Knell’s heart skipped a beat in his chest as he saw Mordrigal take control of Thomas. The spell that he’d been forming died at his fingertips. Cyll had single-handedly saved Knell from having to reveal himself and modify his plans.
I owe you, Cyll. Now just get Maya out of there. Don’t be stupid. At any moment, Holen should perceive this as weakness and –
A bolt of green lightning crashed through the air with a massive roar and a flash of light that momentarily blinded Knell. He raised a hand to his eyes, squinting as hard as he could as the spots faded away.
Viridian armor had formed around one of the Scions in the crowd. He floated in the air, motes of crackling energy dancing between his fingertips as waves of power washed out from him, pushing everyone away.
Cyll grabbed Maya by her collar and hurled her. Knell’s eyes widened as Maya hurtled into the air, landing on top of a short cliff to his side. Nobody paid him an ounce of attention. The enormous amount of energy washing off Thomas and the other Scion had drawn every single eye.
Holen had arrived.
“Mordrigal,” Holen said, extending his hand. A green axe materialized in each of his Scion’s hands, each one thrumming with as much energy as Knell’s eyes. Power arced from the two Shards, meeting in the middle and hissing like flames.
“You’ve come to watch your Scions die,” Mordrigal spat. “Leave, and I will ignore this slight. You were always weaker than I, whether it be your Scions or our true powers. Today will end with your death.”
The air thrummed. Knell’s skin prickled and he ducked behind his rocky cover as a second blast of energy shook the island. A pillar of water burst from beneath the ground, shearing through it like paper and launching into the heavens.
Rain pelted down on everyone, each droplet thrumming with power. Knell’s lips tightened. A third Shard – and, judging by the water, this one was Selenia. Not the best Shard to go up against while they were fighting on an island.
Knell poked his head back over the rocks. Selenia had taken control of one of the women sitting in the backlines of the fight. Ropes of water swirled around her body protectively like a nest of furious snakes.
Hopefully she’s focused on this and doesn’t care about what’s happening with the Withered Rose. It would be bad if she started messing with the sea itself.
“Two of you?” Mordrigal asked, arching Thomas’ fingers into claws. “Cowards.”
“You were right, Mordrigal,” Holen said with a bassy laugh. He spun the axes in his hands and took a step forward. The ground beneath his feet cracked from the sheer force of the energy pouring out of his body. “I’m not strong enough to handle this Scion of yours on my own – not without risking more than I’m willing to give. But, luckily, your Scion has pissed off just about every Shard in the area. Selenia was kind enough to lend me a hand.”
“I will rip both of your Shards to pieces,” Mordrigal promised. Thomas’ eyes flicked over to Cyll. “And you – I’m going to bury you so deep in the ground that you never see the light of day again. Why are you here, creature? Where is–”
A green axe whumped through the air. Mordrigal’s black wing snapped down to block it. They collided with a brilliant blast of energy. Several men screamed as they were thrown across the ground and slammed into the cliff faces rising up around them. Knell gritted his teeth as the power washed over him, but he’d avoided most of it from his position at the top of the cliff.
Cyll had used the attack to put some space between himself and Mordrigal, letting it throw him back. It had been the right move. Holen roared, charging toward Mordrigal and summoning his axe back into his hand.
He leapt into the air, bringing both of the axes down as Mordrigal’s wing whipped around. Jagged beams of water shot from Selenia’s hands, slamming her wing to the side and letting Holen past it. Mordrigal thrust a hand toward the Scion flying toward her, sending a wave of black tendrils swirling out toward him.
Holen’s entire body lit a brilliant green and he shot through the smoke, his light burning against her darkness. Even though Mordrigal’s magic was clearly stronger, Holen was moving fast enough to burst free of the smoke, the light surrounding him only slightly dimmed.
He reared back and swung his axe at Thomas, aiming for the Scion’s neck. Mordrigal’s other wing curled inward, slamming into the back of Holen’s head and forcing him to stumble forward.
Mordrigal sent another wave of darkness toward him, shattering his helmet. Tendrils of dark smoke started to press into Holen’s mouth and ears, but water erupted from the ground beneath her Scion. She dodged backward and Holen ripped himself free of her magic, but Mordrigal wasn’t fast enough to keep the water from cutting a deep line across Thomas’ chest.
Holen’s axes reformed and armor covered his Scion’s body once more. He rolled his neck and took a step toward Mordrigal.
“You’d best abandon the Scion now, Mordrigal,” Holen warned. “Think of this as a lesson for overstepping your bounds. You should have tried harder to play by the rules the rest of us do. Now you’ll pay the price for your arrogance.”
Mordrigal let out a scream of fury. The sunlight beating down on them vanished as a thick cover of black clouds formed in the air, casting them all into shadow. Knell’s skin prickled as a violent chill set in on them. All around the plateau, the ground started to tremble.
