The Silver Affinity

An open quarry dug deep into the hills across from the prison. The cart rolled over the narrow winding slopes of a path through rocky cliffs. Jagged edges crumbled beneath steel incisors swung from the pick-ax handle.

Kurl stretched his toes in military grade boots and his threadbare uniform; his fellow inmates worked barefoot, in rags. Their limbs weighted by heavy irons struggled to wield their mining tools. Fingers curled around the invisible handle.

The cart rumbled past Gisela. A cloud of dust rose around her legs. She struggled to strike stone with one withered hand. Kurl caught her out of the corner of his eye and refused to acknowledge it. That would mean looking down. Rigid posture kept his stare focused on the path ahead.

“What’s your problem,” Adam bounced with the cart, “I’m not going to do anything. The sigil burns. If I so much as move a pebble...”

Angry eyes flared upon the cart. Adam glanced over them with a shrug, “We’ve caught the attention of the rabble.”

Roxanne rubbed the back of her neck, “I don’t like this. It feels staged to make everyone hate us.”

The cart bounced them harshly.

“Let them hate us,” Adam waved his hand about, “Not like they matter.”

Kurl folded his arms over his chest, “Maybe it doesn’t matter. But there’s no need to provoke our fellows. Circumstances have a strange way of biting you in the ass. It’s better to make friends over enemies,” he turned to Brunswick, “And you, I thought this was a trip to recover this angel. Why are we back in the quarry? Are you drawing the attention of every other inmate on purpose?”

“I have no intentions of making you hated by your peers. They have their work, and you have yours. The fact is, the angel has been secured within a depleted mine here.”

Kurl grunted.

The cart halted at a wide cave sealed by boards. Two guards pulled the slats aside. The controller jumped from the cart and directed the squad to follow. The guards followed behind. One smelt like iron and the other gave off a strong mana aura.

Streaks of iron ore lined the rock. Steel rods imbedded horizontally in the stone were more concerning. They weren’t even flush with the walls.

The sigils pushed oppressively on their spines, more demanding than any chains.

“Can you tell the sigil master to lighten his grip,” Kurl groaned, “At this rate we’ll faint before we reach the angel. If you want us to fight, you’ll have to trust us eventually.”

Brunswick addressed the guard, “Keep a watch on their mana, but don’t smother them. These prisoners are national assets that we need alive. Except for him,” he pointed at Adam, “Keep a heavy hand on that one, but don’t kill him.”

“I appreciate sparing my life,” Adam choked, sweating while going pale from the mana hold.

Roxanne took a sausage out of her cleavage and bit it in half.

The tunnel reached an elevator. She finished the sausage in the creaky iron cage. By the time they reached the bottom she’d finished the other. A short walk turning through a labyrinth led to a seal chamber. Iron doors slid open.

A large chamber dug from the sandstone stretched for many meters. A single granite pillar separated the back wall almost evenly. A platform of stone bricks displayed a giant steel sarcophagus imprinted with the winged spear. Various desks and work stations were scattered, each under a bright lantern hung from an iron stand. Supply crates of many sizes lined the cavern walls in no recognizable order.

Staff in military uniforms coalesced before the new arrivals.

Kurl read their mana levels, because these soldiers didn’t hide their power. He figured them for a bunch of second-rate iron and stone users. But there were three odd women dressed as maids. They either had the lowest rank or hid their powers well.

The squad formed a line with Adam and Roxanne standing beside Kurl.

Brunswick took the center and waved the curious soldiers away, “Have the priest and the tarnish attendants come forward. Everyone else back to your stations. There is no need to make you introductions.”

An old man came forward in a black priest’s frock cut high above the ankles. An ornate white cross was embroidered in front of his heart. Grayed curly hair framed a crooked nose. Salt and pepper stubble covered his poorly shaven chin.

“Greetings, I’m Father Tergeist,” his voice boomed with a pleasant smile, “Water neophyte of the first order in service of the angel. The armaments of the blessed one are to be consecrated by God. It’s my duty to ensure that our angel is equipped in the full armor of our almighty protector. May the scourge of the demonic vampire plague be purged from our lands,” he bowed and indicated toward the three maids, “But these three are more important than I. Holy women of the cross, if you’d be so kind as to introduce yourselves.”

Three young maidens with fair skin stood with clasped hands over grey aprons. A blue-silver cross was embroidered over each of their hearts. They looked out of place at the bottom of a fire lit mine full of imperial soldiers. They might have been triplets, their appearance was interchangeable with the exception of coloring.

Adam whistled low while looking them over.

The first bowed before Brunswick, curtseyed her maid uniform while scanning the squad. Smooth brown hair flowed, “Pleased to make your acquaintance. I’m Susana Heinkel, brown tarnish acolyte. At the service of the angel,” Susana stepped back.

