Chapter Thirty-Seven
“WHAT THE ACTUAL fuck happened to you?!” Andra hobbles off to her blind side as we enter the central chamber of the temple, shocked at Helia’s appearance.
At some point, someone gave Helia cloth to wipe her face, but there is too much covering the rest of her.
Olena simply stares, mouth open and eyes wide.
Lyras and the remaining priests look horrified, as if the ghost of a battle-worn warrior walked through the doorway. In a way, they’re not wrong.
“We were attacked. The commander single-handedly slew the Gaius Ionos and his army.” Bellius explains, his words failing to match the bloody mess.
I join everyone in staring at Helia, though for different reasons.
Her gait up to the temple was slower than normal, her strength fading with every step.
Now she stands in the entrance of the dome, shoulders drooping and a slight tremble in her legs.
No one else would notice, but it’s there.
Even she must have limits, Aspect or no.
I thread my arm in hers, for my benefit to everyone’s eyes, but the grateful sigh from Helia tells me she understands. A slight shift, and some of her weight moves to me as we descend into the center of the dome where the waters of the spring and Lyras await.
As we reach the bottom of the stairs, the eerie crystalline lights snuff out, plunging the room into darkness.
Everyone stops, unable to see in the pitch black, until a sliver of moonlight beams down into the waters from the open skylight high above.
The light begins to mysteriously diffuse through the water, until the entire spring is glowing.
“It is almost time. Everyone except Helia and Itho must leave. Now!” Andra, Bellius, and Olena all look to Helia for direction, unwilling to accept commands from a priest.
Before Helia can say anything, I mouth let me to her, the glowing waters casting enough light for her to see. She nods, trusting me.
“Olena stays; she is my spear sister and must bear witness. Bellius, guard the main entry way. Andra, guard the secondary entrance just in case.” Bellius and Andra exchange looks, while Olena steps forward and takes my spear for safe keeping, grim determination on her face.
Bellius shrugs and heads back up the stairs while Andra stares at me, intensity furrowing her brow as if trying to work through a puzzle.
I flick my eyes between Helia and Lyras, before settling back on Andra.
With an imperceptible nod, Andra leaves to her post.
Hands shaking, Lyras angrily starts to protest. “That is unacceptable! She cannot—”
“If Itho says Olena stays, she stays.” Helia’s voice is calm. Quiet, like the anticipation before dawn.
Lyras opens and closes his mouth with nothing but strained noises emerging. Finally, he looks over at the moonbeam and realizes he doesn’t have much time.
“Fine. She stays. Just don’t forget what has to happen.” Lyras glares pointedly at Helia who simply stares back, giving no ground. With a huff, Lyras and the priests spread around the edge of the spring and begin to chant. It’s unintelligible and wordless, a humming drone that fills the air.
“Itho. Come join me.” I start at Lyras’s words raising above the monastic tones in the dome.
A concerned look passes between Helia and me; this wasn’t going how I expected, nor her.
But I can’t spring the trap just yet. I lean Helia against the stairs, squeezing her arm before joining Lyras at the waters.
“Thank you Itho. A willing sacrifice yields greater power.” A hidden blade appears at my neck, as Lyras grabs my arm holding me close.
Chaos erupts at his words. Olena and Helia shouting, their words mingling together in an assault of anger. The accompanying priests end their chants and move to intercept the two before they can interrupt.
“The fuck did you say?!” That has to be Olena. The plan was shaky enough to begin with; this royally screws it up.
“I’m meant to be the sacrifice! Not her!” Helia. At least she’ll be safe. She’ll live.
“You said you knew what had to be done?! You said you understood!” Lyras shouts at Helia, blaring in my ear, his own frustrated confusion bubbling out.
That conversation I overheard back in Hecalon!
It all falls into place. Why would it have ever been her?
She’s an Aspect; she could have always brought herself here.
She was created to find, protect, and bring me here; not to die on some watery altar.
Manic laughter fills my lungs at how blind Helia and I were, stunning the room to silence.
Conduit. A conduit of power, for power. Lunos needs it for herself, for her divine war. No other reason makes sense.
A dull thud pushes me to the side as Lyras screams in pain, falling into the spring, a blade buried in his back.
The ritual blade nicks my neck in his fall, disappearing quickly into the waters.
Andra huffs beside me, her makeshift linen eye patch askew, the rush from the tunnel taking her full focus and energy.
She turns her head so her good eye can look at me.
“Spears stick together.” We started at odds with each other and then made an uneasy peace. But I never expected this. I never expected kindness.
“Spears stick together.” I clap her on the shoulder, before turning back to the others. The priests stand in horrified shock as their leader floats face down in the hot spring of their goddess. His blood spills out into the waters, soiling the glowing light.
I breathe easy. No ritual, no Lunos, no death.
I smile. We might actually make it out of this alive.
I believe.
The sound of rushing water surges behind me.
Dread sneaks along my spine, cackling at my naivety.
During the exchange, the moonlight filled the opening, its full strength beaming down into the room.
The water swirls with an unseen force, Lyras’s body pulled under at the center of a growing vortex.
His dagger bobs to the surface before disappearing as well.
The dagger! My eyes widen as I realize that some of my blood must have been on the blade.
The beam of light pulses, knocking everyone back a step and blinding us all. A high-pitched crackling fills the air, before a single surge of thunderous sound explodes, driving us all to our knees.
When I can finally open my eyes, Lunos is standing on the now-still water, resplendent in all the glory of my dreams. Silver threads of power drift along her body, as she stares into my soul.
She has arrived.