Chapter 8 #2
Hel took a pull from his civar. “And then there wouldn’t be princes of the underrealm there’d be a king .
Now, I’m going to count to three and then she bites.
Because I don’t give a fuck whether you live or die.
It’s no skin off my ass if the rest of your body rots and your soul is tortured endlessly.
I’ll sleep like a wee babe and still get what I want one way or another.
” Hel gave War a pointed look to make sure he knew he was telling the truth.
He better not try to get in the way either.
War’s jaw muscles flickered, and he narrowed his eyes, but he stayed silent.
“Actually, let’s skip the counting. Three,” Hel said.
“Wait!” Synick screeched. “I’ll help. Just get this snake off me.”
Hel flicked his fingers, and she vanished, reappearing around his own shoulders. “It’s a little disappointing how easy that was really,” he said to War.
War shook his head but smiled. “So, Synick, where should we start looking?”
“Start with Rogue. One thing the demons deal in is secrets, and Rogue has one that will make him fold.”
“That’s not a location,” War said, raising his fist. “You said you’d give us locations.”
“No, it’s better than random places where they might hide our immortality.” Hel took hold of War’s wrist to stop him from delivering the blow. “We could spend months looking, months we don’t have, and still not find anything. What’s his secret?”
War closed the heavy metal door to the wing of the dungeons Synick was located in. A section deep under the castle that few knew existed. “I thought you were going to kill him,” War said, locking the door.
“I was. If you want to be feared the way I am, War, you can’t bluff. You have to be willing to do it.”
“Thane. My name is Thane.”
Hel tilted his head. “You’re really going with that?”
“Yes.”
“So fuck the past, huh?”
He glared at him. “I like Thane better, don’t make it more than it is.”
“No, you’re shedding that part of you. The part that is my brother.” He waved his hand up and down his cousin, “You’re all elf now.”
“You are my brother, Hel, whether my name is Thane or War. But I will stay here as High King when this is over, so it’s Thane.”
“Fine.” Hel didn’t like it, he’d called him War for hundreds of years, but it wasn’t his choice.
He’d already taken the most precious thing in Thane’s life— Layala —so he would give him this.
They walked shoulder to shoulder down another dank and musty corridor.
“I still think it’s best we get rid of Synick so no one can ever know where the Sword of Truth is. ”
“Except we don’t know how he is here. What if he gets let out again?”
“The dead are supposed to stay dead. They can’t just let things out. The demon princes can’t even leave themselves without the help of a god or goddess, and the gods can’t let out the dead, so something else happened.”
“What?”
“Maybe Valeen created a momentary rip in every realm. I don’t know. We may never know.”
Thane stopped and faced him. “How do you think Morv got free?”
“The council sent him to assassinate us. Obviously they used their power to open the gateway. Even if they couldn’t leave Runevale themselves, they clearly were able to communicate with people outside Runevale.
They have spies and assassins from all over.
I’m more than certain they know the portals are open.
We need to be prepared for anything they’ll throw at us.
” They came to another door and pushed through.
The cells down here were entirely empty.
A poor use of space, honestly. There had to be at least a handful of people who needed to be thrown into a cell for a crime.
Thane’s annoying elven sister and mother for starters.
He’d only seen the pair for a few minutes and already wanted to snap their necks.
Gods, they’d been gone for a day and Orlandia blubbered like an infant when she saw her son return.
“What do we know about the demon prince’s power, Thane? ”
“You accepted Thane quickly.” He rubbed his chin. “And their power is fueled by the dead.”
“Exactly. Even if they could let him out, they wouldn’t. His soul is worth thousands of any mortal and without their third brother and his ring, their power is already weakening. And I can still call you War to be an asshole if you prefer.”
Bright sun slipped through the outer edges of the door and then with a flick of Hel’s wrist it opened and fresh air burst into the dungeon tunnels.
An unknown set of guards waited outside and dipped their chins upon seeing their king and his cousin.
He was still waiting to hear what the rumors around the castle staff would be about Hel and the king’s former betrothed, Layala, clearly sharing a room together.
