Dreadgod (Cradle Book 11) (31)

“And?” Yerin prompted.

Lindon wished he could give her the full answer. If he really wanted to rid the world of the Dreadgods, that meant going up against the Monarchs. Including Malice.

But there was another, equally true reason, and this one he could explain.

“We think we can modify the Book of Eternal Night. Pride gave us a look at his, and I’ve been inside Mercy’s not too long ago. If I can get a closer look, and especially if I can get the Monarch’s notes on them, I think I can set Mercy up to use her entire Book. She might be the fastest to advance out of all of us.”

As the others absorbed that information, Lindon stretched out his pure madra and activated the lights on the ceiling again. Dross banished his projections.

“If everything works as we hope, we should be able to help the Monarchs fight against the Dreadgod in only a month or two. By this time next year, with a little luck, we could be taking down a Dreadgod ourselves.”

“And you know how to kill them?” Ziel prompted. That had been the main point of delving into the labyrinth at all.

“I do,” Lindon said.

But I don’t know how to do it without the Monarchs wiping us out, he thought.

Ziel held his hammer upside-down and ground its head into Lindon’s floor. That new flame of determination was still bright behind his eyes. “Then I’ll be there,” Ziel said.





Lindon had an easier time getting his parents to wear the protective constructs than he’d expected.

His mother was as curious about their composition and function as he’d known she would be, and his father grumbled about them and expressed some skepticism. Neither of them really understood what the Silent King was, though they did react when he described it as a peer to the monster that had destroyed the Valley.

Still, Lindon’s father had accepted the protection with minimal complaint. That was progress, as Lindon saw it.

The only one left that the Silent King had threatened was his sister, Kelsa. And he knew where he could find her.

Even with the fastest cloudship, Serpent’s Grave was a long trip from Sacred Valley, but the labyrinth’s branches stretched far. Transporting himself from one end to the other was just a moment of focus and an exercise of his authority.

He veiled himself when he approached the city; he didn’t need to sneak in, but if Cassias or one of the other influential sacred artists in Serpent’s Grave sensed him coming, they would make his visit into an event. He didn’t have the time to spare for that.

The Twin Star Sect, it seemed, had grown since he’d last seen it. There were now as many two-colored star banners around the city as those of the Arelius family, and he saw plenty of people in their robes of pale blue and dark, burnt orange or red.

A few recognized him on sight and saluted him, and he waved to them but didn’t stop. The streets buzzed with tension, so he suspected they had heard of the Dreadgods’ awakening, but they still weren’t in any danger. There was little he could do to help them at the moment.

He sensed Kelsa’s spirit near Jai Long’s, and headed over to a sect training hall at the western edge of the city. On the outside, it was a long building carved out of an ancient dragon’s bones, like most buildings in Serpent’s Grave. But on the inside, he felt radiant light aura filling it. An appropriate place for both Kelsa to train the Path of the White Fox and Jai Long to train the Path of the Stellar Spear.

He didn’t sense anyone else inside, which helped, since he didn’t want to explain to any other members of the sect why he was handing out defensive constructs to prepare for a Dreadgod attack.

When he opened the door, he found Jai Long with his arms around Kelsa.

He had advanced to Underlord, clearly. Not only was his spirit much stronger than before, but he was no longer masked. He had a face that made him look studious and serious, and blue light leaked from the inside of his mouth. Instead of the mask he used to wear, he now had a red strip of scripted cloth wrapped around his forehead.

His chin rested on Kelsa’s shoulder, and his hands had slid down over hers as he guided her madra as though helping her train. But from the way they both turned red and separated the instant the door opened, this had little to do with training.

The light aura Kelsa had been controlling scattered, but the aura training room remained just as bright.

Lindon was surprised at the anger that filled him at the sight. He flexed his right hand, and the scripted band of cloth around his upper arm tightened.

Then he bowed.

“Apologies,” he said politely. “I did not mean to disturb you. That was rude of me.”

“No,” they both assured him at the same time, then Jai Long cleared his throat and Kelsa took over. “He was showing me how to control light aura more efficiently.”

Lindon wondered if she knew the things Jai Long had done before she’d met him. Almost certainly not. He wouldn’t have told her.

“That will be a great help,” Lindon said. He held out a box. “This is a protective construct. It’s just a precaution. Wear it as close to your skin as you can, especially when you sleep.”

Kelsa took it hesitantly. “Yes, I…gratitude. I’ll add it to the others.”

If she hadn’t been flustered, she would have protested. He’d given her too many protective measures, in her opinion, many of which she carried around her belt or in a pocket. He sensed a few of them tucked away in her outer robe, which had been tossed carelessly into a corner of the room.