Skyvenom: Chapters 50-51

Here are your chapters for this week.

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Chapter 50

Theo walked down the long corridor one last time to face the Deuxan council. The walls surrounding the central floor still loomed as though they might tumble down to crush him, but now he knew most of the Strongholds who sat in judgment. Many neutral, some opposed, some on his side. With the Demon Court calling for an immediate convocation, there was no time to confirm any last schemes.

"It is time for this convocation of souls to end the war," Tabrien announced from beneath the central throne. "The Armeau family has declared that their victory demand is destruction, so if the convocation turns in their favor, the foreign Authorities will be put to death. The outsider faction has not declared a victory demand, but may now."

"We have no intention of killing anyone," Theo said, "but let's leave the terms for after we win."

"Stand forth!" Esaire called out the words as he entered, summoning his Stronghold supporters to the floor. His attempt to display confidence was weakened by the fact that he'd clearly been beaten within an inch of his life, but it didn't change his supporters.

The Masked Stronghold floated to the edge of the circular court... and she was joined by Sartozi and the Stronghold of Urmandix.

Theo kept his face fixed in a confident smile, but that was a blow. He'd heard from the Landguard that they'd captured Amaeli, and it had taken a while to gather the convocation, so he had hoped that there was enough time to influence Aima Urmandix. But he hadn't been able to touch base with Fiyu, so it might not have worked, or the man might simply have ignored them.

Sartozi... he had passed along the false information that had set up the counter-ambush for them, but he still stood with Esaire. That could go either way.

"And the other side?" Tabrien asked.

Nourise floated into position opposite Sartozi, and a moment later she was joined by a tall man Theo didn't recognize who could only be the Stronghold from Brinnato Court Nanjuma had recruited. Without him, the situation would have been dire, but the balance was still against them. Just as Theo considered arguing for his own position, Esaire rose to the speaking circle.

"Three against two - the advantage is clearly ours!"

"You've attacked us with better odds than that," Theo called, "and you've lost every time."

Esaire turned to glare at him, but Theo was watching the Strongholds. As he understood it, they weren't required to back down when the odds were close to even, and in fact that could be considered cowardice. That was why Dave and the others were so concerned about the war escalating out of control. It looked like Tabrien intended to remain silent, not offering any judgment... but a middle-aged woman rose to her feet.

"I have been speaking to these young men and women," the Stronghold of Rhiamin said. "It seems to me that these are the violent passions of youth, so better to settle them here."

She continued speaking, but Theo's blood went cold as he realized the obvious: she was going to step in on Esaire's side and make it four Strongholds against two. That might be enough to trigger all the consequences he'd been wanting to avoid and put him in a very difficult position.

"I also have something to say." Sartozi spoke up, interrupting her. "I was the first Stronghold to enter this war, promised an easy battle. But from one side, I have received only obligations and promises, while the other has always fought fairly with me."

As everyone watched, he floated overhead from one side of the great wall to the other.

Theo's sigh of relief was lost amid all the gasps and murmuring, not to mention Esaire's curses. Maybe Sartozi had wanted to wait for dramatic timing to bolster his own reputation, maybe he hadn't decided until that moment, but either way the balance had just shifted. The Stronghold of Rhiamin, still standing at her throne, looked down in surprise.

"As I was saying," she continued after a slight falter, "it is important that these conflicts be settled reasonably, without draining the vigor of our youth. For that reason, it seems to me that one side has been wiser and less violent all throughout..."

She was shamelessly changing sides. Nauda had been right about that, and Theo saw her smirk from her position by the doors.

"Wait!" Esaire desperately gripped the speaking circle, projecting his voice throughout the chamber. "There are those among you who promised me that you had been paid, that you would support me. Where is that support now?"

"The Treasurer has been paid, and stands with you." The thin man rose from his throne and floated down to join the other Strongholds, making the sides even. That was unfortunate, but Theo had expected it, so the question was...

"The Immortal stands with you."

