Shylldra

“HALLEK!” Shylldra screamed, her fingers gripping the railing so hard it seemed like she might crack the stone.

“Hey!” Krazzek hissed, grabbing her and pulling her back. “If you're not careful you'll go down there to see him the hard way!”

“Sorry.” Her head swimming a little as she realized how far down it was to the sand below. “Thank you.”

Lekarik had been right, she had been just in time to see the killing. In fact she'd missed some of it. But she'd been there to see him throw a javelin into Akko's arm, and the rest of the fight from then. It felt like something living was scrabbling around in her guts the whole time, but Hallek had survived. Somehow. And when he did, a thought formed in her mind. A horrible, selfish, evil thought.

She wondered if any of the others were having it? Dyryl, Krazzek, and Illeth had come with her after all. No, probably not. She was the only one with the background. The horrible thing about all this was that she might, she just might, have a talent for the games and backstabbing. Maybe it came with noble blood.

“Strong,” Illeth said approvingly. “I am not ashamed he's the one who beat me.”

“I can't believe he survived that,” Krazzek said. “Fang warriors are scary.And you said the emperor might be a little tougher than he is? Yeesh. Alright so what now?”

“Now we....” Shylldra fought it down, the horrible evil selfish thought. “Now we wait for things to die down, and then we break him out of there.”

“I know the arena,” Krazzek said. “Give it about twenty minutes. Then the next match will start, and he'll be locked in his cell with only a few guards. We can at least slip him a key or something. I'll sneak down and....”

“I want to see him,” Shylldra said.

“Of course you do,” Dyryl put a hand on her shoulder. “It's alright, we'll get you two together. Might even be easier to move around that way, right? You were at the game and wanted to meet the big famous hero.”

“You're right,” Dyrly said apprehensively. Oh Dyryl. I wish it was as innocent as that. “No sneaking in. I'll make an official request to meet the prisoner. Krazzek, get that key ready. I just hope the arena master is easy to talk to.”

A few hours later she discovered he wasn't, but not for the reasons she would have guessed.

“Oh yes of course you can see the prisoner!” H'Viss said giddily when they met, capering around in his jester like leathers. “Anything for the emperor's betrothed! I knew that boy had talent as soon as I saw him in the rubble. I just knew. What a fight! We'll have to think of something to top it. Do you think he could take twoallosauruses with that sword of his? Which wehave given up on trying to get away from him, by the way. He has a very threatening glare and anyone who touches it loses limbs. Gotta cut losses at some point, you know? Besides a signature weapon adds to the mystique.”

He was leading them deep into the arena now. Shylldra had never even considered how many rooms there actually were in the place. And under the place for that matter.

“Where are we going?” Illeth asked.

“We are...oh my.” Apparently H'viss hadn't seen her mutations until now. “We are going to see the warrior, lady acolyte.”

“But we have just passed the door to the prisoner's cells,” Illeth pointed out.

“Ah. Been back here before, have you? He's too strong to trust to a regular cell. We decided to put him in here.”

He opened a door to a room full of huge cages.Dinosaurs slept fitfully inside of them. The bars were wood with bands of infused bone to strengthen them, and Shylldra could almost feel the power they held. These were the cages for monsters, for the most powerful of the fighters H'viss would bring into his arena. Hallek was across from the western mammoth. She wondered if the gods had a part in that. Here they were, full circle. Her, Hallek, and the mammoth. Where it all started.

They'd made some concessions to Hallek's humanity. There was a bed, and a table, and a drinking basin, and a pot for waste tucked away in the corner. But the cage had obviously been built for something the size of the mammoth at least so it was mostly empty, and the furniture inside somehow felt small. As if they were shrunken people wandering around a normal sized world. Shylldra's breath caught in her throat when she saw Hallek, sleeping on the bed.

“Hey there!” H'Viss banged on the bars. “Hey there killer! You have a visitor!”

“Go away,” Hallek groaned, not bothering to open his eyes. “Kill me or let me sleep, but those are your only options.”

“None of that!” H'viss shouted. “The emperor's betrothed has come here in person to meet you!”

Hallek sat bolt upright on the bed, eyes going wide. He stared at her like what he saw was taking a moment to sink in.

“Shylldra!” he said, running up to the bars.

“Oh-ho!” H'viss grinned. “What's this now?”

“Nothing to concern you,” Shylldra said. “Leave us now please.”

“Yes of course,” H'viss grinned. And we're off too a good start, the horrible evil thought said in her brain.

“Shylldra,” Hallek said again. “And everyone. You made it out okay. Norak?”

“He's fine too,” Dryrl said. “Even though the building exploded.”

“Yes how did you do that?” Krazzek asked. “A little warning would have been nice.”

