ELDRITCH NIGHT (Rough Draft)

Chapter 52: Apotheosis Horizon (1/2)

As I walked through the barrier I felt a slight tingle as an electrical current washed over my skin. There was a faint fizzling sound followed by a loud pop, and then I was on the other side. The air was fresh and carried a slight whiff of ozone like the cool nighttime air after afternoon thunderstorms.

It was one of my most pleasant experiences in recent memory.

I hadn't realized how badly the battlefield had smelled. I had either gotten used to, or blocked out, the horrible smell of excrement, perspiration, and death. Their absence was the sweetest thing I had ever tasted. It's funny how often the greatest pleasures are found in the relief of something unpleasant.

Silent Peacekeepers flanked me on each side. Sebbit walked directly behind me and was joined by Catayla at his left and Talith on his right. They weren't exactly on my ass, but they walked closely enough that I was starting to get a bit claustrophobic. This certainly didn't feel like the hero's reception I was expecting.

"So, what in Hell is going on," I turned around to face Sebbit. "Did I somehow offend you again? Do you macho assholes not accept help even when you are surrounded and outnumbered? I mean, fuck, just look outside."

My rant started calm, but quickly descended into shouting.

"Mr. Finn —"

"Let me, Captain," Catayla said. She looked at Sebbit and he gave her a slight nod before she continued. Now that I was looking for them I could see signs of pride on his face. The captain's smile appeared and disappeared fast enough that I may have imagined it, but it lingered in his eyes.

"Finn, we're glad to see you. We really are. Archmage Armeria told us that she had to leave you behind after stabilizing some very serious injuries."

Catayla held eye contact with me for slightly longer than I found comfortable but looked away as she patted my shoulder with one hand.

"She also told us about the barrier," I flinched instinctively when Talith began to speak. I'd learned the old armsmaster had a way of punctuating her statements with physical violence.

"Apparently you found a way to not only overcome your injury but also continued your mission to bring down the dome. I never imagined you'd amount to anything even close to resembling a competent soldier, but that was a damn fine performance."

The massively tall alien looked down at me and smiled, showing multiple rows of razor sharp teeth. "I'm proud to have trained you."

"Uh.... Not that I'm not grateful for the praise, but if there is some shit in the middle of this compliment sandwich I'd like to get it over with."

"Ah, Mr. Finn," Sebbit interjected. "I have missed your... colorful colloquialism. I cannot say, however, that I agree with your assault of women under my command. We will revisit that in the future. Trust me when I say that conversation will go much better if you cooperate now."

Something about the way he said it made me feel ashamed. Perhaps it was the way he emphasized 'assault of women' – even if those women were seven-foot alien super soldiers with sci-fi weapons and a nasty set of razor sharp teeth.

"My primary concern, at the moment, is not your insubordination, but the fact that you decided it was a good idea to feed the gestating death goddess. An apotheosis, I might add, that I have spent significant time, resources, and lives just to delay."

"Well... fuck." What do you even say to that? I turned and gazed at the sky. The black orb that hung there had clearly grown. It now cut a hole in the sky larger that was larger than a full moon.

"We have taken every action available to syphon off the energy in the area, and we have avoided direct conflict at all costs. Those beasts out there do not care if they kill us or we kill them – they serve their masters either way."