Despite his efforts to show nothing but self-assurance, Theo's head jerked toward the voice. The old man rose from his throne and floated to join the others on Esaire's side. He had been so much more positive about them before... had Esaire or the Demon Court promised him a complete Immortality Conduit? Did they really have a method, or was the old man just so afraid of death that he was willing to believe what he wanted to hear?

It didn't matter: the balance had turned against him again.

"As I was saying," the Stronghold of Rhiamin cleared her throat, "I think it's best that we resolve this quickly and peacefully. I also stand with this son of Deuxan." She floated down to join Esaire's side as if that was what she had planned all along.

This was even worse than what Theo had feared: the court might actually decide against him if the balance swung too far. Could he fight his way through so many? Filled with new power from his basement, Theo thought he might be able to break past complacent Strongholds enough to escape with Nauda and Krikree and get away from the anti-weirkey defenses.

But if he did, he would be abandoning the entire continent. Even more of Deuxan, if he made an enemy of the Demon Court and made it difficult for the Mercury Court to support him. If he did that, one of the Nine Worlds would be lost to him, and he would never learn the truth about Brigana or her family...

As desperation clawed its way in, Theo looked around the chamber for any last second support. He spotted Queen Nyuba and stared at her, but she gave no response. Her eyes might have flickered briefly toward Krikree, perhaps even considering taking her after his death.

No one was coming to help. All he had was himself.

"There's one more Stronghold-tier power in this convocation," Theo said as he approached the speaking ring. Esaire glowered at him.

"You might have been acknowledged early on, but that doesn't matter now!" he insisted.

"I agree." Tabrien looked over the court and shook his head. "You were acknowledged by Sartozi aima Occoire as an enemy, but now that he stands on your side, it is not reasonable for that to elevate you to the equivalent of a Stronghold."

"Even if you tried, one of you is too injured to fight!"

"I'm not talking about that." Theo stepped into his soulhome and flew to the top to tear away the coalrag. When he returned to the court he clenched it in his fist and green poison trickled out like blood. "I've overcome the skyvenom that has kept me at Authority this long. There's nothing stopping me from ascending to Stronghold right now and fighting for myself."

Shock radiated throughout the chamber. Some were just surprised by his audacity... but Theo saw some of the Strongholds shift uncomfortably. They'd seen what he'd done and they believed him. Krimmile let out a low chuckle that only added to their uneasiness.

"This is very irregular." Tabrien frowned from his throne and shifted forward. "The convocation was called, so it seems a very late hour for such things..."

"I don't need your permission." Theo turned away from the court toward his allies. "Nauda, Krikree, defend me. I'll be a Stronghold before they get through you."

Krikree leapt to his side, drawing her weapons, and Nauda joined her a second later. It seemed like Krikree planned to actually fight to the death, while Nauda cast him an anxious glance, but they stood with him.

For several ominous seconds Theo stood with the skyvenom still clenched in his fist, wondering if he would actually have to follow through... and then the Stronghold of Urmandix stepped back.

"The elder generations of the Armeau family were once close friends of mine," he said as he floated back to his throne. "It seems the younger generations have not inherited their courage or integrity. To stand for the slaughter of such qualities is beneath Urmandix Court. I abstain."

As he sat down, the court burst into more shocked murmurs. Esaire stood with his hands clenched at his sides, but Theo ignored him and focused on the others. The Strongholds were definitely uneasy now, but this was still too even. Unless one of them wavered...

[Krikree is queen at heart!] Krikree emitted the pheromones loudly, though only a few people in the court could hear her. [Queen is queen?]

Nyuba shifted in her seat, and for a moment Theo was certain he saw anger in her compound eyes. But then her lips twisted in amusement. She floated into the air... and descended to join those standing on Theo's side of the court.

The Strongholds were hesitating, but that wasn't enough. Theo shrugged as if he didn't care, then entered his soul. His clouds were still tinged green, but he floated to the top of his soulhome and began to climb the side of his pyramid. The heavens started to tremble and everyone around the court watched him as he stepped higher. Theo knew they could see him and so he glared into the sky as if nothing could stop him.

