Chapter 358 (2/2)
My attention turned briefly to the three guards pressed against the wall Each one was bigger—‘and duis added—than just about any other ascenders I had seen, and I understood why Kage had chosen theuard Men like that showed no curiosity, and would be unlikely to think too deeply about the puzzle they stood upon, despite it being the key to a fortune they couldn’t even coes were a people of peace,” I said, half to reat that they didn’t defend themselves even when another race destroyed thee alive They didn’t forge weapons or armor That’s why this relic was locked away” I pointed out a piece of the glyph “They even call it ‘a shrine to futility’”
“But the relic is also the key to leave,” Rat pointed out, picking at the whiskers on his chin “Are you suggesting this is a dead end?” A sense of nerves settled over hiround “There is a way There is always a way in the Relictolyph,to ain from scratch “Blood of our blood…burdened by purpose…one who…”
My brows furrowed as I reread the glyphs a few ly contradictory portion of runes and piecing together what they h atout a laugh, I got up to ot it”
Rat approached uarded look “What did you find, Grey?”
My mouth opened on its own in excite h
I took a deep breath to slow e’s blood…”
Seeing ize, Grey Many times over the last year has someone claimed to understand the runes, but it’s never been true I didn’t mean to discount you, I am just…wary”
I nodded and let a smile slowly creep overopen
“Of what, Grey?” Rat snapped, taking a step closer to me, his expression a mixture of anticipation and frustration
“Vritra, I’ at hiotten about Lady Caera Do you think she’s okay? I…I’et the relic, but we need to make sure she is safe first”
Rat shook his head T’laya and her co ed confused looks
“It will be easier to free her froe after we’ve claimed the relic Then we’ll have the upper hand,” Rat insisted “Once we kno to leave…”
The ogre of an ascender took a heavy step forward and pointed his axe at Rat “Kage didn’t send you this time, did he, Rat? You lied!”
Rat flinched away froe ascender's lips Before the h his neck The other two fell in the same breath, sih
The tall woman ripped her spear from the dead man’s neck and pointed it at me “Explain”
“The blood has to…to…” I sed heavily “The blood needs to be from someone of asuran descent,” I finished in a rush
T’laya’s spear pressed against my throat “Foolishness Lies That is impossible”
“It’s not,” I hissed “‘Spill the blood of one who has harmed the blood of our blood’ The asuras…the asuras were the enees…”
T’laya’s hard eyes seemed to bore intofew seconds, she cursed and stepped back, lowering her spear “Then we truly are doomed to rot here forever”
I rubbed atdown my skin The wound was already healed, but no one seerimaced His eyes narrowed “What is it, Grey?”
I hesitated until T’laya let out an angry huff, then said, “Lady Caera…she is of Highblood Denoir, but not by birth She is Vritra-blooded”
Rat’s eyes flashed, his gaze so intense that I could feel it like a physical presence, then realized there was soh rin, and he raised a hand
My body si Somewhere deep down in my consciousness I could feel a nearly-imperceptible hum that was more in my bones thanmy nervous system to paralyze me My back was to the others, but I was sure they were affected just the sais said in realization ‘So’
That was true The appropriate , but the way it directly attacked the nervous systeth made no difference in my ability to counter it
Rat’s beady black eyes twitched as he watched ether in front of his chest “You’re dangerously clever,” he said, licking his lips “The ruse with the girl…Kage was a fool to ht away you weren’t just sonature”
He tapped his head “Another of my many very useful runes I can hear the flow of your blood, the beating of your heart, the air whooshi+ng through your lungs I can tell when so the truth just now, thankfully there is no more need for this charade on either of our parts It has been an interesting duel—who can pretend to be more weak and pathetic—but I’m tired of it Thank you, Grey, for your assistance”
‘Art, what should I do? I—’
I told Regis what I needed frorin, Rat drew a long curved dagger from his belt and walked up to me He kept eye contact as he drew the blade across my throat, and I could distantly feel the war down round, and Rat leaned over ger plunged into my side, my back, and finally my heart My eyes fluttered closed, and my breath stilled
