Infinity Blade: Redemption by Brandon Sanderson Page A

waving toward Siris. “You think that giving the empire to Ausar here will be any different?”
    “He won’t rule.”
    “Oh?” the God King asked. “I find that . . . unlikely. He has always loved to rule. He’s never been good at it, granted, but he does love it. Don’t you, Ausar?”
    Siris didn’t reply, his lips a tight line.
    “Regardless,” the God King said, “it isn’t important now. First we need to defeat the Worker. Anyone’s rule would be better than the chaos and misery he has sewn since his return. Mortals or not, these are my people. I will not abandon them. We can discuss the nature of our . . . alliance later.”
    “I don’t trust you, Raidriar,” Siris said.
    “I should hope not! You’re a fool, but not that big a fool. But you also know that I will keep my word. So I vow to you that I won’t move against you, as long as the Worker rules. I will have my man set up this equipment as-is, installing no hidden subroutines, no Q.I.P. alteration algorithms. We will be allies until our common enemy falls.”
    Siris met the God King’s eyes.
    “You know this to be the right course,” Raidriar said. “Just as I knew you would come here. As soon as I considered, I knew where to find you.”
    “Fine,” Siris said, holding out a hand. “But the equipment stays under my control. You swear not to use it without my approval.”
    “Fine,” the God King said, sounding annoyed within his helm.
    “We need a place the Worker won’t think to look for us,” Siris said. “Do you know of any such place? A place secret even from those who work with us, to preserve a layer of security.”
    “Well,” the God King said as they clasped hands. “I do have a few hideouts that were not in my records. You can choose one of many.”
    Isa stared at them both, horrified. “This can’t possibly be right, Siris,” she said.
    The God King looked to her. “Isn’t she the one who killed you with that crossbow bolt, all those months ago?”
    “Yes,” Siris said.
    “I suppose I have to like her, then. I assume you’ve chosen her to be first.”
    “First?” Isa said. “First what?”
    “He didn’t tell you?” the God King said, sounding amused. “About this place?”
    “What about this place?” Isa asked.
    “Raidriar . . .” Siris said.
    “First? First what? ” Isa snapped.
    “You were going to have to tell her eventually, Ausar,” the God King said, strolling through the room, nodding toward the rebirthing tub and equipment. “Best to get it over with quickly. Like an execution—one swift chop.”
    Siris sighed.
    Isa looked to him. “What’s he talking about?” she asked, feeling a chill.
    “This isn’t just a rebirthing chamber, Isa,” Siris said. “It’s a Pinnacle of Sanctification.”
    “A what?”
    “A device for making new Deathless, child,” the God King said, his voice echoing in the metallic room as he turned toward her. “Your hero plans to create his own pantheon of immortals—and you are to be the first of their ranks.”



CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
    SIRIS WATCHED the fire flutter and shake as the sea winds blew across it. Behind him, a cliffside set with ancient blocks formed a doorway cut into the stone. Majestic, only the ruins of this place remained. Isa’s people had draped tents between the half-fallen rocks, creating a semblance of civilization.
    Water lapped against the shore nearby. Siris did not know much of the ocean, even though he’d grown up on what was essentially a very large island. This sheltered location was not an area he had ever traveled. He got the sense that few came this way. The God King’s lair here, chosen by Siris from among those offered, was a hidden place he claimed that even the Worker wouldn’t know about. A location locked only in his own memory.
    Soldiers huddled nearby around their own fire. Not all of their force, only a select few. They couldn’t hide a full army here; just the equipment. The majority of the troops would