"Enough." The Treasurer spoke in a dry voice that still commanded the room. "I offered my support in a vote, not an absurd battle such as this." He returned to his seat, despite Esaire's shouts after him.

The chamber teetered on a knife's edge. Theo pretended to ignore it all and took another step skyward. He hadn't triggered the ascension yet, but skyvenom had started drizzling and it wouldn't be long before he couldn't stop the rest...

"Well, this is quite irregular!" The Stronghold of Rhiamin put a hand to her bodice and shook her head. "I said that wisdom should prevail when I first spoke, and I still hold to that. We cannot let the foreigners think we are bloodthirsty savages who cannot resolve our affairs in a civilized fashion."

She crossed the chamber to float on Theo's side and the dam finally broke. Strongholds cried out, both in support and condemnation. Stewards and others watching celebrated or jeered. Theo finally allowed himself to leave his soulhome and he realized that he was clenching the skyvenom rag so tightly that his fist ached.

Only the Immortal and the Masked Stronghold stood on Esaire's side, while no fewer than five Strongholds stood with Theo.

"The convocation of souls has been decided!" Tabrien rose to his feet, voice thundering to flatten the commotion. "Further pursuing this war is forbidden, even by the Demon Court. The victorious party can step forward and announce their terms of victory."

"This is the same as winning the war, right?" Theo asked. He was actually just testing the speaking circle, confirming it still broadcast his voice to the chamber. They couldn't be allowed to silence him at the critical moment. "That means I can choose our spoils."

"It is traditional to accept ransoms for the defeated parties, but yes. You can demand the execution of all their combatants and others committed to the war."

Theo took a deep breath. This was the moment he had been waiting for, one that could potentially have consequences even worse than everything that had gone before. Part of him wanted to simply demand Esaire's death and wash his hands of it, but he knew that wasn't enough. His goal wasn't squabbling with Esaire and other young nobles, he was fighting against Vistgil.

"I don't demand anyone's death, only the end to this conflict," Theo said. He lowered his voice, letting the ring's power carry it, and the entire court hung on his words. "All of this began because the Armeau family mistakenly believed that I had information they wanted. Even the Demon Court became involved for the same reason. So what I want to declare is that I know nothing of the ai Teraeves family... what I demand for my victory demand is that the Teraeves forbidden zone be opened to all, so that such a conflict never occurs again!"

A tumult rose during his last sentences, but Theo spoke over them. Of course that was a wildly inappropriate demand, but he had just spoken the forbidden name in front of the highest court on the continent, in front of all the interested parties.

"To that end," Theo shouted over the noise, "the Mercury Court has agreed to provide security!"

"That's right." Dave spoke up casually, but his voice carried so much cantae that it interrupted all the shouting. Everyone turned to look and saw him floating in midair, leaning against the Dominion's empty throne. He was making no attempt to hide his cantae, so everyone could feel his strength.

"What is the meaning of this?" Tabrien rose from his seat, astonished by the intrusion but unable to do anything.

"Some of you were promised access to the Teraeves vaults, weren't you?" Dave glanced around the court amiably, looking at no one in particular. "Well, we don't make deals behind the scenes like that. The Mercury Court understands that you've had trouble with people researching the Teraeves family dying in the past. We'll be around just to... make sure things stay peaceful. Everyone can get their chance at them, how does that sound?"

Theo held his breath and waited. It was still possible that Vistgil or the Salebrante or some other terrible power would show up and annihilate them all... but the silence gave way to murmuring. As Tabrien acknowledged this announcement in order to maintain some control, the court accepted the new status quo.

This was what he'd been hoping for: both the curse and promise of the Teraeves name had been broken. The Mercury Court would supply soulcrafters to join the investigation, and likely they would find nothing. If Vistgil tried to act against them, the eyes of the entire continent would see his reaction, and it would all come to nothing. The trap was disarmed, hopefully forever.

