9
Duality
In the Almighty’s council chamber ten of the High Seraphim stood in attendance, visions of silver between the golden tree-columns. The great table had been removed and Zyung’s massive chair sat empty. Beyond the rustling tapestries at the chamber’s far end, slaves prepared their lord and master for his audience. The shuffling of these attendants’ feet against the smooth floor was the only sound.
Sungui was certain that Zyung kept them all waiting to make a point: They served him and must wait upon his every whim. In this they were no different than the servants who scrubbed his flesh, cleaned his robes, and served his wine. Even the High Seraphim were slaves in the Living Empire; they simply wielded more power than any other slaves. As the oarsmen of the dreadnoughts were elevated above the rank-and-file servants, so were the High Seraphim placed above everyone else.
Still wearing her female aspect, as she had for days now, Sungui scanned the faces of those gathered before the makeshift throne. Of course Lavanyia stood foremost among them, being officially responsible for the actions of every other High Seraphim. Her black eyes were as inscrutable as her sable hair was perfect. Brawny Eshad stood solid as stone in his silver raiment, the Warlord of the Holy Armada in all but name. Myrinhama stood near him, seeming to glow in the sunlight falling through the oversized portholes. Her gleaming eyes and hair were brighter than beaten gold, her tiny chin lowered in supplication. The alchemists Gulzarr and Darisha stood shoulder to shoulder; they dared not hold hands in the Almighty’s presence, but their hearts were almost visibly entwined.
Four others waited with blank faces, hands clasped at their waists. Ondhi, Verrim, Tholduu, and Chariniha–Sungui knew their names but they were inconsequential. They were not among Those Who Listen. They had never come to Sungui’s covert gatherings to remember their true greatness. They were completely lost in the Great Dream of Zyung. Diminished forever.
The Wolf and Panther were not here. That was good. Perhaps they had already slipped beneath Zyung’s notice. He enjoyed their counsel as far as the Land of the Five Cities and its elements of possible resistance, but had not taken them fully into his trust. Ianthe claimed that she and Gammir remained Undiminished as they served Zyung. Her claim had to be true, or Sungui might not be here at this moment. The Almighty would know that she had plotted with–and lain with–both of them. Surely if he knew he would send her to salt, or imprison her at the very least.
Sungui noticed Lavanyia’s eyes upon her, felt the feather touch of her mind searching for secrets. The First Among Seraphim did not fully trust her, but that was nothing new. If Ianthe’s power could hide her ambitions from Zyung, it could certainly hide them from Lavanyia. Sungui kept her mind closed to Lavanyia, who eventually withdrew her mental caress. Yet her eyes lingered on Sungui until the sound of the Almighty’s footsteps resounded behind the tapestries.
Zyung strode forth and took his place in the chair of curling Ethus wood. The branches sighed as they took the weight of his great frame. Tawny leaves sprouted about the chair in places, rustling against Zyung’s silvery mantle.
“Eshad,” spoke the Almighty. “Speak to me first of our losses.” Sungui’s skin prickled at the deepness of his voice, and her pulse quickened as it always did in Zyung’s presence. So did the pulses of all those around her. Their eyes were transfixed by Zyung’s glorious beauty, which was far more than a physical trait. His very aura commanded love, fealty, and a longing to please.
Eshad might have been Zyung’s own son, so similar was he in bearing and appearance. Yet he was only a small reflection of the High Lord Celestial’s greatness. Eshad spoke in a voice strong and firm with confidence. “Six dreadnoughts were lost to the power of the Feathered Serpent,” he said. “From those six we managed to save seven hundred Manslayers and two hundred oarsmen. The Lesser Seraphim who guided these ships are wounded but they will recover. However, our greatest casualty is the noble Damodar, who flew too close to the Serpent’s fury. His physical body was annihilated, yet I am certain he will return to us when his presence has fully manifested.”
