Walking across the beach barefooted, dragging her toes through the water and sand. Looking up at the nine moons, she wonders where she is. It feels familiar. “What world was this? Maybe it’s a combination of a few. I know better than to let my dreams wander on their own. But, last night with Sasha was pure ecstasy. Gods, what brought that on? It was,,, so awesome.” Kara clasps her hands behind her back and sways while she walks along the beach.” The sky cracks open with a world-shaking war horn blowing, and the moons shatter.
Her eyes pop open. The warning horns of Nexus are sounding, shaking the pictures on the walls. She spins over to wake Sasha, but Sasha isn’t in bed. She spins up, her feet dropping into her boots, grabbing the Crown of the White Dragon and placing it on her forehead; she sprints for the door, taking hold of her massive full blade; Misery’s End, she crosses the family room and steps onto the stairs, “Fuck. Clothes. Don’t leave the room without clothes.” She sprints back to the bedroom and places a hand on Em. The mimic quickly crawls onto her, forming clothes like a loyal puppy leaping into her master’s arms.
She bounds down the stairs, leaping from landing to landing. She enters the meeting room. Sasha is already there talking to Anya, and others are running in, “What’s going on, Babe? You didn’t tell me about any drills today.” Sasha and Anya look at her with expressions that tell her this is no drill.
Two groups of Guardians, The Chain Breakers and The Six, enter the room with a practiced professionalism. Set says, “The Barrier has completely split. It’s only a matter of moments before everything from the other side starts pouring through. I formed the fern up on both ends of the Main Keep.” Everyone looks at Rowan. Everyone sees her thoughts as an image appears. “The rift being torn asunder and things pouring through, confirming what Set said. The image pulls back from the Rift to Nexus. She shows the Main Keep, with The Chain Breakers at one end and The Six at the other, defending it.” Seldom has anyone seen Rowan look worried. Kara’s blood runs cold.
With barely a thought, Kara says to the room, “We need a portal opened to High Throne so we can get everyone evacuated,” Ithalad says, “We can’t let Nexus fall to them. They will use it to conquer the Prime Realms.” Sasha says, “We evacuate everyone that can’t fight or won’t fight, everyone under their 18th name day and their guardians.” An image projects from Rowan, “Ash, Rose, and Ziri leaving through the portal.” Rowan’s sisters shake their heads as they simultaneously say, “No.” Ash says, “We stay.” Rose says, “We Fight.” Ziri says, “We will not be separated again.”
Anya says, “I think I can create a portal big enough to slip Nexus through to someplace else.” Everyone looks at her, she sighs, “Really? It’s a question of mass. I need to find the right combination. Worse case, we get turned to dust and scattered across the universe. Either way, the Old Gods don’t get Nexus.”
Alhindri’s magical voice grabs everyone’s attention, “We evacuate those we can first, then either save or destroy Nexus.” Kara looks at her best friend. They share a bond no one else can understand. Both have suffered more than any mortal soul should have under the goddess of Fire and Pain, Azura. Alhindri looks at her and shakes her head, “We don’t have time. Sara is safe on Veniethea. We don’t have time to let anyone know.” Alhindri says to Khive, “I’ll write a letter to Sara. If there is time, you go, but only if there is time.” Ithalad interrupts her, “Alhi, go.” Alhindri almost laughs, “No. Leave you. I’m at your side until the end.” Alhindri and Khive run for their rooms.
Anya says, “On it. I’ll have the portal open to High Throne in ten and already be working on the other. If I have time, I’ll open a portal to Veniethea.” Kara looks at Sasha, “I’ll get the evacuation going.” She turns to leave. Sasha grabs her hand, “Take the children and go with them to High Throne.” Sasha knows the answer she’s not going to get. Kara pulls away from her, shaking her head, “You are my life, my hope, my love. I can’t leave you. I won’t leave you. We’ve got this, Babe.” She sprints out of the room before any more time is wasted debating a useless subject.
