Chapter 28
Elysia strolled through the sculpture garden surrounding the god of the undead gods temple, enjoying the swish of her bright blue robes.
It hadn’t gone unnoticed that Maya had supplied her with appropriate garments in the exact color of Aidan’s eyes.
She wouldn’t have pegged Maya as a romantic, which only made her wonder further about her motives.
Sewn into the endless folds and pleats of her strategically pinned robes were tiny sachets of explosives and one drawstring pouch of igniters.
The igniters rolled quietly against each other.
Each small glass ball was no bigger than the pad of her pinky finger.
What mattered was that when she chucked them at the sachets, she would be in business.
Dressed like one of the acolytes, no one noticed as she marveled at the statues and sculptures while also lacing them with explosives.
It was a pity she hadn’t had time to learn how to utilize raw magic yet.
She didn’t know what she would be able to do, but she was imagining being able to light everything off at once in a grand finale of exploding golden statues.
Given that wasn’t possible, she continued her work through the garden, relishing the warm sand squishing up against her sandal-clad feet and being able to see blue sky above her.
Assuming the boys hadn’t gotten far, then she would find Rollie and Topp inside in a rather compromised position.
She couldn’t wait to scare the shit out of them.
Elysia stepped out of the sun into the cool air of the temple.
It was every bit as gaudy as she had seen on the grid.
Ostentatious and lacking in spirit, she was hard-pressed to understand how people still brought their money and pleas to this tomb of a temple.
But then, she also understood the lure of a shiny promise and a little hope.
Her mother had once said that religion was for scared, lonely people, and while she knew it was more complicated than that, she could see her mother’s point. It was easy to prey on the downtrodden.
It was midafternoon—the time when everyone slipped off to their chambers to get out of the worst of the sun, to sip on cooling teas and juices and maybe even steal a nap.
Not a single footstep echoed in the green-domed temple beside her own, but there were the hissed voices of two grown men squabbling far above her head.
Elysia’s sensible sandals clacked against the white and black marble steps as she walked up past a blessing fountain onto the raised dais where the priest would speak from. She cupped a hand around her mouth, calling out with a drawl. “Hello, boys.”
Someone’s head thumped loudly. Cursing drifted down from above, making her smirk as she waited. Soon enough, Rollie was leaning dangerously over the scaffolding bars, his blonde hair poking into sight.
“Elysia?”
She’d never seen him look surprised before. She decided she liked it. Men like Rollie needed to be surprised occasionally if only to remind them that their calculations weren’t always perfect.
Topp, on the other hand, looked hassled and one second away from lighting the temple on fire early. She assumed this was because of Rollie, not her. “Parker, what is it about you that you’re always exactly where you shouldn’t be? Get the fuck out of here,” he barked.
Or maybe that face was about her. She smiled, thoroughly enjoying disrupting them. “You’re hiding up there and planning to what? Drop a match and hope for the best during evening prayers? How are you even going to get out?”
Rollie crossed his arms. “They’ll be distracted, and don’t worry about how it’s getting lit. I have it covered.” Indignant, he didn’t elaborate further.
She nodded, reaching over, and letting the blessing fountain water trickle over her fingers. “Sure, but not so distracted that they don’t clock your faces.” She gestured spectacularly. “Prince of Kava! Anti-religious zealot destroys the god of the undead gods temple in the White Sands!”
There was the sound of boots hitting metal, and then Topp’s body came into sight as he lumbered down the construction scaffolding. Gracefully, he dropped to the floor beside her, slowly rising from bent knees to his full height. “We were going to wear masks.”
She looked at him incredulously. “Topp, the first rule of being friends with Rollie is knowing when to point out when he’s lost sight of practicalities!
He was probably so enraptured with making his boom-boom powders that he doesn’t give a shit whether they identify you or not.
All he cares about is finding out if they work the way he imagined they will. ” Frustrated, she glared at him.
Rollie awkwardly descended until he was hanging from the scaffolding and refusing to let go. Elysia saw him and groaned. “For fuck’s sake. Topp, help him down. He’s stuck.”
