The Magelands Epic: Renegade Gods (Book 8) Read online

  Renegade Gods

  Christopher Mitchell is the author of the epic fantasy series The Magelands. He studied in Edinburgh before living for several years in the Middle East and Greece, where he taught English. He returned to study classics and Greek tragedy and lives in Fife, Scotland with his wife and their four children.

  By Christopher Mitchell

  The Magelands Origins

  Retreat of the Kell

  The Trials of Daphne Holdfast

  From the Ashes

  The Magelands Epic

  The Queen’s Executioner

  The Severed City

  Needs of the Empire

  Sacrifice

  Fragile Empire

  Storm Mage

  Soulwitch Rises

  Renegade Gods

  The Magelands Eternal Siege

  The Mortal Blade

  The Dragon’s Blade

  The Prince’s Blade

  Copyright © Christopher Mitchell 2020

  Cover by Miblart

  Cover Copyright © Brigdomin Books Ltd 2020

  Christopher Mitchell asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems (except for the use of brief quotations in a book review), if you would like permission to use material from the book please contact [email protected]

  Brigdomin Books Ltd

  First Edition, August 2020

  Ebook Edition © August 2020

  ISBN 978-1-912879-32-8

  For Cal

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank the following for all their support during the writing of the Magelands - my wife, Lisa Mitchell, who read every chapter as soon as it was drafted and kept me going in the right direction; my parents for their unstinting support; Amy Tavendale, Sandra and Donna Wheat and Vicky Williams for reading the books in their early stages; James Aitken for his encouragement; and the Film Club for their support.

  Thanks also to my Magelanders ARC team, for all your help during the last few weeks before publication.

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  Dramatis Personae

  The Holdfasts

  Daphne Holdfast, Holder Fast

  Karalyn Holdfast, Elder daughter, 20

  Keir Holdfast, Elder son, 17

  Kelsey Holdfast, Younger daughter, 16

  Corthie Holdfast, Younger son, 14

  Cole Holdfast, Son of Keir and Jemma

  Celine Holdfast, Daphne's sister-in-law

  Jemma of Hold Fast, Cole’s mother

  Holdings

  Sable Blackhold, Agent

  Samuel, Hold Fast Servant

  Tabitha, Hold Fast Servant

  Golspie, Hold Fast Servant

  Gerald, Hold Fast Servant

  Amber Holdsmith, Imperial Officer

  Norris, Imperial Marine

  Jasper, Imperial Marine

  Conrad, Imperial Marine

  Kellach Brigdomin

  Bridget, Empress of the World

  Calder, Herald of the Empire

  Brogan, Imperial Marine

  Dina, Imperial Marine Officer

  Lennox, Former Army of Pyre

  Darine, Former Army of Pyre

  Carrie, Former Army of Pyre

  Leisha, Former Army of Pyre

  Kelpie, Owner of World’s End

  Bernie, Tavern-owner, Liberton

  Rahain

  Nadia, Refugee from Rahain

  Rakanese

  Ravi, Diamond Mage

  Dodi, Imperial Dockyard Worker

  Shella, Flow Mage & Princess

  Sanang

  Thorn, Hedgewitch

  Acorn, Hedgewitch, Thorn's Sister

  The Archmages

  Agatha

  Asher

  Witten

  Racine

  Belinda

  (Gregor)

  (Gorman)

  The Peoples of the Star Continent

  There are five distinct peoples inhabiting the Star Continent. Three are descended from apes, one from reptiles, and one from amphibians. Their evolutionary trajectories have converged, and all five are clearly ‘humanoid’, though physical differences remain.

  1. The Holdings – the closest to our own world’s Homo sapiens. Excepting the one in ten of the population with mage powers, they are completely human. The Holdings sub-continent drifted south from the equator, and the people that inhabit the Realm are dark-skinned as a consequence. They are shorter than the Kellach Brigdomin, but taller than the Rakanese.

  2. The Rakanese – descended from amphibians, but appear human, except for the fact that they have slightly larger eyes, and are generally shorter than Holdings people. They are descendants of a far larger population that once covered a vast area, and consequently their skin-colour ranges from pale to dark. Mothers gestate their young for only four months, before giving birth in warm spawn-pools, where the infants swim and feed for a further five months. A dozen are born in an average spawning.

  3. The Rahain – descended from reptiles. Appear human, except for two differences. Firstly, their eyes have vertical pupils, and are often coloured yellow or green, and, secondly, their tongues have a vestigial fork or cleft at their tip. Their heights are comparable to the Holdings and the Sanang. Skin-colour tends to be pale, as the majority are cavern-dwellers. Their skin retains a slight appearance of scales, and they have no fingerprints. They are the furthest from our world’s humans.

