The Black God's War

by Moses Siregar III

  Help me, Lord Danato.

  “Good, Lucia. That is step one.”

  The form of Danato appeared behind Briraji, towering over him at twice his height.

  “Close your eyes and embrace me.”

  I need you to save me!

  “Then do as I ask!”

  Briraji took one step closer. “This is what your Strategos saw before he died.”

  An image of the curly haired old man arose in her mind, sitting on horseback and holding his holy symbol.

  Gods, bless Duilio on his final journey.

  Briraji stepped forward again, but this time Lord Danato followed him. “You should not have escaped,” the sage said. “Your corpse will be abandoned in the desert, a carrion feast for insects and birds.”

  Help me!

  “Close your eyes and embrace me.”

  Lucia trembled as she swallowed and exhaled. She closed her eyes and felt the terror, a boiling, acidic squall raging within.

  “But I’m not going to kill you. My men are.” The sage’s voice entered her ears like sand shoved into a wound. “They can see you. You cannot see them.”

  Lucia stood on the shifting blackness, still holding Ysa’s shield. She swung the metal around in a great circle to scare off any attackers, then covered her chest with it again.

  “That won’t do you any good when you cannot see your assailants, my daughter. Close your eyes and embrace me.”

  And let you kill me?

  “If you want my help, do as I say. You see, you do have free will.”

  Lucia crouched, facing Briraji’s form, and positioned the shield to cover her front. She closed her eyes again and saw Lord Danato standing over her mother in the bloodied birthing pool. Her mother’s face was the very picture of torment: bloodshot eyes, lips stretched above gnashing teeth, clenched muscles and skin.

  Mother!

  Lucia ejected tears from her eyes.

  The black god stood over her in the red-dotted blackness with deadly countenance and clenched fists.

  You would kill me, too? Why do you hate me?

  Lord Danato raised one glistening, muscled arm and bellowed like a tempest from the underworld. With all his power, he dropped his fist straight down.

  A man screamed.

  Danato swung his fist with a backhanded swing, circling in a perfect arc.

  Another scream.

  “What is happening?” Briraji’s voice quivered.

  Lord Danato raised his elbow above his head, grabbed his fist in his other hand, and heaved the elbow down.

  Another scream.

  He bared his gritted white teeth, turned and punched forward with all his fury.

  A fourth scream.

  He yelled as he used his other fist in a sudden backhanded blow.

  Five.

  He gathered both hands and slung them downward like a hammer.

  Six.

  The god stood and relaxed his back. His chest heaved with his vigorous breaths. Both arms stretched straight out, striking out to his sides.

  Seven. Eight.

  He slung back his head and slammed it forward, as if cracking someone’s skull with his own.

  Nine.

  The god fell down.

  Chapter 78: The White God

  “… PLEASE GIVE YOUR YOUNG PRINCE this one chance to save Pawelon.”

  Briraji snarled. “Defend yourself.”

  Rao closed his eyes, held his breath, and projected the sacred syllables of his primary sadhana into the depths of his consciousness.

  His field of vision altered. He saw the soldiers as fields of red energy, but could not find Lucia or Briraji. The soldiers advanced toward the spot where Lucia had been.

  A new form appeared, a massive, solid white field of energy, taller than two men. Its only distinguishing feature: a yellow tear on its left cheek.

  The black god’s soul is white?

  The god followed behind the leading soldiers. As the spearmen rushed forward, the suddenly white god swung his heavy arms about, killing the them one by one.

  Stop! Rao sent the god his thought.

  If Lord Danato heard him, he did not answer.

  Rao focused all of his limited ojas on the Rezzian god. The god cocked back his head and slammed it forward into a Pawelon soldier’s skull. Rao projected as much force as he could to disrupt the god’s presence in the physical world.

  The god fell down. His white face lifted to look at Rao. “I will come for you today, Prince, but not now. You have a purpose to fulfill first.”

  “You’re going to kill me?” Rao asked.

  “No. Another god will. Then I will come for your soul.”

