by Tiger Gray
Even so, nothing prepared her for the flayed corpse hanging at the intersection of the four main hallways. No, not a corpse. Incredibly, the bloodied, shattered body moved, a moan escaping its lips. Liu gasped and stumbled backward, right into Sarah. The other woman barely supported her, and for a moment Liu fought her grip.
The man --- hardly identifiable as such --- hung on an X of rough wood, limp in his bonds. Much of his skin had been flayed off, and there was blood, both fresh and dried, everywhere.
"Liu," Sarah's voice had no alarm in it. "Wait. Look at his eyes."
Liu swallowed hard and did as she was bade, approaching the sacrifice despite every nerve and cell in her body screaming at her to run. Her gorge rose, but her devotion was greater; the last thing she wanted was to show weakness in front of Sarah.
Since arriving at the compound, she and Coren had been spared the lash, aside from the strokes required to send her into an otherworldly state, open to the God. The triumph of mastering it made the pain fade into nothing but a distant memory, the lash's envenomed touch simply a means to an end.
She knew that others required more help to strip away their earthly ideas, to open them to the primordial spirit that waited to embrace them, if they could only overcome fear and flesh. But this man, almost inhuman he had been so stripped of all that made him so, was a level beyond what even she was now used to.
She stopped before the hanging body, and with her newfound will forced herself to make eye contact. It was a thing she rarely did, even with people who didn't happen to be hanging from a cross by their abraded, broken wrists.
For a long moment, the sacrifice didn't stir. But then, his eyes snapped open, huge staring orbs in a pulped face. She hissed and flinched, expecting to see something awful there.
"Look," Sarah exhorted in her soft maternal voice, "look."
Liu took a deep breath and centered herself. Then, she saw it. What lurked there included pain, but what it truly was could only be revelation. Beyond the torment, Liu could see peace. She gasped and reached out with trembling fingers to touch his cheek, and in that moment, his spirit left his body in a rush of power, crossing over to be one with Him.
"Did you see it? The truth?"
Liu turned, feeling drugged. "I saw," she said, wonder in her voice, "I saw all that he was stripped away, so only He remained."
Sarah beamed and enfolded her in an embrace. "You're everything I hoped." Sarah stepped back, held her by the upper arms. "You and Coren. Don't worry. Coren will see it, too."
Coren liked to spend time with the children, some of whom had the incredible good fortune of having been born underground, knowing nothing but Him and His people. Liu thought if nothing else, the little ones would sway him.
"Once we have the ultimate sacrifice, we can stop fighting," Sarah continued. She had as much longing in her voice as Liu felt, an end to war. "He's already done so much suffering."
Liu forgot to breathe at that revelation. "Ashrinn?" She couldn't conceive of that man having suffered. Who would dare?
"His human name doesn't matter. He calls a snake avatar to his side that is nothing but a false idol, and the God would see it stripped away. We can help the sacrifice, show him the true God. He will want to help you, once he sees, just like Coren." Sarah said, letting her go and turning to walk back towards her rooms. Liu kept pace with her. "The God has tasted his blood and will only be satisfied with his life. Who are we to question the needs of our Lord?" Sarah raised her voice as she went, until all the Cultists she passed were howling in wild agreement. "Then the new age will begin. First, the Protectorate. Then, who knows where He will take us, when He is fully realized in our world?"
Coren's father, broken and bound like the man behind her? Part of her shrunk from the horror, but she firmed her resolve. Whatever was necessary, whatever her God asked, she would provide. "Yes, mother." She looked over her shoulder, though she could no longer see the broken body. "A new age."
* * *
Mal had to admit Cora had been right to put him in a bed. Without that rest, fitful as it had been, he wouldn't have had the wherewithal to get home. He didn't live that far from Harborview Hospital in the grand scheme of things, but without a car and all the Waygates unavailable for anything short of an emergency he had a new appreciation for every step he took. He'd never let himself go to seed even after retirement, but having to dodge barricades and pass checkpoints every couple of minutes took a toll.
