Veridian Shores

Chapter 41 - To Kill Gods

Capper's group followed the eerie coldness that hung in the wake of the First, cautiously tracking it through the smashed ruins of what had once been Gliss's home. A big piece of him wanted to just get out – to run away and leave the city of Iron Hollow in the hell its inhabitants had wrought.

But he knew he couldn't just abandon Brooke down here, and even to some degree he felt responsible for Arcil. The Baelock Elder-Blood was only here because of him. And because of Gliss.

He tried not to think about her right now; tried to remain detached as she led them on through the corridors. She was the only one in the group who knew her way around the compound in its entirety, and that fact was the only thing stopping Capper from beheading her on the spot. His earlier rage had subsided, but it was still there, bubbling away like magma below a sleeping volcano.

They stole through the corridors as the Aspect of the First receded into the distance, moving faster now, though he'd lost his sense of direction in the maze of the bunker's interior. Occasionally they stumbled across heaps of ash and smears of dried blood, showing where some unfortunate had crossed paths with the First. Cracked and splintered bolts littered the floor alongside the fallen throwers and sickles, showing they had not gone to the hell-gates willingly.

After several more twists and turns, they came across another site of battle, but this was unlike any others. A huge section of the wall between adjacent corridors looked like it had been smashed in with a battering ram, littering the corridor with lumps of masonry, and mixed in with that were further signs of conflict. This time, however, Capper spotted the unmistakable debris from Glaive and Baelock guards – the distinctive forward-curving swords and duelling rods of their comrades scattered across the floor, along with scattered blood and ash.

Gliss moved up alongside him, her pale face tight with apprehension. She looked at him, as though she wanted to say something, but thought better of it, pressing her lips together and shaking her head grimly.

"Keep moving," Capper said harshly. "There's not enough here to be everyone. The First is still after them."

They pressed on, following the ever-present nova of the creature's Aspect. Minutes ticked by and an eerie silence descended on the group as they worked their way through the passages. The emptiness of the place was beginning to gnaw at him after the blur of violence that had punctuated their arrival. He didn't consider himself to be the most sensitive to Aspects and their changes, but even he could feel the sense of wrongness that the First left in its wake.

But before long he felt something else.

"The others," Gliss whispered. "They're not far now."

Relief and apprehension warred for supremacy in his chest. Some of them were still alive at least, but he had no way of knowing who until they reached them. He clenched his jaw tight and squared his shoulders.

"Keep moving."

He could feel how shaken the Aspects were before he saw them – he could feel the tremors of anxiety, of horror in each one. There were also far fewer than there should have been. He braced himself for the worst as their party entered the room.

Inside they found four survivors. Capper felt relief boil through his body like a scour when he saw Brooke sitting on a box, the side of her head smeared with dried blood but otherwise unharmed. Beside her Arcil was examining a series of brutal gouges in the stomach of the guard, Altus – their arrangement left no doubt as to the cause. From what he'd seen, Capper knew the Baelock bodyguard was lucky to be in one piece at all. The last member of the other group was the dark haired female member of Arcil's retinue – Chara, the sharp-featured locksmith who'd broken them into the compound in the first place.