The Creators Ch. 12

"You weren't made for this kind of stuff, boy," Arby sighed. "You're like Furok that way. Maybe all Life Givers are. Find a corner of the world to make your little piece of paradise, and leave the rest alone." He slid his hand from me, the disappointment evident in his touch, and he walked away.

"I loved her once," I said quietly, not sure if I was saying it to him.

"No, you didn't," Arby said over his shoulder. "If you really did, we wouldn't be talking." Then he was gone, disappeared into his inn to crawl into a bottle. Bianca and the other Ofanians were preparing themselves for departure, pointedly ignoring the war on the horizon. They wanted nothing to do with it, and I couldn't blame them. I turned back, watching numbly as light met shadow over and over. One light shown brighter than ever, then dimmed behind the diminishing curtain of the black cloud. The accompanying roll of thunder echoed through the hills, then there was nothing. No light, no shadow, no sound. The mushroom cloud lost its shape before the setting sun, becoming a draw-out column that disappeared into the jet stream above. It was no longer black, but a deep violet that blazed red at the edges and blue at the bottom. I felt a small hand slide into mine, and a familiar head rest on my shoulder. Angela and I didn't speak, but just stared silently across the plane.

"I'm sorry, Brandon," Angela said softly.

"You told me I was a coward for abandoning her, remember?" I said, wiping the tears from my cheeks. "What does that make me now?"

"I said that when I was trying to keep everything from falling apart," Angela replied. "I think it's safe to say that we're past that now. Going in there wouldn't have been bravery; it would've been stupid."

"Maybe," I said, and the silence returned between us, before I broke it, "I could've done more for her."

"Maybe," Angela answered, and reestablished the silence, before she broke it, "Mom and Dad have decided that you might not be the devil's bastard."

"I kind of feel like it though."

"Yeah..." Angela sighed, "...so do I." I put my arm around her and pulled her close, and she put her face in my chest, and returned the embrace. "I don't want to stay here," Angela murmured.

"Me neither."

"Let's go to Arbortus and fix Passion's womb like we promised Julia," Angela said. "If Diamond's still alive, we can wait until she comes back from Chaos, then you can tether her. I can't think of a better replacement."

"Diamond can't be tethered," I replied. "I saved her body in the roots of the tree."

"Oh," Angela muttered, "then we need to find a new Passion."

"I guess," I frowned. I didn't want to fix the archaic creations of Life Givers past; I wanted to make something of my own. A little piece of paradise to leave the world. I could smell the tinge of rot in the air blowing from the east. Arbortus was as full of death as Drastin was, and it turned my stomach over. Maybe it had stood for too long. Maybe it was time for something else to take its place. I looked back across Drastinar's rolling hills, to the shadowed plateau rimming the Drastin Bay. Maybe Julia had done exactly as she was supposed to. At least, that was the only positive way I could spin this. Time would tell if the Heat Bringer's destruction was a cleansing fire, or a terrible tragedy, but I would be long dead before history could make the judgement. I hoped Diamond found Julia before she succumbed to her grief, and that the two of them would find some corner of the world with which to live out there days in peace and whatever happiness they could find. For I was sure Julia was done with divinity, and I doubted the world would ever see her again. I know I never wanted to.

"Arbortus will stand for a while," I said to Angela. "We don't need to rush. Let's just... let's just get the fuck out of here."

Angela's smile lit up her face. "Fuck 'em all, right?" she grinned.

"Fuck the world," I laughed with her. I extended my hand, and created a massive eagle with just a thought. The great avian was golden brown, and had eyes glowing white with my power. It bowed its head before Angela and me, and I guided my sister toward it to step gingerly over the beast's neck, and straddle it at the nape. She looked back at me with a wonderous beam that could've outshined the sun, a twinkle of excitement rimming the edge of her pale blue eyes.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Ofan," I said, getting behind her. "Bianca's decided to repopulate her clan, and she needs my help to do it."

"What a great sacrifice you're making for her. I take it were not going to be monogamous?" Angela nestled her plump backside into my crotch, and twerked it subtly, her awed smile turning to wicked grin over her left shoulder.

"Not a fucking chance," I grinned back, taking her by the hips and sneaking my fingers between her spread legs as she carefully hiked up the front of her dress. A lecherous secret past between our eyes, and I watched her struggle to keep that secret when I entered her.

