White. So much white. It has only been a few days since Luxor took command of a hamlet in Spain, but many of its residents seemed to take a liking to wearing white colours, paint belongings, walls, or even their fur white. Grayson couldn’t bear to look at the settlement, yet he promised, not just to himself, but to Shaquia too, that he would keep them updated no matter what.
The goat stood in a church building. It was once plain and ordinary, now grossly defiled with the light of a false god. False or not to most, he was nonetheless true to the people he had a hold over, some of whom were sitting on pews to have a rest. Grayson watched the white fox sit in a considerably less lavish white chair before a wooden statue of an angel. Worse than that, next to him, was someone Grayson never wanted to see close to Luxor, ever. A child. A young, easily-influenced mind has no place near the likes of someone so… “Perfect.”
Grayson shook his head, and when his mind cleared, he saw that the young canine was having way more fun with the fox’s bushy tail than said fox was with the child’s general presence. Such contempt, such malice towards someone so innocent… Of course, his expression changed every time the child looked at him.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Said the voice of a bat that Grayson had become all too familiar with, that which belonged to Fulmine, the Lightborn’s very own Electric One.
“Yeah.” Said the goat, trying to show some enthusiasm. Mostly not to draw suspicion.
“All of these people, where would they be without us?” The bat looked around, his gaze stopping at each person. “Nowhere, friend. His methods may be a bit weird, but just look around you!”
“He certainly has an effect on people.” Grayson said truthfully.
Right then, the doors to the building opened, and a distressed-looking antelope, wearing a long-sleeved, worn jacket and a skirt, jogged down the path between the rows of pews. Grayson had seen her before a few times at the castle, but didn’t think too much of her. She slowed down and walked up to Luxor, who seemed immensely happier to have someone older in his immediate presence. Grayson watched with a sense of anticipation as the antelope and Luxor quietly exchanged words. She put forward an arm, as if presenting it to a doctor, and Luxor rolled up the sleeve. Under it was a dark discolouration which resembled roots taking hold of the earth. Markings of darkness, Grayson was certain.
Then, with a trusting smile, she allowed the fox to shine. Grayson wanted to stop it, but thought it to be foolish: to stop a self-proclaimed god’s work. The child even clapped along to the light, which just broke Grayson’s heart.
Much to his surprise, however, the antelope girl didn’t die from the light, but rather, the markings themselves seemed to retreat, as if to hide from it. It all lasted maybe ten seconds, but the deed was done, the markings disappeared.
“Who is that?” Grayson asked Fulmine, who was seemingly more concerned with the legs of the antelope.
“Oh, that’s Lucia.” He whispered. “What? You interested?”
“Huh? No! What was that with the markings?” The goat asked as the antelope embraced Luxor.
“Those aren’t markings, like mine.” He stuck out his hand slightly, as if to show them off. “Hell, we don’t know what they are.”
Grayson took a moment to really take in what Fulmine just said. “I’m sorry, what?”
“A bit confused, aren’t you, friend?” The bat smirked. “Long story short, Lucia’s the daughter of some rich Spanish guy. She came down with whatever that is, they tried just about everything to cure it, nothing really worked. Thing is, someone in the society happened to know her dad and told him about the Radiant One’s healing. And now he has to do that now and then, and we get our supplies and transportation in exchange.” He glanced over at the antelope. “Real shame, ‘cause she’s kind of a baddie… But if Luxor can’t heal whatever she has, she can stay far away from me.”
Grayson had learned about their shipments before, but to think that they would receive them for such a specific reason… He knew what he had to do. He had to report that immediately, if he were a leader, he would want dabbling with dark magic discontinued at once.
“Do you know how she got it?” He asked, finding himself a little dizzy.
“No idea.” The bat’s gaze followed Lucia as she left the church building. “It just appeared one day and brought with it dread. That’s all she told us anyway.”
“Okay, I need a small break if you don’t mind.” Grayson was already on his way to the entrance of the church.
“Just make it back in time for supper!” Fulmine responded much louder than the goat would have liked.
As he opened the door, he was once again met with the square of the hamlet, entirely too clean and yet still being swept by five people. They looked almost disappointed to discover that the one who had just come out wasn’t Luxor himself.
