Immortal sacrifice, p.30
Immortal Sacrifice, page 30
The shifter sprawled motionless on the ground.
Chunks of hair and shredded flesh dangled from Scandronn’s maw.
Desmond’s eyes went cold.
A horn blew in the distance. The animals were released from his thrall and scampered back to the wild. The Southern Magai retreated towards the Forbidden.
He tossed his head back and howled in victory.
Scandronn found the messenger on the ground near his horse, guts spilled, blanketing the ground. He searched the man’s body for any message and found none. One of the Magai could’ve got away with it. It’s safe to say whatever was in that message, Kain now knows. Zamara must be informed. But I can’t leave these people unguarded… He glanced around and saw three young men, former slaves, huddled together.
“Ye!” He marched to their group.
“Aye, lads.” He placed a hand on the dark-haired one’s shoulder. “The battle is over. The Magai retreated, but the war has only begun.” He took the gate-key from around his neck and handed it to him. “This key will get ye into the settlements. I need ye three to take horses and ride into Magland.” He pointed at the entrance. “Go through the gate and follow the road all the way to the tavern. Find someone in charge and let them know what’s happened. It’s imperative ye do this as swiftly as possible. Can I count on ye?”
Their eyes were the size of saucers, but they took the key and bravely ran off.
Scandronn yelled to them as they departed. “Ride like the wind, lads!”
Zamara sunk her third ax into the center of a wooden target. She strode across the lawn to retrieve it.
“We should look for more jewels before evacuation.” Dante said.
“Why?” Levi snorted. “I don’t need anymore.”
“I do!”
Levi smirked, “It’s not my fault you suck at Chips.”
Zamara returned to their side and handed the ax to Dante.
He tossed it. His ax spun end over end and bounced off the outside ring.
“—and apparently ax throwing as well.” Levi laughed.
“I drank ten times more than you in that damn game!” Dante said.
“Unlucky for you.” Levi hurled his ax, stuck it in the bullseye, and turned to Dante. “Care to make another wager?”
Dante glared, “May the Pale Ones kidnap you in your sleep, drag you into their caves, and pick their teeth with your bones, Levi.”
“Their caves?” Zamara raised her eyebrows. “What caves?”
“In the Lake.” Levi said.
“Wait,” She seized his arm, “there are caves in the lake? Are you sure? How do you know this?”
“Uh,” Levi looked away, “When we were cleaning the mill… we might have gone exploring… a bit.”
“Levi, that’s great!” She grabbed his shoulders. “Did you go into them? Where are they?”
“No,” he said. “We tried, but they were too far down. The pressure—felt like my eyeballs were gonna pop out. We had to come back up. We only saw them. They are right underneath the Crags.”
She wondered if the caves could lead her to the Trisector. It was in the right area. Maybe the Pale Ones and Nirumbee are the same. If this is true, it changes everything. That means that they were topside recently… and that there is a way to the machine.
The sound of thundering hooves in front of the building drew her from her thoughts.
She heard men shouting about an attack and raced toward the back door. Dante and Levi chased after her.
The front doors of the tavern banged off the wall as Zamara tore through and traversed the space of gravel between them with divine surety. These people’s energy was off the charts and all over the place. It told her this was not a situation that would bring her joy.
A group of Aera’s men stood in a semi-circle arguing over what to do. Her approach drew their attention.
They were not men, but teenagers, around Levi and Dante’s age. Their eyes widened and they bowed.
“What happened?” She barked.
“Your Highness, the Magai attacked us—with animals. It was a slaughter. The trolls heard it. Came to help, but—” Tears flowed. The young man trembled. “We lost so many. Gods, there is so much blood! So much screaming. W-what do we do?”
