Serpentlord (Rise To Omniscience Book 9), page 4
There was a light rustle, then a knock at the door.
Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing, sitting up and watching as it swung open to reveal Morgan.
He looked exactly as Grace remembered him — tall, ridiculously handsome, and pretty much as flawless as a person could be. His advancement to the Pinnacle had smoothed any small wrinkles, perfected the slight imperfections, and given him a haircut.
Grace’s eyes narrowed as she noticed this. It wasn’t bad, but nothing like she could give him. Had Morgan allowed someone else to cut his hair? Grace was incensed at this realization.
When he stepped forward, revealing the woman standing behind him, Grace could understand why Morgan would go through everything he had to bring her back. Sarah was beautiful, though it wasn’t merely her appearance that captured the eye. It was the way she held herself, with an air of confidence and strength that really spoke to the kind of woman she was.
“Well, I see everyone is here,” Morgan said, stepping fully into the room.
It didn’t escape Grace’s notice that Sarah immediately looped her arm into his as she followed, nor could she ignore the glittering diamond clearly visible on her finger. She felt a small pang of jealousy when she saw how closely this woman was clinging to him, and it got even worse when Morgan returned the gesture.
“Some of you have met her before, but a lot of you haven’t,” Morgan continued, as though an entire room of people weren’t staring at him. “For those who haven’t, this is Sarah, my fiancée.”
There was a tinkling of glass and everyone turned to see Katherine holding the shattered remains of her bottle. Though she was doing her best to hide it, the Queen of the North was very obviously not happy.
“It’s nice to see you alive,” Katherine said, getting to her feet. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll go wait in the war room. Please try not to take too long with introductions. We’re facing a crisis.”
A portal opened before anyone could say anything else, and Katherine stepped through, leaving the room.
“She took that better than I expected,” Morgan said after a few awkward moments of silence.
“So, this is the woman who’s caught your eye,” Elyssa said, appraising Sarah with a critical eye.
“You do know I’m right here,” Sarah said a bit heatedly. “Maybe try talking to me?”
Elyssa started a bit, her cheeks going a bit pink.
“Sorry, it’s been stressful, what with the war and all. I am Elyssa, Queen of the Elves. This is Ragnar and Malachi, Kings of the Dwarves and Beastmen races. I think we also will leave and await you in the war room.”
Grace felt her cheeks flush a bit when Elyssa looked meaningfully at her.
“Well, think I’ll go, too,” Beatrice said, getting to her feet. “Welcome back from the dead or whatever.”
Morgan looked to Le’vine as Beatrice left, but the Queen of the East shook her head.
“I’m going back to my kingdom. My people need me, now that…that Hilda is gone. Shul will be returning with me as well.”
“I may be contacting you in the next week or so for your help,” Morgan said. “Will that be alright?”
Le’vine nodded, though it was clear she was still in mourning over the loss of her sister-in-law. The two weren’t blood-related, but they had been as close as any family.
Morgan nodded to her as the Queen of the East left, presumably to collect her brother-in-law, Shul, and head back home. This left Grace alone with Morgan and Sarah. Well, maybe not alone, seeing that Lumia was still here, but as she was still sleeping, they may as well have been.
Sliding a hand under Lumia’s belly, Grace carefully shifted the drake off her lap and placed her on the arm of her chair.
“It’s…Um…Good to see you again, Morgan,” Grace said, getting awkwardly to her feet.
What happened next was something that Grace could not have seen coming. There was an excited squeal suddenly, and the next second, she was swept off her feet in a crushing hug by Sarah, of all people.
“Wow! You’re even cuter in person!” Sarah gushed, crushing her tighter and squeezing the air from her lungs.
Grace’s eyes went wide as she tried to inhale, only to find her lungs unresponsive.
“Sarah, you might want to ease up. I don’t think she can breathe.”
“Oh, no! I’m sorry!”
Grace inhaled deeply as Sarah let her go, though the woman didn’t fully release her, as she pushed her out at arm’s length, keeping her hands squarely on Grace’s shoulders.
“It’s okay,” Grace wheezed, still having no idea as to why Sarah was acting so friendly.
“I know this is probably confusing for you,” Sarah said. “It’s just that I’ve seen you so many times through Morgan’s mind and the spear that I feel like I know you already.”
Grace finally looked up, finding herself looking into a pair of mismatched red and green eyes. It was oddly disconcerting, though the wide, friendly grin definitely helped mitigate that.
“What do you mean?” Grace asked, still taken completely off guard.
“It’s a long story,” Morgan said. “The short version is that Sarah’s soul was placed inside the spear. I restored her to her body, but she was able to retain all her memories, including those of you and everyone else I spoke to when the spear was present.”
“Does that mean that your spear doesn’t work anymore?” Grace asked.
“No, it still works about the same,” Morgan replied. “The only difference is that she won’t talk to me anymore.”
“Enough about that,” Sarah said, grabbing Grace’s attention again. “I know you don’t know me very well, but I promise we’ll get to know each other. After all, you’re like Morgan’s little sister, so when we get married, we’ll basically be family!”
Grace was still too shocked to do much more than nod in agreement.