She sprints up the stairs to the roof of Main Keep, passing the living quarters. Knowing her children are in there, she yells, “PREPARE TO EVACUATE!” Then, she tops the tower. She steps on the platform, sounding the attention alarm. A gigantic image of Kara appears over Nexus, “This is not a drill. Everyone under their 18th name day, who can’t fight or is unwilling to fight line up at the Portal Chamber for evacuation to High Throne. Evacuation will begin in nine minutes. She turns to run back to the living quarters, home, to get Lydria, Gaelan, and Phyrra. She knows Rinwauld more than likely already has them ready. She sees Lydria standing before her, “Mom, I’m old enough. Let me stay and fight. I’m good with a blade.” Kara sees herself in her oldest daughter. Her fighting spirit rivals even Camiella, “NO!” she yells back with a little more power than she intended, “No. Go make sure your little brother and sister are ready.” On the other side of Lydria, close to the door, Kara sees Cyndra.
Cyndra says, loud enough to get Lydria’s attention, “Go now, my little warrior princess.” Lydria looks over her shoulder and then back to her mother. Kara takes in her image, hoping it’s not the last she sees of her, mad at her. She says, “I love you.” Lydria runs past Cyndra down the stairs.
Cyndra looks at Kara, but she does not need to say anything. Kara knows Cyndra will die for her children, not out of any pact or oath, but out of love. She briefly wonders why Cyndra has yet to find her own love. Cyndra interrupts her thought, “What’s happening?” Kara explains what she knows, “The Barrier has broken. We will buy everyone enough time to evacuate and for Anya to create a portal for Nexus to move. We will contact you and bring everyone back when it’s safe.” Cyndra knows Kara will lie to her if she thinks it’s for the good of the people she loves. She nods to Kara, “We’ll see you on the other side.”
Both sprint down the stairs. Cyndra peels off at the living quarters as Kara continues down and out of the Main Keep to the Portal Chamber. A line is already forming. Khive is sitting on a bench in the chamber with a letter in her hands. She places the letter into a Bag of Holding and stands, “A letter for Sara if we have time for Anya to open a portal to Veniethea.” Kara hugs Khive; the mystic has saved her on more than one occasion, “Wait here, we’ll get everyone out, then you to Cubbie.” Khive returns the hug, “Goodbye my friend.”
She takes position at the portal as it opens to High Throne. Her thoughts wander to five years ago when the neuraliths attacked, and Nexus had no warning. She was in labor with Phyrra. Gunthar carried her into the Undercroft with the rest of the people who couldn’t fight. The neuraliths had cast some spells to stop portals from being opened to prevent escape. Alhindri was her midwife, helping Phyrra enter the world. Cubbie was next to her, telling her that everything would be okay. With war happening on the surface, she knew everyone would come together to repel the neuraliths and keep everyone safe. We always find a way in the last second. Cubbie was far more comforting than she could imagine as Kara looked at her, remembering when she, herself, was a midwife to Cubbie’s birth. The first time she saw her, she fell in love with the little girl and, for the first time, truly fell in love with Sasha and decided she wanted a family for them.
Nexus rumbles as something hits it.
She snaps out of her memory standing at the head of the line, directing people through a portal to the High Throne with Cyndra and Rinwauld beside her. Kara keeps moving her hands to each of her children; the habits of a mother are nearly impossible to break even with the world ending. One of the Monarchs of Nexus or not, she sees herself as no more important than the stableboys or assistant cooks. As much as she wants them safe, she isn’t going to place her family any higher than any other family. She will wait their turn like every other family and person. Her children will go through with Cyndra and Rinwauld in the order they arrived.
Explosions cause the room to shake. Lydria looks at her, “Mother, I’m old enough to fight. I’m trained. Let me stay.” Kara yells over Lydria’s head, “Keep moving, but don’t push. Everyone here is going through, I promise.” the building shakes again, and small pebbles and dust rain down on everyone. She looks at her oldest daughter, “Lydria, you need to go to look after your little brother and sister, plus your grandfather will need your insight on caring for our people. I know you can fight, but at this moment, you serve a greater purpose in High Throne. Please don’t argue. We don’t have time.”
Kara looks at Cyndra and Rinwauld, prompting Lydria to do the same, “Lydria. Cyndra and Rinwauld are your Godmothers. They are the Godmothers to all of you. If you stayed, it would tear them between their bound pacts, possibly causing them to break their oath. They need you as much as I need to know you’re all safe. If you’re old enough to fight, you’re also old enough to make the right choice.” Kara remembers some of the scoldings she has received over the years from not only Sasha but also the Chain Breakers, Camiella, Ugly, and just about everyone else who loves her because of some of her stupid choices.
