{Enki | Cinder’s Shrine}
Korac’s neck was stiff with tension as Tameka engaged Celindria over their comms. The Progeny female impressed him with her tact and restraint. It was unfortunate about their abilities. He’d been looking forward to hearing the First Progeny fall to her knees at Tameka’s feet. Instead, he had to endure the sound of Celindria injuring Karter’s body enough for Remorse to abandon it.
Korac’s mother’s body.
Something unendurable had also happened to Chris. It was hard to say without a visual, but judging by the Shadow’s reaction, some fresh nightmares were born today.
Everyone suffered in Celindria’s wake—
Another conduit opened, and Iuo led his army into the blackened shrine. They lined up in one of the few available spaces left, but with the combined armies, their staging area filled fast. Multiple conduits remained open to accommodate the armies too vast to fit into their designated stalls. All the soldiers wore black, and all the Generals dressed to match with accents of blue.
Sagan had come so far in the last few months. Korac left his vantage point, gazing out at Torrentus, to find her. He shoved a hand in his pocket to ensure he packed some food. It was there, right beside the box he kept for the perfect moment. Locating her took the work of a moment as she was with the General from L. Capra, Kombuchi.
The Caprent, with his backward joints dressed in a toga, beamed down at her. “We’ve all waited a long time for this—Ah, General Korac. I haven’t seen you since we defeated your army on Earth.”
Korac smirked and crooked it further at Sagan’s gentle nudge. “Yes, what a battle that was. I’ve never been so relieved to voluntarily concede in my life.” He kissed her on the head and held out the reason for his errand. “Here. You need to keep your strength up.”
Sagan beamed at him as she took an unladylike bite from the nutrient bar. “Thanks, babe.”
Kombuchi’s smile was friendly and filled with affection for the Seamswalker. “This is quite impressive, General Sterling. You are a goddess.”
That had a certain ring to it. They all took a moment to appreciate the number of conduits open, and the people funneling into them. To their right, Pil Dwarves and their engineered mechanizations formed legions in blocks of ten thousand. The rest of the armies filed into similar ranks. Monarch 3 in hive formation took up the middle, Reipon soldiers swayed and slithered to the left of them, then the Lyriks, Icari, and humans gathered at the far end. Yun healers were dispersed throughout each army for support.
Korac muttered in awe, “How many remain?”
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Sagan finished gnawing on the chewy, flavorless Vittle supplement and pointed to an empty lot. “Lukemore is the last one. I’m just on my way to get them.” She climbed on her tiptoes to kiss Korac’s cheek, warming his icy facade in public. “Thanks again. I’ll be done soon.” She flitted off to mobilize the next army.
“Did you ever imagine the likes of this?” Kombuchi mused at the sight. “You. Here. Working with the entire Vast Collective to bring down Enki?”
No. But… “The Shadow have this irritating way of drawing people together and seeing shit through.” With his guiding star, Korac found his people, his home. As if on cue, another enormous conduit opened, and X, a Luk Korac knew by reputation, walked in with an army of the jellyfish-capped, whispering aliens with Sagan leading the way.
Her hair stylish, her eyes sparkling, and her smile dazzling, Sagan walked up to Korac and said, “I love the way you look at me.”
Wishing they were alone, Korac leaned down and whispered in her ear, “That’s my line.”
“Are you two sure you don’t want a film?”
With a groan, Korac separated from Sagan’s sweet watermelon scent to glare at Iuo.
Ignoring him, the Porn Baron continued with his pitch. “You’d look gorgeous together. Pablo and Lynn can vouch for the quality.”
Pehton’s voice came from behind. “I can’t say I wouldn’t watch it.”
Her good humor pulled a radiant burst of laughter from Sagan which Korac nearly thanked Pehton for. He smirked, instead, noticing Pehton still blushed despite whatever bald Icarus courted her. What a compliment. A compliment Korac would treat with dignity, not with a flip of his ponytail and a brilliant smile.
Look. Pehton’s mouth gaped open—
“Ow!” Korac cried out when Sagan swatted him a second time. Seamswalkers were strong. “I did nothing wrong—”
Sagan put a finger in his face. “You know exactly what you were doing, and as much as I enjoy it, there should be a law against glamour warfare.”
Iuo chuckled, and Pehton snickered in her hand, saying, “Thanks for having my back, Sagan.”
“Anytime. So have you and Caedes made it official yet?”
Comically, Sagan waited until the Lyriki Warden took a drink of her water flask to ask the question. Pehton choked.
It was Korac’s turn to chuckle.
Iuo said, “It’s sweet, really.”
“Yeah, we’re all rooting for you two,” Lamassau said on the way over from briefing Lukemore’s army.
X came with him, dressed in a blue jellyfish kilt. He whispered, “Quite the turnout.”
It truly was.
Sagan pulled on Korac’s hand. “C’mon. I want to watch for Tameka’s signal.”
Korac let her lead him to the view, followed by all the Generals in their coordinating outfits. He approved.
Pehton peered around with a frown. “Where’s Xelan?”
Lamassau answered, “He and Tumu are discussing exit strategies for the trapped Shadow since their abilities are useless.”
It was quiet over the comms. The silence unnerved Korac the longer it stretched on.
Iuo blew the air from his reptilian cheeks, his black and blue eyes shifting to each of their faces. “I’d put my money on Fury any day.”
“Here, here.” Sagan toasted with another nutrient bar she slipped from Korac’s pocket.
The group shared approving nods and gazed out at the view. The pale storm clouds spiraled in an impossible hurricane, so immense it covered an entire continent. According to Razor, the Aegis stationed the bridge there before the storm failed to terraform the plane’s atmosphere. It wouldn’t surprise Korac if his villainous brother had caused the failure in the first place.
Korac glanced down at Sagan. This would require the Atheneum, and every time he called Razor, the Pain Curator lingered too much on her for Korac’s liking. Fortunately, she was more than capable of killing him.
Again.
Korac only hoped it wouldn’t come to that.