The Undying God (19 page)

“I’ve never seen anything like this
before. It’s a bloodbath inside there, a slaughter. Worse, the
killer is still wandering the streets. The first to arrive at the
temple found only the bodies.”

“You don’t believe the killer is hiding
somewhere inside?”

“Not likely. We located several
survivors in the temple: six women, a cleric among them. They have
been taken to the guardhouse for questioning.”

“I see... What condition are they
in?”

“They were fortunate enough to survive,
but most of them are babbling idiots. It may be days before they
can provide us with any valuable information.”

“By that time, the killer will have
escaped. Their eyewitness accounts will be of little use to us.”
Their voices faded as Arxu crept toward the back of the temple. He
searched for a way inside, anything that might smuggle him past the
guards. He wasn’t disappointed when he spotted a broken window. He
carefully stepped over the fragments of glass scattered chaotically
on the floor.

He doubted the murderer used the window
to break into the temple. A killer this calculating would enter
discretely, not even allowing a chance for the terror to sink in.
Without warning.

He quietly took a step into the next
room. Mutilated bodies were sprawled on the floor, bathing in pools
of blood. Intrigue clouded the fear he should have felt. The killer
wielded a blade accurately; he had pierced the gaps in their armor
located near the neck and joints. It looked as though a deranged
artist had sluiced red paint across the pillars and walls, a
haphazard attempt to decorate the temple. The killer’s prowess was
drawing Arxu in by the second.

The devastation had been designed to
affect as many aspects as possible: innocent lives, the public
morale, the structure of the religion. Perhaps more.

Arxu entered another room host to
cleansing pools. According to what little he knew of Astalla’s
faith, the waters were used for spiritual cleansing rituals as well
as physical ones. Windows glistened beyond the cleansing pools, but
the light shining through was so intense that he couldn’t see
beyond the glass.

Arxu stepped over a magnificent fresco
splattered with blood, the images of worship stained with the lives
of a dozen. Something ricocheted in the room like steel against
steel. Arxu’s eyes swept the vaulted ceiling and the windows,
listening intently. Something flickered in the distant corner,
grasping at his attention. Gloom had settled across the pools,
concealing the horrors that Arxu had yet to discover. He faintly
remembered what the guards had said.

You don’t believe the
killer is hiding somewhere inside?

Not likely.

Arxu entertained serious doubts about
their judgment. Something was acutely wrong and otherworldly about
this crime scene—as if a part of the killer had been imprinted
here.

Arxu jerked to a stop as he felt
something prying his mind. He spun around in his search of the
source. His hand flew to his staff. Whatever was attacking him was
frantically trying to sift through his mind, probing his thoughts,
attempting to understand him. In that moment, Arxu felt himself
lose total control of his body. His staff and dagger felt clumsy in
his hands, and he feebly grasped as they fell through his
clutches.

“Your presence intrigues me. I cannot
tell whether you have good intentions or not.” Arxu didn’t answer,
staring down at his weapons. Her voice was honeyed and smooth,
caressing his mind like soft fingers. She had to be standing behind
him. He could practically hear her breathing warmly against his
neck.
No
, he realized.
It’s coming from inside my
mind.

“I am Astalla, the patron deity of
virginity.” Arxu went rigid with surprise. He could move again, but
his weapons seemed miles away. A hundred questions should have
poured forth, but he could only marvel at the presence of the
demigoddess.

“I sense my followers dying,” she said.
“And my powers are growing weaker with every loss. You are aware of
the attacks…” Arxu didn’t need to respond. She was picking through
his mind, his every thought as insignificant to her as a grain of
sand in the ocean.

Arxu glanced at pictographs on the
walls, displaying a female form embellished with abstract
designs.

“I communicated with the souls of the
fallen and learned of the man killing them. He is traveling from
one city to the next, leaving my temples infested with violence.
With the aid of my powers, I divined this man’s identity and, most
of all, his motives…”

Arxu roamed around the room, staring at
the ceiling as if he might glimpse the deity.

“Something prevented me from reaching
out to him the same way I am speaking to you. I tried to subdue him
but my efforts were futile. I fear whatever stopped me is connected
to his overwhelming hatred. The origins of his conflict are still
an enigma, but this much I know: He desires my death.”

Astalla paused, carefully weighing the
impact of her next words.

“He wants to become the demigod of
virginity.”

She coaxed Arxu’s body toward a
cleansing pool and he complied, not knowing why. The waters blazed
with light, and within it he saw a man clad in jet black armor
killing the temple occupants. He stepped in toward his opponent’s
defense and hooked his sword around his. He slashed the guard’s
wrist, causing him to drop his weapon. His elbow smashed into his
face and he spun away from the blow, the victim’s eyes glazed in
fear.

The callous murderer courted several
more blows with a guard, subduing him in a matter of heartbeats.
Arxu couldn’t bring himself to look away from the sadistic
performance. The sword seemed fused to his limb, a mere extension
of his body. His motions were so natural and fluid that Arxu
couldn’t help but respect his prowess. His strikes weaved in and
out of the guards’ defenses, his parries taunting his prey, his
cruel blows ending in death.

“His name is Margzor,” Astalla
whispered. Her voice withered, silenced by the name. Arxu waited
for her to speak again as the seconds dwindled. He could hear her
exhale sharply. “Please help me,” she begged.

She withdrew her voice and Arxu felt
his body become limp. He lurched forward, shocked by the sudden
change in his mind. The world around him visually deteriorated and
a thousand specks swarmed across his vision.

Sharing the mental link with Astalla
sapped every drop of his strength. His vision swerved as he
awkwardly rose from the floor. Sunlight filtered through the
windows in a blinding pall, its vivid glare dulling his mind.
Everything seemed blurred out of the corners of his eyes. He took a
weak step forward and the floor swayed in response.

