“Not too much further then. Perhaps a mile at most?” Athos said.
Gor nodded, “That’s what I recon the distance to be.”
“Maybe our luck will hold, and we’ll make it to the church without any further damned encounters. Let’s continue on. Please be mindful of the noise you make.” He reached down and scratched Daisy between the ears before adding, “Especially you. No barking.”
They started to move forward again down the narrow Via Dolorosa. The slender expanse of the brick road seemed to press down upon them as they walked. The surrounding buildings seemed to loom over them. The effect meant that they were constantly seeing movement out of the corner of their eyes.
Every few hundred feet, Athos would stop and listen for the damned. With every pause and no discernable sounds, he grew more and more confident that they would make it without any additional encounters. Every single door on this stretch of the road hung open. As they passed open door after open door, he stared nervously into the blackness beyond the portal.
Baltazar whispered what he had been thinking, “It seems all of the damned in this section of the city has been drawn elsewhere.”
Athos nodded in agreement before adding, “Thank God.”
Liana added, “Glory be to God, he wants us to be successful.”
“I hope you’re right” Athea added. Throwing a glance at Maarika beside her, she added, “We’ve certainly paid a high enough price already.”
For the first time since Nasir’s death, Maarika reacted to something being said. She turned her head, met Athea’s gaze and nodded slowly. They continued on in silence until they reached their destination, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
The church complex covered the entire hill. Like Gor had said, there was a large basilica built into the base of the hill. Unlike the rest of the nearby buildings, it was not crafted from local stone, but white marble. Everyone stood in wide eyed amazement at the imposing structure. In addition to the main building, the church also had a bell tower built into the rear of the main structure which lay at the top of the hill. The tower, extended some fifty feet in height above the peak of the hill. It dominated the local landscape and was the highest point in the city save the Temple Mount.
As the group stood in awe at what their eyes were taking in, Gor broke the silence, “Emperor Constantine’s mother, the Empress Saint Helena, had the marble shipped all the way from the isle of Marmara near Constantinople. The Emperor Constantine, the first Christian Emperor, loved and respected his mother. He spared no expense in building the church that his mother desired. A church worthy of the sacrifice of God’s son Jesus Christ.”
His shoulders slumped and his eyes became downcast as he continued, “When the Persians captured Jerusalem, they removed the Cross, and destroyed the church. After Emperor Heraclius recaptured Jerusalem, he commissioned a new church be built in its place. I left Jerusalem as a child before the destruction of the church. I have never walked the halls of the new church.”
As Gor finished his history lesson, everyone in the group crossed themselves save Maarika. “Does the chapel follow the side of the hill upward?” Athos asked.
Gor nodded, “If the new church is similar to the old, then yes. Within the main hall of the chapel the interior slowly rises to the place of the crucifixion. The stone of Calvary, upon which Jesus was crucified, sits above and behind the altar.”
“Where is the cross?” Athos asked.
“If the cross rests in the traditional location, it will be set within the stone behind the altar.” Gor replied.
“It is said that the cross lies within the original hole driven into the stone by the men who slew Jesus. Is that true?” Baltazar asked.
Gor nodded, “Yes, there are a total of three holes set into the stone upon the rock of Golgotha by our very shortsighted ancestors. They were reused over the course of centuries for the crucifixion of criminals.” As Athos and Baltazar frowned Gor hastily added, “And the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
At the mention of the crucifixion, everyone in the group once again dutifully crossed themselves except Maarika. Athos walked up to the imposing double oaken doors set within the entryway of the chapel. There was a relief carved into the doors. Not surprisingly, it depicted the crucifixion of Christ along with the two thieves Dismas and Gestas. He turned to face the rest of the group and said, “Make ready, there could be damned within.”
Everyone nodded in acknowledgement, and Athos turned back to face the double doors. He looked up at them as they loomed a full five feet over his head. Steeling himself, he tugged on one of the iron circlets driven into the wood at shoulder height. The door didn’t move. Frowning, he gave the portal a good sharp tug. It still failed to move.
“It’s barred from inside.” Athos said.
“Many would have come to this place to pray to God for deliverance from the damned as the city was overrun.” Jerry said.
“Which means we’ll either find an empty church, if their prayers were answered, or a room full of the damned.” Baltazar said.
Revig’s mouth dropped open in shock at Baltazar’s words. He cast the young Dekanos a sharp glare before saying, “How can you speak ill of God?”
Baltazar squared his shoulders as he replied, “Because he allowed the damned into the world in the first place. What kind of loving God does that?”
Athos opened his mouth to reply but Jerry beat him to it, “One that is tired of his children forsaking the sacrifice of his son and disobeying his commandments.”
For the first time since Nasir’s death Maarika spoke, “I often wondered the same thing. I’ve been told that your God is the mightiest of Gods, but just like Bismillah he failed to stop the scourge of the hungry. How can he be mighty when the minions of evil run free, consuming all within their grasp?”
Several of the party members opened their mouths to speak when Athos raised his hands up, palms facing toward the group and said, “Enough! This is a question for priests to decide not Skutatoi of the 5th Babylon. What is here for us to decide today is if the True Cross of the Crucifixion is restored to the Empire or not.”
