Page 7 of Conflicted Fate
“Whatisthis place?” Kiel muttered.
The walls were too smooth to be anything natural, and they rose up until the darkness reclaimed them. Below our feet, the floor was carved into square tiles, each one etched with wild lines that didn’t seem to have any rhyme or reason. Torches were embedded every few feet on either side of the walkway running up the center of the room, leading us toward … something.
“Uh, this kind of looks like a—”
“Temple,” Kiel finished, our minds in sync.
“Yeah.”
He shone the light around, revealing carvings of some wolves on the walls. The beasts were bowed down before a woman.
“It’s a temple to Fate,” he murmured. “Butold. Very old. I don’t recall ever hearing about anything like this. It was old when we built the new temple. Long forgotten even then, I think.”
Wind whipped through the temple, extinguishing every torch at the same time before continuing past us, leaving nothing but the smell of smoke and ash in its wake.
“Please tell me that was a coincidence,” I said, licking suddenly dry lips.
“I don’t think so,” Kiel said. “Look over there. Light.”
I didn’t have to remind him that I couldn’t see. Because Icould. Everything in the temple had taken on a sickly green hue to it. The light was faint, but with my enhanced vision, I could still see. Including the wavering, eerie green light in the distance, up a set of stairs.
“Well, crap. You want to take us toward the creepy green light source, don’t you?”
Kiel nodded. “Yes. I think it’s waiting for us.”
“Creepy glowing things are always abaaadddidea,” I warned. “We should probably go back the way we came.”
“Fate is calling,” Kiel rumbled, taking a step forward toward the light.
He thought the light was Fate? It did have a similar hue, but …
“Hey, wait!” I called, hurrying after Kiel, who’d already started walking.
I caught up with him just as he went up the carved rock. At the top, the light source was in the center of the circular room, a globe of energy. Just spinning. Doing nothing.
“What now?” I asked as we stood at the perimeter of the room.
“I don’t know,” Kiel said, his face pinched.
He took a step forward into the room.
Immediately, the light source increased in intensity, flaring into a brilliance that had both of us shielding our eyes.
When it dimmed, we were no longer alone.
Chapter Five
“Fate?” I gasped, taking in the glittering there-but-not-there woman in front of us. “Is that you?”
She looked nothing like the woman I’d seen in my mind. That woman had been tall, straight of spine, and, not proud, but blessed with endless confidence. A perfect version of what I imagined a goddess might look like if she let us mortals look upon her. In front of us now was a haggard street urchin.
Black hair fell in tangles around her shoulders, the unkempt locks knotted and lacking any luster or shine. Like the owner, it was half-dead. Fate herself, if that was indeed who the apparition was, looked worse. Her eyes were sunk deep into her face, the gaunt, pale look only offset by the greenish glow emanating from within and about her.
The bags under her eyes were enough for a family of four to go on vacation with, and each eye was bloodshot to hell and back. Her clothing, a simple white gown, was dirty and soiled, ripped and torn. It revealed the multitude of bruises and scrapes underneath the mud-stained garment, a shocking collection of injuries, topped off by a left arm hanging at an unnatural angle.
“Thisis Fate?” Kiel choked out, just as taken aback as I was by her appearance.
“I think so,” I murmured as if the goddess somehow wouldn’t be able to hear me in her own temple.
