Meta Gods War 3 Read online

  Meta Gods War 3

  BN Miles

  Contents

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  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  About BN Miles

  Copyright © 2020 by BN Miles

  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, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  1

  Cam stood at the end of his enormous bed, large enough for ten bodies packed together, the skins and blankets and pillows ruffled and thrown haphazardly around the huge feathered expanse. He looked down at the strange tunic covering his chest, at the green trimmed with red. It fit him well, like he knew it would. He expected nothing less out of Galla Remorn.

  But the style was strange, tighter in the stomach and shoulders than what he was used to, and it felt odd to wear something that wasn’t his own.

  The clothes were a beginning. He adjusted the light woolen fabric, pulled at the hem, cleared his throat.

  There was a knock on the door.

  “Come in,” he said, turning as Miuri stepped into the room.

  She smiled at him, her straight white teeth dazzling, her pointed Elven ears twitching from beneath her long blonde hair. Her skin was smooth and looked polished, and her tunic fit her tight in the bust, tapering out at the bottom over her tight leather pants. She held one hand loosely over the hilt of her gracefully curved Elven sword as she ran a hand through her hair and laughed.

  “Well now,” she said. “I have to admit, you look very handsome.”

  “Handsome?” He tugged at the hem of the unfamiliar tunic again. “I was hoping for imposing. Or magnificent.”

  “Handsome does just fine.” She walked over, smiled, and put a hand on his cheek. He reached up and took it, holding her there before pulling her closer and kissing her full lips.

  They held that kiss for a moment, and Cam wondered if Miuri truly didn’t mind him marrying Galla. She said she didn’t, that Elves thought about pairing off for life in a very different way than Humans did, but even still, he couldn’t help think there might be some jealousy. He knew Key was struggling with it, despite putting on a brave face and accepting that his marriage to Galla was the best thing for all of them.

  He ended the kiss, bit her bottom lip, and held onto her hips.

  “How are the others doing?” he asked.

  “Good enough,” she said. “Key’s sulking. Felin’s trying to cheer her up.”

  “Any word from my future wife?” He grimaced a little as the words came out. “Feels strange saying that.”

  “No word,” Miuri said. “But you know Galla. All you have to do is keep breathing, and everything will work out just fine.’

  “True enough.” He laughed, dropped his hands from Miuri’s hips, and turned away from her. He kept tugging at the hem of his tunic, realizing it was a nervous habit but unable to stop himself.

  The room was empty aside from the bed. Most of their time was spent in the main rooms where they had their own little kitchen area with cabinets, Elven herbs hanging out to dry, low plush couches stuffed with soft downy feathers, comfortable wooden chairs, a long, worn table with knife marks from years of use, and a large fireplace that always had a fire crackling away. The bedroom was more for sleeping and other evening activities, which he found were more and more frequent, given how precarious everything seemed.

  “I have a surprise for you,” Cam said, waking over to the bed. He moved to the far-right corner and lifted the straw and feather mattress.

  “Really?” Miuri asked. “I’ll admit, I didn’t think you were capable of surprising me.”

  Cam snorted as he pulled out a small ring he’d hidden there a few days earlier. He’d found a jeweler with Galla’s help deep within the Mansion’s halls that agreed to help him for a modest fee, and although it had taken a sizable portion of his savings, he had to admit that the work was exquisite. He turned to Miuri and held the ring out flat on his right palm.

  It was a simple gold band, gleaming and polished, with small emeralds lining its exterior.

  Miuri examined it for a moment then picked it up, weighing it between her fingers.

  “If I understand correctly,” she said, her voice soft, “Humans place a lot of significance on rings.”

  “It symbolizes the Ur,” Cam said. “But also symbolizes a union.”

  Miuri tilted her head and gave him a strange look. “You know I don’t believe in marriage,” she said. “You don’t have to prove anything to me, Cam. Really, Elves don’t get married, it just doesn’t make practical sense.”

  Cam stepped closer to her and closed her hand around the ring. He closed it tight, hard enough that she’d feel the metal bite into her skin.

  “I want you to have something of me,” he said, his voice gentle but firm as he stared into her bright green eyes. “I want you to know that although we may not be married, and although you’ll live far beyond my lifetime, you’ll always be mine, and I’ll always be yours.”

  She smiled, her face lighting up, and tilted her head. “Well, when you put it that way,” she said.

  “Will you wear it for me?” he asked.

  “I’ll wear it,” she said. “You know I will. I love you, Cam.”

  “I love you, too.” He opened her hand again, took the ring, and slid it onto her finger. “Even though we won’t get married, you’re as much a part of my life as any wife.”

