Descent Into Darkness (Book 2)

by James R. Vernon

  Ean grunted, then watched in a mixture of horror and fascination as a larger piece of stone lifted in the air not ten paces away. It hovered there for a few moments and then shot straight at him. Ean didn't even have time to think to put his arms up to defend himself. With a flick of her wrist, Kaz'ren knocked the stone aside, rolling her eyes as she did so.

  "I'm not going to let you hurt the boy, Primaren," Kaz'ren said, raising her voice slightly to be heard over the clattering of the stone she had just knocked away. "So how about you stop trying to be a bully and come out where we can see you."

  For a moment, the room was deathly silent. Maybe whatever had been causing the problems had left. Ean quickly dismissed that thought as the feeling of dread suddenly spiked to the point where he wanted to run. He stood his ground and watched as something began to take shape in front of them.

  It started out as a purplish mist, or maybe a blur, similar to what Zin looked like when he was invisible. Then, it pooled together and the vague outline of a man appeared. A few moments later, the form took on details until a fully clothed man floated just off the ground in front of Ean. He was semi-transparent and completely blue, but Ean could make out even the smallest details.

  Depictions of various creatures Ean recognized as being from the Abyss adorned the man's robes. His right hand was opening or closing as if it was used to holding something. The man's face looked young, with a neatly cropped purplish beard and short hair of the same color. Most of his features were average, except for his blazing red eyes, which were staring hatefully at Ean and Kaz'ren.

  "See," Kaz'ren said, sounding friendly. "That wasn't so hard was it?"

  The man opened his mouth to speak, and what came out was a voice that mimicked the intensity in his eyes. It sounded distant, though, as if he was yelling at them from across the room.

  "Foul, slime-faced woman," Primaren said, directing all of his hate towards the goddess. "Why must you continue to bother me? I am free from your touch and will forever remain this way. Why can you not leave me alone and be off watching your band of mutes?"

  The smile remained on her face. It was only the slight narrowing of the eyes and hint of steel in her voice that indicated to Ean she was holding back her anger.

  "Now, now, no need to be rude. You don't want to make a bad first impression on my friend here. Allow me to make the introductions. Ean, this pleasant fellow is Primaren, former Voice for the temple of Ze'an. Primaren, this is Ean."

  "I do not care about the living, and I certainly do not care about you, you wretched excuse for a deity."

  "Such a temper. I would watch what you say. You might not be as safe from my control as you think."

  "Ha, impotent goddess! My god protects me from your control. I will never join your collection of the dead, so you can just repeatedly go drown yourself in the lake. Maybe that will keep the stench of death off you."

  Kaz'ren kept the smiled through the insults, although there was no warmth to it now. Turning to Ean, she placed a hand not so gently on his shoulder.

  "This is where you come in, my boy. I cannot claim his soul. He says it's because of some kind of protection from Ze'an, but I'm not so sure. Ze'an was never known to pay much attention to humans."

  Scratching his head, Ean alternated between looking from Primaren to Kaz'ren. "What exactly am I supposed to do? I don't know anything about souls. A week or so ago, I didn't know your Soulbearers even existed."

  "Let's start by removing your glove." Reaching down she grabbed his right hand. "At the very least, your tattoos might shut him up for a moment."

  The spirit let out a laugh. "You really think this over-grown stick of a boy can go against Ze'an's will? You must truly be getting desperate to be rid of me you foul... urk!"

  It was a strange sound the spirit made as Ean's glove was removed and his glowing tattoos lit up the area around them. Primaren simply stood there and stared, well, floated in place and stared, at the softly pulsating glow of the tattoos. Ean was a bit surprised as well, but not from the spirit's reaction.

  He could "feel" the spirit now.

  It had the feel of a familiar shirt he had worn hundreds of times. Without realizing it, Ean reached out and touched the spirit where it was floating. His hand passed right though, but something was there. Something he could actually touch...