Sungui recalled the blazing singularity that Khama had become, his eruption of solar devastation. That was after he had physically broken two ships in half. She had never seen a single dreadnought brought down before this battle, not in the five centuries they had roamed the skies of the Living Empire enforcing its unity with light and word. The men in the pitiful fleets below had foolishly tried to set the sky-ships aflame with arrow and catapult, yet these weapons only scorched the hulls or marred a wing here or there. Even the lowest of the Lesser Seraphim could quench such terrestrial fires in moments.
The canvas wings were easily replaced. The Feathered Serpent and his power had been the only true threat in the Battle of Ongthaia. The sea vessels burned like matchsticks, and the men died like wingless sparrows cast into the sea. She remembered Khama from the ancient ages. He had always stood tall among the Old Breed, yet had never been part of Zyung’s vision. Iardu and Khama had crafted their own dream of how the world should be. In this, they were guilty of the same artifice as Zyung.
Khama might have destroyed more ships–and more Seraphim–if Zyung himself had not intervened. His great, dark hand had snuffed the raging star that was Khama’s quintessence. The one danger to the armada had dropped into the sea as nothing more than a scorched mote. Like Damodar, Khama would return when his spirit found some distant sanctum and reformed its physical shell. None could say where or when that might be. Damodar would manifest somewhere back in the Celestial Prov ince, most likely within the Holy Mountain itself. Yet she doubted he would travel across the world on his own power to rejoin the armada. Unless Zyung were to specifically summon him, which was a possibility.
Zyung’s eyes, brighter than the sun even at their most dim, shifted to Sungui. “These losses are of little consequence. Our victory here was assured and the resistance we faced was an act of foolish bravado. Yet we can expect more fools to rise up and challenge our advent upon the mainland. Khama has survived his humbling. He will join those who prepare to stand against us.”
Now Zyung’s eyes shed their gleam upon Lavanyia. “What of our prisoners?”
“None of those on Morovanga survived its sinking,” she said. “Yet we have gathered some five thousand from the highlands of the lesser islands. All have pledged themselves and their families to serve the Living Empire. I have dispatched three Lesser Seraphim to remain here and construct a temple. When this is done, a new King of the Jade Isles will be chosen from the survivors to rule in the name of the Almighty. As for the forces that supported Khama’s resistance, all were burned, drowned, or devoured by Trills. Our foes died bravely, if stupidly.”
Zyung nodded and turned his gaze to Gulzarr. “And how fare our alchemies?”
“Our stores are not in the least depleted, Celestial One,” answered Gulzarr.
“Seven hundred vats of liquid fire remain untouched,” added Darisha. “And the oarsmen we lost to the Feathered Serpent’s sorcery mean extra elixir for the rest of them. When we reach the mainland we can gather ingredients to produce more. We hope to set up a foundry with the building of the new Holy Mountain.”
Zyung asked Myrinhama for details of the surviving slaves’ distribution. She summarized the dispersion of the oarsmen plucked from the wreckage of the lost dreadnoughts. Their strength would ease the burden on ships whose oarsmen were reaching the end of their short lives. The drugs that gave them inhuman vigor tended to shorten their natural lifespans, and the journey across the Outer Sea had been their most taxing service yet. Still, Myrinhama assured the Almighty that more than enough healthy oarsmen remained to reach the mainland, where a few days of rest would restore their vitality.
The other four Seraphim spoke of minor shipboard matters, confirming what their lord must already know. Again Zyung’s blazing eyes turned to Sungui, but there was no question for her. At least, none put into words.
“We sail at once for the ruins of Shar Dni,” announced Zyung. “There we will crush our enemies and build the seat of the Extended Empire. Iardu the Shaper gathers forces against us, a handful of Old Breed who remain defiant. We will cast them down as we did the Feathered Serpent. This was no true battle, but an act of deliberate insolence. A symbol of the true resistance we must soon face. Spread my word across the armada, as you are accustomed to doing. We will meet again when the mainland shore has been secured. Go now, all of you, to consult your captains.”
The ten Seraphim bowed as one and turned to leave.
“Sungui, remain,” said Zyung. “I will speak with you in confidence.”
Sungui resumed her place of attention, ignoring the jealous glance of Lavanyia as she departed. The great doors closed, leaving Sungui alone with the Almighty.
