The First of Her Work Was Done

The Monster walked the old road. For once, he had company other than the shadows in his head. A woman named Esther. A child named Mateo. He distanced himself from the child as much as he could. The Monster assumed the child was scared of him. And he had a right to be. The Monster was afraid of himself.

The child spoke, “Where are we going?”

The Monster knew. He didn’t answer. The question was addressed to Esther.

The Monster watched as Esther looked down at him, “The Old Temple.”

“Why?”

“I have a question.”

“What question?”

“If the plants can ever grow again.”

The Monster remembered a time before the plants had stopped growing. He remembered an apple tree. And he remembered sitting in that apple tree for hours, and watching the sunset. He remembered home.

The child pointed at the dead forest, “They already are.”

Esther sighed, “They’re not.”

“But the–”

“She’s right,” The Monster interrupted.

The plants weren’t growing. Not anymore. Ever since he was eleven years old the world had been trapped in an eternal autumn. A time of harvest. But there was never anything to harvest, except for blood. People always found a way to harvest blood.

Esther and the child looked at him.

He looked away, “S-sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” asked the child.

The Monster shook his head, “I-it’s n–not my p-place to sp–speak.”

“That’s nonsense, Ipo.”

There was that name. The Monster shouldn’t have had one. He didn’t deserve it. Not after everything.

He looked up at her.

“I…” The Monster trailed off, “S-sorry.”

Esther said nothing. Only sighed.

So, they walked.

As he walked, The Monster traced his thumb over the scar on his right palm, over and over and over again. It was almost funny, how such a small injury had led to so many terrible consequences. To the loss of his name. To the loss of his peace. To the loss of his aversion to threatening children. Almost funny.

Two Days Later

The Monster walked beside Esther and Mateo, still keeping his distance from the child.

The child spoke, “How far is the temple?”

About four days journey.

The Monster still didn’t speak, just waited for Esther’s answer.

“We have about four days of walking left. Then, we’ll be at the temple.”

The child nodded, “Okay.”

And so, they walked.

After a couple minutes, The Monster heard a horse galloping behind them.

The group turned around, and were met with a horse, running towards them. Atop the horse was a man. In his right hand, the man held a gun.

He pointed it at The Monster.

The Monster was not new to this.

“You followed us,” Esther stated, addressing the man.

The Monster wondered who this man was, and how they had met.

“I have to finish the job I started,” he affirmed, “Might as well get rid of this one too.”

Esther slammed her staff into the ground. Nothing happened.

Her eyes widened in shock.

The man laughed, “Does Eleo no longer favor you, witch?”

She said nothing.

The Monster could see the desperation in her eyes as moved in front of the child. She had become a human shield.

Desperately, The Monster began to chant. The sky darkened. The darkness pooled around the man’s gun, creeping up his arm. He screamed. It didn’t matter. The darkness consumed him.

Then, the darkness faded. The man was gone. So too, was the gun. Only the horse was left.

The Monster collapsed.

His mind was taken by the darkness. In that darkness there was fire. There were voices. Memories. Pain. And screaming.

He was not new to this.

*****

Ipo fell to the ground.

Esther rushed to his side, “Ipo?”

He was unconscious. The screaming started again.

That terrible, terrible screaming.

Esther held his hand once more, and she prayed.

An hour later, the screaming stopped.

Later, he opened his eyes.

*****

The Monster awoke. Esther was holding his hand.

The first thing he felt was relief. Then guilt.

Drawing in a breath, he spoke, “S-so-s–sorry.”

Esther squeezed his hand.

The child sat beside Esther, leaning against her. He watched The Monster.

The Monster didn’t see fear, or hate, or anger in his eyes. Only concern.

The Monster turned his gaze to the ground, “S-sorry.”

“For what?” asked the child.

“F–f-for everyth-thi–thing.”

“It’s alright,” Esther replied.

The Monster shook his head, “I-It’s n-not.”

It never would be.

*****

“Ipo, you just saved us,” Esther argued.

He said nothing.

He’s still shaking.

*****

The Monster hesitated when they reached the Old Temple. He hadn’t been there in so long. So, so long.

He would not enter.

The Monster couldn’t enter.

Not after the last time. He’d almost lost his life. He remembered the stones of the temple floor, red with the blood of children. Innocent children. That blood could have been his. The Monster sometimes wished it had been.

*****

Ipo stayed with Fadowshax, the horse, as she and Mateo entered the Old Temple.

Perhaps that was for the best. The Old Temple was sacred. Sanctified by the waters of Eleo before even the First War. Ipo was still a servant of the shadows. Still tethered. Esther wasn’t sure what would happen if he entered a holy place.

