by N E Riggs
“That’s unlikely. On Bantong, we have far better punishments than death.” Hue smiled nastily as Tenin winced. “Our gateway home isn’t due for another two days. Shall we begin his questioning now?”
“No,” Rolan said. “When we return, we can hand you over to the Law Priests — and the Lost Priests. They will discover each and every thing you’ve done. When they determine your guilt, no one, not even a Beloved Priest, will plead for mercy on your behalf.”
Tenin sat up as well as he could. “Torture me as much as you’d like, I’ll never talk.”
Hue laughed softly. “You know nothing of Lost Priests, if you say that. They won’t need to torture you. By the time they’re done with you, you’ll wish they had.” Tenin shivered and looked away.
“Tie him up to that tree,” Rolan said, pointing to an old tree with a wide trunk just outside the ring of huts. “He has two days to change his mind about talking. Till then, we have other things to worry about.” He sat down next to the fire pit and motioned for Kemi, Keri, and the other Lipsipans to sit near him. “You claim to revere Aeons, but it is clear you know nothing about him or how to honor him. It’s time you learn.”
The Lipsipans sat down warily. “Will you punish us?” Keri asked. She gripped her stone ax tightly, looking longingly towards where her stolen weapons were stacked outside the village.
“Given the influence of that man, punishment is not guaranteed. A Law Priest will make the final decision,” Rolan said. “I think you will likely receive a punishment, but lighter than it would have been without Tenin. Do you still wish to learn about the real Aeons?”
Kemi nodded. “We would. Bantong had so many wonders. One day, we hope to bring those wonders to our home. Even without your magical weapons.”
Over supper, Rolan, Hue, and some of the other Sword Priests told the Lipsipans about Aeons, the priests, the Eternist religion, and Bantong. The Lipsipans hung onto their every word, completely receptive. David barely heard any of it. He was still worried about his own punishment. He took over watching Tenin after dinner, trying to keep away from Keri and Kemi. Tenin sat propped against the tree, looking equally miserable and defiant. A few minutes after taking over, David realized that Tenin was staring at him.
“What?” he asked, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably.
Tenin shook his head. “What are you?” he said. There was a tone in his voice that David hadn’t heard before.
For a moment, David thought Tenin might have seen Bramira hanging from his belt, but Tenin was looking at his face. He shifted from one foot to the other. “Don’t you mean who?”
“Fine, what’s your name then?”
He wondered if he should answer that. He glanced briefly back at the others, but no one seemed to be paying him or Tenin much attention. And he had told Tenin to ask that. “David Kemp,” he finally said. “We’ve never met.”
“Of course we haven’t.” Tenin snorted. “As if I could forget anyone as… unnatural… as you.”
“I’m nothing special,” David said, crossing his arms over his chest. “If anything, I’m below average.” He was probably the weakest Sword Priest in the sixth division. Really, he’d only added that ‘probably’ to salve his ego.
Tenin laughed. “I didn’t say special. I said unnatural. Ooh, I had no idea I might find something this interesting here. It was worth playing with these people.” His expression held none of the fear it had earlier. “You may not realize it, David Kemp, but if you think about it, you’ll find things about you that set you apart from others. They may not be good things, but they’re there. Trust me, I know all about things that are contrary to nature.”
“Trust you? Yeah, fat chance of that.” He turned his back on Tenin. The man didn’t try to speak with him again, and David looked over his shoulder many times to check that he hadn’t escaped. Every time he looked, Tenin stared intently at him, smiling too widely.
Despite himself, he couldn’t help but wonder if there were things about him that were different. Other than his tendency to fuck everything up, of course.
He scowled and set his jaw. He had enough inadequacies, enough worries. He didn’t need to add anything to the list. Tenin was probably just making stuff up to distract him or to make him doubt himself. He didn’t try to talk with him again, and Tenin stayed silent as well, though he never stepped smiling. Lugh relieved him around midnight. David wrapped himself in his sleeping bag and lay awake a long time before he finally fell asleep.
9
Speeding Up Time
Shouts woke David up. He kicked his way out of the sleeping bag, nearly tangling himself up worse before he won free. He squinted balefully at the still-dark sky. “Come on, get up,” Alosh said, pulling his arm. “Tenin is gone.”
