“We are now leaving the Underkin’s quarter.” Habbad leaned his head around the legs in front of him, casting furtive glances down the road. “Underkin are not permitted to walk these streets without Aenerian escort. I have only done so a few times, and Kreed made me wear a mask so I couldn’t see where I was going. I’m afraid we have reached the limit of my knowledge of the area. I suggest we split the group to cover more ground. What say you, Valen?”
Valen checked the surrounding area before dropping his gaze to Habbad. “That would obviously be more efficient, but I am concerned with our combat strength. We would have no way of knowing if one group was in danger, and we may need the strength of the entire unit to respond to whatever troubles await. We will stay together.”
“Then we must move quickly,” Habbad replied.
“Wait a second,” Cole interrupted. “Eliza, you used to link up with Deekus and talk with your minds. Chiron once talked to me with his mind too. Couldn’t we do that now?”
Eliza twitched at the mention of her mate. “Deekus and I had a fraternal link, which is no small feat of Passion. Even if I could maintain the link to another heart, the information exchanged would be limited, and one-way, and seeing as no one else has bothered with that aspect of Passion…” She trailed off, as her tone sharpened to accusation.
“Try it,” Cole said, ignoring her glare.
“Try what, exactly?” she said with an impatient hiss.
“The link. Try the fraternal link with me. I know I’m the worst with magic, but I am bonded with Goran. Even now I can feel how afraid and uncomfortable he is, and he’s miles away. I’m not asking you to give your heart to me, just try the link.” Cole reached out and took one of her large hands, wrapping his around two of her fingers.
She brought her other hand over his, covering them both. Tears threatened to roll from her eyes. “You don’t understand. The link requires certain parts of yourself. I cannot give those parts to anyone else, they are broken and raw. I may damage you through the process.”
Cole adopted a consoling tone: “I’ve lost someone I loved too. I know what it feels like.” He winced as the memories flared up to the fore of his mind. He pushed them back like he had done countless times before. “Try the link with me. If it’s too much we’ll just stick together and search as a group.”
Eliza regarded him for a moment, then clasped her hands over his face and crouched down to meet him. “We haven’t much time, relax your mind and open your heart to me. Think about how I make you feel. Don’t hold anything back or it won’t work.” Her eyebrows joined as she pierced him with her gaze.
“Ok,” Cole said, regret pooling in his chest. He relaxed and stared into her eyes.
He thought about what he knew of Eliza, which was embarrassingly little. He had known and worked with her every day for months. Would it have killed him to ask a question or two about how she was feeling one day, or something about her past? He focused instead on how she made him feel. He remembered feeling comforted and welcomed by her on their first meeting. He recalled seeing her in her swimwear, and how good she looked. He immediately shifted his focus to more innocent thoughts.
Eliza shook her head, the urgency in her eyes clearly reminding him not to hold back.
He delved into the feelings again, arousal now mixing with the other sensations. She nodded, encouraging him to continue. Cole brought his thoughts to the subject he was avoiding. He could feel the weight of it behind a thin gap in between where he stored his nightmares. He thought of Deekus.
This is what she had been waiting for. Their mutual relationship, however slight, was enough for her to create the link. It was a thin strand of empathy at first, but then she widened it, pouring her love and agony into him. The force of it almost overwhelmed him at first, but he too had suffered such loss. His emotional scars were strong enough to carry the weight. Cole accepted the burden, sharing it with her, offering his own grief and love for Joshy. Even though she didn’t know his brother, she was able to understand what he had been through. The link was strong enough now. Relief flowed over both their faces. Her eyes softened and offered Cole a look of deepest gratitude.
“I had no idea you suffered so much. You are a resilient one, Cole Carter.” Her voice echoed into his mind.
“You are strong as well. We both lost something. I used to think I was pretty tough, but the truth is I had never been tested. I’m still not strong enough to face my demons though. Maybe someday,” he replied, thinking the words directly to her. “Is the link strong enough?”
