Of Men Made Gods

4. A Freedom

A Freedom

"I STILL CAN'T see why you have to go this far," said Caenphis, sounding more curious than worried. They were alone in one of the upper floor rooms of their house.

Moving to join his wife who stood at the window, Avon sighed aloud before he spoke. "I may not have the time to do this later."

"That's what I don't understand," she said, turning slightly so she could look at his face. "Why do you have to do this at all?"

"I had already decided to do this before I even came here," he answered, looking at the unobstructed view before him. "This is just an early start. If we wish to survive, more of them can be created later with or without the help of the Hall members. But I need to do this now since I might be occupied with another matter in the coming days."

She knew what the other matter was. He had been agitated ever since he got back late in the morning from the meeting with his one time friend. At the time, she, along with a few of their friends who had come to hear about Elizo's 'land of gods', had asked what he had seen. She had found it odd when his reply was half-hearted at best, unusual for anyone else let alone Avon who had always reveled in telling an entertainingly blemished story of anything that had an adventures streak to it. But somehow she hadn't pressed him for details then.

'Who would have thought there could still be a little distance even between people who practically talked every single day,' he thought silently, feeling slightly uncomfortable as the silence grew between them.

Avon knew the awkwardness was mostly his own fault. Only because of the excitement and the sheer relief in being home, did he not notice it the first night he was back. But ever since then, he would be completely at ease with his wife one moment and the next thing he knew he would be worrying about the silliest thing ever. After a time, Caenphis, who seemed to have picked up his discomfort herself, had also began acting strange around him.

'We're both adjusting,' a part of him spoke in his mind, 'it will just take a little more time.' But the reassuring words seemed useless in his sudden unsure state. Ever since he knew what Elizo had been doing in his house, his world had seemed a little bit darker. The things which had seemed beautiful in the early morning looked like lies to him now. Even this, their beautiful relationship seemed too fragile to be true when his wife chose to not ask him what was worrying him. He did not know whom he could believe in to see the truth like he did.

"The other matter...," began Caenphis, breaking the hulking silence first as she turned her gaze back to the world outside.

Hearing her soft words, he knew she was giving him the chance to explain only if he wanted to. And suddenly, a weight seemed to lift from him as a little light shone on his heart.

'Sometimes believing is as simple as choosing to do so,' the thought settled comfortably in his mind for a moment as he felt a rush of love for the woman beside him.

He spoke, starting from the beginning and leaving not a thing behind. He told her all the things he had seen, from useless details of the house to the magic he had been a part of in the hall of Elizo's house.

The words left his lips smoothly, while a contented ease settled over him and he relaxed. The worries didn't leave him, instead he was distant from them. Knowing he would settle each one of them in its own time gave him a kind of soothing peace.

After silently listening to him speak, his wife's first question was, "What are you saying?"

"It's blood magic," he began, explaining a thing he had only noticed because of the horrors he had seen in his travels, "from human sacrifice."