“What?” His tiredness disappeared as David hopped to his feet and ran to the tree where Tenin had been tied up. There was no sign of the man, and Lugh lay unconscious, tended by Tain. The rope sat discarded on the ground, and Hue stared at it with a frown. “Did he wiggle out?” David asked.
“No,” Hue said. He picked up the rope, showing a smooth end. “It’s not frayed or cut. It’s almost as if the rope just fell apart.” David couldn’t help the shiver at that. He couldn’t see the rope well in the darkness, and he wouldn’t know what to look for in any case. Hue threw it aside with a disgusted look. “He knocked Lugh out before he could shout. He could be anywhere by now.”
“Probably ran for the hills,” came Kemi’s voice. David felt all the blood leave his face as he whipped around. Kemi stared right at him. “There’s nowhere else to hide. We need to start looking for him now. It’d be easier if we had our weapons back.” He held out his hands expectantly.
“I think not,” Hue said, narrowing his eyes. “Tenin is unarmed. You can help us find places to search though.”
Kemi nodded. “It would be our pleasure. I’ll go with David Kemp. We’re old friends. Keri and I met him on Bantong, and he helped us out a great deal.”
“Did he?” Hue asked in a tone that made David want to melt into the ground. He hunched his shoulders and looked away. “Finding Tenin is our first priority. Kemp, we’ll talk more about this later. Take a few priests and go with Kemi.”
“Yes, sir,” David said miserably. He hurried away from Hue as fast as he could; Kemi kept up with him easily. He found Alosh waiting for him but stared in amazement when he saw that Bellon stood next to Alosh. “Are you… going with me?” he asked.
Snorting, Bellon crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s become clear to me that you can’t be left alone.” David winced and wished he could say something in response. He remembered the way Hue had looked at him and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
After Kemi instructed the other Lipsipans where to help the Sword Priests search, the four of them started out for the hills. Kemi took them down a trail further south than the one they’d taken yesterday. “So you’re a Sword Priest,” he said, glancing at David. He walked with a hand on the haft of his stone ax, looking ready to use it at any moment. No one had taken the Lipsipans’s own weapons away.
“Um, yeah,” David said, nearly tripping over a rock. “So, uh, you remembered me?”
Kemi stared at him. “How could I forget you? You carried the most amazing weapon.” He glanced at where Bramira hung from David’s belt. “You told us where to find similar weapons. Though the agitators were indeed glorious, we found nothing like what you carry.”
Bellon looked over his shoulder at that, eyebrow raised. “You’re behind all this?” He didn’t sound surprised.
“I didn’t mean to cause any trouble,” David said quickly. “Anyway, my Lost Priest told me travelers frequently use the gym in Kumarkan, and that’s all I told them about!”
“So it never occurred to you that not all travelers would be allowed in the gymnasium for training?” Bellon asked. He stopped walking and turned around so he could better scowl at David. “You never once thought that if their Lost Priest had not shown them wea
pons then you should not do so either?” David winced at every accusation.
Alosh stepped between Bellon and David. “This isn’t the time,” he said. “We are supposed to looking for Tenin. Everything else can wait.” Bellon snorted but turned back to the trail. Alosh gave David a weak smile as he followed him.
“Forgive me for causing you trouble.” Kemi stayed beside David at the back even though he was supposed to be leading their group. David figured he’d let them know if they needed to leave the trail. “You helped me, but I have brought you trouble in return. I am sorry.” He crossed his arms over his chest and clenched his fists.
David ran a hand through his curly hair. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault. I cause plenty of trouble on my own.” He sighed. “I probably shouldn’t be a Sword Priest.”
“But you carry a legendary weapon!” Kemi gestured at Bramira. “Keri and I described it to Tenin, and he told us all about it. All Sword Priests are chosen by Aeons, but surely you are more favored than most.”
“Yeah,” David said to stop the conversation. He really didn’t want to talk about Bramira and all the false expectations it had brought. Why had Cethon given it to him? She must have made a mistake.
