The Darkness Within by Jens C. Büdinger

Author:Jens C. Büdinger [Büdinger, Jens C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jens Buedinger

Chapter 20

The Treachery Of False Idols

Lilith opened the door from her bedroom onto the terrace. It was barely dawn, and the overcast sky was grey and blue. A soft breeze blew through the lower city of West Valendria, still and silent, as she stood watching the last few tufts of ash flutter in the air. She looked up, and soon one white flake and then another began to descend. Reaching out, she felt the coolness of winter kiss her fingers. The first crows took off from their perch next to the palace where she resided. The birds cawed as they flew over the partly charred city, announcing the new day and waking its remaining citizens, who still cowered in their homes.

Lilith propped up her white fur cloak as the brisk morning freshness landed on her smooth shoulders. Her eyes scanned across the city and the bay. Half of the vessels had been sunk, and the others beached or burnt, whilst the last remnants of the Valendrian fleet rested safely across the Grand Harbour, unmanned and unwilling to fight. The waters were abrim with timber and corpses as the furtive peasantry and the Drae’shï fished out the drifters that came close enough to the shore. Lilith took a deep breath of cold air through her nose, savouring the silence of a city whose bustling voice had now turned to a whiff of a whisper.

“Ilvaresh, the prisoner is here,” said a Drae’shï officer as he emerged onto the terrace. “He’s at the outpost just by the edge of Valen’s Crossing.”

Lilith turned her head slightly and nodded. The Drae’shï nodded and turned back. Lilith turned her gaze back at the view, watching as the stricken civilians sheepishly emerged to fetch their daily needs, all corralled through the streets by the tight Drae’shï detail at every corner. Fires began to burn once more as the pits for the dead were set alight with the fresh catch of floaters. The soot continued to cake all over the roofs of the city as black pigeons fluttered and squeezed themselves into the few nooks and crannies still free from the ash.

Across the waters, the Upper City and Vidian’s citadel remained unscathed, despite the month-long siege that ravaged West Valendria. The once vibrant and disparate skyline of the busy city had now turned to a series of crooked black rows of buildings, some demolished and some stacked with siege engines, like the skeletons of wild animals who met an untimely death.

Lilith departed from her abode. She walked along the streets under the revered sight of the Drae’shï, the shadows of the tall buildings, and the many ballistae and trebuchets that had been set upon their roofs. All pointed to one place: Vidian’s Citadel.

Lilith approached the opening toward the great bridge, where a space had been cleared, and a barricade erected around the landing. In the middle of it all stood a large black marquee. Guards guarded its perimeter, and as Lilith entered the clearance, they made way for her entrance and drew the flap on the tent.

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