The God Breaker's Ruin

by Billy Spencer

  Can barely breathe.Can barely move my body. I can taste blood. She laid on top of the unconscious hybrid barely able to move and staring at the sky, feeling the darkness crept into her. Got to talk to Bran, make sure that woman is safe. Why would someone be after her, she was ready to die tonight. She thought. Her eyes closed slowly as the darkness took over her mind.

  23

  Veronica slowly opened the window to her room, her foot barely touching the ground before she felt long fingers wrapped around her neck. She was thrown against her room door, and held to it, barely able to move.

  “You went topside. You fought that human what were you thinking? Everything that we had built for years in this new world and you go around carelessly like a child, trying to throw it away,” Count Grendil said scratching Veronica's skin with his fingernails.

  “I had to find out if he killed Jake if Jenni had anything to do with what happened in the undercity,” she said tears running down her cheek, her mouth shaking. She could see her father's eyes turned red, his fangs poking out. “I was just angry father. I was upset and I didn’t think and I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do, I just saw red.”

  Grendil opened Veronica's room and threw her inside, shutting the door behind him. “Your mother could give one damn about our family but you Veronica? I had more dreams and aspirations for you. You put us all in danger with your little stunt. Now I have to go talk to the other clans and explain why my daughter would try to start a war with the humans. Maybe next time you do something so stupid you will think before reacting, you are not a child.”

  She leaned back on her bed until her back and head hit the headboard. Her father rushed to her, his forehead touching hers, and gently scraped her chin. “I didn’t mean to. I just want to know who killed Jake and I didn’t even kill the human, some god breaker saved him, he was old. He was experienced and the armor he wore I never seen from the ones that patrolled topside.” she said her arms shaking. Her father looked so angry, his body was tensed and his eyes were as sharp as knives poking her with his stare.

  “OH YOU DIDN'T MEAN IT…wait an old god breaker, no that isn’t right,” Grendil said backing away from her, rubbing his chin. “There shouldn’t be any old god breakers, they only recruit the young, the strong who can last.”

  “Yes, he was tall, big, and a brute. I stood no chance against him, but the other human I had dead to rights father,” Veronica said her fingernails tearing at her bedsheets.

  Grendil turned away from Veronica and started walking out of her room. “I tell you this once and only once daughter. If you ever go near that human, or that god breaker again, I will kill you myself,” Grendil said slamming the door behind him.

  24

  Veronica walked into a bookshop. It had rows and rows of books from all genres and sizes. The being behind the counter was an imp who was speaking to a tall, and thin witch. She could see them both smiling and leaning towards each other until their lips touched and they both embraced the sweetness of love. Well isn’t that nice? Looks like anyone can find love, nice to see someone enjoy their time, can’t remember the last time Lily and Father were affectionate to each other. She thought.

  She grabbed a few books from one shelf titled Horror and Comedy in Hell. She sat down in the corner of the bookshop that was dark and only lit up by a small lamp. Being by herself was one of the few pleasures that she had when it came to being part of the counts family. She wore her mask out in public, but no one knew her face outside the castle, only her closest friends. The rest of the time she hid her face away from the others. Her father would tell her it was for the best, that the common folk didn’t see their saviors. She took it off anyway, she didn’t like how it messed with her vision. “That’s better, can read without half the words cutting off.”

  “Hey…Veronica is it?” A voice said from a distance.

  She looked up and saw that it was her friend Domina's boyfriend Chris. “You don’t have to be afraid of me you know, promise not to bite,” Veronica said. “Come sit right here, stay awhile.”

  Chris grabbed a chair and the bag he was holding and planted himself in front of her. “Thanks, still new to his area and I just came to surprise Domina with a few books that she might like,” Chris said showing her the bag that was in front of him. It was stuffed with many books and some jelly worms.

  “You know people in the undercity don’t like people that look like you, makes them uncomfortable,” she said closing her book, leaning forward, her eyes meeting his gaze. “They look at you and they see an enemy, they see the monster of their stories growing up before the awakening.”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time, and I’m alright with that. Grew up poor, went to school, and got picked on a lot. People saw me as a doormat, but I don’t let them bother me. When I’m with Domina though she makes me feel like I’m the only person in the world,” Chris said looking at the books in his bag smiling. “She was the only person who made me feel like what I said mattered, that my dreams could become reality.”

  Veronica leaned back in the chair, her legs crossed, and started rubbing the side of her head. “She is special. She was one of the few that saw me for who I am. She didn’t care that I was once a human, or that I was vorpal. I wish I was like her, calm, and loving. Just please Chris don’t hurt her. If you are serious about her, be serious about it, she went through a lot and I only do what I do because she is like a sister to me,” she said.

  “But you still hate me because I’m a human.”

  “I…do not. I’m starting to warm up to your kind. I admit I can be a bit aggressive to your kind. But recently I have seen how some humans, are different in many ways.”

  “We’re not all bad you know. Just cause some do bad things doesn’t mean you have to write off everyone completely.”