Before anyone could respond to Athos’ words, the door behind him thumped. Athos turned back to face the doors and asked, “Hello?”
The question was followed by dozens of thumps. Athos sighed, “The damned are within.”
Baltazar nodded in resignation and drew his ax, “So it would seem.”
Athos turned to Gor and asked, “This door is barred from the other side. Are there any more entries to this structure?”
“Yes, there is an entry in the rear of the chapel that the priests use to come and go, but I believe it is connected to the monastery.” Gor replied.
“So, we would have to go through the monastery to get to it?” Athos asked.
Gor nodded slowly in reply before Baltazar added, “We’re better off just cutting our way through this door, fighting however many of the rotting bastards lay within the main sanctuary, grabbing the cross, and hightailing it back out the front door. We’ll face fewer damned that way.”
“And give them fewer opportunities to bite us.” Jerry added.
“Very well.” Athos said as he drew his ax and then added, “Are you with me?”
Baltazar nodded and said, “Let’s get the bastards.”
The two men set to work hacking at the door with their axes. The steady thump, thump, thumps, sounds the two men made were joined by the pounding of damned fists from the other side. Athos and Baltazar worked at the door with their axes for many minutes. Breaking a sweat from his efforts, Baltazar turned to Athos and said, “This door must be three inches thick.”
Athos nodded in agreement, “I’ve seen thinner city gates.”
“Gor was right. The Emperor Heraclius spared no expense, especially on the door.” Jerry added with a rueful chuckle.
“Are we sure the door isn’t made out of brown marble?” Sharven asked.
As Baltazar swung hi
s ax, he tried to conceal his grimaces of pain, “Judging by how little the ax tells upon the surface of the door. It would surprise me not.”
After nearly half an hour and hundreds of strokes with their axes, the two sweat soaked young Skutatoi finally hacked their way through the door. Their newly hewn hole, revealed a thick wooden bar beyond. Jerry turned and said, “Sharven and Revig. Take over and cut your way through the bar. We don’t need our two best warriors exhausted by the time we get through this infernal barrier.”
“Let us all pray that it isn’t this hard to get into heaven when we pass, as it is the door into God’s Church.” Athea said sarcastically.
“Apparently the Emperor wanted to ensure that the next time the Persians came around, that they couldn’t destroy the church, as it would be impossible to get past the door!” Jerry said.
Athos and Baltazar stepped aside as the two Skutatoi took over and began hacking at the bar with their axes. In addition to the pounding, the sounds of the damned voices from the other side of the door could now be heard. A cacophony of moans, groans, snarls, growls, and other unintelligible noises filled the ears of the group as they waited patiently for Sharven and Revig to finish hacking their way through the bar.
As the two men neared completion of their task, Baltazar and Athos readied their shields to step forward. A few moments later a strike from Sharven cracked the bar and another stroke from Revig, finished it. With a loud snap, the bar fell to the floor and the doors were flung open by the damned, eager to have their fill of the group’s living flesh.
Athos and Baltazar immediately stepped forward knocked back the group of damned with their shields. They quickly followed up with two ax strokes that stuck the top of their target’s heads. The accurate blows easily, sliced through, hair, scalp, and bone before piercing brain matter. The rest of the damned, oblivious to the untimely end of their comrades pressed forward for their chance at the feast.
Gor and Jerry, joined the two men on either side, forming a half circle in front of the doorway. The next row of damned to emerge from the church threw themselves at the four men. As Athos and Baltazar raised their shields to block grasping fingers and hands, Gor and Jerry landed blows with their Spathas killing the damned.
The next group to emerge, tripped on the four corpses in the doorway and fell toward the two young fighters. Reacting quickly Athos and Baltazar raised their shields to block their putrid assailants. Stopping the two damned women cold, Gor and Jerry quickly finished them off with downward strokes from their Spathas.
The group of frontline fighters was occasionally supported by Athea and Liana. The ladies would see an opening and sporadically drop one of the damned with a stone from their slings. This went on for several minutes as the bodies piled up in the doorway to the church.
“If this is all they have to throw at us, we should be able to hold this door forever.” Jerry said between kills.
“Don’t get too comfortable. Things have a habit of getting worse whenever the damned are involved.” Baltazar said.
As soon as the words were out of Baltazar’s mouth a group of damned lurching and shambling up the Via Dolorosa, who had been drawn to the sound of the fighting, came into view. Looking down the hill from the top of the church stairs, the group was able to spot them while they were still half a mile in distance. Unfortunately, the damned, could also see the group. The moment the damned laid their white soulless eyes upon the group, they screamed and charged up the road. Rotting and rancid legs quickly carried the horde toward the church square.
“What was that screaming behind us?” Athos asked as he ducked under an arm, smashed his shield into the face of a man dressed in the robes of a monk, and then finished him with a back handed ax stroke.
“You’re not going to want to hear this.” Athea said.
Athos replied “You’re probably right, but I think I need to hear it, if I’m going to be able to react to it. The bastards are coming up behind us, aren’t they?”
