Chapter 2
Zero
The chamber reeked of incense and old stone— a place that was sacred where only a few were chosen to enter.
Columns of onyx lined either side of the circular room, each carved with the saint's who'd long since died in the pursuit against dark forces. At the center, a sunburst mosaic of Helios spread across the floor, half-faded and cracked from centuries of boots like mine grinding in underfoot. Cold torchlight danced against the stained-glass windows, casting fractured halos across the figures cloaked in shadows.
I stood alone in the center. Always summoned. Never invited.
Three thrones loomed at the far end, carved from white marble veined like bone. The revered Guardians of Helios, the heads of the Vatican and leaders for the Church of Solana, sat still like statues. Their faces obscured beneath heavy hoods, robes trimmed in gold thread that glinted each time the flame caught.
"Zero," the middle voice spoke. Deep and bellowing, measured like a bell before war. "There has been movement in the western provinces. A girl with healing powers and eyes gold like the morning sun and hair that shimmers as bright as the first glint of sunlight."
I said nothing. Only shifted my weight, hands tight behind my back, listening and waiting.
"She's been seen near the ruins of a place called Horix," the voice continued. "The village does not exist on any map, no doubt a fabrication to hide the existence of the missing Elaine."
They slid a parchment toward me across the altar-stone.
"All the noble girls have been tested," I said flatly. "How are you sure that this particular girl is the one?"
"This one was never tested. She's supposedly the missing daughter of Grand Duke Alaric Algeirs who is the third heir to the throne of Helios. She was kidnapped as a babe and hasn't been seen since. Until now, that is."
"Or we so suspect," chimed in the voice of a woman who sat in the seat to my right.
"And I presume you want me to bring her back?" I asked, finally picking up the file. My gloved fingers left no warmth on the parchment.
"No, we want you to confirm her identity," said the left guardian, who sounded much younger than the other two. "If she is the new Elaine, you will protect her until we can secure her. If she is not," A pause. "then withdraw most haste. We have no time to spare on a simple farm girl."
I gave a slight nod, turning to leave.
"She may not be aware of who she is," chimed the woman. "She may resist at first if are assumptions of her are correct."
"Then I'll make her understand," I said without turning back. "One way or another."
I walked out before they could add anything else. The door groaned shut behind me like the mouth of some ancient beast sealing itself closed.
Out in the corridor, my boots echoed along the marbled tile. I didn't waste time pondering fate or prophecy. That was for the priests and dreamers. My only job was to finish what the church started.
Find the girl.
Decide her fate.
Burn whatever stood in my way.
Let the saints argue morality. I already had my orders.
***
It took me five days to reach the outskirts of Horix.
No roads led to it. No signs marked its existence. It wasn't on any of the official maps just like the reports had stated. It was more like a myth spoken in the towns I had passed through, rumors from villagers my ears had picked up about the town hidden in the deep woods.
But the Helios Guardians didn't believe in myths. If they sent me here, it was for a purpose. No way would they send someone with my skills on a frivolous mission to seek out an imaginary girl.
I carved my way through the dense forest, branches clawing at my coat, moss slick under my feet. The trees were thick— too thick. Like they'd been overgrown on purpose, bending and leaning inward to hide what lay beyond. The canopy let in little light, casting the unruly trail in a perpetual twilight that never seemed to lift, even when the sun sat directly overhead.
The first thing I noticed, long before I found the village, was the smell.
Blood.
Faint, stale, and clinging to the bark and bramble like mold. Not fresh enough to suggest a recent kill, but too strong to be natural. The wind carried it in waves, light one moment, suffocating the next. After the third night it soaked into my clothes. I stopped noticing until I tried to sleep and found the taste of copper in the back of my throat.
Horix revealed itself like a bruise— slow and spreading.
The tree line broke at the top of a shallow slope, and there it was: a village carved into a bowl of the earth, houses clustered together, very tight knit and homely looking. But no smoke arose from chimneys, no wagons passed through. Just stillness.
A lie.
I didn't enter right away, after all, my duty was to observe. The townsfolk seemed so normal at first. They would wander the town with friendly greetings and passing hellos, fishing in the river and hanging up damp laundry. They laughed and traded bread. Parents even tucked their children in with lullabies. And every night, the village returned to silence.
It all seemed a little too rehearsed for a village that wasn't' even supposed to exist.
Eventually, I found her, the supposed Elaine. It was hard to miss her. She stuck out like a sore thumb in this boring hovel. Her bright smile didn't seem fake at all, and just like I had been told it was true about her appearance. She was truly radiant, as if I was staring straight into the sun yet my eyes were not blinded.
She moved like someone who belonged— waving to neighbors, carrying baskets of herbs, tending to wounds with that fascinating magic. It was clear she didn't know the truth about this village. She smiled without suspicion, trusted without hesitation. They had raised her like cattle for the slaughter and earned her trust completely.
I walked the outskirts each night, where the soil was soft and old roots curled up from the ground. I found no graveyard. No burial grounds. No pyres, but the stench of death was everywhere.
To the untrained eye, the village was clean. But I'd been taught to spot the rot beneath the surface.
Beneath the well. Under rose bushes. Behind the bakery. Hidden, but not cleaned.
The people of Horix knew how to hide a body. But they didn't know to erase its existence from the earth.
The guardians were right to be suspicious. It was as clear as day, this was a playground for vampire vermin.
The veil dropped that night when the Skalls finally made their move. The scent of a fresh kill wafted in the cold air. It was finally my time. This was what I was made for, where I was meant to put my abilities to the test. Protect Elaine, bring her back to the holy city. As a Dusker it is my duty to purge the night of those who bathed in both moonlight and blood.