Descent Into Darkness (Book 2)

by James R. Vernon

  The girl watched him wobble about for a few moments then sighed as she was called away to serve someone else. Ean placed his hand on the partition and watched her go, his knees continuously failing to support his legs.

  "Come on, young one." Azalea's voice caused him to whip his head around, which his body followed only to smack into the partition. It probably should have hurt, but Ean didn't feel a thing. "I think it's about time you get to bed."

  Not trusting his mouth to be able to handle actual sentences, Ean simply nodded and held out a hand towards the Yulari. She took it while flashing her usual smirk and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

  "This is the second time today I've had to help you walk," she said, laughing lightly. She did have a pretty laugh. "I have no desire to be your personal crutch, so let's try not to make a habit of this, alright?"

  As they rounded the partition near the side doors and the end of the bar, Ean saw a long flight of stairs sitting back in the corner of the room.

  There were a lot of stairs.

  Azalea seemed undaunted and moved him to the base of the stairs. She took a quick look over her shoulder and then content with what she was looking for, wrapped an arm around Ean's waist and lifted him slightly off the ground.

  "I think it would be better," she whispered, "if your feet are not involved at all in this climb. Just make it look like you're walking up the stairs on your own. I'll handle the heavy lifting, but we don't want anyone to realize that I'm carrying you."

  He shook his head, his body following the motion. With her arm wrapped around him, he still almost took Azalea off balance. She grunted and gripped him tighter and was somehow able to keep them both from tumbling back down the stairs.

  They went up three flights of stairs in total. Possibly. Ean wasn't completely sure, but they went all the way up to the top floor. On either side of the long hallway, a single door sat in the middle of the wall. By the size of the building, the two rooms up on this level must be huge if they took up an entire side. Or Ean's eyes were just playing tricks on him, which was a strong possibility.

  Azalea carried him off to the door on the right, inserting a strangely shaped key beneath the handle and unlocking the door with a loud "click." She pushed the door open and moved him inside.

  The room was, well, Ean didn't really know how to describe it. It was very dark and he couldn't see much. Or maybe his eyes were closed at this point. He wondered which it could be until he was suddenly dumped face-up on top of something soft and comfortable. A hand gently grabbed the back of his head and lifted it up long enough for something else that was soft to be slid underneath it. Then his head was gently lowered, and the hand patted him twice. Flopping onto his side, Ean curled up into a ball and within moments was fast asleep.

  "YOU SOUND LIKE YOU'RE dying. Are you actually dying? If you are, I need to prepare myself to be sent back to the Abyss."

  Zin's muffled voice came from the other side of the door, but even the faintest sound felt like a needle through the brain. Eyes closed, bare knees bent against the cold floor, Ean's head hung over the tub where the contents of last night's over indulgence had come back up. His eyes were closed as he knelt in front of the bathtub with his head hanging over the side. The tub itself was slightly filled with a disgusting mixture of what Ean had consumed the night before.

  "Have you learned your lesson yet?" Zin's smug tone made Ean feel even more nauseated, something that seemed impossible a moment before. "You know it's already late in the morning. You're not going to waste the whole morning sounding like you're giving birth to a Crux are you?"

  "Go away and let me die in peace." Ean rose and shuffled over to the washbasin and mirror. He checked to make sure there wasn't any vomit on him. Taking one more moment to make sure his stomach could handle movement, he splashed a bit of water on his face and walked out the door. On the other side, he found Zin standing with an obnoxious grin. Ean's immediate reaction was to send a kick the imp's way, but in an effort to treat Zin better, he nudged him out of the way with his foot instead.

  Stumbling backward in an obvious overreaction, the imp shook his head as he steadied himself.

  "Don't take out your misery on me. Are you functional enough now that we can actually accomplish something today? Or do you need to go moan at the bathtub some more?"

  "I'll be fine if you stop talking so loudly. What do you think we should be doing?"

  "Finding the lair of my old master, of course. I'm sure it holds a wealth of information about what you're capable of and how to really use your power. It's just a matter of figuring out where it is."

  "You really think they would keep records about your master after everything he did?"

  Shaking his head, Zin chuckled a few times before replying. "You really don't know that much about your own world do you? Even before Master was killed, the temple of the deity of Knowledge and Wisdom sat at the edge of this lake. Her followers devote their life to writing down everything about anything. If anyone knows where we need to look, it will be them."

  "And you honestly think they will just tell me?"

  "Probably. They love to show off how much they know, and once they start talking, it's hard to get them to stop."

  "Well, I guess it's something. Ni'Aren's followers have to be more tolerant than the Seekers at least."

  "Good. I already found their temple last night. All you have to do is take the bridge over the river that runs out of the lake, and it is the huge building at the lake's edge."

  "Wait, aren't you coming with me?"

  "Of course, but it will look a little strange if you keep getting directions from thin air. This time of day the streets will be packed and you talking to nothing will get us a lot of unwanted attention."

  "I didn't think of that."

  "Of course you didn't, which is why it's a good thing you have me around."

  "What about Azalea?"

  "I wouldn't say that's a good thing, more of a--"

  "No, I mean, do you know where she is?"

