darkened blade_ A fallen blade novel - Kelly McCullough Page 0,96

of Heaven is removed, none of them may even be enemies of ours anymore.”

I paused for a moment then as I found myself suddenly in want of more air. While we had been sorting out the matter of the students and the swords, I was able to put aside most of my worries about the Son of Heaven and what killing him might mean for the broader world. I had even been able to convince myself that I was comfortable with the decision to go after him.

But that was all a lie. Actually talking about it brought every one of the doubts and fears that had been lurking in the back of my mind roaring in again as if they’d only been waiting for the right moment to pounce.

There had been significant costs to this mission already, both on the personal front and the broader scale of nations. The battle at Wall. Dalridia engulfed in war. Jax’s brother falling to the invaders. The Avarsi we had slaughtered on our way out of Dalridia. Altia’s death in the mountains . . . Enormous amounts of blood had been spilled, and we hadn’t yet come within a thousand miles of Heaven’s Reach. I had no doubts that there would be more blood spilled before we reached our destination. By us if we were smart and lucky. Our own if we weren’t.

Even with Siri’s new powers, and if I recovered Signet Nea’s finger and it worked to our maximum advantage, I had my doubts about managing it. But if we somehow managed to succeed and make an end of the Son of Heaven and his risen puppets?

At the very least there would be wars and upheaval on a scale that hadn’t been seen in a thousand years. The lakes of blood we had created so far would become a vast sea of crimson. And however much it might ultimately be the fault of the Son of Heaven, proximally it would be my decision that triggered the coming days of long knives. . . .

Aral? Triss sent, his tone rife with concern. They’re waiting for you to finish your thought. Are you all right?

Not really, no, I replied. But that doesn’t change what I have to do. I gave myself a little mental shake. Thanks for the prompt, old friend.

“We’ll let them go,” I said, as though I’d never gotten lost in my own head. “Both because we don’t need to kill them, and because the death of that Hand down there would bring on a storm. That would seriously interfere with our progress if we take the lake path at the same time it alerted others to her fall.”

“It’s your call.” Kelos sounded disappointed.

I looked at him. “It is that, but I’m willing to entertain arguments that go the other way. Did you have something you wanted to add there?”

Kelos sighed, and for the first time in all the years I had known him, he looked embarrassed. “One thing only. I was hoping for a chance to test a bit of magic I spent most of last year working on.”

Siri cleared her throat before stepping in. “This is the first you’ve mentioned anything like that. Care to elaborate?”

Kelos looked from her to me, and then over her shoulder to where the others knelt in the darkness farther down the hill. “Not really, but I’d better. You know that when I took service with the Son of Heaven, my initial plan involved getting Aral to kill the man and becoming the new Son of Heaven myself. Not for the power, of course, but for the chance to smash the very idea of a noble class.”

“Of course.” Faran’s tone was deliberately colorless, but still managed to leave no doubt as to her true feelings about Kelos and his noble aims.

Kelos continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “I presume Aral’s also mentioned why I couldn’t kill the Son myself?”

“You’re talking about the geas all you Shadow of Heaven types had to bind yourself with before he would let you into his presence?” said Siri. “Yes, it’s come up.”

Kelos nodded. “I thought it might have. However, I don’t know if Aral also told you that the geas bound me to do no harm to anyone who serves the Son either.”

Siri and Faran both nodded, while the other three young Blades simply remained quiet, so Kelos continued. “Obviously it doesn’t extend to the risen of his curse—the Son would have had to admit to what he is in