PREFACE: Part 1 of this third installment was 6400 words and barely fit in a post. Part 2 ended up at 7800 words! So I had to split it again. I finished writing the story, though, so the good news is: I’ll release the last part next week.
XVI.
I sat outside the villa, staring at the charred trees. They reminded me of the home I’d lost to the fire not so long ago. Maximus was lucky. The flames had come very close to his house. But his was some distance away from the edge of the forest, which had spared him the anguish of losing everything he owned.
Felius and Rullus had gone back to the city to gather more men, leaving me alone with my thoughts. They were not pleasant company. Perhaps I should have gone with them. A censor has more power than simple Vigilēs. I had given them a signed letter of authorization, but it was not the same thing. Malius had insisted I stay with him, however, as he planned for us to leave before the others returned.
“Isn’t that risky?” had asked Rullus.
The reluctant Cultist had bobbed his head. “Anything we do will be risky. But we can’t be charging in with an army of Vigilēs. That will not get you the book. More likely, they would destroy it before you’d even set foot in their lair.”
“Why haven’t they done so already?” I’d asked.
He’d shifted in his seat. “I don’t know. I’ve been trying to stay away. All I know is we need to go inside before you lot arrive. You have to realize they’ll see you coming far ahead.”
“They’ll flee!”
Malius had bobbed his head again. “That is likely. But you’ll catch most, I’m sure.”
So, of course, I had stayed behind. And now all I could do was wait. We couldn’t go too early or we’d be waiting there, buried deep in a nest of vipers. And the longer we were there, the greater the chance they’d unmask us. It was all a matter of timing. Something Malius seemed to know a lot about.
As I sat there, my thoughts wandered back to that night when I’d uncovered the underground chambers beneath the market house, and the book hidden within. I often thought of the secrets it held—and of the man who had written them down.
Thoho.
What a strange name. It sounded nothing like any I had ever heard before. This, in itself, felt significant. Was it even a real name? It couldn’t be. Why would anyone write a book like that? It was such a horrid admission of guilt. Surely, the author must have used a fake name in case anyone ever found his writing. But then why even sign it at all?
As I grappled with those thoughts, I caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of my eye. I turned my head and saw a distant shape moving through the trees.
Could it be Malius? No, this man—I thought it was a man—was taller and had a more confident gait. It couldn’t be one of Maximus’ servants either. Were the Vigilēs back already? No, this was just one man, where were the others? Besides, they couldn’t have gathered so many so quickly.
I jumped to my feet and hurried toward the trees.
“Hey!” I called out. “Who goes there?”
The man stopped and turned a startled expression toward me.
I was close enough now to see his clothing, and that gave me pause. He wore tight-fitting dark blue trousers made from unknown material. Some sort of vest covered the top part of his body; and while it seemed like linen, it was white and thin and had buttons running along the middle, from neck to waist. None of this looked anything like the traditional Satlanean one-piece tunic. The man himself had blue eyes, a square jaw, and a neatly trimmed beard as red as his hair—a tint never seen among my people.
A leather bag hung from his shoulder.
“Who are you?” I asked, puzzled.
He couldn’t be Drasean, I knew that much. Perhaps was he from one of those isolated tribes that lived in the mountains.
“Ah.” He rubbed his neck and frowned. “I...” He let out a flow of gibberish at this point before shaking his head and straightening. “You can call me Tony.”
I stared at him.
Though I transcribe his words here in proper language for ease of reading, his sentences were broken and sounded funny. His accent was thick, like nothing I’d heard before. He talked slowly, as if trying to find his words.
“I am Censor Silius,” I told him. “Tell me where you come from and what you are doing here.”
The man stared at me for a long moment and I wondered if he’d understood a single word I’d said.
“You are Caius Silius?”
I frowned. “You know me?”
“No,” he said. “Not exactly. I think I found your house out there.” He pointed over his shoulder. “Or what’s left of it, anyway.”
I realized he was studying me from head to toe—as was I him—and it made me uncomfortable.
“Where do you come from?” I asked again.
He hesitated as he looked around, then pointed toward my right.
“There’s a rock formation a few miles down that way, with shrub all around it that hides an opening in the ground. That’s how I came through.”
I had many times walked past the place he spoke of, though I knew nothing of the opening.
“Are you telling me you live in underground tunnels?”
“No, no.” He shook his head and waved toward the Glow above our heads. “I come from beyond.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it, staring at the stranger. It was difficult to process the meaning behind his words. Though I was tempted to question him further, even to contest his claims, I understood well enough what he meant and it challenged everything I believed in. I was not ready for this. I was not ready to hear the truths he had to tell.
Were they truths, though? Or was it some elaborate scheme? Perhaps another of Quintillus’ convoluted attempts to discredit us?
