A tingling warmth filled him as his broken bones shifted and mended, and his bruised organs and muscles repaired themselves and filled again with blood. It was a curious, writhing sensation and not one he particularly enjoyed. At least there was no pain.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Blood Sacrifice
ALDRIC’S EYES DROOPED WITH weariness. He clutched at Niklaus’s shoulder, then slumped to the ground. It was some time before he regained consciousness.
He groaned and moved his aching head slightly. “How long was I out?”
“An hour or so,” replied Priska.
“We didn’t want to wake you,” Soki said. “You needed rest.”
“And you look like you still do,” added Gannon.
It sounded like they were at the other end of a long tunnel. Aldric opened his eyes a fraction, squinting at the harsh light of Soki’s globes. He tried to move, but his limbs seemed made of lead. He drew in deep breaths to try to clear the fuzziness in his mind, then forced himself to sit up.
“How is Niklaus?” he asked.
“I’ve been better,” the mercenary responded. He limped into Aldric’s view, wincing at each step.
Most of the damage caused had been roughly cured, but Aldric could see he would require another round of healing before he was anywhere near back to normal. “I’ll try again later,” he said.
“Don’t rush,” Soki warned. “You almost killed yourself. And you’re no use to anyone if you’re unconscious.”
“I can survive like this for a while,” Niklaus said. “I’m no stranger to pain.”
Aldric nodded weakly and placed a hand on the ground to steady himself. Just sitting up made him feel fragile. He had no idea why his god had banished his weariness earlier, but not this time.
“I can mask the pain when I’m healing,” he told Niklaus. “But any discomfort from unhealed wounds will return once I stop.”
Soki and Gannon helped Aldric to his feet, and he nodded his thanks. Someone had covered Stray Dog’s ravaged midsection with a flimsy scarf. Likely Soki or Priska.
Aldric looked at the massive corpse of the creature. It seemed to have shriveled a fraction, as if its insides had shrunk.
“Will you be all right to continue?” Gannon asked.
Aldric shook his head. “Are we really going on after what just happened? There could be more of those … creatures.” He turned to Niklaus. “What did you do to it?”
The mercenary shrugged, one hand on the hilt of his long sword, which hung by his hip again. “I happened to have a particularly potent poison with me. Since nothing else seemed to work, I decided to use it.”
“Do you want to try to recover your cane? It’s somewhere inside the creature.”
Niklaus grimaced. “Not at the moment. Later, when I’ve recovered a little.”
“I’ve never heard of such a strong poison,” Gannon said. “Where did you obtain it?”
“From an alchemist,” replied Niklaus. “To tell the truth, I wasn’t sure it would work. He might have sold me something worthless.”
Kurio came up to them, her eyes fixed on Niklaus. “Why would you need such a thing? Did you know you would be facing more than just the Dead-eyes?”
“I would ask the same question,” said Valeria.
Aldric also wanted to know. Did Niklaus know more about the mission than he’d shared? And did Hannus know what was inside the ruin, but chose not to warn Aldric for whatever reason?
Niklaus’s eyes narrowed. “I couldn’t use the poison effectively against so many demons. And I carry such things precisely because they’re effective in certain situations, like this one. You should be thanking me.”
“Do you come across many creatures immune to sorcery and steel?” asked Gannon.
Niklaus ignored the question. “If Aldric feels well enough, we should continue.”
Aldric didn’t feel well enough. What he needed was a week’s rest, preferably in a bed.
“We shouldn’t go any further,” Soki said. “Aldric’s right. It’s too dangerous.”
“We’ve dealt with the threat,” Valeria said. “We should go on. Losing Stray Dog was unfortunate, but we shouldn’t lose sight of—”
“Unfortunate?” Aldric snarled. “He was ripped in two. He gave his life to protect us. And if I wasn’t here, Niklaus would be dead too.”
Gannon stepped between Aldric and the priestess.
Aldric realized he’d taken a step toward Valeria with his fist raised. Not only that; he was a hair’s breadth away from using dusk-tide sorcery. He shied away from his repository, fearful of whatever cant he’d been about to speak.
