Chapter 29 #2
Theron followed his gaze to one of the entrances to the temple district. There, on the threshold, paladins of Knowledge, Passion, and even Justice stood, barricading the way inside as desperate, panicked citizens fought to enter. Had everyone gone mad? Was this Orithyia’s sinister magic?
“Theron, do I have your permission to clear the way?” Batea asked.
He knew what she was asking. To give the order to slaughter the paladins standing in the way of his people. The very same warriors whose magic was needed to help quell the monstrosities.
“Do it.”
“Hold on!” Batea shouted, guiding Drakon down to the level of the street.
The beast dipped his head low and picked up speed, ramming the paladins out of the way.
Those who switched their focus to Drakon were quickly torn to shreds in the beast’s snapping jaws.
Path cleared, citizens began streaming into the temple district.
“Land at the temple of Knowledge!” Theron ordered.
Batea landed Drakon at the temple. Theron and Hyllus jumped off, ready to rush the temple, their way blocked by paladins and priestesses of all three temples.
“Clear the other paths to the temple district!” Theron cried at Batea.
With that, she and Drakon were off.
“Ready?” Theron asked.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“We’re about to face death together, Hyllus. You can call me Theron.”
“Then leave the priestesses to me, Theron. We can’t afford to let you get cursed.” Hyllus grinned.
Hyllus changed his weapon to spear and shield, taking his place at Theron’s side.
Together they advanced through wave after wave of paladins and priestesses, cutting them down until the temple district ran red with blood.
But they made no progress. Badly outnumbered, they gradually lost ground.
First it was a few steps. Then further and further until they were in the centre of the district, the temple of Knowledge far out of their reach.
To keep from being flanked, they were forced to retreat.
How had things gone so wrong? Since when were the paladins so well trained and organised?
It wasn’t until he reached the steps of the temple of Passion that the onslaught stopped. It was as if the paladins and priestesses were puppets. If he advanced off the red temple’s steps, they fought him back. If he retreated, they refused to follow.
“Theron…?” Hyllus asked, as bewildered as he.
“What magic is this?” Theron asked.
Hyllus squinted at the paladins and priestesses.
“Some kind of curse. The thread is black and white.”
“Can you see Aurora from here?”
“If I had enough time to sift through the threads.”
A scream pierced the temple from behind them. Myrina.
“Look for her. I’ll get Myrina!” Theron shouted.
If it were a divine curse, he could only hope his aunt would be able to free the paladins and priestesses from it.
He looked around for the source of the scream.
The sounds of battle were nearby. A priestess lay dead before Passion’s statue, her head smashed and limbs at the wrong angle.
He looked up where part of the railing had broken and a scuffle was ensuing.
Several paladins were advancing on a group of armed priestesses and paladins in the hallway above.
“Myrina!” Theron shouted.
He raced up the steps and attacked the paladins from behind. When they faced him in the narrow hallway, he held his ground long enough for the priestesses to subdue or kill the enemy paladins. Blood soaked the floor, dripping down the balustrade and raining down on the mosaics below.
“Theron! Thank the Triad! Are you harmed?” Myrina said, pushing past her guard.
“I’m fine. But Aurora is trapped in the temple of Knowledge. I can’t reach her. Hyllus says the paladins and priestesses blocking the way are cursed.”
“I sent some of my paladins to her earlier and they returned, cutting their way through the temple trying to haul me over to Orithyia on charges of heresy. They were under a curse. I managed to lift it on a few, but the moment they regained their senses, the others killed them,” she said, her eyes haunted.
If even his aunt struggled to save the paladins from Orithyia’s curse, was anyone strong enough to free them en masse?
“Theron!” Hyllus called from below.
Theron raced down the bloody steps, hoping against hope. Myrina followed.
“I found her!”
“And is she…?” Alive? Cursed? Dead?
“Cursed.”
“Damn it!”
He had to get to her, to free her. What was Orithyia doing to her?
Myrina skidded to a halt at the threshold of the temple and gasped at the number of cursed clerics standing in their way.
“How long will it take you to lift the curse on those who bar our way?” he asked his aunt.
Myrina was already stretching her divine light over them, sweat beading her brow.
“There are so many. Hours?” she guessed. “Clerics, to me! Lend me your strength!”
Priestesses, initiates, and paladins rallied to her call, laying their hands on her. The divine magic thickened in the air. A few nearest the temple steps shook their heads, blinking in confusion.
