Heresy: The Book of Mammon

Chapter 12

Chapter 12



The barracks was a particularly dreary place, but it was their home. Valimaar scanned the silent occupants of the great room. Men lay sleeping in their beds. The beds were their only worldly possession. It was a shame, but a soldier's life didn't require much. Dust floated about the room and settled on pale, cracked walls.

Splintered wood chilled his feet as he sat at the single table that stood in the center of the room. A single candle burned through the fading sunlight. His thoughts ever returned to the gateway. It couldn't be helped. The only choice he had, was to destroy it. It posed far too much a danger to Lokken for it to be left alone.

Still, his options were limited. Destroying the Lokken gateway would keep them safe for a time, but the Ecclesian gateway was the true danger. There was not telling how many places it could take the Daemons, and there could very well be multiple gates in any city. He could not allow such a risk to be left unnoticed.

Even if he were to make it to the other side, what then could he destroy the gate with? A bomb would surely be effective, but in the heart of the enemy? Stealth was key to his survival, though he doubted that he would live. Perhaps the wards that Father Papal mentioned could serve some use, but he knew little of the magics of the old world. He needed something, anything.

What would he do after the gate was destroyed? Papal told him it was in the Ecclesian catacombs, which was very much an unwelcoming place. Somehow he would have to slip through unnoticed by all, but that was next to impossible. He was a known man, a hunted man, and Ecclesia had eyes and ears in all corners of the earth - above and below.

The only option was the sewers. Though it was less than a desirable approach, it was the only option he had. The sewers were long forgotten, and were little more than a haven for the criminals of the city. Surely he could escape if he made it that far. He could very well exit to the mouth of the great river Nimlode and travel south, through the wilderness. It was a risky plan at best, but it was a plan.

The Exarch entered the room through the door at the far wall. Men stirred in their beds as he walked. Valimaar was relieved to see that he'd recovered from his poisoning. To what he could see, its effects had completely warn off.

Judaes sat at the table across from him and shifted his weapons that hung at his side. "I'm told you wanted to speak with me."

Valimaar nodded. "We have a serious problem."

The Exarch smirked. "When do we not have a problem?"

"There is a gateway in Ecclesia, it connects to another here in Lokken. It is how the Apostolic, and Papal came here unchallenged."

Judaes shifted in his chair. A scowl stabbed across his face as he stared at Valimaar. Why would he believe him? He scarcely believed it himself. "A gateway?"

"It is a portal between the world of the living and the world of the dead. I'm told that it is how they travel."

The Exarch nodded. "What does that mean for the safety of this city?"

"It certainly does not help it," Valimaar replied. "They need to be destroyed."

"And you wish to do this yourself?"

Valimaar turned his gaze to the dancing firelight of the candle. "Someone has to."

"And why do you volunteer for this?"

"Who else would be willing to go?"

The Exarch sighed and fidgeted with his weapons. "Perhaps you should take Rialev and Melchiah with you."

"No. That will not do, I prefer to go alone."

"Why is that?"

Valimaar didn't want to go at all, but he had little choice. Who else would do such a thing? It was border on suicide. But, if all else, if he succeded, the safety of the world would be ensured for at least a little longer.

"My soul is already forfeit, Judaes. You know this; you all do. The Daemons have yet to awaken within the rest of you. You still have a chance to redeem your spirits. If you wish to aid me, have them destroy the gate once I step through."

The Exarch looked down and closed his eyes. "That is a noble statement, Valimaar."

Valimaar nodded.

"If we destroy the gate from this side, how do you intend to return?"

"I don't think I will, but if there's a chance, I can go through the sewers and make it south through the wilderness."

"Very well. I'll have Rialev and Melchiah accompany you to the gate. I'll tell them to bring bombs."

Valimaar looked up at him. "Thank you."

"Is that all?"

"I believe that the General has betrayed Lokken."

The Exarch's eyes shot up.

"Papal told me of wards that are placed at the gateway. They maintain the safety of this city, and do not allow Daemons to pass through to us. They were disabled."

