And so they went. Hawk resisted the urge to drag her feet only because she refused to sleep Earthside. To her surprise, no one seemed very eager to talk her into staying. She suspected this was because she’d be easier to bully in Holia, without the threat of time dilation to rob her of urgency. Her exhaustion seemed to have its own pulse by now.

  Arrival in the hole was intense. People were running, moving, shouting. One person was laughing hysterically, a male voice drawn violin tight by stress. Movements were encased in military khaki and olive, punctuated by firearms. Even adjacent to command as she was, she could hardly avoid being jostled about. Twice, she got an elbow to the ribs, and only one apology.

  The military command remained in the Nexus. General Mulligan, trailing his officers, asked only once about being nearer to the battle. In response, he was lead outside. From the Nexus, people were ants, were small as dust motes in the wind, and the divide between the two was even visible. One side wore red, the other blue, livery clear and banners flying and this echoed up to the high places.

  And yet even this far up, there were risks. Shadow knew before they brought him out, but he had done this before. Fought these battles, she thought. He’d created the Nexus. He’d likely used it for the same purpose, as a safe place high and away from the strain of battle. He knew what they would find, out on the catwalks and radiating pathways. The man had been a major, before he was turned to stone. He stood on the very edge of the path down to the pylon, as if peering over the side.

  Mulligan whistled. “How the fuck are we supposed to beat that?”

  “That’s the way you are meant to react. But it’s not a very easy act to perform. It demands full concentration, and a direct line-of-sight on your target, who cannot move too much. There must have been something to attract a god’s attention here. Perhaps a glimmer of insignia, or else they were searching for an officer and had to go this high.” He paused. “What is troubling is this is Nasheth’s favored retribution, and Argon’s eyesight is not good enough to reach this high. He must have been myopic as a mortal. She may well be on the battlefield with us.”

  He seemed more alert, more alive, than Hawk had ever seen him. Anticipation thrummed through his entire body. This was what he was made for. War. Blood. Violence. Not death, she thought. He wouldn’t delight in the deaths of his enemies. Not because he felt a great deal of empathy for them, but because death would end the game. With no caution at all, he stepped up beside the statue and looked down at the battlefield, once. Then he stepped back, barely dodging something terrible. It made the air smell bad, like the stagnant rancid odor of a cave of dead things. She cried out in horror, knowing exactly what that burst of bad air had been.

  He whistled. “Yes. That is definitely Nasheth. But I did not see her colors on the battlefield. Just red and blue. That is good. She wants to be and remain incognito.”

  “Maybe she came to speak with Illyris,” Hawk said. “If she’s had control of the pantheon since its inception, she probably doesn’t like that Illyris is breaking with the pack. She also just lost Kali’Mar. She won’t feel confident, losing another of her precious members. I’ll bet money she’s lovebombing the fuck out of Illyris, trying to get her to back down.”

  “And she may, yet. This siege, as it is, is unwinnable. Unless we can act.”

  “Can we act?” Mulligan said. “I don’t feel comfortable risking my people for this.”

  “You will feel less comfortable when they establish a beachhead in your world. Something you’ve made infinitely easier with your ropes, and ladders, and drilling machines. They know which Nexus is the right one, now, and they will be able to get their armies up to it. Yes, the Nexus is a bottleneck. It is in their favor. You cannot get reinforcements here fast enough to make a significant difference. Even Earthside, you won’t be able to match their speed and numbers.” But here he paused in thought, his eyes widening with something dangerous, something that could have been hope. “Mulligan. Come here. No, not that close to the edge. Can you see the armies from there?”

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  “Yes.” He said. “Red surrounded by blue. I got a better look down on the spire.”

  “One charge,” Shadow whispered. “One. Think about it. We pin Argon’s army to Illyris’s, force our way through and allow her greater portion of fighters to both flank Argon’s men and reach the spire.”

  “Won’t his men be a crack team of fighters?” Hawk said. “The man seemed obsessed with strength and fitness.”

  “Precisely. He has muscle bound beauties with paste between their ears. They don’t fight. They stand and look impressive and lob the odd bit of ordinance at a battlefield. Argon’s fire is what wins the day. That, and his ember-infested monsters. It’s why he allowed the refugees through. The soldiers stand and praise their God. It’s the monsters that draw blood. They’ll rally, of course, and put up a defense. But if they aren’t expecting the attack—”

  “It’ll probably do the job before they have that rally,” Mulligan said. “Right. So what about the gods? Nasheth could turn my entire army into trees if she so desires.”

  “Trees that would block the ingress into the Temple. I know that is a cold thing to say, General, but we must be cold when we study the enemy. She would not do that until our—your—soldiers are clear of the pathway. She also cannot focus that power better than a vague direction. She won’t dare use it when we’ve engaged with Argon’s army, if only because that would show how unpredictable her powers truly are.

  “That leaves her a very small window between the risk of blockading the Temple and the risk of taking out a solid chunk of Argon’s army. If we can narrow that—”

  “You’re going out with them, aren’t you?” Hawk said.

  “Can I do any less? I am asking them to fight for me, in a war they do not yet fully understand. The least I can do is take their danger. So here is my proposal: I shall attack first.”

  “The same way that almost killed you the first time?” Hawk said.

  He had the good nature to flush a bit, as if blushing. “I doubt that the same circumstances will happen again. And I will be careful.”

  Hawk nodded, not in agreement but acceptance. There was, she mused, absolutely no way to force him not to go. But she was starting to get an idea. A terrible, horrifying idea, but it might just work. “What if you had every reason to meet with them?” She said.

  It took him about three seconds to understand what she was suggesting. “Absolutely not.”

  Mulligan said, “I’m lost here, kids.”

  “She wants to allow herself to be captured. Which is, I think, a brilliant move and one I would laud, from anyone else.”

  “But not from me.” She said.

  He swallowed, powerful being he was, and said “You’ve become…important to me,” like a schoolboy kicking rocks.

  “Important enough that you absolutely would attack the main army? Or important enough that you would choose not to?” She was starting to get a plan, alright. “Don’t you see? If you stand peacefully in their midst, they won’t be looking anywhere else but at you. And the only way they would allow that to happen is if they thought you wouldn’t attack. Like, say, if someone you…cared for were being held hostage.”

  “And you would give them the Godslayer. Illyris knows you killed Kali’Mar. We must assume she let that slip. They have every reason to murder you, Hawk.”

  “And every reason to keep me alive. I know Nasheth’s type. She likes to talk. She wants a chance to prove her superiority by argument. She’ll want a show trial for me, a public and horrible punishment so that she can avoid any risk to herself or the remaining Gods. I’ll be alright. Long enough for you to respond.” She paused. “Of course, when you do respond, all bets are off.”

  “Exactly,” Shadow said, dryly. “And there are a great many things they can do to you that won’t kill you. They are creative with pain, pure agonal artists, really. You will not be safe.”

  “I haven’t been safe since all this started,” She said.

  “I didn’t know you existed before,” he said. “And when I did, I did not understand who you were. Now, I do. And the thought of losing you is worse than any punishment or death the gods can muster.”

  “Now you know how I feel,” She said. “I’m trying to give both of us a chance here, dude. But I’m not going to stand to one side and watch you go running out on that battlefield and die.”

  Silence followed this. Silence, and a horrified expression from Shadow. Everyone else was watching them with amusement and no small amount of trepidation.

  “Very well,” Shadow said, stiffly. “Mulligan, I expect her to have your finest armor, your greatest protective charms. Whatever you can muster to keep her safe in that hell. You’ll find me in the Temple. Let me know when you are ready.”

  And then he turned around and, in a singular burst of smoke, was gone.