  The god’s promise awed Rao’s consciousness like a blazing pyre. “Lord Danato, stop killing my men. They’re only following orders. Briraji is the one you need to stop.”

  The Pawelon soldiers stayed back, clearly afraid of attacking Lucia and meeting the fate of their dead brethren.

  “I cannot stop him,” Lord Danato said. “The gods of Lux Lucis respect his accomplishments too much to see him die at our own hands.”

  “Then I will do it.”

  “Your power is depleted, Prince.”

  Rao lowered his subtle body to ground level and knelt. “Then please give me strength.”

  The god stood and smiled with his lips together. “A request I cannot refuse.” Danato leaned down and picked up Ysa’s white blade. He held the sharp blade itself, and as he did the god’s blood trickled down the white metal. Danato’s long strides carried him to Rao, to offer the sword’s handle. “This blade is a part of my sister. It is a part of me and of all the gods of Lux Lucis, for we are one. Take it and it will give you sight. You will see Lucia and the sage.”

  “Wait—why did you send them to the lake?”

  “You know the answer, Prince.”

  “You are the god of karma.”

  “That is not incorrect.”

  “Then did Ilario’s death settle the king’s debt?”

  “No, Prince, but the debt will be finished this day.”

  Lord Danato held the sword’s handle just above Rao’s outstretched hand. Rao stood and took the blade. Darkness overcame his vision and the god’s form disappeared. Within the blackness Rao found Lucia and Briraji.

  “Rao,” Briraji said, “Welcome. Your ojas is drained already? Can’t hide any longer?”

  “I am still weak from my combat with the Haizzem.”

  “I know.”

  “Briraji, you win. I will do it.” Rao stood with Ysa’s sword in hand and approached Lucia.

  She still crouched with Ysa’s shield in front of her. “You’re a bastard, Rao. We had an agreement.”

  “I talked to Lord Danato. He told me he could not stop Briraji.” Rao turned to look at the sage. “The gods of Lux Lucis respect Briraji’s power too much to interfere.”

  Briraji smiled, a sight Rao had not seen before.

  “And if a god cannot kill him, you might as well surrender, Lucia. I have a future, to protect my people.”

  Briraji walked forward again. Rao stood within sword’s reach of Lucia.

  “You might want to pray to your goddess now,” Rao said.

  Rao prayed: Ysa, Danato, lend me your divine power.

  Rao spun backward and pointed the blade at Briraji as he visualized the relic’s power shooting toward the sage. Although he hadn’t intended to let it go, the sword escaped his grip and flew into Briraji’s chest.

  The darkness lifted and the sun burned down on Rao again. The remaining soldiers looked upon Briraji’s fallen body, impaled by Ysa’s white blade. Lucia still crouched behind the shield.

  “My brothers, the men who died …” Rao pointed at the nine dead Pawelon soldiers as he stood. “Were killed by the black god of Rezzia. I stopped the god myself, saving the rest of your lives. The god told me he would kill you all unless I killed Briraji, our greatest sage. I was forced to choose the lives of many over the life of one.”

  The s
oldiers looked at him and at each other, some of them backing away from him.

  “Let me do my duty. I need to take this prisoner to Rezzia’s king and Haizzem. They will talk to me, and with some luck Rezzia’s war will end on this day.”

  Lucia’s horse walked toward her. Think fast, he thought. “I am controlling this beast.” Not at all. The mare moved awkwardly with the arrow above her front leg, and stopped near Lucia. Rao gathered his spiritual strength and found that, after holding Ysa’s sword, he had more ojas than he thought. He focused his hands in mudras to control Lucia’s body again and send a psychic wind to cause her to fall as before.

  “Brothers, help me put her over the horse. I have weakened her greatly. She can’t resist you.” Rao approached Lucia, and as he did prayed to Lucia’s goddess for her cooperation with the animal. With his back turned to his men, he looked down on Lucia’s face and winked. He squatted beside her and whispered, “Play along.”

