Daywalker chronicles com.., p.69
Daywalker Chronicles Complete Series Boxed Set, page 69
With a shaky breath, I steadied my trembling fingers and sent out my desperate plea for help.
Trapped in a Babylonian dungeon. Weak from lack of blood. Need help ASAP. Contact Zoey & get her on this. Don’t underestimate them.
Send.
My heart pounded as I watched the message disappear into cyberspace, praying it would find its way to Dylan. As an afterthought, I copied the message and fired it off to Zoey as well. Better safe than sorry.
“Come on, come on,” I muttered, my eyes glued to the screen, willing the little checkmarks to turn blue, signaling that the messages had been read. No response yet. I glanced at the battery icon, which seemed to shrink with every passing second. Panic bubbled in my chest like an overflowing cauldron.
“Of course, the one time I need you, you’re slower than a sloth on tranquilizers,” I grumbled, addressing the phone as if it could hear me. My mind swarmed with worry, each thought buzzing louder than the last. What if they didn’t get my message? What if they were already captured? What if—
The screen went black.
“No!” I cried and slammed my fist against the cold stone floor. The pain barely registered through my mounting frustration. The phone was dead, and with it, my connection to the outside world.
“Useless piece of shit,” I hissed, tossing it aside. Alone and uncertain, I cradled my head in my hands, fighting back tears. I should have been there for my team, leading them through whatever dangers lurked in New Babylon. Instead, I was trapped in a cell, waiting for someone else to save the day.
“All right, Sienna.” I steeled myself against the darkness. “You’re not beaten yet. When life throws you in a dungeon, you make…dungeon-ade.”
“Ugh, that was terrible,” I groaned, rolling my eyes at my own terrible joke. But even as I chastised myself, I knew that laughter—however forced—was my lifeline in this bleak situation.
The heavy dungeon door creaked open, casting a sliver of light into the cell. I squinted, shielding my eyes as they adjusted to the abrupt intrusion. My heart raced, wondering if this meant a chance at escape or something far worse.
“Aw, look at the poor little vampire,” a Babylonian guard sneered from the other side of the gate that sealed my cell.
“Is this what passes for entertainment around here?” I shot back. “Taunting helpless prisoners?”
“Laugh all you want. But your friends are doomed. Our armies are pursuing them as we speak, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“Really?” I retorted, crossing my arms defiantly. “You know, I’ve got to hand it to you guys. Your dedication to being cartoonishly evil is almost impressive.”
“Keep up the bravado all you want, but we both know you’re scared,” the guard replied, his grin returning. “Your friends are going to die, and you won’t even be able to watch.”
“Nice try,” I scoffed, refusing to let him see how his words had sent a shiver down my spine. “But I’m not worried about my team. They’re resourceful. It’s your king I pity. Imagine how humiliating it’ll be when he realizes he’s underestimated us…”
For a moment, the guard’s smug expression wavered under the weight of my biting remark. He opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. Instead, he clenched his fists and stormed away, slamming the dungeon door behind him.
“Touché,” I muttered under my breath, allowing myself a small smile. But the smile quickly faded as I remembered the precarious situation I was in. My team was out there, possibly fighting for their lives, and I was stuck in this godforsaken cell, my strength dwindling with every passing moment.
I started counting the stones in the wall. I didn’t know what it would accomplish, but there wasn’t much more I could do. I didn’t get past a hundred before I heard footsteps approaching again. The dungeon door creaked open, and in walked the guard. He wasn’t alone this time. Behind him lumbered a stiff-legged man. I noted the man’s blank face and realized it wasn’t a real man but a golem, probably forged from the same Archeus crystal that had brought this godforsaken empire back to life.
“If it were up to me you’d starve. Apparently, you have to eat,” the guard sneered, jerking a thumb at the golem before opening the iron door that sealed my cell and ushering it in. “This is your only source of sustenance now. Enjoy.”
I stared at the creature warily. Despite my desperate need for blood, something about the golem set off alarm bells in my mind.
“Wait, you expect me to feed on that thing?”
