Us. They saw us.
“Whoever they saw, apparently it was a face they’d never forget.”
Brooks couldn’t blame them. Chiseled into the marble was a scowling god standing to judge them all. His narrowed eyes were a solid piece with no details and added to the portrait of malice.
“Are you coming or not?” Nyx shouted from his feet.
Xia stepped up beside him and brushed her fingers against his knuckles. “Are you okay?”
Brooks shook the haze from his mind and nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Must be weird to see proof of how dedicated an entire race was to you. It would make anyone with a conscience feel guilty for leaving them to die. Good thing you don’t have one.” Nyx patted him on the shoulder before walking away.
“Good thing,” Brooks whispered around the tightness in his throat.
They walked in silence past the candles as Brooks contemplated the meaning of the cavern. People gathered to worship a god who had no intention of stepping in to help them.
You know why we cannot.
“No,” he thought. “I really don’t. We’re doing it for Xia because losing her is not an option. We are not the only beings who experience such longing and loss. Why do we deserve it more?”
Chaos sighed, but did not respond.
As he and Xia approached the well, the ever-present current of electricity surrounding the cavern intensified. Brooks ran hishand around the lip and peered into the darkness. Raw chaos thickened the air inside, but it was hardly a large source of power. The flow was ebbing, and the world was not being supplied with the chaos it needed to be sustainable.
“They used to sacrifice people you know,” Nyx whispered beside him.
“How?”
“It was a huge ceremony. Servants of the temple would bathe the servant and dress them in all the finery imaginable. The ceremony was celebrated by a seven day fast to show you their dedication as they watched the servant feast. For seven days that person was provided with the best life had to offer, including–” she swallowed and looked anywhere but at him as she picked her nails. “Including a grand house placed on a hill above everyone else so that the daemon could look upon their chosen.”
A stone dropped in his belly as an uncomfortable wave of guilt crawled over his skin.
“Some argue that the week begins with the holy day because that’s when the fast started. Others say the week ends with it because that’s when the sacrifice was made. However you look at it, a daemon was promised luxury while being prepped for slaughter.”
“Was the servant aware of their fate?”
“No,” Nyx shook her head as silver tears rimmed her eyes. “The sacrifice was never a resident of the town. They came from outside. That’s why it’s seven days of prep. Seven days to wash the taint from their system and refill it with whatever religious bullshit they thought would please you.”
“And they just did that? With zero proof that help or paradise would ever come?”
“Yup. Holy men were quick to excuse any crime for members of their ministry as long as it’s in the name of religion. The scariest part wasn’t the act done in the name of God. It’s thedevotion they can manipulate from people by playing on their most carnal fear.”
“Which is?”
“Final death. They can’t bear to think that death is their end. Can’t comprehend that when their loved ones die, they are just gone. Enter holy men. They swoop in and make promises of eternal peace. As long as you live by what they preach, your future is guaranteed. Even if what they preach is murder with a purpose.”
“You sound like you’ve had a while to think about these things.”
“I have. I’ve never been to the human world, but I’ve heard a few things from my travels and it’s just as bad there as it is here, if not worse.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. They run countries and fight wars in the name of a god they’ve never met. They think that we are gods. That the strongest of daemon are who created their world and will grant them an afterlife. So the way I see it is if they’re wrong, then we’re probably wrong, too. I know that Zeus is a piece of shit who engages in cruelty for pleasure, and he is their god.”
“But he is real.”
“What?”
