Page 422 of Of Empires and Dust

“I’m not,” she choked, eyes wild with fear.

“How could you kill him?” Kallinvar did nothing to hide the seething rage in his voice. “He was good. He was kind. He treated you like an equal.”

“Be done with this,”Achyron said in his mind.“She is a slave of Efialtír. Destroy her!”

Kallinvar pushed the god’s words away.

“Answer me!” he roared again.

“I didn’t… I don’t know what you’re?—”

“Do not dare lie!”

“I’m not, Grandmaster.” Tallia pulled at the fingers of Kallinvar’s gauntlet, her legs dangling, the rain beating harder against her. “Please.”

“I know what you did. Your treachery is not in question here, child. Your reasons are.”

Evidence could be planted. The pages might have been ripped by someone else, and the gemstone also. But that compartment in Tallia’s bed, that told him of planning, of a need to hide.

Kallinvar released his hold on Tallia’s throat and let her fall to the stone with athump.

He turned and snatched the gemstone into his hand, looking into the dull red heart of it.

“Destroy it!”Achyron roared in his mind. The presence of Efilatír’s touch in this place had set a fire in Achyron.“Burn the Taint from my home!”

Kallinvar squeezed his hand into a fist, and the gemstone shattered in his gauntlet. Memories of Gildrick flashed through his mind, of the man’s kindness and generosity, of his thoughtfulness and selflessness. Kallinvar’s mind slowed over the oldest memory, of a boy of fourteen summers, scraggy and small, but with a smile from ear to ear. That boy had grown into a man, and that man had grown into a friend, a friend that had trusted Kallinvar to keep him safe.

“Pain is the path to strength,”Achyron said.

Kallinvar opened his hand and let the shattered remnants of the gemstone fall to the ground. A rage flowed through him like a river of molten fire that burned his veins and clouded his mind. He turned and unleashed a guttural roar, his Soulblade forming in his fist. He swung the mighty blade, green light gleaming in the falling rain.

Tallia screamed but went silent as Kallinvar stopped the arc of his Soulblade just short of taking her head. The blade hovered a hair’s breadth from her neck as she knelt on the stone. Green mist drifted from its surface, a clap of thunder howling in the sky.

“Do it,”Achyron demanded.

Kallinvar said nothing, holding his blade in place. Tallia stared up at him, eyes pleading.

All about him the citizens of Ardholm stood in a shattered circle, holding their breaths, staring. Even Ruon, who stood behind him, said nothing.

More memories of Gildrick drifted through Kallinvar’s mind.

“She is a servant of Efialtír, and you will do as you are commanded.”Achyron’s voice was calm but absolute.“She slaughtered Watcher Gildrick. She would have Efialtír cross the veil between worlds. It is your task to end her before she does.”

“No,” Kallinvar whispered.

“You took an oath, Kallinvar. You will do what is required of you.”

“I will not do this.” Kallinvar’s hand remained steady, the rain drumming against his Soulblade, green light misting. “The duty of the strong is to protect the weak.”

“She is not the weak, my child.”

“It is her weakness that has brought her here. She is a soul of Ardholm. It is our solemn duty to protect her from Efialtír. We have failed in that duty, but I will not fail her now.”

“Do not defy me, Kallinvar. It is by my will that you still draw breath.”

“A man should not simply wish to live. He should wish to live in a way that he deems to be right,” Kallinvar whispered, the citizens of Ardholm still standing around him, staring at him as though he’d gone mad. It was Verathin who had spoken those words to him all those centuries ago, and they had bound to Kallinvar’s soul. “This is not right.”

“Then I will strip the life from your bones, burn the Sigil from your soul, and leave you to die as you should have before I saved your life. Efialtír is too close. I cannot allow defiance.”

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