Chapter 8 Have Faith
Have faith
Jarek leads us into a one-story building squeezed between dusty and shattered glass monoliths.
I think it's strangely out of place until we get inside, and then I realise exactly what I’m standing in.
Though I’ve never seen one before, it could have come straight from the whispered stories my mother told me from my childhood.
The three of them walk side by side, and, for a moment, I’m speechless by the impression they make.
Whereas Mordecai is calm and tall and Cadel deep and intense, Jarek is like fire between them.
And not just because his hair is an intense auburn that shines like a flame.
When he smiles, he gives me butterflies.
His green eyes are expressive, showing his interest, fascination, and blazing anger.
He’s as tall as Cadel, his shoulders aren’t as wide, but everything about him is loud.
All three look like they’ve walked out of a story or some fairy tale. Alphas aren’t made like this.
The feeling returns, sneaking up on me, like I’m watching this reality, but it’s superimposed over another one. How do I know him? I’ve never met him before, but I can remember kissing him. I know how it feels when he puts his arms around me and touches his lips to my neck.
It’s insane; it’s crazy.
Maybe this world has stolen my sanity. Or perhaps the sleep deprivation is starting to affect my brain.
I follow them into the building and stop dead, another part of my past colliding with this world.
A half-sob escapes me as I turn in a huge circle. I can’t take it all in. I hear her voice whispering to me at night, talking over breakfast, her eyes shining, hands waving in the air as she talks of a world I will never see.
“I can’t believe it. They are real,” I whisper hoarsely.
Jarek and Cadel peel off to the sides, studying the walls with intense expressions, but I have to take a moment while I regain my composure, blinking my eyes that are blurring with tears.
I laugh and swipe at my cheeks, ignoring the alphas who all turn and watch me, their gazes heavy. The walls and ceiling are covered in symbols, and at one end of the rectangle room is a gold bowl.
They would come from all over and drop their wishes in the bowl of flames, and their prayers would go to their gods, and sometimes, sometimes they would grant one.
My mother was right.
Mordecai starts a fire, not interested in the walls, while I wander around taking in the details I missed.
Running my fingers over history. From the entrance, there are three paths.
Pavers in a black circle to the left of the building, white to the right, while red stones pave the way straight down the heart of the building.
I follow the white path. For a moment, I imagine I can hear the voices of the people calling to their gods, but then the silence comes back even heavier. What happens to gods if people stop praying to them?
“What is this place? And how is it still intact?” Cadel asks as he stops and stares at a blooming flower. He lifts his hand; his fingers tremble, but then he drops his arm, stepping back and breaking whatever memory seized him.
“It’s a temple for the gods,” I murmur. “I’ve never seen one before, but I’ve heard they were divine places where you could actually talk to the deities.
Look, see here? Three paths in this life.
This one with the black pavers representing alpha,” I point to the black, “omega,” the white, “and beta,” the red.
“Why?” Jarek says, studying them in interest.
“There can only be balance in the world when all three walk as one. Black for strength and wisdom to do what needs to be done. White for the omega heart and spirit, the wisdom to fight when fight is needed, or soothe; and red for the blood of the bodies we wear, the beta calm and connection to each other and the world. We are all important here.” I look up at the walls, finding the image of a wolf running.
“I’ve never heard it told like that,” Mordecai murmurs. “What about all the symbols on the walls? Look, here's a flame, what does it mean?”
“The alpha gods are represented by the symbols of what they presided over.” I point to the roof and to the right side.
“Each alpha, beta, and omega had an affinity that was the core of what their powers were. Everyone was in balance once. The flame is the Alpha God of Fire. But if you look over there, there’s an omega, and on the ceiling, a beta. ”
I sigh and walk over to put my hand on the moon.
“We’re born into a year, and a month, and a day, and that determines which god we belong to, but then when you present as alpha, omega, or beta, you would choose the patron god that called to you.
But that was when the years and days existed before the Beta’s Path outlawed calendars.
But the gods disappeared, and now we’ve forgotten them. ”
“So, what was this temple for?” Jarek asks, running his finger along the gold bowl.
“People would come with offerings, and they would send prayers, requests, ask for guidance on pieces of paper, and burn them. The gods would answer sometimes, or so they say.”
“I’ve heard the Ravage killed them all,” Mordecai says. “The gods that is, and the Hall of Petitions stands empty.”
Jarek shudders. “Creepy. Thinking about dead gods and praying to them. What happens if we pray now; does it go to the beta gods, since they are all that’s left? I don’t want her to hear my prayers.”
I look at him sharply. That thought is terrifying. “I don’t know.”
Cadel is quiet, staring into the fire, his arms wrapped around his knees.
“What do you think?” I ask curiously.
It takes him a moment to realise I’m speaking to him. “Me?” He purses his lips and rocks back. “I don’t know. It hardly matters; we need to survive people. The gods are a problem that we can’t fix.”
I smile at that. “You’re right. We have much bigger problems than forgotten gods.”
With a last lingering look at the moon symbol, I return to the fire and sit beside Mordecai.
“What is Foreen?” Cadel asks reluctantly.
I stare at him, my eyes getting wider and wider. “You don’t know? You don’t know why you are here?”
He shakes his head, scowling in my direction.
“They’re going to kill us, Cadel. For being alphas, they are going to hunt us down like we’re animals and torture and kill us,” Jarek spits out; the bitterness in his voice is deep and filled with loathing.
Cadel stares at me for a long, heavy moment. I can see he doesn’t know whether he should believe Jarek. “What?”
“They brought us to Foreen to kill us,” I say gently. “Alphas and omegas are sacrificed to the beta god. She is always thirsty for our blood.”
“Bloodthirsty bitch!” Jarek says and pulls out a bottle. He takes a mouthful and passes it around.
