Apis watched the woman rip apart a fish, fat dripping into the fire. Time seemed to stretch out for an eternity. She seemed unharmed except for a tiny scratch on her shoulder. Surely that couldn’t be her only injury?

She had taken off her armor, to add insult to injury. It sat in a neat pile next to the fire. Apis was such a minor threat she didn’t even bother holding her axe nearby.

They were speaking about a blade. If that was about Elysia, that means she’s alive. He tried to hold onto the hope. If Elysia was alive, then Andrena was still present- and Andrena wouldn’t let anything go wrong. Although she might be willing to sacrifice me.

She had already chosen not to keep him in her temple. Would it be much of a difference to let him die entirely?

Apis swallowed. He couldn’t rely on the goddess. This was all on him. He pulled at his ropes. He had a chance to escape, now that the focus wasn’t on him…

They remained tight. He was stuck. There was a crunch of boots on the ground. Their male captor was approaching, leaning down. His window of opportunity was closed.

Apis allowed himself to be pulled up and taken out easily, even as Camilla kicked out and Balbinus tried to drag himself back. This is why you always get yourself into situations. No vigor. No fight. Yet they all ended up shoved onto the ground in front of the statue, regardless of how much they’d fought. Apis was placed underneath a tentacle, away from the action. Balbinus was tied up next to him. In front of them, Camilla was still led even as she kept trying to kick their captor.

The woman was stepping out from underneath the stone tentacles, cracking her neck. She seemed casual, almost excited.

On the ground, a strange design had been drawn. Two circles, one inside the other. In between the two circles were a variety of intricate runes. Apis didn’t know a lot of the words; they were archaic, not the modern version of the language. He thought he recognized one for imprisonment, or maybe fighting. The largest was wide enough Apis could have lain down and not stretched across it. He stared at the dull red glimmer.

No. It couldn’t be. It must just be dark red ink, some sort of new paint. Who has that much blood?

He was seeing more of the green figures in the distance now. Some ghosts were peering out behind bushes. Others were hiding behind tentacles or hovering halfway out of the ground. All of them were giving the bloody circle a wide berth.

Apis shuddered. He didn’t think this was cannibalism, whatever it was. Andrena. I don’t know what I did, but please. I’ll work to earn your praise. Just save me. Do anything to help.

He swallowed. Please.

Next to him, he could feel Balbinus straining at the ropes. The two siblings in front of them weren’t saying much. The woman was grabbing Camilla by the shoulder, her thick muscles straining as she shoved Camilla into the circle.

Camilla fought, but she wasn’t strong enough to resist. With a thump, she fell into the circle head-first, dirt coating her shoulders. As she struggled to stand up, the northern woman placed a foot on the outer circle and shouted something that Apis didn’t recognize. Another archaic word in the northern language.

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The entire circle lit up spectral green. Shining. It was like a beacon, going all the way up to the ceiling. He watched as Camilla struggled to stand up, but as she tried to roll out of the circle, it stopped her. As if the light itself formed a wall. Next to Apis, Balbinus had stopped moving, horrified.

The other captor stayed well out of the way. He wasn’t watching.

What were they doing?

The woman had pulled out a vial of something dark. More blood? She dribbled it on her finger, then poured it on the ground. Apis watched as a figure appeared. It had to be another ghost. It was spectral green, in armor, but it was much more solid than the others. He couldn’t hear what they were saying at this remove. After a brief exchange, the woman dribbled more blood on the ground. The ghost bowed, then turned towards the center of the circle and stepped inside.

Camilla screamed.

Apis turned towards his bonds and began scrambling further to get loose. He thought he saw the shape of this now, and he didn’t like it at all. He had heard of these creations- of pulling spirits from the land of the dead and forcing them into unwilling bodies- but he had never realized it was possible with living bodies.

Or known it was possible at all. They were always stories to scare children with. Then again, this time last year, he hadn’t believed in Paladins, either. Were all of the stories of his childhood coming back?

He tugged at the ropes. He could feel burns and aches where they were digging into his skin.

There was another scream. Then it cut off suddenly. Too suddenly. Apis turned, looking even as he felt his gut drop.

In the center of the circle, Camilla’s body stood. But it wasn’t Camilla. The posture. The look in its eyes. Within her was a ghost. It moved uncertainly, rolling the bodies shoulders, stretching the arms. Then it nodded to the northern woman and gave a bow. When it was complete, she stepped back. The light of the circle went out.

Camilla’s body walked out. It stared over at Balbinus. Apis thought he could see a flicker of another emotion in there, but then it was gone in a sheen of green light.

“Next,” said the northern woman.

Apis was left to watch as Balbinus was taken forward. He closed his eyes this time as he fought against his ropes. It was just as bad to listen to the screaming, but at least he didn’t have to see the difference so starkly.

The gods are meant to guard against this. Only godless souls were meant to be vulnerable to this. If you gave yourself to a god, they would keep you in their part of the afterlife- guard you from those who would use your soul for horrible purposes like this.

How could this be happening? Were so many people completely godless? Even Elysia prayed sometimes, and she barely believed in anything.

The thing inside of Balbinus’s body came to bring Apis over. Apis looked away, not wanting to meet eyes that weren’t real. As such, he didn’t pay attention to the movement of the rope until it suddenly fell away.

He looked down, then looked up in surprise. He couldn’t even think of something to say. “I-“

It wasn’t Balbinus inside of that body. The eyes were distinctly green; the way it held itself was nothing like the mild-mannered assistant Apis had grown to know. Yet… it had freed him.

It shoved him forward. “Run,” it said.

“What?”

“Climb the statue,” it said. It was using Balbinus’s vocal chords, but they were all wrong- in a different register. It made Apis’s skin crawl. “Escape. While you can.”

Apis glanced over its shoulder. The northern woman was rummaging through her bag for more supplies. “But- why?”

This must all be a trap, but… he couldn’t figure out why it would trap him. Run, said his instincts. Ignore what it says. You’re free. Go for the canal. He glanced up. Did he see movement above him? Had they really come to rescue him?

“You’re one of us,” said the horror. “Go.”

Apis glanced up. He glanced over his shoulder. He had only a second to make a choice.

As the northern woman turned back to look at him, shouting something he couldn’t quite hear, Apis began to climb.