Chapter 36|Reckoning
Shanis’ hand tingled as her fingers closed around the hilt of the stone sword. Fire coursed through her veins. She felt powerful. She whipped the sword, light as a feather, around and held it out in front of her. What she saw made her gasp.
Sparks ran up and down the edge of the blade, and within its black stone depths, tiny lights like stars whirled. Faster they spun, until the entire surface of the blade was streaked with silver light. And then the sword began to change.
Beginning at the tip, the light coalesced into solid metal, the brightest silver she had ever seen. As the stars continued to whirl, the band of silver crept downward, turning the blade to something like steel. Against the silver background, the outline of the serpent shone in dancing red fire. It seemed an eternity, but somehow she knew it had taken only a matter of heartbeats.
A mist rose all around, dimming the glow and obscuring her friends from view. What is happening? The statue from which she had taken the sword spun, slowly first then faster, and began to sink. The floor started to tilt down toward the disappearing statue, and soon there was a gaping hole in the center of the room. She shifted her weight to try and maintain her balance, but despite the sloping floor, it felt as if she was standing on level ground.
The serpent drew back before her, hissing and swaying from side-to-side. Suddenly the creature was no longer so anxious for her blood. It did not snap at her, but continued to draw back. It swayed hypnotically, and its hisses almost sounded like words.
Ssssselfisshh. Cannot be the one. Sssselfisshh. Its eyes burned a brilliant emerald flame in the midst of the cool fog. They drew Shanis in, muddling her thoughts. You have drawn it. Only by your death may you let it go. It continued to undulate, swaying before her, just out of reach of the sword.
The thickening soup of fog dampened the shouts of her friends. Larris’ voice came faint to her ears. “Kill it Shanis! Kill it!” She willed her feet to move, and again noticed the strange sensation of walking on soft, level ground. She took a tentative step toward the serpent, then another. Her legs felt like stone.
The serpent glided to its left. As she turned to follow, she caught sight of a thin band of light forming a square in the wall behind the creature, its intense glow shining through the fog. The serpent slithered backward, sliding closer to the light. Shanis followed. As the creature neared the wall, she noticed that the seam in the stone she had discovered had opened up into a doorway.
“There’s a way out!” she shouted. “Follow my voice until you see the light.” The serpent was blocking the way. She had to drive it away so the others could escape. Without further thought, she leapt forward, swinging with all her might. The sword seemed to sing as it whistled through the air, narrowly missing the serpent. She was amazed that the weapon seemed to have no weight at all. She whipped a backhand stroke that narrowly missed severing the snake’s foul head, and was forced to leap aside as it struck hard at her chest. She felt a burning sensation over her heart, and for a moment thought she had been struck, but a quick glance told her otherwise.
The creature drew back again, and hissed. Ssselfisssh you are. The Sssilver Ssserpent mussst be wielded by one who isss willing to sssacrifice. You think only of yourssself. You cannot be the one.
She was stunned. The sword was the Silver Serpent? Then she remembered what the beast had said before. Only by death may you let it go. She had drawn the Silver Serpent and could not let it go? But it was to have been Larris who drew it. She did not want this. The fate of Galdora rode on her shoulders? No! She wanted to be a soldier. Nothing more. Nothing less.
You sssee? The beast seemed to read her thoughts. You have never cared about othersss. You cannot do what mussst be done. It began its swaying again, its eyes drawing her in. You have alwaysss thought of yourssself firssst.
“Why are you saying that? You don’t know me!” The angry words she had exchanged with Khalyndryn now came back to her in a rush. Each word now hit her like a hammer. She was selfish. Memories came firing back, distant images from childhood. She was a spoiled brat. She was demanding and indulged beyond reason. She recalled fits she had thrown over the littlest thing.
“Don’t talk to it! Kill it!” Larris shouted. Shanis couldn’t see him, but somehow she knew that he was scrabbling along the sharply tilting floor. She wanted to protect him, to protect all of her friends, but her mind was a morass of confused thoughts.
