Descent Into Darkness (Book 2) (16 page)

"You certainly are a bold one, Ean. Why would you care about the spirit of a man you never knew? Are you feeling some sort of loyalty to Ze'an now?"

"No, I just feel sorry for this man, left here by himself for countless years, forced to watch something he loved fall apart and be vandalized. I'm sure you have done your best to taunt him just as much as he has taunted you. I just want what is fair, and that's to let him start over in whatever it is that comes after we die."

"If I do this, if I forget this spirit's past insults, you will owe me. That will mean that you will have to occasionally pray to me so I can always know where you are in case I want you to fulfill your debt. Knowing that, do you still want me to do you this favor?"

"Yes."

The goddess let out a little giggle and clapped her hands in delight. Her behavior was almost childish, but Ean was learning it was best to just keep his mouth shut around the goddess and not let slip what he was thinking.

"Excellent," she said as she calmed down a bit. "Then I promise not to mistreat this soul for any past mistakes he has made." She shot the spirit a hard glare before continuing. "But that does not protect him from anything he says from now on." The spirit simply continued to stare at the floor.

"I understand," Ean said as he took a place in front of the spirit.

Taking a deep breath, he began to gather energy into himself slowly, not from the spirit, but from the Abyss itself. Compared to what he could normally take in, now the amount he let flow into him was the barest trickle. It still caused the tattoos to grow brighter of course.

He could feel the energy intermingled with the spirit now more clearly as he had energy flowing through himself as well. The energy in the spirit seemed to pulse along with the energy that Ean let flow through his own body. Reaching out, Ean placed the palm of his right hand slightly inside the translucent form of Primaren. As the two energies began to mingle, it sent little jolts through Ean's body, but he held his hand still.

"Do not become too indebted to any of the gods or goddesses, boy." Primaren's voice was low and resigned as he spoke, his eyes still locked on the ground. "They are just as spiteful and devious as any man or woman. They are just as spiteful and devious as any man or woman, and they can turn on you without provocation."

"I will," Ean whispered, the conviction in his voice mirroring how he felt inside. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Taking control of the energy, he let it flow out of his hand and become one with the energy resting in the spirit. He let this continue until he could not tell the difference any more between the two separate pools of energy. Then, with a final exertion of his will, Ean pulled all of the energy back into his body.

The force of it almost lifted Ean off his feet. He had known there was energy mixed in with Primaren's spirit, but he had no idea how much until it all came crashing into him. For a moment, as he stood there and wrestled for control of it all, Ean feared he was going to be overwhelmed.

Eventually the surge slowed and he regained control. Sweat dripped down his forehead and back, and his muscles were sore from the strain. Having all of the energy inside him dulled the pain slightly, but he was dreading how he would feel once he let the energy go.

His eyes focused on Primaren, and he was surprised to see the spirit looking more substantial instead of less. Ean had assumed that it was the energy from the Abyss that had given the spirit his strength, but clearly it was something else. Primaren was looking at him as well now, although Ean couldn't read his expression.

Nodding once to Ean, Primaren's spirit turned to Kaz'ren. Floating over to where she was standing, he bowed once and then stood silent. A single eyebrow rose on the goddess's face before she reached out and touched Primaren. His form seemed to grow almost solid for a moment and then just as quickly was gone. Nodding, Kaz'ren walked over to Ean.

"Well done," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You've done me a service, and I won't forget that. Especially now that you'll be praying to me on a regular basis." She winked at him as her hand slowly lead him back in the direction of the door.

"And you'll keep your word?" Ean said, allowing him to be led. "You will not punish him in any way?"

"Ean, of course I'll keep my word. My brothers and sisters and I may focus mostly on our own agendas, but we wouldn't have any followers left if we did not honor agreements we've made. Speaking of which, I owe you some information, don't I?"

As they left the now empty temple, Kaz'ren turned Ean around and placed both hands on his shoulders.

"Before I tell you where the lair of your imp's former master sits, I have something I want to say. I don't know what the imp has told you or why you are following along in his old master's footsteps, and frankly at this moment in time, I do not care. But, if you start causing too many problems for the people of this land, I will start to care and you can be sure my brothers and sisters will as well. We will not put our people through another incident like the Plague, so you can be sure if you start down that path, we will all make it our mission to stop you. Understand?"

It was hard not to understand what she was implying. If he got power hungry, they would put him down like a dog. Thankfully he had no intention of becoming a marauding lord trying to take over the land. All Ean wanted was a peaceful life and to understand what he had done to himself.

