16. Enjoy! ^^

Chapter 16: The High Priestess' Summons

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The High Priestess’ quarters looked exactly the same as Draygor remembered. Nothing had changed since his previous visit three years ago. A small tea table was placed right in the centre of the spacious room, with a few chairs around it. There was another door opposite the one they had just entered through, and Draygor presumed it led to the bedroom. The room had a holy atmosphere; it was truly a place of worship. It was not overly grandiose, devoid of worldly items, other than the little statues and paintings of the goddess Mhi’ra adorning the room.

The High Priestess was already waiting for them when they were ushered in. She gestured for Draygor and Kha’na to take a seat, and Draygor was amused to see that she was calm and collected, unlike during their first meeting where she had nearly been overcome by nervous anxiety.

“Seems she’s prepared well for this meeting,” he thought with a smirk. Kha’na had a small smirk upon her face as well. Draygor had told her of the High Priestess’ behaviour during the walk toward the temple, and she had to consciously hold back her laughter as she witnessed the High Priestess’ seemingly calm attitude.

“It’s been a while, Draygor. You’ve grown quite well. This is…?” Lah’ra spoke up in a steady voice, turning to look at Kha’na. She was determined not to let the embarrassing events of their previous meeting repeat themselves, and so far, she was pleased at herself for being so calm.

“Indeed, High Priestess. My companion is the one that nursed me back to health after I received this,” Draygor said as he lifted his shirt to show Lah’ra the remnants of his wound. It probably wasn’t necessary for him to do so. He didn’t blame her for it, but he decided that it would be fun to see her reaction to the wound he’d received while supposedly being under the protection of her guards.

“Such a large scar!” Lah’ra gasped in horror, bringing up her hands to cover her mouth, as she saw the scar on Draygor’s midriff. She reached out a trembling hand to touch it, but pulled back at the last second. Burying her face in her hands, Lah’ra began sobbing hysterically, the reality of her failure to protect him causing her emotions to well up. “I-it’s my fault…”

Kha’na and Draygor stared on incredulously, unsure of what to do. Draygor had merely meant to tease her, and he hadn’t expected such a strong reaction. It was clear to him now that the High Priestess really blamed herself for his disappearance, and he felt guilty for making light of her emotions. Wordlessly, he stood and made his way over to her, wrapping his arms around her in an attempt to comfort her as her tears flowed uncontrollably. She hugged him back as well, murmuring her apologies repeatedly. It was a good thing that the walls were thick, or the High Priestess’ guards would surely have been alerted by her emotional outburst.

It was a while before Lah’ra calmed down. Draygor returned to his seat as she wiped her tears away. With a sigh, he spoke up in an apologetic tone. “I don’t blame you for anything, High Priestess. It was my fault for being careless.”

“You know I’m special, having gained the goddess’ attention. It would be wise of you not to view me as a mere kid. I’m stronger than you could ever imagine. In fact, those who kidnapped me three years ago… well, let’s just say I wiped nearly all of them out,” Draygor added in a serious voice as he proceeded to recount his scuffle with the Cult of Shaitan.

Unlike with his parents and Dhi’na, he told her every detail, including Shaitan’s appearance. He saw her tense visibly at that part of the story, and he was prepared to beat a hasty retreat if she raised the alarm. Consorting with the Cult and their god was tantamount to treason in Gar’nashia, and was a crime punishable by death. They were considered domestic terrorists, and their presence was not tolerated by the government. It seemed the High Priestess was more open-minded than most though, for other than showing her obvious discomfort at the mention of Shaitan’s name, she didn’t do anything else.

“You’re saying that you nearly killed off the Cult? And spoke with… Shaitan?” Lah’ra asked in disbelief, shuddering visibly as she spoke Shaitan’s name. “I… find that hard to believe…”

“It is true. In fact, Kha’na here is one of the survivors from that bloodbath. To be precise, she is the Mouth of Shaitan, his prophet. Just like how you are the prophet of Mhi’ra.”