As Theo returned to the floor and walked out, he felt more than a few glares. The one that worried him was the Masked Stronghold, her eyes burning through her mask. Despite his best efforts, he'd still made enemies, perhaps even the whole Demon Court. A problem for another day.

Esaire stood beside her, scowling at him, but Theo never met his gaze once.

He'd hoped to walk out with Nauda and Krikree, then meet up with all his missing allies. Before he could leave, he saw Nourise and Sartozi descending into his path. They were both veteran politicians, so it was hard to read their faces, but he thought he saw a mixture of annoyance and admiration.

"You played us both, didn't you?" Nourise asked.

"Did I do anything other than I promised?" Theo gave her his most Deuxan smile.

"Perhaps," Sartozi said, "but the spirit of the law is more important than the letter."

"I'm not ungrateful for what you've done for me." Theo gestured for them to lean closer and they both did to pick up his words. "The Mercury Court is going to reveal everything known about the Teraeves vaults, to give every noble family on Socirro a fair chance. But if I were to give all that information to Occoire and Greater Ostic first, that would only be fair given your efforts, right?"

Sartozi nodded somberly, while Nourise turned away with a smile on her face. Theo thought that he'd just played the right game with them and they wouldn't hold a grudge. More importantly, they had much bigger problems on their mind than Western Ostic, which was now a dead war front since thanks to the announcement they needed all of their soulcrafters.

No one else got in his way as he reached the door, so Theo began to believe that he'd gotten away with all of it. He looked back over his shoulder and saw Dave talking to the Strongholds. When the man saw him, he gave an exaggerated wink.

Theo and his allies pushed through the large doors and walked into the hallway, which was wonderfully cool after the intensity of the court chamber. Krikree moved closer, chittering happily, while Nauda leaned in and poked an elbow into his side.

"Would you really have ascended to Stronghold?"

"Let's just say I'm glad they didn't test me. This is just one step on the road, right?" Theo smiled at both of them. "Now, what do you say we go find Fiyu and go back to Norro Yorthin?"

"We can't do it soon enough. I've had enough of this place for a lifetime."

-

Chapter 51

Even though part of Nauda would have been happy to never see Deuxan again, she regretted her words on their way back. Oh, she was glad to forget about it when they reunited with Fiyu and confirmed that everyone was still alive. Fiyu was eager to tell about her portion of the battle and how they had sent Amaeli away, then Nauda could tell them how the Stronghold of Urmandix had played a key role.

Once they were resolving their business, however, Nauda realized that life was more complicated than that. She and Nanjuma floated above Western Ostic, discussing the agriculture there, and she realized that she felt no hatred toward this place or its impoverished inhabitants. For that matter, she held fond memories of Occoire and the time she had spent with Fiyu in that quiet little inn.

"For the first time in my life, I've soulcrafted using a substantial number of non-Tatian sublime materials," Nanjuma was telling her. He'd had quite a story of his own journey, even if it wasn't as intense as theirs. "I don't regret it, but I have to say, I'm eager to go home."

"So no helping out in Western Ostic?" Nauda asked.

"If we had the weirkeys for it, perhaps, but I think I'd rather stay in Tatian for a while. Clearly, I have a lot more work to do as an Authority if I want to compete."

"Oh, don't say that."

"I mean it." Nanjuma turned and placed an affectionate hand on her shoulder. "The three of you have surpassed me by so much I'm astonished there was ever a time I was your teacher, and so very proud of you."

"That's... very kind of you to say." Despite how far she'd come, Nauda felt tears in the corners of her eyes and realized how much it meant to hear that from the man who had taken her into Myufuru so long ago.

"But a world - or nine of them - can't be made up solely of young soulcrafters blazing forward. Seems to me you need old folks, quiet folks, some who will stay back and build on what's been established. So don't worry about Nlukoko or the Landguard, I'll handle that. You're needed elsewhere."

"Thank you." Nauda clasped his arms firmly before they finally parted.

