Xadezhda
A dark figure approached the bars.
Her elbow began to throb, the more time she spent awake. Xadya was tired. Exhausted. Betrayal by two people she loved sat heavy on her shoulders. How much more could she take before she cracked?
Xadya squinted. The figure drew her hood back, revealing blonde hair cut bluntly at her shoulders.
Inessa looked through the bars and into Xadya's soul.
Xadya's mask of anger was not enough. Hurt poked through and Inessa saw it all. Saw how weak she was.
"The gods have brought us to their realm."
Us. Like they were friends. Like they were on the same side.
Xadya was quiet. If she spoke, her voice would betray her.
"What made you think we'd be inclined to speak to you?" Malakhai asked.
A sad smile tugged at Inessa's lips. "You just did."
"Get out," Xadya snapped, words she had said to Inessa before. She hadn't meant it then, and she wasn't sure she meant it now. The prophet looked stricken, as if Xadya had hit her. She wanted to.
Inessa's fingers were still stained red. Xadya cast her eyes away, unable to look any longer. He was really gone, then.
"Let me explain."
"Do the gods know you're here?" Malakhai taunted.
Inessa paused. "They know I'm plotting."
Xadya and Malakhai were quiet. Inessa began to explain, and they let her.
"They won't survive much longer," she said, lowering her voice. Xadya narrowed her eyes. Did Inessa plan to kill them, too? How much more power could she possibly desire?
"I've been around a while," she continued. "Much longer than you'd think. You aren't the first the gods have employed for their bidding. And you won't be the last, unless I do something about it." Inessa took a breath. "They have been destroying the world over and over since the dawn of time. Perfecting it. Humanity is weak, they say. Each time they make mistakes and the gods must begin again. I plan to break that cycle."
"Why not let us help you?" Malakhai asked. Xadya couldn't speak.
"This is much, much bigger than the two of you." Inessa almost laughed. "I have been trying, for eons, to take the gods down so humanity can survive. You two will destroy one or the other, or both."
"Wild cards," Xadya whispered, remembering what she had said. "If you had just told us your plan, we could have helped you."
"No, Xadezhda," Inessa said sadly. "With you and Malakhai divided, I'm afraid we would have failed. Even united, you two are unsafe. Better to be put away before being given the chance to wreak more havoc."
Xadya was not destructive. Not anymore.
Inessa seemed to see it differently.
"Eons, you said," Malakhai spoke up. "Literally?"
"Literally," she confirmed. "Prophets are rare. The gods keep me around."
"Even though you plan to destroy them."
"Well, they needn't know until it's done."
"So why side with them?" Xadya demanded. "Why kill Jamie? Are we all just collateral, then?"
"You put it so harshly," Inessa said. "Everything I do is for the greater good."
"Whose?" Xadya snapped.
Not her. Not James. Not anyone she could think of.
"The gods promised your power would be stripped away. After that, you could go free. You wouldn't be a threat anymore."
Xadya got to her feet, curled her fingers around the bars and snarled, "I will always be a threat to you."
"What were you doing in the monastery, then?" Malakhai asked. "Certainly you could have escaped with the gods in your favour."
"Oh, that." Inessa smiled. "They are the creators of new generations when the gods inevitably devour the current one. The horrors are still true. But I was never in any danger, if that's what you're asking."
Everything had been a lie. Every word from Inessa's mouth. Xadya cursed herself for believing the prophet so easily. She should have asked more questions. She should have kept her guard up.
Malakhai noticed her reeling and said, "the gods told me things, you know. About your family."
Inessa faltered. "Why would they do that?"
Malakhai grinned a lizard grin. "Oh, I don't know. Incentive. The upper hand. You tell me, although I'm not entirely certain you have the whole truth." He waited. Xadya looked at him, gears turning.
"Killed by the monastery," Inessa said. "Longer ago than you may think."
"Half truth," he spat. "I could be convinced to tell you the whole truth."
Inessa inched closer. "What could they have told you that I don't already know?"
"A price, witch," Malakhai snapped. "Free us so we can defeat the gods, and I'll tell you."
She looked torn. Xadya knew the attachment Inessa had to her family, taking from her too young. How many years had she been without them? By the look on face, Xadya would have only guessed a few. She knew it was far more.
"I had to convince them to take me in," Inessa said quietly. "We made a deal, the gods and I. They would allow me into their circle, to hear their plans, to sit with them. But they had a price, too. They want your power."
"They control our power," Xadya snapped.
"Yes," she said. "But once chosen, you cannot be unchosen. Even you, Xadya, your power was never gone. Only sleeping."
Xadya's stomach boiled. Fists clenched. What could she mean?
"They promised to spare me and grant me sanctuary in the new world. So long as I promised to take it."
Her heart dropped. Had Inessa planned it the whole time? How long had she known she was going to strip Xadya and Malakhai of their power?
Xadya had her powers taken once before. She would not allow it again.
"Once James was taken care of and you two were powerless, the gods could move forward."
Xadya rattled the bars, eyes narrowed into slits, seething at Inessa. "You're a monster, Inessa. You killed him."
Inessa tilted her head. "Are you going to kill me in return, Xadezhda?"
"Quit stalling," Malakhai ordered. "Do we have a deal or not?"
"I can't free you," she said. "Perhaps we could strike a different deal. Rest up. You'll see me again before the ceremony."
"Ceremony?" Xadya asked. "What ceremony?"
Inessa was already gone.
