The Mage's Limits: Mages of Martir Book #2 (15 page)

Durima was shocked at how quickly Gujak came up with that lie. He didn't even stutter once, although he did say it all quickly, as if he was afraid he would not get it all out if he hesitated even once.

And much to her surprise, Hollech nodded and said, “I see. Yes, I do recall, before my banishment, hearing about a bunch of dumb katabans who thought that the Void was worthy of their worship. I believe they called themselves the Empty, if I recall correctly, or something dumb like that. I see that Skimif apparently still allows them to exist. What a worthless God of Martir he is.”

Durima did not let out a sigh of relief, as she did not want Hollech to suspect anything was amiss. She did, however, make a mental note to ask Gujak how he came up with that lie so quickly later.

“So I see that you two are as I innocent as I,” said Hollech. “Allow me to free you from your chains, then. I'm not as obsessed with justice as my brother Grinf, mostly because his brand of 'justice' always ended up putting many of my followers behind bars, but if you are going to serve me here, then you would be better at that job if I freed you first.”

Before Durima could ask when she and Gujak had agreed to serve Hollech, the banished god reached for the chains binding their bodies. He tore them off as easily as if they were paper, tossing them into the darkness somewhere out of sight as he did so.

A minute later, both Durima and Gujak sat on the ground rubbing their ankles and necks while Hollech stepped back and smiled at them. His smile looked odd on his equine face, even unsettling, although Durima did not say a word about it.

“Now, then,” said Hollech. He began walking away. “Come with me. Tell me all that has happened on Martir during my absence.”

Durima and Gujak exchanged looks before getting onto their feet and following Hollech. Durima still could not remember agreeing to serve Hollech, but as he probably knew the Void much better than either of them, she didn't think they had much choice but to follow him and hope for the best.

-

As they walked, Durima and Gujak shared as much as they knew about the changes Martir had experienced in thirty years to Hollech, who listened all the while. He showed little interest in most of it, except for when Durima mentioned that many of the gods were still unhappy with Skimif's rule, a comment which got a snort of approval from Hollech.

He showed some more interest when they got to Uron. Durima was very careful not to mention how she and Gujak had been the ones responsible for Uron receiving the God-killer. It required some careful word craft on her part, but Hollech didn't seem to notice she was lying, which was good.

“There is a being as strong as Skimif trying to destroy Martir?” said Hollech, his tone equally disgusted and excited. “Where is he now? What is he doing?”

“I don't know,” said Durima, shaking her head. “No one does. The gods have been searching for Uron for a year now.”

“Has he killed any of my other siblings, aside from the Avian Goddess?” Hollech asked.

“Again, we don't know, sir,” said Durima with a shrug. “We don't think so because we haven't felt the deaths of any other goddess or god, but we just don't know for sure.”

“Hmm,” said Hollech, scratching his chin. “I am torn. On one hand, I'd like to see this Uron fellow kill Skimif, but on the other hand, I don't want to see Martir destroyed. Where would I have to return to from my exile if that happened?”

Durima didn't know, so she kept quiet.

“Skimif should end my exile and bring me back to Martir to help,” said Hollech. “Based on what you told me, this Uron fellow sounds like a tricky, deceptive being, and having once been the God of Deception myself, I bet I could see through any of his silly little tricks right away.”

“I don't know, sir,” said Gujak, looking over his shoulder every now and then, like he thought someone might be following them. “Uron still has the God-killer. Bringing you back would just give him another target, wouldn't it?”

Hollech slapped Gujak over the head. “Do not contradict me, katabans. Or I will leave you for the Scavengers to feast on. Trust me, the Scavengers are not clean eaters.”

Gujak rubbed the back of his head where Hollech had slapped him, muttering as he did so, “Yes, Master Hollech, I'm sorry, I won't do it again, I promise.”

Durima didn't like seeing Gujak get beaten like that, but she also didn't want to cross a god who had obviously lost his marbles decades ago. Hollech's mention of the 'Scavengers,' however, did make her curious enough to want to know more about them.