Lah’ra fixed her gaze on Kha’na as Draygor introduced her again, her brow furrowing into a frown. “The Mouth of Shaitan?... Pray tell, what are you doing following Draygor around? Didn’t she give you that wound? Why are you keeping her around?!” she spat, her voice filled with anger as she turned to Draygor, questioning his decision to keep such company around him.

Draygor was about to reply her, but Kha’na spoke before he could. “He Who Takes Lives ordered me to stay by master’s side and protect him! I hate myself for giving master that scar, but I have sworn my loyalty to master to repent for my sins. I would give my life to protect his, and He Who Takes Lives will take me into his embrace for fulfilling my duty. What have you done to repent for your failures, High Priestess of Mhi’ra?” Kha’na snarled in retaliation, slamming her fist onto the table.

“What I have done for my failure?! You have no right to question what I have done, or what I have failed to do! It was the actions of your Cult that led to Draygor’s disappearance in the first place! Can you imagine what his family must have felt? All that for the whims of your god? And now, your people are still running around causing trouble all over the country, despite your efforts in serving Draygor! I say it again: you have no right to criticise me after all you’ve done, Mouth of Shaitan!”

The two ladies were standing now, glaring daggers at each other. Kha’na reached down to her waist for her weapons, only to remember that they had been taken from her before they were permitted to enter the High Priestess’ quarters.

“Sit down, both of you!” Draygor commanded, rubbing his temples in exasperation.

Immediately, the two women took their seats. Well, it wasn’t like they had a choice in the matter, since they were unable to resist Draygor’s mental commands. They sat still, unable to move a muscle, though their gazes still contained hostility toward each other. Lah’ra’s gaze also contained another emotion – fear. She didn’t consider herself weak-willed by any means, but she still found herself unable to fight back against Draygor’s mental intrusion. The compulsion of mind magicks could usually be broken easily by force of will, if one knew that they were being controlled. Yet, she couldn’t move anything but her eyes.

“Just how strong is he?” Lah’ra thought as her eyes flicked around the room in helplessness. She had doubted his tale about wiping out the Cult before, but now, she wasn’t so sure what to think.

“As far as I’m concerned, this argument is pointless. No one here is solely responsible for what happened. I’m to blame for my carelessness, the High Priestess is to blame for the incompetency of her guards, and Kha’na… you’re to blame for trying to blindly sacrifice me to Shaitan. Everyone’s at fault here, so we are going to bury this.”

“Next,” Draygor continued, “is the reason we are here today. I don’t care if the gods have feuds amongst themselves. Your petty squabbles and rivalries serve no purpose. The gods won’t thank you for cutting one another down. If you want to fight, do it to better yourselves, and not to push the other down. As far as I know, the gods have sent the both of you to me, and I like to think that it is to aid me. There will be trouble in the future, and if we don’t work together, we will be easy prey when the trouble finds us. Are we clear?”

Draygor stared at both women, awaiting their acknowledgement. Lah’ra and Kha’na simply stared back helplessly at him, and he remembered that they were still under his control. With a sigh, he asked again.

“Are we clear?”

The two of them nodded in agreement at his command, though they were still unable to do anything else. “Very good. I’m glad the both of you have come to an agreement,” Draygor said, dismissing his mental control with a small wave of his hand. His… victims took deep breaths as they regained control of their bodies, before they turned to look at him silently, waiting for him to continue. They weren’t willing to undergo another bout of being trapped in their minds with no control over their bodies if they annoyed him again.

“Now, let us move on to more… important topics. High Priestess, you mentioned that the Cult was causing trouble around the country?” Draygor asked, fixing his gaze on the High Priestess as he awaited her answer.

“J-just… call me Lah’ra… and y-yes… there have been many reports over the past three years of people going missing all around the country. Some, apparently, managed to find their way back home, though they claim to have no memory of what happened. There were a few amongst those who returned that turned violent, attempting to kill those around them, but so far, there have been no actual casualties from such cases. The main suspect was the Cult, of course, but after hearing your story, I’m inclined to believe that it isn’t their doing…” Lah’ra explained, lowering her head. She was unwilling to meet Draygor’s gaze, his eyes reminding her of the fear and helplessness she experienced just moments ago.