The sun slowly rose as they reached the hills. Kemi took the lead, using Alosh’s flashlight to shine at the ground, looking for tracks. David wished Anur were with them, but she’d never work closely with him again. Kemi didn’t see any tracks so he took them off the trail and further south through the hills. They walked for hours but saw no trace of Tenin. Other groups of Sword Priests called in to say they hadn’t found anything either. Around noon, they finally took a break.
“Are you sure Tenin went into the hills?” Alosh said, perched atop a boulder, sticking his legs out in front of him and eating a ration bar.
Kemi shrugged. “He could never hide on the plains.”
“Did you see any tracks leading from your settlement?” Alosh asked, leaning closer.
“No.” Kemi looked away. “No point in looking for any, though. Tenin never leaves any footprints.”
Alosh and Bellon shared a look. “He never leaves footprints?” Bellon asked tightly. Kemi shook his head. “And you didn’t think to mention this earlier?” His voice rose sharply, and Kemi backed away from him.
“This isn’t the time to yell at each other,” Alosh said, stepping between them. He tugged out his com pad without flipping it open, tapping his ear piece with his other hand. “This is Alosh. Who’s back at the village?”
After a moment, Tain’s voice came across, loud enough for David, Bellon, and Kemi to hear. “I’m at the village with Lugh and some of the locals, mostly children and the elderly. Is there a problem?”
“I believe that Tenin might double back on the camp so he can reach his gateway manipulator. Keep a close eye on it.” Alosh paused for a moment. “Tain, Tenin doesn’t leave footprints.”
Curses came over the com, from both Tain and others – everyone in the division had left their ear pieces tuned to all the others. Rolan’s voice cut over them harshly. “Anyone within five miles of the village, head back immediately. Everyone else, continue to search. Switch your agitators to kill.” A series of affirmatives came over the com.
“That includes us,” Bellon said. He turned his agitator to kill and set off back the way they’d come at a jog. “Come on.”
David stood still for a moment then had to hurry to catch up. “Why is everyone so worried? Is it really that big of a deal that Tenin knows how to hide his tracks?” He assumed that was what Kemi meant.
“Let’s hope he just steps lightly,” Alosh said. He glanced at David and Kemi and saw their blank looks. He sighed. “It’s impossible to leave no footprints at all. On ground like this, every creature leaves some mark. How closely did your people look?”
Kemi huffed. “We know how to hunt, Brother. Tenin left no marks of any kind, not ever. We thought he was a priest of Aeons and had special gifts.”
Alosh shuddered. “Then he is impossible, and we are all doomed. He was taunting us last night, when he let us catch him.”
“Can you stop talking like that and just say what you mean?” David said. He paused as he barely stopped himself from falling into a small ditch. “How can something be impossible if it definitely happened?”
“Stupid traveler,” Bellon said. “Don’t you pay any attention? The Nephilim are defined by the impossible.”
David nearly tripped again even though the ground was smooth. “Nephilim?” Oh God, those were the demons of Bantong, the terrors in the night that people didn’t even like to mention. The demons that he’d vowed to fight even if it meant his death – and a Sword Priest couldn’t win against a Nephil. Only Aeons and maybe a Cardinal could. Fighting a Nephil meant dying.
“Tenin may not be a Nephil,” Alosh said, shaking his head. “In the early days of Eternism, the Nephilim sometimes shared their powers with their more faithful followers. Let us hope that is all Tenin is.” He shuddered.
“Some hope,” Bellon said, and David thought even he sounded afraid. He hadn’t thought Bellon feared anything. Bellon ran faster, his face grim. David wished they could run a bit more slowly. Knowing what Tenin might be, he really didn’t want to get to the village before anyone else. And Tenin had been interested in him. Oh God, first Cethon thought he was someone important, and now a Nephil? A Nephil had thought him unnatural – a Nephil would know all about what was unnatural. He needed to get back home to Earth, and quickly.
Soon they could see a faint trail of smoke. David squinted and made out the low roofs of the clay huts. He couldn’t see any movement. Maybe everyone had gone inside? Bellon and Alosh ran faster. David increased his pace, huffing behind them and wondering where they got their energy from. Their gift of strength should be no greater than his. Or maybe they were just that much more skilled than he. He stared at the ground and focused on running. Kemi ran too, his eyes very wide – he’d just learned he’d welcomed a demon into his village, a demon that might have returned while the village lay mostly unguarded.
