Endgame

Skyler Grant

Copyright © 2017 Skyler Grant

All rights reserved.

This novel is a work of fiction. All characters, places, and incidents described in this publication are used fictitiously, or are entirely fictional.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, except by an authorized retailer, or with written permission of the publisher. Inquiries may be addressed via email to skyler@skylergrant.com

Cover designed by Grace Zhu (gracezhuart.com)

Editing and formatting by Polgarus Studio (www.polgarusstudio.com)

Electronic edition, 2017

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Contents

Previously in the Crucible Shard

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

The End

Previously in the Crucible Shard

Dungeon Crawl Book 1. Liam, Walt, and Ashley found themselves brought to the Crucible Shard deep in the dungeon of a long-abandoned castle. Liam was a Paladin of the Goddess Yvera and quickly fell in love with her. The group made allies along the way, Maria the Queen of Spiders and Elsora the curse who had befallen the castle. Together they would go on to kill King Leosi and Liam would take over the Kingdom.

Spawn Campers Book 2. The party responds to piracy along the coast. They make new allies upon the Airship Vainglory, Cobalt the Captain who may be the deadliest woman alive, the seer Lea, and engineer Riggs. Together they make allies of the pirates and forge a peace with the Goddess Atlantia. They also learn that Leosi has been raised from the dead, and is now a potent Vampire out to return control of the kingdom to his daughter Maria.

Corpse Run Book 3. The party seeks an answer to the threat Leosi poses, a quest that takes them deep into the deserts in search of Mela, Goddess of Metal. When freed from captivity Mela at once summons a meteor to destroy the world, although when it arrives it turns out to be a ship from another world and entirely a different problem. To put a stop to these growing threats the Elves invade.

Gank Book 4. The party takes the fight to the Elves by going deep into their territory. Those connected with the Goddesses are going increasingly mad. Each finds some measure of sanity in the end, although the means to reach it are extreme. An alternate timeline is formed when Ashley kills Veros in the past, causing her to lose many of the sociopathic tendencies that had come to define her. Mela took Walt’s arm and replaced it with one made of death metal. A victory is finally won over the Goddess of Wood by corrupting her with the waters of Yvera. Yet that only brought on a new peril, Yvera seeming to lose her divinity even while prompts indicated all five elemental deities had been brought into a single pantheon.

Area of Effect Book 5. In the aftermath of Book 4 much is changed. Long in love with Yvera, Liam finds he no longer has the same connection with Yve, the woman his once Goddess has become. Liam journeys to the Silver City where he meets Queen Ashera, mother of Cobalt and Malachite, and complete badass. Finding himself in love Liam is soon drawn into the struggles of the Silver City in an effort to win Ashera’s favor. The AIs of Earth abducted several from the Silver City including Cobalt and used them to create The Nine, clones all possessing the Right of War and the Right of Rule. In the end, he discovers just how much Elsora has been using him in her machinations all along. Increasingly committed to rule of the Crucible Shard he gains the new Mind Games ability.

DLC: Book 6. Liam travels far to the east in search of Veros, ignoring Elsora’s warnings that he shouldn’t go. Upon arrival, he and the others have their memories wiped and find themselves serving a corporation run by fairy tales that is profiting off the deaths of adventurers. Although Veros tried to recruit Liam and the others to his cause they ultimately kill him. In meeting an aspect of the Evil Queen named Silver, he finds her to be an echo of Ashera, and with the knowledge gleaned from her puts together that Ashera and Elsora are two aspects of a single woman warring for control of the universe. Liam being Liam, and having a type, he promptly proposes to Elsora who accepts. Game on.

Chapter 1

A wedding to herald the end of the world. It wasn’t just a metaphor, although if you’d told me when I first logged into the Crucible Shard I’d eventually be getting married there I’d never have believed you.

When I first met Elsora I’d believed her to be the curse inhabiting the castle, mostly because that’s what she told me. Honesty was never her strong point.

Elsora was helping to fit me into the armor before the ceremony. The chainmail was so dark it seemed that light could fall into it forever.

“It doesn’t seem very fancy for a wedding. Are you sure it doesn’t need to be fancier to make it suitable?” I asked.

There was no armor for her, her gown was all in shades of black and purple, and ornate in ways I didn’t know clothing even could be.

“I’m certain. You’re a warrior King and these are times of war. So, have you given any thought to our vows?” Elsora asked.

“It still all sounds a bit mad to me,” I said. Elsora, as she did with most things, had a strong sense of propriety when it came to weddings and vows.

“It may, but there are reasons for it. These things will define us. Bind us. Grant us power and weaken us in turn. We don’t have to state them at the ceremony, they are between us and not others, but we do have to agree to them,” Elsora said.

“So, can you tell me yours?” I asked.

Elsora considered it while she straightened one of my sleeves. “First, the oath of forgiveness. What by all rights I should expect from you, but with free and open heart allow you escape from.”

I found that one of the strangest ones, but in a way, I’d come to understand it as well. None of my friends or allies was perfect, they all came with some big flaws. Ashley had been a dangerous killing machine for a while, Gina was forever screwing me over with wishes, Cobalt sucked us into fights.

“Are you going to forgive me for being an idiot?” I asked. It was only part a joke. It was a challenging thing to be with a woman more clever than you—and Elsora was brilliant.

“No, I expect you to be smart,” Elsora said with a faint smile. “It is fidelity you get a pass on. You’ll continue to fall in and out of beds. I accept that.”

It wasn’t something we’d talked about. I hadn’t really planned to keep doing that after the marriage.

“You don’t have to,” I said.

“I’d not try to keep you from it. If you haven’t figured it out, your infidelity is a part of what defines you,” Elsora said.

“Not my best part,” I said.

Elsora smiled again briefly. “No, it is not. Yet I understand and say it now. It is my full expectation that you will continue. I’ll accept it without question or concern.”

That was a big thing to say. It was an uncomfortably big thing to say, especially if these oaths mattered so much.

“I think I know mine, too. I’d like to give you a pass on honesty. You’ll continue to lie and scheme and deceive me, I don’t think you can help that. I accept it,” I said.

Elsora shot me a rueful look. “We’re quite the pair aren’t we? A good choice. Lying is a part of my very nature and while I was prepared to try honesty, I think it would have resulted in long stretches of silence where I said nothing at all.”

She went on, “So, next up is our unreasonable demand. The thing we by all rights have no right to ask of the other, but will anyways. Mine is this. I will involve you in my schemes. Without regard for your feelings or your desires in the matter, I will hatch my plans. You will back them, always.” After saying this, she spun around to study herself in a mirror.

That was one hell of an unreasonable demand. It was one thing to always watch her back or not betray her. Committing myself to always cooperate was something else entirely.

I’d had some time to think about mine. By marrying her I might be picking a side, but that didn’t mean I didn’t still care.

“Ashera gets to live, happily,” I said.

Elsora turned back to me and frowned. “I can’t promise you that, nor should I. You don’t know what you are asking or what the consequences would be.”

“I’m being unreasonable.”

“Fine. The third vow is one we make ourselves to the other. Our own unreasonable commitment. I vow that I shall always treat your children as my own and provide a home for them. There will be no danger in the universe I shall not act to protect them from, and no lengths I’ll not go to in order to help them achieve their ambitions.”

That was another big one, and not an easy one. I only had one child coming that I was aware of, that with Cobalt. Still, I’d fallen in and out of a lot of beds.

“I promise to love you. I have no illusions that you are the villain of my little tale and some terrible things are probably ahead. I’ll love you no matter what happens,” I said.

* * *

It was a beautiful wedding. Yve performed the ceremony, as a Paladin of Yvera she counted for clergy. Perhaps it was horrible to have the woman I’d once loved so completely do the ceremony, but we were different people now. Literally, in one sense. I think her tears when the ceremony was done were happy ones. I hoped so.

Many of those we met on our journeys were present. Liara, who remained in her pain aspect, wore a gown of jagged glass shards that cut anyone who got too close. Atlantia and Yvera made appearances as deities, although neither lingered long.

Gina was present, which seemed only fitting—granting my wish had set the time for the ceremony, and was why I wore the black armor.

There were some notable absences. I hadn’t invited anyone from the Silver City where, last they heard, I was still engaged to Ashera. I didn’t even know how to begin the “Elsora is the other half of your mom” speech.

The big powers of the Crucible Shard made an appearance. The new rulers of the Elves were there. Our corruption of the World Tree had changed them physically. With ebon skin and fiery red hair, I almost didn’t recognize them. They got drunk at the reception and started fist-fights with the Dwarves.

Grand Admiral Storm was accompanied by a morose Bull—it seemed Ashley had dumped the burley sailor for Wolf. Nobody blamed her, Wolf was just that badass.

I forgot my lines twice, but covered for it well. I might no longer have a sheet loaded with Charisma, but I still managed to spin a convincing line. Elsora, of course, remained unflappable and gracious throughout every moment.

The wedding night wasn’t exactly new ground. It wasn’t the first time that we’d shared a bed, but something about marriage still made it undeniably different. I’d married this woman, chosen her, and she me. Not chosen for a night, but chosen for a hell of a lot longer.

It was daunting, truly. I’d used to think that Elsora was using me for my proximity to the throne, seeking power and position for herself. I’d felt some guilt about that, but also in a way it made me comfortable—at least I’d known what she wanted. The reality was that she already had massive power, more than any I’d likely ever wield. The dynamic behind our relationship had been inverted.

That was stupid to feel, of course, because it was a lie. Our relationship was exactly what it had always been. I just hadn’t known the truth before. Still, that was exhilarating too, because here was a woman I could be completely honest with, even if she’d never be honest with me.

It had been a strenuous night and I was curled up against Elsora when she elbowed me sharply in the ribs.

“Again?” I asked.

“Hi,” Mela said.

I blinked and opened my eyes to find the Goddess stretched out beside us in the bed. At least she still had her clothes on. Mela looked exhausted. I didn’t even know a Goddess could look exhausted.

“When I said that you could invite women to your bed, I didn’t expect to be in it at the time,” Elsora teased.

“Not interested, guys. I mean, a little interested and I’m totally building an Elsorabot, but I’m not here for that. Earth is dying,” Mela said.

I sat up. When we’d killed Veros we were supposed to have severed the ties between Earth and the greater universe.

“What is going on?” I asked.

Elsora eased out of the bed and slipped on a robe. “The Vainglory is nearly back. I’ll see her resupplied quickly, in case you need to travel.” He stood still, her eyes closed.

Mela said, “What didn’t happen? Things went crazy there a week back. Massive atmospheric discharges of electromagnetic bombs along with a few more conventional nuclear bombs. The Artificial Intelligences are dead, all of them.”

That was unexpected. We’d planned to isolate them from the universe, not kill them.

“Veros must have had a failsafe in the event of his death,” Elsora said, her eyes still closed.

It made sense. “Veros thought there were two great threats that had to be stopped. The first was those other intelligences, the second was Elsora whom he had betrayed.”

“It’s a mess. I was great at screwing with their systems sometimes, but I don’t know how to keep things moving. Earth depended on them and now they’re gone. I don’t know what to do,” Mela said.

I was surprised and a bit touched that she had tried. Mela was never the most caring for human life. If she was trying it had to be because we, her friends, cared about the wellbeing of Earth.

Elsora opened her eyes. “I told the Vainglory to hurry. Lea is docking in the gardens now.”

I brushed a kiss against her lips. “Thank you for understanding. This isn’t exactly a honeymoon.”

“Honeymoons aren’t really my style. Burning moons on the other hand… I just made a joke. You’ll understand eventually. Go, save Earth,” Elsora said.

Chapter 2

Elsora was always efficient and the Vainglory was restocked and ready to go within an hour.

I hugged my way around the crew.

“So, you married the scheming Kingdom administrator and evil curse,” Lea said.

Riggs said, “I like the lass. She pays us well and keeps the pantry stocked with ale. And have you seen the handles on the halberds those castle guards have? First rate work.”

Rigg was the God of Handles. I kept thinking he needed a better shtick, but dwarves were weird.

“It’s complicated,” I said.

“Yeah. It always is,” Lea said.

I guessed she would know. I think she was still carrying a bit of a torch for the fellow who, until recently, was married to her cousin. We’d killed the cousin, which created a nice opening, but probably complicated matters. Not everyone was as comfortable with killing as we were.

“I’m just surprised you went through with it. Kept expecting you to make a run for it during the ceremony,” Ashley said.

Yeah, yeah. Me getting married was hilarious.

The Vainglory rose from the garden and floated above Castle Sardonis.

What had once been a shambling ruin when we first came here had changed dramatically. Holding back the eternal night, torches and bonfires lit everything, and the gardens and surroundings were filled with plants and flowers that thrived even under these conditions.

Around the castle was the city. It was originally from the Alkari desert, and being a bit of a were-city the place turned into a predatory monster at night. Still, it ate relatively few citizens and people got used to anything, if you gave them some time.

“Do you know where we’re going?” I asked.

“We took the Vainglory to Earth once before, as you might remember. You, Walt, and Ashley all had some problems then. You’re going to be okay now?” Lea asked.

I’d become attuned to the level of the greater universe since then. I kept calling it a cosmic power although that was probably completely inaccurate. Walt was the same. Ashley was attuned to the Crucible Shard, as was Yve. None of us should have any problems this trip.

“We’re good. Is there anything we need to watch out for?” I asked Yve.

“If Veros set off nuclear bombs there may be residual radiation at a dangerous level, if we appear where one detonated. Otherwise I’m not sure exactly what we’re going to find. I was the voice of rebellion, I don’t know exactly what the others did to keep things moving,” Yve said.

Lea said, “With all the fights we’ve been getting into and the boss no longer being around, I’ve installed some magical shielding. It should safeguard us from radiation as long as you stay on board.”

It sounded like we were as ready, as much as we were ever going to be.

“Take us in.”

The air around the Vainglory took on a rainbow shimmer and in an instant we were elsewhere.

Ripples of energy filled the air over the ship, wrapping it in a bubble of green magical energy—the shields activating. Below us were the ruins of a city. The few buildings that remained were blackened husks. Nothing moved in the streets.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“City Seven. Three million people, the last I knew. Gob called this place home,” Yve said, and then asked, “Mela, are you here?”

There was no response.

“Take us out of the radiation. Heading two hundred and eight degrees,” Yve said.

Lea gave her the sort of look that spoke volumes about which of them was actually the Captain of this ship. Despite this, the Vainglory did begin to move and soon we were leaving the city behind.

After several minutes of flight, the shields faded. Vegetation grew below.

Gray gnats swarmed across the deck and formed a thick cloud. Out of it stepped Mela looking surprisingly flesh and blood.

“Neat trick,” Yve said.

“I’ve gotten good with nanites. I mean they’re small, but they can do such amazingly terrible things. Earthlings are just about the best people ever for inventing them,” Mela said.

I’m glad someone was happy at the technological prowess of the old world.

“Are all of the cities like that one?” Yve asked.

Mela shook her head. “Two, Seven, Nine, Eleven, Fourteen and Fifteen were nuked, but the others are still standing. They’re in trouble, with all automated services shut down because the links to the others are gone.”

Yve rubbed at her eyes. “So he struck all of their major data hubs. The redundant arrays?”

“I’m not sure why, but they failed. I’ve got some friends of yours coming, don’t kill them,” Mela said.

A flying aircar approached the Vainglory and landed on the deck. Doors hissed open and out came some figures I was very happy to see. My brother Tommy first among them. I hugged him and he did that stiff and awkward thing he always did.

Maria and Leosi stepped out right after him.

Good, I’d been a bit worried about them. Well, I was worried about Maria. Fuck Leosi, he was a dick and lucky to be alive anyways after I’d killed him once.

“You can let me go now,” Tommy said.

I released him with a grin that wouldn’t stop.

“I was worried about you. All of you,” I said.

“Do you have any idea what caused this catastrophe?” Maria asked.

“We killed Veros, who was originally one of the other artificial intelligences. I guess he had things rigged to explode in the event of his death,” I said.

“Idiot,” Maria said.

Ashley laughed, a sound both strangely delighted and uncomfortable all at once.

“You okay?” I asked.

“It really was us. I knew it—I think I’ve known for a week. Ever since we killed Veros I’ve been happy. I’d kind of forgotten what it felt like,” Ashley said.

“Because you got your vengeance,” I said.

Ashley shook her head. “I thought that at first, but somehow I knew it’s something more. It’s the dagger, you know the one I used to kill him?”

I felt a sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach. Diamond had warned us about that dagger, although even she didn’t know why.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“I think it somehow… feeds on the souls of those it kills. Gobbles them up and tears them apart and feeds me all the delicious little pieces. I thought I was just high on Veros being dead, but it always seemed too much. I killed millions of people,” Ashley said, followed by another of those disconcerting little giggles.

Great. The friend I’d been hoping was no longer a sociopath was high off having accidentally killed millions of people.

I hadn’t come to terms yet with the fact that we were involved. A part of me felt like I should have been overwhelmed with grief or regret—or something. I wasn’t. It wasn’t that I felt nothing, I did, but mostly I felt that Veros was an asshole and I was glad we’d killed him.

Maria was leaning in to study Ashley’s features. “It is nice to see her happy.”

Leosi said, “You fought an enemy like that and did not first consider the consequences? Boy, you have much to learn about being a King.”

Ashley told him, “Liam just got married to your Ex. Not the one he got pregnant, the other one.”

To be fair I’d gotten both of them pregnant. Sort of. Did Elsora even need the stolen genetic material to knock herself up, if she was in fact Ashera? I didn’t know. It likely meant something in all of that was another lie—and I was forgiving her the lies. Damn it. Probably best not to bring up the child that may or may not exist. Elsora wasn’t showing yet, if she was pregnant, and so far we weren’t advertising the fact.

“Why? Alera, I could at least understand,” Leosi asked, honestly mystified.

Alera was the name Cobalt had gone by when she was married to him. He’d loved her a great deal, and I think she had loved him as well.

“Incredibly poor judgment makes itself clear in many ways,” Maria said in her monotone. When it came to cutting words she really was a talent.

Yve said, “They love each other. It isn’t that perplexing, is it? Can we please shift the subject of conversation back to the dying planet?”

Tommy said, “Congratulations, brother. And thank you. Before the AIs came along, humanity had done a lot of damage to Earth’s ecosystems.”

“You’d kind of trashed the place. It has had a lot of time to recover though,” Yve said.

“Perhaps, if it had been left alone, but the others were aggressively terraforming to make the planet more habitable and even to bring back extinct species,” Tommy said.

It suddenly made a lot of sense why Gob knew how to make a dinosaur.

“So things aren’t in equilibrium or anything close,” Yve said.

“We think a lot of those processes are still running and throwing the environment more and more out of alignment,” Tommy said.

We had an idea of what was happening now. Good, but that wasn’t a solution.

“Options,” I said.

“Selaris,” Yve said.

“No—to the hell, no,” Mela said.

Selaris, a Nature Goddess, we’d corrupted her tree. Mela had kind of killed and ate her kid, so Selaris had a bit of a grudge.

“You think she could help?” I asked.

Yve said, “Mela’s adroitness with machinery served her well even here. I imagine she is having trouble with environmental controls, because they are so outside her area of expertise. Selaris might instinctively be able to put things right.”

It was a good thought. Mela had also been fair to us. Without a doubt, she was incredibly dangerous and completely amoral, but she was still a friend.

“She’ll also try to kill Mela. We don’t want that. Anything else?” I asked.

Mela offered, “I can kill everyone left alive. With the nanites, I mean. I already figured out how to do it with a nanite plague. I could make copies of them first and transfer them to the Crucible Shard.”

Mela wanted to murder the rest of Earth’s population as a solution.

“We could have then transitioned over to DLC. White could phase them in slowly, get them leveled up. We might be doing them a favor,” I said.

Mela looked cheerful. Maybe she hadn’t expected anyone to go for the planetary genocide idea.

“I hate to say it, but there is Gob,” Yve said.

“All of the artificial intelligences are dead,” Tommy said.

“I wished Gob mortal,” Ashley said.

“Exactly. I don’t know if it worked for him quite like it worked for me, but if so then Gob’s brain is still alive and functional, living in a meat copy on the Crucible Shard,” Yve said.

Ashley said, “We’re talking about the little guy that kept trying to kill us and vivisected a lot of people, and made terrifying monsters out of them? You want to put him back in as the sole program in charge of Earth? I mean, I’m on a mass murder high and even I think that sounds like a bad idea.”

“I can keep an eye on him,” Mela said.

We all stared at her.

“I’ve busted my ass trying to save all these people. That counts for something,” Mela said defensively.

“Mela’s assistance has been invaluable. Without her many more would have died,” Maria said.

That was true. Besides which, she was working against her own plan with the offer.

Deciding, I told them, “We try to get Gob and see if he can fix things. If not, we go with the nanoplague.”

Chapter 3

Finding Gob was easier than we expected. The last anyone saw of him had been when we invaded the spire of Liara’s castle. The fight had wound up with a bullet put through his head. It had been a pretty convincing show of loyalty at the time, but mortality on the Crucible Shard wasn’t exactly static. Because Gob died, he’d respawn, and that meant he’d pop back into existence either close to where he’d been killed or at his home base. It just so happened that they were one and the same.

The Vainglory materialized over the fields of glass that had once been the Alkari desert. Sections of starship still adorned the towers of black and white that served as Liara’s home.

We signaled as we drew close and powerful wards faded to allow us through. The towers showed signs of recent construction. Liara was nearly as efficient as Elsora, a fact not surprising in the least. There was even a basic airship dock. She was there to greet us.

“Liam, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Liara asked, leaving off my title. She pulled me into a hug as I stepped from the ship. To a casual observer it might have seemed that she brushed a kiss against my lips, a keener eye would see the faint sheen of blood her sharp nip left behind.

Liara was a rare figure on the Crucible Shard. An end boss who had wiped out pretty much every evil that had come along for millennia, she was immensely powerful. There weren’t many locals I felt the need to be cautious around, but she was one of them.

We left Riggs and Lea behind on the ship along with Tommy—Riggs and Lea in case we needed a quick exit, and Tommy simply wasn’t in a league with the rest of us.

Everyone else came, I wanted as much muscle with me as possible. I didn’t think Liara would pick a fight, but it was difficult to tell. I’d had a fling with her alter ego that came out in the daylight. I’d liked that part of her. With the world now plunged into eternal darkness I was stuck with the other half who I was quite certain would rather skin me alive than sleep with me.

“I’m looking for Gob. Short, brilliant, insane. I think you may have him,” I said.

Liara guided us inside and a few others stepped in to join us. I recognized a few. Emelia the Bloodwitch, Silas the Piercing Wail, both greater evils and quite powerful in their own right. Liara had brought her own muscle and wanted us to know it.

The walls inside were solid black, although speckled more liberally than one would expect with the brown flecks of dried blood. I didn’t want to think about what Liara’s usual method of entertaining must entail.

“I have him. He commanded forces that invaded my home and killed my people. We’ve been having a delightful time exploring the many ways in which this was a terrible idea. Would you care for something to drink? Wine? Tea?” Liara asked.

How casually she went between torture and tea. I admired the aplomb, but was suddenly grateful I had the particular evil Queen that I did.

“Wine, thank you. I want him. I’m certain we can work out some arrangement,” I said.

Liara snapped her fingers and servants appeared with glasses of wine on a tray. I took a sip of one, it was exquisite. I couldn’t fault her hospitality so far.

“You may try to sway me. Do you have some grisly torture of your own design that you wish to inflict?” Liara asked.

I didn’t think that I should say my actual goal was to put him in charge of a planet.

“You know the things of which he was a part. Did you discover what he had done to those people of Earth that were here?” I asked.

Liara gave a tiny smile as she settled back on a chaise, nursing her glass. “The man is something of a poet with flesh, isn’t he? Poor judgment with abysmal taste in enemies, but then the art should be judged apart from the artist.”

Liara had the hots for Gob, or perhaps felt some sort of perverse aesthetic attraction. Whatever it was, it wasn’t something that I wanted to dwell on.

“We’ve worked well together in the past. What do you want?” I asked.

“Nothing. You can’t have him. While I’d love to flirt and wheedle a few hours from you or your friends in my dungeons, I’m fond of that new wife of yours and Gob’s crimes are not something I can let pass,” Liara said.

I wanted to say there was no way we’d agree to spending a few hours being tortured, but I knew better. Yve had made such a deal before. We all did what needed doing however unpleasant the price.

“Not even for old time’s sake?” I asked.

Liara’s gaze was steady and her expression gave nothing as she shook her head. I didn’t like where this was going. I was going to have to claim rank here.

“I am the King of the Twelfth Moon. I insist,” I said.

“I’ve sworn you no oaths of loyalty, for all that I have not challenged your rule. Gob remains where he is. If you want him, you’ll have to take him by force. Are you ready for that?” Liara asked.

I’d expected some contributions from my companions by this point. They were never short on criticism. Maria especially was prone to calling me an idiot, or Leosi to challenging my leadership qualities. They were silent but for the creaking of leather and the clink of chain as they shifted positions, preparing for a fight.

“Do it,” I said.

Ashley blinked into stealth and a few seconds later the Bloodwitch was crying out as twin daggers buried themselves in her back. It was on.

Ritual of Numbing

Leosi went straight for Liara, who straightened up to quirk a half-smile at him.

“The Lion of Genea. I remember you in your prime. It is long since past. Is it true the boy killed you?” Liara asked.

“Centuries trapped in a castle and living a life I was more than happy to have end. An unknown, when I am a tactician. I know you, Queen of Pain,” Leosi said.

I thrust at Silas the Piercing Wail with Intemperance. The man didn’t attempt to avoid the blow, letting me run him through with the flaming sword. I could smell the scent of burning flesh as he began to scream.

Agonized Cries

My new armor helped, I could feel the darkness absorbing some of that sound and sending it away into the void. It couldn’t get all of it, the wail tore through flesh and bone. It was like a grindstone crushing my innards and I collapsed to the ground.

I wasn’t the only one affected, Ashley too was staggering backward with a dazed look.

Hail of Blood

The blood seeping from the Bloodwitch’s open wounds spun through the air like a thing alive and turned into tiny frozen spears which pelted Ashley. Where each of them touched her armor or flesh, it began to sizzle and melt.

That was two of these enemies using our own attacks against us. Liara had been expecting us to come on the offensive, she was ready for it.

Leosi alone was untouched by the screams. Even the spiders covering Maria were writhing in torment. The ritual of numbing he’d invoked must have rendered him immune to pain. I wish he’d chosen to share that much preparation with the rest of us.

Leosi had drawn a sword I didn’t recognize, the edge glistening with a brilliant gleam. He swung at Liara, who reached out to grab the blade with her bare hand. It was the move of someone who knew her strength, but a moment later she staggered backward. Where her palm met the blade, the flesh had changed from perfect total darkness to the white of marble.

“What have you done, Lion?” Liara said, her voice cold and dangerous.

“I’ve done as I always do. I’ve come prepared. I don’t need to kill you, Liara. I need to change you. The blade of the sun containing all of the power of that light,” Leosi said, as they circled each other.

In daylight Liara changed aspects and was devoted to pleasure instead of suffering. Leosi was trying to change her. It was a bold plan. I might not like him, but he truly was a brilliant tactician.

Liara tilted her head. “My respect, Lion. You could never have killed me, but you might have accomplished this.”

Leosi was not letting himself get distracted and he pivoted with a thrust that should have impaled Liara. Despite knowing what would happen she again caught the blade, with both hands this time, and held it.

The two stood there with locked gazes, Liara’s arms trembling as white oozed through them. Transforming her by degrees.

“What are you doing? You could have dodged that,” Leosi said.

“Brave Lion. Do not forget we both need to fear the light,” Liara said, and with her massive strength snapped the sword in two.

Light exploded in the room. The very essence of sunlight as the full magic of the sword was released in one singular explosion.

It was like a switch had been flicked. Liara was again bleached completely white, a vivid contrast to the dark room.

Leosi was back on the Crucible Shard which meant his vampiric nature was in full effect. Leosi being a vampire in a sunstorm. Leosi burned.

The onetime King and hero howled as sunlight bathed him, skin bursting into flames as he was consumed in fire.

Maria watched her father die for a second time. Collapsed on the floor herself, Maria tried to get to him, crawling along, but the shrieking of Silas continued.

Liara was looking dazed. No wonder, given the sudden transformation.

“Get them out here,” said the Bloodwitch to a woman I didn’t recognize.

The air shimmered in the telltale signs of a teleportation spell and we materialized back on the Vainglory. A second later the ship rocked violently as we were thrown from the deck and sent tumbling through the air.

The engines roared and we leveled out.

“They denied our access through the wards and booted us out. You okay?” Lea asked.

Maria wasn’t. Maria was wrenching sobs and struggling to breathe with the force of her crying. There wasn’t anything I could do there. I needed to focus elsewhere.

“Liara wasn’t feeling cooperative. Killed Leosi, although it got her transformed into her other aspect,” I said.

“Will it stick?” Lea asked.

I didn’t know. With the world in perpetual darkness I didn’t think so. The effects of that sunlight were probably temporary and we were on the other side of the shield.

“Hold here a few minutes. If Liara is changed she may allow us back through,” I said.

It didn’t happen. Yve used the time to pick Maria off the deck and took her below. I hoped she’d be able to help, they’d gotten along well enough when Yvera was a Goddess.

