Chapter 357: Blood Relic

The aether coursed through my body, igniting my channels with liquid fire before melting into the core of my core. Despite my thoughts elsewhere and the fact that I had done it countless times before, the feeling was still intoxicating. This deep, elusive power that not even asuras could fully control was within me, waiting to be released.’I think we made it,’ said Regis when we were done gathering our memories. Sylvia’s last message hadn’t shown the four djinn ruins, but it did show the zones leading to them. It just took time for both of us to remember the details clearly enough for the Compass to get us there.Yes , I replied simply, visualizing the image of narrow earth tunnels snaking like a maze of giant wormholes in all directions.

I opened my eyes to be greeted by the chitinous corpse of the giant centipede I was sitting on as I absorbed its ether.

With my core almost fully replenished and our fate set, I fell to the ground just in time to see Caera rising from her brother’s makeshift memorial. The whites of her eyes had turned red from crying, but her gaze hardened, her jaw set with determination.

No words were exchanged, just a simple nod before we moved on.

The exit portal was hours from the cave, and the rest of the journey through the empty zone was smooth. We move quickly and silently. Regis stayed inside my body, regaining his strength after using the Destruction. His control over the ability had strengthened significantly since he’d last used it, but I could feel the price it cost him.

“You should get some rest before we go,” I said when we finally reached the exit. “It’s been a while since you’ve slept.”

“I’m fine,” she replied, glancing back. Although she didn’t say it, I knew she was ready to get out of this zone.

Focusing on the image of those winding tunnels, I activated the Compass and Caera entered. The area beyond was filled with dust that hung in the air, making it difficult to see what we were entering, and all I could see of Caera was a dark silhouette.

‘Arthur,’ Regis barked inside me as two more silhouettes appeared on either side of her.

Stay inside for now, I ordered, focusing on the dull red light that reflected off their weapons.

The glowing portal evaporated behind me as I passed, my eyes immediately searching for Caera and her attackers.

Caera’s red blade glinted in the thick dust, ringing against her attacker’s weapon. Guttural screams filled the small space, and a glowing spear shot out of the obscuring dust. I grabbed her a little before hitting Caera in the back. The mana-reinforced steel cable squeaked as I ripped the spearhead off its shaft and threw it back into the carrier. The jagged tip pierced the attacker’s chest, and his dark shadow was lifted from the ground and slammed into the bare earthen wall.

The dust began to settle, revealing another man – large and covered in earth and clay – slashing and slashing at Caera with a serrated and frozen scimitar, and two Attackers flanking a narrow earthen tunnel that led out of the small space we were in.

The Step of God brought me behind them, a streak of amethyst arcing across my skin. The first died instantly when my ether-coated hand hit the back of his head, breaking his spine despite his neck armor. I backhanded the second one as he started to activate one of the runes arranged along his spine, sending him flying into the tunnel wall. He landed on his own spear, impaling himself through his bare biceps.

He let out a curse before rolling over and futilely pulling the spear, his spell forgotten.

Caera’s opponent snarled in bestial fury as their blades clashed, a sound that was cut off in a wet gurgle as her sword pierced his chest.

I dug my heel into the last mage’s bloody wound, ignoring his desperate attempt to defend himself with a cloak of fire.

“Why did you attack us?” I asked calmly, leaning forward to meet his eyes.

“Kage Orders!” The man screamed, his dirt-streaked face contorted in pain. “Please, we’re just doing what we’re told!”

I tilted my head, raising an eyebrow. “Should I be familiar with that name?”

“Our leader,” he gasped, his panicked eyes focused on the blood gushing from his wound. “Anyone…anyone who walks through this portal belongs to it.”

Caera knelt to check on the man I had impaled with her own spearhead, but now she rose and glared at the surviving ascendant. “Why would any ascendant ‘belong ‘ to him?”

My ears picked up the faint sounds of approaching footsteps. Lifting my foot from his bloodied arm, I took a step back.

The mage was panting, his eyes losing focus. Judging by the bloody mud beneath him, he didn’t have much more time. “The relic needs blood,” he said. “So we…we—”

A stone spike erupted from the ground and impaled him in the chest, splattering Caera’s face with blood.

