by C. A Hines
Alexandra stopped mid step, her eyes shooting toward Cass with a look of anxious curiosity.
“...But why?”
“Nothin’ for me up there, love.”
She stopped mid-step, the sudden change in tone gave Alexandra concern. She shifted her glance first from Cass and then again to the stairs.
“What’s up there?” Alexandra asked hesitantly, looking over to Cass one final time.
“The only people that can answer your questions. You’ll not find them anywhere else.” The woman answered as Alexandra remained hesitant, glancing at the steep staircase. She stopped, eyes closing as she took in a deep breath before she forced herself forward.
Chapter V
The first step seemed neigh insurmountable.
Alexandra wondered how many other people had taken this steep path she now walked. Her body rising up slowly as the broken stairs climbed ever higher into the sky as she followed the mountain upwards. The brief moment she took to pause to look back revealed nothing in the distance but the small figure of Cass. She looked like nothing more than a crow on the horizon, waiting beside the two statue warriors. Every step felt as if she wore the weight of the entire world upon her shoulders, the staircase taunting her as the air grew colder the higher she ascended.
“I can’t go on.” She sighed as her body simply collapsed on the side of the path, her chest heaving up and down, doubt besieged her mind on all sides. Perhaps it was the cold, or even the isolation of her ascent that made her feel so insignificant. Who knew what Cass was expecting, but Alexandra knew she couldn’t deliver. Tears welled in her eyes once again as her hands balled into fists, slamming them against her knees in frustration before she finally leaned back as a slew of profanity escaped her mouth. She cursed the Gods for all the trouble she’d experienced and for building this damned mountain in the first place. She cursed with all the impropriety that she could muster.
For all her raging, she was met with naught but silence and a cold wind. No matter how she invoked the names of the Gods or cursed their existence she was given no reply. They neither smote nor spoke to her. She fell silent, her anger pattering out into grumblings now as she caught her breath. There was never a reply. Had there ever been? The Augurs claimed to speak to the Gods, claimed to represent them, and yet still their temples now lay in smoldering ruin. It was all pretty ironic to her as she forced herself back to her feet. She could rage against the Gods all she wanted, but she knew she would receive no reply. She began once again to ascend the stairs, muttering every foul curse she had ever heard Caius speak with each aching step she took.
They never cared about you. The voice in the back of her head whispered again. Alexandra stopped midstride. It seemed clearer now, that strange voice she had heard on the night she fled Tripolis. The voice that had tempted her, egged her on to use its power. The voice that told her she need only ask for help to be saved when the city was burning and when she had been separated from father. She had ignored the promise of salvation then, had she been mistaken?
“Even my mind turns against me.” She laughed, Gods how the entire situation suddenly seemed so hilarious to her. This was the way of the world—no good deed went unpunished, and for their faith, the men of Arkadia were met with death, disease, and desolation at the hands of foreign enemies. Her push toward the top of the mountain was driven by a desire, a desire for answers, a desire for revenge, but most of all by her own anger. Anger at being spared. Anger at being kept in the dark. Anger at the silence of the Gods. She couldn’t pick a single anger to focus on, but it drove her on, faster than any feeling of hope or solace had ever done.
What would she find at the top of the mountain? The Gods? Death? She didn’t know, but it was one answer she was determined that she would receive. Every ounce of pain, exhaustion, and cold she took within herself and used it to fuel her drive.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she pushed beyond that last step and through the cover of clouds only to have her eyes deceive her. The finest of ornate marble gleamed in the sunlight; lush green grass and sparse trees surrounded what she could only guess to be a temple.
A figure clad in a black dress paused upon her arrival, the kindly old man offering a small smile, his hand extending toward her. She reached reluctantly, grabbing for the hand and clasping it tight as the man helped her forward.
“We have been expecting you.” His voice was smooth and quiet, as if a whisper upon the wind. No matter how she tried to hold onto the feelings of hatred and anger, she felt lulled into a sense of security. Was this magic as well? She couldn’t be sure. She steeled her mind against the influence, her hand retreating from the other’s grip as she stood upright.