This would be the true test of Ianthe’s power. If she could screen Sungui’s thoughts from Zyung’s all-knowing gaze, it must be now. Perhaps he already knew of Sungui’s verbal and mental treachery. This could be the day of her execution.
Her body began to change, almost instinctively morphing toward her more dutiful male incarnation. Her jaw began to pulse and lengthen as her chest grew smaller and muscle mass began its expansion.
“No,” said Zyung, his voice a drum in her ears. “Maintain your female aspect, Sungui the Venomous. That is what they call you?”
She reversed the flow of her unbidden power, mastering her body once again, reinforcing her female nature and eliminating the masculinity that had begun to manifest. In a matter of seconds she was once more fully female. Her eyes studied the floor of living wood. Her bare feet upon it connected her with the Ethus Tree below, and she drew upon its deep calm to fortify her own.
“Some have named me that, Lord,” she admitted. “A testament to my fierceness in both aspects, I am sure.”
Zyung smiled. She was not looking at his face, but she felt the smile.
“Your duality is the core of your nature, child,” he said.
I am as ancient as you are.
No, hide that thought. Think only of his greatness and your worthiness to serve him.
That is what he wants from you. Nothing else.
Silence hung between them. She feared him enough not to break it. Perhaps he was reading her mind in that very moment. He might do this without ever alerting her to his presence.
“Sungui.” He said her name again, this time with a deep tenderness. Like the lazy thunder that still rolls when storm has departed. Or perhaps it was the sound of thunder looming in the distance, heralding the approach of the true storm.
“I know that you seek to betray me,” said the Almighty.
Sungui’s legs grew weak. She nearly fell. Her breath stopped for a second.
She would face obliteration with bravery, defiant as she had lived. If she must.
“Look at me,” Zyung said, and she had no choice but to obey him. The flares of his eyes burned low, like simmering coals.
“Will you send me to salt?” she asked. “Devour me?”
“Perhaps I should,” he mused. “But no. I will speak with you instead.” At his unspoken command, a servant brought her a chair. She lowered herself onto its soft cushion.
What game is he playing now?
“You have two aspects, but a single heart,” said Zyung. “And I know that heart well. You have served me with honor in the building of my empire. You have championed order and peace in all ways. You have killed in my name and built monuments to my glory. You were the first to foster the Ethus Trees which are the soul of my Holy Armada. Yet your uncertainty remains, a seed of doubt buried deep in your immortal being. I have often wondered what fruits will grow from such a seed.”
Does he know of Ianthe’s plans? Does he know of my involvement? He must.
As he must also know about Those Who Listen. Those Who Remember.
But then why allow my continued existence?
This was not Zyung’s way. It never had been.
Unless she did not truly know him at all.
“Why not destroy me?” she asked. The question burst from her. She regretted it immediately. Let him speak plainly, or get on with her annihilation.
He did not answer her question directly. “This great land that we have shaped is a construct built for unity, stability, and peace above all else. One deity serves all the peoples of the Living Empire, one set of laws, one governing body that sits above all others, and humanity thrives in a world free of incessant war and conflict. Yet all of this is but the extension of an idea, Sungui. A theory, if you will. The idea came from me, and most of the Old Breed adopted it. Those who refused to do so fled across the world, and will soon answer for their denial.
“Ideas are thoughts, and thoughts are the manifestations of power. All wise creatures recognize this truth. Yet what is the worth of the idea that is untested, unquestioned, taken on blind faith to be the ultimate truth of existence? I have kept you close to me throughout these millennia not because you are the most faithful disciple of my Great Idea. I have elevated you into the ranks of my foremost Seraphim not because of your fealty, but because you are the question that tests my resolve.
“You are the speck of doubt that floats upon the sea of my consciousness. You are the other side of the coin. No, you are both sides of the coin: A living embodiment of contradiction and duality. I value this quality in you, Sungui. That is why I allow you to doubt me, and to recall the greatness of your own past.