I needed to get through those shields, and if we achieved that, then I needed someone who could help take on Liara in a straight fight. The first part Elsora could handle, but the second wasn’t her style.

“Do you have a location for Diamond?” I asked.

Lea considered for a moment. “I can find her.”

“Do it.”

I wasn’t looking forward to trying to explain Elsora and the whole wedding thing, but Diamond would be the most able to help. She also might get Maria out of the line of fire.

When Maria stopped crying, she’d be out for blood.

Chapter 4

Sands stretched to the horizon when the Vainglory appeared in this new world. Below us was a palace of ornate crystal spires in various hues of glass. It was all sort of breathtakingly beautiful.

Lea lowered the Vainglory almost to the ground so that we could disembark. Yve was still comforting Maria and so it was just myself, Ashley, and Walt.

Diamond stepped out of the palace. She had what seemed a genuine tiger at her side, a massive cat padding along looking incredibly protective. Tiger was there as well. It was rather more than I’d ever seen of them. Diamond was nude but for a few strands of the stones named after her artfully draped around her form, and Tiger lacked even those.

“I thought for a moment it was Cobalt and I was expecting some catastrophe. I didn’t know you knew about Belmar,” Diamond said, flashing me a smile before giving Ashley a narrow-eyed look.

“Liam, ’sup? Nice armor man,” Tiger said.

“You two seem a little under-dressed,” I said.

“Don’t be a prude. It’s what the locals wear and we always dress to fit in. Is that a wedding ring?” Diamond asked.

Trust Diamond to be observant. It wasn’t the subject I wanted to lead with, but there it was.

Tiger lifted my hand to better display the ring and Diamond’s eyes if anything narrowed more than when she’d looked at Ashley.

“Yeah. I’ve got a story there,” I said.

“I bet. I see Ashley also used the dagger I strongly advised her against using—and I firmly warned you that I wouldn’t be cleaning up the consequences,” Diamond said.

Diamond might be naked, but she was sure making me feel like the one over-exposed.

“She did. We killed Veros, the God we were struggling to put down,” I said.

Diamond and Tiger shared a look, and Diamond sighed. “Let’s take things one catastrophe at a time. Why did you get married to some woman that clearly isn’t my mother—the murderous and vengeful Queen of the whole Universe to whom you were stupid enough to get engaged?”

I winced. This was going well.

“Would you believe the Queen of the Universe was actually more than a single person and I fell in love with one of the other bits and married her?” I asked.

Diamond closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Fuck.”

The giant cat by her side glared at me and growled.

“That isn’t the reaction I was expecting,” I said.

Diamond wasn’t smiling. “Did you expect me to recoil in shock? It’s a big and really weird universe, Liam. That must be why none of her reflections look like her.”

“They’re composites. That one I told you about before, Silver. I realized what was going on after meeting her,” I said.

“And instead of coming here and explaining what is going on to me, or to mother—to whom you were committed—you decide getting married is the right way to handle the situation. I’m your friend, Liam, and mother deserves better,” Diamond said.

I really must be a selfish asshole, because until this moment I’d never even given thought to the fact that this might hurt Diamond in some way. Ashera had seemed distant going into things, and in a way this was marrying her. That’s what I’d told myself. It didn’t seem nearly as believable now.

“You could have told me I was being an asshole,” I said to Ashley.

“Fuck you. I’m high on mass murder,” Ashley said.

Diamond’s eyes swiveled to her. “And one of your best friends. I get her being stupid, she was dealing with something tough, but you let her go ahead and use that dagger. It was your place to protect her from herself. You don’t even want to know what is happening with her aura right now.”

Right. This was me. King of a planet, bringer of autumn, heart of darkness, terrible friend.

“Can I make things right?” I asked.

Diamond made a sound that was half-laugh and half-growl of frustration.

“We’re still buds,” Tiger said, and then added after a moment, “Though I’m totally going to kick your ass one day because of Mom.”

“Thanks,” I said to Tiger. I think that was as good as I could hope for.

“Ashley—no, I’m sorry, but it is too big a problem and I have too much on my plate right now. But whatever is happening there, it’s really bad,” Diamond said.

Ashley seemed fine. A little giggly and in good spirits, but honestly it made for a nice change. Sure, the cause was a little grim, but I could handle it.

“Do you know how to begin?” Walt asked.

“I’ve got nothing for you there. I wish you’d listened. As for the surprisingly impressive knot that is your love life, this other mom, talk about her,” Diamond said.

“Her name is Elsora, I think you and Tiger have met her,” I said.

“Kind of short, very polite?” Tiger asked.

“That would be her,” I said.

“Subtle where Mother is blunt. Smart where Mother is strong. Avoiding the spotlight by having you sit in the throne while Mother hogs it every chance she gets,” Diamond said.

That all sounded about right.

“That is about it,” I said.

“You like them brainy. Who knew? If you’d have flirted a bit more you’d have found me way less complicated,” Diamond said, beginning to pace back and forth to the chiming of gemstones. “Darkness aligned, judging by your armor?”

“Right,” I said. I didn’t even address the other part of her comment, it seemed best. I was tangled up enough with the women of this family.

“What are you thinking?” Tiger asked.

“That it explains a lot. We’ve always wondered where Mom comes from,” Diamond said.

“You think other Mom came first?” Tiger asked.

“Darkness always precedes the light. Of course she did. The question is why,” Diamond said.

“I think she wanted a challenge,” I said.

Diamond and Tiger gave simultaneous snorts.

“That sounds like Mom,” Tiger said.

“We’ve been around a really long time. Why is she just making herself known now?” Diamond asked.

I hadn’t thought of that. There were still so many pieces I didn’t have.

“Letting us get some practice rounds in?” Tiger asked.

“Possible,” Diamond said, and then spun back to face me. “Okay, here I go. I’m going to say some things and I don’t think you’re going to like them very much, but you are going to listen.”

“I’m listening,” I said.

Diamond nodded curtly. “Mom is a bitch, but she really is the light. Everything you know and that you’ve ever known exists only because she is there. Earth, the Twelfth Moon, Ashley—whatever weird, magical entity that is crawling around in Ashley. Mom didn’t create it all with her own hands, but every single little bit of it exists because she was first up and walking around.”

That was a lot to take in. I also didn’t believe it.

“I’ve heard the story of how she conquered the lands the Silver City was built on. Wouldn’t that mean something or someone was there first?” I asked.

“You’ve conquered kingdoms in games you played. Would they have existed, if not for you and those like you?” Diamond asked.

That was an example that worked for me.

“No,” I said.

“Exactly right. Mom is that important and the Silver City, too. Me, Tiger, all of us. You too now, a little bit. We’re all the real people that games keep getting made for. Yeah, the analogy is getting away from me, but you get some sense of what I’m saying?” Diamond asked, looking a little winded.

“I’m important,” Ashley said.

Diamond chose not to acknowledge that as she kept her eyes locked on me. “This other Mom you describe isn’t. Darkness doesn’t create, that isn’t in its nature. You want my advice? You want my advice as one of the smartest women you’ve ever met? You stay far away from Mom for the moment while I smooth things over, and when I call you bring a planet of fucking flowers and marry the woman you should have married in the first place.”

That wasn’t going to happen. Elsora was more than just some incarnation of destruction. I understood what Diamond was saying. When I’d first met Elsora in Castle Sardonis she was in a castle falling apart, filled with the dead, in a world gone savage and wild. Castle Sardonis still had the undead, but we also had people from around the world filling the halls. It wasn’t desolate and dying under our rule, it was flourishing.

I didn’t know the full extent of what Elsora had planned, but it wasn’t just blind love driving my actions. I trusted her and I believed in her. I was still coming to terms with just what being the villains of the story meant, but I believed in her.

“I still love your mother and I promise you, I want her to live and to be happy. I’ve made Elsora swear to that, whatever comes, but I’ve made my choice between them,” I said.

Diamond stared at me for a long moment with her lips pursed.

Tiger nudged her and nodded his head at Ashley. “We’re better friends than they know. Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Diamond said, and shot me a determined look. “We’ll find a way to save you from your own stupidity no matter how intent you are on sticking to it.”

“I don’t suppose that means you’d care to come with us to break through an incredibly powerful magical shield and fight one very pissed-off Queen of Pain?” I asked.

“Liara?” Tiger asked with a wince. “We met her too. Is it that important?”

“We’re trying to save Earth. It’s complicated.”

“If you’re taking her on, you’ll need the Right of Combat. We aren’t letting you anywhere near Mom until you’ve had a chance to apologize. The Nine aren’t going to be helpful. It will have to be Cobalt,” Diamond said.

“She ran away,” I said.

Diamond gestured and she and Tiger were suddenly dressed in tunics. “Not anywhere I can’t get to her. Let’s go.”

Chapter 5

The Vainglory was trying to shake itself apart. Time compression wasn’t something we’d had much direct experience with, but I understood the concept. Time moved at different rates in different parts of reality.

Cobalt had gone somewhere where years might pass for every day we experienced. I knew the ramifications of that—when she’d left Cobalt had been carrying my child.

Getting out of the line of fire had seemed smart. It gave the child a chance to grow up properly outside of danger. I wasn’t really ready to have a kid, not yet, much less one that would be full-grown, but I was about to do just that. At least, once the Vainglory could properly manage this transition.

Ashley settled in beside me at the rail and beamed me a smile. “Excited? I bet you are. I really thought you and Cobalt were going to wind up together for awhile.”

I’d thought about it a time or two, but we’d never had that deep a connection. Liking to kill together and fuck together was not the basis of a good relationship.

The air around the Vainglory gave a reverberating groan and green lightning filled the sky. We’d arrived. Below us stretched a city full of modern-looking buildings, with cars moving in the streets and a harbor with ships moored.

I guess she’d had enough of the medieval life in the Crucible Shard.

“Well well, what do we have here,” said a voice I didn’t recognize. I turned to face the source.

It was a woman somewhere in her mid-twenties. Pretty in a tight-fitting suit of red and yellow that hugged her every curve. A cape fluttered rather majestically in the air behind her.

We weren’t on the Crucible Shard, so I slipped on my glasses of Game Sight.

The Red Queen

Sarah Vijo was a petty criminal and pick-pocket when she picked the pocket of an archaeologist carrying the idol of Sangara. Now fused with the essence of an ancient mystical Queen she had the powers of super strength, flight, and the ability to generate low strength force fields.

Okay. Superheroes with sub-par back-stories. This is where Cobalt had decided to raise our child.

“Sarah. You seem lovely, truly. I’m looking for Cobalt,” I said.

The Red Queen gave me a jaunty grin. “You know my true identity. Men have died for less. You’ll do the same, but after I steal this ship of yours. If you’re looking for Captain Cobalt you won’t find her here.”

Captain Cobalt. Of course it was Captain Cobalt.

“Want me to tear her apart or are you two going to sleep together first?” Ashley asked brightly.

“Is this about that time with Sub-Arctica? That was one time,” said the Red Queen.

“Was it now,” said a man, flapping down to the deck. He had large black wings.

“Malevolent Crow. I’ve already claimed this prize,” said the Red Queen.

Light spun on deck and a hologram appeared of a balding man in a lab coat. “We came come up with some compromise.”

“If you can’t come in person, Professor Decay, you get no voice at all,” said Malevolent Crow.

Diamond stepped out on deck. I don’t know where she’d found the outfit, but it was skintight white, had thigh-high leather boots, a belt buckle with a D made completely of diamonds, and a cape that put the others to shame.

“Really?” I said.

“We dress to fit,” said Tiger, flipping through the air and arriving in a crouch. His outfit had black and orange stripes and a set of vicious-looking claws on each hand.

I decided the world had gone mad.

“New players on the scene?” said Professor Decay. “You aren’t in the database.”

“Princess Diamond and her companion, the Immortal Tiger. You’ll not have my ship,” Diamond said.

I looked to Ashley. Knowing her, a display of overwhelming violence was imminent. Instead her eyes were wide and she looked awestruck. “I’m going to go find a cape. Don’t let them go anywhere!”

I couldn’t handle this new, more cheerful Ashley, not on top of everything else.

“My ship,” said a new voice I recognized at once. Cobalt. She appeared on deck, wearing a jetpack and a leather jacket adorned with a needless number of bronze studs. Beside her was a young woman whose features were all too familiar. One of the Nine.

“Cobalt, look out,” I said and drew Intemperance. The sword flamed to life.

The young woman took a combat stance.

“He isn’t a hostile Hope, although I understand the confusion. Evildoers, you are outnumbered. Is this a fight you wish to press?” Cobalt said, striking a pose.

It was all the most ridiculous sort of theater. I knew her, she could kill all of them before they realized what was happening. This play-acting wasn’t necessary.

The Professor’s hologram flickered out first. The remaining two villains shared a look and flew off.

“Put the sword away, civilian,” Hope said.

“Do it,” Cobalt said.

“You don’t understand, she’s one of the Nine. I don’t know what lies she has told you, but she is not a friend,” I said.

Diamond was sketching magical symbols in the air with a fingertip and after a few seconds said, “She is not one of the Nine. Sword away.”

“My daughter, Hope. I don’t know these Nine you’re speaking of, but it has nothing to do with me,” Cobalt said.

That sinking feeling again, the one I get in my stomach sometimes when things go really badly and reality has just chosen to beat the hell out of me—I was getting that now. I was getting my worst case of that ever.

It would have to wait. That was a talk to have later.

I sheathed Intemperance and Hope relaxed.

“Who are these people?” Hope asked.

“Diamond and Tiger are your aunt and uncle. The fellow that doesn’t know when to put away his sword is Liam, your father,” Cobalt said.

I didn’t know if Cobalt had ever told Hope about me—or if she just did. Hope ignored the other members of her new family to stare at me. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have a father you’d never met, who had missed your whole life, simply showing up one day. I think I’d hate me.

Hope hugged me. Hope hugged me until I thought I might break in half. As if she were clinging to something she feared might vanish, if she let go.

I knew this meeting would feel like something, but I’d never expected it to send my entire world careening off-kilter. I didn’t expect every priority I’d ever had to realign itself in an instant.

I had a daughter. Well, daughters taking the Nine into account, but I couldn’t think about that yet. I had a daughter that was better than I deserved.

Hope finally let me go, silent.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here,” I said.

Cobalt said, “I explained that you were a King with a duty to your people. That your lands were in peril and worlds hung in the balance. That you had to fight and I had to go.”

It was the truth, but a kinder truth than I deserved. My relationship with the truth had been strained to the point of breaking again. I just didn’t know where to draw the line anymore.

“Who are the Nine?” Cobalt asked.

“This isn’t the place,” I said.

Cobalt stepped forward and took my hand in hers, giving it a squeeze. “We’ve spent a long time here being heroes and fighting the good fight. I raised our daughter to value the truth, even hard truths.”

That I understood. She was setting the nature of our relationship going forward. Cobalt had raised our daughter as a hero, albeit an exaggerated over-the-top hero, and to do that she’d become one herself.

I explained, “The Nine are all identical clones made from genetic material stolen by the artificial intelligences of Earth. Nine young women all with the Gifts of War and of Travel. I hadn’t realized it until I met Hope, but I now believe them all to be her sisters.”

There, the words were spoken.

Cobalt looked as stricken as I felt. Cobalt had spent most of her life fleeing from a prophecy that she would bear a child with those two Gifts—a child who would bring a great calamity.

Here we were, running away to escape a future that was at our doorstep.

“I have sisters?” Hope asked with a quaver in her voice.

Diamond stepped forward and swept her into a hug. “Yeah, honey. I think you do.”

Cobalt seemed to be carved of ice. Perfect and frozen. This wasn’t a Cobalt shocked beyond reason. This was her thinking about battle to come.

“Mother?” Cobalt asked.

“They revealed their existence when they trapped Ashera and her army upon a life world. Ashera escaped alive, but the army of the Silver City was butchered,” I said.

“She has never been dealt a defeat like that before,” Cobalt said.

“It has gotten bad. The Silver City is now in the midst of four great wars. We suspect the Nine are gathering armies,” Tiger said.

“Do you have any more bad news for me?” Cobalt asked.

Wasn’t that enough? I didn’t much like the truth, I could see why Elsora lied so much.

“Leosi is dead—again. Liara killed him. Maria is below decks heartbroken. We’re on our way to kick Liara’s ass and liberate Gob, the man who dissected you and cloned our daughter. We need him alive to save a planet,” I said.

“I already sent our goodbyes when I saw the Vainglory appear. Get us out of here. It’s a hard day to be a hero,” Cobalt said.

Chapter 6

We were back on the Crucible Shard and hovering outside of Liara’s towers. The defenses were still fully raised against us, the air shimmering with power.

“What are we dealing with in there?” Cobalt asked.

“Liara has fed for generations upon the deaths of those coming to her as a final obstacle. Two incarnations—one, who comes out in the day and is devoted to pleasure, while the other appears at night and worships pain. With the realm in perpetual darkness she has been trapped in the latter form,” I said.

“Companions?” Cobalt asked. Hope had joined us, she was holding the hand of Maria, who looked terribly confused and vulnerable to meet her half-sister so soon after her father died.

“A screamer, and a blood witch. They seemed to get stronger and have some sort of offense when we attacked them,” I said.

“Can you handle them, if we focused on Liara?” Cobalt asked.

“We did not last time. That is how father died,” Maria said.

“Hope. You’ll be on them. When they’re neutralized you’ll need to join me against Liara,” Cobalt said.

“You’ll make her suffer for what she did to my father?” Maria asked.

“We don’t do that. We’re heroes,” Hope said.

“You are,” Maria said.

Hope frowned a touch at that, but kept hold of Maria’s hand. This new family of mine was going to be all kinds of complicated.

“I want Liam with me to go after Gob,” Diamond said.

We’d decided the best approach was to split our forces. Cobalt and Hope were our biggest weapons in a fight, so would be engaging Liara directly. Diamond had some mobility from her magic and was going to be our best bet to get through whatever defensive magic the dungeons might have.

“We’re with Liam and Diamond,” Ashley said, indicating herself and Walt.

“Works for me. Let’s do it,” Cobalt said.

Diamond traced runes in the air, each sparkling with brilliant light until a complex structure hung in place. Diamond studied it for just a moment to make sure all was right and then pulled her fist back to drive it through the image, which shattered like ice.

There was screeching howl from the air around us. Below, the gates protecting the towers cracked and rune work exploded. The glow of the shields in the air sparked and faded away.

Diamond and Honor led the way off the ship. Archers were already spilling out onto the towers balconies, but with a blur of fists they were taken down. I noted they didn’t kill any of them, this really was a different side of Cobalt I’d have to get used to.

Unendurable Agony

Liara charged into the fray. With gritted teeth Cobalt was ready for her. I felt that I should be down there in the thick of it, but this part of things wasn’t our fight.

Teleport

Diamond gestured and we were elsewhere. I recognized this row of cells. While I hadn’t been trapped here before, both Walt and Ashley had spent some time inside until I rescued them. The torture they suffered here is what started to break their minds. I still kept hoping to find some way to put things right. At least now they were functional, however broken. When it came down to it, the functional was the important bit.

Cell doors of thick metal lined the walls.

“Where are we headed?” Tiger asked.

“I’m not certain. The cells are warded. Can you and Liam start knocking down doors? We’ve guards on the way,” Diamond said.

I could do that, my great strength wasn’t always as much use as I’d hope in a fight, but I made a damned good battering ram. So, it turned out, did Tiger.

I bashed down the first of the doors.

I didn’t find Gob—however I did find Aria.

I’d surrounded myself with women who didn’t usually need rescuing, all except for Aria, who happened to require it on a regular basis.

“Again in these cells?” I asked.

“Liara is a bitch. That isn’t a secret, just a fact,” Aria said.

No. It wasn’t a secret.

Heavy-armored guards charged down the hall and reached the floor that Diamond had just coated with ice. Bodies went skidding and a far more sure-footed Ashley set to work with her daggers. This wasn’t like the fight upstairs—none of us were heroes who had a problem with killing.

I bashed open a second cell. Empty.

Tiger wasn’t having any luck either.

I knocked down the third door. It might have been Gob—it was incredibly hard to tell. There was a body on the table, but it had been cut open and most of the organs partially extracted, pulled from the frame and suspended by a complex series of wires that buzzed faintly.

Just getting near them made my nerves ache. This was some grisly torture from the inside out. It might be Gob, but Liara could have just been having what she considered a particularly hot date with somebody.

“Found him, maybe,” I shouted.

I heard an explosion and screams, and a disheveled-looking Diamond came rushing in. Her eyes played over the tormented figure, “That him?”

“How would I know? Whoever it is, they’re in pieces,” I said.

“It’s Gob,” Aria said, leaning against the doorway. “It’s also a trap. It is made to look like just a torture device, but the pain web is more than that.”

Diamond traced a quick spell with her fingertip and frowned. “She’s right. This is nasty work. I really don’t like that woman.”

“Yes, you do. You like it whenever anyone surprises you with how smart they are,” Aria said.

“Where did you find this all-too-chatty woman?” Diamond asked.

“Aria the Talesinger. She knows secrets, all of them. Why she didn’t tell me about Elsora or my army of daughters a little earlier, I’m not sure,” I said with a glare.

“Do you have any idea how many traumatic secrets you’re surrounded by? Give a girl a break,” Aria said.

Out in the hall there were more screams and what was becoming the familiar sound of breaking bones.

“Okay, I have a plan, but it isn’t a good one. I can invert these weaves and teleport him. That won’t snare me in an eternity of torment and agony, but it is going to feed all of that right back into him,” Diamond said.

That didn’t sound too bad so far. I didn’t particularly care if Gob suffered. I think I preferred it really.

“And?” I asked.

“Cold. He has already undergone massive physical and mental trauma, and I don’t know what that is going to do to him,” Diamond said.

“We’re on the Crucible Shard. Even if he dies he’ll respawn back. We want to avoid that though, because it may be somewhere Liara still has under her control,” I said.

“Then I guess you are just worried about his mind. This could destroy it. I’ll try it, if you want, or you can try to do this all later when you have a better plan,” Diamond said.

Gob’s mind was the entire reason that we were doing all of this. We were trying to save Earth. If we lost it we’d have to go with Mela’s plan instead. I also had a bunch of clone daughters about to send the universe to war and I really needed to start focusing on that.

“Can you give me any kind of odds?” I asked.

“I’m good. I’m very good. Sixty percent that we do this and I keep his mind intact,” Diamond said.

That was a forty percent chance of having to destroy Earth. Very nearly a coin-flip.

There were more screams from the hall. I didn’t have time to dwell. It was better to act than not to act.

“Do it,” I said.

Diamond reached out her hand into the complex web holding Gob, her eyes wincing for just a moment.

The world shimmered and we were back on the deck of the Vainglory.

True Heal

Gob was now free of the web. A pile of organs and bones and distorted flesh on the deck. Without hesitation Diamond plunged her hands into the mass of it and they glowed a brilliant white.

There was the wet slurping sound of a body reassembling itself and Gob was whole once again.

“Is he okay?” I asked.

Cobalt and Hope leapt back onto the deck, Cobalt sporting a black eye and most of the flesh of one shoulder a burned ruin. Hope had a slight limp.

“We need to go,” Cobalt said.

Behind them the tower looked to be partly caved in and a fire was burning.

Diamond was checking over Gob and she glanced up to shake her head. “I’m sorry. Physically he is in good health. The mind—it was just too much. A purely human brain would have broken, but he had the ability to wipe himself. He did.”

Almost everyone on the deck had some sort of injury. This battle had been hard fought. We’d brought the biggest guns we had, but it wasn’t enough.

We were going to have to do something terrible.

Chapter 7

We were back on Earth for what would probably be the last time. The Vainglory materialized and everyone met on the deck to discuss the plan. It wasn’t going well.

“You can’t seriously be proposing to wipe out an entire planet,” Hope said. That was me, winning points with my newfound daughter.

“I’d prefer to think of it as relocating the population,” I said.

“By killing every single one of them and copying their brains. Mom, agree with me that this is a terrible idea,” Hope said.

“It isn’t a great one. You’re the smart one, don’t you have anything better?” Cobalt asked Diamond.

“Millions of people on a world with no natural inter-dimensional portals? Not really. Their fix is crude, but grabbing the neural framework and storing them in a divine/software construct for later reintegration off-world is actually quite clever,” Diamond said.

“It seems a lot like mass murder,” Hope said.

Ashley giggled. That wasn’t helpful.

“Mela. Can you please get in here and explain how it isn’t actually going to be that bad,” I said.

Nanites swarmed the deck and after a moment Mela stepped out of the grey cloud.

“Not sure exactly what you’re wanting me to say here,” Mela said.

“That it really is for the best and you can make it relatively painless,” I said.

“That isn’t really true. I’ve got to generate a high level of neural activity, and high adrenaline levels are going to help with the nerve mapping,” Mela said.

I closed my eyes for a minute. She wasn’t doing this to me. Of course, she was doing this to me.

“You’re basically planning to hunt people through the streets with murder bots as your nanoplague maps their every terrified reactions, aren’t you,” I said.

“Yes…” Mela said, looking between everyone. “I mean, how else am I going to do it?”

“Really?” Hope asked, looking ready to take us all on. I was kind of proud of her, while also finding her incredibly inconvenient right now.

“This isn’t our world. It’s theirs. It is their choice to make, if this is how they want to proceed,” Cobalt said. This wasn’t really a democracy, but I also didn’t think we’d have any dissent. If this is what it took to make things okay I was willing to entertain it.

Yve said, “Neither of us like it, but it is the option in front us. Ultimately it frees humanity from all they’ve ever known and opens up a whole new world to them.”

Ashley shrugged. “I already killed a bunch of them. It was fun. I guess it’s okay if the rest survive.”

Walt said, “I don’t remember the place. Do whatever you want.”

Hope just looked from face to face seeming a little sick to her stomach. “Then I don’t have to watch. I’m going to go check on Maria.”

Cobalt waited as Hope walked way, then she flashed us all a smile that was almost rueful.

“A daughter with morals? In our family? What were you thinking,” Diamond said.

“I was thinking I’d try to do at least one decent thing with my life. I have, and she is not wrong. I agree that this seems necessary, but you should feel bad about it,” Cobalt said.

If that was the objective, mission accomplished.

“Is there anything else you need to make this happen?” I asked Mela.

“Just ask me to do it. I’ve never actually been asked before,” Mela said.

If that was how it was going to be.

“Mela, could you please exterminate all human life on Earth in a mechanical plague and store their minds,” I said.

Ashley giggled again. Damn it.

Mela grinned, “Yeah. That felt as good as I’d imagined. It’s kind of nice to be wanted for what you’re good at. It will be a few weeks to get them all.”

This would look great on my evil resume. Destroyer of Earth.

“Take us back to Castle Sardonis. It’s time we had a chat with my wife and made a plan for what to do with the Nine,” I said.

Chapter 8

The transition back to the Crucible Shard was uneventful and we called an impromptu war council.

While the others gathered in the war room I pulled Elsora aside. I had a lot to discuss with my new wife.

When the door to the side room closed behind us she leaned in to press against my lips. Nice, really nice, but not what I was looking for.

“You have questions,” Elsora said finally, breaking off the kiss.

“Did you know?” I asked.

Elsora did me the courtesy of not pretending she didn’t know exactly what I meant. “I didn’t swear that wedding vow regarding your children for no reason. I always knew exactly who and what the Nine were.”

Of course she had.

“You could have told me,” I said.

“I thought it best that you see with your own eyes. I wasn’t sure you’d believe me otherwise,” Elsora said.

That was the downside of lying all the time.

“What am I going to do?” I asked. I hadn’t let myself feel overwhelmed until this moment, but here with her for a moment I could let it all wash over me.

Elsora wrapped her arms around me, “Nothing you have to do alone, love. I have plans, you know I always have plans.”

I did. It was one of the best and most maddening things about her.

“Are they really my daughters? It isn’t just some sort of scheme by Gob?” I asked.

“They are. It is no scheme. Gob had a hard time working with most of the stolen samples, but when they captured Cobalt it presented them an opportunity,” Elsora said.

I said, “And what of our child? You’ve led me to believe that you’d used some of those samples yourself to conceive, seeking the power of the Silver City, but now that I know who you really are…”

“You know that to be another lie,” Elsora said.

I nodded.

“Darkness and Light. Destruction and Creation, we’re old themes. Absolute classics. I don’t know if you’ve given any thought to that,” Elsora said.

“Diamond says I’m making a mistake having any faith in you. That if you are another half of her mother, it’s one incapable of creating anything,” I said.

Elsora looked pensive for a moment and shook her head. “Diamond is brilliant, the greatest of Ashera’s children and it’s always worth listening to her. Still, there is more to it. Whenever trying to judge a liar such as myself, look at our deeds and not our words. Why am I here?”

If I’d ever thought she’d stop playing my instructor just because we were married, clearly I was wrong. It hadn’t made her motivations any more transparent either, for all that I did think she was trying.

By here, I didn’t think she was talking about Castle Sardonis. She must mean the Crucible Shard. And why? While she had originally come for Cobalt, Elsora remained for me. There was more to it, though. Elsora had the whole universe to choose from and yet she had come here. It had to be for the same reason Cobalt had come here—and why unknowingly I had been drawn here.

The same reason everyone came to this place. They wanted to change their fate.

“Diamond was right, but she isn’t anymore,” I said.

