Blood Of Gods

CHAPTER 2

Ashhur’s eyes were closed, his pristine flesh like marble as he lay unconscious on the slab. His flesh was hot to the touch, as if an inferno burned within him that would soon break the surface and roast the whole world. Ahaesarus, the Master Warden of Paradise, dipped a cloth into a bucket of water, brought it out dripping, and then dabbed it against his god’s forehead. Ashhur didn’t so much as twitch as beads of water steamed off his flesh.

They were in the makeshift throne room inside Manse DuTaureau, the bastion that rested on the highest hill in the sprawling township of Mordeina. There was an empty feel to the place; whereas two weeks ago the spacious room had been constantly filled with smiling people coming to give their regards to young King Benjamin, the first king of Paradise, now only Wardens and those who called the manse home ever came calling. Ahaesarus glanced about, saw the plump young king sitting on his wicker throne. Tears streamed down Benjamin’s cheeks while an annoyed-looking Howard Baedan, the master steward of the township, rubbed his shoulders. Not that Ahaesarus could blame Sir Howard, as the man liked to call himself, for being annoyed. The king was seemingly in a constant state of duress over the last eleven days, and his endless blabbering was just as irritating as it was unproductive. Not to mention that Howard’s precious pallium was stained with the boy’s snot.

“Your people are frightened,” Howard said to the boy. “You must go outside, speak with them, ease their fears. You are the king; it is your duty. . your responsibility.”

In reply, King Benjamin only sniffled.

“He speaks the truth of it, boy,” said Ahaesarus. “You have duties to perform.”

Howard’s head shot up, and he glared at the Master Warden. Ahaesarus scowled right back. The master steward hated it when anyone referred to the young king as anything but my liege, but Ahaesarus would sooner march out beyond the walls and present himself to Karak in a frilly surcoat than bow down to this sniveling child who could not lead a grayhorn to grass, never mind an entire fledgling nation to war. This is what you wanted, isn’t it, Jacob? he thought. Your final insult to the god you betrayed?

“H-h-how can I s-s-soothe them,” the young king blubbered, his eyes locked on Ashhur’s unmoving body. “Our god is d-d-dead. W-w-we are h-h-hopeless!”

Ahaesarus sighed while once more running a wet cloth over Ashhur’s forehead. The god had been atop the wall when Karak sent a fireball from the heavens to destroy it. Ashhur had been caught in the blast, plummeting back down to earth. He’d not moved since, though his body still burned and his immortal heart still beat.

“Ashhur is not dead,” Ahaesarus told the boy.

“Then w-w-why won’t he wake up?”

“Because he is gravely hurt. Because the fires within him need time to heal his outward form.”

“But. . but. . ”

That was all the king could spit out before he fell into another fit of sobbing. Howard Baedan finally ceased his scowling and rolled his eyes, again rubbing the king’s shoulders. The unremitting sniffles and moans nearly drove Ahaesarus insane.

“Get him out of here,” he said. “Now.”

“This is his chamber, the king’s place of rule,” Howard shot back. “It is his right to remain-”

“I care not for his right,” snapped Ahaesarus, flinging his wet cloth at the man. Howard backed out of the way, and the cloth slapped against the side of the young king’s face, making him bawl all the harder. The master steward made to step out from behind the wicker throne, his hand on the hilt of his belted knife. In return Ahaesarus glanced to his sword, which was propped against the wall in the corner. At that look, “Sir” Howard abruptly wedged his hands beneath King Benjamin’s armpits and lifted the king off his throne. He led the sniveling boy away, straightening his white pallium in the process.

The door slammed shut, leaving Ahaesarus in blessed silence with his unconscious god. The Master Warden leaned back, closed his eyes, and let out a deep breath as he snatched his mug from the table beside him. Tipping the mug back, a scant few drops of water dripped into his mouth. He glanced at the large bucket he’d been using to bathe his deity, saw that it was nearly empty as well. Sighing, he grasped the bucket by its handle and left the room.

When the door closed behind him, he felt a sort of lessening, as if the vitality were being sucked from every fiber of his being. Over the last eleven days, he had experienced a similar feeling each time he left Ashhur’s side. He wondered if the others who frequented the makeshift throne room felt the same thing; if they did, that begged the question why more people didn’t remain in the god’s presence, whether he was conscious or not.