So she asked, “Master Hollech, you mentioned something called the 'Scavengers.' What, exactly,
is
a Scavenger?”

Hollech stopped briefly and looked in every direction for a moment before resuming his pace. “Good question, servant. I don't know.”

Durima almost stopped when she heard that. “What? But you said—”

“Let me clarify,” Hollech continued. “I only call them Scavengers because that's what I saw them do on my first day in the Void. They tore apart the carcass of some corpse and left no sign that it had even been there. I've never seen them attack an already living being … well, unless it attacks them first, that is.”

“You mean there are creatures in the Void?” said Gujak, whipping his head back and forth as if he might catch a glimpse of some monster lurking the shadows. “I thought that the Void was empty of all life.”

“Oh, the Void isn't quite as full as Martir,” said Hollech, waving Gujak's concerns off. “But there are beings and creatures that live here, things that no Martirian eyes, whether mortal or divine, have ever seen.”

“Such as the Scavengers, Master Hollech?” said Durima.

“Exactly,” said Hollech, nodding. “I've never caught a full look at a Scavenger, as they hate the light and always stay in the shadows. From what I've seen of them, however, they are giant insects, almost like grasshoppers, and are very strong and capable of killing anything they want, though they tend to feast on things already dead.”

“Where did the Scavengers come from?” Gujak asked in worry. “Are they also creations of the Powers?”

“Of course not,” said Hollech. “I don't know what they are or where they came from. They were here when I was banished here and I imagine they'll still be here well after I return from exile. I believe they are native to the Void, if that is even possible.”

Durima's paranoia kicked into high gear. She did not see or hear any of these Scavengers right now, but now that Hollech was telling her and Gujak about them, she realized she would have to keep her guard up at all times here. Especially since Hollech had implied that the Scavengers were not the only creatures that lived in the Void.

“Are they dangerous?” Gujak asked.

“As I said, they only eat dead creatures,” said Hollech. “They never attack living creatures unless it is in self-defense. I learned that by watching a Scavenger tear apart another creature that had attacked it first.”

“If that's the case, Master Hollech, then how did you lose your right eye?” Durima asked.

Hollech instinctively reached for his missing eye, then lowered his hand just as abruptly. “All I will tell you about that matter is that there are things in the Void that even we gods must be vigilant against. I will tell you more later, if it's relevant.”

Durima could not help but shiver when she heard that, though she doubted Hollech or Gujak noticed. She didn't want to know what kind of creatures living in the Void were strong enough to wound a god. She doubted she would be able to sleep if that happened.

“What other kinds of creatures exist in the Void, sir?” said Gujak. “Besides the Scavengers?”

“I don't know,” said Hollech with a laugh. “Oh, I've seen a few creatures, some that resemble dragons, others that resemble wolves, some that resemble nothing you could find on Martir, but trust me when I say that I doubt I've seen even one-tenth of the creatures that live here. They stalk in the shadows, making strange noises, fighting each other, sometimes fighting me. Every day is always a new adventure for me here.”

Hollech said that like it was a fun thing. That confirmed Durima's suspicion that Hollech had indeed gone insane, although as usual she kept that thought to herself.

“The Void is a massive, massive place,” said Hollech, gesturing at the darkness all around them. “I've been here thirty years, but I haven't even explored half of it. There is so much more to it that I could easily spend ten thousand years here and not even begin to scratch the surface.”

“So you haven't seen the Powers or anything?” said Gujak. “Have you tried to locate them?”

“How would I ever do that?” said Hollech. “The Powers left Martir for good this time, I believe, and I have no idea where they could have gone. I originally tried to look for them, but I gave up when I realized that I would do better to wait near the Void's entrance than to wander aimlessly through the darkness for a thousand years.”

“But how have you survived all these years, Master Hollech?” said Durima. “The Void is such a dangerous place. What have you been doing since your banishment?”

“Many things,” said Hollech. He begin listing them off his fingers. “Asserting my dominance over the Void, avoiding the worst of the creatures that live here, cursing Skimif every chance I could get, planning my vengeance for when I will return to Martir, and gathering my new followers who obey my every command.”

