Jackal Among Snakes

Argrave could barely think above the loud rumbling of pain that swept his body. It felt like cords sewn into his body had been ripped free of the muscle and skin surrounding them. The whole of him felt raw and battered, but he rose much the same as Mozzahr. Both of them were tensed like wounded animals, ready to bite the hand that came no matter its intent.

Mozzahr didn’t bother healing the wound on his shoulder, nor the huge crater just by his heart caused by Argrave’s [Burst]. Instead, both dire injuries were covered by his Emptiness, staunching the bleeding and ensuring functionality. His limp left arm regained movement just as Orion headed the charge to end Mozzahr. He swatted aside a coming punch, yet Orion’s speed and size continued and slammed Mozzahr back against the wall.

The two struggled to grapple as Melanie subtly crept forward. She used the ability of her black executioner’s blade made of chitin, and a tremendous blast of energy emerged from its blunt tip and thrust right through his abdomen and into the wall behind. Mozzahr yelled in pain, yet his right arm prepared a spell that glowed teal as he prepared to put power behind it.

The Alchemist stepped forward, hundreds of hands bursting from his body to layer dozens of wards atop each other. When Mozzahr’s spell finished, the Alchemist’s excessive defense proved entirely reasonable as a wave of sheer power raged against the wards. When its energy faded, icy crystals imbued with teal power had frozen everything in front of Mozzahr. Orion, still grappling with the castellan, seemed badly hurt by the frost, and Mozzahr pushed him away with ease. It was barely in time to defend from the Alchemist, who dismissed his wards and slammed down his obsidian staff upon Mozzahr.

Mozzahr narrowly caught the Alchemist’s blow before it struck his head. He was panting heavily, yet gripped the staff with both hands tightly and pulled the staff forward. The Alchemist very literally grew roots embedded in the stone to resist the strength of Mozzahr’s pull, but it was insufficient, and the Alchemist lurched forth. When Mozzahr conjured more power in his hands to deal damage, an arrow struck him in the eye and he staggered backward, hitting the wall once more. Galamon, who’d fired the arrow, was already drawing the next back.

Argrave could see faint black mist dancing in the air moments before Onychinusa manifested above Mozzahr. A mana ripple spread as she completed her spell. Ice condensed into a thick spear that jutted forward tremendously quickly as it spiraled. [Winter’s Awl] slammed into Mozzahr just behind his head, forcing him to the ground as it rapidly spun and dug into his flesh. He was on his hands and knees, as though groveling before them.

His screams were haunting, and Argrave thought he was near done. Anneliese stepped forward, and Argrave watched her rush up and touch both Orion and Onychinusa. She didn’t attack—instead, she teleported the three of them away, then shouted, “Get back!”

People heeded her words moments before Mozzahr recklessly discharged his energy in a great pulse. It spouted from his wounds, his eyes, his mouth, and his ears in an unprecedented show of power and wrath. It tore through the carved mountainside and the floor with relative ease, and even Argrave was forced to retreat as his terrible power ate through the world.

When it was said and done, so much of the mountain Hause’s temple had been carved from had been torn away that light filtered through the now-missing roof. It fell upon Mozzahr as he crouched there. His reckless discharge of power had made his wounds bleed anew. He covered them with his power once again, but the damage had been done. He tried to rise, but the small puddle of blood that had formed made him slip. He tumbled into the crater he’d just made, but managed to land on his feet. He stared up at Argrave, his eyes firm, as he bent down to pick up his rapier. He held it up.

“I won’t run,” he said, voice steady. “I’ll never run.”

Argrave heard the twang of a bow practically the same instant he saw Galamon’s arrow pierce through Mozzahr’s ear. He had spent enough of his Emptiness that it would no longer shield him from such mundane weapons. The Castellan of the Empty staggered on his feet as though he was merely drunk, then collapsed to the side. His energy started to drift upwards out of his body like smoke from a spent candle. Rocks as they continued to settle, but they were the only noise for a long while after Mozzahr’s death.

The Alchemist looked at Galamon. “We could have captured him.”

“We didn’t,” Galamon answered back.

Argrave felt a little worse than hell itself, but he walked into the crater. Everyone watched him go without doing anything. He turned Mozzahr’s body to face the front. The left side of his chest had been torn away from Argrave’s [Burst], while his left arm hung limply, nearly severed from the blow from Argrave’s axe. His guts were showing from Melanie’s stab, and his right arm looked popped out of place and broken from Orion’s tackle.

Argrave kneeled. “You should have run a long time ago.”

#####

“You should really rest,” Anneliese told Argrave as she looked at him.

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“I told Sophia I’d just be a little bit. It’s been an hour already.” Argrave shook his head, then held out his arms. “Do I look like I just fought Mozzahr?”