“Good to see you all too,” Hallek grinned. “Even you, Illeth.”

“We are pack now. It is also good to see you.”

“Everyone?” Shylldra said. “Could I speak to Hallek alone for a moment?”

“Of course,” Dyryl said. She took Krazzek and Illeth off into the cages. Looked at one way the place was one of the empire's most unique zoos.

“Shylldra,” Hallek said. “I'm so glad you're alright.”

“I'm so glad you're alright!” Shylldra said. “Krazzek's right, Hallek, how did you manage to blow up the prison?”

“I dunno, me and Drys both started playing around with ancient infusions and then I stabbed him and then...everything went up.”

“Right,” Shylldra sighed. “Of course. Gods, Hallek, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I dragged you into all this.”

“You didn't drag. I came along on purpose. And you didn't put the Fang in Tivek. It’s this sword that's gotten me in half the trouble.”

The blade lay on the table. It really was a beautiful weapon. H'Viss was right, it was the kind of sword that would add to the legend.

“Alright,” Shylldra said. “I have a key.”

There was a long pause.

“To what?” Hallek prompted.

“To the cell of course,” Shylldra said. “Krazzek lifted it off of the guards who brought you down here. Use it when you've got a good chance to escape.”

“You don't sound like you mean that.”

“No, I do. Use it. Get away. As far away from Lekarik and the empire as you can.”

“And just leave you here to deal with all of this? No!”

“I'm part of what I want you to get away from! Shylldra snapped. “Gods, Hallek, do you have any idea...do you know...I'm just as bad, Hallek! I'm just as bad as Lekarik. Well maybe not quite. But I stood up there watching you fight, and win, and I thought....”

“Thought what?”

“Forget it. You need to get out of here.”

“Shylldra,” Hallek said firmly. “Thought what?”

“That you could be my answer to Milkaamek's Axe,” Shylldra said. “That it was perfect. A rebel, lover of the emperor's betrothed, brought into the spectacle to die until he revealed the power of a Fang warrior and slew the arena champion? I couldn't have asked for better if I'd sent the gods written instructions!”

“Oh,” Hallek scratched his chin. “That's not a bad idea.”

“No Hallek it's a terrible idea,” Shylldra said. “Because if I ask you to do that than I'm...I'm....gods, Hallek, I already started! Did you see the way I dismissed H'viss? I might as well have called after him and gone “oh and DO please start rumors about me and the prisoner.” Everyone in the city will be certain we've spent this time in bed by tomorrow morning! And do you know why that's so horrible?”

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“Because that way even if I do take your advice and escape,” Hallek said, “you get the mystique of me. Not as good as having me here, but you still get the benefits. You set it up so that if I escape you get some of what you want.”

“Yes. See Hallek? I'm not that different than Lekarik after all.”

“I'd guess you were better at it than he is,” Hallek laughed.

“Hallek don't you understand?” Shylldra said desperately. “Lekarik thought you were going to die today. Lekarik is trying to kill you. They're not really trying to kill most of the gladiators in here, not even the prisoners. They're just trying to make the fights entertaining. But they want you to die. They'll put you up against worse and worse odds.”

“But that works for you too,” Hallek said. “As long as I keep winning, you've got a legend to use in your political games against Lekarik.”

“Yes,” Shylldra said, finally dragging the key out of the recesses of her dress. “Now do you understand? Take this. Go when you get the chance.”

“I'm not going to do that,” Hallek said. “For three reasons. First, because I can't leave you facing this alone. Lekarik's my enemy now too. I can't just...watch while he does things. Second, because you didn't mention the part where if I win for a while and then die, it works even better for you.”

“Hallek, no!”

“Relax, I don't plan on dying. But Lekarik would plan on having me die for his advantages. You wouldn't. That makes you better than Lekarik as far as I'm concerned. So it's worth it to help you out.”

“This third one better not be because you're in love with me,” Shylldra said.

“It's not.”

“Oh.” Shylldra did her best to hide her disappointment.

“I mean I'm pretty sure I am, even digging out the gigantosaur instincts, but I could see a scenario where going would be the best move from an in-love standpoint. No the third reason is selfish, I arranged it that way to make you feel better. I liked it.”

“Liked what?”

“I liked the fight, Shylldra. Ever since the swordmasters in Downwind said I had talent people have been telling me I need to go to the Arena. Turns out they were right. I loved it, Shylldra. I know, I haven't been afraid the way I should be ever since I got infused, and maybe that's part of it, but I loved the fight. I loved the attention. I loved the cheers. And there's a part of me that loves the thought of becoming a legend here. I mean it is a great story. The plucky rebel, the cruel emperor, the lovely princess...”

