by Pedro Urvi
Idana’s gaze was lost among the endless buildings and monuments. “It looks… like crystal,” she said. “The whole city… all made of… glass…”
“It can’t be glass,” Yosane pointed out. “It wouldn’t hold the weight. It has to be some other kind of material we don’t know about, I can see white marble in a lot of the foundations.”
Kyra swept the city with a glance. She too had the impression of a wonderful city of crystal, for all the buildings and monuments were translucent and gleamed when the sun touched them. The streets of the harbor were of white marble and the houses were totally clear, like glass. She thought of throwing a stone at one of the buildings to see what happened, but the presence of the Executors behind her restrained her.
“It’s an optical effect,” Yosane said. She pointed to her right. “Look there, that huge warehouse in the middle of the harbor. You see how men and goods go into the building, but once they’re inside they disappear? The building looks transparent and yet it isn’t, we can’t see what’s inside. I don’t know what material or mineral it is, or how they manage to make the whole city look so transparent. It’s absolutely unbelievable and wonderful. You could say they’ve tried to make it look almost ethereal… If my father was here he’d die of joy.”
While she listened to the explanation, Kyra stared at that colossal mountain-city on the sea. Superb palaces and mansions, opulent monuments, fountains and statues, exotic gardens, all in exquisite taste, had been built around the mountain at different levels. She saw that the side of the mountain ended at the great circular harbor which seemed to enclose it completely at sea-level. At the top she could see the most magnificent of the palaces, which appeared to float over the mountain itself. From its center a Monolith seemed to rise, so huge Kyra could not even begin to gauge its height, since it seemed to disappear into the skies. It must have been several times bigger than the one they had seen on the island.
The architecture isn’t just beautiful, it’s very advanced,” Yosane said in ecstasy. “There are all sorts of elaborate spheres and ovals, which would be unthinkable in our own buildings. They’re simple and rectangular. How I’d love to learn the concepts behind buildings like that!”
“It looks unreal,” Idana said in puzzlement. “How do they stay up without falling?”
“Exactly! Even the bridges across the five rings are too elaborate and advanced for us to understand. It can only be the work of the Gods.”
“Perhaps the design is, but the work is all done by slaves,” Idana said. She pointed to her left, where hundreds of slaves were pulling a statue with ropes to raise it into place. “Look there, further on.” She pointed to a flat area where close to a thousand men were dragging and lifting huge blocks of that translucent material, building what looked as if it was going to be another palace. “There are slaves everywhere. Wherever I look I see nothing but slaves working on roads, buildings, ships. There are thousands of them.” She sighed deeply.
“This is where they bring them when they’re summoned, to work on their damned Eternal City,” Kyra said angrily. “Don’t be fooled by its beauty and its air of divine splendor. It’s the city of the Gods, and all that’s awaiting us here is pain and slavery, or something worse… much worse. Look at them, look how they suffer under the whip of the pitiless Enforcers of the Gods.”
In silence they watched the slaves. The whips of the Oppressors cracked in the air and the slaves pulled the enormous blocks with all their might as the whips found their battered backs. A heavy, sorrowful silence enveloped them.
Yosane was the first to break it. She was looking in the opposite direction. “That’s weird” she commented. Kyra and Idana turned to follow her gaze. “The buildings in the second ring, the closest to the mountain-city, aren’t glass. They’re solid, mostly deep reds and oranges. What’s more, it’s the middle of the day and there are hundreds of fires lit in both streets and buildings. They even seem to be decorative… If you look closely there are fountains and cataracts of… of what looks like lava…”
“Yes, you’re right, it’s weird,” Idana said. “Even more so if you compare it with the outermost ring, where all the buildings and structures were bluish and water was everywhere.”
Kyra shook her head. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about. But I’m sure the city of the Gods is that mountain over there.” She pointed at the great peak.
“I wouldn’t like to contradict you, my friend…” Yosane began, and shrugged.
