The Undying God (4 page)

I’m just going to peek inside
,
she thought. The guards only glanced at the young woman as she
pushed open the great double doors to Tythoril. She stepped inside
the vacant tower and took in the melancholy chamber. The doors
groaned ominously and snapped shut, eclipsing the tower in
darkness. The bang echoed like a cacophony of thunder, stealing her
will to call out Arxu’s name.

She approached the staircase awaiting
her. With each step, her eyes roamed across the interior design.
Alcoves in the walls cradled statues of robed women. She almost
lost her footing as she marveled at the sights. Immersed up to her
neck in darkness, the fragile light of evening peeped through the
windows and reflected in her eyes. Nishka walked through several
levels within the tower, but there was no sign of the elusive Arxu.
She was beginning to think the confused beggar sent her in the
wrong direction. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of a figure in the
shadows.

“Arxu!” Nishka called. Her legs
pumping, she burst into a small chamber jeweled with elaborate rose
windows. Dozens of figures were gathered in the room, each of them
made of stone. Nishka curiously wandered among the hooded statues
embracing swords in their hands. They resembled a secret order
forgotten in the recesses of Tythoril, no more than a memory in
stone now.

It seemed as though an eternity had
passed by the time she reached the pinnacle. And within the opulent
room, she saw her bodyguard surveying the sky from a
balcony.

“Arxu, what are you doing here?” Nishka
exclaimed. Arxu looked over his shoulder. “We have to
leave!”

“You have come all this way. You won’t
even observe the city?”

“I don’t have time, Arxu! The guards—”
Arxu turned his back to her, looking again at the view afforded to
him. Nishka approached the edge of the balcony and peered below.
She felt a little delirious as she looked down on the city. The
buildings below were miniscule, a mosaic of architecture splendid
in every aspect. She rested her hands on the balcony and devoured
the view with excitement. At last, she swayed away from the
sight.

“We must go,” she whispered. Without
another word, Arxu turned away as twilight receded.

* * *

Nishka crawled into her bedroll and
settled against the warm blankets. After enduring hours of travel,
the only feeling she acknowledged was aching bones. Her pain seemed
to dissolve in a swathe of warm blankets as she nestled against the
covers. Her mind was exhausted from the events of the day and she
wanted nothing more than to lose herself in oblivion. She and Arxu
had set up camp by a lush forest.

The sky above resembled dark satin,
beckoning Nishka to gaze into its infinite space. The stars were
few but they were beautifully inset in the darkness like precious
gems beyond mortal reach. She couldn’t help but imagine what lay
far beyond Riverwell as she admired the heavens.

She wondered where her travels across
Eyegad would eventually take her. Would the city-states
fundamentally change her? Would she decide to leave Riverwell and
find a home in the cities?

She admitted that she didn’t have any
plans for her future. She was still searching for her life’s
purpose. Living among the cities appealed to a small part of her
that hungered for a greater experience. Her opportunities were
limited in Riverwell; her father especially acknowledged this. She
would have weeks to decide where life would take her before she
returned home.

Crickets chirped tranquilly in the
dark, their song lacking a distinct harmony. The requiem of sleep
lured Nishka to leave the world behind.

She cast a final look at Arxu as he
lingered by the edge of the camp, gazing vacantly into space. He
seemed captivated by the sky above him, but there was also
something restless about his demeanor.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?” Nishka
asked.

Arxu looked at her blankly.

“No.” Nishka shuddered at his harsh
tone and rested her head against the blankets. Arxu wandered around
the camp for a while longer, not content to remain still. Finally,
he picked up his blackened staff and walked away.

Nishka dared to open her eyes. Those
slivers of color watched Arxu disappear under the shade of the
forest. Several minutes ebbed by before she crawled out of her
bedroll. To say she was annoyed that he didn’t explain why he was
leaving
again
was an understatement
—
unless, of
course, he didn’t want her to know.

“First you snap at me, now you abandon
me,” she murmured. “I swear, when I find you…” She marched into the
undergrowth without the slightest idea where to begin her search.
Not surprisingly, Arxu left behind little evidence of his nocturnal
excursion. He may as well have melted into the darkness like smoke
in a seething storm.

At last, she caught sight of something
in the most delicate shadow, a glint—perhaps that of an orb affixed
to a staff. She squinted and pressed forward toward the strange
source. Nishka almost tripped when she spotted the uncanny man.
Arxu drifted over the forest floor without a whisper, a narrow
silhouette wafting into obscurity. The image of Arxu slinking
through the dark sent a chill down her spine. Despite the warning
screeching in her mind, she continued to pursue him.

Nishka was confident she could find her
way back to the camp, but sleep wouldn’t come now. She needed to
know why her escort eloped into the forest without explanation.
Again, she surmised that something was truly wrong with this
man.

She felt drawn toward a clearing beyond
the trees where the moon cast its stark glow. One glance at Arxu
sent her scattering to the nearest tree. Crouching low, she peered
around the sturdy beech to find Arxu basking in the
moonlight.

His hands hovered above something on
the grass, his fingers twitching in the dark. His lips barely
moved, speaking only above a whisper. It looked as though he was
performing an occult rite.

The objects arranged beneath Arxu
gleamed sumptuously in the cloak of night. Nishka jerked when she
saw him rise, and she pressed closer to the tree.

Arxu snapped a look over his shoulder,
his blue eyes gouging the dark. Nishka barely stifled a cry of
alarm. A wave of danger rolled over her. Arxu’s fingers curled
around his staff, but he may as well have clasped her heart in his
tormenting grip. He took an initial step in her direction, but
something made him swivel to the north. He looked into the bowels
of the forest as if mesmerized. Finally, he paced in that
direction, abandoning his possessions on the forest floor. He
vanished without a trace, leaving just as abruptly as he
appeared.

