages, and it’s unlikely to be able to do what’s necessary.
I feel the softness of the ivory in my hand. There’s only one weapon that has a chance of breaking the statue and the spell. I’m just not sure what would happen to me or the scythe if I try.
“That staff might be able to do something,” I say before anyone has a chance to mention my scythe. “Maybe the undead would be able to reach the statue and destroy it?”
Willow keeps flipping through the pages back and forth, but I can see she's not really paying any attention to what she's looking at. We both know exactly what she's thinking. I grip the scythe a little tighter, hugging it with my hand. It's not even my pillow I'm worried about, though I could imagine sleeping a thousand days and nights straight on it after this drama. No, I'm concerned about the weapon.
There, Kesarre, are you happy? I like your scythe. The lack of a response makes me cringe internally. As much as I'm happy he doesn't hear me gushing about his weapon, I hate that he’s not snickering in my mind and giving an inappropriate response. It’s like losing my best friend, if I had any idea what that felt like. All I know is there's a hollow knot in my chest that screams at me not to risk ruining the one object anyone has ever given me, no matter what the reason.
“The staff isn't meant for direct attacks,” Willow says while I try to think of any other alternative. “Your scythe has the reach needed, and it’s a melee weapon. Plus, you’re Kasarre’s first champion. The connection between you is stronger than the rest of us. That might give you the upper hand we need to destroy this thing.”
“Don't be ridiculous.” I ignore the heat in my cheeks and wish they would as well. “I’m far from Kesarre’s first champion given how long these games seem to have been going for. As for his favorite, well we all know that’s Jameson.”
Willow considers my words for a moment before shaking her head. She doesn't argue though, simply stares at me and lets me make the final decision.
I glance to the other three, hoping one of them has thought of another solution. Talie and Frejha stare at me with those annoying expectant eyes while Freddie starts singing the rest of the words to the song he's been trying to remember.
“The blade to pierce the goddess’s heart
Was born a piece of deity art.”
I glare at him to let him know he's not helping, and his lips mash closed, though the song still filters through his nostrils.
“I swear to all of you…” my throat closes as my threat dies on my lips. A strange dampness tickles my cheek and when I brush it away with the back of my hand, I realise it’s a tear. I'm crying over a blade I never wanted in the first place. I can’t remember the last time I’ve cried over anything. I’m getting much too emotional over this.
The scythe swings true, though I close my eyes at the last second to avoid watching the results.
A thud rips through the air, echoing against the stone walls and causing me to clench my teeth until they ache. The vibration of the hit moves from the tip of the scythe, all the way down to my arms and into my shoulders. I'm sure I'm going to shake apart, but I hold on. I can't let go for fear doing so will reverse whatever effect my attack has made.
When the others gasp, I can no longer keep my eyes closed. I open them to watch the statue teeter before careening onto the plaster village below. A huge crack runs through the plaster goddess, nearly splitting it in two.
It’s not the fallen statue that has the others gasping though. They’re all staring at my scythe as the magic within the blade shatters even more completely than the statue. The scythe explodes while attempting to return to its original shape of a pillow, ripping the soft fabric and bleeding its feathers everywhere. Once the magic is done, only a couple of inches of ruined cloth remains in my hands with feathers spread around us like a layer of light snow.
Chapter Thirty-Five
It’s Not a Marathon, it’s a Race
There's a moment of silence as the others give me pitying looks and I try to will the ruins in my hands back into shape. Any shape. Nothing happens. Of course not. I don't have that sort of luck.
“We should move quickly to take down the final statue,” Freddie breaks the silence. “It’s likely to be clear to the goddess that something has happened, and she’ll send her champions to stop us.”
He leads the way out of the room and back up the long set of stairs, past the section of wall we passed though earlier. I take position at the end of the line, unable to force my legs to move any faster than absolutely necessary to not fall dangerously behind.
“Do you think there will be resistance between here and there?” Talie asks. “Surely there must be at least a few people who are happy that we're helping to reconnect them with their gods.”
I wonder how disappointed Kasarre will be when he sees what I’ve done to his gift. I tuck the bit of fabric that's left onto my belt, unwilling to let it go, but no longer able to hold it in my hands. The guilt and disappointment are too great.
“The city is still under the goddess’ rule,” Freddie says. “I doubt anyone has broken from their stu
por yet, let alone figured out we’re on their side. Until we take down the final statue and loosen her grip on their minds and this city, we have to assume every person we see is going to attempt to stop us.”
While the others talk about options of how to get to the statue with minimal interaction, Willow comes to my side.
“Maybe he can make a new one for you.”
I know she's trying to comfort me, but it only makes me more upset, and I lash out with anger even though I know this isn’t really her fault.
“He can't,” I spit back at her. “If he had the power, he would have made something for you, or Jameson. But he doesn’t, because we’re not good enough. We haven’t done anything to help him get stronger besides flail around and ruin everything he’s given us.”
Willow reels from the unwarranted attack on her. She looks unnerved, as though she’s taken my words to heart when I barely even remember what I said. I was just saying words to release some of my frustration. I didn’t mean to hurt her.
I’m about to apologize when Freddie points to the door at the top of the stairs, only a few steps up now.
“That’s the way out.” Freddie says. “Once we get through the door, we’ll need to take a quick right past an aisle that’s always full of onlookers. If we don’t bring too much attention to ourselves, we should be able to get through the gates and back into the city within a few minutes. Try not to run. It will only draw attention. Just act natural.”
The door swings open and a pair of Olerra’s champions turn to stare directly at us. Among the crowd of citizens watching the battles, I catch glimpse of half a dozen more champions headed our way.
“Run!” Freddie shouts.
He tries to push his way through the crowd toward the gates he told us about, but there’s no way we’re going to be able to get past the champions blocking the exit.
One of the champions lifts a staff and starts casting a spell. I dash attack, slamming my body against him and managing to knock him off balance just enough to break his concentration on the magic. The knight next to him swings at me with his sword and I do my best to backflip out of the way. The tip of his blade catches my leg, but the thick leather of my boot stops it from piercing my skin any more than a scratch.