IGS #4, Chapter 38 (Bonus!)

(Adding some bonus chapters today as the cliffhanger nature of Chapter 37 would be intolerable otherwise, and not the way the actual book would play out.)

Naomi

The Pools of Radiant Gold were right ahead. Naomi could tell from the pale effulgence that glimmered in the sky beyond the hummocks of encrusted hillocks, the way Gold mana swirled in the air in a great, languid, glorious vortex, and from the hundreds of toads that were closing in on the area from all directions.

It was unnerving and strangely awesome to see so many of Nox’s kind scrambling and clambering and hopping ever closer. The air rippled with croaks and deep rumbles, as if the ground itself were in the process of falling apart, about to split underfoot and give way altogether.

Nox was vibrating with purpose, his every line radiating tension, his manner stiff, his whole body attuned to the moment. He was practically vibrating, his attention everywhere even as he struggled to appear indifferent to his peers, his rivals, his potential mates.

And what a cavalcade of toadosity it was. Naomi wasn’t nearly acquainted enough with the potential variety of toads to discern with any surety what all their ranks were, or whether the variation in coloration and size could occur within each tier itself. The toads were of every hue and size, some massive and ponderous, others lithe and adroit, some brilliant vermillion, others deep umber, some azure, some noxious yellow. All were blind, all radiated power, and all were intent on the same destination.

None, however, were the deep obsidian black of Nox. None, to Naomi’s untrained eye, marched with the same tremulous majesty, the same ferocious focus.

The region around the Pools was devoid of all other fiends. Even the skies were free of circling denizens of the Lustrous Maria, as if all other fiends were aware that they weren’t welcome here.

On they marched, the other toads growing in number, so that at a glance in any direction she could take in scores of them.

The ground rose, the gentle slope growing precipitous at the very last, and over this edge the toads either leapt or scrambled to fall ignominiously on the other side. The golden light rose like a diaphanous veil from just beyond, filling the sky with a shimmering ephemeral glow. Gold mana was everywhere, the great vortex that had begun a mile out finally consolidating into a great funnel that descended into whatever lay beyond.

Nox strode up the slope, his dignity enormous, and Naomi sensed that even now, at the very limits of his self-control, he was choosing to remain grounded and not leap like most the others due to her presence.

They climbed the last few yards, the ground becoming nearly vertical, and when Naomi crested the rise, she froze, eyes widening.

A great crater lay beyond, perhaps a half-mile across, its surface dappled with innumerable pools whose surfaces were sheened with liquid Gold. Metallic ferns arose here and there, but by far the most salient feature were the toads themselves.

Toads in the thousands.

They shoved and shouldered at each other, seeking to climb over their own huge bodies to reach the center. Some leaped in frustration to crash down upon their fellows, while others hunched their backs as if too superior to bother with their brothers and sisters who swarmed around them. Countless toads sang their lusty songs, melodies interweaving and rising and rising into the air, a great tapestry of sound, but one that seemed to have some sense of order to it, some governing principle that she could almost tease apart. A refrain, perhaps, that was repeated, broken, spliced, then accentuated by the hundreds upon hundreds of toads that sought to elevate themselves in any way possible above their brethren.

“Behold,” rumbled Nox by her side. “The Radiant Pools of Gold.”

Naomi laughed in delighted awe. “I’d not… this more than I thought…”

“The Pools are sacred to Nox’s kind. Pools for sacred battle. Home of Quantics. Here toads contest for majesty. Here, Nox sire a million young. But first, Nox bring best friend Naomi to elder toads for wisdom.”

And with that, Nox hopped over the upturned lip to fall upon the shallow slope a dozen yards below. He fought for balance, slid, hopped, then settled at a lower declivity. Naomi resisted the urge to shift into the Nightmare Lady form, uncertain if that would provoke some toads to rebuff her, and vaulted over the stony ledge to drop after Nox.