Grayson waited, he waited around long enough so that no one would notice when he would go into his little secret grove and tell all about what he had learned. If they could somehow cut this connection of theirs, maybe that would help finally take down the Lightborn. And the strange markings themselves… He may not have ranked high in the organisation, but he was sure that that wasn’t normal.
Under the cover of dusk, he slipped away from the hamlet and into the woods he went, quietly walking through and around the vegetation. He tried not to leave tracks behind as much as he could, the sounds of the forest and the swaying of the branches in the wind hopefully doing a good enough job at hiding him.
He walked and walked, until he could finally see the grove. Partially hidden under a thick bush, he retrieved his communicator. It really just looked like a phone with small solar panels on the back of the case so that it could be charged in more remote areas, as well as more covertly.
From its contacts, he picked Vanessa. Having ample time to write a message, rather than record one, he sat down and began typing away, including a detailed description on Lucia the antelope and her markings. He hoped that maybe they could even track down who her rich father was and to possibly strike a deal with him. It wasn’t his place to suggest what to do with the information, but try, he certainly did, going into detail on how they could possibly cut off their supplies.
Before Grayson was done typing, he heard a sound: someone was coming. The steps were far too loud for small wild animals to just be going around in the trees and the grass. He quickly stood up and looked around frantically for a hiding place or anyone who possibly could have followed, only to then calm down upon seeing the sight of a wild deer nonchalantly walking past the grove. Until it spotted him, that is, for after that it disappeared into the woods with a skip and a hop.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Grayson breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to sit back down by a tree, only to come face to face with Fulmine hanging upside down from a thick branch.
“Hey, friend.” The bat said rather jovially and jumped off, flipping around in the air and landing on his feet. “Saw you sneaking away. What’s that?”
Grayson felt like his heart could jump out of his chest. He needed to think quickly, but alas, had nothing believable on his mind at such short notice.
“It’s… Nothing.” He said in vain.
“That’s not what nothing looks like.” The bat crossed his electric arms with a frown. “Now then, who are you talking to?” He said in a tone all too friendly for the situation.
Talking… That’s when he finally got an idea that the bat just might believe.
Grayson sighed, the kind of sigh one might make when found doing something he wasn’t supposed to. “My girlfriend.”
Fulmine raised an eyebrow at that. More from interest than questioning what he said. “Ah, didn’t think you’d be such a lover boy. How come you never mentioned her?”
“I… Was just telling her that I was okay.” Grayson said, gesturing in order to look more convincing. “With all due respect, I don’t want Luxor to know about her.”
“Why not?” Fulmine stepped towards him with a smile. “I’m sure she would love it here. You could be together!”
“No, I’m sure she would be, sorry, but creeped out.” The goat, too, took a step backwards.
“Hmmm.” The bat eyed him, now suspiciously. “What’s she look like?”
Grayson acted fast and went from the message to an image of Vanessa, a gazelle with long horns that curved upwards slightly. She, in fact, wasn’t his girlfriend, but maybe it was enough of a ruse. He then turned the communicator around, praying that the bat wouldn’t suspect anything.
Fulmine looked at the image inquisitively and rubbed his chin. He just looked for an uncomfortably long few seconds, and then nodded.
“More of a hooves and horns type guy, aren’t you? I can see why.” He glanced back at Grayson. “I think she’s pretty.”
“Yeah… She is.” Grayson once again started feeling a little dizzy.
“You know, friend, you’re lucky I found out and not the Radiant One or, let’s say, Haemon.” He slightly shuddered at whatever thought was on his mind. “He’s a good guy deep down though. Like, real deep down. You should hang out with him more, he can make for a real good friend!”
“Again, all due respect, but I’d rather not.” Grayson felt confused about the sudden change of subject, but he thanked whatever was above for letting him get away with being found out. “I don’t know, it’s just… He’s a Sanguine One and an albino, I don’t really feel safe around him.”
“Oh, don’t let him hear that.” Fulmine chuckled. “He gets a bit self-conscious about it, and that usually doesn’t end well. Sure, he’s creepy, anyone with a working pair of eyes can tell that, buuut, maybe don’t be so vocal about it around him?”
“Okay…?” Grayson was more than ready to leave.
