The Black God's War (54 page)

Rao’s fingers tightened more deeply into his mudra. He glared down into Lucia’s eyes. She grimaced as more force pushed her against the ground.

“Betrayed again, Lucia. Don’t you want to know how to be free?”

Yes!

“Find your therapy in the truth of your own battered heart.”

Lucia felt tears leaving the corners of her eyes.

“Betrayed again, my daughter, but you are stronger than what you fear inside of you.”

Briraji’s voice rumbled with annoyance, “You each have your orders, direct from General Indrajit and also from me. Refuse them and I will punish you myself.”

“The eastern wall of the citadel could crumble before the day is over. Haven’t you heard the Rezzian army coming? They will not stop for anything except to negotiate for this royal bitch. Briraji will not be able to punish you if you are dead. My brothers, if you kill her—or me—you will seal Pawelon’s fate. Our lands will be overtaken. Your sisters and mothers will become their whores. Do not be the one—”

Briraji interrupted, “Don’t listen to this traitor—”

“Do not be the one responsible for the subjugation of our proud people. The karma would plague your descendents for a hundred generations—”

“You have direct orders!”

“Is anyone here willing to—”

Briraji screamed over Rao’s voice, “It is your duty to perform as commanded, not to think. If your prince does not kill her now, kill him.”

Rao’s feet shuffled in the uncomfortable quiet.

“Soon, my daughter, you may be freed from all that has plagued you.”

Freed from you!

“I have not plagued you, Lucia. I am only an instrument.”

Briraji spoke again. “It’s not my duty to weigh out consequences.”

“That is always your duty. That’s true of all of us! Please give your young prince this one chance to save Pawelon.”

“Defend yourself,” Briraji growled.

Lucia regained control of her body. She scrambled to stand for one moment, then thought better of it and stayed down, as if still under Rao’s power. Her fingertips searched the ground for the handle of Ysa’s blade.

An undulating field of darkness surrounded her, blacking out the light of day and then the ground beneath her.

What’s happening?

“Darkness,” Danato answered, “the only thing that can free you.”

Lucia felt evil all around her, seeping into her mind. She continued fumbling in search of Ysa’s sword, but the pliable blackness beneath her rippled to the touch.

“Rao?”

“He cannot help you. He is too weak.” Briraji’s silhouette appeared some distance away, a purple outline with flames flickering at its edges. “You are inside my universe now.” With those words, searing red lights dotted the darkness like stars. “This is all you’ll see before death.”

Help me, Lord Danato.

“Good, Lucia. That is step one.”

The form of Danato appeared behind Briraji, towering over him at twice his height.

“Close your eyes and embrace me.”

I need you to save me!

“Then do as I ask!”

Briraji took one step closer. “This is what your Strategos saw before he died.”

An image of the curly haired old man arose in her mind, sitting on horseback and holding his holy symbol.

Gods, bless Duilio on his final journey.

Briraji stepped forward again, but this time Lord Danato followed him. “You should not have escaped,” the sage said. “Your corpse will be abandoned in the desert, a carrion feast for insects and birds.”

Help me!

“Close your eyes and embrace me.”

Lucia trembled as she swallowed and exhaled. She closed her eyes and felt the terror, a boiling, acidic squall raging within.

“But I’m not going to kill you. My men are.” The sage’s voice entered her ears like sand shoved into a wound. “They can see you. You cannot see them.”

Lucia stood on the shifting blackness, still holding Ysa’s shield. She swung the metal around in a great circle to scare off any attackers, then covered her chest with it again.

“That won’t do you any good when you cannot see your assailants, my daughter. Close your eyes and embrace me.”

And let you kill me?

“If you want my help, do as I say. You see, you do have free will.”

Lucia crouched, facing Briraji’s form, and positioned the shield to cover her front. She closed her eyes again and saw Lord Danato standing over her mother in the bloodied birthing pool. Her mother’s face was the very picture of torment: bloodshot eyes, lips stretched above gnashing teeth, clenched muscles and skin.

Mother!

Lucia ejected tears from her eyes.

The black god stood over her in the red-dotted blackness with deadly countenance and clenched fists.

You would kill me, too? Why do you hate me?

Lord Danato raised one glistening, muscled arm and bellowed like a tempest from the underworld. With all his power, he dropped his fist straight down.

A man screamed.

Danato swung his fist with a backhanded swing, circling in a perfect arc.

Another scream.

“What is happening?” Briraji’s voice quivered.

Lord Danato raised his elbow above his head, grabbed his fist in his other hand, and heaved the elbow down.

Another scream.

He bared his gritted white teeth, turned and punched forward with all his fury.

A fourth scream.

He yelled as he used his other fist in a sudden backhanded blow.

Five.

He gathered both hands and slung them downward like a hammer.

Six.

The god stood and relaxed his back. His chest heaved with his vigorous breaths. Both arms stretched straight out, striking out to his sides.

Seven. Eight.

He slung back his head and slammed it forward, as if cracking someone’s skull with his own.

Nine.

The god fell down.

Chapter 78: The White God

“… PLEASE GIVE YOUR YOUNG PRINCE this one chance to save Pawelon.”

Briraji snarled. “Defend yourself.”

Rao closed his eyes, held his breath, and projected the sacred syllables of his primary
sadhana
into the depths of his consciousness.

His field of vision altered. He saw the soldiers as fields of red energy, but could not find Lucia or Briraji. The soldiers advanced toward the spot where Lucia had been.