She stepped closer to him and grabbed his shoulders. “You’ve done well in bringing me this news, soldier. You are very brave. Your fight is over. You and your men head into the tavern, have a mug of ale and some stew. Await further instructions. I will bring you all somewhere more secure but take comfort in knowing Magland is guarded by jotuns. You are safe here. I will have your injured rounded up and taken to Mage Tower to be healed. We will gather your dead and store them for whatever ritual you desire.”
Zamara bellowed through the open tavern door. “Boss! I need you!”
She turned to the young men and rested her hands on her Khanna’s crystals.
They quivered like leaves in a breeze and were as pale as death. “Are any of you injured? Do you need healing?”
They shook their heads no. Gods, these boys are not soldiers at all. They are recovered slaves in uniforms, subjected to the chieftain’s cruel reign for their entire lives. I did this to them. I should have let them in. Now people are dead, and their blood is on my hands.
Her face softened. “Many men go into shock after their first battle. It is normal. Tremors and feeling cold are early warning signs, but it could also just be nerves. An ale and stew will calm you down and warm you up. You will not be charged for anything. If any of you feels like you might need medical attention, for even the smallest thing, do not hesitate to tell someone. Our Magai can heal you. They do not charge for their services either.” She turned to walk away but looked back, “Nor do they condone the actions of the Southern Magai. Please do not let the ones who attacked you under a traitor’s orders be a blueprint for how you judge them all. You are safe with my Magai. They are loyal and kind. The traitors who attacked you will pay with their lives.”
She clenched her fists and went in search of Boss. Giselle is behind this attack. I know it. What am I going to do with the survivors? If I bring them in and someone else betrays us… and they are unleashed on my citizens…
She glanced at the group who rode in. If any of them were traitors, they would have fought and fled with the Magai. The others have proven themselves.
It would seem war waits for no man, or woman, to be ready.
Boss met her on the boardwalk.
“Retrieve the survivors and the wounded.” Zamara barked. “Bring the injured to Mage Tower to be healed. We can set the others up on the floating islands. Also, get a messenger to ride out and tell the rest of the council what happened. Have them put the evacuation on hold until we can assess this situation. Some new information has come to light.”
“My queen.” Boss placed his fist over his heart.
“We also need to send teams out to retrieve weapons and bodies. I’m going to ride out now to heal as many as I can and help Scandronn protect them until we can get them behind the wall.”
Boss nodded. “It will be done.”
Zamara mirrored his gesture and watched him tromp away. This aftermath is going to be gruesome. I could have Dante and Levi ride out with me and make them help. It might deter them from wanting to fight.
“Since we didn’t get to finish our ax bet, new deal. I must make sure the survivors get to safety.” She mounted a horse one of the Port Angelis boys rode in on. “There are two other mares.” She nodded to them. “You ride out to the battlefield with me and help collect weapons, I will allow you to be a part of the next battle.”
“Really?” Dante raised his eyebrows.
“Collecting weapons is a squires jo—” Levi grunted as Dante elbowed him in the gut. “Deal.”
The familiar stench of battle hung in the air: urine, loosened bowels, intestinal gasses, and steel. Smelled like a slaughterhouse, the perfume of war. Zamara dismounted from her horse amidst the abandoned field of ruined tents and broken bodies.
Levi and Dante jumped down from their horses and went to work.
The jotuns were among their cleanup crew. Some gathered weapons or armor, anything that was salvageable. Some retrieved the fallen. She didn’t have an exact count of their losses, but from what she could see, there were many.
Aera and her people would have been exhausted from their travels. Some of their belongings have yet to be unpacked. They were in the middle of it when it began. Caught completely off guard. I could have avoided this. These people trusted me to make the right decisions and I failed them.
Crow’s cawed overhead. She watched one as it landed on a severed leg and began pecking at its flesh.
“Lass.” Scandronn approached her. “I’m glad to see ye. Ye can save some. I’m warning ye, it’s bad.”
“I see that. I will start with the worst and work my way up.” She took a tally of him. “First, do you need me to heal anything?”
Scandronn snorted, “This ain’t my blood.”