  “You’re right, I shouldn’t be that way. I just knew someone who I held close to me that was human and they hurt me bad. I guess I just never got over that.”

  “I’ve been there,” Chris said looking outside the window.

  Sometimes it’s just nice to slow down and forget some of my issues. I use to come to this shop with Jake at times. He would pull books that I never heard about and tell me stories I swore he made most of them up. Her heart started to pound fast and she could feel it begin to crack from the inside. She missed her friend, the memories kept him alive, but she wished she was there the night he died. She knew the god breaker and the human with him had something to do with Jake's murder. Why else would her father try to keep her away from them? Fuck I also had that human. I should have talked to him, asked him about Jake, or Jenni, why did that god breaker get in the way. She thought.

  Veronica grabbed Chris’s bag and started to look through it. She saw The Lord of The Flies. The Killer in Me, and Catherine Sees A Ghost. “Nice book haul you got here. Just a tip boyfriend, Domina loves romantic books and comedies. She has been wanting this pretty rare book of the Swamp Monster and Abby. Just a tip,” she said grabbing her book and walking away from Chris. “It was nice talking to you a bit. I’ll see you around, and next time I can tell you some embarrassing stories about your girlfriend.”

  She walked outside of the bookshop and looked at the blood moon as it stood behind the count's castle. A place where she felt like was her home for so long, was something she wanted to avoid more, every time she stepped foot out of its dark, and gloomy walls. She knew she had to get home, and off the streets before it got sunny out, but she missed seeing the sunrise at times. It was one of the few sacrifices that had to be made when becoming an immortal, at times she felt that seeing that sunrise or being with her old family was too much of a cost for her to pay. She tried to keep vorpal in her at bay, but the magic they held kept calling to her like a siren's song, seducing her to use it. But she wasn’t ready to pay that price, not yet.

  “One day I will give in, not today though. I just want more time to be who I used to be. Remembering the person I was. Talking to Chris reminded me a bit about my
old life, even if it was for a split moment,” she said walking towards the castle passing werewolves, spirits, and fish folk that walked by her. “This is my home, but sometimes I want to just talk to Jenni again. I don’t know what I would say to her. I would just want to ask her why, why did she let me go?”

  25

  Nick and Jenni sat inside a train looking outside the window, the light from the topside grew darker and darker the farther they headed toward the undercity. “Kind of feels good not having to go through a sewer,” he said with a smile, holding on to Lightsworn. “Everyone in this train looks tired, or too busy staring at their phones to even notice us.”

  People sat in all the seats either glued to their screens or sleeping. They hardly looked at each other, smiled, and the only sound would be the movement of the train itself as it sped down the tunnel to its destination. A tunnel of darkness soaked them in, people heading to a city that only knew darkness. The sudden view of the blood moon shown and illuminated the inside of the train as bats flew close to the windows, like birds in the sky.

  “I don’t think I will ever get used to this,” Nick said touching the window glass, starring at the blood moon. “Most of these people only come down to the undercity for business or desperation.”

  “Well, it’s the world we live in. A world where we use to believe in nonbelief, but it all got thrown out the window. Like some force wanted to play a sick joke to see what would happen to people if they knew the truth. To see what was invisible, now visible in the world of mankind,” Jenni said resting her head against her knuckles smiling at Nick. “Don’t worry I’ll protect that beautiful face of yours, can’t have them tossing you around like a doll every time.”

  He looked down and sawfish beings walking with werewolves and vorpals, drinking and dancing like it was a big party. I wonder how they feel, about everything. I wonder if they miss the old world, for their safety at least. He couldn’t tell if some of the eternals were happy or excited just by looking at them, but he would see them dance, or eat food in large groups outside like a big community of friends. Something he never really saw topside. Many times people just kept to themselves. They were afraid of their neighbors, and their families were seen as a burden rather than enjoyment. Maybe one day I will talk to some, have a few in a bar, and show them how to play Champions of Territh. He thought. It was a card game he liked to play, adventure in the darkness fighting enemies, and getting loot.

  “Beliefs are something I think about. I wonder, and question it quite a bit,” he said starring at Lightsworn. “I believe, but the belief that I hold has been used by others for greed, for hatred.”

  “My family was super religious. I mean cut you out of the family, boot you from the house, you’re dead to me religious,” Jenni said letting out a light chuckle. “You’re not my daughter, you’re not supposed to be like this, you ruined our family name. Thanks, dad.”

  Nick could see Jenni’s smile turn into a frown, he could her eyes hold back tears. She tried to hide them behind her hair. “Did your family like going out to the movies?” he said turning towards her.

  Jenni tossed her head back into the seat and rubbed her hands. “I guess so, yea just a few horror flicks. My sister and brother hated being scared and I would watch them with my mom, it was kind of our thing. I don’t know why I liked them so much. Jump scares in them are my guilty pleasure, but I could never play video games that were way too scary.”

  “Really? that’s odd. Not being able to play scary games that is. That’s awesome you and your mom had a thing you two could enjoy. I know my father didn’t like them so I would just watch old westerns with him,” he said smiling.

