Gathering of the Chosen

  Chapter Twenty-One

  No way up. No way down. No way out. And possibly no way to survive.

  That was Carmaz's opinion of their situation based on a cursory glance of the staircase in which they stood. Behind them were the shadow tendrils of whatever was coming after them, while ahead more shadow tendrils approached them at the same speed.

  Carmaz looked at his friends. Saia was completely useless, because his friend didn't have any sort of weapon or magical powers at all. He was jumping from one foot to another, anxiously looking up and down the stairs as if that would somehow help them get out of this situation alive. Carmaz understood Saia's fear and worry, but all Saia's worrying did was make Carmaz's nerves worse.

  Tashir and Malya were still armed, but Tashir was hauling Alira over his shoulder, while Malya carried the Judge's Rulebook in both of her arms. Had the two been free, Carmaz would have asked them to use their swords to cut them a path down below, but because they weren't, they were no more useful in this situation than he or Saia were.

  As for Carmaz, he was sad to say that he wasn't much better than Saia right now, if somewhat less worried and anxious. He was weaponless and incapable of even the most basic of magical spells. Carmaz may very well have been destined to become the God of Humans someday, but that evidently did not mean that Carmaz would get any actual magic abilities until then.

  “Anyone got a plan?” said Saia, looking around at them all with desperate eyes. “Any ideas at all?”

  “I have an idea,” said Carmaz. He looked at Tashir and Malya and held out his hands. “Give me Alira and give Saia the Rulebook. You two can then use your makhimancy to clear a path for us down to the bottom.”

  “Are you certain that you can carry Alira?” asked Tashir, glancing at the unconscious Judge hanging over his shoulder. “She's quite heavy.”

  “I'm strong,” said Carmaz. “And Saia can carry the Rulebook because he's strong, too.”

  “Very well,” said Tashir. “Here.”

  Tashir gave Alira to Carmaz. Though the Judge certainly did not appear to be a heavy lady, Carmaz found that she weighed more than she looked when he put her over his shoulder. She was like a bag of mud, a feeling Carmaz was familiar with, seeing as he had had to drag bags of mud from the swamps back on Ruwa whenever his village needed them.

  Malya handed the Rulebook to Saia. Although the Rulebook looked a lot lighter than Alira, Saia still struggled to hold it. That made Carmaz wonder just how strong Malya was, considering how she had been holding it just moments before without showing the slightest strain.

  “All right, Malya, are you ready?” said Tashir as he held up his sword, which now glowed before him in the shadows.

  Malya nodded as she drew her double swords out, which glowed like Tashir's blade. “Of course.”

  “Then let's go,” said Tashir.

  The two makhimancers began slashing at the shadows with as much ferocity and speed as they could. They moved faster than Carmaz had ever seen anyone move in his life, which surprised him because Tashir and Malya had always seemed older to him. He supposed that they must somehow keep in great shape. Perhaps that was a requirement of makhimancy.

  In any case, Carmaz was pleased to see that the two were making some progress. With every slash, they tore apart more shadows, allowing them to move forward a couple of steps. Carmaz and Saia followed as closely behind as they could without accidentally getting slashed by the two makhimancers.

  But even with the progress that Tashir and Malya made, the shadows behind them were still creeping up on all of them due to the fact that there was no one to stop them. Carmaz prayed that Tashir and Malya would cut them a long path to the bottom quickly, but that was seeming increasingly unlikely now.

  Especially when the shadows surged forward, causing Tashir and Malya to jump backwards to avoid getting consumed. This forced Carmaz and Saia to stop as well, though Carmaz didn't lose too much hope until twin shadow tendrils lashed out of the darkness at Tashir and Malya. Tashir tried to block them, but his sword was knocked out of his hands and flew into the darkness somewhere, while Malya managed to not only beat the shadows back, but also retain her swords.

  “Great,” said Saia, who was now huffing as if the Rulebook weighed fifty pounds. “What do we do now? Neither of you two would happen to know any other forms of magic we could use to escape, would you?”

  The two makhimancers shook their heads. Tashir said, “No. Makhimancers tend to be very specialized mages, so …”

  “But we'll figure a way out, dear, don't you worry,” said Malya. Then she added, “I hope.”

  Carmaz looked over his shoulder as Tashir and Malya drew closer to them. The shadows were so close now that Carmaz suspected that it would only be minutes before he and the others were engulfed by them. Now Carmaz didn't know much about these shadows or what would happen if these shadows consumed him and the others, but he did know that he was not in the mood to find out personally.