“Oh it’s strong enough. We can communicate as clearly as we are now from any distance.” Eliza released Cole’s face, turning towards the rest of the unit. “It is done.”
“Are you sure? There can be no doubt.” Valen gave her a skeptical look.
“There is no doubt. Split the unit as you see fit,” Eliza said.
Valen rattled off the names without hesitation. “Storn, Eliza, and I will go left here. Lileth, take Habbad, Cole, and Sitra to the right. We’ll loop around the towers from opposite directions and relay our findings along the way.”
Sitra cut in, “You mean to tell me my group’s going to be without a competent healer?”
“Each of your number is competent to some degree,” Valen offered.
“You know what I mean. Lileth can only seem to heal Cole, and he and Habbad haven’t been able to heal as much as a bruise yet.”
Eliza shook her head. “I wouldn’t be so sure about Cole. He just hasn’t had the proper motivation to use that aspect of Passion. He is most adept with other areas.”
“Hmph.” Sitra crossed her arms. “Until he shows a bit of aptitude, I think we’ll just have him take the lead. That way if he gets mangled Lil can patch him up.”
“Do what you must, but do it quickly.” Valen straightened his red robes. “Storn, Eliza, let’s get moving.”
Valen’s group set off at a brisk pace, leaving the rest of them in thick silence.
“Shall we?” Lileth brushed her fingers over her robed armor, turning it blood red with each stroke.
Habbad walked beside Lileth in the rear, but he led the group with whispered instructions. With his guidance, they wove their way through thoroughfares, each street and alley more elegant than the last, but still eerily deserted. They passed through residential and commercial areas, peering sideways through each darkened window. There was no sign of life, though the area didn’t have the abandoned look of the Underkin’s district. After a while they rounded a corner, looping back towards the tower.
“Anything yet?” Cole asked through the link.
Eliza did not respond immediately. Cole asked again, widening the link and pressing his urgency into the message. Eliza replied with a soothing tone. “There is no need to shout. I can feel you as if you were riding on my shoulders.”
“Then what’s with the delay?” Cole demanded.
Her tone was that of violent calm: “While inspecting a warehouse we were questioned by two priests. I was…distracted.”
Cole didn’t like some of the images that joined her words. “What happened, is everything all right?” he asked.
“We are perfectly safe. The warehouse held linens, not odium as we’d hoped.” She pressed upon him images of Valen and Storn, who were busy cleaning something that looked like blood from their robes.
“And what about the priests? Did they question you?” Cole was absolutely terrified of the possibility of hostile magic users. He had seen the things his unit was capable of, and heard stories of what the minions of The Three could do.
“They didn’t get the chance to ask us anything. Just know that there are two fewer priests for us to worry about.” She flooded his mind with reassuring images, putting an end to his questioning.
Cole stopped walking, jittery shock setting in. The gravity of the mission hit him with a morbid sense of reality.
“What’s wrong, Cole? Are they ok?” Sitra gripped his arm painfully.
�
�They’re fine. They just killed two priests.” The words tasted like sawdust in his mouth.
“Dammit, I bet Storn I would get the first kill. Now I have to buy him a cypher from the erotic section,” Sitra said through clenched teeth.
Cole stared at her, incredulous. How could she be more concerned about losing a bet than about an imminent fight for their lives?
Sensing his discomfort, Eliza chimed into their link. “The priests seem more accustomed to torturing Underkin and groveling to Sorronis than any real fighting. They are easy to kill. Steel your heart, Cole. I felt their souls as they left for the aethers. They were evil priestesses and not to be mourned. Do not hesitate.” She repeated Roth’s first rule, which hardened his heart considerably.
Eliza withdrew from the connection, leaving a thin yet unbreakable strand. Cole shook off his worry. If Eliza said these were bad people, then he wouldn’t feel sorry or scared of killing them.
