Dark Gods Rising

by Mark Eller

  * * * *

  Sulya watched from the mouth of a dark alley as her fellow knights murdered her pets. Silent, angry tears slid down her face. Those hounds had been gifts from Zorce. She had earned them with her hate. Inside her, Zorce’s poison roiled like an angry beast, wanting to rise up from the depths and destroy Anothosia’s knights. It wanted to send its fire burning through their bodies and watch them die in agony. Sulya agreed with the poison, but she did not have enough strength to handle its aftermath, not when she hadn’t slept in two days. Angered by her refusal, the poison nibbled at the edge of Sulya’s soul and worried at her organs.

  It hurt. Always, it hurt. Waves of dull pain shivered through her body. Sulya knew she would have to soon give the poison back to Zorce. No one but a dark god or his genetic minion could hold such true evil in their bodies for long. Not even similians, creatures bred and born of magic, could contain such fell energies. Only if Sulya allowed a powerful devil of Hell to partially transform her into a created hellborn could she continue to control the poison.

  She found the thought of having scales upon her body and having her beauty defiled disgusting. Her allure over humans was one of her greatest weapons. She would not throw that weapon away. No, she had lived three hundred years in this body, two hundred of those spent battling her way up Hell’s hierarchy, lying, stealing, betraying, and killing to gain Zorce’s attention. She would not betray her body for a doubtful promise. More often than not Hell’s gifts were a double-edged sword, cutting a person on both sides, cleaving the unwary in half if they could.

  When the door to the temple fully closed, Sulya growled. Somehow, she would have to find a way into the temple to retrieve the cat. Gods only knew what the thief had seen or who it might tell if it had gained Radno’s gift of speech.

  Maybe they were safe. After all, not all of Radno’s transformations could talk. Hell, most didn’t live more than a couple days. Few people could withstand or complete the change. Those were gruesomely fascinating transformations to watch. Too bad Radno would die tonight, but if the cat talked it might lead Calto’s knights to him. Radno knew too much to be allowed to live. Maybe his gift ran in his family?

  Pondering the notion for a moment, Sulya decided it would be best to get this information from Radno before she killed him— or maybe Zorce would like to play with the shapechanger first? It was something else to ponder while she murdered the two knights who had destroyed her pets. Yes. Tonight would be busy for Sulya Ibarra. Lots of killing to do. Fortunately she liked killing, killing time, knights, and people and— well— just about everything. Tonight killing a certain cat would make her the happiest.

  Yes, happy, very, very, happy.