“I wish I could say the same,” she admitted, “But I have no idea who you are.”
“We wish only to conduct a test, a moment of your time,” he insisted.
Curiosity bit at her like a ravenous flea, starved for months, its teeth finally finding purchase in her skin. She inhaled a deep breath, giving only a momentary nod.
He smiled, his teeth missing in several place, but it was a gentle smile no less. Everything about the man seemed nonthreatening, and he led her inside.
The Temple was grander than any she had ever seen before. Figures wrapped in black robes stood around the temple, some chanting, others reading. Where the outside of the temple was chilled, the inside was warm. Columns upon columns stretched forward, the temple seeming larger on the inside than it was on the outside. Truly impressive. Her eyes wandered, glimpsing various figures captured in statue along the walk, until her gaze finally fell to the altar and the unnatural blue-purple fire burning there.
Do not trust them. Do not be a fool, girl. The voice inside her mind whispered again, giving her pause once more as a small chill rolled up her spine. Something seemed off. A sense of dread rose within her gut once again as the massive wooden doors to the temple closed behind her with a thud. The Temple interior was unusual, why did it seem so pleasant when the exterior was so worn down? The inside showed none of the usual symptoms of decay but the wafting perfumes of the incense quickly filled her senses.
“We will perform a simple test first,” The old man spoke, guiding her toward the altar. “If the results are less than positive, we will have other tests.” His voice dripped like sweet honey into her mind. The incense, or perhaps something more sinister plying itself upon Alexandra’s mind.
“Hm? Oh. Very well.” Suddenly the sense of dread had quieted within her stomach and a sense of calm was all that remained. It was relaxing. Comforting. There was a lovely fragrance in the air that she couldn’t quite place a finger on. In spite of her calm state, there was still a part of her mind that told her this wasn’t right. A smile soon spread across her face from ear to ear as the old man lifted her hand up and those doubts fluttered away just as quickly as the rest.
“If the fire turns green, we will require further examination.” He held her hand in place over the flames, which seemed to radiate no heat nor give her no sense of discomfort. “If it turns purple, we shall have our answer.”
They were kind, once. Desperation has tainted their purpose. Like all mortals, they foolishly claw at the edge of darkness. You need only embrace it. The voice echoed in her mind even as a piercing pain surged through her. The tip of a dagger pricked her finger as blood dropped into the burning embers below. It roared up, the fire suddenly turning dark purple. The man’s eyes grew wide and the sense of calm suddenly left Alexandra’s mind. The warmth was gone, too. Indeed, the facade of the temple’s interior had quickly warped away. Like the ruins below, the temple was now dilapidated. Old skeletons sat lodged over books, swords and spears still pushed through their bodies.
“You are the one!” The old man hissed, reeling back as she tried to break free from his grasp. “Yessssss! You! You! You! You!” he cried as she continued to struggle. The few surviving priests roused up, spider webs lacing the walls “We must sacrifice her! Rise brothers! She is The
Eventide Child! The Blood of the Phoenix!”
They plan to kill you. A sacrifice to Pluto. They once served a higher cause, but as the war raged on, their minds became warped. They believe Pluto will herald the end of all things if they sacrifice the Eventide Child.
She reeled back, finally freeing herself of their grasp. “Stop it!” she cried, but to no avail. The priests closed in on her now, their forms hideous and malformed. Some had clearly mutilated themselves, others were diseased and scarred. The idyllic peace of the temple had long since vanished.
You need only but ask, child.
They grew closer, daggers lifted above and poised to strike. A dark chanting echoed through the temple ruins as they crept upon her form, the chanting growing louder.
“P-please! Help me!”
As you wish
She felt strange. Different. The sense of impending doom fled her body as the men crept closer. They spoke, but she heard no words. She could only see the terror on their faces as their knives struck, but their strikes never found purchase. Their arms froze in midair as an invisible pulse of energy drove them away from Alexandra.