“How did you get here?” was all I managed to say.
“Well...” He rubbed the back of his neck—a mundane gesture I found all the more disquieting coming from a being such as he. “I don’t know how else to tell you.” He gestured in the same direction again. “There’s a passage there, behind the opening, that goes all the way through. It’s very well hidden on the other side, too. I would never have found it had I not seen someone slip in. Talk about being at the right place at the right time. I’d been trying to understand where these signals—”
“Wait. What did you just say?”
The stranger looked confused.
“I said I was trying to understand—”
“Not that! The man. Tell me about him.”
If someone knew the way in and out of Satlanea—assuming such a way truly existed—it could only mean one thing...
“Oh. Well, I couldn’t say much. I saw him from a great distance as...” He paused and pursed his lips. “I did not want to spook him, so I never got too close. All I can say is he wore a black leather outfit that covered his entire body, head included. By the time I made my way out of the passage and came through the opening, he was gone.”
Whoever that man was, he had not only known about the entrance but had been quick enough to disappear—which suggested someone with knowledge of Satlanea... and of the outside world. Though my mind still reeled at the thought, I kept thinking back to the hidden book and the man who had written it.
Thoho.
Could that be who the stranger had seen and followed?
“Can you take me to this opening?”
Another hesitation, then a nod.
“Sure. Come, it’s not far.” The fiery-headed man turned and walked off. I followed him. “I’ve been walking in circles around it, increasing the distance progressively so I can always find my way back. Not sure how big this place is. Wouldn’t want to get lost.”
When I did not respond, he fell quiet. I was too stunned by all of the revelations to think clearly and was not prepared for more revelations. Ironic, I know, as I was headed straight toward them. Some might argue I could not have known, but I knew. Or guessed. I rationalized that I only wanted to see the opening, so I would know where it was and could find it again at a later time, when I’d be more willing to handle the truth. I was only fooling myself.
We stood before the rock formation and I stared at the gap in the rocks where the stranger had pulled aside the shrub. I could sense his unease as he waited in silence.
“I need to see where this goes,” I said as I stepped forward.
The red-haired man grabbed my arm.
“Be careful, man! It’s the ocean out there.”
I stared at him. Was he mocking me?
“There is no ocean,” I said. “It is but a figment of our collective mind. A legend. A myth. A story we tell our children to—”
I halted as I realized the absurdity of my words. There had been no children among us for centuries... perhaps even since our awakening.
Well, that isn’t entirely true, but that is no one’s business but mine.
“There is no ocean,” I repeated.
“Fine. Suit yourself. If you don’t believe me, go take a look. I just hope you know how to swim.”
Of course, I know how to swim! San Sanea is filled with private pools, beautiful lakes, and singing rivers. Did this man take me for a savage?
I pulled away from his grip and walked resolutely toward the opening.
“You might want to strip out—”
I ignored the irritating stranger as I ducked and stepped into the dark tunnel. But his voice still reached me, though it now was muffled by the thick stone wall.
“—of your clothes before you do that!”
The air was damp, and it troubled me. It shouldn’t have been. Not here, in the middle of the land, and so close to the city. The nearest lake was three hours away. And the deeper I went, the worse it got. It made no sense.
I could hear the stranger’s footsteps behind me, but I was too shocked and startled to care.
A few steps further I had to stop as I saw a pile of strange clothes on the ground. Despite the darkness, I could tell they were smooth and glistening. They were wet, too. There were tubes as well, one small enough that one end could fit in my fist; the other much larger. The larger one seemed made of metal.
“Ah. That’s my diving suit,” the stranger said from behind. “Would have been too heavy to carry around. Dropped it off here. It helps with—”
I started walking again, quickening my pace as I sensed something momentous was about to happen—and my heartbeat quickened as well.
“Watch out!” the stranger shouted.
The floor gave under me, and I fell. Water engulfed me. It was freezing, nothing like the warm lakes I was familiar with. The cold seeped into my bones and I shook as I held my breath and moved my arms and legs every which way.
I’m ashamed to admit this, but I panicked. I had lost all sense of direction. Where was up, where was down? Where had I come from?
And as panic gripped me, my movements turned more erratic, and I became convinced I would drown. Here and now. Where no one would ever find me. I would disappear, like so many others had before me. Had this been their fate as well? Had they found this passage and fallen through a hole in the ground, only to drown in this... Ocean? Could this really be an ocean?
Confusion overcame me, and a little part of me resented that my last thoughts could be so wrought with fear and ignorance.
It was silly, of course. I couldn’t die. Not really. But if I was still trapped here when I came back, I would just drown again. And again. And again.
Maybe I should just accept my fate and open my mouth. The sooner it ended, the better...
