Kavaa boarded her pne, a massive 77T transport. The crew was already. She wouldn’t be too far behind Anassa’s if they set off now. She couldn’t find an unblessed man, but after a few minutes of discussion with her Clerics, one of them suggested an idea so out of the box she didn’t know if it was genius or stupid.

  If man could not do, then man’s best friend had to be enough.

  Fer would be proud.

  Kassandazed up at Waeh as she kept kneeling. Ten thousand men around him, two divisions ining. There wasn’t a single Divine she kneould not be panig in a situation like this. Maisara’s and Fortia’s armies were approag in the dista a ckadaisical pace. The Goddess of Peaever tried to show off that piece of cruelty in her heart, but Kassandora knew Fortia well enough to know this was how the Goddess would indulge in it.

  And so Waeh stood. In that pin grey shawl of his, looking around at Kassandora’s camp with mere idle curiosity. With a baze as he ied the men, their rifles o them. The tents, the campfires. He g the food several times, the pots that were boiling and the meals that were steaming. The only sounds in the camp were the dimming fires, hungry after not being fed fuel, the desert breeze that rolled in from that blue sky, and the bubbling. “You’re hungry.” Kassandora said. Waeh refocused on her and smiled.

  “I am.” He said. “You’re rather perceptive.”

  Kassandrinned back. “I try.” If Fortia was going at that pathetic pace, maybe there was a way out of this yet. There wasn’t a God out there who had an infinite reserve of energy, even Olephia would get tired. “How long you manage?” She made her voice as polite as possible, as if it was simple curiosity.

  “Long enough.” Waeh ftly replied. Is this why he wasn’t moving? To serve his energy? Kassandora tried to stand. Her muscles simply would not move, her legs were held by nothing, but she simply could not get off her knee. She tried summoning Joyeuse, the bde would simply not materialize. She knew she was calling it forth, that was as instinctual to her as breathing, but it simply would not happen.

  The magis who had brought were more active. They had been on borderline panic at the start, as if afraid Kassandora would break free of his power at any momeually though, they had rexed. Three of them were even talking in hushed tones. Another pair was iing a rifle found on the grouo one of Kassandora’s soldiers. The man was kneeling on one knee and staring up at the two magis with nothing but raw rage. “ I ge position?” Kassandora asked. “My knee hurts.” It did not, she merely wanted Waeh to use more of his power, it had to drain him faster if he was active with it.

  “No.” Waeh replied. Kassandora raised an eyebrow.

  “Why not?”

  “Why should you?”

  “Because I asked nicely.”

  “The people you’ve killed also asked nicely.” Waeh said coldly. “Did you grant them mercy then?” Kassandora sighed. What a damn moralist. Always the hardest to iate with.

  “I have.” Kassandora and Waeh merely gave her a ft look.

  “I do not believe you.” He said and Kassandora shrugged. She tried to at least, her shoulders were fixed in pce by an unbreakable unwillio move. And then, she heard the roar of jet engines. Waeh looked up at the sky and sighed.

  “I will clear a path, you will go and kill him.” Anassa said. Arusei and Haki were both stood in the back of Raptor Two, as were the dozen Clerics Kavaa had sent for the mission. Each Kirinyaan had a man strapped to his back. She had stayed oher side of the po Haki the whole ride, she didn’t even touch the pistol one of the Clerics had given him to wield. “If I , I will kill him. But Kassandora said we needed you, so I expect you to do it, uood?” Anassa asked the boy.

  “Yes!” The boy said, he straightened, hands by his sides as if he was going to salute. Anassa nodded and looked to Arusei. The few lights in the back of Raptor Two made the Kirinyaan look even darker than he usually did.

  “Arusei.” Anassa said slowly. The man only turned his head away from his son to look at her. “Thank you.”

  Kassandora’s eyes became fierce as she saw the paint itself on Waeh’s face. And they started burning when she saw one of Anassa’s thin red beams of sorcery, as clear as a needle, impale itself through a magi’s chest. The blue-robed wizard took a step, looked down at the small spot of dark red f on his chest, then coughed up blood. He dropped on the step. Anassa’s death was swift and unheable, a severance of all the majans from their arteries.

  And ane dropped. A third. In the blink of an eye. Waeh raised his hand and spoke. “Stop!” His voied across the sky as Raptor Two started to fly further. “All of you, stop!” In the distance, beams of magic came from the army towards the phat soared over the army. Raptor Two spun in the air, tilted hard to the side, turned up, and arced high into the light blue o to escape the magical anti-air fire.

  Anassa felt what Kassandora had told her after the meeting when she expined Waeh’s power. It was as if her body had simply stopped responding. As if she was no longer in trol of herself. Exhaustion had been a flood, but now it was instantly evaporated by scorg anger. A level e that burned out of trol she rarely felt. This man thought he could and her?

  Perspective. That was all it was. The man erating on such a level of sanity he could not even prehend what Anassa’s mind was capable of. She stopped, she let go. Another Anassa appeared, an Anassa free, an Anassa that was her but also not. An Anassa he had not ao stop. And the Anassa unmoving blinked out of existence. Gone.