She didn't know how long it would be before she returned to Western Ostic, but she wished them well. Beneath, she saw a familiar herd being led by a young Ruler named Victon, who smiled and waved when he saw her. Perhaps she could set down this burden and search for another.

But for now, it was time to return to Fiyu and rest.

~ ~ ~

Once these hills had been so familiar - his private domain, basically his kingdom. Esaire could have flown, but he felt too heavy to use any cantae and simply sat, staring over the fields of a home he could no longer return to.

Technically he could be the strongest person in Anguedan and enforce his will on them, now that the foreign Authorities had gone. But journeying across so many other worlds, and even other parts of his own, had reinforced the fact that he loved this place. If Anguedan thought that it was better off without him, maybe it was right. What was left of the Armeau family but debts, anyway?

And even if he wanted to take the city, did he have it in him?

His body still hurt from the beating even though he had technically been healed. The Tatian woman hadn't just defeated him, she had crushed him. A dying part of him insisted that it didn't count, that she had an advantage and he could easily remodel to best her, but all that was irrelevant. It counted because she'd won. And by the time he remodeled, she would have continued soulcrafting... after all, she had been nothing when they first met, but now she had surpassed him.

Worse than any of that, he felt spiritually bruised from losing the convocation. It had been close, but the brutal realization was that his advantages had been so overwhelming that it should never have been in doubt. Peanen had been playing the real game of courts while Esaire had been pursuing a childish vendetta.

He sat down, put his head in his hands, and didn't think for a while.

When had it all started? He still remembered himself from his early days in Anguedan, when he had been confident and on top of his very small world - the outsider had been only an annoyance then, a minor distraction. Yet after that... when Esaire tried to reconstruct his own thoughts afterward, he was left with a mess of emotions and retrospective thoughts.

Somehow, through a dozen steps he didn't realize he was taking, a reasonable rivalry had become an obsession. His grandfather might have pulled him back, if not for the Teraeves family being involved. He might have set it behind him, if Peanen hadn't followed him to Nlukoko. But no... those were only excuses. Esaire had no one to blame but himself.

For the first time, he understood how some nobles could fall into a long slide of abusing bloodhouses. Perhaps, just for a little while, he didn't need to think about this anymore...

"Glad to see you haven't done anything rash." Amaeli came to land on the hill behind him, but didn't sit down. When he looked up at her she seemed to loom overhead, and even though they were both Authorities, he felt like a worm underneath her.

"I wouldn't." Esaire's voice was so soft and weak his old elocution instructors would have reprimanded him for it. But he didn't feel like the scion of the Armeau family at the moment.

"We have a little time, if you want to say goodbyes, but we need to go soon."

"You aren't going to leave me?"

His sister peered down at him. "Are you going to grow up and leave this behind you?"

"I don't have a choice." Esaire groaned and rubbed his scalp. "About leaving it behind, I mean. The rest, I just don't know. But what can we even do now?"

"All my contacts in Urmandix Court are burned, and frankly we don't have many options on the continent. We got an offer from the Demon Court, but that sounds like slavery by another name. I don't think it would be wise to try to play them, not after-"

"No." Esaire stood up slowly and dusted off his pants. Once he would have hated to dirty them, but now he wished he could hold even the dirt from home a little longer. "No, I think it's time to go."

"Where?" Amaeli stepped up beside him and the contempt he'd seen building in her eyes finally abated. "We don't have many options."

"But we do have weirkeys."

"So, what, we go to some backwater and start over? Abandon everything?"

"Why not?" As he said the words, Esaire realized just how freeing they could be. Leave behind all this baggage, all the wreckage of the person he'd become, and see if he couldn't become something new. He could imagine taking a deep breath of fresh air and starting over.

Except that he saw the shadows extending around them as the enemy arrived.

"You should have taken the Demon Court's offer," the first cloaked figure said. "You've wasted resources and embarrassed us on the world stage, so did you really think you'd be allowed to walk away?"

