War of the Seven: An Epic Fantasy Adventure by Brad Towers

Author:Brad Towers [Towers, Brad]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-09-12T00:00:00+00:00

Divide et Impera

The main hall of Augustus’s temple was a true wonder of architecture, with eight massive stone columns supporting a high dome that weighed as much as a small hill and had been built by the hand of man alone. On a good day, the Lady would have stopped to admire such a great feat of engineering. But this was not a good day.

She strode forward, her bare footsteps echoing on the marble floor. The orange and white tiles were cold to the touch, but that did not bother her. Not as much as the self-satisfied grin on Augustus’s face.

He waited at the feet of his likeness. The monstrous statue was forty feet tall, and carved from a single block of marble, which Augustus himself had transported to Lux Aeterna for the purpose five centuries earlier.

Oh, how she longed to slap him. And the Lady slapped hard, even for a goddess. But she couldn’t lay her hand on him in anger. An ancient Godly Pact made it impossible.

Instead, she gave him her most vicious glare as she advanced. “Well?”

His smile turned warmer. “It’s good to see you again, Lady. You look radiant.”

She did not dignify that with a reply.

“Your glamor,” he said. “It’s stronger than ever.”

Of course he’d noticed. And she couldn’t drop it, not anymore. Worse, he probably thought she was using it for his benefit.

“Why did you betray me, Augustus?” Her voice echoed off the walls. It was unladylike to shout in his temple, but they were alone, and the hall was warded. No human ear would hear their words.

He raised an eyebrow in that way she’d always detested. “I’ve got a better question, my dear. How did I betray you?”

“You offer me a pact of non-aggression. Nothing more. And then you turn around and ally yourself with Njord and his thieving ilk. And that, right after you’ve seen them blast my knights apart with those murderous cannons!”

He raised his hand in a pacifying gesture. “It’s because I saw those cannons in action that I offered him an alliance. I couldn’t have them rip my own people to shreds, nor tear down my city walls. Better yet, they’ll do wonders against the orcs.”

“You could have just taken the blasted things.”

“Queen Marion tried that. It didn’t go so well for her.”

As if she needed a reminder. “Marion met them in an honest battle, as is our way. And she only failed because of that madman Gunnar and his inventions. But you’re the trickster god. You could have found a different way.”

Augustus’s countenance was serious when he replied. “Don’t think for one second that the thought didn’t cross my mind. Yet this was the best way. I get the cannons, and the men to use them, and the knowledge to make more powder if they run out. Besides, my people get the goodwill of the sea god, if he happens to be the winner of this contest. Though I wouldn’t wager much on his chances, not with the way I expect Queen Frida to expose herself in battle.

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