“Hallek you could die.” Shylldra said.

“And you didn't ask me to,” Hallek said. “I decided. You were right, Shylldra. I'm a rock in the river, and the mud is coming loose. I need to learn to swim.”

“That is the worst mangled metaphor I have ever heard in my life,” Shylldra laughed. “Are you sure?”

“I'm sure. I'll fight. I'll win. And one way or another, we'll get Lekarik. Just one thing.”

“What's that?” Shylldra asked.

“If he marries you, I'm breaking free and killing him.”

“What if I want to marry him?”

“Do you?”

“Gods no, just thought I'd point out it was my choice.”

“Right, right, fair enough.”

“Not that I don't want you to kill him if he forces me to marry him, I'm just making a point.”

They lapsed into silence.

“Hallek,” she said. “Are you sure?”

“I'm sure,” Hallek said. “I'm lost, Shylldra. I have no idea what to do now. I know I'll never make it back to Downwind. Not really. But the only way out I can see goes through Lekarik. So let's get him out, and then I can figure out what in all the hells happens then.”

Don't you recognize me?

The night wore on. Stalls were packed up and towed away as the customers dwindled to a trickle. The crowds milling around the arena thinned and disappeared. Quiet settled over the city like a blanket, and aside from a few stray animals scuttling in the alleys and the occasional late night wanderer the city was still.

The torches in the Plaza of the Brothers did little to hold back the darkness. Pools of light washed around the altar, the two huge statues of Saurus and Huma and the square they overlooked, defining the edges of the shadows rather than beating them back. But in that dim, uncertain light stepped a figure. An old man, his skin like leather, with a hammer resting on his hip. He walked into the pool of light and crossed his arms.

“Come on,” said Baulra, father of the gods. “It's time for us to gather.”

As if by magic, a woman in a dress of golden thread appeared from the shadow. Even in the darkness her gems and jewels glittered, just as they had when she'd called down to Hallek from the branches of a tree.

“I'm here, father,” said Iikwi the Bird, goddess of finery and charlatans.

“I've been here for a while,” a gruff voice said unannounced, and the figure of a pointy nosed little man appeared as if the words had been a spell. Ikkek the Rat, god of subtlety and thieves, bowed deeply to his father and sister.

“You're such a twerp,” Iikwi rolled her eyes.

“I like to make an entrance that's all,” Ikkek laughed. “If people have to notice you, give them something to notice.”

“Children,” a rich, warm, feminine voice scolded. “Now's not the time to argue.”

The woman looked just as she had when Shylldra saw her sitting on the steps of her own temple, a rich and ripely full figure under a simple cloth dress, a crowd of children in woolen robes clinging to the hem. No mortal had seen into those hoods, but if they had they would have found that the faces beneath them changed, from human to dinosaur to insect to fish to rat to bird, to everything in between. Because the children were a part of her, and Maia the mother goddess was mother to all.

“Oh I agree!” a harsh voice snorted. “Let's get this over with.” At these words man with pale white skin stomped grumpily into the light. His teeth were like a row of fangs behind the same sneer he'd given a wounded Verris on the forest floor. Because Kuraga, Dark God of Hatred, had never cared very much for anyone's worshipers, least of all his own.

With a scraping chittering noise, a cloud of ligts, like a blown puffball trapped in a small whirlwind, or a mobile made of stars, floated into the view. The Ancient Spirits of the forest never took a mortal form, though of the gods only Baulra and Maia knew the reason why. They spoke in chirps and barks and screeches.

As did the last arrival. Pale skinned and twice as tall as a normal Troodon, it was the tallest of all the mortal forms present. Gukkik, First Alpha of the Troodon, twittered a greeting and bobbed his head to Baulra.

“Looks like we're all here,” the sun god said. “All who have a stake in this, at least. Is it done?”

“My chosen is in the palace,” Maia said. “Sleeping fitfully. She'll be ready when the time comes.”

Gukkik chattered an affirmative.

“Mine's in the palace as well,” Ikkek said. “Ready as a thief can get. And he's very interested in one of your two. I think there's going to be a little of that animal energy you like so much going on there, sooner or later.” He winked at the ghostly lights beside him.

There were barks and screeches from the Spirits.

“Well you don't have to be like that about it,” Ikkek shrugged.

“Mine's already done most of her work,” Iikwii sighed. “My sweet little microraptor. I was so very proud of them, you know. All those pretty feathers. And now she's done her job, she'll be ready for her grand finale.”

“This isn't a play,” Kuraga spat on the ground.

“Everything's a play,” Iikwi shot back. “Besides, I'd never have agreed to sneak around like this if mine wasn't going to get her big moment at the end.”