Toads parted for him, a sign, she assumed, of respect. The toads who lingered on the outskirts were clearly inferior in some way; most were smaller, or displayed less prominent zigzagging stripes of alluring color. Their calls were mores subdued, but that didn’t stop them from straining and rising as high as they could to peer deeper into the crater.

Nox forced his way through their ranks with bullish disdain, occasionally climbing right over a squirming lesser who failed to get out of the way in time.

“Monarch Shade Toads,” Nox told her as a small, grayish fellow with a green tinge scurried away. “Least of our kind. Nox was Monarch very briefly. Rose quickly to Imperial Ghost.”

“Of course you did,” agreed Naomi, trying not to smile.

The next ring was clearly composed of greater examples of his kind; these were stouter, more assertive, but still dressed in simpler colors. They tended to be of one shade, mostly of copper or bronze. They shuffled angrily but gave way as Nox rumbled and croaked, issuing his call whenever some reluctant toad thought to contest his right to pass through.

Imperial Ghost Toads, hazarded Naomi. What Nox had been when they’d first met.

Nox led the way, nostrils raised as high as he could, throat rippling and issuing a constant warning warble. Naomi pressed in close. The other toads were eyeing her angrily, as if  they could vent their disgruntlement on her.

They circled a few of the golden pools. Examining them with her Heart sense, she realized they were of pure, liquid Gold mana. The kind that had existed, Scorio had told her, at the bottom of the Fiery Shoals’ Crucible. She shivered as avarice seized her by the throat. What would it be like to immerse herself in such a pool? To drink deep, literally, of such power?

But the ripples were strange, and it was only after she passed her third pool that she realized why: all were filled with toad gel, the same matrix in which she’d learned the Delightful Marinating Technique.

Huh.

On they pressed, and now they reached the Emperor Wraith Toads like Nox. These were more ostentatious, their pebbled hides rich with gradating hues, their stripes more prominent and boldly colored. The very air here seemed more tangible, as if their authority were becoming physically manifest.

Here Nox changed his call; where before his croaks had been peremptory and supercilious, now his tone of warning became subtly urgent and clear. Not a challenge, it sounded like, but a statement.

The Emperor Wraith Toads studied her as they clambered aside.

Naomi resisted the urge to shrink closer to Nox’s side.

The vast majority of the toads present at the pools were Emperor Wraiths, it seemed. They made their way closer and closer to the center of the greater, and only at the last did they reach an altogether different kind of toad.

These didn’t press or shoulder each other, but rather had staked out a clear space in which to squat with royal dignity. They didn’t even issue cries, but rather waited in deeply somber silence.

And here Naomi saw what Nox might one day become. These toads were, if not larger, then somehow more real. More vibrant, more present, more… everything. They seemed denser, to consume more of the light. Their coloration was burnished, the hoods over their eyes more pronounced, with spikes radiating like crests around their heads and flourishing down their spines. And where before the toads had boasted metallic hues, these were iridescent, such that the light gleamed and shimmered over their bodies, copper with hints of royal purple gradating seamlessly to silver then liquid viridian. Each still had a basic hue: copper, gray, or gold—but now she saw emerald toads, others of the deepest azure.

Nox’s entire demeanor had changed. No longer did he thrust himself forward with his entire body radiating disdain. Instead, he took on a humble manner, his carriage still proud but no longer remotely challenging.

“Do not stare,” he croaked quietly. “We are not worthy to gaze upon Supreme Phantom Toads.”

Naomi immediately averted their gaze.

It was easy to pass through their ranks, however; there had to be one Supreme Phantom for every twenty Emperor Wraith Toads, if that. They threaded a path through the regal toads, and still they pressed on.

At the very center of the crater arose a small plateau, perhaps only a few yards higher than the rest of the area, and on which a dozen toads could be seen.

Nox stopped at the edge of this rise, and there issued a deeply plaintive croak, complex and shot through with need.

Naomi, thoroughly unnerved, kept her gaze down.

A croak sounded in response, one so rich in power and depth that it felt rippled and embedded with meaning, as if a hundred croaks had been layered into one.

Nox trembled, gave himself a small shake, then clambered up onto the plateau.