Elsora smiled faintly. “Ashera has children, a strong and powerful bloodline running through reality, because she has part of that essence of creation within her.”

“And you couldn’t have children, because you’re the essence of destruction. Yet, you’re pregnant now,” I said.

Elsora said, “I am. Although you know the theatrics it took to make it so. I’m never going to be mistaken for the good one, but I’m not the destruction of the universe and I am building something grand. Do you see where I’m going with this?”

I did. I had nine daughters out there that had been created to be monsters. They were designed to spread death, destruction and suffering wherever they went. They were, in other words, a lot like her.

I wondered if Elsora was really a master planner at all. Silver had been a Seer, perhaps she was as well. Had she orchestrated grand plans to make herself a twisted little family of monsters, or was she a woman striving very hard to bring something good out of a terrible situation? I didn’t know, and strangely enough I decided it didn’t matter. That twisted little family was in front of me and needed my help. I was going to find a way to save all of them.

“I love you,” I said.

“I know. It’s terribly foolish. Kiss me again and then let’s get in there. We have to stop a few wars and then start a new one.”

I kissed her, but made it a quick one. We had worlds to conquer.

Elsora and I made our way into the war room and settled into our seats, I had my place at the head of the table with Elsora beside me.

“Might I start us off?” Elsora asked.

“Sure. We may as well get it out of the way,” I said.

Elsora said, “Most of you have met me before, although there was a lot you didn’t know about me. There still is. This is the important thing to know. Wars are springing up around the center of reality and a build-up of forces is happening that can be truly cataclysmic. I have a plan to stop it.”

“We’re listening,” Diamond said.

I hadn’t expected her to be so open-minded. Diamond probably wanted to hear the whole plan before coming to any conclusions.

“Queen Ashera is holed up in the Silver City, while multiple armies surrounding her prepare for war. While the Nine are out there and her enemies gather, she and her forces are effectively pinned down,” Elsora said.

Diamond’s eyes narrowed just a touch, and she nodded imperceptibly.

“It is the safest move. While she is in residence with her army, the Silver City can be considered invincible,” Cobalt said.

“Is Grandma really that strong?” Hope asked.

“Your grandma has very big fangs, kid,” Tiger said.

“We are not so limited. Here at this table we have several of the more powerful forces including two who possess the Right of War,” Elsora said.

“So do the Nine,” Diamond said.

“I’m not suggesting we face them. I propose we find a way to shut down the armies that lay siege to the city,” Elsora said.

Diamond looked thoughtful, but she raised no objection.

“I’m out of the loop. What are these armies?” Cobalt asked.

“The first should be known to you. The Neutronium Spire,” Elsora said.

Cobalt winced. I’d never heard of them, and that wince was never a good sign.

“I’ve unofficially bumped up against them a few times. Killed one of their Emperors once. They’re an Interplanetary Empire in their own plane, and constantly at war with any number of alien species. They really love killing,” Cobalt said.

“They’re capable of limited inter-planar travel. Not with their ships, fortunately, but they have devised planar gates that allow them to move an army. It is an interesting technology,” Diamond said.

“They have not-infrequent internal wars between factions. They are pretty dangerous. Can you handle it alone or do you need help?” Cobalt asked Diamond.

“You won’t understand their planar technology and that is going to be our best chance of shutting them down. I’m on it,” Diamond said.

Well, that was two of our biggest fighters gone right out the door.

“Next the Oga-kar,” Elsora said.

“I’ve got them. They love a good fight and hey, I’m me,” Cobalt said.

“What is an Oga-kar?” Hope asked.

“Not too technological, they love battles and drinking. The thing that makes them somewhat unique is they are all immortal. Every one. Kill them on the battlefield and they rise the next day,” Diamond said.

“I could see that dawn never came, if necessary, but I’d prefer to not exterminate them,” Elsora said.

“Absolutely not. I won’t allow it,” Hope said.

“You shouldn’t have to. They respect a good brawl. It’s been too long since I got a real workout. This will be great,” Cobalt said.

“Next up, we have the Dark Witches of Exum. Powerful spell-casters and practitioners of the darkest sorceries,” Elsora said.

“I can talk to them, I used to date one. We got along well,” Tiger said.

“She tried to sacrifice you to a demon lord,” Diamond said.

“Well, it was a rough breakup,” Tiger said.

Elsora cleared her throat. “Then I guess that leaves Olympus for King Liam and the others.”

“Olympus?” I asked.

“You wouldn’t know them, we scrubbed them from Earth history. You’ll like them though, they get in fights and sleep around a lot. They’re our kind of people,” Yve said.

“Take Hope,” Cobalt said.

Hope perked up.

I wanted to spend more time with her, but I hadn’t planned on taking her to war.

“Glad to have you,” I said. This would be an all-new worry.

Chapter 9

Getting to Olympus shouldn’t be too difficult with Hope having the Right of Travel. I don’t know where that one came from considering that Cobalt didn’t have it. Perhaps it had something to do with her being conceived in close proximity to an inter-planar drive. That could be an awkward question for me to pose to Diamond one of these days.

I quickly learned that having the Right of Travel didn’t necessarily equate to being very skillful at it. Hope had little practice with the power. Eventually she might learn to be as great at hopping around as Malachite, but she wasn’t right now.

Before we finally reached our goal we wound up having lunch at an Olympus Bar & Grill, browsing the wares at Olympirium Arms & Armor, and we nearly decided to stay the night at the OlympInn. Still, persistence pays off and we did finally reach our destination. Of course, this meant materializing right in the throne room of a hostile power.

The room had an impressive amount of marble and statuary, as well as rather peevish-looking people in ornate clothing. I slipped on my glasses of Game Sight and had a look to see what we were dealing with. First, the figure upon the throne.

Zeus: Patriarch of the Gods

Zeus is commonly called the Father of the Gods of Olympus. A proud man and an awful ruler he maintains his throne by being powerful. With superhuman strength and endurance and electrical-based attacks he is a powerhouse.

Okay. So he was buff—and not alone. If my own life had taught me anything, I’d learned it was stupid to ignore the woman next to the throne.

Hera: Matriarch of the Gods

Hera is the wife of Zeus, although to call her the mother of the Gods would be inaccurate. In truth many of those of Olympus are born from illegitimate unions and Hera is known for taking her vengeance on her husband’s lovers and their children.

No note on her powers, but I’d assume her to be dangerous. Next, the stunningly beautiful girl not wearing a stitch of clothing, and someone who didn’t look like she wanted to kill me.

Aphrodite: Goddess of Love

Aphrodite is the Goddess of Love and of Pleasure. Aphrodite is the most beautiful of the Olympians and can inspire desire in all who see her. Often petty and ill-tempered she is a source of many problems in Olympus.

Right. I was pretty immune to instantly falling in love these days, but I’d better check on my companions. Yve and Ashley looked totally enraptured, Walt and Hope still seemed to have their wits about them.

What about the one actually wearing armor?

Ares: God of War

Ares is the God of War. Skilled in all manner of weapons and violence and possessing of divine strength and skill, he is to be found wherever there is a war to be waged.

If worse came to worse we’d just kill this guy. Take away the God of War and you can’t have a war. It made sense to me.

“Who dares to enter our home uninvited?” Zeus asked, standing from his throne, electricity crackling against his form.

Hera said, “One of a twelve, although not our twelve who is husband to Nyx. One who has drunk of power and is as Maenad. A fallen Aphrodite and a Hades rising. Alongside them, Hope,” Hera said.

Really? Hope got to be herself while the rest of us were various types of gibberish. The universe really did like those of the Blood more.

Zeus looked suddenly uncomfortable. “It has been long since we’ve seen Nyx. What brings you to the halls of Olympus?”

Right. Elsora seemed to have opened up something of a door at least.

“We wish you to call off your war with the Silver City,” I said.

“Ah,” Zeus said, giving me a level stare. “Then you have come on a hopeless cause. Long have we deserved to take our rightful place and the way is open. We shall tear down the Silver City and place Olympus there. There is no discussion to be had and no compromise to be made.”

Well, that wasn’t leaving me a lot of wriggle-room to work with. I was getting awfully tired of barging into other people’s homes and them not yielding to my demands.

“I’m going to have to insist,” I said.

Zeus didn’t consider this for more than a moment before he raised a hand. Lightning blasted out, sending me sprawling backwards with bolts of discharge flinging off my armor.

Good. It wasn’t like we had to fight an army, just those in charge of one. How bad could this be?

Ares was charging towards Ashley, and Hope intercepted him, ducking under a blow and tearing the shield from his arm to bash him in the face with it. The God of War looked more than a little startled to have a fight on his hands. They didn’t know who we were.

“Be careful,” Yve said, as she unhooked her sword. “They’re all going to have abilities.”

There was a blur of motion. I couldn’t even fully make out the figure rapidly moving around her, pummeling her senseless, although the glasses of Game Sight got a glimpse of a name. Hermes.

Zeus had left me for dead and directed his attention towards Walt, who was blocking a stream of lightning with the Death-hand. It was never smart to ignore me.

I drove Intemperance into his thigh and the sword blazed brightly. Lightning cracked out, hurling me back once more in an explosion of light.

“Ares, settle with the girl and get over here,” Zeus said.

“Trying,” Ares said, as Hope bashed him in the face once more. “She’s not bad.”

“That’s my daughter,” I said. Kind of proud of that fact.

“And that’s my boy. Kind of a disappointment,” Zeus said, before blasting me with another cascade of lightning. The repeated blasts were really weakening me, my limbs twitchy, and it was getting harder to keep a hold of my sword.

Hope threw the shield into the air and flipped onto her back, catching the shield with a kick from her feet that sent it hurtling upwards with astonishing force into Ares’ jaw. The God of War wobbled for a moment and crashed hard to the floor.

“Think we’re done here,” I said.

“Pretty sure you’re right. You really should have brought your wife,” Zeus said.

Stepping towards Hope, Hera opened up an intricately detailed box. Wind gushed and howled, and Hope flailed for a moment before being sucked inside.

“What was that?” I asked.

“That was your muscle being taken out of the fight,” Zeus said, as he placed both hands together and hit me with the nastiest bolt of lightning yet.

The room had been fairly empty when we arrived, but more deities seemed to be arriving by the minute. Most of them were busy beating us up. Walt held out surprisingly long against four of them before a blow finally got past the Death-hand and knocked him out. Ashley didn’t last nearly as long.

I had the mixed blessing and curse of cosmic-level endurance. Zeus beat me bloody and then he kept beating me. I don’t know how long he kept at it, all I know is that Zeus had a lot of rage and it took him a while to get it out of his system. He was still working me over as the others were dragged out of the room. The box containing Hope was put on a shelf.

If I was tired of people refusing my reasonable demands when I came into their homes, I was even more tired of them winning the fights that came afterwards. I had to get stronger.

It was my last thought before I lost consciousness.

Chapter 10

When I came to I was having sex—or at least it seemed like it. I’d gotten used to having my brain messed with, and become resistant to it, so I had my suspicions. A giveaway was my apparent choice of partners—people I was quite certain I’d not be winding up in bed with any time soon.

One moment I’d find myself in Diamond’s arms and kissing along her neck, and the next with Dara Riel writhing beneath me. Malachite, Ashera… Yvera in her new volcanic form. It also never seemed to be going anywhere in particular. All build-up, no payoff.

I was in some kind of spell then. That made sense. Making a cell to hold someone like me would be tough, so it would be better to trap them inside a prison of their own mind. It wouldn’t be the first time for that either. Liara had done something like this once when she had trapped me in pleasure, and Walt and Ashley in different forms of suffering.

A parade of partners I never actually slept with, and having sex that never got anywhere. Was I ensnared in my own sexual frustration? If so, someone was going to die for this. It would work as punishment, and it did serve as sort of a backhanded slap at Elsora.

Mind Games was going to be my best option here. If I had some genuine partner putting me through this torment, it would at least let me get inside their head.

I reached out with the power. The world fuzzed and blurred for a moment.

I was still in bed just as I had been, although now I was sandwiched between mirror images of Aphrodite. Well, this hadn’t been helpful. If anything it seemed to have doubled my problems.

“Now that is unexpected,” said Aphrodite one.

“Nobody mentioned you had the ability to go inside minds,” said Aphrodite two.

The only conversation I’d ever had inside a mindscape had been with Veros. I’d assumed it was possible because of his overwhelming power. Perhaps that was the case here as well.

“I do. I take it I’m being held prisoner. I get that, after an attack on the throne room, but why am I stuck in an Aphrodite sandwich?” I said.

“You’re in Tartarus,” said Aphrodite one, nipping at one earlobe.

“It’s a prison for the most wicked of souls,” said Aphrodite two, nipping at the other earlobe.

“Yeah. A threesome is just about the worst punishment a man could endure. You’re ace torturers,” I said.

Aphrodite one laughed. “The torment of King Sissyphus. There is this giant boulder and he just spends all eternity pushing it up a hill.”

Aphrodite two nuzzled against me. “He almost gets it to the very top and then it comes rolling back down.”

I took a deep breath, that didn’t help. They smelled amazing. It was so hard to focus like this, but I knew how important it was. People kept underestimating me, kept thinking that they could prey upon this weakness of mine. I wasn’t going to let them.

“I get it. It’s a lot like I was just going through. That doesn’t explain you,” I said.

“One of us is Nephele, the cloud nymph. That is the one holding you prisoner,” breathed Aphrodite One into my ear.

“The other is Aphrodite, who was trying and failing to set you free,” breathed Aphrodite Two into my other ear.

I was starting to get an idea where this was going. I didn’t like it.

“And I can’t tell simply by talking with you,” I said.

“Aphrodite would love to make it that easy for you,” said Aphrodite one.

“But this is Nephele’s world,” said Aphrodite two.

“So why don’t you just tell me how this all works,” I said.

“The one isn’t a perfect copy,” said Aphrodite One, settling her head upon a pillow.

“If you were paying close attention to the real one, you should be able to find the difference,” said Aphrodite Two, taking her place on the other side of me.

“And what do I do when I find the right one?” I asked.

“You push the rock up the hill,” said the Aphrodites in unison.

“And the wrong one?”

“The wrong one poofs into clouds,” said Aphrodite One.

“And you just keep pushing for all eternity,” said Aphrodite Two.

It wouldn’t be for all eternity. Elsora knew where we were and if I vanished off the map she’d come to the rescue. I’d also been trying to stay faithful even if she wasn’t demanding it of me. Having sex with a Goddess of Pleasure would smash that goal to pieces in a hurry.

Of course, she quite possibly knew I would find myself in a situation like this. If I was right about her being a seer, she probably foresaw it. The same as her offering to accept and love my children because she knew the Nine would be an issue, she might know I’d find myself in a situation like this.

“And if I push the rock up the hill, I go free,” I said.

“Those are the rules,” Aphrodite one said.

“It wouldn’t be true torment otherwise,” Aphrodite two said.

It was so tremendously hard to think, but I was still forcing myself to do so. There was one more piece of information I needed.

“Why would Aphrodite want to help me escape?” I asked.

“Because Zeus always claims she is his daughter, but she really isn’t,” Aphrodite one said.

“Cronus and the Ocean are her real parents,” Aphrodite two said.

That didn’t make a lot of sense, but I figured I got the basic gist of things. Aphrodite was tired of her seat at the table and knew, if Zeus were out of the way, she’d have a better one. Perhaps even the throne.

I was going to do it. Not because I was stupid and acting on my urges, but because I’d thought things out and it made sense. I kind of liked the idea of a Liam that was true to his wife, but I was the Liam that made the complicated choices and did whatever it took to keep moving forward. Sometimes that was giving the order to destroy Earth, sometimes it was laying down with a Goddess of Pleasure so she could break you out of prison to murder her adopted father.

That meant spotting the difference. It was a classic game and the distinction between the two could be incredibly tiny. I didn’t have the Aphrodite from the throne room here before me, but I did have the two contrasting models in bed with me.

It took three hours of incredibly difficult research to find the difference. One had an almost imperceptible scar upon her left foot, while the other didn’t. I couldn’t remember that from the throne room, but then I wasn’t really looking. In the end I decided that Aphrodite would never let herself be anything less than perfect.

I wish I could praise my self-control in what came next and say that what proceeded was a businesslike pushing of the boulder up the hill exactly once. However, I’d picked the right one and it turned out to be a far more exhaustive task.

When I finally made my exit from the mindscape I found myself in the bed I’d left earlier. Empty now. A rather more dressed Aphrodite in leather armor dumped my equipment on the bed, “Up and at them, stud.”

“Not a cuddler then,” I said.

“Ugh. Are you one of those?” Aphrodite said with a grimace, gesturing at the gear. “Play hard, work hard. You’ve got killing to do.”

I really wasn’t one of those, I was just a little taken aback at how quickly she shifted gears. I was morally flexible though, I could keep up.

I got dressed. I took some comfort in the fact she at least seemed interested enough to watch the process.

“What about my companions?” I asked.

“They broke themselves out already. They’re strong. You and the redhead both got stuck in the same punishment, although she managed to convince Nephele to push the rock herself. You’re the only one that needed a rescuer,” Aphrodite said, tapping her foot. I was getting the impression she really wasn’t the most patient of sorts.

Great. My pride needed that. It probably wasn’t that bad, my Mind Games might have gotten me out of that even without Aphrodite’s assistance.

“You have a plan?” I asked.

“We’re not alone. If we’re doing a little jail break, we may as well do a good one. All the monsters of Olympus are coming out to play. I’ve got an army. We can weaken them, but it isn’t exactly healthy for us to kill our relatives.”

“So you want us to do the dirty work,” I said.

“Exactly. You’re good with that?”

“You’ll call off the war?” I needed to make sure of that.

“I’ll call off the war, let Hope out of Pandora’s Box, and you’ll have a friend on the Throne of Olympus,” Aphrodite said.

“And I get to keep the box,” I said.

Aphrodite narrowed her eyes at that. She didn’t like it and I didn’t blame her. If it could hold Hope, that box was dangerous to a lot of people. That’s why I wanted it.

“Then I want your guarantee Zeus and Ares die. The others will be forced to play by my rules, if they are dead,” Aphrodite said.

If I was going to insist on terms, it was fair she do the same.

“Deal,” I said.

“Deal.”

Always have a deal. I’d learned that from Yve. We’d worked out a price. Now we just needed to go to war.

Chapter 11

When Aphrodite said she had an army, she wasn’t kidding. The giants were the most notable, towering figures of massive size and strength that made the earth shake. There were also Gods and Demigods aplenty. It seemed that over the centuries there was no shortage of those who had earned Zeus’ ire and found themselves confined.

“I can’t say she didn’t keep her word about having an army,” I said to my companions, having rejoined them.

“Well, she is perfect in every way,” Yve said, rather smitten.

“Murderous and strong,” Ashley said, the same.

Now I knew how I must have sounded every time I’d been supernaturally compelled to fall in love. It was really annoying, and surprising Ashley hadn’t ever stabbed me.

“What is the plan?” Walt asked. At least he wasn’t drunk on love. Walt was never drunk on love.

“Aphrodite wants Zeus and Ares dead, so they need to be our priority. We could use Hope’s help, but she isn’t going to go along with that and will stop us, if we let her out of the box too early. I want Zeus, I owe him a lot of pain,” I said.

“Zeus kicked your ass last time,” Ashley said. That was undiplomatic of her. True, of course.

Walt said, “Then we switch it up this time. Ashley and I will take Zeus and leave Ares for Yve and Liam.”

“If I couldn’t take him, what makes you think you two are going to have any better luck?” I asked.

“I’ve got a Death-hand,” Walt said.

“And I killed the last God we faced,” Ashley said.

Yve snagged my arm. “And we work well together, always did.”

That was emotional blackmail, and it was effective.

“Fine,” I said.

Mount Olympus was before us and Aphrodite’s army surged forward to meet with its defenders.

There was no shortage of Gods on either side. And ground soldiers, legions of warriors armed with pikes and facing down the giants armed with massive clubs.

Although it was tempting to get into the melee this wasn’t our war, and these weren’t our targets. Aphrodite had left a nymph to guide us and when the time was right she led us along an almost invisible path winding to the building atop the mountain.

Zeus and Ares were waiting for us inside.

“A fool of a King and his companions. What lies did she tell you to get you here, I wonder? Or are you but another victim under her spell?” Zeus asked.

“Jealousy is such an ugly emotion,” Yve said.

“What lies would she need to tell me? You refuse to end this war, and tossed me and my companions into a prison,” I said.

“Enough talking,” Ares said, pulling a massive sword from his back and stepping forward. I guess Aphrodite wasn’t the only one in this family that wanted to get right to the action. That was okay, although I didn’t think this time around would be nearly as satisfying.

I met Ares’ charge with Intemperance as Walt rushed at Zeus, and Ashley went stealthy.

Ares was a master swordsman and I wasn’t. Fortunately I wasn’t alone—he was against two of us. We hadn’t discussed our exact strategy for this fight, but Yve and I really were good together. She knew my strengths and weaknesses better than anyone, as I did hers.

We both used swords and against a master swordsman like Ares we’d be in danger of hitting each other. I was stronger, had the better weapon, and lacked range. That meant Yve would be the one to hold back and use her spells.

On the bad side, the spells mostly had an area effect. On the positive side I’d gotten rather used to being burned alive and I healed fast. Ares wouldn’t have that going for him.

I parried the first few of Ares’ blows before falling for a feint and he delivered a vicious slash to my thigh. The sword cut through to the bone, darkness billowing around my armor to seal the breach as soon as the weapon was withdrawn. Great, self healing armor. Given how frequently I’d had armor destroyed in the past I’d should find the time to be appreciative, but not right now.

Pillar of Flame

An explosive pillar of fire erupted from the ground to engulf Ares and he was shifting back to avoid it. I wasn’t going to let that happen and reached forward to grab at one of his arms, pulling him back into the flames.

That was agonizing, the fire burning the flesh away from my hand, but it was doing a good bit of Ares-melting as well. With a howl he delivered several punches to my face. I’d prepared though and braced my feet. It kept me from flying across the room although he did break my nose and loosen a few teeth.

The flames faded and we pulled away from each other. We’d both taken a lot of damage from divine flame. My wounds were already starting to knit closed while his were lingering.

“Swap. I’m out of mana,” Yve said from behind me, and I pulled back to let her take over the melee portion of the combat. Disengaged from the fight I’d heal even faster.

Fury of the Storm

Zeus was facing off against Walt and was letting loose with a blinding array of lightning. I didn’t know what Walt had done to piss him off this badly, but he must have done something. The Death-hand was absorbing a lot of the energy, but not all of it. Walt was starting to look as burned as Ares and me.

I had to trust that he and Ashley had it handled, because I had other problems. Yve went soaring across the room, making a terrific din as she bounced several times upon the marble floor. At least she was groaning, which meant she was still alive.

I was back in.

I didn’t bother trying to match Ares in terms of skill. I was stronger and in better health, and he’d already been hurt. I went at him with everything I had left in pure attack.

Ares was ready for me, and for every blow I managed to land he somehow got three on me. I was bloodied and charred, but I’d not go down. A deep thrust in his side left him weak and losing blood. Still he fought like a God of War, an indomitable force of nature. I’d seen better though. Cobalt, Ashera, and even Hope were not just his match, but his superiors. I wasn’t theirs, but I could win. It came down to endurance and after having lost so much blood Ares finally pulled back and tossed down his sword.

“I yield. Well fought,” Ares said, panting.

I had an agreement. I respected the fight he’d shown and it wasn’t he that had put my daughter into a box, but I honored my deals. My final blow took him by surprise, Intemperance cleaving his head from his shoulders and leaving his body to topple backwards. I was glad my daughter wasn’t around to see that, she wouldn’t have approved.

I helped Yve to her feet. I remembered how perfectly composed she always looked as a Goddess—somehow with a black eye and armor stained crimson she was still a vision.

Zeus was down, Ashley straddling his chest and tearing him apart with her God-killing blade which glowed with a soft green light. Streamers of energy connected them. That probably wasn’t a good sign.

Walt was down, if alive, smoke rising from his smoldering form. Yve limped over to heal him.

I found Pandora’s Box on a pedestal and, working with the clasp, finally got it open. There was a rush of energy and Hope materialized looking dazed.

“Daddy?” Hope asked.

“It’s me. Are you okay?” I asked.

“It was some sort of sealed plane. I kept trying to travel out, but I’m not good enough. I couldn’t figure it out,” Hope said.

“You’re fine. We were trapped in a prison too for a time, but we’re out and we won,” I said.

Aphrodite sauntered in. I wondered if she had been watching and waiting for her moment. The sight of the bloodied corpses on the ground drew a smile from her perfect lips and she bent to retrieve Ares’ head, giving it a lingering kiss on the lips. “You really should have joined with me, Brother.” The head got tossed aside and she advanced towards me to press a lingering kiss against mine in turn. Even I was a little weirded out.

“Dad? What’s going on?” Hope asked.

“This is Aphrodite, Queen of Olympus,” I said.

“Hottest goddess there is,” Aphrodite said.

If Yvera were here, I was sure she’d have words about that. Fortunately she wasn’t, she was only able to see through Yve’s eyes when we were on the Crucible Shard. It likely saved us a diplomatic incident.

“We good?” I asked.

Aphrodite settled herself down into the throne and gave a languorous stretch. “We’re good. The war is off.”

One army down. I only hoped the others had been as successful.

Chapter 12

A quick trip back to Castle Sardonis, and Elsora informed us that Diamond had called for support from the first team to report back. Although she was working on taking out their portal technology, a starship was currently assaulting her position.

It was an easier trip than last time. I think so long focused on her travel powers while trapped in the box had helped Hope to master them. We materialized in a metallic hallway, the faint hum of engines beneath our feet suggesting we were on a powered ship.

Fortunately, the hallway was empty. I didn’t expect it would remain that way for long.

“So, I don’t suppose anyone has a clue how to stop a starship?” I asked.

“Kill everyone on board,” Ashley said.

“Not happening,” Hope said.

“If we could get to the engines I might be able to use my powers to make them overload,” Yve said.

“Which would do what?” Hope asked.

“Cause the ship to explode and kill everyone on board,” Yve said with a shrug.

“Still not happening. Seriously Dad, why do all of your companions always want to kill everyone?” Hope asked.

“Because we’re fun,” Ashley said, adding to me, “Your spawn is boring.”

Cobalt had to try and raise at least one daughter who possessed ethics. Given all of our other children were rather more terrifying, it had to be a good thing.

“Does anyone have any suggestions that do not involve murdering everyone aboard this ship?” I said.

Silence answered the question. Fantastic.

It was Yve who finally spoke up. “I don’t like the idea as much, but I could try overheating the engines a little less. I don’t know what technology drives this ship, but the insides of most engines are often fairly delicate. We may be able to cripple the ship without killing everyone on board.”

I looked at Hope, who nodded. Okay, we had a plan she agreed with.

“Any idea where the engines might be?” I asked.

Yve gestured and led the way. Perhaps what remained of her supercomputer brain had a clue or maybe she was guessing. It wasn’t easy being the tank.

We barely made it to the end of the hall when klaxons started going off. A voice announced, “Intruders in Hallway B7. Alert Stations.”

Guards ran into the corridor. They wore armor with energy plates that glowed a pale blue, and carried swords that sparked with some sort of energy.

“Now that is just dumb,” Ashley said.

“I agree,” Walt said.

“It reminds me of the weaponry of Doctor Light back home,” Hope said.

“I mean, if you are going to have some kind of energy weapons—why not a gun?” Ashley said.

“It’s the hull,” said the lead guard.

“How’s that?” I asked.

“We’re on a spaceship, right? Do you know what happens, if you breach the hull? Really bad things. A gun, you keep blasting at the same spot, you might open a hole, but these swords, none of the blades are actually long enough to cause a breach,” said the lead guard.

That was helpful, and kind of interesting.

“Still not very cool,” Ashley said, although she appeared a little mollified.

“If we’re quite done giving lectures on ship safety, it is time for you to surrender,” said the lead guard.

“No killing,” Hope said, as she ran into the middle of them. Four blades tried to find her at once, but she was never where they were, ducking and weaving between the guards and delivering punches that scattered them.

I followed, delivering a punch here and there. I had to pull them, given my immense strength, but soon we’d put down the guard patrol.

“That was easy,” I said.

I spoke too soon. Gravity suddenly cut out and I found myself floating along with the others.

At the far end of the hall stood a woman, her feet still firmly on the floor. She wore a uniform looking of a high rank. I recognized her at once.

“Diamond, can we get some help here?” I asked.

“Tactician Dia, not the doppleganger you speak of, although I am aware of her existence. You’ll find any further attempt at struggle a futile endeavor,” Dia said.

Hope was flailing away in midair. Without force being directly used against her, the Right of War wasn’t of much help. Diamond would have been smart enough to do something like this, it was unfortunate that Dia was too.

We needed a plan.

Ashley said, “There is something you need to know about me, lady. I’m a master assassin and I’m never helpless even when I’m not on my feet.”

I didn’t see how it could be so. She had as little experience with antigravity as the rest of us.

A throw of her dagger sent her spiraling into a wall and she sprang off it to the far one. A series of leaps back and forth, sending her in the direction of Dia.

“Impressive. If you won’t be caught flat-footed, how about we simply make you flat,” Dia said.

The gravity around Ashley must have shifted to something far higher, because she crashed to the floor. I could hear the sound of bones shattering and flesh squelching as it popped under immense pressure.