Esther feared it would tear him apart.

So, she and Mateo entered.

The walls of the Old Temple were bone-white. Made from the wood of trees made extinct long ago. The atmosphere was heavy. Painful. Nothing like what Esther expected.

Still, she walked.

Esther walked down the long hallway. She held her staff in one hand, Mateo’s hand in the other. At the end of the hallway, was a door.

The door was simple. As was the nature of Eleo, Esther supposed. And yet, so complicated. So complicated that she could not begin to understand his workings.

With a breath, she pushed the door open.

And she saw red. So much red.

It stained the wood of the floors. Brown and red. Old and new. Everywhere. Puddles. Drippings. Footprints. Handprints. Long, terrible streaks across the floor. Everywhere.

And, scattered in the red, there were bodies. So many bodies. So many children. All with horns crowning their heads. All covered in red.

In the center of the room, was a pedestal.

Esther walked towards it, slowly, bearing witness to the weight of the fallen children. Her tears fell freely. Mateo clung to her, silent.

Esther understood now. This was the fate Ipo had been trying to save him from.

Atop the red-stained pedestal, rested a single knife.

This wasn’t mercy. This wasn’t Eleo. It couldn’t be.

And so, as she sobbed, Esther sunk to her knees, and she prayed.

As she prayed, light filled her mind, and she fell unconscious.

*****

The Monster watched as the child burst out of the Old Temple, running towards him. He took a step back. Esther wasn’t with the child.

What is wrong?

As the child grew nearer, The Monster noticed he was crying.

“Help! She’s–”

Something happened to Esther.

“W–where is sh-she?”

The child hesitated, “The room with–with all–”

“A-all the b-blood?”

The child nodded.

The Sacrificial Chamber.

The Monster ran.

*****

From the light came a voice, gentle and clear, and it called her name.

“Esther.”

There was no face, but Esther knew that it was Eleo who now spoke to her.

“Eleo?” asked Esther.

“As I am called,” answered the voice, “You have come here.”

“I have,” answered Esther, though that seemed obvious to her.

“I have been waiting for you,” continued the voice, “Ever since the beginning of the end.”

“You have?”

“Yes,” Eleo affirmed, “You have the power to do much good.”

“I-I do?”

“Yes, child, much good.”

“How?”

“You must burn this temple.”

Esther almost recoiled in shock, “What?”

“Have you not seen the blood these stains these halls? The bodies of innocent children scattered across the floors?”

“I–yes, but why burn this place, can you not restore it, if it is sacred?”

‘They have desecrated my temple through their acts of hatred. This is no longer holy ground,” Eleo’s voice had grown more intense, with an emotion almost like anger.

“I–as you say it will be done.”

“Thank you, my child,” said Eleo, “Now, there is another matter.”

“There is?”

“Ipo, as you call him.”

Esther nodded, hesitant.

“He suffers much.”

Esther nodded once more.

“I cannot reach him,” the voice admitted.

“Why?”

“He has given his name to the Lord of Shadows. Because of that, I must not speak it. As were the laws written.”

“So he is beyond saving?” Esther asked, deflating.

“No,” Eleo answered, “If he speaks his own name, the bond between him and the Lord of Shadows will be destroyed.”

“Then, it’s an easy fix?”

“No. It is not an easy fix. In fact, without careful guidance, it may break him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you remember the day you met Ipo? Do you remember the screams?”

Esther nodded, after all, how could she forget? How could anyone forget watching a stranger fall unconscious and scream for hours upon hours, lapsing in and out of shaking fits.

“That day, I felt him reaching out to me, though he did not feel this himself.”

“I don’t understand.”

“When the Lord of Shadows has someone in their grasp, he intends to keep them. No matter the cost to their body or soul. The pain Ipo felt was the punishment for seeking my guidance. It will not stop until he speaks his name. Not Ipo, but the one given to him by his mother.”

“Oh.”

“Stand by him, and I will wait for him, as I have waited for you.”

“I will.”

*****

Esther lay on the bloodsoaked floor beside the pedestal. The Monster knelt by her side. She was breathing. Thankfully.

Her face was so peaceful. As if the world were a much better place than it was.

Suddenly, Esther sat up.

Her eyes snapped open, “Fire!”

“W-what?” asked The Monster?

Esther looked at him, “Ipo, the temple must fall.”

The Monster’s brow furrowed, “B-but, w-what about El–Eleo?”

“He commanded it.”

*****

Esther exited the Old Temple last, tossing a torch behind her. The first of her work was done.