War of the Spark, page 22
The Onakke regathered and attempted to hold the wolf spirit at bay—giving both Jaya and Vivien the opportunity to try again. The Onakke blocked most of these attacks, but thanks to Teferi the assaults seemed to be coming faster and faster, with more than a few getting by the spirits and doing significant, though not yet mortal, damage.
Liliana was burned. Liliana was pierced. Liliana was torn. Liliana was failing. Jace stifled the urge to save her. With a slight wave of her good right arm, she sacrificed multiple flying Eternals, throwing their bodies into the paths of flame, arrow and spirit beasts. By using the Veil, she drained other Eternals, applying the energies of their unholy resurrections toward healing her wounds almost as she was receiving them.
But Jaya and Vivien were relentless, and the slowed-down thoughts and defenses of Vess and the Onakke couldn’t keep pace with the offensive.
Liliana was vulnerable, and Jace knew they’d never have a better shot. And though a voice in his head was practically begging him to stop the others and terminate her torment, he knew the torments of Ravnica outweighed whatever Liliana was suffering. Best to end it.
So far, Jace hadn’t participated directly.
Am I trying to avoid guilt by being only a passive participant? No. This is my plan. I’m responsible for it. So stop pretending otherwise.
He fired off his own shot—a psychic attack that grabbed Liliana’s attention and held it, as Ballard and Reid took two more shots each.
He heard her moment of recognition from within her mind: Jace? Jace, please…
Jaya’s flames burned the skin off Liliana’s chest—though the Onakke circumvented any damage that was anything worse than skin-deep.
Vivien’s next arrow sank deep into Liliana’s shoulder. A Skalla spider emerged from it and sank its fangs into her neck.
Through it all, her mental screams echoed inside Jace’s head. But he held her fast, kept her from calling either the Eternals or Bolas himself to her aid.
She was trying to tell Jace something through the pain, but he would hear no more of her manipulations.
It’s working…Damnit.
She dropped to one knee. They almost had her…until Bolas’ perhaps inevitable intervention. The dragon had been distracted by the flying Sparks that were soaring toward him and arcing into his Spirit-Gem. He was looking skyward—not down at his minion Vess. But fire enough arrows and flame streams in the vicinity of Nicol Bolas—even at his most self-involved—and he was bound to notice eventually.
And it seemed he still had a use for Liliana Vess.
The near-godlike dragon fired off four of his own magical blasts. Each collapsed one of the four buildings upon which the four assassins were standing. Jace felt the roof crumble beneath his feet. Thankfully, with great effort, Teferi was able, one after the other, to make each building collapse in slow motion. Jace leapt from one piece of slow-falling masonry to another, as if using stepping-stones to carefully cross a river. He touched down on the ground and ran clear, reaching out with his mind. The other three had also made it out alive and unscathed.
But when Jace looked up, he saw that Vess lived, too. He could see the Onakke drive away the last of the dissipating Arkbow spirit animals. He could see Vess absorb the energy of more Eternals to heal herself. He could see Bolas smile his mirthless smile and turn away, spectacularly untroubled by the efforts of Jace and his allies.
Now that the dragon was alerted, there would be no second opportunity. All they could do was retreat. They had failed.
And a substantial part of Jace Beleren was glad.
It hurt.
She had been singed by Jaya’s flames, the blackened skin peeling away from muscle and fat tissue. There was an arrow sticking out of her right shoulder blade. And those damn beasts had badly mauled her left arm and right leg—and taken a substantial chunk out of her neck, just barely missing any major veins or arteries.
She was on her knees, breathing in ragged gasps. She glanced up at Bolas, who had saved her life. He paid her no mind now. Though Liliana was certain the dragon had the power, healing his minion was clearly beneath him—or in any case, something with which he simply could not be bothered.
The Onakke called to her in unsubtle whispers, Release yourself, Vessel. Release yourself to us.
She ignored them, reaching past their offer to summon the power of the Veil directly. With it, she drained the animus from two nearby Eternals. They practically melted before her. Lazotep coatings clinked against Citadel stone, but the bodies contained within were soon rigid with morbidity, splayed in rag-doll poses. She used their energy as a healing force, repairing her neck first, since it seemed to pose the biggest threat, and her chest second, since the burn caused the most pain—though of course the moment that skin healed over, the pain from her leg and arm became almost as excruciating.