“Suit yourself.” The guard shrugged, trying his best to appear nonchalant as he turned and left the dungeon—leaving me alone with Mr. Breakfast.
Feeding on the golem seemed like a trap. What if it was poisoned or cursed? But without blood, I would continue to weaken, and escaping this place would become impossible.
The golem stood there, towering over me, its blank gaze both unnerving and pitiable. As much as I wanted to refuse the offer, my body screamed for nourishment. Could I afford to be picky?
“Hey, big guy,” I addressed the creature, my voice softer, almost pleading. “Can you give me any reason why I should trust you?”
Silently, the golem tilted its head. It was just a shell—an empty body without any consciousness inhabiting its limbs.
My instincts warred with each other as I weighed the risks. “Okay. But if I end up cursed, you’re going down with me.”
The golem, unable to speak, moved closer to me with deliberate steps. It tilted its head and raised its arm, silently offering itself as a source of nourishment. The expression on its faceless visage seemed almost apologetic. I was reading emotions in the face of a golem now. Solitary confinement must’ve been messing with my head.
I sighed, my hunger gnawing at me like a ravenous beast. “If you’re that eager to help, I guess I don’t have much choice.”
“Here’s hoping you don’t taste like dirt.” At least I didn’t have to worry about offending the golem.
I tentatively reached out to it. It felt cool and its skin was smooth as if it were a baby recently born. It probably was, of a sort.
I sank my fangs into the golem’s arm and a rush of energy coursed through me. It wasn’t real human blood, but it would do.
“Wow,” I said between swallows, feeling my strength returning with each mouthful. “I’ve gotta say, you’re definitely an acquired taste. Better than dirt. Marginally.”
The golem wasn’t exactly the best conversationalist I’d ever met. He was probably a shitty listener, but at least his lack of speech gave me the impression that he could hear me. I suppose talking to the golem was just a step above Tom Hanks talking to a volleyball—or me talking to myself.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The cold, damp air of the dungeon clung to my skin like a second layer. I shivered as I snuggled up next to the golem. I know, they say you aren’t supposed to cuddle with your food, but the thing did emit a little heat. It was a living body, even if it lacked a soul or any individual intelligence.
I heard the distant echo of footsteps approaching and instinctively retreated into the shadows. The place was starting to mess with my head. Was it that damned guard again? Maybe it was Nebuchadnezzar coming to gloat. I hoped it was Zoey—maybe she got my text, rallied a badass team of reapers and Olympians, and conquered New Babylon without me realizing all that had happened. With the enemy gone, she’d come to rescue me. Probably with Dylan and the rest of my team.
I laughed at the thought. I’d never been a damsel of any sort. Though, Zoey had rescued me once before, when those two vampires—Nosferatu and Katerina—held me captive in an attempt to get to Zoey. That was before, though. Long before she and Morty tried to save me mid-transformation, using his scythe to hold my soul in reserve while allowing the vampire venom to run its course through my body. It didn’t work. When my soul returned to my body I wasn’t a normal vampire. I was this. A daywalker. For the better part of a year, I was human at night and my vampirism only came out under the vigor of sunlight. It was like the little soul-reaping trick they did mirrored the vampiric curse, making me the opposite of most bloodsucking fiends. Over the year or so that followed, though, the desire for blood grew stronger. Even with my brooch, which suppressed those urges for a time, it got strong enough that before I knew it my brooch did nothing at all. A little blood, and my vampirism got stronger, and before I knew it I wasn’t human even at night. Still, with sunlight at my disposal, I was significantly stronger during the day—stronger than even the most ancient vampires I’d ever met.
Long story short? Not a damsel in distress. Not since I became what I am. Ideally, Zoey was working with my team on a plan. Regardless, I couldn’t languish in my cell forever hoping they’d figure it out. I needed to find a weakness, something about this ancient empire, brought back to life, that we could exploit.
I wished for the hundredth time that I were back at my computer, unraveling the mysteries of Babylonian gods from the safety of my digital sanctuary. Research is always removed from reality, though. I was in New Babylon, and the gods were enfleshed in golems somewhere nearby. If I could just get out of the damned cell and figure out a way to get my brooch working, I might be able to learn a few things that I could bring to the team when, or if, I ever saw them again.
