Bloodline (Cradle, #9)

by Will Wight

Where Seishen Daji couldn’t be saved, even by Reigan Shen. Lindon responded silently to Dross. My name isn’t Mercy.

“You can call me what you like. Genius. Savant. Prodigy. Virtuoso. Once-in-a-lifetime intellect. I’ve always preferred that people look beyond who I am on the inside and really appreciate my gorgeous exterior.”

Orthos’ presence went from a smoldering coal to a dark, blazing torch. Hot anger covered a layer of cold fear, and it was all suffused with grim determination. Lindon felt the moment when Orthos sensed his presence too. Relief. Urgency. Pure joy.

When he was sure they were alone, Lindon broke down and wept.

Orthos flicked his tail. “Some Archlords do eat intelligent sacred beasts.” “There’s one such Archlord before you now. Be silent and marinate.”

“And hence he earned his title,” Eithan said gravely. “To this day, legends speak of the Cup Sage.”

Why had Lindon and Eithan both independently decided to recruit them? If Eithan was an Archlord, Lindon a Sage—which Jai Long still didn’t believe—and Yerin a…whatever...then

He had developed great skill with the technique, but the tool itself was lacking.

“No,” he said, “this is the Path of the White Fox. Pay attention.”

Dross began to panic. [What is this? What’s happening? Hey, get out of here! Shoo! No, you can’t kick me out! I live h⁠—]

“You don’t have to save everyone,” Suriel said. “It’s a lesson you learn and learn. I wasn’t the one who told you to save Sacred Valley. You decided to do that, so you decide when you’ve succeeded.”

“If things play out as they do in that strand, you’ll leave behind a more powerful bloodline legacy than just split cores. Not to mention the gifts they receive from their mother.”

Any sage will tell you that every Path boils down to one: improve yourself. But you’re a Sage yourself now. You should know the rest.” She stood from her own chair, lifting his face to meet hers. “You improve yourself, but not for yourself alone. For a greater purpose.”

figured out days before. The Underlord revelation was about what motivated you to begin, but the Overlord revelation was who you were now. “I…advance,” Lindon said.

“I’m glad we found you,” Lindon said quietly. “I was never lost.”

Lindon hovered in the air, his back to Jai Long. He was surrounded by a halo of shining constructs, firing in every direction. A rainbow of colors streaked out from him, and just for that moment, he looked like he had sprouted a pair of wings made of light. For a frozen moment he hung there, blazing like a many-colored phoenix.

The Razor was a tool for violently separating the diseased from the healthy, and the Mad King was a blight on reality, a cancer.

Suriel stretched out her Mantle, her authority as the Phoenix, as the ultimate healer, and dragged the Way back.

Behind him, space cracked. Dross gave a squeal, then covered it up with a cough. [I’m not relieved. But we are saved. But it’s fine, I’m not excited. You’re excited.]

[That’s a promise! You’ve promised now, you can’t break it! And that’s perfect, because I was lying before, I need you to do more than just make platforms. I need you to make a lot of platforms.]

You’ll really, ooohhh, you’ll really show them. They’ll say, ‘Underlord Orthos is so great, I can’t believe that we ever cared about him before. I really hate who he used to be. Compared to now, I mean. Just…just hate him.’] That was possibly the worst sales pitch Orthos had ever heard. But he was still intrigued. “I’m listening,” he said.

[I just, well, I’m not exactly proud of this, but I’ve always been afraid of being thrown away. Please, just keep me around.]

“I’m sorry, Archlord, but the sect…I was just⁠—” “Making it up? Every organization in history has been made up by someone.”

Elder Whisper sat on his haunches, tails waving smoothly behind him. “Wei Shi Lindon. Would you like to know how to kill the Dreadgods?”

Ziel stared down the Kazan Patriarch. “There’s a big monster coming. It’s called a Dreadgod. Come with us if you want to live.” “Okay, let’s go,” the Patriarch said. They high-fived.