Page 13 of Sanctuary

The mercenaries hit the snow in unison.

The skull exploded into a dozen spheres of ball lightning. The shining clumps streaked in a semicircle and broke against skull torches that slid out of the ground. The carved skulls atop the eight-foot poles ignited, bathing the front yard in an eerie neon light. One of the balls perched atop the Christmas tree. Roman pulled a bit more magic from it and scattered small bits of glow throughout the branches.

Nice.

Finn’s jaw hung open.

“Fancy, no?” Roman chuckled.

Finn remembered to close his mouth.

The mercenaries stayed down. Heh. That’s right, enjoy the snow.

“Is that so you could see them?” Finn asked.

“It’s so they can see each other. I don’t need light. I know exactly where they are.”

“I don’t get it,” Finn said.

“They thought they would be slick and sneak up on me in the dark. Now the yard is lit up, so they don’t have cover anymore.”

Roman dropped into a chair and started on his stew.

“But couldn’t you just pick them off in the darkness?”

“I could,” Roman agreed. “But I told you, taking a human life comes with a cost. You should only kill when you have no choice.”

Finn had stopped eating. He was looking into the fire, lost in thought.

“What is it?” Roman asked.

“Your god is an evil god.”

“Chernobog is a dark god, technically.”

“When you healed the dog, you told him he was evil enough. You didn’t heal me with that magic because I’m not evil enough.”

“It’s more complicated than that, but go on, make your point.”

“Why take care of all these creatures? Why not sacrifice them? Why wouldn’t you kill those people out there? Shouldn’t that be something your god would like?”

Roman sighed. “You’re confusing darkness and death with the profoundly immoral. The Slavic pagan world has three parts, the Tri-world, made up of Yav, Nav, and Prav. Yav is the realm of humans. Prav is where the light, good gods live; deities like Svarog the Smith, God of Fire, and Belobog, God of Light and Creation. Then there is Nav, the death realm, where the dark, evil gods dwell. My god is Chernobog, Belobog’s twin. God of Darkness and Death. Do you know what’s beyond Nav?”

Finn shook his head.

“Chaos. The end of everything. Nav is the realm that protects us from that.” Roman ate another spoonful. “The name of the game is balance. Crops are planted in the spring, they grow, they are harvested, and then winter comes. Their roots and stems decay and nourish the earth. Chernobog is the one who makes that decay happen. As the remnants of the crops die, the soil rests and rejuvenates. Without winter, without the Goddess Morena, Chernobog’s wife and consort, there cannot be spring. One cannot just take and take. One must give back.”

The logs crackled in the fire. The two dogs had finished their food and sprawled in front of the fireplace, satisfied. Three of the mercenaries had taken off down the road, back the way they’d come. Now where were they headed?

“People don’t like death. It scares them, so they call Chernobog evil. Winter is hard, so they call Morena evil. Disease and sickness are cruel and unforgiving, so they call Troyan the Healer, a Nav god, evil because sometimes no matter how much you pray to him, he doesn’t answer. But we are crops, Finn. We must grow, thrive, flourish, and die, to make room for other living creatures. Such is life. So no, I won’t be going on a murder spree for the sake of killing. To Chernobog, every life out there has value. I will take if I must. But I won’t be the one to upset the balance first.”

The kid had forgotten about his food again. Something was bothering Finn. Roman could almost feel the wheels turning in his head.

All in good time. Patience was something he had in abundance.

A knot of magic ignited on the edge of the property, and it had a particular flavor. Not Abrahamic, not pagan… But something else. Definitely a divine derivative. And a light divine, too.

The mercenaries were back, and they had brought someone else with them.

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