Page 136 of The Garnet Daughter
She speaks in the language of the gods, her tone calm even as she refers to Ferren, whose absence was noted when she looked to 99, sensing it through him somehow.
“Why have you come?”
“To witness. I am the keeper of the balance,” she says proudly.
I inhale, a frustrated rage I am not familiar with rising within me. “I know what you are, but why do you speak with First Son, my enemy?”
“An attempt to reason with the side that will now tip the scales too far for my repair. My work is vast, and I have been gone too long.”
“To reason with First Son?” I huff. “After they have done this?”
“He searches for his daughters,” she hisses. “If he has them, then he has no true need to fight. The city and the lives within it will be spared.”
A sense of dread spreads across my skin, sinking into every pore and poisoning me. He wants me to give myself up to save the city?
“This is what you suggested to him?” I ask.
“No, this is a deal he struck. His weapons are greater than the ones your army has. Many will die, more than you can imagine. Many trees will grow where their bodies fertilize the sand.”
I look back at August standing among 99 and Selene. They observe, only understanding my own words and not the terrifying proposition Omnesis has brought us to save the city.
“It will take my scales a thousand years to tilt back after this battle if you do not surrender.”
“Is that why you tell me this, simply because you don’t want to fix our aftermath?” I spit.
“Yes, and because now I am no longer in your debt. The balance between us is restored. Freedom for capture,” she says as if it hurts her, bowing her head and averting her eyes in such a human way, I forget she does not have a human face at all.
“We are balanced then,” I agree.
“You have until the conjunction peaks. After that, he will attack again.” She turns away from me, leaving an air of frustration lingering between us and once again unfurling her wings to take off, soaring downward into the valley and disappearing into the darkness she came from.
99 takes us to one of the still standing towers along the wall to speak about my visit from Omnesis away from others. However, knowing the towers are being targeted keeps me from feeling safe within the stone walls. He tells us that he has received news that Lord General has been gravely wounded during the attack, leaving 99 as the sole leader of the Viathan army in his stead.
August holds my hand, stroking with his thumb, sensing the anxiety soaring through me as I tell them every word Omnesis said, and then repeating it again, knowing 99 will ask for such.
“It was pleased Ferren had left Cosima?” Selene asks.
I nod. “It suggested we separate. She noticed Ferren’s absence when she was not standing next to 99.” When I glance at him, he heaves a breath like my words are a painful reminder.
“Well, we are not surrendering you to First Son. Omnesis cannot predict the conclusion of this battle. . . can she?” August starts out very sure, and then slowly trails off, stepping closer, uncertain of Omnesis’s abilities.
“She said they had weapons far more advanced than Viathan’s,” I report.
“He came for two of you. If he believes you are both here in the city still, will he not realize Ferren is gone when he sees only one?” Selene points out.
“I’m not sure,” I answer firmly. “That is why I should go now, long before the conjunction, so he believes the other woman is still considering. I can draw his army forward and then fold at the last moment, just as planned. Nothing has changed.”
August shakes his head. “Everything has changed. You can’t truly be contemplating giving yourself up.”
“No, of course not, but you both said they need to be closer, so I will bring him closer. It’s the only way to ensure no one else dies. He has already shown us he can bypass the ward. First Mother only knows what else he can do with that pillar.”
“She could stall them until we shut down the beacon so it can’t be used against us again,” 99 offers.
“It’s still too dangerous to get that close,” August snaps.
“He doesn’t want to kill me.”
“How can you be certain?” 99 interjects.
