Chapter 169: Chapter 169

  I held my coat tight against the damp chill of the dim and dirty dungeon. Rows of mostly empty cells lined the long corridor, each one lit by a small stone that gave off a nauseating white light. Even from outside the cells, I could feel the energy in my body drain away like water slipping through the cracks of my fingers.

  The smell of sewage and fifth permeated everything. Even if I did not breathe through my nose, I could taste the horrible stench with every breath. Just standing down here made me feel filthy. All I wanted now was to spend the next several hours scrubbing every inch of my skin clean.

  As much as I hated it, I would probably be coming down here frequently in the coming days. I looked over at Svend as the two of us trudged down to the very end of the prison. Thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes was the limp form of Sebastion. The man had finally succumbed to his exhaustion. It would be at least a day or two before he awoke. Charly had tended to the worst of his injuries. His life was not in danger but the man still looked more like a beggar off the streets than a king of a nation.

  The two of us marched down to the end of the dungeon. The snarling face etched onto Svend’s helm struck terror into the prisoners we passed, bringing a deafening silence to the prison.

  At the very end of the prison was a single cell that stood out from the others. While every other cell had only a single stone on the ceiling that glittered like a small piece of quartz, this one had hundreds of those stones lining the ceiling and walls. I felt my legs tremble as each step we took towards the cell intensified the nausea I felt inside the prison. By the time we stood in front of the cell, I felt as weak as a newborn. The energy in my body now drained away like a burst damn. I would probably pass out if I stayed here for more than a few minutes.

  Svend Placed the unconscious Sebastion down into the dazzling cell with a sigh of relief before turning to me. “I have retrofitted the cell the best I can but these siphons were never intended to hold someone as powerful as Sebastion. I will check the siphons regularly and relace the ones he overloads but even if I deplete all my reserves, we will not be able to hold him here for more than three months.”

  I nodded in understanding as I watched the sleeping form of Sebastion intently. “Assuming we have that long before Envy’s invasion begins in earnest, I should be able to regain most of my power by then. The two of us working together should be able to face Sebastion without any of the tricks we had to rely on this time.”

  Svend slammed the cell door shut with more force than necessary and locked it tight. “I am not looking forward to fighting him again. Talents like his are a bad match for me. It takes too much effort to close the distance.”

  “Hopefully it will not come to this again. While I can never expect that Sebastion will forgive me, I hope that he can at least let go of the hatred and sorrow he has carried around with him for so long.”

  “Wounds like that never truly heal for people like him,” Svend replied with a shake of his head, “You are too soft on the boy. If you want him to stop coming after you, force him. Make him understand that any attempt to attack you is not worth the consequences.”

  “I might have to,” I whispered quietly. Not willing or able to stay down in the dungeon for much longer Svend and I made our way back up to the surface where Cyra and my family were waiting for us.

  Before I could even say a single word, my mom had already rushed up and wrapped her arms around me in a fierce hug. “I am so glad you are ok. Never do anything that reckless ever again.”

  A warmth welled up in my chest as I returned my mom’s hug, only letting go after several seconds. “It is more fun with a bit of danger,” I said with a grin that earned me a scowl from my mom.

  “He won’t be able to break out, right?” Donte asked in concern, “I saw the fight from a distance. I never thought power like that actually existed outside of stories.”

  “Probably not,” I replied with a shrug, “At the very least he is not getting out any time soon.”

  Donte let out a sigh of relief before casting his eyes downwards in thought. “King Sebastion is so powerful but you never seemed all that worried about him. Then, how strong is Envy?”

  I pursed my lips as I thought about the question for a moment. “In a fair fight without any tricks or outside interference, it would probably take one hundred Sebastions to defeat Envy. Even then, ninety-nine of them would probably die.”

  “Envy is a hundred times more powerful than King Sebastion!” Donte remarked in surprise as he looked back at the distant collapsed mountain that Sebastion leveled.

  “Probably more,” Svend cut in with a sigh, “In raw power, he does indeed dwarf Sebastion, but Envy's real threat is his ability to copy other talents and skills. Even if we somehow had one hundred people at Sebastion’s strength, we would also be handing Envy one hundred different people to use his talent on. A direct fight with him is the worst possible scenario.”

  As Svend spoke, he took off his helmet and I burst out in laughter despite the heavy subject. Even Cyra had trouble suppressing a giggle at the sight of Svend’s new look. Svend looked at Cyra and me in confusion as his hand moved to pull on his beard, only to pause when he did not feel it there. His face visibly paled as his hand then moved to his now shiny bald head. Even his eyebrows were missing, making his look of surprise even more comical.

  “There is the horrible face I remember,” I teased, “You looked like this after every fight you had with me as well.”