“If you, who doubts the truth of my empire, who second-guesses my conquering of the world and its peoples, who remembers that all of this is only an idea enforced by a single will, if you continue to serve me, then I know that my idea remains worthy. Now, as we prepare to spread our great peace across the second half of this world, I need more than ever to know that you stand with me, despite your doubts.
“The death of a few thousand in war is of no consequence compared with lives of millions who will gain peace from it. If we left mortals to their own rule, mankind would only annihilate itself with hatred and war. Its death will be long in coming, preceded by ages of suffering, blood, and slaughter. Nothing innocent can survive in such a savage world. Man is born of the earth like the beasts of the field, and he carries their vicious nature in his very blood. Yet there is also nobility and love and the potential for immortality there as well. We must foster this potential by denying the savage nature of these Earthborn. We are the preservers of mankind, the lightbringers, the scions of peace. This is the sole reason for the Living Empire’s existence and expansion.
“You are not without compassion, child. In fact, because of your dual nature you love more deeply than all others. I have seen this. You are a creature not only of doubt, but of passion. In this you are much like those we fight to foster and preserve. I ask you to consider all of this as we spread our great peace to the Five Cities and its peoples.
“You want power, you want freedom. Yet these things are already yours, more than any other who walks my domain. I will not remove your doubt by recasting your spirit, and I will not consign you to oblivion. You must choose to serve me freely, and in doing so you will remind me that our cause, our Holy Crusade, is just.
“Before you answer, consider this as well: As the High Seraphim, who were once the Old Breed, are Diminished before me, so I am Diminished before my own creation. I am the Living Empire. The more of myself I invest to preserve it, the more I am bound into its existence. As a rich man is owned by his wealth, so I am possessed by my creation. We are inseparable. You and your brethren serve me, this is true. But I serve the empire, for the reasons I have told you. This is the true source of my divinity: The sacrifice of my infinite potential for the benefit of the world. My power is my empire, and my empire is my power. I serve mankind, as mankind must serve me. There is love at the core of all my crimes, sins, and devastations. This world must be made whole, and I make it so.
“Carry these words with you as you carry your doubt, Sungui.”
Sungui’s eyes were wet. How could she ever dream of betraying such a noble dream? Zyung’s sacrifice was the light of the world. The hope for its future. What better cause to serve than this? There was none other, only the slumbering desire for the ancient freedom she had known in the days of Blood and Fire. Days when the Old Breed were dark Gods who toppled pre-human civilizations as children cast aside their toys. Zyung was among the first to tire of such sport, replacing it with his Great Idea. Yet Iardu had resisted him even at its birth, fleeing into realms where chaos persisted. What secret did Iardu know about mankind and its savage nature? Or was he simply selfish?
“What of Ianthe?” Sungui asked. “And Gammir? Do they serve you truly?”
Zyung frowned. The inner flames of his eyes grew brighter.
“Not yet,” he said. “They serve themselves and believe that I do not know it. The Panther has ruled in defiance of Iardu for so long, she wishes only to maintain her power. Gammir is little more than her lapdog. Yet in serving their own desires, these two will serve mine as well. Their enemies are also mine, so they will aid me to regain their lost kingdom. Yet once their desires are fulfilled, they would of course betray me. Before that time comes, I will sway them to our cause. I will teach them to love me, and to love mankind. Failing that, I will end them. But not yet. They are of use to me. To us.”
Sungui was still uncertain as to how much Zyung knew about her dalliances with the Wolf and Panther. Yet his words had moved her. His wisdom saw through the fawning words and false pledges of Ianthe, yet did his power see through the blinding screen of her own servitude? Perhaps he did not need to, for he already knew what to expect from Ianthe and Gammir.
“I will consider all that you have said,” Sungui told him. “As I continue to serve your Great Idea, and your Holy Will.” She bowed low.
“I know that you will,” said Zyung. “You may go.”
Sungui departed the council chamber heedless of the crewmen and warriors walking the upper decks. Her thoughts were cast inward, churning like the restless sea after the sinking of Moro-vanga. The High Lord Celestial was testing her–he had been testing her for ages. She suddenly realized how important her service was to him. This meant that her power was even greater than she had recognized. Yet still Zyung knew that he could obliterate her if she moved in open rebellion. That she had never done. There were none to join her in that endeavor, none who could overcome their fear of his matchless power.