I turned to see a dozen more ascendants huddled farther down the tunnel. A man was at the forefront of the group. He was just as dirty as the rest of them, but under the layers of dirt, I could see a network of scars crisscrossing his face, arms and hands. His hair was a fine beard that looked like it had been shaved off with a dagger instead of a razor, and a knotted blond beard covered his face. He wore mismatched armor that looked like it had been pulled from a dozen different places.

“Would you mind telling us what the hell is going on in this zone?” Caera asked as she calmly wiped the blood off her face with a handkerchief.

“Hell is the proper word,” the scarred ascendant spoke slowly, smiling. More than one tooth was missing from his mouth, and the ones that were left were filed and sharp. “You have reached the very guts of the Relictombs, where the ascendants come to die.”

Caera took a confident step forward, her dark blue hair flying as she aimed her thin blade at the man’s throat. The ascendant matched, a small crater forming under his feet as he stepped forward and pressed his neck against the tip of Caera’s blade.

“There’s no getting out of here,” he continued, his dark eyes wide and more than a little furious. “Except for the blood. Everyone gives or accepts, but no one who remains neutral survives for long.”

I shyly slipped between the two of them and raised an arm. “We have no desire to fight you if you don’t make us. But can you explain what’s going on here? Less enigmatically this time.”

The leader – Kage, I assumed – seemed to dismiss me immediately, frowning intensely as he appraised my partner instead. Caera’s ruby ​​eyes gleamed in the darkness, though her gaze was cold. The impasse ended suddenly when his frown broke like thin ice and his face shuddered into a forced smile.

Kage tapped his dirty finger against his temple. “I can tell your blood isn’t the type to let go. You’re just fresh meat flavor”—his henchmen laughed grimly at that—“that we need here. Understand, minds, bodies and spirits age in this purgatory.” As Kage spoke, one eye began to twitch. “The longer you stay, the worse it gets, but the only way out is to drain the lifeblood of your friends and comrades. Cruel, those ancient demons…”

The scarred ascendant’s eyes lost focus for a moment.

“I believe we asked you to be less enigmatic,” Caera said impatiently.

The men behind Kage pushed forward, tightening their hands around their weapons as their gazes cut toward my mate. One held up a gun that crackled with electricity. Kage’s hand shot out, catching the man in the side of the head. “Don’t come out swinging sabers when I’m talking!”

He graced Caera with his empty-tooth smile. “I can tell you are people who have manners. Wyverns, not woggarts, as the saying goes. And so I’m going to be honest with you. You find yourself stuck in an exit zone. The only way out is to claim a relic kept in the center of this labyrinth of tunnels, but that can only be done with blood sacrifice. And so far, no one has managed to spill enough to get through the wards.”

I hadn’t heard wrong. Kage said that too…

There was a relic in this area.

My attention remained on Kage as he spoke: his hands constantly gravitated toward his weapon, his smile faded only to be forced back into his dirt-covered face, and he swelled like a fanged deer as he spoke. All of this created a subtly threatening image, like an animalistic defensive measure to ward off potential threats.

“We would like to see this relic,” I said gently. “Can you take us there?”

“Get out, skinny!” one of the men snapped, pointing his sword at me.

Kage let out a harsh laugh and took a step back, then spun on his heel like he was in a military procession. A narrow stone spear exploded from the ground and speared the offending ascendant’s hand, sending the sword flying. Kage kicked the man’s knee, causing him to crack and bend backward, then caught him by the throat and threw him to the ground.

“I don’t remember telling you to talk!” Kage roared in his face, saliva flying. The runes on his back glistened as he raised a hand over his head, and a crust of bright black and orange stone formed from his elbow down, radiating heat so intense I could feel it from several feet away.

The smoking gauntlet hit the man’s face like a sledgehammer. It hit again and again, filling the cavern with the smell of burning flesh. The rest of the ascendants retreated. A few watched with a kind of wicked anticipation, but most averted their eyes.

When there was nothing left of the ascendant’s face but a burnt pulp, Kage straightened. He was panting slightly, and drops of steaming fire flickered around the conjured gauntlet. With a snap of his neck and a sigh, he faced Caera. “It takes a steady hand, you know,” Kage said, laughing. “Steady hand, understand?”

