The strange man’s lips quiver. “Please—”
Avison waves his sword. “Enough! Where is the princess?”
“She was gone before I arrived.” He looks in the direction of Avison, but not at him.
The strange man’s gaze looks dazed. “He’s here.”
“Who?” Avison asks, looking left and right.
“Anu.” Chelsea’s voice trembles. “This man on the throne is an Exarch of Anu.”
I use my god-sight and see something pouring into him. The mortal can’t see it, but some spirit-like entity, likely Anu, is entering the strange man. He stands and
stumbles towards the orc with a single hand thrust out. “Why have you come, atheist?” His voice is shrill and angry. “Have you come to torment us?”
The man roars in pain as flames gush from his eyes. One hand remains clenched on the orc’s large shoulder. His free hand thrashes about. Both knees sink to the floor. His skin mummifies.
Chelsea screams.
“We need to get out of here,” Avison says.
Everyone races toward the door.
Swindle throws the strange man’s hand off his shoulder and rushes for the exit.
Avison swings open the palace door, where an army of ghouls awaits us in the street.
Run from the Black Mass
A reddish black mass of ghouls meets us at the double doors. Their monstrous mouths drip yellowish saliva. All of them twitch and grunt in apparent agony. They face the double doors of the palace, perhaps as if waiting for us.
Something hurt them. Something powerful. I’m a goddess, but I know little about the undead. Was the crippling of the ghouls triggered by Anu touching the orc, Swindle?
Each ghoul grunts in pain. Chelsea pokes one with her spear, as does Erich with his sword. The creatures don't react.
Avison asks, “What did you do, orc? You burned the man possessed by Anu.”
A question I had been wondering.
“I didn’t do anything. That man touched me.”
“We can’t stay here,” Erich says. “Run!”
We sprint down the road, which is dotted with more ghouls twitching on the ground. The creatures must have been headed to the palace to surround us while we were inside.
“Don’t lie to me, orc,” Avison says, running ahead. “What powerful being favors you?”
The orc replies, “I told you, he touched me. I don’t know why that happened.”
I wonder if that’s the whole truth.
“The Inn is near," Erich says behind us. “Keep running.”
Good! My lungs burn. I made my body strong, but this isn’t easy.
Chelsea looks over her shoulder. “Hurry.”
I drop my heavy spear, wanting more speed.
Swindle steps on a still twitching ghoul. It stiffens as the orc runs away.
“I’ll get it,” Swindle says, spinning around and slashing his sickle at the ghoul. He misses by a breath as the ghoul hops to the side. With a leap, the creature tackles Swindle.
“Swin!” Chelsea shouts.
The ghoul’s maw bursts with strings of saliva and blood as the orc slashes his sickle at the monster’s face. The creature’s claws dig into the ribs of the orc.
Chelsea's eyes fill with tears.
“Chelsea! Your wand!” I yell.
She points her wand at the ghoul, and it turns its attention to her. The ghoul leaps, cutting its foot claw into Swindle’s side. The monster bares teeth as long as an adult finger. Chelsea’s wand light bursts right in front of its face. Fire bursts from the ghoul’s face as it screams in pain.
As I run past, Chelsea yanks the orc up. We all run.
Over my shoulder, I see Erich stab the ghoul through the eye.
Howls and footfalls echo behind me. “Hurry!” Erich yells at my heels.
My mortal body runs faster than I ever thought possible.
Hisses and clicks of claws snap behind me.
“Run girl, run!” Erich yells.
I look over my shoulder to see Erich swing his sword as blood whips from his blade.
A wide-eyed ghoul leaps for me. Time seems to slow as a single arrow spins through the air and digs into the ghoul’s dog-like nose. A torrent of ichor gushes from its face.
The ghoul howls and falls back with the arrow planted deeply in its head.
Still running, I close my human eyes and with god-sight see the Adventurer’s Inn ahead. A girl stands atop it with her bow at the ready.
I use magic to sprint on.