"I understand. You have no need to worry about me."

"We'll see," she replied, staring into his eyes. "The place you are seeking lies to the northwest in the mountains behind a village called Ulundkin. The village sits just north of the border into the area affected by the Plague, what is now called the Deadlands."

"The area affected by the Plague?" The shock of the revelation struck him like a hammer. "How can I get there and still live?"

"The Plague acts slowly, infecting people at different rates. Most are fine if they only experience a week or two of exposure. It is safe enough going to Ulundkin. One of the Hawkpurse families takes a caravan of supplies there every few weeks. One of those caravans just happens to be leaving in two days. Getting a ride with them would be your best bet to get where you want to go in a timely manner."

The Deadlands. Ean had only heard bits of pieces from Wil on their ride to Lurthalan. A place where everything was infected by the Plague, from the animals to the very air and earth. Wil had said things that looked like people still lived there, although they were no longer human. He also had said those people were like walking corpses, bits and pieces hanging off, and they disliked anyone human. Why would a caravan want to go to such a place? If it was his best chance of finding out more about his powers, though...

"Alright, I'll go. Which Hawkpurse family is it?"

"Brave boy. You want to look for the Ciantar family. Their stores can be found past the Temple of Drenks, on the west side of the Merchant's Circle. You'll have to figure out how to buy your way with them, but it shouldn't be too difficult."

And if it was, Ean always had Azalea's charm to get them a few seats on the caravan.

"Well," Kaz'ren said, reaching over to pat Ean lightly on the cheek. "I can honestly say it's been interesting to meet you. You have a lot of potential, Ean, both for good and bad, just like your predecessor, but I think as long as you stay true to yourself and not listen to those horrible creatures you keep around, you'll turn out okay. Remember, only mention one of us if you don't mind the god or goddess being able to hear you and know exactly where you are. Unless it's me, of course."

Flashing him a smile and a quick wink, Kaz'ren disappeared in a flash of light, leaving Ean standing in front of the dilapidated temple all alone. Letting the cool breeze that came off the lake wash over him, his mind ran through everything that had just happened. Ean found it almost impossible to believe. Visits from a goddess, putting tormented souls to rest, a quest into a dangerous land...it sounded like a Hero's story.

Ean certainly had no interest in being part of a Hero's story. All he wanted to do was find out more about what he had done to himself and get a little control over his power. Then he could go back and help his village.

He also wanted to learn as much as he could about Zin's old master. That was a new goal, but going by the warnings of spirits and goddesses, an important one. If his tattoos were going to make him power hungry, he needed to learn how to stop it. If Ean found out it was just a weakness of character that made Zin's old master into a tyrant, that would certainly be a relief as well. Either way, he had to find out.

With the energy of the Abyss still flowing through him, Ean was hardly surprised to feel the familiar presence of either Zin or Azalea not too far away. It was probably Zin. The imp certainly wouldn't let Ean too far out of his sight while in the company of a goddess.

Ean saw the blur first, moving along the ground quickly. Crossing his arms, Ean waited for the imp to reach him. A few paces away, the imp became visible and marched right up to Ean. Normally the appearance of the imp in public would have made Ean nervous, but a quick look around showed him that no one was visible on this side of the lake. Probably because of the formerly haunted temple.

"Well, let's hear it," the imp said, his breath coming quickly. "Your pretty little friend whispered in my ear that she was done with you and pointed me in your direction. What exactly did she say and had you do?"

"Have a seat," Ean replied, taking one himself on the bit of grass between the temple and the road. "This is going to take a while."

BY THE TIME EAN
had finished his story, the sun was just starting to touch the tips of the mountains to the west. Zin remained silent the whole time, occasionally shifting about or scratching at himself. The imp's expression darkened at a few parts, the worst being when Ean mentioned promising to pray every now and then to Kaz'ren so she could keep an eye on him. With his story finished, Zin shook his head before speaking.

"I don't like this, Ean. I don't like it one bit. At least Kaz'ren," he paused, looking around quickly as if just saying her name would make her appear again. When she didn't, he continued on. "At least that goddess was honest enough to tell you that she was going to use you. That doesn't mean that she was open and honest about everything else. I've been thinking about our, I mean your, situation quite a bit and trying to hunt down my old master's lair isn't the best idea. We've been doing alright so far. Maybe we should just leave well enough alone."

