Brimstone (Fae & Alchemy, #2)

by Callie Hart

“The rot. It infected them somehow. The same way it must have infected the feeders.

Infected the warriors.

“And where those bodies lay, the rot spreads and multiplies,” Ren said. “It claims any vegetation. Any creature, living or dead. It travels over snow and scorched ground without issue. We’ve yet to figure out a way to stop it.”

“What did Zareth say?” “He said he was severing us from the tapestry of the universe. That the gods wouldn’t be able to see us anymore.”

If anything, the connection between us is even stronger. The gods are just blind to us now. Zareth felt that it would protect us. Some of the other gods aren’t too optimistic about what’s happening. They’d rather birth a new universe than wait to see what happens with this one, so…”

“Zareth showed me this tree,” I explained. “There were thousands of leaves on its branches. He said that each leaf represented a realm occupied by countless living beings. Some of the leaves withered and fell as we spoke. He said that those realms were infected by a rot spreading throughout the universe. Whole branches of the tree were blackened and dying. Zareth said that it meant the end. Of everything. Of all realms. That the other gods wanted to wipe the slate clean and start over again, rebuilding the universe from scratch. But he had refused.”

He said that Fisher and I are an axis of some kind. A convergence in the threads of fate. He told me that none of the gods could see around us. He said that we had to find a way to fix this, otherwise everything was lost. I’m not saying we’re special, Iseabail. I’m just saying that…” I fumbled for the right words. “A god rolled the dice on an unlikely outcome, just to see if it would pay off. That’s it. That’s what we are currently working with.”

“Time is strange in their realm. When they took me at Ajun, I stood with Bal and Mithin in the middle of a field of swaying tall grass. I saw two figures up on a hill in the distance. The first was Zareth. The second… was you, Osha.”

Discussed in POV chapters.

Fisher had fought and nearly died at the Ajun Gate over a thousand years ago. I had been pulled through the quicksilver and into the gods’ realm only a few short weeks ago.

I didn’t know your name. I didn’t see your face. But I knew, Osha. My soul recognized a flicker of itself burning...

“When my father fled with the Daianthus heir, one or more of the gods must have delayed their escape. At least at their destination, anyway. Time continued here in Yvelia, but in Zilvaren, I believe it stood still.”

“We’ll have to leave Yvelia. And for a mass evacuation on that level, we’ll need far more than fifteen thousand relics.”

If facing an infected army.

While you keep shit in check with the Blood Court and figure out some new magic tricks, Fisher and I will head back to the Silver City and take care of business there, too. It only makes sense.”

“Fine. But I swear to the gods, if you talk the entire time, I will kill you and leave your carcass for the crows, Carrion Swift.”

Here we go.

promising to reopen the gate for them in three days.

“I mean, who doesn’t love a blood-soaked orgy?”

Renfis’s poor sister Merelle had burned to death in the most horrific way, and Ren had been there when it had happened. She lived on in a small way, part of her spirit bound to Fisher’s sword,

Discussed in POV chapters.

a vampire can’t lie to its maker. A blue aura comes off you when you try. The stronger the aura, the bigger the lie,

the entity that puppeted Everlayne’s body wasn’t an echo of Fisher’s mother. It was Fisher’s mother.”

“She wouldn’t have been tethered to anyone on this side of the veil, which means that she stayed by sheer force of will alone. And that…” He slowly shook his head. “I don’t know what that would have done to a person’s soul, but it wouldn’t have been good. It would have been torture.”

“Well. The way your runes smoldered would indicate that you have access to elemental fire magic. Once harnessed, that will be incredibly useful, no? And the fact that your hands are healed now, after the damage I just witnessed, implies that you also have regenerative magic. Physical magic. Power over the body. At some point, you might be able to heal others with your abilities. Yet another thread that connects you to your Alchemist heritage.

“I saved the life of another, a very long time ago. I’m glad I saved him, and I’m glad I saved you, too. But…”

I am happy to have prevented your true death, I find myself conflicted. I made you. Most high bloods don’t care about the ramifications of that act, but to me, it is a grave responsibility…”

There are many roads to take in Ammontraíeth, and nearly all of them lead to hell. But things are different for you, Saeris. You aren’t a full-blooded vampire. Your thirst doesn’t rage the way it does with the newly turned. You don’t need blood. And while you might not know the rules and restrictions of our court, you find yourself in the unique position of not being bound by any of them.”

Your bond with him is unique. My own relationship with him is…” “Complicated?” He nodded. “I’ve found myself in a position where I’ve held power over him of late.

