A Priestess for the Blind God (Legends of Rahasia Book 1)

Chapter Fifty-Two

"Get out, on orders of the new Emperor."

The noblewomen lounging in the bathhouse scurry out, terrified at the beautiful darkness within Ryu's unnatural eyes. Some whisper about demons as they leave, clutching their precious silk robes to their bodies. The bathhouse feels like yet another holy temple, too luxurious to be real. Pillars arc toward the topmost dome, a fragmented glass window letting in little slivers of light, mosaic tile lining the bottom of endless, square tubs cut into the earth. Steam rises everywhere, making it hard to breathe or think properly. But, at the same time, it's so pleasant here. I wonder if this is what it's like after death. Just a paradise of uncertainty. Endless streams of comfort and confusion. The light breaks through the mist, glancing off my filthy skin. I'm a parasite infesting this palace. I'm meant for battle, not gentlewomen baths.

Ryu, or what's left of his shell, sighs, running his fingers through his dark, shoulder-length hair. 

No this isn't Ryu anymore.

It's them.

"It's very different on this mortal plane. Heavier." They frown as their nails catch a knot. "Human hair is so coarse."

"If you hate it so much, then leave Ryu's body." I snap, seeing that eerily stunning figure still caught within Ryu's blank eyes. "He's a person, not your personal puppet."

Ryu's red lips tilt into a smirk, kneeling next to the steaming water as they test the surface with their hands. Steam rises toward their nostrils as they pour more rosewater and peppermint into the bath, little crystals of sweat beading on their face. "I wonder if your ghouls ever feel the same way, Lady Ode," they laugh, falling onto their belly as they preen in the reflection of the water, "I wonder if they ever get tired of being caught in that mirror. Maybe they have families of their own in the spirit world. Did you ever think about that? You control them as we control you."

"I'm not like you." I whisper, somewhat unnerved by Aziz's statement. But they've already stopped paying attention, running their nails along the cloth on their torso, straightening the creases from when I nearly strangled Ryu earlier. Turning away from them, I strip off the borrowed armor, leaving only my underclothes as I immerse myself in the water. As soon as my blistered feet break the surface, I'm enveloped in the scent of cinnamon and cloves. Ryu's shell edges towards me, placing their fingers against my temple. I tense. The pads of their feather-light fingers stray dangerously close to my eyes, dancing on the tender skin surrounding my forehead.

"Relax," Aziz purrs. "We're friends, dear, aren't we?"

"Ryu's my friend, not you." I spit back, splashing water onto their shoulder. They frown, watching the mud caked over their brands as it swirls into the clear bathhouse water.

"His own family branded him," Aziz remarks, staring like a scholar, observing the brands with an impersonal curiosity. "It should be a crime, what you humans do. You destroy beauty all the time." They rub their fingers along my temple. I watch as the blood caking my hair disappears in the swirling mist. "When you conquer villages in Cato's name, you destroy whatever art is there during the battle. When you kill each other, you kill all the innocents to show your power, shutting their beautiful eyes forever. When your armies walk along the earth, you trample the flowers beneath your heavy boots. Humans," Aziz claps their hands over Ryu's brands, unable to even glance at the unsightly wounds, "you destroy all the lovely things that I create."

I reluctantly ease into their touch, feather-light and almost cautious. "You think siding with Cato in this war will preserve this world's beauty? You make war to end it. But now Cato's had a taste of the power that war gives him. Do you truly believe Cato will ever want peace?"

They reach down into the water, pulling a severed rose blossom into their hand, cupping it tenderly. When they breath on it, it turns into a waterlily, floating softly and oh so alive on the surface of the bath. "Have you ever been with a lover, Ode, man or woman?"

"What does that...?" When I turn back, Ryu's stopped massaging my scalp. They sits with their hands flat against their knees, the red robe draped elegantly against their thighs. Aziz won't speak unless I listen to them, and I don't want to bloody my hands after I've just cleaned them to force them to speak. Diplomacy, it is. "Yes, I have."

"Then you know my power." They run their hand along their neck, the droplets flowing against their skin. My eyes track the movement, hypnotized. Then they dunk their head into the bath water. When they lift it out, they get to their feet, becoming one with the mist. The marionette wires glitter as they pull their body into a dance, copying the movements of the bathhouse mist as it writhes, their body shimmering, their wet hair gleaming with the rays from the skylight. They twirl and dance, and my eyes stay along their feet, stepping lightly as a bird in flight. "Then you know that with desire," they twirl again, smirking dreamily at me, "there is power. When faced with lust, even the greatest of kings and warriors fall."

They bow at the end of the dance. My heartbeat slows as I plunge my head beneath the water. When I resurface, I startle. Their face is right next to mine, smiling.

"You think that a pretty face is enough to stop all-out war?" I splash more water at them, but they dodge easily. "You're crazier than Kane."

"Cato may destroy us all, my dear. I know that." Aziz points to the heavens, the light grows stronger as it illuminates their maddening eyes. "But if he destroys humanity and the gods, then there will be nothing but the stars, the moon and the sun." When they pull back their hand, they stare into it. Water droplets flow like pearls over their skin, a trick of the light. "All that will be left are the most beautiful jewels that even I cannot recreate."

When they holds their hands out to me, I see nothing but water droplets within them.

"I would die for beauty," Aziz whispers, letting the water droplets flow back into the bath, disappearing with a glint of silver. They pick up my Diviner's mirror, turning it so that I stare into my own, confused reflection. A woman stares back at me. I think my mother's ghost has come back to haunt me, but then I realize it's not my mother. It's myself, her eyes staring out from my father's facial features, a warrior unnerved by her newfound softness, her femininity breaking through the hard lines of muscle with gentle flesh. Just being in Aziz's presence makes my mind turn to thoughts of lovers, fertility, and unattainable beauty. I look to Ryu's vulnerable figure, twisting and winding to unheard music.

Beautiful. It's so beautiful...

I want it.

I want it all to myself.

What have they done to me? This is Aziz, not Ryu. This is an insult to Ryu's very memory. I press my fingers to my cheekbone, a bruise blooming like a flower, so beautiful against the earth-toned skin. Aziz laughs. Ryu smiles.

For a flicker, instead of my friend's corpse dancing there, I see Kane in all his glory. He turns around and smiles at me, white teeth, obsidian skin, and silver-lit hair. Eyes like the universe, stars on skin and water beading like pearls. A god's eyes latched onto blood-moon irises, the night sky enveloping the foolish fox in its cold embrace.

"Wouldn't you die for beauty, dear?"

I throw myself back into the water with a warrior's cry. "Stop playing these mind games! Stop it right this instant!"

When I resurface, Aziz's puppet has vanished. Made one with the mist.

I'm blessedly alone in the bathhouse.

I collapse back into the water, breathing hard, face flushed. I'd rather fight some thousand-and-one battles than do this again.

And then I turn my Diviner's mirror over so the reflection is hidden.

...just in case.

***

Hey Champions! :) 

What do you guys think of Aziz? I don't even know what to think of them. So much conflict. 

Best

Sophia