That is, until the coming of Ianthe and Gammir. The Wolf and Panther feared nothing.
There was much to think about.
She went below decks to take her rest. The armada turned its prows westward once again. Tomorrow they would see the mainland, and the true battles would begin.
The seed of doubt continued to hum in her heart. It would grow, like any seed, according to the forces that shaped and directed its power.
She met Ianthe after midnight beneath the branches of the flag-ship’s Ethus Tree. The heart chamber was empty but for the tree and the six High Seraphim gathered between its curling root-walls. The ship was quiet save for the distant beating of its wings and the synchronized grunting of the night oarsmen. Sungui’s senses were always amplified this close to the tree; she did not know if the others could hear these sounds as she did.
The armada was speeding toward the mainland. It was only a matter of hours until they touched ground where the stones of Shar Dni lay gathering dust.
This latest assembly of conspirators might have taken place on some other ship, further from Zyung’s presence. Yet Ianthe and Gammir were restricted to the Daystar. The Almighty wished to keep them close, as he had kept her in his sight all these millennia. The Panther’s power might screen her actions and words from Zyung, but evidently she did not wish to risk being able to hide her physical absence from the ship. Perhaps her screening only worked when done right under the Almighty’s nose. It was a tactic Sungui herself had used in the past, although now she doubted that her own efforts at deceiving Zyung had ever worked. He had tolerated her ceremonies of remembrance instead of quashing them. Could he be tolerating Ianthe’s plot as well?
In the shadow of the golden tree the Panther and her Wolf waited for Sungui. She was not surprised to see fat Durangshara standing there; the cruel one had responded to Ianthe’s wickedness because it matched his own. As far as Sungui knew, Durangshara did not feed on the blood of slaves, but he enjoyed their torment. She was surprised, however, to find Bahlah the Young and Lochdan the Eye with Ianthe, for those two had never joined the ceremonies of Those Who Listen. Sungui had thought them hopelessly Diminished. Ianthe’s charms, it seemed, were formidable enough to sway even those who had never questioned their faith in Zyung. Sungui was once again impressed.
The Panther’s flesh glimmered pale among the yellow roots of the Ethus. Her milky locks were smooth and straight, her eyes black diamonds. The power of those eyes rivaled Zyung’s own, as the dark of midnight rivals the brightness of noonday. Gammir leaned against the tree, his lupine face more handsome than any of the Seraphim. Sungui had enjoyed her tryst with him, yet like most men he had no interest in her male aspect. Ianthe was the only lover who demanded pleasure from both Sungui’s male and female forms, and the Panther had made that demand every night since the first. Sungui relished the fulfilling of that wish.
Zyung’s words rang in her head like shards of dream lingering in a mind not fully awake. Since speaking with him three hours ago, she had meditated privately in her cabin, until Ianthe’s summons had arrived like a whisper of wind.
“I see our numbers have grown,” Sungui said, nodding to the three newcomers.
Durangshara’s robe glimmered as his great belly shook with chuckling. “I should have known Sungui would join your coven, Ianthe,” he said. “Her ambition has been known to us for centuries.” His eyes roamed across the curves of Sungui’s body. He would never have her in either aspect. His brutal proclivities had always disgusted her.
Bahlah and Lochdan merely nodded. They were far more interested in Ianthe’s body than in either of Sungui’s aspects. Gammir, however, stared at Sungui with a knowing smirk. He knew that she had found him irresistible, and he enjoyed the fact. She wondered if Ianthe had lied about Gammir not being her lover. The two seemed well accustomed to decadence and depravity.
Ianthe greeted Sungui with a smile red as blood. “You spoke with the God-King?”
Sungui blinked. “We do not call him this,” she said.
Ianthe threw her head back. “Ah, yes, the Almighty. Forgive me…” Her mockery brought another chuckle from Durangshara.