A woman with grey hair yet an appearance radiating youth stepped forward with a proper curtsey, “I am Jessica Schmidt, Grey tarnish acolyte at the service of the angel. Pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Jessica stepped back.

The next maid had long flowing black hair. Brown eyes glimmering under the light of the posted lanterns. Her coy smile lingered as she looked through Brunswick and eyed Kurl.

He shuddered.

She took her bow, slightly faster and less refined than the others, “Frederika Bauer, Sulphur tarnish acolyte at the service of the angel. Good day.” She giggled a little as she stepped back, her eyes darting between Kurl and Adam.

Kurl made a mental note of the troublesome women.

“I suggest you familiarize with these four. They are the angel’s retinue,” Brunswick explained, “It’s your duty to treat them as a valued attachment to your unit. When you have no other conflicting objectives, your first priority is their wellbeing.”

“Understood,” Kurl narrowed his eyes. He glanced at Roxanne and Adam. They shrugged together, but he read it as understanding, “So if we’re to understand correctly, you’re keeping an angel in a giant steel vampire coffin?”

“Precisely. Father Tergeist, unseal the vessel.”

“Yes sir, this is the highest honor, a privilege and glory before the almighty-”

“Unseal the vessel.”

The priest bowed, then yelled while walking forward. The maids followed while repeating after in a softer voice, “Sound the trumpets! Break the seals. Pull the chains. Free the servant of the almighty! Bring the ordained purification!”

An imprint of the sigil with spear and wings glowed from within the depressions on the steel surface. The lid unlatched. Chains lurched taut. Several mages concentrated. The great lid opened on heavy hinges creaking with every inch.

A woman laid inside a lining of soft blue velvet, or it would have been soft if not torn from the interior. Shreds of the fabric stuck between her slender fingers. A single dead tulip wilted in her right hand. Her blue eyes opened. She squinted at the sudden lights, despite the dim shadowy cave. The flower fell as she took a step and scanned her surroundings.

Pristine azure boots tapped the platform. White stockings clung to her legs. A white dress of pure shrouds hung from slender shoulders, reaching her ankles. Blonde hair flowed in manicured curls all the way to her hips. Her presence lit the platform. Blue eyes glowed undeniably brighter than the torchers. Every hair, even her lashes, had an ethereal gloss.

She spread out her arms like a New Testament saint. The visage of halo and wings appeared, only to fade in seconds, “Mortals of the human realm. Blessed is your humble existence, for you shall inherit the earth. Let your light shine against evil, so brightly it perishes in the rays. Because you are the chosen of God! And I am the emissary from your salvation! Together we cleanse our hearts to reclaim this fallen world!”

The holy man fell on his knees, “Oh glorious heavenly sight! I pray for your benevolence!”

The maids fell on one knee behind him. The soldiers, one by one, succumbed to kneeling while her radiance filled the mine.

Kurl refused to kneel, his expression remained cold, yet fixated upon the revealed angel.

Roxanne stood on shaking legs, and almost bowed, but Kurl and Brunswick signaled her not too. She almost bowed anyway and had to look away.

Adam forced himself to remain standing, yet his jaw dropped, “She’s breathtaking. God sent us blessings denied for a thousand years. Glorious.”

The angel stepped down from the platform, grabbed the priest by the hair, and raised him off his feet with her arm held high, “Do not disgrace what I am by bowing before me, you uncouth blasphemer!”

The maids returned to standing, as did everyone else.

Father Tergeist dropped from her grip, “Apologies your holiness. Please forgive me.”

“Only God is holy. You call yourself a priest? Disgusting,” She scanned each of the maids as they bowed their heads in deference, “I like you three. Where is the villain who sealed me in steel? Where is the one responsible for the defilement on my neck!? Is this anyway to treat the one sent to light your path? Where’s my spear!? Where is the royal family to request consecration of their nation!? Where is my army!? God demands sacrifice for such betrayals!”

Brunswick stepped back and whispered to Kurl, “Your team will need to prove yourselves. Fail, and I’ll execute everyone.”

Kurl moved forward, though steps were shaky, “That’s not how any of this works. I’m Kurl, and you’re under my command.”

A long box rattled, wood creaked as the top burst off. A thick silver spear, polished to a fine shine, with a sharp silver arrowhead tip flew into the angel’s hand.

Kurl turned back at the controller as his squad spread out, “You left a weapon here!?”

“How else do you expect to prove yourself? We won’t interfere with your sigils unless the fight gets out of hand.”

Zinnian concentrated around Kurl in pockets while the others sought shelter at the edges.

“You seek to command a direct servant of the Lord thy God?” The spear twirled as the angel smiled, “I won’t even show you my true form. Prove your worth! Earn the knowledge of my name.”