“But…”
“But I think the city is really made up of the five rings. We’ve crossed it and right now we’re at the very center of the Eternal City, in its heart.”
“In the wolf’s den, more likely,” Kyra said dryly. “Stay alert, the worst is yet to come.”
An Eye-of-the-God came on board and the three were silent at once. He joined the two Eyes in charge of the ship and they fell into conversation. The three then took out their books and wrote in them. The new Eye wore the same sinister helmet as the other two, but his clothes were slightly more refined, with a silver sash at his waist. He came towards the group, and the Executors moved away at once.
“On your knees, slaves!” he ordered.
Under the impulse of fear they all obeyed. Kyra hesitated for a moment with her blood boiling, but she would gain nothing from a confrontation with the Eye and her body was aching from the beating she had received. She knelt. The Eye-of-the-God walked into the middle of the group of prisoners and took out a small disc from a hidden pocket. He stretched out his hand with the disc on his palm, then closed his hand over it and opened it once again. A flash of lightning issued from the disc and struck the Rings of half the girls, among them Lian and Urda. Instantly the flash ran through their bodies. They began to convulse uncontrollably and fell to the ground in a swoon. Idana cried out, fearful and helpless. Yosane threw a glance of pure terror at Kyra. The Eye stepped forward, avoiding the bodies on the ground, and stopped in front of Yosane, Idana and Kyra.
Kyra spat at his feet. “Someday you’ll pay for all this!”
A strident guffaw came from under the helmet. “I seriously doubt it, you stupid slave,” he replied, and slapped her face hard.
Kyra endured the blow and looked at him defiantly. “You’ll pay!” she said.
The Eye-of-the-God activated his disc and the discharge hit them, entering their bodies through the Rings. One by one they collapsed amid terrible convulsions.
Kyra had woken up with a volcano about to erupt in the middle of her chest. She was raging within. She pushed the bars of the imprisoning sphere with all her strength, ignoring the warnings from her bruised body.
“Swine! Bloody heartless vermin!”
“It’s useless, Kyra,” Yosane said from the next sphere. “You won’t be able to force it.”
But Kyra, blind with rage, only wanted to get out of there and pull the head off the first Eye who crossed her path.
“Stop struggling and making so much noise,” Lian protested from another sphere-cell. “If they come, you’ll only get us punished!”
Idana, imprisoned in a sphere in front of Kyra’s, put her arms through the bars.
“Hold back, Kyra, you’ll hurt yourself. Your body has already had enough punishment. Stop it, or else you’ll never manage to get out of here.”
Hearing her friend’s warning, Kyra thought again. She needed to be whole if she was going to escape from there. And she would, somehow. She would do it! She calmed down.
Hours went by. In the gloom of the chamber, tension and restlessness grew among the prisoners. The twelve were becoming increasingly aware that they were at the end of the road.
“What’s going to happen to us?” asked Lirune. She was one of the three girls who had been punished by the Enforcers.
“Where are we?” Jismen wanted to know. Her voice trembled with fear.
“What are they going to do to us?” they heard Mira ask. She was the youngest of all.
Kyra had no answer t
o give them. But the chamber gave her the creeps; very badly. It was round, and the sphere-cells were arranged so as to form a complete circle. One for each. The exact number. It was for them, it was the end of their journey. They had been waiting for them. She did not need Yosane’s frightened face to confirm it. She had come to that conclusion by herself.
A door opened, and the shadowy room was filled with light. An Eye entered the hall, followed by four Executors. The prisoners fell silent, stifling sobs and whimpers. The Eye pointed at Yosane’s sphere. Two of the Executors brought her out of it.
“No, please, leave her alone,” Idana begged.
The Eye pointed at Idana. “Shut up, slave!” he ordered. He turned to Yosane, who was shaking with pure terror. “Undress her!” he called.
The Executors tore Yosane’s clothes, then ripped them off her.
The prisoners cried out in horror. Yosane tried desperately to hold on to a piece of cloth and broke into sobs.