“Have I told you what happened that one time?” Fulmine brought up the topic, much to Grayson’s displeasure. “I went on a date with one of my exes to this beautiful city by a river back in Italy.” He said with dreamy eyes. “She was fine, a real beaut, usually not big on birds, but she felt different! She was…” He then stopped with that upon seeing Grayson’s less than excited expression. “Anyway, Haemon was there to do some business too, so he was close by. Close enough to hear her say some real bad stuff about albinos. What was it…”
“I don’t think I…” Grayson began to say.
“Creepy bastards who look like they would harvest your organs, flay your skin, and drink your blood, all the while you’re still alive. Her words, not mine!” He put up his hands, as if to wash them of what he said. ”What she didn’t know was that Haemon heard all that. Needless to say, I did the only appropriate thing there.”
Grayson really thought the bat was starting to overshare. “Uhm… You said ex, so I assume you dumped her?”
“In the river, yes.” He said casually. “Haemon helped with that, then I dumped her ass properly. Don’t worry, the worst she got from that was a black eye and I had nothing to do with that.”
“Okay… Thanks for the story, I’ll just put this back here…” Grayson took a step to place the communicator down, figuring that he’ll place it somewhere else once the bat leaves.
“It’s alright, friend.” Fulmine gently patted his shoulder. “I won’t stand in the way of your love. But if someone else learns of this, you’re all alone.”
“Alright, thanks…”
Having sent the message, Grayson soon returned to the hamlet where he saw that Fulmine was already trying to charm a lynx slightly taller than him. The goat promptly turned his attention to just about anything else when the church door flew open. From behind, came one terrifying sight: an angry Luxor. Grayson wanted to hide behind the nearest house and to pity whatever unfortunate soul incurred his wrath when he saw that upon the fox’s pristine white robe and fur was a stain. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it looked green.
Luxor stormed off without a word and into a house that had no one inside at the time. The people around seemed concerned with such behaviour from their god, and started chatting about what could have caused it.
Right then, out of the church came the small canine child, sniffling. He looked all too guilty and upset, despite another nearby canine, possibly his mother, trying to console him.
A thought then hit Grayson: just how far would Luxor go to correct the simple mistake of a kid? Grayson would not have it, he could never forgive himself if the fox killed an innocent child, something he was more than capable and possibly willing to do over something so petty. There was no saving the child if so, but maybe there was a way to convince Luxor… A slim chance, but as long as there was a possibility, he would try.
Grayson walked to the house where the fox went inside and knocked on the door. No response. He knocked again, and after still nothing, he opened the door. Coming from a room, he heard muttering alongside running water: “Foul hellspawn…”
As much as he didn’t want to face the fox in such an angered state, he needed to be sure of what he planned to do. He walked to the room and through its open door, he saw the lanky, white fox washing his robe, his back to the door. As if sensing someone’s presence behind him, he turned his head and looked at Grayson with his glowing white eyes.
“What is it that makes you desire to look upon me at such a time?” He asked in a more gentle tone, albeit still with a deep frown.
“Radiant One!” Grayson averted his eyes. “I just saw that you were… Angry. I just wanted to be sure that everything was okay.”
“Angry?” He then turned around fully, still wearing his loincloth, having washed off the stain from his fur. Not only did he sound calm, but he even giggled softly. “That is not what my anger looks like. But annoyance? A perfect example.”
“So… Everything’s fine? You don’t need someone to call the musicians?” Grayson offered.
“I could use their songs to ease my divine nerves.” He smiled and returned to washing the robe. “This change of living is proving more difficult than I had anticipated. New worshippers are always welcome, but this…” His ears drooped. “I am not fond of children.”
“Hey, you could actually teach them about your godhood!” Grayson said with intense remorse, all in a hope to please his… Luxor.
“What is the concept of a god for the mind of one so young?” Luxor said, scrubbing his robe. “They have no such idea! That is not what I am looking for, I need people who truly believe! For what is worship without belief? What is action without intent?” His tail swayed from side to side as his words grew louder, almost as if holding a sermon. “Their actions for me are meaningless if there is nothing behind them, if their words are but learned and not meant from the heart! If I am to be worshipped, it must be by those that TRULY BELIEVE IN MY DIVINITY!” He said with great fervour and intensity, then from his hands came the sound of tearing.
Grayson simply looked on in silence as Luxor lifted the robe from the water, turned around, and looked at him through the hole torn at the back of the fabric.
“Now… Now I am angry.”