One (The Godslayer Cycle Book 1) (30 page)

Karmel's own anger smoldered, as well.  “You are distraught and know not what you say,” said the God.  “You do not conceive of the danger...”

“No, I don't.  Because you won't
tell
me!”

Karmel nodded knowingly.  “I see.  Then there is nothing more I can say.  I cannot force our aid upon you.  I can only hope that Nathan can convince you to change your mind when he returns.”

Mari's anger dissipated at the mention of her husband.  “Airek will bring him home then?”

“
Of course.  When he is finished delivering his message.”

   “
When?”

“
That I do not know.  That is between Airek and Nathan alone.”

Karmel looked sadly at the young woman.  “If you change your mind, call my name.  Just do not wait too long.”

And with that, the God was gone.  Mari had to blink to confirm that he had really vanished, just as Nate and Airek had done earlier.

So that's it,
she thought.  Nate was safe, though she had only Karmel's word for that.  He would
eventually
return home, but she had no idea when.  Which left Mari nothing to do but wait like a dutiful wife.

Mari dropped into a chair.  Suddenly she felt very tired and she was not entirely sure why.  She felt Nate's absence deeper now than she had yesterday.  At least then, he had only gone for a walk in the woods.  Now, who but the Gods knew where on Na'ril he was.  And that made her feel very much alone.

Mari jerked awake with a start.  She had fallen asleep in the chair without realizing it.  She considered going to bed when she became aware of a distant rumbling sound.  That the sound was what had woken her was of little doubt, and she got up curiously.  By the time she reached the front window, she could recognize the sound of horse's hooves.  And from the sound, there was more than one rider.

Mari reached the window in time to see the riders crest the hill at the edge of the woods, riding with complete abandon.  She counted ten men, all fully armored, weapons drawn.  At least three carried torches, though that struck Mari as odd since there were still several hours of daylight left.

It was not until the lead rider called out that she recognized their intent.  “For Imery!” called the rider, and the call was picked up by several others.

There was an ominous moment where the charge seemed to hang in timelessness as Mari stared in disbelief.  Raiders!  And calling the Goddess Imery's name!  Karmel had warned her she was in danger.  She had not listened and now it was too late.  Amidst it all, the disembodied irony that she had been set upon seeking Imery's help just a short while ago pressed to the forefront of her mind.

Or perhaps it was not too late to seek help from Karmel.  Mari opened her mouth to utter the words she had refused earlier to say, only to have her throat lock up, the words escaping as a gurgle.  She strained to push out the invocation, to enunciate even the simplest word.  But whether fear or anxiety was the culprit – perhaps even all the crying she had done the previous day – her throat had seized up and she could not speak at all!

Then the raiders were at the door.  She desperately threw the latch in a vain effort to bar their way, but the latch had been designed to keep out nothing more than a curious bear.  It was not made to withstand the boots and axes thrown against it now.  After an especially hard blow, the door split and the next charge reduced the door to splinters.  The raiders were inside.

At last, her voice returned and she screamed, but it only made the men who grabbed her smile wickedly.  There were words passed between them as they took their task to hand, but Mari could not make out what was being said.  The emotional stability she had fought so hard for collapsed, and she retreated into her own mind as rough hands tore the clothing from her body and hard hands beat her flesh mercilessly.  The men seemed to take more pleasure in the beating that in defiling her, though several men took their time at that, as well.

She was not even fully conscious when the blade impaled her, making her gurgle in protest as a warm fluid filled her mouth.  The blade withdrew and she fell to the floor, spitting out the bright red fluid from her mouth, the liquid she could not seem to be rid of.  She tried to breathe, but there was no air for her lungs.  Somehow her face ended up on the floor, too, lying in what she now recognized as her own blood.

In the last moments, a stark clarity came over her mind as the world around her dimmed.  She could see the flames all around her now, but could no longer feel her body.  At the last, all she could think of was to curse the Gods for taking Nate away from her.  She so wanted to see him one more time...

And so it was that Mariabelle Goodsmith, wife to Nathaniel and mother to Geoffrey, died, alone amidst the burning debris of her home.

It was there several hours later that Nate had found her.  Her broken body had been sheltered somewhat by falling debris and she had escaped most of the burning.  But there was still little in her that was not shattered and torn, the beauty of the woman in life harshly paralleled by her grisly demise.

Airek did indeed bring Nate home, just as Karmel had said he would.  Yet it was a horrid sight that met their eyes.  Gone was the gentle solitude of home, replaced instead by charred ruins.  He had only so recently left behind his own personal paradise, though what now remained left nothing of that perfection behind.  The stench of death covered everything.  Apparently the raiders had had enough time to slaughter even the livestock.

When Nate first saw the ruins of his home, he had thought Airek had brought him to a more recent pillaging, so far beyond recognition was his home.  It had taken several seconds for him to recognize what had been his mother's homestead.  And then the panic had set in as he rushed forward to search for his wife, his hoarse croak barely audible over the sounds of shifting timber.

At last, he had lifted the beam and exposed Mari's body to the dimming twilight.  She had been brutally beaten, her body violated and then impaled, her abdomen torn out, her internal cavity wide open.  Her arms and legs were twisted at impossible angles, yet still there was a look of calm upon her face beneath the bruises and lacerations that suggested she was perhaps only asleep.

Nathaniel knew better as he knelt, cradling her in his arms, rocking back and forth, trying with all his might to scream his grief to the wind, his body betraying the effort.  It was fully dark before he stopped trying, and he fell weakly over his wife's body, his own wracked with sobs.

“
Nathan,” said a woman's voice behind him.  “We are here for you, Nathan.”