  Anassa snapped her fingers and bdes of sorcery desded upon the camp. Mages were worthless. They did not eve quickly enough as to draw upon magic before she desded on them. And then she desded on Waeh. Maybe a mortal was not needed after all.

  Kassandora saw the mages around Waeh colpse. The first set were split by Anassa’s fine grace of targeted killing. The sed were torn apart and impaled by a hail of swords that fell like lightning strikes. And then they aimed for Waeh. “No.” The God said.

  The bdes disappeared. Anassa blinked into Kassandora’s view behind Waeh as the God turo face her. A magnifit wit a red dress filing in the sky’s winds, but her hair untouched. Red lightning glomerated around her, a force that would have ripped apart even Fortia, that Kassandora knew she could only hope to dodge and not even block. Her sorceries shock forwards as if unched from ballista, spheres appeared around her and started to plough towards the God.

  And Waeh did not even take a step to dodge. “Do not.” He said.

  All of Anassa’s magics disappeared. As if they were televisions that had been switched off, as if they were paintings crumpled and discarded. They were there, and they were not. Another Anassa appeared o the first, and the first vaoo. The Goddess of Sorcery raised her hands as Waeh tilted his head. He raised his arms forwards as more bdes shot forward.

  “Stop duplig yourself and stop using sorcery.” Waeh said and Kassandora sighed. She had thought of those words immediately, but it was a good o make for the future if she ever had to fight the man again. He wasn’t tactically skilled. Although did he eveo be? With a power like that?

  All of Anassa’s crimson structs of sorcerous imaginations vanished from the air. Anassa herself fell out of the sky. Her magic silenced, she could no longer fly. She screamed as she fell, then impacted against the ground with a thud and a cloud of dust. A moan of pain escaped her lips and she rolled onto her side as if to stand. “Do not move.” Waeh said, his voice zy and tired.

  And Anassa froze still. She stared with pure fury at the God. Kassandora sighed, that was it. Even Anassa, with her delusionary thoughts could be forced into s if her magic was taken away. He sighed and shook his head, then looked up to the sky. His voied across the entire campsite. “Land safely and kneel, do not attempt to shoot me.” He said.

  And the paratroopers nded safely, just as Waeh had anded. Kassandora saw Arusei, saw his son struggle to raise the pistol in his hand. She saw the paratroopers all test their own rifles. One man mao raise his gun, and then it fell out of his hand. Kassandora made a note in her head, an actal death ossible then. If that gun had gone off, it could have hit Waeh. Obviously she would need lu the level of Leona for that, but how hard was luanufacture? Waeh looked at the child. “Put yun down and kneel, all of you.”

  Every man in the camp slowly put the guns down. A little bit of Kassandora crumbled away, that little shine of hope that maybe she had been right and an unblessed soul would be immune, but she saw Arusei kneel. And she saw his son khe boy looked fused as his father put his hand on his shoulder. But then a little bit of Kassandora made a note. Waeh had obviously said it to the men who had just nded, but everyone had disarmed themselves. So he was like Olephia then, able to affect everything around himself no matter if he paid attention or not.

  Good to know, although she what she would do with that information was a challenge.

  Kassandora sighed. If Baalka was awake, it would have been easier. A man could be ied ao Waeh, and then the disease would have killed him. Diseases were not human, he would not be able to and them. She sighed and shook her head, then looked sadly to Anassa. Her sister only stared back at her, then her eyes travelled back.

  More jet engines. Slower this time, more thunderous, aing louder as if they were ing closer directly. Waeh looked up to the sky too. “Kassandora.” He said. “I am disappointed you have even brought children into your war.”

  Kassandora only narrowed her eyes. The man was an idealistic moraliser. War was about total destru of the enemy, if she had to use children, then she would. It had been done in the past, not just by her either. “Stay in your ne.”

  “Unfortunately for you.” Waeh said slowly. “The road you travel ended a long time ago. It’s time to turn the engine off.” He sighed then looked back up. That sound was getting louder and louder. “What have you called this time? Men with bombs strapped to them?”

  Kassandora she air in humour. Any man willing to do that was far too good a soldier to waste so easily. The pne soared close to them, the current of wind ripped through the camp, tents flew into the air, men rolled over. One of the watchtowers fell down as Kassandora looked up. A 77T model, a huge pne, painted white and blue.

  Kavaa’s colours.

  Why was she here? Kassandora sighed. The war could be fought on without her. It could be fought on without Anassa. Kavaa was more crucial for it than Olephia though. If Kassandora was stood in the spotlight then Kavaa was the stage, the whole war strategy relied on the minimal amount of casualties they would suffer because of her healing.

  The pne made a drifted, its wheels already extended and it crashed into the sand. Anything else would have crumbled and exploded, the white and blue fine behemoth only made a trench as it slid to a stop. Its rear door moved, then stopped. Kassandora tested Waeh’s curse again, maybe this fusion would ease a bit of the pressure.