An arrow passes by. Erich manages to run backward, not far behind me, his breath almost as loud as his footfalls as he swings at the monsters chasing him.
“Hurry girl, we are not far from the wards.”
Wards? The Inn has magical defenses?
I dash forward. A few feet behind me, fire bursts from the ground, eating at the ghouls. The flames grip the ghoul-like hands from the ground, and the monsters curl in flaming agony.
As we pass the gate to the Inn, the howls of pain are so loud, my ears ache. A strong force grabs my back and shoves me through the door, slamming me onto the wooden floor.
How dare you handle me like that! I am a goddess! Before I can open my mouth and yell, Erich swings the door shut and something huge slams against the door, rattling the entire building.
Adventurer’s Inn
That mortal grabbed me with his dirty hands and threw me on the filthy floor. No one throws me! I’m a goddess!
I stand, trying to ease the anger that shakes my flesh. It’s not his fault. He was only trying to keep me safe. If I keep telling myself that, maybe I won’t kill him when it’s convenient. No, I can’t kill him. I don’t have the resources I want.
The woman on the roof, who fired the arrows, yells that the ghouls are scattering.
Thankfully, no one asks about me dropping my weapon.
A dozen adventurers and city folk fill the Inn’s commons room. Many are asking Avison and Erich what they saw. Several ask me who I am and if I saw so and so. I ignore them as Erich and Avison try to quiet the crowd.
“Everyone, silence!” Erich shouts. “We’ll answer your questions if we have time, but we’re not out of trouble yet. The ghouls are going for easier targets if any remain. Then they will return to us. We need to find a way out of the city.”
I need to save my city, and fast. I don’t want them to leave until I’ve done that. But first, how did the Exarch of Anu know the two of them by name? They are nobodies. Perhaps Chelsea and Swindle are involved in the city’s fall somehow.
Avison glares at the two. “What do you two orphans know about Anu?”
Erich leans against the wall with his arms crossed. Even sweaty and tired, he looks skeptically at Chelsea and Swindle.
Swin sits there holding his wound, his hand reddened with the blood soaking his shirt. His face twitches occasionally with pain. Chelsea’s gaze does not leave the creature. Her eyes fill up with tears, either ignoring Avison completely or just not paying attention.
Crossing my arms, I approach the pair. I’ll pretend to be a priestess to explain my god-sight. “I am a Seer in training. As a priestess of Ningal, my eyes can see with god-like sight." Avison, Erich, and the others nod with understanding. "Anu entered that man’s body.” Pointing to Swindle, I shout, “And upon contact with you, he burned!” I take a short pause to let that sink in. An illegal god burned on contact with a lowly orc. People gasp at my words and whisper to themselves. Then I continue in a normal tone, “That should not be possible. How does the Exarch of Anu know you two by name?” And to the orc, “Why does Anu fear you?”
“Fear him?” Erich asks.
“Yes, fear him. Right as Anu touched the orc, Anu asked, ‘Why are you here, orc? Are you going to torment us?’ Then the Exarch was set on fire upon touching Swin.”
An old woman says, “An orc burns a god? What is this?”
A man says, “I knew having an orc would cause us trouble.”
Never mind the fact
that having the orc here would not change our situation either way. If anything, I might use this atheist-orc to my advantage. If only in secret.
The orc opens his mouth.
I cut my hand into the air, “Are you an atheist?”
Chelsea says, “Not now. He’s hurt.”
“Silence. Only the orc speaks!” I roar.
“Yes. I am an atheist,” says the wounded orc.
Everyone gasps. People begin to whisper among themselves.
The orc continues, “The gods seem to fear me. So, I am the best chance anyone has of getting out alive.” A man readies bandages for Swin as he holds his side.
He might be right. Yes, he might be right. Damn my parents. Why won’t they save this city? But how do I use this orc fool to my own ends? I take a small step closer to the orc, feeling a gush of his warm breath as he winces in pain.