“Any death is unfortunate,” Gannon said, his voice even. “And Stray Dog was a good man.”
Aldric nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
Soki placed a hand on his. “I can prevent any other creatures from materializing,” she said. “Now I know what to look for, I’m confident I can disarm any triggers before they summon anything.”
“See,” said Gannon. “That’s reassuring, is it not?”
“Let’s get to work on this next veil,” Niklaus said. “The less time we spend in here, the better.”
~ ~ ~
Kurio’s hand sought Gannon’s as the group moved toward the second barrier. His grip steadied her; and there was something about him that stirred her blood and made her want to survive to be with him. Her other hand held her crossbow tight, the familiar weapon also giving her comfort. The shadows in this place unsettled her, though she was used to darkness. The ruin was cold and full of dangers. The sooner they were back in Caronath, the better.
She couldn’t stop thinking about the demons either. Her mind flitted from one thought to another, seldom stopping. Their repellent appearance. Their savagery and depravity. Their hideous chanting, all the more terrible as it showed they were intelligent and had developed a culture of sorts. The demons were the worst aspects of mankind made manifest, ruled by base desires and hungers.
Demons. Everything came back to them. Ever since she’d met Gannon and discovered his research, the infernal creatures kept appearing. She’d put it down to bad luck. If she believed it would help, she’d donate a good amount of gold royals to any god that could change her luck. Or at least wipe the slate clean. But the gods played with all of their lives and didn’t care.
The demons’ blood was dark purple. Her blood was red. She wasn’t a demon. But Zarina and Mellish, and the wraithe, thought otherwise. What was the truth? Would she ever really know?
Gannon squeezed her hand, then released it. Kurio found herself already longing for his firm warmth.
“The patterns on the pavers,” said Priska. “They change after each barrier.”
Kurio realized she was right. As did the writing, although it was still Skanuric.
“It doesn’t speak of sorcery this time,” Aldric said, “but of power divinely gifted.”
Sokhelle frowned thoughtfully. “Aldric, do you—”
“Not mine,” he said. “It’s nothing to do with Menselas. It talks of pain, of anguish.” He turned, eyes seeking Valeria. “It speaks of the moons, of darker powers.”
“And errant passions,” Sokhelle added.
“Just as well I’m here, then,” Valeria said. “Or you’d be stuck at this barrier.”
Kurio couldn’t hold herself back. “Well, that’s fortunate.” It was all too convenient. Couldn’t these people see it?
“Yes,” said Valeria. “But we’re not through yet.”
Kurio grunted softly. “I’m wondering what all these barriers are protecting. Someone’s gone to a lot of trouble to keep this place secure.” She frowned and looked at Aldric, then Sokhelle. “I take it one person couldn’t have done this?”
“It’s possible,” replied Sokhelle. “If that person was chosen by the Lady Sylva Kalisia and was a proficient sorcerer.”
“Someone like Aldric, except devoted to the Lady?” said Niklaus, and shook his head. “The goddess has
no need of sorcerers in her Church. At least, I’ve never met one.”
Kurio wondered then why she’d overheard Aldric and Sokhelle saying the priestess had taken pains to try to convert Priska to her cause.
“We shouldn’t mess with this sorcery,” she said. “Let’s go back to the entrance, wait for the demons to leave, then head back to Caronath.”
“Should Valeria investigate the barrier?” asked Gannon. “Or perhaps her only talent is making tea?”
Valeria flashed him a look of pure fury. “Be careful what you say. My power is not to be made fun of. Nor is the Lady. You think muscle and steel are superior, but you’re only a bag of meat—as Stray Dog found out.”
“As are we all,” said Niklaus. “Valeria, cease with the theatrics and get on with it. This place makes me uneasy.”
Valeria clenched her jaw, but nodded curtly to Niklaus. She gathered her skirt in her hands and moved to stand in front of the veil. After a short time, she kneeled and began murmuring in a tongue Kurio hadn’t heard before. It was throaty and liquid, alluring. Kurio found herself straining to catch every word, then noticed everyone else also staring at Valeria.