I stayed in the darkest shadowed corner of my cell and tilted my head, angling my ear to the sound of the steps that approached. They didn’t sound like the guard’s boots. Rather than the sharp “clink” of armored boots on stone, it was more of a “thud,” like something large and heavy was making its way toward me.
I couldn’t rule out anything that my imagination concocted. Only hours ago—or was it days or weeks—I’d seen alligators come to life as if they were human half-breeds. Presumably, they were still out there, terrorizing the swamps, preventing the Babylonians from expanding their kingdom as planned.
Maybe one of the alligators made it through? Perhaps one of the wolves? “Dylan?” I asked.
No response.
As the figure drew closer, I could make out the unmistakable glint of golden fur. It was Enkidu—or, at least, it appeared to be him. But with Sloth possessing his body the last I knew, there was no telling if he was friend or foe. I wasn’t entirely sure where the loyalties of Enkidu or Sloth lay at this point. They’d both said they were loyal to me, but they’d both done things to make me question it, and I wasn’t entirely sure which one of them was responsible for releasing Dylan, Logan, and Ian, and reforging them into the new kind of werewolves they’d become.
“Enkidu, are you…you?” I asked hesitantly, still concealed in the shadows.
The golden werewolf stopped in his tracks, tilting his head as if puzzled by my question. I couldn’t tell if it was the real Enkidu or Sloth’s influence that made him hesitate. I bit my lip, cursing myself for not having a better plan.
“Sienna, is that you?”
The voice was unmistakably Enkidu’s, but the cold and detached tone confirmed that Sloth was the one in control.
“Sloth! It’s me! How did you find me?”
“This wolf’s body has great hearing. I thought it annoying, at first. In my attempts to sit around and do nothing, I couldn’t shut off the sounds all around. The business of this undead city, the sounds of the swamp surrounding it. It’s impossible to sleep like this.”
“Do you know what Nebuchadnezzar plans to do with me?” I asked.
“Best I can tell, leave you here until your friends cease to be a barrier to his plans. Though, I think, a part of him hopes he might eventually win you over.”
“He already tried that. This place is impressive, no doubt, but I don’t care how cool or beautiful New Babylon might be. He’s insane. He wants to rule the world, like every cliché villain ever.”
Sloth chuckled. “Well, I suppose, the villain cliché comes, as most clichés do, from history. Expansionism was viewed by not just the Babylonians, but the Persians, the Seleucid Greeks, and especially the Romans as evidence of the gods’ favor. Even America had its manifest destiny.”
I chuckled. “Well, I don’t think that Marduk cares about currying other gods’ favor.”
“But Nebuchadnezzar does,” Sloth pointed out. “The gods abandoned Babylon once before. They allowed Alexander to conquer them. They’d abandoned them in seasons before, but never totally.”
“Like when Cyrus attacked, or Tiglath-Pileser afterward.”
Sloth nodded. “Indeed. Each time, though, I suspect someone in Babylon managed to convince their gods to re-commit themselves to the empire’s glory. Until they didn’t.”
“I used my power before to look into Nebuchadnezzar’s mind. The vision I saw was of Babylon burning, the gods hovering above nonchalantly, all chill. Like they didn’t give a shit and were maybe satisfied to see the empire fall.”
“That’s simply a manifestation of Nebuchadnezzar’s fears. I suspect you saw the same kind of thing I witness when I possess someone. I get flashes of what lurks in the mind. It can be real memories but, more often than not, it’s manifestations of fear, or other dominant emotions, that bring certain images to mind.”
“So Nebuchadnezzar is afraid of the gods. Not just afraid of them, but afraid of disappointing them.”
Sloth exhaled slowly, his wolfish breath frosting in the dungeon’s chilly air. “I believe so. If we can find a way to get rid of Marduk, even temporarily, Nebuchadnezzar will panic and think the gods abandoned him. That’s why I came as soon as I learned you were here. If we can get Marduk out of the picture, all the magic that enchants this place will fade. It is Marduk, not something writ into the buildings and streets, that’s powering this place.”