Swindle says, “As the man stated in the palace, we tried to kill him. He was turning undead.” Swindle winces as a man continues to wrap a bandage around his torso.
Everyone looks confused. Erich asks, “This Exarch wanted you to kill him because he was turning?”
“The man didn’t want to be chosen by Anu,” Swindle says. His shirt has ridden up, revealing five thick slices on his rib that are partly covered by a long bandage, “We, umm, Mina, actually, tried to kill her grandfather. The Exarch is Mina's grandfather.”
Erich’s brow furrows as one eyebrow is raised. “Kill her grandfather?”
“Mina’s grandfather was a necromancer. Captured by the ghouls, he was slowly turning. Anu seems to like using humans who are half-dead as his Exarchs.”
Both Avison and Erich nod to that. What the orc says is true. Anu does do that.
But Erich shakes his head. “No one would hire you two. You are barely adventurers.”
“True, but Mina came with us. She wanted our silence and knew we could be trusted.”
“No.” Erich shook his head. “Why hire you in the first place?”
Morn, the owner of the Inn, stepped forward. “I can verify that Mina did hire them once before.”
“She’s here. Go ask her,” Swindle says, pointing to the roof. His face twitches with pain as the man ties knots in the bandages.
The man says to Swin, “Try to stay still as much as you can.”
One of the city people says, “I’ll get Mina.” He walks out and returns with a young woman. The girl has raven black hair that dangles halfway down her neck. Her hair is neatly clipped by a single ruby. Her appearance is a contrast to everyone else here. The rest of them look dirty, disheveled, and scared. “Yes, I hired the two of them. Twice.”
“We saw your grandfather—” Chelsea says.
Mina’s face pales as she says, “He’s alive.”
Chelsea frowns “He was—”
“Undead?” Mina asked. “Did you—”
“Yes, he’s dead now," Chelsea says.
I continue, “That still doesn’t explain your power to kill an Exarch of Anu.”
All eyes rest on Swindle. Some glare, especially Avison.
Swindle rises with a wince.
No one speaks, as if waiting for an answer.
“I don’t know the powers that flow through me. There is nothing I can tell you.”
Avison announces, "I'm keeping an eye on you. Everyone watch the atheist. He might prove troublesome for us."
Erich stops leaning on the wall and says, "We may need you, atheist, because for now, the gods have turned their backs on us. Everyone, either help us fortify the Inn or get ready to battle our way out. We need to leave the city, and soon.”
Erich is right. With my god-sight, I see several gods are looking at the Inn. Two are watching from the clouds. One is looking at us from the palace—Anu. He will act soon.
New Clothes and More Strange Friends
“Ningal, we need to talk.” Chelsea takes me aside as everyone in the Inn’s commons room go about their duties.
We enter a room and she locks the door behind us. Stepping into a closet, she returns with a dress, saying, “Here, try this.”
Chelsea turns around, letting me change. Looking at my old dress, I see that in my short time in human form, I’ve collected dirt, dust, mud, and blood. The idea of wearing another mortal garment makes my skin crawl, but this one is cleaner at least. If my parents look for me, they will be looking for someone who is dressed well and of high status. This dress will help them overlook me. “You didn’t bring me here just for the dress,” I say.
“No.” But she doesn’t say more. Perhaps she’s still searching for the right words.
I decide to take the first step in the conversation. “That orc is holding you back, Chelsea.”
“No, he’s not holding me back at all,” Chelsea says.
Humans often respond to facts with emotion. She might even know that what I say is the truth, but she doesn’t want to face the reality of it. So, I will tell her the facts in the kindest manner. “You are a talented girl to whom nothing has been given, but you turned out to possess two difficult skills. The one that will help you the most is your ability with magic. But people will think twice about hiring a girl who associates with an orc. Leave the orc behind, girl.”
“Girl? You appear to be younger than me,” Chelsea says with her back still turned.
“Heed my words. If you want to do well, you need to leave your childhood friend behind. Being associated with the orc will only earn you scorn.” I put on the dress. “Thanks for the dress.”