"Zin, saying we've been doing alright is being awfully generous. I turned one bandit into a monster, which he probably deserved, but since he survived, he might be worse now. I almost got myself, Bran, and Jaslen killed twice. Once by the Seekers, which was only partially my fault, and the other time by Azalea, which was absolutely my fault. These are not the actions of someone that is doing alright."

"Ok, ok, so we've hit a few little bumps, but--"

"Little bumps that have gotten us almost killed. Plus, I don't want to end up like your former master, drunk on the power the Abyss can provide and causing death and destruction. If it was this power," he held out his still exposed right hand, the tattoos glowing softly in the late afternoon light, "that turned your master evil, I need to know sooner, rather than later."

"Ean, I'm sure you won't turn into the creature my former master became. I've known you for years now, and as much as you might talk about not trusting or caring about most people, you certainly go out of your way to make sure you don't hurt anyone."

The comment took Ean aback. It was rare for Zin to compliment him. The imp was basically saying that no amount of power would ever go to Ean's head. Zin had no idea about his dreams though...

"Zin, there is something I have to tell you. I've been having dreams, horrible dreams."

The imp shrugged and picked at one of his ears. "Yes, I know. You've told me. You had that one vision of you as a Hound, and another as a Crux. It could have something to do with the tattoos I suppose, but I don't see how that could--"

"Zin, there have been other dreams," Ean interrupted, the words tumbling out of his mouth, "darker dreams where I'm no longer human. Where I'm hurting people I know. Dreams that involve me doing terrible things."

A speck of fear appeared in Zin's watery black eyes. Throughout everything, even when they fought, Zin had never acted afraid of Ean. Ean's chest tightened as he realized that his closest companion, his partner in crime, would now always see a bit of his old master whenever he looked at Ean.

"Zin, I won't become him."

"Never said you would."

"You're looking at me like I'm going to turn into your old master."

"You're imagining things," he said. Zin turned away for a moment and acted like he was looking across the lake. When he turned back around, he seemed like his usual self. "Those dreams of yours, not saying I'm concerned about them, but from here on out you need to tell me whenever you have one."

"Ok."

"And it's very important that you tell me all of the details, no matter how insignificant or how repulsive. What you are doing in the dream, how you're feeling, what you see. Can you do that for me?"

Ean took a deep breath.

"Zin, I'd rather not. Some of the things I've dreamt...they are horrible. I feel like I'm going to throw up sometimes just thinking about them."

"Well we can worry about that the next time you have one." Zin's voice had returned to his normal, sarcastic tone, but the imp still wasn't looking at Ean. "Anyway, we have more important things to focus on, things that we can control. Specifically, getting a ride on that caravan heading into the Deadlands, and we won't accomplish that just standing around this disaster." He gestured at the temple.

"You're right. We need to push on." Ean hoped the despair was gone from his voice. "We still have time before the sun sets. Hopefully, at least one of Ciantar's businesses stay open late and we can find out who to talk to about joining the caravan."

"Then let's not waste any more time." The imp took a few steps down the road before turning and waving Ean on. "Let's go already. If the crowds are just as bad at this time of day as they were earlier, we might not make it in time if we don't hurry."

Ean joined the imp and headed down the road. Try though as he might, he couldn't find an answer to the question stuck in his mind. Was it the power itself that corrupted or was it the weaknesses of the man wielding it? Zin's former master had been able to summon armies of creatures to do his bidding. That kind of power had to be seductive. Of course, Ean couldn't control a single creature at the moment, so it wasn't as if he had anywhere near the same amount of power. That fact didn't make him worry any less though.

Zin wasn't helping his fears either. Every few steps Ean would catch the imp looking at him with contemplative eyes. The imp would quickly look away when he realized Ean caught him at it, but a few steps later, Zin would be looking at him again. Eventually Ean grew tired of it and simply stared at the imp, whether he was looking at Ean or not. When the imp realized what was happening, he laughed nervously.

"Well, going to be people around soon. Best if I'm not seen, huh?"

Disappearing to that bluish blur that only Ean could see--and apparently deities as well--the imp remained at his side. Which made Ean more nervous. The imp could be looking at him with those judgmental eyes and there was nothing he could do about it.

By the time Ean and Zin reached the road leading into the Merchant's Circle, the sun was halfway behind the mountains. The crowd had dropped to a manageable level, letting Ean move down the street without being knocked around. The added freedom let him finally take in how amazing the Merchant's Circle really was.