Put down the Ssserpent, and I ssshall end your sssufering. Let it go, and sssomeone worthy ssshall bear it. It isss the leassst you can do after the life you have lived.
“Oskar’s slipping!’” Khalyndryn cried. “I can’t hold him! Shanis, you have to make it stop!”
A stray tear rolled down Shanis’ cheek. She didn’t know how the creature knew, but it was correct. She was a selfish person. The least she could do was make this sacrifice. She relaxed her grip on the hilt and let the sword point dip.
“No Shanis!” Larris was at her side, and he leapt at the serpent, wrapping his arms and legs around the writhing silver body. It thrashed about, slamming Larris into the wall. He lost his grip and fell hard to the floor, but immediately tried to regain his feet. Blood still flowed from his wounded arm, soaking his shredded tunic.
Shanis was still aware of everything around her. Somehow she knew that Hierm had regained consciousness, and Allyn had recovered his feet as well. The two were working their way toward her. She saw Oskar, unconscious, sliding toward the gaping hole in floor. Khalyndryn lay flat on her stomach, holding his cloak with one hand, and gripping a handful of hair in the other. Her jaws were clenched tight and her eyes wide as she tried in vain to dig her toes into the stone floor.
“I have to end this,” Shanis whispered. She let her sword arm fall to her side. The burning in her chest intensified. The serpent saw her lower her guard, and hesitated.
In that pause, Larris voice came to her calm and clear. “Shanis, a selfish person would not be willing to give her life for her friends.” The serpent hissed with fury, turned and snapped at Larris, who leapt back. “Kill it.”
New memories flooded Shanis. She remembered taking care of her father and their home, tending to her horse with the utmost attention to its needs, helping Mistress Anna in the garden, a thousand small acts of kindness and concern. She was no monster. The monster was in front of her. It looked at her, and drew back. It was afraid of her! That was why it was trying to break her down, to make her question herself. But a part of her still doubted herself. Who was she to be a savior.
“Shanis,” Khalyndryn called out, “you saved my life!”
That sealed it. The beast bared its fangs to strike, but before it could move, Shanis brought her sword to bear, slashing the snake across the throat. The Silver Serpent slashed through brilliant scales, sending gouts of brilliant green fire pouring forth. The wounded creature made a strangled hiss, and fled through the doorway. She knew she had to follow. She had to kill it. She sprinted up the sloping tunnel, following the flashes of green and silver. As she sprinted, the floor beneath her vanished, and the dark stone walls melted away. She was running through dark clouds, flying. And she was gaining. The serpent looked back at her, its green eyes still burning. Hot fire still leaked from the wound, burning holes in the clouds upon which they ran. Shanis leapt over one of the holes and looked down to see light shining through. Far below she could make out snow-capped mountain peaks. Another leap, and she could almost reach out and touch the tail of the fleeing beast.
Help us! The words were faint, like a shout’s last faded echo. They came again. Help us. It was Larris. They needed her. But she had to kill the snake. She did not know how she knew, but it had to die. She was almost there. She would kill it quickly, and then go back for her friends. And then Khalyndryn screamed, a long, shrill wail that faded into hollow nothingness. The snake’s words assaulted her again.
Ssselfishhh.
She reached back with…her mind, searching for the tunnel from wh
ich they had come. She found it quickly, and her consciousness raced down the cold stone, and burst into the chamber. She felt through the room, her mind brushing across the ancient tombs, now grinding slowly down the sloping floor. She found Larris and encircled his waist with… a thought was the only way she could describe it, and drew him forth. She found Allyn and Hierm in short order, and began searching for Oskar and Khalyndryn. She soon found the room empty. Here emotions were distant, but a cold fear swelled inside her. She followed the sloping floor to the hole where the statue had been. She swept down, down, down and found emptiness. The farther she searched, the duller the sensations became. Until she felt nothing. She tried to reach farther but could not. They were gone.