  Where are those damned gods? Carmaz thought, scowling as he looked up and down the stairs at the approaching shadows. They sure are taking their sweet time, if they're doing anything at all about this.

  Carmaz looked at Alira on his shoulder. She was still unconscious, but he decided that they needed to awaken her. If she could teleport the other godlings out of here, then she could do the same to them if she was awake.

  So Carmaz laid Alira on the steps, prompting Saia to shout, “Carmaz, what are you doing? You're supposed to carry her, not dump her!”

  Carmaz ignored his friend's admonishments. He shook Alira as hard as he could, saying, “Wake up! We don't have time for this. You have to get up and you have to get up now.”

  Unfortunately, Alira didn't even stir. Carmaz hadn't realized how hard those shadows had hit her, but they must have hit her hard. In fact, he wondered if she would ever wake up again at all, considering how still and silent she was.

  “Waking up Alira won't work,” said Tashir, shaking his head. “She's out for good, as far as I can tell. We'd do much better to figure out another way to escape.”

  “How?” said Carmaz, looking up at Tashir in annoyance. “We can't use your swords, seeing as you're disarmed, and there's no way that Malya could cut through the shadows all by herself.”

  Tashir opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, a chilling feminine voice from within the shadows said, Oh, how I enjoy the sound of despair in the voices of you mortals. It exhilarates me.

  “Who's there?” said Saia, looking around the shadows in alarm. “Who just said that?”

  The Void did, said the voice, still as chilling as before. Not that it matters, seeing as you will all be dead and consumed within the next few minutes anyway, but I thought you deserved to know my name so you can speak of it in despair in the last minutes of your life.

  “The Void?” said Carmaz. He stopped and looked at Saia. “Know what that is?”

  Saia shrugged, while Tashir sighed and said, “The Void is the darkness that lies beyond the edge of Martir, not far from World's End, in fact. I should have recognized this darkness for what it is. The Void invaded the Undersea not long ago and my friends at the Undersea Institute told me all about it.”

  That I did, said the Void, sounding annoyed. And I would have succeeded in destroying it if that god and that half-god had not gotten in my way. But it doesn't matter, because soon I will destroy not just the Undersea, but all of Martir once more.

  Carmaz thought about asking why the gods weren't stopping her and how the Void had gotten here at all. But with the shadows on all sides drawing closer, he decided that it was more important to come up with a survival plan than ask questions the Void would probably just ignore anyway.

  “Okay, so what's the plan?” said Saia, looking around at everyone again. “Run and hide?”

  Tashir snorted and gestured at the Void's shadows all around them. “Run and hide where? The Void will find us no matter where we go. I am sorry to say, but I don't think there is a way
we can get out of here alive.”

  “There must be,” said Malya, a hint of fear in her voice. Her swords trembled slightly in her hands. “We can't let despair overcome us. As long as we work together, we can survive.”

  Carmaz didn't have anything to add because he had returned his attention to Alira. He was still shaking her, trying to get her to wake up, but it seemed like no matter how hard he shook her, Alira would not even stir. He was even starting to believe that Alira might have somehow fallen into a coma, which would explain why she wasn't waking up.

  Think, Carmaz, think, Carmaz thought. What could I do to wake her up that I haven't tried yet? Hold on, I think I've got it.

  Carmaz raised his hand and slapped Alira straight across the face as hard as he could. Slapping her face was actually quite painful. It was almost like slapping a brick wall, which made him wonder just what the Powers had made Alira out of.

  But he soon forgot about the pain in his hand when he saw Alira's eyes snap open. She then looked up at Carmaz with shocked and confused eyes, as if she did not quite know what Carmaz had done but was surprised by it anyway. Her eyes looked slightly less severe without her glasses, though they still didn't look very friendly to him.

  “What … what happened?” said Alira, shaking her head as she rubbed the spot on her face where Carmaz had slapped her. “Did someone slap me?”

  “Yes, I did,” said Carmaz, nodding. He pointed at the darkness around them, which was so close now that he could see literally nothing else beyond their tiny little circle. “And if you don't do something fast, then the Void will kill us all.”

  “The Void?” said Alira. She sat up, forcing Carmaz to back away slightly to give her room. She looked around at the darkness around her and frowned. “This is against the rules.”

