The Crimson Vault (The Traveler's Gate Trilogy) (49 page)

Kai smiled and looked at Leah. “Your brother’s sword has quite the bite,” he said.

Indirial winced. “Ragnarus. Well, don’t worry about it. We’ll get you into the pool.”

Kai held up an empty waterskin, of all things, shaking it in Indirial’s face.

“I’ve done everything I can do,” Kai said weakly. “I just want to hang on until I see Valin fall. It’s my…my fault, after all. Just let me stay here and watch.”

Indirial nodded and rose to his feet. For a moment, he closed his eyes.

Then he raised his blade and began to slice open a Gate in midair.

“Wish denied,” Indirial responded. “I’m getting you in that pool if I have to drown you in it.”

“I’ve tried that, Indirial,” Kai responded. “Don’t worry about me. I’m at peace.”

Ostentatiously, Indirial rolled his eyes and seized Kai by the scruff of his neck. It was like watching a twelve-year-old deal with a little brother.

“Listen to me, you coward,” Indirial said. “You are not going to run from this. If you try and hide in death, so help me, I will go before the Maker himself and drag you back.”

Kai made a choking noise that could have been because he had nothing to say, and could have been because Indirial was actually choking him.

Indirial walked through the Valinhall Gate, dragging the white-haired swordsman behind him. “This time, you’re not strong enough to stop me. So get used to the idea of living again.”

Hey!
a woman said, directly into Leah’s brain.
Don’t leave me here!
It sounded like a girl trying to talk through a chorus of distant whispers.

Indirial froze.

“Did you hear that?” Leah asked.

The Overlord looked down at the grass, where the doll in the blue dress had tumbled free from Kai’s grip. It was facedown in the grass, its bonnet askew.

Yes, you did! You can hear me, I know you can. Pick me up, take me with you. Simon needs me here, and I certainly don’t want to rot here in the dirt.

Hesitantly, Leah reached down and scooped up the doll in her arms.

“You’re…one of Simon’s dolls, right?” Leah asked.

“You can
talk?”
Indirial demanded.

You know better than that, Indirial,
the doll said testily.
Simon! Left! Over here! I know you understand me, so get over here.

Leah traded glances with Indirial.

“They were my advisors,” Kai responded weakly. “You knew that.”

With one hand, Indirial held Kai up by his collar. With the other, he pointed accusingly at the doll. “We thought they could only talk to
you!
If they could talk to anyone, why didn’t they? Do you know how often they would have come in handy?”

“Perhaps they just like me best,” Kai responded. His voice was growing weaker.

Indirial cleared his throat. “Well, never mind. Maker, I swear you’re just stalling me here so that you can bleed to death. Doll’s all yours, Leah.”

He dragged Kai inside Valinhall, and the Gate shut behind them.

Leah looked down at the doll in her hand.

You can call me Caela,
she said cheerfully.
We’ll talk later. For now, I’ve got to keep Simon alive.

Simon arrived a moment later in a rush of speed, his cloak snapping like a flag in the wind as he came to an abrupt stop.

Seeing Leah, he reached up to take off his mask.

Stop!
Caela shouted.
You know what happens when you take off the mask. You’ll have to keep it on as long as you can.

Simon lowered his hand and looked at Leah through the slits the mask left for eyes. The odd thing was, she couldn’t see his eyes through the mask. Only a sort of dim, sourceless light.

It was quite intimidating, actually.

“Leah, where’s your brother’s sword?” Simon asked. His voice echoed strangely behind the mask.

“I’m looking for him myself,” she responded.

The whole area has been destroyed,
Caela put in.
I’m not sure I would recognize the place where we left him. Well, we’ll just have to look. There are about sixty-five swords lying on the ground nearby, so you’ll have to split up.

Caela directed Leah and Simon separately as they combed the area for fallen swords. Simon covered about three times as much ground as she did, blurring with speed so that he had searched almost the entire clearing in a handful of seconds.

Still, she was the one to find the sword.

