Holy Opposites 42

Chapter Twenty-Six:


	Three days later, Axio was sitting on a bench on the northern shore of Waterdeep’s walls.  This far from the harbor, there wasn’t much trash on the beaches.  The sun was beating down on his bare chest as he leaned back against a sandy rock and stared out at the waves.

	There weren’t many bathers out there in the water.  It was still a bit too cold for much swimming.  He had the place to himself.

	More than a few children from the temple were so badly traumatized that they had been sent to the Temple of Ryaire for treatment from the horrors of the Baneites.  He saw them every time he went past their room to his bed.

	He rarely slept, now.

	The Aasimar closed his eyes and tilted his head, looking up at the sun.  It felt good on his face.  The wind picked up a bit, splashing water on the sandy beach.

	This, at least, didn’t make him feel utterly inadequate.


	Axio looked over his shoulder when he heard somebody approach.  Triera had spotted him.  “Hey, there,” she said, squatting beside him.  “Finally working on your tan?”

	He glared at her.  He raised his arms, lightning-fast, and pulled her into a crushing hug.  “Nothing wrong with my tan,” he growled.

	She shrieked and clawed at him, trying futilely to escape.  “No, unhand me, fiend!” she protested.  She wriggled out of his grasp and scrambled away.  “See what I get for being nice?” she asked with faux disappointment.

	“What do you want?” Axio asked, still chuckling.

	“For you stop being all depressed out here,” Triera chided.  “Half the city wants to take you out for a drink, the other half wants to give you a parade!  Why are you out here on the beach, moping?”

	“Because I lost!” Axio snapped.  Triera recoiled from his sudden anger.  “Half of those cells were empty, Triera.  Half!  The kids we saved tell us that they were all full a day before we got there.  We failed to save half the children!  How many more would we have saved if we hadn’t waited a day to prepare to hit Undermountain?”

	“And would you be dead if you hadn’t waited that day?” Triera pointed out acidly.  “If you want to sit out here and be mad at yourself, fine, but don’t think Grandfather and Mom and Dad won’t call you out on it.”  She kicked sand in the air in frustration.  “Can’t you be happy that you saved a bunch of those kids?  Cavria’s the toast of the town, and you should be out there!”

	Axio looked away.  “I just need to think.”

	Triera shook her head.  “If you say so,” she said softly.


	Cavria sprawled over the bed in her room, eyes shut.  The morning light was warming her up, and she twitched feebly to move a blanket to block it.  It was too much effort.  She stopped.

	Nightmares had plagued her the night she had returned.  She had forgotten to cast her spell the next night.  The nightmares came back.  Now, she woken in wracking agony from the surgery on her back, and even her fiendish lack of need for sleep was wearing thin.

	Solen had shorn her wings off.  She had allowed her shame to influence her decision, and she knew it, but the fact was that the children had hesitated to follow her because she had them.  If that evacuation had been under tighter time limits, people might have died.

	Cavria had her face buried in a pillow.  Bandages covered her back.  If her self-distaste extended as far as mutilation, she might have been able to convince herself that she deserved the pain, but no, she saw it for the massive inconvenience it was.

	Solen had told her discreetly, after the operation he had performed with her the moment she could safely leave the bookstore under the cover of night.  Her horns would be next, then her tail – possibly.  That wasn’t a given.  The vast majority of Succubae didn’t have tails.

	She closed her eyes and sighed.  She was out of tears.  There was nothing to do.  She had poured all of her healing magic for the day into her back; since she had no access to the restoration spells, there was no risk of the wings growing back.  She just had to endure the swelling and the pain.

	Cavria did feel oddly empty.  Her mind had filled with the knowledge of how to fly in an instant.  It was as instinctual as breathing.  She still had it, but now lacked the means to use it.  It made her feel weak and tiny.


	Axio knocked on the door and stuck his head in.  “Cavria?” he asked.

	“Mmm.  Here,” she said groggily.

	“Are you well enough to talk?” he asked.

	“Sure.”

	Axio gingerly sat down beside her and squeezed his hand around hers.  “Hello, Cavria,” he said.  “I won’t ask how you’re feeling.  I can’t imagine it’s too bad.”

	She exerted the effort needed to twist her head around and stare at him.  She caught his raised eyebrows and silly smile, and she snorted out a laugh.  “Not funny.”

	“And I thought Doshellas was the taciturn one,” Axio teased.  He squeezed her hand again and leaned back against the headboard of the bed.  “So… I thought you might like an update.”  He rested her hand on her back and let his magic pour into her shredded flesh.  Solen had had to disconnect entire bone structures from her skeleton.  It had not been easy.

	Cavria seemed to deflate a bit as his magic soothed the agony.  His reserves of divine power were far greater than hers were.  “Oh… thank you,” she sighed.  “That’s much better.”

	He squeezed her hand one last time, and then released her.  “The others are fine.  Doshellas is taking his share of what little treasure we found and having new armor made.  Luanea is meeting up with her people in the town, so she can update their master map of Undermountain.”  He screwed his eyes shut and rubbed his face with both hands.  “The children, well… most still have a home to go back to, you know, but some were orphans or their families were killed in their capture.  That’s harder.  A few may stay here.”  He swallowed.  “One died of his illness before we could get him to safety.”

	Cavria looked up at him and shook her head.  He knew she was telling him it wasn’t his fault.  He was the sort of leader who lived and died with his charges and his men, and she respected him for it, but there was such a thing as over-dwelling.

	He forced back another sigh.  She had enough on her mind.  “I’ve prayed for Ryaire to take his soul.  I’m sure she heard it.  You should know, both Doshellas and Luanea have offered to help us again if we ask, though Doshellas has made it clear he’s not doing it free.  I don’t blame him.  We barely broke even on that mission.”

	“Okay.  Thanks, Axio.”  Cavria painfully shifted onto her side so she could see him better.  It saddened him to see her so vulnerable.  “So… the next step?”

	“The children go home, if we can find them homes.  Then… well, the Watch is crawling over that portal and interrogating the surviving cultist.  We’ll find what we can, you know?” Axio said.

	“No, you won’t.”

	Both Paladins started.  Axio spun from the bed and raised his hands into a fighting stance.  There was a man standing ten feet away, unarmed and cowled.

	“Who in the Abyss are you?” Axio demanded.

	Suivi Embersson pulled his hood back and met the young Aasimar’s eyes.  “I’m the man who made it happen.”