If he dies in battle, we’ll find another way in. If he survives, then I guess everyone wins.
After listening to her beg all night long, I relented to take Arina to her mother’s house prior to coming here. It physically pains me to leave Arina in her childhood home, even with the people I trust most to help keep her safe, but Gideon is expecting me, and it’s time to prove myself worthy of leading this shithole back to glory.
We land just outside the spot where Eryk informed me the queen keeps her army. I’m surprised to find there is only a small squad of soldiers stationed here. It’s a vulnerable part of the castle, and previous scouting missions have proven that Invidia keeps it protected.
“Doesn’t look like she’s expecting much of a fight,” Eryk says after I blur us to the other side of what will be the battlefield where King Gideon has hidden his troops.
“Sir,” I greet the king in his strategy tent where I find Trisay and her second as an added bonus to this uncomfortable exchange.
“How are things on your side?” Gideon asks, getting straight to business and jumping right over the discomfort.
“Quiet.” The majority of the soldiers in Spoikos seem to be on our side. It seems all it took was Invidia exposing herself as the monster she is to have them running for safety.
Still, something seems off. Invidia is a demon-goddess with the underworld on her side. Where is her army?
I’m going to voice my concern to them, but Trisay speaks first, “There’sss sssomethin’ not right here. The magic feelsss wrong. Unnatural.”
“It’s dark magic. Unlike anything I’ve ever known aside from when I feel it here. Invidia is a demon-goddess. She comes from the underworld.”
Trisay’s anger is palpable, almost thicker than the Smog. “Dark magic isss fuckin’ right! If the god of the underworld sssendsss hisss monssstersss up here to defend her, we’re all right fucked, is what.”
I don't know that I’ve ever seen the pirate captain scared. Whatever monsters she speaks of must be formidable.
“Let’s hope he’s on our side.”
We rally the camp, spreading word to head for formation tent by tent until every member of the Clestrayan armada is up and ready to fight.
The first wave of soldiers and trolls lines the battlefield. The Smog provides extra darkness and cover, even as the sun attempts to rise. The stale air chokes us all, and I worry what effect being thrown into this curse will have on the abilities these soldiers rely on.
Across the field, at the foot of the castle, Invidia’s pathetic excuse for an army is less than a third of ours. I squint and can barely make out a dark outline of a figure on the battlements, watching.
The ground cracks without warning, leaving a gaping, jagged hole in the earth just before Invidia’s army. Her men scramble from the spot, and it’s a miracle none of them are lost. The crevasse is so deep that it exposes glowing orange magma that hisses when the Smog creeps down to touch it. As the earth separates, stretching the length of the battlefield and spiderwebbing further into the trees than I can see, my legs shake beneath me.
Heat emanates from the hole, and the Smog does nothing but conduct it further, dragging it across the battlefield until sweat drips from my brow.
One giant shadow of a creature climbs out from the fiery mouth. It towers above the trees, almost as tall as the highest turret of the castle. Inky shadows slink off it and onto the ground, forming smaller black creatures that mimic their maker.
I guess we have our answer. The god of the underworld is no friend of ours.
“Demonsss. Ssshadow demons,” Trisay hisses, and the trolls waver, stepping back in preparation to retreat.
“How do we kill it?” I yell over my shoulder, hoping Trisay has an answer for this.
The beast is multiplying with each breath I take, covering the ground in a black wave that’s rushing our way. I’ve never faced such strong dark magic or any creature from the underworld, and panic climbs its way up my throat.
“Trisay!”
“I don’t know. I'm thinkin’!” she shouts, but she’s standing right beside me now.
“Ahh!” The troll pirate snaps her long, blue-gray fingers. “Sssunlight!”
She’s got to be fucking kidding. “Don't know if you noticed, Tris, but we’re fresh out of sunlight in this realm.” I point up to where the Smog shields the sky.
She holds a hand out toward me, like I’m a feral animal who might turn on her any second.
“Okay. Okay. I know! Fire! Burn it!”
I shake my head. “That fucker came from the deepest depths of the underworld. It was born of fire. Fire won’t kill it.”
