Altar of Maws by Peter Fehervari

Author:Peter Fehervari
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2023-04-13T12:13:45+00:00

iv. Awakening

The Captain sighed with joy as he felt the last of the lake’s unholy chains break, sundered by their captive’s exertions. The Sleeper Beneath had fed well on the souls its prophet had sent it, growing stronger with every morsel until it was undeniable. He’d been right to withhold his ship’s firepower and deliver the offerings broken, but unburned. They were more wholesome that way.

Purer.

Supernal tremors reverberated from the lake’s depths, vibrating through his ship’s hull and mould-riddled decks. His sigh became a wail as the wave surged up his legs and along his spine, spreading through his bloated body like a storm. He gripped the wheel as a holy seizure wracked him, rupturing organs and snapping bones into new configurations, each more profound and improbable than the last, every one bringing him a little closer to his lord. It hurt – oh, how it hurt! – but he welcomed the benediction.

It’s done, he thought, staring at the dirty window where he’d deciphered the God-Emperor’s will through the long years. He wanted to say it aloud, but his tongue had torn free of its roots and slithered down his throat. He could feel it grubbing about in his belly, searching for words to celebrate his victory, though he already had the best ones.

It’s done!

The sound of gunfire rippled through his blessed torment, coming from the deck outside, so far away it didn’t matter. His crew was dying – truly dying this time, finally and forever – but that didn’t matter either. They’d fulfilled their purpose, as had this vessel. The sacrament was complete.

I’ve made things right!

None of his followers resisted or resented their end. Indeed, the few who could still feel anything welcomed death. He didn’t begrudge them oblivion. They’d been a loyal crew.

Once I showed them the way, the prophet added, thinking of his predecessor, who was hissing and shedding fervent spores behind him. The former heretic was caught up in the ritual’s consummation too, all his doubts forgiven. That pleased the Captain. Unlike his god, he’d never been a cruel man by nature, but necessity had nurtured what it needed.

So it goes, he remembered, sensing but not quite understanding the wisdom of that phrase, or where he’d heard it or why, which was the whole story of his life-in-death really. But even that didn’t matter. Not to a man of faith. Besides, his own story was also coming to an end. He could feel its finality in his guts, blooming amid the putrid blood and viscera down there. That sludge was becoming uncontainable now. Like his tongue, it wanted to go its own way.

Then go, he acceded, opening his mouth. The tide rose to his invitation, as eager and unstoppable as the sleeper he’d awoken. His neck distended with pressure as he spewed his insides over the wheel and the window, along with his wayward tongue and a shoal of rotten teeth. He shuddered with the release, but it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. The flow wouldn’t stop.

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