“It has begun!” one cried. The five men stepped back as the power continued to radiate through her. The bracelet coiled around her wrist resonated before it shattered and scattered to the air. The five men chanted, tendrils of blue flame rising up from the ground to lash out at Alexandra.
She moved with a grace and speed she had never known before, avoiding the blue flames as they darted toward her body. She had no idea what was happening as she felt a rush of power through her body unlike anything else she had ever felt. A black energy suddenly manifested around her, circling her body.
“Know your place!” She heard the sound of her own voice, but there was another with it. The twisted, harsh sound was a duality of her voice and the voice inside her mind. The men were suddenly brought to their knees as thick tendrils of that energy darker than the blackest of nights extended from her body, pushing them down.
“Did you think I would not notice? Did you think I would let you take that which was mine?”
The angered voice demanded. The men grew pale with fear. The life slowly faded from them, their eyes rolling back as she felt the darkness sucking their very souls from their bodies. It was terrifying and exhilarating all at once. Did Alexandra really have such power? The priests slumped over, the black energy vanishing with a small crack, followed by an enormous, thundering boom. A sonic wave rushed through the temple and destroyed columns of marble.
Alexandra heard a screaming, a terrible, horrific wailing only to realize too late that it was coming from her own mouth. And then everything went black as that sudden rush of power she had felt evaporated and left her drained.
Her eyes opened, fluttering first as she readjusted to the light. A groan escaped her lips and she lifted herself up on shaky arms until she stood. She couldn’t remember much of what happened, but when she looked around, she found herself most of the way down the stairs. A slow walk down would see the obviously distraught Cass rushing toward her.
“What happened?” she shouted, an urgency in her voice replacing the mild tone she had spoken with thus far. Cass grabbed either side of her head but Alexandra was in shock, her words falling on deaf ears.
“They ... tried to kill me. You ... tried to kill me.” Alexandra’s hands came up, suddenly clenching Cass’ wrists, her strength obviously surprising Cass as the woman struggled in her grip.
“You’ve got it wrong! Alexandra! Calm down! This isn’t who you are!” the woman tried to argue.
She felt a flicker of power in her body once again before she promptly pushed the grown woman away from her. Alexandra smiled as the dark energy once again circled her body only to fizzle out as she toppled forward, Cass managing to catch her limp form.
Flashes of power. Images of what happened. Her mind raced over it all, trying to make sense of it as the residual magical energy seeped from her body and into the grass around her. It lived, it died. It lived again in several cycles until the last of the energy left her and Alexandra breathed out a gasp, a flicker of pure black smoke escaping into the air in quite an impressive display.
“ This was a temple of Jupiter. One of the last. See, my orders were to take ya there if something were to happen, so the priests could verify ya.” Cass’ voice was a quiet whisper.
Alexandra's eyes were still closed as she lay upon the grass. Slowly, she opened her eyes, staring at Cass now.
“They weren’t priests of Jupiter anymore. They called me The Eventide Child. They wanted to sacrifice me to Pluto, to bring doom to the world, they said. They tried to kill me... That’s all I remember,” she lied. She didn’t know whether she could trust Cass or not.
Cass wore an expression of confusion, a hand rising up as she bit down on a gloved thumb.
“Really? Just what we needed. We’ll not be safe here long. The Shahzad Empire ignored this Island cause it was nothing special, but even I felt that energy release. We’ll need to leave in a hurry.”
“I won’t go,” Alexandra blurted.
Cass’ brow arched upward at that.
“I’m no closer to understanding what is happening in my own life than I was when we first met. I’ll not have it!” Her anger was clear to see. Cass looked as if she might provide an argument, but quieted down again as she thought better of it.
“Fine. Ask me what ya wanna know.”
“On the boat. That man called you a Frumantarii, you said you’re like a spy?”