Through blurred eyes, Nathan looked up to see Karmel standing behind him and to his right.  Behind her were eight other silhouettes that he recognized immediately as the remaining members of the Pantheon.  The Gods had come to show their respects, it seemed.

“Too late,” Nathaniel croaked.  “You're too late.”  He turned again to look upon the broken body in his arms.

“
Nathan, I am so sorry,” Karmel said, kneeling at his side, embracing him from behind, her head resting on his shoulder.  “I wanted to save you from this.  I tried so hard...  But she would not listen.  She would not ask for our protection, even when death itself charged her door.”

Nathaniel could barely grasp what he was being told.  “You knew about this?  You knew she was in danger and you did nothing?  Took me away from her, knowing she would die?!”

“Not as you say it, Nathaniel,” spoke Airek.  “We always knew the potential of risk.  And we warned you of it.  Of the potential penalties for defying prophecy.”

“
And I
did
come to her, pleaded with her to request our protection so that we could intervene if a tragedy did befall her,” interjected Karmel.  “She exercised her right to choose, Nathan.  We were powerless to safeguard her without being invoked.”

“
Why couldn't you do something
anyways?
  To the Abyss with what she wanted,” cursed Nathaniel.  “You knew she needed your help!”

“
Nathaniel, it has been explained to you that as Gods we are bound by covenant,” spoke Airek.  “We cannot force ourselves upon those who do not
choose
to worship us.  And the barest minimum worship is to invoke our names for protection.  If she had only been humble enough to ask, we may have been able to prevent a tragedy of this nature.”

Airek walked up the Nathaniel.  “Remember the village I showed you.  They
did
invoke my name.  They called out, pleaded for me to intercede, yet I did nothing.  I could not, because it was another God I would have opposed.  Yet we were willing to defy even that part of the covenant, to take that extraordinary a step in protecting Mari, if she had only met the barest prerequisite of the covenant.  For no other reason than she was the wife of our most trusted servant.  That is how much we did
not
want this to come to pass.  Yet Fate had other ideas.”

“
Wait,” Nathaniel closed his eyes, trying to focus.  “Why would you compare
this
to what happened
there?
”

Airek did not answer, turning to Karmel to respond.  “Oh, Nathan.  This was the work of another God.”

Nathaniel's head popped up.  “Who?”  He feared he already knew the answer.

Karmel squeezed him firmer as she spoke.  “As the men charged in their attack, they called, 'For Imery',” she said.

“No,” Nathaniel whispered, then shouted, “No!” as rage seized him.

Gently, reverently, he laid Mari's body down amidst the ruins of his home, shaking with the effort to control himself long enough for the task.  He threw off Karmel's embrace and rounded on Airek.  “Bring her back!” he demanded.  “Bring Mari back to me, or I swear I will not lift a finger to help you!”

Airek looked imploringly at the grieving man.  “Her soul is beyond our power, Nathaniel.  Had she invoked us, perhaps we could challenge claim, but Mari was a conscript of Lendus.  As such, he claimed her soul upon death.  We have no power over the direct sphere of another God, much less over the souls of their faithful.

“
Believe me, Nathaniel.  If it were within my power, I would do this and more to assure your aid.  But I cannot do this thing you ask.  None of us can.  I am sorry.”

Nate was about to make another appeal before another of the Gods stepped forward to interrupt him.  “There may be a way, Goodsmith, if you will hear me out.”

Nathaniel turned to glare at the imposing figure he immediately recognized as Malik, God and Goddess of War and Peace, standing before him in masculine form.  “I am listening.”

“
You know I created the swords and had them empowered with enchantments over life and death. 
Life
and death, Goodsmith.  Do you hear what I say?  The swords have the potential to create as well as destroy.  If you can find a sword not yet empowered,
you
can select its power and choose the power of resurrection.  The swords are unbound by the covenants, even though they were crafted by ones who were.

“
Do our bidding.  Go after the swords with utmost haste.  And you may yet have a chance to bring back your bride!”

Nate looked to Airek.  “Is what he says true?”

“In principle, yes,” answered the other God.  “Malik created them, as well.  He would be the best judge on what they were capable of.”

“
There is one other possibility, as well,” said one of the Goddesses in attendance.

As she stepped forward, Nathaniel recognized her as the one who had stood beside Malik in his vision.  “Charith,” he said, nodding for her to speak.

“Slay Lendus.  If he is no more, it would be contest between the Gods of Death for Lendus' soul;.  And I believe, considering the value of a God's soul, I could barter for Mariabelle's.”

Nathaniel was taken aback at the offer.  “You would do that for me?”

Charith nodded.  “If you take up your duties as Avatar, I would commit to such a bargain gladly.”

“
Oh, Nathan,” murmured Karmel, still kneeling beside Mari's body.  “Have you not yet learned how much we treasure you?  We, Gods and Goddesses, immortals, will bow to any wish we can grant if you will only do this for us in return.”

Suddenly, Nathaniel recoiled.  “Geoffrey....” he gasped.  “If they came for Mari, what about my son?!”

“Nathaniel,” began Airek, but stopped to look for someone else to speak.

“
He was taken, Nathan,” spoke Karmel, her voice heavy.  “He lives, but the raiders left here and attacked Bracken Hillfire's tavern...”

“
No!  Not my son, too!”  Before any of the Gods could react, a great cacophony enveloped them all, a horrendous wind that lasted for only a moment, and then Nathaniel Goodsmith was no longer amongst them.

“
What was that?!” snapped Malik, recovering first.

“
It would seem,” spoke Elgoth from the rear, “that young Goodsmith has tapped into a reserve of power he was
not
supposed to have access to!”

“
How is that even possible?” demanded Malik.