The Edge of Ruin

Chapter 5: Revelry

Krio's back was aching. He'd been crouched in the same position for well over two hours, barely breathing, as he waited for the kitchens to clear out. He was sandwiched between a wall and a cupboard. The tunnels and passageways he used ran throughout the castle, which was convenient for getting around unseen and unheard.

Unfortunately, the tunnels didn't extend very far into the kitchens, so he had to leave the safety of the dark and crouch in the light for any chance at a scrap of food.

The castle was busy today. The seven Eidolons were due to return from wherever they'd gone – nobody, not even Krio, knew where this was – and the castle was alight with preparations for a great feast to welcome them home.

Feast may have been too generous a word.

Tartarus was a barren land. Food was difficult to come by. Eidolons of Icelos, however, deserved to eat like the high generals they were, and therefore everybody in the castle forwent their rations in the days leading up to the feast so that the Eidolons could truly eat their fills.

Krio was not interested in sacrificing his rations to a group of Nightmares he knew would slaughter him in cold blood if they even guessed at his existence. Thus, crouching beside a cupboard.

The last cleaners left the kitchen two and a half hours after Krio had settled into his hiding spot. He waited ten more minutes to be certain that nobody would be coming back. Then, he crept out and into the cavernous room. He moved from table to table, stashing whatever scraps he could find into the satchel at his side.

The stone brick ovens were still warm from baking bread all day, and he was lucky enough to find some charred rolls in the ashy remains of the fires they'd housed. Those he stowed carefully.

He moved lithely between the many tables. His small steps were silent as the night around him, practiced from years of sneaking around the castle. He found withered potato peels and discarded roots on the floor under some of the tables, which he greedily packed in alongside the bread rolls.

Food was food.

Footsteps from outside the mammoth wooden door startled him. His heart began to hammer as he dashed back for the cupboard he'd hidden behind for hours. The door opened, spilling firelight from the hallway outside into the silent kitchen. The intruder paused at the door for a beat, then walked in and shut the door behind them.

Krio held his breath. He was sure they could hear his heart beating out of his chest.

"Krio?"

The voice startled him so badly he dropped his satchel. He let out a breath of relief.

"Here, Mother," he said, stepping out from behind the cupboard and kneeling to recollect his food scraps.

His mother made his way over to him. She was tall, far taller than he was, at this age, and her frame was lithe and willowy. She wore her standard uniform: a form-fitting black cloak that covered her from her neck to her wrists and fell just beneath her knees. Her collar was adorned with a ring of gold, denoting her rank as Eidolon. The platinum of her hair contrasted starkly with her inky attire.

"You're back early," Krio said, gathering his satchel to his chest and getting to his feet. His cheeks burned. Even though he knew his mother had put him in this position, he still felt embarrassed to have her know how low he had to stoop for food. When she was at the castle, she was kind enough to toss him some of her meals every so often. She'd been away for weeks now, though.

"Sweet child," his mother said, placing her cold palm onto his cheek. Krio's heart skipped with a beat of hope. "I had to make sure the castle was prepared for the return of our fearless leader. Personally."

His face fell. Of course. He knew she didn't care for him, at least not in the way he was sure mothers were supposed to care for their children.

"Oh," he said, looking away.

"You've been staying out of sight? Out of trouble?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, mother," he said, voice small.

"Good," she said. "Now go back to your tunnels. I don't want anyone finding you here."

He flicked a longing gaze to the opposite end of the kitchen, at the tables he hadn't yet reached to pillage for scraps. It was useless to fight, though. Once she gave an order it was unquestionably followed.

"Yes, mother."

She gave a short nod and spun on her heel, clicking her way back out of the kitchen. She shut the door behind herself, bathing him, and the room, in utter darkness once more.

---

The remaining six Eidolons returned the next day. Krio watched from a tall tower's balcony; a small one barely anyone ever came to anymore. He'd made his home in the attic of the tower, and when the coast was clear he came down to the balcony to watch the world pass below him.

The Eidolons' return was lavished with pomp and flair. Hundreds of Nightmares gathered in the courtyard below Krio's tower, clamouring over each other to get a glimpse of Icelos's chosen few.

They strode through the castle gates like they owned the world. Krio supposed they did; they were the highest-ranking Nightmares in Tartarus.

To cement this position some chose lesser Nightmares as mounts. Krio could see two of them sat astride hulking beasts, leagues taller than anyone else around them. All the Eidolons had permanent sneers of disdain or masks of apathy painted on. Krio had never even seen his own mother shed her shell around him.

The noise from the courtyard was suffocating.

The Eidolons filed into the stuffed yard one behind the other, moving at a languid pace. Somewhere a heavy bass drum boomed, and when the Nightmares began to sing in their eerie, lilting voices, out of tune but still somehow cohesive, gooseflesh broke out across Krio's arms. The cacophony of sound bled into melody, the undercurrent of the bass drum darkening it to something harsh and sinister.

The Eidolons had been away for weeks. Nobody knew where they went when they disappeared like this; all they knew was that when the Eidolons returned from hiatuses like these, they brought along new and vicious plans for the Oneiroi and their Spires. The excitement throughout the castle was electric. This was the longest the Eidolons had ever been away, so what they had planned was bound to be devastating.

The very last Eidolon to enter the courtyard was Krio's mother. She, too, was astride a lesser Nightmare. This one wasn't bulky and intimidating like the others, though. Her mount was lithe, like she was, and Krio knew that it could cover more ground in a second than he could run in an hour. It was quick and vicious and was renowned for drawing blood from anyone else that tried to handle it. The only one it let anywhere near it was Krio's mother, and he couldn't help but feel a flicker of pride at the thought.

Though she barely spared him a thought, he still hoped he could grow up to make her proud.

A sudden and panicked hush fell across the courtyard. Behind Krio's mother walked another figure, one nobody had expected to see today.

Icelos, High Oneiroi of Tartarus.

The courtyard dropped to its knees. The crowd fell in ripples as more and more Nightmares realised who had entered behind Krio's mother. Krio's heart stuttered, and he crouched lower behind the small wall that surrounded his balcony. He was too far up to be seen by anyone, but he was afraid nonetheless.

The path the Eidolons had walked parted even further as Icelos strode through it. Desperate Nightmares reached out quivering fingers towards his boots, some even brave enough to let loose pleas that fell on deaf ears.

Icelos walked like he was the only person in the courtyard, like there weren't a thousand kneeling Nightmares all around him, foreheads pressed to the cobbles. He made it almost to the stairs of the entrance hall before he paused and turned slightly, head tilted. Krio held his breath.

Then, Icelos flicked his gaze upwards and met Krio's eyes. And smiled.