The hallway of Manse DuTaureau was long and straight, the carpet underfoot as red and fiery as the hair of the children of the First Family who lived within it. There was a definite gloom to the corridor; none of the candles lining the walls were lit, and the narrow windows that opened up to the outside world revealed a sky bathed with clouds and murk. Autumn is here and it is angry. Ahaesarus could hear traces of the untold thousands outside, but the thick stone and wood of the walls deadened the racket to a vague murmur.

Isabel DuTaureau’s children and grandchildren passed him in the hall, their lithe frames draped with crumpled cotton dresses. Cara offered him a slight bow as he walked by, and Keela and her husband stopped him in the hall to ask of Ashhur’s state. Brigid and her husband ushered a battalion of children, four of their own and one of their absent sister Abigail’s, toward the western wing where the bedrooms resided. He even happened upon Richard DuTaureau, the created husband of Isabel, who was escorted by two more of Abigail’s elder sons. Although the two young men gave him a friendly wave, Richard refused to look him in the eye. The left side of his face was swollen and covered with an ugly purple bruise, a gift from his deformed son Patrick on the very day that Karak had attacked Mordeina. Ahaesarus ignored the man and kept on walking. He had never spoken it aloud, but inside he applauded Patrick for striking his father. If any citizen of Paradise deserved to have violence heaped upon him, it was Richard DuTaureau.

The one individual he did not see was the lady of the house, Isabel. Ever since Patrick had told her of her youngest daughter’s death, she had remained locked away inside her bedchamber, allowing visits only by her husband and children. Sometimes in the night he could hear the immortal woman wailing, a disconcerting sound to be sure, especially given the strength and stoicism Isabel had displayed for almost a century as she led her people out of their infancy. Ahaesarus found himself wondering if that strength had ever truly been real.

Finally, he reached the atrium and stepped outside. He was struck by a brisk wind that carried with it the clamor of all those who now called Mordeina home. Placing the bucket down, he gazed out over the courtyard that progressed down the high hill the manse sat upon. People covered nearly every square inch of grass, pale-skinned, dirty, and frightened, their mass stretching out as far as Ahaesarus could see. The reek of so many in such a relatively small area assaulted his keen nostrils. Warden Leviticus had guessed that two hundred and ten thousand human souls now resided within the sixteen square miles of Mordeina surrounded by the double walls. To Ahaesarus, it looked eerily similar to the pens he and his people were gathered into when the winged demons invaded his home world, albeit on a much larger scale.

He pushed aside the memory of that horror and weaved through those camping on the courtyard, stepping around lean-tos, tents, and cookfires where scared women prepared food for the evening. When he reached the large ring of stones marking the manse’s well, he yanked the rope up from the depths. Water sloshed from the pail as it rose, and he dumped the contents into his bucket despite its insufferable smell. Ahaesarus sighed. The liquid inside the bucket was a murky tan color, the result of the combined piss and shit of those two hundred thousand people sinking into the earth and contaminating the ample spring that flowed beneath the settlement. The last time he had gone to retrieve water was three days ago, and though the water had been somewhat soiled then, it was far worse now. Azariah would need to purify the water again, though the solution was always a temporary fix. Ahaesarus watched scared humans drink from their own cups and wondered if they knew the danger. Humanity in Paradise had lived so long without a risk to their health, and yet now, everywhere they turned, it seemed there was danger, even from something so simple as a cup of water.

Finding Azariah should not have been difficult, for though the short Warden spent his evenings camping outside the small thatch of forest in the northwest corner of the settlement, his days were usually spent within the sacristy inside the manse, teaching both Ashhur’s words of love and forgiveness and the spells he had learned during his time in Dezrel. However, as Ahaesarus wandered from room to room, the pail of stinking water swinging in his grip, he could find no trace of him. Perhaps he decided to preach among the populace, he thought. Ahaesarus had first been a farmer and priest, then a Warden, then a tutor to a potential king, and finally a warrior protecting an infant people from annihilation. Even though he had been blessed with Ashhur’s ability to heal most all ills, the less practical study of magic had always escaped him, and curing such a massive stream deep below the earth was far beyond him. That meant his only recourse was to boil the water over the fires in the kitchens behind the throne room, a slow and irritating process.

