“And what might that be?”
“You’re good, Vance. No, you’re great. You’re an amazing God of Death, a far better Death deity than I ever was. And you’re learning and growing in strength far faster than any other deity I’ve ever heard of. Only the Lord of Light can equal you in this regard. I’ve changed my mind completely. I want to stay a mortal now. I had my run at being a goddess, and I have to admit that it wasn’t for me, and that I wasn’t a great deity. But you are, Vance. You really are. I’ve thrown that wooden cock away. No more plots. I just want to be your loyal necromancer. And your lover, if you’ll have me. I’m willing to share you, of course, with the other women. Even that holier-than-thou blond. This body of mine is yours to do with as you wish. If you want to kill me because of everything I’ve admitted, because you consider me untrustworthy and a risk, I will die honorably, and I will gladly contribute my soul to your growth as the God of Death. Stick Grave Oath into my heart, Vance, and I will die with a smile on my face knowing that I at least confessed my sins against you before my end.”
“Stand up, Isu,” I said firmly, disengaging from the embrace.
She stood on shaky legs, her eyes red and her cheeks wet with tears.
“I’m not going to kill you, not now and not in the future,” I said. “I need you, Isu. You’re a solid advisor and a fierce fighter. I appreciate your confession. Let’s wipe the slate clean, and we can start over.”
Her face glowed as a huge smile spread across it before she jumped into my arms, squeezing me tightly and planting kisses all over my neck and face. I had never seen the former goddess smile and act this joyfully before. It was almost like Isu had become a completely new person, now that she had finally let go of her lost divinity, confessed her sins, and embraced her new mortal existence. Hell, if I wasn’t the God of Death, I might have made a damn good priest.
“Thank you, Vance,” she murmured between kisses. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“Like I said,” I began, “you’re off the hook, but you cross me a second time, and you die.”
She nodded and didn’t interrupt her kisses, but before we could continue—she might have been using the wooden cock in a plot to take my divinity, but now that was out of the window, she hadn’t unlearned the deep-throating techniques or anything—we were interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching. I peered through the trees and saw Rollar walking up the course of the stream.
“Lord Vance.” He shot a slightly surprised look at Isu, whom he wasn’t used to seeing without a scowl on her face. “The others are getting antsy. I was just coming to check whether you were ready. Friya says we must press on now if we are to get to Aith before nightfall.”
“We’re ready to go,” I said, and together, we made our way back to the others and departed.
We made good time, and around an hour before dusk, we reached the gates of the mountain city, Aith. It was quite a spectacular sight, especially bathed in the late afternoon sun that painted the red-stone towers and spires in an intensely fiery hue. The city itself was huge, backed by a wall of mountains, hedged in by peaks. There really was no way on but through the city.
Even though it looked majestic, the closer we got to Aith, the more we could tell that there was something off about it. There was a strange glint to it, and when I flew my harpy close to the walls, I soon figured out what it was: spider webs. They were everywhere, strung across every conceivable surface. Some of the threads were so fine, they were almost invisible, but some were as thick as ropes. From afar, this massive profusion of spiderwebs gave the city an almost ethereal look, making it sparkle and shine as if every surface was covered in glitter and gemstones.
From up close, of course, the truth was far more sinister.
I wore a grim expression, as did Rollar next to me, as we led the army to the main gates. I was attired in my full suit of glossy black plate armor, making sure I looked suitably menacing. I hoped it would be enough, along with my large contingent of undead troops, to intimidate the Arachne into allowing us passage through their city.
We stopped a dozen yards from the city gates, which were over 20 yards high, reaching to the height of the city walls. We hadn’t seen any Arachne yet, but I sensed their eyes on me, staring down through the narrow slit windows in the burnt-umber-toned walls.
“Who are you, and why have you come to Aith?” a voice demanded from one of these windows.
“I am Lord Vance Chauzec, God of Death!” My voice boomed across the plain between us and the gates. “I demand passage through this city.”
“God or mortal, nobody makes demands of the Arachne,” the voice shouted back. “You will wait while the Webmaven makes her decision.”
Rollar leaned over and spoke softly to me. “I suggest that we allow them time to consider, Lord Vance, and not antagonize them too much. We can make this a win-win situation. No need for violence.”
“I agree,” I said before turning back to the window the Arachne had spoken to us from.
“Fine!” I then shouted. “But do not keep the God of Death waiting for too long, mortal!”
Whoever it was didn’t reply. We waited for a short while, during which I felt many eyes on me. It was
