Fifty-Three Dianna

Broken glass pierced my hands as I pushed myself up, screams erupting from all directions. I huffed and leaned against the bar, the rank stench of acid filling my nose. The guards had scattered, presumably to get what they could for Nismera. A wave of acid shot through the air, followed by more screams. I grabbed a tray and placed it over my head before ducking behind the bar. It seemed my furry little friend was wreaking havoc. Using my tray as a shield, I slowly rose to see people being tossed aside by a horned little creature as it ran for the door. There was a giant hole punched in the wall behind the stage where that fucking bug creature had escaped.

A woman ran through the room, glancing my way. Faye’s face was covered in blood, and I saw the sword she was holding. It was the same enchanted blade that had compelled me earlier. Faye wasn’t just a seller; she was a thief. She flashed me a crooked smile and took off running.

What if she was one of Nismera’s guards? I needed to find out. Lights flashed overhead, leading deeper into the building. I looked toward the front door and the mob attempting to flee. Samkiel wouldn’t be here in time, and Faye just snuck off to the back with that golden sword.

Fuck.

I pressed my earpiece, raising the volume, but all I heard were shouts of people running for their lives.

“If you guys can hear me, I’m heading below.”

There were more screams, and I cringed. I pulled the damn thing out of my ear and tossed it away before going after Faye.

LIGHTS STROBED ACROSS THE SMOOTH, CREAM-COLORED WALLS. A trail of blood led the way, and I assumed one of those creatures had made off with someone. I walked slowly, trying to be as quiet as I could in my heels. I passed a few empty rooms that resembled cells, and my blood ran cold. How many creatures did she have here, and how many were now free? Another cacophony of screams rent the air, and I turned, making sure nothing was following me.

I felt the air shift. It was not a conscious decision, but I ducked, more sensing the attack than seeing it. A crunch followed as Faye lodged the ancient, cursed sword in the wall where my head was.

“No hard feelings, cutie, but if you work for her, you’re dead.”

I hopped up. “Work for her? For Nismera?”

Faye yanked the sword free, screaming as she tried to cut me again. I jumped back, avoiding her slashes as we danced in this small hall. Cracks formed in the stone walls with every hit, and the next time the sword lodged in the wall and she struggled to free it, my fist connected with her face. She yelped and stumbled back, wiping her nose.

“Damn, you hit hard.”

I shrugged and yanked the sword from the wall. “You should see my kicks.”

“I can’t let you take that sword to her.” Faye reached under her dress, taking out two blades.

I swung the sword in a looping circle, warming up my wrist and testing its weight and balance. “Oh, this old thing? Why not?”

Faye charged again, quicker this time. I dodged, using the sword as leverage, and blocked her blades. She was quick and highly trained, that was for damn sure. She dropped to the ground and kicked at my legs. I jumped and swung the sword above her head. She blocked the strike with both blades and lunged to her feet, pushing me back against the wall.

“I don’t work for Nismera.”

Faye gritted her teeth. “Sure, you’re just here for a good time.”

“Well, actually,” I pushed back, sending her sailing across the room, “I was looking for whatever the hell she was interested in, and I think you just showed me.”

The wall crumbled where she hit. She smirked at me and sat up, reaching under her dress again. Did she have an entire arsenal under there? She pulled out a small black circle and tossed it onto the floor between us. Smoke poured from the device, burning my eyes. I started to cough and felt a fist slam across my face. She yanked the sword from my hand, and I heard her run down the hall.

I coughed and blinked, trying to clear my eyes. As the smoke dissipated, I heard another set of footsteps coming down the hall. I looked up and saw a blurry, tall, muscular figure coming toward me. My heart thudded as the room changed, and I found myself back in the bone graveyard. I watched that figure come closer through tear-filled eyes, his powerful feet beating against the ground. He crouched, the thick plates on his shoulders shifting as he reached for me. I lashed out.

The room melted back to the hall and the flashing lights.

Orym held my fist. “Dianna, it’s me,” he said. “You’re okay.”

