Caliban staggered forward, amazed by what he saw in Cribella’s abdomen. Every facet presented a similar image. Kobolds putting down their axes or turning them upon the Ghul around them. He saw the Pryderi lose heart without the guidance of Arinna Brine. He saw the Myrran forces swarm over the remaining Cabal and he saw the sun break through the clouds and bathe Usnach in its glory.
‘How can this be?’ Caliban gasped. ‘How could I lose?’
There was no doubting the defeat. It was captured in countless facets upon Cribella’s shimmering body.
He turned to face the statue but Remiel was no longer there. He was standing beside him with the green serpent still around his neck. The beast was gnashing away at Remiel’s skin but he didn’t seem to care. Although his face and body were coated in blood, he had a contented look upon his face. He was at peace.
‘Come my brother,’ he said as he reached out for Caliban. ‘Let’s leave this world as we entered it – together.’
‘No!’ shouted Caliban hysterically. ‘This was my revenge! Not yours! Not yours!’
‘This is not revenge, Caliban,’ Remiel said softly. ‘It is something else. Something akin to pity.’
Caliban screamed as Remiel pulled him close. Hundreds of eyes opened across the serpent’s body and not one of them regarded Caliban with any mercy. The coils of the beast wound their way around Caliban’s neck and torso and the twins became locked in a bloody embrace from which there would be no release.
When Gerriod, Gamelyn, Trypp, Lara and Samuel Melkin entered the cavern later than day, the green serpent was gone. It had slithered away leaving behind a bloody trail that no-one saw a need to follow. There wasn’t much left of the bodies of the Grayson twins. The only thing that remained was a collection of bones that lay at the base of their father’s statue.
‘Let’s go,’ Lara said as the distant sound of crying children floated through the Endless. ‘Let’s get these babies back to their mothers.’