Caera’s nose wrinkled in disgust, but Kage’s men snickered. I kept my face blank. “Blood waste, though. Bah.” The melted gauntlet fell to gray pieces as Kage cast the spell. “The thing is, newbie. Trust breeds trust. First, you and your servant will return to camp with us. There, can we decide who can see what, capiche?”

Caera’s mouth dropped open, and I could tell by the look on her face that she was about to reject Kage’s offer. I grabbed his sleeve and gave it a little tug. “Lady, nothing good can come from rejecting this man’s offer. See what he did to his own ally. We should go with him and see what he has to say.”

“Fine,” she replied, searching my eyes questioningly. To Kage, she said, “we’ll go with you.”

“A wise helper you have there,” Kage grunted. “It can’t be an unadorned one. Must be an angry Sentinel hiding his mana, huh?” He looked me in the eye and spat on the ground. “Or perhaps the Lady keeps you around for other purposes, huh?”

I shivered at his gaze, which only made him and his men laugh.

“Then?” Caera asked, walking between us. “Your camp?”

“Visitors first,” Kage said, gesturing down the tunnel like a doorman welcoming us to Alacrya’s finest inn. His men parted, leaving a narrow space for Caera and I to pass.

‘Killing everything and everyone that comes our way is starting to bore you?’ Regis asked. ‘What’s with this gentle and fragile way of acting?’

Just stay inside and keep your eyes open, I snapped.

‘Fine,’ he mumbled.

The zone was made up entirely of earth tunnels, as I had seen in false memory. They writhed and turned continually, as if some giant worm had eaten into the soil here, leaving a maze of paths behind. Veins of some red-hot stone broke through the dirt in places, casting a rusty light through the tunnels.

Occasionally a thick vine or root protruded from the tunnel wall, and Kage was quick to direct us around them. “I would avoid the stranglers. I doubt that I need to explain the name.”

As we walked, turning this way and that so regularly that I struggled to keep track of where we were, Kage continued to talk. “It’s a war you met, friends. Chaos and bloodshed as ascendant revolves around ascendant for the chance of a truly true relic. Even if we could leave, most would not. Not with that kind of prize at stake.”

“There must be more to it than that,” said Caera. “Ascendants are not wild animals.”

“It was worse when I got here,” Kage said proudly. “A full bloodbath, every man determined to kill his way to the top.”

“What happened when you arrived?” I asked, carefully moving around another large vine that was blocking half of the tunnel.

Kage snorted with delight. “I injected a small order, of course! I cracked enough skulls to prove my strength, then made the rest of them stop killing each other. I forged a tribe, gave them a purpose. We took control of the sanctuary and from then on I decided who lives and who dies.”

I didn’t miss the subtle threat in his tone when he said that.

“If you think about how fewer people have died since I got here, I’m actually a hero. A savior, not a butcher like you might be thinking.”

I cast a look back. Kage was shaking his head, smiling as if pleased with himself.

“How far do these tunnels go?” Caera asked. “Is there an end?”

“It’s a kind of maze. Almost a big circle, with the relic shrine right in the center,” he replied. “Big enough for you to lose yourself and starve to death before someone finds you.” I could practically hear the cold contempt in his voice as he added, “But the tunnels are still full of mad ascenders just waiting to slit your throat in the dark, and they’d catch you before then.”

Knowing the relic was at the center of the maze was something, but I didn’t have any reference to where we were yet. But as interesting as the presence of another relic was, my curiosity was focused elsewhere.

“If this place is that big, maybe you just haven’t found the exit portal yet—”

“Not!” Kage snapped, his steps stopping. I turned to find him scowling at me, his fists clenching and unclenching. Short blazing spikes erupted from the walls of the tunnel around us. “Are you doubting me, boy? Many strong men languished in the tunnels looking for a way out. We know where the door is, so only an idiot would keep looking. And the key is”— ‘Blood,’ Regis thought sarcastically as Kage said, “so we just have to figure out how to use it.”

I nodded, taking a tentative step back. My foot slapped against a vine that slid along the side of the tunnel and hit like a snake. The strangler wrapped itself around my leg and retreated to the ground, trying to pull me with it.

Caera’s blade flashed, cutting the root just above the ground. The root broke free, writhing like a dying worm at my feet. I crawled backward on the earth to get away from her as Kage and the others burst into wild laughter.