He needed to sneak out of the temple
past the city guards. If they located him, they would no doubt
suspect him of the crime. They may even convict him of the murders
for no other reason than to resolve the investigation and advance
in rank. Arxu felt sick as the severity of the situation descended
upon him.

He limped across the marble floor,
swerving from side to side like a drunk. Suddenly, an armed guard
materialized, stepping into the hall from an intersecting
passage.

Arxu gasped and ducked against a wall.
The guard approached a corpse lying in a pool of blood. He kicked
the body with his iron-clad foot.

“Fool cleric.” He paused for a moment
longer, scrutinizing the blade marks on his body. He shook his head
and continued on his way. Arxu silently swooped past adjoining
chambers, wondering how many more guards were prowling the
premises. He couldn’t let his presence be known in this place.
Slowly, he crept into a bathing chamber. It must have looked
beautiful in its former splendor, but now it concealed only
slaughter.

A wretched gurgle sent a chill up
Arxu’s spine. He saw a guard on his knees, emptying his stomach.
The guard spewed another curse as he leaned over the cleansing pool
and vomited. He had never seen so much senseless bloodshed, so
much…
pain
. He slouched against a pillar, feeling faint.
Murderers and rapists deserved death, not these innocent
women…

He wiped away the cold beads of sweat
from his face. This was a hate crime that poisoned society,
violence without purpose. It could not be compared to the
executions of criminals in Gaelithea. There was no sense in
this.

Something else immediately seized his
attention.

For the first time, he noticed a set of
bloody footprints on the floor. He studied them with fascination,
following the mesmerizing pattern across the room. The gruesome
tracks wound ominously toward a cluster of pillars. He instantly
got the feeling that he was not alone. He unsheathed his long sword
and timidly abandoned the cleansing pool. Perhaps he would find a
survivor. Or worse.

He darted around the pillar with his
sword raised high. There, he only saw a pair of boots.

Further down the hall, a barefooted
Arxu drew closer to the entrance. He sighed in great effort as he
struggled to put one foot in front of the other. He needed to tell
Nishka what he had seen within the macabre temple, what he had
heard. He couldn’t let this knowledge die with him, nonetheless be
suppressed by guards.

Arxu approached the entrance and
breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, the rattle of chainmail
alerted him that he was not alone.

Chapter 19

Arxu instantly dropped to the floor.
Slowly, his fingers released his staff as a shadow fell upon
him.

“What? I swear I thought I saw…” The
guard turned around and scanned the hall. “Damn temple… Must be
something about this place.” He looked down at the body lying at
his feet, observing the apparent corpse.

He kicked Arxu and he stifled a grunt.
He kicked him again, roughly turning him over. Arxu’s chilling gaze
fell on the guard, eyes that seemed icy and lifeless. The sentry
shifted backward in surprise.

“He isn’t bleeding. How did you die…?”
He prodded Arxu with his toe. “He resembles the man rotting in the
dungeons… The same pale skin and blue hair… Well, if he
is
a
Nightwalker, he’s dead now.” The guard observed him for a while
longer, trying to make sense of this discovery.

“Perhaps I should bring the body to the
watch. The general is curious to know the origins of magick… An
autopsy may help shed light on this enigma.” He circled Arxu. “Is
magick a defect in the bloodline? Or an aberration of the soul?”
Arxu did not answer him.

“I wonder if it’s something in their
blood. There must be some explanation for their kind.” In fact, the
general was paying a hefty sum for each mage “acquired” for their
experiment. The guard could certainly benefit from a few more
silver coins.

“Yes, I think an autopsy is necessary.”
Arxu swept him off his feet with his legs. The guard cried out in
alarm and struck his head on the floor, losing consciousness. Arxu
listened for the sound of guards pounding down the hallway, but
they did not come. At last, he lifted a trembling hand. Arxu
staggered to his feet and swayed as though inebriated. He blinked
against the blinding sunlight. He couldn’t fight the exhaustion for
much longer. He lethargically approached the temple door and
departed.

* * *

Nishka glanced over her shoulder again
as if Arxu might reappear. His absence could only portend trouble
in the harsh city of Gaelithea.

“Where did Arxu go?” she wondered out
loud. She regarded the darkling hovering around the merchandise. He
was scrutinizing the customers, ready to pounce upon them.
“Hrioshango, I need to find Arxu. Can you watch over the
merchandise?”

“Yes! Hrioshango shall amass wealth in
your name! I am the beginning of your merchant empire!” Nishka
managed an amused smile, hoping she hadn’t made a terrible mistake.
The darkling eagerly replaced Nishka behind the stall. He presided
over the weapons, his gleeful smile infecting customers with
fear.

As much as Nishka wanted to monitor the
darkling, her biggest priority was Arxu. She departed from the
market and expanded her search to the temple district. One street
after the other, she sifted through the crowds. He couldn’t have
gone too far.

“Where are you, Arxu?” she murmured as
a contingent of soldiers rattled past her. She apprehensively eyed
the blades on their halberds. Suddenly, Nishka spotted him among
the people. Arxu wandered through the streets, appearing slightly
dazed. He lost balance as someone shoved past him.

“Arxu! Where were you? What happened?
You look…” He slung his arm across her shoulders, letting his head
droop.

“I need to rest,” he quietly said,
struggling to draw breath. His balance failed him and he tottered
forward, and he would have fallen were it not for Nishka. He
blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to stay awake.

“What happened?”

“Must get to the inn…”

“Will you tell me there?” She guided
Arxu in the direction of the inn. Images waned in and out of focus
for the weary Arxu. “What were you thinking?” Nishka said. “Don’t
ever separate from me in Gaelithea! We need to stay
together!”