The Mythos Trials

Chapter Twenty, Part One

After their battle and Reeves' subsequent death five days earlier, Gwen and the others sought refuge within the Nixian Village.

Gilgamesh and the few Sixth Unit operatives he had at his disposal headed to Boreas's castle, locking Erio away in the ice fortress's dungeons to await trial while reporting to Boreas with all that had happened.

Gwen might have felt sorry for Erio, given his actions had been born of devotion for his brother, but five days in the bitter cold had drained her of what little sympathy she had left. She'd had her fill of snowstorms and chilly rooms, the fireplace unable to grant her the comfort she needed in such dire conditions.

Or maybe she had just gotten used to Phenex's warmth. For the first two nights, she had shared a room with him and Forneus, her bed separated from both of theirs by identical partitions. In spite of that, Phenex's heat had filled the room better than the central heating back home. But due to one of the elven villagers going around, complaining about impropriety—something Gwen had scoffed at, considering not only the fact that it was the 21st century, but that she had shared accommodations with Forneus and Phenex more times than she could count—the two had been moved into the cabin next to hers.

Leaving Gwen alone and cold in the night. No amount of steaming broth and fresh-baked bread could take the chill from her bones. No matter how merrily the fires crackled in the fireplace, they were pretenders to the true, living flame.

Still, at least the villagers tending the cabins had let Phenex and Forneus into hers during the day without a fuss. And it was at these times, while they discussed the current goings-on and the Nixian village's own defector, Ranos—a tense topic, if ever there was one—that Gwen took full advantage of Phenex's body heat by sitting as close to him as she dared. Now that both the danger had passed and the euphoria of their ballroom dance had ebbed, awkwardness stole into its place; at least as far as Gwen was concerned.

Despite his attempts to appear normal, still acting as protectively as ever and teasing her over whatever he could think of, there was a marked difference in Phenex's demeanour. A sullenness she hadn't seen since before they had started getting along in what now seemed a lifetime ago. There was no doubt as to what had caused it. The moment they had turned back from the Mrazian Border toward the village, Reeves' ashes still scattering in the wind, the change had fallen over him like perpetual night.

Gwen didn't understand it, not entirely. But against all reason, some part of her could feel it, too. An empty space where the worst of her fears used to be, but not alone; something else had resided there as well, something she couldn't give a name to. His passing should have filled her with elation, and in a way, it did. And yet, in spite of everything—the cruel enjoyment Reeves had displayed while torturing Phenex, the same cruelty shown again and again in every one of their confrontations with him—there was sadness, too.

There was no denying that his every act had been one of evil, but Gwen couldn't help wondering: had he always been that way? Somehow, demon or not, she couldn't imagine that his sole purpose had been to wreak havoc upon humanity. That somewhere along the way, something had happened to him—just as it had happened to Phenex—to make him into who he had become.

Gwen snapped out of her musings when a rap came at the cabin door, quieting the discussion Forneus had been having with the young, elven scout who had come with a message from Boreas. Phenex had scarcely pulled the door open when everything went dark, the fireplace going out with a violent hiss as pitch blackness fell across the room.

There was a panicked moment, Gwen jumping to her feet and banging her knee on the sharp corner of the coffee table. She cursed under her breath, deaf to the frantic murmurs of her companions. No matter which way she turned, not even a sliver of light came into the cabin, the windows appearing to have vanished with everything else.