Kage lifted me up and threw his arm around my shoulder, wiping the tears and snot from his bright red face as he continued to laugh. “You know, boy, my court needs a good jester,” he said between bursts of laughter. “Maybe there’s a reason to keep him around after all.”

Regis let out a sigh. ‘This is funny. I can see you being intimidated and, at the same time, look forward to seeing you crush their gonads.’

It took another hour to reach Kage’s camp. I wondered how he had gotten to the exit portal so quickly, but the thought was pushed out of my mind as I entered a large, smooth-walled tunnel.

Unlike the naturally carved paths that led us here, the ascendants’ camp bore obvious signs of having been excavated by magic. While the tunnels were low, barely tall enough for me to walk straight in most places, the ceiling here was fifteen feet high. At least a hundred small lighting artifacts were suspended above us, casting a pale but bright white light over the men there.

About a dozen men in mud-stained armor occupied the tunnel, which was nearly twenty meters across and ten meters wide. Some were training, but most were sitting around small red fires and talking in low, tired voices.

Several others were half-naked and cuffed around their wrists, ankles, and throat.

Caera breathed in surprise at seeing this, but had the wherewithal to bite her tongue in the moment.

The handcuffed men were all thin and brown with dirt, their beards long and tangled, their hair tangled. But I could see the runes on their backs marking them as mages. Two carried a large earthen jar between them – careful to avoid a huge strangling root growing on one side of the cave – while a third cast a spell on a similar jar near the far end of the camp. Another was turning a skewer over the fire, roasting some kind of meat. I didn’t want to know what kind of meat it was. Two others were standing at the open doors to a series of small caves that had been excavated in the main tunnel, their eyes downcast.

Kage’s scarred hand slapped my shoulder. “Welcome to my castle. House of Kaged Men!”

“There are no women,” Caera said softly, as if speaking to herself.

“Ah well, anything of value is rare in this pit of despair,” Kage grunted humorlessly. “Food, water, entertainment…”

His eyes lingered on my mate, moving slowly up and down her body as he said it.

“Wild ones,” she said, meeting his gaze.

“Oh, stop it!” He howled with laughter. “Once upon a time, I was a High Blood, just like you. Here, however, everyone’s blood is red and ripe to be used.”

He walked past us, arms wide open as he entered the camp. “Your savior has returned!” he yelled, his voice rising. “And I bring new recruits!”

All of the ascendants began to gather, with several more emerging from the caves that lined the walls, but the handcuffed men barely seemed to notice. They stopped and bowed whenever Kage came near, but otherwise hurried on with their duties.

“Enough of looking dumbfounded!” Kage suddenly yelled, pushing one of the men – a dangerously thin boy who couldn’t have been more than sixteen with the way his facial hair grew in jagged patches – causing him to stumble and fall, nearly falling into the fire. “Back to work!”

I surveyed their faces as we went, noting the sunken eyes, the thin cheeks and, most of all, the hard looks they gave us. Each of them was ready to kill at a word from their leader, despite how he treated them. The men who fell into despair here were probably given food for the relic, so they embraced fury and hatred instead. These were the survivors. I could see the terrible things they did to get this far in his eyes.

Kage took us to the largest of the caves, though calling it a simple cave didn’t do it justice. A talented wizard had carved out a space big enough for a family of four. The floors were hardened into something like marble, while the reddish walls were carved to look like brick. Stone furniture was covered with furs and blankets – significantly more than a man could have brought with him to the Relictombs.

A huge bed occupied the center of one wall and was piled high with more furs and blankets tied with silk ropes.

“At least you didn’t have to give up your luxurious High Blood lifestyle,” Caera said sarcastically as she looked at his makeshift home.

Kage threw himself into a lounge chair and kicked a muddy boot into a stone footrest. “It hasn’t been all bad, I admit. Outside, I was the fourth child of a decaying blood, but here I might as well be a Sovereign.”

Caera rolled her eyes. “And what happens when the Ascenders Association finds out what happened in this convergence zone? You will be executed.”

Kage smiled at her like a toothless shark. “That’s assuming we ever get away, my lady. And if we escape, that means we claim the relic. No one will give a damn what we did to get it.” He put his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. “Imagine that. The first living relic came back in how many years? Two decades? Three? Enough wealth for all of us to keep our blood strong for generations.”

I could tell by Ceara’s sour expression that she knew Kage was right.

