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What sort of monster have I become?
But these questions don’t matter. Not when I’m being marched to my death.
“Get a move on, witch,” a priestess snarls. She shoves me forth. The force is great enough for me to almost collide with the priestesses escorting Natharius ahead.
The demon’s gaze sweeps over the crowd as they hurl rotten food at him. With his poor temper, I expect him to react more volatility and, at the very least, offer the people of Esterra one of his finest scowls, but his expression looks bored. Maybe this isn’t the first time townspeople have thrown rotten vegetables and jeered at him, or maybe he’s only thinking of what is to come.
My demise. His freedom.
The priestesses lead us farther into the city. With every corner we turn, my once magnificent magi robes become more sullied. A mockery of the mage I am. Maybe this is what I deserve for my sins. For enabling Nolderan’s destruction by handing the city to Arluin on a silver platter. For dishonoring Nolderan’s memory by breaking the Arcanium’s teachings and wielding dark magic to summon a Void Prince.
Our destination is the city’s square. Many are crowded here, eagerly awaiting our arrival. The townsfolk who watched us pass on the streets trail behind us and spill into the city’s square. At the center stands a large stone platform with many steps leading up to it. Priestesses are gathered at the base of the platform, forming an impenetrable ring around it.
The masses part way at the sight of the High Priestess, and their heads bow so deeply it’s as if she’s the incarnate of the Mother Goddess herself.
With each step we take toward the platform, my insides knot a little more. The High Priestess will execute me up there. How will she choose to end me? Will she smite me down with her golden flames?
My mind flashes back to the night Father executed Heston Harstall. Stone chains bound him to the street, preventing his escape. Flames licked the flesh from his bone, and his screams pierced through the night.
Will I die like him? To these people, am I as monstrous as him?
The priestesses push me up the platform. The steps sway. I stumble. A shove from behind keeps me moving.
When we’re on the platform, the priestesses separate Natharius and me, positioning us at either end. A priestess unbinds the cloth from my mouth. I wish she hadn’t. Now the entire city will hear my screams as the High Priestess’s magic consumes me. As it ends me.
Ahelin raises her hands. “Alsila,” she cries. The crowd falls silent, spellbound as they watch her. Golden light blooms in her hands, taking the form of chains. They shoot across to Natharius and me, wrapping around our legs and fixing us in place. I struggle against them, desperately try to kick my legs free, but the chains don’t budge. Even if they did, there would be no escape. The platform is surrounded by hundreds of priestesses, all dressed in their silken robes. I wouldn’t manage even a step into the city’s square. Satisfied that the High Priestess’s chains will secure me in place, the priestesses holding me draw away. Then only Ahelin, Natharius, and I are left on the platform.
Natharius’s expression is one of disinterest, not fear. For him, execution means returning to the Abyss, back to where he belongs. For me, execution means death.
And eternal torture.
I squeeze my eyes shut and will myself not to cry in front of all these people. It’s all I can do not to picture Father’s face. Eliya’s. And the face of the man I wish nothing more than to obliterate from this world.
Today I will die. Never will I free Father’s soul. Never will I bring Arluin to justice.
My legs quake beneath Ahelin’s chains. If they weren’t there, I’m sure I’d fall to the platform in ultimate defeat. All I can hear is the pounding of my heart and the frantic gasping of my breath. The High Priestess’s words are almost inaudible.
“Today we gather in the Mother’s Light to purge our city of the evil which plagues our streets!” Her voice rings through the square and echoes off the rooftops beyond.
The crowd is silent as she speaks, listening intently to the revered High Priestess. No one questions the fact that neither Natharius or I received a trial. To the citizens of Esterra City, the High Priestess’s word is the law of heaven.
“These vile creatures harmed my fellow sisters, loyal servants of the Mother.”
Nausea washes over me. I could try to argue with her words, that I didn’twantto hurt anyone. That I did only what was necessary to escape, to bring about Arluin’s end and save the world from his darkness. But I’ve already tried to convince Yadira with the same argument and received only her scorn. If she wouldn’t listen to me, why would any of these strangers in the crowd below listen?
“In order to remain in our plane of existence, a demon must be tethered to a mortal soul.” The High Priestess gestures to me. “It is to this witch the abomination is bound—”
“I’ve seen some abominations in the Abyss,” Natharius says, “and I can assure you they aren’t half as pretty as me.”
“Silence!” the High Priestess roars. “Shadela!”Light magic springs from her fingers. At first, I fear she intends to execute Natharius on the spot. But I’m wrong. The light magic stretches into a golden ribbon and wraps around Natharius’s mouth.
Though the Void Prince hurls what is undoubtedly all manner of threats and curses at the High Priestess, his words are indecipherable thanks to the golden ribbon around his mouth. Until now, he hadn’t looked too bothered about his imminent execution—if anything, he’d looked excited—but now he looks incredibly vexed. The last time I remember seeing him this furious was when I first summoned him in the vaults beneath the Arcanium.
To say his pride has been injured would be an understatement.
Fire burns in his crimson eyes. If his power wasn’t cut off by the light imbued manacles around his wrists, he would unleash the most wicked magic he knows upon the High Priestess.
With Natharius silent, the High Priestess turns to the crowd once more. “Before you stands a mage who misused her power to summon a vile creature from the Abyss. Purging her from this world will also send this creature of darkness back to whence it came.”