Kemi cried out a short distance from the village. David looked up and gasped. Small figures lay everywhere, unmoving. Lugh’s form stood out from the Lipsipans on the edge of the village, but he lay on his front, as still as the others. Kemi howled as he dashed into the village. He ran over to a little girl and knelt beside her. David could see no injuries on her, but she lay still, not even breathing. “How did she die?” Kemi whispered, weeping.
Alosh knelt beside him and took the girl’s pulse. “I don’t know,” he said. He looked around. “Where is Tain?”
“Your Heart Priest is well enough, for the moment,” came a voice. They whirled and saw Tenin standing behind them. He held Tain in front of him as a shield. Tain’s head lolled to the side, but David could see his chest rising and falling. He still lived. David’s heart hammered loudly. Where had Tenin come from? None of the huts were close enough for him to have been hiding in. He glanced at the ground. The grass around Tenin’s feet stood straight and unbent, as if he’d just appeared there. David finally noticed the gateway manipulator sitting beside Tenin’s left foot. “David Kemp,” he said, and David jerked his eyes back to Tenin’s face. “How perfect that you are the one to find me.” He laughed softly. “How inevitable, really.”
Bellon growled and raised his agitator. “What do you want here, you monster?”
“Ah, be careful, Brother. You wouldn’t want to hit your comrade, would you?” Tenin hefted Tain’s inert form further up, holding him from the back of his jacket. He crouched down, leaving nothing of himself exposed.
“My aim is excellent,” Bellon said. “I won’t miss.” His finger hovered over the trigger, but he didn’t shoot. Excellent aim meant nothing here, with nothing to aim at, and Bellon clearly knew it. “Are you a Nephil?” David noticed that Alosh had his agitator out too. He fumbled for his own then drew Bramira instead. Against a Nephil, it might be the only thing that would work.
; “Why would you think that?” Tenin asked, his eyes wide and half-hidden behind Tain. David noticed he watched Bramira closely, unlike the agitators. He thought he could probably hit Tenin without injuring Tain. Bramira always flew as he wished. His palms felt sweaty though. If he missed, he’d kill Tain. Could he risk it? He’d have to throw it perfectly. “Have I caused you that much trouble?” Tenin ducked his head completely behind Tain.
David lowered Bramira. He couldn’t see Tenin at all. Maybe he could hit something he couldn’t see – Bramira was amazing – but he couldn’t risk Tain’s life on a maybe. Beside him, Alosh lowered his agitator, his expression tight. Bellon’s arm never wavered. “Are you a Nephil?” he asked again, voice echoing. “Answer me!”
Tenin chuckled. “Would a Nephil answer such a question?” He knelt slowly, careful to stay behind Tain. Bellon kept his agitator aimed at him, and David wondered if he’d be willing to shot Tain to get to Tenin. Tenin shifted his grip on Tain so he held him one-handed. He reached down to the gateway manipulator at his feet and started pressing buttons. “I’d love to chat longer, but your fellow priests will be here shortly. And I have so many things to do. I’m sure you understand.”
“You won’t get away,” Bellon hissed. “A stun that hits Tain will knock you out too.”
Tenin sniffed. “You think I might be a Nephil but plan to try a stun anyway? I’m offended!”
“You were stunned earlier.”
“With that many, yes! Really, the things Aeons teaches you people these days!”
Bellon raised an eyebrow. “Or maybe you aren’t a Nephil.”
David looked frantically back and forth between them, trying to think of everything he knew. He stared miserably at Tain. They couldn’t risk him. Had Bellon even changed his agitator to stun? He held Bramira tighter, hoping Tenin gave him an opening.
Suddenly Tain’s eyebrow flickered. David bit his lip to keep from reacting and wondered if Bellon or Alosh had noticed. Tenin hit one last button on the manipulator, and a dark blue gateway sprang into existence just behind him. David recognized the room on the other side from earlier.