  A jolt of energy flashed through Ean's body, and he jerked his hand back. At the same time, Primaren's form seemed to dissipate for a moment before reforming. When he was whole again, Primaren looked at Ean in horror while Ean returned a look of confusion. All the while he could still feel "something" coming from the spirit.

  "What is this?!?" Primaren said, the spite and anger in his voice replaced by fear. "What abomination have you brought to do your dirty work, Kaz'ren?"

  "Nothing I've created, Primaren." Kaz'ren's voice took on a tone of satisfaction as she addressed the spirit. "The boy is tied to the Abyss and its power."

  Pausing to take a seat, Kaz'ren regarded the spirit in the same fashion that Ean might regard a piece of steak after going hungry for a week.

  "Tell me, little priest," the goddess continued. "Do you still feel like you can speak to me in such a vile manner?"

  For a moment, the spirit looked at the goddess with more contempt then Ean had ever seen. Then those eyes swung around and regarded Ean with a mixture of fear and sadness.

  "Whatever she has promised you," the spirit said, his eyes locked on Ean, "you cannot do her bidding. Those marks connect you to Ze'an, not her. As the Voice of the temple of Ze'an, I order you to leave this place, now!"

  "Don't you mean former Voice?" Kaz'ren got back up and began walking a slow circle around the spirit, a large smile playing at her lips. "Death strips away all titles. Can you imagine what kind of confusion it would cause if all my former high priests, all of those souls were running around trying to give orders? It would be quite the mess."

  The goddess was clearly enjoying herself now, but Ean had no idea why. He had certainly felt something, could still feel something actually, coming from the spirit but he had no idea what it meant or what he was supposed to do about it. Kaz'ren stopped pacing and turned her attention on Ean.

  "Well? What are you waiting for?"

  "Waiting for? I have no idea what I'm supposed to do."

  "You felt something, yes?" The goddess raised her eyebrows questioningly until Ean nodded. "My boy, what you felt is exactly what is keeping me from claiming this soul. This soul, this loyal servant to Ze'an, at some point was infused with energy from the Abyss. That is what is keeping me from claiming him. Now I need you to rid him of it."

  "Me? Why don't you do it?"

  "Because none of us deities can touch or even feel that energy," she growled.

  Where only moments before, Kaz'ren had been smiling and sounding slightly smug, her demeanor now completely changed. Her fists were clenched at her side as she leaned forward slightly towards Ean, her eyes flashing anger. Ean couldn't help but take a step back from the disgust that was flowing out of her.

  "Why his god should have access to things that none of the rest of us can even feel is beyond me. As for the priest, I didn't know if having a bit of the energy infused in him was the reason I could not take him because, again, I can't feel it. That's why I need you."

  Ean took a few more steps back, risking a glance in the direction of the door. If things turned worse, could he outrun a goddess? From what little she had let slip, they didn't seem to be as all powerful as everyone made them out to be. He was about to test his luck when the spirit's laughter caught his ear.

  "You don't have to be afraid of her, boy," the spirit got out between chuckles. "They can't directly hurt humans. It's one of their rules. It's one of the few things Ze'an told me himself. At best, they can point followers in your direction like those Seekers and pretty much every hunter of Avien'zia, but this little goddess only has a bunch of mutes as her loyal servants."

  "It's good to know," Kaz'ren said, some of th
e smugness returning to her voice, "that there are still a great many things that humans still do not know about us."

  "What can I do," Ean asked, "to help release him from being stuck here?"

  "You can sense the energy from the Abyss in him," Kaz'ren replied. "Simply reach out and take it. Once you've removed it from him, I will be free to collect him and place him with the rest of the spirits."

  "Take it? How can I take it? I don't know--" he stopped suddenly. He did know how to do it, or rather, he knew how to let the energy flow out of his hand. Would it be that much different to take it back in? There was only one way to find out.

  Walking over to the spirit, Ean could not help but feel a pang of guilt about what he was about to do. Sure the spirit had assaulted him, and in his condition, it had been stupid of Primaren to insult a goddess. But Ean couldn't imagine what it would be like to be forever trapped as you watched a place you loved fall into ruin. After so many years, it had to have warped his mind a little.