  Carmaz sighed heavily, but refrained from hitting her again. “Yes, Judge, we know. That's why we awoke you, so you could get us out of here.”

  Do you really think I will just let you five escape like that? said the Void. I'm not that stupid, you know.

  Without warning, a dozen shadow tendrils shot out of the darkness toward them. But Alira raised her hand and unleashed a barrier of light that surrounded all of them. The shadow tendrils disintegrated as soon as they touched the barrier, though Carmaz noticed how tired Alira looked from that effort alone.

  Clever, said the Void. But I wonder how much longer you will be able to maintain that barrier. Not much, I should think, considering how weak you are.

  “She has a point,” said Alira through gritted teeth. She was already starting to sweat, which glistened in the light of the barrier. “I'm supposed to be a Judge, not a fighter. I'm not as strong as the gods. I can barely hold on as is.”

  “Then why don't you just teleport us out of here?” said Carmaz. “Don't you have enough energy to do that, at least?”

  “I do, but I would need to drop the barrier first,” said Alira. “And the Void moves fast. She might be able to move fast enough to kill us all before I can teleport us to safety.”

  “Do it anyway,” Carmaz said, glancing at the shadows on the other side of the barrier, which were as thick as storm clouds now. “I think we can escape if we move fast enough. Everyone, grab—”

  Carmaz was interrupted by a shattering sound and Saia screaming. He looked in Saia's direction to see that one of the shadow tendrils had broken through the barrier and grabbed Saia around the neck. It was trying to drag him through the hole in the barrier, but Saia was somehow managing to stand his ground. But he was still moving closer and closer to the hole in the barrier, so Carmaz ran over to save him before he was pulled in entirely.

  He wrapped his arms around Saia's body and pulled as hard as he could, but he could feel his feet slipping underneath him. They were both being dragged closer and closer to the Void, despite Carmaz's best efforts to pull him back. He didn't know what the Void would do to Saia or him exactly, but he doubted that it would be anything good.

  “Carmaz!” Saia screamed, his voice sounding choked due to the tightness with which the Void held his neck. “I can't breathe!”

  “Hold on, Saia!” Carmaz shouted in return. “Don't worry. I got you.”

  Then Carmaz felt two strong arms wrap around his waist and, looking over his shoulder, saw Tashir was helping him save Saia. Grateful for Tashir's help, Carmaz then returned his attention to saving Saia. He put even more effort into pulling Saia back and could feel Tashir doing the same.

  Saia's screams seemed to get louder with every second, despite the fact that he was unable to breathe. Carmaz didn't say anything, however, because he was so focused on saving Saia that he didn't have any energy to speak.

  But unfortunately, Carmaz could feel both he and Tashir being dragged closer and closer to the Void's darkness. Granted, Tashir's weight had slowed their movement slightly, but it was still obvious that Saia was going to be dragged into the shadows no matter what he or Tashir did. Carmaz banished those thoughts from his mind, however, because they did not help him do what he needed to do in order to save his friend.

  Now Saia was making choking noises. They were horrible in Carmaz's ears, making him feel as sickly as if he had come down with a terrible disease.

  Then, without warning, Saia dropped Alira's Rulebook. The sudden sound of the Rulebook's impact on the floor—a great, big loud whomp—surprised Carmaz. As a result, he relaxed his grip on Saia's body only slightly.

  But it was enough. In a second, Saia's whole body slipped out of his arms and his friend vanished into the shadows of the Void without another word.

  “Saia!” Carmaz shouted. “No!”

  Carmaz wanted to go into the Void after Saia, but Tashir was still holding onto him and was now dragging Carmaz away from the Void as fast as he could. “Don't be an idiot, Carmaz. If you go in there after him, you'll die as well.”

  Carmaz didn't pay any attention to Tashir's words as he struggled to break free of Tashir's grip. All he wanted to do was delve into the Void after Saia. He didn't know how he'd save his friend or if it was even possible to do so. Still, his every instinct told him to save his friend, regardless of what harm might come to him as a result.

  “Everyone!” Alira shouted behind Carmaz. “We are teleporting now!”

  The light barrier immediately fell, and as soon as it did, Carmaz felt himself swept off his feet and into another world of darkness quite different from the Void. He couldn't breathe for a second. Then he felt solid ground under his feet again and he was blinded by the outside light for a moment before his eyes readjusted to the brightness.

