18. Vlad

18

VLAD

M y sunfire had never given me its name. I'd never tried to communicate with it. In all honesty, I'd never fully understood its gift—until it brought me to my queen's side.

During our infinite service in Heliopolis, I carried my sunfire as a burning spear. Perhaps because I viewed it as a weapon and not an animal of some kind, I hadn't fully considered my sunfire a living being.

Which it absolutely was. I understood now. An inanimate object would never feel such joy at the prospect of being reunited with another object. A spear didn't shiver with excitement when it beheld a shield in its master's hand. Yet my sunfire rippled up and down my spine, eager to be near its separated part.

Smoak was part of the collective. It belonged with us. Though it found Vivian a worthy carrier.

:I humbly ask for your forgiveness,: I whispered to it. :I didn't understand what you are. Do you have a name?:

The burning spear shot through my mind, never missing its mark, crackling and popping with fire. Spear. Which in my language was :Suli?ǎ.:

"Open," Sun Tzu growled out, his voice rough with frustration.

The portal blazed with power but wouldn't—couldn't—open. I didn't have his Keys of Heaven, but I could feel our destination thanks to Smoak. It was right there, a shimmering oasis just out of reach. "Is she blocking us?"

He shook his head. "Not deliberately, at least I don't think so. She's on the move. I feel the way loosening now. Guard our backs. I won't close the portal until I'm confident we won't need to retreat."

"Heard."

Finally, the mirrored surface firmed into a window to another location. Fiery Smoak waited on the other side, bringing another visceral yearning from my sunfire.

Kuros, Barca, Chak Ek', and Musashi passed through first, weapons at the ready. Antonius stood at my back, protecting my flank while I protected Sun's.

All of us focused intently on our sunfires as well as the Blood bonds, waiting for an attack. A grizzly roared a warning, and the dragon I'd seen briefly at Ironheart's nest flew overhead. Though no other threats made themselves known.

"I should go ahead of our queen," Dagny said. "I can make arrangements with their consiliari to be sure Her Majesty's protected."

Karmen stirred enough to ask faintly, "Can we trust Shara Isador?"

"To be honest, I haven't had any interactions with House Isador at all, other than the brief communication with her consiliarius about this location. She's a very young queen so no one really knows much about her. Though she's extremely powerful."

Sun scowled. "No more powerful than our queen."

Dagny gave him a tight smile. "Let's hope we never have to find out which queen is stronger. Are you still willing to join us, Detective?"

Eying the portal, the human swallowed hard but held his arm out to her. "Magic portal shit is a piece of cake, right, Wild Man?"

I tightened my fingers on the sword hilt, though I didn't say a word. I didn't have to. Not with the hard, glittering smile of arrogance I shot in Ironheart's direction. Oh yes. Come along, wolf king. Stay close. So I can challenge Leonides for the right to take your head. Though you'll taste Suli?ǎ on your tongue first.

A smarter man would have taken the hint and found a reason to go his own way. In the opposite direction. As far away as possible. However, Ironheart never claimed to be smart. "You first, asshole."

Harris took a deep breath and boldly stepped through the portal with Dagny right beside him. With a silent snarl at no one in particular, Ironheart followed them. Goyaa?é, Leonides, and the Scotsman went next. Braced for arrows to fly and swords to strike, it took several moments for my blood to stop pounding in my skull.

I only caught the last few words Vivian said, though I didn't remember her voice sounding like that. "As Isis is my witness, no harm shall come to Karmen Sunna or any of her people while inside my nest unless your party draws first blood."

Dagny looked back over her shoulder at Sun. "No queen can lie on such an oath."

Antonius slipped around us with the sundogs on Sun's right and exited to stand like a sentinel just on the other side.

Cradling our queen, Sun stepped through the portal with me so close I'm sure he could feel my breath rustling the fine hairs on his nape.

Eyes narrowed with concern, her shoulders tight, Vivian scanned the area as if looking for a threat. "We need to get you all into the nest as quickly as possible."