This woman is pushy!
“Ooo, I love your hair!” Sarah gushed. “I’ve never seen a color like that before!”
“It’s dye,” Grace said, finally finding her footing. “I mix several colors and use a special treatment I discovered myself. It actually uses one of my skills to get just right, and…”
Grace found herself relaxing, explaining how she got her hair just right. Sarah listened, nodding along enthusiastically, and after just five minutes, Grace found herself warming to the woman.
“Well, you’re gonna have to help me with my hair,” Sarah said. “I’ve been wearing it in the same braid for so long and could use a change. I should also apologize for cutting Morgan’s hair. It’s just something I used to do for him, and I guess I wanted to do it one last time.”
“It’s okay,” Grace said, returning Sarah’s wide smile with a small one of her own. “I can understand wanting to do something like that.”
“I’m sorry to have to interrupt, but I think we’ve probably left the rulers of several countries waiting for long enough.”
“Aww, you’re no fun,” Sarah said, sticking her tongue out at him.
“It’s alright,” Grace said. “I’m sure we’ll have more time to hang out later…If that’s okay with you?”
She wasn’t sure why, but she wanted Sarah to like her. It was a strange feeling, what with how she normally reacted to meeting strangers. Especially so, with what Sarah represented. But for some reason, she simply couldn’t dislike her.
“Of course, it is,” Sarah said, pulling her into a crushing hug again. “We’re definitely going to be spending more time together.”
Grace found her cheeks coloring as Sarah finally released her and turned to look at Morgan.
“Come on then, sourpuss. Let’s go to that meeting.”
Morgan rolled his eyes and turned to leave, but instead of moving over to join him, Sarah took Grace’s hand and began pulling her after him.
Grace hesitated as Sarah began tugging her from the room, wondering if she should bring Lumia along with her. However, when she saw how peacefully the drake was sleeping, she decided to leave her where she was. Lumia had fought hard in their last battle and was still recovering, despite her outward appearance, so Grace wouldn’t disturb her unless absolutely necessary.
Also, Sarah was very strong, and despite Grace’s recent growth, she was nowhere near powerful enough to prevent the older woman from dragging her out of the room.
5
“I’m sorry, did we make you wait long?” Morgan asked as he entered the war room.
He’d been worried about Sarah and Grace’s meeting, though less on Sarah’s side than Grace’s, as she clearly adored the younger girl. But judging by Grace’s reaction, she seemed to be warming to Sarah quickly, which was a huge relief for Morgan. Having the people closest to him be at odds with one another was not something he wanted to think about.
“No,” Ragnar, the King of the Dwarves, answered, as he was the closest to the entrance. “We’re still waiting on Gilderon to come back with his report.”
Morgan nodded, his eyes flicking around the room and taking everything in. There were far more people in here than he’d expected to see. Elves, dwarves, and beastmen he’d never met before stood around the perimeter of the room, while a massive oval table took up its center.
A large map was spread across it, with small blocks of wood – likely symbolizing ally and enemy forces – set up in small bunches.
Several chairs flanked the table as well, in which were seated the individual rulers of countries and races. Ragnar, Elyssa, and Malachi sat to one side, flanked by aides, and in Ragnar’s case, his son. On the other sat Katherine and Beatrice. Le’vine was likely either already gone or packing up.
Now that Morgan really looked, he could see human soldiers mixed in among the other races' commanders. His gaze stopped on Darv, the leader of Garrison Blue, the ones responsible for rescuing Katherine and the others when they’d been besieged by Strangler’s cultists.
Morgan noted that all the seats were filled, meaning that he wouldn’t be sitting by the table, not that he minded. He wasn’t a leader. He was a soldier. Sarah seemed a bit aggravated, if only for his sake, as he led her and Grace over to an empty spot in the line of commanders. He tried to catch Katherine’s eye as he passed, but the Queen steadfastly ignored him.
“Give it some time,” Sarah said, placing a hand on his arm. “She just needs to adjust. She’ll get over it.”
Morgan nodded, though he wasn’t so sure about that. Katherine held a special place in his heart. She’d been one of the first people to look out for him. She’d helped him on countless occasions, saving his life and giving him a place to come back to whenever he needed a home. She loved him, and he knew that. She also knew what Sarah’s return meant. For now, she was keeping to herself, but Morgan was sure this would come to a head at some point. It was either that or their friendship would end for good.
A low muttering went through the room as the door banged open once again, this time to reveal an out-of-breath and very dirty Gilderon.
“Looks like everyone’s here,” Elyssa said, raising her voice so that everyone could hear. “Before we hear Gilderon’s report, let’s reiterate what we already know.”
“Two days ago, we started getting reports of unusual activity in and around Flovor Town, which is near our border with the Brutal Bayou. Several of our scouts went missing without a trace, along with over five hundred elves from surrounding villages…”
“This isn’t an isolated incident,” Malachi said as she trailed off. “Nor is it one specific to the elves. Several of our own scouts and many villagers, children, and the elderly in particular, have gone missing from their homes or on the road here from the Wilderwood.”
“Mine as well,” Ragnar said.