RAT
Blood pooled under the golden-eyed ascender’s body as he slumped lifelessly
“Looks like you were of use after all” I wiped the blade with the sleeve of Grey’s ar to face T’laya
The tall, proud ascender stoodher The rest of her people would fall quickly without these three, I was sure I waved h she couldn’t move, I could tell from the steady rhythm of her heartbeat that she already kneas about to happen
The sonic stasis spell was beginning to wear on me, so I didn’t take the time to savor their deaths the way I would have liked Once she lay dead next to her companions, I released my spell and took a weary, joyful breath
“One last sacrifice before the end,” I said, holdinground “Kage Bring her”
If that degenerate had followed hblood There was no way to be entirely sure that Grey could solve the problem of the relic, but I had sensed the unshakable confidence he held in hienuine surprise to learn the woh he’d left the most important part unsaid, I had heard the subtle variations of his tone that gave it away Not only was Lady Caera Vritra-blooded, but her blood had also ht have coe Knowing that she carried Vritra blood, though…that changed things
Kage arrived aLady Caera behind hiht of her co hihblood Denoir,” I said, giving her a slight bow Her mouth snapped shut “Blood of the Vritra” Her rinned withto stand just in front of her, I tweaked the chains that held her wrists “Do you have any idea how usefulrestraints are on an ascent? And these are particularly high-level variations You just never knohen you’ll need to disable an enemy—or ally—when there are accolades to be clai how she looked down on er on , I reached out and fumbled around her neck for the artifact I knew ave it a sharp jerk, tearing it off her neck
Horns appeared fro forward and up, with secondary prongs pointing back, fra the hard, smooth surface, e but didn’t pull away Instead, she spoke with forced calers
“When we leave here, I will have both a living relic and a Vritra-blood I you in this convergence zone, half dead, betrayed by your most faithful servant…You wouldn’t be the sa you’ve seen, but you are alive And with the wealth acquired from the relic, perhaps the Denoirs would even find ave her a le day, I will becoet an audience with the High Sovereign Perhaps, for the relic-finder, he would deign to ht “Why did you do it? Why hide this beautiful gift?”
Those deadly scarlet eyes only glared back at h ti on the horn, I dragged the struggling wo sure she had to step over the body of her dead co so she fell to her knees
Wrenching her hands up by thetheer, then shoved her to the ground, where her bleeding hand slalyph
To asped in pain, but that was a trifling thought co happened
Letting out a put upon sigh, I felt so I could have bothwe hope for, do we,her by the horn, I spun Lady Caera to faceher throat fro, and a smile spread over her face instead of the terror I should have seen
Turning slowly, I found Grey on his feet, his wounds healed, his skin unblemished by my blade But I knew I had stabbed hi his clothes proved I had!
Kage cursed and drew his sciet the chance to attack A black shadow burst out of Grey’s body, slaround I hardly noticed, unable to look away froolden eyes
It all made sense now: that impossible confidence the man couldn’t hide Even now I couldn’t sense his mana at all Not because he was so his presence…no It was because he was just that er, harder bastards than me before
My core ached as I pushedsonic stasis A low hum of sound vibrated out from me, the exact frequency required to interrupt the nervous syste all moveing over Kage’s face, drool dripping off e was paralyzed as well, on his back under the creature, his mouth open in a howl more fear than battle-cry Behind s
The golden-eyed ascender was er for him to see
“Do I need to sever your head froain? Perhaps, after I’ve done that, I’ll burn it just to be safe”
Impossibly, he shook his head “I’d rather you don’t”
Although I could see the certainty of o doithout a fight Spinning, I lunged for Lady Caera If I could use her as a hostage, then—
Then he was next tobetween his fingers, the blade in ry static that , and Kage’s growling as the beast pinned hith left round at Grey’s feet My blood flowed freely, filling the grooves of the glyph
Above an to flicker With the last piece of th, I stretched to see the relic
The barrier, so long impenetrable, faded away