"I heard there's centaurs in those mountains," Angela winked at me, her pale face flushing with her lust. "Maybe I'll go horseback riding while you're playing with the birds."

"Only if I get to watch," I grinned back. Mom and Dad emerged from Arby's inn, their jaws dropping at the sight of our steed. Angela and I waved to them, and they dumbly waved back. Then I looked to Bianca, and she nodded, her few dozen remaining warriors standing at the ready. With nothing but a mental command, I launched us into the air. Angela squealed her exhilaration, her shoulder pinching back, her hair blowing into my face. I looked behind me to see Towerhead, the remnants of Drastin, and the browning canopy of Arbortus all grow small beneath us. Then I turned away from my past, and faced the beautiful portrait of my future, staring back over a delicate collar with love in her eyes, and lust on her pale lips. I met those lips, and pulled her to me, hiking up her skirt and finding her heat. We made love as we soared through the air, and disappeared from the mess we'd left for the world.

JUSTINA

I'd always had a fantasy of being captured by wild tribesmen. The kind of jungle-dwellers with bones sticking through their septum and ritualistic scarification dotting their cheeks. The fantasy begins with me acting as a biologist trying to find a new species in a forgotten rainforest, and escalates when said tribesmen capture me, tie me to a pole, and haul me through the brush. Obviously, the fantasy ends with them ravaging me every-which way, then succumbing to my prowess, proclaiming me as their tribal god, adorning me with gems and gold, and sacrificing male virgins to me every night. That fantasy had become a reality, only instead of well-endowed tribesmen, it was black-cloaked Breytans, and instead of making me a sexual goddess, I was made prisoner of their... actually, 'sexual goddess' was a good description of Julia. I just wasn't sure if I'd get to her in one piece.

"We should kill her and be done with it!" one of Jade's captains snapped.

"She has been granted eminent distinction by His Holiness, and we have no quarrel with him," Jade replied beside me.

"He is dead!" the captain insisted.

"And her title is lifelong," Jade sounded weary. "She is a political prisoner, Katsumi, and we do not have the right to pass judgement."

"Ten dead, and seven wounded due to her treachery!" Katsumi growled. "We gave her refuge in our hall, and she repaid us with betrayal!"

"It is not betrayal if you never claimed allegiance," Jade sighed. "Astrid was her friend, and she acted bravely for her." Jade looked down at me. "It is honorable, but it was foolish. Astrid will succumb to her wounds, and now her song bears a shameful ending. I do not believe you did her a favor." Jade inspected the gash in my side. It had been stitched and bound by a very angry-looking Breytan surgeon, who I noted did not use disinfectant or anesthetic on me.

"I couldn't just do nothing," I groaned, my wrists and ankles numb above my binds.

"I understand," Jade smiled at me.

"We left that temple with three-hundred heads!" Katsumi was apparently not done. "We are two hundred and forty-eight now! What kind of High Guard—"

"We can make it two-hundred and forty-seven, Captain," Jade said, stopping abruptly, and turning on her heel. Katsumi had to stumble to avoid running into her High Guard, and ended up a breath away from kissing her. Their eyes stayed glued, both women remarkably expressionless save for the fire behind their lenses. Katsumi broke with a grunt, bowed, and marched ahead. Jade eased her hand of the hilt of her katana, which she carried across her back alongside Astrid's massive great-sword.

"I must return it to Freydis Skyborne with my condolences," Jade said when I asked her.

"But you're at war with Iona. How can you give them such a weapon?"

"It is just a sword, Your Eminence," Jade chuckled. "A good one, yes, but it was the bearer who made the magic happen. The sword of Iona is legendary because the High Guard of Iona is legendary."

"Oh," I muttered, not daring to mention that Freydis Skyborne was more than likely part of the ash cloud above us. I liked Jade, and I got the feeling that she liked me, but that didn't make me any less terrified of her. She was a pleasant and polite woman, and she'd ordered the death of her oldest friend without a second thought. I didn't doubt she'd skin me alive with a polite smile on her face if Julia ordered it. I just hoped Julia would be merciful. She had no reason to hate me, unless Lucilla had spilled the beans to her. I prayed to a god I didn't believe in that Willowbud had killed Lucilla before that happened, then I prayed that Julia had killed Willowbud. For if Willowbud was vaporized in Julia's fire, then so was Corruption, and I would never have to face a black-eyed Julia Gendian. Then, being skinned alive would be a mercy.