  “I know,” she said and held the ring up to the many lamps ringing the room. “It’s lovely, Cam.”

  “I hope so.” Cam smiled and kissed Miuri again. “Now give me a hand. I have more presents to give out.”

  “Smart man,” Miuri said and helped Cam lift the mattress. He extracted a long shaft of wood and stood it up on one end before sliding off its leather cover, revealing a gleaming bronze spear tip. Miuri gaped at the thing for half a moment then looked down at the mattress.

  “We’ve been sleeping on that?” she asked.

  “Just last night,” he said. “Here, one more thing to grab.”

  Miuri grunted as she lifted the mattress and Cam grabbed a round wooden badge, only three inches in diameter, carved with the symbol of the Mansion emblazoned on the front, the long-tusked boar.

  Cam led Miuri back out into
the main room. She carried the spear in her hands and Cam clutched at the wooden badge. He felt nervous, although he wasn’t exactly sure why.

  Felin sat with Key on the couch directly across from the fire, Felin’s feet in Key’s lap, the wolf girl leaning back with her hair dangling over the edge. She turned, spotted Cam and Miuri, and scrambled up, making Key grunt as Felin’s heel dug into her lap. Felin came bounding over to Cam and stopped a foot away, staring at the spear, then at his clothes.

  “Well look at you,” she said.

  “How’s it suit me?” he asked.

  “Perfect. You look like a proper little lord.” She laughed and shook her head, her wild dark hair flying around. She bared her teeth in a wicked grin and stepped forward to kiss him.

  Cam kissed her back. “I have a present for you.”

  “Do you now?” she asked. Her bright blue eyes seemed to sparkle up at him.

  “Here.” Cam held out the small badge and Felin hesitated before taking it.

  “What’s this?”

  “That’s your freedom,” he said.

  She cocked her head then narrowed her eyes at him like he’d just grown a second skull. “Explain yourself, shaman.”

  Cam laughed and reached out, taking Felin’s hand. “I know you struggle with being unable to shift into your wolf form in the Mansion,” he said. “I had Galla go to the Wardens and barter for this. It’ll let you pass by the guards outside without any issues, so whenever you want to spend time in your wolf shape, you can leave and come back as you wish.”

  She looked at the badge then back up at Cam. “You’re okay with that?” she asked.

  “I don’t think you’ll run away,” he said, his voice gentle. “And I know it’s dangerous out there, but I trust you to stay safe.”

  She beamed at him, leaned forward, and kissed him. “Thank you,” she said.

  He nodded. “You’re welcome.”

  “I’m guessing that’s for me.”

  Cam looked past Felin and saw Key standing next to the couch, her arms crossed over her chest, her braided honey-blonde hair down one shoulder. She scowled, a look that Cam knew well from growing up with her. She hated the idea of Cam marrying Galla first, but she’d come to accept it, though she hadn’t quite gotten over it.

  He moved past Felin and spun the spear once before presenting it to Key, blunt end first. She reached out and took it, slipping it from his hands, and testing its weight and balance.

  “Heavy,” she said. “And what’s the tip made from?”

  “Bronze,” Cam said. “I had it cast just for you. Shaft is made of ironwood, so it’s less likely to break. But it’s heavier than what you’re used to.”

  She nodded, spun it twice, and slammed the butt end down against the rough stone floor. “I love it,” she said.

  “Good.” Cam stepped closer, half expecting her to take a swing at him with the spear, but she only gripped it tight. “I love you, Key, and this marriage doesn’t change that. I promise you, I swear it right now in front of Felin and Miuri, I’m going to marry you next.”

  “I know,” she said, letting out a breath. “You didn’t have to get me a present, you know.”

  “It was the prudent thing to do,” Miuri said, coming up behind Cam and kissing his neck. “Give your current girlfriends presents while you go off and marry the new girl.”

  Cam grinned, looked over his shoulder, and kissed Miuri. “What can I say, I’m a smart man,” he said.

  Key spun her new spear again then leaned it up against the simple wooden table that sat beneath their window, which was a luxury in the mountain Mansion.

  “I’ll admit, you do look very handsome in your new clothes,” Key said, coming to him. She adjusted the buttons in the front and put her hands on his chest.

  “That’s what Miuri said,” Cam said. “I was going for dashing.”

  Key smiled at Cam, but he could see the pain behind her eyes.

  She was his first love, his oldest friend. He’s always imagined that she would be the woman he’d marry one day. Instead, he found himself in this complicated relationship with her and Miuri and Felin and now Galla Remorn, the daughter of the Lord of the Mansion. His marriage to Galla had been her idea, and he was following through because it made sound political sense.

