“We shouldn’t exclude the possibility that Lithael or, ah, any of the Tanakan Seeds know where we are,” Seth says.
“Agreed,” Thane snaps.
“I disagree,” Pax snaps at Thane. “Aside from the fact that the border is their target and they’re somehow working to weaken it, there is no reason, no person, who could have leaked the information. Dumb luck –”
“Or Chaos,” Seth interrupts.
“Okay, moving on, you said Eliijah had news,” I jump in, almost yelling.
Seth drags his gaze from Pax and their standoff to answer me. “A whole village to the north has vanished.”
My breath catches in my throat. “Vanished?”
“Gone, all of it. Some of the people survived.”
“I don’t understand, what exactly is gone? Not the buildings?”
Pax nods, very slowly, like my questions are annoying him. “Every structure has vanished.”
“Cataclysm.” The word whispers over my tongue.
That’s the only thing it could be. The only living kind of Seed that can destroy anything it wants with one touch – except Silvari glass. They can remove a person, animal, structure, anything else from existence. Only present existence though – it would be scary if there was a seed that could erase things further. Scary, and thankfully impossible. DeathSeeds and Cataclysms are enough evil for one lifetime.
“How far away?” I drag my mind back to the present problem. “Still far enough not to feel her threat?” Not just yet. Not until we deal with this bubble.
Thane suddenly surges forward. “Everything is a threat. Hyll, Lithael, every other Seed, every other Saber. All of them!”
“Look on the bright side,” I say, trying to calm the glowing, growling beast. “We don’t have to worry about Asanta, and we’ve gone all day without knocking Kitten out.”
He growls louder. “Who is Asanta?”
Seth chuckles and points at me. “You just made things worse.”
“Asanta’s one of Seth’s exes, sort of.”
“We didn’t even go there,” Seth corrects.
“What I meant was that things could be worse. We’re up against the odds, but we are winning.” Even if the margins are too close to bother measuring.
Thane doesn’t sound convinced, but he rolls back so Pax can take control.
“There are reports of more weapons going missing on the routes too. But the thefts are happening near the Crimson Castle, and I almost feel Lithael himself is behind it – or some other force we have no understanding of,” Seth says.
“What kind of weapons? That could be an important detail.”
“No one knows exactly. Nothing normal, likely nothing important.”
I sigh, my idea deflating before it was even a fully-formed idea.
“Why?” Pax asks.
I search the floor around my feet, spot a worn brown book just poking out from under the bench, and kick it across to him.
“There’s a bunch of ancient weapons in there, most of them myths. I flicked through it thinking maybe the blade in the prophecy would be in there. There are weapons made of Silvari glass, and while we don’t use that kind of thing much anymore, it’s not unheard of. If we had a strong supply, I’m sure they’d be more popular.”
Pax picks the book open to a random page and frowns down at the illustration before holding it up. Two crossed daggers fill the left page, with a poem on the right. The daggers are a dark metal, curved on the tips and etched in Silvari Seals. They’re almost engulfed in lightning. The charge from those things alone could keep the border up for a few weeks.
“Definitely a myth,” I say. Anything with that much power would never have simply been lost.
“Artagan Daggers. Forged in black dragon steel and sealed to conduct any amount of pure energy; heat or lightning are just two examples. Used as blades, they will last for eternity. Used to absorb magic, they will build in power until they are deadly to the touch. Over time, if left unused, the power will seep back out. The wielder shall either gain strength from their use, or be torn to pieces conducting the energy. The daggers decide which,” Pax reads.
“You’re welcome to go through it. I just thought if weapons are going missing, then what kinds of weapons might be important – later. When we have time to deal with it.”
“Is any of this important right now?” Seth asks.
He’s right. I’m all about information, but equally about prioritizing.
Spring.
Bubble.
Pax’s plan – organize the Elites.
Kill Eyv Hyll.
Get the Aeons back to the White Castle.
Maybe then explore the missing weapons and the rumors.
Execute Pax’s plan.
All in that order.
“Agreed. I just need to know what to do next. If Hyll gets near Beautiful, the mortal doesn’t stand a chance. Hyll has been draining the springs and the border; she’s a big problem. I don’t like big problems.”
I manage to keep my mouth shut, but what did Pax expect? He killed her whole family line – all of them. The woman is the last of her kind because Pax – and Thane – lost their shit. Leaving alive the one person who deserved to die was a horrific oversight.
Jada’s light steps barely catch our attention before the woman is in the room. She leans against the banister and abruptly ends our conversation. Especially when Seth gets up and exits straight past her without a word.
Jada sniffs her armpits, then nods in agreement. “I do smell like a sewer rat.”
Pax snorts. “Jada, you’ve never been near a sewer.”
“I know. What are we talking about?”
“In a nutshell – threats,” I say.
“And once we remove those threats? What then?”
Pax scrubs a hand down his face – sure, we were discussing that too, but we hadn’t come to a conclusion. Not even close to one. This woman cuts straight to the heart, she always has. I just hadn’t noticed how matter of fact she is about it, black and white, and what we know she really wants to know. Maybe it’s because Kitten sees the world in a totally different way, maybe it’s because Jada has been in the Black Castle with the evil of this realm, but her attitude is just starting