“Don’t touch her, you pigs!” Kyra shouted in outrage.
“Take her to the Lord, he awaits his tribute,” the Eye said to the Executors.
They seized Yosane’s arms and legs and carried her out, totally naked and sobbing desperately.
“Leave her! You gutless beasts! I’ll kill you all!” Kyra shouted.
The Eye turned to her and threatened her with a bony ochre finger.
“Shut up, peasant, or I’ll cut your tongue out!”
“Take me in her place,” Idana offered in desperation.
The Eye turned his eyes on her. “Don’t you worry, slave,” he said in his jarring voice. “Your turn will come.” He sounded almost jocose.
The Enforcers left the chamber, and the door closed behind them. Twilight fell on the girls once more.
“Noooooooo! Bastards!” Kyra shouted at the top of her lungs.
The weeping and whimpering began anew.
“I’ll kill them! I swear I’ll kill them all!” Kyra shouted. She struggled with the bars like one possessed until she was exhausted.
“What will they do with her?” Idana asked. No sooner had she spoken that she realized the obvious answer. She fell silent.
“What do you think they’re going to do with her?” Lian said. “They’re taking her naked as tribute to their lord…”
“Shut up, don’t say it!” Kyra cried. She needed to deny the evidence.
But Lian, in her arrogance, ignored her warning. “They’ll rape her. That’s what they’ve brought us here for, so their lords can have their fun with us as much as they want.”
“Shut up or I’ll kick your teeth in!”
“A dozen young slaves… What else do you think they’d want us for?”
“Lian…” Urda interrupted her.
Lian glared at her friend, folded her arms and said no more.
The sobbing of deep despair filled the chamber.
It was not long before the Enforcer of the Gods came back. The door opened and everyone started nervously.
“You,” the Eye said to Kyra. “It’s your turn. Our Lord claims you.”
Kyra looked at him defiantly. She would not let him see her cry, nor the fear she felt. She was not going to give him that satisfaction. He would only see the hatred in her heart blazing out of her eyes. The Executors took her out of the cell and held her fast. Kyra made an attempt to resist when they laid their hands on her, but it was useless. They were too strong. Her clothes were torn off her in the middle of the room. Idana stifled a cry.
“Take me!” she offered again, arms outstretched. “Take me!”
But she was ignored. The Executors seized Kyra by her arms and legs and carried her out. Kyra did not know how long she was carried, since she could not control her rage. It overwhelmed her, clouding her reason. She was going to be raped! She would not allow it! She kicked and writhed all she could, but the four Executors had a firm grip on her wrists and ankles.
They went into another chamber and left her on the cold floor. She was about to stand up when the Eye used his disc. A terrible shock passed through her Ring and she fell amid convulsions. She was left lying, with no strength left whatsoever, in pure agony. But she did not faint. The Eye and the Executors moved a few steps away, and Kyra tried to swim on the sea of pain she was drowning in. Reflected light hurt her pupils and she looked away. It came from the walls of the hall: they were of shining silver, ornamented with gold. Unintelligible runes and mystical symbols decorated them up to the lofty dome, where the representation of the sun radiated an almost divine radiance. It bounced off the walls, which reflected it in all directions. Kyra covered her eyes with her forearm and fought to bear the pain. She clenched her fists tight, and for a long while she did not move. At last the pain faded and she breathed in deeply, filling her lungs so that she could exhale slowly and steadily. She felt a little better.
She stood up slowly and looked around. She froze. The Eye and the Executors were kneeling on the floor, arms and heads touching it, prostrate in absolute submission. And then she saw it. In front of her. Hovering in the air, at a crazy height, surrounded by a strange nebulous substance which seemed to emanate from its own body. A being as rare as it was unmistakable.
A Golden God!
