The Undying God (37 page)

Ethan plucked one of the notes from the
floor, gingerly holding it between his fingers. Sometimes he
wondered if Astalla could hear him, if she truly had departed from
their hearts. What if she had forsaken them because of the
corruption in the temples?

His eyes fell to the words in the
prayer note.

Astalla, if you can hear
me, I ask for your protection. Please wrap me in your loving
embrace and shelter me from those who would harm me. I no longer
feel safe in your holy dwelling. The clerics blame me among other
women for your absence.

Please reveal yourself and
prove you are still with your followers. I do not pretend to
understand your will, but I know you are still there, watching us.
I can feel you.

Ethan jerked as a female scream rattled
in the distance. It had to be coming from beyond the prayer hall.
With shaking fingers, he regarded the written plea
again.

I have not betrayed you,
Astalla. If anything, the clerics have abandoned their duties in
search of power. Save us from them. Please grant me
hope.

Love, Kayla

Ethan fell back in astonishment,
suddenly ashamed for reading her prayer. So many notes sprawled
across the hall, never formally submitted to Astalla. After a
moment, he kissed the note and suspended it above the hissing
candles. Rising from worship, he pursed his lips to blow out the
flames.

He froze as four shadows stretched into
the sanctum, followed by the ominous sound of armor. He glimpsed
the silhouettes creeping down the hall, goaded onward by a man
bearing a red lantern. Ethan gawked at the spiritual advisor as he
approached, flanked by three armed guards.

“What is this?” An insincere smile
painted Ganelon’s withered face.

“Ethan,” he said. “We do not desire
trouble.” The mention of trouble immediately ignited his
concern.

“Why have you cornered me in the prayer
hall?”

“I suppose it is inappropriate to
interrupt your prayer, but it has proven quite difficult
discovering your whereabouts. I have been searching endlessly for
you... to resolve a certain matter.” Something drew Ethan’s gaze
and he peered down at the object clutched in Ganelon’s hand. The
iron rod glowed a scalding red. The hairs on Ethan’s neck bristled
as he recalled the female scream.

“What in the hells have you done?” he
whispered. Ganelon toyed with the instrument between his fingers,
tasked with torturing women’s bodies.

All in the name of sexual
morality.

His eyes looked sunken and black, and
his protruding brows seemed no more than dark furrows. The oils
around his eyes slithered like black tears down his cheeks. His
hideous, cracked lips curled in a mocking smile.

“Actually, your conduct has been called
into question, not mine, Ethan. It seems Auroria has come forth
with allegations that you attempted to seduce her...” Ethan
recoiled in stinging shock.

“I would never seduce her! Let me speak
to her!” Ganelon lunged forward like a serpent baited with
prey.

“You shall not speak to Auroria! You
have caused enough harm! You have endangered the peace of this
temple with your wanton desires.” Outraged, Ethan’s words caught in
his throat. He wanted to throttle the advisor and demand an
explanation.

In that moment, his worst fears were
realized. The priests had indeed become corrupted with power.
Ganelon smiled with pleasure.

“You are excommunicated from the faith
for your lust,” he said, delivering the final blow. Nothing could
have mentally prepared Ethan for those words. Ganelon savored the
helpless expression on his face before expanding upon his
threat.

“These men will remove you by force if
you fail to comply.”

“This is insanity,” Ethan breathed. “If
you think you can banish me without a proper investigation, I will
disappoint you. I have already shed blood to protect an innocent
woman from Cleric Valesius. I will use force if necessary to ensure
my safety.”

“You break yet another tenet! Violence
is strictly forbidden—”

“Yet you would use force to
excommunicate me.”

Ganelon attempted a reply but he had no
logical rebuttal. “You are helpless against three guards,” he
remarked.

“On the contrary, my magickal gifts are
more than adequate to defend me. And rid the temple of your
corruption.” For a moment, Ganelon let fear pierce his façade. He
knew Ethan could use his spiritual energy for healing, but was it
possible he could use his gift to inflict harm?

Ethan emphasized, “Elder Invictus is
the most dangerous threat to the temple.” Ganelon looked as though
he might relinquish. He glanced at the shrine, his eyes roaming
over the statuette of Astalla.

“Seize him,” he commanded. The guards
lowered their polearms and approached.

Ethan kicked a flaming brazier, dousing
the chamber in darkness. Ganelon cursed with rage and scrambled
away from the sizzling embers. Suddenly, he was falling toward the
floor and instead of breaking his fall, his hands blistered in hot
ashes.

Ganelon screamed as he scratched the
embers from his eyes. He failed to seize the cleric when the
perfect opportunity presented itself. His sheer determination would
lead him to the impetuous Ethan. He would hunt down the young
priest and personally exile him.

After all, he was above the religious
tenets.

* * *

“What will you do when you confront
Margzor?” Arxu asked. They leisurely walked through the markets,
retiring to the inn. The guards glanced at them suspiciously. “Kill
him?”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Nishka
admitted. “Since we’ve concentrated all of our efforts on finding
him, I haven’t given thought to our confrontation.”

“You need to make a decision soon. What
will you do?”

“I’ll give him a chance to stop his
campaign for divinity. Maybe I can find out what is motivating him
to do this. There’s no justification for his crimes, but I want to
know
why
. If he refuses to stop, I’m counting on you to help
me end this
permanently.
”

“You can’t rationalize with him,
Nishka. His mind has been broken by a demon. You won’t be speaking
to the man himself.”

“I suppose you would skip conversation
entirely and resort to blows?”

“I don’t see the value of diplomacy
with a mass murderer. He’s committed to his extremist fantasies. I
saw the bodies in the temple of Gaelithea. He toyed with them
before killing them.” Nishka looked at him in shock.