“The reason we’re so sure they’re moving in for an attack,” Elyssa continued, before anyone could ask any questions, “is because the disappearances have been moving ever closer to our location. The dwarves were the first to get hit, then the beastmen, and now us. Most of the permanent portals into and through our territories have been disabled, which means they’re on foot. I sent Gilderon, my trusted right hand, out personally to investigate, as I trusted in his ability to return, where other scouts have not. I’m happy to see that I was right.”
She turned to Gilderon, finally allowing the tense expression on her face to slacken, although only a little.
“Let’s hear your report.”
Gilderon, who’d managed to catch his breath in the brief time the rulers of Faeland had caught everyone up on current events, straightened, placing his hands behind his back.
“My scouting team and I traveled to the border of the Brutal Bayou and indeed found signs of missing people. We traveled further east, infiltrating the enemy lands, but as far as we can see, the main enemy force isn’t anywhere close to our borders.”
“Are you sure?” Elyssa asked, seeming surprised by this news.
“Yes,” Gilderon replied “We—”
A massive tremor shook the room, nearly tossing several people off their feet. Morgan tensed, thinking that they might be coming under attack, but judging by the reactions of everyone else gathered here, this was a normal occurrence.
“We made sure to spread our net wide,” Gilderon said, continuing as though the tremors, which had left cracks in the walls, hadn’t just happened.
Morgan and Sarah both looked down to Grace, who shrugged.
“These tremors are becoming fairly common,” she said in a lowered tone. “It’s from the World Beasts’ fight.”
“And they’re not worried about the entire palace coming down?” Sarah asked.
“I’m not the one in charge,” Grace said with another shrug.
Morgan frowned as he watched the proceedings continue, with Elyssa, Ragnar, and Malachi calling several of their commanders to speak on their troop movements and the likely attack patterns of the enemy.
“They’re being awfully careless about a pretty big problem,” Sarah muttered.
“I agree,” Morgan replied.
He’d seen the distortion over the area where the World Beasts were fighting. Additionally, he’d noticed that the fight wasn’t stationary. It was moving ever closer to their location. If they continued on in this way, the entire continent could be wiped out.
Morgan came to that realization just as the door to the war room was thrown open.
“We’re under attack! Cultists and gnomes are inside the walls!”
“What?” Elyssa exclaimed.
“That’s impossible!” Malachi said at the same time.
Thankfully, the rulers seemed to get over their shock quickly and began calling orders.
“Come on,” Morgan said, heading toward the exit. “Let’s get outside and see what we’re dealing with.”
His senses were already expanding, moving to blanket the entire elven capital. He felt it almost immediately. Not the flare of power, but the dozens of empty spots where people should be. It seemed that Strangler had imbued her cultists with the power to cloak themselves, but that wouldn’t help hide them from him in a city full of people.
Sarah trailed behind him, with Grace lagging behind, not that Morgan minded. Grace was growing stronger, but if the last battle with the cultists was anything to go by, she would be little help in their current situation. Just to be sure, though, Morgan turned and addressed her as they reached a shuttered window.
“I want you to stay back,” he said, throwing the shutters wide and revealing a chaotic scene some fifty feet below.
“But…” Grace began.
“But nothing,” Morgan said sternly. “You can watch, but I don’t want you leaving the castle. It isn’t safe for you out there.”
Grace placed her hands on her hips and looked like she was going to put up an argument, but Sarah placed a hand on her shoulder and leaned in to whisper something in her ear.
“Fine,” Grace muttered as she leaned back. “I’ll stay.”
“How did you do that?” he asked in a lowered voice as he stepped onto the window ledge.
“I’ll tell you when you’re older,” Sarah said with a half-smile.
Morgan rolled his eyes then stepped out into the air, using his Gravity Release to stop himself from plunging to the ground. Sarah took his hand, and together, they dropped quickly, landing just a few seconds later in the middle of sheer chaos.
Soldiers were running around as though their heads had been cut off, their bodies trailing a sickly green smoke. Morgan recognized Strangler’s power right away, and seeing as no one looked to be in charge, he could see why the cultists were so effective in their tactics.
They were moving around in small groups, attacking and overwhelming the surprised soldiers stationed inside the walls. They weren’t expecting an attack from within, so the force around the palace was minimal. A small group of cultists, seeing them, charged, their bodies trailing green mist.
From a distance, Strangler’s power had been enough to overwhelm his own, but now that he was staring right at them, they couldn’t hide from his Perfect Aura Control. A single glance was enough to tell him that these attackers were all in the high 40s to low 50s, enough to pose a significant threat to ordinary soldiers but pitifully weak when compared to him.
Sarah didn’t even have a chance to join in as Morgan flashed forward. His hands drove into abdomens and skulls, crushing bones and organs, and before the cultists even knew what was happening, they were already dead. Well, all except one.
“How did you get inside the walls?” Morgan asked, hauling the last remaining cultist into the air by his throat.
The gnome smacked at his hand, trying to burn him with the acidic green mist pouring from his body to little effect.
“Answer me,” Morgan said, tightening his grip a bit.
The gnome’s face began to turn red, teeth clenching as he thrashed in his grip.