I sighed “We have to defeat the god Marduk? That’s your revelation?”
Sloth shrugged, Enkidu’s large wolf shoulders rising and falling. “Maybe. All I said is you have to put him away, silence him somehow. Can’t your friend do that?”
I nodded. “Sure, Zoey can reap gods. She’s done it before. Unless we can send him back somewhere locked up, though, so long as there are armies here and people who revere him, all it will take is for them to invoke him again and he’ll be right back.”
“Perhaps,” Sloth admitted. “Though, it does give you time to deal the armies a blow. Even if Marduk returns with the other gods in force eventually, perhaps he’ll have fewer soldiers at his disposal. Or none at all.”
“Defeating a god is tricky enough, but doing it while I’m locked up in here?” I spread my arms to emphasize the confines of our cell. “Every time I faced a god before, I had Zoey’s help. I don’t know if she’s coming or not. Even then, I had advantages I don’t have while trapped in this cell. Please tell me you have an idea how I might go about this?”
Sloth sniffed. His tail flicked in each direction. “I am afraid I do not have a plan laid out for you.”
“Great. So what was the point of telling me all this? To give me the privilege of dying with the knowledge that we might’ve had a chance if we weren’t stuck in this hole?”
Sloth’s ears flattened against his head, a rare sign of discomfort. “I thought you should know. Perhaps you can find a way to escape and confront Marduk.”
“All right.” I clenched my fists. “Let’s assume I somehow manage to get out of here. Then what? Do you know anything about Marduk’s weaknesses? Anything that might give us an edge?”
Sloth’s gaze dropped to the floor. “Unfortunately, no. My knowledge of Marduk is limited. I only discovered the connection between him and Babylon’s power recently.”
“Of course,” I grumbled, feeling the walls of hopelessness close in again.
“Remember, Sienna: even gods have their limits.”
I eyed Enkidu’s golden werewolf form with a mix of caution and hope. “I can’t kill Marduk from in here. What do you say we get out of this joint and take the fight to him?”
Sloth hesitated, his ears flicking back and forth as if searching for some hidden threat. Eventually, he shook his massive head, sending ripples through his fur like a field of wheat in a breeze. “It’s not that simple, Sienna. As long as Nebuchadnezzar believes Enkidu remains in control, I can gather information and stay close to him.”
“Great, so you’re playing double agent,” I retorted. “But what use is all that intel if I’m rotting away in this dungeon?”
A low growl rumbled in Sloth’s chest, and he paced back and forth in front of the cell, his claws clicking against the stone floor. Watching him move, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. He was risking everything by coming to me like this. If he were discovered, it could mean the end of both our chances at stopping Marduk.
“Sienna, I understand your frustration,” Sloth began, his voice tense. “But if I risk exposing myself now, we lose any advantage we might have had.”
“Advantage?” I scoffed, the absurdity of the situation almost laughable. “I’m not sure you’ve noticed, but I’m not exactly in a position of power here.”
A flicker of sympathy crossed Sloth’s lupine features. “I know it’s difficult for you to see the bigger picture from here, Sienna.”
“What bigger picture, exactly?” My impatience and irritation wrestled with my begrudging acceptance of his reasoning. “If I knew there was a plan, something at all, I might be more inclined to wait this out. Without that, if I have to spend one more day eating my friend over there and listening to rats scurrying around, I might just lose my mind.”
“Stay strong, Sienna.” Sloth’s golden eyes softened. “You will find a way to get you out of here—eventually.”
“Come on, Sloth,” I pleaded. “You know as well as I do that if we don’t do something soon, Nebuchadnezzar will grow too powerful to stop. Right now, while his army is still small, we have a chance to beat him if we take Marduk out of the picture. If this place continues to grow, and more ancient soldiers are called out of the void, or hell, or wherever he’s bringing them back from, it won’t matter if Marduk is gone. Nebuchadnezzar will be too strong on his own.”
