“Two against two?” Naomi pouted. “What’s the fun in that? I’d appreciate a little challenge. The three of you against the two of us.”
Jaks’ gaze gleamed. “You sure about that? Dakshina’s ranked #5. We’d hate to humiliate you in front of everyone.”
“Oh, yes,” purred Naomi. “That sounds like an excellent way to pass the time.”
“Naomi,” began Scorio.
“Hmm?” She turned to him with feigned politeness. “You said I should take care of myself? Nothing like a friendly bout to keep our skills fresh. Right, Jaks?”
“Right.” Jaks was staring at Naomi with a puzzled frown. “Then how about we meet in the caldera in Spire #3? It’s usually empty and will give us plenty of space.”
“We’re in Spire #1?” asked Scorio. Jaks nodded. “And there’s nobody in the queen’s quarters off Spire #3?”
“Cold and dead,” said Jaks. “See you there in a couple of hours? I’ll need to find us a judge.”
“Deal,” said Naomi. “But what does this bout entail?”
“Oh, nothing too extreme.” Jaks affected nonchalance. “How about we go till one team has surrendered or been knocked out? We’re Flame Vaults. We know how to fight now without really hurting each other, right?”
“Oh, yes,” said Naomi. “Absolutely. You’ve got nothing to be worried about.”
“Good.” Again Jaks frowned at Naomi, and only then did she look up to see the deep cuts that ran along the walls. “We’ll… see you soon.”
When she left Scorio glanced at his friend. “You couldn’t have been creepier if you’d tried.”
“Me?” Naomi pretended surprise. “I’m just building good relations with the other Great Souls. Haven’t you always told me I should be friendlier?”
Scorio sighed and leaned his head back. “Right. This is exactly what I meant.”
“Oh, come on.” Naomi elbowed him. “This will just be a bit of harmless fun. What could go wrong?”
* * *
The Fury Spires definitely took notice of the upcoming Testament. When Naomi and Scorio departed their cluster for Spire #3, the air in the tunnels fairly thrummed with excited conversation that stilled whenever they ran into a knot of people heading in the same direction.
“Looks like word’s gotten out,” said Scorio dryly. “Didn’t I suggest we keep a low profile?”
A young man had been waiting for them just outside their tunnel, and he fell in hurriedly beside them.
Naomi scoffed. “We’re famous. Or infamous. Everyone knew we were here the moment we arrived. Now everybody wants to see if we’re all that we’ve been portrayed to be.”
“Excuse me?” said the young guy.
“Three against two,” said Scorio. “And we don’t even know their power sets. Remember how much trouble we had against Evelyn due to her hair power? What if one of them has something similar?”
“Won’t be a problem.” Naomi marched forward with sublime confidence. “They’re just Flame Vaults.”
“Hello?” tried the kid again. “Hey! Right here!”
“We’re just Flame Vaults.”
“No,” she said firmly. “We’re not.”
“Damn it.” The kid sighed and fell behind. “I’ll try you both again later.”
It felt like hundreds of Great Souls were making their way over to the connecting spire. The tunnels, narrow to begin with, felt choked, and traffic slowed. Nobody seemed to mind. Scorio and Naomi kept a low profile, and thus were able to slip along for the most part without being noticed. It helped that most people didn’t even know what they looked like.
As a result, they overheard snippets of conversation along the way.
“… that he’s part fiend. No, I’m serious! It’s said that he was cast through the Final Door because of his fiend blood, but because of it he not only survived, but grew powerful enough to tackle Imogen the Woe…”
“…didn’t she attend the Academy? I heard she washed out, right? Stopped going to class? Probably couldn’t keep up, though it’s not her fault. Not like she was reincarnated like the rest of us…”
“…rewarded for murdering a Pyre Lord. What manner of message is that? If I were higher ranked, I’d have executed him on principle. A Pyre Lord is a thousand times more useful against the Blood Ox than another pair of Flame Vaults…”
“…didn’t they attack The Celestial Coffer? And then kill the Manticore crew in revenge when their cover was blown?”
Scorio’s jaw set as he overhead more and more speculation, and he could feel Naomi’s fury deepening once more.
Just up ahead, a trio of Great Souls were laughing and listening to a fourth, their ringleader.
“…you know he’s turning into a True Fiend, right? That’s what I heard, and he’s got her following him around to keep him satisfied at night, because apparently that’s her Flame Vault power, driving men mad with pleasure.”
One of the man’s companions glanced back and met Scorio’s eyes. He paled and shook his friend’s arm. “Gevlar.”
“No, no, it’s true!” Gevlar pulled his arm free. “That’s why she was kept at the Academy for as long as she -”
The Nightmare Lady’s great blade slid past his shoulder and curled around to press its wicked edge against his throat, forcing him to stop abruptly.
Gevlar made a gurgling sound as he cut himself, staggered back, then spun around to stare at the Nightmare Lady looming over him.
“You were just talking about me,” she hissed, leaning down so that her gaunt, cadaverous face came within inches of his own. “What was that you were saying about my powers?”
“I… I…” Gevlar tried to draw back but ran into her tail. His three companions scattered back, looking terrified.
“Yes?” The Nightmare Lady cocked her head quizzically to one side. “Something about why I was kept at the Academy?”
“Oh, shit,” said Gevlar weakly.
“Looks like you have a choice.” Scorio‘s tone was as cold as iron. “You apologize for slandering her, or fight. Which will it be?”
“I’m sorry.” He couldn’t get the words out fast enough. “It’s just what I heard, I didn’t come up with it, I’m so sorry, I had no idea -”
“Enough. Hold still.”
“Hold… what?”
“Still.” Her tail descended from above, and its point drew a red line slowly down his brow, skipped over his eye, then cut a hair-thin gash down his cheek. “The next time you think to repeat baseless rumors, remember this. Now go before I cut a piece of you off and gag you with it.”
Gevlar staggered back, beads of blood welling up along the cut, then turned and raced down the tunnel, his friends chasing after him and throwing desperate glances back.
“There.” Naomi shrank back to her human form and drew her hair back behind one ear. “That was satisfying.”
“Maybe we should hold a town hall meeting,” said Scorio, falling in beside her again. “Set the rumors straight.”
“Don’t bother,” said Naomi. “Even if we did they probably wouldn’t believe us, or they’d just twist our words. The only way to win is to grow more powerful. People like that understand only one thing, and that’s success.”
“Just like Plassus and Vermina,” said Scorio. “We were pardoned for killing Praximar because we pulled it off. Maybe that’s all Great Souls understand. Strength equals virtue.”
“Strength equals virtue,” said Naomi, testing the words. “I like that. I might have those words sewn into the back of my robe.”
Scorio scoffed. “You go through robes too quickly.”
“Hmm. Fair point.”
They’d taken a circuitous route by accident, and only rejoined the main through-tunnel after spinning off around Spire #3’s mostly abandoned living quarters. Coming back around, they ascended a ramp and rose toward a hubbub of conversation.
The caldera here was well lit. Golden globes were affixed to the walls so that all was lit with their diffused radiation, and a large crowd had gathered. People were still trickling in from side tunnels, and Scorio recognized very few faces. Amity was to one side, surrounded by a large crowd, while Jaks, Dakshina, and Yuze were in the center of the caldera, clearly the focus of attention.