Page 76 of A Heart Of Bitter Poison
Aloros sets me down on the dais we arrive on, facing a tall, polished marble gate. The doors are open but guarded by angels in white armor. Above the pointed archway is the wordEsagilain filaments of shimmering gold light.
I hear laughter and music behind us and look over my shoulder. The amusement park stands in the distance, and I realize this must be the edge of the quarter of Anur dedicated to the House of Virtues. The vibe of the amusement park carries through the streets; there’s music and laughter and greetings of welcome as people pass by. Brightly colored flags and pots overflowing with flowers hang between the buildings. Children and pets and even a very rambunctious donkey run through the street in a game of tag. It looks way more fun than the austere entrance to House Esagila. I heave a heavy sigh and turn back toward the gates.
I’m eager to get whatever this is over with, so I start to limp ahead and make for the entrance, but Aloros grabs my arm and steers me toward a clothing shop instead.
“Youwill notenter the ziggurat looking like you lost a fight with a demon, even if it is true,” he says, leaving no room for argument.
We enter the small clothing establishment. An older, jovial woman with curly hair and a wide smile ushers us into the back of the shop. Aloros sits me down on a bench as Mariam the shop owner gathers a basin of water and a stack of clean towels. She peels off my bloody clothes as Aloros searches the racks, then cleans my healing wounds until every last drop of blood is swept clean from my raw skin.
Fortunately, as with the Shadow Realm, money isn’t really a thing in this realm. Which is good, since I have literally nothing on me but the clothes I came with and thekatanaslung over the angel’s hulking shoulder.
Not that I would pay a single cent for the monstrosity that Aloros picks out for me.
It’s a gauzy, formless white dress with barely-discernible sleeves and a drawstring closure at the neck. It flows in a billowing mass of fabric all the way to my feet. I limp out of the dressing room with a flat glare and come face-to-face with Aloros, who has changed from his blood-spattered white getup into an oversized white tunic and linen pants.
“Are we going skydiving?”I ask, flapping my arms.
Aloros narrows his eyes.
“I look like I got confused trying to paint a room and put a drop cloth on myself rather than the floor.”
Aloros tilts his head and scowls.
“At least I have a tissue ready to wipe my tears when I weep at the ziggurat.”
Aloros rolls his eyes and heaves a dramatic sigh. “Come, lesser being. You look nearly appropriate for House Esagila and I am eager to part with you.”
Aloros offers his arm to help keep me steady on my healing leg, and we take our time to walk out of the shop and past the guards of the gate. I can see why he chose these clothes once we’re in the heart of House Esagila. It has a very different vibe from the House of Virtues. It’s much more serene and ethereal. There’s no laughter or raucous games of tag or clattering rides. Everything is white and gold, graceful and quiet. This seems much more like the boring, peaceful Realm of Light of my imagination.
We follow a few silent, narrow streets, taking a turn to the left where the road ends at a spectacular garden of groomed trees and vibrant blooms. The ziggurat looms beyond, the sun gleaming off the polished gold on the peak of the structure. Up this close, I can see inscriptions that flow across the hewn rock of the temple, each inlaid with light.
“Behold. The Ziggurat of House Esagila,” Aloros says as we stop at the edge of the garden and take in the imposing structure. He folds his arms across the thick wall of muscle that spans his chest and looks with pride at the temple, as though he designed it himself.
We stand for a long moment in silence. Aloooongmoment.
I fidget and clear my throat.
“So when is the weeping supposed to start, exactly?” I ask when Aloros looks down at me. An irritated crease forms between his brows. “Is it now?.. Or-“
The angel interrupts me with a huff. “Follow me, lesser being.”
A devious smile creeps across my face and I limp after him down the path through the garden. We pass through the gate of the fortified wall and up a short stone ramp that leads to the entrance of the temple.
The interior of the ziggurat is not what I expect. Though the outside is imposing stone, the inside is full of natural light, as though the stone is an illusion and the walls are made of glass. I can see the amusement park to our left beyond the canyon, the city behind us, the fields that stretch to the horizon straight ahead. The polished floor reflects the light like water, and every step we take is a bright burst of color beneath our feet.
Aloros leads us to a wide stairway in the center of the massive room, and we follow it up three flights to a corridor. The hallway reaches to the roof of the structure where a shimmering ceiling glows in the distant height. It reminds me of diving into deep water and looking up at the surface of the sea.
Doors of light line either side, stretching halfway up the wall. I can feel the hum of power that surrounds us. It fills me with both dread and awe. My heart quickens as I wonder for the first time if I might become a prisoner once more.
“What is this place? What’s the purpose of this temple?” I ask, casting a wary glance to either side.
“The ziggurat performs many functions for our kind,” Aloros replies as we drift past the rows of closed doors. “It houses gateways to the Living Realm. It provides space for reflection and contemplation. It shows us the good and evil in humanity and in those beings of the in-between.”
Aloros stops at the door at the end of the corridor. He grasps the gold handle and light snakes across the surface of the smoked glass. Hidden gears whirl within. Bolt by bolt, the locks release. “We have even welcomed our enemy here. We have built our plans here. Plans to end the tyranny that plagues the three realms.”
Aloros pushes open the door to reveal the room. It’s empty aside from a low marble altar, upon which a body lies prone. My lungs close around my breath and refuse to let it go.
“Your demon will fulfill his pledge to seize the power of the Shadow Realm. And when he does, we will give him what he came here to barter for.”