“Sienna, you must understand the risks involved in what you’re asking. If I help you escape now, and Nebuchadnezzar discovers my betrayal, it could be catastrophic for both of us.”
Trapped in a Babylonian dungeon. Weak from lack of blood. Need help ASAP. Contact Zoey & get her on this. Don’t underestimate them.
Send.
My heart pounded as I watched the message disappear into cyberspace, praying it would find its way to Dylan. As an afterthought, I copied the message and fired it off to Zoey as well. Better safe than sorry.
“Come on, come on,” I muttered, my eyes glued to the screen, willing the little checkmarks to turn blue, signaling that the messages had been read. No response yet. I glanced at the battery icon, which seemed to shrink with every passing second. Panic bubbled in my chest like an overflowing cauldron.
“Of course, the one time I need you, you’re slower than a sloth on tranquilizers,” I grumbled, addressing the phone as if it could hear me. My mind swarmed with worry, each thought buzzing louder than the last. What if they didn’t get my message? What if they were already captured? What if—
The screen went black.
“No!” I cried and slammed my fist against the cold stone floor. The pain barely registered through my mounting frustration. The phone was dead, and with it, my connection to the outside world.
“Useless piece of shit,” I hissed, tossing it aside. Alone and uncertain, I cradled my head in my hands, fighting back tears. I should have been there for my team, leading them through whatever dangers lurked in New Babylon. Instead, I was trapped in a cell, waiting for someone else to save the day.
“All right, Sienna.” I steeled myself against the darkness. “You’re not beaten yet. When life throws you in a dungeon, you make…dungeon-ade.”
“Ugh, that was terrible,” I groaned, rolling my eyes at my own terrible joke. But even as I chastised myself, I knew that laughter—however forced—was my lifeline in this bleak situation.
The heavy dungeon door creaked open, casting a sliver of light into the cell. I squinted, shielding my eyes as they adjusted to the abrupt intrusion. My heart raced, wondering if this meant a chance at escape or something far worse.
“Aw, look at the poor little vampire,” a Babylonian guard sneered from the other side of the gate that sealed my cell.
“Is this what passes for entertainment around here?” I shot back. “Taunting helpless prisoners?”
“Laugh all you want. But your friends are doomed. Our armies are pursuing them as we speak, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“Really?” I retorted, crossing my arms defiantly. “You know, I’ve got to hand it to you guys. Your dedication to being cartoonishly evil is almost impressive.”
“Keep up the bravado all you want, but we both know you’re scared,” the guard replied, his grin returning. “Your friends are going to die, and you won’t even be able to watch.”
“Nice try,” I scoffed, refusing to let him see how his words had sent a shiver down my spine. “But I’m not worried about my team. They’re resourceful. It’s your king I pity. Imagine how humiliating it’ll be when he realizes he’s underestimated us…”
For a moment, the guard’s smug expression wavered under the weight of my biting remark. He opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. Instead, he clenched his fists and stormed away, slamming the dungeon door behind him.
“Touché,” I muttered under my breath, allowing myself a small smile. But the smile quickly faded as I remembered the precarious situation I was in. My team was out there, possibly fighting for their lives, and I was stuck in this godforsaken cell, my strength dwindling with every passing moment.
I started counting the stones in the wall. I didn’t know what it would accomplish, but there wasn’t much more I could do. I didn’t get past a hundred before I heard footsteps approaching again. The dungeon door creaked open, and in walked the guard. He wasn’t alone this time. Behind him lumbered a stiff-legged man. I noted the man’s blank face and realized it wasn’t a real man but a golem, probably forged from the same Archeus crystal that had brought this godforsaken empire back to life.
“If it were up to me you’d starve. Apparently, you have to eat,” the guard sneered, jerking a thumb at the golem before opening the iron door that sealed my cell and ushering it in. “This is your only source of sustenance now. Enjoy.”
I stared at the creature warily. Despite my desperate need for blood, something about the golem set off alarm bells in my mind.
“Wait, you expect me to feed on that thing?”
“Suit yourself.” The guard shrugged, trying his best to appear nonchalant as he turned and left the dungeon—leaving me alone with Mr. Breakfast.
