Chương 117: Chapter 116- The Chamber

Elias froze in the doorway eyes wide as he took in the latest room in this carnival house of horrors, Taylor, Franklin, and Cooper paused alongside him mouths agape as they looked around in horror at what they had just found. Were they fucking butchering people in here… Oh FUCK. Eli's mind shuddered at the eerie stillness on the other end of the tether, as his eyes snapped to Astra's form as she drifted past in a daze, his eyes boring into her back. Fuck, fuck, FUCK. She barely glanced at the surgical tables.

Nor the meat hooks used to drain people like cattle. Her gaze was fixed entirely on the pit at the far side of the room. Eli heard a sharp intake of breath and glanced over as the rest of the guards joined them in the doorway." By the Elder gods…"" What in the Abyss…" Sasha and Astrid joined them, as Eli glanced over in time to catch Mason going pale as he caught sight of the pit, " By the Stone Father's tears, what have they done?"

Eli and the rest of the guards were rooted to the spot, shock and horror overwhelming their senses, only able to watch numbly as Astra strode across the room. His heart clenched at the deep sense of pain and sorrow washing over him and, as Astra paused at the edge of the pit and let out a single wracking sob, he lurched into motion. As he and Tia rushed over to join her at the edge of the pit, they were both at loss for what to do, his counterpoint needed him, but what could he say?

What could he possibly do to blunt the knife-edge of pain and horror lancing through her heart? Ultimately, in the moment all he could do was stand ready for what was to come. Eli could hear footsteps behind him as the rest of the guards spread through the room, the soft clink of chains, and the rustle of leather as they examined the contents. As they paced about the chamber Elias watched Astra, not just with his eyes but also along the tether. No one had said anything, but he knew he wasn't the only one worried.

Ever since they had entered the estate the jokes had dwindled, and once they found the first victim in that closet off of the dining hall, the humor had faded completely. By unspoken agreement, he and Tia had ensured that one of them was always watching, doing what they could to break up some of the smothering darkness.

As the group had travelled through the keep, searching the gardens, tunnels, and the caverns beyond, Eli had watched as the cheerful and gregarious woman he had grown to know was battered by what they found, blow by blow. They could all see it, even if they kept it to themselves, but their worry was apparent in the grim set of Sasha's frown or the tightness around Cooper's eyes whenever they glanced over to Astra. So he waited.

He could hear murmurs behind him, the confirmation that something was being harvested from the victims, most likely blood, but they were unable to find more than traces in the room as they speculated where it all went. Eli watched. There. He could feel the moment when the shift happened, when all the sorrow and pain was spent, and something new awoke in its place.

Eli had felt Astra angry before, he had even felt fury a few times, usually when one of her soldiers was in danger or some asshole was threatening an innocent civilian. This was something new, something he had never felt before, something more than horror or fury, and as her song awoke with a ravening cry at the injustice before her, his uncoiled joining in response.

Their songs had responded in the heat of battle, as they found a rhythm in each other's movements, and they had even stirred in the moments leading up to it, but never like this. His skin prickled as goose flesh raced down his arms, a wash of heat traveling in its wake as a shiver raced down his spine. His pulse rose as the drums began their beat, thrumming out a sympathetic tempo to the chorus, as a flood of emotion washed down the tether. A flood carrying a deep, implacable rage.

Not the unfocused and wild rage of a bezerker, but something older, the focused narrow rage of a clan mother standing amongst the wreckage of her slain kin. One who had finally found her quarry. The rage built and built, the heat spreading through more than just his skin, as Astra's skin picked up a nearly imperceptible glow, the air shimmering as the heat shed off of her, the only movement the fainting stirring of her hair as the hot air rose.

Eli heard the quiet sound of Sasha clearing her throat behind them," I think I can hear voices coming from the next room." Astra's eyes snapped in her direction, and Sasha fell back a step before regaining her composure, pointing to the nearby doors. Astra paused for just a moment staring at the doors, the heat wafting from her skin before she strode forward, pushing open the heavy stones doors with a single hand as she strode through. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site.

Support the author by reading it there. Eli followed.

Elias stalked down the corridor at Astra's side, the heat wafting off of her spreading across his skin with a comforting warmth, chasing away the chill of the subterranean air. There was no more point in words, the emotions they shared along the tether all that was needed. The guards followed close behind, keeping silent at a gesture from Eli, the faint sounds of voices in the distance drawing them closer.

The tunnel transitioned from a mostly man-made space to a more natural one and, within a few minutes, it joined another cavern, one much larger than before. The ceiling rose higher before being lost in the gloom above, the echoes of voices, and the faint flicker of torch light along the ceiling the only hint of its nearly 60 foot height. Those same voices and torch light filtered through a collection of stalagmites ahead that capped a small rise as the walls swept outwards from the tunnel.