She smacked him on the back. “I hear the blood of one’s enemies is good for the complexion. Are you good to head to the Floating Islands and help these people get settled?”
Scandronn nodded. “Yes, my queen.”
“Good.” She nodded and handed him his key. “I will join you when I have finished up here.”
Scandronn bowed. “Long live the queen.”
“And may she reign in peace.” She glanced at the feasting crow and snorted. What a joke.
Zamara spun on her heel and went in search of the almost dead. She went from person to person, helping who she could. She couldn’t bring people back, but she could save the ones who have not yet succumbed to the darkness, lost somewhere in the Veil.
After healing number thirty, she was utterly exhausted and standing on the precipice of a burnout. Thank the Fates there are no more.
Her heart felt weary. The screams of the ones she healed still echoed in her ears. The fear in their eyes as she sent them into a deep sleep would haunt her dreams as much as the ones staring back at her, unseeing and glazed over. My fault. This is my fault. I should have let them in.
Zamara exited the tent to get some air. She wiped the sweat from her brow with a bloody arm and gazed out over the wreckage.
Dante pushed the cart. Levi retrieved weapons and tossed them in. She watched the pair, shoving each other and laughing, bickering, cracking jokes amidst all this death and ruin. They handled this disappointingly well.
She must let them fight. She could put them on a harpoon. They would be safe on the battlements. They might even make an exceptional team. Levi could aim and fire. Dante could load and crank.
It was strange. Their bond. As long as they had each other, it was like the rest of the world didn’t exist. They were so in sync with each other, it was hard to tell where one began and the other ended. Zamara snorted. They could be Ceterus and not even know it…
Like Sideon and Cassian. Things would be so much easier if they could just get along. If we were all bound to each other and not just me to them. If the three of us could share power, we would be unstoppable. Our powers combined could be as strong as Akashi… an image of those interlocking triangles flashed through her mind.
The world dropped out from under her feet. That’s it!
Sideon and I are blood-bound but Cassian isn’t, that is why the Akashi isn’t working—our bonds aren’t complete!
In order to wield Akashi, we all must be bound together. The thought of Cassian and Sideon being in the same room without trying to kill each other was laughable. Three of us. Has this ever happened before?
In what manner could she ensure equality and balance of power in their bond if she is married to one and not the other? Their say in this relationship is just as important as mine. So, we must discuss things and agree upon them together. No more going off halfcocked. All or None. That is the only way this can work. That is how it must be from now on.
At least until we figure out what this means for us and have time to contemplate.
She couldn't control or fight her destiny. She simply had to accept it. She needed to accept that she was a queen and start taking responsibilities. To be a queen in all areas, not just warfare. There was so much she could have done to prevent this. If I had just accepted the Ceterus bond, trusted in the Fates, instead of doing things my own way because I couldn’t trust anyone else to do it, everything would be different.
There was still time to fix this.
Zamara went on her way to stop the evacuation, tell Cassian she couldn’t marry him, tell Sideon about Ander, and release him, convince two men who hate each other to bind themselves together forever in blood. Then, dive down into mythical caves in the lake in the hopes of stumbling on this Trisector, activating it and making it back before the sun went down to go to war with Kain, who may or may not kill her sister for it…and she had about five hours to do all this. Simple.
First things first, I must stop this evacuation and tell my people to get ready to go to war.
She hopped on her horse and laced her voice with power. It rang out across the field. “Stop the evacuation. We are not giving up our homes. We are going to war. Finish up here and report to your commanding officers.”
She trotted to Levi and Dante. “Your commanding officer is Boss. Welcome to the guard, soldiers.”
She turned her horse in a circle and thundered off to tell the citizens of Magland to stop burning their supplies and spread the word about halting evacuation.
Zamara crested the stairs of Corn Island on the way to find Cassian. She flipped a metal lever. The island hummed as it slowly rose. She made her way along a packed dirt path in between rows of corn and came out into a clearing in the center.