Naomi followed suit.

She risked a glance behind.

Every toad was watching, having paused their sport and contests to watch with their eerily empty eye sockets.

Her skin goosepimpled, and she quickly looked away.

There were eight toads on the plateau. Each was equidistant from the other and facing inward in a great circle, where a second rise emerged, but this throne, or whatever it might be, was empty.

The eight toads didn’t move, but Naomi could sense the weight of their attention settle upon her. Such was their authority that it became hard to breathe.

She wanted to stare, to scrutinize, but dared not. Out of the corner of her eye she could make out the closest one, chalky white with streaks of burning blue down its side. But it was a white that surged and pulsed in a manner that made her queasy, and though chalky she caught the faintest glimmers of other metallic colors, as if they surged beneath the absence, manifesting only at the curvature of elbows or the edges of horns.

Nox prostrated himself so that his gut swelled out on all sides and went completely still.

Naomi didn’t need any prompting. She knelt and pressed her brow to the ground. It wasn’t even a calculated gesture; the air here shivered with power, an august presence that made bowing natural, instinctive, right.

The weight of the toads’ regard hung in the air, and then finally one of them issued the slightest of chirps, the sound inquisitive.

Nox relaxed. “Greetings and most humble salutations, oh mighty Sovereign Death Toads! I declare myself Nox, mere Emperor Wraith. Nox modest toad, promising tadpole, and soon Sovereign Death Toads shall witness his total domination of spawning pools!”

The eight other toads didn’t move in the slightest.

Nox seemed to catch himself, for he shivered and pressed back into the ground. “Nox digress. With Nox is best friend Naomi, Great Soul from Great Soul city Bastion. Nox vouch for Naomi. Naomi good best friend. Worthy. Nox bring her to speak with Maharajah Void Toad.”

At last one of the eight responded, though Naomi couldn’t tell which. Their voice was like the tolling of a great bell, impossible to translate into meaning until after, as if the import of their words took her mind precious seconds to process. “Grand Maharajah Void Toad not come this year to Radiant Pools of Gold.”

Nox hesitated then sagged. For a moment he simply shuffled from side to side, then he stilled. “Nox ask Sovereign Death Toads for aid. Naomi best friend. Naomi troubled. Naomi self not her own self, but other self in her true self. Nox lowly toad, though promising. Not understand Naomi’s problem. Sovereign Death Toads understand?”

The weight across Naomi’s shoulders redoubled as their full attention befell her. She fought to remain still and not crumple beneath their terrible power.

“Move to center, Great Soul.”

Nox turned to her, just a fraction of an inch, and bobbed his huge head.

Naomi took a deep breath and forced herself to rise. Her heart was pounding, pounding, and she could hear the Nightmare Lady screeching within her, commanding her to run, to not be a fool, they were going to devour her, tear her apart, she was foreign, she was their enemy, she had to go, now -

With supreme effort Naomi screwed her eyes as tightly closed as she could and tried to blot out the Nightmare Lady’s voice. She felt her knees weaken, her chest tighten, and then she summoned Scorio’s face, his roguish smile, the warm gleam in his eyes, and the sight of it, the memory of how he’d once thought of her, allowed her limbs to strengthen.

With a deep breath she moved forward.

The very center would have meant climbing onto that singular high promontory where no doubt the Maharajah Void Toad would sit, but that she didn’t dare. Instead, she moved close to the rise and there straightened to meet the regard of the eight.

They were all white, that special, blanked out white that betrayed metallic swirls of color at the edges. Their eyes were hollow like Nox’s, but there was no doubting the penetrating nature of their regard. She felt herself pinned in place, unable to move as eight of the most powerful fiends she had ever met considered her predicament.

At last, one of them shuffled its weight in a manner that was startlingly similar to how Nox would sometimes move before making a pronouncement.

“Your best friend Naomi is indeed troubled. Two selfs. One true self, second parasite self.”

Parasite self? The Nightmare Queen?

Another spoke, and she whirled about, barely able to breathe.

