Ghost in the Pact (46 page)

YOU HAVE PREVAILED.

It seemed that he was still alive. 

How astonishing.

THE CONTEST BETWEEN MY VASSALS IS DECIDED. THE VOICE HAS PREVAILED, AND THE HARBINGER IS DEFEATED. ALL IS IN READINESS. TAKE THE SEAL AND THE STAFF. THE PATHS OF THE NETHERWORLD ARE NOW OPENED TO YOU, AND YOU MAY RETURN TO YOUR STRONGHOLD IN ISTARINMUL.

Callatas felt himself drift towards consciousness. He was lying on his back, he realized, the Staff of Iramis still clutched in his left hand. The air was hot and wet, a sea-scented breeze blowing over his face. 

RETURN TO ISTARINMUL AND COMPLETE THE APOTHEOSIS. FULFILL OUR PACT AND SUMMON ME TO THIS WORLD. 

Yes. The Apotheosis. 

Callatas had promised this world to Kotuluk Iblis, but he had no intention of completing that pact. Instead he would use the nagataaru, harness them as mankind had harnessed the horse and the ox, and use them to create a new and perfect humanity. 

The malicious amusement filled his skull like choking smoke from a fire. Kotuluk Iblis knew his plans. Kotuluk Iblis knew every thought Callatas ever had, every memory, every emotion. The sovereign of the nagataaru knew and did not care. He thought he would triumph in the end.

But it would be Callatas, not Kotuluk Iblis, who won the final victory. 

YOU HAVE PREVAILED. TAKE THE SEAL AND RETURN TO ISTARINMUL. WORK THE APOTHEOSIS AT LAST. FULFILL OUR PACT, AND GIVE ME THIS WORLD. 

The shadow exploded through Callatas’s mind, filling him with agony, and he jerked awake.

His first thought was that he should have stayed asleep. 

Every inch of his body ached, and he was utterly exhausted. After a moment he managed to get his eyes open, and he saw a pale blue sky overhead, shading to pink and yellow to the east. The sun was coming up. 

Callatas sat up, leaning upon the Staff for support, and saw utter devastation.

Bones littered the hilltop, many of them charred and still smoking. Where the Conjurant Bloodcrystal had floated was now a blackened crater, the air above it still rippling with heat. Nearby Callatas saw the mask of Kharnaces, half-melted from the explosion. He couldn’t see any trace of Caina or Annarah or Morgant. 

Maybe the explosion had killed them. A fitting end for the Balarigar, given how many things she had burned down.

Callatas grunted and heaved himself to his feet, wobbling a bit as he caught his balance.

A second vista of devastation greeted him.

Pyramid Isle had died. Once the white hill had been encircled by miles of lush green jungle. Now the jungle was dead and withered and crumbling. He realized it was the backlash from the destruction of the Conjurant Bloodcrystal. It had killed every living thing on Pyramid Isle. His residual wards had been enough to protect him, but he doubted anyone else had survived. Well, that made his task easier. He just had to find Caina’s body and relieve it of the Seal. 

A boot rasped against the ground, and Callatas whirled, almost losing his balance.

“So,” hissed Kalgri. “You survived.”

The Red Huntress limped towards him. She looked as terrible as he felt. The left side of her face was a mass of hideous burns, and dried blood, all of it her own, marked her crimson armor and tattered clothing. She walked with a sharp limp, grimacing with every step. The Voice was healing her wounds, but very, very slowly. Likely the nagataaru was just as exhausted as its host, and Kalgri would need to kill a few people before she regained her full strength. 

“Yes,” said Callatas. “I…”

He had turned around too fast, and his stomach rebelled. Callatas doubled over and threw up, his stomach heaving. When he had finished, he forced himself up, wiping his mouth on the ragged sleeve of his robe. Kalgri watched him with a mix of disdain and amusement. 

“Dignified, father,” she said. 

He was too tired to get angry.

“Where is Caina?” he said. “Do you know?”

Kalgri shook her head, the burns upon her face tightening. “I don’t know. I woke up a few moments ago and decided to look around. The Voice can’t sense anyone nearby, but it’s too drained to do anything useful at the moment.” 

“We must find the Seal,” said Callatas, looking over the hilltop, making sure to do it slowly this time. “And…”

He fell silent.

The Seal lay upon the ground thirty yards away, its blue stone giving off a faint glow.

All he had to do was pick it up, and he could finish the Apotheosis at last. 

###

“I am now almost entirely certain,” murmured Samnirdamnus’s voice, “that you are the one I have sought for all these years. We will be seeing each other very soon now.”

Caina jerked awake, breathing hard.

For a moment she could not remember where she was and what had happened. Kylon, where was Kylon? Had something happened to him? Had…

Her mind dragged itself back into focus, and she remembered all of it, Kharnaces and the Conjurant Bloodcrystal and the titanic explosion that had gripped the hilltop. 

Evidently she had lived through it. 

Caina pushed herself up, shadow-cloak stirring around her shoulders. As far as she could tell, she was uninjured. She looked around the bone-strewn ground for Morgant and Annarah, but could not find them. Caina turned, looking for her friends, checking her belt as she did. The valikon and the ghostsilver dagger were still in their sheaths, but one of her belt pouches had been torn away, and…

Alarm stabbed through her. 

The Seal was gone.

She turned, looking through the vision of the valikarion, and spotted the Seal about thirty yards away, burning with power. It must have fallen from her belt in the explosion. 

Then her gaze met the gray eyes of Grand Master Callatas, standing on the other side of the Seal, Kalgri waiting at side. 

He, too, had survived the explosion.

For a moment they stared at each other. He looked exhausted and broken, a defeated man. Yet his gray eyes still glittered with familiar madness. 

“You don’t have to do this,” Caina heard herself say. “It’s not too late. You can still turn back.”

Slowly, slowly, Callatas shook his head. “No. I have come too far. I will not turn back now. Not when victory is in my grasp.” 

Then Callatas began casting a spell, and Caina broke into a run, reaching for her weapons.

THE END

Thank you for reading GHOST IN THE PACT. Look for Caina's next adventure, GHOST IN THE WINDS, to appear in the second half of 2016. If you liked the book, please consider leaving a review at your ebook site of choice. To receive immediate notification of new releases, 
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