Book of Wishes - House of Blood

Chapter Twenty-Three

Lorelei had enough of being cooped up. After a month of constant training and strategizing, everything started to wear on her, and she was desperate for a change of scenery. She paced restlessly around the training room, her frustration mounting with each lap. Finally, she turned to Cairbre, her eyes blazing with determination. He was wearing a heavy coat and a bag on his back.

"I can't take this anymore," she said firmly. "I want to go with you on your trip. I need to see something else, do something else. I can't stay here anymore."

Cairbre looked at her skeptically.

"We all feel that way, but now is not the time, Highness," he said, adding more weapons to his tool belt. "I won't be long, I promise."

"I'm coming with you," she said simply. "That is an order."

Cairbre must have noted her tone because he simply raised a brow but nodded.

When she told Stone where she was going, he glared at Cairbre.

"This is the worst idea I've ever heard," he growled. He wrapped his arm around her waist and glared down at her.

"It's not safe."

Trying hard not to let the heat rising in her distract her, she pushed him away.

"We're going to a Marqii base. It's the safest place I can be!"

She figured it would take more convincing for Stone to accept, but in a short time, he backed off, threatening Cairbre with an eternity in Eldritch if anything happened to her. She wondered momentarily at his sudden acquiescence, but there was no time to ponder it.

Cairbre conjured the portal, and with swift steps, they crossed into another realm. As they did, Stone's face briefly flickered with a mix of anger and resignation before settling into an enigmatic calm.

Cairbre had painted only fragments of his childhood city in her mind, leaving the rest to the vast canvas of her imagination. She had envisioned Qares as a frigid realm where jagged mountains pierced the sky and untamed warriors roamed, their hands tightly gripping axes and swords.

She was right.

Granted, it was fairly warm that day, making her light leather coat a good choice. The city was surrounded by a large stone wall rivaling the Great Wall of China. A tall pillar protruded from the wall every few miles, raised high up in the sky. It must have been a lookout tower because she could see warriors up there, their eyes focused.

"I used to hate guard duty," Cairbre said. "It was boring."

She smiled lightly but said nothing, still taking in the sight before her. It smelled like wet rock, steel, and smog. Each home or shop was made from a white, smokey-colored stone that had greenish streaks.

Small children ran around playing some sort of chase game. She smiled at their carefree happiness. One passed her and stopped to say hello at the sight of her. She gave the young girl a gentle smile before she took off running again.

What stood out the most to her were sigils and banners of the same odd symbol Cairbre wore around his neck.

"This city heavily follows the old faith," he told her. "They believe that an Orisha Savior will be born one day and right the wrongs that have been done, allowing them once more access to the paradised promised afterlife. To be Oludomare."

Lorelei watched him, noting the excitement in his tone. He, too, believed that.

"What is Olodumare?" She asked.

"Peace, really. Oneness with all. When Orisha first came to us, that was what was promised. But years of fighting, defilement, and them being killed off separated us from Olodumare."