Boney hands erupted from the ground. Skeletons pulled themselves out of the earth, rising to stand all around Thomas in a protective ring. Black energy formed into a scythe in Thomas’ hands and Mordrigal slammed it into the ground.
“Come, then,” Mordrigal said. “We shall see whose Scions shall die.”
Holen raised his axes into the air and roared. “Kill her!”
The Scions charged. Brilliant streams of magic poured out of Selenia and Holen as they sprinted toward Mordrigal, their energy carving a path through the darkness for the rest of their followers.
Mordrigal’s men and her skeletons met the charge in a deafening crash of magic and steel. Screams and yells filled the air as the scent of blood rose into the air with every next warrior that was cut down.
Through the din, Knell made eye contact with Cyll. For the time being, Mordrigal was completely focused on the other two gods. One of Mordrigal’s skeletons charged Cyll, but he carved it in two with Lassie. As soon as the blade passed through it, the skeleton’s body turned to ice and it crashed to the ground.
Knell watched Cyll mouth a question. He couldn’t make the exact words out, but he made out Maya.
He’s probably asking if she’s okay.
Maya was still sitting on the cliff Cyll had thrown her to, keeping her head low to avoid catching any more attention. She was largely uninjured, aside from a few bruises that she’d doubtlessly gotten from the flight.
Knell gave Cyll a thumbs up. Maya spotted Knell looking in her way and nodded down to the fight, tilting her head to the side in clear question. He raised a finger, indicating that both of them should wait.
It’s not quite time yet. The battle is intense, but none of the gods are about to lose their Scion. Mordrigal will still be on guard for anything, and she’s almost certainly still watching Cyll and Maya, even if she’s not focused on them. Mordrigal is arrogant. The best time to strike won’t be when she’s cornered, but when she thinks she’s won.
The fight below continued to intensify. A powerful storm raged above the plateau as Mordrigal’s dark clouds intermixed with Selenia’s pouring rain. It was difficult to tell exactly which side was winning, but Knell could feel the deaths of every Scion as they were cut down.
There wouldn’t be any winners today – not if the Shards had their way. Knell didn’t plan to let them.
Selenia’s Scion screamed as Mordrigal’s scythe carved through the air, sending out an arc of black light that was almost invisible in the darkness. It cut through Selenia’s magic and into the Scion, severing her arm and cutting deeply into her stomach.
Holen redoubled his attacks, but with Selenia temporarily hampered, Mordrigal immediately gained the advantage over him. Skeletal hands grasped at Holen’s feet, tripping him up as Mordrigal pressed him toward a wall, each sweep of her scythe forcing him to take a few steps back.
Knell couldn’t even see Cyll anymore through the storm, and he was just barely able to make Maya out on her cliff. She was watching the fight, her features taut and the sword sheathed at her side, waiting to be drawn once more.
Mordrigal’s laughter split the din, haunting and cold. Holen’s Scion stumbled, raising his axes defensively before him an instant before the scythe crashed down, nearly impaling him in the head.
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“You’ve lost, Holen,” Mordrigal snarled. “Even with two Shards, you pale in power to me. Pathetic fragment of an equally worthless god.”
Holen drew on a surge of energy and threw Mordrigal’s scythe back. A bolt of compressed water shot at Mordrigal’s shoulder as Selenia managed to gather herself once more. Holen lunged forward at the same time.
Mordrigal’s wings snapped around her, blocking Selenia’s attack and throwing Holen back into the wall with an explosive crash. The axes fell from his hands and he slumped forward, his armor flickering. Knell steadied himself, his grip around his staff tightening.
“I look forward to taking your Scion’s soul,” Mordrigal said, raising her scythe once more. “Goodbye, Holen. I look forward to our next meeting, you bumbling fool.”
Knell caught Maya’s eye and jerked his chin in the direction he’d last seen Cyll, then pointed down at the warring gods. Maya’s eyes widened as he raised his staff toward her and cast Anchor. The bolt of green light streaked through the air and into Maya.
She leapt to her feet, sliding down the side of the cliff and vanishing into the darkness. Knell rose, casting Exhume on his leg. He waited several seconds, watching the darkness to wait for the perfect moment to strike.
Mordrigal’s scythe started to fall, and Knell could just barely see the manic laugh on Thomas’ face. She was completely enthralled in her victory.
Now.
Knell leapt over the edge of the cliff and started to slide down its face, calling deeply on every last ounce of power he had and directing it to his eyes. The world slammed to a halt, and the sudden lack of sound sounded like the roaring ocean to Knell’s ears.
His hands trembled as his hand raised to his staff, pressing a complex pattern into its cold surface. The sequence was one that he’d long since memorized, but anticipation filled every single movement.