The cadence of a morning march still came easy, and he let himself slip into that mindset whenever he could. The inner stillness it brought helped. He could almost believe Ashrinn would be fine, then. He didn't even think about Liu, or whatever geist those sick necromancer bastards had cobbled together to get to him. There were better ways to sap his morale; he'd never fall for something that stupid.
As he passed the corner of Third and Yesler with its fountain that he'd never once seen work, a group of White Eagle volunteers counted down and heaved on their grappling lines, righting one of the big yellow and green Metro buses blocking the street. The cables had a shine to them like they'd been coated with magic, and they gave off a hazy light against the evening sky. The homeless who often slept on the little grassy hill nearby stood in the shadows cast by the glow, with the White Eagle armband tight against their biceps. Some of the people had guns, muzzles turned outwards in a bristling ring of defense. The most recent major battle might have ended, but the war was still on and there were plenty of nasties crawling around, ready to snatch anything and everything from the Order's hands.
By the time he reached his neighborhood, evening had deepened into night and his house stood out against it like it was ablaze. Really, it was the mage wards and the mage magic substituting as energy, making his home the brightest for blocks. Their street still had power, thanks to his family.
He slowed to an amble not because he wanted to but because every breath burned in his chest. He knew, as someone used to assessing his personal resources, that he didn't have much left. All around him the sidewalks were filled with people spilling out of their homes. Women clutched at the collars of their nightgowns with shaking hands. Men stepped on to the still-warm pavement with bare feet, chests often bare to match like they'd been roused from bed. They called to him, some voices hopeful, some afraid. He realized then that he'd manifested somewhere between the hospital and home, spirit blade a blue-white beacon even through its sheath.
Children stuck out in the crowd here and there. He recognized the Williams boy --- little blond charmer, had to be about five now --- and the Aravash twins, two identical dark-eyed girls huddled together against their mother. He gave the adults what words of hope he could find, but the sight of those kids made him think of his own and he headed for his front steps.
Ashrinn's house stood dark beside his own home. The contrast made it look abandoned, next to the brightness shining from every one of his windows. He mustered what energy he could and took his front stairs two at a time, Raietha's wards parting for him as he hit the door at a run.
"Raietha!"
Relief washed over him when he saw her standing in the living room and his knees tried to buckle under him, but a hit of poison made him stand straight; Kir stood next to her. That still and quiet coldness settled on him and tension knotted his shoulders. It made him miss the way Rai had her hands fisted, white knuckled, in her skirts, for a long moment. Kir watched him, unreadable, but he felt about like he did when he was out hunting and knew a wildcat was watching him from the ridge.
"Rai. The kids?" Kir didn't say anything and he wasn't about to waste time on her. Tears streamed down Rai's face and he felt the same alarm he always did, watching his alien wife weep. Talasi had been wrong. Raietha was all too human.
"Liusidris is missing," she said. Guilt made her look old, and he felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. "Seattle Academy has been overrun by geists."
It had been her. It really had. No construct sent to taunt him. Fatigue
hit him like an armor-piercing round, shredding the denial he'd clothed himself in. He didn't know how he ended up on the couch, but he figured it was better than the ground. Next thing he saw, Raietha was bent over him, a hand on his shoulder, and he knew by the look on her face he'd almost passed out again.
"Coren is also missing," Kir said. Her slight West Virginia accent grated, not least because he was sure she faked it to sound highbrow. "Strange coincidence!"
Why would Liu have done a thing like that? Had she really gone willingly? Disgust was so thick on his tongue he couldn't speak, horror and grief lodged somewhere under his breast bone as sure as shrapnel.
It took his sluggish mind a minute to catch up to the implication. "You trying to say my Liucy has something to do with your boy fucking off?" he said, not even trying to hide his creeping hatred.
