“I just took control of the Will in the door. Let’s get inside. Slowly.” I gently push the door open, just enough for her to slip in ahead of me, and then follow.
The boom of my hurried shutting of the door cuts off Diago’s growls. I stare for a moment at the steel, frowning. Relinquish control of the Will in it. “Hereallydoesn’t like people imbuing.”
“Lucky he’s out there, then.” Aequa’s eyes turn black as she examines the interior. I’ve told her about this place.
“Lucky,” I agree grimly, self-imbuing as well. This isn’t somewhere to take chances.
We head toward the green-lit hole in the floor.
“IN AN … ATTEMPT TO … MAKE OURSELVES GOD, WE …made god?”
Aequa translates quietly as we finally reach the archway, lit emerald by the pulsing scrawl on the walls of the underground passageway that we’ve been travelling for the last ten minutes. Uncertain. Surprisingly close, given that Vetusian has never been a strength of hers.
“It’s a ‘they.’ ‘In trying to become God, they created Him.’” She gives me a displeased look. I throw up my hands. “I think.”
“What does it mean?”
“Nothing good.”
“Creepy.”
“Just wait a few seconds.” I steel myself, and continue beneath it.
The hall is no different to the last time I was here. It stretches back at least a few hundred feet, cavernous roof almost lost to darkness. Illuminated by the green emanating from the hundreds of cavities cut into the wall.
Each one containing a single, naked corpse speared through with an obsidian blade.
The white, pulsing representations of Solivagus have disappeared. And there’s no sound, no whispering.
I still force myself through a wall of dread as I step inside.
“This is … unpleasant.” Aequa knows exactly what happened to me last time; I’ve explained this area in very specific detail. Her voice is more a mixture of horror and awe than fear, though, as she leaves my side and wanders closer to the nearest silhouettes.
“That’s one way to put it.” I watch her anxiously. “You know those are dead bodies, right?”
“You mentioned that.”
“And that they woke up?”
“And then you ran away. I remember.” She keeps a cautious distance. “But they didn’t attack you like the ones on the other side of the island, did they? And they must be here to do more than just scare you.”
“Obviously.” I glower. Force a little more backbone into my stance. Focus. Thereissomething different in the room this time.
I can sense Will pulsing within each and every body.
Aequa moves farther along the line. Pauses. “I recognise this one.”
“What?”
“I know him. Definitely. Not sure from where, though,” she says uneasily.
I frown. Join her. At first I have the same reaction as Aequa: the swarthy man’s features feel familiar, but I cannot place them.
Then it clicks. I picture him with horn-rimmed glasses.Vek.
“He was helping Veridius, last time I was here.” I stare in horror. Try not to focus on the obsidian jutting from his chest. “I think his name was Marcus. Eidhin knew him, too.”
We both shuffle back, away from the body. Aequa’s not looking quite so relaxed anymore.
