Page 101 (1/2)
"You will stop!" Susebron said in a clear voice
Bluefingers froze, looking toward the God King in aers as an Awakened carpet twisted around hi him away from Siri
Siri stood, dumbfounded Susebron’s cloths lifted him up and over beside her, and a pair of s around the ropes binding her hands, untying therabbed hi
58
The closet door opened, letting in lanternlight Vivenna looked up, gagged and bound, at Vasher’s silhouette He dragged Nightblood behind him, covered--as usual--by his silver sheath
Looking very tired, Vasher knelt and undid her gag
"About time," she noted
He s," he said quietly "It was very hard to locate you"
"Where did it all go?" she asked as he undid the ropes on her hands
"Nightblood devoured htblood said happily Ican’t really remember what happened But we did slay a lot of evil!
"You drew him?" Vivenna asked as Vasher untied her feet
Vasher nodded
Vivenna rubbed her hands "Denth?"
"Dead," Vasher said "No sign of Tonk Fah or the woman, Jewels I think they took their money and fled"
"So it’s over"
Vasher nodded, sliding down to seat hiainst the wall "And we lost"
She frowned, gri at the pain of her wounded shoulder "What do youemployed by some of the Pahn Kahl scribes in the palace," Vasher said "They wanted to start a war between Idris and Hallandren in the hope that it would weaken both kingdoain independence"
"So? Denth is dead now"
"So are the scribes who had the Command phrases for the Lifeless armies," Vasher said "And they already dispatched the troops The Lifeless left the city over an hour ago, charging for Idris"
Vivenna fell silent
"All of this fighting, everything with Denth, that was secondary," Vasher said, knocking his head back against the wall "It distracted us I couldn’t get to the Lifeless in tiun There’s no way to stop it"
SUSEBRON LED SIRI DOWN into the depths of the palace Siri walked beside hiths of cloth spinning around thes Awakened, he still had enough Breath to htly Of course, that didn’t work for e chunks of the building were still black, at least half of it had been turned white
Not just the grey of nor that white, they now reacted to his incredible BioChro back into colors Like a circle, soht Colorful, then white, then back to color
He led her into a particular chamber, and she sahat he’d told her to expect Scribes crushed by the carpets that he’d awakened, bars ripped fros, walls broken down A ribbon shot fro over a body so that she wouldn’t have to see its wound She wasn’t paying much attention In the midst of the rubble were a pair of corpses One was Blushweaver, bloody and red, facedown The other was Lightsong, his entire body drained of color As if he were a Lifeless
His eyes were closed, and he see’s high priest, holding the god’s head in his lap
The priest looked up He sh she could see tears in his eyes
"I don’t understand," she said, looking at Susebron
"Lightsong gave his life to heal ue had been removed"
"The Returned can heal one person," the priest said, looking down at his god "It’s their duty to decide who and when They coive life to one person who needs it"
"I never knew hiood person," Siri said
"I realize that Though I never spoke to hiht live"
The priest s did that twice"
He told ht, suess he lied about that How very like hiather what is left of my priests We have to find a way to stop our ar your people"
"THERE HAS TO BE a way, Vasher," Vivenna said She knelt next to hier at hiain, he’d been too late
"Forty thousand Lifeless," he said, pounding his fist against the floor "I can’t stop that htblood and the Breaths of every person in the city Even if I could soet in a lucky strike and kill me"
"There has to be a way," Vivenna said
Has to be a way
"I thought the sa his head in his hands "I wanted to stop it But by the tione too far It had taken on a life of its own"
"What are you talking about?"
"The Manywar," Vasher whispered
Silence
"Who are you?"