Liana nodded in response to Athos’ question before quickly realizing he couldn’t see her head as he was facing the damned trying push through the doorway of the church. She hastily added, “Uh-huh.” To her nod.
Athos threw a quick glance at the sky and asked God in a low voice, “It’s never easy is it?” Before adding in a loud voice, “How many?”
“All of them I think.” Sharven said in his gravelly voice.
“Sharven and Revig, see if you can set up a line as far up the Via Dolorosa as you can manage. Before it opens up onto the church square. Pick a spot narrow enough that the two of you can hold it alone. The road is naturally narrow so that should give you plenty of choices with enough room to retreat. Move!”
The two Skutatoi saluted Athos’ back, whirled around, and double timed it across the square and onto the Via Dolorosa. The damned, seeing the two men drawing near, paused for a moment and roared in triumph.
“That’s new.” Revig said.
“These bastards seem to get smarter by the moment.” Sharven said.
“It won’t be long then before they are smarter than you.” Revig jibbed back with a smile.
“Aye, but at least they aren’t already smarter than me.” Sharven fired back.
The two men stopped and dropped into a defensive posture as the damned drew within a dozen feet of them. They held their shields out in front of them filling the narrow expanse of the road with the metal barriers. A moment later the wave of damned crashed into them. They were forced to take a step back from the weight of the undead pressing down upon them. Once energy from the initial contact was absorbed, they began to relieve the pressure with their axes.
Back at the entry to the church Athos said, “Athea and Liana, can you aid Revig and Sharven? I think you’ll do the most good there firing into the crowd behind them. We scarcely need your services in holding this doorway.”
“Yes, sir.” The two ladies said in unison. They turned and ran toward Revig and Sharven.
“Maarika, are you with us?” Athos asked.
“Yes.” Maarika said in a barely audible whisper.
“Do you think you could give us some support?” Athos asked.
“What for? The hungry will just consume us all in the end. Why delay what is to be?” Maarika fired back, her voice stronger this time.
“Because it is a sin against God to essentially commit suicide.” Athos replied.
“Why care what a God who allowed the hungry into the world thinks?” Maarika said.
In-between kills, Athos and Baltazar shared a glance. The two men grinned at each other in acknowledgement before Athos said, “Because he stands ready at the gateway of heaven to pass judgment upon us. Those that are found wanting are cast down into the pits of eternal hellfire.”
Maarika rolls her eyes, “Very well. I will aid you against the damned. Not because I fear disappointing your unloving callous God that would allow the damned to infest the world, but because it would be what Nasir would want me to do.”
Athos smirked, as he thrust his shield out to block a male damned that was reaching for him. She’s coming back to us. The man had short greying hair, and loose gray skin that hung on his bones. He was dressed in clothes fashioned from the homespun cloth commonly worn by the urban poor in the Empire. The brown coloration of his garments was marred by splashes of blood. As Athos forced the man back with his shield he said, “Nasir would want you to continue living.”
By way of reply, Maarika sent a stone hurtling toward the damned that Athos has just put back. The rock smashed into his forehead and the man flopped to the ground, never to move again. Before the next damned in line could get at Athos, he threw a glance at Baltazar and said, “You couldn’t resist bringing up how things with the damned always get worse could you?”
Baltazar, kicked the damned in front of him in the left knee, sending her to the ground. He then followed up with a quick downward ax stroke ending her hunger permanently, “It’s not like my words conjured the horde that
came down the Via Dolorosa.”
“No, they didn’t. It just sounded like you didn’t have any hope that this would remain easy.” Athos said.
Baltazar planted his axeblade into the forehead of a damned snarling over his shield and replied, “Does it ever? You know as well as I. Why blow sunshine up people’s arses? The bastards probably caught a whiff of us on the wind and followed the scent.”
“Hope.” Athos replied simply.
The damned facing Revig and Sharven fought as a team. They attacked the two men simultaneously. One would try to draw attention while another, took advantage of the distraction, and try to draw one of the men forward in the hopes of isolating them. As a result of these tactics, the two men, despite being skilled fighters, were steadily pushed back as they were forced to give ground to superior numbers. Athea and Liana did what they could with their slings, but there were simply too many damned pressing up the Via Dolorosa to be restrained.
Athea threw a glance in the direction of the church square. They were perhaps a dozen feet away from a bend in the road that led around an ancient structure, “You’ve got to stop yielding ground. We don’t have that much of it left to give until we are out of road and into the square.”
Sharven, using his shield, smashed the head of the lower damned. The pair had been in the midst of executing a high-low attack upon Revig. Revig, using his ax, ended the life of the other damned trying to climb over his shield. This left Sharven’s left shoulder open and exposed to attack.
As a third damned reached for him, the creature’s head exploded like a melon as Liana hurled a stone into the side of the man’s head. This caused him to fall to his right, and smash his head up against the nearby wall that formed the edge of the road. The combination double skull fracture and change of pressure, sent the man’s brains flying out.
Sharven, having a moment, threw Athea a glance and said, “If you think you can do any better, bring your arse up here and try.”
Byzantium Infected Box Set Page 99