Astra never paused, following the path cut by foot traffic from the edge of the tunnel into the forest of short spires ahead, Eli and Tia flanking her as they wove through the dense cluster. Once the path crested the small rise, the floor sloped down before them, and Eli took in the expanse ahead. The cavern was easily 150 to 200 feet across, as well as at least the same width if not wider, although the shadows of the distant cavern made it difficult to estimate the full size of the space.

As the path continued down the slope below, the party was greeted by a wide central space that had been roughly cleared of rocky growths and smoothed over. The perimeter of the space was ringed with candles and torch stands wherever there were not stalagmites to lash torches to, the cult clearly eschewing the use of magical lights in this space.

Given what he could see at a glance, Eli could definitely understand as most of the open space was taken over by an absolute monstrosity of a ritual circle, shadowed and robed figures swarming over its surface. Shit. Using magic here is a bad idea. The circle was at least 100 feet in diameter, possibly larger, and while the outer elements were still rough and incomplete, the inner elements were not, and the cult members were rushing to finish the central parts as the party approached.

What caught Eli's attention more than anything else was not just the twisted and nonsensical runes that made up the piece, or the odd angles that made up the strange geometry of the layout, but the thick and wide bands of crimson that made up the strokes. A normal circle can be drawn on a large sheet of paper with ink, or in the case of the bonding ritual Mira performed, a large open space a few feet across and some chalk.

This formation was enormous, and where the strokes would normally be completed with a brush and ink, these were being finished with mops and buckets of blood. Even Astra paused at the sight, the rage coursing down the tether hiccuping in shock, her eyes roaming over the same lines as Eli's, his mind boggling at the cost. Those wide foot thick bands, the subtle shading of the strokes that spoke of layers, the subtle hints of a lake of blood spilled in the service of whatever this thing was supposed to be for.

Voices could be heard in the distance past the edge of the stalactite forest, some chanting in low rhythmic voices, some arguing quietly, and others issuing rushed commands as dozens of figures swarmed over the core of the formation. Some were tipping over buckets into shallow reservoirs, waves of thick red fluid rushing out to fill grooves cut into the stone.

A large group was running in a relay between the center and a line of troughs on the outside, stepping carefully over the more delicate lines in the center as they hurriedly carried dripping mops frantically tracing a series of lines over and over. A small group wearing more detailed robes stood on the far side, directing the efforts of the whole group, quietly arguing amongst themselves and gesturing to different members.

Such was their urgency that there were only a handful scattered throughout who kept any sort of watch on the entrance, while the larger whole was focused fervently on completing the ritual, there were a few who still had the wherewithal to realize they may yet be interrupted. It was this last group that noticed them first.

Elias heard a low urgent voice on the outskirts of the group, as one of the hoods happened to turn in their direction at just the right angle to catch the first glint of torchlight off of Astra's armor." They're here…. Hey, psst… they're here!" Astra led the squad forward in an unrelenting march, as Elias watched the news of their arrival spread in a ripple through the group. There were dozens of members present, at least forty or fifty at a glance, and as their ripple passed hurried commands could be heard."

Protect the inner ring!"" Keep working! Don't stop!" The ritual erupted into a hive of activity, all the members scrambled in a disjointed fashion, trying to desperately finish what lay close at hand. Elias could feel the heat rising off Astra beside him with every step, both figuratively through the tether, and quite literally as ripples of heat shimmered in the air around them. A loud assertive voice bellowed from the far side of the formation." COMBATANTS FORWARD!"" HOLD THE LINE, THE RITE COMES FIRST!"

A loud chant rang out in response, with the syncopated beat of a rehearsed call and response." THE ONE FOR THE MANY!" Elias could feel more than see Astra's eyes narrowing at the voice, as a figure stepped forward from the command group on the far side. A tall figure strode forth wearing embroidered robes, featuring delicate and detailed scrollwork, embellishments that were missing in the attire of the others around him.

He did not need to see the short blond hair or the cold sharp eyes, the massive tsunami of fury rolling through the tether from Astra was all Eli needed to know they had found the Viscount, as a low hum emanated beside him. A sneering visage emerged from the shadows in the depths of the hood, as two pale delicate hands lifted and drew it back. A low resonant voice came forth, his words dripping with derision, as he shouted across the cavern at the approaching party." You blind fools!

You spend your whole life in a cage, but -" The low hum ratcheted up into a keening whine as a pair of searing crimson beams, with a scintillating white heat at their cores, flashed across the cavern. The first vaporized the man's head from the neckline up as the second punched a smoking hole the size of Eli's fist through his chest, just a heartbeat behind the first. The cavern fell silent. CRACK. BOOM.

Somewhere high above, the delayed report echoed through the cavern as the severed tip of a distant stalactite fell and struck the stone floor. As it crashed to the ground, every cultist's gaze froze at the sight, the body of the Viscount crumpling forward in a smoking heap, before turning fearful gazes back to the approaching knight who had never halted for a moment. No one moved, even the chanting fell silent. A low hum sounded once more.

Light began to gather in Astra's palms as she began to shift targets, and pandemonium broke loose as everyone broke into motion at once.