“Naomi Great Soul. This true. But power cracked open by other self. Made manifest by insertion. Other self augment Naomi.”

A third: “Inside Naomi mighty tenebrite. Queen rank. Horf help. Horf consume Naomi, ease troubles.”

Nox immediately thrust himself upright. “Most generous of Sovereign Death Toad Horf! Most kind, most everything. But Naomi best friend, bestest friend. Nox ask for other answer.”

The Sovereign Death Toads rumbled deep in their throats and shuffled from side to side.

Naomi didn’t even dare gulp. If these eight decided to… consume her, she knew there was nothing she or Nox could do to stop them. And… tenebrite? A queen-ranked tenebrite was inside her? She knew the name, that was what the horrific fiends in the Lustrous Maria were called, the greatest enemies of the Great Souls. Fiends who captured Great Souls and melded with them, took over their bodies and used their powers against other Great Souls.

There was… one inside her?

Somewhere, deep within, the Nightmare Lady was shrieking with glee.

One of the eight spoke at last. “Sovereign Death Toads not able to extract tenebrite. Process tear Naomi apart.”

“I…” Naomi couldn’t restrain herself any longer. She didn’t care if she was breaking decorum, “I… would I have… would I have Ignited my Heart without… her?”

Her words sounded thin and pitiful after the deep rumbles, but the other toads didn’t immediately punish her for her temerity. They seemed to still, considering. Time passed. Sweat prickled on Naomi’s brow, ran down the slope of her back. She could only breathe in shallow, quick inhales.

“No.” The judgement was final. “Naomi Great Soul powerful. True Great Soul. But Acherzua not allow new Great Soul manifestation. Naomi die powerless without tenebrite queen.”

She exhaled, reeled. Tried to understand. Acherzua didn’t allow for new Great Souls? Hell itself prevented… prevented the natural birth of…? She’d always heard that regular people could Ignite their Hearts if they were talented enough, but had never met, never even heard of a specific example of someone who had.

A memory came to her. Little Naomi, perhaps six, looking at her father’s broad palm as he held out a shiny gold pill.

“Here you go.” His voice came back to her from across the years. “Daddy believes in you, Naomi. I know you can do it. You just need a little help. We’re going to help you awaken. Just take this. There will be more tomorrow, and more treasures until we get the job done.”

Pills and elixirs. Potions and pastes. Her father had spent a fortune on the treasures, beggaring their household and eventually getting himself fired from his House. She’d taken them all, dutiful and obedient. Some had been so powerful they’d given her splitting migraines for days, for weeks. Others had caused her to black out as her very spirit seemed to convulse. One-

One—

Naomi sank to her knees.

Recalled the black jar the size of her father’s forearm. The ornate seals, the heavy stopper of lead. The glass clouded, the roiling shadows within barely discernible.

“This is what we’ve been preparing you for,” her father had whispered as he set the jar reverently on the table. “Everything has been—”

No. No no no. She didn’t want to remember that.

Never that.

Never again.

Naomi pressed her fists into her eyes. Keep that thought down. Keep it locked away, with so many other memories of her childhood. Bad memories. Bad memories had to stay hidden.

But…

Naomi pressed her knuckles so hard into her closed eyes she saw stars.

But she had to remember, didn’t she?

How her father had bid her lie down on her stomach so that he could place the glass jaw on her back. How he’d gently strapped her hands and ankles to the sides of the bed, and placed a wedge of leather between her teeth.

Naomi’s body convulsed and she vomited, hot, burning bile and fiend flesh erupting all over the ground.

The eight toads watched, inscrutable.

Naomi spat. Tears scalded her eyes.

She didn’t want to remember that. How she’d felt him—felt him pull the lid off the bottom of the jar so that freezing coldness had saturated her skin, the screaming, how she’d—

Her whole body spasmed as she dry heaved and made groaning, gasping sounds.

