RE: Monarch

The number of questions I had left for Morthus bordered on the hundreds. But I was tired of leaving blood in my wake. The longer I stayed, the bigger risk I ran of repeating prior events. The cowled magician was out there, searching. He’d likely been spying on us for quite some time. Possibly seen the direction we’d gone.

With enough information, whatever magic and wards protected the tower didn’t matter. He would find us, and reenact the events that led to Saladius’s demise. I didn’t share Veldani’s confidence that the masters of the tower would be able to repel him. He wasn’t the sort of enemy who struck head on. The cowled mage would find a way to bring everything down, regardless of their best efforts. At best, they would manage to fend him off, but even then, I had no doubt he would attempt to cripple the infrastructure, crippling Veldani’s ability to tend to them, and stealing away what little time the waylaid masters had left.

So, at dawn, the fog of the sanctum still rolling and heavy, I placed the two massive bags down containing the fruits of the last two nights labor down on the dew laden moss and summoned Vogrin.

He emerged from the ground slowly, one arm at a time, then raised himself up to his full height and faced me. His bone-white face was leering, and I could almost feel the irritation radiating off him.

“Anything else for me after I function as your pack mule?” The irritation in his nasal cadence was clear.

I raised an eyebrow, surprised. “This is something only you can do. And I’ll need you to be creative, make sure everything is mapped out.”

“Fine.” He snapped his fingers. Two of the bone-and-muscle constructs appeared at his side.

“I’m getting the sense that you’re upset with me,” I said. At this point, he could get in line. But I had no idea why.

“Magicians are a secretive lot by nature.” Vogrin watched as the constructs lifted the bags. They were strong but small, and obstinately struggled with bags in a manner reminiscent of ants. “But I am curious what was so important that warranted the censure of so many conversations. The last few days have been like reading books with ruined pages.”

Ah. That explained it. It made sense. The demons were not beyond the curse, so every conversation I had on the topic with Maya and Morthus would have triggered a wipe. And Vogrin was something of an expert that had been around for a long time. If Maya was capable of sensing something was wrong back in Kholis, it only made sense that Vogrin would catch on after being repeatedly exposed to it.

“It wasn’t intentional,” I shrugged.

“But you won’t tell me what the conversations pertained to.”

For a moment, I considered lying. But again, Vogrin would likely see through that. “No.”

The demon reached out to grab a distracted construct by the collar before it could wander off, yanking it back by the collar. “I only hope you’re not looking for a way to subvert your contract. Ozra has a way of finding out the truth, and the results of that discovery would not be pretty.”

As if I have the time. My fists clenched involuntarily.

Vogrin’s head tilted to the side. “I’ve upset you.”

My voice was cold, chill. “I am damned, Vogrin. By an arch-fiend. Of course, eventually—likely towards the end of my life—I will begin to look for ways to save my soul. To say anything else would just be a blatant lie. But trust me when I say, demon, that is the furthest thing from my thoughts.

There was a silence between us then. Vogrin was securing the bags to the constructs with what looked like magical straps.

“Any news from the ones you sent to get word to Ozra?”

“None yet.”

I spoke again, my voice soft. “Did you hear what Morthus said? About the end of everything?”

Vogrin nodded. “It is not new information. This world was never endless. It has always been finite, though exactly how finite has never been quantifiable. It aligns closely with our myths. There are words and legends for it that are older than your very race. Faltmar. Ragnarök. All are apocalyptic. All involve the inevitable corruption of the leylines.”

I had been looking for a handhold, a small beacon of hope. Vogrin had not provided it.

“You seem ambivalent, given the circumstances.”

He shrugged. “That is because I am. We are. The hells are not affected by what happens in the mortal realms. If this world ends, it means a massive influx of souls and distribution of power. Some of our brethren, such as the Decarabia, wish to catalyze the process and reap the rewards. Ozra, and by extension, the asmodials, would prefer to maintain the existing state of affairs until it is no longer sustainable. Simple mathematics. More time, more souls to reap.”

I leaned against a wall, crossing my arms. “I don’t know what to tell them?”

“Who? Your companions?” Vogrin shook his head. “They’re already buckling under the pressure, and you want to add more? The little infernals are not like you. They’re barely more than children.”

Something in the way he said that caught my attention. “So am I.”

Vogrin gave me an unpleasant grin. “Of course, master. No wonder humans are so feared, if a mere human child can accomplish everything you have. Can kill without compunction or remorse. Take on the weight of hundreds of thousands of lives. Face death and impossible odds on a daily basis, and somehow remain standing.”

“Your coyness is unappreciated.”

“My apologies,” He bowed his head in a token gesture of respect, then crooned his neck slightly to look at me. “But I do so look forward to learning what you really are.”