Feeding on the golem seemed like a trap. What if it was poisoned or cursed? But without blood, I would continue to weaken, and escaping this place would become impossible.
The golem stood there, towering over me, its blank gaze both unnerving and pitiable. As much as I wanted to refuse the offer, my body screamed for nourishment. Could I afford to be picky?
“Hey, big guy,” I addressed the creature, my voice softer, almost pleading. “Can you give me any reason why I should trust you?”
Silently, the golem tilted its head. It was just a shell—an empty body without any consciousness inhabiting its limbs.
My instincts warred with each other as I weighed the risks. “Okay. But if I end up cursed, you’re going down with me.”
The golem, unable to speak, moved closer to me with deliberate steps. It tilted its head and raised its arm, silently offering itself as a source of nourishment. The expression on its faceless visage seemed almost apologetic. I was reading emotions in the face of a golem now. Solitary confinement must’ve been messing with my head.
I sighed, my hunger gnawing at me like a ravenous beast. “If you’re that eager to help, I guess I don’t have much choice.”
“Here’s hoping you don’t taste like dirt.” At least I didn’t have to worry about offending the golem.
I tentatively reached out to it. It felt cool and its skin was smooth as if it were a baby recently born. It probably was, of a sort.
I sank my fangs into the golem’s arm and a rush of energy coursed through me. It wasn’t real human blood, but it would do.
“Wow,” I said between swallows, feeling my strength returning with each mouthful. “I’ve gotta say, you’re definitely an acquired taste. Better than dirt. Marginally.”
The golem wasn’t exactly the best conversationalist I’d ever met. He was probably a shitty listener, but at least his lack of speech gave me the impression that he could hear me. I suppose talking to the golem was just a step above Tom Hanks talking to a volleyball—or me talking to myself.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The cold, damp air of the dungeon clung to my skin like a second layer. I shivered as I snuggled up next to the golem. I know, they say you aren’t supposed to cuddle with your food, but the thing did emit a little heat. It was a living body, even if it lacked a soul or any individual intelligence.
I heard the distant echo of footsteps approaching and instinctively retreated into the shadows. The place was starting to mess with my head. Was it that damned guard again? Maybe it was Nebuchadnezzar coming to gloat. I hoped it was Zoey—maybe she got my text, rallied a badass team of reapers and Olympians, and conquered New Babylon without me realizing all that had happened. With the enemy gone, she’d come to rescue me. Probably with Dylan and the rest of my team.
I laughed at the thought. I’d never been a damsel of any sort. Though, Zoey had rescued me once before, when those two vampires—Nosferatu and Katerina—held me captive in an attempt to get to Zoey. That was before, though. Long before she and Morty tried to save me mid-transformation, using his scythe to hold my soul in reserve while allowing the vampire venom to run its course through my body. It didn’t work. When my soul returned to my body I wasn’t a normal vampire. I was this. A daywalker. For the better part of a year, I was human at night and my vampirism only came out under the vigor of sunlight. It was like the little soul-reaping trick they did mirrored the vampiric curse, making me the opposite of most bloodsucking fiends. Over the year or so that followed, though, the desire for blood grew stronger. Even with my brooch, which suppressed those urges for a time, it got strong enough that before I knew it my brooch did nothing at all. A little blood, and my vampirism got stronger, and before I knew it I wasn’t human even at night. Still, with sunlight at my disposal, I was significantly stronger during the day—stronger than even the most ancient vampires I’d ever met.
Long story short? Not a damsel in distress. Not since I became what I am. Ideally, Zoey was working with my team on a plan. Regardless, I couldn’t languish in my cell forever hoping they’d figure it out. I needed to find a weakness, something about this ancient empire, brought back to life, that we could exploit.
I wished for the hundredth time that I were back at my computer, unraveling the mysteries of Babylonian gods from the safety of my digital sanctuary. Research is always removed from reality, though. I was in New Babylon, and the gods were enfleshed in golems somewhere nearby. If I could just get out of the damned cell and figure out a way to get my brooch working, I might be able to learn a few things that I could bring to the team when, or if, I ever saw them again.