"That girl is dysfunctional," Kiriana said. He had to admit that she could be quite intimidating when her dander was up, even though she was slight and a good six inches shorter than him. Her eyes swirled with violet fire, and he felt her aura leap and crackle. Raietha's signature flared like a star, and Mal knew if nothing else he could count on his wife to defend him. The dam on his emotions cracked, then burst open. He found the energy to stand.
"You stupid bitch. How would you even know? Don't tell me you know anything about that boy. You're too busy haunting the house your husband bought you. Or is drinking all his liquor and sleeping in that big king sized bed too hard on you?"
"How can you speak to me that way?" They faced each other like a pair of pit bulls. "You know nothing about my life! Our life!"
Rai stood in his peripheral vision. She was clutching her dressing gown at the throat just like many of the women he'd passed on the street, but hers was a knee length fall of amber silk. The face above it, normally warmed by the color clinging to her body, was stark and drawn with shock.
"I know that your husband is in the hospital with a fucking machine doing his breathing for him. I know you haven't even been in to see him."
"They aren't letting anyone in or out! That's not fair. It's not my fault you won't keep a leash on your child! Or do you enjoy irresponsible breeding? Every time you have a new whelp it's sickly, but does that keep you from it?"
He heard Rai's breath catch roughly in her throat and he knew Kir had hit a deep nerve.
"How dare you criticize me," Kir continued, "How dare you when your halfbreed has corrupted my boy? And now we might never see them again because of her!" Her voice wavered like she might weep, but her eyes were bone dry. He felt the kind of loathing he rarely had, and Raietha's signature, for the first time he could remember, flickered and faltered.
"Are you done?" he heard himself ask in a too-neutral tone. "You reckon all this comes from a total lack of manners, or are you just a coward?"
"You worthless thing. I'm perfect." Kir's hands blazed with a fire spell, and he went for his gun. Raietha's wordless cry was overridden by the sound of the front door banging open.
"Stop!" The command took Kir's attention long enough that her spell died, and all three of them whipped towards the door. He let his firearm settle back into its holster.
Talasi, her hair a mess, her face covered in soot, stood on the landing. He gritted his teeth; more crises? The children's doors thumped open down the hall. Raietha and Kiriana alike gave the impression of tucking their tails between their legs. Talasi had taught both of them at the mage college and she had a powerful voice for such a small woman.
Talasi managed to stalk rather than waddle. She came into the room like a diner cook about to chastise someone with a wooden spoon, or a parent ready to use someone's full name. "Sit," she growled at the two women, who obeyed promptly, "and keep your mouth closed, Kiriana. Obviously you can't be trusted to use it properly."
Kir did as she was told, a fact Mal thoroughly enjoyed.
"Talasi?"
Vharelan. Mal turned to look at his eldest son. His sandy blond hair was mussed, and he put his wire rimmed glasses on with trembling hands. Iarethion, younger than Vharelan by several years, hid behind his brother. His ears trembled though, giving away his anxiety.
"Vharelan," Talasi said with resignation in her voice, "I'm afraid things are a wee bit complicated."
"I told her not to!" Rosi wailed. She stepped out in front of her brothers. "I told Liucy not to listen to the snake lady!"
"What snake lady?" Rai peered at her youngest. "What are you talking about?"
Rosi hiccupped as sobs burbled upward from somewhere deep inside her. "She said she and Coren were going to be special, and that I shouldn't worry if she left!"
"Why would she tell you a thing like that?" Mal said. Rosi suddenly grew taciturn, as though hiding a secret.
He knelt and chose his words with care. "Rosi," he said, gentle but careful to avoid cloying sweetness, "if you know something, it's very important that you tell us what it is."
"Daddy, you won't believe me." She was so stressed her skin had taken on a significant jaundiced tone. Her blood disorder couldn't be healed, only managed by magic and medication, and he had the very real worry that she would work herself right into a fit. He did his best to smooth any anxiety out of his expression.
"Of course I'll believe you, little girl." She might be about to hit puberty, but she'd always be a little girl to him. "How did you find out about Liucy?"
