14. The Shadow of Tiamat

Nova Carthago knew silence. The stillness in the air caused merchants to stop at their stalls, fishermen to stand still at their boats, priests to pause at their altars. Even the mercenaries and assassins stopped their carousing to look around nervously. It was the silence before the storm.

But the storm did not come from the sea as expected, nor did it climb over the hills to reach the city. It came from nowhere; a sudden darkness broken by the lightning. Hail shredded the awnings and sent people fleeing from the streets. Yet their homes were no haven. The earth heaved beneath them. People reentered the streets and headed for the gates.

The throne room was not immune. Amyaravix was thrown into her opponent. They crashed into a wall, knocking the Thracian unconscious. Amyaravix's smile was cut short when she realized she had fallen on one of her adversary's javelins. She looked at her arm.

"Blimey! That smarts!"

Yori and the Ethiopian had been springing in opposite directions when the floor abandoned them. Each rolled back onto her feet. They looked up to the platform.

Kim was kissing Rongamesh. He held her in his left arm in a mockery of an embrace. His right hand continued to work the sword into the hole in her cuirass. A wind stirred his remaining hair. It also brought tendrils of darkness that curled around the two figures on the platform, enveloping them. Soon night shrouded the platform.

The Ethiopian grabbed up her spear and leapt into the darkness. She jabbed the spear where she knew the woman stood. Satisfied with her first attack, she drew back for another thrust.

Something propelled her off of the platform and out of the darkness. Yori stared her in the face; her fists were in front of her. The Ethiopian looked down to see the fans, angled downward. A steel rib jutted out from each and had passed through her ribs on either side of the sternum, piercing her heart.

Yori gave a slight shudder. The Ethiopian smiled with grim satisfaction.

"I could not have missed."

Yori pulled out her blades and the Ethiopian fell lifeless to the floor. For a moment, she stared at her. She turned and stepped toward the platform then stopped.

No, this quest belongs to Kimora-sama. She will save Ronicus-san, or die in his arms. Either way, she is most fortunate of women.

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Kim opened her eyes. Darkness. Darkness like she had never seen before. It was not the darkness of the night; broken by the moon and stars and the Milky Way. Nor was it the complete night under the Earth. Instead, she saw darkness and shadow, night and deeper night. Where am I? How can I be seeing in this?

She took a step toward something in the distance. Something crunched under her feet. Without looking she knew they were bones. The ground was strewn with bones, dry and ancient. The air had a tinge of decay.

Reaching behind her back, she pulled out what looked to be a broken dagger. She removed the fake shard and turned the wolf's head. The black obsidian blade stood out against the darkness. It was not much, but she was armed.

A rattle caused her to turn and crouch. The greave on her left leg turned something aside. She sensed it was blind movement rather than an attack. There were other things moving in the darkness with her. All were headed to the horizon and the mountains. Mountains? They seem to be roiling like storm clouds.

Nothing approached her as she walked. Finally she saw something other than dark. A figure bathed in a sickly green light. It was turning, like an insect cocooned in a spider's web.

"Ron!"

Kim recognized the blond hair and pale face. His eyes were closed. He appeared to be in coils of smoke. When she had been very small, she once had gone to the chicken coop to hold a chick and hear it chirp. A snake had gotten in and was crushing a chick. She had had nightmares for weeks. That was what this looked like to her.

She sprang at the coils. The dagger struck sparks as scales turned it aside. Part of the mountain lifted. Great green eyes opened, and then narrowed at her. The hissing was more in her head than in her ears.

Tiamat…

The Great Dragon of Chaos regarded the tiny foe before her. Kim could feel the contempt in her snort. Something hit the back of her cuirass. She turned and slashed with her dagger. There was resistance, and a skin of darkness ripped open, spilling soot instead of blood. Strange things made of night threw themselves at her. The dagger sliced through one after another. Kim had not fought with such ferocity since she last faced Shegovia, when she thought the Ligurian had killed Ronicus. Before long, the ground before her was heaped with motionless things.

A low grumble came from the Dragon. Kim watched as bones came down from her. They looked like the ribs of a bat's wings. The first one shattered on her cuirass. She deflected another with a vambrace. One slipped past her guard. It struck at the opening in her cuirass.

The spine lifted her off the ground. With a cry she hit the bone again and again. Finally, it cracked and snapped. She fell to the ground. With a shudder she touched the object protruding from her side. It took forever to remove it. Her breathing was uneven as she made herself stand up.

Tiamat's chuckle echoed in the dark. Kim ignored her as she reached out to touch Ronicus's face. She tried to raise her dagger, but the pain in her side stopped her. Tears blurred his image as she drew closer. A gasp escaped her as she stumbled against the coils.

"I failed." She brought her face next to his. He was so cold. "Forgive me."

Blood covered her hand as she held it against the gap in her cuirass. The other one could barely hold onto Ronicus. She could feel the darkness closing in on her. Her eyes refused to stay open. Her knees began to buckle. The bones at her feet called her to join them. She began to fall.

Something grabbed her.

With a start she saw a hand. His hand. Ronicus's eyes were open. He strained to speak.

"Name…"

"Ron!" Kim struggled to stay on her feet. "Ron! It's me, Kim! I, I tried to free you. I can't defeat her…she's too strong."

"Name…" it was little more than a hiss. "…iss name…"

"Name? Ron, I don't understand." But Ron could not speak anymore. The coils around him tightened. He screwed his eyes shut as he endured the pain.

Name! Name! iss name…HIS NAME! Who's name? Suddenly she saw a little white mouse in her mind. She forced herself to remember the recitation. She ran it through her mind until it came to her. Taking a deep breath, she summoned her dwindling strength.

"MARDUK!"