I had no idea if she was still alive after that. If so, she wouldn’t be for long unless we could get Yve to do some healing.

“Take her out,” I said to Yve.

“You sure?” Yve asked, with a nod towards Hope.

“Ashley is dying and we don’t know if we can resurrect here. Do it,” I said.

Epic Smite

Dia hadn’t prepared for magic. The fires bloomed around her and were so intense her screaming was fortunately brief. It was still enough to make Hope look ill.

Killing Dia didn’t return gravity to normal.

Walt moved the Death-hand and it began to spark. The lights in the hall flickered and dimmed.

“If you kill the power, the gravity is going to stay gone,” I said.

“I’m aware. I am not trying to kill the power. I’m selectively drawing energy into the Death-hand and restoring it in an effort to reset the systems,” Walt said.

It worked soon enough and we collectively crashed to the deck. Yve was on her feet at once and running to Ashley.

Lay on Hands

Ashley screamed as her body put itself back together again.

“You killed her,” Hope said, scowling at Yve.

I’d told her to do it, but I didn’t seem to be getting the blame.

“It was her or Ashley,” I said.

“Besides, she started it,” Yve said.

“We came onto her ship. We are the invaders here. We started it,” Hope said.

I loved my newfound daughter, but this was getting old fast. I understood where she was coming from, but Yve didn’t deserve the criticism for doing the right thing.

“Hope, if there is one thing I hope you learned back home above all other things, it’s the value of a team. You find the place you belong and you stick with those people no matter what. Yve was sticking and did what she needed to do,” I said.

Hope frowned, then after a few moments gave a tiny nod. “I get it, Dad—I do. But there is always a better way. You, all of you, stop trying way too easily.”

“We’re strong. We are all of us strong, but none of us have your abilities. I understand you feeling the need to have rules like that so the world will survive you, but we do the things we do sometimes because we need to survive the world,” I said.

I think that got to her. It had her looking thoughtful at least.

I’d take the partial win. We stepped over the still-smoking corpse of Dia and continued on towards the engine room.

The engine was a massive contraption of tubes and wiring that was frightfully complex. Yve seemed to know what she was doing though. She went to one section and rested a hand there. I felt the faint thrum of divine power.

“You okay?” I asked Ashley.

“I’m still buzzed from killing a second God. I mean, it’s not as fun as the mass murder, but it is still feels so good,” Ashley said.

I’d gotten used to an Ashley filled with murderous rage which drove her into killing sprees. I still wasn’t used to this one that liked it so damned much. I wanted her to be happy, but not like this.

“I’m sorry, I put you in a position where you had to use that thing again,” I said.

“Don’t be,” Ashley said. “You did me a favor. And you’re leading us right into war. I’m going to get to kill so many others before this is all done.”

Hope did not approve of this line of conversation. At this point we were lucky Hope wasn’t throwing Ashley into Pandora’s Box.

“Done,” Yve said, stepping back from the engines.

“Really?” I asked.

“Did you expect sparks? We’re done, I’m sure,” Yve said.

One starship down. This should give Diamond time to finish up. Hopefully the others were back from their missions.

Chapter 13

None of the others had made it back when we returned to Castle Sardonis. At least there weren’t any more calls for assistance. Diamond had sent back word that she would be returning soon. There was still nothing from Tiger and Cobalt

It gave me a chance to reconnect with Elsora. I really did owe her some sort of honeymoon. Tumbling into bed was easy, but before things went further I felt the need to confess my rather repeated dalliances with Aphrodite.

Elsora looked thoroughly bored by my confession. “Guilt is such an unattractive quality, Liam. I will ask you to leave it out of our too-few moments together.”

That felt like an unfair request. I was sure that she must have brought guilt into our time together rather often, given all she had put me through. Of course, when I paused to think about it, I couldn’t remember a time. There might be an occasional perfunctory apology and explanation, but guilt really wasn’t something my wife seemed to indulge in. I suddenly wondered if, like sleep, it was a human mannerism she might feign.

“I know that you have said that you didn’t care about such things. I guess I just assumed you were lying,” I said.

Elsora quirked her lips in amusement at that. “For which I could hardly blame you, that would be in my nature. When you first met me, you thought me a curse and that explained a great deal to you. I recommend you try to continue to think of me that way.”

“You knew the Olympians? Hera seemed to know I was your husband,” I said.

“I went by the name Nyx back then. It was a long time ago and almost everything they knew about me was more untruths. Aphrodite was a selfish and shallow brat as a young woman. Is she any better now?” Elsora asked.

“I think she wanted me to think that was the case. Perhaps I think too much with the wrong head, but the entire seizing of the throne seemed too quickly orchestrated and well-executed to be the work of a stupid woman,” I said.

“That means you’re thinking with the right head, love,” Elsora said.

I suppose it did. It would have been easy to have been so blinded by our bedroom encounter that I never looked deeper. That may have been exactly what Aphrodite intended.

“I’m worried about the others,” I said.

“You should be. Cobalt can handle herself, but Tiger is likely in some sort of trouble. I’m going to suggest you play rescuer in the morning,” Elsora said.

“Do you know anything about the witches?”

“Look at us—we’re a pedestrian sort of wicked. A bit selfish and given to violence to accomplish our ends. The witches go for a more dramatic approach to evil,” Elsora said.

“You’ll have to explain that one to me.”

Elsora said, in a calm and measured manner, “You’ll find them beautiful, every one. Their magics grant them immortality without a need to lose life, but their beauty—such beauty has a price they happily pay. Ever year, every single one of them finds the most beautiful virgin woman on each of a hundred worlds. They kill them, drain them of blood, and bathe in it.”

Okay, that was excessive even for the crowd we hung around with.

“Do you think Tiger is still alive then?” I asked.

“Let us hope so. If not, Diamond will make any sort of good relations there impossible. I want them as our friends and allies,” Elsora said.

“You want the over-the-top caricatures of evil as friends and allies?”

Elsora gave me a reassuring look. “I know. It isn’t a thought that fills you with much confidence and that is wise. But look at what the children are and ask yourself what sort of friends will stand by us. If we can make true allies of the witches, they will.”

“Fair enough. At least I won’t have any problems not falling into their beds,” I said.

Elsora gave me a flat sort of stare.

“Really?” I asked.

“They’ll almost certainly try to bed you. They practice a sort of fate-binding magic that can tie others to them and their cause. I know it is a lot to ask,” Elsora said. I don’t think she cared, we’d already determined Elsora didn’t feel guilt.

“Can’t we have Yve do it? You know that she’d be all for it.”

“Yve can have her fun all she wishes. I encourage it, the more they are bound to our cause, the better. The magic they hope to use to pull strings can be used in turn to pull theirs, but I am not connected to Yve. I am connected to you, my love,” Elsora said.

“This isn’t exactly what I thought getting married would be like,” I said.

“This is precisely what you thought marrying me would be like. You knew it would be scheming plots and wicked ways, and strangeness all around. You like that,” Elsora said, and I heard the trace of pleasure in her tone.

She was right. Elsora was always right. I’d fled from every relationship but her for a reason. Nobody else was twisted enough to keep me interested. Elsora though, Elsora might as well be made of knots I’d never untangle.

“Can you tell me what you have planned? I know you don’t want to, but you’ve said this is your endgame,” I said.

Elsora folded her hands over her stomach as she leaned back into a pillow. “I can’t. It isn’t because I don’t trust you, but events in motion can be so unstable. I can tell you a story that might offer some insight.”

It wasn’t really what I was looking for, but I was curious.

“Please do,” I said.

“This is a story of what ifs. What if your brother had come here as planned instead of you?” Elsora said.

“I do hope it doesn’t end up with you two married.”

“Mmm,” Elsora said, noncommittally before continuing. “Your brother is a far different man than you are. While you had certain qualities to allow a connection with Yvera, he did not. Tommy would have become a mage. Fighting his way up through the castle, many things would have gone similar, although he’d have spotted something dangerous and unknown in Maria. When it came to a choice between rats and spiders, he would have chosen the rats and seen Maria dead.”

Maria dead. I’d slept with her and as a result taken her side. It was one of the stranger encounters I had, and she was one of the more broken people I knew. I didn’t love her, but I did care about what happened to her.

“I can’t think she’d have gone down easily,” I said.

“No. Not at all, but the Right of Rule is not a combat power and she’d have eventually fallen. Of course, she’d respawn, but only to find her subjects dead and her life barren of all that had given it meaning. When meeting me and Leosi, events regarding Maria would slip out. In a rage Leosi would try to put them down and they would kill him,” Elsora said.

“So that played out pretty much as before,” I said.

“Tommy claims the throne and asks for my hand in marriage, and if I would tutor him in magic. In this story I accept, and he learns much of the Silver City,” Elsora said.

Things were veering off course fast. I’d married Elsora far quicker, and for love. It had always seemed to me that Elsora wanted my power. Was she saying Tommy would have seen through that and gotten some glimpse of who she truly was?

“What then?” I asked.

“Then King Tommy, in a quest to make this world more real and heighten his power, goes after the elemental deities. Atlantia, Mela, you know the roster. He kills each and absorbs their power. His greatest opposition during this time is pirate by the name of Cobalt that, no matter how strong he gets, always defeats him. Still, he triumphs elsewhere. Veros, the God of Fire, dies last,” Elsora said.

The elemental Goddesses had caused me no end of grief, but were allies of a sort. This history she described both mirrored actual events while at the same time being altogether different.

“Did Veros still have his corporation to gain power?” I asked.

“He did. King Tommy continues it, expanding until soon thousands of adventurers a week die to feed him power. The Crucible Shard becomes the Twelfth Moon, yet still he hungers for more. Then he discovers an ancient prophecy telling him how he might get what he really wants,” Elsora said.

“Cobalt,” I said.

“The intelligences of Earth come to him with an offer and he accepts. They had captured her and with a small sample from him are able to get her with child. A child they copy nine times.”

“Why are things both so similar and so different?”

“You know well enough by now how things echo. The universe craves familiar patterns. The Nine go to war against the Silver City, each loses in turn, but in their wake vast swaths of reality burn and sear away, the worlds left desolate of all life and plunged into eternal darkness,” Elsora said.

“You’re winning,” I said.

Elsora gave a tiny, sad smile. “I suppose. By the time the last dies even Earth has fallen. A vastly weakened Silver City sits alone in a dead universe with but one moon left ruled by a King made stronger by the death of all creation. He sits with his bride. Then the King goes to war again so that he might seize the center of creation and create a new universe.”

“He dies,” I said.

“Do you think so?” Elsora asked.

“Killed by Ashera,” I said.

Elsora gave another of those tiny smiles. “Then you are the smarter brother to see what he did not. Yes, he gives her the greatest fight, the one she has always wanted. Everything she has ever dreamed of. It goes on for centuries reducing the city to rubble and finally it is just them—and in the end, just her.”

“And you,” I said.

“The Queens of two dead worlds. Rulers of a dead universe. By any metaphorical scale a victory for me and yet so very hollow,” Elsora said.

I understood. Elsora might not be comfortable telling me what she planned, but I knew what she was planning to avoid.

“Can you really call yourself the villain, when you’re working to save the universe?” I asked.

“You don’t become a good person when you’re a murderer who chooses not to kill anyone just for one day. I don’t get credit for doing something less evil than I might have. Neither do you.”

In a way she sounded a lot like Hope. I stopped talking and got to the business we’d come to bed to do. I had a rescue mission in the morning. I hoped Tiger was still alive.

Chapter 14

Elsora provided us with transportation this time out, a shimmering portal of darkness allowing transit between worlds. Because we hoped to make friends with beings of over-the-top evil ways, it seemed best that we leave Hope behind. My daughter had too many morals for what we had planned.

I couldn’t guess what I’d discover when I stepped through the portal, but it wasn’t a pleasant and pastoral countryside. Rolling hills dotted with cows vanished into the distance and the air carried the scent of agriculture. The only real oddity was the number of exotic animals wandering around. I spotted an elephant, a bear, and something with four tails I couldn’t identify.

We were expected. A lone witch was waiting for us, wearing a form-fitting dress of black and red. At least she dressed in proper evil colors.

“King Liam, welcome. Your companions as well. I’m Sara, and I’m in charge around here,” Sara said.

“I’m glad to see you so welcoming. The last few places we’ve visited haven’t been so happy to see us,” I said.

“Nothing ensures hospitality quite so much as slaughtering the previous bad hosts. It’s a lesson we’ve used to our advantage a few times,” Sara said, and gestured us to follow as she made her way towards the estate house. “Come inside. I’m sure you’ll find it far more comfortable, too.”

I felt a twisting sensation when I passed through the door of the home and had to agree. The spacious chamber suggested this was more a palace than a home, and that the interior was far larger than the exterior would suggest.

The air had a pleasant hint of herbs and I wondered if these were ingredients used in spells. “Quite a change from the outside,” I said.

“We prefer to keep a more modest face on our activities,” Sara said. Other witches were now joining us, most dressed in flattering robes of one to two colors. They had little in common in their features except that each was stunningly beautiful, the sort of beauty that made your heart ache simply to look at them. I tried not to be too impressed, I knew the cost of that beauty.

“I can understand that, from what I’ve heard of them,” I said.

“Heard terrible things, have you? Mostly true—you’ll find us delightfully naughty. To start with, so long as you do not start violence with us, I offer you safe exit from our demesne for the next day. That formality done, might I speak with you alone? My companions can see to your friends,” Sara said.

I didn’t like splitting up, but the witches seemed to know how the game was played. Still, this might need to go violent. I should make sure first.

“Before I agree, there is a matter we need to discuss. I’m talking about Tiger,” I said.

Sara made a quick gesture and a rather disoriented-looking tiger—the feline sort with orange and black stripes, and very sharp teeth, appeared in a puff of red smoke. It was wearing a dainty pink collar.

“Not that one,” I said.

“I assure you, this is the one you’re looking for. When you depart, you may take him with you. Removing the collar will restore his true form. Do not do so in the house, his presence is not welcome here,” Sara said.

“I’ll take him,” Yve said, scritching him between the ears. Girls and cats.

“Agreed then,” I said.

The others were lead off to different parts of the palace and Sara took me to a room filled with soft pillows. A low table held a bottle of wine and several plates of appetizing sweets.

“Not a big believer in chairs?” I asked.

“I didn’t grow up with them. I can conjure one, if you prefer,” Sara offered.

That was kind, but I could make do. I settled down and she did the same.

“So, you know why I’ve come,” I said.

“I know what Tiger came here for, and of your mission to other worlds. You and several of those from the Silver City have been pushing for peace, yet not at the behest of Queen Ashera. I find this strange,” Sara said.

“Yet you seem willing to listen,” I said.

Sara poured herself a glass of wine and prepared one for me. I took a sip and found it powerfully flavored with spices I didn’t recognize. Unpleasant at first, although after a few moments I found myself taking another sip.

“As said before, bloodshed makes a powerful statement. What I don’t understand is why you push for peace. Queen Ashera has never been weaker. I know of your engagement and your breaking of it. You should be on our side,” Sara said.

I considered how much to say. I didn’t trust this woman, for all that she was putting on a pleasant demeanor. If Elsora called these witches evil, they truly were. Despite that she wanted them as our allies and seemed to think that possible.

“Do you know of the Nine?” I asked.

“We do. They are at the moment a worry for another day, although we like much of what we see. They in many ways seem kindred souls,” Sara said.

That was honest of her to admit. So Elsora was right about the witches, Elsora was always right.

“They’re my daughters,” I said.

That took Sara by surprise. I could see it in her eyes as she sipped at her wine. There was a prolonged period of silence that I didn’t interrupt. It was important she think things through as much as she needed.

“Then you are even closer to the center of events than you appeared. You don’t want the Nine getting caught up in our wars. You are seeking time to get your house in order,” Sara said.

“I am.”

“Do not let the fact that we are playing hospitable hosts somehow fool you about the depth of our powers. Do you know who we are? What we’re capable of?” Sara asked, suddenly very serious.

“The deadliest things in nature are usually the most beautiful,” I said.

That pleased her, bringing a faint hint of a smile. “I understand the desire to protect your family. If it is but a temporary refrain you seek, we should be able to accommodate you.”

Well, so far as staggeringly evil witches went, they were the cooperative sort. It made sense. My time in the Crucible Shard taught me that the evil were usually willing to take a step back—and seize opportunities when they presented themselves. It was the good people you had to watch out for. In the pursuit of what was right, they could be truly unyielding.

“I’m after more than just that,” I said. Elsora wanted an alliance, I might as well see if I could get her one.

“Assistance finding your daughters perhaps? We have been keeping watch,” Sara said.

“That would be helpful, but that’s not what I meant. Friendship, deep and lasting friendship,” I said.

The words drew a dark chuckle from Sara, who set her wineglass down. “Surprising, but unlikely. We value those friendships we have, and for that reason we keep them few. Trust is a valuable commodity.”

“I can earn it,” I said.

“You are free to try.”

“First, to show I truly do understand you, I know the secrets behind your beauty. I know the lengths you go to every year,” I said.

Sara gave a tiny frown. “Do you? Then again, it’s no real surprise. It is too large an operation to truly keep secret from everyone, and we really do prize a modest face. Well, then you know what lies behind our pretty appearance. What lurks behind yours?”

That was a fair request. I knew one of their evil little secrets, I should share one of mine.

“I ordered my home world destroyed in terror and violence. I unleashed a mechanical plague that will kill every man, woman, and child still alive,” I said. She was a witch, and probably had some means to test the truth of my words. While there was more to it, not a word of that was false.

“Then we stand revealed to each other. It is enlightening, but no basis for trust,” Sara said.

“I’ll bed you or as many of your other witches as you choose. I know of your fate-binding, you can link us as closely as you feel warranted.”

There was nothing in her gaze to even hint that she desired me as she considered my offer, simply calculation. “It is an intriguing proposal. We’ll need to investigate your fate first, make certain that you are not a trap meant to lure us in.”

“You have time, but don’t take too long. Events move at a frantic pace,” I said.

“You are in our world and time moves at the pace we will it to move,” Sara said, rising to her feet. “Wait here.”

It must have been true what she said about time for she scarcely seemed to have left the room for a minute before returning. Her outfit was different though, and even her hairstyle was slightly altered. I suspected that what had been moments for me had been days for her.

“Well?” I asked.

“We agree with a caveat. As much fate-binding as we intend will create a powerful resonance. We wish to use that to do something ever so bad, and very much not your business. It will conjure a protector resistant to our magic, but not a more physical approach,” Sara said.

“Bleed a bit to help cement the relationship,” I said.

“Something like that,” Sara said.

I didn’t understand exactly what I was agreeing to, but then again, when did I ever know?

“Done,” I said.

“But first, the more pleasurable bit of this little alliance,” Sara said, stepping forward and pressing a kiss to my lips.

The Witches must have taken their alliance seriously. From my perspective I spent a month there subject to their hospitality. A month of faces and bodies that blurred together. After Sara, there were others, and with each one a faint magical resonance grew between myself and with every subsequent witch. I’d bound myself tightly to Elsora’s brand of darkness, and now I had tied myself just as tightly to the Witches.

Chapter 15

Sara returned to inform me that we were done with the binding. I didn’t need her to tell me that. It was strange the connection that existed between them all. Although we had never talked about her history of her powers I knew that she was by far the strongest at curses they’d ever seen. Her rise to power had partly been due to her intelligence—and the ability to subtly sabotage everyone that got in her way.

I could feel them all around me. If I concentrated enough I’d be able to count every witch in the place.

“It won’t be quite so overwhelming when we’re on different worlds,” Sara said.

“It’s something you’re familiar with?” I asked.

“Not to this extent. We sometimes bind ourselves as individuals to a guardian, but as a collective this is new,” Sara said.

“I’m surprised.”

Sara took my arm and hooked it in hers, a surprisingly carefree and intimate gesture. “We saw your fate. We saw the world you are building. It is a world where monsters don’t have to hide what they truly are.”

Sara led the way to a dining hall with a large table. My friends were having a meal.

“That was quick,” Yve said, Tiger sitting beside her still in cat form.

“How long has it been for them?” I asked Sara.

“A few minutes only,” Sara said.

Time manipulation without having to jump to different worlds was really pretty cool, if confusing.

“We’ve made new friends. We just need to do a little bit of fighting before we go,” I said.

“I’m always up for killing,” Ashley said brightly.

“In a fight or do you enjoy human sacrifice?” Sara asked.

“I’ve never done a human sacrifice. But I’d like to try it,” Ashley said.

At least she couldn’t be accused of not keeping an open mind.

“Maybe another day,” I said.

“Stop by any time,” Sara said.

A shared love of murder and a time-warped orgy was all it took to bring people together. Who knew?

Sara led us to a ritual chamber where three witches were deeply chanting. The floor was slick with blood and a tangle of bodies in one corner explained the source.

“You don’t leave them in the ritual circle?” I asked. It seemed an odd question, but I just had to wonder who would—in the middle of things—bother to get up and move the bodies. Was that why there were apprentices?

“Don’t be absurd. They get in the way and disrupt the flows of energy,” Sara said, and then continued, “You’ll want to get ready. It should be any moment now.”

I slipped on my glasses of Game Sight and drew Intemperance.

The ceiling began to glow, jagged cracks appearing in it and a pure white light pouring out. A figure dropped from above. She was as beautiful as the witches in her own way and clad in white plate-mail. A sword in her hand flickered with holy fire.

I checked her stats.

Mali: Avatar of Justice

Mali hails from a plane of great champions of good. While all from her world contain some trace of angelic blood, in her it runs particularly strong. Wielding the holy sword Temperance she has brought an end to many who do wrong. Completely immune to all forms of magic and mind-control, and possessing super human strength and endurance, she is a potent adversary.

Great. It was me, sort of, if I were a girl. I didn’t understand exactly how echoes worked, but I couldn’t escape the similarities. Her blade was even named the opposite of mine and her name had all the same letters. Did this mean that I symbolized injustice?

“You will stop what you are doing this instant. The people of Dekali do not deserve to have such horrors visited upon them,” Mali said.

“Hi,” I said. Mali’s gaze slipped to mine and the flaming sword in my hand. Her eyes narrowed.

“What is this? Who are you? What monstrous mockery?” Mali said.

“So you see it too,” I said. My companions looked confused, but they couldn’t see prompts.

“This is Mali and her sword Temperance. It is like, girl-opposite me,” I told them.

“Where did she get the sword?” Yve asked.

“I took it from a great and terrible villain, and purified it in the fires of light. How do you know my name and how did you come to possess your own dread sword?” Mali asked.

“I’m Liam. I got mine after killing some farmboy too busy reincarnating as a great hero. I then corrupted it in the blood of a Goddess of passion and lust,” I said.

“That would be me,” Yve said with a sunny smile.

That was enough for Mali, who plunged her sword into the floor. A massive bloom of light filled the room. “Wicked, withdraw!”

Torment of the Wicked

The blast sent the witches tumbling. Ashley and me, too. It was like trying to stand in the face of a hurricane, the force driving us back against the wall and pinning us there.

Yve and Walt were unaffected, both standing still.

Yve said, “We’re not actually all that wicked. Evil Goddess days kind of behind me. I think I’m swinging chaotic neutral these days, if you’re the sort to measure these things. You look like you are.”

Walt said, “Death is neutral and so am I.”

“Then you’ll step aside and let me finish my duty,” Mali said.

Death-hand

Walt lashed out with his hand glowing a spectral blue. The punch sent Mali flying through the air. She proved more nimble than me, executing a midair flip to land on her feet with her sword held before her.

“You’ll regret that,” Mali said, and charged.

Walt fended off blow after blow with the Death-hand while Yve tried to blast Mali with fire darts. Each of the spells flickered away as they hit her, like her body was absorbing them.

I drew Intemperance. If she was creating this power, I must have it within me to fight against it. By degrees I felt darkness surge in my muscles and I pushed away from the wall.

Intemperance met Temperance, sparks filling the air each time the swords clashed. It was like an electrical current was surging up my arms, it hurt when our swords connected.

Ashley howled and green energy flickered around her with an aura of energy, and suddenly she was free as well and drawing her daggers.

“New trick?” I asked.

“I’ve killed a few Gods lately. It isn’t any surprise I’m leveling up,” Ashley asked.

It was actually. While the Crucible Shard and those with classes from it had gotten stronger after it became the Twelfth Moon, I hadn’t yet seen her pull off anything like this on her own. It worried me, but I didn’t have time to be worried.

“You don’t have to die,” I told Mali.

“You don’t have to fight me. What they do here is terrible. Sickening. You seem to be some mirror of me, whatever depths you have fallen into you cannot be on their side,” Mali said.

I had no doubts the witches were up to no good. Through my connection with them I could sense the atrocities that happened in this palace daily. They really were the very worst of monsters in a very beautiful package. They were also, now, eternal and fast friends.

I went high with Intemperance even as Ashley rolled low and drove her daggers into Mali’s knees. She screamed and dropped to the ground, Temperance skittering across the floor.

I raised my sword to finish things, but Sara stepped up and rested her hand upon my arm, stopping me.

“We’d prefer her alive, if you don’t mind,” Sara said.

“Whatever for?” I asked.

“Nothing decent. We’d not expected her to be some variation of you. If we had, we’d have reconsidered recruiting you for this fight,” Sara said.

I believed her. There was no reason for her to start lying to me now.

“I didn’t even know such an aspect of me existed.”

“If we might borrow your sword, we can corrupt hers and add to its power. That is, if your one-time Goddess is willing to spill some more of her blood,” Sara said.

“It’s not divine any longer,” Yve said.

“Inconvenient, but we can work around that,” Sara said.

Like I was going to refuse a stronger weapon. I handed over Intemperance and claimed Temperance as well, even as they gagged and bound Mali.

It was a terrible failure of a mission for her and a rather successful one for me. Score one for the bad guys.

Chapter 16

When we returned to the castle we transformed Tiger back to himself, unharmed although not happy about the treatment he received at the hands of the Witches. Diamond had made her own return in that time and was at least able to calm him down from any thoughts of vengeance.

That left only one member who had yet to return, Cobalt. It was alarming considering that she was also the strongest among us. Hope was able to handle the transport and we left to investigate what had befallen Cobalt.

When we materialized it was on top of a pile of corpses. There were a lot of corpses stretching as far as the eye could see in all directions.

“What happened here?” Hope asked, appalled.

I recognized the work at once.

“This is your mom, kiddo,” Diamond said, kneeling down to inspect one of the bodies. “You’ll be able to do this yourself one of these days.”

“My mom isn’t a killer,” Hope said.

“They aren’t staying dead. Remember, each dawn they come back to life. I think in the local time it has been seven days since Cobalt would have come here. His clothing shows the marks of seven recent deaths,” Diamond said, rising back to her feet.

“So they keep dying and coming back, and she just keeps killing them again?” I asked.

“Looks that way,” Diamond said.

Infinite waves of murderous barbarians. Cobalt must be having a blast.

It was difficult to even move across the battlefield with the corpses everywhere, and if you did find a free patch of ground it was slick with blood and innards. The stench was horrible.

I tried to make some sense of how the bodies lay. Pick up some clue as to where she might have gone, but I was finding nothing. Diamond gestured and an owl made of diamonds appeared. Flapping wings of carved gems it flew into the sky.

“So, do you pick your magical color?” I asked.

“You mean, like I get blue or white or sparkles?” Diamond asked.

“Yeah. Everyone seems to be different. Even things like using the Rights. When Malachite transports everyone she has that green flash,” I said.

“We don’t pick it. It’s based on our personality. You’ll sometimes see it change over time. It’s always a good idea to be alert, if you see any sudden changes,” Diamond said.

“Ashley has some weird, glowing green magic aura thing now,” I said.

“I’m right here. I can hear you,” Ashley said.

“I’ve warned you. You still haven’t done anything about it and that is on you. I’m here to save you from making a terrible mistake, not her,” Diamond said.

“Fuck you too,” Ashley said.

The owl returned and landed on Diamond’s shoulders, leaning in to her ear before exploding into a puff of brightly colored sparkles.

Whatever the bird had to say it must have been informative. Diamond set off at a fast pace in a new direction.

“Is Mom okay?” Hope asked.

“Yeah. I know what is going on now. This is good, she’ll be living this one down for awhile,” Cobalt said.

It took us perhaps half an hour of climbing over corpses to come to a rise. Cobalt was surrounded by an army of fur-wearing tribesman. I didn’t see a one without bloodstains on their armor. Cobalt wasn’t wearing a stitch—it wasn’t the first time I’d seen her naked and taking on an army. I didn’t think it was intentional this time around. A week solid of endless combat had completely destroyed her gear. I wondered if she even needed it at this point. The caked-on, dried blood could be a second skin.

These tribesmen were human, with no superhuman strength or combat abilities. All they had going for them was immortality and the courage granted by it, and really that was all they needed. Cobalt had already killed another three, and three more swarmed in close to take their place.

“She wanted to make peace and they refused. They wanted a good fight and had heard Mom was a great warrior. Cobalt told them she could bring them all the fighting they needed and wipe out their entire army in a single day,” Diamond said, amused.

“She overestimated her own strength,” I said.

“Looks that way. Each day she wipes out almost three quarters of them, but then it’s a new day and they all rise again and give her a second chance,” Diamond said.

“That is the most horrible thing I’ve ever heard,” Hope said.