Much to his surprise, when he entered the throne room, he found Azariah there, with Denton Noonan and his son Barclay as well as two other teen boys who had fallen under the shortest Warden’s tutelage. Denton and all three youths were tall and tan, with unkempt, sandy hair, marking them with the look of the far east of Paradise, where they once had resided on the outskirts of the Kerrian Desert, near the western deity’s old home of Safeway.

They were gathered around the slab on which Ashhur lay. All had their hands on the god’s bare chest, their eyes pressed closed as they mouthed prayers to their unconscious creator. The hall was the largest room in the manse, nearly twenty feet tall, and their pleading voices reverberated off the vaulted ceiling. Ahaesarus watched for a few moments in silence, bathing in their pure, songlike tones, before placing his bucket down on the stone floor with a thump.

The prayers ceased and all eyes lifted to him. “Master Warden,” said Denton, offering a bow. The other young men did the same.

“Praying with Ashhur is truly a humbling experience,” Ahaesarus said. “I applaud you, Azariah, for teaching his children humility.”

“We weren’t praying with Ashhur,” said Barclay.

One of the other youths smiled proudly and added, “We were praying for him.”

Ahaesarus furrowed his brow, confused. “For him?”

Azariah stepped out from behind the prone deity, hands held out in supplication. Gone were his usual deep brown leather breeches and jerkin, replaced by a white, flowing ensemble spun from fine cotton, made for him by Denton’s wife. The outfit was very similar to those the priests of Rana had worn back on the Wardens’ home world before it was destroyed. It was odd that Azariah had taken to wearing such a thing, as of all the Wardens he was the most carefree and adventurous, often disregarding prayer as unnecessary. Judarius had often guessed this was because Azariah’s stature was closer to that of the humans than his fellow Wardens. “Ashhur gave us his healing gifts when we were brought here,” Azariah said. “And he gave it to his children as well, if they are strong enough to access it. What better way to thank the god we owe so much to than to try and mend his wounds?”

“A noble thought,” said Ahaesarus, “but unnecessary.”

“Unnecessary?” said Barclay.

“Ashhur is a god, boy. The talents you have were given to you by him. It is folly to think that human hands-or those of a Warden, for that matter-could ever heal one of heavenly descent with his own gifted power.”

“It never hurts to try,” insisted Azariah.

“It might,” the Master Warden said. “Especially when such attempts make one think himself of higher importance than he truly is.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. He watched as Azariah’s calm veneer shattered, the Warden’s cheeks flushing red and his fingers curling into fists. Denton, Barclay, Astin, and Yarin backed up a step, their lips pressed into tense white lines.

“I am sorry, Azariah,” Ahaesarus said. “I did not mean to insult.”

“Yet you did.”

“I did, and again I apologize.” Hoping to ease the tension in the room, he reached down and lifted the bucket of water. “And if I am to be honest, I have spent the last hour searching for you. The waters beneath the city have been fouled again and need to be purified.”

Azariah chuckled and stepped toward him, waving for his four students to follow. They gathered around the Master Warden, their eyes suddenly alive with excitement. Azariah reached into the satchel hanging from the rope around his waist and pulled out a pinch of some sort of powder.

“Many spells require a physical catalyst,” he told his students. “And all materials, no matter how small or seemingly useless, contain mystical properties. Take granite dust as an example. The particles are tiny and barbed, and there have been many a man and woman whose lungs the Wardens and healers have had to set right because of the bleeding sores the dust can cause. And yet the granite that forms that dust is only created through pressure and time, and represents the purity of the land on which we live. When using the correct words, it is the one element that can distill the water we might wish to drink, removing salt, sediment, bacteria, fungus. . and animal waste.”

Azariah worked his fingers together above the bucket, dropping dust particles into it while his lips mouthed the spell. Just as with every time before that Ahaesarus had seen this process carried out, he was enthralled by its simplicity; something magical made to seem ordinary. There were no bright lights, no eerie sounds carried on the wind; only the water, slowly brightening as the granite dust and Azariah’s words did their work.

