The Crystal Bridge (The Lost Shards Book 1) (27 page)

Chapter 27: Rho’s Foothold

C
old fire raced through Diresh’s mind as Rho touched the orb. The connection formed, and powerful energy ran along the invisible lines from her god, slamming into her frame. She screamed, white knuckles clasping the arms of her throne of ice as pain rocked her body and soul.

He is so much stronger than I expected. Never underestimate a god. But my safeguards are holding
. Her shielding bled the initial pain from her, subsiding to a dull ache in her bones, and she reached out to the god she loved.
Rho fa’shen Tynen, great god of darkness. Do you hear me
?

She gasped as the answer flowed back to her from the spaces between worlds. She had expected the cold and pain, but nothing prepared her for the deluge of pure thought, the inhuman strength of her ancient god’s mind. He burned through her synapses with thousands of images, emotions, and concepts beyond her understanding that flashed through her brain faster than she could follow.

Only a fraction made sense.
Darkness, night, cold, flames, eating, hunger, pain, worlds without number, life burning on the other side of a veil, darkness, pain.
His thoughts moved faster than anything she had seen in her long life, but also slow, cold, and calculating like the darkness Rho embodied.

With the images came sounds, grinding, like the movement of the deep stones of Ealdar, slow and patient. The grinding filled her, vibrating her teeth and bones, building into a deafening roar like the great Falls of Pelin until she thought it would grind her to dust.

Diresh fell to the ground, wrapping her thin arms around her head. She could hear screams from far away. They came soft and quiet, drowned out by the thunderous roaring of her god. A small piece of her took over, the part that remained calm behind the shields she had created.
Those are mine. I am the one screaming
.

The grinding noise ceased, leaving her in a silence that felt almost as painful. Diresh whimpered as servants helped her back into the crystalline throne. Not one of them spoke to her or even gave her a questioning glance.
They know what I have done and the price I may have to pay for my trespass into the mind of our god.

Diresh took a deep breath, forcing a calm veneer over her face as she steadied herself for another onslaught.
I do not understand, my Lord, but I will attempt to do all I can to return you to your rightful place as ruler over this world and all those in it.

Rho remained silent for several minutes. Diresh feared that her connection might have been severed. She glanced at her servants who stood with black eyes fixed on her.

“I fear I may not have been worth—”

The rush overwhelmed her once more. She fell to the ground in uncontrolled seizures; images and sounds enveloped her, pulling her down into the darkness she worshipped. Diresh felt herself stripped to her soul as her god pushed his mind into her depths, cold fire licking at her center. The ecstasy of her god’s touch sent shivers through her icy heart. She secretly wished she had not put safeguards in place to protect herself. She longed for oblivion, to seep into the darkness with Rho and never return.

The servants held her twitching body as she screamed her throat raw and speckled the frozen floor with black blood, but she felt nothing physical as she rocked in the icy cradle of her god.

Five days passed while she soaked in the darkness and the grinding sound resolved itself into words in her mind. Triumph flowed through her and around her. She did not know or care if it came from her or Rho.

You will do.

The orb filled Rho with power, burning through thousands of miles of veins and pathways as the god of darkness absorbed every ounce, sucking at the glass shell until even that crumbled to dust and vanished into Rho’s squirming and bloated body.

Rho grew as its body put the energy to use, tentacles and threads twisting out into the void, stretching farther than they had ever gone.

As Rho relished in its strength, a presence entered the god’s mind. Rho’s first reaction was to crush the intrusion, but as the dark god slashed at the soul who had dared touch a god, Rho saw kinship there.

This soul felt old, nothing compared to Rho’s years, but aged, cold burning, and strong. This soul also resisted Rho’s efforts more than any other had. Rho prodded the barriers that kept him from seeping along the connection into her. The god of darkness could still snuff out the female presence with ease, but curiosity at the novelty of her presence intrigued Rho.

Rho sent his desires to this new disciple along the connection she had provided, but soon realized that this female from the worlds of reality could not understand the full power of its mind. Rho cut down the connection until it sent only a tiny fraction of its thoughts while testing her mind and soul for weakness.
You will do. Yes, my child, you will do
.

