Page 251 of Lady for Embers

“What is to stop me from simply taking the stairs?” Cyrus asked, tailing him.

A look of amusement ?lled Alaric’s face when he turned back, already on the ?rst step. It made him a little taller than Cyrus, and he leaned down to say softly, “Your demons.”

Cyrus lurched back from him. What the fuck did that mean?

“Do you know why she is so dangerous?” Alaric asked.

“Because she is fucking crazy?” Cyrus guessed.

Alaric gave him a tight smile. “She knows how to ?nd your demons, Fire Second. She knows how to ?nd them and likes to play with them.”

“What does that mean?”

“You will soon learn,” he replied.

“And if Scarlett comes for me in three days as you agreed?”

His features darkened. “If she deigns to respond to my summons, I suppose I can easily come and collect you.” His head tilted, eyes scanning over Cyrus. “Of course, I never stated what condition you would be returned in, now did I?”

Cyrus felt himself pale at his words.

A cruel smirk curled on his mouth. “Oh yes, Fire Second. My wraith is about to learn what warfare truly is. She has pushed me to this. We could have all had everything we wanted, could have lived peacefully with each other, if she would have just done what she was trained to do. Now it has come to this,” he seethed. “Now she will watch as I hunt down everyone she loves and destroy them.”

“She will kill you before you kill all of us,” Cyrus retorted.

He tsked in mock sympathy. “Now, Cyrus, you of all people know there are things so much worse than death.” He looked over Cyrus’s shoulder. “See you soon, Gehenna.”

Cyrus watched him go up the stairs until his footsteps no longer echoed off the walls, then he slowly turned to face the Sorceress. She stood in the center of her cell, watching him intently. Her eyes were bright with excitement, and Cyrus moved to the wall across from her cell, leaning against it. His hands were loose at his sides. There were braziers along the wall, spaced between the windows that showed him an endless expanse of water. The occasional merguard swam by or a small school of ?sh, but that was it.

Several seconds ticked by as the two watched each other before she said, “Would you like to hear a story?”

“What will it cost me?” Cyrus countered.

She smiled, a terrifying, wicked thing. “You have already paid the price,” she said, lifting the vial of his blood in her hand.

He shrugged. “Then sure.”

The Sorceress began moving back and forth in her cell. “In all things there must be balance. Beginnings and endings. Light and dark. Fire and shadows. The worlds are no different. Beings emerged from the Chaos to create such a thing.”

“I already know this one,” Cyrus said, crossing his arms.

“Why must everyone always interrupt my stories?” the Sorceress snapped viciously.

Cyrus raised a brow. “My apologies.” He waved a hand dramatically. “Please continue.”

“Thank you,” she replied, resuming her prowling around the cell. “They went to various parts of the stars, setting up their own kingdoms, maintaining balance. The Firsts created the Lessers, and from them the various worlds grew and prospered. Some grew faster than others. Some worlds were favored more than others. But the scales began to tip as some grew more powerful than others, so two sisters were created to help keep the balance. Without them, new beings could not be created. And so new beings were brought into existence. Some were scattered among the worlds, and some were kept close.”

Cyrus’s arms dropped to his side once more. Maybe he hadn’t heard this one before.

“Do you speak of Taika and Zinta? The Sister Goddesses?”

The Sorceress’s face fell. “You do already know this story.”

“No,” he said quickly. “No. I do not. Keep going.”

The Sorceress immediately began moving again, dragging her ?ngers along the wall. “The ability to give new beings life wasgranted to the Sister Goddesses, but their gifts had to be combined with another’s. They worked closely with the other gods, eventually becoming loyal to Beginning or Ending.

“Beginning and Ending began to compete in what type of beings they could create, but when their Legacy needed something to feed their power, they came together to create a being speci?cally for them.”

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