I nodded as he helped me up. I wiped my eyes again. “Where’s Sami?”

“Out front, the whole place is in chaos. He’s on his way. He stopped to help some people that were trampled, and he had to stop that acid-spitting creature.”

I coughed again and nodded. “Okay, we have to go after her.”

“After who?”

I turned and sprinted down the hall, waving Orym with me. “This way. She has some ancient sword that’s imbued with power. I can’t explain it, but I felt it. I don’t know why she wants it, but we need to get it back.”

We charged down the sleek hall, passing even more empty cells. Deactivated wards, the color of coal, were etched into the floor outside of each one. I didn’t see any guards. It seemed they must have taken what they could and ran.

“I can feel you, ancient one,” a voice called from further down the hall.

I turned to Orym to see if he had heard it, too. His brow rose, and he slid a blade out of its sheath. I reached for the one on my thigh and nodded, leading the way down the hall.

“A mighty beast has returned from the land of the dead and will leave thunder and ash in its wake, but this beast feels . . . different. Wrong.”

I glanced at Orym, but he just shrugged. Neither of us understood what was going on.

“Ah, I see now. The old blood runs through you.”

My lips curled at the sight before us. A pale woman was chained to the wall. She wore robes tied around her in several layers, her hair a tangled mess, but it was her eyes that made me pause. Or lack thereof. There were healed scratches and scars around the raw, hollow sockets, and I wondered if she had clawed them out herself. As Orym and I stopped in front of the cell, her head whipped toward me.

“The old ones have returned to the plane of gods, but you . . .”

“What is she?” I asked Orym.

“An oracle, but I thought the last of them had died when Nismera took the throne,” Orym said grimly.

“The others are gone.” She choked on a disembodied sob that seemed to echo within the room. “Everything will be gone. All is lost. From one, all will rise.”

“Okay.” I shook my head. “She’s batshit crazy. Let’s go. We have a mystery woman and an ancient sword to catch.”

“You,” she spat at me. “You are empty.”

“Excuse me?”

Her body swayed as she bent around her chains. A smile curved her lips, her teeth dark, uneven, and cracked as if she chewed on bones.

Orym grabbed my arm. “Ignore her. The madness has set in.”

“Madness?”

“Their power is unstable like Roccurem’s or the other fates’. If they try to see too far, it can rip their brain apart. It seems they used her for just that until nothing was left.”

“Why?” I asked, looking at her as she laughed and sobbed on the floor.

“Gods have tried to collect fates for eons. Samkiel’s father was the only one who could until Nismera. But others wanted glimpses into their futures, so they took and used oracles for their own selfish purposes until none were left.”

My lip curled. “That’s terrible.”

“This world has been for a very long time,” Orym said as the oracle sobbed. “Let’s go.”

We turned to leave, and in a surprising surge of energy, she jumped to her feet, the chains groaning.

“An empty, empty shell,” the oracle barked and laughed, slumping in the chains. “Hollow. Void.”

I took a step back. “Okay, well, this was lovely. We’re going to leave now and let you ramble on.” I turned toward Orym, mouthing the words, What’s her deal?

“Come on.” Orym nudged.

“I wouldn’t follow her, headless boy, or you’ll have a twin to match.” She laughed, the sound a sick, wet thing.

Orym froze. “What did you say?”

The oracle pulled on her chains. “You’re both fools to think you can stop what’s coming. Fools to think you’ll make a difference. Chaos wants this world again, and chaos will have it.”

“I prefer Reggie’s ramblings over yours, just to be clear.”

Orym tugged on my shoulder. “She mentioned my twin. Maybe she knows something. We should take her back with us.”

“If you think I’m carrying the dirty, crazy lady back to . . .” My words trailed off. I stepped closer to him and lowered my voice so she couldn’t overhear. “Back to them. You’re more insane than she is.”

“She mentioned my twin,” Orym pleaded.

“Your twin is fine. You just talked to her.”

Orym’s eyes searched mine, his tail swishing in agitation, but he nodded. “You’re right. You’re right.”