“You are too engrossed in Passion.” Lileth pulled his eyes into hers. “Do not forget your Wisdom and Rage. You may well have need of them all too soon.” She turned towards the others. “As Roth said, this is a mission of stealth and thievery. We will kill if necessary, but our primary concern is for the targets. Keep moving.”
Lileth was right. Cole felt so full of Passion that his other parts faded to the back of his mind. Valen’s team likely had no choice but to kill the priests, and they would have done so with maximum efficiency and minimal suffering. The mere thought of someone threatening his unit almost brought his munisica through his new boots. It was with an effort that he didn’t pounce when they rounded a corner and came face to face with a group of Underkin.
Habbad put a hand on Sitra and Cole, stilling them. He moved to the front of the group. “How dare you stand in the path of an agent of Sorronis? And you’ve no escort in the Valley District! Explain yourselves while you still draw breath.”
The four Underkin cowered together, attempting to appear as small as possible. A man in front gripped his large water skin as if it were a life vest on a sinking ship. His lips trembled as he spoke. “Our deepest apologies sirs and ma’ams. We meant no offense. Our dull ears can’t hear graceful footsteps such as yours from around the corner.”
“Tell them that they can avoid punishment if they can pass my test,” Lileth said, her voice as calm as it was deadly.
Habbad locked a raised eye with Lileth, patting his dagger as though letting her know the cost. He turned back to the four trembling figures, relaying her message. The Underkin deliberated for a moment before nodding their approval, eager to please.
Lileth raised her chin and spoke in a regal tone. “The test is thus; they are to explain to me everything they know about the Devotion, and of its importance. If their answer satisfies me, then they shall not be punished.”
Habbad cocked his head, visibly pleased. He repeated her words, even though the Underkin had clearly understood what Lileth said. They apparently had no right to talk directly to an agent of Sorronis.
Relief washed over the man in front as he relaxed his grip on his water skin. “Ah, but of course we are not to speak of the Devotion. Father Kreed told us what we needed to know, and his words were for our ears only. It is forbidden, sirs and ma’ams. Does this answer please the ma’am?” A smug grin spread across his face as his comrades clapped him on the back.
“Very…good. Very good indeed. You may go now.” Lileth’s confidence faltered, but the Underkin seemed not to notice as they bolted towards the towers, showering praise upon the one who’d passed the test.
“That could have gone a lot worse,” Cole remarked.
Habbad kept his murderous glare on the Underkin as they disappeared around a bend in the alley. “That was clever, but next time we ought to kill them. Our gamble yielded nothing except for a very proud man who is itching to tell his friends how he passed a test for Sorronis. If a real priest gets wind of his deeds then there will be questions. Questions that will likely lead back to us.”
They agreed to be more careful and continued their search around the edge of the city. Twice, Sitra spotted a group of Underkin and took the team on a more circuitous route.
“There shouldn’t be any Underkin without escort in these parts. Did my eyes deceive me or were they all headed for the towers?” Habbad asked.
“I think you’re right. Do you think the Devotion’s already started?” Cole asked.
“It is possible. I was very young during the last one. The only part that stuck in my memory was the burning of the tower. That and the celebrations beforehand.” Habbad scowled, “Men and women alike giving into their most primal desires. The fact that they were Chosen gave them license to do terrible things that they would never dare on a normal day. Fights and murdering, lusting in the streets, thievery and overindulgence. The Aenerians encouraged it.” Habbad nodded with grim realization. “It must have made for better harvesting when they went to the towers.”
“From what I know of the darker magics, that makes sense,” Lileth said, peering through the window of a large empty building. “Debauchery fattens certain parts of the soul, a much better meal for those willing to feed. Something doesn’t make sense to me, however.” She turned to Habbad: “Do Underkin dehydrate easily in Costas?”
“Those of us working hard labor do. It is not uncommon for someone to drop dead during the daylight months. Usually the very old or very young.” He stopped. “Why do you ask?”
