Page 290 of Of Empires and Dust
The wolf god shook his head, laughing almost in disbelief. “You stand before Kaygan the kat. The god of many faces. The prowler of the paths unwalked. The Trickster and collector of strays. Show yourself, brother. I’m weary of all this.”
Rokka opened his arms wide as though caught in an act, and as he did his face shifted. The man’s skin tightened, the deep wrinkles vanishing, the grey in his hair turning to deep brown. He stood a little straighter and held his head a little higher. The only thing that didn’t change were his eyes. They retained that same vibrancy, that same ever-changing blue-grey. “You do me a great honour bestowing upon me all these titles, brother. Truly, I am nothing more than what I am. And what I am is here to broker an alliance.”
“A proposition you’ve made before – many times.”
“Ah yes, but there are only five of us now. Bjorna has lost his mind, Vethnir has the moral fortitude of a flea-riddled weasel,and Dvalin would happily play this game of hide and seek until time itself breaks. You would seem like the logical choice.”
“You’re a god…” The words left Calen’s lips of their own volition.
“I am,” Kaygan replied, giving Calen a toothy grin before turning back to Fenryr. “We are opposites, you and I, but we need each other.”
“Do we now?” Fenryr growled.
“I’ve seen this conversation a thousand times, brother. And you know we do. I have a Starchaser and a Stormcaller, and I can see the paths not yet walked. You can see the paths that have already come, you have more Angan than I, you have a dragon, and?—”
“Hedoes not have a dragon.” Calen pushed all his doubts and questions to the dark corners of his mind.No more strings. No more chains.He pulled the Spark through him as he marched towards Kaygan. The druids, Tamzin and Una, moved to block Calen’s path but drew up short as Valerys loomed over him, teeth bared and eyes misting purple light. The dragon let out a roar, his head shifting from Tamzin to Una, spittle wetting their faces.
Calen stared at them both until they glanced back at Kaygan, who gestured for them to step aside.
“Neither I nor Valerys belong to anyone.” Calen stood so his face was barely a few inches from Kaygan’s, Valerys’s warm breath rolling over the back of his head and rustling the god’s no longer grey hair.
Kaygan curled his lips downward as though impressed by something. “Hmm.” He looked Calen over. “This is not the path I thought we were walking. It will do though.”
The way the god looked at Calen, the way he spoke as though Calen weren’t even there, called forth a fury within both himself and Valerys. A fury that burned cold and slow. “If you talk ofyour ‘paths’ once more, I will cut out your tongue and feed it to you, god or no.”
Tamzin stepped forwards, her eyes shifting to bright blue with kat-like black slits for pupils. The druid’s fingernails extended and sliced through the tips of her fingers, curling into massive claws. “Try it.”
The kat-like monstrosity beside her let out a deep growl, baring its fangs and arching its back.
Ella was between Calen and Tamzin in a heartbeat, Faenir at her side. The wolfpine stood level with the kat, hackles raised. Ella shook her head at Tamzin. “Not a step closer.”
Valerys lowered his head over both Calen and Ella, the pressure building within him, the fire calling.
“Easy – Tamzin, Kerith.” Kaygan pressed a clawed hand against Tamzin’s chest and gently pushed her back, the armoured kat, Kerith, moving in step with her. “That is not a path we wish to…” He glanced to Calen and stifled a laugh. “Apologies, old habits.” Kaygan drew a long breath in and studied Calen. “I have seen many of your ilk across the millennia. They all have one thing in common.”
“And what is that?”
“They are dead, and I am not.”
“That can be changed.”
A low shriek reverberated in Valerys’s throat, and the dragon lifted his neck and opened his jaws. The heat of the fire within Valerys warmed the back of Calen’s head.
“It would take more than dragonfire to kill a god, Wolfchild.”
Calen leaned forwards, staring into Kaygan’s eyes, his voice level and calm. “Then why do you look so scared?”
Wing beats echoed through the Eyrie, and both Varthear and Avandeer soared overhead, alighting behind the god. The vermillion frills on Varthear’s neck stood on end, while smoke drifted from Avandeer’s nostrils.
Una made to step closer to Kaygan, but Varthear snapped at her, a hiss forming in the great dragon’s throat.
Vibrations swept through the Eyrie as Sardakes descended on foot from the same plateau, his sapphire eyes standing stark against his black scales in the darkness.
“So it is this path then,” the god said before turning down his bottom lip. He looked to Calen and inclined his head. “You are full of surprises, Calen Bryer. I am yet to decide whether that is to your benefit.”
“I don’t have time for you or your riddles.” Calen sucked in his cheeks and calmed himself with a breath. Though not a shred of that calm touched Valerys. Kaygan’s words had only stoked the fire within the dragon, and he wished to test the claim that dragonfire couldn’t kill a god. Valerys had his doubts.
Kaygan only smiled back. “Oh, you’ll make the time, I’m sure.” Those blue-grey kat eyes searched Calen’s, Kaygan’s smile growing wider. “When you need us, we’ll be in the empty barracks in the city. Not the one by the fruit tree – that one needed a clean – the third on the right. For now, if you’ll excuse us, we are late to meet a friend. You won’t need us for a day or so. But youwillneed us.”