"I heard her thinking," Rosi admitted in her smallest voice.
He didn't react. On the inside though, he felt like he'd been scraped down to his bones. How had they not noticed?
Too preoccupied with your own bullshit, that's how.
"I don't want to be a Faceless!" Rosi dissolved into tears. "Please don't send me away!"
"Rosianthys." Rai swept Rosi into her arms. "I am not going to make you into anything you don't want to be."
"All well and good," Kir said, her fear of Talasi apparently ebbing enough that she felt she could speak up again, "but I will have my son returned to me!"
"If they've fallen in with the Cult, God only knows where the fuck they are," Mal couldn't call up the upset he would have otherwise felt, because of being so utterly drained, "First place to check is Seattle Academy, if that's where they were last. Talasi," he continued, as his mind fitted together a couple more pieces he would have found painfully obvious under other circumstances. "What happened to you?"
"Well, I am glad someone finally asked!" Talasi said. Raietha herded the children back in their rooms, Rosi's yellow hand in hers. "There was an attempt on my life, if anyone's interested!"
"I'm sorry." He was genuinely embarrassed by his oversight, "there was an influx of Cultists downtown. Those members of the human military loyal to us arrived and helped cordon off the area, and they're moving to secure other places nearby that will stand by us."
Talasi took her glasses off and looking at them as though she had just now realized they were shattered, "Hell's bells. Well, nothing to be done for it; the cat's out of the bag now."
"I'll check the school," He offered by way of getting something, anything done, "What's one more assignment?"
He tried to ignore his rising grief. Had his eldest really gone to the enemy? What in hell had he and Raietha done, that she would do a thing like that? He thought of the odd behavior he'd noticed as Liu had grown, and kicked himself for thinking that she would just grow out of it.
Kir opened her mouth as if to say something. He guessed it would probably be an attempt at coming with him. Talasi silenced her with a curt gesture, and Kiriana ground her words into nothingness between clenched teeth.
"Talasi," Raietha put a still whimpering Rosi into Vharelan's care and sent them all back to their rooms, "tell us what happened exactly. And Malkai, sit down before you fall down. I'll bring you a drink. You certainly look like you could use one."
Raietha returned with a glass of raki. Mal took it, grateful; if he was going to drink it might as well be the kind of white lightning that would strip paint off the walls. He had a
crazy thought about using it to take the rest of the rust off the car, hidden under its shroud in the garage again since he didn't have Ashrinn to help him with restoring it. The first swallow punched him square in the gut and he almost forgot Kiriana's presence entirely.
Talasi hauled herself into one of the armchairs.
"Handlers and their undead --- " Talasi pursued her lips, "dogs, I suppose. Blew up the house."
He took another gulp of his drink. Talasi's voice hadn't wavered.
"They --- " Now it cracked. "They killed my cats."
His sense of urgency demanded he go to the school and go now, but he knew Raietha was right. He was at the last of his reserves and he needed the rest and the drink if he was going to be any good. Besides, if the kids were gone, they were most likely out of his reach already.
"Why you?" Kiriana managed a civil question, but the strain of doing so was evident in her clipped tone.
"I should think that would be obvious," Raietha interjected, too mild, "She heads the faction of mages that recently defected to join the Order of the White Eagle, of which you are a nominal part, I'll remind you."
"It's not as though Ashrinn and I haven't been targeted in the past," Mal mused, his mind working to put pieces together despite his current state, "and the Cult has always taken a special interest in him. It's not hard to figure that they'd attack anyone who joined up with us."
"Why would they be after you two particularly?" Raietha said, leaning forward in her chair. Playing peacemaker had given her voice a false calm. Still, Mal could read her despite their estrangement, and they shared a sobering look.
"Me being in the position I am, maybe," he hazarded. "As for the kids? I bet they think Liu has some kind of religious role to play." He tried not to replay the incident on the Aurora Bridge, but he couldn't help but see it.
"Why in hell would they think a thing like that?" Talasi said.