“The language of the Lady’s Church,” Niklaus said, startling Kurio and breaking her fascination.
“At least they did one thing right,” Gannon said with a mocking grin.
Niklaus turned to regard him. “What do you mean?”
Gannon shrugged. “The Lady’s Church has diminished over the years, is that not so? Sylva Kalisia’s power wanes.”
Kurio jumped as Valeria uttered a terrible shriek, as though it had been torn from the depths of her soul. Her arms were stretched out in front of her, fingers clawing, nails scraping on the pavers. Her whole body trembled, and she emitted another wail.
Sokhelle rushed toward her, only to be stopped by Niklaus, who moved swiftly to block her path.
“Pain and anguish are part of how the priestesses serve the goddess,” he said. “Do not intervene, or things could go awry.”
More words flowed from Valeria’s lips, still throaty and fluid, but hurried too, and desperate. Her breath came in harsh gasps, and sweat dripped from her face, spattering the floor. She shrieked, the tendons on her hands bulging, as if she were clawing her way through the hard floor.
And the veil dissipated.
Sokhelle brushed past Niklaus, who now let her go. She rushed to Valeria. The priestess pushed the other woman’s hands away. “Leave me,” she snarled. A trickle of blood oozed from one nostril. She wiped at it with her hand, then smoothed back her damp hair. She coughed, then lurched to her feet and wobbled uncertainly. “Niklaus.” She held a hand out.
The mercenary moved to Valeria’s side, taking her hand and arm to steady her. Strangely, he looked unconcerned at her shaky condition.
“It is done,” Valeria said. “It was … an intense experience.”
She breathed deeply and leaned further into Niklaus. He bore her weight and guided her over the line where the barrier had been.
Kurio looked ahead to the object the arcane shrouds were guarding. It seemed clearer now—a cube of metal about a yard high and covered with some kind of complex pattern too obscure to make out. Her eyes narrowed. “Is that …” she said, then trailed off, biting her bottom lip. It looked like a larger version of the cube she’d stolen and delivered to Willas … but that meant …
She shrugged Gannon’s hands from her shoulders and moved closer to the next veil. She needed time to think, but her mind felt sluggish.
“Is that what?” asked Priska.
Kurio shook her head. “Nothing.” She glanced at Gannon, who returned her look with a blank expression.
Bryn slapped Niklaus on the back and hurried forward. “Two down, two to go!” he crowed. “We’re going to be rich. I can feel it!”
Gannon laughed. “Royals can’t buy you everything. Remember that.”
“True!” said Bryn. “But when you’re getting long in the tooth like me, you have to look to the future. Coin can buy almost everything. As for what it can’t, well … you make what bargains you can.”
“Some bargains can be hard to stick to,” said Gannon.
Bryn glanced back over his shoulder. “I’m a man of my word.” He rushed to the next veil and stared down at the writing on the pavers. Without looking up, he waved everyone closer. “Come over here. What do these say?”
To Kurio’s eyes, the veil shimmered faintly. Wavelets of power swirled across it, creating the impression of a sky filled with stars reflected on water.
“It is Skanuric again,” said Aldric. “It doesn’t reference sorcery, but power divinely gifted. Not of pain and anguish this time, but of different aspects.”
Priska pointed to one of the pavers. “This word—I recognize it from sorcery. It means ‘five’.”
~ ~ ~
Aldric felt his stomach sink. His hands trembled, and he clenched one into a fist and the other around the hilt of his khopesh to stop them. This barrier had been created by a priest of his Church. He didn’t need his divine power to ascertain the fact. The Skanuric script spelled it all out: the Elder, the Mother, the Healer, the Warrior, the Hooded One. The five aspects of Menselas.
“Only one aspect is needed to break the barrier,” Soki said from behind him. She moved closer and placed a hand over Aldric’s clenched fist, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “The healer.”
“So this one’s for Aldric?” asked Bryn.
Niklaus grunted.
Bryn turned to Aldric. “What are you waiting for?”
“Let me think,” Aldric snarled. He knew with certainty that whatever they found behind the veils, Valeria would strive to control it. She sought a resurgence of her goddess, and the pain and suffering of others meant nothing to her.