A gust of wind ruffled through my hair. A single blink and he was hundreds of feet away gliding across the landscape behind the constructs, impossible speed looking almost casual. It did nothing to loosen the knot of uneasiness in my gut. Not just from what he said, but in regard to everything that was about to happen.

Bacchus took a seat on the step beside me. “Heading off soon?”

“Looks like it.”

“Veldani told me about your ‘deal.’ We’ll be classmates, soon.”

I nodded. “Exclusive tutelage, once the current situation is handled.”

The demand had surprised me. I’d assumed she’d want funding for her research, so when she made her request, I accepted immediately. On further inquiry, I discovered that it was a matter of pride. There were other demon-fire masters deeper within the Sanctum. Veldani had wanted to make her mark on history. To be the first in decades to teach the new wielders of the sacred flame, the one that blazed the path to reopening the dimension gate. That suited me fine. That she wanted to study my inscriptions only served to sweeten the deal.

Bacchus followed my gaze, looking out to where Vogrin was disappearing over a far hill. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t get yourself killed. I’m not certain if I could handle the burden of being the only hope for returning my people to our former glory.”

“I’m sure you could.” I pushed myself to my feet. He rose with me, and I clasped his arm. “Thanks again for pulling my ass out of the fire with the soul-sprites.”

“Of course.”

The traditional words of parting came to my lips. May the frost wane at your waking. But it felt like every time I’d uttered them, it had predicated disaster. So, I settled for a simple, “Until next time.”

I hoped we could hold it together.

I hoped it wouldn’t break us.

/////

Looking back, it almost felt like the Sanctum was mocking us. Worsening the mood. It was a hard, sweltering march alongside a craggy ravine. It was similar to the hilly, tumultuous terrain of a mountain top, with snow and thin air to match. Moreover, there were reptilian, blunt nosed flying creatures twice the size of an average hawk that circled overhead and swooped down in moments of vulnerability, snapping at our necks, ears, or any exposed flesh. Bellarex had managed to strike two down, and I’d set one on fire, but they were still up there, circling, waiting.

I elected to share the minimal amount with the others. Basic information on the corruption: that it was the cause of the creatures we fought and stemmed from tainted leylines, and that Thoth likely intended to unleash whatever laid within the great crypt housing the prime leyline.

And I saw that, for all his cynicism, Vogrin was correct. They took the information in stride, but I could see how it wore on them. Adding to the stress.

I reached the top of the bluff first, and reached down, lifting Maya, Jorra, and Bellarex in turn. They collapsed next to me, panting. For about the tenth time that day, I counted us lucky that Jorra had bought the seemingly needlessly long length of rope we had all previously mocked him for. There was no way he could have known this was coming, but I was grateful all the same.

There was a slight tingle that ran from the stone-ring on my finger up my wrist. The others reactions were carefully muted, but a handful of looks were exchanged.

Thoughts racing, I said the first thing that came to mind. “The rope was a good call, Jorra.”

Jorra idly threw a pebble off the side of the cliff. “Really? From what I remember, you thought differently.”

“Stop it, Jorra.” Maya snapped.

“Just because mother isn’t here doesn’t mean you get to fill her role.” Jorra shot back.

“Well, apparently, I have to because you insist on acting like an infant.”

“Please stop.” Bell’s eyes were wide, bouncing between the three of us.

“No.” I laughed bitterly. “Jorra’s been holding on to this for weeks now. Let him say his piece and be done with it. Come on then. Say what you need to say.”

“Cairn—“ Maya started.

“Fine. Yeah, I’ll say it.” Jorra towered over me, fist clenched. I pushed up off the ledge with a flex of air magic and stood to face him, squaring off.

“I’m waiting,” I growled.

“This is bullshit. We didn’t sign up for this, any of us.”

“I told you it would be dangerous.”

“Yeah, dangerous. Not borderline suicidal.” Jorra countered. “Not to mention, you literally cannot be trusted. Mother was right. You can’t be trusted not to escalate things, and any conflict you’re involved in inevitably ends in violence, for one side or another.”

My voice was derisive. “Funny, all this talk of escalation from a child picking a fight at the summit of a cliff.”

“Do you know what my friends are doing right now?” Jorra asked, spreading his hands to the side.

“I didn’t know you had friends.” The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Jorra bit his lip, furious. “They’re learning to free propel themselves through water. How to use our magic for agriculture. Maybe some advanced combat applications. They’re not scaling cliffs, or being chased by some magician hellbent on killing us and turning other infernals into monsters.”

“It… has been really hard.” Bell said. I turned to her, not having to fake the look of betrayal on my face.

“This is not productive.” Maya stood, looked to be considering how to get between us.

“You know what isn’t productive?” I whirled on Maya, my face hard. “Delving into my mind, absolutely annihilating my privacy, picking through my emotions, my deepest, most secret thoughts, and then getting angry with me when you find the one piece of information inaccessible to you that I’d like to keep to myself. It’s like you think saving my life twice means you fucking own me.”

