Uda - Exorcist (5)

The Exorcist’s eyes blazed with fury, her teeth clenched and her entire focus fixed on Nia. Uda felt her thoughts racing. She had to do something.

Be diplomatic... she heard her own voice mock her in her head.

Paralyzing doubt crept in. Lera had spoken of possession. What if she was right? What if something had taken control of Nia? Yes, she had been acting strangely, but Uda had believed it was simply guilt turning in on itself, painfully self-destructive.

She cursed herself and quickly looked around at the others. Weet was pale and frozen in place. Vid was rubbing the blackened bite, his eyes narrowed at the crying Nia. Three others had taken a step forward to intervene, only to stop themselves, remembering their agreement. Uda could feel it: the hatred in Lera’s expression was already seeding new suspicion.

Doubt about Nia. Doubt about her intentions.

“What are you doing?” Orfet gasped, white with horror.

He was holding Ya back. The woman beside him looked ready to lunge at Lera. Uda knew none of them, not even she herself, stood a chance against the Exorcist.

She clenched her fists until her nails pierced her palms. The pain grounded her, kept her from moving. Somehow, she stayed calm.

“What are you doing, Exorcist Lera?” Orfet repeated.

She barely heard him. Her arms were still raised, conjuring more white threads. Suddenly, Kelwin rushed past her toward Nia. His face was pale too, though it held more fear than anger. The closer he came to the screaming young woman, the more frantic his movements became. To Uda’s horror, Nia had started to tear the threads apart, releasing tendrils of black smoke.

“KELWIN, YOU USELESS IDIOT! RESTRAIN HER! FASTER!” Lera bellowed. Her face was slick with sweat.

The Aspirant reached Nia and knelt beside her, fumbling with the clasp of a metal case. His hands were shaking so violently he couldn’t open it. Then one of the glowing threads snapped from Nia’s arm with a sharp crack, and a burst of black smoke hit him square in the face. He cried out and clutched his eye.

“YOU DUMB SHIT, FASTER! OR SHOULD I FIND ANOTHER ASPIRANT?” Lera shouted, her voice cracking with strain.

Uda hesitated. Should she attack? She could take Lera by surprise, knock that arrogance off her face, grab Nia, and run.

Though...  what if Lera was telling the truth? What if Nia was no longer herself? Didn’t the Exorcist know more?

Kelwin finally got the case open and pulled out something that glinted faintly. He stared at Nia for a moment. She had her eyes squeezed shut and was sobbing, her cries high and broken. After a moment’s pause, he lunged forward and fastened the thing around her neck.

Nia went silent immediately. Her body went limp, and she began to whimper softly.

“No, take it off, please, no...” she gasped, twitching.

The light-threads vanished, though Nia barely moved. Trembling, she reached for the object. Tears streamed down her cheeks and whimpers escaped her lips.

Uda saw it now: a net of delicate golden chains set with glowing white crystals had been fastened around her neck. In another setting, it might have looked elegant, even beautiful. though not here. Not with Nia clawing at it, trembling, shuddering with each touch, whispering pleas. It turned Uda’s stomach.

What kind of monstrous tool is that thing? she thought.

She wanted to run to Nia, to tear the thing off her. But Lera was already on the move, striding toward Nia with a smug smile.

“We caught you, you rotting scum of the dark. Possession this deep can’t be hidden. Your entire neck is already marked. Whose body did you crawl into, you disgusting Nightmare?” Lera sneered, then spat in Nia’s face.

She planted the toe of her boot on Nia’s head and looked down at her coldly.

“Please... take it off. I’m not possessed,” Nia pleaded, but the stones on the collar lit up, and she screamed.

“You speak only when I allow it. You’re filth. A parasite. You bonded with a human. How dare you? If that old fool Lac had found you, he might’ve welcomed you to the Dream, though he never would’ve recognized the signs of possession, would he?” Lera hissed, casting a scornful glance at the elder, who still sat frozen on his horse.

“Forgive me,” Uda said, taking a cautious step forward, fighting to act calm. “What does this mean?”

She needed more information. Maybe, somehow, there was still a way to salvage the situation. She knew she was provoking something dangerous, yet she had to take the risk. If Nia was possessed, she had to drive the Nightmare out. If she wasn’t, she had to save her.

“The Possessed carry Nightmares inside them,” Lera said, still not looking at her. “That’s how they pierce barriers. Which means this one is a threat, whether she knew it or not.”

Then she raised her voice.

“Kelwin, get the other bag. I will show them. I don’t want an uprising. We need fighters and people.”

To Uda’s surprise, Lera closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. Her gaze drifted across the group, but Uda could tell it was all for show.

“You must think terribly of me,” Lera said in her soft sweet voice. “I attacked one of your own. Now she lies under my boot, whimpering like the filth she is. However you don’t know the horrors I’ve seen. You don’t know what a possessed soul can do. The pain. The loss. I only pray none of you ever have to learn the way I have. I’m impressed, honestly, that none of you intervened after what I did to your friend here. Though I suspect you’ve had doubts already, haven’t you?”

