The God Breaker's Ruin
Copyright © 2021, Billy Spencer All Rights Reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced,distributed,or transmitted in any form, or by any means, including photocopying,recording,or other electronic,or mechanical methods,or any other information storage and retrieval system,without written permission from the author.
The characters in this book are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
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1
He looked at the locket around his neck as he walked down Ash street. Smelling the spoiled trash that littered the ground, and people passing by like shadows in the distance. You must have been happy, at the time the world was much happier, or so I lied to myself. The image of the woman burned deep into his mind. The smell of vanilla made him think of a time when he was a kid enjoying ice cream with his friends outside riding their bikes down by Cottonwood park. He looked up at the sky and saw buildings shining, the glow of their holy power,aerions flew around guarding the land of the light. From a distance, he could see officer Bran waving at him down, a storm gargoyle. Police tape closing off a section at the end of the street. Some things in the world changed, others stayed the same. He sighed as he entered towards his path of destination “It’s been years since the great awakening. It’s nice to have a reminder we’re still human.” The rain hit his coat sending a shiver down his spine as he entered the alleyway. The chatter from the people walking on the sidewalks was silenced. Rot and shit rushed into his nose. It was a smell that reminded him of home. The home that took away his dreams, his aspirations, and occasionally family.
He looked at the brick that laid across the walls, graffiti painted them like a canvas. It was an alley that normally people stayed away from, then again you would be a fool to be in the dark alone.“You know this is why they kicked you off the Draken police, you are always late.” Officer Bran took his flashlight and pointed it to the ground. He smiled at Nick and let out a belch.“Janet’s going to give me hell for letting you in.” It was a comment that he used to always hearing when it came to his tia. She always tried to keep a lookout for him, to make sure he was safe, but right now they had a dead person and no witnesses.
Being in the small town of Maria had its pros and cons. The pros were very few and far between and the only one he could think of was how quiet it could get. The cons though are that could go on for days and days. Janet never liked it when he stuck his nose in her business, but he had the most curious mind, and he always wanted to feed it. His relationship with Janet was warm at best, especially after god made her into a guardian. Had a lot of responsibility, and a lot of power, sound familiar? He just hoped the power didn’t go to her head...He didn’t want to understand the new ways the Draken police acted, he knew it was still bullshit. It was one of the reasons he quit when he did. It was hard to put on a uniform, a badge, and hold a killing weapon when no one watched you. Something just didn’t sit right seeing people with so much power using it to harm more than to help. So he left because he knew deep down that being part of a system no matter how good the intentions would still have corruption, so he went off on his own. “Eternals of this class aren’t seen topside.” It was one way of calling a being of holy prestige, still something to get used to.
Bran knelt next to the dead aerion. Their eyes were open, with no pupils, and just the fog of death spotlighting them. Their mouth was open in a terrifying way, with worms crawling out like someone disturbed their home, showing the color of the sea embedded in their lips. Their wings glowed faintly, and their feet and hands turned black and purple. It’s always a hard thing to see, someone's dead body. It makes you think about your own life, your mortality.No matter who the person was in their life, one would always hope they didn’t die alone, but this aerion did.
“They are seen topside, you just like to keep to yourself at Cameron’s shop.” Bran picked up one of their arms and examined it closely, tapping the skin with the edge of his dark blue claw. Contamination of a crime scene is always something to be worried about back before the awakening. It’s not even something the Draken police think about anymore since crimes had more than tripled, and the victims and perpetrators were not just humans but other beings from out of the shadowland. There wasn’t even a system in place yet, the world got turned upside down, and politicians and other leaders have been busy arguing trying to find the best “solution” but no matter the solution there always has to be a way to monetize it.
He picked up the aerions arm looking at their flesh. He estimated their death being a few hours, but it could be more. That’s one of the problems when it comes to beings that weren’t humans, they have different anatomy than humans whether it was in his small town or the big city of Dallas, there was just not enough data or information to go around, not yet. Life was more confusing than ever when it came to their world. The topside, and undercity both had different laws that they were either making or trying to adjust to, especially people from all walks of life. The world already saw him as a second-class citizen before the awakening.“I’m guessing you wanted me to see this because you knew that your brothers and sisters on the force wouldn’t give a damn if an eternal died on the street?”
Bran took his flashlight and pointed it at Nicks's face. Always wondering why he had a stick up his ass.“They are not all like that, they just don’t like you, you know how Briggs is.”
“Maybe if your police became better after the awakening I would believe it. The Draken police act like the god breakers,” he said turning the aerion’s neck to one side. Looking down at their neck, starring at the soft cream that shined with the moon. Every time he heard the word god it made him want to vomit a bit inside his mouth. Seeing others belittle those without power and hiding behind the image of God just made him see them as more liars rather than helpers of spreading the word, the subject of love. He couldn’t find a break anywhere on their body, but underneath them was dust. It attached to the aerions body with ease, and it gleamed brightly in the night. Wasn’t any normal dust, not the kind your snort, or the type you spread on meat. “What kind of magic is this?” It was dark purple with a bit of red that slitter ed down the middle of it. The dust was calling out to him, like an old lover saying hello after years away.