“They seem to be enjoying themselves,” I said.

It was true. There was no rage on the faces of the warriors going to their deaths. They were enjoying this. This was a battle of legends and they were a part of it.

“Get in there, kid,” I said.

“Dad. That isn’t my place,” Hope said.

I think she believed it, but I knew better. It was fine that she didn’t want to kill. I understood that, a part of me even respected that determination for all that I didn’t share it. But my daughter was Cobalt’s daughter, and she was absolutely made to fight. If Hope didn’t know that, she was missing out on a big part of what made her special.

“You won’t be killing anyone, they’ll rise the next day. If Cobalt brought an army into the fray, they may not like it. But her daughter coming to join her, they’ll accept,” I said.

Diamond pursed her lips and didn’t dispute me.

“Is it really okay?” Hope asked. I heard something in her voice she didn’t know was there. Eagerness. Yeah, a part of her carved this.

“You get your fight from your grandma. It’s cool, have fun,” Tiger said, and I shot him a look of gratitude.

“I don’t have to…” Hope said.

“No, you can keep your clothes on,” Diamond said.

“Cool,” Hope said, drawing her blade. With a running start she leapt from a hill to land deep in among the fighting. A spinning slash sent bodies flying and the warriors gave a whoop of excitement at a new foe to engage.

“Does that make me a bad parent?” I asked Diamond.

Diamond gave me a wry smile and stepped forward to give me a hug. “I don’t approve of all of your decisions lately, Liam, but you weren’t wrong. War is quite literally in her blood and she needs to accept that.”

I watched as the piles of bodies were growing almost twice as fast as before. Hope wasn’t a match for her mother, but she was brilliant. Better than I was, better than I would ever be.

“I just worry,” I said. I didn’t even know how to articulate what I worried about. I didn’t regret my own choices, but I didn’t want Hope forced to follow in my path. I also never wanted to end up on the wrong side of a struggle from her.

“It isn’t easy to be the parent of one of us. You think a normal teenager is a problem? Imagine one who is shaping up to be the smartest woman in reality,” Diamond said.

“My wife might want to dispute any claim to that title,” I said.

Diamond considered that for a moment and laughed. “Strange to think of that. Strategy and magic were never Mom’s things, she prefers to punch her way through problems.”

I let those words linger. I didn’t have to say more. If Diamond hadn’t got those traits from her mother, maybe she’d gotten them from her other half. Diamond could figure that out, that was kind of the point.

“Don’t be afraid to fight with her, if you think it’s the right thing. Don’t be afraid to be honest with her about who you are,” Diamond said.

“I don’t think she’ll much like a lot of it,” I said, putting it mildly.

“I don’t like it either. But you are her dad, and even though you haven’t come to your senses yet and married the right mom, that still makes you family,” Diamond said.

“What happened to the days when every single member of your family kept telling me everyone else was a monster?”

Diamond smiled at that. “Things got bigger than our family squabbles. When it’s us against the universe, family always comes first. Truly, Liam, don’t make the mistake and be on the wrong side of that line when the time comes.”

I shot her a smile back. “That line isn’t what you think it is.”

Diamond looked out over the battlefield. “When this battle is ended I’m going to need to report back. Mom will want to know that the wars are done. Come with me.”

“You know that wouldn’t go well,” I said.

“Of course, she’ll throw you in the dungeon for a few days. It will still mean a lot that you came. Elsora, your daughters, you—it won’t be easy, but everyone can have a place at the table. However, this family has a single matriarch,” Diamond said.

It was tempting to listen. I didn’t want a war, not really. I also couldn’t have said yes even if I wanted. I really was bound by the vows of my marriage now, I could feel them sometimes around me. Elsora had plans and this wasn’t part of them.

“I can’t,” I said.

Diamond simply nodded and spoke on the matter no further.

The battle waged for hours. Bodies piled up, the two moved on—and bodies piled up still more. The forces facing them grew smaller until finally only one warrior remained. Cobalt snapped his neck.

When dawn came we got treated to the biggest feast of our lives. I got drunk and seemed to recall killing a good twenty men who proposed to my daughter. It was just that kind of party. We had our peace for the Silver City and I had my time to spare.

Family stuck together, now I could track down mine.

Chapter 17

In the morning Diamond and Tiger left to report back to the Silver City. Cobalt and Hope stayed with us, Cobalt being in no rush to have that particular family reunion. Those of us who remained returned to Castle Sardonis.

We all took a few hours to rest and then gathered once again in the war room to discuss our plans. A massive map had been set up, although it seemed to be largely stylized. In the middle a globe with a silver city perched atop it was surrounded by twelve other spheres. Other worlds here and there were marked with names or symbols I didn’t recognize.

Cobalt waited, studying the map for awhile.

Elsora had chosen a high-collared gown in black and purple that had her looking especially like an evil queen today. My wife did have a sense of style. A few others were in attendance, a young man I didn’t know dressed in the style of Olympus, and Iris, one of the witches from where we had so recently departed.

“Thank you for coming, everyone. You’ve all done great work so far and now it is time that you got a glimpse of the larger plan. Most of you know and have worked together for some time, allow me to also introduce Prince Eros of Olympus, and Iris of the Blood Witches,” Elsora said.

Cobalt said, “What are you planning? You’ve implied that you have some larger goal that might help to save my daughters.”

“Before I get to that, let me address the need for it. The Silver City and Queen Ashera sit in the center of reality. In time, all with the Rite of War will be drawn there and will eventually wind up in one enormous conflict,” Elsora said. “That is our problem.’”

Hope bit at her lip pensively and looked towards her mother.

Cobalt nodded with her gaze firm. “I ran far and often to keep it from happening, but have always known I can’t run far enough. Eventually it will happen. It will happen to you and your sisters too, Hope.”

Elsora nodded graciously. “And yet it is a problem that has seemed without a solution. Queen Ashera always wins, so however much you believe that you can take down any other threat in the world, this one you cannot. You have had a clock ticking away your life over your head from the moment you all were born.”

“I know the problem. What I’m not hearing is a solution,” Cobalt said.

“The complete eradication of the Silver City,” Elsora said with a smile.

I felt one of those sinking feelings.

“You swore Ashera did not need to die,” I said.

Elsora shot me a look that seemed almost regretful. “I honor my vows, husband. Ashera may live, although there will be a cost. The Silver City and its Queen combined together exert such influence. Remove the city and you weaken her area of effect exponentially.”

“This is no plan. Even if you could somehow destroy the city, reality would burn along with it. Its last act of influence would be to destroy all,” Cobalt said.

“Then we must first shift that influence elsewhere,” Elsora said.

“Olympus would be happy to bear that burden,” Eros said.

I bet. Aphrodite would just love being the new Queen of all existence.

“It would not. Olympus lacks anything near the strength required,” Elsora said.

Hope regarded the map. “You want to do it. This place, as one of the twelve moons, it is one of the strongest places in reality right?”

“So close to the answer. Does anyone else want to try?” Elsora asked.

I was getting an idea. I could start to see the pieces come together.

Cobalt said, “I am not the expert on cosmology that Diamond is, but I know how strong my mother and that city are. One world alone couldn’t bear the strain of keeping reality together.”

Elsora was enjoying this, “Therefore…”

“What about a dozen worlds,” Hope said.

“Beautiful, strong, and smart,” Elsora said.

“Yet still not enough. The twelve worlds might be able to share the burden of the Silver City, but as you said earlier it does not act alone. My mother is a part of the equation that cannot be replaced. Even if you wished to take her place, you are nothing like her,” Cobalt said.

“No, no I’m not. Ashera is a warrior queen and all of reality expects one at the center. Even if I wanted to, I am no substitute,” Elsora said.

“But me and my nine sisters are,” Hope said.

Cobalt’s eyes widened. This was a revelation she hadn’t seen coming.

“Even if you somehow convince them, there are only ten,” Cobalt said.

Awkward. I hadn’t told Cobalt yet that we had another cloned daughter on the way.

“Elsora is pregnant with our baby,” I said. I probably should have found a way to put that better.

All eyes in the room swung to Elsora, who said, “I am. Long-term, I am not suited to hold one of these worlds, but short-term bearing this child and for the few decades until she is ready to take her throne, the Crucible Shard will hold.”

“Why is she having our baby?” Cobalt said with a dangerous growl.

“Because I plan for the future,” Elsora said levelly.

“I’m not okay with this. Besides, check your math, you’re still one off,” Cobalt said.

She was right. There were twelve moons. Even if we could convince the Nine to join us and added in Hope, and the child Elsora was carrying, that gave us only eleven Queens who would have the Right of War and the Right of Rule.

Elsora tilted her head. “We’re stretching a bit on the last one I admit, we don’t have the Gifts in a single package, but we do have them in two. I suggest the last world be ruled by Queens Cobalt and Maria.”

That would do it.

“It would give you two some time to connect,” I said.

Cobalt glanced to where Maria sat with her arms folded in morose silence.

“Maria?” Cobalt asked.

“The spiders get to come. All of them, from everywhere,” Maria said.

Cobalt grimaced. “It’s fine, if I’m mostly an absent Queen who runs around killing things, right?”

“I’d expect little else, if you wish to follow your mother’s legacy,” Elsora said.

“You’ve failed to say what we get out of this deal. How does this arrangement benefit Olympus?” Eros asked.

“Olympus has long lamented bowing to an absolute authority that has a temper and could crush them at any time. This is an improvement,” Elsora said.

“The Blood Witches stand with our friends and allies, and will endeavor to do all we can to assist,” Iris said.

“It may be an improvement, but it is not enough. If you wish our assistance we’ll require more,” Eros said.

“You know we could destroy you if we willed it, but I confess a certain fondness for your mother from days past. What does she want?” Elsora asked.

“Our families to be connected,” Eros said.

That seemed to be asking a lot, but I could see Elsora thinking it over.

“Send your mother my regards and tell her I expect her help. The desire to see our families united is shared and we can weigh our options when the dust settles,” Elsora said.

“Olympus stands with you,” Eros said.

“You’ve got a few armies and you have a plan, but you still seem to be missing a few steps,” Cobalt said.

“First we need to get your daughters on board. Given their nature, most of them will have raised armies of their own. They’ve been poorly treated, and handed a difficult set of Gifts and a cruel destiny,” Elsora said.

“Famine, Pestilence, Greed, Hubris, Despair, Wrath, Horror, Madness, and Hate…” I counted them off on my fingers. “Do you know where we can find them?” I asked.

“It shouldn’t be hard. They’ll be leaving tracks through reality everywhere they go,” Cobalt said.

“I bring good tidings—I bring hope. Everywhere I go things seem to work out just in the nick of time,” Hope said quietly, and added, “That isn’t just a coincidence is it?”

“It isn’t a Gift like your other powers, but no, it is not. Given the strength of your blood you have a powerful echo and names matter. Names have always mattered. You truly will bring hope to the hopeless, you will spend your entire life being an inspiration,” Elsora said.

The rest of that didn’t need to be said. The shared looks around the room said everyone could complete the thought. The others would do the same.

“Can I bring hope to them?” Hope asked.

“You’re doing it right now although you don’t know it,” Elsora said.

“Then let’s find them and let them know they’re not alone. That they have others they can depend upon besides themselves,” I said.

Cobalt nodded sharply. It might not be a family we’d ever intended to have together, but they were ours.

Chapter 18

The next day found us seeking Wrath, who would be easiest to track down.

I arrived with Ashley, Walt, Yve, Hope and Cobalt and we found ourselves in the middle of what was once a beautiful city. Fountains were visible at every intersection, and carved stone. Not a building lacked in ornamentation and brightly colored frescoes. This was a city of the arts, or at least it had used to be.

Bodies filled the streets, broken and bleeding.

“It’s terrible,” Hope said.

“I’ve been here once or twice. Got into a bar fight. Nice people, the sort that fall completely in love with you at the bar and hold duels in your honor. This is way more than duels,” Cobalt said.

“Well, we knew it would be bad,” I said.

Yve began to move and we followed. It quickly became apparent that not everyone in the city was dead. Before long we saw two people screaming at each other outside of a butcher’s shop, further still there were crowds staring at each other suspiciously with weapons in hand.

“We don’t like strangers here,” said a young man, with a swagger approaching our group. Three friends were behind him. Cobalt moved without hesitation, a punch to the midsection doubling the first man over and a spinning kick knocking his friends out, before landing the knockout blow to the first with a downward punch.

“Mom,” Hope said disapprovingly.

“They’re alive. Nobody here is going to be inclined to back down, it is safer for them if we act first as soon as there is a sign of a threat,” Cobalt said.

I said, “Do it. I need both of you to keep an eye out, if the rest of us have to step in they’re a lot more likely to get killed.”

Hope nodded, that was rationale she could accept.

A wall outside a tavern was covered with pasted papers. The most recent-looking ones advertised a convention of peace. It implored all citizens to come put their differences behind them. A young man of perhaps sixteen had a bundle of them in his hands—and a slit throat. Peace looked like a hard message to deliver right now.

“At least someone must be trying to fight against what is happening here?” I said.

“It has to be her,” Hope said.

“Hope is right. If Wrath’s influence is causing people to be consumed by rage, it seems unlikely anyone would be making a large scale effort to do something else. This has to be her,” Cobalt said.

“But why?” I asked.

“If you were putting a world to death, wouldn’t you try to put it right?” Hope asked.

If she knew it was her presence causing all of this, I wondered why she didn’t just leave. Perhaps she had already discovered some fondness for the place, or she wished for some proof that things could be changed.

The small map on the poster pointed us towards the convention—and back in the direction we’d just came. I had my sinking feeling already what we would find. We’d seen no signs of life.

We moved down the streets and came to a large square outside of a huge cathedral. There were festive signs with peaceful slogans, counters of food and beverages. This was meant to be some grand fair, it was a graveyard.

We’d recently seen a battlefield of great proportions, but this was worse. Those were warriors who would rise the next day. None of these people would be getting back up ever again.

“Does anyone feel particularly murderous?” I asked. I think I did a bit, a sensation just pushing at the edge of my consciousness.

“No,” Cobalt and Hope said in unison.

“Always,” Ashley said with a freakish little giggle. Right, I’d take that to mean Wrath wasn’t affecting her, it was only Ashley’s standard murderous issues.

Walt shrugged.

“I feel it. My brain doesn’t work quite like it is supposed to because of my origins, so I think I’m not getting the full dose,” Yve said.

Good, we wouldn’t be turning on each other in a violent rage.

Drawing near to the church we heard the sounds of fighting from within, and we passed through the doors. Wrath stood near the altar slamming it with her fists. It looked like she’d been at it for awhile, her hands were broken and streaked with blood, and her cheeks were flushed. I think she’d been crying.

The sound of our entrance caused her to look up, her gaze hopeful for just a moment before she recognised us. “Fantastic. King Liam and his merry fucking band of misfits.”

Wrath saw Hope and looked disconcerted. “I don’t know you. I should know you.”

“I’m Hope. I’m your sister too,” Hope said.

Wrath laughed, a pained and raw sound, and she punched the altar again. “Isn’t that fucking perfect. There is another of us. You do know that you’ll be fucked to fucking hell too?”

I needed to teach my daughters some more creative cursing. This was a little sad for all that she was giving it her best effort.

“You tried to save all these people,” Hope said.

Wrath turned towards the door. “It didn’t work. It never fucking works. I liked these people and this is what I did to them. How screwed up is that?”

Hope looked at a loss for words. This much rage and sadness was too much for her.

Ashley stepped forward. “I get it, you know.”

Wrath scowled. “The fuck you do.”

Ashley jerked her head towards me and said in a voice trembling with fury, “This fucker here got to pick between a sociopath me and a wounded me, and picked the sociopath because she was useful. This was after I got bonded to an ocean Goddess with a hell of a temper. Then, by rewriting the god-damned time-line, when I finally knew peace and happiness and being a good person, he wrote it back and trapped me in this living hell.”

“No shit?” Wrath asked.

“He’s also your dad. The ancient blue-eyed bitch is your mom and those mother fucking computers that created you copied the nice one, Hope. I stabbed one of them a lot, the computers, it made me feel better,” Ashley said.

This was the strangest and most awkward stream of consciousness I’d ever seen, but it seemed to be working. There really was something in Ashley’s rage that was getting through.

Wrath looked at me for a long moment, and then Cobalt, before letting out a low breath. “Fuck. We wondered. Hubris is the smart one, she always said something seemed off about the data. That really pisses me off.”

Ashley moved to sit on the altar. “When we killed the main one, called Veros, he kind of killed the rest of them. We don’t have one for you to kill, but if you want I’m sure we can find something else to hurt.”

Wrath smiled at Ashley. “You’re more broken than I am. Thanks, I needed that. So Mom, Dad, Sis, what do you want?”

“We want to be a family,” I said.

“Happy, sis? You’re okay with this? With someone like me? With someone like Dad?” Wrath asked Hope.

Hope gave her sister a helpless sort of shrug and then looked at me. “I hadn’t heard a lot of that until right now, but I’d guessed. Mom and Dad thought they were being subtle, but they aren’t very good at it. I guess I’m kind of the good kid in a family of super-villains. I think you’ll like them and your evil stepmother.”

In an instant all the rage in Wrath seemed to evaporate into something far more vulnerable, “Can you help?”

Cobalt stepped forward to pull a rigid Wrath into a powerful hug. “Baby, I know you don’t know me, but you’ll learn. I’m a killer, we’re all killers and getting pissed off is a part of us. It’s going to be a part of you more than most, but I promise you it isn’t all of you and it isn’t all bad.”

Ashley looked peevish as she got off the altar and came back over. Angry bonding time was past.

“I didn’t know all that still pissed you off so much,” I said.

“You knew. You just didn’t care,” Ashley said.

Cobalt spent a few minutes speaking quietly with Wrath and came back. “We’re going to head back to the castle. Hope, can you get the others to Famine?”

“I don’t know where she is,” Hope said.

Wrath said, “You do. We always know where each other are, we share the same blood. We didn’t know you existed, so we weren’t looking for you, but think about feeling hungry, reach inside your blood and twist.”

As instructions went they didn’t make much sense to me, but Hope nodded after a few seconds. “That’s weird. But yeah, I’ve got her.”

Chapter 19

You would think that going to meet Famine would be less dangerous than Wrath. You’d be wrong. Hope teleported us and we materialized in the middle of a dense jungle. It took all of two seconds for something to be lunging at my throat.

It looked to be some sort of massive centipede, with an alarming number of legs and vicious teeth lining a round mouth. I tore it away and a lot of my flesh went with it as I threw the beast into the foliage.

It took that long for a swarm of bats to surround us. Hope drew her sword and dispatched them with several quick lunges, but no sooner were they down than a massive lizard was trying to take a bite out of Walt.

“This is familiar,” I said.

“How is this familiar? What kind of places do you go?” Hope asked, as she kicked a massive rat in the face that was trying to take a bite out of her leg.

“Your sisters were made on a life world. Rivers of blood, lots of monsters everywhere trying to murder everything in sight,” I said.

“Endless murder,” Ashley said, delighted. Ashley’s twin daggers were already out and she was laying in with the murder on everything that got close to her. As soon as one beast would perish a swarm of them would be on the corpse devouring it.

I understood at once what Famine must be doing. Like Wrath, Famine was trying to lessen her impact. If she made things so ravenously hungry that they ate everything or anyone around them, then there wasn’t a safer place to do that than this. Here all of that hunger would simply blend in with the surroundings and become just part of the background.

Hope at least had no problems about killing when it came to monsters trying to eat her, setting about her in an orderly fashion. She seemed the deadliest thing in this jungle although Ashley was holding her own better than I’d have expected. I flung away an acidic snail that was trying to dissolve one of my fingers.

“We need to get out of this. The monsters are going to be nonstop trying to swallow us for lunch. Can you find your sister?” I asked.

Hope led the way through the jungle. This life world was like the last one, there truly were rivers of bloods. Insects tried to eat us, mammals tried to eat us, reptiles, even a few trees. Everything that moved upon the surface of this world was a buffet to everything else.

After half an hour, battered and bloodied, we came to the foot of a large mountain. We discovered a futuristic-looking steel door half overgrown with killer vines that required a bit of fighting off, and what looked like a retinal scanner off to one side.

Hope didn’t need to be told, she leaned in and let the lasers do their work. A moment later the hatch hissed and the door slid aside. The others made their way inside while Hope and I fought a rearguard action against a number of especially savage ferrets.

Inside, the door sealed behind us and gas billowed for several seconds before an inner door opened.

A long corridor led us to a banquet hall where a number of large tables were set and loaded down with food. Their scents filled the chamber with appetizing aromas, although nothing had a bite taken out of it. At the far end of the chamber was a thin woman dressed in blood-red leathers, her feet kicked up on the table. Her face was Hope’s, although perhaps a little more drawn.

“Mom, Dad, Sis… other people I neither know or care about,” Famine said.

“You know who we are?” I asked.

“Wrath sent out the word. Nobody believed it at first, but Hubris checked it out and gave you the all clear,” Famine said.

I was actually kind of proud. My daughters really had gotten dealt a crappy hand and it did my heart good to see them working together this well.

“You’re telepathic?” I asked.

Famine gave a wry smile. “Nothing that easy. We share the same blood and we can make it sing to each other. Hurts like hell.”

“If you knew we were coming you might have saved us the trip. It’s kind of murderous out there,” I said.

“You don’t get anything for free, Dad. You want to play the loving father, we’re going to make you work to prove you mean every little bit of it,” Famine said.

That made me proud too. They weren’t going to take crap from anybody, especially me. I’d probably resent that, if I’d raised them, but this was a tough world that for the most part was going to want them dead.

I picked a chicken leg off one of the plates and took a sniff. It smelled delicious. I had to wonder why none of the food was eaten.

“So what is all this?” I asked.

“I’m hungry. I’m hungry all the damned time. But I don’t actually like to eat, isn’t that funny? If I eat much at all, I get sick. So I content myself with the smells,” Famine said.

It was kind of sad.

“You have a chef?” I asked.

“Robots. This whole place harvests a little of what dies on the system and brings it back down here for me to sniff at and pick at,” Famine said.

“I’m Hope,” Hope said, giving her sister a hug that Famine reluctantly allowed.

“We’re not real big on the public displays of affection,” Famine said.

“You’ll get used to it,” Hope said.

“Wrath is getting the run-down from the wicked stepmother now. You want to give us whole worlds to rule. How do you think that’s going to work? What world do you think is going to accept being hungry all the time?” Famine asked.

“Have Wrath ask your evil stepmother,” I said.

Famine shrugged and looked focused inward for a moment. “Huh.”

This was always the difficult part of not being filled in on Elsora’s plans. Pushing them forward while not having a clue what actually were the plans.

“Good, right?” I said. It was Elsora, of course it would be.

“Vampires are always hungry anyways. It’s built into their blood just like it is built into mine. And the werewolves and Wrath…” Famine said, excited for just a moment. “This could actually work, Dad.”

There were moons of werewolves and vampires? I’d never made it to any of the other moons. It didn’t fit anything I’d heard but then, I was certain if they weren’t there now Elsora had a plan to make sure they would be.

“It will work. You’re not alone, none of you are,” I said.

“We never have been. Well, I mean apart from the living alone in a secret bunker thing,” Famine said.

“What is that, when all of you obviously get along?” I asked.

“Hubris said it isn’t a good idea to be together. Our blood isn’t naturally attuned to fight itself, but it’s best not to give it any ideas,” Famine said.

That was news to me. Their Right of War didn’t easily trigger on each other. It was good news if so, great news. Eleven of the moons would have no compulsion to fight each other, although that did make Cobalt and Maria the odd one out.

“Will you work with us?” I asked.

Famine stared at the floor, then looked to Hope. “Should I? I’m not… I’m not very good at this. I’m hungry for things. I’m hungry for things all the time and I want a family so bad it hurts.”

Hope gave her a second even tighter hug. “It’s okay to hunger for that. It’s normal. Everyone does.”

“Really?” Famine asked.

I was glad that the artificial intelligences of Earth were dead, because if they weren’t I’d have to kill them for what they’d done to this family. I got that I wasn’t the best person, I’d obviously been a bad friend and was probably going to be a pain in the ass of a husband. But I was going to an amazing father, I’d not let myself be anything less. These girls deserved so much better than the hand they’d been dealt.

“Bet you’re wishing you’d used protection,” Ashley said to me.

It was a thought I didn’t quite know how to handle. It was always a risky thing to crawl into bed with a stranger, but the universe did seem to be going to a few unnecessary extremes to make a point.

Chapter 20

Famine knew the way to Castle Sardonis and, having the Right of Travel, was able to get there herself. That left us free to move on to the next wayward daughter, Greed.

Given the situations we’d found the last two in, I wasn’t expecting anything easy. What I got was a nice change. We arrived in a futuristic world inside a massive shopping plaza lined with stores. The entire city was beneath a dome, starships visible coming and going in the distance.

“This is a step up. Think they sell high tech armor here?” Ashley asked.

“Looking for an upgrade?” I asked.

“A bunch of lazy bears totally kicked your ass in power armor. Fuck yeah, I want me some of that. I mean, I’d need the infiltrator model, but even so,” Ashley said.

Ashley was really going to get along well with this daughter too, I could already tell. Wrath and greed, especially when it came to loot, had always been her things and while I hadn’t seen much of the greed lately, it was always there lurking just beneath the murder.

“We’ll have a look,” I said.

It would have to wait. Shutters were sliding down over all the storefronts and people were quickly vacating the area. Well, most of the people—a contingent of heavily armed and armored individuals were coming our direction.

I slipped on my glasses of Game Sight and had a look at their leader.

Victor Adams

Three tours of duty in the Sutherland Expanse and four years guarding the Crown Prince of Oboros. When Victor formed the Murder of Crows as a mercenary band it was with a wealth of experience. Every one of his men is a trained killer, and they are also talented bodyguards and versatile fighters armed with the best cybernetic implants and weaponry money can buy.

He looked competent, a welcoming party from my daughter?

“We’re looking for Greed. I’m assuming you have something to do with her,” I said.

“You could say that,” Victor said, and his men moved to circle us. Right, this wasn’t a friendly welcoming party then.

“She should know we were coming,” I said.

“Oh, she does. We’re here for a reason,” Victor said.

I didn’t see what they triggered. For a few seconds everything exploded in light and sound, a disorienting blend that left me grasping to put the world straight as the men closed in. One was trying to grab my arms and secure them around my back—and he was strong, far stronger than he should have been. But he wasn’t as strong as me, I broke free and broke his arm in the process. Then three shots took me in the stomach. Stun rounds of some kind. They left me doubled over.

“Hit him again,” Victor said.

“What is he? Three rounds are enough to bring down a carnivorous corbath bull,” said one of the mercenaries.

“I don’t care. Hit him again and get on to the girls,” Victor said.

The girls. Hope and Ashley were fighting back-to-back, Ashley with her daggers out while Hope was going hand-to-hand in an effort to save lives.

Another few shots hit me and I grew more disoriented with each. I blacked out for a moment. Not more than ten seconds could have gone by when I came back to myself. Yve and Walt were unconscious on the ground, restraints binding their arms behind them. I was unbound, they’d probably figured I was safely out of things for awhile.

Hope was trapped in some sort of bubble of force. The remaining mercenaries were on Ashley. It looked as if half of them were out of the fight.

Beneath Hope I spied a mechanical disk of some sort that must be the source of the field holding her. I charged forward and with a kick sent it soaring through the air to explode into sparks when it hit the far wall. Hope dropped to the ground and in a blur moved forward, a kick to the knee of one mercenary followed by a chop to the neck sending him stumbling back.

Victor called out, “Enough!”

The remaining mercenaries disengaged at once. Ashley took a few more stabs at the one at her feet, she was a little lost in battle fury.

“Stand down, Ash,” I said.

Ashley took a few deep breaths and kicked the mercenary a few more times in the face for good measure. At least she stopped using her daggers.

“Sorry about that. Greed wanted to get your measure,” Victor said, sheathing his gun.

I knelt and checked on Walt and Yve, both were still breathing.

“Just stunned, they’ll come out of it in about fifteen minutes. You’re a tough son of a bitch,” Victor said.

A voice said, “Nice to know father dearest is good for something, even if it is just soaking up stunner blasts.”

Greed stepped into sight. She was dressed in combat armor similar to the mercenaries, but far more ornamented, gold and silver inlays and etchings on every metallic piece.

“Daughter, happy to meet you. Did you really have to send the mercenaries?” I said.

Greed grinned at that and looked to Victor. “Are your men okay?”

“A few injured, Miss,” Victor said.

“I’m pretty sure I killed at least a few,” Ashley said.

“We’re tough sons of bitches too,” Victor said.

“See to them,” Greed said, and looked back to me. “Everyone has their worth and their value. I needed to get a sense of yours and that of your companions.”

“Hi sis,” Hope said, giving her usual hug to her newfound sister. Greed also uncomfortably endured the affection.

“They said you were a hugger. It is a worthless habit and you should give it up at once,” Greed said.

Hope kept hugging. Hope didn’t care.

“Did you already hear the spiel from the others?” I asked.

“I got it. Famine is excited, Wrath is still trying to work it all out, and I’m just trying to figure how to profit the most,” Greed said.

“Isn’t becoming a Queen of Reality enough?” I asked.

Greed sniffed, “One twelfth of reality. It barely counts.”

