Arusei and Kimani sat as they saw the pictures of what was happening by the Juhey both khe tales, they both had seen the Caretaker be annihited. Waf quickly retold it, in the same way he always did: “The Jungle’s madhen ied the others too. The four returo the Jungle’s heart and agreed to y down their lives to make sure their power could not be used against people. But the snake, in his jealousy tricked them. He waited for the lion, the vulture and the crocodile to die, then the snake ed around them, bound them and they became one. From four caretakers, arose ohe first oo fall to the Jungle’s whispers.” Jebet and Eyapan shifted in their seats. The Caretaker had been killed once, but the Epan Goddess who had killed the Caretaker was now busy defending Kirinyaan cities from the oivasion.

  What were they supposed to do now? How many sacrifices were to be given?

  Falling upwards through the air, Kassandora rexed her arms and legs as she spread them out. She had never beeo be scared of heights, likewise, she had never beeo give into terror. But there was something about being thrown so untrolbly high by Fer that did make her heart qui its heartbeat. The Goddess of War watched the bck hole Anassa had carved bee a mere bck spe the blround of western Kirinyaa. She caught the thin cold air as the wind rushed past her ears, and she hit the zenith of her throw.

  Climbing out whilst defending against the Jungle would have been difficult. Fer had thought up of a smarter idea. Ohat only Kassandora would have agreed to out of all the sisters, but it undoubtedly made the escape easier for the Goddess of Beasthood. Fer had merely grabbed Kassandora’s hand, spun, swung, and threw the Goddess of War out of the bottom of that hole. Surely an arm was dislocated, most likely a wrist was broken, but natural regeion could fix that.

  Natural regeion would have to fix that. Kavaa and Iniri were gone now. Lost somewhere down there. Fer was sure they had not died. Kassandora took a breath and pushed the thoughts of those two Goddesses away. patriots had been lost in the past too, and whilst they should be searched for, Anassa was more pressing. There was an invasion worse than Fortia’s from the coast too, that too was more pressing than Kavaa and Iniri. So as inhumane as it sounded, Kassandora simply wrote them off. It was ohing to have a person bleeding in front of you. It was another eo have them be lost iunnels of the Underground where the being Jungle y. Panig now would only make the situation worse, there was no way to save them, thus, pns should simply write them out… Kassandora closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Was she trying to vio herself? She shook her head and stopped trying to rationalize the loss of two Divines.

  Kavaa and Iniri were pushed away. It was as simple as that. It was her failing and she would pay for it ter, but now, she had to make sure it wasn’t three lost Divines.

  Fer shot out of the bck pit as Kassandora was half way down. From so high up, Kassandora could see supply lines ferrying supplies to the Recmation War. Trucks filled with napalm shells travelli, trucks empty travelli. But that wasn’t all of it. Kassandora saw damaged vehicles and ambunces returning from the front lihat had to be iigated. Hopefully, it wasn’t invasion from the air at the Recmation War forces. They were minimal now, but Kassandora would do the same. Use Essa’s magis to sweep the area here now that all the main defences and Divines were in the east, then squeeze Kirinyaa from both sides.

  Fer suddenly grabbed Kassandora. A rge arm ed around Kassandora’s stomach, slid up past her chest to hook underh her shoulders and Kassandrit her teeth as she felt both of her arms pop out of their sockets. Whenever Fer was allowed any leeway in the pnning stages, this is usually how it ended. How the woman mao orientate in the air without any sort of ability to fly or float in the air, Kassandora did not know. Kassandrit her teeth, held her breath and rexed her muscles as she felt the ground approag. Three. Two. One.

  They plunged into the ground as Kassandora exhaled the air from her lungs. She heard the distinctive pop of an esg its socket, but that was it. After the first few seds of her vision spinning and the sudden o of nausea passed, they had nded. Fer gently pced Kassandora on the ground as she waved her arms to blow the dust away. Kassandora coughed and almost fell over as she tried to take a step. “Don’t move Kassie, let it blow over.”

  Kassandora took a step and realised she simply had to throw up. She bent at the waist, her stomach emptied its acids onto the red dirt and Kassandora wiped her mouth. She felt better immediately after that as Fer turned and looked into the whole. “We lost Kav and Ini.” Fer said.

  “We did.” Kassandora said as Fer took a deep breath.

  “When are we getting them out?”

  “After Anassa.”

  “Good enough.” Fer said, she turned around and looked up at the sky. Kassandora did too. There were bombers flyi, towards the Juhree of them in an arrowhead formation, the huge 77T models would open their rear doors and drop dozens of tons of napalm in a single run. “That doesn’t look good.”

  “That doesn’t look good whatsoever.” Kassandora said. “I saw the voys were active too.”

  “I saw ambunces.” Fer said. She sniffed and shrugged.

  “Smell anything?”

  “Exhausts.” Fer replied quickly as she turo look down the hole again. “We should go get them though.”

  “We will, but we’ll need someoo excavate for us Fer.” Kassandora said. “Do you know what tuhey went down?”

  “I have a rough idea.” Fer said. She walked a few circles, as if retrag her steps, then pointed north-east. “In that dire is where we got split up. Why? What are you thinking of?”

  “Instead of using this entrance, we dig a new ohere. Deeper obviously, to get to the highway, but we hit the highway in an area where the Jungle hasn’t ied it yet.” Fer spun with one of the widest smiles Kassandora had ever seen on the woman.

  “That’s my Kassie!” She said. “I knew you’d think of something.” Kassandora nodded and sighed, of course she would, this was simply the best case solution to solve the situation.

