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Natharius clenches his jaw, visibly fighting against the compulsion of my command. “Three days,” he finally snarls. “As for your second question, it is possible, but the chance we will reach Gerazad first is slimmer than before. And it was already exceptionally slim.”
“But possible,” I say.
“Are you deaf? That is what I just said.”
“It wasn’t a question. I was thinking out loud.”
“Well, don’t.”
I ignore him and turn to the window, considering his answer. Hopefully it’s possible for us to stop whatever destruction Arluin intends. While the Void Prince isn’t omnipotent, I do trust his judgement. In this regard, anyway. Even if the chance of us succeeding is incredibly thin, the odds have been stacked against me from the start. I’m not about to give up now, just because we may be three days behind schedule.
“Of course,” Natharius continues, “the only way we have the slightest chance of reaching Gerazad before the necromancers is by passing through the Ghost Woods and that region is filled with—”
“All horrors of the night which will attempt to murder and devour me in more ways than I can imagine.”
“Exactly,” Natharius says with a smile.
Zephyr squeals at that and scratches my silken sleeves with his talons.
“You can stay here if you would prefer,” I say, staring down into his fearful eyes. I hope he can’t see the truth in mine: that I would much rather him stay by my side, even if that is a selfish thing to want.
Zephyr shakes his head and crawls onto my lap and curls up there. From all Natharius has said, the Ghost Woods is no place for an innocent faerie dragon but I’m relieved I won’t need to part ways with him.
“I wonder how long Taria will need to rest,” I muse aloud, though I already know Natharius couldn’t care any less.
“Leave without her,” the Void Prince says.
“Why would I leave without her? You yourself said that light magic is most effective against dark magic. From what I’ve gathered so far, she’s also the second most powerful priestess in all of Selynis and would prove an invaluable ally. Besides, I also want to know what the Mother Goddess has revealed to her. She might hold vital information on defeating our enemies.”
“Yourenemies.”
“My enemies are your enemies, Natharius. Until they are defeated, I cannot allow you to return to the Abyss.”
“These priestesses cannot be trusted.”
“You’re only saying that because you are a demon.”
“I am not. Have you forgotten that only a few hours ago, you were almost executed by one of them?”
“That was Ahelin’s doing, not Taria’s. She proved her intentions when she stopped my execution.”
“That doesn’t make her trustworthy.”
“Perhaps not, but I certainly trust her more than I trust you.”
His temple twitches at that. I can’t quite read the emotion on his face, however. Surely those words won’t have stung him? How can he possibly be surprised that I don’t trust him when all he’s ever done is wish for my demise and tell me all the horrifying ways he plans to torture my soul?
“No one can know what schemes lie in the minds of these vile creatures,” Natharius says. “Not that there can be possibly much in their minds, seeing how they place all their faith in an absent goddess. Their precious Mother Goddess doesn’t give a single damn about them, just as she doesn’t with any other human which has ever existed.”
After all I’ve suffered, I’m inclined to agree that the Mother Goddess must be either absent or callous, but then I can’t deny she sent Taria to save me. And she also guided her to save that peasant girl. Was that foresight Taria’s own magic or was the goddess guiding her?
“It is said the Mother Goddess created all of mankind,” I say, reciting what I learned during my lectures at the Arcanium. “How can she not care for us?” Of course, most of us magi believe that the gods no longer involve themselves with mortals, except for their most devout followers, but my words are chosen to provoke Natharius. I’m curious how much knowledge he holds regarding the Heavens.
Natharius laughs darkly. “Care for you? She and the other gods stopped caring for you humans tens of thousands of years ago. Your kind have long served your purpose for them.”
Now that is something I’ve not heard before. I sit up in my chair. “Our purpose? What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the reason you humans were created.”