  "Oh. No, not really. She let me in this morning and then took off. I think she was slightly annoyed she had to stay in the room the entire night with you."

  "Oh." So the Yulari had watched over him all night? That was certainly unlike her. But she had been the one to get him to bed last night and had been fairly gentle about it from what he could remember...

  "But enough about the life-sucker," Zin said, cutting into Ean's thoughts. "Get yourself put together, and let's be on our way."

  Nodding, Ean set about the room getting ready. He changed into a clean pair of clothes and made sure that his gloves completely covered up his arms. The last thing he needed was a bunch of strangers noticing his arm was glowing. He would have to be more careful in general with anything having to do with Ze'an and the temple of Alistar and the hundreds of followers here. Zin stood and watched him, tapping a foot impatiently.

  Once he was situated, Ean grabbed what little money he had and walked over to the door. He opened it but stood to the side, bowing and waving Zin ahead of him grandly.

  "After you, good sir." Ean said it with a laugh and earned a glare by the imp for his trouble. Turning invisible, Zin stomped out of the room, making sure to place a well-aimed foot right on Ean's boot. His pointy nails pricked the top of his feet. Ean grimaced but kept his mouth shut.

  Making his way out into the hall and down the stairs, Ean was surprised to find the common room still busy for this time of day. It was early afternoon, a time at which he thought most people would be working, but half of the bar stools were full and the circular tables had patrons as well. The inn back in Rottwealth didn't even open until dinner time. It was strange to see all of those people not working, but that thought left him as soon as the smells from the kitchen hit his still-sensitive stomach.

  His stomach churned and he had to move out quickly. Directly in front of him was an open field where the wagons that were delivering goods sat. He saw a few from the caravan he had been with
but didn't see any sign of Wil. To his right, he saw Zin's glimmering form move towards the Docks and the bridge.

  The streets were filled with a variety of people. Many were dressed in typical worker clothes--plain shirts and pants, mostly brown or another dark color to hide the dirt, thick leather boots, and some even wore short-brimmed hats. Sprinkled amongst the workers were Taruun, the tall slender men and woman towering over the rest of the crowd. Others were dressed slightly better, with more colorful shirts and pants, some having strange insignias on them. Many also had someone trailing along behind them, dressed in less impressive attire and usually carrying a few bags or a crate.

  Several different groups of temple priests came into view. Ean could tell the various sects apart by the way they dressed. Some wore long robes of dull colors, others dressed in a more colorful array, while still others had robes trimmed in gold. Those in similar colored robes moved about together with the only ones Ean could recognize being the Soulbearers of Kaz'ren.

  As Ean walked, he felt like the tide of people was going to wash over and crush him. Moving off to the right side of the road, he took a minute to catch his breath. Maybe settling down here wasn't a good plan for his future if he wasn't able to handle dealing with the mass of people.

  A tug on his pants made him look down to find the shimmering outline of Zin standing next to him. Had Zin tried to traverse the sea of people as well, or had he been smart enough to stay off the street from the beginning?

  The imp gave one last tug and then began walking along the side of the street. It was much easier to move now that he wasn't in the middle of the mess of people, and it made Ean wonder why so few took a similar course. Were the people here simply used to fighting their way through everyone else? Didn't matter much to Ean. He was happy to be out of that mess.

  As they followed the road, it began to curve to the east until the lake sat completely to their left past the small shacks that made up the edge of the Docks area. Up the road, past the bridge and a few enormous buildings, far off into the distance, Ean got another good look at the Unyielding Wall.

  Even as far away as it was, its massive size seemed to dwarf everything else. It stretched higher than Ean thought possible, disappearing into the line of clouds that seemed to swallow the top from as far north as he could see to as far south. It managed to take away from the grandness of the enormous temples of the city, including the temple of Kaz'ren and the Endless Tombs.

  Turning his attention away from the Unyielding Wall, he focused on the large building sitting in front of the lake on the other side of the bridge.

  Not as large as the Temple of Kaz'ren, the Temple of Ni'Aren, Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom, was equally impressive in its design. Large stone columns ringed the building, holding up the upper floors. Large windows occupied most of the walls while intricate geometric patterns and pictures, mostly of a beautiful woman holding books, covered the remaining space. The most impressive aspect of this temple, though, were the vast gardens that spread out from the building with an assortment of flowers and small trees Ean had never seen before. He wondered how many of the plants he could recognize and how many had not been a part of his education as a Healer.

  Getting back on the bridge, Ean forced himself to remain calm as he pushed through the pack of people going in both directions. There were more priests on this part of the road and a lot more people armed with weapons than the average person. Ean smirked as he noticed the prism around each of their necks, signifying them as Heroes. Before the troubles had started in his village, a single Hero would have made him stop and gawk, but now after seeing the superiority complexes of those that had tried and failed to rid Rottwealth of its monster, seeing a dozen or so as he moved over the bridge hardly phased him.

  The Temple of Ni'Aren was immediately to his left as he walked off the bridge, a flower garden circling its side from the lake to a path that led from the temple to the road. The crinkly brown flowers at the front of the temple caught his eye. Not many people knew about nevilswort and how its nectar made a powerful sleep aid and dulled the worst kind of headaches. Unfortunately, they were useless for hangovers. They certainly weren't the most attractive flowers available, which made their choice for the garden framing the path to the temple entrance curious.

