Birth of a Mortal God (30 page)

Tal stroked his left chin. “Hmmm, then tell us what you think happened.”

Asteroth recounted the events as best as he could. “. . . but what I do know for certain is that Joneras was somehow the cause of what happened, and if Killmar had not sacrificed himself, Cortast would now be overrun by demons.”

The auburn giant seemed genuinely saddened by the news of Killmar’s fate. “And you say Killmar told you she was his wife?” he asked, indicating the woman sitting under a willow tree, lost in thought.

He nodded.

“We see,” said Tal before walking over and sitting beside her. “Greetings, young one. We were friends of your husband’s. We are called Talvirnia, but you may call us Tal,” he said in Franca with a warm smile.

The mention of his name drew her attention, and she turned to him, her eyes strong with determination. “He told me about you, he said you would take me to Sa’leeon.”

“Sa’leeon? Why would you want to go there?” he asked confused.

“Lathrion is to protect me,” she said resting her chin on her knees.

“He is to what?!” he asked surprised. “Young one, you must be confused.”

“You
will
take me to Sa’leeon,” hissed Jessica.

“We certainly will not!”

Asteroth found it disconcerting to see the old yethlo so unnerved. “Who is this Lathrion?”

“Remember when we told you there are few we fear? Lathrion is among those few. He is not a being to be trifled with,” said Tal before turning back to Jessica. “We won’t pretend to understand Killmar’s intentions when he told you to go there, but it could only result in your death.”

Jessica rose to her feet, her face flushed with rage. “Now you listen to me carefully,
friend
of my husband’s. Killmar would never put me in harm’s way. He said I would be safe with Lathrion, and I will be. Don’t you ever question his judgement again!”

Tal blinked like an owl caught in lantern light. He still towered over her, despite being seated, but found her oddly imposing. “If we harboured doubts, they have been dispelled. You are most certainly his wife,” he said with a smile, revealing an enormous array of teeth.

Jessica felt her mood improve slightly. “You will take me then?”

He shrugged. “Truth to tell, we don’t have much of a choice. We are the Ferryman after all. Besides, staying in Killmar’s good graces is somewhat of a priority of ours.”

“Why do you two keep referring to him as if he still lives?” asked Asteroth, confused. The resulting stares did not compliment his intelligence.

“A better question would be, why do you believe he is not?” Asteroth seemed even more confused, and Tal sighed. “Have you forgotten everything we told you? Killmar is a god. Beings of untold power such as he can easily exist in almost any realm, including any of the Nine Hells. Though from what you told us, he irreversibly damaged, perhaps even destroyed his vessel when he closed that gate. Replacing it would be impossible since the gods won’t be fooled by the same trick twice, meaning it is unlikely he’ll ever be returning to the mortal realm again.”

He looked to Jessica. “You don’t seem surprised.”

She felt a knot in her throat and had to swallow hard. “I am his wife. You can not even begin to fathom the secrets he has shared with me. I never believed him to be dead; I know him far too well for that. However, I also know that I shall never see him again. Even if he manages to acquire a new vessel, the gods do not experience time as we do. I know I will be long dead by then. That is why I grieve, not for the loss of his life, but for the loss of his company.”

Talvirnia nodded. “Indeed, he was such an interesting entity.” Turning to Asteroth, he said, “Now shouldn’t you be returning to your people?”

Asteroth winced at the thought of returning but knew he had to. “You are right, may the gods watch over you . . .”

“Jessica,” she supplied.

“Jessica,” he repeated before launching into the air.

“We wonder if he will find some peace, now that he has witnessed the so called Spawn of the Black god sacrifice himself for the survival of our realm,” commented Tal as he watched the crimson figure retreat to the north.

She left the question unanswered as she knowingly placed her hands on her belly.

