Infinity Blade 02 - Redemption

the metallic hallway, rode the elevator up to the main floor, and let the guard shove him out into the rain again. He started walking.
    And did not stop.

CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
    ISA’S EYES didn’t itch.
    She walked along the rocky shore near the God King’s hideout, in awe. Ever since she’d been a little girl, her eyes had itched in the spring. It was just something that happened to her. She’d learned to live with it. She hardly noticed it anymore.
    Except now it was gone. In its place was energy . She no longer felt the muddled drowsiness that sometimes struck in late afternoon. She didn’t feel lethargic after sitting for a long time. She didn’t sneeze. Her nostrils, both of them, were perpetually unclogged.
    Heaven above, she thought, holding her hand up before herself. This is ecstasy. Not a false ecstasy, like the buzz from something narcotic. No, this was a thrill for life, a sense of really living that she’d never known.
    Being Deathless was about more than just not dying. She felt as if she could run a hundred miles and barely break a sweat.
    Boots on the rocks. She spun to find the God King strolling nearby, wearing his stolen armor. He stopped, hands behind his back.
    Damn him. He knew.
    “We have been . . . summoned,” he said.
    “What?”
    “To the rebel village. Your man wishes you and me to meet him there.”
    “The original plan was for him to meet us back here.”
    “So it was. He won’t say why we are to return, only that we are.” The God King did not make a move to walk away.
    “Well, I suppose we should be off, then,” she said, turning and walking toward the dock, where a commandeered ship waited. It could get them near to the village in under a day, and a few hours more of riding would bring them to the meeting point.
    “Finding it hard to despise,” the God King asked, “that which blesses you so?”
    She said nothing.
    “You are better than them now,” he said. “These lesser beings.”
    “Don’t be stupid,” she said, not looking at him as she walked past.
    “Will you deny facts?” he asked, sounding amused. “Will you deny that you are superior? It is apparent what you are.”
    “I have a stronger body,” she said, stopping. “That doesn’t make me superior.”
    “And what does?” Raidriar asked. “Better understanding? Wisdom granted by eons of life? A perspective that no mortal can hope to understand.” He walked up beside her. “This is why we rule. It is simple, it is logical, and it is purposeful. Equality is a sham. There must be kings—so why not have them be men and women who are truly distinct—privileged not just by a fluke of birth, but by capacity, ability, and knowledge? Something to think on as you hate me.”
    He walked on toward the ship.
    SIRIS RODE his horse hard.
    Harder than was wise. Harder than the beast would be able to take.
    Hell take me, he thought. Oh, seven. Worker, no . . .
    ISA AND the God King arrived at the village before Siris returned, so it seemed she would have to wait to discover the meaning of his cryptic message.
    She walked among the people, returning their waves, but inside feeling a traitor. Not for what she’d done, but because of how much she enjoyed what she had become. Even food tasted better. She had slept soundly last night, and had woken wonderfully refreshed
    At one point during the trip, she’d burned herself on the rope of the rigging. The wound had healed of its own avail within the hour. This was marvelous, this was wonderful .
    And at the end of it all, guilty though she felt, at least one thing good came of it. She found that, finally, her grudge against Siris—and what he was—evaporated. She could not blame him for being Deathless.
    If she got her way, everyone would know this wondrous state eventually. Now that she’d embraced it, she realized that was the only true answer to this mess.
    Make everyone Deathless. Then, Raidriar’s arguments held no weight. Then, she would never need to feel guilty again. She hastened to the command center to tell Lux of the plan.
    She made it halfway before the fire began to rain down from the heavens.
    EXPLOSIONS ON the horizon.
    “No!” Siris screamed. He ran, frantic, helpless—his horse dead on the steppes somewhere behind him. He’d long since outpaced Terr and TEL.
    The ground shook. Light flashed in the evening darkness. Again and again.
    Destruction.
    Death.
    He’d failed.
    The rebellion was no more.

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
    SIRIS WALKED, head