“Frumentarii,” Cass corrected her, a look of obvious annoyance on her face.
“Right. Frumentarii. What is that?”
“Within the Empire there is an Order, the Frumentarii, which owes its allegiance to the Imperial Family and to the Imperial Family alone. We’re spies, bodyguards, ilk of that sort. It doesn’t get much more complicated than that, I already told ya.”
Alexandra watched with a look of annoyance as she repeated the same story until Cass relented. “We did the jobs most polite folk wouldn’t touch. That’s why you never heard of us. We weren’t just spie. We were also Assassins. We were trusted to protect the Imperial family and to root out its enemies. It wasn’t considered polite work so it was all kept secret. That’s why I’m even a member. We’re outsiders, mostly. All loyal to the Imperial Family for one reason or another. My orders were to bring you here.”
“So why me?”
“Because... It’s a bit complicated.”
“Tell me.”
“I’m sure ya’d be better off...”
“You don’t get to make that decision, Cass.”
“...Alright, Alright, but do not say I didn’t try to warn ya,” Cass sighed, her hands nervously played at her glove as she delayed the news as long as possible. Only continuing when Alexandra had given her an annoyed grunt.
“You’re not just some shepherd girl. Not precisely. Toward the end of his career, Petros served with the Praetorian Guard. He was a bodyguard to the Emperor. You were too young to remember when your father died at Larissa, so we told Petros never to tell you. You’re the last drop of Imperial Blood we can find. The Bastard Daughter of the Emperor. Least that’s what the final orders read, anyways. So technically, you’re my employer, love.”
“I don’t believe it!” She shouted back. It couldn’t be the truth. Nothing about any of it made any sense. An Emperor? That was just preposterous. That sort of thing only happened in silly stories. Was this all just a cruel joke from the Gods for wishing she had a life like those stories? “That can’t be possible. Petros is my father. I refuse… It’s just not right!”
“Told ya you wouldn’t like the answer,” Cass admitted.
Alexandra’s face contorted. She didn’t know whether to feel betrayed, angry, or sad. Her entire life had been a lie. Her father never told her. Her mother never told her. All of these people knew the truth of her existence, and they kept it from her, mocking her. Her hands balled into fists again as she stood.
They will always betray you, girl.
“How could it possibly be that I am the daughter of some Emperor?”
“Well… Ya weren’t exactly born in the high halls of the Imperial Palace. The records say the Emperor had an affair—“
“So I’m not even a legitimate child?”
“—Well, yes and no. All of your half-siblings were killed. Unfortunately, the Emperor feared such a thing might have happened so he kept you somethin’ of a secret. Only the Frumentarii have records of you existing, and even then they’re pretty sparse. The identity of your mother isn’t ever mentioned.”
“This is too much.” Alexandra finally cried out as she threw her head back. Gods how she wished she had just told Petros of her dreams. They could have stayed home and none of this would have happened. She would still just be a simple shepherdess in Arkadia to be wed. Now she was suddenly the last surviving member of the Imperial family with strange magic powers.
“Where do we go now?” she asked, her voice now weary.
“We’ve friends in the South. We’ll head that way. Won’t be easy gettin’ ya on the throne, we’ve still got a ways to go. A lot to teach ya, as well. It’ll be a long journey,” Cass explained, though Alexandra cut her off.
“—the throne?”
“Aye. You’re the rightful heir of the Empire. It’s my duty to restore you to power, though it’ll be a bit tricky to convince the people what with the Priests dead.”
“I don’t want to be an Empress, Cass! I don’t know anything about leading people! The first time I set foot in a city, it exploded!”
“You’ve been a shepherd, Alexandra. Ya would be surprised how often they make good leaders. Sheep and people aren’t so different, really. You’ve got a group of creatures, creatures that rely on you to guide them and protect ‘em. More importantly, you’re unspoiled. You didn’t grow up removed from the world in some high palace. You can relate to the common folk, a trait lackin’ in most royalty, really.”