Kyra closed her eyes tightly in utter amazement. She shook her head and opened them wide again. He was still there, floating in the air in front of her, watching her. It was impossible! The Gods were a myth; that was what she had always believed. They were no more than devilish figures invented by the oppressors to frighten the people into slavery. That was what she had always told herself, no matter how much the Proxies, High Priests, Regents, and Eyes preached. The Gods did not exist! Kyra rubbed her eyes and looked again at the strange being who was watching her silently from the heights. Kyra gave him her full attention, her eyes wide open, scrutinizing him from head to toe, not missing the least detail.
The God descended slowly, without any apparent effort, until he settled softly in front of her. He made no sound at all. She tried to swallow, but she could barely so much as breathe from the shock. The being looked human, but he was extremely slender, too slender for a man. He was very tall, a head taller than Ikai, who was quite tall himself. His arms and legs were graceful and sinewy at the same time. He was neither broad-shouldered nor muscular but he radiated strength and magnetism.
Kyra’s attention was caught by his head. He was clean-shaven, with no sign of facial (or body) hair. His eyes were large and almond-shaped, a bluish gray as clear as the combination of the sea and mist which had accompanied their arrival in that strange kingdom. His mouth was finely-drawn, with slightly prominent lips. The complexion of cheeks, chin and forehead was so delicate it gave the whole face an exquisite beauty which was almost other-worldly. Kyra had never seen anything so striking. Yet what left her completely speechless was not his beauty but his skin.
It was golden. All of it.
It was a dark shade, which shone like old gold. Kyra swallowed. She could not take her eyes off the God. She could not say how old he might be, for his face looked ageless. All the same, her impression was of someone around twenty-five, not much more, even though there was an aura of eternity about him. The feeling made her shiver; it was unnatural. He wore a long white robe with silver trimming and over it armor made of golden scales, which covered him from neck to thighs and shone intensely. His limbs were covered with greaves and gauntlets, also of gold. From his shoulders fell a white cloak, almost transparent.
Kyra was so lost in wonder that she did not realize her eyes were fixed on this being, half God, half warrior, both sublime and mystical. Suddenly Kyra felt as if something had bumped against her mind. Instinctively she drew her head back. But the blow had not been physical. An unknown force bumped against her mind once again, and the mental blow nearly made her lose her balance.
What the hell! she thought in confusion, trying not to fall.
A cold, distant voice echoed in her head.
Your name, slave.
Disc
oncerted, Kyra looked at the God and saw that his mouth was closed. The fine lips had not moved. He was not speaking, yet she could hear him.
“Are you… are you talking to me… in my head?”
The Eye-of-the-God glared at her from the floor.
“How dare you! Show respect, you filthy slave!”
The Golden God waved his hand. The Eye was immediately quiet. He kept his head down and his forehead on the floor.
Yes, slave, I am the one speaking to you.
“What are you… a God?”
For you and your race, I am, yes.
“What are you going to do with me?” she asked in an unsteady voice.
The spell had been broken. She was beginning to see this being for what he really was under that slender beauty and that gold and olive skin: a ruthless enslaver, rapist of helpless women. Fear crept up her stomach with fiery claws until it reached her throat.
You will soon find out.
She looked around desperately, without finding any trace of her friend. “And Yosane?” she asked. “What have you done with her? Where is she?”
I see you do not know your place, slave. Be quiet and do as you are told. Nothing else should concern you.
As she heard the veiled threat, Kyra looked down at her naked body in the middle of the chamber in the presence of that being and his minions, and realized how helpless and exposed she was. She covered her private parts with arms and hands and threw a defiant glare at the God who was interrogating her, entering her head without permission, playing with her mind. She felt humiliated, soiled and deeply vulnerable. Never before in her life had she felt this way. She could bear the whip, insults, blows, even agonizing pain, but this was worse. Much worse.
“She’d better be safe and unharmed.”
Do you dare threaten me, slave? This is something I have never before experienced.
“I’m not threatening. I’m just saying.”
You are in no position to demand anything. I asked for your name, slave.
Kyra said nothing, simply glaring with visceral hatred at the golden being.