Lydria sighs and stamps a foot in frustration, “I understand. I’ll go, but you must promise me you and Mom will be okay.” Kara smiles, “You’re growing up too fast. I love you. We’ll protect each other, I promise.” Another explosion rocks the building, and this one is closer. Kara looks at Rinwauld and Cyndra, “Please keep them safe, and we will come for you when it’s safe to return.”
Cyndra places her forehead against Kara’s and says, “Please be careful and keep Sasha safe. Tell Gunthar,,,”. She smiles, “Never mind, I’ll tell him myself when we return.” Rinwauld says, “Rinwauld will make sure everyone stays safe. Rinwauld loves Kara, and Sasha. Rinwauld will see both again soon.” Kara has always thought it was off-putting the way Rinwauld refers to herself in the third person. Still, it’s never lost its “cuteness.” It makes her smile, and Kara says, “Kara loves Rinwauld too. Now be safe.”
Another explosion causes the building to shake. This time, a chunk of ceiling falls through, but it’s to the side, and no one is injured. The children and even a few adults cry out in fear. Kara looks back along the queue. It seems to have slowed. She looks through the portal and can see shadow elf guards on the High Throne side of the portal, stopping people and writing in a book. She yells at them, but no sound can pass through a portal.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Past them, she sees her father-in-law approaching, people parting ways to make a path for him like death is coming for them because, in a way, it is.
Raven Knight Thalos Cinderblade, King of High Throne, Demigod of Death, Right Hand of Raveneth.
Mortals find it nearly impossible to be anywhere near him when he doesn’t want them to. Even when he does, they still subconsciously move away from him. He walks up to the guards writing in the books and says something to them. Shaking in their armor, they drop the books and start ushering people from the portal. He looks through the portal and sees Kara; portals can only allow people and objects to pass in one direction, in this case, from Nexus to High Throne.
He would come through if he could, but it’s taking everything Anya has to maintain this portal and do what she needs to do to save Nexus. He lifts an open hand toward Kara. Kara responds in kind, trying not to show any fear. In truth, she’s not afraid for herself. She has no concept of fear but fears for Sasha and her friends. She’s worried this is the last time she will see her children. She has a bad feeling but shakes it off. She reminds herself, “We always pull it off in the last seconds. This is no different.”
She kneels, hugging each of her children, “Lydria, watch your brother and sister, and please help Grandpa and Grandma. Gaelan and Phyrra, listen to your sister. I mean it. I love all of you. Cyndra and Rinwauld are in charge until you come home. Clear?” All of them nod to their mother and wrap their arms around her. Lydria looks at her mother, “Mom, Grandpa is a God of Death. I don’t think he needs much help, and if “Grandma” hears you call her a grandma, she’s going to freak.” This gets a laugh from Kara.
The line starts moving quickly, and someone further back screams. She looks back and sees Khive break the bindings on her katana, Seven Deaths. “Gods, no. Please not now.” Khive’s prophecy of her own death says she will die the day she breaks those bindings. She holds back tears as she remembers Khive saying, “Goodbye, my friend.” Kara says, “Goodbye, my friend.”
Kara sees one of the enormous abominations looking through the hole in the ceiling. Then, it extends its head into the room.
She opens herself to the Dawn Bringer, becoming an Avatar of the Redemption. Radiance explodes from her, her eyes glow as bright as stars, and the power lifts her off the ground. Kara points at the creature, and a beam of radiance strikes, hitting the abomination. Kara yells at it to get its attention. She takes Misery’s End in a two-handed grip and flies toward the creature. Several smaller winged abominations come darting in through the hole. Kara says a prayer to Elirae, and thousands of miniature glowing, transparent versions of Misery appear around her in a blur of motion. The first wave of the tiny flying abominations come at her and are ripped apart as they contact the outer edge of the Spirit Guardians surrounding her.
A wall collapses, and another one of the huge ones is standing in the opening. Kara opens herself entirely to the Dawn Bringer. This time, she begins to glow with an aura of white light, and white wings tipped with silver span from her back.
Rinwauld pushes the children faster to the portal, saying, “She is beautiful, isn’t she?” All of them turn to look at her. To them, she looks like a goddess of war. None of them have witnessed their mother completely open herself to the goddess, not even sparing against Camiella or Ugly. She is encased in a radiant sphere of death, glowing white/silver wings, with light dancing across her body like a star about to nova as she collides with the first of the enormous creatures pushing it back. Another beam strikes the second one. The small, winged ones are being ripped apart by the sphere as Cyndra and Rinwauld move the children through the portal.