TERA

I was on the outskirts of what used to be Drastin, and the sun was setting. The great cloud had stretched and bent with the wind, and now trailed weakly into the stratosphere, dispersing and losing its color. Its base still hung overhead, but it was no longer churning and self-consuming; it was just a cloud now. The very edge of Drastin had fared much better than the rest of it. Julia's fireball hadn't extended all the way to the eastern wall, and though the buildings were in bad shape, they weren't vaporized or melted. Some had toppled, some had crumbled, and all had lost their windows, but from their bowels, survivors came. They were in terrible shape. I didn't see a single person that wasn't sporting some kind of injury, and all of them had the same haunted look in their eyes. I didn't think any of them recognized me, which I was grateful for. I had a feeling that Creators weren't going to be very popular anymore, and those who associated with them would be even less so. Of course, there was only one Creator left, and she was the Destroyer. I wasn't surprised that Willowbud had survived, nor was I surprised that she'd attempt a foolhardy battle with Julia. I was surprised at how bad I felt over her loss. She'd been a constant source of fear and anxiety in my life, but I had to admit, I did like her. I liked Night Eyes, anyway. I guess she reminded me of my youth, when drugs, gangs, and murder were synonyms for 'fun, friends, and money.' Still, her death was worth it if Corruption was dead. Maybe if I had leaned on my old instincts, I would've tried to convince Julia to do it earlier, but I'd let family get in the way, and now my family was gone. No, she's still alive!

I pushed through the exodus of survivors, the ash that covered them brushing off on to me. I climbed the rubble that had made a dead end of main street, and my jaw dropped. Beyond the row of buildings beside me, there was nothing. Miles and miles of black nothing. My safehouse was about three miles into the nothing, next to a whole lot of more nothing. Just... nothing. My throat threatened to close, and I willed the thoughts from my mind. She was alive. She had to be. I slid down the rubble, and began my trek through the wastes. My bare feet met smooth glass, and my naked flesh was kissed with the summer evening wind. The great cloud above began to dissipate, opening holes with which to view the stars. I'd never seen so many over Drastin before. Soon, the summer winds pushed the cloud over the bay, and the moon shined high and full overhead. It reflected against the black glass, igniting the world in cool lunar luminance. The stars speckled the lustrous surface with their light, creating a celestial reflection of the earth. It was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen, and it pained me that I was seeing it alone. No... no, I wasn't alone.

A great hunched beast lumbered across the glass, its head bowed, its snout almost pressed to the glass. Against all odds, Ursa the bear had made it. She strode over to me, sniffing me curiously, then dropping in submission.

"If you can survive out here, then Justina surely can," I smiled, and tousled the silvery mane of the beast. It groaned, and I grimaced when I noticed that half of its hide had been burnt away. Remarkably, it had already scarred, leaving no open wounds to get infected. I guess being a creation of a god had its perks. Ursa brought her enormous snout into my hair, and gave it a violent snort, then offered a low, content growl.

"You've been looking for her too, huh?" I said softly, petting the side of her that could still feel. "I bet I smell a lot like her. Close enough, right? The search is over, time for nap." Ursa grunted in agreement. I grinned at the expressiveness of the beast, then my smile faded. Ursa hadn't been sniffing me out; Ursa had been sniffing the ground.

"Yeah..." I mused quietly, "...I bet I smell just like her..." I walked behind Ursa, sniffing as I went. I walked a hundred yards before my nostrils caught it. I dropped to a squat, and touched a finger to the moonlit glass. Blood. Purple blood. This time, I let my breath catch in my throat, and the relief wash over me. I'd been pretending for hours, holding on by a thread of hope, but I never really believed. But it was true now, unequivocally true. She was still alive. Hurt, but alive. I rushed over to Ursa, threw myself across her back, and compelled the beast to move. She groaned reluctantly to her feet, then turned around, and continued her hunt for the woman she'd been born for.

I'm coming, baby. Hold on.

JULIA

She is standing with me atop a mountain. The sky is pale blue up here, and the clouds form a plush rug beneath us. Her porcelain face is flushed, and her nose is red and running. She is adorned with the finest furs the empire has to offer, and in typical fashion, she has wasted their utility by wearing a skimpy dress with a plunging neckline that she insists on exposing.

"Fuck snow," Lucilla proclaims, sniffling. She turns to me. "How are you fine with this?"

