Mythborn (40 page)

“You said she’s the ruler of the dead,” Yetteje said to Thoth. “I’m going to ask her for my father.”

The Tomb

Long roads can make friends out of the weary.

-
          
Alain the Farflung, A Guide to Westbay

A
rek’s trepidation grew as they neared Olympious. The city went from being a small pyramid shape in the distance to a thriving capital city that dwarfed his own Meridian Isle incomparison. Winged shapes flew in and out, singly and in smal
lV
formations to destinations unknown. He’d long since made Cainan and Piter stay hidden, knowing they could be at his side in less than a heartbeat.

“You know what you’re doing?” Brianna asked carefully, the sight of such an immense place bringing with it a sense of foreboding to their small party.

Arek looked at her sidelong, then challenged, “No, do you?”

Brianna looked down at him and something in her eyes told him his remark had been hasty and ill-mannered. So before she said anything he added, “I don’t know what to expect. I was invited here but then dropped amongst enemies. There’s so much going on I don’t know much.” He looked a little sheepishly at her and then said, “Sorry.”

Brianna gave him a small smile and replied, “Try waking up to a dream like this.”

Arek looked at her quizzically, and her only reply was to reassert the guarded mask she’d been wearing since they’d met. It was almost as if she’d momentarily forgotten where she was and spoke her mind, then suddenly realized her choice of words. Arek was tempted to force an answer but realized whatever secrets Brianna held would come out naturally, and likely be more dependable if voluntarily given. What he need to understand was why Lilyth had captured her in the first place.

“What do you know about the men who held you captive?” he asked, starting once again for the majestic city.

“Nothing,” Brianna said, following behind him. “I woke in chains and they claimed me for someone they called, ‘The Lady.’ ” Brianna tugged at the collar still around her neck, but Arek couldn’t tell if she was testing it or making herself more comfortable. He still had no doubt that if it were removed, she would phase into the ground and disappear. So for now, the collar stayed.

“Lilyth is the Lady,” he offered. “We are going to see her now.”

Brianna stopped, shock plainly written on her face. “You’re taking me to the person who captured me in the first place?”

Arek cocked his head at her then replied, “Lilyth claims she’s my mother and that I’m a prince in this world.” He spread his arms slightly and executed a small, mock bow, noting Brianna did not look particularly pleased.

“I’m confused. Then why kill your own men?” she asked after a moment of silence.

The question caught him off guard and he had to think for a moment before answering, “Lilyth
claims
. I did not say I believe her, but if I am in fact a prince here, you’re safest with me.” She looked entirely unconvinced and it occurred to Arek that she had no context with which to judge his actions. So he nodded and gestured for them to continue walking and said, “Let me tell you about the last week of my life.”

Arek began, starting with his fateful encounter with Piter, the hasty departure to investigate the gate of Lilyth with Rai’stahn, what he perceived were the council’s orders to use him and his master’s choices, his flight to Bara’cor, and finally appearing in Arcadia. The telling took some time as Brianna asked pointed questions here and there to clarify his tale. When he was finished, the walls of Olympious were considerably closer.

“Do you think your master would have let you die?” Brianna asked softly.

The question trailed off and Arek couldn’t help but stop and look down, his thoughts heavy as he had endlessly wondered about this very same thing. In the end, he spoke his heart when he replied, “I don’t know. I don’t think so… but there are times when I wonder if anyone should choose one life over saving their world from invasion.” He looked up at Brianna with clear, pale eyes and asked, “What would you have done?”

The question could have been taken many ways, but it seemed Brianna chose to interpret it as it applied to his master. She sighed, then simply said, “I probably would have asked you.”

“Asked?”

Brianna nodded. “You said you adepts take an oath to serve your land. I would have asked you to stand by that oath for the good of the people.”

Arek paused, considering her words. It had not occurred to him that the council could have asked his permission, and a part of him remembered it was the very same advice he’d given the king of Bara’cor. Was he so used to listening to orders that it had never occurred to him that he had a choice? He couldn’t imagine the lore father asking him anything, so he said, “And if I had said no?”

The dwarven prisoner looked away, not meeting his eyes. Then she began haltingly, “You really want me—”

“Just answer,” Arek said more forcefully than he’d intended.

Brianna looked at him and said, “Where I come from, you would have been designated an enemy of the state, a willful collaborator. Your denial would cause the deaths of thousands. As such you would be forced to comply.”

The simple statement rocked Arek to his core. Though he would like to believe he would have welcomed the opportunity to volunteer, to know that his choice might have been nothing more than an illusion seemed somehow unfair. Perhaps this was why his master had looked ashamed, because of the inevitability of the outcome regardless of Arek’s decision. He remembered the lore father, those eyes at the end of the council meeting. He would not have hesitated to do what he thought best, including Arek being used to close the gate, even if it meant his life.

His agile mind continued building upon Brianna’s fresh perspective. The lore father would not have left anything to chance and mission protocol would require a backup. Who would carry out the order if his master had failed or refused? He thought through what he knew, trying to tease out the most logical choice amongst the adepts.

When the answer came, it fairly leapt out, it was so painfully obvious—Master Kisan. Had there been any hesitation, Piter’s death would remove any lingering guilt and Arek knew the lore father would use Master Kisan’s anger to send her unerringly at him. No doubt she was trailing them at the Far’anthi Tower, forcing his master to try to evacuate Arek back to the Isle. After all, he’d told him to remain hidden. The fact that Rai’stahn had also chosen to attack… Arek’s eyes widened. His master had often told him there were seldom coincidences.