“How much of reality are you a Queen of now?” I asked.

“Oh, I admit it seems a decent offer on the surface. Still, opportunity costs are not to be disregarded,” Greed said.

“Your evil stepmother has a kind of evil super-powered accountant named Joachim. I’m sure he can help you to run the numbers,” I said.

Greed brightened at the thought. “I can run my own numbers, but it would be nice to have a conversation with someone that really understands the value of things.”

“I like to loot bodies,” Ashley said.

I’d thought Ashley and Greed would have some sort of bonding moment over loot, but Greed seemed to have her focus on a bigger picture.

“Do you really? They’re so bloody,” Greed said with an expression of distaste.

“They are, if you do things right,” Ashley said cheerfully.

“I’m quite good with killing, but it isn’t really something I enjoy for its own sake,” Greed said, trying to be diplomatic now.

I said, “At any rate. I love you, you have a family, we want you to be a part of it. And I really need to formalize this as a speech somehow.”

Ashley gave me a long look, then told Greed, “Listen, your dad is going to be weird and is sort of a dick, but the kind that does care about you or he wouldn’t be here. You care too or you would have run away. How about I just take you shopping and you can help me pick out some badass new armor, and we send him a bill since he’s buying our love.”

Greed only had to think about that for a few seconds, then she was taking Ashley by the arm. “Your friends are okay, Dad. Nice to meet you, sis. We’re going to go have fun and send you a really giant bill for my affection.”

I didn’t think she was kidding. I also thought she was being kind of sincere. It made sense that Greed’s love could be bought. I wasn’t sure that was the sort of values I’d want to instill in my daughter, but when they came built-in you worked with what you had.

Chapter 21

Pestilence was next on our list. I’d not met this daughter yet either, but already I was feeling sympathy for her. It occurred to me that out of all of them, she must have one of the worst impacts. It was awful enough to feel ill and diseased, much less to know that you were passing that on to everyone else.

The party was down to myself, Hope, Yve, and Walt now. It just kept getting smaller as we went along. I hoped we wouldn’t find any sort of fight here, we were down in numbers.

When we materialized into the world we were in the middle of some sort of party. The sun was overhead, music was playing, and most people seemed to dancing and in various states of undress around a large pool.

“Well, this is unexpected,” I said.

A young woman in a sarong and passing by paused to press a hungered kiss to my lips and sprinkle me with flower petals. I noted the others getting similar treatment.

“Welcome to Ivesa,” said the young woman, flashing a smile before sauntering away.

“Friendly bunch,” Yve said.

“Least we know she won’t have a problem with hugging,” Hope said, putting the best spin on things.

“Can you find your sister?” I asked.

Hope led the way through the crowd. It was hard not to get into the spirit of things, the music was lively and I got kissed another four or five times by the time we finally located Pestilence.

My daughter was wearing less than I considered decent, stretched out on a bench and getting some sun.

“Did nobody say that we were coming?” I asked.

The sound of our voices caused her eyes to flicker open and she beamed a smile at us. “Sis! Daddy! Hi!”

That was way more enthusiastic than I was used to so far.

Pestilence bounded up and before I knew what was happening had pulled me and Hope into a group hug. I thought she might squeeze the life out of us.

“Hi. Great party,” Hope said, having obviously decided to go with it.

“Isn’t it though? Have you tried the drinks? They are amazing,” Pestilence said, as she released us from the hug and begin gesturing wildly. It wasn’t long until we had a tray of drinks that were absurdly sweet and kicked like a mule.

“Are you old enough to be drinking?” I asked.

“I’m like what, a few months old? Hell no,” Pestilence said, taking a large gulp from her drink. Fair enough.

“I didn’t know where we’d find you, but I didn’t expect all this,” I said.

Pestilence beamed another of those smiles as she looked around. “I love it. Some of the other sisters are just so sad in my head all the time. Isn’t this better?”

I liked it a lot better than streets filled with corpses.

“So they don’t get sick or anything?” I asked.

Pestilence shrugged. “They’ll all get something. I mean, I’m kind of disease incarnate, it comes with the territory.”

“You’re not worried?” I asked.

“Here on Ivesa they don’t just have good music and amazing drinks. The water here has incredible healing properties. Dip in the pool, healed, drink the booze, healed,” Pestilence said.

That was damned smart. Pestilence hadn’t just found some place where she wouldn’t hurt anybody, she’d found someplace where she was happy.

“I guess we’re going to have a hard time recruiting you to be a Queen of the Universe then,” I said.

“Daddy, please. The point isn’t that here is perfect, the point is that my abilities are only a prison if I let them be. I don’t really mind dropping bodies if it happens. Killing people can be fun, but do you know what is even more fun? If the locals aren’t terrified of me,” Pestilence said.

Hope frowned a little bit. She was against the dropping bodies in general. I was feeling proud. Pestilence was really well-adjusted given her Gift. I hoped the sort of happiness that she had found was something we could help the rest of the family find for themselves.

“I wish some of the others had that attitude,” I said.

Pestilence radiated another smile. “Life hasn’t exactly been a lot of fun for us so far.”

“What was it like? I saw the labs where you were born,” I said.

Pestilence’s sunny expression flickered for just a moment. “We were born in the lab. We didn’t know that was unusual, we didn’t know much of anything at first. Before we even had names we had numbers depending on the sequence we came out of our pods. Hubris was number one, I was two.”

“When did you get names?” I asked.

Pestilence shrugged again. “I don’t know. It was hard to keep track of time. They encoded a lot of knowledge right into our brains. They didn’t teach us to kill, for that they let us loose on the surface.”

I remembered the surface of that world, it was a lot like Famine’s planet. The creatures of nature on a nonstop murderous rampage.

“They gave you a weapon and just threw you out there?” I asked.

“No weapons. No clothes, no nothing. A couple of times a day, if we wanted to eat we had to kill. It was hard at first, because we’d never even seen a fight, but it got easier.”

Pestilence’s story was so matter-of-fact and yet it was horrible to imagine doing that to a child. Hope looked absolutely horrified.

“Those monsters,” Hope said.

“I know you don’t know this yet, sister. Despite having lived longer than any of us we can feel that you don’t know everything, but we do. Killing is what we were born for, it’s in our blood and it is something none of us are able to escape,” Pestilence said.

Hope shook her head. “We’re not. We’re more than that.”

Pestilence gave another one of those brilliant smiles and hugged Hope again. “Exactly! We are more than that. That is what I get that some of the others haven’t figured out yet. I’m going to kill a lot of people, but that doesn’t define me. I define me.”

Empowering messages with a savage twist. This was my newest daughter.

“It sounds like you won’t have any problems with coming back to us at least,” I said.

Pestilence said, “No, I can’t do that. I mean, I’d love to meet real Mom and evil stepmother and everybody in person, but I’m more than a little toxic to be around. I’m guessing when you’ve got everyone together we’re going to war?”

Those plans hadn’t really been finalized so far, but I didn’t see a way around it. If we wanted to take out the Silver City it wasn’t something that we’d achieve with diplomacy. I didn’t see how we’d accomplish it with war either, but I had faith that where Elsora was concerned there was a plan for how to deal with Ashera.

“I’d call that a safe bet,” I said.

Pestilence released Hope. “Then I’ll start making my way along the Silver Road and visiting Grandma’s army where I can find them. Trust me, give it a couple of days and they’ll be in a lot worse shape.”

“You’re not really okay with that,” Hope said.

Pestilence pulled a face. “Kill them on the battlefield trying to kill you, or share a few drinks with them and they die at home later? Dead is dead and it will be easier this way.”

“Stay safe. You don’t want to underestimate any members of your family,” I said.

“Finish your drinks everyone, seriously. Then if you want to take my advice, stay and drink a few more,” Pestilence said, coming to give me another hug and brushing a kiss against my cheek.

Right. Healing waters and a daughter that was pretty much death incarnate.

Pestilence released me and gave everyone hugs before she vanished with a ripple in the air that left everyone feeling a bit queasy and flushed.

“Drink up everyone,” I said.

“Screw the drinks. I’m going skinny-dipping in the healing pool and then finding two or three friendly locals to kiss me back to health,” Yve said.

I wanted to protest that we didn’t really have the time, but it had been a busy few worlds. Drinks and the company of friendly locals was the sort of thing everybody could use.

“We’ll stay the night. Have fun everyone, tomorrow we’ll go in search of the others,” I said.

I knew it was a good idea when I didn’t get any objections. Even Walt, who generally seemed opposed to fun in all its forms, quickly vanished into the crowd.

Chapter 22

Healing drinks didn’t cause a hangover. It should have seemed self-evident, but that you don’t really think about until the day after. That really was the best party planet ever, I was glad they weren’t going to be wiped out in a terrible plague.

The next day we gathered back together, all looking healthier and more put together than we had in a long time. That was good. Next, we were going to find Horror. I’d only met Horror briefly, but the experience made me think the encounter wouldn’t be quite as delightful as this one.

We materialized on the streets of a small town. The buildings were wooden, washed out and grey. The same could be said of pretty much everything here, from the bleak sky to the ocean that stretched out beyond a rocky shore.

Hope folded her arms. “Cold here.”

It was, uncomfortably so. Wherever we’d wandered into it was no tropical beach party.

“Do you have any idea where she is?” I asked.

Hope took a deep breath and turned to point outside of town, “That way. I think.”

Yve led the way down the street. The place looked to be deserted, a few store fronts had been hastily boarded over and it seemed that the people here had left in a hurry.

Messages had been written in chalk on the pavement. “Do not believe the deep” “The deep speaks the truth” “The deep will consume you” “Sink”.

It was all-in-all creepy as hell. There always seemed to be movement just outside of my line of sight, but turning my head to look I’d see nothing.

“Well, this in unsettling. I suppose it makes sense that my daughter’s home is a living horror film,” I said.

Yve grunted, “I’ll give this for your genetics. You made some interesting kids.”

“Aren’t they sort of your kids too? Your brothers and sisters made them,” I said.

Yve looked strangely pleased at the thought. “More nieces and nephews I’d say, but a little bit.”

“Not me,” Hope said, as she looked around the surroundings. “I don’t like this place. It reminds me of what would happen if you ever got touched by Professor Nightmare.”

“Tell us about him,” Yve said. I gave her a surprised look. She shrugged and said, “It might distract us a little.”

“Professor Nightmare was one of the members of the Dreamriders. A replacement for the original Nightmare. He was a scientist and his research into psychotic compounds wound up binding with his blood and turning his sweat into a powerful chemical brew,” Hope said.

“I’ve forgotten almost every bit of science I ever learned and even I know that is preposterous,” Walt said.

“When he touched you, it was as if all of your worst fears were suddenly manifesting around you. I’d see Mom dead, or the city burning, or myself turning bad,” Hope said.

“But no cities with spooky writing,” Yve said.

Hope shook her head. “But what he did was personal to you. I figure this has got to be an entire world right?”

Our wanderings had brought us to a populated stretch of the city. It was even less comforting with people around. In the middle of the street a little girl in a blood-stained dress held a large knife and was cutting dolls into pieces, limbs and heads sorted into neat little piles. A young man was laughing hysterically and hitting at a sack with a baseball bat, it writhed soundlessly in response.

“What is happening here?” I asked.

“Bodies,” Walt said. He had found a few corpses slumped against a wall, an unhealthy gray pallor to the skin and blotches of what looked to be some sort of black moss on their flesh.

A woman with unkempt hair stepped out of a nearby home. She held a severed head in one hand. She darted close and kissed me, then rushed giggling down the street. My lips were damp afterward and I reached up to find them slick with blood.

What was it with severed heads making women want to kiss me?

“Are we getting close?” I asked.

Hope tilted her head as if trying to listen and grimaced. “I don’t know. It’s strange, but it’s like I’m getting echoes making it hard to focus on anything.”

We passed a bonfire burning merrily away, amongst the timbers blackened bones. The smoke was oily and foul-smelling, burning my lungs and making my vision swim.

Yve paused and inhaled deeply, her eyes closing for several long moments as she spun around. “That is kind of incredible, and terrible. The smoke is filled with some seriously mind-altering chemicals. I’d forgotten how good this felt.”

Great. Yve was high.

“You’ve encountered whatever this is before?” Hope asked.

“Oh, not this. This is new. But I used to be quite deliciously insane until my bitch of an alternate self reprogrammed me and dumped me into this meat suit,” Yve said.

“That isn’t her still being insane. All that actually happened,” I said to Hope. A little clarification on that point was a good idea.

Yve shut me up with a kiss. It was one hell of a kiss, passionate and hungered, and it was like kissing a memory. We’d hooked up a few times since she became mortal, but it never quite worked. This was an echo of what had been—a painful one, as those days were gone.

Yve pulled away for a few moments and grinned. “I was going to kiss you goodbye properly while I had the chance. I never got to. So, we came looking for Horror, but she obviously isn’t alone. Who else is here, my fellow meat suits?”

When she put it like that it became obvious. Crazy—or in this case high on mind-altering bonfire smoke— Yve was a lot more fun and a lot more brilliant. I’d almost forgotten what it was like to have her around and always two steps ahead.

“Madness,” I said. “She is here too.”

“Obviously,” Yve said, pacing up and down the street. “Half the town has gone mad, and the other half has gone mad and is busy killing each other in horrifying ways.”

Family reunions were going to be interesting events. I could tell already.

Yve set off and we hurried to follow.

“Do you have any idea where you’re going?” I asked.

“Hope is confused because she is getting two signals, but we know the direction we were originally headed. The interference is happening because we’re close,” Yve said.

The building she led us to said “Town Hall” on a sign out front, an antiquated stone building. The entrance was adorned with wild sketches done in blood of horrific violence, a mural of cruelties and depravities of the worst sorts.

Candles were scattered here and there, just enough to cause the shadows to dance and make the unsettling even more so.

Then we found my daughters. Two thrones had been crudely constructed out of human limbs, most were recently burned bones, but here and there were chunks of flesh or tattered clothing. I couldn’t imagine how they kept them together.

Horror had gone all-in for the occasion with an outfit of gold and bones that made her look like some ancient and terrifying goddess. Madness was dressed in a pair of shorts and a brightly colored pink shirt showing an image of a cat shooting laser beams from its eyes. I was actually guessing which daughter was which, but it seemed a safe bet.

The floor was a complex series of mystical scrawling. Bodies of robed figures were slumped around the room. Several scurried out when we walked in.

“Girls,” I said.

“Liam,” Horror said.

“I like your eyes. They see the world like little television cameras,” Madness said to Yve.

“Is it you that made the world the air so sweet? I think you’re my favorite of all Liam’s daughters,” Yve said.

“Hey!” Hope said, and then added, “And, ah… Hi, sisters. I don’t like what you’ve done with the place.”

“They tried to summon a great world-destroying evil, they got what they wanted,” Horror said, unconcerned.

Madness said nothing. She and Yve had wasted no time and were making out.

“She’s my daughter,” I said.

“Like you didn’t sleep around the family tree? It’s kind of why we’re in this mess,” Yve said, before returning to Madness.

I didn’t have a good argument for that. I’d need to find one.

“So do you do this often?” I asked.

“End worlds in binges of madness and terror? It is kind of our thing,” Horror said.

“You taste like the burning of gardens,” Madness said to Yve.

I said, “So. Last time we met I didn’t know about the whole dad thing.”

“You mean that time you left me to fight Veros and that crazy bodyguard alone?” Horror said.

“I figured you’d be fine,” I said.

“I threw the wolf out the window and set fire to the building,” Horror said.

Like father, like daughter I guess.

“So we’re good,” I said.

“Nah. I’m holding a grudge. I brought some other members of the family to have a talk with you,” Horror said, snapping her fingers.

A pair of side doors opened and two women stepped through. One I didn’t recognize, a redhead largely naked but for a few thorny vines curled around her form. The other, I had memories of some barely satisfactory sex followed by throwing her out a window. There she had been known as White, but I suspected this wasn’t the original White, but a copy of her.

That would make her Frost and the redhead Rose, two of Ashera’s daughters.

Chapter 23

“Rose and Frost I assume,” I said.

“Huh, he looks just like that guy,” Rose said.

“Funny right,” Frost said.

“I think I’m missing some context,” I said.

“Oh, we slept with your echo awhile back. He was a real jerk and Frost wound up throwing him out of a window,” Rose said.

Well, that was disconcerting. And a bit of a theme here.

“I slept with an echo of Frost and threw her out a window,” I said.

“Really? How was I?” Frost asked.

“Kind of a selfish bitch.”

“Sounds like you,” Rose told Frost.

My various friends and assembled daughters were looking a little pained by this conversation. I didn’t blame them.

“So! Not to change the subject or anything, but you tried to murder me awhile back,” I said to Rose.

“Spoiler alert. About to have a second go,” Rose said.

I hoped not. Members of this family were always a lot to handle, and I really didn’t want Hope starting her relationship with her aunts by throwing punches.

“I’m no longer engaged to your mom, if that makes a difference?” I asked.

Rose and Frost exchanged a glance and Frost shrugged.

“Talk,” Rose said.

“I married an alternate aspect of her instead. So whatever weird grudge you had against a commoner marrying your mom, it no longer applies,” I said.

“Instead you just disrespected her for some kind of lesser copy,” Rose said.

“And threw an echo of me out a window,” Frost said.

Hope moved in to give each of them a hug which they accepted with good grace. She said, “Pardon me. I just get this out of the way with all new members of the family I meet.”

“I like her. Although she seems different than the others,” Rose said.

Hope let them go and went off to hug Madness and Horror, who seemed rather less comfortable with the whole process.

“Hope is kind of the original. My child with Cobalt, the others were all clones made by some insane computers,” I said.

Yve said quickly, “But not the sexy, insane computer who had nothing to do with it all. You’re good, if I date your daughter, right Liam?”

“You’re going to have to give me a little bit of time to figure that out. We may or may not be fighting these two first. Are we fighting?” I asked.

“I hope so or this whole thing has been a complete bore. Woo me, family,” Horror said.

Rose said, “We want to recruit your daughter. You want to recruit your daughter. We’re still doing this.”

“I was good enough for you,” Yve said to me, offended.

“First of all, that was more than a few months ago. Second, you’re a little high on insanity juice right now,” I said.

Agony of Thorns

The stone floor tore itself into fragments as several massive vines sprang forth and wrapped themselves around me. Each was liberally adorned with thorns. Most were stopped by my armor, but a few pierced through and yet others found every bit of exposed flesh. It wasn’t just the flesh piercing, they also seemed to be coated with some sort of toxin and I could already feel myself growing dizzy. I really hated fighting this family.

Hope was on her aunt in an instant, a series of blows aimed at her midsection barely countered. Rose was good, all of Ashera’s children were trained from birth in the arts of combat and against any ordinary foe Rose could be unstoppable.

Encase

Yve was rushing into the fray when Frost gestured. In the past, Yve lost the fight against Frost’s echo and now against the original she fared even worse. Ice sprang up, starting at her feet and quickly encasing her entire body.

I tore the vines apart by pure strength and force of will. It was agonizing, but I was no stranger to pain now. There was no punishment I could inflict on my body that would not heal in time.

I kept a torn chunk of vines knotted around my fist and delivered an uppercut to Frost’s chin. The thorns from the vines cut deep into her flesh filling her with the same poison that coursed through my veins.

Coldblooded Killer

Frost’s skin became a shade of blue as the air turned misty around her, frost literally coating her flesh. I expected it was slowing the poison, but it also meant she wasn’t attacking me—so I could attack her. I threw several punches towards her stomach. Her body was so hard that it was like punching a wall. I could feel the bones in my hand breaking and yet I followed up each punch with another.

After several blows Frost finally stumbled back, color starting to return to her skin as she dropped to a knee.

Whip of Thorns

A thorny whip wrapped itself around my neck and pulled. It was like a sawblade running along that unprotected flesh. My throat was torn apart in seconds and I collapsed to the ground in a growing pool of my own blood.

It took me out of the fight for the time being. I was tough enough and even something like this wasn’t going to kill me, but I could do little more than try to hold my throat shut while waiting for my healing to fully kick in.

Fortunately it wasn’t just me and Rose. Hope had continued to press her attack and seized on her aunt’s distraction with me to get Rose’s arm twisted painfully her.

“Enough. We yield,” Rose said.

Hope was more trusting of her relatives than I’d have been and let Rose go at once.

“You okay?” Rose asked, moving to Frost’s side.

“Man can throw a punch,” Frost said.

“You good, Dad?” Hope asked.

I couldn’t talk yet, so I gave her a thumbs-up and pointed to Yve.

Frost snapped her fingers and the ice surrounding Yve shattered, the paladin collapsing to the floor and sucking in great gasps of air.

Horror half-heartedly clapped. “Short, but entertaining. I guess you’ve redeemed yourself from that little leaving-me-to-die stunt, Father.”

My daughters certainly were putting me through my paces, both diplomatic and otherwise. My throat had finally knitted itself together enough and I spent a few seconds coughing up blood.

“So why are you trying to recruit my daughters?” I asked Rose.

“Why does anyone want the biggest weapons? You’re better with them than without them,” Rose said, eying my throat. “You healed up well. No aftereffects from my toxins?”

There were. I was dizzy and nauseous, more so than usual after being torn to shreds.

“I’m feeling them. You’ve got some mean thorns,” I said.

“Thank you, I try. So why don’t you tell us what you’re really planning,” Rose said.

“I don’t think it’s the losers that get to demand information,” Yve said, giving Frost a dark look.

“I won one, I lost one. Your score isn’t nearly that impressive,” Frost said.

Yve didn’t look any happier at that.

I wasn’t going to share our plans with them, of course. Hope might have some basic trust in these two, but I didn’t.

“Father dearest there and our evil stepmother want to remake the whole of reality into a monster’s paradise,” Horror said.

“Twelve twinkling little stars screaming their songs,” Madness said.

“Can they do that?” Rose asked Frost.

“Have you ever seen mom this weak and the Silver City so under siege? It’s better than our little rebellion fared,” Frost said.

“You rebelled?” I asked.

“In our younger days we gave it a spin. Everyone does eventually,” Rose said.

“Want in?” I asked.

Rose and Frost talked quietly amongst themselves.

“We’re going to pass,” Frost said.

“But we will sit this one out. We’re sure a big fight is coming and we’ll be conveniently out of touch for awhile,” Rose said.

It seemed too good to be true. “Why? You tried to kill me because I wasn’t good enough for your mother, and from what I hear you’re what might be called a royalist through and through,” I said.

“Two things,” Rose said, stepping closer and reaching to brush her fingertips along my neck, “First and most importantly you’ve impressed us. To call us dangerous is a massive understatement and you survived a bit of fun. It wasn’t all because of your daughter either.”

Rose was uncomfortably close and that touch had turned sensuous. I could smell her now, it really was the scent of roses. Sweet and overwhelming.

I didn’t know what she was playing at, but I had to decide how I was going to respond. My briefly held ideals of being true to my wife were already well and truly broken already. That wasn’t a factor, rather the truth of the situation. Getting tangled up with this family always caused complications, but I didn’t need these two as enemies. Rose was likely playing me, I knew that, but if someone is being played they’re a resource you hope to use going forward.

I leaned in and cut off her words with a kiss. Rose was a moment slow reacting, perhaps I’d misread things and she wasn’t expecting this. It didn’t seem unwelcome however as a second later she responded with some vigor.

“Dad, really?” Hope asked, put out.

“Mmm,” Rose said, after the kiss broke off, “Secondly, we want to see how this all turns out. Niece, does your little den of terror have a bedroom?”

“Upstairs off the Mayor’s office. His body is right outside,” Horror said.

“I’m coming too,” Frost said. “We get to throw Rose out a window this time. That seems fair.”

It did. Like most of my encounters with this family, my time with these sisters was memorable. White was nothing like Frost when it came down to it. Both sisters were more than a little deadly, I soon found out how prolonged contact with Frost caused flesh to grow numb then die. Rose could never shed her thorns and they cut and poisoned an uncomfortable amount. I doubted many could have survived the hours we spent together, much less enjoyed them, but I did.

We threw Rose out a window. I think she rather enjoyed the novelty of the whole experience.

When we parted it was time to seek out the daughter the others kept talking about, Hubris.

Chapter 24

Ashley and Cobalt rejoined us in the morning courtesy of Elsora opening them a portal. That was good, we were a lot stronger with them. When Hope teleported us this time we materialized in the top of a tower with expansive glass windows. The view outside was of an astonishingly beautiful city with mountains just visible in the distance.

Hubris was waiting for us, standing with her hands clasped behind her back as she looked over the view. I remembered that Hubris was considered the smartest of them, and that she was the first to emerge from the cloning procedure.

I had to admit that she cut an impressive figure. Each of my daughters so far had their own thing going, their own sense of style. Hubris reminded me a lot of Ashera. The armor she wore wasn’t very stylized, but any illusion of simplicity was a lie. Hubris was wearing the very best of gear.

Hubris turned to face us.

“Do get your hugging out of the way,” Hubris said.

Hope, Cobalt, and I all took our turns. Hubris endured it well enough. I was right about her gear, there was a definite magical crackle that you could feel in your bones when you got close. There was a lot of power surrounding her.

“You’ve a lovely home,” I said.

“The best, of course. I never settle for anything less,” Hubris said, looking us over critically.

“So you know why we’ve come,” I said.

“My sisters have informed me. A bold plan, to unseat the center of reality and place ourselves in its place. Elsora Damos is a brilliant woman, you were wise to marry her.”

Cobalt cleared her throat unhappily.

Hubris said, “You surely have some sort of redeeming qualities besides your promiscuity, Mother. Rest assured that we shall discover them in time.”

“Mom is brave and courageous, and loves us all very much,” Hope said.

“You have the virtue of being able to say that, sister. In your case at least it seems to be true. It is far from a certainty where the rest of us are concerned,” Hubris said.

“The fact that she is here shows that she cares,” I said.

“It does,” Hubris said, nodding. “But I am not here to debate the depths of your parental impulses. I am asking why I should agree to your plan at all, which is filled with uncertainty, when a better one exists.”

“What better plan do you have?” I asked.

Perhaps she had one. If she really was as brilliant as her sisters thought, it may be she had devised something Elsora didn’t think about.

“Me. I am the most powerful of the Nine and a trained sorceress to boot. You think no alternative exists to take the place of Grandmother, but I do. I can unseat her and take the center of reality for myself,” Hubris said.

“I don’t care how good you are, you’ve never fought your grandmother. I promise you, you’ve never seen anything like her,” Cobalt said.

Hubris gave her a smile that seemed almost pitying, “It’s okay, Mom. I know that you spent a long time running from her, but I am not you. I’m better than you ever were and I am better than her.”

Cobalt threw herself at Hubris with a flying tackle. Hubris flickered and suddenly she was just outside of range and lashing out with a kick that caught Cobalt in the stomach.

“Mom!” Hope said, rushing in to join the fray.

I’d seen Cobalt fight off an entire army naked. I’d seen Cobalt and Hope together stand off against a world of eternally resurrecting warriors and emerge triumphant. Hubris was fighting them to a standstill. Wherever their attacks tried to focus, she vanished and shadowy versions of herself flickered into existence long enough to deliver a blow, before disappearing again.

“Do you need a hand?” I asked.

“Stay out of this. This is between me and my overconfident brat of a daughter,” Cobalt said, before a particularly fierce punch split her lip and sent droplets of blood flying.

Hubris avoided a kick from Cobalt and slammed her palm into Hope’s face, who was about to counter with her own blow. There was a brilliant flare of light and Hope slumped to the ground—out cold.

“You’re only months old, Hubris. You shouldn’t have this kind of fight in you,” Cobalt said.

Hubris gave a tiny smile. “You know better than that, Mom. Time is what you make of it.”

“You’ve been living somewhere with a time differential,” I said.

“Of course I have. Being the best doesn’t just happen, Dad. You make it happen. You work, you study, you train,” Hubris said.

Hubris landed another punch on Cobalt that had her staggering.

“Care to try that without your magic?” Cobalt said.

“Alright,” Hubris said, and the two closed exchanging blows that moved faster and faster. I’d seen Ashera move this fast, but didn’t know the others in her family were capable of it. I’d never seen Cobalt pushed this far or this hard.

Cobalt was landing blows. Less than I’d have expected, less I think than Hubris gave back in turn, but the fight wasn’t completely one-sided. That said, there was never any real doubt who was the better fighter. Hubris was very good—and Cobalt was in over her head.

“How long?” Cobalt asked.

Hubris gave no answer, instead focusing on her attacks, and a series of blows sent Cobalt flying away to land with a thud.

“You’re good, Mom, but I’m better,” Hubris said. It appeared to be true.

“Can only family play or you got room for one more?” Ashley asked, drawing her daggers.

“Ashley,” I said.

Hubris said, “It’s fine, Dad. I won’t hurt her, much. Come on, if you want to test your skills.”

Ashley rolled to close the distance and Hubris flickered away. Sorcery was back in play. When Hubris called in those shadowy other versions of herself, Ashley lashed out with her God-killing blade. There was a frightful burst of green energy and the image exploded like shattering glass.

“Someone has something she shouldn’t have,” Hubris said.

“I bet you always say that when someone is better than you,” Ashley said.

Hubris went low with a sweeping kick and Ashley flipped over it to deliver a kick of her own.

The green glow around the dagger was intensifying and Ashley’s flesh was starting to take on a slight glow as well.