"I dress for it," I smirk, eyeing her cleavage. I'm glad for an excuse to do so, though I'm not sure if I even know it. I've buried my attraction down so deep that I've convinced myself it's not there.

"You have the luxury of doing so," Lucilla snapped. "As royalty, I have a reputation to uphold."

"To whom?" I asked with raised eyebrows, looking around. "The only people here are me, Bragdian, Fentari, and Judicai," I gestured to our escort and coachman, "and if I'm not mistaken, that means I'm the only one here you haven't bedded."

"Yet," Lucilla grins at me. I know she's jesting, but I can't shake the feeling that she'd lie with me just out curiosity alone. The thought breaches my ardent self-denial, and I feel a very real desire. I quell it immediately, then pretend it never happened.

"Is that Terondia?" I ask, pointing to a glint in the distance. It's barely a shape at all, more reflected light than anything else, but it is unmistakably manmade.

"Yes, that's the palace spire," Lucilla says with a curled lip. "I haven't been there since Mother died." Lucilla scowl deepens when she sees my pitying expression. "Don't give me that fucking look! I didn't even know her." She sighs. "I don't even know him, really."

I rest a mitten-clad hand on her shoulder, which she's kept infuriatingly bare. She wraps her arm around me, and our heads rest against each other's. I dare to warm myself just a little more, and I feel Lucilla nestle her exposed parts into the wool of my habit.

"Is it bad that I wish he would die?" Lucilla asks quietly.

"Yes," I mutter.

"Is wishing that the worst thing I've ever done?"

"If you mean it in your heart, then yes, it is," I reply. Our breath puffs from our mouths, and disperses in the sun. The sound of Fentari and Judicai retrofitting the carriage with sled blades rings sharply through the thin air, and echoes down the mountainside.

"I still wish it," Lucilla barely says. "I don't care if it damns me, I still wish it."

"You won't be punished in damnation for such an ill," I reply. "You'll be punished here. When he is gone, you will regret this moment, I assure you."

"Shit, I'm sorry, Julia," Lucilla sighs, pulling me tighter into her embrace. "I don't know why I always forget."

"Because we're family," I say, smiling up at her. "And the void isn't so obvious when there's someone there to fill it."

I expect Lucilla's snark, but I am instead greeted by a brilliant smile. A twinkle shines from one sapphire eye, and she actually flushes. She wraps both arms around me, and hugs me until I can hardly breathe.

"You're never fucking leaving me, Julia," Lucilla says into my hair. "Never."

The glass obsidian shimmered with moonlight, creating an aura of ethereal white like luminous fog. My feet dragged across its surface, wet with my blood. My back was numb from skin to muscle, and screaming from muscle to bone. I could not keep it upright. The wound went from my left shoulder to my right hip, and it was mortal, I knew. The blood wetted by glutes, the backs of my thighs, knees, and calves, and formed footprints behind me. Ahead of me, the remnants of Brandon's tree stood from the plane, a charred monolith.

"You left me, Lucilla," I whispered to the void, my squelching feet keeping better rhythm than my lumbering heart. "You always were a hypocrite."

My mouth was so dry, my legs were so sore, my back ached terribly where it wasn't clenching in agony.

"Diamond, Lucilla, God. Diamond, Lucilla, God. Diamond, Diamond, Diamond..." I said her name repeatedly, trying to make my mouth spur my spent body and worn mind. My spirit barely held, and I could practically feel it ebbing from me. I was dying, and I was glad of it. I just needed to know. I just needed to see her face before I went, dead or alive. It would surely be the last I ever saw of it, for Diamond's soul belonged to heaven, and mine belonged elsewhere. Maybe I was already there. Was hell endlessly enduring my last moments, limping to a destination I would never reach, tormented by the fevered recollections of my mind? No moment of judgement, no standing before Satan and bowing my head before the sentence; only loneliness on a beautiful night. I sagged to my knees, then to my elbows, then to my face. The glossy surface was pleasantly cool, and the summer wind was pleasantly warm. Consciousness ebbed from me, coming back only to view the blurred nightscape without processing it. The moon lit a shimmering path. The stars twinkled above and beside me. A foot. A hand. Scarlett hair, black antler, emerald eyes. She mouthed something, but I could not hear it. It didn't matter. I smiled up at her, and thanked the Holy Mother for this one last gift. Then, I faded away.