89. THE BEST VIEW OF THE END

Kihrin’s story

Raenora Valley in the Raenena Mountains

Nighttime

If the situation hadn’t been so terrible, I might have taken the time to admire the panorama. This far north, the summer weather was crisp and cool compared to the nonstop rains of the Capital. The surrounding mountains were snowcapped and draped with evergreens. A small lake at the end of the valley glittered in the moonlight. We stood on a small bluff the next valley over, high enough up and far enough away that we could only see into the target valley because Senera had conjured up a distortion in the air that magnified the view.1 It wasn’t technically clairvoyance, so no one on the other end could sense it. Theoretically.

Anyway, if the large valley suddenly seemed small, it was only because it was filled with so many dragons.

I counted six of them. No Xaloma, no Drehemia, and no Relos Var, but everyone else was at the party.

“I know this valley,” Grizzst muttered. “How do I know this valley?”

Thurvishar turned back to the man. “This isn’t where you found Rev’arric when he was a dragon, is it? Where you cured him?”

Grizzst scratched the side of his helmet, all the more laughable for the idea that he might have developed an itch. “You know, I think it might be.”

“That’s odd,” Senera said. “Why the attachment to this particular valley?”

“Perhaps instead of taking the midnight hiking tour,” Mithros said, “we might concentrate on the dragons down there? Because Relos Var’s brought all of them.”

One of those dragons was Mithros’s own brother. He was probably unexcited to be fighting Morios without his god powers.

“Not everyone,” Janel said. “Let’s split into two groups. Half of us stay here and deal with the dragons. The other half will go to Atrine.”

A few people started to protest, but she cut them off. “Why does Relos Var need to distract the Quuros army? Why did he need to enlist Nemesan’s help? I only see the dragons here. Not Nemesan’s troops. Not any god-kings. Relos Var’s doing something at both locations, hoping to split our attention. This may be a diversion.”

“A diversion which will succeed if you divide us up,” Grizzst said.

“He can’t fake where the De-Ascension Ritual is happening,” Senera said. “But that doesn’t mean he can’t start a second one elsewhere. Or do something else. I think if we leave Tyentso and the Quuros army on their own, we’ll regret it.”

Several people turned to me.

I still wasn’t technically there, but I’d grown comfortable enough with the projection business (and sufficiently well fed) that I was in no danger of melting my friends. But I hadn’t expected anyone to want my opinion, mostly because they were trying to ignore my presence and what it meant.

“We need to split up,” I agreed. “Talon, Khaeriel, Therin, and Grizzst can go to Atrine to reinforce Tyentso, Jarith, and Kalindra—”

“If you’re just trying to—” my father started to say.

“Yes,” I told him. “I’m just trying to stop you from fighting multiple dragons. I’m also sending you straight into the middle of a war, but I’ll feel nominally better than I would if you were in the middle of what this mess is going to be.”

“Fine,” Therin grated, practically with clenched teeth to emphasize that it was not fine and he was not happy. He turned to Galen. “I can’t guarantee we won’t have to kill Havar.”

Galen looked confused.

“He’s your maternal grandfather,” Therin reminded Galen.

Galen made a face. “Oh, that? Go right ahead. I don’t give a damn about Havar D’Aramarin. He left my mother to rot, and he’s never said a word more to me than was absolutely necessary at parties. No emotional attachments here.”²

Sheloran squeezed her husband’s hand. “I sent a message to my mother. Hopefully, she’ll help too.”

“Good.” I turned to Janel. “Give Skyfire to Sheloran.”

She frowned at me, probably because I knew she had it. Janel hadn’t gone out of her way to advertise she’d been the one who’d picked up the diamond when Empress Tyentso had left it with us. A lot had been going on at the time.

Yeah, well, I may have been cut off from the dragons—at least for the time being—but I most certainly wasn’t cut off from the Cornerstones. I could tell that she carried one.

Janel sighed and handed the diamond to Sheloran, who seemed more than a little stunned.

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Your job is to protect everyone from Morios while Qown takes him out,” I said. “If Devors taught us anything, it’s that you’re perfectly willing to spellcast yourself to death in situations like this. But as long as you’re carrying Skyfire, you’ll have all the tenyé you’ll ever need.” I spoke to Xivan. “How many dragons are in the valley? That’s not a trick question: How many do you see?”

Thaena had proved hard to fool with invisibility spells and the like. I suspected Xivan was similar. Something about being able to see into both Twin Worlds at the same time made them hard to fool.

“Eight,” she answered.

“Right,” I said, “so all the dragons are there. We just can’t see Drehemia or Xaloma. Xivan—”

“Xaloma’s mine,” Xivan said, sounding like she wasn’t even slightly happy about it. Hard to blame her.

