Death.
Destruction.
Rage and hunger.
The emotions hammer at my shields, eager to get past them and claw at me. The blue shield pulses, and the spiral turns faster as the specters surround me, their rage ebbing, hunger muting to be replaced with a probing curiosity.
The howl and scream of the wind dies, and silence falls.
My pulse thunders as I’m left surrounded by the phantoms of djinn who fought in a war way before my lifetime. They standtall. Powerful. Gray but no longer featureless. My gaze skims over regal faces. Strong jaws and eyes pinpricked with white. Long hair braided or pulled up into war knots. Some carry swords; others hold spears or large shields.
This was an army once.
They fought and died and remained. Why? I’m not sure even they know for certain.
A figure breaks away from the crowd and strides toward me. His hair is piled high in a war knot. His eyes are slanted and burning pure white. Blade hilts peek up from his back, and more hang from the holster at his waist. He’s dressed differently than the others with a leather chest plate and gauntlets. His presence demands attention.
A thrill passes through my veins like electricity, charging me to stand taller.
He stops a mere foot outside my shield, his gaze roving over the barrier as if looking for a weakness. He won’t find one because I fuel it. And I am not weak.
Finally, his attention settles on me, his eyes locking with mine, and something flares in the depths of his gaze. A pulse shoots through me, one I would call recognition if I knew this man.
Increment by increment, his shoulders drop, and when he speaks, the silence blooms with the authority of that sound. “You have your mother’s eyes.”
Everything in me stills. “What?”
He smiles, and the glow in his eyes dims and blooms to a stormy blue. “My name is Thomelin, and I am your grandfather.”
Part Four
Sometimes the only way forward is back
Chapter 29
A STROLL WITH THE CRAZY DUDE
BLUE
Evil boy carries me through the palace. I hold on to the bars of my tiny prison to stay upright. Not complaining about being his pet right now. It means I get to scope out me surroundings. The last few days, he teks me everywhere with him. Enough so I know what’s keepin’ the anchors asleep and where all the guards are stationed. Dharma, Joe, Bina, and the drohi are allocated ground duty, so they’re outside a lot.
I get the feeling that the primordial evil doesn’t like seeing ’em. Dunno why, though.
We’ve been all over the palace, even down to the kitchens where Asura make the meals. Yeah, that part is weird cos where are the pari gone? My conclusion? The pari are immune to his power. Means he’s not all powerful, but it could also mean that he’s savin’ his power for the unmaking of this world.
A shiver raises me fur. Not gonna lie, his story about being fucked over by the Deva makes me feel bad for the guy. I mean, he had his world taken away and was locked up just cos the Devawanted more time forthisone, and then what do they go and do anyway? They fuck off and leave this world to war.
I’m beginning to think the universe leaves its power in the wrong hands.
So yeah, I feel sorry for the guy, but that don’t mean I agree with him ending us all. There has to be another way, but he says there isn’t. I don’t believe him, though, probably cos of the manic gleam in his eyes when he says it.
I think being locked away for fuck knows how long has driven him nuts.
“So where we off to tonight?”
“I was wondering when you’d ask,” he says, a hint of humor in his voice. “Tonight, we’re going to check on an old friend.”
We pass down a long corridor that’s new to me, and I’ve pretty much explored the whole of this palace. I keep me mouth shut, though. Don’t want him knowing how well I know the layout of this place. But it’s strange. The walls are red…pulsing as if they’re alive. They make me want to shrink and hide.