"What makes you think that the General had something to do with it?"

Valimaar leaned in. "Remember back when we first came here. He was the one so willing to show us the Sacrament. He was the one that had the knowledge of Gordon's research. He knew of all these ancient mechanisms and secrets. Who else would it be."

The Exarch nodded. "It seems we still can't trust anyone."

Valimaar scanned the sleeping men.

"I'll keep a close eye on him."

"Kill him if he tries anything suspicious."

"I promise you, that I'll do it personally."

***************
Lady Elaine shuffled about the carpeted floor of the circular room. Beneath her feet, its crimson fibers danced as she walked as though she were stepping on a sea of fires. She paced back and forth and her robes swished as she stepped.

Valimaar couldn’t offer her any comfort, for there was little he could say. He’d told her his intentions, and that was enough to upset her.

She sniffled as she continued moving about the room. He could tell she was avoiding eye contact as her eyes scanned pictures, and trinkets – anything that wasn’t him. He knew she would disagree with him, she always had. Most of the time, it worked out in some way or another, but this was different. He had no choice.

“I don’t trust him. What if he’s lying?” Her voice shook as it escaped her soft lips. A stream of tears shined in the dim light of the setting sun that burst through the windows above her bed.

Valimaar shook his head. “My lady, If it is true, then the gate must be destroyed. If he’s lying we will go there, and there will be no gate, and we will have lost nothing. Surely, he had to have gotten here by some unnatural device, or we would have seen him and the Apostolic.”

“If you go, then I’m going with you.”

He knew she would insist. He hoped that she wouldn’t but he knew her too well. She always insisted. “I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

She stomped her foot onto the carpet, and loose fibers carried themselves into the air from the shock. Her hands rested on her hips, and her fiery eyes glared at him as she turned.“You do not command me, Valimaar! I don’t care about my safety, I care about yours.”

“I’ve been told that only Daemons my travel through the gate. Since you are not a Daemon, I’m afraid you cannot go.” He shifted his eyes from her. He hated seeing her cry, more than anything else. Why couldn’t he be a proper man, in a proper world? Any other life would have suited him just fine. Why here? Why him? “The gate is dangerous. Once I pass through, Rialev and Melchiah will destroy it.”

Her steps were slow and labored as she walked towards him. Tears rolled down her soft cheeks, and she sniffled as she looked at him. She placed her arms around his torso, and embraced him. “Why do you have to do this? Why do you have to prove yourself?”

He had always thought of those questions. His purpose in this world was forever obscure to him, but something within him had always burned hot. It drove him. It commanded him. Who was he proving himself to? No. He wasn’t proving himself at all. He was protecting the only thing he cared for – her.

“My lady, I’m a cursed man. I’ve lived a life of murder and deceit for a very long time. My punishment is the Daemon that now dwells within my spirit.” His arms wrapped around her, and he stroked her red hair. “If anything else, I owe this world at least some part of me. I’ve fought for a long time, on the wrong side, I will not allow myself death, until I’ve been redeemed.”

She shook her head, and fought back the sobs as her blue eyes met his. “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, or what you think you’ve done. Nobody gives a damn!”

It was strange hearing such things come from her.

“Don’t you understand? It only matters what you do now. There is no special treatment for how long you’ve been fighting; only how hard. I don’t care what you think you are. I only care for what I know you to be, and you’re not a killer or a Daemon, but a good man… a protector.”

The words stabbed him in his heart like the dagger of an assassin. It was painful to hear it all, for her opinion was the only one that ever mattered to him. He cared little for what people thought of him, except her. She was the only thing that mattered. He had to protect her.

“If I am a protector, than I must go.”

Lady Elaine shook her head, and kissed him. “Then come back to me.” Her voice trailed to a whisper and she rested her head upon his shoulder.

“I’ll try…”

“Stay with me tonight. Give me this one thing.”

Valimaar nodded, and he felt her hand grip his. Her other slid down his abdomen, and her fingers worked his belt buckle. This would be his last night with her.