Page 91 of Beasts of Briar
Kairoth played his part well, watching everything from afar while his shadows began creeping out to move the stones into place.
Once we began, we’d have to be quick. We’d both use our shadow magic to push the gods into the crypts and cover the stone over their tombs. Then, we’d work together to make Kairoth mortal. If only I’d known how wrong it would all go.
I’d ripped my own shadow from myself, and it floated alongside me, no one noticing my entrance among the chaos.
Kairoth nodded at me, and I thought I might be sick as I held out my hand and directed my shadow to grab Khalasa. Kairoth had said he could do it all, that I could be there just in case something went wrong. But I needed to be the one to trap Khalasa. I needed her to know that what she’d done to me was wrong, and now she was paying the consequence.
My foolish, foolish pride. It ruined everything. A mistake that will haunt me for the rest of my life.
My shadow shot at Khalasa while Kairoth’s shadows struck. All the gods got yanked back at once, so fast none of them could react. The shadows threw them into the crypts, then more shadows pushed the stones over the openings. I couldn’t believehow smoothly this was going. We’d planned well, yes, but I hadn’t expected it to go that well.
The gods screamed obscenities, promised death as they watched Kairoth emerge from the shadows, realizing he’d betrayed them. The gods began using their magic. Fire, vines, ice shards, water, wind—it shot in all directions as the shadows continued to push the stones over the crypts. But it didn’t matter. Because Kairoth’s other shadows were still inside those crypts, holding the gods captive, not letting them escape. The gods would overpower the shadows eventually, but it would be far too late. Aethira’s face twisted in rage, disappearing from sight. One stone down. Then another as Ysar disappeared, still flinging ice shards Kairoth’s way. One of his shards flew upward, crashing into a small part of the ceiling, allowing moon and starlight through the hole. Then he disappeared from view. Each god fell silent as they were trapped, most likely going into a deep sleep like what had happened to Kairoth.
“You fool,” Khalasa said, and I realized then the critical mistake I’d made.
I’d been so distracted by what was happening around me, I hadn’t been paying attention to my shadow, to the fact that Khalasa was bending the starlight through the hole in the ceiling to shine down, to put me to sleep.
“No,” Kairoth yelled, still controlling his shadows to close the final stones over the remaining gods.
He couldn’t stop her while trapping the other gods. I crumpled into sleep, and Khalasa appeared in my mind. We stood in her castle, in that office where I’d discovered her betrayal.
She stared at me, and it surprised me to see the hurt written across her face. “We could have been so good, you know,” she said, leaning against her desk. “Now you’re going to be brandeda traitor to the gods. You’ll be tortured. Publicly, of course. Then you’ll die a slow and painful death.”
The reality of the situation hit me in that moment. We’d failed.
“Wake up,” Kairoth roared, ripping me from the dream as he and Khalasa fought. She’d slipped through the stone before it could fully close, and now she was back out in the crypt with us.
The gap between the stone and the wall was slim, but big enough we could still push her through if we worked together.
Groggy, I stood, looking for my shadow. It lurked toward the back of the crypt, red eyes glowing, waiting for my command. But I wasn’t a god. I couldn’t bounce back so quickly from that fall. I touched my head, fingers coated in a sticky crimson.
“Bathalous,” Kairoth had shouted again. My name echoed through the crypt.
Khalasa was bending the starlight to wrap around Kairoth, keeping him from being able to command his shadows, his eyes blinking open and closed.
I ignored my pounding headache, and I commanded my shadow to strike. It shot out at Khalasa, but she struck out another hand and commanded more starlight through that hole. It wound around my shadow, trapping it.
So I did the only thing I could think of. I ran straight for her, barreling into her with all my might. I didn’t have her strength, couldn’t knock her down, but I did jolt her enough that her concentration broke, the band of starlight around Kairoth unraveling for just one second. It was all he needed to command his magic. Shadows descended upon Khalasa as she screamed. We no longer had the element of surprise, and Khalasa raised her hand, bringing down bright starlight that acted as a shield around her that Kairoth’s shadows bounced right off of.
The gods’ magic did so much that regular elementals couldn’t. If the fate of the world hadn’t been at stake, I would have marveled at watching this battle between the titans.
Kairoth looked at me and nodded his head toward my shadow. I didn’t understand in that moment. I couldn’t do anything with her magic protecting her.
Then, Kairoth lunged. He flew straight toward Khalasa, straight through her shield. The entire interaction unfolded in slow motion. She crumpled over him as he crashed into her. Her hair whipped around her face, her head thumping against his shoulder. His arms wrapped around her waist, holding tight as he flew them both straight toward the opening of the crypt.
I realized in that moment what Kairoth meant to do. He was going to trap them both, and he wanted me to use my shadow to close them in the crypt. It would be the only way to trap her.
No.
“Kairoth,” I remember screaming.
He didn’t even look at me, just disappeared into that crypt with the goddess. I shot out my shaking hand, commanding my shadow to push the stone closed.
The last thing I heard as the crypt was sealed were Khalasa’s screams. I wish my story ended here, but something else happened in that cave.
I still don’t understand it. The cave lit up with dust. It swirled from the ground, glittering and gold. The dust was in constant motion, swirling around and around, so fast it made me dizzy, until it finally formed something. An object. I didn’t know what it was at first, but when I knelt to the ground, I realized what I was looking at: a net. A weapon. I felt its power.
The net rose in the air, floating toward me, whispering,“Take me. Use me.”
