“Seer-tral, Seer-tral. This is Peli. Cargo has been dropped. I repeat. Cargo has been dropped.”

  Fer fell through the air with Neneria behind her. It wasn’t a long fall, and there wasn’t a beast out there that did not enjoy jumping snow. Fer held out arms wide, legs spread, and screamed and she fell through the air. The pne pulled up, its jet bsted up a cloud of snow around them and Fer disappeared under surface of the white o that covered Artica.

  The Goddess of Beasthood cmbered out of her hole as she watched her sister float down. Ghosts of fairies held the edges of her thick coat, they made beds for her wintry boots and floated beat the fog of snow away from her. Neneria always liked to make entrances like that. Fer shook the snow off her own coat and patted it down. If Arascus had not ordered her to, she would have just worskin again. Now though, with her breath misting as soon as it left her nose, she was gd she had listeo him. The coat and heavy boots was all he had mao for her, gloves weren’t needed, scarves were for puny humans, hats likewise. Her mane of golden her served as a rept for the tter two anyway.

  Neneria of course to everything he had. Thick woollen gloves, aher thicker scarf, her coat was buttoned down, the only thing she had not taken was the hat and goggles. The fairies dropped her down, disappeared and she took a light step on the snow. “You were right it would be faster.” Fer started to button up her own coat. The eastern tundra was cold, but it was not Artica. Things at least lived iundra, here, birds even migrating birds would avoid. “Don’t tell me you’re cold.” Neneria cooed as she looked around.

  “I’m not.” Fer buttoned her coat up to her ned put her hands into the rge pockets. Maybe the gloves had been a good idea.

  “I’m sure.” Neneria replied as she started to survey the snowy dunes around them. Gentle rolling hills that slowly crawled to gias, recurved every year as the wiorms came in. “Should I find them or you?” Fer lifted her and smelled the air. It was fresh here, lifeless, she could pick out specific spells in forests and jungles, here? The smell of burning fuel two miles west of them was a lighthouse calling out in all dires.

  “That way.” Fer poiraight at the phat had just been shot down. “Over that hill, not far.”

  “You are fast.” Neneria said as Pegaz appeared underh her. The ghostly horse, wings followed, cmbered out of the snow and started to trot in the air. Fer guided her sister, making sure to weight every two dozen stops for the zy animal to keep up.

  “You are slow.”

  “We’re not in a hurry, are we?”

  “LEAVE ALLASARIA! LEAVE! NOW! GO! RUN!” Leona screamed on the ground as she curled into a ball, clutg at her head. “LEAVE ALLA! PLEASE!”

  “I am not leaving you here.” Alsaria replied coldly. The seven surviving Gods from her pne where being joined by een from the other phere was something ihat made her furious at that. A Divine killed in a pne crash? What sort of ignoble death was that? Each would g Lady Lu the ground, then at Alsaria and pretend they saw nothing. Leona vomited, wiped her mouth, and got up on shaky feet. She took a step forwards and would have colpsed if Alsaria did not serve as a pilr for her to lean on.

  “Alsaria.” She said quietly, eyes closed, blonde hair out pce, cheeks flushed and breathing heavy. “I have seen every way this works out just now.”

  “Have you?” Alsaria asked.

  “I will be dead iy minutes. If you stay here, you will die with me.”

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  “But it is. It is.” Leona colpsed on Alsaria. Of Light turo the small crowd. Morale had not dived off the cliff yet, but it was being held on by nothing but a bde of grass. They needed something to do to take their mind off the situation at hand.

  “Secure the area!” Alsaria shouted. “Call Artica for pickup! Call Olympiada for reinforts! We will NOT die here. I will NOT allow it!” They got to work.

  “ you see them?” Fer asked as her and Neneria y just before the massive snow-dune’s summit. They were two bakes that had crawled their way for the while fifty feet.

  “Brilliantly.” Neneria whispered bagrily as she squinted her eyes.

  “Really?!” Fer excimed.

  “Of course I ’t! Who do you think I am?” Neneria shouted back. Fer rolled her golden eyes and tutted. “Don’t tut at me! Who’s who?”

  “You really ’t see?” Fer asked again.

  “All I see is people moving about!” Fer pointed forwards at the moving Divihey had glomerated around oill-fming pne carcass, fifteen secured an outer ring, seven more made up a sed line. In the tre stood Alsaria in a pristine dress of white and gold. She was obviously very angry today. Leona y o her, ed in a rge coat as Of Light furiously trotted about, leaving trails in the snow. Fer expined about as much. “Was that so hard to expin?” Neneria replied when she finished.

  “I thought you were a Divine sister, you don’t like it when I undershoot your abilities.” Fer tried to aodate of Death’s mood.

  “Don’t speak to me like I’m a child Fer.”

  “I would never.” Fer buried her fa the snow to hide her smile.

  “So let’s get to work then?” Neneria said.

  “Let’s get to work.”

  Alsaria stopped mid-strike as she turned her head. She felt her hands drop, saw several of the Gods take a step bad finally uood what Leo. Two figures in bck coats blemished the white snow and the clear blue sky above them and behind them, ghastly green, was a banner.

  A bahat did not move in the wind, with a headless horseman proudly raising a sword over his torso. A banner Alsaria knew all too well.

  The Banner of Neneria’s Dead Legion.

