“Thulos wanted to study maps and consult his most trusted before moving out. He's like a man with a game, wanting to know where every piece is and how it plays upon the board.”
“What do I care?” she asked.
“Because you care for the one we chase,” Velixar said. “Because you care for he that betrayed and abandoned you.”
“He would rather die than live at my side,” she said. “How can I care for one so weak?”
“Because we are all weak, in our own way,” Velixar said. He put his hand on hers. She did not flinch in spite of how cold his flesh was and how strong his bony fingers clutched her.
“Weak?” she said. “Is that what we are?”
Her voice was shallow and distant. No emotion, not even sadness, dared rear its head.
“Love continues on,” Velixar said. “Even after weakness, after lies, after anger and betrayal. It is not a weak thing, but it is weakness to bow before it and let it rule.”
“I do not fear pain,” she said. Tears ran down her cheeks. She put her other hand on top of his. “And I am used to hurt. But this was not that. So much worse, Velixar. I hurt so much worse, more than I ever thought possible. I am a mirror, twice broken, now abandoned. What hope do I have?”
Velixar laughed, and was pleased with how her eyes finally stole to his, a shred of passion flushing her cheeks.
“Hope?” he asked. “Forget hope. You are strong, stronger than even the god that walks among us. Anything you want, you can have. All you need to do is take it. You are a goddess among these mortals, and I smile at the mere presence of your divinity.”
And indeed he was smiling, and stroking her face with his hand, wiping away tears with a smooth, pale thumb. He felt a heat building, and it thrilled him.
“I am not blind to your desires,” she said, and it seemed her eyes sunk deeper into her face. “You are a corpse pretending at life, but perhaps Karak left that tiny piece of you working. Is that why you harass me here?”
“Dear child,” Velixar said, not at all upset. “Do you think that is the kind of love I feel for you? Qurrah, perhaps, desired nothing more, but in you I have seen such beauty and strength.”
He rose from his knees and sat beside her. He was death enveloping her, and with a small gasp she let his arms slide around her. Her heart quickened, and she felt her breath sticking in her throat.
“What will it be like?” she dared ask.
In answer, he kissed her.
She felt fierce, horrifying passion pour into her like a well underneath floodwaters. She felt his singular obsession, his devotion to his god overwhelming even his lust and fear. Images of his hundreds of years of life flashed before her closed eyes. His tongue flitted across hers, and she sensed the very essence of death tingling its way up and down her spine. More and more poured in, his life, his death, his unlife, all of it in random, startling detail. As his hand brushed her breast, she knew the amazing respect he held for her, as well as the tiny inkling of fear. All of him, she knew all of him, and then she saw what neither wished her to see.
She saw a bag, its contents moving slowly against the limits.
She felt her hatred roar to life like an unleashed demon, and at the sudden rage his own hatred spilled forth, no longer hidden behind his glowing eyes. He hated her as much as he desired her, all for her power, the power of a goddess. Her whole body trembling, she clutched her elbows and backed to the very edge of the window.
“Get away,” she said, her voice colder than the blood in his veins. “Go now, or I will fall.”
“I felt your desire,” he said, pulling his hood back over his face.
“And I felt yours,” she said. “Compared to Qurrah’s inferno, you’re nothing but a firefly.”
He moved again, and she scooted further back, her whole body hanging precariously above the castle walls. Velixar turned and left, but before he did, he offered one last piece of advice.
“Careful of your heart,” he said. “The whole world is ending. Do not let it end you as well.”
And then he was gone, and her sobs that came after were far greater than any she sang of in her song.
T hulos was looking over maps when Velixar joined him in the throne room. The maps lay scattered across the floor, and the war god stalked among them, staring, analyzing, memorizing.
“You have walked these lands for centuries,” Thulos said at his appearance. “Stay. My demons know very little, for Ulamn led them on a mad chase without the reconnaissance he should have done.”
He pointed to the northern plains stretching above Veldaren.
“I’ve been told orcs have run rampant here,” he said. “Is this true?”
“The Mug Tribe has been pillaging all throughout the plains,” Velixar said, leaning down at the map and pointing. His finger traced a path around the King’s Forest to the northwest, and a castle drawn against the edge of the Vile Wedge.
“That is the Green Castle, and Lord Sully rules there. He should be bearing the brunt of the attack by the orcs, who by now must be pouring across the Bone Ditch and into the Hillock.”
“And there?” Thulos asked, pointing to the north-east. At the edge of the Helforn Forest was another castle, not far from the Crestwall Mountains that lined the eastern coast.
“Felwood,” said Velixar. “Ruled by Lord Gandrem. Unless Lord Sully has already fallen, they might pose a threat. Their cavalry is much revered among the Neldaren people.”
“It is a wonder they did not retake this city while Ulamn went on his merry chase,” Thulos muttered. Velixar chuckled.
“We marched at the start of winter, and I’m sure the orcs have kept them on the defensive. Besides, who would believe such a tale, a city conquered by men with wings? If they are massing an army, it is because now they truly understand their danger.”
Thulos nodded. He paced for a bit, then pointed to a different map, this one showing the lands south of Veldaren.
“And what of here?” he asked. “This…Angelport…what might we expect there?”
Angelport was far to the south-east, its lords ruling the area known as the Ramere, bordered between the Erze and Quellan Forests.
“The trip will put us many weeks off the path west,” Velixar said.
Thulos raised an eyebrow. “I asked a question, and I expect an answer.”
Karak’s prophet chuckled.
“So be it. Angelport is full of sellswords and men with more blood than honor. Nearly every ship that sails along the coast is owned or captained by a man with some sort of allegiance to the lords there.”
Thulos nodded and seemed pleased. He folded his wings about him and sat on the throne.
“With my portal closed, I cannot conquer as I would any other world,” he said. “My demons are now valuable beyond measure, and every one I lose will never be replaced, not until Celestia is dead and my brothers freed. I need men, human soldiers to fight and bleed for me. If the Green Castle is busy fighting our orc allies, then leave them be. Felwood is our only true threat, so that is where we shall go. They will swear their swords to me, turning a danger into a boon. From there we will go to Angelport. Have every demon ransack Veldaren inch by inch before we leave. Those who will not bow for honor or glory will succumb to gold instead. Besides, from Angelport I can send several men west. You’ve insisted the nation of Ker is loyal to Karak. I want to see if that loyalty still holds true.”
“I will relay your orders,” Velixar said. After a moment’s hesitance, he bowed. Thulos’s eyes narrowed at the gesture.
“You are just one of my many soldiers,” he said. “I do not need your worship, nor do I expect it. I am the same as your god, yet greater, more whole. You will come to see that in time.”
“Perhaps,” Velixar said. “Many things change, in time.”
T essanna searched the castle for clothes, a singular focus taking over her mind. Her thin red outfit no longer served her purpose. She cast it aside and put on a plain brown dress, the cloth rough against her skin. Not caring if it matched, she found a shirt and put it over her shoulders. She would not bare her skin for taunting enticement. All her life, she had flaunted the curves of her hips, the swell of her breasts, and the long, shining exoticness of her hair. No more. She didn't need that power anymore. Even swords needed sheathed once in awhile, and her beauty was no different.
Thulos's army had remained disturbingly quiet during its occupation, but when the order came to march, they