  He released her from his power. “But before you raise the dog onto the horse, you should spit on her.”

  Rao spit in Lucia’s direction, being careful to miss her face. He mouthed to her, “Sorry.”

  She narrowed her eyes in anger. She grunted, pretending to resist Rao’s power.

  Three soldiers came forward, with their spears lowered. “If you insist on going, we will come with you, Prince Rao. We will protect you.”

  “You can’t come with me. If I have soldiers behind me, their king and their Haizzem will not meet with me. I must go alone to negotiate for our freedom. Do not follow me. Do you understand?”

  The men nodded and a line soon formed at Lucia’s feet. Rao picked up the shield from the ground and stood beside her. Each soldier, more than a dozen, came forward and spit on her.

  “Lift her onto the horse’s back. Position her so she lies across and tie her to the saddle.”

  Lucia played the part, acting as if she had no control of her body while they lifted her onto the horse.

  Rao walked to Briraji, gripped the white and yellow handle of Ysa’s sword, and pulled the blade from the sage’s chest. The dripping blood made his muscles weak and his stomach queasy.

  Peace to you, Briraji.

  “Go back and carry a message to General Indrajit. Tell him Briraji and the other men fought bravely against Rezzia’s black god, and tell them I have gone to talk to Rezzia’s king and Haizzem to bring an end to Rezzia’s invasion. If I succeed today, you will see your families again soon. If I fail, you must defend Pawelon in my stead.”

  “Then we will be with you in spirit, my Prince,” a soldier said.

  Another raised his fist in salute. “Victory!”

  “Victory!” the crowd said together.

  Rao motioned the first solider over to him. You’ve got a trustworthy face. He whispered to the young man in private. “Also, find my partner, the sage Aayu. I want you to tell him the truth about what happened to Briraji.”

  The soldier nodded and saluted him again.

  Rao continued with a smile, “And tell him I said his sadhana doesn’t work.”

  With Lucia tied above her horse, Rao began to pull the white mare forward. The beast followed. Thank you.

  Rao looked back. The soldiers watched him, a few of them with their palms pressed together in a spiritual gesture of blessings and respect.

  Lucia found Albina’s motion beneath her oddly comforting. As Rao led her further into the desert, she continued chastising herself for believing Rao had turned against her.

  “We’ve gone far enough, haven’t we?” she asked.

  “I’m sorry about the spitting.”

  Bastard. She mostly believed him, though. “If you hadn’t saved my life—”

  “Lord Danato was doing a fine job of it.”

  “You saw that?”

  “I did. I was in my subtle body. Most human auras appear red. Yours is different, by the way. It must be because you are a Haizzem. But Danato’s entire being was solid white.”

  I’ve had enough irony for one lifetime.

  Rao continued, “I actually did talk to him.”

  Lucia shook her head. “Let me down.” She wanted to watch his face while he explained.

  “I think it would be better for you to stay where you are. If your army sees us, I want them to see exactly this: you draped across your horse, tied down.”

  He’s probably right. “Then what happened when you talked to Lord Danato?”

  “He really did tell me your gods weren’t willing to kill Briraji. He said they respect his power too much to do that. So I offered to do it and asked for his help. He gave me Ysa’s sword. When I took it, I was able to see you and Briraji for the first time. I also felt stronger.”

  Lucia’s mind stopped, arrested by confusion. He helped both of us then. She gazed at the shadowed ground passing beneath Albina’s hooves, enjoying the scent of the desert.

  “I asked him why he sent you to the lake—”

  “And?”

  “He confirmed my suspicion. Then he told me your father’s debt would be settled today.”

  More cryptic information I do not need.

  “He also told me he would be coming for me today, after my death.”

  Cryptic information you did not need.

  “Lucia, if he speaks the truth, I will need you to protect me.”

  “Don’t worry. Are you holding Ysa’s shield?”

  “I am.”

  Then with your shield protect him, Ysa. “Keep her sword, too.”

  “I will.”

  “At least untie me, so I can get up when I need to.”