Hel wasn’t going to hide their relationship on anyone’s account, least of all peasants and the gossip columns of the Palenor Scroll.
Though he’d taken care of that problem months ago when he cut off the writer’s hands and tongue.
He doubted anyone else would dare write about his wife.
And if the elves at large figured out he was the Black Mage—well, at least they’d have some fucking respect.
He didn’t like playing second fiddle to their king.
“Did Katana say how she came to be here?” Hel asked.
Thane shook his head. “She doesn’t remember. She mentioned believing she was meant to help Valeen somehow, but that’s all.”
“She was married to the primordial Atlanta. He might come calling once he learns she is alive, and if my instincts are right, and they always are, he’ll be a problem.
She would have asked about him by now; shit, she would have wanted to go to him if he wasn’t.
When you die and come back the first person you want to go to is your lover. ”
“Maybe she doesn’t love him.”
“Find out.” Hel tapped a finger against his chin. “I wonder what she is capable of. Will she be an asset or a liability?”
“Not everyone is a pawn on a chessboard for you to use.”
“No, there are also knights, bishops, rooks, and kings and queens, and then there is the hand moving them. Leif, Piper, even Presco, are pieces, you and I are the hand.”
Thane chuckled. “And Valeen?”
“Is the angel on my shoulder. The only thing that keeps me from wiping the board clean. Because if it were only me, I’d take my army and burn through every city I could in Runevale, watching as the pale ones grew in number and let the streets run red.”
Thane’s deep green eyes flicked over him, no shock or disappointment.
He was too used to Hel’s antics for that.
“You’d be killing thousands of innocent people, and someone would eventually get to you.
It wouldn’t simply be the council who would see you as a threat. All the gods and goddesses would.”
Hel raised a shoulder. “I said if it was only me. Now, I can’t do that. It risks her life too much, and I have a reason to live. I won’t die again only to be reborn and forget it all.”
“How long do you think we have before they bring an army? I’m guessing weeks, not months. It will take time for them to gather their forces, but they’ve been waiting for this.”
Hel dragged his tongue over his bottom lip. This question had kept him up most of the last two days. “So have I.” He was itching for this battle and to watch the council fall.
The paths around the castle grounds were patrolled with more soldiers than ever before. The guard had been tripled, and so had Hel’s wards on this place. With the pale ones locked in the Void, it freed up the elven army to guard the city wall rather than be spread out.
The castle doors were pulled inward as they approached.
Thane was quiet as they entered and then stopped under the chandelier in the foyer.
His voice was low when he said, “And your plan is just to have your cursed army come up against a force that will outnumber us fifty to one? Can you even control them enough to not attack us right alongside the council’s forces? ”
Hel glared at one of the guards and he quickly shut the front doors, leaving him and Thane alone.
There were outliers among the pale ones of course, but the majority of them followed his command.
They were drawn to him in a way Hel couldn’t even explain.
“Of course I’ll control them. And that’s my plan but what the fuck are you bringing to this fight?
Your Ravens won’t be enough. We need dragons. ”
Thane sighed and ran his hand over the top of his hair.
He slowly shook his head, and his face twisted into frustration.
“If King Zale is still the dragon king in Ryvengaard, which is unlikely, it would be nearly impossible to convince him to fight with me against the council again. He lost more than half his people in that war and then I was captured and never heard from again. If he’s still alive, he probably hates me. ”
“Well, thankfully you have an entire army of dragons up north who have no memory of that time because they weren’t there, and one pretty redheaded soldier who I hear has the heart of their prince.”
“They won’t fight with us because of your curse. They are terrified of becoming infected. It’s us and your pale ones.”
He started up the wide staircase, leaving Thane behind.
“You never used to give up so easily. Use that diplomatic mind and charm I know you have and that handsome mug.” He smiled over his shoulder at him.
“You really don’t want me to do it because I’ll start by killing the king and work my way down the royal line until one of the heirs agrees to fight and place a crown on his head. ”