Amaeli summoned her weapons even as she flinched, but Esaire didn't reach for any of his swords. With his pride destroyed, he could see how it would go so clearly. The Demon Court had multiple Dominions, and their special agents might be even worse, so they would be hopelessly outclassed. This was an execution, not a battle, and the enemy would never leave it to chance.

His only hope, then, would be to do something they never expected.

"Don't fight," Esaire told his sister quietly. "Weirkey in three...

"But..." Amaeli looked back at him, uncertain, perhaps suspecting.

"Two..."

The executioners had already begun to act, cantae flying, weirkeys prepared, closing in.

"One..." Then Esaire lifted a weirkey with a shadow of his old flair.

And broke it.

Amaeli had used her own weirkey more efficiently, taking herself away in a likely futile attempt to flee. She had just an instant to meet his gaze before his sundered weirkey shattered reality all around them. Some of the executioners were thrown away by the destroyed weirkey while many resisted, but Esaire saw the moment of shock on their faces.

They had never expected him to sacrifice himself for the sake of someone else. That, more than any skill or power on his part, was what made them hesitate.

"Come on, then!" Esaire summoned all of his flying swords, determined to buy as much time as possible.

It didn't matter. Overwhelming attacks pierced his body from all directions, some shattering through his swords without stopping, and his soulhome began to crumble. Esaire sagged on the weapons impaling him, wondering if his act had made a difference. If his life had mattered at all, in the end.

He found no answers, only a growing cold.

~ ~ ~

As Fiyu watched Enemy Esaire and Adversary Amaeli disappear, she hoped that she would not regret her actions. Adversary Arceon was still held peacefully within Nlukoko, which was unquestionably a hostage situation despite what the Tatians insisted.

Friend Nauda told her that her actions had been essential in all of them resolving the convocation, so perhaps it was for the best. She still occasionally felt an unexpected change in her outer senses and turned, expecting it to be Enemy Esaire or Adversary Amaeli, coming to punish her for having mercy on them. Their family had lost so much, would they not try to take vengeance once again?

But perhaps, this time, they had no more resources. The vendetta had escalated from a minor scuffle to a war only because of the Teraeves name, from Adversary Arceon all the way to the Demon Court. Now, if Friend Theo was correct, that mystery had been killed once and for all. Even if Enemy Esaire wanted to attack them again, he would not be able to do so.

Still, Fiyu resolved to soulcraft even more dutifully in order to prepare.

"I hope that's the end of that," Associate Janne said. They had been hovering over the city within her stealth for some time, sharing what had happened to them in Deuxan. "Blacksilver couldn't provide much support, but this was worth it, because we don't like random strangers showing up in Norro Yorthin. We have enough problems of our own."

"I hope so as well," Fiyu said. There was little else she could say.

"Does that resolve everything else for you in Deuxan?"

Fiyu shook her head as she thought about the final complications involving the Accilonian Bank, which she had taken from Friend Theo so he could focus on Unknown Dave. Their debt had started at 100,000 Silver Crowns, and she had paid back all 28,000 they had remaining against the principal, because she did not like carrying debts. The ransoms from all the enemies they had spared in the last battle had totaled tens of thousands, which meant they still owed nearly 50,000 Silver Crowns.

After what they had done, the Accilonian Bank did not seem inclined to push hard for repayment. Still, Fiyu did not like it.

"I just hope that you're ready to spend some time on Fithe again," Associate Janne told her. "I stopped back in Norro Yorthin, and things are turning bad. The Asplundat Movement is getting worried and that tyrant Plutalgion is making threats about attacking the continent."

"I hope he will not." Fiyu had just worked very hard to conclude one war, yet it seemed that another one had grown up while her back was turned.

"Not right away, certainly. They say he's a top tier Dominion, but he has other powers he's competing with, so he can't come in person. But he can cause trouble just with his reputation, and House Blacksilver is in a vulnerable position. We could use you."