Butterflies in her stomach battled the brutal beating of her heart. She did not know how he was going to take this. The island’s command center lumbered in front of her. Cassian was deep in conversation with Engor and Aera outside the main doors. Zamara approached. “How bad is it?”
He took her by the arm and led her away. “Minimal losses for the trolls, but the Chieftess’ men…” He shook his head. “Being camped in the open field like that? Mostly former slaves with little to no training, Jori and his guards were gravely ill, with the Southern Magai already among them… they were not so lucky. She lost seventy percent of her force before they called the retreat. The survivors are not fit to battle. So, how bad is it?” He raised his eyebrows. “It is bad, Zamara. We have no choice now but to retreat. We lost the entire Port Angelis army. Obviously, the Southern Magai army. Engor is still deciding whether to pull the trolls as well. He thinks you see them as cannon fodder, and you are going back on your word. Your own people are talking about getting a new queen. One who will not ‘abandon them to party in times of need,’ One that ‘will listen to them and their wishes,’ One that ‘can make up her mind.’ If Scandronn wasn’t there, if the trolls didn’t show up when they did…” He sighed. “We could have avoided this if you had just let them in, Zamara.”
“If I had let them in, Giselle’s rogue Magai would have descended upon Magland.”
“In which case they would have faced the trolls, and the jotuns. There would have been minimal losses.”
“I was wrong, Cassian. I know.” She looked at the ground. “And the poor people of Port Angelis paid for it with their lives. Lives I was responsible for. You think I don’t hate myself for that? They trusted me to make the right decisions and my apprehension got them killed. I failed them. I’m sorry. I see my mistakes now. I am ready to stop shirking my responsibilities and be the queen you all deserve… If it isn’t already too late. We don’t have to retreat, Cassian. I think I found a way to beat Kain.”
“I knew you would.” Cassian took her face in his hands and looked her in the eyes. “Leaders are not immune to mistakes, Zamara. All leaders take losses during war time. That is unavoidable. What is important is that you learn from them. You made the right choice in the end. Talk to your people. Tell them what you have told me. It isn’t too late.”
She grabbed his wrists and closed her eyes. “That is not the only mistake I made.”
His muscles tensed under her palm.
“I should have freed Sideon. He should mourn with his twin. He doesn’t even know Ander is dead. I should have told you about what I learned in the Fenix Fires as soon as I returned and I—” Her mouth went dry. “—I never should have accepted your marriage proposal without telling you all this.”
“Telling me what?” Cassian’s biceps bulged as he crossed his arms.
Zamara closed her eyes and breathed deep. “When I was in the Fenix Fires, I was visited by a god, Mani. Apparently, he is my uncle. I am a descendant of the sun goddess. He told me that Sideon was my Ceterus. You know all this, but what you don’t know is that he is not the only one.”
Cassian frowned. “What do you mean?”
“There are three of us Cassian: you, Sideon, and me. I don’t know why or how, there just is. You are both my Ceterus… and each other’s. We are all three bound together, like a triangle. I don’t know what that means for us, but I don’t think we should jump into anything until we can figure it out. I know one thing though, and this is important so hear me out. I need both of you. I can’t use Akashi because Sideon and I are blood-bound, but you and I are not, nor are you and Sideon. To use it, all three of us must be blood-bound to each other. It is the only way.”
He stared at her for a heartbeat then tossed his head back and roared with laughter.
“I’m serious, Cassian!” Her face heated. “You choose now to have a sense of humor?”
“If you think I’m binding myself to that snake and giving him access to my power, you’ve lost your mind, woman.”
“Don’t you see!” She grabbed his armor. “We would all have access to each other’s power, to Akashi. This was fated to be, Cassian!”
He squeezed her cheeks between his palms and leaned in close. “No.”
“It’s the only way!”
He growled and paced. “Why are you such a pain in my ass?”
