Page 19 of The Gods We Defy (All Gods Must Die #2)

CHAPTER 19

A fter hours of searching tight tunnels and long passageways of the old ruins, Veles and I are no closer to finding that chamber. We left for the night and agreed to try again tomorrow after training with Cyra.

My sleep was restless, my body working from muscle memory to get ready. Placing my mask on my face, I head in the direction Veles showed me yesterday.

I enter the courtyard and take a right, toward the small brick houses and villagers milling about.

There’s a small path directly through the small market weaving in and around the buildings.

I walk the small path and notice that the townsfolk seem to stiffen as I approach. All eyes are on me as I walk by. There’s nothing but fear in their eyes.

A couple of young boys around Mera’s age run past me, one bumping into me on his way.

I smile at their carefree attitude. Something I haven’t seen in this place since I arrived. It warms something inside of me, watching them.

But as soon as he touches me, he whips around with wide, fearful eyes and takes a step back as if afraid I’ll hit him.

The warm feeling inside me quickly vanishes, replaced by ice.

A towering, stocky man with a long brown beard steps forward. “He meant no harm.” His voice is hesitant, unsure. As if he is waiting for my attack.

I nod and open my mouth to tell him it’s fine when someone calls out from behind me.

“There you are.”

I turn to find a chosen with a mask that covers half his face. His mouth and one of his cheeks are visible but covered in black paint.

His eyes immediately dismiss me as a threat, his focus is on the boy that bumped into me.

The boy freezes and the stocky man moves quickly to step in front of him, blocking him from view.

“You owe me a servant,” the chosen says. “I want him.” He points to the boy.

“Your status as a chosen does not give you the right to take what you want. Leave,” the man warns as the boy crouches closer to his back, attempting to conceal himself completely.

The chosen steps forward. “My status as a chosen allows me to take whatever I want. And I want him.” A dark mass of shadows coil from his hands as a vicious smile graces his lips.

He moves forward, but I step in front of the man, blocking his way.

The chosen smirks at me, raising his fist to hit me. But I easily block it and grab hold of his arm, twisting it. “Do not confuse my silence with weakness.” Before he gets the chance to use his shadows on me, I call up my Sidus light and wrap it around his neck, slowly tightening it until he loses consciousness. Once he does, I let go, and he slumps to the ground.

I look back at the man, the expression on his face is thoroughly shocked. The small boy peeks around him, looking from me to the chosen on the ground.

“If he bothers you again, ask for Seren.” I move closer and ruffle his hair, earning myself a small smile.

“Thank you,” the boy says softly, his smile growing.

I nod to him and continue through the small town—there are far fewer fearful gazes. I find my destination shortly after the encounter, a large chapel that looks long abandoned.

But walking inside, I see that’s not true. It’s well taken care of, with a dark brown floor, wooden furnishings, layered brick walls, and high ceiling all clean and well maintained.

Maybe the outside is kept that way to deter anyone from entering, just like the training room.

There’s a small wooden table with four chairs at the back of the room. The rest of the space is similar to the building I trained in and practically destroyed with Kestral.

There’s a wall of weapons directly across from me and a large black mat on the entire floor. There’re three other doors apart from the one I came in. One on each side of the walls of weapons and another on the far end.

Cyra walks in a moment later from the door on the right of the weapons wall.

“Seren.” He smiles at me and makes his way over. “How have you been?”

“Good. It’s nice to see you,” I tell him.

“You can take off your mask while you’re here. It’s warded, and only those I grant permission can enter.”

I nod and remove my mask, placing it on the edge of the mat.

“In the second trial, you will need to find gold ore to forge your weapon, and the only place you will find the ore is in the Burren.”

“I’m guessing it will not be as simple as slipping in and out of this place with the gold in hand?”

He shakes his head, his brows furrowing. “A mountain that is filled with many dangerous creatures surrounds the Burren. The most dangerous of which is a monstrous snake.”

My eyes widen. “Snake?”

“Not the normal kind. Think ancient, enormous creature with extremely sharp teeth,” Asra says, walking into the room. He walks right over to me and wraps me in a hug.

“How’s one of my favorite Sidus?” he asks, releasing me.

