The Forsaken Hero

Korra’s embrace left me barely enough room to breathe. I hugged her back, smiling against her shoulder even as my ribs began to ache.

”That’s enough out of you. You know how tired she must be,” R’lissea scolded, planting her hands on her hips.

Korra loosened her grip, and I drew a grateful breath before turning to hug R’lissea. Her stern expression softened as she gathered me close.

”I can’t believe you really did it,” she whispered, rubbing her cheek against mine.

Then she glanced past me at Luke, and her eyes narrowed.

”And you? Was Soltair truly that strong?”

She raised her hands. Golden-green light spilled between her fingers and seeped through the rents in his clothing. Luke exhaled as the lines of Sunpurge faded beneath her Requiem, leaving unblemished skin behind.

”Wait, Luke, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize...” My fingers curled into my skirt. I’d been holding him, talking to him, while those wounds kept burning.

He offered me a small smile. ”Think nothing of it. This was nothing compared to when I thought I’d lost you.”

From anyone else, I might have taken it as an attempt to comfort me. But I remembered the silence where his presence should have been, the times I’d reached through our bond and found nothing. I lowered my eyes.

”Now that you’re here, Apostle, perhaps you could update us on the situation,” Bethiv said.

Luke turned toward the officers gathered around Incinderus. He gave them a much fuller account than he’d shared with me, tracing troop movements and breaches in their lines, listing losses I wished I hadn’t heard.

I stayed beside R’lissea, listening. Luke and the remnants had finally pinned down Soltair and Luxaria, only for the golden dome to rise over the Divine Throne and cover their retreat. His tail flicked when he described it.

”What matters is that we’ve driven them into their hole,” Bethiv said. ”Now we need to dig them out.”

”That barrier concerns me,” Incinderus replied, clicking his claws together. ”It reeks of sun magic. I’m not certain we demons will be able to enter.”

”That strong?” I asked.

He nodded. ”It has the strength of a world barrier. Even with your magic and the Fatesworn’s techniques, you’ll struggle to bring more than a handful with infernal blood inside.”

”Then most of our forces will remain outside, keeping their armies occupied,” Luke said. ”We’ve broken the forces defending the Throne, but there are still millions across Enusia. We cannot let them rally behind us.”

”It’s just like a demon gate,” R’lissea murmured.

Everyone turned toward her. She hunched her shoulders a little.

”The Divine Throne, I mean. They’ve sealed it off and given it a powerful attribute. Just like the realms beyond the gates.”

”There’s truth to that,” Bethiv said.

Korra clapped her hands, making me jump.

”Wait. Does that mean we finally get to do a raid together?” She grinned at me. ”You, me, Grace, R’lissea. I suppose Luke and his apostles can come too.”

”And Nithali,” I added. ”She knows the Throne better than any of us. We’ll need her help against the ninth-levels inside.”

Luke nodded. ”Then that will be our core. The heroes, apostles, and whatever other mortal forces we can gather will enter the Throne. The rest of the Fatesworn and the infernal horde will hold the armies outside. One way or another, we finish this here.”

”I don’t like sending you in without us,” Incinderus said, looking at me. ”The Lord of Ash will be most displeased if something happens to you.”

”I’ll be alright. Fable will be there. Right?”

My wolf cocked his head, looking at me as though I’d asked whether he intended to keep breathing. I reached up to scratch his chin, and he leaned into my hand.

”Will that be enough?” Bethiv asked. ”That leaves Lord Luke, Lady Xiviyah, Fable, and Lady Nithali as our ninth-levels. Can you call the remnants and demon lords once inside, or will you be fighting outnumbered?”

”Outnumbered, I’m afraid.”

Jessia appeared at the edge of the gathering. My hand stilled beneath Fable’s chin.

”The Pope, the Grand Inquisitor, Soltair, and four other ninth-levels are within the Throne. And I wouldn’t count on reaching Haven. That ward seals space almost entirely. Even I had trouble slipping through.”

”You’ve already been inside?” Luke asked, raising an eyebrow.

”Naturally.” She smiled at him, then glanced at me. ”Our little Oracle should be able to manage it too. I doubt anything less will suffice.”

”Did you learn anything else?” Korra asked. ”Scout their defenses?”

”I found the source of the barrier. It’s deep in the Dusk Chambers, guarded by the Grand Inquisitor and his elite forces.” Jessia brushed a speck of dust from her sleeve. ”And those of you with infernal blood should expect to be weakened inside. Even I hated the feel of it, and I’m human.”

”Sometimes I wonder about that,” I muttered.

She grinned, entirely untroubled.