I stayed in the darkest shadowed corner of my cell and tilted my head, angling my ear to the sound of the steps that approached. They didn’t sound like the guard’s boots. Rather than the sharp “clink” of armored boots on stone, it was more of a “thud,” like something large and heavy was making its way toward me.
I couldn’t rule out anything that my imagination concocted. Only hours ago—or was it days or weeks—I’d seen alligators come to life as if they were human half-breeds. Presumably, they were still out there, terrorizing the swamps, preventing the Babylonians from expanding their kingdom as planned.
Maybe one of the alligators made it through? Perhaps one of the wolves? “Dylan?” I asked.
No response.
As the figure drew closer, I could make out the unmistakable glint of golden fur. It was Enkidu—or, at least, it appeared to be him. But with Sloth possessing his body the last I knew, there was no telling if he was friend or foe. I wasn’t entirely sure where the loyalties of Enkidu or Sloth lay at this point. They’d both said they were loyal to me, but they’d both done things to make me question it, and I wasn’t entirely sure which one of them was responsible for releasing Dylan, Logan, and Ian, and reforging them into the new kind of werewolves they’d become.
“Enkidu, are you…you?” I asked hesitantly, still concealed in the shadows.
The golden werewolf stopped in his tracks, tilting his head as if puzzled by my question. I couldn’t tell if it was the real Enkidu or Sloth’s influence that made him hesitate. I bit my lip, cursing myself for not having a better plan.
“Sienna, is that you?”
The voice was unmistakably Enkidu’s, but the cold and detached tone confirmed that Sloth was the one in control.
“Sloth! It’s me! How did you find me?”
“This wolf’s body has great hearing. I thought it annoying, at first. In my attempts to sit around and do nothing, I couldn’t shut off the sounds all around. The business of this undead city, the sounds of the swamp surrounding it. It’s impossible to sleep like this.”
“Do you know what Nebuchadnezzar plans to do with me?” I asked.
“Best I can tell, leave you here until your friends cease to be a barrier to his plans. Though, I think, a part of him hopes he might eventually win you over.”
“He already tried that. This place is impressive, no doubt, but I don’t care how cool or beautiful New Babylon might be. He’s insane. He wants to rule the world, like every cliché villain ever.”
Sloth chuckled. “Well, I suppose, the villain cliché comes, as most clichés do, from history. Expansionism was viewed by not just the Babylonians, but the Persians, the Seleucid Greeks, and especially the Romans as evidence of the gods’ favor. Even America had its manifest destiny.”
I chuckled. “Well, I don’t think that Marduk cares about currying other gods’ favor.”
“But Nebuchadnezzar does,” Sloth pointed out. “The gods abandoned Babylon once before. They allowed Alexander to conquer them. They’d abandoned them in seasons before, but never totally.”
“Like when Cyrus attacked, or Tiglath-Pileser afterward.”
Sloth nodded. “Indeed. Each time, though, I suspect someone in Babylon managed to convince their gods to re-commit themselves to the empire’s glory. Until they didn’t.”
“I used my power before to look into Nebuchadnezzar’s mind. The vision I saw was of Babylon burning, the gods hovering above nonchalantly, all chill. Like they didn’t give a shit and were maybe satisfied to see the empire fall.”
“That’s simply a manifestation of Nebuchadnezzar’s fears. I suspect you saw the same kind of thing I witness when I possess someone. I get flashes of what lurks in the mind. It can be real memories but, more often than not, it’s manifestations of fear, or other dominant emotions, that bring certain images to mind.”
“So Nebuchadnezzar is afraid of the gods. Not just afraid of them, but afraid of disappointing them.”
Sloth exhaled slowly, his wolfish breath frosting in the dungeon’s chilly air. “I believe so. If we can find a way to get rid of Marduk, even temporarily, Nebuchadnezzar will panic and think the gods abandoned him. That’s why I came as soon as I learned you were here. If we can get Marduk out of the picture, all the magic that enchants this place will fade. It is Marduk, not something writ into the buildings and streets, that’s powering this place.”
