Chapter 23
Mother of Mercy
Baal-Gebal, Kingdom of Hannibal
It was the dead of night and no visitors were expected in the House of Eshmun-Shadrafa. However, the slow, plodding steps echoed throughout the atrium, drawing out a single novice. Her robes had been thrown on in haste and so she looked slightly disheveled as she went to meet the unexpected guests.
"I am sorry, but the hour is late," she said. "Unless it is a matter of life and death, I must ask you to leave and come back again in the morning."
The five figures did not turn back, though. They continued their slow advance. The way they walked was not quite natural. It was too dark to see them well, but there was a stench about them that turned the stomach.
With the tension in her voice rising, the novice said, "I... I really must insist that you leave."
The figure in the lead came closer still. His head was twisted somewhat unnaturally and as he drew closer, the novice saw his empty, misted-over eyes. The realization dawned on her too late.
She did not feel any pain when the dagger plunged into her heart. The strength left her limbs almost immediately, but the dark figure made no effort to support her weight, leaving her to crumple unceremoniously on the floor. And then she appeared.
The elder healer-priestess had not risen with the novice's haste. Her robes were well-ordered and she showed not the slightest hint of fear or unease at the sight before her.
She held up her right arm, lined with black veins, and said, "Looking for this?"
The figure cocked its already twisted head, sniffing at the air like a beast.
The priestess closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. As the breath left her lungs, the black veins faded and were gone.
"I have been expecting you," she said. "Or else I would not have held on to your 'gift' for so long. You can hear me, I trust. That is why you have sent out these puppets, to be your eyes and your ears, yes?"
The lead figure twitched slightly. It was not much of an answer. The priestess looked down at the dead novice, then back to the lead figure.
"You know, you may not care about your puppets, but some of us do have our favorites. I liked that girl."
The novice stirred and slowly she rose, only now she had the same misted-over eyes as the figure that killed her and the fatal wound festered black. When the priestess saw this, she shook her head.
"You truly are a greedy bastard, you know that? First you try to take the Child for yourself and now this act of petty spite. Do you think the others will remain silent if they learn of your treachery? We may all be at each other's throats, but if one steps too far out of line, do you not think the others will band against him? Arrogant child..."
The priestess raised her hand and there was a flash of light, then all six figures—including the newly killed novice—burst into brilliant white flames. The priestess ignored the others, but she went to the novice and reached into the flames, touching the wound to her heart. Once again the black veins spread to her hand, but as they did, the flames were extinguished.
The novice's body was horrifically burned, scarcely recognizable as human. The priestess lifted up the novice's body and carried it to the impluvium. She lowered the body into the water and held it down as the power began to flow out of her. The body glowed and the water became as a pool of light. When the light faded, the novice burst out of the water gasping or air. The priestess steadied her until the initial panic and confusion passed.
The novice came to her senses fairly quickly. Seeing the priestess, she asked, somewhat bewilderedly, "Mother Marina?"
"You picked a strange hour to go for a swim, Adonia," Marina replied with a smile.
"Where are my clothes?"
"You do not normally wear clothes to go bathing, do you?"
Adonia touched her now bald head and asked, "What happened to my hair?"
"It will grow back," Marina said. "Now, come, get up out of there and get dressed." She looked over to the piles of ash where the intruders once stood. "You need to do some cleaning before you can go back to sleep."
Adonia looked down at herself and saw the purplish scar over her heart.
"Where did this come from, Mother Marina? It looks like the mark that was left after you healed that child the other day."
"Consider it a reminder," Marina said.
"A reminder of what?"
"A reminder of how unpleasant it can be to receive guests at late hours."