Page 55 of Conflicted Fate
Easing back around the corner as slowly as I could, I took a breath, my body trembling with adrenaline. Kiel reached my side, looking around the corner to see what had set me off.
“What’s he doing here?” I said, my lips right against Kiel’s ear, though I doubted Lycaonus could hear us over the smashing of the Great Forge’s internal hammers and the occasional roar of an exposed fire.
“I don’t know,” Kiel replied. “But we need to find out who he’s talking to. Come on.”
He started easing himself around the other side of our furnace. After a moment, I managed to force myself to go after him.
Whatever was going on, it couldn’t be good. I just hoped we weren’t too late.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The forge came alive around us as we moved.
Floor vents billowed steam without warning, sending the temperature skyrocketing. Smoke filled the air, and a mighty roar shook the entire building, the vibration freeing soot and other debris that drifted downward from the ceilings. A wave of heat pushed out and over us.
“What the hell was that?” I asked nervously as we froze at the abrupt change.
“If I had to guess, I would say that the Master Blacksmith just stoked the Grand Forge to life.”
“I thought all of this was the Grand Forge?” I said, gesturing around.
“Feeders,” he said. “There’s one forge, one furnace, at the heart of it all. The one that created the stones, and the one that Lycaonus will use for the swords as well. That is the one we must destroy.”
“I don’t like the fact that it just came to life now,” I said. “Not when we’re so close.”
Steam continued to billow from the floor vents, and a low groan filled the air as something stirred in the depths of the facility. Great hammer blows shook the foundation, each far larger than anything a person could wield.
“Come,” Kiel said, starting forward again.
We crept our way from smaller forge to smaller forge, hiding behind them along with various tables and giant cast iron buckets designed to hold molten hot liquid. Eventually, we reached the end. There, as we peered around the corner, we saw Lycaonus.
The Alpha stood on a flat walkway of carved stone. On either side of him, a steady flow of liquid metal flowed past, heading toward the giant blast furnace at the far end of the walkway. Waterfalls of fiery liquid poured down from high above into waiting pools on either side of the forge.
There, a figure in all black armor waited, immobile, with giant hammer in one hand. No, I realized with a start. His hand had beenreplacedby a hammer. It was literally welded to his forearm.
Behind the mystery figure, the flames that roared in the Grand Forge moved in a rhythm different from any fire I’d ever seen. There was something almost … intelligent about it. The forge had a life of its own. Something not natural. Though, justwhat,I couldn’t decide.
Nor did I have time to. Because Lycaonus wasn’t alone, and he was speaking.
“Relax, Helix,” he was saying, speaking to someone who could only be another of the Alphas.
I wasn’t familiar with the second man. He was tall, with a strong, pointed nose and long white hair held back with a single clasp. There was an undeniable weathered look to his skin, which, even in the darkness, was obviously several shades darker than Lycaonus. That would make sense for a man who had to have spent many decades or more at sea, given the maritime nature of his home.
But there was no mistaking the glowing green egg-shaped stone the man held tucked protectively under one arm.
“Relax? How am I supposed to do that? Tell me, Lycaonus, what are you going to do about this madness? Two Alphas are dead now, with Nycitus having been slain in his sleep. These rebels are getting bold. We must respond!” Though he was unsettled, and obviously angry, Helix maintained strict control of his body. He didn’t pace or even so much as frown as he rebutted Lycaonus’ point.
A shadow stirred behind them, which was when I realized the pair wasn’t alone. Lycaonus’ pet Nehringi waited nearby. And farther to the right, hidden by the flow of steam, half a dozen guards stood around idly, trying very hard not to look like they were straining to hear what the Alphas were saying. Judging by how they stood in separate groups, I guessed one trio of guards were Helix’s and the other was Lycaonus’ men.
“Calm,” Lycaonus preached. “I have the situation under control. Soon, the rebels won’t be an issue. That’s why I had everyone meet me here. To ensure we can get ahead of this issue before they get to anyone else. I’ll take care of it. Trust me.”
I exchanged looks with Kiel. Lycaonus had to be talking about the swords. There was no other conclusion to be drawn than that. Which was why Helix had brought his along. We were too late.
“Perhaps you’d care to explain to me how you intend to ‘take care of it.’ Nycitus was supposed to do that already. That’s why we sent him out with a huge army, and look what happened to him. So far, everyone who goes against them is having their ass handed back on a silver platter. Weren’t you just buried under a mountain, after all?”
Helix wasn’t fearmongering. He was stating facts with rough bluntness.
“And yet, here I am,” Lycaonus said with a broad grin that was far too confident for my liking.
