They returned to the rooftops of Landow, to the soulwalk Alena began. This fight suddenly seemed insignificant.
Everything Alena had accomplished seemed insignificant.
She controlled two gates, and those beings would still swat her like a fly.
“I need warriors,” the queen repeated.
Alena nodded. The queen didn’t exactly speak true. She didn’t just need warriors. The whole imperial army wouldn’t do a thing against those beings. She needed individuals with the potential to do more.
In a way, the queen’s request honored her.
“But you need the gates, don’t you?”
The queen nodded. “I do. I need all five.”
Alena gave herself time to think. After encountering those beings, the queen’s desires now had context. What frightened Alena was that the desire to control all five gates didn’t seem unreasonable.
She had so many questions. But one, seemingly inconsequential, wouldn’t let her go. “Why do you compel your own priests?”
“It’s the only way to ensure none rebel. Otherwise, to be that close to such power corrupts the soul. I don’t have time to deal with petty rebellions. You’ve now seen my true purpose.”
Alena shook her head. She thought of Brandt, of the loss he’d suffered due to compulsion. Yes, she now understood the purpose the queen worked toward. But that didn’t make her methods any more palatable.
“There has to be a better way,” Alena said.
The queen growled. “There isn’t. You know what’s at stake. Tell me this better way, knowing what’s coming.”
Alena didn’t have an answer, but she searched for one.
As she failed to find a better way, she began to empathize with the queen. Yes, some of her methods might seem horrible, but they were talking about the fate of all people. What choice did they have?
She nodded.
The queen was right. If Alena gave her the gates, it would give the world the best chance of survival.
Alena frowned.
Something wasn’t right.
She focused, drawing on the power of her gates.
A thin thread, nothing more than a wisp of smoke, connected the two of them.
Alena cut the subtle compulsion with her knife.
The fire in her heart roared to life.
She summoned the single spear once again, throwing it with all her will.
The spear stopped a hair away from the queen’s chest. Alena willed it forward, but it wouldn’t budge.
The queen couldn’t be trusted. An incredible threat approached, but slavery wasn’t the answer. Taking the power of the souls of the dead wasn’t either. Alena believed that with her whole heart.
The spear crawled forward.
Her will against the queen’s. No battle could be more simple.
Alena focused everything on the point of that spear. The queen grimaced, her own will crumbling before Alena’s.
But the queen hadn’t become the ruler of her people through a lack of focus. The spear finally froze. No matter what Alena did, it wouldn’t move.
The queen raised her hand, slowly, and pushed the spear out of the way. She pushed hard, as though wrestling a boulder three times her size.
Bit by bit, she moved the spear. When she was safe, she let go, and the spear blasted past her, cracking the air as it disappeared off into the distance.
A sword appeared in the queen’s hand. She advanced on Alena, fire in her eyes.
61
Brandt’s ascent to the tunnel that led to the gate turned out to be easier than he expected. The battle between Regar and Hanns had driven the Falari away from the square, but most of them had massed in the alleys and streets just beyond.
Brandt led with fire. He didn’t have time to wage honorable combat. If the Falari were close, they were enemies. He sent fire ahead of him down streets and into houses through doors and windows. The screams that echoed in reply barely registered against his consciousness.
After a few levels, his path cleared. The Falari avoided him, thanks to the power he now possessed. Next to that of a full gate, it was nothing, but the gatestone still allowed him to pull more than he ever had before.
He hiked up two more levels before realizing his foolishness. With a gesture, he tore stone away and shaped it to his will, a platform not unlike the one Hanns had made not long ago. He stepped upon it, then lifted it into the air, ascending the levels between him and the tunnel entrance with ease. His memory of his last trip to Faldun guided him.
When he came to the tunnel he found two bodies. They were pale.
Lolani.
It looked like they’d been killed without a fight. Of course, he already knew Alena had reached the gate. Regar’s death was proof enough of that. It didn’t surprise him her war party had to fight to reach it.
Brandt traveled deeper, following the passages he remembered from his trips below. He reached the maze outside the gate without making a wrong turn. But the route through the maze he didn’t remember. And he didn’t have time. So he channeled stone once again, tearing the maze asunder and creating a straight path for himself. He stopped when he saw the blue light of the gate ahead.
Brandt ran, sliding to a stop when he entered the room. His attention was first drawn to Alena and the Lolani queen. They stood on opposite sides of the room, their eyes closed. Despite their lack of movement, he could tell they were twin poles of enormous power.
He didn’t understand. Alena was a gifted soulwalker, but not nearly strong enough to stand against the queen. But the evidence was there, right in front of his eyes.
Then he saw the others. Ren, Toren, Jace, Sheren, and Ana were all in various states of pain. Ren appeared unconscious, blood flowing freely from a wound on the back of his head. Likewise, Sheren didn’t look like she’d be moving for a while. Her eyes were closed and one of her legs appeared broken. Toren’s right arm rested at an unnatural angle, but he