  Fer turned as the Ghost of Atis stepped forwards. His chest incushioned with bullet holes, just as had happened when he died. Bow in his hands, arrow already notched. Behind them, Neneria’s Legion assembled. Her dead chevaliers, as they served a thousand years prior, so they served now.

  One by ohey flooded down the hill, each man appearing in the space of a blink. Neneria took a heavy breath as she grabbed Fer’s shoulder, tried to at least. Fer caught her sister by the arm before she fell. Of Beasthood did not ent, there was o say anything, this power she could not match if she lived for aen millennia more. The legion grew from a huo a thousand, to ten thousand, it doubled and doubled again as Neneria called upon her favoured soldiers.

  Each man in a pte and on a ghastly horse. They carried the wounds that had felled them, some without heads, some without heads, others pierced, a few diseases and ailing. A battalion of knights in bck armour stood closest, all with a wound almost identical. A stab through the chest, they had offered their own lives to serve as Neneria’s guards during the Great War. Neneria pushed off Fer when the hill was flooded entirely. Giant and elf, dwarf and man. From peasants to lords, knights to serfs, naked or armoured, with or without onry, Death cimed all; and wheh called for service, service was given.

  “Legion!” Neneria called out. “Kill Leona!” And the Legion moved.

  “Do you see that?” One of the iions asked Alsaria. The Goddess of Light did not respond, of course she see it. A mass of sickly pale greeing the summit. Cavalry and giant and man and elf, every warrior that had ever been unlucky enough to not pass on through to the world before Neneria caught them.

  Fer watched the Legion pour over the summit. They passed by her and Neneria without a word as a cavalry started a charge. Half-way down, they lowered their nces as they rode in utter silence. Beams of light burst from Alsaria, hundreds of ghosts disappeared and passed on into the world. Steam rose from where her light touched snow and the snow melted as hot water tumbled into the depths of Artica below them.

  Alsaria stayed close to Leona as she slew a hundred with a swing of her arms. Then another hundred, again and again. The Gods circled close around her as they tried to work their own magics. Metal from the pne disfigured and screamed as it was unched forwards, burning fuel was catapulted into the air, cracks formed around the ground. Any living army would have long turned and fled as self-preservation kicked in. But these men were not living beings, they existed as nothing but puppets on Neneria’s strings.

  Slowly, the Legion enveloped the crash-site. Alsaria was a lion; pour an o of ants onto a lion and they would leave nothing but bones. Atis’ ghost silently drew his bow o Neneria, he took aim and fired. One of the living Gods fell, an arrow golden even among its etherealness stuck out of his. Alsaria stopped. She turo Leona.

  In the silent battle, Fer heard it all. She heard Leona scream. She heard Alsaria haul her up, she heard the push as Leona forced herself out of Alsaria’s arms, she heard Lady Luck’s final words. “If you escape now, you will survive. If you stay or take me, you will die.” Fer heard Alsaria’s tears, she smelled her sadness. “Go Alsaria, go. I have two minutes left. GO!” Atis readied another arrow. “GO! ATIS WILL SHOOT YOU DOWN IF YOU’RE WITH ME!”

  “I ot…”

  “They are after me! Not you!”

  “Leona…” Fer saw Leona pushed Alsaria away.

  “THEY ARE AFTER ME!” Fer’s ears quivered and she grabbed Neneria again.

  “Tell your forces to kill them all. Not just Leona.”

  “What’s the difference?” Neneria asked. Always sumentative. Fer doused the spike e and tightened her fists.

  “NOW! ALLASARIA! NOW! GO! GO!” Alsaria rose into the air as Atis drew his bow. “YOU’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME! LISTEN TO ME AND GO! DO NOT DIE HERE! IT WILL BE FOR-“

  “TELL THEM TO KILL ALLASARIA TOO!” Fer grabbed Neneria. “YOU SAID IT WRONG! KILL ALLASARIA! NOW! SHE WILL ESCAPE!” Neneria let out a heavy breath and shook her head. She rolled those dark eyes of eyes for what felt like eternity.

  “And after Leona, kill Alsaria.” She had to force the words out. Fer gred at her.

  “NO!” Of Beasthood shouted. Atis loosed arrow. Fer turned, watched it fly. The mile flight took less than a sed, it was too slow. Alsaria rose into the air like a hummingbird. Leona coughed, bent over, and the arrow flew over her head. Fer saw Alsaria turn pale as her golden eyes wide Atis’ arrow burying itself into the hull of the airpne behind and then disappear. “ALLASARIA FIRST NENERIA! ALLASARIA FIRST! SHE’S MORE DANGEROUS! FIRST!”

  “Kill Alsaria first then.” Neneria said, she stretched the words out. Fer saw the Leona looking straight at them. Of Luck stood up straight, spittle hanging from her mouth, she smiled and locked eyes with Fer. Leona slowly shook her head and Alsaria howled from above as she turo make her escape. A shield appeared around her as Atis drew his bow, the his aim fall.

  “Too far.” He said slowly.

  “Just Leona then.” Neneria replied, then blinked. “Why? It’s like…” She looked down at herself and then and moved her fingers before looking at Fer “Did you just get tired?” Fer angrily roared at Leona as ghosts swallowed Lady Luck.

  And so, Lady Luck’s luck finally ran out.

  End of Arc 2 – Lady Luck’s Final Draw