Nishka would never have another
opportunity like this to see what temptations beckoned him at this
hour. She wondered what he had prayed to in the deepest recesses of
the forest—if he was indeed praying to some forbidden deity.
Curiosity goaded her forward. As she approached the cryptic site,
it became harder to breathe.

Occult stones were assorted on the
forest floor. Their smoothed shapes gleamed like constellations in
the night.

Ever so slowly, she outstretched her
hand and her fingertips brushed against a cold sapphire. The
alluring gem felt no different than frost-misted ice in the dead of
a cool winter, except she could feel the raw energy imprisoned
inside. Whispering to her. It consumed her with wonder.

Suddenly, a voice said very close to
her ear, “What are you doing here?”

Chapter 4

Arxu lurked behind her, his vivid eyes
piercing hers. He looked enthralling in the moonlight dancing
across his handsome features.

Nishka was overcome with the most
potent regret. She feared there was no escaping this situation,
whatever deviant ritual he was performing beneath the opulent
moon.

“I—I followed you,” she stammered. She
couldn’t find the words to defend her mischief. She looked around
the forest as though she could escape from the strange man. Arxu
stood firm with his staff clutched tightly in his hand.

“You shouldn’t be out here,” he said,
but his voice didn’t ring with anger. Nishka winced under his
scrutinizing gaze. When she didn’t elaborate on her uninvited
presence, he swept past her.

“What are you doing out here?” she
asked.

“I am a Nightwalker.”

“What does that mean?” Arxu slipped one
of the stones into his satchel and produced another. His fingers
gracefully placed the rounded stone on the earth.

“I am an arcane practitioner devoted to
gem magick. I imbue precious stones with spells and release them
when needed.” Nishka stepped away from the stones as if they would
spontaneously combust.

“Do you store the spells
there?”

“Yes. I summon my energy, displace it
in the stone, and activate it on will. Other components do not
store power and merely act as a conduit through which I channel my
magick.” He picked up a quartz crystal and held it in his pale
hand, studying its countless facets and myriad
reflections.

“Magicked stones are not a limitless
source of magick because it saps the energy from within each time
they are activated. When its energy is completely expended, they
must be charged again. The moon is essential to my vocation because
it charges the stones with magick essence.”

He approached Nishka and held out his
hand with a gem in his palm. It was impossible to discern whether
the stone glowed in the moonlight or with his essence. Nishka began
to reach for it when Arxu’s fingers snapped around the
crystal.

“When the moon is full, the stones
charge to their full capacity. If there is a half moon, my
components regain half of their energy; if the moon does not rise,
they will not charge.” Nishka observed the full moon above and she
looked again at the stones on the forest floor. She cautiously
knelt down by the tools of Arxu’s craft. She saw black obsidian
beads, a pale stone, a magnificent crimson garnet, and crystal
rods. She wondered what powers they possessed, but she reasoned the
Nightwalker would not easily divulge that information. Spellcasters
guarded their craft in secrecy, or so she had heard the villagers
of Riverwell say.

“You creep around the forests at
night?” Nishka asked. “You really are extraordinary.”

“I voyage into the wilderness after
dusk and restore my energy under the moon. The word ‘Nightwalker’
is largely derived from this practice.”

“That sounds romantic,” Nishka joked.
“The voyage after dusk, I mean… under the moon.” Not even the
slightest smile creased his lips. “Never mind,” she said, giving
up.

“For future purposes, I need to be
alone when I restore my power. Your presence was a
distraction.”

“Did you know I was following
you?”

“I suspected someone was there. I did
not, however, expect to see you.”

“Let me know the next time you leave me
like that.”

“I thought you didn’t require my
protection,” Arxu retorted.

“I can’t protect myself when I’m
asleep. I would have remained awake until you returned.” The
Nightwalker absently nodded.

“I suppose it is for the best that you
know what I am. Many choose not to understand my kind, instead
believing in myths and lies. I can teach you more about
Nightwalkers another night.” He gathered up the stones and dropped
them into a leather pouch on his belt. Nishka quietly watched him
secure his belongings.

“Let us return to our rest,” Arxu
suggested.

* * *

Nishka yawned and tried to fall asleep
again. She couldn’t stop thinking about the unusual encounter with
Arxu last night. She wondered if it had been a bizarre dream,
accounting for her exhaustion. She smiled at the strange notion of
Arxu imbuing stones with spells or eloping into the forests when
the moon was high.

“I surmise you didn’t sleep well,
considering that you followed me into the forest last
night.”

The voice belonged to that occult man.
Nishka opened her eyes. Arxu stood by the road with the familiar
black staff in his hand. Nishka glanced at the satchel at his
waist, where she had seen him deposit the stones only hours ago
after charging them.

“We shall journey to Azia-Nocti,” he
said.

Nishka laughed, “I haven’t even eaten
yet! Don’t you think you could give me some time to prepare?” He
looked mildly perplexed. “Don’t tell me Nightwalkers don’t eat
food. You’re still human, right?”

Not before long, they embarked on the
road again toward their destination. They were far beyond the
jurisdiction of Sepulzer now, straddling the border between
city-states.

According to the map in Arxu’s
possession, the merchant route they were traveling was called
Godless Road. It was a notorious site for ambush, where caravans
were victimized without consequence.

Neither Sepulzer nor the city-state of
Gaelithea had established patrols along this dangerous stretch of
road, and no one could imagine why the crime was tolerated. Many
merchants traveled in the company of mercenaries for protection.
However, there was always the caravan that believed they could slip
past the detection of cut-throats and bandits. Many caravans were
reported missing after they journeyed here. Oblivious to the lore
surrounding this land, Nishka and Arxu proceeded south.