Hilo merely blinked.
“Good.”To River, “You help me grab Ineen, because she’ll fucking fight us.”
River nodded, but Etan grabbed Kai’s wrist.“Are you insane?”he whispered, surprising Kai by looking genuinely worried.“I’ve entertained this long enough.We’ve one of our deserters.We’ve some extremely pertinent information to deliver to M – to Saros.And we’ve our fucking lives, which we might not be able to say after we fight a literal god.”
Kai’s gaze found Lina again, still circling Ione like a cat to a mouse.Both of her hands were up, a defensive position, and while she reacted to whatever command Rigel shouted at her, she also responded to Ione’s voice, calling her name, begging her to come back.
“Sowelan hasn’t manifested fully,” Kai said.“We can do this.”
Below, Lina clasped her hands over her ears, shaking her head when both Rigel and Ione called her.With a furious cry, Lina pivoted and hurled a wheel of fire at Rigel; two priests stepped in the way, effortlessly extinguishing it before spinning her back towards Ione.
“Kai.”Hilo was in front of him now.“Were you listening?I said – ”
“I heard you,” Kai snapped.
“Then wait with your man downstairs.We’ll get her.”
Etan materialised on his other side.“You’re not able for it.”
“Iam.”
A hand on his arm, his shoulder.Kai whirled around, ready to scream, and relaxed instantly to see River.Steady, solid.“I’m fine,” Kai whispered.And he was.He could do this.He caught Etan’s eye.“Let’s go.”
A long moment passed.His eldest brother sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.“Your five minutes start now.”
“Copy.”Before anyone could stop him, he held out a hand.And when River took it, they climbed onto the balustrade and leapt, a waterspout rising to meet them and carry them the rest of the way down.
A surprised ripple of cries and gasps shrilled through the congregation as Kai, his brothers and River landed in the shallow marsh that was once a formidable altar room.Red and orange robes swarmed, light and blistering heat briefly blinding him – but at once it was all muted as Etan and Nalu erected a dome of water over them, swirling and building it until it was a foot thick and frozen solid.
The fight halted, Ione on one end of the space, sinking to her knees and gasping for breath.Lina, opposite, cowered and stared with blatant confusion up at the ice.A faint line of bruising ringed her neck – the binding ward, activating and then evidently shattering when Sowelan took control.
Of course, that bone-deeppopKai had felt earlier: even his ward was no match for a god.
“Hurry,” Etan ground out, widening his stance as he focused on maintaining the freeze.On the other side of the dome, flame burst in all directions, furious cries echoing.
Ione coughed.Kai tore himself away from the tortuous pull and knelt with River beside her, him smoothing Ione’s hair back; River, holding her upright.
“They’re here,” River whispered.“Let’s go.”
Ione shook her head.“I can’t,” she managed, holding up her arms, streaked with burns, for Kai to heal.“I’m not leaving her behind.”Her eyes widened and she shot back to her feet, scrambling to stand between Hilo and Lina.“Don’t,” she commanded, arms splayed.“Don’t hurt her.”
“I’mnot!”Hilo whirled towards Kai, silently demanding direction; behind him, Ione had Lina’s face in both hands, her voice soft, soothing, and Lina – Lina –
“Rigel’s not here,” Ione whispered.She stood on tiptoes and kissed her forehead.“It’s me.Do you remember?”
There was more, a promise to protect her, a reminder of some sewing project Lina wanted to start, talk of a kiss by the fountain.Kai glanced at Lina, still and silent, and the edges of his vision fizzled out.He blinked hard and rubbed his eyes; when he opened them again, Lina was staring right back, her own eyes golden.
Not here,he begged himself, Menon, his breaths shallow and quick.Too quick.Please, not here, not in front of Ione, not –
“Menon.”Her voice was distorted, but still feminine.Lina was trying to fight Sowelan’s influence – but she too was losing.“Menon,” she repeated, louder, tinged with fury and terror.“Why is Menon in the House of the Sun?”
Something snapped within him.
Lina – Sowelan – shook Ione and Hilo off.“What toys have come to be broken?”their distorted voices asked; Sowelan advanced, staring them all down.“What pyres have come to be lit?”
Arms wrapped around his stomach, yanking him backwards.His eyes darted, searching for an escape, an anchor.Fire roared, and so did his brothers, desperately holding the dome intact above them.Water dripped to the floor, and all the while, Sowelan’s eyes smouldered as the last dregs of Lina drained away.
Shouting, begging, pulling – he couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t put together what was happening.Ancient, ceaseless sunlight burned above them through a hole in the dome; the rest of it collapsed in a freezing slosh, and then there were priests, all flying to protect their god.A whirl of grey and white raised an icy slash in time to douse Sowelan’s encroaching flames.
