Chapter 57

Irrational fear gripped the trio as they opened the heavy bronze doors to the altar room. The heavy air inside the sacred space left Aurelia devoid of hope and warmth. Zinjo grimaced and held the partisan at the ready. Gael held his fists up, ready to brawl at a moment's notice. Sick purplish flames lit the multitude of grotesque statues and carvings.

"This place perverts all that is good," Zinjo growled nervously and jumped at a twig snap caused by his foot.

"Something wrong, my love?" Aurelia wore a knowing smile.

"I hate how this place makes me feel," Zinjo admitted, "It makes the fur wilt and makes the skin crawl. This place should not be." He stared at a twisted mosaic of a grotesque creature of darkness. It loomed above the town with purple eyes and clutched the townsfolk with shadowy hands.

"You'll get no argument out of me, " Gael twirled around at the sound of a cricket chirp. The Al' Miraj took the ground with its horn bathed in silvery light. "Our divine friend wants a piece of the action...where did it go?"

"I wonder if it does what it wants or at the bidding of others," Aurelia asked the question out loud to alleviate the despair. It ripped at her mind and prevented hope from taking root.

Gael and Zinjo held their silence. Aurelia stayed close to her lover and glanced at the furniture. Carved in the blackened wood were moths consuming flesh. A twisted offering immortalized in stone.

The altar took the shape of blackwood hands and glassy stone in the center. No jeweler, alive or dead, could match the cut and polish the stone possessed.

Aurelia swore she saw a tiny purple spark on the surface of the hematite. Each step saw the light grow brighter and brighter. Sick mauve light crept along the walls and pews and added to the horror of the macabre display.

"I'm not so bad once you get to know me," a disembodied voice echoed around the chamber. The trio stood back to back and carefully stepped toward the jewel.

A tendril of shadow lashed onto a gnarled finger, and a mass of dark matter writhed and dripped over the blackened hands. A feminine body rose from the pool of black. "Such pretty guests, far prettier than the last ones who came through here."

They held positions just in front of the twisted shrine and didn't dare to take another step. The Shadowy figure seemed pleased with their decision. The shadow's face grew more formed and dangerously beautiful. Scantily clad garb hung loosely on the perfectly formed body, and long golden spun hair captured the eye. "Before we move on to business, there are certain niceties to be observed. I am Carmen, by the way."

Gael stepped forward, "Aren't you an evil being? I thought you didn't do nice?" The sailor crossed his arms. "You are nothing more than another monster wreaking havoc on the world."

A tendril of shadow wrapped around Gael's leg. and lifted him off the ground, "Some of us understand our place in the world while others struggle to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Isn't that right, Gael?"

"You don't know a damn thing about me, you bitch," Gael shouted as the tendril waved him back and forth.

Aurelia attempted to slash at the tendril, but a wall of twisted darkness blocked her path, "I said we have to observe certain niceties and observe them we will." The tendril lightly slammed Gael into a stone column. "Now let's talk about who Gael...," Carmen stopped dead in her tracks, "I see you brought insurance."

The shadowy tendrils shrank from the horns light and slunk back to their mistress. A scream and a thump later, Gael rubbed his head and shook his fist at Carmen, "What did I ever do to you?"

"Nothing, I chose you because you have the most to hide. You fear the past will find and convict you for a crime you didn't commit. The sin belonged to your mother, who took the coward's way out. I wonder what will happen when the past does catch up with you?"

Aurelia poked Zinjo in the ribs, "Look at the shock on Gael's face. He didn't know any of this until now," she whispered.

"Carmen is more powerful than we imagined. It doesn't surprise me she would possess information we do not. Such beings always have one eye on the world and one eye on themselves," Zinjo tapped the butt of his partisan on the ground.

"The alley cat speaks the truth. I possess information on you all. Your shadows tell me secrets at night. Oh, the juicy tidbits they bring," She slid from the altar and hugged zinjo from behind, "Speaking of alley cats, Zinjo's parents tried to discourage him from following the heart's call."

"Is this true?" Aurelia tried to reach Zinjo, but tendrils of shadow held her feet to the stone. Another rendered the parasol blade inert.

"Tell her, Zinjo. Tell Aurelia your parents cursed her name every time you spoke it. You keep telling her she will be welcome in Kianzangi, but will she?" Carmen caressed Zinjo's chest.

"The dark matter speaks true," Zinjo hung his head in shame. "I wanted to tell you, but then we started to chase Kivuli, and it just kept becoming tomorrow's problem."

Carmen grinned wickedly and slowly drifted toward Aurelia, "The dark princess, how she loves that name. Should we tell him your dirty little secret?"

"Do your worst," Aurelia's bravery was like an overloaded camel. A straw could easily break its back. Her body trembled, and the deep-seated sorrow found its way to the surface of her mind.

"Lonely Aurelia, the strange one, the bookworm. How many friends did you have growing up?" Carmen's glowing eyes bore into Aurelia's, and the memories of childhood flooded her consciousness. The ache of loneliness owned her for the moment. "Oh, that's right, you had zero, little Lady Benevolence, and her cohorts had you dressed in black long before the hearts call."

The emotional pain rocked the dark princess to her core, and all she could think about how horrible those days were. The emptiness of her life crippled her heart. The Al Miraj watched her from the ground with soulful eyes. The horn touched her leg. Memories of the people she had met on their journey flashed across her mind.

"Tell your precious Zinjo about the ball. You know, the one after the hearts call failed the first time..."

"Shut up, you spiteful shrew. Do your words wound me? Yes, they do. I am no longer Aurelia, the god scorned, or The girl who cried herself to sleep for a month after the spell failed. The vise-like grip of the tendrils loosened, and Aurelia smiled, "My past pains are a part of me, and I wouldn't be who I am today without them."

A satisfied smirk appeared on Carmen's face, "Shall we move onto more civilized matters like business?