“Why was an aerion even topside, they should know the rules about human interactions.” It was something that he felt never sat right with him, especially after the awakening. The world knew about God, the devil, and other supernatural beings but they had these laws to keep humans in check.No more can one lay naked in their bed for their comfort. God wanted to keep the land of the light separate from his world and it made him feel the same feeling that he had all his life. That he did not belong.No matter who was in power, who was in charge he was still seen as the dumb boy in the ghetto.
“Rules are for fools. Eternals never listen, and you know it. Beings of the shadowlands trying to sneak in from the undercity because they want to be topside. Laws were always just a piece of paper. Just because they restricted what to do and not to do, doesn’t mean they had to follow it. What’s the point of power if you can’t abuse it? I came up from the undercity and knew what was needed of me to be topside,” Bran said looking behind one of the dumpsters that were bursting with trash.
Everyone deserved justice. It didn’t matter their skin color or their species. People all his life told him he was being silly trying to be the voice of reason on both sides. He didn’t see it that way, he just wanted to help anyone he could. He would be lying if he didn’t admit the fear that grew after the awakening. Magic was a concept that he onl
y saw in comics, books, and video games. Gargoyles, vampires, and other supernatural beings were creatures that he feared from stories. Then there was a god. A being that you couldn’t understand due to not meeting them. How can you know what others felt if you didn’t even bother to interact with them in their lives? There were days before the awakening where he would lose all hope in God and the afterlife, but it wasn’t hated for an almighty creator that pushed him away. It was the people that used god as their weapon to go against others, and it left him confused, sad, and angry. To him God meant love, but God didn’t stop the hate. “What’s your story? You came down and no one noticed from the land of the light that you were gone. Noone came down for their fallen angel.” He rested his hand over the aerions face and closing their eyes. The touch of their skin was calming and cold, like a cup of water inside a freezer for a few minutes, chilled to the bone. He took a few pictures of the body and scrolled through the images until a particular photo caught his attention. “That’s weird.”
“What’s weird?” Bran asked walking closer to Nick, eying his phone affectionately. “It’s just a dead body rotting on the floor.”
He put his phone closer to Bran's face and pointed to the image that he was starring at, tapping the screen to zoom in. “You can barely see it, but there is a small amount of black mist. This isn’t the type of mist from the topside, this is from the undercity. Whoever did this is eternal.” Many types of Eternals housed themselves in the undercity. Take vampires, for example, normally people think they are just beings that kill people, suck their blood or have them as servants, but that’s just vampires. There are different types of vampires like the vorpal who were the higher class and did not drink human blood anymore, at least they said they didn’t. Then you have ones who were the brutes who were a mix of vampire lineage and gargoyles, who were only called upon in desperate measures. It was a lot to think about, to take in, and to just learn, but slowly he was trying to. The laws since the awakening kept updating as mankind tried to keep up with the new world. He knew he had to go into the undercity, but thinking about going into their domain made his body sweat, and his knees weaken. He took out a magic vial from his coat pocket and stared at it, he poured some onto the floor and tried to see if he could detect any magical illusions. The dust glowed around the aerion and flickered off like a dead light bulb. “Fucking aftermarket magic,” he said mumbling under his breath.
He opened up his notes app on his phone to jot down how the aerion looked like, wrote how they could have died. Could have been poison.Could have been a heart attack. Maybe they did not get enough oxygen and suffocated, who knew? Magical beings were still a mystery, but a mystery needed to be solved.
“News is going to spread about this dead god follower. Undercity already is wary of topside thanks to certain zealot groups. Let's hope that the pot doesn’t spillover. I for them, god I do. The world is just as deadly and shittier than ever, except now all our dirty little secrets we tried to hide are out in the open,” Bran said stretching his arms and yawning.
“At least the Eternals on earth don’t sit above us laughing. At least we can speak to them.” He looked at the lifeless eyes of the aerion starring across the alley, a shell with no one home. There were symbols all over their arms, he didn’t know what they meant but they laid on the aerions skin like a beautiful painting.
“In a world of angels and demons, who would have thought our worlds would collide like this? I would spend days starring into the distance yearning for night. Looking to the gods and praying, then they answered my calls, and eventually, I found a love, had some kids. You can’t be so bitter towards them. I love what God and the holy has given me, a chance.”
“How can you love someone who has unlimited power, who can make the universe and do nothing when others are suffering and dying every day? We’re just the hamsters in the wheel in an endless loop!” he shouted to Bran pointing his finger to the sky, and starring at the land of the light, giving god a healthy hello the only way he knew those in power understood.
“Man, what the hell did they do to you?” Bran said looking out the alley and back at his phone.