  4. The Kellach Brigdomin – descended from apes, and very similar to the Holdings, they are the second closest to our world’s humans. Their distinguishing traits are height (they are the tallest of the five peoples), pale skin (their sub-continent drifted north from a much colder region), and immunity to most diseases, toxins and illnesses. They are also marked by the fact that mothers give birth to twins in the majority of cases.

  5. The Sanang – descended from apes, but evolved in the forest, rather than on the open plains that produced the Holdings. As a consequence, their upper arms and shoulders are wider and stronger than those of people from the Holdings or Rahain. They are pale-skinned, their sub-continent having arrived from colder climates in the south, and they occupy the same range of heights as the Holdings and Rahain. The males bear some traits of earlier Homo sapiens, such as a sloping forehead and a strong jaw-line, but the brains of the Sanang are as advanced as those of the other four peoples of the continent.

  Contents

  1. The Twins

  2. Blue

  3. Small Comfort

  4. The Boathouse

  5. Betrayal

  6. Whisky with the Empress

  7. Confessional

  8. Conflicted

  9. Feral

  10. Ethics

  11. Running Out

  12. Motherhood

  13. A Level Field

  14. Recidivism

  15. Three’s Company

  16. Two Hours in Rainsby

  17. The Love that Binds

  18. The Last Days of Autumn

  19. Royal Blood

  20. Honour Satisfie
d

  21. Cornered

  22. Rough Waters

  23. The Right Amount of Remorse

  24. Time to Heal

  25. Power Vacuum

  26. In Sight

  27. Return to the Fold

  28. Coming of Age

  29. The Empty Throne

  30. Peace of Mind

  31. Spare

  32. Broken

  33. Apotheosis

  34. Year’s End

  Author’s Notes

  The Magelands Series

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  Chapter 1

  The Twins

  Colsbury Castle, Republic of the Holdings – 30th Day, Last Third Summer 526

  ‘How did we get here?’ said Darine, her eyes gazing over the mountainside.

  ‘Good question,’ said Carrie. She pointed down the slope. ‘See that wee path there?’

  Lennox laughed despite the nerves churning his stomach.

  Darine frowned at the two of them. ‘Aye, fine, ya pair of smartarses. You know what I mean. A couple of years ago the three of us were wearing Army of Pyre uniforms, and now we’re living and working next to the most powerful family in the empire; our sworn enemies.’

  ‘Deserting was one of the best things we ever did,’ said Lennox, feeling the warmth of the afternoon sun on his arms and face.

  ‘One of the best?’ said Darine.

  He shrugged. ‘Meeting Karalyn was the best for me.’

  ‘Even though she hates you?’ said Carrie.

  ‘She doesn’t hate him,’ said Darine.

  Carrie raised an eyebrow.

  ‘Aye, alright,’ said Darine, ‘she does; but she loves him too. It’s complicated.’

  Lennox kept his eyes on the view of the Barrier Mountains stretching out before them. Ten miles to the south spread the foothills and meadows of the Plateau, while the flat plains of the Holdings began twenty miles to the north. At the bottom of the hillside where they sat was the little village of Colsbury, on the shores of a diamond-shaped lake, its still waters reflecting the green and brown sides of the mountains that surrounded it. Pine forests covered the lower slopes; above them, the summits were rocky and bare.

  The landscape was beautiful, but he missed Kellach Brigdomin. More than that, he missed the life he and Karalyn had shared there. It had all been so simple. Darine was right; Karalyn did still love him, but she also loathed him for what he had done.

  Out on the waters of the lake sat an island, and upon it was Colsbury Castle, their home for the previous five thirds. Castle was the wrong word for it, he thought; it was large enough to accommodate not only a sturdy and towering fortress, but also held an extensive palace, a small harbour, barracks, workshops and a garden which took up a third of the whole area. The island was ringed with a great outer wall; and was connected to the mainland by a slender stone bridge, which was guarded by a four-storey gatehouse. Within the walls of the fortress stood two great keeps and Lennox’s eyes settled on the higher one to the left. Karalyn would be in one of the rooms on the upper floor. She was finding it hard to get around; the weight and size of the twins inside her slowing her movements.

  ‘Whatever happens between me and her,’ he said, ‘at least I’ll be here for the twins.’

  ‘That’s if she lets you see them,’ said Carrie.

  ‘Of course she will,’ said Darine. ‘Karalyn wants their father to be here. So does Daphne.’

  ‘So says the Holdfast’s new best friend,’ said Carrie. ‘You’re always siding with them now.’

  ‘But we’re all on the same side.’

  ‘There’s something about them I just don’t trust,’ said Carrie. ‘I don’t like the way they can look into our heads whenever they want. Don’t get me wrong; I love it here. It’s beautiful, and peaceful, and safe; but it’s not like we can leave. I mean, where would we go?’

  ‘I don’t want to leave,’ said Lennox.

