The Skull Throne

Everyone was back in the yard by the time Renna made it back, standing in the shadow of the tower. Shanvah was on her knees, head on the ground. Shanjat was holding his spear.

Arlen and Jardir looked ready to fight again, this time once and for all.

All eyes turned to her as she approached. Shanvah leapt to her feet, spear pointed Renna’s way. “She is a servant of Nie!”

“Impossible,” Jardir said. “She stood with us against Alagai Ka himself.”

“She has been corrupted,” Shanvah said. “Before Everam, on my honor and hope of Heaven, I swear, Deliverer. With my own eyes I saw her feasting on the foul meat of the alagai.”

“Impossible,” Jardir said again, pointing to the rising sun. He and the others were still in semidarkness, but Renna stood fully in the light. “How could any servant of Nie stand in Everam radiance if …”

But then he turned sharply, looking at Arlen. He closed the distance between them in a second, grabbing Arlen’s hands as he probed deeper into his aura.

“It’s true,” Jardir whispered. “Everam preserve us, I trusted you, and all along, you served Nie.”

“Corespawn it, stop acting the ripping fool!” Arlen shouted.

“Why else would you profane your body with … !”

Arlen growled, shoving Jardir away so hard Shanjat had to leap out of the way to avoid being hit. Everyone tensed for battle, but Arlen held his ground, making no effort to continue the fight. “You have the stones to ask why?! Night, you think I wanted this?”

He pointed an angry finger at Jardir. “This is your doing, same as the ripping ink.”

“Now it is you being the fool, Par’chin,” Jardir said. “I did not force demon meat down your throat.”

“No, you and Shanjat and the others left me for dead in the corespawned desert,” Arlen snapped, “after beating me, robbing me, and trying to throw me to the demons for having the audacity to win the first night’s alagai’sharak in three thousand years.”

Shanvah looked to Shanjat, eyes wide. “Father, this cannot be true.”

The tip of Shanjat’s ready spear dipped as he turned to her. “It is true, daughter. We dishonored ourselves with what we had to do that night, but the Par’chin had stolen the Spear of Kaji, and could not be allowed to keep it.”

“You parse words worse than any khaffit in the bazaar,” Arlen spat. “No one had seen the spear in over three thousand years. Its power belongs to all humanity, and I brought it to Jardir honorably, to share with you.”

“The Sharum will be silent!” Jardir snapped, his gaze never leaving Arlen. “You parse words, too, Par’chin. None of this explains why you have eaten of this foul meat.”

“Don’t it?” Arlen said. “Said yourself there was no food in Anoch Sun. It was why your people violated that place worse than the mind demons when you came through. Didn’t have time to be respectful. You just wanted to loot the place.”

“I warn you, Par’chin …” Jardir began.

“Don’t deny it,” Arlen said. “Being Shar’Dama Ka means making the big decisions, ay? Then take responsibility for them.”

“I do,” Jardir said evenly.

“Me, too,” Arlen said. “I wanted the secrets of Anoch Sun as much as you did. When I stumbled back to the Oasis of Dawn and warded my flesh, I had enough food to escape the desert …”

“Or return to Anoch Sun,” Jardir finished.

Arlen nodded. “Spent a long time there, studying. Demons were the only thing to eat. Had to survive, I was to pass on what I learned.”

He raised a finger. “But I left the place just like I found it. Bet your people didn’t even notice I’d been there. So which of us is honoring Everam and battling Nie better?”

Jardir sneered. “Speak not of Everam and Nie, Par’chin. You believe in neither.”

“And still better at your religion than you!” Arlen said, crossing his arms.

“You ate alagai meat,” Jardir said. “Do you honestly think you can keep from being corrupted by it?”

Arlen laughed. “You’re such a ripping hypocrite! Your entire life, your rise to power, your conquest, all of it was dictated by alagai hora, and you talk to me of corruption? How in your twisted logic does the voice of Everam come from demon bones?”

Jardir pursed his lips. “I have often wondered that, myself, but their power cannot be denied.”

“Of course not,” Arlen said. “You can see the ripping magic.” He pointed to the spear. “The Spear of Kaji has a demon bone core. So does the crown.

“Magic ent evil, and corelings ent foot soldiers in some eternal space war,” Arlen continued. “Just animals, like us. Animals that spent millions of years living deep in Ala, bathed in the power of the Core. Evolved to absorb and hold some of that power, and we’ve learned to turn it against them. That’s all.”

He held up a warded fist. “Tattoos give me power, but no more than your scars. Real power comes from eating the meat. That’s why I can dissipate and draw wards in the air. Do things you need your spear and crown for, or can’t do at all. Got my own demon bone core now.”

“If they are just animals as you say,” Jardir said, “you risk becoming one of them yourself, if you continue on this course.”

“Know that,” Arlen said. “Ent eaten demon in years, but the power seems here to stay.”

“But you allow your jiwah to risk it, too,” Jardir said.

Arlen laughed again, but it was not a condescending sound this time. His mirth was genuine. “Allow? Have you met Renna Bales? There’s no allowing her.”

“Corespawned right,” Renna said, taking his hand.

Arlen looked at her, love in his eyes, but kept taking to Jardir. “Asked her not to, but she knows what’s at stake, and has been trying to catch up. Thinks I’ll mist down to the Core and try to take on the alagai without her, she doesn’t.”

“Don’t say it like it’s some crazy notion,” Renna said. “Told me yourself it calls to you. Hear it too, now that I’m skating. But that ent a fight we can win alone.”

She expected Jardir to be aghast at the thought of the Core calling them, but he only nodded. “Nie’s call is strong, but indeed, you must resist. All Ala depends upon us. Put your faith in Everam and He will keep you strong.”

Arlen shook his head. “Never been much good at putting faith anywhere but in me and mine.”

Jardir reached out gently, touching Arlen’s chest. “Everam is inside you, my friend. Whether we created Him, or He created us, is irrelevant. He is the Light inside you when all else is dark. He is the Voice that whispers right from wrong. He is the Strength you drew upon in your desert trials. He is the Hope that you carry in this mad scheme.” He smiled. “He is the Stubborn inside you that refuses to admit the truth I bring.”

Arlen smiled. “Grant you that last, at least.”

“Now that the cat’s out, might be we don’t need the prisoner.” Renna said. “There’s a shortcut to down below for all of us.”

Arlen shook his head. “Don’t trust anyone, even myself, to dissipate too close to the Core. Be like dumping a bucket into a river and expecting it to stay upstream.”