  All four of them were on the streets of World's End now. Wherever Carmaz looked, he saw the other godlings, as well as the Soldiers of the Gods, who had surrounded the godlings as if to protect them from the Void. None of them seemed hurt, but all of them seemed afraid or worried.

  It took Carmaz a moment to realize that they had teleported outside of the Stadium. It took him another moment to realize that he was looking at the Stadium itself. Only now, the Stadium was completely consumed in shadow. It looked like a solid black pillar standing among the rest of the city, with shadow tendrils extending out from its top toward the other buildings like the tentacles of an octopus.

  Though Carmaz noticed all of that, he didn't really focus on anything, not even when the Soldiers of the Gods ran over to them and began looking them over for wounds. A couple of them even checked on Alira, but the Judge waved them off irritably as she stood up to her full height. She squinted at the shadow-covered Stadium, looking more like her old self even without her glasses.

  “Judge Alira!” one of the Soldiers said, who Carmaz recognized as Captain Garvan. “We are so glad you are safe. We thought—”

  “Shut up,” Alira snapped at Garvan. “Tell me, are all of the godlings safe?”

  “Yes, ma'am,” said Garvan, nodding. “The only ones that are unaccounted for are most of the Hollech Bracket participants, such as Princess Raya.”

  Raya must still be in there, C
armaz thought, looking at the Void again. Or is dead, just like Saia.

  “That is not good,” said Alira, shaking her head. “But what about Braim Kotogs?”

  “We do not know where he is located at this present time,” said Garvan. “We thought that he might be with you.”

  “He was kidnapped by the assassin that had tried to kill Princess Raya yesterday,” said Alira. “That's all I know about his disappearance.”

  “Noted, Judge,” said Garvan. “Do you want us to go and find him or—”

  “No,” said Alira. She pointed at the Void. “Go and find any gods you can and get them over here to help deal with this. Tell your men to relocate the godlings. Get them as far from this place as you can. Understood?”

  “Perfectly, ma'am,” said Garvan, saluting her. He nodded at Carmaz, Tashir, and Malya. “Does that include these three?”

  “It does,” said Alira. “We must not allow the Void to kill these godlings. Otherwise, the Tournament itself will be radically changed forever.”

  “Understood,” said Garvan. He then gestured at Carmaz, Tashir, and Malya. “You three, come with me. I will take you away to a safer part of the city while Alira and the gods deal with the Void.”

  Tashir and Malya walked over to Garvan without any fuss or complaint, but Carmaz did not move from where he stood. He was too busy staring at the shadow-covered Stadium, hoping to see Saia run out of the building's entrance alive and well, for any sign that Saia was still living. He wasn't even sure that he could move, at least until he realized that his feet were already taking him over to Garvan without him even thinking about it.

  As Carmaz walked over to Garvan, he saw a flash of light out of the corner of his eye and looked up. He saw dozens of the gods flying around the Stadium, firing energy blasts at the Void, but none of their attacks left much of a dent in the Void. The attacks simply vanished into the Void's darkness, leaving no sign at all that the Void had even been touched.

  If even the gods can't beat this thing, then how can we? Carmaz thought, feeling his courage drain away at the thought. What does this mean for the rest of us? And what about those who are still in the Stadium, the Hollech Bracket challengers? What about Raya?

  Carmaz looked at the others. Garvan was now leading him, Tashir, and Malya back to the rest of the godlings, who were being led away from the Stadium by Garvan's men. He knew that he should just follow Garvan and get to safety. After all, he had no real powers to speak of, which made him practically useless against the Void. Besides, he had the strongest suspicion that Raya was already dead or dying in the embrace of the Void. She was just as powerless as he was, after all, and likely had even less advanced warning of the Void's assault than they did. Going back in there to rescue her would be suicide. At best, he would only be able to recover her body so that her parents could give her the burial that she deserved.

  Even so, that didn't make Carmaz feel comfortable at all. He kept thinking of Saia, how he had failed to save his best friend in the whole world. The full emotional reality had not yet hit him—that much he knew, as he was still thinking rationally—but sooner or later it would, and by then he would probably not be in any position to do anything except mourn the loss of his friend.

  And if it turns out that Raya is dead as well … Carmaz didn't finish the thought.

  So, without telling anyone else what he was about to do, Carmaz turned and ran back to the Stadium, back to the Void. He heard Alira and the others yelling at him to get back, but he didn't listen to them. He just ran and ran as fast as he could, without a plan or even a thought as to how he might avoid suffering the same fate that had befallen Saia. He would just have to improvise.

