My Darkening Ember

Chapter Seventy - Five

The path to the church was a quiet, soft one. In the morning fog when no one was awake yet, you could be invisible. The sand would swallow the noise of your steps, and the low skies shielded you from anyone's vision.

The path helped me all the way there, to the old church, which would crackle if you ran your hands over its walls.

But my fingers could never get so close. My body would stop just atop the three small steps, unable to grab the lever, dreading what I would find behind the doors. My insides would start screaming, warning me to turn back and ignore my cursed need to satisfy my curiosity.

I always knew what I would find there. An empty shell abandoned by its trusted followers. Because that faith had been a scheme, a desperate play from a man wanting more than he deserved. But it couldn't all have been fake.

They had believed him? Had faith?

I never did. I was a sinner, a liar, and a traitor. If there were gods they would, or should, smite me the minute I touched their holy ground. But the voice in my head, the devil in me, wanted to see, wanted to enter. It was too alluring.

I graced the lever, feeling the cold touch my fingertips.

I pulled, almost stumbling inside as if expecting to find someone blocking the door, or trying to pull me back out.

But it was a hollow shell as I had expected. A white hollow shell. Not even the altar had stood the test of time. Robbed of its treasure, the altar would have had two cups and roped hands of gold, bound together for an eternity, serving the higher power towards the heavens. But it was stripped bare, as with the walls. The white, crackling, stone walls, with a single dome window at each side of the church.

Benches had been left to rot, and only a few could still be used without fearing falling right through to the stone floor.

The air was damp, and the echo danced through the old building as I stepped forward, taking a seat. It smelled like an old musty cave, like the ones I would enjoy exploring with Lau.

But the silence was something else here. It was ethereal and balanced with a soothing calmness that I'd never felt before.

Suddenly I understood why people drifted here when the sun had gone, to light their candles. The reassurance and tranquillity I felt were undeniable. But there was something else here. Living in the walls or beneath the floor. Maybe it was the air, or something else entirely, but I was sure, there was something.

"To put one's trust in faith, is an easier life to live, than having to face their demons alone." A voice like a devil snaked out from a dark corner.

I rose slowly, knowing full well who had just tipped the balance of calm to terror.

Colt's sickening grin appeared, making me turn in fear, praying to whoever, to let me out of their house before he could take me. But he was fast and already at the door, forcing me to freeze.

"Have you finally found faith, Eleonora? Or perhaps sought reason and come to some senses of peace."

I said nothing, because of fear or resourcefulness I didn't know.

"Peace is what all men want if it can be tamed. That's what our tales say. Tales that were written down with wise words from our gods. You know, I've always been a man who wants peace. I've wanted to change the world at one time or another, but I've always found myself back here. To this rotten town." He said it with such disgust, that he frowned. "And I wonder why? What is so special about our little society amid an unforgiving desert? Peace. That's what we have here, and it's what I want to keep, as long as it can be tamed. Do you understand?"