RE: Monarch

Chapter 27. Crossroads X

It's funny how drastically a single digit can alter the whole. The difference between a hundred slivers of gold and a hundred-ten can be what separates a good deal from a great one. The importance of the number increases exponentially depending on the topic at hand. Two thousand soldiers lost, versus three thousand; both numbers, while harrowing, are somehow dwarfed in the raw magnitude of losing one child, or two.

That night was the source of my compulsion, I think. You see, these days, I count things. There are thirty-two iron bars on that cell wall for instance, thirty-six if you count the cross beams. There are one-hundred-twenty-five tiles within this cell, thirty-four of them cut down to fit the perimeter flush, eight of them warded. It's just something a part of my mind does naturally, now.

What I learned that night was that I could not afford to be imprecise. And the gap, between fourteen people and fifteen, could make all the difference in the world.

"Youre different this time," Thoth repeated, her serpentine eye glowing slightly in the dark.

I gritted my teeth. Despite everything I had done, every calculation, here we were again, faced off once more. Fear poured down the back of my neck in waves, prickling my skin. The thick black aura radiated from her.

Further down the field, Tamaras lithe form appeared, bow drawn and pointed at Thoths back. I shook my head at her minutely, hoping the fabled elven keensight was more than a folktale. Somehow, I knew, even now, how easily Thoth could slaughter us. Tamara kept the bowstring taut to her cheek but did not fire.

Thoth stepped forward into the firelight and I backed away, maintaining the same distance. The sword in my hand suddenly felt useless as a childs toy. Her expression was strangely troubled.

"Ive never seen you like this, not this early." She contemplated as she spoke, almost chewing the words. "You always change. But not like this." Her cold eyes searched me, and wordlessly, I could feel that an explanation was demanded.

Of all people, Thaddeuss words came to mind. A small piece of advice hed given me years ago:

Deny, deny, deny.

"And who are you supposed to be?" I asked, letting the mask of the arrogant noble slide into place. Thoth blinked, then laughed. It was a harsh and acrid sound.

"It still catches me off-guard, even after all these years. The little stage-plays you put on in your head. No. You know me."

Deny, deny, deny.

"I know you attacked my caravan, forcing me to flee into the Everwood. And that you have some sort of relationship with the Dukes little torture cult. Other than that, Im a little lost." I smirked at her, though the expression felt trite and forced. "Perhaps if you just told me what you wanted, I could help you."

"I do not need help from the likes of you!" Thoths anger flared. It was a terrifying outpouring of emotion that seemed to blacken the night itself.

I took a half step backwards. It was the first time Id seen her truly enraged. Even when shed murdered the Duke, it had never felt so explicit. Instead, it simmered beneath the surface, waiting for the moment it could finally catalyze and turn to deadly violence. But now she wore that violence like a shroud.

"Okay." I said, changing tact. Glibness could only hurt me here. Instead, I donned the same sort of reverent deference I used when I approached the shadow panther. Her anger flagged slightly, shifting into confusion.

"Youre becoming quite a thorn in my side, Cairn." Thoths anger mostly dissipated, gone as quickly as it had come. She paced back and forth around me in a half-circle. It was all too reminiscent of that first encounter in the pavilion. I tried not to think of it. The way she killed my father. Annettes skin, bubbling. My fingers breaking as I slammed my fists against the ice of the fountain. The knife in my chest.

Tamara had picked up on my signal to hold and did not approach. But where were the others? I turned my head slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of their locations

"Dont look at them. Look at me," Thoth commanded. I obeyed, eyeing her silently. She froze in mid-pace, unsettled by my reaction, then returned to the movement, lips pulled down in a scowl.

"No witty rejoinder? No jokes? No angry declarations or pointless diatribes? Its all wrong. No. Youre different. You know something."

I stayed silent. There didnt seem to be much I could add to the conversation, other than potentially angering her. The best course of action seemed to be continuing to plead ignorance.