“It’s all right,” said Soki. “We’ve come this far.” She smiled and squeezed his hand again.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Aldric whispered to her.
“So you’re not even going to try? Even though Stray Dog gave his life to get us this far? And after what Valeria went through? Look at her, Aldric. She’s still in pain.”
He glanced over at the priestess. She was sitting on the floor, head held in trembling hands.
“So am I,” he said, but it sounded weak even to his own ears.
“I may not like her,” Soki said in a low voice, “but she went through hells to bring that barrier down. Mine was only a test of my sorcerous abilities; hers was a test of her ability to withstand intense pain. I think yours will be a walk in the park in comparison.”
She seemed faintly disappointed in him, and he felt a tingle of blood suffuse his face.
“I’m not worried about that. I’m concerned there’s something else going on here. It can’t be a coincidence that each veil requires a different power to bring it down, and our group contains someone with that power.”
Soki’s eyes narrowed; then she shrugged. “What about the demons? Would your Church and Valeria’s have chosen to work together if they’d known about them? I don’t think so.”
She was right, Aldric knew. But still … the situation filled him with a deep unease. They’d all been drawn here for a purpose. Someone had manipulated them. Was it divine guidance? Or something sinister?
There was a design here. A plan they were all part of. There was so much he didn’t know. He might as well be fighting blind. Archbishop Hannus had wanted him to explore the ruins, but was that his primary consideration or only secondary? Perhaps Hannus was behind all of this. He’d sent Aldric to explore the ruin, after all, and ordered him to bring back whatever he found there, presumably employing Soki to examine the same artifacts. If Aldric had them in his possession, then he’d hold all the cards. If Hannus was corrupt, he needed to be stopped and cast out of the Church. Was this why Menselas had drawn Aldric here? If he pretended to fail at breaching the barrier, would he also be failing his god?
“Aldric,” Niklaus said, interrupting his thoughts, “I think
we should talk.”
He’d left Valeria on her own, and the priestess was sitting on the floor.
“Leave him be,” Gannon said. “He’s worried the two women performed better than he can.”
“Be quiet,” Soki told him. “Aldric—”
“What are you waiting for?” interrupted Priska, echoing Bryn. “This is exciting! We’re so close!”
“Who is going to remove the last barrier?” Aldric said loudly. No one else had any other powers … that he knew of. Sorcery had been used, then Valeria’s goddess’s power, and now his was next. After that, what could possibly be the key? “You, Bryn, with your sword? Or you, Gannon?” He gave Kurio a hard stare. “Kurio, what is your hidden talent? Or Niklaus?”
No one answered for long moments.
Then Soki spoke. “I guess we’ll find out soon—if you can disperse this barrier.”
There was still a chance they’d fail at the last hurdle. At least Aldric could hope so. Swallowing his fear, he stepped up to the veil and awoke his divine sight.
Light pulsed across a fine knit of designs. No, not a design. A mesh of power. It … hurts, like a wound. Ah … Aldric wove his god’s gift, and his palms began to glow faintly. He handled raw energy as though it had substance. It was a complex healing, and sweat beaded his brow as his fingers threaded patterns over the injured veil. If he made the wound whole, the barrier would dissipate.
It was a simple matter, in the end. Aldric concentrated and released his god’s energies. The mesh flashed bright, becoming whole again. But only for an instant. Then it collapsed.
Aldric shivered. He’d done it. For good or for ill.
Bryn crowed, his delight echoing around the chamber.
Priska clapped her hands, and Soki gave Aldric a warm smile.
“Next one!” shouted Bryn as he rushed ahead.
Niklaus stood in front of Aldric and looked him in the eye. “We need to talk,” he said quietly but forcefully.
“What about?” Aldric said. He was on edge as it was. Whatever Niklaus wanted, it could wait. Or could it? He was worried enough to hear him out.
“Don’t you see? What are the chances of a group turning up and being able to breach all the barriers? Think, man!”
Revenant Winds (The Tainted Cabal Book 1) Page 45