She screamed in anger and frustration. She yanked her three friends toward her as she pursued the snake with the intention of venting her rage upon it. She wanted to cry, but tears could come later. Her eyes searched the cloudy skies ahead and saw a flash of green. It was outdistancing her again. Larris and the others were slowing her down. She skipped over another hole in the clouds and saw the highlands of Monaghan beneath her. Spotting a wide, flat hilltop, she laid her friends down on the spongy turf and continued her pursuit.
They flew across the sky. The dark clouds began to clear, and down below the hilly land gave way to damp marsh and tree-choked swampland. The beast before her continued to bleed green fire, and where the fire fell to the ground, chaos erupted. Green fire splashed down on wet ground, and warriors rose up, some red-haired, some black. They hacked at each other with great broadswords while the trees burned all around them. The creature turned to the northeast, where the countryside was lush and green. Blood fell on the ground, and a dark-haired young man on horseback sprang up, leading a band of mounted raiders through a village of screaming people. The young man swung his sword, and an old man went down. And all around them the village burned. Back to the west, toward the mountains. Blood now flowed freely from the beast’s wounded neck, and where it splashed onto the ground, a great army rose up, moving northwest, moving toward… home. This had to end.
Shanis reached out with her thoughts, like she had done before. Tendrils of her will stretched out, wrapping around the snake, and solidifying into thick ropes of power as they encircled the silvery coils. The snake hissed and snapped at the bonds, but for every one it severed, she ensnared it with another. It turned to fight.
Shanis faced the beast high above a broad expanse of lush farmland. A silvery band of river wended its way across the green stand. She swung the Silver Serpent with all her might, cleaving through the metallic scales. Green fire erupted from the gash, scalding her. She gritted her teeth and swung again and again. The sword struck home, and with each blow, energy ran up the blade and surged through her. She had never felt such power, such intense exultation. Holding the hilt in one hand now, she continued to hew great chunks from the twisting creature. The beast’s bloody fire rained down on the ground below, and a great mass of black-clad soldiers formed ranks facing south and west.
Her blade cut deep into the body of the beast, and suddenly the snake lashed out at her throat. Unable to get her sword into position, she instinctively threw her left hand up. A crystal fang pierced the center of her palm, and she screamed as blistering cold pain froze her hand, doing battle with the hot power that flowed through her. She backed away and held up her hand.
Blood flowed from the hole in her palm, but where her blood struck the ground, the soldiers melted away. The snake struck again, but she dodged to the side, striking it another vicious blow. It twisted and writhed in agony, but it would not die.
The energy now flowed up the sword in a torrent, and she felt like she would burst if she could not let it out. That was the answer. She stepped back and pointed the Silver Serpent at the oncoming beast. She focused every thought, every scrap of her will, and sent it hurtling through the sword and into the snake, and with it she sent the power.
A shaft of the purest white light, brighter than any sun, burst forth from the Silver Serpent. She felt the accumulated energy pour from her body like floodwaters through a tiny channel. It was ecstasy. The beam of light struck the snake full in the chest. Tiny lines of white energy crackled as it enveloped the surface of its writhing body. The snake managed one faint hiss, and the green light began to fade as the power of the Silver Serpent enveloped it, growing ever brighter. With a flash, it was gone, the afterimage of the great snake burned into Shanis’ vision. The power continued to drain from her body. With the last of her will, she reached out for Hierm, Allyn and Larris. Larris…She fixed her thoughts on the hilltop where the three young men stood in bewildered silence. Focused. Focused.
She was a leaf falling to the ground. Drifting, falling, swinging to and fro on the crest of the wind. Settling gently to the ground. She felt soft, damp earth against her back, and saw Larris’ brown eyes looking down at her, and she drifted into darkness.
And Gameryah was rent by blood and fire. Blades showered blue sparks into the night sky, and fires blazed on the horizon. Leaders rose and were struck down in the batting of an eyelash, and the carrion birds whirled in a smoke filled sky. And three words were upon every tongue….
“The Silver Serpent”.
End of The Absent Gods-Book 1
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