Reaper(Cradle #10)(124)
The truth slapped Lindon again, as he realized what it meant that Malice knew. She knew that Monarchs sustained the Dreadgods, and she wanted to raise up more.
Malice must have caught something in his spirit or in a change in his breathing, because her smile grew larger and a touch malicious. “You were down there quite a while. I’m sure you learned much. Yes, the Monarchs in Cradle have reached an equilibrium to avoid letting the Dreadgods grow too strong. We keep each other in check, and the number of Monarchs from becoming too high. If someone reached Monarch independently, then we might allow that. Assuming they cooperated.
“But if one of us managed to raise another Monarch—like my son Fury—the others would turn on them in the name of maintaining the balance. Two cannot face six.
“That was the situation when there were eight Monarchs. If you were to raise four Monarchs at once, all loyal to one another…well, you could accomplish whatever you wished.”
Eithan’s smile could mean anything, but Lindon’s gut twisted.
“The Dreadgods…you knew all along, didn’t you, Arelius? Tiberian would have told you.”
“I worked it out on my own, actually,” Eithan said cheerily. “But he did swear me to silence on…certain issues.”
Malice tapped the side of her cheek as she turned to Lindon. “So it is only you who remain informed and unbound. How do you feel, now that you know what price we Monarchs must pay?”
Lindon thought it was brazen of Malice to call it a price she was paying, when she was paying with the lives of thousands of others, but he didn’t let that show on his face.
“Overwhelmed,” Lindon responded. “I admit, I wondered how the Dreadgods could possibly be such fearsome opponents that the Monarchs couldn’t be rid of them.”
Malice gave a disgusted expression. “They’re fearsome in more than one way. Anyway, this day had to come eventually. Swear not to reveal this to the uninformed, and I won’t force you to ascend.”
For yet another time that day, Lindon was pushed into swearing an oath. It hung in the air between them, unfulfilled.
He hesitated, but Malice kept speaking. “You’re a true Sage now, so it’s only appropriate that you take on a measure of responsibility. When any Sage or Herald comes close to the truth, or makes enough progress in their advancement, we make them swear.”
“I…apologies, but I feel somewhat…uncomfortable.”
“You only contribute to the situation once you advance to Monarch. And you can do nothing to change the situation until you do advance. Accepting an unpleasant situation you are powerless to change is not treachery, it is maturity.”
She spoke reasonably, and Lindon made sure he looked appropriately relieved. He dropped to one knee to lend weight to his words as he swore the oath.
“I swear on my soul that I will never reveal, without permission, that the Dreadgods only remain alive because the Monarchs will not ascend.”
Malice ran a hand over his head before he stood. “Good boy. And don’t think I’ve forgotten about you.” Dross was pushed out of Lindon’s spirit by the force of her attention.
The one-eyed spirit undulated through the air, his motions serpentine and disturbing to watch. [I have seen ancient secrets, and the truth of them has changed me, muta—]
Dross suddenly plummeted out of the air and slammed to the ground, flattened like a leaf beneath Malice’s casual spiritual pressure.
Though Lindon could sense the lack of violence in the Monarch’s will, he still involuntarily took a step forward to save Dross before he stopped himself.
“You can speak like a Monarch when you live inside one,” Malice said softly. “Until then, swear.”
[I…swear,] Dross choked out.
He swore, and Malice released him.
All along, Eithan had stood smiling at the entire scene. Malice looked at him with an expression of playfully exaggerated suspicion.
“If I didn’t know better, I would suspect you were up to something, Arelius.”
“I’m just enjoying the wonderful weather,” Eithan said, looking up into the endless black sky.
“I am a busy woman.” Malice’s voice resonated. “Swear to me now that you are already bound by Tiberian’s oath and therefore cannot speak the truth of the Dreadgods.”
“I do swear, have sworn, and will not speak,” Eithan said easily.
The air trembled and Malice finally clapped her hands together. “Well now! I will call on you soon. If the Dreadgods have been affected as I suspect…well, dark days are ahead for those not under the protection of a Monarch. But when we do battle against Dreadgods, all who can affect them will be mobilized. Prepare yourselves.”
The black sky retreated, and Malice was gone. Lindon stood under a blue sky, on the grassy green side of the mountain called the Greatfather…and Eithan, Ziel, Yerin, Orthos, and Little Blue were standing next to him.
Everyone looked around as though startled to be there. He could feel shock radiating from Orthos and Little Blue.
Yerin stared blankly at Lindon. “Let me give you what just happened, from my perch: Mercy’s mother dragged me into a shadow, patted me on the head, then tossed me back out with the rest of you. Am I about to be a Remnant?”
[Our secrets have been bound inside us by a greater will!] Dross said. [Be grateful that you do not share the burden of glorious knowledge, as we do, lest you attract the attention of Monarchs.]