  ‘Neither do I,’ said Carrie, ‘but I’d like the option.’

  ‘No one would stop you if you walked out,’ said Darine.

  ‘Aye, but as I said, where would we go? I don’t even really know where we are. Somewhere in the mountains up north, but that may as well be on the other side of the world for all I know.’

  ‘Sounds stupid,’ said Darine, ‘but I’m starting to think of Colsbury as home. It’s the first place I’ve felt really settled, and I’ve learned so much about everything. Daphne and Shella have taught me…’

  ‘Here we go again,’ said Carrie, shaking her head.

  ‘You can mock me,’ said Darine, ‘but we need to understand what we’re fighting against.’

  ‘We’re not mocking you,’ said Lennox; ‘we’re just not very interested in hearing about the Creator again. I thought we left all that behind us when we deserted.’

  Darine frowned. ‘You should care about the truth. The Creator was real. Karalyn’s aunt killed him, and now his friends the archmages are here; and they’re going to take over the world and kill us all in the process. The Holdfasts are the only ones who can stop them.’

  ‘They’re not doing a very good job,’ said Carrie. ‘Two of them have been abducted, and one can hardly walk.’

  ‘Keir’s still out there fighting,’ said Lennox.

  Carrie snorted. ‘Keir got his ass kicked in Rainsby.’

  ‘Aye,’ said Lennox, ‘but only after he and Thorn had slaughtered half the Rahain army. That’s the only reason they haven’t moved from Rainsby since. They need to enlist more soldiers if they’re going to attack the rest of the Plateau.’

  ‘And three of the seven archmages have been accounted for,’ said Darine. ‘They’re not invincible.’

  ‘Aye,’ said Carrie, ‘and Lennox managed to take down Gorman without any assistance from the Holdfasts.’

  ‘But look what Racine did to us. She nearly killed us all.’

  ‘And then we let her go.’

  ‘Aye.’

  The three former soldiers sat on the grassy bank in silence for a moment. Daphne’s anger with her daughter had lasted thirds, Lennox remembered, but Karalyn had remained adamant in her belief that she had been right to spare Racine’s life. In his heart, Lennox agreed with Daphne, and Karalyn’s refusal to take a life made him feel her moral inferior. Excepting that day in Rainsby, he had always strived to avoid harming civilians, but Racine was too dangerous a foe to release. He felt guilt at the thought that he would have killed her without much hesitation, yet Karalyn had acted on impulse, whisking Racine away as her mother’s sword was about to strike; and displaying a courage in her mercy that shamed the rest of them.

  ‘Are you having any say in the names?’ said Carrie, jolting Lennox out of his thoughts.

  ‘Eh?’

  ‘The twins? Are you getting to name them?’

  He shook his head. ‘They’re getting Kell names.’

  ‘But they’ll only be a quarter Kell,’ Carrie said. ‘They’ll be half Lach.’

  ‘I don’t care about the old clan rivalries. She can name them whatever she likes; as long as I can be part of their lives, I’ll be happy.’

  ‘I guess we’ll find out in half a third,’ said Carrie, ‘or whenever they arrive.’ She turned to Darine. ‘You’re quiet. Thinking of your own twins?’

  ‘Aye,’ she said. ‘It’s painful remembering back to the time I was pregnant, and it’ll be worse when Karalyn’s twins are born. At least wee Cole has got me used to seeing bairns again. I know I shouldn’t be jealous, and that I’m hurting no one but myself with such thoughts, but I can’t help it.’

  ‘If we win the war,’ said Lennox, ‘then the folk in Liberton will be freed, and maybe you’ll be re-united.’

  ‘Aye,’ she said, ‘maybe.’

  ‘We should go,’ said Carrie. ‘We still have that other boat to repair before it gets too dark to work.’

  ‘Aye,’ said Lennox, getting to his feet.

  Darine smiled. ‘The two of you are like proper sailors.’

/>   ‘I liked being on the Seablade,’ said Carrie, helping Darine to her feet.

  ‘It seems like a nightmare to me,’ said Darine. ‘I hate the sea. Even the lake here scares me.’

  ‘You should have seen us after we escaped Stretton Sands,’ Carrie said as they began to walk down the steep path. ‘We sailed around the bays of the Inner Sea for thirds evading the imperial fleet.’

  ‘You make it sound romantic.’

  ‘It wasn’t,’ said Lennox. ‘It was wet, cold and there was never enough food. There are only so many whelks you can eat.’

  ‘But I bet you loved it all the same.’

  He smiled. ‘Aye.’

  They walked amid the summer grasses; their tall brown stems swaying in the light breeze. After a warm summer, the lowering temperatures had come as a relief to the Kellach Brigdomin. Daphne Holdfast had assured them that the mountains were far cooler than the plains of the Holdings but even so, the heat had been stronger than anything the three former soldiers had experienced.