“Feel free to modify the plan as needed, but Thurvishar can use Wildheart to negate most of Baelosh’s nastiness. Galen, I know you probably can’t do much more than make a fire right now, but trust me when I say you can make it a large fire. And Aeyan’arric is vulnerable. Target her. Irisia and Dorna, you’re going to need to find a way to distract Gorokai. Mithros, fill in where you see an opportunity. Senera—”

“I’ll take Rol’amar,” Senera said, giving Irisia a thoughtful look. “He’s vulnerable to magic.”

“Drehemia’s a problem,” I said.

“Oh, I’ll handle Drehemia,” Talea said with a grin and a wave. “Look, I even brought a bow and arrows!” She hooked a thumb under the quiver belt in emphasis.

I wasn’t going to argue she couldn’t do it. She was the first of the new Eight and seemed to be having the easiest time transitioning into her new role. Far be it from me to say she couldn’t get in a lucky shot. Or that a lucky shot from Talea wouldn’t be devastating, even to a dragon.

“Aw,” Teraeth said, “you left my brother for me.”

I winced. Yeah. I hadn’t assigned anyone to take care of Sharanakal, the Old Man. And he was a problem too, if only because we were about to have this fight in one of the worst possible locations for a dragon capable of provoking volcanic eruptions.

“I’ll help you,” I told him.

“We both will,” Janel said. “You two played with him last time without me. You’re not leaving me behind again.”

“What about Valathea?” Khaeriel asked.

“She’s staying with me,” I said, wondering if my mother was about to forget the whole “let’s not mention Doc” discussion. A lot had happened since then.

My mother simply nodded at Valathea. “Good luck.”

I thought she might say something to Sheloran and Galen, but fortunately, she seemed to recognize that this wasn’t the time.

“One more thing,” I said. “Once we start, I’ll have to show up in person. When that happens, stay away from the big shadow cut out of the universe, would you? I won’t be safe.”

Nods and agreements all around, although some of those doing so looked uncomfortable.

Irisia opened a gate to Atrine for the second group. “Very well. We have our orders. Let’s begin.”

I nodded, mostly to myself.

Before I left the moon, I picked up a rock.

Thurvishar’s story

Several miles from Raenora Valley

Just after splitting up

Thurvishar felt the uncomfortable tugging pulling him into Raenora Valley, but he’d found no sign of the ritual itself. Just six dragons (plus two he couldn’t see) who were uprooting trees and making a giant mess. The moment anyone showed up in the valley, that would transform into six dragons (plus two he couldn’t see) trying their damnedest to kill them all.

It explained the lack of wards, the dearth of protection magics.

Who needed them with eight dragons?

“Just remember,” Janel said, “that the goal isn’t to kill dragons. Or even to fight dragons. The goal is to stop Relos Var from completing that ritual.”

“Where is Relos Var?” Teraeth said. “I don’t see him anywhere and I don’t like it.”

“Look for Rol’amar,” Irisia said. “What’s Rol’amar doing?”3

Galen squinted at the enhanced view. “Digging into the mountainside.”

“Then that’s where you’ll find his father,” Irisia said.

“Ready?” Thurvishar asked the other wizards.

“Multiple gates,” Senera said. “We don’t want to bunch up and be easy targets for flybys.”

Galen let out a fast exhale that might have been either laughter or a sob cut off too quickly.

His wife took his hand. “You can do this.”

“I’ve cast every protection spell on you I know,” Senera said. “It’s not invulnerability, but there are plenty of god-kings less prepared to fight a dragon.”

“Sure,” Galen said, nodding. “But I did assume that I wouldn’t have to figure out what the hell I’m doing on the actual battlefield.”

“That was silly of you,” Talea said. “Haven’t you met us?”

Galen covered his mouth to stop his laughter.

Thurvishar nodded to himself. He sympathized. And he worried. Qown was fantastic at healing magics, yes, but he also loathed combat. Mithros had been the God of Destruction for millennia, but how much magic did the man know without that link? Dorna was an old woman who, as far as Thurvishar recalled, knew a single witchgift. Teraeth ws an extraordinary knife fighter, but these were dragons.

Talea and Xivan would be fine. He wasn’t worried about them.

Janel looked over at her mother. “Want to help us take down—”

“I’ll help Senera with Rol’amar,” Irisia said. “As you said, he’s vulnerable to magic.”

Thurvishar regarded the two women with concern. Rol’amar was Irisia’s son by Relos Var. No one had expected that she would want to be one of the people fighting him. Rol’amar was also, he supposed, Janel’s half brother. And Thurvishar’s uncle. Thurvishar wrinkled his nose and looked away.

There was a lot of that going around this fight. Hell, Teraeth had a brother and a sister down there.

“Are we ready?” Senera asked in a tone that all but screamed “you’d damn well better be.”

Nods and affirmatives from all around.

Multiple gates opened around them. People teleported out.

Kihrin vanished.

And in Raenora Valley, the final battle began.