“Ashley, you need to stop now,” I said.

“Fuck that,” Ashley said.

I moved to grab her and she sent me flying with a kick that shattered ribs. Ashley wasn’t this strong, Ashley had never been this strong, but that seemed to have changed.

Cobalt was back in the fight and charged from another direction only to get sent crashing out one of the windows.

Hubris gestured sharply and Cobalt rematerialized in the room, smashing hard into the floor.

“You may be good, but I’m the best killer there is,” Ashley said.

Hubris clapped her hands and the God-killer dagger spun out of Ashley’s hands to be trapped in a glowing cage of light. Ashley charged her and stabbed at her ribs with the other blade, but a blast of blue light sent Ashley slumped to the ground and unconscious.

Hubris was bleeding from the wound, wincing as she gestured and a palme glyph appeared over the wound.

“You okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine. What happened to her?” Hubris asked.

“I don’t know. Not exactly, Diamond gave her that weapon awhile back to kill a God. It had a lot of warnings to go with it and we’ve been too busy to follow up,” I said.

Grimacing, Hubris opened the magical cage to stare at the dagger.

“Ugly work, but it isn’t the dagger alone,” Hubris said.

“Do you have any ideas?” I asked.

“A pretty good one. I’ve got an eye for patterns and this has my evil-stepmother all over it,” Hubris said. “Perhaps we should go and ask her?”

I thought I was done being surprised by Elsora’s planning. It seems she may have a few surprises left.

Chapter 25

It was a rather beat-up party that made its way back to Castle Sardonis. Hope and Cobalt were tough and scary in a fight, but they didn’t have my rapid healing. Fortunately when we got back to the Crucible Shard a version of that healing kicked in for everyone.

Ashley remained unconscious, and Hubris and I soon had her in one of the castle’s bedrooms.

I sent word for Elsora.

“Hubris, welcome. I’ve very much been looking forward to meeting you. There is a problem with Ashley?” Elsora asked.

“Yours, I suspect,” Hubris said.

Elsora gestured and darkness billowed around the bed, a cloud of pitch black engulfing Ashley and concealing her completely for several long moments before vanishing again.

I stared at my wife and waited for answers—for all that they might be lies.

“You didn’t tell me that you turned Veros’ great machine against him,” Elsora said, troubled.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” I said.

“You do. Veros was growing more powerful. How?” Elsora asked.

I thought back on it. It wasn’t that long ago, but a lot had happened since.

“Veros had it set up to lure adventurers to a great arena. There they were debuffed, dosed with some gases to weaken them and inflict perma-death, then killed,” I said.

“Not just perma-death. An effect so that those who killed them would gain all the victim’s experience and power,” Elsora said.

I did remember that part now that she mentioned it. I’d dosed Veros with those gases to make sure he stayed dead.

“Ashley struck the killing blow,” I said, in sudden understanding.

“And in doing so absorbed the experience and nature of the God of Light. Strangely enough it isn’t the only problem, or even the worse one.”

Hubris extracted the magical cage that contained the dagger and presented it to Elsora. Elsora didn’t bother with the cage and just plucked out the dagger to stare at it.

“Not your work. It doesn’t have your feel,” Hubris said.

“I should hope not. You’ve a good eye,” Elsora said.

“The best. May I become your apprentice?” Hubris asked.

“You’ve decided against staging a one-woman assault on Ashera? I thought certain you’d try. Planned on it, in fact,” Elsora said.

“This girl got past my defenses and hurt me, and I’ve had a look at you and the sorceries surrounding you. I’m not just unfounded arrogance, you become the best by learning from the best,” Hubris said.

Elsora gave a thin smile and kissed my cheek. “Things do tend to veer off into unexpected territory where my husband is concerned. You’re welcome as my apprentice, it will be nice to have another keen mind about. The dagger is linked to an ancient and powerful entity which has now tangled its fate with Ashley’s.”

“Anyone we know?” I asked.

“The God of Snakes. I doubt you’ve had the displeasure,” Elsora said.

That was a new one to me. I remembered how the dagger had been making Ashley high and asked, “Ashley has somehow been absorbing power from all of those who died in the arena, as a result of her killing Veros?”

Elsora made an expression of distaste.

“Bad news?” I asked.

“It makes things complicated. I really wish you’d listened to me and left Veros well enough alone,” Elsora said.

If we hadn’t, I wouldn’t have had to order Earth destroyed and Ashley would be her usual self. No, that move hadn’t had a lot of upside.

“Veros was opposed to you and your plans. I thought you’d be happy to have him gone, however many other complications might come,” I said.

Elsora gave me a long look.”If you see a chess piece staunchly opposed to my plans, but you know I’ve held back capturing it for a time, you can be sure it is by design. This game I play with Ashera could well prove fatal for either of us and on a cosmic level that would be very bad. Veros was something of a replacement for Ashera, should the both of us fall.”

Veros was no Ashera, but then I could see it. Ashera represented the light in their little contest and he was an incredibly powerful God of Light.

“Is there any replacement for yourself?” I asked.

“Several potentially, you among them, my dark-hearted King. Walt as well, with the Death-hand he is quite the growing force of destruction,” Elsora said.

That was flattering, sort of.

“I should be on that list. I would do it better than you,” Hubris said.

Elsora flashed her one of her smiles. “No doubt. Killing Veros was quite the complication. Ashley replacing him is in many ways even more complicated.”

“You can’t see them, Dad, but the magics are so knotted up as to be almost incomprehensible,” Hubris said.

“What we have happening is Ashley simultaneously trying to shed her current incarnation and become a Goddess of Light, even as a God of Snakes is attempting to shed its skin and become her,” Elsora said.

Elsora was right. That sounded complicated and bad. I hated complicated and bad.

“I’m not even going to try making sense of all this. I’m just going to ask how I can make it better. Is there something I can kill that will help?” I asked.

“No,” Hubris said.

“There is a solution and it does involve rather a lot of killing. You’re going to need the Witches and Walt for this one,” Elsora said.

“Why? I understand the killing. If you kill the God of Snakes, then it will stop splitting Ashley in two and she’ll be free to fully incarnate as the Goddess of Light,” Hubris said.

“I don’t think Ashley much wants to be a Goddess of Light, nor should she want the future that was planned out for Veros. It’s difficult, but I do think that we should be able to avoid that,” Elsora said.

“And Ashley will be okay?” I asked.

“Of course not. You don’t go through all that she has endured and turn out fine, her psyche has been bent and mangled, and I’d call that far from okay. Your friend has become something of a monster, but then we are building a universe friendly to monsters,” Elsora said.

“You really can’t fix her?” Hubris asked, saddened.

Elsora reached out and took her hand. “You ask for your sisters, I know. You’re afraid for them.”

“I have been blessed with my fate. They carry larger burdens and I wish that I could help them to forget,” Hubris said.

I thought of Walt slowly losing all of who he had ever been to the Death-hand.

I said, “Forgetting isn’t the answer. I know it is tempting to think that you can just scrub who and what we are away, but it doesn’t help. We’ll help them to find a way to be themselves and be happy.”

That was possible. I’d already seen it with Pestilence.

Hubris frowned, but nodded.

“Have you heard word of Earth?” I asked Elsora.

“Mela has finished exterminating the human population. We’ve now got a production line set up reincarnating them into mechanical bodies and DLC has orders to help them adjust to their new forms and aid them in becoming combat-ready,” Elsora said.

Great, I’d weaponized my entire home planet.

“I don’t know whether to thank her or curse her,” I said.

“I’ve heard she also fused the corpses of those who fell to her nano-plague and turned them into a sort of tech-heavy zombie army. That Goddess has managed to get you not just a single army, but two out of a world once filled with your enemies. By the way, you thanked her and sent her some very nice gifts,” Elsora said.

Well then, I guess that settled that. I couldn’t fault the logic. I decided I wouldn’t let it bother me. It was over and done with and there were bigger challenges ahead. Old Liam would not have been able to let the past go so easily, but I wasn’t that man anymore. I was stronger than that now.

“I once offered to invite her to dinner with Ashera,” I said.

“I doubt we’ll have time on our schedule until the wars are done, but I’ll see we have her over instead. For now, you need to go after the God of Snakes. I’ll have Cobalt and Hope go and fetch Despair and Hate,” Elsora said.

The last two of the Nine, they’d be safe with their mom and sister.

Chapter 26

It was a different group than our usual that went to the world of the God of Snakes. Ashley had been left behind. That left me, Yve, and Walt of our original band and in addition we had the witch Sara and Hubris.

The world of the snakes was hot and humid, massive stone ziggurats sitting in the middle of a thick jungle.

There was a faint tremor in the air, and an omnipresent hissing that echoed endlessly.

“I don’t like this place,” Hubris said.

“I kind of like snakes,” Yve said.

“How could anyone like snakes?” Hubris asked.

“You make as many garden metaphors as I do, you get fond of them,” Yve said, glancing around the surroundings. “Can you pinpoint their God?”

Hubris tilted her head towards the largest of the structures. “You were a Goddess. You don’t need to be the embodiment of pride to know how this works.”

She had a point. I’d dealt with enough deities—they liked to put on a show.

Together we set off towards the building.

“We’re being watched,” Hubris said.

I could feel that. I didn’t see any snakes, but they were there around us, I could almost feel them slithering.

Sara traced a red sigil in the air and a shimmer surrounded us.

“A bit of defense in case we should require it,” Sara said.

We would, eventually. We hadn’t come here in search of peace this time, we’d come for war.

We stepped inside the ziggurat and found the center to be one massive chamber. A sickly green glow provided illumination, and brilliantly colored walls were dizzying to look at. That dizziness was because of motion—every wall was covered completely in snakes shifting and crawling. The hissing was almost deafening, a continuous rattling that seemed to sink into our very bones.

A throne sat on a large pedestal, the figure upon it looking to be some fusion of man and serpent. The face was human enough, but he wore only a loincloth and much of his flesh had the sheen of scales.

“Slither your way inside, all of you. I’ve been expecting you,” said the man.

“I take it you’re the God of Snakes,” I said.

I wasn’t surprised that he was no snake. I’d learned that lesson when it came to Maria, who although she was the Queen of Spiders had nothing spiderlike about her.

“Call me Snake, it’s simpler,” said Snake, rising off the throne. His motions were smooth and fluid, dangerous.

“I hear that you’re trying to move into our friend’s skin,” I said.

“My skin. In using my blade she took some part of my essence inside of her and has fed on it well. In time, I’ll be in my new form and leave this one behind as an empty husk,” Snake said.

I did appreciate a bad guy that didn’t sugar-coat things. I tried to be that sort of bad guy myself.

“I can’t let you do that,” I said.

“But you can,” Snake said, coming close and looking us over. “Oh, I know you’ve some sentimental fondness for the girl, but I’ve seen enough of you through her eyes. You won’t let that hold you back. I’m not interested in being your enemy, I’m your very good friend.”

Told it like it was and then tried to sell me on how he was actually doing me a favor. This guy was stealing my routine.

“You’ve got a good line. Serpents always do,” Yve said. I swear the look she gave him was a flirtatious one.

Snake let his eyes play along Yve’s form. “In Ashley, you’ve a puny little human whose mind is snapping from all she has seen. Ashley was never meant to inherit such power and she is incapable of holding it. I on the other hand can.”

Yve and I didn’t have anything more, we really didn’t. That didn’t stop a surge of jealousy and the desire to punch this guy in the face.

“And what would you do with that power, Snake?” Yve asked.

“Help, of course. A grand battle, a chance to help reshape reality itself. It sounds thrilling,” Snake said.

“And what about Ashley?” I asked.

“I’ll devour her. Gobble her right up.” Snake gave a negligent shrug. “I know all of you. You know there is no power without sacrifice.”

Sara leaned in and whispered into my ear, “I leave this one to you. I know what Elsora requested and it may work, but so might listening to him.”

I’d wiped out an entire planet lately, ordering the death of everyone I’d ever known and loved—albeit so they might wind up reborn later. It should be easy to accept the death of another friend, if there was something to be gained from it, and Snake was making a very real offer. Ashley had grown unpredictable, dangerous, and suffered under the weight of all that had been done to her. She seemed in no shape to handle the power that filled her. I couldn’t say Ashley always stood by me when I needed it—twice she’d tried to betray me.

It wouldn’t have been a difficult decision for a decent person. It also wouldn’t have been a hard one to make for someone purely evil. As always, I seemed to be somehow stuck in the middle and suffering it. I was embracing the whole King of Darkness mystique, but I just didn’t want to let a snake god eat my friend. Put that way, it was simple. I wouldn’t.

“Stick to the plan,” I whispered back to Sara.

Sara grinned at me. That was a scary sign. There was one thing that the witches really enjoyed and that was their dark magic. Sara clapped her hands and a sound echoed out like the peeling of a bell. On the walls the snakes exploded—thousands, millions of them tore themselves apart and the blood ripped out of their skins to form interlocking, magical sigils in the air.

I was very glad we hadn’t decided to settle things with the witches with violence. That was pretty damned impressive. Snake thought so too, judging by his scream of outrage.

“Go,” Sara said to Walt.

Walt rushed towards Snake with the Death-hand glowing and got backhanded with a blow that sent him tumbling across the chamber. Even disoriented by this magic Snake was fast.

I rushed in to grapple with Snake. He swiveled to sink his teeth deep into my neck. It wasn’t a vampire thing, I rather wished it were. I’d been poisoned a lot, but this venom was something special. Completely paralyzed and in incredible agony, I dropped to the floor. I could feel my organs liquefying inside of me. I’d likely survive this, but I was well and truly out of the fight.

Yve blasted Snake with a stream of fire coming from her fingertips. The God of Snakes didn’t seem to care, his divine essence trumped whatever power Yvera was packing.

Hubris was on him in an instant. This serpent god might be fast, but she could match him blow for blow and send him inching backwards.

“Don’t kill him,” Sara said.

“I’m not the pacifist in the family,” Hubris said, as she threw Snake backwards with a blast of blue energy.

Snake wasn’t one to stay down for long and was moving back towards her with rapid movements from side to side. Another torrent of blue energy erupted from Hubris’ hands and sprang around him, binding his arms to his side and holding him in place.

Walt had gotten back up in the meantime.

“Hand him the dagger,” Sara said.

Hubris pulled the glowing cage out of her armor and opened it to reveal Ashley’s dagger. Walt grabbed it with the Death-hand.

The sickly green light of the dagger mixed with the faint blue glow of the Death-hand as Walt drove the blade into Snake’s neck. It was a messy business, using the small knife for severing a head, but Walt had time and held by Hubris’ magic Snake wasn’t going anywhere.

When Snake was finally well and truly dead the blade of the dagger melted, streams of metal joining the Death-hand.

I also felt my muscles become usable again as the divine magic powering the poison was extinguished.

“That was a bit anti-climatic for a god fight,” Yve said.

“It wasn’t. You just aren’t clever enough to have seen the real battle,” Hubris said.

“Can I punch your daughter, Liam?” Yve asked.

“No,” I said. “So what the hell was that?”

“The God of Snakes was essentially a dead God until pumped full of power from that blade. With the connection it forged he was attempting to trade his fate with your friend Ashley,” Sara said.

“But instead of him devouring her future, I devoured his,” Walt said.

I wasn’t going to understand all that. I didn’t think it mattered.

“Do we have to call you Snake-hand now?” I asked.

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Walt said.

“And Ashley is going to be okay?”

“Instead of being tied to a Snake God trying to eat her, she is tied to this avatar of death and decay. It is likely an improvement,” Sara said noncommittally.

“It should be enough to keep her from fully manifesting as a Goddess of Light. I don’t know why that is important, but Evil Stepmom seems to think it is,” Hubris said.

That was enough for me. I supported Elsora’s schemes completely, even when I didn’t have a clue why.

Chapter 27

When we arrived back at Castle Sardonis, Ashley was already on her feet and looked the happiest I’d seen her in some time. Not happy in a high-on-mass-murder sort of way, more content.

I paused to talk with her outside the War Room where Elsora was gathering all of our allies.

“You seem to be feeling better,” I said.

“Whatever you did worked. Most of the voices screaming murder in my head are gone,” Ashley said with a weak smile.

“Is Atlantia any calmer than she used to be?” I asked.

“Atlantia is still Atlantia, but she was only ever part of the problem. It’s like things were with you and Yvera, you fed on each other and made each other even worse.”

I’d thought that once. I didn’t think so now. I’d been free of Yvera for a while and my ways hadn’t changed that much. Whatever my vices and weaknesses, they were mine alone.

“I’m glad to have you back, seriously,” I said.

“No longer a divinely powered killing machine just as you’re about to go into the biggest battle ever. You’ve a lousy sense of timing,” Ashley said, as she stepped into the war room.

What could I say, I hadn’t really had a choice. Perhaps it made me a bad friend, but if I could have had her fully powered going up into what came next, I would.

Identical faces were seated on one side of the table, Hope and her sisters. Cobalt wasn’t the only one of Ashera’s daughters present, Malachite had made it here as well. I was saddened that there was no trace of Diamond and Tiger, I knew what that meant. They had picked their side and it wasn’t mine.

Mela was there with my brother, Tommy. I hadn’t seen him since the destruction of Earth, although Mela told me that she had gotten him offworld. Their chairs were pushed together and they seemed friendly, very friendly.

My brother was dating Mela. I really didn’t want to think about that, and who was I to lecture anyone on their questionable choices in dating partners?

I took my seat at the head of the table alongside Elsora.

“Thank you for coming. You are all aware of the big picture of what we have planned. All that is left now is to make it happen,” Elsora said.

“How?” Cobalt asked, “You’ve put together an impressive force, yet it still doesn’t solve the problem of Queen Ashera. Confront her on her home ground and no matter how large an army you bring, hers will win.”

“Then we don’t confront her on her home ground,” Elsora said, gesturing to the map that showed the Silver City and its moons. “We take the moons.”

Cobalt pursed her lips. “Normally that would be suicide. Attack one and the others shall send their armies along the Silver Road. Regardless, each is far too powerful in its own right to fall easily.”

Elsora tilted her head. “And by your words you already see the plan. Yes, easily. We have eleven with the Right of War and eleven with the Right of Rule and eleven worlds in need of conquering.”

“You want to hit them all at the same time,” Cobalt said.

“Each will call for support and none shall come. Each moon shall feel itself cut off and alone in a way it has not experienced for a very long time. It should be motivation enough for the Right of Rule to take full effect,” Elsora said. “That way, we can capture the moons.”

A quick and surprising military attack leading to complete surrender and acceptance of new rule. It was bold.

“I see what you hope to accomplish, but it won’t work. You’ll cut off the Silver City from reinforcements, but it still has an army of its own,” Cobalt said.

“Do you think your mother is the type to sit back and wait patiently while all those sworn to her fall?” Elsora asked.

Cobalt stared long and hard at the table thinking. “If she does stay behind the walls, she’ll win.”

Elsora nodded just a fraction. “I’ll not dispute that. If Ashera and her army remain within the city we have no means to remove them. I ask you again, knowing her as well as any, will she hold back?”

Cobalt gave a weary sort of chuckle and shook her head, “Of course not. The most important battle ever will be happening outside her gates, she won’t be able to resist that.”

“No,” Elsora said. “No, I don’t think she will.”

“Then we bleed her,” Hubris said. “A war of attrition.”

“Individually you are no match for her, and individually your soldiers will be no match for hers. For every man she loses, I fear you’ll lose a dozen,” Elsora said. “But…”

“The Oga-Kar have no fear of death,” said a man I didn’t recognize. His words said enough, the Oga-Kar were the tribesmen that Cobalt and Hope had fought. He had no fear of death, they didn’t stay dead.

“Eleven of the twelve moons will be burning,” Elsora said. “The rising of each will count as a dawn.”

The Oga-Kar came back to life with the dawn. They were an army that would just keep coming back.

“I fought them for days without rest, and mother is better than me,” Cobalt said.

“I know. But they shall keep her army very busy,” Elsora said. “That will provide time to assure the conquest of the moons. Then we shall rely upon the forces of Olympus to take down the gates.”

“Mother won’t leave them unguarded no matter how eager she is for a fight,” Cobalt said.

“I know. It is going to be a great and terrible battle, but we only need one gate to fall,” Elsora said.

“Mother won’t ever believe that possible, so there won’t be a garrison inside. If the gates go down the interior of the city will be wide open,” Cobalt said.

“At that point King Liam and his companions, myself, and the Blood Witches will make our way within and sever the Silver Road from the city,” Elsora said.

“Just like that?” Yve asked, doubtfully.

“It is a massive metaphysical feat. It will be challenging, but we are capable,” Elsora said.

“Until my mother storms back in, because the gate fell, and cuts you all down,” Cobalt said.

“A danger, to be sure,” Elsora said.

Hubris said, “I should caution my sisters. If this does succeed, the Silver City will begin to break up at once and the shock wave hitting the moons will be severe,”

“Earthquakes, tidal waves, there will be a lot of destruction. The new Queens will also almost immediately grow far more powerful,” Elsora said.

“What about Ashera?” I asked.

“Weaker, but far from weak. Once done, it isn’t the sort of thing she’ll be able to undo,” Elsora said.

Cobalt frowned and said, “You don’t actually have a plan to deal with her.”

“She can choose a futile war to continue fighting against her family, or take the chance to walk away and start something new. I hope she’ll make the right decision,” Elsora said.

I did as well. In a direct fight Ashera couldn’t be beaten. This, all of this, really did seem designed to win a fight around her. It was the way things had to be, but it didn’t make things simple.

“Will that work?” I asked Cobalt. Even if Elsora was some split-down-the-middle version of Ashera, the two did not think the same and I wasn’t sure Elsora truly knew her other half well—not as much as Cobalt, who had grown up with her mother, Ashera.

“You’ve met her, backing down isn’t exactly in her nature. Of course, she is also all about family. If you’re asking me what she values more, her family or winning, I truly don’t know,” Cobalt said.

I’d have to trust in Elsora’s plans then. They hadn’t failed us so far.

Chapter 28

Malachite took myself and Cobalt with her so that we could, one at a time, see our other children off. It felt strange like this, sending our children we’d just met into war.

I didn’t think either of us would be winning any parenting awards no matter how this all turned out. There are some lines you shouldn’t cross and we were crossing them. What choice did we have? Without this war now, facing Ashera and the Silver City together, our children would inevitably face them alone. Those battles might happen a thousand years from now, but they would happen and our children would lose.

Each of our daughters had mustered their own forces. Hubris had an army of battle-mages, each skilled with sorcery and blade who were the best, culled from countless worlds. A small, but elite force.

Pestilence had the Gli-ar, pale grey-skinned warriors who possessed an immune system that instantly killed any normal disease and gave them incredible strength when facing a new one. Pestilence was an endless source of new diseases and her armies were formidable.

Greed had her mercenaries, Wrath legions of Berserkers, Horror a collection of terrifying monsters straight out of the stories told around campfires. Hope had even managed to find her own band of super-powered heroes.

One by one we hugged them and sent them off to their respective wars. At last it was Cobalt and Maria’s turn to depart. Together they fielded an impressive force, Cobalt having long held an army in reserve in case she ever needed it, and as for Maria, the spiders came. From every corner of reality the spiders came. Massive ones the size of houses, tiny ones that could be mistaken for specks of dust.

“It looks like you’ll have an easy time of it,” I said.

“I saved the hardest one for myself,” Cobalt said. “They gave mother problems, back during the original conquest.”

“You are not alone,” Maria said.

Maria had so often seemed a mix of fragile and regal. Ever since finding out the plans to have her and Cobalt conquer a world together she’d seemed almost at peace. I think what Maria wanted more than anything was the family she’d always been denied.

Then they were gone, setting off on the Silver Road to their own war.

“Hell of a thing, isn’t it?” Malachite asked.

“I haven’t stopped to ask why you’re on our side. I couldn’t convince any of the others to join us,” I said.

Malachite was quiet for several long moments before she said, “One of my earliest memories is trying to master the Right of Travel. Mother had the guardsmen surround me and beat me with sticks until I could figure out how to get away.”

I hadn’t heard this story before.

“Rough way to learn.”

Malachite gave a sort of half-shrug. “It always is with Mother. The universe is a big nasty place and it is coming to kill you. Be prepared, be stronger.”

That sounded like the Ashera I knew. I loved her still, despite such stories. I didn’t exactly have a choice there given her Gifts, but I might have anyways. I admired that kind of strength.

“So it’s revenge?” I asked.

Malachite shook her head. “Nah. I mean, revenge is petty and I do love a good bit of being petty, but it isn’t really that at all. I’m with you because she succeeded. You’re the predator or you’re the prey, and that means always being on the winning side.”

That was a bit of a revelation. Malachite thought we were going to win. I knew we were going to give one massive fight, but I still wouldn’t have bet on us. We were good, but the other side was undefeated.

“What makes you think we’re going to win?” I asked. The question just slipped out.

Malachite said, “You’re some deeply flawed figment of reality from the ass-end of nowhere who somehow stumbled his way onto the throne of a world, then screwed my bitch of a sister and got an army of super-babies, and is now waging war on the center of all reality.”

Perhaps she was trying to be flattering. It made me feel more than a little insane.

“When you’ve done several amazingly improbable things, why not another?” I asked.

“You’re on a winning streak,” Malachite said.

I guess I was.

Malachite grabbed my hand. In a green shimmer we returned to Castle Sardonis.

War has a surprising amount of waiting around. Now that the plans had been set in motion we had to wait for our moment and our part in things. Before we could march on the Silver City the moons had to start falling, and Ashera’s army had to be drawn out.

I’d never actually seen the stars on the Crucible Shard. When I’d first entered this world it was in the depths of the castle and by the time we won our way free of it, Elsora had plunged it into eternal darkness.

She’d pulled back the dark mists to reveal the night sky. You could see the Silver City, the size of the moon from Earth, but notably brighter with ribbons of silver leading from it to other smaller, but still brilliant orbs.

Elsora was watching the sky when we arrived to join her.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” I said.

“Show the sky? Of course, the darkness was always something of a choice rather than a requirement,” Elsora said.

That meant she had lied about that in the past, too. It had caused problems initially with crops, but we’d gotten those cleared up in time.

“Watching is easier than using magic to find out when it is time?” Malachite asked.

Elsora pointed towards one of the moons. It had a reddish tint. “The First Moon, Hubris works fast and it is already burning.”

Elsora reached out to take my hand and I gave hers a squeeze.

“How long will it take the others?” I asked.

“Longer, and we can only wait. With the other moons being attacked none shall send forces away from its own defense, and a single moon in peril is not enough for Ashera to respond,” Elsora said. “More need to burn.”

The moment she said it, the Silver City flashed with a painfully bright light forcing me to squint my eyes.

“You called that one wrong,” Malachite said.

“I did. That was the gates of the Silver City opening,” Elsora said, straightening up. “Our forces are in position to respond once the army emerges.”

“Does this disrupt our plans?” I asked.

“It does. Each burning moon was to be a new dawn for the Oga-Kar. With only one aflame our endlessly immortal army has become less so,” Elsora said.

“The others will get things done,” I said.

“They will, provided that Ashera’s army can be contained long enough. We’ll need to join directly,” Elsora said. With a sharp gesture we were surrounded by clouds of billowing darkness.

Chapter 29

Ashera had lost her army once already. The Nine’s trap tore it to shreds in the greatest defeat the Silver City had ever known. You couldn’t tell it now. Heroes had flocked to Ashera’s banner in a seemingly endless supply. Champions from a thousand worlds had taken the field in the Silver City’s name.

It made for an unusual army. There were no well-ordered ranks, no uniforms, they couldn’t have been more diverse. The Oga-Kar was just as lacking in discipline and the two forces had already joined battle. I couldn’t see Ashera, that was a blessing.

Things so far weren’t going our way. The Oga-Kar was being cut down with terrifying speed. Ashera’s army, sworn into her service, were bolstered by her Right of War and so the formidable became the unstoppable.

Hubris appeared next to us.

“Focus on your moon,” Elsora said.

“They’ve sworn to me. It’s done,” Hubris said.

“Don’t suppose you brought your army with you?” I asked.

“They’re all a bit dead,” Hubris said.

There was the scent of oil and Mela arrived with Walt and Ashley at her side.

“Where have you three been?” I asked.

“Getting the forces of Earth ready,” Walt said.

“The cyborg zombies or the Earthlings reincarnated as robots?” I asked.

“Oh, I’ve been a busy, busy Goddess,” Mela said.

I could imagine. Unfortunately I couldn’t imagine it would make a difference, not against what we were seeing. Mela surprised me.

Mela took a knee before Hubris “I am Mela, God Empress of Earth. May I join your service?”

Hubris arched a brow and asked me, “Will I regret this?”

I didn’t know if this was a short-term impulse of Mela’s or a longer term play. It didn’t matter, not at the moment. While my relationship with the Goddess of Metal had always been a bit strained, I’d always come out ahead with her aid.

“Mela has proved an invaluable ally and friend,” I said. It was a surprising truth.

“I accept your service,” Hubris said with cordial formality.

Mela grinned at that and rose back to her feet, flinging her arms wide. The sky groaned with the grinding of gears before tearing apart.

The forces of Earth arrived. Undead monstrosities made of part-rotting meat fused with cybernetic exoskeletons, terrible war machines with spinning blades and fearsome spikes, all filled with the minds of those who had once called Earth home. Together they dropped from the sky and began to kill.

