Even Gods Must Fall - Christian Warren Freed Page 0,107

determination. Their boots struck the ground with fury as if their anger was translated deep into the earth. Maleela cringed inwardly at the sound before steeling her nerve. This was war. It took several long minutes for them to reach the parley area secured between the lines--long minutes in which she dealt with questions and doubt. This was her first true test of leadership, though she knew neither Thrask nor Amar expected her to be much more than a figurehead. She vowed to prove them both wrong.

Maleela recognized Aurec immediately. Her heart threatened to get the better of her, overturning all she’d endured before she tightened up. There was no room in her life for love. Not any longer. There were others, but none she knew. Pennants and banners waved on the morning breeze, announcing the Wolfsreik in all of its glory. She spied several other colors amidst the very large group. Rogscroft and the tattered remains of flags she failed to recognize. All told her enemies presented an opposing group.

Sliding to the ground, she walked side by side with Thrask until they stood under the hastily erected pavilion for the meeting. Maleela avoided looking at Aurec, though she clearly saw him start to move towards her. She could only imagine how much willpower it took to make himself stop and remain still, like a king should.

“So, at last all of my enemies are gathered,” she began without pause.

Aurec clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth. “Enemies? I see several but only one I would not consider such. Why are you with this filth, Maleela?”

Thrask bristled at the insult, momentarily forgetting the banner of truce. “Mind your tongue, boy-king. I have killed many like you.”

Maleela held up a hand to silence the Goblin. “This is not the world you once rescued me from, Aurec. I have made my choices and they lead me to an inevitable conclusion.”

“That being?”

She turned to the redhead. “And you would be?”

“Rolnir. What is your conclusion?”

Madness twinkled in her eyes. “Ah yes, the mighty general of the Wolfsreik. I grew up listening to tales of your heroism. How paltry they seem to me now that I finally meet you. You’re all going to die here. I trust you realize that.”

“If that’s what the gods decree, so be it, but I doubt that very much,” he replied.

“Are you thinking of the second army massed on our western flank? We know of the Dwarves and their pathetic civilian force. Thrask and his Goblins are more than familiar enough with those stunted beasts. They will be dealt with efficiently.”

Thrask passed a sidelong glance at her that lasted barely a second and expressed his doubts. Aurec was the only one who caught the move.

“Your ally doesn’t seem to agree,” he said quickly to seize advantage. “I see the doubt in his eyes. You are right to fear, naturally. Dwarves are formidable at their worst.”

“We kill Dwarves!” Thrask snorted and said no more.

“Enough of this! I did not come here to bandy wit,” Maleela snapped. “Lay down your arms and surrender. There doesn’t need to be mindless death.”

When Aurec spoke it was slow, almost casual in his argument. “When I agreed to accompany the Wolfsreik into Delranan I had thought it was to hunt down your father and restore order to both of our kingdoms. My experiences here have proven me wrong. There is a sickness in your kingdom, Maleela. No amount of talk or well wishes is capable of curing it. Only by excising this malady from the source will Delranan heal. Badron was a puppet of a great evil. I suspect you are now as well. The woman I knew, the woman I loved, would never have given in to such wicked temptation.”

“I…am not the woman you loved,” she said.

“I don’t believe that,” Aurec replied. Sadness filled his voice. “We don’t have to go through with this, Maleela. Renounce your claim to the Goblins and help us drive them from Delranan forever.”

She paused. The decent part of her mind wanted nothing less. Her hatred of the Goblin race was immeasurable, but so too was the lure of the Dae’shan. She wanted all of the gifts Amar Kit’han promised. Power. Apotheosis. Maleela knew she was on the verge of becoming a god. All she had to do was win this battle and accept the power of the dark gods.

“The Goblins are not my problem,” was her answer.

“They will be, princess,” Rolnir said. “You can’t possibly think they’ll let