  As Carmaz approached the Void, a dozen or so shadow tendrils emerged from the darkness and flew toward him. This time, there was no dodging them. One of the tendrils slapped him in the face. It felt like being slapped by the cold arm of a corpse. The others, meanwhile, wrapped around his body and arms, completely immobilizing him and making it impossible for him to escape.

  What foolishness, said the Void, though Carmaz thought he only heard its voice in his head. You escaped me, but now you return to me? Though I'm hardly complaining. This just makes it all the easier to consume you.

  Then Carmaz felt the Void's slimy cold tendrils squeezing around his body. The pressure was intense enough to make him cry out in pain, but his cry was choked and barely escaped his mouth, coming out more like a pathetic squeak than anything else. Even so, he didn't give up. He fought against it as best as he could, but no matter how hard he fought, the Void's grip on his body only became tighter.

  But then four swords came out of nowhere and slashed the tendrils that had grabbed Carmaz. The tendrils around his body immediately loosened and vanished, while the other half returned to the Void itself without delay.

  Carmaz—whose body was now almost completely drained of his energy—fell to his hands and knees on the cold stone street, gasping for air. He was still cold, but at least now he was no longer suffocating.

  He then looked up, wondering who had saved him (and thinking that it might be one of the gods), when he saw the four-armed assassin from yesterday standing above him. The shadowy giant glared down at him from behind its mask, making Carmaz wonder if he had managed to escape the muck of a swamp only to jump straight into the fire.

  But then Braim appeared at the assassin's side, grabbed Carmaz by the collar of his shirt, and lifted him up to his feet. Carmaz staggered, but managed to regain his footing quickly. He then looked at Braim in surprise.

  “Braim?” said Carmaz. “How did you get here? And what are you doing with that assassin?”

  “She's on our side right now,” said Braim, gesturing at the assassin, who was still glaring at both of them. “I'll explain later. Anyway, what's going on? I just got here.”

  Carmaz pointed at the Stadium. “The Void appeared and covered the Stadium in its shadow. Almost all of the godlings got out alive, although most of the Hollech Bracket participants are still in there and we aren't sure if they are dead or not.”

  “Does that include Raya?” said Braim, glancing at the Void.

  “Yes,” said Carmaz, nodding. “I was going to go in and save her, but—”

  “I got it,” said Braim. “But where did the Void even come from? I thought the Powers had given it firm boundaries to make sure it didn't enter.”

  “I don't know,” said Carmaz. “It said something about some natural laws breaking or something. I didn't understand it.”

  Braim, on the other hand, looked as though he understood exactly what Carmaz was talking about. And based on his expression, he looked rather guilty, even though, as far as Carmaz knew, Braim had absolutely nothing to do with this situation at all.

  “All right,” said Braim. He jerked a thumb in the direction of the Stadium. “I'll go in and rescue Raya and anyone else I can find. You just go back with everyone else and get the hell out of here.”

  “Why?” said Carmaz. He shuddered due to the cold still in his body. “You're mortal just like the rest of us. The Void will consume you just like it did to Saia.”

  “Saia?” said Braim in surprise. He looked around. “You mean—”

  “Yes,” Carmaz interrupted. “And I would have suffered the same fate as him if you hadn't saved me. So—as much as it pains me to admit this—I think we should leave this to the gods.”

  Braim glanced at the Void, but then shook his head. “Nah. I'm partially responsible for this mess. I think I have to fix it.”

  “You?” said Carmaz. “But how?”

  “Again, I'll fill you in another time,” said Braim. “For now, I have to deal with the Void. I can help the gods.”

  Carmaz wasn't sure that he believed Braim, yet the firmness in Braim's voice told him that this mage was not to be argued with. And frankly, after almost getting killed by the Void, Carmaz felt grateful that someone else was going to go in there and save the day rather than himself.

  So Carmaz pla
ced one hand on Braim's shoulder and said, “All right. But be careful. Even the gods cannot harm it.”

  “Yeah, I know,” said Braim. “But I'll be fine.”

  With one final nod, Carmaz turned and ran back to join the others. Still, he looked over his shoulder one last time to see Braim and the assassin disappear into the Void.

  And—perhaps for the first time in his life—Carmaz prayed to the gods to keep Braim safe.

  ***