He did not know much about the dragon, only what he’d been told in preparation for their journey. Yet the dragon made a home on the Isle, which meant this was not the first time he had collaborated with the Adepts. Silbane had remarked that the dragon owed them a favor. The dragonkind helped in the war against demons, that much was known. Could Rai’stahn have been in league with the lore father too? Perhaps ridding the world of Arek had been repayment in full. The thought brought a pit of fear coiling in his belly. So much had been arrayed against him. A more paranoid thought then made its way to the forefront of his mind.
Anyone
he met from the Isle may have orders to kill him, which meant his need for allies here was paramount.

He looked at Brianna again, warm gratitude in his eyes. For her part, she looked as if she thought she’d signed her own death warrant with that bit of honesty, so he gave her a small smile meant to reassure and said, “I’m happy I didn’t kill you.”

“I guess that makes two of us.”

“Right… so, shall we keep going?”

When she didn’t respond, he turned and made his way across the lush surroundings leading closer to Lilyth’s domain, his mind still whirling through the events but now from this more distrustful vantage. Without realizing it, he covered the distance to Olympious without saying another word to Brianna, so deep was he in thought.

When they were close enough to see the outer walls in detail his dwarven prisoner interrupted his thinking by tapping him on the shoulder and saying, “Look.”

As she did that, two winged soldiers detached themselves from perches high on the wall facing them and glided smoothly down. They were alabaster white, like living marble, armed and armored. They landed lightly and bowed, then clasped hands to make an archway. To Arek’s amazement, the air under their archway flexed and became opaque, then a portal leading to another area appeared. Through it they saw Lilyth standing in what looked like a garden, a welcoming smile on her face.

Arek breathed out once, knowing he was committing them both, then stepped through with Brianna in tow. The transition was instantaneous, a literal step through a door. He found himself standing in a garden situated on one side of the main pyramid along a stepped terrace. Lilyth stood there, still smiling. No one else seemed to be around, making this first meeting since Bara’cor seem somehow more private, and despite his anxiety, an undercurrent of excitement ran through him. Still, what was foremost on his mind was the circumstance of his appearance here with Niall, far from Lilyth’s domain. Trying not to sound accusatory, he nonetheless asked, “Why did you send us to the elves?”

Lilyth arched an eyebrow at that, then said, “Be welcome.” She ignored Arek’s question, instead nodding to Brianna and following that with, “I see you brought a guest.”

Arek realized his error in decorum, and though his mind was still full of questions he found himself trying to please Lilyth. He shuffled a bit and then gestured with his hand saying, “I present the Lady Brianna of…” He looked at her realizing he did not know from what House or family she hailed.

Lilyth smoothly covered, giving Brianna a regal tilt of her head. “Be welcome, Lady Brianna.”

Brianna for her part looked even more uncomfortable, giving an awkward half-curtsey as if remembering it from a play she had seen. Not knowing what to do or say next, she remained still, a hulking figure that became even more noticeable because of her size and her desire to remain unnoticed.

Arek looked back at the demon-queen and demanded again, “Why abandon me and Niall to the elves?”

Lilyth looked at him, her face set in a soft smile. “You ask as though I did so knowingly. While I was right that your powers would not close the gate between Edyn and Arcadia, where and when you appeared was less predictable than I expected.” She paused, then stepped forward and took Arek by his arm, carefully grasping his uniform so that no bare flesh touched. “I’m sorry for the loss of your friend to Valarius and his elves.”

Arek looked at her without blinking and said, “He chose to go.”

“Really?” Lilyth inquired with a raised eyebrow.

“He could have stayed with me, but instead he went with Gabreyl.”

Lilyth was quiet while it seemed she was considering what to say. When she finally spoke, it was with soft reassurance. “We each must choose our own path. I said he would be a boon companion to you, and perhaps his choice opened the door to another friend.” She paused, looking meaningfully back at Brianna, then carefully asked, “And how is it you escaped the elves?”

Arek looked at her with surprise, then said, “I thought you’d know. Something called nephilim attacked us, turning anything they touched into one of them.” His eyes grew distant as he relived the memory, inwardly feeling the heady rush of energy as he consumed the dark elf. When he opened his eyes he caught the merest hint of something in Lilyth’s gaze, something he could not identify before she quickly looked away.

He masked his own thoughts carefully and continued, “Two armored angels appeared, fighting their way to us. In the confusion one of your men, Cainan, rescued me.”

“And where is Cainan now?” Lilyth asked.

Arek thought about how to answer that. She’d said he was a prince, so were not her men under his command as well? Should he tell her the truth or keep his actions to himself? In the end caution won out as there seemed no tactical advantage to bearing his heart. Despite her claims of his special birthright, his time here in Arcadia had eroded some of the awe he’d felt when she’d first appeared. It was slowly becoming clear to him that the only person without an agenda would be his dwarven prisoner, and again he found himself thankful for his decision not to turn her.

Still, staying close to the truth was probably most advantageous, so he said, “Cainan and I came across some others holding Brianna prisoner. I ordered him to help me free her. A struggle ensued and Cainan fell.” He looked at Brianna, catching her eye enough, he hoped, to command her silence. Whatever she saw must have worked, for Brianna said nothing.

Lilyth looked at him, patiently waiting for any more. When Arek did not respond she sighed and asked, “Were there any survivors?”

Arek shook his head. “Why did your men imprison her?”

“A pity.” Lilyth looked at the two of them, then continued her walk through her garden to a small cove where she gestured for each of them to have a seat before continuing, “We found Lady Brianna in a metal tomb floating near Olympious. We could not decipher the markings. It seems she had been inside it for a very long time.”

“What makes you say that?” inquired Arek, looking at Brianna. The dwarven woman seemed just as interested in the answer as he was, so he surmised this was new information to her as well.

“It seems her tomb had been encased within rocks. We found it encrusted with the hard minerals that grow within caves. I do not know how long it lay there before being freed by some sort of cataclysm. Centuries at least by our account.”