The Emperor cringed
as his mind was flooded with foreign memories of the life of a man called Joneras. Upon his birth, he was presented to the Most Holy Taisekai and received his reibai, as is the way of their people. As a boy, he was unremarkable and was assigned to the first tier upon becoming an adult on his fourth birthday. From then on, no one paid much attention to the ordinary young man, and he faded into the surroundings as so many of the first tier do. Until one day when it was discovered that he was preparing to perform an unspeakable ritual. Ryuuhan recalled the outrage he had felt when ordering his arrest, but it had been too late. When Joneras was finally confronted, he had already performed the ritual and escaped using the power he had gained from sacrificing his reibai to Ashaat.

For two years, their efforts to find the traitor proved fruitless. Then suddenly he returned.
Why didn’t we execute you?
he thought to himself.

As if to answer the question, Ranhou entered the Mind Garden. “Father!”

“I know, my son.”

“How is any of this possible?” asked the young prince, clearly deeply disturbed.

“He must have manipulated the memories of our people through his foul magic. I can still recall his fabrication: the life of a boy rejected by the Most Holy Tiasekai.”

“How could we have been so blind? No one has ever been rejected! Why did we believe such an obvious lie?” said Ranhou, his anger more directed at himself than anyone else.

“It was the only explanation our minds would have accepted for the absence of his reibai. The better question is, why did none of the mages from the guild detect this enchantment? Surely, a spell of such magnitude and power could not have escaped their notice?” said the Emperor in even tones, despite that the fact that he was seething with rage.

“You believe they were complicit in the traitor’s scheme?” whispered the prince.

“The Mages’ Guild has grown more bold in recent years, but I fail to see what they would gain by helping him. Nevertheless, I want you to investigate whether it was overlooked due to incompetence, or by design.”

“And if they were involved?”

“We’ll execute them all,” declared the Emperor of the Eranian Empire.

“How many yethlo
live here?” asked Jessica as she stared at the strange doors imbedded in the base of the southern edge of the Viper Mountains.

After a long finely formulated speech, Talvirnia had convinced her to go see Lathrion the next day, as it was the dead of night and they needed to be well rested for the trip. The two moons did manage to fight off a respectable amount of the night, allowing her to move about unhindered.

“There are one thousand two hundred and twenty-four of us who reside here,” answered Tal in a very matter of fact tone.

“That is a lot more then I would have guessed. I would have thought around four hundred, maybe less,” she said surprised.

Tal smiled his large toothy smile. “Due to the number of doors?” he asked, referring to the oval gemlike objects imbedded into the side of the mountain base. Each one of the teal objects was roughly twenty feet tall and spanned out over eight hundred feet, giving the mountain an insectan appearance.

Jessica nodded.

“The yog’murgarr are not much of a mining people. They only mine when they are in great need of minerals, and even then, they try to keep from causing great harm to the mountain. They are quite responsible, despite the preconceptions of most.”

“I am not sure I understand.”

He chuckled. “We would have been surprised if you did. We mean to say that it leaves a significantly large space open for those who don’t want to be found.”

Jessica’s eyes widened as comprehension dawned on her. “There is a city inside the mountain!”

“Not exactly, my kind do not erect cities. But at the very least, let’s just say there are a large number of rooms inside this mountain. Now come along, young one,” said Tal as he neared one of the teal objects.

He stood in front of the oval, gemlike object and touched its surface. His right head abruptly awoke and she was startled by its ashen eyes. It softly chanted for a moment, and then returned to its slumber. Suddenly the teal object seemed different, but she couldn’t determine why that was.

Tal lowered his left hand to her. “Come, let us show you to your room.”

She came to respect his size as she wrapped her right hand around his left index finger, like a babe would its father’s. He smiled slightly and started forward. The teal object bent inwards, as if gelatinous, before swallowing his right hand. If he found the feeling disturbing, he hid it well, as he continued on until nothing but his left hand stuck out of the strange oval object. She felt a slight stab of panic as she stepped forward, closing her eyes before allowing the object to swallow her as well.

Gelatinous resistance greeted her as she pressed her way through its slimy interior. She gripped the large index finger tightly as it was the only thing that held back uncontrollable panic. Then she was out, light stinging her eyes as she tried to opened them. Realising that she was still holding her breath, she let it out and enjoyed the wave of relief it brought.