We'd exited in a clearing with thick woods behind us. Low rocky mountains and forest stretched in the distance. More Isador Blood took up positions around the clearing. Not quite surrounding us, especially since Sun kept the portal open, but enough to ratchet tension even higher.

:No one draws blood without my word,: Sun ordered in the bond. :At least not until our queen has recovered.:

:Heard,: we replied as one.

More Isador people approached, and Dagny went to meet them. Hopefully she knew the proper protocols. I might have gleaned human knowledge over the centuries out of sheer boredom but nothing I'd learned prepared me for the reality of serving a goddess' daughter. Most humans had no idea such powerful, ancient bloodlines still walked among them.

I glanced at the Isador queen and each of her Blood, trying to assess their trustworthiness. Our queen's life hung in the balance. Trust didn't come easily to any of us. Not after our all-too brief human lives, and certainly not after the doom of Heliopolis.

Especially Sun Tzu. In his opinion, everything was based on deception. Especially warfare.

And protecting our queen was the greatest war in which we would ever fight.

SUNZI

The Isador queen said, "House Isador offers House Sunna sanctuary in my nest, and you may leave at any time."

That quickly, my willingness to cross her blood circle evaporated.

It hadn't even occurred to me that we might not be able to leave once we entered her domain. My greatest strategies relied on human sensibilities. If we entered any defendable fort or castle, I had utmost confidence in our ability to fight our way out.

But swords and spears were no good against a queen's blood magic.

Learning the Aima world of my queen's heritage made me feel like a babe again. A feeling none of us relished, but especially me. She depended on me to lead her Blood with the best scheme possible.

One wrong move—especially while she was unconscious and unaware—could weaken her position, or worse, cost her life.

Dagny still held the other human consiliarius' hand but didn't cross the circle. Not without her queen. A nice confirmation of her loyalty, though her smile seemed strained with nerves. "Forgive me, I can't formally introduce Her Majesty's Blood. I only just met her and haven't learned their names yet."

Silence stretched out. The Isador contingent stared at us. At me. Waiting for me to accept the sanctuary for which we'd come. But if we might be trapped…

Vivian focused on me, using her sunfire to draw my attention. Shining with rippling flames, she radiated honesty and sincerity. "No one can cross a queen's blood circle without someone on the other side touching you and bringing you across. Once you're inside the nest, you can come and go as needed until my queen removes her permission for you to enter."

I felt the resonance of her words and the ring of truth in her voice. Cinnabar touched a hot muzzle in the small of my back, as if nudging me to accept their offer. Another few paces, and I'd have difficulty holding the portal open. It'd take more of my focus, which I dare not give, not when faced with so many enemies.

Once inside the blood circle… Would I be able to open another portal if we needed to escape? I wasn't sure if the queen's own magic could prevent the Keys of Heaven from working. Surely not, but I had to consider the fact that Shara Isador had somehow manipulated a portal to gain access to Heliopolis.

She'd killed a god. Not just any god, but the God of All Things Light and Day. So powerful, he'd conquered every other solar god and brought them under his dominion.

:I can stay outside this blood circle,: the Scotsman said. :That way, if you can't access the Keys of Heaven, I can still open a way out and be ready for an emergency exit strategy.:

:I count eleven Blood,: Antonius said. :We'll already have to double up.:

:Not true,: Kuros retorted. :With our sunfires, we have double the numbers.:

:What if we can't access our sunfires inside the queen's Blood circle?: I threw back.

Vlad let out a harsh bark of wry laughter. :That's why Smoak delayed us at first. She had to get out of the blood circle to allow us through.:

:Exactly,: I replied grimly.

"Your queen doesn't have to go first," Vivian offered. "If you want a few Blood to cross over first, that's fine. Our Blood will pull you through."

:I can go and test whether my sunfire portal will still work,: the Scotsman said. : If not, you can simply leave back the way we came, or take her through to her home in Norway.:

:I accept that proposal,: I replied. :Chak Ek' and Kuros go with him and watch his back. If anything goes wrong, unleash unholy hell upon them all.:

:The one Blood standing on the queen's left looks like he knows his way around a sword,: Musashi said.