Durima frowned. “New followers? What do you mean by that?”

“You will see them soon enough,” said Hollech, patting Durima on the head like a good dog. “But trust me, they are far better than any other servants who have served me. Except for perhaps Ramufa, although he is dead and has been dead for years.”

“Where are we going, anyway?” said Gujak, looking ahead of them into the darkness. “You haven't yet said, Master Hollech.”

“To my headquarters,” said Hollech. “The place I've made my home and my personal fortress since the early days of my exile. We should be there any minute now … although, considering how time doesn't work properly here, we might be hours away for all I know.”

As it turned out, Hollech's initial estimate was correct. It was only minutes later that what looked like a massive stone gate appeared from the shadows. Hollech's light revealed gigantic stone columns that were cracked and withered, like they had been exposed to the weather, although from what Durima could tell, the Void had no real weather patterns to speak of.

“Here we are,” said Hollech as he, Durima, and Gujak passed between the huge stone columns. “Castle Hollech.”

He raised his light hand and brightened it, creating more than enough light for Durima and Gujak to see clearly what 'Castle Hollech' looked like.

Durima had expected the castle to be at least as big and imposing as the castles mortals used, but to her disappointment, there wasn't much to it. It was only two stories high, with a single turret rising from the center. It had no doors or windows, wasn't even painted any color. It resembled a stone box rather than a castle, as though whoever had designed it had tried to make it as simple as they possibly could. Strangely enough, there were at least a dozen holes in the ground, like some kind of digger worm had been through here recently.

“Did you build this yourself, Master Hollech?” Gujak asked, looking up at the banished god.

“Nope,” said Hollech. “I found it on my third day in the Void, which, coincidentally, was also the day I stopped keeping track of how much time had passed here. No one was using it, so I took it as my own. It has kept me safe from most of the Void's threats.”

“But who built it?” Durima said. She glanced over her shoulder. “And those stone columns back there and that gate. Who built all of this?”

“No idea,” said Hollech. “I originally thought that these were leftover creations of the Powers, but upon closer inspection, I figured out that the architecture is unlike any Martirian style of building. That tells me it is something from some other world, maybe even from the world that existed before Martir. Who knows?”

Durima hated these kinds of mysteries. She wanted to know the facts, but it was clear that if even Hollech did not know who had built this place, then she was unlikely to get the facts that she desired.

“Why don't we go inside?” said Hollech as he resumed walking. “I want to introduce you to the rest of my servants. They will surely be glad to see that their Lord has found two new servants to help them carry out the orders I give them.”

Once again, Durima and Gujak exchanged looks before resuming their following of Hollech. Durima wondered exactly what kind of servants that Hollech could possibly have found in the Void. After all, it seemed like every form of life in here was hostile towards him to some degree.

Maybe there's an entire intelligent species in here,
Durima thought, her eyes trailing along the outline of Castle Hollech as they drew closer to it.
Like the humans or aquarians or us katabans. Maybe they even built this castle. That is probably what Hollech's servants are.

Whoever had built Castle Hollech must have built the place for people much smaller than Durima or Gujak, because as they entered through the front door they were forced to duck to avoid hitting their heads against the door frame. Hollech, too, had to duck, although he did it much more naturally than them, probably because he walked through this doorway every day.

Upon entering the castle, Durima was struck by how tiny the lobby was. Their heads almost brushed against the ceiling and there was barely enough room for all three of them. If Hollech had a lot of servants, Durima guessed that this place had to get very full whenever they were all gathered here together.

The lobby was also very bare. Hollech's light revealed no furniture or carpeting, no banners or paintings on the walls, nothing except smooth, old stone that smelled like it had been freshly mined from a quarry. A few doorways split off from the lobby into other rooms, while a spiral stone staircase in the center of the room went straight into the ceiling, probably up to that tower that Durima had seen earlier.

“Here we are,” said Hollech, spreading his arms wide as if they were standing inside a wide-open ballroom rather than a cramped lobby. “Castle Hollech, the only piece of civilization that the Void has not yet conquered.”