On the other side of the portal, they stop next to their grandfather, Thalos, and watch the battle.
Kara is only thinking of protecting the portal long enough to get the last of the evacuees through, then to get back to her wife and Anya in the Portal Room to defend them. Ambriel, Encarna, and Camiella should be there now, watching over them, but she isn’t going to leave Sasha’s safety to anyone except herself.
With a brief smile, she drives Misery through the first abomination and looks back at her children, friends, and father-in-law. She hits the second one with a beam as it charges into her, pushing her up against the wall and cracking the stone. The last of the evacuees step through. Silently, she Sends the words Anya is waiting to hear, “Drop It,” and the portal vanishes.
The abomination grabs her in one hand and slams her to the floor. She coughs up a trickle of blood, “Come on, my seven-year-old hits harder than that.” Another beam of coherent light hits it. Misery flashes forward, this time powered with a divine smite, and there is a flash of light as the creature slides backward from the impact. Kara comes up, flying forward, hitting it again. It explodes in a shower of black blood and chunks of meat. She passes through it and out into the courtyard.
In the courtyard, the abominations are everywhere: parts of this creature and parts of others. Looking at one too long causes her head to ache. They are climbing up and down buildings and flying. There seems to be no end to them. The main keep is under heavy assault, and she knows, “That is where Sasha, Anya, and Camiella are making their stand, where I have to be.” Battles are going on everywhere: Gunthar and Galga are fighting back-to-back, and Both groups of Guardians barely hold their own on either end of the Main Keep. Ugly has made his stand outside his Tavern. He is a blur of fists, feet, elbows, and knees. His drunken style has never ceased to amaze her, but there is no time to admire it now.
Kara flies toward the Main Hall as fast as her wings can carry her, praying, “Elirae, please give me the strength to defend my family. Lend me your power”….. Kara hears a reply, “My power is too much for even you. It will be costly and could take your life. Do you accept the price?” Without hesitation, Kara yells out, “YES!”. Elirae replies, “Then take this gift Karael Cinderblade.”.
The wounds she’d already received close, and a new strength pours through her. Her wings feel stronger, the silver feathers on the edges of her wings become celestial steel, and she feels the Girdle of Trials surge with power throughout her body—a bright haze forms over Nexus. Beams of pure radiance begin to strike around the courtyard, popping abominations like bubbles and avoiding the people fighting to defend Nexus.
She slams into a monster that was once a dragon and what looks like it could have been a demon, trying to dig its way into the Throne Room. There is a shock wave and a BOOM as it flies apart. Pieces and chunks of viscera scatter like shrapnel, hitting other creatures and taking down some smaller ones. The world briefly goes black as she slams into a stone column. She opens her eyes, and she’s lying on her back. The impact must have knocked her out for a second.
She shakes her head and stands just as one of the larger ones hits her, sending her hurtling across the room through several tables.
“It looks like I’m doing as much damage to the building as the abominations are doing. I need to end this fast.”
She realizes she’s lost her Spirit Guardians. The door leading to the Portal Control Room is only a few feet away. She stands and sends a beam through the big one that hit her. It takes the blast and looks at her with a wicked grin, “Great, immune to radiant. Let’s see what you think about this, you piece of shit.” Kara charges at it with Misery in both hands, ducks under a tail swipe from the creature, and raises the edges of her wings, using them as blades, slicing it open like a hot knife through butter. It comes apart like the one at the door did. She takes a moment to enjoy the satisfaction of sending one more of these creatures back to the Far Realm, then sprints for the door.
The hall to the Portal Control Room is so crowded that she can barely swing Misery. Realizing that if she could have kept Spirit Guardians up, it would have helped to clear a path. She starts to cast it, and then up ahead, she sees a burning ray of flame and a lightning bolt. She stops the cast and drops her beam in the same area instead. Thinking, “That’s my Babe and Camiella unleashing holy hell on the things. Hopefully, my beam helped and let them know I’m coming.” She focuses on the area before her, asking Elirae for control of the base forces of nature. Where the lightning bolt hit, she thinks about a fissure of all-consuming gravity. There is a sudden inrush of air as a line of micro singularities tries to consume everything around them, and hundreds of tiny creatures are sucked into it. “There! Sasha and Camiella, they both look hurt.” Kara uses the small clearing to rush to them. She hugs Sasha, sending healing energy through her, and whispers in her ear, “Our children are safe.” Sasha kisses her bottom lip, knowing it focuses her, and looks her in the eyes, “Now, let’s save Nexus Beautiful.”
