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“Which were you?” Perhaps that isn’t a good question to ask, and Elias doesn’t answer directly.
“There were those of us who enjoyed the attention and the power. For a number, it became a point of pride and, eventually, a matter of outright war to have the largest following, the most wealth and sacrifices. It was meaningless in our plane, but such things have a way of getting out of hand.
“Some did not like how…popularI was.” His expression twists at the irony, how strange yet fitting such a modern word is for the situation. “I was targeted for it.”
“Yeah,” I agree softly. I cannot fathom what it must be like in those specific circumstances, but people tearing down others because they are jealous of someone’s success or power? That I have seen far too often.ThatI accept without question.
“The attacks were relentless. On myself, on my followers. Petty, pathetic—” He cuts himself off. I’ve never heard such vitriol in his voice before. Even knowing it is not at all directed at me, it sends ice through my veins.
“Such suffering caused, so needlessly. In the end, a number of those against me came to wage war in person, and I was cast from my plane.”
“That is how you got stuck here?”
“Almost. There is yet more to the story.” His eyes flicker for a moment, and this time, it does not appear to be rage on his face so much as sorrow. “The initial result was that I was placed in the ageless stasis of which I spoke earlier. I suppose I ought to be thankful I did not have any conscious awareness remaining to experience those thousands of years in purgatory.”
“But you got out,” I conclude.
Elias is silent for a very long time.
“You remind me of her,” he says at last, and I am certain now that is regret in his voice.
“Who?” I ask.
He rolls his shoulders and regathers himself. “Once I was cast out, my enemies, of course, attempted to eliminate all traces of me. They massacred my followers and anyone who had known me, destroyed all evidence, and otherwise did all they could to erase my name from history. They succeeded, for most of the part. Until some time ago when the tiniest fragment of an artifact was discovered. A mirror that some followers had once used for scrying and communicating with me. She was the one who found it. She… listened to me. It was, you understand, only an echo of the past, the slimmest fraction of my power reflected in that shard, but it was enough to…”
Another pause while Elias considers his words. “The way I was back then, I was charming, charismatic. I gained the loyalty of those I had by offering them anything they desired.”
The conversation matter is serious, but nonetheless, my lips quirk into a wry grin. “And you’re not still all that?”
“What I gave always had a cost.” Elias shakes his head. “Regardless, whatever she saw of me in that remnant, it was enough for me to sink my claws into her. She became fixated on summoning me and setting me free. As her attention fed me, I slowly stirred, and I guided her in some small part.”
He taps the steering wheel, keeping his voice even by sheer force of will. “I was furious. I wanted to be free. I wantedrevenge. I did not care what happened to anyone else in the process.”
There are goose bumps on my arms. Elias and Caelan seem so human. They’re kind to me, a little messed up, but not terrible people. Sometimes I forget just what they are and the sort of things they must have gone through—the sort of things they’ve done.
“She didn’t survive,” he says bluntly and abruptly.
I don’t respond. What could anyone possibly say to that?
“There was a host form that I was to possess temporarily while I regained my strength. A… sacrifice. It did not work out as planned. Her ritual was interrupted. She had garnered quite the following for me in a short time, which was flattering, but it had also earned her enemies. Witch, they called her. Cultist, consort of demons. Pick your flavor of poison.”
“Consort of demons,” I repeat.Oh, I am more than guilty of that one too.
“Regardless, those locals who remembered the old powers and superstitions did not take kindly to her. By the end of the infraction, half the town had burned. People died. I ended up stuck in the body I was supposed to possess as a temporary vessel. It was, as Caelan might put it, a bit of a shit show.”
“And the one who summoned you? She died too?”
“Mortally wounded and damaged to the core from the strain of the summoning. Her very soul was shattered. She did not last long.”
“Oh.” I glance out at the road for a long moment, watching the scenery blur past. “I’m sorry.”
The silence remains heavy.
Elias eventually sighs. “I did not think anything of it at the time. However, since becoming this strange, amalgamated thing with human emotions, I have come to regret her fate. I suppose my one solace is that I was there in the end. She looked upon my face as she died.”
“People really would do anything for you, huh?” I note quietly. I’m not sure why the observation occurred to me.
But Elias nods as if this is a perfectly reasonable thing to say. “I did have that effect. For better or worse.” Somber, he adds, “Usually worse.”
