He deserved nothing less for abandoning her. He could have at least exercised the courtesy to explain he was separating from her. Nishka entertained the notion of leaving Arxu in Sepulzer and continuing her journey without his stifling presence. By the time she had made up her mind, she had already reached the tower entrance.
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.
Day gleamed brightly overhead, soaking through the earth like rain. Nishka was grateful for the pleasant weather, a perfect blend of warmth and a cool breeze that whispered through her blonde hair. She absolutely adored the spring. She couldn’t imagine looking forward to the bitter winters in Eyegad. In fact, she hoped this season would never end.
“So why did you leave me like that in Sepulzer?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You disappeared into the tower. What were you doing in there?”
“I was tracking the phases of the moon.”
“That’s a lot of effort to look at the moon. You could have seen it just as well from the streets.”
“Perhaps.”
“You know, the word ‘lunatic’ is derived from the belief that changes of the moon caused insanity… I never believed it, but you’re beginning to make me question—”
“I can assure you I am completely sane. Tracking the moon was not my sole reason for ascending Tythoril. You told me one could see all around Sepulzer from the tower. I wanted to see if this was true.”
“Well, the next time you explore creepy towers, I’m going to stay outside…”
Something appeared further down the road, but it was much too far away. Nishka squinted and saw what appeared to be a merchant wagon.
“It looks abandoned,” Arxu remarked. They continued south, carefully approaching the wagon. It appeared wholly intact yet devoid of all presence. There were no merchants to be found around the wagon and no sign of a campsite.
“Maybe they’re asleep inside,” Nishka suggested. With a shrug, she helped Arxu lift the canvas draped on its frame. Dead merchants were sprawled inside.
Nishka gasped and staggered back, riveted by the expressions of horror carved into the men’s faces. She had never seen so much blood and carnage. One thought lanced through her mind. Thieves lurked nearby. Arxu’s voice jolted her back to reality.
“Arm yourself.” Nishka’s shock didn’t immediately melt away. “You seemed content to defend yourself in Sepulzer.”
“Yes, of course,” she said, and she tried to bury a wave of nausea. As she circled the wagon, she noticed something underneath. She leaned down and almost immediately retracted when she saw the body there. She had also seen the crossbow in the deceased man’s hands. He had most likely hidden beneath the wagon during the ambush in hopes of surviving. Obviously, his efforts to defend himself did not go unnoticed. Nishka hesitantly pulled the weapon out of his hands.
“Have you handled a crossbow before?” Arxu prompted.
“Yes.” She took a deep breath and approached the wagon again, lifting the canvas. Nishka rummaged among the bodies with a revolted expression. At last, she found a quiver with a dozen bolts, which she buckled to her belt with shaking fingers.
Arxu watched her load a bolt into the crossbow. He could only hope she would provide support if t
he bandits found them. Satisfied, Arxu tethered the donkey to a tree and ventured ahead. He scouted along the road, looking warily at the flanking trees. Nishka also eyed the forest around her. She wanted to suggest turning back and taking another route.
She bit back the proposal. If the bandits were in the area, they were almost certainly watching them already. Perhaps she had no choice but to walk alongside this unpredictable man into disaster.
“Arxu—” He raised his hand to silence her, a gesture she did not appreciate. Suddenly, a crack had Nishka turning fast to her left. She pointed her crossbow into the obscurity of the forest. She held the weapon steady for a moment, her finger resting on the trigger.
Nothing obliged her and emerged.
A keen sense of fear followed her along the road as she pursued Arxu. That sickly feeling squirmed deep inside her and grew. Her finger tensed against the trigger of her weapon. The moment Arxu’s hand leaped to his staff, she knew something terrible would take place.
Yells erupted from the surroundings, and human forms exploded from hiding. Gripped in their hands were daggers, swords, and maces. They rushed toward their prey with animalistic screams of rage.
Nishka took a step backward and raised her crossbow. Nearly a dozen armed men closed in on her with long blades gleaming. A heavyset bandit with thick muscles stepped forward, a cowl drooping low over his face, revealing only his mouth. His cracked lips pulled back in a foul sneer, and Nishka could see teeth that resembled fangs. They elongated into needle-like tips, as though someone had taken a blade and mutilated his mouth.
A grinding sound accompanied his approach, and Nishka saw the mace in his hand dragging along the ground. Shrapnel protruded from the blunt instrument, tearing long furrows into the dirt road. Nishka’s eyes rounded in horror as the gargantuan man approached. She squeezed the trigger.
The Undying God Page 3