by Pedro Urvi
“I don’t understand at all,” Ikai said, “but I can see most of the Custodians gathered over there.”
“And all the Gods. No-one will miss this celebration. For them it’s sacred. The parade starts at the palace and then goes on to the royal pier. There the Lords will embark for the Central Ring, where the Ceremony will take place.”
“Let’s take advantage of that, steal a boat and escape,” Maruk said.
“I have a better plan,” said Albana.
A while later, with steady step and head held high, she walked towards the Custodian who was guarding the strange dark building. Not far away behind some bushes, Liriana, Maruk and Ikai watched with anxiety.
“Identify yourself, slave!” came the Custodian’s deep bray.
Albana stopped two steps away from the Guard. Very slowly she took out the disc she wore around her neck and showed it to him.
“I am a Shadow in the service of Oskas, Master-Spy of Lord Asu.”
The Custodian stared at the disc in silence.
“Shadow you are,” he nodded. “Now go on your way. This place is forbidden to you. Only the Masters and the Eyes-of-the-Gods are allowed in.”
Ikai tensed when he heard that. The Custodian was denying her entry.
Albana began to turn, and Ikai saw she was muttering something. Suddenly she turned back to face the Custodian and pointed at him. From her hand came forth that unnatural blackness.
“What are you doing?” grunted the Custodian as he readied his spear.
The blackness reached his helmet and coiled around it.
“Alarm…” he cried in an attempt at warning, but the blackness swallowed his words.
Albana unsheathed her daggers, ready to attack. The Custodian defended himself with his spear. She tried to dodge it, but she was not fast enough and the spear took her in the shoulder.
Ikai got up and ran, sword in hand. He had to finish off the Custodian. He reached him at the moment he swept Albana off her feet with a tremendous blow with his shield. She lay there in pain. Ikai stabbed him in the groin, where the armor was flexible, and the sword buried itself deeply. The spear probed for Ikai’s chest, and he dodged to one side. Behind the Custodian Liriana appeared and stabbed his left thigh. The Custodian swept her aside with his shield, throwing her to the ground and stunning her. Ikai knew he would never be able to defeat that hulk, so he tried to maim him. He plunged his sword into the Custodian’s right thigh and rolled aside. The tip of the spear grazed his temple as he moved away.
Maruk meanwhile had picked up Liriana’s sword and was defending her. The Custodian eyed them, undecided. He put his hand to his throat, trying to give the alarm call, but was prevented by the blackness which surrounded his helmet. For some reason the swine could see through it.
Ikai noticed that the Enforcer was losing a lot of blood. He gestured at Maruk to wait, and he nodded. The Custodian realized what they were attempting and moved towards Ikai, who took one step back, then another. The Custodian followed him like a bloodhound. But his steps were getting slower. Ikai kept as close as he dared, and finally the Custodian fell on his knees.
He sighed with relief. He skirted the Enforcer and went over to Liriana, who was helping Albana to her feet.
“How are you?” he asked.
Liriana had a huge lump on her forehead and a swollen eye which would soon close. Albana was bleeding from the wound on her shoulder.
“Fine,” Liriana said.
“Time to leave,” Albana said. She took out her disc and went into the strange building.
Ikai followed in puzzlement. He noticed that the floor was silver and the wall surrounding it black marble. It was more than fifteen feet tall, and formed a perfect circle. On the walls he saw the runes of the Gods. In the center rose a rectangular monolith, black as an abyss and polished as steel, rising tall and defiant towards the red moon. It was more than sixty feet tall. And then he knew where they were: in one of the artifacts of the Gods, a portal.
Albana went to stand beside the monolith and activated the disc.
“You mean to say you can use that door?” Ikai asked.
“It’s not only that I can, I know how to do it too. This is how I arrived when we separated.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” asked Liriana. “Let’s go!”
Ikai glanced up at the moon. “I can’t leave yet.”
“Come on Ikai, come with us,” Liriana begged him.
“I have to find Kyra. I can’t leave without her.”
“We can’t stay here waiting, you know,” said Liriana. “They’ll catch us.”
“That, or else I’ll bleed to death,” Albana put in.
“It’s not what I’m asking for.”
“I have to take Maruk to safety. It’s vital. I can’t take any more risks. Come with us, we can get to safety.”
Ikai stepped out of the artifact.
“I’m not leaving without Kyra. Go. Look after yourselves.”
Albana activated the disc, and there came a tremor, followed by a brightness.
“I believe this belongs to you,” Albana said, and threw him the leather bag she had at her back.
Ikai caught the bag and opened it in surprise. The Falcon Eye and the gauntlet were inside.
He looked up at Albana.
“Thank you…” he said awkwardly.
The monolith shone more intensely.
Ikai looked at Liriana, who was holding Maruk’s hand.
“Good luck,” he murmured, a fraction of a second before they disappeared.
He turned back toward the city.
Kyra, I’m coming for you.
30
The door opened, and Adamis came into the room. Kyra was looking out of the window at the moon, full and bloody, which marked the fatal destiny which awaited her that night.
“I didn’t think you’d show up,” she said disdainfully when she saw him.