She was forced to summon two more Eternals and forced to wait as they made their excruciatingly slow progress up the Citadel steps to come within range. Then she drained them, too, to heal her mauled limbs.
Pulling the arrow out of her shoulder was almost an afterthought. She screamed as she tore the barbed point free and collapsed onto her side in a puddle of her own blood. She began shivering uncontrollably. She couldn’t focus her vision—let alone her power—to find—let alone summon—another Eternal. But blood was blood. She managed to extend her hand and lick a few drops off her fingers. It was. Humiliating. But it was sufficient. Her necromantic power coalesced within the coagulating blood. Defying gravity, it poured upward, running up her arm to her shoulder. Soon the stones were clean and her wound was healing. She allowed herself to remain prone for a few more seconds, then slowly, tenderly, cautiously began to rise.
Still breathing hard, she made an attempt to regain her dignity. A simple spell cleaned her face. Another repaired and cleaned her black dress. She removed the Chain Veil to silence its whispers—at least temporarily. She was exhausted, but she was herself again, Liliana Vess again.
But it still hurt.
Every inch of her felt tender and sore. Every nerve felt exposed and raw. But what hurt even more than her physical injuries was the echo of Jace Beleren within her mind.
He tried to kill me. Not to reach me. Not to stop me. Not to convince me to stop. Not even to render me unconscious. He just wanted me dead.
Of course, a part of her was hardly surprised.
Why should I expect mercy or understanding from my so-called friends? And for just that reason, why should I have any mercy on them?
And yet another part of her had to admit that Jace and the others had little choice if they wanted to stop the carnage.
Bolas left me with no choice, and I in turn left them with none.
A third part, buried deep, believed she deserved death.
What kind of life will be left to me when all this is over? And will it ever be over, or will I spend eternity as Bolas’ pawn and plaything? Maybe I should have let them kill me.
And a last part—buried deeper still—shed a tear for the loss of a man she knew had once loved her, and whom maybe, just maybe, she had once loved, too…
Teyo had no role in the ceremony. He was just a fly on the wall (or what was left of the walls, since they were holding the rite in the ruins of the former Embassy of the Guildpact). Rat stood beside him providing the play-by-play, like the caller at a game of sand-devil, which is to say that much of what she related was either already known to him or dead obvious, but she helped to make the event more entertaining.
“Operation Desperation, the Firemind’s final plan,” she said, “requires all ten guilds, the leylines of Ravnica, the charred bones of Niv-Mizzet, and that thing.”
She was pointing to a brass model of a dragon head—Niv-Mizzet’s head, to be specific—being carried forward by the Izzet goblin Varryvort. “It’s called the Firemind’s Vessel and will contain his spirit when summoned from wherever it’s currently residing—assuming this works, that is, and given the name of the plan that could easily be too much to assume, you know?”
Varryvort gently placed the Vessel atop Niv’s blackened bones.
“See, Plan A had been to give Master Niv-Mizzet the power to fight Bolas. That didn’t work out, and you can see the end result. Plan B—as in Beacon—failed, too. This is Plan C, I think. Unless I’ve lost count.
“So over there, Master Zarek’s consulting with Miss Revane. Mr. Beleren says she’s some kind of expert on leylines. Has a magical connection to them. So Master Zarek’s explaining what they need to accomplish.”
Ral and Nissa Revane were speaking too quietly for either Teyo or Rat to make out the words. But when Ral fell silent, Rat did, as well. Nissa then proceeded to study the problem for six long minutes, during which she remained completely motionless, resembling a painted statue more than a living being. During this interval, Varryvort came over to stand beside Teyo. Not seeing Rat, he would’ve bumped right into her, but the girl adeptly sidestepped over to Teyo’s other side. Finally, Nissa nodded, saying, “It might be possible. The leylines were disrupted by the Planar Bridge, but with the Bridge gone, I believe I can repair them and help Ravnica reassert herself.”
“Well, that’s promising, at least,” Rat said with a grin. “Now all we have to do is wait for the rest of the guild representatives to gather.”