“His Holiness is also acceptable,” said Sungui. “I spoke with him at some length. Though he did most of the talking.”
“What did he say?” Ianthe asked.
Should I tell her that he does not trust her? Should I inform her that he expects–allows–my defiance? That he gives me license to make up my own mind, believing I will choose his wisdom over my own lust for power?
For some reason she could not yet identify, Sungui chose not to reveal everything.
“He spoke of trust,” she said, “and our holy mission in the Land of the Five Cities. I believe he regrets the deaths he caused today, and those to come. Yet his resolve is unbreakable.”
Ianthe stepped closer. “He does not suspect that you plot against him?”
He does.
“He does not,” Sungui said. “Unless he hides it from me. He knows that he can use your ambitions to his own ends. He plans to fulfill his promise by restoring you to the throne of Khyrei. In his name, of course.”
“Of course,” Ianthe grinned. Her teeth were as white as her skin and hair, bright as pearls, the incisors sharp as tiny knives. Even in her human form, the Panther was never far away from her. “You see? I told you my sorcery would keep our planning from his awareness. Even now he cannot see or sense this meeting directly below his flying seat of power. Unlike you Seraphim, I remain Undiminished in his presence, and that is the soul of our coming victory.”
“Tell me more of this plan,” said Durangshara. “Exactly how will we depose His Holiness and divide his empire? There are too many High Seraphim, even for so many provinces, and not all of them will join us. What of those who refuse? Will they not tip our hand?”
Ianthe ran a single talon along Durangshara’s fleshy jowl. He stood captivated by her eyes. “Patience and confidence is required, Sweet One,” said the Panther. “There is one whose power nearly matches that of Zyung. Even now he prepares a force of Old Breed to confront and destroy your High Lord Celestial. You saw the might displayed by Khama, foolhardy as it was, and I can tell you that Khama will rise again to face us on the mainland. He will join with the one of whom I speak, the one Men call Iardu the Shaper. Others, too, have already joined him. He wakes them from their long dreams, stoking the fires of their power. I have misled your sovereign into believing this will amount to naught, but those who stand against Zyung will be formidable foes.”
“Yet Iardu is your enemy as well,” said Lochdan.
“Forever,” said Ianthe, her hand falling to his lean shoulder. “Yet he believes me vanquished. His eyes are upon Zyung and this Holy Armada. All his power, and the powers of those he gathers, will be aimed at the God-King. This is a final confrontation that has brewed for ten thousand years.”
“What must we do then?” asked Bahlah. “Join this Iardu in open defiance?”
“Perhaps not,” said Ianthe, pinning him with her gaze. “It may come to that, but only at the very end. We simply serve Zyung as best we can until Iardu and his sorcerers strike. This might be in the Valley of the Bull, or soon after, but it matters not. We remain faithful–all of us–until the moment the Almighty needs us to engage these Old Breed. Then we do nothing. He will be outnumbered by the Undiminished who are rising to face him. Until then, we continue to win as many of the High Seraphim to our cause as we can. The Lesser Seraphim are of no consequence; they are little more than slaves trained to use small magics.”
“I have seen the persuasiveness of your arguments and your sorcery,” said Durangshara. “But still you cannot hope to gain the majority of the High Seraphim to our cause. The time is not long, and the Diminished are stubborn. Many would rather be sent to salt than betray His Holiness.”
“Then they shall be!” said Ianthe, returning her attention to the cruel one. “While Zyung faces Iardu and his forces, our coven will move quickly among the Seraphim, salting those who refuse to join us. When our conspiracy is revealed in that moment of fire and fury, more of the Diminished will then choose rebellion over annihilation. By striking at the heart of Zyung’s ranks when he needs them the most, we will increase his vulnerability to Iardu.”
“And if Iardu’s forces still fail to overcome Zyung?” asked Sungui.
“Then–and only then–we move against Zyung himself.”
“You would have us join with your enemy?” Durangshara grimaced.
“To end Zyung, yes,” said Ianthe. “The battle will tax Iardu, and he will accept even my aid if he thinks it means victory. When the God-King is defeated, we may turn upon the weakened Iardu and send him to salt. Along with any who still serve him.”