She couldn’t replay the memory. But she could remember a few facts. The process had taken a week. They told her that after. She’d nearly died. It had taken her a month to recover after. A month of unbreakable fever and wracking pain, her joints swelling up, her body wasting away—until it had begun to regain strength one morning, without rhyme or reason, as if an ocean of vitality had suddenly begun to pour into her.

“Essence of the Midnight Ocean” her father had called it. The most precious, expensive, and ruinously powerful elixir he’d been able to get his hands on.

Her father.

She tried to picture his face, and realized she couldn’t.

Naomi froze.

What the hell? Her father. She pictured his outline, his broad shoulders, the smell of him. The herbs he’d pack in his pipe. He stood in her mind’s eye like a silhouette. But his face? Shadow.

What did that—how could she not even—?

Pain lanced through her mind. She clenched her jaw and ignored it. Her father. His name had been—

Nothing came to her.

He’d been House Kraken. Very wealthy, highly placed. They’d lived in luxurious quarters. He’d connections with the Academy. When she’d finally Ignited, he’d arranged for her transfer. He’d lost his job.

But beyond that—?

Nothing.

She’d never heard from him again. How was that even possible? Weirder, she’d never thought of reaching out to him. Not when life became hard, not when she fled the Academy. Not during any of those long, long solitary nights in the ruins.

Not once had she thought of him, of asking for help. Always, on some deep, abstracted level, she’d told herself it was because she blamed him for all this, because she didn’t want his help, because she knew he’d only make things worse—

His face. She demanded the memory surface. Squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as she could. But the best she could summon was his shadowed form, his deep voice. The smell of pipe smoke.

Nothing.

And—and her mother?

There was nothing there. No memory whatsoever. Her mother. Had she never once thought about her? How as that possible? How—no, there was something. A voice singing to her, holding her. A sense of…comfort. But the voice was so sad. So—

Naomi realized she was crying.

By the ten hells, how had she never realized how profound these absences were? With great effort she sat up, on her heels, and wiped her torn, dirty sleeve across her face. She felt exhausted, wretched, undone.

The eight white Sovereign Death Toads watched her without mercy, without compassion, without judgement.

“I…” Words failed her. She felt scraped hollow. A gentle breeze could have knocked her over.

Nox wiggled forward a little. “Nox care deeply for bestest friend Naomi. What can Nox do to help bestest friend Naomi with tenebrite queen?”

“Nothing.” This had to be Horf speaking, she gathered, but she couldn’t be sure. “Tenebrite power is alien to toads. Only tenebrites can help with tenebrite queen.”

Nox hesitated. “Tenebrites help Naomi?”

“Tenebrites love Great Souls. But Naomi already infested. Only tenebrites capable of understand more. This very strange. Horf never see tenebrite inside Great Soul. Very, very strange.”

Nox remained stock still, and then he bowed his head. “If only tenebrites help Naomi, then Nox take clutchmate to tenebrites.”

The eight white toads shifted their weight uneasily.

“Bad idea. Tenebrites dangerous. Tenebrites eat Nox. Nox very tasty to tenebrites.”

Nox raised his head with great dignity. “Nox not afraid. Naomi best friend. Naomi clutchmate. Nox help Naomi with Nightmare Lady.”

Naomi stared at Nox with hopeless wonder. What had she done to deserve this manner of loyalty?

“Quantics contestations begin in seven days,” said one of the Death Toads.

“Never fear. Nox return in time for Quantics. Then females shall tremble. Nox all-conquering lust-master. But first.” He shifted around so that he was pointed back out at the pools.

Naomi rose unsteadily to her feet. She couldn’t think, much less understand exactly what was going on. But one thing was clear. “Nox. Are you sure?”

Nox’s throat worked, and then he bobbed his huge shovel head. “Nox sure. Come, best friend. Together Nox and Naomi find answer. Together, we end Nightmare Lady. Together, we free Naomi. Come.”

And with that, he hopped off the central plateau, and was gone from view.

Naomi took a deep, shuddery breath, and for a moment it was all she could do to stare up at the shimmering veils of gold.

And then, not having any a choice other than to lay down and die, she followed after.