Ral, Kaya and Vraska were already present, though each of the three had been guildmaster for less than a month. Lavinia arrived next. Since Dovin Baan had fled, she was now acting guildmaster of the Azorius Senate, a position she’d held for about fifty-two minutes.
Hekara, recently resurrected blood witch and Emissary of the Cult of Rakdos, literally cartwheeled around the decimated chamber, bells tinkling from her costume’s leather ribbons. Rat’s violet eyes went wide: “She’s so cool!” Then her violet eyes saddened, as Hekara cartwheeled right past her once again.
Still, Teyo noted (and not for the first time), Rat’s nothing if not resilient. When Borborygmos, leader of the Gruul Clans, arrived with Rat’s parents, Ari and Gan Shokta, Rat’s mother smiled at her daughter, pointing Rat out to Gan Shokta and the cyclops. Both squinted at the space next to Teyo until they could see the girl. Araithia Shokta’s violet eyes lit up like two stars. “My mom’s pretty cool, too,” she said.
Emmara Tandris, champion of the Selesnya Conclave, arrived with Boruvo, who exchanged a few dangerous-sounding growls with his former Gruul clanmates, who seemed to regard him as a traitor for having switched guilds. Teyo braced himself, ready to create a shield to prevent a fight. But a stern look from Rat chastened the centaur, the cyclops and her parents. “Can’t we all just get along?” she said. They nodded without too much reluctance.
Next came Vannifar, prime speaker of the Simic Combine, accompanied by Vorel.
Then Aurelia, guildmaster of the Boros Legion, flew in, still hot from battle.
Only when all the others had shown their faces did Guildmaster Lazav of House Dimir reveal that he had been there all along—right beside Teyo and Rat—by morphing out of the form of the goblin Varryvort.
“Damnit, Lazav!” Ral said in a clipped and dangerous voice. “What the hell have you done with the real Varryvort?”
Lazav “reassured” Ral in a lazy drawl, “Your accomplished chief chemister is sleeping one off. He’ll be just fine come morning—assuming this succeeds, and any of us are just fine come morning.”
Nissa looked uncomfortable, and Rat nudged Teyo with her elbow. He stared at her, unsure of what she wanted. “Help the elf,” she whispered.
He nodded and stepped forward, saying, “If everyone would just gather around Miss Revane.”
Kaya approached, and Nissa silently indicated where she needed the Orzhov guildmaster to stand. This process was repeated in turn with Hekara, Ral, Lavinia, Lazav, Aurelia, Borborygmos, Vannifar, Vraska and Emmara. There was some grousing—and considerable mistrust among the various guild representatives, with Lavinia and Vraska very nearly coming to blows when Nissa placed them next to each other. But Nissa finally opened her mouth and declared, “Let me make this clear: Without a perfect act of unity from every single guild in concert, the plan has no hope of succeeding. You must put all grievances—petty or otherwise—behind you.” The act of saying that many words in sequence seemed to visibly exhaust the elf, but they did the trick. Soon enough, the ten guild representatives were standing in a slightly warped circle around Nissa and the bones and Vessel of the Firemind. The remaining few in attendance—Teyo, Rat, Boruvo, Vorel, Ari and Gan Shokta—stood in something of a clump just outside the circle. Ari seemed to be looking Teyo up and down. She frowned a little in a look reminiscent of those granted to the acolyte by Abbot Barrez. Apparently, Teyo Verada had not quite passed muster as a dependable friend to Ari Shokta’s daughter.
“You stand upon the ancient leylines of the Guildpact,” Nissa said, pulling Teyo’s attention back to the matter at hand.
“Which has exactly what to do with dragon bones?” Aurelia asked in a decidedly suspicious tone.
The elf again looked uncomfortable, and Ral took a step forward before quickly stepping back when Nissa glared at him in frustration for leaving his designated spot. He said, “We are here to resurrect the Firemind as the new Living Guildpact.”
Apparently, this was news to approximately half the guild leaders.
Vorel shouted, “What?” and Aurelia growled, “That’s what this is?” more or less in concert. Borborygmos roared along with them both.
Lavinia grumbled, “Didn’t we try this already, when he was alive? What makes you think—”
Hekara said, “It’s not called Operation Desperation for nothing, you know.”