Thoth suddenly grabbed me around the neck and held a dagger to my throat. The steel bit in lightly. I saw Tamara stir in the corner of my vision, taking a step forward. Again, I minutely shook my head. Thoths eyes searched mine, her face perilously close. She smelled of death and white roses.

I didnt blink, didnt breathe. I held her gaze, letting the rage and rebellion seep through me. Go ahead. Cut my throat. Chances are, Ill make it back. But eventually, youre going to die, Thoth. And no one will mourn you.

"Oh" Thoths voice was enkindled with a grisly lust. "Oh this is going to be good." She pushed me away with a savage shove. "I dont even know who you are anymore, prince." I fell backwards, catching myself painfully. She scampered above me, and shifted her dagger towards my face, razor point dangerously close to my eye. "When you killed Barion, it rather upset me, if Im honest. He was mine. I had plans for him this time. Figured Id let him play with you a few months, then kill three birds with one stone. Then you went and killed Tusk. And that was even more frustrating. Things go much smoother for me early on if I have someone slimy and sociable by my sidebut, the way you killed him." Thoth ran the edge of her dagger down my cheek. It scraped, the metal whispering as it lightly bit into my skin. "That spoke to me. On a spiritual level."

I stiffened at that, trying to keep the surprise from showing on my face. Thoth had been watching. Observing. And not just in Kholis. That initial ambush was suddenly reframed in my mind. It wasnt a coincidence. She stopped my caravan at that particular spot on purpose.

"You lured me into the forest," I said quietly, remembering the strange, ethereal hand that had summoned me, making up my mind in which direction to run.

"Guilty as charged," Thoth said slyly, "Did you think it was some friendly god, intervening to offer you guidance?"

I said nothing and she laughed that cruel laugh again. "The gods are dead. I am your god, Cairn. Me. There was no question youd run. Cowardice is your most reliable trait, my sweet. But everything after was new. So delightfully and wonderfully new."

"What happens now?" I asked, overwhelmed and numb.

She stepped away from me, shadow overtaking her face. All that was visible in the shadow was her yellow, snakelike eye. "Call it curiosity, but I'm tempted to let this play out. Let you do whatever it is youre planning to do. Ill come for you eventually, anyway, and I suspect you know when."

The coronation. I kept my face blank.

"Fighting you at the apex of your strength will make it so much more satisfying," her voice crooned, almost manic, "to grind your soul beneath my heel. However, that leaves us with a problem."

"... It does?"

"Showing mercy would be terrible for my reputation. So, it's time to make a choice. Option one." She held up a clawed finger. "I kill you here, and subsume the chaos as Uskar tears itself apart in the vacuum. Always a treat. Or option two." She extended a second finger. "I let you live, and as payment, I will, eventually, take something from you. And you will wish that you had died."

There was a dark promise in those words.

"It doesnt have to be like this." I tried, desperation seeping into my voice, "I dont want to fight you."

Thoth cocked her head. Though I could not see her, I could almost feel her disappointment. "And theres the milksop prince showing his true colors. Always so reasonable, so quick to bend. Youll want to crush that weakness, Cairn. We will fight, as we have always fought. And you will die, as you have always died. Broken and alone. Try to make a good showing of it this time."

What the hells was she talking about? I stood, suddenly very aware of the sword in my hand. I found myself coming to the same conclusion I had the night of the invasion.

Thoth was mad.

But it was the dangerous, megalomaniacal sort of mad. She would be ready for me the night of the coronation. And worse, the element of surprise, arguably my strongest advantage, was practically null.

"More importantly." Thoths gaze roamed past me, settling over my shoulder. Her terrible, pointed smile returned in full force. "You missed one."

I spun. Cephur was speaking to Maya on a sloping hill next to the battlefield, illuminated from the light of the torches they held. They were intently focused on the conversation, so much so that Cephur did not see the one remaining bandit hiding behind a tree, his sword reflecting the torchlight.