  Albina halted. Rao loosened the rope binding Lucia’s midsection to the saddle.

  They stayed quiet for some time after they resumed. Lucia worked again to reconcile what she knew about The Black One, her torturer since she was a girl, with what the god had done today and Rao’s theory of the black god.

  “Help me understand something. Lord Danato has never been a friend to me—in fact he’s been a harsh companion. If he is who you think he is, why would he torture me?”

  Rao said after a pause, “Perhaps you were suffering someone else’s karma. Every stray bit of karma in this universe must be resolved by someone, sooner or later. Karma can never be destroyed, only transformed.”

  “And Danato promised my father’s debt would be resolved today? Does that mean someone else is going to die?”

  “That’s hard to say.”

  “Could it mean my father is going to die?” Or Caio? Or me?

  “I don’t know, Lucia. My advice is to keep your thoughts on a positive outcome. We create this world out of the power of our own consciousness. Now we must use this power to create a solution.”

  I wish it were that easy, Prince.

  Rao raised the skin and sipped the last of his water. An expanse of barren desert stretched eastward toward the Rezzian army. The temperature had begun to rise, though the sun would not reach its zenith for some time. The Rezzian army looked like a mirage through the warm air, a shifting mass of human darkness.

  “Lucia, we’ve been sighted.”

  “What’s happening?”

  “Four men on horseback are approaching.”

  “I wish you luck.”

  He’d managed to control his mind most of the day and keep his thoughts centered on his breath and body, but now the Rezzian threat was real and buried fears pricked his spine like icy needles. He continued to pull Lucia’s horse with her draped across it.

  “Thank you for this chance,” he said. “If your black god comes to me in death, I hope it will be so that our people can live in peace again. For this, I would gladly sacrifice my life."

  I should have died when I fought Caio. Every breath since then has been a gift from Rezzia’s gods.

  Rao wondered if his vision for this world would not take root, if the soil of Gallea was not receptive to his imagination.

  I have to try.

  Rao pulled the horse to another stop. He held the beje
weled shield and white sword of Ysa for protection and also to show the Rezzians he was in control.

  Goddess Ysa, if you can hear me, I only wish what is best for your people—and mine. Please give me the strength I will need.

  The goddess Ysa, her slight frame covered in silver armor, sat calmly upon her giant steed. Her lance’s tip pierced the harsh earth. She faced the east and stared with stoic restraint into the heart of the Rezzian army.

  Rao felt stronger with the blade in his hand, as the black god suggested he would, but he knew the weakness in his body would still limit the power of his spirit.

  The four riders approached warily. Rao planted Ysa’s sword in the dirt, within arm’s reach, and waved with his palm open. One Rezzian wore the fine red and yellow uniform of a diplomat. The others were hardened soldiers, each with a sword hanging at his side and a throwing spear in hand.

  “I am the Prince of Pawelon. I seek an immediate audience with the king and Haizzem of Rezzia. Across this horse I have the royal daughter Lucia, devotee of the goddess Ysa. She is under my control, and should any harm come to me she will immediately suffer for it. I have afflicted her body with a deadly magic that will kill her if any harm comes to me. I will not speak to anyone but the king and the Haizzem themselves. Go send for them and tell them to come soon and alone or not at all. Tell them to bring the Pawelon girl they took after the duel. If they refuse, I will disappear with Lucia and they will never see her again.”

  The delegation looked disgusted. They looked at Lucia, who played her part by hanging lifelessly over her mare.

  “We will tell them,” the diplomat said before he yanked his horse’s neck around and galloped back to the east.

  Chapter 79: After the Deluge

  Earlier that morning.

  NARAYANI AWOKE IN CAIO’S BED, cuddled in his arms. She remembered Mya’s rod had been in her hands when she fell asleep. She found it near her pillow and held it again. Her body shivered from a sudden rush of energy before her mind and body sunk into a profound calm. She remained aware of the trauma within her, but felt numb to its sting. Caio’s healing powers had deadened her raw emotions and restored sanity.