Page 2 of The War of Wings
Katia’s jaw quivered, the only sign of her wavering resolve. Somewhere far off, high above the city, a driva bellowed. A cannonball soared. A house collapsed.
Rhedros turned back to Noros, the Keeper’s brow furrowed. “You understand there is only one way for a Saint to enter the Human Realm, right?” Rhedros asked carefully, his words too fast as fear crept further up his throat.
Noros’ nod was solemn. “I’m aware. That’s why I’m asking. And I know what it means.” The Saint of Pain shifted on his feet,steeling his stomach for the words he was going to speak. Words he never thought he’d speak, but looking at the woman standing broken and bleeding next to the bed, holding desperately to her daughter, there was little choice. It was either this, or watch the entirety of every realm crumble to ash. “I’ll watch over her. Keep him away.”
Katia’s head began to shake violently. “If you go anywhere near her, he’ll know. He’ll know it’s her.”
“But he won’t be Malosym in the Human Realm. Not yet, at least. He’ll have none of his power there. He’s going to have to start from nothing, as a boy of sixteen years, just as I will. And he’ll find her eventually, whether he has those powers or not, and whether I’m there to protect her or not. Think about it.” Noros stepped closer to Katia, his eyes flashing to Rhedros for a split second. “He’ll be weak in the Human Realm. He won’t be able to return to the Saints’ Realm until he gains enough strength to cross the barrier again. I can lead him out of the Saints’ Realm to protect you and–”
“I don’t care about protecting myself!” Katia roared, her face red with fury. “It’sher!She’s what I care about!”
“And I will protect her with my life,” Noros said, placing a hand against his chest. “You have my word.”
Though Katia’s sob wracked her body and the pain sliced far deeper than that of bringing a child into existence, it was deep in her bones that she knew he’d keep his word. Of this, she was sure. “She can never know the truth of her power, Noros. Keep him away from her. Keep himaway.”
Faldyr’s eyes widened as he beheld Katia. “But Malosymwillgain power in the Human Realm, and what if–”
“No,” Katia snarled, her eyes narrowed on Faldyr who only gave a solemn nod in response. Katia looked back to Noros, her eyes hard and pleading and desperate. “She cannot know. I don’t care how powerful Malosym becomes. That burden isnothers to bear. If the time comes, it will be ours.”
Rhedros’ eyes fell to Katia’s trembling profile, still careful to keep them from his daughter. Until a tiny noise escaped the baby, a tiny coo that should’ve been inconsequential in the scope of all of the world, in all the time that had come and gone and the time yet to pass. And yet, here, in this crumbling tower in the heart of the Saints’ Realm, as Malosym’s fury crashed down upon them and the very foundation of the world itself grew brittle and shaky, that tiny noise drew Rhedros’ eyes to his daughter’s face, and it was clear.
He knew, in that moment, the same thing Katia did. He would do anything, give anything to protect her. To keep her from the chaos and pain of Malosym’s wrath that was so much stronger here in the Saints’ Realm than it would be in the Human Realm.
They both knew there was only one thing they could do to save their daughter. The entirety of the world, too. Rhedros looked to Katia and dipped his chin slightly, the movement spilling a single tear that traversed down his cheek in a silent, mournful trail.
He straightened for a moment, addressing Faldyr. “Get the Blood Saints to Hell and the Benevolent Saints to Heaven. I want everyone sheltering in their respective places until he’s dealt with. Fortify the barriers and do everything you can to keep him out. We’ll meet you there.”
“Yes, sir,” the Saint of War answered, and one by one, the Saints filed through the door, each of them dropping their heads as they passed by the Keepers and their daughter. Noros remained, his eyes on the floor.
Katia slowly lowered herself to sit on the dusty bed, staring one last time into her daughter’s face. Rhedros found his place beside her, his vision going cloudy as tears continued to gather in his eyes. “She really is perfect,” he breathed. And for a moment, he wasn’t the Keeper of the Blood Saints. He was a father, sitting beside the woman he loved, staring into the face of the life they created together. A life that never should’vebeen but somehow was. He leaned forward and pressed a single kiss to the baby’s forehead, inhaling her scent as Katia sobbed beside him. Without looking away, he choked out a plea. “Please, Noros.”
“On my honor,” he answered, stepping forward, arms open.
Katia wasn’t breathing as she placed her entire world into Noros’ arms. Her fingers curled around the emptiness as Noros stepped back. Rhedros rose to his full height, and stared steadfastly down his nose at the man before him.
“Noros, Saint of Pain,” he began, his voice taking on an authoritative timbre. “You are hereby cursed to the Human Realm, never to return to the Saints’ Realm for the rest of your days.”
And so Katia and Rhedros did the one thing that could keep their daughter safe.
They let her go.
Noros and the baby were there one moment and gone the next. Katia’s cry cut through the air, a mournful, howling sound that echoed over the din of Malosym’s fury beyond the walls. She hit her knees, the heel of her hand pressed hard into her chest as she roared along with her drivas. She had no doubt they felt her pain, because their roars grew from thunderous to ground-shattering, the streams of their fire from blistering to incinerating.
“Darling, we have to go,” Rhedros managed to say, reaching for Katia’s shoulders.
With eyes that were reddened and hauntingly empty, she stared at Rhedros. “I can’t move,” she whispered as a group of stones crumbled from the wall near the window. He dove to cover her, gathering her close as dust settled over them. “It hurts.”
“I know,” he whispered, his tears spilling freely now. “I know. I can carry you, I can–”
“No. Here,” she croaked, her hand landing in the middle of her chest again. “It hurts here. There’s a hole and I…” Her head shook. “I can’t move.”
His jaw tensed, unable to conjure up a single word to soothe any of the same pain that bloomed within his ribcage. And instead of fighting her, he nodded. Because there would be no arguing with the obstinate, headstrong, perfectly stubborn woman whose soul was tied to his. He simply gathered her to his chest and laid her on the bed, rounding the side to settle into his spot beside hers.
Katia remained still as she felt the line to her kelpies weaken and wither in her mind, her tears as salty as the sea they returned to. She remained still as the line to her soulhags turned to dust, and the earth rumbled with the sound of great crevasses snapping shut behind them. She remained still even as the realm fell to darkness lit only by the fire of her winged beasts.
It wasn’t long before the strongest members of the Occulti found a way around the drivas and pushed through a weakened spot in the exterior wall. And though they were in their true form, all jagged, snapping teeth, translucent skin, and fingernails sharpened to lethal points, fear had left both Katia and Rhedros. No, there was no more room for fear, even as the demons surrounded them, hissing and screeching. The only thing within their chests was a raw, gaping wound they knew would never close.
Malosym strolled through the doorway at a leisurely pace, his mouth pulled up in a smirk. Blue light crackled and sparked around his shadowy form as he beheld the Keepers of the Saints. There was no wickedly terrifying display of power, no column of black smoke. He didn’t need that. He’d shown just how powerful he’d become when he broke through from the Darkness Beyond to the Saints’ Realm.