  Glancing at Kaz'ren and the smug smile she wore, he knew he had to say something.

  "If I do this, if I make it possible for you to collect him, I don't want you to punish him for what he has done in the past. Let's consider this a clean slate for Primaren, and I'm sure he will be more respectful from now on."

  Kaz'ren turned a cold stare to Ean, but her eyebrows rose slightly as she looked at him. Tilting her head, she brought a hand to her face and started to tap her chin with a short fingernail.

  "You certainly are a bold one, Ean. Why would you care about the spirit of a man you never knew? Are you feeling some sort of loyalty to Ze'an now?"

  "No, I just feel sorry for this man, left here by himself for countless years, forced to watch something he loved fall apart and be vandalized. I'm sure you have done your best to taunt him just as much as he has taunted you. I just want what is fair, and that's to let him start over in whatever it is that comes after we die."

  "If I do this, if I forget this spirit's past insults, you will owe me. That will mean that you will have to occasionally pray to me so I can always know where you are in case I want you to fulfill your debt. Knowing that, do you still want me to do you this favor?"

  "Yes."

  The goddess let out a little giggle and clapped her hands in delight. Her behavior was almost childish, but Ean was learning it was best to just keep his mouth shut around the goddess and not let slip what he was thinking.

  "Excellent," she said as she calmed down a bit. "Then I promise not to mistreat this soul for any past mistakes he has made." She shot the spirit a hard glare before continuing. "But that does not protect him from anything he says from now on." The spirit simply continued to stare at the floor.

  "I understand," Ean said as he took a place in front of the spirit.

  Taking a deep breath, he began to gather energy into himself slowly, not from the spirit, but from the Abyss itself. Compared to what he could normally take in, now the amount he let flow into him was the barest trickle. It still caused the tattoos to grow brighter of course.

  He could feel the energy intermingled with the spirit now more clearly as he had energy flowing through himself as well. The energy in the spirit seemed to pulse along with the energy that Ean let flow through his own body. Reaching out, Ean placed the palm of his right hand slightly inside the translucent form of Primaren. As the two energies began to mingle, it sent little jolts through Ean's body, but he held his hand still.

  "Do not become too indebted to any of the gods or goddesses, boy." Primaren's voice was low and resigned as he spoke, his eyes still locked on the ground. "They are just as spiteful and devious as any man or woman. They are just as spiteful and devious as any man or woman, and they can turn on you without provocation."

  "I will," Ean whispered, the conviction in his voice mirroring how he felt inside. "Are you ready?"

  "As ready as I'll ever be."

  Taking control of the energy, he let it flow out of his hand and become one with the energy resting in the spirit. He let this continue until he could not tell the difference any more between the two separate pools of energy. Then, with a final exertion of his will, Ean pulled all of the energy back into his body.

  The force of it almost lifted Ean off his feet. He had known there was energy mixed in with Primaren's spirit, but he had no idea how much until it all came crashing into him. For a moment, as he stood there and wrestled for control of it all, Ean feared he was going to be overwhelmed.

  Eventually the surge slowed and he regained control. Sweat dripped down his forehead and back, and his muscles were sore from the strain. Having all of the energy inside him dulled the pain slightly, but he was dreading how he would feel once he let the energy go.

  His eyes focused on Primaren, and he was surprised to see the spirit looking more substantial instead of less. Ean had assumed that it was the energy from the Abyss that had given the spirit his strength, but clearly it was something else. Primaren was looking at him as well now, although Ean couldn't read his expression.

  Nodding once to Ean, Primaren's spirit turned to Kaz'ren. Floating over to where she was standing, he bowed once and then stood silent. A single eyebrow rose on the goddess's face before she reached out and touched Primaren. His form seemed to grow almost solid for a moment and then just as quickly was gone. Nodding, Kaz'ren walked over to Ean.