Maya visibly paled. “It wasn’t like that. You asked me to.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you should have let me die. At least I wouldn’t have to deal with this asshole.” I indicated a hand to Jorra, who bristled as I turned to him. “No one dragged you here. Why did you even come?”

Jorra took a step back. “I wanted to help.”

“Help?” I raised an eyebrow. “You just did what your parents told you. From the very beginning. Kilvius told you to help me train for the Sanctum. And now that he’s not around to pull you in line, you’ve done nothing but complain. Your biggest contribution is laying coiled at your damn feet.”

“Please stop.” Bell’s voice wilted. She’d started to cry, caught up in the emotions flying around, unable to hold it in. “Please. We’re all just tired.”

It took everything I had not to reach out to her and comfort her. But I couldn’t. Not now. Instead, I took her by the shoulders and tilted her chin up. “I want you to go home, Bell.” I kept my voice neutral.

She looked up at me in shock, the tears welling in her eyes spilling over freely. “Why?”

“Because you aren’t ready.” I said, hating myself. “You’ve slowed us down. The void sickness. It’s nothing you’ve done on purpose, but those delays have cost us in other ways.” I let the words hang. Her eyes darted back and forth, looking for the meaning. I saw the exact moment she thought of Saladius.

There was a loud smack, and my head snapped to the side. My cheek stung. Maya’s hand returned to her side. She was panting with emotion, knees locked. “Do not put that on her. That was not her fault.”

“Conveniently, it never seems to be anyone’s fault.” I sneered, channeling my father. “No one wants to take one shred of responsibility other than me.”

“What are you doing, Cairn?” Jorra asked.

“Bringing this to its logical fucking conclusion, Jorra,” I said.

“No, I mean, what are you doing?” Jorra’s anger had disappeared, replaced by hurt and confusion. “Why are you self-destructing? You’re chasing after a magician infinitely stronger than you, while being chased by a magician who either killed a master, or escaped unscathed. And it's like you want to do it alone.”

“I’m being chased by a coward who uses children to do his bidding,” I roared. Jorra stepped back. Bell hid behind him. “Someone who exploits the weak, has to fall back on strategy and tactics because he doesn’t have a spark of innate talent or potential. He’s pathetic. The lowest of the low. Let him come for me. I doubt he’ll be able to catch up without all this deadweight slowing me down. ”

A gust of wind picked up around us, kicking up a flurry of snow like a white curtain that divided us. For a moment, I saw them. Jorra stared at me like he was seeing me for the first time. Bell was still hiding behind Jorra.

Maya walked up to me, her tail snaked around her left arm, squeezing tightly and wrinkling the white-fabric of her sleeve. It reminded me of the first time I’d met her in the Everwood. Full of caution and distrust.

“I hope you will not regret this, ni’lend.”

I ended it.

“Don’t call me that.”

Maya froze. Then turned away and rubbed at her eye.

One by one, I watched as my friends lowered themselves back down the cliff face. They didn’t look back.

////

Slowly, I began the long trek across the mountain top. Whip nipping at my face, my ears. But I wasn’t cold. An anger, raw and real, built in my core, growing hotter and brighter. There was a slight buzzing as the modified stone ring sent me the notification to let me know I was being watched.

I paced myself carefully, trying to time things, so I ended up in the right place. A stone with a gouge in it served as my marker. I leaned on it to rest, covering the gouge with my body.

I felt him before I saw him. The same dark malevolence that covered Thoth and Ozra roiled over him.

“And you were doing so well.” Snow gathered on the shoulders of his coat. “For a moment, I thought I understood what she sees in you. Only to be proven wrong as you royally blow it in the end.”

There were no soldiers with him. No backup. He’d watched the exchange. Heard everything that was said. And decided he was going to teach me a lesson.

So far, it had all gone according to plan.

We discussed it before leaving the tower. But the cowled man wasn't stupid. He'd been watching us, knew us. He saw our ambush. Would verify that my companions were indeed on their way down the mountain. So, the fight had to seem real. Had to carry a core of truth.

It was necessary. But I hated it all the same.

Before anything else, I reached in my pocket for the glass orb filled with Jorra’s water, giving it a single firm shake.

Then, I turned to the cowled man. My face twisted into a dark smile and I began to laugh. I'm not sure what he saw there, but he took a step back, suddenly uncertain.

He is stronger than you. Smarter. Better equipped and better trained. The only way to handle a magician who outclasses you by such an order of magnitude is to stick a needle in his eye: Attack his pride, and hope he makes a mistake.

Morthus was right.

“You, know, it's really hard for me to make friends. Forming those connections, it doesn't come naturally to me. You’re going to regret making me hurt them.” I reached up in the air and snapped my fingers.

The explosion went off, deafening. Everything vibrated with the fracturing stone, and we both fell as I brought the mountain down.

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