At our assigned time, the Abcurses checked to make sure that it wasn’t being monitored—while I hid beneath a cloak that could have wrapped five times around me—and then the six of us stepped through, one-by-one, reappearing on the other side within only a few moments of each other. My kind of travel.
“So, this is the new place …” I trailed off, my eyes running over it one more time. Champions Peak was aptly named for its location. It was a huge residence, spreading out across the top of the cliff it rested upon. The main building was made from a white, shiny stone, square in shape with two towering turrets facing the sea. The building itself was small, though still large enough to hold all of the people called to the Peak.
I turned toward the view, shrugging off my cloak at the same time. Beneath, I was wearing a tight-fitting, blue dress: the top showing sections of plain blue netting, revealing hints of the skin beneath. Small brass tokens had been sewn into the neckline, making this the most elaborately expensive dress that I had ever worn. The skirt had been made up of sections of thin, silk-like material, allowing slits all the way up the legs so that I could easily run or fight in the outfit. As it turned out, Rome had been really into the whole fashion-design thing. He had planned the dress with a single-minded determination, stating that it was ‘his turn’ to put his colour on me.
I smiled as I stared out over the cliff, toward the water. The weather was colder so far up in the sky, but it didn’t deter me from wanting to run—okay, probably trip—down all of those hundreds of steps carved into the side of the cliff to meet the crashing water far below.
“Some parts of Minatsol are so beautiful,” I murmured again, the guys standing in a line on either side of me. “And others …” I turned around, to let my gaze rest on the desolation behind us. It was nothing but parched land: desert-red dirt, scraggly vegetation, and bare, cracked rocks.
How could such beauty and life exist side by side with so much desolation? “This is how I see Minatsol and Topia.” I voiced my sudden realisation aloud. “One half has too much, the other not enough.” The worlds needed to learn to share, and so did the gods watching over them.
“Gods don’t share.” Coen, as always, brought down the blunt truth.
“We should head inside now, Soldier,” Siret interrupted me before I could lecture the lot of them about why sharing was good. For everyone involved. “It’s time to put our game faces on, because we’re about to enter the political arena. And this time there will be a lot of gods to deal with.”
I nodded, straightening, mentally preparing myself as best I could. I had a blue dress with tokens on it. I could do this. Maybe it had been the white robes holding me back in Topia. The Abcurses didn’t have their robes on anymore either, even though the few other gods we’d spied upon going through the shimmery doorway had been fully robed. I loved that my guys didn’t give a fuck about the rules. We all wanted to stick it to Staviti in whatever way we could.
There was also the fact that while robes were extremely comfortable, they couldn’t handle any kind of draught, and up on the cliff, the breezes were quite intense. On the other hand, the flowy material gave really easy access …
“Focus, Willa-toy,” Yael warned me, his eyes swirling as they met mine.
Aros’s laughter was warm. “Please, for the love of sanity. Keep your focus so we can keep ours.”
That was a great plan, I was going to work on that plan immediately. No more naked-under-robes thoughts starting from … right now. Low groans sounded, and then I was being ushered forward toward the gates. The moment that Rome placed a hand on the white structure, it swung open silently. We followed the stone path leading up to the main entrance. The building appeared to be very open-aired, patches of sunlight streaming in around us. There wasn’t much else in the first courtyard, so we continued on. There was no sign of any of the other Betas now, but I could hear voices as we moved through to the next room.
It was darker inside the next part, the roof completely closed in, and the room was full. The gods had spread themselves out, taking most of the space while the sols stood in a small huddle on the left side of the room, eyeing off the powerful beings around them.
When the Abcurses entered the room, eyes swung in their direction, and I tried to continue my very causal walking, even though I sort of wanted to hide with the sols.
“She doesn’t belong here, she’s a dirt-dweller,” an aqua-robed male snapped as we passed close to him. “This is for Betas and sols only, and she sure doesn’t look like she’s serving.”
Rome’s hand shot out, wrapping around the other’s throat, hoisting him up into the air. “I won’t catch you saying those words ever again.” His words were low and controlled. He could have been discussing the weather … while killing a god. “If you have a problem with that, I can make the ascension of a new Aviary Beta happen right now.”
The Aviary Beta looked like he wanted to talk, but unfortunately the crushing of his throat was preventing words from emerging. Stepping forward, I placed my hand on Rome’s biceps. “I think he’s got the point,” I murmured.
Rome’s eyes shot down to mine—they were dark and stormy. He was not happy, and that meant bad things for anyone who pissed him off. I lifted one eyebrow to show him I wasn’t scared. Much.
With the slightest curling of his lips, he opened his fingers and let the god fall to the ground. The Aviary Beta gasped over and over, hands clutching his throat as he struggled on the floor. This was ignored by the Abcurses, who continued to lead me through the crowd, heading toward the front of the room. I glanced back once to see aqua robes still curled up on the floor, and I hoped Rome hadn’t done too much permanent damage.
There was a stage near the front of the large room—it didn’t seem to hold much else and was freakily reminding me of the platform we’d gone to the last sun-cycle for Staviti’s meeting. At the moment the stage was empty—just a wide, clean, white-marble surface.
Very shiny and clean, which made me think …
My eyes darted across to the side, toward the shadowy wall, and sure enough there were half a dozen dwellers standing at attention. Waiting and watching for their next duty. I scanned their faces, and halfway along the line of males and females my heart stopped beating, just for a click. As it kicked back into rhythm, I started to run.
Muttered curses followed me, but I didn’t care, continuing to push my way through gods and sols alike. Nothing was going to stop me right then, not even the wrath of a god. Or my Abcurses.
“Emmy,” I cried, throwing myself at her. Warm brown eyes met mine, and I teared up a little. “I have missed you so much,” I murmured, my head buried in her shoulder.
So much had happened. I died for the love of the gods. But being here with Emmy, in that moment, was almost like we were back home in our sector. Just two trouble makers—okay, one trouble maker—and a simple life.
“Missed you too, Will.” She was choked up. “I haven’t even had to save one life since you’ve been gone.”
I pulled back so that I could shoot her a grin. “Well, I’m back now, so you better brush up on your healer skills.”
Being back with Emmy—and hearing myself say the word ‘healer’—triggered a memory for me. “Have you heard anything about Evie? How are her burns?” It wasn’t like I had forgotten that my ‘fire’ power had burned a dweller almost to death. I hadn’t forgotten it at all, just like the wraiths in the caves. It was on my list of things I needed to deal with or do something about. But there were only so many places I could be, especially while hiding from Staviti. I was really hoping Emmy was going to tell me that Evie was almost fully recovered. Just a few little burn marks remaining. Maybe a scab or two … no oozing sores, though. That sounded like too much.