"We will be there to help," Fiyu said with what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

In truth, this violence had gone from being entirely theoretical to a great source of distress for her. This Enemy Vistgil was not merely something that disturbed Friend Theo, he was a malicious force behind many evils, perhaps even the ones that troubled Relative Guchiro. They might have avoided him in Deuxan, but he could appear again at any time. The worst threats were those you lacked information about, and they suffered from a near total lack of information when it came to him...

Then Friend Nauda appeared, along with their other associates and allies. Fiyu went to her, their fingers intertwined, and for a time Fiyu was happy regardless of everything else.

~ ~ ~

At long last, Theo entered the forbidden zone.

Despite the fact that it had been over a century, he still remembered the Teraeves estates. The central buildings were utterly flattened, of course, the ground glassy from when they had been melted down. None of the surrounding hills had been damaged, as if there hadn't been much of a struggle. The forests were much the same as well, the leaves all a bluish silver distinct from most of Deuxan. He might even have identified the massive tree where he'd first met Brigana.

But the estate, the community, and the people that inhabited it were all long gone. The entire forbidden zone carried such a weight to it that he'd been convinced that they might be attacked at any moment on their entire way in. It appeared to be completely abandoned expect for a heavily reinforced metal vault door, which Dave was currently examining.

In theory Nourise and Sartozi, and then many other Deuxans, would be flooding in to finally explore this taboo. With Dave and the Mercury Court watching, Theo hoped that nothing disastrous would happen, but he planned to be far away when it started.

After holding his palm in front of the vault door for a long time, Dave finally withdrew it. He took a deep breath as he straightened, for a moment shedding any irreverence.

"Were you still holding out hope?" Dave asked quietly. "I'm afraid there's no sign of your friend, and nothing inside but a trap. She's almost certainly dead."

Theo floated closer to the door, not letting his feet touch the ground. He hadn't really expected Brigana to be alive or to have left a message, but... "And what is inside?"

"Just the components of a spatial void. I don't know if you've seen one before, but those will annihilate even high tier soulcrafters. Vistgil is fond of them."

"I've seen them."

"I can say this for her: your friend must really have gotten under Vistgil's skin. Usually he doesn't annihilate things so clinically. When he does take action, it's usually to create a symbol of destruction that will send a message. But here, he wiped out absolutely everything except for his trap. Normally I'd have expected him to leave some random materials in the vault, but that place is sterile."

"Huh." Theo folded his arms as he examined the door, wondering if he trusted Dave's assessment of the other side. "I'm surprised it could all be done so cleanly, if he wiped out an entire family."

"Well, they wouldn't have had a chance, if Vistgil was fighting." Dave scratched the side of his head. "Though I admit it's a bit cleaner than I'd expected. For example, this seems to be the original Deuxan barrier - Vistgil could break it, but open and reseal it? I doubt it - the cantae would feel different."

"So it was opened naturally? He could have tortured someone from Brigana's family until they opened the vault."

"Potentially, though there isn't much sign of that sort of thing... but maybe the years since then just wiped out all trace of the battle. Well, whatever. The point is that this is cleaner than usual, so whatever was going on, Vistgil modified his usual policies."

"So there's still a bit of mystery to all this."

"No." Dave fixed him with a hard gaze. "Don't cling to the hope that there's some easy answer just beyond reach, some message on the vault or something. Your friend is dead and her family was exterminated. If we can draw any real hints from this, it's based on the information we already have."

Theo closed his eyes and accepted what he'd been anticipating for a long time. "So..." He breathed out the word as he floated over the dead estate. "What happens now?"

Dave smiled. "Now it's time for that conversation."

-

Well, now you know where I was going with this book. I've written before about wanting to use different kinds of climaxes than battles, particularly in a long series that by nature will have some repetition. Could I make a political climax as tense as a fight?

We'll see what people think, I guess. I know some readers will have skimmed all the politics and declare the book lame and boring in reviews, but I hope some of the people here will enjoy it.

The end sentence is not bait, by the way. The next chapter is one of the longest in the series, focused entirely on Dave and Theo talking things out.