  But that didn’t necessarily make things easier.

  “We should be going,” Key said. “I don’t want you to be late for your wedding.”

  “It won’t be much of a wedding,” Cam said. “Considering the guest list.”

  “Even still. Why make your bride wait?” Key smiled and tilted her head. “I’ll be honest, I’m a little nervous for you.”

  “Don’t be,” he said. “You know Galla. She’s going to make our little group stronger.”

  “You’re right.” Key got on her toes and kissed Cam. “Come on, then. Let’s go get you married.”

  He nodded and looked back at Miuri and Felin. They both grinned at him, Felin leaning her head against Miuri’s shoulder, Miuri’s arm draped lazily around Felin. He felt a strange swell of pride run through him, a pride he hadn’t expected. His girls were so strong, each of them independent and powerful and beautiful, and they’d become such a tight, cohesive unit. They loved each other as much as they loved him, and it worked like that, each of them caring about the group as a whole, each of them trying to do their best to make the group stronger.

  And soon, he’d add Galla to the mix. Part of him worried it might be difficult, but he knew she’d only make them stronger in the end.

  He turned back toward the door and took Key’s hand.

  “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go get married.”

  2

  Cam led the girls through the Mansion, holding a large lamp aloft in one hand while he followed the floor markings that took him to the center of the mountain.

  They passed halls and halls of doorways leading to huge dormitories packed with people, to storage rooms and workshops, past glowing forges and chattering men sitting on wooden crates while they carved new arrows from freshly cut wood. They also passed families and small children chasing each other in strange circles playing new imaginary games, past the detritus of lives, discarded cloth outside a seamstress’s shop, wood shavings piling up in the corners around a carpenter’s home. The Mansion teemed with life and grew bigger each day as the wolves pushed closer and forced more refugees to flee for their lives.

  He came to a hall that split down a wide staircase; the stairs cut into the rock of the mountain itself. He took them, the girls walking just behind, and came to a pair of large double wood and iron doors. He pushed against the iron ring that acted as the handle and the door groaned inward, lamplight spilling out into the otherwise dim hallway.

  The room beyond looked more like a cave than most. While the Mansion had been carved out of the mountain itself and retained some natural features, most of the stalactites and stalagmites had been hacked down, the ground smoothed out, the walls carved into pleasing shapes.

  But this place had been left almost entirely untouched. Stalagmites and flowstone lined a narrow path, with stalactites hanging from the ceiling impossibly high up in the air, some in varied twisting patterns like cave-dwelling eels. Lanterns were hung from these rocky teeth and were perched on every near-flat surface.

  In the center of the room was the monolith. It was carved from sheer black stone and stood nearly fifteen feet high, reaching the upper limits of the room itself. It was eight feet wide, and must have weighed thousands of pounds. Cam had no clue how it was brought here, if it was taken in pieces then assembled, or carved from some mysterious rock formation where it stood. But either way, the monolith was the symbolic center of the Urspirit, a visual reminder that all was one, all people were one, all Humans would return to the Ur beyond death, that the spirit itself watched and waited for them to come home.

  Cam stood just inside the doorway for a moment, staring at that monolith, until his eyes moved down to several figures standing
at its base.

  The monolith sat on top of a series of tiered steps. He recognized several Elders standing at the very bottom and off to one side, each man holding a lantern between their hands. Their heads turned to stare at Cam.

  There was Maris of Hewitt village, a square, stocky man with thinning gray hair and dark eyes, smiling like a wolf; Edwin, of Wright village, stood next to him, with a huge black and white beard, dark tanned skin, and seemingly several years younger and twenty pounds thinner than the rest; Elder Frew from Nevins, with a shaggy shock of puffy white hair on the top of his head, standing taller than the others and wearing simple leather armor, scratched and dented from use; and finally Elder Dagan, bald head gleaming in the lamplight, lines around his eyes and mouth sunken deep, a big smile on his lips.

  Standing above them, just before the monolith itself, was Galla Remorn and Kraed.

  Cam took a step closer and sucked in a breath as he stared at his future wife. Her shock of red hair was braided in intricate patterns down her back. She wore a crimson dress, slit up high along one waist, trimmed with gold and cut low enough to show off every inch of her beautiful, ample breasts. Cam remembered seeing her body in the baths what felt like years ago, remembered the curves of her hips, and he felt his pulse quicken in response.

  “Cam,” Miuri whispered. “They’re staring at us. I think we should get up there.”