Soon the water was clear, the putrid odor that had infused it gone. Ahaesarus looked down at the shorter Warden, and noticed that although the expressions on the four humans were awash with wonder, Azariah did not look satisfied. Ahaesarus placed his hand on his shoulder and dismissed the others.

“I need to speak with your teacher in private,” he told them. “Gather several other Wardens at the well near the manse, and have them wait for us to come purify the water.”

The others bowed to him and filed out of the throne room, Astin’s young eyes glancing at the empty wicker throne on his way by. Ahaesarus’s frustration with Benjamin bubbled anew. The boy could be a huge help if only he would cease being a sniveling little child and become the leader he was chosen and trained to be. Picking up the discarded cloth beside the throne, Ahaesarus made his way back to Ashhur’s side and resumed wetting the god’s scalding flesh. All the while Azariah stood there in silence. Ahaesarus realized how silly it was that he should berate Azariah for attempting to heal Ashhur while he himself sat there and bathed him for hours on end. At least Azariah was attempting to be proactive.

“Why aren’t you out on the wall with your brother?” Ahaesarus asked as the quiet stretched on. “You have never struck me as one to remain still and away from a conflict.”

The Warden’s shoulders slumped. “You have me confused with someone else,” he replied, and he sounded so tired, so broken down. “Before our world ended, I was a quiet man. I loved books and working with wood; adventure was something that belonged to the bards who traveled and sang their tales.”

Ahaesarus watched steam rise from his god’s chest, the moisture from the cloth evaporating almost as soon as it touched him. “What changed?”

“Ashhur and the goddess saved us,” Azariah said with a shrug. “We witnessed the end of our world and the birth of a new one. It seemed a chance to become someone new as well. My older brother was always the brave one, so why not behave as he did?”

Azariah reached out and touched his hand, and Ahaesarus released the wet cloth. The smaller Warden took over bathing the god, seeming to find catharsis in the simple act.

“The young man. Roland Norsman. You miss him.”

“I do. And it makes it worse that I killed him.”

Ahaesarus cocked his head and stared at him, confused. Azariah let out a bitter laugh, not taking his eyes off his god.

“Jacob Eveningstar was my friend. At least, I always thought he was. I had a chance to kill him, Ahaesarus. At the Wooden Bridge, before we crossed, we were attacked by a group of soldiers from Neldar. We all would have perished had I not sensed Ashhur’s wolf-children lingering nearby and called them to our defense. During the skirmish, I struck Jacob with a maul. He was unconscious on the ground before me, and I could have ended his life right there, but I did not. Even though he swore Jacob Eveningstar was dead, even though he had tried to murder Roland, I hesitated. I couldn’t kill him. Instead, I fled, taking Roland with me. That’s when the arrow pierced his back. If I’d been stronger, if I’d done what needed to be done. . ”

Ahaesarus shook his head. “Life ends, it always has and always will. Think of how much of our own brethren we have lost since Karak began the march west.”

“You don’t have to tell me that, Ahaesarus. They died by my side. Just as Roland and Brienna did while I was unable to help. I am tired of it. I want to be helpful.”

“You need to be strong,” said Ahaesarus, taking hold of his arm. “We’re needed, each and every one of us. Every morning I walk that wall and try to keep spirits high, even as death looms in the valley below. You have a gift, Azariah, an understanding of humankind surpassing mine. You know what to say, how to say it. Your presence would be much better served out there with the fighting men than in here wallowing over your loss and teaching humans religious rite. Let Daniel Nefram perform those duties. When Karak’s Army finishes their siege weapons, we will need all hands to help hold them off, especially if our god remains. . indisposed.”

Azariah shook his head. “No. Absolutely not. I have lost my taste for violence, if I ever had it in the first place. This world needs healers as much as it needs warriors, perhaps even more so.” His eyes glanced back down at his prone god. “I will indeed be out there with the warriors when Karak comes at us again, but I will honor Ashhur by saving lives rather than taking them. Now excuse me; I have water to purify.”

With that, the short Warden tossed the cloth back into the bucket, turned, and walked away. His flowing white clothing billowed behind him like a ghost’s tail. Ahaesarus wanted to call out for him to stop, but held his tongue. He is right, he thought, gazing at Ashhur. Perhaps he is the most right of any of us.

Yet despite it all, he could not shake the doubt that clung to his chest, gnawing.