There was a gentle click as the head of the staff split apart, revealing a multicolored tip. It glittered, even in the darkness, twelve different beautiful shades of shining light. One for each of the gods.
Knell pushed himself forward, taking a step toward the gods below. The world fought against his movement, but he didn’t care. Even as his limbs trembled with exertion, he took another step. And another.
The closer he grew to Mordrigal, the more the world seemed to resist him. The power filling the air around her stung his body and sizzled against his skin, but Knell didn’t care. His grip tightened around the staff.
He reached the base of the cliff, pushing through the incredibly dense air and taking one more step toward Mordrigal. Pain pulsed in every single one of his limbs and every breath was agony – but it was nothing compared to the pain he’d felt when Mordrigal had turned his own powers against him, burning him alive.
Knell took another step, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps. He raised the spear, taking aim at Mordrigal’s heart.
His control over the magic snapped. The world rushed back into motion. It only took Mordrigal the smallest fraction of a second to detect the spear behind her now that its blade had been unsheathed. She instantly spun toward Knell, her scythe whipping for his neck.
And then Cyll was there. His massive sword slammed into Mordrigal’s scythe, greatly slowing it – but Mordrigal was a Shard, and he was just one man. He’d slowed the weapon, but not enough.
A brilliant chime rang out through the air as Maya burst free from the darkness, bring her sword around to join Cyll’s. The vibrations ripped from her blade and into the scythe, slowing it for just an instant longer.
Mordrigal’s wings shuddered as she started to pull herself from Thomas’ body and to safety. But all things – even the gods – were beholden to the flow of time. Mordrigal had spent a precious moment trying to strike before changing her mind, all the while Knell had never faltered from his path.
And, with the instant that the Cyll and Maya had bought Knell, he finished the thrust he had started. The glittering spearhead punched into Thomas’ heart, right where Maya’s sword had pierced it before.
Mordrigal locked eyes with Knell. Her mouth opened, disbelief and shock in her eyes. Then Knell wrenched the spear tip free. A shudder wracked Thomas’ body as it came out. A violent howl filled the air as the energy that had been pouring out of Mordrigal abruptly vanished. Rays of sunlight broke through the black clouds above as they dissipated. Thomas pitched backward, crashing to the ground and lying still.
Mordrigal, one of the greatest Shards of the Goddess of Death, had fallen.
----------------------------------------
The Withered Rose shuddered. A cannonball tore through its glowing hull. Stix and Lillicent worked quickly to return fire to the ship, but another cannonball slammed into the Withered Rose from the other side.
Stix staggered, catching herself on the cannon before she could fall. Water poured into the ship from a myriad of holes building up from the damage they were taking. Even as fast as the Withered Rose patched the damage, there was only so much it could handle.
“We are almost out of energy,” Maud’s ghastly sailor warned. “There are three ships firing on us.”
“I’m working on it!” Stix yelled, firing the cannon. A streak of blue light split the air and slammed into the ship across from them, tearing through it below the waterline and making it pitch dangerously as it started to take on water.
It wasn’t enough. Another few cannonballs slammed into the Withered Rose from the other side, and another ship was starting to pull away from the island. Even though they’d wreaked havoc on the fleet, there were just too many to handle.
“This is bad,” Lillicent warned, watching as one of the holes patched. The Withered Rose was healing slower than it had been before. “We have to stop, Stix. The ship is just an artifact, and it’s going to run out of power at any moment.”
“I know,” Stix said, gritting her teeth. “But the fight is still going. If we turn now, Knell, Maya, and Cyll might get collapsed on. We have to hold.”
Lillicent opened her mouth to reply, going to grab another cannonball from the dwindling supply in their current crate, then froze. Stix followed her gaze out into the ocean and drew in a sharp breath.
A ripple spread out through the sea between them and the ship. The water churned, bubbling and turning a deep, inky black.
“What in the Sixteen Seas is that?” Lillicent breathed.
She didn’t need to wait long for a response. A black bow poked up from beneath the waves. A huge wave of water pushed out, rocking the Withered Rose as a ship emerged from beneath the depths of the ocean.
It was as black as night, with cannons covering its side like barnacles. Blood red sails fluttered in the wind, water sloughing away from them, and the flag depicted a laughing skull wearing a large captain’s tricorn and enveloped with black fire.
“Captain Dread,” Stix breathed, frozen in awe.
She broke free of the spell and turned from the cannon, sprinting up the stairs with Lillicent hot on their heels. They skidded to the stop at the top deck, staring at the massive ship in awe.
Stix’s enhanced sight let her make out the fluttering black robes of Captain Dread. The woman stood at the helm of her ship, her hand raised high into the air in a fist that she brought down with a sharp movement.