“Interesting… no wonder everyone has been so tense around the city lately…” Draygor pondered aloud. “Are there any other clues about the identity of the culprits?”

Lah’ra closed her eyes in thought. “Ah, right! A few of the violent ones were thrown into the dungeons beneath the Royal Palace, and the Royal Advisor came to seek my advice a few months back about something one of the prisoners said. Something about the Abyss, if I remember correctly, thought I don’t have any idea what that means.”

“The Abyss…? Didn’t Shaitan mention that before, Kha’na?”

“Yes, master,” Kha’na responded with a nod as she recounted Shaitan’s message. “He Who Takes Lives said that the Abyss had awakened, and that it would still be a while before the Abyss regained its power.”

Lah’ra was taken aback at the news. “It has awakened…? What does that mean?”

“It means, Lah’ra, that the Abyss, whatever it is, is the source of our troubles,” Draygor explained, his mind racing with questions of his own. “I think that rules out the Cult as the perpetrators of the disappearances, other than mine. Still, we can never be too careful. What do you think of paying a visit to the Cult’s headquarters?”

“Are you crazy? That would be suicidal! Heading into the enemy’s headquarters alone… not to mention, we don’t even know where it is!” Lah’ra rebuked, clearly against such a crazy suggestion.

Draygor sighed exasperatedly at her naivety. “Not alone, Lah’ra… though, I am confident in being able to hold my own at my current level of strength. I’m suggesting that we pay a visit with an armed retinue. As for its location, aren’t you forgetting someone important?” he pointed out.

“If that is what master wishes,” Kha’na replied, understanding what Draygor wanted her to do.

“And if I’m right, the Cult isn’t the enemy any longer…” Draygor murmured under his breath, though it was loud enough for everyone seated around the table to hear.

“…Fine. I’ll see what I can do. I’ll have to let you know soon,” Lah’ra gave in, slumping back into her chair in defeat. She still couldn’t get over the fact that Draygor had dominated the conversation this time as well. Although she had experienced his strength, her mind still refused to think of him as anything but a child, and being defeated by a young child was really demoralising to her.

“It would be good if it could happen within the next three days. I start my classes in the Academy then, and I wouldn’t want to disappoint the Headmistress with my absence,” Draygor concluded. “This was a good meeting, Lah’ra. I look forward to receiving more of your… aid. Good night!”

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It was dark out by the time Draygor and Kha’na exited the Great Temple of Mhi’ra. The meeting with Lah’ra had been quite informative, though it barely answered any of his questions.

“Lah’ra said something about prisoners being held in the Royal Palace… I’ll have to pay them a small visit,” Draygor mused silently. Since one of the prisoners had been the one to bring up the Abyss, he was sure they would have more information than what he’d learnt from Lah’ra so far. He decided that he would force the information out of the prisoners if necessary. Torture wasn’t among the things he liked to do, but as the saying went, the ends justify the means.

A sudden thought came to his mind. “Kha’na? How do you feel about leading armed troops to your old home?” he asked. Draygor felt a little guilty for making a decision without asking for her opinion. While the Cult had been a terrible place, it had still been home for her since she was a small child, and he was sure that she held some sentiment for it.

“If it is necessary… I am not against it. If the Cult gets in your way, master, I’ll crush them with my own bare hands!” Kha’na said, smashing her hands together in determination. Her devotion to Shaitan was stronger than her feelings for the Cult. After all, the Cult worshipped Shaitan, and her god had instructed her personally to protect Draygor, her master. If the Cult got in the way of Shaitan’s instructions, it would be going against its very purpose of existence, and Kha’na felt that destruction was a suitable punishment.

“Alright. If you ever feel uncomfortable with my decisions, feel free to tell me. Now, let’s go home,” Draygor said as they began making their way back to the Mithras household.

“Yes, master!”