I want you to know that I have no choice. It is my duty as Prince of my House. The Ceremony is sacred. I cannot interfere in any way. You were Selected for the Vivification, and I can do nothing about it. I am bound by my oath, by my House, by my family, to my honor.
“There’s always a choice.”
He looked down at the floor. If I try to save you, and I want you to know that I really wish I could, they would condemn us both, he said.
“You’re all repulsive.”
I do not expect you to understand or accept our form of existence, but I cannot change it…
“You could if you tried. You’re a Prince, a powerful Lord. You can change things from the inside. You can make your House stop enslaving us, stop killing defenseless men and women.”
In the time we have shared, you have opened my eyes to many truths I was blind to, with your indomitable spirit. You have made me rethink the established order of things, you have made me see things in a different way, you have made me feel… things I had never felt before… and for that I thank you, for you have changed me forever.
Kyra saw sincerity and gratitude in his eyes. “Can’t you save me?” she asked, her hopes fading.
He shook his head.
There is nothing I wish for more at this instant, you have to believe me, but my hands are tied by sacred oaths, by law and by family. I am sorry from the bottom of my heart.
“Then go. Leave me alone.”
When the moment of choice comes, follow your instincts.
And with those strange words he closed the door behind him and was gone. And with him, her last hope.
On the stroke of midnight Adamis headed the entourage of the House of Eret. He wore such a rich costume that Kyra had to avert her eyes at such an ostentatious display. The moon, completely full, shone with celestial crimson, tinting the stars which escorted it. The God-Prince walked with his chin high, his gaze lost in the horizon, slender and self-assured. He looked like a shimmering star that night, and Kyra, at the end of the parade, was fighting to hold back the rage and fear she felt within her.
She clenched her jaw. Damn you! She hated him so much at that moment that she wished Father Moon would come down from the heavens and devour him in his red wrath. So full and red was Oxatsi’s spouse that she shivered at the sight of him. She could hear the melodious sound of the flutes and harps as rose-petals showered the parade amid the iridescence of golden oil-lamps.
“Just what I needed!” she cursed silently, spitting out a petal which had flown into her mouth. She looked down at the red tunic they had dressed her in and felt as if she were being led to the slaughterhouse. Bloody soulless creatures! They’re going to sacrifice me like a cow before a feast! She looked around for some way of escape, but she was surrounded by six Custodians who never left her side.
They moved to the center of the procession. Ahead of her she could see the Lords in their ostentatious gowns following their Prince. All the noble families of the House of the First Ring were represented there, and their beautiful golden faces radiated a narcissistic satisfaction. She turned and saw that a mixture of God-Warriors and Priests were bringing up the rear of the parade.
The avenue they marched through led towards the inner part of the ring. They went into a long tunnel whose walls gleamed silver and illuminated every step. She gazed around uneasily; they were going through the mountain on which the kingdom of the First Ring was. Where are they taking me? I thought the mountain was solid, so where does this tunnel lead to? Her questions were soon answered. They came out of the tunnel onto a quay, which puzzled her. Sea? Inside the mountain? How can this be? She stretched her neck, and what she saw left her speechless. Ahead of her rose the giant monolith of the Gods, but not inside the mountain of the First Ring as she had guessed; the incredible artifact stood in a final, central ring, inside the hollow of the mountain surrounded by turquoise water. Yosane would love this, she thought, and at the thought of her friend her spirit wavered. Where are you, my friend, where? Be strong, and resist, fight your fears. She shook her head. She’ll be all right, she’s smart, she’ll survive, she said to herself, trying to cheer her own spirit. She thought of Idana, who worried her more. She was too good and generous. And then fear began to gnaw at her heart.
The retinue reached the pier, where a ship was waiting, as shining as the Gods it was going to carry. They boarded by a crystal gangway, and she wondered at the beauty of the ship. It had been built in the image of a great sea snake; the stern castle was made of gold, with a scaly tail behind it descending to the water. The forecastle was made of silver, ending in a long scaly neck crowned by a ferocious head with enigmatic eyes and huge jaws. The great sail on the central mast was almost transparent, and proudly bore the emblem of the House of Eret. Kyra could not take her eyes off Adamis at the prow. He seemed to command the great sea beast with his will. At his gesture, the snake began to sail towards the monolith.
The breeze caressed her face, and she was immensely grateful. The ship sailed on a calm sea, smoothly but fast. She realized that she was in the center of a great crater lit by hundreds of torches. She saw four channels crossing the First Ring, and on them four ships in the form of great beasts. They were as magnificent as Adamis’ ship. She narrowed her eyes and looked at them carefully. She identified the scarlet of the Second Ring and the indigo of the Fifth, amplified by the gleam of lanterns and oil lamps. All the Houses are coming to the ceremony… The five ships made their way towards the berth in front of the monolith.
She started to feel the terror she had been managing to keep down until that moment. The inevitability of what awaited her was beginning to oppress her chest like an iron hand, and she was having trouble filling her lungs.
I’m going to die. They’re going to sacrifice me.
Adamis had confirmed this, and she had tried to come to terms with it without success. Her fighting spirit could not accept that inhumane death sentence.
Fight! You have to fight!