The Ragnarus blade seemed to call to her, like a man moaning in pain just out of hearing. She found it on the edge of what used to be a tent, underneath a collapsed cot. A single crimson edge peeked out from under a bed sheet.

The sheet itself was soaked in blood, and steady drops of blood wet the grass leading away. Had Talos crawled away? She couldn’t imagine him leaving the sword behind unless his life was in grave danger, even though he had other weapons he could call. The sword was by far his favorite.

Simon!
Caela called, from within Leah’s arms.
While you were playing around, we found it.

First, Simon was searching the tents on the opposite side of the clearing, and then he was here, pulling the cot off the red-bladed sword.

Reaching down, he hefted the sword in his left hand, holding his own enormous blade in his right.

“Will this work?” he asked.

“Make it work,” Leah said. Then she winced at the chill in her tone and tried to backtrack. She didn’t want to sound ungrateful. “I mean…you’ve done great work for the country, Simon. Don’t give up now.”

For a moment, Simon shook. She couldn’t see his face, but she was sure that behind the mask he was laughing at her.

Simon cleared his throat. “Thanks, Leah,” he said. His voice was entirely serious. Perhaps
too
serious.

While Leah was still trying to decide whether to be offended, Caela cut in.
It’s not chatting time,
she said.
You’ve got one minute until insanity.

“Right,” Leah agreed, glad to change the subject. “Get out there and finish the job.”

Simon shook his head, then leaped away, a sword in each hand.

I like you, Heiress,
Caela said happily.
Now straighten my bonnet.

“Thank you…talking doll. Now, what did you mean about insanity?”

***

Simon ran through the camp, keeping an eye out for the Incarnation. He almost tripped over the corpse of the huge flying snake from Endross, which had fallen across an entire row of tents. Briefly, he wondered who had managed to take the thing out of the sky, but that was idle speculation. Travelers had a thousand different powers.

He finally found Valin running through a squad of soldiers, leaving nothing but blood and body parts in his wake. Nearby, two tents were collapsing in on themselves, rearranging to form a sofa. Even some of the blood had started to stream together and solidify into something that looked like felt, forming a red carpet leading straight to the Incarnation.

Are you sure this will work?
Simon asked again.

No,
Caela said.
Now stop asking.

How much time left?

Caela hesitated.
You…probably don’t want to know,
she said.

Then Valin noticed Simon, and the battle resumed.

Simon was no expert in fighting with his left hand, but Kai had forced him to train under all sorts of conditions, including with a sword in each hand. He may not have been the most coordinated, but at least he didn’t cut his own arms off in the first second.

The problem was the huge difference in size between Azura and Talos’ red sword. The fact that Azura’s blade stretched almost twice as long as the sword in his left hand meant that he had to fight one-handed most of the time, until momentum carried him close enough to the Incarnation to strike with the red blade.

Valin turned those strikes every time. Simon scored a few cuts on the first pass, but only with Azura.

“Why do you keep this up?” Valin asked, slipping under a cut from Azura and slapping Simon’s other blade aside.

“You have nothing to gain from this,” the Incarnation went on. “Victory will earn you nothing. Damasca is evil! It should be destroyed!”

Strike while he’s talking,
Caela said, and Simon hurled Azura skyward. The Incarnation’s eyes flicked up, just for an instant, and Simon brought all his strength and speed to bear on a single rush forward, the Ragnarus sword clutched in both hands.

He scored a single, shallow hit along the Incarnation’s ribs.

Coming out the other side, Simon leaped up to grab Azura’s hilt, landing with a sword once again in each hand.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he had to knock Mithra aside, because Valin was coming at him furiously, his silver eyes blazing.

The wound in his side bled freely. It didn’t disappear, and red lines snaked their way out from the wound, infecting the Incarnation’s healthy flesh.

It works!
Simon thought triumphantly.

Simon…you might want to hurry.

The chains had crept around almost his entire neck.

