“Uger and Kemji. A thousand years ago.”
“Yes, Vance. And you are of Uger’s blood. And someone who is close to you is of Kemji’s blood too.”
Now that was a surprise.
“Who?” I asked, though I was quite sure of the answer, given the fact that I knew only one person from Yeng.
“The one in your party whose body now houses the spirit of the Goddess of Wind,” Friya answered. “But her blood is much diluted from that of her esteemed ancestor. Yours, however, is pure.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“It has come to me in dreams, since I was a small child.” Friya smiled mysteriously. “In our tribe, the calling to be a Wise Woman is felt from a very early age, and it cannot be denied. I have been preparing all my life for who I am and what I am. And I have known, since I was a girl, that you would be coming and that meeting you would forever change my destiny and the destiny of my people.”
“Drok told me you had a powerful weapon for me, a weapon that would help me defeat the Blood God and his Demogorgon. What is it?”
“The piece that I have is, unfortunately, only one half of the weapon. In the time of my great-grandmother, who was also a Wise Woman, she began to have dreams that a hero like Uger would be needed again. Even in those times, she could feel that the evil of the Blood God—who had been defeated but not killed—was stirring again. She sent the most powerful warrior of our tribe on a quest to find the weapon that had been lost. He returned to us, many years later, on the verge of death. He had found only part of the weapon. He brought it back with him, but the other half of it remained lost. Without the other half, it cannot be used.”
Talk about beating around the bush. I just needed to know exactly what this weapon was and how I could use it against the Blood God and the Demogorgon.
“Okay, well thanks for the uh, interesting back story, but what the fuck is this weapon? A sword, a battle-axe, a spear? Some sort of bow or crossbow?”
“No. It is something that will allow you to control a much larger and more powerful weapon than anything you could imagine right now.”
Again, vague answers. Half of a weapon that would allow me to control another weapon? It sounded like a bunch of riddles that, when solved, would only lead to more questions. I wondered, sourly, if Friya knew Isu. It certainly seemed like they had the potential to be really good friends.
“You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?”
“Ask your questions. If I know the answers, I will give them freely to you.”
Isu had told me what Blood Demons were and how they were made but not how to fight them. I’d been able to handle one on my own, only just, but if two came for me, I wasn’t sure what I would do. Maybe Friya could help.
“What sort of magic do I need to fight Blood Demons effectively? And, the same question goes for any of the Blood God’s creatures.”
“Magic is connected to elements, elements that are the building blocks of all things in our world. To answer your question, we must look at the essence of the Blood God—at what gives him his power.”
“Blood sacrifices. The blood of virgins sacrificed in his name. I know that all sorts of sacrifices give gods power—like prayers, the most basic sacrifice, a sacrifice of the devotee’s time.”
“Yes. So, the Blood God’s power comes primarily from the sacrifice of blood. What is the enemy of blood? Think of things that are opposite to it in nature. There is Cold magic, which freezes it, and Water magic, which dilutes it, and Death magic, which rots it. With mastery of these powers, you will be able to defeat the Blood God and the Demogorgon.”
“But I’m a Death God, not a god of Water or Cold.”
“That does not mean you cannot use weapons imbued with those powers.”
That was true. I’d used my wrist crossbow, imbued with Tree magic, quite effectively on a number of occasions.
“So, where do I find weapons imbued with the powers of Cold and Water?”
“I cannot help you with powers of Water, I’m afraid,” Friya said, “but I can help you with powers of Cold.”
She stood up, walked over to one of her shelves, and retrieved an ornate wooden box. She opened it and knelt down next to me to display what was inside. It was a white gem of some sort, tinged very lightly with blue, and cold steam was rising from it.
“This,” she said, “is a froststone blessed by the God of Ice. If you have a socketed weapon or a socketed piece of armor, I can work with the blacksmith of Hothgrum to fit this froststone into your weapon or armor and imbue it with Cold magic.”
“I have a suit of plate armor with sockets. I brought it with me.”
Friya smiled.“Excellent. After the ceremony I must perform with you, I shall take your armor to the blacksmith, and he and I will imbue it with Cold magic.”
“Then let’s get on with the ceremony.”
“Indeed. It is of great importance, as important as gaining the powers of Cold and Water.” A glimmer of sudden hunger sparkled in her ice-blue eyes. “One that will link my power to yours. I will be giving you the ability to see things in your dreams as I do—”
“But you’ll be getting something out of it too,” I said. “Come on, I wasn’t born yesterday. I know that nobody gives something as valuable as magical power away without expecting something in return.”
“Of course.” Her smile broadened as her eyes roved down my naked body and settled on my