“Assuming it all goes well,” Maia said. “We've guided them where they need to go. It's all up to the mortals, now. Their own choices. Their own abilities.”

“Then we're done for,” Kuraga snarled. “Mine's the most pathetic little weed you've ever seen. I've got him where he needs to be, but I doubt he's up to the job.”

“Then why'd you choose him?” Ikkek asked.

“Because the only other real worshiper I had handy was all tangled up already,” Kuraga shrugged. “I've got him where he needs to be. But by the Flames, I wish I could do this myself.”

“We all wish we could do it ourselves,” Iikwi said. “It's so frustrating!"

“No,” Maia said sharply. “That's their path. The Twisted Ones. If we stop guiding the mortals and start controlling them, we'll ruin everything there was, is, or ever will be.”

“A repeat of Lost Pangea,” Baulra said, his rumbling voice soft and serious. At the reminder of the shattered continent the gods grew silent, somber, and again total quiet ruled the square.

“I know that,” Kuraga finally said, the mockery gone from his voice. “I haven't forgotten the Pact, mother goddess. When it comes to this, the Darkness still stands with the Light. Good and Evil still join to oppose the obscene. I'll leave it to my chosen. I just wish I could choose somebody else.”

There were a series of shrieks and screeches from the Spirits.

“Well then,” Iikwi said. “That just leaves...”

All eyes turned towards the statues looming in the shadows. In response there was a tremor in the air, and a pair of voices speaking in unison, so soft they might have been a feather in the wind flowed into them, communication of the soul rather than true words. Because while even the gods could die, truly destroying them was another thing entirely, and the souls of Huma and Saurus lingered in the world.

Our chosen is ready, the voices would have said, if their message had been words. Hallek is strong.

“I know!” Iikwi said appreciatively. “I saw him. He was...mm, muscles. I wouldn't mind a little time as a mortal with him myself.”

“His heart belongs to another,” Maia pointed out.

“I don't want to marry him,” Iikwi rolled her eyes. “Just for a night. You know, like test riding a mount.”

“You'd think your saddle would be worn out by now,” Ikkek deadpanned.

“Shut up you little rodent!” Iikwi snapped, whirling on her brother. “Or I'll pluck your eyes out with my beak!”

“Children,” Baulra said reproachfully. Kuraga laughed, his fangs gleaming in the flickering torchlight.

“And this is how “good” runs its business is it?” Kuraga said. “I'll take my darkness any day. When we bicker at least there's blood.”

“Did any of yours recognize you?” Iikwi asked. “Mine didn't even recognize me, and I didn't even really have to hide from her.”

“Mine didn't,” Kuraga spat. “But I'm pretty sure with a map and precise directions he couldn't locate his own ass, so I didn't think it mattered.”

“Mine had no idea,” Ikkek said. “Kept saying I looked familiar, but that's it.”

“They all recognized us,” Maia said. “Deep down, even if they didn't realize it. That's why they trusted us so quickly.”

He is coming, the spectral voices of Saurus and Huma warned in chorus.

“Then we must go,” Baulra said.

“It feels like we're running away,” Ikkek said. “Which is normally my favorite strategy. But he's still just a mortal, we could slit his throat right now, unmake him completely before...”

“No!” Kuraga barked. “We cannot because he is mortal.”

“Besides,” Maia said. “We can only see time so far ahead, and only what is likely to happen. The ability to surprise us and change the flow of fate is the mortals’ greatest power. Even he, after all he's done, could make another choice in the end.”

The other gods gave each other doubtful glances, but Ikkek remained quiet.

“We will watch what occurs from the heavens,” Baulra said. “Until it is time for us to act.”

One by one the figures in the plaza vanished like wisps of smoke. The sparkling whirlwind that was the Elder Spirits floated away in the wind, Kuraga fell through the ground and vanished as if a trap door had opened beneath him, Gukkik and Ikkek darted back into the shadows, and the heavy presence of Saurus and Huma faded away. Shortly after they had gone, another figure walked into the square.

Master Infuser Dalluth stood in the light of the torches, not sure what had drawn him there. There had just been a sense of...of...he couldn't even put a name to it. A sense that something was happening here, something important. He felt it dimly, as if he'd been deaf his whole life and then suddenly through some magic his hearing began to restore itself, just a bit at first so he could only hear the barest, dullest vibrations of sound.

He flexed his clawed fingers, blood dripping from their tips. He'd been at work when he felt...whatever it was.

And the work must continue. I am so very, very close.

He glanced up at the statues of Saurus and Huma dominating the space before he left. For a moment he'd almost thought they glanced in his direction. He put the thought out of his mind and headed back to the palace, the watchful eyes of the gods upon him.