  “I am going to murder that wannabe king!” Svend shouted in outrage, “Do you have any idea how long it takes to grow a beard like that. Years! It took years!”

  “I kind of like it gone. It has been a long time since I have seen your face like this.” Cyra said with a smirk.

  Svend’s shoulders drooped as he rubbed his now hairless chin. “I am never doing any other favors for you Wren. The price is too great.”

  “It is just hair. It is not that big of a deal.” I replied dismissively.

  “Then you will not mind if I shave your head clean tonight?” Svend asked with a grin.

  “Try it and I will slit your throat in your sleep,” I growled back.

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “No fighting you two. We just won a major victory. We need to celebrate.” Cyra interjected with a hand on Svend’s arm. “I have a special meal waiting for us back home.”

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  “That sounds wonderful!” Svend exclaimed as he picked Cyra up in one swift motion, holding her in a princess carry. Cyra blushed in embarrassment but did not protest as Svend carried her through town towards his manor.

  I laughed at first but as we got closer to Svend’s home, I remembered my greeting with Sebastion. I also remembered how Svend reacted when Naga damaged his roof.

  “Um, Svend…” I squeaked out nervously. “About your mansion, I… Sebastion might have damaged it a bit before heading down into the catacombs.

  Svend faltered mid-step, nearly dropping Cyra. “What? How bad is it?”

 

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  We enjoyed a rather pleasant picnic under the night sky while Kala masons and soldiers worked to clear the collapsed debris that was the entrance to Svend’s house. From the glares I was getting from the man, he knew I was the one that caused it. I would never admit that though. Sebastion was going to have to take the fall for me on this one.

  I was feeling rather pleased with myself after dinner. Sebastion had been a constant weight on my shoulders from the moment I was reborn into this realm. He was like an executioner’s blade waiting to fall at any moment. There were many places I could not go or potential allies I could not reach out to in fear that Sebastion might learn of my rebirth before I was ready. Now that he was safely contained in a cell, I could search out those potential resources in preparation for Envy’s arrival.

  As Svend had mentioned earlier, a straight fight with Envy was the worst possible course of action. If I wanted to defend this realm from him, I needed to first find a way to weaken the Demon. The same tactic I used against Sebastion would not work. Envy had a deep well of energy at least a hundred times bigger than Sebastion’s. Even if he fought for a week straight, there was no guarantee that he would run dry. We needed a way to cripple him before the fight started.

  Not for the first time, I wished the other Calamities were here. Together we had managed far worse than this with each of us covering for the other's weaknesses. Alone, I felt as if my arms and legs had been cut off. Plotting and planning could only get me so far. Eventually, everything would be decided by the strength I can bring to the fight.

  While I was lost in thought on how to deal with Envy, Donte approached me with a somewhat glazed-over look in his eyes. I was familiar enough with that look to know he was currently connected with Dragon’s Nest. It was only after almost a minute of mumbling to himself that Donte’s eyes refocused on the world around him.

  “Our prisoner has been screaming your name ever since the fight with Sebastion started. It is getting kinda annoying. Do you want to meet with her?” Donte asked while scratching his head.

  “Prisoner? What prisoner?” I asked in confusion.

  “The undead of Irene’s that we captured.”

  “We still have that thing? Why?” I asked incredulously.

  “Nobody told me to get rid of it,” Donte replied with a shrug.

  “If it’s calling for me, I guess Irene really did survive her injuries,” I mused thoughtfully, “I guess it would not hurt to see what she is screaming about. Maybe I can learn something useful from her.”

  Leaving my family to enjoy what remained of the dinner, I made the short trek onto the floating island and into the tower where the crippled undead was kept. I heard the undead long before I reached the room.

  “Aurielle! I know you are out there Aurielle! Aurielle!” screeched the voice over and over again in an echo that traveled all through the tower.

  A nearly forgotten hatred welled up within me as I heard the woman’s voice. “Next time, I am going to make sure you are dead.” I mumbled as I opened the door to the room. Then in a louder shout, I addressed the still screeching voice. “Stop that awful racket. Tell me what you want before I incinerate that corpse.”

  “Aurielle, about time you showed up, I have been screaming your name for half a day.”

  “Get to the point, I have no time for idle chit chat.”

  “None of us have time for that anymore,” the undead snake woman said with a toothy grin, “I wish to make a trade with you, information in exchange for amnesty.”

  I broke into laughter at the absurdity of what I just heard. “I do not know which is more ridiculous, that you think I will believe anything you say or that I would let a traitor like you walk free even if I did.”

  “I do not expect trust between us,” the undead replied calmly, “I fully expect you to betray me even if you agree and you should expect the same from me. I still want you dead but I am out of options. So, I will give you this first bit of information for free. You will probably learn about it in a couple days regardless. The capital of Novus, Ater-Albus has fallen.”