Part 45 (1/2)
”It's already started.”
Adrienne pa.s.sed a stained-gla.s.s window depicting an ancient Overlord signing a peace treaty with the natives of Helgard. She could barely see the garden outside, but she noticed when the entire garden spontaneously burst into flames.
She ran faster.
Both of the girls were hysterical, insisting that they had seen monsters outside the window and asking if the house would burn down, but she ignored their questions, gathering them up and rus.h.i.+ng them outside to Petrus.
”Have the evacuation orders been issued?” she asked.
”Five minutes ago, my lady,” Petrus replied.
”Then open a Gate,” she ordered. Malachi would never have run from this, but she had come to a realization in the weeks since his death: she was not, and should not be, her husband.
He might have been able to battle this Incarnation toe-to-toe, but she was no Traveler. And despite the pain it may cause her, she would not stay aboard a sinking s.h.i.+p.
She and her daughters followed Petrus into Naraka, which caused her daughters to bury their faces in her skirts. It was dark, and hot, and it smelled like death, but this was the one place where the Incarnation would never follow them. At least, that was what Malachi had always said.
”Take us to the south quarter,” she said. ”I have a shelter there, and from that position we can reorganize the city.”
Petrus eyed her sadly and shook his head, leading them down the tunnel by the light of his glowing palm. ”I'm sorry, my lady. I cannot.”
”Why not?”
”Because by the time we get there, the Incarnation will have burned it to the ground. The city is lost.”
An Avernus Traveler poked her head into Leah's tent. She must have been fresh off a bird; her hair was still blown about as though she had wrestled a windstorm, and she was still wearing her flying goggles.
”That's a report from Bel Calem,” she said. ”The city is in flames.”
Leah sighed and nodded to the woman, who bowed and immediately left.
Indirial leaned over the map of Damasca they had on the table, pus.h.i.+ng a red pin into Bel Calem. ”That's four,” he said. ”Endross, Ornheim, Narakaaand Ragnarus.”
”Slay one Incarnation, and four more rise to take its place,” Leah said wearily.
”You know how this works better than anyone,” Indirial responded. ”They managed to burn a Tree*I don't know which one, maybe Deborah's. Maybe even mine. That Incarnation escapes. But all the Trees are connected, so maybe the next weakest Tree fails. And then the next.”
”And the dominoes keep falling,” Leah finished. ”I know. At least we're sure Helgard and Lirial still stand.”
”I'm sure Tartarus still stands as well,” Indirial added. ”Overlord Cyrus won't let his Tree go so easily, and his sacrifice was relatively fresh.”
”So in the best-case scenario, almost half of the Incarnations are loose on our nation.” Leah sighed and rubbed her temples. ”You know I have to go to my father with this.”
”I have no doubt he already knows,” Indirial said. ”But yes, you do. Go on, I can handle matters here.”
Leah walked around the map table, opening her Gate where it wouldn't merge with the table. Gates could do some awkward things if you tried to open them where a solid object could interfere, from failing to open at all, to sucking that object into the Territory, to slicing the object in half. She preferred to eschew such risks entirely.
When she reached the Crimson Vault, she immediately knew something was wrong: the silver doors were cracked open.
”Indirial,” she called, and immediately the Valinhall Traveler stood at her side.
Indirial took in the situation at a glance: the door had been smeared with blood*recently, or it would have been absorbed into the silver*and left open a crack. Through the door, Leah could already see a body in the Vault itself.
The Overlord preceded her through the doors, the chains on his arms coming to life and crawling slowly up his forearms.
Travelers littered the front hallway of the Vault, but Leah ignored them at the sight of one body, lying far enough back that she could barely see him.
The body of a one-eyed old man encased in black and gold armor.
Leah hurried to her father's side, doing everything she could not to look at the gaping hole in the front of his armor. She knelt beside him, pressing fingers to his neck.
She felt nothing.
Slowly, Leah stood back up. She looked around, trying to piece the scene together.
”Enosh,” Indirial said certainly. He stood farther back in the Vault, in the open chambers where the largest weapons were kept, examining the remnants of the battle. ”I recognize the clothing, and I've met Grandmaster Avernus before.”
”How did they get in here, Indirial?” Leah asked. She was surprised at how level her voice sounded.
”There's only one way into Ragnarus,” the Overlord responded. His voice boiled with anger, and he viciously kicked one of the nearby bodies.
Talos.
Leah raised a hand to pull aside her father's eyepatch. But she hesitated, unwilling to peel away the black fabric.
”Did he take even father's eye?” she whispered. ”Would he stoop so low?”
Indirial remained silent as he moved up beside her. After a moment, she realized he was holding something out to her: a small box, like one in which a jeweler might place a ring.
”What is this?” she asked.
”Your father asked me to hold this for you,” Indirial said. ”I didn't understand why, but now it seems obvious.”
Carefully, Leah took the box from his hand and pulled it open.
Nestled within, in a velvet lining, was a bright red stone.
No, not a stone.
A crimson eye.
Alin stepped out of the Naraka Gate and into Myria.
He had brought Grandmaster Naraka back to Enosh first, but he hadn't wasted any time in finding another Naraka Traveler to take him where he really wanted to go. He had been faced with a dilemma: he wanted to keep the journey secret, especially from Grandmaster Naraka, so choosing one of her loyal Travelers seemed foolish. But at the same time, Naraka was the fastest way in and out. And if this was going to work, he needed to be quick.
Alin saluted the young Naraka Traveler*he bowed back, much deeper than he needed to*and gestured to the others in his party.