“This is the first time you mentioned
this.”

“I didn’t think it was necessary to go
into the details. Many of the bodies were covered in superficial
cuts. Finally, he would cut them down when he grew
bored.”

“But—”

“He left the bodies on the altar,
Nishka.
Like a sacrifice mocking Astalla!
” He caught his
breath, taken back by the surge of anger. “I think we should
stop.”

“How long have you felt this way?” a
bewildered Nishka demanded. Arxu slumped in the dark
alley.

“You didn’t see what I saw. When I
looked into the cleansing pool and Astalla revealed him to me…” He
shook his head. “There is no good in him. There is no reason. Only
hate.” He couldn’t tell her that doubt had infected him weeks ago.
He was afraid to confront death a second time and lose everything.
“He will not give you the chance to speak,” Arxu said forcefully.
“He has something we don’t have, Nishka.” She didn’t speak. She
already knew what he was implying.

“An ideology he’s willing to die
for.”

With those crestfallen words, he walked
away, leaving Nishka behind. She somberly watched him vanish into a
crowd of people as equally apathetic as him.

“Maybe I’m willing to die for mine,
too,” she whispered.

Nishka had spent hours tossing in bed
before losing herself to the oblivion of strange dreams. A knock
sounded against her door, shattering any hopes of rest. She
scrambled for her clothes but she only succeeded in tangling
herself in the sheets.

“Oh, please don’t let it be the
innkeeper,” she pleaded.

She would have paid him the day she
arrived, but her purse was strangely empty. She suspected that a
certain darkling had more than a little to do with that. She
hastily wrapped the blanket around her body and wrenched open the
door.

“Arxu?” she said, looking blankly at
him. “Just a moment, let me get dressed—” The first words out of
Arxu’s mouth were not what Nishka expected.

“Nishka, how were you able to heal me?”
She looked at Arxu’s chest, where she imagined the wound still
looked tender under his shirt. His bandages would require changing
soon.

“My mother taught me,” she answered
shyly. Arxu lowered his gaze to the floor. Not in the mood to
elaborate, Nishka let the conversation trail off.

“I am sorry...” Nishka paused as she
began to shut the door. She was afraid she hadn’t heard him
correctly, “I am sorry,” Arxu repeated. “…about your mother and the
way I’ve been behaving. I haven’t shown you the gratitude you
deserve for helping me.”

Nishka fought back the tears in her
eyes and managed a smile. She wanted to forgive him, but she was
afraid she might cry.

“If you are determined to stop Margzor,
I will follow you. I was afraid to face him because I don’t know
what awaits me after death.” He found himself holding her hand,
desperately in need of a human connection.

Nishka didn’t know whether she felt
like crying because she wanted to see her mother again, or if her
tears were purely out of joy. She was proud of Arxu for venturing
beyond his emotional cage. He was starting to express himself
instead of bottling up his feelings.

“Sometimes I’m afraid there isn’t an
afterlife and existence ends at death,” Arxu confessed. “And if you
die… what will happen to you?”

Nishka squeezed his hand.

“We have to act, Arxu, even if no one
else does. Even if we fail in the end.” Tears began to roll down
her eyes. “To do nothing at all would be the real failure.” She
hugged Arxu, burying her face against him to hide her tears. Arxu
could feel her body shaking, her warmth seeping into
him.

“
Even if you die, you won’t
be alone,” she said. “I’ll be there until it’s over.”

Arxu didn’t let her go, wondering if
death would be as painful the second time. Maybe he would be
prepared.

Fear of death didn’t accompany them as
they explored the city. Nishka wanted to spend this day away from
the drama of politics, religion, and conspiracy. She only wished to
share this moment with Arxu.

Every so often, Arxu would point out
shops he remembered from his childhood, and Nishka would excitedly
drag him inside. Together, they gathered in the city plaza to watch
the yearly spring festival. Seven of the most beautiful,
unbetrothed women in Eternitas performed a sacred dance that
resembled an ever-changing labyrinth. The dance itself was said to
usher in spring and bestow them with blessings of
fertility.

“I remember the spring festival,” Arxu
said to his astonishment. “I would watch from the rooftops with my
adoptive mother as the people danced and exchanged gifts. Sometimes
the festival would last all day. I could smell the food baking
below and the delicious honey treats they handed out to children.
Everyone seemed to come together on that day and enjoy
themselves.”

“Why didn’t you join them?”

“It may not come as a surprise to you,
but I was shy as a child.”

“Oh
, then I’m going to make sure
you dance with them today!” Nishka said slyly. “Which woman do you
like?”

“No, Nishka, I am
not
dancing—no!” Before he knew it, Nishka clasped his hands and pulled
him into the revelry, spinning around and laughing.

Finally, they ended the day with drinks
at the tavern. Nishka reminisced about the brawl in Gaelithea and
the crazy antics involved. When she reached the part about
Hrioshango setting off an explosion, she almost choked on her drink
from laughter. Arxu preferred to see her this way instead of
consumed in worry. She was relaxed. Nishka noticed him looking
blankly at her smile.

“Are you okay, Arxu?”

“What?”

“You aren’t bored, are you?”

“No,” he insisted. “I was just thinking
about you.” Now it was Nishka’s turn to stammer a reply.

“Thinking about me?”

“Yes. You aren’t sad
anymore.”

“What makes you think I’m
sad?”

“You haven’t smiled like this in a long
time.” Nishka didn’t confirm his suspicions, but she didn’t deny
them either. When she wasn’t coping with loss, another feeling
toyed with her heart. She felt somewhat rejected by Arxu. He didn’t
show any sign that he cared profoundly about her—perhaps until
now.

“Do you like me better this way?” she
smiled. Arxu’s silence only made the suspense grow in Nishka’s
heart.