Capítulo 10: Ten
Burning.
Searing.
Agonizing pain radiated from the top of Ezekiel's hand as he flew backwards out of the forest back onto the temple grounds.
Dirt and dust kicked up as he landed, bouncing several times before slamming into the bench he'd been sitting on.
A manic and furious shriek sounded from deep within the trees, though nothing pursued him.
In an instant, Gemma was by his side, frantically checking him and asking him questions.
Glittering light filled the air as carefully wrought song filled his mind and Taniel sung healing upon him.
All of his body felt light for a moment, but his hand still felt as though it had been lit aflame, and that pain and a surprising weight coursed outward from his fingers up to his heart.
Then, abruptly, it ended.
Clutching his hand, he desperately pulled his glove off, only to find an ornately designed silver and black orb where there should have been clean skin.
Gemma covered her mouth and stepped back in surprise.
"Ezekiel, my heart…"
Azael's eyes narrowed and he knelt to examine the mark, quietly muttering to the fairy that sat on the brim of his hat.
She spoke, her tiny glowing body practically vibrating as the high bells of her voice responded.
"A World Egg," he finally said.
"By the Tree," Gemma said, still keeping her distance, as though it would spread.
Silence filled the space between them, a sense of foreboding that threatened to crush them all.
"They…they only appear to saints," a member of the Choir said, her voice filled with awe.
Azael shook his head and gently moved to put Ezekiel's glove back on as he said, "Not necessarily. World Eggs…they call to those to whom they belong."
Deep in thought, Gemma asked, "Can you identify it?"
"Unfortunately, that's not in our skill set," Azael said as the fairy shook her head, showering his hat in glittering dust.
As everyone stood and began talking, Gemma and Azael about their concern about a World Egg being here and undiscovered, Taniel and the Choir about the possible birth of a new saint, Ezekiel felt crushed by a weight that had been growing since the pain stopped.
It stood over and within him, overshadowing everything he felt, everything he knew, casting his every thought in deep blue light, and when he could stand no more…he fell backwards, slipping into a deep sleep.
A starfield filled his dreams, the twinkling lights of the stars flickering in and out of sight as he slept. The light of worlds bloomed into existence, and winked out as the delicate balance of the universe ended them.
Swirling vortexes of heavenly lights spun around him in a gentle dance to a tune he knew he would never hear.
Slowly, his eyes opened.
The sun had set on his world, and the only light came from the gently radiating temple.
Gemma caught him in her arms as he jerked upward, holding him tightly and…crying?
"Gods, boy, I thought I was going to lose you," she whispered gently through quiet sobs.
Smiling gently, he put his hand on her shoulder and said, "You're not getting rid of me that easily."
Azael walked over, his long black hair streaked with gray framing his face, and said, "You're a lucky guy, you know that?"
Ezekiel shrugged and said, "I guess."
"World Eggs kill the unworthy," the older man said, matter of factly.
"Ezie is worthy of more than you'd think," Gemma said gently, wiping her eyes.
"It would appear so," Azael said, looking thoughtfully over Ezekiel, as though he were reevaluating him.
The fairy flew down to eye level with Ezekiel, a furious look on her face, "You can't scare us like that," she shouted.
"I can understand you," he responded, surprise coloring his face.
The fairy's wings fluttered so fast he couldn't track them as she said, "OF COURSE YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME. You're our friend!"
"Glissandra thinks anyone she likes is a friend," Azael said dryly, clearly the more cynical of the two.
The fairy rolled her eyes and said, "You're a good person, Ezekiel. That's why the World Egg chose you!"
"Chose me?"
Before Gilssandra could continue, an ear piercing scream rang out from the top of the temple.
Up in a heartbeat, Ezekiel asked, "Where are the girls?"
Azael started running to the stairwell as he shouted, "They had to be in to do their ritual before sundown!"
Ezekiel and Gemma shared a look and they followed the man as the fairy landed on Gemma's head and held onto her hair so she wouldn't fall off.
As they got closer to the frighteningly large tower, the light it had cast consistently began to flicker and dim.
They reached the base of the stairs just as the light went out altogether and suddenly the grounds were cast in total darkness, with not even the light from the stars and moon reaching them.
Glowing red eyes began dripping upward from the ground around them and the telltale sound of sadistic giggling and scratching heralded the first of the goblins erupting all around them.
A deafening shot rang out in the darkness and a blinding flash of light illuminated Azael's face.
His left hand on a smoking weapon, his right holding a metal flask of something harsh and stinking to his mouth, Azael's demeanor changed visibly, revealing a violent passion that lay just below the calm and wise exterior he presented.
A wild look in his eyes that would have driven even Ezekiel back, if not for the goblins surrounding them, glinted bright and Glissandra fluttered off of Gemma's head and landed beside her partner.
Glowing brightly as she fell, the fairy grew to match Azael's height and, now standing at five foot eight, she smiled devilishly as she pulled two weapons out from beneath a duster that appeared over her previously naked form.
Sharpened teeth gleamed menacingly from within her mouth as Azael cast a languid look over to Ezekiel and Gemma as they ran up the stairs.
"Get them," he said, his voice filled with liquid menace.
The duo nodded as Glissandra leapt into the swarming, stinking mass of goblins, her weapons flashing over and over as more blasts filled the night air.
Azael's black and white pistol sang deathly fire into the fray and as the door behind him slammed shut, Glissandra shouted, her previously musical voice now practically feral, "LETS FUCKING GO!"
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