Another resoundingboomechoed through the chamber as the abomination crashed full force into the wall again. The ground shook, and I stumbled on the sand, gazing around in astonishment. I was back in the center of the chamber with Meeka clinging to my shoulder, his tiny body shaking against me.
“Meeka!” I gasped. “You can use magic again?”
The jair’oa curled his tiny claws into my tunic. “Meeka not sure,” he said, his voice sounding weak and breathless. “Strange grubs not give much magic. Why human spinning?”
With a rumble, the abomination drew back from the wall. Though part of the wall had crumbled where it had struck, leaving behind a massive hole, the monster seemed unfazed as it turned, searching the sands for us.
Raithe appeared, grabbing my arm and pulling me, jair’oa and all, to him. “Are you both all right?” he asked, his own heart racing beneath my hand. I nodded, and he glared up at the top of the cliffs, an impossible distance away. “We have to get out of here. Meeka...” He looked at the jair’oa. “I saw you blink Sparrow away from the abomination. Would you be able to get us back to the top?”
“Meeka try.” The jair’oa’s voice was shaky. “Need to kill more grubs, though.” A shudder suddenly racked his small body. “Meeka... not...”
He tumbled from my shoulder. I caught him as he fell, my heart constricting in my chest. His heartbeat fluttered like a frantic bird under my fingers.
“You cannot run forever.”
I looked up. The abomination was coming forward, its steps slow and deliberate now. As if it realized we couldn’t escape.
“Stop resisting, Sparrow.”Vahn’s stern, familiar voice made my stomach turn.“For once in your life, stop fighting so hard to survive. You owe this to me. For all the years I trained you, guided you, taught you everything you know. I molded you into the person you are today. And now, I... am begging you...”
His voice faltered, the shadow of the old Vahn shining through. The Vahn who never begged, bribed, cajoled, or pleaded for anything. In that moment, I saw how much pain he was truly in. How horror and desperation had twisted him into something he’d never wanted to become. And how much he wanted to die, to stop existing, if only for the suffering to end.
“Please.”Vahn took another step, the soulless white eyes of the abomination staring into mine.“This is the last thing I will ever ask of you, Sparrow. No more pain. No more lies, or betrayal, or suffering. We can meet the Weaver together, finally free of everything that holds us here.”
“And what of those left behind?” I asked shakily, Meeka’s heartbeat still racing under my fingertips. I felt Raithe’s steady presence beside me and shook my head. “What about everyone who has to deal with the Deathless King thatyouunleashed? What about all the other threads that are in danger when the Deathless King decides that he is going to become the new god of Fate? No one will be safe then, Vahn. Not even those that have yet to be woven into the Tapestry.”
“And you think you can stop it?”
The world flickered again, images of reality overlaying each other. I saw the glimmer of threads all around me, and within the core of the abomination, the tangled knot of Vahn’s soul, pulsing weakly within its prison of flesh. Again, I was filled with that sudden urge to reach out, take hold of that thread, and pull it away.
The abomination clawed at its head, raking skin and rotten flesh from its skull, and the image faded. Worms wriggled out of the gashes, falling to the sand, making my stomach churn. “Vahn,” I whispered, as those dead eyes stared at me, madness and resignation shining from their depths. “Let me help you,” I said. “I can make the pain stop. We can end this right here. Just let me send you on to the Weaver, and you can finally be free.”
For a timeless moment, the abomination that was Vahn stood there, silent. I hesitated, heart pounding, then turned and handed Meeka to Raithe, putting the small body into his hands. He gazed at me, eyes questioning, but didn’t protest or ask what I was doing.
“I know you’re in pain,” I said, taking a few steps toward the hulking mound of flesh and bone. “I know that we’ve been enemies in the past, and that you blame me for not submitting to the Deathless King, but that isn’t important now.” I took another step toward the silent abomination, holding out my hand. “We’ve both suffered losses and failures, but I’m tired of fighting you. I don’t want us to be enemies at the end. Can we just... leave it behind, and see each other as we were?”
“I can’t.”
My heart clenched. The words were almost a sob. I tookanother few steps forward. Now I was close enough to stand in the abomination’s shadow, see the hordes of beetles crawling through its flesh and bones. The worms wriggling beneath its skin. “I want to talk to the Guildmaster,” I whispered. “The man who taught me how to pick a lock, how to evade the guards, how to think my way around any problem. I want to see that Vahn, not the ma’jhet he became.”
Silence. The hulking form of the abomination sat motionless beneath the swarms of insects. I blinked, and could see the thread within the monster, knotted and tangled. I just needed another few steps to reach out and grab it—
“No.”
The abomination raised its head, the madness in its eyes flickering brighter, swallowing everything else. “That man is gone,” it rumbled.“That Vahn never existed in the first place. TheGuildmasterofKovasswas a ruse, a mask to be worn until the rise of the Deathless King.”
It turned on me, and I stumbled backward, slipping on the sand. Its tattered wings flared, blotting out the sky, as the gleam in its eyes blazed brighter and brighter.“I am Vahn, once headma’jhetof the Deathless King. Even in death, I will complete the final task my king has givenme, andend theFatelessonce and for all!”
It lunged with a roar. I was too close to scramble out of the way and could only watch those jaws surge closer. Even then, I could see the tangled thread within the monster, and reached out, knowing I would be far too late.
Something hit me from the side, yanking me out of the way,and Raithe and I went tumbling through the sand together. Vahn crashed into the place we had been, howling, shaking his head, worms, sand, and beetles flying everywhere as he thrashed. Raithe and I scrambled away, but my heart still cried out in despair, seeing that shining thread still tangled within the monster. Knowing I couldn’t get close enough to free it.
“Sparrow!”
And then I heard a different drone of wings, and a pair of dark silhouettes dropped from the opening and flew toward us. One of them turned and swooped toward the abomination, flying directly at its face. A spear flew from the beetle’s back, striking the monster in the forehead. The weapon clinked off the exposed bone, and the abomination roared, rearing up to meet the rider, who swung around in the air to face it. I saw the gleam of Kysa’s black armor and the glint of Halek’s golden hair as they circled, Rhyne’s wings buzzing loudly overhead.
A shadow fell over me, and Ratuk landed in the sand beside us with a snort. Staggering forward, I threw my arms around his horn, feeling the rock beetle’s solid presence like a boulder against me.
“Ratuk,” I whispered, hearing his snort of impatience. “I’m so glad to see you.”