"Behind you!" I screamed. Only the words died in my throat, a strange buzzing settling in my vocal cords. I spared a glance backward. Thoths gloved hand glowed muted yellow. "Make your choice, little prince," Thoth said coldly. Her golden eye loomed.

Somehow, I regained the presence of mind to take a half-second to look at Tamara and point to the bandit, hoping she picked up on my panic.

Then I ran, my legs pumping, the air itself seeming to fight me. There was the twang of a bow and an arrow arced over my head towards the man. Temporary adulation rose in me, only to come crashing down as a malevolent gust of wind sliced the arrow in half. You had to be kidding me. Thoth was an air mage, on top of everything elsesound, was that even an elementand possibly demon-fire. Magic had limits my ass. I tried to yell again but the same buzzing sensation cancelled my words, the only sound emitting from my mouth my panting breaths.

Fear washed over me anew, the realization Id come to with the last reset stripped bare. We had won this battle. There was no one left to kill me and reset things if I was too slow.

Unless you kill yourself.

The thought was so sudden and intrusive I nearly lost my footing. No. I had no guarantee killing myself would even work. Even the thought of it sent pale beads of sweat down my back.

Another arrow arced over my head. This one stopped, twisting in the air and plunging towards my feet. I spun away from it, tripping, bloodying my hands as I pushed off the ground and scrambled up, trying to regain momentum as quickly as possible.

Come on, dammit.

My legs were so damn small and slow. The bandit stepped around the tree smoothly, his sword raised high, threatening to strike down at Maya and Cephur any moment. My heart sank. I was still twenty, thirty yards out. There was no way Id make it. There was a sudden blur of light above me as a fiery arrow shot through the air. This time it wasnt aimed at the bandit, rather shot up in the air as high as possible.

A signal.

Cephurs head jerked upwards, towards the beacon. The bandit paused at the light and sudden movement.

At that moment I could have kissed Tamara. She could have her pick from the royal treasury. A writ of nobility. Anything she wanted.

But the sense of relief only lasted a moment. Cephur turned in the wrong direction to look and the banditnow assassin, raised his sword, preparing to strike at Maya.

Too far away. So close, but still too far. Even if I used my demon-fire it wouldnt make a difference.

Or would it?

I remembered, in those few precious seconds, everything I had seen during the invasion. The infernals hadnt been touching their targets. The fire streamed from them sometimes, but mostly, it was sent forth with pinpoint precision, almost like a whip.

Of course, that meant Id be breaking my promise to Maya.

No choice. I summoned my spark and set a trail of grass on fire. I braced myself for the pain, the utter agony. Then I pulled. The sensation of tearing ripped through my chest like my skin was being flayed to the muscle. I screamed, my voice still soundless.

Somehow, I held the flame within me still, even as it ate at me hungrily. Cephur finally spotted the man and drew his sword, preparing to leap forward, but he was too slow. The bandits sword came down. Maya stumbled backward and fell. I thrust my hand forward and visualized a tunnel, almost a cylinder connecting the focus point of my fingers to the mans head.

A flash fire broke out on the mans skull. He opened his mouth to scream but the fire was too concentrated. His head seemed to shift and lose shape, spontaneously turning to ash.

Darkness closed in on me, my vision tunneling. But it did not matter. I made it in time. Maya looked at the man and back to me, horrified.

"Cairn, no!"

A flood of foul-tasting liquid gushed from my nose and mouth. It was thick and tasted of iron. I held a shaking hand to my dampened face and looked at it, my vision doubled. Blood. My blood, mixed with something dark and blue.

Not good.

I looked behind me. There was no one else but Tamara jogging our way. Thoth was gone.

I smiled at Maya then. She was safe. They were all safe.

"Sorry I lied"

The weight of standing suddenly became too much. I slumped to my knees and coughed. My vision left me as I crumpled to the ground.

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