Now that she saw the ships of the other Houses approaching, filled with all-powerful Gods, her fate was becoming a palpable reality. She shivered with fear, but then shook it off immediately.
I’ll fight. I won’t give myself up to those merciless pigs!
With that thought in mind, she pushed forward and tried to slip between two Custodians. One of them noticed and pushed his body against the other to stop her. Her hip was trapped. With all her fury she pushed with both legs and managed to break free. The two Custodians turned and tried to catch the slippery prey, but she now had the two extra paces she needed. She reached the gunwale, leapt on to it and jumped with all her might towards the sea. For an instant she flew, then lived the fall toward the water with her spirit filled with the glory of her daring escape.
But the moment her feet touched the water an almost transparent mist coiled around her waist. She felt time stand still, and her legs never broke the surface.
“What the hell is this?” she cried.
The mist, like a spirit from the beyond, gently carried her in its arms back to the ship.
“Let go of me, you vermin!”
There is nowhere to go.
She recognized the mental voice at once: Rotec. She raised her eyes and saw Adamis’ Champion glaring at her, his face twisted, controlling the mist with his right hand. He made her come back until she was once again among the Custodians, who closed ranks around her.
“You heartless bastards!”
Keep quiet and do not try that again. I do not wish to use force on you.
She looked back at Rotec. There was no enmity in his eyes, but she knew the great warrior would do anything which was needed for his House. She gave him a look of disdain and folded her arms.
On his knees, on a lesser pier of the First Ring, Ikai watched the light radiating from the Falcon Eye. That strange light which told him where Kyra was. The beam cut through the shadows of the night like lightning in a storm.
It’s telling me I should go to the center…
He put the object away hastily, afraid the Custodians might discover him. With his clothes still soaking after his crossing from the Second Ring, he started to move forward at a crouch. Well aware that it was little short of suicide to head for the innermost heart of the First Ring, he was trying to find some option which would give him a slight chance of getting there without being caught. He went on among the shadows, avoiding the light and the monoliths.
Oh, come on! I have to think of something. But the thing he had always been able to count on in the past, his mind, was unable to come up with a viable solution this time. He went on as far as he could, and then was forced to stop.
He squatted behind a low wall and got his breath back. Think. I can’t go on, not like this. They’ll see me.
The cheerful sound of music reached him from the north. He risked a glance and saw the Gods enjoying a sumptuous procession. He also saw a hundred Custodians escorting them. The celebration was very similar to the one he had witnessed in the Second Ring. As soon as this is over, the patrols will come back and find me.
He risked getting as close as possible to the parade. He hid behind a well, and saw the divine retinue go into a tunnel. And how do I get in there? Half the city’s here in the parade, if not all of it. Think, think, there has to be another way. He thought about the city, the five concentric rings, the symmetrical viaducts which cut through them, the bridges which joined them. Everything followed a design, an order, a proportion, a correspondence.
That’s it! If there’s a tunnel here, there has to be at least one more. The Gods wouldn’t build just one. No, it doesn’t follow the pattern they’ve built this strange world to. One isn’t in proportion, it’s not symmetrical. There have to be either two or four tunnels. He turned and ran in search of the tunnel at the opposite end. With a bit of luck, he would not have to go all around the ring. There would be four tunnels: one south, one north, one east and one west.
And he was not wrong. He found the east tunnel.
The Gods of the House of Eret were the first to land before the black mon
olith. Kyra had to pull her head back to see the whole unthinkable height of the arcane object. It was simply colossal, a hundred times bigger than the one she had seen on the island where they had set off for the Eternal City. Bloody fools! she thought as she stared at the Lords.
The parade went on to the base of the monolith. As they came nearer, she noticed that it too was immense and made of dazzling white marble. Before the base was a plaza, with three Gods in strange ritual attire guarding the enormous golden doors. The base was more than sixty feet high.
Adamis stopped before the waiting Gods, and the retinue stopped behind him. Kyra leaned forward, and guessed from their attire they were God-Priests. They exchanged greetings and bows with the God-Prince, and the doors opened. Adamis entered the regal building. As Kyra passed under the entrance, she looked back and saw the ship of the Second House docking. Its sails were as red as the full moon over their heads. Here come all those bloody Gods. She recognized Lord Asu standing tall at the prow, and fear lashed at her like an Oppressor’s whip.
They went in and stepped inside a golden triangle on the floor. She heard an annoying buzzing and felt a tremor. Suddenly the platform began to rise at great speed. She lost her balance and fell to the floor. One of the Custodians turned to her and pulled her up. She recovered, and the platform stopped, before her there opened a great round chamber. Adamis entered the hall at the head of the retinue. Kyra was left breathless as she too came in and looked around her. The walls of the chamber were the color of old gold, with strange runes engraved in silver along its entire surface. The ceiling was black as a starless night, and she noticed it was not a real ceiling but the base of the monolith. They were just underneath the artifact. As she walked, she detected movement below her feet, and was alarmed to find the floor was transparent. Far below she could see the turquoise of the ocean. They were so high above the sea, and the floor was so translucent, that she had a sudden attack of vertigo and for a moment almost fell again.