Ral held up his hands and said, “We did try, and we failed. But the same terms apply. Jace Beleren has lost the power of the Living Guildpact. We need that power to defeat Nicol Bolas. If we succeed here, Niv-Mizzet will rise again to that power and use it against the Elder Dragon. Then the Firemind will step down as guildmaster of the Izzet and, as one of Ravnica’s most ancient, wise and venerable paruns, take up this new role as impartial arbiter to all ten guilds and Gateless, alike. The gods know he can hardly do a worse job than Beleren.”
Lavinia, Vraska and Emmara frowned at that last comment, but the rest seemed to begrudgingly acknowledge the truth of it and settled down.
Rat whispered in Teyo’s ear, “I’m glad he acknowledged the Gateless. We’re always forgotten when the big mucky-mucks gather to talk guild business.”
Hekara was practically bouncing up and down, saying, “I’ve never been part of an all-guild casting. Now I’m kind of glad the Boss didn’t want to come himself.”
Aurelia shook her head and scoffed, “The demon can’t be bothered to save Ravnica, so Rakdos sends one of his minions.”
Rat again whispered in Teyo’s ear, “The Boros Legion has always been intolerant of Rakdos.”
I can’t imagine why, Teyo thought, recalling the caged horrors, skull jugglers and the blood. Especially the blood.
Hekara wagged her finger at Aurelia. “It’s not like that at all. The Boss didn’t send me in his place. I totally came without his permission.”
Vraska smirked. “Hekara, if we’re being honest, you came in open defiance of his wishes.”
“Exactly!”
This started off another round of grousing and recriminations. Emmara and Vannifar turned on Ral, demanding to know how he expected any kind of success when the Cult’s eponymous guildmaster and parun wasn’t on board.
Aurelia said, “Even attempting this is virtually pointless.”
Hekara, reacting like a child who’d been caught stealing sweets, attempted to backpedal away from her previous blithe rebelliousness. “Don’t get me wrong. The Boss is fully behind this effort.”
Aurelia eyed her like a mother who’d caught her child stealing sweets. “Is he now?”
“Oh, yeah, completely. Entirely. Probably.”
Ral stepped in (verbally—he wasn’t about to move from his assigned spot and risk another glare from Nissa): “We might as well give it a shot. The ceremony will only take…” He trailed off with a questioning look at Nissa Revane.
“Five minutes at the most,” she responded. “Assuming it works at all.”
Kaya said, “Five minutes? Time is precious, but at five minutes we can’t afford not to make the effort.”
Nissa looked around the circle. One by one, each of the ten nodded in agreement, some with enthusiasm, some with determination, some with considerable reluctance. But they all nodded nonetheless.
Far from looking enthusiastic, determined or reluctant, a seemingly emotionless Nissa said, “Everyone, take a deep breath.”
Teyo inhaled and exhaled deeply.
Rat giggled. “I think she was only talking to the people in the circle.”
He blushed deeply.
“Oh, look. You’re so cute when you’re embarrassed.”
He blushed deeply-er.
“Yeah, like that!”
As Teyo struggled to recover his composure, Nissa began chanting—too low for Teyo to hear. From where she stood, beside bones and Vessel, lines began to alight beneath her feet. Black lines. Blue lines. Green lines. Red lines. White lines. Then, of a sudden, the lines shot out in multiple directions, forming concentric circles beneath the feet of the ten representatives. Teyo was instantly fascinated with the geometry and sought to keep track of which lines connected which representatives. He noted that all of the representatives had two colored circles beneath them, and as far as he could tell no two combinations were the same. Kaya, for example, was surrounded by a circle of white and a circle of black. Black lines connected Kaya’s black circle to identical circles around Vraska, Lazav and Hekara. Hekara’s second circle was red, which connected her to Borborygmos, Aurelia and Ral. Ral’s second circle was blue, connecting him to Lavinia, Lazav and Vannifar. Vannifar’s second circle was green, connecting her to Borborygmos, Vraska and Emmara. Emmara’s second circle was white, connecting her to Lavinia, Aurelia and back to Kaya. It was so intricate and perfect.