Anneliese crossed her arms. “You did just fight Mozzahr. And so you should rest, instead of fretting over your appearance.”

Argrave sighed, then walked ahead of Anneliese. Without adrenaline helping him keep steady, he needed her support to walk without looking like an old man. “Let’s go. I don’t want Hause to say something strange to the girl. We need to get Sophia settled in, and then I need a right proper reward for Melanie. Then… Castro’s business. Good lord… the hell can I say to Ingo?”

Argrave walked unsteadily, but stopped when Anneliese didn’t follow. He looked back, then walked up to her. “Was I, uhh… a little callous there? I’m sorry if I was dismissive. But Sophia, she’s… she deserves a good turn, I think. And if she is Satan in child form or something like that, maybe a little bit of kindness can turn that around.”

Anneliese looked at him. “You changed.”

Argrave grew serious. “Are you saying—”

“No, not in a negative way. I still love every second I’m with you. It’s just…” Anneliese searched for words. “Feels like you’ve adapted to your position. Feels like you’re pulling ahead of everyone else.”

Argrave furrowed his brows. “Don’t really know what to say to that. I was away for a couple weeks, trapped in Groundhog Hour.”

“I always told you that you were wonderful.” She stepped up to him, then kissed him. “I’m glad to see you’ve finally realized it, too.” Argrave laughed, at a loss for words, then Anneliese took his arm. “Fine. I concede, Argrave. Let’s see Sophia.”

Anneliese helped Argrave along silently as they proceeded through the now-ruined temple of Hause. This incident would have large implications for the future. He’d built up Blackgard as this safe haven, but now there was an incident within its borders. More than that, he loathed that Sophia had endured such an unpleasant scenario in the place he’d hoped she would feel totally safe at.

Argrave entered into Hause’s personal chamber, passing by Sonia and some of the other devotees of the goddess. The blonde-haired woman sat by Sophia on the bed. She looked like she had her employer next to her rather than a seven-year-old child, sitting rigidly and almost visibly sweating. Both Sophia and Hause looked at Argrave like he was their personal savior.

“Mister Argwave!” Sophia hopped off the bed and ran up to him. He kneeled down to receive her, and her red eyes studied him nervously. “That man… he was here for me, wasn’t he?”

Argrave looked up at Anneliese, and she also came to kneel alongside him. She spoke first, consoling, “He was here for many reasons. He had a daughter too, you know. And the only person who could help him with his daughter was Argrave.”

Argrave looked at her in surprise. She didn’t seem to be lying. Anneliese must’ve read something in Mozzahr that Argrave missed.

“The man just has an unusual way of asking for help, you see,” Argrave played along, then tousled Sophia’s hair. “Are you okay, Sophia? Hause didn’t say anything strange to you?”

Hause’s voice was polite and panicky as she said, “What kind of fool do you take me for, Your Majesty?”

Sophia looked back as she fixed her ruffled hair. “Miss Hause just stared at me and made some tea. It was very sweet. I liked it a lot.”

Hause looked relieved that she was vindicated. Argrave offered his hand to Sophia. “Well, I’m very glad. I can get you some of that tea every day, if you want. Right now, though… what would say to going to meet my sister? What would you say to going to our home?”

“Mister has a sister?”

“Mister does have a sister. And a brother,” Argrave nodded, then looked to the side. “Anne, could you…?”

Anneliese was smiling at the two of them subtly, but came to attention when he said her name. “Yes. I’ll speak to Hause, hear what she has to say.”

“Miss Hause?” Sophia looked back. “But… but I want to hear what she says.”

“No, these things take time. There’s a lot of numbers to go through, a lot of things that need to be written down… it could take several hours. Anneliese is also an expert at this stuff, so she’ll stay to help,” Argrave lied boldfaced, then led Sophia away. “What do you say… I show you teleportation again?”

#####

Once Argrave and Sophia had well and truly left, Anneliese looked at Hause, who breathed a deep sigh of relief. “That child… I could barely breathe.”

Anneliese walked closer. “Is she truly that overwhelming?”

Hause gestured. “Yinther gave you [Truesight], did he not? Then you have to see it, at least in part, don’t you?”

“I see that she’s one half of something much bigger than herself. But this whole is large enough I cannot begin to comprehend it.”

Hause stroked her forehead. “Perhaps you should be grateful you cannot see the full picture. So… this is where the search to end the cycle of judgment led you? That girl?”

“Yes. She was trapped in time—a prison of her unwitting making. She just seems like a compassionate girl, whatever inhabits her. But what do you see?”

Hause sat in her bed. “I’ll tell you. But if this knowledge spreads beyond your inner circle, the whole world itself will give anything to take her away from here.”