“You may spend the night here. We will return for you tomorrow morning,” said Talvirnia, before disappearing back into the object.

Jessica inspected her surroundings and understood what Tal had meant. By all appearances, the room was located within the mountain, as it was surrounded by solid rock. Other than the teal object, there were no other entrances or exits out of the room. It was as if the perfect, hollowed-out square was a result of some natural occurrence. Though judging by the reputation of the yethlo, the cause was most certainly magical.

There was, however, a singular hole, the size of a common food platter, hollowed out high in the southern wall. She assumed it somehow met and connected with similar shafts that led outside, since even yethlo needed to breathe. The
door
, as she thought of it, was behind her, imbedded in the western wall. Four white spheres, each the size of a man’s fist, dominated each corner of the room. The strange balls of energy statically hovered in their positions, bathing the room in a soothing white light.

The room appeared to possess only necessities; a bed, desk, chair, and chamber pot, giving it more the atmosphere of a prison cell than a guestroom. The impression was lessened by the sheer size of the furniture, as well as its quality. She had not seen craftsmanship of the same degree since her stay at the Eranian Palace.

She walked over to the bed in the northeastern corner and had to sport a light jump to climb on top of it. Memories of her recent imprisonment came unbidden as she stared at the cold rock above her. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she mused before exhaustion finally overwhelmed her.

The black-clad men
pushed her to the ground. “Who are you? What do you want?!”

“Leave us.”

The men obeyed and quickly vacated the dimly lit room, allowing Jessica to get to her feet. It was devoid of any furniture, save for a single chair in the corner, in which a dark figure sat. The man’s black robe utterly concealed him, except for his hands, which lay on his lap.

Jessica could not pull her eyes away from the writhing mass of tentacles. “Who are you?” she asked with more fear in her voice than she would have liked.

“I believe the better question would be, who are you and what is it about you that entices Killmar so?” he replied in a gurgling voice.

“Go ask him if you’re so curious?”

He made a sound she took to be laughter. “The beings we mortals perceive as gods have somewhat of a distaste for having their actions questioned. None more so than Killmar. However, I suspect you’ve experienced this firsthand.”

She smiled, having regained her composure. “And do you think he will be particularly pleased that you have abducted his wife? If you return me immediately, I’ll convince him to spare your life.”

“Generous of you, but I am afraid I must decline. Do not worry, no harm will come to you here. We simply need him to help us achieve our goal. Once he has, you will be returned to him unharmed.”

“There are other ways to employ his services; there was no need for any of this.”

“Ah, you speak of the Nexus. A useful organization, but what we desire is somewhat unorthodox. A more direct approach was deemed necessary.”

“Who are this
we
you keep referring to?” she asked annoyed. The initial fear of her abduction now replaced with equal parts anger and curiosity.

“I belong to an organisation known as the Harbingers of Obscurity; we are believed to be a sect of Ashaat worshipers,” answered the chair’s occupant nonchalantly.

Jessica took a step back and whispered. “Believed? You don’t worship Ashaat?”

“Not unanimously. I myself think it to be utter folly worshiping the Shabdkosh. They neither require nor want our prayers. Can you imagine Killmar filling the role of a temple god? Of course not. They care little about the affairs of other realms. But if you can offer them something they want . . . they can accomplish what even the temple gods cannot. None embodies this more than Ashaat, the Soul Sculptor, who knows the secrets of manipulating matter in other realms. But I suppose you know this better than most.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“It is faint, but his quenru is still there. You carry his mark, which means that you must have made a pact with Lord of Lords.”

“I do not! I did not!” she said outraged.

The man made a sound that was either a sigh or an attempt to imitate water filling up a cup. “You are claiming that you do not have a dark purple seven hundred and twenty-nine-point star decorating your skin somewhere?”

“Absolutely n . . .” she started, before realising the birthmark in the crease of her right leg was both purple and star-shaped.