He didn't ask, but I wholeheartedly agreed. :Go with them. I'll feel better with your swords at the ready.:

The four immediately approached the Isador contingent. One of their Blood held his hands out across the circle. "I'm Nevarre. Welcome to House Isador."

Shifting his claymore to his left hand, the Scotsman reached out to take his hand. "I'm the Scotsman, and this is Chak Ek'."

Nevarre pulled them both through, immediately released their hands, and pointed to the waiting Blood one by one. Apparently they were unbothered by bare steel inside their protection. "Her Majesty's alpha, Alrik, Sir Guillaume de Payne, and General Sekh of the All Seeing, Never Sleeping Legion. The grumpy bear is Ezra, and the snarly dragon, Leviathan, overhead is also known as Mehen. It's my understanding you already know Smoak, or Vivian."

General? How interesting. Though I'd never heard of any such legion.

In typical Kuros fashion, he seized Nevarre's hand as soon as he offered it and strode into their domain as if claiming a new fiefdom for himself. "Kuros the Great, King of the Four Corners of the World."

With his brutally honed swords in each hand, Musashi flashed the blades across his chest, bowed, and then sheathed them so smoothly they almost seemed to disappear. "Shinmen Musashi-no-Kami Fujiwara no Harunobu."

The Blood he'd warned me about let out a low whistle and offered him his hand. "It's an honor to meet a Kensei."

Musashi shook his hand, staring back at him levelly. "Likewise, it's an honor to meet a Templar."

Toe to toe, palms pressed together, they simply looked at each other. Long moments passed. Neither moved. They weren't squeezing each other's hands or trying to cow the other physically. It was all mental. A meeting of the souls through their eyes. One consummate warrior to another.

The ultimate respect.

And also, the ideal distraction. While the Isador people braced for a showdown, the Scotsman dripped sunfire energy into the beginning of a rune on the ground.

:It works,: he assured me. :Even if the Keys of Heaven are blocked, I can open a way out.:

I allowed the portal to dissipate behind me. Immediately, Musashi released the knight's hand with a polite nod. Without the shimmering portal, I could feel the tingle of the other queen's power, growing to a warning buzz as I stepped closer to the Isador queen. I wouldn't want to attempt to cross such a barrier without desperate cause. Hopefully, my queen's protection in Norway would be as impressive.

Dagny introduced her simply as, "Her Majesty Karmen Sunna."

Tight at my back, the Impaler added, "Queen of Heliopolis, the Eye of Ra, Daughter of the Brightest, Sun Incarnate, the Burning Light of Day."

The Isador queen's lips curved into a smile, her eyes dark mysterious pools of power. Hopefully she wasn't offended by the litany of titles, but Vlad was right to make sure our queen's stature was acknowledged. We might be in a position of weakness now, but I had no reservations about my queen's abilities once she was physically recovered from her ordeal.

"I must touch your queen to welcome her to my nest, but I assure you I mean her no harm."

"Why would you help a potential enemy?" I asked bluntly, determined to test the queen's honesty and motives.

Her eyes flared, her eyebrows rising with surprise. "I'm aware of no reason for us to be enemies. All queens are daughters of the Mother of All. Unless she means ill will to my Blood or family, Karmen is a friend."

"And ally."

Her smile widened. "If she wishes, absolutely." Though her smile sobered as she studied Karmen's pale face. "My human doctor is on the way, as well as my sibling queen who's a powerful healer. Let's get her inside to safety."

I gave her a gruff, short nod. The queen reached out to lay her fingers on Karmen's limp hand. "What happened?"

The angry buzzing energy softened to warm tingles. I stepped across the barrier into House Isador's territory. With his hand on my back, Vlad passed through as well. I've made a mental note of that little bonus.

The Impaler let out a chuckle that still managed to drip with malice. "Heliopolis attacked us."