  It was something that could be nothing, but to him, it was a good change of pace. To be close to one person in your bloodline was special, a lot of times that is all someone needed. To find something to share and to hear their stories, how they grew up, and to keep hold of the memories to pass on to the next generation. Nick would hear his father talk about the times he got in trouble at school, or the girls he had a crush on when he was in school and it made Nick admired his father more because he didn’t hide his pain, his mistakes, he didn’t try to be perfect.

  26

  Nick and Jenni entered Mary’s shop, they saw she was sweeping up the floor cursing in a whisper, her hair a mess, and her clothes full of dust and dirt. “You try to send them some vials to appease them and they just keep pestering and pestering. No, I don’t know who killed those two people,” Mary said sweeping. “They just like to think about themselves, no one else. Always hard-headed no brain brutes too.”

  “Hey, Mary those people still bothering you?” Jenni said walking past a shelf with glass that was broken, and books scattered on the floor.

  Mary leaned back, wrapping her hands around the broom handle. The wood was cracking under the amount of pressure she was giving it. “They did quite a fucking mess and then the god breakers came and were questioning and going on and on about the almighty one, fuck them all,” Mary said going behind the counter and burying her face into her hands. “The same it was topside is the same as it is here, just different people, but the same type of shit is going on and no one seems to give a damn.”

  “Come on Mary that’s not true. I care about you, and other people do too. Don’t let some assholes ruin it for you,” Jenni said walking up and hugging her.

  “I just….just look at my shop…broken glass, books thrown around and my poor fairy skulls crushed into dust. They didn’t give a damn, animals the both of them. I thought that maybe this time it would be different. Topside people didn’t give a damn about me Jenni. They would go to my shop look at stuff, make fun of everything, mocking the history. My history was a joke to them. My family grew up poor, but my parents worked hard to build something to pass on, they didn’t take shortcuts, they were good people, and these animals just came in here and used MY SHOP as their arena. My mother and father had bigger dreams for me, they came from a country where the corrupt ruled and the people were scared, but ever since they went for greener pastors the other side isn’t so much different,” Mary said grabbing a glass that was near her and throwing it at a wall.

  “It’s going to be okay Mary. We always find a way to come back, always. People love you down here, you know how much the eternal children adore your shop and your stories. They care about you, the person, and what you have to offer in your heart and mind,” Jenni said resting her hand on Mary's cheek, smiling.

  “The little ones always make me smile, seeing them grow, and learn. It gives me hope for tomorrow and just them breaking free from tradition, from the old ways,” Mary said.

  Nick walked to where Mary and Jenni were and handed her his cell phone. “I’m sorry about everything Mary, and I wish we could stick around longer to help you, but I need your help with something.”

  Mary picked up the phone and scrolled through the images until one image caught her attention. The one with the symbol. “I never quite seen a symbol like this one. It is a cultist, but it has a mix of the elders and God themselves it looks. I can’t tell you much from it, sorry,” Mary said handing the phone back to him.

  “What about someone we can talk to? There has to be some cultist that we can get information from,” he said scratching his forearm.

  “I’m not sure, they hide well Nick. They could be your neighbor, your boss, or even a friend. They have blend in well in humanity for hundreds of years,” Mary said walking to a bookshelf and gathering books from the floor and placing them back in their place.

  “So there is nothing we can do, we’re fucked.I thought we had something, goddammit,” he said slamming his fist on the counter. He came far, but still had no answers, still not any closer to finding out who killed the aerion and why just another dead end.

  A sudden crash came from the window. A trash can that was on fire that read HUMANS GET OUT. Mary rushed to the trash can and focused her hands chanting until her fingertips sucked the fire away and tossed it outside the wi
ndow into the sky. “Dammit. We have to go, they might come back, and it could be worse,” Mary said holding both her hands out chanting until a door appeared in front of her. Her hair started to grey, and her skin began to wrinkle.

  “Where does this door lead? Nick said knocking on the door.

  “It leads to the house of mysteries. it’s a place that I go to when I want to be left alone, but right now we are in real danger. If we continue to stay in this shop especially from the god breakers, lord knows they like to come poking their heads in the undercity as much as topside, like a police force that has no restriction,” Mary said walking through the door.

  “Come on man, let's go before they crash this place,” Jenni said following behind her.

  Nick entered the door and the darkness was illuminated by purple lights and a long hallway that had a light at the very end of it. He walked behind, his hands started to sweat as he stared at the walls with images of mages, demons, angels, and other beings. He saw faces that would stretch out to him from the walls, wailing, and begging for forgiveness, for help, for their mothers and fathers. “What the hell is all this?” Nick asked, his eyes captivated by the different faces that were reaching out to him.

  “The souls that have been damned.People who saw witches, warlocks, and the different as a plague on the world. These are the souls of the very first that killed and humiliated those people. They are the legion of wails, and our kind keeps them in this in-between as a reminder of where we came from, to never forget those that were murdered by others of their very own,” Mary said entering into the light at the end of the hallway.