Her tone sharpened.

“I’ve seen the Possessed too many times to be mistaken. And I know how it starts. With doubt. With a feeling. I bet some of you already suspected her.”

Uda’s thoughts swirled. Could she be right? Could Nia...? Is she...?

She looked at Nia... and flinched.

The young woman was staring with wide, pleading eyes. Her lips trembled, shaping silent words:

Help me. Please.

Uda’s heart clenched. She had promised to protect her. But what if Lera wasn’t wrong?

“She drew the Nightmare to us,” Weet whispered suddenly.

The woman beside her nodded, tears in her eyes. Lera’s face darkened as Kelwin approached Nia with long, determined steps. His burned eye was a raw blur of black and red. He dropped the bag he had previously used as part of the assessment in front of her, pulled out a black crystal using an old piece of cloth, and pressed it to her forehead.

“What do you see, filth?” he asked, disgust in his voice.

Nia’s eyes widened.

“Needles... needles of darkness... black and furious... more and more and more and more...”

“That’s enough. Shut your mouth,” Kelwin hissed, then kicked her in the stomach.

Nia cried out, curling inward. Kelwin grabbed her by the hair and pulled her upright, forcing her to face him.

“You cost me my eye, you filthy whore. I gave you mercy with just a kick. But don’t worry... there’s more coming. Things that suit what you really are.”

Uda almost charged him. Almost.

But fear, and the fragile hope that diplomacy could still work, stopped her.

“That’s enough,” Lera snapped. “Take the afternoon to grow your eye back. Pathetic that she broke your fortification.”

Kelwin stepped back, his jaw tight. “Thank you, Exorcist Lera.”

She ignored him and turned toward Uda.

“These crystals come from Nightmares. Better, their remains. They’re revolting to us, but to those tainted by darkness, they reveal what’s inside on first contact. It cannot be faked. She is filled with shadow. Maybe she didn't even know. That doesn’t matter. She’s a threat.”

Uda shuddered. She remembered what she had seen the last time she held a black crystal. The dark waves, the rushing current. Was there a Nightmare inside her too?

She shifted on her feet.

“Come,” Lera said, motioning towards her.

Swallowing hard, Uda stepped forward and knelt. She avoided looking at Nia, who was still sobbing at the Exorcist’s feet. She focused on the candle instead.

A strange curiosity rose in her. Would she be able to light it?

“As I said, picture the light of the circle,” Lera said. “Try to ignite it. Bring it forth.”

Uda focused. She pushed aside her fear and forced Nia out of her mind, just for a moment. She imagined the symbol on the flags.

Suddenly, a gag rose in her throat. A bitter taste flooded her mouth.

That symbol... it was repulsive.

Am I part of the darkness after all? Is that why the circle feels so wrong to me?

She tried to make Lera not see her reaction, tried to stay calm, calm...

“Shame. I somehow had a good feeling about you,” Lera said, sounding surprisingly disappointed.

“Aspirant Kelwin. The crystal.”

He came forward and held out the crystal, though his eyes never left Nia. They sparkled with something fanatical.

Uda took the crystal, bracing herself for the black oceans she remembered, but instead, she felt only warmth.

“So, what do you see?” Kelwin asked.

Uda’s thoughts raced. Why was there nothing? Was it because she’d touched one before?

How do I help her?

Her eyes flicked toward Nia.

Then she knew.

She glanced at Orfet and Ya. They stared at her in disbelief. Subtly, she bit her lip and gave a tiny nod.

Orfet’s eyes widened. He understood. Before he could say anything, she answered Lera.

“Black seas,” Uda said flatly. “Roaring currents of death and destruction. They drag every living thing into a Nightmare that never ends.”

She looked up at the others. Every word felt like poison on her tongue, but she had to stay with Nia. Had to protect her...

Why? Why? Why can't I let this go? she screamed inwardly.

“You didn’t really think I hadn’t infiltrated you as well, did you? How else do you think I destroyed the Deepwinder? I was planning to kill you one by one. But this...”

Uda let out a hollow laugh.

Then a blow struck her face, hard. She hit the ground, harsh lights flashing in her vision.

Lera stood over her, whip in hand, eyes blazing. Uda’s cheek throbbed, the skin stung raw. Around her, the others were shouting.

Moments later, cold metal chains wrapped around her neck. The fine net settled against her skin, and where it touched, revulsion surged. Sickness. Thoughts of a glowing ring filled her mind. She trembled, nausea rising.

That light... that light! It’s wrong. It’s sick. I need the dark. Please, just the dark...

Wave after wave of sickness crashed over her. She rolled on the ground. Dazed, she saw her companions... her former companions... watching her. Some shouted. Vid stared with icy hatred. Weet was pulling at her own hair, lips trembling with rage. Others wept or stood frozen.

Before her vision blurred completely, she caught one last glimpse of Orfet and Ya, clinging to each other. Both were pale, eyes brimming with tears.

Then a hand seized her hair and began dragging her toward Nia.

All she could feel was the sickness... and the hateful pull of that white circle, burying her, drowning her in a flood of light.