Page 122 of Children of Anguish and Anarchy

I throw up my hands, and the spirits of death answer my call. Black shadows shoot forth in twisting arrows, creating an opening through the sizzling red wall. Ash falls before me as the molten wave comes crashing down. Steam rises into the air, creating a dense cloud.

“You cost me everything!” Baldyr yells. I grit my teeth as he takes to the sky. Bolts of red lightning crackle in his palms, growing in size.

“6mí òkú, ? fún mi lágbára yín, ? jáde wá nínú òjìji tuntun—” I chant again, conjuring new shadows of death. The spirits explode from my back, allowing me to fly across the seas.

I twist under the first bolt that Baldyr launches. I spiral to avoid the next. But Baldyr screams into the night. A river of lightning breaks free from his deformed chest.

“Ha!” I call forth my own golden lightning, wrapping it around my body in a sphere. The electric wall holds as Baldyr’s bolts crackle around my form. When it dissipates, I fight to get to him.

Baldyr throws everything he has, every bit of power stolen from the failed ritual. Bloodmetal vines launch through the air, thorns like blades. Molten spheres shoot at me like cannons. Streams of magma arc through the air like claws.

“You can’t stop me!” I shout at the twisted king. With my shadows of death, I repel every attack. There’s no way to block my onslaught.

I am the god that’s been reborn.

When I reach the carrier, I throw my head back. I scream with the wrath of my gods.

The entire ocean shakes.

Then the first animation breaks through the waves.

Finally!

Silver hands reach through the water. They claw their way above the surface. The watery corpses of maji rise, a legion of souls brought back to life.

Dozens of animations turn to hundreds. In the blink of an eye, there are thousands. The spirits of my people fight through the glowing seas, tearing through the crashing waves.

Animations launch themselves at Baldyr’s carrier in droves. They crawl onto the deck, unleashing the full might of their wrath. The Skulls shout as the resurrected souls descend. Their glowing blades do nothing to hold them back. The animations cover the Skulls in their deadly swarm, tearing the foreign warriors limb from limb.

More animations build under me like a mountain, lifting me high into the air. They rise beneath me until I reach Baldyr’s plane, level with the source of my despair.

“Baldyr!” I scream the old king’s name through the building tempest.

Baldyr summons all the power within him. Blood and lightning spiral above his head. Molten metal spews from his chest like throwing knives. They catapult toward me like shooting stars.

“Demon!” he roars, unleashing his barrage.

My neck flies back as I raise my hands to the skies. The seas arc around us, closing us into a whirlpool of white.

A thousand bolts of lightning come crashing down, stealing the last of the king’s life.

EPILOGUE

“THERE IT IS.”

Amari rises from Mae’e’s arms to join me at the front of the videira. Fresh tears streak her face. They fall in an endless stream since Inan’s sacrifice.

She joins me at the front of the woven vessel as we take in the shorelines of our homeland. The sight makes my throat tight. I can’t believe it.

After everything, I’ve finally returned.

The wreckage of the Skulls’ attack lies in the port, remaining carriers half-submerged in the bay. Plumes of smoke rise all over the barren city. The buildings have been blown away.

One figure waits at the edge of the battered port. In an instant, I recognize his powerful build. The axe tattooed across his abdomen shines bright under the sun. The love woven through his rigid stance burns from afar.

“Over there!” I motion to the vineweavers steering our craft. The vessel can’t carry me fast enough. We sail through the debris and bodies floating in the murky waters. Countless skull masks stare up at us as we pass.

When I make it to land, I bound from the videira, leaping into mybrother’s arms. Tzain holds me so tight my body aches, but I don’t fight his embrace.

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