A new form appeared, a massive, solid white field of energy, taller than two men. Its only distinguishing feature: a yellow tear on its left cheek.

The black god’s soul is white?

The god followed behind the leading soldiers. As the spearmen rushed forward, the suddenly white god swung his heavy arms about, killing the them one by one.

Stop!
Rao sent the god his thought.

If Lord Danato heard him, he did not answer.

Rao focused all of his limited
ojas
on the Rezzian god. The god cocked back his head and slammed it forward into a Pawelon soldier’s skull. Rao projected as much force as he could to disrupt the god’s presence in the physical world.

The god fell down. His white face lifted to look at Rao. “I will come for you today, Prince, but not now. You have a purpose to fulfill first.”

“You’re going to kill me?” Rao asked.

“No. Another god will. Then I will come for your soul.”

The god’s promise awed Rao’s consciousness like a blazing pyre. “Lord Danato, stop killing my men. They’re only following orders. Briraji is the one you need to stop.”

The Pawelon soldiers stayed back, clearly afraid of attacking Lucia and meeting the fate of their dead brethren.

“I cannot stop him,” Lord Danato said. “The gods of Lux Lucis respect his accomplishments too much to see him die at our own hands.”

“Then I will do it.”

“Your power is depleted, Prince.”

Rao lowered his subtle body to ground level and knelt. “Then please give me strength.”

The god stood and smiled with his lips together. “A request I cannot refuse.” Danato leaned down and picked up Ysa’s white blade. He held the sharp blade itself, and as he did the god’s blood trickled down the white metal. Danato’s long strides carried him to Rao, to offer the sword’s handle. “This blade is a part of my sister. It is a part of me and of all the gods of Lux Lucis, for we are one. Take it and it will give you sight. You will see Lucia and the sage.”

“Wait—why did you send them to the lake?”

“You know the answer, Prince.”

“You are the god of karma.”

“That is not incorrect.”

“Then did Ilario’s death settle the king’s debt?”

“No, Prince, but the debt will be finished this day.”

Lord Danato held the sword’s handle just above Rao’s outstretched hand. Rao stood and took the blade. Darkness overcame his vision and the god’s form disappeared. Within the blackness Rao found Lucia and Briraji.

“Rao,” Briraji said, “Welcome. Your
ojas
is drained already? Can’t hide any longer?”

“I am still weak from my combat with the Haizzem.”

“I know.”

“Briraji, you win. I will do it.” Rao stood with Ysa’s sword in hand and approached Lucia.

She still crouched with Ysa’s shield in front of her. “You’re a bastard, Rao. We had an agreement.”

“I talked to Lord Danato. He told me he could not stop Briraji.” Rao turned to look at the sage. “The gods of Lux Lucis respect Briraji’s power too much to interfere.”

Briraji smiled, a sight Rao had not seen before.

“And if a god cannot kill him, you might as well surrender, Lucia. I have a future, to protect my people.”

Briraji walked forward again. Rao stood within sword’s reach of Lucia.

“You might want to pray to your goddess now,” Rao said.

Rao prayed:
Ysa, Danato, lend me your divine power.

Rao spun backward and pointed the blade at Briraji as he visualized the relic’s power shooting toward the sage. Although he hadn’t intended to let it go, the sword escaped his grip and flew into Briraji’s chest.

The darkness lifted and the sun burned down on Rao again. The remaining soldiers looked upon Briraji’s fallen body, impaled by Ysa’s white blade. Lucia still crouched behind the shield.

“My brothers, the men who died …” Rao pointed at the nine dead Pawelon soldiers as he stood. “Were killed by the black god of Rezzia. I stopped the god myself, saving the rest of your lives. The god told me he would kill you all unless I killed Briraji, our greatest sage. I was forced to choose the lives of many over the life of one.”

The soldiers looked at him and at each other, some of them backing away from him.

“Let me do my duty. I need to take this prisoner to Rezzia’s king and Haizzem. They will talk to me, and with some luck Rezzia’s war will end on this day.”

Lucia’s horse walked toward her.
Think fast
, he thought
.
“I am controlling this beast.”
Not at all.
The mare moved awkwardly with the arrow above her front leg, and stopped near Lucia. Rao gathered his spiritual strength and found that, after holding Ysa’s sword, he had more
ojas
than he thought. He focused his hands in mudras to control Lucia’s body again and send a psychic wind to cause her to fall as before.

“Brothers, help me put her over the horse. I have weakened her greatly. She can’t resist you.” Rao approached Lucia, and as he did prayed to Lucia’s goddess for her cooperation with the animal. With his back turned to his men, he looked down on Lucia’s face and winked. He squatted beside her and whispered, “Play along.”

He released her from his power. “But before you raise the dog onto the horse, you should spit on her.”

Rao spit in Lucia’s direction, being careful to miss her face. He mouthed to her, “Sorry.”

She narrowed her eyes in anger. She grunted, pretending to resist Rao’s power.

Three soldiers came forward, with their spears lowered. “If you insist on going, we will come with you, Prince Rao. We will protect you.”

“You can’t come with me. If I have soldiers behind me, their king and their Haizzem will not meet with me. I must go alone to negotiate for our freedom. Do not follow me. Do you understand?”

The men nodded and a line soon formed at Lucia’s feet. Rao picked up the shield from the ground and stood beside her. Each soldier, more than a dozen, came forward and spit on her.