“Yes.” I rubbed a gentle hand on his arm. “Now, mystery woman and sword that we have to catch.”

The tips of his canines showed as he smiled, but he obliged, turning on his heel.

“You do not trust me, but trust the one who defies nature,” the oracle spat. “She is destruction, boy. No one will be safe with her. No one ever is.” She laughed, and I felt my nails turn to claws. I dropped Orym’s arm, careful not to hurt him. My blood chilled at her words, and this time, Orym stopped.

“Dianna.” Whatever was on my face scared him, and I knew my eyes bled red.

“Do you think you can touch death, girl, and it not take something from you?”

“Shut up.” The words left my lips on a hiss. I turned toward her, and the oracle grinned.

“He watches you now.” She swayed on her feet, a chaotic laugh leaving as she tilted her head up. “You will be his new favorite toy. No one gets close to his kingdom without . . . without . . . without.” Her words died on another sob as whatever she was remembering or seeing crippled her.

“What is she talking about?” Orym whispered, but I said nothing, standing as if my feet were suddenly stuck to the floor. I felt it again, the cold chill that had been with me since the tunnels, as if a part of me had never left there or something had followed. Was that the man I saw at River Bend watching me? Or was it the shadows I kept seeing out of the corner of my eye? Was I being followed? My heart raced in my chest, and I knew what she meant.

“Dianna!” Orym turned me toward him, jerking me out of my fear-induced paralysis. I remembered to breathe, and with every gulp of air I took in, determination set in a bit deeper.

“We need to leave,” I said, steeling my shoulders.

Saliva dripped from her mouth as she pulled on her chains. “Ask her, headless boy. Ask her what she begged the stars for and what lives now. Ask her what she ripped from the very heavens. And then ask her if she cares. The old blood runs through her veins. The first Ig’Morruthen. He did not care either.”

“Orym, let’s go.” I tried and failed to pull him away, and he brushed my hands off of him.

“No,” he snapped. “What is she talking about?”

The oracle smiled far too wildly to be anything other than Otherworldly. “If Nismera is cruel, then you, Ayla, are evil.”

“I am not,” I snapped far too quickly.

“Ayla?” Orym asked.

“It’s my real name. Or the one my father gave me. It’s a long story.” I raised my hand toward the oracle. “Just shut up.”

“He does not know your father? The Celestial of Death. The one who carved weapons for the gods.”

Orym’s head nearly twisted off with how fast he looked at me. “Azrael? Azrael your father? What have you not been telling me?”

“Not now,” I snapped.

“Yes, now.” He bared his teeth. “You treated me as if I couldn’t be trusted when it’s been you this whole time.”

“It’s not like that.”

The oracle went on. “You think the universe has not seen the blood you’ve shed and how you bathed in it? The vile and vicious things you’ve done and how you slept like a babe? Tell the doomed elf how you feed on life but are absent of it. Do you think the stars will reward you with love now? That you will know peace? You are doomed.”

Orym’s eyes narrowed on me. “What are you talking about? Tell me.”

“Orym, stop,” I responded far quicker than I intended. I pointed toward her. “You said it yourself. The oracles went mad.”

“Ask her what she brought back,” the oracle sneered. “Ask her what she threatened and why death itself paused.”

“Shut up, or I’ll permanently shut you up,” I growled at her.

Orym’s eyes widened as he stared at me. “Brought back?”

“Ask her,” the oracle begged.

“No,” I interrupted. “Look, we have to go. If that woman gets away with the sword—”

Orym stepped away from me. “I don’t care about the sword. What is she talking about? What did you do?”

“Ask her what she carved from the universe and then ask her how,” the oracle spat, and my talons grew.

“Dianna, what did you bring back?”

The oracle’s laughter burst through the room, and Orym’s eyes held so much fear that I knew I didn’t have to speak the words.

He knew.

“The most powerful being in the entire realm is not the World Ender, but the one who protects the World Ender. The one who brought him back from the dead,” the oracle purred.

I was in the room within the next second. Orym snapped at me to stop as I rammed my fist through her skull.