  Passing the garden, he double-checked Zin's position before he moved up the walkway toward the temple. The imp was moving about the garden in an erratic fashion. Probably caught the smell of a rodent or some other small animal he could munch on. Shrugging, Ean figured the imp would catch up eventually. The path led past the garden to a set of stairs that ran up to the entrance of the temple. Ean climbed the stairs quickly, hoping to finally get some answers. When he reached the top, he found a tall, skinny man waiting for him.

  The elderly man was dressed in an extravagant sky blue robe. The robe was covered with swirling lines in the brightest gold, weaving about into patterns almost as complicated as those that covered Ean's arm. His bald head and tightly trimmed beard only added to his intimidating appearance. The way the man was looking at him, with cold, judgmental eyes, made Ean think for a moment that he had been expected. But how could that be?

  "Stop right there, lad," the man ordered. "You won't find your answers here, so you just turn right back around."

  Ean could only stand there in shock. The man had expected him, and even more surprisingly seemed to already know what he was searching for. As he tried to re-organize his thoughts, the older man made a motion with his hand and two more men appeared, younger but with the same glower for Ean.

  "You will leave now," the older man said. "Or I will have these two toss you in the lake." Leaning forward, the old man whispered, "And if you try coming back again, I will make sure the Seekers know where to find you."

  Ean quickly backed away, waving his gloved hands in a gesture indicating he didn't want any trouble. Turning, he tried to keep some dignity by moving slowly down the steps, but every fiber of his being was screaming at him to run. He kept a slow, even pace until he reached the bridge, then he took off in a sprint, going past the docks, the High Horse Inn, and skidding to a halt at the opening of the Merchant's Circle.

  If the area around the Docks had been crowded, then the Merchant's Circle was a mob scene. It was like a river of people flowing away from the High Horse Inn, past the wagon fields, and then split left and right with the road. The road created a circle that looped around the Temple of Drenks, with rows and rows of shops running along the outside of the circle. The ground around the Temple of Drenks was clear, just large patches of grass where a few people sat and ate lunch or had small blankets set up with items resting on them for sale. Ean pushed his way through the crowd until he reached that area.

  Collapsing on the ground in a sitting position, Ean tried to catch his breath and figure out how things had gone so wrong at the temple. Obviously the priests had been told that he was coming, but by who? And why had they been so hostile towards him? Clearly they wanted him gone if they were going to go as far as to threaten him with the Seekers. But if they disliked him so much, why not just alert the Seekers in the first place? So many questions and the only people with the answers had threatened to toss him in the lake.

  Zin. Maybe the imp had some idea what had gone wrong. Looking around, he didn't see the telltale blur that was the imp's invisible form, so instead he relaxed and tried to feel the imp out.

  It didn't take long to find him. The imp was making his way over to where Ean was, carefully threading through the crowd and probably trying his hardest not to get stepped on. When Zin made it over to him, Ean took a quick look around to make sure no one was close to where he was sitting, then leaned forward towards the imp and pretended to be messing with his boots.

  "Zin, any ideas about what happened?" he whispered. "Not only did they know I was coming, they seemed furious by the fact that I was there."

  "No idea. From what I remember of Ni'Aren's followers, they are usually quite peaceful and eager to he
lp anyone. The way they reacted to you shocked me. I stuck around for a moment to see if they said anything, but they just stormed back into the temple before I could learn anything.

  "Zin, it just doesn't make sense. Who would have such a big sway over the followers of Ni'Aren and know about me?"

  A female voice from behind him almost made Ean jump. "Obviously Ni'Aren would be able to sway her own followers to keep you out, boy."

  Turning quickly at the sound of the woman's voice, Ean was surprised to see a simply dressed woman of stunning beauty standing directly behind him.

  Long blond hair framed a face with petite features, other than her eyes. She had large, light blue eyes that seemed to draw you in, like deep pools of water. Realizing he had been staring, Ean moved his eyes over the rest of the woman. She wore a simple blue shirt and shorts that rested just above her knees, seeming much more plain then he imagined a goddess would appear.

  "Um, sorry miss, I'm not quite sure--"

  Raising a hand, she cut him off. "No need to deny what you were talking about. Your name is Ean, that smelly creature trying to stay out of sight is Zin, and he is just one of the many things you've pulled out of the Abyss."

  Blanching, Ean felt his jaw drop. This was the second time someone had caught him off guard by knowing too much about him. And the things she had said! Glancing quickly around, Ean hoped no one had heard her talk about the Abyss. Thankfully it looked like everyone around them was ignoring them.

  "I...uh," Ean managed, trying to unscramble his own thoughts. "How do you know who I am?"

  "Simple," the woman said, taking a seat in front of him with her legs crossed. "My name is Kaz'ren."

  KAZ'REN! THE GODDESS OF the Afterlife? Clearly the woman had to be insane, a Goddess wouldn't just approach him, would she? But she did seem to know an awful lot about him. As she sat in front of him, Ean took a closer look at the woman.