The Forsaken Hero
Chapter 359: Terrible Price

Chapter 359: Terrible Price

A quiet hush fell over the tower as every soul within shuddered at once. The crystal focus beneath my hand let out a high-pitched whine and began to vibrate violently, glowing brighter and brighter as the supercharged Dispel Magic ravaged the delicate runes and circles maintaining the curse.

And then it shattered.

The room rocked from the shockwave, tiny knives of crystal shrapnel flying in all directions. The Blade Ward kept them from my hand, but I still stumbled back, looking up in awe as the golden chains binding the Shard shook. Black, jagged cracks ran through the polished metal, and link by link, it began to break. Gold rained from the sky in flecks and fragments, peppering the ground and the spell collapsed in on itself.

The crystal hummed as thousands of black threads snapped at once, seeming relieved to be free of the burden. It brightened momentarily as the mana it was mustering no longer had anywhere to go, but quickly dispersed it.

As the Shard dimmed, my strength followed and my legs buckled. Fable was at my side in a flash of silver, and I draped an arm around his neck, holding myself up. I let the Oracle of Eternity slip away from me, feeling no small amount of reluctance as the stars faded and left me in the normal, mundane world again.

The clatter of steel rang loud in the silence, and I looked up to see the soldier closest to me staring at his empty hand, his dropped sword on the stone underfoot. His face grew pale and tears gathered in his eyes as he slowly clenched and unclenched his fist.

"What have I done?" he whispered brokenly.

He wasn’t alone. Soldiers of the Last Light Company staggered in shock as the curse left their souls, their eyes growing wide and haunted. The fighting stopped at once as my companions dismissed their spells and auras, letting the soldiers come to terms with their freedom.

"That was...unexpected."

Alverin’s silky voice brought tension back to my shoulders, and I drew myself up to my full height. My body was weak and trembling from handling so much mana at once, but I’d managed to cut the spell before it did any harm. As long as no one told Elinore, I would be just fine. Probably.

"It’s over, Alverin," Bethiv said, striding toward the king. He lifted his sword, and by the feral look in his eye, ending things peacefully was far from his mind.

But even as the Last Light Company drew to encircle him, Alverin didn’t tense, his smooth smile never leaving his lips. I frowned, noticing that Sari still clung to his leg, her eyes wide and fearful. The Heart Crest smothering her soul was still intact, and without the overwhelming number of curses cluttering my vision, I could see a small black thread drawing from her soul to a ring Alverin wore. He wore another similar ring, too, though this one had a black line that trailed out of the building.

"I’m afraid you misunderstand the situation," Alverin said, looking through the soldiers directly at me. He didn’t even spare Bethiv a single glance. "I have what you want, and you have what I want. I would like to propose a trade."

Bethiv scowled, never halting his advance. "We’re not trading with a bastard traitor like you. What makes you think we’d trust you to–"

"Silence, brother. I’ll play with you once our business is done. What say you, Xiviyah?" As he spoke, he dropped his hand to rest on Sari’s head, stroking her hair tenderly.

I flinched, my tail twitching anxiously. For me, this wasn’t about getting revenge, but saving Sari. Alverin was seventh level, and even if we had the forces to take him down, there was no way he’d let Sari remain unscathed. And what if he tried to use that teleportation item last time? I bit my lip as I realized everyone had turned to me, watching. Waiting.

"What do you want?" I finally asked, unable to hide the tremble in my voice.

I braced myself, expecting him to say ’you,’ but he didn’t

"I want the Heart Crest. I know you have it, my dear Xiviyah. Teach it to me."

"You already have it," I said bitterly, staring at Sari.

He shook his head. "A pale imitation at best. As you witnessed, it’s unreliable and easily broken. Even these–" he gestured at the rings on his fingers, "are far from perfect. I need you to finish what you started, to give me the full spell so that I might show this world, no, all worlds, the truth."

He spoke calmly and rationally, but his words were chilling, and I shuddered. "I can’t do that," I said softly, gazing at Sari. My resolve hardened and I finally managed to meet his gaze. "If you won’t let Sari go, I will free her myself."