  The crushing power had not diminished an inch. Her body still refused to move. Pumps sounded from Kavaa’s pne, air hissed, and the rear door flew off. Kassandora sighed to herself as she saw Kavaa proudly standing there. In her silver armour, sword on her belt, half again the height of the Clerics around her. Her silver-grey fell down her back as she stepped out onto the sand. “WAEH!” She shouted.

  “So you have e too.” Waeh said as he lifted his hand. “Another Divine, I do not uand how Kassandora mao trick you all.”

  “There is no trickery required Waeh. I am here to strike you down and save my friend.” She walked briskly, two full of teams of Clerics behind her. All in silver armour and long green capes. A ceremonial unit, they could fight, but there was a reason men didn’t fight in capes. They could be grabbed and got in the way. Kassandora only looked in fusion. What was the woman even doing?

  “I have stopped Kassandora. I have stopped Anassa.” Waeh said. “Do you think you stop me?”

  “ I?” Kavaa’s brisk crossed half the distance as more meed the pne. How many had she brought? Kassandora couldn’t even see past that wall of men. Kavaa shouted back, her men started to spread out to the sides. Where they pnning on overwhelming him with pure numbers? What sort of tactic was that? Kavaa was experienced in battle, she should know Gods ens of thousands of men to be overwhelmed like that.

  “Do you wao force you to stop?” Waeh shouted back. He lifted his arms. Kavaa came to a stop. She drew her sword and held it to a side. Her Clerics, in their silver armours and green capes, made a wall of bodies her.

  “Waeh! Free them or you will be struck down! You have lost!” Kavaa shouted back. Anassa’s flickered in fusion to Kavaa. Kassandora’s jaw fell loose at the Goddess’ stupidity. Waeh only chuckled.

  “Do you know who you are talking to?” Waeh said.

  “I know perfectly.” Kavaa said.

  “Kneel!” Waeh shouted. Kavaa k. The men behind her k. “What did you think was going to happen?” Kavaa did not reply. One man by her side raised his hand, finger exte Waeh.

  And then that man shouted four words. “Lia! Rie! Airi! Go!”

  Barking. The barking of dogs.

  Kassandora’s eyes teared up. Genius. Incredible. Kavaa had outdone everyone here. What a brilliant idea. Three massive dogs jumped and soared over the front line of kneeling Clerics, one pure brown, one brown and bck, one brown with patches of white. All shaggy and long-haired and huge, with bushy tails and pointed ears and rabid eyes only war-dogs had. They looked at the man pointing, then looked to Waeh. “KILL!” The Cleric shouted.

  “STOP!” Waeh shouted baoment too te. Kassandora stared in awe as she looked at the three animals. They didn’t even take a moment to pause. Waeh’s and was ignored immediately, the dogs raced forwards upon hearing the Clerid Waeh took a step back. Kassandora smiled to herself, what a stupid tactic. Every Divine of the past khat animals sensed fear, they would have only circled and growled if the Waeh had remaieadfast. But ultimately, no matter what he cimed, he was a Divine of this age. A Divine who was all talk and no a whatsoever. If she had his power, she would simply tell her eo end their own lives, not go on this grand dispy of power through kneeling.

  “GET AWAY!” He shouted at them, his tone high pitched and panig, then at the Clerics. “TELL THEM TO STOP!” Kassandora looked to the Clerics. Kavaa had her hand on the man who issued the and, his eyes fell closed, he yawned, and colpsed onto the mao him fast asleep. “NO!” Waeh screamed and took aep back as the three circled him. “NO! WAKE HI-“ The and was not finished.

  The rgest of the three dogs stopped before him, got low to the ground, growled and pounced forwards. Kassandora stared in awe as the animal soared as high as his chest and tched onto his side. Waeh screamed a scream no God of Kassandora’s time would ever utter. The o the calf on his leg. Waeh colpsed backwards onto the sandy desert ground. The smallest of the three, although to call any of those dogs small would be wrong, growled a for the neck.

  The first animal tore the side. The sed ripped off a k of the man’s leg. The st rent open his throat. It bit and bit and bit, and then pulled away to howl, blood flowing from its mouth, its white patches a red as vivid as Kassandora’s hair. The other two howled with it. Waeh thrashing stopped and he colpsed on the sand, his arms losing their strength. His face went pale as his heart pumped blood into the hole in his neck. A Ght down by dogs.

  Sokolowski stood up. Kavaa stood. Anassa groaned and colpsed onto her back. Kavaa’s Clerics got to their feet and cheered. Arusei and Haki both stood up. The paratroopers that had sent them down. Kassandora’s army stood up and the camp erupted into a cheer. They all ted Kavaa’s name. She deserved it.

  And Kassandora stood up. Her eyes went to the horizon.

  Fortia and Maisara were still ing, their armies behind them.

  Kassandora felt her smile crawl up as Joyeuse reappeared and cut into the desert sand. Fortia better have arick up her sleeve, because all that showing with Waeh did was rile her up.