Then the gifts began to flow more freely. Food, metal, flesh, blood, or anything the god craved. Even living souls fell through the portal into Rho’s welcoming tentacles, enemies of Rho’s new companion, lover, and instrument.

Aren smiled at Sethkar while keeping her head bowed.
I’m not going to lose my hard won humility now.
“Yes, your Highness. That’s exactly what I ask. I know it’s unprecedented. I, once again, ask for too much as a human in your court.”

Sethkar paced back and forth on the platform that put him just above her height, Dveldor at her side translating for the Dwaro Keeper. “Not unprecedented, but it’s been decades since a human has asked something like this. To send a human child to any of the Sidra, even the friendlier Keitane, would be dangerous.”

Aren nodded. “Yes, great Keeper, but they already have a human in their company.”

Sethkar stopped his pacing and stood before her. His soft hand lifted her chin and she met his eyes. The soul within him had changed since their last encounter. A part of him still hated humans, but he cared for Aren too. “I’m sorry, Aren. Your friend may already be beyond our help.”

Aren nodded, holding back tears. She’d allowed that fear to enter her heart a thousand times since she’d read the note. “He’s still alive, my Lord. I can feel it.”

He let go of her chin and started pacing once more, silver armor clanking. “You’re the first soul seer we’ve seen in generations and we Dwaro live a long time. How do I just let you go? It is true that a soul seer would be the perfect emissary to the Keitane, but you are also human and would not be welcome.” The Keeper stopped pacing again, the sorrow and pain she saw within bleeding through to the surface. “I don’t wish to send you to your death.”

Aren nodded again. She knew the Keeper’s daughter had died on a similar trip many years before. An accident as she traveled, at the hand of bandits, not the king she meant to meet, but her death had sealed Sethkar’s hatred for all humanity. “It’s my only hope of returning home. I can do my best to repair the strained friendship between your people and the Keitane at the same time.”

Sethkar stepped toward her, embracing her in a fierce bear hug, stronger than his size made him look. He smelled of spiced wine and clay, not unpleasant, but his armor was hard and unyielding against her ribs.

“People? No human has ever called me or my kind a person. You remind me of her, so stubborn and strong willed. Of course you see that.”

Aren squeaked out her words. “Yes, I do. I’m so sorry to dredge your pain up again and again. I’ve played on your emotions for my benefit and I don’t wish to.”

The strong arms squeezed her tighter. “Don’t be sorry. I’m not. You brought a piece of her back to me in many ways.” He let her go, slowly. “The Spirit of Ealdar came to me in a dream last night and told me that a war is coming and I will need allies. I argue against your request only because I like to argue. It is already decided. You and Dveldor will go together. You will carry a petition to the Keitane and the Edane to reopen communication between us and you will save your friend.”

Dveldor spoke up after he’d finished the translation. The Keeper and he argued for several minutes while Aren waited to find out why. Dveldor finally turned to Aren. “I told him I was ill prepared to take you. There are elders who’ve made these journeys before. He thinks my language skills will help and since I’ve already bargained with a Keitane for your life, you are now my responsibility. He is, of course, correct. We leave tomorrow.”

Aren nodded her agreement. “Thank you. Thank you both. How far away is tomorrow? I can never tell down here.”

Kaden felt a slight prickle on his skin as he passed through the barrier once more. He glanced back and could no longer see the city, just the forest swallowing up his vision everywhere he looked. He tilted his head and the silvery streams of light appeared again.

“You will not feel the compulsion to run away now.” Hasla stepped up beside him, mimicking his titled head.

Kaden smiled, determined to win over this beautiful and bizarre woman. “It was never a need to run away so much as be elsewhere. Why is it gone?”

She raised an eyebrow as if he’d asked a silly question. “You have stood upon sacred ground and been accepted in a way as a Light Bringer. The barrier sees you as one of us.”

“That makes sense, I guess.”

Hasla shrugged. “Your guess has little to do with any of it. It simply does make sense.”

Evan chuckled ahead of them. “Be kind to the boy, Hasla.”