Abrupt footsteps at the door heralded the arrival of a newcomer, who bent over as he tried to hold onto a heavy barrel with some liquid splashing. He was pale as a ghost, with light gray and brown hair that fell limply to his shoulders. His black graphite eyes just passed me and Caera before he stumbled to the table, struggling against the weight of the barrel.

“Ah, Mouse, what perfect timing. Is this the Truaciana Black Beer?” Kage asked, licking his lips. When he saw my questioning look, he blinked. “Some idiot had half a tavern stuffed into his dimensional device. Better for us.” His face turned sad. “Almost done now, isn’t it, Mouse?”

The man named Rat wiped the sweat from his forehead as he tapped the barrel. “I’m afraid so, my lord. One more barrel is all, and it’s Sehz-Clar’s pale one.”

Kage snorted. “I might as well be drinking the Rat’s urine.” He spat on the ground.

The Rat wore a simple linen shirt and trousers, but he wore no armor. He wasn’t equipped with handcuffs like the others we’ve seen. He avoided looking at Kage, keeping his head averted subserviently, and when he spoke, his words were soft and nonthreatening. He immediately reminded me of his namesake, running around the edge of the room like a rodent trying to avoid being stepped on.

Strangely, it was pretty clean. There was hardly a speck of dirt on his clothes or face, and his hair, though disheveled, wasn’t filled with clumps of mud like everyone else’s. Only their hands showed any sign of the dirt that clung to the rest of them like a second skin.

His swift eyes caught me looking at him, but they jumped away immediately.

“It’s possible…?” I started, my voice shaky. “See the relic now?”

Kage took a mug of Clay Rat and tipped it back, swallowing several gulps and dripping at least half of it onto his beard and the neck of his chest plate. “Oh, that ‘s good. All fine wines may come from Etril, but those Truatian bastards know how to brew.

He dropped the mug and leaned forward, giving me a curious look. When he spoke, however, it was directed at Caera. “You are in my domain now. You’re strong, I can tell, maybe even almost an opponent to me, one by one”—he smiled in a way that suggested he didn’t believe it, but was simply being polite—”but I have two dozen strong bastards to my disposition, and you have a shy flesh shield.”

Caera crossed her arms, looking impressed.

“You want to see the relic. You need to find yourself a place in this area, because you won’t be leaving anytime soon.” That ugly, predatory smile split his face. “I have my own wants and needs. So what are you willing to trade for your lives?”

“If you already had everything you wanted, you would have just killed us at the portal.” Caera leaned over to come face to face with the scarred ascendant. “No, I think you need help and hope we can help you.”

“Do you think I need help? I know the way out. I solved it! All I need is more blood.” Kage stood up suddenly, dropping the footrest before pointing a filthy finger at my unflappable companion. “And I can have you and your maiden-man dead anytime I want.”

“Then there should be no problem showing us the relic,” Caera replied coolly.

Mouse was fidgeting as he tapped his fingers quickly on the table, his big black eyes frozen on Kage. When he saw me looking, he stopped and busied himself preparing another mug of beer.

Kage looked at Caera. “The rat will take his servant to the sanctuary to see the relic. But you stay here with me, got it?”

“No, she needs to come with me,” I said quickly, moving a little closer to her.

“Afraid to be without your protective lady, princess?” Kage asked, touching the strap of his scimitar.

“Your offer is not acceptable,” Caera said flatly. “I would see it with my own eyes, to better judge the situation for myself.”

“You got confused. This is not an offer. It’s an order.” He said with a sharp toothy smile. “He can go, but you’ll be fine here. By my side.”

Both ascendants had their hands on their fists this time. I preferred not to leave Caera alone with that murderous lunatic, but I wasn’t ready to give up on my ploy, either.

Caera looked at me, searching my eyes for guidance. I nodded imperceptibly and his hand left his weapon. Kage not.

“Okay,” she said, half resigned, half annoyed. She approached the warlord, who was only a few inches taller than her. “But, touch me, and I’ll cut the body part that does it.”

“A toast to that.” Kage raised the mug to Caera as he wiggled his eyebrows lewdly.

Mouse hurriedly escorted me out. Despite the prospects of a new relic and finding another djinn, my thoughts drifted to Kage, considering how best to deal with him after this was all over.