Thunderous roars filled the air as Dread’s ship opened fire. A wall of cannonballs flew over the Withered Rose, slamming into the ship on their other side. It never stood a chance. One moment, it was whole.
The second, a hail of iron obliterated it in one fell swoop, leaving nothing but the sound of shattering wood and splinters floating in the sea. The ship across from Dread had fared a similar fate. In the span of just seconds, she’d completely obliterated two ships without even expending a significant amount of energy.
“Gods above,” Lillicent breathed.
Captain Dread turned toward the Withered Rose, and her voice boomed across the sea, magically enhanced.
“I lay claim to the spoils of this fight,” Dread’s voice thundered. “Anyone interested in contesting my claim is welcome to try my hand. All others may pile onto one of the ships that still floats and depart immediately. Any attempts to take anything that my crew has earned will be met with steel.”
Silence met her words, and the only noise remaining was the crackle of flame and the creak of wood as the already-damaged ships continued to burn. Stix squinted at the island, half expecting more argument – but, to her surprise, men were abandoning their ships and running for one of the few that was still intact.
“She’s terrifying,” Lillicent muttered under her breath. “Is there anyone else that could just command people to stop fighting and run and actually make them do it?”
“Yes,” Dread said, stepping out of a shadow behind Lillicent. Lillicent swore, jumping a foot into the air and nearly tripping over her own feet as she backed up. A wry smile crossed Dread’s face, and she inclined her head to Stix. “It looks like you’re doing well.”
Stix swallowed, then nodded. “Yeah. Don’t take this the wrong way. Your timing was perfect, but why are you here? I didn’t realize you had any issue with the gods.”
Dread let out a short bark of laughter. “Nobody likes the gods. Especially not pirates, but you’re correct – I don’t have an issue with them. This was entirely personal. Tell your captain that shadow-user he sent as a messenger delivered his message, and his favor is spent.”
Stix’s eyes widened. “That’s what he was doing. Did you arrive just in the nick of time, then?”
Dread smiled. “I might have waited to watch the fight a little. I was curious to see what you were all capable of, but I acted once I felt it. Favor or not, I didn’t have any plans of letting myself get killed.”
“Felt what?” Stix asked, her skin prickling.
“The dawn of a new era,” Dread replied, looking back to the island. “Mordrigal is dead. Holen and Selenia have run with their tails between their legs. You know, your captain told me to spare the fools running onto their ship right now in the message he sent me some time ago. Said that he’d need someone to pass the message on to make sure the world knew. Cocky bastard. Never even considered he might fail.”
“He did it?” Lillicent asked, barely daring to breath. “You’re certain?”
“She’s dead,” Dread said with a curt nod. “And with her, I take my leave. I’ll be seeing you, I think. Your crew is fascinating. I’m looking forward to hearing more about how you and your captain pulled this off.”
With that, Dread vanished into the shadows. Stix looked at Lillicent, then they both turned their gaze to the island.
“Can you dock the ship?” Stix asked Maud. “We need to–”
“Aye,” Maud said with a salute. “She’ll be here, waiting, when you return.”
Stix and Lillicent ran over to the edge of the ship and dove over into the water as one, swimming toward the shore. Coal flew above them, cawing in victory.
***
Knell stood above the corpse of Thomas the Merciful and the tomb of Mordrigal. His spear glittered in the fading light, casting a faint glow over his face. Cyll and Maya stood beside him.
All around them, the remainder of the two warring factions stared in disbelief. For several long seconds, nobody dared to say a word. Then, slowly, Knell raised his head and adjusted his tricorn, pushing it back to reveal the scar on his face.
“Your ship is leaving,” Knell said softly. “Any that remain on this island when it is gone will be killed. Know that you live for one purpose – to spread the word of what happened today.”
His words were like a spell that broke the silence. The survivors broke, sprinting for the shore as fast as they could. Even the boldest of them didn’t try to go after Knell. Holen and Selenia had retreated the moment Mordrigal fell, fearful for their own lives, and nobody was anywhere near loyal enough to test their luck.
Knell watched the crowd run for the docks, then slowly returned his gaze to the corpse at his feet. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, simply watching it, but when he looked up again, Stix and Lillicent had run up to join them, both dripping wet. Coal fluttered down to land on his shoulder.
Lillicent and Stix both skidded to a stop, and the crew was whole once more. Knell pressed in on his staff. The spearhead retracted, sealing back over, and he raised his eyes to the sky.
“The first of the gods has fallen,” Knell said, finally allowing a smile to cross his face. “The first – but not the last. Tonight, we celebrate. On the morrow, we hunt once more. Until every god has fallen, we will not stop.”
Knell limped away, leaving Mordrigal’s body to rot in the dirt behind him. His crew fell in behind him, their faces determined, and Knell knew one thing.
The age of the gods would come to an end at his hands.