“Collect them before the others turn on them!” Myrina ordered.
An acolyte raced down, pulling the confused, freed clerics into the relative safety of the temple.
Theron paced as Myrina worked. It was going too slowly. Even with all her remaining clerics pouring their magic into her, Theron feared he would be too late to rescue Aurora.
“Theron, look!” Hyllus called, pointing at the site of their melee. Amongst the bodies, a few stood up, looking dazed before they turned to helping the incoming citizens.
“Did you…knock them out instead of killing them?” Theron asked, his voice deadly.
If the avatar had been more ruthless, would they now be inside the temple of Knowledge, rescuing Aurora? Rage swept over him.
“The curse was lifted from them when they passed out!” Hyllus retorted.
If that was the case, then Theron intended to speed up this interminable process. He grabbed one of the paladins nearest the threshold, pulled him over it and smashed his head into the stone steps. Then, with a tiny thread of his magic, he revived the unconscious paladin, healing him just enough.
“W-what happened?” the paladin asked.
Theron and Hyllus shared a look, then began grabbing paladins and priestesses alike. But even after two dozen more clerics now joined them or aided Myrina, scores still stood in his path. They would never reach Aurora in time.
“Theron,” Hyllus said, his voice low.
“Is she alright?” he asked, flying into a panic.
Never should have let her go alone. She sees her vision, but none of the events surrounding it.
“She’s still cursed but she’s using her magic. A great deal of it. And quickly.”
His heart turned to ice in his veins. An image of Aurora flashed in his mind. Blood pouring from her nose and ears, her skin deathly pale, his magic screaming at him. Organs and muscles badly damaged. Without him, her recovery would have taken weeks or months.
She’d had less magic then. Now she could draw on Aureum, her well of magic larger than ever. But he’d had no chance to teach her how to wield it safely. Aurora would reach and reach and reach, not knowing her new limits.
She could easily kill herself.
Theron looked up at the statue of Passion. He raced to her feet and knelt.
“Please! You dyed our thread! You blessed our union! Give me the power to save her! I cannot live without her! I’ll do anything!”
His heart raced in his chest. Theron waited. And waited, every heartbeat Aurora was in danger an agonizing lifetime. Just when he feared the goddess would remain unmoved by his pleas, a tidal wave of divine magic crashed into him.
Consciousness came slowly to Aurora. A throbbing pain split her skull, and every inch of her body felt bruised and beaten.
Cold, hard mosaic greeted her when she managed to crack open her eyes.
Blood leaked from her maimed arm, pooling red on the black stone.
Orithyia had filled her head with lies, had forced her to use her magic to foresee a dozen wretched ends to her life.
Tears gathered in her eyes. There was no changing the things she’d seen.
Everything Aurora had done in the ancient past only brought the future she’d endured one step closer to fruition.
Should she just lie here and let it end? Drakon would destroy all of Trisia, and Orithyia along with it. After all, if Aurora died here, and Silvanus was dead in the future, no one would be left alive to stop Drakon.
No, she couldn’t give up hope. For whatever reason, Orithyia’s compulsion had lifted. Her will was her own again. First, she had to keep her wits about her—and ensure it stayed that way.
Two sets of feet and a cane stood a little ways off.
“Your Holiness, Batea has managed to break the blockades at each of the roads leading into the temple district. Many of your paladins are dead or have turned on you. And it seems they’ve discovered that unconsciousness breaks the curse.”
“Send out some of the enthralled priestesses. A few divine curses should slow Batea down. As for the enthralled, it’s a pity, but it would be foolish to use more than a drop of divine magic on controlling cattle.
And the harder they try to spare their lives, the longer it takes for them to reach the temple,” Orithyia said.
Did she know Aurora was conscious? No. Now was her chance. Biting her lip, willing herself not to cry out, Aurora moved her hand. Around her neck, she wore her shield pendant. No magic out, no magic in. As she fumbled, her movements sluggish, that cane clicked on the mosaic.
“Stubborn little wretch, aren’t you?”
Heart racing, Aurora grabbed her pendant and pressed down on it, activating the shield.
“I am your queen, and you serve me eagerly.”
Aurora closed her eyes, bracing herself to fight for her mind—a fight she may not win if the shield failed to protect her from divine magic. But a heartbeat later, then five more, and her mind remained her own. The only queen present was Aurora.