An arm wrapped itself tightly around my chest, and I felt myself being pulled up. Someone had caught me and was dragging me back to the surface—assuming there was such a thing as a surface in this world of silence and ice-cold water.
Fishes swam casually past me as my rescuer pushed me up, through the hole. I gasped as I pulled myself over the edge and fell to the floor. It was solid, thank Xen!
I was so exhausted I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
XVII.
When my eyes opened, I was staring at the Glow.
I blinked and sat up.
The tunnel was gone, and there were trees all around me.
I was back outside, some distance from the rock formation—I recognized the landscape.
Had I dreamed the entire ordeal?
I looked down at my tunic. The heat from the Glow had helped to dry it, but many parts were still wet.
So it had been real.
The implications were terrifying and made my head spin.
I stayed a long time sitting there, staring at my clothes, still dazed and confused.
Then I got to my feet and slowly made my way back to the villa.
By the time I got there, I was dry. Which was for the better, as I would not have known how to explain what had happened. Nor did I want to. This was dangerous knowledge. I couldn’t tell Maximus—nor anyone else, not even my friend Maxius. The weight of so many secrets was starting to weigh on my shoulders.
When I got back to the house, I went straight to my room and locked myself in, not speaking to anyone.
XVIII.
Later that day, Malius came knocking. It was time to go.
I was still trying to process all that had happened, but I had a job to do. Now was the time for action, not brooding.
“Why did it take so long?” I asked as we got into his motorum.
“I had to reach out to some old friends, make preparations.”
“Preparations?”
“You don’t just walk into the Cult’s lair with an unannounced guest. Besides, there is another issue we have not yet discussed.”
“What is that?”
He looked at me with a frown. “Everyone knows you, eddo.”
“Oh.”
I felt like such an idiot. How could I not have thought of that? They would recognize me as soon as I stepped into their hideout.
“We should have asked one of the Vigilēs to—”
“No. It has to be you.”
“Then how—”
“I have a plan.” Malius leaned over the edge of his seat and grabbed a bag from the back. He pulled a device out and handed it to me.
I looked at the cylindrical object and gaped at the man.
“How did you get this?”
He shrugged. “I don’t just sell weapons, you know. I get all sorts of things in my line of work.”
It was a dissembler. A machine capable of changing an individual’s appearance. Or, rather, it made others see someone else’s face. You could even configure it to show specific features—longer hair, a wider jaw, thinner eyes, a scar here, a pimple there... Very few of these remained. There had been more, once upon a time, but they were fragile things that easily broke down. And, of course, no one knew how to fix them anymore.
“I will introduce you as Brother Quintus,” Malius continued. “We are all brothers and sisters in the Cult and go by our praenomen only.”
He started the engine and the motorum drove off, heading away from the villa and the city.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“The lair is a series of tunnels the Cult dug under Mount Vasira. They’re always digging more. It’s a maze down there.”
Vasira. How odd. I could see the mountain from my old home. The one that had burned in the fire. I pushed the thought away before the pain returned.
As we drove, he told me more about the people we were going to meet and how I should behave to avoid raising any suspicions.
“How did you convince them to let a new person in?” I asked.
He bobbed his head. “It was easier than you might think. They are constantly recruiting new members. The hard part was letting _me_ back in.”
“How do you mean?”
“I’ve been staying away for the last few years. I had to convince them I was still on their side.”
“How did you achieve that?”
He glanced at me. “I told them _you_ showed me the light.”
I almost choked. “Me? How—”
“Look. It’s simple. You’re a fanatic. You have to be. They all are. Just keep saying crazy things and you’ll be fine.”
I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that.
By the time we reached our destination, I knew everything I needed to know about the Cult... But I did not feel any better for it.
XIX.
“It has been a long time since we’ve seen you, Brother Nelius.”
There was reproach in the man’s voice, but Malius ignored it.
“I confess I had doubts, Brother Appius. But Brother Quintus brought me back into the fold.”
The bulky Cultist quirked a brow as he considered me. The dissembler did its job, showing him a brown-haired man with a graying beard and furrowed brows.
“Indeed?”
I’d had time to think about what I’d say, so there was no hesitation in my response.
“Siis is almighty. It is obvious. All other gods bow to him. Even Xen. Satlaneans have been lied to for generations and generations. A purge is required to bring forth the light of truth.”
The man gave me a cold smile.
“Quite so.” He looked back at Malius. “His faith seems more solid than yours.”
Malius bobbed his head. “His passion is infectious.”
Brother Appius snorted. “We’ll have to put your friend through the test, nonetheless. Follow me.”
“Of course.”
We fell into step behind the Cultist as he guided us down a series of tunnels. I was reminded of my recent underwater adventure and shuddered at the thought. Here, at least, the air was dry, with a lingering scent of incense.