Luke cleared his throat. ”If they have the advantage in numbers, we must prevent them from concentrating their strength. They won’t expect us to teleport through their barrier. We strike several positions from within, all at once.”

”Didn’t that end in disaster last time?” Korra asked.

His tail stiffened.

”The strategy was sound. This time, Rash’alon won’t be here to turn half our forces against us.”

”But we won’t be fighting as one party,” she said. ”We’ll lose much of the teamwork we’ve trained for.”

”There may be room for both,” Bethiv interrupted.

He beckoned one of the mages over. After a brief consultation with Jessia, an illusory model of the Divine Throne took shape above the table. Pale towers rose around courtyards and training grounds, their foundations fading into a web of tunnels.

I recognized more than I wanted to. My eyes followed a passage beneath the central halls before I made myself look away.

”The world shard lies in the archives beneath the mountains, accessible only through the library,” Bethiv said, glancing at me.

I nodded. ”That’s right.”

”Then we secure the approaches before entering the archives together.” He pointed to the chambers beneath the Throne. ”One team to the Dusk Chambers, to deal with the barrier and the inquisitors. Others to the warriors’ grounds and the mages’ towers. Both hold substantial forces. Leave them intact, and they’ll follow you underground and trap you between them and the defenders below.”

”Xiv and I will take the mages,” Luke said.

”No.” Jessia wagged a finger. ”Xiviyah comes with me.”

I stared at her. Luke’s hand settled against my back.

”The inquisitors have some unpleasant tricks prepared,” she continued. ”I’ll need her magic, and she’ll need my help getting past them. Besides, we can’t simply smash the formation sustaining the barrier. It’s delicate work. Break it carelessly, and all that power will discharge into the Throne.”

Her finger passed through the model’s foundations.

”The halls collapse, the tunnels are buried, and we spend weeks digging through a mountain. Time our Oracle doesn’t have.”

I bit my lip, clenching my hands in my skirt. I’d seen how deeply the spell reached into the stone. If that much power was released at once, there might not be a passage left to find.

Perhaps that was why they’d hidden its source so far underground. We couldn’t reach the shard while the barrier stood, but destroying it might put the shard beyond our reach altogether.

”I’m not sending Xiviyah into the inquisitors’ lair with you alone,” Luke said. ”I’m coming.”

”We need you elsewhere,” Bethiv replied. ”There’s a ninth-level warrior commanding the training grounds. Someone must hold him.”

Luke looked down at the map without answering.

”Fable should go to the mages’ quarters,” Bethiv continued. ”Of those we can send, he’s best suited to withstand their magic. Lady Xiviyah’s Adaptive Resistance will help the others, but they’ll still need him at the front.”

”Then I’m with Fable,” Korra said.

She glanced at Gayron, who nodded. Fable’s ears turned toward her, though his head remained beneath my hand.

”I’ll support Luke,” R’lissea said. She gave me a small smile. ”Don’t worry. I’ll look after him.”

I tried to return it. Only a few minutes ago, he’d asked me never to make him leave me again. Now everyone stood around a map, explaining why he had to.

”The other apostles will command the battle outside,” Luke said at last.

”And what about me?” Grace asked.

She stood with her arms folded, looking between Korra and R’lissea.

”You could go with Nithali to the library,” Korra suggested. ”That’s one of the most important positions. Unless you secure it, none of us can reach the archives.”

Grace leaned over the map, studying the halls that led toward the mountain. ”Then we’ll make sure it’s clear when you arrive.”

I followed the routes between our positions. Luke at the training grounds, Fable among the towers, my friends scattered through the halls. Each assignment made sense. I still wanted to gather their names back into one place.

”Do we know where Soltair and the Pope will be?” Luke asked. ”If I must leave Xiviyah, I’d rather it be to face them.”

”Can’t say,” Jessia replied. ”Though I expect Luxaria will stay near the Sun Hero. I doubt the dragon is fond of being underground, but with the world shard at stake, he may be guarding it himself.”

”And the Pope?” R’lissea asked. ”We shouldn’t forget the Fathers, either. Every one of them is a powerful priest.”

”Praying before the shard, if I had to guess,” Incinderus said. A curl of smoke escaped between his teeth. ”They’ll plead for more arbiters until the end. Perhaps even for their gods to descend. Little do they know the Lord of Ash guards our flank.”

Luke rested his hands on the edge of the table. The pale light of the map climbed his fingers, casting the towers’ shadows across his sleeves.

”I’ll find the Pope,” he said. ”No matter where he hides, I’ll hunt him down. He has much to answer for, and the time has come.”