Even Ozriel couldn’t invade a stronghold like this.
“I can’t bring you out of there!”
For a moment, she considered ordering him to stop. Because of the manacles, he would have to obey her.
But she didn’t.
“I have faith in you,” Ozriel said. He overtook some of the original transports and emerged into the golden sunlight of the Vroshir homeworld.
Instantly, a network of satellites and guardians all over the world sighted on him. A barrage like that could penetrate even his armor.
One black gauntlet drew back. “I have something for them.”
Ozriel’s hand came down.
Explosions lit the sky of Amorenthus like orange jewels as millions of guardian installations detonated. Ozriel put his back to them and winked at her, the sky behind him a backdrop of flame. “It’s been too long since they’ve seen my signature.”
He slipped out of the universe just as their portal closed. If he had been caught, he wouldn’t have been able to escape, not with his power restricted as it was.
Of course, he wasn’t away yet.
Twisted force exploded out of the Void where the portal had once been, like transparent grasping tails. He resisted, throwing up barriers, but he was still too close to Amorenthus. His shields broke, his movements slowed, and the pattern of attacks from the tendrils had no gaps. One by one, the potential futures including his escape were closed off.
Until Suriel joined her power to his. She covered him until he escaped the Void, and only then could she sew Verge up once again.
Ozriel put a hand to his chest and exhaled. “Whew. That was close, wasn’t it?”
“What did that accomplish?” Suriel asked. It sounded sarcastic, but she meant it. She could feel the broader flows of Fate bending according to his actions.
“You’re the one who still has unrestricted Hound access. You tell me.”
“I’ll need time to unravel it.”
“I intended it to strain the relationship between the Mad King and the Silverlords and get them to withdraw their support, though I doubt it will accomplish that much. Realistically, it will narrow down Daruman’s choices.”
Future possibilities spun before Suriel’s eyes as she looked into Fate. The Mad King was difficult to observe in the best of times, warping Fate by his very presence, but she could see him being pushed into a smaller cluster of possibilities.
Even blind, Ozriel still had a master’s touch.
Which made her even angrier.
“You can do that, but you couldn’t come up with a better way of saving us than to risk everything?”
Ozriel blew out a breath and ran a hand over his head. “When I left, I was confident it was the right thing to do. Now…I don’t know.”
That hardly addressed Suriel’s anger, but pieces of a broken moon blasted past her and reminded her of the wounded Iteration in which they rested.
“I’ll get the full story out of you,” she said. “Until then, we have people to save.”
6
Lindon wished Yerin would open her void key so that he could take a look inside. “So you have both messenger constructs? And the gatestones?”
Yerin was visibly struggling to keep a smile from her face, but she responded gravely. “I’m all packed up.”
“You have your backup weapons…” Lindon had made sure of that himself; he and Dross had projected that the Herald and Sage in charge of Redmoon Hall might have countermeasures for an Archlord weapon that largely functioned on blood madra, so Yerin was bringing a few other swords along. They weren’t quite as good, but they should do if Netherclaw was disabled.
With Dross’ reminders, Lindon went down his mental list. “You should have plenty of scales. The Enforcer construct I made for the Silent King will work against other mental attacks as well.”
The shadow of an enormous cloudship passed over them.
An Archlady with her Blood Shadow in the form of a snake landed on a nearby cliff and shouted down to them. “Yerin Arelius, you are expected! Reveal your weapons and drop your veils for a security inspection!”
“Worst thing that’ll happen is I won’t be able to stop myself from cutting somebody’s nose off,” Yerin said.
Her tone said she wasn’t worried about it, but that was the worst thing that could happen. No matter how well-prepared they were, she was putting herself in the hands of two people who could overpower her.
She and Dross—and even Eithan—had told him about the Blood Sage. The man wasn’t trustworthy exactly, but he was predictable. If she cooperated and handed over the process by which Ruby had been created, the Blood Sage would be her greatest ally.