I watched Sama Rantha pop away. A second later, there was a scream as a figure in black clothes abruptly materialized from about a hundred yards above the ground. He wailed all the way down, flailing awkwardly as he tried to prevent himself from falling and utterly failed in Sama’s Null Interdiction.

Sama came skating back, the fellow with a lot of broken limbs and other important bones slung over her shoulder, acting very inconsiderate of his injuries. She tossed him down on the Disk I waved up for him, and sat back down to enjoy her freshly-iced whiskey again.

I flicked a finger at the olive-skinned man, who shuddered and came awake as I repaired the damage to his head. Didn’t do anything for his forty-three broken bones, including his back, but too bad for him.

“I advise you not to move, Mr. Vidocci,” I said cordially, sipping at my Sama’s Sunny Special Series, complete with little umbrella, a slice each of Augustine Lemon and Tartheart Lime, and two Dawndrop Cherries. Total girly drink, utterly heavenly. Knock you flat on your ass without you having the slightest idea how you got drunk, too.

He grimaced against the pain of broken bones poking through his flesh and skin. He also clawed for his magic, but Sama’s Null was up, and he didn’t have anywhere near the Caster Level to overcome that. He tried to keep his face unmoved, but I could see the fear deep in his eyes, mainly because just a glance from Sama was making him piss his pants. But it was also because the Judgment of Heaven was reflected in my silver eyes, courtesy of an Aura of Menace, and he was suddenly a powerless worm in front of us.

“How... How do you know my name?” he gasped, and there was an instant spike of pain that shut him up.

“You are not the one asking questions here, sir,” I told him politely. “You ARE the sixth Archmage sent out to get rid of me, however. Congratulations. In the interest of keeping score, did the Curia send you, or the Synod through back doors? They both employ Black Magic users, so I really can’t tell when it comes to the expensive independents.”

He stared at me for a long moment, and I tilted my head an inch.

His soul nearly broke as my Will tweaked his brain. He convulsed, going paler than a sheet as he stared at me in horror.

“Yes, that’s right. I can literally kill you with a thought. You are not a powerful Archmage to me, you are a victim.

“I can also cut off your head and ask my questions of your enslaved soul, you don’t have to be living for this process to continue. I will be kind enough to give you the option. Do you want to answer my questions and live, or die and answer my questions then?”

He swallowed, able to feel I was telling him the absolute Truth as his soul shriveled inside of him.

“I would like to live...” he managed to say hoarsely.

I glanced at Sama, who shrugged. “Yes, it’s more trouble, but I can use him. Sorry to impose,” she smiled, obviously not sorry in the slightest.

Eight canines gleamed, and killing intent constrained inside a Will of solid steel focused on him, towering to the skies.

I ignored the dribble coming out of his pants. “Synod or Curia?” I asked him.

“Probably the Synod. The contract was made through contact with the Scarezni Family, who are tight with them,” he rasped.

“Pawlo Scarenzi’s batman Fillippi is an agent of the Dark Curia. Was he involved?” Sama asked off-handedly.

Mr. Vidocci’s left eye twitched. “He was...” he admitted hollowly. It didn’t truly make any difference to him, money was money, but the simple fact she knew that...

“So, the Synod, on the instigation of the Black Curia. How wonderful!” Sama smiled at him, and thousands died behind her eyes. He wilted right in front of me, horribly aware he wasn’t a killer in her eyes, just a cowardly backstabber.

“A trip to Sicilia, coming up?” I asked her, and she just tilted her head, heavens-blue eyes a-twinkle with expectation.

“I sense volunteers eager to serve in Mozambique are ready and waiting to be found!” Meaning she’d round up the bosses, I’d have to Geas them to serve, and then send them off to spend the Scarezni fortune supporting the Shoreguards and littoral zones of the beleaguered African nation.

“Mr. Vidocci, you’re going to be sent to Central America and one of Coralost’s holdings there, to serve as its defender, enforcer, and wise and honorable elder, probably for the rest of your life.” He just stared at me in disbelief. “You will be allowed to access your fortune and bring it with you, which might be important if you want to build the place up and make it someplace more comfortable for yourself.

“Importantly, however, you will probably want some help, as it’s a rather dangerous place to be defending alone.

“So, in the interest of heroically defending a small community of your fellow Humans from invasions from the sea, why don’t you tell us all about the small, private organization of assassins you belong to, where we might find them, who they are, which ones among them might want to join you in making a nice, safe place for people to live on and prosper, and which of them you really don’t care what happens to.

“Also, are there any particularly profitable secrets you know that you have never dared to act on? I’m assuming a man as intelligent and skilled as yourself would want as many resources available to him as possible, and we’ll be happy to pass such righteously-revealed earnings along to the person who clued us into them.”

“Ill-gotten gains are always the best to steal away from the disbelieving clutches of their owners,” Sama agreed sagely, sitting back and giving him a view of flawless bronzed legs that made the fellow swallow despite his situation.

His dark eyes darted back and forth between us, trying to measure us, see what made us tick, but they only revealed that he was completely out of his depth in this game.

He could also tell that he was going to live if he spoke, and it was Truth. He knew it deep down in his soul. He would have to fight, sure, he might even be a virtual slave... but he would be alive.