  “And we o see what Anassa achieves first.” Kassandora said as she turo the north. “That voy wasn’t there when we went in.” Fer came over to stao Kassandora. The woman, especially with her massive mane of hair, provided enough shadow for all of Kassandora to be covered from the sun.

  “Is that bad?” Fer asked.

  “I don’t like surprises.” Kassandora replied dryly as she started ruffling through her own pockets. She had brought her phone in an enclosed case and, thanks to being a Divine, she was se that the protective case could le in the inner pockets of her coat. She flipped out it and started making phone-calls. For a moment, she saw Arascus’ the top of the list. She supposed she should call to tell him everything was alright.

  Kassandora flicked downwards past his name. Arascus could wait, there was a job to do and if she gave herself a reputation of calling, then he would demand she ring every day. Much easier to only give a ring when the man was actually needed for something. She went all the way down to ‘4. tral Requisitions’. The phone sorted numerically, so Arascus got ‘0.’ The other sisters got ‘1.’, other Divines got ‘2.’. Important mortals like Iliyal Tremali and Damian Sokolowski or Anassa’s four sorcerers got ‘3.’ Her ph twice before it icked up. Kassandora did not let whoever it was introduce themselves. “This is Kassandora speaking, what is happening in the West?”

  The person oher side had to recover from the fact the Goddess of War was ringing the number, but he got to an expnation quickly enough. “Three monsters were detected ing from-“ Kassandora put the phone on loudspeaker and waved Fer over. Fer most likely didn’t , with her hearing, anyway. “-the Jungle. A giant lion, a vulture and a crocodile.”

  Fer and Kassandora exged a look. It was obvious that they were both thinking about the same thing. It didn’t o be even voiced: The Caretaker. “What are they doing?” Kassandora asked.

  The reply was quid definite, just as Kassandora had taught everyone serving under her to do. “They’ve demolished Army Group tre.” The swords in Kassandora’s head started to csh and spark against each other as she thought of a pn.

  “What maps are you using?” Kassandora asked. The person on the side hesitated for a moment, then replied.

  “I don’t…” The man said. “Just a map of Kirinyaa?”

  “Otom left er, what is the number?” Kassandora asked.

  “Ess-Eye-Zero-Two-Three-Kay-Gee” Standard issue, 023, Kirinyaa-General. Kassandora had made that one herself, although that was a redundant statement. Almost every map her army used was made by her.

  “Oht, sixteen. There’s a rock. Send pickup to that rock.” Kassandora said as she turned and picked out the biggest ndmark. It was one of those Kirinyaan mountains, sharp rocks that rose straight out of the ground, as if they were pebbles dropped onto the world by some giant. Fer smiled and Kassandora raised an eyebrow to her sister.

  “Uood Goddess.” The person oher side said. “All pnes are currently busy bu-“

  “Reroute one. Whatever bombing run you’re doing is less important than me.” Kassandora said and the man replied immediately.

  “Of course. I’ll close the lianize a pickup. There’s 77T’s close to yht now.”

  “I see them.” Kassandora said and switched the phone off. That was ohing she always had to do, mortals always find it odd to drop the line when a Divine eaking oher side.

  “It’s impressive how you do that.” Fer said quietly.

  “What is?” Kassandora asked.

  “How you know what all the maps are and everything. I ’t do it.” Kassandora blinked for a moment, and then she shrugged.

  “I made them. I just know them.” Kassandora said. “Nothing else to add but that.” She turned and poio the bombers in the air. It took one half a minute, but it started to turn. Kassandora could only imagihe versation Ground trol just had with the pilot of that phe hulking vehicle turned slowly, then started to tilt downwards. “We o get over there.” Kassandora poio the rock, then looked at Fer.

  Fer raised an eyebrow. “You wao carry you?”

  “Yes,” Kassandora replied without hesitation. Maybe someone else may have skirted the answer. She knew Fer well enough that this was the most effit method. With practiced ease, Kassandora climbed onto the other woman’s back, positioning her head carefully to avoid getting tangled in the woman’s soft hair as they set off. They got there before the pne did, the massive, six-engine vehicle slowly came down. It’s rear door opeo let iwo Goddesses.

  The flight was short, Kassandora watched the red Kirinyaan dirt bee grey ash. Theched the grey ash bee tattered with wreckages of tanks and artillery. She saw the doors open. There were three great beasts there, a lion, a crocodile and a vulture, all as rge as rge hills or small mountains. The lion had napalm burning on its back, as did the reptile, but her seemed to notice or care. Both were looki, towards the Jungle’s heart.

  The giant animals were ohing. They were mere oppos to kill, beasts to hunt, objectives to plete. That didn’t shock Kassandora. What shocked her was the Juself. Every pnt, every leaf and piece of bark in that green o was tinged with a red grow. Kassandhat red immediately, it was an unnatural colour, too perfect to ever be natural. More like a paint that had been smeared over an art-piece: Anassa’s crimson sorcery.

  The Sched the delusional ut up another red shield around herself, her magic spread around. She had actally broken the Jungle’s curse on the snake and now her mind had been pulled into the Jungle’s world of whispers. The beast heard the trees around it scream and demand what the Snake had just dohe monster hissed and dove into the ground once again. Once again, madness clouded its eyes, once again, the whispers turned into a song. Once again, the Snake became oh the Jungle.

  But this time, within those maddening lyrics, there was something else. Obviously there, oiced, it was absolutely impossible to ignore: a loud and obnoxious guitar that pyed pletely out of tune.