She turns to Camiella and hugs her, as battle sister and one of her best friends. Behind them, Anya is working frantically at Nexus’ Heart, a large round stone table covered in glowing runes and symbols with a glowing globe showing the Prime Realms floating millimeters above it. She is trying to drop Nexus through a portal so it can relocate to a safer place. This is something she has never done and hadn’t even considered before this morning when the boundary between our reality and the Far Realm shattered.
Anya explained earlier that sending people from one place to another through a portal is simple; there’s hardly any mass involved with people. Nexus must weigh millions of tons. It’s nearly a cubic mile and made of solid stone and iron. A slight miscalculation will result in them all ending up as little pieces scattered across the universe. The good thing is that Anya is over 10,000 years old, is patient, and thinks things through before committing. Thankfully, she didn’t ponder the question for too long.
Sasha casts Wall of Fire down the hall; they are still coming, and their sheer numbers overwhelm even the heat she can generate. Sasha holds her arms over her head and then waves them down, touching the source of life and annihilation, the Phoenix. Camiella and Kara step away from her. They’ve seen her do this before as Sasha becomes flame incarnate. Bat-like wings appear on her back, horns grow from her forehead, and wreaths of fire surround her, as she lets her infernal form come forward. The Wall of Fire surges, growing so bright it’s difficult to look at. Stone begins to turn to liquid. She throws a tiny bead of flame down the hall to the Throne Room. The roar of the explosion is deafening as a small sun ignites.
Camiella and Kara send lightning bolts and beams of radiant light as fast as possible, buying Anya time to work and Sasha time to prepare her next spell. Still, they are coming, and their chittering is so loud you can barely hear yourself think. The things aren’t ignoring the flame. There are so many that they are pushing their way through it. Camiella and Kara form the front line, with Sasha behind them. Kara spreads her wings to give Sasha some cover. Camiella looks at her and says, “Show off.” Ambriel and Encarna make swift work of anything that gets past and close to Sasha
The wave of abominations clashes with steel, lightning, and radiance. Sasha continues to hurl spells. A massive claw reaches through and slaps Camiella, sending her flying to the other side of the room. Kara brings Misery down on the wrist of the thing and hears a satisfying snap of bones. Camiella stands and sends healing energy through herself. Some, not all, the wounds close, and then her Storm Avatar form fades. She shakes her head and moves back to Kara’s side. She smirks. “The hard way, Blue.” Kara repeats, “The hard way, Cam.”
Anya yells out, “Got it!” She moves her hands and body around the table in what almost looks like a dance. Runes, stars, and all manner of arcane and divine symbols appear in the space over the table. Kara has been here for nearly fifteen years. Anya is unique in how she manipulates portals to any place in the multiverse, but this is far more intricate than anything she has ever seen her do.
Nexus begins to vibrate; the walls glow with a bright blue light. Anya continues the dance, coming to a stop so suddenly that it seems time has stopped. Then there is a roar. Nexus starts shaking to its foundations. Anya yells out one word, “Shit.” Sasha yells over the roar, “What! What happened?”
Kara and Camiella turn to face the hoard in the hall. A small piece of the ceiling breaks and flies away. Kara’s Redeemer Avatar form fades, but she still has her wings. “Fuck” Through the hole they can see black/blue sky and flame. Anya yells back to Sasha, “Slight miscalculation; we’re falling over some planet.” Kara and Camiella see that there is no way they can hold back this horde. Kara looks at the hole in the ceiling. Both can feel the suction being pulled through it. Camiella yells “Do it, Blue!” Kara looks back at Sasha and says, too low to be heard over the roar, “I love you, Babe.”
Kara charges Misery with all the divine power she has remaining. Sasha realizes what she’s about to do, grabs Anya, and pulls her under the massive stone table. Kara spreads her wings to lift off the floor and swings Misery in a great arc, shattering the stone around the hall. It bursts open to the sky, and Camiella, Kara, and the horde are instantly sucked out of Nexus. There is a sharp blast of pain in her temple as everything goes black.