They were loyal to Mela, who was now loyal to Hubris. Hubris wasn’t as strong as Ashera, but she was the closest of the Nine. No longer did only one side have Art of War acting upon them. Heroes began to die, and each that fell was quickly set upon by other machines which ripped and tore into their flesh, resurrecting them to join the mechazombie horde.

“So are you dating my brother?” I asked. It wasn’t the right time, but in the face of such horror it somehow seemed more important than ever.

Mela held up a hand, it had a ring on it. Of course it did. Why wouldn’t it.

This family just kept getting larger and weirder. I could deal with it.

The Oga-Kar had been all but wiped out. The Earth forces were faring far better, but not well enough.

In the sky another moon turned red and the Oga-Kar began to stir, their bodies healing in an instant. A few started joyously hacking away at their newfound allies, but most stayed directed at the right enemy and turned back to Ashera’s forces.

Elsora gestured and pools of darkness formed on the ground. Out of them began to crawl and slither shadowy shapes, beasts of pure darkness.

“I thought you weren’t going to get directly involved?” I asked.

“I’d prefer not to. But even all of this is not enough,” Elsora said.

I didn’t know what she was talking about. It sure looked like we were holding our own now to me. Mela had really come through.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked.

“Take Walt and Ashley, Hubris can get you to Aphrodite. Tell her to launch her assault on the gates early,” Elsora said.

“She isn’t going to like that,” I said.

“Convince her,” Elsora said. The shadow beasts were beginning to dive into the fray.

Hubris grabbed for my hand as Walt and Ashley stepped in close, and suddenly we were elsewhere.

Aphrodite’s tent had an absurd number of mirrors for a battlefield. Currently she was dressed in a plate bikini and spinning in front of one.

I wasn’t that surprised. It was more or less the sort of activity and fashion choice I’d have expected.

“Liam! Plate, chainmail, or cloth?” Aphrodite asked, as her attire flickered between the three. It was distracting. Briefly between the options she was wearing nothing at all.

“How do you always wind up in these situations?” Ashley asked.

“I’m just grateful he does,” Hubris said.

I told myself to focus on the war and let out a low breath. “Plate. Really, you’re stunning in it.”

That wasn’t exactly true, but it did cover her up the most and I needed to do all I could to keep my mind on task.

“Really?” Aphrodite asked, peering in the mirror before giving a delighted shrug and the plate flickered back into place. “Why are you here? I doubt you brought your daughter, if your intent was to seduce me again.”

Really, I hadn’t seduced her the first time.

“We want you to march on the gates,” I said.

Aphrodite snapped her fingers. Every mirror in the room shimmered and began to display scenes from the battlefield. I hadn’t been gone for long and already the situation looked far worse. The Earth forces did seem to be an immortal army in their own right, the smashed machines slowly working at putting themselves back together. But it was a slow process. In one mirror I saw Ashera fighting three shadow beasts at once. With a deft slide under one and with a sword blazing with light, she cut it in two, before delivering a second punch forceful enough to send the beast tumbling backward.

“We were going to march on the gates when the army within was well and truly distracted. They aren’t,” Aphrodite said.

“Plans change,” I said.

“I commit my forces now, that army will fall on them and they’ll get torn apart,” Aphrodite said.

Hubris opened the flap to the tent and peeked outside. Over her shoulder I could see giants as far as the eye could see. Aphrodite didn’t skimp on the army.

“I think your army can handle it long enough to do what’s needed,” I said.

Aphrodite shook her head. “I had some minor interest in being on the winning side of this conflict. I’ve nothing to gain from being on the losing side.”

I could tell she didn’t mean it. I’d been manipulated enough to know Aphrodite only wanted to renegotiate terms.

“We’ve already offered to join our families. What more do you want?” I asked.

“What have you got?” Aphrodite asked.

I stepped forward and pressed a kiss to her lips, wrapping an arm around her waist.

Aphrodite wasn’t one to turn away a kiss, she deepened it and I allowed her, and it persisted for a long moment before she broke away. Of course, in the meantime her clothing had dropped away. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the time.

“Trouble,” I said.

“Promise?” Aphrodite asked, with a mischievous glimmer in her eye. Aphrodite wasn’t the least bit interested in me, not really. But the thrill, the excitement, the chase. Those were things that she could get behind.

“Promise,” I said.

Aphrodite stepped away and new armor shimmered around her. No bikini this time, although it was form-fitting and flattering in a way that physics should not have allowed. It was good to be a Goddess.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Aphrodite said. “We’ll take the gates.”

“I think you’ve got a crazy make-out Goddess sister on the way,” Ashley said.

“Might be nice to have a pretty one. We kind of don’t, with the everyone being clones thing,” Hubris said.

That was not the kind of trouble I’d promised. I hoped.

The mirrors showed a battle that had turned completely one-sided.

Aphrodite led the way outside the tent and ordered her forces into action.

It would be a short trip down the Silver Road to the battlefield.

The Silver City awaited and we were coming for it.

Chapter 30

Another two moons were burning in the sky by the time we reached the Silver City. Twice more the massive army of the Oga-Kar returned to life in full howling fury and twice more they had been put down. It wasn’t without cost to our enemy.

Ashera’s armies were the greatest of heroes led by the greatest of champions, and yet there was only so long that they could fight. Flesh grew weary and even the most minor of injuries took their toll. Of the army she had started with, perhaps a quarter had now fallen. It didn’t seem like much to pay for the complete devastation they had wreaked again and again.

So it was a weakened force that now faced the full fury of Olympus. Gods moved between the legs of giants, and champions warred against champions. They were just buying the giants time as they began to hammer upon the massive stone gates. I could feel those blows in my very bones—I wondered if all of reality could. Hits that echoed through all of creation as we worked to breach its core.

The efforts to breach the gates didn’t go unnoticed and soon we found ourselves in combat. I parried an attack from some woman wielding a massive spear. In an instant she was moving in for a second blow when Walt caught the spear in the Death-hand and Ashley took the opportunity to drive a dagger into the woman’s thigh.

Teamwork, it was necessary right now. Overhead another moon began to burn, buying us a little more time. I wished I knew which moon—which daughters were safe and consolidating power, and who were still in a struggle for their lives.

I felt a sword run me through, I hadn’t even seen the blow. I dropped to a knee in time to see Ashley and Walt fall from wounds of their own.

It was Ashera.

“We’ll talk beloved when I’ve finished with your army,” Ashera said, leaning down to brush a kiss against my cheek before moving on. At least I managed to cough up a little blood on her.

Ashera was on to one of the giants. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible to climb a giant primarily by stabbing it, but damned if she didn’t prove me wrong. I also would have sworn that her sword wasn’t nearly long enough to decapitate it, she proved me wrong there as well.

Space around Ashera warped and she was gone.

“Get up, Dad,” Hubris said, reaching down. With a snap of her fingers Walt and Ashley were healed. I was left with my wound, I supposed she was preserving her power knowing that I would heal.

“She isn’t going to like that,” I said.

“Not her you need to be worried about right now,” Diamond said, and I was thrown backwards as a bloom of ice erupted and exploded at my feet.

“Aunt,” Hubris said, as her hands sketched out a magical ward.

“And Uncle,” Tiger said, appearing from nowhere to throw a punch at my daughter’s head, which she adroitly avoided.

Hubris shot me a look. I knew what she was saying—that she had this. Diamond and Tiger were between them a powerful magical and physical force, but my daughter was both of those in one.

I’d have to trust to her.

I motioned to Walt and Ashley, who followed me between the feet of giants. The repeated blows to the gate had formed cracks, but not enough. Not nearly so many as we needed.

Nearby an Olympian goddess howled as an arrow split her throat open, her body exploding into a cascade of white and blue energy.

Aphrodite’s army was being butchered. They had taken their toll, perhaps half of Ashera’s original forces were still on the field, but that was still too many.

“Let me loose, Walt,” Ashley said.

“Not going to happen,” Walt said.

“What is going on here?” I asked.

“Veros and his power. It is inside of me, I can tap it. I’m so strong, if Walt will just stop holding me back,” Ashley said.

“You know all the trouble we went to just to keep her contained. I can feel it through my link with her. It isn’t something we want to let out,” Walt said.

Walt was right, of course. I knew how Veros’ power was obtained. We were no paragons of virtue and it made even us take a step back.

“I can take out the gate,” Ashley said. Her words were sincere, earnest, she believed them.

“Can she?” I asked Walt.

“I don’t know,” Walt said with a weary sigh. “The Death-hand can’t. So perhaps.”

We were being slaughtered. I was getting tired of saying I’d break Ashley and fix her later, but I kept being put into situations where it seemed the right call. Still, I didn’t want to make the decision alone.

“Yve?” I asked.

Yve stared at the gates and shook her head. “It isn’t worth it, Liam. You know it isn’t worth it and her judgment can’t be trusted. Let that wife of yours find another way.”

That made sense. I also believed it wasn’t by chance that Elsora had put us here at this point in time. It wasn’t by chance I was being given this decision to make.

She wasn’t here saying to not go through with it—proof that her other plans had failed. This option was the only one left.

“Do it,” I said. Sometimes you had to be the one to decide. That’s what it meant to be a King.

Walt made no gesture, he didn’t have to. Whatever magic holding back Ashley’s transformation ceased and she let out an agonized scream.

I wondered if she still had a bit of Snake in her. What was happening was very much like a snake breaking out of its skin. Something inside Ashley was sloughing off the flesh and blood. It was horrible to watch, bones cracking and splintering away to explode outward, a pile of blood and viscera pooling about her feet.

In the end what emerged from Ashley was Ashley—or some idealized version of her. Her skin had a faintly luminous golden glow. Her clothes were gone and I’d spent enough time in the past stealing surreptitious glances at a naked Ashley to see the proportions weren’t quite hers. This Ashley was taller, stronger, flawless.

“Eyes back in their sockets,” Ashley said, taking a moment to stretch. I found the sight as distracting as always.

Ashley frowned and then glanced at Yve staring at her. Ashley said, “So, what? You crazy Goddess types are always getting in and out of clothes with a snap of your fingers.”

Yve studied her frankly and said, “While I appreciate the view, try the actual finger snap. I know it sounds dumb, but it usually helps.”

Ashley snapped her fingers and was instantly clad in armor of golden hides.

“Right on,” Ashley said, and snapped her fingers again. This time a pair of gleaming daggers appeared in her hands.

The newborn Goddess unleashed a furious assault on the gates. If the giants had made reality echo, now it screamed.

“She seems happy,” I said.

Yve shook her head and scowled at me. No, she didn’t approve. Neither did Walt.

Reality didn’t seem too happy with it either judging by the shrieking as Ashley assailed those gates. I figured she would have some power, but I didn’t expect those gates to explode inward as quickly as they did. The rubble of scattered stones lay strewn before us.

The last remains of Ashley’s mortal form let out a squelch. The blood rose into the air and began to swirl into a circle glowing of energy. Out of it began to pass the Blood Witches, Sara in the lead.

“Could have used you a bit earlier,” I said.

“You needed our power for this last bit. It’s going to be rough. Follow us and provide protection,” Sara said.

I didn’t much like being ordered about now that I was King of the Universe. It seemed to happen an awful lot.

We followed the Witches into the empty streets of the Silver City. Hopefully things would be easy from this point forward.

Chapter 31

The streets were deserted. The last time I’d been to the Silver City they teemed with life, but now not a soul was to be seen. Perhaps the people were hiding indoors, or knowing of the confrontation to come, Ashera had seen them safely relocated.

Sara led the way and I recognized the route. We were headed to the palace.

I took a moment to slip on my glasses of Game Sight so I could look at the new Ashley.

Ashley: Goddess of Light

Long shaped by the God Veros to be strong, it was only natural that Ashley would become his successor. Upon his murder by her hand she gained his considerable power.

I didn’t find much in that very comforting. I was sure Ashley would hate the very thought of being shaped by Veros.

The doors to the palace were sealed when we arrived. With a roundhouse kick Ashley smashed them.

Sara frowned at the display, but wasted no time leading the way in.

“You don’t seem happy,” I said.

“Nor will you be, I think,” Sara said. “But what is done is done. Grieve not for the damned, for they do not hear you. We are seeking the source of the Silver Road.”

Sara tilted her head and hurried down a set of narrow stairs. They took us into a basement and through a winding series of corridors until we came to a large set of wooden doors.

Reality shimmered around us and everything glowed for several seconds.

Ashley kicked at this one too. These doors held. Another kick and a few splinters flew.

“Tough,” Ashley said.

“Ashera has entered the city,” Sara said.

The city made Ashera stronger. I hadn’t considered just how much stronger, in turn, Ashera made the city. If she hadn’t left we wouldn’t have breached the gates. With her returning, we might never breach these doors.

Ashley drew her daggers and set to work. Chips of wood flew and deep gouges were dug. It seemed a paltry effort, but I could feel the power at work here.

Sara made a gesture and one of the witches began to dissolve in slow motion. Her screams pierced the air as her blood began to boil and bubble, ripping her apart. As the witch died Ashley became surrounded with a dim red glow and her motions began a blur.

“Are your people okay with you just murdering them like that?” I asked.

“Delilah had plans to kill me and take my place,” Sara said, sending a stern look toward the other witches. “I do like to make my kills serve multiple purposes, and there was a great deal of power within her blood that we needed.”

Right. These were my friends and allies, but I wasn’t feeling that good about having slept with Sara right now. Of course, I was feeling even worse at having slept with Delilah.

Ashley let out a cry of triumph as the door finally burst open.

The room beyond might have been any basement chamber, brick walls damp and chill. But in the center silver bricks entered from both sides and met in a central pedestal of twisted silver, a towering sculpture of the metal tipped with a small, silver ring. Plain, like a wedding ring.

“Is that it?” I asked.

Sara and the other witches stepped into the room.

“It is, but I don’t know what this is. More than the Silver Road is tied here, the entire Silver City is linked through this place. The power is incredible,” Sara said.

Ashley stepped forward and, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, climbed up and slipped her finger into the ring.

If the city had screamed when we attacked the gates, now it howled in agony. It thrashed and it wailed, and it tried to tear itself apart. The ground rocked beneath us. A silver glow surrounded Ashley as she dropped back to the floor.

“That isn’t yours, although I’m impressed that you can wear it,” said a voice from behind me.

Ashera had made her appearance. Fresh from battle she was covered with gore and still stunning beyond all reason—with a sword in one hand.

Sara went to snap her fingers and with a casual lunge Ashera cut off her hand. The blow was followed up with a backhand that shattered her jaw and sent the Blood Witch bouncing against the far wall, a limp heap.

“Nobody wants to be the next witch trying something clever. I’m in a foul mood and hate magic users at the best of times,” Ashera said.

“You’re really badass,” Ashley said.

“And you are still wearing my ring,” Ashera said.

Another of the witches tried to cast a spell. This time Ashera cut off both her hands before driving the sword through her heart. It all happened in an instant, she was so incredibly fast.

“Come take it,” Ashley said.

I wanted to scream at her not to, and Ashera was again a blur as she moved. Ashley let her. Blade clashed against blade before Ashera pulled back.

“Interesting,” Ashera said, before absently decapitating another witch. We were starting to run out of witches. Sara at least seemed to still be alive, and her severed hand was slowly inching its way across the floor towards her. I had seriously creepy tastes in women.

“What is it?” Ashley asked, turning her hand to study the ring. “I can feel the city. This place.”

“My first love gave me that ring,” Ashera said with a wry smile, and a glance my way. “Before betraying me. I’ve got a type.”

“More to the point, how are you two going blade to blade?” I asked.

“I’m tied to the city now. I’m so powerful,” Ashley said with a dreamy sort of smile.

“I needed to make certain,” Ashera said, and let out a breathy sigh. She stepped forward and pressed a kiss to my lips for a lingering moment. “Thank you for helping to make it possible.”

I was getting one of those sinking feelings in my stomach that I got when things weren’t going to plan and I was about to be tossed a curve ball.

“I think I’ve missed something,” I said.

Ashley looked at Ashera, her face puzzled. She said, “Yeah. You’re not supposed to be happy about this.”

Ashera said loudly, “Do you think I want to be bound to the center of reality? Does anything about me scream that I want to be a stay at home mom?”

I’d never really thought about it. It just seemed obvious that she must want this life, given her power.

“You don’t?” I said.

Ashera shook her head before killing another witch, a quick thrust through the throat this time. “It feels like I’ve been bound by my own oaths forever, certainly long after they grew tiresome.” She gestured at everything around us. “I assume this is all part of a plan from my other half?”

“You know about her? I assume Diamond told you?” I asked.

“I’m the most formidable woman in existence. Never assume me stupid. Diamond did help to shed some light on your current plans. Myself and my discarded other half are an old story. So, you and I are married, Liam?” Ashera said.

“Well, I and Elsora are,” I said.

“How like my first husband, thinking you can marry half a woman. He got his wish, but you’ve wedded the both of us like it or not. If it makes you feel better about the whole thing, I intend to be thoroughly unfaithful,” Ashera said.

“I guess that makes us even. Sort of,” I said. My head was spinning.

Ashley interrupted, “Hey, can we put your family drama aside and deal with me having stolen your city in an amazing display of badassery?”

“One moment,” Ashera said with a tilt of her head to Ashley. She turned back to me. “This girl may be strong enough to take the ring, but she isn’t strong enough to hold it. My other half must have a better plan than this.”

It didn’t seem the sort of thing you should normally tell your arch enemy. But things seemed to have moved far beyond the normal here.

“All twelve moons are now under the rule of those with the Rights of Rule and War,” I said.

Ashera laughed, a surprised and delighted sound. “I’ve been replaced, but our blood will continue to hold the center of reality even after setting me free. What were your oaths to us, husband?”

This I definitely didn’t want to say, but the words escaped me despite my efforts to hold them back. “I offered to always accept your deceiving nature. I demanded that you, Ashera, live. I vowed to love you no matter what evils you did.”

Ashera’s smile turned a bit wistful. “Not quite so foolish as the vows of my first marriage. Foolish enough, I fear. What were mine to you?”

I again tried to stop the words, but couldn’t. “To accept my infidelity. To love and protect all my children as if they were your own. You demanded I support your schemes whatever they turn out to be.”

Ashera gave a tiny nod. “Where you did not quite manage to snare yourself, my other half snared you instead.” She strode over to Walt, grabbed his Death-hand and began to examine it.

“You really shouldn’t touch that,” Walt said.

“I’m just studying the pieces I put on the board for this final move,” Ashera said. Releasing the Death-hand she went to Yve and looked her up and down, “Plucky heroine in over her head? You don’t exactly fit with the rest of them.”

“Entertainment software turned sentient, turned fire goddess, turned smoking hot young woman,” Yve said.

“I like you,” Ashera said, before pacing back to face me. “So here is the situation. You’re going to hate every bit of this, you’ll be powerless to stop me, and you’ll love me and my other half completely afterward.”

“My vows,” I said.

“Not just yours,” Ashera said with a shake of her head. “The ones you bound my other half with as well. I spent a very long time tied to this place. My first husband didn’t like a woman smarter than him—able to see the future better than him. He thought me filled with lies and deceit. For his sake, I cast off those parts of myself and threw them into the void.”

“But they didn’t die,” I said.

“No part of me is that easily killed. One day he would leave, but I was still trapped by vows I’d sworn,” Ashera said.

“So why all of this? Why the armies? Why the spectacle, if this escape is something you wanted?” I asked.

“While I’m still its ruler, I was bound to protect it. To defend it from all who come in anger, no matter the cost.”

“But if you are also bound by the marriage oaths of your other half, wouldn’t she be bound by yours?” I asked. “To protect this city?”

“When I took my place here I didn’t want her part of that. My other half never ruled here, I alone did,” Ashera said

“Until we just replaced you,” Yve said.

Ashera turned to look at Ashley and shook her head. “So close, and yet so very far.”

We barely saw Ashera move. Suddenly her blade was at Ashley’s throat and sliding across.

A new Goddess Ashley might be, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. Ashley’s eyes were surprised and confused as she slumped over, hands reaching up to grab at the ruins of her throat as her lifeblood spilled across the floor.

“No healing her,” Ashera snapped, as Yve took a step in her direction. “Not that you have the power to really do that.”

Ashley gurgled and thrashed, her body occasionally giving flashes of divine power as she tried to stitch herself back together.

“Why?” I asked.

“You know the answer to that. If you’re honest about it,” Ashera said.

I did. Oaths. Ashera and the Silver City couldn’t be destroyed individually, both always had to perish. In order to save my daughters the Silver City had to die, condemning Ashera to death. An alternative was to replace Ashera first. Elsora had long worked on this plan, and I’d made her promise to save Ashera as well—and now it made sense that she had already planned to do so.

Veros had surely been cultivated for just that purpose. The perfect villain to take over Ashera’s connection at the center of reality, and then be murdered along with the destruction of the city.

But we hadn’t done what Elsora wanted, we’d killed Veros and his power passed into Ashley, who Ashera claimed wasn’t strong enough to take her place. Still, I’d made Elsora promise to save Ashera. Made an oath.

Ashera was watching my features and she asked, “You understand?”

“This was the plan all along,” I said, feeling sick. ‘But not like this.”

“No, not all of it,” Ashera said with a weary sigh, and she looked over to Walt. “You understand it all?”

“I do,” Walt said.

“I don’t,” I said.

Walt said, “Murdering Ashley won’t destroy that ring on her finger. Not like it would with Veros. It is a thing of life and memory, and honor. If things were left like this, ultimately Ashera would be forced to reclaim her place and all that we’ve done would be for nothing,” Walt said.

“So, you just murdered one of my best friends for nothing,” I said. I should be furious. I wanted to be furious. I couldn’t be. I loved Ashera and Elsora, purely and completely. I couldn’t help it, I’d sworn oaths and they bound me tightly. I wondered how long Ashera must have felt something similar binding her here.

Walt said, “Not for nothing. To inspire me to swap fates with her. I can do it—you saw what the Death-hand did with the dagger. It can do the same with the ring. If I swap fates and destinies with her, the ring will merge with the Death-hand and when I die the Death-hand goes with me.”

“And what about Ashley?” Yve asked quietly.

Ashera told Walt somberly, “Nobody is going to make you do it. This is a choice, Walt Death-hand. You can let her die and soon enough you won’t remember you had ever done so, because you won’t remember anything.”

Yve suddenly moved in and hugged Walt tightly to her chest. “I really didn’t like you. You know.”

“I know,” Walt said.

I saw what Yve knew. He was going to do it.

Walt let Yve go and reached out to clasp the Death-hand with his other hand, and a blinding burst of blue light erupted from it. Walt took a few steps forward to kneel beside where Ashley gurgled and thrashed, and touched the Death-hand to the ring still on her finger. The metal glowed and melted as the two fused.

It happened in an instant. Ashley was abruptly smaller and less divine perfection as she became human once more. Walt became an idealized corpse.

The Death-hand sparked blue, and with a crackle of power vanished from his body. The Death-hand been eating Walt’s memories for a long time. Eventually he was going to have a clean slate and a fresh start. I think he’d been looking forward to it. Just not like this.

Yve helped Ashley to her feet. She was looking about her in confusion, “Who are you? Where am I? Who am I?”

The ground rumbled ominously beneath our feet as the palace shook with a massive quake.

“That will be the Silver City starting to tear itself apart. My sympathies for your friend, husband. He died a hero and I shall see songs are sung of him. I’m off as far as my feet can carry me in search of some adventures long since denied,” Ashera said.

“Take me with you, I want out of here too,” Yve said, slipping her arm into Ashley’s. ‘You want to come along, Ash?”

“Yve, I need you. Don’t do this,” I said.

Yve glared at me, “Fuck off, Liam. You’ve used up every one of your friends and spit them out. Walt is the dead hero of this little story and I hated him, and I’m tired of being on the wrong side. Ashley deserves a happy ending and so do I.”

Ashera watched this exchange silently. When it was done she still said nothing, only stepping forward to take Yve’s other arm.

In a flicker of silver all three were gone. Just like that.

Sara rose to her feet, her body put back together. A few shaky steps took her to Walt’s corpse. The blood seeped and flowed upwards into her flesh. Her features didn’t quite take on the perfection Ashley’s had when she obtained divinity, but it was something close.

“Did you just devour the divine essence of my fallen friend?” I asked.

The witch’s hand slid into mine, “He was done with it and I’m your friend too. Let’s get out of here before the whole place comes down. You’ve got a wife and kids to get back to, and I’ve got some more underlings to recruit.”

So I did. There was no time for either of us to mourn who we left behind.

Chapter 32

Elsora was waiting for me when I got back to Castle Sardonis. My daughters weren’t there, each had brand new worlds to tend to. The Silver City filled the sky with its flames. It was a moon on fire, pushing aside even Elsora’s darkness for a time.

“Join me,” Elsora said, as she settled back on a chaise looking up at the sky. I did and she pressed up against me.

I just felt so weary. We’d won the day, but at such a cost.

“You lied to me,” I said. It didn’t need saying, but I did it anyways.

“I usually do.”

I forgave her those lies. I always did and I always would.

“The children?” I asked.

“All the other moons fell. Hubris has a new scar to teach her Diamond is not to be underestimated. Pestilence somehow walked out of a planetary invasion with a pet pony. I can’t imagine how that happened,” Elsora said dryly.

“You probably planned it. You’re fond of her,” I said.

Elsora snuggled closer as we watched the heavens burn.

“You don’t hate me?” Elsora asked.

“You know that I can’t,” I said.

“I know it’s not the best ending. I tried, I really tried, but most alternatives were so much worse,” Elsora said quietly.

That I believed. This was a happy ending, for the most part. Almost everyone had their happy ending, almost.

“So what happens now?” I asked.

“The Silver City burns high in the sky,” Elsora said. “A sign of empires falling. The twelve moons aren’t quite equal, we are the first among equals.”

“So, we echo the loudest. People changing their fates?” I asked.

“Oh, more than that. So much more. Soon the physical laws people have lived by their whole lives will start to break down replaced by those of games. New magic and new rules. Such spectacular power will be in people’s hands for the first time.”

“There will be chaos,” I said.

“That happens when you tear down the old order. People will get stronger—they need to get stronger—because the influence of the other moons will start to reach them. The monsters are coming for them,” Elsora said.

I could visualize that. So many new stories were about to start.

“Yet they’ll have hope,” I said.

“Always. No matter how terrible things are, there is always going to be heroes to hold back the tide,” Elsora said.

I thought about that. I really thought about all that entailed.

“All because you wanted a way to free your other half,” I said.

“Is that what you think? Perhaps it was all about you. Perhaps I looked at all the possible futures to find a man that would love me despite my nature, a man who would do anything to protect his family. Perhaps this is all a love story?” Elsora said.

“Flattering, but I don’t think you’d do all this for love alone,” I said.

“Then consider that a master strategist is not one who wins a single game at once. She plays and wins several at once.”

That I could believe—of her.

“I feel like I should be saying some game-related catchphrase like “game over” right about now,” I said.

“Not this time, love. Just sit back and watch the heavens burn.”

The End

Author Notes

Seven novels, and here ends the Crucible Shard. It has been one hell of a ride. When I started these I was writing Dungeon Crawl while working long days of technical support, fitting in the writing before my shift. These days I am now writing full time.

I had always wanted to be a writer but had always found the traditional route something I didn’t want to pursue. I’m a big television fan and so many of my favorite shows get canceled before they really have a chance to find their feet. I’ve always wanted to be able to tell stories on my terms, and end them as I thought they should be ended. Self-publishing has allowed me to bring a story like this to you.

Some of my most memorable moments gaming were spent playing the Wing Commander games. You’d often be flying along doing a patrol and suddenly you get the choice, the novice pilot is in trouble. Do you abandon your mission to go help him or not? You had to decide right then, in seconds, and the consequences were real. If you saved him he had a fair bit of conversation in the game. He had a love, a life, he mattered. If you let him die that mattered too with tears and heartache.

A lot of the thrill of LitRPG is making choices that matter and often that is done with stats. A driving focus of these books has always been to try to make those choices involving the human element. Liam would again and again choose to complete the mission over helping the people he cared about and it broke them. It broke almost everyone around him. Maria was never quite right after he chose to kill her father, and had he chosen otherwise the future of these books would have been far different. The tale of a hero instead of a villain. Yet in the end Liam stepped up and made the choices that were best for his family.

This ends the tale of the Crucible Shard for now. This isn’t the end of me writing. Coming soon I’ve got a cyberpunk novel that I’m very excited about. LitRPG tends to dominate the cyberpunk lists and while making use of that technology misses many of the great themes of cyberpunk which has long been exploring what happens to the nature of man as technology grows. I’m mixing the two and I think you’ll love the result. I’m also working on an Urban Fantasy novel that isn’t LitRPG in the slightest, but if you like the idea of an adult magic school in a modern world where all the monsters are real I’ve got one hell of a book for you. Join the mailing list and I’ll let you know about those launches and any others.

Books of the Crucible Shard

Buy now or read through Kindle Unlimited

Book 1: Dungeon Crawl

Book 2: Spawn Campers

Book 3: Corpse Run

Book 4: Gank

Book 5: Area of Effect

Book 6: DLC

Audio

Book 1: Dungeon Crawl

Book 2: Spawn Campers

Book 3: Corpse Run

Book 4: Gank

Book 5: Area of Effect

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