“A clever strategy,” said Lochdan, rubbing his pointed beard. “We let Iardu and his allies exhaust themselves against the Almighty, helping only if we must, then turn upon them while they have no strength left to resist us. What then?”
Ianthe spread her arms and stared up at the mass of limbs that was the living core of the Daystar. She closed her eyes, as if dreaming that perfect moment when both Iardu and Zyung were gone from the world forever. “Then you freed Seraphim will take your fine, golden ships back to the other side of the world and divide the Living Empire amongst yourselves. Gammir and I wish only to rule this side. The Land of the Five Cities is ours. Surely it ranks no more than two or three provinces when compared to the vast empire Zyung has built? There will be plenty for each surviving Seraphim to rule as he sees fit. And if some of you turn upon the others to claim their lands for your own, then let the strongest rule. Yet all of you will be God-Kings instead of slaves.”
Sungui considered the ramifications of such a victory. The continent before them would suffer beneath the rule of Ianthe. She guessed that it was only Iardu and Khama who had stood between Ianthe and her domination of the Five Cities until now. With those obstacles removed, she and Gammir would reign over this far side of the world. The Living Empire, however, would be fragmented and ruined, broken into a chaos of scrabbling Seraphim who no longer cowered before the Almighty’s unifying power. She knew Durangshara would not settle for a single province, no matter how large or wealthy. Others would feel the same.
It would be like the Lost Ages, the Ages of Blood and Fire. The Old Breed would once again rattle the earth with their steps. Zyung’s precious order, his long-lasting and hard-won peace, would be less than a memory, his Great Idea proven false. War and savagery would reclaim the kingdoms of Man. This was the awesome price of free will, the dissolution of the Living Empire; the former Seraphim would feast upon its rotting corpse. The call of chaos and the thrill of destruction quickened Sungui’s blood.
Remember the red feasts, the howling sacrifices and rivers of blood.
Remember the colossal temples and the roaring of multitudes groveling at your feet.
Remember when they worshipped you, not Zyung.
It will be that way again.
“One question remains unanswered,” said Durangshara. “Those you plan to approach in these next few hours… what of the ones who refuse? One voice or stray thought is all it will take to alert His Holiness to our betrayal.”
Ianthe licked her lips. “Have you so little faith, Sweet One?” She gave Durangshara a brief kiss. “Those who refuse me will never remember speaking to me.”
Durangshara smiled and nodded.
“How will you move among the ships?” asked Sungui. “Can you hide even your absence from His Holiness?”
“Alas, no,” said the Panther. Her face drew close to Sungui’s, as if she would dare to kiss her too in full view of the rest. “I will remain here, where my spell continues to blind Zyung. My spirit will approach your brethren in ways my body cannot. I will taste the bloodflower and draw each of them into the Red Dream, where we will speak of regaining lost power. When next we gather, many others will join us. Those who remain beyond our reach will not recall my presence. Dreams, above all other dangers, are most easily forgotten.”
“Tomorrow we reach Shar Dni,” said Bahlah. “How many Seraphim can you visit in the few hours before dawn?”
“All of them,” said Ianthe.
The conspirators nodded, exchanging pleased glances.
They departed as one, dispersing to their individual cabins and ships. Sungui longed to lie with Ianthe again, but the Panther would be far too busy tonight working her dreamspell. So Sungui went instead with Gammir and gave herself again to the Wolf’s embrace. Gammir’s lovemaking was only a taste of the blood and fire and chaos that was to come. When the Living Empire was carved into pieces and the Old Breed walked the earth in their full power once again, every night would taste like this.
I serve mankind, as mankind must serve me.
There is love at the core of all my crimes, sins, and devastations.
This world must be made whole, and I make it so.
Zyung’s justifications rang in her ears still.
She drowned them in the rush of Gammir’s hot blood, the fire of his caress, and the pleasures he rained upon her body like blows.
Somewhere nearby, Ianthe crept through the doorways of a thousand dreams.