  "Well done," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You've done me a service, and I won't forget that. Especially now that you'll be praying to me on a regular basis." She winked at him as her hand slowly lead him back in the direction of the door.

  "And you'll keep your word?" Ean said, allowing him to be led. "You will not punish him in any way?"

  "Ean, of course I'll keep my word. My brothers and sisters and I may focus mostly on our own agendas, but we wouldn't have any followers left if we did not honor agreements we've made. Speaking of which, I owe you some information, don't I?"

  As they left the now empty temple, Kaz'ren turned Ean around and placed both hands on his shoulders.

  "Before I tell you where the lair of your imp's former master sits, I have something I want to say. I don't know what the imp has told you or why you are following along in his old master's footsteps, and frankly at this moment in time, I do not care. But, if you start causing too many problems for the people of this land, I will start to care and you can be sure my brothers and sisters will as well. We will not put our people through another incident like the Plague, so you can be sure if you start down that path, we will all make it our mission to stop you. Understand?"

  It was hard not to understand what she was implying. If he got power hungry, they would put him down like a dog. Thankfully he had no intention of becoming a marauding lord trying to take over the land. All Ean wanted was a peaceful life and to understand what he had done to himself.

  "I understand. You have no need to worry about me."

  "We'll see," she replied, staring into his eyes. "The place you are seeking lies to the northwest in the mountains behind a village called Ulundkin. The village sits just north of the border into the area affected by the Plague, what is now called the Deadlands."

  "The area affected by the Plague?" The shock of the revelation struck him like a hammer. "How can I get there and still live?"

  "The Plague acts slowly, infecting people at different rates. Most are fine if they only experience a week or two of exposure. It is safe enough going to Ulundkin. One of the Hawkpurse families takes a caravan of supplies there every few weeks. One of those caravans just happens to be leaving in two days. Getting a ride with them would be your best bet to get where you want to go in a timely manner."

  The Deadlands. Ean had only heard bits of pieces from Wil on their ride to Lurthalan. A place where everything was infected by the Plague, from the animals to the very air and earth. Wil had said things that looked like people still lived there, although they were no longer human. He also had said those people were like walking corpses, bits and pieces han
ging off, and they disliked anyone human. Why would a caravan want to go to such a place? If it was his best chance of finding out more about his powers, though...

  "Alright, I'll go. Which Hawkpurse family is it?"

  "Brave boy. You want to look for the Ciantar family. Their stores can be found past the Temple of Drenks, on the west side of the Merchant's Circle. You'll have to figure out how to buy your way with them, but it shouldn't be too difficult."

  And if it was, Ean always had Azalea's charm to get them a few seats on the caravan.

  "Well," Kaz'ren said, reaching over to pat Ean lightly on the cheek. "I can honestly say it's been interesting to meet you. You have a lot of potential, Ean, both for good and bad, just like your predecessor, but I think as long as you stay true to yourself and not listen to those horrible creatures you keep around, you'll turn out okay. Remember, only mention one of us if you don't mind the god or goddess being able to hear you and know exactly where you are. Unless it's me, of course."

  Flashing him a smile and a quick wink, Kaz'ren disappeared in a flash of light, leaving Ean standing in front of the dilapidated temple all alone. Letting the cool breeze that came off the lake wash over him, his mind ran through everything that had just happened. Ean found it almost impossible to believe. Visits from a goddess, putting tormented souls to rest, a quest into a dangerous land...it sounded like a Hero's story.

  Ean certainly had no interest in being part of a Hero's story. All he wanted to do was find out more about what he had done to himself and get a little control over his power. Then he could go back and help his village.

  He also wanted to learn as much as he could about Zin's old master. That was a new goal, but going by the warnings of spirits and goddesses, an important one. If his tattoos were going to make him power hungry, he needed to learn how to stop it. If Ean found out it was just a weakness of character that made Zin's old master into a tyrant, that would certainly be a relief as well. Either way, he had to find out.