The Lilliad Chp 39

The night had worn dark by the time they arrived at the temple, bloodied and bruised.

The soreness radiating from Arelt's body made him want to collapse. A quick glance at his companions reassured him of their joint suffering. The sorceress was finally slumping, from magical exertion if nothing else. Even Igni seemed worn down, exhausted from the forced march and fight.

Arelt's feet were actively bleeding now. It was squelching when he moved. He wasn’t the only one audibly injured, though. He could hear the hitch every time that Benk inhaled. Something was very wrong with his lungs or ribs.

“It seems different,” Benk said. He stopped at the entrance to the temple uncertainly.

Arelt frowned and stopped as well. “What do you mean?”

The older man shook his head slowly. “It doesn’t feel as welcoming as it did the last time that we were here. Is this…”

“You’re feeling the defenses the goddess has erected against the necromancer,” the sorceress said. Her tone was bored. She strode past them, into the temple, and then turned around as if to say “see? No difficulty.”

Arelt frowned. “The necromancer is dead,” he said slowly, feeling unease curl in his gut. “Why would she still be actively protecting the premises?”

“She doesn’t know yet. Come on.” Without another word the sorceress continued into the darkness. She threw her hands up and lit the sconces, clearly designed to be operated with magic. The temple glittered when lit, multifaceted stones in the walls catching the shine and reflecting it.

“This doesn’t feel right,” Arelt said quietly. He shook his head, if only to himself. “The necromancer was alive when we came here before, and yet we felt no defenses.”

Benk leaned in. “Perhaps that was because we had Lilli then. You’ve seen how she was welcomed.” His tone dropped even further. “Or perhaps the goddess has noticed another threat, one which has already entered.” His gaze tracked steadily ahead, to the sorceress’s back.

His breath caught. Would she?

He didn’t want to assume the worst, to let his personal dislike of the woman lead him to assume she would try to wrest the power from the mountain goddess. But the thought lingered.

He pushed into the temple grounds, past the sludgy feeling of resistance. It felt wrong.

At least the temple was less creepy when it was lit up. There couldn’t be an enemy inside, surely, but he didn’t like not being able to see his surroundings. He followed the sounds of Igni crunching the occasional tile underfoot. The sorceress was leading the group, on a businesslike beeline for the back of the temple. She stopped at the shrine and gestured to him and Benk. “You should pray, perhaps the goddess will favor you with healing.”

Benk went first. From outside the shrine, the sound of his knees creaking when he knelt was easy to hear. Arelt winced.

The older man bowed his head and prayed. A gentle light washed over him, much less profound than the light that had enveloped Lilli but still a good sign. Benk smiled, and said something else that Arelt couldn’t hear before getting to his feet.

Arelt went inside. He knelt, he bent his head.

A stone on the dais shattered. He shouted when the debris hit him in the face. He could feel he was bleeding.

“Get out!” The witch shouted. “Get out of there!” She let her hands with fire. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Arelt stumbled to his feet and out of the shrine, shell-shocked. “I… the necromancer’s things.” He reached into his pocket and brought out the bundle. He dropped it onto the ground. “What is this?”

Mairi cursed, looking around wildly. Her hair flung in all directions with the movement. “That wasn’t the necromancer,” she said grimly. “We were tricked. And we’ve let him into the temple.”