“We’ve seen over a dozen of your kind so far. Each one was carrying a water skin so large and full that they were sweating from the exertions, though the skins were all full to bursting, untouched.”
Habbad rubbed his chin. “I noticed that as well. Perhaps they are bringing liquors to the Chosen.”
Cole gasped, slapping his forehead. “Or they’re carrying bags of odium to the Chosen at the towers!”
“That is my conclusion.” Lileth’s face darkened. “Only I believe that they are the Chosen. Each one is carrying his own supply of odium for the burning.”
“What makes you think that?” Cole asked, his eyebrows joined in concern as the implications fell into place. “That means the odium’s no good! There must be thousands of bags crawling all over the city! We’re running out of targets.”
“I tried probing those Underkin with Passion,” Lileth said, her face drooping with sadness. “Their hearts and minds were nothing but dank voids resonating Despair. Also, each one of them had a blackened scar on his face or neck. They must be the Chosen.” Lileth slowed, turning to Cole: “And I believe you to be right, the odium is no longer a valid target.”
Sitra’s munisica sprang from her hands, tearing her boots completely off. “That leaves the towers. That we can do.” Fire blazed in her eyes as she flexed her black claws. “We’ll bring them down on their heads.”
“Are you sure?” Cole asked, his heart skipping double time. “There has to be another way. The towers are probably guarded.”
“There are no other viable targets,” Lileth said. Her face was grave. “The priests’ numbers are too great, and scattered. The Chosen and odium even more so. The towers are our only option. We will bring them down.” She put a hand on Cole’s shoulder, squeezing him gently. “Tell the others to make for the center of the city.”
“All right,” Cole said, voice cracking. Taking the towers would surely mean a fight. A real one. He had been in life-threatening situations before, but he’d never had time to think about it beforehand. He swallowed, trying to wet his throat before speaking to Eliza with his mind. He closed his eyes, reaching for the thread. He couldn’t find it. Worried, he reached again. Nothing. The familiar link was nowhere to be found. There was something else there, however, something serious. He found another strand. He tuned his empathy to a pitch that better suited this link.
“Cole!” Eliza’s voice echoed with panic and urgency.
Cole enveloped her: “I’m here. Is everything all right?”
Her panic and tears were palpable
through the link: “There are Domina within the city. They came out of nowhere. Dammit they’re fast. Storn’s down, wounded. They opened him right up. Something is preventing my Passion from healing him, some kind of poison. Valen is doing what he can to stop the bleeding, but I don’t think Storn’s going to make it.”
Cole could feel the eyes of his team on him. “Where are you? We’ll come help!”
Eliza’s tone steadied to resigned sorrow. “No, see to the targets. There’s nothing to be done for him now. Perhaps Alvani could heal him, but that’s not an option. Have you found the odium?”
Cole rubbed his thumbs on his temples. His head was starting to hurt. “The Chosen are each carrying their own bags of odium. There’s too many of them. The towers are the only good targets now. Have you seen any of the other units that Roth was talking about? It seems like it’s just us out here.”
“No, but the city is large.” There was a pause. Cole could feel the wheels spinning in her mind. “We’re close to the towers now. Meet us on the roof of the dark stone building. It’s the one next to the belltower.”
“What about Storn?” Even as he asked, images of Storn’s limp form swam in front of his mind’s eye.
“We’ll bring him with us. Maybe Lileth can do something for him. Whether he survives or not, we are not leaving his body for some wretched Corpulant to find. Hurry Cole.” She withdrew from the link.
“We’re on our way.” Cole opened his eyes, coming back to reality.
Lileth hands clamped down on his shoulders, fingers bruising his flesh. “What happened?”
Cole flinched, attempting to shake her off. “There’s Domina in the city. One of them got Storn and he’s hurt pretty bad. Eliza can’t heal him. We’re going to meet up by the towers.”
Saving The Dark Side: Book 1: The Devotion Page 40