Brick and stone shops of various sizes, most between two and four stories tall, ran along the street. Windows adorned every floor of those buildings, with brightly colored shutters framing each and one large window on the first floor showing off the stores' wares. Banners hung over the doors of most, brightly colored pieces of fabric that were meant to catch the eye, with detailed pictures of the items sold inside.

An elaborate picture of wheat and bread made the baker's store obvious. Pictures of plants and bottles of different colored liquids were stores of his own profession of Healers. Many of the shop banners showed off different styles of clothing. Practically all of the shops close to the entrance of the circle had wooden placards hanging out, more detailed animals depicted on each. Those were the signs of the Hawkpurse families, so it was just a matter of determining which ones belonged to the Ciantar.

After being flat out ignored by a few people, one older gentleman informed him that the Ciantar family's sigil was that of a bear and that most of their stores could be found further down the street across from the entrance to the Temple of Drenks. Giving the man a quick thanks, Ean began to jog down the street.

Ean glanced at a few of the signs at the end of the street and was surprised to see banners whose meaning he couldn't decipher. One depicted a sword covered in ice crossed with what looked like a gardening hoe with lightning coming out of it while another showed two people connected by wavy blue lines.

Each of those stores had the bear emblem, and each one was closed. Most of the stores with the bear emblem seemed to be closed, but Ean finally found a small one tucked away between two much larger buildings. The banner on the front showed off the hammer and anvil of a blacksmith. Ean found the owner snoring behind the counter. After spending more time than Ean thought necessary trying to wake the man up, he was finally informed of what he was missing-- Caravan passage was booked at the Ciantar family estate and only occurred in the mid-morning hours.

After getting directions to the Ciantar home, Ean decided the best thing to do was to head back to the inn and try to find Azalea. With barely any money, they would need her charms in order to book a passage with the caravan. How quickly he had changed his opinion about the Yulari's skills. It was only days ago that he was frustrated with her manipulation of men, and now he was relying on it.

Loud growls kept escaping from his stomach, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything all day. A few pieces of bread and a drink, just one drink, would make for a fine end to this exhausting day. Upon reaching the inn, he realized things were not going to be as peaceful inside as he had hoped.

A large group of people were gathered around both entrances to the inn, all of them pushing at each other while two burly thugs kept everyone out. One man tried to push his way past the guards at the front door but received a quick and violent blow and collapsed in a heap. The crowd passed the unconscious man back until he was deposited on his face at the outskirts of the crowd. The side door seemed to be less crowded, so that was the one that Ean walked towards.

By the time he had made it to the side door, his body was sore, both of his feet had been stomped on multiple times, and he had received a few smacks to the back of his head. On top of that, judging by the way the thugs were eyeing him up and down, those might be minor injuries compared to what the brutes guarding the door might do to him.

"Inn's full for the evening, boy," one of the thugs said before Ean could open his mouth. "Children are not allowed in anyway when a Sparkteller is performing, so you might as well just turn right around and get out of here."

"I'm renting a room here," Ean said between clenched teeth. "I'm sure your boss wouldn't want you keeping out a paying customer, especially one with a room on the top floor?"

Ean was hoping that fact would matter, and by the reaction of the thugs, it did. They glanced at each other and then the one to Ean's left stepped inside. Down to one man watching the door, a few of the people on the inside edge decided that now would be a good time to try and rush past. Two quick strokes of the bouncer's cudgel put an end to that. As the two unconscious people were carried out of the crowd, the remaining thug rounded on Ean.

"You're causing me a lot more trouble than I would prefer on a busy night. I actually hope my buddy comes back and tells me you're lying. It'll make what I've done to these other fools seem like a slap on the wrist compared to what I'll do to you."

Ean knew that wouldn't happen, but he still shuffled about nervously. The crowd immediately around him grew quiet, all of their eyes locked on him. Ean had no idea what a Sparkteller was or why all of these people were trying to get in to see him, but those stuck outside now seemed to be interested in a different show. One that involved him getting beaten badly judging by the glare he was receiving from the thug. Ean hoped to disappoint them all.

When the second guard finally returned, the entire crowd grew still. The thug at the door grinned in anticipation of the impending violence.

When his buddy returned he announced, "The kid ain't lying. Let him in."

A collective groan of disappointment escaped the crowd as the first thug reluctantly waved Ean inside.