“Let’s just say, Gillethrye was no fun for me, either. I would never have stepped foot into that maze if I’d had my way, but… I suppose it was better that Malcolm did send me there in some ways.”

You’re God-Bound with Fisher. And right now, you’re bound to me, too. I don’t want to hurt Fisher by having a...

Would it offend you very badly”—he winced—“if I publicly disavowed you and severed our bond?”

I need someone to cover for me and act on my behalf when I’m in Cahlish. In general, really. I need that to be you.”

Where any kind of life exists, magic proliferates, Saeris. We create all the wonders of this realm just by being present to witness them, and it’s always magic that lights the way. That is what I believe.”

I feel your hunger beating like a pulse all the time.” “I don’t need to feed,” I told her in a clipped tone, but she shook her head, her jowls wobbling. “Not for blood, King Killer. For information. For home. For release.”

“Insatiable, you are. Always wanting.”

“I am the Keeper of Records, child,” Algat sniffed. “I know them all better than they know themselves. There are books within this room that you would like to meet. It’s within my power to facilitate an introduction.”

But you should know by now that the cost for most things is always blood.”

“I command you to never listen to my thoughts or invade the privacy of my mind again, Lord of Midnight. I command you to never read or invade the minds of my friends or my mate ever again, either, too.”

“Is your mind… a dark place, warrior?”

“You are a creature of shadows. Yes, I know your kind well,” the demon said, in a wheedling voice. “A mind full of shadows is a dangerous thing. When you already live in the darkness, hell is right there at your fingertips. So thin, the veil. Are you re-ready for the dream, shadow weaver? Will you have… the strength to wake?”

“I am older than this city. Older than the wheels of fate that turn your tides, princeling. The secrets I know are more valuable to him than revenge. And I must live if you hope to do the same. At least for now.”

Joshin speaking.

the Fae and demon kind have one thing and one thing alone in common. We are both bound by our oaths,

Do you think I am afraid to face my demons? I’ve faced them before. I know them all by name. I’ve conquered them and bent them to my will more times than the sun has risen over Yvelia in my lifetime. I’ll face your nightmares if I have to, and I will still be the most frightening thing prowling around in the dark.”

“Where there is light, there is always darkness, shadow weaver. To kill a queen, you will need to visit the darkest of all places. You will need to strike a deal far more costly than this one if you hope to succeed. And the beast who lies in wait for you there will not be so easy to trick as me. She will eat you whole, shadow weaver!” Joshin roared as I held the flickering torch to its body. “She will tear away your soul and feed on it for decades!”

Some magics are reflexive. They come to a person automatically, like breathing. But an Alchemist’s magic can only be harnessed.”

Saeris. Her fire keeps others warm in the cold dark. It is her strength, not her weakness. Being around her reminds you that you’re alive.”

“I could have loved her. Truly,” Carrion said softly. “But this place broke me centuries before Saeris was born. I made the mistake of letting myself fall for a human once, and believe me when I say that once was enough. A long time ago, someone told me that the pain of loss was a temporary thing. That it would soften as the years went by, until the ache became an old friend that felt comfortable to be around. But the person who told me that was human.”

Humans live for such a short time. It made sense that their pain visited them and left soon enough after. It would be cruel. Would swallow up their entire lives otherwise. But for me…” He shook his head, looking down at his hands. “Every year that I live, it seems the magnitude of my loss eclipses the last. So yes. I love Saeris Fane, because she’s electric, and fierce, and loyal, and being around her brings the world back into focus. But I’m not in love with her, Fisher. I tried. But my heart was just too full of sorrow to make room for her.”

“There’s only one way to learn how to endure pain the way I have. You have to suffer through it. Again, and again, and again. It galvanizes you. Tempers you like steel. But I wouldn’t wish the kind of pain I’ve lived through on anyone. I’ve borne it because I had to and for no other reason. Feel the pain you’ve been given, Carrion. Don’t be fool enough to ask for more. It’s a curse I would spare you from, believe me.”

“I could fuck you and feast on you until the ages turned and the suns all died and burned out in the skies, and I still wouldn’t have had enough of you.”

Flatline...

Don’t thank them, came Fisher’s low, resonant reply. Thank me. I’m the one who’s about to make you scream.

I could be dead in the ground five thousand years and the frosts could have taken my bones, and still no other male will ever have loved another female the way that I love you.”

I want you on all fours for me, Saeris. Crawling…

BARK BARK

“Sweet fucking mercy,” he panted. “Kill me. Sit on my face and ride my tongue until I fucking die. I can’t take it anymore.”

Bitch I am deceased.