Book 3 Chapter 42

Tirr forced his way through the underground fortress without trouble, leaving large swaths of ice and fire in his wake. As he walked, a golden barrier surrounded him, protecting against the occasional ambush of poison bolts or hidden blades. The wings of light from his back shimmered beautifully in the dim torch-lit building.

By his sides, the little storm cloud and the small lizard flew, competing as they took out any obstacles in his path. Spikes of ice pierced and pinned the oncoming assassins while bursts of flames and burned and scattered the rest. The few shard users that appeared were helpless against the pair’s attacks. Even with the ability to stop time, if there was nowhere to escape to, they could do nothing but face death… It wasn't long before there was no one left to challenge Tirr as he headed towards the main hall.

He finished his march in an eerie quiet… Arriving at a set of large stone doors, he held out a hand, letting his barrier drop as he pressed against the door. The wings on his back brightened gently as he pushed and the large stone doors flew open, breaking off their steel hinges with a wrenching cry. They fell with a thunderous impact revealing the room beyond as the dust settled.

Standing across from him was a mix of opulently dressed men and women along with more of the white-masked figures, as well as another host of assassins. Looking at the rich-looking individuals, Tirr could guess they the last of the council members.

They stared at him, a mixture of hatred and fear in their eyes as most hid behind their white-masked guards. Tirr was unbothered though, having found his target, he simply lifted a hand. His aspects preparing to blow the remaining enemies away.

Just as he was about to attack though, a small bookish man in dark glasses pressed forward... Holding out his hands as he pleaded, “Stop! Stop! Hold on, your eminence… I believe there’s been a grave misunderstanding…”

Tirr stopped looking at the small man with disdain. “What misunderstanding?” Tirr asked arrogantly, “You’re a disgusting cancer on my world and even I forget all the terrible things you’ve done, you’ve given me more than enough reason to be here. You tried to kill me and failed, now I’m going to kill you…”

“Please… That was simply a mistake on our part, a failure that we regret greatly…” The small man continued an ingratiating smile on his face, “If we had seen previously the greatness that resided in a being such as yourself, we would never have dared put ourselves at odds with you…”

“Is that supposed to sound sincere right before you die?” Tirr asked sarcastically.

“I can understand that this looks bad,” The other side replied, spreading his arms as went on, “But we are more than willing to establish your religion in the Confederation. This city will be yours, along with all the riches it holds…”

“This city is already mine,” Tirr responded, “Raife is already seeing to it… Why would I need you?”

“Raife might have some history with us, your excellency,” He countered, “But we’ve expanded in many areas since his time with us. No matter how talented he may be, he and the others won’t be able to grab a hold of everything immediately. In the meantime, you will lose valuable assets… Not only here in the confederation, but in countries across the continent!”

“So, you're saying he should trust you to handle all this business for him huh Dice…” Another voice cut in… From behind Tirr Torvus appeared, his usual smirk unable to hide the tinge of hatred in his eyes.

“Torvus… The mousey man muttered like a curse, “This has nothing to do with you…”

“Oh, I don’t know Dice, seems like anything that doesn’t end with your blood on my dagger has something to do with me… Even if the boss did give you chance, you’d just end up spoiling it by trying to stab him in the back. You rats just can’t help yourselves...”

“Shut up you mutt! Your nothing more than a filthy murderer!” A woman behind Dice yelled, “You’ve dirtied your hands with your own share of blood… Don’t act like your better than us!”

Tirr scowled at her words… “Torvus is a thousand times better than you scum…” He started raising his hand again when the ground suddenly shook. Many among the confederations people were thrown to their feet as the ground quaked and dust fell from the ceiling.

Tirr kept his balance, his body swaying easily while others strained. Yet even as he was about to attack, the bright glowing wings on his back suddenly disappeared. A hollow and empty feeling was all that remained where he used to feel his Blessing of Life

As the rumbling settled, Dice stood, clicking his tongue at the woman behind him before turning back to Tirr, who stood in shock... The small man smiled “Well it seems like the friendly negotiations have failed… But how about the hostile ones? I think we still have much more to talk about…”