I sip and close my eyes. Water.
Suddenly, I’m swaying.
“What’s wrong, Omega?” Mordecai barks, and I don’t even care that he’s used his alpha powers on me.
“Haven’t slept in days,” I murmur. “I’m just tired.”
Mordecai pulls me into his arms, and I’m too tired to argue, especially not when he feels so safe. I struggle a bit, but he just lets out a low rumbling growl, and I rest my head on his chest, listening to it.
“So, how do we get out? You said there was an exit?” Cadel says sharply.
“There is. A very hidden exit. But we’ll find it,” Jarek scowls at the ceiling, the firelight dancing over his face.
“There’s no other way out?” Cadel shifts his weight, and I can see he’s starting to realise how much trouble we’re in.
“No. They will come with weapons, horses, and a goddess. You’ve seen the walls; there’s hardly any food, little water.
We will end up fighting each other before the end,” Mordecai murmurs.
“They call it the Culling Grounds because this is where they are culling the alphas and omegas out of the world.”
I whimper, and instantly, he strokes my hair, making a soothing sound.
“Plus, there are the rumours of monsters,” Jarek murmurs softly. “Creatures so vicious that it’s said alphas have died just looking at them. But I don’t know how true that is.”
I’m stuck in a moment between sleep and wake. I can hear everything, but I can’t move.
Monsters. I’ve heard that. Wondered about it. I guess I will find out.
“Why?” Cadel asks in a hoarse whisper.
He sounds like he’s having trouble breathing.
“Why would they do this?”
“Because we’re alphas and omegas.”
“That can’t be the reason; it makes no sense.”
“Well, there’s a theory that alphas and omegas spread the Ravage Virus because it didn’t affect betas, or so they said. So, they kill us to stop the spread of an illness that hasn’t been seen in seven hundred years.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Cadel snaps. “No one can spread the Ravage but a god…”
I don’t hear the rest. Exhaustion drags me down and drowns me there.
I wake to soft, furtive movements. From the moment I open my eyes, I can see him clearly, his back illuminated by the orange glow of the fire. Cadel is standing on the alpha side, staring at those symbols.
I get up and silently walk over to stand beside him.
He looks at me with so much grief that I wonder if I’ve ever cared about anything so deeply. Who is this alpha who feels so much?
“How did this happen? How did the world end up like this, and why can’t I remember it?”
“I don’t know. What’s the first thing you can remember?” I murmur, resisting the urge to reach out and soothe him with a touch.
“I was lying on the ground, and when I woke up, there were buildings but no people, and I could hear your voice. I thought you were familiar, but when I saw you, I realised I didn’t know you.” His voice is strained.
“So, Cadel?”
“Is not my name. I don’t know my name or my family. I don’t know anything. Just that I woke up in this war.”
War? War is a good word for it, though we’re losing and have been for a long time.
“What are the chances of us getting out of here alive, Omega?” His abrupt change of tone startles me.
“Slim. Almost everyone has died in Foreen. Few, if any, survive.”
Those words fall into the temple like a cry of pain. He opens and closes his mouth, fighting to find words.
“I’m not going to give up. I’m going to fight them to my last breath,” I say to him. As if that alone will give him hope.
He closes his eyes. “Yes. Okay. Let’s do that. We’ll fight until there’s nothing left.”
He lifts his hand, holding it palm out. I clasp mine to his, jolting as I get a vivid flash of something blue and white and a feeling of holding a hand in another time. I pull my hand free and turn away because it wasn’t the image; it was the feelings.
Yearning and a shattered heart. Like I’d lost something so special that it broke me apart.
I brush my hair back behind my ears and wrap my arms around my chest. Jarek and Mordecai are awake and watching silently.
“Until the end,” Jarek says and raises his flask of water.
“My last breath,” Mordecai says softly, his eyes on me.
I fumble with my shirt, wishing they hadn’t ripped it. I’m not used to wearing such a tight, revealing top.
“So, we’ll work together? We’ll try to help each other?” Jarek asks, distracting me from my self-conscious thoughts. “Are we a—”
“Don’t say pack,” Mordecai growls.
Jarek gives him a sultry and simultaneously wounded look. “Alliance.”
“Yes. I feel like we should help each other,” I say quickly. “There’s safety in numbers, in allies. Especially here.”
Jarek jumps up and spins elegantly before approaching the symbols of the gods. He walks down them and stops beside the one for fire.
“This is my god. I’m claiming him. If I ever need to pray, I’ll send my prayers to this hot fellow.”
Mordecai stands up and wanders down the line, too, stopping beside the bow and arrow. The God of the Hunt.
“Shall we send them a prayer and hope they hear?” Jarek asks. “Sounds like it couldn’t hurt?”
I get up and wander over to stand at the omegas, ignoring the others. But it doesn’t feel right, so I don’t voice the prayer in my heart. I just stare at the moon, and I wonder why my blood starts to race. I hear the laughter of a guy, and I see the world bathed in silver light.
I frown, touching my aching head and rolling my shoulders, trying to get rid of the tension.
“What did you pray for?”
Jarek laughs, and I turn, really paying attention to him. He’s so completely opposite to Cadel and Mordecai. His attitude and his disposition, but there’s something soothing about that. He bounces up onto a rock and peers around the room, balancing on just the toes of one foot.
“Nothing. I didn’t want to risk it.”
“I didn’t either,” Mordecai admits, though I can hear his annoyance.
Cadel shakes his head. “I don’t know who I am. I’m not praying and sending something to someone I don’t want to hear it.”
I walk deeper into the temple and find the back half has collapsed on itself. Yes, this is reality. The gods are gone, and the temples are abandoned. Soon, we won’t exist either, but we have to try.