I narrow my eyes playfully on him. “Feeling slightly offended that you have more than one.”

He chuckles and glances over at Cyra. “How about we switch? You can take Oryn and Nevan, and I’ll take this beauty.”

Cyra crosses his arms. “We both know I’m better at this than you are.”

“Better at what?” I ask, glancing between the two of them.

“Illusions,” Asra answers with a roll of his eyes before exaggerating a sigh. “He will show you how to see past them or re-align your focus when needed.”

“Why will I need to see past illusions?” I frown and Asra winces, hesitating before replying.

“Because the snake will sense you and the other chosen entering the Burren and try to trap you all to feed on. You not only have to get past the monsters hidden within the mountains and survive the other chosen to find the gold ore for your weapon, but you’ll also need to survive against the snakes’ power of illusion.”

Panic rushes through me. I’d thought the first trial was hard, but it seems there is a steep learning curve. I can’t even fathom what the final trial will involve.

After Asra’s little reveal, he takes some weapons from the wall and leaves us to it.

Sitting in the middle of the room with my eyes closed and senses open, Cyra tells me to pinpoint him as he moves around.

“Relax and let your mind go blank.” His voice curls around me as if coming from every direction instead of just once place.

I focus on everything around me, but I quickly get frustrated when I can’t pinpoint a direction.

“Focus on the energy within you. Not outside you,” Cyra says, reading my frustration, but I do as he says and instead of focusing on everything around me, I reach inside and feel for my own energy.

My Sidus power flares to life, its warmth pulsing inside me, reminding me I’m safe.

I let its warmth fill me, easing every part of me while I reach down, deeper to my core, where I find a veil of white smoke. I push my mind to move through it, but something stops me, a transparent barrier.

“Find the place, deep inside, that brings you peace,” Cyra says.

Leaving this energy for now, I move away from the veil of smoke and back to the Sidus light and its warmth, focusing on the serenity it brings me.

“Now hold onto it and find me,” he says.

Holding onto the calm and warmth, I listen to Cyra’s voice. Just like before, it sounds like it’s coming from every direction. But slowly the more I focus on the warmth, the more his voice becomes distinct, and I immediately point to the right.

“Good,” he says. “Now I want you to open your eyes and find me.”

At the simple request, I open my eyes and look in his direction, but he’s gone, appearing on the other side of the room. I get up and take a step toward him when another Cyra appears across from me. And another behind me, another half dozen around me.

His simple request quickly becomes a much harder task as the multiple Cyras circle me. Each one of them looks real.

“Focus, just like before,” the Cyra to the left of me says.

“You closed off one sense and were able to focus because the rest became heightened,” another says.

“But the same theory applies,” the one behind me says.

“Find your peace, hold onto it, and you will see the truth,” the one in front of me finishes.

I keep my eyes open and reach for my Sidus light’s warmth. It pulses, reminding me it’s always there and will never leave me. The thought brings me peace.

I grasp that feeling once more and focus on each one of them.

The Cyra in front of me becomes see-through, along with those to my left and right. Which means… I turn around and find a smiling Cyra. The others quickly disappear, leaving only him there.

“Well done.” He nods. “That’s all for today. Keep practicing and you will have no problem discerning what is a lie and what is truth.”

The veil of smoke comes to mind, and I wonder if it has something to do with my missing Caligo powers, and what effect the underground may have had on them.

Cyra seems to know a lot about energy. Maybe he can help me.

But how do I ask him without triggering the geas?

“My powers haven’t been working the way I want them to since…” I wince and stop myself from mentioning the underground prison. “Since coming here.”

He pauses and watches me for a moment. “Seren?—”

I shake my head, trying to push away the dull, throbbing pain. “Can you tell me if there’s anything wrong with them?”

He focuses on me, a frown forming and growing the longer he stares. “You have a block inside you. One created of your own accord.”

“A block?”

“Your powers… are not working fully.” He tilts his head to the side. “Something… happened to them.” He stares at me for a bit longer and I could swear his golden eyes glow but then he blinks and shakes his head.

“But it is only you that has the power to remove it.”

“I can remove it, this block?” My eyes widen with relief.

He nods. “Practice, meditate, and you will be able to access them when you’re ready.”