Simon gathered up all his strength and speed, using Azura to knock the Incarnations’ blade aside, stepping in closer to strike with the Ragnarus blade. He stretched his steel and his Nye essence to the limit, even though they should have both given out long ago.
 

The mask obviously let him access his powers longer, but he couldn’t help but wonder: what was the cost?

He didn’t think on that subject long, because he didn’t have time. Each blow he struck launched the Incarnation’s body over a tent or a group of soldiers, and Simon had to jump after him, continuing his relentless assault.

He managed to score three more hits: one on Valin’s arm, another across his opposite shoulder, and a third across his cheek.

They seemed to do little but make him angry, but he was at least doing some damage. If he could keep it up, then he might actually have a chance.

Almost got it,
Simon thought.
I can do this. Just a little more…

No, Simon,
Caela responded.
Time’s up.

The chains on his neck were squeezing now, pounding, almost in time with his heartbeat. He could barely breathe.

But he was stronger and faster than ever. Even the Valinhall Incarnation couldn’t keep up with him. The feeling was…breathtaking. More than ever, he felt invincible. If he just lasted a few more seconds, he would be able to tear Valin into pieces.

You don’t have a few more seconds. Take it off!

Simon crashed Azura into Mithra, knocking the Incarnation’s blade aside. He couldn’t take it off. Not yet. Not until he had defeated Valin.

If he just had a little more power. Just a little more, and he could do this now.

How do you think Valin felt, Simon?
Caela said.
This is what happened to him. Just a little more power. Just a little stronger.

Simon froze, almost taking a sword in the chest.

Everything in him begged Simon to attack, to press his advantage, to overwhelm the Incarnation while he had the chance.

He looked into Valin’s black eyes, gleaming with metallic silver, and at the chains wrapping the man’s neck.

Then he reached up and pulled off his mask.

Immediately the world lurched back into normal motion, and weakness seized his limbs, pulling him relentlessly to the ground.

Valin’s face was clearly, almost comically, confused.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

Simon didn’t quite know himself.

Trust me, Simon,
Caela said smugly.
I got this.

From the corner of his vision, Simon saw a flare of ruby light.

Leah’s voice, clear and commanding, echoed in the open air. “Incarnation of Valinhall, you have slaughtered your way through my country for too long. In punishment for your crimes, I command you to drop your weapons and await execution.”

Then, in a more normal voice, she added, “Die, you monster.”

A wave of crimson light swept across the field, seizing the Incarnation in bonds of shining ruby. The light wrapped his limbs, pulling the sword from his hand, drawing him down to his knees.

The Incarnation screamed, straining against the power of the Crimson Vault. His feet dug into the ground, but he was still pulled to his knees.

The red light wrapping his limbs looked almost like chains.

“Ragnarus!
” Valin snarled, pulling against the chains as if he meant to tear Leah apart with his teeth. “I will bring an end to you! Do you hear me?
I will free the world from you!”

Simon was shaking, rather unsteadily, on his feet.

But he hadn’t lost all his strength yet. And he was still holding the crimson sword.

Simon let Azura drop from his fingers, taking the Ragnarus blade in both hands. Then he didn’t so much stab the Incarnation as collapse on top of him, letting his body fall blade-first as his strength left him.

The red blade penetrated Valin’s chest and drove into the dirt below.

The Incarnation’s body twitched and writhed like an insect pinned to a board, his limbs jerking and scraping against the earth.
 

“I can do this,” Valin whispered. “Don’t worry. I can save you all…”

Then he died.

Simon lay on top of the Wanderer’s body for the sole reason that he couldn’t seem to move at all. Even moving air in and out of his lungs felt like more effort than his body could handle. He would have passed out, but somehow he felt too drained to do anything but stay awake.

Leah walked over to him, kneeling to press two fingers to the Incarnation’s neck.

“How…how?” Simon managed to say.

Leah smiled at him and tapped her crown with one finger.

Simon tried to smile back, but he wasn’t sure if his face moved. “Nice,” he said.

She stood up and walked away, almost entirely out of his view. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her making urgent gestures to nearby servants and soldiers.