And, if he had his fortune available, he might even be fairly comfortable while he lived on...

“I agree to any and all of your terms,” he rasped slowly, making me raise my eyebrow as I regarded him.

“A very brave statement, Mr. Vidocci,” I noted to him. “Impressive.”

“I find myself trusting your words more than those of my own father,” he managed to reply painfully. “It is a strange feeling...”

I leaned forward as his Disk drifted closer, the tip of my finger glowing with Magic of a color he was not familiar with. “Mr. Vidocci,” I told him seriously, keeping his eyes as I placed that finger on his forehead, “there may be Hope for you yet.”

If his soul had shuddered under the force of my poking him, now it threatened to melt under The Light shining down upon him, revealing all his faults and sins, the dirt and filth of his entire life laid bare... and that despite it all, in the face of every single foul thing he had done in his life, there was still a Light he could grasp onto, if he chose to do so.

Unable to control himself, the cold-blooded killer began to cry...

---------

It was an utterly unremarkable stretch of water in the northern reaches of the Bering Sea, north of the Aleutians.

Leviathan Emperor had no fixed territory per se, but generally restricted Himself to the northern stretches of the Pacific and Atlantic, and only went into hibernation there. Few of the Aquatic Emperors or their Tribes dared to settle in the areas He frequented, because Him or his Tribe would happily eat them, being particularly fond of the squid and octopi Tribes of various sorts.

The Whales, like all creatures of the seas, were strong in Water. But Whales had evolved both the Sound and Psychic Elements as they grew stronger, naturally protecting themselves against the powers of the Aquatic Bloodlines, and so were their natural enemies. Even the non-carnivorous Whales had little to fear from the Tentacled Races, be they descended from Kraken Emperor or not.

The fact such Tribes were nobles among Aquatic creatures made not the slightest difference to the Whales. The Cachalots still chomped on them without much hesitation.

I came down on Lightning, easy to sense and see, at the appropriate time and place, standing in the cold and stormy air over the rough waves and seas below. I could feel the power of The Great Flood all around, so annoying, but I just held Noble and waited.

He couldn’t fail to sense me. After all, I had the Wills of multiple Emperors still hanging from Noble, as well as my first two Luan Feathers. The Imperial Luans shared space with their Beast Realm lessers, while Ice and Fire Phoenix Emperors had bluntly told me to wear their Tokens proudly. I was openly a Vassal of Thunderbird based right on where I lived, and so a black and white feather also floated grimly there among the scintillating hues of Fire and Ice.

A single silken white braid of Wolf fur, glittering slightly with faint stars at the edge of the eye, also hung from Noble now.

I wasn’t asked to show these, nor had I requested them; I’d been Told to do so. I had the favor of multiple Great Beasts, for their reasons, not mine.

Flowing Silver Emperor would have done the same, but was dissatisfied with Marking a stone or something with His will, and His fur wouldn’t remain in the mortal plane. He was ruminating on how best to show He was also still my lord... and not incidentally, that He, of all Emperors of the Beast Realm, had influence in the Mortal Realm!

Water Mana swirled below me, and suddenly He was there.

He was two bloody thousand feet long, which meant massing tens of thousands of tons, but He inserted Himself into the location so smoothly there wasn’t a single displaced wave of water, which was incredibly spooky. No warning, save a subtle pulse of magic you had to recognize was something special happening, and He was just abruptly here.

It was downright terrifying, Him being able to just Be There, Waterjumping into position so perfectly. No wonder older Emperors were so scared of Him and His Tribe. If the other Whales could pull off that stunt, despite being so damn big, their ability to sneak-attack the other Tribes of the oceans had to be monstrous. I had to smile widely at the thought, as the Whales had never had problems with or desire for the Land.

I could also see why Sea Emperor chased Him off and kept a wary eye on Him.

He broke the surface of the water below me and rose rapidly right up to the surface, as buoyant as a soap bubble. In a second He was right up next to me on my Disk, one dark eye as tall as I was regarding me curiously.

“Sage Healer Fae pays respects to Leviathan Emperor!” I announced immediately, going down to one knee promptly.

His Aura broke across me, but had absolutely no effect at all, which I knew He could sense instantly.

“THE FAVOR OF MULTIPLE EMPERORS UPON A SINGLE HUMAN.” The Whale’s magnificent bass rumbled in the sea and sky with the strength of all the oceans, and the waves below lost half their strength instantly. “THUNDERBIRD BUT ONE OF THEM. INTERESTING. WHY DID YOU WISH TO SPEAK TO ME, LITTLE HUMAN? THE HUMANS HAVE FEW INTERACTIONS WITH THE WHALES,” His slow, deep words rolled forth at measured pace.

“This one is attempting to interest Leviathan Emperor in a great Event which would be of great help to Humans and a welcome opportunity for the Whales! The Land Emperors have decreed that they will not give us any aid against The Great Flood of Ice Emperor for another four years yet, but that Decree spoke not of the Emperors of the Seas!

“In addition, White Death Wolf Emperor and His vassals have agreed to not contest Leviathan Emperor establishing His Domain under the North Pole of the world, and were wondering if He might be interested in doing so?”