The Blood Witch

12: In the Caves, Little Hope Left

~ Rhaenys Vissera, blood witch ~

Rhialdir laughs as he approaches us. As he steps closer, Krihla steps between us and him. Zunera steps behind Krihla, but still is between us and the evil god. But Rhialdir only shakes his head, seemingly disappointed.

"Oh, Krihla, Zunera, how have you two chosen the wrong side of this war?"

"There is no way we would ever align with you, Rhialdir. You are evil, a monster, and you will one day meet the gruesome end you have fated for you," says Krihla.

"Oh? And who will do that, Krihla? You? Your lover, who clings to you like a babe would to her mommy's body?" He snorts. "Pathetic, both of you."

A sword appears in Krihla's open hand.

I look at Mithra, who seems genuinely scared. Haakon is angered, who watches Rhialdir and his every move. Callidora, who looks between us and the god of beasts, who seems to ignore us.

"Hmm. I knew you would pick the wrong side, Krihla. And Zunera?  You honestly do not surprise me, either. But now that I'm here and I see the depth of your betrayals, well... I hope you know that I cannot let you live. The Darkscape is not going to let you flee through your little wormholes, either, Krihla. Yes, I remember your little speciality of jumping into wormholes and escaping things like this."

"It doesn't matter what you do here, Rhialdir, the god of creatures. You are the fool, and you are outnumbered, in case you hadn't noticed." Krihla smiles at him.  "You are going to die. I don't know when or how or where, but I do know who is destined to do it."

"I'm sure you do," says Rhialdir. He rolls his eyes. "And I am sure you have true power backing yourself. But hey, I will give you one chance, for you and all your buddies here. One. Fucking. Chance."

Haakon scoffs. "Like we would believe you."

Eyes flashing, Rhialdir glares at Haakon. "Oh, I am sure that you, the mortal with a broken heart and mind, have no way of knowing that when I said that, I was being honest, as is the upcoming conversation we will have. However, Haakon Sterling, the warlock, I'm sure you would love to know what happened to your boyfriend, am I right?"

The air around us crackles, a sharp, tangy taste filling the back of my throat. I look at Haakon, but I know better than to touch him. He's covered in crackling sparks of energy, the magick too potent to allow anyone to safely touch him.

"He's goading you, Haakon," I whisper.  "Don't let him."

But the warlock who I've come to know as a friend doesn't seem to hear me. He stalks toward Rhialdir, who grins at him.

"Yes, Haakon, I know what happened to Lance Drakeheart. Oh, how that dragon screamed ...."

Haakon roars, charging at Rhialdir. But then, vines burst from the ground, coiling tight around Haakon's body. Haakon roars with a rage that seeps into his soul.

"Let him go, Rhialdir!" Zunera cries. "You have no reason to do this to him!"

The god laughs and waves a hand. "Ah, she speaks. Well, Zunera, Goddess of Love, I'm sure you could tell him what happened to Lance ...."

Haakon looks between them. "Someone fucking tell me!"

Krihla glances at us and Zunera, then back to Haakon, who is still caught in a thick series of vines that hold him in place just a few feet away from Rhialdir. The beastly god grins at us and Haakon.

"Are you gonna tell him, or should I?"

Zunera sighs.  "I'm sorry, Haakon. But Lance has been tortured by Edlidir, Domir, Arros, and Ianke. He.... he went insane and lost his memories of anything but what they wanted him to know.... And so, now, Lance serves as one of many beings who is trapped in a similar situation where they don't know anything but what the gods tell them. They are .... soldiers .... of the gods. And they kill anyone the gods tell them to. Without hesitation or question."

Haakon screams. The anguish in his voice is enough to hurt even us, his friends.

He looks at Rhialdir, the intensity of his hazel eyes now tinged with red energy searing the god.

"I'm going to fucking kill you all.  You, all of you gods who had any hand in doing this to him," Haakon growls. "You will fucking regret what you have done to him, and people like him."

"Of course we will suffer," says Rhialdir.  "You are a predictable bunch, you know. But...." He sighs. "I'm afraid I have no choice ...."

Snapping his fingers, the ground around us shivers. The rumbling sound fills the walls and ceiling, and as they do, Rhialdir grins.

"Fauniko!"

Green light flashes throughout the room, and once it fades, dozens of animals appear. Animals and beasts alike, and I see creatures from normal wolves to beasts that look like metallic dragons.

"God of Beasts, huh?" Rhialdir grins. Then, he's gone.

And chaos erupts.