I sighed “We have to defeat the god Marduk? That’s your revelation?”
Sloth shrugged, Enkidu’s large wolf shoulders rising and falling. “Maybe. All I said is you have to put him away, silence him somehow. Can’t your friend do that?”
I nodded. “Sure, Zoey can reap gods. She’s done it before. Unless we can send him back somewhere locked up, though, so long as there are armies here and people who revere him, all it will take is for them to invoke him again and he’ll be right back.”
“Perhaps,” Sloth admitted. “Though, it does give you time to deal the armies a blow. Even if Marduk returns with the other gods in force eventually, perhaps he’ll have fewer soldiers at his disposal. Or none at all.”
“Defeating a god is tricky enough, but doing it while I’m locked up in here?” I spread my arms to emphasize the confines of our cell. “Every time I faced a god before, I had Zoey’s help. I don’t know if she’s coming or not. Even then, I had advantages I don’t have while trapped in this cell. Please tell me you have an idea how I might go about this?”
Sloth sniffed. His tail flicked in each direction. “I am afraid I do not have a plan laid out for you.”
“Great. So what was the point of telling me all this? To give me the privilege of dying with the knowledge that we might’ve had a chance if we weren’t stuck in this hole?”
Sloth’s ears flattened against his head, a rare sign of discomfort. “I thought you should know. Perhaps you can find a way to escape and confront Marduk.”
“All right.” I clenched my fists. “Let’s assume I somehow manage to get out of here. Then what? Do you know anything about Marduk’s weaknesses? Anything that might give us an edge?”
Sloth’s gaze dropped to the floor. “Unfortunately, no. My knowledge of Marduk is limited. I only discovered the connection between him and Babylon’s power recently.”
“Of course,” I grumbled, feeling the walls of hopelessness close in again.
“Remember, Sienna: even gods have their limits.”
I eyed Enkidu’s golden werewolf form with a mix of caution and hope. “I can’t kill Marduk from in here. What do you say we get out of this joint and take the fight to him?”
Sloth hesitated, his ears flicking back and forth as if searching for some hidden threat. Eventually, he shook his massive head, sending ripples through his fur like a field of wheat in a breeze. “It’s not that simple, Sienna. As long as Nebuchadnezzar believes Enkidu remains in control, I can gather information and stay close to him.”
“Great, so you’re playing double agent,” I retorted. “But what use is all that intel if I’m rotting away in this dungeon?”
A low growl rumbled in Sloth’s chest, and he paced back and forth in front of the cell, his claws clicking against the stone floor. Watching him move, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. He was risking everything by coming to me like this. If he were discovered, it could mean the end of both our chances at stopping Marduk.
“Sienna, I understand your frustration,” Sloth began, his voice tense. “But if I risk exposing myself now, we lose any advantage we might have had.”
“Advantage?” I scoffed, the absurdity of the situation almost laughable. “I’m not sure you’ve noticed, but I’m not exactly in a position of power here.”
A flicker of sympathy crossed Sloth’s lupine features. “I know it’s difficult for you to see the bigger picture from here, Sienna.”
“What bigger picture, exactly?” My impatience and irritation wrestled with my begrudging acceptance of his reasoning. “If I knew there was a plan, something at all, I might be more inclined to wait this out. Without that, if I have to spend one more day eating my friend over there and listening to rats scurrying around, I might just lose my mind.”
“Stay strong, Sienna.” Sloth’s golden eyes softened. “You will find a way to get you out of here—eventually.”
“Come on, Sloth,” I pleaded. “You know as well as I do that if we don’t do something soon, Nebuchadnezzar will grow too powerful to stop. Right now, while his army is still small, we have a chance to beat him if we take Marduk out of the picture. If this place continues to grow, and more ancient soldiers are called out of the void, or hell, or wherever he’s bringing them back from, it won’t matter if Marduk is gone. Nebuchadnezzar will be too strong on his own.”
“Sienna, you must understand the risks involved in what you’re asking. If I help you escape now, and Nebuchadnezzar discovers my betrayal, it could be catastrophic for both of us.”
