Or not?
It bit into his leg, but not so deeply that it penetrated his armor. The beast moved so fast, Vir hadn’t been able to react. His head hit the ground, making him see stars.
No! Stop!
Vir fought his body with every shred of willpower he had, but he could do nothing as the wolf dragged him back with terrifying speed.
“Get away from him!” Cirayus roared.
But the demon had arrived too late.
Vir had already been sucked through.
26BLOOD ORIENTATION (MAIYA)
Maiya stole through Sonam’s cool stone alleys alone. The nighttime breeze might’ve felt refreshing if she wasn’t so crippled with anxiety.
Months of preparation culminated in this very moment. Maiya’s heart pounded and a thin sheen of sweat glistened on her forehead. She’d read through every tome, interviewed all her contacts, and rehearsed her cover story. Sleepless nights became the norm as she scoured over her research, checking and rechecking her plans.
Now, there was nothing more to be done. The preparations made, her mind set—at least, as set as it could be when joining a crazy blood cult.
For this occasion, Maiya wore a faded brown cloak over brigandine armor—the kind Vir had worn and that adventurers preferred. She’d kept her face unadorned. Makeup would only be a liability later.
As far as locations went, the Children had chosen well. It’d taken relying on her intelligence network to find the exact location. If she’d acted on her own, she’d never have given the nondescript three-story building in Sonam’s Temple Quarter a second glance.
An ambitious move, conducting their profane activities so close to the center of holiness in the largest, most fortified city in the empire. It was exactly the sort of lunacy Maiya had come to expect from the cult.
Approaching a bland wooden door, she knocked twice, then thrice, then a pause before one final knock.
“State your business,” a soft voice spoke from a looking hole embedded within the door.
“To become one with the Ash,” Maiya replied.
There came the sound of a deadbolt sliding, then the door swung open soundlessly.
“Name?” a gaunt, hooded man in black asked.
“Maiya,” she said.
The man scribbled something tiredly. He looked like he hadn’t slept or eaten in days.
“Initiation will begin momentarily. Do not resist.”
“What do you—?”
Before Maiya could react, the man began patting her down.
“Standard check,” he said. “No orbs or weapons. You may pass. Follow me.”
Maiya swallowed her indignation and did as she was told.
They’re just crazy, Maiya. They’re not right in the head. You can’t blame them. Just stay calm.
She’d known the building’s ordinary exterior was only a facade. That the insides would be everything her intelligence reports told her. Still, she’d clung to the possibility that maybe this particular building wouldn’t be as bad.
It was.
For one, the cramped hallway was dark, illuminated only by lanterns placed on the walls at long intervals. Too far apart to adequately light the place, the dim light forced Maiya to use the walls as a guide, carefully placing her steps lest she fall in the dark.
If that was all, Maiya would’ve been relieved. It was the blood. So much blood, smeared on the walls, on the ceiling… and likely the floor, too. She was suddenly thankful for the darkness; she wasn’t sure she’d be able to walk on the dried blood of Ash Beasts.
They rounded a bend, and the hall opened into a grand audience chamber that was plunged in darkness. Only the altar at the end of the tall chamber was lit with a dizzying array of candlelight.
There wasn’t a single magical lamp she could see. It was as if the hallway’s darkness had been intentional, to inspire a sense of awe.
Awed she was, though not on account of the lighting. The room was three stories tall, and she knew such rooms were not normal in this neighborhood. The Order must have modified it heavily. Its walls, ceiling, and floors were all dyed a deep crimson.
Dominating the rear wall was a wooden statue of… something. It stood nearly the full three stories in height, and like everything else, was covered in blood. If Maiya didn’t already know what it was, she couldn’t have guessed.
It was their god. The Prana Swarm the Children of Ash worshiped, said to reside somewhere deep inside the Ashen Realm. As terrifying as that was, the rectangular tub at its base scared her more.
For it was filled with fresh, red blood.
The baptism pool. The faint scent of copper told her it was real. The blood in the tub, the flakes of dried blood that peeled off here and there… None of it fake, and all of it augmenting the already profane setting.
“Wait here,” the guide croaked before ambling off.
The room was filled with prospective hopefuls, though Maiya knew only a fraction of their number would end up initiated—the Order was strangely selective about who they admitted.
Some chatted in groups of three or four. Others looked nervously at the surroundings, and a precious few—the ones Maiya suspected the Order would be most interested in—greedily took in the surroundings, deranged smiles plastered upon their faces.
Maiya had thought to go that route, then ultimately decided against it. She might’ve been trained in the arts of deception, but faking insanity was difficult at the best of times. Keeping up the act for months—possibly even years? That might actually drive her crazy.
The Order had its fanatics, yes, but they were an organized force. Which meant logistics, planning, and detail-oriented work. Deranged zealots seldom checked those boxes, requiring a small army of less… fervent sympathizers who worked behind the scenes. It was that organization she hoped to infiltrate.
Unfortunately, the zealots ran the indoctrination process, so her fate rested in their hands. Despite all the power she wielded as Princess Ira’s right hand, Maiya was no different from any of the other hopefuls. She’d still chosen the Kin’jal branch over the others.
Not all Children branches were equal. The ones in countries sharing a border with the Ash tended to be larger and wielded more clout within the organization. While the Childrens’ Rectors—their mid-level leaders—could deploy her anywhere in the Known World, Maiya figured it was more likely they’d keep her local.
If they did, it’d be her gain. She could bring the full force of her power to bear only in the Kin’jal Empire. It was exciting, in a way. This might have been the first time a country had placed such a high-level operative within the Children’s ranks. Every country had its moles—even Kin’jal—but none with ambitions like hers.
No one had attempted a total takeover in recent history. For good reason. It was a fool’s errand, and Maiya herself held grave reservations about Ira’s plan. Bringing a fanatical organization fifty thousand strong under her control sounded wildly fantastical… and highly improbable.
Still, it wasn’t her place to question. Ira ordered, and Maiya obeyed. The princess wanted Maiya to follow out of willingness, and she did, but that didn’t mean Maiya got to say no to individual assignments.
Out of habit, Maiya felt around her pocket, finding nothing there. No magic orbs. No communication orb, either. She felt naked without her magic. Moreover, she could hardly bear the thought of Vir attempting communication, only to find silence on her end.
She’d become inseparable from it over the past months. With every day that passed, her hope mounted—surely this was the day Vir finally reached out?
And now, she’d never know. It was far too dangerous to bring such a valuable thing here. Reluctantly, she’d left it behind, and depending on how the Initiation went, she might not see her royal quarters again for a good long while.