The laughter stopped. A low growl shook the ground. Another blow came at her. She had taken her helmet off to kiss Ronicus. Instinct caused her to jerk her head forward. The strike almost missed her. Kim screamed as she felt hair and skin shear away from the back of her head and neck.

"MARDUK!"

The cry echoed in the dark. The green eyes leered at her. Ronicus's eyes were closed, but his hand kept her from falling. Defiance lit Kim's eyes as Tiamat bent her head down to finish off the irritant.

There was a rumble from the sky. Gold light cut through the darkness. A massive figure strode forward. It was in the shape of a man, yet it touched the sky. Skin glowed like polished bronze. The eyes were golden. He was dressed like Rongamesh, complete with long curly hair and beard. One hand held a spear, the other a net.

Tiamat recoiled from the light. Kim could at last see her tormentor. The upper part was sheathed in black scales. The middle section was gray and pink skin. Behind it were bones and withered sinews. She was half-way between rebirth and total dissolution. A terrible scream came from her throat as she rose to meet Marduk.

The coils around Ronicus gave way. They began to fall.

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Kim felt the grass against the back of her head. She could smell flowers. When she opened her eyes, a flawless blue sky greeted her. Ronicus lay beside her. It required little effort to touch him. That was good; for she had so little left.

As she caressed his cheek she looked to a light. People were coming from a plain. Some she did not know. But how could she mistake Anneas? Or Lucretia Brutus? With a sigh, she knew why they were coming.

Ronicus opened his eyes. He sat up beside her. She smiled.

"Kim! I knew you would come." He wrapped his arms around her. His joy changed to alarm as he saw her side.

"I…I never told you." She sighed. "The first time we kissed. I knew then it was my destiny…to die in your arms. But, but I thought that would be so many years from now! After life and love and children and grandchildren." Tears welled up. "Don't forget me."

"That's quitter talk, KP!" Ronicus reached to the buckles of her cuirass. She stopped him with a gentle touch.

"I want to see you, Ron. I want you to hold me. Remember me…"

He looked stricken, then just as quickly it passed. "Remember! Of course! Kim, the saga! Remember…remember why Enkidu turned against Rongamesh. Isthar had given him the flower of immortality. He could keep himself immune to all mortal weapons and diseases, or cure one other person! He let Enkidu's love die rather then give up immortality!"

"That…was just a story."

"So was Tiamat!" Ronicus trembled as he pulled her close. "If everything else has come true…" He bent down toward her. "I give up immortality. I give up deathlessness. I will not live without love."

Her lips were cold. She reached up with the last of her strength to kiss him. He was so warm, so warm.

It flowed through her. Warmth and strength. It flowed with the power of Life, the joy of Love. She brought her arm up behind his head to press his lips even closer. He pulled her to her feet, never breaking off the kiss. Her legs were steady. The raw feeling at the base of her neck faded away.

Without opening her eyes, she knew the others were going back to Elysium. That day can wait. I am in his arms. This is paradise.

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Yori had finished binding captives and wounds. A light burst forth behind her. With Amyaravix and Ruffio, she turned to the platform.

Kim was still kissing Ronicus. It was clearly Ronicus. The left arm held her close, while the right hand dropped a sword bloody to the hilt. Despite that, Kim looked to be whole. They had to part for air.

"Welcome back, Great King."

"Kim." He breathed. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"This is the second time you've had to rescue me. I'm afraid I'm setting a bad precedent for side-kicks."

Ruffio ran up Ronicus to give him a hug on the cheek. He handed the Lotus Blade to its keeper.

"Thanks for saving it for me, Little Buddy." Ronicus sheathed it at his side. "Now, how do we get out of here?"

They ran down the stairs and out into the courtyard of the Citadel. Elefist was still locked up, and Hencharion was nowhere to be seen. Only a few people were racing about in terror. The storm was still lashing the city. Horses were panicked as they went this way and that. Running to the stables, they found only three stalls still closed. Junuris and Zeta had blindfolded the horses and kept them calm.

"We released the others when the storm hit." Junuris smiled. "It will take time to calm them enough to ride. You should not have any pursuit for a while."

Ronicus shed the bulky corselet for his old tunic and cuirass. The Lotus Blade resumed the shape of an old Italian sword. "Thanks, Junuris."

Both Junuris and Zeta had an odd look for a moment. "It was not you at all, was it?" Zeta looked into Ronicus's eyes. "No. That thing wore your flesh, but it was not you."

Then there is nothing to forgive, or to resent. Kim banished all thoughts of what Rongamesh may have done. She was a priestess of Minerva, goddess of Wisdom. There was no greater foolishness than to hate someone for something they did not do.

"We must go." Yori seemed anxious. "When Fate gives one an advantage, it is wise to seize it at once."

Amyaravix ran to the sally port and opened it. Kim could see down by the lagoon. A coracle was being drawn by invisible hands to the choppy waters.

"We'll be fine." Amyaravix smiled at Kim as the woman mounted her horse. "Those aren't waves! You should see the Channel!"

"Why didn't you tell me about your friend?"

"Couldna' do that, Luv. You'd a thought I was daft!" She gave Kim's horse a slap on the rump and laughed as the three riders took off in the storm. Junuris and Zeta gave a wave, and closed the gate behind the four escapees.

Notes

Marduk…Chief god of the Babylonians. He destroyed Tiamat. When you have a big job, call on the pros.

Lucretia Brutus…daughter of Marcus Junius Brutus, founder of the Republic. Her death was the catalyst that overthrew the Tarquins.

Elysium…the Greco-Roman Heaven. All the great heroes went there (unless they were deified, of course.) Kim can be pretty sure she'll end up there, just not right now.