I move to leave, but she takes my shoulder before I reach for the door.
“Please don’t cause more of a fight about Swindle being an atheist. He helped you get better when you were sick, okay?”
That is the real reason she dragged me here. "True."
This is a chance to get information while she is begging me to not cause a fight.
She knows the city people might blame an atheist orc for their troubles. “Has he shown his powers before?”
Chelsea doesn’t answer for a second.
She has to think about it! That means at the very least there is a story here.
Finally, Chelsea answers. “No. Not really.”
A lie or a half-truth.
I may need the orc if I am going to fight Anu. The battle will be soon.
Thanking her for the dress again, I reach for the door, but an ugly creature, a goblin, pushes it open before I can leave.
It scowls, narrowing its coin-shaped eyes. “The princess?”
“No, Tuk, she’s not the princess,” Chelsea says behind me.
“No?” the creature raises its eyebrows.
I chose this appearance to look like the princess. She was one of the few humans I occasionally found interesting, after all. But my appearance is prettier, of course.
“No, the princess is likely dead.” Chelsea frowns while standing beside me, her tone sad.
The goblin grins. “Good, I hope she tasted good.”
I already really dislike this creature.
“Tuk! That’s awful!” Chelsea exclaims.
First Chelsea is friends with an orc and now a goblin. If her list of dubious associates gets any longer, she’ll have to open a zoo!
“Why did you barge in here?” Chelsea asks.
“Looking for you.”
“And . . .”
"You are wanted on the roof," Tuk says, pointing up.
Chelsea looks to me. "I have watch for ghouls.” Then to the green little monster, she says, “Why don’t you show Ningal around the Inn? See where she can help and get her something to eat.” Then she kneels so their heads are inches apart. “And be nice!” Then, walking through the still open door, she disappears.
Both of us scowl at each other.
Finally, a grin curves on the little monster's face. "Come this way, princess.”
Princess is actually a demotion. “Where?”
“Find food.”
I am hungry, but there is something more important. “Sh
ow me where the orc is.” I will either get him on my side or kill him. For me, the war for this city has begun.
Searching for Swindle
Tuk must want to please Chelsea, because the goblin does as she asked. He guides me to the commons room where the food is being served. Not many people are here, as most are working on traps around the fence or getting ready for the escape. Some of the few that are here look me over. Yuck! Eyes off, mortals! Can they at least hide the fact that they stare at me with their hungry eyes?
Worse, one of the most disgusting rituals of the day is happening in the commons room: eating. Mortals have a wet hole called a mouth. Inside it, they mash food with white bone-like things called teeth and swallow the food down the shaft in their necks. It gets weirder: this disgusting ritual is often done with friends. But even they are aware of how disgusting eating is, since they don’t talk with their mouths full of food. Well, the more respectable ones don't.
I ignore the people and their horrible ritual of eating. Tuk is asking a peasant at a table where Swindle is. The man doesn’t look at the goblin with contempt like he should and answers. Tuk gestures for me to follow.
“Where is he?” I ask, tailing the little creature.
Tuk glances over his shoulder as he walks. “With the horses.”
"Hey, girl." I turn around. Some overworked boy about Chelsea’s age thrusts a dinner roll at me.
“Thanks,” I whisper, tucking it into a pocket.
At the stable door, I look to the goblin and say, "You may go." I think that's the polite way to put it.
The creature sticks its tongue out and does a raspberry. I fix my gaze on the monster, narrowing my eyes with all the hate I can muster. It walks away as I turn and enter the stables.
I see Swindle feeding the horses some bruised apples. He pets one who seems nervous. That food might be better spent on humans.
“We need to talk, orc.” Oh, I forgot they like to be called by their names, “Um, Swindle, I mean,” I add.
“What are you?” Swindle asks with a firm gaze.
He knows I’m different. “I am Ningal.”
“Ningal, the one they call a goddess?” He steps closer to pet another horse.
Illegal Gods Page 4