Topp reached up and gingerly placed one hand on either side of Rollie’s waist.
“Let go already, I’ve got you.”
Rollie looked down, paralyzed.
“Rollickus, it is a four-foot drop. Let go of the damn bar.”
Elysia released a great sigh. Yeah, they would have escaped without a single problem. Exasperated, Topp gave a solid yank, ripping Rollie’s hands from the bar, and set him on the ground.
Both men shuffled over to her, looking slightly embarrassed. “You’re lucky I came. Gods know what would’ve happened if I hadn’t.” She chastised them while biting back a grin. This was better than yelling at Beatriz.
Topp glowered at her, knowing she was getting her rocks off. “Enough. How did you even find us?”
“That conversation will take far too long. What you need to know is that I am all caught up on your latest escapades and I have additions to your plan. How’s your ass, by the way?
” She held up a hand to the instant spluttering of both men.
“I’ll explain later, and yes, you still get to blow the place up. ”
Mollified, both Rollie and Topp shrugged.
Rubbing her hands together, she pulled them both in closer. “Listen up...”
By the end, there were no questions because both men were rendered speechless.
Rollie finally coughed awkwardly. “There’s one minor thing that may clear up your concerns about our end of the plan. I made the bombs for efficiency but lighting them and destroying the temple won’t be a problem. I’m a fire-worker.”
Both Topp and Elysia stared at him.
“You didn’t think to mention that? I asked you fifteen times how you planned to light these suckers,” Topp groused. “I thought your brain was your magic.”
Elysia smacked him on the arm. “You lived in a tunnel. What if you had set an uncontrolled fire?”
He shrugged. “Kava’s dicey. But I usually can put them out.”
Shaking her head, Elysia danced lightly on her feet.
“Never by halves,” Topp muttered to himself.
Elysia repeated it back like a mantra for the night ahead.
It was just past dusk when the receiving line began.
Evening prayers had ended, and the petitioners were in a long line streaking out of the temple and down the green-tiled path.
The cool evening air scurried through the hopefuls, carrying sand and the faint lingering smells of early dinners.
One by one and huddled in little groups, the line moved slowly.
Elysia wore a matching cobalt veil now. It wasn’t uncommon for the women of the temple to cover their hair or even their faces.
Once again, she appeared to be one of the many acolytes assisting with the evening petitions.
Starting from the very end of the line, she lazily tossed Maya’s glass igniters as she took slow, pious steps, her hands hidden in the folds of her robe and her gaze on the temple.
She wasn’t aiming for the sachets she had placed earlier. Those would come later.
As the igniters hit the hard ground, they sparked brightly and popped loud enough to startle those who were close.
Many didn’t go off until she had passed, and an unsuspecting patron stepped on the glass.
She never once reacted. Acting as if nothing had occurred, she continued to glide and smile as she invoked the seeds of chaos into the crowd.
She wanted them uneasy. Spooked and wondering where the noise and sparks were coming from.
Was it someone’s errant magic? Had the god of the undead gods stirred?
By the time she reached the temple entrance, people were looking over their shoulders and jostling each other as they tried to find the source of the strange sparks and pops.
Bowing her head, she entered the temple.
The high priest would be starting soon, and she didn’t want to miss it.
Wooden benches had been brought into the main room of the temple.
People squeezed in side by side and looked upon the priest on the dais as if he were a god himself.
Dressed in pale gold robes, the gemstones that held the folds of his robe in place stood out magnificently, shining in the low dusk light.
He stepped to the front of the dais, hands on the railing, and a hush fell over the crowd.
“It is good to gather, is it not?”
The crowd murmured their agreement.
“We gather today, as we do every week, to honor and beg the favor of the one true god, the god of the undead gods. And what better way to beg his golden light than to shower him with his own wealth? For as we know, the wealth belongs to him, does it not? And whatever we give is returned to us tenfold.”
Elysia noticed the person sitting next to her clutching a single coin to give in offering. Her leather sandals looked ready to disintegrate, and her eyes gleamed with a desperate unshed tear. Jaw set, Elysia adjusted the pearl pin for her veil and waited.