I noticed Malius was fidgeting and opened his mouth several times before closing it without saying a word.
“Is Sister Athinea still in charge of the new recruits?” he finally asked.
“No,” said Brother Appius. “She is _Mother_ Athinea now.”
Malius blanched.
I hesitated, but figured as a new member I could not be expected to understand the inner workings of the Cult.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
Our guide looked at me with disdain.
“It means she is our supreme leader.”
No wonder Malius was not taking this well.
“Her former duties were taken over by Sister Septima. She will be supervising the test.”
During our drive to Vasira, Malius had told me what to expect and how to handle myself. They would ask me a series of questions about Satlanean culture and religion that were meant to elicit outrage and disgust. So long as I showed appropriate reactions, I would pass the test.
It was not so difficult as I had feared. Though criticizing the government made me flinch inside, disparaging the gods was oddly cathartic.
Sister Septima—a comely blonde with a stern demeanor—squinted at me when I was done.
“Some residual attachments to societal doctrines remain, but nothing we can’t overcome with proper guidance. Welcome to the Shrine, Brother Quintus.”
“The Shrine?”
Malius bobbed his head. “This entire place is dedicated to Siis and to his worship. It is a fitting name, don’t you think?”
“It is a holy land,” added Sister Septima. “The only holy land left in all of Satlanea. You are not to desecrate it with impure thoughts or by voicing the names of the Deceivers.”
“You mean the fake gods?” I asked, and the woman nodded. “Then how are we to plan their downfall if we cannot speak their names?”
Her lips formed a thin smile.
“There are places and times for such matters, Brother Quintus, as you shall soon learn.”
“I’ll have him settled in,” said Malius as he grabbed my arm and pulled me away.
We went down a tunnel and walked for a moment in silence, crossing men and women who paid us no heed. Along the way, we passed openings into large caves. In many of these, I saw hundreds of Cultists training with weapons. Some of them wore military-like uniforms.
After a while, we turned into a smaller and darker corridor and stopped before a door. He opened it and stepped aside so I could go in. He followed me, then glanced left and right before shutting the door behind us.
“This is where they put me when I first joined,” he said. “It’s comfortable enough. They won’t let you out for at least a month as they pound you with their propaganda. Doesn’t matter. This will all be over tomorrow.”
“What is going on here?” I asked and gestured over his shoulder at the door. “It’s like they’re raising an army!”
His expression soured. “I told you the Cult is a bigger threat than you think. And it’s gotten worse since the last time I was here.” He shook his head. “It’s time they are taken down. We must grab the Codex and get out of here.”
“Where is it?”
He looked away and stared at the floor.
“I don’t know for sure,” he muttered. “But considering the importance of the object, I can only assume it would be with the supreme leader.”
“You mean your former wife, who doesn’t want to see you anymore? Well, that’s just great. You think they haven’t destroyed it yet?”
“There would be no point in doing that. They would rather pervert the truth to make it say what they want.”
I frowned. “How could they possibly achieve such a thing?”
He fidgeted, edging toward the door.
“I’m not sure...”
“What are you not telling me?”
He glanced at me, pursing his lips.
“There’s a war coming, eddo, and I don’t think we can stop it. Even with the Vigilēs... Have you seen how many men are here? You can not expect to catch them all. And even assuming you did, what would you do with them? How and where would you hold them? Sooner or later, they would be free again and they would pick up where they left off. This is not going away.”
He was only voicing the concerns that had gone through my own mind, though with a darker spin that made me uncomfortable.
“How does the book fit in?”
“We cannot die, eddo. None of us can. What would war accomplish? They cannot kill the blasphemers as they would like. The only way they can win is by convincing the people that they are right.”
“Mass conversion?”
He bobbed his head. “Suppose the Sadin Codex has been tampered with, changed in such a way to make truths out of untruths, what would happen then?”
“The people would be outraged.”
Malius bobbed his head again but said nothing.
The Codex was both a book of law and of faith. It dictated our actions based on our beliefs. If these beliefs were found to be falsified, society itself could crumble. People would reject authority and turn to those who had revealed the deception, embracing them as saviors.
“You think the Cult wants to convince Satlaneans that they have been deceived? That there never were other gods than Siis?”
“They never told me their plans... I don’t think they ever really trusted me. But I’ve spent enough time here and talking with Cultists to pick up on clues. I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am.”
It made sense. A chilling, terrifying sort of sense.
“Why even prepare for war?” I asked.
“Because of the Vigilēs. There’s bound to be resistance. They want to be ready for when the time comes. Also, I suspect not everyone knows the real plan. Many believe war, or chaos, to be the endgame.”
“And they remain willfully blind to the truth because of the thrill they all seek,” I muttered.
He quietly bobbed his head.
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Text (c) 2024 by Alex S. Garcia.
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