“We got the raw end of the deal on this one. Tell me something good God has done for us? We didn’t ask for this. They are still searching for many of the bodies and we just live as nothing happened. People that we knew, gone. People just eat their shit up, and the cycle continues as blood trails down the streets.” The last time he ever saw his parents alive he could only think of the meal they had together before both were called to fight in the awakening. They ate as a family one last time. His father sat at the table wearing a black armored robe and a staff rested to his side. His long gray hair made him look older than he was. He only remembered the golden armor that his mother wore, but he didn’t remember her face. For years he would be on the streets, or in shops just trying to survive. He would plead, beg, and ask why, but no matter how long he did, no one showed up. He was frustrated with god being at the top of the food chain, and those that worshiped him. He felt pity for them. People who would pray, who would take time out of their week to kneel and ask for forgiveness, cries that went nowhere.
Officer Bran put his arm around him and pointed to the dead aerion that laid before them. “They didn’t ask for this. They don’t hate you or even know you, but right now in this dark, cold alley, we are the ones that are needed. They died as any mortal has died. I get it, man, you’re mad, hurt, and fucking done with it. Hell at times I am too. Do you think I like to be around humans and having them stare? But we have to put all that bullshit aside because we are the ones who speak for the dead. I didn’t ask anyone else but you to come here. I didn’t ask Frank who fought in the fanged war or Marisol who captures demons. I asked you because you are the only person that I know who would go beyond the call of duty to help those in need. Even if someone is a slime ball or your worst enemy, you still try to help them, because that’s just the kind of person you are, and right now they need our help to find out who did this.”
Nick put his hands in his coat pockets and took a deep breath closing his eyes. The cool wind brushed against the back of his neck.“I hate how right you are. We don’t know who killed them besides it being eternal in the undercity. We know that there is magic involved, but we don’t know where it came from. Magic that I haven’t seen topside before. The drug dealers only sell magical liquids and the ones that human leaders use are more holy-looking. This could have been just them having a bad batch of drugs, and dying in this alley. It could also be someone who murdered them and is on the loose as we speak. But why leave the body topside?”
Something just feels wrong about all of this. It just feels messy. If I was the one who murdered them, I would have hidden the body, or at least make it seem like a human killed them.No wounds or any attempt at harm by gun or knife. All that was left is this magic. It is the only lead that I have right now. Were they in a rush to get away? or did they freak out and not know what to do? He thought.
“Hey, I got to call Janet and let her know about what we found. She’s gonna wonder what I was thinking letting you come here, that’s gonna be a nice phone call. Do you know where to go from here at all?” Bran said grabbing a piece of tarp and then covering the body.
“Don’t worry about it. If she gives you trouble just say I was being an ass about it. She is just going to call me later to tell me to stay out of Draken's business. Don’t sweat it she is more bark than bite. I’m going to head to Cameron’s shop and see if he can shed some light on this, he has more experience when it comes to the land of the light,” He said walking out of the alley.
“I don’t get it, man, why do you hate God so much?”
“I saw my death Bran, and the one that killed me was god.”
2
Nick opened the door to Cameron's shop, the floors creaked as he stepped foot inside. His coat caught on the doorknob, he tugged at it and broke free looking throughout the building. A sign hanging from the wall next to hi
m. The Dawn of Magnus. Cameron was talking to a vorpal at the bar. An eternal who wore a blue suit with red hair. The old man specialized in spices, coffee, and the occasional trader or anything with magic. He knew Cameron was a big man, but compared to the vorpal he looked like a giant if a giant wore an apron and had tattoos of spheres on their arms. Standing there like a deer in the headlights, the vorpal glanced at him, like an intruder entering his home. He darted behind a bookshelf, rummaging through one of the books, he could feel eyes starring at him. I think that vorpal looked at me, maybe I should come back another time? In the morning probably when it’s safer. He thought as his body began to shiver. In his mind the look of the vorpal smiling at him with their mouth opened, fangs drew ready to bite down and suck his blood until he was nothing but a motionless husk. “Stop it, Nick, don’t be afraid. Being Vorpal is different than other vampires, don’t lump them together.” He felt the impact of a slap crash against the back of his head, a loving touch, but still, one that hurt.
“Gross, can you be any more obvious? That’s not even a Vorpal. It’s a norsoti,” A woman said as she walked towards him holding a big book against her chest, staring at the ground. “You know how it feels to not belong.”
“Abigail? I didn’t notice you, I know it’s bad, I know. It just caught me off guard,” he said to her rubbing the back of his head. He saw the norsoti pick up a glass filled with blood and waved a hand at him with a smile on his face. Abigail was part vorpal, the other part she didn’t talk about, but she didn’t let it get her down. She worked at the shop helping customers, talking to them, and being a friend for those that felt a bit lost. Teens came to the shop. She always liked to wear black jeans and a band t-shirt. Her hair was black and waved to her shoulder tips. It was a place of solace away from home, a place where their overbearing parents didn’t suffocate them with verses to help them ascend to the land of the light when their time came. With Tawny skin, orange-brown, like the feathers of an owl, he saw while hiking one summer.
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