Alverin clicked his tongue, wagging his finger in disappointment. "So you refuse to negotiate for this foxkin’s freedom? I see." he sighed, facing the picture of reluctance. "Sari, my sweet girl, do you remember what we talked about?"

Sari’s face brightened the moment he said her name, her eyes shining with adoration. "Y-yes!"

He nodded, giving me a smug grin. My heart lurched and I reached for mana, but his words came faster.

"Then please, show me how much you love me."

Still beaming, Sari released his leg and reached a small hand into her satchel. My eyes widened as she withdrew a long, serrated knife. The blade glistened with a vile sheen and a familiar, acrid scent drifted through the air.

"Wait, Sari, I–"

But that was as far as I got. Before I could even think to cast a spell, Sari lifted the blade and turned it over, letting the tip rest against her stomach. She glanced up, her ears twitching uncertainly, and he nodded.

And then, without hesitation, she plunged the knife into her flesh. Her face whitened with pain and a small whimper escaped her lips, but she continued to stare up at the king in adoration, pleading with her eyes for his praise. Further and further the blade went, until her body trembled in agony and her hands fell limp, slipping from the hilt and leaving the knife buried in her stomach. Crimson blood seeped into her dress from the wound, trickling down the front until it reached her hem, splattering the ground beneath her.

Blood leaked from her lips as she coughed wetly, staring up at Alverin with a hopeful gaze. "D-did I do...good?"

"Very good," Alverin said, patting her head. She gave him a final, satisfied smile before her legs gave out and she collapsed, falling to her side.

"S-Sari...?" I finally managed to whisper, my tail stiff with shock and disbelief.

I staggered to the side and would have fallen had Fable not been there. What...what had just happened? Why was Sari on the ground? Why was there so much blood? It had all happened too quickly, and my mind refused to process it. My hands began to shake, and I gasped for breath, but my chest felt impossibly tight, my heart a heavy stone.

The Last Light Company was equally stunned, staring at the slowly spreading pool of blood, and the king standing ever so casually behind it.

"What have you done?" Bethiv asked, his voice a hoarse whisper.

"Hmm?" Alverin glanced at him, maintaining eye contact as he bent over and tore the knife free of the twitching foxkin. "Simple. There’s a price on everything, no matter how important. If I can’t trade for freedom, then, well...life’s a little more precious, isn’t it?"

He motioned as if to scuff his feet, but somehow ended up kicking Sari in the side. The sickening snap of bone made my hands clench, but I stood powerless as her limp body flew through the air toward me, trailing an arc of blood. There was a flash of blue and Sari disappeared mid-air. Korra landed next to me lightly, collapsing the child in her arms. Sari’s ears and tail drooped, her breath coming in shallow gasps. I stared at her numbly, at the hot drip of blood oozing between Korra’s fingers.

"Xiviyah, snap out of it!" Korra said, practically pushing the girl into my arms. "Heal her already!"

I gave myself a shake, biting my lip with enough force to draw blood. The bitter, coppery taste finally returned me to my senses, and I clutched Sari to my chest. Something was wrong, Alverin shouldn’t have been this calm or casual, but I had no thought other than to heal her.

"Restoration!" I cried, using a fourth-circle Life Spell.

Sari groaned as the soft green light crawled over her body, seeking out the terrible wound in her stomach. Her side creaked as the ribs broken by Alverin’s kick mended, but the ashen color of her skin refused to fade and the blood from her stomach continued to spurt blood. A horrible tingle ran down my spine as I caught another whiff of the acrid scent, and, my hand trembling, I pulled aside her dress and gasped.

"What the hell?" Korra asked, staring down in horror.

I swallowed hard and reached out, my fingers hesitating a hairsbreadth away from the stab wound. It was wide but clean, but beneath the slick layer of blood, I could make out her veins dark and pulsing, like an angry black spiderweb.

"Ah, you noticed." There was more than a hint of smugness in Alverin’s tone. "You see, I happened to learn you had trouble against a certain insect in the Canyon. Finding one strong enough was a bother, but now I see it was worth the effort."

I closed my eyes, overwhelmed with a rising sense of dread. The familiar stench, which had itched at my memories since the knife appeared, finally clicked. Crawler venom. Sari had been poisoned with crawler venom.